Chapter 24 - The marching tides of death
-0-
-0-
-0-
As the three Human leaders talked about the state of the legionnaire corpse and the implications it hinted at, Kain stood back aside from them with his arms folded across his chest and his expression dour. He gazed at the replicated remains of the one slave which had remained loyal to the Divus with no small sense of apprehension.
If what Ophiel suggested was true, then his enemy had copied this one man hundreds of thousands of times. Perhaps even millions. Enough to fill the ranks of a seemingly endless army of mindlessly obedient soldiers. Was there any limit to the amount of Legionnaires they could produce? Kain had no reason to believe otherwise and the prospect of a literal unending swarm was less than appealing.
Given that he had seen the Legions being deployed from the Ark, then it was only logical to assume that the means of such production was contained onboard as the ship, large as it was, was not so big that it could contain an army of such size if they had been made in Fanum-Divus prior to its collapse. If the tide of the Legions was to be halted, then it would seem that there was little option but to storm the ship.
The Vampire's gaze drifted sidelong to behold the Humans. Lorenzo was speaking earnestly with Skelim about potential weak spots in the armour of the Legionnaires while Ophiel was examining the head of the remains with an openly pained expression. Ewoden was patiently waiting off to one side, a human only in form. His lycanthropes were his people, not the Humanity he, like the Vampires, had left far behind.
Kain had little doubt of the reaction they would give if he proposed such an action. They were barely tolerating his presence already, after that they would think him insane as well as callous. Dimly, Kain wondered; did he even have enough potential troops left for an attack? The Humans were clinging to survival by the skin of their teeth, the Vampires were scattered and the Hylden, while more humorous, were not exactly enthusiastic allies. The bleak assessment of his resources were bitterly sobering
"For centuries I thought your only solution to overcome obstacles was to kill." Moebius said to him, breaking his train of thought. Kain glanced the other way to see the flickering face of his enforced companion. "And yet now, here I find you negotiating with mankind. And in good faith, I am tempted to think."
Moebius's face, formed by flickering flames as it was, bore an expression of emotional confusion. In some way he even managed to look upset.
"Your woman was right. You've changed, Kain." He said. The Emperor of Nosgoth grunted with a dismissive chuckle and smiled, showing off one fang.
"Perhaps." He conceded, speaking softly as to not draw the attention of the others in the room. "But I think, so have you."
Moebius's expression turned sour and he squinted at the Vampire.
"Are you attempting flattery?" The former Time Guardian asked some of his more characteristic acidity.
"Nothing of the sort." Kain responded, tapping his talons off one arm. "You're dead. That's quite a significant change. Not one I find displeasing either."
Moebius's sourness increased to the point where there was no amount of lemons that could reproduce it.
"Perhaps we have indeed both changed, though the universe might grind to a halt if you ever stopped being so cruel." Moebius said, averting his gaze with bitterness.
"The universe is cruel, Moebius. I merely return the courtesy." Kain replied with some stern conviction. There was then a moment of silence between them as their words resonated between the two, filled only by the chatter from Lorenzo and Skelim nearby. Their interaction, though small, cleared the air and made one thing obvious. They were still foes.
"I suppose it might be within my character to try and fill your ear with sweet nothings about how I've seen the light and plan to support you against my Master." Moebius remarked then into the silence.
"I'd be terribly disappointed if you tried such an obvious ruse." Kain replied, without looking at him.
"Good. Because I want to make myself perfectly clear on this. I am by no means throwing myself in you and your lot. You are, after all, the reason I am dead."
"Both times." Strangely as the old angry animosity crept back into Moebius's voice, Kain found himself feeling pleasantly nostalgic.
"And you intend to wrest the governorship of the Pillars away from Mankind and return it to the Vampires." Moebius went on, ignoring the interruption. "You will restore your Empire in the image of their old dominance, the one I led an uprising to liberate Humanity from. That I can never support!. Your woman might have interesting, liberal ideas but I've seen nothing to suggest that you intend to follow them." The fiery glare he directed in Kain's direction had all the old venom in it.
"So as long as that ambition remains in your heart, we will always be on opposite sides of the board."
-0-
"Moebius's words were filled with old bitterness from a youth spent oppressed into servitude and were not to be allowed to dissuade me, but they struck a chord in me and my mind began to turn. Something about this moment, this unique period in Nosgoth's history, with all three races united for the first time set forth before me an idea. It was a preposterously simplistic and naive notion but the harder I tried to dismiss it, the more its merits appealed."
