THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Chapter 19: Enter Mephisto...or not
September 1st 2010
ICW Headquarters
The Swiss Alps
As Hermione confidently strode towards the ICW chambers, she couldn't help but revel in the power brimming under the surface of her skin. She had come from very far indeed, from the little girl that had cowered before a troll to someone willing to take on the ICW single-handedly. It was not without reason though, her massive power came from her position as the very first servant of her god. At this point, she fully believed that she was the most powerful of Harry's disciples.
It still felt weird referring to her god by his name but he insisted and if he asked, then her place was to do as he bid. She remembered the boy she had met back then, aloof and mysterious, somehow capable of making himself disappear even while standing in the middle of the great hall. The Harry she remembered back then was would have passed by someone dying and not spare him a second glance, for he cared about no one but himself.
But now, he was the god of life. His role was quite literally to guard life, as was that of his followers. They knew this instinctively, just as any form of healing magic came to then instinctively. Hermione had gotten good at this a long time ago, even before Harry had found out what his domain was. About two years after Harry had gone to Asgard, Hermione had gone back to Hogwarts and repaired the minds of all thirty muggleborns that had been destroyed by Tom Riddle. McGonagall had kept them at the castle untill something could be done about them, but with St. Mungo's gone, it had looked like nothing could be done for them.
And so when Hermione suddenly showed up and helped them, the teachers had been glad for the help. They had asked her how she was able to heal the muggleborns and she had told them about Harry being a god and how she was channeling his powers to heal the students' minds. The teachers had of course been skeptical, the newly healed muggleborns hadn't, and that was how Harry had gotten his first followers besides herself. And from there the numbers started growing by the day.
The majority of students had remained at the castle even after the war ended that day. Most of them had no homes nor parents to return to. Many homes had been destroyed by death Eaters, especially the ones owned by those who refused to stand by Voldemort while others were destroyed by the Order during raids. As for parents, while some had been killed in the days before the battle for Hogwarts, most of them died either attacking or defending the castle. Those whose parents managed to stay neutral like Daphne, returned while the majority opted to stay when McGonagall offered the option to them.
Those like Draco who atleast still had one parent also returned home. According to Sirius, Narcissa had fled England with her son as well as Snape. As had the few known Death Eaters who had managed to survive the battle. For the following months, Sirius and the Order had scoured the whole of England to make sure that not a single trace of Voldemort could be found so they knew for a fact that not a single marked Death Eater was still there. Those that had not died had flee to Harry knows where. Hermione smiled at that particular thought, growing up, she only knew of one God, and now despite all that she had been brought up with, she considered Harry as her god. She wondered if the God of the bible was even real, or the other gods in the different mythologies for that matter.
In any case, while the Order had been combing Britain for Death Eaters, it was how they had found other people, many of whom they had assumed dead but had actually gone into hiding. They had all been offered a place at Hogwarts, and they had all accepted. By the time Hermione returned to Hogwarts for the first time when she came to heal the muggleborns, there were about six hundred residents with over five hundred being students. Unfortunately, many of the seventh and sixth years had participated in the battle and almost all of them had died which had greatly reduced the population of magical Britain. But not all hope was lost, magical Britain would survive, and even come out stronger for it.
A few months after her return, the adults who had come to live at Hogwarts left and settled in the newly rebuilt Hogsmead. The village had not survived the battle as it too had been attacked along with the castle and even more people had died from there. What little structures had still been standing were torn apart and new ones were built, mostly residential homes but a few businesses were restarted, the most dominating being Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and Ollivander's. Those two were the only ones to survive the attack on Diagon Alley the day Voldemort took over the ministry.
Well, along with the Goblins who had barricaded themselves in Gringotts and have yet to come out up to this day. The bank was the only thing left standing in the alley and was now surrounded by destroyed buildings and the feeling of Death even after all these years. Quite honestly, it had confused Hermione why Voldemort had been so intent on destroying everything, from Diagon alley, to St. Mungo's, people's homes and any magical settlements all over Britain. They didn't seem like actions of someone wanted to rule the magical world. Attacking certain places from time to time to spread fear, she could understand, but outright destruction and mass killings seemed counterproductive.
