(Per Kristian Risvik – They're Going to Get You)
The intersection behind him had a thick wall for a gate, depicting a human figure with bat wings hunched dramatically over a rock. On the left side, a lion-shaped head had its mouth open, requiring some sort of key to unlock its secrets. A set of stairs on the right led to some dark depths no mortal would dare to explore, lest they wanted to lose their sanity among the souls that suffered a fate far worse than mere torture.
Braylon chose to go to the opposite direction, towards a conveyor belt behind a corner. Bloody remains of consumed and rotten bodies were spat out from a mouth and on that belt, leading them to a meat grinder that awaited at the end of the hallway. The fumes of death seemed to attract a swarm comprised of Condemned as well as Lost Souls. Braylon shattered the flying nuisances with Minishark. With them gone, he followed the belt until he stumbled upon a door on his right, going into another hallway, one with large glass panels on each wall, giving him the feeling of being an audience to two grotesque plays that unfolded in front of his eyes.
One such play involved a Flesh Artist looming over a table, inside a circle of black candles, surrounded by a gut-wrenching amount of coffins, some of which still had owners. Its experiment was hidden by its deformed body. Only the darkest of imaginations could predict the outcomes.
The other sight wasn't better, although it was hard to judge which was worse. A red devil gleefully stabbed the exposed brain of a snow-skinned woman strapped to a chair, her eyeballs scooped out from their sockets. On the walls behind them lay crucified some bat-like monsters, one of whom had its wings removed with a saw. The devil slowly raised its head, waving at the viewer, as did the woman, before both displays were closed off with black curtains.
"Blergh!"
Braylon threw up, the gastric fluid leaving a burning feeling in his throat. Cursing, he turned, heading for the door on the other side, only stopping when a demon showed up.
A new one, he thought darkly. It was a bipedal creature, of a breed not different from a Hell Knight, but brutalized with invasive surgery made to the arms and head. Though its visage hidden under a helmet, the Dread Knight made sure to express its anger by showing a pair of energy blades that extended from its arms.*
Allowing it to come close would be more than risky, so Braylon used Minishark, chipping away bits of armor as the hulking cyborg began its mad sprint. When it was at arms-length, he dropped the weapon and strafed backwards until he hit the wall, opting for slower but more powerful shots of the Pocket Rocket. Each gyrojet bullet punched a hole in the Dread Knight's exposed chest, yet it seemed unfazed, deciding to throw bolts of energy at Braylon who, despite avoiding being hit by them, felt their heat on his skin.
The demon leaped, thrusting one of the energy blades forward. Braylon blocked it with his Holo Sabre. It replied by kneeing him in the stomach, then punching him so hard he got a concussion. A hand squeezed his throat as the other was preparing for the impalement. At that moment, the Vault Hunter materialized the Soul Jar, dropping it from the hands to activate its effect.
What a surreal experience it was. He felt like a part of him was stolen and taken away, only to explode into maddening agony after a portion of his essence was stored in the cursed object. But the Dread Knight was no stranger to the feeling, for it too suffered the consequences as it retreated several steps backwards, stunned and weakened. Braylon used the moment to take a swig of the Jar's contents. Now healed, he rushed at the demon, shoving the barrel of his pistol under its exposed jaw. Two shots blew open the cranium, spreading its insides on the ceiling. The way was clear.
Through the walls he could see and hear humans being stuffed into iron maidens, which either cooked them alive or froze them solid. Through unholy means unknown to mortals, they became Scorched and Frozen Ones. After the process was repeated for a third time, three energy barriers were activated, one for each path. Two Maggots were thrown inside the makeshift cage.
Newfound hate prevented him from backing up. Orphan Maker in hand, he waited for the first Maggot to lurch in attack. A deafening shot split the two-headed being in half. Two halves flopped on the ground like a fish out of water. Its uncaring brother stomped the shredded remains as it flung wildly with three limbs. Strafing out of its reach, Braylon loaded two shells into the shotgun, then strafed close and fired again, making sure that the heads were lined up. The second Maggot was down.
But that was not the end of the assault. Two more Maggots spawned in the same position as the previous pair. Braylon opted for the rocket launcher. One rocket between them smeared their bodies all over the place. The third group was none the wiser.
The energy barriers vanished, freeing access to an elevator shaft on the left side and to a door on the right. He chose the door since the elevator was nowhere to be seen. It brought him into a dimly lit stone room with a skull switch on the adjacent wall. He flipped it. The room suddenly became brighter. Mortals were hanging from the walls with tubes sticking out from their skin and orifices, bloodshot eyes forced open with thin needles. A wooden spike slid into their bodies through their rectums, stopping only when the muffled screams became choking noises. Dark red blood flooded strange line-patterns on the floor. The sound of gears grinding against each other echoed outside the room as the elevator descended.
A single Soul Cage popped into existence at the center of the room. Braylon swapped weapons again. His Striker damaged the aetherial green sphere after fracturing the black bone-like construct. The Soul Cage managed to fire one projectile before it crumbled into scrap and wails. Braylon approached the skeleton and broke the skull with his naked foot, uncaring of the pain.
"God… damn… you all..."
Unwilling to listen or see the torture that was unfolding, the Vault Hunter rushed towards the elevator, evading the charge of a Ravager Demon who awaited him. He pumped it with lead from a safe distance using Striker until it keeled over.
The upper lever was a field surrounded on all sides by tall black walls. Two demon statues sat beside a massive well in which thousands of human and xeno souls fell from the sky above, screaming as they advanced towards their eternal punishment. He circled around the well, finding a Harvester that hid behind the statues, along with two Bruisers. With a grunt he strafed back into safety that the well provided from the demonic powerhouses. And while he heard the unmistakable shuffling of mechanical feet, he was unable to locate the Harvester through sound alone.
