Demigod Class Ascension Chapter 11: Bonds

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Will saw the strange crystal release a shockwave of energy. By the command of the Apostle of Hell, a powerful creature was summoned—a fusion of the dozens of souls from the Imps used as sacrifices, a herald of the Demonic Domain of Hell. 

[The [Melancholia Crystal] has summoned the [Lesser Spawn of {Hell} (Tier 3: Level 10)!] 

The creature seemed to be the chimera of a crab, humans, and a lion, with a crab-like body and legs, and enormous pincers covered with the screaming faces of both humans and Imps.

The monster had a horrifying “face” in the middle of its body, with crab-like eyes popping out of its empty eye sockets while its mouth stayed forever open, screaming loudly and releasing a powerful psychic force capable of damaging people’s minds, much like the vessel they had fought earlier.

There was another head—a gigantic lion head smiling pridefully, with a long, blazing mane made of golden fire. Within the flames, Will could see the screaming souls of countless sacrifices. As the lion roared, the monstrosity charged towards them. 

As Will saw the monster approaching and his allies paralyzed by its scream, his heart started beating faster and faster…

Will had had enough.

His eyes began changing color. Amidst the pain he felt within his head as he tried to resist the powerful psychic attack, immense wrath began to boil.

He was fucking done. 

“RAAAAH!”

With a furious roar, he broke out of the paralyzing effect of the demonic scream, charging against the monstrosity over ten meters tall. His massive arms moved forward as he used his hammer and axe to intercept the monster’s claws.

Explosions of flames and ice erupted as Will imbued ice into his arms to protect himself from the intense heat. As the monster tried to crush him with the sheer weight of its pincers, he pushed forward, kicking the ground and leaping, throwing both claws away and then kicking the monster’s screaming face, infusing Ice and Divine Aura into his leg, shaping it as a sharp spear. 

CLASH!

“GRYYAAAGGH?!” 

The aberration screamed as Will pushed his leg down its throat, piercing it with his frost and beginning to spread his Will-o-Wisps through its interior. The aberration stepped back in agony before swinging both of its claws at him! Will managed to catch the one coming from the left with his hammer, but the one from his right avoided his axe and clawed his shoulder, beginning to break his shoulder bone with ease. 

CRACK!

“Nnnnggghh!” 

He roared furiously as he started pushing deeper and deeper. His Ice Magic erupted, freezing the monster’s interior. The lion’s head responded, opening its jaws to bathe his body with demonic flames, but Will wasn’t backing down, taking the flames head-on. As his body burned, he used Sacred Healing and his Divine Armor Skills together, creating an armor that perpetually healed him, although it rapidly burned through his Mana reserves like crazy. 

“I’M TIRED OF THIS BULLSHIT!” 

Will lost it. His magic erupted with even more strength, covering the entire Hell Spawn before it could even reach anybody, and finally, after much effort… freezing it completely. 

“RAAAH!” 

He roared, swinging his legs and arms and breaking the entire thing into pieces, shattering it apart to the disbelief of his allies, who woke up from their daze, and of the Apostle, who was watching the entire battle play out. 

“Y-You…! Just how much of that power have you unlocked?! No, this cannot be; the system should be binding—” 

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” 

Will stepped forward, smashing his hammer against the Melancholia Crystal and shattering it before the Apostle could do anything funny. Pieces of the red crystal fell to the floor as his demonic presence disappeared instantly. 

[You have slain [Lesser Spawn of {Hell} (Tier 3: Level 10)]. You have earned Bonus Experience for slaying a Lifeform above your Tier and Level. You earned 1000 Tutorial Points.]

[Level Up!]

[Special Class: {Demigod} has reached Level 20. Stat Points have been allocated; you gained 1 Free Stat Point.]

[Congratulations! You have reached Max Level, and you can now undergo Class Rank Up.]

[To undergo Class Rank Up, you must first find the necessary materials compatible with your Class and then ascend into the next Tier.]

[Class Rank Up Requirements for Special Class: [Demigod (Tier 1)]:

[Two Fragments of a Divine or Demonic Domain: 1/2]

[Five Tier 3 Monster Cores: 5/5]

[Twenty Tier 2 Monster Cores: 20/20]

[Tier 2 Skill: 1/1] 

Will’s eyes widened as he saw the messages. He was gasping for air, his body felt immensely cold, and he coughed blood. He was dizzy and could barely see his surroundings. He heard the screams of Vivian and Ralph running to his side, and then a warm light covering his body. Slowly, he closed his eyes, unable to bear the exhaustion that nearly drove him to his death. 

…

His eyes opened again. Will found himself not in the Demonic Dungeon but somewhere else—a dark place, some sort of underground cavern system. Everywhere he looked, there were corridors and glowing blue crystals, surrounded by what seemed to be… small spirits or souls. 

