THE BATTLEGROUND II:
THE GATES OF HELL
CHAPTER I
"Throughout the History of the Universe, there has always been a constant Battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. A constant battle between the Human World and the Demon World. The threat to the Human World has faded momentarily due to the efforts of a Legendary Dark Knight. However, the High Councils of Hell are preparing to resurrect an ancient fallen Emperor.
Dante will soon learn that facing the Lord of the Underworld will be likestaring into his own reflection in a mirror...".
And so, the story continues…
Like a stream of wild fire, Sparda flew from the inside of the powerful portal with his mighty sword drawn. As he approached the ground, he forced the tip into the armor of Bolverk's chest plate.
Bolverk staggered back a couple of massive steps and slowly held his giant, beautifully carved tribal sword up to his chest.
Mundus stepped forward and crossed his massive stone arms across his chest.
Sparda looked at the two warriors standing side by side. He was attempting to catch his breath and soon realized that his breath was not as easy to find as it had seemed. As Sparda slowly inhaled and exhaled, he began to blink heavily.
Since he was so focused on his defense from exiting the portal, he did not have the proper time to look at his new surroundings.
Dazed, he glanced around.
Long, thick fleshy charcoal veiny tentacles twisted themselves around each other like a sea of fighting snakes. Dark green and grey thorns protruded from each of them and from the tips dripped a thick, acidic substance that created a small pool wherever it landed.
His stance was shifted slightly when the ground began to shake slowly underneath his feet. He looked down to see the same large and small veins covering the black stone ground in a circular motion. The led all the way up to where Bolverk and Mundus stood.
The trees of the area were long since dead and rotting as the dark veins broke off small branches and twigs. The trees themselves, however, seemed to sway back and forth with the movement patterns of the veins.
As Sparda shifted his focus to the distance, he saw giant, monstrous charcoal towers that shot into the air like spiked arrows. They were so high and thin that it seemed as if hey could almost pierce the burning purple moon that sent off a soft glow that covered all of the land in its shade.
The larger veins were slowly twisting themselves along the bases of the towers and the longer, thinner veins twisted themselves along the tower's windows and tops.
The most disturbing thin about this strange new area was not the veins, however. It was the massive sea of tortured souls that swirled around one particular tower.
It was the Gothic tower in the center of everything. It was also the largest and most menacing tower. In order to reach it, one would first have to figure out a way to overcome the giant gap between it and the other stretch of land that was separated by a giant, sea of fleshy tentacles. One in particular was a shade lighter than the rest and dwarfed the rest in sheer size.
The tortured souls screamed and cried as they reached out their long, veiny fingers into the air.
The spirits that occupied the central Gothic Tower were also in the hue of the purple moon that shone like a beacon over the infested area.
Delirious and suddenly drained of energy, Sparda slowly dropped to one knee, his giant, blood-red sword falling to the ground beside him as it slipped out of his hand.
Mundus grinned.
"It seems as if something had calmed you down a little, has it not?" he said as he uncrossed his arms.
"A warrior such as yourself should always know to take in his surroundings before blindly attacking his enemies." Mundus held up his hands and looked around. "Take a good look around, Dark Knight. You are in a new breed of Hell."
Mundus took one step forward. "One that holds and condemns the tortured souls that linger between the Human World and the Demon World."
Mundus took another towering step forward. "A place where even the most talented Demons have fallen," he said as he smiled once again and took a final step toward Sparda.
"A place where good fails and evil prevails."
Mundus turned around suddenly and began walking back to where Bolverk stood. As he did, he held out his hand and shot his palm into the air.
Slowly, a tentacle began to wrap itself around his hand and down his arm.
"Of course, you should have no problem battling here, Sparda. A strong demon such as yourself should possess enough skill in order to overcome this place's atmosphere."
Sparda closed his eyes and rose to his feet. He opened his icy blue eyes and looked at Mundus.
"It is not the surroundings that make a true Battleground, Mundus. It is the warriors doing battle within them."
