FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Zerrex's eyes followed them as the group approached, and Sin looked up at him from where she sat on the stairs with a deep blush, mumbling: "Lord Zerrex, I... I don't want to be any trouble, I mean... you know... I... if Miss Selena is really so set on being with you, I..."

"We need you... and I trust you and your abilities. Selena is strong... but she's too headstrong to deal with the spells and tricks the Scribes might throw at us." Zerrex said quietly, then he looked around at the group, smiling slightly as Lily smiled to him, Vampire grinned, and Blake merely looked awkward. "Believe it or not, I'm taking things from a professional standpoint here instead of just picking my favorite people from the group. Sin is intelligent and powerful, Vampire can withstand anything, Lily has a personal stake in this fight and can cast spells I've never even heard of, and Blake knows the layout of the Central Tower better than anyone here."

"Selena's going to torch us, dude." Vampire said sulkily, but he was still bouncing from paw-to-paw like an excited child, his black collar snugly around his throat and his body clad in his golden ceremonial armor, complete with helm. He was grinning stupidly as Zerrex looked at him mildly, and then the demon-wolf finally got the point and cleared his throat, hopping to attention and looking at Blake as he said calmly: "Homicide, chin up. Stop looking so dour, be a bit professional, motherfucker."

"Fuck, I hate you sometimes." Blake said in an exasperated voice, and the mage smoothed out his robes before rubbing at the white rune on his cheek as it twisted a bit. "Zerrex, are you sure about this setup? Sin and Lily I can understand, but we're old war buddies... I haven't been training, and I mean..."

"I saw you freeze the Blind Girl in midair with a spell... that's all the confirmation I ever needed to know that you're still up for a challenge now and then." Zerrex said gently, and Blake smiled a bit before wincing as the Drakkaren slapped him on the shoulder, Zerrex looking back and forth over the group before he said firmly: "Now, everyone, listen up. We're going to go in first and keep things real smooth, real quiet, so that we can infiltrate towards the Scribes while I break off to deal with the Scholars, hopefully before we get the signal. After we terminate both targets, I'm going to move higher in the building... and we're going to use these to communicate."

Zerrex reached into his pocket, then produced a set of five silver coins, handing four of them out to the different members of his team. Vampire looked over his curiously as Blake tapped the coin and smiled at the rune that appeared on it, and the Drakkaren explained absently: "Selena and I did the same thing on a raid against an arena... I transplanted the idea from there. They've also got a permanency spell on them thanks to Sin, though, so don't worry about using up their battery life or-"

"Is this thing on?" Vampire asked loudly into the coin, and his voice reverberated throughout the four other tokens, earning him glares from the other demons. "What? I wanted to check and shit. Dude, are we going to crossover onto someone's magical CB frequency? And won't like, the Central Spire block magical communication?"

Blake shook his head, and Zerrex gently squeezed one of Lily's shoulders when she moved to interrupt with a slight shake of his own muzzle. This is where they get everything out... better to just let them talk things through in their own weird way... some traditions never die. "No, the Central Spire is only warded against portals and magical transportation... these will work just fine. It's the Scholars and Scribes who would block these or interfere with them, so we'll have to be careful and talk quietly. Something you might have a problem with."

"Well, fuck you too, then." Vampire said in a hurt voice, and he gnashed his long fangs at Blake before glancing over at Zerrex and leering at him. "Can I come with you and watch you fuck up the Scholars in that case? ‘Cause that's been like, a personal dream of mine forever, and you so wouldn't fuck up this little bitch's dreams, would you?"

"I would." Zerrex said sourly, and then he glanced over at Sin and Lily, adding quietly: "I'm leaving you two in charge. Sin, you can follow Lily's orders if you want, but I'd prefer you taking at least second-in-command of this little group." Loud whining from Vampire followed this, and a grunt of assent from Blake. "Blake and Vampire might not look or act like much, but they're the best soldiers I can offer you from this group."

Lily nodded, glancing over at Sin and adding quietly: "And I need your knowledge of the Tower and the Scribes and Scholars... you've been around since the beginning of Hell, and I could truly use your strength in this situation, Lady Sin... the last time I headed an attack on Master Scribe Vine, I ended up allowing him to get away and with far too many casualties. I can't allow that to happen again."

Sin shifted awkwardly, but then she finally sighed and nodded, looking down and murmuring: "I suppose I can try and do my best, but... I don't want to promise anything. War isn't my battlefield, not anymore... I tend to side with the losing side." A pause and a deep blush as she looked over them all, stammering: "N-Not that... I mean... I have faith in all of you, I just..."

"It's alright, Sin." Zerrex said quietly, and then he cleared his throat and looked over the others, saying mildly: "I think it's time for us to move out ourselves or at least get serious. We need to be in by the time the signal comes, after all."

The others nodded, and for the next ten minutes, they armed up, prepared incantations and other abilities, and shaved off unnecessary equipment. Vampire was left wearing the bottom half of his Royal Guard armor and carrying a long, black spear, and Lily once again took up the soul-sucking blade as Zerrex ran a hand over Blackheart. The sword wouldn't be enough to kill the Princess alone, but the Drakkaren was sure it would be more than enough to destroy her body... and he didn't dare take a sword like the Executioner's Saber into battle against her. A soul like hers could rip my body apart from the inside out if I accidently gave her an in...

They portalled together into the Hall of Knowledge... and then immediately formed a line of four as things almost instantly went awry. Instead of coming into a businesslike hall, they stepped into a mostly-empty room with roughly a dozen Royal Guards standing armed with heavy glaives. Three Rakshasas prowled behind the soldiers, one behind every four guards, all of them wearing purple robes... and then a Dius wearing a leather wrap around her breasts that went over one shoulder, then dropped down to wrap around her waist and tie at one hip faded slowly into existence.

She stepped forwards, her face mostly masked by a silver helm with cuts for her horns and eyes in it, and she rose the twin sickles she carried, saying coldly: "The Princess asks you to surrender now, Zerrex Narrius and Lilith Raithe. You are both to stand trial for high treason, and all who stand with you are to be executed and... Sin?"

"Sorry, Laurel." Sin stepped forwards and half-bowed, and a moment later the Dius staggered backwards, blue electricity flickering over her body before she faded back out of existence, and Sin's eyes glowed as she looked over towards the nearest group, murmuring: "Please don't draw the combat out."

Zerrex nodded and slapped Blake on the right shoulder, who slapped his hand against Vampire's bicep in turn, and the three broke apart towards different groups as Lily dropped to a kneel and began to chant quickly, runes crackling with static spreading over the floor of the Hall of Knowledge and Sin chipped in a word here and there to the chant. The Rakshasas stumbled backwards, and one of them began a counterspell, trying to break the security ward throughout the Hall that had been activated.

Vampire yelped as a glaive ran through his stomach, and then he grinned widely and stabbed his own dark spear forwards into the face of the offending Royal Guard, before stepping forwards as his insides locked tightly around the glaive. He spun around, whirling the dark spear around his head at the side time and sending Royal Guards staggering backwards in shock, one of them cursing as the wide blade of the glaive tore a slash through his arm before Vampire tore the polearm out of his gut with a cocky grin. "What, you thought your old pal Vampire was gonna be a pushover, you fucking losers?"

Blake, meanwhile, had no weapons on him, and he hung his head as two Royal Guards easily snagged his arms to jerk him forcefully down to his knees, restraining him... and a moment later, his head rose, his eyes burning with malevolence as he grabbed the wrists of the demons that had bound him. They both howled in agony and surprise, trying to tear away... but it was like they had bound to Blake a moment before their bodies simply burnt away to ash and dust, leaving only their skeletons standing stupidly for a moment before both fell, and one of the other Royal Guards immediately turned and fled.

Zerrex had already torn his way through the other enemy group, Blackheart in his left hand and a long blade extending over the right, the Rakshasa currently impaled on this last. It twitched a few times, spasming and breathing hard as it clutched at the blade... then Zerrex brought his foot up and kicked it off, and the demon fell backwards with a groan, shivering once before its eyes rolled up in its head and it slumped. The Drakkaren glanced over to the others, watching as Blake tackled the Rakshasa and used the powers that had earned him the nickname ‘Homicide' to turn it to dust, and Vampire threw thew his glaive through another as a Royal Guard ran for one of the doors, barreling through with enough foresight to slam it behind himself. It doesn't matter... somehow they knew we were coming, anyway...