-0-
The Vampire paused as the idea in his mind began to grow, rapidly and to bloom with the prospects of a future of dizzyingly naive optimism. It was so startling a series of thoughts that Kain absently brought a hand up to his skull as if he were nursing a migraine. Could it really be that simple?
-0-
"The Pillars, the original set, had required Vampire Guardians because the blood of that race had been used in their construction. But that did not mean that the set we were to build had to be that way."
-0-
Before the idea could grow on the fertile soil of his imagination any further, a loud shout brought his attention back to the present. Kain turned and saw that running into the warehouse was a Human soldier. He looked to be one of Lorenzo's Forsaken and indeed he ran straight up to the man, eyes wide with alarm.
"Coordinator!" The man called out. "Coordinator, an army approaches!"
"What?! Where?!" Skelim demanded, turning on his heel with Lorenzo directly behind them. The expressions of both men were instantly grim. Kain frowned at the news as well. It would have been too much to ask for the presence of the Humans here to go unnoticed for long but the tidings were grim nonetheless.
"The message just came in, sir! A vast force to the north! The legions are forcing their way into the canyons even now!" The soldier stated, huffing for breath as he skidded to a stop before them.
"How many troops? Do they have siege engines?" Skelim asked quickly, his well trained military mind seeking out needed specifics at once.
Lorenzo rolled his eyes and shook his head with a grunt of dismissal.
"Have you seen the state of Meridian's walls, Skelim? They hardly need battering rams to get through those crumbling fortifications!" The Forsaken leader stated. Kain, who had viewed the state of the walls when he arrived in the city, could only agree with that assessment.
"The scouts aren't sure, sir. But their report says at least a couple thousand." The soldier said, trying to catch his breath between every third word.
"No fewer than ten thousand, I would wager." Kain said, coming over. The soldier, who only just now registered the presence of the Emperor of Nosgoth, winced and took a step back in alarm.
"How can you know that?" Skelim asked, giving Kain a side-eye.
"It is the number I would choose if I were the enemy general." Kain replied simply, as if it merely stating simple logic. "A number sufficient enough to sweep Meridian clean of all opposition. I hope I don't need to tell you that you're going to be hopelessly outnumbered."
Lorenzo grunted again and turned to the large table, picking up a pair of gloves laid between the maps.
"We always have been." He said. "Skelim, if you get what barricades you can set up I'll delay them in the canyons. We've enough explosives prepared for you to set up your own traps."
Skelim looked at his compatriot with a twisted, angry expression. Then he swore, loud enough to make half the people in the room flinch. Even Kain gave him an odd look for the sudden outburst.
"Fuck it, I'd hoped we'd have more time!" He hissed. Lorenzo turned to Enya, his lieutenant, his expression lacking all traces of its useful boyish wry humour. The seriousness of the situation had galvanised him to action.
"Enya, I need the Endurance ready to fly in twenty minutes!" He told her, his tone reflecting that same seriousness.
"Coordinator, repairs have not..." She began hesitantly, but Lorenzo cut her off before she could finish.
"I NEED her to fly in twenty minutes! Do I make myself clear?" His tone this time was like a cracking whip and Enya flinched as if actually struck with one.
"Yes, Coordinator!" She responded and darted out, calling the Forsaken soldier to go with her. The man was only happy enough to follow her.
Ewoden turned then, moving toward the door out of the warehouse.
"My pack will keep them at the walls for as long as we can." He said with grim determination, a growling undercurrent to his voice. Kain reached out and held him by the shoulder, forestalling the lycanthrope.
"No, the walls will never hold." Kain told him, shaking his head. "You should wait in the ruins of the city. The cover of the buildings will give you an advantage."
Skelim, who was pulling on a thick pair of leather gloves, nodded in solemn agreement without looking up.
"He's right." He said. "Once they reach the walls we'll never be able to hold the city. We'll have to delay them to give the people a chance to escape at the ports."
Kain turned to look at him, eyebrow raised in quizzical curiosity.
"You have ships?" The Vampire asked, quite genuinely surprised. The Forsaken Coordinator nodded.
"A small fleet left in the city's shipyards, locked up against the elements. A little work can make them sea worthy again." He said.
Meridian, being a settlement on the coast, would naturally have enjoyed a rich and vibrant tradition of seafaring trade during the many centuries it had existed. Kain had little faith in some abandoned barges but decided now was not the time to express his scepticism..
"Then I suggest you work quickly." The Vampire said and prompt erupted into a cloud of bats.
