Chapter 18: Ice Has Arrived
After killing the little demon, Marcus and Elena waited in the car for five minutes. It was quiet all around, except for the sound of sewage flowing in the tunnels.
The two began walking forward along the tracks. Reaching the middle section, they saw the body of a security guard in a blue uniform, lying face down on the rails, a broken flashlight beside him.
Marcus took the key ring from the guard's belt and handed it to Elena.
"This should have the key to the subway exit. It's safe from here. You can go out first."
Marcus's hearing was exceptional; he heard a faint, almost imperceptible growl coming from inside the maintenance passage of the tunnel ahead—a growl that was clearly deeper than those outside.
Without the subway car as a barrier, he couldn't afford to worry about this woman if a fight broke out.
"Aren't you coming? Can't you leave with me? You can come to my place to change your clothes,"
Elena said, both frightened and hopeful.
"There's another big one ahead. With you next to me, I can't protect you. Get going. You screamed well—would've been a shame if you died,"
Marcus said calmly.
"Oh, thank you. I live at 457 West Elm Street."
Upon hearing this, Elena hesitated for a moment before taking the keys and running toward the exit.
'At least she didn't drag her feet. Smart girl.'
Marcus praised her inwardly, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders before continuing forward.
He saw many corpses along the way—homeless people, maintenance workers, passengers—none of them intact. Following the trail of blood, Marcus arrived at the chain-link fence he was looking for.
This was the homeless gathering place of the Underground Kingdom.
Marcus reached out and pulled down the broken and twisted fence gate, ducking down to enter.
The stench of decay inside was overwhelming.
Marcus followed the passageway, turning three corners, until he reached a slightly more spacious area of about two thousand square feet.
A larger demon, noticeably bigger than the others, was using blood to carve a circle nearly thirty feet in diameter, the circle already filled with runes.
In the center of the circle was a pile of tongues, and above it hung a cluster of corpses.
The demon turned and saw Marcus, roaring as it lunged at him.
Marcus swung the briefcase at the demon's ugly face.
The demon surprisingly managed to stop itself, nimbly dodging the attack while simultaneously scratching the reinforced briefcase with its claws, leaving three deep claw marks.
Seeing how sharp the claws were, Marcus simply grabbed the straps on the inside of the briefcase, using it as a shield as he charged at the demon.
Frustrated by the blows, the demon stretched out its two claws, piercing the briefcase, but was momentarily stuck.
Seeing this opportunity, Marcus pressed the briefcase down, forcing the monster's arms to the ground. Using his free left hand, Marcus pressed down on the demon's head and slammed it against the concrete, cracking the floor.
Seeing the demon momentarily stunned, Marcus quickly pulled out the briefcase.
"Twenty pounds of titanium alloy,"
Marcus said, panting, as he slammed it down hard on the demon's neck.
"It's all about leverage and force."
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.
As soon as he finished speaking, the captain-level demon's neck flesh was pulverized, and the bones completely shattered.
Marcus reached out his left hand, grabbed the monster's corpse, and activated his "Absorb" ability.
A stream of energy surged into Marcus's body.
He felt it; it strengthened him by about 10%—one of these was worth ten of the smaller ones.
Just this subway trip alone had increased Marcus's physical capabilities by 30%. Totally worth it.
After killing the demon, Marcus tore off a piece of clothing from the tattered clothes of the hanging corpse above and wiped his hands.
He observed the hanging corpses.
Among them was a blind old man wearing a golden crown.
However, the torn paper edges of the crown indicated that it was just a party hat that people wore for birthdays, only spray-painted gold.
So this must be the king of the Underground Kingdom.
Marcus circled the corpses and spotted the man whose online handle he'd traced—Dominic Patterson—whose face had turned pale and swollen.
"Brother, looks like you didn't make it,"
Marcus said with a sigh.
There were three of them when they entered this world, but now he was the only one left. This guy had been pretty clever, yet he still died.
Marcus looked around; there was nothing of value.
He glanced down at his tattered leather jacket and jeans, frowned, and decided to go to 457 West Elm to change.
Carrying his briefcase, he turned and walked outside, turning four corners before suddenly stopping.
Something was wrong!
Marcus clearly remembered turning only three corners when he entered through the fence.
This was already the fourth.
There was only one passage; there was no possibility of going the wrong way.
Marcus didn't dare go any further.
At the same time, the briefcase he was clutching began to grow cold.
The coldness intensified, and Marcus felt his hands stiffening. And this feeling was very familiar.
The Ice Cenobite!
CRACK. CRACK!
That was the sound of ice forming. The water flowing in the nearby sewer stopped; the sewage had frozen solid.
Marcus quickly retreated.
CRACK!
The ice in the sewer shattered instantly, and a frozen corpse floated to the surface. The corpse lay on its back, its arms clasped to its chest, a fake crystal sphere made of frozen ice in its palm, constantly interfering with the crystal sphere in Marcus's briefcase.
"Winter has come... you are nothing..."
The frozen corpse began to speak, word by word.
Its mouth opened and closed like shattered porcelain, ice shards from its skin falling into the sewer.
The Ice Cenobite had come to capture Marcus. Its humiliation at Pinhead's summoning had deeply mocked and enraged it. It was furious and wanted to tear Marcus's soul to shreds ten thousand times before throwing it into the Pit.
Marcus felt the coldness emanating from the crystal sphere in his briefcase.
'Time to leave this world.'
Before leaving, Marcus decided to give the demons of Leviathan's Hell one last surprise.
He quickly ran back to the hall of the Underground Kingdom.
Marcus looked at the incomplete circle drawn by the large demon.
He used the blood from the corpses to complete the demon summoning circle.
Fortunately, this ordinary blood only had a healing effect on Marcus, not causing injury, so he didn't bother to absorb it all.
As the circle was completed, the pile of tongues on the ground quickly knotted and bound together.
The hanging corpses turned into red powder and fell to the ground, forming a pile of ash that covered the tongues.
A nauseating song began to rise from all around, making those who heard it want to tear everything apart.
The ash compressed into a gray body, like the body of a moth. In front of the body was a head formed by the fusion of tongues, resembling the appearance of the Underground King. Patterned black wings extended from the sides of the body, and rings of powder began to drift in all directions.
This was the Archdemon of Abaddon's Hell—the Cantor.
As the Cantor was about to take shape, Marcus silently chanted,
"Return."
Marcus vanished from the spot.
The temporary crystal sphere in the Ice Cenobite's hand shattered, briefly opening a Hell Rift, from which the Ice Cenobite emerged fully.
The newly summoned Cantor instantly noticed the Ice Cenobite, and the two hellish demons stared at each other in surprise.
Abaddon's Hell and Leviathan's Hell were ancient sworn enemies.
The Archdemon Cantor manipulated all the powder, like a dense fog, attacking the Ice Cenobite...
BOOM!
The abandoned tunnel erupted in unholy warfare as demon fought Cenobite, neither willing to yield territory to their eternal enemy. Marcus's parting gift had turned into an interdimensional war zone.
And he was nowhere to be seen.
(End of Chapter)
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