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Chapter 9

Grim Reaper

Damion’s POV.

“Master the man Arthas has entered Ladies Hold” my Orthrus Void Ridge spoke to me mentally.

Sitting in my stone chair within my fortress I spoke mentally back “I hope he’s not playing around; anyways Void Ridge how has his progress with the grim cores been going?”

“Master his progress so far is decent; but with the civil war coming in the high realms we don’t have the time to wait” Void Ridge spoke.

“Shadow Tide what is the progress of the high realm civil war” I turned my head and asked the Orthrus that was sitting beside me.

The Orthrus opened its eyes and spoke in my mind “the conflict between the grims and Orthrus’s has reached its breaking point; the high realms with use this conflict to fight their battles in purgatory.”

“Hmm I guess we have no choice” I spoke aloud to myself; then sent to Void Ridge “let’s speed this up then Void; I need you to help Arthas”

“Yes master”

Then Shadow Tide spoke “master from what I’ve picked up on the grims they have a scout camp set up close to here”

“Very good; Void when you reach Arthas I need to speak to him”

“As you command Master”

I stood up and headed toward the deepest point of my stronghold with my Orthrus Shadow Tide following me. At the bottom of the long stairway was a blank grey stone wall. I waved my hand in a practiced pattern and black runes on the wall glowed; when I finished the pattern the runes moved and a doorway appeared. I walked inside the darkroom and on the ground in a large pattern were 80 grim cores all collected by others now long dead.

There were 60 empty slots in the large pattern and from the black lines that connected all these slots together there was black mist leaking and filling the room. I looked around the room and took a deep breath. I extended both arms and spoke my chant and plea.

“Oh Evil God help this once dammed soul complete the mission given to me let me return once more to the world of life and living. Let everything return to what it once was, let the darkness rule once more and let the light weep the mighty darkness will claim that which was once his!”

After my words the black mist spun around the room and was sucked into the black lines on the ground. When everything settled down the room was empty of the black mist; but looking at the lines they were ever so slowly leaking the black mist. ‘I can’t do this anymore the ritual is losing power too fast’ I thought leaning against the wall behind me and sliding to the ground.

On the ground Shadow looked at me and lied beside me and closed his 4 eyes and his two heads leaked black slime onto the ground. I took out the core of the girl whose soul I’d saved and thought… should I destroy it or leave it? ‘I should keep it if I want his help one last time… not like he’s leaving here alive anyways’ I thought and placed the soul in my cloak.

“Evil god I won’t fail; not again…” I spoke with my fists clenched.

Arthas POV.

Sitting in a chair deep in Ladies hold with one of their girls on my lap trying to flirt with me. I looked around to see people look almost happy as they passed their time flirting and laughing.

“Sir are you ok?” the girl on my lap asked me; looking confused at my lack of attention to her.

She was a very cute girl black hair green eyes; she had a face that spoke of innocents but had eyes that spoke of the evil deep within her heart and soul. I stood and the girl stood as well as she was forced off my lap as I stood. I pulled out my smiling skeleton mask and looked at it; the girl now had horror on her face and she yelled out.

“Guards it’s the Soul Eater!” After shouting she started to run away.

I put on the mask and looked at the now running girl and in quick lightning fast steps I was behind her and in a smooth movement my sword appeared and I sliced the back of her neck. The girl stopped and dropped to her knees and her head fell from her shoulders. Looking around I could see the female guards of Ladies Hold had surrounded me.

“Well then let’s play a game I like to call the dying game HEHE”

I quickly jumped at the armed guards and with quick slashes and fast movements I was already mowing down these women. One guard came at me with a large sword and it seemed she was the captain of these guards. She swung at me and I have to give her credit she was the best fighter other than Akino or Damion that I’d seen; but with that large sword of hers I was at the advantage.

I feinted to the left where she tried to block but I went to her right and as I passed on that side I sliced the back of her ankle slicing her Achilles tendon. She tried to turn but with her tendon sliced she collapsed and my sword stabbed into her throat as she fell.

