Lord of Annihilation

Author Update:

Ever seen a laptop fizzle out black smoke and then proceed to spew out flames? 

I have now. 

Ever felt the intense desire to  kill yourself, because all your reference notes and future arc plans went down with said laptop forever lost to the uncaring void because you were dumb/lazy enough to not make any backups?

I have now.

Reality sucks.

RIP 'laptop-that-has-served-me-for-the-last-12-years-and-was-an-essential-part-of-my-life'. You will be deeply missed.

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"Captain, wait a minute! Doesn't this guy match that description?" one of the guards in charge of the checking stated, suddenly.

"Right… the primary weapon is a scythe, carries an isohedral dark-gold crystal, and that face… could it be him?" The guard in charge of performing the physical checking, who was also the Captain among the trio, softly remarked.

"Should we take him to the Governor?" The final guard present in the room nervously asked.

Checking out Lucius, from head to bottom, the Guard Captain thought in silence for a few seconds. He then gathered around with the two other guards and silently discussed.

"Should we take him?"

"I mean, it can't hurt right?"

"The Governor was very particular about this information."

"Hell, we might even be rewarded!"

Meanwhile, Lucius who was the topic of their discussion stood in the same place, confused about the sudden change of events.

'Hey, what's happening?' Ka'lor'ah who had also been witness to the odd behavior of the guards asked mentally.

'I don't know Lucius honestly replied.

The three guards had also seemed to have finished their discussion at the same time as they turned around to face Lucius. Standing in the center of the three, the guard captain first stared at Lucius with a serious expression, then turned to nod at his two subordinates with a determined look in his eyes.

Being as experienced as he was, Lucius immediately understood that this was a signal to attack. 

'Looks like they're going to attack and capture me before taking me to their Governor.'

'Weird, Pandemonium has no Governor. It is controlled by those useless gangs. Did I really come to the right place?'

While thinking such idle thoughts, Lucius raised both of his arms to form a guard. Rousing his soul power, he was prepared to draw first blood when…

The three guards collectively bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle. 

"""We apologize for the inconvenience caused by our actions! Welcome to the City of Pandemonium.""" 

They announced with perfect synchrony.

""Huh?""

To which, Lucius and Ka'lor'ah replied with audible doubt.

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"The street that you see to your right was where the slave markets and illegal gambling dens were located. After Pandemonium was taken over by the Governor and the tyranny of the five great gangs was abolished, it has since been rebuilt to house the 'entertainment' facilities of the city." 

"It has since become one of the biggest income sources of the city. Of course, if we are to consider the biggest sources, they are still mainly export, trade, and mercenary hire."

Passionately explaining the changes that had occurred to the city was the guard in charge of inspecting the artifacts, as he led Lucius towards the Governor's office.

"Personally, the Governor taking over the city and uniting its forces was the best thing that could have ever happened to this city. I have lived here for a long time and let me tell you, it was a hell-hole previously."

"With the 'Five Big Ones' bossing around, life was hellish for us normal people who just wanted to make a living. All them low lives committing a crime in broad daylight and getting away with it, it was a nightmare." 

A look of pain flashed across his eyes as he recalled some terrible memories.

"Ah! If you look towards your left here, you will notice that large, white building! That's the Pandemonium Public Hospital." His tone turned cheery, as the guard started to ramble once again.

"If you've ever been to Pandemonium before then you will know that the white building and its surrounding area served as the HQ for the 'Black Sabbath' Gang. Oh, if you don't know who that is, they were one of the 'Five Big Ones', I was talking about earlier."

"Anyway, after the gang was wiped out for all the terrible things that it had done, its properties were seized and repurposed to serve the city. In fact, all the properties and areas belonging to the other major gangs were also dealt with in such a manner. Such a thing was previously unimaginable for us lowly people." 

With eyes that shined with the awe and revere that he felt, the guard spoke his mind. 

