Hey everyone, I felt the need to cut up the circle of Violence cause it was kind of big. So expect the second and third ring tomorrow.
Chapter 10: Kill thy Neighbor
"Violence, huh?" Lelouch said as he looked at the giant red river. "I have a strange feeling that I would feel right at home here."
"Yes, well, Violence is actually different compared to the previous six circles." Diethard said, secretly agreeing with Lelouch's statement, of course he didn't let Lelouch know that or Diethard might find himself on the wrong end of Lelouch's scythe.
"How so?"
"The other circles attract souls to it when they commit an evil to go there, while there are many types of actions to be sentenced to a circle, the punishment is usually the same if not, it's not because of their actions."
"What about Anger? There were two different ways a soul would live out the rest of its eternity there."
"I was getting to that. It is as you say, but there isn't anything separating one from the other. A sullen soul can become wrathful and vice versa, thus getting the other form of punishment. In Violence, this is completely impossible, for the three punishments that exist here are for too different for someone to change their punishment to one of the other two."
"From how you're saying it, it sounds almost as if these punishments take up their own parts of Violence and become its own territory."
"That's exactly what I'm saying. Violence is separated into three parts, rings if you will, violence onto one's neighbor, violence onto one's self, and violence unto God."
"I have an eerily feeling that I know who to expect in that third ring you spoke of." Lelouch said, thinking of that very person, in sheer disgust.
"Yes, when I journeyed through here, I thought the same thing, but I didn't see that person there. He could have been hiding or he might've been sulking for all I know."
Lelouch laughed. "I would kill to see the latter."
Diethard let out a small chuckle. "Yes, that would be amusing, but we've gotten off track, let's move on!" And so they did.
As Lelouch and Diethard walked alongside the red river, Lelouch was compelled to ask "Is this the third river?"
"Yes, the Phlegethon, the river of boiling blood. For those who commit violence against thy neighbor, Minos sends them here to be dunked in the river. The more be the killed, the deeper they are placed in the Phlegethon." Diethard pointed his staff to what looked like a rock that was lying in the red river.
"What's so special about a rock?" Lelouch asked, but he truly doubted the fact that he was seeing a rock in the middle of the Phlegethon.
"That there is a soul once known as Alexander the Great, but his warmongering ways have sent him here to be dunked straight to his eyebrows."
"Pretty sure I would have been sent lower down than him." Lelouch stated nonchalantly.
Diethard was not so surprised that Lelouch stated he was so sinful, but was surprised at how he made it sound like a competition. "No offense Lelouch, but I don't think there's anyone here in Hell that could hold a candle to your sins. Maybe Lucifer, but that's it."
Lelouch smiled as if Diethard said something funny. "I wonder what kind of prison they'd build for me if I'm full of more sin that the Devil himself." Lelouch's mind started to go crazy about how it would look, but he was brought back from his twisted imagination by Diethard's fake coughing.
"Back on track please? Thank you." Diethard said, worrying how far gone Lelouch's sanity is to even think such a thing. "Anyway, to make sure souls don't go out any higher than they already are, centaurs that are stationed here shoot arrows at the souls, forcing them back to their proper level. They won't bother us and maybe their leader, Nessus, would help us in our journey to the second ring, but that's a maybe."
"Would be nice to have some help even if it's for a little while seeing how the best help you can give is recording the fights I have to do, alone."
"Hey! I'm recording an event that shall be told for eternity! Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell shall here of your story of going against all odds and fighting through Hell just to save your damsel in distress."
"It's weird how the raw plot of the story is something so cliché, like a fairy tale, but the action in it beats any horror movie I've ever seen. This is the kind of stuff you usually expect in a video game."
"Hmm…Lelouch's Inferno…I can see it now. The front cover shall have you standing there, scythe in your left hand, staring darkly out to the holder of the case while hundreds of souls, faces full of anger, sorrow, or something in-between around you in some kind of desolate and cataclysmic town." Diethard's eyes slowly changed into dollar signs.
"I think we should stop talking about this. I have a feeling that we're about to intrude into a world beyond our understanding and chaotic things can and will happen if we press any further." Lelouch said, saving both of them from a messy consequence of busting down the 4th wall.
"Very well, but I'm telling you it will be great. I mean, you can easily slaughter the creatures here if you try, nothing can-"
"Diethard, please, stop talking unless you want something bad to happen to me." Lelouch said, but it was too late. Popping out of the ground, a demon appeared. This one was a lot different compared to the previous two types of demons Lelouch had to face. For starters, this one had wings; it was actually flying right now at the moment. This one also had four horns, with one pair in front of the other one its head. In terms or armor, it was the same as the Guardian Demon, practically nothing albeit some clothing around the waist and some armor on the arms and knees. In terms of weaponry, this one had a pair, of straight, jagged-teeth swords.
"I was hoping we wouldn't have to face these things." Diethard's face went extremely grim. "This is and Arch-Demon, the first choir of fallen angels and among them exists the first fallen angels except Lucifer who is, of course, in a league of his own. "Approach with caution, this can and most likely will get messy."
"I know, why do you think I haven't rushed him yet?" Lelouch said as he already had his scythe drawn out.
The Arch-Demon grew impatient and rushed towards Lelouch. 'Bad move.' Lelouch thought as he rolled forwards at the last possible second, standing up right behind where the Arch-Demon had stopped. Lelouch did a quick turn and, with a powerful slash, cut off one of the Arch-Demon's wings. The demon roared and tried to slash at Lelouch, but Lelouch acted too fast and evaded, cutting off the other wing in the process. Lelouch backed away, beckoning the Arch-Demon to come at him.
