Millions of Years Ago…
Fighting against the unrelenting snow that showered from the darkened clouds that encased the tundra in an ocean of unforgiving blackness, Oogar trudged through the snow that reached his knees. The frigid touch of the cold strung his very legs, his steps grew strenuous to a point where his feet had turned numb all together. It was a miracle that Oogar had managed to come this far without giving in to the cruel winter that was dangerously close to putting him in an icy grave.
What prevented his life from being snuffed eternally was his unyielding determination, as far as his young mind knew, he wouldn't even come back to the cave it meant that he brought in that baby mammoth. The wails of the juvenile could still be heard and judging by the distance, he was nearing his objective. A thought that forced the boy to push himself to a greater limit, battling against the gelid air that blanketed his hair and shoulders with small snowy heaps.
Oogar trekked onward, gritting his teeth as he dragged himself through the unrelenting snowfall. Just as it seemed that he was treading through a vague space of cold emptiness, the ground beneath the adolescent's feet went from the snow's frigid touch to a craggier terrain that had nearly thrown Oogar off balance. Realizing that he had now stood on the precipice of a rocky cliff that oversaw a valley, hills caught by the unending winter's forbidding grasps and crevasses obscured by the whiteness.
The sight of this long stretch of snow and ice wasn't the beholder of Oogar's attention, instead, it was drawn to a singular creature that helplessly scampered through the snow. The baby mammoth, the target that he had pushed himself through this frozen hellhole laid before his eyes, igniting the hunger and pride that dwelled in his mind. The calf cried out for help, frantically scurrying through the snow, unaware that a predator was lurking in the falling snow. Oogar recollected the many times he and his father brought down a mammoth and although he was alone for this particular kill, this but a calf. Easy pickings to be sure but it would do to satiate him for the night nonetheless.
Grabbing onto the nearest rock that he was strong enough to lift, Oogar hurled the stone just several yards away from where the calf was standing. This wasn't a miss on the young neanderthal's, it was but a method of misdirection to take the calf by surprise. The adolescent mammoth shrieked from the unexpected stone, trying to pinpoint where it was thrown from but due to the snow obscuring its point of view, it was left in a state of fear-driven confusion.
Oogar chucked several more rocks to further startle his target with one stone striking the calf right in the shoulder, drawing out a pained cry from the adolescent mammoth. With its target frightened and confused, it served as his moment to strike. Reaching for his spear, the young neanderthal quietly inched his way forward until he was standing on the cliff's brink. Oogar took in a deep breath, his whole body tensing up for his ambush.
With a push of his legs, the boy hurled himself high into the wintery air while his spear was raised above his head. An animalistic scream escaped the adolescent's lips and filled the gelid air while the calf spun itself into the direction from where it heard the scream, witnessing what could only be described as a demon leaping from the cliff top with its blade aimed for its cranium. Fearing its life, the calf managed to scamper away from the danger while Oogar pierced the icy floor beneath him, disappearing into the falling snow.
Angered that his prey had run off, the young neanderthal ripped his spear from the ground and gave chase with an unexpected drive. He sprinted as fast as his cold body could allow, determined to hunt down the fleeing calf. The blizzard inhibited Oogar's vision to get a clearer look of the direction that the mammoth took off in, however, the sounds of its trumpet-like wails clued him into its path. Gazing down to the snow-coated ground, footprints were imprinted in the snow giving Oogar the distinct path as he sprinted off in hot pursuit.
Emitting a feral roar, Oogar screamed out against the howling wind with his spear clutched tightly in his grasp. His body begged and pleaded for him to stop this hunt but the boy's primitive ego outweighed his common sense as he charged through the snow, ignoring the frigid aches that plagued his muscles and bones. All his vision could see was whiteness falling from the sky and clouding the landscape but the child was steadfast in his hunt. He had not dragged himself from the safety of his cave to die alone in the tundra.
His willpower skyrocketed when a black mass was starting to reveal itself in the muddled blizzard, the neanderthal believing it to be the game that he had wandered the tundra for. Picking up speed, Oogar raced forward kicking up snow particles beneath his heel. As he closed the distance between his supposed fleeing target, he couldn't help but realize that it was starting to grow in size. With every step of the way, the mammoth that he had perceived as a calf was enlarging as the young neanderthal's speed gradually decreased.
It was here that a terrifying screech that silenced the boy's roar echoed through the gelid winds, turning it still. The vigor that kept the boy alive sputtered into nothingness as something heavy swung right into his face. The teenager was sent skidding across the ground, the spear fumbling from his grasp while a trail mark was carved into the snowy plain. As his body lay there, shadow consumed his whole body forcing the boy to slowly move his head upward, a grimace etching itself into his features to what had been stood in his path.
Looming above him was an enraged mother whose calf hid beneath her shaggy underbelly. Her furious gaze locked on the young hunter who dared to harm her child. The Mammoth let out another booming cry that snapped the boy out of his near-petrified state as he scrambled for his spear to arm himself from the beast.
The mother mammoth wasted no time and charged for the predator who was foolish enough to stalk her brood.
Malphas's Fortress...
Chaos.
Complete and utter chaos was the best way to describe the current state of Malphas's castle. Guards scurried about the fortress as if they were a mischief of rats, scattering in different directions with varying tasks at hand. All while their leader barked nonstop orders to a point where he was spouting out nonsensical gibberish, though they had to do something to appease their master otherwise they'd be docked in both pay and limbs.
In the highest point of his fortress's donjon, Malphas squawked at a platoon of guards for whatever he had in mind to save their tail feathers, or in this case, his.
"Digitize the photos and videos saved on these drones and have them burned! Then take the drives and bury them in a box in the middle of the wilderness while creating a map of the precise location for me to find it when this shitshow blows over!" He demanded, haphazardly shoving an armful of drones into the hands of the main guard, who nearly fell over from the robots that were pushed into his arms.
"Err… And we can't just destroy the drones because?…" The guard asked, baffled by his master's harebrained scheme.
"Sentimental value. NOW GO!" The corvid responded curtly while Dennis stepped up.
"You heard the man, get moving!" He ordered, the guards all collectively nodding before whisking off to fulfill Malphas's wretched duties. Once he was alone, a disgruntled sigh left his beak as he hobbled over to the walls and pressed his forehead against the cobblestone exterior.
"And can someone PLEASE fetch me some 19th-century Rosé this second!? There is so much cortisol in my brain that needs to be drowned…" Malphas groaned with frustration. Approaching his side with a large box containing his master's perverted ramblings, Dennis was cautious to say something that wouldn't lead to Malphas flying into a rage-fueled by his libido and irrationality.
"The furnaces are all prepared for incineration. Anything we should do for the written diaries?" Dennis asked.
"Bury them in the wilderness as well but in a different spot but be sure to unearth them first, I don't want them to get ruined." Malphas instructed.
"Sir, I get that you want to keep these around for sentimental value, to you at least, but they have a point. All of this is damning evidence that is bound to end up in the wrong hands if we don't destroy it." The Knight Captain explained.
"Dennis, you don't understand! These are cherished memories!" Malphas exclaimed, yanking the container from Dennis's hands and hugging it closely. "I mean, catalogue twelve is a keeper, man!"
"Old childhood photos of your family on Christmas are cherished memories. These are gross invasions of someone's privacy, sir." Dennis firmly stated but as it always seemed to be the case, human decency was alien to his master.
