-Mike-

The moment Mike and Charlie stepped through the fog door, it was evident that this floor was unlike the others. It was a singular space; a circular arena seemingly conceived just for combat. The entire arena was of ice, just like the rest of Tartarus's first block.

As the two of them stepped onto the circular stage, a drawbridge began to lift behind them, stranding them inside. Mike looked behind and beneath himself, staring over the ledge that bordered the entire arena, leading to the bottom of Tartarus. Though he was many stories up, he could make out the corpses of those who’d fallen. He could even make out Harut attempting to barter with yet another poor soul preparing to make the climb.

Remember that guy who fell when we first got here? You think this is where he was thrown off?

Mike nodded. “Looks like it.”

“So this is why all of those bodies are piled up at the entrance…” Charlie whispered, clutching their staff tightly against their chest. Charlie attempted not to think about joining those who'd plunged, though the more the mage tried, the more feelings of anxiety built up within them.

“And that’ll be you if you get in my way.” Mike said, slapping Charlie's back lightly before turning toward the stage. Charlie scoffed, curling their eyebrows at Mike as they stepped away from the stage, their gaze locking onto the stage's center.

A woman was seen sitting on the ground with her knees to her chest, her face covered by her hair whose strands were replaced by snakes. The serpent locs were the first to notice the two combatants, hissing and recoiling at their approach.

Meanwhile, Mike’s brows lowered and his jaw clenched as he summoned his war hammer; his poised eyes stared back at the serpents. Charlie, right beside him, pointed their staff at the woman, wearing the facade of bravery on their face despite their heart trying to burst through their chest.

Just as her serpent hair strands began to hiss, the mysterious woman raised her head from her knees, her eyes finding the two warriors who wandered into her lair. They were human in size and shape, however, the pupils were thin and long like a serpent's, and blood could be seen pouring out from her tear ducts, staining her pale face. A smile slowly adorned her face upon meeting gazes with Mike, ignoring Charlie completely. “So… You intend to ascend Tartarus…” Putting emphasis on each ‘s’, the woman’s tongue would stick out and rattle at the two humans. “I, Alecto, have zero intentions of letting you pass. Of every hundred that enters this floor, only five live to see what lies beyond.”

Shit! She’s the filter!

“Filter?” Mike repeated, raising a single brow.

In video games, there’s always a boss that the average player can’t beat, many quit the game right then and there. Usually, it’s meant to teach the player how to use game mechanics. It’s basically a knowledge check. All those guys that got thrown off have been filtered out by her!

Mike looked the woman up and down, considering everything Michael just said. If what Michael was saying was true, this woman would be their most formidable foe yet...

"I understand..." Mike muttered, slamming the blunt end of his hammer into his palm. “I’m gonna hit her really hard then.”

We're doomed.

The woman chuckled calmly, spreading her bat-like wings. As her wings lifted her off of the ground, her quiet laughter turned into a maniacal cackle. “Is that so, Michael Ray Thompson?”

Despite having no control over the main body, it was as if Michael could feel the sensation of his heart dropping upon hearing his name. However, he was not the Michael Ray Thomspon she was referring to.

Mike winced upon hearing his full legal name uttered by the demon whose eyes hadn't averted from him for even a split second. He expected Lucifer would know of him, but he didn’t expect some lower-level demon to speak his name. Alecto burst into laughter once more upon seeing Mike’s reaction, clasping her body as she hunched over and swayed her body side to side as if teasing him was orgasmic to her. “You must be wondering how I know of you, yes? My reason for being is the castigation of moral crimes used against others. For you, Michael Ray Thompson, it is your anger that hast cast you to Hell!”

Wow, who would have thought? Michael said sarcastically from the inside of their shared mind.

“Both of you shut up.” Mike said quietly. "So, what? It’s a sin to be angry? People are pissed off all the time!”

Alecto scoffed, tilting her head and squinting her eyes at Mike. Her grin faded; though she was still caressing herself with her clawed hands. “Yet, the average mortal does not murder eleven souls due to rage.”

Charlie’s eyebrows raised, compelling them to take one step away from Mike. ‘Eleven people?’ Charlie thought. It was to be expected that serial killers, and much worse, would be found in Hell. Yet, it wasn't until then that Charlie considered that the most vile of humans would be making the climb alongside them.

