Phase 26- An Iconic Fight
[The song "Blood Swamps" by Andrew Hulshult, began to play as the following battle transpired.]
As the Slayer stood there, glaring up at the towering Behemoth that Pierce had turned into, he showed no emotion aside from the usual fiery rage that he stares his opponents down with. The Rising Abomination that was once Dr Pierce was clear and visible to those in the area, as few could miss such a sky scraping behemoth. The entire being was made of eviscerated corpses, each dead body that allowed this unholy Titan to exist was from those that were slain by the Demons that invaded the Pride Ring, every contorted face and mangled limb made the Slayer's vision blur with rage and hatred.
She made the first strike by lifting the cluster of corpses that amalgamated to form the right arm of her Titanic form and then slammed the tonnage of bloodied flesh and warped bones down at the Slayer's position, but as expected, he dodged out of the chaotic path of destruction as Pierce missed and tore off a chunk of the building the Marine stood on. He countered near immediately as he pulled out the Chaingun and triggered its Mobile Turret mode as he launched a Hail of bullets at the Towering Behemoth before him. Of course, Pierce did not make the foolish mistake of assuming her strike to guarantee success as she quickly noticed the Slayer's new position and the weapon he had aimed at her, she raised the left "arm" of her Titan form and used its massive collection of flesh and muscle to try and absorb whatever quantity of munitions the Slayer was firing at her. But the Chaingun was far more efficient than she anticipated and it already was beginning to chew through the thick pillars of flesh that was her "Left arm", she then quickly retaliated by sweeping her right arm at the Slayer, keeping it at level with him as she planned to fling him off the building like an Insect off a table. She succeeded as the wave of bloody viscera swept the Marine off the top of the building and had already sent him flying a few miles across Pentagram city, it wasn't until he reached the top of Hell-City Hall that he finally stopped flying and landed on the stone roofing of the building. He rammed his fist into the floor to slow his momentum, so he would not fall off the Building and could maintain the advantage of height. Already, Pierce began to charge the Slayer as she wanted to smash the Hero to bloody bits, and of course the Marine welcomed her to try.
The Song began to fade as we then focused on Vaggie and Angel, still tied up and left to their own thoughts. The two allies of the Slayer struggled against the unholy Tentacles that kept them restrained, but Angel was quick to give up as he asked "This is fucking stupid, why can't we just let Big Green handle it? It's not like he needs our Help with this!" but Vaggie refused to surrender so easily, she continued to strain against the unholy mass of flesh that kept her immobile and still, all while trying to explain through grunted breaths "Because- Friends help each other- Even if they don't need it! (Pant) because when he DOES need it, we'll be there to help him!" as she then took a quick break to say in a clear manner, before quickly resuming her struggles against the Tentacle that had already proved too strong for her.
But then, with sudden swiftness, the Tentacles were slashed into bloody ribbons as they immediately fell to the floor, their grip on the two already gone as both Angel and Vaggie were freed.
"Well isn't that convenient, I'm looking for a friend of mine right now!" The Radio Demon, Alastor, said as he was hunting down Anella. He specified who he was seeking as he asked "So, where IS Anella, I wish to see the look on her face when she learns of my decision to betray her." but Vaggie explained the obstacle of that goal as she stated "She took Charlie and ran off somewhere, we don't know where either of them are and I don't even know if we can track them with all this chaos." as she explained while showing concern for her girlfriend. Though, Angel had the wiser idea of questioning "Why can't we ask, Hal? Isn't he a literal Demon tracking Machine?" but was informed by the very individual of his own limitations as Vega bleeped through Alastor's staff, stating "My systems track Demons through the resonance frequency of Argent Energy, but with countless Demons of various kinds running throughout the city, each of whom possess various different levels of Demonic threats, I am just as restricted as everyone else in this city." as Angel Dust complained further and asked "So you're basically an overpriced toaster oven?" in a sarcastic manner, while not upsetting the AI, he definitely angered Vaggie as she had already proved fond of Vega and his efforts. But before any arguing could commence, Alastor's creepy grin grew wider as he soon realized something and shared it with the others, explaining "Now-now, there may be ONE way to learn where Anella might've ran off to…" as he stared at the nearby prison, soon being joined by the others as they slowly caught on to Alastor's implications…of course Angel took quite a bit longer than Vaggie, but once all three of them were on the same train of thought, they immediately went to the nearby prison and decided to interrogate Anella's underling, Scrub.
