Chapter 55: Hell Rising Pt2.
*The Qliphoth, Vergil's POV*
"Urgh… no matter how many times I go to anywhere in it, this realm is always unimaginably foul."
[Well, it can't be helped. Right now, this tree the closest place to true Hell… No, since it was there when Inferno began, it would be natural for even you to see it as a foul place.]
Ddraig and I are conversing as we traveled inside this vast, grotesque space with an infrastructure no different from an ants' hive.
After having dealt with the useless pest around the Underworld's capital city, Lilith. I am now inside of the Qliphoth, having been invited by "Urizen" through that grotesque skull projection earlier.
Along the branches of this massive structure, are hordes of ants-like monstrosities, called Empusas. Their large heads are equipped with pincers capable of tearing through earthly metal with ease. Even though their head is typically insectoid, upon closer inspection, however, they have three distinct human faces, two fleshy and with glowing eyes, either side of a central face with hollow eye sockets and an exposed jaw with sharp teeth that is incorporated into the creature's mandibles. What appear to be vestigial human hands can be seen on their forelimbs, and feet on their rear limbs. They also possess a tiny pair of functionless feathered wings on their back. Their bellies are all swelled up, dark red in color, due to being filled with blood.
Blood… that wasn't their own, but taken, consumed, from the people they killed, innocent ones, children included.
These demonic creatures carried the blood they had in them, and fed to the tree's branches. Yes, these Empusas, alongside their rarer kins, have an eternal symbiotic relationship with the Qliphoth. The latter is both the formers' enforcer, as well as their major supply line.
THROB.
As the branches received blood, it throbbed violently as the blood is pumped by it to the ugly-looking center pillar that is deep within the tree, glowing a nauseous bright red glow, and vastly far away from my position. Thankfully, due to my "Eidos Senses" possesses Super Telescopic Vision, I can see it clearly, despite its' blinding light.
The pillar is connected to an especially large chamber up top. Its' shape was carved too deep in my memory to forget.
That's Urizen's throne room.
…
All this blood… all these lives, lost…
To think that he fell that low…
I should have expected this…
[You couldn't have expected that any sooner, after all, you were barely conscious at "that" moment.]
Ddraig says inside my head.
…
…
SHAKE.
No.
I'm wasting time drowning in recollections.
"Let's go."
[Yeah]
Reconfirmed my resolve, Ddraig and I started making our way to the King of garbage.
After a while of running and leaping far distances, I arrived at a rather large inner branch of the Qliphoth. It's big enough to be a match to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco Bay.
"Hmm?"
I noticed that all the Empusas on the bridge, after having noticed my presence, started to gather on the "bridge", marching vigorously towards me.
Among the massive horde, I can see some group of two known different variants of Empusa.
The first variant, is the Red Empusa. They distinguish themselves from their common kin through the recessed red crystals covering their abdomen and forming a crown-like structure on their head. They move differently to their cousins, tending to scuttle on all fours rather than walking on their hind legs, and are much faster. They should not be confused with a regular Empusa with a filled-up abdomen: while the abdomen of the latter is red, a real Red Impusa's abdomen is dark with red crystals, and only about half the size. These Empusas are known for their blood thirst that is even greater than normal ones.
The other, is the green Empusa. These are significantly smaller, with slender bodies, greatly enlarged wings that is actually functional, an oversized abdomen and large compound eyes: the overall appearance is of a fly. These ones tend to try to keep away from combat and will often retreat from enemies, preferring to attack at range or heal fellow demons not immediately engaged in combat. If they have used their healing ability, they tend to prioritize replenishing it. Basically, there are annoyance at best.
[Well well, that is quite a buffet in front of us, don't you think so, partner?], said Ddraig.
"It can't be helped, right now, this is the closest place to Hell we can get. Of course there will be no shortage of scums in our way… No, there might be more powerful ones, Urizen isn't that dumb to leave things all to these pests.", I said as I shrugged.
I then put myself at the epicenter of the bridge, using my thumb and index finger of my right hand as my marking sight.