Mike’s eyes met Charlie’s for a split second before finding Alecto's gaze once more. “How many times do I have to say it, those assholes deserved to die! If I hadn’t killed them, then-” Mike stopped himself; just thinking about it enraged him. “It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. I’m not going to argue with some broad with snakes for hair!”

Alecto hummed humorously, stroking her upper arms and body. “Are those your final words before I grant you eternal damnation into the Inferno?”

“No. These are.” Michael raised his fist to the woman before his middle finger slowly lifted. "Fuck you!”

Alecto grimaced as her body floated backward. She had to have been fifty feet away from the two of them, yet she was preparing some sort of attack. Charlie was prepared to avoid whatever the hell it was that Alecto was planning, yet Mike stood completely still, studying her. ‘She’s going to attack me from all the way over there? Without a weapon?’

Dude, you should move.

“Shut it. I'm gonna.” Mike said between his teeth, still focused on the crazed guardian of the fifth floor.

As if she’d been fired from the barrel of a high-caliber rifle, Alecto burst forward, revealing her talons as she soared toward Mike! In what seemed like a single second, she was already within striking distance, prompting Mike to pivot his left leg, narrowly avoiding this attack! His eyes enlarged as he watched her talons inch past his face, yet not an ounce of fear could be read on his face.

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Alecto landed just past Mike and Charlie, giving them a small window to attack! Mike attacked her with three swings from his hammer while Charlie swung their staff side to side like an orchestra's conductor, firing small orbs of blue energy at their target. Alecto acted as if these attacks hardly even scratched her, turning back toward Mike before attempting a one-two combo with her clawed hands, completely ignoring Charlie. Mike dodged the first attack, leaning his body to the side like a boxer, before ducking the second attack! As Alecto’s arm whiffed over his body, Mike grinned as he attacked her with an upward swing. His metal hammer connecting with her jaw echoed off of the icy walls surrounding them; despite the power behind his blow, Alecto’s chin hardly recoiled backward. However, Mike would soon find out that her head bobbing backward wasn’t due to his attack, it was the result of her preparing her own! Before Mike could even react to what was in store for him, Alecto spat venom into his eyes, completely blinding him!

Though he could not see, his Health Points dropped by five, leaving him with only ninety-five Health Points remaining. However, this downward trend would continue as Mike found himself swept off his feet by Alecto’s tail, only for his chest met by a nasty slash from her claws, tearing through his armor like paper. This attack drew blood, causing Michael and Mike to switch places. Before either of them could realize what’d just happened or before their body could even hit the ground, they were met by a kick from Alecto, sending them barreling across the arena, coming to a rolling stop just at the edge of the arena.

-Michael-

The smartwatch started to chime, and though Michael’s sight was still slightly blurred, he could see that his Health Points were critical. He wouldn’t have time to do anything about it though, as Alecto flew toward him like a missile, just as she did before. Charlie continued conducting spells, though these spells weren't powerful enough to make a difference. Michael dodged Alecto's attack and began to panic for just a mere second. Yet, upon seeing how Alecto paused for a moment after whiffing her attack, Michael found himself experiencing flashbacks of when he’d play what was known as a ‘Souls-like’ game.

‘Right! Big attacks mean it’s my turn!' he thought. Just as Marut taught him, Michael willed the Health Potion into his hand and took a sip, restoring his Health Points back to maximum capacity. However, this action took up all of the time he'd earned from dodging Alecto's attack and once again, her sights were locked on him.

Give me the body back, kid!

“Hold on!” Michael uttered, making space between him and the serpent woman. “When we switch, there’s a period of disorientation, right?” As he spoke to his bodymate Michael was purely playing defensively, dodging, or rather, running away from the serpent’s attacks until he could find an opening. His movements were sloppy, but thanks to the minor increases in their Agility stat, he dodging halfway efficiently. “We have to wait until a specific window! We have to learn her attack pattern!”

Attack pattern!? Are you saying she has fixed attacks? That doesn't even make sense!

“It makes sense in video games! Haven’t you noticed she only does a handful of attacks!” As Michael said this, Alecto’s eyebrows furrowed.

‘Damn it all!’ she thought. Unfortunately for her, it was true. As much as she’d like to, she could only perform certain actions. Hell wasn't just Hell for humans, it was Hell for the demons that resided there as well. This was part of her punishment.

