Chapter 83 - The Cursed Hold
The Cursed Hold… King Leoric's main prison.
During his descent into madness, the King had locked many of his servants, subjects and even his own Wife in this prison, to be executed and damned to eternal torment. They say that even now the spirits of the wrongfully damned would roam the halls of this place, searching for salvation but never finding it. It had been a dreadful tale that Nico had learned of during his last little venture in Leanbox where he found out about all this shit. Back then, the male had slight hopes that he'd be done with the Black King at the end of it all, but unfortunately, life just LOVED to screw him over.
At the moment they entered, the trio quickly got overcome with a sense of doom and depression.
The entire Prison had this dead feel to it, with the dull grey stone walls, ground and ceiling tightly packed into long hallways, little lighting in the area so they had to resort to their own means of sight, as well as how it looked more like a Maze on Nico's Holomap, this Prison definitely fit the definition of horrible. Not only that, but both Biko and MAGES. could sense various presences throughout the Prison.
"This place…" Tekken trembled, rubbing her arms up and down. She eyed some of the cells that they could see with dread, her skin becoming more than a little pale at the thought of just spending eternity in them. "It feels so dead… so lifeless…" she whispered, her breath coming out as smokey vapour thanks to the low temperature in the Prison. Back then, they likely didn't even have heating in those days, relying on torchlight for both light and heat to keep themselves warm. Though, at this point the torches had long since burned out, turning the prison into a mini tundra in terms of temperature.
MAGES. nodded, not showing much discomfort compared to her companion. It was largely thanks to a special heat spell she had put on herself the moment they lost heat when they exited Hals of Agony Level 2. It was how she stayed relatively normal in the rain, and there was also a spell in place to absorb the water molecules in her clothes, keeping her dry. Magic was a powerful tool if used correctly, but in the wrong hands it could mean serious trouble.
Like what she was seeing right now, for example. "This place reeks with foul magic. There are dozens of lost spirits in this infernal place, unable to seek salvation in the wake of damnation." The Mad Magician remarked, her lips set in a furious snarl. She may be a Mad woman in the eyes of the many, she may do… weird things for her hobbies, she may even sound like a raving lunatic. However, this, this was NOT something she would ever do. "This must end. We must end this travesty to free these wrongfully damned souls."
To disturb the cycle of life like this was one of the worst things a Mage like her could do. It was part of the natural order, just as much as the Goddesses that protect their lands were. They were part of the infinite cycle, to live life, one must accept the kiss of death. Only then would one truly be living life to the fullest. To live in the most fulfilling manner possible. That was largely why she acted the way she did, she spoke weird true enough, but she didn't care about what other people thought of her. She would live her life the way she saw fit. And THAT, was as the Mad Magician MAGES., and she was PROUD of it!
The Cycle of life was never to be disrupted, for it would cause horrific problems on both the living and the dead. She had heard of an incident in Lastation, some place called Racoon City where the dead were forced to remain inside their own bodies, their souls writhing in agony and torment while their bodies were used as nothing more than puppets for some virus that got released there.
While the trio began walking down the hallway, with two open and empty cells on either side… something came out of the right one.
'Wait, is that…?'
"KYAAAAAAA!" Tekken screamed, her body losing what remained of its colour as she backpedalled till she hit a wall. She raised a finger and pointed forwards, the finger trembling just as violently as her body. "G-G-G-G-GHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOST!"
Nico sweat dropped, giving the Martial Artist a deadpan look to her at her state. Really, it was just a ghost, what was she so worked up about? Looking back to the Ghost, Nico began examining the beings appearance. It Had the body of a woman, a woman who wore rags for clothes. Though the clothes were just as ethereal as the rest of her body. Though, one unique detail that he noted was that her head was being held in her right hand, with no irises in her eyes and dark hair. 'This woman… could she be who I think she is?"
MAGES. rolled her eyes, she knew that Tekken could be easily startled by things like this, but had not objected to her accompanying them. It was her choice, and the Mad Magician had to accept that fact. "It is one of the lost Spirits I told you about, Tekken. Do not be alarmed, I sense that she means no harm to us."
"Thank you…" the Ghost 'spoke' through her head. Seeing a head talking while being held away from the neck… not something one would see every day. Tekken looked like she would be having a panic attack right now, but it was hard to tell what the Ghost felt about that. Being dead and all didn't really do her emotion showing ability any favours. At least, that's what Nico assumed. "And… you are right, I do not mean you harm, though I will not say the same for many who dwell in this place."
'Yeah, I could see that happening…' the Spec Ops Agent remarked in his mind as he reached out with his demonic senses. He could sense beings up ahead, and all of them reeked with the desire to kill. Bloodlust filled the airspace ahead, something that he had more than enough experiences with when fighting Abnormals. They would likely be swarmed the moment they went down there.
And considering what they had planned to do, that made this all the more inevitable…
Perfect.
Eyeing the Ghost critically, MAGES. wasted no time in asking her what the heck was going on as she tapped the ground with her staff to get her attention, which seemed to have been focused on Nico for some reason. "Who are you? What has happened in this place? The sanctity of life has been greatly disturbed. I would know why this is the case."
"Yes, I shall tell you. My name is Queen Asylla." Nico's lone eye widened in recognition at the name, something only the Ghost acknowledged. "Once Queen to our beloved Leoric. We, the royal family, knights and servants were all consumed by his madness. They are currently trapped in this prison, constantly tormented thanks to our King. Many of them have already been cursed, fallen and have been twisted into creatures of the undead. All but a few remain."
"Is there a way to free them?"
The Ghost nodded when Nico asked that question. None but the Ghost noticed the faint nostalgia in his voice, like the male had dealt with this before… or so it seemed. "There is but one. Those that are too far gone must be killed once more, to free their souls of the curse my husband placed on them. As for those yet to turn, their remains must be destroyed. Only then will they know peace."
