Number 8-
Portal opens. The Doomslayer comes out. Metal music is playing.
Oi! No, no, no, no, no! Although I respect ya, this ain't your story, DS. So please, don't go ripping and tearing here.
Leaves.
Fucking A, that was close...We almost lost the entire Harem.
Nerdy: This man keeps dodging Yugioh _...
Dude, it was New Year's Eve! I was partying and drinking all night! Even now I have a little hangover. 'Sides, the family was more important than writing.
Nerdy: Fair enough. But you got no excuse after this _
REVIEWS: (Nerdy is not here rn, so Ima answer them all)
Zathol: Well said. I always intended for that to be a factor, him being split like this. He does have the usual negativity for his family, but as stated by both Lucifer and Ignium, he also still loves them. His father, though, being the one who played the bigger part won't get any forgiveness. As for the power, I let you know that what Ignium gave him is not permanent or anything like that. His blood will be revealed later.
Eventual Shaman: With skill? Maybe she can win against some of them. But against Lucifer, Judgement or Justice? We have to keep in mind that not all of them are made for combat.
Anonymous: Thanks fam, I really try to make it good and respect the personalities of each character. The only one I had issues with was Lucifer as her personality section on the wiki was blank when I checked.
Salad Bitch: of Jaune will come to see them as some kind of family, it's JAUNE ARC we are talking about here.
Gilgamesh1997: No girl will be the main girl, and that is because I plan to use a specific harem administration plan. Simple: No favorites, no main girl, none of them.
MachoMan: As I said, there will be no main girl, but what you said about Pyrrha is still a high possibility. Drunk Arc Conquest CH2 is also almost ready, so stay tuned for that.
We got more than just those revs, but the amount is getting so high that I will start replying only to the best ones which ask for good questions and whatnot.
It was a new day in Hell after Jaune was thrown down into Tartarus, and while he was sleeping there with Ryan and Ignium to watch over him, the Harem was dealing with Lucifer above. After he was thrown out, the girls were told to sit and wait in Lucifer's chamber. They were all on edge in one way or another. Pandemonica was worried about what Lucifer would do to them now since their attempt to recruit her into the Harem failed. She knew this might happen sooner or later, but she didn't imagine that Jaune would make it to Lucifer's doorstep.
Modeus was more or less both sad and disappointed. She was sad because she lost Jaune, but also disappointed that she did not get to bed him and have her fun. But she was sadder than anything. Jaune was, in hindsight, the first one to come to her and resist her charms, not immediately wanting to delve into her pants. She found it strange all the way through their journey and now she missed him for that.
Cerberus was - all three of them, sitting down on the floor with their knees to their chest. Their ears were down as well. They missed Jaune's pats, and as such, they missed him as well. Not to mention they couldn't get to the human world without him. They were worried about what Lucifer might do to them now since she doesn't need to worry about fatally harming one of them.
Malina and her sister, Zdrada, both seemed not to care much, with the sour demon simply leaning on a wall with her arms crossed looking out through the window for the end of times to come. Her sister was beside her in a similar position, but with a hand busy holding on to a cigar and smoking away. Out of all of them, they were the ones to seem to care less. But that was a facade. Malina was worried about what will happen to them, same with Zdrada, and the sisters were each worried about each other. Jaune was the only one stupid enough to even interact with them in their opinions but in a weird way, they enjoyed his company. Malina did, at least, Zdrada was more or less tagging along to see how things turned out.
Justice was blind, but even she could feel the bad mood in here. She knew Lucifer wouldn't do anything to her, a favor for a friend if you might, but she still expects some kind of punishment. She was the latest addition to the Harem, henceforth she didn't know Jaune for less than one day, but her abilities as a demon gave her a good enough insight on the boy to know he was a good soul. He even seemed goofy enough to laugh at her jokes when she might make them.
But the biggest irregularity here was Azazel, who, for her part, looked somewhat lost seeing all of them so down and tense. "Why is everyone so sad?" She asked softly, patting Pandemonica on the shoulder to get her attention.
"Jaune is gone, Azazel." The tired demon said, but then she remembered something. "Wait, why aren't you down as well?"
"Jaune is alive, that's why!" Hearing those words made everyone perked up at her, looking at her with confused gazes. Well, except for Justice that is. "As his guardian angel I know when he is alive and dead, so I can clearly say he is alive right now!"
"How?" Malina asked. "He fell into the depths of Tartarus of all places! He most likely made contact with the rock bottom and died!"
"Gotta agree with my sister here," Zdrada said, blowing some smoke. "Your senses might be off, angel girl. There is no way a human can fall into Tartarus and survive such a fall."
"Actually." Pandemonica chimed in, remembering something very peculiar. "Back when we started our journey, Jaune did fall into Tartarus before. And he did so from the top of Hell as well, close to the gates."