"Hmm… move a bit to the right… a bit more…Wait, or to the left?", I said as I lined the Empusa horde up to little avail.
*Sigh*
You brainless rabble have no discipline at all.
Well, whatever then.
ZUUN.
I readied my "Extinction Vision", and…
PIIII!
A pair of destructive crimson energy beams projected from my demonic red pupils.
In an instant, all the Empusas, normal, red, or green alike, all got vaporized in a single sweep. Not a single molecule of their beings remains. The bridge was "cleansed".
That was easy…
These things are even weaker… way weaker, than those demons we cleared out earlier outside.
Guess these "worker" demons can only go so far.
[A normal human or a weak Devil would've certainly fall, facing these demons. Of course they're nothing against you. Hell, even if it just you with the normal Balance Breaker, you can win with minimal effort at best.]
"Even so, let's try not to waste energy unnecessarily. The last thing we need is facing Urizen with a low fuel tank."
[Indeed. But then, that problem is already mostly mitigated by the new coat you made.]
As soon as Ddraig says that, the silver sleeve rings and emblem on my new coat glowed a crimson light. The energy I expended mopping the horde was replenished immediately.
Yes, the coat is more than just its' looks.
This is one of my recent personal creations, serving as my alternate source of magic energy replenishment.
The material that was used to make it, especially the sleeve rings and the Sekiryuutei crest on the back, is a special metal ore that is highly conductive for magical power. By resonating with the bio-electric aura of a living subject related to magic, it amplifies the being's natural ability to absorb the magic particles of the surrounding environment, replenishes the magical supply in a considerably faster rate than normal.
I happened to come across a small antique shop while preparing the necessities for my hellish trip to Inferno. That shop contains various items from old times. A lot of them were made from that specific ore. Since the shop seems to have been abandoned quite a while ago, I took the liberty of taking all the items made of that ore.
Of course I didn't bring any tools with me, so I had to by some from the other shops I came across with. Luckily, I have my wallet with me, which contained my credit card, so I didn't have to worry about lacking places to temporary crash, or meals to fill my stomach.
Before this, I spent half of my time making the gear I needed, which after many reevaluations, result in this magic absorption coat.
The rings on the sleeves are similar to the Tesla coils in principle, only that mine uses Demonic power in different frequencies instead of electricity.
As for the Welsh Dragon's crest… no, it's not aesthetics, but was actually a side effect, resulted during the synchronization process with my aura, which already has Ddraig's draconic power added into the equation.
In any case, the coat works well with basic magical energy, but exceptionally well with Demonic powers and Draconic powers, thanks to the adjustments Ddraig and I made.
With the Qliphoth being the place with the highest concentration of Demonic power, especially in the harvesting stage, even walking in its' foul air can easily replenish my magic. However, lost stamina, in my current condition, would take a while to be restored, so there's still that to worry about.
"Well then, let's go", I said, not wasting anymore time as I ventured through the open structures of the abominable tree's interior.
*Later*
Along the way, lots of hostile demons constantly intruded my path. Of course, they were no threat to me at all.
At one point, I reached a particular location.
"This is…", I said as I look around.
The place I'm currently in, seems to be the ruins of a rather large park.
This must be the national park of the capital, Lilith. Rias and the other talked a lot about this place at one point.
The park is filled with majestic constructs, such as tall walls, waterfall ponds, and statues, all made of white stone. Other than those, there are also children's playgrounds filled with simple games.
But… all of them have been defiled.
Blood veins and black roots sprouted everywhere, wrapping, crushing the objects and constructs.
…
This must have been a fun place… before all of this Hell…
…
Huh?
I noticed one particular place that remained intact. It was located at the very center of the park, judging by how the space between that place and the borders of the park is rather even.
LEAP!
I make a long leap, immediately arrived at the location.
This is… a memorial.
The steps and platforms, seems to be made of some sort of Obsidian-looking material, rose higher than the grounds of the park.
Surrounding the memorial, are seven monoliths filled with Devil's letters. Six monoliths, three on each side of the biggest one at the center, got shorter as they are further away from the latter.
