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Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other fandom I manage to squeeze in this story.

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Lightning Dragon's Roar
A Harry Potter Fanfiction
By Zero Rewind
© 2015
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Chapter 30: Realms

How do I get myself into these situations?

You'd think, after four years of nonstop weirdness, I would figure out the secret to it. And yet, every single time, I fail to predict the outcome. I thought, after beating the Demonic progenitor of the Dementors, that it would disappear, or something.

Nope. Not even close.

So, here I was, walking through the dark halls of the Temen Ni Gru, holding a sword that oozed pure darkness— "I'm Erebus, you idiot." The pure black Falchion whispered to me.

At least my loneliness problem has lessened considerably.

"So you are Erebus, himself? Herself? Itself?" I questioned the Devil Arm, glancing at the dangerous looking Falchion yet again, taking in its details. The single-edged blade gleamed in the torchlight, as wisps of vapory darkness emanated from it.

The scabbard, on the other hand, was tucked in through one of my combat pants' belt hoops, a long, bony white sheath for the blade of darkness.

I sheathed the Falchion with a shake of my head.

That was another concept I was wrapping my head around: Devil Arms.

From Balthazar's meager explanation, I surmised that the sword, Erebus, was the culmination of the— dare I say— life force of the Demon, Erebus, thereby making them the exact same being.

"Himself." The sword whispered back.

"This doesn't make any sense." I stopped at a corner warily, planting myself right against the wall when I heard the tell tale moaning sounds of Hell Prides and Lusts.

§Balthazar.§ I hissed out as quietly as I could.

§Right.§ My faithful viper didn't even need to ask, as he sank into my skin, joining his energy with mine. My right arm tingled as the porous skin was covered with Balthazar's black, hexagonal scales with the same odd clicking sound as it did the first time.

I gazed at the scaly arm for a moment, and then turned the corner. The Lusts had leaped ahead of their comrades, each hoping to kill me first. Likely put there by Lilith to slow me down.

I shot a wide jet of poison, coating all three approaching Hell Lusts. The Demons faltered in their rush, shrieking in pure agony as they tripped and fell to the hard, stone floor. I ignored their wails, choosing to draw my new weapon from its sheath on my right waist.

"Time to break this baby in, I suppose."

I ignored the harsh whisper of "who are you calling a baby?" coming from Erebus. The dark blade seemed almost excited, as if it was longing to cut into flesh, to take life.

Charging my nerves and muscles with Lightning, I finished off the downed Hell Lusts with quick swipes of the sword. The blade easily cut through their necks, severing their heads from their bodies with what seemed to be no effort on my part.

Erebus vibrated slightly in my hand.

"Stop that, it kind of tickles." I said, rubbing at my left arm for a moment, not taking my eyes off the remaining Hell Prides. I gripped the Falchion a little tighter, the weapon pulsing with dark power.

"So how exactly do I use you?" I asked, having no idea of the mechanics of fighting with a sword. Hand to hand? Definitely. Magic? Sure. Swordplay?

...No clue.

"I assume you know which end of the sword goes where?" The Devil Arm said sarcastically, as one the Hell Prides got close. The Demon swung its scythe horizontally, but I dodged back, before grabbing Erebus with both hands and rushing forward to stab it.

The dark blade speared through the Hell Pride's head, killing it instantly and turning it to ash. I moved the Falchion back into a single handed grip, running at the remaining Prides. My eyes were everywhere, the fight a blur of motion, as I dodged attacks and retaliated with somewhat sloppy, imprecise swipes of the sword.

I moved slightly to the left, narrowly evading a thrust from the back end of a scythe, before swinging the Falchion in a horizontal arc to my left, cutting through the demon's upper torso. I allowed the momentum of my strike to spin my body slightly to the left, and raised my right arm to block an incoming strike.

The Demon swung a few more times, to no avail. The black, scaly armor absorbed all of the damage with barely a scratch to show for it. I raised my right elbow slightly and stuck the sword from right underneath it.

Erebus stabbed into the stomach of the last Hell Pride. Its shriek of pain was interrupted by a Breakdown Fist, courtesy of the back of my right, armored hand.

