Millions of Years Ago…
The snow steadily fell from the bleak clouds that hung over the tundra, draping the plains with a new fresh white sheet. A steady breeze calmly swept through the near-barren lands and past the leafless trees, their branches gently rustling from the passing wind. Most of the fauna were either taking shelter in burrows or nests to shield themselves from the frigid environment, although a few were out into the wintry wasteland whether it be for migration or hunting.
One such case was a small gang of megaloceroses, whose enormous antlers collected hints of snow and hides providing a thin defense against the gelid environment. The elk marched through the plains, their hooves crunching against the snow as they pressed on through the icebound field. The group had traversed far and their migration found themselves in this desolate tundra but regardless of the harsh environment, they didn't stop until they reached their destination.
As they continued, however, something felt off in the air. Only a few megaloceroses were able to catch onto it, while the rest of the herd seemed to ignore it. The air carried a chill of impending danger, one that felt as though it was coming their way.
That danger began to rear its ugly head in when the traveling herd felt a grumbling from beneath their hooves. It starts off as a mere trembling, a few deer even pressing on despite the minor quake, but the vibrations gradually became louder and more violent to the point that the whole herd was practically frozen with fear.
The still air was disrupted by a cacophony of trumpet-like growls with a few of the herd members turning to the direction of the noises. Coming their way was an enormous mammoth, carelessly stampeding toward the long-horned elk without any sign of stopping. Atop her back were three hunters, clinging onto the beast like invasive ticks in stick in its hair.
The elk herd dispersed almost immediately, scattering into different directions to make way for the oncoming pachyderm. The Mammoth Matriarch found herself straying from the herd ever upon exiting the gorge with the three persistent hunters still relentlessly swarming her with jabs from their prodding blades. Urgora was attempting to wrangle herself onto the matriarch's neck while simultaneously attempting to puncture her skull. The mammoth proved to be difficult as Urgora found herself being violently swayed about, the constant movement preventing her from landing the killing blow.
Oogar and Dag's attempts to whittle the mammoth down were also starting to prove fruitless. Every small little scratch and flesh wound only seemed to enrage the megafauna as opposed to impeding it. As the mammoth continued on with her rampage, the beast came crashing right into a snow-coated tree, its head smashing right into the bole. The tree rattled from the impact, its trunk snapping while kicking up snow particles as the three hunters were nearly thrown off the beast. The pachyderm went in for another charge, whittling the tree's sturdiness down while Urgora found herself flinging off the mammoth's neck.
Right before she could fall to the ground, the lead hunter drove a clawed glove right into the mammoth's shoulder. The razor-sharp claws punched into the mammoth's hide, a steady trail of blood oozing from the incision as the matriarch reeled her head back to unleash a roar of pain. Urgora began to pull herself up, gritting her teeth while veins started to pop along her muscular forearm. Unfortunately, the pain surging through the mammoth's shoulder only served to motivate the giant as he rushed into the tree, smashing right through it with the sickening crackle of wood echoing through the tundra.
The mammoth raced through the snow as Urgora's claws were beginning to slip out from the wound. Oogar and Dag quickly raced to Urgora to help their chieftain back up but the matriarch began to dart around in an erratic move pattern. They barely managed to lift Urgora halfway for the mammoth had stumbled into a pothole in her stampede, causing the beast to stumble. The sudden rattle of which resulted in Urgora being jettisoned off the mammoth's shoulder, slipping away in the air. Dag reached out in an attempt to grab her only to find himself falling off the moving beast's back.
Oogar desperately reached out a hand for his fellow tribesman but he wasn't fast enough, only watching as his chieftain and brother crashed and tumbled away in the snowy grounds while he was riding atop the charging beast. The mammoth could still feel Oogar on her back as it started to kick her forelegs outward, stomping her feet against the snow, and violently buck her massive body but to no avail. Oogar barely kept himself from flying off with handfuls of the giant's hair.
The lone hunter was determined to finish what had been started, he refused to go back to his tribe empty-handed. He fought against the cold wind and thrashing, climbing along the megafauna's back with gritted teeth. His grip was gradually lessening by the seconds but his burning will pushed him onward. Soon, the boy reached the mammoth's neck and withdrew his knife. The mammoth was reaching an embankment just off the side of the trail while Oogar gripped onto the beast's nape and with a graceful swing, he pivoted himself right into the mammoth's eye where he plunged his knife right into the mammoth's eye socket!
SHINK!
An animalistic scream of pain filled the gelid air as the mammoth veered off the track and found herself sliding down the small hill, dragging Oogar along for the ride. Oogar clung to the mammoth's cheek as the giant tumbled down the hill. Once the beast made contact with the ground, the young Neanderthal ripped the knife from the patriarch's socket, blood gushing out from her orbital canal and staining the boy's hand. Oogar was about to go in for a second stab while the matriarch was down but stopped mid-stab when her trunk suddenly entangled itself around his midsection.
"GAK!" Oogar gasped out, almost dropping the knife as the matriarch rose from the ground. She staggered for a moment, almost succumbing to fatigue but managed to push through as she hurled Oogar several meters away with a harsh swing of her trunk. Oogar's body skidded along the rough terrain, leaving behind a trail in the snow before coming to a grinding stop. The mammoth unleashed another earth-shaking roar as she barreled toward the boy, her tusks aimed to gore him.
Battered and bruised, Oogar managed to get back on his feet while coughing up spatters of blood. He was temporarily stunned by the impact of the landing but quickly came back to his senses when the ground trembled and the mammoth's cry jolted him back into reality. Oogar threw himself to the side by the last minute, miraculously evading his one-way ticket to the grave but not without being nicked on the shoulder by the mammoth's tusk.
The adolescent hunter clenched his teeth with pain as he held onto the wound with one hand while the matriarch turned to face her adversary. Both the boy and the mammoth had been pushed to their limits, their stamina was waining and both could collapse at a moment's notice. However, neither of them came all this way to die now. One would only walk away from this exhausting battle alive while the other would be left to rot in the cold.
This all felt familiar to Oogar, a horrific memory that he had locked away in the back of his head was emerging from the darkness. The exhaustion, the stinging cold, all of it was coming back. However, the boy didn't give in to this intrusive memory. He wasn't going to let fear take control of him this time around. The odds were always against him but he wasn't going to let fate rip away what he had left in this world. He refused to let the past repeat itself.
Gripping the knife tightly, Oogar unleashed a scream that was loud enough to be heard through the howling wind. This cued the mammoth to unleash a roar as the hunter sprinted toward his large foe. He leaped as high as he could with his knife high with the mammoth reached it's trunk out.
Both were ready to defy fate itself.
The Dark Forest...
"…Vwhat do vwe do now?" Asked the giant serpent, the prehistoric demon paused for a moment and placed his hand on his beard. After some consideration, the caveman had come up with an answer.
"We finish what we started. Fight for no one but ourselves." Oogar proclaimed and while his beard may have concealed his mouth, Oogar had a proud and determined smile, one that Jurgen could still sense behind that shaggy wall of facial hair.
"...Ja. Zhat vworks." The serpent responded with a grin of his own, his head rising off the ground while his coils started to unfurl. He could feel the motivation to continue this battle course through his cold-blooded veins. Oogar, meanwhile, cracked his knuckles in preparation for a second round as he took several steps back to even the battleground despite the fact his foe was several feet larger than him.
Neither one was fighting to defend a castle or for a petty vengeance scheme. It was for themselves and only themselves, with no ties to anybody and no reputation to uphold for the cynical masses. Nothing more and nothing less.
"Ready?"
"Ready."
Both held their ground for a moment, waiting for the other to strike. Oogar put his fists up while carefully circling his larger foe while Jurgen glared back at him, slithering at an equally steady pace. The air was tense and the forest stood still, as though they were waiting for the scuffle to begin.
Oogar initiated the battle by striking the earth and sending forth a stalagmite that erupted from the ground, speeding toward the snake like a bullet. Jurgen swayed to the side, letting the jagged rock sail by. That wasn't the only attack as Oogar initiated a bombardment of stalagmite missiles, each projectile missing its target with Jurgen flowing around each one with his limber body.
Upon reaching a decent range, Jurgen's jaws flung open, and shot himself forward with a loud hiss. Oogar stepped forward and smashed his fist into the ground, leading to a slanted pillar with a blunt end rising from the earth with the earth, aiming for the snake's throat. The serpent came to a grinding halt with his neck curving back with the spire's blunt end just a hair's length away. However, the rest of his body suddenly swung in from the side, bending into a semi-circle.
