Everything around him was dead. Not one thing was left alive. It was either burnt to ashes, disintegrated into steaming bits or molten into something barely recognizable. That was the strenght of the plasma gun Fornax.
It proved to be more than lethal when applied to Peons and an excellent choice against the Hell Knight who, despite being able to take the first shots, fell under the power of the secondary firing mode that the gun possessed. A powerful beam capable of killing even the toughest of monsters, should the user decide to sacrifice a portion of the battery. A 25% beam was more than enough for the Knight. The only downside was that the battery now had 60% energy remaining, a fact that could be seen on a small screen on top of the weapon itself, and he only had three more batteries left.
Common sense dictates that, when one has a powerful weapon in their arsenal, yet said weapon has limited uses, they should use it only when it is functional to do so. Braylon discarded such logic and decided to go full liberal as newer and newer waves of demons teleported into the room.
Second wave consisted of two Pain Elementals, who kept their distance and decided to flood the whole place with Lost Souls, more Peons and a Bull Demon. From third wave onward, the situation became unpredictable. Some Peons, an occasional Hell Knight and even a new addition. One that the voice called Spectre;* Bull Demons but with dark green skin, two red eyes and had the power to turn invisible, except when trying to bite its victim or when it "dies".
Once the last Hell Knight, fell, everything became silent. The iron bars lowered, giving complete accessibility to what they protected. As for Braylon, he was a bruised and bloody mess, but he refused to fall, standing on his two legs and breathing heavily, clutching the hand that held a steaming Fornax. It was funny how such a thing would place him in bed for several months back when he was younger, but now after everything he went through, it could be considered a "flesh wound".
"Welp." He sighed. "I guess I have to choose which way to go first... I can already see the outcome of this."
"Jaune!"
"Jaune!"
Everyone gathered to search for their friend, or in JNPR's case, leader. Their Scrolls facilitated the search for the blond knight, although the Aura display was quite alarming for all of them. Whatever Jaune encountered, it was powerful enough to drop two thirds of his aura in minutes. In one moment they all heard a monstrous cry echoing through the forest. It was a clue they needed to follow.
"I can see him!" Ren warned others, before the person they were searching for, and with him a certain member of CRDL, smacked into him, sailing through the air at high speeds. His partner screamed and ran up to him.
"I'm fine... just... that was unexpected." He rubbed his head, staring at the body of his leader.
"Jaune!" The remaining member came to help. "Are you alright?"
"Mmmphnm..."
"What? Please speak louder."
"Uh, I think he meant "monster"." Pyrrha turned her head to Yang, who pointed forward. Her jaw dropped when she saw what Yang's finger pointed at. "What is that?!"
Slowly approaching the Huntsmen-in-training was a one-eyed giant with light brown skin. Taller than a Ursa Major when standning on its hind legs, just like the decapitated one it was carrying around, this club-wielding brute shook the earth with each step it made, roaring furiously when it spotted the newcomers. It threw the corpse at the group of teenagers, who fled just in time to avoid being squished by the dead Grimm.
"It's a monster!"
Everyone took their weapons and fired at the giant who protected its head with a free hand. The bullets did poorly against its hardened skin. Only Nora's grenade launcher was able to force the beast to take few steps back. Enraged, it swung its free arm and screamed, sending the leaves flying as well as stopping the assault.
Ruby had to bury Crescent Rose into the ground to keep herself from flying away. When the giant stopped screaming, she lept forward thanks to her Semblance and stabbed it in the leg. It screamed once more, swinging and stomping with the injured limb. At one point, it managed to kick Ruby away, sending her flying into a tree.
"Ruby!" Her sister cried in worry. Worry that soon turned into rage. Bursting into fire, Yang used her shotgun-gauntlets to propel herself up and towards the one-eyed monster. "You bastard!"