A frown crossed onto his lips hidden behind his Helmet. Nico would rather not waste any time to get to IF, who know how long she had left. However, his inner Spec Ops Agent demanded that this injustice be made right. In the end though, his desire for justice prevailed over his own desires, something that happened a lot actually. This couldn't be allowed to continue, that much was a fact. The dead should rest in peace, so the living could live life without regret. Also, he had no doubt in his mind that the girls wouldn't forgive him for leaving these people to their fate. Not like he could anyways, not with how much he was wanting to shred them apart. 'Keep it together, dude…' the male chided himself. 'You may have released IT after so long, but there's people around you. Only release IT when you're alone…'
After he calmed himself down, Nico glanced towards MAGES., and got a nod from her. He looked to Tekken, and saw that she was now back on her feet, walking over to them while making sure to keep a cautious distance from the Ghost of the former Queen Alysa. Though, she did glance at him and show her willingness to help with her eyes alone. That was more than enough for him, so he turned back to the Ghost and gave a firm nod of acceptance. "We'll help. We'll make sure this place is cleared out before the dawn."
Once he said that, a surge of light shone from the head's eyes, temporarily blinding them. Though, much to his surprise Nico felt something entering his body, filling him up inside like a jug being filled with liquid. 'Hey, Biko, you know what this is? Cause I have no clue.' The male questioned the only person he could think of that knew a lot. Whether it be demonic energy or life itself, Biko usually had something to say about it. More on the demonic stuff, though.
A fact that he remembered when he hears Biko's confused reply. 'I am as confused as you are, Nico. Whatever this is, is not demonic in origin thus I have little information on it. Whatever it IS though, it appears to not be threatening you in any way.'
"I have granted you three my blessings. You will be considered my champions, young heroes. Please, help me free myself and my people of our torment." The Ghost said, this time with a hint of pleading as she slowly vanished into nothingness. Yet, the blessings he gave them still remained. They could feel it deep within their beings, buried within their souls, and while Nico and MAGES. didn't seem too bothered by it, Tekken noticeably shifted in discomfort. She didn't know how to feel about receiving an undead's blessing. A goddess's blessing maybe, but an undead?
Yeah, kinda conflicted on that one.
Looking towards her comrades, Tekken saw how little they reacted to their situation. Honestly, she felt kind of jealous, yet not at the same time. "So, I guess stuff like this is common for you two?"
"You could say that, yeah."
"Indeed. It is a trying affair to commune with the deceased. It is not an act that is to be taken with a grain of salt. The realms of the dead and the living must not intertwine, no matter what." MAGES. said, before she turned on her heels and cast a spell, opening a doorway ahead of them. "My magic tells me that we will encounter foes ahead momentarily. I must ask that you two exercise caution."
Well, she got no argument from them Nico because he was always on alert, and Tekken due to not being too enthusiastic about fighting the living dead. If she as fighting a living being then she'd be all for it, but the undead? Beings who've died once yet still walk among the living? Nope, not her cup of tea. She was a martial artist, not an exorcist.
With that, the trio continued on their way.
If Tekken didn't like the Dungeon before, she certainly hated it now.
As the trio wandered the corridors, she couldn't help the feeling of dread spreading through her chest even more. Worse, for her anyways, was the story behind this place. She didn't know much about this place, other than that Nico was here for some reason, and there seemed to be some form of lore behind it. "Um, I'm embarrassed to admit this, but could someone tell me what this place is…?"
"This prison was once a part of a Kingdom called Khanduras, it was a small kingdom that was around during times when war-like tribes dominated Leanbox. I believe it was about 900 years ago, when this Kingdom fell to ruin thanks to the King going crazy." MAGES. explained just when Nico was about to.
'Whoa, that's surprising…!'
The male couldn't help but regard the blue haired Magician curiously. He had expected her to be unaware of something like that, being from another dimension and all. He guessed she would have researched into this world then, if this was the case. If she really did research into it, it showed that she would be one of those well-prepared characters in situations like these. 'We'd need more people like her in our ranks…' he thought to himself, remembering the ranks of the Spec Ops Agents throughout the four Nations.
While their numbers varied between Nations, Spec Ops Agents don't really read a whole lot of books on ancient history, they were usually about either killing Abnormals or getting fame and glory. Not bad in of itself, but it really limited their understanding of how the world once was. In Nico's case, his adoptive mother had forced him to read from their Archives, which possessed books of all the recorded History the human race had gathered. Well, recorded by humans anyways, things like Demons, DPUs and Sparda were exceptions as he knew next to nothing about those save from what Biko had told him.
"You seem quite knowledgeable about our world for someone whose not from it." he remarked, getting a look from the Mad Magician as they stopped at a door.
The woman eyed it for a second, mumbling to herself before she turned back to the male and said her piece. "It would have been prudent of me to not investigate this world, as it has considerable differences compared to the Gamindustri that I am familiar with. In comparison, this Gamindustri is much more dangerous and life-threatening than normal, which leads me to believe this must be a sub-dimension, part of the bigger picture yet with differences that make it stand on its own as a single entity.
"I see…"
It was then that Tekken cut into the conversation as she shuffled nervously. "Um…" she began, getting their attention. She then raised a hand and pointed at the door they were standing in front of them. "That's all grand and all, but why are we standing behind this door? Is there something about it?"
MAGES. took a look at the door, before turning back to the Martial Artist with a furrowed brow as she tapped the ground with her staff. "My senses tell me that one of the bones we need to destroy is hidden within this Cell. Unfortunately for us however, there are a significant number of undead beings inside. Destroying them the old-fashioned way would be preferable, however I am unsure as to if you can do that or not. Myself and DEATHSTROKE are fine, we have our ways, but you…"
"Ah! No, I don't wanna hear it! lets just go do this already, I'm tired of waiting! Let's just G-G-G-Goooo!"
The thought of her attacks not fazing the undead at all seemed to be the last straw for the woman Martial Artist. Her composure, which was already frail since the encounter with the former Queen's Ghost, completely shattered as, with tears flying from her eyes, she punched the door off its hinges and made it fly to the opposite side of the Cell. Unholy shrieks of surprise came from within, but Tekken refused to pay attention to that, already jumping in and going on a rampage.
