DOOM: Puer Infernalis

02: Nigrum Fortuna; Mutare ad Adventum/The Black Fortress; The Coming Change

[Chapter 2: Nigrum Fortuna; Mutare ad Adventum/The Black Fortress; The Coming Change]

-Seven Shield Alliance Capital of Ken-

By the time the Kuro Inu had arrived by the footsteps leading up to Celestine's palace, the Marine was already by the doors. His arms were crossed, his DS-117 Combat Shotgun was slung over his back, and he held a face of annoyance under his helmet. And the source of his annoyance just so happens to be the very same large band of warriors currently walking up to the palace gates.

His eyes could see their leader approaching the gates and smooth-talking his way past guards in an overconfident manner.

This man was tall, around six feet and three inches, with tanned skin coloring his muscular frame. His face sported a single large scar that diagonally went down to the left, barely missing the left eye. He had dull scarlet eyes and dull grayish brown hair, while his beard was kept to a shadow and his mustache kept the same manner/way.

The man wore a black tunic with his lower wear consisting of dark brown baggy pants with the portion on the knees and below the knees being encased in metal boots (steel, the Marine's HUD indicated) that clanked softly on the paved walkway and footsteps. His right hand was covered in a dull bluish gray glove with a metal brace of equal color around his wrist, while his left forearm and hand were covered by a gauntlet (sans the vambrace and couter) of the same color providing the only source of protection in that area of his body. On his back was a dull maroon cape that was currently flowing naturally with the wind.

The Marine can only see one weapon visible, that being the rather massive sword on the man's back. It was the same size as the man (if you include the grip and taller if you include the pommel shaped like a circular shovel-like piece), with the blades being a light obsidian.

He also saw the sole pauldron on the man's left shoulder, light obsidian with a red piece of metal attached showing a sideways view of a dog's head in black with a miniature greatsword just beside its neck position.

This was Vult, the leader of the Kuro Inu mercenary company and a decorated war veteran.

On his right was a man (at six feet straight) with brown hair and brown eyes wearing a green leather jacket over nothing, this exposed his bare muscular chest for all to see while wearing light blue pants and brown near-knee-length boots. Two shortswords were tucked into his belt, positioned to where he can draw them at a moment's notice.

This was Hicks, Vult's second in command and trusted ally.

On Vult's left was a young man (standing at five feet and nine inches) who wore a cerulean tunic with indigo sides separated with golden lines, worn under an indigo cape that covered his neck. He wore black pants with near-knee-length boots for his lowers, while on each wrist were two black braces attached to one another. His light brown hair and green eyes were completed with some circular glasses.

This was Kin, the Kuro Inu's resident mage.

By the time he was finished looking over the three big dogs of the group, he heard multiple footsteps from behind him. Without even turning to face them, he could already tell that Maia, Claudia, and Celestine were approaching with a handful of their elite guards.

"Oh! I did not expect you to be up so early, Sir Marine." Celestine's serene voice reached his ears as the High Elf looked up to him from the side. He simply grunted in response before cracking his knuckles and pulling out his Combat Shotgun. Granted there were other weapons more suited for taking on a massive horde, but one can't deny the sweet feeling of holding a pump-action shotgun in your hands.

Still, he simply held the weapon in one hand and to his side, not really feeling the need to use the weapon for now.

Maia took notice of the large gun and inquired with a question.

"What happed to that other thingamajig, big guy?" Her question sparked Claudia's and Celestine's own interests as well.

"What are you talking about, Maia?" Instead of an answer from the Mercenary Queen, the Gore Knight answered with his free hand forming tiny glowing blue cubes rapidly taking shape of an odd-looking object. In less than a second, his left hand was now holding his M40 SMG before it disappeared a second later.

Multiple swords being unsheathed rang out within the small vicinity around them as the Dawn Templars and Maia's warrior band had drawn their assortment of finely made blades.

He internally scoffed. Over the many millennia of chasing all sorts of foes, any human-made attack seemed to outright bounce off of him. Sure, he could feel the impacts, but they were nothing more than distractions now. Had he arrived to Eostia as a simple Marine and not some... he shook his head. Had he arrived to this dimension's continent as he had started out, they might have had a chance of harming him.

To ease their worries and hostilities, the Marine simply made his M40 SMG disappear via breaking the compact weapon down into tiny glowing blue cubes before they were absorbed into his Argent Accumulators.

He turned his head slightly to the right and spoke in a rhetorical manner.

"That answer your question?" Maia dumbly nodded, speechless at what he had just done. Claudia, on the other hand, was pretty much pissed at the Marine as she had drawn her decorative sword at him.

"What manner of sorcery was that?! Answer me, cur!" He simply shrugged off her hostility and looked back at the now-nearing mercenary group. He rested the top of his DS-117 Combat Shotgun against his shoulder while his free left hand clenched and unclenched rhythmically. Celestine quickly acted and told those that drew their weapons to sheath them for now which they complied with no complaints (although some, like Claudia and Eliza, were reluctant and a bit hostile towards the Marine).

By now, the guards outside the gates had let the Kuro Inu inside to palace walls.

Vult, along with Hicks, Kin and some of his men, were directly marching towards Celestine and her group. When he had reached the steps, he called out in a charismatic yet hard tone fitting for a veteran of war and a commander of a group.

"Lady Celestine, Your Grace, it is good to meet you once again and gracing us with your presence." He greeted kindly and bowed in respect. As soon as he was done, he nodded to Claudia (who simply nodded back with a blank stare) before setting his eyes onto Maia's form.

"Maia, it's good to see that you're still up and at 'em." Maia playfully winked at the mercenary leader, but the Marine could feel some emotion from her action, something beyond a petty crush type of affection.

"Master Vult," Celestine began, "I've heard that your defense of the borders were successful." Vult smirked in response to the praise.

"Aye, we kicked the horde's asses so hard back into the Badlands that I swear they were growing tails between their legs."

"And yet you didn't finish them off." The Marine muttered, but it was loud enough for Vult and the others to hear.

"Oh? And who the fuck are you?" Hicks rudely stated as his hands were tucked into the pockets of his pants and had a bit of a slouch on him as he approached the Marine. Hicks was about to grab the Marine by the collar only for said giant of a man to beat him to the punch as he grabbed the man by the throat and raised him about three feet from the ground.

He panicked and immediately went for one of his shortswords only to stop as the Marine stared intently from behind his visor. The fact that his eyes are completely hidden and that the visor reflects everything in front of it with perfect clarity, Hicks could see nothing but his own frightened visage.

Luckily, Celestine was able to defuse the situation before anything horrid could happen by placing a hand on the Marine's arm and speaking up with authority. "Let him go, Sir Marine." He did after a few more seconds of making the rude dumbass gasp for air in his grasp.

Hicks fell and was about to make a move against the large man once more only to be stopped by Celestine, who spoke to quickly defuse the situation.

"This is Marine, all of you may know of him as the Gore Knight." At this point, many of the Kuro Inu were murmuring to one another at this revelation.

Hicks scowled but wisely backed off and took his place at Vult's side, although he sneered one last time at the Marine. Kin's eyebrow raised in piqued interest while Vult's smirk seemed to get bigger and show off some of his white teeth.

"Aye, I've heard of this man." He walked up to the Marine, who simply was taller than him or anyone else in his mercenary company.

"Appeared over a year ago and has been killing off Orcs and their allies left and right. I've heard you took out some big names around the Badlands. Argus, Thrax the Desolator, and even Grom the Butcher, all dead because of you." The Marine simply grunted before speaking.

"So they had names?" He never really cared who they were, just cared about how they'll be dealt with. Vult simply laughed in response.

"I like this guy already!" Vult patted the Marine on the right pauldron, who simply grunted once more in response before he went off to the side for a bit. The Marine's eyes scanned over the members of the Kuro Inu, each one of them feeling uneasy under the large man's gaze.

He can tell so many of them will die. Whether from the journey to the Badlands, the Badlands' inhabitants, or from him, he couldn't tell. His eyes continued scanning them for any real threat until he was outright bored from watching them all.

Kin took notice to the large weapon resting against his shoulder and voiced his curiosity. "What kind of odd staff is that?" The Marine simply turned his head to the young mage and replied with a gruff voice.

"It's a shotgun. It shoots thing dead." With that, the Marine ended any future conversation coming from his lips. Although what he had said confused everyone greatly. "Whatever land this foreigner came from, they must be more powerful than anyone in Eostia." Claudia narrowed her eyes as she thought.

Luckily, Celestine was able to find her voice once again and gave her orders to Vult and his men.

"A-anyways, Master Vult, I need you and your army to assault the Black Fortress and capture Olga Discordia." Vult blinked, not exactly expecting those words from the Goddess Reborn.

"Oh? So this act may end the war, Your Grace?" Celestine nodded at Vult's question.

"Too much blood has been spilled, Master Vult. Too many lives taken, far more devastated. If you are successful in your mission, I shall pay you handsomely that it may last for as long as you live." The Marine scoffed internally, slinging over the shotgun and crossing his arms.

Typical monarchs, always persuading those beneath their social class with things of monetary value.

Then, his ears picked up on the gates opening again, revealing a group of women in... what he could only hope was magic armor for their lack of actual protection. Maia took notice of the newcomers and gave a playful smirk.

"Well, well, well! Looks like I won the bet, Alicia." She placed her hands on her hips as the smirk became a toothy grin.

Vult, the Marine, Celestine, Claudia and the others looked to where Maia was looking and gave different reactions.

Vult had a smile on his face; one put on for show and held no genuine pleasure. Celestine was surprised in a good way while Claudia simply nodded at the newcomers, although she did have a small smile gracing her lips. Some of the Kuro Inu sneered but all kept silent, with Hicks changing from rude to faux-happy and Kin simply raised an eyebrow. The Marine... was outright furious but showed it not as he looked upon the Iris Knights and their leader Alicia Arcturus. His fury was lowered to a calm demeanor when he saw two people that he was well-acquainted with.

Stepping past Vult and anyone else in his way, the Marine stops just in front of the Iris Knights, who had their swords readied in case of an attack from him.

[---]

Alicia clicked her tongue in annoyance once she saw the large man in green chest plate stop in front of them. Had this man no sense of chivalry? She was about to speak up when someone else beat her to it.

"Hey Flynn-Flynn! Fancy seeing you here." The Angel of Death, Jung Hae-Lin, walked past the Iris Knight and gave a (normally) bone-crushing hug to the large man identified as 'Flynn-Flynn' and nuzzling her face into his stomach (that was covered in an black tunic that was tight and showed off his muscles). The large man returned the gesture by lightly patting the Angel of Death's head with one hand before speaking with one word.

"Corzo."

"Flynn." The Drifter, Corzo White, greeted back as he crossed his arms. "I didn't expect you to be here in Ken." Flynn shrugged at this and spoke.

"What took you so long?" Corzo gestured to the Iris Knights.

"They had some tro'ble 'long the way. Wild horses, bandits, y'name it." He drawled out as he tapped Hae-Lin, who perked up from burying her face deeper into Flynn's gut.

"Yes?"

"Enough with the huggin', lass. Righ' now, we got business apparently with some high girl name-"

"Celestine Lucullus?" Flynn noticed that Alicia had her full attention on him once he had finished speaking their Alliance's leader's name.

"So it appears that others have been chosen as well. By any chance, you are the Gore Knight, are you not?" Alicia asked with a sharp tone in her voice. The Marine simply nodded in response.

Cute, looks someone was too dedicated to their job. The Marine began to crack his knuckles, the sound reverberating around them

Corzo spoke up, wanting to clarify things before a misunderstanding took place.

"She's with us, Flynn, n'need to be... excessive. Save that for... real extremities, y'hear?" Without replying, the large man simply nodded before proceeding to remove Hae-Lin from hugging his stomach to oblivion (if such a thing were possible).

By now, the Iris Knights along with Claudia's Dawn Templars and Maia's warrior band were around them watching the exchange.

"Oh! So it appears that you are all acquainted with one another now," Celestine's voice reached their ears as she, Claudia, Maia, Vult, Hicks, and Kin had rushed past the circle of warriors and approached the four in the middle of it all.

Locking eyes with Alicia, the Goddess Reborn addressed her.

"It is good to see you again, Alicia. Was your journey here well?" she spoke like a mother tending to her child. The Iris Knight nodded before making her reply.

"Our journey was safe, Milady Celestine. For the most part, if it weren't for these two attracting bandits to us every few hours. My women are exhausted because of their shenanigans."

Celestine blinked in surprise when she saw the Drifter and the Angel of Death standing by the Marine. She had heard of who they were and even saw the surprisingly accurate sketches of what they looked like.

"Howdy, I'm guessin' you're the head honcho here." The Drifter began as he approached Celestine and greeted her with a tip of his hat that obscured his face thanks to its shadow. He gestured with one gloved hand to the Angel of Death, who waved at her in a friendly manner.

