Beta Read by: KobeNiku
The Doom Slayer glared at the grim and grinning hakuko woman standing atop the guard post. Mina Nori in turn gave the Slayer a smile of joy and excitement. The Slayer put two shells into the breach of the Super Shotgun and slammed it shut, ready to take down the dangerously deranged hakuko if necessary. All around him the former slaves spoke in panicked whispers until one right next to the Slayer spoke too loudly.
"Tis' the devil's daughter! He's sent her from hell to damn us all!"
In a childish fit of anger, Mina threw a knife at the human who cried 'devil's daughter' only for it to be caught by the Slayer mid-air.
"You will not take another life here," Hayden warned.
Mina looked mad, "I hate that nickname!" she stood up with a pout and stamped her foot on the tiled roof where she stood, "I hate it! Don't call me that!"
'Childish much?'
Hayden calmly asked, "What would you prefer to be called?"
Swapping demeanors to address the Hellwalker, with a cutesy smile and curtsey, she replied, "I'm Mina Nori. My father is Lord Rakshas Nori of the hakuko clan," she readied herself to pounce once more, "and he owns this market, an all who reside in it."
The Slayer dug his heels into the ground, Super Shotgun in hand, silently calculating how many shells he'd have to spend trying to eliminate the cat-girl-Hell-Caina wannabe.
"I'm afraid that arrangement has ended." Dr. Hayden stated flatly, "In light of current circumstances, I am willing to give you this one chance to leave… before more demons arrive."
"How 'bout no." Mina stuck her tongue out.
BOOM!
Mina jumped away from the spot she was standing a microsecond before the Super Shotgun's blast tore up the roof, landing gracefully on the ground. The many former human slaves around cowered on the ground around the Doom Slayer and the noblewoman into a sea of breathing bodies. The Slayer growled.
"You will not like the outcome if you commit to this path. Are you certain you wish to continue?" Dr. Hayden asked one last time, although aware his warning would once again fall on deaf ears.
Mina rushed the Slayer and slashed across the Praetor Suit's chest plate with her magic-enhanced shortsword. The Slayer retaliated but found that Mina was swift and nimble enough to dodge his strikes. Not helping was the fact that the crowd around him forced him to exercise caution, one errant punch, and several of the former slaves would cease to be.
Mercifully, Mina had diverted her full attention to him and was no longer attacking the innocent people around them. The Doom Slayer and Mina attempted to navigate the narrow battlefield as they traded attacks. Slowly losing her breath keeping up with the Slayer, Mina forced herself to jump back out of the Slayer's arm length and ducked behind a stone pillar. The Slayer pulled his Heavy Cannon from his warp pack and attached the precision bolt scope.
Like a serpent, Mina slithered between the cages and posts surrounding the area. The Slayer led multiple precision shots from the Heavy Cannon, some grazed her skin within millimeters while others impacted harmlessly off the obstacles in between the two. Losing track of the wily hakuko woman the Slayer swirled on the spot to try and ascertain her new position, all the while Mina ran up behind the Bane of Hell, jumping up for a dropkick.
The Slayer turned back in time and raised his arms in front of him, he barely flinched as Mina's boots impacted against his studded gauntlets. Mina flipped back, landing atop a cage. The two shared glares. The Slayer's one of annoyance, and Mina's one of frustration. With another pout, mina cried, "You're holding back, stop it! I want a harder fight!"
'If I wasn't waist-deep in tightly-packed frightened people right now, this fight would've been over before it started.'
The Slayer needed to get onto the same elevation as Mina quickly without harming the people around him, then he could more safely cut loose. The Slayer gazed past Mina and spotted something that solved the problem.
With a smirk below his helmet, the Slayer drew his Super Shotgun and aimed it at Mina who'd on instinct preemptively dodged. But instead of a gunshot, Mina saw a duel-bladed hook and chain fly past her and lodge itself into the eye of a Cacodemon. The meathook retracted and pulled the Slayer towards the airborne demon. In a fluid motion, the Slayer stabbed it in the eye with the Doomblade before jumping away and pulling a three-point landing on the cage roof adjacent to her.
Mina paused for a moment, "..." she nodded, "Flying spicy meatballs, huh?"
'Flying spicy meatballs indeed.'
Wasting no time, the Slayer lunged forward at full speed with a jab. A velocity so quick Mina was forced to dodge before the Slayer first flinched.
The Slayer zoned in on his target, on the gaudy amount of makeup caking their face. It seemed like the woman was trying too hard to prove devotion to something.
'Devotee to a corrupt cause. Oh, how I hate those.'
From the ground, the former slaves watched in awe at what they perceived to be a violent waltz between an angel and a demon. The Slayer went completely on the offensive, Mina learned fast that the Slayer's reflexes greatly outpaced hers. It suddenly felt like she was again battling the larger Hell Barons she'd learned to avoid like the plague. Swift, unrelenting, unstoppable.
Mina couldn't find an opening to counter the Slayer's onslaught, she was too focused on predicting where he would attack next, the only way she'd avoid getting hit. Her breath became more and more ragged if she thought keeping up with the Slayer when he was holding back was tiresome, keeping up now felt torturous. Right there and then she realized the miscalculation she had made.
She wanted the fight the heavily armored human at his best, to feel the pain of combat and the exhaustion in her muscles that followed after. She did not count on the Slayer being able to strike so hard it would result in instant violent death. In hindsight, the bent and broken cages forged from Zeltoble steel should've been a dead giveaway that a fight with him was counterintuitive. The two prepared to launch at each other for another round, the Slayer hoping to finish the fight and Mina for a window to attack or escape.
(Flesh and Metal - DOOM 2016 OST, Mick Gordon)
A gob of acidic green bile landed between them, forcing them to look at their surroundings, and saw many Imps and Gargoyles crawling over the walls and hundreds of Wasps flying toward them. The demons were starting to arrive. The Doom Slayer clenched his fist, and Dr. Hayden's voice boomed, "Everyone, barricade yourselves within the barracks, and do not come out until I give an all-clear. Go, now."
There was a shuffling of bodies as all humans scrambled and shoved their way into the barracks. The door was slammed shut and barricaded as fast as their weakened and exhausted bones would allow. All the while, Mina and the Slayer repositioned to face the demons and monsters, the Slayer's window to Slipgate the terrified people away from here closing in front of him.
"You can still leave, they are more likely to focus on the Slayer than they would you… miss Nori." Hayden advised.
"Less talk, more fight!" Mina screeched, throwing herself at a Gargoyle.
"Suit yourself." Dr. Hayden said calmly.
The Slayer, in turn, began to pick off Imps and Wasps with the Plasma Rifle.
DOOM: Waves of Armageddon
-The Vigilant IV: Feline Lucky, Punk?-
(1:09)
Like a switch had been hit the Doom Slayer found himself refocused on the demons instead of the unhinged and childish hakuko woman. Forced to at least tolerate her existence for now as the attacking demons had become the bigger threat.
'Crazy brat will either get clawed to death by a demon, be weakened enough for me to land a killing blow, or she'll finally take Doc Hayden's advice and piss off.'
With no more constricting variables in his way, the Slayer went from simply using his full strength to using his full range of motion. Jumping between platforms and swapping weapons at a rapid pace the Wasps and demons began dropping by the dozens. Another cascade of fodder slaughter in the Slayer's long war.
Mina likewise realized the true depth of what she was in and began using every combative trick she knew just to stay alive. No longer was this about the thrill of a good hunt or the blissful pain of a great fight, this had devolved into a war of pure attrition against an enemy greater than herself. She was unsure how long she could keep up.
The Slayer snatched a Gargoyle by the skull, he swung it into a Wasp before blasting both away with the Super Shotgun. He jumped into a pack of Imps, Doombalde extended, his Equipment Launcher belched scalding napalm on the underworld scavengers, sending them into a burning frenzy. He landed and cut them down like a bladed whirlwind.
