I played DOOM: Eternal, and decided to write a DOOM fic alongside Post Extinction. Disclaimer: Most of my knowledge about the world of Shield Hero comes from the Anime. So if I mess something up in Shield Hero lore because it was only in the Manga or LN, then sorry, BUT, I got some plans to compensate for it. Shout out to GamerJay and his fic Remnant Inferis: DOOM. I'd be lying if I said his fic didn't influence both this AND Post Extinction somewhat. So go give that a read. ENJOY!
Rated M because DOOM! Expect gore, violence, metal music, cursing, demons and sadists getting brutally shredded by the Doom Slayer without mercy, indiscriminate use of chainsaws and shotguns, and for the whole world of Rising of the Shield Hero to get aggressively turned upside down!
And also, the theme song I imagine works for this fic is One by One by DAGames.
-DOOM-
Where Hell goes, you will follow.
As false heroes bask in shallow, undeserved glory, you will fight.
Your rage will light the darkness in which demons dwell.
Rip and Tear. Until it is done.
-DOOM-
DOOM: Waves of Armageddon
-Summoning I: The Doom Slayer-
On the orders of their king, the priests gathered into the large chamber with a holy glyph on the floor, intending to perform the ritual that might save their beloved kingdom from the dreaded waves of calamity that spelled the doom of their people. They gathered around and began to perform the incantations, and as the mana began to flow, the head priest called across space, time, and dimensions.
"Come forth, noble heroes of ancient legend…"
-DOOM-
Somewhere else…
In orbit around the Earth sat what could only be described as the child of an ancient medieval castle and a science-fiction spaceship. A mixture of stone and steel and alien energy. That ship was the Fortress of Doom, the command station to the legendary Doom Slayer, the Hellwalker, the Unchained Predator, the one thing the demonic creatures of darkness feared. And in the aftermath of the demon's latest attempt to take Earth, was currently undergoing repairs to reestablish the main power source, which had been forcibly disconnected in a vain effort by the Khan Maykr to curb the Doom Slayer's crusade against Hell.
Expectantly, this attempt didn't even slow him down. Thanks in large part to the fact that not even a half-hour prior to then, the Slayer had reacquired a relic called the Demonic Crucible and his uneasy ally, the cyborg Dr. Samuel Hayden.
After this transpired, the Doom Slayer set out to defeat the Khan Maykr, retrieving his own Crucible from the ancient City of Taras Nabad, and then traveled into the Khan Maykr's realm through the Hell city of Nekravol to face them and stop her plans for good. He managed to defeat the angel of deceit, but not before she revived the Icon of Sin. The Slayer had chased the ancient beast down and dueled it to death.
With the Icon of Sin now rotting away, the Slayer had some breathing room to repair damages the Khan Maykr did to the Fortress of Doom.
Dr. Hayden was currently plugged into the Fortress' computer systems since his cybernetic body was half-destroyed. At the current moment, he was sifting through the ship's various systems and subsystems to isolate just what the Khan Maykr had done to cut the power from the ship's main engines.
The Slayer himself was currently working his way through a mess of cables and electrical components as he reconnected the physical components of his ship's power source to the engines. He was dressed in his armor, the Praetor Suit, minus the gauntlets and helmet so he could better work with the temperamental mechanical components. The Slayer took the last cable in his hand and plugged it into one of the engine room's many energy batteries. He turned to his work, running a hand through his short hair, mentally counting up all the repairs he had done thus far. He was interrupted from his calculations by Dr. Hayden.
"If you're done rearranging the Fortress' internal mechanisms, I believe I've isolated the last issue."
The Slayer looked over to the diagnostics monitor where he left the Praetor Suit's gauntlets and helmet and began to put them back on.
A schematic of the engine appeared, and its central core flashed red. "She overloaded the primary sentinel power core, burning it out. It'll need to be replaced."
'That bitch.'
The Slayer growled as he secured his gauntlets, making doubly sure the Doomblade was connected tightly to his left gauntlet. He checked his mark on his helmet before putting it on. He walked towards his personal man-cave to retrieve his weapons.
"Fortunately, VEGA thought ahead and left behind some files on where to find some in the ruins of the Night Sentinel's last stand."
'Thank you for that, VEGA.'
The Slayer grunted. He already knew there were plenty of usable components of Argenta tech laying around in Hell. Finding a Sentinel Core amongst the wreckage was easy enough.
He stared at his wall of weapons. The first one he retrieved was an ornate double-barreled shotgun with an under-barrel two-pronged grappling hook called a meathook, he just called it the Super Shotgun.
Next, he pulled down a pump-action Combat Shotgun which was currently equipped with a sticky bomb launcher. It wasn't his heaviest hitting weapon, but those sticky bombs were especially helpful against Cacodemons and for disabling demon weapons.
The Heavy Cannon, his primary full-auto weapon. Equipped with two racks of heat-seeking micro missiles and a tactical scope. Perfect for smaller foes and precise quick shots.
Speaking of rapid-fire weapons, the Slayer pulled down the Plasma Rifle, it fired spheres of plasma at a high rate and was the perfect counter to energy shields. It was currently equipped with the heat blast mod.
Finally, he pulled down his heavy-duty Chainsaw, the Great Communicator, for when he didn't like the look of any particular demon.
'This'll work just fine.'
He didn't see a need to bring any of his bigger guns or very big guns. The region where the Night Sentinels had fought wasn't too populated anyway. He packed up his guns and went for the Fortress' bridge.
The Fortress of Doom's bridge was basked in an ominous red light, a side effect of powering the ship with the Demonic Crucible. While the Slayer didn't mind the lighting, he didn't want to keep the Demonic Crucible plugged into his ship. Call him paranoid, but he didn't trust a purely demonic artifact containing the essence of three extremely temperamental elemental beings to not cause problems at some point.
"I've locked a portal on the location of the Sentinel's last stand, the slipgate is ready when you are," Dr. Hayden stated.
The Slayer checked the monitors on the bridge's circular command platform, before pushing the activation stone for the Fortress' slipgate.
'Let's Rock!'
The Doom Slayer cranked the pump of the Combat Shotgun and jumped through the portal...
-DOOM-
…And exited in the ruins of a massive and ancient battlefield on the outskirts of Hell. Surrounding him were cliffs of red rocks, pools of boiling magma, the ruins of a Baalgar's castle, bones and bodies everywhere, and fleshy pulsating Hellgrowths that oozed to the most disgusting viscous substance the Slayer had the displeasure of seeing in his life.
The Slayer maneuvered the cliff faces, swinging over the fiery lakes looking out for any sign of Argenta technology he could easily get his hands on. It didn't take long before he found something he hoped would yield results. An Atlan, a mighty war machine of the Night Sentinels. Frozen mid-battle with a Titan demon, its armored mechanical hands around a giant lance that was lodged into the Titan's skull. Even in its deactivated state, it stood tall and unyielding, much like its creators had.
'Gotta love the Argenta and their giant robots.'
He found himself dodging the plasma fire of an Aracnotron before he could take another step. He glared hatefully at the brain monster on cybernetic legs as it in turn charged up another blast from its overhead Plasma Turret.
'Next up on the do-to list: find the UAC facility making these four-legged fucks and blow it up.'
He raised his Heavy Cannon, peering through the precision bolt scope. Aiming for the Aracnotron's turret. He pulled the trigger and...
KR-BANG!
...the shot found its mark
The Aracnotron switched to launching grenades at the Slayer, who in turn strafed to the side and let them roll harmlessly away. All the while, the Slayer unloaded two racks of micro missiles from the Heavy Cannon's alternate mod at the demon.
The Slayer followed up on this attack by firing the Super Shotgun's meathook into the Aracnotron's brain matter. With a jump the meathook began to rapidly retract, propelling the Slayer towards the Aracnotron. The last thing the demon saw was the two barrels of the Slayer's legendary weapon as they jammed into its face and discharged.
