Birth of a Tyrant Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Demons

Tyrannos continued northeast, leading his men as he rode atop Simba. They had been travelling for miles, noticing the climate becoming colder. The change in weather did not bother him, as the all-encompassing energy kept his body heat at a stable temperature. His hair had grown long and his face had stubble around his mouth. They were in a land covered in snow, dressed in parkas and heavy clothing. Tyrannos heard a low growl; Simba snarled at the sound.

Stepping down from the Lion, Tyrannos examined his surroundings before something tackled Simba to the ground. It was an evolutionary descendant of the Siberian Tiger--larger, more ferocious, and heavily muscled. Two long saberteeth pointed downwards from its jaws, akin to the cats of old--but much more sturdy. It was a trait that all big cats of this era shared.

Simba and the Tiger both sprang to their feet, growling and snarling at each-other. They wrestled, slashing at each-other's shoulders with their claws. Each also snapped at the other with his jaws. The Asian cat raised a paw and smacked Simba's face, giving him a facial scar that ran down his right eye. The Lion shook his head as blood dripped into his eye, forcing him to squeeze it shut. The Tiger clamped onto Simba as the latter shook his head profusely.

Simba staggered to the side, collapsing as the Tiger turned to Tyrannos. The cat tackled him to the ground, clawing at him as he tried to repel him. Tyrannos raised an arm, on which which the Tiger clamped down. The Tyrannian shouted in pain, alerting Simba. Blood trickled down his mane as he looked at his companion--the man who had saved him, raised him, nurtured him. He couldn't give up, he had to save him. Simba jumped on the Tiger, clamping down on his neck and throwing him to the ground.

The Asian cat believed that he had met his end, lowering his head. However, Tyrannos couldn't bring himself to kill the Tiger. Simba moved in to finish the feline, but his master placed his hand in front of him, signalling not to do so. Reaching out with his other arm, Tyrannos placed his other hand on the Tiger's snout, soothing the beast. The future Tyrant Knight named the Tiger Shere Khan.

Tyrannos turned to his men. "We've got to head south, to get out of the cold."

Shere Khan seemed to understand the Tyrannian, beginning to walk southwest. Tyrannos ordered his troops to follow him. They journeyed for days, which turned into weeks, which turned into months. Weary and tired, only the strongest Tyrannians survived, their population already low. Tyrannos knew that his species was already on the verge of oblivion and refused to let anyone die. By himself, he raided human outposts, bringing food back to his forces.

After nearly a year, they finally reached a much warmer land - India. Shere Khan had been born here, but ventured into Siberia when his parents were killed by poachers. He survived by himself, feeding on small and defenseless animals, always thin and skinny, his ribcage visible. However, under the care of Tyrannos, he packed on more muscle than ever, growing bulky and fierce.

Now, Tyrannos was planning his attack on the human outpost. "This is one of the poorer regions of the Earth, which is what those filthy humans deserve. It should be easy compared to what we've done before. All we have to do is take it by surprise with brute force and overpower it."

The humans in the area possessed less-advanced weaponry. India had never pulled itself up from the ashes of colonialism, and the humans lived like they were refugees in their own native country. Outside the building, three guards stood. One of them heard a strange rustling in the bushes. He left his post to check it out while the other two stayed back.

Shere Khan clamped down on his neck, crushing his throat. No screams, no shouts, nothing. It was a silent death. He dropped the corpse to the ground and began to devour it.

Tyrannos himself entered the clearing. The two guards fired at him, but their bullets bounced off his armor. Summoning the power of the all-encompassing energy, he telekinetically lifted them into the air and crushed their throats. Dropping them to the ground, he said, "Hello there."

The Tyrannian cut a hole in the door with his sword and stepped through with his men. They began slaughtering everyone left and right, dead bodies littering the floor. Every time a human dropped to the ground, devoid of life, Tyrannos sarcastically remarked, "Another happy landing."

Tyrannos left his soldiers to sieze the stronghold as he himself went to confront the commander, ignoring his emotional turmoil; yet thoughts still flooded his mind. He knew that his brutal murder of humans was morally wrong, but at the same time, he despised them for what they had done to the Earth. The conquest of the Blue Planet had caused him to become cynical and jaded. The Tyrannian suppressed his thoughts as he continued on.

***

Inside the command center, the outpost's commander, Ryan Rodriguez, heard Tyrannos decimating his men. He turned to his son, Derek. "Get out of here. I'll buy you time to escape."

Derek nodded and jumped out the window, landing on a balcony before dropping down to the ground.

Ripping the door to the command center off its hinge, Tyrannos brutally killed the two bodyguards who immediately tried to attack him when he entered. He came face to face with Ryan, who was armed with a minigun. He immediately opened fire, but the bullets did not phase the armored Tyrannian.

"Your weapons are primitive and useless," Tyrannos said, drawing a sword.

"Says the one using a blade."

Tyrannos simply pointed his sword at Rodriguez, firing an energy blast. Ryan hit a wall before charging. He punched the Tyrannian's helmet, causing him to drop his sword. Tyrannos caught the punch that followed, brutally upercutting the human. Blood dripped down his chin as Tyrannos slammed his head into the wall, shattering it. Ryan grabbed the tyrant by his arm and threw him over, both falling to a balcony.

Tyrannos ripped the railing sraight off and slammed it into Rodriguez's head. His vision blurred as blood leaked down the side of his skull. The Tyrannian grabbed him by the throat, snapping his neck before throwing him down.

Ryan's corpse hit the dirt ground near Derek, who looked up at Tyrannos in resentment. He swore to get revenge before leaving, knowing he would have to bide his time.