"That li'l lass o'er there's the Angel of Death, pretty sure y'know o' her already. I'm pretty sure y'met our friend the Marine." She nodded to the Drifter's words.

Claudia, on the other hand, had drawn her sword on the Marine and was about to reprimand and/or attack him...

Only for him to grab the blade with his bare hand (technically, it's covered by his gauntlet) and crushed it with ease. Everyone native to Eostia watched bug-eyed as the Marine simply dropped what used to be a sword and now a deformed hunk of junk.

[---]

That felt... oddly satisfying. He saw the fear on that stuck-up woman's eyes clear as crystal when he crushed her pathetic sword with his bare hand.

He watched the woman known as Claudia step back from him while the others looked on with shock and terror mixed finely.

He tuned out everything as he hummed softly, scanning the area with his gaze. He could see Celestine calming everyone down and introducing them to Corzo and Hae-Lin, no doubt also briefing the two of them for the coming mission. He could clearly see the looks the Kuro Inu's men barring Vult, Hicks and Kin were giving Hae-Lin, who simply paid them no mind as she nodded to every time Celestine stopped speaking her orders.

He just hopes no complications happen on the way to the Black Fortress.

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-En Route to the North Badlands/Two days later-

Flynn Taggert growled at what appeared to be the hundredth time as another complication had befallen on him, Corzo, Hae-Lin and the Kuro Inu. After getting them acquainted with their new companions, the Kuro Inu had departed late in schedule with three extra set of hands to lend themselves to the mission.

And over the course of two days, things have gotten... complicated (he was using that word very lightly here). Ranging from men falling ill, to bandit raids (which he, Corzo, or Hae-Lin countered as quickly as possible with their melee options), to attacks from Orc war bands, and the deadly Garran atmosphere, the Kuro Inu had lost at least two hundred of their men out of the one thousand they originally had.

This complication fit the minor ones as it seemed that another horse had gone loose and had bucked off its rider. Luckily, Corzo was on the job and had managed to hold down the wild beast with one of his whips and tame it quickly.

Flynn also noticed the buffalo-like skull beside his leather bag along with an intricately carved wooden staff with a ruby gem on the top. It appears that Corzo's bringing out the big guns in the form of the Mask of Basilissa and the Gate of Anthrakia.

He didn't complain however as he also brought his big guns such as the Chainsaw currently on his back alongside his DS-117 and the Crusader Sword in his left hand. And from the looks of it, so did Hae-Lin as she currently had the Omen war maul in her right hand in addition to her Kharon. He could even sense the energy signature of the Iron Savior armor.

They looked so out of place when brought next to the Kuro Inu. With Hae-Lin's short stature mixed with her large weapons, Corzo's nomadic getup and finally Flynn's own set of modified UAC Combat Marine armor, the three stood out like sore thumbs to many people.

Still, he perished the thought as he walked in the back with his two companions. This was surprising for many of the mercenary band, with Vult offering them horses to ease the journey.

To his surprise, the three declined and had preferred to walk.

That was two days ago, and not once have any of the three warriors have suffered from any problem. Not once had they stop to rest, they only did so to let the Kuro Inu catch up to them. Eventually, once they got to the Badlands, they decided to be on the rear in case of any ambushes from the Demon Army.

Right now, he was by a tree on a little hill inspecting the individual teeth of his chainsaw. The serrated edges of each tooth were lined with obsidian and some conductive metal connected to a recharging battery within the chainsaw's main body that reinforces the teeth and the guide bar along with running an alternating current, effectively turning the weapon into a high-frequency chainsaw that can slice through the cells of anything quickly but it drains the fuel twice as fast compared to the standard mode. It was a modification he encountered on Earth made by some genius. Too bad the guy that made the new teeth had died from his own creation by the Marine's actions. In Flynn's defense, the guy was already possessed when he got there.

The fuel counter still was at 86%. He'll have to remedy that by killing most of the greenskins with it. The Great Communicator still had the ability to convert blood (originally, he thought only the blood of demons worked, but apparently any blood worked just as fine as any other) into ammunition, health charges, and armor charges.

The length of the chainsaw's guide bar plus the tips of the outermost tooth measured to a total four feet/forty-eight inches and was around six inches wide. It was a full foot longer than a bastard sword, giving him ample room from himself and any poor fuck that gets the misfortune of getting caught by the teeth of the large weapon.

Hearing footsteps, the Marine turned his head to see Hicks approaching him with a friendly smile on his face. The Marine remembered him, how he squirmed and struggled when he had nearly crushed his throat. What's he doing here?

"That's an interesting sword you've got in your hands, buddy." He kept silent and continued to sharpen the ever-sharp teeth of his chainsaw. Hicks's eyes scanned the weapon, taking in the blocky yellow guard and the black grip that was around two feet in length.

"Do you mind if I..." the rogue trailed off his words as he tried to be friendly. The Marine was tempted to say no, but he remembered how backwater this world was.

Holding out the ripping weapon sideways, Flynn offered the weapon to Hicks. The rogue took it, and the Marine got a chuckle in his mind as the rogue had fallen from the sheer weight of the weapon.

It was all fine and dandy until Hicks's fingers graced the teeth-

Brum! Brum! BRUM! BRUM! BRRRUUUUUUUMMMM!!!!

SCREEEE!!!

GREEZEMORTAL!!!

KYAAAAARGH!!!

"Drop it."

-Hicks immediately dropped the large sword and jumped back. His face broadcasted the fear evident in him as his eyes wildly stared into the Marine's visor to see his own frantic expression.

"What the hell was that?!" He yelled in shock while the Marine kept silent as he grabbed the weapon and held it with one hand.

"What was what?"

"That! I touched the blade and I heard screams!"

"I heard nothing." By now, the Marine was leaving the little hill and the rogue to an extent. Hicks simply threw his arms up in frustration as he screamed in annoyance. After reining in his anger, the resident rogue of the Kuro Inu had calmed down eventually and began to head straight for the main tent housing his leader.

[---]

"So how's our man in green, Hicks?" Vult's voice had calmed down the rogue. He sighed as he sat on one of the seats.

"You can convince him, right?" The rogue asked the veteran warrior, which confused the latter.

"What brought that up?" Kin asked while still reading his spell-book. Originally, he was supposed to scout out the large man in green before Hicks had taken that job to settle a score so to speak. Judging from how Hicks came back looking like the Devil sucked him dry, looks like that score will never be settled by the rogue. "Celestine recommended him and his two friends, what would be problematic from that?"

A fist slammed into the table, nearly toppling over multiple pieces and disrupting the map.

"The fucker's crazy! His damn blade's possessed!" Vult waved off his worry.

"Please, if a blade's possessed, he'd kill all of us by now. Assuming he could get past our numbers." Vult's smirk became fierce. "Besides, we're all crazy if we're gonna go up against the most dangerous woman in the land."

"You should calm down, Hicks," Kin condescendingly spoke to the rogue, "you look like shit."

"Back off, you ass." Hicks growled at the bespectacled man as he got up and marched out of the tent. "No way in hell am I going near that bastard ever again."

As he left, Vult and Kin gave each other knowing looks and nodded to one another.

[---]

Two more days had passed and they were nearing the Black Fortress, more complications had befallen on them. Again, it was men falling ill, bandits raiding (though their numbers were little, thanks to the life-draining atmosphere of Garran), and more Orc attacks. But the Kuro Inu trudged forth, not ones to be denied of sweet victory. Meanwhile, three individuals had differing yet similar reasons. Flynn wanted to finish the mission as soon as possible and capture Olga Discordia for Celestine Lucullus, Corzo wanted to breathe in the oddly-captivating scent Garran's atmosphere held as he guns down greenskins, while Hae-Lin simply wanted to take her frustration out on something nonhuman.

Flynn, as of now, had walked up to Corzo and Hae-Lin, both of them also doing maintenance on their weapons.

Corzo twirled the Gate of Anthrakia like a marching band leader before he slung it over his back, and strapped to his sides were the M12 Grasa SMGs. They were interesting copies of the venerable M3 Grease Gun, albeit chambered in 11.5x32mm/.460 Rowland instead of 11.43x23mm/.45 ACP, each Grasa was fed with a quad-stack magazine holding 60 rounds. They sported muzzle brakes on their barrels designed to focus the precision and accuracy of the rounds much like his other bullet-spewing weapons and those of Flynn's. Each of them was ready to be drawn quickly at a moment's notice. His revolver was still in the Dead Man's Holster, an interesting piece of clothing that channels the powers of the mystic forces to slow down time. Time and time again, the DMH has proven to be a life saver in Corzo's usage.

Hae-Lin had the Omen war maul on her back as she flip-cocked her Testament Shotgun, a rather short double-barrel 12-Gauge lever-action shotgun designed for close-quarters usage that had served her well since Armageddon. Despite its small size, each tube can hold 5 rounds of 12-Gauge 3-inch shells, and two can be inserted per barrel, one in the chamber and the other in the loading mechanism (much like a Winchester Model 1887 10-Gauge shotgun) and totaling it out to 10 plus 4 shells to be loaded and shot. There was a longer version of this, Hae-Lin told Flynn, Corzo, and the others, but she had opted for the shorter version as she preferred to be light despite being blessed with the ability to carry as much items in a pocket dimension as them.

The two nodded at Flynn's arrival and the three began to talk in soft tones, a stark contrast to the rambunctious braggarts in the Kuro Inu warrior company.

"So what d'you guys think? Of the Kuro Inu, I mean." Hae-Lin asked softly.

"Damn idiots, they are... Lack o' care t' their own men. Is despicable, it is." Corzo said disdainfully. Flynn and Hae-Lin had nodded their agreement to the gunslinger's words.

"Cannon fodder. Only threats bigger than minor would be..." Flynn's words were interrupted when he heard the voice of the one man's name he was about to speak, accompanied by one of the other two he would've mentioned.

"Well, well, well..." Vult's voice reached their ears as said man had approached them with a confident air on his person. Kin was beside him, and while he seemed friendly to the untrained eye, the three demon slayers could sense the distaste he was hiding from them.

To be honest, Flynn found the distaste laughable. Corzo simply cared not. Hae-Lin was more obvious of showing her disdain via narrowing her eyes slightly.

"This land... it unsettles you, does it not?" Corzo shrugged and replied, his ghastly voice drawling and whispering.

"Find it more refr'shing than an'where else, here." If he was unsettled by the gunslinger's voice, Vult did not show it.

Kin raised a brow in confusion to what Corzo had said. "You find it refreshing?" A nod came from the gunslinger.

"Still," Hae-Lin spoke up, "you noticed it too, didn't you?" Kin's smile became predatory at her observation skills, in which she felt uncomfortable with his gaze that felt wrong on many levels.

"Hmm, I'm surprised that a woman," she narrowed her eyes at how he sneered when he stressed one particular word, "figured it out." He chuckled for a second before gesturing widely to the desolate landscape.

Barren it was, with very little trees with said trees being mere husks of what they originally were. It may have been terrifying to Eostia's natives, but the three foreigners found it mediocre compared to what Hell could truly be.

"Yes, this land's air drains the very life out of people. Anyone that steps foot will be drained of their life energy." The Marine rolled his eyes from under his helmet. His HUD's status bar read that his health (odd that he'd refer to it as how a video game would, but he paid it no heed) was still at 10,000 points as was his armor being at the same amount. Hell, most of the blood that spilled over his armor over the past week and these few days had given him more ammunition than he could use, with all counters passing the six-thousand mark, effectively making him a one-man hyper-army.

"A feat so insidious that only one person alive could conjure it."

"Olga Discordia..." Corzo White spoke, his revolver drawn and idly spinning on his finger, "Our quarry and the sole individual who rivals Celestine Lucullus in strength." Within his mind, Corzo scoffed at what he had just let out of his own mouth.

Yes, Celestine and Olga may be the two most powerful magi in Eostia, but he or Flynn or Hae-Lin could overpower any of the two with merely fractions of their power being used up barely.

"It's both interesting and dangerous." Vult spoke, "Interesting that this has held on for so long and over a wide area, and dangerous as it repels all our forces."

"Except for us." Flynn muttered, but Vult's sharp hearing caught the words.

"Aye, except for us it seems." The war veteran then continued, "Although I find you three to be the most intriguing throughout this journey. Not once had any of you three visited the medical tents." He circled the three, like a vulture inspecting a corpse, before continuing.

"It makes men like me wonder just what more are you capable of."

"We'll see, Vult. We'll see." Hae-Lin spoke with a serious tone in her voice. Kin spoke up with some curiosity in his tone.

"I've seen what your large friend had done back in Ken. His weapon appeared in a flash of blue." Flynn nodded at that, currently fiddling with his DS-117 Combat Shotgun's mechanism.

