Chapter 303: Devil's Deal #303
I took a deep breath, tightening my grip over the Leviathan's Axe as I stood shoulder to shoulder with several high-ranking demons, watching Etrigan kick the doors to the throne room open.
It's been a day since we first arrived at Belial's castle. Though Etrigan's forces suffered considerable casualties, they still managed to overwhelm the defenders thanks to the support of my machines as I deployed them later into the battle.
"Belial!" Etrigan bellowed as he raised his hand, materializing a giant flaming sword in his palm. "I've come for your soul!" He exclaimed, looking his father straight in the eye, seemingly unaware of the other three archdukes and the hundreds of demons standing in his way.
"Indeed you have, my son..." Belial said, savagely grinning as he slowly rose to his feet. "But you'll find my soul is not so easy to claim," He added as he copied Etrigan's gesture and summoned a flaming claymore sword.
Without saying another word, the archduke bellowed and charged toward Etrigan with a savage roar, sending everyone in his path flying regardless of whose side they were on.
"Now that's something you don't see every day..." I muttered, genuinely amused as I watched the two demons meet each other halfway through and lock blades in a clash that sent ripples of magic energy flying everywhere.
As if on cue, the remaining demons and fiends from the two sides didn't delay as they bellowed their war cries. Simultaneously, the hellspawn charged as Etrign and Belial's blades met, promptly slaughtering one another with what I could only describe as glee.
On the other hand, I kept my cool as I joined the fray, fighting with zero enthusiasm and only targeting small fries to conserve my stamina and energy.
Though I was allied with Etrigan, I had zero trust in him and no intention to fight his battles for him. After all, only a fool would trust a demon, and I was paranoid by nature.
I'd fight if I had to, but until such a need arose, I was happy where I was, sitting on the fence and waiting for an opportunity to return home and get the Hell out of there.
My hellishly lame attempt at a joke aside, I spotted Marzel in the corner of my vision, still disguised as a lesser fiend as she slaughtered Belial's soldiers while sticking close to the archdukes beating the shit out of each other, seemingly ready to lunge at a moment's notice.
'Looks like I'm not the only one trying to fish in troubled waters...' I mused with a chuckle as I caught the sword of a demon swinging his weapon at my neck and crushed it.
"You're not that guy, pal," I said as I watched the demon's eyes widen in horror and shock. "You're not that guy..." I parroted, shaking my head as I punched the lesser fiend in the face, causing his head to explode literally.
I was ready to kill the next demon unfortunate enough to get in my way when I noticed someone lunging at me from behind, prompting me to jump away to dodge.
I quickly turned around to face the attack and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her appearance. She was a redheaded woman with a face and a figure that seemed like a higher power had sculpted to represent the epitome of temptation.
"I see that my daughter has caught your eye, mortal..." The woman said, swaying her hips as she took two steps toward me, briefly glancing at the disguised Marzel. "Do you perhaps fancy her...?" She asked, tilting her head.
"Nope. I tend to watch those I find troublesome very closely, that's all..." I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "But now I see where she gets her good looks... her father wasn't much to look at..." I added, trying to waste time with idle chat in hopes that someone else would come and take the redhead off my hands.
"How very intriguing... you're in a room full of Archdukes and the highest-ranking demons that hell has to offer..." The woman said, brandishing a flaming whip she summoned into her palm from thin air.
"And yet you find my daughter to be the most troublesome..." She added, her smile disappearing as she swung the whip at me, prompting me to step back to dodge. "You wish to waste time, do you not?" She continued as she lunged at me, using her sharp claws to swipe at my face.
"Oblige my curiosity, and I will oblige you charade... tell me of you, mortal..." She concluded.
"Well, I'm a fun guy. Obviously, I love the game of basketball..." I replied in a monotone voice, barely holding back the urge to do the notorious Kawhi Leonard laugh as I spoke.
"You think I don't sense the mockery in your tone, child...?" The woman asked with a frown as she resumed attacking, much more viscously this time. "Mock me again, and you shall suffer my wrath..." She added as she watched me dodge with ease.
