Author's Note — Hello, everyone! Welcome to a new chapter. This chapter will feature the good ole slayer ripping and tearing.
Chapter 2 — Dangers Apparent
Level 1 — 'Habitable Zone'
After a while of being in the Tutorial Level, the slayer finally happened upon an exit. Upon stepping through, the slayer and The Father were greeted with a new scene ahead of them. The level they landed in appeared to be a sprawling warehouse that had been abandoned for quite some time, as evidenced by the exposed rebar and walls sporting chipped paint. A noticeable fog also lingered, although it wasn't dense enough to completely cut out visibility. On the concrete floor lay various puddles, possibly due to the condensation from the fog lingering around the level.
"Slayer, we are currently situated on level one, also called the Habitable Zone. Unlike the previous level, this one has life present within it," said the Father as the Slayer finished his observations.
The Bane of Hell looked around the area, confused. The whole area seemed barren, and there was no evidence that anyone thought anything could sustain habitability in an empty, rundown warehouse. Perhaps there was more than meets the eye.
"Due to supplies commonly appearing on this level and the fact that it is very close to the starting point, humans have decided to settle here for permanent residence and research. Notably, the MEG group we read about is at the tutorial level. This level is home to one of their most important bases. However, finding them might be challenging. With that, I suggest we get going."
The slayer wordlessly nodded and walked on as The Father continued.
I should mention it. While they are few, this level still hosts various entities we have read about. I have no doubts that you can take care of them. However, some of them require creative ways of terminating. Again, I do not doubt you will fashion such a way."
Nodding in agreement, the slayer produced his Combat Shotgun. As he was about to sprint away, he suddenly heard what seemed like a human voice.
"HELP ME!" came the voice in a deathly scream.
Readying his shotgun, the doom slayer cautiously approached the doorway and looked at the other side. Unlike the room he was currently in, this section resembled an empty parking lot. There was a ramp for cars, as well as several broken wooden boxes next to said ramp. Along the walls appeared to b
elevators; however, due to the state of the entire level, there was a doubt they needed to be in working order.
The slayer, while holding the Combat Shotgun, strode across the parking lot, getting closer to the sound until-
"Help someone,/ please."
This time, the voice was more quiet and more precise.
Rounding behind the garage ramp, the slayer focused on what seemed to be a person…or at least it appeared to be a person.
The 'person' appeared to be moving entirely sluggishly. Its hair was gone, and its skin had an unnaturally pale complexion. Its eyes were sunken white, and it almost seemed to behave like the possessed back on Mars and Earth.
"Do not be fooled, slayer. What you see before you currently is known as a skin stealer. It will imitate human speech when hungry, luring unsuspecting prey and killing them. After consuming and disposing of the unfortunate victim, they will attach the skin of said victim to their own, wearing it and pretending to be a human. Although its strength is slightly greater than a human's, it lacks intelligence and resembles an animal. You are free to terminate it as you wish." Said the Father, with anticipation.
The slayer didn't need to be told twice. With a burst of speed, he quickly closed the distance between him and the skin stealer, and all it could see in its tiny and animalistic mind was an armored green person blowing its head off with a shotgun. Clear liquid and body parts lay, the only proof that the creature had lived.
Unfortunately, neither the doom slayer nor the Father knew that using firearms in the backrooms was heavily discouraged and, at best, a last resort. So it should have come as no surprise when several sickly yellow-skinned humanoids, most likely the skin-stealers' proper form, hunched over canine-like creatures resembling humans, entered the area.
"The creatures that resemble canines are called hounds. You may terminate them hastily; however, I recommend refraining from utilizing firearms due to the potential for attracting additional entities.
Taking the Father's information to heart, the outlander put away the shotgun and activated his doom blade. Dashing to the first skin stealer, he stabbed it right through its skull, and before the creature could hit the floor, he was already upon a hound, grabbing its head and ripping it out along with its spinal column.
Using the spine as a makeshift club, he broke it on the head of another skin stealer, crushing its head in the process. Discarding the spine, he then grabbed a nearby skin stealer and tore the arms off of it before plunging his fist through its chest. Turning to the last entity, he activated his doom blade again, cutting the head from its body.
"Targets neutralized," Announced the Father as the slayer discarded the deceased body of a hound. Looking over his handiwork, he smiled as he observed the surrounding area littered with corpses. That smile dropped, however, when he spotted seemingly a new entity. A hallway was adjacent to the slayer, covered in pitch-black darkness except for one thing: a pair of glowing white eyes and a devilish grin.