When I looked at the rest of the guards they were backing up and heading slowly to the exit. I slowly walked toward them and sheathed my sword the five remaining guards turned to run and as they ran I pulled a quick step and drew my blade and sliced three of the guards on the back of their necks. The last two that had made it I chased and cut them down

One was cut down before she reached the door and the last was cut down just as we past the door and her head rolled away as her body fell limp. I looked around and I felt like cursing myself; as the hallway both ways was filled with women guards who all had spears pointed at me. They were standing shoulder to shoulder with about four fitting in the rows.

Seeing I was boxed in I awaited a hard fight; but then I heard a voice filled with arrogance reach my ears.

“Who dares cause trouble in my Ladies Hold and have the audacity to hurt my girls” the woman said.

The other women all moved out of her way and even bowed their heads slightly. The woman that had walked out had long beautiful silky black hair and sharp dark green eyes. The woman had a look like everyone was to be beneath her; but I just said this to her.

“Hey. That’s me I just had a complaint about the customer service on my last visit; you see two of your girls tried to hold me hostage.” I scratched my head like I was saying something embarrassing.

The woman stared at me in confusion then glared at me as she pulled out a spear. The spear was about 8 feet long and had a small serrated spear tip on it and the shaft was thin and the stance taken was one that took advantage of the spears flexibility.

She looked at my sword and said “you sword users always think you’re the best but today me and my spear will crush you” she grinned “This spear is 1.13 Denja long and was made after the spear I had used in my old life and I’d like to add I was never beaten in a fight.” This lady spoke with confidence.

“Wait…!” I stopped her “What’s a Denja?” I asked.

“Oh you must be a human; that’s about 244 Zo long in your world” she said with a smug look.

‘Oh Akino told me about her worlds measurement system a little and I think 244 Zo would be about 8 feet in my world’ I thought and then looked at the lady in front of me and said.

“soo… we going to fight or what?”

“Fine” the lady didn’t seem happy about something “in the name of my family Siren I, Gevirah Siren former succubus queen, creator and leader of ladies hold I will make you suffer.”

Her spear came at my face I tilted my head to the side and brought up my sword to push the spear away. Her spear skills were top notch and the spear made flexible attacks. Add to that the attacks were nonstop I was starting to get small cuts all over my body. But one of her attacks got a little too close for comfort and slightly cut across my throat almost ending me.

“Fuck I hate spears!” I shouted rubbing the shallow cut on my neck

I couldn’t back up because every time I did a cluster of weapons came at my back from the four women lined up behind me. ‘Well I need to use my runes here’ I thought and let out wind and fire rune then sheathed and drew my blade causing a huge line of hot fire to burst toward Gevirah; but with a quick roll she dodged.

But the girls behind were not as lucky as they were packed together and couldn’t move and as the fire met with them scores of ladies started to scream and burn to death. Gevirah looked at me huge amounts of anger filled her eyes and her spear became surrounded with a yellow wind and the tip of her spear disappeared as she stabbed at me.

I jumped back at the same time sheathed and let out earth and wind element onto my blade then drew at her. My yellow, green glowing sword came slicing at Gevirah and she brought up her spear back to block the blow. As our weapons clashed my earth and wind element runes let me destroy her weapon; but with a piece of her spear Gevirah slammed the end of her spear into my handle making my sword fly out of my hand into the wall.

Seeing both of our weapons were gone I threw a punch but my face was met with a kick. The kick was very quick and knocked me back; I stopped myself from falling and saw a kick coming at my right side.

I checked the kick (blocking with your shin) and I saw her grimace a little in pain at the collision of our shins. With my right leg that I had used to check her kick I threw a Thip straight at her face. The kick connected on her face and she stumbled backward into the group of ladies behind her that caught her and stopped her from falling.

“YOU!” she shouted, after wiping the blood leaking from her lip and nose “I’ll fucking gut you like a pig!”

“Malady please take this” one of the girls said passing her a short spear which was only a little longer then my sword.

Gevirah ran at me and stabbed the spear at me causing me to have to weave around. I tilled my head and the spear passed right past my head and I immediately Thipped her and she stumbled backward. I saw this as a chance and ran up; she threw out a bad stab due to being off balance letting me catch it with my left hand. I threw a punch with my right and as I was about to connect I saw a flash then a pain in my right thigh.

