Stevedore

In less than a minute, the three Motherbound are slaughtered. It's not even a fair fight—not in the slightest. Between Silas' newfound strength, Mie, to bolster his Wishes with support, and the two demons, Inerea and Odyss, the Motherbound didn't stand a chance. Even worse, Lily, Marion, and Otto join in to seal their fates.

Though they don't do it to be faster, they join in to force the Motherbound into submission as I move to Abraham, still scouring the surroundings for the hidden piece of the Court's soul. With them covering the Motherbound, they buy some extra time before the Court loses its mind and forces upon us its judgment.

I'm unsure what it is, but I'm positively certain I don't want any of this Natural God's 'Judgment'.

With one hand, I take Abraham's wounds from him, Sacrifice eating through my flesh to restore his. It's painful, but I've grown used to it. A little. I wish I had some more practice, especially without Blodwyn to push away the hurt, but I manage... fine.

Abraham thanks me and attempts to speak to me, but I don't have a spare thought to lend to him. Every morsel of my being is fraught with finding another exit—that, and withstanding the pain of my body looking like Rougarou's favorite meal. I quickly get to fixing that issue, copying Blodwyn's skills, though to a lesser degree, while frantic to find the way out.

Another minute passes as I begin to sense a creeping danger, one growing over our heads. Shit... Faster! The Court is furious at what I'm doing, but it must be at its limit with the Gods in Hell already! That means... I can make some moves, but nothing too big, or it'll divert all of its attention to squish me.

Ah hah! Found it!

Another contest of souls, and I force another portal to a different arena into reality. This one... leads to a war between Motherbound and uninfected demons, all possessing the Sigil of a Power or Virtue. Not all the arenas are reachable from one another; some take multiple steps.

Shouting at everyone, I hold this gate open. It's strenuous, and Lily has to pass me more of the nearby souls that she devours just to keep my soul from breaking down. As the final person, Inerea, passes through, I dive into the next arena.

The dirt ends up in my mouth from my fall, but I cannot seriously spare a shit. Pushing my arms down, I end back onto my legs in but a moment as the others are already fighting. Apparently, these demons are not with Abraham, Odyss, or Inerea, but the female demon knows of them.

And now that I have a second, as my mind spins with exhaustion from my soul, I finally get a good look at her. She's... unique.

Azure wings the size of hands rest upon the sides of her arms, and feathers line the top of her head with brilliant autumn. Furthermore, her use of Ether is something quite interesting. She can absorb skills, not to reflect them back on what I would imagine Eli would do with Powers, but instead, she uses them to amplify her own.

Of which, they are... mesmerizing. With each beat of the demon's arm-wings or her actual arms, a rift in the air opens, slicing open a blade of bloody air beside her opponent.

I only watch her fight for a moment before resuming my focus. Again. I need to find it... The next destination is Aniwye and Virgil, but I'll have to go through another before I head to them.

Shit...

My vision is already swaying back and forth. Dominion overuse—it's not as dangerous as Ether oversaturation, but soul exhaustion will still put someone down for the count.

Flicking my eyes back, I see Lennon locked in a battle with a Dominion through the folded space. He's... it's not going all too well for him, but I can't see him losing. Birdie is distracting the other Virtue, so it's a simple duel. Lennon versus another being.

In a duel, always bet on the monster, not the man—a common phrase among Hunters. It's to differentiate the innate strength of monsters, demons, and the like from humans, highlighting how we mist stand united. Only... in this case, I pity the Motherbound Lennon is pitted against.

If Lennon is not the monster in this metaphor, then Motherbound is, at most, a rabbit. It might be, ostensibly, at an advantage, more potent in every way, but I've never seen Lennon lose an uninterrupted duel. He might be comatose afterward, but not even Gorgeous could put that tough bastard down.

So, I continue the path toward Aniwye and Virgil, worried for the two of them. The former and the latter are exhausted from previous battles, pushed to their limits, and then some.

Another portal opens, and we pass through it. Then, another, gathering a few more pure demons to join us. By the time I fall onto the ground in front of my mother, our group is composed of more demons than it is humans.

However, Odyss and Inerea do not tolerate any disrespect from them. A few stare at my gasping form with derision, yet the winged demon threatens their existence.

"How dare you give him such a look! He's your savior, Gammen! Equal to your 'queen' you used to follow so devoutly. Now! Go help the Ogre and the shadow! Can't you see they are losing!?"

I give Inerea a nod of thanks while the others rush past her to take down the two Motherbound Virtues as soon as possible. She doesn't seem to find it as meaningful as I do.

"Appreciate it."

"Of course."

A moment passes as we're the only two together while the six demons, four humans, and one Arca overwhelm the Virtues in a mirthful fashion. Wounds build up between them from the many fights, but if it ever gets too bad, I intervene, Sacrificing some flesh to protect their vitals.

"Why are you here?"

Glancing up at her, she stares down at me, her luminous eyes, the pupils shaped like feathers, reflecting my own wretched figure. Then, the demon crosses her arms, those wings flapping slightly.

