Die Hafen, Act II

"It was an undead that killed him. You and I both know that Demons have more sense than that, Potiri. The undead have nothing to lose, and many choose to ignore their once human concept of morals. But...this seems like it might get out of hand. Hold for a moment."
Drach could stand idly by no more. He entered the cave, knowing full well that as he did such, he became prey. However, if he was able to "shed some light" on the situation...
"Flamme-Körper!"
Drach's body went ablaze, clearly lighting all that was in the cave. He was, of course, immune to his own flames, but those that happened to touch him would be severely burned. He brandished the angel of death's sword, and its own flames grew in sympathy with Drach's.
Drach decided that if Trevor was to falter, he would at least keep the demoness at bay until Trevor had regained his composure.
That being said, with all in the cave clearly visible, it was quite the disgusting site to behold. The bodies of rapidly decomposing demons, and the withered souls of the damned littered this cave on all surfaces.
Not to mention the various smells, all wretch inducing, that permeated this place.
"Damn it, woman! How can you live in here?"

 

Samiel watched Drach move into the cave and burst into flames, but continued to stand outside. Inside, he could see another demon bearing his true shape.

"Most amusing, most amusing indeed! How shall I chronicle this? Ah yes, a party comes to Hell to rid existence of the dreaded Jack Shaw, only to be eaten within the hour of arriving. It will be short, but quite amusing none the less....", a look of enjoyment on his face. Perhaps the scariest thing was he was actually smiling, something he could not recall doing in over a millenia.

In the back of his mind, he'd wondered how he'd stop Shaw by himself, or even where he was. Perhaps it would be easier to seek vengence by himself anyways....? He then noticed that Drach weilded a very familiar sword that shouldn't be in his possession, and his smile faded in an instant.

"Drachenmurane, where - did - you - get - that - sword?", his tone had dropped from nuetral to somewhat malevolent, and the scene of the unfolding battle lost all interest to him, his focus now on Drach. His hands now fell on the hilts of the sheathed swords he wore on either hip. Deception was fine by him, but he didn't like being lied to.

 

Shaw! potiri yelled out, this is most alarming...I will come alond with you,
and if you need help to convine Zahgurim that you really need
some armour i thikn i can help you..."

First now really looking in to the cave, seeing what was happening in there, and what sword Drach wielded, Potiri shiverd.

Shaw on the loose, a demon wielding a sword he's not supposed to wield and undead's and angel's let in hell...where has hell gone...
he thought quietly...

 

Drach was taken aback by Samiel's sudden change of demeanor.
"What? I thought you saw it on me back at the bank of the Styx!?"
Drach began wondering how he would protect himself from Samiel and the spider-demon at the same time.
"A long time ago, He stopped trying to force people to believe He was there.
At the same time, to show His neutrality, he absolved all but the most mundane of the Angel of Death's tasks; that of reaping one's immortal soul.
Death didn't need his sword to rain 'Fire and Brimstone' upon the cities of man, and gave it to me during one of my jaunts as Siegfried. It's much too powerful to be used on the mortal plane, and can only be present in the divine realms. Do you believe me? I did not intend to deceive you!"
As Drach spoke, his flames waned slightly, but picked up at full strength once he had finished. Though his concentration upon the epic battle between Trevor and the Demoness had wavered slightly, it appeared that during the time of Drach's explanation, neither side had gained any "ground".

 

Samiel peered into the eyes of Drach, deeper still into his soul to devine if he spoke the truth. Seeing no lies, he had no choice but to believe him. He either told the truth or believed it whole-heartedly. A moment passed, and then he straightened and let his hands fall from his swords.

"I see no deception within you, but the presence of Death's sword coupled with the actions of Shaw concerned me. Pardon my challenge.", he added a slight bow of his head to emphasive his point. "Please, continue your mayhem...", he said while pointing to the battle.

 

"Oh, so now we got demons fighting demons... Then I consider myself useless and I'll just stomp a few more spiders before I make my way out of here." Tanaros said while he backed away from Trevor and the Demoness. Even thou he didn't care that much for death, if it come he would be mostly happy, he had to admit that being killed and eaten by a Spiderdemoness maybe wasn't the best idea.
The damn spiders were everywere so stomping them wasn't so hard. Just walk along and you killed a some. He also picked up one spider and squezed it between his hands, mostly because he wanted to see if it were possible or not.
He never let his eyes of the battle as he slowly walked backwards towards the opening.

 

so thats how the ground is...atleast they didn't fight eachother...
but what to do with this shaw problem now...

