Chapter 33

A Few Hours Earlier
Dimitri 1st POV

“If we both make it out of this, you and I are having a beer together,” I said with a confident smirk under my hood and backflipped off the railing.

I unfurled my wings and flapped them to center myself in the air. I flew through the cold winds and kept myself hidden in the clouds so as to not draw any unwanted attention. I was, admittedly, a little skeptical about Draco’s plan, but he seemed so sure that it would work without me having to be there. I guess I was used to always calling the shots up until now that I never expected to not fight alongside my crew and apprentices. Another thing that worried me a little is Maud’s already growing ferocity. Her face may not have shown it, but I could sense her blood lust a mile or two away. The death of her father must’ve triggered something in her and the fruit only amplified it. Igneous Rock’s death was just another thing that Lust was going to answer for, so I had to keep my head clear for the task ahead of me. Soon I made it past the clouds to see the Empire, but I already didn’t like what I was seeing. Instead of it being a shining beauty of a city as I remembered it to be, it was all gloomy and the winter winds surrounded the city like a plague. I grit my teeth as small embers flickered off my body and I glared at the main tower of the castle. It was then I saw someone standing at the balcony, to which I noticed a menacing looking Caribou with dark red armor and large antlers.

“Lust…” I hissed with a mouthful of venom. “You just wait right there, you sick bastard, I’m on my way to tear your soul apart.”

I continued my flight and circled the city as I made my way behind to the south side of the city. I glanced back to where the fleet were flying in from and I could almost make out the noise of The Prometheus in one of the clouds, which meant they were all getting into position. I looked down within the walls behind the castle to see some kind of crystal garden of some sorts. It had a few plants made of crystal here and here, but most of the shrubbery were cut to resemble male genitalia. I scowled at the gross display of masculinity these assholes were displaying and made my way to the ground. Touching down .behind a mound of snow and crouched down behind it. I peered over the mound to see some guards patrolling on the walls and armed with M1 Garands. My military training kicked in as I used the surrounding fog from the weather, probably caused by Zephyr, and krept over to the wall. My eyes were locked on the guards up above as one was about to turn around to my direction. I ducked down and scooped snow over myself with my arms and wings to hide as soon as he looked in my direction. I stayed under the snow until he finally turned away and spoke with the other guard so I used that chance to come out of the snow and continue on. I finally made it to the wall and leaned against it and looked up. Thankfully, none of them had noticed me and I could now hear what they were saying.

“I just don’t understand it,” one of the stags sighed. “How could just one guy manage to convince over a quarter of our forces to just up and leave with him?”

“I too am having a hard time believing it, brother,” the other stag agreed. “One minute we’re all just going about our business, and the next thing we know some bright light shines out of nowhere and that white winged bastard shows up. How did he even manage to break our fellow stallion male’s brainwashing? I thought the glorious Crystal Cock’s influence was unbreakable?”

White wing? I thought to myself but then smirked, realizing who they were talking about. Phill, so you actually managed to pull it off somehow. Guess I owe you that drink.

“It’s also more of a pain since the War Chief ordered everyone to be on high alert for any more of the rebels to show up.”

“Hey…you don’t think the stories we’ve been hearing are true, do you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean about the Devil of The Caribou and the Beast. I once had a couple of friends in Salt Lick and Manehattan. Only one managed to escape with an arm torn off but my other buddy never came back. The Beast is as merciless as the Hand and he devours all whom he sees.”

“I’m…sure that’s all just pure exaggeration. Besides, the Beast is probably on the other side of the country, terrorizing some other poor town.”

“You can’t seriously be that naïve! Need I remind you about that transmission the Hand sent out a while back over the radio and screens? Did you see those wings of his? They’re probably red from the blood of the countless victims that fell by his blades or are made of fire, ready to burn his prey.”

“Shut up! Just shut your damn mouth! It doesn’t matter what he can do and how many he’s killed, the Beast included! They’ll fall, they all will, just like that rebellious clan who Lord Dainn slaughtered when we first came ashore to these lands.”

“But they were not backed by a demon from the underworld and a rampaging monster.” The other stag fell silent after that statement and gripped his rifle tight. “Personally, if I had known we would encounter such enemies like this, I would have never signed up to come here.”

“Careful with your words, they are the words of heresy,” the other stag warned. “You, as well as any other of our brothers-in-arms, know why we set out to take control of this world. The oppression of those whores on their thrones had to be put to rest so that we could show them just were all females belong. I say it won’t be long until this little rebellion is dealt with and we’re back to how it used to be. I just hope that I one day get to plow that Sun Slut’s sweet flank into next week, if Lord Dainn would allow me.”

After hearing enough of their deluded conversation, I stepped away from the wall and unfurled my wings a bit. I then gave them a sharp flap, launching in the air and above the stags who looked up to see me. Before they could react, I swiped both my wings as a few feather blades from each wing shot towards them, hitting them in the head, gut, or neck and they fell to the ground dead and I landed on the walkway.

“Hey! What’s going on over there?!”

I looked to my right to see a guard making his way towards me and had his rifle ready. As soon as he saw me, his eyes widened and aimed his weapon at me.

“Freeze!”

SHUNK!

I didn’t bother letting him try to fire at me or try to call for backup, so I just flung another feather blade at him and hit his head, killing him.

“Employee of the month, ladies and gentlemen,” I scoffed sarcastically.

I dumped the bodies over the wall so they wouldn’t draw anymore attention. I then realized that there should at least be a lot more guards around, even if it was behind the city, but there were only these three and probably others around patrolling this area. I scratched my chin, wondering why the security was so low, until I noticed a radio from one of the guards I killed dropped on the floor. I picked it up and turned it on, only to hear there was already a commotion happening.

“Red alert! I repeat, red alert! The Devil’s Hand is here and is approaching the main gate on his own! We need backup! Our weapons aren’t doing a bucking thing! Wait…what did he just fire in the air?!” I waited to hear what else could be happening until I started hearing some kind of music in the background. “Oh gods above…IT’S A TRAP! THERE’S THOUSANDS OF ENEMY TROOPS THAT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE! WHERE DID THOSE SHIPS COME FROM?!”