"Are all of you mages by any chance?" They shook their heads no, which displeased the bespectacled young man but he reined in his emotions quickly.

"I'm 'fraid not, my friend. Most o' the stuff that is magic is oft'n somethin' for emergencies only." Corzo said as he stopped twirling his revolver and quickly holstered it into his Dead Man's Holster.

"Ah, I see..." Without warning, Flynn had left them, going over the little hill blocking any view until he came to the top. That's where he saw it and in all honesty... He found it somewhat impressive.

Pitch black stone spires with jagged spikes rising to the sky, surrounded by tall and thick walls equal in color, and the majority of any healthy trees (albeit black in leaves and dark gray in their wood) from all sides. In the middle of it all was large black structure known to all as the Black Fortress, home to Olga Discordia...

The very person that was leading the enemy from the start and the very person he was paid to capture but not harm.

The miasma of evil was strong here, he couldn't deny that. But once again it was mediocre compared to what Hell and other dark dimensions had to offer any unluckier fucker.

Corzo and Hae-Lin, as well as Vult and Kin, approached him from behind.

"So... what's the plan today, friend?" Before Flynn could speak his plan (no doubt simply go in guns blazing and killing them quickly), Vult answered the gunslinger's question.

"We attack at night. Less chances of being seen that way." His grin had turned predatory as he leered at the Black Fortress.

"And we'll claim our prize after the attack."

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-Black Fortress/That Night-

After the Kuro Inu had prepared for this historical moment, this was what they had agreed on.

Hicks would take a majority of the men and launch a full-frontal assault, using the tight corridors and spaces to their advantage against Olga's army. While that would go underway, Vult, Kin and a handful of skilled soldiers along with Flynn, Corzo, and Hae-Lin would take the rear and infiltrate the castle through a secret passage.

Kin was currently working on the magic lock, murmuring words and paying no heed to Vult's annoyance and orders to hurry up. It was taking too long and the men were getting anxious. Any moment now, they'd be spotted by some passing group of Olga's demon army...

Or Olga Discordia herself, should she ever decide to rise from the confines of wherever she was during all of this.

After what could be five minutes, the Marine had all but shoved Kin aside with one hand and pulled out his Great Communicator from his back. Pressing a button by the side of the grip, the bloody grinder of flesh and metal sparked and cackled with arcs of electricity coming from its many moving teeth. Many of the Kuro Inu accompanying him and his companions looked in awe and fear of the weapon, some jumping back and others aiming their weapons at him.

Flynn raised the weapon high in one hand before making a slash at the magic-enforced door, breaking it completely thanks to its High-Frequency mode. As the door exploded into a shower of wooden splinters and rocky debris mixed with some sparks of electricity, the Kuro Inu gaped in complete shock at the Marine's powerful weapon.

Hae-Lin smirked smugly at the slack-jawed mage. "Heh, it took you five minutes to barely unlock a door while it took Flynn-Flynn here five seconds to break it down." She disappeared into the dark passageway without another word, followed by Corzo and finally Flynn before Vult and the Kuro Inu regained their bearings.

"Damn! It fucking stinks in here!" One mercenary pointed out the obvious with many of his companions agreeing immediately.

Fools. They don't know the true incarnate of stink. Flynn remembered the stench of the waste disposal areas of the UAC facilities and the countless areas tainted by Hell's insidious influences, as did Corzo and Hae-Lin.

"Quiet, you fool! The walls have ears!" Kin harshly reprimanded that one mercenary. Currently, Flynn, Corzo, and Hae-Lin were at the lead with Vult and Kin behind them and the rest forming the rear. The only source of light in the passageway were the torches, those made Hae-Lin worry. This little detour was going far too easily for them, with no opposition encountered for the past few minutes.

Her angel abilities flared up, causing her chocolate brown eyes to briefly flash to a bright gold color, making her stop in her tracks and draw out the Kharon in her left hand and the Testament shotgun in her right.

Corzo and Flynn had sense them too, as the gunslinger had pulled out one of his M12 Grasas and the super soldier had readied his DS-117 Combat Shotgun.

"Heh, 'bout time! Blades out, boys!" Vult's voice was followed by the singing of blades as they left their sheaths. Kin had prepared his magic, multiple runes covering his hands and glyphs appearing in each palm, while Vult held out his massive sword with one hand.

What nobody of the Kuro Inu expected was Flynn suddenly pulling his shotgun's trigger, causing a deafening boom to resonate throughout the walls followed by the falling of a now-headless Orc. The sound caused many of the mercenaries to cover their ears in pain while the Marine simply pumped the weapon once before keeping it away to use his chainsaw.

The bloody grinder roared to life, its many teeth rapidly spinning as the Marine had charged into the newly-revealed Orcs, Imps and Trolls. The Drifter had been more conservative, firing in short bursts and nailing multiple Imps dead and causing a few bullet wounds to appear on the Orcs and Trolls. Hae-Lin also fired her Testament, the two barrels roaring loudly followed by the mechanism being spin-cocked in one hand.

An Orc lost its upper half as the chainsaw ripped through it while a Troll was torn apart by the Marine with one hand. Another Troll was ripped apart before two more were killed by two shotgun blasts.

These creatures were more armored, hence why some of the pellets simply pushed them back but a majority of the pellets (eight out of the twelve .40-caliber pellets at average) had ripped through their exposed flesh effortlessly. The Marine turned to shoot at more of them only for Vult to take them out with his massive sword.

"Save some for the rest of us!" With another slash in a horizontal manner taking out three Orcs, the war veteran flashed a toothy grin at the Marine, who simply ignored him and resumed shooting and sawing any greenskins caught in his wrath. "Come on, you lazy bastards! Put up a fight!" The war veteran roared as he took delight in killing off the many greenskins that his sword could touch.

Corzo kept away his M12 Grasa and used his two bullwhips. At lightning fast speeds, the Drifter became a one-man typhoon/storm of wicker and metal spikes that took out any unfortunate greenskin caught in his wake. After taking out a majority of his share, the Drifter pulled out his Thunderhawk revolver and began shooting, each 12.7x42mm/.500 Magnum round destroying a greenskin head completely before he reloaded again. One got close and was punished by Corzo slamming the butt of his revolver hard into its ugly face, caving it in and sending a bit of blood in multiple directions.

He slid from under a Troll's lazily aimed swing of its mace and he retaliated with a double-barreled blast from his Montaraz 1899 10-Gauge shotgun, obliterating it completely from the upper chest.

Hae-Lin dodged multiple swipes from the Orcs and Trolls, retaliating with swift strikes with her Kharon. A cluster of Imps were floating a ways away from her and she shot them with her Testament shotgun. Spin-cocking the weapon, she keeps the weapon away (making it disappear in a flash of white, angelic light) and replacing it with her Sabbath heavy SMG.

Aiming at where a majority of the Orcs, Trolls, and Imps were, she depressed the trigger and the large firearm released a massive swarm of 10.16x27mm Hollow-Point rounds, ripping her foes apart thanks to the bullets fragmenting properties. Once the last of her targets fell, Hae-Lin began to reload the gun similar to how a 20th Century FN P90 PDW would be loaded, fully loading the gun back up to 60 rounds in its top-loaded magazine.

By now, they had made good progress in their venture in the passageway. Flynn, Corzo, Hae-Lin, and Vult were at the frontlines with Kin supporting them with a field of magic that protected the group from harm. That didn't mean they didn't suffered any loses, however, as many of the mercenaries accompanying them were killed due to a variety of reasons.

The Marine had finished off the last Troll with his bare hands, smearing his own body and the walls of the passageway with blood and mucus.

Vult had laughed boisterously and clapped the Marine on his shoulder. He began to regret it however as the Marine had immediately grabbed that hand and threw him over his back and to his front, slamming the war veteran to the stony floor.

Vult's eyes, and those of his followers, widened when the Marine had outright slammed him into the floor. That widening became even wider when the Marine had pressed his shotgun to his temple, the wielder intent on destroying his head.

Not a second had passed and the Marine hissed his words. "Don't do that again." Without another word, he releases Vult and continues to slaughter more of the greenskins that are (figuratively and literally) coming from the walls.

Keeping away the cobalt-blue firearm, the Marine grappled with a Troll for a few seconds until it was apparent that he was overpowering it, so he decided to finish it off quickly and throw its lifeless corpse at another greenskin. The force of the impact was intense to the point the corpse outright exploded into chunks of blood and guts.

Meanwhile, Vult had managed to recover from his shock and watched the Marine do his handiwork. Seeing the large man in green's brutality, the war veteran shuddered inwardly at what would've been if he had fought for the Dark Queen rather than the Goddess Reincarnated.

He wouldn't have survived that long and made the plan.

Oh yes, the plan.

Smirking darkly, Vult decided to lay back and watch the Marine and his two equally-mysterious compatriots kill off the Orcs and their allies.

"They'll tire themselves out," he reassured himself, "and when they do, they won't know what hit them." Finishing his train of thought, the war veteran begins to make his way past the dead corpses of both friend and foe.

[---]

Things were going well as many of the opposition were obliterated by Vult or any remaining members of the Kuro Inu or by Flynn, Corzo, and/or Hae-Lin.

During about an hour into the assault on the Fortress, the Marine, Drifter, and Angel of Death have encountered various other monsters such as Lycans and even Ghouls for a decent surprise. Not that the surprise mattered anyway as they all fell the same as countless others did before them.

Lazily tilting his head away from a vertical swipe from a Lycan, the Drifter used one bullwhip and snapped the poor thing's neck.

"You three! We'll finish these guys off! Go get Olga!" Vult actually had ordered them for once, and possibly for once they had agreed to the man's orders.

To be honest, so much of the Black Fortress's inhabitants have been killed off by the invading forces. Very little of them remain, so the three demon slayers had decided to leave the rest to the Kuro Inu. The three had split up and began to barge into all rooms they had missed and encountered either going into empty rooms or rooms filled with monsters that just died quickly. This all felt wrong for the three dimensional travelers, as none of them had encountered a single Dark Elf throughout all this time.

Either they were extinct and Olga was an impersonator with delusions, or something was up.

Right now, Flynn and his two companions (after taking care of the few monsters guarding it) had regrouped and were standing in front of a pair of dark wooden doors that would reveal Olga's throne room once opened. His days of being in the UN Marine Corps had given him the knowledge of what to do in this situation.

Without words, Flynn used two-finger points and gestures to direct Hae-Lin and Corzo to get into position. Once they were in position, he stepped forth until he was in front of the two wooden doors.

Focusing some power into his foot and leg, he proceeds to kick both doors out from their hinges in one single strike, making them fly a good distance away before landing in splinters just by the steps leading up to the throne.

Quickly moving in, the three followed the red carpet until they saw their target sitting calmly on her throne like a true monarch.

Her appearance made the Marine groan on the inside. He wasn't sure how much more of this he can take before he snaps into a rage fueled with annoyance alone.

She was voluptuous with warm espresso skin, the woman was clad in (what could barely even protect her at all) some form of chainmail variation of a corset that exposed the tops and sides of her breasts as well as her flat stomach. Her lowers consisted of boots that went above the knees and of dark colored underwear that seems to have a scale pattern on them (not that any of them were looking, mind you). Her silken cloak was separated into multiple tails that covered her back and framed her shoulders neatly.

Her face was beautiful, that was for certain, with black lipstick and pale golden eyes staring at the three, framed by her long raven-black hair that went down to her knees. If she was currently standing, she'd measure at six feet straight without her heels.

In her left hand was a metal staff with a ruby gem on the top. Her long, elven ears twitched as she regarded the three intruders with annoyance and disdain.

"Three intruders? And one of them is a little girl?" Hae-Lin visibly took offense to that and childishly flipped the Dark Queen off, who simply chuckled at the rude gesture, "I'm not sure whether to be irritated or annoyed that this happened."

Stepping forward, the South-Korean swordswoman growled and shot back with a retort. "Listen lady, we've fought a lot of shit for the past few minutes so cut us some slack will ya?"

Olga seemed to smile at Hae-Lin's words before she stood from her throne, the crystal embedded in her staff ominously glowing. She gave a humored chuckle at the three as she took a few steps from her throne.

"I suppose you are mercenaries then? If so, who hired you three to invade my home and slaughter my guards?"

"Celestine Lucullus, ma'am. She wants t' talk wi' you." Corzo spoke, his voice causing Olga to involuntarily shiver at how cold and dead he sounded. Her ears twitched once more and she spoke with a haughty tone.

"So she sends mercenaries to capture me, and not some of her trusted Princess Knights?" She spat at the ground beneath her as she raised her staff slightly off the ground.

"She wishes to negotiate." Hae-Lin said but Olga scoffed at her.

