Chapter 55: Road To Hell

And he was right.

Something bad finally happened and not in the way you'd think.

"Of all the ways to wake up, this is something I never expected." Sora said calmly as he stood on a hot and earthy platform.

The surroundings were dark but the glowing river of lava under the platform and around him illuminated the way.

In front of him was what resembled a castle but it looked like it came out of a horror movie. Looking around, he found no doors or exits around him except for the path towards the castle itself.

He took a moment to check himself. Still feeling his chakra and his full strength, he started moving.

As he walked forward, notifications continued popping up in front of him.

[Heat Resistance has leveled up!]

[Heat Resistance has leveled up!]

[Heat Resistance has leveled up!]

[Heat Resistance has leveled up!]

The uncomfortable heat he was feeling from the moment he found himself here began to feel less uncomfortable with each pop up.

He took his time as he walked on the narrow path, moving closer to the spooky castle.

Though he was surrounded by hot lava, his eyes caught many creatures around. Many bird like creatures flapped their wings far above him as the circled around.

They looked more like skeletons than birds with how thin and bony were. They were too far away for him to appraise them so he didn't bother.

'What kind of weird place is this?' He thought as he got close to the gate of the castle.

He could swear that he saw a face looking at him from the lava but it disappeared less than a second later.

Upon reaching the gate, it opened on its own causing his eyes to narrow.

'Either this place is somewhat sentient or someone else is here and they're expecting me.' He thought cautiously as he walked in.

The castle grounds were filled with strange doglike creatures that sniffed around. They looked more like wolves than dogs with their feral look.

There was also the fact that they were bigger than dogs and had glowing yellow eyes with the tips of their tails resembling a puff of flames.

The moment the gate opened, they leaped at him with their seemingly countless number.

With his sharingan now activated, an unsheathed kusanagi appeared in his palm as he cut down the first one that got close.

Another one leaped at him but he dodged to the side, slashing at the one whose line of sight he had jumped into.

'Even if I fall back I'll end up on that platform with no way out. I guess I'm just going to have to deal with this.' He analyzes coldly as leaped back a bit, going through hand signs.

His mouth puffed up as he exhaled a large amount of chakra-infused gunpowder from his lips, covering the entire area in front of him.

With a quick click of his teeth, the dangerous smokescreen in front of him ignited in a powerful explosion.

With his sword still in his hand, he glared at his surroundings for any survivors. His caution proved fruitful as he blocked a swipe from one of the creatures that jumped out of the smoke.

It's fur was burnt and still burning but it seemed to ignore as it was hell bent on attacking Sora. Kicking the creature back down, he slashed forward, beheading it instantly.

There were only a handful left as the smoke from the explosion died down but they were easy to take care of.

As the last one stood a fair distance in front of him, not daring to attack, he took the chance to analyze it.

[Name: N/A]

[Race: Hellhound]

[Title: Servant of Hell]

[Fealty: Hades]

[Health: 65%/100%]

[A mythological hound which embodies a guardian or a servant of hell and the underworld.]

[Emotions: Fear]

With analyze now at level 20, he could garner more information and what he read truly stumped him.

'Hades!? So this is hell. How did I get here? I'm pretty sure I was in my room before this. Did I die again? That's not possible, the apartment is protected by numerous seals and runes. Though if it's Hades…' Many thoughts races through his head as he stared down the hellhound.

It raised its snout to the air, sniffing for a moment before it scurried away.

'What?' He thought, looking confused but that didn't last for long as three howls sounded in the air as the ground shook a bit.

He heard heavy footsteps coming from behind the castle. Judging from the sound, it seemed they were much more than the first group.

'So there were more hiding. I guess I'll need t-!?' His thoughts were interrupted as the hellhounds made their way into his line of sight.

Rather, it was a single large one with three head that were larger than Sora himself. Though he didn't need to do it, he still did it out of habit.

[Name: Cerberus]

[Race: Hellhound]

[Title: Guardian Of Hell]

[Fealty: Hades]

[Health: 100%/100%]

[A multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. The offspring of the monsters Echidna and Typhon is known for his capture by Heracles.]

