Mission 24: Into the Spider's Trap
Sliding down through the hole he fell through, Dante groaned as he hit the floor. "Ugh, that was quite the fall," the Demon Hunter said to himself as he got up to his feet. Looking around, he saw nothing but the lobby of Vox's tower. "Right back to the start. A waste of time if you asked me," he said, dusting himself off. "Then again, that might be the point," he said before seeing the elevators were turned off. "No time like the present," he told himself as he started to run up the stairs of the building.
The Demon Hunter ran up the first few floors as fast as he could while taking on the demons that were occupying the tower floors. Blades, Prides, and Envies jumped the Son of Sparda to get a precise blow, but the half-demon in red summoned forth Dread to block the attacks. He swung the giant scythe at his attacking foes and cut them into pieces. Demonic blood covered the walls as the Demon Hunter spun the scythe at a Faust, slicing it in half as he threw the weapon into the air and the demonic scythe disappeared, getting replaced with Ace Dukes. Dante rushed passed the Blood-goyles and Sargassos, throwing the electric cards at the enemies and setting up a chain reaction that unleashed a shockwave to electrocute each opponent it placed a card on.
The only one that survived the attack was a Blitz demon that used the electricity it was hit with to recharge its own power. "Between you and the Vanguard, you get in my way too much," Dante scoffs as he reached down his back to retrieve Rebellion. "Let's see if you can electrify me," he said, pointing his blade at the demon. After the Blitz demon got into a combat stance, Dante smirked and dashed forward with a Stinger attack. The lightning demon crossed its arms to block the attack and have its armored skin absorb most of the damage. Unfortunately for it, the white-haired hunter used his sword as a bluff and switched to Balrog. The Demon Hunter threw an uppercut at the lighting lizard and his fist met with its jaw, cracking the armor and breaking a few teeth. The demon fell backward and landed on its back with a loud thud. Jumping into the air, Dante drop-kicked it in the abdomen as more of its armor cracked. The demon let loose a horrid howl as it tried to dash away and save itself, but the Son of Sparda didn't give him a chance. Dante rushed forward and grabbed its horn, punching it in the face with his other hand when he did. The Demon Hunter continued the assault until the enemy demon's head became nothing but mush and the body fell to the floor. Shaking his bloody fist a few times, Dante shove his hands in his pockets as he ran up the stairs. 'I really do hope the others are doing well enough without me,' he thought as he ran through a flight of stairs.
After sliding down the trap door Striker made him fall in, Angel Dust slide down until he landed on his ass hard. "Ah Geez, give a guy some warning next time. I may do a lot of shit, but this body is priceless," the spider sinner said as he got up and cracked his back in place. "Now where the Heaven am I, anyway?"
Looking around the floor he was on the 10th floor, but its interior was very different than when he was last. "What the fuck happened here," he asked himself as he looked around and saw the floor had some lava dripping off the walls like cobwebs. "Did somebody else come through here while we were fighting for our lives?" The former porn star didn't want to take any chances as he took out his Tommy gun and combed the surrounding area making sure none of the lava touched him. "Geez, this stuff is everywhere. It's almost like that time I got covered in sperm in that orgy video," he said smirking at the memory of parts of his old life. But he did feel some regret as it meant being a fuck toy to that overgrown dildo of a moth. "That bastard deserved what he got. Now the others and I can focus on our hellish lives however we want. Well, until we get redeemed like those other guys. But I might not be since I got a lot of shit on my plate with all the sex, the violence, the drugs, the alcohol... where was I going with this? I thought I had a point. Eh, it will come back to me eventually."
Suddenly, Angel heard something from the other end of the hall as he readied his Tommy gun. The spider sinner turned the corner, aiming at the being as they held a small explosive in their hand. "Angie?"
"Cherri?"
Both sinners lowered their guard as Angel put his gun away and Cherri put her bomb in her pocket. "Boy, am I glad to see you," the bomb-wielding cyclops said to the former porn star. "I bet you haven't seen the others, right?"
"You got it in one, sugar tits. Though I am glad I met up with you first instead of the others. Especially Vaggie," the spider sinner said as he walked alongside his friend.