And when she had talked to Harry about it on one of his visits, she had found out why. Voldemort was being influenced by Loki. The other god had been having fun, he lived for chaos and destruction, and that is exactly what he had brought on magical Britain through Voldemort. It had also been Loki who had accelerated Tom Riddle's sucking of Ginny Weasley's life force leading to the girl's death and making the man the memory strong enough to cause all the suffering in the castle. Harry had promised her that Loki would pay for it all, he would personally make sure of it.
And she knew he would, maybe not today or tomorrow, but one day, Loki would pay for his actions against Harry's people, god or not.
"What are you grinning about?"
Hermione blinked and looking at her companion. Nymphadora Tonks was an interesting character, she was Sirius's nieceand just like him, very easy going but deadly with a wand. She was one of the most skilled fighters in the order and just slightly below Sirius and Shaklebolt. She was a shapeshifter and used to be so much of a klutz that she could trip on thin air. Thankfully that had reduced significantly since she converted even though it came back every now and then. It was always a running joke that whenever she tripped, it showed that her faith in Harry was stumbling.
"Just really looking forward to this meeting." Hermione replied. "I've been thinking of the best way to make my message sink in and I know just how."
"I still think Harry should have come himself. Or even without that, we should have atleast come with a small army." Tonks said. "There is reason the ICW is respected and feared in all countries."
"Harry has better things to take care of than this." Hermione replied. "Besides, I'll practically be channeling him today so he might as well be here himself."
"If you say so." Tonks said, seemingly unconvinced. "Just know if it comes to a fight, I don't fancy our chances against the might of all the other countries."
The ICW was feared for a reason. Their job was more than just upholding the statute of secrecy. They had the The International Auror and Alikes Organization, commonly known as INTERAUR, an international organisation that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control within Wizarding state members. This force had some of the most powerful and skilled wizards and witches on it and with it, the ICW could come down on anything they felt threatening or dangerous enough. And in the event that INTERAUR failed, they could mobilize from all the member states to come crush any unruly states or individuals and it was looking very likely that Britain was heading that way.
"Have a little faith, Tonks." Hermione shook her head. "It will not get to that, and even if it did, there is nothing they can throw at us that we can't take now that Harry is back, and we would be more than happy to return whatever they send our way twofold."
"I thought as disciples of the God of life we are supposed to be all for preservation of life." Tonks said, a smile on her face.
"Life and death are the driving forces of the universe." Hermione said sagely. "One cannot survive without the other and our role is to ensure that life is not eclipsed by death." She looked at the girl who was older than her and yet still blind to so much. "That does not mean that we cannot take a life. The difference between us and everyone else is that we actually appreciate how much that life contributes to the rest universe."
"Please don't turn this into a sermon." Tonks huffed and Hermione just laughed as they reached the double doors leading to the ICW chambers.
"I'm only telling you what you already know but are intent on forgetting." Hermione chided gently as the doors swung open to let them inside. She looked at Tonks who was just behind her. "Besides, even if we were to die here, I'm sure Harry won't mind bringing us back."
"That is not as assuring as you seem to think." Tonks grumbled under her breath but Hermione heard her all the same. She didn't bother replying they had now entered.
The guards behind the door stopped them as they made to enter.
"My name is Hermione Granger and I'm here to deliver a message to the ICW on behalf of Magical Britain." She announced loudly, her voice carrying over to the members inside the chambers who stopped their chatter and looked at them.
Throughout their match towards the chambers, they had passed a number of guards, even right outside the double doors there were four guards but they hadn't bothered them except for a single glance.
"Let them through." The Supreme Mugwump called from the high chair at the front of the chambers.
The chambers were not much different from the British Wizengamont except that the representatives from the members states were seated in a semi circle in single seats on one side of the massive hall while the Supreme Mugwump sat on the other end. Just to the right but slightly infront of the Supreme Mugwump was a podium where the person addressing the members was supposed to stand.
