Demigod Class Ascension Chapter 13: Against The Demonic Apostle Of Hell

Listen While Reading: Goggles
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Will and his group had finally reached the depths of the Demonic Dungeon, finding the Apostle of Hell in the middle of some sort of Sacrificial Ritual to his deity. Thanks to John’s quick thinking, the monster was barely stopped before stabbing the heart of a young girl, saving her from a painful death. As the Apostle screamed, Will and his group wasted no time, rushing to end this once and for all. 

The Imps in service of the Apostle of Hell reacted quickly as well, summoning strange Demonic Weapons made of human bones and cursed with their souls and Demonic Energy. Although these were the same Tier 2 Imps they had fought before, these were also qualified as “Cultists,” and Will quickly detected a few Tier 3 Imps mixed among them. Because they all looked almost identical, it was dangerous, as they could blend in and surprise someone with strength unexpected from a Tier 2. 

Knowing this, as he swung his chain axe and beheaded three Imps on the spot, Will roared, alerting everyone else of this danger. “There are Tier 3 Imps mixed among them! They all look the same, so be careful!” 

Everyone reacted instantly, quickly becoming aware of the hidden danger. Ralph tackled several Imps with his shield and then swung his wand, imbuing it with Holy Light. A bright shockwave of this energy erupted, burning the skin and eyes of nearby Imps, making them recoil in agony and step back, opening the way for Maria to wield the power of “Mister Branchy.” Its sharp branches pierced their eyes and wounds, draining their blood and leaving them like dried mummies. 

“Greerryar!” 

One of the Imps roared angrily—a Tier 3 one—who raised a magical demonic staff made of a human spine, skull, and ribcage, painted red with their own blood. The strange weapon glowed, manifesting a giant crimson pentagram that quickly summoned dozens of infernal specters, surrounding Will and stopping him from advancing. 

“What the…?! What’s this?!” 

Will was flabbergasted. The strange specters pushed him back and seemed immune to his physical attacks. Worse, they were constantly draining his own Mana by merely touching him. He gritted his teeth angrily as he manifested phantasmal flames of his own. 

“Burn!” 

Without wasting time, Will unleashed an explosion of Will-o-Wisps, which he accumulated within his gauntlet and released into an infernal, phantasmal tornado by activating the gauntlet’s ability [Unleashed Hell]!

He discovered that he could modify the ability by adding his Phantasmal Flames, replacing the Demonic Fire by almost 70%, making the flames lethal enough to burn through the cursed souls of the specters, causing them to explode into white ashes. 

“G-Grack?!” 

The Imps summoning these things were left speechless. Never had they fought someone like Will, capable of incredible physical feats but also more than able to counter their ghosts. The warriors attacked him together. Cursed swords, spears, and axes tried to cut through his legs and arms, while they fired several bony javelins at his back, aiming to impale him from behind. 

However, Will wasn’t playing around. His body was protected by his equipment and even more by his Pseudo Divine Armor, which wrapped around his body and hardened into ethereal wood that seemed to be made of gold itself. This was part of his Skill’s newest Ability, something he obtained from Blessing Maria: [Divine Holy Tree Armor]! 

This was not just a change of appearance. The armor acted like a tree, growing branches to block blows and roots that planted into the floor, helping Will stand firm without being pushed around. At the same time, blue leaves were generated automatically, which he could control with his mind, firing them at nearby groups of Imps and bombarding them. These strange blue leaves exploded into waves of frost, freezing and slowing down the Imps. Although unable to kill them, they were still a great “Ice Bomb,” as he dubbed them in his mind. 

As Will swung his chain axe, using the chains to hit several Imps at once and rush through their massive army, John ran with Vivian and Ralph toward the victims the demons had tied near the pillars. The police officer could think quickly due to his experience and wisdom, rapidly shooting several incoming Imps in the head while occasionally using his Magical Bullets to produce bright explosions of light, blinding the Imps and pushing them back. 

“We’re almost there! Don’t give up!” 

As John spoke, Vivian and Ralph nodded, brother and sister working together against the demons. Vivian manifested dozens of Magic Hands from her body, which she imbued with the power of the Lesser Spirits her new upgraded Staff could produce. 