"Negotiate? After all she's done so far, she wants to negotiate?!" Hae-Lin couldn't help but feel sympathy from the Dark Elf. Still, she was their employer's enemy and their employer had ordered them to capture her alive. She felt the same way when Hell had invaded Earth and took away her loved ones, making her feel no remorse for anyone on the opposite side.

Corzo kept silent. He knows what it's like to have someone ruin your life and then come to you with peaceful intentions thinking you'll go quietly.

Flynn narrowed his eyes from behind his visor. He too knew what it was like, but he shelved his feelings aside. He had a job to do, after all, and Hell better pray for their sakes that he is delayed further from finishing his eternal crusade.

That's when Flynn stepped in front of the other two, facing Olga directly and staring her down. She shivered from the coldness of his staring, the Dark Elf Queen of the Jagged Crown feeling... inferior when the man's icy-blue visor stared into her soul. She couldn't see anything other than her own reflection.

That scared her. Still, she shook off her fear and scowled as the large human male spoke to her, his voice gruff, raspy and dead.

"Unharmed or not, you're coming with us." His firmness made her irritated at him. Raising the staff level to his chest, she asked rhetorically.

"And what's stopping me from killing you three off?" Her answer came in the form of a loud, thundering roar that resonated throughout the castle followed by her staff flying out of her hand and into the tiled floor.

Eyes wide, the Dark Elf queen looked at who was responsible only to find him standing right in front of her, causing the Dark Elf to jump back in surprise. Eyes trailing down, she saw in his hands an odd-looking silver-metaled device with its end pointed at her smoking. Her shock and surprise widened when the odd weapon disappeared in a flash of blue specks of light going behind his rear end.

"Because the seven other shots will destroy you if you resist." Without even waiting for a reply, the large man grabbed her by the throat and began to drag her from her throne. She struggled, clawing at his gauntlet-clad hand with her sharp fingers.

After a few seconds of futile clawing, she managed to speak out with a croak in her tone.

"N-no-not w-w-with-o-out a fi-fig-f-fight from my... lieu-t-ten-tenants..." Her words made the large man in green stop in his tracks and release her from his grip. Not wasting her chance, Olga stood up weakly as she gasped for air.

"T-that's right, human... My lieutenants will be here any minute now." Speak of the devil and he shall appear, for out of the shadows emerged two figures armored and ready to take on anyone that threatens their queen.

The first one was a female, sporting an Amazonian, voluptuous figure with skin the color of light indigo, standing at six feet and three inches tall. Both her eyes were pink in color with her fair face sporting a few freckles and being framed by two large bangs on the sides of her head. Two dull ivory horns were a striking feature, curling much like a ram's or a goat's horns would, with spiked chokers secured on each of them. Her long, dark, pink hair reached her shapely ass and was rather spikey and bushy both at once.

She wore a fur cloth piece dark brown in color that showed the top of her ample bosom moderately (when in comparison to the other females Flynn had encountered in Eostia) with white fur lining the top of the cloth piece by the shoulder and neck areas. It also left her stomach exposed, showing many scars going across it, with many of them healed and some of the permanent. Her leggings consisted of equally dark brown stockings that cling to her muscular legs, with winter boots covering her feet and lower ankles. Her crotch area was covered by a blood-red sash that actually covered her shapely rear and her front well.

In her hands was a blocky firearm (that alone raised alarms in the heads of Flynn, Corzo, and Hae-Lin) that resembles an oversized yet oversimplified TDI KRISS Super V SMG with a lengthened handguard and barrel. It sported no scope and its iron sights were rather basic much like a standard infantry rifle of World War I, and its magazine jutted a few ways past the magazine well. Judging from the cut-outs on the side, this weapon fires nails around ten millimeters (10mm) in thickness and fifty millimeters (50mm) in length.

On her belt was a leather satchel not too different from Corzo's as it was also glowing slightly, indicating magic was at work.

Her face was impassive, although the three could tell that her eyes were scanning them with scrutiny for any weak links in them.

The second figure made Flynn's blood boil with rage. It stood over twelve feet and one inch tall, muscular with dark red skin and shaggy brown fur legs ending with pitch black hooves, with spikes of the same color jutting out from its shoulders, elbows, and knees. It's equally black horns were jutting forward much like a bull's own horns, with one of them chipped in half and the other sporting white scorch marks. It wore a damaged chest plate, brimstone in smell and charcoal gray in color, and armored leggings equal in smell and color.

In one hand was a weapon that resembled a large drum-magazine-fed autocannon, and in the other hand was a growing fireball, an evil green in color.

No doubt about it, that's a Hell Baron. How the fuck did Olga summon that thing?

"Zan! Balth'Azar!" The blueskinned female and the Hell Baron, Zan and Balth'Azar, respectively, shifted to attention at Olga's words. The Dark Elf Queen smiled and pointed her finger at Flynn's direction, with one order evident in her calm voice.

"Eliminate the intruders!" The two creatures charged, with the blue-skinned woman (Zan) heading straight for Corzo and Hae-Lin while Balth'Azar went for Flynn, with their targets charging to meet them head-on.

The Hell Baron swiped one claw, sending the fireball he was growing at the Marine. He ducked under the hellish flames and retaliated with a well-aimed shotgun blast to the demon's head. Balth'Azar staggered briefly before he swatted Flynn, who had jumped when he was staggered, aside and into one of the pillars of the throne room, destroying it completely.

Flynn didn't scream in pain nor did he grunt, he simply kept silent as he fell back to the floor. Quickly rolling away to evade a bullet from the Baron's cannon, the Marine returned fire with a burst from his DS-117 shotgun before switching to his Ouranus VI MRLS and firing a six-rocket volley. Balth'Azar simply took them all in stride and simply shot back the same amount from his cannon. The rounds found their mark and sent the Marine back a few inches, taking his both armor and health down to 8200. From under his helmet, Flynn was gritting his teeth not in pain but in pure joy. Finally, an actual challenge!

Shaking off the impacts a second after the last one hit, the Marine charged at the Hell Baron with his Static Rifle fully-charged. Jumping high into the air and aiming, the Marine pulled the trigger, sending a rapid five-slug burst into the Baron's chest. The EM Slugs hit hard and pushed the Baron back, leaving displacement marks across the floor and deep dents in its armor.

Jumping at the Marine, the Baron swiped one claw intent on crushing the Marine. The human greeted the demon's claw with one hand and soon the two were struggling to dominate their foe. The two traded blows once more before jumping away from each other.

Pulling out his Crusader Sword from subspace, the Marine charged at the Baron, who met the charge with both claws. As the sword and claws collided, the impacts created light shockwaves that shook the area around them slightly. Both combatants were equally matched, with each sword strike was blocked by a claw and each swipe of a claw parried by the sword. This went on for a minute or so before the Baron kicked the Marine back and sending a green fireball his way. The Marine tanked the kick and the fireball; both had reduced his health charges and armor charges down to 6000 points each.

With Corzo and Hae-Lin, the two were fighting with the blueskin named Zan. Her large nailgun shot fast, their projectiles travelling quickly and grazing either Corzo or Hae-Lin, the two retaliating with their own ranged firearms. Using Testament, Hae-Lin sent out a flurry of buckshot at the blueskin, who either took some of the pellets or avoided them with ease and grace. Corzo used his M12 Grasas and unloaded the two SMGs, many of the .460-Rowland bullets missing and some hitting Zan on various parts of her body. A majority of their little firefight involve either hitting a non-vital area on their foe/s, taking projectiles to their non-vitals, or hiding behind the pillars that were slowly being destroyed by the force of the projectiles shot from their foe/s.

Soon after expending a good amount of her nails, Zan got in close and brought out a large and sturdy tomahawk, different from Flynn's own hatchet. Hae-Lin rushed to meet her strike with the Kharon, with Corzo pulling out his bullwhips and attacking Zan from a distance.

The spiked metal ends of the whip made Zan hiss in pain and annoyance before she pushed off the Kharon with her tomahawk and making a beeline towards the gunslinger, who simply dodged her strikes and attacked (and hitting) back with his two bullwhips.

She grunted as the pain had caught up to her before she swung her tomahawk, the large weapon slashing at Corzo hitting him in the chest, ruining his poncho to some degree. She would've smiled until she heard the screech of metal after the ripping of cloth before being kicked back by Corzo. During a second or so of being kicked back, Zan could make out from the rip in her foe's poncho a simple chest plate protecting him from what would've been a fatal blow. She used the momentum of being kicked back to flip in the air and parry a sword strike from Hae-Lin.

The two women then went at it, trading blows to one another with their weapons. Hae-Lin sent out a vertical slash and then a horizontal slash, Zan parrying the first one and pushing back the second. The South-Korean swordswoman sent out a rapid flurry of slashes at the Orc-Demon hybrid, the latter barely keeping up with the fast slashes the smaller woman made in rapid succession. Thrusting her Kharon forward, Hae-Lin pushed Zan back to Corzo with a new deep wound in her stomach region.

Zan skidded to a halt and began to seethe in rage. With a roar, the blueskin woman charged and swung her tomahawk, smashing Hae-Lin aside before turning her attention to Corzo. The gunslinger parried the rage-filled smashes with his bullwhips, but Zan got lucky and got him in the neck. To the blueskin's surprise, it didn't decapitate him but it just sent him slamming into a pillar.

[---]

Meanwhile, Olga had managed to recover her staff and get a good distance away from the danger and began to survey the carnage that was erupting in her castle's throne room. The thundering sounds and the brutal impacts from each of the fighters in the room made fear seep into her heart.

Her eyes were on Zan for a moment and she fondly remembered when she first met the woman just over two years ago.

Olga had gone up to the mountains to think of new strategies to defeat her rival, Celestine, and had heard the sounds of metal against metal. Her curiosity got the better of her and she ventured deep into the tunnel to find out what was making the sounds. It had led her to a large forgery of sorts over a massive pit of lava, with Zan working on something on the platform in the center of the massive room. When the two first made eye-contact, they were anxious and hesitant of the other before the two saw something they haven't seen before. At the same time, Olga had pointed out that Zan was a blue Orc and Zan had pointed out that Olga was a Dark Elf before Zan corrected Olga that she was actually a half-breed between a blueskin and an unknown demon species, surprising Olga greatly.

One conversation later, and the two had bonded fairly well since then, and even her other friend, and ever-loyal vassal, Chloe, had gotten along with the Orc-Demon hybrid.

That same couldn't be said for Balth'Azar, however. Even now, while said demon was occupied with fighting the man in green plate, Olga was still afraid of the large monster that was one of her lieutenants.

It just happened after a century had passed in the war between her and her rival, Olga was busy reading through many forbidden books for any way to get the edge over Celestine's forces. It wasn't until the seventh day of that week that Olga had felt something pulling at her very soul, drawing her in towards whatever was pulling her. Oh how she wished she resisted then, and it would never had led her to a book made of flesh and bone deep within her citadel's dark chambers. Oh, had she resisted, she would have never had sacrificed those six hundred sixty six souls in order to summon the very beast presently fighting the man in green plate.

She remembered the monster's piercing gaze as it leered deep into her soul as she felt powerless to stop it.

Since then, there were times when she believed that he was the one in charge and she was simply the puppet whose strings were pulled by him and him alone. During those times, Balth'Azar had been lording over her forces, making them slave away for some purpose only he (and possibly his dark masters, she assumed) knows.

Luckily, she had learned of his name just a year after having him in her ranks and he was been obedient since, acting as her enforcer to her will with none actually succeeding in rebelling against her. But she could've sworn she saw him pause every time she would speak his name, as if he were contemplating something, but simply chalked it up to two sides within the demon's mind fighting over her control over him.

But deep within the recesses of her mind, Olga fears that the demon was simply playing along. But why would he do that and not simply break free of her supposed hold on him? Why tolerate her for over the centuries and not question her orders? A feeling deep within Olga told her that the answer would fill her heart with dread.

[---]

Suddenly, more people had run past the fallen doors and into the throne room. It was Vult and the Kuro Inu, with Kin and Hicks by his side. There was someone struggling in the war veteran's grasp, this person being someone Olga and Zan had considered their true friend throughout the more recent years of this conflict.

This person, if standing, was at five feet and six inches with warm mocha skin. Her red eyes were welled up with tears and her fair face was marred with a few light bruises. Her dirty blonde hair, originally fashioned into a ponytail that dangled off the right side of her head, was disheveled and roughened up.

She wore a dark blue body suit with an opening that exposed her ample cleavage and her stomach, with a pauldron on her right shoulder sporting a short white cape. Adorning her forearms were dark blue gauntlets, while her lower legs were encased in greaves and armored shoes.

With a voice filled with fear and concern for the individual in the human's grasp, Olga screamed out her name.

"C-C-Chlo-Chloe..." her voice was trembling at first before she found her authority, "Release her at once, you brute!" Her voice had caused most of the combatants to stop in their tracks.

