Chapter 729: True Demonlord [60] [Finale: Part 1]

"You realize the trip could be a one-way ticket to a land of no return?" wandered around his memory, a magical circle lit in an expansively empty apartment. 'Here we go,' the thumbs slit, blood doused the lines – a weak lighted portal opened, '-Vesper's worries were well-grounded. Servants of Hades' tried desperately tried to invade in search of mother.'

The recanting of magical words, the layout of the circle, the underlying emotion of ire sufficed to alter the Shadow Realm's weather. Clear streets of Rosespire washed in a sudden downpour, the four generals watched gravely through the castle's various windows. 'Igna's undertaking an impossible challenge.'

*Clash,* halted at the door.

"-good to see you, Intherna, how can I help?"

"Gophy," fiery hair, tangled and curled around her visage, shot up in distress, "-Igna's in trouble. Miira says he has no chance of returning alive."

"Yeah, I doubt he'll last in the Underworld," her longing stare switched outside, "-I watched the play unfold. This is most likely a ploy to lure him, there's no way Hades cares for his wife. Miira, Lilith, and I have concluded the following, Igna will surely die."

"Then?"

"We can't intervene. Trust me," the fingers curled, "-I'm powerless at the moment, I'll make sure he wins, no matter the consequence," she leaped to the entrance, "-relay this message to the Generals, be ready for battle and don't act alone," her black and white figure disappeared in the castle's hallow hallways, '-Igna, we've watched thee fight, the struggle and powerlessness. Every death is painful and traumatic, still, the strength boasters the realm. To the effort, the Shadow Realm expands and perfectly recreates the Overworld. I'll finish my task,' she grinned, '-our mark was always to overcome odds.'

A whirlpool of cries shifted the large room into a cave; lanterns lit the path periodically, '-must be the walkway into the underworld,' he inched carefully across a thin bridge, either side boasted an endless drop. The darkness didn't once flinch upon looking down, closer inspection showed the lanterns to hover about.

"Igna Haggard," bells twinkled, a boat swam into viewing distance, the prior bridge turned wooden; lengthened into a humble pier, "-welcome to the Abysmal tunnel."

Stepped onto the edge, "-Charon the boatman?" he inquired suspiciously.

"I won't fight," replied the boatman pulling to the pier, "-boy, you're foolish to visit the Underworld in a mortal vessel. My duty is to guard the entry and give safe passage to those who've made it thus far. Heed my warning, return or enter, I respect the choice no matter the consequence."

"No fighting," he exhaled, "-I thought you'd be the first to draw blood."

"No, wrong, I only engage in battle when the situation dictates. I see no reason to partake in childish games. Igna Haggard, lady Persephone, now named Courtney, was a good friend of mine. Her escape was foreseeable, the son didn't take lightly to the betrayal. Hop onboard, Igna, the journey is short, I'd advise being at the ready, the moment we arrive, an army will wait."

"Thank you, Charon."

"Worry not," he whistled, "-a boatman needs but a few gold pieces to be convinced."

"I forgot," a sack summoned and dropped, "-here we are."

"Good," he smiled, "-the fee's been respected. I, Charon, Guardian of the Abysmal Tunnel, grant Igna Haggard passage into the underworld." 

Hot to the skin and warm to the face, a blink left him speechless. Charon's back was spotted floating away from where he stood, '-this is the Underworld,' the sheer drop underneath his feet made skyscrapers in the overworld seem childish. Floating isles held forests, volcanos, and armies of small creatures. A gargantuan castle hovered over yonder, no sun save the brightly lit ceiling, the hue of yellow, red, and black, consisted primary colors.

'No time like the present,' *Death-Element: Unleash Aura,* a cloak of black, signifying his powers – would certainly grow rampant in the overworld, here, the aura looked little more than a thin layer atop the skin, '-I've bitten off more than I can chew,' the skin crackled under the heat, '-lower a human fall in the underworld, the harsher is the oppressive power. I'm on the first level.'

"Igna Haggard," hooves halted in a neigh, upon glancing back, the headless horse gave much to think in terms of where the sound originated, "-tis a pleasure to make thy acquaintance. I heard about the exploits from Cimi, the dimension sure is a nice place. Luckily for you, the entire realm is under the protection of Death and Creation, meaning, my father wishes not to enter or act maliciously to the inhabitants."

Fingers made for Orenmir, "-don't bother," returned sharply, "-drawing the blade will only accelerate thy death," *slash,* a dagger ran through the back and into the front, "-I can kill you anytime I want," returned to the prior spot, "-a human tries to fight with such a weak aura. The oppressiveness of the underworld, feel it?" both arms stretched to the ceiling, "-tis the domain of Hades, an accumulation and reflection of his strengths. As his son, I'm in line to control the powers," *clap,* they teleported. 

"Here, the jarring landscape need not bother us. This tower is the stairway to the lowest level conveniently named the Demented Floor. You've come to save the bitch you call mother, right?" he smirked, "-earn the right to face me, face us. I'll give a word of warning, there are a hundred floors, the lower you get, the stronger are the monsters and the fiercer the oppression. In comparison, an angel tried to steal the Tear of Sohna on floor 30, he was discovered shrunken and dead from the aura alone. I'll be off," he jumped, "-the tower holds part of my army; the time limit is thy surrender. See you soon.' 

