Hey guys, new chapter

This one's a juicy one because, in real life, i wrote this scene already in a different story. A story I don't plan on publishing called 'Ghoulified Gamer'. Basically it doesn't match up to my current standards. Also, if anyone's wondering, I'm also writing a Prototype fanfiction that;s a remake of a older fic I created. Again, that one's original didn't meet my standards, hence why i'm not publishing it. Though, once i've built up enough chapters I'm planning on publishing the remake of it. Look forward to that.

Anywho, enjoy the chapter!


Chapter 76 - Demonic Encounters

"#humming#"

"Nep-Nep seems really excited, doesn't she?"

The trio walked down a country path, one that lead to the Hellverse dungeon. He'd seen this to be the case thanks to utilizing his Holomap on his Bracer, and right now the teen had been keeping an eye on it, as well as his Motion Tracker, for any surprise encounters. He constantly thought back to the directions Biko had given him so that they could arrive at the Hellverse Dungeon, but there had been things bugging him about it.

Bugging him to a point where he had to look into the Guild Website to see if they had any information about it.

The Guild, aside from giving quests out to their Agents, also specialised in gathering information via said Agents. They had Spec Ops Scout out Abnormals, their Nests and habits, while normal Agents scouted dangerous Dungeons depending on their Level. Since there were a shortage of Agents, they each were well reimbursed for their troubles, and checks on their levels were highly recommended before accepting a request to scout a Dungeon. When they return with their reports about what they've found, the Guild would post such information on its Website, informing people what to do when near these Dungeons.

Should they prove to be a threat, depending on their level the same Agent that scouted them or a higher level Agent, would be sent to clear them out. Dungeons themselves couldn't be destroyed without the use of large-scale weaponry, should they be used the damage to the local ecosystems would be at cataclysmic levels. Also, it would be highly unrealistic and impractical to blow up every Dungeon they find. They carried resources that the people needed, after all. Thus, that option was thrown out the window.

According to the Website, this Dungeon was not like that of the others, in that there were signs of Northmen presence there. The same subsection of the Overlord Momus Cult that had been spreading through Leanbox. If he could compare Leanbox to Lastation, he could say that without a doubt that while Lastation had some sick twisted shit going on politically and with the Monsters and Avenir's making of disastrous BOWs, Leanbox had troubles all on its own. This demonic stuff was definitely something someone as fucked up as Arfoire would conjure up on a whim. Whatever her endgame was, Nico vowed to himself that he would stop it. He had seen too much fucked up shit to let this all go and pursue his own selfish desires, this had to stop.

Plus, he had comrades to help him with this.

When he heard Compa's question, the male looked up from his Bracer to regard the Nurse-In-Training with a reproachful look. "It's her way of keeping the morale high, Compa." He told her, whispering so that Neptune didn't hear him. He didn't want her Mask to break right now, not when they weren't alone. "Honestly, I'm impressed she's managed to keep it together this long. Her worry for IF is tearing her apart inside, so let her have her time." Nico imagined she would appreciate it if they helped her out with this, and judging by how she sneaked a grateful glance his way, Nico assumed he had done something right.

"Oh, I see…" Compa muttered, looking down dejectedly. She hadn't realised that Neptune would do something like that, she guessed she was just so used to her being her normal adorable, quirky self that it was hard to imagine her having worries like that. She never really showed much worry over things like this, but that didn't mean she wouldn't worry. She would just hide it so the rest of them could feel at ease. At least, that was what she got from this.

Nico noticed her state and put a supportive hand on her shoulder. "Hey now, ease up." He advised, softly squeezing her shoulder to get her attention. "Smile for Neptune's sake, she's trying her hardest to keep the team going, so you should do." He told her seriously, before his lips curved into a lopsided smirk. "After all, you're our resident Nurse-In-Training after all."

His words had the intended effect, as Compa's features brightened considerably. "Hm!"

Pausing her humming, Neptune twirled around before leaning towards their resident male Party Member. "Say Nicky." She began, hands behind her back while her position allowed him a chance to look at her cleavage. Something she did intentionally, and he made SURE not to take it. "What did that site say about our Dungeon?" she questioned, tilting her head innocently.

