(Blood – Unholy Voices)
Laughs and footsteps resonated from above as the Vault Hunter ran downhill, hiding behind black rocks twice his size. Bone arrows flew over his head; a deadly shower produced by his chasers, some humanoids with pointy ears, silver hair, and dark purple skin. All features that belong to a fallen breed of Elf; the Dark Elf.* They appeared after his equipment was stolen.
One's figure reflected on the surface of a nearby rock in the form of a blur. With lightning speed and a firm grip, Heartslayer rose from its holster, surprising the male Dark Elf. Blood sprayed from his orifices as his chest exploded into a neat cylinder. Hateful, blood-curling screams of its brothers and sisters followed.
A menhir circle at the edge of a cliff showed up minutes later. An altar inside the circle faced the red sea below, holding the Striker shotgun enveloped in red aura. There was also a red sphere marked with a pentagram at the center. With a smirk he raced towards the latter while avoiding more arrows. His hands absorbed the sphere, burning with the power sealed within as his reasoning was thrown out of the mental window.
Brave was the female Dark Elf that drew her knife and sneaked up on him, accompanied by approving looks from her peers who limited themselves to mere observation. Before the tip of the blade could cut into the soft flesh of his hip, the Vault Hunter spun around, smashing the Elf's head against the pavement with his right hand, turning it into paste.
"Who else wants to die?!"
They all seethed like dogs, showing him their teeth as they held their weapons with inhuman grace. Four swordsmen, two bowmen and two slingers. He motioned them to come forward. A pair of swordsmen answered the taunt. As if performing a dance, they leaped forward, contorting their bodies in perfect synchronicity. None of them predicted what would the brutish human do next.
Moments before they were about to land, Braylon tackled one of them with his body. He tore through its neck with his teeth, then punched the skull in. Still faster than the other Dark Elf's reflexes, he rose and punched the living one's stomach, made it bend over, then shoved its head against his knee.
A shining dot could be seen approaching from the mountains...
Braylon ran towards the group, evading the slinger's rock. One kick in the chest sent a swordsman flying. A bowman's neck broke with a not-so-delicate backhand. The slinger and the second bowman decided to climb the menhirs. The living swordsman was brave enough to rush at the bloodthirsty berserker, only to get its nose broken with an elbow, before being torn in half.
The flapping of wings could be heard…
He strafed closer to the shotgun. Two monsters were summoned after he picked it up; light brown-skinned female humanoids with leathery wings and long hair with varying colors, red and white. But even the Mormo wouldn't be enough to kill the empowered predator.**
While the white haired one summoned ice shards, its companion with red hair threw a fire arrow. He dodged both attacks by hiding behind the altar, then ran behind the incendiary Mormo, which he used as a meat shield for the incoming arrow. After the Mormo got hit in the head by the slinger's rock, he suplexed it, breaking its spine. The arrow was picked up from the wounded chest and then thrown again, this time at the Dark Elves, killing the slinger.
The living Mormo spread its wings, but that only made it an easier target for Striker. Braylon avoided an arrow, more ice shards, then relieved the creature of its left leg with a shot, which collided with the ground with a messy thump. A consecutive shot dropped it dead. The Dark Elf archer followed soon after.
Another threat spawned moments after the corpses burned away. It could have passed for a simple golden fox if not for the white mask with red features and five big tails, a small aetherial fireball dancing on the tip of each of them.***
"Surrender, mortal. The Dark Lord demands it."
He flipped it off.
"Good. I hoped you would refuse." it crouched, "Haven't eaten a human in centuries. Rrraaggh!"
It was surprisingly fast for a being of its size, darting like a bullet and headbutting like a hammer. He felt teeth biting down on his left arm, before being thrown against a menhir.
"Gonna… skin you alive…!"
Forming a circle with its tails, it fused the fireballs into a ring which unleashed a stream of aetherial flames. Braylon strafed his way out of that situation, avoiding damage that could easily put an end to his life. When the fire dissipated, he shoulder-tackled the fox monster, grabbed the nearest available tail, smashed its body against the floor like a carpet until the tail fell off, then kicked it far away from himself. It still had no problem standing up, even when all of its bones should have been broken.
"You… you will pay for that tail!"
This time it was Braylon that was tackled. It barked madly, spittle dropping everywhere as he held its head back. Hoping to stop it, he materialized Holo Ripper into its stomach. Yet even as blood poured by the liters, the Ripper roaring and hacking through its insides, the fox did not stop. He then decided to materialize the jar and shove it inside its mouth, before kicking it off and running away.
"Let's see what it does."
Dark red steam evaporated from the fox creature, condensing inside its mouth, into the jar.
"Mmmrgh! Mmm!"
Its legs trembled until, unable to hold the weight, betrayed the body by letting it fall. What before was a fur as shiny as gold now became a yellow, sickening stain. Braylon, intrigued, walked up to it and pulled out the Soul Jar, observed it amusingly, then stored it away. He snapped the fox's neck for good measure.
"Now I must find the rest of my shit."
