Capítulo 255: 251: A Plague of Phantoms: A Revolutionary’s Arrival V
"…of Sho'lajah Artifact Company."
I watched everyone's startled reactions as Jane finishes my introduction to the splicer nobles and royals that had been enjoying the little garden get together before I showed up on Grimm-Guard and terrified everyone. That hadn't been my goal, I wanted a big and boisterous introduction to all the leaders of the world. Something that said 'Yeah! I'm the big man in charge, fuck with me and it's your ass!'. Which judging by the looks I achieved but also managed to scare the piss out of a couple people if the face of the guy that looked suspiciously like Damon in the back of the garden said anything.
Though I had to admit it was very satisfying to see the terrified look on Thomas and my brother's face when they saw me on top of Grimm-Guard. It almost drowned out the blind rage I felt when I saw Beaufort near my people. After what Justice Technologies did to KC and all the stuff they put Louie and Angie through to just keep their son alive I was in a end him now mood. However Madilyn had a plan for him and I wasn't one to get in the way of someone else's revenge.
I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to see Turak'Kahn walking closer to Jane. He had a amused look on his face as he started slowly clapping.
"Well Chase, isn't this a grand entrance?" The Pharaoh said as he continued to clap.
"Well you know me Turak'Kahn, I can't do anything half-assed." I replied. I stepped down off of Grimm-Guard's head, using his mandibles to jump onto the roof and landed gracefully beside Jane.
"Well I'm surprised to say that I haven't seen this evo before." Turak'Kahn said and motioned to Grimm-Guard. Grimm-Guard eyed me looking for approval to speak and nodded slightly.
"I am Grimm-Guard, Third named General of Sho'lajah." Grimm-Guard introduced himself. Turak'Kahn arched a brow at that introduction and looked to me.
"Third named General? What is that about?" Turak'Kahn asked.
"Grimm-Guard is my third evo and the third one I named. Since he's my personal evo he has more access and authority compared to the evos of anyone else owned by employees of Sho'lajah." I explained. Turak'Kahn nodded in understanding then glanced over at the rest of the garden.
"I see but it seems he's leaving people a little…nervous." Turak'Kahn said. I looked around at the others people on the rooftop garden and saw that the Pharaoh was right. I turned to Grimm-Guard and held my hand out. Grimm-Guard immediately leaned closer and rubbed one of his mandibles into my hand.
"Grimm can you do a quick sweep of the island. Familiarize yourself with it and then coordinate with Sin about finding somewhere to park the King's glaive." I ordered him. Grimm-Guard chittered happily in response.
"Yes Star Boss!" Grimm-Guard exclaimed then took to the sky, uncoiling from the building as he flew into the air. He made a quick circle above the building before flying off, following the coast of the island.
Seeing that my giant evo was gone people started getting more relaxed. However nobody started to rush towards me like I had expected, though people were now pretending to go back to their conversations but keeping me in their line of sight. I then remembered what Jane told me a few hours ago. It was extremely improper for anyone to interrupt a conversation of a royal or nobleman. As long as I was talking to Jane's dad nobody was going to come up and talk to me.
"Chase!" Viola exclaimed and then rushed over and hugged me. I smiled and hugged her back.
"Viola! How have you been?" I asked. She let me go and smiled back at me.
"Better now that I have two of my favorite splicers here." Viola replied. I arched a brow at that.
"Well obviously you mean me as one but who is the other one?" I asked. Viola smiled and motioned to Bo.
"Why your little twin of course." She said giving me a devious gleam. I frowned and sighed.
"Not even as a joke…" I grumbled.
"Yeah! I'm nothing like Chase!" Bo spoke up. Jane, Nate, Turak'Kahn, and Viola all gave him a look then shared a laugh. Bo and I both crossed our arms and rolled our eyes.
"See." Jane said pointing to the two of us. I groaned and turned away from everyone.
"Wait, so that is Lieutenant Kingston's brother…" I heard someone whisper from the direction of Beaufort and his entourage.
"Half-brother!" The unmistakable voice of my brother Logan said sharply.
I sighed and turned to face my brother and all the other Americans for the first time. Thomas and Beaufort were surrounded by five American soldiers, I recognized two of them. One of them vaguely but I couldn't remember where I knew him from. The other was obviously Logan. It had been two years since I last saw him, he looked older. Much older than the twenty-three years old he was. He was still taller and much more muscular than I was and his looks leaned heavily into the Thomas gene pool.
