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Illyana looked over her shoulder, thick bloodlust in her glowing eyes. "Why are you stopping me?"
Her horns had returned, and so had the wings. Piotr's situation had made her emotions go berserk, so intense that Darkchylde could rip the leash right out of her hands.
"Stupid girl," Dante said, acting as if he couldn't see her demonic form. "You can't fight like this."
"I can still—WHAT?!"
A cool rush flooded her muscles. Every cut, bruise, ache, and exhaustion she had vanished. Her body was back in its prime condition. The mental exhaustion was still there, but her soul and spirit had always been tougher than her flesh. She could hold up strong for a while.
"You're a mutant."
Dante emitted the same psychic 'signals' as any mutant power. She had learned to recognize the signature—she was forced to recognize it in order to survive in that anti-mutant hell. It was the only way to distinguish a friend from a foe.
"I'm not a mutant." He put a hand out for Laura, which she accepted naturally and stepped closer to him. "Teleport us with your stepping discs."
He was someone who knew many things about her, but she knew nothing about him. This man was starting to feel more threatening with every passing minute.
'Who the hell is he?'
She shoved the question aside, for after she brought Piotr back to Earth.
Raising her hand, she activated her mutant power. The stepping disc spiraled down from above and swallowed them in a flash of light. They emerged on the other side into Limbo's hellish landscape.
"Split up. I'm heading that way."
She kicked the ground and dashed with an explosive speed, only to slam face-first into Dante's chest with a solid thud. He towered over her, casually carrying the alien red slime in one hand and holding Laura by her waist with the other.
"Follow me. I know his location."
She was skeptical but followed him anyway. As much as she distrusted strangers, a friend of her brother and a friend of Laura wouldn't harm a mutant for no reason. Not to mention he had healed her body without asking anything in return. Why would someone go so far to set up an elaborate trap for her?
As she followed him, she noticed something odd.
'Is he slowing down for me?'
To have someone other than Quicksilver slow down for her sake was irritating. She gave an obligatory "Rest in peace" to the Speedster and flared her wings to reach a higher speed, yet Dante remained constantly ahead of her.
He didn't seem to be exerting himself.
She channeled the energy ever-present in her body. It blasted from her boots and boosted her yet again.
'What in the Dark Lords does he eat?'
And even more importantly, how did her dumb brother become friends with someone this ridiculous? Piotr turned out to be a powerful mutant, sure, but he or the X-Men had no business being friends with a mystical being.
She didn't get to dwell as the roars of the demons crashed over the ridge ahead, along with the battle cries of a Russian bear.
Illyana growled, her demon horns stretching out with a crackle of bone. She tapped deeper into Darkchylde's power. The demonic wings beat furiously and finally let her surpass Dante.
She flew over the hill ahead. Below, Piotr stood on a lava beach full of dark sand, surrounded by a sea of lesser demons.
Charging magic into her Soulsword, she performed a wide slash. SHHHHIIING! A crescent wave of pure white energy carved through half of the horde. Demons exploded into black mist, allowing Piotr a second to breathe.
Before the steel-skinned man looked up at her, she got rid of her Darkchylde transformation and landed in the thick of the battle. The Soulsword immediately split a towering one-eyed demon in half.
More monsters clawed out of the ground and emerged from the lava.
Piotr's silver head turned. "Who are you?"
Illyana stayed silent. Her Russian accent would give her identity immediately. As eager as she was to catch up, she was afraid that her brother would fear her new form… The Soulsword had provided her armor that grew spikes the more she mastered her sword's powers. The current Illyana had no hints of the innocent sister Piotr grew up with and loved.
…Maybe he'd hate her.
With such thoughts, she fought by Piotr's side and cut the monsters down, occasionally pumping her Soulsword with raw magic to bring forth a bright explosion and death of countless lesser demons.
Piotr smashed two demon minions' heads against each other, exploding them in chunks. "Is there no end to this?"
Illyana knew from experience the Ruler of Limbo could produce as many demons as their energy allowed. Belasco seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of energy, perhaps a boon granted by his so-called Elder Gods.
"Hahahahaha!"
The sky was filled with bright laughter. Belasco emerged above them, looking down with a pleased look. "You have returned."
Piotr grabbed a small demon and chucked it at Belasco like a cannonball. Belasco caught the minion and let it drop to its death. One clap of his hands and a fresh wave of lesser demons erupted from the ground.