A path opened between the menhirs, leading further downhill, where a group of Dark Elves formed a roadblock with a chained Demong pet and Basilisks held on leashes. Braylon threw the Soul Jar at them, willing to discover its full potential. Aetherial fire poured from the Jar, dousing everything living in flames that burned but never consumed. Their feelings were alien to him, even after seeing a Dark Elf cutting her throat when she found out that flaying the skin would not save her. Others wriggled and shook worse than a fish out of water, dying shortly after. Only then did the fire extinguish itself.
"Christ."
The path lead to a small shore with an altar, which held the Pocket Rocket, and a skull-shaped switch. Latter's activation brought out a gigantic cage that rose from the red liquid. Once he got inside, the gate that was previously open merged with the metallic walls. Its guardian was summoned to defend the fleshy, eye-like switch in its insides; the Minotaur, now bare bones dipped in silver, raised its trusty axe at the intruder and challenged him to a fight with a threatening roar.****
"One beating wasn't enough for you, eh?", he motioned with his hand, "Then come and get me!"
It didn't take long for the Elevated Remains to accept the challenge, rushing straight into danger with eldritch vigour, Making as much noise as possible, the mighty creature raised its axe mid-sprint, ready to satiate the feeling of vengeance. Victory was assured.
"Superman Punch Overdrive!"
One punch imbued with holy energies was enough to shatter it like glass, spreading its silver-coated bones all across the cage.
"Too easy."
Activating the eye switch with a punch moved the cage down. That set off all kinds of alarms in Braylon's head, for he though he would drown. The cold liquid reached his waist in seconds. It was by a silly accident, where he forgot to close his mouth in time, that he discovered how the liquid had no impact on his breathing whatsoever despite filling his cavities all of his orifices. It had a horrible taste.
(Doom PSX – Track 9)
The cage resurfaced below the sea, now a ceiling for a place engulfed in darkness. Its gate reappeared after landing near a pile of skulls that held a torch. Braylon went out and took the torch, unsure where to go because it was way too dark to see anything.
"If only this damn torch were worth something… This might be a problem."
Taking a random direction, the Vault Hunter moved forward, pointing Striker at every pile of dead bodies and bizarre rocks he encountered for the fear of being ambushed. He knew that, by definition, it was a trap. He was just waiting the moment when he would set it off.
"Come on," he sang quietly, "Where are you? Daddy's got a shotgun stuffed with lead for you… bastards."
Bodies wearing green armor were compressed and twisted to form an altar, several bloody hands holding a strange gun shaped in the form of a shark with minigun barrels sticking out of its mouth.
"Is this a fucking minigun? A shark minigun? A Minishark? Wait..." He turned around, "I'm not retarded, you know?! You're gonna throw a wave of cancer at me as soon as I pick that thing up, right? Well, fuck you! I'm taking this and the souls you owe me!"
No one replied. Sighing, he tore the now-dubbed Minishark from the dead hands. As expected, he heard a click. That's when it began.
Heavy feet bounced off the ground in unison, deep voices yelled and cursed, barely-visible red eyes stared from the distance. The tide of Helltouched rushed forward in the same amount of time it takes to fart.
"Holy shiiiit!"
There was no way he could take on such a horde without paying a price. At best, he could take out a dozen before they surrounded him. That wouldn't be a problem if he had his Shield.
"I'm fucking dead if they catch up to me!"
A faint, green glow changed his trajectory to the left, towards what he hoped to be salvation. He came across an orb of the same color. The grinning red-eyed head inside stared at him as the object came in contact with his chest, bursting into a gaseous form that slid under his skin. His body shone brighter than a light bulb.
His feet stopped moving. Everything inside him turned into maddening pain. Loosing his clear thinking, Braylon turned around, activated the Minishark, and ran into the crowd.
Even with primitive, but deadly, tools, even with fists that could crush rocks into dust, none of the Helltouched could stop the insane human. Their attacks had no effect, much to their confusion. But unlike them, the Minishark proved its worth as soon as its barrels started spinning, peppering them with a wall of hot lead. And while some acquired a hundred more assholes, others looked like they were thrown into a woodchipper. Only he was left standing, on top of a pile of mangled, bloody corpses. The green glow was gone and the pain with it.
"Fuck me sideways… I'm never doing that again!"
His shaky legs led to a tunnel that inexplicably appeared in front of him. Another altar waited him there, surrounded by masks made of clay.
"Oh, darling… missed you so much."
Braylon set on the altar after picking up the Orphan Maker, searching through the PDA for something that could alleviate the pain and make him go on. It said how the body had enough components needed for producing the necessary fuel for the tiny robots inside his veins. Enough to heal some minor wounds, but not enough to give him energy he needed. The only way to replenish the components was to eat.
"Should save it for when it becomes critical. Where are those blue spheres when you need them!?"
He decided to rest some more, before reaching whatever lay on the other side of the tunnel, which was a huge rectangular hallway decorated with frescoes that covered entire walls, depicting scenes he couldn't care less about, because he had bigger problems. Much bigger.
Opposite of him, chained to two pillars, waited what would latter be one of the fiercest threats that he had to fight. It was a chimera forged from the bodies of several different strains of demons.