"What?!" most of the girls said, with Zdrada starting to cough out smoke and Justice perking an eyebrow and whistling hearing that.
"How in the actual fuck did he survive that?!" Malina asked again, this time seeming more...hopeful? It was one thing for a demon to fall one level, which is no big deal most of the time, but even multiple levels could prove fatal to them. Yet, a human has fallen almost all the way to the bottom of Hell and survived with no injury? He even made it out on top of that!
"Aura." Pandemonica said, pushing her glasses up. "In his world, the human and from what he told me about those people with animal traits, Faunus, have developed a way of accessing their soul to a deeper degree, allowing them to unlock this strange power. It acts as some kind of armor and healing agent. Furthermore, they can also develop a unique power called a Semblance. From what I got from Jaune during our trip, semblances are more or less unique to every person."
Everyone was stunned to hear about such a strange thing, but then it was Zdrada who broke the silence. "So what? Is that stuff strong enough to allow him to survive such a fall? I highly doubt it."
"That would be thanks to his semblance," Monica added. "I do not know the full extent of Aura and semblances, but he told me that, even if he only got it when entering Hell, his semblance was originally simply the ability to amplify Aura. But, as Justice had him saying, he was given a contract made by his uncle to Beelzebub. Said uncle's ghost was the one to unlock them for him and even grant him his own semblance as a result. But he told me mixing semblances is not something normal back in his world" She finished, letting the information sink for each one of them.
"So, in one word, he can make his Aura capable of enhancing his body to levels that make him super-human in a way, correct?" Azazel summed. "What is the Semblance of this uncle, Monica? Did he mention it?"
"He said it was named Aura Will and that it was linked to his emotional state. I do not know more, only that it seems somewhat useless considering what we have seen of him until now." She replied, then let out a sigh. "But with such a power or not, it will take a miracle for him to survive Hell now without us to back him up"
Hearing that had the girls feel down again, even Azazel looking down now. Then, ever so slowly, Azazel started to unite her hands, muttering a low prayer for Jaune.
The girls felt awkward having the angel pray, but they agreed with her words.
'Please, return him to us.'
Back down in Tartarus, Ryan was sitting on a rock, sharpening his spear while Ignium was, to his surprise for once, silent. The usually talkative demon was not talking, but rather sitting with his eyes closed. If Ryan didn't know better, he'd think he was asleep, but he knew better. He then looked over to Jaune, who was still passed out. The boy's sweater was all fucked up, so Ryan had no choice but to remove it. Most likely for the best since he assumed the boy was slowly getting himself cooked alive in that thing.
That left him with his chest naked, but it was to be expected. To cut into his chest, Ryan had to cut the boy's clothes as well. They were all bloody and filthy, ripped, and unfit for combat. Who dressed him as such to go into Hell he had no idea, but they surely didn't know about combat-fit clothing.
"Hey, Ignium." Ryan said, waiting for a reply from the demon. "Do you think he is alive? He has been out for quite some time now" No reply from the demon, only a pregnant silence that plagued Tartarus. At this point Ryan was starting to feel his skin crawl. This peace and quiet was just not normal for Ignium. Not normal whatsoever. "I know you are not-"
Ryan's words were interrupted by the sound of a loud cough, followed by Jaune jumping and turning to his side, coughing and trying to gasp for air as much as he could. The boy coughed out a black tar which left a horrible, rotten taste in his mouth. He didn't know what that stuff was, but he didn't want to know either. The demon who seemed to sleep until now cracked a smile on his face and lifted his face, opening his eyes to allow the golden hue to stare at the boy. "Welcome back, sleeping beauty." He greeted Jaune, who then looked at Ignium, then at Ryan. He quickly got on his feet, reaching for Crocea Mors out of instinct. But the speed and way he did it even had him confused.
Ignium chuckled seeing that. It looked like his little gift was working. "Relax, blondie." Ryan said. "I won't skewer you alive anymore. You are more or less on our side now, so I have no reason to."
"Wait…" Jaune said, looking at his body and seeing the snake tattoo on him. He then looked at Ignium. "So, I have fighting skills now? Like, actual skills?"
"Yes." Ignium replied. "Granted, they are temporary until you fulfill your goal. After that I want them back alongside Blood Binder. Oh, and there is one more thing I think I should tell you. Well, two actually."
Jaune looked at Ignium, then at Ryan. "Ok, what are those?"
"First, do you still plan on getting Lucifer into your little harem?" Ignium asked, making Jaune look at him strangely. "Answer me, kid. Ryan there can tell if you are lying."
"I…" Jaune began, then he paused for a moment, thinking. "I am. She might have had me thrown down here, but I do not blame her. It is her job to rule Hell and she is not obliged to be in my Harem. However, I will still try."
"Oh?" Ignium mused, finding Jaune's answer peculiar. "And why is that?"
