Hellbound - Chapter 1

In a dimly lit chamber, the air was thick with the scent of blood and signs of a brutal battle. Columns were missing chunks of rock, and some areas glowed with the residual heat of fires so hot that even the air temporarily ignited. A young man fell to one knee, keeping himself from collapsing to the ground by plunging his holy sword into the cold stone floor. He was covered in dozens of wounds. Some of them healed at a visible rate, but the more alarming ones were the ones who appeared to resist healing. Without treatment, some of the wounds would fester and lead to his death.

A deep, malevolent voice called out to him. “Treating God’s Holy Blade as a cane. What would the angels think?”

His voice resonated throughout the room, but it was also growing weaker and filled with pain. The young man looked up to see a large demonic being sprawled across the steps of a giant throne. He had red skin, black ram’s horns, and hooves for feet. His body was eight feet tall, covered in muscle, with eyes that blazed like suns. Any human who laid eyes upon him might be filled with fear, and yet he was struggling to breathe, his body split open, and even his heart removed and turned into minced meat. Blood trickled down the steps in small rivers, creating a small pond at his feet. The fact that he was even alive spoke to his unimaginable strength.

“Glorious has always been mine since I could hold it.” The young man answered.

The massive demon’s eyes widened. “This is the Holy Sword Glorious? I thought it belonged to the hero, Michael?”

The young man shook his head, forcing himself to stand once more and pointing the blade toward the demon. “Demon King Satan, I have defeated you in one-to-one combat. Do you have any last words?”

“How official…” The demon king chuckled, breaking into blood coughs. “Words? No… but I would like to understand my defeat before I die. Tell me, how did you deceive me? The heaven and hell system includes a ranking system. Any powerful hero should have appeared on the hero ranking list, just as I am at the top of the demonic champion list. Yet, I have never once heard of you. No one can become this powerful without completing missions, and that means appearing on the list. Just who are you, and how did you trick me?”

The young man hesitated for a moment, his grip tightening on his blade, but when he confirmed the demon king made no move and his life energy continued to decline, he spoke. “My name is Lucifer Morningstar.”

“Morningstar… as in related to Michael Morningstar, the top human hero?”

Lucifer nodded. “We are fraternal twins. We were born with an innate trait called Karmic Entanglement. Perhaps, you can already guess with just the name.”

King Satan frowned. “A skill that allows someone to pass on their karmic accomplishments?”

Lucifer shrugged. “Not quite. For whatever reason, the merits I earn are gifted to my brother, and the merits he earns are gifted to me. Of course, we were toddlers when the hero association realized the potential and began our training.”

“That long…” King Satan mused. “Wait, I’ve seen Michael fight!”

“Smoke and mirrors. Whenever Michael had to do anything more than casual appearances, I wore his armor. Every mission I finished, every task I completed, all of my merit went to him, and as long as Michael didn’t complete too many tasks, I remained a ghost to the world, a F-rank hero of no importance.”

“I… see…” King Satan’s expression looked contemplative. “I never would have accepted such a mission if I knew I’d face such a powerful opponent. It had been too long since I completed a mission. I allowed my foolhardiness to drag me into a trap.”

“You’re a coward!” Lucifer snapped. “If you were just willing to face humanity fairly, we never would have resorted to these tricks.”

King Satan broke into laughter. “A coward, huh? You believe humanity would have fought me fairly if they had a chance?”

“Enough of this.” Lucifer snapped. “Any last questions?”

“Why did you decide to move now? Alone? Surely, humanity could have set up a better trap, although I might not have fallen for it if it hadn’t been so random.”

Lucifer gave another shrug. “I felt I was strong enough. However, mostly, it’s because I want to settle down. I want to retire from fighting and marry my girl. I didn’t want to drag things out.”

King Satan let out another harsh laugh filled with blood, a cold smile spreading across his face. “My life is ending over something so foolish? Well, it’s not like your life will end any better.”