A cry escaped his lips as the demon delivered a sneak attack, draining his very life from the body. The only way he could avoid death was to strafe out into the open. He strafed twice and no more. His body was exhausted from coming in contact with the Harvester. The Bruisers moved their cannons. Eyes widened and teeth clenched, with a roar of defiance, Braylon strafed for a third time, reaching the statues while projectiles zipped past him.
"I won't survive another attack like that… gotta be more careful."
Taking a moment to catch his breath, the Vault Hunter searched for the Harvester with his eyes, spotting it as it made no effort into hiding itself anymore. His lungs refilled with polluted warm air, Braylon materialized Devastator, leaped away from the statue and fired. The Harvester simply moved away from the rocket's trajectory. This was part of the plan. It didn't have enough time to escape outside the effect radius of the Soul Jar, which he hastily threw in its direction as he kept firing rockets at the Bruisers. The Harvester mewled in pain, bending over while still levitating. Braylon strafed close to it.
"Eagle Claw Overdrive!"
His left hand grabbed the head like a pincer, crushed the skull with little effort, and yanked off the face along with the jaw. Its death called forth the presence of three Behemoths as he strafed back behind the statue.
"Give it a rest already…!"
Braylon refilled his Staff of Wicked Sins with life essence. Cradling the cursed object in his hands, he mumbled quietly before pointing it at the group, who joined forces with the other two demon cyborgs. He began the chant of the most powerful curse the Staff had to offer.
"Through life, sin. Through sin, death. Through death, Hell. Through Hell, punishment. Surrender to your fate, surrender to the weight of your sins!"
A dark red circle formed around the group, trapping it inside walls of light. The ground beneath their feet gave birth to a dark pit from which monstrous snake-like beings surged into reality, biting flesh and metal as they saw fit. Each bit off chunks bigger than a head, leaving behind liquefying wounds. The process took no more than two minutes. What remained were piles of green and red slob. They were such an insult to the eyes that Braylon had to look away, lest he wanted to vomit even more.
One of the walls exploded as a giant blue fist flew through the air. A figure rose from the clouds of dust and pulverized bricks: that of a Thunder Fist Oni. A savage roar spread through all of Hell as the giant stomped his way into the field.
"If only I knew sooner that this bastard would show up!… At least I can use my Holy Overdrive."
Imbuing it with electricity, the Oni slammed the earth with its mace. The resulting shockwave sent Braylon flying. But the Oni wasn't done yet. It raised its mace above the head, pouring more electric power into the object, unleashing it all in the form of a Shock nova explosion. Everything around the blue-skinned giant became a victim of the attack, including Braylon.
Pain would bounce across his body as his muscles would stiffen beyond control. It was as if he was struck by lightning. He couldn't breathe. His eyes stared into space as he lay motionless on the ground after the effects faded. The implants in his body prevented the worst. His hearing returned, ears picking up slow thuds through all the ringing. Finally, he saw the giant figure looming over him.
"Please, please…!"
His arms refused to move, twitching helplessly as the Oni moved its electric fist into position. The fingers on his right hand slowly curled into a fist. They loosened then curled again. His arm was fine soon after. The Oni decided to put him out of his misery. Its fist went down…
"...Superman Punch Overdrive!"
In an experience that was surreal without a doubt, the two fists bumped, erupting into a wave of light. Braylon and the Oni voiced their defiance as both forces battled against one another. The stalemate was over when golden cracks spread through the latter's arm. After few more seconds of struggling, the arm was pushed backwards, erupting into gore and disintegrated bones that rained all over the field. The Oni's defiance given sound turned into horror and anger. The arm was gone. It was replaced with a feeling unfathomable to Braylon. Whatever it was, it gained utter control over the demon, who crashed through another wall to escape from the battlefield.
The Vault Hunter used the temporary peace he gained to assess his wounds and regain composure. The entire ordeal sapped him of his energy and willingness to continue. Only his thoughts of being near the end of his trek through the valley of tears motivated him to go through the hole in the wall that the Oni had left behind.
A structure resembling a carousel stood beyond the wall. Thousands of human and humanoid bodies connected through tubes and small machines formed the circular wall, with the floor being a mass of living yellow flesh. Many more were hanging from meat hooks that dangled from the ceiling. They had the misfortune of being cut open with knife-sharp teeth of a tentacle-like appendage. Another similar appendage would scoop up something from their innards, then implant something else, before sewing it all back together.
What moved his glued eyes from the ceiling was the presence of a group of demons that were guarding a wide column made of pink flesh. Faces could be seen swimming on its surface. Clenching his fists, he seethed in anger. If he could, he would burn all those monsters that were in front of him with his gaze.
"Why, you… what kind of sick, fucked up shit has stained all your souls that made you go off the deep end like this?!"
Two Hell Razers, an Arachnotron, a Hell Knight, and four Imp Grunts snarled in unison. They certainly didn't care about his judgment. He was an enemy that had to go, as they were to him.
Braylon strafed between two Grunts with as much speed he could muster. Frying the Grunts with an ample dose of plasma, the spider demon rotated its mechanical legs in tandem with Braylon's actions. The latter shot one of the former's leg off with Pocket Rocket as he slid under the chassis, serving more explosives to the nearest demons. A grunt and one of the Hell Razers were blasted into oblivion.
The winning streak ended abruptly when the Hell Knight grabbed his leg and, with the grace of a savage beast, jammed its knee into his stomach. The impact knocked the wind out of Braylon's lungs. A hand grabbed his head. His body absorbed the impact of a fist that threw him a couple of meters away.