'BULL-FUCKING-SHIT, SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE'S DOING!'

'You are not to speak for a long time. Nico will not be influenced by you.'

'HAH! SUCK IT, ASSHOLE! YOU CAN'T SUPPRESS ME, AND YOU KNOW IT!'

The two beings argued in his mind, almost making Nico cringe. He would likely have to get some aspirin soon or something for possible migraines in the near future. Nevertheless, he made sure to ignore them as best he could while answering Neptune's question. "They say that this Hellverse Dungeon's got some sort of subsection of the Overlord Cult defending it, called the Northmen or, as they liked to call themselves, the 'hordes of chaos'. I encountered some of them when I was on my Urgent Quest, and believe me, they bring the 'horror' genre to a whole new level." He replied, flinching when he remembered some of the things he'd seen those guys do.

How they ended up that way wasn't much of a help, either.

Neptune pouted at this information. "Geez, this dark stuff's really corrupting the nice, carefree genre the devs were going for." she remarked, before brightening up when another fact made itself known in her mind. "But hey, this is fanfiction. Anyways, these guys sound like bad dudes, heck those guys back in town looked pretty spooked as well. They really that bad?"

"Yeah, and worse."

Nico pursed his lips when he remembered some OTHER research ha had delved into regarding the Overlord Faction. More Specifically the sub deities that these Northmen believe in. There were several 'Chaos Gods' according to their little religion, and each of them seemed sick and twisted in ways that made the most disgusting of enemies look handsome in comparison.

Khorne: The Chaos God of bloodlust, war, death, blood, and skulls. Khorne favours close combat, abhorring the use of magic, considering it a cowardly practice. He held the title "lord of blood". Khorne is also the god of courage and honor, but these trappings are always eventually discarded in favour of the primary goal of killing. While he blesses his followers by granting them strength and martial prowess, Khorne does not truly care who spills blood, so long as the blood continues to be spilled. Those who worship Khorne are mighty warriors seeking to earn his favour by slaying mighty beasts and murdering mass populations. His followers often use "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD, SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE" as their battle cry.

The male remembered those Northmen at the Mines, they must have been Khorne followers then.

Tzeentch: The Chaos God of change, fate, mutation, hope, and knowledge. Tzeentch's followers are powerful sorcerers who prefer to channel the energies of dark magic at a distance rather than get close to enemies. Tzeentch is always scheming, his every action feeding into his great plots that only he can comprehend. Tzeentch controls and manipulates the fates of all and weaves them intricately into his devious web of manipulation and hunger for power. Those who worship Tzeentch are sorcerers and magicians hungry for knowledge and the pursuit of a greater understanding of the universe.

Nurgle: The Chaos God of plague, despair, disease and death. Nurgle is a warm and welcoming god who gifts his followers with poxes and boils, rashes and sores. He held the title of Lord of Decay. His power comes from the inevitability of death and decay, and Nurgle is often referred to as 'Grandfather Nurgle', as entropy is the most ancient of forces, and he is the only one who cares for his followers. Nurgle thrives in death and decay, growing more powerful as great plagues spread, and his servants seek only to spread disease. Nurgle prides himself on the achievements of his followers, "gifting" them with hideous diseases while sheltering them from pain, and his followers rejoice in their blessings, shrugging off lethality and disfigurement in a state of rapturous undeath. Those who worship Nurgle are those suffering and wanting freedom from sickness and pain, unaware that they are rapidly becoming more sick yet feeling less pain. Nurgle welcomes all who desire to worship him.

Slaanesh: The Chaos God of lust, pleasure, desire, and excess. He is the youngest of the four gods; yet he has a loose gender, able to change between male and female at will. He held the title of the Prince of Pleasure. His followers seek only to indulge in whatever fleeting whims and desires they feel, and they tend to become graceful, beautiful warriors who harbour selfish, cruel souls. Those who worship Slaanesh are those who either wish to achieve the most popularity amongst their fellow men or the most ecstatic pleasure, pleasure beyond imaginable.