Inside the cell of a Maximum Security facility, Scrub was resting in a bed that occupied the bottom bunk. He had already gotten plenty accustomed to his life in prison and was in the midst of a conversation with his Cellmate. The Cockroach Demon was reminiscing about some of his previous missions while working for Anella, telling his Cellmate about his history as the three entered the Prison in search of Scrub. "So there I am, about to get the job done, when the next thing I know, the guy starts crying! Like a Bitch!" Though it was clear that Scrub's cellmate was not entertained by this retelling, claiming it a faux tale as he tried to bury his head in his pillow. Scrub either didn't notice or didn't care and simply continued his sharing until he noticed the unnerving presence of the Radio Demon as well as his accompaniment by Vaggie and Angel Dust, to which he greeted the three with great displeasure.)
Scrub:"Anyways, I'm standing there, aiming a shotgun against his skull while he's begging me to not pull the trigger, then I said…Oh…it's you weirdos."
Angel:"Nice to see you too, Fuck face."
Vaggie:"WHERE'S CHARLIE!"
Scrub:"Who?"
Angel:"Chick in the red suit that always sings and dances, probably the whitest chick you'll ever see."
Scrub:"Ooooooohwhy would I know where she is?"
Alastor:"It seems Anella took our little Princess for some collateral, you may not know the exact location but given your history with my snake-in-the-grass friend, I figured you could help us guess where she might have gone."
Scrub:"Can't, would love to, but… I hate you guys so…go fuck yourselves."
(Vaggie grips the bars that separate her from the Cockroach Demon, giving a rageful look as she then threatens him by growling "If you don't tell me where my girlfriend is, I WILL fucking murder you!" but to no avail as Scrub remained unmoved, unbothered and even somewhat unfazed by the Moth Demon's words. But then, to the surprise of everyone, Alastor placed his hand on Vagatha, trying to calm her down as he suggested "Why don't you leave me and the little bug here alone for a while, I'm sure we can… c̴̹̠̄̇͜ȯ̴̩͚m̴̮̥͔͂̋̕ë̶̹̻̠́̓ ̵̠̈́̉̌t̵̜̻͐́o̶̟̒͌ ̵̰̹́͑͝ͅȁ̷̭͓̑n̸̖̈́ ̷̧́̒ũ̴̧͎n̵̫̒̿ḓ̶̥̾̄ė̶̻̥́̽r̴̪̱͇͛̎s̴̳̓t̷͉̮͗a̴͖͈͊n̸̰̆d̵̯̊͒͝ǐ̴̟̘̗͊n̸̡̬̱̋͑g̸̨͉͘…̴͎̝͗́̄" while his voice grew distorted in the last part of his sentence. Sure enough, both Angel Dust and Vaggie agreed and left Alastor to "Discuss" things with Scrub, certain that if anyone aside from the Slayer could intimidate their foes into confession…it would be the Radio Demon himself.
Meanwhile…
Throughout Pentagram city, the entirety of Hell was fighting for its very survival against their neighboring abominations as each of them battled against various foes. Still, despite the great power of Hell's overlords and the aided weaponry of UAC property, they were just barely surviving as the Demons of Doom continued to prove too powerful for them. As Stross and her men continued to use heavy assault rifles to fend off the hordes of the Unholy, she began to use some of her blessed weapons to help push back the forces, proving that they were powerful but still not enough to kill the nightmares that invade her city. Luckily for them, an occasional collateral shot from the battle between the Slayer and The Titan would fly by and execute the Minions of Doom by sheer accident or luck, from thrown masses of stone to shrapnel spears made of bone, the Horde of Monsters would thing more and more as the battle waged between Humanity and its own evil. Even Pierce had apathetically aided those citizens and soldiers of Pentagram city as she would summon tendrils of red flesh to find Demonic blood, and siphon it from those who rallied with her and Anella. Despite her bleeding her underlings for their power, it was still not enough to aid her as the Slayer continued to do battle with her Titanic form…and was winning through sheer, relentless rage and spite. Of course, Stross was given the luxury of watching the iconic battle after witnessing some of the attacking abominations either being drained of their blood, mulched into red flesh to add mass to Pierce's horrifying form, or even being picked up and thrown directly at the Marine, who would punch them away like they were just toy foam darts to a martial artist. Her and her squadron were just in awe, speechless as they watched this one Human, a man with no superpowers who was once mortal like everyone else, using whatever was at his disposal to counter and attack the Titan with clear success.)
Stross:"What the FUCK IS HE?!"
Soldier:"You think he's like…a 2nd Jesus, or something?"
(As one of the soldiers theorized this out of sheer curiosity, many of his squadmates, including his commanding Officer, all turned in confusion as they questioned the logic behind his arbitrary claim. His only retort was "Oh What, THAT's the most unbelievable thing today?!" as they all resumed their attention to the battle that happened just a mile away, but was big enough to see with full clarity. It was the most epic battle the ring of pride had ever seen, at least for who could see what of it, most were either dead, cowering in whatever shelter they could find, or too preoccupied with their own need for survival against the invading forces to truly witness the pique of this war. From throwing buses at the Slayer (who punched them out of his way with great ease) to the Marine throwing several kinds of shrapnel (like Stop signs and street lamps) at his towering opponent, trying to make her bleed however he could, knowing little by little, he would chip away at her massive size and power until she was finally dead.