“Where…? Am I dreaming?” 

He was sure he had just defeated that powerful Hell Spawn with all his rage, even to the point he almost died, but he didn’t think he would appear somewhere else out of nowhere. Surely, this must be another of those weird dreams.

Will always had dreams like this, even before the Apocalypse began. He would sometimes find himself fully conscious in some sort of strange place which, despite never having visited before, felt strangely close to him. 

“…” 

He started walking, feeling like his body wasn’t exhausted anymore. As his bare feet felt the cold stone floor, he almost slipped. As he rose again, he noticed something—a glowing mushroom in the distance. 

“Wi….” 

As he looked at the glowing mushroom, he could swear he heard something. His eyes curious, he slowly walked toward the mushroom, which was small, fitting in the palm of his large hands. He touched it gently, and the mushroom released small sparkles of light and a strange, chiming sound. 

“Will…” 

He could swear he heard his name, looking around confused, but even then, there was nothing here… just him and this strange, glowing fungi. He touched it and grabbed it; somehow, it felt appetizing. 

“Eat…” 

The voice spoke to him once more, leaving him even more confused. Did the voice want him to eat the strange, glowing mushroom? Wasn’t this a dream? Why was this even happening? 

“Who… Who is it?! Why do you want me to eat this?!” 

As he asked the voice, there was no response until, after a whole minute, he heard something faint in the distance. 

“Eat… it…” 

“Where are you?!” 

He started walking through the caverns, seeking the voice, deeper and deeper, until he suddenly stopped, caught aghast by something beyond his imagination.

These weren’t mere caverns; they led to something much deeper… and much more ancient. He remained still, gazing at the immense landscape that opened before him.

It was all underground. He could clearly see the ceiling above and the glowing crystals faintly illuminating this strange underground world.

But it was immense, and there were even clouds underground. In the distance, he saw several strange rivers with green and blue liquids.

The cries of souls reverberated everywhere, some friendly, others in agony. He even saw Undead—skeletons and zombies walking around, interacting with their environment.

Some were mining crystals; others used strange nets made of their own soul flames to catch these little souls and eat them. 

“Where… where is this place?” 

Will started climbing down, making sure not to slip. Despite this being a dream, the pain he felt was genuine. He slowly reached the ground, looking around confused, as he saw a group of skeletons chatting in the distance. One of them, a little one, looked at him with curiosity, its empty eye sockets glowing with small will-o-wisps.

The skeleton, which Will thought might have been a child, ran toward him, suddenly grabbing a little glowing crystal and presenting it to him. The skeleton didn’t speak, or rather, Will could not understand nor talk with the dead yet. 

“W-What? You’re… a skeleton? You want me to have this?” 

The little skeleton, wearing ragged clothes, nodded as Will accepted the glowing crystal. His eyes widened as he could feel whispers within, as if this strange crystal wasn’t made of minerals but of the crystallization of the purest essence of souls.

As Will felt a soothing sensation while holding the crystal, he heard the voice again, even clearer than before. It was the voice of a woman, and her voice was tender despite the coldness it carried with each whisper. 

“My dear… son…” 

“Ah!” 

His eyes widened as Will tried to look at where that voice came from. In the distance, he saw something… a gigantic, black silhouette with glowing red eyes and long silver hair, enormous wings, black scales, and sharp horns. Its complete form could not be seen, despite how much Will desired. 

“You’re…?! What is going on?!” 

As Will asked questions, he fell to the floor, suddenly feeling exhausted and a sharp pain within the depths of his very soul. He had been burned; the flames of the Hell Spawn had consumed a large part of his soul… 

“Ugh…!” 

If this continued, he would die, his soul destroyed by the burning pain of the flames of Hell themselves…

And yet, the tender crimson eyes of this entity looked at him with pity… and love. Her enormous body moved toward him, shaking the very foundations of this strange underground world.

Her giant claws reached him. Will’s eyes widened, fearing the worst, and yet…

She carefully held him within the palm of her scaled hands, slowly lifting him toward her face.

Using her other claw, she gently caressed his head as he saw the crimson eyes crying tears of sorrow and happiness. 

“My dear son…” 

Will couldn’t speak anymore. Seeing the gigantic being crying and calling him her son was a lot to process, but just like he had momentarily seen his father in that vision, the same thing was now happening again…

But with what was likely his mother!

However, Will never would have expected that his mother would be… like this. Although he never saw his father’s true form, only gigantic hands made of water, to see his mother’s silhouette—a gigantic dragon-like being—sent both shivers down his spine and made him happy, a strange mix of emotions. 

