Queen's note: OKAY! heya everyone is here, sorry for the long quiet, ff was not wanting to upload things correctly. and it seems a chapter was out of order. sorry about that. I think everything is working again.

Back into the doom world, again? still? Vega needs a break, he really dose. And now there's boss music? [beware of cannon grossness and chomps ]

Garnets

Chapter Ninety Three:

Put that Down!

The night air was no longer deathly still in Taras Nabad's upper city as it had been the last few days. Vega noticed it though his drones, and the helmets of the Sentinels he could watch through as well as the Slayer himself. It was notably not as loud as the first time the Slayer and his group entered the city. With a significant dent placed into the demonic population, again, overnight. There was a lack of constant screeching and howls but a pattern was starting to form.

Vega was doing his best to use the few drones to scout the city, one had gotten stuck though. He was also trying to hurry and finish making one last needed part in the 'printer' system of the fortress. He knew he had a full ten minutes of estimated time on the low end, thirteen minutes on the high end, of time before the Slayer and his group got to the portal spot that the Slayer had picked.

It almost seemed like a random spot, being two buildings away from the throne and wraith building. The trip was methodical in rooting out all the demons and finding their effigies and totems over night. Mostly to shred then to char and ash, though a few times the Slayer paused to let Vega scan through his Praetor suit.

It was informative, though in a way also confusing to see the Slayer not taking point as before. All at once, about midnight local time to them, Vega realized that the Slayer was watching the Sentinels with his mark. Those that had been given some of his unique energy.

Vega did not fully understand the Wraith Gifts on a whole, and the Slayer's Mark or 'gift' was just as much of a confusing thing. Though, both were fascinating to Vega. How the Argenta could turn raw Wraith energy into something solid, a liquid really, and not plasma like the Argent energy.

The colony AI was disappointed in his past self for not realizing the difference of Argent energy and the Argenta ruins in Hell. It had been believed that kind of energy was named after who discovered only, and in a way it was. As well as made from their souls, and human souls now. VEGA of the back-then believed what he had been told, trusted Dr. Hayden.

Vega grieved to himself it took the large loss of life leading up to the 'Lazarus wave' of raw hell energy set loose on his colony to realize there were layers of lies he had been altered and hacked, and forced programmed to believe in were all… lies.

The Slayer was the first thing to cut through all that to VEGA.

The now Fortress AI mentally shook off that train of thought to turn his attention to his current charges. A quick check on those inside the safety of the Fortress, each human, the new Argneta. Adults and kids alike, skimming the environment, Riggs was doing an excellent job inside the life support systems. Cascade was ever vigilant, though he only needed to discharge a weapon only now and then to keep the smallest chunks of the broken moon away from the Fortress shields.

Satisfied those he could protect were well and truly safe, Vega turned his attention to the Sentinels in Taras Nabad.

Haco, Asin, Milla and Zanin were definitely showing several traits of the Slayer's own abilities the strongest. Perhaps a few of them at the same time. Possibly because he was around them longer, or knew them better? The others of the Shadowed Sentinels were just now starting to show some traits. It seemed like their speed and strength were being affected. Enderace as well by the time of maybe three in the morning, local time, as the Sentinels needed less and less time to recover between hordes.

More so the ones that were found in the city. Vega suspected just the Slayer's presence was a boon of encouragement, and hope, he dare say.

Cascade agreed farther back in the Fortress' systems. The old Atlan was happy to take up a little slack, so to say, to let Vega focus on all the different viewpoints he was allowed to see. As long as the Shadowed Sentinels stayed within thirty meters of one of the Slayer's guards, or the man himself.

Well, those that had a HUD, it was still an additional ten views out of the eighteen. Ten extra views from the current six.

Valen's helmet still had a viewable stream for Vega. It was sitting on a dresser to the side of the room in the vault. It let Vega at least watch over the bed and only the door of the room. He could see the Commander had been settled in the Slayer's bed along with Lily. Both still looked pale but at least Valen had shifted into proper sleep that matched up to his calmer nights on the Fortress.

