Her screams of painful anguish echoed throughout the building as he watched his staff use only the most refined torture equipment to harm her. Observing the white haired cat demon as she wailed in agony, the Gray Garden's former angel simply watched without a care in the world about how far the torture was going. They went to great lengths with it, applying it in extreme conditions to amplify the effectiveness against the poor girl. She hadn't slept at all in the days she spent here, awake twenty-four seven for each and every moment she endured. That was how long the torturous treatment lasted, and would continue to last for as long as they had her in their grasp. Every angel of the sun heaven who participated in the matter enjoyed it, finding pleasure in torturing their weak prisoner without any sign of remorse simply because she was a demon. Thus they punished her in such a severe way that any other angels would've denounced their actions as barbarically cruel as the methods were entirely inhumane. Yet they didn't care, their arrogant pride making them think they were better than others—the same belief Hastur reinforced within them as their new leader of the Sun Heaven, a man who would one day become the God of Existence to create a new existence.
Their abrasive disregard for her life just because she was a demon contributed to each and every kind of technique they inflicted upon her. Ater's head was completely covered by a hood to not only blind her to everything she experienced, but also deafen her hearing so she wouldn't hear anything either because of the earmuffs sewn into the interior with a heated metal plate over Ater's eyes inside it for the purpose of abacination. When the hood wasn't over her head, they forcefully shoved all kinds of pharmacological drugs intended to harm her biological systems further just like they had done when she was first brought into the Sun Inquisition. Her tormentors also completely denailed her, tearing off her finger nails, toe nails, and claws of her cat form; and combed her skin to tear off plenty of it and flesh. That was one method of flaying her, though the angels also made use of cat o' nine tails to flog her too. They even crippled her legs via the means of hamstringing and kneecapping, plus the sun angels also implemented terrible devices such as a Catherine wheel to break her bones. These methods were but a sample of what she experienced while tortured.
Suffering in a lot of pain, Ater slowly began to look more like a corpse than a living being, turning into a gaunt cadaver from a lack of nutritional substances—food she could eat—and liquids to drink. Yet she was still alive for all of it, experiencing the full onslaught of painful torture from the hands of her tormentors who could've easily become her executioners. However, Hastur would not allow it because she was still useful; he planned to kill her anyway, but not now since he would wait for the armies to surround this place. Then he'd present Ater's crippled form to them and then execute her to send her down into the deepest recesses of whatever hell he condemned her to. This horrible torture was a hell in of itself, one that forced her to endure such violent treatment. Yet the torture here wasn't enough; she had to experience it in the afterlife as well to break her further, for Hastur didn't want death to be a kind mistress soothing Ater's injuries. No, he wanted her to suffer because she was a demon, just as he would make all other angels suffer the same pain because the angels were all inferior to him in his eyes. His arrogant superiority justified that in his evil mind.
When the armies did arrive—and they would because he predicted it while claiming it was by his own 'divine providence' which would smite the entire Sun Heaven as punishment since the angels here hadn't initially accepted him because of the cruel demands he wanted them to provide for his own benefit—he would indeed kill Ater before. Next, he would simply flee to another locale and watch the carnage unfold while the militaries were crushing the remains of his forces. To him, that was something a deity might've done by passively observing the conflict to judge both victors and losers on a critical basis by denouncing both as sinful heretics to his personal designs. Though it was a personal thought, he knew no other deities would've done that because they didn't condone such behavior as it was unlike a deity. It was more like something a Devil or demon could've done instead, but Hastur wasn't either of those types of individuals. Nevertheless, he implemented what other deities held disdain for in his ideals for becoming the God of Existence over everyone along with everything. Nobody would stop him, for he would utterly torture and then annihilate them. It was crucial for him to be uninvolved in the conflict since he needed to get away to fulfill his goals.
And while he was doing so, and when he did, no one would be spared the torture he would continue to inflict on everybody simply because they were all inferior to him in his twisted mind.
"Lord Hastur!" one of his subordinates spoke up as he approached the other angel who now turned to face the paladin addressing him. "Our forces are in place for the armies of the Corporate Heaven, Gray Garden, and Flame Underworld. We are ready to defend this place with our lives at a moment's notice, though we request your assistance on the battlefield. Our numbers are tiny due to the comparison our scouts made: three thousand, five hundred fifty-nine compared to their force of combined troops which totals roughly one hundred ninety thousand. We can't hope to hold out for too long as they will slaughter us all if we account for those numbers. However, we are already going to be victorious over them because numbers mean nothing as you've taught us. They might have eliminated a good chunk of our troops in other skirmishes and battles, but it just goes to show that they didn't believe in our cause to the fullest, just like Leihsuk himself. What are your orders?"
"Simple," Hastur replied to his question, averting his attention back to the cat demon under the intense torture since he wanted to continue watching her be subjected to it. "Place one thousand men per army in three separate units. Command all three to rush into the fray and to also disregard whatever traps our enemies will set. You are sun angels, the strongest and purest of divine angels. There is no way their numbers will eliminate any of yours, plus the traps will be ineffective against all of you. As for the remaining five hundred fifty-nine, send the five hundred into the portal as we will use them to send a message directly to Justim himself by having them destroy his capital city and raid the entirety of his world. The fifty-nine that are left shall stay within the Sun Inquisition."