"Hey, Samiel, what are your plans for now? Are you gonna try
to stop Shaw or will you just stay here and make sure the sinners burn
in hell?"

At the time he spoke he wounderd who the undead was that
enterd a battle with one of the mightiest demons with such
confidence in winning the battle and how he would gain most
on it...helping the undead or the demon...

 

Trevor stared into those black pools of pure evil and hatred of the spiderdemoness in front of him, and suddenly wondered why he was going through all of this. Then, he remembered. He was fighting for something an undead shouldn't have; for something he ought to have lost bud for some reason hadn't.

He was fighting, for love.

It had been so long since he'd last seen her, running on the vast fields on Dartmoor, in south England.
He'd been a miner back then. The tin industry had been enormously huge in England then, and as a young man he'd been extraordinarily eager to gain some money to be able to support his newly wedded wife, Sarah.
One day, though, something curious had happened. Trevor was out one night in town, and had there met a middle aged woman, claiming to have supernatural powers. Trevor was playing a cardgame with her as opponent, and asked her to promise that if he won, then she wouldn't let him into Hell, if he was ever going to get there. The woman had smiled and agreed to do so, but wanted no promise to counter her own from Trevor.
Trevor played, and won. But even so, the woman stared at him, and smiled.

The next day, Trevor was woken by some of his closest friends, all of them with tears in their eyes. What's happened? he'd asked. All they did was to ask him to follow them.
He was led to one of the deep ore-pits on the moor, and was told to look down into it.
There she was, her body broken against the rock. Sarah. His friends said that they's seen her jump, reasons unknown.

Rumours of the mayor having raped Sarah soon reached Trevors ears, and he'd decided to crave his revenge for her suicide. He was going to kill the mayor. He succeeded with doing so, but was caught soon thereafter and was hanged the same day in the middle of the town square.

He appeared in Hell only seconds after his death in the world of mortals, and was met there by the woman from the bar, she who'd claimed to have supernatural powers. She said to him that she intended to keep her promise; he was not to be let into Hell. Instead, she said, he was going to another place, if he wanted to. Otherwise, he could choose to return to earth again.
He followed her to the cave, and inside he saw his wife, Sarah, hanging on the wall opposite him. The woman turned around, with blackened eyes, like pools of dark water, and spoke to him. She said that he could either be in there with his wife, suffering enormous pain for all of eternity, or he could go away. A one time offer, only.
Trevor had been stunned by fear, and had then run away in cowardice and terror, instantly being transferred back to the world again, now as an undead.

He'd sought revenge since then, and was now as determined as ever to finish this and reverse his past mistake to leave his wife with the spider.

He thrusted the dagger as hard as he could, but in the same moment something he hadn't counted on happening happened; the spider simply dodged sideways at an increadible speed, and he hit something else.

The blade fell to the stone floor with a faint tingling sound.

He'd hit his wife.

 

Drach saw everything. His flames regressed back to the top of his head, and he sheathed Death's word.
Drach should not be able to sympathize. He's a demon; one who delights in the suffering of others. The Demoness began to laugh.
"Shut up!" said Drach, his flames returning.
"It may have been his hand, but they were YOUR machinations! You...you...!"
The flames disappeared. This rage he felt was strange. It was not strange for a demon to become enraged, but this anger was...justified.
He looked back at Trevor, who was lost in his remorse, and felt pity. A sudden rush of informatiuon began to awash Drach's senses, and he fell to his knees. He saw images, images of himself being accosted, and taken from a place of brilliance and tranquility. Tears began to stream from his eyes. He remembered his first day;
He awoke in a strange room, a room adorned with strange symbols, as if a spell was enacted upon his presence.
"You, young one, are Drachenmurane Flammentod, a powerful...demon. You are hereby inducted to the mighty brotherhood of The Firetongues, elite soldiers under direct watch from Lucifer. He is your one and only master."
He remembered the time before his first day, training alongside statuesque figures, and then he saw a rift open in the reality of his original home. A mighty battle ensued, and he was knocked unconscious. The last thing he saw was an angel clad in grey taking on an entire battalion of monsters, and Drach was then overtaken.
The air around Drach began to phosphoresce, as did his wings.
A voice echoed in his mind...
Uriel...Awaken.
"What's happening...who the hell am I?"
Lucidity came over Drach's eyes. He now knew why he was...himself.
"No...I know who I am. I am the Flame of God. I am Uriel."
He shot the Demoness a gaze that could level a skyscraper.
"You don't belong here."

 

Pitori now spoke, "Hey, Samiel, what are your plans for now? Are you gonna try to stop Shaw or will you just stay here and make sure the sinners burn in hell?"

Without taking his eyes from the scene unfolding in the cave, he whispered to him, "Revenge is my calling, but my duty is here. We shall see where this path leads and decide when the time comes. Now hush, this is the good part ... tragedy, and vengence", a malicious grin now upon his face.

 

The demoness face turned to a vicious, evil smile as Trevor hit the body of his wife, just as she had planned for him to do from the day he made the bet with her in that club, those many years ago. Soon, her hunt for his soul would be complete. She could feel it.
She watched Aerth as he charged through the cavern, and decided that she needen't fight him right now. She pointed a claw at the demons feet, and then shot out a great flood of web at them. Then, she waved upwards with her other hand, causing a wall of web rise from the ground around her and Trevor. They were still fully visable, but merely as shadows. Their voices could also still be heard, as if they were standing in the middle of the group outside the newly created chamber where Trevor and the demon was.
She turned to the shivering man in front of her, pure satisfaction in her veins. But, she was still a master of deciet, so she transformed her evil grin to a more soothing, sympathetic look.

"Trevor" she said, and with that directly caught his attention; she'd never called him by name before, ever, "I did not intend for this to happen, I assure you. She was not meant to end this way. In your current state, you will never be able to see her again..."

She watched Trevors face, and her lie had the effect she wanted; he fell to the floor, agony in his face. He was done for.

"However", she continued, with a as-a-matter-of-fact voice, "There is an alternative..."

The others outside could now see her stretching her arms around Trevor, very slowly, as if she prepared to strike.

"... I am the alternative." She said, with a glimpse of wicked satisfaction in her voice, barely noticable.

 

Yes this is really the good part, but i wounder...how usefull do you think trevor can be? it could be worth someting saving him...

And with this words Potiri changed himself to his demon form,
coverd with a plate mail of obsidian he was fully armoured,
axept for is head, where he had no helmet. He stood 10 feet tall,
with wings spreading 12 feet each and made out of flames only and eyes being black and notihng else.He also had his sword, Arbitrium Destructio, at his left side and his leather-bound book at the other.


When he spoke, it was like hearing thousands of men gone insane,
screaming out their agony, wich could turn a strong men into a mouse.
And now Samiel, do you think we could engage this fighter and pherhaps end the life of this demoness, or should we stand aside,
as we didn't know how to fight? To fight or not to fight, that's our question...

 

Now Pitori changed into his true form and addressed Samiel again, "And now Samiel, do you think we could engage this fighter and pherhaps end the life of this demoness, or should we stand aside,
as we didn't know how to fight? To fight or not to fight, that's our question...


Samiel began to glow a soft but luminescent white, illuminating the cave entrance and shedding an unnatural light deep into the cave itself. His eagle-like wings began to move gently about as if an unfelt wind were blowing the feathers. He turned his head slightly to the right, as if to examine Pitori more closely.

"This is not my fight, nor do I bear the Arachno-demon any ill will, her having never wronged me. As for this unfortunate undead, I know not his likeness, nor the truth that lies in his soul, but he is about to become Hers quite soon.

"If you wish to protect him, now would be your most opportune time to interfere....

"...But that question lies within you, Pitori, and it is time for you to choose." The fallen Angel continued to study the demon with his pale white eyes, watching to see what action he would take next.

 

Black turned into orange. Some sort of light was shining on Liz and it awoke her. A little way off, to her right, She could now see a cave entrance. It had been too dark before, but now two figures had lit up the area. One with his body of flames, the other with his aura of light. Liz thought a second about "blending in" and go check what the ruckus was all about, but as she tried to hide, she realized that she felt no anger. She was too comfortable. No anger, no powers. "Well...", she thought, "not gonna do that then...". And she closed her eyes again.

 

Just as the spiderdemon´s web was closing in on Aerth, he sensed it and flew up a bit, just enough to dodge it.

"She´s fast. Then i know that for my next attack on her" He thought.

Suddenly he felt a strange aura around Trevor and the Spiderdemon and then they were gone.

"Strange, never have i felt this before."

He return to the ground and thought that it might be best to just observe a little bit more.

 

The demoness was still worried about the other demons trying to interfere; together they could be powerful to drive her back into her lair for quite some time to come. Not kill her, obviously, but they could probably hurt her quite badly. But they hadn't done so yet, so there was no immediate danger this far.

She could feel it. She was winning.
At last.

She was worried about Drachenmune too, though. He seemed to change in some kind of way, and she didn't at all like what he'd said to her;
"You don't belong here".

