User blog:DaWalkinWaffle/King of Steel: Part XLVIII

KILL THEM ALL!

Winter put down one god with a single slice and blasted another. The warriors of Agni Reborn fought valiantly, working together against an enemy far too strong for them. Winter stabbed another god and kicked the body aside.

"PUSH FORWARD!" he yelled. The Agnirian army echoed his yell and fought harder. Chaos fought like a demon. Revan was a swirling whirlwind of darkness, the energy Chaos truly wielded.

"FEAR ME! I AM CHAOS, MASTER OF THE VOID!" he roared and blasted a dozen gods aside with a single gesture. But the gods numbered in thousands, while not as strong as Maxwell or Cardes, they were still stronger than the average man. But Chaos, was a level above them that they could not beat. Winter wasn't sure what the void was but it sounded dangerous and powerful.

"KILL THEM ALL!" a voice roared. "THEY WILL NOT STAND IN OUR PATH!"

Winter spun. It was Cardes, in his beastly form, towering above the other gods. Maxwell floated beside him. Next to her was a reptilian lady that had to be Zevalhua. A crown was on her head and she watched the battle field with amusement. Next to Cardes was an even larger figure. Afla Dilith. The last Fallen God was at least twice the size of Cardes. He roared.

"DESTROY THEM!"

"CHARGE!" Chaos yelled. Their army roared and fought fearlessly but for every god killed, they lost at least one man. Winter started up his energy whirlwind around him and it sliced at all near gods. Anything thrown at him was shredded to pieces. Gods and humans alike were killed but the gods had the numbers to spare, the humans did not. A war horn sounded. Winter turned to the highest ranked officer he could find.

"What is that?" he demanded. The officer looked at him with hope.

"Its the Atharvan army! Perhaps they have come to help us!"

"Let's hope so. KEEP FIGHTING!" he shouted. He activated his astral form and began cutting down gods left and right. Priority was the ones attacking the Agnirian army, they needed as many soldiers alive as possible. Chaos also appeared to have an astral form. He was a swirling figure of darkness who was not confined by the boundaries of this world.

"THEY WILL DIE!" Chaos shouted.

"You are scaring the men." Winter said dying.

"Nonsense. It keeps them on their toes." Chaos said.

"How so?" Winter said while killing a few more gods.

"They don't know if I want to kill them or the enemy." Chaos said cheerfully. "DIE!"

"I...don't think that's good." Winter said.

"Nonsense. A nervous soldier is that much more likely to survive." Chaos said as he beheaded another god.

"Right." Winter said skeptically. The Atharvans began engaging the gods on their left flank.

"Excellent! Reinforcements!" Chaos said cheerfully. "I wonder who's leading them."

"Whoever they are, they must have relations with the Sky Pirates." Winter said, pointing to the sky where there was a fleet of flying ships.

"Or the pirates are leading them." Chaos said. The sight of their unofficial leaders carrying out a casual conversation while fighting gave the men confidence and they continued fighting. Chaos wandered off into the battlefield, seeking stronger opponents. Winter finally found a god that actually had skill.

"Uda." Winter said flatly. Maxwell's right hand man grinned cruelly.

"Ready for a rematch?" he said. Winter smirked and hefted Varnen-Zor. Winter and Uda lunged at each other and clashed swords.

"I'm always ready for a rematch." Winter said and flicked Uda's sword aside and attacked with a sweeping blow. Uda dodged and lunged in. They traded blows for a bit before Uda lost his temper.

"Just DIE already!" he yelled and swung his blade in a powerful overhand blow. Winter flicked his wrist and knocked the blade aside and Uda lost his balance. Winter kicked him in the chest and swept him off his feet and held him at sword point.

"I win." Winter said. Uda snarled.

"You'll never beat the Gods. You may kill some of us but we will just keep coming back." he snarled. Winter looked at him curiously.

"Then I'll just have to kill them all." he said and stabbed Uda through the chest. He returned his gaze to the battle field. While fighting Uda, he had unconsciously reverted back to his physical form. About a third of the Agnirian army lay still on the ground. The Atharvan's continued to fight viciously, though Winter could not see their leader. What he could see was Afla Dilith walking towards him. Winter reactivated his astral form and floated to him. He cracked his knuckles.

"Let's get this over with." he said. He wondered how he could face the prospect of fighting a powerful god with such ease now. He had changed a lot. As Afla Dilith came closer, WInter noticed something odd. There appeared to be a castle on his back. And in that castle he could see...

"Karl?" Winter said in wonder. Almost as if he knew Winter was watching him, Karl looked up from inside the castle on Afla Dilith's back.

"I see you have found your friends." The same indescribable voice Winter knew he would never forget.

"Maxwell." Winter said.

"I captured your friends after Borgeous split you all up. He was a useful pawn." Maxwell mused. She smiled slightly. "He is no more now." Winter scowled.

"Let them go." he said.

"I'm afraid that cannot happen. They are necessary in my plans. You, however, are not. Perhaps you would like the honor of being killed by the Fallen Gods themselves?" Maxwell asked. Cardes and Zevalhua appeared next to Maxwell.

