Chapter 337: 343: A Plague of Phantoms: Bloody is The Crown II
"All at once…" Someone muttered. I wasn't sure who said it but the voice definitely came from among the traitors.
"Fine!" Someone exclaimed.
I saw a flash of red appear out of the corner of my eye a split second before a fireball came flying towards me. The fireballs slammed into a see through barrier created by Delphinium through one of her powers. The flames washed and whirled around my body, dispersing harmlessly behind Viola and the soldiers on my side.
My eyes slowly looked over to the face of the splicer who had cast the spell. It was my second cousin Potol. I yawned then shook my head at Potol which only made the man's face flush red with rage.
"Akkarai!" Potol exclaimed as a crystalline structure emerged from the farm crystal on the back of his neck. It landed on the ground beside Potol and a thrad emerged. I ran towards General Ravi, startling the general who stumbled back and nearly tripped over his feet.
I wasn't attacking the general, instead I grabbed the scimitar I threw at the man's feet then turned and ran towards Potol and his thrad. The thrad tried to pounce on me but I managed to spin on my heel and avoid it, though just barely.
I turned and slashed at the back of the thrad, the scimitar slicing through the first layer of the evo's scales. It was enough to draw blood but not enough to leave a mortal wound. The thrad hissed and rolled on the ground, recoiling from the sudden strike. Out the corner of my eye I could see Potol starting to cast a offensive spell sigil.
'I'll give him credit for attacking from a supposed blind spot but he's still in my strike zone.' I thought. Without taking my eyes off the thrad I swung my blade back towards Potol with one hand and felt it meet resistance. The blood curdling scream that came moments later followed by the sound of a sigil shattering let me know I had indeed hit something. While I swung the blade with my one hand the other hand was casting an offensive spell sigil.
The thrad recovered from its initial shock and tried to charge me again. However it wasn't fast enough to reach me before my spell finished casting. Strings made of fire flew from my fingertips and encompassed the thrad entirely. I closed my hand and the strings tightened around the thrad. Simultaneously burning it while cutting through its body. Only when the thrad was dead and diced did I turn my head to look at Potol.
Potol was hunched over, holding his right hand to his chest. Four of his fingers were severed by my haphazard slash and laid on the ground in front of him. The man looked up at me with a sheer of utter distain. Without any emotion or hesitation I closed the distance between us and brought the scimitar blade against my cousin's throat.
"Goodbye Potol…" I said softly then jerked the blade, my cousin's blood slathering all over my suit pants and shoes. Potol grabbed his throat and gasped, his lungs filling with blood as General Rakish had moments earlier.
I flicked my blade to the side, flinging wet blood onto the ground and cleaning off my blade. I looked around at the men and women around me. All traitors, all had conspired or sided with conspirators, and all of them had wanted my head until now. I saw hesitation, shock, and fear in their eyes. Potol was my cousin and a man I grew up with yet I killed him so easily, in all their minds they had to be weighing the likelihood that I would show mercy or hesitate for them.
"What's wrong?" I asked, raising a brow at my opponents. "I said this would be a trial by combat, that your lives depended on this. Have you Generals and Majors gotten so used to ordering men to die in your stead that you've forgotten what it feels like to see a man die? Are you traitorous whoresons only capable of coming for my crown under the guise of anonymity? Is this what the once proud and noble bloodlines of Egypt have been reduced too? Weak and mewling cowards?"
"Shut your mouth! You useless relic!" A voice exclaimed from behind me.
I crouched down and barely avoided a icicle spear through my head. Glancing over my shoulder I saw Major O'phak had finished casting a offensive spell sigil and was casting another. I spun on my heel and threw my scimitar at the major. The butt of the blade bounced off his head and upwards, interrupting his casting.
I dashed towards the major and jumped into the air, grabbing my scimitar and bringing it down on him with a overhead slash. The blade dug into the Major's right shoulder and tore through his chest, braking several ribs before the blade got stuck in his sternum. The sounds of wet, rhythmic gushes of blood spraying from his wounds mixed with the hiss of air escaping his severed lungs resulting in a swampy gurgle that echoed in the spacious lobby.
