Lord Chaos by Deus X Machina
Chapter 1: The Plains of Chaos
Smoke and darkness swirled around in the infinite void of the place that could only be Hell. The place was littered with the remains of the dead, some of them nothing but dry bones, others mangled corpses, others the writhing forms of the recently deceased, screaming at some unknowable agony.
Yet the suffering did not touch the bandaged swordsman who stood atop a pile of bones. Nor did it touch the beautiful woman at his side or the servant on the ground below. The swordsman spoke to his servant.
"Don't you remember, Houji?" said Shishio. "Didn't I tell you I'd let you be the first to taste victory at my side? The spirits on Earth sided with the Battousai and aided his cause. But there's only evil people down here. We're going to take over this cozy little place called Hell." With that, Makoto Shishio turned and started on his journey.
"Yes! Yes, my lord!" Houji trotted eagerly behind his master, his coat trailing behind him.
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Shishio loved this place. There was no one to fight, no one to kill, no one to eat, yet somehow, he felt at home here. In this place, he felt as if some terrible destruction were gnawing away at his edges, yet unable to destroy him completely. Others had succumbed to this destruction; their bones now paved the ground. This was how it was meant to be. The wanton, chaotic destruction which only the strongest could survive.
Yumi and Houji were not doing as well as he was. Yumi, who had before been merely walking with her arms around Shishio, was now leaning on him for support. Houji's sweaty, quivering walk no longer matched the spark of zealousness in his eyes. It took great strength for them to merely keep themselves together, strength that they probably received from Shishio.
"Lord Shishio," gasped Yumi. "I don't think Houji and I can last much longer."
Shishio looked down at his suffering lover. "Very well," he said. "We'll need to find a place that's safe for you."
"Lord Shishio!"
"What is it, Houji?"
Houji pointed towards a flock of flying things in the distance. "They look like birds of some kind."
Shishio stared into the distance. "No. More like winged humans. With weapons."
"Winged humans?" said Houji. "Those sound like the angels of Western legend."
"Mythological creatures?" said Yumi. She let out a quiet laugh. "In a strange place like this, I'm not too surprised about it."
"What should we do, my lord?" asked Houji.
"Well, we won't get anything accomplished by just wandering around by ourselves," said Shishio. "Why don't we pay our new friends a visit?"
"Mm. Looks like they're coming to visit us," said Yumi.
The flock of angels was flying towards them. They held no formation and at times seemed more like a solid mass than a flock of several individuals. It seemed as if the angels each had a pale white glow which was muted, but not blocked, by an aura of dark gray.
They began circling around the three humans like a flock of vultures. "Makoto Shishio!" called one. "You are forbidden to go any further. If you do, you will be destroyed."
"Only cowards make threats from a distance," said Shishio. "Come down here and say it to my face."
One angel separated himself from the group and landed directly in front of Shishio. "Makoto Shishio," he said, "my scouts have been following you for quite some time and we know what you plan for the Kingdom of Hell." The angel laughed mockingly. "Though it is quite an accomplishment for you to survive so long in the Plains of Chaos, I doubt that you, a mere human, could live up to your boasts."
"Then you obviously don't know what I did back on Earth," said Shishio.
The angels roared with laughter. "He's beaten a few scrawny humans and thinks that he can defeat an angel!" one said.
"So to prove myself, I have to defeat an angel?" said Shishio. He drew the Mugenjin. "That can be arranged. But let me know the name of my first angelic victim."
"My name is Nebiros," said the angel, "but you shall not have any first angelic victim."
Nebiros drew from his belt a flail, a European weapon that consisted of a wooden handle attached to a long chain with a heavy spiked ball at the end. To compensate for the weapon's poor defense, he had a wooden shield strapped to his left arm.
The flail is all offense, thought Shishio. If I can get past it just once and get close to Nebiros, I can blow away his shield with the Guren Kaina.
Shishio stood ready, waiting for Nebiros to strike first. The angel gave Shishio one last smirk before he raised his weapon and struck, bringing the spiked iron ball down towards Shishio's head. The hitokiri charged forward, letting the spiked ball strike the ground behind him. As he approached Nebiros, the angel predictably raised his wooden shield. Shishio slashed the back of his gauntlet and brought his blazing hand to bear.
"Guren Kaina!" he cried as the Scarlet Lotus Arm tore the angel's shield into splinters and blew a great scorch mark onto the angel's side. As Nebiros dropped, Shishio raised the Mugenjin for a finishing blow.