I pulled the sword out of the Demon, and let it fall to the ground. It writhed in pain for a few moments, before I put it out of its misery with a Lightning Blade to the face, turning it into ash, and leaving me alone in the now silent hall.

I stared at Erebus for a moment, before sighing and putting it back into its sheath. The scales on my right arm sank back into the skin, and Balthazar re-emerged, wrapping himself around my chest and laying his head on my shoulder.

"How was that for a first try?"

"I suppose you aren't a lost cause in the art of the sword." Erebus whispered in amusement.

"I'm surprised that you're even helping me." I said conversationally, as I headed to the end of the hallway, and through the door, leading me to yet another hallway. I suppressed the urge to groan. "Not half an hour ago you were trying to pull me down that pit."

"You don't know, do you?" The Demonic weapon questioned. "Or rather, you don't understand."

"I guess so." I answered, peeking around the corner. No enemies. I kept moving. "From what Balthazar explained to me, you're Erebus' life force turned into a weapon."

"A bit crude, but accurate." Erebus replied.

"But how?" I asked, feeling a little bewildered. "How does something like this happen?"

The sword gave a long suffering sigh.

"Devil Arms." It began. "are living weapons, the manifestation of a defeated Demon's soul and power. In essence, I am Erebus himself. If you release my spirit, I will change back into my earlier form."

"I see." I said slowly, reaching a balcony which overlooked the entire city of Prato.

The sun had begun to set, turning the sky into a beautiful mix of oranges, yellows and reds. From this height, I wouldn't have been able to tell that the city of Prato was in any kind of disrepair, let alone completely abandoned.

I stared at the view in awe, before shaking my head, and turning to go up a staircase to the left.

"So." I continued. "What can I do with you? Aside from the obvious."

"Like my offspring, my domain is that of Darkness; though, I've had some contenders like Queen Mab of the Unseelie. I wonder how she has been. It has been millennia since my last encounter with her kind." The sword mused.

"So, the domain of Darkness?" I urged, filing the curious name and title for future reference. "What exactly does that entail? A sword can't exactly kiss people." I said, referring to the Dementor's Kiss.

"Ah, my children's way of feeding themselves." Erebus whispered, sounding amused. "They never were very smart. I have no true need to consume souls as they do, though it does increase my power very slightly. My enjoyment comes from causing harm."

I stayed quiet, nodding at what the Demonic sword was saying. I had been walking up the staircase for what seemed to be minutes, and I wasn't even close to being done. What this place needed was an elevator.

"As you have seen it in my children, I am capable of drastically lowering temperature." Erebus explained.

"That sounds handy. How is that better than a cooling charm, though?" I quipped.

"Idiot child." The sword insulted me. "My powers over the cold, while inferior to the likes of Mab, Cerberus and Bael, are quite substantial. As long as you wield me, fire cannot kill you. Only the more powerful branches of Fire magic would be able to do such a thing"

Now THAT sounded impressive. It was a sure defense against Lilith's fire attacks. Though, if she ever went Level Two...

"Wait." I said after a moment. "What about the element of Darkness?"

"I doubt that you could benefit from that particular domain." Erebus replied. "You seem to possess a number of ranged attacks. Would adding to them truly aid you?"

I reached the top of the stairs, feeling a little winded. Another long hallway; at least it was empty.

I thought about Erebus' comment.

"It might." I said slowly. "How about this? What if I channel my Lightning into you?"

"Try it." Erebus answered, sounding intrigued at the proposal.

Without stopping, I drew the black Falchion from its bony white sheath, and slowly channeled my Lightning into it. The wisps of darkness began to coalesce around Erebus' edge, and merged with the bluish white Lightning I had channeled into the weapon.

"Quite interesting. Your Lightning and my Darkness have merged together to form an entirely different element." Erebus noted.

"Yes. This is... Dark Lightning?" I whispered, gazing at the Falchion. The black blade was surrounded by a bluish black Lightning, the complete opposite to my bluish white. "Likely, the Lightning would increase the sharpness of the sword..."

"While the Darkness would weaken the enemy's resistance." Erebus finished, sounding impressed and giving off a feeling of giddiness. "You are quite an interesting mortal, mortal."

