- Welcome to Hell (Part 6)

Capaneus followed close behind her, his head spinning around in slow, revolting rotations. 

"Hyunji…where are you going?" Capaneus asked, his voice garbled as if something else was speaking for him now. "Stay…stay with me. We can make you whole."

Hyunji kept running, leaving her old friend behind her. 

She felt exhausted. This nightmare never seemed to end. And now the only friend she'd made down here was dead. Because she couldn't protect him.

She continued forward. That was the only way through this. 

A large rocky wall loomed in front of her. There was no other way.

Then, something massive slammed into her. 

The wind was knocked out of her lungs as she flew through the air, her body crashing against the stone wall. 

Rubble rained down around her as she struggled to get up.

"What the fuck now?" She grumbled. 

A screech echoed through the air, and Hyunji searched the darkened and bloody sky. What had crashed into her? 

"There…she is," she heard Capaneus' voice call. The souls of the damned drew in closer to her. She was backed against the wall, nowhere to go now.

Then, she saw it.

A monstrous, winged creature swooped down. When it landed, it crushed Capaneus and the other souls under its massive reptilian tail. 

Blood spattered in a large wave forward, knocking Hyunji back against the wall a second time. 

She spat out the foul tasting liquid and stepped forward. "Who the hell are you?"

"You have made it far," the middle head said, his voice deep and venomous. "I've been watching you since the fifth ring. Consider me surprised."

He stood over thirty feet tall, his long tail swinging back and forth behind him. At the end was a barbed spike, sharp and bloodied.

The second head on the right cackled. "You don't belong here, human. Don't you know where you are? This is my realm. This is my kingdom!!!" This voice was shrill compared to the others.

The third head on the left stayed quiet, observing Hyunji. 

"And I plan to keep going," she responded. "Want to take me out of here?"

The middle head wheezed. "A jest. This one is hilarious."

The demon's claws extended, over a foot long each. 

"How about we end your life?" Said the head on the right side, a wicked grin forming on his face.

Finally, the head on the left spoke, his voice even deeper than the first. The vibrations from his throat seemed to shake the ground beneath them. "Go forth, my demons."

The ground ignited with swirling rings of fire, each one swirling with dark energy. From the depths, twisted forms began to crawl out.

Hyunji watched in terror as hundreds of demons appeared in front of her. 

They were led by a two headed demon dog. The beast towered over its master, a nightmare of muscle and teeth. Its glowing red eyes locked on her and it growled with hunger.

"I am Geryon," the third head said. The right head let out a maddened cackle, while the left hummed in cruel amusement, as if they found Hyunji's situation a comedy.

"Orthrus," the third head commanded, and the two headed dog snapped to attention, its fangs glistening with saliva. "Feast."

Hyunji took a deep breath, steadying herself.

The ground beneath her trembled, a low rumble that sent fractures through the cracked stone. Debris rained down from above, filling the air with a choking dust.

A ripple in reality shimmered before her—a pocket dimension tearing open at her command. From its depths, she pulled forth her obsidian dagger, its edge glinting wickedly in the dim light.

"Well," she muttered, rolling her shoulders as she readied her stance. "Isn't this some shit." 

With her scythe raised high above her head and the dagger poised at her side, she braced herself for the slaughter to come.

An army now stood before her, over two hundred strong. From minotaurs and chimeras to hydras and harpies. 

Each one bending to the will of Geryon.

Hyunji smiled then. Not because she knew her chances were slim. Not because she loved the chance to kill. 

No. This was a chance to prove herself. To prove her power.

And she loved a good challenge.