"Logan…I almost didn't recognize you." I said. Logan's eyes darkened at me and his jaw clenched at the sound of my voice. He looked like he was about to start his usual spew of splicer hating bile but remember where he was and bit back that remark.
"It's been years. A lot has changed…obviously." He said instead and motioned to me. I reached up and ran a hand through my locks and smirked.
"Yeah I had these done last month for the Pharaoh and queen Viola's anniversary ball." I said. The look of envy that Beaufort shot me did not go unnoticed by me. I just pretended that it wasn't that big a deal.
"I'm surprised you're acquainted with the Pharaoh and queen." Logan said calmly.
"Turak'Kahn contacted me through Jane wanted to commission me for a job, can't say more than that I'm afraid." I said sparing a glance towards the Pharaoh. "But look at you! The hero of St. Louis and a Lieutenant as well! What a rise through the ranks, you were a private last time I saw you."
Logan's jaw clenched again at the mention of his new rank. I noticed that two of the men in his unit had adverse looks on their face. The familiar looking one had a look of scorn on his face but it was directed at Logan, it was lucky he was at the back of the group or someone would have seen the look. The other one had a amused look on his face which was also looking at Logan.
"Some stars were meant to rise Chase." Thomas spoke up, stepping beside Logan and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"That a crack at me?" I said holding my right up to show my farm crystal. Turak'Kahn chuckled at that as did Nate. All of the soldiers in Logan's unit made a face when they saw my farm crystal but quickly hid it. Thomas gave a look of outright disgust at me.
"Take it how you wish Chase." Thomas said.
"Can I punch Chase's dad?" Bo whispered as he glanced to his father.
"Only after I do." Nate replied. They both spoke low enough that only they should have been able to hear. The only reason I could was thanks to Fours sharing his hearing.
"Well, Chase Kingston, I have to say I'm surprised to see you again. More supposed to hear that you're this…demon of Sho'lajah that I've been hearing about." Beaufort spoke up. He stepped around Logan and the rest of his unit to speak to me. "You can imagine my surprise when I heard that a no name company that I have never heard of before was invited to Evo-cution this year and at the last minute."
"My company is expanding and we thought that Evo-cution was the best place to revel this expansion." I said casually. Beaufort chuckled loudly, raising his voice so everyone that as pretending to not be paying attention to what was going on in our little section.
"And what exactly does your new little company sell that would interest anyone here in attendance?" He asked. I smirked and wiggled a finger up at the president.
"That would be telling." I said in a teasing tone. I then spun on my heel and turned to face Turak'Kahn. "As lovely as it was catching up your majesty I have some rounds to make. People to talk to, world leaders to antagonizing, you know how it is."
"That I do…" Turak'Kahn said with a amused chuckle. He shook his head then motioned to the rest of the garden. "…go ahead, make your rounds. I'm sure we will have plenty of time to talk in the next few days. If any of you need anything don't hesitate to call on me."
"I will thank you." I said then looked at my people. "Come on everyone, time to work."
"Bye Uncle Turry, Aunt Vi!" Bo exclaimed then rushed over to my side. Nate turned and bowed to the Pharaoh and the queen before turning to follow after his son. Jane gave her parent's a hug then walked over to me.
I lead my group towards the center of the garden away from the Pharaoh as well as the president and his military escort. As I expected the moment I was away from the Pharaoh's sphere of influence noblemen and valets of royals swarmed me wanting to talk with me personally. All of them wanted to talk about having a enchanted item created for them, which was what I expected. I made sure to allude to the fact that I had came to Evo-cution with more than just selling enchanted items in mind, something that everyone I talked to try to press me for more information about but I kept my lips sealed about what exactly.
After two hours of talking to people I was at my limit of peopling but had no end of nobles and royals that wanted my attention. Nate and Jane noticed this and did their best to run interference when someone was pissing me off. Bo and Gadget helped as well, though Gadget mostly helped himself to any food that people were about to eat. The tiny evo stuffed entire serving platters of food down his gullet before anyone noticed or was able to stop him. Which earned us some weird looks and hushed whispers.
The entire time I was mingling with people I made sure to never let Beaufort, Thomas, and Logan's squad out of my sight. Or rather Bone-lasher's, he kept me appraised on where they were on for rooftop at all times so I could focus on conversing. The woman I was currently conversing with was one of the three wives of a baron or whatever she said the Divine Nigerian equivalent was. She wanted a ungodly number of enchanted items made to curry favor with her husband and the divine emperor.
