And we are back with another chapter in Heaven's Shadow, I figure you guys deserve another chapter so you're not waiting forever. Plus it is only four thousand words I could get these out more if I tried but since this isn't a main story I don't worry as much.
With that said, Ladies and gents: Onto the story!
Heaven's Shadow Part Seven: Assault
(A Devil's Justice)
"Oh Lord, Give me strength, for I must commit an act that is considered sacrilege among the Order." Sofia prayed, kneeling in front of a large cross of gold, shining down upon the Nun. The room was dark save for the spotlight around the Nun and the large cross. This is where she came in preparation for missions, to clear her mind, all in the name of her Lord.
"If we fail, we fail our sacred duty as Paladins of the Holy Order, failure our Reverend Father." Sofia whispered, clutching her cross as tightly as possible. It was a sanctioned order after Magnus' failure in Redgrave, none will interact with the Son of Sparda, under the command of their leader the Reverend One.
"However…..if we win, we wipe the bloodline of Sparda off the face of his planet." Sofia snarled. Yes they might be punished, however, killing the bastard child will end Sparda's bloodline and secure their position over the world when the Crusade begins. She knew it was going against the Reverend's order, but she would succeed where Magnus failed. He was foolish and grew paranoid over the Son of Sparda's growing power. Sofia is not, but she sees the League as an obstacle if Batgirl and a few cops can take down their base. It is why she captured the League, to destroy the world's most powerful heroes. Yes, there was now a wedge in their plan, but thanks to the SOS everything was back on track.
"So please, Lord, give me strength to smite your foes. Smite the Son of Sparda off the face of the Earth forever!" Sofia exclaimed, standing up as she stared at the golden cross.
"Milady Sofia." Said nun turned to face Lero, the masked man bowing his head.
"Sensors detect a vehicle passing the mountain range…it's him." Sofia's wide smile formed under her mask, a hand gripping the cross and pulling it out of the ground.
"Good, let's finish this. Release Cherub Hounds!" Sofia ordered walking past Lero with her large cross, ready to end this once and for all.
"Be prepared, Son of Sparda, to be burned away by our Holy Light!"
(A Devil's Justice)
"Unbefuckinglievable! I wanted a simple night: I drive you, you do you fucking job, and I go back home to the kids. BUT NO~~~~! You gotta kick me into the fucking air across an entire city, and now I gotta drive you in the middle of BUMFUCK nowhere! With a weeb looking ass kid and some Bimbo!"
"...Nice to meet ya too." Ragna muttered, holding Diana back from beating the short italian man into a bloody pulp, sitting in the backseat while Bayonetta sat beside Enzo. The four had been driving for an hour or two to the point where he could no longer see Redgrave but the mountain ranges that separated it and Metropolis.
"This place seems….familiar." Ragna mused as they drove down the road.
"So, Little Devil." Bayonetta started, leaning her seat back to get a better view of the hybrid hero.
"Don't call me that."
"What do you have planned once we find this little Paladin base? Or do you even have a plan?" Bayonetta asked, sucking a red candy she pulled out of nowhere.
"...Honestly, I don't have a plan. We just go in guns blazing, swords ready, and face whatever they got." Ragna summarized, shrugging his shoulders. He honestly didn't have time to think about some elaborate plan when Ghia'ta and the others were in danger. Heck he didn't even know what they look like, let alone where their base was aside where the SOS pinpointed.
"Really? No plan, and you just wanna waltz in like it's not gonna be a fucking trap?!" Enzo exclaimed.
"Of course it's gonna be a trap, that's villain 101: Lead hero to a trap." Ragna said.
"And you're fucking following it?! Where did ya find this dipshit, Bayonetta?"
"I'm sorry, who are YOU again?" Ragna asked, wondering why some random short man was working with the witch that tried to kill him a few hours ago.
"Little Devil, this is Enzo, my info breaker and informant for my many jobs across the globe. He's the fun little fat man I keep around." Bayonetta explained, patting Enzo's hat, the Italian swatting her hand away.
"Ragna, you faced the Paladins, what are we to expect?" Diana asked, preparing for whatever horrors they will face with these fanatics.
"Honestly these guys seem way different than the ones in Redgrave, those guys were all creepy and undead zombies wrapped in cloaks. What you described must've been some kind of white cloaked figure? I also faced a couple of strange looking angelic…..well, they didn't smell alive so I don't know what they were. Regardless, we mainly need to worry about the one who took down Superman." Ragna warned. If someone can take down Superman, like Hades did, then they need to give these Paladins everything they got.
