Return of the God

Ariel gnawed on the restraint on her right arm. Her left arm was free after hours of chewing and pulling. Her lips were raw from the constant rubbing against the leather straps. She stopped struggling just as Koromos reentered the room and kneeled at the foot of the bed. She was no longer capable of speech, but he answered her implied question anyway.

"I'm taking you on a little trip," Koromos said as he began to undo her bindings. "Dante is in the castle, and I have every intention of using you like I promised." Ariel kicked at him when both legs were free, but he easily dodged them. Ariel gasped in fear when Koromos sat astride her chest and wrapped both hands around her neck. He was careful to avoid applying excessive pressure against her newly round belly. "Behave, or I will kill you myself, regardless of the consequences."

Ariel calmed herself enough to let Koromos pull her free. He hoisted her over his shoulders and carried her out. She watched the malformed creatures in the hallway give Koromos a wide berth as he descended the staircase. A mutant baby phantom scuttled along the wall behind them. When it was nearly on top of them, a giant wasp impaled it on the stinger and flew away with it.

(X)

Dante leaned against the railing to catch his breath. Having to do so for the first time in his life was a grave reminder of his situation. He ached a little from a quick battle with Sin Scissors he was fortunate to survive. He had no idea where he was. The castle, in fact the entire island, was changing its own architecture as it merged further into Hell. He looked over his shoulder into the hall below. The floor seemed to breathe with unnatural life. Rather than jumping over the railing, he slowly made his way to the floor below. He looked up at a statue sitting at the top of the staircase. It was the God of Time kneeling with a large glowing hour glass on his shoulders.

Dante stared at the statue as if in a daze until he heard whistling from above. He quickly turned towards it and whipped out a gun. Koromos stood on the second floor walkway with a gun in one hand and the other hand balancing Ariel on his shoulder. Koromos and Dante kept their guns pointed at each other as Koromos walked down to stand in front of Dante. He left Ariel to lie on the staircase. Dante pressed Ivory against Koromos's forehead, while Koromos placed his gun against Dante's heart.

"I was wondering when you'd get here," Koromos said. "The Universe is falling apart, and you take your time."

Dante glanced at Ariel on the stairs. He sucked in air when he noticed her obvious condition. "She's pregnant. We've been chasing her for a couple of days. Isaiah never told us she was pregnant." Ariel grabbed her belly and cried in pain.

"That's because she wasn't. She didn't conceive until a few hours ago, but she's almost ready to deliver."

Dante rolled his eyes back towards Koromos. "You did that."

Koromos knew it was an accusation rather than a question. "Why not? I was bored. The whole time I was pretending she was Lilith, anyway."

"Why are you helping her? What do you get out of it?"

"I'll give her to you willingly, on one condition. I want something in return, or rather someone."

Dante already knew whom that someone was. "Not a chance. My daughter isn't for sale. Especially after what you did with Ariel."

Koromos shrugged. "I suppose you won't be getting Ariel, then."

"Then I'll have to take her by force."

"I'd like to see you try."

Ariel startled and sat up as two shots rang simultaneously through the hollow room.

(X)

The Death Scythe's cow skull mask rattled from side to side as Lucia bombarded it with darts and Cranky Bombs. Isaiah covered her by shooting down mutant Sin Scythes. The final one had a black fluid oozing from the tip of its scythe. As it threw the scythe, a final barrage of bullets shattered its mask. It melted into the floor with a wicked echoing cackle.

Both of the Death Scythe's horns shattered. The Death Scythe spiraled into the floor and disappeared. Lucia grabbed a Cutlaseer as she waited for the Death Scythe to reappear. She saw the cow skull partially emerge from the floor on the other side of the room. She threw a Cranky Bomb each time it showed itself, but most of them missed. In her peripheral vision, and by her intuition, she saw the cow skull emerge beneath her. She quickly stepped aside and swung with a Cutlaseer. It cleaved the skull in half as half of the Death Scythe jumped from the floor. Then it tossed its scythe aside and melted into the floor with its cackle echoing through the room. The scythe remained where it was without self destructing.

Lucia stared at it for a second before remembering Isaiah. She ran to his side to make sure he was all right. She stopped in her tracks when she saw him wrapping a torn strip from his shirt around his left wrist. His left hand lay severed on the floor beside him.

"Are you willing to continue?" she asked.

"Yes, but I'm not sure if I should." He finished tying the wound off with his teeth. "You have to continue the search for Ariel and Koromos alone."

"What if I refuse?"

"I'm not giving you a choice. You have to help Dante find them, and you can't force me to go with you. You don't have that many places left to search."

Lucia shook her head before turning to leave. She stopped just long enough to look at the scythe before continuing her search through the castle.

(X)

Ariel eased her way to the edge of the stairs while keeping her eyes on Dante and Koromos. Koromos had taken a bullet in the forehead, and Dante had taken one in the heart. Koromos held his palm against the entry wound. He could literally feel the blood leaking through his brain. Red fluid squirted between his fingers.

