Ichor : Blood & Secrets

Chapter 17

Just when death knocks it's doors on Rebecca while she closes her eyes to face it, she suddenly finds a strip of liquid spilled to her face to which she takes a minute to turn away.

And soon, as she opens her eyes, she finds the very manticore itself, has frozen from the same view, having been shocked while an axe was plunged into his neck from behind him at a intense rate to which he coughs up blood from his mouth and ultimately drops Rebecca towards the surface.

"I... I was..." continued the manticore who tried to speak out further, but was cut half when the axe that was plunged into his neck was pulled away with great difficulty, ripping out all the flesh within it while the manticore drops down, coughing up blood while barely clinging to his life as the killer is revealed to be none other than Lucien himself, who had finally found the axe he needed to end it's life, which Rebecca witnesses.

"Looks like you're done for good this time.. whatever it is, that you are." said Lucien when suddenly a dark line of air casts itself from the air ought into the mouth of the manticore, and it awakens with rather zombified state, glowing with dark green eyes that burns up like fireballs. "What in the name of.." said Lucien before getting interrupted by the dead manticore who speaks out.

"Who dares, kill a creature of my spawn?" shouted the manticore to which Lucien stands still as the manticore looks around, then spots him as he looks directly at him. "You... you did this, you carry his blood." said the manticore as Lucien drops out the axe in shock. "Who the hell are you? why is the world getting weirder than it already is?" asked Lucien.

"Atar, The Forsaken God.. you killed one of my spawn!" shouted the dead Manticore. "He tried to kill us all, I was only trying to defend himself.. wait, Forsaken God? you're a god? and actual one?" asked Lucien.

"Your arrogance will be the death of you.. I, myself, will rise from death itself to cut your head off!" shouted the dead Manticore as Lucien calms him down. "Woah, woah! slow down.. easy there, there's no need to rise from.. hell, or wherever it is that you're from.. instead of trying to kill me, why not instruct me with a task to right my wrong? like, a... punishment, we can say." said Lucien.

"You wish to carry out the task of my Manticore?" asked Atar. "Sort of, depends on what you tasked him to do." asked Lucien. "I did not.. I only sent him to carry out Ahriman's wishes, if he died before accomplishing his tasks, it means he failed, it means I failed." said Atar.

"Ahhha, but you didn't.. you still have me.. like you said, I can carry out the task of carrying Ahriman's wishes from where this.. thing left from, and then we can consider ourselves fulfilled, what do you say?" asked Lucien.

"Hmm... replacing you with a dead one as mercy, it's something I need to consider with him, I shall return shortly with the decision." said the dead Manticore who drops down back to being dead, with no trail of his dark energy at all.

"Woah.. that was.. something, you alright?" asked Lucien towards Rebecca who was viewing it all along. "Yeah.. yeah, I'm fine.. thank you." said Rebecca.."Thank you.. and this." said Lucien rotating the axe by throwing it upward and catching it like he has complete balance over it. "You.. made a deal with him, with it, why?" asked Rebecca.

"To prevent myself from being a enemy to a forsaken God, and uhm... I wanted to know what is this thing, and what does it want? it's either this, or waiting until Atar sends someone else to kill me." said Lucien. "Right.. that.. I thought you're gonna switch sides." said Rebecca.

"What? no, I wouldn't do that.. not this time, especially not with.. gods.. god, they are gods, what am I thinking?" asked Lucien. "You did good, your majesty, you tricked a god into thinking you're his ally, that's.. that takes guts." said Rebecca.

"Yeah.. thanks.. so, what now?" asked Lucien. "I.. I didn't know.. I guess we beat them... but so many people were.. it wasn't worth the cost." said Rebecca. I hear you.. but it was the only way.." said Lucien when suddenly he hears the sound of choppers arriving from the south. "Did.. do you hear that?" asked Lucien. "Hear what?" asked Rebecca only to see Lucien getting up and looking towards the sky towards the seas.

"They're coming back.. all of them, they are coming." said Lucien as from the skies, soon ships emerge and begin flying across the sky like a plane which flies across, then starts arriving towards the battlefield surrounding it while Lucien smiles graciously.