The Slayer kicked the Aracnotron's mangled cybernetic corpse aside as he heard the screeches of more demons. He stood before the battlefield and could see many Imps scurrying to higher platforms, Prowlers lurking on lower grounds, a cycloptic Cacodemon floating overhead, and an ape-like Hell Knight snarling at him.
(BFG Division - DOOM 2016 OST, Mick Gordon)
The Slayer jumped down towards a pair of Prowlers, launching a Frag Grenade from his Equipment Launcher, he grabbed onto a bar jutting out from the upper platform and swung upward.
KA-BOOM!
Slayer primed another sticky bomb as he flipped up towards the Cacodemon, which had opened its wide maw to bite into the Slayer, it lunged forward.
GULP.
The demon choked on a sticky bomb. The Slayer took the opportunity and grabbed its mandible, hoisting himself up, and shoved his Doomblade into its eye.
The Slayer lunged away as the Cacodemon popped like a balloon as the Slayer pulled himself towards the Hell Knight with the meathook. He lunged back and fired the Super Shotgun in the demon's skull.
The Slayer dashed away, firing a constant stream of micro missiles from the Heavy Cannon into a group of Imps, blasting them into satisfying chunks. He switched to the Plasma Rifle and let loose at the Hell Knight.
As the Hell Knight melted from the plasma stream, the Slayer turned to another Prowler that was racing towards him and let it taste the heat blast from the weapon's filled heat sink.
The Slayer swung off another bar, staring down one last Prowler. It panicked as the Super Shotgun's meathook lodged itself in its chest. The last thing the hapless demon saw was the visage of the Doom Slayer, grinning like a lunatic, at the Super Shotgun fired point-blank into its chest.
BANG!
The Slayer swapped to the Combat Shotgun and finished off the remaining pack of Imps with a series of seemingly endless sticky bombs.
Around him, more demons began to teleport into the fiery arena. He reloaded the Super Shotgun and lunged.
The Slayer punched out a zombie and jumped up to a higher platform. He fired the Super Shotgun point-blank vaporizing an Imp.
He meathooked up to a Cacodemon, slicing it in half with the Doomblade. Coming down, he aimed for an Aracnotron, dodging its plasma projectiles. He landed on top of the demon, grabbing its turret. With one mighty heave…
CRACK!
... The Slayer ripped it off the cyber-spider and shoved it downward. He crossed a pair of wires and the turret fired into the Aracnotron's brain.
He jumped off as the demon burst into flames, screeching and tumbling off the platform. Rushing forward, the Slayer aimed to punch an oncoming Imp in the face. His strike was blocked by a sudden energy shield.
The Slayer looked to his left and saw that the shield's source was a bloated cybernetic tripod demon known as a Carcass. It grinned maliciously at the Slayer as it scurried around, launching a sonic blast energy attack. The Slayer dodged and drew his Plasma Rifle, the Carcass threw up another shield between itself and the Slayer. Several Imps surrounded the shield as the Slayer fired into it. The plasma fire overloaded the shield.
BZZAP!
The Imps were all lacerated by the resulting energy discharge. The Slayer dodged the strike of a Hell Knight as he rushed the Carcass. He dodged the Carcass' melee strike, rushing around it Doomblade drawn. The Slayer stabbed the Carcass' back tank. The Carcass began to spin uncontrollably as the Slayer kicked it towards the Hell Knight.
The Hell Knight faltered for a split second. The Slayer ran up and discharged the Plasma Rifle's heat blast. Stunning the demon. The Slayer drew the Doomblade and stabbed the Hell Knight through its skull.
The last two demons roared down at the Slayer. Towering over the battlefield stood twin Barons of Hell, powerful satyr-like demons, their leathery-red skin glistening in the firelight. They jumped down, and both rushed at the Slayer.
The Slayer dodged, firing a rack of micro missiles from the Heavy Cannon into both the barons. One Baron lunged for a ground pound and the other launched a green plasma projectile. The Slayer swapped to the Combat Shotgun and swapped to the full auto mod.
The Slayer's shoulder-mounted Equipment Launcher came forth. Aiming for the closest Baron in front of him, the Slayer fired an Ice Bomb at the demon, freezing it in its tracks. He wound up the full auto Shotgun and let it rip into the Baron's head.
BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!
The shotgun's shells shredded the frozen flesh of the demon. All the while, the Slayer dodged strikes from the other Baron, launching a pair of Frag Grenades at its feet. As the effect of the Ice Bomb wore off, the extent of the damage the Slayer had done to the first Baron hit it full force. The sheer pain it experienced from having all the flesh shot off its face forced it to its knees. The Slayer rushed forward and stabbed the Doomblade through the first Baron's throat.
All this happened while the second Baron recoiled from the pain of having the flesh shredded and rendered from its legs by the dual grenades. It forced itself up and weakly lunged at the Slayer. The Slayer clutched the Baron's throat with his right arm. The Baron flailed to swat the Slayer and was greeted by the sensation of the Doomblade chopping its right arm off. The Slayer followed up with three stabs to the chest and one through the Baron's skull.
As the last Baron of Hell fell, the Slayer jumped down from the highest platform and landed on the path to the Atlan, and surveyed the absolute carnage he'd just wrought.
'Too easy.'
(End Music)
The Atlan stood tall. A mountain of forged metal and electric parts riveted together in the form of a colossal titan. The Slayer looked around, trying to get a fix on a still-functioning Sentinel core. Out in the open, he found none, the Slayer concluded he'd have to look inside the Atlan. Dr. Hayden figured the same.
"You'll have to look inside it. I'm detecting a hatchway in the mech's head. I assume you can get up there."
The Slayer turned to a cliff face and cracked his knuckles, he was down for some mountain climbing. He jumped up, grabbed the jagged rocks, and began to climb. An overhead rock stopped his ascension. Using one hand to hold onto the ledge, he turned to face an opposing cliff and jumped. Grabbing onto the opposing face, he continued to rise.
At the top, he turned and jumped onto the Atlan's pauldron. He stopped to kill two approaching Cacodemons and entered. The Atlan's bridge was in disarray but was relatively untouched by the many millennia that it had been trapped in Hell.
The bridge was cylindrical, an apparatus used to sync the mech to the pilot's motion dangled limply from the ceiling. A skeleton wearing the exosuit of a pilot sat in the corner with a Gargoyle's claw lodged in its gut, with the skeleton of a headless Gargoyle demon next to it. The Slayer took it in, recalling a time when this mighty war machine was used. He could almost see the pilot plugged into the control apparatus, mimicking the phantom motions they wanted the Atlan to perform.
He shook it off. If he remembered correctly, there was a sentinel core in the center of the bridge, just below the control apparatus. If he was lucky, it was still there, and still had at least some power in it. He ripped away the leg controls, tearing away wires, which sparked as he did so. He saw the faint glow of a Sentinel Core, and he grinned.
'Bingo!'
The Slayer dug it out and held it aloft.
"With some slight modification, I can get this to run with synthetic Argent Energy. The Fortress won't run out of power anytime soon that way," Dr. Hayden announced, "I've marked an extraction point where I can open a portal back."
The Slayer nodded and tucked the core away for safekeeping. Once outside he looked in the direction his suit's internal compass was pointing him in. It was three kilometers away and on the other side of some very treacherous terrain. He looked down and saw some solid ground below where he was standing. He jumped off the Atlan's shoulder and hit the ground with a superhero landing.
Waiting for him on the ground was another group of demons, this one far larger. The Slayer couldn't quite make out what types of demons were present, only that there was a veritable legion of them. In the backdrop, the Slayer could see the ruins of Nekravol, City of the Damned, in shambles. It seemed like the place didn't react well to a giant energy transmitter falling into the internal well, from here, it looked like the place had exploded.
'They must really be mad about that. Good.'