An eye of a Caconoid was surgically implanted into the horned head of a Hell Knight, fused to the body and arms of a Baron of Hell through a mechanical neck guard, the hands of an Arch-Vile acting as a second set of arms growing out of its hips. The abdomen was protected with the chitinous armor stolen from a Mancubus while a cannon of its cyborg counterpart, upgraded with the technology used by the Desolator, replaced the left main hand. A pair of pinkish Ravager feet, larger than usual, were connected to a machine resembling a belt, which held them connected to this monstrosity, this Cyberstein, that was about to be free from its shackles. *****
"...Man, who did you piss off?"
(DoomPowerMetal – Beyond Vengeance)
The Cyberstein broke its chains like twigs, howling with a raspy, robotic tone. Braylon took the Minishark and spun its barrels as the cyborg began pacing until it broke into a run without warning. Thanks to the Ravager's feet, it managed to shorten the distance before he could deal some serious damage. Strafing sideways, he dropped the Minishark and materialized Orphan Maker, firing at the back of its leg. It spun around, shooting blobs of acid from its arm-cannon. Braylon jumped and strafed backwards to avoid them, picking up the Minishark as he did so.
"Eat lead, cocksucker."
A flurry of bullets chipped away pieces of its head, exposing a metallic skull underneath. It took a step back, swaying like a drunk, before retaliating with a green fireball, which he dodged.
"Looks like it can copy the attacks from the guys whose limbs it borrowed. Tsk."
He threw the Soul Jar at its feet. The Cyberstein used a Summoner's method of teleportation to appear behind him. Grinning, Braylon strafed under its legs and climbed up its body using Holo Claw. When it shook him off, he landed in front of its face, still smiling.
"Eagle Claw Overdrive!"
Ripping off one of the horns, he smacked its head with enough strength to obliterate everything above the jaw. He leaped off the falling corpse, picked up the Jar, and headed towards the lever that the Cyberstein had guarded. The ground shook after he pulled it.
"That must've done something on the surface..."
After walking past the corpse, Braylon heard something burst into fire. It appeared that the Cyberstein's Arch-Vile hands were still alive, creating a fiery aura around their user, whose head began reconstructing back to its original form.
"...I'm out, fuck you."
He ran back into the darkness, jumping into the cage and flipping the eye switch. The moment the gates closed, the Cyberstein smacked against the walls, frustrated that its target slipped out of its hands. Braylon, on the other hand, paled at the thought that the beast could rip the thing open and come inside, so he used the Orphan Maker to shoot any piece of exposed flesh he could find, until the cage was out of its reach. The large green eye accompanied him with a low, demonic hiss as it slowly faded away.
The lever he pulled brought change on the surface, to the point that it was barely recognizable from before. The cage came out from a large well decorated with statues of weeping angelic beings, which itself represented the heart of a yard filled with nothing but sand, hidden by large walls engraved with all manner of runes. A path of black candles connected the ten-meters-tall wooden gate and the well. Near the walls; impaled xeno skeletons held purple fire in their hands or skulls. At the left of the tallest stood a pile of black candles, with a reptilian eye observing him from inside a green circle-and-triangle symbol.
Outside, the yard was connected to an angular road built from green and white tiles in a checkered pattern, splitting and combining to form a maze that levitated above the red sea. But sometimes the road would distance itself from its pattern, thus breaking either into platforms with altars or more complex shapes and designs. The maze led back to the mountain he descended from, except now it had a dragon on top of it; a white, almost featureless thing with two orbs on the sides of its head. It flew up the moment he set his foot on the road.
"You have him now. End his pathetic life."
(Doom – VEGA Processing)
No weapon in his possession was appropriate for the situation, so he ran towards the closest platform, one with dead trees made from bones. There he acquired the Flopper, much to his chagrin.
"What the hell am I gonna do with this? Hey, what's that…?"
A new monster teleported on the platform; its features belonged to a rooster with dark blue feathers. Thunder erupted from its body as it flapped with its large wings. It was the Alectryon.******
"You're sending cocks after me?" Braylon said as he materialized Striker. He realized that the monster was not a joke after it shot a thunder bolt from its beak and nearly fried him alive. Instead of confronting it, he ran. Both Alectryon and the dragon zeroed on him, with the dragon diving head first like a bomb dropped from an airplane. Braylon used Flopper to jump across the sea and on other paths. After jumping for a third time, the dragon crashed into the maze, shattering the platform and a good portion of the road. He thanked God for finding the Oz kit.
He could see it clearly now. The dragon, except for a mouth, had no features at all, almost resembling a living white sheet. The orbs were actually miniature yellow stars. And the only dragon that had those was the infamous Twin-Star Dragon.*******
The suns increased in brightness before shooting tiny rays of light in all directions.
"Holy shit!" Braylon yelled as he tried to run further away from certain death. Those rays were no joke, because they cut through everything they touched. And he would also experience such a fate, if he first hadn't found out that he ran on a path where the green tiles made him jump into the air without any degree of control. Below, the battlefield resembled a crumbling disco floor. It occurred to him that the giant rooster failed to follow him and now ended up roasted.
Except it didn't, because it appeared right next to him.
"Buckaw!"