All the while he kept track of the hakuko woman, the other threat that needed to be neutralized somehow. Mina jumped and flipped from cage to cage landing precise strikes against any monster or demon nearby at the time. She'd opted to try and kill the demons with a thousand cuts, bleed them out if she couldn't land a single good killing blow. What hampered her strategy's effectiveness however was her hit-and-run approach, often not hitting the same demon more than once every few minutes.
Slowly, larger demons entered the field, it started with two Prowlers warping in, then a few Carcasses scuttled over the walls several Cacodemons floated into the market amongst the Wasps, a notification appeared on the Slayer's Shield HUD:
Serpentine Scavenger: Whiplash
The Slayer grimaced, Prowler, Carcass, and Whiplash, a trifecta of demons he hated seeing in tight spaces. He quickly jumped up to the top of the cages in time for a carcass shield to appear behind him. Mina's ears twitched under her hood as a distinct rattling sound zipped around her. She turned around with only a second to dodge as she duck below the arc of twin flaming chain whips. She stood up just as the chains retracted into the forearms of a demonic lamia with a tail of plated steel.
"Ooh, snake!" Mina snarked.
The Whiplash slithered towards Mina, its metal tail rattling abrasively. Mina dashed back but was blocked by a Carcass shield. The Whiplash closed in and forced Mina to jump upward to the top of an adjacent cage. A burst of purple flashed in front of her revealing a Prowler with its claws at the ready, mandibles wide to take a bite of her.
"AHH! Purple one!" Mina screeched as she jumped back.
The Prowler lunged forward and Mina tripped backward over something. The moment her head was below its previous position the knife the Slayer caught earlier flew over her head, grazing through her hood and embedding itself in the Prowler's eyes.
'Crap, I missed.'
Mina looked back and saw the Slayer holding a Gargoyle in a headlock and scowling at her. She pouted, "Hey! You nearly killed me!" she slashed the throat of another Gargoyle with her shortsword, "That's so rude! I'll die if you kill me!"
'You'll die if you're killed? Oh really, hadn't noticed.'
"I would recommend simply focusing on the demons for the time being. Miss Nori is a minor threat as of the moment." Hayden advised.
The Slayer diverted his attention back to the demons as he felt a Carcass' sonic blast slam him in the back. He sidestepped the lash of a Whiplash and ducked below the claw strike of some Gargoyles. Out of the corner of his eyes, the Slayer spotted a sizable group of Imps, Gargoyles, and two Cacodemons were gathering by the door to the barracks, no doubt having sensed the fear of the humans cowering within.
The Slayer passed a glance and Mina to ensure she was too distracted to get in his way. Mina was too busy dodging demons to care about the Slayer. The Slayer made his way over to the barracks door and silently equipped the Legendary Shield.
"I take it you have a plan?" Hayden inquired.
The demons were about to breach the door to the barracks when the Slayer raised his arm.
'Airstrike Shield'
The green ethereal shield spawned between the door and the demons and pushed back the closest ones. The rest flinched upon seeing the mark of the Doom Slayer emboldened in crimson decorating the barrier. Before any demon could regain their senses the Slayer lit them ablaze with the flame belch before rushing forward.
'Not today.'
BLOOD PUNCH!
The Slayer unleashed the divine strike with purpose this time, the Airstrike Shield ability absorbing the excess godly energy, safely shielding the people behind the door. All the fodder demons were vaporized in golden lightning and the Cacodemons squirmed as flesh was rent from their forms. The Slayer wasted no time and stabbed the nearest one in the eye. The other one lunged as the Equipment Launcher sprung up and lobbed a grenade into its maw. He jammed the Super Shotgun into its eye and fired.
BOOM!
"I see you've found some use for the Shield." Hayden commented.
'Its use is situational at best right now.'
The Slayer grunted in acknowledgment before moving back into the fray.
-DOOM-
On the other side of the market, Mina was dancing around as claws, maws, and lashes. On habit, she started to move like a ballerina, pirouetting around the demons and monsters surrounding her, but the exhaustion was catching up. Unlike before when the demons were too distracted by Goblins to care about her, here they were all too focused and far more numerous. Moreover, while she'd held to a strategy of killing demons with a thousand cuts, the demons, in turn, used the same strategy against her.
Her dress was peppered with claw strikes and minor tears. Her milky flesh was bleeding from the dozens of cuts and scratches the demons had successfully landed. Every fiber of her being was demanding to stick it out and endure more pain, but her mind screamed at her to run, that the demons would tear her apart the first moment they could.
She needed to leave, to go back to the fourth ring and regroup with her father. She needed to find a little alcove to cast healing magic on herself. She needed a window to get away from the maniac who was killing these demons at break-neck paces without sustaining serious injury.
Mina ducked below a Whiplash's horizontal swing, the fiery chain singing the tip of her nose. The hakuko rolled away as two different seeker attacks charged her. A prowler warped over her and she stabbed upward with her short sword. She used the prowler's body to shield herself from the maw of a Cacodemon. Two Imps and a Gargoyle rushed at her from opposing directions.
Mina felt like she was running on fumes. She was now in survival mode, finding no pleasure in the fighting or the pain now, simply going through whatever motion allowed her to survive. She looked around in a frenzy for anything that would take the demons off her back until she spotted the Slayer mowing down wasps with the Chaingun.
Taking note of the significantly larger number of demons charging after the Slayer, Mina began to realize that the demons in general were more focused on the Slayer, and not her.
She suddenly had an idea. If she stuck to the fight, she would die, she knew this, but escape was made difficult by the demons attacking her. However, if she could get the demons hunting her to focus on the Slayer instead, then she could just slip out the same way she came in.
She turned back at the demons charging after her and grinned a crazed smile. Gathering what little strength she had left, Mina made a silent and stealthy run towards the Slayer's back, the demons too focused on their prey to realize the trap with a Whiplash pushing ahead.
Keeping to the Slayer's blind spot, Mina ran up and past the Slayer, making sure to stay below his line of sight. Diving into a tiny alcove just as he turned around. Mina took a moment to revel in the chaos, before leaving the market.
-DOOM-
The Slayer drew the Balista and hip-fired a twin beam of red-orange Argent plasma at the charging cyber snake. The demon was then backed up by a dozen more demons and hundreds of wasps. He'd sworn that Mina had just run past him, but he was too distracted by the new onslaught of demons to locate her.
"It would appear miss Nori just performed a run-by to distract the demons chasing her." Dr. Hayden surmised.
Frustrated and tense, the Slayer drew the Chaingun and equipped the mobile turret mod. Unfolding the quad-barrels the Slayer unleashed a storm of blue hot tungsten bullets.
The demons chaotically bounced, floated, and slithered around the market, but the Slayer was relentless. With every passing second, the Slayer ripped another demon apart. Cycling through weapons, equipment, and his fists. Soon enough the demon horde began to thin out, the Slayer equipped his Combat Shotgun and picked off the remaining hellspawn.
He eventually cornered the last demon, a Prowler, in the corner. Without any delay, the Slayer rushed the battered demon and slashed up the torso before pulling its ribcage open.
When the Prowler's body hit the ground was there finally a break in the attack.
(End Music)
"I estimate the next demonic onslaught will be here in ten minutes. You better hurry." Dr. Hayden warned.
The Slayer investigated the remains of the market, although he wasn't looking for any demon, or surveying the carnage and property damage. He was looking for that damn cat named Mina Nori, whose body was noticeably not among the carnage.
"It would appear miss Nori has vacated the premises," Dr. Hayden commented, "I find it… unlikely that we will see them again."
'Good fucking riddance.'
"I am honestly surprised they survived this encounter, she seemed…" Hayden paused, "fairly wounded."
The Slayer scowled, of all the people to survive a demonic onslaught, he never would've expected someone so childish. Taking a moment to ponder, the Slayer found he couldn't quite nail down what Mina's deal was. She was either a bigoted monster, a sadomasochist, or both, and neither option was something the Slayer wanted to deal with.
He shook his head and shoved the mystery to the back of his mind, he had bigger fish to fry. He moved over to the barracks door and knocked.