Oogar realized that Jurgen was trying to rake him in with a not-so-subtle sneak attack as he quickly scaled up the slanted pillar to avoid getting caught in the serpent's coils. Upon reaching the ledge, Oogar bounced right off of it as the snake's tail closed in, tearing the spire down in the process. Jurgen's horn flared up with yellow sparks and fired a beam of electricity but much to his surprise, the caveman gracefully weaved over the bolt with perplexing agility.
As Oogar whizzed through the air, he reeled back one fist and with a terrific swing, slammed his fist right into the snake's jaw with enough strength to send the serpent staggering. Jurgen forcibly slid back, kicking up dirt particles while leaving behind fresh grooves in the soil in an attempt to stand his ground. As the caveman landed, the solid earth liquified beneath his feet, allowing for a softer landing. The serpent made no hesitation in attacking his foe as he suddenly spun his massive tail with a harsh whip. Oogar knew that he wouldn't be fast enough to merely jump over it as he tried to run away from the oncoming tail only for the muddy grounds to keep him running in place.
"YIPE!" The mammoth demon cried, his legs moved as fast as they could before he suddenly stumbled forward on one leg and went sliding across the ground with Jurgen's red tail sweeping right behind him. The caveman kept his outspread to the side as the soil carried him along the battlefield, sliding along in a clockwork formation.
"I shall call zhis ze Jurgen Sweep, eh?~" Jurgen commented with a peal of boisterous laughter, hoping to squish Oogar with his lengthy body. As Oogar continued to slide, he haphazardly stomped his second foot onto the slippery floor and without warning, the caveman sunk into the earth with the serpent's coils whisking right over where the caveman previously stood.
"Vwait, vwhat in ze-!?" Jurgen forced his body to stop, bewildered by such a turn of events. Just though it seemed as though the caveman had vanished from the battlefield, he reemerged from the forest floor, his fur visibly matted with muck while gasping for air. He turned over to Jurgen, equally as confused as his opponent. Jurgen's expression quickly turned to a glare of annoyance as his tail came sweeping back, the caveman instinctively sinking right back into the earth to avoid the swinging tail.
This process was repeated several times with each tail whip increasing in speed and aggression until the umpteenth that that Oogar popped out back from the earth, the caveman leaped right over the sweeping tail and made a beeline towards the snake. As he rushed toward his serpentine foe, he dragged his hands along the forest floor, bits and pieces of earth clinging onto the caveman's fists until forming into a pair of gauntlets. Jurgen went in for another lunge, Oogar side-stepping the snake's snapping jaws as he threw a right hook into his cheek.
Jurgen winced with pain from the hard punch, almost being knocked off balance but quickly recovered as he lifted his head up to evade a second strike. Jurgen swung his head in a brisk motion similar to a wrecking ball, prompting the mammoth demon to hop back to evade the swing. The Son of The World Serpent proceeded to thrust his head forward once again, Oogar immediately retaliating by charging forward in preparation for another titanic blow to the snake's noggin. Just as it seemed the two would collide, Jurgen suddenly whipped his head back as Oogar swung his fist at thin air, having fallen for the snake's fakeout.
The caveman stumbled forward as the serpent's tail came sweeping in from behind and struck against the behemoth's ankle, knocking him to the ground. With his foe knocked down, Jurgen shot himself forward with his horn sparkling with electricity with the intent of both goring and frying his opponent. Oogar seeing the snake hone in on him without a second to think, brought up his rock-encased hands...
BRRZZNK!
...And snatched onto the snake's horn! Thanks to his gauntlets, Oogar didn't feel even a sting although his fur did take on a wavy appearance thanks to the electric aura. Jurgen, realizing this, attempted to pull himself away but right as he was about to, Oogar rooted himself into the earth by letting him sink ankle-deep into the ground. The caveman effectively anchored the snake's head, Jurgen bobbing and thrashing his head back and forth while his horn sparkled with bright electrical bolts. The gauntlets held up quite well against the electricity, the sparks only chipping away at the exterior.
As Oogar held onto the horn, he used all the strength in his body to whip the snake right over his shoulder with a fierce tug. Jurgen felt his whole body suddenly being flailed to the side, the thirty-foot-serpent being temporarily suspended off the ground as he was hurled right into neighboring trees. But right when Jurgen could crash into a set of trees, Jurgen used what control he had over his body to straighten his body out almost like a spring, hurtling towards a notable large tree.
Upon reaching the tree, the Son of The World Serpent curved his body along the bole and redirected himself back into Oogar's direction, making an effective U-turn. Seeing the gigantic snake springing back to him, Ooga propelled himself forward courtesy of a pillar shooting from the ground with a twist of his foot, the caveman prepared to strike the snake right into his scaly jaw. Jurgen barred his fangs and gave out a hiss, the two fighters closing the distance between one another in a matter of seconds, although he was separated from his soaring opponent by several inches.
This move was no fluke on the serpent's part, as Oogar passed him by, Jurgen weaved himself backward in a fluid motion with his enormous body following along with him. The enormous snake trailed after the mammoth demon his head, and neck swiftly arching over his opponent before suddenly making another tun, his body following along in a loop-de-loop formation. Oogar found himself hitting a moving wall of scales, one that suddenly ensnared him as the caveman was caught in Jurgen's coils. The caveman gasped with pain, a crushing weight squeezed at his chest with a rib or two cracking.
"How's zhat for ya, ja!?" Jurgen boastfully cackled, tightening his coils as Oogar produced only a few weak groans of pain. The caveman wasn't without a plan in mind, however, as he carefully began to wriggle his arms free from the serpent's grasp. In spite of the pressure that squeezed the life out from his chest, Oogar's arms managed to erupt his scaley binds. He clashed his gauntlets together. Jurgen was confused at what his prehistoric opponent was trying to accomplish but was taken aback when the gauntlets flew off from his head and sped towards Jurgen with a loud 'BANG'.
As they sped towards the snake, the gauntlets ignited the oxygen in the air, catching fire and dispersing into a mess of flaming shrapnel that blasted Jurgen right in the face. Some of the fragments even found their way into his eye, the enormous serpent cried out with pain. The burning sensation was too much for him to handle, shutting his eyes to mitigate the pain while his grip on the caveman lessened significantly. Oogar pulled himself from the snake's coils, sucking in a great breath of fresh air before looking at his hands.
"Huh... Oogar could do that?" The caveman said to himself but questions can wait later, he had a giant lake serpent to fight. Taking this opportunity to get the jump on his opponent while he's stunned, Oogar quickly scaled along the snake's slender body. Jurgen could feel the caveman climbing upon his back but realized that the ground he was laying on felt relatively pulpy, likely due to the mammoth demon's earth-softening tricks. An idea came to Jurgen, he slowly opened his eyes and his horn glowed a harsh yellow.
The serpent plunged himself head first into the ground, using his horn to tunnel through the earth as his limbless body followed suit. Oogar realized what the snake was doing and turned the opposite way, running along the slender tail before leaping from its tip. All that snake left behind was a noticeable hole bored into the forest floor but Oogar knew that this wasn't some kind of retreat. There was no doubt in the Neanderthal's mind that his foe was up to something and he could feel it coming any second.
He could feel the ground faintly rumbling beneath his feet, sweat started to pour from his brow and his fists tightened. He took a few careful steps along the forest floor, awaiting his serpentine foe to burst from the earth and take him by surprise. The terrain shook and shifted for a moment with a 'BMPH' that nearly caught the caveman off guard but nothing had occurred just yet.
Oogar simply waited.
And waited.
...
And waited...
...
And-
KRRRR-THOOM!
And just like that, Oogar quickly leaped back to avoid a sudden burst exploding out from the ground, kicking up dust and sending specs of dirt flying in every which way. As the caveman took the sky, he felt something wrap itself around his ankle. The prehistoric demon gazed to see the snake's tail, reaching out from the earth like an invasive weed in a garden. Before the caveman could try to break free from the iron grip, Jurgen's tail bent back before catapulting the caveman forward. The mammoth demon yelled out as he sailed through the air, rapidly careening towards the lakeshore.
Without warning, shooting out from the shore's surface was Jurgen's head. His maw stretched out wide, snatching the mammoth demon out of the air with his monstrous jaws. As the rest of the snake's body rocketed off into the air, Oogar managed to at least keep the snake's maw from closing by pushing his maxilla open with both hands while pushing his feet down to keep the mandible agape.
