Eat, sleep, massacre, repeat.

By the time that Brutus had flown back towards the city, smashing through the clouds as the air around her spiralled and screamed in protest of her unstoppable speed, the twin moons were already high above, painting the world below in hues of deep red, as they reflected the mighty beams of sol.

Brutus did not necessarily have the power of flight, she realised as she loomed above, nearing the Mill where her mission would take place, it was more akin to gliding or falling, she understood every ounce of the breeze, could feel the molecules in the air bending to her will. She **** Gravity to obey her, not the other way around... she wondered and feared just how capable she truly was, sure many seemed to fear her, but to what degree could she face an entire organized militia, as she somehow knew the Varoon rebels to be.

This was one question that in retrospect, after the nights' events, that Brutus wished would have been left unanswered. But the past cannot be changed, and it was not by her own desire that she walked the path that she now traversed: the Path of **** and woe.

Extinguishing the Glyph that burned on her skin, Brutus began to fall from the sky. Her long cape streaking behind her as the tall structures and spires, along with the cobbled streets rapidly grew closer.

The wind let out a high pitch whistle as she shot towards Marte with no thought and no fear. She could sense the populace below, peasants, slaves and even lowborn merchants all scatter and hide at the sound which they seemed to know well.

Doors slammed and locked, bodies vanished into the darkness... and Brutus the Basilisk pushed top the side arching herself unnaturally so that she might slide across the ground into a rapid but safe landing.

Never before did she recall ever being in this part of the city, then again she didn't recall this city at all. The structures were in shambles here, with cracked brick in its buildings, long empty streets filled with litter and uncared for.

Hovels etched into the sewer piping on the archways below... Brutus heard whisperings, crying, she could smell the fear in the air. She was more than just an Executioner, she was an omen of **** to these people, so much so that at the smallest hint of her coming they scrambled to stay out of her sight.

Still, the Executioner pushed on, walking patiently and ominously down the abandoned streets, further west to the outskirts of the Poor district, the Lowborn Western wards.

She did not have to walk for long before the tall warehouse of Cobbled Oil-brick and brass-plated rooves loomed before her from across the long path behind the tall archway of corrugated steel.

Bellator Ironworks

There were no guards at the gate, and the area seemed locked down. Brutus pushed through the gate nonchalantly, making tracks towards the warehouse, as small flakes of Rust began to fall from the sky, littering the industrial landscape with shards of red and brown.

It appeared abandoned, she could sense no life, feel little presence, and yet she stopped. Perhaps it was out of intuition? but a chill ran down her spine, a feeling that swept through her, as she stood in the steel laden yard before the decrepit structure.

Goosebumps flushed against Brutus' neck and with a whipping motion, she flew back as a shocking blast whizzed past her head, crackling as it burned into the stone path behind her.

Light flooded the yard, Brutus remained still as a dozen or so Bolt lights pointed directly at her.

Her ears heard them now, subtle rustling... it made it difficult to tell how many hid inside.

"Executioner!" A voice called, male and booming. "Turn back, we have three dozen guns trained on you, one wrong move and you are finished!"

She did not move, not because of the guns, but because she found herself taking mental notes.

"Bluffing; I can feel the Bolt anchors, see the limited number of windows, there are only 10 gunmen, the rest are likely armed but not with ranged weaponry."

The huge round ruby spectacles on her black helm wandered towards the tall double doors.

"Main entrance likely heavily guarded, must find an alternative method of entry."

The place was mostly sealed... except of course for the ten or so windows that were installed high on the structure, to them, this might have seemed like a tactical advantage, but it was null and void in the face of the Basilisk who did not operate within the rules of common man-filth like them.

"Turn back. or suffer our wrath." The Man shouted.

The wind blew and with it, the rust whirled in the air. ...the breeze blew in from the north, its gentle whistle instilling something within Brutus, something cold, something merciless.

KILL THEM ALL, NONE SHALL LIVE TO BREATHE TOMORROW'S AIR, NONE SHALL SEE THE SILVER SUNRISE. EXTERMINATE THEM.

The order was given. And so it began.

The Breeze itself halted, as the ground shook in protest. Brutus ignited the brand on her arm, and with it, the world around her grew heavy with bloodlust and power.

Dust and rust quivered, falling from where it settled, the bricks shook and rattled as Brutus called on more and more and more power, burning and blazing inside until the space around her began to bend unnaturally.