The beast swung its wooden club, trying to swat her like a fly. Yang, not interrupting her trajectory, punched the club, breaking it in two, and went for the eye. The warm blood that splashed on her face as soon as her gauntlet made contact woke Yang from her rage, letting herself vulnerable to the monster's backhand, now going berserk from loosing its valuable organ.
It flailed and roared, lashing out at everyone and everything. The destructive tantrum ended when Nora used Pyrrha's shield to propel herself upwards, only to swing down her hammer straight on its head. A loud crack later, and the giant was on the ground.
"Take that, ugly! Nobody hurts my Ren!"
Nobody decided to comment. Instead, everyone kept helping their injured colleagues.
"We must go back to professor Goodwitch." Weiss stated as she watched the dead monster. "She needs to know about this. The headmaster needs to know about this."
"Finding everyone should be our top priority." Blake said as she helped Yang standing up. "Cardin and Braylon are still missing."
Weiss frowned, but nodded in agreement. She then became witness to a really strange phenomenon. The giant, some time after its death, burned to ash and scattered away.
"What?!"
"Just like the Grimm." Blake frowned.
"That... thing, couldn't possibly be Grimm. It had no features a Grimm does!"
"Let's leave speculation for later. We need to find Braylon and Cardin."
"But we don't even know where they are!"
Cardin couldn't believe what he was looking at. There were no words in his dictionary that could express his anger aimed at the object that stood in the crater. A space rock as large as a bike. That was it. Not some piece of alien sci-fi space technology, or some kind of spacecraft. Just a rock.
"What a stupid waste of time." He growled and kicked the dirt.
Right when he turned around to leave, he heard something crack behind him. It was the rock that shook slightly with each crack. One, two, three, then the final crack and the rock was open like an egg. Behind the thin curtain of smoke, Cardin noticed a pool of sorts, containing some red liquid. When he took a step closer to see more clearly, something called to him mentally.
"Hello. You are not afraid, are you?"
He didn't know what was scarier. The intrusion into his mind or the fact that the intruder sounded like him.
"You have nothing to fear from me. I can assure you I mean no harm."
Cardin wasn't sure what to do. Should he turn and run away, or stay and listen to whatever that freak talked about? If he did the first, he would be finally seen as a coward. If he did the second, who knows what that thing would do to him. He was so torn apart by those decisions that he forgot he was talking to something that dropped from space.
"Who are you?"
"Just another traveler in the vastness that is space. Before you lies my form. Weak, isn't it?" Cardin watched as the liquid suddenly started vibrating and turning into a tiny heap. Suddenly, it threw itself from its pool onto the carpet of leaves below. "I wasn't always like this, however. Someone out there took everything I ever had from me. Now that I think of it, you and I are not so different. Yes, I can feel it. You suffered the same fate. But I also feel something else. Doubt. Hatred. Fear."
"I am not scared of anything!" Cardin barked defensively.
"Is that so? Then you won't have any problems if I search your mind, correct? Ah, there it is. You experienced defeat by a person who is stronger than you. They ridiculed you in front of everyone else and you were powerless to stop it."
"You..." Cardin grit his teeth in frustration, ready to bash the thing into an even more pulpy state.
"Today is your lucky day, Cardin. That same person happens to be... an acquaitance of mine. Someone I know all too well. His strenghts... and his weaknesses."
"Weaknesses?" Cardin realized what that "somebody" meant. "What weaknesses?"
"It is hard to describe with words. You have to see it for yourself." The heap moved forward. "I see it piqued your interest. Very well. In order to see it, you and I have to... bond."
"B..." Cardin took a step back. "Bond?"
"Yes. If you allow me to connect with your bloodstream we will create a bond that will give you powers beyond that of a common human. You will do things others wished they could. Think, you will become a role model. Everyone will see you as an example of what a Huntsmen should be. And naturally, that person will learn his place, just like everyone who will dare to stand in your way."
"...when do we start?"