Lily relaxed and stood up, the antimagic ward vanishing from beneath their feet a few moments afterwards as she shook her head slowly, and Blake walked over holding onto the wrist of a Royal Guard that moved jerkily with him. She frowned a bit, and Zerrex looked over at the small canine male, asking curiously: "Get anything out of him yet?"

"I thought we'd do it the old-fashioned way." Blake replied mildly, rubbing at a bloodstain on his robes and looking uncomfortable: he'd always been like Tinny, though, needing to distance himself from his abilities and the fact he was killing people. "Where's Vampire?"

"Messing around, as usual." Zerrex muttered, watching the demonic lupine gleefully chasing around a Royal Guard through the shelves, his spear waving back and forth through the air. "Vampire, either kill him or get over here!"

"Spoilsports." Vampire muttered loudly, and a moment later there was a crash and a fleshy thud, followed by a scream and another crash. Several seconds passed, and Vampire finally came strolling down through the shelves, absently licking at his muzzle as he said mildly: "Tastes like chocolate."

Blake rolled his eyes, then he blinked as Sin reached a hand up and quietly touched the forehead of the Royal Guard, closing her own irises. She drew back a moment later with a wince, then said quietly: "Master Scribe Vine knows we're here... someone from our army informed him."

Zerrex cursed under his breath, then gave a nod to Blake. The canine winced, but a moment later he sighed as the Royal Guard collapsed, its body burning away to ashes and embers as he murmured: "And dust-to-dust. What's our next move?"

"We continue forwards as planned... it's too late to back out now." Zerrex replied quietly, shaking his head slowly. "We'll have to trust in Sabnock, and in the arrogance of the Princess... Sin, who was that who was leading the attack against us?"

"Laurel, a low-ranking member of the Bourgeois who was probably promised power and a position greater than a place on the village council... she's talented, but unlucky." Sin shook her head quietly. "She tried to Fade and keep her body between the ethereal and physical planes, in order to make herself harder to damage... but I just sent her wandering through the ethereal world for now to get rid of her."

"Alright." Zerrex paused, then looked around at them all, saying firmly: "We split up here. I'll take the direct route towards the Scholars, and Blake can lead you the indirect way... either way, it might... what?"

"It might not be that easy... as you know, the doorways are all portals, they lead to different rooms than they're actually connected to." Blake said urgently, frowning around at the group and rubbing the back of his head slowly. "There's a Shuffle system in place... every few minutes, the doors are closing and changing what room they lead to, to make things more confusing for the people attempting to make an attack like we are."

"Oh, fucking brilliant. We're in a fucking catacombs already." Vampire muttered under his breath, and then he glowered over at Zerrex. "You better take someone with you, Cap'n. You could stumble onto the Scribes yourself."

The Drakkaren shrugged, looking mildly around at them all. "As far as I'm concerned, this changes nothing. We're going to arm up and move out as if this was all part of the plan, understood? Except now it's first-come, first-serve... if you come across the Scholars, you have permission to engage and destroy."

"Except why do I feel that's not going happen?" Lily asked quietly, reaching out to stroke the Drakkaren's face, and she smiled faintly at him even as he made a face and pulled away, looking embarrassed. "You're such a child. But alright, Zerrex... I trust you."

"I do too." Sin said quietly, blushing and glancing down as she murmured softly: "The rooms have to have some sort of pattern to them... if you can figure that out, you'll be able to find your way through the labyrinth no problem."

Blake nodded, then chipped in: "And once the Scholar's Tree is destroyed, the Central Spire will lose a lot of its magical powers. The Scholars and Scribes both also are responsible for regulating the wards of the Central Spire... killing them may damage some of the wards throughout the building."

"I have confidence in you too!" Vampire hollered, flapping his arms at his sides and glowering around at the others. "Don't let these sons of bitches horn in on me! You fuckers, you all suck, making me look bad and shit... I trust you, Cap'n, go and kick ass and we'll take care of those butt-ugly, shitalicious Scribes!"

The others stared at Vampire, and then Zerrex rolled his eyes as he turned away and headed down the shelves, saying dryly over his shoulder: "Inspiring, really. Blake, watch out for Vampire and don't let him do anything stupid. Sin, Lily, good luck and remember that we can talk through the coins." A long pause as the black wolf looked after him with wide eyes and a whimper, and Zerrex finally simply smiled and tapped his throat gently.

Vampire blushed and stood on one paw as he leaned on his spear, and the reptile rolled his eyes as he continued down through the shelves-upon-shelves of books, making a face as he approached the door at the rear of the room and murmuring: "My operation, my responsibility... I hope this isn't already going south..."

He shook his head slowly as he reached the large, arched door, then he shoved it open and stared into a room with checkered black-and-white tiles, with a massive skeleton of some ancient creature wandering around in the center of the room... and Zerrex carefully stepped inside before the door slammed behind him. The reptile cursed under his breath as the huge skeleton turned towards him, but it didn't do anything, only peering at him with blue-fire eyes.

A moment later, it snorted and turned away, ignoring him as it went back to patrolling... and Zerrex admittedly felt almost disappointed before frowning a bit as the thing halted again after tracing out an L on the floor. It turned, then walked around in a tight circle before adding another line... and the reptile mumbled: "Well, one thing's for sure, you can't spell."

The gigantic skeleton huffed at him again, and Zerrex rolled his eyes before walking carefully by it, stepping over its bony tail when it turned. He reached the back door and made a face upon finding it locked, then he kicked it irritably before asking: "Hey, dinosaur, you got a key for this thing?"

The giant skeleton thing looked at him again, then shook its head before whining as Zerrex drew his stony, warped arm back, the remaining scales peeling away as the rocky, terrible texture pushed out. The reptile looked up at it sourly, but it only grumbled at him before turning away... and Zerrex rolled his eyes before punching in the lock with a loud crunch.

He kicked the door open, and stared at a jail beyond, with two massive metal golems standing guard, both sparking with electricity. One of them immediately staggered towards Zerrex, but the reptile noted the large magical crystal set into one of its shoulders, and he leapt forwards, smashing his bony fist into this.

It exploded, and the golem staggered backwards the electrical current vanished... but the creature still swung at him, so Zerrex shoved it hard backwards into its fellow. It collided with a loud clink, and lightning flowed over both of the strange-shaped creatures before they exploded into shrapnel, knocking the Drakkaren sprawling with a loud curse.

He sat up, then winced as the door slammed shut behind him, picking chunks of metal out of his body as he flexed to force out the other pieces. The reptile made a face, muttering to himself as he looked over the remains of the golems, and he paused to take a long look around the place he was standing in; murky, dark, wet, and gloomy. From the black, worn-down stones, he was guessing it might be beneath the enormous Central Spire: perhaps near the aqueduct, from all the water and moss on the walls.

The reptile made his way forwards, ducking carefully through an archway of bent metal bars and stepping towards a single jail cell... before he frowned as he heard a quiet panting ahead and a whimper through the darkness. He paused and focused, his eyes adjusting as he looked back and forth, walking slowly down the long stone hall and pausing at the metal bars that blocked the way into the cell.

Something threw itself at the door, yelling and begging for mercy, and Zerrex staggered backwards at the white-faced demon that was staring out at him... and a moment later it pushed into the bars and turned to smoke, fading out of existence. A wraith... they must be unable to leave these chambers...

The reptile carefully pushed the stone door open, and he stepped out into a room with a rusted red door and several long-dead bodies, including a decomposing form with one arm... and a moment later, the corpse stirred and jerked against the bonds that were holding it in place, the shackles around its only remaining arm clanking loudly as it hissed through a silver mask in the shape of a falcon's head: "You, who are... Lord Zerrex..."

"Prince Memnon?" Zerrex stared in shock, dropping to a kneel... but the shriveled, rotted figure in a robe spun around and scampered into a corner. Zerrex could see warped and humped black flesh through the tears in the robes, as if all the life force had been sucked out of him... and it probably was... he's... not alive, not anymore. "What happened? Did the Princess do this to you?"

"Lamias and soulsucking weapons... but this place is deep beneath Hell's soil and cursed. I think if you broke through a wall, you'd be inside the Undersea..." Memnon's breath rattled in and out, and then he turned, his yellowed eyes staring at Zerrex as he whispered: "Free me, please... please help me..."

