Chapter 467: The Secret Of The Gate
Now then, Laz was faced with a bit of a problem after the speech. As it was, the gate and surrounding walls of the first family’s estate was covered in what looked like a barrier of green fire. As Laz looked at it, it seemed like the bricks themselves were on fire, giving the black bricks a green tint. This alone was unusual enough as bricks don’t generally burn but it became even more strange as several of the armed patrol who arrived early and attempted to gain access ended up setting themselves on fire just by touching the walls.
In the end, nothing could be done but to listen to their screams as their bodies burned to ashes. No amount of water or healing could negate the blaze and any attempts to touch those who had already been engulfed would just lead to those who touched them ending up on fire themselves.
It quickly became apparent that this wasn’t the way in.
While the walls were on fire, the sky was not so several of the more daring elves and a couple of elves who were pissed off after watching their friends die tried to jump or even fly over the wall in an attempt to avoid the green flame.
The result was nearly the same no matter which height someone attempted to cross.
The flames on the wall itself would roar to life and attack the person who went over it, either by engulfing them or shooting a fireball at them if they were high up in the air. Either action would result in the one trying to get past bursting into emerald colored flames as their body burnt to nothing in seconds.
After that, they tried everything they could think of but to no aval.
The emerald green flames would kill all trespassers.
Standing in front of the massive gold gate covered in green flames, Laz had a feeling like he was trying to barge into hell. Looking behind himself at the excited looks of Sylvia with her gathered legion of troops and Ivana with her squads of priestesses, Laz knew all eyes were on him at this moment.
Somehow, someway, he had to do something as that was what they brought him here for. Although what it was, even Maia wouldn’t say despite him asking her. And while Laz cursed Maia in his head for not even giving him a hint, he had no idea that she didn’t have a clue; It was just something she felt after experiencing her vision and talking to the elder of his race that even he didn’t know about.
While watching on, three robed figures appeared at the door and walked down the steps of the landing before walking the stone pathway to stand at the gate.
Laz stood there and watched them, his face a mask of stone. At times like these, there was no way they would be coming here for anything good.
"You have all gathered here today to take action against us. That saddens me. While I agree that things have moved in a way different from what our previous generation wished, our discoveries have yielded results far beyond what they could have imagined," the deep, raspy voice said, clear enough for all of those gathered to hear.
"You have turned your back on our people and of our goddess. Repent now and save what little remains of you dignity," Sylvia said, her voice stern and commanding. While Laz’s time with Sylvia showed him many different sides to her, the one that she had used the most was that of the great queen of her people and as such, her majesty was inscribed deep within her bones.
The aura of such a queen couldn’t be ignored.
And yet despite that, she still stood back, several steps behind Laz.
"HA ha ha ha... My dear queen. I find your accusations to be hurtful. After all, the great mother tree, our goddess who you hold in such high regards is nothing but a shackle on our lives. She binds us to her and as such, we will never be free as long as she is around..."
"YOU DARE SPEAK SUCH WORDS. IT IS THE MOTHER TREE HERSELF THAT IS THE REASON FOR OUR EXISTANCE," Ivana yelled, truly insulted by such words.
"I used to believe such things as well, I truly did. But then the strangest thing happened. Our goddess, the previous mother tree was struck dead during the ancient war and yet we... well, we did not perish, did we?" The hooded figure said with a bit of gloating.
"That was only because another mother tree seed was gifted to our people. We were then given this place with which to recover and grow once again. Surely you have not forgotten such a fact?" Sylvia said as Ivana was being restrained by several of her priestesses so that she would go crazy at the moment.
"OF COURSE! HA. Of course I haven’t forgotten that. And so we followed the orders of the grand Fae and found ourselves in this silent prison for ten thousand years. HOW COULD I POSSIBLY FORGET THAT?" The voice said, a mixture of mockery and madness was present in his voice, something Laz had heard before.
But the previous time he had heard it was in the crying and anguished sounds of an impossibly large lifeform who had been sealed beneath a prison of metal, unable to die even if it wanted to.
That lifeform he had felt pity for, this one could only bring forth feeling of disgust.