“Is that a threat?” Lucifer asked.

“More like an observation. You’re far too trusting of humanity. It seems like your place in hell is all but assured.”

“I’ll be going to heaven when I die.”

“Will you?” He smirked. “You know, you remind me of my niece a bit. She’s also quite stubborn and unwilling to see the big picture. You think you can control your future. You two might get along.”

“I’m sorry, I have a girlfriend.” Lucifer’s voice was steady. “As for my future, it will be long and peaceful.”

“We’ll see… who is right… in the end.” King Satan’s voice broke into laughter again.

This time, he didn’t stop, growing louder and more maniacal. However, his laughter faded, as did his remaining life. He died right there, his eyes on Lucifer, laughing in his face. Lucifer didn’t care, though. He had never expected a conversation with the King of Hell to be a pleasant one. King Satan was dead, and that was all that was important.

As he turned away from King Satan, a mission complete screen appeared in front of his eyes.

Congratulations! You have completed the mission: Invade the Demon King’s Castle. In the process, you encountered and defeated the Demon King.

Merit: 232,234,122 Points

Credit: 991,234,122 Credits

Drops: The Demon King’s Scepter

The Demonic Royal Seal

The system was very generous with such a deed. It wasn’t every day that someone could storm the demon king’s stronghold and kill him. Without the system, such a task would have been impossible. After all, the demonic world was nearly as large as Earth, and breaking into the world and finding the demon king’s stronghold was nearly impossible. Thankfully, I didn’t have to walk her. The system sent me directly here, and now that I have completed my mission, it will send me right back.

Lucifer clicked accept.

Karmic Entanglement has activated. New rewards have been calculated.

Merit: 0 Points

Credit: 0 Credits

Drops: The Demonic Royal Seal

The Demonic Royal Seal cannot be transferred through Karmic Entanglement.

Lucifer was a little surprised by that, but watching the rest of his rewards return to zero was something he was very used to. He’d share the rewards with his brother one day. After every battle he’d fought, there was more than enough for both of them to live long and comfortable lives. Lucifer looked forward to it.

He was teleported out of the demonic realm, and a moment later, he appeared in a more comfortable environment. This was the cathedral he had been in, which he had teleported away from. It wasn’t necessary to accept missions from within a cathedral, but it was said that doing so gave you a blessing from God. At the least, it gave him a safe space to return to. That’s what he thought, but he immediately noticed a group of men surrounding him, hidden in hooded cloaks.

He lifted his blade, but it was suddenly ripped out of his hand by a powerful force. It flew away and then landed into the hands of a cloaked figure.

“Who are you?” Lucifer demanded.

The cloaked figure pulled back his hood, and Lucifer immediately let out a sigh of relief.

“Sorry, Brother.” A blonde-haired, blue-eyed man grinned. “Since the Demon King is dead, the church wants their sword back.”

Lucifer relaxed a bit. His brother had always been like this. He was the kind of guy who acted first, explained himself after. It came along with his leadership skills and glib tongue, which suited his role as the face of the hero association. Things didn’t necessarily have to be this way.

Michael had been chosen because his blonde hair, blue eyes, and innocent-looking face fit the image of a hero better. Lucifer had dark hair and severe features. He gave an impression of being dark and mysterious, and the hero association feared that if he had been the face, he might not meet some people’s expectations. So, Lucifer spent his life fighting and completing missions, while Michael attended the parties and parades.

“Wait, you already know the Demon King is dead?” Lucifer asked.

“We’ve been watching you all this time.” Another man stepped forward, pushing back his hood. “How could we not know what you were planning?”

“Gabriel…”

Gabriel was the head of the hero association. One by one, others he recognized revealed themselves. There were Raphael, Selaphiel, Jeremiel, Uriel, and Barachiel. Along with Gabriel, they made up the entire Hero Association Council. They weren’t just politicians either. They held the top seven places on the hero ranking below Michael. For all of them to appear at this time was quite the accomplishment.

