Rosario Vampire Fan Fiction ❯ Two Guys, A Vampire, and a Monster Academy ❯ Despirate Decent ( Chapter 17 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Two Guys, a Vampire, and a Monster Academy
I do apologize for the lateness of the chapter; I have little excuse for its completion other than mere procrastination from distractions of various sources. From video games that must be played to fanfiction ideas such as a Code Geass and Rosario to Vampire Crossover, a Code Geass and My-Hime Crossover, another Rosario to Vampire story that involves dimensional doubles and a galactic war, A mega Sunrise Crossover project with the first story arc project being a reimagining of the One Year War, An AU Stargate SG-1 crossover with multiple animes such as Code Geass, Rosario to Vampire, Ranma ½ and various Gundam series, A God of War story which replaces Kratos with Moka and the urge to create a magical girl/super sentai version of the Ashford Girls among other fanfiction ideas that I can't immediately recall.
Needless to say, future chapters in all three fanfiction projects will be delayed for some time to come. Either way, I humbly ask you all to wait until I can at least complete the first years of these stories up to the canon conclusion as seen in the manga. Speaking of which…
Disclaimer: I do not own Rosario + Vampire storyline, background, characters and similar media. Anything that sounds familiar to the readers is more than likely not mine, but originated from a source that I do not remember clearly. I may not be able to own my OC in this fiction.

Oh, and I just remembered something. It’s a bit of a spoiler but might as well put it up now and decrease the amount of irate readers with this little heads up.

Warning: The following scenes WILL offend My-Hime fans.

Now that those are out of the way, let’s begin.

Chapter 17: Desperate Decent

The Newspaper Club continued their decent from what the ha-Shay’tan (1) d’jinn Adar Iblis had earlier identified as the Erebes Cliffs, as of the same time in a frequency too uncomfortable for even the likes of the unsealed vampire Moka Akashiya the starless sky was illuminated by the enflamed bodies of those condemned to the hell known as Tartaros (2) as the shades of those condemned to the border regions of the demonic realm were assaulted by hornet-like creatures horrific enough to belong to this abyss. It was learned earlier that the hornet and wasp beasts chased after those who were condemned to the outer reaches of the dark valley, stung and bitten the poor souls until they could escape no more and are soon entombed into the very stone that make up the very cliffs to which the Monster Academy students currently occupy and descended. Entombed by maggots, worms and snakes or what these nightmarish abominations most resemble that feasted upon the blood and tears of those unable to escape such a terrible torment. To the amazement of many of the members of the Newspaper Club, this was but a light sentence compared to those beyond the far shores of Ache’ontas (3).
“Is that how She’ole is organized?” Yukari asked the d’jinn as she absorbed the information given to her by the ha-Shay’tan over the violet but still low audible winds that seem to originate from the far off distant cyclone.
“Of course, that is how the divinity of the Empyreus Throne had divided what you call ‘the Afterlife’ long before the rebellion into the three Kingdoms: Elysion (4) to which the Mal’akh (5) court of Nibbana (6) rules on high and subordinate to the Ahura Mazda (7) that occupy the Empryreus, Hamistagan (8) where those Pne’uma (9) not pure enough to ascend into Elysion directly upon the initial transition cleanse themselves through the trials of the Arraf (10) for entry into the great entrance of Ed’Hen (11), and Tartaros that you see before you condemns those whose mortal crimes weight them down into the dark valley and the most recently formed.” Iblis explained.
“From when Lou-san’s original body descended from Elysion, correct?” The D’jinn nodded.
“And to which my brother’s body still resides within the pillar of Angra Mainyu at the very deepest pit in the center of Tartaros.”
Just then, the enflamed body of the recently damned soul crashed into the side of the cliff face and clawed at the path before it fell into the shadows of the crags that so distinguish Erebes. This particular soul subtly alarmed the unleashed vampire simply because this creature had the same crimson eyes as her own.
The bluenette succubus visibly shivered from the uncomfortable sight as she embraced herself. “I still don’t see how these people-”
“Pne’uma.” Iblis corrected.

“Whatever. I still don’t see how they could ever get used to such a place.”

“Simple: They don’t.” The D’jinn ominously replied as the distant commotion of a harbor was heard. Almost directly below them was a massive wooden ship, or how it appeared from that distance, and what stood in place of a tall mast was instead a cloaked figure who seemed to grow from the craft itself. From the many peers that lance from the shore to the ship came many pne’uma who boarded the great vessel. Many of which were forced by the red and blue skinned creatures for mentioned to punish those condemned to Tartaros by their own sins.

“Is that-” Rubi began.

“The great ferry of Acher’ontas to which Kha’ron (12) is captain. Yet it is one of several that services the painful river that separate Erebes from the hills of Asphodelus and the Dark Judges.”

“Sounds kind of inefficient if you ask me.” Gin commented. “To have that many souls- I mean pne’uma, just collect at a pier like that.”

“There are those who crimes in life are so grave that they descend directly into the pit below rather than gathered by the Ahu’ra, or Oni as your culture refers them.” Iblis answered. “Though such mortals are few and far in between fortunately.”

“‘Fortunately’?” Mizore questioned.

“Well, in respect to those who still live upon the mortal realm of Earth.” Just then, the group heard the nearby screams of shock and horror as trio of phe’uma rounded a corner and pursued by the demonic wasps and hornets that continued to stab and impale them when the poor yet sinful dead were close enough for such an attack. An attack that the cursed dead would desperately wish to avoid at all costs. Neither of the trio fully accepted the fact that they were condemned from their own sins into this province of Tartaros as commanded on high.

“What the fuck’s going on?!” The elder, dark brunette man brown eyed man cursed as he shoved off the hellish insectoid beast just after it shoved a demonic stinger into his shoulder. “Why are they after us?!”

“Where are we? What are they?!” A younger, light brunette boy with blue eyes exclaimed as he felt the stingers rip through his sides as the creatures began to gnaw into his neck to hold fast to its prey.

“I’m a fuckin’ celebrity! I should not be treated like shit!” A black headed, blue eyed beauty complained as the trio rounded another corner and out of sight, yet not out of earshot, of the Newspaper Club.

It was a few moments of confused silence before one of their number spoke up. “Who were they?” Kurumu asked.

“I think that were those western celebrities.” The Yuki-Onna replied before the d’jinn could have responded. “Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber, and I believe most people would call her ‘Snookie’.”

“How would you know that?” Ura Moka questioned Mizore.

“My homeland has satellite television.” She answered. “Otherwise we would be completely ignorant of the world beyond our borders.”

“Still, we must fly.” Iblis advised the club of this twisted odyssey. “The d’kia (13) of Tsukune Aono may board the ferry into the proper of Tartaros and before one of the seven judges of the damned.”

“I thought we were in Tartaros?” Kurumu questioned.

“To be exact, we are upon the periphery of the great pit. The borderlands that separate us from all of the lands of She’ol.” Iblis answered the bluenette succubus. “It is here that those whose mortal sins committed in waking life are not grave enough to plung them deeper into the woeful circles of damnation, yet still present enough to deny them even entry upon Hamistagan itself. Enough to weight them down into this great scar we now occupy and decend.”

“We still need to find Tsukune-san ~desu!” Yukari exclaimed. “Both of him!”


The soul of Tsukune had wandered towards this woeful harbor of despair, still unsure as to where he was or even if he was alive or not. Before him he saw beings that were more corporeal then his present self, nude human and monster alike along with creatures that he assumed were d’jinns hurded by both red and blue skinned oni onto a nightmarish barge with a tall, cloaked man as a mast. In short, he felt as if he was upon the precipice of hell itself. There was certainly enough fire and brimstone that fell from the sky to suggest such a realm.

The oni-like creatures herded the condemned souls with kanabos, pitchforks, swords, spears and whips. To force them to board the lower levels of the seaworthy craft, yet they ignored Tsukune as if he were no more than a ghost or its equivalent in this afterlife realm. It was at that time that the strange cloaked giant turned towards him and commanded, “You there! Stand aside from those that are dead.”

Unsurprising, Tsukune’s soul was confused. Was he not dead? Is his being not ethereal? And why were these other beings seem more complete than himself? He no longer felt the familiar pulse of a living heart, to signify that he was still alive. Yet this great being, the ferryman of the damned stated plainly and outright that he was not dead. However, it did not explain why he did not felt alive either. Did something happen when Ura Moka injected her blood into him for the last time?

Suddenly, he felt a sense of fear. Of uncontrollable horror as he turned around and saw the source of his strange terror. It was his own body or at least that’s how he perceived it. Yet somehow it was different then what he remembered. There was a strange tattoo that webbed from almost stereotypical vampire bite and silted iris eyes the color of crimson and its manner of movement was savage, beastial. But most of all was that Tsukune’s soul felt fear, which was strange into itself. Should he not be glad that he found his corporeal body?

The question left unanswered as strange instincts drove him to seek sanctuary and safety within the bowls of the demonic craft. If he had stayed longer, he would have noticed Lou’s fallen angel form chase after the ghoul body.

“Couz’! Stop! Don’t go into that weird boat!” His pleas go unheeded as the ghoul of Tuskune leaped towards the craft, only to miss the hull as it moved away from the harbor and towards its destination on the far side of the river. Lou was then able to catch up to the creature that was formerly Tsukune Aono. “Son of a bitch, what the hell are you thinking?”

From raw determination the creature then leapt into the river water and began to swim after the craft that had a noticeable head start despite the sheer mass of the vessel. “Motha fuckin’- Not again!” Lou cursed as he flew after the ghoul, all the while surprised in wonder as to how the creature could swim so fast.

The Newspaper Club, plus one elder witch and ha-Shay’tan d’jinn arrived upon the pier just in time to watch the craft leave for the far side of the river with the ghoul of Tsukune Aono and his fallen angel cousin Louis McCorray in hot pursuit.

“We’re too late….” Kurumu nearly collapsed from the revelation before their very eyes.

Ura Moka then turned towards Iblis. “Quickly, tell us if there is another ship that we can board!”

“It will come soon enough; however Kha’ron’s craft and whatever pne’uma onboard will have at least a living hour head start.”

“‘Living hour’?” Mizore asked.

“As a great scholar of knowledge had noted within your recent history, time is relative. Here, the march of the clock is much slower compared to all of creation. To prologue the suffering these damned have righteously earned for the woe and pain they cast upon their fellow mortals in life.” Iblis answered. It was then that the group heard a strange melody amongst the wind. It was feint, but audible enough to be heard. It held no lyrics, yet it conveyed a sense of loss, sadness and helplessness against the inevitable.

“What is that?” Rubi inquired.

“The hymm of Tartaros.” Iblis informed. “A song that has been sung since my brother’s body was condemned to its depths. Music that held more torment to the pne’uma then whatever torments their sins have consigned them and still heard no matter how strongly the fowl wind blows.”

“Who sings such a sad tune ~desu?” The young witch asked.

“Even myself do not know who it was that condemns so many to its melody.” Iblis confessed. “Only the boss knows the identity and she does not give up her secrets so lightly.”


The Newspaper Club, plus one d’jinn and one elder witch, arrived upon limbo proper of Tartaros. What Iblis had identified as the Asphodelus hills to which many Ahu’ra call home due to the more pleasant and natural environment beyond the great fortress of judgment to which its port they now disembarked. The great wind that they have felt from the far side of the river Ache’ontas was noticeably stronger and the cyclone that was just beyond the horizon from the mentioned vantage point lie just below the cliff that separated this realm of Tartaros to the next and only its cloud tops were visible.

“Seems rather nice for it being within hel- I mean Tartaros proper.” Gin noted from the green meadows and asphodel flowers that dot the land.

“It is designed to be but a poor representation of Elysion, to eternally remind those condemned to this inner shore of Ache’ontas for their inability to see powers beyond the mortal plane, a life beyond death.” Iblis explained to the werewolf and the rest of the Newspaper Club. “The very same thought that curses those they knew or encountered in life with little more than misery and woe, to deny them the very fruits of mortal living that enrich their d’kia for their eventual return to the divine.”

“So who reigns this scary looking castle?” Kurumu asked as she looked upon the great fortress to which the harbor belonged. It resembled less a medieval fortress of either European or Asian lore and more like a construct that could only exist in the deepest and darkest of nightmares. A grand structure to remind those who enter that they will be indeed punished for the suffering they caused in their living hours.

“I am unsure myself.” Iblis confessed. “If I know not the name of this house of pain then I would not know who resides as judge of the damned. All I know is that there are seven judges: Shin’je, Mi’noz, Rhada’mathys, Share’don, Hine’Nui, K’iche, and Chalme’catl. Each represents the lands of eastern Asia, western Asia, east Europe and Eurasia, western Europe, Oceanus, north and south America respectfully.”

“So those who died in those lands are condemned by that judge who presides there?” Rubi inquired.

“They used to.” Iblis answered.

“‘Used to’?” Mizore repeated in bewilderment.

“The reasoning is beyond those who do not serve before the Empyreus Throne and rather….complicated.” Iblis explained. “All I could say on the matter is that it conflicted too much with the mortal realm of today. Yet these judges of the damned still preside within the house of pain still have a duty to categorize the damned into their proper circles so that the Ahu’ra stationed below may properly receive them.”