“Your soul has been hurt… I cannot speak to you for much longer… Please… eat this mushroom… It is made from the souls of the departed… It will heal you.” 

“A-Ahh…” 

Will couldn’t speak, but he slowly opened his mouth as his mother nursed him, feeding him the mushroom bit by bit. Never had he felt this way before—to be cared for with so much tenderness and love. This was what he had been denied back then, and he was finally experiencing it.

He cried, a few tears falling from his eyes as he ate his whole meal. The wounds of his soul were almost fully healed as the crystal glowing in his hand was quickly placed on his chest, slowly merging with him. 

“This is a small Soul Crystal; it will make sure the wound stays closed. Now… go. I wish we could speak for longer. I wish I could love you for all the years I have not been there for you… but I can’t, not right now…” 

“Mo… Mother…” 

“You must live, Will… You must survive. Please… One day, I want to see you again.” 

“Mother!” 

“I love you… Will…!” 

Will screamed as the darkness consumed him before he could even speak to her again. Then he gasped for air, opening his eyes to find himself in the depths of the demonic dungeon, his head resting on Vivian’s thighs, who a second ago had been caressing his head. 

“Agh!” 

“Will?!” 

Vivian panicked due to how suddenly he woke up, stepping back to find Will completely agitated, breathing heavily while looking at the floor. He was both happy… and furious, hitting the floor with frustration.

Just when he was finally able to speak to her, to hear her voice, he was denied the right to be with his mother, with his family!

It was so damn frustrating. What else would he have to suffer to even speak to them again?

And why did she appear just now? What triggered this encounter?

Could it have been another “fragment” of her within the Inheritance his soul carries? 

“Um, Will? Are you okay? You passed out before, and we were so worried! You almost died, and you were so reckless…” Vivian said. 

“Is he awake?” Ralph walked into the cave. “Will! You shouldn’t stand! Sit down!” 

“I’m… I’m fine…” Will muttered. “Just a bit tired… How long has it been? I mean, how long was I out?” 

“Like an hour…” Vivian said. 

“Wait, an hour? Are there no monsters trying to attack us?” he asked. 

“Ah, you’re awake, son. How are you feeling?” As Will asked that, Officer John stepped forward. 

“I’m fine…” Will muttered. 

“There was a swarm of Imps that tried to attack us, and more Undead, but we held them back just fine,” Evelyn spoke, entering the cave. “Man, you sure overdid it there…” 

“I see…” Will muttered. 

If he didn’t have his allies there taking care of him while he was out, Will wouldn’t have known what could have helped him survive. It was thanks to them, and his mother, that he was now alive. Will was beginning to learn how important it was to have people you could trust by your side. 

“Mister! Are you okay? Please eat these!” 

He heard Maria’s voice, running toward him… or well, riding something—a strange spider-like creature made of black wood, with big branches and red leaves, and various eyes through its wooden body, glaring at him. 

“Maria?! Wait, what is that thing?” 

“It’s Mister Branchy! He ate a lot of Imps, and he became really big out of nowhere! He lets me ride him now! Isn’t he useful?” 

“I… the branch I gave you became that?” 

As Will was shocked by everything happening, he received Maria’s gift—around ten berries, five red and five blue. These were made by the girl’s efforts; he couldn’t let them go to waste. He ate them quickly and felt much better. 

“Are you feeling better now?” she asked, grabbing his big hand with her little hands. 

Will couldn’t help but smile lightly, patting her head. 

“Yeah, I’m fine… Thank you.” 

He sat down cross-legged on the floor, looking for his weapons. 

“Your hammer managed to survive, but your axe…” 

Vivian showed him how his axe had been destroyed into pieces, leaving Will slightly surprised, although he didn’t feel that bad. He didn’t have the time to get attached to it. 

“Well, I can always make a new one. So what happened once I fell unconscious?” 

Vivian and Ralph explained that they healed him and then purified the area using Ralph’s magic. Afterward, three hordes of Imps and Undead Imps attacked them, which they were able to defeat.

Their victories also helped them complete several objectives, so they were able to get new skills and traits, becoming stronger. Most had also reached max level by now and were able to Rank Up with the materials available; they mostly needed just some monster cores.

And, well, a piece of their god.

Yes. 

“A… piece of me?” 

“We just took a little… hair, that’s all,” Vivian muttered, feeling embarrassed. “I’m sorry if it sounded creepy, but we needed the power boost.” 

“That’s fine, I guess…” Will didn’t really mind it. “My hair has been growing longer over time for some reason. I was thinking of cutting it…” 

“Wait, what? No, don’t cut it! You look amazing with it,” Vivian said, panicking. 

“Huh?” Will didn’t expect to get flattered like that. “Well, whatever… What are your new classes?” 

“I became a Star Hand Magician,” Vivian said proudly. 

