Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter; nor do I own any other fandom that may appear in this fiction.
Working on the premise that a deactivated Temen-ni-gru reverted to its original form after Dante split the Perfect Amulet in two. That means the Cerberus entrance is a viable way in. I will also add in Dante returning the Devil Arms he collected to their respective areas, since he never shows he actually still has them later in other games— aside from Rebellion, of course.
To some of my unsavory guest reviewers... Could you learn to read before spouting your idiotic tripe? I mean, excuse the language, but how stupid can you be to not notice the nuances of my writing? Or are you simply devoid of people skills? Sheesh, I'm not gonna spell things out for you. Use your heads for once.
To the rest of you guys, thank you for your support over the past nine months! Has it really been that long?
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Lightning Dragon's Roar
A Harry Potter Fanfiction
By Zero Rewind
© 2015
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Chapter 27: Devil Land
The walk to Temen Ni Gru took much longer than I expected. I had thought it would take a couple of minutes, but ten minutes had already passed and we'd barely gotten halfway to the damned place.
"I thought we'd be there, already." I grumbled, absentmindedly petting Balthazar, who hissed in content.
"Yeah, sometimes large structures can seem like they're close by." Tristan looked at Temen Ni Gru reverently. "Especially an edifice such as this. I never thought I'd get to see it."
"It probably would've been better if we hadn't encountered it." Sirius said grimly.
"True." Tristan agreed with a solemn nod.
It made sense. The very existence of this tower meant that one of the vaunted portals to the Demon World could be opened. I wasn't quite sure what happened in this city, but it can't have been good. Then again... The overgrown tower has already been here for a few weeks, and there was no demon invasion.
That I heard of, anyway.
Still, the fact remained. What the hell happened?
Tristan seemed awed, if a little terrified, at the implications of finding the dead eel-whale demon hybrid at the base of the Temen Ni Gru.
I shook off these thoughts, figuring it was a colossal waste of time to dwell on the situation when I had no facts. I walked faster, my two other companions matching my pace. Five more minutes passed, and we were finally at the base of the tower.
One problem though.
"...Where the hell's the entrance?" I asked.
"Don't know." Tristan said, and Sirius shrugged.
"I'm sure there's one." Sirius said logically. "I don't think Sparda meant for people to scale this thing to the top. Not even demons could survive that kind of drop."
"Yeah." I nodded, finding the explanation satisfactory. "More walking, it is."
Unfortunately, we found out that both paths to the entrance of tower were blocked by large walls of rubble, easily two stories high. I made an attempt to climb one of them, only to find the whole thing unstable. Any wrong step, and the mound of rubble would be my grave.
"Damn." I backed away from the rubble, now wary of it. "We can't go this way."
"Agreed. It looks unstable."
We searched the area for any side-streets, but found none.
"Hey!" Sirius called out, pushing the door to what seemed to be a night club— or at least a bar of some sort— open. "I think we can go through here. They probably have a back door or something."
"Good thinking!" Tristan perked up, and so, we entered the bar.
The sight that greeted us was indeed quite gruesome. There were no bodies. It was like a child had spilled red paint all over the walls, floors and ceiling.
Except it wasn't paint.
"Someone's put strawberry jam everywhere!" Tristan said cheerfully, hoping to lighten up the situation.
My mouth quirked upwards at the dark humor, while Sirius looked a mix of appalled and amused. We cautiously made our way through the bar, hoping that whatever did this wasn't hanging around the place.
§You okay, Balthazar?§ I asked the serpent. §I hope the smell isn't too bad.§
§It's mostly dried out, so it's not bad.§ Balthazar supplied helpfully.
Not wanting to be in the way of the search, I went behind the bar and sifted through the many drawers, checking to see if there was anything that could be of use.
A few papers, here and there. Broken glass. A couple of wine bottles. Nothing I could use.
Though if I wanted to get wasted…
"Any luck on finding a door?" I asked loudly, banishing the thought from my mind.