Zerrex carefully stepped forwards, checking the shackles... but they were glowing with purple runes, and he shook his head slowly, murmuring quietly: "These shackles are directly connected with someone else's life force... they'll only break when they die-"

"Then you must kill them!" Memnon hissed, leaping upwards and startling the Drakkaren... before slumping back against the wall as Zerrex stepped away, the High Prince beginning to cry quietly. "I... I don't want the Vampires feeding on me anymore, or any of the other terrible beasts in the Princess's employ... I was weak and foolish, she captured me after I sided with Az'Iriel... but look there! Look..."

He shakily pointed one warped finger towards the bodies in the corner... and Zerrex turned before staring at a rusted, broken facemask and a pile of damaged armor he recognized all too well... and a moment later, the corpse beneath this opened an eye, before sighing quietly... and a chill ran down the Drakkaren' spine as he realized the real Az'Iriel had long ago been drained of strength... and cut into kibble... "Oh... you... I don't recognize you..."

"He's Lord Zerrex, Az'Iriel! The one who killed the imposter of you!" hissed Memnon, and he rattled his bonds as Az'Iriel closed his eyes with a disconsolate mutter. "Show some fortitude!"

"Fuck you, I'm in forty-seven different pieces." Az'Iriel said bad-naturedly, and the black-fleshed, rotted demon made a face, wiggling his melted head back and forth. He was so badly damaged Zerrex could barely tell if it was his face or a broken soccer ball... and a moment later the demon mumbled: "You, Zerrex. Thank you, then, for killing the imposter... but the spirits of myself and Memnon are trapped here. All either of us wish for now is death... but we can't leave this place, and serve as an everlasting snack for the monsters that come down here sometimes... and the Princess herself, of course.

"But it's not the Princess I knew once, gentle Tir'Vanna... now she's become someone... something... else." Az'Iriel sighed raggedly and whispered: "Beware her abilities... and beware her many agents. They're everywhere in this Hell..."

"Run, Lord Zerrex, run!" Memnon howled suddenly, and Zerrex leapt, trying to swallow against the fear building in his body even as Memnon's broken facemask fell off, the bare, cracked skull of the creature glaring out at him as he whispered: "The prowlers are coming..."

Zerrex didn't want to know what that meant, so he turned towards the closest door and tore it open, only to stagger out onto a balcony high above a theater... and a moment later the door slammed behind him, leaving the Drakkaren stranded. He stared down at the stage below, the blinked as he saw Blake and Vampire fighting their way across it towards a Gigataur... and meanwhile, Sin and Lily were attempting to hold back several mages.

Lily took a spear to the shoulder, and Zerrex cursed, stepping forwards as he saw Vampire take a hard strike from the Gigataur's hammer next to fall limp... before the Drakkaren froze as he was about to jackknife the balcony. He stared at the imperfections in the image below... and a moment later, he realized he was looking into water... and that inside the deep pool circled hungry monstrosities with jagged teeth and glowing yellow eyes...

Zerrex backed quickly off as the pool turned black, and several mermaids broke free of the surface, hissing as the water began to dance and twist around their bodies... but Zerrex had already jerked the door open and leapt back through it, staggering into a large, open hallway with several display cases, and he made a disgusted face as the door slammed behind him, muttering: "Wonderful. I'm in the hallway off the Hall of Knowledge. I hope the others are doing better than I am..."

Outside, the signal had been sounded several minutes ago: a demon-enhanced rocket had been fired into a military base in Wrath that set off a stampede of Infernal Dragons that were being trained, causing untold havoc as they tore through the buildings in search of the aggressor and trampling any soldier stupid enough to try and calm them down.

However, they had been expected: even as they portalled into position, they had been bound and their magic sealed for a few moments by mages... but Sabnock and several of the other skilled magicians had broken the binding with the help of the mortal technology Zerrex referred to as a ‘tank.' As Sabnock quickly discovered, one well-aimed shell solved many different problems at once.

Using her abilities, she had built up massive walls of ice surrounding the bottom of the Central Spire, grouping her forces inside of this. The walls had strategically-placed holes throughout them for archers to settle in and shoot through, along with soldiers equipped with rifles... and several enlarged slots at the bottom for the tanks. Sabnock was currently facing the northern front, and had given the order to weaken the enemy forces with magic before sending in their infantry, despite how crowded it was getting inside the ice walls.

The battle was already heated, and in more than a pun sense: after all, mages were attempting to melt her ice walls with fireballs and catapults loaded with boulders of molten slag, but the other Ice Devils were more than capable of restoring any damage down by the fire while she kept her focus on weakening the enemy. Every wound she dealt to a soldier was fatal, and she had the entire northern front in chaos with two combat abilities even Selena found impressive: the ability to escalate any argument into a serious fight with a single look, and the power to infect wounds and stop them from healing. It left the officers in chaos, screaming orders at their soldiers while the soldiers howled back, many of them bursting into confused rage.

Selena herself was standing on top of a tank, increasing the explosive power of the shells while guiding fire attacks back into the ranks of the mages, acting as Sabnock's support. She had been wounded by a silver arrow to the arm, but mostly she was cursing herself for her weakness as she tried to target demon officers, shouting orders and passing on others from Sabnock as she boiled with fury. This is why Zerrex didn't pick you... because you're so fucking pathetic...

On the eastern side, Carmen was standing on top of the ice barrier with a group of Amazons, all of them equipped with bows made from the bones of fallen enemies and firing a terrible hail of arrows down into the charging soldiers. At the base of the frigid wall, she was supported by Alastor, who was dressed in full body armor with his Wentaku advisor close at hand, the canid snarling as he smashed soldiers away with a Smiting Rod like they were toys, standing in a large archway leading out onto the field that was already littered with bodies.

To the west, Ixin had entranced most of an entire battalion with his flute, driving them insane and sending them charging back into the enormous mess of soldiers surrounding the Central Spire, while those who resisted were mown down by rifle fire as the Drakkaren smiled grimly, his body tense and serious. This is getting nasty... they better fucking hurry up, I can already feel the weight of the Scribes damping down my magic...

Finally, to the south, Amiglion was cutting down entire waves of enemies with Grim, communicating with his scythe even as he pounded other enemy soldiers with dark magic. Far above him, White stood alone on top of a tall pillar of ice, firing bullet after bullet into head after head, accompanied by an angelic Naganatine who floated beside him and muttered advice to him every now and then.

For now, they were holding back the enemy... and as Sabnock nocked another arrow in to her bow, she made a face as the light snow falling around the Central Spire twisted into a heavier blizzard, watching as Wendigos and their uglier, stupider Yeti cousins staggered forwards through the hail of snow in control collars, howling and wailing. We're completely surrounded, and they're forcing us to use up most of our ammunition on grunts and monsters first... we don't stand a chance as long as the Scholars and Scribes are in control of Hell... hurry up, Lord Zerrex...

Inside the Central Spire, Vampire was scouting ahead down a long stone hallway filled with traps, absently pulling silver darts out of his body as Lily asked Blake slowly: "Are you sure this is okay? I mean... he can't be completely invincible, can he?"

"We used to do this sort of thing with him when we were alive, too..." Blake paused as a massive sawblade spun out of the wall and tore through Vampire's side, knocking him over... and Vampire immediately began to flail and squawk in fury and pain, yelling something about a switch. "He doesn't like fire or slag too much... but everything else he seems to be fine with."

Vampire crawled to his feet with a groan, his guts weaving back together as half his stomach sealed tightly closed... and then he staggered forwards and pressed a large button on the wall, and there was a loud buzzing before shutters closed and the active traps receded into the walls. Blake smiled at Sin and Lily, then walked with the two females down the hall as Vampire said mildly: "See, no problem! Now, I think I deserve a blowjob."

Lily smiled, exposing a pair of long, thin fangs, and Vampire's jaw fell agape before he coughed and mumbled: "You know, I think it'd be more professional to just keep going..."

He turned and pushed open the stone door at the end of the hallway... then his eyes narrowed as he stepped inside, leaning against the door as they faced no less than sixteen Scribes, all of them dressed in white silk robes with long red scarves around their necks... and behind them, sitting in a throne on top of a raised platform at the back of the massive, circular room, was Master Scribe Vine.