I touched one of the monoliths as I translated the letters on it.
They are… names.
None of which I've known of.
But if they were placed here, it's either that they're very famous… or that they were victims, of a tragedy.
I then look at the center of the memorial.
A massive majestic pedestal, made of black stone, was located there. On top of it was an even bigger diamond-shaped tablet, also made of black stone. And imprinted on the stone tablet… was a shape too familiar to forget.
…
Two letters, both from the Ionic Greek alphabet. One is Alpha, the other is Omega, both interwoven each other to form the symbol. But the letter A, which represents Alpha, was inverted, with the two slanting sides of a triangle feature the shape of an Angel's wings, they alone formed the letter V instead. Those slants, along with the legs of the Omega symbol, are connected to the outline of the tablet, with rose out of the surface of the latter alongside the symbols.
…
It's the sigil that can only belong to the Dark Angel…
My sigil…
…
I see…
This memorial…
All these names, carved on the monoliths… they were victims… of Mundus' and Argosax's massacre during our battle two years ago…
Victims… who were dragged in the cross fire…
Because of me…
…
[Even if it was just you, Mundus and Argosax, the scale of that battle can be considered to be equivalent to a large-scale war. There will definitely be casualties, partner, and that is unavoidable.]
"That doesn't lessen the disturbing fact that a lot of innocent people died, Ddraig"
Little care as I had back then, letting innocents, especially children, died of something utterly foolish, is a line even I don't cross. If someone has to die, either it be one who is as cursed as me, or a scum.
After our little exchange, I knelt down on one knee, paying respect to those who have lost that day.
After a minute or two, I stood up…
!
By instincts, I weaved to the side…
DOON!
… and narrowly avoided an incoming attack.
That was an explosion caused by a vehicle. It was thrown towards me, and the impact destroyed a small part of the memorial.
I immediately recompose myself, and look to the direction the attack originated.
"Human, among devil!?... I wasn't expecting any strays, let alone survivors!"
A loud, arrogant voice sounded from the top grotesque looking pillars that surrounded this park. It's the same pillar I am looking at.
In that moment, a giant silhouette emerged, its' shadow covered the majority of the park.
It jumped from the top of the pillar down.
DOON!
As it landed, the creature created a tremor that shook the park.
It then stood up, and I can clearly see its' appearance:
A towering humanoid demonic beast with horns and four red eyes on its' head. Its' stomach is covered with many yellow eyes, as well as big jaws with sharp teeth, that seem capable of devouring large objects.
"Huh…Typical for a Demon…It's so ugly.", I said with a bored voice.
[No shit]
The Demon then looks at me with its' arrogant eyes. It even sniffs me. Disgusting.
"Hmm…Your blood...is a very precious sacrifice... Eating you would do me no good. I must have every last drop... to rule the Underworld... as king!"
Having howled those words, the demon started flaring its' claws all over the place.
…
It destroyed the memorial…
…
You fat ass piece of shit…
Not letting its' claws reach to me, I evaded with a simple backward leap, landing and sitting on one of the stone benches that is still intact.
"…"
Within the next 5 minutes, I stared at the Demon as it tries to look for me, thinking that it already won.
*Sigh*
This one only has straws in its' skull instead of a brain, isn't it?
It still failed to find me.
Alright, I'm wasting time.
But I can't let this thing alone here either.
"King? You? Cry me a river, you can't even make a proper punch, just a knuckle-scrapping fart in the wind.", I said with a sneering voice.
Hearing my taunt, the giant demon turns around as it became agitated, I can see its' tendons are about to burst.
Just from one taunt…
As usual, demons are so easy to provoke. This one is even more exceptional as it is even dumber than normal.
"Puny human... do you know who I am!?"
A worthless ape?
"I shall show... the wrath... of the mighty Goliath!"
Is that so? I don't care.
As I stood up from the bench, the demon immediately charges at me with full force.
Once again, I simply weaved to the side and avoided the bull charge. The demon sprinted all the way to the other side of the park, crashing its' head directly into a wall of Qliphoth essence. The wall did not collapse, and the demon, called Goliath became disorientated.