"No… I'm losing my consciousness..."
His hand rose from the sticky flesh. A grayish foot stopped it before it could grab the pistol. He looked up. The last Hell Razer pointed its cannon at his forehead. Holo Sabre materialized before he swung with his left hand. The Hell Razer howled in confusion as it fell, its feet severed off from the body. It fell on top of the holographic blade. Braylon grabbed the pistol as fast as he could and shoot the head. He had to make sure it would be unable to fight anymore, despite it bleeding to death.
Only one Imp and the Hell Knight remained. The Arachnotron dragged itself around with the speed of a slug. It wasn't nearly as fast as when it had four legs.
The Imp was right on top of him. Only spite sealed his lips with his teeth as he felt its infernal claws dug into his shoulders and back. His head shot up, muffled screams coming from his mouth as he saw the Hell Knight stomp towards him. The only way he could survive was to use the same trick he pulled off against the Dread Knight. He knew better than anyone how painful it would be, yet it was still far better than death.
Soul Jar appeared in his left hand.
"Aaah!"
The Hell Knight applied pressure to his arm. He felt like the demon wanted to torture his limb before ripping it off. The Imp on continued disfiguring his back. The Jar slipped from his gentle grasp. His eyelids were heavy.
"F… fuck..."
A single curse slipped from his thoughts before the king of all pain kicked in, bringing him back into the world of the living with an abnormal surge of adrenaline. The Imp had its life snuffed out while the Hell Knight acted as if trying to swat away some invisible flies, body twisting and jerking until it came back under his control. Meanwhile, Braylon wriggled to his left side, grabbed the Jar with his other hand and took a swig before the pain could finish him off. As his injuries were healing, barely enough to keep him alive, the Vault Hunter materialized Orphan Maker and kneecapped the taller demon. It fell, but not before punching him in the face and breaking his nose.
He rolled on the floor, out of the Knight's reach, wishing all kinds of curses upon its being. The metallic clicking he heard on his right drove his eyes away from the one he wanted to see dead. He completely forgot the Arachnotron, who managed to set itself at just the right angle so that its stream of plasma could hit the target. The spider demon squealed when its plasma bullets failed to hit the strafing target. Braylon dropped the Soul Jar near its body, strafed away, waited for the Jar to do its trick, came back, shot the demon and drank some more of that sweet essence. He was back to full strength. The Hell Knight managed to stand back up, despite the missing knee. It turned to him.
"Rrrrroooaaaaaarrrgh!"
It was a cry for reinforcements, at least that's what Braylon liked to think. Somehow he had the feeling that things would take a turn for the worse.
A dark red rift opened behind the Hell Knight. A tall figure of equally colored skin came out of it. Braylon couldn't believe how that thing was even taller than the Knight. It bore resemblance to an Arch-Vile, something that made him even more nervous. A disturbing number of spines covered its body; from the long skull, to the bony chest, and down to the thin legs. The eldritch creature didn't dignify the human with a response to his staring eyes. Its arms spread far and wide. Demonic chants escaped from the depths of its throat as all the corpses received a gift in the form of a crimson mist that embraced their bodies, lifting them from the ground.
"Oh shit, here we go."
The chants ended in a high-pitched shriek as the newest demon clapped its hands together. The bodies absorbed the mist in a flash of red light as the wounds sealed themselves and new limbs grew from old joints. Only then did the Vault Hunter see the bigger picture. He witnessed the power of an unholy miracle as the foes he previously defeated now became stronger versions of themselves. The Infernalist didn't just gave those bodies life, he made them better!**
What was Grunt now became Subjugator. The Arachnotron and the Hell Razers also got an upgrade. The former received an extra pair of robot legs, a pair of robot pincers and a tail with small laser cannon as the tip. Its flesh turned pink and eyes bright green so as to become even more brain-like. The latter's color scheme was the biggest change. Black and purple replaced gray and red. Its hand-cannon took the shape of a tentacled beast that seemed to have a life of its own. The Hypothalamus Arachnotron*** and the Hell Defilers**** made the place even more suffocating with their killing intent.
(Doom Eternal – The DOOM Hunter)
"No way I'll deal with this shit."
Braylon tossed the Soul Jar, then strafed backwards until he reached the wall of bodies, spewing Devastator rockets generously. The Hell Defilers used their teleport ability to avoid the explosions, leaving with a "poof!" like an Enderman. Two out of four Subjugators fell victim to the Jar, although the rockets finished them off along with the Hell Knight before the Infernalist could cast a fire barrier around the group. The Hell Defilers retaliated with purple energy sphere that followed him in a spiral pattern. He strafed away from them until they exploded like grenades.
The Infernalist teleported itself away from the group as the remaining Subjugators closed in on the Vault Hunter. They were quick in avoiding the rockets that were meant for them. The Hypothalamus Arachnotron supported them with suppressive fire in the form of rapid laser bursts. He even saw a trail of fire coming from the Infernalist's direction. Hiding behind the flesh column prevented the trail from reaching his legs.
The Subjugators split. One climbed the column while the other decided to hop its way to the victim. Said victim decided to vent the attacker's head with their Striker, then jumped away from the body before it exploded. The remaining Imp got riddled with Minishark bullets. Stepping away from the column, he found out that the Infernalist revived the fallen Hell Knight and turned it into a Paladin.
"Fuck's sake. I need to get my Jar back."