"It appears we caught the attention of a Smiler. Conventional projectile weaponry is barely effective against them. I suggest finding a different method for termination."
That was no problem. Whenever there was a challenge that tried to fall the slayer, it would end up dead and in pieces by his hand alone.
Switching the Combat Shotgun with the Plasma rifle, he equipped it with the microwave beam mod and took a stance.
…
Kenner's day was going as well as it always does. Yet again, he had been dispatched to find a wanderer who had gone missing in the halls of level 1. With his luck. He would have to dispatch a cleaning team to clean up the corpse of yet another unfortunate dead fuck. He was an Australian-born Caucasian male with pale skin and brown hair, presumably starched and messy from seeing the constant horrors of this godforsaken maze and due to lack of sunlight. His brown eyes were devoid of anything, only knowing horror and pessimism. He was toned and slim, most likely due to the constant running from swarms of entities when shit went FUBAR. Thankfully, he looked better than most people in their mid-50s. On the other hand, his most recent partner was Jenkins, a happy-going, optimistic young man with a dark complexion and neat black hair. No matter how fucked up the problem he faced was, his outgoing attitude never seemed to falter. Unlike Kenner, his royal blue eyes were full of hope, something that wasn't so common in the backrooms.
Kenner glanced at his partner and slightly chuckled. He remembered the same attitude on him when he was a kid. Back then, in the 90s, he was just a teenager with big aspirations; now, he was reduced to a standard guard, trapped in this hellhole called the backrooms. Ironically, even though Jenkins was born in the backrooms, Kenner had more experience due to being both older and having navigated the backrooms when he first appeared. On the other hand, Jenkins spent most of his life in base alpha, shielded by most of the horrors in this place.
"So, you think we're getting closer?" Asked Jenkins, with the same unwavering smile he always wore.
"To their corpse? Certainly," Responded Kenner in a tired, sarcastic voice.
"You know, you need to lighten up a little and get some good vibes in your life."
Kenner glanced at Jenkins and chuckled lightly.
"I don't know why you're always smiling, kid. No one can smile being trapped here.
"Well, I can't help it. It's the only place I know; besides, I can't let the downs in life turn me into a wretch.
Kenner chuckled a little more loudly this time.
"Well, don't let my sour mood take away from yours," Kenner replied, this time with a small smile. He would never admit it, but he liked Jenkins being happy. He always had to deal with the miserable and hopeless souls of the backrooms, and it was a pleasant experience to meet someone who didn't mind being stuck there. Furthermore, he hoped that whatever happened wouldn't detract from that smile.
However, he noticed something.
Usually, they encountered at least one or two entities when they were sent out. So why were there none appearing?
Suddenly, they heard what appeared to be a series of gunshots.
While the MEG did use firearms, they took special precautions to make them as quiet as possible, using liquid silence to deafen the loud sound of the discharge, as loud sounds could potentially attract entities.
However, this person's gun was obnoxiously loud, and if they heard it, then whatever entities were lurking in these halls indeed heard it, too.
Slinging the rifles from their tactical vests, they quickened their pace, following the sounds of gunfire.
After a few moments, they reached the end of the hallway, which opened into a dilapidated parking lot with puddles.
They could make out several body parts strewn all over as they walked deeper into the lot, most likely belonging to entities. Whoever was popping shots off out here had no trouble taking these things out.
Walking deeper into the foggy lot, they soon came face to face with a person wearing what looked to be some green armor with exposed biceps. What looked like a glowing blue weapon of an odd futuristic design was in their hands.
Looking in front of the figure, they spotted a long, dark hallway and a single Smiler.
Before either could call out to the figure, the weapon activated, spewing a bright blue beam that seemed to latch onto the Smiler, causing it to shriek in terror and spasm. After a few seconds, the Smiler violently exploded in a cloud of black smoke.
Kenner and Jenkins stood there in absolute silence, jaws dropped. While it was possible to lure and chase away a Smiler using Smiler repellant, killing one was practically unheard of. And yet, this unknown person had just killed one without any effort.
They both trained their rifles on the green-armored person. They weren't sure if this 'person' was a threat, so it was better to be safe than sorry.
"Show me your hands," Kenner commander, barely hiding his fear from the figure's intimidating aura.
The weapon the figure was holding seemingly vanished into thin air. It then turned to face them, and Kenner noted that the eyes behind the helmet it was wearing were like bottomless pits of pure rage. That certainly did nothing to lighten the mood.
"Greetings. My name is the Father, though you can also refer to me as Vega. While I am not the person in the suit, I am the divine being that speaks for him. You may refer to him as 'The Doomslayer.'