Rather than letting himself fill his underwear with shit, the Vault Hunter fired at Alectryon, then descended on the dragon's head with the Flopper's effect. The Twin-Star Dragon shrieked, its head dipping into the sea and bouncing back up. Braylon saw Alectryon descending as well, so he stabbed the dragon, encouraging it to shake him off. As expected, the suns moved with the head and so did the rays, aiming right at one falling bird, slicing it into a dozen pieces. Braylon jumped on what remained of the maze. The dragon's attack stopped as it flew back up.
"I'm gonna make you sweat a lot more if you're planning to take my hide!"
He followed a road-turned-tunnel to another platform, where he was greeted by a spider with a human head, accompanied by two Demongs. The floor erupted from below as soon as he got out of the tunnel, blowing up the spider and throwing the Demongs off the platform. Cyberstein made a comeback, healthier than ever.
"You don't give up, do you?!"
Cyberstein summoned with the Arch-Vile hands some fire pillars. Braylon strafed twice forward, jumped across the hole and grabbed the gun from the ice altar; a rocket launcher marked "UAC Devastator Mk2". A tiny digital counter near the trigger told him it held way more rockets than it should. Nevertheless, he was happy with what he got.
A rocket flew out of the barrel, its speed lees than desirable, at least when compared to the rocket launchers he had before. When he thought about how he would drop the thing after he used all of its ammo, his jaw dropped, for the rocket not only cracked the Mancubus armor, it also stunned the target. Rocket number two shattered it.
"...I miss my darlings, but fuck it."
He was about to fire a third rocket when he saw the skies turning white. It was unnecessary to tell him anything else. He sprinted back into the tunnel. A massive beam erased the platform from existence. Running to the other side, he tried to locate the Twin-Star Dragon. It was nowhere to be seen.
Next on his list was a three story pyramid-like structure very similar to a Mesoamerican replica from Earth. It was a bit trickier to get there, due to the tiles randomly dropping into the sea without an easy-to-predict pattern. The structure was infested with Dark Elves and Helltouched, which he obliterated with gratuitous rocket barrages. Three blue-haired Mormo waited at the top, only to meet the same fate as those below, painting the gray bricks red.
An altar was also present, morphed into a demonic mouth. A light tap on the teeth was all it took to reveal its well-guarded secret: a short staff.
"What is this?..."
Made from lapis lazzuli, the staff held an opal black skull adorned with a crown of colorful feathers. It held a crystal eye in its mouth. When observed, Braylon received the knowledge necessary to manipulate the frightening power of the legendary Staff of Wicked Sins. He got the chance to test it with the Twin-Star Dragon, who flew in front of the structure, loudly announcing its presence.
First, he had to weaken it.
And what better way to weaken it other than with the rocket launcher. As the dragon prepared to shoot its blink-and-you-die beam, he fired three rockets at its chest and one at the neck. The dragon roared and dropped his head on the pyramid. Braylon took the staff and the Soul Jar. Aetherial green vapor rose from the latter, sucked by the eye in the former's mouth, becoming vibrant purple in the process.
Now it was ready.
He pointed the skull at the Twin-Star Dragon and, with a mental command, choose one of the available curses. The skull turned white. Suddenly, the dragon's head shot up to the heavens, screeching in pain as madness consumed its brain. He used the moment to grab onto its skin with Holo Claw before it took off, flying in erratic patterns and twisting as if trying to free itself from something invisible to the naked eye. When it was close enough to the mountain, he jumped off its back. As for the dragon, unable to endure its state, twisted its head and fired a beam of light at itself.
"Even the countless minions weren't enough to stop you. It truly speaks volumes about the blood you inherited. Today, mortal, you are about to learn what it means to pledge your allegiance to our cause, and that even death won't free you from your service."
Large waves dominated the red sea, moved by powerful winds that blew in all directions. The ambient turned darker, even with all the light from the star above. Though the area retained its familiar shape, evidenced by the same path Braylon had to go through, there was a sense of loss in his heart. His chest ached with grief and sadness over something, screaming "what a tragedy" until it became nauseating. Soon, tears began to run from his eyes. Just what was going on?
"Something's making me cry. That could be a problem."
The menhir circle was now a field of upside-down crosses and gargoyle-shaped tombstones. Impossible, he thought, it was the same damn place just a second ago. He then noticed that the graves were everywhere. Ghastly weeping came soon after.
Unnerving peace followed him to the starting point, until the tremors began, followed by a gigantic shadow that hid the sky and turned the red sea black. A purple rope of light connected the ring to… something below, something inside the sea. Whatever it was, it decided to reach the surface. His ring became brighter and brighter with each passing second.
"Uh oh."
The sound of jet engines boomed out of nowhere, pushing upwards an object that made the deceased dragon look like an ant. Rare are things that could make Braylon Monocriffe's jaw drop and turn his eyes into two wide saucers at the same time.
"What the fuck is that?!"
