Chapter 76: Struck down
The flames disappeared as Gerald blinked to reveal king Max's unfazed body and piercing eyes on him.
"I should finish you up with a thunder bolt but I have a better idea...don't worry Knight I will make it quick".
King Maxmillian flew towards him, sword in hand.
Gerald's beast swung it's claws at him in attempt too catch and tear him open but the king was fast,he dodged all attacks.
He spat out a large outburst flames from his mouth at king Maxmillian who effortlessly passed through it with a malevolent smirk.
The king circled around him, dodging his attacks till he found an opening.
King Maxmillian appeared before him and Gerald watched him slit his body from his abdomen upwards, progressively deepening the cut as he flew towards his face, enjoying the sound of slitting flesh the crimson red blood that gushed out.
Gerald staggered backwards growling loudly from the excruciating pain.
His eye sight blurred gradually as he watched the huge amount of blood that spurred out of his body stain the grass below.
It both drenched and dyed it red,soaking his feet and the lower part of the body as it left him.
Gerald dreaded the sight.
He felt both enraged and frightened,he feared his death,felt helpless.
Gerald's beast dropped to the ground on its back, disappearing to leave behind an injured knight with a heaving chest coughing out blood as he tried to heal himself but the wound was too deep.
It would take a while to heal that is,if he would be given the chance to.
From a blurred vision he watched King Maxmillian approach him,sword in hand.
The silver weapon glistered in the moonlight as his blood dripped from it.
King max reached where he lay,he could see the wide grin on the king's face as he stared down at him.
Gerald placed a weak hand on his face in a vain attempt to try telepathy again but his link was still blocked.
"Your telepathy...don't bother that was the first thing I did so you could never get your beloved Emperor....you didn't think I'd be so careless knight...For your innocence and the fact you did nothing wrong I will make your death quick".
Gerald watched in awe as the king's hand turned into a beast arm,he had never seen anyone do a half takeover before,a demon's beast takes over his whole body when he turns but this_was unheated of.. was king Maxmillian this strong?
Gerald tried to stand by placing a hand on his abdomen,he wasn't going to give up this easy,the flame he had shot earlier had ascended till it disappeared into the sky,no doubt there was a limit to this loop Kaugra created.
His will to live propelled him to stand,he would rather die fighting than a sitting duck waiting for its end.
Gerald spat out blood and wiped his bloody lips off with the back of his palm.
His zeal to live appeared to trigger the king's excitement.
"Still standing are we?"king Maxmillian laughed heretically.
Gerald checked his side,his sword was gone,he bent over and took out his pocket knife from his boot.
His legs wobbled but he managed to maintain a defensive stance.
"Can you not see?... fighting is futile knight!"the king yelled out through widened eyes and Gerald's foot slipped off.
He felt a force push him to the ground allowing him to land with his face.
He tried standing but couldn't.
Gravity...the king held the power of Gravity's force,that was his blood line gift.
He had never seen anything like it,was there more to see?now he was done for if he couldn't move at all.
"Yes Knight!...withness my power!...you are all pawns in my game!...I move you all whenever and wherever I want to and that includes the naive fool you call my friend!...Till now you still cannot see I planned this from the very beginning...from our coming here to even when you wanted to speak with him during the briefing!"king Maxmillian's voice boomed in the air.
"You don't control me you nitwit!"Dark spat from the tree he sat in watching the whole event as his brows furrowed.
"You just watch and see how I prove that to you!"
He stared down at the site chewing a leaf which partly protruded through the side of his lips.
King Maxmillian wouldnt hear him he was certain,since he was so distracted while using Gravitas.
The king's arrogant words only made him voice out his thoughts which he was glad he did.
"I can read your thoughts,your fear and even your cursed heartbeat".
"How can you speak of the Emperor like that!".
"Tyran stopped being a friend of mine the day he choose his son over his own people,he is no leader and he doesn't deserve that crown!"
Gerald chuckled before proceeding to laugh.
He laughed so much his wounds ached even more but he didn't stop.
King Maxmillian raised an irritated brow wondering what sounded so funny.
"A leader you say,look who lectures on being a leader...all these_what you are doing right now,all your actions is it that of a leader?...you know nothing of leadership king max!...by god you're the one without brains here,the damn clueless fool!"
"How dare!_"
"I dare you Max!...a billion times"Gerald snapped.
That was the first time he had ever called a king by his name,the first time he ever challanged a king and somehow,he felt good about it".
Despite knowing he had just stirred up trouble for himself, Gerald didn't care,the king deserved it.