"Bah! You wouldn't get it. Just bury those damn journals at once! And get me my damn wine too!" He ordered before shoving the box back into Dennis's grasp, the falcon demon groaned with exasperation before walking off to hide more of his incriminating, licentious evidence. Finally left to his own device, Malphas situated himself onto the nearest chair and placed his hands on his temple.
"Damn that street walking, feminine freak! Damn that window-licking, half-wit beast! DAMN THAT FUCKING ONE-EYED SLUT! I WILL PERSONALLY ANNIHILATE ALL THOSE SINNER ANIMALS FOR PLUNGING ME INTO THIS MARE'S NEST OF MADNESS! THEY'LL RUE THE DAY THOSE BEASTS THOUGHT THEY HAD THE RIGHT TO PROD AROUND IN MY OWN PERSONAL VENTURES AND I WILL TAKE IMMENSE SATISFACTION IN WATCHING THEM ALL BURN!" Malphas went on his hate-fueled tangent, his screeching voice echoing through the stone walls. As he was wallowing in his own bitterness, Malphas craned his neck up to realize that he hadn't gotten his booze yet.
"AND CAN SOMEONE GET ME MY FUCKING WINE ALREADY!" His frustrated request was granted when an armored grunt came skittering into the room with a wine bottle and glass in hand, the corvid snatching both from his hands before hastily pouring himself a glass. Just as he was about to quaff his woes away, he eyed the glass that was filled to the brim with wine
"…Nah." Malphas spat before throwing the glass over his shoulder before downing the whole bottle, each drop of wine pouring down his gullet. Whilst drowning his frustrations with an endless stream of vin de pays, Malphas glanced over to the side to see the puddle of wine teeming with glass shards. He couldn't help but notice a faint ripple in the liquid, one that made itself more prevalent to a point where the floor itself started to rattle.
"What the devil?…" The corvid said to himself, feeling the vibrations beneath his feet. The floor shook to a point where Malphas was knocked from his seat while the wine bottle flew across the room and shattered against the adjacent wall. Scrambling to the closest window, the Goetia peaked from the tower's aperture. What he saw next terrified the corvid down to his tail feathers.
Outside of the donjon's comfort, the corvid's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates for the source of the sudden quake was approaching his fortress and at a frightening rate. Malphas slowly glanced over his shoulder and calmly asked for Dennis's assistance. Keyword being calmly.
"DENNISGETYOURFUCKINGASSINHERERIGHTNOWTHEREISAGIANTFUCKINGPACHYDERMOUTSIDEMYFUCKINGCASTLEKILLITNOWHOLYFUCKWEREGONNADIEHOLYSHITPLEASEFORTHELOVEOFFUCKDOSOMETHING!"
"For Lucifer's sake, what is it!?" Dennis groaned, coming to the corvid's aid much to his chagrin. "For the last time, my lord, I get it. Catalogue twelve, your favorite installment. Your first time seeing a female nipple, I fucking get i-"
The Falcon Demon was answered with a hard slap across the face as his master dragged him in front of the window to present the guard captain what he was looking at. Charging towards the fortress was nonother than the monstrous woolly mammoth, the hotel residents all riding upon the hairy beast as it advanced towards the castle with fiery anger every step of the way. Dennis's pupils shrunk to the size of peas while the feathers on his nape ruffled up to the terrifying sight, followed by a single comment that expressed his feelings towards this ordeal.
"Oh. Poop."
From the perspective of the invaders, Oogar barrelled onward with its sights set on the fortress that was laid before his very eyes. Charlie steered the enraged beast to the destination where armed guards were already shambling about in hopes of fending off their attackers. The rest of the group hung tight onto the giant, prepared for whatever it may be that lay behind those fortress walls.
"Alright, where do where look first? This place looks pretty damn huge." Vaggie said, glancing over her lover's shoulder.
"You, Niffty, Husk, and I will go through the main tower while the rest take care of any guards in the courtyard." The Hotel Owner instructed.
"Understood. Think we'll be able to get there before they destroy all the evidence?" Vaggie followed up, Charlie furrowing her brow slightly to her girlfriend's inquiry.
"We won't have to worry about any of that, all we have to do is make one big scene and they will have full attention on us and only us," Charlie replied, Angel grinning from the Princess's words.
"Make a scene? Oh no, baby. We ain't doin' that..." Angel said with a rowdy chuckle, a competitive grin surfacing on his features as he whipped out his dual Tommy guns. "We're makin' a whole damn movie here!"
The fortress gates suddenly blew upon and from it a wall of soldiers stood their guard, wheeling in canon and trebuchets while archers stood by the arrowslits with their crossbows peaking out from the narrow aperture, all aimed at the encroaching monster. A few vulture bots even took wing, emerging from the castle walls before soaring towards their intended targets.
"Looks like it's time... Positions everyone, just like we went over!" Charlie shouted, the mammoth giving his caretaker a nod before kicking his hind legs in the air and stamping them back down. When his feet touched the ground, the dirt surrounding the mammoth quivered and shook before two tidal waves of earth came roaring out from the soil. Right before the waves were sent on their way, Alastor and Niffty sprung themselves onto the breaker from the left-hand side whilst Angel and Husk hopped onto the right. Each individual duo was carried upon the wave's crest, the hidden archers firing upon a slue of arrows.
Angel and Husk struck back with gunfire whilst weaving around the flying arrows, shooting a few out of mid-air in the process. Thanks to the safety of the fortress walls, neither demons were unable to route out the archers that slung a nonstop bombardment of bolts. Taking a different approach to this, Husk quickly spread out his wings and prepared to take flight with Angel in his grasp.
"HANG ON!" Husk yelled before pushing himself off of the crest, soaring through the wind while the tidal wave of dirt and rock collided with the right section of the fortress walls, shaking the battlement to its core. Angel felt himself graciously hang through the wind, feeling the air blow beneath his skirt giving a scene for some unfortunate (or fortunate, depending what got their jollies off) guards that watched from the ground.
"CARRY US TO VICTORY, HUSKYKINS!" The arachnid cried out, ignoring the sounds of mammoth screams and cannon fire while striking a dramatic pose in mid-air much to Husk's ire.
"WILL YOU KNOCK IT OFF!" The winged feline retorted before suddenly twirling his body in a swift, circular motion to evade a cannonball. Right after evading the projectile, more cannonballs and missiles were flung in the duo's path as the winged demon weaved through the air but one cannonball made its make on his left wing, the impact making the cat screech out with pain as he and Angel entered a wild tailspin. The two came careening towards the walls but right when it seemed they were going to crash, Angel quickly moved himself before the limestone fortification and planted all four of his hands against the walls. Resulting in him and Husk stopping, canceling out all the momentum.
"Wait, how did you-"
"I'm part spider, Husky-boo. Can't shoot webs though, at least in the traditional sense..." Angel said before scaling the fortress walls, carrying the feline along with him as he leaped over the embrasures. Awaiting him was a guard, who tried to take the arachnid by surprise with a sword swing but he was knocked over the ledge with a hard kick. Standing atop the battlement, an influx of guards rushed up the stairs while Angel and Husk drew forth their weapons and got right to work.
On the other side of the spectrum, Alastor acted quickly by emitting a scarlet barrier from his microphone cane, the arrows merely bouncing off the shield's curved exterior. The earth wave crashed against the left section of the fortress walls, the stony exterior gradually weakening from the impact. Holes had now engraved themselves among the walls while guards were thrown off their balance. The Radio Demon and his cyclopean accomplice casually whisked over the embrasures and landed directly into the courtyard on both feet.