Taking no time to pause I pressed my foot on the Major's stomach and kicked him backwards. Freeing my blade from his chest, then ran towards the Major Akriqo with my blade low to the ground. It only took me four steps to close the distance. I was poised to slash and end the man's life, with the still startled major looking down at me with terrified eyes.
The blade was inches away from the belly of the major when it came into contact with something else. It took my mind a split second to register the sudden and sharp resistance I felt in my hands as well as the high pitched ring of metal hitting metal.
I glanced to my right and saw that my blade had been stopped by another, belonging to one of the soldiers that had defected to the traitors side. The soldier parried my slash and counter with one of his own.
I hopped backwards, dodging the slash then swung at the soldier's exposed left side. That too however was blocked by the blade of another, my cousin Throka. He carried my strike and together with the soldier they both pressed an attack. I suddenly found myself on the defensive. Parrying strikes from the soldier then dodging the slashes from Throka. All while getting pushed back slowly but surely with each exchange.
"This is so like you Turak! Being so selfish assured of yourself, only to get pushed into a corner! You're death will be the greatest thing for our country!" Throka exclaimed then made a wide and powerful swing.
That was a feint, he wanted me to duck so I would be in position for his partner to finish me. I could see it coming a mile away. While Throka slashed horizontally at my neck the soldier was half a foot back, thrusting his sword towards my heart.
Instead I blocked the slash with my sword before it could gain much velocity and then forced his sword downwards, interrupting the soldier's attack. I kicked down on the soldier's hand forcing him to let go of his sword then shoulder checked the both of them, making them stumble and fall. I was about to stable Throka with my sword when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.
<MASTER!> Delphinium yelled inside my head.
I looked to the left and saw a large paw coming straight for me. It slammed into a invisible barrier which stopped it for a split second. I shielded my head before the paw broke through the barrier and slammed into me. I felt every bone and cell in my body scream in agony as I was flung to the side and flying towards a wooden pillar.
I crashed into it so hard the wood cracked and buckled under the force. I fell to the ground in a heap and struggled just to breathe. My first breathe came out with a ragged and rattling gasp, every one that came after that felt like agony. My vision blurred and ears were ringing.
<Master! MASTER!> Delphinium screamed in my head. The panic in her voice was clear. I shook my head to try and clear it then looked up.
I saw Delphinium fighting multiple thrads by herself. Using a variety of her Kitsune powers to hack, slash, and burn the evos to bits. Delphinium was a ascended Kitsune but she was also vastly outnumbered. There were at least twelve of the thrads still living. Aside from them there was also a Kong; the combination of a Silverback gorilla and human.
The Kong looked like a oversized ape, it stood at nearly nine feet tall and was covered in bright grey fur. This particular Kong had metal armor covering its arms and chest. Thick metal shoulder pads with jagged spikes protected its shoulders.
'Fuck…' I thought then willed myself to stand. It was easier said than done however. My arms nearly gave out when I tried to push myself up. I had to grit my teeth to ignore the pain and the alarming amount of blood I could taste in my mouth.
As I stood a slow and steady clap started to echo over the sounds of Delphinium fighting the thrads. I looked towards the source and saw my aunt Syvilie Ealbris was the one responsibility. The thrads that had relentlessly attacked Delphinium backed off almost instantly once our eyes met. My Kitsune quickly rushed to stand in front of me and growled low in her throat. Aunt Syvilie seemed unaware or unimpressed by Delphinium's growl.
"I have to hand it to you Turak'Kahn, you are a talented fighter. Probably the only one that could beat my dear Hamutet." Aunt Syvilie said then glanced down to the corpses of Major O'phak and cousin Potol. "However it's so like you to rush to violence. To charge ahead without thinking and letting your rash heart rule your head. Say what you want about Aziza but she understood the value of subtly and mastered the art. That girl should have been your heir instead of that fickle hussy you sired after her. The only reason you and your family survived her plan was Chase Kingston."