While the woman did her thing, the two got a look at the enemies they were to be fighting. It looked like they were fighting various moving skeletons armed with an assertion of swords, Axes and Shields. Some even wore helmets, though that served little to protect them from the panic-filled fists of the Martial Artist.
While Tekken went about her business, the teen Spec Ops Agent couldn't help but groan into his hand. 'Ugh, I sorta expected this from her earlier reactions, but…' he remarked mournfully in his mind.
'Not everyone is as fearless as you are, Nico, and even then I do recall you nearly freaking out a couple times in your adventures.'
'Yeah, don't remind me…'
Despite his misgivings, it seemed as there would be a battle in place. To that end, Nico swiftly pulled out Ebony and Ivory, holding them like a cowboy about to go into a bar guns blazing. He then looked to MAGES. and gave the Mad Magician a dry look. "Whelp, good job MAGES., you successfully broke her." He said, before jumping into the fray as well. The sounds of frenzied shrieks and grunts followed suit.
MAGES. didn't respond, instead she wordlessly raised her Staff to begin inciting Magic Spells, calling upon her Mana Reserves.
Thanks to the small size of the cell, the enemies had been packed together nicely for them to take out. MAGES. could have finished them in one big blast, but thanks to Tekken's panic overload, that possibility had been ruled out. Thus, they had to do it the old-fashioned way, punching the living shit out of things. Or use guns and minor magic attacks in Nico and MAGES.' cases.
It didn't take them long, though, again thanks to the tight space they fought in. By the time they were done, the bones of the enemies had dispersed into nothingness. It didn't surprise them in the least, one out of fear and the other two out of knowledge. These monsters were just people once, cursed to damnation in this prison. It would make sense why they didn't disperse into Particles upon death.
At the back, was a pile of bones with the faint silhouette of a man curled in the fatal position.
Their target.
Whelp, looked like they found what they needed to destroy.
Nico however, got an idea as he raised his Bracer and began manipulating its interface. 'Looks like physical force can work on them. Tekken probably got the most kills out of all of us, since they focused on her the most.' He thought to himself, glancing over to the Martial Artist who stood where a pile of bones had once been. Her head was lowered, and she looked like she was shaking badly. 'Wow, she must really be freaked out by this stuff…' the male thought, frowning behind his Helmet.
This was what he was afraid of. Things like this. Normal Agents don't know the horrors that Spec Ops Agents face every day. Sure, normal monsters may look scary at times, but most the time they looked just plain weird. They have NOTHING on the Abnormals though, and heck, these weren't even classes as Abnormals, either! These were once people, people with lives that they lost, loved ones they would never see again. Odds were, they likely had dreams too, dreams that were ended prematurely by the madness of the King at that era. Tekken definitely would be shaken terribly by what had happened.
Instincts and reactions triggered themselves, and this time Nico let them. His eyes hardened as he paused in his business, deactivating the Bracer. That could wait, right now those two were a bigger priority. MAGES. didn't look too bothered, in fact he swore he saw her smile in relief under that witch hat of hers. Probably due to 'correcting the flow of life' if he interpreted her words correctly before.
But Tekken was another story.
Approaching her, Nico deactivated his Armour and placed a hand on her shoulder. Tekken jolted immediately at the contact, looking up with slight panic in her eyes as she threw a punch. However, Nico caught it in one hand, already anticipating such a reaction. "Tekken, its alright. Its me, I'm not hurting you." He told her with a tone that was a mix of both stern, and gentle undertones.
Turned out it did the trick as recognition filled those shaking eyes of hers. The sternness gradually left his eyes, replaced with understanding. He had seen this plenty of times before in fellow Agents, both Spec Ops and Guild Agents. The former usually happened with newly recruited Agents, and the latter happened at a greater ratio. Especially if an Abnormal went all 'SURPRISE, BITCH!' and fucked up their day.
So many Guild Agents die every month to that tactic.
"It's alright, Tekken, you did very well." He told her in a soothing voice, giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Come on, do what I do. Take a deep breath…" Tekken inhaled loudly, just like he instructed her. "Now let it out." She did so, and the two repeated the action several times to help calm the woman down. Slowly, it seemed to show results, since her trembling shrunk significantly. However, it was still present, and that alone was the problem. He needed to calm her down completely before they proceeded, so that was what he was going to do.
How would he do that? Simple, by stating the honest truth. "The fact that you went down here, even though you got scared, and remained down here at all just raises my respect for you all the more. You're a strong woman, you can handle this. You've done a good job so far, so if you want, I won't hesitate to help you leave this place. I memorized a route for you to take should you want to. If you want to come along, I won't stop you, either. Know that should you choose to follow us, that we will likely be facing more horrors like what you've just seen. More Spirits, undead monstrosities, maybe worse. I'm not going to sugar coat it for you because I know you are strong, so there's your options. This is your choice, nobody else's."
His words echoed through the prison Cell, and out of the corner of his eye, Nico noticed MAGES. doing some form of chant, her body encased in an aura of pure blue Mana. He didn't bother listening to what she was saying, considering that he knew little runic language. Instead he focused on the shaken Martial Artist in his grasp. Looking back to her, the male noticed that she was beginning to tremble once again. She made to speak, to say something, anything, but her mouth closed right before she could.
Once more, she took some breaths to calm her raging nerves, to expel the panic swirling within her gut. Her breaths, shaking at first, gradually got their strength back, until she was at a level where she could speak clearly. Although, she didn't say anything and just nodded instead, which was all Nico needed to hear. The lack of her trying to leave him showed just what kind of choice she had made.
She really was a brave woman, above all else.
"Alright, thanks for choosing to stick with us. Anyways, we gotta go take out those Bones now." he told her, turning away and aiming his dual Pistols at the bones. His eyes narrowed intently before he pulled their triggers.
BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG!
After a couple shots, the bones were obliterated with nothing remaining. The man behind them soon began to disappear, increasing in transparently. Just before he vanished completely though, the man looked up at them, the first movement that he'd ever made since they first saw him here, and gave them a faint smile. Nico most of all.
"Thank… you…"
Those were his first, and last, words to them before he vanished out of existence, going over to the other side at last.
