AN: Only two more chapters to go for book one of three for Imp On Fire. Once I update Healing Blitzo I'm going to come back and finish the two.
Disclaimer: I do not own Helluva Boss or Hazbin Hotel
OC's William "Billy" Bile, Sakura, Artemisia Menodora, and Roger Wolfenson aka The Gentleman belong to FleetlordAvatar, TheDragonSaver, Aurasoulyami, and DaemonQueen
Sir Pentious was thankful that he didn't have a human anatomy anymore because he was pretty sure he would wet himself if he did. Helldrakes were not just one of the most dangerous creatures in Hell. They were among the oldest as well. Made personally by Satan himself all the way back during the First War Against Heaven. They were near uncontrollable save for the mightiest of demons, with Satan himself being the only one who could control them all. Since his demise, few of them have been kept in captivity, while most have been flying off in the Nine Rings' most isolated and dangerous areas.
And now, one of them was tearing his fleet apart.
He lost three destroyers, one battleship, seventy fighters, and a cruiser in less than twenty minutes. If he were to compare this sudden surprise attack, it would be like the Battle of Midway, only he was the Japanese force, and the Helldrake was the USS Yorktown. He quickly ordered all forces to focus on Helldrake. It was the biggest threat as it flew around slashing and biting at his ships while breaking black hellfire that was so hot it practically melted through the shields and armor like a hot chainsaw made out of magma cutting through a tree if it was made out of ice cream and butter.
"Order all our fighters to keep it distracted! Fire everything we have at that beast!" Sir. Penticlous ordered as his fighters swarmed the monster like a hive of wasps, shooting their machine guns and missiles, but they might as well have been bitten by flies to the giant winged dragon. Missiles and beams of energy struck the beast but did not cause severe damage.
Growling, he tried to think of a way out of this. He knew of the plan to take down the island's three main areas of power: electricity, magic, and the airfield. His job was to provide what support he could while reducing the island's defenses. Only now, he had a bigger problem. If the Helldrake kept this up, his ships would be wiped out.
Since it was summoned by magic, the magical field has to be why it's even here in the first place. To summon something so powerful would require a large amount of magical energy, Sir. Pentious theorized in his head. However, summoning spells have one weakness. If the means to summon the monster is destroyed or cut off, the summoned creature returns to where it came from.
This meant it all depended on the team focusing on cutting the island's magical field. Until they succeeded, he would have to hold the line. Which meant it was time to bring out his biggest weapon.
"Minions! Prepare my Knight Mech!" Sir. Pentious demanded as his Eggboys gasped.
"But boss, you haven't fully finished testing it!" One of them said with worry.
"No time for sssssssssssecond guessessssssss! It is crucial that we defeat this dragon, and as such, I will ssssssssssssslay it with my greatest creation! By the time this battle ends, I shall be known as Sir. Pentious! The Heldrake SSSSSSSSSSSSlayer!"
Meanwhile, outside, the Helldrake was just finishing off another of the ships by getting on top of one. He used his claws to rip it open like a shell of an egg before breathing fire into the ship. It melted and exploded from the inside out, destroying all the Eggboys and Marines inside. Roaring, the Helldrake went to find its next prey when something exploded in its face and actually caused it to lose direction in the air.
More importantly, it actually hurt it.
It turned in the air to see something that made it pause in confusion. The fighters engaging it backed off upon seeing what was jetting towards it. Much like the Space Marines, Sir. Pentious took further inspiration from Warhammer 40K to try and create mechs based on it. Obviously, his first inspiration was a Titan, but even he couldn't accomplish that, so he went with the second-best thing: a Knight.
Using the Questoris Pattern, Sir. Pentious Knight Mech was green and golden with the strongest armor and shielding he could attach to it. In one arm, there was a Thermal Canon with sharp blades attached to it that made up a claw. The other arm was a high-powered rapid-fire cannon already firing at the drake, who quickly flew to avoid it. It flew around and tried to attack from behind.