“Well, well,” I smiled, tossing away the radio. “Guess Draco’s little distraction is working perfectly. I better get a move on while the excitement is just getting started.”

I hopped down the inner wall and quickly made my way through the crystal garden. I watched as I stealthily made my way through how any nearby guards had left their post to go join the fight that was happening in front of the city. It would only be a matter of time before Draco breaches the gates and they still had Sombra to deal with. The thought of Sobra crossing my mind made me question again if Draco would be able to handle him. Why Dainn would bargain would him, of all ponies, was beyond me. Let alone, why Sombra would even consider allying himself when he was more of a lone wolf kind of villain.

“…Di…mitri.”

I stopped my trek in the middle of the garden and looked around after hearing a faint voice in my head call out to me. I gripped Surtr’s handle, ready to draw as I looked around.

“Here…look.”

When I heard it again, I looked to see at the far end of the garden there was some kind of statue. At first I didn’t recognize it due to the light fog surrounding the area, but as I drew closer to it my heart almost stopped. Before I knew it, I broke out in a full sprint towards the statue, not caring about any form of subtlety or stealth. The statue grew more clear until I was standing right before it and I dare not take my eyes off the undeniable piece of stone before me.

“D…Discord?”

There was no doubt about it, the mismatch of body parts, the feathered and webbed wing, and the serpentine-like body. It was the Lord of Chaos himself, Discord, trapped in stone and he had his arms held out along with a shocked expression. The poor guy had chips and cracks all over him, almost like someone was pelting away at his body just for fun. There were also disrespectful words and phrases of disgust either drawn or chiseled on his body. The mere sight made me reach up to remove my hood so I could look at him properly.

“Discord…what have they done to you?” I said pityingly.

“So…we finally…meet,” I could hear him say into my mind, which surprised me a little.

“You sound weak,” I deduced. “I wish we could’ve met under different circumstances.”

“Dainn…imprisoned me,” he said faintly. “Deceived me. Used…the remainder of…my power-”

“To bring Draco here,” I finished for him.

“Draco…he is well?”

“Very, he’s got a marefriend now,” I smiled.

“Ah…I am glad,” I heard him say a little more enthusiastically. “And…dear Fluttershy, she is…safe?”

“Yes, Discord, your first friend is safe.”

“So…happy to…hear that,” he chuckled weakly.

“Just hang in there, Discord,” I said as I stepped forward with my hand coated in Hellfire. “I’ll have you out of there in no time.”

“No…”

“No? What do you mean-”

“Lust…your task…is Lust.”

I looked behind me to the castle and back to Discord with my eyes narrowed.

“I can’t just leave you here like this.”

“I…shall be fine,” he argued. “I have waited…many months…for this day. I assure you, I…can spare a few more…moments.”

“I can sense your power,” I said sternly. “If…you’re not freed soon…”

“Sir Lockdrom,” Discord said a bit more clearly in my head. “You came here for one purpose. If you aid me now, I would become a liability to your goal. Do not waste your precious time and energy on a misjudged fool like me.”

I grit my teeth and was forced to pull my hand back. I knew he was right, if I did free him from his stone prison I’d have to worry about him and he wouldn’t be able to do much with his power nearly drained. I hated myself for the thought, but I knew what had to be done for the greater good.

“I’ll come back for you,” I said as I stepped backwards. “I will defeat him, and I swear I’ll come back.”

“I do not doubt it,” Discord said.

“You will see her again, you hear me?” I pointed at him as I pulled my hood back over. “You will see Fluttershy again, I swear it.”

“Thank you…Sir Lock…drom.”

I turned around and ran back towards the castle as his voice faded from my head. Seeing Discord in a state like that was only more fuel to the fire. Lust wasn’t gonna get away from this, that’s for damn sure. I finally made it to the back entrance of the castle and hid behind a small pillar. I peered around the corner to see that there were a group of guards standing at attention, about 8 of them armed with swords or rifles. I would use my disguise, but I had no time to waste since Draco was probably about to breach the front gates soon. I decided that since there was already a lot of noise being made that I should start making my own noise to level the playing field. So I casually came out from behind the pillar while drawing two of my six-shooters and paced towards the group.

“Halt! Who goes there?!” One of the stags ordeed.

“Who do you think, wretch?” I hissed as I fanned open my wings and aimed my pistols.

“I-It’s the Devil’s Hand! Kill him!” Another stag said as they came at me with their weapons drawn and rifles aimed at me.

I jumped as I gave my wings a sharp flap and flipped over the attacking stags while twisting my body in mid air. As I spun, I fired my pistols at the group, hitting a few in the arm or leg a couple straight through the head, killing them instantly. As I landed on the other side, one of the stags armed with a rifle shot at me. I managed to duck out of the way by somersaulting to the side and aimed my gun at him and fired. As he fell to the floor with a bullet hole in his chest, a few armed with swords charged at me so I decided to meet them head on. I holstered my pistols back on my hip strap and dashed forward. The first attacker came at me and swung his sword to slash me as I swayed my body to the side and drove my elbow in his ribs. He cried out in pain as he tried to swing at me again, but I grabbed his sword and shoved it into his neck. The next attacker came at me while roaring out in anger as he watched his comrade choke on his blood and sword. As he made a swipe at me, I jumped in the air and raised my boot to the sky. As I came down, I swung my boot downwards and onto his shoulder, crushing the bone and making his body slam into the ground. The few remaining stags who were shot in the leg or arm all staggered back as I rose up and stood straight. I glanced over my shoulder and glared daggers at them, making them shudder in fear as they gripped their bloody wounds. One was foolish enough to try and pull out a pistol of his own, but I was the quicker draw and shot him in the head before he could make a grab for his weapon.

“Anyone else wanna be a brave idiot?” I challenged.

The two stags attempted to limp away before I stretched my hand out and grabbed one of them by his shirt collar and yanked him backwards. He fell on his back with a grunt as the other made his escape and I planted my boot on my captive’s chest.