With the strength of a thousand charging soldiers and the speed of a falling star, Brutus exploded into movement, cracking the stone beneath her as she loosed herself like an arrow in the air.

The Rebels did not even get to fire before she smashed through the tall window, rolling to break her momentum as she slid across the hardwood floor.

She was completely surrounded, the muzzles and bayonets of five muskets pointed at her, as thirty-forty bodies all stood, all armed, all watching her.

Slowly she arose as her aura of bloodthirst surrounded her. These were indeed males, and they were indeed Varoon. This was a rebel base, festering in the corruption of the Man-filth.

"Kill her, KILL HER NOW!!" Cried one of the Men, pointing his gun as his compatriots, all armed and armoured with high-quality steel... and so they attacked.

Faster than they could pull their triggers, Brutus reached out with her armoured arm, splaying out her fingers as the Varoon shot at her. The Muzzles flashed, and yet so did the pain in her arm.

She tried to picture the electrical shot in her mind, to deconstruct them to their elements. The shots were fired from a cartridge lined with charged Bolt anchor, the focus within the barrel **** the electronic pulse that violently lept from the gem to fire out, killing those who it touched.

But they never touched her, because Brutus reached into all five blasts and devoured away their energy. They extinguished mid-air, as a wave of vitality filled her body, causing her to leap into action.

Reaching behind her back, she drew the heavy hammer and with a rippling of immense strength, swung in an arc at the crowd. None had time to react, and she felt the crunch of bone as the hammer collided with several bodies... but that was not the worst of it, the amber gem within the hammer's head glowed and screeched, it added unto the Hammers weight and sent a violent blast of **** at them, rendering all it touched into a pile of fleshy pulp.

Blood splattered in all directions, painting Brutus red as She continued thoughtlessly.

Several warriors came at her with gladius and spear in hand, thrusting to attack. Brutus caught the blade of the spear in her armoured finger, holding it tightly as she brought the hammer down on the Gladius wielder, who exploded into a cloud of crimson chunks.

The spearman screamed, as her fingers... glowed, she could feel the shaft of the spear, every fibre of the wood, every small revet of steel, all were just components to her, components that she deconstructed in her mind, resulting in the spearhead cracking off.

The Varoon gargled as she shoved the long blade up into his chin and without mercy... tore away at his neck, decapitating him completely.

This show of brutality made many of the rebels run in terror as she tossed the remains of his head at their feet.

Although many were fearless, jumping at her in massive groups, trapping her in an inescapable circle.

The Executioner pointed with her middle and index finger, her arm straightening right at the group's neckline. Twisting rapidly in an arc, she again separated the molecules with ease, and watched in a silent frost as in a flash of crimson light, all of their heads came clean from their bodies.

"ATTACK ATTACK I SAY!" Another voice called.

Slamming her bloody boot on the ground, another battalion, more heavily armed charged at her. How could she be so blind before? to everything around her that now opened completely and utterly to her dominance, she grasped at the very atoms that made up the upstairs foundations and with the slam of her sole the entire building began to warp and shift, cracking with her otherworldly power as the top floor began to collapse.

The Enemy screeched as the floor came out from under them, but Brutus did not stop, moving between falling debris, weaving through the shadows, cracking necks, caving in chests and smashing in heads, sending bits of cadaver in every direction.

Like a storm she smashed and pounded through every man she could find, moving faster and faster with every kill which ushered a mindless beastly joy in her veins.

Brutus decimated the locked doors into the main mill with a mere gesture, splintering it into oblivion. The Basilisk encountered warrior after warrior, red-skinned but hornless, Tailed but small and fragile, these Varoon like the **** smiths in the Centurium were nothings, she tore out their spinal cords, pushed down on their bodies from above with her mind, crushing them into piles of bone and frayed muscle, Pluto's hammer swinging and bludgeoning... until only a handful of men remained.

"Please, please, Mercy, we yield... spare us, please... our women and children, they are bellow in the Basement, if you must kill us then at least let them go, I beg of you."

The voice that had warned her before so strongly, belonging to a Varoon male, blonde of hair and blue of eyes, his crimson skin dirty and stained with blood and rubble, clasping his hands together in prayer "Oh Immortal empress, forgive us, please, I'll tell you anything you want, just spare us!"

