Protectors- Wrath of The Stranger

Chapter Ten: Zero Day

Apis took the punch to the fist as gracefully as someone like him could have, doubling over with the force of the blow. His physical state was bad, so bad that Zavant, even without the same power as his past form possessed, was able to damage him,

"How can this be?" Apis bellowed, "humanity was always weak. How have you grown this strong?"

"The human spirit, Apis," Zavant smiled, the feeling of The Stranger's blood on his hands seeming to heal some very old mental wounds, "It's the reason that we'll always surpass you,"

Zavant pummelled Apis, but The Stranger was not done yet. He elbowed Noctum Prime in the neck, winding him. Then he grabbed his opponents leg in a vice-like grip, throwing him away. A bolt of lightning struck him in the chest as Zachary descended, and the two became locked in brutal combat,

"It doesn't matter that you beat Noctum," he said, "because he was not alone,"

Apis finally outmatched Zachary, slamming him into the ground. A punch to his side obliterated what was left of his torso, leaving only a spine, ribcage, and the glistening organs, struggling to stay in place. Jester followed up the attack with an uppercut, hitting The Stranger into Spirit's energy blast, wounding him even further,

"Fuck!" He screamed as a thrown dagger from Misfortune drew blood from his remaining arm,

Apis flew up, his crimson aura spreading around him like an evil halo. The sky was once again painted in a bright red, blocking even the light from the sun,

"I am never going to lose to mere humans," he said, voice steady, "a god's essence is almost impossible to destroy, but I will burn through it, if it is to defeat you,"

The aura intensified even more, fully coating the sky. Apis' true might was terrifying, so terrifying that nobody could get close,

"I can't move," Draedon said, his voice shaking, "he's so strong,"

Apis' cry of power turned to one of agony. It was possible to see a figure, or, strangely, half a figure, climbing onto The Stranger. Insomniac reached with immense precision, sliding his hand through the place where Apis' horn was, breaking through the skull that protected his brain,

"Why would you do this!?" Apis screamed, the aura intensifying his voice, making it hundreds of times louder than before, "UNHAND ME!"

He felt the agony of a hand reaching within his skull, peeling apart the bone like a toddler would peel a mandarin, slowly and raggedly. The sight was horrific, the charred body of Insomniac rummaging inside of Apis' skull, pulling pieces of brain out with brutal slowness,

"We need to help Simon," Zavant said calmly, firing his clamps at Apis, "bring that fucker down,"

The clamps latched onto Apis' legs, dragging him downward. Shaine looped a kunai around The Stranger's neck, having Zachary help to pull against the Egyptian God. The struggle was even, but Apis was on his last limb, barely staying alive with some kind of determination that may have even been beyond Noctum. Just as it looked as if Apis was going to throw Insomniac off, Noctum flew up, wounds healed by Spirit, and a chain of purple energy dragged Apis even faster towards the ground,

"I still have one last trick!" Apis screeched at Noctum, triggering the aura within his neck,

The snap echoed loudly, but Noctum stayed strong, using his aura to keep moving. He did not raise his fists, but brought Apis down to the ground, just as Simon finally did it. The Stranger's brain was crushed then pulled out of his skull by Insomniac,

"Is it finally over?" Zachary asked,

"I DO NOT REQUIRE A BRAIN TO SURVIVE!" 

Apis' halo erased Insomniac from existence, but he was unable to fly upwards, the force of the chains that bound him too great,