by Eric Vall
I limped over to the Unhallowed Sword, picked it up, and turned back toward my opponent.
Leviathan was still in the exact same spot he’d been standing, but he was now going ballistic. The dragon was whipping his head back and forth as he sprayed Hellfire around him without rhyme or reason. He was literally attacking blind.
Cupi was trying to counteract Leviathan’s Hellfire with her own freezing spell, but he was moving so fast she couldn’t anticipate the creature’s next move.
I needed to finish this, and I needed to finish it now.
The only thing that could do any sort of damage to the creature was the enchanted sword in my hand, but that wasn’t going to do the trick. As useful as the sword was, it could only do so much against a beast of this size.
Then I remembered the Lake of Fire. Leviathan’s severed wing had caught fire and melted in its flames just like any other regular object.
But how would we get a blind dragon to follow us into the lake?
Then it dawned on me.
We didn’t necessarily need to get Leviathan into the lake. We needed to get the lake to Leviathan.
I ran as quickly as I could back over to the scene of the battle, and I dispelled the occasional blast of Hellfire with purple flames as I moved. When I was finally close enough to my friends, I motioned for them to retreat to my position.
“What’s the deal, Jacob?” Sia asked as she arrived.
“Yeah, bro,” Todd added when he appeared, “why’re you making us run away? I was totally kicking his ass, bro.”
“We were hitting him,” Eligor explained, “but we were far from ‘kicking his ass.’ Most of our attacks were little more than punches from a toddler to Leviathan.”
Cupi was the last one to arrive, and I threw up a large protective barrier in front of us the second she was near.
“I have a plan,” I announced. “Like, a legitimate plan. One that I’m ninety percent sure will work. But I’ll need you, Cupi. You and Libidine.”
“Understood,” Sia said with a nod. “Good luck, Jacob.”
I pressed the tattoo on my shoulder, and Superbia was sent back to Earth Realm. A second later, I touched the image of the glowing violet eye on my shoulder, and the figure of Libidine appeared in a flash.
“How are things go--holy shit!” the dark-haired succubus gasped when she saw Leviathan. “Is that … ”
“It’s Leviathan,” I confirmed. “And I need your help to kill him.”
Libidine’s body was rigid with fear, but she quickly composed herself and forced her face to contort into an expression of determination.
“What are we going to do?” she asked with a trembling voice.
“You and I are going to use our telekinetic flames to bring the Lake of Fire to this oversized lizard,” I explained. “But it’s going to take everything I’ve got, and I’ll have to release my protective spell. That’s where the rest of you come in. Eligor and Cupi, once my spell is released, you’re our only line of defense against Leviathan and the literal Lake of Fire.”
Both of the blonde women looked at each other somberly, turned to me, and nodded their heads.
“Alright,” I announced. “Let’s do this. Ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Libidine admitted.
Liby and I both stepped slightly away from the group, and then we summoned green Hellfire to our hands in unison. The second we did so, our protective barrier fell, and Cupi and Eligor began to defend.
The blonde knight lifted up tendrils of brimstone with her elemental magic, while Cupi blasted the incoming fire with her freezing spell.
As much as I didn’t want to look away, I had to trust my friends. So, I closed my eyes and began to summon up all of the disgust and envy I could muster. Azazel was the creator of all this bullshit. He was the one who tortured all of those innocent Shades. He was the one who decided to have a fucking dragon guard the one thing in this Circle that could free Invidia and end him once and for all.
And where was the King of the Fourth Circle? Probably sitting in his castle, eating grapes while he checked in on Earth Realm and all of the shit I’d stolen from him. Or maybe he was at another tournament, watching a group of poor Shades brutalize each other for his own entertainment. No matter what Azazel was doing, it was too good for his sorry ass.
The whole situation was disgusting, and that was exactly what I needed right now.
