Notice
This chapter has been rewritten, as such most of what was previously available to read has been replaced with new content. Please enjoy and if you feel like it offer your feedback, not just on the chapter but the story in general.
Serpent Holes, it's hard to really say what they are. Whatever they were, was something neither demonic or angelic in nature, just … something else, something outside of reality all together. Some say they are leftovers, part of "Old Creation", whose ashes the present one was built over. Course that was just a rumor; no one, not High Lord or Heaven, nor the Dark Rulers of Hell — not even the Makers themselves knew their true origin, only that these ancient pathways seemed to worm their ways throughout every corner of Creation.
Regardless of their rumor shrouded origin, if Noah was to be honest; He never felt right about staring — let alone using the mysterious Serpent Holes. Maybe it was because they were just so "old", but he'd always found there was "off" about them. When it grabbed hold of him, pulled him in, it seemed to cling to him, wanting to hold him forever and refused to release him without a fight; and when he wrestled free, it felt as though it had taken something from him, a piece that would never return. Worse, it always felt as if something was watching him when he stepped into them.
He sincerely doubted he was the only one to feel this way about them as well.
Regardless, entering the Serpent Hole, moving from one part of the World to another… and stared ahead, his attention quickly turning to a sight he was both painfully familiar and scarcely associated with.
This place, it's written in religion, explained in his teachings and seemingly imprinted in humanity itself like a genetic memory; this world was created not the Makers, who crafted a thousand worlds; rather it was born of the corpse of the progenitor of all Demonkind, and ruled over by its strongest of descendents. They gave this place a thousand names; The Second Kingdom, The Dark Realm, Inferno, the Pit, the Netherworld, the Underworld, the Demon Realm, the Nine Circles, the Burning Hells where just to name a few… but of all its names Noah referred to it as simply Hell.
"Where is this place?" Noah thought aloud as he stared ahead, looking at the mammoth stronghold that stood of him.
"Hell, where else?" Asmodia stated as she smirked at the human. "We are at the Shadow's Edge, the dominion ruled by my father, Samael." Asmodia stated as she gestured around. "You may call it an outpost if you will, one far beyond the infernal gates of Hell." Asmodia stated as she gestured to the stronghold resting so far away. "And that, is the Black Stone, the seat of my father's power." She lowered her arm chuckling. "Although, it looks as though we are under siege… again." She wasn't wrong. Looking from the dark hillside they found themselves on, they could see two hordes of demons clashing below. Countless numbers wielding and riding infernal siege weapons. Asmodia simply shrugged but kept that smile upon her face. "Well, shall we…"
"You brought me here, knowing this was going on." Noah stated as he crossed his arms.
"And if I did." She confessed. "I brought you here to have words with my father, the path to reach him, that was simply something I kept to myself."
"Honestly…" Noah muttered, shaking his head. "Who's attacking?"
"It doesn't really matter." Asmodia waved it off. "The Black Stone has been under siege for countless eons now. Every time by a would be Lord who seeks to overthrow my father. This time is no different." She told him.
"So that's why you rarely call, you're a busy little bee." Noah grumbled. "So, you want me to help you?" He continued as he crossed his arms. "Issue, your men get in my way I will cut them down." He admitted.
"Now, we can't have that can we?" Asmodia spoke in that silk like tongue of hers as she raised a hand and gathered her power. Noah twitched, as it started to envelop him, focusing around his neck to form a necklace that looked like a pair of daemon wings. "That should do it."
"What is this?"
"A marker if you will."Asmodia stated. "It radiates my demon magic, letting them know whose side you are on."
"Does it work both ways?"
"No." Asmodia stated as she summoned a massive sword to her side. "But you'll find out who to kill and who not to, just look at the armor." She told him gesturing to the fight going on beneath them. "Now, shall we? It's been quite a while since I watched you fight." Noah simply pulled out Palemoon's Ashe and started walking off, leaving the hill as the pair stepped into the jagged uneven path that cut through the valley that preys upon the weak. What would normally be a barren wasteland built on bone and ash, lined only by rivers and pools of scathing lava, sung with the sounds of war.
Even looking at it from afar, the Black Stone was a mammoth fortress, one shining under a sun that takes the form of a spiraling black vortex. The front walls still stood though from where they stood both Asmodia and Noah could make out archways and bridges, spire-like towers of littered with battlements and weapons of war. "So this is what the Black Stone."