"The one who attacked me had golden arrows that explode upon contact." Diana warned, running her hand across her skin where she was struck by an arrow.
"Hmm, hopefully your shield or bracelets can block him." Ragna said tapping the rim of her shield.
"...Also, if we land in a maze, don't drink the water."
"What?"
"Fabulous idea, Little Devil." Bayonetta commented. Suddenly, the beeping on the SOS began to blare rapidly, the once red light turning green.
"Stop!" Ragna immediately hopped out of the car even before Enzo pushed on the brakes, the hybrid landing on the side of the road with the car stopping behind him. Ragna looked out at the edge of the forest, not smelling anything aside from nature, nothing out of the ordinary.
"We'll go this way! Come on!" Ragna stated charging into the forest followed by Diana, Bayonetta letting out a small sigh and simply hopped out of the vehicle.
"Wait here, Enzo, we'll be back…..eventually." Bayonetta ordered, ignoring the short man's protest before running after the two. She caught up to them as they ran through the forest, Bayonetta ran side by side with the hybrid hero. Said hero eyed her as well, not feeling completely at ease with her, considering she was hired to take him out. Of course that begged the question, why? She didn't do it for money, in fact he never asked her why she did it nor did she say why. Might as well ask her before they fight off with the Paladins, or whatever monstrosities they have.
"So, Witch Lady-!"
"Oh, now we have nicknames?" Bayonetta asked with a teasing smirk.
"Why did you accept my supposed bounty? What was in it for you?" Ragna asked. To his surprise, he saw that Bayonetta was actually stunned by the question, clearly not expecting it. Her usual cocky smile turned sour as she reached for the strange medallion on her chest, a small sigh escaping her throat.
"I…..It's not important, not like I was gonna get what I needed anyways, so it doesn't't matter." Bayonetta brushed it aside. She saw no point in answering the question since it was a need to know information, her amnesia was her own problem. Ragna stared at the witch before relenting, looking up ahead as the SOS kept beeping. Diana remained quiet as they talked, preparing herself for the foe she will have to face once more, knowing whoever that cloaked man was a threat, and there was another who took on the Man of Steel if not downright beaten him.
"We should be…..Wait a minute…..Holy Crapbaskets." Ragna muttered as he stopped in his tracks, confusing the two giant women, who stopped a few feet ahead of him.
"Did you find it, Ragna?" Diana asked, running back up to him. She noticed through his mask that his eyes were wide, shoulders slumping like he was shocked by something.
"This…..This is where it all began."
"Ragna?" Diana asked, confused, before the hybrid grabbed her chin and turned her right where he was looking. She saw a nice cliff side covered in snow, a chopped log nearby and…..wait a minute.
"Ragna…is this?"
"What is going on? What is this place supposed to be?" Bayonetta asked, genuinely confused on what the two were gawking at.
"Where we all met, where the Justice League was formed." Ragna muttered, remembering when he first met everyone here, Diana included. Said Amazon remembered how it all went down: Imperium invasion, meeting the others, and Ragna's ridiculous entry onto the scene.
"That…..That was the first time we met, and how I met my idols Superman and Flash." Ragna cooed, taking a deep sigh of relief.
"I remember, you messed up your original hero name." Diana commented, giggling as Ragna deflated in embarrassment.
"Yeah…..man it feels like it's been years." Ragna mused.
"Ragna….it's barely been a month and a half." Diana corrected, staring down at the hybrid in confusion. Does he not have a concept of time? No he must simply be being overdramatic.
"Yeah…..ya know, when I first laid eyes on ya, you were one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen." Ragna said, smiling under his mask at the Amazon. Diana's eyes widened, smiling down at the hybrid.
"And…..that really hasn't changed." Ragna added, surprising Diana even more, a warm feeling in her chest. She could imagine his cute, charming little smile, that warmed her heart…dammit what was this feeling?
"Ahem." Both turned around to see Bayonetta, the witch crossing her arm as she tapped her heel patiently.
"As charming as this is, I believe we are on a tight schedule, yes?"
"Right. Right, let's see where it's leading us." Ragna reached back into his pocket and pulled out the League Communicator, staring at the green beeping light, before it turned bright blue.
"Strange, what does that mean?" Bayonetta asked.
"It means we are within the vicinity of the SOS." Diana explained from what J'onn told her.
"But that doesn't make any sense since I don't see a ba….….Wait, hold on.". Ragna cocked an eyebrow in confusion, before he looked at the ground beneath his feet, looking around at the landscape around him.