Strapped on a black fortress of a floating throne, equipped with an arsenal that would better fit a fleet of battleships, sat an emaciated humanoid skeleton of terrifying proportions, spread to resemble a king among kings, relaxed yet prepared to declare war with a snap of its fingers. Mechanical components intruded the insides of the rib cage and the skull, controlling dozens of robotic hands and ramps that moved the hands, feet, head and wings of the lifeless remains, giving them a life in the most perverted of its meanings; a corpse turned mannequin, emancipated of its free will. Two crimson orbs deep inside the skull stared the tiny human, its judgment sung by thousands of demonic throats.********
(Blasphemous – Entre Bordados)
Not even bothering to face the fact that there was nothing he could do against the giant, the Vault Hunter spun around and ran downhill. Cannons moved their barrels at the mountain and fired energy beams that blew off the top, shattering it into pieces that remained stuck in the air rather than fall below. The skull's jaw moved, mimicking laughter.
An attempt at forming a strategy pushed through curses and panic, only to die off in an instant. There was no room for any kind of screw up. The plan had to be perfect, its execution flawless. Which was next to impossible. What they threw at him was massive, powerful, and perfect.
"So powerful! I can't see any openings!"
He jumped from rock to rock with Flopper, abandoning the mountain in favor for air. Turrets at the side of the throne pulverized every rock he landed on. Shooting them was a waste of time, unless he destroyed them all at once, because there was always one extra to replace the broken one.
The best course of action against a perfect enemy was to improvise, he thought, because every plan he could come up with was destined to fail, due to the absence of weak spots or any other things that could help him.
"I must reach that body and fuck some shit up."
Hundreds of rockets flew from the back of the throne after the skeleton's fingers snapped with the help of tiny robotic levers. They flew up, only to turn around and fall down. And while many ended up drowning in the sea, some hit their marks; the floating rocks
One such rock belonged to Braylon. Pushed off by the explosion, he saved himself from falling into the sea as well by giving his body an air thrust with Flopper, barely landing on a tiny piece that survived intact.
"This is bad! What do I do now?!"
The throne fired multiple beams at the mountain, cutting it into dozen pieces. It picked up those pieces with a ray shot from the skeleton's chest, formed a circle around itself, then let them drop. One was directly above him. His only salvation was the sea.
"Fuuuuuuuuu-"
The piece reached him before he could dive into the liquid, so he used it to give himself a push with his legs and Flopper. He dropped into the sea. The piece did not.
"?"
Resurfacing, he found out that it floated few meters above the sea. When it seemed like it was about to rise again, he jumped with Flopper and attached himself with Holo Claw, hidden from the skeleton's view. He held onto the crosses, using them as ladders to step on until he felt he was high enough, then rose to the top.
"Man, dropping islands on me is not cool!"
The idea was to jump forward and land on the throne. It got approved the moment he saw a cluster of larger rockets flying towards him. He ran until he reached the edge, then jumped with all his might. The rockets exploded into tiny mushroom clouds as he fell towards the throne's arm, closing the distance with yet another air thrust. When he was sure he could land safely, he ground-slammed a finger, breaking it. Turrets and drones surrounded him immediately. He gave more attention to the purple light that seemed to point at the head.
"That's my goal, then."
Jumping on the skeleton's lap, Braylon used his rocket launcher to blow up the intricate machinery that stood on both sides of the pelvis while avoiding the drones and their plasma bullets. Smoke and fire provided a cover essential for his next idea; climbing up the spinal column. His only obstacle were cables, gears and an occasional laser turret placed in the middle of it all. On his way up, he made sure to damage everything he deemed important.
He arrived at the rib cage section; a complex of tunnels, servers and death traps. Security was way better than the outside. A wall of humanoid robots waited for him in alcoves and around corners, but they went down thanks to the Minishark. His guide was the light that led to Blake's soul.
Taking an elevator to the cranium, the Vault Hunter found a spacious room. The light led to a small door, hidden by a wall of screens and large computer components. He had to wait for the prize, however, because he was not alone in there. The Cyberstein came back for more.
"I see you won't stop being a pain in the ass anytime soon." he cracked his knuckles, "Let's settle this right now."
Blobs of acid popped out of the arm cannon, forming puddles where Braylon should have been hit. The Cyberstein then threw a green fireball, which set them on fire by accident. His mobility plummeted in the blink of an eye. To make matters worse, he blew up a piece of hardware connected to the skull's left eye after firing a rocket at the Cyberstein who charged through the flames, only to teleport away from the rocket's trajectory. He couldn't return to the rib cage because there was an energy wall blocking the exit.
A trap. Again.
"Tsk. I was trying to save it for special occasions..."
Braylon materialized the Staff of Wicked Sins and cast the Mind Crush spell on the Cyberstein. It howled, gripping its head with its hands while shooting rockets at random, making an even bigger mess. Unable to concentrate, it was left wide open for a direct attack. The Vault Hunter took the Rocket Launcher and placed it on his shoulder, pushing a button near the trigger without noticing.
"Aah!" he yelped after he pulled the trigger, as three rockets flew out of the barrel instead of one. They slammed against the monster's chest, who slipped and fell, destroying a nearby console. He took the opportunity to run where the purple light pointed at, entering a tiny room filled with glass vials connected to a giant block of metal covered in dozens of buttons and lights. He shattered the vials, releasing all the souls that were trapped within, except the one that held a tiny purple orb, which he stashed away.
"Found you."
He had to run. Everything was either exploding, crumbling or burning. He ran towards the damaged robotic eye, intending to escape through the skull's cavity. However, the Cyberstein teleported in front of him. The spell's effect was gone.
