Author's Note: If you ever feel confused about certain elements of the story, feel free to look at the Q&A chapter. It gives a brief rundown on my thought process and answers the more recurring questions that I can answer without spoiling the story.

"Against all the evil that Hell can conjure, all the wickedness that mankind can produce, we will send unto them… only you. Rip and tear, until it is done."

-King Novik of the Night Sentinels

The ground was littered in the bones of those who fell. Their blood coated the plains they fought in. Despite all of their ferocity, it wasn't enough. Their demise was inevitable. The sky was blocked out by dark clouds that allowed no light to pass through. Oh, how this land is a mere shadow of its former self. Had it not been defiled, these plains would be filled with luscious life and prosperity. Unfortunately, all that's left is a harsh wasteland for the soulless to traverse. This land goes by many names, but most will know this as Hell.

The soulless demons that inhabit Hell are ruthless and without mercy. However, there is one entity that's worse, an entity known for his rage and might. A being whose name alone was able to break the toughest of wills. The being that struck such terror into the demons was none other than the Doom Slayer. The Doom Slayer was a vessel of relentless violence devoted to his cause to eradicate all demons. In his campaign, the Doom Slayer had resurrected the Dark Lord, the creator of Hell, to end the demon's reign for good. However, with the resurrection of the Dark Lord, the demons bolstered in strength and following his return, the Dark Lord managed to swarm the Doom Slayer with his armies of Hellspawn.

The Doom Slayer, a warrior clad in green armor, was locked in never-ending combat. Whenever he wiped out a group of demons, another group would take its place. The Slayer's raw strength was overwhelming for all the demons. A simple backhand from the Doom Slayer had enough force to split the creatures in two. He could cave in the ribcage of a Baron of Hell with a single punch. Nothing was a match for the Doom Slayer.

The warrior extended his arm blade to perform a wide sweep to slash through several demons before quickly drawing his infamous double-barreled Super Shotgun to blast an incoming Hell Knight to smithereens. Even the most durable of demons couldn't withstand the stopping power of the Super Shotgun as the tall and muscular creature exploded into a bloody mist where it used to be. A Dread Knight, a mechanically enhanced Hell Knight, attempted to pierce the warrior with its sharp blades. However, the Doom Slayer was much quicker and managed to grapple onto the demon before hurling him into the ground, causing it to burst into pieces as the Slayer continued fighting.

As the warrior slaughtered the demons, he absorbed their life essence with the power of his Praetor Suit. Their Hellish Essence fueled him, allowing him to fight endlessly without pause. Several spherical demons with large mouths descended upon the Slayer's position, unleashing an array of deadly projectiles. The warrior jumped in the air before using his suit's built-in thrusters to avoid the attack. He aimed the Super Shotgun at one of the floating Cacodemons and fired the chain-attached Meathook into the creature before reeling himself in. The warrior slammed his fist into the demon, disintegrating it with his might. He dashed forward immediately to shove his arm blade through the eye of another Cacodemon, putting the creature into a painful daze as it attempted to reorientate itself. The warrior blasted away at another Cacodemon before forcing the meat hook into the one he was currently holding onto. He sprung off the creature, extending the chain until it was fully taut and giving the warrior the opportunity to swing the creature around like a wrecking ball.

The demons had grouped up underneath him which was a perfect opportunity for the Slayer to perform his next maneuver. A launcher emerged from the Slayer's shoulder, pointing towards the group of demons below and firing an ice bomb which froze the demons to the bone. The Slayer slammed the confused Cacodemon into the group with so much force that the frozen demons shattered into a million pieces. As the Slayer landed and absorbed the essence of all those he annihilated, the Meathook retracted itself back to the Super Shotgun.

The warrior leapt forward, crashing through the demons and knocking them down as if they were mere bowling pins. The Slayer tumbled forward, grabbing ahold of a nearby imp to wield it like a club before slamming the creature into another one of its brethren. Soon, a Baron of Hell, a large red creature with twin horns that dwarved the Slayer in size, approached the Slayer very quickly. The warrior remained calm as the creature went in for a slash with its claws. The warrior blew off the creature's arm with a simple punch before destroying it's torso with a consecutive attack and finishing it off with a third punch. After doing this, he noticed a Blood Maykr, a mechanical, red angel, take to the skies as it prepares to hurl its staff towards the Doom Slayer. The Warrior used the Meat Hook to pull himself towards the creature and effortlessly crush its skull with his free hand. The demon couldn't support the weight of the Slayer as they tumbled to the floor. The warrior quickly spun in the other direction with his blade extended to wipe out the demons in his flank.

A black portal with a red ring opened nearby, grabbing the Slayer's attention as he kept an eye on what emerged from the other end. The Marauder, a demon with the same physique as the Slayer (albeit, a bit taller) and pale skin walked out of the portal accompanied by a spirit. The Marauder donned a dark green, medieval-styled armor with chainmail underneath. His eyes were bright red and he had a pair of horns that curled up on his head. His weapon of choice was a large battle-axe with the blades created by a burning, red energy. The spirit that accompanied him began to infuse itself into the Marauder, causing his eyes to turn blue and his muscles to expand. A blue aura soon enveloped him once the assimilation was complete.

The Slayer directed his attention to the Marauder as the two fighters had their gazes locked on each other. The Marauder, once a Night Sentinel, charged towards the Doom Slayer with his axe dragging against the floor. The Slayer charged towards his opposition with no signs of stopping. This was turning into a routine. All of the demons in hell are resurrected time and time again so they can serve their purpose, the Marauder and his fellow demonic night sentinels were no different. The demonic night sentinel may be powerful in his own right, but by no means did he stand a chance against the Doom Slayer.

