Chapter 17: C17 Get In My Belly!
Only known to my subconscious. Shortly after I fell asleep, a fiery golden cocoon covered me. It looked nearly identical to the shields I made from Hellfire when fighting Zadkiel.
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"Kadkiel."
Sitting on an ornate golden throne covered with symbols and runes, a white-haired man sat. Old he may be, but he still held an aura of undefiable royalty and might. "You said his name was Zadkiel," he asks, looking down at a kneeling blond-haired man.
"Yes, Father. His name was Zadkiel, but he said he was better known as the Spirit of Vengeance." Says the man.
"You're sure he was an angel and not just one of those—malformed humans? What do they call themselves—ah, yes—mutants." A black and green-robed man standing to the side asks him.
"I have never seen nor heard of a human that strong, deformed or not, that's also capable of wielding Mjolnir." He paused for a moment with a furrowed brow, "Though, he did appear a bit—unbalanced."
Silence, was all that was heard for a moment.
"Hmm, you may leave. Be sure to celebrate with your comrades. The mission was still a success in the end." The white-haired 'Father' said, before turning to the other man present, "Loki, you stay."
"Yes, Father!" the kneeling man stood up with a hammer and strode out of the throne room while the robed man came to a more central area before the throne.
"Loki, I want you to go to Midgard and find any traces of this 'angel,' find out where he is. But under no circumstances are you to engage him in battle." 'Father' finished with a stern gaze as if to stress the importance of his last words.
"It shall be done, Father!" The man bowed and then spun on his heel before walking out of the room with a slight smirk.
'Father' only leaned back on the throne. A multitude of thoughts swimming in his only eye.
---
Walking in through a portal, a bald woman entered a Spartan-like room. She didn't close the portal and only walked to an empty tea kettle.
While making tea, she looked down at her neckless. Then back up at the portal, seeing the magma on the other side.
Then with the hint of a smile, she says, "I wonder. What will happen next?"
--- [A/N: Below I start talking about Hell in more detail. Just keep in mind that Marvel's Hell still has a lot of vagueness, so I am taking some liberty and using it how I understand it.
My understanding is that there are the 'Nine Circles of Hell': This being the actual Hell. Hell Proper, the main Hell dimension, also has no ruler and is in a stalemate between all the Lords.
Then there are Sub-Hell Dimensions: This includes dimensions like Mephisto's or Lucifer's Realm.] ---
*Yawn*
With a loud yawn and a mighty stretch, still lying down, of course, I opened my blurry eyes only to see gold, "The hell is this?" I asked in confusion.
After saying that, the gold disappeared and revealed the still scorched room I was in. I also felt an intent, from a certain part of my soul, it roughly equated to: 'Kept safe.'
Smiling wryly, I thought, 'I knew it would eventually gain more intelligence since its core is modeled after my own, but to think it would become so—obsessed—with keeping me "safe."'
"I suppose it's only natural though. It's been protecting me for nearly the entire time it has existed." But do I want another being, not just attached to my soul, but made from it? 'I could turn it back into fuel or remove its ability to develop further, now. Before it ever becomes more.'
No. No, I don't think I will. It is a part of me, just as I am its whole. Besides, 'It's rare to have something you can truly trust your back to.'
"Thanks, SE! You've been a big help." After saying that, a golden wisp twirled around me and then disappeared.
Now with that out of the way, it's time to get to work. "So far I have: Become Zadkiel. Become the ruler of this realm. And took care of Mephisto, who won't be resurrecting himself—ever—because he is gone completely."
Mephisto was a weird existence. He was almost like the manifestation of a concept, only it was his particular brand of evil. But when he was killed by Holly Hellfire, fueled by my soul, he ceased to exist.
'I think the reason is that my soul runs on a much higher "law," so to speak, that of eternity.' And that "law" was personally crafted by ROB, meaning it vastly outranks this Omniverse let alone Multiverse. 'I know that from the knowledge I wished for.'
"Anyway," all that's left now is to resurrect Johnny and Roxanne, and maybe some of the people Mephisto fooled. "Johnny is easy enough since he's here, in my realm, due to the deal he made. As for Roxanne, I just need to pull her out of Limbo, the First Circle of Hell."
Saying so, I teleport to my throne and sit down. 'Erm, I'll get rid of this palace first.' I snap my fingers, and—poof—it all disappears, leaving behind me, on a throne, at the highest point of this realm.
I snap my fingers again, and now I'm in a cozy little office with plush chairs and a good atmosphere. The throne is now one of those really expensive chairs, the kind that swivel and look like someone could sleep for eternity in.
"Ahh, much better. Now, where's Johnny?" activating the realm's power, I search for his familiar signature, "Up in the clouds it seams."