'How in the world can people follow such beings…?' Nico always wondered this whenever he looked up what the Overlord Momus Faction had said about their beloved 'Chaos Gods'. Hell, even more appalling was how each of these Gods seemed to gain a growing following, something that baffled and disgusted him beyond imagining. As a DPU, he honestly felt insulted that these Gods were considered a thing, though he didn't know why he felt so strongly about it.

'I can understand the last one, but the other three… Well, for Khorne, I think he plays off the human's desire for conflict. As long as blood is shed, then he is satisfied with whatever conflict he is seeing. Nurgle prays upon people's fear of dying and crossing onto the other side, twisting them into horrible mutated abominations just so they could live a little longer. Slaanesh seems to promote the use of the seven deadly sins for a person's own pleasure, be it lust for a woman, lust for combat, all the while twisting their souls into fractions of what they once were. Not a nice set of Gods, but humanity never really cares if they're nice or not.'

'You can say that again… How's the Demon weapons holding up?'

'They are doing well. In recent times however, I have learned more about their origins from the fragmented memories. Their true classification is 'Devil Arm' and they are physical manifestations of defeated Demons. To wield one, there are various methods. One of which is to kill the Demon the power serves, which then recognises you as a worthy wielder and will serve you. Strength is a major factor when considering Demonic culture, the stronger you are the more respect you will Garner. Another method is subjugation, where the Devil Arm will try and 'test' you by trying to kill you. Survive, and its power is yours, like what happened when Alastor tried to kill you. No matter what though, those unworthy of these weapons will be killed when they try to touch the Devil Arm.'

Now that made sense, Nico muse. He recalled when he first found Alastor at that ruin, how it tried to take possession of his body. He refused though and managed to subjugate it into his will instead. That must be what Biko was referring to as the second method of acquiring a Devil Arm's power. Though, there was something about Biko's tone that indicated something… something else. Something he hadn't yet revealed to him. 'Sounds like you have something else to tell me, Biko. What is it?'

'Good, you have noticed. That Defiler Demon you fought… its power has also manifested within you as a Devil Arm.'

'!'

'Its name is 'Absolution' and it possesses the ability to 'corrupt' the target into moving slower by infusing their bones with that black corruption you saw the Defiler use. When you next fight, you may summon it to your side, as like Harvester, it does not drain your energy as much compared to the others.'

… Huh, was that so? Nico could think of a number of applications for such a weapon. Tough, why he hadn't noticed it until now was still a question that floated around in his head. One reason could be his unstable powers, but still.

The trio then stopped walking when something registered in their senses. "Hey guys, you hear that?" Neptune questioned with a frown. A sudden sound had caused them to stop moving and look around, eyes sharp as they gauged their surroundings. It was a distant sound, one that reminded the trio of a flying beast like an Ancient Dragon or something. Though, this chill that crawled up their spines did NOT feel at all comforting. "Methinks that the plot's about to thicken."

"I heard it too, Nep-Nep… my Compa instincts tell me something bad is coming."

"Keep on guard guys, whatever's coming may not be friendly."

This started to feel suspiciously like a surprise encounter for Nico. His eyes darted about, searching for any signs of potential enemies approaching. Surprise encounters were NEVER fun, for anyone involved. Usually people were caught with their figurative pants down and killed before they could even deploy their weapons. As a precaution, the teen did just that, deploying his Armour then his Plasma Claws. Neptune and Compa followed his lead by donning their armour, though the former deployed her Armblades while the latter summoned her Combat Syringe.

Soon the sound got closer, and Nico immediately knew that it was some sort of winged creature. It didn't sound like an Ancient Dragon or any of its subspecies though, which confused the hell out of him. It didn't even sound like a birds' wings, either, so that either meant that this was either an Abnormal that hasn't been documented before, or something much worse. Something more sinister in origin. 'Could it be Northmen? No, my Motion Tracker would have detected them. Could it be an Abnormal? No, not possible, for the same reason as the first.' Nico wondered, shaking his head.