On the other hand, the grounds of the park that goes along the entire path of the charge were completely destroyed.
There goes the park.
"Grhhhh!"
As the demon regained its' senses, it started devouring multiple large chunks of rocks and mud into the jaws in its' stomach.
The sound of a blender echoed from the stomach as I sensed a high concentration of Demonic power.
After a short moment…
BLAST!
The belly mouth opened… and a massive reddish fireball was shot out.
I strafed to the right to dodge it. The fireball missed me, but hit a part of the park, destroyed the ground. Whatever that is left was set on fire, and slowly burns away.
Hmm…
So that attack has incendiary properties…
Meh.
It could have been a lot worse.
I turned to the demon Goliath as I witness it became even madder.
"STOP BUZZING AROUND, YOU LITTLE FLY!", it shouted.
Goliath's belly jaws opened once again, but this time…
FLAME!
A vortex of fire and rock was projected out of that mouth.
Hmm?
I can feel the pull…
Nope.
Clearly not enough to pull me in…
…but I had enough of this ape.
ZUUN…
As my eyes glowed red, glyphs of destruction appeared in my pupils.
PIIIIIIIII!
Once again, the crimson beams of "Extinction Vision" were fired from my eyes.
The beams swiftly cut through and dissipate the flaming vortex of Goliath, and strikes its' abdomen!
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The brainless beast howled in agony, its' belly was overflowing with blood, leaking out like a waterfall of blood red molten lava.
"H-How could… a mere human… do this!?", the beast shouted as even its' natural mouth was leaking blood.
"Says a mere demon. Your fate is sealed the moment you attacked me.", I said.
The demon, despite being heavily injured from my single attack, stood up in defiance.
"I must not be defeated... in a place like this... The fruit... is mine... I will rule the Underworld... not him...!"
A contender to the throne huh…
It's no use.
You already lost the moment he came into being.
And also, no one will be in that throne.
Not me, not him, not you… not anyone.
"GRRRRAAAAAAAAAA!"
Goliath shouted as it started to defyingly shooting napalm-like fireballs, accompanied by the same flaming vortex just before.
Last stand huh.
Not bad of an attempt… but like I said, I had enough of you.
"Ddraig.", I called out to my partner.
[Got it!]
"Evolution [Knight]."
Upon my words, the magic formation of the Sekiryuutei appeared and expanded next to me.
Emerge from the circle…
VROOOOM!
The demonic bike launched itself out from the magic circle. It goes full throttle…
DOON!
"GRUAAA!"
… and hits Goliath dead in the face!
The bike the bounce back towards me at high speed, as it was close to hitting me…
GRIP!
I make an acrobatic maneuver, grabbed the revving bar, and smoothly put myself onto the seat as I landed neatly on the ground.
VROOOM!
I revved the bike, and charged forward.
JUMP!
Using an improvised ramp made by Goliath's rampage, I launched into the air.
It was the moment the new Sekiryuutei form shines.
[CHANGE! BURNING STAR KNIGHT!]
SHINE!
Crimson light enveloped me and the motorcycle. As the light dissipated…
Me, the Red Dragon Emperor, having become a Draconic Centaur with wings of crimson light unfurled from my humanoid back, was soaring through the air.
With the highly mobile body, I plowed through the air, and closed up to the oversized ape in seconds.
"!"
The demon was too surprised, it makes a desperate attempt to defend itself.
Too late.
[SLASH x7!]
A ferocious combo using the Excalibur Morgan, now in its' new double-bladed sword form. In a matter of seconds, Goliath's gargantuan body got shredded into deformed pieces.
"Damn…you…"
The Apish demon howled with its' falling head as it dissipated into nothingness.
[Thanks to your training, you have gained a considerable increase in strength. The Trinity [Knight] is the clear testament for that. Though I never would have thought that the Demonic bike you made, using the Angelo's corpse, would be the key.]
That's right, more than just crafting my gear, I also put myself through harsher training parameters, something that I haven't done much since the loss of my powers.
