(Billy's P.O.V)

Gaea's divine presence spread out through the entire chamber, radiating an awe inspiring force that kept me pressed onto the steps leading to the raised platform.

The sensation felt my body was being squeezed in from all sides.

Mephisto backed away warily, no longer paying attention to the Ancient One. The Hell Lord's eyes were instead cast to the sky.

In that same instant, cracks appeared on the ceiling from a strike on the outside. The roof caved in, stones crashing down on us.

Most of them landed in the black pool of liquid within the chamber.

The liquid churned, rocks hissing as they were dissolved by whatever the pool was.

Some of it splashed on to the walkway behind me and the red walls on our sides.

Everything dissolved under its effects, the walkway falling into the pool, while the walls half melted into a thick sludge that gathered on the floor.

'Note to self... don't touch that stuff.'

I had no clue if it could affect me but better safe than sorry.

Another strike from the outside made the entire ground shake.

"You thought you could HIDE! FROM ME?!!"

Gaea roared out in fury once more. Following her shout, the hole above enlarged as the chamber lost a majority of it's ceiling.

Light begun streaming in, the view outside shown to me at last.

So much fire... everything seemed to be burning. The sky, the ground, the air...

A great shadow appeared, blocking the roaring flames, the fire not making it past a zone around the Shadow's gigantic figure.

Green hair danced behind her, the hair strands being vines twined tightly together.

Her bust strained out of the bra made of leaves. Her skin glowed with a green aura, the forearms and shins covered by a black woody substance for protection.

Though I couldn't fathom how much protection they could offer against fire.

Not to mention the rest of her body was covered by green foliage.

Gaea of course didn't seem to care. It was evident I wasn't looking at the caring Grandma like figure I'd met before. This time she was rage personified.

"There you are, little demon."

She looked in and established eye contact with Mephisto, her face lighting up with righteous indignation.

Mephisto's face looked as if he'd bitten into a particularly bitter lemon. His eyes swept down, managing to land on a smiling Ancient One.

"You...you caused this."

He accused, his aura making his red cloak flare up.

"You brought her here. So Die!!"

He shouted, pushing an arm forward.

The flames around and outside the structure surged up, forming into a tornado with the face of a demon that opened it's jaw, sweeping towards the Ancient One.

"Hhmph. You presume too much."

Gaea snorted, lifting her leg and stomping it down onto the path of the flames, shattering the attack and protecting the Ancient One.

"She is under my protection Demon! To get to her you go through me."

Gaea warned, her own green aura flaring up.

Mephisto clenched his jaw tightly, hatefully glaring at the two. Then his expression eased.

"Go through you? You forget something dear Goddess, this is my realm. You might be a primordial but I have full control here! Rise my spirits! And drag them to the deepest DARKEST PITS OF HELL!!"

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The Hell Lord declared, his voice making the whole realm tremble.

Screams sounded out as thousands and thousands of black shadows rose out of the black pool.

The shadows were oily and misshapen. Their bodies thin to the point of being skeletal. Long claws and teeth made them a threat though. And their thin wings were strong enough to carry them through the air as they headed towards Gaea.

"I see. So you choose death."

Gaea replied, her entire form glowing with divine energy.

"Fine then, I will gladly deliver it to you!"

An explosion of green energy spread out of her, the resulting pressure wave slamming onto the shadows and completely annihilating them.

The green aura filled the remains of the room, washing over the black pool and instantly purifying it. The liquid lost it's dark color, settling onto the floor in the form of water.

"Impossible! How can you retain so much power here..."

The Hell Lord muttered in slight shock, noticing the effects she was having on his realm.

The light in his eyes grew in intensity.

"Tch, no matter. You will ultimately lose. I can't die while I'm in my realm. But the same can't be said about you."

His voice boomed out as he responded with a storm of red flames towards Gaea's face.

The pillar of flames, measuring dozens of feet thick, turned into a serpent that tried to coil around Gaea. It hissed, restraining her arms against her body.

Then it opened it's maw, and from within, a dedicated stream of fire washed out, completely covering Gaea's head and burning it.

The heat of the flames was intense enough that even though I was dream-walking, I could feel it!