These feelings of goodwill and revere that he felt towards the Governor weren't false. The guard meant each and every word that he has spoken, from the very bottom of his heart. To tell the truth, he wasn't the only one who felt so.

Those who've lived a free life would not understand the feelings of the oppressed. No matter how empathetic or understanding he/she might be; to know wasn't the same as to live.

To these regular people of Pandemonium, simple survival was an incredibly difficult task in the past. 

The constant fear from living amongst a group of criminals, the continuous terror from walking through the streets while praying that they would be able to see the next day, the pressure that stems from their responsibility to themselves and their loved ones.

The reason Pandemonium was called the 'hell-hole', wasn't due to murders, the criminals, the drug lords, the r*pists, the gangs, etc. It was called the 'hell-hole' due to the sufferings of the people within and the hell-like environment in which they lived.

And when such a hellish place finally experienced change. When the abyssal lives of these people finally had a light shined onto them. To have their prayers answered and their sufferings paid in full.

To receive salvation in a world where weakness was a sin.

It was Paradise.

And these 'common' people couldn't help but feel goodwill from the bottom of their heart, towards this paradise and the one who brought it upon them.

While the guard continued with his tour and explanation as he led his guest towards the Governor's residence, Lucius and Ka'lor'ah were having a conversation of their own.

'I tried again. Once again, there was no response from any of the Forgotten Warriors.' Lucius reported.

'Even the ones within the void?' Ka'lor'ah asked.

'Even the ones within the void.' He affirmed.

'Are you sure it's not because of that 'cooldown' or whatever your body is undergoing right now?'

'My authority over the Void underwent an upgrade stepping into Stage 2. While I'm not able to use some of my abilities, my control over a portion of the Void remains. The Forgotten Warriors under my control are stored within this portion of the Void.'

'Now, I can clearly feel the presence of the one's within the Void and the two that are on the outside, our soul connection also remains. However, they seem to be in some form of 'stasis' as they do not move nor respond to my commands.'

As for the reason why this was so, Lucius did not know. Since their psyches were destroyed during their capture, they were incapable of revolting. This, with the addition of Ka'lor'ah's control spell, made them puppets that were under Lucius' absolute control.

However, the fact that none of them were responding was troubling, to say the least. If the plan with the Forgotten Warriors doesn't pan out, then their 'Great Plan' would experience a major spanner in its works.

Recalling their current situation, nothing seemed to be going their way. They seemed to be constantly plagued by bad luck while being surrounding by sharp precipices on all sides. 

To speak metaphorically, they felt similar to a fly trapped within a spider's web. 

'However, the fact this holds. I can clearly feel the presence of the two Forgotten Warriors I left with Olivia, growing stronger. We are getting closer.'

'This is a waste of time! Where is he even taking us? Should we just risk it and ask this guy about Olivia?' Ka'lor'ah ventured, growing frustrated at their current situation. For someone like her who knew all the answers, being in the unknown like this was suffocating.

Just as Lucius was about to respond to her question, he was interrupted by the guard who was in charge of leading them.

"Oh, we are here! There's the Governor, up there on the platform!" the guard spoke pointing in a direction.

Looking at the large crowd of eager spectators surrounding the raised square platform on the center, the guard happily chirped. "Lucky us! Looks like a public trial is being held right now." 

Unfortunately for him, Lucius and Ka'lor'ah did not share his joy. 

Actually, they had stopped listening to him from the moment he had raised his finger to point at the stage. Because up there on the platform…

…stood the person they had come to rescue.

"I will never admit to anything, b*tch! Ptooh!" A grisly-looking Terran chained to the platform spat a mouthful of greenish saliva at his inquisitor.

"Fine then." Blocking the spit with a barrier of violet soul power, a mature female voice blasély continued, "We will do this the hard way."

Violet soul power surged forth from the woman's slender, white palm and into the Terran's chained body. With a tone cold enough to freeze one's bones, the mature voice declared.

"Judgement."