The two charging Guardsmen were a feint, for they had brought enough time for the last Guardsman to set up his crossbow. A flurry of red tipped arrows flew at him. Rowan slapped the first away nonchalantly, and his eyes crinkled slightly before it exploded, barely pushing his hand back, but the damage was already done.
The remaining arrow covered his body, but Rowan simply blocked them, by raising the creature in his right hand as a shield, but the explosion was unexpectedly massive. The exploding arrows seemed to undergo a chain reaction when many of them exploded at once, for they threw him backwards over the table into the sidewall, which soon became covered in flames and smoke, as the Guardsman did not stop firing, until his quiver was empty.
Rowan’s soft sigh came from the flames, and a glimmer of gold and green shone through the flames, and the flames were blown away.
The Guardsman with the crossbow shattered into pieces of flesh and the wall behind him exploded, also followed by the wall behind. The Axe rested on the rubble of the last wall, the air swirling around violently in its wake.
That glint was Rowan throwing the Axe, and the incredible momentum from the throw had put out the flames and killed the Guardsman before destroying three walls.
Rowan looked at the creature in his hand, it was barely alive. The explosion had torn what was left of the human shell it inhabited. Rowan’s body, however, was still pristine, free from dust or smoke, for the damage the arrow inflicted on him was so minimal, that it could hardly penetrate the field his vitality had over his body.
Rowan still had little knowledge about the capabilities of his Legendary Empyrean body, as he was unaware of this passive field that was generated around him, it seemed linked to his constitution; anything that could not break his defense would not be able to touch him
He looked at the dying creature he held, the remaining eye in its skull had been burned off and most of his skin had been burned to charcoal, the sounds it made were weak.
"No, no. Do not die on me yet." Rowan slapped the face of the creature repeatedly, trying to force out the last spark of life from its stunned body; using this method, he could barely touch its soul.
He searched through the noxious darkness, to grab anything he could from its soul, and he finally saw a single static image, it was hundreds of hooded figures bowing before a throne made of webs and darkness.
Rowan strained to see what lied inside that darkness, but was denied. His touch must have been the final straw for the creature suddenly spasmed before it gave a long cry, "Moootherrrrrrr....." Its head fell and it was no more.
Rowan dropped the dead body. The soul that streamed into him was cold and broken. Like those of the Abominations, the Guardsmen he killed were also the same. The implications of these were very troubling.
Rowan turned to the captain, who by now knelt on the floor, his crushed Armour had bound him fast, and he could hardly move. His breath came in short and hard gasps. His face was pale, but still set in stubborn lines.
"You are making… a mistake, Rowan… You are playing…playing, with forces that are far beyond your comprehension." He bent down and gave a rough cough, spitting out more internal organs.
"Is that so, captain? Well, I’m all ears." Rowan began walking to him, "Tell me the mistakes I am making." Rowan bent and drew the captain up, looking at the crushed part of his Armour, Rowan fished around and held a bent section and began pulling the crushed Armour away from his body. The sound the metal made as it was slowly bent and pulled out was irritating.
Captain Titus was able to breathe properly again. He breathed deeply, disregarding the pain of his crushed chest and collapsed lungs.
The captain gave a thousand miles stare to him. His hand surprisingly still held his bent sword. His words were spoken as if he was in the depth of dreams, "Every action we have taken, no matter how bizarre or cruel, was for a greater purpose. We are going to save the world! We will bring it all back. Our glory. The pride of man shall rise again. We shall crush every infidel. Every usurper. Every traitor. And the glory of man shall light the ages past and present."
Saliva poured out from the mouth of the Captain, his eyes were lit up by a fanatical glow, they sought for understanding from the cold gaze of Rowan, who watched him silently.
"Don’t you see, it’s not too late to turn back. To return to the path laid down for you. We can forgive everything that has happened here and can rebuild everything you have destroyed.
"Go back to sleep and everything will be back to the way it was. Trust me, please, my prince. Your sacrifice would be edified for all the myriad races. Your name shall be praised until the end of the world. On your Divine Corpse we shall build an Empire that will conquer all things!"
Rowan looked at the captain, with a strange gaze, he silently showed the captain the blood that had begun falling from his body. It was no longer red, but yellow.
"Tell me captain, you said you served my father, and a glorious empire, then what are you now?"
The captain looked at his blood confused, there was a moment where panic entered his eyes and he looked at Rowan.
"We have been betrayed!" His eyes were beginning to turn yellow, but he shook his head, clearly his willpower was strong, "You have to inform your father that he has been betrayed… The Nexus is no longer his, but… But…"
He seemed to have lost his train of thought, and his eyes began to glaze over. Rowan shook him, "How do I reach my father? Talk to me, captain, or your glorious vision is relinquished."
"Below… processing facility, sigils must have weakened, for we have all been corrupted. Leave this place… please run, we cannot allow them to have it. The order… "
Roars began to enter Rowan’s perception, as his three eyed snake showed him, tens of thousands of Abominations charging towards the manor. Giant form Abominations in their hundreds and dozens of flying Abominations were stirring the fog with massive wings.
If they reached the manor, it would be overrunned instantly and everyone here would die. Rowan’s face changed, he must have alerted whomever must be in charge, and they were trying to stop him.
Rowan looked at the captain, who was shaking and delirious, as his eyes were slowly turning yellow. He did not see his father as someone who would willingly give his subordinates to others, clearly things were not going smoothly among the co-conspirators.
This could work in his favor, if there was disunity among the heads. He looked at the captain who had slipped into a form of coma, and as Rowan spirit penetrated his flesh, he saw a similar creature like what was inside the priest, beginning to grow inside him.
Rowan gripped his neck, and twisted, severing the spine. The Captain’s head flopped onto his chest and he let him fall. The growth of that creature was halted.
The howls of the incoming Abomination had reached the manor, and the shaking ground felt like countless mini earthquakes happening simultaneously.
Since the charade was falling off, Rowan commanded his serpents to return, he was going to cut the strings bounding him.
His sight swept through the approaching army as he wondered if they were enough to push him to the Rift State.