Dark Wood Spirits hardened her Magic Hands, turning them into large black wooden claws, tearing or grabbing the Imps and defending her, taking on the blows from the cursed weapons, as they seemed the most resistant against their damage.

Fiery Volcano Spirits turned her Magic Hands into blazing projectiles that released shockwaves of flames as they hit her foes. Although they burned out quickly and disappeared rapidly, they were useful for dealing explosive surprise damage to her enemies.

And lastly, Sea Algae Spirits turned her Magic Hands into a mix of water and algae, capable of distracting the Imps with waves of cold water and algae vines wrapping around their bodies. It was definitely the weakest of the three Spirits, but also the cheapest Mana-wise, and Vivian used it to keep the Imps at bay. 

“You’re amazing, Vivian! You’ve really become a magician now!” 

“Heh, right?” 

Vivian felt slightly happy despite the situation. This feeling of finally having strength—not only her but the entire party felt it. They were no longer hopeless, no longer weak people waiting for something good to happen to them, waiting for a savior. They were now fighting together, aiming to save others instead. No longer were they letting fate decide their future; they were forging their own paths, all thanks to him, to Will. 

“HAAAH!” 

Ralph roared, his Holy Aura growing larger as his barrier shaped into armor around his body, helping him tank several hits from every Imp around him at once. He started drawing their attention more and more, swinging his mace-like wand and smashing their heads into smithereens. After seeing his sister fight so wonderfully, he couldn’t let himself fall behind. Back then, he was afraid of jumping into danger, afraid of suffering and feeling pain, but now, his power had increased enough that he had become their shield, and he wasn’t going to let anybody harm his sister. 

“Come to me, bastards!” 

As he roared, his shield released a shockwave of demonic energy, making the Imps around turn their anger toward him, charging at Ralph and attacking him relentlessly, swarming him until he was completely buried beneath them. 

“Ralph!” 

Vivian panicked, only to see Ralph’s wand emerge, hitting the Imps one by one while he used his shield to tackle them away. Beams of light shot from magic circles manifesting behind him, burning the Demons. Dozens of corpses fell one by one, surprising his sister. 

“I’ll distract them all! Go grab the kids!” 

Ralph roared as Vivian and John nodded. While taking down any Imps that tried to sneak toward them, they finally reached the people the demons had captured. They seemed alive, though exhausted and sick. It appeared that long exposure to the miasma had made them feel sickly and malnourished. 

“Don’t worry, everything is going to be okay!” 

The people couldn’t even speak, looking at their saviors with exhausted eyes; some shed a few tears. Vivian cut the chains with her Magic Hands and grabbed everyone using her magic, which was especially useful for carrying a lot of people. John covered her back, shooting at Imps trying to reclaim their sacrifices, finally regrouping with Ralph, who healed the people quickly, knowing they wouldn’t make it if he didn’t do so before they left the dungeon. 

“Will! We’ve got the people! The only one missing is the girl at the altar!” Ralph screamed from far away, as Will nodded. Maria and Evelyn were behind him, working in tandem while supporting him, but he knew it was time for him to get serious. 

“Wait for me! I’ll bring the girl!” 

Will stepped forward without waiting for their response, dozens of Imps jumping over him. They were a massive swarm of hundreds, and it seemed more kept coming from stairs that led into a secret chamber underground. The Apostle of Hell was at the altar, conjuring strange magic with twenty other Imps around another Melancholia Crystal. 

“Master! They’re trying to summon another Demonic Spawn or something similar!” Cube alerted Will, who wasted no time, sending his chain axe toward the crystal. 

The axe rushed down as the Apostle of Hell smiled confidently, erecting a crimson barrier around the crystal, stopping the hammer from ever reaching it. The demon laughed at Will, quickly firing dozens of demonic fireballs at him, bombarding him from every angle. 

“You fool! Do you truly believe I have not prepared for you to do that?! Once the Demonic Spawns are here, you and your damned group will be crying for mercy!” 

“Yeah, I knew you would do that.” 

Will smiled as he suddenly shot down his hammer after infusing it with his Pseudo Divine Weapon Aura, shaping the hammer into a giant trident piercing through the barrier. Cracks emerged everywhere through its glass-like structure, while ice began to rapidly spread, extinguishing the demonic flames. 

“What?!” 

The Demonic Apostle had no time to do anything before the barrier shattered. The hammer activated its unique ability, {Crimson Blow}, which, combined with Will’s Pseudo Divine Weapon Skill, released a red and blue shockwave, destroying the barrier from the inside out. 

CRASH!

As the barrier exploded into countless glass-like pieces, Will appeared above the altar, grabbing the girl with a long hand made of water and then facing the Imps, who quickly surrounded him from every angle. 

“Kill him!” 

The Demonic Apostle panicked, shooting Demonic Fireballs at Will while the Imps attacked. Will quickly activated the power of his new Imp Ring, {Imp Fire}, using it nine times in a row, as over ninety Imps made of demonic and phantasmal flames manifested. By placing Will-o-Wisps over the ring itself, the new Imp Fire could be summoned with ease, the same way he modified {Unleashed Hell}. He knew the Imp Ring would be destroyed if he used the ability ten times—it didn’t need Mana but consumed 50 Durability, of which the Ring had only 500. 

However, the benefit was clear as day: ninety summoned Imps on the spot! Although they exploded upon contact, they were amazing, capable of pushing back all the Imps attacking him and even forcing the Apostle to retreat behind the Melancholia Crystal. The Demonic Formation they had made was unfinished, as the Crystal quickly summoned a few creatures! Will didn’t panic, however. 

Although he was unable to destroy the crystal, their formation was broken, and whatever they summoned wouldn’t be enough to defeat them. He quickly conjured an Aqua Phantom, a combination of Will-o-Wisps and Ocean Hand—a sort of makeshift ghost made of water—which grabbed the unconscious girl and flew toward Ralph, who would heal her. 

Without that burden, Will was ready, leaping into action without hesitating as he faced three Demonic Spawns at once, who roared at him furiously. Their appearances were different this time. One resembled a humanoid crocodile with the upper half of its head missing, covered in dark blue scales and a large crimson eye on its chest. The second was a mass of crimson tentacles with orange and blue dots, secreting a deadly toxin everywhere, melting nearby Imps without care. The third was a tall, charcoal-black skeleton covered by fleshy tendrils, holding a staff made of pulsating flesh and organs. 

“GRUOOHHH!” 

The crocodile-faced Spawn roared, unleashing a massive beam from the eye on its chest, hitting Will at almost point-blank range. The explosion was massive, shattering the floor beneath and shaking the entire cave. Several nearby Imps were vaporized on the spot… 

And yet, Will wasn’t. His fists pierced through the Spawn’s chest, as he had placed all of his Free Stat Points into Vitality, withstanding the damage by also using his new Pseudo Divine Armor, which began breaking apart. 

“You’ll become my healer, so stand right there… and burn!” 

Will infused the Demonic Spawn with Will-o-Wisps, burning it from the inside out as he felt the monster’s lifeforce returning to him, slowly healing his wounds. While the creature screamed in agony as it burned, the second and third Demonic Spawns attacked. The first charged toward him headfirst, smashing his body with its sheer size and wrapping him with its deadly tentacles, aiming to melt his entire body and consume him. 

“HAAAAHH!” 

Will screamed, the Berserk Rune activating as he felt his Mana and Lifeforce being drained. His power skyrocketed, his scream generating a powerful shockwave as he used what remained of his Pseudo Divine Armor to destroy the Demonic Spawn right there, decimating it into pieces! It helped that the thing was made of soft tentacles; aside from the acid, it was by far the weakest of the three. 

“Kahahahaha!” 

The third Spawn, however, was strange. It laughed and seemed to even smile at Will, its empty eye socket glowing with red flames. The monster pointed its fleshy staff at him, suddenly manifesting four walls of flesh around him, enclosing Will inside a cube made of pulsating meat, eyes, and fangs. 

“What the hell is this?!” 

Will saw the walls closing in, sharp fangs trying to devour him. He had thought about jumping, but the ceiling was already covered by flesh, and he also saw gastric acids filling the entire cube. It was going to tear him to shreds and consume him. He was beyond disgusted, but he also smiled… 

This? It was nothing. 

