Queen's note: What's worse? Angering the Doom Slayer of Hell, or angering the Doom Dad by hurting his flowers in his sight?

Garnets

Chapter Eighty Eight:

Doom Dad

The water of the lake splashed as several armored Sentinels dropped down from their current raft. One of the Sentinels paused, walking to the side, walking deeper and reaching into the lake water.

Haco stood up, turning Lily's mask in his hands as he studied it. It was her older one, not the improved one Vega had wanted her to have. The man looked up at movement, watching his king getting back on the wintherin from that second island. He was following Lily's path now, Haco realized, after he did a flyby to make sure Viola was safe.

The Slayer let the male wintherin make his way back over to his mate. The big creature really did need a name, Haco realized in a detached way as the wintherin hopped into a glide.

Color caught Haco's eye, shifting to look and saw the lavender color in the stirred up water behind the paralyzed demon. Walking over to pick up the color, it was one of Lily's slippers. Just one.

Haco growled low in his chest, holding the two items as he felt the rolling anger coming. Haco liked the little human, not just because the Slayer claimed her. Lily was a good kid, hurt, lost and trying to understand her new reality, but still a good kid. The man could feel the Slayer's marks burning heat on his forearms as the wintherin came over to him.

Haco looked up as the shorter Slayer focused on him. Then swing around to dismount, the blood soaked demigod splashed into the shallows. The water immediately started to boil around the Slayer's legs, the demonic blood frothing as It finished cooking on his armor. The heat was visible as he made his way to Haco first. Letting the other Sentinels and Valen close in on the demon.

The old Sentinel hummed to his friend and king, brother in arms and training. Holding the two items out for the Slayer to see as he walked over to him. Heat washed over Haco as the Slayer stopped a few feet away, as he watched the demonic blood and gore was starting to boil, and then broil on the once olive and tan armor. The Slayer, Demigod, recognizing the things.

His Flower.

His daughter.

The Slayer tilted his head, lifting his hands to make a demanding motion as the Demon was slurring words at Valen. Vega.

"Yes Slayer." Vega's voice was oddly calm, even, just shy of emotionless like it had been on Mars.

Show me. Slayer tapped the side of his helmet, as the water was still hissing and frothing around his knees. Haco lifted his head, looking over at the paralyzed demon, making a small motion of a nod as a transparent window popped up into his HUD as well. He too wanted to see what had happened. What happened to my Flower?

There was a pause, and the Slayer lifted a bloody hand to 'touch' his own display in the air. Lining his fingers up with the play symbols, watching quietly as Vega played what he could of what happened from different angles. Some moments replayed from different angles.

Haco reflexively growled when he realized that the little lady was in the baron's mouth. That it dared to use it's fangs on her-

The low rumbling was not just Haco's own growl but a low, constant vibration in the air from the being beside him. The water was steaming around the Slayer for a few feet, enough that even Haco could feel the heat spreading past him. Then starting to stammer on the surface. Bubbles were forming as Vaga showed the feed from Valen's helmet of landing on the Baron, driving the blade into it's jaw at an angle to break the muscles and force it to let go of the human it was clearly taunting.

The Slayer felt like time was slowly, not stilling but crawling by as he watched. Letting him focus on every little detail of his new daughter having her legs shredded like paper. Honed in on the blood the demon had clearly been enjoying before the blue Crucible pieced.

Every detail visible of what happened to his little mortal Flower as she screamed in pain and terror. His new child, his daughter now, who he had heard yelling while he had been fighting, then screaming for…

"I said- Let. Me! GO! DAD!" Lily screamed in the video as she tried so hard to fight with her little strength. Kicking, even trying to bite the demon back. He could hear the desperation in her voice, his little girl was crying but trying… and failing on her own.

The video looped to another angle with a high up drone. The Slayer was only partly aware his fists were clenching hard enough that the Praetor was giving a stressed sound around his hands and warning signs flashed in his HUD. It took a second for him to pointedly open his hands as he was just able to hear in the video of Lily's voice, the boom the demon that was unimpressed, then insulted-

How dare it even think of taking his flower to Nekravol or a slaver- let alone talk about spitting out her bones and heart-!

"Let me go monster! My dads' going to rip you apart!" Lily's voice yelled in the video again, not the first time it had played, the fear and pain and blood all heard and seen. But for the first time, the Slayer realized that the human was looking to the side being held in the air, not for the last spot the phantom had been.

She had been looking for him.

Lily had looked and flailed in the direction of his fight with the older Baron, who was keeping him busy at the time, before she was shaken about so casually. The Slayer swallowed the next building sound that burned his throat. Going so completely still he might as well have been back in that sarcophagus. To be still as stone, as the demon blood and awful was turning into a thick tar like substance as the water was out right in a roiling boil a good three feet around him.