The black-furred lion stood slowly, rubbing his hand through his flowing, obsidian mane that turned to silver at the tips. He wore the same long white robe, but a purple stole hung around his shoulders instead, and he smiled coolly as he touched an empty sleeve: Lily had taken the lower half of his left arm from him the last encounter they'd had with the gaunt lion. "Lilith... and Sin? What a surprise... but in the name of the Princess, you shall be destroyed."

"We'll see about that." Lily said coldly, as she strode through the door, followed by Sin and Blake... and she grinned a bit as the door slammed shut and vanished, leaving them standing in a massive, catherdralesque room lined with marble archways that stared out onto different scenes from outside the Central Spire all around Hell, the Scribes all still seated at a huge, donut-shaped golden table. None of them moved even as they approached... and Lily slowly looked upwards towards the massive statue of the Princess standing upside down in the middle of the ceiling, around which four Scribes were gathered and muttering- "Sin!"

Sin glanced up, then she rose a hand and murmured a quick spell, and the statue of the Princess exploded, knocking the four Scribes from the ceiling and sending their lifeless bodies crashing to the ground as chunks of stone and lifeless crystal hailed down around them. Lily winced, then Vampire leapt forwards and drove his spear through the back of another Scribe with a snarl. "Fuckers!"

The other fifteen Scribes immediately pushed their seats backwards in synchronicity... and Blake grabbed Sin's wrist. She looked down at him in surprise, and then her back arched as she let out a cry, and Vampire turned with a look of shock as Blake clenched his eyes shut, saying coldly: "Don't make this harder than it has to be, Vampire... I know, I know you all trusted me, but... I like it here, it's peaceful in Hell, and I don't want you or even the Captain to interfere with the way things have gone... I trust the Princess... I told you guys so many times how impossible it is to stand against her..."

He shivered a bit as Sin looked down at him sadly, despite the pain writhing through her body... and Lily snarled, looking back and forth as Vine stood up, looking at the golden-scaled demoness and saying softly: "You have lost. Surrender, or we'll be forced to kill Sin and restrain you both for later judgment by the Princess."

Lily looked back and forth... and then Vampire lowered his head, murmuring: "I expected a lot better from you, Homicide..."

"My name isn't Homicide!" Blake shouted, snarling and stepping towards Vampire... and a moment later the butt of the wolf's spear shot into his nose, the fellow dark-furred canine grunting in surprise before Vampire spun around and lashed him across the face with the head of the spear.

Blake was knocked to the ground even as a similar cut formed on Sin's face... but she staggered the other way before turning to face the Scribes, shoving a hand out towards them with a snarl and sending the enormous golden table flying backwards, crushing five of the Scribes back against the wall and pinning another two like bugs, Vine wincing and covering his face... but was left safe inside the empty circle of the table, the lion snarling before staring in horror as Lily charged forwards, lashing two sharp slashes through the two Scribes in her way as the remaining staggered back and forth with screams of agony.

Vampire, meanwhile, was snarling, his body expanding slightly as Blake threw off his robes and revealed a grey bandolier beneath latching into a chain belt, the dog drawing a pair of knives from the back of this as he swayed back and forth in the black silk clothes. At the same time he shifted his feet, and a set of fork-like spikes popped out of the toe of the boots he was wearing as he brought the knives up in front of his face, the rune on his cheek glowing red as spikes pushed out of his knees and elbows. "Don't be stupid, Vampire... we need people like you, even like the Captain... but we have to kill those disloyal to the Princess first, and he has to be made to see the way the Princess does..."

The dog lunged forwards, but Vampire stabbed twice outwards at his skull with the long spear, and Blake ducked before cursing, catching the the pole of the wolf's weapon between the thin daggers and straining as Vampire held him in place, the wolf snarling: "Even if that means breaking him? Fuck off, traitor!"

Vampire stepped forwards and kicked Blake hard in the face, knocking him sprawling before the wolf stabbed the spear down into his crotch, and the dog howled in agony, his eyes bulging before the larger canid tore the weapon free and glared down at him, Blake slowly crawling backwards as a puddle of blood spread out from his groin. He stared in horror down at himself, then up at Vampire as his former teammate said cruelly: "Stick around, I got a job to do."

Three Scribes were trying to pin down Sin, purple chains wrapped tight around her body as she struggled against them, her eyes glowing before she snarled and seized one of the chains on her forearm, and it suddenly lengthened, shooting out and wrapping tightly around one of the Scribes before squeezing him viciously, and a moment later he exploded into chunks of gore that sent the other Scribes scrambling away in horror as the purple chains shattered around her body. Sin immediately held a hand up, her eyes glowing violet as she muttered a spell, and one of the fleeing Scribes burst into blue flame for a moment before simply collapsing, his eyes glassy and mouth drooling.

The fleeing Scribe was quickly cut down by Lily as he got between her and Vine, who was walking slowly backwards. He was accompanied by two other Scribes who were casting different protective spells over their leader, who had a burning ball of blue light in one hand. His other arm hadn't been restored fully, but instead was skeletal and pulsed with terrible light, the lion panting hard and looking back and forth as he made his way towards a window... and then he cursed as Sin cast a spell and heavy shutters of crystal burst into being over the archways, shouting: "Kill her!"

The four Scribes that had been focused on halting either Sin or Vampire from interfering immediately turned their attention to Sin, two of them warping the air around her to trap her body inside strange, thick bubbles, but before either of the others could react, Vampire leapt forwards, spearing through one before tossing it to the side and smashing the other to the ground with a punch as he tore his weapon free, spinning it around before stabbing through the neck of the knocked-down opponent.

The other two Scribes lost their concentration, the Hive Mind effect kicking in, and Sin tore free of the strange, solidified air before using that strange blue fire on one of them, the Scribe falling dead as Vampire seized his compatriot and bit down into his neck... and the demon's body bulged and twisted, Vampire's eyes closing in delight as blood flowed down the body of the Scribe, the creature's features steadily paling before a lifeless husk fell to the ground. Vampire wiped his maw with a loud sigh as he looked towards Vine... and then he was knocked flat by several spikes of silvery metal and pinned by them.

Sin turned towards him, and a moment later she was trapped inside a massive bubble of glass inside a circle of glowing white runes, one of the remaining Scribes kneeling and the other standing with both palms out towards her. She pounded uselessly on the surface of the barrier she was trapped inside, but to no avail... and Lily snarled, taking the Executioner's Saber in both hands as Vine stepped forwards past these last two survivors, raising his other hand and creating a gold staff tipped with a large blue stone.

She looked over her shoulder at Blake, who was crawling slowly towards Vampire, the wolf struggling against the spikes in his body... and then she turned her eyes back to Vine as he slowly approached, his staff raised above his head. His other skeletal hand flexed at his side, and the lion's eyes burned as he whispered: "I know everything, Queen Lilith. I see into the future, and the past, and know of the war at present outside these walls... but they will soon be destroyed. There are too few rebels... and too many loyal demons serving the Princess... you hold in your hands a weapon gifted to you by your husband, but it is made no stronger because of his pathetic affection for you..."

"I have all the strength I need to kill you!" Lily snarled, and she leapt forwards, swinging the sword downwards... but Vine easily blocked it with his staff before striking her in the gut with a blast of force, sending her sprawling before he pointed the staff at her, and her armor shattered and fell to pieces, Lily scrambling backwards and back to her feet as she trembled hard, trying to remember everything she'd been taught. "I... I'm not scared, no matter what you do to me!"

"You are." Vine said coldly, and he slammed the butt of the staff against the ground, a cage of silvery metal snapping into being around Lily, and she cursed as it fell over and knocked her to the ground, the lion walking forwards to look down at her with contempt. "What can you do against me, against this level of power, Lilith?"

"Only this." Lily grabbed the back of the metal cage, narrowing her eyes as she recited the Reshape spell, and the metal bars in front of her twisted and tore apart, shooting up into Vine's stomach. The lion leaned forwards with a grunt of pain, his body twitching before Lily leapt up and swung her sword hard outwards, and Vine's head was lopped cleanly off his body before she stabbed it through his chest, dark lighting shooting out of his body and turning the golden blade black, Lily pushing hard forwards before her eyes widened at the sight of Blake reaching greedily out to grasp Vampire, his hand burning with raw power...