It was now Sparda's turn to take one step forward toward his enemies. "And if a pathetic Demon ruler such as yourself can survive here," he began to say as he held out his hand.
Mundus gritted his teeth as Sparda's sword suddenly rattled and flew into his hand from the ground.
"So can I."
With those very words, Sparda sprinted at Lord Mundus and leapt into the air. He slashed away the veins that crawled across Mundus's arm. He managed to kick Mundus across the face and slash his sword upward at Bolverk's chest at the same time before he hit the ground.
As he landed, Sparda quickly took advantage of the situation as he once again kicked Mundus away from him and grabbed Bolverk by the head. Sparda quickly pushed off of the tentacles from the ground and smashed the top of his spiked forehead into Bolverk's massive skull.
Bolverk staggered back , clutching the impact spot of the blow. Sparda landed on the ground and quickly leapt into the air once again. This time, it was Mundus who would feel his attack.
He took his sword and pointed it at the tip of it at Mundus's chest. Sparda pierced the sword into Mundus's chest and forced it in further with his strong, charcoal hands.
Mundus let out a grunt as Sparda pulled his sword out of the stone giant and punched him in the jaw.
Bolverk had long since recovered from the head butt and quickly charged at Sparda with his giant, tribal sword.
Sparda managed to block the sword's tip with his forearm armor and swipe it away with the same massive arm.
Bolverk spun around and tripped Sparda's legs out from underneath him. Sparda hit the fleshy black ground with a loud thud, but quickly regained his composure and stood up.
Both Mundus and Bolverk held their sword in the air and charged at Sparda.
Sparda quickly found himself dodging and blocking some of the quickest attacks he had ever faced as Bolverk and Mundus both advanced on him like predators on a wounded animal. They came at Sparda with overhead strikes and long, jabbing motions and side swings that came at incredible speeds.
As he swung and maneuvered his giant sword against the attacks, short bursts of white and blue sparks shot up in the air from the clashing swords.
Bolverk and Mundus continued to back up Sparda until his back hit a fleshy stone pillar. Sparda quickly ducked as both Bolverk's sword and Mundus's impaled the stone pillar, causing it to crumble as it crashed to the ground.
As the pillar hit, it managed to split open many of the veiny tentacles slithering across the ground. The thick, juicy poison from within the veins of the tentacles shot up and sprayed on Sparda's right shoulder.
The acid quickly ate away at Sparda's purple and red lined black armor. Sparda gritted his teeth and gripped the wound with thin charcoal hand. The acid left a faint trail of smoke as it left the wound.
Mundus grinned. "Be careful now, Legendary Dark Knight."
Sparda closed his eyes as he shook his head. He had been wounded many times in the past by various kinds of weapons and poisons, but never had a specific one hurt him so badly.
Sparda fought through the pain and quickly charged once again at Bolverk and Mundus.
As the three Legendary Demon Knights continued to fight in this new world, they all seemed to overlook something off in the distance. Something that was completely untouched by the fleshy tentacles.
It was a giant opening to a cave that was shaped like a Demon creature's head. A quick, steady stream of water flowed from its mouth and washed away some of the veins.
The inside of the opening shone a dark purple like the moon itself.
From the inside of the cave came a deep roaring laugher that covered the dark lands, a laughter that sounded all too familiar to the three warriors, especially to Sparda….
The orange light that spilled into the small bedroom and onto the bed's covers meant that the sun was finally rising.
As it did, the woman underneath the sheets rolled away from the open window and sighed softly as she pulled the covers off of her body.
As she did, she felt a warm hand touch her waist. She blinked a few times and opened her eyes to see a face all too familiar to her.
As her blue and orange eyes met with the man's icy blue eyes, she rose from her bed.
"Dante?"
Dante sighed and smiled.
"Good morning, Mary."
Author's Note: Here is the beginning to the second Chapter in the Battleground series. I know it took a while, but I didn't want to rush it. I had to take the time to make it sound exactly how I wanted it to sound. I hope I have kept people interested enough in this story so they can continue to read it. Like always, please R&R.
Chris