𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐊'𝐒 𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 .°* | wmmap.

━━ chapter LVII.

trigger warning : gore .

" NOT SO SOON ! " the levitating form of the boy warlock landed on the ground ,  azure flames dancing on the palm of his hand as he confidently strutted over to the unconscious form of the empress lying atop the mare .

the knight stepped forth defensively ,  making him roll his eyes .  " step aside , you're not all that trust worthy either . " he snapped with an unimpressed tone . the warlock checked her gash ,  the playful grin that marked his face up till now fading into an expression of indifference . 

" that is our captive , boy ! don't put your nose where it doesn't belong , or you will face consequences . " the grand cross ordered ,  his voice booming in the ambiance of the oasis , backed with the crackling of thunder above their heads .

the warlock turned to throw a lazy glance at the man ,  mouth upturning into a sneer that never touched his eyes ,  " consequences , you say ? "  his voice was calm as he turned to face the grand cross .

" are you certain i will be the one facing consequences here ? " he stated , languid motions of his fingers causing the clouds to whirl above their heads .

the grand cross seemed unfazed , but his men faltered . seeing this , the grand cross boomed ,  " don't think your petty tricks will intimidate us , boy . the knights of doth aren't so  ― " 

the boy cut him off with a mocking laugh ,  holding his stomach , pointing a finger at them .  " hahaha !  give your majestic speeches sometime else , old fogey . " he wheezed out , 

" it is quite embarrassing ,  how you are preaching about your might when i can smell the stench of piss from here ! "

the grand cross' features distorted into a disgusted scowl at the vulgar words from the boy ,  and although he had made a vow to himself to never harm a child , this one was simply testing his patience .  " capture him !  and take the queen at this instant ! "

the men charged forth to attack the trio ,  making artemis who stood behind him step forth to shield the boy warlock with her frame  ― an action that made lucas scoff to himself , as he pushed her away from the scene .

artemis watched ,  panicked , the small frame of the boy who strutted ahead like he owned the place ,  blue flames flickering betwixt his fingers . 

he levitated up in the air , deflecting the blows of swords that came his way to leap towards the grand cross  ― grabbing the front of his skull with the hand that held blue tinged fire .

a mortifying scream came from the grand cross ,  he fell down to his knees as the blue flames slowly spread down his face ,  ridding his head of the skin and hair in their wake . 

raw ,  and red  ― his head was stained with bubbling fluid  , with remnants of his eyes flowing down the cavity where should have been a nose . his mouth was wide open as if screaming still  ― but that did not make lucas move his hand away .

instead he stared down at the man with an impassive face ,  the sick delight in his eyes hidden from artemis since he had his back to her .

however ,  she could still  smell the proof of the atrocity that was committed in front of her eyes . putrid ,  a nauseating stench of cooked blood hung in the air ,  making her suffocate .

the screams started dying down into whimpers ,  breathy whines as the flames ran down his neck . the soldiers , who seemed to have forgotten the empress in the moment ,  charged over to the boy warlock .

lucas held his hand up ,  and a choking sound made artemis turn her head in horror to the side where a man was hanging in the air ,  the boy warlock too turning to grin at him with an innocent face .

the man twisted above in the air ,  wailing in pain as a sickening crunch emanated from each his movements . the sight was terrorising ,  seeing the knight she'd worked with once ,  twitch and yelp as if his limbs weren't his own .

a gurgling sound escaped his mouth ,  his hands instinctively rushing to his neck as if some unknown forces were choking him .  SPLAT  ―  !  !  a revolting sound echoed , then  ,  making even the seasoned knight artemis  ―  who had fought various bloody wars  ―  turn her head in disgust ,  as the man's skull burst open like a tomato squashed within someone's fist .

the kid then turned his head ,  tossing away the corpse of the grand cross ―  which did not once bleed , the flesh of it cooked to the point it flew with grease instead of blood  ―  and addressed the crowd with a voice far too casual for someone who had committed heinous crimes seconds ago .

" consequences ? "  a smirk marked his face , like a self-pleased feline .  " ah well !  i did not plan to fight ,  so scram . my energy is far too precious to be wasted on insects like you lot . " dismissively stating ,  he walked over to the empress ,  tutting . 

" she needs some serious repair ,  here . you ? "  he eyed artemis ,  who was still recovering from the shock . " guide me to a place that's a bit more comfortable ,  and doesn't have pests ,  will you ? "  at the word 'pests' ,  artemis' eyes turned to the men ,  right as lucas added .

" and you lot ,  do not let me find you again .  what you saw today was not even half of what 'consequences' will follow , then . " the boy then turned to gesture artemis to take the lead ,  following behind with his arms behind his head ,   whistling to himself .

DON'T ASK ME WHY . 

because even i don't know why i added this scene . i just felt writing graphic gore would be a nice challenge and from the snippets of some wmmap chapters ( lucas' glare to ijekiel and the 'should i just kill him?' ) i felt like lucas is , more than capable of such stuff and will not hesitate in doing so .  but then again , it's how mages are !  they are very remorseless and downright disgusting when they come to it , because of all that emotional restrain . 

so expect penelope having a few scenes to showcase her unrepentant mage side in future too >:}