801 Hail The Chief
"WE HAIL YOU, LORD!"
"HAIL!"
"HAIL!"
The Grand Knights all bowed before Ater, prostrating themselves even lower than before, as they marveled at his power. None of them had ever seen Necromancy before, so they were shocked by the revival of the Purple Giant. Not only was he alive and breathing, but he seemed even stronger than he had been when he was alive.
As he went to join the ranks of the prostrating Knights, even more hails echoed within the hall.
This was generated by the Guard Giants, who had silently stood in their posts. None of them could resist the temptation of subservience, though.
They displayed total respect and fear.
Upon seeing all of this, Ater simply chuckled and raised his head so he could see the agonizing reaction of the Giant Chief.
Much to his expectation, the Chief also had the same look in his eyes that the Giants had.
—Horror… and Adoration.
"Were you able to command this much power among your own people, I wonder…" Amusement rang in his tone as he looked at the broken leader.
'I suppose it's about time.'
Slowly, the Giant Chief began to fall to the floor. His chains still tightly clung to his body, but he was moving closer to where Ater comfortably sat—the same place that once belonged to the fallen leader.
"Do you still wish to resist, or will you comply?"
He loosened the hold of the chains on the Chief's throat and mouth, allowing the colossal savage the chance to speak.
At this point, the Chief knew… he only had one chance.
The man before him held the power of life and death in the palm of his hand. If he was to survive in this reality he had to abdicate all command.
… The same way the one who came before him had done for him.
"I… ready… to comply."
"Good." Ater nodded, instantly releasing the chain from the Chief's entire body. "Compliance will be rewarded."
~THUD!~
The Chief's silver-like body fell to the floor, causing everything within the hall to tremble slightly.
His hulking form was at least twenty-one meters tall, and he was better built than the other Grand Knights. His Tattoos were golden, and his short hair and polished beard caused his face to have an aura of maturity and age.
All in all, he was befitting royalty—albeit a fallen one.
"Join them."
In sheer obedience, the former Chief went to the forefront of the four Knights, and then bowed himself to Ater.
He had finally reached the point of no return.
"Good… good." As Ater's words echoed in his ears, the Chief understood his role perfectly.
He could no longer desire the throne, as he was no longer deserving of it. Instead, he would now have to work as one of the Grand Knights… serving the current Chief.
—The one known as Ater.
'And with that… I've fully solidified my standing with the Giants. I doubt such would even exist at this point, but even the last embers of rebellion will be quelled once the Giants witness their Chief being in my service.'
Even the most loyal servants of the former Chief would have no choice but to fold.
'Though I doubt any complicated measures like this had to even be taken in the first place. In the end, these people are easy to impress due to their primitive nature and culture.'
Giants valued strength, and the only reason the Chief became such an icon among his people was due to the fact that he was the biggest and strongest.
Such a lack of subtlety and finesse made it too easy for Ater.
Still… he recognized his task was far from over.
'The Dwarves are quite different from the Giants in the most important parts. Both races have their pride to uphold, but the former have the intelligence to back up that pride.'
They wouldn't be swindled by petty means or parlor tricks, unlike the Giants before him.
'My Hollow Technique can't fully resurrect someone. It just regenerates their body—and I can manipulate the variations of that regeneration.'
The Soul would already be absent, hence why it was called 'Hollow'.
Despite this damning limitation, though, Ater could still influence the behavior of the body by manipulating the brain so that the target could act the same as they would if they were alive. Things like muscle memory, as well as actual memories, could be activated in the brain, making them empty husks that could imitate living beings.
'The Giants don't know any better, though, and think their fallen comrade is back.' Ater nearly smirked as he shook his head slightly.
'As long as I can make them believe they can achieve immortality with me as their leader, they will all be willing to fearlessly follow me.'
They could even die for him if he so commanded it.
'But with the Dwarves… let's just say I'll need something a little heavier than my current tactics.' He smiled. 'I'll have to break them.'
Focusing his gaze on the five Grand Knights before him, and the multiple other Knights that bowed before him in the hall, Ater finally floated away from his throne.
"It's time." As soon as he said this, all the Giants rose to their feet, nodded their heads, and began to walk towards the entrance/exit of the hall.
Ater followed behind them, gliding gracefully in the air as his hands slid into his pockets.
Once he finally exited the Throne-room, he was met with a horde of Giants—tens of thousands of them—as they all cheered loudly to welcome his arrival.
Standing at the forefronts were the variants, and behind were the regular Giants. He could even see the ones who were waiting for him at the Dungeon, which meant Belle and Justin were currently resting in their quarters.
"HAIL!"
"HAIL!"
"HAIL!"
As their thunderous voices echoed in the air, Ater cast a wide, malevolent smile at the crowd and nodded slowly to himself.
'This should be fun.'
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[A/N]