"Your people shouldn’t be able to live this long and yet for some reason you still stand here today. Perhaps you had noble intentions in the beginning, but now they have been twisted into whatever you are now. I truly feel nothing but hate for someone who had so much but still desired more," Laz spoke, interrupting whatever was going to be said next.
And he meant it. Laz had never had much, but he got along fine with what he had. Would he have liked to be rich? Sure, who wouldn’t. But that didn’t mean he would sell his soul for it. And yet now, having guessed several things from this man’s speech, Laz felt like he knew far more that he should have.
But he didn’t question it.
"You filthy human. You are nothing. Your people weren’t even around back when we fought war’s throughout the omniverse..."
"You fought nothing. Perhaps you were too young or too weak. But either way, that battle had nothing to do with you."
"HOW DARE YOU SAY SUCH THINGS!"
"I dare to say such things because I know the nobleness of your people. Most of the Fae powerful enough to participate in that war fell in the final battle. If any of them were alive right now, your people would never have been sealed away as a god being would have been strong enough to protect your people until the seed was fully developed. She never would have needed this place."
"HOW... COULD YOU..."
"Because I’ve seen it, old man. I’ve seen more than you who wasn’t even there. And I guess, perhaps, the answer to this other riddle that’s been bothering me has been answered as well," Laz said, turning his attention from the hooded figure to the gate.
"HEH. Heh he he he he. Go on. Go on. Give it a tap. I’m sure that such a meager thing wouldn’t be enough to hurt someone who was strong enough to see the great war for himself," the old man mocked.
Laz brought his hand forward, as though accepting the crazy old man’s invitation.
"NO!"
"DON’T"
"NOOO!"
Everyone behind Laz, including Sylvia, Ivana and even Jill, yelled out at once to stop Laz. While he might have been sleeping the whole time, they had seen the results of what happened to those who touched it.
Laz set his hand against the smooth golden exterior of the gate and let it rest there as though he wasn’t even concerned.
"NOW DIE..."
The old man was excited, staring at Laz as though he were about to see a show.
Laz felt the green flames as soon as his hand came in contact with the metal. It felt warm... but it wasn’t the flame that gave it that feeling, it was the metal itself. It felt like something was flowing through it, like the golden gate were actually hollow.
As Laz held his hand on there, he felt something slam against his palm, like whatever was inside of the gate were trying to attack his hand through the metal since the flames didn’t have any effect on him.
Every time it pounded against it’s golden cage, the green flames roared outside, as though attempting to engulf Laz in the flames.
But still Laz didn’t move, focusing on the feeling of what was inside the gate.
"It’s like a liquid... It flows constantly and endlessly, like water being pumped through a tube," Laz mused with his eyes closed.
The old man dropped his mouth in shock, not willing to believe his eyes.
"This... is absolutely disgusting," Laz said, taking his hand back. At first, he didn’t know what it was that he was feeling, but it felt familiar. The more he held on though, the more he thought about it until he came to a conclusion.
"It’s like feeling the flow of blood within a vein," Laz said, his face turning dark.
The old man practically dropped to his knees.
"I can only imagine just how much tainted blood you must had harvested to do this, but it ends today," Laz said, venom in his words.
Lifting both his hands, he wrapped them in black flames as his body under went its change. Long white hair tinted with red was now done up behind himself as the black lines covering his grey skin appeared on his body.
His golden eyes were fixed on the old man, daring him to run.
And run he did, taking off before his two helpers could even process what was going on.
"FAMILY HEAD!" They screamed as they ran after him.
Laz didn’t care though, knowing they had nowhere to hide from him.
Instead, he laid both his hands on the two sides of the gate and pulled outward, ripping the chains from the gate as he separated the two sides.
Gasps of shock and surprise sounded out behind him since when the chains broke apart, they started spewing a reddish green liquid into the air and straight at Laz who had been standing right there.
The black flames covered his body, burning away the tainted blood before it could land on his skin. Moving his hands to where each of the broken chains rested, Laz focused the flames like a blow touch and like a hot poker cauterizing a wound, Laz sealed the holes the tainted blood flowed from.
Once that was done, he pushed both sides of the gate apart as the green flames on the gate and the black bricks began to die down, their constant supply line having been broken.
"TODAY! THEY ALL DIE!" Laz said, with the voice of death himself.