"Still not letting you have some freedom," Cherri asked as they walk alongside one another.
"She's a real buzz kill. I know I'm not gonna go into Heaven soon, but I pull off some small pranks on the other and she gets so pissy like she hasn't been laid in years," Angel shouts as he puts all four of his arms up. "I mean, she does get her daily dose of fucking Charlie. Except for last night, the Princess was doing the nasty with Dante."
"Lucky princess. That must be exciting to hear," Cherri grinned cheekily as they walked further into the floor.
"Oh, I wish. Me and everyone else got really wasted because Salvia and his sister got into Heaven. The hangover was murder," Angel told her as he did regret drinking that night. "How far do you think this floor is? Feels like we have been walking this floor forever."
"Really? I think we've only been here for a couple of minutes," Cherri said as she looked around to find that the lava flow surrounding the room looks to be bigger. The real surprise was something that was hanging around the ceiling. "Angie, does anybody in your family down here shoot flaming webs?"
"No, why? You think it might be some kind of hellish syphilis," he asked as the cyclops cupped his head, turning him to look up. When he did, he saw spider webs around the ceiling that looked like lava and fire. "Yeah, they might need to see a doctor if they don't normally do that. I know none of my family does."
"Alright, not gonna lie. Feels like whatever we find ahead of us is gonna be big," Cherri told him as they continued through the hallway, seeing the flaming webs get bigger and bigger. Once they reached the end of the hallway, they entered a circular room with pillars shaped like trees and magma flowing down the insides of them like veins.
"Where the flying fuck are we? This doesn't look like the floor we were on earlier," Angel asked confused looking at their surroundings.
"Who dares enter my home!" a voice called out as the sounds of clicking were heard. "Answer me!"
Loud thumping shook the floor of the building as both Angel and Cherri could feel that something, whoever spoke, was far bigger than them. The sounds of thudding could be heard from above as both sinners saw a colossal demonic spider the size of an elephant crawling down the walls, leaving a trail of fire behind it. The monster's body had a stone-like exoskeleton, eight large legs with the front two resembling thick clubs, a giant abdomen that seemed to have something coiled around it, and the gaps in the exoskeleton showed it had a molten body. The six deep blue eyes glared at the intruders as more clicking sounds came from its mouth.
"Whoa, are you sure you're not related to this guy? I mean I can see a family resemblance," Cherri laughed as she and Angel Dust were face to face with the giant spider.
"Are you kidding me? I am way better looking than this guy here. I mean, he looks like if a volcano fucked a tarantula," Angel laughed.
"How dare you laugh in the face of me mortal," the spider yelled as its mandibles clicked at them both.
"Are you blind or something? We're not human, well at least not anymore," Angel stepped up, flicking its head.
"You sinners will always be mortals in my eyes and the others," the spider stated as he clicked his pincers. "Now you face me, Specter!"
"Wait! Your name is Specter!? I'm sorry but you look nothing like a Specter," Angel laughed at the volcanic spider. "I get it if you were Inferno or Arson, but Specter!? Oh, you have got to be fingering my hole right now!"
"Silence," Specter shouted as a pillar of lava shot out an inch away from where Angel Dust was standing, smoldering the tip of his hair. "You have no power that can match up to me!"
"You want to bet on that, ugly? Cause as I understand, beating you puts me on the top tier charts," Cherri said as she tossed a bomb in her hand, then threw it at Specter. "Eat some of this!" The bomb hit the front legs of the volcanic spider and exploded, leaving black smoke coming off the limbs. Once the smoke had cleared off, Cherri's grin slowly dropped as Specter was unharmed.
"Is that all you got, mortal," the demonized spider laughed. "I have seen better attacks when I was a hatchling," he continued to laugh as his eyes turned red and the abdomen uncoiled to reveal a scorpion's tail. With the stinger aimed at Cherri's eye, the monstrous demon launched it at the sinner.
Cherri ducked out of the way of the attack, only having the tip of her hair aflame. "Oh, that does it, you walking pile of lava! Now you made me mad," Cherri said as she threw more bombs at the spider, but the explosives barely chipped away at his thick exoskeleton.
"Let me, girlfriend," Angel exclaimed as he opened fire on the other spider. However, his bullets weren't as effective as he was hoping. "Oh, blow me with a vacuum."