"Demon," Piotr roared. "Why did you bring me here?"
Illyana could see Piotr's frustration build up, rightfully so. Without knowing her involvement, he still believed himself to be an innocent bystander caught up in someone else's mess.
She glanced at Dante hovering in the distance, still unnoticed by Belasco.
'I'm leaving with Piotr.'
Dante was more than capable of returning on his own.
She started to summon the stepping disc but stopped when Dante shook his head.
"Die."
Piotr's expression shifted immediately upon hearing the voice. He spotted Dante and burst into a booming laughter.
He clapped a massive steel hand on Illyana's shoulder, which was without armor. "Comrade is here! We're saved, little girl!"
She knew her brother was naïve, but he wasn't stupid (even though she used to call him that all the time). Besides, what did Dante mean by "die"? Was he telling the demons—
Her eyes suddenly widened. The demons in front of her froze. It wasn't just one, but all of them. They toppled one after another, filling the beach with corpses.
Dante descended by their side and let Laura down.
"Comrade!" Piotr approached Dante and pulled him into a bear hug. "You came to Hell to save me. I am so—"
"Chill out, big man." He shoved Piotr back and looked up at Belasco. "Do you still not recognize me?"
Belasco's smug mask had all but shattered upon seeing his lesser demons die to one word from Dante. His face was the definition of terror. "YOU! YOU ARE THAT MAN BEHIND THE PORTAL?"
"Good answer. For this, you will…"
Dante vanished in a flicker of shadow and reappeared right beside Belasco. The Red King's eyes flared with frantic magic. He tried to slip away with his magic, but something stopped him from acting at all.
The skull-faced man reached out and clamped his hand around Belasco's throat.
"Get a handsome prize."
His open hand connected with Belasco's face and sent Belasco rocking across the hellscape. His body spun over and over as his wings flailed uselessly to gain control. Dante teleported in his flight path and delivered a back-handed slap.
The demon's momentum was reversed, sending him hurtling in the opposite direction.
Belasco stabilized mid-air with a savage beat of his wings. His face twisted in a murderous rage. "I WILL—"
Dante appeared before Belasco again and raised his hand. Belasco could've fought back or dodged such an easy attack, yet the ruler of Limbo—immortal, god-like in his own realm—froze like a child afraid of his parents. It had happened every time, which could be a part of Dante's abilities.
"This is for dragging Piotr into this."
SMACK! The loud slap echoed through every corner of Limbo.
"For scaring the shit out of me that day."
WHAP!
Illyana watched her archnemesis being bitch-slapped and ping-ponged around in his own dimension, where he ought to be at his most powerful form. It made her question if this was still the demon who had nearly captured her earlier.
'Are they colluding or what?'
She just couldn't believe the sight before her.
"For putting your filthy hands on my friend."
The powerful slap connected, and blood sprayed from Belasco's mouth. His cheeks had ballooned purple and swollen like an overripe fruit.
"For making him live decades in pain."
SMACK! The impact was more devastating than a gunshot.
"For forcing my innocent friend into becoming a mercenary."
Belasco's body jerked through the sky of Limbo.
SLAP!
"For involving a young girl, you pathetic piece of shit."
SMACK!
Illyana's heart clenched. She looked at Piotr, tears already gathering at the corner of her eyes. "Why… why did you do that?"
Her brother was fine living as a farmer boy for the rest of his life—he took pride in that. The same man had become a mercenary in order to find his lost sister.
It happened because of her.
Piotr looked over and froze. His eyes couldn't believe it. "Illya…?"
She couldn't hold it back anymore. She dashed into his arms, only to have her head grabbed by his big steel hand. He reversed his transformation and pulled her into his arms.
The big man offered no questions about where she had been or how she became like this. He held her in his arms and cried like a child, like he always did whenever he suffered an injury on the farm.
Enduring twenty-thirty—or was it forty—years of misery and pain had finally paid off.
Belasco crashed down with a deafening boom. Illyana looked up just in time to see Dante casually land behind the fallen demon. He lifted the back of Belasco's head by his hair. The Ruler of Limbo's face was an unrecognizable pulp—eyes swollen shut, lips split open and bloody, nose flattened, and his cheeks swelled up like a balloon.
Dante slammed that ruined face into the ground. The volcanic stone cracked open even more.
"For ruining Illyana's childhood."
He stomped down on the back of Belasco's skull.
"For being a miserable fuck."