I felt my body become weightless as it was lifted up into the air by the power of my spell. Then I tried to visualize the Lake of Fire in my mind. I pictured its bubbly texture, with its geysers of red and orange flames as it radiated the heat of a thousand suns. Then I pictured Leviathan, with his spiny figure and nasty white flesh.
“It’s working, bro!” I heard Todd exclaim. “There’s a portal opening up over Leviathan and everything! He’s totally not gonna know what hit him.”
I closed my eyes tighter and continued to picture the dragon in my head, along with the flames from the Lake of Fire. A power like I’d never felt before surged through my body, and the sound of the Unhallowed Sword’s vibration was now piercing through my eardrums like a shrill alarm.
“Boom shakalaka!” Todd cackled. “Here comes the thunder!”
I finally opened my eyes and saw Libidine and I had opened a portal above the creature nearly a mile in diameter.
Fire began to drip down from the emerald opening like honey on a hot day, and a few tiny drops hit Leviathan as they fell.
The dragon roared in pain, but the worst was yet to come. Seconds later, the dam seemed to burst, and a cascade of white-hot Hellfire rained down onto his position.
The only problem? His position was also ours.
“Keep holding the portal open!” Cupi commanded as she stepped forward and summoned blue Hellfire into her hands. “I’ll keep us safe.”
The blonde succubus’ body was instantly engulfed with her blue magic as she turned her head to the incoming flames. Cupi clapped her hands together, shot a large beam of her freezing spell into the air, and then spread out her hands so it formed a dome around the five of us.
At the same time, Eligor used her elemental magic to pull up tendrils of brimstone and wrap them over Cupi’s barrier. There was a loud sizzling noise as the brimstone was melted, but the makeshift barrier seemed to be holding.
Leviathan, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky.
The dragon let out an uncharacteristic squeal as the wave of fire landed directly on his flesh and seared it from his bones. He flailed and thrashed as he tried to toss the flames from his body, but it was no use. The fucker was being hit with the entire Lake of Fire. Finally, after a few seconds of agony, the creature’s howls went silent.
“Cut it off!” I ordered Libidine.
We both released our green Hellfire, and then collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
Cupi and Eligor held their ground for another few minutes, and then finally removed the barrier when the coast was clear.
“I still want to know how the fuck you do that, Cupi,” Todd whistled.
The blonde succubus shrugged. “I’ve noticed all of our powers have been growing stronger lately,” she explained. “Our connection must be at near-inseparable levels. What I did there? That was just the tip of the iceberg.”
Todd’s eyes widened as a huge grin spread across his face. He raised his tiny, clawed finger into the air and opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a shocked wheeze.
“D-did you just--” he stuttered. “Was that an ice pun?”
Cupi smiled, winked at the imp, and then turned around to survey the scene.
Leviathan was literally gone. There was not a single sign of the dragon left. No bones, no flesh, and not even any viscera or gore. His entire body had melted into an ashy puddle.
Meanwhile, the extra Hellfire from the lake had burned its way through the brimstone around us. Now, my friends and I were standing on a small island at the far side of an even smaller Lake of Fire. The h
ealed Shades were just off in the distance, and they all stared at us with their mouths hung open in awe.
“Holy fuck, we did it,” I sighed. “We killed Leviathan, and we got the Unhallowed Sword.”
“Which means--” Cupi began.
“Which means there’s only one step left,” I said as I felt the adrenaline surge in my veins. “We have to save Invidia and kill Azazel.”
I tried to stand to my feet, but the exhaustion and the pain that roared throughout my body wouldn’t allow it. I fell to my knees and propped myself up with my sword. As I looked up, I felt Cupi’s tender hand against my face.
“You’re in no condition to fight Azazel, my love,” the blonde succubus mused. “None of us are. I suggest we rest for a while, and then we can begin the final leg of our journey.”
My eyes now felt ridiculously heavy.
“Wh-where are we going to rest?” I asked. “We can’t just lie down here in the middle of the Fourth Circle. Even with Eligor’s bunker, they’re surely looking for us now.”