"Out of my way, jackass!"
Teeth grinding against one another in incomprehensible hatred, it swung its beefy hand, wanting to gut Braylon like a pig. He strafed backwards, took aim and pulled the trigger. The Cyberstein teleported once again out of the way, so the rocket destroyed what remained of the eye.
"I hoped you would do that. See you around!"
Betting on its instinct of self-preservation, he rushed out of the structure as he planned. Climbing the skull with Holo Claw, he reached the top, trying to find a way to escape. He found something else; a chainsaw stuck inside a large crack.
"What's that doing here?"
He noticed a shadow approaching his. Eyes widened, he strafed sideways, escaping from the body slam that his chaser tried to accomplish. The impact only served to expand the wound on the skull into an intricate web-like pattern.
"You fucking psycho!" he yelled, "You want my death that much, don't you?!"
It snarled.
"...Actually, I can use that to my advantage..."
The Cyberstein lifted its Arch-Vile hands. Knowing what was about to happen, he shot a rocket, waited for it to teleport, then rushed towards the chainsaw. It reappeared behind him, raising its Baron of Hell fist.
"Get fucked!"
He flipped it off and strafed away seconds before the fist descended. The skull shattered under the weight of the attack, which set off several alarms The cybernetic hybrid held itself by a piece of bone. Braylon picked up the chainsaw and turned it on. Smiling, he shoved the blade into the Caconoid eye, severing wires and nerves until the gore made the chainsaw unusable. The Cyberstein fell.
"Time to go!"
Braylon leaped off the skull and onto the shoulder. A series of loud explosions echoed throughout the red lake. Counting up to three, he jumped, falling towards a giant, descending rock. Another explosion, bigger than the others, destroyed the rib cage. The fortress-throne lost its power within moments. It began sinking just as he landed on the surface of the rock that was slowly reclaimed by the lake like its brethren around it.
"Phew… could've gone worse I suppose."
Coughing, he took the vial, opened it, then gently grabbed the orb.
"What can I say that you don't know already, Blake Belladonna? You wanted to make things right, so you joined the White Fang. You believed for what they stood for, until it all changed for the worse. Running away, leaving behind everything, was the right thing to do. But… you always ran like that, right? You ran away from your loved ones, you ran away from the White Fang… you ran away from your team. Don't doubt them, Blake. Follow their light, so that you may fight the dark."
The orb pulsated twice, hiding inside the Seraphim's Seal.
"How sweet. It makes me want to vomit."
Braylon turned around, frowning at the sky. The gargantuan skeleton-on-a-throne continued its descent, explosions happening at random intervals.
"You now saw with your own eyes what we are forced to do with one of our own. Cursed be Doom Slayer, you and our Father that allowed this, the same Father that pitted an insignificant mortal against us. Right, back to you..." the voice continued, "I would give you my kindest compliments, but then I would have to remind us both that you just won a fight against a skeleton on a chair that couldn't even fight back… Though now that I think about it, I still haven't flogged the responsible ones."
"Quit fucking around with me!"
"Funny, I don't remember those words coming out of your mouth when you struck that oh-so-precious deal with me. You mortals are all the same.Maykrs, Marleyans, Eridians… No matter what knowledge you possess, no matter the civilizations you build,you all come to me, asking for my favor. Not Father's, because he would never grant you your depraved wishes. And then you blame me when I come to collect my payment. You know what? I feel sadistic now. Why, I will give you what you want, the final soul you seek, but not without consequences."
A circular red rift appeared to his right. He couldn't see what lay beyond.
"If you step through that portal, you will experience Hell for what it truly is and not what your senses tell you; unfiltered chaos. The moment you go to the other side, I will give my command to all my brothers in this putrid jail. They will be out for your blood. Up to now I went easy on you, as my armies are needed elsewhere. But that will change if you accept my proposal. Do it, and the last soul you need is yours. You will curse the day you were born, that I guarantee. So what is your choice, mortal?"
Braylon walked towards the rift.
"I know you will fuck me over. Thing is, I'm gonna get out of whatever trap you prepared alive. I'll find Yang's soul and get us out of Hell and all you'll be able to do is to choke on the pile of shit I'll leave behind."
He glanced at the drowning fortress, then at the sky, and declared words he would immediately regret he ever said out loud.
"This Doom Slayer will be the least of your problems."
Fuck this chapter. Fuck. This. Chapter.
Three different ideas, one draft, one rewrite, and this is the end result. I was going to make it into an island survival arena, then I was about to make a structure inside a mountain, and then this. As I said, he didn't get all his weapons, but he got new stuff in return: the rocket launcher comes from Doom (2016), though a bit modified, among other things.
Also, meet the Cyberstein. He will chase Braylon around like Mr. X, but he can be killed… only to revive himself again. If I have to compare him to something, it would be close to the Doomhunter, though only one and not many. One of the first real countermeasures Hell has to offer against the Vault Hunter.
