24 HOURS INTO THE CLEANSE
Word began to spread like wildfire about the Slayer's arrival. More and more demons locked in their homes, started to hear the gunfire and carnage around them. No one gave a shit about keeping their windows covered, they only cared about getting a glimpse at this stranger. The Slayer has been fighting for hours now and still looked incredibly strong. That is until he began to notice something. These creatures that he had been fighting were flying away. It's like they had begun to retreat.
"It seems as if they have given up their attempts to eliminate you," As VEGA chimed in.
The Slayer watched all around him as hundreds of Exterminators filled the skies, and started to fly upwards disappearing back into the Heavens.
"That confirms that those were heavenly beings. But I am trying to figure out why they bothered to come down here to kill the demons of this Hell." As VEGA began to ponder. "It may be Heaven's way to punish the demons or it could possibly be a way to keep them from revolting. But as before I cannot be certain in my assessments."
The Slayer; removing his shotgun from his hands, began walking down the concrete road once again. As he had done earlier, he climbed another tall building to get a bird's eye view of the land, now that the threat was gone.
"If you would like, I could use this time now to contact Dr. Hayden," VEGA suggested.
The Slayer gave him the ok, and he began to do so. And just like that, the robotic voice of Samuel Hayden filled the Slayer's ears.
"I was beginning to wonder when I would hear from you. I expected your presence back on your Fortress, but you never came."
"We apologize for the inconvenience Dr. Hayden; it was unplanned for us to end up where we are now. I believe the teleporter in the Fortress of Doom, is experiencing problems at the moment." Said Vega.
"If it is having problems, I do not know what that could be. But... you said you ended up somewhere, is that correct?" Asked Hayden.
"Yes, that is correct," VEGA answered.
"Where exactly did both of you end up?" As Hayden asked again.
"I cannot confirm the exact location, but I do believe we have ended up in another Hell. A Hell that almost looks identical to what life on Earth use to look like before the demons invaded." VEGA said.
Dr. Hayden thought carefully about what VEGA said and his response made it seem like he was also familiar with it.
"Fascinating."
"What is fascinating Dr. Hayden?" VEGA asked.
"During my time as the head of the UAC research facility, we began to experiment with more than just the teleportation of man itself. We tested outside our current limits of interdimensional travel. Similar to how the Slayer can travel between worlds such as Urdak, and Hell itself. We discovered something extraordinary. We found more worlds than just ours. We believe there are hundreds of more worlds out there than our own. And I believe you just helped prove it."
"Dr. Hayden, you are saying that the teleporter in the Fortress of Doom brought us to a completely different dimension?" As it now gained the interest of VEGA.
"Exactly. What you both have discovered is no more than a gift. Years of research, years of questioning, years of searching for any signs of more life beyond our world. And you found it."
A moment of silence fell over Dr. Hayden as he began to imagine all of the possibilities of this new discovery.
"I recommend that you find out all you can about this new Hell. The history, the technology, anything you can possibly find out."
"Understood Dr. Hayden. The Slayer and I will find out what we can, and I will log all new discoveries in the Codex." VEGA responded.
"Excellent. Contact me when you find any information." Said Hayden as he ended the transmission with the Slayer.
"A good place to start would be to find out what these beings really are and why they chose to attack you in the first place," VEGA suggested.
The Slayer thought that was a good idea. As he scanned the area around him, he noticed an exterminator on the ground, still alive. It was currently trying to fly away, but it was damaged, most likely by the Slayer.
The Slayer saw this as his golden opportunity and he jumped from the building and landed on the concrete with a loud
BOOM
His loud footsteps could be heard as he marching over to it. The exterminator noticed the Slayer was coming towards him and tried to get away because it knew the destruction and death he brought to the others.
Alas, his attempt failed and the Slayer grabbed on to him and held it up by its neck.
"It would be your best decision if you answer all questions that the Slayer has to ask you," VEGA demanded.
VEGA would get nothing from the Exterminator as it just stared right back at the Slayer. The Slayer then began to tighten his grip and move the Exterminator closer to his face.
Something unusual happened after that. Every Exterminator had an evil smile on all their faces but this one's smile turned into a look of genuine concern. After that, the Exterminator began to speak, but it was a language that neither VEGA nor the Slayer could understand.
"I cannot decipher this language. It may be a language these beings have created as a means to speak with one another." VEGA told the Slayer.
VEGA then directed his words back to the Exterminator, still in the Slayer's hands.
"Whatever it is you are saying to us, is a language we do not understand. If you know the language of English, it would be wise to speak in that." VEGA told to it.