Meanwhile, upon the attack of the Werewolf, the caravan, carried by guards were dragged into the Sanctum for safety, then starts to be pitched open by overlord Parademons who succumb the prisoners within, and chain with further with shackles which it drags them out of the caravan and pulls them away.

Klaus, too, despite having struggled at first, so much he put up a fight, then finally gets knocked down and pulled back up by overlords since he was too weak to even put up a fight as they carry them away towards the inner hall to stand trial against the Demons of War World.

"Where are they taking us?" asked a inmate. "Where else? take your pick, a court, a lab, or directly towards a head on a spike or something." said Lilith. "If they wanted to kill us, they would have done it, I thought we're being taken as slaves." said a inmate.

"We already are slaves here.. and we didn't do anything wrong.. therefore it cannot be guaranteed we are going to trail." said another inmate. "Shut up.. all of you!" said Klaus from behind, being the only one who had been beaten to near death as he is being supported by other inmates to walk.

"Drop him." said Lilith.

"You drop me, they kill all of us, keep going and do not talk, you people are irritating me." said Klaus. "You're very welcome." said Lilith as they walk within.

Meanwhile, at distance, towards the corner of the torture chambers, the very Werewolf that massacred its way into the Sanctum, soon piles its way into the halls, sensing the scent of Klaus as it trails to find in order to free him.

"There it is, get him!" shouted a overlord Parademon who spotted in its native language as it ragingly walks towards him with mace drawn while Ayame enrages and starts sprinting forth towards him and engages in a combat in which it obliterates him into pieces and devours in its fresh as more start coming upon hearing the sound of its scream.

Upon being raged by anger and frustration, Ayame heads directly towards each of them and tears out their limbs and bones despite them putting up a fight with ultimately injures her leg, but still manages to overcome it as the overlords are ripped to pieces while Ayame stands in her werewolf form, sensing the scent of Klaus once again as it arrives.

Meanwhile, soon, the door to the throne room opens, and from within, the prisoners are brought towards the center while in their seats of their thrones, Ahriman and several Demon lords are gathered except for one empty seat which remains to be unknown for the moment.

"Your majesties, lords and ladies, might I present, the competitors for today's amusement." said the overlord general who speaks out in their native tongue which the humans and vampires don't understand. "You understand what they are saying?" asked Lilith.

"Not even a word." said the other inmate while the conservation between demons continue until Ahriman enrages and pounds on his chair, grabbing all of their attention.

"That one.." said Ahriman pointing his nailed finger towards a person within the crowd of inmates, revealed to be Klaus himself who hasn't turned away his raging sight from the moment he came within.

"Bring him closer." said Ahriman in his native language to which the overlords attempt to push away all the inmates offering support and start pulling him closer to Ahriman where Klaus, in midway rages in his vampiric strength one more time, and uses it to tear out the arm of one of the guard and struck it inside the chest of a another in a matter of seconds as he falls down completely deprived of strength.

Shocked by his resilience of strength, all the other gods are shocked, except for Ahriman who stands amused by how he managed to stand against some of his most powerful soldiers.

"Animal!" shouted the overlord general who ragingly steps into the fight and starts beating him down mercilessly until he stops upon the command of Ahriman.

"Stop!" shouted Ahriman on his native language, then coughs up, enchanting a spell which bursts out a aura of air all over the place which fades into dust, familiarizing all of them with each of their language.

"Do you understand, what I speak, human?" asked Ahriman to which Klaus looks upon, finally understanding what they speak.

"You speak.. my language?" asked Klaus. "No.. I speak what I know, and you understand what you learnt.. it's a simple spell." said Ahriman. "Why have you brought me here? what do you want?" asked Klaus to which Ahriman smiles.

"Shouldn't I, be asking that question, Klaus?" asked Ahriman to which Klaus gets shocked while he grins.

"Oh, yes, I know who you are.. I sensed the moment of your arrival since you stepped on my world, fetched out soldiers throughout the entire world to find you, imagine my surprise finding you here, kneeling down under my feet as slaves." said Ahriman until Klaus interrupts.