Chapter 20: Through the River of Hell

Natsumi turned to look at Celeste and Alex, her entire body covered from head to toe in the black, tar-like blood of the undead. She gave a tired but satisfied smile and sprinted toward them.

Once Natsumi approached, she spoke. “So where do we go from here?”

Alex replied, “Well, I have my updraft spell I just created, but I do not think it is strong enough yet to send us back to the hole we came from. I guess we could just follow along the river.”

Natsumi came up to Alex’s side and grabbed his hand. As they walked along the river, wherever it might lead, they cut down any zombie that dared approach.

As they were walking, Natsumi spoke up. “So, Alex, how did you get down here to Hell?”

Alex then recounted to Natsumi his story of how he was forced into the Neutral Layer, chased by demons, saved by Celeste, met God, and traveled through the Neutral Layer to the First Layer, where he and Celeste began their adventure.

Natsumi listened closely. “Well,” she said, “that is a lot to happen in such a short time. But what is a Nephilim? I have never heard that term before.”

Celeste glanced back and cut in, her tone calm yet thoughtful, ready to explain.

“A Nephilim is a child born between a fallen angel and a human,” Celeste said. “They are essentially superhuman. In one of his past lives, Alex was a Nephilim. When he went through the cycle of reincarnation, his Nephilim soul remained intact. God simply reawakened it, allowing that dormant power to resurface. It slightly transformed Alex, restoring some of his Nephilim strength so he could undertake this journey to reach the Eighth Layer of Hell.”

As they followed the bubbling river of blood deeper down, more hiker zombies crawled out from the sludge. Alex glanced toward Natsumi. “Did Celeste have you try using the powers of Muramasa yet?”

“No,” Natsumi said. “All I did was fight.”

“Well, it is really easy,” Alex continued. “If you focus and let your magical power seep into the katana, you can charge it. Then all you have to do is swing, and it will shoot out a blade of energy. Do you want to stop here and give it a try?”

Natsumi nodded eagerly, letting go of Alex’s hand as she stared down the approaching zombie hikers. Alex said, “Now focus. Feel that energy in your body and slowly push it into the sword.”

Natsumi closed her eyes, concentrating hard. She thought she had it, then swung. Nothing happened. As the zombie hikers drew closer, she tried several more times, but her attempts failed to channel mana into Muramasa.

Celeste calmly stepped forward, cutting down the remaining zombies with effortless precision. “Do not worry about it,” she said softly. “It may take a few tries, but you will get it eventually.”

They continued to follow the river, the bubbling black current winding endlessly through the cavern. As they walked, Celeste began to coach Natsumi on magic, teaching her the same lessons she once taught Alex. Her calm, patient voice echoed softly through the tunnels, mixing with the distant sound of rushing water.

The farther they traveled, the louder the sound became until they reached a vast, open lake of black blood. A massive waterfall of tar-like fluid poured from the sky above, cascading endlessly into the lake below. Every so often, the mangled bodies of dead hikers fell from the waterfall, vanishing beneath the surface as they slowly sank into the dark liquid.

Alex looked up at the towering flow. “Oh, so that is what I saw from Mount Fuji when we first arrived here,” he said quietly. “I was wondering what that liquid was.”

They stood in grim silence, watching as the black blood continued to rain down from Mount Fuji, feeding the lake and flowing into the river that ran beneath the city.

The group looked around, and then Natsumi spoke. “So, how do we even get out of here?” The three scanned the vast area until Celeste pointed across the lake. “Over there, on the other side. It looks like there is a stairwell climbing up that massive hole. All we have to do is go around the lake and head up the stairs. That should take us back to the surface, hopefully.”

Alex frowned, thinking it over. “That almost seems too good to be true. There has to be something. This is Hell, after all.”

The group continued to walk along the tar-like lake as the sound of the massive waterfall of black liquid and the splashing of corpses echoed through the cavern. As they made their way toward the stairwell on the far side that spiraled up the massive hole, an unfamiliar noise broke through the rhythm of falling water.

Natsumi stopped, turning toward the waterfall. At first she thought it was her imagination, but the sound persisted. She instinctively grabbed Alex’s arm tighter. “I have a really bad feeling,” she whispered.

The strange noise grew louder, and the group turned their attention toward the cascade of black, tar-like water.

Then, suddenly, a red light appeared in the center of the enormous waterfall. The glow grew brighter until a massive silhouette emerged from the cascading darkness. A colossal, one-eyed demon with enormous horns appeared before them. With every step it took toward them, chunks of the tar-like blood slid off its body, splashing into the lake and revealing the horrifying truth beneath. Its entire form was made of corpses, interlocked, twisted, and woven together into a single monstrous being.

The creature shambled forward through the lake, each movement sending ripples of black sludge across the water. As it reached the shore, it stepped into their path, towering over them. Its single, burning red eye fixed on the group before it unleashed a deafening roar. Chunks of rotten flesh and limbs flew from its gaping maw, landing with wet thuds at their feet.

Natsumi yelped in fear and darted behind Alex, peeking over his shoulder. “What is that?” she stammered.

Celeste’s eyes narrowed as she drew both her blades. “That is what is called a Corpse Giant,” she said. “Somewhere inside that mass is its core, the heart of the demon. Destroy it, and the body will collapse. Now get ready to fight.”

Alex unsheathed Onimaru, its edge gleaming faintly under the red glow. Celeste readied her swords beside him, while Natsumi raised Muramasa with trembling hands, bracing herself for the battle ahead.