As the snake soared through the crimson sky, gravity took its toll and the leviathan serpent was pulled down and headed straight toward the bloody lake. Realizing that both he and his foe were about to plunge into the scarlet lake, Oogar held his breath and closed his eyes. Jurgen's enormous body made a vicious splash and broke right through the blood's surface, sending heaps of blood splashing in every direction while violent waves rocked along the surface as a result of the impact.
KER-SPLOOOOSH!
The serpent's body slunk far into the depths, sinking like a rock with the caveman still clamped in his jaws. Oogar continued to struggle, even trying to pound on the snake's snout but thanks to being submerged, his blows were stagnant and left little impact. Jurgen made this more difficult by wildly thrashing his head around, almost like a dog throttling its chew toy.
Just as seemed that he was about to be a meal for the World Serpent's offspring, Oogar quickly fished through his hide and pulled out his chain hook. Just as the serpent was about to swallow him whole, Oogar grabbed onto the hook's end and as fast he could, ramming the hook's sharp edge right into the roof of Jurgen's mouth.
As the metal impaled itself into the serpent's palate, the sudden pain forced Jurgen to let loose a bellowing shriek that could still be heard even from the murky depths, the blood even start to bubble around him from the high frequency. Oogar ripped the hook from the snake's palate before entangling the chain around the snake's tongue.
With one harsh yank, the chain made itself taut around the snake's slim tongue as his maw forcibly widened from the uncomfortable sensation. Grabbing the hook by the bend, the caveman swam out from the snake's mouth as the chain began to straighten out. The lake serpent felt his whole body being violently tugged as Oogar pulled on the chain with a burst of strength.
Suddenly with a brisk swing of his arms, Jurgen's body violently swayed with a vicious current pushing against him. Oogar whipped the chain forward, which in turn, sent Jurgen flying only to then yank it back, Jurgen's massive body haphazardly careening towards the caveman. Tilting his whole body back and reeling both legs in, Oogar delivered a double-legged kick right beneath Jurgen's chin, all of the momentum he stored being whipped around in the blood sent him reeling back in circles while the chain unraveled itself from his tongue once the blow had been delivered.
Oogar planned about to swim after his serpentine opponent but stopped when he heard a low rumbling from beneath him. Gazing down, the mammoth demon was met with a monstrous-sized tentacle emerging from the lake's abyss, likely attracted to all the commotion and saw an opportunity for a good meal. Any ordinary, rational-thinking demon would swim away at such a horrifying sight, but Oogar was neither ordinary nor rational-thinking. Acting fast, Oogar reached into his chest and pulled out a candy bar that he had saved for himself, and dove towards the encroaching tendrils.
Jurgen, meanwhile, was left spinning in the red waves before biting his tail in order to stop himself from spiraling any further. Once he stopped, Jurgen prepared to dive back down to face his small foe but rather than facing up with Oogar again, he noticed something large heading towards him from the murky abyss. The massive figure revealed itself to be a giant squid-like creature with blackish-blue skin, rising from the depths with all of its tentacles opened up. Jurgen found this more of an inconvenience than a threat, although he might as well just get this out of the way before resuming his battle with Oogar.
As the serpent lunged at the giant cephalopod, he noticed a strange mark on the squid's mantle. When the lake monsters got close enough, the mark on the squid's mantle became clearer as Jurgen needed to blink twice in order to ensure he wasn't hallucinating. Riding atop the monstrous squid like a surfboard was Oogar, having made a pact with the enormous cephalopod through the power of chocolate.
"Auf keinen verdammten Fall..." Jurgen thought to himself before narrowly avoiding being caught in the tentacles of the Kraken by weaving around it. The giant squid wasn't going to let Jurgen get off that easily as it reached out with two of its tendril, latching itself onto the snake's body while it passed by. The cephalopod's hooked suckers latched themselves onto the snake's flesh, Jurgen whipping his head around in a hurtling himself toward the squid. The cephalopod lashed out with two of its tentacles, both of which snagged onto Jurgen's mane.
Thanks to the thick silvery hair, Jurgen's mane allowed for decent protection against the hooks on its suction cups. However, the hooks ended up getting entangled in his mane hair, making it more challenging to break free from the cephalopod's grasp. Jurgen jerked his head around while the horn on his snout began to light up once again, crackling with electricity. The serpent launched a bolt directly at the center of the squid's mantle where Oogar stood. Unfortunately, the electric projectile didn't make its mark as the squid brought up a lengthy tentacle to protect both himself and its rider, enduring the full shock of the attack as the squid gave forth a bellow of pain.
Seeing this as his moment to attack, Oogar dove off the squid's mantle and leaped onto one of the tentacles that were stuck in Jurgen's mane. The tendril bent from the caveman's weight before the squid instinctively swung its tentacle upward, all the built-up pressure launched him like an underwater torpedo as the caveman came slamming right into the snake's cheek. The serpent could almost feel his jaw being popped out of place from the blow as Oogar swam past the snake's head, prompting Jurgen to lunge forward in an attempt to chomp the caveman mid-swim.
Thanks to his small size, Oogar weaved around the snapping jaws of the serpent while several more tentacles wrangled themselves onto the serpent's body and around its neck. The giant squid proceeded to pull Jurgen close with its razor-sharp beak eager to take a bite out of the snake's flesh. Jurgen, using what mobility he had in his slender body, curved his tail inward and pushed against the squid's mantle to free himself from the cephalopod's grasp. The snake impelled as much force as he could, the squid's gargantuan tentacles being stretched as far as they could allow but still clung onto the serpent.
Oogar, meanwhile, was attempting to subdue the serpent by wrapping his chain around the snake's neck while he was distracted by the giant squid. Oogar jabbed the hook right into Jurgen's neck and prepared to swim around his neck with the chain in hand. However, as the snake continued to pull the squid away, the tentacles were gradually beginning to lose grip as the lake serpent used what movement he had in his body to whip its head to the nearest tentacle and bite down onto it. His fangs pierced through the demonic cephalopod's squishy and with a tight squeeze of his jaws and a jerk of his head, the tentacle was torn from the squid's body.
The squid unleashed a muddled groan of pain as its appendage wriggled and writhed in the serpent's mouth. Oogar felt Jurgen's neck suddenly jerk out of place, the snake unintentionally slamming right into him, letting the chain slip out from his hand while his body drifted back in the blood. Jurgen tossed aside the amputated tentacle and went for the other one that still clung to his mane, but right as he bit into the demonic cephalopod, the squid's siphons fluttered for a moment before releasing a cloud of jet-black ink!
Right as when Oogar swam back to grab the chain, the caveman was engulfed in an ebony billow, his vision having been reduced to nothing but pitch blackness. With his sight impaired, the only senses aiding him at the moment were touch and sound. Oogar clung on tightly to the chain while guttural roars, partially dulled out by the blood, rang out. He could feel his body being wildly jostled about in the dark mass, only for the darkness to be temporarily lit up by the golden, electric aura emanating from Jurgen's horn.
The light revealed a glint of the lake Kraken's body, using all of its tentacles to straddle itself onto the serpent with its beak gaping wide open. Without warning the snake fired off a blast of electricity right into the squid's beak. The bolt made a direct hit, followed by a loud pained roar with a few of the tentacles forcibly removing themselves from the serpent's body. Jurgen fired off a second blast, only this one was aimed at the second tentacle that was grasping onto his mane. The tentacle was severed almost immediately, leaving the demonic cephalopod with only six arms as it bellowed once more.
Now that his head was free, Jurgen opened his jaws and sped towards the squid, ready to finish this monstrous annoyance but Oogar quickly slammed his feet down onto the snake's back with the chain around him tightening. The snake had no intention of letting Oogar throttle him as he not only whipped his whole head forward but also his entire body, spinning around in a perfect circle while the caveman had trouble maintaining a proper grip on the chain. With every loop, the snake's speed gradually increased.
The Kraken, despite having lost two limbs, was still eager to fight as it attempted to ambush the serpent while it was distracted. Unfortunately, while it tried to maintain a grip on the snake with its remaining tentacles, the beast was struck right into the mantle by his rotating tail, the force of the wrecking ball smashing into its head. The squid drifted off into the blood, battered and dazed with swirls in its eyes.
As for Oogar, he felt himself swirling in the blood before Jurgen took a harsh nose-dive into the abyss, erupting from the ink cloud down into the cloud and down into the lowest division of the lake. Straying further away from the light as the world around them grew darker and colder, hidden abominations gazed upon the two from the murky blackness. Despite everything, Oogar still clung to the chain while his body fought against the crushing pressure of their descent.