"Thanks, I guess." I said, before recalling my Lightning magic and putting the sword back in its sheath. I walked in silence for a few minutes longer, thinking about the possibilities.

Maybe this was the edge I needed in matching Lilith's Level Two.

I felt a shift in the air and stopped, looking at my surroundings warily. The air had gone thick with magic.

§Do you feel that?§ Balthazar hissed out quietly.

§Yeah. What's going on?§ I asked, but the viper did not reply. I switched to English. "Erebus?"

"I believe the magical power the Temen Ni Gru has been accumulating is converging to the top." Erebus said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Likely, Lilith is proceeding with her plan, though earlier than she had said."

"Considering that she didn't expect me to be here, I suppose it makes sense." I replied, breaking into a run, quickly turning corners at Balthazar's orders.

A horde of Hell Prides stood in my path, blocking access to a large, ornate blue door, but I supercharged my nerves with Lightning, easily predicting their slow attacks.

I drew Erebus, and charged the dark Falchion with Lightning. The sword buzzed with excitement as I blocked, slashed, chopped, stabbed, and hacked at the offending demons.

I swung the Falchion in a horizontal strike, and met steel as one of the Hell Prides attempted to block it. I met a little resistance, but the Dark Lightning enhanced Devil Arm managed to cut through the Hell Pride's scythe, and then into the Hell Pride itself.

I shot a few Lightning bolts at the remainder of the horde, dazing them long enough for me to rip them to shreds with Erebus. I silently marveled at the ease with which I methodically took each Demon's head off, turning them to dust in a matter of seconds.

But there was no time to waste. I may have not quite noticed it earlier, but the level of magic being channeled was getting higher and higher. I re-sheathed Erebus into his white scabbard, and entered through the large door.

It was another hallway, though this one was quite different. For one, it was more ornate. The rest of the hallways had been endless stretches of bland, gray stone.

This one, on the other hand, was made of a lighter rock. I moved through the hall, passing by grand pillars every few meters. Carved into the walls on either side of me, were depictions of various Demons, standing over incredible armies.

I suppressed a shudder. That's what Lilith was trying to bring into this world?

"Ah… I remember this place." Erebus whispered. "Each carving between pillars represents the dynasty of every King and Emperor the Demon World has had since the dawn of time."

I stopped at the last one, seeing a familiar figure in the crowd of demons. Lilith, in all of her beautiful glory, bowing in front of a towering figure. It was a giant of a man, with great wings that seemed to block out the sky. To his right, was another Devil, with its sword raised, as if it was cheering.

"This was made after Mundus usurped the Devil King before him." Erebus explained. "As you can tell, Lilith was one of Mundus' Lieutenants."

"The one next to him— That's Sparda." I said quietly. "Isn't it?"

"You are correct." Erebus said after a short while. "He was a different Devil, back then. Bloodthirsty, vindictive, but still quite honorable. Many of us did not understand his need to fight his foes fairly."

I blinked.

"What's wrong with that?"

"We're Demons, boy." Erebus said harshly, the dark Falchion vibrating in irritation. "We live to destroy. Propriety in battle is not something we give thought to."

I remembered myself saying something like that, months ago, and grimaced. The power had gotten to my head, in those early days after I had begun to learn the ways of a Dragonslayer.

I had thought myself to be untouchable. Invincible.

"Right." I left the carving, and made my way to the end of the hall, eventually reaching a fork in the path.

I turned my head to Balthazar, silently beckoning him to do his thing.

The viper tasted the air for a few moments, before answering.

§It seems that Lilith's most recent scent comes from the doorway before us.§ Balthazar hissed out, tongue still flicking out of his mouth rapidly. §Though, she has went the other way, quite a few times as well.§

I looked at the original path, it ended with a large doorway, that was blocked by a series of sharp, jagged blades. In front of the blades, were two, dark green, almost cone shaped stones. Chains covered almost every inch of the large stones.

The chains converged onto the center of each stone. In the center of the left stone, a crystal skull sat at the point of convergence. In the right stone, the crystal skull was gone.

I sighed. More delays.