"To act as ambush guards ready to decimate any opposing fools that make it this far through stealth by sneaking in, and also to continue applying the torture to this wretched demon," the other angel remarked to finish for him. "Understood, I shall instruct fifty of them to serve as an ambush unit while the nine left shall standby here to keep up the torture. If you would please excuse me."
"You are dismissed," Hastur commented to him as a priest strode in with a recent update.
"Lord Hastur, the armies have already arrived at our location and are in the midst of setting up their forces around the region. They have us surrounded with no hope of escape for us. Even so despite this grievous setback, we are prepared to deal with them. We are the superior force despite the low numbers, hence why we shall emerge victorious while all of them perish very miserably."
"Excellent, order the troops to charge forth at once," Hastur ordered as he got an idea.
…
Many yards away from where they stood was the very building that Hastur used as his main base: the Sun Inquisition. According to Lenny's information, it was like any of the other jails used to house demons and the spirits of heretics in this world. A bastille of impenetrable defenses, there was also something to be said about the dark history within this structure beyond the ruined town. Here the inmates were subjected to brutal torture unlike at other bastilles in this heaven, for worse offenders than petty criminals came here to be abused by their torturers. According to information acquired from a dilapidated library in the main citadel where a few squads went to explore the area for additional survivors to rescue and further knowledge of the civil war and other locations in the Sun Heaven, about a million deaths occurred within the Sun Inquisition more than any other prison. All of those deaths were caused by torturers and executioners stationed there once the inquisitors were finished with their interrogations of the prisoners. If there was ever a hell in a heaven, they'd have already found one—the Sun Inquisition, for this place truly fit the description of underworld treatment. Why the sun angels resorted to such barbarism was unclear, though perhaps it was zeal; zeal for the religious causes they advocated in the Land of the Sun as a basis of criminology.
Together they stood on a hill overlooking the entire space before them, observing the angels in Hastur's service prepare themselves for better. Averting his attention to the other two militaries stationed on other sides of their triangular offense, Kcalb watched Fumus and Ivlis prepare the two armies they commanded with the aid of their respective officers. Turning back to the sun angels in front of them, just a great distance across the dead wasteland plains and through the decrepit town, he narrowed his eyes while sensing how many of them his army had to face. Counting them up by the units of hundreds in which they formed their ranks, he concluded there were exactly a thousand, five hundred before them. Doing the same for the other two regiments his allies faced, Kcalb came to a total of two thousand troops, one thousand per ally of his. In total, there were three thousand, five hundred opponents in the perimeter; further sensing in the building yielded more troops: sixty-two, including Hastur himself. Yet he could also sense other life forms within the building as well.
One life force was barely flickering which worried him, but she was still alive and breathing for the time being. Ater was definitely in there, so they had to get troops in there right away to get to her in time. Otherwise she'd die and everyone would mourn the loss of her life. "Ater's in there."
"Is she alive?" Grora inquired of him, feeling the tension get to her despite her calm nature prior to this battle. She had already selected who'd go with her into the Sun Inquisition, acquiring the maps those squads retrieved from the citadel as well as blueprints of the building itself. Siralos himself apparently designed every aspect of this building, formulating the plans for its construction since his name was on the several forms of authorization for the building project. Maybe the deity who built it had become its prisoner since Hastur was now in control of it; it certainly seemed that may have been the case as Emalf sent over a brief report regarding Igls Unth's interrogation. She'd kept demanding they release her so she could save her father, thereby implying Siralos became the unexpected prisoner at some point during the turbulent civil war. "Ater's alright, isn't she, sir?"
"She's still alive, yes, though I don't think for very long," the Devil murmured gravely, his reply making Grora and Arbus swallow heavily as they stood beside him. "She's in a lot of pain."
"Ater…" the black haired cat demon's voice softened as she thought of what her sister had been through during her own imprisonment there. The terrible confinement she suffered under…it sent chills down her spine as she worried Ater might've died before they reached her in time. "She needs us…" She shuddered, fear for her twin sister's life driving her desire to save Ater onward.
"She does," Kcalb agreed and turned his attention towards them. "It looks like those angels are getting ready to charge, so I suggest the two of you head to your squad at once and head out to the rendezvous point near the hidden entrance into the Sun Inquisition. Fumus has supplied us with one of his trusted lieutenants, Rosemary, and Ivlis sent a flame demon necromancer named Ember. The two of them will meet up with you there; from there the eight of you shall enter the building."
Grora nodded. "Understood, sir Devil," she saluted him and strode away, attired in Siri's Iridescence with Sylvan's Eye strapped to her back along with a quiver of a hundred elven arrows. Her silver scimitars were clipped to the belt, and Etihw made sure to enchant them with an electric charge so that the two of them could produce a powerful thunderbolt when pressed together. With a wave of her hand she beckoned Arbus to follow her once the cat demon gave Kcalb a hug because she wanted to wish him well against the sun angels he had to fight. "Coming, Arbus?" she asked.
"At once," the feline commented and turned her head back to the Devil. "Good luck, Lord Kcalb," she said to him as he returned the hug and smiled warmly while stroking her left cheek.