Anyways, part two out of four is done. Tons of Hellspawn and other minions, no Demons. What awaits Braylon in part three? A world of pain, to be honest. Part three is where the arc will turn into a (more-or-less) LSD-infused trip where you probs won't have any idea what is going on, which means I'm doing my job correctly. Not gonna lie, some will probably hate it to the bone, but that's okay. If you can survive through this, you deserve all respect a man can give.
If there is a theme for part three, its "shitload of Demon-type enemies and random Hero-types a la 90s shooter". Enemies from Doom Eternal (watched it, thumbs up) may or may not appear. I will also try to push forward the cybernetic counterparts of some demons. Shit is hard, yo.
Rewrite of chapter 2 was successful. I think I will rewrite chapter 3 as well, though I have no idea when.
Fun Fact: Here is an idea I had during the Christmas festivities of 2019. The "secret" level, rather than the Nether, should have been a snowy wasteland where Braylon would fight through a horde of Elves, only to have a boss fight with either Krampus or a demonic version of Santa Claus. After their death, he would get a key to a wooden cottage, go to the basement and uncover the dark truth behind their existence. He would also get the Unmaker (or Unmakyr as it is now called) Supreme, which is shoulder-mounted flame thrower made of flesh that could spit soul-damaging fire, requiring hearts of living beings as ammo (you put them on a skeletal hand which will then shove the heart into the mouth of a skull). It should have been this fic's second equivalent of the BFG 9000, first being the Nukem, which is now lost. Oh well...
New item acquired!
a) UAC Devastator Mk2
- Green/Standard item
- no reload required (rockets are directly transferred to the Devastator from the inventory)
- deals explosive damage
- rockets travel at medium speed, but deal massive damage
- small-to-medium blast radius (damages and stuns targets)
- secondary fire: fires three rockets at higher speed but lower damage
b) Staff of Wicked Sins
- Eldritch/Cursed item
- Ultimate Offering: this item requires the activation of "Alternative Use" effect of the Soul Jar (or other items that have similar effects) in order to function (upon activation, Staff of Wicked Sins will gain any number of Soul tokens required to reach its maximum)
- this item can have a maximum of 6 Soul tokens (this amount is fixed and cannot be increased or decreased)
- allows the user to cast spells in exchange for Soul tokens
Spells:
1) Mind Crush: choose a target, that target will become Unstable for a short period of time (target's behavior becomes randomized; it may attack others, become confused or scared, commit suicide etc. effect is stronger on weaker/weakened enemies) (works on living beings only) (1 Soul token)
2) Curse of Frailty: take aim with staff, targets within visible range become Marked (decreased elemental resistance, speed, damage resistance and damage output) (effect can be stacked) (2 Soul tokens)
3) Possession: choose a target, gain control of the target, but their Health will decrease over time, control is lost when Health drops to zero (user can manipulate the target's behavior directly, but that will decrease its Health faster) (3 Soul tokens)
4) Soulbinding Seal: select up to four weakened targets and kill them, gain Aetherial Empowerment tokens up to the number of targets killed by this effect (one Aetherial Empowerment token gives increased Damage and Melee Damage, as well as bonus Aetherial Damage, for three minutes) (works on living beings only) (4 Soul tokens)
5) Dark Genocide Virus: select a target, that target becomes Infected, after the target is killed, every entity that shares target's type in close proximity of the user will be killed (the Infected will be attacked by other enemies as well, if the Infected is killed by other enemies, the effect won't activate) (effect does not work on enemies with unique types only, such as Unknown or Riftspawn) (5 Soul tokens)
6) Weight of the Wicked Sins: choose where to place the Seal of Wicked Sins (entities caught inside cannot escape until the effect is resolved), targets inside the Seal receive random amount of damage (said damage is amplified by the amount of entities trapped within) (cannot be used on the same targets twice) (6 Soul tokens)
c) Minishark
-"It's raining lead, hallelujah!" (high rate of fire in exchange for accuracy)
- green/Standard item
- does not require reload (ammo automatically loaded from the PDA)
- quickly consumes ammo
Arsenal:
1) HWM: Holo Sabre, Holo Ripper, Holo Claw
2) Pistol: Kalibak's Heartslayer, Pocket Rocket
3) Shotgun: Striker, Orphan Maker
4) Heavy Weapon: Minishark
5) Rocket Launcher: Devastator
6) Grenade Mod: Soul Jar
7) Oz Kit: Flopper
8) Artifacts: Seraphim's Seal, Staff of Wicked Sins
PDA Biopedia:
*Entry #148: Dark Elf
Type: Hellspawn
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "These are a breed of Elves, born from genes stolen from more than twenty races who share that name, molded into perfect soldiers who will do everything to satisfy their sadistic tendencies. Their second purpose is to assume the form of the Elves of the reality they invade, so that other races may grow distrustful of them."
**Entry #149: Mormo
Type: Hellspawn
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "The Mormo, or Mormon, or even Mormolyce, are spirits prone to stealing children. They will raise them into corrupt warriors who will then be released on mortals, as a countermeasure to Father's chosen heroes. This is why civilizations of old used their name to force their young to behave as they wanted."