Every guard present in the fortress all turned their heads, gazing upon the Radio Demon with terrified grimaces. The sickening aura emanated that followed the demonic radio host worked its wicked magic, leaving the guards in a petrified state of looming terror while Niffty hollered with excitement.
"Wowie! That was fun, let's do it again!" Niffty yelped, bouncing up and down.
"As exhilarating as that was, we've got work to do, Niffty!" Alastor said with a chuckle before looking upon the knights that were on the verge of wetting their armor. "...Feel free to get as bloody as you wish~"
"Oooooh! I have been looking FORWARD to that!" The cyclopean maid said, her lips twisting into a curled-up, sinister grin while unsheathing both a Jian and a Cutlass in both her hands. Alastor gave out another eerie giggle before tapping his can against the ground, resulting in several vortexes opening up out of thin air as jet black tentacles wriggled from the wormholes while the guards either chose to fight back or flee from the horrors that surely awaited them.
The vulture bots whizzed towards the mammoth, their eyes all glowing to collectively fire down lasers upon the beast. However, aside from a few lucky shots that barely singed Oogar's hide, their chances were reduced to zero when Charlie stepped forward, and with her two hands outstretched, a fiery plum burst from the palm of both her hands. The pilots were in no shape of avoiding the flaming torrent as hellfire swallowed not just them but the very robot they were riding.
The fire's incredible heat melted the flying robots into bubbling lakes of metal that spilled from the sky, the guards piloting the liquified robots were reduced to skeletons whose upper halves were infused with scorched steel. The charging mammoth carried on with its attack, leaving the boiling puddles and guard skeletons in the dust. One such guard looked at his ashen colleague and sighed with discontent.
"Not gonna lie, this job is just not for me..." He uttered to his partner before his lower jaw snapped off. The Mammoth continued its stampede for the front entrance, shrugging off the culmination of cannon fire and arrows that served to annoy the beast. The primitive monster brought up both its forelimbs and with one strong slam, a small-scale stone wall erupted from beneath the canons and trebuchets, sending them sky high along with any guard that was too sluggish to make a move. Realizing that their efforts to impede the megafauna were failing, the guards retreated back into the fortress while the castle gate was starting to lower itself.
"BARRICADE THE ENTRANCE!" A guard shouted amidst panic, his fellow men blocking off the gate with large wooden barricades. An ocean of knights flooded the fortress's threshold, all putting their backs into preventing the shaggy goliath from smashing its way into the ward. From the outside, Oogar picked up speed as the mammoth lowered its head. Preparing to ram through the gate, the momentum had turned the pachyderm into a sentient battering ram. Charlie, meanwhile, slowly rose to her feet while Vaggie steadily held onto her girlfriend's back.
"Get ready!" Charlie shouted, spreading her wings as the mammoth neared the gates. Right before the demonic megafauna bashed his head against the portcullis, Charlie vaulted herself forward with Vaggie perched on her back. The Demonic Princess swept over the gatehouse, scouring above the ward.
Hovering over the courtyard, Charlie raised her pitchfork with one hand while Vaggie climbed to her girlfriend's shoulders. The Hispanic Demoness proceeded to jump from the safety of her girlfriend's back, diving into the warzone below.
Charlie followed right behind, bringing down her pitchfork as a fiery streak followed the princess in her fall. The demonesses gracefully revolved around each other, in an almost hypnotic movement that left onlookers stunned. Descending towards the center of the ward with the speed and velocity of an oncoming meteor, Vaggie and Charlie simultaneously jabbed their weapons earthwards with an even greater thrust of their arms. This action led to both demons striking the epicenter of the castle courtyard, a large cavity boring into the cobblestone surface. Cracks carving along the stony grounds, running beneath the knight's boot with some toppling to the ground.
From the collision, a blazing ring of hellfire ruptured from the thunderous output as it spread far and wide through the courtyard. Knights caught in the flame's path were incinerated instantly, the once armored warriors turned into ash in mere seconds. Rising to their full height, Charlie and Vaggie were undamaged from the fall with only wisps of smoke resonating from their shoulders as the two demons pulled themselves from the crater and stood in the battlefield where terrified knights gave witness to the Princess of Hell gracing their presence.
"Could it be? Princess Charlie, standing here in my quarters forced to do battle with my man from the wretched curse these waste of flesh and blood" Malphas declared, taking a step forward to watch the mammoth bulldozed through fleet after fleet of his men. "Then I see... The forces of nature itself are testing me and my very devotion! The beloved princess, brainwashed by these foul monstrosities! They dare soil her pure heart and mind with such vulgar and heinous drivel. This isn't some destruction of my long hard work of blood, sweat, and tears. It is but a godsend! I see it now, my destiny is assured!"
"...Every word you just said is batshit insane." Dennis said though Malphas had his head wedged up his butt that his comment was replied with brash ignorance.
Last but certainly not least, the final unwanted visitor made his grand entrance. While their attempts were commendable, their endeavors to barricade the portcullis were rendered fruitless when Oogar tore his way through the metal gate with a headbutt. The portcullis was sent flying from its hinges and crushed the guards that failed to barricade the entrance. The armored demons were further turned into bloody mush when the shaggy behemoth rushed forward, the sickening squelch of flesh and bones cracking filling the air while the floor ran red with blood.
The mammoth stomped his way into the courtyard, swinging its truck into crowds of knights. Sending them skyward with minimal effort put into his strikes, some unlucky few collided with the fortress walls as they exploded into a splatter blotch that bedecked the enclosing structures. In order to prevent Oogar from advancing further, a team of knights rolled in a set of ballista with the leader of the battalion giving the signal to fire. Bolts raced through the air, two of which pierced into the mammoth's flank. The demonic megafauna whipped its head back, the bolt's sharp edges piercing in its hide drew out a painful screech from the beast. But while it cause the mammoth to stagger, it wasn't down for the count.
Oogar took notice of the ballistas aimed at him, the knights preparing to fire off a second bolt onslaught. The prehistoric demon shifted his forelegs against the earth below him, from which a cannonade of stalagmites shot from the ground. The jagged rock projectiles tore through the bolts, splitting them apart into two halves. One bolt that was aimed for Oogar's head was caught out of mid-air by the megafauna's outstretched trunk. With a good pitch, Oogar slung the large arrow back to the guards that launched it, all of whom ran off screaming in terror from the bolt and the dozens of rock projectiles that rained from the sky.
The falling stalagmites skewered into the abandoned bolt throwers, turning the missile weapons into mere splinters. A few guards who didn't get away in time found themselves pinned to the ground with a jagged rock piece impaling through their stomachs. The mammoth proceeded to turn to his side and reach for one of the bolts that had been lodged in his flank, wrenching it out from his flesh. The beast quivered from the pain but stood his ground, the enormous arrow now clutched in its trunk as a bludgeon.
Without hesitation, Oogar stormed forward and swung the bolt into the charging crowd, mowing through unending crowds of guards that were mere ants to the shaggy giant. After having butchered a knight by splitting his head open with an overhead sword swing, Niffty gazed over to the rampaging mammoth as she gasped with bloodlust-fueled excitement.
