Chapter 750 - Restraint

People.

Zeke had almost forgotten how much he both loved and hated them.  On the one hand, it was gratifying to see that everyone hadn’t been infected with the evils of the Radiant Host.  In that respect, the people inside the fortress town were entirely innocent.  However, the suspicious glares they threw his way said quite a lot about how they treated strangers.

He wanted nothing more than to simply disappear and leave them to their distrusting natures.  However, he didn’t allow himself to do that.  Instead, after speaking to the guards and somehow convincing them of his benign intentions, he explored the settlement. 

He lacked local currency – an oversight on his part – so he couldn’t just sit in one of the three taverns and monitor the rumor mill.  With that holding him back, he was forced to just wander and listen.  Thankfully, his senses were those of a greater god, and he had no issue hearing everything in town. 

And he had enough experience to easily filter it into easily digestible bites.

As he listened, he made a show of shopping, though he obviously couldn’t buy anything. 

That ended up getting him into trouble when one of the shopkeepers said, “If you have no intention of buying, you can get the hell out of my shop.”

Zeke clenched his fist, then looked around.  The others in the shop – which sold crockery, of all things – had clearly taken note of his presence.  Their response was to maintain as much distance as possible while still being inside the shop. 

And it wasn’t difficult to see why.

Generously, Zeke’s appearance could be described as a bit wild.  His hair hadn’t been trimmed in more than a year, and his beard had been left to grow out of control.  Back in the Ethereal Realm, it would’ve only taken a second to make it look like he took grooming seriously, but now?  He’d need a pair of scissors and a barber if he wanted to look like anything but a hermit who’d been living in the wilderness alone for years.

That, coupled with his hulking physique, was enough to set off everyone’s personal alarms.  Given his appearance, it was a minor miracle he’d been allowed into the settlement at all. 

“Apologies,” Zeke muttered.  Then, he left.  After he was gone, the shoppers all let out a collective sigh of relief.  Like they’d half expected him to go on a rampage, and they were all surprised when he hadn’t. 

Perhaps he should give them what they wanted, he thought.

But he had more self-control than that, so he continued his observation-slash-window-shopping.  Given the shopkeeper’s reaction to Zeke’s presence, it should not have been surprising when a guard approached him. 

The man was big.  Probably six-and-a-half feet at the shortest, with broad shoulders, muscular arms, and a chin that looked like it could cut granite.  Against most people, he might’ve looked intimidating.  For Zeke, he was just one among many faces that didn’t really matter.  Still, he stopped when the man planted himself in front of him.

“Can I help you?” Zeke asked, looking up at the hulking guard.

“Maybe.  What’s your name, stranger?”

“Ezekiel.”

“Any particular reason why no one here can see your level, Ezekiel?”

Zeke shrugged.  “User error?”

The guard chuckled.  “Maybe.  But in my experience, this particular issue usually comes from someone using some sort of skill.  Care to venture a guess as to what sort of person might possess such a skill?”

“I don’t make a habit of asking about other people’s skills.  Seems a little nosy,” Zeke answered with another shrug.  “But I get the idea that you’re going to tell me.”

“I knew you were a smart one,” the guard said.  “Like I was saying, there’s a certain class of people who use skills like that, and let me tell you, they rarely find themselves on the right side of the law.  Thieves, usually.  Smugglers.  Assassins.  You look like the kind of man who might know what I’m talking about.”

“Are you calling me a criminal?” Zeke asked, raising a single eyebrow.

“I would never dream of it, stranger.  You seem a decent sort to me.  The skills don’t make the man, I always say.  The man makes the skills.  But in this case, I need you to relax whatever skill is blurring your identity.  In the interest of public safety.  I’m sure you understand,” the guard said, never straying from its jovial, good-natured tone.

“I’m not using a skill.”

“Don’t make this difficulty, friend.”

“I was going to say the same thing to you,” Zeke responded.  “Look.  I’m not looking for trouble.”

“Then drop the skill.”

Zeke didn’t miss that his tone had changed.  “No skill to drop.  The answer will be the same no matter how many times you ask.”

The reality was that he’d disconnected himself from the Framework.  As such, identification skills just weren’t effective on him.  Even if that wasn’t the case, he was far too powerful for someone in the Mortal Realm to inspect him properly.  Even if the skill landed, it would just reveal question marks.

“Wasn’t asking, stranger.”

“If I refuse?”

“Then like I said, we’d have a problem.  You don’t want that.”

“How about you just answer a couple of questions, and I’ll be on my way?  No reason to escalate this,” Zeke said, barely containing his pride-fueled anger.  That someone like this mortal would question him was beyond the pale. 

“What if I decide to think you’re suspicious and need to be confined?” the guard asked.  By that point, they’d gained a bit of an audience.  Most of the residents kept their distance, but they were watching all the same. 

“That won’t end well.”

“For you or me?”

“I think you know the answer to that question,” Zeke said.  “Just answer my questions.  This doesn’t have to go bad.”

“It doesn’t.  You know how to stop it.”

Zeke shook his head.  “I’m looking for the Radiant Host.  Any idea where to find them?” he asked.  “Just tell me that, and I’ll be on my way.  Nobody has to get hurt.”

Zeke might’ve expected a lot of things in response to his question, but laughter definitely wasn’t one of them.  But that’s exactly what he got.  He frowned, asking what was so funny.