"There is a break in the demonic onslaught, we need you to come back out." Dr. Hayden declared. The rattling of furniture being shoved out of the way bled through the door for thirty seconds before the door itself opened and the shaken humans shuffled out. Their eyes widened at what they saw:
The Slave Market of Siltvelt, once a near-perfect replica of the many cities of Hell where the countless victims of the Dark Realm suffered, lay in shambles. The Doom Slayer had flattened it in his fight with the demon horde. The many cages of Zeltoble steel were mangled beyond recognition, with the cruel torture machine splintered, their components strewn around the facility. All the former slaves stood in awe and shock, behind the scenes, Dr. Hayden communicated with the Slayer privately, "I've locked down all doors off the Fortress' command center and disabled all controls except that for the slipgate, and Raphtalia is currently barricaded within your quarters. We won't be having any strays around your command station today."
A blue Slipgate portal opened beside the Slayer, garnering the attention of the former slaves.
"If I could please have your attention!" Dr. Hayden declared, pulling in all of the humans, "This slipgate portal will bring you to a temporary safe zone until we can send you to a safer location."
Most of the former slaves took cautious steps toward the glowing blue vortex. They all shared glances with one another, silently wondering if the portal was safe. Until a little child wandered forth and curiously touched the slipgate portal. The other side of the portal felt, cold, in a pleasant way, like a light breeze on a crisp fall day in the shade of a tree. The child chuckled, unaware of the people suddenly watching them as they stepped through, disappearing.
After a moment of tense silence, Dr. Hayden broke the quiet, "The slipgate portal is safe, I assure you."
Another former slave stepped up and stepped through the portal. Then another, and another, in a minute, the former slaves shuffled through the portal, and onto the bridge of the Fortress of Doom, immediately awestruck by the view from the stars.
The Slayer nodded at the portal and began turning around to continue his crusade now that this little side mission was over with. The Slayer still felt like a serious bullet had been dodged.
He stopped when he was met with a small mixed group of around thirty-seven former slaves. An evenly split group of both men and women.
They looked scared. As if they were more trepidatious about going through the slipgate than they were at staying behind in a destroyed market in the middle of a demon-infested city. The Slayer arched an eyebrow at this.
"Is there a particular reason all of you have stayed behind?" Hayden asked.
The young woman at the front of the group stepped up to the Doom Slayer, tears in her eyes. She forced herself to look into the Slayer's visor, before stammering out: "N-noble knight. W-we cannot leave this wretched place."
That caught the Slayer's attention. Seems like he hadn't completely dodged the bullet yet.
'Can't leave? What?'
Dr. Hayden paused, then asked, "Why not?"
The young woman began to fiddle with the collar of her tattered dress, the others did either that or placed their hands over their chest.
A teenager behind the young woman managed to say, "We are bound here, s-sir, all of us. We physically cannot leave this hell."
The statement hit the Hellwalker like a brick. He took a step back, trying to figure out how they were bound to the ruined market.
Evidently, the good doctor was also confused, "What is binding you to this place? This hellish market has been destroyed."
The young woman in front inhaled, "These." she said as she pulled her collar open.
Upon the young woman's chest was a purple crest, taking the form of a modified omega symbol, the sides decorated with lines of disconnected spikes. In the center of the omega symbol were three rings interlocked together like a ven-diagram with arrows jutting off the connection points.
Although the crest didn't look particularly evil, the Doom Slayer instinctively knew this was the result of some form of binding ritual. These slaves weren't just bound to the slave market, they were bound to a specific slaver, one whom the Slayer hadn't killed yet. It made the Slayer think of the many brands of sin the damned undead of Hell were marked with.
"What are these?" Dr. Hayden inquired, likely having realized the same thing as the Slayer, but needing confirmation from the victim of the binding curse in question.
"They are slave seals. Under these, we cannot disobey a direct order from the master we're bound to. He ordered us to stay here."
"Why? For what purpose?" Dr. Hayden voiced what both himself and the Slayer were thinking.
The young woman in front took a deep breath, she did not know the full story, but she did know the most important details. Including how it all started.
"Many years ago, Siltvelt was lead into war by a mad king whose lust for power was utterly insatiable. The kingdom expanded, violently conquering and enslaving any nations in their path. They were eventually opposed and eventually repelled by a rival kingdom."
The Slayer nodded, not sure why this was important, but gestured for her to continue.
"The war ended with the death of the Mad King, and the aftermath saw the removal of the monarchy from power, but what took its place wasn't any better. The new council is partially made up of nobles who were dedicated followers of the Mad King, and have been looking for any excuse to reignite war with their rival since they were established, arguing perpetually with the part of the council that wants to let sleeping dogs lie."
The Slayer processed the information, still unsure why he needed to know it. Dr. Hayden, on the other hand, had an inkling of a clue as to why this information was necessary. But again, he needed confirmation. "What does this have to do with all of you being bound here?" he asked.
The remaining slaves shuddered in fear, some clutching their arms, digging their nails into their flesh deep enough to draw blood. The young woman didn't respond. Instead, it was the teenager who answered.
"To keep the other nations at bay, the Siltvelt council said they would give the leaders of the other nations an offering of their choosing…"
The pieces clicked, vividly.
"And so they are using the slave seals to make sure their offerings couldn't escape under any circumstances," Hayden concluded.
'What the fuck…?'
So they were destined to be the slaves of nobility all over the planet. A sacrifice to churn the machines of war. And based on what he'd seen and heard of slavers and slave owners on this planet, they were likely going to live short lives, full of torment and misery. Objects to abuse, trophies to show off. No respite, no hope of escape.
Indeed, Siltvelt was even more extreme than Melromarc. Was this corruption absolute in Siltvelt's government? Or was this the work of a rogue sect? Either way, it didn't matter.
But a looming international war was a problem for someone else. He was here to kill demons, and destroy anything with even a fleeting connection to the demons. Like this market, it looked too much like the real Hell for it to be a coincidence. And if it was a coincidence? Better safe than sorry.
"Is there a way to dispel these seals?" Dr. Hayden inquired.
"Yes," the young woman said, then sadly added on: "but you won't be able to find either here."
"We'll be the judge of that," Hayden responded, "what are these methods?"
"One is holy water, which cannot be acquired here. Or by slaying our master, who is also not present."
The Slayer paused, clenching his fists. Not sure where to go from there.
'Holy water that isn't here, or kill a guy who isn't here. This is a problem.'
Somewhere nearby a cascade of demon roars could be heard. Imps, Barons, Hell and Dread Knights, Mancubi. Every heavy-ranked demon in Hell's caste was about to be on the Doom Slayer's head.
"The demons will be here very soon. I will have to close the slipgate. There doesn't appear to be an immediate solution to this predicament." Hayden summarized.
'There's always a third option. Always.'
Although he thought so, the Slayer was struggling to see it. Minutes away from the demonic onslaught resuming, the only two options to dissolve the crests were unavailable, and the thirty-seven slaves were under explicit orders to not leave the market, likely under threat of painful death.
"Just leave," the teenager spat out bitterly, "you can't save us. You just can't. Those demi-human bastards made sure of that."
The Slayer seemed to realize that this was the case, but it was a bitter pill to swallow, what fate he would have to leave them to, even now he scrambled to find that third option.
"The demons will arrive in less than a minute… I am closing the slipgate before they arrive."
The Slayer turned his head and saw the slipgate shut down before he turned back to the seven. The woman stepped up to him, tears were trailing down her face.
"Please, go, sir knight," she said, "the slavers have made this our fate. Leave, and fight on. We will be alright."
'No, you won't. Not when demons are involved!'
But it was too late. There was nothing left to be done, except return to the battle of the wave.
With resigned defeat, the Doom Slayer turned away from the group of doomed slaves and began to walk away.
"Goodbye, noble knight." The young woman called out behind him.
"And don't you forget about us!" the teenager cried.
The Slayer paused and looked back at the thirty-seven. Like he had the boy, he took a moment to properly burn their image into his memory.