"Ragna? What is it?" Diana asked. Ragna began looking around, as if searching for something now, of what she did not know. The hybrid knew something wasn't right, he didn't know what, but taking a moment to think he wondered what was amiss. If he knew one thing about Paladins, besides being fanatically religious, they tend to stay underground. Yet everything looked the same here just as when they left to stop the Imperium: The snow, the rocks, the log he threw, the dismembered he…..Wait a minute.
"Little Devil?"
"...Diana, do you remember the demon I fought when we first met?" Ragna asked. Diana took a moment to recollect it, before it all came back to her.
"Yes, you said its name was Ancala, a champion or something, and I remember correctly you cut its head off." Diana explained, unsure why Ragna was asking.
"...Diana, do you know what I've learned in the past two years from fighting certain demons?" Ragna asked, Diana tilting her head in confusion before Ragna continued.
"The weaker ones don't have a strong enough body, so when I killed them they simply dissolved into nothing. But the Demon Lords, or those closets such as Generals, elites, champions, and such remained. When I faced Botis his body was destroyed cause I of my power…but I simply cut off Ancala's head."
"Ragna, I'm not getting what you're saying." Diana said, shaking her head in confusion.
"...Its head was right here." Ragna stated, tapping his boot where the head last was.
"Perhaps the wildlife ate it?" Bayonetta suggested, unsure what a remaining demon body had anything to do with finding these Paladins.
"Animals don't eat demonic corpses, something about the smell, no no something isn't right." Ragna said, rubbing his chin.
"With all due respect, Little Devil, what does this have to do with finding the Paladins?" Bayonetta asked. Ragna didn't answer, instead he turned to face the girls and walked over to them, reaching for Hyde. Once he had his right pistol, he aimed it towards the ground, charging it with red rage. A single shot echoed across the landscape as the ground exploded at their feet. Once the dust cleared, both of them gaped in surprise when the ground broke apart to reveal silver metal within.
"Ragna…is this….."
"Just like the ones in Redgrave, we found their base." Ragna said, reaching for Morningstar, as Bayonetta clapped her hands and rubbed them together.
"Great, now where's the door?"
"GRRRAAAAHHHH!"
(A Devil's Justice)
"Wakey, wakey Sinners." Sofia's sing-song voice stirred Ghia'ta from her sleep, the alien princess groaning in agony as pain spread across her entire body. The last thing she remembered was being electrocuted within these Iron Maidens that trapped them. She dreamt of Ragna saving them, but sadly it was a dream….but she knew deep down it would be reality.
"Hmm, not waking up sooner, let's give them a kick."
CLICK
"GAH!" Several screams echoed within the Iron Maiden's as everyone was literally electrocuted awake.
"THATS IT! When I get outta here I'm gonna kick your ass bitch!" Hawkgirl cried out, glaring at Sofia.
"Such language, and in front of the Servants of the Lord no less."
"Fuck off! You Cum guzzling Nun bitch! When I get out I'm gonna shove my fist all the way up your ass and use you like a puppet!" Crush threatened from her much smaller Iron Maiden, shrinking just another inch much to the punk's dismay.
"Quite a mouth on that one." Lero muttered as Sofia chuckled in amusement.
"Yes….sewing her mouth shut will be quite a punishment for such a Prideful Sinner." Sofia mused as Aris grunted, his hood staring into the Man of Steel's cage. While his hood hid the behemoth's features, one could see him clutching his arms in rage.
"Oh, worry not dear, for you were still a great match for the Man of Steel." Sofia cooed, leaning up to her beloved Behemoth.
"And besides, you have yet to use your Lumen State, so if he does get out again…..you'll be ready." Sofia said, confident in Aris strength and durability.
"For…..you…..Love." Aris growled out taking her hand in his. Aris wanted nothing more than a rematch with the Man of Steel, but he feared his strength might not be on par as he had prayed. It was already humiliating enough not so easily defeating him, but he had to resort to using the kryptonite, in order to defeat Superman. But next time, next time he will best the alien superhero in the name of the Lord.
"Now then, are the Hounds ready?" Sofia asked, turning to Lero who was typing away on the console, the monitor displaying four large figures.
"Yes they are, Milady, and the Son of Sparda and his allies are within range." Lero explained, showing the three running into the forest through the security cameras they had installed all across the forest, where they would watch rampaging lower level demons before exterminating them. Demons were drawn to Holy and Pure mortals, or in rare cases like the Son of Sparda. They had many securities…..the Cherub Hounds being one of many.
"Good, release the Hounds." Sofia ordered.
"What…What's going on?" Jennifer groaned from within her cage.
