Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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"HUAAA!!"

/BAM!/

"URRRRG!!!"

Like a bulldozer, Gyu slammed his body against the Lizardman's legs, pushing it to a complete halt in a single moment.

Sand and stone flew to the skies like waves breaking ashore…

/ROAR!/

The beast tried to hack at him, but Gyu's skin glistened with orange light, hardening and strengthening his body beyond its limits, giving him the strength necessary to do the impossible.

With this mystical power, he pushed through the beast's claws, pushing its legs aside, causing it to fall before clutching onto its waist and stomping the ground, causing the arena to quake momentarily, and throwing the monster off its feet!

/Boom!/

/Crack!/

His hands tightened around the beast's scales, creaking and pulling them apart as his flesh was torn and blood gushed out.

/ROAR!/

The lizardman screamed in pain as it fell, but this was only the start of Gyu's attack!

/Raise…/

/SLAM!/

Maybe because he was enraged, or because he felt it would be best to take the opportunity while the beast was incapacitated, he slammed his feet against the left elbow of the Lizardman!

/CRACK!/

/ROAR!/

Bones cracked, and the earth shook. With pained cries the beast's arm was bent in an unnatural way as it could not resist the might of the man's feet.

/SWIPE!/

However, because Gyu was too overconfident, an obvious result of his mind being clouded by the drugs. He lost his chance to execute the plan, allowing the Lizardman to get up with a mighty tail strike against his chest, sending him rolling across the arena.

/DASH!/

Immediately after, the Lizardman smashed the ground underneath it as it dashed forward, not towards the fallen Gyu, but towards Dale and Kutr.

"!"

Kutr seemed as if his soul had left his body as all blood drained from his face, going who knew where...

"?!?!?!"

Meanwhile, Dale's expression sharpened as the severity of the situation escalated.

Only a minute or so had passed since he jumped from the Lizardman's shoulder and his body was still in no condition to fight optimally.

The man next to him was useless and he feared he had already pissed his pants, meanwhile, his only 'reliable' companion was now eating sand on the ground as the beast ran to them.

It seemed there was no other way, he needed to act, one move was all he needed, it had to be swift and with as little exposition as he could muster.

He wouldn't let others visualize his true strength, he needed the freedom to act and explore this world as he saw fit, and being under the watchful eye of another wouldn't make it comfortable.

He would commit crimes if he had to, this was only a memory at the end of the day, and if he had someone on his tail for his "suspicious" abilities, it would only be adding weight for him to carry.

He wasn't in his true form, there was no way to deal with everything that came his way, he needed to be more mindful of his actions.

That was what he had in mind.

/Gather…/

Dale circulated the Mana inside his body, it was heavy and rough. He could even call it "dirty", but it moved, like mud stuck in a pipe, it flowed slowly.

He gathered it all in his hands, with a little bit along the length of his spear.

He would pierce through the Lizardman's head in a single movement, killing it in a single blow.

Let us hope it doesn't have two brains, much less a strong reflexive response like a snake's head…

The last thing he wanted was to be struck by the claws of a headless Lizards due to a moment of weakness…

The time was coming, the Lizard was only a few steps from them, within a fraction of a second, it would reach them, its massive claws ready to twist and rip them apart.

In this slowed-down moment, Dale began to move his spear, while Kutr tried to turn back and run…

/BAM!/

""!!!""

But suddenly, like a truck, Gyu slammed against the Lizardman's back, causing the creature to lose its footing and trip!

And as according to the plan…

To fall straight onto the metal spikes!

/PIERCE!!!/

Half a dozen spikes penetrated its body, legs, torso, arms, neck…

/ROAARR!/

Stunned for a moment due to how sudden it was, Dale knew this was the perfect opportunity, he couldn't lose this chance!

/SWING!/

A quick, precise strike was delivered directly against the Lizardman's wounded eye.

His spear penetrated directly through its ocular cavity, breaching through bone and cleaving through its brain.

/TWIST!/

To make sure it wouldn't be getting up, Dale used the little mana he had gathered in his body to twist the spear, exploding the rest directly inside its head, creating a vortex that turned its brain to mush!

/SPLATTER!/

Due to the pressure created inside its creaneum, blood splurted like a fountain onto Dale and Kurt, causing the latter to fall on the ground, unconscious due to shock.

Blood and brain pieces began to fall from its orifices, nose, mouth, ears... It wasn't a pretty sight to behold at all.

"Huff… Next time, stick to the plan." Dale complained as he let go of his spear, sitting down on the ground with a tired expression as he clutched to his chest, his heart screeching in pain as he had forcibly poured mana onto it

'Urg... If I do this again, I don't think I'll live for long... Not that it matters.'

"Huff… Huff… Heh… It all worked well in the end… Didn't it?" Gyu replied amidst gasps

Like Dale, he threw his helmet aside, taking a deep breath as he recovered his waning strength.

Gyu was... "Uncle", someone who looked to be in their late 30s, a young man with an unkept beard, likely from staying in a jail cell for 6 months straight.

He had a small scar cutting through his nose, and his eyes were a rather rare blue, he was also blond, which made him look like a European Hero.

Although his face was somewhat positive, it was clear he was hiding a lot of his pain, pushing his body like that while under the effects of the drug, even if he was trained to endure it, is likely sending shivers down his spine.

"... This is it Elgur, we're free men now." He said as he took a deep breath

"Once we're outside… I'll give you what I owe, but for now…. I need some sleep, I don't think... I can keep myself... Awake any longer..." He said as he collapsed on the sand

/Thud.../

"Oi… Sigh… Rude bastard…"

Dale raised his head, looking at the Lizard one more time before mustering the energy to get up from the sand and climb atop the now motionless body of the lizard, putting his helmet back on in the process.