Braylon wasn't new to teleportation. It was a common technology all throughout the galaxy. One could never become accustomed to the process, for the users would always report feeling slightly nauseous after the it ends. But the type of teleportation he was currently using was even worse. He was conscious through it all, able to see nothing but a a red tunnel-like void filled with thousands of human and inhuman screams, unable to move any muscle of his body, instead letting some kind of wind to toss him around. Before he knew it, he found himself on the other end. His first instinct was drop on his knees and to puke his guts out.
"Holy..." He coughed. "It's gonna be something common from now on, isn't it?"
Instead of hearing another mocking comment from the voice that followed him, his ears were bombarded with demonic screeching and animalistic grunts. He lifted his eyes from the gravel floor to take a sight of the place he was teleported into; a room with wooden walls and a gate in front of him. There were three cell-like compartments, one for each wall, containing nothing but Peon Imps, who kept shaking and scratching the iron bars that held them prisoners.
"Who dares intruding into my domain?!" A feminine voice boomed into his thoughts.
"God. I love how every single thing likes to use my brain as a telephone booth." He grumbled at the newly-acquired headache. "Are you Inanna?"
"You dare speak my name, worm?!"
"Wow. For being a "godess" of love, sex and beauty, you sure do act like a roastie."
"How dare-"
"Oh for fuck's sake, just shut your mouth for once! How I dare this, how I dare that! Do you have any other words in your vocabulary?! Nevermind. I am here to take the key so that I can open the gate, with or without your consent."
"Over my dead body!" The iron bars lowered, allowing Peons to flood the room. "Bring me his head!"
"Son of a bitch." He grumbled and metrialized Ajax's Spear.
(Doom Metal Volume 4 – Deep Into the Code)
The first volley of bullets hit three Peons on his left. Turning around, Braylon saw one Imp ready to leap towards him. He jumped sideways and on the ground, evading the attack. Another Peon took the opportunity to finish what his brother started, only to meet Braylon's legs who used them to kick the demon somewhere behind him. Backrolling, the Vault Hunter evaded a pair of hands aimed at his stomach, crouched, took aim and held the trigger until every Peon in the room became the demonic equivalent of Swiss cheese, their blood decorated the walls or spilled on the floor.
Reloading the gun, Braylon aimed at the wooden gate that slowly creeped open. A tiny black-blue-skinned head, slightly bigger than a human fist, with pointy ears, sharp teeth and three black dots for eyes, peeked into the room, staring at the Vault Hunter who immediately opened fire. The head, being faster, moved out with a snake-like hiss. A minute after Braylon stopped firing, it jumped into the room with three more lookalikes. They were all bald, thin, almost skeletal and each hand had four fingers equipped with claws. Their bodies reached the waist of a human, but their stance made them appear even more dwarvish.**
One of them stuck out a forked tongue between its teeth before barking a stream of gibberish. The remaining three replied with a bark of their own before lunging at Braylon, who killed two of them but the third threw him on the ground. It screeched something as it tried to claw its way to his heart, but drained the Shield instead.
Braylon tried to aim his rifle at the pest, but it was swatted away by the other demon who came to the rescue. He shouted angrily as he materialized the Holo Ripper, slicing in half the tiny beast above him then decapitating the last member alive.
"Fucking pricks!" He cursed as he got up and grabbed the rifle.
"Eurynomus. Probably used as jesters to keep up the morale."
"Blue-skinned little shits! I'll tear them in half the next time I see them!" He spat on one of the corpses before deciding to walk out of the room while taking Striker in the process. The room he previously stood in was inside something that resembled a spacious cave yet so confusing and filled with alien geometries. For example, the area forward was a tiny garden-like place filled with black sand, few dead trees and three human corpses on stakes, one of which was burning, while the ceiling was nothing but a lake filled with lava that never dropped down.
"Am... am I-"
"No. You are not down here. That is all you need to know. Now, forward. And don't make me repeat myself."