They were all going to die, be damned to Hell, and it was his fault. The Slayer knew he would have to live with that. There was no third option left.
"Goodbye…" they all said in unison to the Slayer one last time.
They all waved sadly at the Slayer, and the Slayer nodded back before continuing on his mission to stop the waves. He was well outside the market and on his way to layer three when he finally heard the screams.
He paused, and waited, the demons around him seemed to stop with him like they were waiting for him to make a move.
"You could not have saved them anyway." Dr. Hayden stated plainly.
'Of course, you would think that.'
Without a thought, the Doom Slayer drew his Super Shotgun, meathooking over the largest demon in the vicinity. The slaughter began anew, but the Slayer barely paid attention.
People enslaved by demons while he was busy fighting for the planet's survival? He wouldn't even know they existed, distant, faceless victims in his long war.
Millions of cages, packed to the bursting point with mutilated humans across the countless epochs of his war across Hell, infinite featureless corpses, strewn across the infernal wastelands, unliving and dead? He didn't bat an eye, they were too far gone, nothing to be done.
His crusade causing every form of economic and ecological disaster? Not his concern, humanity was infamous for its ability to endure and conquer, as long as a genetically diverse population of around five thousand survived to repopulate, humanity would keep going.
Failing to directly save someone stung, but it wasn't something that came up too often for the Slayer. Usually, by the time he got involved, everyone within the immediate area was dead or evacuated. In recent memory, this had only happened with Lute Village with him missing a single wagon.
But the absolute worst mistake the Slayer felt he could make were the ones that damned innocent people he tried to directly save to the claws of his enemies, like those thirty-seven slaves from Siltvelt's most horrific market. This was an error that stung more than anything else the Slayer had dealt with before. So few, and so far between, by his count, it had only happened twice. First at a time before he was the Doom Slayer, and then now.
The fact he didn't know those people personally didn't make that fact hurt any less.
Hayden understood that the Slayer had been affected by the slaves' ultimate fate and that it was his attempt to correct a great evil that caused it. Knowing this, he chose to let the Hellwalker be alone with his thoughts for a little while.
"I am going to turn my attention to our guests, I'll see about getting them somewhere in Melromarc, away from any unknowns," Dr. Hayden said, "there will be a communications blackout while I complete this task, an estimated five minutes. Good luck… Doom Slayer."
And so, the Slayer continued down a path of fire and death, his body butchering any demon in his path while his mind forcibly reminisced on mistakes past and present.
And most importantly, he theorized on how to avoid another repeat.
-DOOM-
(Siltvelt Capital City - Second Level)
How much distance had they gained? Dyal couldn't tell, no one could. Had they gone a kilometer since their last stop? Or a mere ten meters? The amount of destruction wrought by the demons made it impossible to tell.
They had taken shelter in the remnants of a tavern, the front largely open and allowing a view of the adjacent street, behind the bar itself was a gaping hole in the wall, likely caused by a large demon bursting through. Rubble was strewn across the ground and the holes in the wall would allow for a quick escape should the need arise. Despite the damages, it wasn't difficult to learn that this particular tavern was rather seedy, with the musty smell, poor-tasting beer, and mold stains in the rafters, but it was big enough to accommodate all the fleeing demi-humans.
Dyal and his knights were doing their best to keep their heads low to the ground, whatever had caused a ruckus among the demonic ranks had broken their focus and had given them a window. When the wave first started the demons had been fairly coordinated, they were able to overtake Siltvelt's capital city in mere minutes, but now they were frenzied. It had taken Dyal a while to notice, but the demons had lost their nerve. They were scared, and lashing out at anything they saw, even other demons. They had become more dangerous.
They were terrified of fighting him, this enigmatic figure the devil had alluded to. Part of Dyal struggled to remain hopeful that perhaps they would meet this him that the demons were so apprehensive of, that he could help them escape. Dyal looked back to the citizens in his care, hope fading and giving way to reality.
By now, the commoners in his care had lost any hope of the wave ending. They were desperate, holding to each other like this was the end of the world. It may have been, all things considered. The knights, trained for the harshest of circumstances, having once marched through a snowstorm to complete an objective once before, without stopping, all felt beyond fatigued. The many monsters that adhered to the leveling system, they could handle, but the demons were something else.
And so, they had all ceased their trek again, praying that the demons would overlook them this time. Dyal looked down at the despairing civilians in his care, he looked upon their faces, he could see the palpable hopelessness in their eyes and the sheer anguish in their small movements. He could feel the light and life being drained not just from the people he wanted to protect, but also from the very land around them. His hakuko ears twitched under his hood with every soft sob that reached them.
Dyal's second in command approached him, weariness baked into his face.
"We cannot keep this up," the second in command said dejectedly, "The knights are tired, our armors are shattered, and our swords are chipping away. The people cannot go on, the cruelty of the demons has taken their will and our strength."
Dyal couldn't face the second in command, because he knew he was right. His head tilted towards the damaged familial sword in his hands. He ran his finger along the cracked blade, finding that he could feel the sharp shards through his leather combat glove. Dyal looked back up and noted out loud, "The demons have hides stronger than Zeltoble steel, all of them. Even the shambling undead," he lost himself in thought for a moment, unsure whether he was strategizing or clinging to the last shard of hope, "how do we fight such an enemy?"
The second in command didn't respond. Evidently, there was no easy answer, and there wasn't any time to ponder one either, as the sounds of roaring and screeching came from several directions surrounding them. Dyal tried to ascertain whether or not those sounds of angered demons were getting closer or not.
His question was answered by a single floating demon. The spindly creature stared at him with its smooth eyeless face the way a wolf eyed a rabbit. The thing had leathery skin that was a dull grey except for its joints, which were exposed muscles. It swayed for a moment with its fleshy twin tails waving on its angular waist, its skinless talons flexing aggressively.
Dyal felt his blood run cold, in those moments of his childhood spent hiding from his father by sneaking into the forbidden section of the mansion's library. Within he'd found codexes regarding ancient monsters and the ancient sorcerers who cataloged them for God. He recognized this demon from the pages of those tomes. He identified it by the aching crest that rounded the back of its head.
The tomes of eldritch lore referred to it as an Infernal Priestess, however, it was alternatively named for its most infamous ability, the power to summon demons straight from Hell and into the battlefield.
A Summoner.
The Summoner began to move its arms in a serene and ritualistic motion and Dyal's heart started pounding in his chest.
"SWORDS!"
The Summoner raised its arms over its head and screeched loudly a noise of nails on a chalkboard, a glowing red pentagram appearing beneath it.
Several other similar pentagrams appeared on the land around the knights as they jumped out of the trashed tavern drawing whatever weapon they still had, Dyal drawing his own breaking blade alongside a secondary dagger.
A plethora of different demonic monsters appeared where the pentagrams were, screeching and ready for combat. The Summoner pointed directly at the commoners cowering in the tavern behind Dyal and his knights and screeched a loud battle cry. The knights went on the defensive.
It was a mere three seconds before the first knight was butchered by a Dread Knight, and at five seconds another was slain by a Hell Razer. More demons came, drawn to the cries of the Summoner, Hell Caina, Hell Legionnaires, and Hell Soldiers surrounded from all sides. Mancubi waddled around, firing precise shots left and right. The Summoner raised its arms again and summoned several Hell Knights and Prowlers.
And if that wasn't enough, a massive Empusa Queen revealed itself, flanked by its minions and its chosen bodyguard, a Fireborne Baron of Hell with a scar going down its face, its eye cut and rendered useless, the massive horned demon eyeing Dyal with its one good eye personally.
At the ten-second mark, eight knights had fallen, torn apart by the demons, some demons wearing their corpses and entrails like trophies. Two more tried to defend from the Empusa Queen, the large demon's claws cleaving through their armor. The remaining knights began to fight desperately as the demons closed in on them. Dyal swung at any demon that got too close whilst trying to dodge the Fireborne Baron of Hell with a grudge.
