When Rainey told him she had a good 'place' in mind for the both of them, Jered understandably assumed she meant an abandoned, haunted building of some sort. It turned out he was not even close. 'You two can go to Hell,' she had said—quite mischievously too. Naturally, at first, he didn't think she was being literal about it. And right before he could retort, she continued, 'No, I'm being serious. If you go to Hell, that would solve most of your problems. Souls abound there, both magical and non-magical. You can find what you want there, but beware of the Queen. She doesn't take lightly to intruders. If you go too deep, there's no way back out.'
That was yesterday.
Jered readily agreed to Rainey's proposal. The first option would be the easiest and fastest one, but the last option could help him advance too. He did need a place full of corrupt souls to unleash his 'Soul Eater' on. And what place was better than Hell? It was a dangerous adventure, and Rainey stressed out multiple times not to be too greedy and leave early. Hell was always and constantly welcoming more souls to join them in eternal suffering, but if the Queen noticed a living being—a Magician at that—wandering among her souls, and 'absorbing' them... well, there would have been hell to pay.
He briefly wondered whether he was going to meet Vozremeth again.
While he was better prepared, he knew there was still a wide gap in power between them. And Jered had no intention of challenging that eldritch abomination. Not yet.
"Are you ready?" Rainey snapped him out of his thoughts. She had teleported them to a deserted location in the middle of nowhere, "I get that you're in a hurry to become powerful, but this ain't gonna be something you can breeze through. Whatever you'll find there, it won't be friendly."
Jered had made it his utmost priority that of becoming a Royal Magician as soon as he could.
And going through Hell and back was probably a shortcut to that—a very dangerous one, but a shortcut nonetheless. Demi was behind him, slightly wary of Rainey. But Jered's presence comforted her, "I trust you."
"Oh, you trust me?"
"I trust the fact that you need me, and won't simply shove me into a death trap."
She chuckled, nudging his shoulder with her elbow, "You know that I'd rather shove you into my bed. Then again, that could also be a death trap."
"..."
Demi stared at Rainey with a bewildered tilt of her head.
"Yes, I'm ready."
"Time flows differently there," Rainey reminded, "One day here equals one year there. The time difference gets more skewed the deeper you go. That's why, don't go any further beyond the Third Circle. Seriously, Jered. Don't fucking go any deeper than that. Hell is not a playground for Magicians to come and go as they please. In fact, if I didn't know you had 'Soul Eater', I wouldn't have allowed you to go. Due to obvious reasons, this gate will lead you straight to the Second Circle. It would be a very bad idea to mess around with the souls in Limbo."
"I'm confident in my abilities," he said resolutely, "I'm not planning on staying there for too long. I still have things to do here."
"And you better not forget that."
Rainey clapped her hands, and following the sound, the ground cracked. And between the burning rocks, a black, steel gate came out of the blazing, netherworld glow. It was huge, imposing, and ominous. The depictions of humans being tortured were carved on the surface. Jered could faintly make out the pained, desperate wails of souls burning in hellfire. At the same time, he felt a connection to whatever lay beyond that gate.
He couldn't put the feeling into words, but his mana was thrumming with anticipation.
"The gate will be here for one day. That's the best I can do for the moment," Rainey placed a hand on his shoulder, "So, don't screw up. As much as I need you, I won't risk my life for you. I'm losing my strength, and I have no intention of abandoning my plans just to wage a lost war against Hell. You better come back."
The gate creaked open, a rolling wave of miasma and death breathing out of the gap.
Jered stared back at Rainey, a lopsided grin on his face, "I always come back."
She didn't retort in her usual witty fashion. Instead, she took a step back and watched him go.
He grabbed Demi's hand and walked into the darkness. The demonic entity wasn't as eager as him, but as a corrupted entity, she instinctively knew that she belonged to that place.
The gate slammed shut, a curtain of dust raining down.
----
The scones slowly lit up for each step Jered took. The fire flickered, cracked, and projected his shadow rather ominously on the damp walls. He could hear the noise of lamentation more clearly now, like a group of choristers singing out their pain. Up ahead was another gate—this one considerably wider. A crowd of men and women stood there, waiting in panicked trepidation to be judged by the towering monster guarding the gate. They were squished against each other due to sheer, and still growing, number.
The man—more a beast than a human—was easily taller than the Lord by a few heads, with bulging muscles ripping throughout his body. A crown rested on his head, and underneath that, a mane of curly white hair fluttered due to the powerful excess of mana he was oozing out. He had a scaly tail wrapped around himself in four rings, and that was the only modicum of clothing he had to cover his modesty. His gold, ruthless eyes peered over the hustle and bustle of the frightened souls.
When he moved, the crowd seethed, scurrying back.
"You're not supposed to be here."
A booming sound went off, barely resembling words spoken by a human.
The Guardian was not even looking in his general direction, yet Jered knew he was being called out.
So, he strode forth, not bothered by the scared looks of the crowd. As a matter of fact, once they sensed another 'powerhouse' approaching, they parted.
A pathway through the sinners was thus formed.
"You can leave," the Guardian growled out, now looking at him, "She stays behind," he pointed one giant finger at Demi.
"She's with me, and I'm not leaving yet," Jered replied in a blasé tone, his stride slowing down to a stop right in front of the Guardian. He looked up, his eyes narrowing with a slight hint of power coming to the surface, "I need you to let us through the gate."
"..."
"Who are you, you pygmy, powerless mortal, to come to my immortal domain and make such a foolish demand?" a blast of mana rocked the ground, "I'm Minos, Guardian of the Second Circle. I'm the one who de—"
"Cut the bullshit," Jered's eyes had gone black—blacker than Demi's—as a silver mist wrapped around him, "I have no time to deal with your pompous nonsense. I'm someone who can mess up the natural order here. You either open that fucking gate, or I'll do whatever I can to get you fired. Maybe eating the souls you are supposed to judge will alert the Queen of how useless you are."
Minos' face tightened into a frown. That challenge was not empty for he could feel the thrumming power in that young, tiny human. He, who had never been outside Hell after his death, had no idea that someone who had lived for less than a blink of an eye could be so powerful. He brought a fist up, behind his head, and slammed it upon Jered. However, the splatter of flesh and blood Minos was expecting did not happen.
Instead, something hard collided with his hand. A barrier of some sort. But it didn't last long. His fist, after exerting a bit more strength, easily plowed through the glowing barrier and hammered towards the impudent human. However, Jered used the brief window between one attack and the other to 'Shadowport' towards Minos' stretched arm.
A blast of rubble and dust sailed up, and he reappeared on the giant's shoulder, "Why didn't you listen to me?" Jered spread his hand open and smashed it into Minos' face. A rush of 'Pharaoh's Flame' spewed out, scorching the shocked expression off of the Guardian's face. The blazing, white limbs clung to his skin, wrapping around his head and eating his flesh away. The scream came a second later, when Minos realized how powerful the fire spell was.
Jered leaped away, floating back to the ground at a safe distance.
Minos dropped to his knees, the weight of his body causing two small craters to form underneath him. He lashed his hands out in an attempt to put out the fire gobbling his head.
And he was actually successful.
Tendrils of golden mana whipped out of the ground and covered Minos' head into a tight grip. As a result, Jered's 'Pharaoh's Flame' was snuffed out into wisps of smoke. He prepared himself in case the Guardian would follow up with a more unrestrained onset of attacks. But even after he climbed back to his feet, nothing came Jered's way.
Silence.
"I don't know what your purpose here is," Minos began with a low grumble, skin dripping down his burnt, blister-riddled face. Jered could see his mandible through his cheek, "But if she knows of this transgression... hell hath no fury like a woman."
Jered didn't let his guard down, "And what are you going to do about it?"
"I don't have to do anything. Hell will do the rest, along with the other Guardians. My duty here is to judge, not to protect. And I can't judge you, nor can I defeat you. You have gained entrance to the Second Circle, human. But beware, for you willfully entered the realm of eternal punishment, and no one ever makes it back."
With those ominous words delivered, Minos stepped aside.
The gate behind him clicked open. And through the widening gap, a chilly gust of wind hit Jered's face. Then came the thundering roars, the incessant pitter-patter of the rain, and the aggrieved screams of sinners. Demi, who at some point had paddled back to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, rejoined him. She looked at him with a hint of reverence, something that many souls there were doing.
That was especially true for a woman, whose dazzling beauty stuck out of the crowd like a shining gem in a pile of crap, "Wait," she called out, lifting up the bottom hem of her crinoline to run towards Jered, "Take me with you!" she said in a winded, velvety voice and with a coy blush on her cheeks. Jered regarded her 'ancient' attire with a tilted eyebrow. Unless she had died during the rehearsal of some Shakespearean performance, he couldn't explain the clothing that didn't match his timeline.
"And why should I?" he asked with an amused curl of his lips.
"I can be of help to you! I can do anything you want!" the woman said brazenly, confident that her curves could sway him, "Please! I promise you that I'll be way better company than that... harlot... you carry with you. Allow me the chance of joi—"
"Silence!" Minos thundered out, his tail coiling further around him as he judged her, "Jeanne La Peté. Accused of overindulgence, adultery, child molestation, and the 'accidental' death of your husband. You shall join the Queen down in the Ninth Circle. Let the hellfire accompany you through eternity."
Jeanne barely had time to register his words that she burst out in flames and popped away.
"Remember what I said, human sorcerer."
Jered wasn't about to let some threat thaw his plans. He waved him off, turned around, and went through the gate.