"I don't know…" Jaune replied, hanging his head low. "I guess that, when I heard her talk, she sounded somewhat...lonely?" Now that had Ignium's attention. "She seems lonely being at the top, you know? When you reach so high and people around you treat you differently for it?"
"That sounds more like a third-person perspective." Ryan added. " How can you know what she is going through without having gone through it yourself, boy?"
"Again, I don't know…" Jaune repeated. "She stands at the top of Hell, the summit! But me? I've always been at the bottom. It is lonely there as well." He stated. "But you, Ignium? I was once told you showed mercy to Lucifer. Why is that?"
Ryan widened his eyes hearing that, but not because it was news to him. No, it was because Jaune had the balls to ask that from Ignium. The demon closed his eyes, inhaling sharply, but when he opened his eyes and looked at Jaune, a grin spread on his face. "You will be a good partner for her, Jaune Arc. I can tell. And, to answer your question, I was there, in Heaven, back when Lucifer was not yet The Devil you know and fear." He said. "My angel name was Ophirius and I was in charge of teaching the younger generation of angels. Lucifer, Micheal, and Gabriel were my favorite students. Each one of them had such wonderful virtues." His smile then turned to a frown. "Virtues which blinded me to see Lucifer's flaw."
"Her flaw?" Jaune echoed. "You mean her pride?" Ignium nodded.
"I was blind, boy, and allowed the War in Heaven to be." Ignium continued, regret seeping through his voice. "If I was more alert, if I wasn't such a fool thinking my own student wouldn't be capable of that, then maybe none of us would be here today."
"But it wasn't your fault!" Jaune said, interrupting the demon. "You couldn't have known what was going to happen!"
"Don't you think I know that!" Ignium shouted, showing his fangs to him. "That is not something I blame myself, I blame myself for what I did in the war!" He shouts, then sets his back straight, straining the chains. "When Lucifer turned herself into that horrible dragon, it was I along with Micheal who casted her down." He confessed. "Because of me, she is down here. Even now, if you look at her back, the scar I gave her with the very weapon on you is ever so present. I plunged my weapon into her spine and dragged it down - from the base of her neck to the base of the tail. She has that scar on her still."
Both Jaune and Ryan were silent, letting him talk. "I, who was her teacher, hurt her and threw her down here. After the war, it was not a day that went by without her screams of pain echoing in my head." He said. "I even went to the Lord himself, asking him and begging him to tell me why is her screaming haunting me! But what he told me was that I couldn't let go of her. I couldn't let go of the love I had for my students! Angels are made to embody the good aspects you humans have, and love stands as a cardinal part of our being! But when that love torments you, there is nothing else to do but desire for it to end!"
At this, Ryan jumped immediately. "You crazy bastard, you didn't!"
"But I did!" Ignium shouted again. "I ASKED God to cast me down!" He confessed, earning the stunned looks of both Jaune and Ryan. "When he refused me I simply asked again, and again, and again, until one fateful night I did the unforgivable and raised my own blade against my own!" The chains clicked as Ignium moved around, but they didn't give. "I took my weapon, the one on you now, and cut an angel! I KILLED an angel!"
The boy took a step back, trying to take in what he just heard. "You...You didn't kill them intentionally, right?"
"No…" Ignium confirmed. "I was stressed, tired, and a complete wreck. They were trying to be, well, angelic, and help me. But I acted with violence." He looked up, above where the levels of Hell ended. "I was casted down for my crime and punished down here. My wings burned, the feathers turning to ash, and my skin let out smoke for years after."
"Then why fight Lucifer?" Jaune asked again. "All you are saying right now indicates that even now you still care deeply about her, correct?" Ignium nodded. "Then why?"
Now this was the question Ignium was waiting for. "So she can be forgiven." He stated. "Her pride, her high position, were the reasons she was casted down. I thought that, if I humiliate her and take her throne, maybe she will shed her pride and ascent." His voice was sad, lingering with regret. "But I failed miserably and now I am where you see me."
Ryan, hearing all of that, actually had to stand down and process everything. But Jaune, for his part, clenched his fist. "But why fight her?" He asked, trying to understand everything. His voice was breaking slightly as his anger was building up inside him, and for a few seconds, his Aura was also flaring. "Wasn't there some other way? Another way to save her?"
Ignium smiled at Jaune. "I like your cut, boy. You are an optimist, a dreamer! You seek the best course of action to make everyone happy and make sure no one has to suffer. But that is also a naive way to be, Jaune. The world is not one where things will always go smooth and your way. Sometimes we are dealt a hand we just do not want to play, but we must play it to win."
"Answer me!" Jaune shouted again.