"Good luck to you and your squad too, Arbus," he remarked and waved them off as he and the army prepared themselves for the assault. Watching them head for a nearby copse of trees over by a creek, he then raised his sword and began an elaborate speech for the army to raise moral. He complimented them on their beliefs in peace, encouraging them to fight alongside their friends and allies in this conflict and to aid them when needed. He also instructed them to spare lives whenever possible, but to try not killing them because murder was not the right way of handling this conflict. However, it was a last resort in order to protect the individuals cherished among themselves.
Hearing him continue to speak about their world's values and how dear those values were, Grora smiled as she thought back on how those ideals helped shape who she was now. Before she was a sinful criminal, somebody who served a man who sought to destroy everyone and everything for his own dark designs. Now she was beginning to rise again as an angel of justice for the crimes she and True Light committed in the past. She now stood for redemption and atonement by putting an end to the man who started it all: Hastur, for his death would be the end to his plans and painful torment he caused others. Shutting her eye, Grora breathed deeply as she commented on the speech Kcalb was making. "Good speech; he's certainly a changed man from who he once used to be."
"And what of you, Miss Grora?" Arbus inquired out of curiosity, though also because she'd been uncertain of where the angel's common sense and loyalties laid. "Have you also changed?"
"I'm still beginning to, but yes, I am making the serious attempt to."
Arbus frowned grimly. She still distrusted her, but chose to work with her to save her sister from Hastur's clutches. "We'll see about that, Miss Grora," she commented out of said distrust.
"Yes," Grora remarked in agreement with her. "You shall see, alright, Arbus."
Coming to the copse now, the pair found the rest of their squad seated around a small pond, tossing flat stones to skip them across the water as a way of passing the time. Hearing the two girls step forward after a few twigs snapped under their feet, Othros turned to greet them. "Great, we've got the whole gang here," he stated as Grora and Arbus approached a table established for them to look over the maps. With the maps in his possession, the bat demon went over with the others too and laid the blueprints on the table. Pointing a finger at the one covering the general vicinity, they could all see the layout before them as the main battlefield the armies were fighting on. "This right here is the battlefield for a frame of reference. I've circled the entire perimeter around the building since that's where Hastur's troops are located. Our army and those of Fumus and Ivlis are at these areas." He indicated the respective triangular positions with his finger. "Hastur could not possibly escape from this conflict, even with that minor warp spell he knows. He and his forces shall fall in any scenario because all of them are unfavorable to him. He could divide his forces into three units to combat the three armies, though defeat would be inevitable. The same goes for two units as well as the solitary unit consisting of the entire bulk. They could either defend the chokepoints marked with red dots, or simply rush out into the fray; both won't work. We've got siege weapons for the former option, and higher numbers for both of them too. In other words, Hastur has officially lost."
"He may have lost, but he won't go down without a fight," Rorin commented as Lenny put his finger on the map to show where the hidden entrance was while beginning an explanation about it to inform the rest of the group about its purpose and where the entrance led to inside the structure.
"This old drainage pipe at this lake-like symbol is our way in. When the executioners were finished with their rather morbid work, they would dispose of cadavers by dumping the corpses in a vat of boiling acid to dissolve them. The murky fluid was distilled and fermented to produce the most toxic substance in the Sun Heaven. In ages past, this was dumped into a landfill blessed by a collection of priests and clerics led by the Sun God—that's the aforementioned symbol here. While this means was ecologically safe for the entire world, including the Flame Underworld, Siralos did not follow the procedure according to some super-secret documents the squads uncovered before."
"Let me guess:" Grora theorized to arrive at the conclusion, "the Sun God used it as a very bad chemical weapon against the Flame Underworld to harm the demons there during wars, right?"
"Indeed, though it also goes beyond the scope of this business in his wars," Mitchell began the next part of the discussion. "There were some lands in this world's human realm that did not worship their sun; that is to say they didn't follow the same religious beliefs. Previous deities never resorted to using this vile substance against humans in those lands, but Siralos wholeheartedly did to forcefully convert them. There is not much information on what kind of substance it is as a slew of other ingredients were part of the mixture, so we don't have anything else to go on concerning this substance. It sounds very fishy if you ask me because the source of these unknown ingredients wasn't given, nor was a list of the ingredients. Even a list of staff working on its production was not available. There's got to be some sort of conspiracy involving them; that much I can reckon."
"Probably another conspiracy for Macarona to solve," Grora remarked to reference another conspiracy the young angel uncovered. "Hell, this literally shows Siralos was a lying scumbag." It was definitely an accusation even if untrue, though it was not unfounded due to the assertions.
"Perhaps, though maybe not to a certain extent," Rorin uttered while also pondering on the nature of this revelation regarding the Sun God. "The secrecy of these documents is one thing, but while he could've utilized other means of conducting an effort to convert other populations, it must not be ruled out as a possibility even for him to undertake if only necessary as a last resort. While the Heavenly Council would not condone it, I am certain they might actually have taken action on behalf of the humans depending on how severe this was regarding the dosage of how much was in use alongside any negative effects if any that sprang up. It does portray him as similar to Hastur; I can infer that much from the documents, so perhaps he might be pursuing some similar goals along with any other objectives that benefit his own causes in a similar manner as what Hastur did."
"In any case, it's our only entrance into the Sun Inquisition, right?" Arbus asked curiously.