And both remaining Scribes were blown backwards as Sin spread her arms and released a raw shockwave of power, their spells defeated. Blake cursed, sent rolling backwards as Vampire cackled despite the agony at the forceful blast ripping his wounds wider from where he was impaled on the silvery spikes. As the dog forced himself to his feet in a last-ditch effort to tackle Vampire and bring him down, Sin pointed at first the metal cage, and then at Blake... and a metal bar tore off it and shot through the demonic dog's stomach as he leapt forwards, and he was knocked out of the air with a scream of pain.

He crashed onto his back, twitching a few times as Lily drew her sword free from Vine... and the golden blade glowed with energy as Vine's corpse fell backwards. The remaining Scribes grasped at their skulls for a moment before both blinked out of existence, their empty clothes holding their shapes for a moment before collapsing, and Vampire groaned as the silver spikes holding him to the ground finally vanished, standing up and kicking his spear to his hand as he muttered: "Little piece of shit. I'll show him."

He strode forwards as Blake spasmed on the ground... and without further ado, Vampire stabbed the blade down through the dog's breast and drove it firmly down into the ground with a grunt, his muscles flexing even as he muttered: "Rest in peace and don't come back, huh? We don't need your kind around here." A long pause, and then he added quietly: "I'll say sorry for you to the Cap'n."

Vampire drew his spear free after a moment, and Blake spasmed before his head lolled back, his body bursting into dark flame as Lily and Sin looked at each other, before the female shuddered and said quietly: "I think we better find a way out of here... we're only half done our job here, we have to live up to Zerrex's expectations and help with the next part of the fight while he puts an end to the Princess..."

"For the Captain!" Vampire shouted, pumping his spear in the air, and even Sin smiled a bit as he stomped towards the nearest now-dark window and kicked it in, revealing a long, stone passage behind the archway. "Move it or lose it, tits and assholes first!"

Zerrex cursed as he ended up back in what he termed the dinosaur room after a jolly romp through most of the first floor, his eye twitching as he made his way towards the first door he had come in through and tore it open, to stare in shock at the massive cavern beyond that housed the Scholars... and he cursed under his breath before charging inside, jerking Blackheart off his back as the energy shield beneath the tree glowed bright purple, the Scholars clustered inside and all of them whispering to each other.

The reptile concentrated as he charged forwards, ignoring the Royal Guards charging in from all sides of the room towards him as he ran straight for the shield, and as a minotaur leapt in front of him with a huge battle-axe already drawn back, Zerrex leapt forwards and kicked off its head, knocking it flat as he leapt straight towards the shield of energy, his sword glowing blue with power before he stabbed it firmly down into the barrier.

Blue cracks spread throughout the purple, and Zerrex snarled as it turned into first a spiderweb, and then a cloud of blue, growing like a haze of blood in the water as Royal Guards stopped and stared... then began to retreat as the shield rippled as if liquid before cracking like glass.

It shattered a moment later, Zerrex falling as massive shards of blue and purple energy shot past him, hailing down into the Royal Guards behind him as the reptile leapt forwards and slashed Blackheart immediately into the stomach of the nearest levitating Scholar, cutting it in two halves before he turned and threw his huge blade into the chest of another, knocking it flat with a rusty scream.

The Drakkaren sprinted forwards, at the same time clawing open the chest of a Scribe in a white cap as he passed it and sending it crashing to the ground, before he tore his sword free from the broken skeleton of the Scholar, and then he stared in horror as two other Scholars vomited out white, floating spirits that shot greedily towards the Drakkaren, covered in glowing white hooks and barbs. The reptile glanced to the side as Royal Guards stormed into the Scholar's library, and the Drakkaren immediately fled towards them.

The Guards stared in shock, and then one of them yelped as Zerrex snagged him and threw him into the path of the spirits. They almost immediately set about devouring the goat demon, spinning around him and eating the skin off his body first, their long hooks tearing deep gouges in his flesh without ever damaging his armor as the other soldiers yelled and panicked, fleeing as Zerrex leapt past the soldier and ran for the remaining Scholars.

One of them leaned down and touched the ground, and a pillar of magma exploded out of the earth as another scholar created walls of flowing water over the bookshelves... and Zerrex grinned, leaping towards the nearest bookshelf and overturning it with a grunt despite the pain it caused him inwardly to destroy any literature, and the four surviving Scholars howled, immediately dispelling their own magic as several Scribes in caps hurried to upright the shelf manually. Zerrex cut one of these in half almost immediately, then smashed the other one with a hard slap of his sword into one of the Scholars, and the levitating skeleton fell in slow motion.

Zerrex winced as a blast of fire caught him in the side, cursing and staggering before his foot caught in a crack in the floor and he fell over. He shook his head as the Scribe that had blasted him quickly uprighted the shelf, and the lizard ducked under the rising shelf to ram the Scribe over with a shoulder charge before trampling him, the shelf falling back to the ground as the creature's concentration was broken. More howls rose up from the Scholars, and Zerrex winced as purple chains began to wrap around him before he stabbed Blackheart into the ground and sent out a shockwave of energy.

The Scholars were stumbled, even if they were unhurt, and the Drakkaren snarled before creating a sphere of dark energy, hurling it at one of them. It contacted and exploded in a blast of dark fire... and Zerrex stared in horror as the Scholar crumbled away to ashes, the other scholars catching quickly alight with dark fire and screaming as they panicked and the room went up in flames.

The Drakkaren turned and smashed his way through a bookcase, parchment and papers flying in every direction as Royal Guards fled with yells of terror, and the lizard spun around halfway through the cavern, staring as the massive Scholar's Tree caught aflame. The roots twisted and the tree itself moved and bucked, hissing and groaning before the fires began to settle down... and Zerrex snapped his sword back into the magnetic holder on his back, flexing his hands before creating a sphere of dark energy between them and muttering: "So you don't like this, huh?"

He leaned back, then threw the sphere into the trunk of the half-tree hanging from the ceiling... and it exploded in a blast of dark energy, a shockwave tearing through the tree and sending chunks of wood and bark sailing down as the entire structure twisted and jerked back and forth. Roots cracked and tore out of the ground, and the tree bent and twisted, Zerrex staring as the bottom of the tree slowly rose until it faced him... and dirt and branches fell away to reveal a staring face that gaped open, sockets glaring out at him as the tree rumbled: "You dare defy us? You dare to destroy the cornerstone of Hell? You-"

The Drakkaren slung a sphere into the twisted down, unhappy-mouth of the face, and it exploded deep inside the tree's broken trunk, shattering it and sending the bottom half of the tree crashing to the ground. The face groaned as the roots scrabbled at the ground, before it burst into flames... and Zerrex muttered: "I do."

Above, the tree rumbled... and a moment later it fell apart in chunks of rotten wood and dead leaves... and Zerrex stared up at the hole it left in the ceiling before he smiled to himself and flexed his arms, his wings spreading out of his back and flickering in and out of existence as he murmured quietly: "My job's just getting started..."

The reptile flapped his wings firmly, flying upwards an through the hole in the ceiling into a long, dark passage filled with vines and wires... and he continued to flap his wings steadily, flying up through the shadows and ignoring the faces in the walls and the burning runes he passed as shadows of terrible creatures passed over him. He stayed focused, determined, and cold in the face of fear, and he thought whatever part of his tower was alive respected that as he passed without problem, until he winced as he saw the top hole in the tower had been covered by a shield of translucent energy.

The Drakkaren covered his face as he shot through this barrier, and both of his wings were torn off as the reptile flopped into the air, then crashed down onto his back, rolling once and colliding hard with a large tombstone beneath an apple tree... and the reptile groaned before looking up at the sound of clapping, and staring in shock at none other than the Princess, standing on the other side of the covered hole in the ground with an Amazon guard holding a massive spear on either side of her. She tilted her head down towards the Drakkaren as Zerrex leapt up to his feet, snarling at her as she stood in soft, false sunlight in the shadows of two large oaks... and she leaned forwards, saying softly: "You're a fool, Lord Zerrex... but if you think you have the strength to take me on... then come to me. I'll be waiting for you in the Throne Room..."

"I'll kill you now!" Zerrex shouted, and the reptile jumped towards her... but the Princess vanished into thin air as the Drakkaren landed on the energy shield, the strange translucence rippling as if he was standing upon water as he looked back and forth in shock. The Amazons had disappeared, too... and Zerrex clenched his rocky hand into a fist, looking back and forth as a voice whispered in his mind: Like I said, you're a fool... run, Lord Zerrex, run as fast as you can... but you may regret it when you find me at the top of the tower...