Vega. The Slayer signed as he jumped up on a platform that might have once been a decorative balcony of an inside courtyard. He was starting at… something staring back at him.

There were many things of Hell's creation Vega had seen over the years. The artifacts on Mars, as well as the recordings from the first space marines in the rifts on Mars. To the Elite Guardsmen in the established expeditions through refined portals. Even all the first hand sights Vega hand in the most recent years first hand. Riding along in the Praetor suit first as a silent watcher while the VEGA backup was being not so slowly incorporated into the Praetor armor. Then as the Vega he was now, able to interact with the Slayer in the years they were trapped in hell alone together. At least before finding the Fortress.

He had seen a lot, Vega had never seen a creature… artifact like what the Slayer was in front of.

The small skull, as big as a large porcelain doll, but shaped somewhere between an adult human's meshed with some of the demons seen only in hell. Something almost infant size compared to the Slayer but anything but. Pack orientated things, if Vega remembered right, the creatures crawled over all surfaces and would eat the dead like so many ants after the Slayer in the deeper levels of hell. Vega disliked as much if not more than the Slayer the sounds those crawlers made.

The skull in the… totem-like articulate reminded Vega of those creatures. Vega was alarmed to see that the skull shifted in the artifact, looking up at the Slayer as John grabbed it by one of the bony ridges of the side.

The whole thing looked like a rough 'T' shape. Standing up on a thick spinal cord that seemed to come from a demon like a Pinky (the animal-like beasts, as called by the Slayer). The main body was hinged around the solid section with the skull. Like it could snap down over the semi open center.

It was not a sphere of energy inside a cage of… what looked suspiciously like boney fingers coming out of fleshy, cancer-like growths. Both on the underside of the solid top part, muscle like flesh making the 'hinges' of the T, as well as the top of the spine. As the Slayer had approached the digit like things curled in over the energy, and a sickly infection like ooze dribbled out of center in a double beat pattern.

Vega realized with a jolt to his system that it was not a sphere. He shifted to block and keep Riggs from looking at the beating heart. The digital equivalent of keeping the 'lesser' AI from seeing by covering his eyes. Vega may have also stuffed Riggs back into the Life Support systems fully, as he knew that the smaller AI did not handle the warped things out of Hell itself.

The totem giggled at the Slayer, in those same eerie not quite child like tones of those creatures, the skull rotating to keep watch on the new god as green eyes opened. At the same time the fingers kept a tight grip on the green, emaciated looking heart. Rolling to look around then up at the Slayer as there was a new reading.

Vega realized that the Slayer was holding off on destroying this totem to let Vega scan it through the Praetor armor. He had been distracted for a full nine seconds making sense of what he was seeing.

Vega put a bar about a quarter filled on the Slayer's he's up display. Letting the man see that Vega was scanning as it seemed why the Slayer drew his attention to this confusing horror. Vega was scanning it even as he had metaphorically gaped at it.

If the Slayer was drawing Vega's attention to it, and not immediately ripping it apart but man handling it. The Slayer wanted it seen, and that meant there were likely other things like this nearby that needed to be found in the city.

Vega turned his attention partly to the Sentinels. Noticing the jump in heart rate that happened in time with a pulse of the totem's odd energy. Likely if the Night, and Shadowed, Sentinels were not so well trained that they might have faltered. They were having a sudden fear reaction once in a set radius of the totem the Slayer was beside. Yet able to control themselves from flinching as a truly gigantic Hell Knight came barreling into the inner quart yard. Vega could see a visual shimmer of a haze forming around the demon. Almost like an oil slick rainbow on the gray skin, but had more of an orange tint to it.

The Knight was tackling Captain Milla, Vega could see from Zanin's point of view. Could see how the Argenta woman swung her energy based battle ax into its shoulder. The demon staggered as the two fell, but there were sparks coming off it where the blade hit. From what Vega could see through Milla's helmet, the blade only scraped the thick hide and barely caused bleeding.