Braylon jumped from the cliff and began roaming through the garden. After he passed the third dead tree and the first corpse on a stake, his ears picked the sound of muffled footsteps all around him. Nervously, he spun around several times, trying to find the source. He almost screamed when a Spectre appeared right in front of his face, ready to take a bite of his arm. Hadn't he fall on the sand and pull the trigger, hurting the demon who turned invisible and ran away, he would have lost an arm.
"Fuck this."
He decided to swap Striker for the much stronger Orphan Maker and continued his journey towards the middle of nowhere. There were multiple steps again but he was prepared. Calming his nerves, he carefully moved his eyes, trying to find a hint that would tell him the attacker's position. Not only he heard the Spectre coming closer, he was also able to see the footprints. So he waited for the demon to come as close as possible before firing. Seconds later, a headless corpse appeared along with a large red mist. But the ambush wasn't over, as the Vault Hunter heard more footsteps from behind him. Not wasting any precious second, he spun around and fired again. He heard a roar of pain as the second Spectre appeared before him, face mangled.
"Go back to Hell." The next shot turned it into a disgusting pile of minced meat. Apart from a Peon hiding behind a tree, a tree that exploded as soon as Braylon sensed the demonic presence, there weren't any further threats, allowing Braylon to proceed.
"Bitch move or not. I'm not putting this toy away."
Out of all trees present in the area, there was one far bigger than the rest, but with pitch-black bark. The ground started shaking when Braylon stood fifteen meters away from it.
"What now?!"
Thinking that there was a possible threat hiding behind the branches' weird spasms, Braylon pointed Orphan Maker at the not-so-innocent plant. He barely suppressed his shock when four branches reshaped themselves into hands as a pair of orange-glowing eyes and a mouth locked in an eternal, evil grin formed inexplicably on the surface of the trunk. It laughed, ripping out its own roots, now shaped like feet.
"Mourning Wood.*** Classic."
"That's seriously fucked up!Shit!" He cursed loudly as he was forced to take cover behind one of the trees, because the tree opened its mouth and fired a volley of flaming spikes, laughing as it did so. "Damn! It looks tough! What can I do to bring that thing down? Maybe..." He sniffed. Something was burning. "My cover is on fire!" He jumped away as the Mourning Wood kept pouring flames, again from the mouth, like a flamethrower.
Braylon switched for the pistol and fired three bursts, each with three shots, in various places. It moaned loudly but it was far too weak to stop its advance, tearing out trees to clear the way towards the Vault Hunter.
Being a giant can be very rewarding. One can be unstoppable, as puny weapons are unable to cause any harm. However, being a slow giant in a crowded place is far more inconvenient, especially when the enemy, in this case a human, is faster. So Braylon circled around the Mourning Wood, who had trouble following his movement, went behind it and brought down his Holo Ripper on one of the legs while adding more damage with the pistol. Orange sap-like blood sprayed from the injury as the tree crashed loudly on the sand below. He finished the job by reaching the trunk and cutting it in two. The Mourning Wood corpse burned and turned to ashes, moments after its death.
"I didn't know it could do that."
"Every broken tool does. It's a precaution. Plausible deniability."
"Well at least the area is clear. For now."
His next challenge came in the form of a labyrinth made of black bushes. Stepping on the stone-tiled floor, an iron gate appeared behind him.
"Looks like there is no going back now."
The labyrinth proved to be very tricky. Whenever Braylon would turn his eyes away from a path, that path would change completely. What was straight became curved or it would split in more roads. The fact that no demon attacked him yet made him more paranoid than the labyrinth itself. All of a sudden, when Braylon went for his revolver, four Peons jumped out from the walls and towards him. Even two Bull Demons appeared from behind the corner, down the path.
"For God's-" A Peon moved its head too close to the barrel just as he pulled the trigger. "Hey! Let me go!"
All Peons piled up on him, obviously trying to restrain his movement for the fastly-approaching Demons. Gritting his teeth in frustration, the Vault Hunter shoved his left fist into a Peon's chest and materialized the Holo Sabre.