“And just for that particular sin I presume?” Gin questioned. “What of those with-”

“Their gravest offense to the divine is their first circle of punishment.” Iblis answered before the werewolf could finish, almost as if the d’jinn could read his mind. “Once that Phn’uma is purified of such filth it is simply blown by the great wind to the next circle to which their sin achors them.”

“Like a kind of buoyancy of sin?” Yukari raised an eyebrow.

“Not in so little words, but it does describe the effect.”

“And how do we find Tsukune’s sou- I mean d’kia in all of this anyway?” The bluenette succubus gestured towards the great mass of d’kias that was herded by the Ahu’ra like so much cattle to slaughter.

“We utilize the same corridor the Ahu’ra utilizes to shift past the d’kia and spot the misplaced Ash’a (13) d’kia in addition to the ghul body of his.” Iblis advised the group. “They should be easier to identify since neither truly belong in She’ol.”

Just then, the group turned their attention towards the golden ethereal wings of Lou’s true form as it flew above the horde of the condemned and chased after an unseen quarry. His calls towards his cousin were just as easily heard above the wind and even the Hymn of Tartaros. “Couz’! Get back here! This is NOT the direction you wanna go!”

“Well that was anticlimactically easy.” Ura Moka mused.

“Yes, however that is only half of our quandary solved.” Iblis noted. “We still must locate the d’kia.”

“Then what are we waiting for?! Let’s go!” The little witch led the charge of the Newspaper Club as they struggled to catch up with the aforementioned pair.


Tsukune’s soul then found himself before a grand and terrible court to which many of the other souls were herded by the strange blue and red skinned creatures that he now assumed to be Oni. What was noticeable about this room was that it was more like a roofed balcony then an actual room and that it was open to a strange yet terrible cyclone that Tsukune’s soul had noticed upon the arrival to this strange castle.  

At the very center of this court room was a massive being, a titan perhaps, who writhed of tentacles and feelers with a terrible crown adorned with the bones and skulls of the deceased. A mass of six eyes filled the eye socket of the creature’s face which also lacked lips to cover aged and warned teeth that have seen better dentistry.

“Please! No!” A monster soul begged, but his words fell upon deaf ears as the giant grabbed the shade and brought it to its deformed and horrific visage. The creature breathed in the soul’s odor before it used its near-serpentine tongue to taste the skin. “This was not my fate!”

“Suicide.” The grand beast then lowered the soul down to a small assembly of Oni who stood before a furnace and each held branding irons of intricate shapes that would have been beautiful if it weren’t for where they were designed and used.

“Sad really,” A blue oni commented as he pulled a freshly heated iron from the furnace. “I didn’t think a Dai’mon (15) that young would even contemplate such a thing.”

“I beg of you! Keep that thing away from- AAAAHHH!!!” The monster soul roared in pain as the branding iron seared the symbol into his back. When it was pulled from the ruined ethereal-flesh, the brand slowly pooled ectoplasmic blood.

“While we’re on the subject,” A red oni, whose physical characteristics suggested that he was one of the elder workers, began. “What is the latest word on those Kevorkian ‘patience’ as they preferred to be called?”

“Well technically most of them didn’t cause the suffering of their loved ones.” Another blue oni joined in on the conversation. “So they technically aren’t sinners.”

“Technicality.” The titan sighed as he shoved the branded monster soul onto a strange, spiked wheel imbedded into the floor of the court balcony. “A great bane for those who are trying to work and earn an honest living.” With those words completed, a red oni pulled a lever that caused the wheel to spin rapidly and launch the condemned monster soul into the storm. “It makes one even wonder if we’re-” Then the giant paused as he smelled something queer, alien and out of place for this hell as he turned its tormented body towards Tsukune’s soul. “Who enters my house of pain?”

Tsukune’s soul was frozen in fear from the very sight of the titan’s attention drawn towards his very being, long enough for the great being to capture the ethereal form into its dirtied talons as it brought the now terrified soul to his senses. “A ghul (16)! It has been millennia since I’ve judged one to the lower circles.”

“Is there something wrong?” The oni below then noticed the perplexed look upon the giant’s face just before it lowered Tsukine’s soul to the ground.

“Many, but chief among them is that this d’kia is still alive.” The judge answered.

“Then why is he even in Tartaros if he’s still alive?” A blue oni questioned.

“No idea. But if I find out that it’s another prank from-” The giant’s threat was interrupted when the displaced human soul suddenly felt the urge to run and followed such instincts to leap off the court balcony and into the demonic depths below just as the corporeal ghoul body of Tsukune arrived with Lou in hot pursuit.

“Seriously Tsukune! That is not the direction you wanna- Don’t do it!” Lou called out in vain as Tsukune leapt into the void after a quarry that the fallen angel was unsure of but only saw glimpses. “I am SO gonna kick your ass when we get the fuck otta here Couz’!” And the fallen angel leapt into pursuit just as the Newspaper Club arrived to witness his grand departure.

“We missed them!” The bluenette succubus hissed in annoyance.

Ura Moka then turned towards the great judge of the damned who, among his own posse of Ahu’ma were equally perplexed. “How do we decend to the lower circle?!” The silver manned vampire demanded.

“Um… there is a service lift just over there.” The judge pointed towards a rather ancient stone-like lift near where the court wall met with the balcony edge. It did not look safe for those who do not slave within the dark pit, but there was little else if the Newspaper Club could do to continue the pursuit.

“We thank you for your assistance, Judge Shin’je.” Iblis bowed in respect. “Also forgive us for our intrusion, but we have an errand that must be completed.”

“Of course, ha-Shay’tan.” Shin’je noted as the group headed towards the service elevator and began their decent into the true horrors of Tantanos.

“Who was that anyway?” Gin questioned the D’jinn.

“In your culture, you have known that judge as Yama.” Iblis answered.

“Wait, HE’S Great King Yama?!” Yukari exclaimed as the group descended into the first circle. Shin’je and his court Ahu’ra were simply perplexed by this strange disturbance.

“…What was that all about?” A red Ahu’ra inquired.

“I am unsure….I may have to report this-” Shin’je nearly coughed from the odor that has plagued his nostrils. “Wh-What is this horrific stench?! Such greed! Treachery! What Phe’uma could have such a-” The judge of the damned then turned and found the source of the stench in a rather middle aged American Ash’a who held the air of a corporate executive who had just entered the court balcony.

Shin’je then turned towards one of his Ahu’ra. “Get the trebuchet, the launcher won’t be strong enough to launch THAT amount of sin from one Phe’uma.” The Ahu’ra nodded as Shin’je dragged the Ash’a phe’uma to his damnation.

“Yeah, wasn’t he that last chairmen and CEO of that one place…what was it called- oh yeah! Lehman Brothers!” The red Ahu’ra recalled. Clearly, Richard S. Fuld Jr. had seen better days.


The Newspaper Club removed themselves from the service elevator and onto a desolate landscape dominated by blade-like pillars of stone, shaped into being by the perpetual winds of the cyclone above them. High above and within the cyclone the group could see and even hear the cries of torment from the pne’uma of monsters and humans alike as they were helpless against the great storm.

“What sin did they commit that earned them such a torment?” Rubi inquired the d’jinn just as the brunette pnu’ma of Angelina Jolie attempted to grasp onto a stalagmite to find rest from the cyclone’s wind. Her labor was for naught as her strength did not grant her the rest that she wished from such torment as she flew back into the cyclone in terror and hopelessness.

“Lust,” Iblis answered. “They allowed their passion to control their logic and their selfish needs caused needless pain to its victims. Thus, they are scattered to the Storm of Por’Neia (18) just as their sinful lust have scattered their reason. Just like that one ash’a pnu’ma just now who lead another man to her bed as his former beloved was stricken with agony.” As the d’jinn spoke these words, the not so distant screams of the condemned a washed the young witch’s with a strange sensation that was like the winter cold but it also came hand in hand with something that was in between nausea and vertigo. This strange effect made Yukari tremble with strange fear.

“Yukari-chan, are you alright?” Rubi asked as Yukari embraced herself as she almost collapsed onto the ground.

“Wh-what’s going on? What’s happening to me?” Yukari nearly cried.

The ha-Shay’tan pondered this for but a moment before he spoke his opinion. “Well, the only answer to this little reaction could be that the young dai’mon wich’e (19) would need to reevaluate how she conducts herself with others in this life.”

Gin, meanwhile, has felt the same kind of sensation that Yukari suffered but used what willpower he had left within his very being to ensure that his own little guilt was not visible. It would not have been too long for the rest of the Newspaper Club to notice this overt admission of guilt if it were not for the sudden arrival of an elder werewolf who dug its claws into the bedrock in an attempt to find rest from the ceaseless cyclone. To the unfortunate fate of the younger werewolf, Gin knew this monster. “O-Oji-san?!”

“Ginny? What are you doing here?!” The elder werewolf exclaimed has his grip begun to wane from the strength of the cyclone. This little commotion caused the Newspaper Clubs attention to be drawn away from the young witch’s suffering.

“Oji-san! Stop calling me that! I’m not a pup!”

“Who is this?” Mizore questioned.

“This is my uncle.” Gin introduced as he struggled to keep his beloved family from being pulled back into the storm. “I’ve learned everything there is to learn about being a werewolf.”

“I’m sure….” Kurumu and many of the other girls rolled their eyes.

“Yes, and it must be a mistake that m-must be rectified!” The elder yet condemned Morioka declared as he barely caught the grip of a nearby stalagmite and held on to all his might.

“Oji-san?” Gin questioned his deceased relative.

“Ginny, I suffer this torment because of a lifetime of womanizing and lustful ways.” He then grabbed Gin’s collar to ensure that he heard these words. “This is not the fate I would want for you to suffer when your time comes! You still have time to right your wrongs and to lead a more honorable path, to raise a proper family!”

“Oji-san..” Gin fought back the tears as the Newspaper Club was touched by this exchange. An emotion that was horribly interrupted by the loud crack of the stalagmite that signifies that the elder werewolf’s time would end soon.

“Listen to me Ginny, there is something else I must tell you! I-” The rock had finally gave way and the elder werewolf was once again a slave to the winds of the cyclone above.

“OJI-SAN!!” Gin attempted to grab hold of his beloved uncle’s paws but it was a moment too late as the howls of the wind muted any words that the elder werewolf could have said, a truth that was forever lost.

It was some time before any of the Newspaper Club spoke after the tragic affair ended between the werewolf kinsmen. “We-we still need to find Tsukune-kun’s d’kia before something horrible happens to him!” Kurumu advised the group.

“I believe I just did.” Iblis replied in a rather montone and dry tone which drew the group’s attention towards a strange yet horrible shadow that decended towards them. The Newspaper Club scattered enough to allow the strange monster to land. It was a centaur-like beast that had the body of griffon but with the wings, tail and long neck of a hellish dragon. The upper torso of the centaur-monster was that of a human but with the heads of a bull and ram that erupted from its shoulders with the human head that exhailed flames. The beast was covered in armor in a strange, demonic yet perverse caricature of a knight in shining armor upon his mare. In one hand it held a lance; in the other was the d’kia of Tsukune Aono.

The ghoul body of Tsukune landed just before the beast and growled unnaturally yet not unlike a selfish and jealous dog whos prised toy was taken away. The fallen mal’akh in form of Louis McCorray appeared quicly afterwards.

“Stay your maw, forsaken ghul! I claim this d’kia as my own!” The armored beast roared with its entire heads.

“It ain’t yours fucker!” Lou countered in his own, unique style.

“I refuse to repeat myself yet again, but if I must I will do so once more if you are hard of hearing and stiff of judgement: This affair is between the ghul and I, it does not demand the judgment of the reborn Angra Mainiuu (20) himself!”

“This is my cousin we’re talking about! Of course it concerns me!”

“Such annoyance, I’ll take the d’kia-” Ura Moka’s attempt to defeat the massive Dru’j(19) beast by the d’jinn. “Why do you prevent what must be done?!”

“Sheath your claws, young dai’mon.” Iblis warned. “Though you may be descended from the line of vurdulakas (20), your supernatural strength alone will not defeat this prince of Tartaros.”

“Who is it?” Rubi inquired.

“This dru’j is but one of the great leaders of the rebel mal’akh who fought against their own, those inspired by my brother’s defiance against the deity. This is the Daeva (21) Ash’Medai.” The d’jinn answered the elder witch.

“Ash’Medai? You mean Asmodeus?!” Rubi exclaimed.

“You know what that thing is?” Mizore inquired the elder witch as she bared her ice claws at the massive Dru’j.

“In arcane lore, he was said to be one of the princes of hell, if not the king of all demons.”

“An accurate description of the Daeva if there ever was one.” Iblis mused.

“But aren’t Dru’j simply fallen ang- I mean mal’akh?” Yukari asked as she readied her wand for combat. “So why does it look like that ~desu?”

“Mortal sin corrupts the caricature of all those who reside Tartaros for eternity.” Iblis answered. “Those Dru’j or even Daeva who’s will are not strong enough have their forms metamorphosed into twisted and unnatural shapes by the collection of sin amassed within the pit throughout the eons. The pain of the slow transformation alone drives many mad.”

“As if such a beast is stronger than a vampire.” Ura Moka scoffed the warning and delivered a powerful, vampire aura powered kick to the side of the massive dru’j. To her horror, her most powerful kick was but a pin prick to the resident lord of Tartaros.