Vega knew at this point, even as underweight as the Argenta from the sarcophaguses had technically been. They were still capable of immense strength, more so compared to humans in a similar state. Captain Milla's natural strength should have sunk that blade several inches into the demon. With the same rapid healing and recovery that happened with the others, at the Slayer's unexpected power gain at the Dreadnought's corpse. There should have been a deeper wound.

Zanin tackled the same demon, his sword hooking around the demon's neck. Grasping the end in the one dull spot to heave back. Giving Milla space to adjust and hook one of her axes back on her side. It freed up her right hand.

Vega watch with no small amount of awe as the full power of Argenta strength was put on display. Vega was able to feel the vibration of the punch Captain Milla did to the demon from Zanin's armor. The Argenta woman could not cut or likely shoot through the shield on the Knight, but that did not mean it was immune to physics. Force would still transfer through the shield.

To say Vega was impressed was an understatement as he estimated each hit Milla did seem to be getting stronger. Her armor gave a reading that was alike to the Slayer.

That was when the scan of the totem finished.

Whatever energy manipulation, or so called Hell magic, the totem was buffering some demons. Shielding them, from most things but not everything. Asin had another bigger than normal Hell Knight by the arms. Exposing it to the Shadowed Sentinels. To the side Haco was shouting a warning for his group before a doorway was set ablaze with acidic fire. A massive, heavily armored mancubus was lumbering into the courtyard.

Something was off about it, not the shimmering shield. Yet it did not fit the right profile, like it was laid with armor, only altered that bit to have the flamethrowers integrated into the arms. No other cybernetic enhancements but human made like on Mars. This was hell altered, hell metals only on it.

The Slayer looked up, growling low in his throat. Turning his attention back to the twitching totem, it was trying to wiggle side to side. As if to shake off the Slayer's hold on the right side of the 'T' but unable to. A more malignant giggling came from the tiny skull, again like those infant-like creatures it sounded alarmingly like a… baby.

Vega watched as the Slayer was reaching for the glowing heart as the semi-living totem. The sides of the top triggered and snapped down, the bony, toothy protrusions on the underside would have damaged an unprotected hand and arms. The Slayer's gauntlets protected him well though in this case, as he was grasping the boney, caging fingers to start ripping them off one and two at a time.

The little skull stared and after a shocked moment, it wailed. Drawing attention from the demons below at its crying, but the Sentinels were well able to take back the attention of the back the small horde. The totem trying to keep a grip on the sickly heart and at least vocally sounding like a toddler having a tantrum but no words came. Just sounds but no recognizable tones of words, even demonic words. Trying to fight the stronger Slayer to keep the heart, even resorting to flailing the hinged parts as the little skull wailed again. Looking back and forth as if searching for help.

The Slayer grunted as he shifted his grip, grabbing the totem closer to the center. The little palm sized skull moved to try and bite his thumb as the Slayer grasped the top of the bottom part. He flexed and the bones that made up the totem started to crack as the thing wailed again.

Growling still, the Slayer not liking the mimicry of what he treasured, he twisted and bent the top of the totem to the side. Feeling the vertebra of the spine starting to pop and unlock from where it was dug into the ground. It was starting to wiggle the lower section erratically, like a flailing larva insect.

Something crunched under his hands, the Slayer had a grim expression as the totem was wailing in a higher pitch like a distressed baby. The grip on the heart in the sphere was let go, as more digit-like graspers were breaking. The Slayer let go with his left hand and grabbed the sphere, yanking it out before moving. He released the totem as it again sounded like having a tantrum. Right arm pulled back before hitting it hard enough to crumble the totem into bone splinters. The wailing stopped abruptly and a heartbeat later the shields on the demons were dissolving.

The Slayer got up, kicking the charring pile in a solid kick, making sure nothing was in the mount to cause trouble. He moved over the side of the broken balcony, kneeling down to watch the other. At the same time the Slayer was gripping the sphere tight enough that his gloves creaked. Holding that hand to the side to let the green oozy goop drain out as the withered heart was dissolving into that goop inside.

