Space was distorted, what was supposed to be a hellish dimension had become incomprehensible. With Ferinish unconscious in his arms, Slady, wandering aimlessly like a body without an owner, like a soulless being, could only have his mind invaded by voices pleading for justice, and by Satan, whose malevolent voice begged for total control of his body.
But he remained impassive, his brain slowly beginning to recall knowledge he had acquired during two centuries of existence. Without his permission, the memories of Elisa, Ferinish... and even Shaphira, from a past that, for someone like him, meant nothing, began to become clearer and clearer.
'Elisa... Shaphira... what have I done? What was the point of all this pain, to end up like this? Before, I was ruthless, even if indifferent to the justice of men, I still managed, I think, to make them happy.'
He looked at the unconscious body in his arms, the pain spreading more and more through his uncontrollable flesh. It was instinct, his soul had no control, only the right to lament.
'I only caused more pain to someone who didn't deserve it. I... I didn't save you from that cruel laboratory, I took you to a worse hell. I didn't want to hurt you, but I did. How selfish I was.'
Facing him, a ghostly structure resembling a bed was visible. With reverential care, he placed it in that distorted and incomprehensible image, which seemed to be a safe place.
He wandered alone again. The silence was palpable, the feeling that each step was a chance to fall into a void from which he could never return. The darkness tried to reach him, but he ran. With each passing second, the shadows began to engulf his feet, his legs, his torso, his head... and with a desperate, almost animalistic scream, the distorted space revealed itself.
The shadows recoiled, startled. When Slady raised his head, he saw an ancient structure. The heavy Renkai Energy of what could be the Infernal Complex was like a pressure throughout his body. He walked, and increasingly, words describing what the creation could be came to his eyes.
Correction.
Sacrifice.
Souls.
Destroyers.
Deities.
Return.
Reconstruction.
Destruction.
Creation.
Then, like ghosts that had come to haunt him, two figures positioned themselves on either side of the structure: Hades and Mara.
And in the center, a being who shouldn't be there: Truth.
They stared at him in silence, without provocation, without attacks... it was like a meeting, a damned meeting.
With a gesture of silence, Truth calmly flew slowly towards Slady as she began to speak:
"Slady... how did you get here?"
"Truth..."
He looked back at a wall, it was as if the distorted space made him pass through dimensions he didn't know. But he returned his gaze to Truth, his fists clenched and the chain on his shoulder darkening.
"I don't know. But why are you with them? Weren't you supposed to be a guardian of your god? Why did you join the children of the Devil?"
"Do you think you have the right, as a mere... human... something below human, to know how beings superior to you think?"
"You say I'm inferior..."
He took a few steps towards her, his face very close, a cold breath hitting her face, responding with excessive apathy.
"But if it weren't for me, you would simply be a Destroyer. Zyrionq didn't save you, he doesn't care about anyone, only his disobedient brother, Krythos."
One hand touched the angel's physical body, an overwhelming yet delicate force.
"Without him, Zyrionq, you and Krythos's direct creations die. You need these gods to live. And they are your puppets."
"You..."
Truth stepped away from him, as if touched by something rotten, the gleaming sword in her hands becoming sharper. Hades looked at Slady, crossing his arms.
"I'll be very clear with you, we have Shaphira. Our objectives are only to transform her into a Destroyer, but if you try to get in our way..."
He points the blade at Slady.
"We will kill her."
Mara rubs her hands on her cheeks with a short smile.
"And she is very beautiful, I would love to see her groan in pain while, with my touches, I slowly suck the life out of her and perhaps, at the end of her life, play with the little innocence that remains in her."
Slady looked at them very seriously, his nails tearing at the skin of his hand. Truth looked at him impersonally, pointing to the large creation.
"But we can offer you a unique opportunity. If you give us two Destroyer hearts, and your life, you will have the power to change all the choices you have made. Your existence will be erased forever, but everyone you have ever loved will be happy."
Slady lowered his eyes, thoughtful, but soon looked at the woman.
"Is there anything more I can do besides going back in time and correcting my mistakes?"
"No..."
"Don't lie to me, Truth."
He looked at her, determined.
"If I give the soul of a deity, I can do more than shape destiny, I can create a new universe, a new world."
Then, approaching, the three beings began to prepare, and Slady, pointing with his shadow staff at them, proclaimed:
"I don't need to kill any Destroyer, I just need to kill all three."
Such audacity from a mortal to challenge three demigods to battle. Truth spun his sword, Hades slowly walked towards him, and Mara made several shadowy hands emerge from her back. Even Satan, astonished by such words, said within his mind:
"You are a fascinating human, Slady..."
Then his own shadows began to surround him, as if preparing an attack against himself.
"But you will fall upon us, as you always have."
In an instant, they all attacked. With a movement of the staff, the shadows parted, space distorted, and stones flew with destruction. Truth burst through the walls to attack him, Slady countered with his cane, consequently breaking the stone barriers that protected the dimension, exposing exit portals. Hades, seeing the opportunity, flew to one of the portals, but Slady had already appeared behind him. With animal brutality, he slammed his face against the ground and, burying it beneath the soil, dragged him to the building. Mara emerged from beneath him, her shadows gripping her feet. He forced her limb away from the shadows to kick her in the face, his hands grabbing her hair and exposing her throat, a huge mouth widening to bite her. Satan intervened, making the shadows of his body penetrate her eyes to destroy her body from the inside out.
Roars escaped her throat, her hands reaching for the leaves to tear them from her flesh. Another hand grabbed the chain and began whipping it in all directions, pushing away the shadows, making the small area inaccessible to the others and causing Mara to groan in horror at the scene.
The leaves were pulled with such force that her skin was stretched along with them, like a small armor fused to the wearer. With a final scream, the leaves were torn away, her skin along with them. The exposed bones revealed an empty eye, from which small white lights emerged from a soul struggling for control; now the jaw closed, striking from the neck to the chest of the Destroyer of Lust.
Hades raged, the blade cutting through the shadows of his own father and... in seconds, Slady's body was sucked beneath the shadows.
Truth watched in confusion, Hades held his sister, whose body was beginning to regenerate little by little through the shadows. But behind the Wrathful Destroyer, a dark pool emerged, with a man whose face was distorted by shadows and bones resurfacing.
"Feel my pain, Hades."
His hand pierced his back to cut through his chest. Hades, even with blood escaping from his dark armor, struck his face with his blade. Slady caught it with her bone-covered mouth and shattered it with her teeth, swallowing it. The poison from her body began to spread throughout Hades who, even with his sword broken, twisted from his jaw down to tear him apart and kicked him with overwhelming force.
He crashed against the creation. Truth, taking advantage of his completely vulnerable body, with Krythos even opening it to expose the dark heart, she advanced to deliver the final blow.
In the blink of an eye, a figure he hadn't seen in a long time appeared before him, shielding him with her blade, the impact piercing Truth's sword and reaching the dimension, destroying all the portals there.
Her legs trembled, her dominant arm purple, as if broken by the powerful blow, but with a look of pure determination. Truth couldn't help but feel uneasy seeing her again. But, with her feminine voice emanating from her body, she greeted her:
"Even as much as you want to kill him, it's your instinct to protect the man who changed your life..."
The red-haired woman raised her face, just to confirm Truth's suspicions.
"Isn't that right, Ferinish Lawhell?"