Icas dispelled the fog that hid him and smiled, a malicious, wide grin. "Thaaat's right~" Giggling, he pointed his index toward Gilead and winked.
"Icas..."
"The Devil's Incarnate..."
"Curses..."
"Evil Personified..."
"Caesar's Vile Servant…"
The men behind Gilead uttered curses and the like under their breath. Holding their weapons in a fighting stance, their faces bleaked with despair. Gilead clutched his sword and held it beside him, ready to attack at any moment.
Behind him, he could hear the men stumble and stagger. It was not a common occurrence that they were faced against an Archon's servant. So it was a given that signs of retreat and fear would emerge, especially against someone like Icas.
Chuckling, the man in question raised both hands in the air. "Why so serious?"
Gilead, not responding, charged at the mysterious Icas ahead. The green grass and healthy winds contrasted with the unblemished blue sky.
Forests covered the mass of the remote island, and the sound of animals and insects buzzing continued, seemingly oblivious to the tense confrontation that is occurring directly in front of the ancient castle.
Gilead buckled his knees and ascended into the air. Cocking back his sword to the left, he gripped his weapon and shouted, "Skies' Judgment!" Thunder erupted from behind him as the wind circulated the island.
Gilead hit the smiling opponent with a parry of air currents laced with lightning, strong enough to leave jagged scars on the ground. However, they were dismissed with a wave of Icas' pale hand.
Landing with a thud, Gilead cursed under his breath before issuing his next attack. He positioned his claymore downwards and drove it into the ground. With a brazen command, the order erupted, "Obey me, Aglana!"
The ground quaked vigorously as four pillars erected and soared, tearing through the blue sky. The clay stone pillar bent and began to target Icas.
In an instant, the four pillars were directly aimed at Icas and began pursuit. Icas cracked a faint smile before snapping his fingers.
The scene before him disappeared instantly.
"Curse you!" Gilead felt the blood drain from his head as one of his most powerful attacks was negated in an instant. The 11-robed men clenched their weapons and pounced at Icas from all sides. Some cursed under their breath, others hid immense fear under their valiant expressions.
As his gaze shifted to the stark men attacking him, Icas was met with a ream of different attacks.
But before he could focus solely on the men charging at him, the ground shuddered and released a clay-like figure, who launched himself at Icas.
The clay, person-like creation clenched its fingers into a fist and threw a punch toward the mysterious Icas, who was busy exchanging blows with the other men.
Swords swung, limbs severed, and terrifying screams broke out.
The ground creature's hand cut through the air and landed directly on Icas' nape. However, to everyone's surprise, the figure crumbled and disintegrated before him.
The remaining men stumbled back, some plummeting to the ground. Their foreheads were smeared with ice-cold sweat, and their hearts were bursting out of their chests. Gilead was no exception; he stood in the corner exhaling profusely. His previous attacks were stamina-heavy, which left him immobile for a period of time.
Icas flexed his fingers outward. "Dummies!" With a slow, wicked motion, he curled his fingers into a fist. A sonic shockwave sounded all around them.
The men, wherever they lay, detonated into a million pieces of flesh.
One by one, nobody was spared, except Gilead, one of the Archon of Authority's viziers.
Their deafening cries were drowned out by the blasts. Icas surveyed the blood splattered on the ground with a heavy grin. Gilead felt a sharp pain in his head. The feeling was unnatural, an unknown surge of pain ringing throughout his head. Gilead's eyes darted to the blood-stained ground. Dropping with a clang, his hands quivered, and his trusted weapon left his grip. "No—"
Step. Step. Step.
Icas menacingly approached the hysteric Vizier, who did not notice this and fell to the ground, his rear panging at impact. Running his hands through his hair, avoiding the crown, Gilead felt his teeth clatter.
Why? Why did we have to meet him? O' Archon, Lord Day, why? My faith in you will never waver, but I just ask of you, why? It's set in stone that we will die here, at the hands of a follower of 'Caesar.' Was this 'His' plan…? He has nothing to do with this, O'Archon. You engulfed the Authority from the Tyrants, not from the Archons. 'Caesar' does not need to send one of 'His' followers. I ask you to guide me to the correct answer, O' Conqueror of All Worlds. Will there be a day when the Day Dynasty can return to its once-prominent glory? Will there be a day when I can alleviate and think to myself, 'I'm blessed to be alive'? Lord Day, we have let the hunters kill more of your children, and I truly am sorry. Are we being punished for our lack of retaliation? I hope, Lord Day, that I can have the courage to face you, the courage to properly prostrate myself before you. However, today is not that day. We have succumbed to Caesar's subterfuge. I thank you, Lord Day, and I apologize to you and your blessed children. I do not deserve to live in the same world as them, not now, not ever.
All hail the Archon of Authority.
Struggling to open his eyelids, Gilead could see the faint image of Icas standing before him.
"Goodbye, Gilead~" With a soft wave, Icas spoke the last words Gilead would ever hear as he diminished from existence.
Standing before the island, Icas snapped his fingers. His expression changed; he stood quietly and calmly.
The ground beneath him fragmented before dissipating completely. What was left was a field of all blue around him, and it was now as if Icas was floating in the air.
He raised his foot before lightly tapping the ground. Beneath him, many dark purple lines, like pathways to a maze, emerged. With a final step, Icas disappeared, and so did the island, never to be seen again.