The Rise Of A Porter

The cityscape of Los Angeles told the story of its residents in colours, from the neon rainbow lights to golden kitchen glows. Like a constellation of architecture, as calm and peaceful as heaven for its residents. 

The usual vibrant sky often complimented the city and added to its beauty. But not tonight. No longer did the sky made the city look lovelier. No longer was the sky vibrant. No longer was Los Angeles, the city of angels. Because a devil had been forced to awaken from his slumber. All because of the foolishness of a few. 

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Even nature couldn\'t help but falter under the influence of one man- no, he wasn\'t a man anymore. He hadn\'t been one for a long, long time. The night was darker than ever before, crying for the innocent souls that\'ll be lost tonight. Earth cowered under his feet with every step he took. The wind careful not to touch the man, should his rage befall on it. 

Rain poured down from the heavens, trying to take his rage, his pain away from him. The rain had always been the man\'s favourite part of nature. The rain has always consoled him like the mother he lost. The rain once again wanted to touch him, console him and beg him not to punish the innocent for the mistakes of a few. But in vain, as the droplets evaporated even before they could touch the man. The rain became more intense, soaking everything inside the city. Everything except the one person it wanted to. 

Arnold was blinded by unadulterated rage. He kept walking... And walking... Until he reached the place he wanted to be in. He was standing at the edge of a cliff and below him was the most beautiful and serene sight. A mansion, so colossal it would make even the gods jealous, a true piece of art. Yet all Arnold could see was a place to destroy... A place to eradicate... a place to consume. 

He opened a portal leading to his domain. The biggest one he had ever made, and out of it came a flood of his summons. In the blink of an eye, the cliff was overcrowded by his summons. There wasn\'t enough space for even an ant to stand there anymore. Arnold turned around to be greeted by over 2500 automatons, ogres, and undead as they bowed before their master, ready to burn the world on his command, ready to exact his rage upon his enemies. 

Everyone was there. Everyone apart from Scylla, Alice, Natasha and Talos, who felt like a failure that he couldn\'t even protect his mistress. But there was someone else as well. Someone stronger than all of his summons. The only ones who would\'ve been able to defeat the creature were Arnold and Scylla. The creature was once known as the King of the Lizardmen, the strongest being to rule over the swamps and know he was Arnold\'s sword, Grock! 

"What\'s your command, my Lord," Grock asked his master in the humblest of tones. 

"Destroy everything. Kill everyone who stands in your way. Everyone except," He showed them a picture of Andrex on his communicator, "this man. Bring him to me. Alive."

A few of his summons were surprised. Arnold had always told them to be careful and not to unnecessarily take an innocent life and yet he had given them an order to kill everyone? Their master was willing to kill hundreds of innocents... All to punish one man? However, none of them voiced their opinion. Their master was enraged and rightfully so. 

"Your wish is our command!" The summons roared in unison before jumping off the cliff with Grock leading the charge in Talos\' absence. Ready to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting enemy. 

***

"Where the heck is that bastard!" Andrex slammed his glass of whiskey on the table, "Luke was supposed to be here an hour ago. He\'s not even picking up his damned communicator!"

Just minutes ago he had been in a jolly mood. Waiting for Luke to bring Nina there. Although they had planned to kill her, Andrex had a different plan. He wanted to have some fun with that curvaceous beauty before sending her to the purgatory. After all, he always had a thing for her and it was almost sickening. He had even bought some exotic aphrodisiac to make the night more memorable and yet there he was, waiting for the news from Luke. 

"If all went according to plan, Luke should\'ve gotten rid of those assassins first." He mumbled while refilling his glass with whiskey, "That is if all went according to plan. But what could go wrong? All of the SS ranked warriors had already left the country to take care of their business. There shouldn\'t have been anyone to stop him."

As he poured the drink into his body he heard some noise. Not a noise, but a scream. 

"Just what are the morons of my family doing now..." Andrex said and made his way towards the window, pushing the curtains aside. 

He was expecting the guards to be fooling around like usual, but he saw something completely different. The glass slipped out of his hands and fell on the floor, shattering on impact. He couldn\'t believe what he was seeing. 

Right before his eyes, flames as high as the mountains around them, rose higher and higher into the night as if they were challenging the heavenly rain. The downpour couldn\'t even put a dent on the fire as it consumed everything in its way. The smoke emanating from the fire shrouded the entire mansion. Andrex couldn\'t fathom the reason behind this sudden attack. But then he saw them... The automatons... The undead monsters everything he wished to never see again. 

"How... How... How..."

He fell to his knees. His eyes wide in terror as he covered his ears to stop the deafening screams of his family members as they were slaughter like pigs one after another. Andrex was shaking uncontrollably. His worst fears were coming true. He was curled up like a ball when a few of his elite guards came rushing inside. 

"Sir, you have to leave now!" One of them yelled as they barged into his room, "Sir! SIR!"

"Huh? Hahahahahaha!" All of sudden, something snapped inside Andrex. He couldn\'t take it anymore. The fear... Was too much for him to handle. The fear of the most torturous death humanity had ever known, made him lose his mind...