One final savage kick sent the demon's head snapping sideways. Belasco was still alive and breathing, his wounds healing by the second.
He turned to them. Although Illyana couldn't see his expression, his labored breathing was enough to show his emotional state. Dante was furious for his brother's suffering and her stolen childhood, which meant he cared.
Her brother had found a good friend.
Dante pointed at Belasco. "Finish him."
Illyana nodded, wiping her eyes. "Give me one moment."
He could've killed Belasco and seized Limbo's authority for himself. He might just be capable of overcoming Belasco's self-proclaimed immortality. Illyana wouldn't even mind it. He had done all the work, so he deserved the prize.
But he had stepped aside and handed the kill on a silver platter. She wasn't a stupid girl to refuse it.
Dragging the glowing Soulsword behind her, Illyana approached with slow steps. Dante hauled Belasco's head up by the hair. The demon's eyes widened in terror the moment he saw her raise the Soulsword.
"W-wait!" Belasco spat blood as he tried to speak. "Mercy! I can give you riches beyond mortal dreams. I can offer gold, artifacts, entire kingdoms! Name your price and it is yours! I swear on the Elder Gods themselves!"
Illyana raised the Soulsword by another inch, letting the bright light of her sword intimidate the demon into revealing more about these Elder Gods he kept bragging about.
Belasco's gaze snapped to Dante. "You! The man with strange powers—you're no fool! I hold the true secrets of the Elder Gods! Their descent is inevitable, one way or another! Join me and I will make you a god among gods! Power, immortality, riches, whatever you desire! We can rule together! Kill me and you gain nothing but a fleeting victory. Keep me alive and I will be your greatest ally!"
Dante scoffed and slammed his boot down on Belasco's spine. A sickening crunch of vertebrae echoed. The demon screamed, his body convulsing violently. Even he wasn't immune to the pain of having his spine broken.
"Illyana, what are you waiting for?"
"Gathering more information?" Illyana grumbled. "We might need it."
"Get it over with. Earth won't fall as long as I'm protecting it."
His confidence was bordering on arrogance, but he deserved to have it. The man seemed even more powerful than the Apocalypse and every other mutant she had encountered so far.
Illyana took a deep breath and brought down the blade amidst Belasco's screams. His head disconnected, spraying a fountain of blood everywhere. Dante let it roll across the floor. The head stopped, his bloody eyes gazing right into Illyana's soul.
The demon who had completely twisted her life—he had finally met his end.
Illyana passed her free hand over the blade. Spectral flames emerged from her palm and burned away every trace of demonic filth left by Belasco on her sword.
Pointing the sword at the sky, she declared, "Limbo, acknowledge your new ruler."
The realm shook.
A cataclysmic tremor rolled through the ground. Hazy orange energy poured down from the sky, swirling around her in a roaring vortex. She dropped the Soulsword and spread her arms wide, absorbing the flood of energy that signified her rule over the dimension.
She had done it before in another universe.
But this Limbo was stronger and wilder. Perhaps Belasco had made it stronger or the energies in this universe were on a different power level. What's more, her knowledge in magic was shallow at best. Two weeks of training at Kamar-Taj wasn't enough to make her a full-blown magic expert.
The demonic whispers crowded in her mind. The bloodthirst and madness of every demon here converged with one goal—corrupting her into the demonic image of Limbo.
Her horns and wings manifested on their own.
She frowned and forcefully reverted the partial Darkchylde form, but it didn't work. The Darkchylde continued feeding on Limbo's energy.
Her hair turned white and thickened into a wild lion's mane. Horns curved a foot over her head, growing ridges.
She resisted with growls, unwilling to let Piotr see this side of her. But it didn't matter much. Darkchylde took full control and morphed her face into a monstrous shape with long imp-like ears.
Legs lengthened and bent backward into powerful goat-like limbs, like those of a demon.
She planted her feet wide apart, arms flung out to her sides, chest thrust forward, and tilted her head back toward the raging sky. Her earth-shaking roar shook every corner of Limbo.
Armor erupted across her body, covered in vicious new spikes.
Darkchylde had taken full control.
She bent down and picked up her Soulsword, which had now transformed into a massive crimson greatsword.
Crouching to one knee, she pressed one clawed hand to the ground and opened her crimson beady eyes.
"Leave my realm."
A/N: Using her Marvel Rivals' Darkchild form. (Image in paragraph comment)