“Gak! Wh-Why?!” He groaned. “If you’re here, then who’s-”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” I chortled as I pressed my boot more onto him. “Where’s Lust?” He didn’t answer for a moment so I decided to convince him by pressing the muzzle of my gun into his eye, making him yell out in pain as I pulled back the hammer. “Where. Is. Lust?”

“Gyaaaaahh! Th-Throne Room! He’s in the Throne Room!” He yelped.

“Thank you,” I nodded as I pulled the trigger.

BANG!

Blood and brains sprayed out from his eye socket as his body went limp with the occasional final twitch. I wiped off the grime on my gun and holstered it and turned to the entrance. I didn’t bother being subtle so I raised my boot and kicked the door off its hinges. The door went flying inside and I stepped through and took in my surroundings. The halls were decorated with banners of the Stonehoof’s and murals of males rapeing females, as if some kind of commemorative way to show off their conquest of Equestria. I snarled to myself as I marched down the halls, killing any remaining guards that stayed behind to protect the castle. After slicing the head off a few stags who tried to ambush me with Ymir, I spied a peculiar door that was locked by thick chains. I realized that I had an obligation at the moment, but seeing as how they used chains to lock up a door piqued my curiosity. I glanced down the hall to see if there were any more guards heading in my direction, but the trail of dead bodies I left in my wake told me I would be clear of them for now.

I walked over to the door and grabbed the chains and gave them a light tug. They were pretty locked down and looked like they wouldn’t budge. I stepped back and raised both Surtr and Ymir in the air and swung them diagonally as fast as I could at the door. There was a brief pause until the chains and door fell apart to pieces in a heap of rubble. As I sheathed my swords, I stepped in the room but got a whiff of something foul in the air. I grimaced and looked around, seeing that the room was lit by a lone glowing crystal and the whole room was a complete mess. Books upon books stacked in every corner of the room, papers depicting charts and strings hung in every direction wherever I looked. The whole place smelled like someone took a dump and didn’t bother to flush, letting it fester in the heat. One of the stacks of books fell over, making me snap my head to the noise to see a stallion hunched over in a trembling fetal position. He was skinny and malnourished, his mane and tail were caked with grime and dirt, but the one recognizable feature about him was his glasses and the tattered cloak he wore. Under his cloak, he wore a wrinkled button up shirt and slacks that both had blood stains here and there. One of his legs had some sort of makeshift splint wrapped around it and was made out of pieces of plywood and cloth.

“P-P-Please…” he begged in a raspy voice. “D-D-D-Don’t hurt me!”

“Easy there, kid,” I said calmly, raising my hands. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

The stallion sniffled as he slowly looked up at me and my suspicions as to who he was came true. Sunburst gazed up at me with eyes full of nothing but fear and the sight of him made me frown under the shadow of my hood. He looked like he hadn’t eaten properly or was let to bathe himself for months on end. His goatee was longer, along with his mane and tail, and were tangled beyond repair. His glasses had cracks in both of the lenses and were barely holding together from the amount of tape that covered the entire frame. Poor kid also had a black eye and blood stains on his clothes and fur. When I stepped towards him, he flinched and tried to crawl away from me.

“Sunburst,” I said, making his ears perk up. “Please relax, I swear I won’t hurt you.”

“H-H-How do you know m-m-my name?” He asked shakily.

“Er…the papers,” I lied, pointing to the many parchments that littered the ground and walls. “I saw you had written your name on some of them.”

“Oh…I see,” he nodded but still kept away. “Who are you?”

“My name is Dimitri,” I said, taking off my hood. With my hood off, he finally got a good look at me and raised his head more. After adjusting his crumbling glasses, he noticed my wings and gasped.

“Hold on, crimson red wings, not a pony, armed with swords and those weird gun things…Are you the Hand?!”

“So you know about me?”

“H-How could I not?” Sunburst said. “The guards wouldn’t stop talking about you, especially since that broadcast you sent out from Cloudsdale. But there’s a lot of fighting going on outside, and they said that you’re out there with the rebels. How are you here if you’re supposed to be out there?”

“It’s a long story, Sunburst, but rest assured we’ve come to free this kingdom. I think it’s time I get you out of this place.”

“N-NO!” Sunburst yelped before I could step towards him again. “I-I-I can’t leave…”

“Sunburst, you can’t stay here. I’m sure I can find you a more suitable place to hide than this dump.”

“B-B-But…I’ll d-d-die if I do…” Sunburst whimpered.

“What?”

Sunburst raised his head for me to see his neck and I noticed he was wearing a black slave collar. “Overlord Lust put this on me, he cursed it so if I were to ever leave this room it would tighten around my neck until my head falls off…”

Lust, you fucking sick bastard…

“I see…” I nodded, barely managing to quell my growing rage. “Why trap you here anyway?”

“All of this,” Sunburst said, pointing to the stacks of books and charts. “And that.”

His finger pointed to a wall that had a larger map of the world. The whole map was scribbled with coordinates, question marks, and pages from books with ancient looking texts of some kind.

“What is all this?” I wondered.

“I…I don’t know,” Sunburst shook his head. “They locked me in here when they took over the Empire. All they said was to find something them or they’ll make each check-in more brutal than the last. I haven’t eaten anything proper for months and they never even let me bathe myself or even sleep.”

“What were they forcing you to look for?”

“All they said was, find the Castles.”

“Castles? That’s a bit broad.”

“It is!” Sunburst cried, tears spilling from his eyes. “I tried telling them that, but I just got beat up every time! And whenever I discovered an ancient structure, ones that not even I thought I’d be able to find with just books and charts, it was the wrong one! The result was them beating me more and more, no matter how tirelessly I worked! They even broke my leg, for Celestia’s sake! I…I just wanted to die and not have to suffer anymore!”

I grinded my teeth in anger at the treatment they were giving this poor stallion. Sunburst was the brightest and one of the most likeable ponies I’d come to know as a character. He always spoke how he took pride in being an accomplished scholar, now he talks as if he now despises what he used to love.

