39 Chapter 39- Lord Dubs

Arctus was about to leave before Dubs called out to him. "Ah. One last thing!"

Arctus faced back towards Dubs, and asked "What is it?"

"Let me see your face. I wish to know the face of everyone who is a part of my empire.", Dubs said in an oddly kind, yet powerful voice.

"Understood!", Arctus stated as he removed his helmet. The mans face revealed was tan and he had a large scar running down the side of his cheek. His short red hair contrasted his facial appearance, making him look somewhere in between a boy and a man.

"You may go.", Dubs stated, as the man walked off.

Arctus stumbled over to the other members of the guards, who had been paralyzed out of fear. All 3 of them looked forward blankly, staring into nothingness.

"It's all over."

"I don't want to die here"

"There's nothing we can do. We'll all be killed."

Arctus walked over and proudly exclaimed. "Fear not, my brothers of the 3rd squadron! There is a way for us to get out of this predicament alive!"

The men looked over at Arctus. One of them gloomily rumbled "By becoming the pets of that monster? No thank you. I would rather die here."

At these words the other two began to shiver, and Arctus continued.

"We are not to become mere pets! Have you all not been gritting your teeth and biting your tongue at the actions of our superiors, and the way they treat the other races, and force us to comply with them? If we join this man, we will be going against that corrupted regime! Even if we were to die, we would die heroes fighting for a worthy cause!"

The other two looked up, their eyes filled with a light glimmer of hope. "Is... is this true Arctus? What if that man is deceiving you to use us for his own benefit?", one asked.

Arctus quieted down at this, and thought for a moment.

"Perhaps that may be the case...."

Arctus raised his arm in victory

"But even if that is the case! What we do know is that the leaders of the empire are performing intolerable actions as we speak, and enforcing their opinions on the commonfolk! Even if we are being used by this man, we would still die fighting against the corruption that we wish to see removed!"

Two of the men stood up. "I will fight with you, Arctus.", the first one resolved.

"I will also.", the second one proclaimed.

The third one still sat there, gloomily. This one had his leg removed. "I would rather die here than give in to the desires of that monster. Have you all forgotten your honor and loyalty to the empire!? Even if the empire is corrupt, and they force their opinions on the people, are we not the soldiers meant to protect that very empire, and those very people?? If you go with that man you will be labeled a traitor all your lives. I would rather die with the honor of remaining loyal even to a corrupt empire!"

Dubs flashed behind the man as he uttered these words. "So be it.", Dubs grumbled.

The man's head rolled, and his body fell lifelessly to the ground. The others took a step back in shock.

"I do not need anyone who is loyal to an empire where the strong trample the weak.", Dubs stated, disgusted.

The two gulped, but Arctus stood up, holding back his emotions.

"This... this was a sacrifice for the greater good!", Arctus exclaimed.

Dubs walked over to the undecided two. "Arctus understands. Do you two?", he asked threateningly, as he laid his hands on the shoulders of each of the men.

From their arm sockets, the purple shadow material began to form a prosthetic arm on each of the men.

They moved the arms around. "It... it feels as if I never lost an arm!", one shouted.

"This is only a temporary fix, but if you come with me then the problems you face will be easily taken care of...", Dubs whispered

The men hesitated, but after a moment, they too resolved themselves to fight. "We will come with you, and help you to create your empire!", they both shouted.

Dubs was pleased, and grinned at this.

"Now that you three have decided on becoming my loyal vassals, I will first have you perform some basic tasks to prove your loyalty."

Arctus looked over to Dubs, and kneeled. "What would you have us do, my lord?"

At this, the other two also kneeled.

Dubs began to laugh sadistically. "Ahaha! Interesting! A lord eh? I suppose that isn't a bad idea." He casually walked off, in a manner that was very unfit of one who was called royalty.

"Your first task is to apologize to the dwarves, and convince them to join my empire. I could use their abilities for mining... however I can assure you that their working conditions will be different from what they previously were.", Dubs ordered to the three guards.

The guards bowed their heads and simultaneously stated "Yes, my lord!"

Dubs waved his hand, ordering them to stand and they all took their leave, heading into the mines to gather up the remaining dwarves. Before the guards left, Dubs called out to them. "Wait! You two as well, lift your helmets! I wish to know the faces of all who are a part of my empire."

The two men lifted their helmets. One man had light skin and a thin face, with black hair that reached down to his neck. The other was bald, with darker skin and a rougher face. These men, similar to Arctus, had a scar on the side of their cheeks.

"Is there a reason why you and Arctus have those scars?", Dubs inquired.

The man saluted. "Yes, my Lord! These scars are where we were implanted with a small magical crystal to awaken our magical abilities. After years of experimentation, the empire was able to create a crystal that is mostly stabilized, and relatively safe for use, which was then used on the current generation of magical knights. I believe there was a specific test subject who survived much longer than the others, who allowed for the collection of such a vast amount of data, however I heard a rumor that recently he has escaped!"

Dubs and Alt both began to crack up, looking at each other. "Did you hear that one, Dubs!? This is all the empire got from those years of experiments!! A pathetic power like this is nothing compared to the original.", Alt crackled.

The bald man looked at Dubs and Alt confused, but refrained from asking further questions. "Is there anything else, my lord?"

Dubs wiped the tears from his eyes and stopped himself from laughing. "Ah! What are your names?"

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The man with long black hair stood up straight and bowed. "Reginald Pericious, at your service."

The bald man bowed as well, and stated "Sylvester Malishour, at your service."

"Well then, Arctus, Reginald, Sylvester, I entrust you all with the expansion of my empire. Do not fail me- and one last thing. Know that secrecy is to be put above all else. I give you permission to silence anyone who threatens the secrecy of our regime- however nobody else. We must show the people that we are their allies, and that we do not wish to rule over them with an iron fist, but rather to break them free from the chains that bind them.", Dubs lectured.

"You may go."

The men kneeled once more before Sylvester and Reginald headed inside the mines, and Arctus headed over to speak with the dwarves who were waiting outside the mines.

Dubs turned over to Alt. "It seems like the news of my existence is known throughout the magical knights, and even of my disappearance. They do not seem to know my appearance or demeanor, however, for they would have known who I was if they did. For now, I shouldn't have any issues regarding being found out."

Alt nodded, and the two casually skipped over towards the captain, who had been knocked out. Dubs gave Alt a hand signal, and Alt engulfed the captain into the void dimension.

"Inside my storage, time does not flow, so this man will not die even if I keep him in here.", Alt explained.

Dubs nodded. "Very good."

Arctus walked over to the dwarves, who were all quietly sitting, three of them total.

Upon arriving in front of them, Arctus began to speak.