The Son of The World Serpent was nearing the lake bed and with a strong thrust of his body, the hook wriggled loose from Jurgen's flesh with the chain untangling itself from the serpent's body. This also launched the caveman right off as he was sent tumbling back into the dark crimson abyss. Oogar's body came crashing onto the benthic, kicking up specks of lake sediment as he struggled to bring himself back up. Jurgen stared down his foe as the rest of his lengthy body slammed down onto the lake bed. The only possible light was the gleaming yellow eyes of the mammoth demon and the sparkling horn of the serpent.
As the two combatants stared each other down, Jurgen's coils were beginning to encircle Oogar to ensure he'd have him right where he wanted him. Oogar moved his hand onto the shank of his hook and gave out a hard grunt. From the surrounding darkness, moans of unholy beasts and unnatural figures danced along in the abyss but neither combatant paid much mind to aquatic horrors beyond human comprehension, they were mere pests to them in the grand scheme of things.
Oogar readied his hook and Jurgen reeled himself back. The caveman pushed himself forward and swung his hook down whilst the serpent trusted his electric horn forward. With every blow struck, a fierce illumination
KRSSCH!
They struck again, bringing light to the bleak abyss. The faint silhouette of grotesque, monstrous faces glared from the surrounding darkness.
KRSSCH!
The peering eyes of beasts witnessed this battle, drawing ever so nearer. Their hungry moans grew louder by the second.
KRRRSCH!
Humanoid creatures with fish-like features watched with anticipation like a committee of vultures, eager to prey upon the dead.
KRSSSCH!
The coils around Oogar were beginning to close in, the unexplorable depths of the blood lake now having become a Thunderdome for all aquatic abominations to give witness.
KRSSSSSCH!
The serpent and the caveman clashed their weapons once more, Oogar putting in all of his strength whilst pushing against Jurgen's horn. This weapon lock soon came to an end as Jurgen's horn flickered and crackled, the electrical current traveling through the hook as a shocking, painful sensation stung Oogar's hands. The caveman unleashed a pained roar, the blood around him bubbling before being forced back with an explosive blast hitting him right in the chest.
Oogar was forced off the serpent and came in contact with the lake bed once again, the fur on his torso visibly singed while the snake's coils further enclosed the mammoth demon. The caveman's stamina was beginning to wain and the deep pressure seemed to pin him down to the benthic. Jurgen looked down upon his foe, preparing to finish this fight off for good. A cacophony of roars and groans echoed through the murky depths, awaiting to feast on the loser.
"You fought vwell, Höhlenmensch. But zhis battle has reached an end. Allow me to finish vwhat I started..." Jurgen thought to himself, looming over his fallen opponent. Although it was a bitter farewell, Jurgen held an unwavering respect towards the caveman, one that Oogar could sense through the solemn look in his eyes.
The caveman closed his eyes and opened them, reflecting back at that moment in the ballroom. The scornful aristocrat's disgusted sneers glaring at him, the fresh blue blood that stained his hands, and the crushing disappointment of letting his family down in a foolish attempt to join a community that viewed him as a mere zoo animal than an esteemed member.
However, in spite of the ridicule that Oogar had faced that night, he cared little about what venomous insults that had weighed him down. He cared little about what a gaggle of strangers perceived him as. He cared for none of that. He was his own person whether they liked it or not. His fists clenched while a surge of determination began to rush throughout his body.
"I'm... me." The caveman thought to himself as the benthic beneath Oogar started to rumble, catching the surrounding beasts off guard. The entire lake was even starting to feel this rumbling ring out for miles.
"I am me..." Oogar's eyes widened as he started to raise his arm off the ground. Jurgen, however, was still eager to finish the fight as the serpent thrust himself forward one final blow. His maw opened wide and his fangs eager to skewer his opponent while a burning thought overtook the caveman's mindscape, one that burned hotter than any hellfire imaginable!
"And... NOBODY..." Using just his one arm slamming down onto the lakebed, the sediments coagulated and morphed into a pillar that sprouted from the benthic with a brisk movement. "...SHOULD TELL ME HOW TO BE ME!"
Jurgen had no time to react as the pillar slammed right into his cheek and pushed him right off the lake floor, sending him floating up several dozen feet in the blood. The pillar smashed right into his face with a part of the horn even snapping off from the sudden force. As the mammoth demon rose to the ground, he calmly placed his hand on the lake floor with a swift brush of his arms...
SWRSHHHH!
And sent forth a wave of sediments, carrying forth large rocks that had sunk the bottom of the lake as it struck against the massive serpent, whose lengthy body was pelted by a hailstorm of underblood debris. Growing tired of waiting, several monstrous aquatic creatures swam for the mammoth demon only for them to be caught in a harsh sediment storm, the force pushing back their gigantic bodies. Oogar refused to let up, he continued swaying his arms whilst pivoting his body around in a graceful swirl.
Using the lake floor to his advantage, he planted himself in the benthic so that he wouldn't be swept away by the current. The sediments viciously whirled around in the abyss, not just carrying mere pebbles but large hunks of rock and even a few leviathan-sized lake monsters that found themselves twirling in the vortex. Jurgen, meanwhile, shook off the brunt of the sudden attack only to feel his body being violently pulled by an overwhelming force. The snake looked down to see an oncoming cyclone, violently pulling on his tail.
Furrowing his brow and letting out a muddled hiss, Jurgen allowed the vortex to suck his massive body. The serpent found himself swirling in a dark red current as he fought against its pull, weaving and slithering over large rocks and hellish aquatic life. Oogar continued this vicious bloodspout as it gradually increased in sheer size, watching as it began to extend out from the lake's twilight zone, stretching far until it reached the lake's surface.
A glint of bright moonlight shone its way through the gaping eye of the cyclone, beaming down on Oogar, who merely had more tendrils comprised of sediments to further increase the speed of the vortex. Jurgen still fought back against the current, blasting through a massive boulder but thanks to the force of the current, the fragments blended with the speeding dreggs that relentlessly bombarded the serpent.
Jurgen had no time to recover as he haphazardly slithered over an oncoming angler fish-like beast, its fins frantically flailing about to break from the current. As the serpent slid over his head, Jurgen wrapped his coils around the lure dangling from its head, his weight causing it to bend. Right before the angler fish could so much as take a nibble from him, Jurgen sprung himself off the beast's lure, with all the momentum helping him push against the current. Another gargantuan rock formation came flying his way, one that he drilled right through with his horn as he pressed through the maelstrom to reach his foe.
The vortex continued to rotate, anything that got even just a slight bit close was pulled in and caught in a vicious swirl. Even when it reached the surface, however, it didn't stop. As a matter of fact, it was starting to grow bigger.
And bigger...
And bigger...
Lucifer's Estate, The Study Room...
"Hold still, darling. This will only take a moment..." Lilith said, carefully moving the dislocated jaw of her husband around. The King of Hell's only response was a series of groans as his wife proceeded to push his jaw upwards, resulting in his mandible reconnecting with the temporal bones of his skull with a loud and startling 'POP'.
"Ah!" Lucifer gave out a slightly pained groan as Lilith stepped back, nervously clasping her hands together.
"My apologies, darling. I hope I wasn't too rough..." The Queen of Hell responded as Lucifer opened and closed his mouth, flexing his jaw to ensure it had been properly attached.
"Well, wouldn't be the first time you've said that to me...~" Lucifer replied with a light smirk, Lilith's worry melting away as she started giggling at his raunchy remark.
"Oh, you devil you...~" Lilith giggled as Lucifer got up from his chair. The Monarchs of Hell were in the midst of healing after their violent altercation with the Von Eldrichs, licking their wounds in the study for the time being.
"Alright, I think I've healed up quite well. That Frederick certainly got lucky dislocating my jaw and what have you but I hope you're not too worse for wear either, my beloved." Lucifer replied, carefully viewing his wife from every conceivable angle to ensure there wasn't even a slight scratch on her.
"Oh, Lucifer, there's no need to worry yourself over me. I only lost a finger or two and besides, we have much more pressing matters to attend to." Lilith assured her husband about her well-being. However, as she said this, Lucifer took notice of a huge shard of glass jutting out from her back.
"Erm... honey?" Lucifer said, pointing at the shard as the First Succubus cocked her head over her shoulder to see the glass piece sticking out from her back.