The Slayer drew his Super Shotgun, loading it with fresh shells, and snapped the barrels closed. A single Fireborne Baron, an offshoot species of Baron with ashen skin and fiery blood, jumped in front of the horde, and roared in pure hatred at the Doom Slayer, baring its claws and serrated teeth as it did so.
The Slayer growled beneath his helmet. He leveled his Super Shotgun at the Fireborne Baron's face and charged headfirst into the horde. Meeting their attacks head-on.
-DOOM-
Dr. Hayden was monitoring the Slayer's progress from the Fortress. He was able to see the battle through the Slayer's helmet camera. At the current moment, the Slayer was beating a Prowler to death using an Imp as a fleshy flail, it was a spectacular and gory display of the Slayer's mighty prowess.
He turned his attention away from the fight, redirecting his focus on the engine where the main core was located. Through the ship's systems, he removed the burst sentinel core from the main engine and readied it to receive the new one. He then shifted his attention to the secondary generator the Demonic Crucible was plugged into, slowly but surely he began to activate the systems to shift back to receive power from the primary engine. He took special care to not unintentionally shut down the Fortress entirely.
Hayden checked up on the Slayer's battle again. He was currently suplexing a Baron of Hell, into razor-sharp rock stalagmite formations that pierced the demon through the skull.
Hayden concluded that the Slayer would probably be in the fight for a few hours at least. He decided to spend the time optimizing the Fortress' systems to increase the Slayer's response time to demonic incursions since he had the time to do so.
Multiple hours later and the Fortress' Slipgate finally opened, and out stepped the Doom Slayer onto the return platform, the portal having cleansed the gore from his armor, "I took the liberty of preparing the engine to receive the new core and prepared the ship to change power sources while you were... preoccupied."
The Slayer entered the engine room, the slot where the core went glowed an acidic green. He put the core in place, with a twist, he could sense the power flowing throughout the room, silver electrical crackles danced along the metallic walls and floors. "Re-engaging main power."
The room went dark for a split second, then came back online, basking the room in cool blue light, indicating no more power was being drawn from the Demonic Crucible. The Slayer's grin of victory was cut off when the warning klaxon began to blare. The Slayer glared into the nearest security camera. Hayden knew the Slayer was silently blaming him, "This wasn't my doing. There's an anomaly on the bridge!"
The Slayer ran up fast to the Fortress' bridge, upon the command center a golden vortex of energy had formed. It seemed to be functioning as a vacuum, as he felt an unnatural pull towards it. He readied his stance, this portal was not gonna get him easily.
He turned his head to the side to see that Hayden had activated the bridge's equipment fabricator, and was rapidly throwing together what looked to be a miniature tracking beacon. "It doesn't appear that the portal will close until you go through it, take the tether tracking beacon, and I'll open up a portal once you land on the other side!"
The Slayer climbed against the vacuum, up to the fabricator, and took the improvised device. Moving back towards the center of the pathway, the Slayer stared into the portal…
'Lookout on the other side!'
… And jumped forward.
-DOOM-
For a minute, there was nothing, just the Slayer falling through a white and gold haze. No other objects were around him, just nothing, stretching on into infinity. He was alone in the bright void. To anyone else, this might induce a feeling of panic, but not the Doom Slayer.
Instead, the Slayer identified which ways he was falling, he locked his eyes in that direction, and adjusted mid-air so he was falling feet first. He couldn't see the ground, nor could the Praetor Suit's sensors identify anything resembling physical matter. The Slayer's only indication he was about to hit the ground, was a plain nondescript male voice.
"Come forth, noble heroes of ancient legend, for our world is in need of you."
The white void blinded the Doom Slayer for a split second while he smashed into the floor with another superhero landing. The Slayer's vision returned and revealed that the destination was, in fact, a cold stone room, its architecture mirroring that of the medieval age, but not in the real sense. The hall he was in was cold, sterile, and far too symmetrical to have been constructed by the hands of medieval builders. It looked more like the way the medieval age was presented in works of fantasy like it was a perfected elegant reflection of a harsher reality.
The Slayer stood up, he saw he was in the middle of a green summoning circle. The runes and symbols adorning the edges didn't appear demonic, the Slayer ruled out a possible trap laid by demons, but stayed on guard anyway.
The second thing the Slayer noticed was the group of five robed and cloaked individuals, priests, if he had to guess. They were all looking at him with expressions the Slayer knew all too well.
Fear.
They had only been in the Doom Slayer's presence for all of ten seconds and were already scared of him. The Slayer simply stared at them, his aura of barely restrained rage sending a chill down the spines of all present. The robed man in front gathered his wits and cleared his throat, "Welcome, heroes, may you lend a hand? For our world is in dire need of saving."
'Wait, heroes? As in plural?'
"What do you mean saving?"
The Slayer turned to his left and saw a lineup of three young men. The first was a male who had red eyes, long gold blonde hair done into a ponytail, and wore a red jacket over a white t-shirt with tan jeans, in his hands was a plain spear. The second was a young teenage boy with blue eyes whose short black hair matched his dark blue and black tracksuit, he was equipped with an ornate sword. Finally, the last was another teenage boy with green eyes, his unkempt hair was a shade of blonde darker than the first guy's, contrasting his hair was a tidied school uniform, he was testing the string of a bow he had. They all appeared young, it was more than likely that they were all still in some form of school.
Literal children, by most standards, especially by the Slayer's standards.
The robed figure spoke up, "You were all summoned here by an ancient ritual. Our world teeters on the brink of destruction, and you four are the only thing that can save us. So please, brave heroes, lend us your aid. "
The Slayer's fists balled. His immediate conclusion to hearing that was, 'impending Hell invasion', if that was the case, then a trio of children with old-school weapons weren't going to cut it.
"You can forget it."
The Slayer turned back to the three kids. The one with the black hair had spoken up. The schoolboy followed it up, "I also refuse.'
The blonde one with the spear also responded, "You can send us back home, right? Do that, then we'll talk."
The boy with the sword raised it, pointing it towards the group of robed men, in a harsh tone, proclaimed: "Not to mention, you summoned us without our consent. Don't you feel the least bit guilty about it?"
The three of them were acting like they had any amount of control, making demands and threats, all the while, they didn't even act like this was anything other than another day of the week.
'These three are remarkably calm about this.'
The Slayer's focus was drawn suddenly to a message on the Praetor Suit's HUD, it read:
INCOMING VOICE COMM: DR. SAMUEL HAYDEN
Hayden's voice then spoke through the earpiece in his helmet, "I must apologize, Slayer, it took me a few minutes to locate your tracking beacon. However, I have located the planet you're on and can open a Slipgate back to the Fortress at any time. Do you wish to leave now? Or see where this… unusual situation is going?"
The Slayer looked back at the other three, and the weapons they held. If they had been given weapons upon summon, the logical conclusion was that the Slayer had one too, he looked down at his gauntlets, and saw it. A basic shield with a plain green gem at its center was strapped to his left gauntlet. It was so lightweight that the Praetor Suit's sensors could barely detect it. He looked back up and stared at the robed man, aggressively pointing at the shield.
The robed man seemed to catch on to what the Slayer was asking, and simply replied, "I must ask that you all have an audience with the king, where he will explain the situation, and negotiate rewards with all of you."
The five robed men exited the room, followed by the three children, then by the Slayer. Hayden then spoke once more through the earpiece, "Very well then, I do not doubt that this will be… Interesting."
The group exited up into a spiral staircase, the Slayer minding his distance towards the rear. He stopped for a second to look out a window, through it he saw the town of various stone buildings and trees below, and a mountain range covered in foliage off in the distance. Dr. Hayden even commented on it: "Judging by the various sensors on in the Praetor Suit, I'd wager that this place has a standard Mediterranean climate."
He turned back to the other three, who'd stopped, and were currently looking at him curiously. The schoolboy with the bow spoke, "I assume you've done a lot of traveling since you look like a soldier."
'That's one way of putting it.'