"You can kill me if you want but I swear you won't get away with it,when the Emperor finds out your death won't suffice to atone for it...your soul will be imprisoned in the dregs of hell for enternity!"
"Oh! You bet I will!_"
"Don't be so sure"Gerald said confidently.
King Maxmillian could read the certainty in his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"My lips are sealed max!...go on ahead"Gerald waved a hand in the air"I might be late for my appointment in the underworld...and I must remained you,I shot some flames earlier,some knights are probably on their way here".
King max shook his head.
"You think I would be so careless?since there's a limit to Kaugra's loop I took extra caution, remember the savage that was killed earlier?...that's the one the knight I distress here killed,it was a hard kill but it is already taken care off by the same knight,after a few dying whinnes it dies in the hands of this same knight"
"Monster!"
King Maxmillian laughed.
"A monster wouldn't be so generous as to expose the truth to you before you breathe your last.
"What truth?"
"Who do u think lured you away from the emperor?"
The king raised a takeover claw at him.
"That's right the zero you trusted and loved so..."
"You Liar!"Gerald yelled at him,his eyes bulging out in agony.
"Say what you want ...you still are blind to see what your friends are who in reality lurk in the dark, awaiting an opportunity to devour you...now that's enough talking,time to die"
King Max's gaze travelled from his take over claw before settling on the knights face.
"Zero risked his life to save me"
"..And that was still part of the plan...you see these claws are almost the size of that of a savage's now you would have been killed by a savage in the eyes of everyone else, there's going to be a dead one lying not too far away...you killed it though died in the process after being badly injured then_the emperor lives with the guilt for the rest of his life..he takes your death upon himself, blaming himself for the rest of his life, crushing his very soul even more after the death of his wife...that even still is not enough atonement for his sin of turning his back on this empire".
Gerald went berserk at his words.
Now that he thought of it,the emperor would be broken if he died,he knew how much the emperor loved him.
How wrong was he to have trusted Max.
Everything was a set up,from the fact the savages had left their den to their formations outside it.
King Maxmillian also must have found a way to control them perhaps using the Alpha
Even The formations of the emperor's troops,king max must have advised him on it and Tyran had innocently gone ahead with his suggestions.
If he died things would become even more complicated,he feared for Tyran's sake.
He was going crazy thinking of how Tyran would feel,the thought of filled him with greater pain than that caused by the injuries inflicted on him.
Gerald let out a scream at the top of his voice from the pain his heart felt
King Max's words had finally succeeded in ripping his heart apart,he was heartbroken and couldn't do anything to stop this,not even his screams could.
He suddenly felt his wounds closing up.
His gaze travelled to the spot.
King Maxmillian was healing the cut to hide the fact that a sword had ran through him while he bleed from his internal injuries.
They were all crazy and he was already going crazy as well.
Gerald tried to move but couldn't,the gravity spell prevented him.
He screamed till tears accumulated in his eyes,screamed till he lost his voice to.
No one would hear him anyway,no one would come for him.
Gerald let the tears roll down his face into the dirt as he stared into the moonlight sky.
He wished some of the pain he felt would leak out like his teared but they didn't, instead they remained.
One of king Maxmillian's claw pierced through a previously cut part of his abdomen.
Over and over the claw cut through deeper layers of flesh as it coarsed through him.
Gerald felt fresh pain but he didn't scream,he stared at the open sky allowing the tears to leak freely till he felt his hair wet from some of the liquid.
He couldn't remember the last time he cried since he was a boy,this time he couldn't help it,couldn't stop the tears and didn't want to.
A smiling face of Carolene flashed through his mind.
He didn't get to keep his promise to her, couldn't be with her,not in death but he had no regrets telling her how he felt.
He was glad she knew he loved her.
Something gladened a small part of his heart,the fact that he was able to die serving Tyran,that was something he would never regret even in death.
"Alright that's enough playing around, I did promise to kill you quickly and am getting bored already...Die!!!"
King Max said bringing down all four claws, aiming for his heart.
Gerald closed his eyes,a small smile broke across his face as he awaited the end.
Suddenly,he felt someone over him,the soft feel of the huge breast against his body as some of her hair touched his face.
The demon's smell was one he was very well familiar with and he opened his eyes to confirm it.
What was Athena doing here?
She had just teleported out of nowhere and_
He felt some liquid on a part of his face.
His gaze settled on her face for a while as she slightly withdrew it from him.
She was crying.... for him.
"Please your Majesty...please dont kill him"Athena sobbed.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone