Maxim steadied his breath as he surveyed the hellish wasteland stretching endlessly beneath a crimson sky, jagged mountains and rivers of molten lava cutting across the landscape.
The air had a smokey, toxic presence and seemed to pulse with hostility, as it seemed to press down on Maxim, as if recognizing he didn't belong in this dimension and trying to push him out.
Maxim just grinned at the experience, feeling the thrill of power humming through his veins, eager to be tested by the upcoming demons.
He looked towards the first demon he spotted, its eyes, pits of flames, blazed with ravenous fury as the creature's body was a mass of jagged plates with dark demonic flames flickering around its form, claws glistened as the demon charged forward.
Maxim squeezed the triggers of Ebony and Ivory, his twin handguns roaring as he charged them with Demonic Energy, firing off in rapid succession, sending a hail of bullets towards the charging demon.
Each bullet hit its mark, ripping through the creature's hardened skin and sending bursts of dark blood spraying across the ground. The Demon was on the brink of death, and lunged forward for a final dying attack.
Maxim leapt to the side, sliding across the uneven ground and feeling the heat of the creature's claws slice the air beside him. With a flick of his wrist, Rebellion, his broadsword, materialized in his grip, shimmering with a faint, ethereal glow.
He brought it down in a sweeping arc, the blade slicing cleanly through the demon's leg and sending it crashing to the ground in a howl of agony, before Maxim shot out one final shot from Ebony, sending a bullet piercing the Demon's head.
No time to waste, another demon loomed nearby, this one larger, with elongated, spidery limbs that scrabbled across the rock with disturbing speed.
Maxim activated his incorporeality to phase through one of the attacks as the creature's massive arms swung at him. He emerged from the other side, driving Rebellion deep into the demon's back, severing its spine in a clean strike.
As the creature collapsed to the ground, dead, the ground itsekf suddenly trembled beneath Maxim's feet as a swarm of demons, each twisted and monstrous began surging towards him.
Without hesitation, Maxim tightened his grip on Ebony and Ivory, and grinned, opening fire into the approaching crowd.
The bullets sliced through the demonic horde, piercing flesh, bone, and sinew with ruthless precision. He moved fluidly, each shot a calculated strike to incapacitate, wound, or eliminate. Yet for every demon that fell, two more took its place.
As certain demons began slipping through the cracks, Maxim used his telekinesis to control Rebellion, beginning to take down demons that moved closer to him.
As he fought more and more Demons, Maxim felt as if he could feel the Dante Template whispering to him, guiding his movements and making his decision making more fluid.
Once he felt he was getting swarmed, Maxim got on the move, darting to the side and leaping into the air as the ground where he stood erupted in flames, summoned by a massive beast with molten skin and pitch black eyes.
As he flipped mid-air, he pulled the triggers again, filling various Demons with demonic bullets. As he landed, he holstered Ebony and Ivory and grabbed Rebellion, dashing towards the incoming swarm.
Like a dancer, Maxim elegantly moved throughout the crowd, slicing and dicing anyone in his path. The grotesque bodies of demons were sliced in half effortlessly, as Maxim poured more and more of his demonic power into the sword.
One particularly large creature, a mass of scales and sinew with jagged horns spiraling from its forehead, lunged at him, but Maxim effortlessly sidestepped the attack, cleaving through the demon's arm, and with a fluid spin, he drove the sword deep into its chest, watching as its form crumbled to ashes,
"Come on," Maxim muttered under his breath, a spark of excitement in his eyes. "Is that all you've got?"
More demons surged forward, as if angry from his statement, forming a wave of snarling faces, slashing claws, and snapping fangs.
Maxim leapt, somersaulting over the crowd, his body transforming in mid-air as he accessed Incorporeality, his figure shifting into a shadowy wisp that drifted seamlessly through the throng of demons.
Reemerging on the other side, he unleashed a volley of bullets into the ranks of his enemies, each one tearing into their twisted flesh with deadly accuracy.
He didn't let up. With a thought, he summoned a Gravity Well, causing the ground to tremble and pull his enemies inward. They writhed, snarled, and clawed at each other in a frenzied attempt to escape the crushing force.
The weak were crushed underfoot, the stronger ones left vulnerable, and Maxim capitalized, dashing in with Rebellion in a series of devastating slashes that cut down every demon in reach.
With the immediate area cleared, Maxim began pressing forward, looking for another fight. Towering cliffs loomed above him, casting deep shadows that concealed even more twisted figures watching from afar.
His steps took him into a dense forest of petrified trees, their branches sharp as blades, twisted and reaching like claws against the sky.
Here, he was beset by another wave of demons, this time smaller, faster creatures with jagged, insect-like limbs. Their movements were unpredictable, darting in from every direction. Maxim grinned, welcoming the challenge.
The ground trembled beneath Maxim's feet as the wave of demons surged toward him, their grotesque forms a chaotic mass of twisted limbs, horns, and fangs. The hellish sky above blazed red, casting a blood-soaked hue over the jagged landscape.
Maxim tightened his grip on Ebony and Ivory, his twin handguns, feeling the weight of his power coursing through his veins as he prepared to unleash the full might of the Dante template.
With a grin tugging at the corners of his lips, he opened fire.
Bullets tore through the nearest demons, ripping through flesh and bone with ruthless precision. Black blood splattered the cracked earth as the creatures howled in pain, but more surged forward, relentless and hungry for violence.
Maxim darted to the side, leaping into the air as the ground where he stood erupted in flames, summoned by a massive beast with molten skin and glowing eyes. As he flipped mid-air, he pulled the triggers again, filling the demon with demonic bullets before landing.
Without hesitation, he reached for Rebellion, his broadsword appearing in his grip in a flash of silver. He swung it with fluid ease, severing the limbs of a demon that tried to lunge at him from behind. Its shriek was cut short as Maxim brought the blade down, cleaving through its skull.
As the dust settled, Maxim kept moving. He had no intention of staying in one place too long—this Hell Dimension was vast, and he intended to explore every twisted corner of it.
He traversed jagged mountain paths, where lava rivers flowed like veins of fire, cutting through the landscape. Towering spires of blackened rock reached toward the sky, and in the distance, Maxim could see strange, twisted structures, perhaps fortresses of some Hell Lord, though he had no intention of seeking them out.
Not yet. He wasn't here for diplomacy or deals. He was here to fight.
Another wave of enemies surged toward him,this time, hulking creatures with boulder-like fists and skin covered in scales harder than steel. Their eyes glowed a sickly yellow as they lumbered toward him, roaring with primal fury.
Maxim chuckled to himself, "Let's see how you handle this."
Activating his Sense Manipulation, Maxim warped the creatures' perception of reality. To them, it appeared as though the ground beneath their feet had turned into a pit of endless abyssal darkness.
They staggered, confused, their roars of rage turning to shrieks of panic as they scrambled to avoid the illusory abyssal flames. Maxim took the opportunity to close the distance, slashing through their legs with Rebellion, each strike cutting deeper than the last. Even their formidable armor was no match for the power flowing through him.
As they fell, writhing in agony, he felt exhilaration coursing through his veins. There was something freeing about this place, a realm where violence was the only constant, where survival was won through blood and fire. Here, there were no limits, no restraints.
Just raw, unrelenting power.
Maxim moved towards a mountain, drawn by the promise of even greater challenges, He climbed, slaughtering any enemies he met on the way, and when he finally reached the summit, he could see the endless expanse of the Hell Dimension.
He paused briefly, taking in the infernal scenery, the rivers of fire, the jagged cliffs, the darkened skies filled with ominous clouds crackling with lightning. The world itself seemed to pulse with malevolence.
At the current moment, there was no place he belonged more than here, at the heart of chaos, a storm of violence and power, this was the perfect training domain,
This was where he belonged, at the heart of chaos, a storm of violence and power, and in the depths of the Hell Dimension, Maxim Novikov felt he could take on any challenge.