"Sure is," Lenny replied while bringing the schematic of the pipe into the forefront. "We'll need to hope it's been cleaned and that Hastur's forces might not be using anytime soon. According to other documents recovered, the last time it was cleaned out was just a few days prior to the civil war. We've only been here for a few days—well, longer in my case—so it might be dirty from the standard filth that also passes through it from connecting pipelines that travel throughout the entire building as part of its plumbing and sewage system. It could also be a little rusty from disuse, since the documents also stated that the establishment was fully drained of all prisoners before the war."
"Great, it'll smell awful…" Grora murmured with a somber sigh. "At least that's probably the least of our worries. We might have to weed our way through some opposition, though we can definitely get in there to save Ater. She might not last too much longer, so we gotta make this quick for her—and maybe the Sun God too so Ivlis can have him if Siralos is really captive there or not."
"Luckily for us, we might not have to take on much of the burden ourselves. We will clearly contribute on our parts, though I'm saying we might not take part in much action due to Ember. It is a good thing we've got a necromancer like her on our side in this regard because of all the souls she can probably evoke from the dead," Othros explained the advantage in that. "This building has a lot of angry spirits, so many whom are angry at their tormentors and, if possible, anybody who's subjecting others to similar mistreatment they experienced in life as well. Hastur might have much higher numbers of troops in there than in our group, but Ember could practically raise a good chunk of undead souls to assist us by bearing part of the effort. We must find out how many she'll raise."
"Then what do we have to lose and what are we waiting for?" Mitchell asked rhetorically. "We've got to get right on this for Ater's sake, so let's head out right away and cover the distance at once. The rendezvous point should be right at the drainage pipe itself; let's get going pronto."
"Indeed, for this is an occasion where patience is not the virtue it usually is," Grora stated, raising an arm to signal the motion for them to move out as Othros packed the maps into his armor pockets. "We move out at once! Let's cross the terrain towards that drainage pipe! Our allies there will be waiting for us to finish dawdling; let's not make them impatient by wasting more time!"
Her team—everyone except Arbus—saluted her while nodding, concurring with the action. Once everything was ready with all of them prepared for the conflict ahead of them, the group had begun to proceed forward. Noise of fighting erupted from the battlefield as they rushed to the pipe.
Emerging from the dead woods surrounding their progress a short time later, they found the other two combatants already waiting for them outside the pipe. Walking forward at a quick pace, Grora examined the flame demon in the black robe that had a hood covering her head. It was made from silk and had a chain belt strapped to it so the girl could carry tomes with vials of poison or potions, plus the chain extended up to her shoulder and went around them to act as a backpack of sorts for other things that hung from her back like an ordinary staff with other utensils. She did not ever encounter a necromancer like Ember from another world, though knew the ones in the service of Kcalb during the war in their world were heavily armed as opposed to this flame demon who didn't come with much protection for herself. Getting closer to Ember and Rosemary—whom she met before since she was once sent to help establish trade routes between the Gray Garden and the Corporate Heaven—the angelic lady saw Ember's face. While her hood kept most of it unseen, Grora's eye pierced the shadows over it to catch sight of a crescent moon tattoo under her right eye and a scar under her other, both eyes being a bright shade of blue. Locks of red hair flowed down past her shoulders with two braided tails resting on the shoulder tops as she leaned on a tree.
"Ah, you've arrived, Miss Grora," Rosemary remarked and stepped forward to greet them, holding a hand out to shake Grora's. "These must be your associates for this assignment. I suppose we may save introductions for another time since we must be getting in there. Mr. Fumus ordered me to help you all take the Sun Inquisition from within while the fighting is going on. The armies shall help distract the forces out here to prevent them from returning to back up any units inside."
"Very well, Rosemary, glad to have you on board," Grora commented while nodding since she was acknowledging the angelic lass' presence and assistance to the effort. If she recalled right, Rosemary was an experienced tactician who could duel wield pistols and submachine guns. From their last meeting years ago, Grora also remembered that Rosemary could be pretty fast sometimes. "You'll make a welcome addition to our team for this mission." Averting her attention to their own temporary necromancer, Grora strode past her to begin inquiring about Ember's skills and arsenal. "You must be Ember, the necromancer Ivlis sent us." Looking her over from head to toe, catching sight of the leather soles of the other girl's boots, the angelic lady put a bent finger to her chin. "It seems like you'll be useful at first glance. Tell me, what are your capabilities in combat, Ember?"
"You already know I'm a necromancer," the flame demon responded nonchalantly. "To be clear, I am the only necromancer in the Flame Underworld. Pyromancy is a secondary skill of mine instead of it being my primary focus, though I can handle myself just as a well as the experts from the other factions. Give me a working corpse and I'll raise it, provided I have the appropriate means to do so. In a nutshell, I can resurrect any kind of undead in whatever form you desire in due time." Her rather blunt way of speaking matched the sharp tone of voice she used, something Grora liked about her at once just as she was also fond of how bleak and dismal Ember was. For someone like her named after a small flame, this aspect certainly matched her character. She could've become a much bigger fire, though sounded content with her role and the skillset she must've been good at.
"Perfect, you'll do just fine," the angel remarked. "How many undead can you raise?"
"However many you require, though the maximum at one time is a total of ten at most. I'll revive more, including any that have fallen, but ten's the highest. More makes me lose control."
"Are spirits in your repertoire?"
"But of course; still, the ten limit maximum still applies," Ember answered her again.
