Slay the Hierarchy

A Nightmare Realised

Teeth, flesh, and metal.

It was a combination that became his bread and butter. Killing demons? That was his morning coffee ritual. Depending on how many came at him at a time, he could consider it dinner prep, even.

He had been knee-deep in bloody guts for a while now since entering Titan's Realm, sprinting tirelessly through waves of gore and enemies. Pressing hard on the heavy assault rifle's trigger, the Slayer had a feeling this fight would be his last. His battle against Olivia Pierce... or whatever was left of the woman whom hell turned into; perchance; one of the ugliest of its spawn he laid eyes on yet.

Smoking bullet shells splattered into the wet floor under him as he moved swiftly around the enormous spider, dodging lasers and projectiles, firing all the while. His reserves were running low. Constant blasting at an enemy of this size usually did that, unfortunately.

Yet a consistent stream of plasma in the creature's direction and some super shotgun shells later, the spider lilted; a wet, distressed hiss spraying blood and saliva into the air as it collapsed.

The Slayer wasted no time. Finally staggering the demon, he hefted out the BFG, carrying it in the direction of its mushy brain with an air of menace.

The massive demon could do nothing but quiver in half-death, half-fear as he closed the distance. It made to shriek, but the Slayer grasped it violently by the mandibles and shoved the thick barrel of the gun against it, snuffing out its chance to. Green energy danced directly before the demon's eyes, crackling and sparking in preparation to vaporise it.

The last thing the Spider Mastermind saw before death was the dark, blood-streaked glower of a man out for blood... for the ruthless purge of demons.

It squawked out in desperation but was met with a devastating final blow; the blast from the BFG melting through its huge brain like hot iron through butter, atomising its grisly mug in the process.

The Slayer stepped back to take a look at his work, feeling a tad proud of the end result: steaming demon brains. 

But he wanted more. He could feel it in his veins. The urge to exterminate; a burning, unquenchable rage for the damned.

He swapped out the massive BFG for his super shotgun and made to blast through the dark confines of the spider's abode... or at least that was his plan until he noticed his suit aglow.

It was an ethereal blue light that in the next second consumed his sight, and the Slayer could feel his body traveling through space and time before he came to a room. A room he instantly recognised by the dim, impeccable steely interior. The UAC. And through the fog, appeared Samuel Hayden.

'It's over. You've stopped the invasion and closed the portal,  but it's come at a price,' he said to the Slayer, watching through the glowing slit in his head as the latter struggled to move. 'Argent... Vega... this entire operation. You see, I've watched you work; come to understand your motivation.

'You think the only way is to kill them all, leave nothing behind... and you may be right. But we can't just shut it all down. Without argent energy, it will be worse. I don't expect you to agree...'

He paused and reached out with his long, steel fingers; the Crucible at the Slayer's side trembling at the gesture. It tore away from him suddenly and into Dr. Hayden's grasp, burning like red fire as he inspected the relic.

'... But with this, we can continue our work.'

Though the Slayer showed incapability of speaking and his visor masked any semblance of emotion in the man, Samuel Hayden would have been lying if he said he didn't feel a burning fury and resentment emanate from his trapped figure. The Slayer fought to move; to break out of whatever held him prisoner; and seeing him fight it so tenaciously incited a streak of fear through the man made robot.