Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Tower
"Because no matter the number, I will kill them all"
Then he snapped his finger and with that action, an inhumane scream echoed in the dark rainy forest.
Even the constant roar of thunder couldn't hide the painful cry of Oswald.
"Crack!"
The snapping of bones can be heard as the monastery priest sees his arms bend disturbingly.
"ARGH!!"
He screamed even further however it wasn't enough to stop the emperor from tormenting him. His leg began to bend back while ribs ruptured from the insides.
Oswald agonized each time his limps were bent in a different direction however his screams were like a melody to the emperor's ears. The more his enemy suffered the more he became satisfied.
"JUST...KILL...ME!"
He managed to say his bones began snapping again.
"I know it's painful after all I used a spell to amplify the pain you are suffering with"
Emerald-green eyes calmly looked at him his expression was too hard to read due to his vacant expression.
"I still remember the massacre of Hexzon village" This time his voice changes making Oswald finch.
A red blood-like fog slowly emerges from the emperor, it's as if he was a beast that was trying to control himself.
"Even the kingdom of Elysium" he added
Now almost the entire area is covered with red fog.
That fog wasn't a spell or natural phenomenon, it was actually massive killing intent that materialized into a form of fog.
"Your Majesty please stop now, the forest might die if this continues" The man who spoke was the same soldier that came to pick up Apollo.
Despite the suffocating killing intent he remains standing and waits for his emperor's command.
Augustus looks at his soldier before retracting his murderous intent. Slowly the red fog dispersed as if it never appeared from the beginning.
"How's the kids"
"They were fine and just as you predicted your majesty the boy came, armed with 73 mages including the legendary mage Alger"
"I see do we have casualties?"
"None, however..."
"However?"
"It will be best if his majesty were to see it himself"
"Alright," Then he looks at Oswald before smiling widely.
"I'll grant your wish now"
Then Oswald felt something was wrong, he started to panic when he felt something from his insides begin to eat him.
"Wait....I...argh!"
He shouted again as maggots crept in from his skin.
As his body began to break down due to maggots, it led to his skin turning pulpy and discolored. A greenish or brownish hue skin color. Then areas of the body began to develop a mottled or blotchy appearance as wiggling worms infested it.
"Argh!" he shouted again.
He felt the sheer pain of thousands of mouths devouring his skin. He tried to move, he tried to scream but with his body being bent in an irregular way all he could do was endure the pain.
Maggots wiggle and move across Oswald's body leaving behind irregular cavities as they consume the flesh of their victim. This resulted in an overall disintegration of the flesh, and every process of decomposition was all felt by Oswald.
"Just...kill...me"
However, his plea did reach the emperor's ears.
Rain continues to pour devouring the previously clear sky. Augustus flew on top of the city and up there he saw some parts of the streets with burns and melted roads.
"Did a fight happen here?"
"No, your majesty"
"Then what happened?"
"That kid from the Lionheart duchy unleashed a spell that caused this damage"
The emperor was a bit taken aback and to make sure he wasn't hallucinating he went closer to a back alley.
"It's as if there weren't any walls here but wax instead"
The degree of burns and meltdown made the emperor wonder if the alley was made with wax and not concrete.
"Tell the marquis to fix everything in the city"
"I will, your majesty"
Then the emperor and his soldier went west of the city, which was the location of the fifteen students Apollo was tasked to protect.
"It's broken" he could only say.
"A manor made from bull oak and high-durability steel was reduced to this?"
"If I am not also mistaken this manor was made from a new type of concrete" the soldier added while he and the emperor land.
As soon as they arrived the stench of burned flesh and shattered blood welcomed him. In front of the manor was also a pile of dead bodies.
"Their numbers are quite high no wonder that Oswald was so confident"
As the emperor walked he saw a man clad in a black wizard robe. The man's features were hidden at first until they recognized the approaching man.
"Hail the ruler of the continent, I greet his majesty emperor, Augustus," Alger said those words as he bent on one knee while his right hand were placed on his left chest.
"Thank you for protecting this place"
"Your majesty no need to thank me, the wizards and witches within the mage tower did what we needed to do"
The emperor just nodded with his words then his gaze landed on the last remaining structure of the manor.
"I should take the kids somewhere before the start of the class"
"If it is a place for temporary lodging may I suggest something, your majesty?"
Alger then stood up from his previous kneeling position and whispered something in the emperor's ears.
"The tower?"
Alger nodded "I don't think they will have the guts to enter, well even if they try to enter the battle won't be in their favor"
"This is a big risk Alger are you certain?"
"I am Your Majesty"
"Alright but my soldiers will also be deployed I hope you don't mind that"
"I definitely wouldn't mind it, your majesty"
"Then if that is settled I'll talk to the kids now"
Augustus then flew towards the remaining room of the manor but before he could even enter he could hear some arguments happening inside.
"What's going on?"
He entered and saw a boy sleeping on the ground surrounded by fifteen people the same age as him.
"Children what's going on?" the emperor asked and finally recognized Apollo.
"Lady Alicia, what happened?"
This time the emperor ran closer and confirmed it was indeed Apollo.
"He is okay Your Majesty however his mana is completely depleted"
"Mana depletion?"
"Yes but not severed he should recover once he took a rest"
"That's good to hear but why are you all circling around him"
"Your majesty it's because Matilda kept insisting she should do CPR"
"What?"
The emperor was taken aback and never anticipated the reason to be that. Then he looked around and saw the knights that he had assigned to protect the kids.
"Why are you all standing there?" he asked seeing all the knights standing on the corner.
"We were letting the kids decide what to do with the boy"
"Deciding or betting?"
The knights suddenly jolted and immediately hid the small pouches of coins.
"These knights seriously"
He couldn't help but shake his head when he heard another noise from the group.
"Alicia why don't you give him CPR" one of them jokingly said.
"He doesn't need CPR Niko"
"Come on just try it" they began to tease however Alicia wasn't really into the joke they were making.
"Come on Ali what if he dies?"
"He didn't drown his unconscious due to mana depletion"
"What if his body can't produce mana will he die?" this time it's Agnes who asked.
"If you are really worried then we should feed him with this"
Alicia then took out a powder from her pouch and gently put it in Apollo's mouth.
"This should help him out"
Slowly upon the boy's consumption of the said powder, his complexion soon recovered.
"It seems like his doing okay" a red spiky-haired boy named Gelo said.
"By the way kids"
The emperor spoke gaining the attention of all people inside the room.
"We will take you somewhere safer not this one that the marquis provided"
"What kind of place is it, your majesty"
Then Agnes asked however a different voice answered her "It's my tower children"
Alger appeared holding Apollo in his arms.
His sudden appearance brought silence from the children the first to react was Niko.
"Hey, how did he get him!?"
Then fifteen heads simultaneously look at the place where they left Apollo then shifting their gaze back at Alger's arms.
"Children this man in front of you is the head of the Mage tower, he will be the one who will take charge of your protection before the class starts"
"The head of the Mage tower" Alicia mumbled as she looked at Alger.
"When do we plan to leave?"
"Oh my child we will now"
"!?"
"Oh don't be shocked outside this broken manor are 72 mages from the tower"
As he said those words the room they are currently in suddenly breaks into pieces.
"What's going on!?"
"Are we being attacked!"
Some of the kids panic but Alicia immediately calms them down.
Then as the room's walls and ceiling disappeared a breathtaking view of the setting sun emerged from the sky.
"Oh what you look at that we have one beautiful view"
Alger exclaimed as 72 mages floated beside him.
Most of them look at the red and orange hue that painted the sky but the girl named Alicia looks at the unconscious boy who bore the same color as the sky they were looking at.