“Is that all you can muster? Such an annoyance!” Daeva Ash’Medai smirked before it used its demonic lance to send the shaken silver mane vampire into the nearby cliff wall in an almost perverse parody of when Ura Moka had done the same to the late Saizou Komiya.

“Xena!” Lou exclaimed just before the ghoulified body of Tsukune Aono leapt towards the dru’j daeva. Ash’Medai blocked the attack with the griffin head that was occupied with a ghoul in its mouth that was preoccupied with the task to rip the leather beak in pieces. “No! Bad move!”

“Tsukune!!” Both the yuki-onna and the succubus charged towards the lower body of the daeva to ghoul Tsukune’s aid. Mizore slashed at the forelimbs of the dragon-griffin ‘mount’ while Kurumu used her claws to force the creature to release their beloved human.

The strategy worked, but not as originally intended as Ash’Medai spat out ghoul Tsukune at Kurumu to which the force was enough to slam the two into the cliff face while used its tail to slam Mizore to the ground with a powerful blow.

Yukari, meanwhile, was occupied with the aid of the unsealed vampire whose greatest wound was to her pride as Rubi used what spells she knew and could cast to shake the great demon’s hold upon Tsukune’s d’kia. It was the opening that Lou sought as he leapt into the air into a ballistic arc to which he readied his holy blade in a downward strike upon Ash’Medai’s crown with the intent that the injury would be enough to loosen the vice-like grip enough for rescue.

Instead, Ash’Medai blocked the attack with its lance and parried the reborn fallen mal’akh into the cyclone. Due to his aether wings, Lou returned with little effort as Gin used whatever speed he could muster to deliver a flurry of blows into the bull head. Yet, the attack had little effect against the daeva.

“Uh oh- ACK!!!” Gin was swatted away from the dru’j not unlike one would do with a fly, yet slammed into the ground by the demonic lance with such force that the werewolf actually spat up blood. Rubi countered by her bladed crow wings that only nicked at the strange armor of Ash’Medai’s gauntlets, but it gave enough pause from the dru’j daeva long enough for Gin to free himself.

Yukari then attempted to use a summoned washbin to smash into one of the heads of the corrupted centaur beast. All it did was annoy the daeva to no end as it then spat up enflamed mucus projectiles at the young witch who barely saved herself as she used her magic to produce rock shields that stood between her and the perversed weapon. “What do we do ~desu?!”

“We keep fighting until Tsukune’s d’kia is freed!” Ura Moka grunted in pain as she pulled herself up from the base of the cliff wall. Not soon afterwards, she coughed up blood.

“What we need is a plan, people! A strategy- ACK!!” Lou advised the Newspaper Club just before he found himself in a power struggle with Ash’Medai’s mount head with only his sword to keep the thing’s fangs that would have turned his own flesh into a chew towy. “Quickly would be nice!”

“The life d’kia is mine!!” Ash’Medai roared just moments before its ram and bull heads lashed out prehensile, sticky tongues that captured tormented pnu’ma from the cyclone winds. Once captured, the ash’a pnu’ma of former actresses and celebrities Angelina Jolie and Demi Moore were chewed by these heads horribly before immediately spat out covered in enflamed mucus at the Newspaper Club to prevent them from any assembly of strength.

“That just wasn’t right…” Gin complained. “A nude Angelina Jolie and not a single camera or even a good pose to- ITAI!” Kurumu slapped the side of the werewolf’s head.

“We got more important problems to worry about then your need to whack off to a dead woman you necrophiliac!” The bluenette succubus scolded.

“Yeah! Like me about to be turned into a rag doll by a freakish lion, dragon-like thingy!” Lou complained, to which his own call to aid was answered by the raven winged Rubi that was used to stab into the tender underside of the jaw. All that did was turn the attention of Ash’Medai’s mount head from Lou to Rubi.

“Rubi-san!” Yukari exclaimed in a panic as the mount head readied its neck to strike not unlike a venomous cobra.

“Workin’ on it!” Lou then noticed a lone, black locked and brown eyed ash’a pnu’ma that clung to a nearby stalagmite for dear life in an attempt of rest against the cyclone. To the fallen mal’akh, the situation dictated anything but rest for the unfortunate condemned. “Sorry Miss Fox, but your sufferin’ is required.”

“Wait, no-” The plea for mercy fell upon deaf ears as Lou grabbed the pnu’ma’s arm and swung her in line to the terrible lunge of the mount jaws that would have otherwise been occupied by the elder witch. Megan Fox screamed for mercy as the mount was occupied with the euphoria that came from the inflictment of suffering long enough for the American to drag Rubi out of the line of fire before it wised up to the ploy.

Mizore recovered long enough to manifest a pillar of ice to both strike at the massive dru’j and to place the rescue of Tsukune’s d’kia within reach as she dashed up towards the clawed fist before the Alkahest-like bodily fluids dissolved the pillar. However, to the misfortune of the yuki-onna if not the rest of the Newspaper Club, Ash’Medai exhaled a gust of fire that stood as a barrier between purple-locked Mizore and Tsukune’s d’kia.

“….Too Hot…!” Mizore complained in pain as she leapt off the ice pillar before the jet ooze that was dru’j blood could dissolve her as well.

The Newspaper Club members, that were physically able, then quickly surrounded Ash’Medai and kept their distance while they attempted to find a way to free Tsukune’s d’kia.

“So anybody have an idea in how we defeat something that has THAT many heads and is THAT big?” Lou questioned their current problem.

“What problem?” Ura Moka mused in a rather arrogant manner. “All we must do is free Tsukune’s d’kia from that beast’s hold.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem.” Lou noted to the silver headed vampire. “It’s getting to that particular goal that’s gonna be problematic.”

“I claim this d’kia as my own!” Ash’Medai’s heads proclaimed in a mighty roar. “None of you mortal realmers have the power to counter my declaration!”

Suddenly, before another blow could be made, a blow to Ash’Medai at the back of his central head was caused by the pnu’ma of the cyclone condemned. This violet-eyed pnu’ma was an Ash’a whose chief characteristic was her orange tinted hair styled with short locks and a rather large bussom that was almost on par with the bluenette succubus. The Ash’a pnu’ma barely was able to grab hold of a stalagmite to keep her from the eventual return to the cyclone as the Newspaper Club took advantage of the distraction as they performed a simultaneous attack upon the daeva.

It was at that very same moment that Ura Moka felt a strange kind of power, a warm sensation which strangely reminded the unsealed vampire of Tsukune Aono. The feeling, she quickly discovered, had originated from the altered Rosario that Iblis had handed to her just before they passed through the Tartaros gate. It then immediately recalled the exact same words that the d’jinn had offered, in addition to a possible solution to this problem. “Louis!”

“What?!” The American exclaimed as he stabbed his sword through a space in between the armored plates and into the beast’s collar bone.

“Use this!” Ura Moka then tossed the altered Rosario to Lou, who barely caught it and simply had no idea in how to use the fore mentioned object.

“Well, might as well try something.” And with those words, Lou slammed the silver cross onto Ash’Medai’s exposed flesh. The moment the jeweled eye of the Rosario touched the d’jinn, a strange wave of energy erupted from the point of contact that not only caused great pain to the daeva enough to release Tsukune’s d’kia from its talons, but that it also had a visible effect upon both the d’kia and ghoulified body.

“Tsukune-san! Are you alright ~desu?” Yukari came to the d’kia’s aid as it appeared visibly ill, not unlike the consumption of moldy bread. All too quickly did Tsukune’s d’kia spat up a strange, crystalized jet-black mass. A mass that the ghoulilified body of Tsukune Aono was more than willing to consume as it charged towards the strange and alien object. A charge that caused the d’kia to leap away from the ravenous animal and dwelled deeper into Tartaros if only to get away from whatever drove the ghoulified body.

Almost by instinct, Lou leapt off the daeva with Rosario and sword in and into the ghoulified body’s path and prevented any contact between it and the crystalized mass. “Pretty sure this ain’t a good idea to have Couz’.” A warning that fell on deaf ears, yet with the Rosario in hand the reborn Angra Mainiuu slammed the silver jeweled cross into the strange mass. Another strange wave of energy erupted from the point of contact which a washed the ghoulified body with an equally strange sensation as the ghoul tattoo that webbed from the vampire bite began to ripple and shimmer with a strange kind of light that repulsed the ghoulified body. The unknown mass shown a brilliant light before it waned into an unknown, shield shaped lock.

“What the hell….?” Lou picked up the lock with a puzzled look upon his face just moments before he noticed that the ghoulified corporeal form of Tsukune leaped off the cliff face and descended into a deeper circle of Tartaros. “Motha fucka- not again!”

Ash’Medai had recovered from the blessed blow enough to discover that Tsukune’s d’kia had just been purified to its own horror. The temptation that was locked within the Ash’a’s core was no longer strong enough for its plans. “I was so close…. ” The daeva dru’j cursed. “I was SO CLOOOOSE!!!!!” With that single cry of defeat, Ash’Medai flew back into the cyclone in anger and projected its own anger and frustration upon the condemned that flew with the winds.

Those words had not fallen from the d’jinn’s ears, who had pondered this strange yet troublesome need for the daeva dru’j to have the d’kia of Tsukune Aono.

“Lou-kun, what is that ~desu?” Yukari asked as she noticed the strange item in Lou’s hand.

“No idea, but it’s probably important.” Lou answered just before he pocketed the unknown item. “Either way we got a body and a soul to- Oh wait, I almost forgot!” He remembered just before he would have taken a step towards the chase after the two incarnations of one Tsukune Aono.

“What?” Gin asked.

“We need to thank that girl over there for the help earli- Jesus, Mary and Joseph!” Lou cursed as he both covered and adverted his eyes. “I forgot that they’re buck naked down here!” The werewolf turned to catch a glimpse of the rather busty orangette pnu’ma, only for the action to be punished by many of the female members of the Newspaper Club. It was enough time for the aforementioned pnu’ma to realize her current state of dress, which was none, and covered herself however she could and crouched in embarrassment at the same time. However, while earlier she barely hung to the blade of rock with all of her might, she now could hold onto the stalagmite with only one arm and her body reacted to the cyclone generated wind not unlike how one would manage through a windstorm.

“Who is she?” Mizore inquired of the unknown condemned girl. Iblis then pulled out an all too convenient clip board from seemingly nowhere and read the papers before him.

“A ‘Mai Tokiha’ I believe.” The d’jinn answered. “And from what I can read of her file, at the last moments of her life she had poor judgment and equally poor timing.”

“What do you mean?” Kurumu asked just moments after she reverted to her human guise form.

“Well, I could explain,” Iblis began. “However, as some Ash’a cultures would say ‘It’s best to hear it from the horse’s mouth’.” The d’jinn then pointed at the pnu’ma of Mai who was more preoccupied with her current shame than any other possible matter.

“What did he mean by ‘poor timing’ Tokiha-san ~desu?” Yukari asked the orangette. It was some time before Mai spoke and recalled her first year of high school at Fuka Academy and the HiME Carnival.

Then she reached the point in her sad tale as to why she was condemned to such a fate. “And then I confronted Tate-san of my true feelings. I knew of how much he bled and sacrificed for my own sake, but I could not return his love. I…I had grown too attached to Mitoko. It was deeper than between friends, even deeper than sisterhood as it was in the beginning. Though he accepted the fact that I did not love him as he loved me with such a straight face, it was his eyes- Kami-sama his eyes had such anger within them! I-I couldn’t stand it any longer and I just left him there. I can still see those angry eyes after all this time, I can even see the anger every time my name was ever mentioned after my passing and how my confession held him back! He was nearly disqualified in a kendo tournament because he nearly beat a competitor to death with just a shinai!”

“How were you able to do that?” Mizore questioned the well-endowed pnu’ma. “How were you able to remember his actions after you died?”

“It is a divine curse.” Iblis answered on Mai’s behalf due to greater depth of knowledge alone. “Those condemned to the pit of Tartaros are forever plagued by their sinful past and premonitions on how their legacy is viewed by the victims. Never are they granted a vision of the present so what she saw of this Yuuichi Tate was how he would react in the future.”

“But what good is such a premonition if they cannot act upon it?” Rubi questioned.

“Simple: it doesn’t.” The d’jinn answered. “It’s meant to plague and torment them mentally while their pnu’ma selves are punished physically.”

“Yes…that would also explain why I remember seeing Tate-san looking down upon my grave marker with such contempt and hatred even after he becomes an old man….” Mai recalled. “I wasn’t even thinking clearly when I told him! I was just a teenager!”

“So what happened next?” Kurumu asked.

“It…it was the day afterwards. Long enough for me to ponder how I viewed him over the long time we’ve known each other. I realized that I still cared about him, perhaps even loved him a little bit, but it wasn’t strong enough to even compete my love for Mitoko. Yet I did not want to even end, not under such terms and I wanted to at least let him know that I still cared about him. Just then, I saw him on the other side of the street alone. Not even Shiho was with him and to see him in such a state was so painful, it gave me the resolve to cross that street to talk things out to him. But when I called out his name….those eyes were still there and he only gave me a glimpse before he looked away. I paused in shock from that look alone, and it was…” Mai choked before she continued. “It was when a truck hit me with such force that I was dead before I even hit the ground. Naturally, the driver was punished for his actions but it took away my chance of even reconciliation. And that look in his eyes, I….I just can’t stand it!” She cried, the story alone was enough to pull the heart strings of most of the girls of the Newspaper Club. Even Gin and Lou were slightly affected though only Ura Moka held the straight and honest face.