Lilith had the stone removed and placed elsewhere; likely ordered a few Demons to do it after she crossed the threshold. So I took the other path, which led to a simple double door. I went through, into a small hallway leading up to a large chamber.

It seemed to be a worship room of some sort, judging by the excessive amount of candles placed behind the statue of a beautiful, naked human woman. On the woman's hand, stood the crystal skull I was looking for.

I almost palmed my face at the absurdity of the trap.

I pulled out my wand and incanted "Accio Crystal Skull!"

The skull didn't budge in the least, but it seemed to trigger the trap, as several Hell Prides appeared around the skull, slashing down their scythes with all their might, driving them quite a few inches in the stone ground.

They stared at their spots in which their scythes had dug in, confused at the lack of a human screaming out in agony. It was enough to make me smirk.

I pocketed my wand, drew Erebus with a flourish, and rushed the pack, lightning bolts firing from my right hand as I prepared to swing at the nearest target.

The Falchion dug into the Hell Pride's side, easily cleaving it in two. With the flat side of my blade, I parried one of the Pride's strikes, before forming a furiously spinning drill of Lightning on the spot, spearing through the offender's neck, ending its life instantly.

I jumped over another Hell Pride's attack, but it caught me on the bottom of my left boot, disrupting my balance. I crashed onto the ground, breaking into a roll to minimize the damage.

As it was, I had skinned my elbow because of that little screw up. I got back to my feet, just in time to sidestep a downward swipe from the offending Pride. I slammed the hilt of the sword in its face, slightly cracking its skull.

Then I followed up with a Lightning enhanced slash to its torso, cutting it open in one move. The Demon flailed around uselessly on the floor as I stuck the black blade through its heart, dusting it.

I looked around for any sign of more demons, before sighing and grabbing the crystal skull off of the statue's hand.

I was getting tired.

Lilith just kept putting more and more Demons in my way. At this rate, it wouldn't matter if I had grievously injured her, my tiredness would be my downfall.

I fished in one of my cargo pockets. Damn it. I didn't pack an Invigorating Draught. I knew I had forgotten something.

My left elbow twinged in pain.

I fished into another pocket, pulling out a disc of Murtlap Essence. I began to move to the two conic shaped stones even as I dabbed some of the essence on my elbow, the stinging sensation leaving my body, granting me a slight relief.

It was a short walk before I reached the stones again. I placed the crystal skull within the right stone's designated slot, and stepped back.

The two skulls began to emit a bright light as the chains that were wrapped up around the stones broke away. I felt an electrical surge jump into the jagged blades blocking my path.

The blades parted, sinking back into the wall.

I opened the door.

I was outside now, on a bridge of some sort. The sky was dark, with the exception of the moonlight filtering past, and through the grand banners lining each side of the walkway.

Pillars of what looked to be bound angels— their wings savagely cut and mutilated— and human hands reaching out of iron maidens also stood proudly, boasting the superiority of the Demon Realm over the humans and angels.

I walked along the path, feeling somehow intimidated by the decorative statues around me. The intimidation gave way to anger, and I grasped at it. I couldn't afford to hesitate against Lilith.

At the end of the short walkway, I stood in front of a large, red door, with a Watcher of Time standing proudly to its left. I had a feeling that was the final door I had to go through in this place.

This would lead me to the top of Temen Ni Gru.

I walked to the Watcher of Time, and extended my senses toward it, latching onto the statue with a tendril of my magic. Just like before, I felt my surroundings shift from the grand, almost royal walkway of the Temen Ni Gru, to the domain of the being which controlled this place.

The domain itself was an endless span of darkness, speckled with what seemed to be white, blue, orange, and red stars in every direction.

"Back so soon, young Dragonslayer?" The familiar voice boomed neutrally.

"Hello, Watcher of Time." I greeted respectfully.

"Greetings to you as well, young one." The entity replied pleasantly. "I see you have acquired a new weapon."

I nodded, my hand absently patting where Erebus was supposed to be. I shook my head, remembering that only I enter this domain, whereas my companions stay out.

I took a breath.

"Yes." I confirmed. "And I have come here to see what kind of techniques I can acquire, as well as learn the Air Raid. Could you—"

"Of course."