***Entry #150: Hikari Aetherflame
Type: Hellspawn – Hero
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "From the letters of Akimitsu to his student Naruhito: Dear Naruhito, times are troubling for our temple. The plague I wrote about is spreading with frightening speed. Last week we discovered the clothes of a young maiden near the river. What my old mind fails to understand is why did we also find fox hairs on her clothes. It must have been the work of a Kitsune. A few days ago I saw a fox in the woods. Green fire danced around its tail, thought my eyes were failing me. I fear the worse, Naruhito. What if there is a connection between the two? What will happen to us? Stay safe, my student. These are troubling times indeed."
****Entry #150: Minotaur – Elevated Remains
Type: Hellspawn – Hero
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "I cannot comprehend why did they revive him again. Is there a joke I am not aware of, human?"
*****Entry #151: Cyberstein
Type: Construct – Hero
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "In an effort to remove the weed before it grows too big, my brothers created this misshapen thing. As you might have noticed, it combines the power and characteristics of several tribes. You are becoming popular among the prisoners of Hell. Expect to encounter even sturdier opponents."
******Entry #152: Alectryon
Type: Hellspawn – Hero
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Alectryon was once a mortal under the service of a witch, who was tasked with guarding the coven while she was performing a ritual with her lover. He fell asleep, however, so the couple was discovered easily and burned at the stake. Before the witch died, she cursed the mortal, whose soul turned into an avian monster after death. Killing it was an act of mercy, despite deserving none for being an ally of a witch."
*******Entry #153: Twin-Star Dragon
Type: Hellspawn – Hero
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Many dragons earned their fame through their deeds. The Twin-Star Dragon is no exception to the rule, though its origin story is more tragic than anything else. It was born on a white dwarf, where it was supposed to devour its home so that it could grow in size and power. None of that happened, because the white dwarf was in the middle of a war that threatened an entire solar system. At its birth, the dragon was forced to flee, but not before it collected enough material to form two spheres imbued with enough heat to become miniature stars, as well as eyes to guide it through the darkness of space. Its entrapment happened during a ritual that had gone wrong, which further shrunk its size to what you fought. My brothers cared not for the life of their failed experiment, although it served to gather more precious data for future trials."
********Entry #154: Revived Elder Karenias
Type: Demon – Construct
Faction: Hell's Ultimates/Legions of Hell
Description: "Many things could be said about Karenias, the Death Knight. He was a symbol of pride for the heretics, ever willing to spread the word of the Deceiver. So great was his reputation among the rebels, that some even formed a cult around his image. Karenias eventually died by Doom Slayer's hand, who killed him with the help of other loyalists, which was devastating for the sinful legions. They mourned his death for ten whole years, until the Deceiver gave the order to strip his bones of rotting flesh and put his skeleton on a throne worthy of a deity. His decision made everyone happy and he got a new pawn to play with."
New Factions:
1) Hell's Ultimates: "Among the demons who scheme to bring ruin to whole Creation, there are the Firstborn; the oldest created beings, and also the most powerful. The Creator of All Things chained them in a secluded area of Hell known as "the Ninth Circle", where no one can enter or leave without His permission. Some of the most notable individuals are: Mephistopheles, Apollyon, Icon of Sin, Aranea Imperatrix andAdrammelech.
Led by the Lightbearer, the Ultimates have complete control over the degenerate lower castes, who often go so far as to worship them as gods. Recognizing them is easy, for their avatars will almost always carry the title of Demon Lord. They are immortal in the purest sense of the word. Nothing can kill them unless the Creator wills it. Some will even be included in heretical pantheons, often as chief gods.
At the hands of their ambition, and the madness of the Flesh Artists, vile Hellspawn continue to expand the endless Legions of Hell. Others revel in corrupting mortals, birthing new Exalted left and right. I am sure that even you are included in their machinations. Whatever is their next move, it may as well mark the end of many realities."
1) Imp: Peon, Grunt, Subjugator
2) Demon: Bull, Ravager, Noise
3) Possessed: Corpse, Former Human, Faunus, Huntsman
4) Invisible: Spectre, Phantom
5) Corrupted Animal: Tainted, Haunted, Exalted
6) One-of-a-kind: Sawcubus, Vulgar, Wraith, Hell Razer, Maggot, Ifrit, Returner, Scorched One, Frozen One, Eurynomus, Prowler, Bruiser
7) Souls: Condemned, Lost Soul, Dark Soul, Forgotten One
8) Revenant: Fury, Revenant, Soul Cage
9) Cult: Harvester
10) Elemental: Pain, War, Sin
11) Arch-Vile: Reanimator, Void-Caller
12) Cacodemon: Caconoid, Rahovart, Malwrath
13) Flesh: Flesh Artist, Fleshmender
14) Mancubus: Mancubus, Behemoth, Druj
15) Nobility: Hell Knight, Hell Paladin, Baron of Hell, Duke of Hell
16) Oni: Burning Mouth, Thunder Fist
17) Fusion: Agent of Apocalypse, Minister of Death
18) Arachnotron: Thalamus
19) Hellspawn: Zombie Pigman, Mourning Wood, Succubus, Lamia, Kumiho, Harpy, Basilisk, Gorgon, Dragon, Demong, Tigerman, Redcap, Dark Elf, Mormo
20) Cyborgs: Cyber-Mancubus
21) Cyberdemons: Desolator