Looking down I saw another spear stabbed into my leg; it was what was left of her other spear as one of the girl’s behind her must have past it to her. Seeing I had been out played like this I knew I had to reach my sword or I was done for. She pulled her spear out and the serrated tip ripped as it was pulled out. My cuts were starting to take their toll and I could feel my body slowing down and with this new cut to my thigh and the lack of blood I felt… it was time to leave.

Then I heard a voice speak to me “my master has asked that I help you. So break the wall where your sword is and I can help” the voice made me fell a slight chill.

Seeing I had no other choice I decide to go and play along; I looked around at all the females and the wall across from me. Behind me was the room I’d left; then an idea came to mind and I felt deep within my soul and felt the dagger that slept. I started to pull as much power as I could and black mist surrounded me; causing Gevirah to stop the attack she was about to finish and for the first time I saw terror fill her face.

“Ladies back up leave this to me!” she shouted causing all the women to back up.

I ran at Gevirah black mist surrounding me then the mist shot out and surrounded her body and I ran past her toward my sword. Gevirah looked at me as the mist cleared after causing no damage; she looked even more pissed now. I reached my sword and as I grabbed it fire and earth element filled my hand.

BOOM

The wall exploded and blue hell fire spread out from the hole I’d made; then a large Orthrus appeared on the other side. This was one of the Orthrus’s from Damion’s stronghold; I looked at it and shook my head and ran through the hole and jumped onto the Orthrus’s back. One of the head’s looked at Gevirah and at a speed faster than I could ever move at; it grabbed her by her clothes; then turned and started to run.

It jumped right over the walls they had set up and continued running till Ladies Hold was far from view. When we stopped the head holding Gevirah let her go then held her down with its paw. Then as I leapt down from the Orthrus I got a good look at it and noticed that it was much larger then at the hold or from the other Orthrus’s I’d seen.

“My Master would like to speak to you place your hand upon my right head” the Orthrus’s voice leaked into my head again.

‘Oh fuck me’ I thought and slowly placed my hand on its head and a familiar voice echoed in my head.

“Haha getting your ass kicked at Ladies hold! Really Arthas that’s funny and I even had to go out of my way to send my hound to help you tsk, tsk” he said, in a very energetic voice.

“Fuck you why’d you help me in the first place getting soft?” I asked back aloud not sure if he’d hear me.

“Not a worry right now” he said, to my surprise “I need you to hurry up, so I’m lending you my hound to help and take the queen with you to help too.” He sounded a little worried “as I’ve learned from my sources the grims and the Orthrus’s have been at a disagreement and it seems the sides have hit their boiling points.”

“So what? Should you really be worried about them I mean it can’t get that bad?” I asked.

“A civil war is starting up; but that’s not what’s got me so worried. It’s the fact the whole goddam high realms has decided to fight out their battles here in purgatory!” He sounded very angry about this “so follow my Orthrus to the grim scout camp that he’s heading to and grab as many cores as you can with the Queens help”

“I mean how many grims are there that I need the queen and the Orthrus” I said back feeling a little insulted.

“yes a few grims can be handled by you; but I’m talking about 50 to 60 grims and let’s talk about the grim in charge of the scout group is not a normal grim.” He sighed a little “this grim is called a death grim and his power is closer to what mine is right now; but if I was to help you directly for too long the grim demi god would come fucking smite me! So… my Orthrus will hold off the death grim just long enough for you to collect the last of the needed cores.”

“So I guess I have to find a way to convince that Queen girl? And I guess its fine for the Orthrus and her to die from the way you’re speaking.”

“Well the Orthrus isn’t as powerful as the Death grim so it’s death is just a side effect and the queen is a burden after she helps you with collecting the cores” he took a second to think then said “Oh and I know you can convince her to help you so I leave it up to you and about escaping; don’t worry I have you covered”

“You know saying don’t worry makes me worry more; but fine I’ll do this anyways these last few years have been boring” I said back in a lackluster way.