Tristan's voice came from the other side.
"Yeah, there's one over here." Tristan called out. "The next room is as bloody as this one, unfortunately."
I walked over the upturned tables towards the other men.
"Balthazar says the blood in here smells old, so whoever came here must have done this a while ago." I said.
"Still." I continued before they could say anything. "Best to stay on guard regardless."
Their replies dead in their throats, my two companions merely nodded, and we entered the next room. It looked like it might have been the bar's adult section, if the lifted walkways and the dancing poles were of any indication.
Most of the lighting in this place was provided from the actual walkways themselves. It was a bright white light, covering the black and red carpeted walls and floor. No doubt, the color red was used to elicit the emotion of lust in its clientele. Wait a minute.
"Tristan."
"Yeah?" The man's tone was clipped.
"This place. The Seven Hells—" Was all I managed to get out before we were interrupted by Sirius sending a cutting curse into one of the walls, eliciting a loud, pain-filled shriek.
"Hell Lusts." Tristan snarled as several of them unhooked themselves from the walls and rushed at us with no fanfare. I only managed to catch a glimpse of one of them as I deftly rolled to the side to dodge a quick, downward swipe of its scythe.
These monstrosities wielded the same weaponry as Hell Prides, but they were faster. Deadlier in a fashion. Unlike the Hell Prides, they seemed to be clothed in a red and black jester's outfit, which would have seemed humorous had it not been for their malevolent red eyes.
Eyes that reminded me of Voldemort, in a way.
Lightning answered to my call, and my surroundings slowed down as another Hell Lust leapt onto the first, using him as leverage to leap straight to my position, its scythe ready for another downward slash.
This time, I sidestepped the attack, before kneeing the being in the stomach. As it keeled over from the strike, I followed up with an elbow to the back of its head… And missed.
The demon had expected the attack, and let itself fall to the floor, before leaping back, its red eyes glowing with hatred. It charged forward again, intending to bisect me with a sideways strike. It suddenly stumbled over its own two feet, and a loud snap was heard as it broke its neck on the floor. It didn't move.
As it dissolved into dust, I saw red orbs rush into me, melding with my body before I could react. I tried to make sense of what was going on. Did that happen before, with the Hell Prides?
What the hell? I mouthed out as another Hell Lust took its place, trying its best to tag me with its scythe. Why did it trip over its own two feet? And what was that red stuff?
"Tripping jinx, Harry!" Sirius said merrily in the throes of combat, sending spell after spell at his opponents. Well, at least that part was explained.
The man stiffened up as a scythe embedded itself in his back, only for his form to melt into blackness, engulfing his opponents whole. The blob-like blackness compressed itself back into human form, showing a grinning Sirius.
"First time trying that." He said merrily, before cutting down one that survived the attack.
I had no time to marvel at my Godfather's abilities, seeing as I was busy fighting three Hell Lusts. I engaged them in their deadly dance of blades, going left, right, up and down as the need came.
At some point of time during the dodging game I was playing with these Demons, the number of Hell Lusts had dwindled from three, to two; courtesy of Balthazar, who was currently sampling his first taste of Demon flesh.
I twisted in mid-air between two different sideways strikes with a bloodthirsty grin on my face.
Looks like my training exercises in the Room of Requirement had paid off— with interest. I extended my arms, palms facing the two Hell Lusts, and unleashed two bolts of lightning right in their faces, flash burning them. The two Demons fell face first into the floor. I kicked one in the side.
It didn't move.
"...Better make sure." I said before kneeling down, placing a hand on each Demon and letting my lightning course through their bodies. Said bodies shrieked loudly as they twisted and jerked from their nerves flaring up, before turning to dust.
More of the red orbs exited the dust, and rushed into my body.
Dead, they were now.
I heard a mid-pitch whirring sound and dived to the side without question, hearing as many as six thuds from my previous position. I sneaked a quick glance to see blue arrows made out of pure energy, embedded into the floor.