"Look, lady, if you want to waste time and avoid the battle, that's fine. I can play along with that..." I said with a shrug as I retrieved Ebony and shot a half-assed energy round at the woman. "But if you think I'm gonna sit here and tell my life story to some demon, then you got something else coming," I added with a scowl.
"And yet your refusal tells me more than you could imagine..." The woman said with a sly smile as she charged me. "Now tell me, mortal..." She added, locking gazes with me as her eyes shined bright red.
"What is it that you truly desire...?" She asked, her voice distorting as she spoke.
"You think you're a Jedi or something...?" I mockingly replied, rolling my eyes at the redheaded woman's question. "My mind is more of a fortress than this sad excuse of a castle, and I don't take kindly to people trying to play mind tricks on me..." I added, my tone growing colder with every word.
"You can't blame a girl for trying... but I'll figure you out yet, mortal..." The woman said, pausing briefly in astonishment at her failure to read my mind, but she was quick to gather her bearings.
"Girl...? More like hellish monstrosity..."
...
Marzel barely held in her laughter as she glanced at Grayson and saw how busy he seemed to be, dealing with her mother, Lilith. Her plan was working to full effect, and she couldn't be more satisfied with the outcome.
Her goals were simple; get as many big shots into the same room and have them tear each other to shreds so that she may use her father's amulet to gather bits and pieces of their ascendant souls and devour them to make herself stronger.
After Grayson slaughtered her father, Marzel couldn't underestimate him any longer. And so she set her mother on the young man to keep him busy while she worked on her plan.
Though Marzel's plans wouldn't impair the young mortal, and he didn't seem to hold a grudge or care about her existence, she couldn't risk him spoiling her plans out of pettiness, paranoia, or worse, a whim.
The demoness had no idea how powerful Grayson was, but she knew he might be able to recognize her even through the disguise as he seemed to possess many strange abilities.
She contemplated her options, and ultimately, Lilith was the only tool at her disposal to keep the young mortal off her back, easily moved by curiosity as her mother was.
'Time to reap the first of my prizes...' Her eyes glinting in a greedy light, Marzel gripped the amulet on her neck as she stealthily approached the now-lifeless body of archduke Nebiros to steal whatever was left of his soul after Abbadon ravaged it.
...
"Your allies fail you, father..." Etrigan bellowed as he locked blades with Belial. "They fall to comrades' might one after the other..." He added as he pushed the archduke and shoulder-tackled him into the stone throne, smashing it to pieces.
"And now you shall follow suit..." The Rhyming demon said as he stood over his father and raised his sword, ready to bury it into Belial's chest, only to pause as the latter grinned.
Still, Etrigan only halted his actions for a fraction of a second before he brought the blade down, its sharp tip speeding toward Belial's chest at an incredible speed.
Belial maintained his composure as he watched the blade sinking toward his heart. His grin widened as a towering figure suddenly appeared behind him, causing Etrigan's sword to freeze when it was less than an inch away from his chest.
The rhyming gritted his teeth in frustration as he raised his head to investigate the newcomer, and his eyes couldn't help but widen at the sight of a seven-foot-tall man with long blonde hair.
Not only was the man tall but supernaturally muscular as well. And the tight grey and black full-body suit with a flowing black cape that seemed to resemble a pair of black wings only emphasized his impressive physique.
He was Neron, the great beast and one of the three Satans ruling over Hell and Purgatory in Lucifuer's absence.
"Etrigan... you impudent fool..." Neron coldly said as he stared the rhyming demon in the eye. "You've sown more than enough chaos in Hell... no more..." He added as he raised his hand, seemingly prepared to strike down Etrigan.
However, someone crept behind Etrigan and drove a strange black blade into the rhyming demon's back before Neron could act, causing the Satan to raise an eyebrow in genuine amusement.
On the other hand, Etrigan could only grit his teeth as he slowly turned around and saw that the one holding the hilt of the blade poking out of his chest was Grayson. "Damned mortal, what do you think you're doing...?" He asked his tone a mixture of rage and anguish.
