Episode 3: Dying Through Hell
The chariots that had carried the Jaegers and the Nightbringers finally came to the ground and stopped. The Jaegers' chariot came to stop at a deserted plain while the Nightbringers' chariot came to stop near a cliff that was a fair distance away from where the Jaegers were. As the Jaegers got out of their chariot, they took a look around.
"I guess that must be their army's hiding spot…" Gordon said, examining the cliff in the south near where the Nightbringers' chariot had docked, and seeing that it cast a large shadow for Akame's men to hide in.
"I hope it's cozy for them." Leo remarked.
"It's actually kind of sad…" Ricard said, empathizing. "They must have been really excited to fight head on in a battle like this. To have their hopes betrayed after their leader got them up like that, they must be feeling crushed right now."
"Their mistake was having too much trust," said Leo in a deadpan tone of voice, "especially in a lowly creature as detestable as Akame. I don't fully trust Celestia, I can't say for certain that she's "good" when I don't even know her personally, but at least I know she stands for something good. I can follow a goddess like that…"
"Satisfied with following a goddess he doesn't even fully trust…" Ricard thought. "...so long as they stand for something good. To me, it sounds dumb, but the way he sees it, he probably thinks it's a display of unwavering devotion to good. But I'm not that selfless. I want to feel like I have a relationship with Celestia...and more than ever, I want to feel like I have a relationship with Luna now…"
It was then that Gordon noticed the army of two hundred men he and the other Jaegers were meant to lead approaching them and turned to face them. Stopping, the herald in front of the army who was commandeering the troops stepped forward, took off his helmet and said…
"We await your command, Jaeger Raid."
Gordon then looked over to his two teammates, who were still looking in the opposite direction, amidst in thought.
"Hey," he said, "something tells me that he's not just referring to me."
"..."
"..."
Leo and Ricard were both still silent for a short period of time before turning around to face their army.
"Thank you for your patience." Ricard told them, trying to be polite.
"Let us lead the way to victory." Leo said.
Soon, the Jaeger Raid was leading the army in a march to the battlefield, not knowing that behind them, Akame was watching…
Still an alicorn, she appeared on the plain, having used a teleportation spell. Staring at the soldiers sinisterly before glaring at the cliff where the Nightbringers were by, she chuckled to herself.
"Finally," she said to herself, "I'm going to directly put the wheels in motion…"
She then flew to the top of the cliff using her pegasus wings and looked down at her servants, who were just about to set off towards the battlefield to cast the barrier spell. Trish, the one who would cast it, could see that Dante was still upset.
"Depending on the circumstances," said Trish to Dante, attempting to make him feel better, "they may very well need our help in combat."
"It's not just that…" Dante replied. "I don't want to see any innocent ponies get killed…"
"Nopony necessarily has to die," chimed in Vergil, "if enough men are simply wounded, we'll be called in to aid them in battle."
"But still, that doesn't change the fact that our comrades are going to get hurt just because we have to follow these fucking stupid orders…" Dante responded, still distraught. "If they don't want to only send us in to fight these demons, fine. But why can't we at least just all work together from the get-go and fight them all together? It just makes no sense how we have to watch things go to shit before we can do anything to help."
"Ha ha ha…" Akame laughed from above. "Just be grateful you've been given the opportunity to help after things have gone to shit...it's a luxury that most can only lie to themselves about having…"
"Akame!" the Nightbringers exclaimed upon noticing her after hearing her. Akame then flew down below and landed in front of them.
"I know you won't say it to my face, Dante," said Akame to Dante, "but you blame me as well for this "stupid" plan, just as you blame me as well for the torture you and your friends were put through at Hell's Orphanage."
"..." Dante, Trish, and Vergil were all silent as they gave Akame glares of bemusement.
"Don't get me wrong though," continued Akame, "I'm glad that you are not blind to the fact that both Celestia and I are evil, even if you believe that Celestia is the greater of two evils for doing nothing to save you from eternal darkness…"
"Look Akame," said Dante, "we don't really care about how you perceive our beliefs. What we do care about is why you're here."
"I'm just here to inform you with a very significant update I've made to my plan…" Akame replied. "I'm going to be the one to lead the backup army instead of you three."
"What?!" the Nightbringers exclaimed.