“Did you really think that you are even in the right?” The silver headed vampire near scolded the orangette which caught her attention away from her tears. “Well I’ll tell you this: You are not. Your own selfishness and inconsideration brought you to this hell.”

“But I-”

“Do not even try to sway me, human.” Ura Moka interrupted. “From what you told of us, all I see is that you strung him along for your own benefit and nothing to even correct his thoughts. Such selfish and inconsiderate- no, I take that back. You did consider his feelings and yet you did nothing but think of your own needs first and foremost. You may call your own feelings love, but say as I see it: the pain of your guilt and how much of a coward you really are. You simply do not deserve his love, not after what you have done.”

Just as Ura Moka had concluded her scornful lecture to Mai, one that the pnu’ma herself believed was well deserved for what she had done, Iblis then lifted her head to face his own with just a touch upon her chin. “I propose a deal to you then. If you wish to see Yuuichi Tate again, if only to say your last goodbyes, then I suggest that you aid this Newspaper Club in the location and rescue of both the d’kia and mortal body of one Tsukune Aono from Tartaros.” The d’jinn offered with a tone and atmosphere that one would have expected from the culturally cliché deal with the devil.

“H-how would I know who he is?” Mai inquired intelligently.

“His identification should be easy enough.” Iblis answered. “He would be the one everyone else calls after and gives persuit. But to make sure that you are not immediately blown away….” The d’jinn trailed off as he searched for something in particular.

The ha-Shay’tan then located a rather alien, demonic creature that was slightly larger than a large cat whose body was octopodal in form. He picked the grotesque being up as it squirmed and struggled for freedom. “I guess this will do for now.” Iblis sighed in annoyance as he squeezed his hand which resulted in a sick, disturbed snap of flesh and bone before he slapped the tortured beast upon Mai’s back. It soon erupted into a flurry of limbs as it wrapped its tendrils around the orangette’s body into a strange costume that was little better than her previous state of dress when it came to the concealment of her more private areas.

It was best described as a rather risqué schoolgirl uniform not unlike those found in a gentlemen’s club and colored mostly in shades of orange and white. The skirt barely covered what would have been her panties, which in truth was simply a patch of flesh of the creature that now served as her clothes, that was held together by a perverse bow that ended with feeler-tendrils. The stockings were equally provocative as it gave or rather formed rather luscious curves that gave her legs a seductive form despite the fact that they were membranes of the demonic creature’s flesh. The blouse or what had passed for a blouse was more of a single-piece pretzel-style sling bikini swimwear that just covered her aeolias and nipples from sight, though some would believe that it resembled more of an elaborate version of the equally seductive trikini, as it stretched downward from her neck and towards her crotch, tied together by what was a red scarf that equally terminated in feeler-tendrils. The same kind of membrane as the stockings make up the arm length gloves ran down from the shoulders as it emerged from a shoulder dress not unlike the stereotypical and fetish French maid style. Many would believe that such a state of dress was barely an improvement to full nudity.

“Wh-what is this?!” Mai crouched down and covered herself not unlike how she was a moment earlier. “I can’t walk around in this!!”

“Unfortunately there is only so much mass that the creature could cover.” Iblis answered.

Light lightning, the orangette pnu’ma bolted from her crouch position with ahigh shriek. “Th-that thing just felt me up!” Her accusation was answered when a snake-like demonic head appeared next to her own which immediately hissed at her.

“To be honest, it has been ‘feeling you up’ as you say.” Iblis noted. “After all, you only have the creature as both outer wear and undergarment. Also, you should not be surprised if it takes a sample of your ichor every now and then. It is alive after all.”

Mai raised a confused eyebrow; however her internal question was answered for her as she felt the head bite into her sides. From the wound came thick, jet black ooze that was as much like blood as water was like molten steel. To say that the orangette was disturbed from the sight and sensation was one would consider an understatement. “Th-this isn’t something I can get used to.”

“Well, you are free to take off the creature whenever you feel.” Iblis advised Mai. “However, keep in mind that the parasite is your only anchor against the winds of Tartaros. The moment you free yourself of it before the deal can be concluded, you will be thrown back into cyclone above and you will not be able to see your beloved again.”

“You bitch!” The group then turned to a newcomer that they have not yet noticed before now, a brunette Ash’a pnu’ma whose Kyoto accent was glaringly obvious as she clung to the stalagmite against the cyclone winds. “Why were you given such absolution in a deal?! There are many others of us who are far more-” Before the pnu’ma could continue her scorn, the rock formation began to break all too quickly. “Oh no….. Natsuki-chan help me!!!” She screamed as the stalagmight finally broke and she was once again lifted aloft into the winds of torment.

“….Who was that?” Ura Moka inquired.

“That would be one ‘Shizuru Fujino’.” Iblis answered as he looked at the angered pnu’ma’s file. “Oh my, such a record….!” The d’jinn raised an amazed eyebrow.

“Whatever, we still got my cousin to find.” Lou reminded the group.

“I am sure that we would find a service elevator other type of transport down to the deeper circles eventually.” Iblis noted. “Unless there are those of you that would brave a jump over the edge.” An offer that not even Ura Moka took up.

It was just then that Yukari’s body succumbed to the strange sensation that was ignored due to the adrenaline of panic and battle. “Yukari-chan, are you alright?” Rubi asked with concern in her voice.

“I will once we’re out of here.” Yukari admitted before she turned back towards the werewolf. “But it’s surprising that Gin isn’t affected.” A point that many within the Newspaper Club had just realized about their club president.

“Do I really look like the kind of person who would really be that bad?” Gin reasoned, though it was not enough for the other Newspaper Club members to hide their true feelings upon the subject, let alone change their opinion. “Oh come on!”

Soon enough, the group found a kind of commute tram that allowed Ahu’ra to traverse the circles of Tartaros that make up the great pit. Once more, the Newspaper Club, plus one d’jinn and one drafted pnu’ma, descended the cliff face and down towards a deeper circle of the hell that was Tartaros.


The Newspaper Club stepped off the commute tram and onto what was considered slick, soft ground. The air itself was musty, humid, and not unlike the last exhaled of breath of the dead or even that of a cadaver.

“What is this place ~desu?” Yukari nervously asked.

“The Circle of Gastrim’Argia(22) is to where those that let their appetites deprive those who have need of such sustenance are punished.” Iblis explained. “Those that have grown fat of foods and drink, wasting what they though were ‘unpalatable’ to rot while those who would give anything for a crum starve upon the streets and begged for food.”

“So it’s not the act of eating so much is the sin,” Rubi pondered out loud as she made sense of the fact. “But rather allowing those who need to eat to suffer?”

“Mostly willingly.” Iblis answered. “The worst offenders are those who wallow in the torment of others, or those who did not care for the suffering of others.” It was then that Ura Moka began to succumb to the strange sensation that plagued both Yukari and Gin earlier back upon the circle of Lust just above. Naturally Yukari went to her side to see what was wrong.

“I-I’m fine!” Ura Moka denied. “It will pass soon enough!”

“Be mindful of what your own body knows.” The d’jinn hinted to the silver locked vampire. “It may determine whether or not you will avoid this fate.”

“Couz’!” Lou cried out as he saw both Tsukune’s d’kia and ghoulified body charge deeper into the circle. “Stop, get back here!” He cried out as he chased after them, with the Newspaper Club and one Mai Tokiha that followed soon enough.

However, such a chase was short lived as the d’kia maneuvered around the sleeping form of a huge, shaggy dog-like creature that had a cobra in place of a tail and a frame that was more skin and bone then flesh with the exemption of a large, grotesque belly. Its fur was dirtied and matted with mud and filth and rain, enough so that it would not look out of place for a starving, stray dog that one would expect from alleyways and abandoned warehouses.

Yukari’s response was a quick ‘eep’ which accurately mirrored the reaction of the other Newspaper Club members. Lou’s own response was a simple. “What the fuck is that?”

“A Kerberos.” Iblis answered as he approached the group. “A hellhound that guards the pnu’ma that are to suffer within the icy rain and filth for how their actions caused others to suffer needlessly.” It was then that Ura Moka noticed the cold rain, yet were perplexed in how she was able to withstand the downpour yet her body did not react to it. Naturally, the d’jinn offered an answer to her unspoken question. “This is not mortal water that falls upon you. It is less… pure and primarily comprised of the tears of those who are tormented by the cyclone above.”

“Wait…. THAT’S Cerberus?” Lou questioned. “Isn’t he supposed to have, like, three heads?” The outburst alone was enough to rouse the massive hound from its otherwise peaceful slumber. The Newspaper Club now realized that the fore paws of the massive beast-animal were more human like then dog or even wolf-like. The Kerberos growled, but the pulled lips only revealed a toothless maw.

Lou’s natural response was an oddly southern guffaw. “That’s the feared guardian of the damned?! It can’t even scare a blind man if all it can do is gum us to death-” The Kerberos then the opened its mouth and, proceeded by the grotesque displacement of stomach mass up towards the chest, emerged three proboscises that terminated in pharyngeal jaws that were not unlike the teeth of wolves. These proboscises were best described as perversions of heads as what were considered eyestalks had only teeth then eyeballs, each drooled a slime that suggested no less than hunger. “…I really hate being proven wrong in these kinds of things….”

The ghoulified body of Tsukune Aono growled at the Kerberos in defiance. In turn, the beast roared with all three of its proboscises and fell into a combat stance of a wolf ready to kill. The Newspaper Club, plus one fallen HiME, readied themselves for battle against the grotesque canine guardian of the Gluttonic condemned.

“So what’s the plan?” Mai asked as she summoned her Element weapons.

“Besides not getting eaten to bits?” Lou shrugged in his suggestion and readied himself for battle, but not before he whacked the side of Gin’s head in response to how much the werewolf stared at the provocative state of dress that the orange locked pnu’ma wore. “Pay attention to the dog that’s gonna kill us and not the one in your jock straps Horn Dog.”

The Kerebos then lunged towards the group, the wolf-teeth proboscises open wide to such an extent that it could have swallowed three whole human beings whole as they stretched towards the Newspaper Club. Most of the group scattered, though only Lou and ghoulified Tsukune stayed as they both blocked the massive jaws that would have otherwise captured them. Ghoulified Tsukune used his bare hands and limbs to prevent the pharyngeal jaws to capture him while Lou blocked with his blade as he mentally cursed the werewolf president of the club. “A little help here!!”

Ura Moka was the first to respond to Lou’s call for aid as she dashed beneath one of the proboscises that plagued the ghoulified Tsukune and delivered a swift kick beneath the tongue-like demonic appendage and allowed him to free his fist to punch away the second. The unsealed, silver locked vampire then turned towards Lou’s own predictament and performed a similar service to which all three jumped away before the Kerebos could counter their efforts. It was then injured by the former HiME’s fire-based Element attacks.

The fire attacks worked, but only for a moment as the Kerebos roared in anger and frustration. “So how do we kill this thing?” Kurumu asked out loud as she bared her succubus talons towards the hell spawned guardian.

“It would not be wise.” Iblis advised the group. “The Kerebos birth rate is not high enough to warrant its own death. The best any of you could perform is to either subdue or knock out the guardian beast that obstructs our path.”

“So how do we knock out something that has three heads then?!” The bluenette succubus asked in disbelief.

“Just because it has three jaws doesn’t mean that they’re all heads, stupid boobie monster.” Mizore corrected Kurumu just before the yuki onna conjured an ice wall as a momentary shield to allow her to escape a blow from one of the proboscises. That singular act of self-defense gave the younger of the two witches an idea.

“We need to freeze those jaws desu!” Yukari exclaimed. “It would allow us to get past the hellhound and catch up with Tsukune’s d’kia!”

“Sounds like a plan!” Lou exclaimed before he turned towards the violette locked yuki onna. “Think you can handle itSnow White?”

“I can try.” Mizore honestly answered as the Newspaper Club hap-hazardly organized their strategy to entrap the Kerebos long enough for them to move deeper into the Tartaros circle of Gluttony. All that was needed of the group was to keep the hellhound still long enough for the ice locks conjured by the yuki onna to hold firm and that required particular coordination of those who would play as bait and those that would herd the Kerebos into position.

“Remind me again why I’m the bait in this?!” Gin exclaimed as even his own werewolf speed was barely enough to keep the pharyngeal jaws of the proboscises that would have otherwise bitten his tail off.

“You and Xena are fast enough on the ground and we need to keep the jaws close to the ground, that’s why!” Lou spat his counter as he parried a lunge attack from the proboscises to keep them focused upon the very unfortunate werewolf.

“To think that a proud vampire such as I would have to run from an enemy rather than fight it directly.” Ura Moka complained in her usual tone as her own instincts preferred a more direct confrontation with the Kerebos.