From within the tavern the commoners watched in horror as the knights were one by one brutally extinguished by the legions of hell. Like a tsunami of unholy terror, the fight, if it could even be called that, lasted only longer than a minute and a half. The scared demi-humans whispered every preyer they knew, in one desperate final hope.
Dyal looked around and saw his second in command still alive, and trying to make his way towards him, but before the second in command could the Summoner demon burst next to him in a flash of crimson, sending Hell waves in his direction. The second in command dove out of the first one's way and narrowly missed the second by tripping. The third one nailed them square in the torso, launching him back several meters.
"NO!" Dyal cried.
Dyal rolled away as the half-blind Baron smashed the ground where he once was, he strafed around a Dread Knight and a Mancubus, ducking below a Prowler and then an Empusa. He looked around and saw that the demons had whittled them down to just him. All his other knights were dead, the demons knawing on the corpses, taunting him. The dirt below him turned to thin mud from the spilled blood. It was unreal, Dyal felt a voice in the depths of his soul screaming, pleading for this to be a nightmare, to wake up.
He felt a presence behind him, sending a chill of terror down his spine. He spun on his heels and raised his damaged sword to block the oncoming attack. Another sword met him, the steel blade crackling in his grasp. Dyal's eyes widened, and despite his best effort he began to hyperventilate, staring right back at him was the half-melted face of his second in command.
"W-why?" Dyal asked, trying to comprehend what was going on.
The second in command only gave a wet gurgle in response as he… no, it, swung its sword again. Dyal parried, still trying to deny that this was happening, that his second in command was a Slave to Hell's Will, that he was Possessed. Dyal felt the bones in his arms turn to jelly as his Possessed second in command pushed his attack, offering only half-hearted blocks and parries.
Not long into the fight, the demons brought Dyal back to reality as an Imp's fireball missed him by a hair, he ducked below the strike of a Prowler and was finally knocked to the side by a Hell Knight.
Dyal rolled across the ground, gore and dirt sticking to his armor and cloak, his vision blurred by the blood in his eyes, and mud clogged his ears. He landed on his back and on instinct he raised his sword in front of him as the Possessed former comrade aimed with a downward stab. The tip of the Possessed's blade smashed into the heavily damaged blade. With a harsh and shrill snap, Dyal's familial sword finally shattered the weight of what was going on finally too much. The Possessed's sword continued downward, puncturing Dyal but missing any of his organs.
Dyal screeched from the sudden pain, in a fit of fight-or-flight he kicked the Possessed back where it was clawed at by the Empusa Queen, the large mantis-like demon biting into the Possessed's shoulder. The former second in command let out one last scream as the Empusa Queen tore the Possessed man in half, his torso dangling from the demon's maw as Dyal watched helplessly.
Dyal rolled over, no longer thinking, the people he was trying to protect had fallen from his mind. All he wanted to do now was escape the hell he found himself in. He tried desperately to crawl away, his fingers clawing away at the slippery mud moistened by the blood and gore of his former friends.
He felt a weight crush his back, rigid muscular fingers wrapped around him as fiery claws punched through his armor and scratched his flesh. The half-blind Baron of Hell lifted the defeated knight off the ground, turning him to face the tavern with the commoners in it as the horde slowly encroached on them. Dyal tried to look away, but the seemingly flayed hand of the Summoner clutched his head and forced him to watch. Dyal couldn't move, he couldn't look away, and he couldn't stop the tears rolling down his face.
The commoners watched in hopeless horror as the demons closed in. A few demi-humans tried pleading but the demons only seemed to savor it. All in the barren and burned tavern became aware that it was the end of the line. Mothers and fathers embraced their children, comforting them to the end. Lovers shared one last kiss, wanting the last thing they knew to be each other. And everyone cried, everyone gave one last desperate prayer, either in their minds or out loud, for some last hope in a place where there was none.
And almost as if something had heard them, those prayers were answered, just not how they thought they would.
There was a sudden and thunderous crash from behind them. A bloodied and beaten Prowler rolled across the ground, a dust cloud rising and keeping whatever had thrown it obscured from sight. At the same time, the demons outside the ruined tavern ceased their approach, but everyone could hear the heavy footsteps of large combat boots.
The wounded Prowler rolled to its back and stared into the dust cloud, the silhouette of a large figure coming ever closer. There was a common reaction among the demons, one of fear, they involuntarily took a step back as the person in the dust cloud emerged. The wounded Prowler began to scramble back in panic, its bloodied claws slipping on the dirty floor. The figure, the Doom Slayer, emerged as the dust cloud settled, blanketing the destroyed tavern in his seething hatred for demon-kind, and the commoners were left in awe by what they saw, unable to fully comprehend what was unfolding in front of them.
The Slayer's arm sprung forward and snatched the wounded Prowler off the ground by its throat. He lifted the screaming demon in one hand and pulled his other arm back, fist clenched tight and aimed for the wounded Prowler's face. Fear gripped the unholy creature as it thrashed wildly, scratching and kicking at the Slayer but not doing anything to him. The Slayer took a moment to savor the demon's fear, then threw his punch. The strike pulverized the demon's head, showering the petrified commoners in its grey matter and skull shards.
'Kill them…'
The Doom Slayer paced forward, the crowd of commoners parting like the red sea, allowing him to pass and move towards the other demons. He pulled the Super Shotgun from his warp pack, putting fresh shells on the weapon's breech.
'Kill them all…'
That terrible wave of terror shifted off of the commoners and onto the demons, who were now shifting in place, many preparing ranged attacks, not wanting to get close to the bane of Hell. The half-blind Baron and the Summoner watched with trepidation, Dyal felt a strange sense of…
Well, he couldn't quite track down what he felt. All he knew was that he was staring at the enigmatic him, the one the demons feared. He who sent the demonic horde into hysteria by a mere mention.
And without warning, the Doom Slayer furiously lunged forward.
The demons then retaliated with every ounce of power they had. Everything became a bloodbath faster than any could keep up. The Summoner let go of Dyal's head and flew into the haze of the battle. Fire and steel, the demon's claws and cannons were met with the heavy metal guns and burning hate of the Doom Slayer. The Slayer himself barely acknowledged the presence of the commoners around him, even when Dr. Hayden directly pointed them out, he was only seeing red.
From his position, Dyal observed as the demons that had beaten and broken him were subjected to the same brutality they had shown his people, the Slayer tearing into the demon's flesh with the fury of the countless the demons had slain.
It was like staring at a category five tornado, the demons being picked up and violently tossed by the whirlwind, the Slayer's cruelty toward the unholy hordes on full display. Demonic body parts were flying, and the guttural, grating sounds of metal violently shredding drowned out the chaos around them.
Part of him wondered if he was staring at an apostle of the great Shield God, he recalled from the scriptures that the Shield God had a thing for the color green. But if he was an apostle of the Shield God, why didn't he use a shield? Instead, he used weapons that spit fire and rend flesh. Yet Dyal didn't doubt that he was in the presence of a god-like being.
Dyal and the commoners watched in awe as the Doom Slayer made short work of the demons, whittling the horde down faster than the Summoner can re-summon them.
The Slayer glanced around the field, identifying the Summoner, and the Empusa Queen, spending a tick to theorize who its guard might be. He drew his Rocket Launcher, intending to have it live up to its name, the Paingiver, using the lock on to duel-target a Hell Knight and Mancubus Ogre on his way to the Summoner.
The Hell Knight burst into blood and guts as the triple rocket barrage detonated in its chest. The Mancubus faltered, stumbling and recoiling as the rockets flayed the fatty grotesque flesh from its chest. The Slayer rushed past, locking onto the Summoner. The triple rockets barreling towards the infernal priestess, the Summoner quickly warped away, the argent afterimage it left behind causing the rockets to explode.
The Slayer growled as the Summoner moved to summon more demons, he swapped to the Ballista, hip firing a quick shot to interrupt the Summoner's ritual. The force of the impact shattered the demon's spine and knocked it from the sky. The Summoner was forced to crawl around, no longer able to pull demons from the infernal pits of the Dark Realm.