"Tch. Oh, fantastic..." The Queen of Hell groaned to herself with exasperation. "Lucifer?"
"Already on it, my dear..." The Demonic King replied as he carefully pulled the shard from his wife's back, a slight spurt of blood shot out from the wound upon removal. The incision proceeded to close up, becoming little more than a memory as Lilith sighed with relief.
"...As I was saying, Charlie, Vaggie, and the face-eating toddler are off in the wilderness looking for Oogar and they need our help." Lilith expressed with grave urgency while Lucifer put a hand on his chin.
"I'm aware of that my dear but it'll certainly take an arduous amount of time, the dark forest is a beguiling maze out there." The King of Hell said, pacing near an adjacent balcony that provided an extensive view of the bleak woodlands that surrounded the castle as well as the blood lake, the moonlight shimmering off of its crimson surface.
"Cellular reception in there is non-existent and even I've gotten lost in there a few times myself." Lucifer expressed, unaware of three figures speeding towards the balcony like an oncoming cannonball, accompanied by a faint scream that grew louder the further it drew near. Lilith looked over her husband's shoulder and took notice of the approaching figure, her eyes widening as they darted back to her oblivious husband.
"It could take hours, days, months even! So we need to be diligent, lest we too find ourselves lost in the clutches of the wild as our sanity slowly diminishi-"
"My dear, perhaps you ought to turn around..." The Queen of Hell interrupted, gesturing the king to turn around.
"...Okay, but I'm not sure where you're going with-OH, COLD ROTTEN APPLE PIE!" Lucifer exclaimed, his eyes practically bulging from their sockets as he hastily threw himself to the side. Rocketing through the balcony and into the study was Charlie, who somehow managed to flip right onto her feet once making contact with solid ground. Although, this didn't stop her from skating across the floor, etching two burning trails into the floorboards while wildly flailing her arms up and down before coming to a rough stop.
"Ooh... What just happened?..." Charlie said to herself, putting a hand on her head before perking up to the sound of her girlfriend screaming out for her name.
"CHARLIEEEEEE!" Vaigge shouted as she came soaring into the room, the demonic princess quickly spinning around and sprinting forward, catching the Hispanic demoness before she crashed onto the ground.
"Okay, THAT was a close one..." The Hotel Owner sighed with relief.
"DON'T FORGET ME TOOOOOOO-" Charlie's pupils shrunk when she heard Niffty's voice as she looked up, barely having enough time to catch the cyclopean demon, who came sailing through the window and smacked right into the princess's face. This led to her toppling onto the ground along with Vaggie, the two demonesses laying disoriented on the floor with Niffty sitting on both of them, virtually unscathed thanks to her bosses breaking her fall.
"Oh wow, thanks for catching me with your face, Charlie!" Niffty thanked.
"Don't mention it..." Charlie groaned, giving a shaky thumbs up in response before her arm flopped back down onto the floor.
"Ah, okay. Problem partially solved." Lucifer commented, putting his hands on his hips while Lilith whisked over to the three demons. Niffty scrambled back onto the floor while helping Charlie and Vaggie back onto their feet. Charlie, however, was unable to take a single step when Lilith quickly grabbed her by the shoulder and started to dust her clean.
"Oh, Charlie, Vaggie, face-eating toddler! Are you three alright? Where's Oogar? He didn't end up in a house made of gingerbread did he?..." Lilith pelted her daughter with a string of questions whilst dusting her of any lingering dirt and mud flecks that stained her dress.
"I-I'm fine, Mom. Just had a bit of a scuffle with a giant snake..." Charlie said, taking a step away from her mother while carefully taking her hand off her shoulder.
"A giant snake, you say?" Lucifer replied, narrowing his eyes as he thought back to his battle against the World Serpent. "You wouldn't happen to be referring to Jörmungandr? If so, that planet-eating noodle picked a horrible time to drum up conflict..."
"Actually it was his son, your highness." Vaggie corrected, the demonic king's hard look diminished into a blank expression of indifference.
"Oh, right. Him... What was his name again?..." Lucifer replied, tapping a finger on his chin as he couldn't for the life of him recall his name. "Was it James? Jim?... Err... Jimmothy? Lilith, help me out here."
"Look, that's not important right now! Oogar was fighting that snake and he's still in that forest as we speak!" Vaggie exclaimed with worry for her son. "We need to help him before anything else escalates..."
"Well, thankfully, you three crashed through the window at the right time," Lilith spoke up, while Niffty noticed something from the corner of her eye as she skittered over to the balcony without drawing any attention from the group. "Lucifer and I have fully healed and we're more than willing to offer assistance."
"Indeed, but do be warned that we could end up getting lost and driven to madness if we so much as take the wrong-" As Lucifer gave his grave warning, it was promptly interrupted by Niffty, who now stood out from the balcony.
"Hey guys, I think I might have found him!" Niffty called out, prompting everyone to quickly rush to the balcony with Lucifer standing by himself for a brief moment, dumbfounded that his grandson was found so quickly.
"...Okay, so much for 'easy to get lost in'. I'm going to have a word with homeowners insurance after this..." Lucifer muttered to himself before quickly joining the group as they stood by the balcony.
The demons looked on in awe at an enormous maelstrom that wildly swirling in the center of the lake, the blood viciously swirling around with large chunks of sediments pushing the crimson waves while any aquatic life that was swimming by was unfortunately sucked into the vortex. The crimson waves wildly splashed against one another while a fierce rumbling bellowed from the eye of the cyclone.
"...Ever seen something like this before, Dad?" Charlie asked, turning her head over to her father, who seemed mesmerized by the raging bloody whirlpool as though he had been put in a trance.
"...No. I've lived by this lake for practically a millennia and never seen anything like it." The King of Hell admitted, both bewildered and impressed by this unnatural display.
Although Vaggie and Niffty were unable to see through the murky redness, the Morningstars could sense the prehistoric demon deep below the surface and touching the benthic zone. There was no doubt in any of their minds that Oogar was the culprit behind this whirlpool and caught in the sediment cyclone was Jurgen.
"So... Oogar's down there, right?" Vaggie asked, anxiously tensing up as her grip tightened on the railing. A singular nod from each Morningstar confirmed her suspicions, an inner panic starting to take place.
"Then what are we doing standing around here for!? We have to save him!" The Hotel Manager shouted with a mix of frustration and desperation, tempted to jump off the balcony and dive headfirst into the lake to save her son.
"I don't believe that's necessary my dear, something tells me he doesn't need our help for this," Lucifer stated with a firm tone of voice, pouring most of his focus onto the maelstrom.
"...Ch-Charlie?" Vaggie said, shifting over to her lover in hopes that she would object to her father's words.
"As insane as it sounds, Vaggie..." Charlie cocked her head to her lover, sharing the same level of concern as her but she knew how far her son had come. Despite how terrifying it was, she knew she had to let her son fight on his own. "...He's right."
Realizing this, Vaggie gave out a sigh and looked on at the raging eddy in the crimson lake. All she could do was watch and only hope that her son would walk away from this battle in one piece.
She could only pray that her son knew what he was doing.
The Bottom of Blood Lake...
Oogar had no idea what he was doing.
The adrenaline rushing in his body was unlike anything he could have ever experienced, he couldn't stop himself nor wanted to. Everything was happening so fast in this moment and he was all in, no time to stop or think. More sediments were kicked up from the swirling maelstrom, increasing in speed with various lake wildlife being dragged into the eddy.
Jurgen was still pushing against the current in spite of having no limbs, he slipped underneath a hurtling mass of debris before finding himself in the gaping jaws of a massive leviathan that had been dragged in by the cyclone. The serpent had no time to avoid the oncoming monster where he was subsequently swallowed whole by the beast, who slurped him down like a spaghetti noodle. However, just a few mere seconds later, the monster began to feel a stinging pain within its body while electrical currents began to sparkle around its body. The monster's whole body seemed to swell like a puffer fish, its eyes almost bursting out from their sockets.
Suddenly, with a tremendous output of electricity rupturing from the monster's scaly skin, the beast exploded into a grisly mess of flesh chunks, viscera, and various body parts that were carried away by the current. Powering through the mess of drifting flesh was Jurgen, whose horn cascaded with an electric aura, one that flickered brighter as he pressed through the whirlpool. Jurgen realized that his horn was allowing him to swim against the current but it wasn't enough to have him reach his foe.
