Hound’s Duty?
⚡️Volume 2: The Badlands⚡️
?Written by Crownway Amef?
⚡️Episode 37⚡️
SEMI-FINALE?
On getting to the down area of Tartarus, they watch the long line of deads walking towards the fire of the damned.
They exchange motivating glances at each other then walked down from the high place.
Carefully and one after the other, they slip into the long line of the deads wailing and growling.
They stayed together so as not to lose anyone plus it would be easier to slip away when it’s time.
The line leads to the fire of the damned where demons are waiting to torture damned souls and they can’t run or move out of the line, on the right side is river styx where new dead arrived before being judged of the weight of their punishment.
Erik and friends just have to move out of the line once they see river styx in sight.
LOCATION: The Earth
The atmosphere was cold and piercing, the once heavy rain has been replaced with drizzle falling on the blood stained ground of Grandma Sarah’s villa.
She pants heavily with her weapon full of blood and sticky liquids.
Flora dipped her guns inside the mini flower vase on the balcony to rinse them with water and Ken is seen cleaning his weapons as well.
Torn, tattered and ugly pieces of black angels everywhere on the floor. They killed every monsters that came their way.
They never relented until the Black angels stopped coming. They disappeared all of a sudden.
“They are safe from our side here, it’s left for them to keep their candles glowing” Grandma Sarah said.
“The black angels disappeared, what if Hades attacks them himself?” Flora asked.
“They are bunch of teenagers.” she added.
“He won’t, he can’t! It’s against protocol guiding each dimensions. He can only send his adversaries to hunt them down but he can’t fight them personally” Grandma Sarah answered.
LOCATION: HADES
They’ve been walking with the deads for quite a while now and they see nothing but vast darkness ahead.
“Do you think we are on the wrong road?” Jeff asked.
“You should calm down Jeff” Kira whispered.
Erik’s feet crushed a weak skull and it grinded down into powder. Basically they are walking on bones of dead demons and even damned people as well.
The sight was not so comforting for them—they wished to get everything over with as soon as possible.
Haliah would have used her oculus eyes to zoom the area as usual but to do that, she would have to stop in her tracks.
And if she stops, the dead’s would get the hang of it and divert their attention on her so she continued moving weakly pretending to be one of them.
Finally, they feel the cold air from the river and they knew it’s close by.
Falcon nodded his head to inform them that the river is close and they should prepare to slip out without turning heads of the damned or the higher demons waiting at the fire of the damned.
Ciara was planning to summon her book and search for any invisibility spell but the lines of the deads are too tight with each other.
She closed her eyes casted a spell to cause a distraction. The ground split up at the far end of line which distracted the demons and even the deads.
She summoned her magic book anyway and flipped through the pages hurriedly with a searching spell.
On seeing it, she smiled and informed the rest that she would go first and cause a bigger distraction for others to escape.
Even if they make it to River Styx, it’s only Falcon that can transport them back.
Ciara muttered the spells and she disappeared into thin air. Only her footsteps are seen on the moist part of the area.
On getting to the Canoe, she smiles and waved her hands to tell the rest and they all sighed in relief.
Then out of nowhere, someone stabbed her from behind.
Lady in Black stabbed her with her hell spear and it came out through the front.
Ciara wimpered as blood trickles down her stomach.
Lady in Black spoke in a different voice “Do you all bunch of kids think that you can fool a whole ruler of hell?!” his deep and thunderous voice came.
The rest saw what just happened and Anthony sped with his super speed to River Styx not minding the deads.
Erik and the rest were about to follow when black angels troops in from above.
They are the remaining black angels that fled Grandma Sarah’s mansion.
Seeing Ciara go down in pain, Kira screamed so loud and her voice resonates in every corners of hell.
Surprisingly, the deads joined in her screams and the wave turned to a turbulent tornado hovering around Kira in her wailing woman state.
Nobody saw that coming. Since her power is related to premonitions, death predictions and all, being around the dead only fuels her power.
The tornado swirled violently and swallowed up the black angels coming their way.
The deads could not attack her, instead they continued screaming with her.
