As Cerbus reigned a furry of attacks on the battlefield, something very eerily appeared. The rebels eyes started glowing with an unnatural, ethereal light. Their frenzied retreat abruptly turned into coordinated, robotic movements, as if they were being manipulated by an unseen puppeteer. The battlefield, which moments ago had been pure chaos, shifted into eerie, synchronized order.
The pale-skinned general’s panic deepened as he noticed the change. His clawed hands clenched tightly around the hilt of his massive sword, his red eyes darting across the battlefield. "What is this? What’s happening to them?" he growled, his voice laced with a rare blend of anger and fear.
The four-armed demon at his side snarled, his dog-like muzzle twitching as he observed the strange phenomenon. “General, this isn’t Cerberus’s doing… something else is here.”
Before the general could respond, a new figure emerged from the shadows—a tall, slender demon cloaked in swirling darkness. Their form was indistinct, their features obscured by an aura of malevolence that seemed to warp the very air around them. Their voice, smooth and otherworldly, echoed across the battlefield.
"You were fools to think rebellion would go unnoticed by the higher planes of Hell," the figure intoned. "Now, you will pay the price for your insubordination."
The possessed hordes of demons, monsters, and souls turned towards the general, their once chaotic movements now frighteningly precise. They charged as one, an army united not by choice but by force.
Cerberus, undeterred, let out another earth-shattering roar. The three-headed beast lunged forward, his massive jaws snapping and tearing through the possessed masses. Flames erupted from his mouths, incinerating dozens at a time, but their glowing eyes fixed on the general. At this moment, the tide of battle shifted.
The general, trying to regain his composure, bellowed at his remaining forces. “Don’t just stand there! Fight, you cowards! Fight or be damned forever!”
But his words fell on deaf ears. The unpossessed demons, already overwhelmed by fear, scattered in every direction, their loyalty crumbling under the weight of Cerberus’s wrath and the mysterious figure’s influence.
The guide and the soul, still hidden in the shadows, watched the unfolding chaos with a mix of horror and fascination.
“Who is that?” the soul whispered, pointing toward the cloaked figure.
The guide’s expression darkened, their earlier elation replaced by grim determination. “That’s no mere demon… That’s an Archfiend. They’re enforcers of Hell’s deepest laws, sent only when the natural order is threatened.”
The soul’s eyes widened. “An Archfiend? But why would they possess the rebels?”
“To punish them,” the guide replied. “Cerberus maintains order, but the Archfiends ensure obedience. By seizing control of the rebels, they’re sending a message to every circle of Hell: defiance will not be tolerated.”
Cerberus roared again, his three heads snapping and tearing through the possessed horde with unrelenting fury. The glowing-eyed attackers paid no mind, their sole focus on the pale-skinned general.
Now backed into a corner, the pale-skinned general gritted his teeth and raised his sword. “If Hell itself has turned against us, then I’ll carve my own path to the ninth circle! None of you will stop me—not Cerberus, not an Archfiend, not anyone!”
As he charged forward, aiming to cut through the possessed masses, the cloaked Archfiend turned its gaze upon him. For the first time, the general hesitated, the oppressive aura of the figure freezing him in his tracks.
“You,” the Archfiend said, their voice colder than the icy winds of the ninth circle. “You are the one who incited this rebellion. You will be the first to fall.”
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The battlefield trembled as the Archfiend extended a hand toward the general, and dark tendrils of energy began to coil around him. For the first time in his existence, the pale-skinned general felt true terror.
Meanwhile, from their hidden perch, the guide and the soul watched as the Archfiend’s tendrils ensnared the pale-skinned general. The soul trembled, their hands clasped tightly together, while the guide’s grim demeanor softened for the first time.
“It’s over,” the guide whispered, their hollow voice filled with relief. “The Archfiend has dealt the final blow. The rebellion will be crushed, and order will be restored.”