“Moonlight Archer…” Evelyn said. 

“Sacred Sea Priest,” Ralph said. “I think it has to do with your blessings; they gave us unique classes… I got a Skill that can conjure water and ice now, although it isn’t as strong as yours.” 

“I see…” Will nodded. “What about Maria or John?” 

“Nothing yet…” Maria said. 

“Me neither,” John said. 

“Looks like Special Classes take longer to level up to max level…” Vivian said. 

“Yeah, their level cap must be level 20 like me,” Will said. “I’m also finding it hard to Rank Up. I need another Domain Fragment… Maybe that Apostle could have it. That Hell Spawn sure didn’t.” 

After Will ate some food and drank water, he walked to where the Melancholia Crystal and the Hell Spawn—or what remained of it—were. Its body was still frozen and in pieces, and the crystals still kept leaking malevolent energy, although at a much smaller level. 

“I’ll quickly store this inside my Bag of Holding. It could be useful… And it’s better than leaving it for the demons to take, all things considered.” 

He quickly stored everything, making sure nothing was left behind. Cube was also happy to see him, appearing by his side after he had been missing for a little while. 

“Master! I’m glad you woke up.” 

“Cube? Where were you?” 

“I was inspecting the entire dungeon in your absence, and I believe I’ve found where that Apostle is! I could guide you right there if you want to.” 

“Oh, so that’s what you were doing… Though you left me alone while I was unconscious.” 

“I’m deeply sorry… but I knew your friends would be able to protect you. You’ve helped them grow so strong; I knew they would be able to handle a few Imps or Skeletons.” 

“Friends?” 

“Yeah, aren’t they your friends? I’ve been changing my mind lately… rethinking my values. Back then, I used to reprimand you for helping people, Master. But now I understand that… there’s great value in the bonds that mortals forge with one another. It is what has helped you survive until now. I am glad you have them around because I cannot do much myself… I am not allowed to interfere directly, after all.” 

“…I know.” 

Will sighed, looking at the floor. He started thinking about things a lot more, realizing the value of the people by his side and feeling slightly happy that they were there with him and that they trusted him to such an extent. 

“Okay, can you guide us?” 

“Of course, just give the signal!” 

“Alright.” 

Will nodded, looking back at his friends. He quickly told them that his Abilities helped him detect where the Apostle was located. 

“Oh, so that’s where he is… So this is the final battle in this dungeon, then?” Vivian asked. “It has been one big challenge after another… I’m nervous.” 

“Me too…” Evelyn sighed. “But we’ve also grown stronger, right?” 

“Yeah,” Ralph nodded. “I’ll do my best to keep everyone safe with my new skills.” 

“Will, son… I owe you one. Even though we have yet to find the people we came here to look for, you’ve fought against all odds… for us, for me,” sighed the old police officer. “Thank you, son. I owe you big. Once this is over, consider me part of your little group until the day I die. I’ll do everything to help you and everyone else survive.” 

“…I appreciate it,” Will said. Although his face seemed expressionless, there was a faint smile, almost unnoticeable, but the old officer did notice it. 

“Mister Branchy is ready!” Maria said. “Let’s go! We can do this!” 

“Hmm… No, wait. We’d better prepare a little before going,” Will stopped everyone, reconsidering his bonds with these people.

Before, he only half-cared about them or their safety, but over time, he had begun to see them as more than just “valuable allies.” They were, indeed, friends.

He quickly pulled out some materials—the legs of the Steel Bovines, some monster cores, leather, and the bones of the Imps—and then asked everyone to give him their weapons. 

“What are you going to do?” Vivian asked. 

“I’ll upgrade your weapons,” he said. “You’ve earned that much.” 

Everyone gasped, looking at one another happily. 

“Really?! Me first, me first!” Evelyn quickly gave him her bow. 

“Hey, wait a second, Evelyn. I was the one who was going to give him the staff first!” Vivian protested. 

“Nuh-uh, I did it first~!” Evelyn laughed. 

“What? Ugh, you act like such a child sometimes!” Vivian rolled her eyes as Evelyn laughed. 

“You two, stop fighting…” Ralph muttered. “Sister, please, it doesn’t matter in which order he does it…!” 

The old officer looked at the scene with a faint smile, realizing that despite the horrible things that had happened to this world, there were still people fighting and surviving who had not abandoned their humanity or who they were.

It gave him hope for the new generations he once hated for being too irresponsible and made him realize that perhaps… they could win against this game of life and death.

He opened his wallet, looking at the picture of an old lady sitting next to him. She had such a radiant smile; it made him smile and even giggle a little, recalling the old times with her. 

“I miss you, dear… But things are fine here. We’re struggling, but we are not giving up hope… Never.” 

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