Racing out of the warehouse and flowing like a dark cloud, Kain surged upwards swiftly over the rooftops of Meridian and flew with all speed toward the walls of the city to the north west. It was there that the city's walls, or what remained of them, blocked the passage of the canyons leading inland. The storm was still raging, rain falling all around and the thundering boom of lightning a near constant din.
As Kain reformed his body upon the walls, he found that standing there waiting for him was Ophiel. He had not even seen her leave but clearly she had translocated here as soon as word had reached them of the oncoming crisis. She was staring out into the canyons, the wide brim of her hat acting protecting her from the rain as she frowned out upon the sight. Kain came to join her and stood there, watching as in the flashes of lightning from the storm above, a long undulating column of shapes gleamed and glittered amongst the ravines and towering walls of rock.
-0-
"Much to my consternation the report had been no exaggeration. If anything it had been understated. Just what process produced these copies of one man, the Divus clearly had the means to produce tens of thousands of them whenever you wanted. A mass produced single soldier which could be used to create an army thousands strong whenever they wanted. An ending supply of troops."
-0-
The canyons were no straight road, twisting and turning, with many different ravines at different heights intersecting. This made gauging the exact number of troops approaching difficult, but grimly Kain could see enough to know that his earlier estimate of ten thousand had been entirely accurate. The heavy rhythmic thudding of approaching footsteps began to be heard through the constant din of the storm.
"Mikail-Divus." Ophiel said without looking away, her gaze fixed on the oncoming horde. Kain turned his head to look at her. "He is the Divus in command here. A military general, or he styles himself as one."
"You are certain?" Kain asked. The former Divus nodded, lips pursed.
"I sense him. I spent many thousands of years amongst them all so I know all of them quite well."
"And you are only mentioning this sense of yours now?" Kain's question had a frustrated undertone to it.
"It wasn't relevant before." Ophiel replied, still without looking around. Kain let out a huff of annoyance.
"I would strongly disagree. But that is a discussion for another time." He muttered darkly. Looking down, he took another chance to survey the walls of Meridian. Though they were quite thick, the walls were worn, battered, cracked and broken. Time had flowed by and without a constant population centre to maintain them, they had suffered. Once they might have been impenetrable but here and now, faced with an oncoming army that would pay little to no heed to casualties they would serve as little more than a temporary barricade.
Off in the distance there was a thundering detonation, a ball of orange flame blaring out in the darkness. Rocks and debris were sent hurtling down into the ravines with a boom and clatter that echoed awfully, the rockslide sweeping over the approaching army's front ranks like an incoming tide. Kain smiled at the handiwork of Lorenzo's forsaken and their inventory of high explosives.
"Is he a skilled commander?" The Vampire asked as more explosions boomed out there in the darkness.
"He has never been put to the test before in real warfare, few of the Divas truly have. They haven't needed to be." Ophiel replied, having to pause every now and then between the rolling thunder and echoing explosions to be heard. "The only ones who really saw any combat experience were Raziel, Metatron and Asmodeus." She turned her head a little to look at him sidelong. "But Mikail prided himself on being a student of warfare. Make of that what you will."
Despite the explosions and rockslides, the enemy kept coming. Through sheer force of numbers they were overcoming the debris, clambering over it like a horde of ants and Kain saw then with some immense dismay that in fact his estimation of ten thousand had actually been insufficient. They were still coming, the legions of the Nemesis; implacable, undeterred, unstoppable.
"What I make of it is that he is coming to exterminate the Human race." The Vampire said. "To end Humanity once and for all." Most of what was left of Mankind was indeed here in this city. If they were slaughtered the only remnants would be a scattered few and whatever breeding stock was left on Vorador's island. Far too little for the species to realistically recover from. Extinction would be all but guaranteed at that point.
Kain pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. "It's tactically quite sound." He admitted with some begrudging respect. "Kill off most of Humanity and without a regular supply of blood, the Vampires will all die too. Ending two thirds of your adversaries with one blow." As the oncoming army regathered itself and began the last march up toward the walls of Meridian, he smiled. "Well, we can't have that can we?"
The legionnaires met the walls of Meridian like a surging tidal wave against an unprepared shoreline. They assaulted it not with battering rams or catapults but with sword hilt, the edges of shield and even their bare hands. They were a swarm of insects against the ancient walls, dismantling it in a frenzy of silent activity. Perhaps if there had been enough men to defend the walls, they might have been held off but with such reduced numbers the Humans had no such resource to put to their defence.