The Drakkaren snorted, then he winced as a shudder ran through the Central Spire, stumbling a bit to the side in surprise. He shook his head quickly, closing his mind off to the Princess as he walked forwards and frowned around at the area he had stepped into, and he slowly turned around as he reached a small staircase going down.

Tall, natural-looking trees and plants grew surrounding what Zerrex guessed had once been the Scholar's Tree... but was now only a hole in the ground covered by effervescent energy, and the reptile frowned a bit as he eyed the way the stone walk encircled it. He stood on top of a moderate-sized hill, and there was a soft breeze blowing through this room and grass growing underfoot, with the plain stone walk leading down a set of cement stairs built into the side of the hill. They attached into another walk that led to a door that seemed to stand in the middle of nowhere in the distance, but the reptile knew it was only an illusion, much like the soft sunlight coming down from above.

Zerrex turned around... then muttered under his breath as four Gigataurs phased through the walls with the help of several skeletal mages, and the Drakkaren pulled Blackheart off his back, spinning the sword around his body as he shook his head in distaste. "They never learn, do they..."

Outside, Ixin could feel the magical suppression lifting, and he grinned widely even as an arrow shot straight towards his head. The mage only swayed backwards, however, and it missed, instead sinking into the shoulder of a leather-clad zebra behind him.

Bondage glanced down, then yelped and jerked the arrow out, glowering at Ixin and shouting: "A heads-up would be nice, you know!" A pause, and then he made a face as Ixin played a lackadaisical tune on the flute for him, causing several of the soldiers he had charmed to fall flat on their faces. "You know what, nevermind."

He turned grouchily away... then stared as a portal opened and Vampire stepped through, the black wolf followed by Lily and Sin... and he looked back and forth with a grin, before asking quickly: "Where's Blake? They're preparing a cavalry charge using Wyrms and Draybeasts, we need to move the spear and hammer section out..."

"Blake won't be joining us." Vampire said with a stony expression, and Bondage blinked a few times before nodding and mumbling as he crossed himself, and the black wolf leaned away distastefully before glancing back and forth, asking: "Where's Sabnock? And how's the fight going?"

"We need to move to stage two, we don't have a choice." Bondage shook his head tiredly, rubbing at his wounded shoulder slowly as several soldiers ran by behind them carrying mortars. "Sabnock and the other Ice Devils have been maintaining the walls as best as possible, but Dius and fire elementals are pelting us now. We need to repel their cavalry charge and kill more officers... but there's a rumor that the Princess is only waiting for all the rebels to group in one place before she starts sending in waves of golems and kamikazes paired with necromancers..."

"Shit, you guys... you guys?" Vampire blinked stupidly as he looked over his shoulder, but Lily and Sin had already vanished... and he cursed under his breath before shaking his head, saying irritably: "Alright, get me a fuckin' RPG. I ain't no prissy-perfect shot, but I can do a fuck of a lot more damage than the rest of these shitheads wielding mortal guns."

Sabnock, meanwhile, was talking strategy with Lily and Sin as she continued to fire arrows into the crowd, aiming for a demonic War Construct made of six massive, metal-armored legs ending in thick claws bridging out from a huge, flat platform covered in cannons. It had a single staring eye that was looking back and forth, protected by a metal grating... but what Sabnock was trying to hit was the mage wearing a skull mask on top of the battle machine, who was guarded by four Amazons. "I already figured out we'd been sold out... but what you're suggesting is suicide. When cornered, you don't retreat into the trap... besides which, how could we cover a retreat of that magnitude?"

"Stage two." Lily said firmly, and Sabnock frowned a bit, still looking critical. "Look, I know it's a long shot, and that we'll still be in trouble inside... but the layout of the first floor at least has returned to normal and the portal wards have ceased functioning, meaning-"

"Meaning that enemies could portal in just as easily as we can... and if they portal in one or two kamikazes to the right areas, we could lose a lot of troops fast." Sabnock said dryly, and she closed her eyes, focusing for a moment before finally shooting an arrow through the skull of the mage on the War Construct, knocking him sprawling and sending the soldiers surrounding him into an uproar. She glanced at Lily's defiant expression, and then finally crumbled, muttering: "Fine. But you wait until stage two to begin moing soldiers into the Central Spire... and we scout and move fast, preferably to a protected place where the wards are still functioning. Before you even ask, you're permitted to send in two scouts, but no commanding officers to check over the area. You have work to attend to yourself out here with Lady Sin."

"Thank you!" Lily said gratefully, and then she leapt off the wall of ice with Sin, grabbing the two nearest soldiers and shouting clearly: "Portal into the Central Spire and start checking out the interior of the building! We may need to start moving troops inside!"

The soldiers nodded and vanished, and Lily sighed as she looked around their cramped war zone, the fields outside covered in bodies and a vicious hail falling all around them as she murmured: "Hurry up, Zerrex... or there's not going to be a lot of Hell left to save by the time you finish off the Princess..."

Inside the Spire, the Drakkaren was charging up flight after flight of stairs, knowing that the Princess was making him run to tire him out... but at the same time knowing that if he took too long, the Princess's army would crush their resistence movement outside. He cursed as he kicked open a pair of double doors and found himself inside a long, red carpeted hall lined with black pillars... and more importantly, Royal Guards armed with swords, maces, and spiked shields. "Kill him! Don't let him pervade another foot of the Central Spire!"

Zerrex didn't bother drawing Blackheart, instead running towards the nearest Royal Guard and grasping his corrupted arm as a long blade shot out of his wrist, and he slashed through the soldier's throat before kicking him backwards into another pair of soldiers, knocking them sprawling.

Another soldier ran in front his side, and spikes popped out of the Drakkaren's warped arm before he slammed it into the the wolf that attempted to run in with a war hammer, knocking him flat with a howl of agony. The reptile stomped on his stomach, the demon lupine vomiting blood before Zerrex barreled through another pair of demons and ran towards a pair of double doors, tearing one open and then staring before a massive demon in black armor smashed him flat on his back from a solid strike with a huge maul.

It kicked open the other door and strode through the archway, a terrible, anthromorphic ant with gnashing jaws and ram's horns in place of antennae, one thin, clawed leg stepping on Zerrex's stomach to pin him in place as it rose its maul in thin, gangly arms, the devil's bug eyes staring down into the Drakkaren's... and then Zerrex snarled and brought his corrupt arm up into the way of the strike as the the creature hammered down towards his face.

The maul shattered, and Zerrex slammed a foot up into the bug-demon's abdomen, sending it staggering backwards with a chitter befor the reptile stabbed up into the creature's thorax, the bug howling in pain as terrible, viscous sludge poured out of its guts, and Zerrex scampered backwards as the creature retreated through the double doors, head swaying back and forth. A moment later, a sword cut down into Zerrex's head, and the reptile was sent down to the ground in a blur of pain, blinking dumbly as a Royal Guard jumped over him and reversed his sword to deal a finishing blow.

The sword struck down towards Zerrex's stomach, and the reptile caught the flat of the blade between his hands, metal screaming against his stony palm before he twisted the sword to the side and let it plunge into the ground beside him. The soldier grunted, staggering forwards before Zerrex spun around and kicked both feet into his gut, and he was sent hurtling through the air to crash into several of his comrades as the reptile climbed quickly to his feet, Blackheart scraping loudly against the ground.

Zerrex turned around, yanking the silver sword free of the floor and running for the open double doors, before he skidded to a halt at the sight of the ant-demons crawling down the stairs towards him, many of them crawling along the walls and ceiling and bigger than the Drakkaren, and the lizard stared in horror. A moment later, however, he slammed the double doors shut behind himself and stabbed the silver sword through the handles, taking a deep breath before turning around and cracking his knuckles, muttering: "Here's hoping this actually works, Selena..."

The reptile concentrated, forcing himself to stay calm even as the closest ant-demons came within a foot of him, raising their enormous hammers... and a moment later he snarled as he shoved both hands out, releasing a conical stream of dark energy that tore up the stairs and bowled the creatures over, the ants screaming and bucking madly about on the floor as they tried to escape, their bodies rapidly burning up with a terrible, horrible stench even as they fled.

