"What should we do now? We don't even know why the Blacks are attacking us all of a sudden-" The shorter guy among the elite guards panicked after seeing their leader in such a pitiful state.
"Migg, could you just SHUT THE HELL UP FOR A SECOND!" Dio, the leader of the elite guard yelled at the top of his lungs. It was enough to silence the elite warrior but Andrex remained unphased by it and kept giggling like a child.
"The Blacks would never attack us unprovoked..." Dio mumbled to himself, "and even if they did, they won't go as far as massacring us in such an inhumane manner. Master must have done an exceptional job at pissing them off."
"That's all good, but what do we do now? While we're chattering here, our people are being slaughtered like pigs!" Migg's eyes had gone all haywire. His heart was beating so fast that he wasn't even sure if the heart was in its place anymore.
Dio didn't answer his subordinate and quietly walked to the window. The carnage he saw below may him rethink whether he was on earth or in hell. Dio was no stranger to such sights as he was a war veteran who had served in Iran prior to the appearance of dungeons and monsters. Yet, none of it even came close to the level of destruction before his eyes.
The forest around the mansion was littered with gore. The scenery that was once cluttered in green was now replaced in the redness of fire and blood. The air which was usually calming and cool was now filled with deafening sounds of explosions and screams. The toll on the forest as well as its occupants was unimaginable, it'll take years if not decades for the forest to recover on its own. Dio could sense it... Hell had descended upon them.
It was a battle... No. They could never 'battle' against the enemies they were facing. Not only were they outnumbered 4 to 1, but they were also outmatched in skill. The enemy worked as one unit while everyone on their side was worried about saving their own asses. Dio shook his head in disappointment.
"Incompetent leaders lead to an incompetent future..." Dio mumbled before quickly kicking Andrex who was giggling beside him, "What did you do this time!?"
Dio's behaviour shocked Migg. He had never seen Dio so enraged before. But then again, it was no public secret that Dio hated Andrex. And he had sufficient reasons to hate him as well. After all, Andrex was the man who almost destroyed their family in his pursuit of power and influence.
Nobody knew exactly what had conspired between the two, but rumour had it, that Dio was the one who helped Andrex's wife to escape with her lover and Andrex retaliated, taking out his frustrations on the family. Obviously, it was just a rumour and had no proof to back it up. The point is, that their family didn't have a pinch of faith in their own.
But troubles within the family didn't stop Andrex from looking for trouble outside and now because of him, they were all going to die.
While Migg was lost in his thoughts, Dio noticed something weird. As he had accompanied Arnold and the rest of the syndicate to the swamps, he already knew a little bit about Arnold and his summons. A quick glance below, revealed that not a single person included in the one-sided massacre were from the Blacks side. All of the attackers were Arnold's summon. That meant he was the one attacking them, was Arnold, not the Black family altogether.
"We might have a way to save ourselves..." He smiled, but it was a defeated smile, not a joyous one, "Andrex did something to trigger Arnold and when Arnold attacked, he realised he screwed up big time. I'm sure of it, otherwise, someone as brazen as Andrex, wouldn't have lost his mind and turn into a hybrid of a weeping child and a yapping dog."
"And..." Migg couldn't get what Dio wanted to tell him.
"What I'm saying is that Arnold is most probably here because of this piece of crap. If we hand Andrex over to him, his rage should subside and hence we'll be saved."
"How can you even suggest that?" Migg couldn't believe what Dio was saying, "I know Master has his faults but that doesn't mean we should hand him over to a lion! Moreover, Arnold was the one to attack us, if anything, he should be the one who gets punished and not us!"
"Is that so... Then why don't you head out and show that courage of yours to the Deathless?" Dio mocked his subordinate.
Migg opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it. Going against Arnold was synonymous with committing suicide.
"I thought so. However... If the Blacks most probably oblivious about this attack, then maybe just maybe, we can find a way to stop this madness without handing Andrex over to him." Dio mumbled to himself while scratching his chin, "Inform the Blacks about the attack. If anyone can calm Arnold down, it's them. But if that doesn't work... We'll have no other way but to hand this bastard over to him. Got it?"
"I'll get to it immediately." Migg saluted Dio before leaving him alone with Andrex.
Once Migg was gone, Dio grabbed Andrex by the collar and lifted him off the ground. His face was awkwardly close to Andrex's. Andrex, who now had the mental intelligence of a three-year-old, covered his eyes with his hands because the expression on Dio's face scared him.
"That bastard Migg wouldn't let me take you away if he was here. So I had to send him away first." Dio smiled, "That kid's loyal to you. Something a bastard like you doesn't deserve. Just like you didn't deserve my sister, Janet. Tonight, I'll make sure you pay for what you put her through until she ran away. Tonight, I'll make sure you die a dog's death as you deserve."
A minute later he threw Andrex out of the window, right in front of Asterios. The Minotaur was about to swing his bloodstained Warhammer through his new target's head when he realised who the man was. His Master wanted this man to be delivered to him, unscathed.
He huffed loudly and two automatons immediately came rushing to him. They picked the scared Andrex and were about to retreat when Dio called for them.
He was kneeling in front of them. His eyes fixated on the ground below, "If possible, I'd like to hand that bastard over to your Master myself."
Asterios didn't know what the man was saying, neither did he care about him. His Master's instructions were clear: bring that man and kill everyone else. And Asterios was going to fulfil his Master's desire. Right when Asterios was about to send Dio to the afterlife, Arnold's voice echoed through one of the automatons.
"Bring him too."
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