Dante rolled over and rose to his knees. He took a few deep breaths to fight the increasing pain in his chest. Blood leaked through a large hole with each heartbeat. Clutching the wound, Dante stood and stumbled towards the stairs. Ariel crawled on her hands and knees towards the statue at the top of the staircase in a panicked rush. She noticed for a quick moment that the hour glass was glowing a bright living yellow. The light moved around as if it were fluid. She broke her gaze and continued crawling past the statue.

Dante climbed the stairs after her. When he reached the top, he grabbed Ivory as if to shoot her. A heartbeat sent a fresh gush of blood out of his chest. He lost his center of balance and leaned against the statue. Ariel continued crawling along the walkway until she finally dropped from exhaustion. Dante looked up towards the statue. His vision was beginning to blur. He leaned his head against the statue's knee.

"Who can fight the fate of the Universe?" He heard Koromos laughing on the floor below. "Damn you, Ariel," he said before closing his eyes. Each breath became more painful than the one before. He then heard a faint voice speak in his mind. "What?"

Those who desire to aquire the ancient ways of war must offer the blood of monsters in exchange.

Dante's eyes shot open. "What?" he repeated. Then he felt something he feared he'd never experience again. Blood welled up in his eyes. Several drops landed onto the statue's knee as Dante raised his head. At first he thought he imagined the statue opening its eyes. He realized they were real organic eyes when the statue blinked. The statue blinked again and looked down at Dante. Before Dante could react, two bolts of lightning shot from the statue's eyes and flew into Dante's.

(X)

Lucia charged through the first door she saw. She nearly ran headlong over the side of a railing while trying to stop herself. She teetered there while watching the events below. Dante was lying in the middle of the floor. A large man, or what at least appeared to be one, was striding down the stairs towards him. Its body, except for its eyes, were made of metal. In a confused panic, Lucia prepared to jump to the first floor before remembering the fall would probably kill her. She instead turned to run around towards the stairs.

Halfway there, she stopped to stare at Ariel. The former angel no longer had the physical ability to crawl. Her arms and legs had quickly atrophied into withered limbs. "It's you, isn't it?" Lucia asked. She took one look at Ariel's pregnant belly and grimaced. It was pulsating as if whatever was inside were trying to push its way through the skin. Without a second thought, Lucia lifted both Cutlaseers and plunged them into Ariel's chest.

The second she did so, an appendage burst forth from Ariel's abdomen. Lucia jumped out of the way as it reached for her ankle. She watched in disgust as the top half of the creature's head began to appear. A slimy humanoid creature slid from the opening in Ariel's body onto the floor. It was impossibly grown for being confined in such a small space. Its obviously male body was bluish grey and appeared unnaturally squishy. The Idda Corrof glowed through its translucent chest.

The creature stood and coughed as if to patronize Lucia. The Idda Corrof shifted slightly with each vibration. "How long were you waiting?" it asked.

Lucia brandished a Cutlaseer. "I'll have to rip you open instead of your mother."

The creature carefully placed a hand against the railing. "Then do it." It tapped its chest for emphasis. Lucia lunged forward to plunge a Cutlaseer through its chest. The creature ripped the railing loose and swung it. As if it were living rope, it wrapped itself around Lucia's neck. The creature knocked the Cutlaseer away and tossed Lucia over the second floor. She dangled over the first floor by her neck.

(X)

Dante rolled over and puked blood. He had been blinded by the lightning strike. Both eyes were crusted over with scorched blood. He could still feel the electricity coursing through his body in miniature seizures. He squeezed his eyes closed and felt blood squirt down his face. He took a deep breath before opening his eyes again. Everything was coming into focus. On intuition, he sat up and saw the statue standing over him. Dante jumped to his feet and backed away as if he were going to have a heart attack. Thinking of such a thing made him realize none of his wounds ached. He pressed two fingers against his chest. The heart wound was completely sealed.

Dante and the God of Time stared at each other for a second before Lucia's scream caught their attention. A naked man covered in blue slime was hanging her by her neck. Without thinking about what he was doing, Dante drew his hand back and launched a fireball. The man dropped Lucia and disappeared in a blue flame that shot through the wall and disappeared. Dante watched the flame shrink away through the hole until it disappeared under open sky.

Lucia struggled against the metal rod wrapped around her neck. The God of Time strode towards her and seized the rod with one hand. With a single swing of his arm, the rod snapped loose. The God of Time tossed it aside and walked back to its original resting place.

Lucia stared at the statue as it picked up its glowing hour glass and kneeled on the floor. Its eyes glazed over as they were covered with metal. She nearly tripped over Koromos walking sideways to where Dante was still staring through the hole in the wall. "What happened?" she asked through a sore throat.

"The statue?" Dante asked. "Or the other thing?"

"Both. That thing came out of Ariel and took the Idda Corrof."

"How fortunate for her. Now I no longer have to kill her."

Lucia watched him raise and flex a hand. "How did you throw that fire with the Idda Corrof intact?"

Dante didn't answer. Lucia looked back at the statue as if to accuse it, but it left no sign of what it had done.