The reptile's breaths came hard, his eyes narrowed as he continued to release the terrible dark energy in a solid flow over the ants ahead of himself... and a moment later he halted, his hands singed and smoldering with the dark energy, absently rubbing his normal one against his leg as red light pulsed through the cracks of his stony, warped arm. He shook his head slowly, then started up the stairs, stepping carefully over singed ant corpses as he heard the others screaming and chattering at the top, reaching one hand up to rest on his sword as his warped arm expanded slightly in size, his claws lengthening... and a moment later he emerged through a trapdoor into a massive room with waxy, honeycombed walls, the reptile staring up in shock as he realized stupidly the only way to keep moving was to to climb.

Ant demons were patrolling along the walls, along with creatures that had eight-legged spider bodies... but instead of spider heads, they attached into the upper torsos and heads of various female demons... and many of these were feeding on wailing Plasmids. Zerrex could also see that several of the larger versions of these arachnids had constructed webs that hung off the large platforms that floated at various locations up the huge open tower and attached into the walls... and the reptile didn't want to guess at what other creatures he might run into here as he looked towards the honeycombed wall, mumbling: "Do I really have to climb this?"

His only response was a chuffling laugh... and the reptile's eyes narrowed as part of the honeycombed wall collapsed, and a large white worm wiggled out, tapping its feelers against the ground as it stared at Zerrex with wide black eyes. A slack, drooling mouth hung open as it slithered forwards, uncurling itself and whispering into the reptile's mind: Unless you want to back down and run away from the Princess's challenge... and if you don't like it inside... you could always climb up the outside of the wall...

"But I suppose I'd have to play a whole new game if I did that." Zerrex muttered, and he ignored the chittering and laughter of the worm, the Drakkaren tilting his head towards it and asking slowly: "So what? What do I do here, then? How the hell do I get past the stack of freaks without being eaten?"

I'd suggest by running... and you might want to start now... replied the worm in his mind hungrily, and Zerrex frowned before he heard something rumble behind him, and he turned around to stare in horror at one of the massive arachnids that was staring at him from upside down, at least twice his size and beautiful... apart from the red hourglass on the bottom of her black abdomen, or the glowing inverted white-and-black eyes and drooling mouth. Her upper body was that of a black fox's, and her stomach and naked breasts were pale white, along with most of her face... and she opened her arms, trilling to him invitingly as she whispered: "Won't you be my lover?"

"Why do I have this feeling you're going to eat my head afterwards?" Zerrex asked mildly, but the arachnid giggled before bouncing up into the air, its legs working rapidly against the string hanging from its abdomen before Zerrex stared up as the fox lowered itself down to touch nose-to-nose with him, her long white hair falling around his body, feeling like silk as a long, ridged tongue curled out and twisted around his neck and body, the Drakkaren swallowing as he asked meditatively: "See, I already feel like something bad is about to happen."

The tongue tightened around him, and then her arms swung out and grasped his shoulders, jerking him up into the air as Zerrex let out a yelp before her body twisted gracefully and he was hurled up past the first platform, the Drakkaren instinctively creating a platform of energy above his head and twisting his own body to land on it in a kneel before he kicked off and landed ontop of a pile of corpses wrapped in silk, knocking several of them rolling loose as he crushed the others beneath his body. He frowned as he felt something wriggling beneath him... and then he stared down as several spiders the size of rats skittered out from beneath him and over his body, and the reptile leapt away with a yelp as he concentrated, blue energy burning over his scales and knocking several other spiderlings loose as the fox-widow landed gracefully on all eight legs at the other side of the platform, hissing loudly at him. "My children!"

"Oh, see, I shouldn't date females with kids, because like... our kids might not get along." Zerrex babbled, and then he ducked as she spat a stream of acid at him, the reptile wincing and muttering: "For once I want it to be puppies, kittens, and rainbows on Jolly Jingles Lane, not... demons and witches and spiders inside the dark Central Spire of Hell."

He glanced up, then stared as he saw the vixen-arachnid had vanished... and the Drakkaren quickly checked directly above him and all around him before cursing and figuring she must be below him. And it wasn't like she was the only one interested in him... he could see several other ant-demons circling above as well, these ones with wings and carrying enormous, anchor-like weapons... and Zerrex wondered absently if his solution for this place was going to be in setting everything on fire here, too, before the widow-vixen shot suddenly up over the edge of the platform and barreled towards him, hissing.

She clawed at him, and Zerrex winced and dived out of the way before cursing as she snagged his foot to heft him into the air, and he turned his corrupted hand into a large axe blade before arching his back and chopping first through her wrist, then down through her stomach as he fell. She screamed in agony at the wrist, but writhed and howled when he eviscerated her, black blood and sludge pouring out of her insides before her own precious children charged towards their wounded mother, and she scrambled backwards, swaying drunkenly on the spot as they ripped and tore at her wound before she fell forwards in a pile of hair and dead, venomous beauty.

The reptile backed quickly away, then cursed as an ant-demon dove at him, swinging its massive lance... but Zerrex jumped up and snagged it, wrapping his arm around the ant's mid-body and resting his axe-hand against its throat as he said clearly: "I am... horribly stressed out right now, and I will cut your freaking head off if you don't do as I say! Fly me up as close to the exit as you can, and I'll leave your head on your shoulders... try anything funny at all, and you get to find out what it's like to be a soccer ball for the last five minutes of your life, understood?"

Fortunately, whatever hive mentality existed in the insects on the mortal plane didn't seem to exist here, as the ant quickly shot upwards like a rocket, not even fidgeting as they passed several platforms before beginning to slow... and Zerrex stared in horror as they approached the top of the area, and the reptile wondered absently what kind of cruel God had created the freak of nature that guarded the exit... or if it was a cosmic joke all of Hell's own.

A watery, strange portal was in the ceiling, narrow enough that Zerrex would have to squeeze just to get through it... but it was barred off by a thick, ugly web and a terrible half-spider, half-octopus. The monstrositiy had not legs, but long tentacles ending in claws, and bristling, sharp furs covered its body... but these all connected into a central point, from which extended maggoty, white flesh that covered a fat, corpulent stomach pregnant with gods-knew-what. Clusters of eggs covered the entire web, though, and more were attached to the ugly, roach-like shell on the goliath demon's back... and although a massive pair of pincers extended out of its face, the rest of its features were covered by a rusted bronze mask, and only red, bug-like eyes glared out of the helm as it clung on to its own webbing with long, crescent shaped claws at the end of terribly deformed, long arms... and the Drakkaren leapt off the ant demon and nodded to it grimly, motioning it away as he looked up towards the gargantuan beast.

It let go of the webbing and hung down towards him, and Zerrex looked awkwardly back and forth over the platform he was standing on, feeling webbing crunching underfoot as Plasmids swarmed around the edge of the floating stage... and the reptile stared at the dozen or so egg-like, small breasts forming an arch over the monstrosity's bulging gut before he asked slowly: "Who are you?"

"No one... everyone... the Queen..." The bug-thing droned and squeaked as it spoke, and the Plasmids chattered in response to it, backing away as its tentacles clung tightly onto the strong netting covering the portal, and it swayed slowly back and forth, whispering: "They called me the Terror that brought forth the bugs... but yet they do not respect me... respect me!"

It screamed these last words, and even the arachnids skittered away in terror as several eggs fell from the ceiling and the creature's shell. One of them shattered in front of Zerrex, and in a blast of nauseating smell and green gas, a long, putrid worm slid out and buried quickly into the sand. Zerrex made a disgusted face, then looked up at the Bug Queen and asked carefully: "May I pass?"

"You may try..." The Queen laughed, and then it let go of the net and fell to the platform, and Zerrex leapt backwards to avoid being crushed by her gargantuan body as she landed on her face and fell onto her back, her body sprawling out and her tentacles waving wildly. One of the tips managed to lash the Drakkaren, and he was knocked over the edge as the Bug Queen slowly pushed her arms beneath her on the platform, murmuring: "Weakness..."

The Drakkaren cursed under his breath as he fell, then he closed his eyes and concentrated, his wings tearing out his black as he pulled Blackheart free from its holder, and the lizard shot upwards as his warped arm bulged and twisted, his axe-hande becoming a larger, more-vicious crescent and his enormous sword hanging loose from the other. He hovered for a moment as the Bug Queen looked over him, and then it hissed and howled: "Defiance shall be punished with death!"