"Nothing can penetrate my armor," Specter boasted before hissing menacingly and spitting out a fireball at the two sinners. Both Angel and Cherri barely moved from the point of impact as they both felt the force of the attack.
Both of them ran for cover as another fireball was aimed at them and dodged once, hiding behind a couple of pillars. "Hey, Angie! If you have any suggestions, let's hear them because I have nothing."
"Your guess is as good as mine, doll. I shoot at it, my bullets bounce off his rock-hard thing. No pun intended this time," Angel said as he tries to lighten the mood but the continuous fireballs made it difficult. "Even if we do get close to him, we have no way to defend ourselves with that stinger on him. Plus, the bat I use won't do shit against him!"
"Get back," Cherri exclaimed as Specter launched another fireball. As the two sinners dodged, they saw the spider rear back to build up a larger fireball. When it did, they saw the underside looked less armored. Smiling to herself as she used the flames nearby to light another bomb, Cherri pointed out the weak spot to Angel.
"Huh... I bet Dante would have found it sooner than us," Angel remarked.
"Dante!? That halfbreed killed my kin," Specter yelled as he stomped on the ground, making the floor crack under him and send a surge of magma up from the cracks. "Since you two know of that bane among true demons, I'll end your lives quickly, then move on to him."
Cherri cursed to herself as the vulnerable underbelly of Specter was hidden again and she had a lit bomb in her hands, but the spider monster soon attacked with his stinger. Throwing the explosive at the tail, the stinger pierced it and took the blast with minimal damage. "We need to get his belly exposed, Angie!"
"If it's a distraction you want, it's a distraction you'll get," the former porn star said as he whipped out his other pair of arms and took out his Tommy gun. "Hey, shit for brains. Bet that asshole of yours only shoots out shit that looks like flaming spaghetti," he yelled as he fired upon the volcanic spider. However, the bullets didn't hurt Specter and the demon only responded by releasing a pillar of fire. "You call that hot? My dad could cook a calzone faster," Angel continued to taunt Specter, forcing him to attack more. 'Anytime now, Cherri.'
Cherri waited for the right moment when Specter opened his stinger and Angel jumped to avoid the stinger. 'Not yet... he needs to rear back...' she thought to herself as she twirled the bomb in her hand as she watched Angel barely dodge another pillar of flames, then saw him kick away Specter's forelegs. Finally, Specter reared back and was ready to slam his legs down to unleash a burst of magma. 'About damn time, you bastard,' the cyclops smirked as she lit the fuses of a number of bombs, then threw them underneath Specter.
The explosion beneath the spider caused a chain reaction to happen, detonating every blast at once and chipping away at his armored exoskeleton. Specter howled in pain as he stumbled around in pain, tossing and flailing around the room.
"Way to go, Sugar Tits! That was certainly a big bang," Angel Dust said to his gal pal as he watched the explosions like fireworks.
"That's what my last date said in the bedroom," Cherri chuckled "I would have used some bigger ones, but that would mean bringing the entire building down with us still in it," she told her friend. "Now let's take care of him for good," the cyclops grinned as she threw another bomb at the giant arachnid.
Specter groaned as his stinger was badly damaged it was hard to move it. "Damn you, bitch," the volcanic spider cursed as his attention was now on the spunky Cyclops. As soon as he saw the bomb flying at him, he used his forelegs to knock it back like a baseball.
Cherri's eye widened as the explosive was coming right back at her and went off. "Cherri," Angel shouted as he jumped toward his friend, trying to shield her from the blast, but both of them were caught on the edge of it.
Groaning as they got up from the blast, Cherri saw that even though Angel shielded her, she still took some damage. Her hair was singed short, her top burned away to leave her in her black bra, and blood oozed from her abdomen as a piece of shrapnel got wedged in her side. "Piece of dog shit," Cherri murmured as she was struggling to get up from her body taking a toll on her. "Guess he still has fight in him." Hissing as she clenched onto her side, Cherri looked to see where her friend landed. "Angie!? Are you alive?!"