Braylon had an idea. Zigzagging to avoid purple Hell Defiler beams, the Vault Hunter made it his mission to retrieve the weapon from the field. He picked it up when he got close and went for the safety of the column at lightning speed while the trail of sorcerous fire and energy projectiles followed closely behind. He succeeded by mere luck, as one of the Paladin's energy balls exploded too close to him, pushing him off balance. Cursing himself for not being faster, Braylon materialized the Staff of Wicked Sins and infused it with the essence from the Jar, eyes darting everywhere in search for potential threats. He groaned loudly when two War Elementals and two Rahovarts emerged from the floor like ghosts, only to jump when the Infernalist teleported in front of him.
He cursed the demon without thinking: "Mind Crush!" A high-pitched wail blasted into his ears as the Infernalist clutched its head. Braylon jump-rolled away from the incoming Rahovart projectiles. Their explosions pushed the Infernalist left and right as bits of its body were brutally hacked away, revealing a skeleton wrapped in hellfire. Braylon continued the punishment by casting Dark Genocide Virus. Black smudges inexplicably grew on red skin as the Arch-Vile regained back its mental faculties, only to realize that it became the target of every demon present.
Ignoring the Vault Hunter, the demon horde unleashed their destructive power on the Infernalist, attacking it with everything they got. Their projectiles were easily dodged with the Arch-Vile's teleportation skill. It answered with a swing of its hands, casting its fire trail attack. The fire twisted and turned like a living being until it reached a target. Both Hell Defilers, who just happened to be in the way, were swallowed by the flames in mere seconds. The trail ended at the Paladin's feet, erupting into a vortex that left behind a carbonized skeleton.
Braylon didn't pay attention to the violence. He had the task of sneaking up on the demon so that he could kill it. It was kind of a pain, due to the incessant teleportations and sudden shields. He was running out of time. The Infernalist made quick work of the new Arachnotron by dropping a searing wave of lava on its head through a rift. The only blessing was the swarm of Dark Souls that the Elementals spat at it, even if they were destroyed with simple swipes and backhands.
When the demon stopped moving for the umpteenth time, the Vault Hunter reached its back and used an Uppercut Overdrive to destroy the body from waist up. With the Infernalist's death, the deadly effects of the Virus were activated. A sickly green haze rose from the corpse and quickly invaded the entire area with its presence. Those demons that managed to survive began moving erratically, shaking and dropping like insects. Some were choking while others vomited blood. In just a minute, everything that wasn't Braylon, who felt no change whatsoever, was dead. He asked himself whether or not it would be a good idea to use that curse on human targets. The thought terrified him.
But when the nightmare seemed over, a new problem was on the horizon.
"No… fucking don't..."
The Infernalist's corpse began shaking rapidly before the legs stood back up. Like the rewind of a scene from a movie, pieces of flesh and bone reattached themselves to the rest of the corpse until the whole body was completely restored to its undamaged form. No demon up to that Arch-Vile made as much effort to express facially the anger it felt. Its hands curled into fists, coating them in arcane energies.
Braylon strafed sideways thrice to avoid being hit by a fire pillar. He retaliated with a Devastator rocket. The explosion pushed the Infernalist backwards. Black blood oozed from the left side of its chest. It teleported before a second rocket could land a hit. Although close to a Rahovart corpse, it showed no intention of reviving it. Braylon ran up to the Arch-Vile, only to stop when a fire wall rose between the two, allowing it to teleport again.
This time it used the fire trail attack. Braylon hid behind the flesh column until the trail died out. The Infernalist reappeared near the column, allowing Braylon to score a second and a third hit with the Devastator.
A third of its body mass was gone. The left side of its chest was reduced to bloody skeleton, same with the arm. Logic dictated that such wounds were enough to kill anything. Not in this case, though the demon seemed to have a concussion, as the upper part of its body swung like a drunkard trying to hold their balance. Braylon took a few steps back, then rushed at the demon at full speed, tackling it with all of his weight. It roared in recognition of what he was trying to do. He materialized the Orphan Maker and blew its head off before it could stand up.
"And stay dead."
(Titan Quest – Scorched Earth)
He sighed in relief, sitting next to corpse. For a moment he forgot that he was in a maelstrom where the sinful were reciting their cries of despair as they hung from the walls, or that the floor he sat on was one big pile of living meat. The need to blow off some steam from his frail psyche overpowered the toxic external stimuli. Even the inhumane operations that happened above his head were a mere detail and nothing more.
Until the flesh column began to sink.
The thing that saved his life from certain death sunk into the floor, revealing a small altar for whole Hell to see. There was an object that shone so brightly that it left the Vault Hunter speechless. He had to come closer.
For a moment he thought he was at the presence of a holy relic. It gave off an aura of timelessness, of suffering unseen and unheard of by mortal masses. Just its presence made him fall on his knees, partly out of reverence, partly out of fear.
The object looked like a miniature heather shield whose texture reminded him of platinum. Carved into its surface was a single red symbol that became brighter upon being touched. Its meaning flew over his head, yet he knew that he would regret using the arcane powers that were sealed within. Such was the nature of that Shield, its unmatched might suffocating the unbearable pressure that stained his soul with curses spoken by the evils that ruled over Hell.
He held the artifact tightly, placing it upon his chest as if it were a lifeboat that would solve all his problems. A bluish aura washed over him as thorny stems grew out of the Shield and over his skin, forming a barrier between him and the rest of the world. Many of the thorns dug deep into his flesh. And while blood dripped from the wounds, that was nothing compared to the newest weight added to his soul. That pain also brought something else with it. His tired and beaten body felt alive and light as a feather. Fear and worry were trampled away, leaving room only for anger and sorrow, led by pain caused by sin and its toxic presence. Right then and there, Braylon uttered the words that came to his mind.
"My cause is just, my will is strong, my weapon is ready. Rip and tear, until it is done."