He took a step forward, but at that moment, he saw Uriel’s eyes twinkle in malevolence. Perhaps, if King Satan hadn’t already said some things that put him on edge, he might not have even noticed, but he was just a bit warier than normal, and so he reeled back just as a silent item flew past him. He felt pain as his arm was struck.

Cursing, he took a step back as all the heroes around him threw back their hoods and drew their weapons. He realized he recognized them all. They were all in the top twenty. The twenty strongest heroes on Earth all had their weapons drawn and pointed at him. He ripped out the arrow and was shocked to see the wound wasn’t closing. Much like the wounds he had gotten from the Demon King, they persisted.

“What is the meaning of this?” Lucifer demanded.

He heard clapping coming from Gabriel. “As expected of the hero we raised. We had prepared for two years to take you out with that arrow. It has a dozen enchantments on it, making it undetectable, and enough poisons to kill a city, yet you still dodged it and only have a small injury.”

“You… want me dead?” Lucifer realized.

“It’s nothing personal. You were raised as a weapon to destroy the demon king. Now that you have completed your purpose, you’re too dangerous to keep around. You could threaten all of us… the entire human realm.”

“I-I wanted to retire!” Lucifer snapped, holding his arm that radiated pain from the dozens of poisons he had resisted. “I’ve done more good for this world than anyone!”

“I think you’ll find I’ve done more good for this world. After all, your merit is my merit.” Michael grinned.

“M-michael? You too?”

“I suppose you wouldn’t do us all a favor and send yourself to hell, would you?” his expression was filled with mockery.

“Hell?” Lucifer made a face. “After everything I’ve done, I will be going to heaven! When I get there, you’ll all pay!”

“You think you’ll go to heaven?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Of course, after all, I earned-” Lucifer froze as he realized what Michael meant.

“I didn’t just receive all of your merit… but you received all of my sin.” Michael laughed. “And… I’ve sinned a lot in this life of mine…”

“Michael…” Lucifer shook. “What did you do?”

“What haven’t I done?” Michael laughed. “I’ve been accumulating sins my entire life, and will benefit from your merit. Once you die and take my sins with you, I’ll be able to coast the rest of my life on your good deeds.”

“You… you don’t have to do this.” Lucifer looked at his brother with pity. “You can still let me go. I don’t want my merit back, nor the money. Just let me live the rest of my life with Eve.”

“Eve?” Michael’s smile grew. “Speaking of which, Eve, why don’t you come out?”

Lucifer’s frown deepened when he saw a woman enter the cathedral. She was wearing the same robe as the rest of them, but when she pulled it back and looked at him, his eyes immediately fell on something else. She had a large bulge on her stomach.

“E-eve?”

She looked at Lucifer, but her eyes were blank. “I don’t want to be with a loser like you.”

She then turned to Michael, who broke into laughter, throwing his arm around her. “Do you understand now? Eve is my woman!”

“I’ve done what you asked. May I go?” She asked him.

“Hehe, women can be so cold. You may go.” As she turned to leave, he slapped her ass.

Lucifer grimaced, taking a step forward, but everyone raised their weapons threateningly, and he stopped himself. He settled for glaring at Michael.

“What did you do to her?”

“Eh? Didn’t you see the baby bump? Naturally, it’s mine.”

“No! Eve was a virgin. We were… we were waiting…” Lucifer knew his words were wrong, as he saw the bump himself. “We all grew up together since childhood…”

“Let’s see…” Michael made a shot by counting on his fingers. “The first time I pushed Eve down, we were only fifteen. She struggled, but she still came out the first time. She eventually grew accustomed to my cock and would satisfy me whenever I wanted. The entire time you courted her, we were laughing behind your back. When she kissed you, it was the taste of my cock on her lips. When you danced, she was leaking my cum into her panties.”

“That’s… not possible.” Lucifer fell to a knee, this emotional blow greater than the previous betrayals.