I turned my head towards the source, to see two cycloptic multi-limbed statue-esque demons standing above everyone else, wielding three bows each. Each unblinkingly stared at me with its red, slitted eye, their bows spinning and emitting the same whirring sound from before.
It was a little frightening, I had to admit.
I sent two bolts of lightning, hoping I could end this before they got a shot off. The lightning struck the Demons with deadly accuracy, surging through their bodies and making the half formed blue arrows explode in their faces.
The demonic constructs attempted to move, but ended up falling over the edge, turning into scraps of metal as they hit the floor, their red orbs absorbed by me.
I turned to see Balthazar slithering away from what seemed to a ball of slime and dust. He wrapped himself around my chest once more, before laying his head on my shoulder.
§You tried to eat it, didn't you?§ I asked the viper in amusement.
§We will never speak of this.§ Balthazar tightened his hold on my chest.
§Sure.§ I hissed back, fully intending on reminding him of this event for many years to come.
I dusted my hands off, as I was rejoined by Tristan and Sirius, the former of which was beginning to lose his calm demeanor. He may not have been grinning outright, but I could tell that he was excited. How could I blame him?
The man's power had come at a great cost. He had to frequently go in the wilderness and let his negative energy out. As he seemed to put it, he would go and slaughter whatever was in his way, until his demonic rage had subsided into nothingness.
It would grant him a few weeks of reprieve, but then the negative energy would build up once more, and he would have to vent it out. If this Demon hunting helped him, then who was I to refuse?
Still… At first, I had thought his power was incredibly impressive.
However, it was cursed power.
He might have worked hard at controlling it in battle, but he would always be channeling malevolent, inherently evil energy, since he didn't actually generate the fire he used.
Just how he generated this power, the man did not go into.
I didn't feel comfortable enough to ask him, either.
"Sirius, your family magic is pretty intense." I said amiably as we made our way through the door leading outside, hopefully closer to the entrance of the Temen Ni Gru.
"Isn't it?" The man in question looked happy.
"When did you get the time to learn it?" I asked curiously as we stood outside of the bar, the tower's entrance dead ahead. It shined with a bright, white light, disallowing us from viewing what was inside.
"Well." Sirius began, as we resumed our trip towards the Temen Ni Gru. "Suffice to say, I had plenty of time hiding out at Grimmauld Place. I figured that, if my status was ever restored, I would open a Devil Hunting business."
"That's.. not a bad idea." I rubbed at my chin, not having considered that. "Are Demons really that common? I mean, common enough that you can make a business out of it?"
"Their numbers have been increasing." Tristan jumped in, waving at the Temen Ni Gru. "The fact that this is here lends credence to that fact."
The blue eyed man took a breath.
"That, and the fact that Voldemort's summoning of Lilith shouldn't have worked if the barriers between the Human and Demon realms were as strong as they were supposed to be." Tristan finished his explanation as we reached the bright entrance.
Next to the entrance, seemed to be a golden statue of a lioness-headed woman carrying a considerably large hourglass over her head.
"A Watcher of Time!" Tristan went to the statue immediately, before standing in front of it and closing his eyes in concentration.
"A watcher of what?" I questioned, but Tristan didn't answer.
I nudged the man, but he was completely in his own mind.
I poked him. No answer.
"You think he's all right?" I turned to look at Sirius, who looked a bit thoughtful.
"I think I know what this is." Sirius said, motioning to the golden statue.
"It was mentioned in the Black Book of Brutality— the book I learned the Shadow Magic from." The man continued, his lips quirked at the mention of the book. "Anyway, I remember reading about a golden statue like this. Supposedly, if you offer it the blood of demons, it will bestow the giver with 'ancient ways of war'."
I took a moment to absorb this information, before stating the obvious.
"Demon's blood?" I questioned. "What, do I have to carry blood bags and siphon it from their bodies while they're still alive, or something? Because they turned to dust when I killed them."
"Wait a second..." I said, remembering what happened each time I killed a Demon. "The red orbs?"