The trance-like state ended when the PDA digistructed his new Shield. It flashed a warning message on the screen about how the battery was empty, signaling its activation. The battery showed no signs of increasing its capacity. The thorns disappeared.
A soft, warm wind blew from behind him as a Desolator teleported from the bowels of Hell. It cocked its head at the sight, seething as words dripped out of its mouth.
"I will savor the spine-chilling screams as I rip your soul out of that body and feed it to the lesser beings." Rockets hit the ceiling for added theatrics. Gore rained upon them. "Mortaaaaaal!"
(Doom – Welcome to Hell)
Its curses-ridden roar summoned more cybernetic horrors. The first four were fully mechanized, Ravager Demon lookalikes. Their bodies were coated in a thick layer of black metal. The mouth and eyes were pulsating with an unholy crimson light, hissing and buzzing as the twin-barreled turrets grafted on their backs locked on the Vault Hunter. The Cyberdemons were a force to be reckoned with.*****
The next group would prove to be even stronger. They were the Archdukes of Hell, cybernetic Barons with light brown skin, their hearts floating inside pods filled with yellow fluids. Their left hands held sword-shaped chainsaws while their right arms were replaced with a metallic variant. Even their brains weren't left untouched. Shielded by a glass jar fused to the flesh with a liberal application of bolts, the pinkish organs vibrated as tiny cables sent orders to the rest of the body. ******
Cyberdemons were the first to attack, charging while they turrets released a storm of tiny green bullets. Braylon strafed with even greater speed, his movements hard to track with mortal eyes. He wasn't the only one with the upgrade though. The Cyberdemons, instead of crashing into each other, suddenly turned, without losing momentum, following with the ferocity of a heat-seeking missile. Braylon avoided the green projectiles and fired a Devastator rocket into the crowd while trying to keep the distance. It hit one in the head, but even after being half-a-head lighter, the demon didn't lose its obsession with the target. Meanwhile, the Desolator gave his support with short rocket bursts as did the Archdukes with their green fireballs.
Another rocket's stopping power stunned the horde, even if the shrapnel bounced off their skin. Unfortunately for them, they were in the Desolator's firing range, so the last of the group took three rockets to the back, turning it into a crater of meat, metal and red blood. Even that wasn't enough.
"Tch. Stubborn pieces of shit."
Braylon ran while avoiding everything that was thrown at him. His eyes were fixated on the Cyberdemons. One of the Archdukes suddenly popped up behind him. Eyes wide, Braylon performed a last-minute strafe to the right. The blade that was meant for him sliced the Cyberdemon with the wounded head in half. The remaining three couldn't avoid the Archduke in time. They crashed into the taller demon. The second Archduke jumped in front of Braylon and smashed the ground with its robotic fist, unleashing a green nova from the metallic limb.
The force behind the nova sent Braylon sliding back a few meters. His arms received the burns that would otherwise ruin his face. It didn't hurt as much as he expected it would.
"Guess I'm not bitch made anymore."
It leaped, swinging its sword-like chainsaw twice. Twice did he strafe, with the second being a circle strafe that let him fill its back with lead shot almost point-blank from the Orphan Maker. The torn muscle wasn't a problem for the giant, who backhanded the Vault Hunter away. The second Archduke threw the carcass of a Cyberdemon at him, which he dodged. Other Cyberdemons, the two of them, didn't seem to mind the physical death of their horde mates, instead keeping their pursuit.
"Inglorious will be your pain, mortal!" the Desolator screeched in the background.
He wanted to Soul Jar the pursuers, but they were fast and likely to get out of range before suffering the effects. With that in mind, Braylon materialized Striker and destroyed their turrets. The Cyberdemons stopped running. He arched a brow when he saw them gagging, only for a minigun barrel to pop out from the depths of their throats.
Their behavior changed. They would run at Braylon with their mouth-turrets firing, but they would crash into walls like a Ravager Demon. He waited for one to smash its head against a body and then ventilated its brains with two consecutive shots from Orphan Maker. He felt less painful for a moment, as if the Shield loosened its grip on him. He savored the taste of freedom so much that he didn't notice an Archduke until it was at arms-length away from him.
Seconds before the metallic fist hit his chest, the barrier of thorns became that covered his body became visible again. The thorns on his chest grew in size and sharpness, absorbing a portion of the strength behind the attack. Again, Braylon felt less pain than he should, but the same was not the case with the Archduke, whose arm was perforated by a dozen black thorns, discomfort etched on its face. Braylon shot a knee before cutting the wounded leg off. When the Archduke fell, Braylon thrusted the Holo Sabre into the brain jar. A massive surge of bloodlust adorned his features as he ran off to meet with the remaining Cyberdemon.
He jumped on top of the running monster, Holo Ripper digging through the hardened skin. The wound was big enough for the Devastator to fit in. He pulled the trigger. The demon exploded before it could hit the wall of bodies. He was beginning to like that feeling of freedom.
The wounded Archduke cocked its head before throwing a fireball that split into three. Braylon replied with a rocket, but the demon backhanded it away. Revving the Ripper, he lunged at the enemy who did the same. Their weapons met with enough ferocity to impress even the Desolator. After a brief struggle, Braylon swatted it away. He punched the heart pod with his free hand. Green blood mixed with yellow fluid leaked out of the chest as the Archduke buzzed and shook. Its legs gave in and the body dropped dead.
"Only one may stand, demon." he proclaimed boisterously as his index finger pointed at the biggest threat of them all.
"Puah! Not even his anger will be enough for you to win. You caused us much discomfort, cockroach… and I feel inclined to stomp."