After roughly 3 restless days and night, particularly, my dragon power increased considerably. And with it, is the discovery of my perfect [Knight] evolution.
A form that favors speed and mobility, but also has to have immense offensive capabilities that can make use of those specialties. That was the concept I had in mind. The original Trinity [Knight], while indeed have the speed, somewhat lacks mobility and combat options once it entered Flight Form.
Perhaps being fueled by that desire of mine, the Boosted Gear resonated with it, and with the Demonic bike being the catalyst, as well as the foundation, my desired [Knight] form was born.
A Centaur-based Sekiryuutei, with the speed and flight capabilities of a winged being, and the mobility of a quadruple being. The former seemed to be mostly derived from the Eidos data of Vali's White Dragon power that I took, while the latter was derived from whatever data that was left in the demonic essence of the bike itself.
One plausible theory of the changes would be due to the Angelo once rode a Geryon as its' steed, the data of the horse remains in the essence of its' rider. With that and Vali's data, the Centaur was selected as the ideal form that retains the flexible offensive capabilities of a humanoid armor, while gaining speed and mobility of beasts.
As the matter of the fact, this form has become my personal preference, even more than the regular [Queen] promotion, which increases my overall performance rather than just speed. But since the [Queen] "Evolution" has yet to take place, I can't make any rash conclusions.
With the battle over, one of the walls surrounding the destroyed national park suddenly collapsed, behind it… is a path, one that seems to lead straight to the throne room.
I can now proceed.
*Extra chapter: Faint hope*
"Now!"
[DOON x10!]
I, Azazel, gave out my command as multiple strategic-class magic cannons fired.
BOOOOOOM!
Extremely dense blast of Demonic powers and Light powers collided with the Qliphoth's body, and exploded. A cloud of dust expanded violently
"Did we do it?"
Sirzechs asked as both he and I looked at the dust screen. After a while, the dust settled…
…and the tree was shown to be intact!
"Damn it!", I cursed on the spot.
"So not even the largest artilleries of our arsenals can penetrate its' hide… such a tenacious tree.", said Sirzechs with a bitter expression.
"How frustrating, even my Sacred Gear research applications can't make a dent."
"If only that I can use my full power…"
"It's no use, Sirzechs, that tree has existed since the beginning of Inferno, as one of the major sources of birth for demonic beings, it can bind anything related to the demonic, including you."
"You know… even though we already talked about it, it still very irritating hearing it now"
Sirzechs retorted, albeit in a joking manner.
"You all seem to be in a pinch"
[!]
A familiar voice sounded.
As we turned around…
SHINE!
A white streak came at high speed and stopped in front of us.
White dragon armor and wings of light!
"Vali!?"
"Hello Azazel, it's been a while."
It's Vali!
"Yo, Governor and Maou"
And annoying monkey Youkai greeted me and Sirzechs
"Hello, Maou-sama and Governor-sama"
Followed him, is a little girl in mage outfit who does the same, but in a polite, more timid manner.
It's Bikou and Le Fay, and behind them… Vali's whole team is here!
Why are they here? Are they here with Vali for a fight? He's a battle maniac after all.
"This is a serious issue. Whatever it is you're here for, Vali, I don't have time for it."
"Neither am I. I've heard the news, is it true that Takeru Silver is in the Qliphoth?"
Huh…
Vali has a rather unusually serious expression.
Is he worried about Vergil? Or is he here to…
No. We don't have time for that now.
"Yes, he's been… "invited" by Urizen to go inside and face the latter", I answered.
Vali was a bit surprised, he then looks to the Qliphoth.
I then sense a slight sense of agitation from him.
"So the current King of Inferno invite him, a Heavenly Dragon… but not me?"
…
I facepalmed right away.
What did I expect? Vali didn't even know that "Takeru Silver" is in fact, Vergil, his elder brother. Of course what he had in mind was a battle.
"So you're here for a battle?"
I already know, but I still ask anyway.
"Well, I won't deny that…", said Vali.
I knew it…
"… but I also need Takeru Silver to be alive"
Hmm?
What is this?