"Alastor, can you excuse me for a second! I wanna do something!" Niffty said to her boss, who had just got done squeezing the life out of a helpless crowd of soldiers with an eldritch tentacle. The second that the tendril tightened its grip, a gory explosion of brain matter, blood, squishy meat chunks blew out from their craniums and eyeslits.
"Go ahead, my dear! Just be careful out there." Alastor said with a nod, the tentacle discarding the shriveled corpses that resembled used-up tubes of toothpaste. With a new rush of energy, Niffty leaped into the crowd of guards that all had their sights on the mammoth. She bounced head to head before latching onto the mammoth's tail, Oogar's eyes widened as he gave out a startled screech. The demonic megafauna whipped to its side, swaying his trunk along with it him, resulting in knights either being thrown into the air or crushed into a messy pulp.
Niffty climbed aboard the mammoth's back, skating across his back before landing atop the beast's head. The moment her spindly feet touched the crown of Oogar's helmet, she twirled like a ballerina while spreading her arms out, extending out the two swords clutched in both hands. Oogar's eyes flicked up, seeing the cyclopean pivoting on top of his head. The giant lowered his trunk, letting the cleaning lady bounce onto his proboscis, and came zipping into the horde of soldiers that crowded the monster.
Thanks to the rapid speeds Niffty was spinning at, she sawed a bloody path in the attacking army. Cleaving apart any knight that she came across into pieces, she didn't care who was in her way. Arms, legs, heads, torsos, everything was strewn throughout the battlefield as if they were miscellaneous, discarded doll pieces. One decapitated head was sent flying right into the donjon window where Malphas and Dennis spectated the carnage, the two avaian-like demons throwing themselves back as the head bounced across the floor and came to a stop upon hitting a wall.
"Oh bollocks! I just had this room cleaned!" Malphas squawked with annoyance, apathetic to the decapitated head of his fallen knight.
"My lord, our defenses are growing thin and we're losing men by the second. We need to do something!" Dennis spoke up, his master taking his words into consideration. After a minute of pondering and hearing his guards being mutilated in horrific ways.
"Hmm... By looks of it, Princess Charlie is being forcibly dragged by her will into this tower by that fowl harpy. Why don't you assemble a squad and take care of that ivory insult that poor Charlie claims to be a... GIRLFRIEND!" Malphas said, shuddering at that final word with discomfort.
"S-Sir, you can't be seriou-"
"OF COURSE, I AM! Don't you know the phrase, Love and Passion makes you do the riskiest things!" The corvid demon dramatically exclaimed.
"Yeah and so is a delusional libido..." Dennis muttered under his breath.
"What was that!?" Malphas barked, his harsh inquiry forcing a fearful peep from the knight captain.
"R-right away sir!" Dennis said, running to fetch his army, leaving Malphas all alone to ponder to himself. Returning his gaze back to the carnage that was unfolding before the aperture, his sights namely set on Charlie, who had finished burning a knight until he was nothing but a charred skeleton.
"What my irrationality perceived to be adversity knocking on my door, I now see that was not Lady Luck's intention. This was all but a revelation of my devotion, the pieces are falling together! Yes, yes! Fate wasn't thwarting my plans, it was bringing it to reality without my knowledge!" Malphas exclaimed, grinning at his own harebrained conclusion.
"Now then, perhaps this could serve to cleanse those silly thoughts within her head." The Goetia said to himself, gently tenting his fingers together.
Returning to the hotel residents, Vaggie wrenched her spear from a guard's torso before cutting down an approaching group with a flick of her blade. Slicing torsos and armor alike as the knights dropped dead to her feet. She took a step back from the bloodied corpses before feeling her back brush up against Charlie's, the two demonesses looking over each other's shoulders. They were edging closer to the donjon's front entrance, their only hindrance was a wall of guards that were armed to the teeth. Both lovers sharing a nod as a fire began to form around the demonic princess's way.
"HUSK, NIFFTY! WE'RE GOING IN!" Vaggie called out, drawing the attention of the feline demon first, who was finishing up taking down two soldiers on top of a turret. Kicking a solider from a battlement and watching him plummet to his demise, Husk acted quickly by whisking off to where the hotel organizers stood.
Niffty, meanwhile, was busy carving her way through the seemingly unending hordes of armored goons. Whirling about in the bloody war zone as the fight was turned into an execution line with knights being sliced into ribbons by the smaller demon. The once brave knights were now rendered as frightened children, witnessing as their fellow men were torn into ribbons and surely they were next.
"NIFFTY!" Vaggie screamed at the top of her lungs, the message finally getting to the cyclopean this time around. Niffty stopped mid-spin, swords still in her grasp, and blood splattered on her dress and body. Her eye flicked over to see the gray demoness waving her arms at her.
"Oh! Coming!" The cleaning lady exclaimed before yanking a buckler shield from a nearby maimed corpse. Mounting herself into the buckler, the one-eyes cleaning lady let out a shrill whistle that caught the attention of the mammoth. Oogar held a guard, helplessly flailing in his trunk as Niffty pointed down at the small shield she was standing upon before directing her hand over to Vaggie.
Putting two and two together, Oogar reeled his trunk back, still grasping onto the dangling soldier. With a strong whip of its proboscis, the mammoth swung the solider as if it were a hammer as his helmet clashed against the outer rim of the buckler shield, generating a loud 'CLANG' from the impact. The buckler was sent skating across the battlefield with Niffty dragged along for the ride. Any guard standing in the way was knocked off their feet during Niffty's sleigh ride as she squealed with joy the whole way through before arriving at her destination. Circling around her colleagues before jabbing her swords into the ground, grinding to a halt.
"NIFFTY THE BLOOD QUEEN HAS ARRIVED!" She shrieked to the heavens, getting a questioning look from Vaggie and Husk.
"Uh-huh..." Vaggie muttered before turning her attention back to her love. "Ready?"
"Ready." Charlie plainly stated, her very hands igniting with hellfire while Husk popped his neck and Niffty eagerly pulled her blades from the soil. An adamant smirk spread across Vaggie's face as she stepped up beside Charlie, fastening her grip.
"Awesome. Time to fuck shit up." She said, her smirk turning into a hard grin.
The first wall of guards collectively fired arrows in the group's direction, prompting Charlie to raise both her arms as a flaming wall was generated from both hands. The fiery blockade spread out to a wide arc, protecting all four demons while the arrows crumble into smoldering ash and melted metal. Dispersing the flaming barrier, Charlie sent forth two streams of fire in the knight's direction. However, they came prepared for this attack as the fortification of guards huddled together and readied their shields, protecting them from front to top.
The flames sprayed against the Tetsudo blockade with minimal effect as the soldiers trudged towards their targets with spears protruding from the crevasses. Realizing that a change of tactics had to be made, one that came to Niffty's mind as she trusted herself forward with her makeshift bobsled hurtling towards the tortoise formation. Upon reaching the protective blockade, Niffty sprung herself high into the air. Sweeping over the testudo clatter of soldiers as the buckler sleigh breezed right through them, soldiers were scattered in different directions as if they were bowling pins.
As she descended to the ground, she landed right back onto her buckler sleigh before bashing the door off of its hinges with a hard headbutt. However, Niffty's ride didn't stop there as she sped into the main castle foyer and from the new opening, a sudden banging and clattering echoed from the donjon's threshold. The gang all stood there for a few seconds before the cyclopean's voice peeped out.
"I'm okay!" She yipped aloud.