'Nico, be wary!'

Biko's voice suddenly rung out through his mind, sharper than a blade, nearly making him fall over. 'Whoa dude, calm the fuck down! We're already tense enough as it is!' he yelled back to his demon persona.

'I fear you may not be wary enough: I recognise this aura approaching us. This is a Demonic entity, one that surpasses the likes of a Defiler!'

'What?! What do you-?!'

Before Biko could respond, or Nico being able to finish his sentence, a loud roar rang out, and a distant shadow came down from the skies above. Instincts saved them as Nico, Compa and Neptune quickly reacted, flipping backwards in different directions to avoid what looked to have been a giant demonic Axe smashing into the ground and breaking it under its sheer weight. Then there was what followed which amplified the shockwave tenfold. It created a loud boom sound and unleashed a devastating shockwave, one that Nico unfortunately had gotten himself caught up in.

Nearly being forced off balance by the shockwave, the teenage Spec Ops Agent managed to flip back multiple times, bouncing along the ground before landing finally in a crouching position, a hand on the ground as he skidded across it to a halt.

"Yo, Nicky! You alright?!"

"Ugh, I'm good!"

When he finally stopped moving Nico quickly stood up and looked towards what had the gall to launch a sneak attack on him, same with Neptune and Compa…

Only to wish they hadn't a moment later.

A tall creature, probably around 10 or so meters tall considering how they could barely see it, stood within the centre of a large, dark smokescreen. Low growls could be heard within the smoke as an aura of tension filled the atmosphere. It almost felt like the landmass itself was quaking in fear of whatever was within that smokescreen… and they didn't like it one bit. None of them could see much, but there were two hollow red eyes focusing in on their resident male Party member with a stare of pure unbridled bloodlust and savagery, one that reminded him of an Abnormal infested with the Frenzy Virus. It was like this thing had no sense of will, nothing but an insatiable hunger for blood… their blood.

As the smoke cleared, two large appendages briefly became visible, but were too fast to make out. They did the beating motion of wings, and then a tremendous darkness swept across the lend, enveloping them in a large dome like structure and sealing them off from the outside world. This also did the job of robbing them of the ability to see, no light being visible. Not even the rays of the sun could penetrate this makeshift barrier, and the only source of light visible were the two demented eyes, filled with bloodlust, gazing down at them.

It gave off a twisted, heavy, dreadful sensation that made them wanna ruin away forever, to hide in the darkest corners of the world and pray for their souls. To keep the light on at night-time less it come from the shadows to claim their beings. One that felt comparable to tons of 1000 KG weights being forced onto their shoulders. The air itself felt like it was trying to crush their lungs into paste, their hearts pounding uncontrollably in their chests.

"Um… nepu…"

Not even Neptune could say anything to lift the sensation around them, her form shivering constantly and without limit. She tried to hold her Armblades in a defensive stance, to put up a brave façade. However, judging by how her arms constantly shook, creating repeated clinking sounds from her Armour, it was clear to them that it was failing.

"This… this thing is…"

If Neptune was frightened, then Compa was downright horrified as she looked up at the creature, bathed in the darkness that it spawned. It almost felt like she was looking at her own death in the face, and part of her (to her disgust) couldn't help but be relieved that it wasn't looking directly at her. She couldn't help it, this thing… it oozed a sensation that filled her to the brim with cold, dark fright. A sensation that gripped her heart like a vice, giving her no room to breathe whatsoever. Even without it, she dared not breathe, for she felt that if she did, then she'd likely meet her end in the next instant.

"So… YOU are the ONE who TRARNISHED my MINING followers? PATHETIC…"

The owner of the eyes chuckled ominously, a sinister undertone beneath it that made Nico's skin crawl. It felt like many beings were laughing at him all at once, mocking him for his fragility in its eyes. Nico, despite the sensations forming in his stomach, gritted his teeth behind his Helmet, clenching his fists as his Plasma Claws shone brightly. No matter what, Nico would never stand for someone insulting him, it would usually involve them getting a claw to the face in the end. It lit a fiery anger in his eyes, but it was quelled when the pressure suddenly spiked. The owner of the eyes allowed the aura around it to bathe it in darkness, creating a misty fog that spread through the air. Its eyes shone like hellish flames in the darkness, its mouth oozing puffs of black ash-like flames every time it let out a breath. Nico and the others quickly quickly got on guard, in case of an attack.

