CHAPTER 41: Silver Cross

Diamondback leaped back. The barren ground and clear black sky whitened with the glow of lasers as the colors of red and indigo broke out from the corner of the horizon. Dawn had come, the first day had passed. The man, with another wave of his hand, drove the lasers into the ground, where they re-melted the stone. His amusement only heightened.

"Next." The man taunted. "And stop using lasers. You've already done that on the young man. Besides, it's a little bland and overcooked for my taste. Like college chicken that's too dry and tough to even cut through, leaving you wondering how someone could even pull that out of an oven and deem it edible. Come on, you're an engineer, aren't you? Show me something juicy, something spicy, something jaw-dropping!" The man said as he motioned dramatically and stopped briefly to look yearningly at Chandler. "Are you not amused?" Chandler could only sigh.

"No. I'm not! Stop playing stupid games! I thought you'd actually get serious. And, also, I'm not just any engineer, I'm an architect and structural engineer."

"Until you get serious, I won't. I know! Just the right buttons to push…" The man's eyes shined mischievously "All those years ago, you swore two things to your dear Alwin. The first rule is to not intentionally cause other people unnecessary suffering. And the other…"

"Was not to claim a human's life without justifiable cause, at least in Alwin's eyes."

"Yes, that was because you didn't have a proper moral compass at that point. So what-" Chandler kicked the man's blade into the ground before planting a solid kick on the man's face. He shrugged it off without a scratch "-will you do next? Your reason for helping others, for keeping your nobility. It has corroded from your hands. And now, you can't even keep simple promises to the person who kept you sane for all these years…"

"After this mission is complete, I will start a search for someone. I'm going to get Alwin back. There is no guarantee I will find her, though. It might be pointless. I might die along the way. But I have to try. He did not deserve any of this. I deserve this for not protecting him! I am willing to do anything-"

"Anything?" The man's eyes no longer shone a lax violet. They radiated brilliantly as daybreak's sun emerged from behind him. A dark shadow with brilliant eyes. The man fell into a tangent of laughter as he snatched something around his neck that was hidden behind his clothes. He ripped it off to display as Chandler stood there in trepidation. This man… an ornate silver cross with three pin-sized jewels, two on the handles and one in the center. On the right, a purple jewel lies, on the left, a green. In the middle, a light blue. He was one of the Silver Crosses… No wonder he was in a league beyond the scope of the Plagues. What was he doing here?

"Do you want to speak with her?"

"High Priestess Maleadora?"

The man reached one hand into his pocket to reveal a phone.

"She is only a phone call away! I can give you what you want! Now, show me Chandler Praze!"

"You'd do that?"

"Yes, of course!"

Chandler's agitated and empty face brightened in surprise, and his restlessness leveled into a dead calm as his body relaxed. As he closed his eyes, the atmosphere about him changed. As he opened his eyes, Chandler couldn't resist a smile. His eyes and presence no longer glowed the ugly blackened yellow they did before, a nice natural yellow tone taking its place. Finally, the real Chandler had shown himself. The one that raised Alwin, the one mentored by Arewara, the one that raised cities and nations when they fell. The man in violet had waited impatiently for this change. He had only happened upon Chandler by chance while looking for his real objective, but he was already invested. When one has nothing to lose, they don't fight to win. But when one has everything to gain, that is when their true abilities shine. Chandler couldn't help but think back to not too long ago. They were on the computer searching for custom casual clothes for LeRoy, who only wore his uniforms from day to day as nothing else could fit him. The look on his face when Alwin handed him the huge pile of clothes and the bright shine in Alwin's eyes when handing it to him were amongst the best of his memories. Alwin's kindness reached no bounds, as on that day they crossed paths with him for the first time, he was anything but a friend. Enticed by the rumors of a miracle machine that would sell for billions, they stalked a formation of five cars with their own group of fifty people, working both in person and behind screens. A tipper had notified and organized the raid, Alwin and Chandler joining because they had run low on people to steal from. With this, they would no longer have to rely on canned food and dry pasta. They could finally leave this country to make a better living before they would start to seek outside help for those inside its borders who weren't as fortunate. But what no one knew was the origins of such a machine. Built by the TA, this machine was the base of what would become the Ethiopian outpost. It had just landed from the airport, and was moving to the center point where a massive tower would be erected. Guarding such a valuable piece of equipment was none other than the Kingslayer. As mines went off around the vehicles, the militia attacked with their rifles, which only cracked the windshields and made the vehicles halt immediately. They rushed in, adrenaline and hopes high. Chandler stopped Alwin as he was about to protest. They had agreed only to hold them at gunpoint to apply pressure, but the idiots rampaged as they grabbed crowbars to bend the armored cars' doors and slashed the tires. It was only when the heavy-plated doors on the main cargo car were kicked open by a man nine feet tall that caused all barrels to focus on him as they prepared to unload. Swiftly, he closed the doors and began pacing forward. The man standing above them walked forward as the bullets didn't even move him. Chandler had a feeling this would happen… the other reason for cautioning Alwin. The company that produced the machine was unknown, but it was easy to figure out. Who else in the world had the resources and technology said to modify living people? Only the recent victors of the last world war. The TA would erect outposts in each and every nation as proof of their might and authority according to the established contract, or so it seemed to Chandler. A mysterious organization with seamlessly endless amounts of money and countless talented pioneers of all fields of engineering and science and art. But so little was known about this organization, other than it controlled the country of Spain as far as the earliest accounts of history would go. The TA has stood, unwavering, for thousands of years. It all started with a legend of a god appearing out of nowhere. Some accounts say he descended from the sky. Others said he came from deep beneath the earth. Chandler had done much research on the organization known as the TA. He was naturally curious, as it had a lot to do with him and Alwin. However, this was the first time for Chandler, seeing a TA soldier in the flesh. He was dressed in white, and held a long, grueling spear in his hand. This was bad. According to accounts of world war three, Captains wore pearl white, while the majority of lower-ranking soldiers wore black and grey. Yet, they were all supposed to wear full-face helmets. Where was his? The man's thin, muscular complexion had no armor protecting it. Yet bullets bounced off the man like they were rubber. As LeRoy drew back his spear, a slight breeze of cold air wisped to Chandler's face. Without a second thought, Chandler dive-tackled Alwin to the ground as a hailing storm of supercooled air rushed in all directions and burned all of the men standing upwards none-the-wiser. One slash of that spear, and men were quite literally crumbling apart. The men covering behind buildings and laying down sprawled in agony but were alive. Alwin looked up in Chandler's arms as he felt Chandler's body shiver uncontrollably. The cold air had glided across his back, freezing solid his favorite coat and freeze-burning his skin. His coat was the only thing that kept him alive. The rest of the men threw their weapons down and raised their hands up. They knew they could not win. LeRoy became pissed. Another slash tore the leading men in half and froze the rest behind them in a wide radius. All without physically touching a single person.