He smashed the floor, as an explosion of frost erupted. The entire monstrous fleshy cube screamed in agony, stopping its digestion as ice began to rapidly cover its entire body. Will concentrated until the entire thing was halfway frozen, then gave a single step forward, leaping and smashing the entire thing into pieces with both his hammer and axe. Facing the black skeleton-like Demonic Spawn, he punched it in the skull, sending it flying down. 

An explosion of demonic and phantasmal flames erupted as the skeleton felt its soul burning in agony, the Will-o-Wisps consuming its entire being as Will intensified the power of the flames at will. The creature screamed, trying to conjure more magic, but Will didn’t let it, smashing its body with a strong stomp until it could no longer move. 

“H-How much power do you possess?! This goes against the rules! A mortal shouldn’t have this much power!” 

The Demonic Apostle was trembling in disbelief and horror as Will looked back at him with an angered expression. It was pretty clear he was already done with this entire thing and wanted it to end already. After all, he still had the damned goblins to worry about. 

“But you said I wasn’t a mortal to begin with, right?!” 

“Don’t get any closer, you damn half-breed bastard!” 

The Demonic Apostle panicked, touching the Melancholia Crystal and absorbing its powers. His body suddenly began to grow larger and more muscular, tumors and eyes spreading through it. Will didn’t stop moving, smashing the crystal into pieces before the Apostle could fully absorb its power. The demon roared angrily, going berserk, punching him in the gut and sending him flying into the ceiling. 

RUMBLE!

“Will!” 

Evelyn and the rest panicked as they saw him on the ceiling, falling to the floor while vomiting blood. They rushed toward him, but the remaining Imps didn’t let them, stopping them from taking another step. There were only barely a few left—less than twelve—but they were all Tier 3, pushing back the entire group and forcing them to work together to fight them. 

“We have to heal him!” Vivian screamed as she punched through the Imps with her Magic Hands, trying to get to Will, only for demonic magic to stop her from advancing. 

“I’ll go!” Ralph said, rushing through the Imps, only to be stopped. Three of them hit him at the same time with giant hammers made of bones. “Agh!” 

“Someone has to…!” Vivian cried as she saw Evelyn and John pointing at the Apostle walking toward Will, shooting him with elemental bullets and arrows of light, bombarding him with his weakness and making him scream, stepping back in pain. 

“Aaaagh! Damned humans! You think you can wield the light of gods?! That is nothing but a shitty imitation!” 

The Demonic Apostle roared. His body was only halfway transformed—half of it was giant and burly, with a gigantic muscular arm and leg, while the other half was still small, giving him an aberrant appearance. 

“DIE!” 

He smashed the floor as a shockwave of demonic flames erupted, blowing up the ground and shattering it apart as it reached the group, hitting them all at once and sending them flying away with an immense blazing explosion. 

Maria and Ralph barely managed to shield most of the attacks. Mister Branchy had half of its body blown off, while Ralph’s shield seemed to be about to break apart. 

“Uuuggh…!” 

Will slowly stood up, glaring at the Demonic Apostle walking toward his group. They were on the floor, barely managing to remain conscious. He quickly opened his bag, eating the berries that Maria had given him before, which he had saved for this moment. Feeling his Mana and Lifeforce return, his Rune of the Berserk activated once more, as it had been deactivated earlier without triggering its cooldown yet. 

“Oi, you’re fighting ME!” 

Will roared, his Aura erupting as golden and azure light spread out everywhere. The Demonic Apostle glared at him, raising an eyebrow, surprised the human was still standing after he sent him flying to the ceiling. He smiled, however, using his small hand to point at him with a Demonic Wand, summoning dozens of Pentagrams around Will, bombarding him with Demonic Fireballs, Demonic Thunderbolts, and Abyssal Shadow Spears—all deadly Demonic Spells. 

“What can you do now?! I am vastly stronger than you are! Accept your fate and die, half-breed!” 

As Will was bombarded with magic attacks, his equipment took most of the damage for him, burning as he rushed forward, enhancing his muscles beyond their limits with the power of his Rune of the Berserk. A second Rune activated, his Ocean Hand’s powers manifesting at full strength. 

“{Ocean Domain}!” 

SPLASH!

The Demonic Apostle gasped in disbelief as a tsunami rushed forward, hitting him at full power. In a mere second, he found himself drowning in the water of the sea, Will constantly controlling it, swimming down and smashing his stomach with a powerful kick before hitting his huge arm—which the Apostle used to protect his chest and head—with his hammer, constantly beginning to tear off his red skin and muscles, breaking the arm’s bone. 