“At the rate we’re going, this’ll just be a minor inconvenience!” As one of the few of the group that could fly, Lou was charged with the task to herd the grotesque limbs close to the ground to allow Mizore to capture them with ice. The Kerebos countered these air-based attacks when it grabbed hold the condemned pnu’ma submerged in the mud and fith of the circle beyond, chewed and swallowed the poor damned before it projectile vomited the ethereal sinners as a kind of perverse anti-aircraft fire against Lou, Rubi, and Kurumu.

“That’s disgusting!” Kurumu whined.

“I’m open to any ideas, good ideas might I add!” Lou responded.

It was then that Ura Moka dodged one of the lunge attacks of the proboscises that lead towards the entrapment into an ice cage created by Mizore’s abilities. However, the task itself is profoundly difficult alone when the strength of the proboscis was stronger than what the Newspaper Club had anticipated and it took much of the Yuki Onna’s concentration to keep the ice-based bondage intact. The rest of the Newspaper Club was too occupied with the still free proboscies that attempted to free the entrapped third.

“We can’t keep this up forever desu!” Yukari cried out as she used her iron tarot cards to keep the proboscises from both the ice cage and the Newspaper Club.

“We only need to keep that thing at bay long enough to escape right?” Mai asked the group as she conjured a fire barrier to protect herself along with Gin and Lou.

“Yeah, exactly!” Lou exclaimed. “It just needs to be occupied with freeing itself long enough for us to get the fuck away!”

“Will that even work with only one of it down?” Kurumu asked.

“Well I’m open to any better ideas!”

“More running from our enemies?” Ura Moka complained once more.

“We’re here to rescue Tsukue, not conquer and enslave hell yah know!” Lou reminded the unsealed vampire.

Soon enough, the Newspape r Club plus one former HiME were able to maneuver the Kerebos away from their intended path and soon took the chance to flee deeper into the Tartaros circle just as the ice-based bondage was finally broken. The Monster Academy students and former Fuka Academy HiME fled the now enraged hellhound, yet they soon discovered that Iblis was not amongst them.

“What the- Why isn’t that d’jinn with us?” Lou wondered out loud. It was then that the group discovered that, with but a gestured wave of his hand, Iblis kept the Kerebos from any further attacks upon not only himself but the group as a whole.

“Don’t tell me that-” Kurumu gasped in complete shock and frustration as to how easy the ha-Shay’tan had subdued the Kerebos.

“To be quite frank,” Iblis began to explain. “None had suggested that I ask the Kerebos to let us pass.” Nearly none of the group was left upon their feet from such a revelation.

“Next time, we let him ask before we fight.” Lou groaned in annoyance as the group sojourned deeper into the Tartaros circle.


The Newspaper Club, plus one former HiME and D’jinn, traversed the natural bridges and ledges that hung high above the mud and filth to which gluttonic Ash’a and Dai’mons were punished alongside the icy rains from the Cyclone of Por’neia higher above. All could hear the lament of the condemned as easily as they could hear the roar of the wind from the deeper levels of Tartaros and the strange, haunting hymn that echoed across the hellish landscape of what seemed best described as flesh-like rock. There were those pnu’ma who attempted to escape the torment of the circle, only to be forced back down by the Ahu’ra armed with their signature weaponry that they are renowned for in many cultures.

Even though the group had been told that all of those condemned to these pits of torture had only themselves to blame, it did not sway the pitty many within the Newspaper Club and the former HiME felt towards those who are forced to wallow in such torment. “It still doesn’t make it easy.” Kurumu replied to Iblis’ explanation.

“No matter how any one of us may feel in how Tartaros operates, it’s just how it is.” However, before he could continue the group was interrupted by a commotion ahead of them as a large group of Ahu’ra attempted to subdue a pnu’ma that had successfully left the torment below. Only one within the group recognized the condemned ash’a.

“M-Mikoto?!” Mai gasped.

“Mai!” The brunette ash’a called out as she struggled against the ahu’ra. Iblis simply gestured the Ahu’ra to release the other girl who immediately latched onto the fallen HiME in a rather risqué fashion.

“That definitely looks familiar.” Lou mused as this Mikoto Minagi rubbed her face into Mai’s mammaries. The American cousin then broke his own moment of déjà vu when he smacked Gin upside the werewolf’s head. “You mind?!”

“So envious….!” Yukari nearly beamed from the rather macabre reunion.

“Not helping there Sabrina.”

“Maybe I should try-”

“No!” Both Lou and Ura Moka exclaimed before the young witch could even conclude her thought. Immediately afterwards, the silver locked vampire then returned her attention towards the reunion of the ash’a pnu’mas that was before the group.

“I’ll assume that this is the ‘Minagi Mikoto’ that you have mentioned earlier?” Ura Moka questioned the former HiME or rather one of the former HiMEs, in which it was at that moment in time that the younger girl had noticed the others around her beloved Mai Tokiha.

“W-who are these people Mai?” Mikoto questioned.

“Oh boy…” Lou groaned as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Where do I even fuckin’ begin?”

It took both Lou and Mai nearly ten minutes to describe her new travel companions on this pilgrimage for a lost d’kia within the depths of Tartaros, the unique quirks and personalities of those within the Newspaper Club. In summary, Mikoto was told that the group was comprised of people that were friendly towards the former HiME.

“So they’re all good people?” Mitoko asked the elder former HiME.

“Yes, they are.” Mai answered.

“So what brought you down here?” Mizore bluntly asked the younger former HiME, much to the chagrin of the rest of the Newspaper Club. Lou was not one to physically assault a member of the opposite gender beyond self-defense, but the urge to do so made him reconsider his stance.

“I….I guess it was because I bothered Mai about food.” Mitoko admitted.

“Mitoko, that’s not true.” Mai reassured her friend. “You were never a-”

“But it’s true!” Mikoto cried out. “I always begged you to cook something for me! Even if it distracted you from everything else like Tate-san. I just… I just couldn’t express myself any other way and you cook with so much love that I-”

“Shhhh, it’s okay Mikoto, it’s okay.”

“But it’s not okay! It’s because of me that you had to break up with Tate-san!” And in that moment, Mai saw a flash of eyes that could only have belonged to one Yuuichi Tate. A strange premonition that caused the elder ex-HiME to stumble into the bluenette succubus.

“Whoh! What just happened-” Kurumu was about to complete her inquiry when Mai’s hand and her own tail brushed against each other did the succubus instantly knew the cause of the elder ex-HiME’s reaction a moment earlier. “Wh-What was that?!”

“What are you talking about?” Gin asked in between fantasies that involved the aforementioned orangette and bluenette.

“Anger.” Kurumu replied. “Really strong anger.”

“I-I think it was Yuuichi’s anger just now.” Mai added as well. “But why-”

“An effect of Tartaros as a whole.” Iblis answered. “A phenomenon that prevents one pnu’ma to seek and give comfort to another to ensure that their punishment is experienced in full without empathic support of any kind. To put it into words that could be understand clearly, the damnation of the pit is a journey that must be done alone.”

“But why did I even see it?” Kurumu asked the d’jinn. “She only touched my tail and I was able to feel that image as if I saw it myself, as if I was even there.”

“Well, if I remember my bestiary correctly, succubus such as yourselves are dream walkers or rather those who can see in to the dreams of others. Considering the current environment we are in, one could surmise that the aura of Tartaros is affecting your own sensitivity in such matters erratically and randomly.”

“Which means you’d better keep that mind of yours clean, Horn Dog.” Lou advised the werewolf. However, the group were distracted by the distant howls of the damned as they were attacked and engulfed by strange, worm-like demons that emerged from the filth below. “Wh-What the fuck is that?!”

“Gastrim’Argic Maggots if I remember correctly.” Iblis answered. “Like their Gastrim counterparts, the Gastrim’Argic Maggots add additional misery to the condemned. A bit of variety if you will.”

“How?” Ura Moka’s inquiry was answered as the strange worms engulfed a dai’mon pnu’ma whole and chewed the sinner as it continued to scream before it swallowed.

“As you can plainly observe with your very eyes. Of course the pnu’ma cannot simply ‘die’ from digestion as they would have in the mortal realm so the torture is repeatable again and again with each excrement of the Gastrim’Argic Maggots. For eternity, one can argue.”

“Ouch….- Wait, what’s a Gastrim?” Lou turned away from the Gastrim’Argic Maggots’ feeding frenzy to find that Mikoto was surprised with the timely arrival of what could be best described as an eight foot tall hominid being with mouths for hands, each jaw filled with grotesque teeth that could be best described as torturous.

“M-Mai, help me!” Mikoto cried out when the Gastrim grabbed hold of her body and began to chew upon the pnu’ma painfully.

“Mikoto!” Mai cried out as she pulled Mikoto out from the clutches of the Gastrim that drooled with endless hunger. However, that rescue was short lived as another Gastrim pulled the hapless ex-HiME from her elder’s arms and jumped away with its feast. The first Gastrim and a few other beings chased after the prize that was Mikoto Minagi not unlike ravenous dogs that fought over a piece of meat.

“Damn…” Lou stated in awe. “They move fast for something with that much blubber on ‘em.”

“We have to rescue her!” Mai demanded.

“It is best that we not disturb the punishment of others while in Tartaros.” Iblis warned. “Our actions are disruptive enough; best if we do not test our fortunes anymore.”

“But we can’t let her suffer like this! I can’t just stand by and let-”

“The process of sin and punishment is very much related to your own goal with Yuuichi.” The statement of the d’jinn did much too silent Mai’s objections even if her own mouth moved in defiance in what had happened to her precious friend. “Let us not forget that there is but one goal in this pilgrimage to the very pits of Tartaros that must be made mindful: The absolvent and recue of the d’kia of one Tsukune Aono.”

“So how will we find both Tsukune ~desu?” Yukari asked the d’jinn when all of a sudden the group heard the distant roar of the ghoulified Tsukune.

“I believe we follow the roars of beastly barbarism.” Iblis gestured towards the source of the now apparent battle. Lou wasted no time in the pursuit of his cousin as he flew towards the sounds of combat upon his aether wings with the Newspaper Club plus one ex-HiME and one d’jinn closely behind and raced towards Tsukune’s aid.


Tsukune’s soul was quite confused, bewildered, but most of all very frightened. He barely avoided the strange wolf-dog creature, careful not to awaken the strange beast, before he had gotten lost in the attempt to navigate the strange elevated pathways of this grotesque world that more resembled the inside of a living being than an actual cave. As if that were not enough to plague this displaced soul, he found himself captured by a gigantic mantis insectoid-like creature with seven heads just moments before he would have otherwise been tackled by the strange double ganger that had hunted him ever since his arrival to this hellish domain.

“Get your own life d’kia ghul!” The strange beast roared with its entire heads. “It is mine and mine alone!” The retort from the other body was a simple guttural roar as it leaped towards the multi-headed monstrosity in a vain attempt to gain victory. The insectoid being parried the lunge with its razor sharp chitinous wings not unlike a swordsman and forced the other self into a defense as it barely escaped the attack. The flesh-like stalagmites were not as fortunate as the gash from the attack spewed a crimson liquid, to which Tsukune’s soul thought that it looked too similar to human blood.

“Tsukune should be around here!” Tsukune’s soul then heard familiar voices echo off the flesh-like rock. He turned towards the source of the sound and found not only the Newspaper Club round the corner, but also the d’jinn Iblis and an unfamiliar orangette who wore a rather risqué swimsuit-like outfit.

“Well it sounds like all that fighting is pretty- Holy shit!” Lou cursed as he looked upon the grotesque, seven headed and winged arthropod being. Its form, though insect like at first glance, was more of a perversion of any exoskeleton invertebrate. The chitin-built exoskeleton caricature of the dru’j was more of a forced mixture between a praying mantis, fly, cockroach, and spider that one would find in the deepest nightmarish pits of a madman’s psyche. “Seriously, what’s with this place and multiple heads?”

“Before you stand another fallen leader of the Enlysion War, a beast whose hunger for sustenance was outshone by his brutality and savagery. The Daeva Ze’Bub.” Iblis introduced while both Ze’Bub and the ghoulified form of Tsukune’s body battled one another in a rather perversion of the classic biblical story of David versus Goliath.

“Ze’Bub? You mean Beelzebub?” The d’jinn could only nod in response to the elder witch’s inquiry.

“That thing is the Lord of the Flies?” Yukari exclaimed as she pointed at Ze’bub with her wand.

“More like Lord of the ‘What the Fuck is That’ bug if you ask me.” Lou commented.

“So now what?” Gin inquired the group. “Do we wait until they tire each other out or-”

“Ze’Bug here has Tsukune’s d’kia.” Lou interrupted. “I ain’t gonna wait for a victor and I ain’t gonna let my couz’ be stuck in that thing’s claws….talons.. whatever the fuck those things are any longer.” The Angra Mainiuu incarnate then readied his blade for battle.

“He’s right!” Kurumu agreed just before she transformed into her true self. “I won’t let my Destined One be terrorized by that daeva dru’j any longer! Not so long as he has a woman to return to!”

“It would be counterproductive if the father of my children were to die before I ever got the chance to receive his seed.” Mizore bared her ice claws.

“And I won’t get my threesome with Moka-san and Lou-kun if Tsukune-san were to die!” Yukari declared. Lou could only respond with a groan and a palm to his face while Ura Moka rolled her eyes in annoyance. Mai, was too disturbed by the comments to even consider with a sound mind.