"Technically, no. We are in Hell," Angel said weakly as he pulled pieces of shrapnel out of his shoulders and the remainder of his chest fluff. "Good thing these things still act like airbags." he quipped.
"Glad to see you still got your sense of humor," Cherri gave off a hardy chuckle but it became painful because the shrapnel was still wedged in her side. "Wish I could laugh harder, but this thing is painful."
"Hold on, I'll get that sucker right out," Angel Dust told her as he used his good pair of arms to get a hold of the metal and pulled on it, making the bomb-throwing powerhouse scream as she felt her flesh tear and the sounds of organs squishing turn at her insides until the shrapnel was out.
"Fuck, that hurts," she said before using a destroyed curtain in the room as a tourniquet. "How can we deal with this bastard?"
"Not sure. I never thought I'd say this, but he's too hard. And I doubt he'll use that dick again," Angel said as he saw Specter clicking his mandibles and shooting a fireball out of his mouth, forcing both sinners to use a pillar as cover. Angel looked closely as the spider was charging up for another attack and this time, it look longer. "Cherri, I have a plan. Can you still throw?"
"Yeah, but not as far as usual. What's your plan," she asked.
"I think this guy needs to chow down on something," Angel told her.
Seeing the demon charging his attack slower, Cherri understood what her friend was talking about. "Okay, I get it," Cherri told him. "But I still can't throw that far."
"Trust me, babe. I know what I'm doing," Angel Dust said as he loaded his Tommy gun. "I'll give you the signal," he said as he fired his gun at the lava-spitting spider. "Hey, you sorry excuse for an arachnid! How about you dance with me for a while!"
Specter hissed as he tried to strike at Angel with his legs. But even when badly injured, the former porn star knew to dodge the attacks and watched the pattern. Specter was getting more pissed off as he summoned the lava pillars, only for Angel to dodge them once with only the end of his hair getting slightly burned.
'Damn that was a close one,' Angel thought as he continued to fire his Tommy gun at the spider seeing the bullets bounce off his exoskeleton once more. 'Just a little more,' he continued to fire until he heard his gun clicking and noticed he was out of bullets. "Fuck!"
"Looks like someone is out of ammo," Specter laughed as he stalked toward the former porn star. "Any last words you want to say before you're ash," he asked as he charges up a molten fireball.
"Just two. Blow me," Angel grinned his golden tooth at the lava spider. Specter was confused by his words until Cherri threw a bomb labeled 'Fuck You' toward Angel, who brought out his extra pair of arms and a baseball bat with them. With good aim, he slammed the bomb right into the spider's opened jaw and forced him to swallow the explosive.
Specter panicked as the bomb when to the back of his throat and dropped into his stomach. "Oh shi-" Before he could finish his sentence, the bomb detonated and blew him up from the inside out, scattering rapidly-cooling pieces of his armored exoskeleton all across the floor.
"Holy shit, that was awesome!" Cheeri cheered as Specter's head fell right beside her. "Angie, how did you know him swallowing it would kill him?"
"Are you kidding? I'm Italian. Eating my mom's super spicy meatballs made me use the shitter for weeks," Angel Dust told her as he chuckled at good memories of his family. "I miss her cooking," he muttered fondly before deciding to focus back on the task at hand. "Let's go find Dante and the others. I don't like being here any longer than we need to."
"Can't argue with that, slugger," Cherri agreed with him as they looked for the stairwell that would lead them upstairs. "There! I bet you anything that's our way up!"
"Good eye. Time to get out of this room. I can't stand the heat anymore," Angel said as he and Cherri ran ahead, hoping to find Dante or anyone else they knew. As they did, the magma-like webbing turned to cold stone when they left, signifying the full death of Specter.
Okay, I think I will end this chapter right here. I know this one is short, but the minor characters will be getting short chapters so they at least get some time in the spotlight. And what better way than defeating a version of a boss demon from the Devil May Cry games? I'm sure you can tell that "Specter" is basically related to the first game's Phantom. Thanks again to WaterDragonMaverick for the edit work, beta reading, and suggestions. I enjoyed the second episode of Helluva Boss season 2 and got some more charter development and learned new things about Loona, Stolas, Octavia, and I.M.P. Don't have anything else but I hope to see you all in Hell!