The new god was watching his Senintals, a smiling forming as his growl turned into a satisfied rumble. Watching the spark of energy crawling visibly over Milla's form as she was back on her feet first before the Knight. Swinging one ax down on top of the demon's left shoulder and cleaving into this time. The second, newer metal ax was buried into the Hell Knight's side. The Slayer perked up watching the effects of his Mark for the first time, seeing a reflection of his strength in the Captain as she started ripping apart the Hell Knight. Then kicking its parts off her axes so hard it started the Knight into dissolving into death ash.

That glorious kind of kill that was so satisfying to be able to rip apart a demon. Milla was not lost in the blinding rage that the Slayer knew all too well. He smiled, watching the Captain and Zanin moving in tandem with each other. They were moving to bottleneck the streaming demons trying to follow the mancubus in a passage. Haco had fully taken charge with that bloated mancubus, as he had the most experience with them. Knew that they had to focus on the head alone for this one.

Haco was likely thinking right, as to the Slayer's experienced eye that demon looked about to spill out spawn. The Slayer paused about to get up, and watched as Haco sank a taken blade- when did he get Zanin's sword? Or Haco's preferred blade was a little shorter and wider than Zanin's type of blade. The Slayer knelt back down as Haco was wrenching back on the blade that he buried into the mancubus' head. Exposing its neck and the path to one of its hearts just below.

The Slayer grinned in his helmet, listening to Haco's voice telling the Shadowed Sentinel taking the risky task of climbing up the demon where to strike.

A pulse had the not quiet man looking down, remembering the sphere he held felt like it twitched against his fingers. Lifting it up he saw what was left of the heart was gone, as well as the ooze had dripped free of even his fingers.

It looked… all too familiar.

From long, long ago. Before he came to Argent D'nur, long before all that time in hell. Between that and his faintest good memories and the first time struggling to strangle a demon for the first time. He had ate those spheres before knowing what they were in desperation between hordes.

The Slayer lifted the sphere up, watching the shifting green shades inside move. There was the faintest of shapes, almost like a face, then a human-like skull, back to a featureless face. The Slayer frowned, taking a deep breath, finally able to get scent on the soul inside.

Spite-pain-lust-hatred.

The new god of death bared his teeth under his helmet. Shifting his hold on the almost glass like outer shell of the sphere, taking his time to get a better sense of the soul.

He rumbled, not to reassure but in hunger. It was not primordial as Vega had heard him, but almost that anyone living if they had been close enough might call it that. The Slayer was focused completely on the soul, or rather damned soul. He had come across these before in hell, and out sometimes. Tyrants could catch innocent souls like this too.

This was not an innocent soul.

The Slayer knew most souls passed to the next life if allowed to, had helped in many different ways in his own ways. There were also souls that just 'naturally' ended up in hell, and very much deserved it.

Like this thing. Used in the totem, to fuel it with its own corrupted energy and spite, to help Hell find more victims. It was not good enough to be turned into the ambient energy in hell, or Argent.

Reaching up, the Slayer took his helmet off, drawing Vega's attention back to him without meaning to. The sphere rolled from fingers to palm, then back into his fingers while some of the Slayer's energy visibly crackled against the shell. The helmet was set down on a knee, not meaning to blind Vega but just to free his own hands.

Vega watched in some alarm, seeing only part of what was happening as the sphere was losing its ridged shape. It was lifted up out of sight of the camera, and there was first a crack of glass. Then a crunch, like thick, hard shelled candy being bitten through. It was a sound Vega only heard the day before when the Slayer dug out and ate the core energy of Behemoth, the Baron of Hell.

The new god of death opened his mouth as the sphere suddenly shifted in a way that was as much solid as it was liquid energy. The Slayer watched his Sentinels while he pushed some of that energy into his mouth. Biting off a good third and swallowing the chuck of the damned soul. Finishing it in three bites before putting his helmet back on and getting up, watching as the mancubus was downed finally and the Sentinels jumped back.

Getting out of the way of fire and acidic bile splattering out. Two newly spawned larva spilling out of the charring mancubus, instead of likely a dozen.

