Death of Bishop part 2: The Hell Years (Chapter Two)

Chapter 2: Visiting Hours feat. BLAZIN (deactivated), Reaper Reign, Divinity Machine

Hundreds of thousands, that’s how many demons Lucas had eviscerated in his first year in Hell. Between the demons and the familiar faces that were less than friendly, Lucas had his hands full. Neck deep in evil, Lucas did his best to merely slip into that state of mind, the mind of the battle-hardened warrior. A place inside himself where nothing existed but violence and rage. The more anger, the more power he was able to exert. He was constantly bouncing back and forth between a visceral release of energy and storing what he could when the time came. A dance he knew all too well, but even the finest ballet dancer would grow weary from warm-ups.

The final hellspawn of the group fell, a limbless screeching corpse that withered to dust before his eyes. A deep sigh escaped him, it never ended. As if to prove his point, a rumble could be heard from the cliffside behind him. Lucas turned just in time to see a tidal wave of hungry bodies pouring down the rock face and headed his way. Five thousand? Ten? No matter, it was all work that needed to be done. The horde wasn’t far now, Lucas could see the fire in their eyes, the yellow marking on their teeth, their rotten nails clawing at the ground in anticipation for his flesh. Just then, the rumble of an engine could be heard and not soon after, the oncoming group parted down the middle with a mist of blood following behind the bright orange flame. It was Johnny, and Lucas could’ve kissed the flaming bastard if they didn’t have more pressing matters. That, and Johnny was gross. 

As the two fought, it was a fantastic combination of abilities. Ghost Rider was designed to slay the demons, and give off energy while doing so. Lucas was a soldier with all the ammunition he needed now that his buddy was around. Johnny swung the massive hammer by his side and turned whatever it touched into flaming dust before tossing Lucas the tool of destruction. The kinetic energy of the throw alone was enough to empower him with a little something extra. Thunderous booms of the hammer making contact with the red rock of the ground. The cracks it created almost immediately filled and pooled with demon blood, and there was plenty of that to go around. As the last one fell, Lucas came close to pulling him in for a hug when they shook hands. Johnny was just passing through, somewhat of a pit stop before his next destination. Naturally, he was perfectly cryptic as usual, regardless, Lucas was beside himself to just see someone he knew. Glad it was someone he didn’t have to attack or defend himself from, a friend. Just like that, the engine popped and the trail of fire lead off to the crimson horizon. 

Lucas didn’t get far before chains of anti-matter shot out of the ground and pulled him to his knees. “What are you up to now you festering cunt…” Lucas cursed under his breath at his captor who though couldn’t be seen, but could surely hear him. Not a moment after he spoke, a Hellmouth opened and the person that walked through made his blood run cold. Hyacinthe had just walked in, and she looked like a cat in a rat factory. She had a lot of payback to make good on, Lucas had been destroying her facilities, messing with her tech. Just a week before his demise, Lucas spent a weekend finding and sabotaging her more invasive experiments. All in a day’s work. Now that day’s work was staring him in the face and ready for thorough and proper recompense. Lucas was put through the wringer, and he had been interrogated by Puritans one time. With the captive beaten and bloodied, black ooze pouring from his cuts, Lucas was released from his chains and fell to the ground. It appeared the madam synth has greatly overestimated her trust in the literal devil. She jumped at the opportunity to finally punch back at the hero that had been pestering her, now she was trapped in the same Hell he was. Their reluctant partnership didn’t last long, it was a stop-gap until one of them figured a way out. 

It was surreal to fight side by side with Hyacinthe, as opposed to against one another. She was a warrior despite her prim and proper aesthetic, he reluctantly appreciated and maybe even admired that about her. The entire army was slain and just when they thought it was done, a Brood Queen appeared as they tried to make their way deeper into Hell. It was one wild trial, and despite Hyacinthe’s unfamiliarity with the species, she handled herself very well. With a little unconventional teamwork, they overcame the beast. Lucas was wounded and worn, thankfully his reluctant companion healed him before she was ripped away by Mephisto and cast back into her unending mansion. Lucas was alone, again, but thankfully for him it wouldn’t last long. 

Lucas had been traveling for what felt like weeks, when he wasn’t fighting he was running and mentally Lucas was spent. That was when he felt something shift in the atmosphere, an arrival was being made evident. He felt her before the arrival, Lucas always did when it came to Lenore. It was her otherworldly aura that seemed to permeate the plain of existence before she was actually seen. When she did appear, Lucas fought the overwhelming urge to weep as her arms found him. Their exchange was much, much too brief for his liking. Something about a departure? Where was she going? The rituals of the reapers were far beyond him, but Lucas knew what little he did understand he didn’t like. At all. The matriarch and her dogs appeared, Lucas exchanged venomous words in a desperate attempt to keep Lenore there. To keep her from whatever they had planned for her. There was nothing to be done, he was an ant against the mother’s heel and like that, Lenore was swept away to some other Hell entirely. He was alone. Again. 

Before Lenore was absconded with, she said he was close, he couldn’t come all this way for nothing. So he continued toward the mountain, it appeared to loom much larger as he drew nearer. Another horde drew near, another battle was inevitable. Was it getting easier? Being down there, fighting the throngs of unholy, was it all becoming engrained in him somehow? He could feel an energy as overbearing as the mountain before him. The closer he drew to the rock face, one energy became two. Mephisto was not going to let him leave, not without a fight. Two words were spoken under Lucas' breath, words of self-encouragement. His voice prickling and crackling with something different, so subtle he didn't even notice it himself.

“A̴̗̒l̷̘̐m̶͓͆o̷̦̽s̵͙͆t̵͎̔ ̵̜̊t̸̼͛h̷̩̐ȩ̴͝r̷̢͋ẽ̶̪ “