However, in true Sir. Penticlous fashion, he wasn't going to just copy something and not improve upon it. After all, what would mech by a snake demon be if it didn't have a tail to go with it? Using his mechanical tail, the snake knight slapped the Heldrake as it tried to go for its sneak attack, the jolts from the tail's taser feature adding additional damage.
With the creature stunned, the Knight raised its rapid-fire cannon and got in a few more shots before it flew off. Inside his pilot hatch, Sir. Pentious grinned as he gripped the controls. "Prepare, fowl beast! To face the might of SSSSSSSIR. PENTIOUSSSS!"
"Looks like Sir Penty managed to bring out the big guns against that beast," Blitzo said from his location on the islands as he used his binoculars to watch the fight above. So far, the advance was moving forward but slower than he liked. Billie returned to the shore to get more of his chemicals as Blitzo took a breather.
If he had to judge the raid so far, he would say it was going at an even pace. But he knew that unless the other teams did their jobs, things wouldn't go very far. Taking a deep breath, he turned on his radio. "Tell me you guys are getting closer to your positions."
"This is Moxxie. We're just about to infiltrate the electrical plant."
"Millie here! We're almost at the runway! Kinda hard to not see it with the fires and all."
"Sakura and I are trying to avoid patrols. So I can't talk now. Loona out."
"Alright, just hurry, you guys. We're on the clock here," Blitzo said as he sighed deeply. "If a higher power is looking after us, I hope he can work out some magic."
That being said, he knew that there was one power that was always watching him. He slowly touched the part of his face covered by makeup and winced. He knew there was a big chance he was going to use that power at some point, but he was hoping to use it until the very end.
I just hope what I lose is worth it...
Moxxie would not deny that a small part of him was excited that he would be working with The Gentlemen. Even in the early days of his career, he heard about one of the most famous assassins in the last few decades. Out of respect for the senior assassin, Moxxie allowed him to devise a plan for them to wipe out the electrical power for the island. The Gentlemen said he already had one based upon looking at the electrical generator's building and told Moxxie his role was to provide sniper support outside while he infiltrated it.
So, with a silent SVU sniper rifle he grabbed from a weapons supply on the beachhead, Moxxie waited in place. He found a small cliff overlooking the building that provided an excellent view of the building. The building itself wasn't too big, but apparently, it went underground. The building was three-story with many chain fences, a checkpoint gate, some armed machine gun nests, and a large garage.
"I'm just at the wall. Are you ready to take care of the guards?" Roger Wolfenson asked on the radio.
Aiming his rifle, he focused on the first of seven guards on the rooftop. Three machine gun nests were on top and pointing in different directions, with a gunner and ammo holder on each. Walking between them was an armed guard and Moxxie's first target. With his finger on the trigger, Moxxie answered, "Ready, sir."
"Take out the walking guard, then the closest machine gun nest. I'm on my way up now."
Moxxie didn't hesitate and fired the first silent shot. The head only jerked once before flopping down. By the time the west side machine gun nest was about to notice, they got a shot in the head each and went down. The Gentlemen made it up via grappling hook gun and took two kunai knives with one hand.
"Get the north nest." Moxxie adjusted his aim, and two more shots were fired while the Gentlemen threw his two knives. The four bodies were down without anyone below knowing. Roger reached a nearby vent and pulled out a small welding tool. A minute later, it was open, and he spoke again. "I'm going in. Once you get the signal? Start shooting."
"What's the signal?" Moxxie asked.
"You'll know," He said before entering the vent.
Calvin Howler, a brown and black hellhound with German Shepherd appearances, had only recently become a new recruit to Prince Gaap's forces, and he was told several things that had made him question if he made the right career choice. One, their boss seemed to be obsessed with this demon chick they had been in love with for centuries. The first rule was to never mock or question these romantic feelings or his strange behavior unless you wanted to end up dead. A few people had, and it never went well for them. Second, get to know the island well, especially since you could end up walking into the landmine area. Third, despite the NORN system, you had to constantly train and be prepared for any attack, as Prince Gaap loved to test his defenses with anyone ranging from mercenary units to full-on Legionnaire forces.