Hermione, with Tonks right behind her strode forward and stood before the Supreme Mugwump.
"You have a lot of nerve storming in here like that." The elderly looking man, though not as old as Dumbledore had been, glared down at Hermione. "Give me one reason why I should not strike you down right where you stand."
"Because this is the last time you will be hearing from a British representative ever and trying to to 'strike me down' means you don't hear what I have to say." Hermione replied and ignored the mutterings from the other members as she stared up at the man. "Also, if you try to attack me, I will retaliate."
The man scoffed. "Only the Supreme Mugwump can use magic in these chambers, girl."
Even as she stood behind Hermione, Tonks tensed, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. They had given up their wands as soon as they entered the building, but that didn't mean they were defenseless. Over the last few years, with encouragement from Hermione, a number of people had been trying to adopt to the muggle way of life. Many of the kids had taken up muggle education majoring in specific areas like engineering, medicine, politics, even law and many other areas that according to Hermione were the backbone of the muggle world.
All this had been part of the plan that had led them to this day. Tonks as well as some of the slightly older kids had joined the muggle military or something as close to it. Mr. Haldane was the owner of one of the most elite private security force in the world and had been more than willing to recruit about a dozen wizards and witches who were then put through some serious training, from hand to hand combat to even usage of guns and other weapons. It was only recently that they had been deemed enough to return and Tonks had been assigned as Hermione's body.
Not that she needed much protecting as she was no slouch either, but having someone you trust to watch your back was always a good thing. If it came to a fight, Tonks knew that they would be able to fight their way out of here, even without their wands, it didn't mean that she looked forward to it.
Hermione walked over to the podium and removed a snitch shaped object from her pocket that was enchanted to record and broadcast everything that was about happen to other such objects that had been placed in all major magical settlements around the world. When Hermione released hers, all the others rose up as well and started broadcasting live. By the end of today, every witch and wizard in the world would be aware of her message to the ICW.
"My message is quite simple and brief so I will deliver it and leave you all in peace." Hermione said as she stood at the podium and faced the rest of the members. "Magical Britain hereby withdraws its membership from the ICW." Hermione stated, voice amplified by the magic on the podium so everyone in the hall could hear her. "As of this moment, Britain will no longer be beholden to the ICW or any laws prescribed by it."
There was muttering from the people which was swiftly turning into shouting, the Supreme Mugwump was just looking at Hermione like she had lost her mind. Hermione for her part wasn't done, and she continued, her voice carrying over the noise with ease.
"For the next five years, the borders of Britain will be closed to all witches and wizards that are not currently within its borders and anyone who tries to force their way in will be treated as an invader." Her voice was loud and clear in the suddenly quiet hall as the state representatives absorbed what she had just said. "So declares the new ruler of Magical Britain, Harry James Potter!"
Giving them one last smile, Hermione stepped back and took Tonks's hand before the two disappeared, leaving behind only wisps of golden smoke.
As soon as Harry felt Hermione arrive back at Hogwarts, he sliced his arm with a dagger made with Asgardian steel, one of the few things he had brought back two days ago from Asgard. It took some exerting strength but it managed to break skin and blood dripped on the black stone. A few seconds later, the would had closed but what he had wanted was done. As the blood disappeared into the stone, a small translucent dome grew over the stone. Pushing his hand through the dome without any trouble, Harry placed his hand on the wardstone and pushed the dome outwards.
It expanded, from the room deep under Hogwarts, out of the castle, past the grounds, all over Scotland and in a matter of seconds had covered the whole of Britain just at the edge of the borders. The ward was simple really but also very powerful. It was designed by some of the most brilliant minds in the castle and was supposed to keep anyone with magic from crossing it, except Harry of course with his own brand of teleportation. Muggles could cross it without even noticing, but wizards and witches can't, nor could squibs.
Once he was done, Harry withdrew his hand and stepped back before teleporting to the staff room. Hermione and Tonks were waiting for him and Hermione was smiling brightly.
"Harry!" She exclaimed when she saw him. "Is it done?"