Charlie, Vaggie, and Husk glanced at each other before shrugging it off and making a beeline into the main foyer. This gained the attention of the guards, all of whom chased after the demons in hot pursuit. Right when the three demons disappeared the castle, a large rock pillar shot out from the earth and blocked off the entrance, stopping all the knights dead in their tracks.
"Pardon the interruption, gentlemen. But I do believe you all will be dealing with us instead." Alastor's voice buzzed through the air as the clatter of knights all turned to see him standing atop Oogar's back alongside Angel, all of whom were perched atop the mammoth. The arachnid demon let out a shrill cackle before reloading his dual Tommy guns.
"If you want your deaths to be swift, come forward and we shall grant you a prompt execution!" The Radio Demon cheered with manic glee, the surrounding knights either chose the ignorant and futile option of fighting back or the more sensible choice of running for the hills.
"This is gonna be a BLAST~" Angel said, more than happy to paint the fortress walls red.
The Fortress Donjon...
Storming down the stairwell that lead to the tower's main foyer, Dennis, accompanied by a platoon of knights, flocked to the very bottom of the donjon in a hurry. Time for them was short and any of their assailants could be busting through the door at any given moment. Sabatons clacked against the cobblestone floors, their clicking echoing through the tower walls.
On the other side of the spectrum, Charlie and company were rushing up the stairs in search of Malphas though they were also on the lookout for any potential run-ins with guards. They needed to act fast for all they knew, Malphas could be destroying any form of proof against him. approaching the donjon's midpoint. Unbeknownst to both parties, Dennis' troop and the hotel residents all met at the tower's center point with both leaders giving their advice to their colleagues.
"Alright, I want everyone to stay sharp. Anyone of the intruders could be here at any given minute." The knight captain advised his men. "The moment we see one of them, we attack immediately."
"Okay, no sign of Malphas or any of his guards. We'll tear this place bit by bit as long as it means we get out hands on more evidence." Charlie said to her group before she crashed right into the knight captain.
"Ow! Jeez!" The Demonic Princess yelped, fumbling back from the sudden impact while Dennis awkwardly flailed his arms about to steady himself after his unexpected crash.
"Woah nelly!" He yelped before gaining a proper stance, letting out an embarrassed chuckle. "Heh, uh... sorry about that."
"Oh no, no. I should be apologizing, I completely forgot my surroundings for a moment there." The Hotel Owner said, rubbing the back of her head.
"Uh... Charlie." Vaggie said, tapping her girlfriend's shoulder before directing her index finger to the person she had bumped into. Charlie and Dennis simultaneously looked up, meeting each other at eye level while sudden realization struck them like an oncoming truck.
"Oh." The Knight Captain and The Demonic Princess said at the exact same time before whisking back to their respective teams. A battle was assured but before this quarrel could unravel, Dennis felt the need to speak about something.
"Alright, before we fight and everything, I feel the need to clarify this. We do NOT support our boss's view in any way, shape, or form. Just needed to set the record straight." Dennis said, raising his hands up in defense. The opposing team all cocked an eyebrow at the falcon demon's statement before Vaggie spoke up.
"Then why are you working for him!?" The Hispanic demoness replied frustratedly, the guards all glancing at one another in dead silence.
"Good pay." Dennis said bluntly.
"Student loans!" Another guard chirped out.
"Oh, and a REALLY good dental plan." A third guard peeped out amidst the crowd. Vaggie rolled her eyes in annoyance before entering a combative stance and readied her spear.
"Whatever, like I wanna hear the benefits of working with a perverted sociopath!" The Hispanic demoness growled.
"Trust me when I say that is as good as it's gonna get." Dennis sighed, extending his right arm as he prepared to launch a bolt from his wrist-mounted crossbow. The group was forced to evade the projectile as they dispersed in halves the second arrows started flying. Charlie and Husk retaliated by sending forth volleys of fire and bullets into the opposing group, prompting them to make a move as well. In no time, the whole room was turned into a chaotic blitz with fire, bullets, and arrows being jettisoned which way.
Vaggie ducked below to evade an arrow aimed at her forehead as she lunged for the archer and swung her spear downwards. The moment her attack registered, the archer was rendered an arm as he let out a pained squawk. With her opponent now amputated, Vaggie delivered a kick right into his armor's chest plate, leaving a dent in the metal while the knight was launched across the room and knocked over the nearest aperture. He didn't touch the ground though, instead, he was skewered onto a spear that jutted out from the corpse field that was littered onto the courtyard.
Charlie and Dennis both met each other in close range as the falcon demon drew forth his broadsword and jabbed towards the princess's midsection. Charlie blocked off the attack by positioning her pitchfork in a diagonal alignment, the blade's edge dinking off the shaft. Upon deflecting his attack, Charlie proceeded to swing her pitchfork in a sweeping motion, a stream of flames following along the tines. Dennis dropped to the floor, letting the blazing fork swoop over his head with only a few sparks catching onto the bloom of his helmet. Taking advantage of her missed swing, The Knight Captian threw himself forward and mounted an assault of dedicated strikes.
His adversary was swift on her feet for Charlie parried the bulk of his unrelenting onslaught, weaving and bobbing around his sword swings in a fluent motion. The Hotel Owner couldn't dodge forever though, as Dennis managed to outflank her as he nicked Charlie across her arm as a gash opened up on both her sleeve and arm. This prompted a pained cry out of the princess while Dennis wound up for a second swing, this one aimed for Charlie's side. The knight captain's adversary wasn't giving up just yet as she gracefully rotated her pitchfork into the direction of where Dennis planned to strike her.
The Captain's broadsword was caught in between the tines of the princess's pitchfork and with a twist of her weapon, forcing the blade out of Dennis's grip. Charlie saw her chance to attack as she twirled her pitchfork and whacked Dennis in the side of the hide, knocking the falcon demon to the ground. With a push of her heels, the hotel owner sprang several feet into the air and plunged her pitchfork with the fiery prongs aimed for Dennis's neck. Fortunately for him, he managed to roll to the side barely avoiding the descending princess.
Charlie's fork pierced into the stony grounds, the cobblestone exterior blackened from the fire generated from the strike while cracks formed along the surface. Dennis, acting fast, lunged forward and attempted to end Charlie's life with a close-up arrow to the forehead.
With a surprise show of reflexes, Charlie spun around and grabbed the knight by his forearm as the two were caught in a deadlock with the crossbow inching dangerously closer to Charlie's believed he had the upper hand but was taken by surprise when Charlie jerked his arm sideways, forcing Dennis to fire off into the surrounding scuffle. The arrow raced through the air, where it was going to strike could be anyone's guess.
Sidestepping a sword swing, Husk elbowed an attacking knight right in the head causing the armored guard to hobble back. The feline proceeded to withdraw his revolver and prepare to cut the knight's life short before an arrow suddenly shoot right through the crown of his hat. The bolt whisked over his head and lodged itself right between the eyes of his medieval adversary, his body crumpling to the ground instantly. Husk stared at the corpse with both confusion and amazement before quickly offing a guard that attempted to sneak on him. The winged demon's eyes still fixated on the body.
Resuming their skirmish, Charlie kneed Dennis right in the stomach. Despite being clad in armor, the falcon demon wheezed from the shocking amount of force that Charlie drove into his gut. This was followed by a fiery-charged punch that flew right into the knight captain's chops, his helmet's visor flew off right off the second her knuckle connected with his cheek. His body was also propelled by the blow, zipping across the room before crashing into the surrounding stone walls.