"No." Ignium replied calmly. "Hell's law states that Lucifer either has to surrender her throne or die in battle against a challenger. I tried to make her surrender through the fight, but she was stubborn. She'd rather die with pride than surrender in shame"
"I…" Jaune couldn't even begin to think of a way to counter that. If that was how Hell worked, which didn't surprise him much by now, then Lucifer getting into the Harem was now even a lot harder. "Then what? Any advice on how I am supposed to get her to leave with me and surrender the throne?"
"Yes." Ignium said, his voice radiating with a tense seriousness. "You will need to prove yourself, Jaune. Go back, climb out of Tartarus once more, and carve your way through Hell's soldiers! Then, when you reach Lucifer, try to promise her something."
"An Arc doesn't back down on their promises!" Jaune stated, drawing Crocea Mors out. "I will promise her anything I need to give her! Be it the world, my heart, my-"
"Pancakes." Ignium said, cutting Jaune offs and killing the epic mood altogether. "She has a thing for them, believe or not. Back in Heaven she'd always ask me to cook some with her. However, ever since she fell, she hasn't had any. Hell doesn't have anything similar to sugar."
"I...I can actually do that." Jaune said. "Any idea what kind she likes more?"
"She loves pancakes made with vanilla sugar and chocolate. Cremes, to be specific on the kind." The demon specified. "All demons love sugar, so do not be surprised if they become your every day breakfast."
"I have seven sisters back home, Ignium." Jaune pointed out. "I think I can handle it."
"Then go! You have been asleep for a long time, boy, and the day is starting to turn into night." Ignium said. "But you may not rest even at night. You will need to fight the ghouls along with the soldiers of Hell. You will not have peace until your job is done, got it?"
"Got it." Jaune replied. "Tenebra Armora" He muttered, then stood still as the white and golden smoke enveloped him, creating the armor Beelzebub had created for him. Ignium and Ryan both looked at him with mild surprise, but Ignium merely chuckled. "I will see you later, guys. Thank you." And with that, he left running towards the wall that represented the edge of Tartrus where he was to climb.
"Beelzebub's hand is all over that boy" Ryan pointed out, then he unclenched his fist, revealing a squashed fly. "She has been keeping an eye on him with this. I squashed it mainly because I dislike that woman."
"Oh, Ryan, let's hope you didn't do something you'll regret."
Jaune grunted once more as he climbed the side of Tartarus again, this time wearing his entire armor except for the helmet. It was strange, having the snake on him, giving him such skills. But he didn't care about that right now. "I have to get back to Lucifer's palace. If what Justice said is true, she will be aware of my returning and most likely increase security. Last time it was easy- too easy! But now? It is likely going to be heavily guarded and I have only one way in" He thought as he once again stabbed Crocea Mors into the wall to help him climb. "I will need to fight."
Jaune climbed the side of Tartarus until the night was upon him, but he found something out that he didn't expect. He stopped climbing as soon as a terrible screech tore through the sky, making him turn back to see a terrible being fly at him.
The creature in question was resembling a giant hawk, but with a longer neck and hollow eyes with putrefaction clearly settled into its body. It was bigger in size as well, its body covered in pieces of armor situated on random parts of its body. It dived for Jaune, the boy expecting to get eaten alive right there.
But instead his legs moved, pressing themselves against the cliff and his arms gripped his weapon. He was waiting for it to get close enough, and once it did, he jumped over the hawk, stabbing its tail so he wouldn't end up falling down back into Tartarus, then he deployed his helmet. The hawk crashed into the wall, but it didn't fall. Instead, two horrible claws, which resembled those of a leopard, emerged from its chest and it began to thrash around, trying to shake Jaune off it.
Its attempts were effective, but not effective enough. Jaune, sensing his grip growing weaker, swung himself back to the cliff, hugging the charred rock. The hawk sensed that and positioned itself so that it was staring at him. It was somehow capable of walking on the wall itself, which was a feat in its own. Likely thanks to the claws. The hawk pounced on him, Jaune having to let go and fall for a bit before catching himself with Crocean Mors to avoid falling all the way. The hawk took to the skies again, but Jaune knew he shouldn't waste time.
He was in the hawk's element, at a clear disadvantage. He had to climb. He went further up the cliff as fast as he could, but the hawk was upon him once more. This time he brought his shield up to block the hawk's charge, which proved efficient once he added his Aura into the mix. The hawk was stunned since it hit the shield at full force, making it fall for a bit before it recovered and started to fly at Jaune again.
The boy, seeing that it was not giving up, tried to climb up to run, he thought about that. But something was stopping him from doing it. He didn't feel afraid...He felt vigourous adrenaline instead. He could feel it pump through his veins, through every cell of his being. And slowly, his Aura flared itself. "This is Leon's semblance!" He realized, then he felt the power. After an entire week, he finally figured out something. "Grow." He thought and felt his Aura increase, going past his normal limit. But it was not stopping or going down.