"I'm guarding you. At this point, you're our only escape. If you die or become too injured to continue breaking open those portals, we all die. So... continue. I'll guard you, Court Leaper."

I laugh at the title she gives me, the odd two words in a language she obviously has only learned to a conversational level. I have to comprehend much of what she says through bodily motions or context. Gripping onto an open cavity in my stomach, I get onto my knees, reigniting my search for the way onward.

Unfortunately, I'm nowhere near as practiced as Blodwyn is in reconstructing our body, plus I have little time to focus on it. Still, the build-up of wounds are not at a dangerous level yet.

As I peer into reality for the weaknesses of a God, I inquire into my new... friend? Friend. She seems close to Abraham. That's close enough for me. Next stop... Lennon is still doing good. Bonfire is next, then. But... where is he?

"What kind of demon are you, Inerea? I've never seen one such at you, even in texts."

The woman laughs, her voice merry and purposeful as she lays a soft palm on my shoulder. She starts her words with pride, but it quickly descends into mourning. I'd think she was human if it weren't for her eyes, feathers, and miniature wings. Her skin color is slightly offset red, but that could be sunburn.

"I am an Ataensic. It roughly means... sky and woman in Chero. There are not many of us, ever since..."

When Inerea trails off, I finish what I assume she means. Demons once lived on the surface. All of them—not just those that remained. These 'sky women' must have lost their advantages without a sky.

"Since you all were forced into Hell, no? You demons used to walk the surface, correct?"

Still probing for that bit of a soul, I listen to the Ataensic speak about her past and people, giving me more clarity on the world before the Collapse.

"Yes. A long time ago, many, many... many years ago, we demons used to rule the lands. We were the most abundant civilization. But... we demons are not a single, undivided race, and that led to our downfall as others rose and toppled us by using the Wonders in addition to Her arrival. We are... a collection of similar offshoots of beings. Not even I know what we were once, but I do know we were all once the same."

The notion that demons aren't all the same race isn't all that new. Many have considered the conjecture because demons are so varied. I've spoken to Aniwye about it, too, but she didn't have a definitive answer. I suppose only a demon that kept their ancestral knowledge would.

Still, more questions remain, even as I force open another portal, acclimatizing to the struggle of souls.

"So... what happened? How have you all fallen so far?"

Inerea sighs, shoving another through the opened gate through space as she helps my wobbling body through. I could inhale for Freedom to help my movement and stave off my injuries, but I'm saving my Ether saturation for an emergency. The Ataensic only answers as she holds one of my arms over my shoulder, allowing me to see the ongoing warfare as we travel toward Lennon, unable to find Bonfire.

"My parents, Ataensic like me, passed down much of the past to me, hopeful for my potential. But, they did not receive all of it themselves. I only know... I only know that we reached out to the Gods for help during our civil war, praying that one would save our empire from destruction, using our greatest Augurs. One did. Only... it wasn't one we wanted."

"Was... was it Her?"

A melancholic nod solidifies what must have happened to cause the demons to be so disarrayed, so disjointed. They are scattered all over the world, from different continents to the Underworld, even to Hell itself. All over, they have been forced into.

It makes sense that if they once had a grand civilization all over the world, they would end up so scattered. Furthermore, if they were so powerful, they must have had access to some Sigils, but likely only those of the Base Sigils.

I find it hard to believe that a Wondrous individual existed before the Mother Below arrived besides the Natural Gods, seeing as none cared to help, even Gluskab, before that, and Sigils themselves were said to be hundreds of times more scarce. History is such a complicated web. But I now see that demons aren't our enemies at all. They might have summoned or called Usen from whatever beyond she was in, but... they were victims all the same.

Innately powerful, sure, but their civilization crumpled like all the rest. Inerea pats me on the shoulder, ending our conversation as a piece of shrapnel flies at us.

Inerea's wings beat, and two identical rifts in space open, slicing the shrapnel away. Despite the danger, I never pull my focus away from my mission. Though... it's getting convoluted again. I think the Court is adapting at an incredible rate and being besieged by forces beyond my knowledge.

"How long has it been, do you reckon?"

The demon shrugs, spouting a number that answers it all.

"Dunno. At least... ten thousand since our original empire? Maybe a little over a thousand for the scattered countries left over. I doubt anything we built even remains to this day. From what I've been told, Sigils weren't abundant back then. Even the Demon Emperor was only a fourth despite being the strongest of his time. How funny is that? An undefeated 4th Sigil? How comical."

Nodding, I find another string of the Court's soul, sending us through yet another door in space. With my Dominion, I hold it open, getting Lily's help once more as the God's focus returns to me with weighted fervor.

In this new arena, I find Lennon finally making it to his battlefield. But as I step on the dirt, I discover it is no longer the brownish sandy tint. It is bloody crimson. Birdie is off to the side, resting on her back with a hand on her stomach from an awful laceration that would kill any mortal by emptying their guts. Meanwhile...