"Very well, thank you for your cooperation with us, Ember. We shall not forget any of the contributions you make to the team," Grora remarked and gave a signal to move into the pipe. "It's time to move out at once. We'll discuss more on the way as we go along. Time is of the essence." Leading her squad into the drainage pipe and heading through it, she and the others were forced to cover their noses and mouths with ethereal masks Ember conjured for them with her magic. Ember didn't need one herself since she was used to such decaying, putrid smells in crypts and catacombs she normally explored in the Flame Underworld whenever searching through the tombs there. She remained quiet, sensing the spiritual energy within this place to filter anything useful to them while Grora continued to talk, this time addressing Othros. "Othros, since you seem to have studied all the maps for this place, can you inform us of what the best route is to emerge safely if possible?"
"If you're asking me about the plumbing system and its sewage, there's a network of paths we could use. The quickest means of arriving at our destination is to just follow this one and climb the ascension up. However, that could most likely lead us into a trap," the bat demon explained for them. "Side passages do exist, though some could be blocked whereas others would require means of unlocking the way ahead. Up ahead is an intersection splitting off in several different directions: straight ahead is the path towards the torture chamber; the others lead to various shower rooms as well as the dining hall and kitchen down one pipe. Any route could be guarded based on how many enemies we encounter at whichever particular end, even if we split up and go different ways."
"I see, any route forward could likely lead to a trap," Grora concurred with his logic while addressing Ember next. "Ember, do you think you could also sense living presences in addition to dead ones? Sir Devil from our world hadn't told us how many we'd encounter, though we do know three thousand, five hundred are in the field fighting our respective armies. Is it possible?"
"Possible, yes, though it can take time to distinguish the living from the dead," Ember said in response to the inquiry. "So far, I count a total of sixty-two life forms in this building; these are the living, everyone else I feel is dead. Of the sixty-two, I can go further in categorizing them as a means of additional clarification: fifty-nine are sun angels; one is an angel whose scent is actually reminiscent of yours; a demon who also bears a similar scent, and the Sun God himself, confirming he is indeed here as his daughter implied. The angels are split into six different units of ten whom are scattered around the building: four units are working as ambush units in the mess hall alongside three shower rooms which are a tactical distance apart from others that can be reached in time; one more is in the control room keeping in contact with the outside forces; and the last I'm unsure of."
"Where do you estimate the final unit to be?" Rorin asked as Ember merely shrugged.
"Could be anywhere, though I'd wager they're in a field of powerful magic I'm sensing in the general vicinity of the torture chamber and innermost dungeon. This field of magic is powerful, and I can sense it consists of two different kinds of magic: Devilish magic and regular black magic. The latter is not as strong as the former since it can be wielded by both human practitioners as well as regular demons—the former of whom take longer to master it whereas the latter is born with it as inherent abilities that must still be honed throughout the course of one's lifecycle—though what has just been mentioned as the former is a kind of magic only a Devil can use. The mixture of both together is enhancing the power of this negativity, making it had to pinpoint the location of the last unit because it is also being combined with the souls of all whom had perished through torture and death. I am currently attempting to filter through the dead souls so I can cleanse them of this taint, thereby allowing me to assume dominance over the souls. So far, about two thousand are done."
"Two thousand?!" Rosemary exclaimed in surprise. "Damn, you must be a strong demon!"
"My demonic nature does contribute to it, yes, though this feat also comes from practice. I have had several centuries to hone my craft, and am one of the few who has retained full sanity. A necromancer with less experience than I would fall into the depths of insanity and go feral. If they were to cross the final threshold into lichdom, they would be very powerful indeed; though not as strong as a lich with pure sanity, for one would be able to have better control over psychedelic and psychologic systems of the brain. However, lichdom is a dangerous threshold to path through, for it can obliterate those elements if one is unprepared to fully cross over when exchanging humanity for immortality and knowledge unknown to all but those who successfully survive the plunge."
"Would you ever become a lich if the opportunity presented itself?" Mitchell asked her.
"No, the price is too high; there are things normal beings—humans and beings of both the divinely holy and demonic natures—should not ever know. Only the rarest of liches can survive a powerful bombardment of what is provided and granted to them when they turn. None exist to my knowledge, for all I know of have perished before the might of such power; that is to say, my tutor and several fellow students under him succumbed to the darkest of darkness necromancy gave due to a failed experiment, or ritual if you will depending on the angle you approach it from. This was an incident that made necromancy illegal in the Devil's Kingdom, but other underworlds still make use of it at times. However, its usage has sunken below the radar due to this and other failures too."
"I guess we're luckier than normal to have you," Grora remarked, the comment about how rare liches could've lived through the process of becoming liches reminding her of Aleista. They'd begun to get closer to the intersection when she spoke up again to address Othros once more. "Tell me, Othros, what do you suggest we do regarding which path to take: go straight ahead, or go over to an alternate route for safety? Should we split up, and if so, how many groups may be needed?"
"We can't diverge from the path!" Arbus protested. "We've got to save Ater right now!"
"I know, we will while also accomplishing any other objectives," Grora said reassuringly.