The Slayer grunted and continued up the stairs. The group exited into an open-air stone courtyard that sat beneath a multi-story castle. The Slayer looked up and noticed a red-headed figure in a purple dress looking down at them. The figure seemed to look back at the Slayer for a split second before moving away from the window. They entered the castle's main building and stopped in front of a pair of large doors, undoubtedly the entrance to the throne room. The Slayer found a portrait of who he assumed was the royal family.
"I suspect the man in this portrait is the one we're about to meet." Dr. Hayden commented in the Slayer's earpiece.
On a throne in the portrait was a square-jawed older man in purple robes with white linings and gold trimmings, the king. Next to him stood a woman with purple hair and a poofy purple dress, the queen. Beneath both of them in the picture stood two children, one with red hair standing a little shorter than the queen, and the other with blue hair and was likely somewhere between the ages of eight and ten, princesses.
'How the hell does a person naturally get purple or blue hair? Is that a thing on this planet?'
"The king will see you all now."
The group was led into a white marble throne room, a red carpet leading up to a platform where two ornate golden thrones with red plush seating sat. On the right throne was the king. The left side throne was oddly empty.
Where's the queen? Is she dead or something?
The king was surrounded by his advisors, two small groups of nobles had congregated along the side. Guards armed with basic spears lined the throne room's edge. The odd party the Slayer was in came to a stop, the four of them lined up. The king looked them over, then spoke, "So, you four young men are the ancient heroes of legend? This Is the land of Melromarc, and I am her king, Aultcray Melromarc XXXII. Welcome."
"I suppose we now know where you are," Dr. Hayden said into the Slayer's ear, " but not why you're here."
The king continued, "Please, identify yourselves."
The emo sword boy went first, "Ren Amaki, I'm 16 and a high school student."
The blonde spear guy went next, "Motoyasu Kitamura, college student, 21."
The schoolboy with the bow came last, "Guess I'm next, Itsuki Kawasumi, still in high school, and 17 years old."
The Slayer silently groaned. He didn't want to break his vow of silence just so he could introduce himself to an unknown. Which was exactly what king Aultcray Melromarc XXXII represented. Not that it mattered, however, because, for some reason, the king ignored him. While the Slayer preferred not having to speak, the fact that someone could casually gloss over someone as intimidating as him was baffling and off-putting. "Good, Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki, welcome…"
"Um, excuse me?"
All turned to now identified Itsuki, who had his hand raised slightly, "Um, you forgot someone." he said gesturing to the Slayer.
The king looked at the Slayer for a second with twitching eyes, before clearing his throat, "Right, pardon me, Shield Hero, please introduce yourself."
"Step up, and allow me to speak." Dr. Hayden advised.
The Slayer stepped forward as Dr. Hayden switched over to the suit's outside speakers, and spoke, "If my companion had a voice, it was lost long ago. My name is Samuel Hayden, and I speak on his behalf."
The throne room went silent at the strange mechanized voice of Dr. Hayden. The first to speak up was Itsuki, "Hold on, you mean we're not talking to the man in the power armor?"
"Correct," Hayden explained, "I am currently speaking to you through the Praetor Suit. If it helps, think of me as a guiding spirit."
The king then asked, "Then, pray tell, Samuel Hayden, what is the Shield Hero's name?"
Neither Hayden nor the Slayer missed the minuscule traces of venom in the king's words. "Not even I know his name, like his voice, it was lost long ago. But, many know of his title, the Slayer."
"Slayer of what?" the king asked in a growly tone.
"..." Hayden paused, "Pray you never have to find out."
The throne room became cold and silent at Hayden's warning.
Itsuki was the fist to clear his throat, "Well, your highness, can you kindly explain why we were all summoned here?"
The king sighed, "Yes, of course. As you've probably noted, you four are each equipped with a different weapon. These are known as the Legendary Weapons. We learned from ancient scriptures that through a ritual summoning we could call forth individual people to wield them. According to legend, each weapon has the potential to become infinitely powerful. And the wielders were known as the four Cardinal Heroes."
The Slayer looked down at the shield on his arm. Dr. Hayden spoke on a private channel to the Slayer directly, "I've scanned the weapon, it has a core of Maykr technology and the other weapons likely do too. Try and remain calm, we still don't know what's going on."
The Slayer balled his fist and clenched his teeth.
'Even dead that bitch is still screwing with me.'
He looked back to the king, who continued to speak. "In our world, there is a prophecy dating back to an era long forgotten, that stated that our world would one day be cursed by a terrible series of disasters where the sky itself would split open, and all manner of monsters and demons would descend and slaughter everything on sight. And this would happen once every few months until either our world dies, or the attacks are stopped."
That sounded like some sort of pseudo-Hell invasion to the Slayer, and Hayden echoed those sentiments in the helmet's earpiece, "This does sound like Hell's doing, but I've never heard of them invading like this."
In his life, the Slayer had never seen or heard of such an invasion before, it was new and unknown by him. It enraged him, yet he couldn't help but inwardly grin at the prospect of what conflicts would become of this development.
The king sighed and continued, "We call them, the Waves of Calamity," the king's expression became sorrowful and he looked towards the carpet, "The first one occurred a few months ago. And they're only going to get more powerful with each wave that passes."
While Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu were slow on the uptake, The Doom Slayer and Hayden had put two and two together. The Slayer nodded in silent contempt.
The king sighed, turning his head up. "Within the possession of every country, is an ancient artifact known as the Dragon Hourglass, with it, we can count the time until the next wave starts, and as long as there is flowing sand within it, the waves will continue. From the hourglass, we can tell you with accuracy when the next wave will hit in less than a month."
That statement earned a raised eyebrow from the Slayer. An hourglass that predicted when you were going to be brutally invaded down to the last nano-second? That was suspect. Yet here, it seemed to be the case.
Hayden switched over to the Praetor Suit's external speakers once more, "Pardon my interruption, but I'm afraid I'm unclear about the functions of this, Dragon Hourglass. How exactly is it able to track the waves with any degree of accuracy?"
The king's eye twitched in irritance slightly, he sighed and scratched his short-trimmed beard. "Nobody knows the specifics of how the hourglasses work, just that they keep track of the waves. And when the waves hit, you'll be teleported to where you need to be."
Hayden swapped backed to the private channel, "Something's not right, I suspect he's not telling us everything."
'This is definitely a Makyr or demon scheme of some kind.'
"Does this satisfy your question, Samuel Hayden?"
"Yes, it does. King Aultcray."
It didn't satisfy Hayden at all, only raise more questions.
The king nodded, "Good, as I was saying," his grip on the throne's armrest tightened, "we severely underestimated the potency of the waves. After barely surviving the first one, we realized we needed the four Cardinal Heroes to counter them. So we followed the legend and summoned you four, but now, we have no time to lose!"
Ren tapped the tip of the sword to the ground, "Ok, I think we get the gist of it, but I sure hope you don't think we'll do this for free."
This time a shifty-looking advisor spoke up: "Of course, once all the waves are defeated, you will all be rewarded handsomely."
Motoyasu smirked, "Guess we don't have a choice."
Ren frowned, "I suppose we can work with that."
Itsuki smiled, "As long as you don't look down on us."
'Fuck me, these three are arrogant.'
Dr. Hayden had acquired all the information he and the Slayer needed in regards to the "invasion", and the logical next step was to simply portal back to the Fortress and get to work, but there was one last thing. "How do these, 'Legendary Weapons', work?" Hayden asked.
The king groaned slightly in annoyance, "The weapons work by utilizing a type of magic called 'Status Magic', exclusive to you heroes. You can check your status through the weapons themselves."
"How do we do that?" asked Itsuki.
"You cannot be this dense," Ren retorted, "It should've been the first thing you noticed. There's a small icon at the bottom-right corner of your vision, focus on it."
The Slayer silently did so, and a bland RPG-style interface opened up. It listed the strength of the shield as well as its various (and locked) abilities. It was also set at level one.