"Fret not little gypsy, the Son of Sparda is here along with the Pagan Idolizer and….her." Sofia, who was originally mocking the Son of Sparda, gaped in shock at the sight before her. She had heard rumors within the underbelly of the Order, that the once thought extinct witches that serve Darkness, that one had survived and is now hunting and killing angels as her race has so often done. When Lero told her about it, she simply believed him to be saving his own skin….but now, seeing her face to face was a sight.
"The Umbran Witch." Sofia muttered, clawing at the screen.
"Ragna….." Ghia'ta muttered.
"Hope the Kid knows what he's in for." John grunted, pushing against his iron cage.
"I will not be caged! I am Tamaran Royalty!" Blackfire roared slamming her fists against the Iron Maiden.
"Be. Silent." Sofia ordered, tapping her wrist again, the Maiden's sending volts of electricity in each and everyone of them.
"O-OKAY! WE GOT IT! GAAAHH!" Flash cried out. Feeling satisfied, Sofia deactivated all of the torture devices.
"Is everyone alright?" Aya asked in her stoic tone.
"Robot, we just got shocked with like a thousand volts of electricity, what do you think?!" Tala exclaimed.
"Ah, I see. I apologize since I was unaffected by the energy."
"...WHAT?!"
"That is troublesome." Lero muttered seeing that the green robot was indeed fine, they might have to change her Maiden Cage.
"Superman and Martian Manhunter are in critical condition." Aya stated, looking from her side of the Iron Maiden towards the Man of Steel and Martian hero. Manhunter's body was drenched in sweat with some of his skin sizzling, while the Boy Scout in blue was greenly pale groaning in pain.
"They will live…for now. However, now we shall set the next step in our plan." Sofia said as she tapped a button on the console, displaying a large monitor showing the Ragna, Diana, and Bayonetta standing at the cliffside where they all first met.
"What are you doing?" Batman asked, glaring at the three Paladins.
"Why, pushing them in the right direction, of course." Sofia stated.
"GGGGRRRRAAAAAHHHHH!"
(A Devil's Justice)
"Unbefuckinglievable!" Enzo cursed as he turned on the heater of the car, trying his best to stay warm in this cool weather, rubbing his hands together.
"Great, just fanfuckingtastic! I wanted a simple drive, go home and see ma kids, but NOOOO~~~! Gotta drive in the middle of fucking nowhere with a bunch of random heroes and be left alone in the dark! This can't get any fucken worse!" Enzo cursed out, hitting the wheel of his car. He hated this, why did he have to listen to Bayonetta, hell he should just drive away. Wait no, no, he would get in trouble from both her and fricken Rodin. Dammit this sucked, it couldn't get any more worse!
"GRRRRAAAAHHHH!"
"What the hell?!" Enzo cried out hearing the inhumane voice echo throughout the treeline, birds flying from the branches. Suddenly he heard branches snapping, the short man turning to see several trees breaking apart or being flung aside as something charged towards the road in his direction.
"Un….Un…..UNBEF-!"
BANG
(A Devil's Justice)
"What was that?" Diana asked, pulling out her blade as the three stood at attention, searching the forests for anything out of the ordinary.
"UNBEUCKINGLIEVABLE!" All three looked into the air, seeing something spin throughout the air.
"Uh…..What was that?" Diana asked.
"Oh it was Enzo." Bayonetta answered, shaking her head.
"Oh crap we should probably go save him!"
"No, no. He'll be alright, he gets into trouble all the time." Bayonetta said grabbing the hybrid hero's shoulder. Suddenly the roaring got closer as something hurled itself at them, Ragna swinging Morningstar and slicing through the object. The log flew over the cliff and down into the world below as Ragna twirled his blade as four large shapes landed in front of them, roaring to the heavens.
"By the Gods." Diana gasped, utterly appalled by the sight before her. Ragna remembered seeing something like this back in Magnus' base but he had not fought those, yet these were…..drastically different. The four behemoths stood several heads taller than Bayonetta or Diana, covered from head to toe in white robes with only their arms and backs exposed. Their arms were covered in black fur, small mangled wings on their backs, and a snout sticking out of their hoods.
(Cherub Hounds: Malformed Mutants)
"Quite an ugly sort, are they not?" Bayonetta asked, kicking her feet into the air to block as one lunged at her, two jumping at Ragna and dogpiling him, while the last charged at Diana. Ragna grunted as the two slid across the ground before they were once again in the air, right before they started falling. Luckily enough he was able to easily get out of their grip and jump away, twisting his blade and firing a wave of hellfire. Once he landed back onto the ground the two beasts landed in the river beside him, snarling as they tried to slap the hell flames off of their body. Ragna lifted his blade and sucked the flames off of their bodies, and he got a better look at them, and they were monstrous to describe them. It was like looking at a werewolf halfway through its transformation before stopping, a real monster in the flesh.
