Dante continued climbing the vines, feeling the demonic energy in the atmosphere intensify with each ascent. It was like climbing a mountain where the air thins, yet different—the energy he sensed grew ever stronger.
"What the hell is up here," Dante thought, his frustration mounting. His sole objective now was to find Sara. In terms of floors, he had already reached the tenth.
Dante's frustration was entirely justified. Each time he approached a floor, the vines and roots would attack him, only to be obliterated, followed by encountering another irritating demon.
After facing three demons even before reaching the first floor, Dante was already brimming with latent anger.
Thus, he continued slaughtering any demon that crossed his path without even allowing them to speak or introduce themselves.
For some reason, all the demons seemed idiotic, enjoying making speeches that belittled Dante and his achievements. Then they would die in one or two strikes, posing no real challenge to him.
This was making Dante exhausted—not physically, but mentally! It was a vicious cycle of: Kill the Vines, Climb the Floor, Kill the Demon, Continue Climbing.
It was exhausting!
Dante was on the verge of exploding when he felt the air temperature around him drop suddenly. The vines he was climbing trembled and recoiled as if they were alive, pulsing with a primitive fear.
Something was different this time. He felt a shiver run down his spine as he continued to climb. His instincts screamed a warning, but exasperation clouded his mind.
He reached the eleventh floor, and what he saw made his eyes narrow. A colossal demon with glistening black scales and horns stood in the center of a circular platform. The creature's eyes were two glowing slits that seemed to devour the light around them.
"Ah, finally something different..." Dante murmured with a sarcastic smile. "Or should I say, someone I might have a decent conversation with before smashing your face in."
The demon let out a low, guttural laugh that echoed off the surrounding walls. "You must be Dante," he said, his voice deep as thunder. "The intruder causing such a ruckus. My name is Avaddon, a warrior."
Dante spun his sword in a quick, casual motion, not taking his eyes off the demon. "Of course. Because nothing can be simple, right? Come on, Avaddon. Make your speech or whatever demons do before getting their asses kicked."
Avaddon stepped forward, each step reverberating like thunder. "You think you can continue with that foolish arrogance? I am different from those you've faced. I'm only here for a good fight; destroying you will be fun."
Dante raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "Blah, blah, blah... Destruction of all hope, incarnate ruin. Just a tip: trying to intimidate me with these words won't work. I've had worse days."
Dante mocked, his words dripping with disdain. He had fully embraced the bitterness in his tone; this was just tedious.
"LET'S FIGHT!" roared the demon, his jaws opening in a primal scream that made the surrounding walls tremble. Avaddon spread his massive wings, their span covering the entire platform. Bolts of demonic energy began to gather in his claws, creating an almost tangible aura of devastating power.
Dante adjusted his stance, his eyes gleaming with excitement. Unlike those idiots before, this guy was genuinely different. "Finally, some real action. Come on, Avaddon, show me what you're made of," he said eagerly. Dante wanted to feel something beyond boredom and anger—he craved a decent fight!
As he elevated his aura along with Avaddon's, Dante felt the atmosphere grow heavier. Avaddon's aura was almost six times greater than the previous demons', indicating... "An ancient warrior demon..." Dante thought.
"How many years has this guy lived to have such an aura as a demon?" Avaddon's aura was distinct from other demons, exuding an unparalleled force and power, something Dante had rarely encountered in this world.
The clash of energy between them was palpable, their auras colliding like opposing fields. Dante leapt forward, his sword sparking as it sliced through the air.
Avaddon charged at him, his claws glowing with a dark energy. The impact was explosive, causing the platform to tremble and cracks to form in the ground.
Bolts of energy and fragments of vines scattered around, as if the environment itself was reacting to the intensity of the battle.
But as they both pulled back, a devastating presence swept through Dante's senses—a presence he knew all too well, one he did not wish to encounter at the moment...
A few moments earlier...
Dark sounds echoed through the air as a woman walked among the ruins of her castle. It seemed like an everyday apocalypse in the Ninth Circle of Hell, where time flowed in a distorted and relentless manner.