'How courteous of him,' the chocked breathing ease, '-a dungeon, very convenient. Guess it's time to fight,' *Blood-Arts: Enlian,* the physical abilities heightened, '-the mana is scarce, summoning Mantia or the realm is out of the question, my inner supplies will only last so long. Nevermore will unleash the reserves, a battle of attrition begins.' Howls of the undead rose in tandem, craters sprouted disfigured beasts, *Woosh,* '-the numbers are a problem. I don't see any gates leading down,' he ran and swung, '-the level has to be cleared before advancement,' skid to a stop, the figures lined conveniently, a leap and heads fell into smoke, '-first level down, ninety-nine to go.' 

"Why are you here," *spat,* "-Zagreus."

"Persephone, never mind, Courtney, I'm happy to report your son is on his way here. Too bad he thinks he can conquer the tower of Daie, every five floors, a floor guardian waits, the more he wins, the harder it will get. Even if he makes it down here, the rest of my army will kill him before thine eyes. I can't hope of a better way to make you suffer."

"…"

"No answer, sure enough."

'Why are you here? I said to leave me behind, damn idiot.'

*Huff, puff,* '-floor guardian of level five,' blood coughed, the left-arm laid in a puddle of famished beasts, '-if this is the level, I'm a lost cause,' *Come Forth, Vengeance.* '-huh?' no response, '-I can't use Mantia even if I wanted. The Underworld is basically Hades' domain, summoned another is virtually impossible lest stronger, damn,' Tharis unholstered, '-I'm not giving up,' *bang, bang,* the boss fell, stairway below opened. *AHHHH,* "-MY HEAD."

The arm reattached, '-five levels in and I'm already at my limit, the monsters aren't strong, tis the actual aura of the underworld, the pressure makes it worse, '-forget using my left arm, reattached and useless,' Blood-Arts aided in sowing the limb tight to the torso. 

Floor 10, *Stab,* rapiers impaled him to the wall, *bang,* the boss deflected the attack and delivered the last strike, the sword arm grew limp, the knightly guardian, slim in the frame and quick on the feet, showed the back and walked, '-death and I are the same,' a burst of black had the knight shudder. The rapiers fell, Igna's demeanor altered to a state of mindlessness, '-kill everything,' two steps forth, the hands senselessly made for the knight's neck. Haste on the reaction, countered by striking at the open palm, the blade hit bone and thrust out the other side, "heh," he laughed and pushed through, digging his wound and grasping the neck, "-life is naught but destine for death," the grip crushed the knight's neck. Blood poured, the hair, white and red in color, bleached to pure white, the pupils turned red; the symbol of power activated. 

'Forgo thy humanity and embrace the pits of darkness.'

'Forgo my humanity?' 

'Yes, Igna Haggard, remember, we are the same, the past, feel the blood lust, feel the ire, embrace thy inner self. To fight a monster, one must become a monster, to fight a demon, one needs to be the devil himself. Ignore thy bodily pain, forget the small details and focus on one word, kill, let the body move – tis the surest path to thy goal.'

'Who are you?'

'Me? No one special, no one who needs to be called upon. We're the same, body and spirit, take a deeper look inside, the powers are yet to be unleashed, heed my warning, delve into the abyss of curses and there's no guarantee of thy return.'

"Nothing is guaranteed in the world," he smirked, two senses of self, both bearing the same smile, merged into a singular entity, '-power of the curses,' consciousness reawakened on the tenth floor, the guardian laid at his feet, '-the curses I've accumulated in my prior life,' ancient marking bore themselves into the legs and arms, symbols went from the feet to the neck, '-here I come, Zagreus,' the wounded left arm healed, gaping hole in the palms shut, *Deep slumber, deep rest, awaken for the chance at retribution. Gate of which stands before mine way, open for thy master has come: Nevermore – Hell's Gate.* 

"Zagreus."

"Huh?" returned a disgusted glare, "-what is it, Persephone?"

"Word of advice, never push a man to his limits. Time inside the tower Daie moves on faster than the outside."

"And?"

"I felt the wave of someone very powerful, he's reawakened."

"Shut up, woman, I don't care for thy words.

Floor 15, each stroke, each swing, every move was reckless, any mortal wound healed instantly; constant pressure from the realm burnt the skin of which regenerated. 

Sharped claws dug into the chest and pulled,(crashing the heart in a firm grasp) the life drained from Igna's eyes, '-not yet,' *slash,* a downward stroke chopped the guardian's head. 

The deeper he got, the more the mind gave to the pleasures of killing. No magic used nor calls made to allies, consciousness faded into the very definition of death, legs and arms moved inhumanly, two deep crimson glares permeated across the battlefield, '-death…' progress was slow, neither did he overpower the opponent nor did he use wit; death after death, burnt, frozen, crushed, impaled, the method didn't matter, eventually, the monsters would run out stamina, there the true terror veered its face, '-I'll kill you.' 

"The Shadow Realm's growing stronger by the second," rang across the throne room, "-Where's Gophy?"

"No idea," replied Lilith.

"Call on her right now," fired Miira.

"I'm here," she teleported, "-what's the matter?"

"The realm, we've transcended limits imposed on reality – the core keeps on strengthening, there's no end to the evolution. The world's an exact copy of the overworld, building and all. Other words are being birthed as we speak, the shadow realm's about to reach its peak, once we cross the boundaries, we'll be able to use our abilities without worry."

*Thud,* "-there, it's doubled again."

"Should we not be celebrating?" observed Lilith, "-the stronger the core, the more power the master can summon from the Shadow Realm."

"I get it," added Intherna, "-we've lost contact, he's inside someone else's domain. The stronger the core gets means the master's died."

"The ultimate sacrifice, the instant the mana runs out…" voiced Miira

"He'll die," added Gophy. 

'Kill, kill, kill,' level fifteen, a greater demon, '-kill,' he smirked, '-I'll kill you.'