"I think… he can help me finding my answers"
…
I see…
So he's starting to have doubts…
…
Doesn't matter right now, more manpower, all the better.
I sighed as my shoulders shrugged in response.
"*Sigh*… well, our side are also pretty much out of options. You also want that fight with Urizen? Go roam free, make sure those demons are kept at bay. The best we can do now…"
"… is containment, right?"
"Yeah, keep Urizen's army busy, until we can find a way in, Takeru is on his own."
Vali nodded as he turned to his team.
"Alright, everyone, rampage to your heart content"
Vali ordered his comrades as they all, except Le Fay, make strong… and creepy expressions.
He then flew down to the city, decimating demons alongside his team, as well as the army, and the "Rookies Four" peerages who have been fighting nonstop.
"The descendant of Lucifer who is the Hakuryuukou, he's rather energetic. Same with his companions."
Sirzechs says that with a bitter smile.
Well, he IS still a teenager, a rather rebellious one.
"At least they're willing to help by fighting. Time for us to go as well"
"Indeed, let's do our part, so Vergil can finish this."
But I'm worried… he might hesitate… for Urizen is…
I thought deeply as the we leaders move alongside our armies to continue the prolonged battle…
*Later*
[There's something's been bugging me, partner]
"What is it?"
Ddraig asked me as I was sprinting through the areas inside of the tree.
[Urizen wants to draw us out by attacking the capital, which works extremely well as he also puts the kids of the Gremory Group in danger… if that was his only intent, then why is he still gathering blood here? Shouldn't purea human blood be more nourishing for the tree?]
Hmm…
…
After a moment of deep thoughts, I give out my answer.
"There are 2 possible reasons"
[Which is?]
"As you already seen with the Empusas, Demons, in general, don't exactly have enough brain cells to thinks strategically. Hence, by instincts, they are scavengers, collecting any form of nourishment that in their senses, can help the tree. As far as my experiences goes, Mundus and Argosax are among the very few examples of the opposite"
[I see… what about the second one?]
"It's more of a theory, but I think that it has something to do with Reincarnated Devils, especially the ones that were reincarnated from humans"
[Why is that?]
"Reincarnated Devils, despite being called "converted" or "reincarnated", they retained their basics as who they are before their conversion into Devils. For Dragons, like Tannin-shishou for example, once reincarnated, are basically still dragons, but gained Devil-like attributes. The similar thing obviously applies to other beings, humans included. The only differences being that humans have higher rates of synchronization due to sharing many similar physical and spiritual attributes to Devils."
[That means…]
"If we go with that flow, we can assume that Urizen has found a way to extract the "Human" element from those Reincarnated Devils, while being able to use the "Devil" element to nourish the former for better "fertilization" for this tree".
[!…Now that you say that, most of Urizen's victims were indeed Reincarnated Devils who were once humans…]
"Yeah, as old as Lilith and its' surrounding cities are, the vast majority of the current Devil side's population are reincarnated Devils."
[And most of the latter are from humans. What a devious scheme…]
"It's still just a theory. Nothing big has been confirmed yet, but let's keep that in mind for now. Let's go."
[Got it]
Ending our discussion, I continued to make my way into the depths of the tree.
As I overcome various rocky terrains, I witnessed that many of the capital's structures like the hotels, hospitals, operas… They must have been absorbed by the tree during its' invasion.
After a while of running and parkouring, I can see that I'm closing in to the throne room.
But…
A structure is in my way.
By the looks of it, this is one of Lilith's grand libraries, containing various historical information of the world of Devils.
There isn't seem to be any other way around… no choice then.
I then entered the library, making my way through the ruins of the grand structure.
*15 minutes later*
"How baffling…"
[What is it, partner?]
"We've been inside this enclosed structure for 15 minutes. This tree is literally the closest place to Inferno… and there's not a single demon taking this chance to attack us? I don't bite it."
Yes, I've been moving through the rumbles of this library for more than 15 minutes by now, and not a single ambush took place.
This is too unusual.
[Maybe they are scared of you?]
Ddraig says that with a sarcastic tone.