Brutus was silent, her chest rising and falling with the heat of arousal, her eyes wide with glee as she hooked her hammer once again behind her shoulder.

Marching to the man, she lifted him tightly by the throat. He whimpered as his compatriots continued to plead, but their surrender fell on deaf ears.

She looked deep into his eyes, no... she looked beyond that, into his body, into his soul, and as her grip tightened, the man wheezed as breath left his lungs, as his muscles began to shrink, his eyes sinking into his head, as she stole the very life from his body, bolstering herself with even greater strength... until he was nothing but a lifeless husk, that she threw aside.

Brutus looked down at her feet.

"Women and Children."

DESTROY IT ALL. SPARE NO ONE

"But... they are innocent, we could make use for them, return them to slavery."

TREASON WILL BE MET ONLY WITH ****

"There is no honour in this? there is no need for it, no.. no I won't do this, not innocent children."

YOU WILL OBEY.

Brutus clutched her head, as she tried to control herself, tried and tried with all of her might as her left arm outstretched.

"No." She spoke allowed. Trying to grasp her arm, trying to stop the burning, trying to stop her mind from comprehending the entire structure, so that she could lash at its foundations. All inside... and below would be crushed. None would survive.

But she could not stop "NO!" She roared louder... and yet, the beams all splintered, the roof shattered and the floor beneath them, caved in, hundreds of thousands of pounds of rubble, stone, and metal falling as a symphony of screams echoed from bellow.

Brutus had only time to burn one final glyph, one that hardened her bones and tensed her muscles, she became rigid as the building fell on her and steeped her in darkness.

There was no comprehension of how much time had passed, after the boom of the building collapsing, all sound had vanished and only silence remained.

Brutus lay with unimaginable weight on top of her, unable at first to move. A wet, doughy sensation could be felt all around her, disturbing her greatly.

It made her suddenly burst into life as shock numbed her clawing fingers, she pushed and heaved, dragging her body past cracked rock and heavy steel beams, climbing further and further until she hit the open air.

A bloody hand emerged from the mass of destruction that was once the Bellator Mill, then another hand, then a head, then a shoulder, Brutus heaved her body out of the wreckage, stumbling and nearly falling as heavy breaths left her lips.

She walked, almost completely unharmed towards the gates, covered in red blood and pink chunks which she hastily tried to wipe away. A dread unlike any other filled her then, as it all came crashing down on her. She turned, listening, feeling with all of her might... but she could feel nothing. No survivors.

Brutus fell to her knees and stared at her shaking, bloodstained hands.

When she had spoken to the mystery Girl in her past... she said that they weren't monsters. Brutus had never felt so wrong.

She did not fly again. Instead, she walked, she walked through the great capital of Olympia without seeing it, her head low, her body aching with deep pain. many hours had passed before she reached the city outskirts, and never once did she encounter anybody, they all avoided her like the plague.

Here, Brutus did fly although she stayed low and stayed directly on course... to the Brass cathedral.

There she once again landed on the pad in Pluto's tower.

The hearth still burned, but the Girl was gone... well, not for long. Walking out from the library, the Girl smiled as she rushed out, likely hearing Brutus enter "That was fast! I always knew you were quick and efficient but..." Pluto stopped as she saw the bloody, shambling figure, hunched in place, quivering and alert like a terrified animal.

She frowned and dropped her book, rushing silently over to take Brutus' hand, pulling her down into a tight, warm embrace "It's okay, I-Its alright, I'm here, I've got you."

Tears ran down Brutus' face behind her mask "I killed them, I killed them all. The men, the women, the children, I spared no one." she spoke in a quivering tone.

"I know... I... I know." She tightened her arms as Brutus sniffed.

"I couldn't stop."

"Hey, hey, look at me. focus on me, close your heart to it, do not feel for them, they are lesser filth, they don't deserve your pity." Pluto whispered.

"They were children. They were... children." Brutus could only repeat.

Pluto separated from Brutus and reached up. This time, the basilisk made no effort to prevent Pluto from removing her black helmet.

The open air was exposed on Brutus' face, and the tear stains dried rapidly as Pluto smiled, pushing them away with her thumb, stroking Brutus' mane of wavy black hair "Come, let's get you cleaned up eh?"

Brutus did not speak but did as she was told as pluto grasped her hand and led her out of the wide chamber and into the hallway towards the private bath.