"Well, Lady Rugala, you know one enchanted item is kind of costly, the twenty you wanted is going to cost a significant amount more." I said politely. The proud African woman tilted her head at me in smug assurance.
"I'm sure my family can afford your services Master Kingston, we are related to his Divinity by blood." Lady Rugala said.
"Well if you are sure…my company will have a space set up at the opening of the Expo tomorrow. Come by then and my employees will be able to sit down and get a better idea of your needs." I said. Lady Rugala frowned at that.
"You mean you mean you wouldn't see me yourself? What a way to treat a customer!" She gasped in exasperation. I bit back a groan and Jane jumped in on cue.
"Lady Rugala, Chase can hardly see every single customer especially here with so many royal families wanting a private audience with him. Even the Divine Emperor himself, as such we decided that it's best let our very capable and educated staff to handle requests from lords and below so Chase is free to deal with royalty." Jane said. Lady Rugala frowned at that answer and leveled a look at Jane.
"My family is requesting great works, artifacts thar require artistry and attention to detail. Such things cannot be conveyed second hand! And I will not be addressed by a simple assistant either while I am talking to the master." Lady Rugala exclaimed. Jane's eyes darkened as she frowned at Lady Rugala.
"And I will not be talk to in such a way by my lessers. I am not mere assistant but chief of operations, job title notwithstanding I am the crowned princess of Egypt and first in line to the throne while you are a mere wife to a regent." Jane said coldly. Lady Rugala's eyes widened as she realized her mistake. I sighed and shrugged.
"And with that I believe our conversation is over." I said then turned to walk away.
"WAIT! Master Kingston, princess! Forgive my attitude!" She exclaimed but I pretended to not hear her and walked off.
I wanted to find a nice place to sit down and rest my feet; the boots I had on were stylish and looked cool but were killer on my arches, however the world had other plans. A man surrounded by guards stepped in my path, judging from his crown and the Scottish kilt he was wearing the man was a royal from Scotland, whether he was the King or another prince I couldn't tell.
I stopped and regarded the man openly, waiting for him or one of his guards to announce him but none of them moved or said anything. A few awkward moments rolled honestly I was already down with the encounter. So instead of asking what the man wanted I turned and headed in a different direction. This caused a stream of gasps and exclamations from people that'd been watching me, not that I cared.
"THE AUDACITY!" Someone bellowed. I stopped and turned back around to see the Scottish Royal glaring at me with a flushed face and clenched fists.
"Did you need something?" I asked, not bothering to hide my irritation. The royal scoffed at that.
"Do I need something? Impermanence! On your knees peasant! You stand before Peter McGowan, the king of Scotland!" The king yelled as he pointed a finger at me. I blinked for a second then looked back at Jane who was already shaking her head. I looked back at King Peter and sneered.
"How about you fuck off!" I sneered. Another collective gasp sounded through the garden followed by hushed murmurs.
"How dare you!" One of the King's guardsmen yelled. King Peter had six guards flanking him and of the six the one that spoke out had the most flamboyant uniform, probably meaning he was the highest ranking one as well.
"Fairly easily, I opened my mouth and spoke." I quipped. That made the guardsmen even more pissed off.
"You dare speak to the King of Scotland and his retinue in such a way?" He hissed.
"Gods above! I'm not dealing with this today! If you want to talk to me then try again later when your head isn't shoved up your ass." I grumbled then turned and started to walk away.
"Seize him!" King Peter exclaimed. I heard the sound of feet rushing towards me and felt a hand grab my wrist and start to yank me around, big mistake.
The sound of a thunder clap roared above and in a flash of lightning Bone-lasher descended. Slashing the arm off of the guardsmen who grabbed me with his crystal armored claws. He landed with a thud that sent gusts of wind blowing flower petals and guests back. The next second was filled with the screams of the guardsmen who's arm was cut off. He stumbled away back screaming and holding the nub.
Jane, Nate, and Bo all quickly moved behind me and Bone-lasher while the Scottish King's men moved to grab their injured squad mate and drag him to safety. Bone-lasher made no moves to stop them but did his best to look menacing; not that it took much to make the seven foot tall, armored, anthropogenic shark to look menacing.
"You just injured a member of the King's personal guard! That is nothing short of a declaration of war!" Another among the guardsmen shouted at me.