However, this time, someone attacked Prince Gaap on their own initiative. Rumors were spreading that someone had taken out the NORN system, leaving them to pick up the pace and defend themselves. Since they were stationed at the power system, they were a prime target for attack, so everyone had to be ready.
But when you need to take a shit. You had to take a shit.
Calvin cursed as he quickly entered the men's room and a stall soon after. He knew his superior officer was going to kill him for removing his post, but he rather get punished than have shit in his pants. Pulling his drawers, he sat on the toilet and sighed in relief before pulling out his cell phone to look up some messages.
He heard a noise above and blinked before looking forward, only to see an elderly Hellhound in a sneak suit and monocle look at him upside down, hanging by his tail over the removed vent shaft.
"Beg your pardon. Forgot to knock," The Gentleman apologized before he slit his throat with a knife.
The last thing Calvin heard before dying was the splash of his own turd hitting the toilet water.
Roger Wolfenson felt alive again. He hadn't felt this young in years. Sneaking in bases. Silently killing any guards that were impossible to sneak past. Causing a distraction here and there to avoid detection. Combined with a time limit to see that the greater plan for this raid would work, he honestly felt like he would be opening his favorite bottle of scotch when he got home after completing this.
He reached an elevator and pressed the button while holding his silenced 92 Beretta. There was a ding, and he lifted it before firing several shots before entering and pressing the down button while ignoring the three corpses. He whistled a bit before pushing on his monocle to use the X-ray feature to see if anyone was waiting for him at the elevator entrance. Just two sinner mooks with machine guns with their backs against him.
Waiting a bit, he let the elevator open up as the left one turned around only to get pistol-whipped in the face, and his left knee cracked from a solid proper kick behind it. The right guard turned around only to have a jab to his throat silence him, followed by a shot in the face. Without hesitation or even looking, he aimed his gun behind him and shot the other downed guard in the face.
He dragged the bodies into the elevator and then pressed the basement-level button before shooting the panel and leaving just as the doors closed. Walking over to a nearby window, he looked down to see the power generators—eight large cylinder-like machines pumping out electricity to the island.
"Hmm," The Gentlemen rubbed his furry chin. "Got the explosives. Need to sneak in and place them. So how do-"
"Hey!"
He raised an eyebrow and turned to his left to see a horned demon guard, surprised to see him on the other side of the hall. He raised his pistol, but it was too late as he had his radio out.
"Intruder by the elevator! Bottom fl-Gah!"
Knowing he was now in a rush, Roger looked around the generator room and saw a lot of steel platforms, grinders, railing bridges, and pipes. However, one railing gave him an idea, and he quickly reloaded his gun before firing three shots to shatter the glass. Getting out his grappling hook and C4 packs, he aimed his grappling hook just as armed guards turned the corner with their guns drawn.
"Freeze!"
He smirked and fired, zipping away just as the bullets reached him. Swinging from one end of the room, the Gentlemen tossed his C4 packets as they traveled from one end to the other. Workers and guards starred in surprise as the latter soon aimed at him to fire. Bullets missed as he managed to make it to the end of the room. He smashed through another window right and hit his feet against the face of a Hellhound guard who got knocked out from the blow.
Getting up and dusting himself off, Roger smirked as he pulled out the detonator and pressed the button.
Turns out that the explosion was a giant explosion from underground that caused a massive amount of dirt and rubble to pop from underneath. Fire alarms went out as soldiers were knocked back or crushed by the wreckage as everyone tried to find a sense of what was going on and get orders. Moxxie didn't hesitate to start shooting any soldiers he could that weren't dead or dying.
Thanks to the chaos, combined with his silencer, his shots went undetected for a long time until the soldiers finally realized they were dropping dead one by one with bullet holes in their brains. This caused them to try and seek cover while a few panicking ones started shooting in random directions.
