Chapter 122: Chapter 121: BloodStar Immortal

Xenia walked into the chamber holding the remaining 500 prisoners that had been summoned. She held a long leather bull whip in her hands. Her body was covered in blood, and her dress was absolutely drenched; however, she quickly bloodbent the blood from her body and clothes allowing the blood to fall to the ground as she continued walking in a now flawless dress with flawless skin and hair.

The soldiers cowered to the end of the chamber as they saw her walking towards them; however, Xenia took no notice of them. She was completely lost in her own thoughts after having been rejected by Nero.

She growled to herself while thinking, “How many times has he rejected me now? I’ve lost count. I’m an incredible warrior. I have a perfect body. I am dominant. I am smart. Why doesn’t he want me?!”

She kept walking with her head down looking at the floor and softly said to herself, “His sense of duty prevents him. When I am Empress, I will order him to make me his duty!”

She then looked up at the fearful soldiers who had been watching her as she stopped 15 feet from the nearest prisoner.

She looked up and smiled at them all, “Good day prisoners. I’m afraid I am in a bit of a foul mood, and you are all going to serve as my therapy to prevent a mental breakdown.”

She raised her arm and swirled the whip around her body and cracked it on the ground causing every soldier to flinch.

She then yelled and began to whip the nearest prisoner. He turned to face the wall as to shield his front side, and Xenia began to whip his back time and time again with no refrain. She grit her teeth with the anger pent up from being denied an opportunity time and time again with men she desired.

She lost herself in anger as the prisoner’s back was torn shred by shred by the cracking of her whip until his back was completely devoid of skin. However, she didn’t stop. After his skin was lysed from his exposed back, she continued to whip and tear into the soft tissue lying below. Muscles tore one after the other as they gave way to the lashings of her whip.

The chamber echoed with the cries of the poor soldier begging for death, “ARRGHHHH!! Just kill me!! Please!!”

She laughed at him, “You will die soon enough! Don’t degrade your honor by begging! I’ve never stooped so low as to beg when I can’t get what I want!”

She then infused the whip with ki and lashed at his neck. The lash cleanly decapitated the prisoner.

She turned to the other prisoner’s as she kept a solid infusion of her ki pulsing onto the whip in a red layer extending the length of it and yelled, “Did you hear me! If you want death so badly then take it yourself! Claim your own death before I get to you!”

Her words didn’t go unheard and several soldiers who couldn’t bear the thought of being tortured began to attempt suicide. Others were frozen with fear at her anger.

Without a clear target, she began to decapitate whichever prisoner lay in her path as she swung the whip violently and yelled.

“I can’t have Nero!” She yelled as she decapitated several prisoners with the swing of her whip.

“I can’t have Jacek!” She continued her frustrated tirade as she whipped prisoners to death either painfully or painlessly depending on her whiplash. Although her aim was usually impeccable, she was blinded with frustration.

“I can’t have them! So I will take them myself if I must!” She began to lash out at the nearest prisoners without aim. She didn’t aim for their necks or their backs. She just attacked whatever moved in a frenzy.”

Her flawless hair was now disheveled, and her eyes were red with rage. She then screamed, “AARRHHHhhhh!!!” She let out a circular shockwave of intense ki which completely annihilated the bodies of every remaining prisoner along with the dead bodies on the ground.

The shockwave continued through the walls of the chamber rupturing the canisters of Compound X. The building rumbled from the aimless attack and began to falter on its base.

Xenia took no notice as the building began to collapse inwardly. Rubble began to fall from the ceiling, and the walls began to crumble from the weight of the building above. Within seconds, the entire building caved in upon her burying her in thousands of tons of concrete and raw materials.

The entire citadel took note as soldiers rushed to the building knowing their Warlord had been within at the time of the collapse.

Notably, General Mattison rushed to the front of the crowds, “Make way! Make way! Everyone move! Call the rescue teams!”

However, as soon as he made the order to call in the rescue teams, Xenia’s voice could be heard, “Cancel that order!”

She powered up her ki and rose from the rubble standing atop a mountain of the collapsed building. “Everyone inside is dead or deserves to be. This building only held prisoners after all, and I am growing quite tired of this siege.”

She had a much calmer demeanor after having taken her frustration out; however, the glint in her eye remained. She had a new intent to take what she couldn’t have. She thought to herself, “I’ve played nice for long enough. Time to play the game by my rules.”

She smiled to herself as she descended from atop the rubble, and put a hand on Mattison’s shoulder, “Inform the soldiers I plan to end this siege tomorrow during the negotiations. One way or another.”