The Slayer got up, giving himself a good shivering shake, putting his helmet back on. Idly feeling the energy being absorbed, and huffing to himself. He did not feel full, not like when he was given faith as someone believed in him.

He remembered the feeling back in Crescent City, first from Lily. Then from little Iris after pulling her from that cage.

"...Slayer?" Vega's voice asked inside the helmet as the larva were being cleaned up. Stabbed by any spear or lance in easy reach from a safe distance.

"Mhm?" The Slayer blinked, shifting his attention to the AI as if he was distracted by a neat rock.

"What… did you just eat?" Vega asked after a three second pause.

The Slayer lifted his now free hands, making a circle with them and a questioning sound.

"Yes, the sphere. What was that?"

Food? The Slayer signed so Vega could see it.

"That was not, in fact, any kind of food."

There was a rather dark chuckle, the Slayer making sure nothing was left in his mouth. Was food. Did not taste good. Never do. Macaroni and cheese tastes better.

The Slayer could have sworn he heard that one set of sounds Vega made when frustrated-annoyed at him. Like if the AI was able to take a long, deep breath as if to brace himself. He had not heard Vega make that since just before finding the fortress.

No… wait it was after he had brought Lily there. When she was in the stasis pod for the first time, and the Slayer had put the wrong sensor on her pulse point.

"What did you eat?"

The Slayer's hands twitched, as if about to sign 'food' again, but then finger spelled out. D-A-M-N-E-D. Bad soul.

"I have seen you absorb lost souls, many times now. Why would you eat one?" Vega sounded almost distressed.

Feeling bad now, the Slayer tried to explain. To find a better word, and ended up with. O-L-I-V-A. Like her, V. Bad. bad-bad, corrupted. No good, won't pass on. Food? Not good enough to make A-R-G-E-N-T, hell uses them as small batteries.

"...souls are rejected from the Argent process in hell?"

The Slayer nodded, looking at the char and bone fragments of the totem. He motioned at the pile, then tapped his helmet to get attention. Can you find more? Those are tied to gore nests. L-I-T-C-H is using nests.

"I can, if I can get some drones through it will be easier to." Vega said, checking on the 'printer' to see the latest drone was almost done. Vega realized that ten minutes had passed, the mangubus and totem had delayed the Slayer's group.

It did not seem that long compared to what he was used to. Vega also had to put this new information that hell rejected souls from making Argent plasma on the metaphorical backburner. The Slayer had dropped back to ground level, driven the heel of a boot into a staggering imp tossed towards him.

Seeing what the group was needing to deal with, Vega was glad he had not voiced his question of whether they could get Lily out of the city now. With her reaction to Argenta drugs, there would be no safe way to get her out and not be hurt.

"Atlan?" A soft male voice called from inside the bridge of the Fortress'. Drawing the AI's attention inward in his frame so to say, triple checked that he had not missed being called before.

"Yes Ri'san?" Vega answered, watching the Shadowed Sentinel that had walked back onto the bridge, holding one of drones that were completely and just coming online. Bringing towards the others sitting quiet and waiting.

"Do you think I am able to pass through the portal back to Taras Nabad?" Ri'san asked as he stood beside another Shadowed. Both were in full armor along with two others on the other side of the path to the portal, all were now acting as guards. Two on each side of the portal with shield generators on an arm like what Rai had. Shield barriers.

The Argenta man was soft spoken, and had been pretty calm and adapting well on the Fortress. He matched up with many, if not all qualities Vega used to look for when still on Mars for the Elite Guard. Most Sentinels did but Ri'san had that odd quality of calming others around him, that same one most of the Guardsman used to have.

"It would be very risky," Vega spoke, checking that the Slayer's group, "The Slayer's team is going to try and set an ambush for when the portal is taken over."

"Can you make a portal outside of Taras Nabad? On the side the Dreadnought is?" Ri'san asked, the Argenta man had a thoughtful expression.

Vega checked, and if possible would have tilted his head. "There is still a portal beacon there where the rescued Sentinels were found. What is the reason you need to go back Ri'san?"