"Yep."
"Ah… Now that makes more sense. You think there's something in there, for me?" I asked curiously, seeing Tristan finally regain his sense, and back away from the statue, looking disappointed.
"I don't see any reason why not." Sirius replied.
"I don't know… Maybe because it's a Demon statue? I'm not a Demon, last time I checked." I emphasized.
"Where do you think a wizard's magic comes from?" Tristan retorted, finally coherent enough to enter the conversation.
That sentence threw me for a loop.
"You mean..."
"If you go far back enough, and I mean 'at least two thousand years' back." Tristan smirked, before motioning to the Watcher of Time.
"Go ahead and try it."
I let Sirius go first. After about a minute or so, the man backed away, looking a little excited.
"I take it you got something?" I asked interestedly. Sirius nodded, before moving to a nearby dumpster. He raised his hand high in the air, palm in a knife-like posture.
He brought his hand down, never touching the dumpster. Yet, the metal was cut cleanly in half.
"This is awesome!" Sirius exclaimed, marveling at his new trick. "I need one of these statues at Grimmauld Place. Imagine having to come back here every damn time."
I snorted, and made my way to the statue, hoping I could also receive some much needed upgrades.
I closed my eyes, and began to feel out with a tendril of energy. It connected with the statue, and I felt myself being whisked away to a place that was both far, and close to me. The sensations were a bit daunting, and I tried my best not to focus on them.
An ethereal voice was heard in the deep space-like environment.
"I am the omniscient God of Time and Space." The voice boomed all around me, yet I felt no fear from it, as it spoke levelly, and neutrally. "Those who desire to acquire the ancient ways of war shall offer the blood of monsters in exchange."
"Wait…" I said, my hand reaching for my chest. "Where's Balthazar?"
"You mean your snake?" The voice boomed. "It remains with you in the real world. Only you can enter this domain."
"Ah..." I gulped, before trying to speak again. "In that case, I was hoping I could learn some Lightning Dragonslayer Magic if you had any at your disposal."
I felt the presence scan my body, more specifically my stomach area. Likely, it was confirming my words.
"A Dragonslayer." The voice boomed, a tinge of curiosity in its otherwise neutral tone. "It has been many generations since the last one graced my domain with his presence..."
"There were more, like me?" I blurted out.
"Indeed, young slayer." The God confirmed. "In the days when the Elemental Dragons thrived, long before they were annihilated by the Demon Emperor Mundus."
It seemed that Mundus was behind a lot of the suffering of this world, even if he couldn't set foot in this place. I filed that little tidbit of information for later.
"But enough idle chat." The voice continued, heedless of my inner musings. "I have scanned your body to see what stage of the Dragonslayer Magic you have reached. You have already changed your brute force tactics into more, energy efficient ones; likely compressing your energy into some form of a sword or a spear, as well as heightening your own sensory input, without pushing your energy outwardly."
"H-how?" I asked in sheer surprise.
"Omniscient, remember?" The voice chided lightly, before continuing. "I am also aware that you seem to have hit a wall in your training."
"I— Yes." I restrained from asking how the entity knew these things and just rolled with it. "I'm still pushing myself as hard as I can during training, but I have not really been gaining all that much from it."
"As I stated." The entity said patiently. "That is where I come in. If you so desire, I can increase the level of your powers, or bestow you with new techniques— provided you have the necessary payment."
"You mean those red orbs that I kept absorbing?" I asked the entity.
"Yes. I find them to be quite a delicacy." It replied with an almost-purr.
I ignored that somewhat disturbing comment, not willing to think about some faceless, formless entity feeding on the souls of Demons.
"Well, what can you teach me with the current orbs I have?" I questioned, feeling a little hopeful.
"Hmm." The entity sounded like it was thinking. I heard the sound of snapping fingers, and a small, worn sheet of papyrus appeared before me. On it, was a small list:
- Increased Energy Levels
- Lightning Blades
- Air Raid
- Thunder Roar
Each option sounded interesting in its own right.