Corzo and Hae-Lin had looked at Olga first before following her gaze to see Vult holding a Dark Elf girl hostage, the former's expression hidden by the shadow of his hat and the latter showing her scowl for all to see. Zan's eyes widened with fear for Chloe before she pulled out her large nail-rifle and aimed it at the man holding her dear friend hostage.

Meanwhile, Flynn and Balth'Azar were still going at it. Trading punches, kicks, bullets, and energy blasts, it was apparent that neither of the two was stopping their fight until their foe falls by their hand.

"Balth'Azar!" Zan's voice, slightly coarse and rough around the edges, made the demon stop from launching his next attack. Flynn followed Balth'Azar's gaze and saw Vult holding a Dark Elf girl hostage. From underneath his helmet, his joy turned into anger once more, the Marine already selecting a weapon from subspace to use against the war veteran if things decide to go south.

"Well now, this is a surprise!" Vult said as he stepped past his two allies. "You already started without me, Marine? I'm hurt, I truly am." He gave a predatory grin to the other inhabitants of the room.

"Let her go, human!" Olga commanded as she had leveled her staff at the man holding Chloe by her neck.

"Or what, you bitch? You get to see me slit this slut's throat after I have my way with her?" To prove his point, Vult began to tease Chloe' exposed cleavage with a dagger he had kept hidden, the cold metal making the Dark Elf girl squirm and hiss from the contact of the blade. Hae-Lin narrowed her eyes at the man's words.

"What the hell are you going on about, Vult?" The man in question made his predatory grin even darker somehow as he stopped molesting Chloe. He harshly shoved her into Hicks's arms before answering Hae-Lin's question.

"I see I'll have to tell you what exactly I'm implying, don't I? Well then!" He paced back and forth as he continued, "We're all mercenaries here. The ones that have been fighting in this damn war on all fronts for an entire millenia! Every death that's happened, every loss in territory, every piece of armor that's been damaged, every blade broken, every arrow wasted! They can all to be blamed on Celestine Lucullus and Olga Discordia!" He seethed as he spoke those two names.

"And for what?!" He roared out as he stopped pacing, "We have received very little in profit from those lazy bitches playing knight from a clean slate while we fought our way through Hell itself!" To his side, Flynn could see Balth'Azar lowly grunting and for once he'd agree to what the demon was thinking.

"And when this war ends, then what? THEN WHAT?! WE GET NOTHING FROM THEM! I'll have to force them to give me what I want!" At this point, Vult had stomped his foot into the floor with all the rage he could muster from years of fighting a war.

"And Princess Knights? How do you plan on getting past them?" The Marine spoke up, readying his M45 Combat Handgun with one hand. He could see that Hae-Lin had grabbing her A-22 from her pocket dimension as did Corzo with his Thunderhawk but he kept it holstered in his Dead Man's Holster. He simply nodded to them, and they nodded back.

The unspoken message was clear, "When I pull the trigger, let loose on them!"

"Those Princess Knights of Celestine? HA! FUCK 'EM! Enjoying the spoils from their high castles when those should've gone to us!" With both arms spread out, Vult gestured to the men behind him.

"Think about it, Marine. This is the start of a new era, one where men are truly free and women are under our thumb, not the other way around! Every man is their own king with scores of bitches to fuck! And to celebrate..." Vult aimed his sword at Olga, who had walked up to a few feet away from the Marine and the Hell Baron, while his other hand gestured to the captive Chloe, "I'll start with them."

A deafening silence followed with the air around the throne room tense as multiple sides stood waiting for any of their foe to make their move.

Flynn and Balth'Azar both looked at one another for a good twelve seconds before both of them did something in perfect sync that it greatly disturbed everyone present.

It started as low rumblings coming from their throats before they slowly evolved into full blown, dark and harrowing laughter. Many of the Kuro Inu started to sweat and some were backing away in fear, while the allies of either Flynn or Balth'Azar were growing unsettled by their companions' behavior.

Flynn's laughter was fitting for someone like he, booming and deep in tone that it froze many in their places. Balth'Azar's own deep laughter held an echo to it, reverberating across the room and within the bodies of many.

Vult was starting to get irritated at this. Two individuals, a demon and some upstart foreigner, were laughing at his grand vision. He'll make them pay for that.

Soon, the laughter died down to light chuckling before the two completely stopped, growing serious in an instant.

"To think..." the demon's voice was equal to his laugh, deep with an echo that reverberated off of anything, "humans would stoop so low... I find it laughable, don't you, Slayer?"

To the surprise of Corzo and Hae-Lin, Flynn nodded his agreement.

"I don't think even your kind would stoop that low, and that's saying something. And here I thought he had something else in mind!" Balth'Azar nodded in agreement to the Marine's words before he turned on his hoof and walking past Olga, surprising everyone present.

"You're leaving?!" Olga's voice reached his ears, making the Hell Baron smile in response, showing off his razor sharp serrated teeth and fangs for all to see. He simply spoke in a calm tone as if he were discussing the weather.

"I am... and what of it, My Queen?" He asked, snarling out the last two words in a derogatory manner. Raising her staff, Olga commanded with all the authority as the Queen of the Jagged Crown could hold over anyone.

"Balth'Azar! I order you to stay and fig-!" Without warning, the Hell Baron had swiftly turned and backhanded Olga into the ground ahead of Flynn with his claw. The staff was once again thrown out of her hands and had landed at near the feet of Corzo, who then picked up the magical weapon without taking his eyes off of the demon.

"Foolish whelp, did you honestly think knowing and speaking my name would give you control over me? ME?!" The Hell Baron stomped the ground just a few inches away from Olga, causing pillars of hellfire to rise up to the ceiling (which was rather high) and vanish in an instant. Olga had scrambled to her feet and away from the intense flames and had decided to seek refuge from behind the Marine.

"To think that I had to play a slave for over the centuries... And to think humans are still so gullible... I am disappointed at all of this..." The demon snorted, black smoke coming from his nostrils, as he glanced towards the Marine.

"Doom Slayer..." the Marine nodded at the demon calling him out with his feared title as he readied his DS-117 Combat Shotgun with one hand as the other was occupied with aiming the M45 Combat Handgun at Vult, "These pathetic excuses of humans are your quarry... I shall take my leave... but we shall cross paths again... I assure it..." With that, a blood red portal appeared at Balth'Azar's hooves before it slowly swallowed him whole.

Just before the portal completely took the demon away, Balth'Azar spoke once again to the Marine. "Until we meet again, Slayer..." With his parting words spoken, the demon vanished with the portal, leaving no traces apart from the scorch marks left from his stomp.

With the demon gone from this plane of existence, the Marine shifted his attention to Vult and the Kuro Inu, who had watched the spectacle with mixed feelings of shock, horror, terror, and intrigue.

Aiming the shotgun and the handgun, the Marine pulled the triggers. The flurry of .40-caliber pellets and the single 11.5x32mm Hollow-Point round flew into the crowd, the pellets taking out some of the cannon fodder and the Hollow-Point round outright disarming Hicks as it caused his left shoulder to implode, making the rogue let go of the Dark Elf named Chloe as he falls over in pain and agony.

Hae-Lin and Corzo immediately sprang into action and open fire at the Kuro Inu. Firing five shots, reloading, and repeating the process, Hae-Lin took down a good portion of the Kuro Inu's men with her A-22 .500-Magnum handgun. Corzo simply closed his eyes as time seemed to slow down to a stop for him.

Once he's done concentrating, his eyes shot open in sync to him pulling out his Thunderhawk and firing all eight shots of his revolver. Out of those eight shots, three certain individuals were thrown back while the remaining five were reduced into bloody red puddles. Not only that but each round that hit caused a strong shockwave the killed anyone else within the small vicinities of each individual round that hit its mark.

Not wasting any time despite being dazed by the loudness of the weapons, Chloe made a beeline straight for Zan, nearly tackling her to the floor with a hug. The blueskinned Orc-Demon hybrid simply hugged the Dark Elf girl back and the two began to weep tears of joy at this slight reunion.

Keeping away his shotgun, the Marine begins to shoot all the remaining Kuro Inu mercenaries in their heads with a single bullet ripping into their brains. Twenty men down, twenty bullets spent, one still left in the chamber, the Marine reloads his reliable sidearm.

With most of the Kuro Inu dead, Flynn, Corzo, and Hae-Lin grabbed their targets and began to make a hasty exit out of the castle.

Pulling out his Ouranus VI MRLS, the Marine shot at one of the throne room's walls, destroying it completely and sending debris everywhere. Not wasting time, he grabs Olga by her waist and carried her over his back before proceeding to jump out the hole he made. Corzo followed his friend's example and grabbed Zan in the process, while Hae-Lin did the same with Chloe. As they all landed onto the ground below, they wasted no time and began to run back to Ken.

It appears that a new war has begun just as another had ended. God help them all that this will end swiftly.

-Garran Badlands Outskirts/An hour later-

As they made their way through the badlands, Flynn, Corzo, and Hae-Lin were running as fast as they can. For Flynn, he simply had to exert more force into each step as he carried Olga over his back like she was a sack of potatoes. Corzo had opted to carry Zan bridal style (the latter blushing in embarrassment at how she was being carried) as the gunslinger felt the energy of multiple galloping horses energize his legs. Hae-Lin and Chloe were running side by side, the former utilizing the powers of the Angel of Death and the latter keeping up thanks to her Dark Elf attributes (although she was more-or-less being dragged across the barren wasteland by the former).

By now, they had reached the outskirts of what used to be the capital of the Dark Elves and the three had let go of their charges in different manners. The Marine had unceremoniously dropped Olga like she really was a sack of potatoes, the Drifter had lowered Zan to her feet like a gentleman would, and Hae-Lin simply let go of Chloe's hand.

"Well..." Corzo huffed as he regained his breath quickly, "that was int'r'stin'." Flynn nodded as he saw the morning sun just barely rising in the horizon.

"We keep moving. The sooner we get to Ken, the quicker this job's done." Upon hearing that, Hae-Lin slumped down to her knees as she childishly protested.

"But I wanna rest!" She flailed her arms and pouted to get her point across to the Marine. The Hellwalker paid the Angel no mind as he began to reach for Olga's neck...

Only to be stopped by Zan's tomahawk slamming against his gauntlet. She would've smirked at his hand being severed, until she realized that her tomahawk did jack shit against him.

"What the hell?! That should've sliced it off!" The Orc-Demon hybrid's train of thought was interrupted by the Marine grabbing her by the neck, effectively choking her out.

She, much like Olga, began to struggle against the inhuman grip wrapped around her throat. She slammed her tomahawk into the exposed flesh of the man's upper arm (the unarmored space between his pauldron and gauntlet), expecting it to be severed off. Her expectations were shattered much like the tomahawk's head shattering against the man's skin.

Before anyone else could intervene, Corzo had placed a hand on the very gauntlet choking Zan and spoke in a drawling tone.

"Enough, Flynn, save it for the real threat." His voice was harsh in tone but dead in his sounding, disturbing Chloe and Zan at how he sounded. The Marine, Flynn, simply held his grip on Zan's throat before releasing her after a good four seconds. As the blueskinned woman fell to the dirt below and began to gasp for air, Flynn had turned his back to them and spoke in a monotonous yet firm voice.

"Keep an eye on them, Corzo. If any of them even think of fighting..." He paused as he glanced at Zan and Chloe, "kill them quickly." The two in question shivered at how cold that man's voice sounded. The Drifter nodded at Flynn's orders.

The Marine sat down on a rock next to Olga. He gazed over her exhausted yet beautiful form before making his decision.

"Fine, we rest for today." Hearing that, Hae-Lin immediately celebrated by pumping her fists into the air and doing a little happy dance.

"However!" His voice caused her to stop. "After noon passes, we'll move again." Hae-Lin deflated a bit and pleadingly looked at Corzo for any sign of help.

He simply shrugged as if to say "Deal with it" before patrolling the perimeter around Zan and Chloe while keeping an eye out, pulling out his Cintia 1901 lever-action 10-Gauge shotgun in case anything attacks them.

She slumped down to her knees again as she lets out a groan of weariness. If this were a show, many would see anime tears comically running down her cheeks as a dark shadow seemed to go over her frame.

"Why is life so cruel?"

[---]

Olga Discordia had watched the man simply known as Flynn makes his decision before beginning to take watch along with the other man known as Corzo.

She had heard of the stories of the Gore Knight, the Drifter and the Angel of Death. Stories of how many that had faced the Gore Knight were left into so many pieces that there wasn't much left for anyone to bury, how many had faced the Drifter only to be struck down by his fearsome whips or be annihilated by his odd silver contraption, and how many had seen the grace of the Angel as she strikes down her foes.