“We have other options,” Cupi continued. “The First Circle, perhaps?”
“Yeeeahhhh,” Todd interjected. “I second that. Plato was such a fun guy! Not to mention, I wanna go back to that sweet arcade. Plus, they have actual Earth food there. Like, real life Earth food!”
“Alright, then,” I said with a small nod. “Let’s pay our friend Plato a little visit. Then, we can figure out how to end that fucker Azazel once and for all.”
Chapter 11
“How are we going to make it back to the First Circle?” Libidine asked groggily. “I don’t know about you guys, but I can barely walk. Teleporting all that Hellfire really took it out of me. And look at you! You’re nursing your ribs like they’re broken.”
“I’ve had worse,” I joked, even though the pain in my side was now searing. “We can fast-travel, remember?”
“Bro,” Todd whispered into my ear. “I can’t even remember what I ate for breakfast this morning. I doubt she remembers all that shit back at the start of our journey.”
The imp was right. We’d only come to Hell two days ago, but it felt like we’d been down here for ages. Things like meeting Charon, staying with Plato, and fighting the Daeva were more like distant memories, no more real than the Shades that occupied the different Circles.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small, gold coin that we’d been given by the ferryman of Hell, Charon. It may have just been a small trinket, but it was one of the most powerful objects in the universe. According to Charon himself, this coin was the thing that allowed people to travel through the different Circles of Hell without issue. He also claimed the object had the ability to recall people back to the circles they had already completed.
Todd had made the snarky comment it was just like a video game, but he wasn’t wrong.
“I’m still not one-hundred percent sure how to use this thing,” I admitted as I rolled the coin around in my hand like a magician doing a sleight of hand trick. “Do I just order it to take us back, or … ”
“What about the Shades?” Cupi asked curiously and pointed to the men we had saved from the Lake of Fire. “We can’t just leave them here.”
“Unfortunately, that’s exactly what we have to do,” Eligor argued. “Shades cannot leave their respective Circles, even with the help of purple Hellfire magic.”
“It’s alright,” the blonde Shade we had rescued said somberly as they approached us. “You’ve done enough for us, my friend. We are going to stay in our Circle and spread the word about your great deeds here today. Maybe if the denizens of the Fourth Circle hear that somebody is challenging Azazel’s throne, they will be encouraged to rise up and fight back against our demonic oppressor.”
“I like this guy, Jakey,” Todd mused as he pointed to the Shade. “Viva la Revolution!”
“I don’t think we ever got your name,” I noted as I limped forward and extended my hand to the Shade.
“Well, in Azazel’s world, my name is Tybalt. Like the character in Romeo and Juliet,” he sighed. “But in my time on Earth I was known as Daniel.”
“Nice to meet you, Daniel.” I smiled as I shook the Shade’s hand. “My name is Jacob Ralston, and these are my friends Cupi, Liby, Eligor, and Todd.”
“The pleasure is all ours, Jacob Ralston,” Daniel promised. “If it were not for you, we would still be gored on that post for all eternity. We are forever indebted to you. Right, guys?”
The other five Shades let out a cheer in unison and lifted their hands into the air.
“Oooooohhhhh boy,” Todd giggled and rubbed his hands together. “We got a bunch of violent revolutionaries on our side now. This is like a dream come true!”
“We will go and tell people what happened here today,” Daniel promised. “Hopefully, the next time we see you, our numbers will be ten times what they are now.”
“I look forward to it,” I said as I gave the Shade a salute. “Until next time.”
“Until next time,” the blond shade reiterated. “Thank you, Jacob Ralston.”
Daniel turned around, and then the group of Shades began their journey across the desolate plains of the Fourth Circle.
No sooner than they had walked away, and I felt a sharp jolt of pain blast up my side. It was way more intense than it had been earlier, and I fell to my knees in agony.