"Ater's straight ahead, though that might bring us into the miasma of the darkness Ember's sensing," the bat demon began to explain an option they could consider. "Going straight would be putting us in the thick of it, or at least on the edge. Still, if the sun angels are in close proximity, a good idea would be to split up. As she said, four units of ten—forty foes in total—are separated in the dining area, kitchen, and three shower rooms. We could split into four groups of two to handle them; three head to the shower rooms where three groups can aid each other while the fourth takes the dining and kitchen areas. Doing so would clear up the area, leaving twenty soldiers left to fight. Then we could split into two groups, one to take the control room, the other to the torture chamber."
"I could partner up with someone and use the spells in my repertoire," Mitchell offered.
"It does sound like a plan that will ensure our odds of success are better than simply heading in without taking care of enemy activity," Grora concurred with the idea. "Taking on each of those soldiers at once could cost us more time, and Hastur would have probably killed Ater by the time we're through with his minions if he hasn't already. Granted, he could do that anyway despite the fact we'd be splitting up. Still, the less resistance we have to deal with then, the better; thereby we shall attack the individual units in squads with two teams regrouping to attack the control room so any allies nearby can storm the place. Are there any objections to this plan, or any other ideas?"
"Who cares if we have to fight all of them at once?! Just get me to Ater and we'll save her! I can get her out of here while you all cover me!" Arbus exclaimed, putting forth another plan.
"That's if we do end up fighting all of them at once like I said," the angelic archer remarked to acknowledge the notion Arbus contributed. "However, like I had also mentioned, he might still have time to kill her while we're preoccupied with fifty-nine troops. To be fair, Ember could raise enough spirits and convince them to fight for us, though we'd need to protect while she prepares."
"One does not simply invoke the spirits of the dead immediately; it'll take valuable time to fully control any undead being and use it as a thrall," the flame demon necromancer responded as she continued to explain her role. "I wear no armor and use no weapons save for a staff that could enhance my capabilities as a necromancer. Although I possess an abundance of magic, the number of spells I know as a pyromancer are limited, plus I can only focus on one discipline at a time. It'll be far more efficient to assault less enemies than the full onslaught for better concentration on my craft as a necromancer. Furthermore, my skills as a pyromancer can clear out less enemies at once."
"I suppose it's decided then," Grora raised her voice slightly as she began to file the squad into four different teams with assigned roles. "We'll split into four pairs. Othros, where could that torture chamber be in regards to its proximity in the building? What's the closest entrance to it?"
"The shower rooms, mainly the one closest to the armory which is down that pipe." As the squad had now reached the intersection, he pointed over at a pipe near the northeast of where they stood. "The other two are the ones opposite it diagonally and horizontally. As for the kitchen along with the dining hall, that pipe is just to the left of the one leading to the torture chamber ahead."
Grora nodded, standing on the platform with them as she contemplated who'd go where. It might've taken time, but she had to make split-second decisions and stick with them. If Grora had more time, she could take more factors into consideration. "Rorin and Ember shall take the dining hall and kitchen while Lenny and Rosemary shall head up to the shower room closest to where the control room is located. The four of you will then regroup and head there next to combat whatever foes are left. As for the remaining four, Othros and Mitchell will take a shower room as Arbus and I go up another. We four will regroup if necessary, or remain separated if there is a higher level the two of you can attack from; Arbus and I shall take the lower level in that case. Is this all clear?"
"Very well; Rosemary, Lenny, the pipe you two want shall be located right over there," the bat demon said and pointed out which pipe it was for them. "The lower lever pipe for you two will be the one over there." He pointed at another for Grora and Arbus. "That leaves the last for us."
"Alright, let's get moving team, we have to get through these enemy ambush blockades as soon as possible," Grora waved her arm again to give them all the signal to move out. "Otherwise we'll lose Ater and Hastur will get away. You have your instructions, now get to your stations." A quick moment of brief goodbyes and best wishes from everyone to everyone—Ember was the only one who remained solemn throughout this matter—occurred before everybody left to the assigned duties. Splitting up from their friends and associates, the angelic archer and cat demon hoped they would be alright just as the two of them hoped they would too. Of the pair, Grora took point as she drew her scimitars in case any of the sun angels made an attempt to ambush them early on. While she was calm, steadying her nerves to remain collected and focused on the task ahead of the teams, Arbus was fretting over the feared death of her sister. She may not have shown it, but she'd begun to sweat bullets and shiver softly as what may have been Ater's imminent death was approaching. "Soothe your nerves, Arbus," Grora attempted to assure her with the thought that Ater was indeed alive even if she wasn't well. "I need you to focus and contribute your efforts to this mission since Ater needs you. Losing control over your emotions will not help in the slightest." This lesson may have been imbued within the angel's mind for a long time, though she hadn't expressed awareness of it whenever she abused the cat demons. However, now she fully acknowledged it was present.
"And just how do you know we'll succeed?! What if he's killed Ater by now already?!"
"Trust me, Arbus, I know the man well. He'll do anything to make whatever sick points of his heard, and he'll go to any lengths to fulfill those ideas and try to prove them as truths. However, they are not truths; just the cruel, tyrannical insanity of a man full of himself who hates others. He despises other angels equally the same as he does hate demons too, but he will not kill them unless he can use them to make a point. Think about it: killing Ater at once would still leave us with some different beliefs as to what her status might be. We could still believe he hadn't killed her yet until our armies arrived; alternatively, we could also believe he already killed her. Sir Devil definitely confirmed she was still alive, meaning the former is true. Now, Hastur could've also made a show of slaughtering Ater right in front of the armies—particularly ours—in an attempt to enrage us for the sake of trying to make us angry on purpose. That way we wouldn't be able to focus clearly and pin blame on our allies, blaming them for failing to help us save Ater even though we'd defeat our foes anyway. Why he didn't choose that means there is another option he took; I suspect he did."