"Well, kid, you survived." Cardes said. He looked behind Winter. "Your two lady friends too." Winter turned around. He hadn't noticed Sefia and Kikuri fighting with them.

"Now you will die. None can stand against our wrath." Zevalhua said. Maxwell suddenly twitched and looked off into the distance.

"What is the matter?" Cardes asked.

"Someone...no. Some people are messing with my realm!" she said. "I must defend my Tower!" Maxwell disappeared with a bright flash of light.

"That coward!" Cardes snarled.

"What? You don't think you can beat me yourselfs?" Winter mocked.

"It'll take more than them to beat us." Chaos said from behind him.

"You fools continue to fight? There is no way you will ever be able to destroy us." Zevalhua said. Winter shrugged.

"Maybe not. But at least the people of Agni Reborn live free of you." he said. Afla Dilith laughed dismisively.

"Ha! You think they are a problem to us? We can slaughter them if we felt like it." Winter thought about that.

"Ok then. We'll just have to kill you instead." He turned to Chaos. "You ready?" Chaos grinned and rolled his shoulders.

"I've been ready." So they attacked. Chaos, being himself, attacked Cardes and Zevalhua head on. Winter continued advancing on Afla Dilith. Experimentally, he shot a bolt of energy at him. Afla Dilith ignored it. He grabbed a chunk of rock out of the ground, shook some soldiers off of it and threw it at Winter. Winter dodged the rock and blasted it to pieces.

"So this is the King of Steel. Let us see if you are a worthy opponent." Afla Dilith said. "Resonating Chaos." he rumbled. Tendrils of energy shot towards Winter who delfected them as best he could. The last one he hit back at Afla Dilith who snarled as it hit his eye.

"Tell me when you think I'm worthy." Winter said, purposely provoking him. Afla Dilith glared at him.

"Clever are we? Perhaps not after I crush you!" He lunged at Winter and almost smacked him out of the air. Winter dodged and sliced off one of his fingers. Afla Dilith roared in pain and anger.

"How about now?" Winter asked. Winter realized that at the moment, he was little more than an annoyance to the Fallen God. The only was he could win was by trickery. Sometimes it was brain over brawn. Winter dodged and taunted Afla Dilith, staying close enough to anger him but not close enough to be swatted out of the sky. Unfortunately, it was his caution that was his downfall. Hesitating just slightly on the best place to move after his most recent taunt, he was hit by a stray body a flying through the air from an explosion. It knocked him off course, straight into Afla Dilith, who caught him and shook him violently. His astral form dissipated.

"Not so clever now, huh?" he said. "You were wondering about your new Atharvan allies' leader. Perhaps you'd like to meet him!" The last two words were drawn out as Afla Dilith threw Winter into a Sky Pirate ship. He hit the mast hard and Varnen-Zor dropped into the engine, causing it to splutter and smoke. Winter got up.

"Get off this ship! It's gonna blow!" he cried. The men, recognizing a bad situation when they saw one, jumped off with their various safety gear. Winter retrieved Varnen-Zor and was about to jump himself when he noticed a young boy cowering at the forepeak of the ship. The boy was probably the son or brother of one of the crew members, too young to understand. Winter looked down at the ground that was rapidly approaching. He could jump and avoid risk to himself of he could save the boy. Winter closed his eyes and wondered how he ever got here before rushing to the boy. Along the way, the weakened mast collapsed on his leg and Winter cried out in pain. He dragged himself to the boy.

"Don't worry. I'll keep you safe. What's your name?" Winter asked. The boy looked at him, fear in his purple eyes.

"G-griffin." he stuttered.

"It'll be fine. I'll protect you. You just have to trust me." Gently, Winter coaxed Griffin out.

"What are you gonna do?" Griffin asked fearfully.

"The only way off is to jump." Winter searched for the crew members and found them. He forged a pair of wings form cosmic energy and attached them somehow to Griffin's back. The ground was getting nearer every second. "I want you to jump. These wings will take you to the crew of this ship. Do you think you can do that?" The wind whistled by his ears. Griffin nodded. Winter smiled. "Good."

"What about you?" Griffin asked, right at the edge.

"Don't worry about me. Now JUMP!" Griffin jumped and the wings took him away. Winter lay there, trapped under the mast, calmly awaiting what was to come. He closed his eyes and awaited impact.

It wasn't long to come.

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Winter opened his eyes. His body was wracked with pain. He looked at himself. Impaled in his chest were metal shrapnel of the Sky Pirate ship. He couldn't feel his legs and his breathing was labored. Chaos appeared above him. Winter tried to do something but couldn't find the strength. Chaos kneeled beside him.

"Stop. You're dying." Chaos said. Winter nodded weakly. He raised his hand and held up one finger. His expression told the rest.

"One question?" Chaos said. Winter nodded. "Shoot."

"Name....Wha's name....ancient...langua...." Winter rasped. Chaos smiled.

"So you figured it out." Chaos stood and pulled Varnen-Zor out of the wreckage. "It's Xenex. Xenex means Chaos in the ancient language." He smiled. "I was the last God Slayer." Winter smiled. Chaos tapped his forehead with Varnen-Zor. "Learn the past, King of Steel."

The world faded away. Winter was gone.