A bloodied man stands subtly bent amongst a mound of thousands of dead bodies. Each corpse is identical and wields a longsword and dagger in their deceased palms. As I scan the grounds with my eyes, I find one figure of midnight chains, but it is not the Dominion I was expecting.

Lennon Hull reels back, his hunched form aiming to the sky and dripping fleshy crimson as I witness the most primal, deep-seated, and relieved scream of my life. It is the howl of a man who refuses to die, who refuses to be anything other than the best.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

His Dominion shifts into phantasmal arms, revealing itself to any eye, not just my keen ones, as they unfurl, opening to the sky to join in the bloodcurdling warcry.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Crimson continues to drain from Lennon as I take a stumbling step toward him. Both Virgil and Anwiye reach out to help me, but I wave them aside. I don't have time to walk to him anyway.

"Lennon!"

The swordsman turns to face me on a dime, his scream ending with a prolonged echo throughout the endless battleground of ruby dirt. The countless bodies of a demon, who, from the whispers of the others, could replicate himself into the hundreds at a time, give even me pause.

The man's eyes are just as crazed as the environment is, bloodshot and aggrieved. Still, the monster recognizes me and strides down from the mountain of carcasses with a limping gait to end before me.

"I see you haven't fallen behind."

The words are spoken with a hidden, veiled threat that I know Lennon means with the utmost respect. He has finally seen me as an opponent. Bated breaths from the demons nearby as I extend my brutalized arm, and Lennon takes it, clasping our forearms together.

"No. You'll get that fight eventually, but we have bigger worries for now."

Lennon grins with unveiled joy as the swordsman lives for such environments. I... If it weren't for the lack of Gods in these arenas, something I know he sees as his next big step, I would reckon he'd want to stay here.

"Of course. It can wait until we're Gods. What better a time, my friend?"

The final word of his is genuine, something Lennon does not bestow lightly. I nod, acknowledging his friendship. To Lennon Hull, friends are respected and liked, two things no one else receives from him, other than Kate and his old comrades.

Just a we shake hands, though, a blaring pain wrestles its way through my mind as the Court strikes down with its judgment. Bloodied rain falls from the sky, each drop possessing such awful danger that Lennon and I move immediately.

I twist, ripping for the exit while also Freeing Lennon's chains. With my aid, the astronomical amount of Ether siphoning into the man, the skies of this realm turn into slips of sliced paper. His formless hands are clad around a single, lone, featureless blade. Dia bears no teeth, yet its every single strike holds devastation not unlike that of Marshall's final punch.

The foremost difference is that each cut has no aftereffect like Marshall's did, the Ether swirling into a storm. But at the same time... Lennon can swing much more than Marshall. Trusting Lennon, I devote everything to finding our way out.

And I do, shortly after. Then, in this new arena, which is already cleared as less and less are still ongoing, the rains begin immediately. I grimace as the two winners die unceremoniously, turning into pulped meat. I'd rather not have that happen to me.

The others join in to help Lennon however they can, likely agreeing, as I carve a path to the edge of the various battlegrounds.

Step by step, we move through battlefield after battlefield, but we still don't find Bonfire anywhere. A growing worry turns from a seed into a tree that I can't ignore. Is he dead? No... there is no way. I'd believe he found a way out faster than he died in his Session.

Nonetheless, even as we reach the edge of the arena, the first Session already turning into a second, I collapse to the earth, unable to move much more. Lennon is also severely fatigued after swinging that soul of his tens of thousands of times.

Our whole group stands exhausted around us as Silas presses a question, the rains forming above. A droplet here or there has touched everyone at least once, so many are missing large segments of flesh, bone, or even limbs in some cases. Silas, however, is unmarred by Mie's aid.

"What now? Wyatt, Lennon, can neither of you two break us out all the way?"

I shrug, unable to formulate a surefire response. Instead, I shift to Abraham. He is the only one that can save us here. My soul and Lennon's soul are overused. There is no way we have the strength to break out.

"Abraham... this is on you. You need to Daymare someone in to help. Or... us out."

The alabaster-skinned man groans in pain, hardly able to stand as he nods grimly. Slapping his hands together, he closes his eyes and asks for my help.

"Can you enhance my mind, Wyatt? And... who should I grab? I... can reverse Daymare now with my recent Virtue, but I... I can't do it here. It's still not all that natural to me."

Who? Who will be able to break through this final wall?

As I scour my memories, my first thoughts are of the Lords, Tonuyn, and Ytern. As far as I know, only they currently possess the strength needed to escape. Silas could also try to Wish us out, but I won't even bring that up in his current state.

Instead, my mind flickers back to that brief touch I shared with Bonfire after his body reformed—the pain upon my soul. The Crimson Court's soul, Dominion, whatever it is, holds this all together. If Bonfire could somehow burn it, I could use that moment of weakness to pull us out.

And so, my answer is the man who Abraham has called the most to his aid. He's not what I would call reliable, but he is always there when you need him. Plus... I want to know where that dumbass went.