The Desolator cursed. Its cannon spammed rockets non-stop. Braylon ran in a semi-circle until he was too close for the demon to use its cannon, lest it damaged itself. He slid under the mechanical leg that tried to squish him. He shot the kneepit of the other leg, then strafed backwards before it could swat him away. It repeated the same attack pattern again. Only this time, when he came close, it created a red energy sword from its forearm.
"Pay your tithe, mortal!"
But the sword, instead of Braylon, struck the floor. A geyser of blood shot up from the wound, blinding the demon and frying some of the circuits in its body. Braylon climbed the leg before it could remove the sword. He cut the armpit with Holo Sabre, jumping on its back before its hand could grab him. Holding onto the skin, he began to stab its back at random, stopping when the demon thrashed its body. He pulled off a chunk of meat after the tenth stab dug deeper into a wound.
"Enough!"
Braylon jumped off the Desolator's back as the former threw itself on the ground. He strafed sideways to dodge a rocket, then sliced the cannon in half. The demon could only moan in frustration as the Vault Hunter strafed near its head, ripping off a horn and jamming it into the skull. He heard engines shutting down. The demon left its body.
"Anyone else?!" he shouted at the squirming souls, but only got their cries in response. The bliss he enjoyed during the fight was suddenly gone, replaced by an even greater pain as the Shield demanded a price for its services. He felt blood being sucked out of his veins through the thorns as a sense of regret claimed him for one long minute. He knew what he had to do. He had to fight more demons. The Shield demanded it. If only he still had The Bee…
There was no red key in there. It was just a trap meant for him. He had to look for the key elsewhere, back to the place where he didn't want to go.
He had to check that stairway.
(Beyond the Ghost – Becoming One With Darkness)
In the depths below the structure lay the chambers where indulgence in things prohibited was as common as breathing. After an excruciating trip through the suffocating blackness of the staircase, the air turned a hazy shade of pink and purple. Fire and brimstone were ten times more preferable to the sweet and sour scents picked up by his nostrils. He couldn't bear to watch the perverted acts that unraveled no matter where he looked. Demonic beasts would copulate not only with the sinful souls, but also with their own. Women, human or xeno, would give birth to more horrendous deformities of nature, which themselves would be split among the unscrupulous hedonists as mere appetizers. Those that survived were thrown inside the jaws of giant brass snakes, shipped off to places he did not want to know.
They were all in a trance, but still aware of their actions. He passed by a female couple who obviously enjoyed their time together, yet their baggy eyes revealed absolute horror as they observed a donkey-headed demon dance around them with a harp made of flesh and bone. A Lamia-like monster assaulted every male it could find, regardless of race, only to give birth to even more monsters minutes after the act. One young Succubus danced her way up to the Vault Hunter, who replied with an Orphan Maker to the midsection. Death was preferable to anything that poor soul had to endure. No one seemed to care.
Braylon approached what he thought was the head honcho of the party, the mastermind of the orgy. A fat, frog-like demon sat on some silky green cushions. Two Succubi, easily the most beautiful of all, sat on each side and caressed its gross belly. Ten of its eyes rolled in their sockets before staring at him. He put up the best stoic face he could make, though he wished to leave as soon as possible.
"Mwrah, someone new?..." it tried to lean in closer, only to roll back with a loud huff, "What is it that you seek? Mwrah…"
"Give me the red key for the gate upstairs."
He tried to sound brave, to put up a front. But the scents began messing with his head. Someone was using way too much drugs. One of the Succubi winked at him. The frog demon was nonplussed.
"Mmh… I do have the key you speak of… but why would go to the surface when here you have all that your heart may wish for?"
"I have no use for anything you can offer me. Give me the key before I take it by force."
The eyes rolled again, "Ah, I sense desire within you. That ambition is so intoxicating…" it seemingly trailed off before returning to the conversation, "The key, you say… you don't need that."
"Damn it."
"I know what you want. One last soul, correct? Mwah… it is right there…"
Its fat finger pointed at something behind the confused Vault Hunter. He turned around. It was Yang.
"Beautiful, isn't she?"
His eyes seemed to agree. Never before had he thought much about her looks, he barely even knew her, but now he couldn't stop thinking about it. The garments she wore did little to cover her modesty, instead serving to accentuate her features even more than her signature uniform. Despite staring to the point of being rude, his mind refused to believe it was true. That couldn't be Yang Xiao Long. She was a tomboy who liked to mess around, but the look she gave him was one the true Yang could never give, for it would be too insulting. He glanced at his ring. It told him otherwise.
"No, what did you do to her?"
"Hwah? Nothing. This is the way she is. I just gave her a little push…"
Two shells found their way inside the barrels. Before he could splatter the demon's brains all over the place, a pair of gentle, silky smooth fingers wrapped around his right arm. He was uncomfortably close to Yang.
"Uwah~. I never knew you were this strong, darling. Wanna have fun with little ol' me?"
"No, no…"
He shook his head dumbly as the not-Yang brought him near a pile of pillows stitched together with human faces. Ruby, Weiss and Blake also emerged from the corners of his vision. They put him on the pillows with unnatural gentleness. His body relaxed despite the struggling consciousness. Each of them whispered sweet nothings that, no matter how much he tried to ignore, made his heart beat faster.
"There. Is that better?" the frog demon asked excitedly, probably expecting a response it heard from lesser men.
Braylon's body exploded with sensations in their purest, highest form. His fingers couldn't differentiate between silk and skin. Fragrances and warm breaths were all the same. The flutes and harps would accompany the shrieks and laughter, often becoming one before reverting back. It was such a drastic change of pace from the fight for survival that he almost welcomed it.
Almost.