"I said, fuck off! Raagh!" As he tore his left arm free, so did the Sabre slice through the demonic flesh only to bury itself in a second Imp. After it fell, he swapped Sabre for Holo Claw, buried it in the third Imp's stomach, swung it over his head and towards the Bull Demons. One jumped and bit the Imp mid-air, munching and sprinting forward at the same time. Eventually its teeth snapped the spine and the corpse, now in two pieces, fell behind them.
"Christ. That was disgusting." Braylon stopped staring and fired with Unforgiven. It took three bullets to bring one down and the remaining two to injure the second individual, who still refused to stop its reckless rush. Rather than reloading, Braylon took the pistol and fired two more shots, finally putting it to rest.
The remainder of the trip was calm until he saw a small park down the road infested with a group of Peons and Eurynomus. He took one of the two remaining grenades, activated and hid it behind his back, running to get their attention. The small crowd noticed him and began hissing, growling and moaning, yet none refused to leave their position. When the time was almost up, Braylon felt confident and threw the grenade at the group. None was able to escape as the explosion turned the crowd into a gruesome organ party. Carefully avoiding any decapitated head, mangled intestine or other organs, he reached the park. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to predict that it was a trap, seeing how the only way forward, and the one behind him, was blocked with a wall of fire that never seemed to burn the bushes.
"Crap."
A pentagram appeared and a Baron of Hell teleported into the area.
"Not you again!" It roared, chucking a green fireball. "I am happy to see you too! Unless you are someone else-urk!" The Baron waited for Braylon to dodge the fireball so he could squeeze him iwith the hands. "Aaah! That fucking hurts!" Growling, it slammed Braylon against the floor and threw him on the other side of the park, draining his Shield.
"Damn... forgot... you hurt on a whole new level." Braylon had trouble standing up, despite the body having no visible injuries. "If he throws another of those, I'm done for." Just as he thought, the Baron prepared his hand for a second attack. "I need to act! Quick!"
Praying for the plan to succeed, he materialized Fornax and fired at the demon. The hot plasma burned its skin, disrupting the attack. His real intention was to fire a beam that would use 75% of the battery which, to his calculations, would be enough to banish it. Unfortunately, the Baron of Hell realized his intention, forcing him to fire prematurely; a beam with 25% power. Not enough strenght to do the job, but enough to open a wound in its chest.
Clutching its injury, the demon howled in pain and hatred for the one responsible. A lenghty distraction that gave him enough time to recover. When he tried to push for an offensive, the demon tore a piece from the floor and hurled it at him. Braylon ducked to avoid getting hit and replied with a volley of plasma. It annoyed the Baron more than injuring it like the beam did.
Even with the injury, the Baron was still able to move. So it leaped towards Braylon, bringing down a giant fist. Braylon jumped away and the fist collided with the floor. He then swapped Fornax for Orphan Maker and fired at the demon's head. It had less impact than he wanted.
"Kudos for being able to take a shotgun to the face and still live."
With a hole in its cheek, the Baron hissed as he unloaded his weapon once more into its head. It had more effect than the previous shot, dislocating the jaw and disfiguring the head but refusing to die.
"Fucking asshole. Take this!" Third shot was the breaking point, as the dead body crashed on the ground, the fiery walls that blocked his path extinguished themselves. What lied ahead was yet another wooden gate, only this one was connected to a wall. He reached the gate and pushed it open.
Braylon expected all kinds of things. Death arenas. Torture chambers. Catacombs full of corpses. But he never expected to find something that could either be described as a demonic brothel or a king's harem.
What lay on the floor were dozens of purplish cushions, either in a pile or single, occupied by one or more monsters. All of them bore many resemblances to human women. All of them were copulating with each other, talking, singing, drinking from golden chalices or trying to seduce the human to join their orgy.
"What the fuck is going on?"