"You are weak Turak'Kahn! And unfit to be Pharaoh of Egypt!" Throka exclaimed. He walked over and stood beside Aunt Syvilie and raised his blade to point at me. "All your life you've been praised and told you were special! Gifted at magic, a generational talent with the sword, a scholar ahead of your time! Platitudes! Mere honeyed words to inflate your ego that oh so readily accepted every compliment, every word of affirmation! You are not!"
"You think I don't know that…?" I asked with a chuckle then burst into laughter. "…My wife is a woman strong enough to become a Paragon of combat magic! I know a ten-year-old who spliced a tier three evo when he was seven! My daughter is classmates with Chase Kingston! A nineteen-year-old who has embarrassed multiple paragons and in the span of a few months established himself as a expert on magic! And Aziza! As a tactician she would have been unbeatable. Talent? The measly drops the gods granted me pale in comparison to the ocean they tread so easily! I know I'm not special, I'm fortunate enough to have borne witness to ones truly blessed by the gods!"
"THEN BY YOUR OWN ADMISSION YOU ARE UNFIT TO BE PHARAOH! YOUR MURDER OF MY SON WAS OUT OF JEALOUSY FOR HIS OBVIOUS SUPERIORITY!" Aunt Syvilie yelled. I started laughing harder, which made my ribs hurt and nearly made me choke.
"I never murdered Hamutet…though you are right he was superior. Had I not been born he would have made a amazing Pharaoh, one of the greats." I said then leveled all the remaining survivors with my gave and spoke my next words laugh enough for the spectators on the stairs at the back of the lobby to hear. "However I am the Pharaoh! And like my father before me I took to heart the words of my forefathers! I found those with more talent than myself and I learned from them!"
I held my hand out and started casting a axiom spell sigil. Green light shined from my farm crystal as I started casting. A diamond shaped crystal formed above my outstretched hand. With one swift motion I grabbed the crystal and held it above my head for all to see.
"Wait that spell…?" Thorka muttered. Aunt Syvilie's eyes widened in horror as realization sunk in. I had learned the greatest secret of the ancients.
"STOP HIM!" She bellowed and pointed a finger at me. The thrads and Kong all charged towards me but it was too late.
"CRYSTAL GENESIS ACTIVATE!" I roared and shattered the crystal in my hand.
A wave of mana rushed from the crystal knocking all the thrads and kong back while also hitting Delphinium and sending a second wave back to me. Delphinium was lifted into the air from it. Hard green crystal started covering her body, encasing it completely.
<DELPHINIUM CRYSTAL MERGE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!>
Delphinium curled into a fetal position before shattering into a cloud of fine crystal dust that flew towards me. It swirled around me before getting absorbed into my body. I was lifted into the air, feeling my body go numb as my skin turned to crystal. My body became larger and more muscular. My nails lengthened into curved pointed claws. My head began to morph and stretch, my features becoming more and more fox-like until finally my head was morphed into fox's. Lastly a singular fox tail sprouted from my tail bone before splitting into two.
The crystal that surrounded my body cracked and shattered into dust again before wrapping around my waist and turning to tunic worn by ancient Pharaoh's and large chest plate made of gold. I felt my consciousness starting to meld with Delphinium. Slowly feeling myself becoming more…becoming…
Annoxsünamün
"ANNOXSÜNAMÜN! WE ARE UNITED!" I bellowed as I felt my mind clear.
I descended gracefully to the floor and landed on one knee. I didn't rise immediately, I needed a moment to relish in the once in a lifetime moment I was granted. To bask in the fear and awe of your enemies upon them witnessing your glorious transcendence. I took a deep breath, the air was thick with fear. So saturated with it there was nearly a haze over everything.
Once I stood and raised my head to look at my enemies I saw everything that I expected. In the eyes of everyone that betrayed Turak'Kahn was the realization they were not going to leave here alive.
