3.

  Bruce led the men to the gate. It was in a cave surrounded by rocks that had no earthly business being arranged the way they were. Bruce, Joseph, and a dozen Hunters, weapons ready, prepared for the raid.

  “Stay together, stay alive,” Bruce said as he starred into the cave, feeling the heat of the great fire below radiating from it.

  “First, we find the hound and we kill it, with Cerberus dead, future raids won’t have to worry about it,” Bruce turned to the Hunters, “We are not ending this war today, we’re just taking a step closer,” he said.

  “If we get a shot at the Morning Star, take it, but don’t think we’re going to end this here and now. Above anything else, above finding any treasures, above killing any demons, we get out of here alive, and we get back to our families,” he said.

  Joseph held his spear, ready to run, raid hell, get as many riches as he could, kill as many demons as he found, and get back home to cash out, and get back to his own business. This Bruce Longdren had big dreams, he may have talked about not trying to end the war today, but if every hunter here followed his actions rather than his words, he may end up getting every man here killed.

  This was Joseph’s first time through a gate. Raids, while happening closer and closer in recent years, were the rarest mission a Hunter could find themselves in. This was the Fifth raid. The Fifth raid on record at least, some raids in the past had gone bad. Swaths of Hunters killed, plagues and evil released, even Demons, taking the opportunity of an open gate, found a way out into the world to spread even more havoc.

  Maybe Joseph should have given that Dossier a better run through, maybe he should have taken this more seriously. He held true to his spear, head in, kill what you can kill, take what you can get, and get out alive. That’s all that mattered. Hell, it’s not like he had any kind of family waiting for him, he was here for himself, for his own riches. No mouths to feed at home, no children to worry about if some great evil escaped and threatened this mortal world.

  Joseph followed Bruce and the other Hunters into the cave. It was darker than dark inside, and then, a cold wave came over them. A cold that was quickly replaced with a greater heat then Joseph could ever imagine. The heat of the below. The Great Fire as the natives had called it.

  “Keep a tight perimeter,” Bruce said, taking a tonic and suggesting the other men do the same, something to protect them from the flames. Joseph pulled his out of his pocket, luckily the one part of the Dossier he had paid attention too was the list of supplies he should take on the mission. The tonic helped him beat the heat, but damn if it wasn’t still making him sweat.

  Bruce held his hand up, stalling the hunters, “I can sense it, the beast is west,” he turned to the party, “Remember, we have to coordinate, three heads, means six eyes, it’s going to be able to see every move we make,” he said.

  The great beast came charging through the caverns of the Fire Below. It didn’t look like any kind of dog in the mortal world. The closest comparison Joseph could make would be a Pitt-bull, with longer fangs and an even more blood thirsty look in its eyes than your average Pitt.

  “This is what I came for,” Joseph said, turning his spear towards the beast. The left head saw him, and the monster lunged as the hunters descended on it. The Left head grabbed Joseph and lifted him into the ear, putting a deep gash in his side as it shook back and forth before spitting the cocky hunter out and sending him rolling off the side of a cliff and falling to what would most likely be his death.

  Bruce saw the vicious attack and felt bad for the young hunter. He may have disagreed with him on several points of the profession, but good men die in raids, that’s just what happens. He kept the rest of the Hunters in formation and using the knowledge from the Dossier, and the extended study referenced in it, the pack of knowledgeable hunters knew to keep tight and only get strikes when they could.

  It was an epic battle, Bruce Longdren, the Seventh Son himself, that old blood hunter from a line who had fought since the war of the holy land, led his men to victory. And in this, the fifth raid of hell, the monster Cerberus was defeated. The Guardian of Pandemonium fell. Future generations would see future raids, and there would be one less threat when the Order made it’s play for the Morning Star’s throne, for the end of the war.

  “We push forward, this could be our greatest chance in a thousand years,” Bruce said, rallying the hunters, “We take the Morning Star, we pull him from his throne, and we destroy him once and for all,” he raised his great flaming Claymore up, and the group of heroes cheered as the hunters made their way into the depths of Pandemonium. One hunter was left behind though, left to die.

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  As excited as he was to lock horns with Cerberus, fighting that old hound definitely wasn’t a case of a bark being worse than a bite. Here Joseph was, through the gate, in the below, and he had taken a game-ending hit in the first wave of attack. He put his hand on his shoulder as the blood ran down his arm. He tried to back tack, but the below had this awful way of confusing a mortal’s sense of direction, leaving them dumbfounded and hopeless.

  “I can help you,” a soft feminine voice said.

  Joseph looked up and saw a demon, a shapely, seductive, and sensual demon. She had hair of the most beautiful violet color, eyes, glowing white, her legs, her hips, she was a damned beauty.

