Heroes Uprising Part 6

Scott crossed his arms and flared up his combination Destructive and Sacred Aura. Any Darkness Demons strong enough to pass through the purification without being destroyed were immediately pulverized by the increased pressure associated with his Destructive Aura. Although he could not move forward, he was far from helpless. Looking around, he saw that Minerva and Katy were also defending themselves quite capably. There was always something fierce and beautiful about a warrior woman, and Scott felt that way even more so toward Minerva. Although they were all capable of defending themselves, he thought of a way they could do it more strategically.

Scott walked over to Minerva and had Katy move over toward them. With all three of them standing back-to-back, they were now all capable of defending themselves from every angle.
"If you start feeling tired, let me know and I'll expand my aura to cover you. Chiang taught me how to use it to both crush my enemies and rejuvenate my allies."
Placing a hand on Minerva's shoulder, he let her know he was by her side and supporting her. Gently pulling his hand away, he contributed to holding down the fort while Ashe and Noah continued the fight to take down the Darkness Monarch.

The shadow cages that the three were in elongated and formed a door some ways off of them. It glowed purple for just a moment before the blinding darkness once again took control. Noah and Ashe would have to fight their way there and get through the door in order to escape these cages. Only then would they be able to fight the Darkness Queen herself.


As the combined might of all of the heroes pushed against the 'lid' from their side, it became apparent that Satan would have to expend more energy. As he placed his palm against it and pushed, his incredible physical and spiritual power opened it a crack, letting New Demons spill forward once more. However, Hans was right on it and immediately launched a counterattack.
"Looks like some target practice. How fun."
His chest-mounted Gatling gun was released and immediately began spitting bullets like they were going out of style.

The merciless assault disintegrated wave after wave of New Demons, leaving all of the other fighters free to keep fighting. While Cybernator mopped up the weaklings, Existence took the gloves off and began to glow with an intense purple aura of unimaginable mutant power.
Two can play that game, Satan!
A gigantic purple arm appeared that was the exact size of Satan's own arm before it started pushing back. Using the full strength of his reality bending, he began reducing the New Demons inside the portal into raw energy and adding it to the arm. The infinite army that had been Satan's powerful offensive tool was now being used against him, acting as a kind of battery to augment Existence's own reality-bending telepathy.

The lid was shut on the portal once more, closing off any further New Demons. Nick turned with a big smile, impressed by Hans' initiative and effectiveness.
"That was badass, dude!" he said and high-fived Hans.
This happened so quickly that neither fully realized what had happened, and Nick chuckled a bit after realizing what he had done.
"Don't get me wrong," Nick said as he looked back toward the door, "I still owe you an ass-kicking for what you did back in New York."
"When this is all over, I'll be happy to kick your ass again."

Nick made a tch noise, but he did it with a smile.
"We'll see."
The two then began pushing against the lid again, now determined to win this so they could settle things. They weren't becoming friends just yet, but both had gained new respect for each other during this crisis. Satan attempted to open the lid once more, but Existence was holding him fast. It seemed that he would have to expend more power than he had expected, a sign that the massive team-up of Earth's warriors was reaping great results.


When the Supreme Darkness General threw that kick, Lone Wolf moved his body to the side but kept his feet solidly planted. The very second that the kick stopped, he went to work on his counterattack. The Supreme General had chosen a humanoid form, and with it, all of the advantages and disadvantages therein. One disadvantage was that Lone Wolf knew all of the vital and pressure points of the human body like the back of his hand, and could strike them more rapidly than the eye could follow. His fingers struck all the way up her leg to her hip, striking so deeply that this attack alone would have been fatal to a normal human. On the Supreme General, it caused some bleeding and some pain, which further opened her up to attack.

Lone Wolf executed a three hit combo; a palm strike to the nose, a spear-finger thrust to the throat with his palm facing up, and a kick to the solar plexus with his foot all in rapid succession. Instead of striking with the bottom of his foot, however, he had pointed his toes forward so that his leg ran through her like a sword. Withdrawing his leg, his hands seemed to flow like water and came up above his head to the sides with his palms facing downward. His hands then struck like cobras, his index and middle fingers of both hands going through her temples and coming out before she had time to register the blow. With his hands flowing once more, Lone Wolf's right hand went down to his hip and then shot forward in the same technique that would be used to execute a Karate punch. The open palm strike struck her injured solar plexus and caused black blood to spurt from her mouth and stain his tunic as she was knocked flat on her back.

Lone Wolf returned to his starting position and stared down at her with no expression on his face. The entirety of his merciless fighting had been composed of killing techniques that muscle and durability would do little to defend against. His moves were so swift and precise that few would be able to even follow his movements, let alone defend against them. Absolute mastery of the martial arts and training more rigorous and demanding than could be imagined had created an unbelievable situation in which a regular human was dominating a demon far more powerful than he would ever be. The Supreme General was at a loss to explain why she was losing, and coughed as more blood poured from her mouth due to the hole in her solar plexus.
"How is this possible?!"

"You are indeed powerful. You wouldn't still be alive if you weren't. However, all of your physical strength, speed, durability, and spiritual power count for nothing with your skill. Demonic martial arts are far inferior to human ones, it seems."
The Supreme General jumped to her feet and began delivering a flurry of blows. However, each strike she threw was dodged and countered in a vulnerable spot, proving that her skill was indeed far below Lone Wolf's.

The Supreme General threw a claw swipe with her right hand at Lone Wolf, which he crouched down in his stance to avoid. Immediately, he countered by raising up and landing a sideways palm strike under her chin, knocking her into the air and onto her back once more. She was at peak frustration as she bled from her entire body while Lone Wolf remained completely untouched.
"Every technique leaves one vulnerable to a counterattack. Before your technique is even completed I already know how I'll counter it."
The Supreme General smiled.

"Even so, no martial artist can defeat time. As we speak my Corrupted Darkness Aura is sapping your energy. Once you are too tired to fight back, I will finish you!"
"My stamina won't give out too soon under these conditions. My training was much harsher than this."
The Supreme General got to her feet.

"Is that so? Then I will have to tire you out faster."
Forming dark fireballs in her hands, she began hurling them at Lone Wolf in massive blasts. However, to her surprise, not one of them touched him as his arms moved in large circular motions in front of his chest to dissipate them. This was mawashi uke (roundhouse block), a block associated with Karate and related martial arts. The graceful movements could ward off any direct blow.

The Supreme General had finally lost patience and summoned a sword made of darkness.
"I will end you, miserable human!"
Shooting forward off of her back leg, she raised the sword to try and cut him in half vertically. Once she was in range, Lone Wolf turned his body and his leg went into a leg arc across her neck before he pulled it back, stopping her in her tracks. A second later, her head dropped off of her body and hit the floor as her body vanished into dust.
"I will get you for this Lone Wolf!" she shouted before Lone Wolf sliced her head in half vertically with a Karate chop and it disappeared.

Lone Wolf turned and walked away, his job complete. A portal to Nirvana opened and he walked through it, not crazy about working with others but figuring that he might as well hang around in case Alan needed him once more. Appearing in Nirvana, he was standing next to Alan.
"Good work, Lone Wolf. No warrior from your order has ever faced and defeated an enemy of that caliber before."
Lone Wolf maintained a stony exterior, but the look in his eyes said that the Fire God's words had pleased him. Crossing his arms, he let the others deal with Satan since they had the situation under control. He would remain on standby in case he had to go back to Earth and eliminate some enemies.

" Thank you Scott " said Minerva, having him and Katy by her side made her feel more confident, she could do this, she believed that Ashe, Noah, and Ku-Chan would be able to overcome the darkness monarch.

Meanwhile in the cage, the three in question were in the middle of the horde. Noah fist and feat moving faster then light and propelling him through the demon onslaught, laying waste through them " Ashe! Are you finished with whatever it is your doing? " he yelled, but Ashe remailed silent. Random explosions were detonated every few seconds and any demons that got to Ashe were crushed by a mysterious force.

" Abyssal Feast! "

Ku-Chan waved his mini staff, causing a jagged line to tear in the fabric of space and suck in any demons that got close to it, Ku-Chan giggled darkly as he controlled the tear and moved it through the air rapidly and dragging more demons in " Giga gasp! A door off in the distance, were close to the boss ya'll, Ashey boy is that game shark ready? "

" I believe I have an idea, follow me "

He took off, tearing a giant path through the demonic masses, Noah trailed after him as Ku-Chan rode on his head, having his spell follow after them " Oh, we need this!! " he pulled out speaker and music blared out filling the space. Ashe suddenly came to a halt, making Noah nearly run into him.



" Ok, whats the plan? "

Ashe raised a hand and pointed upwards " This "

A massive amount of energy began to form high above them. Noah couldnt tell exactly what the other man was doing. He noted that demons appeared to be unable to get to them for some reason, pooling around the edge to some invisible line. Noah started feeling intense vibrations, wind began blowing, a soft breeze at first that quickly evolved into a maelstrom.

" HOLY SHIZAKI MUSHROOMS! " Ku-Chan screamed " Thats fluffin insane Ashe and im here for it! "

Noah was confused till he looked up and his jaw dropped, standing out in this deep darkness was massive ball of energy that seemed to eclipse the darkness itself. Noahs mind was having trouble processing what he was seeing " I-Is that a planet? "

" Hmm, no but its size is possibly comparable, is too big? "

" No such thing! " Ku-Chan exclaimed excitedly " Can you make it bigger? "

Ashe nodded " It wasnt my initial intention for it become that size, this situation seemed dire and because of the strength of this cage, I deduced I would need to use as much power as I have to get through the cage, but I keep trying and finding I have more power, so im endeavoring to keep going "

Noah faced palmed hard "......I think your good, lets get out of here "

" Very well, get close to me, otherwise me caught in the attack "

Noah held onto Ashe from behind while Ku-Chan hugged his face " Hey, you got a name for this beauty? "

Ashe thought a moment " No, do you have one? "

" I like giant ball of deathy death "

" No " Noah overruled him

" Then what? " Ku-Chan demanded and Ashe brought his hand down

" Ashe Style: Planetary Hammer

The massive ball fell.

Minerva, who had been enjoying the music, gasped as she sensed Ashes attack and felt the shockwaves, nearly falling over.

Ashe, Noah and ku-Chan now stood in front of the purple door. Ku-Chan, now sitting on Ashe's head, sighed contently " Wow, was that good for you guys too? "

Noah chuckled " It...was something, so from here on is the darkness monarch " the immense power radiating was making the hairs on his arms stand on end.

" It may be a good idea for you two to stand back, this fight will be difficult, you may not be able to survive it "

" Thanks for the concern, but standing in the back and missing a battle arent my thing, i'll be fine "

Ashe nodded " I know, I assumed it was the right thing to say in this situation "

Ku-Chan tapped his forehead " Dont forget who we are, the Code:Breakers group of raging psychopaths/puckish rogues who just so happen to save the world trying to cause as much chaos as possible, lets just do our thing "

Noah cracked his knuckles " More or less, so should we knock? "

Katy herself almost got knocked off balance from the sudden shockwaves.    "Well, looks like the boys are ready to play."   Katy wasn't to worried, Ashe Noah and Ku-Chan made up a hell of a team.   They should be to win this.

-----

Sandra and some of the others noticed when Existence got serious.    So a reality bender?    Looks like there may have been more to this person then first meets the eye.     Of course after her relationship with Milo, nothing could actually surprise her anymore.    But it was impressive Existence had that type of power.     It was now making more sense why Alan wanted him here.

Amber: Ha, pleasure. My name is Amber Parker.

"Amber winces in pain when Satan breaks through. Her eyes glow gold again and a torrent of black evil magic spills from her as she aids Existence by multiplying every demon he feeds into the hand as energy twofold, doubling any power gained. She pants as she uses the powers of the Giga Slave to somehow magnify the powers of her sorcery, the inverse of what she usually does"

Amber: I am a sorcerer. I don't have a lot of time to discuss magical theory right now. Does your world have an entity by the name of Angra Manyu? Do you know any incantations for it?

"Amber was hoping that calling upon this multiverse's source would be enough to magnify her sorcery"

As the cages were broken, the darkness swirled and formed the shape of a woman silhouetted entirely in darkness. There were no witty remarks or threats, the darkness simply went on the attack. The Darkness Monarch was not an individual in the sense that the other Monarchs were, it was simply a living darkness that devoured any that strayed too close. A unique Corrupted Darkness Aura spread across the battlefield and began to attempt assimilation with these dark beings. Noah would find his ability to use the light negated, as no light could exist in this aura. The being also could not be attacked physically, it was like fighting mist. The only way to fight this darkness was by their strength of will, to prove that their belief in themselves was greater than the darkness's ability to swallow their existence. For warriors used to violent and bloody combat, victory without combat would be perhaps their greatest challenge. The ability of the Code:Breakers to rally together as a team would be tested here. The darkness blanketed them, and they had just seconds to defeat it as they sank beneath the darkness that was like water.

Scott smiled as he felt Ashe break through the cage.
"Oh, yeah, they got this for sure. The CB's have a strong bond that will see them through this situation."
He turned to Minerva.
"I didn't get a chance to say it before, but you look gorgeous in that armor. It brings out all of your beauty."

He then stopped as Valor broke in.
Our friends are fighting Satan with all that they have. Existence, Lone Wolf, and Spirit Rider are working with Alan and Chiang to fight him directly. Let's lend our support.
Right. Alan, play my theme to further boost morale.

Alan got the message instantly and nodded.
"Let's do it."



This music would blend together, and for those who appreciated music like the Code:Breakers, they could see the effect it had on the greatest heroes of this universe when they fought together. The beautiful harmony got even richer, creating the most beautiful and inspiring metal one could hear. Hope swelled within the ranks as fighting spirit raged ever greater. Satan may have been powerful, but he now had more of a fight on his hands than he ever could have expected.



Existence felt his abilities being augmented by Amber's magic.
"Ah, thank you. That will certainly help."
Unleashing the full might of his power, his hand penetrated the lid without breaking it and reached into Hell itself. There, it grabbed Satan by the hand and laced his fingers with his before pushing it back.
"You will feel my wrath, Satan!!!"

Alan felt like it was time for some music, and so found a theme song by Jorn that accurately reflected Existence's personality.



Spirit Rider cheered as Existence began to fight Satan directly.
"Kick his ass, Marcus!"
Focusing his power, he lent his support through his own theme.



Lone Wolf gave a half smile.
"Mutant power is not martial arts, but it's badass in its own way."
Forming a martial arts stance like he was riding a horse, he pushed his hands forward with tight breaths, lending moral support by adding his own theme to the mix.



All of this music swelled together in the most beautiful compilation possible, rallying the forces of Nirvana as they stood solidly behind Existence. Alan stood by his side and created a great orange flame hand within Hell that punched Satan in the face repeatedly, not damaging him but distracting him. Chiang stood at Marcus' other side and created a great purifying blue hand within Hell that hit him in his body, working in tandem with Alan. Spirit Rider rode up to them and created a great green wind hand within Hell that punched him in the face after Alan's hand did, just like a boxer would. When Satan added a second hand to the fight, Existence also created a second hand and held it back in the same way. All of these warriors were feeding off of each other to push Satan back, although the lid was starting to buckle under the strain.

Master Permafrost nodded, appreciating the urgency of the situation.
"Ah, Angra Manyu is a different dimension magic. We have no name for it here, so we will need to connect ourselves to it using an incantation."
He closed his eyes and quickly spoke the incantation, and Amber would feel herself connected to it once more. Seeing the lid buckling, Master Permafrost froze the lid in place with a continuous stream of ice magic, holding it in place while Existence and the others continued to fight him with their spiritual energy.

Noah and Ashe were back to back as the darkness monarch began her assault, the darkness that swirled around them was of a stronger quality then before, making even Ashe give pause for a moment. Two two began sinking as Ku-Chan floated in the air nonplussed about the events " Damn, you guys are pulling a neverending story all up in this bih, you were fine horses, dont give up! "

Noah rolled his eyes in annoyance but remained calm, he'd been in situations like this before, many vampires and demons that discard physical forms in favor or coneceptual ones often uses tactics like this " Seems like it's going to be a battle of wills, I trust your not falling short of that "

Ashe shrugged " No, my will is strong? "

Noah laughed " Maybe a little too strong "

he stabbed downward with three black keys in each hand and focused, these conceptual weapons were designed by the church as keys of providence and process the ability to intervene spiritually against " evil ".  It wouldnt land any significant blows against the darkness monarch but would keep him safe, for the time being. As he poured his will out, he suddenly felt like he was standing in the eye of a storm, power pulsated around him.

He couldnt see anything, but he could feel Ashe,  he knew the man was putting his own efforts out, the darkness that blanketed them was dissolved away, the sinking sensation becoming a rising sensation as Noah noted that Ashe's power was lifting them up. Ku-Chan shook his pom poms from his spot on Noahs head.

" Come on girls, lets sickeninnnngggg!! Hahaha i'm channeling my inner Tea Garner here, T.Garner in the house bitches! Let do it and all that possitive crap "

Ashe's power grew and grew as poured more of his will into it, incorperating Noahs own will till the darkness was completely repelled back. Noah felt something, like an outcry of some sort.

Minerva blushed and smiled " Oh, Thank you Scott " it was still a new thing for her to be desirable to someone, she couldnt say she disliked it. Suddenly everything seemed to stop.

Sandra could feel the others around her starting to project their powers though the portal. They had to try to get Satan to back off because while Existence was holding his own, one must think Satan would eventually win out in the end. Sandra contacted Cass explaining to her what to do, she understood and both girls extended their powers into hell while also keeping up the lid, they formed a pair of physic fists and added in on the assault against Satan.

-----

"I have to agree with him, white looks good on you Minerva" While Katy wasn't trying to get in the sack with the girl like Scott was, she certainly did appropriate the girls style.

The Darkness Queen pushed hard, attempting to squeeze through any weakness, physical or mental, in its intended targets. However, there were no gaps in one individual that another did not fill, and their combined will was too strong to break. The Darkness Queen was repulsed, and chose to concede the victory to the Code:Breakers. Like a Venus Flytrap, it would simply wait for another, easier target to come along. The Darkness Queen melted into the Darkness as if she had never been, and all was still. This battle was won, and they could proceed forward.

The Darkness Demons vanished, as well, a relief to the hard-pressed trio.
"Looks like we're good to go."
He turned to Minerva, charmed that she was so innocent in regards to compliments. It was that purity that created the mutual respect and caring that the two shared. They had built a solid friendship, and that had blossomed into romance. They were still taking it slow sexually, as neither had much experience in that regard and needed to go at a pace that was right for them.

Scott looped his arm around Minerva's waist and gave her a quick but comforting hug. He smiled over at Katy, really having grown to respect her throughout this journey as he got to know her. In this new world, he had gotten to know people without exchanging blows with them, and that was much different from his coming of age. Combat conveys feeling more deeply than words, as it was action on steroids and spoke louder than a billion words. Making friends without fighting them was foreign to him, but good at the same time. It was a new chapter in his life, capped by a wonderful first girlfriend who really understood him.

When Ashe and the others returned, he bumped knuckles with them.
"Good work, guys."
He looked at the portal.
"Just one more Monarch and then Satan is mine."
He strode toward the portal purposefully, keeping all of his friends from both worlds foremost in his mind. Just two more obstacles and they would end the war in their victory.

Behind the portal, Satan was slightly annoyed. He had not expected such a fierce assault from these mortals, especially not from Existence. Scott and his party were getting closer, and Satan knew he had to conserve energy in order to combat his Destroyer power. Using an incantation, a magic spell involving black nails pinned the energy manifestations to the ground before channeling evil energy into everyone. Chiang grit his teeth through the pain and used prayers to hold back the evil energy on everyone enough to dull the pain. With this opening, Alan severed the energy attacks, freeing everyone from the counterattack.

In that moment, Satan launched a red energy blast that bypassed the lid by going through a portal that opened on the lid and hurled toward Existence. Alan, Chiang, and Spirit Rider used their energy to remove some of its power, but they could not stop it. Acting quickly, Lone Wolf jumped in front of the blast and held up the ridge of his hand to cut it in half like a lumber mill saw through a log. The hellish blast burned like fire, but he stuck it out and cut the whole laser-like blast in half. Unfortunately, the split energy ricocheted off of the surfaces they hit and smacked Lone Wolf and Existence across their jaws like punches from Heavyweight boxers. Lone Wolf dropped instantly unconscious. Existence, however, sent a middle finger to Satan before he dropped by turning his throne upside down and putting a 'plastic cup' manifestation over it. New Demons started coming through the portal, so others would have to hold them off while Lone Wolf and Existence were healed and brought around.

As Lone Wolf and Existence got knocked out more demons started flooding through. "I hope you guys enjoyed the rest, because it seems round 2 is starting. Sandra had to wonder how Scott's group was doing. They better make it to Satan soon. This demon onslaught had to stop, a number of the heroes was already starting to tire in the first attack, and while they managed to push them back for a while, another wave was now incoming. They wouldn't be able to keep this up forever.

Minerva smiled after Scott hugged her, it seemed they'd managed to make it through yet another hell, not that she'd doubted Ashe and Noah, you only needed to watch them fight once to know not to underestimate either of them. As the portal opened up for the next hell, Minerva wondered how this last fight was going to go. If the fight in darkness hell was anything to go by, then in light hell it was likely that she, Scott, and Katy would have to face the light Monarch.

" Minnie!! " Ku-Chan flew to her and hugged her face " did you miss me? "

Minerva smiled " Of course, I'm happy to have you back "

Ku-Chan looked at her closely for a moment " Wow, you actually mean that, neat " he took a seat on her shoulder as they headed for the portal.

The portal that spewed demons from Existence's construction was a short-lived one, but it was just the opening salvo. Hundreds of smaller portals began opening all over the front line of Nirvana, closing just for another to open as New Demons began surging forward again in a near continuous assault. Satan had cast an hour long portal opening spell, certain that this would be enough to finish off the heroes at this time. Looking out through the portal, he saw them trying to rouse Existence, who was the only one native to this universe that could close these portals. Even he would be hard-pressed to keep up with them over such a prolonged period of time, so there was little reason for fear. After removing Existence's manifestation and setting his throne upright again, he sat down and began preparing for Scott's arrival, ironically showing more faith in the strength of Scott's party than in the strength of his most powerful General. He was a realist, and experience had bared out that Scott and his party would win. With so many of his forces failing him at every turn, he decided to trust only in himself in this fight, knowing he had a good chance at defeating Scott, who had only reached the base of becoming the Destroyer.

This lack of faith meant nothing to the fallen angel who made up the core of the infected light within Light Hell. He had been seduced down into Hell from Heaven before humans had even invented the concept of linear time, and had learned to his chagrin that being a fallen angel was tedious work. Sing the praises of Lord Satan and keep his followers coming while training for the ultimate war, Armageddon for eternity. At first it was exciting, but over the milennia, he got completely sick of it. One could only take so many false starts to Armageddon before wanting to turn their attention to other pursuits. Resigning his position as a fallen angel, he instead chose to create his own Hell and make a career of seducing heroes down into Hell as he was.

Of course, while Satan let him go through with this course of action, it didn't really sit well with him. Being a fallen angel within his court was a high honor within Hell, so for one to turn his back on it and choose a less prestigious course was reprehensible to him. To punish him for his ego, Satan destroyed his physical form and turned him into a shapeless ocean of Light that could only form his original shape or others temporarily. He would have what he desired, but be unable to go anywhere or do anything else. Unlike the Darkness Monarch who had been created as a shapeless void from the start, the Light Monarch would suffer from this lack of freedom, having to live permanently with his choice. The Light Monarch would forever stand as a message to the other fallen angels of what would happen to them if they forgot their place.

Over time, the fallen angel forgot his identity completely and became nothing but a tool to seduce heroes down into Hell with promises of power and glory. Those foolish enough to believe this illusion lost their identities and all of the color was drained from them to be replaced by gold coloring. They looked beautiful but were merely chess pieces operating without free will just like their master. It was far worse than being seduced by playful succubi or incubi, as at least that path and any that followed still left free will within guidelines after a night of raunchy sex. Only a shell of beauty existed here, and as Scott and company stepped inside, they would be able to see this beautiful but empty surrounding. Scott looked around, thinking what she saw was dazzlingly beautiful but feeling something was wrong.

They were in a large open air building made of white concrete surrounded by gilded everything. The flooring was made of gold bars, statues and furnishings were trimmed in gold, and there was a comforting fireplace. It was beautiful yet so inorganic with no sign of human habitation. As they went to move foward, an invisible wall stopped Ashe, Noah, and Ku-Chan from moving forward. They were not the kinds of people that the Light General wanted to enslave. It had some interest in Katy and Scott, but it was especially interested in Minerva, whose youth and inexperience gave her the purest heart of all.

Scott turned to his friends who will have to stay behind.
"We'll be back for you guys after we take care of this General. Be careful."
As he moved forward with Katy and Minerva, they came to a set of heavy ornate double doors.
"I'll say one thing for this General, they sure have a taste for ostentatious displays of wealth."
Pushing the doors open, he was surprised to see an old friend leaning against a tree in a courtyard.

"I didn't know you were walking Hell today, Lithuel," Scott said as he approached him and did a one-armed hug.
"Yeah, I decided to train in Light Hell today. I was really feeling the rich vibe."
Lithuel was six feet tall with Caucasian skin, possessing orange hair that could best be described as a styled mop, loose but looking cool. He was half demon and half angel, so his features were an odd mix of his heritage. While most of his body looked human, his hands up to his wrists and feet up to his ankles were black and had vicious claws.

He also had a black tail with a point, and his angel wings were white with black trimming on the outer feathers. Thick brown fur covered his private parts, but he wore no actual clothes, preferring the freedom of fighting like a wild savage. For looking like such a wild man, though, he had a soothing voice and refined air, much different from how he used to be. Scott walked with Lithuel over to Katy and Minerva.
"Katy, Minerva, this is Lithuel, a friend I met on a visit to Heaven a few years ago."
Lithuel shook hands with each of them, smiling and warm.

To see him now, one would have never guessed that physical and emotional pain and suffering had once made Lithuel like a wild animal. The son of the fallen angel Qemuel and the demon Lilith, Adam's first wife and the most vile demon of Judaism, he was too corrupted for Heaven and too pure for Hell. Hatred for all caused him to be bloodthirsty and violent until Scott defeated him and convinced him that hatred was not the answer. Lithuel desired to live in Heaven because he had more in common with the angels than the demons, and so Scott interceded on his behalf and convinced the Seraphim to give him a chance. They agreed to a temporary arrangement that became permanent once Lithuel's sincerity was proved. Now he lived in Heaven while occasionally walking Hell to keep from going soft with an easy life.

It had been a few years since Scott and Lithuel had seen each other, but the mutual respect between them was apparent. The former was proud of the success in civilized life he was having while training to be an Archangel, while the latter owed him big for caring enough to help him make a new life for himself. Scott stood off to the side and listened to the conversation. Lithuel stood relaxed and comfortable after he finished greeting Katy and Minerva.
"So tell me about yourselves, ladies. What brings you to Light Hell, also known as Heroesbane on this side of the world?"

In Katy's mind the most beautiful hell was still the ice hell, this hell seemed to be almost overbearing with to much gold. They don't seem to get to far however when Scott meets another of his old friends, a strange man, Lithuel who seemed to be a nudist and half demon presumably by his features, introduced himself and started inquiring about their business in hell. "To put it simply, we're here to stop Satan and the demons from attacking."

-----

The others started to attack the new influx of demons that where arriving on Nirvana.

Noah rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation as the others headed off without them while they appeared to be stuck here " So the light people are going off while those lacking are left behind " He wasnt suprised by this turn of events but it was still exasperating.

" Nobodies got more light then you buddy " said Ku-Chan as he patted Noahs cheek " were just too cool for school "

Ashe meanwhile was still in the same spot, his hands resting on the invisible wall, power radiating from his body " My purpose here is to make sure the young mage is safe " he was becoming nothing close to annoyed or angry, still blank as ever.

Ku-Chan floated onto his head " Easy Ashey boy, were on the stage before the final boss, those are always annoying, frankly this whole place is tacky as im sure the queen goddess would say, personally I think whoevers running this joint has a thing for fifty shades of grey, so we should expect a brainless heroine, a spoiled sociopathic trillionaire, and lots of badly misunderstood bdsm! "

Minerva felt a little nervous leaving the others behind, she knew they would be fine and with Katy and Scott by her side she would be fine as well, but she couldnt quite shake this feeling.

" Fear not Moana, i'm here! "

Minerva smiled as she heard Ku-Chans voice in her head and continued on. There was a certain beauty to light hell, but it all felt so artificial, like nothing was real, she couldnt explain it but she could also feel as if they were being watched and there was an emotion to it, not unlike darkness hell, was it possible that the light monarch had a similar presence?

" I'd say so, we could very well be in the stomach or mind of this monarch, not seeing a lot to be impressed by, keep an eye out for a man child with a whip though "

Minerva wasnt sure about that last part, but agreed that she should be more wary. Suddenly they came upon a strange individual, Minerva was immediately poised to attack, but relaxed as Scott embraced the man and introduced him as the half angel and demon Lithuel. He had a similar aura to Ashe, though it was profoundly different, Ashe was empty yet heaven and hell coexisted within him, but there was a lot to Lituel in how the opposing forces existed ,she suppressed a giggle as Ku-Chan snorted but otherwise said nothing.

" It's a pleasure to meet you Lithuel, as Katy said, weve been on a journey to stop Satan and his invasion of Nirvana, we have three other companions though they were unable to continue with us "

Lithuel noticed right away that Katy was the more experienced and serious of the two, getting right to the point while Minerva gave him more detail that helped him understand the full picture. He liked them both immediately, and cocked his head a bit to see the three other companions stuck behind the invisible wall the Light Monarch put up. One of them (Ashe) exuded an aura similar to his own, and he felt a sort of kinship with him from afar. The other (Noah) had an odd mix of warrior priest mixed with merciless killer, similar in some ways to the warrior angels. He didn't dislike the man but would be cautious in any dealings with him. The being sitting on Ashe's head was unlike any being he had seen before, and though he felt some derision from him, it didn't bother him because mockery and hatred was something he constantly dealt with and was rising above.

"I've noticed heightened combat demon activity but didn't think it was that organized."
Lithuel turned to the ocean of light that shimmered gold as if the evening sun were hitting it.
"This guy is a broken record, but he's a master manipulator. He's only interested in those with noble personalities, hero types that he can bend to his will with promises of glory. I've been here for hours fighting his pawns and he hasn't once shut up about promising to make me one of the Seraphim, the highest order of angels in Heaven. Not only do I know he's full of shit, but I don't need his help for anything."

Lithuel turned to Scott.
"Want some help dealing with this guy?"
"I appreciate it, Lithuel, but I think we'll be okay. Chiang and the others in Nirvana could sure use your help, though."
"I'll see what I can do. Give this Light Monarch punk a punch in the mouth for me, alright?"

With that, Lithuel respectfully took his leave from the trio and took to the skies with his wings, leaving Light Hell. Scott closed his eyes and focused, manifesting Valor Armor on his body before throwing back his right arm for the Destroyer Fist.
"Let's beat this guy down."
However, before they could go any further, a strange crimson portal opened and a staff was being swung at Minerva's head. Scott quickly moved to intercept the staff, grabbing hold of it with his right hand. However, this had been a trap and the portal closed behind him, cutting him off from his team.

Scott was now in a pocket dimension within Hell created by Dulzak, who wanted a final showdown.
"I've been watching you, Scott, and I knew attacking your woman would get you right where I wanted you."
Dulzak had been watching Scott, and felt certain that he could overcome his Destroyer Fist this time now that he had time to study it. Scott was angry that he attacked Minerva, especially in such a cowardly fashion. That was unforgivable, a transgression that would motivate Scott to destroy him.
"You'll regret your poor decision," Scott said as he got into his Muay Thai stance, prepared completely for his last battle with Dulzak.

The battle was also beginning for Minerva and Katy, who were left to deal with the Light Monarch alone. A soothing voice would be heard in their minds, attempting to relax them.
You ladies are much too smart to listen to Lithuel. He is unsure and insecure of himself, but you, Katy, you know what you want, as strong and independent as you are. You want to be a great hero, to show how much you stand out amongst your friends and colleagues. I can make that happen. And you, Minerva, you want to make your master Riku proud, have a strong, loving relationship with Scott, and get your father's approval. You are such a wonderful person that everyone is happier with you in their lives, and I would be honored to help you achieve those goals.

Within Nirvana, Existence opened his eyes and blinked them several times as he adjusted to the light. After he stopped seeing double of Chiang, he took the Bodhisattva's offered hand and got to his feet. A quick appraisal of the battlefield told him what was happening, and he needed no explanation on what he needed to do. Using his powerful mind, he looked at the portals and willed them closed, but these portals were opening faster than his eyes could follow so it was still not an easy task. Even so, it significantly cut down on the New Demons, giving the heroes a fighting chance. Lone Wolf recovered and mercilessly slaughtered any New Demon he could reach, helping out the heroes already fighting.

Katy had a amused smile listening to the light monarch.    "You really must take me for a fool, do you?   First of all, my best friend is the strongest known telepathic mind in the world if not the galaxy.     You think your simply going to tell me what I want to hear and I'll bend to your will just like that?    Please.     Secondly you are the ninth monarch we've faced.    We know how you like to manipulate people.     For fuck sake the eighth monarch just tried these same tricks.    Do you really think I've forgotten about five minutes ago?      Thirdly, you are a demon, you are one step under Satan himself.     Do you honestly think we'll remotely believe anything you say?       I'd sooner trust Troy then trust you.     So light monarch, either show yourself so we can kick your ass, or let us pass."

Katy clearly having none of what the light monarch was saying, and quite frankly felt insulted that he thought this would be so easy. After a short wait it seemed the light monarch didn't want to make a move. "Fine then, Minerva lets get moving, we have to find Scott." Katy proceeded forward to step past the portal.

Minerva gasped as Scott vanished after saving her, it appeared the light monarch was making his move. Suddenly she could hear a tantalizing voice speak to her and Katy, she frowned as it mentioned pleasing her father however, a part of her wanted that, but another part....

" Wow, this is some piss poor temptation" Ku-Chan laughed " I can see why we couldnt get through " This guy only wants idiots who are dumb enough to fall for his speech, not really painting heros in a good light, but lets set that aside for now, Merv, please tell me your not buying this crap "

Minerva shook her head " I'm not, theres a certain appeal, but weve been through too much today for me to fall for it....or trully want it "

" Good to hear "

It appeared that the light monarch was not going to make the first move, Minerva followed Katy as she attempted to head through the portal

As Katy and Minerva passed through the ocean of light to head for the portal, statues on either side of it suddenly formed the letter 'x' with their lances, blocking them from moving forward.
If you go that way, you will only suffer agony and torment. As you are now, you could never defeat Satan. If you truly wish to defeat him, you must have power only I can grant you.
The statues continued to block their way, unblinking and unmoving. It was clear that if Katy and Minerva were truly intent on defying the Light Monarch, they would have to do so by force.

Scott and Dulzak rushed at each other with great speed, their intense final battle beginning. Scott threw a flurry of Valor-enhanced punches at Dulzak's mid-section followed by a head kick, but each was deflected with one end of Dulzak's staff or the other. When Scott's attack ended, Dulzak countered with several thrusts of his staff that mixed with melee strikes after a spin. Scott dodged these high speed attacks and avoided trying to destroy the staff or disarm Dulzak, since his weapon was spiritual and would simply return. Instead, he changed his stance to a more defensive one and looked for opportunities to counterattack. The perfect one came when Dulzak whirled his staff and came down with a vertical strike, which Scott stepped back to dodge before countering with a split-second Valor-enhanced flying front kick.

This kick landed flush on his solar plexus, and threw him back with such great force that he let go of his staff. Scott nabbed it with one hand and took a stance with it as Dulzak landed hard but quickly rolled off of his back and to his feet. Summoning a new staff, he took his own staff and glowed with an energy aura that was part Blood Magic and part Corrupted Fire Aura. Scott's own aura was in five colors, representing himself and his four allies that had lended him parts of their powers. He had the greater power but victory was far from assured just yet. Dulzak was fighting for his very survival and knew his opponent, and that made him more dangerous than ever.

In Nirvana, Lithuel arrived through a white portal, shredding several New Demons with his claws as he made his way to Chiang.
"Scott told me what was going on. What can I do to help?"
"Destroy any portals that Existence doesn't close with your angelic power. I'll use my Sacred Energy to do the same."
Lithuel nodded and channeled his angel energy through a white aura, blasting portals with white energy blasts while Chiang did the same with blue energy blasts from prayers.

Katy grabbed a lance in each hand, ice quickly formed on the lances and flowed down the weapons to cover statures in ice.      Katy roundhouse kicked one statue knocking it's head off and sending it flying several feet, and she punched the second statue square in the chest causing the whole statue to shatter.    "Be that as it may light monarch, I rather die a hero then live for eternity as one of your golden statures.    We may be "pure of heart" as they say, we may be doing this with noble intentions, and yes we all have our inner desires.     However we aren't fools.    I know exactly what your "help" will lead to, I've been around this block many times before.       Now, if you are done wasting everybody time, either show yourself or send your armies, or let us pass.    Minerva, lets move on."

Katy proceeded forward once more.

Minerva nodded in agreement " We dont need anything from you especially not at such a cost " she watched in awe as Katy handily destroyed the statues and they moved on, Minerva's nerves were on edge, surely this couldnt be all to light hell.

After the statues were destroyed and it became clear that Katy and Minerva would not fall for his temptation, the Light King decided that now was the time to take drastic measures. Invisible walls blocked off the portal and the doorway they had come in, keeping them right where he wanted them.
It seems that you are not ready to listen. It is regrettable, but I must hurt you now.
The Light King still planned to try and take them alive, as they could be forcibly converted into his pawns upon unconsciousness. There was no reason to kill them unless they left him absolutely no choice.

From the ocean of light rose many heroes clad in gold, their impressive appearances as vibrant in this unlife as they had been in their actual lives. Though their names were lost in the sands of time, their power was undisputed. Leading the charge against Katy was a water using mutant from the ancient past, his ferocious technique actually pulling the water from Katy's body as other heroes attacked her at the same time. An ancient mage trained his sights on Minerva and began draining the magic from her, as well, lowering her ability to defend herself as other heroes with a variety of weapons went after her. The numbers of the attacking enemy grew until they were completely surrounded. It was clear that Katy and Minerva would have to go all-out from the very beginning if they didn't want want to join the ranks of these enslaved former heroes.

Scott went after Dulzak with the staff, keeping him busy with rapid and skillful attacks. After a flurry of attacks, he kicked the staff at him and readied his Destroyer Fist of Valor before launching it at Dulzak. His initial plan was to use his Blood Magic to shield himself from the attack, relying on his past knowledge that Blood Magic disintegrated Voltari Armor. However, it would have no effect on this energy, and the fist passed through to land a crushing blow on his face. Following up with a flurry of attacks, Scott destroyed his staff many times and beat him to the ground before going for a killing spear hand thrust for Dulzak's heart. His opponent stopped his fist with a Corrupted Fire Aura and then rolled out of the way before Scott could attempt to pierce through it.

Back on his feet, Dulzak took a fighting stance similar to the Fire King. It seemed that he was going to try and fight hand-to-hand while using his auras. This was a mistake that would seal his fate, though Scott was glad that he could finish him in this most advanced form of fighting in his universe. Dulzak flared up with an aura combining Blood Magic and Corrupted Fire Aura before sending it out. He would fight using the ancient religion of his people and the newly-acquired power of the sleeping Fire King. Shouting in the ancient dialect of his native Grymwar language, Dulzak announced that their final battle had just begun.

Lithuel continued to blast at the portals with his angelic magic, practicing this form of medium-range fighting he didn't often use. Although most of him still preferred up-close killing with his claws, these holy blasts helped him to keep in touch with his angel side and prevent slipping too far into his demonic heritage. He didn't want to use the bows and swords favored by the Archangel class, instead choosing to wield his energy as a weapon. It was unorthodox among his colleagues, but how he had used it in service to Heaven left them no room to complain. At other times, he would practice his demonic abilities in Hell to prevent losing touch with it, as well, knowing that he would always be his most powerful if he kept even his power from both sides of his heritage. Whatever he was doing, Lithuel was glad to feel useful, and would do his part among these champions to keep Satan's ambitions in check.

"Oh hell no, bitch you think you are beating me with my own moves?" Katy counteracted the water warrior blocking him from pulling anymore water out of her buy pulling it back in. The enemies all attacked converging on Katy from all around, Katy shifted into organic water causing the enemies to splash through her and collide with each other, she quickly reformed and shifted to organic ice forming spiking weapons on her arms and quickly stabbed one warrior through his back. Ice spread from the stab wound quickly covering his whole body and with a swift kick the frozen gold warrior shattered.

Katy stood, she was still quite outnumbered but she was ready. "I am sorry you heroes feel for this light monarch's lies, but you are heroes no more. All you are is mindless slaves, husks of your former selves. So if I have to go through you all to get to Satan, so be it. So show me what ya'll got."

Minerva felt her magic being drained from her body as the light kings goons were beginning to swarm her.

" Shits getting started Molly, you ready? "

" Yeah, i'm ready "

" Sweet, magia armament acess! "

Four broaches appeared on her each wrist, her neck, and her stomache along with words with that she immediately chanted " Oh lords of magic, grant me greater strength, strength to smite those before me! "

The amplification spell increased her power till she felt as if it had replaced the blood in her veins, pumping through her body, holding out her arms " Blade of the sorrowful storm!! "

Blades of lightning, water, and wind encircled Minervas body till they exploded out in a the form of a typhoon, tearing through all the enemies surrounding her and leaving her in a calm space, the eye of the storm.

The hydromancer realized that Katy was a formidable opponent, so he began attacking more aggressively. Waving his right arm in an upward arc, he created several ice swords and sent them at Katy before jumping quickly to another angle and launching balls of ice that would freeze her on contact. There was also a strange sort of coordination in the attack, as he waited for Katy to be distracted while fighting another enemy before pulling water out of her body and absorbing it, having learned from his past attempt. With so many enemies attacking her, Katy would constantly have an opening that he could exploit, and he did as he tried to debilitate her. The more physical attackers continually pressed in on her to limit her movement, and even worse, they were adjusting to her fighting style and becoming more difficult to deal with. Katy was holding her own very well, but unleash she dealt with the hydromancer that was constantly chipping away at her, she would lose in the long-term.

Minerva's powerful magic spells ripped through many of the light warriors, forcing the survivors back to avoid being caught in the maelstrom. The sorcerer who had been draining Minerva's magic soon took charge, however, and rallied spellswords and former heroes with magic negating swords to cut a path for him through the typhoon. Once they were in, they began to attack Minerva, looking to damage her body and sap her magic with their swords and other draining spells. The sorcerer entered the typhoon as it closed behind him, bowing his head to silently state an incantation. His voice had been snuffed out long ago, but his command of magic was still undiminished. The typhoon was dispelled and several melee fighters went after her again, made more resistant to magic by a second incantation of the sorcerer.

Scott's aura moved outward to clash with the aura of Dulzak. After several moments of struggle, Scott's aura overpowered his and surrounded them both before locking in place. Scott went after him with Valor-enhanced strikes, using rapid combos of punches and kicks on his head and chest, exploiting any opening he could see. Dulzak's natural Grymwar endurance and willpower to keep fighting were impressive, and he used his training with the Fire King to see an opening in Scott's offense and land a hard punch to his helmeted face that sent him flying backwards. Reaching out with his hands before he landed, Scott caught himself and sprang forward onto his feet, rushing back in a zigzag pattern that left Dulzak unaware of where the next attack would come from. Scott landed a punch to Dulzak's face that caught the former Chieftain by surprise and forced him against the wall of Scott's aura.

It was clear that no matter his endurance or mental toughness, Dulzak was simply no match for Scott when it came to striking. However, his greater size and strength gave him an advantage in wrestling, so he waited for Scott to come at him once more. When he went for a punch to the stomach to open his guard, Dulzak moved with it and wrapped his arms around his waist to take him to the ground. Transitioning to a full mount, he began using ground and pound punches on his face that Scott was trying to block as best he could. From the novice to the pro, this was one of the worst positions to be in on the ground, and Scott knew he had to get out of this before his helmet was destroyed and he started taking those massive fists to his actual face. Having finally gotten Scott at a disadvantage, Dulzak continued to pound away with savage ferocity, believing that survival and revenge would be his if he could just kill Scott now.

Katy melted all the ice swords and absorbed the water from them. Changing up her style Katy summoned a long string of water protruding from her finger creating a whip. She hyper energized the molecules in the water super heating it. She proceeded to spin around lashing out the whip in a 360 degree circle around her. The heat easily siring through several statures that was closing in on her making the others stop to rethink their step. Katy went straight after the hydromancer and started taking control of his body, freezing him, slowly. While he was trying to fight it, it seemed Katy had the advantage in raw strength and will.

As her spell was negated Minerva was put on the defensive, casting spells that increased her endurace as Ku-Chan cycled through items to equip her with, the sorcerer she was fighting was very skilled, dispelling her magic and increasing the other warriors magic resistance. She focused on blocking and evading the attacks, keeping a close eye on everyone. These people had once been heroes yet they'd been reduced to being mere puppets, their strings being pulled by a foul being. She looked deeply into their eyes and tried to see a spark of who they were, but saw nothing.

" Put away the concern for them and focus on saving your own skin " came Noahs stern voice in her head, Ku-Chan appeared to have patched him into the mental connection as well " I can tell it's in your nature to worry about people and want to do everything you can to save innonents, but this isnt the place for that. These people are nothing but marrionets now due to their own folley and stupidity. Their lost and thats all that matters, keep all that concern for yourself and look at them as only things that need to be destroyed, kindness is a chain that can weigh you down if you let it, so dont "

Noahs words were cold but she could see a wisdom to them, she pitied these fallen heros but here in this place, so far from her own home, she should think of nothing but winning this fight and getting home. She summoned a large, broad sword and blocked three of the fighters.

Listen to me girl, just stand there, keep your head up and back straight, smile. Keep quiet and do as your told, dont make me or your brother look bad, I'm the head of this family and Xander will succeed me. If your lucky we'll marry you off to a suitable man, a mage of good standing. Do as your told, keep quiet, smile, dont talk back, do as your told, do as your told, do as your told....

Minerva went cold, a puppet who's string were being pulled by a cruel master......

" NOOOOO!!! " she screamed and swung the sword in a wide arc, cutting three of the fighters clean in half " No, no, no, no I wont be a puppet, I wont be caged, not again! " she charged the sorcerer, blinded by her rage.