Braylon looked around, obviously confused at the sudden change of atmosphere. The walls were painted in purple, just like the carpet below. He could also smell incense even if there were no incense-burners anywhere. But the most striking detail was a stairway that led upwards, to a golden throne, where a figure with wings could be seen sitting. The monsters giggled as the figure stood up and spoke.
"So you finally came to my inner sanctum. Good. Now, mortal, what is your reason for slaughtering your way to me like a barbarian?"
Dealing with people, the teenager was used to many types of voices. Rough, but honest. Plain, yet precise and to the point. Angry, with good reason. The voice he heard was smooth. Eerily smooth. Sweet and pleasing to the human ear, able to catch everyone's attention. And yet, it felt dead. Sweet, but also dead, with no emotion behind it whatsoever. No human was able to produce such a sound, Braylon thought.
"Stop thinking about it, slave. That voice uses a charm spell that is toxic to mortals, just like every tool in here."
"Right." Braylon shook his head and frowned. "I am here for the key! Now will you give it to me or do I have to come up there?!"
The voice giggled playfully. "Oh-ho! Our little mortal decided to show his teeth! Girls! Take care of him!
"...to be fair, I should have seen that one coming."
(God of War: Ascension – Streets of Sparta)
All lights went out, except those close to Braylon, forming a purple circle. His first opponent was a monster with the upper body of a woman, but the lower body of a snake. A mythological monster known as Lamia.****
Due to her anatomy, she was able to stand taller than him, thus trying to intimidate the human in front of her, who materialized Holo Sabre and grabbed his revolver. The Lamia hissed as it swiftly slid forward and coiled her body around his. He scratched her with Sabre and fired a bullet every time he could feel the barrel bury slightly into the snake-like body.
"Let me go already!" He yelled to the increasingly uncomfortable Lamia. It was only a matter of time before she loosened her grip. And when she did, he jumped out, used her body as a platform, jumped again and brought down the Holo Sabre on her right shoulder. She screamed as the holographic tool moved out from the wound and cut her with one horizontal slash, splitting her apart. He could hear gasps from the crowd hidden in the darkness.
"Fine." The female voice spoke again. "Have it your way. She was annoying anyways. Next!"
This time, it were three Harpies. Women with the wings and legs of a bird. Like the Lamia, Harpies were physically attractive yet disgusting and abominable at the same time.*****
"Man, I think I never went from "diamonds" to "wet rag" faster in my life."
One Harpy from the small flock screeched and swooped down faster than he was able to react, slamming him with her own body. He lost balance and fell. The remaining two lifted him up by his arms, allowing the third to scratch and bite his Shield-protected body.
"Ma'am or no ma'am, I have to do it!" He gritted his teeth then, as soon as the third Harpy came close, grabbed her head with his legs. The commotion was too much for the Harpies, so they let go of him. Falling on his back, he grabbed the pistol and used it in combination with Unforgiven to kill off all three monsters. Now the crowd started murmuring.
"Impressive. But your luck ends now."
The third challenge consisted of two Succubi and one woman with long blond hair, but also with five fox tails behind her back and a pair of fox ears. ******
"Try not to stare too much into the mammary glands, slave. I don't need more stains on my reputation."
"If only you knew how bad things really are... those nails look too sharp for my liking." Succubus on the left threw a fireball at Braylon, who dodged it with ease. "I preferred them when they tried to get into my pants." The second Succubus took flight as the first kept chugging fireballs. Meanwhile, the fox-tailed monster jumped from place to place with surprising speed, scratching him more times than he wanted. "Need to take care of the two before I can move to the Kitsune... or is it Kumiho? Fuck." He managed to dodge another scratch. "Enough mental blowjobs and concentrate!"
Switching to Striker, the Vault Hunter shot the flying Succubus in the chest. She dropped on her knees, holding the bleeding wound with one hand while leaning on the other. Incapacitated, it was no longer a threat, so he shot the other and killed it on the spot.
"Now for the fox."