The other three were faced with similar statistics. "Only level one? Can we even fight like this?"
Motoyasu looked up, "So what now?"
"Now," the king answered, "you all must head out and take on quests and battle monsters in order to strengthen your weapons, the more powerful you get, the better. However, by nature, you cannot work together, doing so will hinder the weapon's development."
The Slayer looked scornfully at the shield's menu
'I would call bullshit on that if it didn't appear to be true.'
The Slayer's patience was beginning to run thin. At this point, staying and listening any longer was time wasted. Even without a face, it was obvious that Dr. Hayden was also sharing the Slayer's sentiment. Through the private channel, he said, "I believe we have all we need, I'm opening a portal behind you, Slayer."
A swirling vortex of blue energy appeared four meters behind the Slayer. Dr. Hayden for the final time spoke through the external speakers, "I believe we have all the necessary information, pardon us, we have some, preparations to make before the next wave."
The Slayer casually turned around, and the king realized that he had no intention of sticking around as he stood up and held out his arm, "Shield Hero, wait!"
The Slayer paused and turned his head, the glare that the king could barely see sent a shiver down his spine. Yet, he mustered up the courage to speak, "You must wait, you will need a party of adventurers to progress properly!"
Dr. Hayden noted the strange desperation in his voice. He let out a mechanized sigh and spoke: "That won't be necessary. You have our aid, but we won't fight by your rules."
The king stood agape, he moved to protest as the Slayer walked toward the portal, but was cut off by Dr. Hayden once more, "Besides, it's better this way, for where the Slayer goes, Hell awaits. We will see you all again, in due time."
The Slayer stepped through the portal as Dr. Hayden left them that one last warning. The blue portal closed promptly behind him, leaving all stunned, and slightly afraid.
Motoyasu pointed to the spot where the Slayer's Slipgate portal had been, a look of excitement on his face. "Can we do that?"
-DOOM-
The Slayer stood on the command platform of the Fortress of Doom, the shield was hooked to the central computer via a computer cable. He contemplated the situation he was facing while Dr. Hayden combed through the shield's computer systems for a 'deactivation switch'.
In a rather annoying turn of events, he learned that the shield:
1. Prevented him from using his guns.
2. Couldn't be removed from his arm.
3. Was the weakest thing imaginable.
He couldn't even imagine how this thing could be used to fight demons. Let alone fight at all.
If there was a Hell invasion inbound, then screw whatever mantle of 'hero' these people thought they needed. The other three would have no clue what they were in for and had no means of opting out. He clenched his fist hard enough to hear his knuckles pop. The universe had a way of leaving the task of repelling the demons on him, and he would damned before he let these fools dictate how he fought against his eternal enemy. The anger he felt towards the king of Melromarc for summoning kids to fight in a war that would likely break them a thousandfold couldn't be adequately phrased enough.
He was pulled from his internal brooding by Dr. Hayden. "While the mains systems are indeed of Maykr origin, there are other forms of technology here that I'm," Hayden paused, "not familiar with."
The Slayer grimaced. That didn't bode well. Was this another faction the Maykrs screwed over? Or was this a world the Argenta had interacted with before? Not that it mattered, however, if Hell was breathing down this new world's neck, the Slayer was barging in. Guns ablaze.
"I believe I have found the central control panel, I am debinding the shield from you now."
The Slayer felt a slight zap going through his gauntlet. He looked down and immediately took off the shield. He took a few apprehensive steps back and waited for a reaction.
Nothing happened. The shield wasn't bound to him any longer. He drew the Super Shotgun. No reaction either. The Slayer grinned like a lunatic, it was time to get to work. "If we're to determine the severity of the threat, we will need to gauge the strength of the monsters of this world, as well as determine whether or not they are demonic in nature."
The Slayer loaded a pair of shells into the weapon. "I'm currently moving the Fortress into orbit above this new world, Earth can handle itself for a little while, and VEGA seems to be keeping the demons in Urdak in check, for now."
The Slayer looked out the window and saw space distorting and folding outside his ship. He picked up a whetstone and sharpened the tip of the Doomblade. "While you're on the ground, I'll send out some drones to collect information about Melromarc, as well as begin scouting the surrounding area and placing waypoints for the Slipgate to lock on to beyond the capital city."
The Fortress of Doom hung in orbit over the new world, the Slayer stood before the Slipgate's activation stone. "There is a confusing energy reading coming from well outside the capital, in some old ruins, it looks like. I've managed to use that energy as a waypoint, and the portal is locked onto it."
The Slayer pressed the stone and watched as it lowered, the stairwell opened, and the portal opened. He cracked his knuckles, leveled the Super Shotgun, and jumped through.
The portal dropped the Slayer outside the ruins of an ancient-looking fortress, from the inside he could see several ominous lights, and low, unintelligible, and downright evil sounding chanting.
It seems Hell may already be present in this world. The sun was getting low, and the Doom Slayer was going to war once more.
-DOOM-
Inside the ancient and forgotten ruins of a fortress once commanded by a kingdom even older than Melromarc, was the headquarters of a cult that worshipped whatever unknown dark power caused the waves. The walls of the fortress were decorated in arcane evil sigils.
This evening they gathered for ritualistic sacrifice to their beliefs. The belief was that the dark powers would spare them in exchange for the souls of those who were powerful enough to strengthen their evil cause.
Tonight's sacrifice: A spellcaster in her early twenties, bloodied and bruised by the conflict leading up to their capture. Restrained to an upright piece of stone wall, flanking both sides of the center column were small pillars with lit torches atop. Filling the spaces behind each row of pillars were numerous cultists, all wearing skull masks.
Coming up the center column was the head priest of the cult, walking towards her with a jagged ceremonial knife in hand. Beside him were two minor priests with staffs adorned with skulls. Cultists were laughing like hyenas around them. They were almost within carving range. All hope seemed lost, this was it, and begging wouldn't make what came next any less painful.
Then, he arrived.
His arrival was sudden, dropping seemingly out of nowhere from just overhead behind the wall they were chained to. His boot came down on the head priest's chest, knocking him down as he landed. He raised his boot once more and pulverized the head priest's head in one swift curb stomp.
The helpless captive couldn't quite make out who he was in the dim light, only that they wore a strange suit of green armor.
All stood silent for all of three seconds, then the two minor priests pointed at the stranger and yelled in unison, "KILL HIM! KILL THE INTRUDER!"
(Cultist Base - Doom Eternal OST, Mick Gordon)
The Doom Slayer knew what this cult was about the moment he saw the hooded skull-masked figures and the demonic, yet unknown symbols on the walls. And he would kill them all for it.
As the cultists all charged at him, he quickly swapped the sticky bomb mod for the full auto mod on the combat shotgun. He strafed to his right, moving past the group of cultists. As he did, he brought forth his equipment launcher and unleashed the Flame Belch on them.
The group bust into flames hot enough to burn a Fireborne Baron. Panicked and screaming as their flesh melted, the group burst apart to put themselves out. Turning heel, the Slayer unleashed a hail of fully automatic shotgun pellets shredding the next group that approached him.
BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!
The cultists quickly changed tactics to divide and conquer. They all scattered in different directions hoping to catch the Slayer off guard. An arrow bounced off his helmet, he swapped to the Super Shotgun and fired the meathook in the direction the arrow came. It lodged into the archer, the chain retracted, pulling the Slayer upward. At point-blank range, the Slayer fired.
BANG!
The Slayer swung off the rafter, with the Heavy Cannon, rained down a full rack of micro missiles below. The micro missiles chased any unfortunate enough to be too close, tearing visceral chunks from their flesh.
'That didn't get too many of them.'
Another group had bunched up where he would land, sticking spears up. The Slayer lobbed an Ice Bomb in their direction. The group was immediately frozen. He dropped a Frag Grenade into the frozen group and meathooked away, letting the statues of living ice shatter into frozen meat.