Niffty slid through the conflict on her buckler sled, weaving around sword slashes and axes that were all brought down the cyclopean. One guard approached Niffty, who swung down a mace aimed for her cranium. Jerking herself to the side, Niffty leaped from the ground and slammed the curved exterior of her buckler sled into the knight's forearm with enough force to dislocate his arm. The guard dropped his mace as he screamed out with pain while Niffty grabbed ahold of the discarded bludgeon, looking down upon her new weapon with a blood-thirsty grin.
"I am gonna have A LOT of fun with you!~"" Niffty remarked, stroking the mace's shaft in an eager manner. Wanting to try out her new weapon, the cyclopean sprung herself over the guard that she stole the mace from and brought down the bludgeon with a ferocious swing. The guard's helmet was caved in less than a second while his head was reduced to gory mush as blood and specs of brain matter spewed from the breathing holes. The splattering of his head fueled the cyclopean's adrenaline, increasing her bloodlust as she pushed herself off the shoulders of the recently slain guard and jolted herself to the nearest knight.
The poor fool didn't have a chance to swing his weapon as Niffty slammed the mace straight into the guard's chest, dividing his torso from the lower half of his body. Blood and entrails flew cascaded across the room, the legs that were once belonged to the guard dropped to the ground in a scarlet heap while whatever organs spilled out from the cavity.
Left and right, Niffty smashed each guard that was unlucky enough to stand in her vicinity into meaty giblets, before accidentally bumping into her feline accomplice.
"Oof! Sorry, 'bout that Husk!" Niffty giggled with embarrassment. The winged demon rolled his eyes and looked over to the side to see a horde of guards coming his way, forcing the alcoholic doorman to think and fast.
"Niffty, Ya got that push broom and ball of twine? I got an idea." Husk said, prompting a gasp from his one-eyes acquaintance.
"A-Are we gonna do what I think we're gonna do?…" The one-eyed maid said, her singular eye glistening with excitement.
"Broom and String technique? You better believe it." Husk said with a slight chuckle before it turned into a heavy wheeze for he felt a ball of string being chucked right into his abdomen, almost keeling over as he lowered his arm to keep the ball off the ground. Niffty, on the other hand, drew forth a push broom form out of nowhere as she came rushing into the crowd with her broom extended outwards.
"I gotta be ready for that kinda shit…" Husk breathed out with a weak huff. Upon ramming her broom into the first guard she came to you, knocking him to the ground with a baffling strength. The Cyclopean didn't stop at just one guard as she began to pile up an entire mound worth of knights that were all swept against the unrelenting force of the broom. Once she was finished brushing a large number of Malphas's men into a big pile, Husk flew to the heap with a long twine strand clutched in his paws. Husk began to circle the knight pile, simultaneously binding the guards in a twine thread. Restraining and bundling them all up into a singular conglomerate of dazed knights.
With their adversaries tied up, Husk and Niffty grabbed hold onto the remaining thread of twine that held the knights together. While the act of moving this tangled-up guard clew was a monumental task, with the combined strength of the two demons, they were able to spin the mound of soldiers around in circles. Each spin picked up momentum before the feline and cyclops both released the mound from their grasp. The bundled-up guard mass flew right into the wall, smashing straight the stony interior and came rolling down into the battlefield.
The clew of men all screamed their heads off as the rolling ball squashed any survivors on the bloodstained battlefield. As the demon ball ravaged its way through the courtyard, it came to a grinding halt with it rolling right into Oogar's direction, the mammoth stopping it with an outstretched trunk. Annoyed that this had gotten in his way, Oogar shifted his forelegs into the ground and with it, an earth column erupted from the dirt and launched said ball out of the courtyard as it sailed through the wind and crashed into the city. Car alarms and pedestrians screaming audible off in the distance.
"Looks like you can pitch AND catch!" Angel laughed aloud while Alastor gave him a questioning look.
"You must be on a roll with your formication humor today, aren't you?" Alastor said, rolling his eyes.
"Hey, there's always gonna be material for me to work with. Besides, don't start dissin' me Al, if ya can't handle it then leave the kitchen!" The spider said before licking his index finger and pressing against his hips resulting in a wisp of smoke resonating from his thighs.
"Well, I won't be leaving the kitchen and neither will you..." Alastor said ominously before turning his attention to a charging crowd of guards that were disposed of with just a single eldritch tendril.
Returning to the four invaders, Vaggie sliced apart the last remaining guards with lightning-fast swings from her spear that were too fast for them to register. This flurry of slashes led to all bodies of the knights discombobulating into a messy pile of body parts and entrails, leaving the spearwoman's blade coated in a crimson sheen. Taking a deep breath, Vaggie flicked her spear to clean the blade of any excess blood that remained, looking over the carnage that had unraveled in this very room. Charlie wrenched her pitchfork from the torso of a recently slain foe, stumbling back from the sudden force of pulling her weapon.
"Alright, that should all of 'em. Fuck me, that was intense..." Husk said with a raspy breath, almost dropping to the ground from pure exhaustion. Niffty, on the other hand, was hyperventilating with her body bouncing in one place while holding her newly found mace above her head.
"I hope there's more, I NEED MORE BLOOD TO SPILL FOR MY DRESS'S SNAG!" She screeched aloud, raising the mace over her head with a manic expression.
"You know, it just occurred to me. Aren't you supposed to be the neat freak who gets disgusted when getting covered in blood, especially when it's from someone else?" Husk questioned.
"Sheesh, Husk! Can't a lady enjoy reveling in the bloodshed of her foes without being judged by her coworker!? It's SO rude!" Niffty said with a pout, folding her arms and shunning the feline, who merely groaned with aggravation. Charlie looked over the sea of dead knights with an indifferent expression, a sickly feeling surging through her stomach as the demonic princess emitted a saddened sigh. Vaggie approached her lover and reached out with a hand, resting it onto her shoulder.
"It's okay, babe. We had no other choice..." Vaggie consoled, softly grazing her hand along Charlie's back.
"I know…" Charlie replied before letting her pitchfork disperse out of thin air with a fiery blink.
"Alright, should we keep moving." Vaggie plainly stated.
"Y-yeah. Let's just continue our search before anything else escalates." The Hotel Owner said, preparing to head up the next staircase with the team following along.
Right as she said that, however, the sound of something heavy grinding against the stone walls was emitted throughout the room prompting everyone to turn their attention to the noise's source. It was a bookshelf that had stood throughout the duration of this battle. It had moved from its original position to reveal a stairwell that led downward. The demon responsible for unveiling this secret was Dennis, who had his hand over a leaver disguised as a sconce.
By instinct, all weapons were aimed at the knight captain. Believing that he was planning to make a run for it. But much to everyone's surprise, the falcon demon began to back away from the secret passage with both hands in the air. While the guard captain didn't speak a word, he started to bob his head over to the opening. The group was unsure whether or not to trust this gesture but knowing the kind of man they were up against, perhaps this could be just what they needed.
The first person to accept this was Charlie, who carefully stepped to the stairwell's entrance without breaking eye contact with the knight captain. A tense silence was present in the area, one by one each hotel resident disappeared down the staircase. The final person to go down the stairwell was Vaggie, who gave Dennis a frightening glare that sent a shiver up the falcon demon's spine. The Hispanic Demoness proceeded to bolt down the stairs, leaving the guard captain alone in the room. Not long after the group had vanished down the staircase, Dennis heard footsteps from above his head cueing him to sag onto the ground like a lifeless ragdoll.