Despite that, the Earth Goddess gave no reaction to show she was in pain.

Gaea backed a few steps away, then flexed. The Serpent's lower body was torn apart like wet paper.

The stream of flames died out as the flame serpent found it's neck grasped tightly by a wood covered hand.

"If this is the best you can do Mephisto, then you are an insult to the Lightbringer."

Gaea told the Hell Lord, her face and head appearing unharmed by the flames.

The Hell Lord did NOT like that.

It started as a low rumble. Then the ground below the platform broke apart, a miasma of Demonic energy rose up around Mephisto.

"You will die here Gaea! You and your human pet!"

Before my eyes, dark wings running with veins of Lava sprouted from his back.

Mephisto's form grew so large that his horned head reached the height of the destroyed ceiling, putting him eye level with the Earth Goddess.

His skin was no longer red, now an obsidian black with a muscular body that had the same red veins running through his body as they did across his wings.

The veins pulsed with his power and influence. Adding his own presence to Gaea's made it apparent that things were quickly becoming uncomfortable for me.

And I wasn't alone in that either. Below Gaea, the Ancient One stood between her legs while surrounded by a yellow shield.

Her forehead shone with sweat.

The shield had managed to stave off the effects of the fire but the temperature seemed to be getting to her. What was she still doing here? If I were her, I would have left.

Oh wait, I studied her positioning. She seemed to be guarding something.

My soul! Of course.

Fuck, I knew I was forgetting something.

On the pedestal infront of her, there was a sphere of white energy calling out to me.

That was my soul, I couldn't leave it here. I wasn't comfortable with the idea of anyone else apart from me having it in their possession.

I mean, would you?

The problem was I didn't know how it was going to work.

Would I even be able to touch it? Oh well that was a matter for later, right now I only had to figure out a way to steal it from under their noses.

I'm sure the Ancient One would understand. All things pointed to the fact she was here to try and save me after all.

I grit my teeth, pushing off my hands while staring at the top of the platform. Now I had to be careful here.

With the kind of pressure and power being thrown around, I could lose my whole existence here.

I can't pin point one exact moment since my transmigration that I'd felt so utterly weak and useless.

Maybe my encounter with the vampires during my first week here. But that was then, this was now. I was different.

Sure, not the strongest yet but neither was I the weakest. And I was definitely not useless. I refused to think of myself as that.

I looked around, eyes falling onto the purified water in the pool. I wonder...

I tried to extend my awareness out. I still couldn't move from my position on the floor but I didn't need to. The plan heavily relied on not being discovered. So minimal movements.

It took some time but...I was starting to feel it. The water. How it hadn't evaporated in the intense heat was anyone's guess.

After a few seconds, there was a ray of hope. The water begun glowing. That usually indicated it was under my control.

Good.

My happiness at the achievement was cut short as the battle between the two entities begun in ernest.

"You are too arrogant Gaea!"

Mephisto told her.

"Arriving in hell for a simple soul that your precious gods are going to fight over anyway?!"

Mephisto barked out, beating his wings forward on a direct path to her.

Wait...what did he say?

"Shut your mouth!"

Gaea responded valiantly, the bark on her arms extending into a black wooden lance.

"You know nothing Demon! The fate of the world rests on that boy's shoulder and you stole him away from me out of spite! I will not reason with you!"

She stabbed the spear onto the ground, causing huge vines to break out through the whole chamber, headed for Mephisto.

The Hell Lord hovered in the air, watching the attack coming for him, unafraid.

He swept out his hands, creating a massive sword of flames that managed to cut down the vines in a single move.

A shockwave was produced as a result, throwing me off the steps and into the air.

'Dammit. I can't stay here any longer. I need to make my move.'

I thought to myself, allowing the water within the pool to gently grab onto me from the air, without the other occupants in the room noticing.

The tentacle wrapped around my waist, pulling me into the depths of the pool.

Once inside, I moved quickly, headed to the other side of the platform where I knew the pedestal was.

The plan was to see if I could store my soul inside my hammer space. That would probably cause a paradox but I was willing to risk it.

Now the only problem was doing so undetected.

My speed increased along with my urgency. I was also careful to minimize the glow I left behind on my path.