Kenner and Jenkins looked at each other and back. They then slightly lowered their weapons, still poised and ready to fire at a moment's notice.
"I'm Kenner, and this partner, Jenkins. We're two hapless MEG operatives sent to locate a hysterical wanderer who ran away from our base. Poor cunt probably died of a skin-stealer."
"What about you guys? Are you guys an undiscovered backroom entity?" Asked Jenkins
"Neither I nor the slayer hail from the backrooms. Like you, we arrived here from a separate reality, though unlike you, we came here deliberately. After a human being appeared in my domain, rambling on about a hellish maze, I and my fellow others decided to investigate the matter. I then decided to transport the slayer and myself here to see if we could be of assistance in freeing the people of the backrooms."
Kenner and Jenkins perked up. While it was tough to escape the backrooms, it was not impossible. However, the endeavor of trying was so tricky that almost anyone who tried died a horrible death. Due to this, most people gave up and made the backrooms their home. So, to hear about evidence of someone getting out alive was intriguing.
"There are plenty of rumors of some people getting lucky to exit this shithole. Though they're mostly just rumors, And even if there was a surefire way to exit, it would be so utterly fucking hard that it would be better not even to try at all. The fact that this person somehow got out is fucking amazing and beyond me at the same time." Said Kenner in his same old pessimistic voice.
"Wait. what about that level, "The Promised Land"? It's been confirmed to exist, and people have found it and escaped." Piped up Jenkins
"Yeah, but as I said, it's not worth it. Hundreds of thousands of people die every year trying to find that place. Maybe two or four find it if they're lucky. Which is why I say again, it's not worth the suicide mission on trying to find that place."
"I can create a doorway between the backrooms and reality. However, to do so, I must learn more about the backrooms And find a way to circumvent the mysterious level of "You cheated."
This intrigues the two operatives. If what this "God" said was true, people would finally have a way out of this hellish maze without the added extreme danger.
"Right then. I think we've spent enough time standing around and looking stupid. Why don't you mates come back to base Alpha with us? We probably have just what you're looking for. On top of that, the research team will want to see you both." Kenner said, his frown replaced with a hopeful smile.
"I agree. Please lead the way."
With that conversation over, the four set off for base Alpha, where, hopefully, The Father would be able to make a portal and free everyone once and for all.
Unfortunately, however, that mission would have to wait. As they were about to exit the lot, a group of entities appeared unexpectedly. Inside the group ranged from skin-stealers to hounds and even a new entity, a gray skeletal humanoid being with long clawed arms and no facial features, also known as a duller.
"Where the hell did all these entities come from? They never come in groups like this!" Jenkins exclaimed, shouldering his rifle.
"I don't know; maybe it has to do with loud noises!?" Kenner replied, giving the slayer an annoyed glance.
The Doom Slayer ignored his expression and activated his Doom blade. With a burst of inhuman speed, he set off for a nearby entity, cutting its head clean off its body.
Kenner and Jenkins took this as a sign to fire upon the horde, Kenner killing them with clean precision while Jenkins, with his inexperience, chose just to shoot until the target died.
While Jenkins and Kenner struggled to get by, the Slayer was the opposite. Every creature the Slayer managed to grab was either torn or mangled beyond recognition. His actions ensured that nothing in the parking lot survived for over 5 seconds.
After a few minutes, the fighting ceased, as all the entities had been neutralized, or so they thought.
Behind them stood that same darkened hallway—the one holding the smiler the slayer had previously killed. It was now occupied by three more, just like it.
Kenner and Jenkins both shared nervous expressions. Whenever firearms were used on a smiler, all it did was piss it off. To get rid of one, one would have to wait until it goes away or use smiler repellent to get rid of a smiler. However, there was a third option, and that option was standing right behind them.
That 'option' pulled that same energy weapon seemingly from his ass and sprinted after the three smilers. What was most shocking to the two MEG operatives was that the smilers chose to flee instead of attacking, as the slayer bounded on them with a murderous attempt.
They both watched as the slayer dashed down the dark hallway, occasionally seeing blue flashes in the dark abyss of the hallway.
"Should we go after him?" Jenkins questioned.
"I think we should go back the way we came and report this rookie," Kenner replied, motioning Jenkins to follow. While they made their way back to base Alpha, the slayer continued chasing the smilers, not knowing that the hallway he went down would lead him to someplace new.
Authors Note - I am sorry it took a while; work and college have been hell. The following chapters will likely have the slayer and The Father going solo.