That actually seemed to work, as the Exterminator continued to speak, and while he was his words began to change over to English until they could fully understand him.
"You...are...unlike...any...demon...we..have...ever...come...across." Its voice had an apparent echo to it.
"That is because the Slayer is not a demon. He is a human with a soul completely empty of all corruption." VEGA told it.
"How...is...that...possible?" The Exterminator asked.
"That is information that I will not disclose with you, as you, along with all those other beings attempted to kill the Slayer. VEGA said before continuing. "We have questions here that you will have to answer if you were to have any chance of survival."
"First, what kind of being are you? And where do you reside?" VEGA asked.
The Exterminator was cautious to answer that question as he didn't trust this man, but it really didn't have much of a choice.
"I...am...a...exorcist...along...with..the...others...you..have..slain. All ...of...us...reside...in..Heaven."
"If you do come from Heaven, what business do you have down in Hell?"
"We...come...down..once...every..year...to..slay...all..demons..we..can..find. We...excorcists...thrive..for...blood...and...violence...this..is...a...time..when...we..are...given...our...chance. We...must..follow..our...rules...and..never..stray..away." It answered.
"What would those rules be?"
The Exterminator was once again hesitant to answer that.
"The Slayer suggests you answer him, as he will soon grow tired of your silence."
"Eliminate..all..you..see...don't..hold..back...spare...absolutely..no..one."
"I see. Is this why you chose to attack the Slayer during this cleanse."
"Yes...we..had..never..seen..this..man..before...we..had..no..idea..the..power...he...held. to...us..he..gave...off..the...essence..of..demonic..energy."
"As I said before, the Slayer is in no way shape, or form, a demon, as you all have made a grave error in your judgment, and lead to your utmost destruction. The Slayer's Praetor Suit was created by a demon who betrayed his own kind. That is most likely why you sensed demonic energy from him"
The Exterminator grew quiet again. The Exterminators knew which demons of Hell to avoid. Lucifer because he originally came from Heaven. Because of that, they leave him and his family alone, as well as the other Overlords of Hell.
Believe it or not, after the Slayer killed a fair number of Exterminators, most decided to retreat from their position to avoid him as they knew they could not kill him. But of course, the Slayer still hunted them down.
"Why does Heaven even allow this to happen? Is there a reason for this so-called "cleanse?"
"The...reason..for..the..cleanse...is..to...deal...with...Hell's...overpopulation...as...most..people..who..die..have..sinned..in..some..way."
"I see. But I have to guess that there is a devil of this world since this is Hell after all. Am I correct?"
"..yes.."
"Then I feel like he could expand his realm to fit the capacity of the demons."
"That..is..a...question..I..have...no..answer..too.."
VEGA now communicated back inside the Slayer's helmet.
"Per Dr. Hayden's request, I have logged all of this information in the Codex. I feel as if we have gotten our answers to the events that have transpired today."
"Due to your complete cooperation, the Slayer has decided to spare you. I would use this as an opportunity to tell the other Exorcists, as you called them, to avoid making any sort of act of aggression toward the Slayer in the future." VEGA stated.
The Slayer then dropped him and watched as the Exterminator slowly started to fly away.
He then started to hear a lot of commotion behind him. He turned around and saw tons of demons walking down the road, looking in amazement at the Exterminator's dead corpses. They all drew their attention at the man that has been consistently talked about standing in the middle of the street.
The Slayer just stood there motionless. He then began to move his eyesight to look at every demon that was looking at him. Almost like he was scanning them.
This lasted for a few minutes as none of the demons tried to speak to him, they only spoke to one another.
After that, the Slayer turned around and began to walk away.
Kingdom of Hell
Lucifer was by himself in a sealed room in his castle, as he wanted complete privacy for this.
He then began to recite a chant in the language that was not English, but a language of the Heavens.
He waited to see if he would get any response, any response at all. But nothing. He waited for a bit to see if anyone would come. All of a sudden, an outline of a man appeared, and out from the light came his younger brother Gabriel.
"Lucifer! My word this is some surprise." Gabriel exclaimed as he hasn't seen his older brother for an extremely long time. To Gabriel, this made him very happy. Out of their big family, Lucifer was his favorite sibling. Lucifer and he use to spend a lot of time together when he was still in Heaven. And in a way, it crushed him when their father casted him out of Heaven to live in Hell forever.
"Hello brother, it has certainly been a while. You've definitely grown." Lucifer said.
"I would hope I would after a whole eon." He responded with a chuckle.
"Fair point." Said Lucifer in response.
A moment of awkward silence fell between them as they both decided what to say next.