"How many can I get?" I asked eagerly.
"Only one, I'm afraid. And the Air Raid would cost too much for you, right now." The entity spoke with its booming voice. "Make your choice carefully, young Dragonslayer."
"Well, can I get an explanation on what they do?" I explained, and quickly added. "Well, I know what 'Increased Energy Levels' and 'Thunder Roar' mean, but what about 'Lightning Blades' and 'Air Raid'?"
"Good, an inquisitive mind." The entity spoke in an approving tone, before acquiescing to my request. "The 'Lightning Blades' are blades made out of electricity, which you summon with your willpower. It was created by a previous user of the Lightning Dragonslayer Magic. An incredibly versatile attack, used in both offense— keeping foes at long range quite occupied— and defense— having them spin around your body would deter most from approaching you from even your blind spot."
I quietly absorbed this information, as it began to explain the next one.
"The 'Air Raid', on the other hand, will allow you to fly over your enemies."
"Wicked!" I blurted out, before deflating. "And you said I can't buy it, right now? Flying would be awesome."
"That is correct." Whether the entity was referring to the fact that I couldn't buy it or that it was awesome, I couldn't tell.
I figured it was probably both.
If learning to fly was currently impossible, I made the only logical choice.
"I would like to learn how to use these 'Lightning Blades'." I stated. "I will come for the 'Air Raid' skill, later."
"Very good." The entity said, before I was blinded by a flash of light coming from the paper. When my vision returned, I noted that there was a check mark next to 'Lightning Blades'.
I searched my mind, and found that I had the knowledge of the aforementioned skill. Strange; it felt as if I had been using this skill my whole life. I summoned five of the bladed weapons. They circled around my form in a protective formation, before I extended my palm, and they flew forward into the endless space.
"Impressive for your first try." The voice praised, before I began to feel lightheaded. "But it is time for you to return to your quest to the Temen Ni Gru."
Everything around me shifted back into the real world, and I found myself standing in front of the golden statue once more. I took a step back, and stared at my hands, wondering if that actually happened, or not.
"Well?" The excited voice of my Godfather drew my attention. I turned to see both Tristan and Sirius looking at me curiously. "Did you learn anything?"
"Maybe." I answered, and called forth the blades from before, embedding them to the hilt in the wall next to me.
§Nice! Now pull a rabbit out of your hat so I can eat.§ Balthazar quipped and I nudged his head in amusement.
"Impressive." Tristan nodded at the display, while Sirius clapped me on the back.
"How long was I out, anyway?" I asked curiously. "It felt like fifteen to twenty minutes, at least."
"About a minute, actually." Sirius said in an understanding tone. "Whatever is in that statue can control time, after all."
"Yeah." I agreed. "It was a very strange… being."
"Tell me about it." Sirius agreed, before we all turned to the entrance of the Temen Ni Gru, and proceeded to, well, enter.
The chamber inside was incredibly large, with preposterously enormous chains hanging from the ceiling, giving off the classic "torture chamber" vibe, though part of the ceiling was missing.
I rubbed my hands together, the sudden chill in the air making me think of Dementors. However, I did not hear my mother's screams, nor did I hear Voldemort's laughter.
What was causing all of this cold?
I followed the path of the chains. They seemed to be linked right on what seemed to be an extremely gigantic ice statue of a three headed dog, blocking the large, red door behind it.
"No way." Tristan breathed out as he gazed at the statue.
"What is it?" I asked, just as the ground began to shake. The ice around the gigantic dog shattered, and the demonic looking Cerberus howled, sending a large block of ice towards Tristan, who dodged it, knowing better than to take it head on with his fire.
He wouldn't have had enough time to melt it, and would therefore have been a smear on the wall had he not dodged the sudden attack.
"The True Cerberus. The ancestor of all the common ones today." Tristan said, looking a mix of wary and eager.
"Leave now, humans!" The dog growled out, surprising me. "You are forbidden from entering this land! You are not strong enough to set foot in this place!"