The soul exhaled shakily, nodding in agreement. “Finally… I thought we wouldn’t make it. I thought…” Their voice trailed off, their gaze fixated on the battlefield where the Archfiend loomed, a shadowy figure of authority.
The guide placed a reassuring hand on the soul’s shoulder. “You’re safe now. Cerberus will return to his post, and Hell will be as it was. The general’s madness has been stopped.”
As they spoke, a fiery shockwave erupted across the battlefield. The guide stiffened, their face contorting in confusion. “What—what is that?”
The soul flinched, shielding their eyes from the blinding red light that engulfed the battlefield. “It’s… it’s just the Archfiend, right? Finishing the job?”
But the guide didn’t answer.
As soon as, the Archfiend was prepared to deliver the final blow, a voice—low, guttural, and dripping with malice—cut through the air like a blade. It carried a weight far beyond even the Archfiend's authority, shaking the very fabric of Hell itself.
“Do you think a little Archfiend and a puppy are all it takes to stop this war?”
The sound of the voice froze everything in place. Cerberus halted mid-lunge, his three heads turning toward the source of the sound, snarling uneasily. The Archfiend’s eyes widened, their icy composure breaking as fear flooded their features.
“No… it can’t be…” the Archfiend whispered.
The general, still kneeling and writhing in the tendrils’ grip, suddenly began to laugh—a manic, uncontrollable sound that reverberated through the battlefield. His crimson eyes gleamed with a newfound frenzy as the oppressive tendrils around him began to dissolve.
“Do you hear that?” the general rasped, his voice rising in hysteria. “Do you hear him? He’s here! You thought you could end me, Archfiend? You thought this rebellion would die with me? You were wrong!”
Cerberus growled, his three heads snapping and baring teeth, but even he hesitated, sensing that sinsiter voice.
The Archfiend, now visibly shaken, turned to face the source of the voice. “This… this power… it cannot be…”
Before they could speak another word, a fiery, jagged spear materialized in the air, streaking forward with impossible speed. The weapon struck them square in the chest, impaling them and pinning them to the ground. Their eyes widened in shock as the glow of their life force flickered and faded.
The guide and soul watched in stunned horror as a fiery spear appeared out of thin air and struck the Archfiend with devastating precision. The enforcer of Hell didn’t even have time to retaliate; their body dissolved into ash as the sinister voice echoed again, low and mocking.
"Do you think I would allow such incompetence to rule this war?” the sinister voice sneered, as the Archfiend’s body disintegrated into ash. “Your pathetic strings couldn’t hold these creatures forever. They are mine now.”
A shockwave tore through the battlefield, a fiery red light bursting forth and bathing every demon, monster, and soul in its hellish glow. The possessed rebels, who moments ago moved under the Archfiend’s control, now stood upright, their eyes burning with a strange, crimson radiance. One by one, their forms began to twist and transform, their bodies growing larger, more grotesque, and infinitely more powerful. The transformation swept across the battlefield in perfect unison, their roars of pain and fury melding into a single, earth-shattering cry of defiance.
The pale-skinned general rose to his feet, his body surrounded by a flaming aura that seemed to shield him from the chaos. His laughter grew louder, his hideous smile returning in full force. “The master has arrived! All of Hell will tremble before his power!”
The guide’s grip on the soul tightened as they both recoiled in terror. “This isn’t supposed to happen,” the guide muttered, their voice cracking. “This… this is something far beyond the Archfiend. Beyond even Cerberus.”
Meanwhile, the soul shook his head in disbelief, tears streaming down his face. “What do we do? We can’t stay here!”
But for the first time, the guide had no answer. They simply stared at the battlefield, where the rebellion, instead of collapsing, was being reborn in a terrifying, unified force under a power neither of them dared to name.
While, in the distance, the outline of an enormous, shadowed figure began to take shape. Flames and smoke coiled around its towering form, and the very ground beneath the battlefield cracked and splintered under its presence. The rebellion had found its true leader, and Hell itself was on the brink of devastation.