The holes the Legions of the Nemesis ripped open in the walls were small at first but rapidly grew until a few of them entered, then more, then finally the holes became large enough for ranks to move through unimpeded. It was like an insidious set of tentacles working its way through the skin of a helpless victim, worming through the flesh toward the organs beneath. The terrible silence of the Legion as they worked was the worse thing. They said nothing as they came, the only sounds being the near synchronised pounding of their footsteps.
The first to meet them in battle were the Lycanthropes. Leaping from alleyways, windows, doorways, rooftops and other dark corners the pack charged out and with tooth and claw carved at the flanks of the Legion. In lupine form Ewoden led them, striking hard and savagely but then pulling back into the darkness of the surrounding buildings before the Legionnaires could offer a meaningful counter strike.
Each time the werewolves struck they left dismembered, bloodless corpses scattered all across the streets. The Legion however pressed on as if nothing had happened, trembling the remains of the dispatched Legionnaires underfoot. What did it matter after all? They were all nothing more than mindless copies, incapable of any sort of emotional attachment to comrades. They would all throw themselves into the fray if it meant securing victory, without so much as a thought of self preservation.
As the invaders pressed into the lower cities market district, the Human hunters came into play. From the rooftops all around that large open space rose a solid mass of dark figures all wielding either a longbow or the cumbersome form of the crossbow.
"Loose!" Someone shouted and an instant later the air was filled with projectiles, bolts and arrows raining down on the legion like a vicious hail. Many of the silent Legionaries were pinned instantly to the ground, riddled so much they looked like a hedgehog. Others simply took enough damage to make them topple or stagger. Either way they were all knocked down and then crushed beneath the feet of their fellows from behind who did not pause in their advance for a moment.
Suddenly from the advancing ranks of the Legion came a counting barrage, not of arrows or bolts but of mortar shells. Thick balls of steel and lead came rocketing upwards, smashing into the buildings and sending debris flying. Several Humans were knocked off their perches, tumbling down the sides of the old city buildings with a scream until they landed with bone sickening crunches into the cobblestones below.
This new tactic caused the defenders to flinch in dismayed surprise, for it would seem that while the Legionnaires themselves were mindless, the Divus commanding them were capable of learning and adapting.
"Pull back! Pull back!" The command was yellowed out as more mortar balls toppled old chimneys down the side of tiled roofs. The hunters needed no further encouragement, scrambling to get out of range. The Legion pressed on, moving into more streets to drive the Humans back and pin them down.
Kain observed it all with a grim frown, leaping from rooftop to rooftop nearby. He could see that Lorenzo's airship, the Endurance, was still not ready to take off. Support from the air would be a vital component in the defence of the city but not if it wasn't able to fly in time to make any significant difference. At this rate, the Legion would swarm the airship before it even had a chance to get off the ground
Perhaps if he, Vorador and Janos combined their efforts then together they might be powerful enough to defend the Humans and allow them to escape. Even as that thought occurred to him, Kain felt himself shiver with dismay at the utter bizarreness of it all. That fate had conspired to make the two Vampires who hated Humans more than any others their only true defence in their darkest out was such an sour irony that it even managed to pierce Kain's by now jaded sense of humour.
"Kain." Moebius's voice began and once more the Vampire was reminded that he was not alone.
"Not now Moebius, I'm busy." He replied, scaling the side of a tall building in a moment and reaching its spire. From here he could see that the Legion's forces were dividing equally into two large formations and driving the defenders back toward the towering ruins of the city's cathedral, one of the few buildings in Meridian to have stood the centuries in relatively good condition.
The head of his old adversary swung firmly into his field of view, refusing to be ignored or pushed aside. The face of the old man was firmly set in a stubborn frown.
"If you fight to defend Humanity today, if that is truly your goal, then I will help you."
There was a long pause between them and the two of them froze there as if neither of them could quite believe those words had been uttered.
"You can not be serious." Kain began finally.
"I can't remember in the entire history of our relationship, my having ever told a joke." Moebius responded bruskly, still just as stubborn but with an affronted sort of reluctance to his tone.
Kain held the gaze for a moment longer, then as a scream of a dying man broke the silence, the Vampire turned and continued his run.
"What happened to not throwing yourself in with me and my lot?" The Emperor of Nosgoth demanded, leaping from one rooftop to another approaching the towering ruins of what was once the upper city.
"I am not prepared to stand idle while my species is all but exterminated!" Moebius said.