"Whoa." Sirius said incredulously, giving the great beast a double take.
"It talks!" I said dumbly, before grinning stupidly. "Hey! Say 'chicken'. Or wait, wait. Pasta! No… I know! How about…"
The hound shook in agitation, and roared. The area around us darkened, and as we dodged, a deadly hail of ice spikes descended onto our previous location. I called my Lightning forth, feeling it fill my body with power. I followed up by fishing out a vial of Strengthening Solution, knowing that I would need it for this coming fight.
"You dare!" The icy, three headed dog fixed me with the iciest glare it could muster. "I will feast on your icy corpse!"
§Balthazar. Don't let go of me. This thing can shred you without even trying.§
§I know. Don't worry about me.§
The large Demon raised its left paw and slammed it into the ground, causing icy spears to jut out of the ground from underneath, forcing us to dodge. I shivered, the cold causing discomfort in my joints. I heard the hound howl, before a rain of ice spikes began to descend unto me.
I managed to avoid that, as well.
Meanwhile, Tristan was sending wave after wave of his purple flames at one of the heads, slowly, but steadily, melting the ice covering it. Likely, he would want us to distract the Demon until he thawed the ice.
And then we could show that overgrown mutt who's top dog.
Suddenly glad of my choice of learning the Lightning Blades, I began to summon blade after blade, launching them quickly into the monster's exposed areas, causing it to growl in pain.
It gritted its teeth through the pain, and took a deep breath, before unleashing a freezing breath, which I mostly avoided.
My right hand ended up being encased in ice. I channeled more lightning than usual into it, hoping to overpower the Ice Guardian's magic with my own.
I managed to thaw it out long enough to clench my fist, the motion causing the ice covering my hand to crack, and crumble away, revealing my uncontrollably shaking fist. The attempt at recovery was interrupted by Cerberus' loud growl, followed by his incredible pounce to my location. He stopped a few meters short of my location, unable to move any further.
"Hit him with all you've got, Harry!" I heard Sirius' strained voice, and figured he was holding the large Demon in its place.
I complied with the order, breathing in deeply and charging up my lungs with electricity. I would show this mutt that it wasn't the only one capable of Breath attacks.
"Lightning Dragon's Roar!"
The blast that came out slammed with a brilliant light into the three headed dog, sending it flying back into the large red door behind it. The Ice Guardian smashed into the immovable door, before falling to the floor, howling in pain and shock from the attack.
"A Dragonslayer." Cerberus breathed, somewhat awed. It shook its three heads and stood back up, ready for more action. "Regardless, I cannot let you pass."
"How droll." A feminine voice drawled with amusement.
My eyes widened, recognizing the familiar voice. I looked up at the hole in the ceiling.
"I thought you would have been able to get rid of this..." The winged woman regarded the Ice Guardian with contempt. "Guard dog. It seems I have to take matters in my own hands."
She snapped her fingers, before slowly dropping to the floor, her wings flapping lightly. As she touched down, the sound of breaking glass was heard, as the chamber was swamped with Hell Prides.
"You!" Tristan, Cerberus and I said around the same time.
Lilith smiled devilishly, sensually licking her now-unblemished lips. Looks like someone healed themselves.
"Did you miss me, boys?"
If I had to be honest? I sort of did.
But I would never admit that to anyone.
§Is that sweat I smell from you? Could this lady be attractive to you? I'll tell Daphne!§ Balthazar couldn't help but hiss out. The annoyance that rushed into me was extremely welcome, and I made a mental note to treat Balthazar to anything he wanted when this whole debacle was over. A reward for keeping me focused on the task at hand.
§Thanks, you overgrown earthworm.§
§No problem. Now kick their asses.§
Easier said than done… But I would do my best. I looked to my companions, whose faces were as determined as mine.
Correction: we would do our best.
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Next chapter: THREE WAY FIGHT!
Extra exclamation points for STYLE!