With a sigh, Nico twirled Ebony and Ivory around his index fingers, before strapping them bac to his waist as if he were still wearing his holsters. "Whelp, that takes care of one set of bones. Odds are, there'll be a few left after this one…" he remarked, before narrowing his eyes. "And a whole load of Undead… You ready, Tekken? MAGES.?"
"A-Ah! Y-Yes, I'm cool! I'm totally cool!"
MAGES. didn't reply right away, since she was still chanting, but soon enough she stopped and looked over to him. It looked like she had finished her business, whatever that was. Though, he soon found out what it was when she spoke next. "Yes, I have just finished searching the Cursed Hold for the remaining Bones using search Spells. Unfortunately, the number of undead in this accursed place is to the number that it physically makes me sick. Worse, is that the bigger concentrations are where the Bones are, like they don't want us to get to them. We must be wary, for ambushes will be common as we traverse the hold. But for now…"
Once more, she began chanting, and when she did so, Nico noticed his Bracers beginning to glow with her Mana. It was brief, and when it vanished the male's Holomap appeared, showing a display of the Cursed Hold. This time though, instead of empty… he saw dozens of small Skulls scattered across the 3D image. "There. I have given your ability to detect the undead. We should have less of a chance to be surprised by ambushes at this point, but I would not bet all my life on that. Come, we must be off. The cycle of life is in peril, we must correct it before all is lost to the infinite void of emptiness."
Turning on her heels, the Mad Magician made her way towards the entrance to the Cell, turning to the left to continue onwards. Nico noticed it, and he bet that Tekken had as well. Ever since she came here, MAGES. had this purpose to her walk, which spoke VOLUMES about her feelings for this place. Both of them looked to one another, and nodded in union. With that, they hurried to join the Mad Magician (Nico donning his armour once again), intent on helping her right a wrong that had been around for far too long…
Hey, that rhymed!
When MAGES. said that they would likely be getting ambushed a whole hell lot, she was NOT freaking kidding around.
"Seriously, isn't this the 10 time in 5 minutes?!" Tekken cried that out as she jumped into a spinning kick, kicking away a falling Skeleton that tried to run her through with a Dagger. With the adrenaline of battle running through her system, the Martial Artist found it much easier to ignore her fears of the undead. She felt like she was doing something right for once, and it helped that they were killable with her martial arts skills.
Not 5 minutes into the Dungeon, and they had already been ambushed by a horde of undead. They'd been walking down one of the outer corridors, going along a route to where the next set of bones were, when they had been beset. They had charged at them from a corner and without mercy, they ganged up on the trio. MAGES. had reacted first, sending bolts of Lighting from her Staff and into the enemy ranks, slowing them down enough for the other duo to close the distance. She'd even made several spectral warriors made from Ice, shaped like Knights, to protect her should any separate from the pack and get too close to her position.
Mages were freaking OP the more Spells they knew.
And he had once heard how MAGES. herself was well versed in both magic and technology, so if one put her on the battlefield…
WOW, she could be one OP Mage.
But back to the battle, out of the two of them, Nico had the easier time as he repeatedly slashed away with Rebellion, carving up undead remains faster than Neptune eating Pudding. He whirled around like a spinning blade, dancing a deadly yet savage dance of death as he brutally severed limbs, decapitated heads, and all that gory stuff. There were a mix of Skeletons, these hunched over undead creatures that resembled humans, and then there were the large, flabby monsters with small arms. Nico knew what these were though, thanks to having experiences with them dating back to… well, a time before he had met up with Compa.
A time that had a LOT of connections to what they were doing now… as well as the Black King.
"That's the thing with the Undead, Tekken!" Nico yelled over to her, his lone uncovered eye glancing about erratically as he blocked, parried, dodged and countered the attacks coming his way. Swords, Axes, Spears, daggers, even a few occasional arrowheads came his way that he avoided with the skills of a parkour expert. One tried to thrust into him from behind, but Nico would sense its offensive and pivot around the attack, grabbing the spear and directing it into one of its attacking brethren. "They never play fair!"
"You say that like you know yourself! Do you know these things, Nico?!"
"Sorta!"
"… I apologise. It would seem that your battles have taken much out of you."
Queen Asylla said this without emotion on her decapitated head. Honestly, she looked like the headless knight without the horse with the way she held it. He wondered if she was an associate of his or something.
Right now, the Queen floated before the trio, whom were littered with bruises, cuts and arrows sticking out of them. They'd managed to get the Bones destroyed, and deal with the undead they encountered, but it was a costly victory. Mostly for Tekken considering she had never fought so many enemies before. She'd only been used to small groups of Abnormals and Monsters, so she wouldn't be expecting the large swarms of enemies that this Gamindustri threw at them every day of their careers. She winced each time she pulled an arrow out of her, while they hadn't gone deep enough to hurt, mostly thanks to some STR and AGI Boosters that she had on hand that she'd taken between the battles, it still hurt a ton. Not to mention the amount of Healing Pods she had to take to heal her other injuries.
MAGES. looked a little better, but even she didn't have the same experiences as this Gamindustri's residents had with the Abnormals. The Undead that infested this place had been massive in number, and despite her Spells, not even they could have kept her safe from the intensity close combat provided forever. She used Magic to heal herself, and right now she was busy taking some SP Chargers she'd brought with her to replenish her reserves, then use those reserves to heal her wounds. The magic she applied to herself pushed the arrowheads out of her body, closing up the wounds and mending her clothes too.
In comparison to them, Nico himself looked practically alright. Mostly thanks to his armour and his… other defences, but most of all he had experience on his side. Unlike these two from another dimension, Nico here was a resident of this one from birth. He'd spent years here, so he had more experience in dealing with large swarms than these two did. Plus, it helped that his Armour, in the rare instances where it was either cracked or broken in some areas, was self-repairing. Unlike them, he didn't have any arrows in him or wounds to his person, but again that was mostly to do with his defensive options.
Not long after they finally found the last set of bones and destroyed them, the former Queen's Ghost appeared within an ethereal light.
Which lead them to this moment.