The horrible reality was crashing into him like so many spears from his back through his gut. If Valen and the Last Gift had been some seconds later, Lily might not have legs. It he was alone still with none of his Sentinels, with his flower… he would be digging remains out of a demon's stomach.

Again.

Absolutely never again.

He would not ever be too late again, never. Even through his followers, he would share his immense strength with them. To protect his new family there was very little he would not do.

The image of the baron licking Lily's bleeding legs before trying to eat her flashed back in the Slayer's mind's eye. The video had stopped but he heard everything so clearly still. All of the demon's words he understood. Each and every one.

The Doom Slayer. The Hellwalker, the Unchained Predator and Scourge of Hell… The Slayer, The Beast turned slowly, looking at the paralyzed demon. He turned back to look at what Haco was holding.

He held his hand out for the slipper, even with the heat rolling off the demigod with each breath and heartbeat. He did not want to hurt Lily's mask, and watched as Haco seemed to understand with no signs or spoke in words to slip that into his subspace. Haco felt the heat rolling over him, the boiling water around his legs as he stepped closer, and if he was not in armor he would be getting physically burned now.

Haco gingerly gave the Slayer the slipper, still wet from water and slime or drool. It was rapidly drying as the Argenta man watched. The slim crusting and turning to a sort of dust. The Slayer closed his hand over it as the normally strong fabric started to burn. Folding the slipper into his hand as red energy visibly crackled over his fist, feeling the fabric and little bit of leather sole turn to ash in his palm.

He would not give his daughter something that had been tainted like that. The other slipper likely in the baron's gut as it was. His little Flower deserved something else, something new and not tied to what hurt his child.

The Beast opened his hand, letting the ash fall out of his hand and started to walk to the demon. Focusing on its back, recognizing the exposed wounds on its back of Valen's work. It likely was missing several vertebrae and chunks around them.

Good.

It would not, could not get away, even if it somehow got out of the encrusting crystal like sea glass. The demigod looked down at his hands, having to resort to finger spelling as he watched some of the sand under foot melting into glass.

V-E-G-A

"Yes Slayer…?"

L-O-O-K A-W-A-Y I A-M M-O-N-S-T-E-R

The demigod… the new god reached up, taking his helmet off as the air visibly rippled with escaping heat. The deep breath he took to hold his control was let out in a long stream of steam as the god of Death and War set it down, facing away from the demon. He could not be John, or even Bi'jay right now. He stood back up, looking around at the Argenta around him and had to make the very conscious effort and decision at seeing the marks starting to burn on his Sentinels.

He would give his strength to them, not hurt or hinder them. They were his Chosen, his Loyal, and that would be rewarded as something shook loose inside of him. Like it had done at the Dreadnought's corpse.

There was an echo of power from above, cool and familiar as the Wraith above focused on him. Bastet seeing and hearing him though no sound came from him yet.

He did not need the approval, or the understanding from the creation god. It was welcomed though and brought his attention to the links attached to him. Mortal lives he was aware of this time, not blinded by anger. He closed his eyes and reached out, fingers twitching as he tried to gently gather those threads and strings attached to him.

Sleep.

His other humans, and argenta, let them sleep with warmth and no nightmares. Let his mortals and adopted children be sheltered even back on the Fortress of Doom from his anger. He did not want them going into comas, or suffer because of his fury. A nudge from the Wraith showed him how to do that. Even his Sentinels would not be overwhelmed this time.

Just a nap for those that depended on him for protection, just a dose.

Green eyes opened and he focused around himself again. The Baron had healed its jaw enough to talk, though slurred. Snapping at Valen in front of it as if it was not so effectively trapped in its own body.

The new god snorted a puff of steam, and gave a dark smile as he focused back on what was around him. Standing on the beach behind the demon, realizing it was mistaking his heat and rage for a portal to hell about to open.

What a grave mistake.

"Yu… are nothing but sla-aves and fuel to fe-ed…fed to the mith of Immora…" the Baron was snarling, trying to get his jaw or tongue to work again. Feeling the raw primal heat coming closer. Even if it was any of his brothers, and he would be killed for the failure, he could trust his brothers to find that pure gorgon soul. It could not stay in the hands of the Slayer's loyal dogs. "Ya are…noth worthy to have vat morsel. The false heir…won't have the heart long."

"The child will not leave our protection," Valen snorted, tossing one of the demon's crystal encrusted vertebras up and down in his left hand. His hammer resting against his right shoulder. "And will be moved again. But I would like to know why Imorra seeks her. The child's reborn mother I can understand, but why would that accursed City want her? To control her mother?"