Though, he did notice that the unknown hostile wasn't focusing much on Neptune or Compa, but him instead. The male wondered why that was for a moment, until he remembered the creature having mentioned something about a Mine. That made him think back to his Urgent Quest, which made his lone eye narrow at the beast within its darkness. An idea formed in his mind of what this beast could be, Abnormal was definitely out of the question considering what he had fought in the Mines of Mojang Village. So that left only one thing… something he dreadfully hoped wasn't the case.

It felt like that was the case though, and if so, then this would be way worse than he initially thought.

'Hey, Biko! What have we got here?'

'Looking it up now, its been a while and I only glossed through it before.'

"You know, its rude to just launch a sneak attack on someone." he snarled as he got into a battle stance. Even if this thing terrified him just from its mere presence alone, Nico would not back down. Despite his reluctance to fight it, something he had never felt in such quantities as he did now, Nico's instincts screamed at him to fight it, to tear into it ad feast on its flesh. The power of IT would have nothing less from its wielder.

However, this proved to be a mistake when the owner of the eyes suddenly roared in anger, the aura intensifying itself while the smoke turned into a thick miasma of bloodlust and frenzied glee. One could compare it to hearing the death tolls ringing 1000 times over.

"SILENCE! You wretched WORM, how dare you DESTROY my FOLLOWERS! I will EAT out your HEART for this DEFIANCE!"

"Good job, Nicky!" Neptune yelled over in his direction. Her earlier fear got replaced with indignation as she threw her arms down and stomped her foot on the ground, aiming an annoyed stare towards the other teen. "You made the scary guy mad!"

"Well, its something I'm used to!"

Nico's response got deafened when the beings' eyes glowed brighter as the owner let out a beastly roar, one that thundered through the surroundings like a great hurricane. Compa, unable to hold it in any longer, cried out as she fell onto her backside, the loud roar echoing through her ears as painfully as a shredder ripping her body to pieces. Neptune lasted a little longer, balancing herself on one foot while flailing her arms in a panic, before she too fell… on her face. Meanwhile, Nico kept his stance, though the desire to cover his ears was strong indeed.

"Heh, you talk as if you own me, shit head." Nico mocked, his mouth twisting into a sly smile. The beast, being, whatever it was had already been angered, so why not fan the flames a little? It'll make it sloppy and easier to fight, or at least that's what he hoped. He could feel IT straining against his willpower, trying to come out of where he kept it to take control and end this fucker. If this were anything else though, if he were alone and this situation played out the same way, then he probably would have let it do what it wanted. "Why not just shut your yap before I shut it for you?"

'Not… the wisest off ideas, but on the bright side, its garnered you the respect of the Devil Arms within your soul.'

'Heh, well I do try. Any chance I could access DDD at all, buddy?'

'Not a chance. It is still too risky to transform given your current state. The use of Devil Arms are the only things demon-related that you may use.'

'Bullocks… whelp, lets see how badly I get my ass kicked, shall we?'

"You… you DARE… insult ME?! A great DEMON PRINCE?!"

The owner of the eyes flared something behind it, from what Nico could tell it seemed like a set of wings or something, as its smoky aura seemed to slowly dissipate to allow him to see what the heck it was that he was going to be fighting soon. And the sight was just as repulsive as the aura polluting the atmosphere.

Not only that, but the aura combined with the darkness, activating some sort of ability. Nico didn't know what it was, but he could feel it tainting the land, transforming it into a hideously demonic mutated form. The ground turned red and looked to be made from the skulls of fallen beings, both human and non -human alike, all groaning in agony. The skies turned into a mix of red, orange and black, like blood and fire were mixing together into a single, horrific combination of the three. Dozens of Tendrils and spikes rose out the ground at slanted angles randomly, and a sick laughing sound could be heard all around them.