"You heard me right," said Akame, "I'm also going to be the one to cast the barrier spell. While the battle unfolds, I want you three to sit on top of that cliff and watch three hundred demons get massacred effortlessly by Celestia's army. There will be no casualties, or even any injured on our side from the battle, rest assured."
"Of course…" Dante thought. "She knew how much we hated simply the idea of having to just watch all this without being able to do anything and now she's going out of her way to make it reality...but as long as no one gets hurt, we can't really complain since it's only our suffering."
"However," continued Akame, "don't start thinking that I'm just doing this to torment you. I didn't have you three brought out here for nothing. In fact, I have a very important job for you all."
Akame then did a magic spell as her horn emitted a dark glow. Behind her, she summoned 199 shadow pony soldiers out of a large pool of darkness that formed on the ground. She also summoned a soldier at her side in the same manner, only this soldier, to the Nightbringers' surprise, was one of Princess Celestia's heralds, bearing the signature yellow armor of one and a white coat of fur…
"?!" Vergil went, being especially surprised as he felt something off about the soldier's aura.
"Why is one of Princess Celestia's royal guards with you?" Trish asked.
"Hey, he's not chopped liver," joked Akame, "ask him yourself…"
As Akame raised a hoof in the herald's direction, the herald heard an order spoken by her in his mind…
Respond to them appropriately when asked questions. Don't let them catch on before he awakens…
"Okay," said Trish as she turned to the herald, "why are you with Akame?"
"Akame has given the fair Princess Celestia's royal army an arsenal of weapons imbued with holy magic," explained the royal guard, "potentially making them more powerful against a legion of devils than Akame's soldiers that are not within the elite ranks. Thus, I was asked to join you in your mission, where we will defeat a great demon looking to show up in this region. A demon so powerful, not even you three would be able to defeat him by yourselves in a fight. Darkness alone shall not be enough to fell him, you must also have the power of light on your side."
"Power of light?" Vergil thought. "But that soldier is like us...only his feels even darker…"
"Oh…" Dante went as a blank expression he had worn began turning into a smile. "Oh...I get it now. You didn't screw us over, there was just a change of plans."
"You know I've never left you three just hanging in the wind." Akame replied, smiling as well. "Trust me, once everything is over, you'll be hailed as the greatest heroes of Equestria. Makes for a much better title than "Celestia's #1 squad", right? We all know who really gets the credit for that…"
"Yeah!" a now happy Trish exclaimed as she grabbed the foreleg of the herald of Celestia's. "Come on, whatever your name is!"
The herald paused for a while before answering…
"...Mr. Tong."
"..." Vergil glared at the herald suspiciously as Trish started to drag him over to the cliff. Akame chuckled.
"I'll save you three the trouble." she said as she cast a teleportation spell that sent them on top of the cliff. "See you around."
Akame then went over to her shadow soldiers.
"Conceal yourselves for the time being, men." she ordered them. "When the slaughter's begun, then you may come out and watch your friends be baptized…"
As Akame's soldiers obeyed and hid in the pool of darkness that disappeared behind them, Akame then teleported herself to where the Jaegers and their men were, at an outlook where they could see the enemy below. Three hundred devils dressed in armor and armed with spears in hand. Completely stationary, they just stood in place with menacing looks on their faces, waiting to kill the enemy they knew would strike. Leo scowled, then looked back at his soldiers…
"Listen well, men." he told them. "We can not allow ourselves to lose our lives to foes this vile. For the sake of Equestria, we will defeat them and return to our loved ones alive!"
The soldiers began to cheer and raise their swords in the air. After they stopped cheering however, they were greeted by the sound of Akame clapping behind them.
"That was an excellent speech, Leo." Akame complimented him. "Short, sweet, and to the point. They say that to be a commanding officer, you must possess two qualities as a speaker. Those qualities are being able to tell things like they are...and being able to say things you don't believe in as if you do believe in them…"
The Jaegers and their army turned to face Akame, looking confused.
"Who are you?" Leo asked.
"Ha ha, I'm sorry." Akame apologized. "I forgot we haven't met face to face before. I am Akame. They call me one of Equestria's "greater gods"."
With that, the looks on the army's faces became unnerved.
"So you're the one the Nightbringers are always talking about…" Leo said with a scowl of suspicion on his face. "What brings you here?"