A massive boulder came rushing from below to strike him in the stomach, sending him hurtling backward. His serpentine lengthy body flailed in the flurry of debris, lake monsters, and blood before coming across a floating log that had also found itself being carried off by the cyclone. Rather than letting the log strike him, he instead slithered over the oncoming chunk of wood before curving his body over it and rocketing himself forward beneath it. His shimmering horn pushed him through the current once more, rapidly avoiding oncoming obstacles in the fickle redness.
As the current pushed Jurgen around, the snake started to twist and spin his body around. He spun in a barrel roll formation, his slender body performing a set of perfect rotations while the electricity from his horn seemed to cascade off onto his body. Sparks of electricity danced along the spinning serpent, his pivoting body was starting to increase in speed, allowing him to cruise through the current at a moderate pace.
Large hunks of underblood debris came flying headfirst at the snake, but thanks to the electrical current running through his body and his spinning, he drilled right through the oncoming rocks. From the center of the cyclone, Oogar noticed streaks of blinding yellow light illuminating from behind the eyewall. The caveman knew that his serpentine foe was responsible for this, he knew that any moment he would come bursting out for a surprise attack. In preparation for this attack, Oogar allowed himself to sink into the lakebed, starting from his ankles and moving up to his midsection.
Jurgen was continuing to push against the torrent, his body moving to a point that he resembled a spinning blur with an electrical flare running along it. Jurgen's body was now in complete free motion, bypassing the current's push, tunneling through oncoming debris and steams of sediments as the electricity zapped right through the obstacle. Even oncoming lake monsters faired no better either, a massive eel-like beast came hurling towards Jurgen but the pivoting snake not only ducked just below the monster's ferocious jaws but it managed to drill a perfect hole right through the monster's underbelly out from the back, erupting from the beast like a torpedo.
The serpent powered through the current, moving in a perfect circle to pick up speed as the electricity gleaming from his horn sparkled brighter before fully enveloping his lengthy body. The massive serpent's scales were even taking up a goldish color, his whole body was beginning to glimmer brightly amongst the murky redness of the deep. Oogar waited in anticipation for his foe to finish this light show and reveal himself. Beneath the caveman's soles, the sediments were all forming together into a pillar, one that extended far into the benthic's surface.
A low humming began to ring throughout the depths, overpowering the rushing blood and sediments of the cyclone. The blinding light spun around in the cyclone, moving at such speeds that its body seemed to reverse the current. Oogar poured more focus into keeping the bloodspout turning, sending out more tendrils of sediments that rose from the lake floor. The mammoth demon and the serpent were stuck in a strenuous struggle, but it all soon came to an end when the electric luminescence seemed to push through the eyewall of the cyclone. Even from above the surface, the light shone through the maelstrom's eye.
Viewing from the safety of the castle, Charlie and Vaggie held each other's hands tightly, the fear and anticipation for their son's safety grew heavier with every passing minute. Niffty was darting from every conceivable angle of the balcony, unable to maintain herself. The suspense was too much for her to handle, to the point that she was even gnawing on the balcony's railing. As for Lucifer and Lilith, they seemed more intrigued than distressed although, Lilith could tell that the tension was starting to set in on the rest of the group.
"Do you think now is a good time to intervene, my dear?" said Lilith, leaning over to her husband.
"And interrupt all of this right as it was about to get interesting?" Lucifer replied before turning his attention back to the cyclone. "Besides, It'd be lowly to rob our grandson of his moment of glory."
The inner wall of the whirlpool was beginning to disperse and erupting from the bloody barrier was Jurgen, speeding out into the eye of the cyclone while spinning like a drill. His electric-induced body bypassed the current, drilling straight down with his sight set on his foe. The snake no longer resembled anything of his previous form, he appeared like a beam of light careering into the depths.
Oogar felt the magnificent light engulf him as he shut his eyes to prevent himself from going blind as he raised his two arms up. As the serpent came corkscrewing toward the caveman, he swung his arms with all the strength in his body, the pillar beneath his feet wound up and launched him out from the ground like a firing pin. The caveman shot outward towards the snake, with both his arms extended outwards. The mammoth demon's body was engulfed in flames thanks to the velocity he was moving at, he two fighters met head-on for one last collision!
The mammoth demon's burning knuckles connected with the blinding horn of the serpent and for a moment, the fire and electricity dimmed out...
FWSSSSSSSSSSSSKKRCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKK!
Only to reignite again, brighter than ever! Glowing brighter than the stars themselves, brighter than even Heaven's lights. The force of Oogar and Jurgen's collision disrupted the surface of the bloody lake, resulting in the cyclone dispersing as the bloody lake started to part. Debris and ginormous lake monsters were sent scattering about from the waves. In the center of the lake, Jurgen and Oogar held each other off, two unstoppable forces struggling to obtain dominance over the other.
"I have come zhis far to forge my path! To let my name be known by all!" Jurgen roared as a surge of electricity burst from his body and struck Oogar firsthand, the caveman growled with pain as he became overwhelmed by the growing force pressing down on him.
"MY NAME IS JURGEN AND NEVER FORGET ZHAT!" The enormous serpent exclaimed, his voice resonating throughout the parting lake. Oogar responded with a snarl, glaring back at his serpentine foe.
"You look into my eyes and you remember my name." He growled and with a push his arms, he not only managed to force his opponent back but lift the thirty-foot snake with just his knuckles.
"V-vwha-AUUUUGGGHGHH!" Jurgen cried out with pain as he could feel a hot sensation around the caveman's fists, cracks seemed to form along his knuckles with an orange radiance shining from within. The snake looked on with horror as two burning yellow eyes met his, a fierce gaze that would send shivers even down the most powerful demons of hell.
"I... am... Oogar Morningstar." He said with a raspy, haggard breath. His hands and arms were beginning to crackle with that burning orange glow as flames danced off his fur.
"And Oogar... will NEVER... LET ANYONE DECIDE HIS FATE!" He roared for all of Hell to hear and with one strong push of his body, he slammed himself right into Jurgen, his flames overpowering his electricity. He shifted his hands forward and with a strong nudge...
They were off.
Oogar and Jurgen burst from the parting lake, leaving it behind as they soared into the scarlet sky. High above the lake, the forest, the castle, even beyond the clouds. Massive billows that loomed over the hellish land dispersed, making way for the two demons. They were soaring higher, speeding through the hellish firmament, pushing through the stratosphere and they weren't stopping!
The caveman kept pushing forward in spite of the flames that licked his flesh and fur, his enormous serpentine foe also having been lit ablaze by air around him igniting. They were close to reaching the stars, gleaming bright amongst the celestial body. Just up ahead, the seal that had been cast over Hell was not too far and Oogar had no intent of ceasing his trailblazing from here. He kept going, soaring through the demonic cosmos like a comet.
Oogar and Jurgen were bathed in the seal's unholy crimson light, careening further through the atmosphere with Hell right below them. The serpent was unable to fight back, his body engulfed in a fiery blaze as they traveled right into the center of the seal. Resigned to this fate, Jurgen closed his eyes and braced for impact. But not before one final thought came to him through his slipping consciousness.
"Danka, Oogar." He thought to himself, his lips forming into a small smile. "Zhis has been ze greatest moment of my whole life..."
The two had reached straight for the seal, having reached the apex of Hell's skies. They slammed right into the center of the pentagram, striking it with all the built-up force, momentum, and weight packed into one singular blow...
BWOOOOOOOOOMMMPH...
The impact resulted in a deafening rumble that was like the tolling of an unholy bell, its reverberance could be felt through the sky. The clouds momentarily stopped and the stars shuttered. The impact started to travel down to the land where the forest quaked with trees being uprooted by the vicious tremor, ripples ran along the bloody lake as though it hadn't already been disturbed, and the castle rattled.
Vaggie nearly fell over while Charlie quickly caught onto her, struggling to keep herself standing as she held onto her lover with a tight embrace. Niffty, meanwhile, was sent rolling back into the study where she found herself tumbling into a cabinet as the doors immediately shut on her. And as for Lucifer and Lilith, they stood in place with their attention fixated on the sky, unable to believe what they just witnessed. Lucifer's top hat was on the verge of flying off his head hadn't it been for his little snake biting on his master's yoke.
This land wasn't the only place affected by the impact. No, it soon started to travel throughout the pride ring. Expanding far as it could reach. Even then, the reverberation didn't stop there either.
It began to travel downward. Ring by ring.
The Hazbin Hotel...
"Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur…~" Angel gently sang to himself aloud whilst playing around with Husk's ears by pulling and rubbing at them. The disgruntled bartender was passed out drunk with his head face down on the table. The winged demon made the unfortunate mistake of sitting next to Angel at the dinner table, where he was undoubtedly going to wake up with a permanent marker mustache and a paw in a bowl of warm water. Just then, Alastor approached the table with two big bowls in both hands.
"Bon appétit, gentlemen! A nice big bowl of my mother's famous, heart-stoppingly delicious jambalaya." Alastor exclaimed, placing the two warm bowls of jambalaya before Angel Dust and Husk, hot steam resonated off the cajun stew while carrying a mouthwatering aroma.
"Ay, thanks for the eats, smiles!" Angel expressed his gratitude while Husk gave out a grumble, rolling his head onto his cheek as a steady stream of drool sept from his mouth. Alastor left the two to their meal and made his way to his own table where a silver platter awaited him, whatever meal it was holding was concealed by a cloche.
"And as for me, a fulfilling helping of BAKED BASILISK!~" Alastor happily exclaimed, removing the cloche to reveal a perfectly cooked basilisk with golden brown skin with a sprinkling of green onion garnish and lemon wedges on the side. The Radio Demon licked his lips, taking a seat before grabbing his knife and fork.
"Oh, how much I've been looking forward to this~" Alastor said to himself, preparing to dig in and enjoy his meal. Though, just as he was about to cut into the basilisk…
RMMBMBMBMBMBBLBLLBLBLRRBMBMBL…
Alastor was caught off guard by a sudden tremor, the floor beneath him fiercely rumbling while the hotel itself began shaking. Before the Radio Demon had time to process, he was knocked off his chair, grabbing onto the tablecloth to help break his fall. Instead, the tablecloth was yanked right off, sliding underneath the dishes and utensils without knocking any of them over.
"WOAH, WHAT IN FUCK'S NAME IS GOIN' ON!?" Angel questioned, holding onto his seat with his lower set of arms while Husk awoke with a jolt, with his wings sprouting outwards.
"AHHH! SHIT, THE IRS ARE BUSTING OUT THE BULLDOZERS, WE GOTTA MOVE!" The feline demon exclaimed, making a harsh turn with his wings still unfurled, unintentionally whacking Angel in the back, sending him sailing across the dining room. The spider demon screamed the whole way through before landing right on Alastor's table, knocking the baked basilisk off of it in the process. The dish came crashing into a wall, the slutty spider now taking its place.
"W-what the devil was that!?..." Alastor slowly pulled himself back onto his feet as the quake began to subside. He looked all around, puzzled at what had just happened. As far as he knew, hellshakes were uncommon in the Pride Ring so this couldn't have happened naturally. The Radio Demon pulled his chair up and sat down, hoping to at least enjoy a good meal. However, his permanent smile strained while his eyes flickered with static when he saw Angel Dust awkwardly sprawled out on the table in lieu of his dinner.
"...Jeez, Smiles, If you wanted to eat me out, you coulda just asked…~" Angel said, striking a seductive pose while fluttering his eyelashes. Alastor stared blankly at the pornstar for a moment, blinking twice before slowly raising his knife and fork.
"You know what, I think I'll gladly g͡la̵dly͡ obl͜id̡g̸e.̨.."͜ Alastor said with a menacing hiss of radio static while Angel's smile faded and morphed into a terrified grimace.
"W-WAIT! AL, I WAS KIDDING! AL, I WAS KIDDING!" The spider demon said, scrambling away before falling off the table. He immediately sprang up and started running with Alastor sprinting after him in hot pursuit.
"Now, now... Don't run, my dear! That'll make your meat all stringy!" Alastor cackled like a madman as he chased Angel around the dining room all while Husk watched the two demons run around in circles.
"HUSK, HELP A BITCH OUT WILL YA!?" Angel said, taking cover behind a table in order to put some distance between him and the hungry Radio Demon, only for Alastor to casually hurl the table aside with a calm flick of his arm.
"Why me…" The cat demon groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose before getting up to prevent Angel from becoming his boss's entre.
The Wrath Ring...
"Now these here are the oldest known volcanoes here in Wrath, where most work casualties occur because everyone keeps forgetting to put on their safety goggles!" A local imp tour guide said to his group, mostly consisting of simple-minded tourists who took pictures of everything that was apparently interesting according to them and families who dragged their reluctant kids out so that they could have a moment away from their computer screens and not have to put up with them berating insults to strangers about their mothers. "Any questions?"
"Uh yeah, I got one." A hellhound replied, raising his hand. "Have these volcanoes ever erupted?"
"Thankfully, no." The docent said, looking over his shoulder to see the many volcanic mountains that stood tall in the hellish heat. "These volcanoes haven't erupted in over five hundred years."
RMMBMBMBMBMBBLBLLBLBLRRBMBMBL…
Right as he said that, the ground began to violently rumble, catching the entire tour completely off guard. Some of the tourists even held onto each other to maintain balance. Suddenly, the volcanoes too began to grumble and roar before each and everyone collectively released a torrent of hot lava that gushed from the openings, sending forth volcanic ash that billowed into the sky.
Right as the tour guide turned around to see what had just unfolded, a glob of lava splashed right onto him. Engulfing his entire body before running off onto the ground, leaving him as nothing but a charred skeleton. The entire group looked on with bewilderment as the now-skeletal docent turned back to them.
"Until five seconds ago, these volcanoes hadn't erupted. Speaking of which, ow..." He groaned before his head snapped off his body and rolled onto the ground. This sudden turn of events garnered a few 'oooh's' and 'aaah's' from the crowd. The tourists immediately took out their cameras and began taking pictures to mark this momentous occasion.
The Gluttony Ring...
"ALRIGHT, Y'ALL DIRTY BITCHES READY TO GET DOWN WITH THE QUEEN BEE OF GLUTTONY?!" A boisterous feminine voice howled throughout an elaborate mansion with a honeycomb-like pattern scheme, its hallways, and lobbies filled with hot-blooded imps and hellhounds that were looking to cut loose and enjoy a wild party.
They all collectively cheered and hollered in response to the hostess of the party, who hovered above them, fluttering around a giant disco ball that hung over a pool of honey. A sweet, lively cascade of bright pink, blue, and yellow resonated off of her.
"HAHA! I HOPE Y'ALL ARE HUNGRY BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA BE INDULGING ALL NIGHT!~" exclaimed a tall fox-like demon with insect-like features such as an extra set of arms and a pair of wings, whose hair, tail, and even stomach seemed to be made of an undulating fluid similar to a lava lamp. The crowd howled yet again and gathered around, eager to watch her put on a show for them with bated breath.
"GREAT! LET'S GET THIS SHIT STARTED!~" Beelzebub cheered, landing on top of the disco ball while EDM music began to emanate throughout the colorful scene. Beelzebub smiled brightly as she spun herself around the pole as began to serenade the hungry audience with her sweet voice.
"~COTTON CAND-~"
RMMBMBMBMBMBBLBLLBLBLRRBMBMBL…
Right when she was about to sing to the crowd, the entire mansion shook with all of the guests being taken by surprise. The vibrations rang against the walls and ceiling, causing Queen Bee-lzebub to slip right off the disco ball before plummeting right toward the pool of honey.
"SHIT! SHIT! SHI-" Was all she said before diving headfirst into the honey with a loud 'PLOP'. Meanwhile, the partygoers were left in a panic with several frantically running in different directions or hiding underneath tables. A few even went as far as to jump through the window, showering the floors with broken glass. It didn't help that alarms from nearby parked cars were going off, startling any and all hellhounds that were present. They howled, barked, and whimpered, while their cries filled the entire mansion.
"ARMAGEDDON HAS ARRIVED!"
"THIS IS JUST LIKE THE VET ALL OVER AGAIN!"
"I NEED MY MILKY WILKY!"
Amidst the pandemonium, Beelzebub reached out from the honey pool and pulled herself out onto the ledge. She shook off any excess honey that dribbled from her body before taking notice of the chaos that was unraveling in her domain. The partygoers screaming and the alarms blaring left a bitter taste that made her anxious as she attempted to quell the panicked crowd.
"H-hey! HEY! Everyone chill! Please, chi-" Unfortunately, one panicking partygoer accidentally ran into the Demoness of Gluttony, knocking her back into the honey pool.
Hell's Atmosphere...