Seeing them all up close can only be described as surreal to the Dark Elf Monarch. She noted that many of their fearsome contraptions all came from accessories on their bodies. The odd disks on the Gore Knight's belt, the leather satchel on the Drifter, and a pendant on secured on the Angel's neck just hidden behind her black double bow tie. Right now, she was looking at the Gore Knight's strange cobalt-blue staff that had roared loudly with thunder in her castle before she looked upon its wielder.

The man was muscular in a sense that it fits his large size. He towered over her and possibly some of her Orcs, she reckons. His dark green chest plate was odd, with multiple indents running across it. His equally green pauldrons were at least somewhat familiar in shape much like other pauldrons she'd seen over the centuries, but she took note of the odd white triangular symbol that was painted on the left one. His chest plate left his stomach somewhat exposed thanks to an opening but it was covered by an oddly shaped black tunic that covered his abdominal muscles and accentuated them. He wore brown pants covered in dark green paddings of armor on the upper legs while the lower legs were covered in silvery-gray paddings of armor.

Then there was his face or rather the object obstructing any view of the man's face. His dull-gray helmet was oddly shaped as it had no opening aside from the one where you insert your head into the helmet. Its visor was made of glass (at least, she assumed it was such) tinted an icy blue color that was not transparent in any way whatsoever. There was an odd metal stick on the left side of his helmet that extended past the top and ended with a flat tip much like a flat-head on a nail.

There was also a symbol on the left portion of his helmet, just above where the forehead should be. It resembled an anchor of sorts with multiple marks beside it. It was blood red in color and its presence alone made her anxious.

But she was also annoyed as she wanted the man to give her the courtesy to show her his face. Even before becoming Queen, Olga had been a great object of beauty in the eyes of many individuals and that had become even greater when she had been crowned as Queen of the Dark Elves. Many men (and even women, she idly mused at that) had been smitten with her beauty that many of them would die for her (literally in some cases).

But this man before her now looked at her not in a lustful way or in a worshipping manner. Instead, he looked at her as a prisoner or something lower than a prisoner, and that annoyed her greatly.

Clicking her tongue, the Dark Elf Queen stood up and walked to the large man and spoke to him.

"My, my, aren't you the gentleman... It's not every day that you'd have someone such as me in your hold, do you?" The man simply kept silent as he scanned the barren land with his eyes.

"Tch! At least give me the common courtesy of showing your face, human." She all but commanded him. Once again, the man kept silent to her words, opting instead to scan the mundane land even more rather than acknowledge her.

She felt annoyance surge through her once again. She also felt the air of the Badlands starting to wear her down, as her movement slowed slightly. Still, she raised her hands and inched them towards the man's odd helmet, intent on taking it off.

"Fine, if you won't take it off, then I'll-!" Her eyes widened when the man swiftly turned to face her and grab one of her hands from reaching his helmet. The swiftness of his movement cause a good amount of wind to be displaced around them, causing her cape to flutter moderately from those displaced winds.

The Dark Elf Queen once again felt inferior as the size difference between them was made apparent once more. She felt his gaze pierce through her and into her very soul, making her shudder involuntarily from the sensation.

Once again, fear gripped her heart.

[---]

As the Marine held her there, he was contemplating choosing one of the three things going in his mind right now.

One, he could simply kill her here and now and he could simply report to Celestine that her rival had died during the assault on the Black Fortress no thanks to Vult. Two, he could simply snap off her arm as a clear message to her but that would create suspicion. And lastly, he could just intimidate her which was just option numero dos just minus the arm snapping.

Making up his decision, Flynn Taggert spoke. "Do that again, and it'll be your arm that's my next victim." Finding no voice in her tongue, Olga simply nodded in response as the large man released her grip on her.

"Now sit down." The woman did so quickly in record time. He internally scoffed at the so-called Dark Queen who was trembling under his gaze.

Sitting down across her, the Marine begins to break down his weapon into multiple parts. It was something he does to pass the time.

"Why did you break your weapon, human? It would have served us all better if you kept it intact." She chastised the Marine, who simply ignored her words.

For over an hour, the only sounds that Olga heard from the man that captured her were the odd clicking coming from his (in her eyes) broken weapon as the man in question tended to it as if it were still in one piece.

The Marine removed the large and thick quad-stacked magazine of his DS-117 Combat Shotgun and removed the remaining shells (which disappeared into his pocket dimension) before disassembling the magazine. It took him over three minutes, but Flynn had finished performing maintenance on the magazine, reassembling it and reloading it. He had repeated the process for the magazine of the underslung launcher, taking the same amount of time as he did with the shotgun magazine.

Now for the actual gun, he thought to himself as he grabbed his shotgun from next to him.

The Marine began to clean the main barrel of the shotgun as well as the larger barrel for the underslung grenade launcher. Once he was done with both parts, he reattaches them both into the main body of the firearm and reattaching the handguard and bull barrel after.

After a few seconds, the DS-117 was reassembled and looked as if it were brand new. Flynn smirked at Olga's surprise at how his 'broken' weapon was good as new.

"Didn't break it." His voice startled her as he continued. "Just repaired it." Speechless, the Queen of the Jagged Crown nodded dumbly as the Marine kept the weapon away into subspace and brought out his Crusader Sword and a whetstone.

For over the next half-hour Olga watched the Marine sharpen his diamond-blue sword before he too puts it away into the pocket dimension and pulling out the leaf-green contraption he had used to free Chloe from that man's hold.

The Marine began to take apart his M45 handgun, inspecting each individual part before cleaning them thoroughly. After a few minutes of cleaning the parts, he then starts to reassemble the handgun.

Pulling the slide back, the Marine inserted a single 11.5x32mm bullet before loading the actual magazine into the butt/grip of the pistol. Once the handgun snapped closed, he depressed a button on the LAM, satisfied that the laser was still a bright neon red color before turning it off.

Satisfied, he proceeds to keep away the handgun into his pocket dimension before looking at his charge/prisoner.

She had been looking to her companions and had seen them eating some food that their captors had pack.

Olga found this behavior from her captors odd. Why waste your food for your enemy? What was to be gained from doing that?

Flynn then looked up to the sky and noticed the sun's position was just about an hour past noon. He began to stand up before walking up to Corzo and Hae-Lin.

"Time to go, no more stops beyond this point." Hae-Lin, if something were actually possible, had slumped down even further.

"Mmm-hmm, I don't wanna go just yet!" Not wanting to deal with this, Flynn grabbed Hae-Lin by the back of her suspender pants and lifted her like how one would carry a suitcase/briefcase. The South-Korean swordswoman flailed childishly once again as she protested to the large man in green, who paid her whining no mind.

Corzo shook his head with a small smile gracing his lips (although no one can really see it because of his face being obstructed with shadow) before he gesture to both Zan and Chloe, the former remaining calm despite being captive and the latter glaring daggers at the man.

"Let's go, ladies. We're 'eadin' fo' Ken." Upon hearing that, Chloe's anger had burst and she started to speak in a pissed off manner.

"So what? To be taken prisoner, human? I don't think so!"

"Y'd do the same if it were any of them Princess Knights, lady. We were at war, an' it looks like a new one's takin' its place." The Drifter calmly replied to the young woman.

Gritting her teeth, Chloe had pulled out a dagger she had snatched up during her escape from the Kuro Inu's clutches and began to attack only for Corzo to grab her arm and throw her down into the ground before he snapped the same arm in the wrong direction. The result was instantaneous; Chloe screamed in agony from the impact of hitting the ground and her dislocated arm was bent far too much to heal on its own.

She began to squirm as tears welled up in her eyes. Zan was about to come to her aid only to freeze in place when the Drifter stared intently into her eyes as if he was daring her to try anything. Going down to a kneeling position, the Drifter grabbed the bent arm once more. The Dark Elf hissed in pain before the Drifter spoke.

"I'm gonna reattach your arm now, y'hear? Don't go crazy on me, miss." Not waiting for a response, Corzo had snapped the arm back into its rightful position as Chloe screamed once more, though it wasn't as loud as the previous screams.

She arched her back as she continued to writhe in pain for a few seconds. Once the pain subsided, Chloe weakly glared with welled-up eyes at the man responsible for her pain, who simply shrugged off her hate towards him. Standing up and dusting off his poncho, the Drifter tipped his hat to her and to Zan before he ushered the Orc-Demon hybrid to move forward.

Chloe pathetically spat at the Drifter's feet before she stood to her full height. She narrowed her eyes at his exposed back and then looked at the dagger below her. Picking it up, the young woman felt the urge to try again but she pushed it down, not wanting to feel that pain again. And so, with a heavy sigh, she followed closely behind Zan, mumbling curses under her breath.

Olga had seen it all happen. She watched with scrutinizing eyes as Chloe had pulled out that dagger and slashed at the Drifter. She was sure the man hadn't expected it but he surprised her when he slammed her vassal down into the ground and broke her vassal's arm. She thought he would kill her vassal then and there but the man simply snapped the arm back into its rightful place and ushering Zan to move along.

She would've scrambled to help Chloe up, but her captor, the Marine, had grabbed at her and began to carry her over his shoulder once more like a sack of potatoes. Olga weakly pounded at the back of his chest plate. She expected cold metal to be felt when she pounded her fists against his back, but she felt a new sensation that felt like the mix of wood and metal altogether but at the same time it wasn't wood and metal combined. This only registered to her after a few seconds of pounding at it.

Olga Discordia began to wonder exactly who was this man and who are his allies as they dragged/carried/ushered them to Ken.

And pray that she and her allies are spared from any harmful fate.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-Three hours later/Outskirts of Ken-

They had made it back in less than three hours. Had they allied themselves with the Kuro Inu still, it would've taken them the same four days it took them to get to the Black Fortress. The Marine exhaled making an audible sound that caught Olga's attention as she perked up from staring at his back and rear end (she would deny the latter down to her dying day).

She would've looked at his face if she weren't still carried like a sack of potatoes. She was taken by surprise then when the Marine dropped her to the grass beneath them while he releases his grip on Hae-Lin, who fell flat on her stomach softly against the grass.

"Lnd, schwt lnd! Uh hw ay msch yu!" The swordswoman's voice was muffled by the grass as she decided to make a grass angel right there and then.

Flynn shook his head at his companion's childish actions before he roughly forced Olga to stand to her feet.

"That was a bit rude, don't you think?" Olga seductively smiled at the large man only to be rudely pushed forward, making her face the main gates leading to the capital city of the Seven Shield Alliance, Ken.

"Well, aren't you the professional..." She blandly stated as she trudged forth with the Marine right behind her.

Soon, they all made it to the front gates (as soon as Hae-Lin was finished making out with the ground), with the head guard shouting at them to stop. "State your business!" the head guard stationed shouted from the guard tower.

"Gore Knight and company! We've brought Olga Discordia with us! We've business with Celestine Lucullus!" The Marine shouted back, surprising the many guards presently stationed at the main gates.

While no apparent movements were made, the Marine, his allies and their captives can all hear the hushed whispering of the many guards before someone had activated the gate's mechanism. As the gates opened up, the Marine and his companions wasted no time and had passed through them and entering the massive capital city.

As they all walked past the busy streets, they could hear the whispers of the common folk as they passed each individual building in their selected route. Many of them aimed at the ones in their capture. The Marine paid the stares and the whispers no mind as did the Drifter and the Angel of Death, but their companions had different reactions to the staring and the whispering.

Olga had taken them all in stride and gracefully walked like a true queen despite being forced forward by the Marine's shotgun, Chloe was glaring at anyone staring at her, while Zan somewhat shrunk under all the stares she was receiving.

It took them a few minutes, but they finally arrived at the palace housing Celestine Lucullus. After talking to the guards (more like persuade as the Marine had to use his Crusader Sword to get the point across and to get Celestine's current location), they were walking down one of the halls leading up to the private council room.

Olga hummed in amusement as she gazed upon the many priceless objects and paintings decorating the halls. "It's seems like it was only yesterday that I roamed down these very halls of Celestine's little home."

The group had reached the doors only for Jamal, Celestine's butler, to block their paths.

"Sir, there is currently a meeting going on. You cannot just barge in like a- HEY!" The butler didn't get to finish as the Marine forced the doors open, causing the people in the private council room to stop their discussion to look at who had barged in unannounced.

[---]

"-s you can see, Lady Celestine, our trade routes are under the threat of pirates and bandits..." One of the visitors of a foreign land had droned on as Celestine did her best to listen.

There were times she loved being queen and times were she loathed being queen. Take a wild guess on which of the two it is currently.

Right now, she and her Princess Knights were dealing with their allies from Dragundaala. Eostia and Dragundaala have been great allies over the many centuries and had aided one another during times of conflict.