"I just came to tell you what I told the Nightbringers." Akame replied. "I'm the one leading the backup army now and I'm going to cast the barrier spell. I had to send the Nightbringers on an important mission."
"What do those three see in this Jezebel?" Leo thought, frustrated. "She probably is as bad as Celestia says she is. I'd best not make any sarcastic remarks. I don't want to be on her bad side..."
"I understand." Leo said in a neutral tone.
"And I see all too well…" Akame replied.
"Huh?" Leo went, confused.
"I've planned this whole thing out, Leo…" Akame told him as her horn lit up, a shadowy aura surrounding it. "You may hate me now…"
Leo froze as an image of him on his bedroom floor holding a knife to his chest flashed through his head, followed by the image of a green-haired mare with red fur staring down at a newborn filly with a gleaming white coat and mane and a newborn colt with a glowing dark coat and mane, both sleeping in a crib.
"But just wait until after this…" Akame said, glaring at him with an evil smirk on her face.
The soldiers gulped and shuddered. They sensed a greater evil in her than from the demons. Eventually, Leo overcame the stun Akame had put him into and regained his confidence along with his serious look.
"Even if it's not just an illusion, a ploy to scare me…" he told himself in his mind. "...if it happens, it happens. I must be prepared to accept any fate, no matter how cruel."
Leo then held up the necklace he wore to his face.
"I just hope that if that were to happen, she would find another who would make her happy…" Leo thought, trying not to cry.
"Sir…" a soldier standing close to Leo said.
"I know, we've waited long enough." Leo responded as he unsheathed a sword at his side, and held it up in the air, where a bright light began to emanate from it. All the soldiers behind Leo proceeded to do the same, following the captain's example.
"CHARGE!" Leo shouted as he and his army rushed down from the outlook and towards the army of the devils.
"There's my cue." Akame said as she saw both armies on the same ground. With a spell that she cast, dark energy rose from the ground and engulfed the area where the armies were like a dome. From the outlook to the fortress, the entire region was shrouded by a barrier of shadow that only those brought up in darkness could see through…
Meanwhile…
Dante, Trish, and Vergil were standing on the cliff, awaiting the arrival of the fearsome devil that they had been promised would appear. A good amount of time had gone by now, and yet, there wasn't a single sign in the area of a demon's approach.
"I hope she didn't lie to us again…" Trish said, growing skeptical.
"As much as that wouldn't surprise me," responded Dante, holding a hoof to his chin, "my gut tells me that's not the case here. Akame has a history of deception, but flat-out lying isn't her style. She finds it boring, preferring to toy with others by telling them things that are technically true, but mislead them into having misconceptions about the truth. It's tricky to explain in words, but easy to understand once you've experienced it in action…"
"I even have my doubts that what she said about us fighting three hundred demons was a complete lie…" he then thought.
Vergil was skeptical as well, but his thoughts of doubt were focused in a different area. He couldn't take his attention off of the herald Akame had join them, noticing his unusual behavior of standing at the central edge of the cliff and staring at the barrier Akame had cast.
"Pardon me, but what do you find interesting about that barrier?" Vergil asked the herald.
The herald, as usual, hesitated for a bit before responding…
"The battle. I can see that the battle is going very well. The Jaegers and their army haven't lost a single man yet."
"Hmm?" Vergil said curiously as he focused his eyes on the barrier and could soon see through it. He saw that the herald was telling the truth, the Jaeger Raid and the soldiers they were leading were winning by a landslide. As the demon soldiers would swoop into to attack, they would be countered by the soldiers of Celestia firing holy beams from their swords at their heads and chests, piercing their hearts and brains and killing them. Normally, one blow to even a vital area of a demon's body wouldn't kill them, but the magic of light not only gave the Jaegers and their men an offensive advantage, it bolstered their defenses as well. Whenever a devil would get close to a soldier they had targeted, the light emanating from that soldier's sword would sting their eyes and skin and stun them, leaving them vulnerable to a fatal strike.
"Akame was telling the truth…" Vergil said as Dante and Trish noticed him and the royal guard staring out at the barrier. They came over to have a look for themselves and were quite pleased with what they witnessed.
"Alright!" Trish exclaimed eagerly. "Those fuckers are getting their asses kicked and fed to them!"
"This is incredible!" Dante yelled happily. "I can't believe those demons are such wimps! They're sending them on the highway back to hell!"