The Empusa Queen chose to stand between the Slayer and the downed Summoner as if it thought the Summoner was an ace in the hole against the Doom Slayer.
'Outta my way!'
The Slayer rushed towards the Empusa Queen, intending to shove it aside and get to it later. Until the single-eyed Fireborne Baron blindsided him, knocking him into some rocks. The Slayer bounced to his feet, glaring daggers at the Baron of Hell. The large demon flanked by the lesser Empusa, the Empusa Queen chortled smugly from behind her bodyguard.
'So that's the Queen's guard.'
Dyal felt the wind push his head back as the Baron clutching him rushed to confront the Slayer. He couldn't help but suddenly feel oddly hopeful. Like God had deliberately sent this figure their way.
"Excuse me, good sir," Dyal asked tentatively, "could you perhaps make the large monstrosity put me down? I would be forever thankful if you do."
The one-eyed Baron tightened his grip slightly to shut him up.
Dyal's eyes widened, "Can't… breathe… please… help." he gasped out.
The Slayer restrategized in the blink of an eye, his targets reshuffled. He swapped for the Plasma Rifle, careful to check his shots as the single-eyed Baron rushed him, flanked by the lesser Empusa, their queen taunting from the rear of the formation.
The Slayer would wipe that smug look off its hideous malformed face soon enough.
-DOOM-
The edges of Dyal's vision began to darken as the large demon holding him and the Doom Slayer clashed. He quickly passed out, sitting somewhere between the lands of the living and whatever unconscious realm he'd passed into. Dyal inferred the state of the fight from the few senses he had left.
Through the darkness of his closed eyes, there were brilliant flashes of oranges and blues. Following the flashes were blasts of intense heat and the sound of loud guttural thunder. Around him he could feel the air get pushed as the bullets of the Slayer's weapons ripped through demons and supersonic speeds. The pained growls of the Empusa surrounded him in the formless void, he could feel his head being pushed around by the winds as his demonic captor rushed around trying to get to the Slayer.
He was almost roused from the half-conscious void by the feeling of blunt force pushing the one-eyed Baron back. Promptly followed by another brilliant flash of yellow and orange and an ear-piercing roar of metallic thunder. The disorienting sound weakened the Baron's grip enough that Dyal could draw a greedy and deep gulp of air. His eyes shot open, the blinding light disorienting him worse than the noise.
There was a feeling of a few drops of fiery blood splashing onto his face, enough to scald him into awareness as the Baron finally dropped him. Dyal screamed, clapping a hand over the burn on his face. Thinking he was on fire, he rolled across the ground in a needless effort to extinguish himself. Stopping on his back the hakuko knight blinked rapidly, clearing the dust and blindness from his eyes. He shifted into a sitting position with enough time for the upper part of an Empusa corpse to splatter down next to him. Acting on pure instinct, Dyal scrambled away frantically, the guttural sounds of death making his ears ring.
The hakuko stumbled to his feet only to see the one-eyed Baron tripping towards him, ashen flesh blasted off the large demon, revealing its blazing orange intestines and hot-iron skeleton.
Dyal fumbled back as another thunderous boom railed his sensitive hakuko ears, the one-eyed Baron of Hell finally fell over. The large demon bracing itself against the ground, its pain too great to stand up quickly. Dyal scooted back as the Doom Slayer stepped up the demon's back, extending the Doomblade. The Slayer gripped the demon by the horn and skewered it through the skull. He didn't even notice Dyal frozen stiff on the ground in front of the demon as he turned his attention back to the Empusa Queen, the massive mantis demon itself having finally realized the Slayer had killed all the other demons standing between it and the Hellwalker. With an ear-piercing screech, the Empusa Queen called forth her drones who burrowed up from the ground.
Dyal took a moment to regain control of his breathing gazing across the field of battle that the Slayer had wrought. He counted almost a hundred dead demons of all types, corpses and body parts scattered amongst the rubble. His head turned towards the commoners tucked away in the crumbling tavern, who were also caught in a state of awe. More than likely, they were likewise trying to comprehend what had just happened. Looking back over, the Slayer was engaged with the Empusa Queen, trading claw strikes for gunshots and Empusa carcasses.
SCREEAHH!
Dyal's amazement was brought to a grinding halt as the torso-half of the still-living Summoner demon clawed on top of him and wrapped its skinless talons around his throat.
Immediately the adrenaline kicked back in, Dyal trying to pry the demon's claws off himself. Yet even bisected the Summoner still had greater strength than him. In a desperate gamble, Dyal reached to the side for anything he could wrap his hands around. At the absolute extent of his reach, he was able to find a brick. Gripping the brick like a prized possession, he swung his arm with what strength he had left.
The hard clay brick shattered on the Summoner's head, the sudden pain forcing it to let go of Dyal. Capitalizing on his advantage, Dyal grabbed another brick, launching it straight at the Summoner with a scream. Something inside Dyal's mind snapped and he kept throwing bricks at the downed demon, the collective grief, and anger he now held boiling over.
The Summoner offered only a feeble attempt at defense from the angry bricks, covering its eyeless head. Finally, at the end of his strength, Dyal ceased his assault. He took a step back, tripping over his own feet, and fell, too tired and drained to register the harsh landing.
Dyal simply breathed labored breaths. The totality of the wave finally became crushing. All his comrades were dead, he'd experienced firsthand the fate of the monster's victims, and his efforts to save his people were laid low despite his best attempts. It was only by the arrival of the green knight that anyone survived, like a glorious god, the green knight slew the horde. Dyal questioned himself: 'what hope is there in the world where demons walked among man, and only the gods could strike them down? Are we in control, or is our destiny in the hands of some transcendental entity, like a puppet-master god? Do we even have free will?'
Dyal looked over to the Doom Slayer, slashing the front two legs from the Empusa Queen, downing the mantis demon. With a last slash from the Doomblade, the Empusa Queen finally died. He looked over to the bisected Summoner, its body having gone limp, but not dead, its chest still rising and shrinking with its tortured breaths.
Dyal didn't make a move, the demon was as beaten as him, it no longer mattered. All he could do now was lay down where he was. He stared upward towards the sky-bound Argent fractures, raining the forces of both the waves and Hell down on their heads, lost in his newfound nihilistic thoughts until a single large shadow was cast over him. Looking towards the shadow's caster he came face to face with the Hellwalker. The Doom Slayer finally acknowledged Dyal's presence as if maybe there was a purpose to the hakuko's attempts to help his people after all.
However, staring at the Slayer's face, Dyal quickly realized, that this might not be a benevolent god and that he might not be here to help if the downright murderous glare and smoking steel-barreled sword in his hand were any indicators.
-DOOM-
Codex Entry - Personnel: Mina Nori 1
-OPEN REPORT-
Name: Mina Nori (Middle Name Unknown)
Species: Demi-human (Hakuko Sub-species)
Age: Unknown, suspected to be in their early twenties
Physical Appearance: Snow white hair. Golden eyes. Frighteningly pale complexion. Being from the Hakuko sub-species, Mina Nori sports a pair of white tiger ears in place of human ones and a matching feline tail. Her preferred attire appears to be based on galactic-wide classical imagery of the grim reaper, (see entries on Hell Caina for relevant information) A black dress and matching cloak, Mina is rarely seen without her hood up. She compliments this attire with black lipstick and copious amounts of eye shadow.
Medical Profile: Mina Nori displays instances of impulsive behavior, anger and hostility, a chaotic lifestyle, physical aggression, and irresponsibility. All of which are common symptoms of clinical sociopathy.
Doctor's Notes: While she has the visible signs of sociopathy, her less-than-subtle proclivity towards sadism has me wondering if sociopathy is a misdiagnosis and if she's in reality a case of clinical psychopathy. Although, her violent antics could be the result of her being raised by a slave trader, rather than genuine malice.
-END REPORT-
-Page Directory-
Codex Entry - Locations: Kingdom of Siltvelt 2
Siltvelt's social structure is a caste-based system where the lives of specific sub-species of demi-human will be predetermined from birth. Demi-humans can not improve their lives by ascending into a higher caste, but one can be excommunicated to a lower caste.
