Rise Of Pandora

Rise Of Pandora: XXXVI. Forgive Me

"You have never seen the bottom of the abyss."

-Genesis

II. Blessed

After much contemplation of his fellow Rare Men, Pontus realized that they were now in Athens. Still, on Alastor's back, he could clearly make out the countless droves of Deathknights who were sacking the town. This was odd to Pontus. He thought Atlas or the many other skilled soldiers in the capital would have handled them. However, his vision betrayed this presumption of his. The Deathknights ran about the capital without resistance. He forced himself off of Alastor's broad back and shoulders. Alastor, too focused on the rampaging Deathknights, did not really seem to notice. The Sundarians frantically withdrew their swords in one, almost synchronous motion. Worry and doubt were present upon their faces. However, they became gradually relieved once they had witnessed Alastor and Pontus take action. Their might was awe-inspiring and magnificent.

Even at this distance, their wrathful blasts dissipated the many roaming Deathknights. They were like gods in a world of mortals. It was almost unfair. The Sundarians left their swords out and by their sides, for they did not want to be taken by surprise. They, unlike the Rare Men, could be cut down. However, they were not completely helpless, for they possessed a power unparalleled by any other beings. Their bodies could produce searing temperatures hot enough to produce fire. But, it would not mean much to the Deathknights which was why they did not aid Brais in his retaking of Ereignfall.

Mildly hot steam ascended from the chinks of their now hot protective wear. They looked around in unison. Almost all the Deathknights in clear vision were now motionless and obliterated. Pontus, while discharging more wrathful energy from his arms, noticed little, characters through his peripheral vision veiled in black robes. He immediately spun his neck around to glace upon them. He identified three. He was not sure whether they noticed him, for their faces were much too veiled under their hoods. He immediately called out to Alastor to look, to which they then seemed to take notice. 

They were sure they were Dakini, so in unison, they let off a fury of blasts. The robed creatures burned away into nothing. With Alastor shooting his energy at the remaining Deathknights, Pontus rushed to see what was left of those figures. There was nothing but little tatters of black burning fabric. He lifted a patch of burning fabric, which possessed a certain soft texture, and placed it into his pants' pocket while putting the embers out with his hand.

He soon rejoined the main group, running past several burning and collapsed buildings. He noticed that there were no more Deathknights in plain view. They continued onward for several minutes until they reached Olympus, the home to King Baccus Obryn and the secret place of residence for Atlas. It was a large domain that had a myriad of sections. It was sectioned off by a still moat and past it was like a small city. Many bodies were spread across the entrance of the castle which was beyond a narrow bridge. Three Deathknights stood on the bridge, their massive bodies nearly breaking and setting ablaze to the old wooden construction.

Pontus did not even need to see Alastor's face to know what he was feeling. Pontus had always known Alastor to take failure poorly. He thought him to be an ideal perfectionist who tried to see the best in everything even when he knew there was no good to be found. Pontus thought it to be a way that Alastor has learned to cope, no matter how feigned.

Gelasius yelled to the Rare Men, "Go ahead! We will catch up!"

So the Rare Men no longer restrained their speed. They ran at an inhuman pace, leaving the Sundarians far behind. Alastor was making it hard for even Pontus to keep pace. He was moving so quickly towards the Olympus castles beyond the moat. He did not want to cause damage to the building or the bridge, so he refrained from discharging more blasts at the Deathknights that were near the entrance. He busted apart two of the Deathknights with his hands and pushed their destroyed vessels off the bridge and into the water below. The other swung its large blade at his torso but the blade snapped in two. Alastor forced his arm into the Deathknights chest and rotated the arm so that it faced the sky and promptly discharged his energy, effortlessly annihilating it.