Both girls cried out in horror and dread at the sight, having sped towards each other and now were holding onto each other for dear life.

'It seems this creature has transported you and the girls to his realm, taking you out of the material world of Gamindustri to this one. There will be no escaping here, at least not for a time, unless you damage him enough so that he cannot maintain your presence here in this realm any longer. This is essentially a 'break the cage' situation.' Biko warned, making Nico frown under his helmet.

And yet, in the mindset that Nico had found himself in, his body calmed down instead of getting more panicked, in fact, none of the settings registered to him anymore as he solely focused on the creature before him. It looked to be at least 15 metres tall, with a hulking body that had the upper body of a minotaur with demonic looking horns and 2 large tattered bat wings, while its lower body was that of a bipedal humanoid with hooked hooves for feet. Around its neck, was a neckless made from what looked like dead flesh and adorned with small skulls. Out the base of its spine was a long tail that had a trident shaped end. In its massive claws hands was a pair of worn looking Axes, ones that looked to have seen a lot of battle. It also looked to be wearing Egyptian style clothing but in a more sinister, wicked form, the 'skirt' was blood red and decorated with human skulls, while there was large red pauldrons on its shoulder with black spikes. The rest of the torso was exposed, showing bulging muscles befitting of a creature that size.

'Well… that's something.'

Seeing this massive creature caused Nico to step backwards, startled for a brief moment, before he regained his composure and pointed a Plasma Claw at him. "Well you've definitely got the size thing down, pall. But you know what?" he asked, unable to stop himself from smirking as he prepared himself. "You think just because your bigger automatically means your better. Well then, allow me to rectify that. You won't mind, will you?" Sneaking a glance towards the girls, Nico yelled out. "Neptune, think it's a good idea to transform, right now! Compa, you stay in the rear, you'll be safe there!"

"Righto/right!"

A bright light encased Neptune as she turned into her HDD self. Opening her eyes, Purple Heart rose to her standard elevated position as she drew her Katana from its sheath, holding it in her usual combat stance. "Processor Unit: set complete." She muttered, narrowing her eyes at the monster. She could still feel the same fear of it that her human self felt, but thanks to HDD she felt like she could push through that fear to fight this monster. 'No, this feels more like a Demon… like that Defiler back in Planeptune.' Purple Heart thought to herself, holding her Katana at the ready.

"Huh? OH, I did NOT notice them BEFORE…"

The beast before them turned its head when it sensed the divine energy within Purple Heart. Its hellish eyes lit up like mini infernos as it regarded her, not even looking towards Compa. "A being of DIVINITY… how LONG has it BEEN since I last FOUGHT one of your KIND… 2 millennia… 30… I CANNOT recall…" it then let out a loud bark, like a canine, snapping its fingers. "No MATTER. My business is NOT with you, DIVINE ONE, but with THIS." It raised an axe and pointed it towards Nico. "The fact that YOU have entered MY realm is COMMENDABLE, so I will RESPOND by giving you to MY PETS!"

Instantly after it clicked its fingers, dozens of long, crimson red limbs erupted from the ground like zombies rising from their graves to once again walk among the living. These hands pulled the bodies they were attached to out of the skull-covered ground, letting their forms be seen by all.

They stood at over 8 feet tall, with crimson, humanoid bodies that matched the shade of crimson flames. Sharp, needle-like teeth studded their slavering jaws. Their serpentine tongues constantly flickered, eager to taste the blood of the ones that their master called them to kill. Rippling muscles lay barely concealed beneath their scaly red hides, knotted sinews that give the strength sufficient for its jet-black claws to pierce the most unyielding armour. They had humanoid bipedal legs, ones that ended in three toed talons, while their heads had large curved horns. Their eyes matched the shade of red their hides possessed, while in their hands were long, two-handed swords made from a twisted obsidian metal.