The beasts charged at Ragna, but the hybrid easily jumped over them and pulled out Hyde, firing a charged rage shot, blasting an arm off of one of the beasts. He had smelled the creatures, rotten from the core, and he heard no heartbeat so as far as he was concerned they weren't even alive. Regardless it was really a mercy to put these beasts down….okay when he thought of it like that it sounded worse then it should. Ragna shook his head as the two charged at him once more, one still bleeding milky like liquid onto the snow. Ragna merely pulled his fist back and with a lung he hit the air, releasing a force strong enough to blast the two beasts into the mountain side. It was clearly obvious these things were not as strong as those angelic creatures he faced back in Redgrave, no doubt used as a distraction.
"Take care of yours so easily, huh?" Ragna turned to face Bayonetta, seeing one of the hounds in the jaws of her large demon dragon before it disappeared. Hearing a battle cry above, Ragna looked up to see Diana swinging the hound around in her lasso, slamming it into the ground below effectively taking it out of the picture. The Amazon landed on the snow floor beside Ragna, unwrapping her lasso and joining the two.
"Great, now that we took care of the guard dogs, now what?" Bayonetta asked, looking towards Ragna for any sort of answer.
"Well, we know the base is somewhere underground, maybe head back up and see where the metal I hit leads to." Ragna suggested.
"There will be no need for that, Son of Sparda." The three stood at attention at the sudden feminine voice calling out from all around them.
"I'm guessing she's one of the Paladins." Bayonetta guessed, the three standing nearly back to back.
"Indeed, Umbran Witch, and while you are a piece we did not anticipate in the plan, it is not unwelcomed." The woman echoed over the area, a soft chuckle escaping her throat.
"Guess that just confirms it." Ragna muttered.
"What, you still didn't believe me even after the lasso?" Bayonetta asked in a mock tone, hand on her chest.
"Still doesn't answer who sent you." Ragna said, wondering who had hired the Umbran Witch to hunt down and kill him.
"Hear me, Fanatic! You will release our friends or face an Amazonian Wrath!" Diana declared, aiming her blade into a nearby rock just in case that's where a camera was…..which wasn't completely off.
"Save your bravado, Pagan Idolizer, your time will come. As for you, Son of Sparda…..welcome, we've been waiting for you." The woman said as a loud blare horn echoed across the field, when the ground beneath them began to shake. Ragna and the girls stepped back as the ground opened up beneath them, breaking apart and revealing descending stairs down into darkness.
"...Huh, awfully convenient that they had stairs that lead right where we're standing." Ragna muttered with a chuckle, scratching the back of his head.
"Oh please, we have stairs everywhere." The woman added.
"...You know there could be traps down there." Diana warned, looking down at the hybrid.
"It's a secret evil base, I'd be shocked if there WASN'T any traps down there." Ragna said with a chuckle, elbowing the Amazon Princess.
"Well then, Little Devil's first." Bayonetta said, holding her arms out for Ragna. The Son of Sparda took a deep breath before exhaling, taking a step down the steps with Diana and Bayonetta right behind him. None of them knew what to expect down here, but they knew they had to be ready and expect the worst. As the world got darker and darker, Ragna just hoped he could make it in time and save Ghia'ta and the others.
Then his world became Light.
(A Devil's Justice)
I like to think I am basing the Paladins/Order of the Sword as a very light Imperium of Man with their mutated soldiers. The Cherub Hounds aren't really based off much from Warhammer 40K, I mean you can say Wulfen comes to mind, but I didn't really think that deep for these things and they won't appear for a while. This chapter was another simpler chapter before we get into the main part of act two (Possibly two or three more chapters like the first act not sure), and we are getting closer and closer to the final battle with Ragna and Sofia...and who knows, maybe another possible rematch with Bayonetta XD. Enzo is always a fun side character, so he's pretty much as he's always been on the basic level as a comic relief.
Next chapter is the fight against Lero and I got even more fun with his Lumen Form, and hopefully the League can find a way out of the trap their in. I think I'm gonna work on both Marvelous Devil and Devil's Justice...or maybe I'll work on another short story for the Cainverse who knows. Anyways, have a good night/day/morning/etc.
Zer0the0mega108 out!