While she was healing herself, MAGES. looked over to the Ghost, her eyes sharp despite the state she was in. "I feel that much of the curse upon this wretched place has been lifted…" she began, before she frowned worriedly. "However, I still feel like it is being anchored to this world."
The Ghost nodded her head resolutely, or rather, moved the head in her hand like it was nodding. "Indeed. While my servants are free, the curse here remains. Seek the warden at the Dungeon's centre, and end his evil forever. Only then will the Curse be finally lifted and all of these souls will be able to cross to the other side." She explained, before she vanished once again.
Afterwards, MAGES. closed her eyes and took a breath. She exhaled afterwards, before swiftly turning on her heels and walking off. In her eyes, she could feel the curse surrounding this place waning significantly. Once this 'Warden' bit the dust, the last of the Curse should be destroyed along with every presence of Undead in this Prison. She was close, so very close…
"I really don't like these undead things…" Tekken mumbled under her breath as she finally got the last arrow out of her. She dropped it to the ground, not caring where it ended up, before she took one last healing item to fix the last of her wounds. She knew she'd have to get some more clothes after this, preferably in her preferred style, after this, which meant she had to visit the cities. Fun. Tekken didn't want to say it out loud, but this Gamindustri's Nations weren't like hers at all. She didn't like the Leanbox here at all, compared to the one she was used to. Most of the times she had to fight off some fat noble's soldiers who'd act on orders to being her to them for some… fun. She shuddered, it wasn't a nice place for women, that's for sure.
Why the CPU hadn't done anything yet was beyond her.
Nico glanced at her and rolled his eye; his Rebellion having been drawn in preparation. He didn't want to get caught with his pants down in this accursed place, nope. "Yeah, join the club, Tekken. These guys are dicks…" Part of him exploded with guilt at saying that, but he was just that annoyed because of how irritable those Undead assholes were.
'I cannot disagree with you on this one, Nico. If I were to quote something from the human tongue, could you please 'wreck their shit' for me?'
'Didn't even need to ask.'
'Also, I've discovered something…. Interesting, which I feel will help in the upcoming battles.'
Oh Well, he'd take anything he could get at this point. As long as it could be used to wipe these guys out faster, then he cared naught for what it was. Tragic or not, those guys needed to die once more. 'Go ahead, Biko. What have you found?'
''It appears that thee beings are increasingly vulnerable to Lighting and Fire attacks. I watched them while MAGES. there hit them with said elements, and they showed more of a weakness towards them than the others. Perhaps that would be useful for you.'
That… definitely DID sound useful. While fire would be out considering that the only means he had for fire attacks were part of his DPU powers, he was sure that he could do something about Lightning attacks. If he remembered correctly, Alastor was a lightning-based Devil Arm, one that he hadn't used all that often. Whenever he did, Nico would use it in conjunction with Rebellion for dual wielding, mostly.
Perhaps the reason why he hadn't used it for a while, or as much as its other weapons, was because when he first found it, it had tried to possess him. Maybe he somewhat worried that it would try to do it again, anything WAS possible after all…
…
…
…
Wait a minute.
'If that's reason why I haven't used it… Oh fuck me, I'm so going to punch myself when this is over.' A deep scowl formed on his lips as the thought ran through his min, before being pummelled into oblivion. Nico had never felt so disgusted with himself. Since when the hell was he afraid of such a sword? Since when the hell did he become a coward? That was not him, that was SO not him. Nico, Codename DEATHSTROKE, was far from a coward! He would not let this stand, hell to the no he wouldn't!
Swiftly, Nico swapped Rebellion with Alastor, the former going back into his Void Storage while the latter manifested onto his back. He had to admit, the weight and feel of this Specific Devil Arm felt much different compared to Rebellion. This weapon felt lighter, easier, while Rebellion felt heavier, darker. Maybe that was to do with its affinity? No matter, he'd be switching over to Alastor for the time being. As it stuck to his back, Nico felt Lightning sparking down the blade briefly, before the weapon settled down. It was almost as if the blade itself was relieved at being used once more… oh who was he kidding, it probably was.
According to Biko, Devil Arms had partial sentience, and Alastor would be no exception since he didn't use this as often, he hadn't had the chance to 'speak' to it like he had his others. 'Odds are, that Alastor will have more powers over Lightning than just Lightning enhancement and Lightning Waves. I'll figure those out if and when I got to use Alastor in battle…' the male thought to himself, turning to Tekken. "We should head out, if we don't hurry MAGES will get the drop on us when we confront the boss."
"Yeah, I could see that. Let's get this over with, the sooner the better."
Quickly catching up to MAGES., the trio made their way to the centre of the Cursed Hold. The Centre of this Prison looked more like those four way crossings one would see on the roads in cities, only there was a deep abyss below it. They couldn't even make out where the ground was, something that kinda chilled Tekken's bones, though she made a point to not show it since she had made the choice to continue on here. The feeling of dread that had accompanied them whenever they were to be swarmed with Undead would gradually increase within their chests, which the trio took as a sign that they were getting closer.
Nico eyed the surrounding environment, his eyes practically eating up every single detail. He noticed how the walkways had no barriers to protect people from falling into the abyss below. He noticed that there were faint grumbling noises down there, as well as he could smell dead flesh down there. His nose, while it had been too drenched with the scents of death before to be of any use to him, had just finished adapting to the environment. Also, there was a lack of death in the air, thanks to killing all those Undead. Now he could smell Undead beings lumbering beneath that abyss, waiting for something. What that was, he didn't know, but he had Alastor in his hands just in case of a sneak attack.
'Hmmm... odds are, we'll be attacked from all sides if we stand at the centre of this place. We'll be attacked likely from wave after wave of disposable minions while the main boss hangs back and observes us. That is, if this Warden is actually smart yet arrogant like the cliché bosses in games. Though, this isn't a game but a reality...' he thought to himself analytically. His mind went into overdrive with calculations for countermeasures to possible tactics that the Warden may use against them. He wanted to make sure he was absolutely prepared for the situations that may arise in this near-confrontation. To be caught with their pants down was NEVER a good idea, especially not with the current state of things.
