The Slayer walks down a single file.
It seems like a normal, normal forest on Earth. No danger anywhere nearby. The wind blew past his helmet. Everything seems tranquil and serene. He stops for a moment, looking around before continuing forward. Still no sign of anything out of the ordinary.
Right hand reaching into his subspace back, he takes out his shotgun which he then slings across his shoulder before continuing forward. He brought up his left hand, pushing a big leaf out of his path. When he got through though, he brought his arm to his eyes, shielding them as the light had increased while picking up the sound of birds chirping; and a breeze blowing gently on his face. The young-man waited patiently for a moment before slowly opening them, adjusting his vision to everything that's loading into view.
The first thing he saw was a hut in the distance. The house was small with a wooden pointed roof, the structure was made in both bricks and stone. Windows, which were round shaped, were closed tight. Two doors were set in the middle with symbols painted above each door.
The Slayer started towards the house but immediately stopped.
His radar pinging in warning. His instincts tell him to be cautious. His eyes scans every nook and cranny of the surrounding area as best he could, taking in everything in view and his armor scanning any sign of movement in all directions.
"I was hoping you would come, Slayer."
The Slayer snapped his head to his left. A tall humanoid stood behind the trees wearing Sentinel armor. They wore an earthy green armor, with a plate on the left of their chests, with a red glow in the center. Their upper under-armor seems to have been torn away, as some shreds can be seen from underneath their ammo belts. The lack of under-armor reveals their chests, with deathly-pale skin and visible dark veins leading to the heart. They have a larger pauldron on their left shoulder, and heavy armor down the arm.
The Slayer's suspensions came back with a vengeance as he recognized who this was.
"I'll admit Slayer, at first it was quite hard finding you," said the Marauder. "I searched high and low for you. Massacring planet after planet for decades… and finally I found you..." The Marauder demon laughed slightly. "I can tell just by looking at you. You're a lot stronger than the last time we fought."
The Slayer didn't say anything to acknowledge the statement, instead deepening his glare on the demon. The Marauder simply smiled again.
"Ah yes, I suppose that even now after all these eons you'd still hold on to your oath of silence," the demon stated, crossing his arms. "Still loyal to your oath, are you?" The demon chuckled softly. "Then what about your little friends? How have they fared? Your beloved companions, I presume? They weren't so silent after I rid their pathetic existence from their bodies." He paused for a second, looking off into the horizon. The Marauder raised his voice to be heard over the wind. "And that one... I killed her too. It was such a pain having to kill and waste such a specimen like her. She was too precious."
A growl rumbled deep in the Slayer's throat, but he managed to suppress it with great difficulty. Both fists balled tightly at his side. He felt his breathing slow and steady. The adrenaline started running through his body.
The Marauder smirked at the expression on the Slayer's face, clearly amused. The demon walked closer until only a few feet remained between them.
"Oh? Did I strike a nerve?" Asked the demon, his voice lowering an octave in mock concern. "My apologies if I have done something to cause offense. After all, I did promise to harm those you love. Even when doing such things, I always keep my word." His gaze shifted to stare directly into the Slayer's eyes. "You should've realized that the day you crossed my path..." He let the sentence hang, waiting for a response.
The Slayer glared at the Marauder. There were several minutes of tense silence where nothing seemed to happen except the wind and the rustling of leaves. Finally, the Marauder spoke.
"You know Slayer; I haven't forgotten what you did to me eons ago," said the Marauder. "I've kept my word ever since. If you want to know how long, it is five thousand years." He raised one arm. Five fingers extended from the palm of his hand. "Five thousand years since I first laid eyes on you." He lowered his arm. "Five thousand years since you broke your oath and destroyed a life's work," the Marauder emphasized his words with clenched teeth. "MY work, my life!" He shouted, raising his fist into the air before slamming it heavily on the ground. "Do you know what it feels like to be betrayed by your own ally?! To know that they chose to save those weak, low life humans instead of staying loyal to the to the Khan Maykr herself and uphold their duty!" The Marauder looked down at the ground, clenching his jaw, anger coursing through every fiber of his being.