“But…recently, their beatings became less frequent after I finally managed to come up with something,” he said as he reached into his robe and held out a small tattered piece of paper. I took the paper and saw it was written in symbols I couldn’t make out. They looked like a mix of some strange Equestrian version of ancient Egyptian script mixed with Ancient Greek text.

“I can’t even make sense of what this is,” I said, handing him back the parchment.

“Not surprising, since it’s the first dead language of Eques,” Sunburst sighed. “This was given to me by Lust after hitting one dead end after another. I suppose even he had to admit I wouldn’t get anywhere unless I had some sort of clue. It took me three months alone just to transcribe what that reads.”

“What does it say?”

“It sounds like some kind of name, somepony called The Wise One.”

I couldn’t explain it, but hearing that name sent some kind of chill down my spine. It was as if the name itself had an ominous aura to it that made even me swallow a small lump in my throat. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and glanced out the door to remind myself why I’m originally here.

“I wish I could move you to a more secure location, Sunburst, but I unfortunately don’t have the time or energy to help get that collar off of you,” I said as I turned away and walked towards the door. “You’ll just have to stay put until I finish my business.”

“You’re leaving me here?” Sunburst said fearfully.

“I don’t have much of a choice, I came here for one task and one task only.”

“What’s that?”

Before I stepped out, I turned back around and walked over to Sunburst. He flinched at my approach as I kneeled down and placed my hand on his leg. I coated it in Hellfire, making him gasp in surprise, but he soon relaxed as he felt his leg being repaired.

“To kill the Sin of Lust,” I proclaimed as I pulled my hood back over my head and left the room after healing him.

I lost count how many times I had delayed myself when more of those persistent guards tried to get in my way and slow me down. I had my spear in one hand and a smoking pistol in the other as I trudged through the hall leading to the throne room. Bodies of Caribou and traitor stallions littered the floor and blood was splattered across the walls. The last line of defence proved to be more taxing than anticipated. I was met with a small battalion of at least 30-50 of them standing in my way, along with a few War Beasts they managed to bring inside to join them. I glanced over to my right to see the body of a War Beast I sliced in half with its eyes rolled back into its head and its tongue hanging out. Beside it was the other War Beasts I that I shot each of their eyes out and the charred them to a crisp with my flames. I returned my sights to the large double doors in front of me as I holstered my gun but kept a firm grip on my spear. More bodies passed my peripheral vision, bodies that I carved to pieces, burnt to a crisp, froze and smashed with my ice, and riddled with bullets and feather blades. I had used the last of my ammunition for my pistols to deal with this lot, but that didn’t really matter to me. Nothing was going to stand in my way of what I came here to do, not them, not anything. As I passed by a window that showed the outside, I saw that Draco and the rebel army had breached the front gates and were rampaging through the streets.

“Wait for me, my friends,” I said as I saw my reflection on the crystal wall. My eyes were glowing a bright amber under the shadow on my hood as blood and gore dripped off my body and spear. “Just you wall wait…”

I stood in front of the doors and gripped my spear. I snarled as I rose my boot, engulfing it in flames, and kicked them down with as much force as I could muster.

CRASH!!

The doors forced themselves open and one tore off the hinges and fell to the ground. I slowly stepped inside and took in my surroundings. Much like the rest of the castle, the throne room was no exception of being a shadow of its former self. The whole room reeked of sick desire as I looked around and saw how the pillars were decorated with perverted banners and decorations. My vision soon set upon the throne, making me glare at it, more specifically what was sitting right on top of the throne itself. What was once the symbol of the Crystal Empire, a relic of love and affection, a piece of history that everyone smiled upon, The Crystal Heart, now morphed into the grotesque and unsightly form that was the Crystal Cock.

“Quite beautiful, is it not?”

A voice called out from behind one of the curtains next to the throne. Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the room and soon a figure came out from behind it. A Caribou stag, with dark brown fur and large pointed antlers came walking out to greet me. He wore dark red armor that covered his torso, legs and arms and had spikes pointing out from the shoulders. Attached to both sides of his waste were what looked like two whips that had blades along the wire and on the ends. His eyes were blood red as he smirked sickeningly at me and stood just beside the throne.

“Lust…”

“Greetings, attack dog of the Devil,” Lust mocked with a curt nod. “I must commend you, Hand, you had me nearly fooled that was you down there who was going on a rampage and slaughtering my forces.”

“You and the other Sins should’ve stayed in Hell where you belong,” I snarled, pointing my spear at the Overlord. “You had no right to come here and dictate all who didn’t deserve it.”

“Us? Dictate?” Lust asked in a fake shocked tone. “I believe Dainn informed us that these lands were already led by a few dictator whores.”

“Diann’s a fucking loud mouthed tyrant whose delusions of male superiority corrupted this once peaceful world,” I spat. “That…thing on the throne is supposed to be a symbol of happiness and prosperity.”

“But it is, don’t you see? The Crystal Cock is of my own design, which is why I shaped it so. To show the world’s male population that they are free to do as their dark desires tell them to anything they wish,” Lust said with a grin.

“Ponies…are not…objects!” I barked, making flames flicker off my body. “They’re living beings who don’t need manipulative scumbags like you and Dainn telling them what to do and how to live! And don’t you dare call that relic that deplorable name! It’s the Crystal Heart! It always will be!”

“Hmm, it seems you have misunderstood me,” Lust sighed as he snapped his fingers. Two nude crystal mares crawled out from behind the throne and in front of Lust. They leaned down and raised their flanks in the air toward him, making me glare at the stag as the flames flickered more violently off my body. “Hand, do you know what the true meaning of Lust is?”

“Why should I care?” I spat.

“It’s not solely the feeling you get from physical contact. Sex, rape, torture, it’s all the same with these Caribou, despite the fact that I am possessing the body of one. You see, true lust does not come from what you feel physically, it is how you see others view you.”

“What are you on about?” I asked.