"The semblances combined are making my Aura levels rise depending on my mood! I am both recharging them and amplifying them at the same time. It's like the cap of it was-" However, in his little process of thought, he forgot about the hawk, who screeched once again, bringing him back to the situation at hand. "Right" He sighed.
He now knew he had to make the most out of his semblance, and that was not simply about rising it to whatever limit there was. No, instead he looked down at the hawk and an idea sprung to his head. The climb was bound to take him too long to accomplish again, so he jumped. But as he did, he aimed for the hawk, who was also going for him. He took Crocea Mors in his hand, the shield in the other, and timed his strike.
As the hawk tried to catch him with its beak, Jaune's shield protected him, letting the boy slide on the hawk's back and impale his sword into the hawk's back. The creature let out a painful scream as Jaune pulled himself on it. "Up!" He shouted, wiggling his blade into the back of the hawk. The creature then flew upwards, but not in a straight manner. It was chaotic flying, a rodeo which was fatal.
Eventually, they reached the top, the hawk-like monster landing on its feet on the third level of Hell, but that was the moment Jaune pulled Crocea Mors and cut the hawk's head off from its back. The creature's body fell on the ground, black tar coming out of its throat, but Jaune stood up, Crocea Mors stained with the blood of the monster.
"I did it...That was insane." He thought, letting the adrenaline slightly calm itself, but he himself would have no such luxury. A grunt got his attention, making him raise his head as he saw the ghouls. Or rather, the ghouls of this particular level. One of the demon girls did say they were different here.
Those ghouls were more demonic than zombies, with crimson bodies covered in various bone-like spikes coming out of them and fangs decorating their mouths. What got Jaune's attention was, however, how they were coming out of the lava. That immediately set the alarms in his head which told him they were likely immune to fire, and more if the fact that one of them had fire in its hand said anything.
The boy rolled to the side as a fire-ball was thrown to his head, then he looked up to see how many ghouls there were. "Roughly twelve of them, with more possibly hiding under the lava or around the area." He analyzed, then he got into a stance. He held his shield forth with his blade behind it, his legs positioned one in front of the other. His armor was deployed, and he was waiting for the ghouls to make their move. Wonder if they still understood human speech? "Come on, you ugly fucks!" "Where did that come from?!" It was likely that what Ignium did influenced him more than he originally thought.
However, his hypothesis proved to be true as the ghouls roared out at the insult and one of them charged right at Jaune with fire in his palms. The boy stood still, letting it close the distance until it was close enough for Jaune to quickly remove the shield and stab Crocean Mors into the ghoul's chest, stopping its advance altogether. He then looked to the side, noticing more ghouls coming his way, so he slashed sideways, cutting the ghoul he stabbed nearly in half and letting fall on the ground where it died out.
His blade swiftly traveled to and sliced a ghoul's chest, but the creature simply backed away for a bit, then another came to him. He blocked with his shield. "They are like wild beasts!" He noted, then did an upward slash with his sword, slashing the ghoul across its body. However, that was when a fireball hit him, knocking him back and making his Aura flare. He looked up, noticing how the ghouls that were not charging at him had fire in their hands.
"It is likely that not all of them share the fire ability, so I guess that works to my advantage." He thought before getting up again and starting to run around, making himself a hard target for the fire-throwing ghouls. Two more ghouls tried to pounce on him, but he acted out of reflex and cut them mid-air. He looked around, seeing more ghouls emerge from the lava. "They increased their numbers with reinforcements!" He thought before he had to block a volley of fireballs which was sent at him with his shield, making him take a few steps back. "Damn it! I might have Ignium's skills, but my body is not made for fighting yet!" He thought, then he gripped the handle of Crocea Mors tightly, feeling his heart pump more. Adrenaline was coursing through him again, but this time it was accompanied by rage. "My father is to blame for this…"
He charged in at the ghouls, the beings doing the same. Jaune blocked with his shield and slashed with his sword, letting out a battle cry as he stained his armor and weapons with the black tar which was the blood of the ghouls. "Because of my father I am weak!" He thought again, then he shield-bashed a ghoul off the side of the cliff, sending him straight into Tartarus. "I...I hate him!" The tattoo was burning him again, but this time he ignored it, instead focusing on the carnage.
Jaune was letting his emotions reign in, fueling his semblance. However, what he was unaware of was that the tattoo was keeping other emotions suppressed, namely those which would prevent this state. But it was also making him more honest with himself. Despite his love for his family, even his father, accepting that hate and embracing it will become his fuel. The source of the fire within him, whose flames burn a different shade for each reason it was alive. His grip on his sword became tighter as his Aura flared out like mad, flares escaping his helmet as if his eyes had caught ablaze. "I HATE HIM!" He shouted aloud and swung Crocea Mors in a large, horizontal arc, unintentionally sending forth an arc of Aura that slashed through most of the ghouls present.