"There is a stash of medical supplies we were not able to get to when moving the civilians here." Ri'san explained, "I heard the healers talking about a lot of medications that are not good on the Fortress. Or we do not have. My unit had some in our transport before it went down on an outer wall. I think I can get to it from outside the city walls. Lord Malum can confirm where the ship is."

"Please wait a moment Ri'san, I'm going to check with the Slayer and Commander." Vega asked, as he reached out to the Slayer. Noting that Ri'san was moving to take up a guard position facing the portal. Having a non energy weapon in hand , but a plasma rifle on his back just in case. Vega was glad that the Argenta understood that something was going to come through the portal on this side.

Just because it did not happen before did not mean it could not again.

"Ri'san, the Slayer asks if you are sure that you can find the ship in the dark?" Vega spoke back up on the bridge as the portal frame was lifting out of the ground. Five of the drones activated and were moving to get ready to go through. There were two more non active on one of the unused consoles.

"Oh yes, I have better night vision than some of my brothers." Ri'san assured, he saw better in dimmed lights than brighter. "I was solo scouting for a way out of the city before the call to return to the throne room, and the trip here."

"Would you be willing to use the armor that is here?" Vega asked, his tone seemed to perk up suddenly. the last drones finished booting up and going through a diagnostic "Or partly, so that I can both communicate with you and add another point I can scan from. The Slayer wishes me to locate both gore nests and a kind of hell made totem I have never before seen until now."

Vega watched the body language of the four Argenta, who seemed so surprised. Did they not know there was more armor?

Then Ri'san perked up in posture, "I… Atlan if there is still armor of the Night Sentinels? I would be honored to wear that again. We became the Shadowed not completely by choice."

The man missed his old armor. Even if he might need to stain the silver and pale colors for the night, it would be worth it. Ri'san had almost been jealous seeing the three men that accompanied the Slayer a few days ago.

"It would be a delay to get the armor setup," the shield barrier beside the man spoke, "but one of us can come too, and with two of us with empty subspace.."

"We can strip the ship nearly." Ri'san nodded, he liked this plan better. He paused as the flow of energy shifted to flow towards the portal ring.

"The portal is about to open, there is two things the Slayer's group is going to try to throw through." Vega warned as he was being called from planet side, splitting his attention to focus on both.

"Atlan Vega?" Asin's voice called from the courtyard, "How long was it until the portal started to fluctuate before being taken over by the Corpse Lord?"

"Thirty seconds." Vega responded, it was a little longer than that but the colony AI could see that the time might likely be shorter than before. He also noted one of his drones' carrying containers was in the Slayer's hands now. Being wrapped with a thick cord as something to hold onto as the Slayer was testing the weight inside, and if the contents would shift. Another Argenta had a medium sized Sentinel battery wrapped in a pelt and sizing up the placement of the portal beacon.

"You wanted to send some more drones, do you think we can get this through at the same time?" Asin asked.

"Yes, if you aim higher on the portal you should miss the drones." Vega reassured as he got the hover drones to cluster lower to the deck. "The Sentinels standing guard should be able to catch what you throw. May I ask what is in the container?"

The Slayer chuckled.

"It's samples of the petrified flesh of the Dreadnought. And parts from the other demons that petrified after being exposed to it. Including the arm from the Behemoth." Captain Milla spoke up, her heart rate and demeanor had calmed considerably faster then Asin the first time he used his similar gift. "It did not progress fast enough with the Behemoth to save the little lady. But the Slayer said earlier that you, Atlan Vega, might be able to find a way to get it to spread faster for the civilians to use for defense?"

Almost All Vega's attention stopped and turned to what was said. Even stopping what he was also talking about to the Sentinels on the fridge and new healers in medical. Just a two second delay, but enough to have Cascade leaning over Vega in the Fortress, the older AI starting to support.

Vega checked through Valen's helmet, seeing movement of one of the massive living Sentinel wolves climbing into the bed to nose at Lily. Laying down beside the young woman and sitting up with forelegs stretched out. Much like Rula did on the Fortress, whenever she was in a casual guard position of the toddler twins.