"So, Lucifer," As Gabriel began, "It has been a long time since you have come into contact with any of us, and come into contact with me. So, I have to ask, why now?"
"Something unusual has happened in my circle and I was looking to see if you or anyone else in our family has any answers," Lucifer explained with a sigh.
"Oh, I see," Gabriel responded
Lucifer could see that Gabriel had a look of disappointment to his response, as Gabriel thought that he maybe wanted to actually talk with them again and not just be about business. But in all honesty, he did miss them, all of them. Especially Gabriel.
"Look Gabriel, I want you to really and I mean really know that I wish I could see you all again. I just...didn't know what I would say to all of you. I didn't know if you all would have hated me for what I did to father."
"Lucifer we could never hate you for what you did. I have heard it from the rest of our family that they all miss you as well."
Lucifer chuckled and said "Even Michael? He seemed to always be a tough nut to crack."
"Yes, even him. He actually is an emotional guy trapped inside of his hardened shell." Gabriel said as his smile returned.
"So, this is Hell after all Lucifer, what kind of crazy and unusual things happened now."
"Are you trying to tell me something, Gabriel?"
"Uh, no I would never."
"mhm," Lucifer responded and then finally told him what the issue was.
"As you know, today is the day of the yearly Extermination in my circle."
"Yes, that is correct," said Gabriel.
"Well according to all of my associates and the citizens of Hell, they say there is a new overlord that has made his way into my circle. But they say he is an actual human."
"A human? How did a mortal manage his way into your circle?"
"Well unfortunately I do not have the answer for that, and I was hoping you would." Said Lucifer.
"What makes you think that I would know of that?" asked Gabriel.
"I wouldn't think it was you're doing, but this so-called human is a being that I have never heard of or seen before. I did not know If he was sent from the Heavens for a specific purpose." Said Lucifer.
"That is rather strange. I can assure you that no one in our realm has anything to do with that man making an appearance in your world. What does he even look like?" Asked Gabriel.
"According to everyone, they say he is a very big and muscular man, dressed head-to-toe in green armor. They said he has been slaughtering the Exterminators by the hundreds." Lucifer tried to explain as best he could.
"O-Oh," Gabriel responded like he knew something.
"What's wrong Gabriel?" Lucifer asked.
"What do you mean?" said Gabriel.
"You seem like something bothered you when I described the man. Have you heard of him before?" Lucifer now asking him again.
"I may have," Gabriel said while looking down at his feet. He then sighed and began "I have heard stories of a man just like that. He was told to be one of the strongest people in existence. A man who's practically a god. A man who seems too angry to die. But I didn't think he was real."
"Hold on a damn minute Gabriel," as Lucifer had to fully comprehend what was just said to him. "You are saying; that man, that human man, who came into my circle is a god?"
"I am Luci. There is no other way to put it." Gabriel answered.
This raised a ton of red flags in Lucifer's head. He apparently had a literal god in his kingdom. Who knows what this man could attempt? He may try to completely take over my kingdom, take away my power, I mean why else did this man suddenly show up on this day of all days and kills hundreds of heavenly beings on his own.
"Lucifer are you alright? You seem disturbed." Gabriel asked with concern.
"Oh, uh yeah, this is just...a lot to take in... a lot of..new things to think about," Lucifer responded.
"I feel as It would be ok for you Lucifer. Although you weren't always the smartest." Gabriel teased him.
"Now I really think you're trying to tell me something Gabriel."
"Nothing gets by you does it," Gabriel said.
A light began to flash behind Gabriel and Lucifer saw Gabriel turn his head like he was listening to something.
"Something happen?" Lucifer asked.
"Maybe, I am now getting contacted by Amenadiel." Gabriel continued to listen. "He is requesting I come back to Heaven as there is something important to discuss."
"Amenadiel? How has he been doing?" Lucifer asked.
"He has been doing alright. Since he is the firstborn, he has been given a lot more responsibility, and it has taken a little bit of a toll on him. But he wants me to come back so I need to be going." Gabriel said.
"It was really nice to see you again brother, I hope we can talk more in the future," Gabriel said as he was about to leave.
"Of course, Gabriel. I wish to see you all again," Lucifer said with a smile on his face.
"Farewell Lucifer."
Lucifer continued to stand there after his brother left. The only thing to bring him out of it was the interruption by his lovely wife, Lilith.
"Are you alright my love?" She asked as she walked over to his side.
"Yeah, I'm okay." He responded.
She could tell something was making Lucifer uneasy. So, Lilith decided to wrap her arms around him and pull him in for a hug.
Something he truly needed.