At the lowest caste, demi-humans are often treated with the same amount of regard as slaves, with many demi-humans within the lowest castes being forced into slavery to work off debts they incur by trying to survive day-to-day.
The ruling body of Siltvelt is an oligarchical council maintained by an estimated four demi-human sub-species. These sub-species are believed to be: Hakuko, Genmu, Shasku, and Aotatsu. Only members of these four sub-species can join the council. While Siltvelt does have a king and a royal family, they are only a figurehead and hold no real political power.
The council of Siltvelt often spends its time arguing over trivial matters unrelated to the ruling of a kingdom. There are many instances of the council passing laws without regard for how the lower castes will adjust, or even if their new law can be followed. The most common issue debated by the council is the renewal of the war with their rival kingdom Melromarc.
Due to the council's horrifically inefficient methods of rulership, it isn't uncommon to see famine and plague within the lower castes.
-Page Directory-
Codex Entry - Religions: Church of the Shield God 1
(Excerpt from The Holy Doctrine of the Shield Hero)
'And so the first Shield Hero, by the blessing of the divine angels, brought his chosen people into the valley. Wherein upon the grandest peak, they decried, "And here, my chosen, is where we shall build our trinity. Our kingdom, our church, and our holy city".
"And it will be as grand as the mountain it was founded upon. At the peak will be the palace, where my most devout servants will rule. In our holy city, all will have a place, from the mightiest king to the lowliest beast. Our kingdom, which will be known as Siltvelt, will be the base from which demi-human dominion shall spread."
"From the highest mountain to the deepest ocean shall a glorious demi-human empire reign. It shall reign for a hundred millennia, and it shall teach my good word, that all demi-humans will reach salvation, and all humans cast down into the inferno, to be slaves of our will."
And from that day, the peoples of Siltvelt bowed their heads to the Sheild God and the holy angels that upheld his will, and they spread from the holy city. From their places in his law, they worked toward a glorious demi-human empire. Demi-humans once enslaved were freed and given purpose in Siltvelt, and humans who were once the slavers became the slaves.'
-DOOM-
(A/N):
Chunky chapter, this was. Can you believe that all this was originally going to be part of the last chapter? Siltvelt is rapidly devolving into the Imperium of Man, isn't it?
I am aware many of you were hoping for Mina to bite the dust here, but sorry, I have plans for her. I want to explore the Nori's twisted, horror movie-esque family dynamic. I know Mina may seem like a demi-human Myne right now, but she's not. You'll see why eventually.
Side note: Mina's appearance is basically an Expy of the Dimitrescu Sisters from Resident Evil: Village. I suppose the real question is: how Dyal and Mina were raised by the same atrocious parent?
The scene with the slaves who have slave crests that prevent them from leaving. This wasn't in my outline, I added it for two reasons primarily.
Reason 1: I can't use Raphtalia to introduce the concept of the Slave Crest here since she's not a slave, and I'm going to need the Slave Crests to be established going forward.
Reason 2: Political insight. The world of Shield Hero is driven by its in-universe politics, it's the whole reason the plot got going after all. That hasn't really changed, and I wanted to contribute to world-building beyond the Slayer. Granted that this fic has a slightly Nietzchean approach to its philosophy, I don't intend to bum anyone out by that.
I also can't simply give the Slayer flawless victories constantly, that would just get boring. Assuming people aren't bored already.
I feel like everyone kinda missed the point behind the last omake. The point was that, yes, Filo doesn't fit and the Doom Slayer wouldn't just go get one. In this scenario, Doom Slayer didn't get much say in the matter, Filo ends up in his care through manipulation, particularly, the Queen's manipulation. A bid in the hopes it builds a bridge between herself and the Slayer. Moreover, as Dr. Hayden said, Raphtalia would take care of Filo, as a test of responsibility. Don't worry about financial resources, the Slayer mostly just *ahem*... 'reappropriates' funds from the demon cult as a method of 'asset denial warfare', and my headcanon is that VEGA spent some downtime trading stocks in the post-apocalyptic market for funsies. So currency for Earth and the planet of Shield Hero (which I'm leaning on calling Junia) is covered and arbitrarily large bank account is in effect.
Also, I want to eventually have a scene that shows the process of destroying an Empusa nest. Maybe at some point in this fic's future.
The Halo TV series. Not gonna lie, I don't hate it. Most things look the way they're supposed to, Spartans look like Spartans. Guns look like guns (except for that one Plasma Pistol). Covenant looks like Covenant. But, OH MY GOD, MAKE UP YOUR MIND DO YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR HELMET ON OR LEAVE IT OFF? Seriously, the rate at which Chief takes off and puts back on his helmet is quite frankly tiresome. Also, what is with this show's weird obsession with ass shots, there's been like four of them already. And none of them were Cortana, who's the only character in Halo who's appeared 'naked' if you can even call her appearances that, yet somehow, Chief himself, and three other new characters all have nude scenes, I don't get it. The gore is spectacular, it's probably the closest thing we'll get to a good DOOM movie for a while. They probably made this show deliberately gory so they can go full force with the Flood later. Soren-066 is fun, give us more Soren, Kwan has grown annoying. I have questions about the deal with smart AIs in the show's universe, however. In the main canon, UNSC smart AIs were everywhere, built from donated brains of recently deceased people. In the show, the UNSC doesn't have smart AIs but is aware of how to make them, and somehow it didn't occur to them to use donated brains of the recently departed? Master Chief and Cortana's relationship is having a rocky start, I see. Hope that changes. I can understand why some people are annoyed by this show. But you know what? I don't really care, this show is supposed to be alternate continuity mixed with What-If. Of course, things will be different. But the one sin I cannot overlook with this show? WHERE THE HECKLING RINGWORLDS IS OUR BOY SERGEANT JOHNSON?!
Is it just me, or does the show's Halo ring look extremely small compared to the rings we see in the games? Forerunners are infamous for making things larger than is necessary.
…
I know I said to make up your mind, but for real…
PUT THE HELMET BACK ON!
…
I'm only partially joking when I say we should get the people behind the Halo TV series to make a Mass Effect show, they might make it more like Halo! Or maybe they'll make it exactly like Mass Effect? I dunno. There's enough about the show that looks right and references to extended lore are everywhere, so they 'know' Halo, but there's enough not quite right that it throws the show off.
Sea of Thieves. I have become Pirate Legend. Yay. Now what? That ghost sword looks nice. Gold Hoarder cutlass also looks nice. I also want to unlock the Fearless Bone Crusher figurehead. Guess I'll work towards those next.
This fic also has a Fanfic Rec on TVTropes. Yay. Does this mean it's on the way to getting its own Trope page? Seriously, I don't know the rules there. Although whoever made the recommendation credited the wrong author, could someone please fix that? Thank you.
Alright, an Omake for fun. This one's a long one.
THERE WILL BE BLOOD! SHED!:
Of all the things Jetstream Sam expected from dying, this wasn't one of them. One moment he was being stabbed through the heart by his rival Raiden, the next he was standing in the middle of a giant glyph alongside some unmotivated-looking kids.
"Oh great heroes, we beseech you. Will you lend a hand? For our world is in danger."
Jetstream Sam pondered that request while the other three started making demands. Stroking his chin, he came to a quick conclusion.
'Fuck it. Let's see where this goes.'
Later that day:
Jetstream Sam had spent most of his remaining day listening to the lore dump given by the king regarding the Legendary Heroes, which included himself, and the waves of calamity, the local disaster he'd be fighting. Jetstream Sam, having experience with politicians had determined that he shouldn't just trust the king at face value, something about the old man didn't sit right, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
So, when night came, he immediately went out into the woods to hunt some of the supposed monsters that lived there. Suffice to say, Jetstream Sam was surprised to find out that was true. He'd spent most of the night killing monsters and unraveling the functions of his new Legendary Sword. He went back to the castle late the next day to learn that adventurers had been assigned to each Cardinal Hero, himself included.