"Paimon," Lilith called out, but received no response beyond the echo of her own voice resonating through the empty halls. Her footsteps echoed heavily, marking the oppressive silence that now enveloped the ruined castle.
"They captured you too, didn't they?" she murmured to herself, feeling the weight of failure hang over her shoulders. She still bore the title of Sovereign, but her authority seemed increasingly hollow in the face of Lucifer's relentless advance.
In that moment of silence, her thoughts darkened. "Even my most loyal... Have I fallen so far?" she mused, her eyes narrowing as she looked around the shattered remnants of her once mighty domain.
She clenched her fists, the air around her thickening with an aura of dark determination. Lilith's resolve was unwavering, even in the face of this setback. She knew the battles ahead would be brutal, and she was ready to reclaim her power, to restore her kingdom from the ashes.
Years of war had turned allies into enemies and put ancient loyalties to the test. Lucifer manipulated the demons who slipped from Lilith's control, using them to bolster his own ranks as she struggled to maintain dominion over her fractured realm.
"I can no longer simply summon demons to fight for me. The Negative World Tree... why are they so willing to help Lucifer?" Lilith questioned herself, her eyes fixed on the sinister structures piercing the red skies of Hell, emerging as portals overhead. "Damnation..." she murmured.
"I must find a way to regain control," she whispered to herself, her words echoing within the now silent walls of the castle, where only shadows danced in the twilight filtering through broken windows.
"I'm so tired..." she said, sitting on the throne of bones and breathing heavily. She had done so much in recent years; so much had happened to her. She had fought in long battles that lasted days, killed countless demons, and resurrected them to her side. Lilith was almost like a necromancer on the battlefield, bringing demons to her side while slaying more and more.
Yet, the Demon Kings began to turn against her. Why? What was she doing so wrong?
Nights of insomnia and endless days of strategizing now seemed in vain. She mentally relived each confrontation, each decision that led her to this moment of desolation. The castle, once a symbol of her power, was silent and desolate, echoing only with the murmurs of her own despair.
"Why do they turn against me?" she murmured, her words laden with anguish. The answer didn't come easily, not even in her loneliest moments. The World Trees outside, impassive witnesses to her gradual downfall, seemed rooted not just in the soil of Hell but also in her desperate struggle for lost control.
Lilith closed her eyes for a moment, trying to find an answer in the depths of her exhausted mind. The war had changed all of them, including herself, transforming her from a powerful ruler into a leader worn out by war and betrayal...
"I give up this futile battle," she declared, leaning back slightly on her throne. She wasn't defeated in a fair way, but in a war, the most cunning wins, and Lucifer seemed to have triumphed in that aspect.
She focused a bit and a contract appeared in her hands, the same one she had given to the Demon King to help her in the future. "I need you... my lovely husband... I just want to spend some time with you..." she murmured. Lilith seemed... so fragile.
"This must be delivered to the true Emperor," she said, looking at the ring she wore—a completely black ring, which held the key to the Ruler of Hell.
Lilith looked to the skies again, where portals opened through which the roots extended. "I will escape Hell and find you... my dear Dante," she said and, with a firm push of her feet, she flew towards one of the roots leading to the other world.
"I lost the battle, but not the war, you heavenly father's pet. I will avenge this plot... I will kill you personally." Lilith cursed the world, glancing back as she flew towards the portals traversed by the roots of the lesser trees.
She passed through the entry to the world and a colossal pain descended upon her body, but she continued to tread the path, climbing higher and higher, crossing the Boundary, Between Worlds, breaking through and transcending into the world of the living.
And so, the Primordial Demon, the Sustainer of All Hell, the Demon Goddess who tirelessly ruled Hell for millions of Eras, returned to the world of the living.
Not as an enemy, but as a woman seeking a man she longed to be with.
The Demon Goddess Lilith, or rather... Lilith Scarlet, the Progenitor of Demons, returned to the Mortal World.