"Yeah, the ward is up." He answered. "Did you run into any trouble on your end?"
"Nope." She shook her head. "They were too shocked to even stop us and by the time they recovered, we were long gone thanks to you letting to channel your power. Is that how you always feel?"
"How do you mean?"
"That much power..." She shook her head. "I think I would go insane if I had that much power all the time."
"You get used to it I guess." Harry shrugged. "Are your people in position?"
"They are your people, Harry and yes everything is set, all we need is the go ahead."
"Very well, let's get going then." Harry said and his clothes transformed into a suit before they disappeared.
-TRNT-
Harry and Hermione appeared in one of the rooms that had been designated as the arriving point. They were in one of the royal residences where he was to meet the queen and the prime minister. Over his numerous visits to earth with Astral projection, Harry had met and interacted with the prime Minister on numerous occasions along with Ranulph, the official liaison between the Magical world and the normal world as well as Hermione who was Harry's representative.
"You ready?" He asked Hermione whose robes had also transformed into a suit.
"Yeah." She smiled at him. "Not long ago, I would never have believed that it was possible for me to ever have an audience with the queen. Let alone at her insistence."
"Well, you have made all this possible, it is only natural that she is intrested in meeting you." Harry replied as he moved forward. The door opened and he stepped through, Hermione on his side.
The door led to a hallway and on the other end, was a set of golden doors and Ranulph was waiting for them, also clad in suit of his own.
"Hermione, Harry, right on time as always." He smiled as he shook their hands. "I felt the ward going up, I take everything went without any problems?"
"Yeah." Harry replied. "The world is aware of our independence. They just have no idea why it was necessary."
"Well, they should see the reason soon enough." He turned to the door. "Let's get going, Her Majesty and the Prime Minister are waiting."
They entered and took their seats from across the queen.
"Welcome, Harry Potter." She said by way of greeting once they had made themselves comfortable. "I understand that you are the new leader of the magicals."
"Indeed." Harry nodded. "As I'm sure you are aware, I feel that there is no need for us to stay in hiding any more. Both our worlds would benefit tremendously from each other if they became one."
"We both know it is the normal world that will benefit but alright." The queen said with a smile. "I am also aware that the rest of the magical community will not agree with you on that. Not completely atleast."
"No, but that has been handled." Harry replied. "There is a barrier that has been erected around the entirety of England that will keep out any other magicals. Whatever we do here, there is no one to interfere."
"I have been told you have a plan on how to integrate yourselves without destabilizing everything."
"We do, your Majesty." Hermione said. "For years now, wizards and witches have been living amongst the normal people. Leaning with them, and adapting. We have found the easiest ways through which we can join the normal society and we believe that it will be beneficial to Britain and later on the whole world."
"A utopia." The queen said. "Ranulph assures me that your plan is to make England into a utopia. Is that even possible?"
It was no surprise that Ranulph and the queen knew each other personally, after all half of the royal guard was trained by his company.
"There is potential in the magical world, with the resources at our disposal, sickness could be a thing for the past, the environment would be clean, the world will the a better place." Hermione assured her. "We may not make it a utopia, but we shall certainly do our best to try."
"You will protect us from other magicals." The queen told them sternly. "And you will keep your people from abusing their powers and taking advantage of my people, otherwise I have no problem with it."
"As long as your people don't try to take advantage of my people then we shall all live in harmony. Which is why my team and the Prime minister's team came up with the contract." Harry replied gesturing at the stack of papers in the table between them. "We shall not solve all your problems, otherwise we risk having the people become too dependent on us. But those that we can, we shall solve, especially concerning the people's health."
Harry paused as he looked at the queen and Prime minister.
"Our main objective is to reduce the death rate and suffering of the people." He continued. "We shall cure cancer, and any diseases that fall in the same category, but don't expect us to treat common colds or such mundane diseases."
"Because you don't want us to become too dependent." The Prime minister said and Harry nodded.