"You've heard of it." Asmodia asks as they press on. Continuing down the old jagged road.
"Somewhat." Noah admitted. "I know it's old, been broken in battle and rebuilt countless times under the eyes of the Blood Prince." Noah muttered, turning his head to the demon equivalent to a battlement, to see a ballistae far too large for human hands. "Never thought I'd come here to defend it."
"Life works in mysterious ways." Asmodia stated as they continued down the path.
Still, I'm surprised."
"About?"
"That." Noah gestured to the warfront. "I know you said the Black Stone has been under siege countless times, but… you're part of a war on Earth, and one here in Hell? Why? How?"
"An excellent question, I could venture a guess."
"Let's hear it."
"My father's forces are divided if you will… many gather in your kingdom, under the eyes of his Right Hand as they establish his new territory, building his new keep." Asmodia stated as they pressed on. "When they are finished, Father will move and direct his forces from there. But in the meantime…"
"With hisd forces divided, now may be a good time to try overthrowing him." Noah finished as they neared the warfront. "Not a terrible plan."
"I agree." Asmodia confessed. "But enough of that, what do you say, shall we?"
"Yeah." Noah muttered, touching his shoulder. "Let's not keep your old man waiting too long."
Earth
New York
"Sweet mother of God." Vivien muttered as she took a breath, stabbing her sword into the ground and took b a moment to look around her. Staring her squad and the hordes of demon that they had struck down. "It feels like every street we turn down these guys are just waiting for us."
Abigail rolled her shoulders trying to get rid of the soreness. "This can't be coincidence." She muttered. "There's no way we can just run into so many in such little time."
"Think they're tracking us?" One of the boys muttered.
"I haven't seen any hellhounds around yet." Vivien muttered.
"Could be a flyer." Abigail stated. "Or scrying magic."
"Great~" Vivien muttered. "Just what we need, someone playing big brother." She reached into her pocket, pulling out the tracker that her brother had given her. "Either way let's hurry up and head to the safehouse. We'll be able to rest there."
"Right." The others muttered as they got up and pressed on. Stopping only when they felt the earth tremble slightly.
"Huh?"
"What the hell was that?" Abigail crouched putting a hand on the ground before frowning. "What is it?"
"Something big is headed this way." The girl stated with a frown before looking to the others. "We need to hide, like right now!" She ordered as the rest followed breaking towards one of the In the meantime the tremors just grew louder, and with it old car alarms started to go off only being silenced when a mammoth foot descended upon them.
"What the fuck is that?"
London
Her world was nothing but death and blood. The old streets taken by the Burn stretched for miles at a time, seemingly reaching for an untouchable horizon. Littering them were the empty cars and the abandoned bicycles, the shards of broken glass and old brick.
It hurt her to see her home this way. The streets she would travel, the shops she would visit; all it broken, desolate, overtaken by corruption and overrun. It hurt her, but she pushed those pained thoughts back, moved them towards the dark corners of her mind so she could focus on the task at hand.
Galahad; she forced herself to move, to swing her claymore as she felt what rested at it's sharpened end. The cutting of skin, the tearing of muscle, the spilling of blood, the scraping of bone. She felt all of it, and continued to feel it as she swung her blade again and again through demon ranks.
On a subconscious level she acknowledged her claymore was growing fat. Drenched in both infernal meat and boiling blood the weapon started to stink; a visible, choking odor leaving it as the old runes started to cook what rested across it, seemingly baking them both into enchanted steel.
It smelled terrible.
'But don't you love it?"
Something asked her, poking into her mind with a voice as seductive as a lover's cherish.
'You love this.'
This feeling welling up in her chest... She grabbed one of her Autoguns and opened fire.
The spilling of blood and flesh.
She ran her heel so hard into a demon's mouth she broke their teeth in.
The flame's heat and spilling organs.
Her sword tore a demon in two, throwing one to the far streets.
Listening to one's final cries… staring into their clouding eyes.
She gasped for breath, blood staining her armor in uneven patterns, both blade and autogun smoking at her sides. She sounded like a rabid, horny dog. Part of her wished to hear more, feel more, tear off her armor and charge the horde in all her glory, feel their weapons dig into her their, feel their claws rake across her back, feel their blood cherish her skin as she cut them down.