Jetstream Sam didn't care. From what he'd learned from the help menu, the more party members he had, the more the party's XP gains would get divided, at a certain point, those gains would be negated for the amount of work put in. Plus, he wasn't sure any adventure could keep up with him, him being a samurai that fights cyborg ninjas for a living and all that. Also, he still didn't trust the king, still didn't know why, though.
Day 3:
Jetstream Sam realized he'd probably dodged a serious bullet by not getting a party of adventurers. The Shield Hero was surrounded by guards, all of whom had spears held to his neck. Across from him stood the Spear Hero, standing in defense of a beautiful redhead princess, who had accused the Shield Hero of attempting to sexually assault them. A very serious accusation by any standard.
Jetstream Sam wasn't entirely convinced, however. He'd unraveled enough criminal empires and partook in a conspiracy long enough to spot a setup. Yet this world was so different that could be their version of a fair trial. He couldn't quite pass judgment yet, just in case the Shield Hero was guilty after all. So Jetstream Sam waited.
Almost immediately after the king had passed judgment, condemning the Shield Hero, the redhead princess Malty decided to have sex with the Spear Hero and was so eager to do so that she started to disrobe in the hallway, across from Jetstream Sam, whom she didn't notice. Raising an eyebrow, Jetstream Sam went and stood next to the door that Malty and the Spear Hero had gone through. The sounds coming through the door made it abundantly clear that they were in the throes of passion. Jetstream Sam stroked his chin, if the Shield Hero had tried to assault Malty as she claimed, there was no version of this story where she willingly would have sex with anyone else.
The Shield Hero was innocent all along.
Jetstream Sam decided to uncover the conspiracy and gain the power needed to take it on.
One Month Later:
The heroes of the spear and bow stared in shock as Jetstream Sam butchered the wave boss in minutes.
Jetstream Sam turned and gave them a shit-eating grin.
"What?" they asked flatly.
Later That Night:
The party was going great. Jetstream Sam was observing the Shield Hero. It seemed he'd picked up a Demi-human companion. She was likely a slave. While that offended Jetstream Sam slightly, he had no right to judge, since he was partially responsible for putting the Shield Hero in the situation that would've forced him to get a slave. That, and he'd aslo partaken in the plan to create cyborg child soldiers.
Unfortunately, the Spear Hero, whom Jetstream Sam had taken to calling Spear-dick didn't have the same idea. The dumbass had challenged the Shield Hero to a duel for the girl's freedom, something the girl herself was noticeably uncomfortable with. But what made Jetstream Sam angry was when the bastard king had the girl bound and gagged against her will, all the while calling her a 'poor thing' for 'having' to defend the Shield Hero.
The hypocrisy was giving Jetstream Sam an aneurysm. Over the last month, Jetstream Sam had uncovered the cesspool of the king's bigotry. The man had written back into the law laws that permitted Demi-human slavery that his wife had written out of the law. Then the bastard king took it a step further and wrote into the law laws that permitted the torture of Demi-human slaves and the legalized hunting and killing of free Demi-humans.
Nope, Jetstream Sam drew the line, helping to create cyborg soldiers from children was bad enough, but this crossed the line into pure unmotivated evil. Jetstream Sam was stepping in before there was a repeat of the child cyborgs incident. And he had the perfect idea on how to stop this.
Jetstream Sam butted in to ask what was going on. And both the king and the Spear and Bow heroes responded as expected. By saying what the Shield Hero was doing was wrong. The king especially railed on it loud enough for the room to hear. Jetstream Sam grinned, the king realizing too late the trap he'd walked right into and Jetstream Sam then began to explain, even louder than the king had, how hypocritical of him it was, listing the various slave and torture laws the king had personally made legal.
The desired result was achieved, and both the Spear-dick and the Bow hero were staring at the bastard king in abject horror. The Shield Hero looked appropriately appalled as well, even the Shield Hero's Demi-human companion looked scared. The Bow Hero, almost without thinking, went over to the Demi-human girl, cut her loose, brought her to the Shield Hero, then escorted them both out of the castle. No mess, no fuss. The revelation was too much for them to handle. Indeed, Jetstream Sam had done well.
The bastard king looked like he was about to have a heart attack with how angry he was. Jetstream Sam's smug grin wasn't helping.
A Week Later:
Jetstream Sam wanted to fight a dragon. So he was going up the mountain to fight a dragon.
The fight was intense, but Jetstream Sam was able to beat the beast. The dragon lay battered on the ground, Jetstream Sam approaching slowly. The dragon closed its eyes, accepting its death, only sorry it couldn't protect-
BONK!
The dragon opened its eyes, Jetstream Sam was giving it an entirely too pleased with himself smile. Then he turned around and left, stating only that he had fun.
The dragon was too confused to do anything. A dog-type Demi-human wandered out and asked a sharp, flat, "What?"
A Week Later:
The Shield Hero had booked it to another kingdom. He'd bought a filolial egg, and spent a few days fast-growing it, then buying a magic dress when she gained the ability to turn into a bird loli. Jetstream Sam didn't question the insanity of this planet anymore.
The Bow Hero also left, leaving only Jetstream Sam and Spear-dick to defend Melromarc. And in that time Spear-dick had unleashed a plant monster.
Jetstream Sam hated plant monsters, they didn't know when to stay dead.
A Week Later:
Jetstream Sam had found a Blueberry Princess in the middle of a field with no guards. The Blueberry Princess had asked them the escort them back to the capital.
Jetstream Sam decided that he shouldn't trust anyone else to escort the Blueberry Princess.
Two Days Later:
Jetstream Sam wasn't sure where in the translations he went from escorting the Blueberry Princess to kidnapping the Blueberry Princess, but like everything when it came to Melromarc, insane troll logic was the order of the day. So there he was, running at speeds only a filolial could achieve, slashing away at anything that got in his way, the Blueberry Princess being carried like a sack of potatoes, screaming all the way.
Jetstream Sam silently remarked on how being taken to a world without giant robots and cyborg ninjas had somehow made his life so much weirder.
Days Later:
Jetstream Sam and Blueberry Princess had been cornered by Spear-dick and Malty. It didn't take a genius to realize that if Blueberry Princess went with Spear-dick and Malty then she would die, and her death would probably involve lots of magic napalm.
Yes, this was not good. So Jetstream Sam protected the Blueberry Princess. The fight was brutal, and it ended with Spear-dick getting several broken bones, Malty missing an arm and a leg, and the whole contingent of church knights they were with turned into chunky salsa.
Suffice it to say, the Blueberry Princess was traumatized by the experience.
Oops.
An Hour Later:
Fitoria had no words. She'd asked Jetstream Sam to explain what was going on with the four cardinal heroes. Jetstream Sam explained it from the beginning, about the conspiracy, how he'd dismantled it on accident, and drove two of the cardinal heroes to other nations as a result.
Fitoria did not know whether or not to slap Jetstream Sam for driving the heroes apart or to hug him for getting them to other nations to battle the waves.
Soon Enough:
Fitoria was kind enough the bring Jetstream Sam and Blueberry Princess to the kingdom where Blueberry Princess' mother the Queen was currently in.
The Queen wasn't super happy because Blueberry Princess was traumatized by Jetstream Sam's brutal fighting style, but was glad she was safe.
Jetstream Sam simply gave her a cheezy smile and said "All in a Sword Hero's day's work."
TL;DR, Fuck you king Aultcray. Samrolls your kingdom.
THERE WILL BE BLOOD! SHED! THE MAN IN THE MIRROR NODS HIS HEAD! THE ONLY ONE! LEFT! WILL RIDE UPON THE DRAGON'S BACK! BECAUSE THE MOUNTAINS DON'T GIVE BACK WHAT THEY TAKE! OH NO, THERE WILL BE BLOOD! SHED! IT'S THE ONLY THING I'VE EVER KNOWN!
Melromarc cannot handle the awesomeness of literally anything from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Let alone Jetstream Sam.