Meanwhile…
Not even 5 minutes after, Alastor emerged from the cells and regrouped with Vaggie and Angel, the doors swung open as he began informing them "Anella is hiding out somewhere in an abandoned mansion on the edge of town and Scrub confirms that Charlie will most likely be used as a hostage." as Vaggie then loudly responded "Then we have to go now!" but Angel Dust grew curious and peered into the cells to see Scrub, alone and shaking in absolute fear, like he just witnessed something truly traumatic and haunting. The pornstar couldn't help but ask "What did you say to him?…And what happened to his roommate?" as he then turned back to Alastor, who was picking his teeth with a small fragment of bone he "Found" and using a nearby window as a improv mirror as he then flicked the small bone away and asked "What roommate?" as then grinned widely…and with an obvious, sinister aura. Of course Vaggie and Angel refused to ask any further questions, whether because they valued their own sanity, or because they already knew what the answers were, they instead began to follow the Radio Demon as he took the lead and was leaving the prison. But just as they were about to open the doors, Vaggie's phone began to ring to life, pulling the device from her pocket as she saw the name "Vega" and answered it without hesitation. Vega informed them through the speaker that "The Slayer is almost done with his battle against Pierce, I recommend we gain his assistance on this potential hostage situation." as Alastor chuckled and stated "What a Marvelous idea…let's go see how things are ending for your brittle, broken friend!" as they then made their way to witness the battle between the Slayer and the Titan.
And so, the three, along with plenty of Hell's denizens that rallied to fight back against the invasion, watched and witnessed the finale of the battle between the two great forces that fought for the fate of their world. A Grand battle that eventually led out of Pentagram city and all the way to a field of sand and stone accompanied by a great, rocky cliff that was surrounded by an ocean of lava. As the molten magma was boiling and splashing below the stalagmites and great rough stone wall that the two battled on the top of, many of the Slayer's allies watched from a distance as they silently cheered on the Hero.
The Marine dodged, rolled and dashed as he avoided every attack that Towering behemoth threw at him, killing every supporting minion with a single punch as he used nearly every weapon at his disposal, from the chaingun to RPG, from Heavy Assault Cannon to the Super Shotgun, he even used the pistol at times along with the BFG, all of which he used to whittle down Pierce's Titanic form until he KNEW she couldn't get back up…but before it reached to such a pivotal moment, Pierce noticed their placements alongside the cliff, the Slayer had his back turned to the Bloody Orange sea behind him and immediately hatched the plan to be rid of him for good. She channeled plenty of the argent energy within her Demonic form, focusing it to form a bone blade to shoot out, emerging from her Titan's left arm as she then tried to spear and impale the Marine, and as she predicted…he caught it with one hand. It was a powerful blow, one that managed to pierce not only one of the gauntlets he wore, but also the flesh and bone that was his hand. Even still, the Slayer kept it locked and in place, holding the massive spiky bone and keeping it from being driven any further as his feet slowly began to skid against the sand, proving that the marine was unmoving…but he was still being pushed towards the cliff's edge. As his stone cold feet continued to slide along the ground up granite beneath his feet, Pierce began mocking the Slayer, claiming "Once I drown you in pain…this whole WORLD will burn for YOUR sins!" as she then began to push with all her might, ready to force the Hero into the bubbling ocean of lava below. But the Slayer, he became unmoving, his reason to fight became clear as his fiery eyes locked with amalgamation of flesh and misery that was the Titan before him. He knew that the Demons would not stop with this world, or ANY world for that matter, it would be a horrific cycle of extinction that would drag every soul into Hell, this was never a war on Humanity, it was a war on life itself…and Slayer refused to let Hell win any more ground, they may not be his people…but they were still people, people that he cared for, people that welcomed him into their world, people that he grew friendships, love and fond memories with, people like Charlie, like Vaggie, Vortex, and even Daisy…people that he would defend even if he had to drag Heaven itself down and burn Hell into ashes. With a sudden jerk of energy, the Slayer's free hand had its thick fingers gripping the mass of bone that Pierce used to spear the Marine, he dug his grip deep as the bone began to crack and strain. After ensuring that he had a good enough hold on the biological weapon, he shifted his back foot and in one swift, violent motion…he TORE off the Titan's arm, removing the mass of flesh, blood and bone as he used the inertia of force to toss it into the magma sea below, not even bothering to watch the malformed flesh burn and blacken as it melted into the lava. An unholy roar resonated from the great Titan, one that was joined in agonizing harmony with Pierce's voice as she too screamed in tandem of absolute pain and shock with her Titanic form. The Slayer showed no emotion, no remorse and most of all… no pity as his fiery eyes hatefully glared at the Behemoth's writhing form