"I want to share their enthusiasm…" Vergil thought. "But something just feels wrong…"
It was then that Vergil could hear a faint sound...a faint sound of someone crying…
"*sniff* *sob* Why… *sniff* *sob* I am just as guilty as they are…"
Upon hearing those words, Vergil had figured out who this herald was and what Akame was up to. It was true that there was a devil they had to fight, and he was right there in front of them…
"Ha ha ha...and so, it comes to an end."
Those words were referring to the battle between Celestia's army and the demons concluding. Unsurprisingly, the Jaeger Raid and their soldiers were the victors. And just like Akame had promised, they had not only emerged victorious, but also completely unscathed.
"HAIL THE GODS!" Leo cried as he held his sword up to the sky.
"HAIL THE GODS!" the soldiers repeated as they held up their swords too.
Still watching, Trish and Dante cheered.
"Yes!" Trish yelled. "They did it! They completely murdered them!"
"And no one got hurt either!" Dante exclaimed, relieved to see that everybody was okay. "I underestimated those Jaeger dudes, they're beyond awesome! I'm totally pumped now to decimate that demon dickwad!"
After Dante said that, the herald got an unsightly sneer on his face.
"It's time…" a dark force inside of him said.
"No…" the herald replied. "Just kill me. I am a murderer, I deserve to be dead…"
"You fool." the dark force mocked him. "You are dead. You are an eternal slave to Death, doomed to eternal life in Death…"
A now aghast Vergil, having heard everything, drew his katana and slashed the herald's back legs. His katana sent out a shockwave that sent the herald flying off the cliff, causing the helm he had worn to fall off, revealing he had a black mane. Noticing this, Trish and Dante were shocked and rushed over to where the herald had been.
"Holy shit!" Dante yelled as he ran and jumped off the cliff, spreading his wings to fly and catch the falling herald.
Trish tried to help by casting a levitation spell on the guard to stop his descent, but Vergil called out…
"STOP! BOTH OF YOU! HE'S NOT AN ORDINARY HERALD! A TERRIBLE DEMON IS IN HIM!"
"Huh?" Trish and Dante both went as the herald soon proved Vergil's words true. Drawing a sword imbued with holy magic, he, in spite of a shaking feeling in his right foreleg, slashed at Dante's throat. Being in a state of shock, Dante dodged a bit too late and got a cut across his throat. Soon, the herald hit the ground, but to his surprise, he suffered no injury.
"What? How…?" he asked himself in his mind.
"HEY!" one of the Nightbringers from above shouted.
The herald was further astonished when he looked up to see that the one shouting was Dante, still alive even after his throat had been slit and was oozing black blood.
"What the hell was that for?!" Dante cried indignantly, still flying in the air. "I was just trying to help you!"
The guard's still shaking right foreleg then directed his blade at Dante's forehead and fired a holy ray from it. Even as the energy beam pierced a vital spot, Dante did not die like the demons had.
"Comrade or not," said a pissed off Dante as he put up his dukes, "keep this up, and I'll beat some sense into you!"
"This can't be real…" the guard thought. "This would mean…"
Fighting the dark force inside of him, the cause of the shaking in his right foreleg, the herald then turned the sword toward his chest and fired a holy beam from it at his heart, shocking the Nightbringers. Black blood spilled forth from a gaping hole in the herald's chest, but like Dante, he survived what should have been a fatal wound.
"I can't die…" the horrified herald said. "NO! WHY?!"
"The poor soul…" Vergil said, sympathizing. "He's been forced to bear the same cross as us…"
"How could Akame do this to a soldier who doesn't belong to her?" Trish said sadly, feeling sorry for the guard too.
"Who...who are you guys?" the herald asked the Nightbringers. "What do you mean by the same cross?"
Dante, also feeling terrible for the herald, answered his question, knowing he would have to tell him the painful truth…
"Being made a soldier of the night, your mortal body is gone, replaced with an immortal one made of eternal darkness. Killed by hell, you now live hell…forever..."
The herald began to cry as he felt his heart sink.
"Now do you understand?" the dark force inside him said. "You can not escape me because you are me…"
It was then that the herald stopped fighting the dark force, allowing it to envelope his heart. And so, he fused with the force and transformed into a great devil, a being who was both a demon and a pony. Together, he and the dark force were called…
...Vincent.