“Observe,” Lust smiled wickedly as she glared down at the mares, making them shiver in fear. “Lick my hooves, or I will skin you alive and use your fur as clothing.”

The mares both whimpered and nodded as they immediately turned around and began licking his hooves right in front of me. My whole body trembled in rage as my eyes burned at the scum making these poor mares do such a thing for him.

“You see, Hand? This is the true feeling of lust, the feeling of being feared,” Lust huffed as if he was getting off from this. “The feeling of being feared is quite possibly the most pleasurable experience one could ever dream of experiencing. These mares, who grovel at my hooves, do whatever I demand of them just so they can live longer. The look in their eye when I tell them I could end their lives whenever I desire, it’s just so…intoxicating.”

“You fucking sadistic bastard!” I snarled with enough venom to poison the very air. “How could you possibly get off from being feared?! That’s not lustful thinking! That’s just a sick and demented mindset!”

“Oh come now, Hand,” Lust rolled his eyes. “Are you telling me that you have not sought out for these Caribou and pony stallions, who turned against their own, to fear you?”

“That’s different!” I shot back. “They fear me because I am their reckoning! They dared to taint these lands with their deluded ideals and sinful totalitarianism without any second thought! As for the traitors, they sealed their fate the minute they decided to turn their backs on their countrymen!”

“So naïve…” Lust sighed. “You believe it is just your enemies who fear you. When you have more than likely instilled fear within the hearts of your comrades and you don’t even realize it.”

“I would never harm my friends and comrades-in-arms!”

“You are the Hand of the Devil himself,” Lust argued, pointing at me. “You represent the very incarnate of evil and the damned. You think yourself a hero? A valued benefactor of peace? An agent of vengeance? Bah! No, in the end you are nothing but a foolish boy, playing with little embers and has yet to comprehend the situation before him. Not only that, with every life you take, you will fall deeper and deeper in the hole you continue to dig yourself in. And soon, you will be seen as nothing…but a monster.”

I was silent for a moment as the embers dwindled along my body. I shook my head, trying to push his words out, but something was preventing me from doing so. It was like something was corrupting my thoughts and it made my head spin.

“That’s…that’s not true!”

“Isn’t it? I am honestly wondering why you do not take my words to heart. Why squander your power over a meaningless war like the one you are trying to wage when you could be using it to feel what I and the rest of my forces feel? Think about it, Hand, to be able to spread your own kind of fear and force anyone and anything to do your bidding. You could even label yourself as a god among these peons, just as I and my fellow Sins have.”

I shook my head again and tried looking around the room. Before I knew it, I saw more mares, equestrian and crystal, crawling out from different hiding places in the throne room. Each of them were looking at me with lidded eyes and some even giggled at me as my arm holding my spear up began to grow heavy. As I lowered my arm, the mares started to coil around me and rub against me as I just stood there. One mare turned around and pressed her flank on my crotch as another pressed her bare breasts against my arm and pulled my hood aside to whisper in my ear.

“You can do anything your heart wishes to us, master~,” she cooed before giving my cheek a small lick.

“You see? All these loyal slaves worship you,” Lust pointed out. “Not because of the treatment I have given them, but because they too know what it is you, we, are capable of. You would be able to burn them all to cinders or tear them limb from limb. To avoid that, here they all are presenting themselves to you. That, dear Hand, is the true meaning of lust.”

My vision grew hazy and my breathing was growing more heavy with each passing moment. Something was wrong, I shouldn’t feel this fatigued even after fighting my way up to the throne room. Before any of these mares got too frisky with me, my eyes caught the sight of the Crystal Cock. It was glowing a bit more than usual and it’s as if the glow was making me think things I’d never imagine. Then it hit me, this bastard was trying to brainwash me! And he thought I’d be an easy target since I was in close proximity with the damn thing. I had to do something before it was too late. Without hesitating, I fanned open my wings, causing the mares to yelp as they fell backwards, and raised my hand at the obscene object. I then engulfed my hand in fire and shot a blast of flames at the grotesque object, knocking it off the throne, and making it go flying and hitting the wall it flew at. There was a loud clang and the relic, surprisingly, didn’t shatter on impact but it lost its glow. I immediately felt more clear headed and I looked around to see that all the mares were rubbing their heads and looking confused. Seems like me disturbing the Crystal Cock disrupted Lust’s manipulation tactic, which, by the looks of it, he did not appreciate me finding out his little ruse.

“You almost had me there,” I smirked under my hood. “But I wanna make one thing clear. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will ever make me betray what I believe in. Yes, you’re right in a way, I am somewhat like a demon straight out of Hell. I kill, I destroy, and I burn all who come against me. But that doesn’t mean I’m heartless, because unlike you and the rest of your fellow Sins, I steel have a heart. So long as it’s still beating, I’ll always stay true to myself and what I stand for.” I twirled my spear in my hand and took a frontal stance. “And by the way, I’m no hero. I’m just the messenger.”

Lust glared at me as the mares all took the opportunity to quickly evacuate out of the throne room while he wasn’t paying attention to them. Suddenly, he grabbed one of the whips attached to his hip and swung it around and straight at me. I raised my spear to try and block it but it ended up wrapping around my spear and he pulled me forward. Lust then shot his other arm out and grabbed my head and slammed me into the ground, making me grunt on impact.

“If you will not instill fear, then I will just make you experience it!”

His hand on my face glowed a dark red aura and I managed to raise my boot and kick his chest, forcing him off me. I quickly got to my feet and got into position again to fight my demonic foe.

“Well look at the little piss ant.”

My body froze at the all too familiar voice that I had intended to keep buried and forgotten that spoke behind me. I slowly looked over my shoulder to see a sloppily dressed man with dark brown hair and a scruffy beard on his face. He looked at me with such disdain and I felt like I was 6 years old all over again.

“You really look like shit, you know that?” The man chortled.

“No…” I shook my head. “You can’t be here, you’re rotting in a cell where you belong!”

“Oh shut your fucking mouth!” The man barked as he marched up to me. “You’re so fucking pathetic.”