I lifted up my hand and looked at Gevirah who hadn’t said a word as the Orthrus’s paw held her down. I looked at the Orthrus’s other head and nodded and it let its paw off her and she shot back up and glared at me. I just smiled and shook my head.

“It’s no use to fight me and if you want to leave here alive then your best choice would be to follow me, help me gather some grim cores and I’ll share a secret with you; I know an easy way out of purgatory”

Gevirah glared for a bit and said “how do I know you won’t just kill me after I help you?”

“You don’t” I said honestly “but if you do help me you have the chance to live because as it stands the second you say you won’t help me you’re dead”

She stared at me for a second then sighed and said “fuck it! Fine I’ll help you”

I grinned and nodded at the Orthrus and it started to walk then I looked at Gevirah

“Let’s go then”

During our travels I sunk beep into my mind and studied the newest element I had gained Lightning. I have to say that the lightning element is the most interesting element so far and has given me ideas as to how the other elements work. What do I mean? Well I’ll explain it.

Well let’s look at how lightning works naturally; lightning happens in an electrostatic field. These fields are produced when a positive charge at the cloud tops is moved to ground by a positive cloud-to-ground discharge… I’ll try to simplify this. So anyways there are two main theories on how lightning happens inside these fields but that’s not important to us right now. So lightning happens inside this electrostatic field and are the electrons moving around within, which causes the optical emission (this means the light from lightning… I’ll stop with the science talk hehe).

Ok I’ll explain how this relates to the magic elements; what I think is happening when I’m using the lightning element is I’m creating an electrostatic field around myself and this equals lightning. “Why is this important?” you ask well I’m not really using lightning, but electrons. Knowing this gives me more options in its use; an example is I can create an electromagnetic field if I’m using electrons and no one would even know I am.

‘God the possibilities are endless if you think and break down the other elements’ I sighed in thought of the possibility’s that studying the elements gave me ‘but I feel like something is stopping me from using the elements like I want… maybe that’s why Damion can’t pass his soul test here.’

After a few months of travel we reached our destination and both Gevirah and I were shocked at the site we saw as we started to ascend the hill. Around 60 to 70 grims were in a large crowd inside a camp with large bones that have been used to make a small wall. When I looked in the middle of the crowd of grims I saw a grim that was out of place.

It was a whole lot taller than the other grims; as their heads only reached its hip. This things weapon was a large two handed mace that’s head was a ball covered in spikes. One of the Orthrus’s heads stared deadlocked on that grim and the other head looked at me.

The flame in its eye sockets increased in intensity and its body started to grow in size even more. It was massive in size now and had caught the attention of the Death grim and the other grims. The Death grim raised its massive mace over its head and I could hear its bones creek and clatter as it moved about.

GRRRRRRR!

The Orthrus growled as it charged down the hill toward the grim camp; when it reached the camp site the fence of bones did nothing to stop the beast as it charged right through it. The Death grim swung its mace at the Orthrus; but one of the Orthrus’s head caught the mace as the other head bit down on the Death grims shoulder.

BOOM!

I looked at Gevirah who didn’t seem as shocked at the scene that was happening in front of us. I sighed and stood up and pulled out my weapon, Gevirah did the same and we both charged down the hill toward the grim camp. We both aimed for the hole the Orthrus had made in the fence around the camp and when we reached it the grims started to notice us.

The first grim I reached never had any chance to fight back as I pierced its chest with my sword and ripped its core from its chest. Gevirah and I used the hole in the fence as a choke point to stop the grims from surrounding us. But the number of grims coming at us was too much and was starting to push us back.

RUMBLE

BANG!

The ground rumbled as large bangs could be heard from the Orthrus and Death grims fight as it continued on. Gevirah and I were gathering grim cores at an astonishing speed but at the same time we were running out of the energy needed to fight these huge numbers of grims. Both Gevirah and I were quickly getting covered in cuts and we were being pushed back up the hill. I looked in to the grim camp to see the Orthrus being outmatched by the death grim.

Crack!