"Which is…?" Arbus asked hesitantly since she was scared of what Grora might say.
"That Hastur chose to wait for our arrival to kill her. Ember also confirmed Ater's alive as well, indicating he still didn't kill her yet. Once we walk into the torture chamber, we'll need some time and a distraction of sorts to save Ater from him. Hastur would waste time to monologue about how perfect he is and how that's his 'proper justification' for committing the crimes he claims are his way of proving he's divinely omnipotent over everyone else and that they must accept it. Using this as our opening, you and I both must serve as his distraction so Othros and Mitchell can swoop in to save her. Once Ater's out of harm's way, you must go with them as they take her to safety."
"So we're just going to run away with her while Hastur gets away?!" Arbus protested, not realizing there was another component of Grora's plan that wasn't addressed yet. "He could return to cause more trouble for us, he can probably flank us while we retreat from him and this place!"
"He won't," Grora reassured her, turning her head back to face Ater. "I'll face him myself."
The black haired cat demon blinked in surprised confusion. "Wha…?"
"That's right, you heard me correctly, Arbus. I will fight Hastur to give you time to escape with Ater," the angel confirmed what she just said with additional emphasis for clarification. "Use that opportunity I'll be providing you with to flee and get Ater out of here at once. You'll head for the other team and regroup with them; instruct them to help save Ater. Nobody is to interfere with our fight; as my deputy for this mission, I am placing you in command of this operation from then. You shall order them to not return for me since I need to fight Hastur alone; he started everything, and I helped him with it in the past. It's only right that I be the one to end it to atone for everything I've done back then with him. I repeat this again, Arbus: no one must come back for me at all."
Arbus eyes' widened in shock. Although she still distrusted Grora, she couldn't believe the proposal the angelic archer was putting forward. "But you'll die! He will kill you even if he dies!"
Grora shut her eye and sighed, breathing deeply as she prepared herself for the very specific scenario her comrade was putting forth. It was possible after all, even with Siri's Iridescence. She at first thought it might've been possible to return alive because she wore Etihw's armor, but now it seemed like returning alive in one piece even with a few injuries wasn't too possible. The flame demon necromancer in their group said the darkness ahead was a mixture of Devilish and demonic magic, a substance that could've made the fight difficult even with a Goddess' armor. "I know that all too well at this point, Arbus…though it no longer matters to me. What becomes of me is up for grabs, really. I can only allow fate to decide my destiny, to determine if my path will end here." It was a rather mournful notion, though Grora couldn't change it even if she wanted to. She thought Arbus was going to speak up and say something against that, but interjected before the cat demon could. "Do not think about it, Arbus. What happens is what happens; we cannot change that despite possibly wanting to." Catching sight of a grated manhole in the ceiling above them as they started to approach it, the angelic lady held a hand up to stifle any further communication regarding what Grora decided on. "Get ready, this must be our entrance seeing as how the pipe ends here, Arbus."
"Alright…" the cat demon replied, complying with the instruction by drawing her weapon. The trident materialized as they ascended into the air by flying up a few feet. Putting one scimitar into her mouth, Grora used her free hand to push the manhole out of their way so they could emerge through it. However, she held Arbus back while using the darkness around them as cover so she'd be able to analyze the direction they were looking in. There was a platform with two sun angels at the railing, both having readied spells to attack the girls. Recalling that a bit of the schematics had displayed the shower rooms as being in the shape of squares with a control booth for the water on a diagonal point, Grora made an assumption that there were two sun angels per side with the other two in the control booth. "How shall we proceed, Miss Grora?" Arbus asked, wondering if Grora's calculations regarding the placement of enemy troops determined what their course of action was.
Hearing the sound of gushing water, Grora quickly flew back into Arbus and seized the cat demon by the collar of her armor to pull her towards the side. "Stay back for now!" the angel said in a hushed whisper as water poured into the pipe, narrowly hitting them despite splashing the two of them. "Let the water flow until they shut it off; then I'll shoot arrows at the two we can see."
Neither of them had to wait long, but they could hear more water being flushed throughout the other drainage pipes due to the echoes they heard. Hoping their companions in the other teams were alright, they heard somebody call out in the room above them. "Have they drowned yet?!"
"Unclear, someone go down to check!" another sun angel responded.
"Looks like we've got ourselves our first target," the angelic lady whispered, hearing wings beating against the air as a pair of footsteps indicated one of their foes landed near the manhole. It took a few seconds of cautionary dread, the fear of them being spotted and slain coursing through their veins since that could've ended their lives. Yet they were lucky because Grora seized a chance to do some damage, forcefully yanking the sun angel cleric who poked his head down into the hole to check if the two of them were dead or gone. Wielding one of the scimitars, she held him directly by his neck to drive the blade into his stomach and slash upwards. "One down," she remarked with sounds of panic ringing throughout the room. A wave of spells poured through the hole, but Grora and Arbus were lucky they weren't hit. That was when she moved away from the wall after getting Sylvan's Eye drawn, nocking two arrows and shooting them into the sun angels she could see.