"Would you find it hard to believe that I used to look up to you? That I thought of you as my idol, a Hero? A worthy adversary? That I once dreamed of becoming your equal?" The Marauder closes his eyes. "How pathetic of me. That I allow my admiration for the likes of you to cloud me from the truth." He snapped his eyes open to look straight at the Slayer again. "But I see that now. You are not what I believed you to be. You are not worthy of the title. The very idea makes me sick." His expression morphed into pure loathing. "It is just as they say, Isn't it? You are nothing more but a false idol, a usurper." The Marauder reached for his back, right hand grasping the grip of his scabbard as a smirk spread across his lips.
"Well, the past matters not anymore. All that remains is the present. You and me; the great Slayer and the Marauder; we shall fight to the end—to the death." The demon stepped back, unsheathing his sword. Its blade began glowing, giving off the eerie aura of crimson light. Said blade pulse with unrefined energy, the tip radiating hot plasma from its point. "Now…show me the fruits of your power!" The Demon of Rage bellowed.
A loud crash echoed through the forest as the two launched themselves towards each other, the demon's blade flashing dangerously in the sunlight. The Marauder's blade met the Slayer's arm as he blocked it, throwing himself back to dodge the follow up attack from the Marauder who slashed his sword across the Slayer's armor, which unfortunately failed to scratch him.
The Slayer jumped up again, his speed doubled that what it was before.
The Slayer's punch landed, digging into the Marauder's gut and sending him backward, clutching his middle, eyes wide with shock and pain.
But he didn't give him time to recover. As soon as the Marauder took in a breath, he kicked the demon in the chest, sending the warrior flying past trees, hitting a couple with his sword as he went. Right hand reached behind Slayer's back through subspace, pulling out his rocket launcher, he brought the sights down and engaged the lock-on. The system took a moment to lock on all four. Then there was a faint beep, and the missiles went flying.
They sped towards the Marauder at such great speeds. They collided with him, causing a bright flash of light as they exploded. The Demon rolled on the ground, skidding across the mud and grass until he stopped against a tree with a hard thud. He sat up, holding his middle as blood poured out of him onto the leaves and dirt below.
He coughed, trying to expel the smoke from the explosions, his head spinning as his stomach churned in discomfort. He stared off into the distance where the Slayer had disappeared moments ago. The Demon's eyes darted around the surrounding area, searching for his foe.
The Marauder narrowed his eyes.
Where did he go?
The Marauder blinked, immediately whipping around to block a bullet fired from behind him. The demon grunted, taking another step back to regain his footing, deflecting a barrage of bullets sent his way. The shots were quickly replaced by more incoming projectiles. A stray bullet flew towards his torso, but he quickly turned and dodged it by stepping to the side. Another missile came rushing towards him, only to bounce off the armor covering his shoulder as he spun around in time to avoid a volley of rounds. The Slayer appeared to his side. Throwing a right hook but was blocked by the demon's blade.
The pair continued trading blows, dodging each other, attempting to gain the upper hand, striking each other repeatedly. The Marauder was surprised at how much more skilled the Slayer was. He must've studied how to use his power. The Slayer dodges another slash of the blade before lunging forward with a roundhouse kick aimed for the Demon's head. The Marauder leaned to the side, avoiding the blow easily as he retaliated with a series of rapid slashes. Said rapid slashes miss their mark. The Slayer then followed by slapping the sword away from the demon's grasp as it flew in the air and landed far away from them.
When they met again, they were locked into a heated brawl that trailed across the forest. The clashing of their fists burst through the air as they fought furiously, both opponents moving at blinding speeds, the demon unable to land any hits due to the Slayer's superior strength and reaction time. Trees and rocks shattered as they collided, debris flying everywhere and hitting trees and branches. Dust billowed up around them as they fought, both fighters throwing barrages of punches and kicks with no mercy. The wind picked up, blowing some of the dust that littered around the forest floor high into the sky, making it seem like the world outside was shrouded in darkness.
From a mile away cries of surprise and fear of villagers who had gathered outside of their huts to watch the force of the wind spinning the dust around and obscuring the combatants could be heard among the rumbling of thunderous thunder and occasional flashes of lightning behind the mountains.
The Marauder was sent flying again, crashing roughly to the ground. When he rose back to his feet, he found himself in front of the Slayer. His eyes widened as he barely dodged the double barrel's buck shells fired towards him. Said shells cut his cheek as crimson blood seeped down his face. The wound wasn't deep enough to cause any permanent damage though, just a slight irritation.