above him. Soon the skies darkened and the Slayer's armor was slowly splattered in large droplets of blood as the Titan's arm erupted a steady stream from the sudden and violent removal of its arm, causing the whole area to be swept in a vast encompassing scarlet rain. Not even 10 seconds after the violent evisceration, the Titan proceeded to lunge forward and slam its colossal foot down onto the Slayer, hell bent on stomping him into paste. But it was no surprise that the Marine stopped the lowering mass of red flesh as he managed to not only prevent it from crushing him, but soon after stopping it with his bare hands, he punched it with great force, tearing off another limb from the Titan as he whittled it down to an arm, a leg and a torso. As the Towering behemoth fell to the ground, the Slayer slowly approached the core of its torso, ready to do away with the corrupted scientist nuzzled deep within the mass of rotting corpses and twisted flesh. As a last ditch effort for survival, several tendrils emerged from the Titan's ribs and shoulders, lurching forth as they attempted to skewer the Marine, but of course, the Hero dodged them with incredible speed and with rather great ease. The Tentacles continued to try and strike him down, desperate to stop him from getting any closer while the Slayer was already sprinting, reducing the distance between himself and the bloody mass protecting what remained of Dr. Pierce…until…
*STAB!*
The Slayer ejected the retractable blade from his gauntlet and rammed it right into the heart of the immense mass of flesh and blood. He then shifted his footing as he pushed the blade up, cutting open a huge gash along the length of the Titan's torso, allowing plenty of blood and viscera to spill out as the true prize was then revealed. Pierce's current form was unrecognizable from who she was before, she was deformed and would barely be considered Human from how much she had mutated. Her hideous inner form writhed from the cold air that rushed into the Titan's chest cavity and her scrawny malnourished hands tried to shelter her eyes from whatever light was peering through the lacerated wound. The Slayer showed no pity though, he just leaned forth and reached through the guts and gore that once protected the mad scientist and proceeded to grip her by her meek shoulders as he attempted to rip her out of her Titanic form. But she refused, demanding the tendrils that fused her to the Behemoth to not release her, struggling as they resisted the Slayer. The Hero could easily rip out Pierce against the wishes of the unholy form of flesh and bone, but he decided to play a different angle, one that would satisfy his desire to burn it down to ash and fire as he then proceeded to pull Pierce and use her as a handle for his new plan. Using the doctor as a makeshift grip, the Slayer dragged the Titan's remaining body as it slowly gained speed, moving faster and faster as its velocity grew to the point of being lifted off the ground. The Marine was soon swinging the Colossal Demonic mesh of blood and gore in circles, forcing its momentum to swing faster and faster as its motion soon reached an inertia that satisfied him. Then, he gave it one last powerful tug as he RIPPED Pierce from her connection with her Titanic form, causing the massive crimson behemoth to go flying across the ocean of magma…and landing in the middle of the burning sea, where it slowly and violently burned whilst sinking in the mass of molten liquid, destroying nearly everything that remained of the Titan.
After the Titan was finished, reduced to melting flesh and boiling blood, the Slayer soon turned his attention to Dr. Pierce, releasing his grip on her as she fell to the ground, still looking far from Human and totally disfigured, being nothing more than a head, a pair of arms and a torso as she desperately tried to crawl away. But the Marine said nothing, just watched at how she tried to drag herself to escape like the coward she truly was. The Slayer eventually kicked her, forcing her to roll onto her back and face the towering Brute that bested her Titan status as she just stood there, eyes wide and in shock from all that had happened. Without either of them realizing it, the Slayer's allies arrived to watch the conclusion of this battle, the Imps, some of Hell's Overlords, the Military and eventually the Hazbins, all of them gathered from afar as they watched what happened next. Dr Pierce was radiating fear, baffled and confused as she tried to make sense of what happened, refusing to accept her failure against a Human of all things.
"…W-what… what the Hell ARE you?!"
She begged, trying to learn the secret of such great power behind the one man who has bested the entirety of Hell, time and time again. But the Slayer said nothing, he just raised his shotgun, aimed it at her head, and pulled the trigger as the vast empty space resonated with the sound of a bang…and grew quiet as it echoed away. Once it was finally over, the Slayer was soon approached by Vaggie, Angel and Alastor as the Moth Demon commented "We found out where Charlie is being held" as Alastor then chimed in and asked "Ready to do some hostage negotiation?" and was answered by cocking his shotgun, ready to end this battle.
Author's notes:
Sorry this took so long, I was dealing with a Finals and was also going through some personal issues as well as medical ones. Bright news, We're just 2 chapters away from finishing this story! Don't worry, I'm gonna crank them out as fast as I can before the year ends!
(And yes, I'm hyped AF for Hazbin Hotel finally coming out)