The environment in hell's infinite layers were very hostile; whether it was the climate, the fauna, or even its cohabitants, everything was created with the intent to kill.
Poisonous insects, carnivorous plants, demonic beast forged from nightmares, and ever changing terrain.
Then there was also the miasma and contamination that hell imposed on its habitants.
Yet, the most dangerous were definitely hells apex predators; the demons and devils.
Built and formed with the will to conquer otherworld realms and eliminating entire species; with supernatural strength and demonic magic, their very existence put a constant pressure on many realms, no matter how powerful.
Within a forest, two of hell's 'weakest' creatures were currently in an altercation.
A flash of red glimmered in the forest for a second before a muffled explosion rang out, sending a blurred figure flying a dozen meters through the air.
Agri gaze momentarily losing focus midair, before rapidly reeling itself back into reality.
She had only reacted last second to Blair's attack, only being capable of lifting her bone covered arms to protect herself from the explosive impact. Yet, as a result, the bone armor on her arms was completely cracked, with blackish blood seeping through the gaps as she drifted through the air.
As she finally hit the ground, her body slid against the blackened forest dirt. Faint sluggish movements of tree roots and branches around her caused a gentle rustling, giving the forest an eerie sense that it was alive.
Smoke and dark blood covered her arms, the tree roots greedily devoured any blood that dripped onto the floor.
Blair's gazed at the injured Agri with contempt, standing tall, beautiful and powerful, before suddenly disappeared from Agri's view.
Startled, Agri's eyes winced in pain as she frantically looked for Blair's figure, trying her best to trace the image of the demoness.
In her dazed state, alongside with Blair's incredible speed, Agri was having trouble keeping track of her figure.
With a twitch of her left ear, she heard a faint explosion and instinctively pulled her head back.
A glowing red claw swiped and grazed her face as she stumbled backward, drawing a faintly glowing trail of black blood across the air; the strike had barely missed its mark!
Still, her experience as a demon was not completely useless, as all of demon-kind had an incredible affinity towards fighting.
Her lithe figure agilely moved into a backwards cartwheel as her feet glowed black, kicking towards the arrogant and unsuspecting Blair.
With the addition of the shadow element, that made her attack quiet and hard to see, allowing Agri to be able to finally strike back in a stealthy manner.
The stealth attack was noticed by Blair, but by then the damage was done.
A crisp crack was heard as Blair moved her body back a fraction of a second too late, causing the shadowed claw to scrape against the breast armor that covered her right breast.
"Bang!"
Her right breast was exposed, and fiery red blood dripped down her curvaceous body, the pain was overshadowed by the humiliation of being struck by a being she deemed weaker than her.
Blair covered her wound in slight shock, before her pupils tightened into a predatory anger.
Agri looked at the failed strike with distraught, her arms a bloody mess, and the left side of her face now had a large gnash. Her long tongue licked the wound that allowed one to see inside her mouth, while her mind was already filled with thoughts of retreat.
Quickly calculating the odds, and seeing the anger in Blair, she swiftly gathered all of her energy into the first technique she had mastered when she started unlocking her shadow demon bloodline.
Living in hell for 3 years had allowed the young demon to mature and experience hardships.
All of the events, the struggles, and daunting encounters had pushed her skills and techniques to new heights. This allowed her to learn and master a technique.
This technique was made her number one priority if she were to survive in hell.
In a rate faster than what even Blair could accomplish when gathering concentrated mana for explosive bursts, Agri coated her entire body in a thin black mist, making her figure sinister and ethereal.
The surge in power and elements caused Blair to stutter in her techniques for a moment. A trace of seriousness flashed in her face as she was ready to fight an equal.
Two sets of feral eyes locked on as time seemed to freeze, only the shockwaves from their demonic power distorted the seemingly frozen air.
Suddenly, Agri's gaze moved from Blair, and she dashed towards the forest opening.
Her first technique, in the end, was a clumsy escape technique of the shadow demon lineage.
"…."
Blair laughed in scorn and anger, her burst explosion allowing her to speed up, shooting forward as she chased the demon.
"Get over here you little rat!"
The dark elements made it so Agri's figure was ethereal, but the trail of blood obviously revealed Agri's tracks. Plus, her trajectory was easily choreographed in Blair battle hardened mind.
Agri's heart was pounding as she heard the thunderous footsteps get louder behind her.
In only a matter of seconds Agri reached the edge of the forest.
Some startled demons showed hideous expressions of fear as they saw the black, misty figure rushing towards them with a fiery, rage filled demon chasing close behind.
Feeling the faint heat scalding her back, Agri swallowed her pride and shame as she yelled out.
"Master! Master, ple-"
"Bang!"
Her words were cut short as Blair's figure crashed into her back, causing both of them to become entwined as they stumbled forward onto the ground.
Various demons immediately gathered around them, their excitement at the conflict boiling over as they started yelling and cheering.
Roh saw this from afar, but chose not to get too close.
He had clearly seen that the figure that had cried for help and get knocked down was Agri; the demon who had humiliated him.
A faint murderous desire smoldered in his eyes as he directed weaker demons to cut black stones into symmetrical slabs for building, completely 'unaware' of what was transpiring in the distance.
Back in the center of the demon crowd, Agri felt as if her back had been hit with a scalding boulder. She forcibly pulled her mind from her dizzy state just in time to see a red-clawed hand coming down towards her eye.
She hastily moved her head, rolled to the side, and lashed out, but Blair was prepared this time.
She easily avoided Agri's strike, before jumping back to the barely standing demon, and delivering a powerful and precise knee to her stomach. The obsidian armored spikes on Blair's knee left a deep and bloodied hole in Agri's abdomen.
"Master! Master save me!" Agri yelled out again as Blair smacked her down, the armor on Agri's arm completely torn.
A flurry of punch's completely destroyed her defenses, causing her to flail towards the ground.
The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed for the crazed demons to hear and enjoy.
Agri, bloodied and disorientated, had her body curled up on the ground. The onslaught of punches paused for a second before she saw an incoming kick covered in flames directed at her head.
The taste of death was strong as her bloodied expression froze; all those years of fighting, of hiding, of survival were going to be lost in a matter of seconds.
Fortunately for Agri, the fast, flame-covered strike was easily intercepted by a strong, yet slender arm.