"This is who you really are."
Hell
The Shadow's Edge
Reflexes were a wonderful thing. Even when distracted by something, reflexes could save a person's life. In this case, it saved Noah from a black arrow, a Ballista bolt some seven-to-eight times his size.
Turning, catching that jagged black arrow he found himself thrown across the battleground, his feet dragging across the Shadow's Edge and towards the cliffside and towards the lava below. Noah raised a foot and slammed it down, digging into the hell's land to slow himself down and hopefully stop. For his effort he dug a trench into the soil, and several demons stopped their battle to watch him pass by, either surprised or impressed that someone had managed to catch such a massive thing in the first place. He stopped just a few feet from the cliffside taking a needed breath before stepping forward and turning in a full circle twice, and promptly threw the black arrow back where it came from. Slamming it down the barrel of the baliste it had come from.
If the demons weren't impressed before they sure as hell were now.
Still, dropping to his knees Noah took a breath, panting for breath as he felt his muscles ache. "Ok…" He muttered. They… make that look so easy… on tv." He muttered as he got to his feet. 'I haven't had to go 100 in a long time… but without it, I wouldn't have been able to stop…' He told himself. 'I have to fight careful, despite training I'm not used to these long drawn out battles.' He continued as he redrew Palemoon's Ashes. "And with most of my powers stifled… surviving this is gonna be harder." He muttered before racing back into the fight. "Still, at least I'm only fight half the people here." Her muttered before slamming his foot into the ground and blurred forward. A demon barely had a chance to turn before they found his fist slammed into their face, they neck snapping backwards and hanging limp as he skid to a stop. Turning Noah spun his twinblade, swinging it in arc after arcs as he went for those that stood around him. Pulling a full turn he swung his weapon around stopping only when something slammed against it. A Daemonsteel longsword that shined with a purple - if engraved blade. The two blades broke apart, Noah twirling his blade in one hand as he brought it down in an overhead swing that was blocked, sent back as he seemed to fall off balance. The daemonblade came forward, a simple but powerful thrust leaving it that cut into hell's air only for Noah to block with his second blade on his weapon. Splitting his weapon in two he took a step back and got ready for what was to come.
Earth
New York City
Most of New York's buildings are broken, but some still stand. How is a mystery though. Touched by the Burn/Hellgrowth they look as shadows of what they once were. Stretched over them the flesh like membranes, thorn like spines and questionable goop showed themselves like proudly. Looking down a blue raven stared at them, stared at the streets, the cities, everything its two eyes could rest upon.
"No~" In the shadows began to mutter to herself, seeing through her familiar's eyes as she let it soar over the city. "No~" Vivien stayed silent looking at Abigail as the others did the same. "No, nononononono fuck!" She screamed suddenly as she recalled her familiar, and dropped to her knees as she waited its return. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" The teen cursed as Vivien stared at her.
"That bad?"
"You… you have no damn idea." Abigail muttered as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"Well, spill, what kind of demon was that?"
"It wasn't a demon." Abigail muttered. "It was a Construct." The entire group fell silent as they heard the words.
If that was a construct then…
"Fuck." Was the unanimous response.
"Yeah." Abigail muttered before taking a breath. "You know." She paused. "I was wondering where everyone was, now I know."
"We have to free them." One of the boys muttered. "But attacking that head on, we don't have the firepower or manpower to do so."
"We'll do it anyway Oscar." Vivien muttered, gripping her mammoth blade. "We can't pretend we didn't see it when we know how it works. We have to bring it down."
"She's right." The other boy muttered. "But we're still gonna need help. Can any of you contact the other teams?" Abigail reached for her earpiece before messing with it, trying to get a call out before sighing in defeat.
"No, remember we ripped out all the hardware so we could move it, we need to set it up again for comms to work."
"I can't get in contact with Noah either." Vivien muttered before frowning. "Hell, I can barely sense him too. That's never happened before, usually I can contact him no matter where he is in the city."
"Some kind of block then?"
"Maybe." Vivien muttered before taking a breath to calm herself. "We're on our own for the moment." The group looked in the direction the Construct had gone as raven came to Abigail's side, landing only to disappear into ambient mana.
"On our own or not, we still have a job to do." Oscar muttered before clenching his fist. "Shall we?"
"Yeah."
"Let's go."