A large, beefy cultist brute who stood a foot taller than himself rushed the Slayer with a large broadsword. Swinging downward, the Slayer parried it with the doom blade. He raised the Super Shotgun to finish the brute and was met with a backhand. The brute knocked the Super Shotgun out of his hand just as he pulled the trigger. The shot missed as the weapon was knocked out of his hand. The Slayer followed up with a right uppercut with his now free hand. And while the cultist was staggered, he stabbed him through the skull, a geyser of blood spraying from the holes the Doomblade made.
A minor priest cried out, "HE KILLED OUR CHAMPION! RELEASE THE DEMONS OF THE WAVE!"
'THAT, was their champion?'
The Slayer picked up his Super Shotgun and reloaded it. Multiple doors opened to reveal dozens of monsters the cult had captured during the first wave. The Slayer could see only two different types. The first was some sort of giant wasp. The other, zombies clad in rusted, bloodied gambeson armor and steel helmets with matching spiked shoulder pads, armed with chipped swords, and eyes glowing red like some kind of Hell Legionnaire. His suit's sensors detecting the Hell energy flowing through them.
The Slayer cracked his knuckles once more, there was the hint of Hell he was expecting. He swapped for the Plasma Rifle as the cultists, wasps, and Hell Legionnaires regroup. Time to get messy.
The Slayer rushed forward, spraying hot plasma headfirst into the horde. Three cultists died from the plasma fire alone, and a dozen more severely burned and lacerated. The Slayer jumped over the group and unleashed the heat blast from the weapon. In the air he meathooked to the nearest wasp, Doomblade drawn. With a slash, he carved the wasp. Dropping down and stomping on the head of a Hell Legionnaire hard enough to turn it to paste. He grabbed a cultist rushing him with a knife by the shoulder, lifting him. Grabbing the poor bastard's leg in the other hand, the Slayer slammed his back over his knee...
CRACK!
... with enough force to fold them completely. Gut ruptured, fragments of the spine sticking out, the Slayer cast the folded cultist aside like garbage. Drawing the Combat Shotgun and swapping for the sticky bomb mod, the Slayer targeted a load-bearing beam on the ceiling. He launched two sticky bombs at it. They detonated and dropped a pile of large bricks on top of a small cluster of cultists and Hell Legionnaires.
A barb bounced off the Praetor Suit's pauldron, causing the Slayer to turn around and come face to face with another giant wasp. He grabbed the wasp by the throat in one hand and ripped its stinger out with the other. Proceeding to stab it in the eye with the stinger and tossed it aside.
He meathooked up to another wasp, discharging the Super Shotgun in its thorax. Falling, he pulled a triple headshot on some more wasps with the Heavy Cannon's precision bolt. A Hell Legionnaire rushed him on the ground only to be met with the Doomblade slicing into its gut.
The Slayer felt something smash over his helmet and turned to see one of the minor priests standing there, shaking. Their staff of skulls shattered from their puny attack, and they were cowering in absolute terror before the Doom Slayer. Before he could do anything the Slayer's Doomblade slashed completely through their gut. Before he could even register what happened, the Slayer kicked his torso into the wall, letting the legs fall. He drew the Plasma Rifle and fought on.
All of this was witnessed by the cult's captive, who was still chained to the pillar of wall in the center column. She was terrified, as she was awestruck. There must have been around one hundred cultists. As well as fifty Hell Legionnaires, and two dozen monster wasps. Yet not a single one of them stood a chance against him. He hit harder than the strongest of monsters and moved quicker than most could keep up with. From her perspective, it seemed like he was just a green blur flying chaotically around the room.
Just who was this man?
Her attention was suddenly pulled by the fact that the second surviving minor priest was suddenly rushing straight at them out of the fight with the jagged ceremonial knife.
"DIE HERETIC!"
The captive closed her eyes, waiting for the strike. Instead of being met with agony, they were met with the priest's surprised and pained yelp. They opened their eyes and found that the Slayer had snatched them by the throat. With a grunt, he threw them into the last large group of cultists.
He raised the Plasma Rifle, changing out heat blast for microwave beam and the minor priest got up from the center of the group. The minor priest pointed angrily at the Slayer, his skull mask broken. His face twisted in anger. But before he could voice his anger, The Plasma Rifle's microwave beam locked onto him, channeling enough energy into him to boil him from the inside out. Until…
POP!
...the minor priest burst like a gore balloon. Spewing boiled blood amongst the crowd, scalding them. They fell to the ground, clutching at the burns. Two sticky bombs ended them for good.
Originally, there were around one-hundred seventy-five cultists, zombies, and wasps. Now, there were only five not only still living, but capable of running away. However, it seemed these last five were not smart enough to live, as they all rushed the Slayer with murderous intent, only to be met with the Flame Belch of the Equipment Launcher. They all fell, melting into gore from the flames.
(End Music)
If he was being honest, the Slayer hadn't even noticed the person they were planning on sacrificing until the last priest yelled, 'DIE HERETIC'. His timing was surprisingly impeccable, for once.
'Usually, the only surviving people I meet out in the field are Hell conspirators, UAC, or nearly dead.'
The Slayer turned to the captive, causing her blood to go cold. The Slayer starred for a second before lifting his left arm in a manner consistent with a backhand slap and extending the Doomblade. The captive closed her eyes in fear, once again expecting pain.
CLANK!
The captive suddenly fell face-first into the dirty cold floor. They looked up quickly to see the Slayer pull the Doomblade from the stone wall. The Slayer bent down and cut the ankle restraints as well.
"Holy shit, what happened here?" A new voice called out. The Slayer turned to see another new group. At the front was a young lady with chocolate-colored hair clad in a set of basic adventurer armor. Flanking her to the left was a man in heavy armor, a paladin most likely.
WOOSH!
The Slayer quickly drew the Super Shotgun to his right and was met with what he assumed was another woman standing at point-blank range, the prongs of the meathook grazing their face. This particular figure was clad in a dark tight-fitting uniform and black cloak. They had a mask on their face, concealing their identity.
"Whoa! I know you're like a super-assassin or something, but maybe don't piss off the guy who probably slaughtered this whole cult, and then some." The brunette said, hands up as she approached.
They all went silent. "I'm just checking to see if their captive is okay." the shadow lady said curtly, as if trying to convince the Slayer not to pull the trigger.
The Slayer lowered the Super Shotgun and began to walk away down the center column. His walk, however, was interrupted by a wet cough to his side. He turned his head and saw that, beyond all possibilities, the first minor priest was still alive, and leaning against the wall, despite the fact he was missing everything beneath his gut. The Slayer's eye twitched as he moved towards the near-dead man, loaded Super Shotgun in hand. The group of four watched as the Slayer leveled the Super Shotgun at the minor priest's head.
"Hold, Slayer," Dr. Hayden interjected abruptly into the Slayer's ear with cold calculation, "You've already killed him, save your ammunition."
The Doom Slayer paused, then put away his gun. The group came to the Slayer, looking down at the near-dead minor priest. The captive being carried away by the paladin. The brunette had a sword slung over her shoulder. The shadow lady just stared at the carnage the Slayer left in his wake.
The minor priest looked up hatefully, "You damn heretics, I hope the dark powers consume your- ACK!"
The Slayer promptly snatched the legless minor priest by the face, and reaching back, smashed his skull into the wall with enough force to flatten it.
CRUNCH!
The Slayer retracted his bloodied gauntlet and let the headless torso fall to the ground. With the last cultist dead, he turned and left. Three of the four-party members gazed at the Slayer's latest kill in shock. The shadow lady simply resigned herself to staring blankly at the Slayer's back as he walked away.
She recognized him from the castle. Watching from the shadows as he disappeared through a portal in front of the people who summoned him. And yet, here he was. Without the Legendary Shield. Just who the hell was he? And how was he able to detach the Legendary Shield from himself?