"Exactly. Only that which are currently beyond mundane capabilities. We have engineers who could help in constructing better infrastructure like more sturdy houses, houses that regulate the temperature during summer and winter for those who can't afford the means." He shrugged. "Generally that would negatively impact the people's health and lifespan."
"The other thing that I want to make clear is that we will not fight your wars unless there are wizards or witches involved." Harry said seriously. "We will not help you in building weapons. Our aim is to preserve life, not destroy it, and if we feel that you're trying to go against that... we might be forced to act against you."
There was a tense silence in the Audience room and the guards all around the room looked ready to spring in action. Harry and the queen were staring at each other for what felt like minutes before the queen smiled.
"I would expect nothing less from the 'God of life'." But then the smile disappeared. "And if we feel that you are overreaching or acting against the interests of the people of England... then we shall also be forced to move against you and your people."
"I would expect nothing less." Harry smiled as they both stood up and and put his signature on the treaty. "Then I believe we have both read and understood the terms of the treaty. "
"That we are." She replied as she too signed. "I look forward to what you and your people have to offer."
Of course the treaty was much larger than that, it went into much detail but the crux of it was to make sure either group doesn't try to take advantage of the other. Harry would have preferred not to bother with any of this, but plans had been put in place for years now and honestly he didn't care either way. What his followers did was up to them, he knew that whatever they did would be in line with he wanted. And that was preserving life.
He wasn't going to become some crime fighting superhero, there were people like Iron Man for that and he suspected some of his followers would do just that once magic was no longer a secret. He would seat back and let things happen, so long as people aren't dying unnecessarily, he would not interfere. He infact felt that such things were beneath him, it would seem like becoming a god had given him an ego.
He had decided though that he would personally only protect the Earth from outside threats. Internal conflicts would have to be solved by the people themselves or if needed his followers could always intervene. Hermione had all of them under control even though they kept growing in number. This entire plan was actually geared towards gaining him more followers from the normal world and she had Harry's full support. He trusted her to have things in hand and involve him only when it was absolutely necessary. Just like this meeting for example.
It wasn't lost on him that no one seemed to be bothered by the fact that he wasn't being as subservient to the queen as he should be. Maybe they knew instinctively that his place in the world was above even that of the queen.
Harry was suddenly pulled from his musings when Ranulph shot to his feet, a fearful expression on his face. "Harry, the wards!"
"What?" He asked not understanding.
"The wards on the mansion have fallen!"
Harry was on his feet in an instant. The wards on the mansion were some of the strongest on the entire planet. They had even reinforced them two days ago with what Harry had learned at Asgard after Ranulph had been summoned by his master and he had refused to go. At the strength they were, Ranulph should have known if they were under attack and it should have taken at the very least ten minutes before they could fall. The fact that he only found out after they had fallen only meant that something had happened that they hadn't accounted for.
Without a single word, Harry took Ranulph's hand and they disappeared from the Audience room leaving behind a confused trio.
"What is going on?" The Queen asked and Hermione bowed her head slightly.
"I apologize, Your Majesty but it seems my Lord is needed somewhere else." She said. "However, there were a few things I was hoping to talk to you and the Prime minister about, maybe we can discuss them now if that is okay with you."
Even as the queen nodded and the talks started, Hermione couldn't help but think of Shevaun. The other girl had grown into a very close friend and Hermione was aware that she had stayed at the mansion to keep an eye on the activities of the other members of Mys-Tech. If the mansion was under attack, then Shevaun would be in danger, she wasn't afraid though, because she knew that whatever it was, Harry would take care of it.
For now, she would concentrate on helping the world, the barrier was meant for more than just keeping out magicals, it would slowly cleanse the air and atmosphere. Any form of nature will be purified and those on the verge of dying will be reborn. With time, the health and lives of the people in England would become much better and when it the barrier was extended to cover the entire world, there would be no one to protest. While its primary function was to act as a shield, with Harry's magic literally keeping it up, the barrier would heal Britain, and soon enough the whole world.
-TRNT-
When Harry and Ranulph appeared, he was already in his armour and Bloodaxe was in his hand. He immediately spun around as he slashed the battle axe, cutting a creature that had lunged at them in harm. An arc of white light followed the motion of the axe cutting three more creatures just behind it.