"Sir? It's Moxxie. Objective complete," Moxxie said to his radio.
"Nice, Mox. Head back here when you can. Roger with you?" Blitzo asked.
Moxxie was about to answer when something came out of the smoking garage. Riding on a motorcycle, Uzi in one hand, Roger drove towards the checkpoint of the base while firing his machine gun at any nearby guards. When he reached the checkpoint, he had the cycle jump over the barrier and drove away.
Moxxie smiled. "Heading to him now, sir. And he's got us transportation."
Meanwhile, another group was planning their run to take down the airfield, although thanks to the bombing and artillery, half of their job was already done. Millie and Artemis had reached their destination and hid behind rocks and bushes to gaze at their target zone. The airfield was in a state of chaos as workers were trying to handle the fires and rubble, as well as the dead and dying. The bombings had stopped thanks to the Helldrake attacking the air force they had, but with everything in such a chaotic state, it was clear that there was no better time to deal with this situation.
Naturally, the girls knew that destroying an entire airfield would be time-consuming, so their main focus would be Prince Gaap's private escape plane. One good batch of C4, and it was going to be grounded for good. The problem was that the airplane was in a hangar on the far end of the base, and there were tons of armed enemies between them and the target.
"So what's the plan?" Artemis said as she prepared her heavy customized Knight's Armament SR-25 Combat Carbine Rifle on a large rock for support. Adjusting the scope, she made sure her rifle was ready for action. "Use stealth while I spot you while telling you where to cover? Cause a distraction so you can zip inside, place the charges, and get out? Or do we-"
"Yeehawww!" Millie shouted as she charged forward with her chainsaw axe revving up.
"...Or we can do that," Artemis sighed as she took aim and fired a shot right into an enemy's skull.
The shot alerted some people, but it wasn't until the dying screams of an Imp getting chainsawed in half that they actually realized they were under attack. Millie didn't waste any time darting between stunned guards who were still coming to terms with what was going on as she eviscerated them with quick slices, chops, and hacks that turned them into bloody paste. By the time they finally snapped out of it and drew their guns, Millie had already killed eight of them and wasn't done yet. Drawing a few knives out, she threw them in a wide throw to make a few pincushions while shots from Artemis ensured that anyone about to take aim was dead before they hit the trigger.
Grabbing one of the larger sinner enemies and breaking their arm with a well-placed knee to the arm joint, she spun them around and used them as a shield to take gunfire as she charged forward to a small group of armed guards firing at her. She threw her chainsaw ax through half of them in a sickling arch before drawing two M67 grenades, pulling the pins, throwing them, and eliminating the rest. Diving into the smoke for cover, she pulled out a Uzi 9mm and sprayed away the others while heading for one of the damaged buildings. Diving through a window, she took cover as more gunfire was fired upon her.
Artemis was removing her sniper's magazine when she saw two large jeeps with mounted machine guns heading towards the damaged building while ready to fire. She quickly went for one of her modified ammo magazines, and once she reloaded, she held her breath and focused. The entire world seemed to slow down as she concentrated on her target's right angle, distance, wind, and direction. She adjusted her aim just right and pulled the trigger.
A single bullet sailed through the air, slightly arching as it continued onward toward its target: the fuel tanks at the rear of the jeep. A normal bullet would not do much, but an incendiary bullet? That would. Oh, yes, it would.
The explosion all but echoed in the area as the second jeep was knocked over by the force of the explosion. This distraction was all that Millie needed to make her way out of the building. She kept getting closer until she saw that one of the more humanoid sinners tried to attack her while driving a motorcycle. Millie smirked and merely grabbed the arm of the driver, used it to swing and flip into the front of the bike, punch him in the face, then twisted around to drive it.
Taking out the C4, Millie drove to the hangar, tossed it in, and drove away while clicking the detonator. The hanger exploded as nearby soldiers were tossed aside from the explosion like ragdolls or caught up in the blast and turned to paste. Millie continued to drive back the way she came, but not before getting the chainsaw axe she used to cut down a few more panicking enemies. She skeeted in front of Artemis and smirked. "Need a ride?"