"Well assuming I were to believe this offer to be genuine, exactly what could you do to support me? Your capabilities are…somewhat limited." Kain laid out,skidding to a stop by an edge to look out across the side stretch of street. Through the still pouring rain he could see the Lycanthropes charge out of hiding to assault the Legionnaires carrying the mortars. But this time the Legionaries were ready for them, forming a shield wall to push back the assault. The two groups connected with a loud echoing clatter.
"This Divus who is commanding this army, you must distract him. Without him to command them, his soldiers will be far less coordinated." Moebius said.
"What uniquely insightful advice." Kain murmured, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the obviousness of it all. With a gruff dismissive sigh, he tensed and leapt over the gap in the street. He landed with a thump on the opposite rooftop, sending ancient tiles scattering down to clatter into the street below.
"No general worth the name would allow himself to be so wholly distracted that would allow his army to fall into chaos." The Vampire grumbled without pausing his run, spurred on by the cries and screams echoing up from the city streets, an ever encroaching din of battle and carnage.
Moebius's floating head easily kept up with him, passing through the rain droplets like they weren't even there.
"You are forgetting you have an asset." The spirit of the Time Streamer told him urgently. "One powerful asset they will not, can not, ignore. One they must pay attention to."
Kain gave him an annoyed if puzzled look.
"And what asset is that?" He asked testily. Moebius returned the look before after a moment letting an oily, familiar smile tug at the corners of his mouth.
"You are Kain." He said simply.
Kain suddenly remembered what Thanatos had told him during their brief conversation in the ruins of the mountain stronghold. That the Divus were afraid of him, of what he represented - the one thing they had rejected for centuries while preaching acceptance of for their followers. Death. No creature, mortal or immortal could ignore the call of Death.
"You…might just have something there." The Vampire admitted, a plan rapidly forming in his mind. It was a reckless plan with a lot of holes in it but a plan nonetheless. Instantly he changed his direction and in mid jump transformed into a cloud of bats, passing as a swarm swiftly over the rooftops until he reached the summit of the old Cathedral.
Many centuries ago, Kain had visited this cathedral as part of his quest to topple the rule of the Sarafan Lord. Here he had faced a traitor in his own ranks, Marcus. A Vampire who had developed extraordinary telepathic powers, allowing him to control the minds of the Humans around him as if they were little more than puppets. Perusing Marcus across the Upper city, Kain had finally confronted him in the Cathedral and ended his life. From this vantage point, the Vampire could see the approaching Legionnaires as they came into the street before the cathedral. It was time to see if he could make history repeat itself.
Raising one hand, Kain drew upon his reserves of power, gathering them up as best he could. Galvanising his strength he held it in check for a few moments, before thrusting that hand forward and releasing it in a spell. An arcane blast of lightning, the biggest one he could muster. He sent it hurtling down like some divine arrow toward the unsuspecting and uncaring Legion, who did not so much as look up as the air around them filled with an intense white light.
The lightning slammed into them with enough force to make the buildings around them shake, windows shatter, doors burst in and patches of roof tiles fly off in different directions. Fragments of legion armour rained down like snowfall all around, a small crater left where a great many legionnaires had once been marching. At this, finally, the other Legionaries paused.
The remainder halted in mid step and then turned to look upwards as one, toward the top of the cathedral from where the blast had come. Kain stood there in full view of them, not even attempting to hide. He had expended a lot of reserve energy for that little display and his arm was presently quite numb but it seemed to have done the trick.
"There…that got their undivided attention." He murmured. "Now to see if their leader wants to come take me himself."
Dropping down into the cathedral itself, leaping from pillar to pillar before touching the ground, Kain knew it would not be long before he had company. He would have to prepare so he quickly surveyed the battleground. The cathedral itself had not really changed in the layout from how he had seen it so long ago, although the centuries had brought in a great deal of tarnish. One thing that seemed to remain immaculate was the large stained glass window set high above the large wooden front door. Glistening shades of purple, pink and blue all melded together to produce a cascade of churning nocturnal light.
The Cathedral was divided into two floors facing the altar, the same altar that Kain had left Marcus broken and bloodied upon all those years ago. It offered many different surfaces and spaces to employ during space would reward someone who kept moving, who used the extra vertical space to their advantage.
His train of thought was interrupted suddenly when the front doors swung suddenly open. Several figures were coming in through the now open space. From their armored bulky outside Kain could see most of them were legionnaires but the central figure was a lot taller and they were matching steps with it. That figure walked calmly, not rushing, taking its time to approach at its own measured pace.