"Sorry, pall. I'm just trying to go home..." Grayson said as he drew his blade from Etrigan's torso and kicked him away. "Neron, right? You like making deals, don't you...?" He asked as he turned to the Satan, and the latter merely nodded, seemingly intrigued.
"What's it gonna take to send me back to Earth?" He asked, getting straight to the point.
"Hmm... how unusual...." Neron intoned as he smiled. "When I heard the mortal with the demon-slaying relic was in Hell, I didn't think you'd offer me a deal..." He said, trailing at the end of his sentence.
"I don't care for self-monologues, buddy. Can you do it or not?" Grayson impatiently said, cutting Satan's line of thought. "I don't have all eternity," He added with a scowl.
"Why not...?" Neron said with a grin. "But surely you realize there is one valid currency in Hell, and you can only pay my price once," He added, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, as long as you agree to wait for me to die before collecting, I don't mind signing off my soul..." Grayson said in a self-assured tone that brought nothing but amusement to Neron, evidenced by his sly grin.
Over the eternity of his existence, Neron had dealt with many mortals who presumptuously presumed they could outwit him, thinking they could live forever and thus cling to their souls. They were fools, each and every one of them.
"You drive a hard bargain, mortal, but so be it..." Neron said, his eyes glinting. "I have nothing but time on my hands..." He added as he raised his hand, summoning a flame that slowly morphed into a playing card with an illustration of Satan himself.
"This is your way out... you only need to burn it to return home..." Neron said, drawing his arm back as Grayson tried to take the card. "But be warned, mortal, once you take it, our accord will be cast, and there will be no going back..." He added, his tone grave.
"Under the terms of the bargain, you and I will do no harm to one another until the end of times or the conclusion of the accord..." Neron went on as he slowly extended the card toward Grayson. "Damnation worse than Hell awaits the oath breaker..." He concluded.
It has always been this way. Driven by greed, foolish mortals would flock to Neron as bugs fly toward the ever-bright flames of Hell, lulled into a false sense of security by the words of the demon prince.
"Like I said, pal... I'm not interested in listening to your monologues," The young man said as he unceremoniously snatched the card from Neron's hands. "Now, if you'll excuse me... I need to save whatever's left of my home..." He concluded as he walked past the demon.
"Farewell, mortal..." Neron said without bothering to see Grayson off. "We will meet sooner--" He went, suddenly pausing as his head flew off his shoulder and hit the ground, much to everyone's shock.
"What did I say about fucking monologues...?" Grayson said, brandishing his bloodied axe with one hand, a tattered piece of brown paper levitating over his other hand as it slowly burned.
"What?!" Neron exclaimed, his eyes widening in horror as he watched Grayson hack his body into pieces from the ground. "How can you...? No! It is impossible!" He shouted, unable to do anything as the axe in the young man disappeared, replaced by an antique rifle.
"Hmm... so it really worked..." Etrigan interjected as he slowly rose to his feet, the wound on his chest disappearing as if it was never there. "Who would have thought that a mere mortal would outwit the great Neron..." He added as he approached the Satan's head and lightly stomped it.
"There isn't much that a green power ring can't achieve..." Grayson said with a grin as he raised his hand to showcase the green circle around his index finger. "They're called the strongest weapons in the universe for a reason..." He added with a shrug.
"Now back off, Etrigan. We had a deal..." Grayson said as he raised his rifle and aimed at the rhyming demon's head once he noticed the latter's hungry expression. "This one is mine..." He stated in a tone that brokered no argument.
"You may have him..." Etrigan said as he removed his foot and stepped away from Neron's head. "I don't know what you plan to do with him, but a deal is a deal..." He added with a shrug.
"I have no use for this guy's soul. Feel free to eat it or whatever once I'm through with him..." Grayson said as he picked up Neron's head, giving the latter's angry protests and confused rambles a deaf ear.
"I just need his memories and energy..." Grayson said, his eyes glinting as he gripped Neron's head with both hands, his eyes shining in a golden light as Neron screamed in agony.
...
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