It was obviously wrong. As much as he wished to stay there forever, there was the nagging feeling at the back of the head that kept repeating to him how fake it all was. He supposed that the demons were trying to give him a lesson. He would never have a proper relationship that wouldn't end in a tragedy, hence the girls. He would never have proper recognition and be thought of as a person who is capable of making mistakes but also right the wrongs, cue the songs of praise in the background. He would never have proper peace, for he would always be in the middle of a never-ending battle. And finally, he would never have a proper place, for he was and always will be an outsider.
"Hargh, I see you struggling. Maybe I took the wrong approach. Maybe this will suit you best?"
The frog demon snapped its fingers. Gone were the charms that masked the true nature of the chambers. Gone were the hypnotizing music, the cheerful hedonists, the mind-numbing perfumes. Braylon felt the weight under him disappear as he fell into a pool of blood. Out of a den of carnality and into the circus of madness and slaughter. Corpse effigies replaced the banquets. The lustful orgies became torture contests. Heads overwhelmed by pleasure, now skewered on perfectly-crafted phallus-shaped spikes. From one type of insanity into the next. Even the demon changed its appearance to fit better.
"You are at the presence of Beriat, Lord of all Excess. I enjoy the finer things in life as much as I enjoy bloodshed. I wish for the latter."
Four figures were born from the blood. They were team RWBY with antithetical colors to the originals. His clones stood behind them.
"Slaughter yourself! Slaughter your friends! Do it with all brutality you can come up with! Unleash your beastly self, and I will give you the way out."
Braylon clenched his fists in anger. He understood what the demon was trying to do. It wanted him to take all of his anger on both himself and the girls and do it in the most sadistic way possible. He would do it, but the outcome would be far different from its expectations.
The clones drifted apart from each other, cackling and prodding Braylon with their weapons. He noticed how their attacks were more akin to a hit with a wooden stick rather than actual blades and bullets and whatnot. He punched one of his clones who came too close, only to get slapped by a Weiss clone and brought to his knees by a punch from Yang clone. Ruby swatted his head with her scythe, throwing him into the blood.
"I wish you could go away." a white-haired Blake said haughtily, "I never felt safe around him."
"You and me both. I for one think he might be a rapist!"
"Weiss, please. As if he could ever lay his hands on a woman…"
Out of all taunts and insults, his own were the worst. A clone backhanded him the moment he rose to his feet.
"I am the reason I lost my family, fucking coward."
It punched him in the jaw, followed by an uppercut that made him stagger backwards.
"If only I were stronger, if only I could have done something. They didn't deserve the deaths they got!"
A kick threw him back into the blood.
"I should've killed them before the filthy bandits could."
His hands grabbed the descending foot and twisted it. The clone fell to his eye level. He rose and grabbed its shoulders, ripping it in half. His eyes were hidden by a shadow casted upon his face, his face expressionless to the point of being that of a statue.
(God of War – Zeus' Wrath Divine)
"I hate you!"
A Ruby clone zoomed in front of him. With his right hand he shoved its head into the blood, crushing it underneath the overwhelming pressure. Braylon cried in rage as he leaped to one of his clones and bit its nose off before snapping the neck. A Yang hugged him from behind. He threw it over his shoulder and stomped its face in.
Grabbing Weiss' sword, he stabbed the clone in its chest, then lifted it up and threw it at a Ruby. Blake had its arm broken as one of its guns was shoved into the mouth. Pieces of bone and brain sprayed into a pink mist as the enraged Vault Hunter hacked away at a Yang with Holo Ripper, only to jump at two of his clones, who suffered the same brutal end.
"Yes, yes! Keep fighting! More blood!"
His thumbs dug into Ruby's eye sockets before he squeezed it until the spine snapped. The Yang clone raised its Ember Celica in defense, but it was for naught as the holographic chainsaw chopped off the arm and dug into the right shoulder, not stopping until it reached the left leg. A Blake and two Braylon lined up for a perfect horizontal slash with the Holo Sabre. As their heads flew, the Vault Hunter blasted a Weiss and another Ruby to bits with the Orphan Maker.
"I curse the day we met."
"Shut up!"
His fist punched through Weiss with ease. That same fist gibbed a Yang with an uppercut. He used a Ruby's scythe to cleave through a whole group. The blood began evaporating into a mist that turned the clones into blurry forms without faces or personalities. The more he slaughtered, the more were they condemning him and his actions. Each subsequent kill was more brutal, more painful, more excessive.
In all that commotion he found his target. Charging through swats and kicks and shots, Braylon tackled the figure, stealing the dropped sword. He hit its head twice with the hilt before burying the blade into its head. Snarling, he grabbed it by the shoulders and pulled it out of the blood that hid its features. Only then he saw the face of his victim. Confusion at first, before the realization kicked in. With a scream of sheer terror he dropped the corpse and tried to crawl away from it.
"Mother?!"
The clones pestered him no more. Something else troubled him; the mass of dead bodies as far as the eye could see. Employers, family, colleagues, RWBY, JNPR, even himself. They all had a look of betrayal, of hurt, of disappointment. No matter how sickeningly twisted their bodies were, how mutilated, how painfully executed, their eyes would always stare back at him. Piercing, quiet, cold. As the Vault Hunter was stuck in a loop of incoherent babble and sobs that broke into cries of despair, the demon initiated its speech.
"Good execution followed by a disappointing end." it sighed, "But at least I am satiated. For now."
Beriat, either by ignorance or apathy, clicked with its tongue few times, observing the agonizing human before continuing: "I won't give you the key, but I will give you a shortcut to whatever lies ahead. Before we depart, however, there is one thing you need to know."
"There is only one way to get out of Hell. The Peak of the Three Calvaries, on Mount Babylon. Every soul trapped in here know of it, but none ever dared to set foot in that place, even the Firstborn. Those who did, never came back. If Hell wills it, you will find out why."