The Marauder jumped up, doubling his speed to throw a punch but it was unfortunate. The Slayer tilted his head, dodging said punch and punched the demon squarely in the chest, sending him flying forward.
Reaching behind his back once again, the Slayer whips out his chaingun. Slowly the barrels began to spin to life, they spun faster and faster every second. Reaching top speed though a swarm of powerful projectiles shoots forward at an incredible rate. It shot out of the barrels with incredible velocity, heading straight toward the Marauder.
The demon raises his arms in defense. The missiles slammed into him at full force, forcing them through his body until the tips came out through the opposite side of his chest. Blood gushed out of his mouth as the Marauder slid backwards, his knees scraping along the muddy ground. He looked down at the red liquid splashed all over his armor.
With a flash of blue light, the weapon the Slayer had been holding vanished, and was replaced with his super shotgun. He raised it to aim it directly at the Demon's forehead, about to squeeze the trigger.
"Power pole extend!"
The Slayer and Marauder blinked, looking to the right. A long wooden red pole stretched out, speeding towards the Marauder who was still laying on the ground. Before either could react, the pole collided with the Demon's face.
The impact jolted through the Marauder, causing him to let out a grunt. Forcing his face down on the mud. The Slayer's gaze shifted to the owner of the pole—a familiar young boy with wild black hair and black eyes glared at the stunned demon. Though he didn't show it, the Slayer was surprised when he recognized him.
Kakarot? He thought, confused. What is he doing here?
Kakarot walked up to the Slayer. Standing between himself and the demon still face down on the ground. The demon lifted his head, spitting blood and slime onto the ground. He glanced up at the newcomer with one eye.
"Damn you…you brat!" he spat, glaring daggers at Kakarot with his good eye. Kakarot narrowed his eyes, pointing his red pole at the demon.
"I don't know what's going on, but you leave the big guy alone." Kakarot snapped back.
Before the Marauder could even respond, something caught all three of their attentions. Dirt, dust and wind began to pick up. Plants and bushes whipped around violently, leaves and pebbles on the ground being swooped away, pulled towards some anomaly that was taking place.
As the wind grew more ominous. Red particles begin to spark out and fly around in this contained windstorm, before a small blue ball appears in the road. Shining bright for just a flash, the ball dulls to an almost black shade of color, as it rapidly expands in size. The ball transformed into a large, deep crimson circle. Standing almost as tall as one of the buildings in this town, the circular anomaly spins ever so slowly, small red sparks fly out and dance around it.
Once it came into a complete spin, a cloaked figure stepped out of the portal and stood next to the Marauder, the demon getting to his feet. The cloak figure turned to Marauder and motioned their head slightly toward the portal, nodding, then rolled their body around stepping back inside the portal. The Marauder nodded back before turning his gaze towards the Slayer with sheer contempt.
"It brings me disdain to say that you obviously won this battle. Enjoy this victory while you can, Slayer. We will meet again…this isn't over." The demon spat, smirking darkly.
The Marauder then turned and headed towards the portal, disappearing within seconds as the portal closed off behind him.
The Slayer and Kakarot watched as the portal closed. Kakarot tilted his head curiously.
"Who was that guy?" he asked.
The Slayer remained quiet.
A tall silhouette sat on their throne. Watching the scene unfold from their glass ball suspended in midair. They stared at the armored figure and the boy with a tail standing behind him with wonderment.
The silhouette's dark eyes glinted in the moonlight as they narrowed. A small, dark laugh echoing forth from a mouth with fanged teeth. The sound echoed around them, bouncing off the walls, filling the air with its haunting sound. The laughter died down, replaced by silence. The silhouette chuckled, leaning forward and grasping onto their hands. Clasping them firmly. Their dark eyes stared at the Slayer, narrowing dangerously.
"Well, well….looks like we have a new challenger."
A/N: Hey it's me, Goku! Oh man! That demon was scary not gonna lie but strong at the same time. Hehehe, well as strong as they were they weren't strong enough to take down Doomguy—I mean Doom Slayer! Sorry. Seems Doom Slayer is still searching for that unknown energy but what exactly could it be anyway? Hey, Doomguy! Don't wander off without me!
Next time on DOOM: INCARNATION!
CHAPTER 11: ALLIES FROM THE SHADOWS!
Don't miss it!