"He could cast that spell?! Did he have the eye of Ammunset on him?!" Throka exclaimed. I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Did I give you permission to speak?" I asked, focusing a bit of the telekinetic powers granted to me by Delphinium pinch his vocal cords. Throka opened his mouth to speak but found no words coming out. He tried and tried until his face started turning blue but no words came out. "Your face annoys me."
I flicked my hand, as one would to shoo away an annoying fly, and Throka's head exploded. Dousing everyone unfortunate enough to be standing by him in blood, skull fragments, and brain matter. His body or what remained of it, collapsed on the ground with a moist thud. A truly undignified sight.
"Better…" I said with a sigh then made a sweeping gesture to all of the traitors before me. "…Be grateful! You all will get to witness the fruits of Turak'Kahn Solomon's hard work and labor. The glorious spell left behind by the ancients…crystal genesis! However…it will be the last thing you see…"
"KILL HIM! KILL HIM NOW!" Syvilie screamed at the top of her lungs again.
The thrads and Kong all rushed forwards at her order. I watched them approach, unbothered and not at all threatened. The Kong reached me first. Sliding to a stop in front of me with both arms raised to slam it's fist down on me. I used the psychokinetic barrier that Delphinium used to surround the Kong like a second skin and freeze it in place.
I walked forwards between the Kong's legs to the approaching pack of thrads. I placed another psychokinetic barrier in front of me and overlapped of with the telekinetic slashing ability. As the thrads came into contact with the barrier they were torn to shreds one after another in a deluge of blood that stained the wood floors red. I kept myself dry and clean with a thris psychokinetic barrier above my head.
I continued onwards to the traitors, much to their shock and horror. I held my right arm out as I walked and started casting a axiom spell sigil. A blade of pure golden light started to form in my hand. Ra's visage, Turak'Kahn's best spell. Once the blade was fully formed I used another one of Delphinium's abilities and wrapped the blade in white flames.
"I am Annoxsünamün! The bane of treachery and blessed descendant of the stars! Turak'Kahn called you all out to show you that he is not resting on his laurels while his enemies plot in the shadows. He his striving ever forward to become the blade that pierces the hearts of any that would wish his family and country harm!"
Without warning I charged forwards, too fast for the traitors to see and started cutting them down, one by one. Once the blade cut through the traitors body the white flames engulfed what was left and left nothing but ash. When all but Turak'Kahn's aunt Syvilie was left I stopped in front of her, holding Ra's vestige tip to her throat. To her credit she looked me in the eyes. She tried to act tough but I could see her fear hiding behind the bravado.
"You think killing us means your throne is safe? That people will think you too powerful to oppose? You're wrong Turak'Kahn! Others will come for you, you can never find all of us!" Syvilie exclaimed.
"You are right about one thing, there will always be another traitor so I will just have to cut him down." I replied then raises my blade up over my head. "Oh, and my name is Annoxsünamün…not Turak'Kahn right now…"
With that I brought the blade down and cleaved her down the middle. The pained and horrified expression she wore cemented forever on her face before it was reduced to dust. I was about to sigh in relied when I realized that I hadn't dealt with that Kong.
I turned around to look at the bulking brute, still frozen thanks to my psychokinetic barrier. I reached up and stroked my chin with my free hand. The Kong was uninjured and outside of Japan and Greece they were rare.c
'Turak'Kahn does owe his daughter a birthday present coming up…' I thought then frowned and glanced over my shoulder towards the direction of the Japanese dignitaries hotel. 'I wonder if she's alright?'
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Hutexa_The_Djinn
Hutexa_The_Djinn HUTEXA_THE_DJINN HERE! It's the 11th! that means it's the last chapter until next month! Though that's okay! I made sure it was slightly longer one than usual as of late. I hope you all like the way this story is heading! Or think the last few chapters were filler. It's not!
Also if you see those side chapters missing from the chapters list...don't freak out. I simply removed them to be used in another project that will hopefully come to fruition in 2025...hopefully. We'll as always if you like the book and want to support it leave a like, a comment, a powerstone, or a review! everything helps! thank you!
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