On her sides were Claudia Levantine and Alicia Arcturus while the rest of her Princess Knights were sitting in the semi-circular council table on their seats while the primary Eostian nobles were sitting below them in their own semi-circular council table. Facing them was the king and queen of their ally kingdom and good friends Julian Dragundaala the III and Nina Dragundaala nee Elesa, while the primary Dragundaalan nobles sat in another council table in a manner similar to their Eostia counterparts. Sitting on another semi-circular council table were the various secondary nobles of Eostia and Dragundaala.

Julian was a middle-aged man with light brown skin and of a somewhat fit build, reaching his mid-forties already and standing at six feet straight. He wore a luxurious three-piece silvery gray suit decorated lightly despite being a king. His hair was starting to gray at the tips but they were still a healthy chocolate brown and his eyes were the color of emeralds. A nondescript golden crown adorned his head.

Nina was a beautiful woman that appears younger than her actual age of thirty-six. She had creamy white skin and was slim and fit for her age, standing at six feet tall like her husband thanks to her heels, and she had that hourglass figure much like Celestine's. Her upper clothing consisted of a white choker that covered her neck and a small area around the base of her neck, a pink corset with white fur decorations on the top that exposed the middle of her cleavage and her stomach. Her lower arms plus the area above the elbows were covered in thin white gloves that fit her figure neatly. Her lower clothing consisted of an armored skirt that barely reached her knees with her lower legs being covered by white knee-length socks while her footwear were warm brown high-heeled shoes with gold accents. Her blonde hair reached down to her shapely ass and sported a cute blue ribbon at the ending portion, while her emerald eyes hold an air of maturity that seemed to captivate any who looks into them. If one looked close enough, they'd see that her pupils were vaguely reptilian in shape.

Standing beside the royal couple was their daughter, Catue Dragundaala. She was a stunning young woman with creamy white skin much like her mother, but she had her own kind of beauty to her. She had spiky snow white hair, which had an odd purple tint at the tips, reaching down to her shapely rear. Her emerald green eyes were much like her mother's but they hold a spark of ferocity in them. Her clothing was made up of a purple leotard-corset combo that gave a good view of her cleavage. Her left shoulder sported a small pauldron and her arms were protected with gauntlets, these ones having vambraces and couters (both designed to be white feathers with pink ribbons on them). Her lower clothing consisted of thigh-high white stockings and equally white heeled shoes. Every piece of armor on her person seemed to be vaguely shaped after the various parts of a dragon such as its claws and wings.

Catue and her mother were actually Princess Knights in addition to their royal bloodline; one of the few outside of Eostian borders that Celestine knighted herself. As such she holds an authority over people but she prefers to only use her title in times where it is truly necessary. She has gotten along fine with the other Princess Knights and had already formed strong bonds with them and they had done the same with her.

Protecting the room and staying on the outskirts of said room were the Eostian knights and the Dragundaalan knights. The Eostian soldiers were elegant in how their armor appears. Finely tuned to fit the individual wearing them and sporting a glossy silver glow, these soldiers gave hope to all residing in Eostia and follow the Seven Shield Alliance. Meanwhile, the Dragundaalan soldiers were draconic in terms of their armors' appearance, living up to their country's namesake.

"And we ask of you to-"

Any words that would've come out of the nobleman's mouth died when the doors were forced open, nearly flattening the poor soldiers that were directly in front of the doors. Quickly acting, the soldiers of both countries drew their swords or pulled back the string of their bows and readied their arrows at the opened doors. Even Celestine, the Princess Knights, and Julius sprang into action and drawn their weapons from their sheaths.

"I'm sorry, Milady!" Jamal spoke from behind the doors, "I tried to stop them!"

Walking through the opened doors were three people Celestine hadn't expected to return so soon, and with three prisoners as well. Her eyes widened and she lets out a slight gasp as she recognized one of said prisoners.

"Olga?!" Her voice caused everyone else to look at Celestine and to the newly-arrived Dark Elf Queen in shock.

The Dark Elf Queen smirked in response as she spoke in a calm tone. "I see that you're still easily surprised, Celestine dear." Her eyes trailed to see the royal family of Dragundaala and her smirk got slightly bigger, "And you've brought guests! I'm surprised that you actually let strangers into your home." As she finished speaking a few had come up to approach her, those being Celestine Lucullus, Claudia Levantine, Alicia Arcturus, Julian, Nina and Catue Dragundaala.

"What are you doing here?" Claudia looked ready to run her new sword into Olga's chest. That's when someone answered her question.

"Because Celestine told us to bring her here..." The Marine spoke in that gruff yet dead tone of his as he stepped in between Olga and Claudia. The Dawn Templar was about to retort until she saw the look in his eyes that made her freeze in place.

Before anything violent can happen, Celestine intervened and spoke. "Please, no violence within my abode." She gestured her soldiers to lower their weapons while Julian did the same with his soldiers a few seconds later. Turning to the Marine, the Goddess Reincarnated began.

"Thank you, Sir Marine. You have done well in your deed.'" Flynn nodded at her praise as she turned to face the other occupants in the room.

"Everyone, please... lower your arms. There's no need for violence today." Though reluctant, the soldiers in the room had sheathed their swords and lowered their bows. The Princess Knights on the other hand were still armed and ready to rush their enemy.

Alicia was about to do just that when a loud thundering roar shook just about everyone in the room. They all looked at the Marine who had his oddly-shaped cobalt and dark brown staff raised into the air with smoke coming from the top. His free hand had moved to a part of the staff and, after gripping it, pulled it downwards and releasing it. It resulted in a loud clacking sound and a brass cylindrical piece to fly out from the right side of the weapon and hit the floor below. Even Olga had flinched from the sound of the loud staff.

Hearing the crumbling of stone, the Princess Knights and the soldiers looked up to see a small part of the ceiling completely obliterated as multiple small pieces of debris fell down to the Marine, who wasn't bothered in the slightest. He did, however, grunt as he spoke to Celestine.

"Our job's done but there's been a... complication." Confused, Celestine asked the large man.

"What do you mean, Sir Marine?" Corzo answered Celestine's question. "Vult and the Kuro Inu have... revoked their allegiance to you an' ar' now stagin' a li'l coup d'état to... ann'h'late your alliance." Scoffing, Claudia challenged the Drifter's claim, not believing him one bit.

"And just where is your proof of this, cur?" The gunslinger said nothing as the large man in green plate pressed a finger onto the left side of his helmet.

This world's natives were confused as to why he was doing that until something happened. Coming from the odd metal stick on his helmet's left side was a prism of light as it hit an unoccupied wall. Many of the soldiers drew their weapons once more while some of the less aggressive individuals looked at the prism with awe and wonder.

"What manner of sorcery is this?" Olga was genuinely curious as to how the large man known as the Marine was doing this.

"Not sorcery. Technology." The Marine corrected her as he cycled through the many video logs on his helmet, more specifically the more recent entries of video logs. Once he found it, he immediately began to play it.

As everyone watched the recording of Vult's speech, many were in disbelief and others were enraged at the man's declaration for a Sex Empire. As soon as the recording of Vult had finished talking, the Marine had ended it and waited the reactions of those seated.

"That fiend..." Kaguya, one of the Princess Knights, spoke aghast at what she's seeing. She was a pale-skinned short girl, standing at five foot six much like Hae-Lin, and sported short raven black hair that went past her chin that complimented her blue eyes. She wore a shrine maiden's outfit with the outer parts in bright red and the inner parts in pinkish white, as well as wooden slippers to complete her look.

Kaguya was a Shrine Maiden of Thorn, one of the major cities of the Seven Shield Alliance. Because of her position and said position's training, Kaguya has an attunement of sorts with this world's own world of spirits, making her a bit of a fortune teller for the Princess Knights and their allies.

"H-how could he?" Prim Fiorire, Alicia's younger cousin and another Princess Knight, was scared at the man's declaration. With her pink hair flowing down to her creamy white legs and her dazzling blue eyes, this girl was the poster girl for innocence. She wore a transparent pink dress that did little to protect her from anything at all and had golden sandals/slippers as her footwear.

Maia said nothing but she was distraught at how Vult genuinely felt about all of them. The Mercenary Queen gritted her teeth, remembering all the memories she had shared with Vult, both good and bad.

Many of the people in that room right now were disgusted at the man in the recording. Once the video ended, they started to talk amongst themselves, giving different suggestions on how to deal with this.

"Eostia's been our ally for many centuries, and I would be damned if I see this monster get his way." Julian stated, earning the nods of individuals such as Claudia and the soldiers of both countries.

"We have to do something! We can't just let this mercenary ruin our country like this."

"Send soldiers to each kingdom! Send messengers!"

"We can't just do that! It'll create a panic amongst the commoners!"

Just like that, the trade negotiations were forgotten in the wake of something much worse. As the noblemen and women argued, the Marine grew tired of their incessant babbling and stomped the floor harshly, sending a slight tremor to everyone present. The results were satisfactory as everyone had closed their lips.

"There's also something else, Ma'am." That caught Celestine's attention as the Marine continued. "However, I wish to show it to you in private. If you'd like, you can bring the people you trust." The Marine scanned the room in one clean sweep before going silent once more.

Feeling eyes on him, Flynn swiftly turned his head directly at the person still looking at him. Once again, his eye twitched when he took in her appearance.

She was short, barely reaching four feet if she tried, and wore a two-piece armored bikini (at least he thinks it was such) made of animal hide underneath a green cloak that reached her knees. A tricorne hat was haphazardly placed atop her curly ginger hair, with curious green eyes looking all over his armor and (revealed) weapons like water washing over a rock in a river.

This was Ryuu-Ryuu, a Halfling and one of the Princess Knights native to Eostia. She also serves as the Master (or Mistress as she prefers) Blacksmith for the Seven Shield Alliance, creating various weapons and armors among other things for said alliance. Her kingdom of Rad was currently in the process of repeating handheld ballistae for her kingdom and her allies to use, but whatever weapons the Marine had used were far too advanced for her to make.

"It's like our own blunderbuss but it's not! I need to know how that works!" She spoke in her mind as she took in the weapon's visual design, finding it practical for someone the Marine's size and something that could benefit Eostia and its allies for the coming years if he'd allow her to reverse-engineer the thing.

She flinched when the Marine had looked directly at her, shivering at how cold and distant the man felt from everything else.

Then, the Marine exhaled loudly, gaining the attention of just about everyone in the private council room.

"Is something the matter, Sir Marine?" Celestine asked as she had just sat onto her seat after speaking with the nobles of Dragundaala and of those within her country.

"When you think about it..." the man in green armor began, "Vult does have a point." Standing up in a fit of rage, Claudia began to jump to a conclusion. The others (barring Corzo and Hae-Lin) had looked to Flynn in shock, horror, surprise, or disgust.

"Are you taking his side?!" Flynn simply shot her a bland look as he raised a clenched fist, a universal military signal to stop. Lowering it as Claudia had seated herself once more, the Marine continued.

"I don't agree to what he's planning, but think about it. This war could've been ended centuries ago, but neither Celestine nor Olga," the two in question perked their heads towards the Marine, "had bothered to end it quickly. Why?"

"Because it would've strained our resources!" Julian spoke up, only to be silenced by the Marine's words.

"You could've asked for a summit. A meeting between two sides for negotiations could've spared the land of all the bloodshed that's happened so far." He had raised his voice slightly, but Corzo and Hae-Lin had noticed it where the others had not.

"But the Orcs-!" Celestine, too, was silenced by the Marine.

"Are cannon fodder... To be honest, I find it amusing all of you are struggling against them. You all used mercenaries and sent them to fight alone when your own soldiers could've helped." Flynn's little jab at them all had angered a few people within the council room.

"Oh yeah? And what are you implying, mercenary?" Turning to the speaker, Flynn had to do a double-take at the person who questioned him.

Blonde hair and a pudgy face with his fat stomach spilling from his clothes; the Doom Marine would've thought him a Mancubus in a really shitty disguise if it weren't for the fact that this fatass had no cannons encasing his arms.

"What I'm implying is," the Marine swiftly turned his attention back to the rest of the people seat, "that you face a threat made up of very little monsters where you outnumber them. If you can't face to risk loses, then you've already lost."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Maia asked.

"I've read up on this war's history and have read official reports of the various kingdoms, both Eostia AND Dragundaala among others." Flynn replied, "The reports all claim that only a few of your kingdoms own soldiers have been actually fighting against the Orcs and their allies. You've made your countries weak by holding your militaries back." Gazing over each of the Princess Knights, he continued.

"And while your private order of Knights has their fair share of battles, Celestine, I highly doubt any of them have made any real decisions in a war, let alone know what it's like to be out in the field for a long time. The only person I see with that department is Maia, seeing as she once was a Kuro Inu member before going freelance." The Princess Knight in question shrunk in her seat as the attention temporarily shifted to her. Craning his neck, the Marine continued further.