Malphas angrily rushed down the stairs that lead into the gruesome aftermath with two guards accompanying him. He had been informed that hotel residents had managed to get into the donjon
"You better have Princess Charlie captured and those ingrates dead, so help me-SWEET LUCIFER MAGNE!" Malphas's threat turned into an aghast scream the second he set foot into the gruesome aftermath of the ground. Among the crowd, a guard who had been cut clean in half somehow was still alive as he slowly crawled to his leader with an outstretched hand.
"Please... help..." He gagged out, his leader letting out a gasp from the horrid sight.
"OH NO!" Malphas shrieked with terror before rushing to the crawling torso, only to slap him out of the way. What really caught the corvid's attention were the blood-soaked drapes that hung over the apertures. Malphas gave the curtains a brief examination before growling with contempt.
"Dammit all, this was all eighteenth-century European silk! Those savages!" He cursed aloud before spotting the secret passageway from the corner of his eye.
"...SHIT!" The Goetia screamed with terror, rushing to the passageway. Looking down the darkened stairwell, gripping at the doorframe before cocking his head over to the guards.
"WHAT ARE YOU TWO CLODS STANDING AROUND HERE FOR!? FOLLOW ME THIS INSTANT!" Malphas squawked before sprinting down the stairs, the two guards sighing in unison knowing that something bad was bound to come from this. Nonetheless, they followed their leader down the stairwell, the footsteps straying farther away from an earshot of the falcon. Once the coast was clear, Dennis carefully picked himself back up and popped his neck in place.
"On second thought, I should've applied to that strip club when I had the chance..." He exhaled before limping out of the room and to the nearest possible exit.
The Fortress Dungeon...
Darting down the stairwell, Charlie lit their way with a small, fiery plume emitted from her palm for her teammates to better see through the blackness. They descended farther along the seemingly endless steps until Charlie's shoes finally struck the solid ground, having reached the stairway's end. The rest of her teammates were still following behind, leaving the stairwell behind and venturing off into a dimly-lit hallway. The trail was coated with dust while cobwebs clung to the ceiling, sending Niffty's cleaning instincts off the chart.
"Hey, can we make a quick stop. My OCD is-"
"No! We already let you spill a fuck ton of entrails today and that's all you're gettin'." Husk shouted, making the cyclopean huff with disappointment. As they continued, the whole group came to a sudden halt when they were met with a fork in their path with two available openings.
"Okay, what's the plan now?" Vaggie asked her lover, who took her options into consideration.
"You and I will go left, Niffty and Husk will go right." Charlie instructed, Vaggie responding with a nod as the two demonesses set off into the left-hand corridor while Niffty and Husk rushed off to the right.
Charlie and Vaggie booked it as fast their legs could allow down the dimly lit hall where their journey through the blackened passageway lead them to a door that was occupied by two guards, both of whom were alerted to the two demoness's presence as they readied their weapons for a potential battle.
"Halt! Only Lord Malphas or any high-ranking officials are allowed access to this room and..." One of the guards lowered his weapon, realizing the two weren't stopping. "You are charging at me and one of you is about to hit me with a huge fireball. Shit."
FWBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The door was blown into splinters from the two guards smashing right into it, both of their bodies were sent tumbling several yards back. Their unconscious bodies sprawled on the floor, smoke resonating off the armor while the metal platting developed an ashen exterior from a flaming projectile that struck both of them simultaneously.
Charlie was the first to step through the entrance she had made herself, with Vaggie entering soon after. The two were now standing in a small room that was shrouded in darkness, the sconces from the adjacent hallway providing a vague source of light. That wasn't the only luminescence present for in the room's center was a movie projector that emitted a vivid light through a window, shining its light into a screen from outside the room.
"…That's unexpected," Vaggie said, raising a brow before reaching for the nearest light switch. A dim lightbulb flickered to life, illuminating the room with a drab, orangey hue. Despite the subpar lighting, it was still enough for both Charlie and Vaggie to get a decent reading of their surroundings. Film reels were neatly aligned shelves, graphical depictions of certain organ anatomies, namely the eye and brain, were plastered on the walls.
"...A projector booth?" Vaggie questioned, walking over to one of the reel shelves and removing one from its spot. Analyzing the film spool, noticing a piece of masking tape placed on the exterior with the words 'SERVITUDE' written on it. While Vaggie was occupied with the reel, Charlie approached the window of where the projector was emitting its light. Looking into the window, the projector served as illumination as she carefully scanned what lay outside the booth's window. After a good minute of analyzing, Charlie's eyes widened and a quiet gasp was drawn from her jet-black lips.
"Oh my god..." She ushered out, covering her mouth while her heart skipped a beat at the horrid sight she had witnessed firsthand.
"What the fuck is this sicko up to...?" Vaggie murmured to herself.
"V...V...Vaggie..." Charlie's voice suddenly called out, sounding as though she was on the precipice of vomiting. "You need to see this..."
The Hispanic demoness looked over to where Charlie was standing, rushing over to the booth's aperture. Vaggie took a peek at what she was seeing, a mortified look present on the hotel owner's face. Layed out before her eyes was an entire theatre, rows of seats perfectly aligned in a symmetrical formation. Occupying the chairs were various demons, ranging from Hellhounds, Imps, and even a few Sinners scattered about in the auditorium. Upon closer inspection, Vaggie's blood turned ice cold.
Every single audience member was forcibly strapped to their seats with leather restraints enmeshed around their wrists and ankles. Opthlamatic speculums protruded from the back rail of their seat and held their eyelids wide-opened. The entire crowd was all stuck in a statue-like state, their eyes glassy and devoid of any form of life yet they still live. Even in such a condition, a few demons still managed the strength to speak.
"Be...good..."
"Help me..."
"Good wife..."
Stepping away from this grim scene, Charlie and Vaggie both slowly turned their heads to each other. What they had uncovered had rattled them to their very core and the fact that all of this was going on beneath their soles was enough to send shivers down the demoness's spine.
"Ah, Princess Charlie. What an unexpected yet splendid surprise…~" Malphas's horrid voice chimed through the blackened room, warranting the two demonesses to spin around to meet the Goetia standing before the two. The corvid wore a disturbing grin that brought only disgust to Charlie and Vaggie, stepping over the unconscious guards with both hands tucked behind his back.
"YOU!..." Vaggie growled with fury, whipping her spear with the blade pointed at the blackbird's throat.
"Bah! Leave our sight, you foul harpy! Your very presence brings little more than revulsion to me and I can't even imagine you standing beside this luscious blonde goddess…" Malphas hissed with aversion, only fueling the Hispanic demoness's murderous urges. However, right as she could attack, Charlie stopped Vaggie by placing her forearm against her chest before stepping up to confront the corvid.
"Malphas…" She said, furrowing her brow slightly. "What is all this…?"
"Oh, this? Why this, fair maiden, is our future!" The corvid exclaimed with an unsettling jubilance.
"...What could you possibly mean by that?" The Hotel Owner interrogated, her stone-cold inquiry getting a chuckle from Malphas.
"Right, right. Bearing your sex in mind, your feminine brain may have a hard time trying to understand all but that's okay. It's a given after all!" The Machine Master snickered, Vaggie's face almost turning red from the raven demon's condescending words.