"You want to surrender? Did you ask us to surrender before using lethal force? Why show I give you that privilege? You knew what you were getting into as soon as you pointed those guns. You want to live as bandits? Then die like them too."

Out of the fifty that came here, less than ten were alive. Alwin attempted to pull Chandler along as LeRoy had his sights on someone else. Too slow. With all of the strength Alwin could muster, he lifted Chandler into a fireman's carry. He fought screaming as he accelerated into a sprint. It's not that Chandler was that heavy, it's that he was still a young child. The fact that he could lift a grown man on his back was impressive, never mind sprint with him. As LeRoy unstuck his last victim of impalement, his eyes locked onto a figure running behind a corner with one of his comrades on his back. With his hair, beard, and skin whitened with an icy frost, a dark ear-to-ear grin came across the Chair of Strength's face as turquoise eyes replaced his dull brown ones. As Alwin ran towards the double doors to a larger building, his legs felt numb. They couldn't keep up with his mind. Those doors, their only hope of escaping this monster. A chill ran down the back of his neck as LeRoy arched back his massive spear to deliver one final blow. He caught up so fast! They were going to die! Suddenly, Alwin felt the weight lift off of his shoulders. Chandler, with his remaining strength, pushed off of him, and with the quickdraw of a pistol beneath his coat, shot straight at his eye. Though the man had steel-hard skin, his eyes were not guaranteed to be that way. The man shifted his stance, throwing off his aim just enough. The blast of frost-bitten air rushed and created a wave of wispy vapor from the humid air just to the side of Alwin as the slash had already made its way through Chandler's right shoulder. As Chandler stood up with frail, shaky legs and a single working arm, one word escaped his mouth to Alwin in a distressed, rasp voice.

"RUN."

It was time to protect Alwin like he did the day he fought the Kingslayer as a mere mortal. He had faced much worse odds before, what was this to him? That smile, that warmth. Was that not worth bringing back to this world once more? One more thought appeared in his mind before he was ready to take on one of the Silver Crosses of Maleadora. His teacher's last words before he went off as one of the Plagues to go and change this country and the world.

"You've learned what I can create. You've learned what our predecessors can create. Now, it's time to learn what you can create. Inspire me, Chandler Praze."

Chandler, back in the reality of battle, placed his hands on the ground.

"Ooouuu, what's this?" The man said, intentionally not reading Chandler's mind to see what the Diamondback was cooking up with his own two eyes. Fast as sound, silver lines spread from his hands outwards across the ground. Multiple lines shot straight, circled, and curved all at Chandler's will. Confused, the man jumped high into the sky and levitated there to see the bigger picture. Suddenly, people started flying out of their homes outside the radius of total desolation, and the buildings seemed to be sucked down into the ground as if swallowed by pit traps. The man tried to figure out what was going on. Chandler extended his constructs deep into the ground. But why demolish the outer buildings? They had nothing to do with this. And those gargantuan markings on the ground, they looked somewhat familiar. Countless straight lines, circles, and curves, all connected intricately around the area of the entire flattened block. The realization hit the man, and he laughed at himself for not realizing it sooner. A blueprint. But on this scale?