He pulled his bloodied spear from the it's head before piercing it again on its back, declaring his victory.

/FIST!/

He punched the air and made a "glorious pose" before exclaiming loudly like a barbarian:

"HUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

/CHEEEEEEEEEEEEERS!!!/

And the audience replied, their blood boiling with energy, power, excitement, and much more.

This was the end of a beast that terrorized the arena, one that took the lives of hundreds, defeated by three brave Heroes, though some may digress on how exactly did the most to bring it down…

"Urg..."

His scream almost caused him to fall unconscious, but Dale maintained his stance, somehow.

...

"Hm…"

While everyone rejoiced, regardless if they had won their bets or not, the Sovereign stared at the arena from his seat up above.

However, despite it all, he didn't seem displeased.

'Good, it was about time we exchanged it for another beast. It won too many times, people weren't betting against it anymore.'

He looked at Dale and his group, but mostly at Dale.

'Not particularly strong but smart, too smart for a Colosseum fighter, the one next to him fits the role more.'

'Nonetheless… A good job.'

The Sovereign got up from his seat, raising his hand and making a strange gesture with three of his fingers.

It was a sign of approval, redemption, acknowledgment…

Their freedom.

/CHEEEEERRRSS!!/

The crowd exploded yet again with deafening applause, reveling at the glory of the three Heroes who took back their names and freedom against all odds.

…

/Meanwhile, another place, another time…/

/SLASH!/

"HUAA!!"

Testros swung his sword, now battered and broken against another Devil, cutting it into two as he dashed through a crowd of monsters and beasts.

His body was riddled with small wounds, nothing too dangerous but the amount was astounding, he seemed to be bleeding a gallon every step... Thankfully that blood wasn't his.

/C-Crack!/

"!"

/SLAM!/

"URG! HAAAA!"

/PUNCH!/

Amidst this chaotic battlefield, he was punched by a demon as his sword shattered to pieces, but amidst his injuries, he clenched his teeth and replied in kind, bursting the devil's head with a single strike!

Even as his body screamed in pain, Testros ran, going from skirmish to skirmish as he sought out all soldiers he could on his way.

Behind him, a small army of 100 men ran, rallied by his courage and determination, their weapons in hand as energy condensed in the atmosphere.

Their valor was at an all-time high, their vitality exploding as their scarred armor glistered under the dark sky.

A deadly charge of flesh, metal, and magic rampaged through the wall, mincing everything in its path.

Under his 'leadership', it only grew in strength, its momentum exploding with every step.

/SLASH!/

"Huff… Huff…"

From time to time, Testros was forced to stop and take a breath as he couldn't maintain his energy consumption, it was in these moments he took his time to check his gear, picking whatever was near him as a replacement.

There were broken things everywhere after all...

But no matter how much he slashed, how much he reduced his consumption, how precise he became, how efficient he became… Testros could not keep up with the 100 soldiers behind him.

Or better put, he could not continue to lead them, if that made any sense.

Testros could remember how everything collapsed, he knew where he needed to be, he knew where the soldiers should gather, he only needed to guide them there.

The reason the wall fell so quickly was due to a series of reasons, many of which he shared time and time again...

But if all soldiers had regrouped together in one sector when everything began to fail, then even if the Wall fell, the Southern Corps would've remained standing.

What he needed to do right now was lead those very soldiers to the center of the fortress, to where their commanders stood.

If he could do that then maybe…

/Stop…/

But as he ran like this, he kind of understood Dale's suffering, he wondered just how similar they both looked right now…

His hands on his knees, his face pale, his arms and legs sore, his palms bleeding, his body covered in sweat and blood…

Scars and wounds everywhere, a most horrific kind of sight.

'That boy endured worse… I can't fall here yet.' Testros thought as he inhaled air like a typhoon

/Throw!/

/Grab…/

"Huff… ??"

At that moment, one of the soldiers, someone carrying a large backpack threw a potion at him.

"Take it kid, we can't have you fall here!" He exclaimed as he smiled, it was a broken but honest smile

The moment he looked at him, Testros knew what he was, he was a squire, essentially a trainee Knight.

'I don't remember…'

He didn't remember rescuing a trainee, when did one begin to follow him…

"!!!"

It was at that moment that Testros saw something unbelievable…

"Getting tired kid? I'm only starting!"

"I thought we were doing routine runs."

"My shoulder's a bit sore, can I take a break?"

/LAUGHTER!/

Behind him, instead of the previously stipulated 100 soldiers were instead 1000.

Soldiers and people from all professions gathered together in this little pocket of the wall, laughing and bending together in what seemed to be the end of the world.

"..."

Seeing them like this made Testros' heart beat strongly… What was this strange feeling?

A sense of fulfillment, a tinge of regret, a pinch of fear, a touch of pride, a sense of…

The fear of the unknown.

/Grasp…/

Testros grasped his potion, gulping it down at once before turning around, making his way deeper into the wall.

He raised his head, looking at the dark clouds above, they brimmed with power, flashing with lights as artillery fire rained beyond them.

Above and bellow, the Heroes of the past fought for their survival, he didn't know if they could see him, but he wished that by seeing that the soldiers still struggled that…

They would muster strength and persevere!

"ONWARDS!" He exclaimed, his voice booming across the wall

/HURRAAAA!!!!/

The soldiers replied in kind, exclaiming so loudly that the wall seemingly shook.

/Shine…/

Unbeknownst to him, Testros' chest began to shine.

And with the flickering of his heartbeat, speckles of light began to glister…

On his forehead…

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Notes