  Joseph fell over, dropping his spear, and immediately calling it back to his hand as he tried to push himself up, “Do not face me, demon, for you face obliteration,” he said, holding his one good arm true to his weapon.

  “You don’t need to threaten me, I can help you,” she said, “If you get me out, I’ll get you out,” she said, tempting him.

  “What are you talking about?” he asked, breathing hard as the better hunters like that Longdren man were diving deeper into the pit of the below as he was left to die in the beginning of the raid.

  “You know where the gate is, get me out, please,” she begged.

  “If you want a fight, you found it, I’m not going to let a demon escape,” he said.

  The demoness rolled her eyes, “Do you need proof?” she asked walking up to him, and putting a hand on his wound.

  “Get off me!” he said, trying to push her away as she ran her hand down his grievous and likely mortal wound, healing it, sewing his arm up with her demonic magic.

  “We’re not all bad, I was told that mortals were coming, told that this would be my chance, you’re my way out,” she said.

  “What are you talking about?” He asked, with his arm healed he put both hands on his weapon, he felt what he should do was ram his weapon into this demon’s heart and end her here and now, then try to join back with the raid and maybe get a shot at glory dying fighting the Morning Star as opposed to dying fighting Cerberus, try to secure his place as a Demon Hunter worth his salt.

  “You’re my way out, I know you may not believe me, but I mean you no harm,” she said, “Get me out of the below, I’m one of many demons tired of this fight, you could save me, you could begin to end this war,” she said, “Take me to the gate, free me and I can promise you that you are releasing no evil into the mortal world,” she said.

  Joseph considered running his spear through this demon again, but for some reason could not bring himself to do it, this demoness was looking at him with such kind and pleading eyes, the eyes of an innocent, the eyes of someone who wished to bring no conflict, “Where’s the gate, I just want to be done with all of this,” she pleaded.

  “You’re a demon, I’m not helping you,” Joseph hissed.

  “I am a demon, yes, but I’m a demon who's done with this war, help me, please help me. It wasn’t my choice to be born on this side of the above and below, there’s more like me, you can help us,” she said, helping Joseph to his feet, “Please, I’m begging you, I suffer just as much in the below as any mortal cursed here does, the only difference is I didn’t earn a place here, I was just born into it, please help me,” she said.

  Joseph looked at her, to her pure white eyes, he took deep breaths, still recovering from the wound she healed for him, “I heard about demons like you, you’re a temptress,” he said.

  “I’m familiar with how you mortals label our breed,” she said, “I am not tempting you, everything I’ve told you is legitimate, all I want is freedom from the below, from the war, all of it, please, you’re a Demon Hunter, we’re told that you’re men of honor, I’m begging you,” she said, “Help a poor sinner,” she wrapped an arm around his waist and helped him to his feet.

  Joseph thought for a moment, he didn’t know if he was being beguiled or charmed, but damn if didn’t want to get out of the below as soon as he could, “It’s this way,” he said, leading her towards the exit, “The second you show you’re a demon I ram my spear down your throat,” he said.

  “Don’t threaten me, I’m not your enemy,” she said, “The things back there, in the below, they’re your enemy, they’re the kind I don’t want anything to do with,” she said, following his directions.

  The came to the gate, “This is it,” Joseph said, “You know, this might expel me from the order, I’m helping a demon escape, that’s a high crime, expulsion from the order, if not death in cases most egregious,” he said.

  “You don’t need to worry,” she said, “No evil is going to come from my exit, you’re doing a brave thing,” she said, “You’re starting the end of the war,” she smiled, “If this day is ever remembered, you’ll be called a hero, for showing mercy,” she said.

  “Loosening a demon on the world, yeah, that’s a hero,” Joseph said.

  “Starting a truce,” the Demoness said, “You don’t understand, not all demons are committed to the evils that most of our kind commit, you may have started the end of this war,” she said, “We can end this,” she pulled Joseph forward and bought him through the gate and into the mortal world.

  Meanwhile, Bruce Longdren was waging war with the Morning star himself. A fight that ended just as Joseph said he would, that leader of the below defeated, for now, and his great weapon, the Devil’s Pitchfork, lost to the mortal hunters, recovered, and taken back through the gate as the Fifth Raid came to its close.

  “Where’s that Cosgrove man, he said he wanted a piece of this fight,” Bruce Longdren asked.

  “Took a hit in the fight with the dog,” another Hunter said, “If he’s alive he probably fell back, if not, well,” he shrugged his shoulders.

  “This Raid of hell has been a success,” Bruce held up the Devil’s Pitchfork, “We have the mightiest weapon of the below, we can study this, we can find what we need to end this war,” he said, to the great cheers of the hunters that didn’t find themselves tempted by the forces of the below, the hunters that were true to their pledge to destroy all demons.