'Oh, this is not good.' Biko warned the DPU, and if he could be seen right now then Biko would be seen scowling at the sight of the beings summoned from the ground. 'Nico, the fragmented memories tell me that those are 'Bloodletters', considered by their master to be 'Lesser Demons' yet still ferocious enough to warrant respect in the demon world. These Lesser Daemons are deadly warriors believed to have been foremost amongst the Blood God's followers in mortal life and whose will is as implacable and blood-hungry as that of Khorne himself. Bloodletters are possessed of an inhuman strength; they can rip a mortal apart with cold-blooded ease, and in battle their long, jagged Hellblades glow with the heinous demonic energies. These vicious swords are said to be as sharp as Khorne's own hatred. As they cut through the flesh and bone of mortals, they become coated with the blood of the slain, glowing ever brighter as they kill, invigorated by the rich taste of death.'

The young DPU scowled, hating himself right now for being unable to transform into his DPU form right now. What Biko just told him worried the male greatly, it sounded like these lesser demons would be a great threat to Compa's safety if he didn't get there soon, yet his instincts told him that this winged being wouldn't let him get anywhere near them.

"BLOODLETTERS!" The winged-beast before Nico roared, getting the attention of the 40 'Bloodletters' as they looked to their master. Each of them eyed him with crazy, demented, bloodlust-fuelled eyes while hungrily cawing for the chance to tear into their prey. "FEAST on the SOUL of the DIVINE ONE! Leave the MORTAL to ME! I will MAKE her MY slave for ETERNITY!"

Now THAT pissed him off big time. The thought of Compa being used as…. Entertainment, by these creatures, going through acts so vile that not even the scum of the earth would deserve, nearly sent him into a blood rage. Nobody would do that to his childhood friend and get away with it! Nobody would touch her like tat unless they wanted a taste of Rebellion or Harvester, or any of his Devil Arms!

The loud, joyful roars coming from the Bloodletters did nothing to raise Nico's mood, either.

"Don't worry, Nicky!" Purple Heart yelled as she floated in front of Compa. Said Nurse-In-Training wisely chose to keep back, stepping away from the battle as she held her Syringe like an Assault Rifle. Her arms shook intensely at the sight of these Lesser Demons, but thanks to the warm sensations she was getting from Purple Heart's divine aura, she felt significantly safer. Purple Heart sensed this in her mind, which prompted a reassuring smirk that she aimed at her love interest. "I will make sure none of them reach anywhere near Compa."

Nico nodded, sending a relieved smirk her way. "Got it, thanks Neptune." He called back, before facing off against the beast. His smirk, hidden by his Armour, fell from his lips and became replaced with a deep frown. The lack of knowledge about this creature disturbed him greatly, but fortunately for him he still had one source of information at his disposal. 'This thing called itself a 'Demon Prince' earlier, Biko. Anything on what that is?'

'I just found that out by looking at these Fragmented Memories. According to them, Demon Princes are Human champions elevated to Demonhood as a reward for his or her actions on the behalf of the Chaos Gods. Demon Princes have chosen to trade their humanity for the god-like power and immortality of a Demonic being, a servant to the Chaos Gods. A Demon Prince is practically a living extension of the energies these Chaos Gods possess. To ascend to the rank of Demon Prince is the ultimate goal of the most powerful Champions of Chaos, as it gives them immortality and power beyond the reckoning of mortals. Those few who climb the path of the Champion to its apex are granted the prize of eternal life. Though thousands of lesser aspirants will fall by the wayside, a supremely talented devotee will clamber over mountains of the slain until he reaches the pinnacle of his bloody craft. However, that is not enough to satisfy these Gods. Only those who further the causes of their masters are given the precious gift of Demonhood. They are raised up to become demigods, roaring their triumph into the night as their new bodies swell and bulge with the energies Demons possess.'

'Ouch… that sounds bad. Anything else.'