Just like before, I heard the sound of snapping fingers, bringing forth the worn sheet of papyrus containing the old techniques of war of the ancient magic clans. The sheet, this time, was a little different:

"Lightning Dragonslayer:

- Increased Energy Levels

- Lightning Blades (X)

- Air Raid

- Thunder Roar

Erebus:

- Dark Rift

- Dark Stream"

I read off the sheet. I turned away from the list to address the Watcher.

"How much can I learn with what I have?" I asked the formless, powerful entity.

"Hmm." The humming noise reverberated through my body, and I scratched at my head to stave off the sudden feeling of itchiness caused by the vibration. "You can acquire three of the techniques of your choosing, including the Air Raid."

"Woah." I exclaimed. "That many? The first time, I only had enough for one."

"Indeed, the amount of Demonic blood you had offered me previously was quite lacking." The Watcher of Time sounded almost annoyed. "However, it seems you have acquired much more since then."

"True." I nodded, trying to tally up the amount of Demons I had killed ever since I stepped into the Temen Ni Gru. "I've honestly lost count. Between the hordes of Hell Prides and Hell Lusts, Cerberus, and fighting Erebus—"

"Your choices, young Dragonslayer." The entity interrupted me.

"Right." I shut my mouth, and looked back at the sheet. Air Raid was an obvious choice, of course.

"What are 'Dark Rift', and 'Dark Stream'?" I inquired.

"The 'Dark Stream'." The entity began patiently. "Is a directed energy attack composed of the element which Erebus himself utilizes: Darkness. It is a purely offensive skill. You simply point your blade at your target, and let loose a powerful stream of Darkness onto your enemy."

I nodded silently as the entity continued.

"'Dark Rift', on the other hand, is a special skill." The Watcher of Time paused for a moment. "Created by the Devil Centurion Erebus, whom you wield."

"Its purpose is to open portals into the Realm of Darkness, which lies in the Nevernever." The entity finished.

"Never.. Never? Realm of Darkness?" I repeated dumbly. I was way out of my element, here.

"Indeed." The formless, all-knowing entity explained patiently. "The Realm of Darkness lies within the greater realm of the Nevernever, which, itself, is a magical realm of the supernatural, separate from the Human Realm."

Likely, it's where the Demons kept popping out from. The sound of breaking glass was likely their attempt at entering the real world.

"Interesting. Can you tell me more about the Realms?" I probed.

"Of course. The Realm of Darkness was Erebus' domain, in which he ruled supreme; it was— and still remains to this day— his place of power. Several of his contenders come from other Realms within the Nevernever, such as Queen Mab of the Unseelie, some of Erebus' more powerful offspring and rogue Hell Vanguards originating the Demon World."

I absorbed that information, for a moment. This… Nevernever, was some kind of other world. Just like the Demon World.

A heavy weight sank into my gut as I picked my next question carefully.

"Is the Demon World linked to the Nevernever?"

"In a way." The Watcher of Time answered cryptically. "The two Realms have met in certain places in the past few millennia, when the Devil Knight Sparda erected the Temen Ni Gru and sealed off access to the Demon World from the Human Realm."

"...What would it take to get access to the Demon World from Nevernever?" I asked.

"I believe you already know the answer to that question, young slayer." The Watcher of Time said knowingly.

The energy that had been steadily accumulating and converging to the top of the Demon Tower.

Fuck.

That's how she was doing it!

"All right." I said instantly. "My choices are 'Air Raid', 'Dark Rift' and 'Dark Stream'."

"Wise choices."

I saw X marks appear next to the aforementioned skills, and searched my mind, finding the needed knowledge to perform those attacks, and maneuvers. I turned away from the sheet of papyrus.

"Thank you." I said, before breaking the connection with the omniscient being. I felt a little lightheaded as the world of deep space shifted back into the grand bridge I had been standing on prior.

I stepped back, and took a deep, shuddering breath in an attempt to calm myself.

I gave Balthazar a single glance. The viper seemed to understand, and sank into my skin, its scales covering my right arm with its telltale clicking noise. At the same time, I pulled Erebus out of his sheath, and walked through the door.

Lilith was going down, or all Hell was going to break loose.

Literally.