Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Chapter 221: Kneel

"Our Conquest!" Xurha roared, the bridge shaking as he stomped over to Xerev and picked him by his throat. One of his enormous hands clutched Xerev around the throat, his red eyes shining in the dark gloom of the bridge.

"You measly little flea! How dare you! This is my conquest! Mine!" Xurha slapped Xerev across the face, his already swollen and bruised face beginning to bleed as the blow split his lip open. 

Xerev remained silent, tears of pain filling his eyes, he didn't dare to even apologize, he knew that Xurha could end him with the slightest gesture, and the fact that he was still alive was the fact that, despite his extreme rage, Xurha was still in control of himself.

Xerev had seen too many mouthy officials end up as a smear on the wall of the throne room to risk worsening Xurha's rage. 

"Disgusting." Xurha spat at the Xerev's crumpled figure laying against the bottom of the wall, and turned around and returned to frowning at the cube-screens that made up the walls of the bridge,

"Tch." Xurha shook his head and then walked over to the side of the room, gripping the handle of an enormous axe, made out of the same dull black metal that his armor was. 

Without a second glance at the fallen Xerev, Xurha marched out toward the tall passageway on one side of the bridge, ignoring the guards posted all along it, all of them saluting as he marched past, his massive axe resting on his shoulder.

The passageway was lit by glass tubes filled with a glowing yellow liquid, and the dim glow revealed the head of the savage axe that rested on Xurha's shoulder. The head of the axe was completely rectangular, from afar, one might mistake it for a hammer, but upon a closer look, the chisel like blades on either side could be seen.

Looking even closer, one would be able to see the inscriptions that ran all along the octagonal center of the head, which led down onto the half of the axe, all made of the same dull black metal that Xurha's armor was.

The armor that covered Xurha could only be described in one word, brutish. It looked as though it had been crafted by a smith who had a grudge against the material that crafted it.

There were no elegant curves, no fine sculpting. There was no grace or beauty about the armor whatsoever, the armor was thick, chunky and angular. 

It looked more like a cage built to contain Xurha's massive frame than something to protect him. The massive, square plates that made up the armor covered him entirely, only revealing the shining red eyes. Filled with malice, greed and pure rage.

Xurha marched on and one, and eventually the passageway ended at a pair of stairs, at the top of which was a large trap door.

Xurha pushed the trap door open, and emerged, out into the open air, at the very top of the Aemos, the blue skies surrounding him, for the ship floated higher than the clouds themselves. 

He marched to the edge of the flagship, which fell off steeply like a sheer cliff, the surface he walked on covered with the same inscriptions that covered every inch of the Aemos' devices, except at a far larger scale, black against the gray surface of the ship.

Freezing winds blew, blasting Xurha with cold, frost forming on the edges of his armor, but Xurha walked on, feeling nothing.

Xurha looked around, his cruel eyes surveying the beautiful landscape laid out before his eyes, but all he saw was the rich amount of energy that could be harvested from this plane.

"Kneel." Xurha said, not shouting or bellowing as he had when he breasted Xerev, but without holding back his power in the slightest, the full weight of his strength imbued within the word.

-----

Tam was flying up toward the enormous ship that stood still in the sky above them, it remained stationary, not moving in the slightest since it had slid through the portal. 

"I don't see any obvious openings on the surface, we'll have to bash our way in. Just how I like it." Anteris grinned, brandishing his halberd.

"I don't know Anteris, something tells me that we'd best not attract too much attention to ourselves. I don't like this one bit." Tam responded, but like the others, his sword was drawn.

Teves, flying a little behind the others, was squinting off into the distance, by now they had flown so high that Anzur was barely a speck below them. 

"I didn't think there were so many at the Advanced Rank!" He exclaimed, with his eyesight, he could see the countless glowing spots rising up over the Isle.

"There are far more than you'd imagine, just on the Isle alone. As for beyond, even I've no idea how there are. I'd imagine that there are many times more than on the Isle." Vaya said sagely, thinking back on the many talented individuals he had clashed with as a young man, many of whom had simply disappeared as time went on, withdrawing from the whirlwind of politics and society to train.

"Look at that! It didn't move all this time, and just now, it shook a little." Anteris yelled, alerting the others, who were gazing at the other glowing lights in the distance.

Unbeknownst to them, Xurha had just stomped across the ship in anger.

They continued to fly, rising higher and higher, the air growing colder and colder,and brisk winds blowing all around them, but their auras completely shielded them from the weather.

Suddenly, a noise sounded out, emanating from the enormous vessel above.

Tam gasped for air, he felt as though an enormous invisible hand had grasped him, and was forcing him down, the pressure growing more and more severe as time inched forward.

He was not alone, the others all had the same look that Tam did, pure terror.

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