Oogar's fist was pressed into Jurgen's underbelly, pinning him against the demonical seal, a raspy wheeze was all that the snake could produce. The mammoth demon was high above the underworld, higher than he could ever have gone before in his life. For a moment, he stood there, almost as though the air itself was keeping him suspended in the firmament. The flames that once burned bright now dulled into nothingness while the magma that encased his hands began to break off into ashen flakes that calmly drifted off into the wind.
The shockwaves of his collision was felt and heard by every ring, traveling down until reaching hell's lowest point. Oogar could feel the adrenaline that had surged through his body grow null and void, having poured every ounce of energy into this singular attack.
From below the red heavens, Charlie was left in complete shock. Everything happened so fast yet even she couldn't believe what her son had accomplished. Vaggie was undergoing similar feelings, her mouth was left agape and her legs almost couldn't support her body. Niffty's singular eye lit up with amazement, grabbing onto the railing to the point that it was starting to dent in her grip.
"Soooo... COOOOOOOL!" Niffty shrieked, bouncing up and down from pure excitement. She was very much eager to tell Husk about all of this once she returned and this time, he'd actually believe her.
Lucifer and Lilith were at a loss for words to say the very least. Never had either witnessed something as spectacular as this, all done by a sinner no less. Whether this was pure luck or a temptation of fate, the queen and king were beyond impressed with what they had seen with his own eyes. Lucifer stood there with a wide-eyed expression, amazed by this spectacle, drinking it all in.
Then, he began to laugh. It started off as a quiet chuckle but it quickly evolved into a peal of laughter, one he was unable to control. He clapped and hollered with genuine mirth, the demonic king nearly buckled to the floor hadn't it been for his wife holding onto him. He just couldn't stop himself from laughing, he cackled and cheered hysterically. Almost to a point that his lungs could give up at any given moment.
Oogar took in a deep breath, closing his eyes as the exhaustion began to take over. Beneath his scruffy beard, he smiled as he removed his fists from the snake's underbelly and allowed gravity to deliver him back to Hell. He gracefully descended from the crimson, star-filled sky, falling further as he spread his arms out to feel the breeze against his fur. Jurgen followed Oogar on the fall, the snake's fall was heavier thanks to his massive body as his body undulated from the force of his body.
They both passed through the clouds yet again, pushing through their vaporous walls and shooting out from them. From the castle balcony, the entire group couldn't see Oogar and Jurgen while Lucifer was still in a wild guffaw. However, Vaggie spotted two figures break through the clouds, rapidly descending towards the blood lake, the sudden realization that her son was falling dropped onto the moth demoness like a sack of bricks.
"H-hey! EVERYONE LOOK!" Vaggie shouted, pointing out the descending demons. Realizing that the two were making their descent, Charlie's eyes widened at the sight of her son plummeting from such a great height, her wings quickly sprouted from her back as she immediately took flight without a moment of hesitation.
"Luci!" Lilith said, shaking her husband in order to bring him back to reality. Lucifer was almost at the end of his laughter, catching his breath as he looked up to see his grandson plunging back into Hell.
"O-oh! Oh shit!" Lucifer exclaimed as his wings sprouted out from his back before taking off to rescue his grandson. Lilith followed suit, and soon the entire Morningstar family flew as fast as they could, leaving Niffty and Vaggie behind on the balcony. However, the cyclopean demon wasn't going to stick around by the wayside as she climbed over the balcony's railing.
"WE'RE COMIN' FOR YA, OOGAR!" She yelped before leaping down the mountainside of the castle while Vaggie tried to stop her by reaching out to grab the manic maid.
"NIFFTY, WAIT!" Vaggie shouted as she tried to yank her back onto the balcony, but the one-eyed demon was too quick as she slid down the castle with ease. She sprinted off to the lakeshore the moment her feet touched the ground. Meanwhile, Vaggie was about to scold her but knowing that her son was in peril, decided to throw caution to the wind as she leaped off the balcony, landing right onto the canopy of the closest tree before gliding off its bole before making a beeline to the shore.
"Please be okay... Please be okay..." Charlie quietly murmured, narrowing her eyes as she soared through the air with her arms out. She was just only a few feet beneath her son, the mammoth demon unaware that his mother had come to save him. Upon getting close enough, Charlie immediately outstretched her arms and caught her son in midair. She was almost weighed down by her enormous, fifteen-foot-tall mammoth of a son but managed to keep him elevated.
Just then, Charlie felt a massive shadow cast over her, her eyes darting up to see Jurgen hurtling toward her. The demonic princess immediately raised one arm up, keeping Oogar close with her other hand. Surprisingly, the snake felt lighter than she was anticipating right when she felt the snake's underbelly touch the palm of her hand.
"Need a hand with that, my dear?" Lucifer's voice suddenly chimed in as Charlie looked to her side to see her father holding the snake's lower jaw up with both his hands. She moved her head to the other side, seeing her mother lifting the serpent by his tail. With both demons now safely procured, the Morningstar Family gingerly carried both Oogar and Jurgen down to the lakeshore. From the treeline, Niffty and Vaggie came bolting out onto the shore, stopping dead in their tracks when the splashing blood touched their ankles. Both demonesses kept their eyes on the sky, watching as the Morningstars brought down both the mammoth demon and the gigantic serpent.
When reaching the shoreline, Charlie removed her hand from Jurgen's abdomen before gently setting her son back down. Meanwhile, Lucifer and Lilith placed the unconscious snake onto the ground, his body making a slight thud once they let go of his head and tail.
"OOGAR!" Vaggie cried out, sprinting by her son's side before collapsing to her knees. She immediately went in to check a pulse, her heart racing with anxiety while Charlie held the caveman's head close to her abdomen while carefully caressing it.
"Oogar, c-can you hear us!? Please just say something, open your eyes, twitch a muscle, ANYTHING!" The Hispanic demoness shouted, hugging her son as tight as she could while trying to fight back tears. "Please..."
"rurugghrgh.. ooorrgh... Mamas, Oogar wants to ride the llama..." Oogar grumbled out, slowly opening his eyes. A tidal wave of relief swept over the couple, overjoyed to see their son had made it as they collectively embraced their son.
"MI HIJO!" Vaggie exclaimed, her arms wrapping around her son's waist, unable to let go of her adopted son.
"Oh thank the seven circles, you're okay!" Charlie exclaimed, giving her son several kisses on the forehead while Niffty immediately dove headfirst into the caveman's chest, clinging onto him with a strong hug.
"OOGAR, YOU'RE OKAY!" Niffty howled at the top of her lungs, burying her face in his chest fur. All while bubbly tears started to run down from her one eye. "OH OOGAR, I AM SO GLAD YOU'RE OKAY! I'M SO SORRY THAT I GOT YOU INTO THIS MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE! UURUGGHH, BUNGLED ALL THIS UP! BUT YOU'RE OKAY! YOU'RE OKAAAAY!"
Even in a debilitated state, Oogar had enough motion in his arms to embrace Vaggie with his hairy arm draping over her while also giving his one-eyed friend a comforting pat on the head to ensure that all was forgiven, further cemented by a calm rumble blew through the caveman's scruffy beard. He used his other arm to carefully rest a giant hand against Charlie's rosy cheek, the Princess of Hell gladly held onto his wrist to feel the warmth of his fur.
"Oh, Lucifer..." Lilith remarked, her demonic heart touched by this reunion as she placed both hands over her chest. "Haven't you seen anything sweeter than this?"
"Apart from waking up to you by my side every morning and Charlie's first flight, I doubt I have my darling..." Lucifer replied with a warm smile.
"Although, what do you think we should do with him?" The Queen of Hell pointed over to Jurgen, whose unconscious body lay motionless on the shore. Lucifer put a hand on his chin and pondered for a moment.
"We'll... think of something when morning comes. For now, let them have their moment. It's been a long night..." He said, putting an arm around Lilith's hip as he carefully tugged her close to him.
"I believe you're right, my dear," Lilith said, returning the favor by placing a delicate hand on his shoulder. All the while Charlie and Vaggie helped Oogar back onto his feet while Niffty still held onto his chest the caveman stumbled for a moment before regaining proper balance. "Did you wake up this morning thinking this is how your night ends?"
"...Nope. Not all." He chuckled. "But what better way to end a night than with this, eh?"
"Can't say I argue with that." The Queen of Hell said, both rulers of Hell turned their heads up to the sky. The pentagram-engraved moon gleamed its red rays down onto the unholy grounds. The calm splashing of the waves against the lakeshore, a sense of stillness returning to the forest.
"Some night, huh?"