"Yo! Secret assassin lady? I know you're supposed to be doing a thing, but are you just gonna stand there, or are you gonna get going?" the brunette asked, "Because I for one, don't wanna be standing in," she gestured towards the blood guts and body parts that littered the ruins, "this, for too long."
The shadow lady surveyed the carnage one last time. The Shield Her- no… the Slayer had wiped this murderous cult off the face of the world, and he hadn't been shy about how he executed the members either.
...
"Slayer of what?"
"...Pray you never have to find out."
The warning of Samuel Hayden played out in their mind. This was a potentially disastrous development, she daresay. Her majesty needed to be informed immediately!
-DOOM-
The Slayer hadn't walked too far from the ruins when he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, an obscured entrance to a cave that went below the ruins. The cave entrance showed subtle signs that the cult utilized it, and it was so unbelievably hard to spot, that he doubted the other party would ever find it.
"We should investigate this cave. There could be more cultists, or possibly more signs of demonic presence down there."
The Slayer nodded grimly and drew the Super Shotgun, descending into the cave. The first twenty or so feet were littered with human bones, likely the remains of the cult's previous victims serving now as a deterrent for unwanted visitors. Blocking his passage deeper into the cave stood a wooden door, ornately decorated with imagery of monsters and demons descending to consume humanity.
The few cultists that hid on the other side watched in dismay as it was casually yet violently kicked off its hinges by the Doom Slayer, who didn't hesitate to pull the Super Shotgun's trigger on the nearest cultist to him.
BANG!
Four remaining cultists stood up in a circular room with a cooking fire in the center, horrified at their companion's sudden death. Three of the cultists retreated deeper into the darker parts of the cave, and one rushed the Slayer with a steak knife. The Slayer snatched the hapless cultist by the face and threw him down, their face landing in the fire. As the cultist screeched and rolled in pain, the Slayer stomped on their head, ending them.
Proceeding to chase the remaining three cultists further down brought the Slayer to a place that had a sign calling it 'The Menagerie'.
Two of the remaining three cultists jumped out, one armed with a short sword, the other with a battle axe. The sword cultist dashed towards the Slayer's front with a jab while the axe cultist rushed his back with a downward swing. The Slayer simply turned so the Doomblade was facing the axe cultist. He raised and drew the Doomblade out and caught the axe mid-strike, catching it like a hook. With his other hand, the Slayer caught the hand of the other cultist wielding the short sword. He slightly pushed the blade in front of him, pulling it forward to carry momentum. The sword grazed the Praetor Suit's abdominal plating, doing no damage, and carrying on…
SHANK! "AARRGGG!"
… Until the sword stabbed into the axe cultist's stomach. Axe Cultist dropped his axe, allowing the Slayer to take it. With it, he pinned the sword cultist's neck to the wall with the curved axehead. Pulling the axe back the Slayer stabbed the sword cultist through the skull. Retracting the Doomblade into his gauntlet and the body fell. He took the axe in both hands and swung at the axe cultist's head.
CRACK!
Brain matter and blood spewed out as the Slayer twisted the axe out of the cultist's skull. The Slayer cast the axe aside and continued into 'The Menagerie', bracing himself for what he suspected it was.
And what the Slayer walked into was a large spacious cavern with various rusty cages stacked and arranged in a way that turned the room into a large almost labyrinth maze. The place they kept all their victims and monsters no doubt. At the moment, it seemed most were empty, although a few appeared to be occupied by some more wasps and zombies, and some held nothing but bones. All cages seemed to have dried rust, dust, and guts on their interiors.
Dr. Hayden added his two cents: "It would appear this cult has been very active since the first of these waves. However, their association with Hell is still ambiguous."
'No shit. It feels like they don't even know who they're worshipping, just that they're evil and likely powerful.'
It was a damn good thing the Slayer wiped this cult out. He wasn't even sure how many people had suffered in these cages up until now. Assuming the cult was operating since the first wave, and not before it.
The sound of a rusty cage opening screeched out through the cavern. Although hard to pinpoint which cage just opened, the Slayer didn't doubt that the final cultist was there. He kept moving through the cages until through the maze of bars he could see the location of the last cultist.
-DOOM-
On the other side of the cages, the last cultist deduced that physical confrontation with the Slayer was a lost cause, he was strong, intelligent, faster than the eye can perceive easily, and his armor looked impenetrable. Perhaps a strong magical attack would work. However, the cultist's magical affinity was naturally low, but he could boost it by harvesting the soul of one of their sacrificial slaves.
The one problem with that plan was that they had already killed all of their slaves for that exact purpose, all except one slave that one cult member had purchased off of a noble a week ago. And the cultist knew which cage they were in. He moved silently to it.
He opened the cage in question with a savage smile. Sitting inside was a small demi-human, with messy brown hair and dead, empty red eyes. Atop her head was a pair of tanuki ears and behind her was a fluffy and dirty tail. She bore many marks of torture, the most common of which was whip lashings and malnourishment. Her dress was reduced to rags, and shackles were locked around her wrists, ankles, and neck.
The cultist opened the cage and snatched the sickly demi-human child by the neck. Even as they were raised, did they not react to the knowledge that the cultist would kill them, her ears were flattened, and her tail was still. The cultist drew a shortsword and reared it back as several arcane runes on it began to glow, "Now, I shall harvest your soul, and with it, smite the heretic!"
Before the cultist could jab the poor child with his sword, a firm, armored hand wrapped around his wrist, and an aura of pure, unfettered rage and hatred washed over him. The little girl's eyes slowly adjusted up past him and started to grow from empty and lifeless to wide and fearful as she began to hyperventilate. His blood ran cold as he realized that the Slayer was standing behind him with the intent to kill.
The cultist let the child's neck go as the Slayer tossed him back, smashing into a cage. As he picked himself up and raised his shortsword, he trembled in pure terror as the Slayer drew forth the one weapon he hadn't yet used today.
'And here I thought there weren't any more lines you scumbags could cross.'
The Slayer roughly yanked the Chainsaw's starter cord and the bloodied power tool roared to life.
The Slayer began the engagement with a straight jab from the Chainsaw that the cultist was able to knock to the side. Sparks flew as the teeth of the saw met the rusted metal of the cage behind the cultist. The cultist attempted in vain to slash at the Praetor Suit's chestplate only for their sword to not even scratch the chestplate's earthy-green paint.
The Slayer swung his Chainsaw once more, aiming for the cultist's side and the cultist once again parried the strike. He didn't parry perfectly, as the edge of the Chainsaw's teeth grazed the cultist's skin.
The cultists faltered backward, clutching the wound. The Slayer raised his Chainsaw overhead, this time approaching for a downward strike. The cultist blocked, clutching the shortsword at both ends with all his strength.
More sparks lit the cavern as the Chainsaw chipped rapidly at the shortsword. Until the blade finally gave and snapped in two, and the Chainsaw came down on the cultist's shoulder.
The cultist choked on his blood as the Chainsaw cut through his lungs. The Slayer aggressively turned the saw to the side, cutting straight through the cultist's heart, and out through his ribcage, splattering blood all around him as he did. The Slayer growled down at the two pieces of the cultist on the ground spitefully.
'Eat shit and rot in Hell, you disgusting waste of a lifeform!'
The Slayer turned to the little girl the cultist was about to butcher. Who'd passed out during the fight, from either fear, pain, exhaustion, or some combination of the three, most likely the latter-most option. He kneeled beside them, putting his hand to her forehead to let the suit sensors check her temperature. His HUD gave him the results, and Dr. Hayden added to what the Slayer already knew just by looking at the poor child.
"The child is showing signs of major physical abuse, malnourishment, and is running a severe fever. One that could become fatal if not treated. I am uncertain whether or not this is the cult's doing, however."
The Slayer grimaced in slight confusion at that.