"You could've taken the risks, you could've improved your military regimes, and you could've actually fought alongside the mercenaries in this war..." He stopped for a second to catch his breath, taking the same moment to harshly glare at everyone seated.

"We have!" Prim spoke up only to wilt under his gaze.

"But it appears that it wasn't enough now, was it?" Narrowing his eyes behind his visor, the Marine makes his way towards Celestine. As he neared her, he continued with his rant.

"No, it wasn't. But that didn't stop you from prolonging the damn war far too much, did it? This war could've been ended if you actually took initiative!" By the third sentence, the Marine had been close to shouting and swearing at the Goddess Reincarnated.

"And now look where that's gotten all of you bitches! A fucking madman's now recovering in the Black Fortress while the monsters Olga had controlled," the Dark Elf in question looked down (whether in shame or something else, none would know), "are now in his command. And with all that loot in the Black Fortress, which I am damn sure is a shit ton of treasure, he'll recover the numbers he lost during this little siege and much more." He had given a logical point to them, one they cannot argue with even if they could.

"Because of that," using his helmet's projector feature (which also doubles as a flashlight), Flynn had projected onto the map revealing a tactical analysis of Garran and the Badlands surrounding it before highlighting the Black Fortress, "staging an attack and launching it would take days if you picked up the slack, maybe weeks if you're shit-ass lazy." The people seated would've taken offense to his words if they weren't amazed by his helmet's projection.

"It's like a skilled painter had drew this while flying on a dragon's back!" Catue thought as she and the others were curious as to how the Marine was doing this. Speaking of which, he went silent as someone else spoke.

"Vult's a war hero, like it or not. Even if we attack the north with preparations, there's a chance the people in the south will retaliate. The Kuro Inu is the biggest mercenary group there is, so it'll be no surprise that Vult can recover those losses." Hae-Lin had spoken up as she cleaned her sword with a cloth.

"Furthermore, it'll be difficult because he's a war veteran, someone that knows how to fight on both the battlefield and on the map." Once she had finished her peace, the Marine nodded before turning off his projector.

"Now then," with his hand, the Marine shoved Olga forward with his two companions doing the same to their charges, "what to do with them?"

"Burn them at the stake!" Alicia suggested as she narrowed her eyes at the Dark Elves and the blueskinned woman.

"Why stop there? How 'bout we beat out every single piece of information right outta them first?" Maia had piped in as she shot the three a dirty grin.

"I think there were some forbidden rituals for controlling the sky in our temple," Kaguya stated, "Maybe we could use them as sacrifices?"

"She's started this war, it's only fitting that she ends with it!" A nobleman from Dragundaala spoke. Many individuals nodded or spoke their agreements to his words.

"An' they say I was remorseless." Corzo muttered under his breath. Grabbing his bullwhip, the gunslinger cracked it, sending a loud whipping sound that silenced everyone in the room.

"We didn't bring her 'ere to be ex'cut'd." When he saw few protesting and as the Princess Knights were giving of hateful and harsh glares, he silenced them with harsh glares. "We brought her 'ere because Miss Celestine o'er there," the High Elf in question seemingly shrunk into her seat, "want'd her ol' frien' back. She di'n't hire me an' my frien's to end this war... She just wanted to be wi' li'l miss Discordia. Am I wrong, Miss Celestine?" Hearing no form of denial, the gunslinger continued.

"Now," the Drifter began to walk around the room, "y'can say otherwise, y'can bitch and moan all day long. But if any o' yee tries ta... discomfort our charges... Well..." he trailed off as his other hand had drawn his Thunderhawk from his holster and began to twirl it at a hypnotizing pace.

"You're gonna 'ave to take it up to my revolver 'ere." Cracking his neck to one side, the man in the poncho spoke up once more.

"Regardless," Nina Dragundaala spoke up, "that still leaves as to how this woman could earn redemption." The Drifter chuckled, the sound sending shivers up the spines of this world's natives.

"Li'l Olga o'er 'ere could redeem herself by workin' fo' us." At this point, Alicia had shot up and vehemently spoke to the Drifter while pointing at Olga accusingly.

"Are you jesting, you ruffian?! That woman is the sole cause of all of this! She's a monster! Countless lives lost and countless more ruined! And you're willing to look past all of that?! I wouldn't be surprised if you were under her spell already when you were heading here!"

The atmosphere had grown tense, with many individuals waiting with baited breath as the Drifter had remained silent. After what could be their most tense nine seconds, the Drifter had spoken up. And with his voice, they heard the hidden anger within his tone.

Celestine and Olga both thought of it as an inferno mixed with a typhoon, making the two monarchs to feel very uncomfortable with just being in the same room as the gunslinger. As was everyone else barring two, the air in the room being like it was suffocating them.

"Under her spell, li'l missy?" He began to near her, the spurs on his boots slowly turning and jingling with each step that he took. "D'you really b'lieve that I am under her thrall, li'l girl?" Alicia would've reeled back if it weren't for her seat as the Drifter became dangerously close to her. She could feel his breath by her ear and neck, sending a grim shiver down her spine.

"Y'must'ave very low faith in someone like me 'f'you think that. Stupid girl..." He reached with one hand Alicia's shoulder and held it firmly, making the young princess squirm in his grasp.

"My patience with you grows thin, child. So I shall only implore you once, Alicia Arcturus. Sit. Down. And you won't get hurt beyond the embarrassment right now." The tone was quiet, not exactly quiet as a mouse, but as if Death itself was right behind each and every one of them.

The Iris Knight was in no position to argue as she quickly took her seat once more as she shook like a frail leaf, her cousin refusing to make eye contact with the Drifter and finding the table more interesting than anything else as of the moment.

Seeing the young girl taught her place, Corzo backed off as he went back to where he was before. As soon as he was where he originally stood, he continued.

"Now, Olga and her two friends 'ave been livin' in Garran and in the surro'ndin' Badlands for some time. They know the lay of the land and of what lurks around the dark corners. That could've been lost if y'all killed them off. I say we let 'em live, under our protection and rules. That way, we can avoid a complication while fightin' Vult and his li'l men." Having said his peace, atmosphere had lightened making everyone else finding it easy to breathe again.

Celestine was the first to recover as she cleared her throat. "Well, that does seem like a logical choice." Turning to her rival and old friend, the Goddess Reborn asked, "What do you think, Olga?"

"It's not as if I had any real choice in this matter now do I, Celestine?" The Dark Elf Queen sighed, "Fine, I'll be your singing bird until this war's over." She smirked deviously as she added, "And I would take this opportunity to get back at that man and his damn mercenaries for taking my home."

Beaming at her answer, Celestine then looks to the three powerful individuals that she had hired. "Just one last thing to do before this meeting is adjourned."

"Sir Marine, Sir Drifter, and Lady Angel, for your success on your mission and for reporting back to us of this new revelation, I wish to reward you." She smiled as she continued, "Now please... kneel."

Looking at one another, the three were uncertain on how to continue before finally one of them took initiative and knelt down with the two others quickly following. Frowning, the beautiful elf asked to two of them.

"Sir Marine and Sir Drifter, would you both be kind as to remove your helm and hat?" The two in questioned remained silent before complying with her orders. Corzo was first, a hand reaching to his hat and removing it. Flynn was next, using both hands to remove his helmet properly.

Once the hat was off, the shadows obscuring Corzo's face had slowly disappeared but the glow in his eyes remained eternal.

Once the shadows fully disappeared and revealed his face, many of the occupants gasped at it. Extremely pale to the point it were beyond inhuman with a purplish tint to it, the face of the Drifter was physically much like a 20-year old male who regularly checks his body to remain fit and healthy. He would've been more handsome if it weren't for the fact that that his current emotion was a hidden rage behind a calm façade.

As for Flynn, his helmet hissed as it lessened its grip on him and allowing its wearer to remove it safely.

Once his face was revealed, just about everyone but his two companions had gawked, gasped and gave other reactions. It was hard not to see why, too.

Middle-aged (about physically a man in his forties) with blood red eyes that glow, with a shaved chin and his light brown hair being kept low, Flynn Taggert was an intimidating man thanks to his face and his size. Multiple wounds decorated his face (and possibly his body, many of them could only hope of the opposite), ranging from minor scars to burn marks and slash marks. His left eye brow had been damaged by two claw marks (courtesies of a Hell Knight that got the jump on him) while a part on the right portion of his face sported a grayish spot that continued until the right side of his scalp (a farewell gift of a Hell Baron that happened so long ago). Even his neck had a gash of sorts marring it (a little nibble from a Pinky which he returned the gesture with his Great Communicator going down its throat).

To say the both of them look like they went through Hell was a massive, MASSIVE understatement.

Feeling rude for staring, Celestine quickly recovered from her shock as she regarded their faces while she stood from her seat and approached them.

"I... I wish to know your full names, kind sirs and miss. I would appreciate if you told us your names so as to do this properly." Without hesitation, the Drifter and the Marine spoke their respective names.

"Corzo White, miss."

"Flynn Taggert."

"Jung Hae-Lin." Hae-Lin introduced herself as she knelt beside Corzo, now completing the identities of the three. Celestine smiled. Finally, they were getting somewhere. She started to speak to them.

"Flynn Taggert, Corzo White, Jung Hae-Lin, my country and that of my allies are once again threatened. A madman and his army are moving as we speak. You three have each done your services greatly for the people and I ask of you all to do so once again. Are you willing?"

"Considering we started the damn thing, might as well end it." Flynn answered gruffly as he cracked his knuckles.

"I am yours to command, miss." Corzo spoke and tipped his hat to Celestine.

"Oh, you bet your ass I'm willing to kick some ass!" Hae-Lin enthusiastically answered Celestine as she pumped a fist into the air. With a delicate touch on their shoulders, Celestine spoke.

"Then with the power granted as the Goddess Reborn and ruler of this country, I, Celestine Lucullus knight thee three. Now rise up, my new knights, and aid us in this dark era."

The Marine nodded his thanks as he stood up, the Drifter tipped his hat to her, and the Angel of Death flashed a toothy grin.

As the newly-knighted Marine, Drifter, and Angel of Death looked around, they saw many of the other occupants lightly clapping and others giving nods of approval.

Turning to the Goddess Reincarnated, the Marine simply asked one thing.

"Who do you want me to rip and tear first?"

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20K words, 37 pages, and one tired-as-all-fuck author at the end of it all. There! Are you guys satisfied? Keep it up with the reviews and the follows and favs, they really motivate me to continue this thing to the very end. If you're interested, why don't you read some of my other stories and tell me what you think of them through reviews? Again, it really motivates me.

Now I know I said not next chapter that Doomguy will harm Vult but I had to do something to fuel the tension.

For those who play Doom Mods and Total Conversions of the Doom Engine, you guys might know Zan and Balth'Azar. For those who don't, Zan is from the Doom TC (Total Conversion) called Hedon, it's a really good TC with its own lore and storyline to boot while you play as the sexy blueskinned Orc-Demon hybrid Zan.

(Zan and Hedon are owned by Zan_HedonDev)

Meanwhile, Balth'Azar is from a Doom gameplay mod called Hearts of Demons – BARON. The mod puts you into the role of an unnamed (at least I think so because I can't exactly play the mod for some reason) [EDIT 05-20-2018: Now I can! And the Baron really is unnamed for all intents and purposes] Baron of Hell that has a weird hatred for anything cybernetic. Said Baron also has been betrayed by the current rulers of Hell (the Spider Masterminds) and said current rulers also have weakened the Icon of Sin, which lead it to be destroyed by Doomguy. After being sealed away for a long time, the Baron was weakened with the many runes and seals powering him gone.

(Balth'Azar and Hearts of Demons - BARON belong to Brohnesorge)

Now you guys may be wondering as to why the Baron was able to go toe-to-toe/mano e mano with Flynn. This is because I've read Hearts of Demons – BARON's backstory and I find it a really interesting thing to add.

If you recall last chapter, I decided to use the DOOM 2016 Slayer Testaments as a sort of backstory for our doomed space marine. I mean come on! Who doesn't feel all giddy and excited listening to each of them and knowing that Doomguy's been hounding Hell's eternal ass for countless millennium?

Balth'Azar knows who the Doom Slayer is but he doesn't exactly react in fear. He instead reacts in respect of sorts. As for Olga trying to command him with his name and him outright hinting that knowing a demon's true name isn't a surefire way to control him, I thought I could make things a little bit interesting with that moment.

And yes, I've added another H-Series into the mix and that is Princess Knight Catue. The reason why is because I read up a Naruto-X-Kuroinu crossover called Naruto's Assault on Kuroinu: The Order of Chivalry Strikes Back by Raptorcloak. As much as I have grown tired of Naruto fanfictions over the years, I actually find the author's idea of mixing a couple of fantasy hentai series together pretty well. So expect a few other H-Animes to appear sooner or later.