Jaune breathed heavily after having screamed that, standing still as his Aura started to go down in intensity. "What was that?" He asked himself as he looked at the bodies of the ghouls, all slashed in half and deceased at his feet. He would've broken down like he did in the cave if not for Ignium's snake again, but that was not the main point here. He looked around, seeing the ghouls actually show fear staring at him. They screamed out before running away, their left instinct telling them to do so. "Did I do that?" Jaune asked himself again, not really expecting an answer. But he was smart and figured out that he did.
"Leon's semblance and mine are more crazy together than I thought." He muttered, then he recalled his previous thoughts. "Why did I...No...It was the truth. Despite loving him as my father, I do hate him. Lucifer and Ignium both confirmed it." He then turned around, facing the direction of Lucifer's palace. "One step at the time, Jaune. As you walk through Hell, just keep walking."
With those words in his head, he began his travel to the palace of Lucifer, having to fight many other things along the way there. Lucifer had no sleep if she could spare such creatures in order to finish him. On his way he faced ghouls, but they proved an easy foe to face as he got a better grasp of Ignium's skills. As he walked, however, he began to hear howls. Turning his helmet to look up a cliff he widened his eyes underneath his helmet as he saw what he could only describe with one name.
Hellhounds.
Black wolves with glowing red eyes that stared down at him, their fangs exposed as their growls echoed like engines around. Jaune had little time to prepare before one of the howled and the whole pack charged at him. Pulling out Crocea Mors, he prepared himself for the night, blocking a Hellhound which tried to pounce at him with his shield and hitting it away, allowing him to swing his blade and slash one's neck, killing it. He quickly brought his blade up, thrusting it into another wolf who charged at him, the blade going down its throat.
However, he was careless, and one of them jumped on him from the right flank, growling and biting into his helmet as Jaune jumped back, releasing Crocea Mors from his grip and gripped the wolf, eventually throwing it off him. His armor was damaged now, having teeth marks in it. But he felt the adrenaline charged into him again. "Without my sword, I will use my fist!" He thought and watched a wolf charge in, only to bury his fist into the side of its jaw, a white glow surrounding it. "Get…" He muttered, then shouted. "AWAY FROM ME!" The wolf was sent flying into the nearby wall, the beast letting out a whimper as its back met rock. But it couldn't get up in time to escape the following collapse of rock on top of it, crushing it underneath.
Jaune didn't waste time after that and focused Aura in his legs after, allowing him to grab his sword and pull it from the dead Hellhound's body. He raised his shield at the remaining two Hellhounds, the beasts growling and baring their fangs at him. However, they did something Jaune found strange. They went silent and lowered their ears, almost looking obedient.
The boy asked himself why they acted like that, at first thinking it was the same as the ghouls. He was proven wrong when he heard a hard, labored breathing coming from behind him followed by a large shadow which casted itself over him. He looked behind, only to then receive a hard kick to his chest, forcing his Aura to its current limit to prevent any lasting damage. He crashed into the rock, the air getting knocked out of his lungs, then collapsed on the ground. He used his sword for support, then he looked up at what had hit him with such overwhelming strength.
But he couldn't believe his eyes.
"Of all fucking things Hell could have, IT HAD TO BE A WEREWOLF?!" He thought as he watched the larger beast stand tall before him. It had to be at least 10ft tall, and its overall muscular build didn't help improve the boy's opinion on his survival rate. Red, rage-filled eyes stared at him as the werewolf looked at its downed comrades, Jaune realizing quickly that it was most likely a pack.
And this was the Alpha.
The werewolf growled again and charged at him, Jaune having only a moment to put up his shield before the beast crashed into him, a fist connecting to his shield. "Heavy!" Jaune thought, taking in the weight behind that fist. But what got him good was the fact this creature made a fist instead of wildly lashing out at him like the ghouls and other monsters down here. No, this thing could think. It was dangerous.
The werewolf, seeing that he was blocked with a shield, scoffed, steam coming from its nostrils. However, it quickly retracted its fist and spun itself around, kicking the shield on the side and knocking out of the boy's hand. Jaune didn't have enough time to react to what followed next, thank God for Aura or else that would've killed him.
The wolf maintained the momentum from the kick and spun around again, this time its foot making contact with his helmet and sending him toppling on the ground, his body jumping like a rock on water at a lack before he caught himself, burying Crocea Mors into the ground to help stop his advance. It worked, allowing him to look up and then dodge left as the creature charged in for another strike with its claw from above, missing his head by a couple of inches.
His shield was out of his view, but he still had his sword. Ignium's little gift was burning again, and he could feel the adrenaline pump into him. It was strange. Normally, he'd be pissing his pants in fear at the situation before him, but he couldn't feel fear. He never experienced this before, only heard of it.