"If you insist," Artemis said as she got on the back, and the two drove off. While doing so, Artemis used her radio to contact Blitzo.
"Artemis here. Nobody is going to be flying out of here any time soon."
"Good, that's two out of three. How are you doing, Loona?" Blitzo's voice echoed on the line.
"Well, we got good and bad news," Loona said. "The good news is we found the nexus for the magic being drawn. The bad news is that it's shielded, and we can't get in."
"How bad?" Blitzo asked.
"We tried cutting through it, shooting through it, and exploding it. Nothing works."
"Hang on, I got an idea. Yo, Sir. Pentious?"
The sound of mechanical fighting, roars, and gunshots echoed on the radio, making Artemis wince and curse her hellhound ears. She looked up in the sky to see that the Helldrake had delivered a nasty tailwhip to Sir Pentious Knight's mech, which responded with a plasma shot to the rear.
"What?! I'm busy fighting for my life here?! Damn, you accursed beast! You think that I, Sir. Pentious will just let you get away with hitting me without retribution! You shall-"
The Helldrake's answer was to slash his knight in the face.
"Son of a bitch!"
"Yeah, whatever," Blitzo said with a bored expression. "Look, do you have something that can neutralize a magical shield to let Loona and Sakura take care of their objective?"
"Yes, fine! Just send the locations to one of my sssssships and my Eggboysssss should do the rest! Now have at thee!"
The Knight mech boosted forward with its claws emitting electrical currents that shocked the Helldrake as it tackled it in midair.
"Think I can get a mech from Sir Pompous after all this?" Millie asked on the radio.
"IT'S SIR PENTICOUS!"
Loona held her X-Model .410 with one hand while Sakura, blades drawn, stood beside her as they waited for whatever the Eggboys were going to help them out with the magical shield. It wasn't hard to find the nexus for all the magical energies being drawn, thanks to the summoning of the Helldrake. It was a giant magical circle levitating over a large empty cascade of magic that seemed so deep you could turn it into a lavishing swimming pool for a hundred people. Loona knew only a bit of magic, but she knew what liquid mana was and its smell since it was a popular means to get high at clubs.
Liquid mana was a mix of blue and purple that smelled like a combination of sugars and spices with a hint of mint. A delightful smell, but it was deadly if you didn't handle it right. Getting dunked into something like this would be like the equivalent of being soaked in mercury, only it would cause weird shit to happen to your body. The Hellhound once saw a video of someone getting pushed into one, and they turned into a freak of nature with the wings of a pterodactyl, the head of a six-eyed cow with spider fangs, the body of a bloating frog, and two sets of legs before someone shot them to put them out of their misery.
There were mages inside the shield, keeping it up while focusing on keeping the mana flow for the island going well. Most were your standard Goetia-looking demons ranging from noble birds to proud lions to even a few winged wolves with black feathers. All sneering at the two who were waiting. While it was confirmed that the two girls couldn't hurt them, they couldn't hurt them either. A stalemate.
"...So," Sakura turned to Loona. "Your thoughts on all this?"
"What do you mean?" Loona asked the nekomata.
"Your father has chosen a path of revenge that will see many deaths by the end of it all. Chances are it will cost him much. Revenge usually does, as we've seen in our line of work," Sakura sighed. "You are determined to follow him? Even if it leads to a dark end?"
"...Before Blitz adopted me, I had nothing. No parents. No friends. I didn't have a future," Loona sighed. "Most Hellhounds who live on the streets don't last long. They either get killed or kill themselves. Blitz? He saved me from that. No matter how much of an asshole he can be at times, I know he loves me, and I love him. I have a better life and a family because of him. And a Hellhound is always loyal to those they care about. So even if it means I'm gonna die at the end of all this, I'm fine with it. Because then, at least, I paid the favor back."