“Think about it! Hell is purgatory for these guys too! Being forced to play this game is their punishment!” While Michael continued to dodge, Mike was observing intentively through his eyes. Once he was finally paying attention, he realized that Michael was right.

That one-two attack.

Her venomous spit.

That sweep attack which nearly killed them.

These attacks were practically scripted animations from a video game.

There was only one mystery remaining. Why was she targeting Michael, ignoring Charlie completely? This same question repeated itself in the mage's mind. All Charlie could do was watch as Michael ran around like a chicken with its head cut off. A smile embellished their face for a moment, seeing his clumsy dodges, though that smile was quickly wiped away as Charlie summoned their Mana Flask and took a sip. For this next attack, Charlie would need every last drop of Mana they could spare.

Charlie's raven-colored hair began to flutter as intense pressure resonated from their staff, pointing it at Alecto. At the same time, a blinding blue light shone at the tip of their weapon, it was so harsh, that Charlie's eyes squinted reflexively, yet they remained latched on Alecto.

Still ignoring Charlie, Alecto once again reeled back, preparing for the same attack she opened with. “Here comes the bullet attack!” Michael said, narrowly dodging it. Without wasting a single moment, Michael slit his thumb with the sharp end of the war hammer and drew blood.

-Mike-

Mike took over, “Let’s kill this bitch!” he said, looking over at Charlie for a moment. 'The magic kid's about to hit her with something big. I'll pin her down!' As Alecto regained her balance, Mike wrapped his hammer behind Alecto's throat. As he choked her with all of his strength, Alecto moaned and wrapped her fingers around the hammer's handle. Both Michael and Mike had the exact same thought.

What a freak...

'What a freak...'

Mike couldn't believe his own strength, pinning the woman who was double his size against his own body. It was almost as if she was letting it happen...

"NOW CHARLIE!" Mike screamed, just as the energy around Charlie's weapon peaked. Charlie winced as that energy was released in the form of a gargantuan and blinding, cobalt and white beam. Mike couldn't keep his eyes open as the blast of energy flew toward him and the floor's boss. The moment it hit Alecto's chest, the serpent woman began to bellow and Mike found himself barely able to keep her in place as she writhed in her suffering. Charlie's arms were trembling due to the amount of energy being released from their staff, though they kept their weapon and beam stable.

After nearly half a minute, Charlie's blast ceased and Alecto fell to her knees with a charred cavity drilled into her chest. Mike then smacked Alecto in the temple with his hammer and her body fell lifelessly to the ground beneath his feet.

"So much for being a filter!" Mike said, kicking Alecto while she was down. Charlie ran over, looking down at Alecto alongside Mike.

"Is she... dead?" they asked.

"Looks like it to me." said Mike as his gaze locked onto Charlie's staff. "Say, kid. Why didn't you do that attack earlier?"

"It uses up all of my Mana and it's hard to land. I only use it when it's most opportune."

Mike lightly slapped Charlie's arm. "Well, good shit."

Charlie rubbed their arm shyly. "Thanks."

"Welp, let's get the hell outta here." Mike led the way, walking confidently toward their exit. However, the drawbridge hadn't fallen yet despite Alecto seemingly being defeated. "Hey, Michael. Ain't this door s'posed to open after we kill the bitch?"

Yeah, usually. The only time the door doesn't open is if... She's not actually dead! There's a second phase!

"Second phase?" Mike repeated, rearing his head. His eyes broadened upon seeing what was before him. Alecto's physical form had completely changed. Her body, which was once that of an alluring human woman, had become that of a humanoid bat. The joints in her legs were reversed and her entire body was covered in brown fur. The only piece of her that remained human-looking was her face, sporting a smile yet again.

Her arms were wrapped around Charlie's body, caressing their neck as they whispered into their ear. Charlie’s irises turned blood red, locking onto Mike as if they were in a trance. Alecto cackled, still stroking Charlie's neck and arms. “Your pretty mage is no longer your ally!" she told him, chuckling between her words.

Alecto placed her lips mere inches from Charlie's ears and began whispering orders sensually. "My lovely mage... Kill your friend for me, 'kay?"

Without hesitating and with the voice of an emotionless machine, Charlie answered. "Yes, Lady Alecto."