Anthony was quick to catch Ciara from falling inside the river. He holds her dearly In his arms as she struggles to speak.
“You stay awake do you hear me?! Don’t you dare close your eyes” Anthony said to Ciara.
“Come on please!” he cried.
Lady in Black’s spear changed back to a sickle and she raised it up to attack Anthony when he looked her up with eyes full of rage and fire.
His fiery eyes pinned her into place and she could not move.
Haliah was quick to get to her and she hold her hands immediately.
“ You have to stay alive and survive this place with me please. I haven’t even thanked you yet” she cried on Ciara.
After clearing the Black angels, Kira and others went to join them.
Jeff shifted from his giant form to a big python and he wrapped up around Lady In Black trying to break her into pieces.
Surprisingly, Lady In Black morphed into a small bird and escaped his hold. Jeff returned to his human state and seeing this, she morphed back into a poisonous snake and bit him.
“Since when can she morph?” Erik asked.
“It’s not her… We are dealing with hades himself” Falcon said.
“There is only one way to end this” Falcon said then moved forward to stand in front of them.
His will came out of him and entered the river then a portal emerged out of it and his will returned to him.
“You should go now!” he said.
“What about you?” Erik asked.
“I can’t go with you in the first place. I live here but not under him” Falcon said.
Anthony carried Ciara in his arms.
“We haven’t seen Susan, we can’t leave without her” Kira said.
“Yes, we can’t” Erik added.
“The portal wont hold for long please make everything worth it” Falcon said.
“I brought everyone here, I can’t risk anyone’s life again” Erik said feeling so bad and angry.
Lady in black laughed hysterically from afar.
Erik asked Kira to help Jeff up and he asked them to leave.
“No! We can’t! We are not leaving anyone behind” Kira insisted.
Haliah went over to Ciara, she touched her wound and the blue halo on her head shined brightly.
Ciara’s wounds closed up at once and she coughed out blood. With her chest heaving up and down at a fast rate, she was quick to repudiate the pain.
She jumped down from Anthony’s arms “I’m okay” she said with her hands clenched into fist, ready to wreck havoc and destroy everywhere.
She conjured the ground to split up and she controlled rocks out of their places. Ciara sent it towards Lady In Black but she dodged everything.
Just then, Ciara’s magic book appeared without being summoned, she was confused.
“Why is it glowing so much?” Kira asked.
“It must have sensed a strong presence here… Probably hades” Ciara said.
Before they could process what was happening, they were hit by a ball of blue fire which sent them into the portal. Everyone of them!
Falcon stared at the last one standing in shock.
“You might not be able to leave” he said.
“I can’t risk their lives”
LOCATION: EARTH.
Five candles went out and five out of 7 of them woke up from the water they were immersed in. They woke up coughing and sneezing.
Kira, Jeff, Anthony, Ciara and Haliah came back from hades safe and sound. Their heads turned at the same time to see Erik and Susan still in the water.
“What happened to my grandson?!” Grandma Sarah asked.
“Did he just drive us out of hades?” Jeff asked with squinted eyes. The poison was spreading.
Ken saw Jeff going pale and his lips purple, he knew at once that he was poisoned.
“Let’s get you treated first” Ken said.
“There’s no way I’m leaving Erik there! Is there another way to go back? I need to go back right now please” Haliah cried.
“Please I can’t let him die… I must go back in there” she cried.
Just then, their candles went out as well.
“What just happened?” Kira asked in confusion.
LOCATION: HADES
When the portal closed up, Falcon had stayed with Erik. The two stood side by side watching Ciara’s magic book that didn’t enter the portal with them.
The light from the book entered River Styx and brought back a body.
Susan’s cold body levitating amidst air.
Nobody understands what’s going on and then her body rest carefully inside the canoe.
“Your lights are out because you won’t go back the same way you came” Falcon said.
“How?” Erik asked.
“You both didn’t escape when the portal was up, your borrowed time with the Dream Merchant is over and your candles are off by now” Falcon said.
Erik lowered his head then smiled to himself “Are we gonna die?” he asked.
“You both are dead” Falcon said.