“You guys REALLY know how to ruin the mood, dont’cha?” One could almost see the vein upon Lou’s forehead pulse.

“Still, we need a strategy against Ze’Bub.” Gin gestured with his thumb. “We weren’t that successful last time we faced a daeva and only lucked out when Mai here unwittingly distracted it.” It was then that the werewolf recalled the ex-HiME’s lack of dress at that moment in time. “Though then again, I wouldn’t mind an encore performance-” Righteously, the orangette slapped the Newspaper Club president in the face.

“Exactly, we need to distract that hydra bug long enough for me to get to use this uh….Uber-Rosario for lack of better terms on Tsukune’s body, followed by a purification….whatever on the weird crystal thingy that he spats up.” Then a though occurred to the American. “…I just picked up something he puked out….”

“It would be difficult to distract something with seven heads.” Ura Moka warned.

“There’s MORE than enough of us to distract him..her…it…whatever. Not to mention that Tsukune’s body is doing a heck of a great job in attracting Ze’Bug’s attention right now.” Lou noted.

“This is going to hurt a lot isn’t it?” Gin asked before he transformed into his true werewolf self.

“Horn Dog, it STILL hurts from last time.” Lou countered.

“Yes, though if I remember correctly all that was needed to produce the reaction was to simply touch the Rosario onto Ze’Bub’s flesh rather than to simply touch Tsukune’s d’kia.” Rubi recalled.

“Which makes my job a heck of a lot easier then.” Lou grinned. The group then began their assault against Ze’Bub just as the battle between the daeva and Tsukune’s ghoulified body began to turn in favor of the ghoul.

However, Ze’Bub responded to this simultaneous attack as it grotesquely separated its upper body into seven separate torsos, each armed with arthropod-like talons and razor-blade wings. “That’s…..new….” The American noted at this macabre ability of Ze’Bub.

“This does not change the plan!” Ura Moka roared as she attacked the nearest Ze’Bub torso to her person. Soon enough, the rest of the group attacked the closest available torso to draw the daeva’s attention away from the American Cousin as he climbed up the dru’j’s body until he reached the common core that linked all the torsos together and the inner flesh revealed.

“Please tell me Lou is close!” Gin roared tiredly as used his speed to confuse and confound the torso he battled as it used its claws to strike at both air and flesh stalagmites in an attempt to take down the werewolf.

“Let Lou-kun deal with his job and we’ll worry about ours!” Yukari declared as she used her magic to bind the limbs and wings of her own Ze’Bub torso to leave it open to a massive wash bin strike.

“Though he had better hurry up!” Ura Moka groaned in frustration as she struggled against a Ze’Bub torso that had slammed her against bedrock and attempted to disembowel her with its wings and razor mandibles. “I can only do so much restrained!”

“It will all end when we purify Tsukune-kun’s d’kia!” Kurumu slashed at the talons of the Ze’Bub torso with her own claws and effectively reduced its offensive and defensive capability with only its wings and lone limbs to rely upon with but a single blow.

“All we can do until then is to give him the time that he needs!” Mizore entrapped her own Ze’Bub torso in ice and used her claws to wound the daeva before her. However, she must continually reform the ice entrapment as it failed just before she had the chance to deliver the final blow and knock that portion of the dru’j out for good.

“That’s all we can do for Lou and Tsukune now!” Rubi used her raven wings and raven feathers against the Ze’Bub torso to heavily wound the portion of the daeva and keep its attention upon her own. Her task was not the slaughter of the arch dru’j but rather to distract it away from Lou. Meanwhile Mai used her fire-based attacks to burn the final Ze’Bub torso from the inside out not unlike a lobster or crab. This only succeeded to make the attacks sluggish and the Ze’Bub torso furious at the ex-HiME.

Lou then finally reached the point of the daeva’s body to which all seven torsos were joined as one and readied the Rosario. “Alright, let’s get this over with-”

From the mound of flesh came a strange caricature of what is considered the cliché form of demons in the western world as it fluttered it wings and bared its claws at the American. “Yeah, I should have known that it wasn’t that easy.” Lou then readied its sword and charged at the animated flesh. The two adversaries clashed with claws and blade as Lou maneuvered himself to ready the strike with the Rosario upon it. The core of Ze’Bub knew not what the purpose of the Rosario was, but was determined not to allow its use.

It was only with a swift boot to the core’s chin did Lou have the opening he sought to slam the Rosario onto the presumed chest of the core and, like with Daeva Ash’Medai before in the circle above, a great wave of light and energy emerged from the point of contact and consumed the now freed d’kia of Tsukune Aono.

Lou lept away from the core and dashed towards Tsukune’s d’kia just as Daeva Ze’Bub realized the goal of the attack. “NO! The life d’kia must not be purified!” All of the torsos demanded as they unnaturally became one once more.

“Nope, not happenin’!” Lou taunted back as he slammed the Rosario upon the recently spat up black mass and another flash of light was emitted. Once it died down, all that remained of the mass was a rather beautiful necklace that had the aura of either royally or divinity.

“Curse you Angra Mainiuu!!” Ze’Bub roared in furious anger before he flew away. “How dare you condemn me to this prison?!”

“You messed with my cousin, that’s why motha fucker!” Lou taunted back before he noticed that the ghoulified body of Tsukune leaped off the edge of the circle and down towards the lower depths of Tartaros. “Oh come on! Not again!” The American groaned in frustration as he dashed down in pursuit of his cousin’s body.

However, his chase was delayed by the numerous mechanical and industrial gears that populate the space of the next circle. “Holy- Son of a bitch! They’re everywhere!!”

“Tsukune!” Nearly all of the girls of the Newspaper Club called out as they chased after both the body and d’kia of Tsukune, with the rest of the group followed closely behind.

However, the elder witch had hesitated in the pursuit as she felt something call for her attention. Rubi then turned back towards the necklaces and moved closer to the object to find that it was the source of the strange call. “Why am I drawn to it…?” She wondered as she delicately picked up the item that was forged by the purification of what was originally a black mass. Deep within her psyche, her body, her very soul told her that she must keep the object. That it would be important for the trials to come as she pocketed the strangely precious item and caught up with the group.


Unlike the circles above and previously visited by the group, the circle they descended into was less natural and organic but rather more mechanical and industrial, resemble the more demonic and hellish version of Victorian Era factories and made manifest the deepest pit of fear and nightmare of the author Charles Dickens.

“And this is…?” Ura Moka turned towards Iblis.

“The Circle of Phlar’Gyria (24),” The d’jinn answered. “To where those who value materiel wealth and to flaunt this excess of fortune over the wellbeing of their fellow neighbors, to those who have taken the wealth of others unjustly and leave its victims to suffer in life.”

“So it’s for those who value money over virtue?” Mizore inquired.

“Not just coinage,” Iblis corrected. “But in objects of value such as jewels and precious metals, businesses and sales, and even people that the damned have selfishly protected.” It was then that the strange sensation washed over first Kurumu, then Mizore, then Ura Moka and Yukari.

Lou simply looked at the effects upon the monster girls before he turned towards Gin. “So why aren’t you doubled over in pain Horn Dog?”

“Why,” The young werewolf began. “I am not so greedy when it comes to the art of love-”

“Bullshit!” The American interrupted. “There’s gotta be something wrong with the whole system!”

“It rarely is such upon the subject matter at hand.” Iblis advised before he then theorized. “Of course, it may also indicate that when it comes to the pleasures of the flesh and of the fairer gender, the lycanthrope youth would be more than please to allow to share such lovers with other males, observe and perhaps….participate?”

All eyes then turned towards Gin with various ideas through the cogs of their heads as the president of the Newspaper Club attempted to salvage the accusation. “Um….well, I am not opposed to such groupings upon one very comfortable bed. After all, there’s too much Ginei Morioka for just one girl.” The collective looks of the group were not convinced. “Hey! Don’t judge me! I-”

“I don’t have to.” Lou interrupted. “And from now on, I don’t want ya anywhere close to my derriere. In fact, I’d prefer you to be a few seconds running distance from me.”

“But I am not-”

“So says Tom Cruise and look what happened to him.” And it was that time that the American noticed that the d’kia were segregated into two groups: One who were shackled to mechanical wheels not unlike slaves and the other who were emulsified and even pumped into gargantuan tanks of molten gold. “But before we get out of hand to Horn Dog’s orientation here, what’s with the get up?”

“Well, to be more exact there are in effect two manifestation of Phlar’Gyria: Recondo and Eximo, or to be exact Hoarders and Wasters in your tongues.” Iblis began. “The Recondo gather such wealth to themselves not unlike a squirrel that hordes nuts in preparation for winter. However, this horde is not survival but rather to keep such wealth for themselves and exclude its use to others. Thus each d’kia are shackled and chained to the ‘Wheels of Fortune’ to labor and power the machinery you all see around you. The Eximo, who waste such wealth simply to showcase how better off they are compared to their neighbors are immersed in molten gold and, on occasion, dismembered throughout the machinery they are piped through.”

Just then, an alarm sounded and many Ahu’ra rushed towards one of the pumps that delivered the molten gold and the condemned eximo d’kia to their torment. The machinery was halted so that the apparent clog could be cleared, which revealed itself to be a rather obese ash’a d’kia. “However, there are times when the process can be halted due to the lifestyle of various d’kia when they were alive.” Iblis noted.

“That guy looks kind of familiar.” Lou wondered out loud as Iblis pulled out a record of the d’kia.

“One ‘Daniel Lawrence Whitney’,” The d’jinn read. “Though he also has the alias of Larry the Cable-”

“What?! You mean Larry the Cable Guy’s down here as well?” The American looked back in disbelief. “I didn’t even know he died. I liked his act.”

“What act?” Gin asked out loud.

“Red Neck comedy. You wouldn’t get it.” Lou advised.

“Sh-Shiho-san?!” Mai exclaimed as she rushed towards a d’kia with a rather distinctive, double ponytail hairstyle who was chained to one of the many cogs that turned the Wheel of Fortune. The rest of the group followed soon afterwards.

“Wait, you know this one too? Like a friend or something?” Mai nodded in response. “Damn, must suck to know that more of your friends are down here in hell with ya.”

“T-Tokiha-san?! What are you doing here?” Shiho exclaimed with much confusion. However, she could not help herself but ask. “And why are you wearing that?”

Mai, almost in a relapse of her current state of dress, used her arms to cover what modesty she had left. Her self-conscious has also brought much unwanted color to her face as Lou turned towards his d’jinn brother. “So what’s her deal?”

“Avarice of a certain individual that was mentioned once before in the circles high above.” Iblis explained. “Her actions were,” his wrist rolled as his mind attempted to find a more appropriate word to describe the crimes of the young girl chained to the cog. “Less than civil. Her actions lead to the deaths of at least two ash’a during the latter stages of the so-called Hime Carnival and brought about much suffering, even though both were returned to life by its sudden conclusion.”

“Get your hands off me!” Shiho suddenly exploded in response to Mai’s attempt to comfort the damned former HiME chained to the cog. “Did you really think that I would ever forgive you for what you did to me, to Yuuichi-kun?!”

“I sense a soap opera coming up.” The werewolf mused to himself, though it was unfortunately loud enough for him to receive a less than pleasant response to his comment.

“Sh-Shiho-san…”

“DonR 17;t you ‘Shiho-san’ me you bitch! You think you can just take someone else’s childhood friend, their first love, and then discard them as if they were beneath you and get away with it?!” Shiho roared in anger.

“B-but it’s not like that! It’s-”

“It’s exactly that! You strung Yuuichi-kun along like some dog, only to kick him to the curb over that stupid cat girl!”

“Cat girl?! Where?!” Gin’s sudden inquiry was soon answered by more physical violence. The amount of force behind each blow in respect to justification was debatable.

“I may be stuck here in this hell, forced to do this strange work for these oni, but at least the thought that you’re just as damned as I am down here makes it all worth it!”

“Probably best if you don’t mention that little ‘deal’ you gave Striperella over there.” Lou whispered the cautionary advice to Iblis, who subsequently agreed though much to his chagrin.

However, such warning fell to naught from the words that came out of Gin’s mouth as he recovered from the ambush of fists and palms. “So are we gonna let her come with us to find Tsukune’s d’kia with that promise of salvation that we gave to Tokiha-san as well?”

“Horn dog!”

“What?”

“Wh-what did he mean by that?!” Shiho’s face then twisted from perverse satisfaction to unbridled rage as she turned towards Mai.

“Um….well….” The orangette former HiME twiddled her thumbs as she attempted to bring about the appropriate words to keep her fellow HiME calm. She could not find any. “I was promised a way out and back to Yuuichi if I helped out-”

“You bitch!!!” Shiho’s lunge was spoiled by the chains that linked her limbs to the cog. “You fucking bitch!! Why are you given such a deal after all you’ve done?! You don’t deserve any salvation you traterious cunt! Not after what you did to Yuuichi-kun!”

“Shiho-san…..I’m sorry….” Mai was on the verge of tears as she is confronted with another one of her mistakes that she had done while she was amongst the living.

“Well look on the bright side,” Lou began as he turned towards Shiho. “At least you’ll get a well-toned body from that Wheel of Pain workout.”