Battle mania. A state in which someone only lives for the fight, without any regard for their own wellbeing. A dangerous thing. But right now? It was keeping him alive. "Come on!" He shouted, challenging the wolf further. He had to scout out its weaknesses since, well, he didn't exactly have any silver with him. The creature went on all four, running up to the boy with impressive speed and likely trying to go for a strike again, but Jaune prepared himself by gripping Crocea Mors with both of his hands, preparing to deal a heavy hit to the wolf. He charged as well towards it, and the two met in the centre.
Jaune swung his sword horizontally at the wolf, but it jumped over him, then Jaune felt two heavy claws grip his shoulders and the wolf gripped him and then landed, lifting the poor boy up and throwing him back into the rock wall. Jaune whizzed out, feeling something break in his body, but he didn't dare let himself fall. Instead, his Aura flared further, healing whatever must have been damaged and allowing the boy to charge right back into the fight with a desperate battlecry.
Seeing this, the werewolf was confused as to why the human was still fighting. A normal being would collapse from hitting rock at such speed, but he didn't. He still fought. The werewolf, for the first time in what he felt like centuries, felt truly alive.
The canine being charged back at the boy, this time remaining bipedal. Jaune screamed out as he took Crocea Mors in a thrusting position, then pushed it forth to stab the wolf. But the creature managed to catch the blade in his palm. He tried to then crush it, but found himself unable to. The damn thing was not even struggling under its strength, and this confusion allowed Jaune to score the first real hit of their fight, letting go Crocea Mors and uppercutting the werewolf in the jaw with a Aura-powered fist, sending the creature a few steps back and dazzling it. But he didn't pick up Crocea Mors again. He figured out how the wolf fought now.
"He is used to fighting armed opponents, so it must have adapted to them. Using Crocea Mors is a death sentence against this guy, so I will need to use my fist again. Hopefully my Aura holds" he thought, then flared his Aura again, focusing it into his legs, arms, and abdomen before charging in at the werewolf.
The beast was quite surprised that the boy would drop his weapon, but he didn't allow it to distract him again. It allowed the boy to strike him, after all. It charged back at Jaune, the two meeting each other with a fury of strikes. Jaune got the first strike in the form of a jab to the wolf's jaw again, but the being didn't flinch this time and retaliated with an uppercut of its own to the boy's chest, slightly lifting him up the ground and almost knocking the air off him. Key word being almost. Jaune grabbed the wolf's fist and used it as support to lift himself and spin around, landing a double kick to the creature's nose.
Jaune then jumped off, the wolf having grabbed his face to nurse his nose. It was bleeding slightly. "Good." The wolf said, its voice rough and raspy. Jaune didn't let himself get distracted by that as he charged in again, jumping into the air and trying to land a axe kick on the werewolf's head, only to find it blocked and pushed back. He didn't get to land, however, as the werewolf then grabbed his leg and swung him around like a ragdoll before smashing him into the ground, Aura flaring itself.
Jaune felt the pain in his body flare as well, his Aura already struggling to keep him. But he needed more. The wolf dragged him by his leg and lifted the boy to its eye-level to inspect him, then he grabbed his helmet and ripped it off, exposing Jaune's face to him. The wolf widened his eyes seeing him, but even more when he saw his eyes. "Why do you have the eyes of a warrior, young one?" The werewolf asked, only to receive his answer when Jaune suddenly grabbed his head and headbutted him, forcing the wolf to drop him, but as soon as he landed Jaune screamed out and jumped at the wolf's midsection, Aura once again flaring from his eyes and he felt his body go into overdrive.
He grabbed him with both of his arms, then slowly started to lift him up. "What the hell?" The werewolf exclaimed, feeling his legs being lifted off the ground. "This kid is insane!" he thought and tried to make Jaune let go of him by delivering a double strike to his back, but he found his arms unaffected as he hit a seemingly invisible barrier. "What is this stuff?"
Jaune gave one last cry as he re-positioned his hands, grabbing the wolf's fur instead and lifting him above his head. His Aura was flaring like mad and he couldn't believe what he was doing. Then, by putting as much Aura as he currently had into his arm, he spun around with the werewolf before sending it flying into a rock formation watching as it spat blood from its maw and its body tore itself against the rocks.
He then collapsed on his knees, feeling his body tire itself out. "Ok, this is good to know…" He thought as he took in heavy breaths. "Although my semblance makes me super strong and all of that, it doesn't do anything about my stamina. Duly noted." He slowly went to pick up his shield, turning it back into its sheath form as he then picked up Crocea Mors and put it back, then he slowly muttered the words for the armor again, dispelling it. He wanted to try something. He watched as the pieces around turned back to smoke and went into the sheath, then he repeated the words again, finding his armor back on his body in a more or less perfect condition. It didn't exactly fix itself, but it would do.