Enraged by what Lelouch did to his wings, the flightless demon rushed forward. Lelouch smiled as he hit the demon with a cross attack that he was charging up behind his back. This did some damage, but effectively stopped the demon in its tracks. Lelouch rushed forward, with his scythe as a spear and sliced the Arch-Demon in half vertically right down the middle. Lelouch then preformed a 360 degree spin and slashed the demon again, this time horizontally at the waist. Lelouch turned his spear back into a scythe and sheathed it as the demon fell into four pieces and disintegrated.
"Nicely done." Diethard said with a smile, but then turned serious. "I don't think this is over though, because now they know that you are immensely powerful and realize the best way to kill you…" As Diethard was speaking, three more Arch-Demons appear in front of them "…is in groups."
However, before either side could make a move a large figure with a human torso and four legs appeared in-between them. "Get on!" The creature shouted towards Lelouch and Diethard who decided that with four, blood thirsty demons ready to kill them that this was no time to question who the creature was. Both of them got on top of the creatures horizontal part of the torso and it jumped off across the river, leaving the surprised demons far behind.
"Who are you?" Lelouch asked, realizing that this was a centaur who saved them from an ugly fight.
The centaur smiled, jumped off a rock lying in the river, and said "The name's Nessus. I'm the leader of the centaurs and also the person who escorted Diethard his first time through Violence's first ring."
"It's true, it was so much easier than going around the entire Phlegethon river." Diethard said then sighed. "Would have been nice if this was how it was the whole way through Hell though."
Nessus laughed and Lelouch snickered as Nessus jumped off another rock, but this time, Lelouch felt something grab his leg and saw a soul latched onto it. Lelouch held up the soul by its neck and said to Diethard "Name and actions?"
"Attila the Hun, Hungarian warlord and feared by many Romans. Self-proclaimed "Scourge of God and while he was benevolent to his people, he was cruel when he was conquering land."
"Death?"
"Attila died by choking on his blood. Happened when he was drunk one night and got a nosebleed."
"I see, thank you Diethard." Lelouch said as he took out his scythe and turned it into a sword. He then held it right under Attila and let him go, watching as he was cut in half while falling down. "In all truth, you really had to say his name Diethard, I know who Attila is already, but I just wanted to see how much you knew." Lelouch jested.
"How rude!" Diethard said, smiling, knowing it's a joke. "I spent most of my life recording information. Most of which was about you, need I remind you."
"And that's why you died a virgin."
"So did you."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Huh?" This surprised Diethard.
"According to Kaguya, I racked up quite a harem. C.C. and Kallen just to name a few. While I loved C.C. the most, what makes you think that I didn't knock up any of them before I died?"
"You're making it sound like you did them all."
"Maybe, maybe not." Lelouch laughed
"Was Rakshata in it?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Lelouch laughed again while Diethard sighed in defeat.
"Hey, while you two were acting like drinking buddies, we've reached the other side." Nessus said.
"Thanks Nessus." Lelouch and Diethard said as they got off.
Lelouch then saw three souls waist deep not saying a word and were acting like a soldier with their back straight.
"Souls that. Came here within the year, not sure when exactly. They accepted their punishment quite well really. Said that they gladly accept this punishment if this was the result of serving some person called…Tofu, no…Toe…umm…"
"Tohdoh?" Lelouch asked, wondering if those three are who he thinks they are.
"Yes! That was who they were talking about!"
"I see…" Lelouch walked over to the souls. "Hello Urabe, Senba, Asahina."
"Looks like the traitor has decided to pay us a visit." Asahina said coldly.
"Asahina told us everything." Senba and Urabe said together.
"I know you hate me, but once you're in Heaven, maybe someone could give you the full story." Lelouch said.
"Ha! You make it sound like you can do it easily?" Asahina snapped.
"I can, think of it as an apology for betraying your trust." Lelouch said as he shined his cross over them and all of them began to rise out of the Phlegethon.
"You're serious?" All of them said together.
Lelouch nodded. "I'll make sure to put in a good word for the other members of the Black Knights if you don't for when they die." Lelouch then showed a kind smile.
"Then I'll make sure to put in a good word for you too." Senba said as they rose towards the light.
"You're gonna need a petition if you want to that." Lelouch joked.
"If that's what it takes, so be it." Urabe said as Asahina nodded in agreement before all three of them vanished into holy light.
"We should start moving now. The forest is quite tricky to maneuver through." Diethard said.
"Well I'll be off, need to make sure those demons aren't close by and I need to do my job." Nessus said before jumping off.
"The second ring is a forest?" Lelouch asked as he turned to look at a forest of dead and rotting trees.
"The second ring of Hell is violence against one's self. Also known as the Woods of Suicide."
"This…this is no forest." Lelouch stammered as he saw that the trees looked for too…human.
Hope you didn't mind my small joking at the beginning of the chapter and how I made Lelouch absolve the deceased members of the Four Holy Swords, felt like they should be. Anyway, I think it should be quite obvious who Lelouch will meet in the third ring. The name of the ring nearly screams the name of Lelouch's next main opponent. Anyway, make sure to vote in my poll that's on my profile page, need the viewer's input on if I should make a sequel or not.