She then walked off and Mattison gulped as he thought to himself, “One way or another? She just killed thousands of prisoners by collapsing our holding cells. I think the only way is through more bloodshed.”

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Elsewhere, within the BloodStar Empire, a beautiful and elegant ship reminiscent of an old warship with large sails and elaborate handcrafted designs adorning the sides and bow pulled into the port and docked.

A company of soldiers marched across the draw bridge to the port and were immediately stopped by customs officials, “Halt right there! You don’t look like mercenaries, and foreign militaries cannot simply show up and enter our country. That would be an act of war. What the hell is the meaning of this!”

The commander of the squadron sternly replied, “We are soldiers of the Heraklinos Empire, and we demand an audience with the Empress Victoria BloodStar, sir!”

The customs officials looked at the soldiers with a fearful eye for Heraklinos citizens, much less soldiers, hadn’t set foot on BloodStar lands since the Great War.

The commander looked to the official and said, “Surely you understand the delicate nature of our arrival. Please don’t waste any time.”

The custom officials nodded, “Please return aboard your ship while I contact the appropriate people in the chain of command. I will make haste but please understand a request of this magnitude will take time.”

The commander nodded and ordered his men back aboard.

Meanwhile, a man concealed in a tattered robe with a large hood covertly disembarked from the ship and began to walk the docks unseen.

He thought to himself, “Things haven’t changed much, I see. Let’s go take a look at the castle and see if things have changed there.”

He whisked away under the cover of his cloak and made for BloodStar Castle.

Meanwhile, within a small meeting room directly off the Royal Hall, Victoria was meeting with Nero privately.

She lugged a brown wooden chest up on a table and said, “This will be the last time this chest is opened until it is needed. Is that understood?”

Nero solemnly nodded. He hadn’t seen his Empress so determined and serious in a long long time.

She then opened the chest to reveal the red marble-esque orb with black swirls. Nero could feel a crushing power emanating from the orb and had to call on a huge portion of his strength to even stand in its presence when exposed to him.

She then slammed the chest shut and locked it securely, “Never again. Until it is needed. And it will be needed, make no mistake.”

She walked around the table and asked, “Do you have any questions regarding my briefing? Have I made it clear what this orb is for? How it is to be used? Have I made it clear how important it is? Have I made it clear what you must do… what you must allow… even though it goes against your duty and sense of honor?”

Nero nodded, “I understand. Completely. An order that supersedes others does not go against my duty or my honor. In fact, I am honored you have entrusted me with such a task.”

Victoria looked upon him, “There is no one else. No one.” She nodded at him, “Thank you, Nero. Today you have become more than a Gladiator Champion.”

Nero shook his head, “I am honored in my position as a Gladiator-“

Victoria cut him off, “You have risen above your station. Do you know the legends of our empire? The greatest warriors?”

Nero nodded, “I know them well. They are my inspiration.”

Victoria bore a serious face and said, “And do you know their destiny in the tales of legend?”

Nero nodded, “I do.”

Victoria smiled at him, “Then it is today that I anoint you. Kneel!”

Nero knelt to the ground and bowed his head. Victoria stood before him and held her hand out as she concentrated her ki towards him, “Today you bow before me as Gladiator Champion Nero for the last time!”

She then screamed and roared as she imbued her ki out towards Nero not to attack him but to empower him. The ki from Victoria’s hand was pure. More pure than any form Nero had ever seen. It oozed with power and grace.

He felt a divine sensation as if he were ascending to Godhood. The pure ki from Victoria pulsed through his chest, limbs, and entire body. He felt like he could tear apart the world if he so chose.

Victoria then suddenly stopped her exodus of ki from her body and with a fatigued voice said, “You may now rise, Nero. For the first time, rise as a BloodStar Immortal! Not seen since the legends of old! BloodStar Immortal Nero!”

Nero rose to his feet with an extreme sense of honor; however, he merely gave Victoria a stern look with a subtle nod. She returned the nod as they stared each other. Both knew what this meant, yet neither had the will to speak it.

She then said, “Now go! And prepare!”

Nero grabbed the chest on the table by the side handles and picked it up. He made for the door and looked back to Victoria, “Rest easy Empress. I will take it from here. And I refuse to fail you or our ancestors.”

Nero turned and exited without awaiting her response. Victoria shed a single tear once he exited. She collapsed into a chair fatigued with mixed feelings of sadness, hope, and joy and silently said to herself, “Thank you Nero.”