“RAAAHHH!” 

Will roared beneath the seas as the water obeyed his very thoughts, wrapping around the Demonic Apostle and quickly tearing off his legs while entering his mouth, eyes, and ears, constantly beginning to drown him. His body inflated like a balloon; the Demonic Apostle was unable to retaliate, completely overwhelmed by Will’s divine wrath. 

“Graaaaagggh!” 

BOOOM!

The Apostle of Hell exploded as Will’s Domain quickly came undone, his energies completely exhausted. He fell to the ground, barely able to stand, glaring at the pieces that remained of the Apostle of Hell and at a small glowing fragment that flew toward him, touching his hand and then reappearing within his soul. 

“Haaa… Haaa…” 

Will was gasping for air as he saw his friends run to his side. Ralph started healing him while Maria fed him her berries, and Vivian let him drink from the special Water Bottles dropped by the monsters. He could barely hear what they were saying, trying to keep himself from falling unconscious again, as that would make him feel too embarrassed. 

“Will! Will, we did it! You did it!” Vivian cried. 

“That was great! You killed that bastard!” Evelyn celebrated. 

“Stay still; your entire body is covered in burns! It won’t heal easily!” Ralph said. 

“Eat these, please! Mister, don’t close your eyes!” Maria cried. 

“Hang in there!” John said as he continued killing the last few Imps, seeing a couple run away, but he didn’t give chase. “A few of those damn things remained! But we don’t have time to waste here; we should quickly get out of this place!” 

RUMBLE!

Suddenly, the entire dungeon started trembling. Everyone panicked, seeing the ceiling falling apart and cracks spreading through the walls and floor. Will barely managed to stand up, looking at everyone else. 

“I’m fine. We have… we have to get out! Quickly…!” Will muttered, touching his stomach; that punch still hurt. “We have to…! Wait, the loot…!” 

He looked behind him. The corpse of whatever remained of the Apostle of Hell was gone. He noticed flames and ashes; somehow, whatever contract that monster had with the Demonic Domain had taken away his very corpse. Will didn’t care either way, but he did notice something: a glowing piece of equipment, a golden-red bracelet with a small demon head made of steel decorating it, its eyes embedded with rubies. 

He quickly grabbed it without checking what it was, equipping it on his right arm and suddenly feeling a boost to his stats again, feeling much stronger than before. He quickly ordered everyone to grab everything they could and run as fast as possible. He used his Aura and Magic to keep the ceiling from crushing everyone. Ralph summoned his Holy Barrier around the survivors and everyone else, while Vivian’s Magic Hands also helped as much as they could. They were able to grab a few of the things they found on the floor, managing to secure more food, water, some pieces of equipment, and other rare items that dropped. 

As they ran, they finally reached the entrance—a hole they would have to climb—but with the cave collapsing behind them, they had no time. Will quickly grabbed the entire spherical barrier containing everyone inside and lifted it before kicking the ground, releasing a shockwave of his last divine energy, reaching the surface as the entire dungeon collapsed a second later. 

A tremor shook the ruined streets as everyone saw the entire hole being sealed by burning rubble before the entire Dungeon disappeared… 

“It seems that the Dungeon has been swallowed by the System…” Cube explained. “This happens on certain occasions when Dungeons are sustained by an individual core… Most likely, the Apostle of Hell and perhaps that Melancholia Crystal were the ‘Cores’ of that Dungeon. Once dead, the entire thing collapsed!” 

“That so…” Will sighed, feeling completely exhausted. He looked around, making sure there weren’t any monsters. “We have to hurry…! Let’s go back to the Safe Zone!” 

The sun was already setting, and Will didn’t want to get caught in the Domains that manifest at night. He might have survived, but he wasn’t confident that the rest of the survivors they had just rescued would be able to. 

“We’re almost there; please hang in there, everyone!” Vivian said, glancing at the exhausted people running by their side. 

“The night is coming, hurry!” Will screamed as he saw the sun almost fully setting. The darkness of the Night manifested almost instantly, like a creeping shadow chasing them, dark trees and crimson eyes beginning to appear through the sky and the ground. 

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