The Rise Of A Porter

It was complete pandemonium in front of Arnold. The place was consumed by fire, chocking with thick, pungent smoke rising to the sky. Scylla's flames had already killed many of the soldiers and lizardmen. A multitude of charred corpses was littered the swampy floor. The air reeked of blood. There were still many severely wounded people crawling to safety, screaming out for help. But there was no hope for a rescue for them. Only death awaited them. 

This was Arnold's revenge. Some believed revenge was a dish served cold. However, according to Arnold, each dish required it's own unique preparation. And this time, the dish was to be served while it was fiery hot. Hotter than hellfire. 

While Arnold stood rooted on the spot he was standing, Scylla was having the best time of her life. She was a terrifying beast, that was no secret to anyone. However, they didn't know how much she enjoyed killing and causing destruction. To her doing so was like maternal instinct. Also, creating chaos was the only reason Arnold summoned her out of his void. Thus, Scylla enjoyed it very much whenever Arnold would let her loose. In fact, it was the only thing she looked forward to. Pleasing her master while having fun of her own. 

However, the people who were getting gnawed on weren't having fun. At first, they thought rebelling against Devon would ensure their death. Thus, they agreed on his term to go out and face the dragon. Quite a few lizardmen were with them so they thought with the help of their mech suits and they could run away from the battle, while the lizardmen distracted the dragon. After all, no matter how strong a beast was, it couldn't possibly handle hundreds of lizardmen by itself, right? 

Wrong. 

The moment they started pouring out of the base like a horde of zombies, Scylla unleashed hell upon them. In an instant, all of their plans were shattered and the gravity of the situation hit them. Before they could do anything, blue flames engulfed them. Most of them died instantly. Those who didn't were praying to God, not knowing a fate worse than being burned alive waited for them. 

With claws sharper than an obsidian blade, Scylla went chopping them down to pieces. While all of this was happening, a few of Devon's people managed to sneak past Scylla. After all, she was a gigantic creature. She couldn't notice each and every ant's position, could she? But Arnold could and he wasn't going to let anyone escape. In his eyes, everyone inside the building was equally guilty as Devon himself. After all, they had enjoyed their peace with him, now they'll join him in hell. 

He immediately used his nature affinity and sealed off every path. They were now trapped within the swamp with a raging dragon. The only way to escape was death. And death they would receive. 

Seeing no other choice, the people and monsters rallied themselves to fight. But not against Scylla, they were instead planning on attacking the one who claimed to be the dragon's master. Scylla, still in her playful mood, swung her claws and tails once again but Arnold stopped her. She had, had her fun. Now it was time for him to flex his muscles. 

He instructed Scylla to block the entrance to the building, to ensure no one would disturb them. Once that was done, he pointed a finger at his opponents, informing them that he was ready to send them on a free one way trip to the afterlife. 

His opponents, however, thought it was an excellent move for their survival. There were around three hundred of them, and Arnold was alone. Their morale suddenly shot through the sky. Facing one man was way better than facing an unbeatable dragon. Little did they know, Arnold was the biggest threat on the planet. Well, two others were as strong as him if not stronger but they didn't need to know that. After all, they were about to die. 

Arnold just stood there in his cloak. Initially, he thought he would need to use Cardinal's sin against these pricks. But he decided against it. It wasn't a sensible thing to do. He wasn't going to reveal his tricks from the get-go. Instead, he just popped the claws out of his gloves and he was good to go. But before further bloodshed, he wanted to play with their minds one more time. 

"I'm telling you for the last time. My fight is not against you. But against the man who is still hiding behind you." His voice thundered over his opponents, "Just bring him to me, and I'll let you leave. If not, then you know what will happen to you, don't you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a voice from the horde yelled back, "The moment we turn around, that psycho would kill us all. You all saw what he did to the rest inside, didn't you? I say we fight against the man instead! He's alone! He wouldn't be able to take us all on. Once he dies, maybe the dragon would disappear too!"

The man's cries were heard by his peers. To them it made sense. Since Arnold was the one to summon the dragon, if they managed to defeat Arnold, technically Scylla should disappear as well. They were all going to fight him to death. That's all there was to it. 

Arnold could only shake his head in disappointment. Well, if the fools were so eager to die then who was he to deny them that? He was just the means to kill, not the perpetrator.

All of them, men and monsters, turned to meet the threat standing in front of them. Their faces were grim, and their fighting spirit stirred. Every one of them was fanatically breathing as if they had run a marathon. There they stood, each having the intent on slaughtering Arnold in front of them.

Arnold didn't reply to them. Instead, he unleashed his intense aura. An aura that sent shivers down the spine of the dragon goddess. What could mere humans and lizards do against him? 

The next moment, he raised his claws and pointed them at the crowd, then he roared, "DIE!"