7 Kulkan Slayer

5 Years Later, Central Kulkan territory.

*Slash* *Slash* 

*Whirl*

*Slash*

Wave after wave of Kulkan demons piled up on each other to reach Marick. These seemingly individual demons were part gigantic demons the size of mountains. They have spawned daemon clones of a much larger and more powerful demon titan in a lower layer of eternity. When he had killed that single Kulkan daemon more than 5 years ago, he didn't understand what he was getting himself into.

ALL of the Kulkan demons in the entire first layer of eternity noticed him then. An immortal hivemind would take notice if one of their number was permanently killed from their network.

Did any of this change what Marick needed to do here?

Not really. He even considered it a small boon. It gave his Blade more demons to eat.

And so he walked directly towards the center of the first layer of hell, embracing the swarming trillions of Kulkan demon thralls coming his way with open arms. 

After so long fighting down here, his body had finally stabilized at a height of 6'4 with specialized body tissues spread throughout his body which would not be present in normal humans. He could move at x1.5 the speed of a normal human down here, which was more than enough to deal with imps and Kulkan thralls. He was a machine at this point, a machine that hadn't rested in 8 years and continuously pushed past its limits again and again.

The scar he obtained from the bull demon was still apparent across his left eye, but it had faded due to healing and time. His other scars were in similar situations, only a shadow of the original damage could be seen now.

But the most interesting change in Marick after all this time, was the dull purple aura which seemed to be ever-present around him now. It started happening after the 5th year he had continued using the Blade of Sustainance. The overuse of this Blade was causing some additional effects to him. After all, it could be considered an artifact on the level of the Berserker Armor guts obtained. Both were created through the power of the deep astral, where the Berserker Armor was built from dwarves trapping a demonic spirit of the deep astral into it, while the Sustainance Blade was created through a combination of many demon spirits to create a newborn entity to sustain its wielder.

Even with the help of the [Keen Eye] perk he had taken, he could not deduce what changes the Blade would eventually bring to him nor could he afford to stop using it. It was keeping him alive. He could only keep a note of anything in the future.

*Slash*

The final Kulkan thrall fell before him and he looked at the monstrosity in the distance. A baby Kulkan demon was in the distance, which he could see from more than 10 miles away. Its large quilt-like skin flapped off its large egg-like face, where behind it was a snake-like tale that slithered towards him. All around it, were thousands of its thralls.

Marick didn't notice it, but a large cruel smile formed as he watched them grow closer. The purple aura around him grew thicker, like a persistent shadow clinging to him. He let out a breath of hot steam.

*Tsss*

"Today, it's a legendary Kulkan. It's an honor." His eyes gleamed with madness.

"COME AT ME!" He roared, rushing into the thousands of demon and human thralls alike.

*Slash* *Slash* *Slash*

*Whirl* *Whirl*

*Cling*

*Roar*

Weeks passed as he fought, killing one thrall after another while moving toward the baby Kulkan demon at the center. The Kulkan's thralls were much slower than him, even if they did somewhat enhance the durability of their hosts. They could not keep up with Marick's pure speed and as they say, half of the battle is who strikes fastest. Steadily, a path was cleared through the horde of thousands reaching the baby Kulkan demon at the center.

"Hell~walker~" The Kulkan demon spoke, rattling his ribcage just from the depth of its voice.

Marick thought the demon would taunt him like the rest, but it did not. Instead, it opened its mouth wide, rolling out an impossibly long tongue like a red carpet, curling around him like a tentacle and pulling him in. The tongue itself was massive, easily stretching 2 modern highways in width and its curled strength was like a hydraulic press, squeezing together its prey.

It pulled him into its open mouth with an expression of delight on its face, not much unlike the usual expression its many thralls have. Perhaps thinking it would enjoy a most delicious source of suffering for all eternity, too bad it would be only be disappointed. Only a few minutes since it restrained him inside its mouth, its egg-like head began to crack.

*Crack* *Crack*

"!! HE-HELLWALKER~!!" The Kulkan let out an excruciating scream, shaking the ground in all directions like an earthquake.

*Punch*

A hand burst through the cracks on the side of its face clutching a pieces of beating black heart tissue, followed by another shortly after. Marick pulled himself out of the Kulkan completely covered in blood, an unsettling and cruel smile plastered on his face. 

"Hmm~" Marick hummed, watching the mountain-sized Kulkan demon shrivel like a giant grape, pouring into his sword.

He felt the familiar wave of refreshment hit him much stronger than ever before as a small mountain's worth of energy filled his mind. And then, something shattered.

*Click* *Shatter*

He felt the entire world open up to him like never could have felt before. An unprecedented clarity filled every corner of his mind like none other. The amount of energy seemed to have 'refreshed' him beyond the limit of his mind.

*Crack*

*Shrieking sounds*

*Demonic laughter*

A drastic change occurred in the ceiling of the white walls of hell. An opening occurred much larger than the sporadic sacrificial victims which usually fall here from an Apostle's birth. This time, the entire ceiling seemed to be opening above him and many demons were swarming towards the spots which were easier to reach and climb through.

It would seem, something else much bigger than him slaying a Kulkan demon was about to occur.