“Stay away from me!” I yelled as I slashed at him with my spear, only for it to faze right through him.

“Oh? Are you being a little bitch again right now? Just like your stupid slut of a mother?” He mocked as he approached me.

“You made her grovel to you!” I said, trying to back away.

“You’re such a little whiny bitch!” He spat, getting up in my face. “You can’t even look your old man in the eye. All you have to show for it is that fake family you cozied up to when I was hauled away and you managed to end up just like me!”

“I’M NOTHING LIKE YOU, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!” I roared as I swung at him again with my spear but to no avail. “YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A DISHONORABLE SON OF A BITCH!”

“And you…are a little piss ant, cowering in the corner. The only real son of a bitch around here is you.”

I shook my head as my biological father laughed at me and I could hear Lust laughing as well. Of all the scumbags to pop into my head, why did it have to be him? I thought I was free of him, that I didn’t have to be afraid anymore. Just what was I trying to prove after all I had done?

“There it is,” Lust said with a sadistic grin. “The look of fear that makes me so excited with pleasurable thoughts. It is as I said, you’re nothing but a foolish boy, still obviously clinging to the past. And now, I shall put you out of your misery.”

I was so discombobulated at what was happening, but after looking at the apparition that was my biological father before me, I realized that this was another ploy to throw me off. Seeing this man again after all these years almost made me revert back to what I once was. A frightened little kid who didn’t know how to fully comprehend the world around him, all because of the life he was born into. Images of my friends, my comrades, even my adoptive family and the love of my life flashed in my mind as my resolve soon returned to me.

“Fuck you…” I muttered as I stood firm. I raised my fist and slammed it into my forehead. I staggered backwards from the impact but that managed to break whatever hallucination trick Lust cast on me. The apparition of my father faded away, him still having that sick grin in the end. “I’ll never be like you.” I turned to Lust and glared daggers at him as he looked caught off guard. “You crossed a line, Lust, now you’re gonna suffer even more for what you’ve done.”

“Grr, spare me the bravado!” Lust snapped as he swung his whip around again. Only this time I was ready as I twirled my spear and swung it diagonally and blocked the incoming weapon.

“I told you,” I growled as I raised my spear up to my mouth and clenched my teeth on the handle. I reached into my pocket and put my earbuds in and scrolled through my smartphone’s playlist for a song. As the song began to play, I drew both Surtr and Ymir and got into position. “You’ll never break me.”

We both circled each other in the room as Lust pulled out his other whip. The two of us stared each other down and we both didn’t dare to take our eyes off each other. My hands gripped my swords tight as embers danced along Surtr’s blade. The right half of my body flickered with flames and my left side had ice patches on my left arm and leg. Small ice shards formed along Ymir and my left hand was coated in a sheet of ice. I clenched my jaw on the handle of my spear as Lust started to twirl one of his whips around. He had this look like he wanted to make me scream in pain for his sick pleasure. I glanced out a window to see the fleet in the sky and they had begun firing their cannons towards the city. I watched as the shells neared their targets and they looked like falling stars of death.

KA-BOOM!!

As soon as the shells made impact and exploded across the city, Lust and I lunged at each other with both our weapons raised. Lust swung both whips at me as I raised my swords in front of me and slashed them in opposite directions. I deflected the whips and Lust flicked his left arm to make the whip come back around and try to make a hit on me again. I stomped my boot to the ground and jumped to the side to narrowly dodge the weapon as it struck the crystal floor. The blades on the weapon made the floor crack as small pieces of crystal went flying. Lust then swung both his whips around and began cracking them in my direction. I blocked, dodged, and jumped out of the whips way and flapped my wings to take to the air. I ran along the walls as Lust cracked his whips at me as I tried to search for an opening. I jumped off the wall and flicked my wing to fire a few feather blades at Lust. He deflected the feathers by swinging his whip and swatted them to the side. I took the opportunity to jump off the other side of the wall and straight at Lust as I clenched my jaw tight around my spear. I managed to evade his whip he tried to crack at me and I flew right by him as the blade of my spear slashed his chest armor. He grunted in pain and I spun my body around to deliver a fierce roundhouse kick to his side and drove him backwards. I refused to let up on my assault and held Surtr in front of me and Ymir behind me.

“Three-Sword Style: Fox Hunt!”

I charged at Lust and spun around him while flipping and slashing at my opponent with my baldes looking like a blur. Lust did his best to parry or block my attacks as I managed to cut him many times in my onslaught. Lust roared in anger as he swung his elbow to the side, catching me off a little as he nailed me right in the side. I staggered a bit as Lust swung his whip and it wrapped around my arm and the blades along the whip dug into my flesh. I grit my teeth on my handle of my spear before Lust pulled me forward and slammed me into the wall. The whip wrapped around my right arm tightened more and I yelled in pain as Lust pulled me forward again towards him. He raised his fist and slammed it into my chest, causing me to cough out blood and the wind got knocked out of me. I turned my head to glare at Lust and spun my sword around to stab his hoof. Lust yelled at me and I managed to unravel the whip on my arm and jumped away. I felt my whole arm was wet and looked to see it drenched in blood but I kept my grip on my sword. Ignoring the pain, I raised Surtr and Ymir in front of me and took a deep breath.

“Three-Sword Style: Burning Ogre Cutter!”

Surtr’s blade was engulfed in flames as Ymir’s blade covered itself in a sheet of freezing ice, the same the same thing happened on the two blades on the ends of my spear. I lunged at Lust as I crossed my arms and flapped my wings to pick up speed. I slashed my swords and spear at my opponent, causing a loud clang to echo throughout the room and I landed on the other side behind Lust. Lust cried out in agony as a slash would appear on his chest armor as it was covered in both ice and fire.

“ARGH! YOU LITTLE WRETCH!” Lust bellowed as he tore off his armor and I could see my handiwork on his chest, a large X-shaped wound.

“That all you got?” I mocked.

“DON’T YOU DARE UNDERESTIMATE ME! I AM THE SIN OF LUST!”