"What the hell?" He asked even as he let out a burst of pure magic that blasted the nearby creatures away, some outright exploding. On the other end of the compound was a blood red portal through which more creatures were streaming.
"Demons?!" Ranulph exclaimed, looking at his mansion and compound that was being swarmed by the creatures. "How is this possible?"
There were numerous demons of all kinds fighting the guards. From winged ones to those with extra arms and all sorts of disfigurement. The soldiers were putting up a fight but there were just too many of them and as the portal was still open, they would be overrun in no time. The whole sight didn't make sense. As far as Harry was aware, Agamotto, the first Sorcerer Supreme had cast a spell to keep demons from ever stepping foot on Earth as they would be killed on the spot. The more powerful ones would only be weakened extensively which is why Mephisto only worked through proxies. The fact that there were over fifty demons and more coming through that were swarming the mansion right now could only mean that something very wrong was going on.
"Mephisto." It was the first time Ranulph had said his master's name aloud and there was more fury than fear in his voice. "This can only mean that something has happened to the Sorcerer Supreme."
"I'm going to find Shevaun." Harry stated before thrusting Bloodaxe into the air and bringing it down with bolts of lightning that instantly killed all the demons around them with in a five meters radius. He may not be the god of storms but he knew how effective elemental magic was on creatures with magical resistance.
Getting a nod of appreciation from Ranulph who had conjured himself a glowing scythe and started slaughtering demons, Harry disappeared once again and reappeared in a room full of broken screens. This was where Shevaun was supposed to be keeping an eye on the other Mys-tech members but she was nowhere to be seen. There had clearly been a struggle here going by the dead demons on the floor and the scotch Mark's on the walls. The five demons that were still there lost their heads before they had even registered Harry's arrival.
He left the room through the destroyed doorway and swiftly bisected the two demons outside. Moving through the house, Harry killed every demon he came across without any trouble, Bloodaxe practically singing in his hands. By the time he came out, there were even more demons in the compound than when he had left.
Flying above the grounds, Bloodaxe disappeared and it was replaced with his wand. While he could cast magic through Bloodaxe, and even without a focus, what he was going to do needing precision that required a purely magical conduit. A flick of his wand had about fifty spears appearing all around him. Tracing the wand infront of him, norse runes appeared at the tip of the wand before they multiplied and flew towards each spear untill all of them had runes on the tips. Another flick of his wand had the spears raining down on the demons and hitting them all through the heads with pinpoint precision.
None of the people on the ground were hurt by a single spear and all the demons were dead. He flew down towards the portal where more demons were coming through and landed infront of them. It took one spell to destabilise the portal and shut it down leaving about ten demons infront of him. Harry leveled a stare at them before saying one word.
"DIE."
It was no more than a whisper, but the power and authority behind it was felt by everyone there, none more than the demons as their tether to life was severed by Harry's divine authority.
"Whoa, what was that?" Ranulph asked as he walked over. The demons that had died had also burst into flames and burned to ash. "For a second there I thought I was about to die."
"My divine authority over life." Harry replied. "I'm still getting the hang of it. Anyway, Shevaun is not there."
"All the tracking items I had given her aren't working." The older man said. "The others must have known about them. I could try a blood location ritual though I imagine the others would block it."
Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on Frigga's necklace that he had given to Shevaun. It had a bit of Harry's blood in the teardrop that ensured he could always locate her. Also, it would keep her soul and come back to him if she died. It had other functions but the main ones were to ensure her safety. When he opened his eyes, Ranulph was looking at him in question.
"Well?"
"She is not on Earth, atleast not on this plane." He said. "No amount of wards could prevent me from finding her which means that she has been taken to another dimension."
"Mephisto must have taken her." Ranulph said with a frown. "I still don't understand how demons are able to walk here on earth. And what the hell the Sorcerer Supreme is sitting on her ass for."
Harry walked over to where the portal had been. There were still lingering echoes of its magic but he couldn't manipulate them to reopen it.
