Enoptes planted his foot down before the foreign warrior. Sheer pride reflected the overhead chaos off his armor. Beneath the black Eddision visor, his eyes glared at the warrior.
Picturing different ways to mangle their body and leave their corpse. Utter anger fueled his veins as he watched how careless they were. It was evident that warrior was an elite who has stared down stronger foes.
"Your stance reeks with confidence. You need to be humbled!" Enoptes called out.
The elite sighed. "The only reason you're standing before me is because your Legion had the element of surprise. Granted, we underestimated your power. But that doesn't mean you're stronger."
"It doesn't matter who is stronger. Its about that urge to achieve heights you never believed were possible and -"
"Carry on the family legacy, yada, yada. We've heard this hundreds of times before. Now, if I reek of confidence... how do you smell?" The elite mocked.
Enoptes narrowed his eyes, fixing his iron gaze right on the broad figure. They stood still, carelessly waiting for him to make the first move.
Something Enoptes did. He charged forward, hoping to bring down the wrath of honored warriors both enemy and allied onto the overconfident elite.
Yet he failed to realize something. No matter how fast he was going, he never got closer to the elite. Which caught him by surprise, prompting him to slow down.
The elite opened its arms. "Little, little pawn... do you not understand? I am not any regular elite. Now, sit."
On command, Enoptes sat on the scorched grass. Like a pet, he obeyed even if it went against his wishes of attacking.
"Good boy. Little, little pawn, come to me!" The elite opened its arms. "You will understand what I am in due time. But for now, you are my pet."
Just like before, Enoptes obeyed. Getting back on his feet, then calmly walking closer to the foreign elite. It was like a trance, one that felt stronger than a Third Rule.
Whatever this thing was, it was not natural. It was paranormal. Enoptes tried his best to break free from the grasp, only to fail. Each attempt was futile.
Once they got face to face, the elite simply stared at him. The empty eyes within its mask told an odd story. That of manipulation and wretched years under commands.
"Such a prideful spirit, you are. Flags wave on your back as your larger frame confronts the whole world before it, yes? Little, little pawn, on your knees."
Enoptes fell to his knees, looking up at the elite with extreme curiosity. It was clear this was not a regular elite, not even a Third Rule host. Whatever this was, it wouldn't allow Enoptes to behave on his own free will.
They placed a hand on his forehead. "Such a brittle figure. You break apart easily, yet seem so durable. I was there when you were made. Even saw your kind creep out of reality. But you are special. I came to observe, you came to conquer."
Before the elite could do anything to Enoptes, a third figure joined in. A corrupted sphere brought out a distorted figure. Demon stepped forth, eyes fixed on the servant.
"Little, little pawn, live by your Will. Not ours," he said.
Enoptes instantly regained full control of his body. As the servant turned their attention to face Demon, he drove down both arms to strike his target.
On contact, they did nothing. The servant nonchalantly turned their attention back to him. As if this was just a poke. Something so harmless, yet so much strength was poured into that single move.
"Little, little pawn, run back to your buddies and leave this to us," the servant ordered.
Fear engulfed Enoptes, causing him to run away from the duo. Despite his hardy nature, he felt afraid. As if the servant's word was law.
As the frightened elite scattered away from the servants, Demon stepped closer to his unexpected visitor. Showing off his true carelessness when confronting creations such as this one.
"Why did you come here?"
"No, Demon, that's not the question. The question here is," the servant lowered his stance. "Are you really worth of being entitled to the same position as me?"
Like two rivals, the duo instantly broke into a senseless battle. The servant brought forth a powerful knee, digging itself straight into Demon's stomach.
Bringing the recruit to his knees. As a follow up, the servant brought down his elbow to the back of his head. Piercing right through the armor and damaging his skull directly.
Syndicate Dust encased Demon in an extra layer of protection. Keeping him safe from all harm. With the sight of their opponent charging up, the servant backed down.
Cautiously observing what he was capable of doing. From the helmet, several spikes erupted out of the broken middle. Shattering the helmet even more.
Two tainted claws erupted out of the broken slots on both of his gauntlets, preparing him for conflict. And leg armor shattered to produce a possible new weapon.
"Impressive. Your Distorted Mind must be granting you these abilities, yes? Come then, show me how powerful it is," the servant invited.
Demon unleashed a nightmarish scream. With a blind fury, he slammed both arms down onto the ground. Causing several Distorted tentacles to erupt from out of the ground. Wrapping the servant.
To follow the first move, one of Demon's gauntlets became reinforced by the corruption. Allowing him to corner the servant right where they should not exist.
In the corner between the Distorted Mind, their reality, and several other realities made true through simulations. The servant felt the sharp corners dig into its body.
Before they could figure out a way to escape, Demon brought down a corrupted pike straight through the tentacles. Penetrating the servant's stomach.
Demon flicked them out of the death grip, before lifting the servant over his head and slamming them down on the other side. He tore the pike out of their stomach, then attempted to bring it down into their head.
Like wind, the servant disappeared. Demon lowered his guard to look around, only to receive several darts aimed to something deep inside him.
"There's a divide between you and I, Demon. You attack my physical being, something I don't need. However, I attack your Will. So let's see if you can hold on with those darts dug inside," the servant mocked.
Demon formed a giant blade using his arm. With the strength of a million Distorted, he swung. The speed was so fast, it broke how their normal reality functioned.
Instead of transitioning like normal, the entire arm visually existed somewhere else. But it physically was right there attached to his body.
The servant endured the hit. Despite being struck right above the shoulder, they were completely unharmed. They took the blade out and tossed it aside, gladly accepting the outcome.
"So it does work..." they said.
Before their battle continued, the servant disappeared. This time for good. Demon looked around for any signs of the servant still being there.
But there was none. All that was left were a few mindless Weavers dancing through the skies, preparing to descend while being under heavy fire.
[Was this some kind of sick experiment meant to draw me out?]
[...]
[Answer me.]
[You are the closest thing we have to a tamed Distorted, servant. We are sorry.]
[I... I accept your apology.]
Once Demon had concluded with his interaction with the Nine. He turned to face the horizon, where the sun began to set. He knew it was nearing time for his sibling's execution.
So he didn't waste any. Syndicate Dust engulfed his being, waking him up inside a grassy field with an apple tree off in the distance.
A being made from divine light greeted the corrupted visitor. Treating him like a son who has lost her touch.
"Are you ready to meet your son again, Lya?"