"Cabrón hijo de perra…" She silently cursed, glaring daggers at Malphas.
"This is here is the Neuronic Scrambler and Rebuilder! This experiment is capable of deconstructing thought itself and replacing it with its own set of artificial consciousness through the usage of projections and subliminal messages." Malphas explained, overseeing the theatre of brainwashed sinners and imps with an unsympathetic sneer.
"Of course, I needed a few guinea pigs to assure its success. I suppose it could put the lower class to good use, after all this is what they're good for anyway." He continued, his voice oozing with manic pride and mockery.
"But... But why!? What is the purpose for all of this!?" Charlie continued her string of pressing questions. "You kidnapped random civilians to be part of your twisted experiment and for what!?"
"Oh, don't you see my lovely maiden? It is so that I can erase all of those pesky little thoughts of redemption or that rotten inn wedged within that little noggin of yours." Malphas said, approaching Charlie while pressing an index finger against her forehead. The Princess took a step back as though her personal space had been violated.
"I... I can't believe you, Malphas! You're insane!" Charlie cried out with detestation.
"I know it's extreme but if you were to understand, I'm doing this to benefit you! Think about it, Charlie. When you first proposed that puerile hotel, every singular denizen of hell, rich and poor alike, laughed at your face!" Malphas responded, taking one of the film reels off the shelf before making his way over to the movie projector.
"And the thought of redemption, pah! Such a preposterous concept. Everyone brought little more than hostility towards you, but not me. No, instead I saw but a clueless maiden burdened by sinner dogs who fill her mind with such repulsive and hideous lies. With this device, I mean to only cut this cancer from you." Malphas expressed, placing the spool onto the projector as it began to play a new scene that was displayed onto the projection screen. Depictions of housewives from the fifties doing manual labor around their well-kemp homes while text began to flicker on and off the screen.
'YOUR POSITION.'
'YOUR PLACE.'
'YOUR DUTY.'
The only slither of movement that the zombified crowd could manage was a single nod without any need for questioning. Malphas marveled at his work, letting out a sigh of content over the thought-sapped audience. Horrified was merely understating Charlie and Vaggie's feelings towards this gut-wrenching revelation. No longer were they staring at a man nor a demon for that matter. They were in the presence of a monster.
"You... I... This is... Horrible!" Charlie barely sputtered out.
"Now, now. There is reasoning to all of this. Free thought is little more than tribulation, someone as beautiful as yourself shouldn't allow themselves to be bothered by." Malphas calmly defended before exchanging a glare with Vaggie.
"After all, It's the reason you're locked in an unfulfilling relationship with that harpy over there." He remarked with repugnance before taking Charlie by the hand, the sensation sickening warmth of his clammy grip further disgusting the hotel owner.
"Now do you see it, Princess? This is what it was meant to be, that harpy has filled your brain with such foolish lies. Our love is but true while yours is made upon a falsehood, come to me and I'll whisk you to true paradise!" Malphas proclaimed with his voice throbbing with devotion for her. Charlie looked down with a solemn visage, glancing over to her lover and over to the experiments that the raven had conducted. Charlie didn't even need a second to ponder her options.
"No." The Hotel Owner bluntly replied, recoiling her hand away from the raven. Malphas's smile disappeared and replacing it was a look of concern and confusion.
"...C-Come again?" Malphas peeped, scrambling back to his feet.
"You heard me, Malphas. No." Charlie repeated her answer, adding emphasis to her negation. The raven felt an ache in his heart as it began to race with anxiety, surely this could just be a jest.
"Heh..heh... Oh, your sense of humor is clearly something to beho-"
"This is not a joke. The answer is and will always be no." Charlie continued, desperation beginning to take hold of the corvid.
"...B-But..."
"No."
"Look, you need to-"
"NO."
Perplexed by this rejection, Malphas's lungs felt like they were incapable of holding even a slight breath. His mind could not wrap around this, all the time he had invested, all the machines he built, all the money he had accumulated, all the work. Everything that he had slaved away to make his twisted fantasy a reality, all of which was spilled down the drain with just a singular word.
"Y-You mean to tell me that-"
"-That Charlie loves me and wants nothing to do with the likes of you?" Vaggie curtly interrupted.
"To answer that question, Yes." Charlie confirmed with a nod, twisting the blade in the fresh wound that had been lashed out against Malphas's humungous ego.
His legs were unable to support his weight as the raven buckled to the floor, unable to process this chain of events. A look of shellshock presented itself on the Goetia's face as it twisted and morphed into a pseudo smile, a wheezy laugh. The rest of his body dropped to the ground while Charlie and Vaggie looked on without an ounce of pity to spare for that would be a waste.
This mad cackle devolved into a hysterical sob, tears gushing from his eyes. What was once the proud and cunning Machine Master was now reduced into a wailing infant. Soon, the corvid's sobbing ceased, and in its place were animalistic growls of seething rage while his fists began to clench shut. The only word that Malphas's voice could produce was 'No', hidden beneath nonsensical muttering. But as his voice began to become clearer, his mind was wiped of all rationality and thought, all that persisted was unrelenting fury.
"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! THIS WAS NOT. SUPPOSED. TO. HAPPEN!" Malphas shouted at the top of his lungs, slamming the floor as though he was a toddler throwing a fit. Charlie backed away from the raging corvid while Vaggie had a hand hovering over her spear just in case. Malphas snapped his neck at the duo, glaring at them with hatred as he sprung up with an unforeseen vigor and began to rapidly stomp his frustrations out onto the floor.
"I WAS THE ONE MEANT FOR GREATNESS! I WAS THE ONE WHO DESERVES YOUR UNDIVIDED LOVE! I WAS THE ONE WHO DIDN'T WASTE ALL THAT TIME DOING GRUNT WORK FOR HIGHER-UPS JUST TO BE DENIED THE VERY DREAMS THAT I WORKED UP TO! YOU... YOU FUCKING SLUT! WHORE! SKANK! CONCUBINE! YOU'D RATHER LOVE THAT FOUL INSECT SLUT AS OPPOSED TO BEING LIFTED INTO THE ETHEREAL PARADISE THAT I HAD PAINSTAKINGLY CRAFTED AND OPENED THE GATES JUST FOR YOU!? I DESERVE YOU FOR ALL THE BACKBREAKING LABOR I PUSHED MYSELF THROUGH! YOU NEED ME!"
"By the looks of it, you need me more than I need you," Charlie replied with hostility. "And I certainly don't need you."
"Face it, you psychotic coño. You've had your head far up your ass for too long and now look where it's got you." Vaggie unapologetically spat, returning the glare with an evil eye that kept the corvid in place. After sucking in a few ragged breaths, Malphas began to return to his twisted giggle that left an uneasiness on both demonesses.
"Keheheh... I... I suppose there's only one logical step in this whole ordeal." Malphas chuckled, taking one step that was responded with the gray demoness drawing out her spear. The Goetia's eyes lit up with savage excitement before ripping his lavender cape off, displaying his iron claws that were ready to dig into their target's flesh.
"I'LL JUST HAVE TO TEAR ALL OF YOU INTO BLOODY PIECES! KEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEEEEEE!" He expressed with manic glee. Charlie's response was that of a quiet exhale as she outstretched an arm.
"In that case." With a burst of flames, she conjured up her pitchfork from the hellfire and held it tightly. "Give me everything you got, bitch."