"Do you think you can reopen the portal?"
"Maybe, there is a memory of it here." He answered as he cast some spells. "But going into Hell... Mephisto is all powerful in his dimension, there is no winning against him while there. And this could be exactly what he wants."
"He has Shevaun, looks like the only option we have of getting her back is to go to him." Harry replied. "Besides, no one is unbeatable, I have an idea or two of dealing with him."
Harry had read about Mephisto while at Asgard. It turns out that Mephisto is infact a fallen angel. He and other demon lords that ruled certain pockets of Hell were the Angels that had joined Lucifer in his rebellion against the God of the bible. When the rebellion failed, Lucifer and his followers were banished to Hell where each of the other fallen angels took up parts of it to rule on behalf of their leader Lucifer. And while these demon lords like pretending to be the Devil himself, Lucifer was real even though no one knew of his whereabouts. What was known is that he was more powerful than all the other demon lords. Harry just hoped he wouldn't meet him any time soon.
"Are you sure about this?" Ranulph asked. "We could come up with another way however much it pains me to leave my girl with that monster any second longer."
"Open the portal Ranulph." Harry told him, getting impatient. "If you're not up to the task, I can find another way of getting in."
With a sigh, Ranulph let out a burst of magic which shot forward and slowly transformed into a blood red ring. It took a few seconds for the ring to stabilize before the inside of the ring transformed into the portal that had been there earlier. You couldn't see what was on the other side so they couldn't tell whatever was waiting for them.
"He can manipulate his dimension and use it to attack us from well out of his own sight. The moment we appear there, he'll know we're there." Ranulph told him even though he already knew this. "So when we go through, be prepared for almost instant attacks both in forms of magic and his minions. I will defend us all from much of his magical attacks as I can, while you try locate Shevaun."
Harry simply nodded while griping Bloodaxe's handle tightly which had appeared in place of his wand. His magic was itching for an outlet and he couldn't wait to let loose, he was going to have to send out a message to anyone that may be planning to attack him and his. The mystical world was about to learn that Earth had a new defender.
And together, they stepped through the portal.
-TRNT-
On the other side of the portal was a land that looked as if a normal landscape had been melted. There were large edifices around them, which the two could tell were buildings of some kind, made almost like that of any city on earth but they were melted, reddish brown as if they were entirely made of iron that had rusted before melting into the shapes they were in now. It was only when you looked closer at them that you could tell that the color was that of dried blood.
The sky above them was red, flecked with orange and yellow but not like a sunset because there was no sun in the sky. The light came from the sky itself, not from any one particular source. There were no clouds, though strange patches of green and dark blue could be seen in the distance.
As soon as they stepped through, Harry immediately could tell Shevaun's location.
"Keep the portal open." He ordered and disappeared less than a second later.
He appeared soon after into what appeared to be a large ritual chamber and as soon as he landed, he started feeling his magic being siphoned. Shevaun was right behind him, and before anyone could react, He grabbed her and teleported out. He caught a flash of a large runic circle and the fact that Shevaun had been in the middle but didn't get time to really take it in before he was looking at Ranulph again. The man was kneeling on the ground, surrounded by about a dozen demons and was bleeding in numerous places.
The portal was thankfully still open but barely. Harry grabbed Ranulph and tossed him and his daughter through the portal seconds before it shut with a snap of magic. He turned to look at the demons around him and grinned. He may not be Thor or the warriors Three but he certainly enjoyed a good fight, and this was certainly going to be one given that he could go all put without fearing for collateral damage.
He spun Bloodaxe in an arc and all twelve were bisected and died on the spot. He rose into the air and started flying forward towards where he had gotten Shevaun from, his magic responding without even his direction but just his desire. More demons were running towards him from the ground and some were flying at him from the buildings as he passed them.
"Latinium Malleus!" He shouted and a massive hammer made of green lightning appeared and smashed into the horde of demons. Over fifty died screaming while others were blown away from the shockwave. Many exploding on impact with the walls of the houses with wet smacks.