They attacked at the same time and that's when the Slayer was taken aback by the Marauder's speed. It was several times faster than what it used to be, even with the spirit assimilation, as the demonic night sentinel swung his axe but the Slayer twirled around the attack to throw a punch towards the Marauder. The demon caught the punch which caused his arm to push back in the process. The Slayer extended his arm blade to pierce the Marauder but the demon anticipated this maneuver and threw the warrior's arm aside to evade the attack. The Marauder predicted that the Slayer would attempt to use his Super Shotgun next which made him activate his red energy shield in anticipation. As the Slayer pointed the weapon, the Marauder bashed the Super Shotgun out of the warrior's hands with his shield before following up with a slash with his axe.

The Marauder got too cocky, the Slayer grabbed the demon's arm and axe before hurling him away. As the Marauder slid against the ground and attempted to regain its footing, the warrior couldn't help but take notice of the demon's improved abilities. It's increased by an astonishing amount, the fight would have normally been over in seconds. Something's changed but he can't quite pinpoint the cause. The Slayer and the Marauder bolted towards the Super Shotgun lying on the floor. The Marauder stepped on the weapon to hold it down but the Slayer knew this was going to happen which made him extend his arm blade and raise it towards the Marauder's face. The Blade struck across the demon's sentinel mask, chipping off a piece of the armor. The demonic night sentinel threw two punches, both of which were caught by the Doom Slayer.

The warrior wasted no time in shoving his knee into the demon's stomach, making it cave in as the Marauder coughed out in pain and let go of the Slayer. The Hellwalker used this opening to land a ferocious punch against the Marauder, blowing the demon back and shattering it's armor in the process. The demon stumbled back but it refused to fall, leaning forward upon regaining its footing and panting.

There is definitely something different about the Marauder. The demon lifted his head and chuckled lightly before mocking, "You'll have to try harder than that, Slayer." his deep voice was distorted by the synthesizer of the sentinel mask. The Hellwalker kicked the Super Shotgun up before catching it, shooting it at the Marauder who blocked it with his energy shield. The demonic night sentinel followed up by creating a projectile with his axe by swinging it but the Slayer got out of the way by rolling towards the Marauder. The demon attempted to strike the warrior but was caught by the Slayer once more, held in place and unable to break the warrior's grip. The Warrior forced his weight onto the demon which forced the Marauder to his knees. His wrists were pushed back as far as possible which gave him no strength to fight back, all he could see was the looming presence of the Doom Slayer tower over him. Before he could process it, the Slayer pulled the Marauder in before shoving his knee into the Marauder's face, shattering the sentinel mask and knocking the demon onto its back.

The Slayer walked up to the injured demon who looked as if he was trying to crawl away. Despite the Marauder's strange increase, it still wasn't a match for the Doom Slayer. The warrior pointed his Super Shotgun at the Marauder to end his misery. That's when the Marauder spun around, axe first, in an attempt to decapitate the Slayer. The Warrior narrowly dodged the attack as his projectile launcher was hacked off and the axe grazed his helmet. The Slayer wasn't going to waste any more time now as he pointed his Super Shotgun at the demon once more to finish the job.

Something held the Slayer in place as he felt something take hold of his body, the Super Shotgun was ripped out of the warrior's hands and tossed to the side. The Slayer tried to turn his head and managed to see the Dark Lord slowly approaching him with one arm raised. The Dark Lord is a muscular being that is human in appearance but has short, brown hair and blood-red eyes. His entire body is covered with symmetrical, red markings that stem from a strange artifact imbued in his chest. The Dark Lord's attire consisted of a simple black jumpsuit that didn't cover the artifact.

Despite the Dark Lord holding the Slayer in place, he was struggling. His arm shook immensely from the Hellwalker's resistance. He could see the Slayer still move despite being held by his telekinesis. He couldn't hold the Slayer down for long, he simply didn't have the strength at the moment to finish the Doom Slayer. A portal opened behind the warrior which caught his attention but before he could do anything else, the Dark Lord used his telekinesis to force the Slayer through the portal with all of his might. The gateway quickly closed once the Doom Slayer was through, allowing the Dark Lord to relax.

The Dark Lord's plan was successful. Now that the Doom Slayer is out of the way for the time being, he could focus on other matters. The time will come for their battle, but that time wasn't now. The Marauder quickly picked himself up and bowed before his master, awaiting his orders. The Dark Lord informed the Marauder, "With my plan well underway, it is time for Muzan to play his part. We shall see if he is the perfect demon like he claims to be. Return to Immora, I will handle the rest."

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The Slayer rolled onto his back but he wasted no time in getting back up on his feet. That's when he realized that he was in a different location now. He was inside of a forest with clear, blue skies: the opposite of the landscape he was just in. The warrior frantically looked around to see if this was some illusion cast by the Dark Lord, but that didn't appear to be the case. How odd, why would the Dark Lord send him here of all places? Fortunately, this gave the Slayer a period to assess the situation. His Super Shotgun wasn't with him and his equipment launcher was destroyed. All that really leaves him is his Doom Blade. It's manageable, but the Slayer was a bit disappointed that he lost his favorite toy. It's not as if he needs it, but he does love using it. Right now, the Slayer needs to focus on figuring out where he is and how to get back, if that's even an option.