His last opponent already depleted his Shield and he was unable to take aim thanks to the speed. So he had an idea. He spun around and aimed at the injured Succubus, counted to five, turned around again and instantly pulled the trigger. As he expected, the monster was behind him, receiving the blast from point blank-range. The last living monster was killed too.
"Silence!" The voice's response to the crowd's outrage was quick and decisive. "So be it, mortal! I shall finally respond to your provocations myself!"
He heard the flapping of wings as the voice's owner came into view. A woman with white wings and yellow feet of a bird, adorned in all kinds of jewelry, including a golden bustier, necklace and rings. It was none other than Inanna herself.*******
"So. You must be Inanna."
"Indeed. You have the privilege to see me in flesh and blood. Few mortals were able to do that in ancient past."
"I bet they also got that sweet vadge." He snickered. "Ha, sweet..."
"Enough. This was the last insult that will ever come out of your lips. Prepare to die."
"Bring it, featherbrain."
(Dark Souls – Chaos Witch Queelag)
Inanna summoned a golden shield and a spear with her abilities.
"Did you know, mortal? I enjoy combat as much as love."
"You said "alimony" wrong." Braylon fired with the Striker. The shot was blocked with her shield, which deflected the pellets. "Bulletproof shield? I wish I had that." With a roar, the self-proclaimed goddess threw her spear in the air above the Vault Hunter which multiplied in lots of copies and rained down on him. His shield was depleted and one spear managed to stab him in the shoulder only to dissapear seconds later. Now Inanna summoned a golden sword while still holding her shield.
"Ah! Damn it! Now you've done it!" Braylon materialized Holo Sabre and rushed forward. The fact that both her sword and shield could block or clash with his holographic weapon bothered him because no physical weapon should be able to do that. He dismissed such facts as sorcery and focused further on the gladiatorial combat. Both sides were unable to prevail and hit the other. Where one would go for a quick stab, the other would either dodge or deflect.
"You are good, mortal."
"Good? I'm better."
"Don't delude yourself. You still failed to land a hit on me."
Both jumped away from each other.
"She is right. I still didn't hit her."
"There is a reason why a tool considers itself to be its creator."
"I see it now. Looks like those responsible stuffed her brain with excellent combat skills. She has no openings that I can use. But..." He grinned. "...It will take much more to bring me down."
"I assure you that, no matter what your plan is, it will not work on me, for I am a goddess of warfare and combat." He didn't respond, focusing on stashing away all his weapons and swapping them for Holo Ripper. They stared at each other for few seconds before restarting their fatal dance.
The reason why he switched the Sabre for Ripper was because he wanted to experiment. Due to the nature of his currently-equipped weapon, every time Inanna tried to deflect with her sword or shield, the holographic sawchain would give him a little boost in pushing them away, thus forming a seconds-brief opening. When he decided to stop the tests, he secretly materialized the remaining grenade and activated it. Continuing his faux-attack, he tried his best to show her the grenade, tricking her into focusing on the explosive. Suddenly, he threw the grenade behind her and jumped away. Taking the bait, Inanna turned around and raised her shield just as the explosion threatened to harm her.
"Now!" Braylon took the opportunity to ambush her from behind. With the right hand holding her in a headlock, he raised his left to attack. "Oh no you won't!" He shouted just as her wings started flapping. Moving his focus on the left wing, Braylon decided to cut it off with Ripper. Between her screams and a mixture of blood and feathers, he was successful in ripping the wing off her back. After the deed was done, he used the holographic chaisaw to stab her through the heart, killing her.
"Gods... don't bleed." He said between breaths.
"A for effort. F for one liner."
"Come on! I was cool right there."
"Great. Perfect. Now find the key."
"Key. Right. I bet she has it near her throne."
Ascending the stairs to Inanna's throne, Braylon not only found the key, which was a sapphire blue skull, but also a loot chest containing a new weapon for his arsenal, along with ammo.