"Lord Shishio, behind you!" cried Yumi.
Shishio turned just in time for the spiked ball of the flail, coming from behind, to slam into his helmeted forehead. He was thrown back, past Nebiros, where he landed on the bone-littered ground. How did he do that? Shishio wondered. How did the flail reverse its path in midair? It's impossible.
Nebiros stood, staggering more than once. "Warrior angels have a connection with their weapons that's stronger than even the best samurai. They're not just extensions of our souls. It's almost like their parts of our bodies too."
Shishio was silent as he lit his Homura Dama. Nebiros held up his flail. From the way he was holding it, Shishio knew that he would use a backhand strike. Quickly thinking up a strategy, he charged forward, his fiery sword held ready.
Nebiros swung his flail backhand, as Shishio had predicted. At the last moment, Shishio ducked and the flail sailed over his head. With his free left hand, Shishio grabbed the chain and, using the weapon's momentum, guided the spiked ball into its owner's face. The spikes tore into Nebiros's face, metallic gray angel blood spraying into the air.
Shishio raised his burning sword and cut deep into Nebiros's body, the serrated blade tearing into the angel's flesh. With each cut, the flame of the Homura Dama grew brighter, more intense, until the fire was almost white.
As the last charred bits of Nebiros fell for the last time, Shishio turned his attention to the powerful new Homura Dama. "Looks like angels make particularly nutritious prey. There must be something in the angel's body that makes my attack so powerful."
The other angels floated in the air, dumbfounded. "He beat Nebiros," one angel whispered. "What should we do?"
"Kill him," whispered an angel next to him.
"Yes, let's finish him off," whispered another.
"I can hear you, you know" said Shishio. "If you want to kill me, go ahead and try."
The angels glanced at each other, trying to determine the decision of the group. Finally, one angel drew his sword and descended on Shishio. After a moment's hesitation, the rest of the angels descended, blades bared.
Shishio lit the full length of his blade on his sheath and swung it in a wide arc over his head, leaving a long trail of fire. "This one's best for the large groups," he said. "Secret Sword Three. Kagu Tsuchi!" The angels were swept into Shishio's fiery whirlpool, their bodies immersed in the swirling inferno.
The burnt angels dropped, many of them dead before they hit the ground. One angel's dying words were "Only one person could have such great power in this place. Lord Chaos himself." Shishio did not know what to make of it.
Shishio turned back to his companions. In the excitement of the battle, Yumi and Houji had seemingly forgotten their own pain. Yumi caught her lover in a tight embrace.
"That angel called you Lord Chaos!" said Houji. "Such a fitting title for one like yourself, Lord Shishio! You are the Lord Chaos! I know it!"
"Shut up," whispered Shishio. He heard the fluttering of wings again. "Another angel. Only sounds like one."
The new angel landed before him. Unlike Nebiros and his group, this angel's white glow was not dimmed by a dark aura. The angel gave Shishio a respectful nod. "My name is Uriel," said the angel. "I am a servant and warrior of the Lord God and his Son the Messiah. We were very impressed with how you defeated Nebiros and his Satanic soldiers."
"Well, thank you," said Shishio. "But I'll bet that complimenting me isn't your only reason for being here."
"That is true," said Uriel. "For ages my Lord has enlisted the services of many powerful servants. We want you to be one of those servants, Shishio. Will you fight alongside the forces of Heaven?"
"You're mad!" Houji cut in. "The Lord Chaos serves no one but himself and his own cause. He will not bow to your God!"
"Will you shut up?" said Shishio. He turned to Uriel and said, "I don't normally like other people speaking for me, but I'm inclined to agree with Mr. Houji. Thanks but no thanks." Shishio turned to leave.
"If you are not with us then you are against us!" cried Uriel.
Shishio looked back at the angel. In one quick movement, Shishio tore the front of Uriel's tunic and pressed his ungloved left hand onto the angel's breast. Uriel's face contorted as the hand burned into his flesh. He raised his arm to strike Shishio, only to impale his own hand on the Mugenjin. Finally, Shishio shoved him away, a bright red handprint branded onto Uriel's chest.
"Then I am against you," said Shishio. "Tell your master that when I'm done down here, he's next."
"You've insulted my Father and humiliated me," Uriel growled in a pained voice. "I won't forget this." With that, the angel unfolded his wings and flew off into the distance and out of sight.
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