"From the data the VEGA drones have gathered, the kingdom of Melromarc is predominantly human. The local religion, the Church of the Three Heroes, claims that demi-humans, this child's species, are monsters that don't belong in this world. The nation itself practices slavery, with the core rule that it is illegal to enslave humans. Some even believe that demi-humans should even be... eliminated."
'Three Heroes? The fuck?'
The Slayer's blood boiled in cold fury. That would explain the girl's miserable state, sort of.
"While this inane bigotry is mostly contained in Melromarc's nobility, I do not believe the child will survive unless you do something, Slayer. But to do anything will come at a cost to us, and our operations."
The Slayer balled his fists, the only place he knew of within the Slipgate's immediate planetary network was the capital, and he was fairly confident that no one would take her in, at least not without selling her back into slavery. He'd also prefer to avoid taking her to Earth, the sudden shift from a medieval fantasy world at relative peace to a war-torn world ravaged by the legions of Hell might be too jarring for them, and he didn't trust the UAC or the ARC enough to leave her in their care. Yet, if he were to do something himself, it would cost him time and resources he should be using to combat the demons.
Yet the Slayer knew one thing with utmost certainty: he couldn't just leave this little girl to this grim fate. For the first time in an excruciatingly long time, the Doom Slayer was stuck on a moral choice.
'Dammit.'
-DOOM-
"So, where do you think the shield guy went?" asked Motoyasu, "I for one, think he'll be back before too long."
Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki had been given a room to rest and get to know each other for the night. Their room was basic, equipped with only one ornate bed with a golden spread. On top of a green rug was a table of small snacks with a single red leather couch and two armchairs. They all sat around the small snack table.
The first most obvious topic of conversation was their weapons, and how they emulated MMO RPG video games. Each one of them compared it to a game they'd played, only to find that the others had no idea as to what they were talking about. The next thing they proceeded to do was compare general knowledge about their homeland, Japan. To which end they discovered that they had not come from the same Japan, but three different versions of it.
Which then begged the odd question: If they were all from different worlds, then where had the Shield Hero come from?
"I definitely agree with that, if there's one thing common to all our worlds, the shielder class sucks," Ren grunted.
No arguments there, however: "But what about his armor?" Itsuki inquired, "He's undeniably a soldier, but what kind of world does he come from where soldiers are equipped with power armor, retractable blades, shoulder-mounted cannons, and personal interdimensional portal devices?"
"I dunno," Mototyasu quipped excitedly, "but if all soldiers in his world get awesome toys like that, then sign me up!"
"You're missing the point, Motoyasu," Ren deadpanned, "What kind of world did he come from that not only soldiers are equipped with things like that, but people only know him as the Slayer?"
"Likely one facing a threat we can't comprehend." Itsuki pondered aloud.
They sat in silence for a second.
"Still," Motoyasu piped up, again missing the point, "Power armor, shoulder-mounted grenade launchers, wrist blades, portal devices! How cool would it be to have all that for questing?"
Ren facepalmed and Itsuki sighed. Although they both had to admit, the idea of equipment like that to complement their awesome status as legendary heroes did sound like perfection. Even if it came from a world facing some sort of alien threat.
"Still, he'll for sure be back, I highly doubt he'll be able to fight with that shield. He needs allies." Ren stated with finality.
"Agreed." Motoyasu said.
"Assuming he didn't go back to his homeworld to get allies that way." Itsuki added.
A few more seconds passed in silence as the image of multiple people with armor like the Slayer's killing monsters entered all their minds, with them in the background, as the unwanted third wheel. "You know what? It's late, and we've got a busy day tomorrow. Let's get some sleep." Motoyasu said tiredly as he laid back onto the couch.
"Yes, let's." Ren said flatly as he flopped onto the bed.
"I'll admit, I am feeling quite fatigued." Itsuki said as he laid down on the other side of the bed.
The three heroes drifted off to sleep for what would be the last peaceful night they would get. Unaware of both the true terrifying identity of the Shield Hero, and the unrelenting nightmare they were about to enter.
-DOOM-
Codex Entry - Locations: Kingdom of Melromarc 1
Our first foray into this dimension began in the kingdom of Melromarc. Data gathered by VEGA drones suggest the ruling party to be a theocratic monarchy, however, specific information on the government's inner workings and internal hierarchy are scarce at the moment. The king had ordered the summoning of four individuals, including the Doom Slayer, to fight on the behalf of his kingdom. However, his unusually aggressive attitude towards the Slayer in specific has caused both myself and the Slayer to question his true motives for commencing the summoning ritual.
There are two sapient species living within the borders of Melromarc, humans, and a subspecies known as demi-humans. Demi-humans are easily identified via animalistic traits, such as extra ears and tails. The population of Melromarc is dominantly human, with demi-humans usually being treated as third-class citizens and slaves.
It should be noted that the ruling class of Melromarc is deeply entrenched in racial and bigoted practices taught by the primary religion, the Church of the Three Holy Heroes. Preliminary information acquired by the VEGA drones suggests the church itself has funded numerous raids and massacres against demi-human settlements, with the survivors personally being "relocated" by the church. To where is unknown, though it is suspected most are sold into the local slave trade. Whether or not they will become a threat to our mission is unknown.
-Page Directory-
Codex Entry - Demons: Hell Legionnaires 1
An offshoot of the Hell Soldiers, the Hell Legionnaire are damned souls from civilizations caught in their 'medieval' eras. Slain on the fields of battle and reanimated in Hell as cannon-fodder for future conquests.
Hell Legionnaires are equipped only with gambeson armor and cheaply mass-produced iron swords. These undead are considered inferior to their ARC trooper counterpart the Hell Soldier, however, the tactical cunning is equal between the two.
Hell Legionnaires whose bodies rot away too much are often recycled into Gen. 1 Revenants and Mecha Zombies
-Page Directory-
Codex Entry - Wave Creatures: Wasps 1
The Wasps (alternatively referred to as inter-dimensional locusts) are large winged insectoids that came to this dimension from the Argent Fractures during the first wave. There are no mentions within Hell's scriptures referencing these beasts, leaving their origins up to speculation.
Like their regular counterparts, these creatures roam in hives, often appearing hundreds at a time. Fortunately, Wasps are very weak and can be killed by even basic weapons. The use of a Chaingun or even Flame Belch can dispatch dozens of Wasps per few seconds.
-DOOM-
(A/N):
And so, the first chapter to my ever-growing repertoire of online fan-projects gets posted. Before you click out and review, there's a couple of things I want to get out of the way now:
Yes, the Doom Slayer isn't going to fulfil Naofumi's role as the Shield Hero and fall guy. I have several justifications as to why I detached the shield from the Doomguy.
The first and second of which are these: The Legendary Weapons in theory can level up infinitely, but the Doomguy already has near infinite power, courtesy of the Divinity Machine, and, because Hell and the demons are going to come in quickly, this world doesn't need the Cardinal Heroes, it needs the Doom Slayer. Secondly, you all came here to see Doomguy kick ass, slay demons, and derail the plot of The Rising of the Shield Hero, not grind levels and do the same things as Naofumi.
Another reason why I chose to have the Slayer cast the mantle of Shield Hero aside, is while he will also refuse to interact with the Heros for a while, effectively allowing certain events from the anime/manga to happen, his presence and the presence of the demons and Hell can have negative ramifications for the other three Cardinal Heroes if they act the same they do in canon around the demons, or worse, if the demons find their screw-ups. Not to mention, Malty and the king don't get their chance to demonize the Slayer and benefit from it, so what happens then?
Hell's presence in the world of Shield Hero as of this chapter. I'll let you decide that.
Also, I apologize for making you all sit through that scene in the throne room. I had to, no way around that. I couldn't make it drag on any less if I tried. So I let the Slayer loose on the cult after that as a reward through sitting through that ;).
DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods part 1 looks AWESOME! Gonna play the crap out of it on release. Fingers crossed I survive the dreaded double Marauder.