Harry didn't stop there, curving through the demons as they all ran or flew to their deaths. All the time, the slaughter didn't slow him down as he steadily moved forward. As the first wave of attackers began to come apart under his assault, the first magical attack struck as Harry had just started to wonder if Mephisto was going to sit on his ass untill he came to him. It was a spell of fear, made to make him afraid of anything and everything around him. It was accompanied by an illusion that tried to grab hold of him making him believe that the fight was already lost and he was simply wasting his time.
Mephisto clearly was underestimating Harry's mental defenses if he thought such an attack would be enough. Harry felt the fear try and fail to grip his mind even as he let out a burst of magic to dispel the illusion. He then let out a burst of magic that destroyed any of the remaining demons and Harry was left with nothing against him. He knew that the attack was probably just a probe, to test his defenses and the next one would be much stronger.
He flew forward once again, with nothing attacking him for about five minutes before another wave of demons came at him. This one had actual gargoyles, massive beasts made of stone that somehow flew, that came at him from all directions together with more demons than before. Harry pointed his axe at the approaching horde and balls of emerald fire erupted from the end and slammed into the horde exploding on impact. Dozens died from the explosion and the others fell from Harry's axe as he was right behind the fireballs.
Harry suddenly had to teleport to get a way from a wave of pure flame that shot out from the ground towards him.
"Finite!" He shouted as the flame shot towards his new position dispelling it instantly. He spun around and slashed his axe cutting a bone gargoyle in half.
"Glacius!" An invisible ripple left his axe and every demon it passed through suddenly froze solid before shattering a second later into shards of ice. Soon enough, he was floating all alone with not a single demon in sight.
He suddenly flinched as his mind was assaulted. His mental defenses held true as the attack withdrew, Mephisto had probably hoped to get through him while he was still riding his victory. He was going to have to try harder than that.
Harry continued advancing towards Mephisto's base. The demons attacking him kept growing in number as well as strength. Soon enough, he started encountering demons that cast magic, and he killed them all. He might have had a few close calls and very often some came close to him but not a single one was able to land a hit. He wasn't sure how long he spent killing demon after demon but soon he caught sight of what could only be Mephisto's base on the horizon.
He grinned and started going forward but then all the light seemed to start being sucked from the air around him. He kept killing demons before his instincts screamed at him and he jerked to the side just as a large spear made of darkness pierced through his former position. He flew higher as shadow tentacles reached for him from the ground. He grunted as he slammed into a demon sending it flying with nearly all its bones destroyed. He was so focused on dodging the shadows and occasionally killing the demons that came close that he didn't feel the magic in the air untill it was too late.
He suddenly froze, feeling like he had been encased in concrete before an invisible force grabbed him and slammed him into the ground hard. Before he could even recover, the shadows fell on him and started suffocating him and trying to tear him apart, his magic wasn't responding no matter how much he tried to call upon it. He could feel the demons stabbing into him even as the shadows kept trying to squeeze the life out of him. Harry closed his eyes and endured the pain as he sunk into his mind. He found what he was looking for, his connection to Hermione and his followers.
His astral form grabbed the bonds and pulled. He briefly caught a glimpse of Hermione screaming and other followers of his thrashing on the ground before he suddenly felt his magic return, the shadows that had surrounded his magic core and cut off his access were burned away by his divine authority. His body glowed golden as shadows and demons were burned away and all his injuries were healed. The ground on which he was lying transformed from the barren rocky floor to much healthier soil just like on earth with even some grass immediately growing from it. The same happened for about a meter from him as Mephisto's authority over that part was overridden by Harry's own.
He slowly got back to his feet and looked around him at the demons that were now looking at him wearily. It was clear even to them that the place Harry was now standing on was no longer part of Mephisto's realm. And even as they watched, the patch was slowly but surely spreading outwards.
Harry smiled as he summoned Bloodaxe once again. "You really shouldn't have allowed the god of life into your realm. Now prepare to die!"
-TRNT-
AN: Hey, not much to say, the action continues next chapter which will come much earlier than it took this one.