"Now for Roxan—oh, whaa—why is she in my realm? She should be in Limbo, not here!" before I started searching Limbo, I noticed Roxanne's soul floating around in a different part of the realm. "Hmm. Oh, I see. It was Blackheart who took her soul. If I remember right, in the comics, he turned her into one of his servants. Black Rose or something like that."
Finding them both, I dragged them to my 'office' and made new, already sitting bodies for them. It only took a few seconds.
Roxanne looked like she would be out of it for a few minutes. But It didn't take long for Johnny to come to, "What—how—who are you? Are you another demon after my soul?!" I may have removed my power from him, but he still has a stronger soul now.
In response, I lift my finger and ignite a little Hellfire on it, "Nope."
"You're a Ghost Rider t—" he cuts himself off when I shake my head. "Then who?"
"Your power had to come from somewhere, or someone, doncha think?" I give him a smile.
"But, I thought Mephisto is the one who made the Ghost Riders?" He questions back.
I nod back, "Yep, he is. But he used my power to do so. He had me locked up and would create Riders from my siphoned-off energy every so often." I paused, so he could digest what I said.
"Of course, that won't happen anymore since he is dead now, and I decided to bring you back to the land of the living since you played some part in it," I replied with an even bigger smile.
"Dead, huh—" Johnny's eyes widen, "What about R—?" before he can go further, he hears a sound from the side.
"Mmm. Ugh." Roxanne opens her eyes and looks at the person she just heard "Jo—Johnny!?" She tries to get up but can't move very well, so she gives up and looks around until she spots me, "Ah. Are you God? Wait, I should be dead! Is this Heaven or—or—"
Before she can continue freaking out, I say, "It depends on what you consider God, yes you died, no this isn't Heaven, and yes—this is Hell." I pause for a dramatic effect, "BUT! Rest assured, neither you nor Johnny belongs in Hell."
Roxanne sighs with relief and then looked at Johnny with a beautiful smile, "That's good."
He smiles back before turning to me and asking, "What happens now? I imagine there are procedures or something that we have to go through."
"There isn't much, really. I can send you back to Earth right now, as you are, and you can go about your normal lives. Though, I wouldn't recommend that." I told him with a more serious face.
At first, they looked happy, but by the end—not so much. Roxanne asked, "Why is that?"
"Well. Johnny, and by extension you, is undoubtedly on a few watchlists, not all of them good, and since you two are normal people—" I didn't need to continue.
"Then what do we do?" Johnny asked with furrowed brows.
"Learn magic," I state plainly. "You have superior talent from being contracted with me, and Roxanne is naturally gifted."
"Magic," they both say surprised. "But where do we learn that?" Roxanne asked.
I smile at them, "I know just the place."
---
Now that that's over, I can start going through souls. "Though, I'm not that optimistic about increasing my strength with them. I'm more interested in the knowledge I can gain."
Most of the souls are human, and although there are a large number of them, my soul is already leagues above the vast majority. Add that with the increased difficulty of strengthening my soul—"Maybe I can get a five percent boost in base soul strength."
"It doesn't really matter though, I never thought of them as more than a snack, considering most are evil by anyone's standards." I plan on using the realm itself to improve my soul, "That's another reason I need more knowledge, so I can turn this dimension's energy into something that can nourish my soul."
"I'll even consume the realm itself if I can." I am not the type to seek power like a mad man, but I'm not going to turn it down if it's ripe for the taking.
After going through the souls, I'll start working on my body, "I want those backdoors and bottlenecks taken off as soon as possible."
Sitting down at my desk, I tap the top making a holographic screen pop up. I just made a simple tool to help tally the souls. "Let's see here. I'll leave any souls considered 'good' for later and just focus on the 'bad.'"
"Then I'll filter for knowledgable people. Hmm, a few tens of thousands, not bad for only being a sub-dimension of Hell." But that's too many and too much overlap. It will also take too long to absorb, "I only want the geniuses and most knowledgeable."
"That leaves—forty-two—obviously. After all, it is the 'Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.'" I wonder if they have that movie here, I want to watch it now.
"They cover the subjects I need, both mundane and magical." They shouldn't take more than a month to absorb either, not after I strip out the knowledge and leave the other garbage.
"I can absorb the other souls as nutrients while I'm at it too. I should get done with them both around the same time as well." Nice and convenient, just how I like it.
"Well—best get started!" I set up my soul filters and start gorging myself like Fat Bastard, "Get in my belly!"
//Note//
Sorry for the movie references, but I couldn't get them out of my head once they were in. What can I do except spread the joy?
Oh, and do let me know if the MC ever comes off as doing something stupid. It will never be my intention to make him stupid, as I personally can't stand stupid MCs. But don't expect him to act omniscient, and don't confuse 'not giving a damn' for being stupid.
Unless it was stupid to not give a damn. There's always that possibility.
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