“We need to get Sia down here immediately!” Libidine gasped.
“I’ll go,” Cupi suggested. “The fight is over for now. I’ll head back and get some rest before we make our final assault on Azazel’s castle.”
I nodded through my grimace and weakly reached up to my bicep. I pressed on the dark angel wings, and Cupiditas disappeared in a flash of brilliant white light. The world began to spin around me, and I quickly moved down my arm, pushed my finger against the healing hand tattoo, and then … darkness.
I remembered feeling the impact of the ground against my body as I collapsed, and all three of my friends gasping my name. I vaguely remembered the feeling of the warm blood that pooled inside my armor and ran down my leg, coating my pants with gore as it did so.
Then, there was nothing.
Maybe this was it. Maybe Levithan’s blows had done more damage than I thought. Was this where Jacob Ralston’s story came to an end? Before I could even get to my arch-nemesis or save the Sister of Envy? As my eyes fluttered shut, I started to wonder.
The next thing I knew, I felt a warming sensation overtake my whole body. It wasn’t the sort of fiery feeling that’d been aching in my ribs for so long, but rather one that was dull and comforting. Little by little, I felt my energy return to me, but I was still way too groggy to move.
“Get him to the portal,” I heard Superbia’s voice command, and then I was lifted off the ground by a pair of hands.
I felt a tiny set of mitts against my back, and I realized that must have been Todd.
Everyone was pulling their weight to get me back to safety.
The next few minutes were hazy, but I remembered seeing a purple portal open up a few feet in front of us, and then I remembered passing through its elegant glow.
Finally, I passed out completely.
“I think he’s waking up,” I heard Libidine’s voice say exasperatedly some time later.
I forced my eyes open slowly and saw I was now inside of a rocky, brimstone-covered cave. The pain in my side had completely evaporated, as had the burning cuts on my face and arms. My armor had also been peeled off me and laid in a pile across the room, and it was replaced by a simple dark robe I recognized immediately.
It was the same robe my cultists wore.
I sat up on the couch and looked around. There was a large box television directly across from the couch I was laying on, as well as a bookshelf full of books that looked to be hundreds or thousands of years old. Across the room, a small camping stove sat on a plateaued rock formation, right next to a table carved out of brimstone.
Todd, Eligor, and a man in a fancy
three-piece suit all sat at the table and chatted seriously.
Plato. We were in Plato’s cave.
Before I could process everything that was going on, Libidine wrapped her arms around my body.
“Thank heavens you’re alright!” she said through tears. “Sia healed you up, but we were all worried she was too late.”
“I’m alright, Liby,” I promised the succubus as I patted her tenderly on the back. “I wasn’t gonna die without saying goodbye.”
“Mr. Ralston!” Plato’s booming voice called from across the room. “Good to see you again. How are you feeling, my boy?”
Libidine released me from her embrace, and I stood up and stretched sleepily.
“I feel great,” I admitted. “But honestly, I’m just happy to be alive. Leviathan was no joke.”
The man with the dark beard nodded thoughtfully. “So I’d imagine,” he mused. “If we’re being honest with each other, I didn’t expect you to get past the Third Circle. No one has ever faced Vermis and lived to tell the tale. But to kill both Vermis and Leviathan? You truly are something special, Jacob.”
“So I’ve been told,” I joked. “Maybe our adventures can be the subject of your next work.”
The old philosopher let out a chuckle. “Perhaps,” he said. “Though my work has changed since my days on Earth Realm. I’m not sure you’d want to be the subject of it now.”
“You’re not writing philosophy anymore?” Todd gasped. “Everybody has to learn the great works of Play-Doh in school.”
“I’ve been in Hell for thousands of years, my little red friend.” Plato shrugged, completely ignoring the mispronunciation. “After the first thousand years or so, I started to grow tired of philosophy and political theory. Sure, I’ll always value my original works, but I’ve moved on to things a little more … accessible.”