While Nico went into his thinking montage, MAGES. hummed as they walked along one of the thin 4 walkways towards the centre, where a circular platform was seen. She reached out with her senses, briefly though, before she stopped and turned to her companions. "We must halt here." she stated bluntly, her companions pausing their strides.
"Huh? Why, what's wrong?" Tekken questioned in confusion...
Though it wasn't MAGES. who answered her, but something else.
Something that she DIDN'T want to ever hear again.
"Am I alone here?! Why must I do this myself? No matter. Face me, and repent your crimes!"
A loud, boisterous and inhuman voice roared from all around them, sending shivers down their spines and forcing the Trio to go back to back. They didn't see the voice's owner. but they could tell that it was nearby. Before they could find out where it was coming from, Nico's earlier theory about the Undead beneath the abyss attacking them came true, when about 20 or so 'Savage Fiends' as he once heard Tekken nickname them crawled up the sides of each walkway, heading towards the trio with the intent to rip them apart.
MAGES. however, didn't want to deal with any more of their bullshit. Thus, with a roll of her eyes, she raised her Staff which began gathering Lightning energy over its tip. It took a second to charge... before she tapped the ground with the Staff's rear and the electric energy was released into the air. The energy not only knocked the Savage Fiends the fuck down, but also electrocuted them to the point of them disintegrating into nothingness.
Both non-magic users blinked once.
Then twice.
Then three times...
They turned towards MAGES. with looks of appreciation in their eyes. "Thanks, MAGES., you saved us a bunch of unnecessary trouble." the male thanked the brunette. 'And some more cliché stuff from having to fight waves of disposable minions. Truly, bosses have become predictable in this day and age...' he added nodded her head in agreement, a large smile on her features.
The Mad Magician nodded with a self-satisfied smile on her lips. She twirled her Staff like it was a pair of helicopter blades, before slamming its rear tip into the stone ground below and did a pose. "Hah, tis all in a days work for the infamous deity known as the Mad Magician, MAGES.." she stated proudly, earning dual sweat drops from the other two.
'Focus, Nico, the main boss enemy is here.'
Biko's early warning broke him out of his thoughts, making Nico switch his gaze over to the centre platform. Soon, the others were drawn to it when an orange magic circle, similar to the one that Nico saw from the Cultists when they summoned demons, appeared in the centre. From the magic circle, as if rising from beyond the grave to walk amongst the living once more, a large being burst out, climbing from within and soon standing on its own two feet. The creature resembled those undead skeletons that the trio had fought, only it was about 10 feet tall, wearing boots and a helmet made from hard iron. It held a massive looking baton in its right hand, and its eyes glowed with eerie blue lights, almost like the flames of damnation themselves.
"Guess this is the 'Warden' that the Queen told us to kill." Nico remarked as he readied Alastor. The Devil Arm crackled with electricity, and the teen felt a surge of glee rise through his gut. He quickly realised that the Devil Arm was sending him the emotions it was feeling like Absolution did, something that made him smirk in satisfaction. "Sure does give the feel of someone whose been used to dominating others." he couldn't help but quip, noticing the spiked armour that it wore. Honestly, if this dude had been into some kinky shit back in his life, then Nico would not have been surprised. Disgusted, maybe. but surprised? Nope. As sad as it was, he'd seen things that were considered way worse than SXM.
Tekken gulped as her eyes fell onto that Baton that it was sporting, all the while she held her fists at the ready. Her body trembled slightly, and NOT just from fear. As her fear of the undead gradually got replaced with adrenaline, certain... other tendencies she had began creeping back to the forefront of her mind. 'I.. wonder what it'd be like to get hit by that... would it hurt... would it feel... good...?' she wondered, before quickly shaking her head when she noticed MAGES. and Nico eyeing her warily. 'No! Don't think about that, Tekken! Fight, and win! That's all!'
Ignoring whatever it was that the Martial Artist had been thinking (though she had a pretty good idea of what that was) MAGES. looked back to the undead Warden. Her eyes sharpened as she got her Staff ready. "Be wary, the enemy is upon us!"
(Play Marmozets - play from here)
Indeed, the Warden was already stomping towards them with the intent to crush them under its Baton. Nico went first, dashing towards their opponent and jumping into a spinning slash. Quickly abandoning its previous attack plan, the Warden blocked Alastor's blade with its Baton. It growled when he saw Lightning Arc from the blade, instinctively realising just how dangerous that blade was. "YOU!" It yelled, pushing the male back before pointing the smoking Baton it sported towards him. "You carry a dangerous tool! Dangerous tools shall be confiscated in MY prison!"
Seeing that the beast was distracted, Tekken took this opportunity to close the distance between them, rearing her fist back as she prepped a Skill of hers. She remembered that there was a weakness that MAGES. had exploited countless times during their battles with the Undead, one that Nico apparently figured to use for his own strikes if that Sword was what she thought it was. Her fist quickly erupted in lightning, various crackling sounds filling the air. "Here, take this you big brute! RAIJIN FIST!" she bellowed, thrusting her fist forwards.
Thanks to its smack talk, the Warden had been unable to notice the attack till it was too late, and thus got hit in the gut by her attack. The Undead Warden howled with pain, feeling Lightning course through its system and causing cracks to appear over its bone-made body. "ARGH! You BITCH!" It roared, pushing through the pain it was obviously in and grabbing Tekken. It held her in its hand, before smacking her hard against the ground, causing a human shaped crater. It was so angry that it didn't noticed the slight moan that escaped the girl's lips. (Though her comrades did, cue more sweat drops.)
MAGES. shook her head at her companion's antics, before she swiftly began generating some lightning Spells to strike with. Her Mana gathered in her Staff and she pointed it at the enemy, firing several bolts in its direction. The bolts hit it in the chest like sharp stingers from a wasp, causing it to stumble back and away from their companion. Tekken used this chance to flip away from their adversary, while Nico rushed forwards.