[Chase, be careful with how you respond! That was serious!] Jane hissed through the mental connection of the manacite communication rings. I looked down at the arm of the guardsmen that grabbed me, it was still gripping onto my wrist despite being severed at the elbow. With my other hand I yanked it off and tossed it back over to the guardsmen.
"You're lucky my evo only aimed for the arm." I said coldly then looked to King Peter. "I can only assume that this entire little display was you trying to seem tough and dangerous after Prince Lachlan landed Scotland on my ban list?"
"Ban list! BAH!" King Peter exclaimed and pointed a finger at me. "You, a nameless upstart deign to deny me and my countrymen access to enchanted items! The act of banning a country from receiving such powerful artifacts is akin to showing favoritism and at the very core a declaration of war against Scotland!"
"Really?" I grumbled then pinched the bridge of my nose. When I looked back at the King I let all my irritation and anyone that had been building over the course of the night show and shot him a menacing glare, which made the King flinch.
"I'm guessing not many people have told this guy no…" Bo grumbled from behind me. The king continued with his rant, unaware of Bo's comment.
"You should be grateful that I graciously came up to you to offer you the chance to make up for that grievous error! But instead of gratitude I am met with disrespect and insolence! Even worse you attacked a member of my personal guard! You Chase Kingston are a enemy of Scotland! Fall to your knees and beg for my mercy and I won't unleash the full might of the Scottish military on you and your family!" King Peter exclaimed, waving his arms in a dramatic manner.
"Fine…" I said calmly. The king paused and everyone watching our exchanged made confuses and concerned noises.
"Wait…w-what?" King Peter stuttered.
"I said fine…for you to make a threat like that, in front of so many witnesses you must be serious! So that means I can take that threat seriously and perceive you as a threat to my employees, my loved ones and me right?!" I exclaimed and pointed to the king. Bone-lasher crouched slightly and lightning started sparking off his armor.
"Wait! You'd seriously start a war with Scotland right now? You know if you attack me the army of my entire country will come after you!" King Peter exclaimed.
"Then I will deal with your armies after I deal with you!" I snarled coldly and then stalked slowly towards the king. "Besides a army is useless without its leader…"
The king paled and jumped behind one of his guards, the others rushing to his defense. It was a wholly pathetic sight, which to every onlooker made the King of Scotland look beyond weak.
"STOP HIM! DON'T LET HIM HURT ME!" King Peter ordered his guards.
The first of the guards rushed me but before he could take two steps a flash of lightning streaked by him and the guard suddenly collapsed to the ground, his head missing entirely. The other guardsmen were stunned by the speed at which their fellow guard was dispatched. They turned around to see the Bone-lasher holding the head of their fallen kinsmen in one armored claws and resting the other hand on the shoulder of the king. The guardsmen froze seeing their scion already captured by the enemy.
"LET ME MAKE ONE THING PERFECTLY CLEAR!" I bellowed as I stormed over to King Peter. "My employees and friends and family mean the world to me, they mean more than my own life. I would gladly start a war for anyone of them! And to win it, I wouldn't need to slaughter a entire army, I'd just need to kill you."
I stopped in front of King Peter and smacked the crown off his head, hearing it clatter on the floor and roll into a flowerbed. I then leaned in close and spoke in a low tone so only he could hear me.
"I have watched my loved ones die in front of me before and I will be dammed if I ever let it happen again. I don't care if you're a Paragon, king, or God, you threaten my people and I will end you in the most excruciating way possible. With that said I suggest you leave…tonight. Never darken the door of Sho'lajah Artifact Company again, never send any agent on your behalf, don't even say my name aloud. Because if I even suspect you are threatening my people again you will wish that you died as quickly and as painlessly as your guard did. Do you understand me?"
"Y-y-yes…" King Peter whispered, his body quaking with fear.
"What was that?" I asked louder so everyone could hear me.
"Yes Master Kingston! Scotland will forget you exist!" King Peter exclaimed. I stepped back and took the guardsmen head from Bone-lasher and handed it to the king, flashing him my most pleasant 'fuck you' smile I could manage as I did.
"Good, now have a blessed day." I turned and walked back to Jane, Nate, and Bo. The three of them all stared at me with disbelief on their faces. Bone-lasher followed close behind and shook the blood from his claws.
I heard a sharp shriek and glanced back to see the king tossing the head of the fallen guardsmen to another guardsmen before running off. When I looked back to Jane and the others she was pitching the bridge of her nose and groaning.
"Chase….I think its best we retire for the night…" Jane said.
Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder