On the plains of blood in hell, Mathias and Hella had taken a few moments to regain their strength after this quick but nevertheless violent confrontation against this entity of the Ancient Ones called the Watcher. Sitting next to each other on the rocky, ashy ground, the couple had checked each other for serious injuries and luckily they did. However, the frustration was on both of their faces. The hunchbacked little demon, Gurash, was bouncing around, sneering in his mischievous voice.
_ "Damn, that was beyond amazing! You managed to beat the Watcher!"
_"Beat? Let's say he managed to slip through our fingers." Hella corrected less enthusiastically.
Mathias shared his lover's opinion.
_"In any case I hope that these damn priests of hell will be satisfied, otherwise I will make them regret." added Mathias, huffing, tired but above all angry to have had to risk his life and especially that of Hella to help these demons.
If it had been up to him, he would have gladly let these creatures and their infernal dimension be swept away, but Hella had been right in saying that the entire hell under the control of the Great Ancient Ones would have been a total disaster. Despite the disappointment visible on the couple, the hunchbacked demon Gurash remained ecstatic. He approached them then under their perplexed gazes bowed down, his face in the ashes.
_"But what are you doing?" asked Mathias, raising an eyebrow.
_ "I renounce my servitude to the priests of hell and desire to swear allegiance to you for eternity as your servant." announced Gurash with a most motivated conviction.
Mathias and Hella, even more confused, exchanged a look.
_ "Wait a minute... do you want to serve us? But you're a demon." Hella asked to make sure she heard correctly.
_"Yes." Gurash affirmed, his bulging eyes shining with determination. "My people never accepted me. I had the misfortune to be born deformed, too weak... My mother was punished and executed by order of the Demon King, for daring to give birth to a demon as miserable as I am, and he condemned me to an eternity of slavery and mistreatment at the hands of the infernal priests... I know well all that my race has done to yours, but I ask you to appeal to your mercy and give me the chance to finally be able to serve worthy beings and finally find a purpose for my existence."
Mathias and Hella had listened and despite their strong contempt for demons, had been touched by Gurash's story and surprisingly felt sorry for him. In a way he was like Mathias, having been victimized by his own people for years, and like Hella he was born and destined to suffer at the hands of tyrants in waiting to be rescued. As a demon he could have been lying, but they could tell in the depth of his voice that he was more than sincere and judging by the countless marks on his skin, vestiges of abuse inflicted, they believed him. Gurash then remained silent, still bowed and face down, as if waiting for an answer from them. Mathias and Hella hesitated at first, looking at each other but finally came to the same agreement. It was Hella who got up and came to raise the head of the deformed little demon.
_ "In that case, get up Gurash, and join us." said the scarbie, extending her hand to him.
The little demon's face cleared and he stood up, not finding the words to thank them. Behind Hella, Mathias smirked, also accepting this decision.
_"Well, what if we left this fucking place forever?" Mathias suggested.
_ "Oh yeah..." Hella whispered. "But frankly, I don't see us walking back to the temple. I'm too tired to walk, but an idea occurs to me."
With a mischievous smile, she indicated to Mathias to come closer and whispered her idea in his ear. In turn, Mathias smiled and nodded in approval.
_"Hell yeah, I love it... Let's go." he said.
Tilting his head to the side because intrigued, Gurash then observed Hella advancing several steps. The scarbie closed her eyes, raising her hands to the huge mass graves of dead demons. Summoning her invisible magnetism control power, Hella took control of all of the dead demons' metal weapons and armor pieces, levitating them in the air and gradually coming to gather them into a single heap that she began to shape with the moves of her hands, twisting and bending the metal at his will. It took several minutes, but eventually all the metal pieces came together to form what looked like some kind of convertible car with spiky exhaust pipes in the back, spikes on the rims of the wheels and the bumper covered the entire front of the vehicle and was shaped like a huge, menacing carnivorous skull.
Once the assembly was complete, Hella stopped her power and took a step aside, turning to Mathias who couldn't help smiling, finding this car so metal.
_"Your turn." said the scarbie with the same enthusiasm.
Without hesitation, Mathias moved forward, hastily rubbing his hands together and summoned Lamia again, but without fully transforming, only his head became demonic and his hands became covered in hellfire. Mathias came to put his hands on the body of the car, in a powerful roar and letting the flames of hell spread over its entire surface. Hellfire permeated every inch of the car, merging with it. A deep, monstrous roar of an engine sounded, the exhaust pipes spewed jets of flame, and the empty sockets of the skull on the front glowed like braziers.
Gurash was speechless but also admiring. Mathias became human again and then pointed to the monstrous vehicle he had just created with Hella.
_"Here is... The Hell-Razor." he said.
Mathias then opened the door for Hella.
_"My lady." he said as a gentleman with a wink.
Hella flashed him a mischievous smile and placed a short kiss on his lips, thanking him, then sat down in the passenger seat.
_"Gurash, come on. Get in the back." she said, showing the backseat to the demon, who then hastened to jump in.
Mathias climbed in turn, getting behind the wheel, which was also adorned with a demonic skull.
_"I think it's time to pay a little visit to those priests of hell." said Mathias looking at Hella.
_"Not without creating a little atmosphere, of course." she added sharing a smile with him.
She then switched on the radio integrated into the dashboard, scrolling through songs of metal bands and chose one. Stronger, from the band Dymytry. The song began as with a roar, the Hellrazor sped away, spitting its flames out the back and kicking up a cloud of dust and ash in its wake.
"Come push me closer to the edge
I won't surrender
Come try to put me to the ground
I won't go under
With every time you try to put a chain on me
My strength increased
With every time you've tried to defeat me
Can't you see?
You can't tame the beast..."
Later, in the demonic temple, the three infernal priests, surrounded by their hundreds of servants, had remained near the satanic altar while awaiting the return of the couple. But demons were never really known for their patience.
_"Hmm, I don't think they'll be back." said Ur'Azog.
_"Other souls sent to die... how unfortunate..." Ur'Varn added unaffected.
_"Bah... a monster and a human, that won't be a great loss..." Ur'Kash said in turn.
But as they spoke, a closer and louder sound was heard from outside... A mechanical roar, accompanied by a loud and powerful metal song that dropped lyrics...
"You never see me hiding
I will hold my head up high
Set sails and leave the past behind
See me rising
Cut the ties and drift bеyond the sky
I'm stronger, I will fly
Stronger, I am strongеr
Stronger, growing stronger..."
The three demonic priests and their servants turned their attention to the entrance of the temple, more than confused.
_"But... What the...?!" growled Ur'Azog.
Suddenly, the engine and the song stopped, silence settling in for many seconds. Then, the entrance to the temple burst into a geyser of fiery flames and several demons were pushed back by the wave which shook the structure. Stunned, the three infernal priests, leaning on their scepters, then saw clearing smoke, the small and hunchbacked form of Gurash advancing alone in the middle of the room.
_"Gurash! What does that mean?! Speak, you wretch!" ordered Ur'Kash fiercely.
_"I come here to tell you loud and clear that I renounce my servitude to you! From now on, I no longer obey you!" Gurash affirmed.
This statement had the effect of triggering laughter among the other demon servants, but the three priests remained serious, but angry.
_"Blasphemer! Dirty useless larva!" growled Ur'Varn. "You dare utter such words in this place?! You will regret your insolence! You will..."
But as he spoke, the Ur'Varn priest was suddenly hit in the head by a hammer that had been thrown and sped across the room, before magically returning to its owner's hand. Ur'Kash and Ur'Azog were left speechless in shock, seeing their brother having been pushed back, crumpled to the ground lifeless and half of his head completely crushed and bloodied from the shock received.
A dead silence fell over the temple and all eyes fell on the forms of Mathias and Hella, side by side, he holding his claymore and her holding her bloody hammer, entering and advancing fearlessly towards the middle of the hall, their strong, hard gazes staring at the priests of hell.
_"Anyone who dares to threaten Gurash will now have to deal with us." Hella said firmly.
_"You seem surprised to see us again." said Mathias in his turn in a threatening tone towards the two remaining priests. "Maybe you had planned a whole different scenario for your little shenanigans, right?"
_"Not at all, believe us." Ur'Kash almost implored, taking a step back, not caring about Ur'Varn's death, preferring instead to focus on his own survival. "We had no doubts about your victory and we are happy to see that our predictions were correct. And as a reward, we wanted to give you this..."
Ur'Azog slapped the end of his scepter sharply on the ground, and behind them, the demonic altar gave off raw mechanical hums and split open, almost like a stone chest. Both intrigued and suspicious, Hella and Mathias decided to take a look inside, the priests stepping aside to let them pass. In the entrails of the altar, were two golden rings marked with small demonic engravings, in black cases in the midle of a red pentagram. Despite the beauty of its artifacts, the couple was always suspicious.
_"What is that?" Hella asked.
_"These rings were worn by all the demonic lords who ruled Hell... And today, well... you have proven yourselves worthy to become their new wearers." Ur'Azog explained.
Mathias and Hella raised an eyebrow at such a sentence.
_"We two, the new rulers of hell? You're kidding us!" said Mathias, not fooled.
_"I agree." Hella added. "It is out of the question to become your masters. We will never allow the demonic royal bloodline to be reborn."
The two hell priests looked at each other.
_"Well... let's say you have no choice!" sneered Ur'Kash.
By means of a demonic power, the two rings came to life of their own volition, levitating at high speed, one coming to put itself on the finger of Mathias and the other of Hella without them having time to react, and immediately everything became blurry and dark, as if they were falling into unconsciousness.
Opening their eyes, Mathias and Hella realized that they were still together, but lost in the middle of an endless black space. Total darkness in all directions. There was a biting cold accompanied by an atrocious smell of sulfur which made the couple wince.
_"Damn... but where are we?" breathed Mathias, looking around.
_"These damn demons... we got screwed like beginners!" Hella growled in frustration.
She tried to remove the ring from around her finger, but it was impossible, almost as if it had fused with her flesh. It was the same for Mathias. But suddenly, a sinister feminine snicker sounded like a close echo around them. Looking in the direction of the laughter, Mathias and Hella remained cautious, ready to defend themselves.
_"Who's there? Show yourself!" Hella ordered.
Light footsteps were heard and a female figure stood out from the opaque darkness, coming a few feet in front of the couple. She looked like a humanoid woman, dressed in a long black dress, but her horns on her head, her morbid pale complexion, her inhuman eyes and her wings on her back betrayed her demonic nature. A treacherous smile formed on her black lips.
_"Well, well... what do we have here." she said. "The Master of Lamia and the Scarbie."
_"Who... who are you?" asked Mathias with great suspicion.
_"Oh, it's true, we've never met but I know who you are..." the demonic woman said with a wicked smile. "However, Mr. Lordi must have told you about me. I am Evilyn."
This revelation was a shock for the couple. Even though they had never seen her, they had indeed heard of her and what she had done. The last demonic queen and first of the succubi.
_"Oh come on little sister, it's not nice to leave me behind. I would like to introduce myself too." suddenly said another voice, male this time, but just as sly and inhuman.
The demon that stepped forward this time had the appearance of an imposing black gargoyle that this time Hella recognized immediately.
_"Vexus..." she gasped, looking at him like a ghost.
_"Hella..." he growled darkly. "You've changed a lot since the last time."
_"No...it's impossible...you're both dead." said the scarbie with conviction, supported by Mathias who remained close to her.
_"We indeed are..." Evilyn declared. "At least, physically. But you see, thanks to those rings that were forged by our father, our spirits were kept out of nothingness. The downside is that we're stuck in this place."
_"But fortunately, our dear priest advisers had the good idea to send us replacement bodies." Vexus sneered fiercely.
Mathias and Hella gasped, guessing from these words all the masquerade of which they were victims. All along, the priests of hell planned to bring back their lords Evilyn and Vexus, and these rings were just a way for their spirits to take possession of the new wielders. They had to make sure the bodies were strong, and in a way, this fight against the Watcher was like a test.
_"If you think we'll let it go..." Mathias commented, but he was suddenly interrupted by Vexus who leapt at him at superhuman speed and both started rolling on the ground in a struggle.
_"Mathias!" Hella gasped, but in turn was attacked and grabbed by Evilyn, who grabbed her by the throat and pinned her to the ground.
_"Come on, let yourself be, you'll see, it will be fast!" Evilyn hissed between her teeth, her eyes mad and eager to possess a new body.
_"Kiss my ass!" Hella spat at her, struggling with all her might.
With a kick in the stomach, Hella pushed Evilyn back and with a nimble backward roll back to her feet. Not far away, Vexus had overpowered Mathias and was beginning to strangle him. The young man, despite his struggle, seemed to lose consciousness.
_"Ha ha, your spirit is strong but I'm even stronger." growled Vexus confidently in victory.
_"SURPRISE!" Lamia's monstrous voice suddenly roared as Mathias opened blazing eyes and a carnivorous smile, at which, Vexus quickly lost his smile and looked bewildered.
Mathias, letting Lamia speak through him, grabbed Vexus' head in his hands and began burning him with flames. Vexus screamed in pain, feeling his flesh almost melting and backed away quickly, giving Mathias time to get up. Meanwhile, Hella had evaded all of Evilyn's attempts to possess her, and finally managed to fire a salvo from her sawed-off shotgun into the demoness's stomach, causing her to sting in pain and knock her back, joined by her brother. But despite the pain, Evilyn sneered cynically.
_"You are strong, I have to admit, but you can do anything you want to us, you can't kill spirits. No matter how long it takes, sooner or later we'll get you... I can't wait to see the reaction of this bastard Mr. Lordi and that damn Emily when they find out the truth about you two, just before I finish them off myself."
But suddenly, the two demonic spirits lost their smiles when they saw Mathias and Hella come together, then hold hands, letting out a powerful energy recognizable by the two demons who began to step back.
_"No... no... not that... not that power yet!" gasped Vexus.
_"Them too! Oh fuck!" Evilyn growled.
Hella's hammer and Mathias' claymore, animated by the power of their love, levitated and came to merge into a single new, more powerful weapon: A hammer appearing to be made of volcanic rock, streaked with glowing veinlets and marked with runes and bristling with sharp points, and a small horned skull adorning the end of the metal handle.
_"That's the problem with you demons. You never learn from your mistakes." Hella said. "Mr. Lordi and Emily once defeated you both with their power..."
_"And now it's our turn." Mathias added.
Grabbing the handle of the Great Hammer together, Mathias and Hella slammed down on the ground with all their might, unleashing a wave of hellfire explosion that spread at high speed like a tidal wave in the direction of the two demonic spirits, which in howls of fear then of pain, were swallowed by the infernal wave without being able to do anything, being reduced to nothing, forever.
Meanwhile, in the temple, Ur'Kash and Ur'Azog had been waiting for several minutes, kneeling beside the unconscious bodies of Mathias and Hella. All the servant demons watched silently and Gurash went into hiding, shaking in fear.
Suddenly, Mathias and Hella began to move slowly, their eyelids trembling and their eyebrows furrowing as if they were coming to. The two infernal priests smiled and Ur'Kash then reached out his clawed hand to help Mathias up.
_"Lord Vexus... Welcome back... How do you feel...?"
But without him being able to react, Ur'Kash was violently impaled by the blade of a claymore invoked by the young man, who then raised his head towards the demon in a state of shock.
_"Oh but I'm fine, unlike him." said Mathias with a wicked smile.
Ur'Kash screamed to death as the claymore's hellfire flared up and devoured him in seconds, reducing him to a heap of ash. Ur'Azog, the last living Hell Priest, horrified and terrified, began to back away, but felt a finger tap his shoulder behind him. No sooner had he turned than the double barrel of a sawed-off shotgun violently entered into his mouth, and Hella standing in front of him, glared furiously.
_"By the way... you're fired!" she said.
The shot rang out, and the Last Infernal Priest's head exploded like an overripe watermelon, spilling blood and chunks of flesh and bone all over the ground. The decapitated body fell backwards and Hella tucked her still smoking weapon into her belt. Mathias joined her and together shared a kiss, happy to see each other safe and satisfied with their work.
Faced with the death of all the priests of hell, the demon servants had taken refuge behind the columns of the temple, terrified. Gurash, meanwhile, emerged from his hiding place, more than relieved, and ran to join the couple at the top of the stairs.
_"Wow, masters, that was... amazing!" he said.
Mathias and Hella said nothing at first, noting that the infernal rings were still on their fingers, and now seemed impossible to remove. Despite the disappearance of the spirits of Evilyn and Vexus, they still felt this demonic aura that emanated from these artifacts, and from now on, they should learn to channel it so as not to be dominated by its power.
_"Let's get the hell out of here." Mathias suggested.
Hella nodded and holding hands, the couple headed outside to return to their car, followed by Gurash and leaving this demon slaughter behind them, without a single glance or regret.