Then, she shook off all worrying thoughts, and focused on Trevor again. Sure, he was a weakling, but he HAD actually managed to get THAT blade, even if it was supposed to be lost in the void, forever. Maybe he was weak, but he was determined. She had the upper hand, though; he'd dropped the blade, and he was now emotionally weak, him having hit his wife with THAT blade and all.

"I can arrange for you to meet with her again. This time, I'll brake a previous offer: I will once again accept you in here as my prey, if you only surrender the Blade of Re'Stanar to me. Plus, I can give you something you lost so long ago: I can make you feel again. Make you feel something else than hate."

She looked at him with soothing, yet evily false, eyes, and closed her legs around him.

"Isn't that what you want? To be with your wife again?"

Trevor had an uncertain look on his face. He DID want to kill the creature in front of him, but what she was offering seemed much more sensible to him. Maybe he couldn't kill her, even with the Blade. She was, after all, one of the mightiest spirits in the known universe.
What had he been thinking?

"And you can promise me that I'll be with her?"

She smiled. It was as good as over now. The only thing she had to do now was to lie. That being her speciality, it wasn't going to be hard. At all.

"Of course", she lied, knowing that every chance of returning her from where she'd gone was equal to nothing, "You'll be right beside her..."

 

Drach saw the silhouettes in the wall of webs, and felt something was awry.
"And you can promise me that I'll be with her?"
"Of course...you'll be right beside her..."
"What? No...NO! Trevor! Fight back!!"
Drach bolted toward the wall of webs, and tried to slice through it with Death's sword. Though he blackened the wall, the sword seemed unable to slice through the webs.
"DAMN! Wait..."
Drach thrust the blade into the ceiling, and focused some of his power through it. The flames from the sword, supplemented by his own power, melted a hole through the cave ceiling. Drach attempted to arch the flames into the newly formed chamber, hoping to scorch the Demoness. If he could force enough fire into the chamber, he himself would be able to materialize from the flames. He hoped that, through this process, he didn't cook Trevor, while at the same trying to immolate the demoness.
"Almost...almost!"
The chamber was fully illuminated from the inside, and Drach used his "flame jump" technique to get into the chamber.
"Room for one more?"

 

The demoness creamed in pure wrath as fire filled the cupole she'd created, but managed to protect herself before it was too late. She now stood with her eight legs outstreched against Drachenmune, ready to strike.
Trevor was at the floor, his skin boiling and his clothes burnt away. The skin had almost melt when the fire entered the chamber, but Trevor had somehow managed not to get fully disintegrated by the flames. Right now, though, he dared not move a limb.

The demoness voice changed as she spoke to Drachenmune; before, it had been a cold, calm,menacing voice. Now, her words was like thunder; hate incarnate.

You! YOU! How DARE you challange me, at the hour of my victory? You, weakling, have decided to fight me, who is called the mother of evil? I am her, you fool! You have heard stories of me when you were younger. Evil incarnate, Satans wife. Why would you do this for.. an UNDEAD?

She attacked Drachenmune with all her strength, trying to stab him with all of her arms at once. er concern lied no longer with the undead filth at the floor; he could be dealt with later.

 

Seeing Drach disapear and hearing through the wall of web Potiri decided.

He walked up to the wall of web, put his hand on it and started rambling.

ASH NACH FARNACH! DRA ASCH MEGRAK! RAUS THRACHT ERKALTHULUS!

And with tihs words, the web started to rot, spreading from Potiris hand,
that he kept at the side of the web. When the web had rotten enough,
he drew his sword and wen throught, now seeing the man called Trevor lieing on the ground, Drach defending him self from the Achon demon, and the Demon of Archons attacking Drach, full of hatred.

Room for another one? He asked

 

The demoness moved so quickly for one so large, and she gave Drach a few choice cuts within the first four seconds using only her legs.
"Aren't you the spry one? Hah!"
Drach began to erect a shield of flame; not impossible to penetrate, but extremely painful.
"You ask why, Demoness? I might ask you the same question. I do this because it is my decision."
Drach dove at Death's sword (as he is not able to bring heavy objects with him on a flame jump), and jumped back at the Demoness.
"No more games! We can't waste any more time on you!"
Drach sliced at her legs, and took one of them clean off.
The spider demon shrieked, and this caused Drach to pause for a moment. This was one moment long enough, however, and the Demoness pounced on top of him, grinning in a sick sense of self satisfaction.
"Damn you! Get off me so we can be done with this!"