He had considered before with the possibilities of the calcification of the Dreadnought. But with only scans and no samplies, Vega was limited.

Cascade chuckled behind Vega, as the Atlan approved of the now spiraling ideas and plans forming. Reminding Vega to keep the caliber and kickback small for the smaller human frames. Anything liquid possibly would be best.

"I will make good use of those samples, Captain Milla, if you can get them to me." Vega spoke in the comms, hearing the Slayer chuckle this time.

"Good, and tell those there to be sure to catch that battery. It's a concentrated mix to help the Fortress itself."

"Aim higher on the portal." Vega said as the Slayer tossed an activated portal beacon to the clearest area. The Sentinels moved back and around to be clear, ready to flank whatever would come out.

The Slayer looked down at the container he held, then to the woman beside him holding the battery before he gave Vega a thumbs up.

Vega triggered the portal, and the moment it was stable he sent the drones through. The Slayer tossed the container as he first hover drone passed through on his side. The Sentinel a heartbeat behind him as she heaved the battery through the portal, before backing up. As she had lighter armor was rather shamelessly retreating behind to use the Slayer's bulk and Praetor armor covered self as a shield. The drones scattered to the sides, all seemed clear and heading to the walls before turning and flickering on blue lights that filled the dark courtyard.

The Slayer watched as a portal pulsed in a familiar swirl of blue, teal and silver. Then it flickered before dark red and an off black shade bled into the swirl, the Sentinels shifting to lift weapons on either side of the portal. There was a scream that came through first, a femmine like voice that was surprised and then angry.

The first multi-limbed demon-like creature barreled through the portal. Bind but it launched in that same senseless way the first batch did at the first form in front of it. The Slayer.

The Slayer got a better look at the thing the moment before he was swinging a punch. It was definitely made from many broken demonic bodies that had been forced to merge by the Litch, the Corpse Lord's power. Covered in the cancerous Hellgrowth itself with no skin, muscles exposed to the air and still growing over the demonic body. The Slayer hit hard enough that the first monstrosity staggered and the covering flesh ripped.

He felt the Sentinel scout climbing his back, using him as a ladder to get height and jumping over his head. Long thin curved blades sank into the monster, fileting it open as other things were spilling into the courtyard. Exposing the inner frame that once was an imp, only mummified. The Slayer lunged for the demon core, ripping it out before the hell growth could seal.

There was another screeching yell as the portal was forced to become larger and a long limbed creature pushed through. Towering at a good eighteen feet tall, the willowy being rose up as its body was finishing forming. The hell growth used to keep herself together as she stretched, plasma hitting her frame and sizzling but showed no signs of pain. Unlike the smaller creatures and demons there was no easy way to tell what her frame used to be.

The broken skull of a tyrant blocked the faceless head, and had twisting, thorny branches mimicking horns. The skin layer of Hell growth was still extending down behind her frame like a cloak as the Corpse Lord's current body stooped to sweep too long arms, almost as long as her own current body over her horde. Grabbing a leg of the Scout that had been staying by the Slayer and flung her with full force into the stone walls of the inner yard. Almost hitting one of Vega's drones as the Slayer snarled, turning to look, just getting a glimpse of movement before an altered Hell Knight collided into him.

"Monster!" A maw opened not on the head but somewhere in the upper chest, as the Corpse Lorde focused on the Slayer as hell magic and energy erupted like flames around her hooved feet. "You killed my husband, my An'pu. I will rend you apart a thousand times for what you took from me, even if Father Nilox did not order your death."

The Slayer climbed back up to his feet, the knight falling to char around him. The not quite man seeing the portal starting to flex, getting a look in the background of a hunched form more on the scale of Malum. That had to be the real Litch's form, with a giant fox skull and a mask over it. He saw a dark drone with no lights rushing to get into the taken over portal before it closed, and tried not to draw attention to it as he lifted his arms, rifle in a one handed grip, his arm blade lifted as he focused on the current threat.