The guard paused his laughter long enough to say, “You’re looking for the Radiant Host?  Well, you’ve found us.  This entire town is under their protection.”

“Meaning that you’re a member?” Zeke asked.  Then, he flicked his eyes to the nearby alleys, where he saw dozens of other guards.  Belatedly, he saw the badge on the big guard’s chest.  It was a sunburst. 

“Brilliant deduction, friend,” the guard said, reaching out to grip Zeke’s shoulder.  “Now that you’ve found us, what is it we can do for you?  You look like strong enough.  Perhaps you’d like to join?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what?”

Zeke answered, “I’d appreciate it if you removed your hand from my shoulder.”

The guard tried to squeeze, but Zeke’s flesh didn’t give way under his grip.  “What the…”

Zeke’s hand shot up, faster than anyone in two realms could react.  In less than a second, the guard’s wrist crumbled under Zeke’s grip.  When released, the guard simply stared at his ruined arm – but only for a moment. 

That’s when he started screaming.

“I asked nicely,” Zeke reminded him.  “Remember – this is all on you.”

The guard was in no place to think rationally.  As soon as he wrapped his head around what had happened, he shouted for an attack.  In only a moment, his people responded, activating a wide variety of skills as they raced into the fight.  Those skills hit Zeke with the force of a swarm of gnats.  He barely even felt them, but they were slightly annoying all the same.

Then, the guards reached him. 

Swords and axes fell, clanging off his body like it was made of the finest steel.  Their full-bodied swings didn’t even leave marks. 

Zeke sighed, shaking his head before backhanding the shrieking guard.  The man’s entire skull exploded, and the impact of the attack sent him skipping across the street until he hit a wall.  The force broke multiple bones, turning his body to jelly.  The wall with which he collided shook, and a spider web of cracks arced out from the point of impact. 

Instead of taking that as a sign that they’d bitten off more than they could chew, the guards ramped up their attacks.  With some resignation, Zeke committed himself to his course of action.  After all, he’d come to the Mortal Realm to destroy the Radiant Host, and every guard there owed their allegiance to Shar Maelaine.

He moved like lightning.  Too fast for any of those mortals to track.  And in seconds, they were all dead, their heads crushed just as thoroughly as their leader’s.  Then, there was only silence.

Zeke looked up and raised his voice.  “I’m only going to say this once, so listen closely.  I intend to kill any man, woman, or child who worships the Sun Goddess,” he announced, his voice echoing across the entire town.  “Renounce her, and I will let you live.”

Zeke knew good and well that that didn’t matter.  It wasn’t really important if they meant it.  What he wanted was for them to spread the word so that when he toppled the Radiant Host’s power structure, everyone would know precisely why it had happened.  Hopefully, that would destroy Shar Maelaine’s base. 

Pointedly, he wanted to avoid having to kill everyone on the continent.

He would.

He’d long since accepted his place in the multi-verse, and he was nothing if not a herald of death and destruction.  However, that didn’t mean he’d inflict those upon people without reason.  If he could avoid it, he would.

Unfortunately, the group of guards he’d just killed weren’t the only ones in town.  Soon enough, Zeke found himself in front of the keep itself, which played host to most of settlement’s defenders.  They were, one and all, members of the Radiant Host.  Even their leader – probably fancied himself a lord or some such – bore the sunburst badge upon his chest. 

That made it easier.

Zeke rammed the gate so hard that the iron portcullis ended up mangled beyond all recognition.  The heavy wooden gate shattered into a thousand pieces, and anyone nearby ended up being turned into a pincushion for the splinters. 

That was when the slaughter commenced.  Zeke took no pleasure in it.  Certainly, there was no challenge.  He moved deliberately, but even then, the guards couldn’t track his motions.  None of them took more than a single blow to down, though the lord did beg for his life.

Zeke ignored his pleas. 

Any man who reached a position of consequences within the Radiant Host was fully committed to the cause.  The chances that he would renounce the Sun Goddess were incredibly low. 

Even Abby had struggled to free herself from Shar Maelaine’s grip, and Zeke was willing to bet that she was far better equipped for that endeavor than some nameless lord in the Mortal Realm.

In the end, it wasn’t really a fight.  Zeke barely even considered it a slaughter. To him, it felt more like swatting flies.  If those flies lacked wings or any ability to escape his wrath. 

So perhaps not like flies at all.

In any case, he completed his task with stoic efficiency.  When he turned his attention back to the town, he found it complete deserted.  The people had run – probably a smart course of action, except that the surrounding wilderness was dangerous for them. 

But then again, they were more than willing to take their chances with a few wild animals if it meant they didn’t have to deal with him.  Zeke had no interest in stopping them.  He’d said what needed to be said, and he wasn’t in the business of killing people who simply didn’t matter. 

Regardless, Zeke spent a few minutes perusing the lord’s quarters, and he soon found a map.  Oddly enough, most of the major settlements and cities were located in familiar places.  Did that mean something?  Or had the newcomers simply settled in the ruins of the lost civilization? 

He didn’t know the answers to those questions, and if he was honest, he had to admit that it didn’t matter.  Either way, armed with his new map, he left the fortress behind and started toward the seat of power that had been built on Sanctuary’s ruins.