Lust then began spinning his whips around and didn’t stop spinning until they were both a spinning blur. I was about to put up my defense when I felt something cut me on my leg, making me grunt out loud and look down. My leg had a slash wound and blood seeped out as another would cut me on my left arm.

“WHIP WING BARRAGE!!”

A flurry of cracks from his whips berated me as I raised my swords and tried to deflect them all. The momentum of his spinning made the whips almost too fast to read and I received many cuts all over my body. Some of the marks made deep cuts and forced me to take steps back. Lust’s attacks were relentless and nearly backed me into the wall until the attacks stopped. I breathed heavily as nearly my whole body stinged and ached from the many cuts he inflicted. Lust smirked as he readied himself for another barrage but I was gonna be damned if I would fall victim like that again. Gripping my swords again, I held Surtr in front of me and Ymir behind me and spun my body around like a top.

“THREE SWORD STYLE: DRAGON TORNADO!!”

“WHIP WING BARRAGE!!”

A twister I kicked up from my spinning blades and Lust’s high speed whips met head on and a series of metal clashing against each other rang throughout the area. Both of us roared at each other as we tried to push each other back, each side receiving more cuts along our bodies until we eventually blew each other back from a small shockwave. I slammed in the wall behind me as Lust tumbled across the ground and the whole room was littered with slash marks and destroyed chunks of crystal, along with a few splatters of our blood. The song playing in my earbuds seemed to have ended as my breathing became heavy and blood leaked out of my mouth and dripped on the floor along with my wounds. Lust picked himself up, also breathing heavily and spat a wad of blood and glared daggers at me.

“You annoying little fly,” Lust hissed. “You just don’t seem to know when to quit.”

“Not my style,” I huffed, staggering a little.

“You have put up a descent battle, Hand, almost as decent as your predecessor who foiled our plans back in the human world.”

“My predecessor?” I repeated. “You mean the one who stopped you from instigating the World Wars any further?”

“Indeed, an insufferable little shit, he was. If only we had more time, we could have fulfilled our greatest achievement.”

“Achievement my ass!” I barked. “You were trying to destroy everything and make the humans continue to kill each other!”

“Do you think we stopped pursuing that goal?” Lust said, making me pause. “We know that there is a relic in this world that leads back to the human world. Once we attain it, and as soon as Dainn finds what he searches this world for, we will continue to spread our influence as we did all those years ago! There shall be a new World War! A war between Eques and Earth, and it shall be glorious! The only wall that stands in our way is you, I intend to make sure you and that old fool of a Devil you serve do not disrupt our goal!”

“You sick, twisted, demented son of a bitch…” I opened my jaw and let my spear drop of out my mouth and fall to the floor. “So that’s why you came here, that’s why you answered Dainn’s summons. You knew that Satanael wouldn’t let you run wild again like you did before and you knew he’d go find someone to fight for him as his Hand.” I dropped Surtr on the ground, followed by Ymir as I stood up straight. “You Sins figured that since this world was filled with magic and other possible building blocks to strengthen your chances, you allied yourselves with the Caribou so you would have an army of your own and lead them to try and start another war when the time came.” I raised my right hand in the air as flames began to swirl above me. “I thought you were all just scumbag tyrants, but now I see you lot are more than that: you’re all bat shit crazy, and I don’t doubt that Dainn is any exception.” The flames above me formed a ball of fire that kept growing more and more, making the room more hot with each passing moment. “I now have a new purpose while in this world, it’s not only to send you and the others back to Hell, it’s to keep you away from my old home and from your clutches again!” The ball of flames grew to the point where it was the size of a huge boulder, its heat radiated throughout the room.

“What are you doing?!” Lust demanded.

“Fulfilling my obligations, I’m gonna burn you to a crisp!”

Lust glared at me as he raised his arms and a dark aura surrounded him as he tried to put up some kind of dark shield to protect him. I reeled my arm back and threw it forward at Lust, making the ball of flames fly towards my opponent.

“GREAT HELLFIRE COMMANDMENT: ENTEI!!!”

KA-BOOM!!!

A massive explosion erupted upon impact and blasted the very roof of the throne room sky high. Fire surged through the air and crystal rubble fell from the sky as the smoke was blown around the area from the outside winds to the now exposed throne room. As the smoke cleared, Lust was on his knees with his dark shield still up but just barely holding on. He breathed heavily as he dropped his shield and I noticed that his body was singed and burnt all around his body.

“You…you crazy fool! You blew the whole roof off!” Lust spat. “How can you have this power?! It’s unlike anything from the previous Hand!”

“When you’re fighting against one of the Seven Sins, you should always at least try to go out with a bang.”

“I’m still not done, you persistent wretch!” Lust hissed as he grabbed his whips again. He used his dark power to coat them in a black aura. “It doesn’t matter how much power you have hidden within you! I REFUSE TO FALL AGAIN TO THE ATTACK DOG OF THE DEVIL!”

“Well then…” I said as I unzipped my torn leather jacket, took off my gun belts, and tossed them aside. I also took off my bloody shirt, exposing my torso, and lowered my body and spread my legs. I placed my left hand on my knee and my right fist on the ground and bent my knees. “It looks like I’ll just have to go ahead and finish this, right now.”

I focused my power and took several deep breaths. I then made my legs act like a pump to circulate my blood flow and speed it up at a rapid pace. My body soon produced steam that billowed off my body as I pumped my legs again, making more steel billow off me. As I stood there, staring at Lust with unwavering determination, my smartphone had begun to play the next song on my playlist, making me smirk inwardly since this was one of my favorites.

“GEAR…2ND!!!”

3rd POV

Both combatants stood before each other as Lock’s body produced a massive amount of steam from his body. The cold winds blew around them as Lock raised his left hand in front of him and turned it to the side while reeling his right fist back.

“From this point on, your attacks won’t reach me,” Lock proclaimed. He soon engulfed both his hands and teeth in flames, giving his appearance a more fierce look.