A crack could be heard as the Death grims mace slammed into the Orthrus’s side. The Death grim dropped its mace and walked up to the collapsed Orthrus and grabbed both its heads and pulled them apart. The beast chest was then crushed by a stomp that shook my whole body. Seeing the Orthrus’s death it was time to leave and I turned my head and shouted at Gevirah.

“GO I’ll cover our retreat!”

Gevirah nodded and started to run at full speed up the hill as I slowly backed up using all the runes and power I could. Then an idea came to me; I released the lightning rune and purple lightning surrounded me and attacked any grim that got close to me. With the grims held back for a second I sheathed my sword and started to mix the elements inside of my sheathe and with fire, water, earth and wind mixed I used the last of my energy to create an electromagnetic field to launch my sword.

Just as the lightning field gave out my sword launched from the sheathe into the group of grims and when it hit the grim in front it exploded and I was sent backwards up the hill. I hit the ground hard and looked down the hill to see a small crater had been made from the blast I’d made. But I had no time to be happy as more grims were coming and there was the large Death grim running full speed at me.

I stood and started to sprint up the hill and thanks to being blasted up the hill I could catch up with Gevirah and as we came over the hill a familiar figure could be seen standing on a massive Orthrus. Damion looked at me then at Gevirah that was a little ahead of me then at all the grims and smiled.

“The ever hungry darkness I offer you a meal!”

After Damion spoke a ball of pure darkness appeared and started to attack the grims with dark tentacles. Then he looked at me and a small dagger appeared in his hand made of black mist and he threw it. I ran toward Gevirah and she looked at me just in time to see me rip her void pouch away. I looked at her face as fear filled it then it exploded into a bloody mist and her body fell to the ground.

“Arthas hurry let’s go!” Damion shouted.

I ran and climbed on to the Orthrus and the Orthrus started to run toward Damion’s base. I looked at Damion who was looking around at the sky it seemed like something was worrying him so I asked.

“What’s got you pissing your pants?”

Damion looked at me and smirked “If you knew what was after us you’d be pissing your pants for real.” He continued to look around after his remark.

--------

In a few days we reached Damion’s hold and as Damion and his Orthrus were entering I stopped and looked at him. Damion looked at me and smiled and pulled out a grey core from within his cloak. I felt relief seeing Akino’s core and pulled out two void pouches and threw them at Damion’s feet and Damion threw Akino’s core at me and I caught it.

“I’d say this is the end of us working together” I said, but as I turned to walk away a sound so loud I felt like it was going to crush me and my core to bits.

GRRRRR!

“No Arthas this is just the beginning” Damion said “I can help you and that girl return to the realm of the living with your memories intact but I need you to help me” Damion looked at me with a steeled look. “Or you can die from the demi god of the grim’s… the Grim Reaper!”

I looked behind me and a large hand made of black bones was reaching down from the sky. Seeing all this I thought ‘Ah this was a trap all along wasn’t it’. I looked at Damion and said “sure what could go wrong”

Boom!

“You dare get involved in the conflicts of my realm Damion!” a voice said, in a deafening tone and my body felt like the weight of the whole universe was on my back.

“Ah grim reaper so glad you could join us” Damion said back to the voice seeming to struggle a little as well.

“Damion I warned you to never involve yourself in the matters of purgatory and I’d leave you be; but today… you’ll suffer”

“Yes I know but if you think I didn’t prepare for this then… you’re very dumb for a demi god; well I guess you are a grim HEHE” Damion said with a mad chuckle.

“YOU! How dare you insult my race!” The voice shouted, making my ears feel like popping.

I ran in through the Gate and it closed behind me; we started to climb up some stairs and after a lot of steppes I looked outside. But I saw the large hand now had a body and the body reminded me of the pictures I saw of the grim reaper of my world but so much larger. It held a large scythe in its black skeleton hand; its body was covered with an equally black cloak and the only thing I could see of its face was what looked like two gems of hell fire. The being I’d call a god looked at me with its blue eyes and they seemed to burn right through me.

The Large Grim brought the scythe above its head and hell fire started to build up around it and he swung it. The sound it made was what I’d imagine it sounded like to rip the fabric of space apart. Damion mumbled some words as we climbed and a black shield appeared around the fort. The scythe hit the shield and bounced off and the shield flickered and I saw a disappointed look on Damion’s face.