"Heh…" A low chuckle had him stop in his tracks as he looked back at the rocks he threw the werewolf at, his eyes widening when he saw the same werewolf he thought dead get up again. The sound of bone and flesh tearing itself and getting back into place echoed from the monster as it quickly healed the damage, then he stared right back at Jaune. "You have balls of steel, kid." He said, looking at Jaune's direction.
"How?" Jaune asked, looking with awe at the wolf. "You...You can regenerate?"
"Got it in one." The wolf confirmed as it cracked its neck. "I must say, you fight like a mad man. You completely forgot about defense and instead hit me with everything you had." It said, then he took in a deep breath. "I haven't had a good match ever since...Damn, I cannot even remember."
"Who are you?" Jaune asked, feeling as if this Werewolf was not exactly like the other monsters here. It felt somehow more human to some extent, just like the girls. "Up until now I haven't met other intelligent creatures in Hell apart from the demons."
"No wonder you did. Me and my kin usually come out during the night" The werewolf said. "Demons do not venture out during that time because of the ghouls."
"Wait, so Lucifer didn't send you?" Jaune asked, wanting to confirm his suspicion. At first, he thought Lucifer sent him to him to finish the job, but what the wolf was saying contradicted that theory heavily.
"Nah, fuck her." The wolf said. "I do not bow down to anyone, especially that bitch. I am a goddamn Alpha, so I do what I want!"
"I...see." It is not every day that you meet a creature who is not afraid of the literal devil like him. "Do you have a name, by the way? And why are you not trying to kill me anymore?"
"Name's Shade. And because you proved to be a good fighter, that's why." He then pointed at his sword. "Most people who dare venture into Hell during the night, be them human or nor, always carried weapons and usually gave up on life when they lost them during a fight. Pussies the lot of them. But you? Boy, you let go of your sword willingly and fought me like a man!" The wolf then laughed. "I like you, so I will forgive you for killing some of my pack mates. Besides, breeding season is coming up! We will recover those numbers no issue."
"I see…"
"But mind telling me what is it with you down here, boy? Humans are not a common sight, especially on this level of Hell." Shade asked, to which the boy started to nervously rub his neck.
"Well, where should I begin?" He went on telling the werewolf everything about his journey to Hell, from his arrival to his meeting with Ignium, to him arriving at Lucifer's palace, then his second encounter with the chained demon. The wolf listened in closely, rubbing his beard. Was it a beard, though? It was hard to tell since most of its body was covered in fur.
"So, Jaune, you now have to answer me a question." Shade said, to which Jaune nodded. "Are you depressed? Cause there are better ways to commit suicide then going for the girls down here."
"Why does everyone think there is something wrong with my head when I mention the reason for being down here?!" The boy snapped.
"You'll see." Shade replied. "Now on another note, I must say this is quite intriguing. Not only are you fighting using the skills of Ignium, but you are doing it whilst already being connected to Beelzebub. That makes you a double traitor to this place, and I am telling you now, she HATES those."
"Pretty sure getting thrown out through the window was enough of a hint for that" Jaune dryly replied.
"You have no idea. But on the side note, I must get going. You can pass through my territory anytime you want. You earned it. And who knows? Maybe you can join us once for dinner!" Shade offered. "We usually go for ghouls or griffins, but sometimes we find a carcass which tripped over the edge and feel"
Jaune would lie if he said it was not disgusting. "No thanks."
"Suit yourself!" With that Shade left, leaving Jaune to resume his journey through Hell. The boy had to admit it was quite a curious encounter. Luckily for him, he came out alive. This did flip his perception of Hell, however, seeing how Shade had intelligence that could be equal to that of a human. From what Jaune could tell as well, Shade was not a human once. Namely because of how it talked and acted, being still animalistic in many ways. It was likely some evolved variant of the Hellhound, which in itself made him think back to the ghouls.
"For everything I see, there is something worse" he concluded, but then he shivered when he thought back at the hawk. Hopefully that was the big variant of the species and not the small one. Seeing how drastic the changes to the ghouls and hellhounds were he didn't want to know what an evolved version of that thing would look like.
But he knew that, on top of all those beings, the demons were the worst. It was like human society. Humans were on top of the food chain, with no predators given by nature whatsoever. Well, unless one said predator caught a taste for human flesh.
Back in the human world, Beel, who was still working on the house, took a small break as she took notice of the sun starting to set. She was slightly worried at this since she thought Jaune would be back by now. She simply shrugged it off. If he was dead then the Abyss would've pulled her back into it by now, meaning he was alive and kicking. However, the moment she felt the fly that was sent with him die she got alarmed. "Oh no…" She muttered, looking up at the moon. The next few hours, in this realm at least, will be critical for her.
Because if Jaune dies, then she can forget about ever becoming free.
Sorry for the long wait guys, life was a bit hectic lately and I didn't really have the time to write this chapter.