[Emotions: Anger]

'Anger? What did I do?' Sora thought as the large creature sped towards him.

Cerberus was exactly how legends had portrayed him to be; large with three heads and a serpent for a tail. His glowing eyes would inspire fear into any who even dared to look at him.

'No more playing around.' Sora thought as Cerberus got closer.

His sharingan spun as the tomoe merged and twisted, forming the mangekyo pattern.

Just as the two of the heads snapped towards him, two purple skeletal hands caught them by the necks. The third head finally snapped forward but was temporarily halted as black flames burst into existence on its eyes, blinding it.

That didn't stop its attempts as it swiped its large claw at him. The purple chakra fully formed the rib cage barrier, blocking the swipe but sending him back.

He was forced to release the other heads as he flew back, managing to land on his feet despite the force in the attack.

"Hmph!!!" Sora let out a grunt as he poured more chakra into the Susano'o, the incomplete evolution forming as the upper skeletal body formed.

The head quickly formed, possessing demonic horns, a long appendage on its chin, and a malevolent grin. A sword of purple chakra formed in it's hand as he stared down the rapidly approaching guardian.

The avatar made of chakra swung its blade at Cerberus only for him to dodge but the swing didn't stop as it grazed the serpentine tail, causing it to hiss in pain.

The other hand held the middle head at bay as the other ones snapped at it but couldn't bite through it. He drew the blade back, slashing at the neck in his hand.

The head closest to the blade attempted to stop it by biting through the blade but the chakra blade cut cleanly through its mouth.

Though he had gotten one of the head, the other one managed to duck under it as the blade traveled through the second one.

With two heads gone at once, it howled in what Sora could only describe as pain and anger as it moved away from his range.

Just as he aimed another slash, he felt his eyes flare up in pain, causing him to halt for a moment.

"Ah!?" He could help but make a sound at the pain as he held a hand to his eyes.

'Right, I almost forgot about that. I have to end this quickly!' He thought as the sword dissipated, the Susano'o going into a different stance.

A bow made of purple chakra appeared in its hands as the Cerberus eyed him warily. Seeming to understand what he wanted to do, the creature leaped it him with it's one remaining head in an attempt to stop him.

As the large dog was still airborne, an arrow made of black flames formed on the surface of the bow, the other hand pulling it back as it aimed for the final head.

Just as Cerberus was about to snap it's jaw, the arrow of black flames was released as it shot into it's mouth, the power in the attack sending it flying back with arrow piercing through.

"ROOAAAARRRR!!!!" The creature let out one final roar as the arrow pierced through its head and into its tail.

Cerberus' body thrashed around as the black flames spread from the point of contact.

The purple chakra construct began dissipating as Sora stopped pouring chakra into it. He focused on the flames devouring the formerly three headed dog, his right eye widening just slightly as the flames seemed to grow even more and envelop Cerberus.

"Burn away." He muttered under his breath as his eyes reverted to their normal black color, though it seemed to be a lighter shade than usual.

"Damn. I'd be toast if I hadn't learnt this." He commented, slowly raising his right hand to face level as it glowed a green color.

[Heal]

He placed the palm of his hand over his eyes for a few seconds as the pain receded completely. After a few more moments, he let the glow die down as he reopened his eyes, his eyes now being their usual shade of black.

He had been attempting to learn the mystic palm jutsu for a while but it had proved to be unsuccessful. He was pleasantly surprised to find a healing spell within [Evocation Magic].

It worked much better than what he knew of the mystic palm jutsu, this one even being able to cure blindness, diseases and at higher levels, regenerate limbs. Needless to say, he had quickly learned it.

He pulled out a mana and stamina potion from his inventory, drinking them both to refill his chakra reserves.

'Now, time to explore a deadly castle in hell. I never thought I'd be saying that.' He thought dryly as he walked towards the front door that opened once he got close.

'Great.' He thought sarcastically as he stepped in, the door closing behind him.