Chapter 12 The Executioners

The thick dust from the shattered ceiling slowly cleared. Five massive figures stood in the center of the ruined alchemist laboratory. They wore heavy armor made of pure glowing gold. Their faces were completely hidden behind smooth metal masks with no eye holes at all. They held long weapons that crackled with violent yellow lightning. These were not regular royal soldiers. These were the Imperial God Guards. They were the personal executioners of the false king.

General Kaelen picked up his heavy steel broadsword from the floor. His massive hands were actually shaking. I had never seen the brave general look scared before, but right now his face was completely pale.

"We need to run right now," Kaelen whispered to me. His rough voice was incredibly tight. "Those are the God Guards. They do not feel any pain and they cannot be killed by normal weapons. Malakor only sends them to kill supreme threat monsters."

"They are about to meet a supreme threat monster," I replied calmly.

One of the golden guards stepped forward. He pointed his lightning weapon directly at my chest.

"Target confirmed," the guard said. His voice sounded like grinding metal. "The fallen king is located. Execution protocol is now engaged."

Kaelen let out a massive battle roar. He charged forward to protect me. He swung his heavy sword with all his incredible physical strength. The thick blade aimed right for the neck of the first guard.

The golden soldier did not even dodge. He simply raised his left hand and caught the heavy weapon with his bare fingers. The thick steel blade stopped completely. Bright sparks flew into the air. Before Kaelen could pull his weapon back, the guard punched the giant general directly in the chest. Kaelen flew completely across the room. He crashed through three heavy wooden tables and hit the solid stone wall with a terrible crunch. He slumped to the floor, totally unconscious.

Elara quickly grabbed a glass bottle filled with bright red liquid from her thick leather belt. She threw it as hard as she could at the giant guards. Another golden soldier moved faster than a blinking eye. He caught the flying glass bottle in the air and crushed it effortlessly in his fist. The magical explosion of bright red fire just washed over his thick golden armor without leaving a single scratch or burn mark.

The five executioners slowly walked toward me in a perfect and terrifying line. They raised their crackling weapons in total unison.

I took a deep breath. I focused on the dark purple crystal buried deep inside my chest. I felt the endless well of monstrous energy pulsing right next to my heart. I raised both of my hands. I did not feel any fear at all. I only felt pure and absolute power.

"System," I commanded softly. "Activate Dragon Hellfire Barrage."

The blue screen popped up instantly in my vision.

[Spell Activated. Required Energy: Five Years of Lifespan.]

[Checking Soul Substitute. Supreme Threat Core located.]

[Cost deducted from Demon Core. Zero human lifespan used.]

A massive smile spread across my face. I was completely free.

The dark green scales on my arms burst into blinding green fire, but this time the flames were mixed with dark purple shadows. The heat was ten times hotter than before. The solid stone floor beneath my boots instantly melted into bubbling lava.

I pushed my hands forward. A massive wave of green and purple fire erupted across the entire room. It hit the five God Guards like a runaway train. The golden soldiers tried to block the attack with their lightning weapons, but the magical fire was far too strong. The extreme heat instantly melted their glowing golden armor. Three of the elite guards turned into a pile of white ash and melted metal in a single second.

The remaining two guards broke through the roaring flames. They charged at me with their weapons raised high.

I did not use magic this time. I wanted to test my new physical speed. I pushed off the melted stone floor. I moved so fast that the air cracked like a heavy whip behind me. I appeared directly in front of the fourth guard before he could even blink. I drove my green scaled fist right through his thick golden chest plate. I crushed his heart with my bare hand. He dropped dead to the floor instantly.

The final guard tried to stab me in the back. I spun around and grabbed his weapon. I ripped it out of his hands and snapped it completely in half over my knee. I grabbed him by his golden throat and lifted him entirely off the floor.

The laboratory was quiet again. Elara rushed across the ruined room to check on the unconscious general. She poured a glowing green healing potion over his bruised chest. I watched Kaelen take a deep and ragged breath. He was alive, but he was completely out of the fight.

I squeezed the neck of the final guard. The metal mask dented beneath my fierce grip.

"Tell me exactly how you found this hidden laboratory," I demanded in a dark and dangerous voice. "Answer me or I will burn your soul to ash."

The guard did not beg for his life. Instead, a horrible scratching sound came from behind his smooth metal mask. He was actually laughing at me.

"We did not track your footprints, little king," the guard gasped weakly. "We tracked the royal blood inside your veins. Malakor knows exactly where you are."

"He sent five guards to die just to confirm my location?" I asked, tightening my grip.

"We are not here to execute you," the guard laughed again, dark blood dripping from the bottom of his metal mask. "We are here to deliver the final trigger."

The guard suddenly grabbed my arm. His golden armor glowed with a blinding black light. He chanted a strange and ancient word.

The blue System screen violently shattered. It reformed in a bright, flashing red color.

[Emergency Warning. The Royal Shadow Poison has been remotely activated.]

[Phase Two Commencing. The poison is no longer targeting your lifespan.]

[The poison is now targeting your magical core.]

I dropped the guard as a blinding pain exploded inside my chest. It felt like a million hot needles were stabbing directly into the purple demon core. I fell to my knees, coughing up a thick puddle of completely black blood. The purple energy in my veins turned pitch black.

"The false king sends his regards," the guard whispered as he took his final breath and died on the stone floor.

I tried to call upon my healing magic, but the System screen suddenly went completely dark. A new message appeared in plain white text.

[System Rebooting. All magic locked. Estimated time until core destruction is two minutes.]

The whole mountain began to shake violently. The stone ceiling cracked open even further, revealing a massive red dragon flying straight down toward us.