B4 Chapter 515: Tyrannomachy, pt. 1

Bit by bit, the last remnants of the Tyrant’s attackers fell to the cutting steel of Deadacre’s guards. It happened so quickly that Kaius barely got to kill anything — only burying his sword in the skull of a single over-sized wildcat before bare traces remained.

An uneasy silence fell over the wall, the Tyrant’s distant army weighing heavily on all who bore witness.

Kaius rolled his shoulders, letting out a heavy breath.

“I hate this part.” he said through his bond.

“The wait? Yeah, me too. Not much we can do about it other than be ready.”

He was ready. That was the problem. He had nothing to occupy himself other than wondering about grisly futures. Staring at the distant army, Kaius hoped it was a sign of the Tyrant’s coming. It had a blood debt to pay, one he intended to deliver personally.

Deep in his centre, his aspects pulsed, opening a wellspring of essence. It still wasn’t much compared to the roiling density of his Resource pools, but it was far more than before his refinement. A steady trickle, compared to his earlier motes.

A bloodsoaked hand clamped onto the edge of Deadacre’s wall, grabbing his attention. Before he could do anything more than blink, Ro hauled herself over the edge. She looked as exhausted and battleworn as the rest of them. Her leather and chain armour was torn in half a dozen places, and the few parts of it that weren’t soaked in blood were streaked with dirt and ash.

“You’re late,” the guild administrator deadpanned.

Kaius snorted, shaking his head.

“Seems like you had it well in hand. You didn’t mention that,” Kaius replied, nodding towards the army that had arrayed itself at the edge of the circle surrounding the city.

“I was a bit busy at the time,” Ro grunted, before she summoned a water skin to hand and took a long drink. “They were part of the attack when we last spoke — only pulled back ten minutes or so before you arrived.”

Kaius frowned; had it sensed their approach? Dross had said it could feel essence.

“What now?”

“We take the chance to recover, and we ready ourselves for whatever comes next. If nothing happens in the next half hour or so, we’re gathering the elites at the closest siege tower — I want us all to be ready if the Tyrant strikes.”

Sighing, Kaius gave her a nod. More inaction, perfect. Not that there was anything else they could do. Gods damn this siege, never in his life had he felt so…inconsequential. It was a feeling he despised — a restless tension that had been building all week.

He knew the siege would have gone far worse without them, and they’d been vital in taking out both the nightscale and the hivequeen. It was still a bitter pill to swallow when the city was in ruins, blood ran like rivers in the streets, and the very sky was choked by ash.

The solution was obvious — strength. He needed more of it, until nothing could threaten that which he cared about. Ascendancy would be his, no matter what it took.

A low murmur caught his attention. It rolled through the men surrounding him — less of a conversation, more of a series of soft gasps. They were staring out towards the Tyrant’s army.

“By the Matriarchs, there it is.” Porkchop whispered, watching whatever was happening over the top of his head.

Heat washed through Kaius’s body, the coil of tension winding tight. Spinning around, he saw the Tyrant’s forces moving. It was a slow, languid motion, like the slow lap of a brook against its banks. They weren’t charging, they were making space.

The army split, leaving only one figure remaining. It might have been leagues away, but Kaius saw it with cutting clarity. He clenched his teeth, pulse throbbing in his neck. It was right there — standing exposed with naked arrogance.

He hated it. Hated what it had done to the city that had taken him in after he had lost everything. Hated the destruction it had wrought. Hated the perversion of the natural order it had inflicted on so many beasts.

It was grotesque, a corruption he saw reflected in every span of its twisted body. Dros had given them a description, but it was so much worse seeing it for himself.

A twisted amalgamation of lizard and insect, carapace was scattered haphazardly across its body without reason. The misplaced armour met oil sheen scales like the mad dream of a flesh-crafter, as if it had been stitched together and forcibly blended the differing textures. Its six compound eyes glistened, and despite its mangled combination of jaw and mandibles, Kaius could see delight written plain on its face.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

It disgusted him.

Tightening his grip on A Father’s Gift, Kaius held himself back from jumping over the wall right then and there.

“Soon; have patience,” Porkchop said softly, his own aggression flaring through their bond as he stared at the Tyrant with his hackles raised.

Kaius simply grunted, refusing to take his eyes off the monstrosity for a second.

Every defender on the wall was dead silent and utterly still, as if the very world was holding its breath.

Then the Tyrant spoke, and its words sounded as if they were whispered directly in his ear.