Ruler Of Iron And Flesh

As usual, it didn't take long for Inian to fly from Preah to Segar. He landed on the ground outside the city and used mirage to sneak in.

The guards with spears and rifles didn't notice a thing.

'This place hasn't changed at all.'

Inian wondered if Segar would change after he killed the city lord here last time, but it looked the same as it did before.

He could hear cheering further down the road. 'I guess the arena is still up and running.'

Walking towards the noise, Inian noticed there weren't any guards outside of the arena gates.

He stepped right in and into the stands. The thousands of people around him were cheering loudly, echoing their approval of the fight happening down below.

There were two men fighting; one had a shield and sword while another had a long spear. The man with the spear continued jabbing but was blocked by the other man's shield. The other man stepped in closer to take away the advantage of the spear and stabbed the spearman in the c.h.e.s.t.

The crowd roared when the final move made the kill.

Inian looked to where the old city lord sat, and in his place, sat a woman lounging in fine furs. She had two burly guards behind her who each had both a rifle and pistol.

The woman grotesquely smiled when she saw the blood splattering on the field. She waved to someone, and suddenly, a dozen war dogs came into the arena. In no time, they attacked and devoured the winner.

The people laughed, and Inian's fury rose up. 'So the winner doesn't even have a chance to survive. These people are disgusting.'

Inian watched as the new city lord stood up and walked away. The crowds began pouring out of the arena too, so Inian decided to use them as cover to stalk the woman.

She was moving without a care with the two guards behind her. She felt no sense of danger.

Inian slowly tailed her, making sure to keep out of the way of any guards. He walked in groups of people and watched her from the corner of buildings.

Soon, she came to this large mansion and walked in. Several guards were patrolling the outside, while her two main goons walked inside with her.

Inian activated his mirage ability and lept to a balcony on the second floor.

He peeked through the window, and inside, it looked like a large office. The door to the office opened, and the woman walked through.

Inian could hear every word she said, "Oh, I love a good blood bath! It makes me feel so alive! My favorite part is when I let my dogs loose on the winner. The look of surprise on their face when their hopes of leaving are dashed! Marvelous!"

She sat down in a chair and continued talking to the guards who were with her.

'I'll show you what it means when your hopes fly away.'

Inian jumped down to the front of the building and turned off his mirage ability. One of the guards spotted him, "Intruder!"

Several guards went to tackle Inian, and he just let himself be handcuffed and taken inside the mansion.

The guards led him through the building until he was tossed into the office on the ground in front of the woman.

He let himself be tossed around to sell the illusion of him being weak. He got up on his knees and kept his head low.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to come so close to the mansion! It won't happen again!" Inian said in a panicked voice.

The woman raised an eyebrow, "my, you're a handsome one. Did you come here to see little old me?"

She crossed her legs and bit her lip seductively.

Inian ignored that, "I actually came because I work for a large drug supplier. He was wanting to sell his drugs to a larger market and told me to come here for some reason."

The woman laughed, "Oh honey, that's because I'm not only the city lord but also the crime, lord! I'm afraid I don't have any need for another supplier, but I thank your boss for sending a plaything for me to rip apart."

She stood up and motioned for one of the guards to open a couple of doors. War dogs came running through, growling and foaming at the mouth.

Inian's voice changed to a threatening tone when he heard she was also the crime lord, "why do you do the things you do?"

The woman smirked, "it's because I love living in wealth, and it makes me feel so powerful to have others ripped apart at my feet. I'm the queen here!"

Inian looked up and instantly all the war dogs laid down and began to whimper. "I'm afraid you are mistaken, there is only one in authority, and that will always be me."

He slowly stood up on his feet, and a chill started seeping into the bodies of those around him. The woman backed up towards her desk.

Inian casually moved his hands apart and broke the handcuffs. "Tell me where Demarcus is."

The woman ran into the desk behind her, "shoot him!!"

The guards pulled out their pistols and aimed their rifles at Inian. But Inian whistled, and all the war dogs charged at the guards behind him.

Now that the guards were busy being torn apart, Inian crept up to the crime lord. He extended a hand and slowly wrapped a hand around her neck. She was shivering and shaking. "Are you a de...demon?!" She asked.

Inian smiled, "no, but I am your king. This is what I want; I want you to tell me where this Demarcus is. Then, maybe, I'll let you live."

She stuttered, "De...Demarcus is in Kairo, in the n...northern part of the Ranid Kingdom. He sends out runners to contact the crime lords, so only they have seen him."

"Thank you. Now, answer this, do you love this city?"

The woman shook her head.

"Good, because it needs to be purged of all the vile people in the city."

Inian's hair began to wave around his head, and his eyes turned pitch black. His skin radiated light and heat.

The woman screamed, "AAAAHHH!"

"Quiet now," Inian said, and closed his hand around her neck, crushing it.

She slumped to the ground.

The men behind Inian were torn to shreds from the war dogs.

Inian spoke to the dogs, "when I was here last, no one reached out a hand to save Janae or me. Janae was abused, and I was tossed as a warmup in the arena. This city is disgusting. It is contaminated."

The dogs were whimpering once again as Inian spoke, "I will destroy the city with everyone in it."

He sprouted wings and flew through the roof. The whole city was within his view as he stayed flapping in the air.

He conjured a ball of lava in his hand and dropped it directly below him, burning and destroying the mansion.

People came out of their homes as they saw the mansion burning.

They pointed up at Inian flying in the sky and began screaming and running.

Inian dropped to the ground at breakneck speed and shook the earth. One of his newer abilities was causing an earthquake, and that's precisely what he did. He urged the earth to move.

The ground trembled and broke apart, sinking buildings and hundreds of people into the ground. He then flew high above the city. He formed a lava ball in his hands, and it got bigger and bigger the longer he waited.

Soon, it was a massive ball of burning rage above him. So with a grunt, he threw it to the ground.

The lava crushed hundreds of buildings and split apart to devour the rest of the city with its heat.

Inian's kingly form hovered in the air, and he spoke aloud, "the city is purged."

He looked into the distance, "you are next Kairo."