“Grr, you think a bluff like that would deter me?!” Lust scoffed as he twirled his whips. “I’ll tear you limb from limb!”

Lust swung his dark aura coated whip at Lock and it shot towards him at blinding speed. As it was about to meet its mark, Lock seemingly disappeared and the whip hit the crystal floor, making the crystal floor smash apart into pieces. The evil stag looked around for the Hand until he saw him off to the side in the same position from before.

“Gum Gum Hellfire Jet Pistol!”

Lock thrusted his inflamed fist forward and struck Lust in the chest, making the Sin grunt loudly as he was forced backwards. He gripped his chest and looked down to see a signed first mark and he coughed up a little blood.

“That was for Igneous Rock!”

“How did you-?!” Lust didn’t get a chance to ask as he was struck again but this time across his muzzle. Lock was disappearing and reappearing and landing punches upon Lust and the Sin was helpless and confused as to how he was able to perform such a feat.

“Gum Gum Hellfire Jet Whip!”

Lock then raised his boot and swung his stretched leg and slammed it across Lust’s rib cage. The force of the attack made Lust go flying and crash into a fallen crystal debris. He coughed again and felt his ribs cracking and seethed at the human fighter.

“That was for Fancy Pants!”

“YOU INSUFFERABLE MONGREL!!” Lust shouted in anger. The dark aura enveloping his whips spread up and along his arms. He spun the whips once more and began cracking them in every direction he could.

“SINFUL WHIP STORM!!!”

The area around Lust was a blur of dark aura and whip cracks. His whips struck everything in their path and created a maelstrom of deadly attacks. Lock, however, was using his newfound speed and endurance to dodge each of the whip cracks that flung his way. Lust roared and kept his attack going, not caring that his body ached all over from the wounds he received. Lock soon had enough of dodging and went back on the offensive. Searching for an opening, he flicked his wing and shot feather blades. The increase in strength affected the rate of fire of the feathers as they pierced right through Lust’s arm and leg, causing Lust to lose his momentum. Lock reacted by reeling back both his fists and appeared right in front of Lust, and swung his fists forward at top speeds.

“Gum Gum Hellfire Bazooka!”

Both fists collide with Lust’s stomach, ceasing the Sin’s sporadic attack, and sending him flying towards a wall and crashing into it. Lust was forced to drop his whips and fell to his knees, wheezing and coughing up blood as he looked up at the still steaming human.

“That was for every poor sod who’s suffered because of you and the rest of you fucking Sins!”

“Gah! How?!” Lust wheezed. “This cannot be possible! You should not have this much power!”

“That sounds like someone on the brink of losing,” Lock said with a straight face.

“NO!” The wounded Overlord slammed his fist on the ground and rose to his hooves. “I REJECT THIS! I WILL NOT FALL!” Lust’s dark aura flared as he then charged at Lock with unbridled rage.

“I WILL RIP THE FLESH OF YOUR BONES!! I WILL KILL ALL YOU HOLD DEAR AND DRENCH THE LANDS IN THEIR BLOOD!!”

“Not before I beat you to a bloody fucking pulp…” Lock growled and spread his legs. He reared his fists back and took a deep breath.

“Gum Gum…!!”

All at once, Lust suddenly felt multiple inflamed fists colliding with him, forcing him to stop and start to be pushed back. Lock sped up his high speed attack until his arms looked like a blur as he unleashed a barrage of punches.

“JET HELLFIRE GATLING!!!”

The attack ravaged Lust as Lock refused to relent and only strived to increase the speed of his volley of punches. Lust screamed in agony and kept being pelted by fire coated fists and pushed more and more backwards. Lust was eventually pushed against the crystal wall but Lock still did not relent and kept on punching away at the battered demonic stag.

“AND THIS IS FOR SHINING ARMOR!!!”

With one last hard punch, Lock managed to break through the wall and Lust went flying through along with it. The Sin was still screaming as his bloody and broken body fell to the ground. Lock stood there, breathing heavily and blood dripping from his wounds, as the steam from his body subsided and the flames on his hands and feet extinguished themselves. As the song that played in his earbuds came to an end, Lock straightened himself out and clutched his more wounded arm and walked over to the edge where Lust fell. He saw through the howling winds of snow that Lust impacted the ground and made a small crater but wasn’t moving.

Unfurling his wings, Lock jumped off the edge of the roof and glided down to the ground. It was a shaky descent since his wounds were still fresh but he managed to touch down with ease. He slowly walked over to the crater where Lust lay and came to its edge to see the fallen Sin. Lust’s body was in the process of disintegrating into dust as he glanced up at Lock with hateful eyes.

“You defeated me…” Lust croaked. “I hate losing, but there are worse ways to lose than at the hands of a man like you.” Lock said nothing as he gazed at the fading Sin. “I admire how cold and focused your eyes are. I look forward…to the day when those eyes will be wide with agony.” Lust’s body soon was only his head as he grinned and closed his eyes. “It’s coming…it’s coming…”

The Sin faded away until there was nothing but a pile of ash and dust. From the ash a strange small white orb with a wispy tail hovered over the ashes. Lock stepped towards a large chunk of crystal debris and sat down on it while still holding on to his bleeding arm. Lock then fished in his back pocket and pulled out a small box that he had kept with him for some time. It was a box of cigarettes he had only opened a few times before since purchasing them back on earth. He flipped the box open and pulled out a cigarette with his lips. He snapped his fingers and a small ember lit on the tip of his thumb and inhaled the burning tobacco. He exhaled as he looked up at the clouds and saw the sun piercing through a little as he slowly smoked the cigarette. Unbeknownst to him, a mark on the back of his right shoulder appeared as soon as Lust faded away into dust. A symbol of proof of his defeat against the Sin. He had done it, he won, the Devil’s Hand had defeated the Sin of Lust.

“One down…six to go,” Lock said.

Author's Note

The Sin of Lust, slain.

Side Note: My GOODNESS this took longer to cook up than expected! Hope it was worth the wait and I hope you all enjoyed!

~WurkyWilk has left the building…