With three foes taken care of, the angelic lady darted through the opening while nocking a couple more arrows, narrowly avoiding another wave of divine lightning spells that clashed against the floor around the manhole. Arbus couldn't make it out in time, but at least she avoided the blast by ducking to the side once more before emerging once Grora slew two more sun angels and went behind a wall to avoid more holy thunder. Five of their opponents were now dead, leaving a couple of the sides free of sun angels. Now that the number had lessoned, Arbus quickly rushed to cover, hiding behind a pillar to avoid more thunder and lightning. This wave finished too, and she used a few seconds of the opportunity presented to her to throw her trident at the remaining sun angel on the third side. It embedded itself in his chest and he fell back, struggling to remove it to stay alive.
"They've breached our defenses! Use the light orbs!" a sun angel in the control booth said as the remaining two sun angels outside it were joined by the third of the remaining four. With the staves they carried outstretched, they chanted an incantation together to produce orbs of explosive light that materialized around the angelic lady and her demonic companion. However, the pair had dodged the attack, proving they were simply too fast. Nocking three more arrows while Arbus flew to collect her trident, Grora shot the three sun angels to leave only one target left. Although Arbus' prey still had her weapon in his chest for a bit, he pulled it out only for her to seize the handle and drive it back in to impale him. With his death, there was just the one final opponent left within the control booth. "Damn you both!" she cursed at them, drawing her blade while attempting to leave. Unfortunately for the paladin, Grora embedded two arrows in each of the doors leading to the rest of the balcony overlooking the shower room, effectively trapping her inside. There was a door she could've used to escape and regroup with Hastur's unit, though Arbus immediately took flight and threw the trident again which shattered the window and embedded itself in the paladin's chest.
"Good work, Arbus," Grora complimented the cat demon on her throw while kicking away shards of broken glass to clear an opening for them to enter. Arbus followed her inside as the angel began to briefly interrogate their final opponent from this skirmish. "Where the hell is Hastur?"
The paladin smiled sinisterly. "The torture chamber…the cat demon…will die soon…"
"Thank you for your cooperation, now rot in hell," Grora retorted coldly with a nonchalant facial expression, removing Arbus' weapon from her and turning it over to the black haired feline. As she was still addressing the paladin, however, the angelic archer immediately turned her into a position so Grora could snap her neck. "You wouldn't have survived such a grievous wound if you didn't have a healer with you. Consider that the final mercy you shall receive from us so you won't have to experience the humiliation of being charged with whatever crimes you committed for him."
"Was it necessary to kill her, Miss Grora? We could have asked where the torture chamber is," Arbus pointed out for her, though Grora already had that covered since she recalled the plans.
"It'll be down the hall to our right once we step through this door and take a sharp left over to a stairwell leading down into the basement. There, we make another left and take the last right, thereby reaching our destination. I still remember the path from the blueprints," she explained for her comrade. "And yes, killing her was necessary; though she was a criminal, at least she died an honorable death instead of facing trial for crimes Hastur had her commit with the other sun angels. That would've been terrible for her and her companions since they could receive any punishment, including execution. Thankfully for her, I took the judgment into my own hands so she would not have to suffer the long wait and chances of living with a lesser charge. If she lived, she'd feel that humiliation I mentioned and could either live in shame with it, or commit suicide to escape it. This way she doesn't experience either, but instead receives the honorable death she believes she earned even if any of her crimes weren't moral. You get what I'm saying, Arbus?" Grora asked, averting her attention to the black haired kitty. "Sometimes it's better to die with honor no matter what one has done in life, including any sins the individual committed. It'll be your way out of humiliation, and you can make the choice to keep fighting for the honorable death instead of dying as a coward."
Although she could understand what Grora was saying fully well, Arbus began to think she couldn't accept it that well. In her eyes, Grora was atoning for the abuse she put her and her sister through. By helping to save Ater, the angel was acquiring that atonement even if she didn't receive forgiveness from either of the cat demons. Yet she was striding forward while accepting death, the honorable death she mentioned most likely being what she sought to escape her own guilt. Arbus' thoughts about that made her feel sorry for Grora despite everything that occurred in their lives as the decision Grora might've made was to die fighting Hastur. And if she did die, she'd take Hastur with her straight to the depths of any hell they'd both go to. "Are you planning to die, Miss Grora?"
"If I do, so be it," the archer replied, opening the door while leading Arbus over to the stairs where they'd descend towards the torture chamber. "My fate rests in the hands of fate itself, Arbus. My life shall only be determined by fate alone, as it will be the deciding factor determining whether I live or die. One thing is certain, however; I am dragging Hastur down with me, forcefully taking him into the bony arms of death as we descend far deeper than any hell imaginable. He will die."
The two girls ran to their destination, ignoring the feeling of dread from death and darkness.
…
One more chapter left to go; Grora vs. Hastur! What shall happen, and who will win?! Stay tuned for the final confrontation of Atonement soon as possible! I'll try to make it epic.
Regarding the techniques and tools related to torture, I found a list of such techniques on Wikipedia, so go there to check this stuff out if you want. There is also another reference to Boromir's line from Lord of the Rings, though I already put up the disclaimer in an earlier chapter, so I'm not going to put it up again because there is no need for another one again.