Pluto led Brutus into a solitary room, made of fine white marble, here was a deep dip cut into the ground, with a great copper spout above it and a long chain connected to it. She pulled this chain twice and waited for a moment "Just a moment, takes time for the water to travel all the way up here from the spring below." She explained, although the Executioner merely remained still, staring dead-eyed out into nothing.

Eventually, steaming hot water began to fly out of the large spout, filling the large bath with bubbling hot water. Pluto turned to Brutus who remained motionless, she frowned at this "Let's get you undressed."

Pluto was gentle and careful as she unlatched the buckles that held Brutus' black pauldrons in place, slipping them carefully away and placing them aside. There was no discomfort, no distrust as Pluto removed the long segmented plates on her right arm, slipping her fingers out of the gauntlet to once again reveal the long black tattoos that covered her from palm to shoulder, etched with images that she now immediately recognized.

"Repellare: the Push glyph. Exitium: the Destruction glyph. Corpus: the Body Glyph. Subtracta: the Subtraction glyph."

She was Alpha-One, Brutus the Basilisk, chief enforcer of the Empress; Captain and Lady-Paramount of the Iron Legion, slayer of millions, killer of any who walks the treacherous path, Brutus was more than just a lackey, she was indeed an omen of ****.

Pluto moved behind Brutus and removed her studded tailcoat coat, pulled away her breastplate, she unbuckled her belt and removed her breaches, leaving her only in stockings. Her button nose flushed as her eyes flickered to Brutus' breasts, wrapped tightly "Ugh, I can never undo your knots. Undo it for me, big bad lady basilisk."

Brutus reached behind her, and cleanly and easily undid her perfect knot, unspooling her chest wrap.

Pluto flushed deeper as she saw the executioner's full bust, heavy and round, with full, dark areolae "So unfair, I'm so flatchested compared to you."

"You have no blood on your hands." Brutus spoke, without knowing why "It is... a better quality."

"You've always been far too beautiful to make comments like that."

"Beauty, beauty solves nothing. it is a meaningless thing that carries no weight in the heart of battle, it does not shield you from a sword, nor repel gunfire. Power is what matters."

Pluto smiled "You always used to say that, You remember?"

"No." Brutus admitted. Her eyes were overly open she realised, overly focused, she tried to relax but found the sensation unpleasant. "What is our relationship?"

Pluto shrugged "Wouldn't make any positive difference if I told you."

"But you will not?" Brutus deduced with little issue.

The Girl frowned "I am here for you, that's all that I can say, please... do not ask too many questions."

Brutus pushed away the Pale woman's hands and grimaced fiercely.

The girl puffed out her chest, and folded her arms "Don't sneer at me! I'm trying to help you."

"I am no fool." Brutus shot. "This is not the first time this has happened, I have... taken notes upon awakening, every response to the loss of memory is the same. I am awake. I know how to fight, but I have never trained, I know these..." She touched the tattoos on her arm "...Mysteria. I know of this world, I know the name of the Capital, all vital information remains, why?"

The wind howled, so shrill and cold, the tattered rust collided with the brass spires outside, Brutus focused on this when she saw the look on the Girl's face, it was deep and dark, full of sorrow and regret.

"take off your stockings... and get in the bath, I'll fix everything, okay? Lady Basilisk." Pluto whispered.

Brutus rolled down her stockings, leaving her nude as the day of her birth. the air was cold and the heat of the bath made goosebumps rise on her chest as she stepped inside.

Now, she could relax, the warmth soothed her bones, as she submerged in the water to wet her hair.

Pluto smiled but did not speak.

Rolling up her sleeves, Pluto ran her fingers through the water, and beckoned Brutus closer, the executioner glided through the water towards her fingers, and talented fingers they were.

They pushed into the hardness of her collar, massaging her neck, and rubbing her nape with the palm of her hands. Brutus fell deeper into comfort, it soothed the pain In her chest, the ache that the knowledge of those she had purged left behind.

"I love you, Okay..." The Girl was crying now, but why? Brutus could have fallen asleep, she was so comfortable "I will always care for you, I will never forget you, you always have a place with me..."

Her eyelids... felt heavy.

"Sleep... let go of your pain, let go of yesterday, Let go of tomorrow. Today was yours, but it is now mine. Your pain was yours, but it is now mine. Your memory was yours, but it is now mine."

Her eyes closed, and her pain, her memory, the entire world, slipped away.