“At first, she gave you signs, hoping you would save her. You were too focused on your training, though, on your mission. As a result, she came to despise you, just like me.”

“Brother, do you hate me so much?” Lucifer asked after suppressing wave after wave of emotion.

“You always thought you were better than me. You were stronger and more capable. More attractive to women. You are even the one Eve wanted at first. You took everything from me! Well, I’ve taken it all back. Your merit, your woman, and soon, I’ll have your life!”

He nodded, and one of the men, ranked ten, lunged forward. He held a long lance, and his attack, filled with mana, was aimed at skewering Lucifer in the chest. They had broken Lucifer down with one reveal after another. This was all after a physically exhausting and brutal battle against the Demon King. They tried to assassinate him, filling his blood with poisons. Now that he was on his knees at his lowest, they aimed a killing strike. They were ruthless. For a moment, Lucifer almost allowed death to come, but then a strange feeling began to grow inside him. It was a feeling he was unused to.

It was anger, frustration, and fury. He was angry that he allowed himself to be betrayed. He was upset that King Satan had spoken the truth. It grew hotter and more violent, spreading out from his heart to every part of his body. He let out a scream as he pulled a space blade. It was shorter than the holy sword Glorious, but stoutly built. His movements were so sudden and aggressive that the attacking hero didn’t even have time to react as his lance broke in half. His head fell to the ground. His body followed a few seconds later.

“Lucy! We don’t have to make this difficult.” Gabriel spoke up.

“Yeah… I think we do…” Lucifer panted through teeth clenched in fury.

Except for Michael, who stayed back, the remaining eighteen all charged at him at once. He met them head-on while screaming in fury. What followed was a frantic battle. The heroes held nothing back, using every skill and trick they had honed through countless missions. Still, they fell, one after another. Every strike they landed on Lucifer’s body came at the cost of another dead hero. Yet, those strikes added up. He couldn’t heal them with all of those poisons in his body, and in combination with the injuries he already experienced fighting King Satan, it eventually became too much.

The wounds became worse, and after about an hour, Lucifer collapsed to the ground. While panting, he looked around to see that he had taken out twelve of the twenty heroes. Only Jeremiel had fallen among those on the council. They didn’t just reach the top ten because they were strong, but also because they were cautious and good at preserving their lives. They had sat back and allowed the other heroes to make the dangerous attacks, throwing away their lives in exchange for safety. This had always been the way they fought. Lucifer used to find it enviable, but now he saw it for the cowardice it was.

Michael finally approached, holding the Holy Sword Glorious at Lucifer’s neck. It was almost laughable. Lucifer was in the same situation the Demon King had been a while before. Was this what it was like to see some arrogant human staring down at you with a holy sword in hand? He felt like laughing. No wonder that was why King Satan had died laughing. It did feel ridiculous to die this way.

“Congrats on surviving until now. However, your death was always destined.” Michael said.

“You’ll pay…” Lucifer croaked.

“Unfortunately, we can’t take that risk. I said I’d send you to hell, but we can’t afford it. Demons have no soul, so death for them is final. However, humans have immortal souls. We can’t afford you switching sides, so we have to make this death permanent. Thankfully, the Holy Sword Glorious can absorb the souls of humans. With a soul like yours, the sword will become even stronger. Heh, even your death will only give me more benefits.”

Lucifer reached up. “Please…”

“Hehe, I knew you’d beg in the end, die for me, Brother.”

He slammed the sword into Lucifer’s heart. At first, Lucifer felt a burning reaching through his body, pulling him somewhere distant, but then text appeared in his vision.

Divinity detected. The Demonic Royal Seal is activating. Absorbing divinity.

“What’s happening?”

“The sword… it’s disappearing!”  He could hear this conversation very faintly.

Divinity absorbed: The Holy Sword Glorious

Pending evolution…

This was the last thing Lucifer saw as he died.