A giant sinkhole spawned from the floor, absorbing blood and Braylon into its depths.
"Keep spreading my gospel of blood and gunpowder. Until death brings you back."
My trusty computer died on me, so things went a bit slower than usual. We are reaching the final chapter of this part, where the third boss battle will take place. A bonus "level" will take place after it, which will act as a bridge between the third and the fourth part. Hopefully I will speed things up, but since I have two more stories to take care of, it might be unlikely. Next chapter will tone down the violence, though the same cannot be said for the hordes of bloodthirsty monsters I plan to put in. There should be a Hero type or two in there…
Now, on the main star of the show: the Infernalist. I intentionally made him far more powerful than the other two Arch-Vile types, as he is the head honcho of the whole tribe. I came up with three designs for the fucker, one of which is the one I finally decided to use. The second one was supposed to be an Arch-Vile that could resurrect fallen enemies into their Hero type form, but then I decided that A) it would be far too much of a hassle, and B) I left that spot for a Hero who will either be an Arch-Vile or a Summoner. The third was supposed to be an Arch-Vile that could do all sorts of magic-related bullshit, and that would leave behind a ghost of itself after dying. I dropped that one because it was too boring.
Next Chapter: Cathedral of Lost Innocence
New item acquired!
Item: Oath of the Slayer
- "No rest for the living." (zero Shield capacity in exchange for greatly increased Health, increased damage resistance against all kinds of damage, increased movement and reload speed)
- Eldritch/Cursed Shield
Knee Deep in the Dead: Passive ability. Executing a target rewards the user with a Berserk counter that lasts for ten seconds (Berserk counter allows easier executions and increased damage output, can be stacked).
Thorn Barrier: Passive ability. Enemies who dealt melee damage to the user receive a small amount of damage and a Blood counter (enemies with Blood counters loose small amounts of health over time, stacked counters increase the damage)
Painful Burdens: Passive ability. Whenever the user does not battle, as long as this item is equipped, they receive a malus of 20% on all stats. The ability becomes inactive as soon as the user begins a fight.
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
9) Shield: Oath of the Slayer
PDA Biopedia:
*Entry #158: Dread Knight
Type: Demon
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Hell Knights deemed far too inefficient in battle who were brought into the blasphemous workshops to be "remade" into murder machines. In order to make them feral, their brothers locked them inside bodies abused with multiple surgeries, where their only saving grace were the chemicals injected into their brains whenever they killed something. I do not fear them, but I cannot imagine the thirst for revenge of whoever escapes such a fate after the physical death."
**Entry #159: Infernalist
Type: Demon
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Words cannot express the darkness that lurks inside such a being as the Infernalist. This rank belongs to the most powerful member of the Arch-Vile clan, one with sorcerous powers that only the Firstborn can surpass. He has complete control over his incarnations, known for having the ability to cheat death. Rare will be your encounters with this demon, even rarer with more than one body. But when you do meet him, prepare for the worst." (multitude of Incendiary-based attacks, resurrects once after death, can revive Demons (but not Hellspawn or Demonic Corruption), revived targets become one rank stronger until they reach the highest rank (the highest-rank Demons only revive as themselves, but they have a small chance of respawning as a Hero-type Demon), cannot revive those killed with Holy Overdrive or those who died by its own attacks, can teleport and raise defensive walls)
*** Entry #160: Arachnotron - Hypothalamus
Type: Demon
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Demons of ambition and knowledge. A Thalamus can become a Hypothalamus on rare occasions, should their masters, the Masterminds, deem them worthy. They invented the Gremlin species, a type of hellspawn known for sabotaging mortal machinery, and serve as engineers for the demonic hordes. If you see a cybernetic demon, its most likely their idea. (melee and long-ranged attacks)
**** Entry #161: Hell Defiler
Type: Demon
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Hell Razers infected with a parasitic lifeform taken from the home of all Endermen. Beware of their attack." (can teleport, projectiles can follow target)
***** Entry #162: Cyberdemon
Type: Demon
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Someone had the brilliant idea of improving one of the most savage, most mindless, most beastly monsters to ever exist. But you can tell that, whoever they are, they put thought into their disgusting project. The turrets on their back were programmed to act as a secondary brain that will override the meaty counterpart and make the host even more of a danger by manipulating the body to the best of its abilities. Destroy that, and they revert to their brainless selves." (will follow the target until the turret is destroyed, after which it will spawn a secondary turret from the mouth and revert to the behavior of a Ravager Demon, increased damage resistance)
****** Entry #163: Archduke of Hell
Type: Demon
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "The type of nobility that accepted the gifts of the modern era. They are tougher and more brutal than a simple Baron of Hell, though their numbers are thinner compared to them. They usually serve the whims of those greater than them just to accomplish their agenda. Some act as direct servants of the Firstborn and are far too happy to execute any command given by them. An encounter with an Archduke usually means that there is a stronger foe nearby."
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, Gargoyle, Hell Defiler
7) Souls: Condemned, Lost Soul, Dark Soul, Forgotten One
8) Revenant: Fury, Revenant, Soul Cage
9) Cult: Harvester, Hierophant
10) Elemental: Pain, War, Sin
11) Arch-Vile: Reanimator, Void-Caller, Infernalist
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, Hypothalamus
19) Hellspawn: Zombie Pigman, Mourning Wood, Succubus, Lamia, Kumiho, Harpy, Basilisk, Gorgon, Dragon, Demong, Tigerman, Redcap, Dark Elf, Mormo
20) Cyborgs: Cyber-Mancubus, Cyberdemon, Archduke of Hell, Dread Knight
21) Cyberdemons: Desolator