With Alastor encased by Lightning, as well as glowing from the pre-activation of a Skill, the teenage Spec Ops Agent roared as he swung in a horizontal slash towards the enemy's gut. This time though, his attack hit, and Nico called out the name of his Skill. "PHANTOM EDGE!" Left behind, was a purple energy wound. However, thanks to the weapon used being Alastor, there were various sparks coming from the wound, just before it exploded in a spectacular show of both Plasma AND Lightning.
Cue more shrieks of pain from the Undead Warden.
Though, it pushed past the pain to swing its Baton towards Nico, whom managed to side flip over it and slash at the back of its weapon arm. The Warden growled at this, swinging its Baton at him again only for the male to flip backwards, twist on his heel and launch a PHANTOM WAVE into its chest area, knocking the enemy back. He then clicked his fingers, and if his Armour wasn't on they would have seen the smirk etched onto his lips when he yelled out. "CHAINS OF HEPHAESTUS!"
His containment Skill activated, and soon enough the monster was immobilized by dozens of Plasma Chains. Nico looked over to MAGES., and gave her a wordless nod of consent.
The Mad Magician accepted the unasked suggestion, and raised her Staff for an attack she had been generating while her companions had kept the enemy busy. "Prepare to face the stone of Destiny. THUNDER STORM!" Her Staff glowed with the activation of her Skill, and in the next moment the Undead Warden was peppered by Lightning bolts formed from one big Lightning sphere that had formed above. She didn't let up though, as she constantly hit with various spells of the Lightning category:
DARK CYCLONE - MAGES. summoned a black coloured Cyclone filled with Lightning, surrounding the enemy with it and shocking it senseless.
THUNDER BALL - MAGES. formed a football-sized Ball of highly condensed Lightning and shot it into the enemy, causing an explosion of said Element.
EVIL SPARK - A van-sized beam of Lightning got fired from MAGES.' Staff, shocking the Undead Warden even more.
LIGHTNING ANNHILIATION - The Mad Magician leapt high into the air, and then raised her Staff above her head. She then pumped Mana into it and created a massive ball of lightning above her head. It took a second, but fully charged, the blunette threw it towards the Undead Warden, where it exploded in a spectacular show of the element.
Nico and Tekken watched as the blunette unloaded one Lightning-based Spell after another on the Warden, with no signs of slowing down. Each Spell caused them to wince from the damage done.
"Um... you think that she's going a bit overkill?"
"Nope, not in the least... though I do admit, a Mage on your side can be very useful on the battlefield."
"Well, she IS someone who uses both Magic and technology to her advantage, so..."
"Huh... Interesting. Think she could make a Gate of Babylon that holds rocket launchers? Or maybe summon a Tommy Gun and use her Staff to play it like a violin to launch shockwaves?"
"... I get the feeling you pulled a Neptune there, Nico."
"Yep, yes I did and I no longer am shamed to admit it."
That was the two-way conversation between the two as MAGES literally wrecked the Undead Warden's shit. After a few minutes, the Mad Magician fell to one knee, panting heavily much to her comrades concern. "I am... alright... just used, a bit too much Mana there..." she told them when she lifted her head and saw their expressions.
"I'll say..." Nico began, but then he noticed something, and his eye narrowed in suspicion. "Say, you weren't by any chance... venting excess stress on that thing with those attacks, were you?" he asked her carefully.
MAGES. wore a face of indifference, despite the fatigue she was in, but in her eyes the male only saw that it was a Mask. A poorly made one to hide away her true feelings on the matter. "... I do not know what you're talking about."
"That's a lie, and a bad one if I can see it, MAGES.." Tekken stated dryly, but with a weak smile.
(Marmosets - Play ends here)
Soon their attention got brought back to the Undead Warden, whom now looked more like the Lightning version of that one guy who was a part of a group of four scientists/superhero's that could turn into a fiery man. Though, through that pain, it looked like it could kill them wit just its glare alone. "Filthy... traitos... my kingm will... reward me handsomely... when I bring him your heads!" he roared in a deranged manner.
This time, Nico stepped to the plate. "I've got this ladies. Tekken, you focus on keeping MAGES. covered, so she can recover her energy properly. Alastor and I have some pent up aggression of our own to unleash." Boy was that true. His frustration at not being around when IF was kidnapped, the frustration of being used by some snotty Noblemen, the worry he felt for his comrades safety as well as the sheer confusion about his ideals, everything needed to be vented. And Alastor needed to have its abilities discovered, through this battle he had felt its potential yet to be tapped into. MAGES. wasn't the only one with things to vent, it wasn't fair that it was just her doing this either.
The Undead Warden thought that SHE was bad? Well, he'd soon show him what TRUE torture felt like!
Lighting roared from within the blade as Nico got ready. At this point, the Warden had broken free from the Plasma Chains of his CHAINS OF HEPHAESTUS. Though he had allowed them to break. Now, to see what powers this Sword truly had.
Closing his eye briefly, Nico reached into the sword's power, trying to get a connection to it like he had with the rest of his Devil Arms. It wasn't too hard to find, and when he did, Biko soon spoke to him with words that he oh so wanted to hear. 'Nico, Alastor has bequeathed to me knowledge of its powers, I shall download them into your brain, in the interest of your circumstances, but it will be your job to train in them in the future. Are you ready?' He received mental confirmation, and like a computer he had the information downloaded into Nico's brain.
By the Goddess, it hurt like a bitch, but Nico refrained from showing it. Alastor's blade coursed with Lightning, almost reminiscent of an excited child finally about to get some action. 'Alright, which one should I do first... Hmmm, oh this one!' a technique was brought into his mind, and oh boy Nico SO wanted to try it. Pointing his Devil Arm at the beast as it began running at him, Nico focused the weapon's power. Lightning arced around the blade to its tip, and from the blade a bolt of lighting flew out to hit it in the face, stopping it in its tracks. A basic Lightning Bolt, nothing special on its own, but it was indeed one of Alastor's basic techniques.
'But If I put more of its power into the Bolt...'
Nico repeated his previous actions, and soon enough a larger, stronger Lightning Bolt flew out of his weapon, hitting the creature and knocking it on its ass. The name of the attack came to his mind: Overload Burst. Basically he drew in electricity from both within the sword and the surroundings to make a stronger version of a Lightning Bolt that can potentially target multiple foes. Quite useful, actually.