She leaned forwards, spitting a thick green poison at him from her mandibles, but Zerrex shot to the side even as ant-demons buzzed up into the air around him and arachnids climbed the walls and ceilings to throw long hooks at the ends of silk web ropes at him. The Drakkaren cursed under his breath as he ignored the ants for now, instead focusing on evading the far-more-accurate spider-demons before one of them suddenly dropped down in front of him with a hiss... but the reptile simply smashed straight through her, tearing her in half and sending her toppling with a scream of rage and agony towards the ground far below as Zerrex angled himself towards the Bug Queen.

The Terror lashed out at him with her tentacles, but Zerrex rolled quickly, knocking one of them aside with his wings of white energy before he dropped towards her stomach as she hissed, and his wings vanished as he slammed his sword down into her grotesque belly, sending up a spray of green and yellow liquid as she writhed and squealed in horror and pain. Ant-demons landed on her stomach immediately, stepping forwards and stabbing at the reptile with their lances, but the Drakkaren only had to duck as the Bug Queen lashed out with one of her arms, howling furiously: "Kill him, kill him! He hurts the Queen, he's hurting her!"

She wailed and spasmed, her tentacles lashing back towards her own body but not daring to touch her stomach as Zerrex forced Blackheart in deeper while jerking hard to the side... and a moment later, a terrible, ugly claw lashed out of the wound that he'd torn with his huge sword, and the Bug Queen squealed as the reptile leapt back into the air, his axe-hand turning back into a claw that he switched his sword to as he fired a tentacle into some of the webbing around the honeycombed wall, jerking himself over to it even as three terrible, repulsive bugs tore their way out of the Bug Queen's pregnant gut, all of them hissing and covered in ooze as the other bugs halted to stare in shock.

Zerrex took the opportunity to slam Blackheart into the honeycombed wall and jump up on the flat of the huge sword, setting himself firmly as he concentrated to create a blade of energy in one hand. He immediately threw this at the nearest Widow's silk string, and it chopped cleanly through before continuing to strike an unfortunate ant-demon that flew into the way of the blade, the bug exploding in a hail that followed the screaming Widow down to the ground. Then the reptile turned his eyes to the creatures forcing their way free... and he made a face as one of the two massive spiders that crawled out of the Bug Queen's stomach leapt immediately for her neck, biting into it and drawing more of that bile-green blood before she screamed and tore it off, throwing it at Zerrex.

The massive, spike-covered spider roared, and Zerrex stared in horror before lashing out with his corrupted arm, his hand turning into a long sword that speared through its stomach... but the creature still attempted to lunge its jaws down to feed on Zerrex, instead only managing to bite away a chunk of his hair. The reptile cursed under his breath as it clawed at him and the wall, almost humping forwards to try and squish him while getting a better grip, but the reptile swung his arm up and chopped the bug open from abdomen to head.

The spider went rigid... then slid slowly off him, falling to the ground as Zerrex grabbed Blackheart's handle and extended his angel wings in a blast of white energy, kicking off the wall and flying down towards the open stomach of the Bug Queen. He collided in midair with an ant-demon, however, cursing as the long lance cut a slash through his side before he sliced the creature's head off, and its mandibles clicked madly before the Drakkaren batted the head hard at one of the hanging widows, knocking it loose and sending it falling onto the Bug Queen. The Terror howled at this and immediately grasped its own denizen, crushing it as the two other creatures she had just given birth to by forceful caeserian section crawled all over her body... and then Zerrex dived in and landed on top of her mask, barely dodging a squirt of acid that splattered over her own tentacles instead.

She whipped her head from side to side as the long, mottled worm that had been in her stomach twisted around her neck and up towards the Drakkaren, and Zerrex leapt off her head and onto the worm, the long, bulbous creature bucking and hissing before the reptile cut it into two pieces. It arched backwards, and Zerrex kicked off it to land back on the mask of the Terror, and this time he stabbed Blackheart down into one of the Bug Queen's eyes with both hands.

It went into a frenzy, screaming and kicking before the other spider that had been inside it leapt up and tackled Zerrex, chomping down into his good arm... and the reptile howled in agony before snarling and punching it in the head, sending the blade at the end of his corrupted arm through its arachnid brain before he kicked it off and flapped his wings hard, flying back towards the wall.

A moment later, the Drakkaren kicked off and dived downwards as the Bug Queen tore Blackheart out of her eye and threw it away... and the reptile arched his back in midflight, twisting upwards and reaching out to snag his sword in midair before he cut through an ant demon that got in his way... and yet everything was staring to go hazy. He cursed under his breath, his wounded arm aching and beginning to turn purple as he looked down at it... and the Drakkaren turned his other corrupt arm into a claw before he let himself free fall, the Bug Queen grabbing at him wildly before he fell straight into her bug-ridden guts.

Worms, spiders, and other terrible creatures bit at him as he charged through the dark ooze of her ripped-apart womb, heading upwards with a snarl even as he felt things latching onto him, biting him, ripping into his body... and the reptile let out a final roar as his wings vanished before he dived forwards, tearing into the upper chest of the Bug Queen as she howled and writhed... and then slamming his corrupted fist down into her flesh.

A shockwave of white energy blasted through the Bug Queen before a pillar of it rose towards the ceiling, tearing through her chest as the Drakkaren's entire body burned with power... and a moment later the terrible monstrosity fell in two halves, the rest of the bugs fleeing in tear as the webbing above caught fire and burned quickly away. The Bug Queen's mask fell away in mid fall, revealing a maggot's head covered in mottled, leathery flesh... and it howled a final time in pain and rage, inarticulate screaming that almost represented words as its tentacles lashed through the air on the other side of the platform... leaving Zerrex alone, panting hard, drained of power and energy as the monstrosity fell towards the floor of the pit.

He looked back and forth as the Plasmids began to close in, then up at the portal in midair... and the reptile grinned tiredly before setting Blackheart on his back and whispering: "I got enough. I got just enough left..."

As the Plasmids began to close in, the Drakkaren reached up and launched one of his tentacles upwards, twisting through the air... before a widow's hook lashed out and cut it in half, and Zerrex cursed, the tentacle quickly retreating as the hook remained buried in the ground beside him. The spider-demon grinned, this one a bear but with the same coloring and long white-blonde hair... and Zerrex snarled as he grabbed the silk rope, jerking hard and yanking her off the side of the wall. She screeched as she fell, releasing the rope of web... and the reptile balled it quickly up before spinning the hook quickly, muttering under his breath as black spots danced in front of his vision, the Plasmids hesitating only a moment...

He threw the hook upwards... and it flew through the portal and latched onto something, and the reptile quickly climbed the silk rope, his hands sliding a bit against it as he grunted and pulled himself up bit-by-bit, panting hard as he stared at the portal, watching it grow closer even as Plasmids screamed beneath him and ant-demons began to fly up towards him... and a moment later the reptile threw himself upwards, and he vanished through the liquidine gateway that none of the bugs dared to approach.

On the other side, Zerrex had emerged into a plain hardwood room... and the first thing the reptile did was vomit miserably several times, before he fell over on his back with a loud groan of pain. He grasped the wound... but it was already sick and rotten, and the Drakkaren swallowed thickly before he melted two of his stony fingers together and dug them into the wound, ripping out the ugly, infected flesh as his muscles bulged and his body burned with agony before tossing it aside and leaning forwards as he panted the strongest cleansing spells he knew.

It took a few minutes, but his wound began to lose its terrible discoloration, and his body began to settle and relax... and after another five minutes or so, the reptile was back on his feet, Zerrex carefully healing his wound's major damages with his blue energy before he let his hand drop away. He stepped over the pile of vomit he'd made with a wince, then headed for the door, looking around the unfurnished, small room and muttering under his breath: "Someone should really cover up that portal..."

The reptile shook his head as he staggered towards the end of the room, pulling open the door and picking up a more-natural pace as he walked carefully down a long, red-carpeted hallway. He glanced back and forth with a slight frown as he walked along the oddly-tilted hall, noting the paintings on the wall and the expensive design of the passage... but at the same time, he felt cold and claustrophobic. The corridor was sloping ever-so-slowly upwards, and it was curving slowly at the same time... and the Drakkaren frowned slightly as he approached a large, tiled oak door.