“Huh?” Gin questioned, reflecting the same look the rest of the group wore.

“You know. The Wheel of Pain, from that Conan movie with Arnold Schwar- You know what, forget it.” The reincarnated mal’akh in then gestured to the group. “We got ourselves a lost d’kia and ghoul body to find. It’s not like they’ll drop onto our laps if we just stand- ACK!!!”

Lou was interrupted when a massive daeva dru’j landed near them as it stepped upon Tsukune’s ghoulified body as it landed. Its deformed mal’akhin body cloaked by its own chiropteran wings that gave the beast the look of a hooded monk as it held Tsukune’s d’kia within its terrible tallons. “Be silent, ghul! You have both amused and annoyed me long enough, now watch me  be free as I absorb this living d’kia foolish, mindless beast!” the dru’j daeva cackled.

“Is-is that..?!” Rubi gasped from the sight of the seemingly victorious daeva.

“Yes,” Iblis answered. “That is the Daeva Mam’onas.”

“Mam’onas? You mean that Mammon guy? Well whatever, now that we know what to do in a situation like this, we can beat the shit out of him! Right guys?!” Lou’s attempt to spur the confidence of the group only revealed that Rubi, Mai, and Gin were able bodied enough to battle Mam’onas. “…Okay, this might be harder than it looks.”

“Guess it’ll be harder to succeed this time around.” Gin noted. “At least we have some chance at succeeding with this few people not affected-”

“I’m still callin’ bullshit on you, but that’ll wait for after this little bout.” Lou interrupted the werewolf.

“For now, we have to save Tsukune-kun!” Rubi then sprouted raven wings as the four dashed towards Mam’onas before he could swallow the now prized d’kia.

“Accursed insects!” Mam’onas roared in defiance as it pulled Tsukune’s d’kia out their grasp. “You will not prevent my emancipation!” It then climbed through the various gears and machinery to evade the four.

“Crap, I’m starting to hate this.” Lou groaned in annoyance. He then readied the Rosario as he unfurled his ethereal wings. “Looks like we’re givin’ chase rather than fight it out.”

“Is it any easier?” Gin simply shrugged as Rubi readied herself for flight.

“I guess not, but we don’t have much choice in the matter do we?” Lou answered. “Alright, we know the game plan right? Slam the Rosario onto the daeva’s flesh and purify the…..whatever Tsukune’s d’kia spat out before his ghoul body…. You know, we never really established what would happen if the body did get that before purification.”

“It would be best if we do not know of the consequences.” Rubi advised.

“Point. So basically do all that without running into those giant gears of death-”

“Or fall to death.” Gin added as the only non-avian winged member of the pursuit force.

“Well you know what they say about that. ‘It’s not the fall that kills yah, it’s the sudden stop at the end’.” The able bodied group then ascended into the complex machinery of the avarice circle. “Considering that we don’t know how difficult this might be, we’d better juggle responsibility of the Rosario smash between us.”

“Without dropping it?” Mai asked.

“That would be ideal.” The pursuit team then ascended into the machinery high above to track down Mam’Onas to both free and purify Tsukune’s d’kia. The flyers of the team maneuvered through the various gears and mechanical systems while Gin leaped from whatever surface he is able to grasp hold of in preparation for the next jump.

“Shit, I’m not even sure if we can find somebody that big even if we tried to scout this place above-”

“To my left!” Mai announcement interrupted the American’s complaint as her eyes barely spotted what appeared to be the fluttering of a cloak behind a fly wheel.

“Alright, since you’re closer you take a jab at it!” Lou tossed the Rosario towards Mai, who barely caught the object as she flew towards Mam’Onas. “Better surround and keep the tail tight so we don’t lose him!”

“And you’d do better without trying to peek at Carrie’s dress?” Lou mused. “Highly doubt it. Let’s move it before something else goes bad!” The rest of the persuit group agreed and began their hunt for Mam’Onas and Tsukune’s d’kia.

However, they were not the only ones in pursuit as the ghoulified body of Tsukune climbed the various machinery and lept from one location to another in a feat of superhuman strength  no human being could ever replicate.

“I missed!” Mai cursed and barely noticed that the body of Tsukune pounced towards the d’kia not unlike a panther after prey.

“Sorry!” Rubi then apologized as she used her wings to bash the automated ghoul body away from Mam’Onas and the d’kia.

“Perfect!” Lou growled. “As of it ain’t bad enough as is!”

“Well it could have been-” Gin would have concluded the infamous quote when the American interrupted.

“Don’t you dare say it. We’re hard pressed enough as is without somebody jinxing the whole thing!”

“There he is!” Rubi exclaimed as she pointed at a distant cog that briefly hid the still moving form of the daeva.

“I see him.” Lou then took back the modified Rosario since he was closer. “Fas for a big guy though.”

“So what do we do in the meantime?” Mai asked.

“What else? See if you can get close to Tsukune and call out for the Rosario.” Lou advised. “Better to swarm over Mam’Onas than to have one of us miss and the rest too far away.”

“And what about those that aren’t exactly flight capable then?” Gin raised an eyebrow.

“Simple really, you go after the other guy who can’t fly.”

“Wh-What? But he could kill me!”

“Only if you get caught. Besides, piss Tsukune enough then he’ll chase after you instead of his d’kia.”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

“Yeah well I’m still waiting for a better idea. Let’s split.” The group then divided themselves as both the flyers and lone climber headed off to their assigned objective. It was a rough plan, an imperfect plan, but it was the only one that they could conceive in such a dire emergency.

Lou, Rubi, and Mai continued to weave through the great machinery of the circle, juggled the Rosario between them as they attempted to free Tsukune’s d’kia from the daeva’s grasp. Gin, meanwhile, chased after the ghoulified body of Tsukune in order to keep him away from his own d’kia. The only clear advantage, beyond the werewolf’s speed which has been powered by the strange atmosphere of Tartaros in substitute for moonlight, was that the ghoulified body was driven by instinct and extremely simple minded; enough for Gin to execute tricks to keep the ghoul away from the d’kia.

Unfortunately, it was also simple minded enough to be angered quite easily as the ghoulified body made a deadly slash towards Gin’s throat. “Yeow! Careful there Tsukune-kun, you could have killed me!”

The ghoulified body, however, paid little mind as it had a new objective that must be eliminated before it could return to its original quarry: kill Morioka Ginei, much to the werewolf’s chagrin.

The persuit flyers fared little better. “Seriously, anyone got a better fuckin’ idea than this shit?!” Lou cursed as he barely parried the ethereal wings of the Daeva.

“The problem is Mam’Onas’ agility and mobility!” Rubi reasoned as she internally cursed at the fact that she missed the daeva’s flesh again. “We need to immobilize him somehow!”

It was then that a mere glance downward in the pursuit of Mam’Onas that Mai of the various gold vats upon the circle floor did a spark of genius grew within her mind. “What about using them?”

Lou looked down to where she was pointing at, but frankly the brilliance of the idea escaped him. “I’m not sure trying to trick him into a golden spa dip would be such a good idea, for any of us now that I think about it.”

“No! I mean take one of those Hoarders and throw it at the daeva onto a gear or something!”

“But how do we even hold them without burning ourselves?” Rubi asked.

“I got an idea.” Lou recalled when the ahu’ra attempted to clear a blockage due to the body mass of the red neck comedian. He then swooped down to commandeer a pitch fork that a blue-skinned ahu’ra had used. “Gotta borrow this!” He apologized as he used the pitch fork to fish out a Hoarder from the molten gold vat.

“You saved me, thank goodness-” Uwe Bolle began.

“Oops, wrong one.” The American then returned the film director into a nearby vat, though with a great emphasis on the German’s suffering before he fished out another Hoarder.

“Augh! Sweet merciful god, my stomach!” Brett Ratner justly complained as the pitch fork emerged horribly from his torso.

“Don’t worry; this’ll only be but a moment.” Lou advised as he rejoined Mai and Rubi as they swarmed around Mam’Onas. “Got our glue!”

“…Disturbing, but good idea!” Mai then gestured the Monster Academy students. “Now follow me!” The other persuit flyers followed the fomer HiME as she led them after Mam’Onas through the gearwork and machinery until they finally caught up with the Daeva. “Rubi and I will corner it while you pin it onto something.”

“It’s better than just chasing after ‘em.” Lou mused as both Mai and Rubi began to fly complex circles around the cloaked monstrocity as the American carefully flew beneath the beast and aimed for one of its more solid limbs. He had to time the strike just right so that it would stick.

“Now!” Mai called out and Lou almost reflexively tossed the molten gold covered Brett Ratner at Mam’Onas’ left talon and the force of the impact was enough to shove the leg through the space of one of the gears. The opposing forces of the gear work and Mam’Onas killed the Daeva’s ability to move, an opening that could not be missed as the ex-HiME slammed the Rosario upon the exposed neck in mid flap of the beast’s ethereal wings.

As before, the point of impact radiated a great wave of light and energy which engulfed Tsukune’s d’kia. The purification effect of the strange energies caused the d’kia to spat up another strange, black mass that bounced around from one piece of machinery to another on its decent towards the bottom of the circle. “Oh come on! This is starting to get pathetic!” Lou cursed as the two other pursuit flyers weaved through the gear works towards the descending black mass, just in time for the ghoulified body of Tsukune into pursuit. Not long afterwards, yet with great struggle and effort, Mem’Onas gave chase as well after its only salvation of the damnation that was the realm of Tartaros.


Kurumu could barely keep to her knees as the paranormal effect of the circle began to greatly affect her body in alien ways that she could not comprehend. If she remembered correctly, it was because she selfishly wanted Tsukune all to herself that her body is so ill-ridden. But how could she not, Tsukune was her Destined One, her Mate of Fate to which she would devote her love and her life towards so it was natural that she wanted to keep him to herself. Of course, the d’jinn also mentioned that the sin isn’t just the act itself, but the victims of which it touched and she found herself in wonder as to what that would ultimately mean to all the girls when Tsukune finally choses whom he would-

A strange, black yet crystalline mass then skipped towards her, the same kind that was to be purified by the Rosario if Tsukune was to ever hope to escape Tartaros with his d’kia intact. Still, almost drawn to the object, the bluenette succubus picked up the mass though it took much of her concentration and strength that she had left within her body just to pick up the excreted darkness, and just as strangely, the object beckoned her, drawn her to the abyss that was beyond the superficial surface of matter.

“Watch yourself Pamela!” Kurumu turned up to see Lou descend upon her not unlike an avenging angel with the Rosario in hand. Behind the American were Mai and Rubi, Tsukune’s ghoulified body with Gin in persuit, and the great daeva of the circle closely behind with the d’kia still within its clutches.

Kurumu barely raised the item in her hand far enough away from her person when Lou slammed the Rosario against the mass and the light purified both the strange object and the d’kia. When it faded, she saw that the strange mass had transmutated into a brilliant bracelet that one would have sworn was forged by a divine jewel smith. For some strange reason, she felt deep within her heart that she must keep the object that was now within her hands. For that moment of time, it felt to her like she felt a piece of her beloved Tsukune within her grasp, that the bracelet was Tsukune.

“NOOOOOO!!!” Daeva Mam’Onas cried out in sorrow more than from the pain of the d’kia purification within its talons. The force of the release was enough to throw Tsukune’s d’kia beyond the rim of the circle and down to the next. “Why do you condemn me to this fate, Angra Mainiuu?! I fought in your name!”

“Yeah well I fight for my famil- OH COME ON, NOT AGAIN!!!!” Lou growled as Tsukune’s ghoulified body leaped into the circle below after its quarry. Naturally, the concerned Lou flew down after the two sides of his cousin.

“Hurry! We’ll lose them both if we don’t catch up to them!” Mai rallied the other monster girls of the academy, though with little luck as still only Rubi was unaffected by the strange aura of the circle they were now within.

“We still have to help them here.” Rubi reasoned. “They will help us once we descend further into the depths of Tartaros.”

With great reluctance, Mai could not help but agree as her salvation was delayed once more. She bent down to help Kurumu, but instead the succubus jerked away from her touch as the pain within the monster girl’s heart began to swell uncontrollably. Her vision filled with the strange image of one Yuuichi Tate and his rage towards the former HiME before her and she fought off the strange sensations from her mind, abet poorly. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?” Mai asked.

“I…I’m not sure.” Kurumu groaned in frustration and pain. “E-every time I look at you, I still see those strange flashes from when we touched. I could barely manage it before but now…now I can’t even bear it, so please stay away from me right now!”

“Well if you need a hand, I am willing to offer it-” The young werewolf extended hand was met with the rage of a succubus who subconsciously knew of Gin’s ulterior motive and expressed her displeasure physically with a strength that came from nowhere. The experience was, painfully repeated with the other girls as Mai, Rubi, and Iblis were charged with aid of the guilt ridden monster girls towards the nearest lift down into the depths of the hellish void.


“Welcome to the Circle of Or’Ge (25)!” Iblis announced as the group finally reached the bottom of the lift that has taken them from the Tartaros Circle Phlar’Gyria high above to the current circle before them. “Lo and behold the great river Stux (26)!”