Needless to say, the Warden wasn't pleased in the slightest as it got up, and furiously roared. It raced towards him, stumbling on occasion thanks to the Lightning coursing through its system. When he was about to get hit by a swing from its Baton, Nico swiftly slid between its legs, twisting around till he was facing the beast's behind.
The male then aimed Alastor like he did with the Overload Burst. This time, the whole blade became bathed in Lightning, and a long, constant streak of it launched from the tip. The Warden cried out in intense agony as the attack continuously struck him in the behind, Lightning burning through its defences. By the time the attack stopped, the Warden was practically steaming right now, its Skeleton body charred heavily from the constant Lightning attacks. It didn't even think about the girls anymore, all it wanted was the male's head on a pike.
'That would be called 'Arc Lightning'.'
Turning around, the Warden gave an enraged yell as it raised its Baton, striking the ground beneath it. The male wobbled and stumbled from the generated tremors, all the while the girls fell onto their backsides. While he was distracted, the Warden charged at him with the intent to crush him under an overhead slam.
Out of instinct, and when he saw what the creature was about to do, Nico raised his Alastor above him and instinctively accessed another Technique. The male saw the Baton come down on his weapon... only to hit nothing. Or rather, it hit a large, circular shield made entirely out of lightning, bouncing the weapon off it while the Warden fell onto his backside once more.
The name: Polarity Wall, came to mind.
So there was his defensive technique, now to see if there was anything else. Accessing the list of techniques again, the male found one that he liked, making him smirk in a deadly manner as he held Alastor over his head. Calling on the sword's power, the male saw the results of his efforts: 10 large, circular masses of condensed Lightning floating around the blade. 'Shock Grenades...' the male thought, a giddy chuckle barely stopped from escaping him as he slashed forwards, launching the Shock Grenades at his opponent.
Each one hit around the Warden, creating human sized explosions of Lightning that served to tick it off even more. It stood on all fours, before breaking into a sprint towards him, swinging at his head. Nico ducked under it, as well as jumped back to avoid the hand that tried to grab him. He made and launched more Shock Grenades, each one hitting the creature dead on this time. This resulted in more agonized howling, and Nico had to admit that this sucker was quite durable.
Just then, one Technique surfaced within his mind, one that nearly made him fall over in surprise. 'Whoa, that one's different! seems kinda like IF's assimilation powers...' he thought in shock, before a small smirk formed on his features. 'Well then, lets see how it works, shall we? Electric Drain time!' Dashing forwards, Nico cut into the creatures bone legs, forcing it onto its knees. The male then turned around and, mentally activating the ability, jabbed Alastor into its back.
"GUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
The Warden screamed (it had been doing that a lot lately, huh?) as Nico felt every bit of the residue electricity fly out of the Warden's body, all of it going straight into Alastor. Electric Drain: the ability to drain the target of their Bio-electric energy. If it drained all of it, the result would be death. But, if he used it in this way, Nico wouldn't have to kill his opponents with this ability, though in this case the Warden didn't have any bioelectricity save for what he and MAGES. had hit it with. The combined electricity sent warm shudders through his spine, shudders he realised belonged to the Devil Arm itself. Looked like he just found out what this thing liked most of all, then.
Deciding to try and see if this other technique acutely similar to the Shock Grenades would work, Nico held his sword out, before swinging diagonally. From the swing, came about 12 Missile-shaped Lightning masses shot from the blade's edge, similar to his DPU form's ATOMIC INFERNO. The technique's name: Megawatt Missiles, small homing Missiles that collided with the enemy no matter where they were. They wouldn't stop chasing the target either, something that he liked in his powers.
Hey, sometimes you need grenades, other times you'd need missiles. Deal.
'Alright, that's enough Techniques, its time to finish this.' Nico thought, now observing the downed Warden with slight pity in his eyes. The bombardment of Techniques and Magic attacks had thoroughly weakened it till it was practically a shell of its former self. It honestly didn't feel as good as it should have been to take it down this way. Then again, at least for them, it would mean the enemy would die quickly.
Raising Alastor, Nico engulfed the blade in Lightning, before he vanished into thin air. He then reappeared right before it, and the last thing the Warden saw would be the descending blade that cut him in half. The two halves fell to the sides, lifeless once more like they should have been so long ago. Soon enough, they dispersed out of existence leaving nothing left for the curse to latch onto. All three of them felt it the moment the Warden's remains were gone fully: an unseen weight lifted off their shoulders. It was accompanied by the feeling of accomplishment, of success.
Well, it only made sense, you know. They DID just defeat all the Undead and set them free from this torment. For good.
"It is done." MAGES., now feeling better thanks to some rest and a few SP Chargers, though she didn't have anymore now, said. A small smile formed on her lips, one of relief and joy. "All the lost souls in this Prison have been laid to rest. The cycle of life has slowly been set into the right track once again."
Tekken nodded as well, she didn't know why, but she got the feeling that she had done something grand today, and that many people would be thanking her if she ever got the chance to meet them. "Yeah! We got rid of the Undead, and did so many folks a favour!" she cheered happily. Nico glanced at her as he walked up tot he girls, strapping Alastor to his back.
"Well, now that we have this done, we should return to the task we originally set out to do here. We need to find the Level 3 of the Halls of Agony, then go to the Chamber of Suffering." he told them, frowning behind his Helmet. While he too shared their sentiments about their deeds in this place, Nico didn't want to waste any more time. He wanted to get to IF as soon as possible, he could sense conflict deep beneath them. That could only mean that something had been going on down there, and from what he was sensing it had been going on for a while. He hoped IF was alright.
MAGES. dusted herself off, before nodding in agreement. "I concur, it would be wise for us to keep moving, Your friends have little time to wait, I fear." She ominously stated, Tekken pouting. She wanted to get some rest first before they continued, but she guessed that wouldn't be happening. Not with this stuff going on.
So, to that end, the trio continued on their journey to find the Chambers of Suffering.