"If they have enough brain cells for that, then they would've done that years ago."
BOOM!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
[!]
Suddenly, a sonic boom, accompanied by a woman's scream passed us in an instant, shattered all the glass windows and wall decorations in the hallway that I am passing. I avoided all the shattered glass shards by hiding behind a wide pillar between two of various shattered windows.
"What the…"
What the hell was that? An enemy?
[Hmm?]
Ddraig?
[I sense a strong presence, partner… it's waiting for you… in the rounded hall of this library]
"Is that so? Let's go there then"
I affirmed as I make my way to that hall.
Within 5 minutes, I arrived at the spacious rounded hall of the grand library.
Towering about 20 stories up to the skies, various balconies with doors that leads to the archive rooms can be seen from where I'm standing.
!
Hmm?
This presence again…
Just like Ddraig said, it's a strong one.
And it is… behind me?
I then turned around, only to see a rather large demonic being descending from up high.
An Angelic looking demon with scaly skin. Its body is similar to that of a mermaid, with a humanoid upper body and a piscine lower half. It has six wing-like limbs that each have a series of glowing purple lights on them. Two wings are held over its head, two are stretched out to the side and the last two cover its body. The lower half of its head resembles that of a woman, while the upper half resembles a slightly oversized bandaged skull.
But suddenly, the head started to make some movement.
CREEK CREEK.
The demon's mouth started to open, revealing small, sharp teeth. Its' cheeks slowly split in sync with the opening jaws. Its' damaged skull revealed to be a composition of several clawed appendages. So those claws were clenched together to resemble a bandaged cranium.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
It makes a deafening cry, generates a concussive shockwave that violently shakes the surroundings.
What a lousy voice. Even my eardrums might shatter because of how awful it is.
After its' scream, the six wings then spread wide, the purple lights on them glowed brightly… and purple lasers beams were shot out!
"Woah!"
I evaded the constant barrages of laser blasts with sprints, rolls, wall runs… basically every known extensive superhuman parkour moves for an extended period of time.
So you want to play huh?
Fine, I'll cut your tongue out myself.
I then summoned the Excalibur Morgan in my right hand and enter my stance.
The fight begins.
*5 minutes later*
"Hah!"
SLASH!
With one motion, I split the screaming demon's entire body in two, from head to tail. Having accumulated too much damage, the demon slowly fades away in stardust-like particles.
The whole battle…
All it did was shooting, screaming, and then flew away…
5 minutes of literally cat-and-mouse chase…
What an annoyance…
By the way, this demon is called Artemis.
No… it's not some evil manifestation of the Greek Goddess of the moon and the hunt. It is, in fact, an Infernal firearm made by Machiavelli, one of the legendary gunsmiths of Inferno, who left behind various powerful demonic weapons, called Devil arms, making a name of himself not just in that hellish anti-verse, but also among the supernatural worlds. The title of Devil arms was then used to label exceptionally powerful demonic weapons of inferno, even ones that weren't made by Machiavelli. Father's beloved sword was the one reigning at the top of all of them.
According to history, this weapon here was created by Machiavelli from the inspiration of the Greek Goddess, hence its' name. I was able to recognize it due to the projectiles it shot out, ranging from raining beam barrages, missiles, even large conversion beams and… flying tits.
Yes…
As ridiculous as it sounds… it actually launched its' "tits" to try to shotgun me.
Took me a good while to notice though, due to the annoyance.
…
Anyway, I finally managed to kill it, and are making my way out of this structure. The demon's barrages of laser ruined several exits, so I have to take a detour through the other sideway chambers. Due to the incursion of the Qliphoth's matter, many of these paths are also ruined, so I had to take another path in the sewers… or what's left of it anyway.
After a while…
I am now out of the grand library… and are standing in front of the very grotesque-looking black gate… that leads to Urizen.
…
[We're here…]
Yes…
We're here…
…
All these years I've fought…
Only brought me right back to you huh…
…
I then took a deep breath.
"Let's finish this."
[Yeah.]
As Ddraig and I agreed, we walked towards the gate, facing our destiny…
…