Sakura smiled warmly and nodded in agreement before noticing that something was heading towards them. "Looks like our help has arrived."
Said help was a giant blue, glowing shell that hit the magical shield and caused a strange blue sparkling mist around the area. Using their nostrils, neither Loona nor Sakura could tell what the chemical was, but at least it didn't smell poisonous, so they could breathe it in. What it did do was start eating up the magical shield. Literally.
It dissolved like acid, and the mages were horrified to see it all but crumble before them as the girls smirked. Flipping her shotgun, Loona aimed and fired her buckshot, which went right through the head of a mage before they could react. The others, realizing they were now in danger, started casting spells, which caused the girls to separate. With her blades ready, Sakura dashed forward like a pink blur as she reached her first mage and cut them down with a single swipe before jumping to the left to avoid a thunderbolt spell. She dashed forward again as they summoned plasma bolts and fired them individually. Sakura ducked and weaved before slicing one in half and reflecting another. She then jumped up and slashed their head open like a melon by crossing her blades and sending them down in an "X" motion.
Meanwhile, Loona slid on her legs to avoid an ice blast before blowing a Goetia bird mage away with a blast of her shotgun filled with angelic rounds. She spat out the feathers before turning on her knees to fire two more times to take down another mage duo. One summoned ethereal-looking blades of attack, but Loona could smell him coming a mile away. She ducked her head to avoid a slice before rolling away to avoid a stab. Blocking both blades with her gun, she kicked him in the family jewels, causing him to keel over. She then slammed the butt of her shotgun on the back of his neck, forced him down, and blew him away with a single shot.
The last mage was taken down by Sakrua, who sliced both his arms and kicked him into the pool, where he quickly dissolved into nothing. With their work done, the girls looked at the mana pool and then at each other.
"So, how do we take care of this thing?" Sakura asked with a shrug.
Loona rubbed her chin before taking out some C4. "Blow it up?"
"Good ideas as any."
Sir. Pentious knew he was running out of steam. Literally, his Knight mech was on its last legs, not just because of the damage that the Helldrake had given him but also because the energy reserves had reached their final last drops. The Helldrake had been beaten, bloody, and bruised but not dead. Despite the damage done to it, it was still fighting and would not stop until their duel was over. With only one good arm and leg left, plus a sparking chest, the Knight mech prepared to undergo its final assault.
"You have fought well, my enemy, but now is the time for me to end thisssss!" Sir. Pentious screamed as he charged forward in the air with his mech.
The Helldrake also roared as it charged forward.
The two opponents who had torn into each other were prepared for one final clash.
A finishing blow to end this duel once and for all.
Their roars echoed as the wings screamed past them.
Each ready to finally believe one last blow.
However, there was suddenly a large multi-color explosion on the island that made the entire sky light up like fireworks, which got Sir. Pentious's attention. The Helldrake's eyes widened before it suddenly vanished with a small magical "poof" as if it was never there in the first place. Once this happened, Sir. Pentious's Knight Mech froze in place as he stared at the area where his enemy was before it vanished.
"Hey guys! Magic's down! That Helldrake seems to have gone with it! No need to thank us!" Loona said on the line.
Sir. Pentious's eye twitched before he exploded.
".. . OH COME ON! I WAS ABOUT TO HAVE AN EPIC CLASH OF THE AGESSSS! A FINAL CLIMACTIC MOMENT! MY MINUTE OF GLORY WAS RIGHT THERE! THIS IS-"
Beep. Beep.
He then looked down and saw that his fuel meter was now empty.
"Oh, fiddlesticks," he muttered before screaming as his motionless Knight Mech began to fall towards the ocean. He quickly hit the "Eject" button and was shot out with his chair as a parachute erupted from the top. The Knight Mech fell to the water and let off a large splash before sinking.
Grumbling, Sir. Pentious folded his arms and pouted while a transmission came from his flagship. "Want us to come get you, boss?"
"Yessss," Sir. Pentious groaned, "Preferably before I get wet!"