The Baron laughed harshly, really, the Argenta were falling so much. "As if I would betray the shining Ruby."

"You did to serve the child's mother." Valen pointed out, catching and holding the still red and yellow bone, "Well, it was worth a try. You have missed a chance for a swifter death."

"I fear her moth-er, not you." the Baron snapped as heat rolled up his back and left side. The portal was coming, building, his brothers were coming.

"Understandable," Valen said in an amused tone, oddly smiling as he shifted the Baron's vertebra in his hand. "But you should fear her father."

"I will respect the gorgon blade," the demon sneered at the Argenta, "Not you, your people are nothing but food. You can't even hold it still."

The white haired man smiled, glanced to the side but he tilted his head to something just out of sight. Where the heat was coming from?

"True… allow me to rephrase. You should fear the child's sire." Valen was the only Sentinel to not move away from the rolling wave of heat. As much as he had grown so used to inferno of Hell, as it… did not feel like it would burn him. The smell of petrichor was filling the area fully now as the Slayer walked around the demon's shoulder and then around Valen.

There was distinctly a gasp of shock as the Baron realized who that was. The heat was not his brothers, not hell. The almost solid glow of green eyes landing on the demon pinning the Baron as if speared through.

Then the argenta words sank in slowly, almost belated as The Beast was coming over to his head.

You should fear the child's sire.

…the child's sire…

The mortal child of the Mother of Pearl, had the Great Doom Slayer as… her… sire.

A mortal child of the fist great gorgon queen in ages, was also the mortal daughter of the Hellwalker? The Behemoth swallowed thickly as for the first time in its ancient life, the Baron felt fear. The demon could only stare in growing horror as it watched the Slayer, without his ever known helmet come and crouch down in front of it.

For the first time, up this close to it's clear death, the Baron could see and understand why the Blessed of Imorra said this was the First Father's heir. This was not 'just' the only predator of hell. This was a god of death, a to-be god of Hell…

And…

…and the Behemoth had tried to eat the child of this god.

The Slayer smiled, not bothering to hide his own altered teeth like he did with his humans. The soundless dread dropped as he growled hungrily staring at the demon, reaching out almost casually to grasp the right side of the massive jaw. The baron screamed at the sudden searing pain burning him to the bone there, and was let go before it could break too much.

There was a low, deep sound, not just the Primordial rumbling out of the smaller but no less impressive being. To the Baron's growing horror something came out of the Hellwalker that was a mix of that primordial and demon speech. Like cracking bones and shivering earth that echoed through flesh and bone.

"You." The Hellwalker stepped closer, grabbing the Baron's intact horn and roughly twisted to yank its head to look up at him. Feeling the horn starting to hiss and melt. Having to concentrate to grab one of the larger fangs of the demon and started to rip it out. Remembering so clearly this fang in particular came so close to puncturing his daughter's artery as it cut flesh not long ago. "...tried to take… what is mine."

Valen smiled in his helmet after a startled moment of almost hearing the Slayer's old voice. Almost but not exactly like the voice he once knew. There was a shifting in the Sentinels around, hesitation as they watched the God of the Death starting to rip out fang and tooth of the demon. The teeth that bit his flower, his daughter dropping to the ground bloody but not charring from his power. Then they moved to stand guard, watching above as weapons lifted to make sure their true War King would not be disturbed. The two Wintherin closing in with fangs bared.

Valen could not help the dark chuckle that started as the Baron tried to struggle in its prison of flesh and crystal. "Maybe if you beg, beast, you might die sooner."

"No." The Slayer growled, not letting go. He had his hands on the demon, and would not let go. It was going to die, and feel every bit of that death if he could help it, reaching up behind the neck after the last tooth was dropped. Starting to break through the gorgon crystal that was from his crucible as only he could.

"At least try not to rip its tongue out just yet." Valen noted almost mildly, but he was still giving a more feral smile for a moment. "The beast might scream something useful, or at least let the Litch and her minions know how angry you are."

Haco laughed behind the Baron, the sound oddly echo-y, as if influenced by the connection to the Slayer. "Let all of Taras Nabad know what will become of those Hell loyal my lord! Make this thing regret what it did to our little princess. Make it suffer."

The God of Death and War, the new god of the lost, growled as the demon writhed under his hands ripped away armor and started to burn skin in the impossible way. Making the Baron scream and bellow loud enough that the Litch herself would hear.

His flower just needed to sleep through this, safe in the Wraith nest as he gave into the controlled anger.

Reviews!

XFireStoneX:
Valen is good space grandpa, but also a BadAss and will protect his new family.