“Shadow Tide I ask a last favour from you” he said and touched the Orthrus’s two heads and chanted “Oh Evil God I ask you to favour a blessed being of your make; let him live out his final moment in glory and rebellion of rules and laws set by those unfit to make them.”

After those words the Orthrus busted its way out of the wall and started to grow in size and even grew heads. His two heads was now 4 and all 4 breathed the same fire; then it ran at the demi god and rammed the grim into the hills below.

BOOM!

The clash was huge and shook everything most likely the whole of Purgatory felt it.

“Let’s go” Damion said in a calm voice

We reached a new stairway and started to head down deep into the fort and stopped in front of a wall and he waved his hand and weird letters lit up and a doorway appeared. He walked in and put the grim cores into little dug holes that had black lines that connected all the small holes. After he finished he turned to me and said.

“Me and you will sit in the middle of that circle and put the girl’s core in the middle of us” he said.

I nodded and did as he said; ‘too late to stop now’ I thought remembering the demi god that I’d pissed off. As we sat in the circle across from each other with Akino’s soul in the middle of us Damion started to chant.

“Evil God this dammed soul wishes for your help once more give me your favour once more let me complete what I once promised you. I’ll crush and destroy all rules and laws if you give me this chance; I swear on the evil, the dammed, the good and the innocent to complete this task. The task given to me with your last words in this ruled world of false rules and laws. Let everything return to what it once was, let the darkness rule once more and let the light weep the mighty darkness will claim that which was once his!”

The cores around the room melted into black mist and all the souls within them melted too into black mist that followed the black lines on the ground. My body felt heavy and the black mist moved toward Akino’s soul. Seeing this I knew what was up and jumped on to her core and the black mist touched me.

The touch of this mist felt like it was trying to rip my soul out; I looked at Damion and he too was covered in the mist. But he was smiling he even spoke to me.

“Sorry Arthas but you have a piece of the Evil God‘s soul within you and you see… I need that but you put it in your core so I’ll have to rip it out for you” he started to laugh “haha don’t worry though I’ll put your soul to good use, to leave this place without losing my memories HAHA”

I could feel my soul being ripped out and I looked down at Akino’s soul and thought ‘again hehe I’m sorry I can’t protect you even though I was given a second chance to’ but a voice came back and spoke.

the voice spoke.

‘What can I do?’ I asked the voice

the voice spoke again in a confusing way

‘the fuck does that even mean… you know what fuck you, fuck Damion, fuck that demi god… no one will stop me or get in my way’ I felt the dagger in my chest and spoke to it ‘where do you think you’re going… your mine everything is mine and if someone takes what’s mine… I’ll eat your heart, your mind and your soul’

I felt something weird the black mist that was trying to pull out my soul was now pulling the rest of the mist into me. I looked at Damion to see worry on his face then he laughed

HAHAHAHA

“I see he favours you… very well my lord I’ll follow your wishes I was given my chance but now it’s time for a new champion to lead you to greatness! Let everything return to what it once was, let the darkness rule once more and let the light weep the mighty darkness will claim that which was once his!”

I saw Damion’s core come ripping out of his chest and go straight into my core then everything went black.

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I awoke to booms that caused the room to shake and tremble; I looked around and saw just darkness but… for some reason it was comfortable. I looked at what was under my chest and saw it was Akino’s core and grabbed it and looked around to see no one around and hugged it.

“Thank whoever’s out there that you’re ok Akino” I said, kissing her core.

“AW that’s so cute Arthas you have such a touching side to you; you know that” I heard Damion’s voice.

BOOM!

The wall caved in showing a very angry Grim demi god’s face.

“Hiding in this man’s soul isn’t going to help you Damion”

I thought about what the grim said about hiding in my soul…

“MOTHERFUCKER!”

To Be Continued.

Note from Arkeem:

Sorry for the long wait but i got caught up in school and exams and didn't have time to write plus I rewrote this dammed chapter about 5 times too so ya I hope you enjoy this chapter