"Mikail-Divus, I presume?" Kain asked, watching as the figure approached and stopped to stand in the middle of the hall. In the pale magenta light casting in through the old stained glass window, flanked on either side by half a dozen Legionaries, Kain could see him far more clearly.
He was an Ancient Vampire, blue skin and black wings like all of them. He was tall, taller even than Janos, though far thinner. He was so thin that his additional height made him look gangly. Despite the height he had a stooped sort of posture, leaning forward as if his thin body could not quite carry up the weight of his upper torso and the wings sprouting from his back.
His face was long with refined cheekbones and a sharp nose, upon which perched a pair of thick spectacles. His hair was a vibrant red and cut short so that the top of his head almost appeared level. The golden eyes behind the glasses seemed to take in everything, glancing about as if trying to observe everything they could in one as quickly as possible.
He wore not armour but rather a simple pair of tan breaches, leather boots and a matching brown doublet. He wasn't even armed, at least not visibly. He appeared much as Ophiel had described him, a scholar not a military general. Instantly Kain was wary of this simple outward appearance.
"That would be my name." The thin Divus said in response. His voice had a deep resonance to it that should really have come from someone with a broader chest. He also spoke with an elevated tone one might expect from the too polite upper class. "I presume Ophiel told you about me? Yes of course she did. And since I know very well who you are, we can skip the tedium of long-winded formal introductions." He sounded almost relieved.
Kain stared him down with a flat expression and then pushed himself off from the remains of the old altar. He stepped down toward Mikail and reached behind him to draw the Reaver blade. The serpentine possessed sword let out a whine of anticipatory hunger, eager for another soul to drink.
"Although I admit I am surprised to find you here, Kain. My task was to annihilate the Human threat to the Ark, not to deal with you." Mikail went on, adjusting the spectacles on his nose, keeping the approaching Vampire firmly in his gaze.
"Expected or not…" Kain began as he stepped fully into the Divus's path, resting both hands on the hilt of his sword. "If you intend to exterminate these people you're going to have to contend with me."
Mikail-Divus looked at him in some confusion, even bafflement, an eyebrow raised above the rim of his glasses.
"Are you here in their defence?" He asked, perplexed and tilting his head at a quizzical angle. "Pardon my scepticism but that's hardly in line with your reputation. You who so famously hold all of Humanity in contempt."
"They are a part of Nosgoth and as such under my rule and protection." Kain responded firmly. This made Mikail look even more confused.
"Protection?" He repeated and Kain had to smile.
"It might be the protection of a shepherd who wants lamb for dinner, but protection nonetheless." He said. At that Mikail tilted his head back and burst out laughing, one hand holding his sides as if they would split.
"Oh, I like that! I must remember that one!" The Divus scholar laughed uproariously, wagging a finger at the Vampire. "Well then 'Kain the Shepherd' do you intend to fight me in order to protect them?"
Kain leaned forward slightly and parted his lips in a smile, letting his fangs show.
"Perhaps rather it should be you asking yourself - 'Am I prepared to go through Kain to get to them?'"
Silence between them fell for a few moments, the sounds of the chaos in the city echoing dimly from outside the Cathedral. A few explosions went off, no doubt the Forsaken were forced to use their incendiary devices inside the walls of the City now.
"I know your reputation as a warrior. I am not so foolish as to challenge you without both good reason and a sizable advantage." Mikail said. Kain was certain that statement meant he had both already. "But I am a soldier and I have my orders. I will carry out those orders to the best of my ability, no matter what stands in my way." His gaze was direct and firm. "Even you."
The Emperor of Nosgoth smiled grimly, filled with a sort of dark amusement
"I can respect that." He said with a soft nod, but then held up a talon and his demeanour changed in a single second. "But before we begin, I have a message that I want to convey back to your master...the one that fancies himself a God."
Mikail-Divus raised an eyebrow at him quizzically and even Moebius's floating presence turned to give Kain a look.
The Vampire stood there, stoic, implacable, unmoved. His brow furrowed in an expression of resolute purpose and determination. With that same raised talon he pointed it forward almost accusingly and when he spoke, he did so with a voice filled with anger, rebuke, condemnation and rejection. His words were directed now not at the Dvus standing before him but towards the creature which had ruined so many lives across all of time.
"Let him know that after considering the implications of his offer with my allies, that my answer is no! He and the Divus will never leave Nosgoth! There is no offer, no proposal, no deal he could offer me that would be rich enough that I allow him to persist! This world will be your grave, abomination and I am your undertaker!"