“It’s like a huge marsh, a swamp even.” The former HiME mused as she observed the general landscape of the Tartaros Circle. The trees were mangled perversions and embodiment of pain and suffering, of wrath and vengeance as they swayed with the blows of the wind and the rhythm of the hymn that is ever present. The group saw that many within the deeper portions of the river fight against one another violently; terrible curses flowed from the lips of the condemned. Within the shallows and inlet bogs of the river land, one could barely see the form of other pne’uma that just lie within the muck and moaned in sorrow and depression.

“Stux? Isn’t that another word for the River Stix ~desu?” Yukari asked the d’jinn.

“The River of Wrath, the Sullen, that is the sin of those condemned to these waters.” Iblis reported. “This is where those whose Anger or false Depression has caused the misery of their loved ones, directly, indirectly, or otherwise.”

Almost unsurprisingly, Mizore, Rubi and Yukari felt the pain of guilt wrack their bodies and filled their senses. It was the direct result of how they treated their loneliness and the injustices brought to them within their lives towards those that were innocent of such charges.

“This is going to be problematic.” Gin mused before he turned towards Iblis. “For the sake of argument, let’s assume that we don’t catch Tsukune’s d’kia ‘till we reach the bottom of this…uh…pit, how many of these circles are there?”

“Within the walls of Pandae’Monium lie four more circles, forever more separated from the punishments high above for the sins they house are not of the flesh and its frailty, but rather of the mind and thus more offensive to the divine.” Iblis poetically answered.

“So how do we cross it?” Mai wondered as she had just noticed the tops of the city walls to the distance.

“There are but two paths: Traverse the many trails through the boggy islands between here and the gates of Pandae’Monium or await the arrival of ferries.”

“How long will either take us?” Ura Moka asked.

“In theory, the ferries are faster than to traverse the many boggy islands of Stux.”

“However there’s the wait time for said ferry, correct?” Kurumu concluded, to which Iblis simply nodded his head.

“The choice is, ultimately yours.” The d’jinn then gestured to the very river before the group and they saw, to their horror, the mass of the wrathful pne’uma fought one another for seemingly pointless issues, though there were those who roared above the river surface and demanded that the Hymm of Tartaros be stopped.

“So um….” Gin began. “Has any of them ever-”

“So long as you either stay upon the path or away from the edge of the ferry decks.” Iblis concluded for the werewolf youth. “The ferry boats are smaller due to the need to navigate the tight spaces of the islands and the pathways are larger for ease of travel by the masses.”

“Can you three walk?” Mai turned towards Mizore, Rubi, and Yukari. They tried to answer, but as they attempted to stand, they fell to their knees.

“It would appear that we would have to wait for the river ferries.” Ura Moka declared when it was evident that her own light headedness nearly caused her to loose balance. Gin caught her just in time.

“Are you alright?” Gin asked in concerned as one of his hands attempted to feel her body. However, Ura Moka noticed this plan and nearly kicked the werewolf youth into the Stux itself.

“I can take care of myself you hormone driven baka!”

“My, my, my, this is very interesting.” Iblis mused. “What could have caused you to feel such wrath, or…perhaps it is sullenness?”

“My past is none of your concern!” Ura Moka demanded.

“It may not be, but it is something to consider.” The d’jinn mused cryptically when the group headed towards the nearest ferry landing.


It was some time before the core of the Newspaper Club, plus extra persons, boarded one of the numerous river ferries that crossed the great river. Throughout the trip, they continued to hear the grunts and yells of the wratheful along with the moans of the sullen within the river waters saturated with victimfull sins.

Yukari then noticed two female ash’a that fought over a small rock mound; one with blonde locks with othe other that held a similar hair color to a certain pinkette vampire. This innocent gaze drew the curiocity of Mai who instantly recognized the blonde. “H-Haruka-san?!”

“Another friend you knew?” Gin then mused. “First that Shizuru chick, then that Mikoto and Shiho girl, now her? That must really be something to know that nearly all of your friends are in hell.”

The proclamation did not reach deaf ears as Haruka Suzushiro recognized one of the names and instantly rejoiced. “Finally! That Bubuzuke got what she deserved!”

However, the moment of trump nearly became a moment of defeat when Utena Tenjo nearly shoved Haruka off the rock pile. “This is my rock, not yours!”

Haruka shoved back just as violently. “How dare you ruin my moment of happiness!” And the argument and brawl continued on.

Gin saw the fight and sighed. “If only I had my camera with me-” The female members of the group, especially those who knew of the werewolf’s tendencies, delivered swift retribution upon the president of the Newspaper Club.

“So where is Lou now?” Kurumu questioned as she massaged her wrists. “Do you think that he’s found Tsukune-kun’s d’kia yet?”

“With our current track record,” Ura Moka began. “Then Lou would have encountered the daeva that has captured Tsukune’s d’kia by now-” Just then, Lou landed with Tsukune’s d’kia held under arm.

“Oh, that’s where you guys are.” Lou mused as if they were back at Monster Academy rather than within the pits of Tartaros itself.

“Lou! You got Tsukune’s d’kia-” Kurumu exclaimed when the ghoulified body of Tsukune decended upon the American. He parried with an upward kick that literally threw the body into a crash at a nearby island on the far side of the ferry.

“Sorry! Didn’t mean it!” Lou apologized as he turned back to his current problem in the form of a four winged, raven headed wolf which wore armor. This daeva was more beastly than its former nature as a Mal’akh as its lower torso and legs were replaced by the tail of a rattlesnake and the raven beak is filled with serrated, sharp wolf teeth. It tries to swipe at Lou with its wolf-tallons but it was blocked by Lou’s ethereal angel wings.

“Release that living d’kia at once!” The daeva declared.

“Fat chance, asshole!” Lou taunted as he took to the air and dodged tongues of fire that erupted from the daeva’s beak.

“You will not deny the prize from Aam’On forever!” The daeva Aam’On roared as it flew after Lou.

“We gotta help-” Kurumu unfurled her wings when Ura Moka placed a hand upon her shoulder. “What are you doing? We gotta help-”

“I missed out on the last fight, I will not be absent for this one.” Ura Moka answered.

“Can you even fly?” Mai asked.

“No, which is why I need a lift.”

“Oh? So the all-powerful vampire is asking us for-” Kurumu recoiled when a sudden shift of Ura Moka’s posture indicated that she was about to attack. “Nevermind, I take it back!”

“Then let’s go and rescue Tsukune’s d’kia.” Ura Moka commanded and soon the three girls flew towards an island where Lou, the Daeva Aam’On, and even Tsukune’s ghoulified body battled for possession of the d’kia.

Lou then noticed that the three girls have arrived upon the extremely muddy island. “Oh good! I was wondering when you guys’ll arrive! Just be careful about the ground though,” The American advised as he avoided attacks from both the Daeva and Tsukune’s goulified body. “Stay long enough and you’ll get stuck!”

“We came to help-” Kurumu began when Lou tossed her the modified Rosario.

“Take it, I’ll run distraction!” Lou ordered as he flew up into the air which ultimately left the ghoulified body back on the ground with its inability to fly, yet Aam’On flew after the American.

After a moment of awkward silence, Mai response with a question, “So what do we do now?”

“We follow and end it.” Ura Moka answered as she grabbed the Rosario from Kurumu’s hand.

“And how are we going to even catch up if we’re both carrying-” Kurumu began to complain.

“The both of you leap frog me into position.” Ura looked upward as Lou blocked another lash of fire that whipped from Aam’On’s beak. “We’ll have to time it just right though. I don’t feel like digging myself out from mud.”

“The wind will be a problem.” Mai advised the silver-locked vampire.

“It blows constant enough and in from a general direction to correct easily. Now throw me!” Ura Moka ordered. Mai did her best as she spun around fast enough to compensate for her lack of strength and tossed the vampire into the general direction of the daeva. Both Kurumu and Mai flew upards fast enough before her ascension slowed into a fall back towards the ground. Kurumu then grabed hold of Ura Moka’s wrist and threw her upwards as Mai accelerated her speed to meet up with the vampire.

This continued until Ura Moka overshot the daeva. “Oh no! I threw too hard!”

“No, I can catch it easier from above!” Ura Moka countered as she flew downward towards Aam’On’s back. She grabbed hold of one of the pieces of armor before she ripped off another plate of armor and exposed the Daeva’s flesh.

“How dare you to-” Before the daeva could continue, Ura Moka slammed the Rosario against the furry hide and a wave of energy emitted from the point of impact. However the flash of light was enough for the vampire to lose her grip and fall off the beast. Lou, Mai, and Kurumu dived down to catch Ura Moka before she crashed into the mud.

Ura Moka then noticed the strange mass that Tsukune’s d’kia spat up and groaned to reach the object with the Rosario. She was able to impact the two before the group roughly landed upon the ground that lead towards a great, massive bridge. The mass flashed into a strange chained lock that drew her attention. In truth, it confused her as she picked the object up and held it within her grasp.

“Curse you all!” Daeva Aam’On roared in frustration. “Aam’On will not forget this insult!”

“Weren’t we above a mud island?” Lou inquired, lost enough interest for Tsukune’s d’kia to slip past the group and towards the bridge.

“It would appear that your task is successful.” Iblis noted as the ferry arrived at the bridge island. The rest of the Newspaper Club soon followed.

“Yeah, and thankfuly I got Tsukune- Son of a bitch!” Lou cursed as he finally noticed the d’kia’s departure.

“It’s interesting that the d’kia chose to dig deeper into Tartaros, behind the very walls of the City of Dis itself.”

“Dis? As in the capital of hell Pandae’Monium?” Lou inquired his d’jinn brother as the group stood before the great bridged that lead to a walled city- no, a fortress that would have rivaled mytic Troy itself. Each surface was decorated with not only arcane symbols and runes but also statues of torment, pain, and suffering, of the damned and sinful that received dark judgement from the pit itself that was Tartaros. Even the watchtowers themselves were a grotesque reminder of what terrors awaited those who dared to walk into the deepest pits of Tartaros, where the most evil are punished in the most inhumane and unnatural fashion possible.

“Yes, the fortress-city of Tartaros and the punishment of those whom have violated the sacred rites of the faith they have sworn fielty to observe and honor.” Iblis described. “To them they are encased in inflamed tombs to reflect how their own wanton neglects of the sacred in offense of those who observe, to ridicule something that is as their own as the blood that flows through their very veins.”

“Well, at the rate we’re going,” The American then took a quick glance at the group in addition to their recent exit of the Stixian Marsh, “It looks like we’re gonna paint the town red.”


Well it looks like the group’s journey into hells is going to continue into the deeper circles and see more torment of the sinful and depraved. Will they be able to save Tsukune’s soul before it’s too late? Either way, it’s been a long time coming and this is but a taste of what to expect in the next chapter that will be done………………….eventually.

Oh, I almost forgot. Many of the condemned souls are suggested by a fellow author, Hildebrant. If any of my fellow readers have any particular characters, politicians or any of the sorts that fit in with the next circles of Heresy, Violence, Fraud and Treason, feel free to suggest them to me. Oh and maybe a description of them if it isn’t too much to ask for?

Anywho, here are some footnotes for some of the words used in this chapter to help clear things up a bit:

(1) She'ole word for "accuser" or "adversary", used as a title for what one would call District Attorney or Chief Procecutor

(2) She'ole word for "Pit" or "Crater", used as the proper name of what is known as Hell

(3) She'ole word for "Great Pain" or "Great Suffering", used as the proper name of the boarder river.

(4) She'ole word for "homeland", "divine air", or "holy realm", used as the proper name of what is known as Heaven

(5) She'ole word for "Messenger of the Divine", what we call angels

(6) Capital of Elysion

(7) Name/Title of Supreme Creator Being, what many would call "God"

(8) She'ole word for "clense" and "to make pure", used as the proper name of purgatory

(9) She'ole word for Shade spirit or "Reborn Mortal"

(10) She'ole word for "Terrace" or "Levels".

(11) Capital of Hamistagan

(12) She'ole pronunciation of the name "Charon".

(13) She'ole word for "soul".

(14) She'ole word for "chosen", "blessed", and "pure", used as a proper noun for humans.

(15) She'ole word for "First Mortal", "Strong Being", "Supernatural", use as a proper noun for monsters/yokai/ayashi

(16) She'ole pronunciation of the word "Ghoul".

(17) She'ole word for "Betrayer", "evil thought", "Fallen One", or "malicious deed", used as the name for the contemporary vision of Satan or The Devil.

(18) She’ole word for “Lust” or “Fornication”, more commonly used as the name of the Tartaros Circle.

(19) She'ole pronunciation of the word "Witch".

(20) She’ole word equivalent of “Vampire”.

(21) She'ole word for "Lie", "false", "vial", "traitor", used as a proper noun for what we would call Demons or Fallen Angels

(22) She'ole word for "dark lieutenant" or "enemy leader", used as a title the chief leaders of the Angelic Rebellion and similar to contemporary vision of archdemons.

(23) She’ole word for “Gluttony”, more commonly used as the name of the Tartaros Circle.
(24) She’ole word for “Greed”, “Avarice”, or “Extravagance”, more commonly used as the name of the Tartaros Circle.

(25) She’ole word for “Wrath”, “Anger” or “Sullen”, more commonly used as the name of the Tartaros Circle.

(26) She'ole pronunciation of the word "Stix".


As always, flames and brutally honest reviews will not be tolerated.



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