'Demon Princes combine the brute strength of daemons with the combat skill and tactical expertise of normal mortals. However, if the Champion fails in the eyes of their god, their lives and ambitions end as they are cast aside and instead descend into the mutant state of what is known as a 'Chaos Spawn'. Since Demon Princes have been transformed into semi-autonomous extensions of the Chaos God they serve, they are now entities existing in more than the physical world and can never truly be killed in the material universe, only banished into the demon world for a specific or arbitrary amount of time, usually 1,000 standard years. One who ascends to Demonhood can look forward to an eternity of servitude at his patron's behest. Even death is no respite. Essentially, Demon Princes will exist for as long as Chaos is a force in the universe.'

Things just keep getting better and better, don't they? Nico couldn't help but scowl behind his helmet. The fact that he couldn't truly kill these beings from the Demon world, the Demon Princes, grated on his nerves heavily. Hell, even if he were at full power, this fact would save them from his wrath. If Neptune had heard this, then she would be calling Hax on their asses for centuries to come. Yet, there was one other issue as well, one that was much greater in importance to him. With so much information about these beings within the Fragmented Memories of the DPU Memory Core within him, Nico didn't doubt that this Chaos religion had a connection to his predecessors, the DPUs of old. There was just no way there wasn't a connection, considering what Biko knew of them. There was more in those memories about these beings than the Overlord Momus Cult had disclosed to the public. That alone warranted him to think this way.

'Some good news, with so much demonic energy in the atmosphere, you should be able to use your Devil Arms, as well as your Demonic Skills, during the battle. I'll let you know when it is safe to use them, Nico. Also, the knowledge on the Demon Princes is incomplete, I noticed this in my Research. In fact, the more you grow as a DPU, the more these Fragmented memories become more like a grimoire, or a tone, filling themselves with pages upon pages of information. Its like how people record their research into journals then publish them to the world. There could possibly be a way to destroy Demon Princes for good, we just have to wait and see.'

'Thanks for the confidence boost, Biko.' The teenage Spec Ops Agent remarked, gratitude laced in his tone as he thanked his demon persona for his hard work. That information may not be helpful at all to him right now, but any information was better than nothing to him. He would just have to fight this fucker the old-fashioned way. Nico's last thought before he and this Demon Prince charged at each other, intending to rip each other apart with no regard for mercy…

Was that he couldn't wait to fight this thing.


"Well, NOW. THIS is INTERESTING…"

"What is it?" Arfoire questioned, turning behind her to look at her companion. After they had found many monsters, Abnormal and Normal variants, for it to consume it had grown quite large, almost the size of a Van. It had been an intimidating sight that she had taken a while to get used to, but the thought of this being siding with her on her plans was something that helped keep her going. She noticed that it was 'looking' in the direction of the recently revealed 'Hellverse' Dungeon, something must have gotten its attention there.

Reaching out with her senses, Arfoire gasped, eyes shooting wide open when she sensed an abundance of demonic energy in that direction, an amount that she had never felt before, not even from that DPU she had fought. It was like she was peering into an endless void of pure energy, one that tried to suck her in and bend her to its will. Fortunately, she managed to snap herself out of it before things got out of hand.

"It APPEARS a POWERFUL force has DESCENDED to the MATERIAL world from the world of the DEMONS. A powerful DEMON PRINCE… one THAT follows KHORNE I believe… that beautiful WARMONGER… always GOING ON about BLOOD, CARNAGE, and SLAUGHTER…"

The white-haired witch raised a brow at the entity. She couldn't help but sense the familiarity in its multi-voiced tone. "You sound like you know of Khorne, then."

"Indeed, I DO… Youngling. I indeed DO know of KHORNE. There is MUCH that you must LEARN about our age, things that your PRECIOUS library DOES NOT teach you. For NOW, though, we must continue. MY final MEAL is approaching…"


Chapter end!

Wow, a particularly juicy chapter here. Its hyping up with a battle against a Demon Prince from the Warhammer franchise. Based off the description, guess which one I went with in the reviews. I'll answer in the next chapter.

I intended to add this in just to make the situation seem that much more intense, as well as give you all some more lore on what the DPU age was like. This Chaos religion, as Nico says, is indeed connected to that age.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, read, review and fav please!

peace out!