"Say what? She had a damn Omni-Cannon stashed in here and she decided to go Amazon on me?" Braylon thought as he picked up the Hyperion sniper rifle. "Well I sure as hell know a good use for this." He grabbed the skull-shaped key and went downstairs. "Guess I have to go all the way back, huh?" Back where he fought Inanna and her underlings, a teleporter appeared in the middle of the room. All corpses vanished, leaving no trace.
"Or not."
I have to be honest, I forgot to write the secondary firing mode in the Fornax description. But in my defense, I did say it would come back mostly unchanged. So for the chapter, how was it? Good? Bad? Care to comment? In any case, this was part one of three. Most of the fights were improvised in my head when I wrote them. I try to "see" them like a movie and then put my best effort into writing it down, with minor changes. Methinks this is it for the author notes. It always happens to me that I forget important stuff when I write it down, only to remember it literally minutes after I publish the chapter. Brains can be trolls.
PDA Biopedia:
*Entry #41: Spectre
Type: Demon
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Everyone likes to LARP from time to time. But even a hobby like that can turn into a mental disorder. What you witnessed was a Demon skilled in the art of Partial Invisibility, a technique that distorts reality around its user, making sure that mortal senses are unable to perceive it. Why Partial? Because it fails to affect the environment around it. Your eyes won't see the Demon, but they will be able to see footprints. If you are not careful, you will end up becoming a snack."
**Entry #42: Eurynomus
Type: Demon
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Brothers who, along with Imps, are charged with gathering the corpses of fallen mortals to use them for Gore Nests. If they catch one alive, they will either torture them to death and eat their bodies, or bring them to the nearest Flesh Artist they find. If they ever overwhelm you, be sure to have one bullet for yourself. Just in case."
***Entry #43: Mourning Wood
Type: Hellspawn
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Also known as the nightmare of every lumberjack ever. They are native to a reality where the moon can turn orange. I'm not even joking. That's the saddest part."
****Entry #44: Lamia
Type: Hellspawn
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "I remember this one. It was supposed to be an inside joke. You know, snake convinces a mortal to eat the fruit...no? Whatever. So, Lamia. Half snake, half human woman. The latter, as alluring to human men as possible. The former, used to strangle them to death. They used to form villages back in the day, where they would bring human males to copulate, before boiling them alive and use them as food."
*****Entry #45: Harpy
Type: Hellspawn
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Human women with wings and legs of a bird, gifted to them by forcefully tearing their original limbs and replacing them with those. They move in flocks and like to eat humans. Dumb just like a bird. All you need to know."
******Entry #46: Kumiho
Type: Hellspawn
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "Not to confuse with Kitsune. The two are nothing alike. Kitsune enjoy trolling occasional humans or get drunk. A Kumiho is bent on eating your heart or liver. Don't know why, though. Also, that seductive human form is just a lie. In reality, this being is nothing more than a sentient fox with too many tails. Speaking of which, you should be wary about those. More tails equals a stronger Kumiho."
*******Entry #47: Inanna
Type: Hellspawn
Faction: Legions of Hell
Description: "An ironic tool with an ironic life. A pawn worshipped by other pawns. She is just one of many creatures that tricked mortals into thinking they are deities. When a cult eventually forms around them, that cult becomes nothing more than our extended hand, doing as we please. For the trick to work, we simply pump these creations with more power than your average monster and let them to show off. Don't be tricked into thinking that you accomplished some hero-tier victory. Inanna's cult is long gone and its followers are down here. At least you can brag about bringing the janitor job to a whole new level."
Arsenal:
- Newest addition: Omni-Cannon
Pistol: Energy Pistol, Unforgiven
Shotgun: Striker, Orphan Maker
Assault Rifle: Ajax's Spear
Sniper Rifle: Omni-Cannon
Energy Weapon: Fornax
Shield: The Bee
HWM: Holo Ripper, Holo Claw, Holo Sabre