Tale From The Afterlife - a Helluva Boss Fan Story

Chapter 63. Sisters in Chains: Blood and Betrayal

Content Warning: This chapter contains graphic depictions of violence, including but not limited to bloodshed, mutilation, and death. It also includes themes of abuse, torture, human trafficking, and captivity. Reader discretion is advised.

Once at the bottom of the long ladder, Vergil and Loona trudged through a dimly lit tunnel, the echoes of their footsteps bouncing off the steel walls and concrete floor. The male wolf now started to feel a little nervous, given the revelation that The Butcher not only had an illegal underground fighting ring also had a drug operation, what else were they about to see. The female hellhound had a look of determination on her face that non-verbally said "We are taking this asshole down HERE! AND! NOW!" She readied her shotgun, ready to air out the place. At one point the two assassins were in front of a gate with faint cheering behind it. The male canine closed his eyes for a second, mentally preparing himself for what kind of horror they were about to see. The two assassins opened the metallic gate and the view behind it sent chills down Vergil's spine.

A giant fighting ring was at the center of the room, surrounded by tiered seating packed to the brim with spectators. It was like a twisted sporting event, with bloodthirsty onlookers, eagerly watching and cheering as at the moment an anthro lion was beating the life out of a pack of anthro wolves, with some of the canines being turned into nothing more than blood and guts. Vergil's eyes widened in shock at what he was looking at. "This ... is a nightmare..." he whispered, unable to take his eyes away from the ring. One of the wolf fighters dropped to their knees, begging for mercy, only for the lion to tear his head off. Vergil averted his eyes as the death happened and just started crouch-walking away in the hopes of finding the crime lord as soon as possible. Loona, who was beside him, tapped his shoulder urgently. "Vergil, over there," she said, pointing at the upper rows of the stadium.

There, in the shadowy alcoves, were rows of small rooms. The two wolves went over to the nearest of the small rooms to find two guards patrolling looking over chained up prisoners. Vergil, without wasting a second, unlocks the door with his claws, with the pretty loud cheers masking the noise he's making. From the outside, Vergil and Loona could hear conversation happening between the guards, the topic at hand being whether or not to eat one of the prisoners, who was a chicken, when they get killed. Once the door was opened, the two guards were stationed to where they were looking at each other. As the audience roared into cheer and applause, Vergil shot out the kneecaps of the guard in front of him with the pistol and put him in a chokehold. As the other guard was ready to panic fire, Loona leaped at him and ripped his throat out with her fangs. The prisoners were all shocked at what just happened, with some teary eyed, cowering in fear as they didn't want to be killed next.

Once Vergil knocked out his guard, he closed the door of the room so that nobody would see what they were up to. After that Vergil and Loona unlocked the cuffs of the prisoners one by one, with the male wolf assuring them that they are here to help. The chicken prisoner hugged him tightly as she was weeping, continuously murmuring that she doesn't want to die. It was then that the male canine found out ... they were trafficking people to use as fighters. That fact, coupled with what he saw at the ring, made him absolutely furious.

Suddenly, a loud chant erupted from the crowd outside. "Bloodclaw! Bloodclaw! Bloodclaw!" That name echoed throughout the stadium. Vergil and Loona exchanged a concerned look before the male wolf, who was closer to the door, took a cautious peek through the small window in the door. In the center of the ring, flanked by heavily armed guards, stood a powerful-looking tigress. Her forearms were all fully bald so they were covered in bandages. Her eyes burned with a fierce intensity, and the scars all over her body served as mementos for the countless battles she's been through.

One of the prisoners, an older anthro dog with graying fur, whispered in a hoarse voice, "That's ... Bloodclaw. Taken in by The Butcher after he killed their father. Raised both her and her sister like his own. Both were trained to be champions." Both Vergil and Loona's ears perked up, with the female hellhound listening very intently on what the prisoner had to say. "Who the hell would do such a thing? To children no less..." the male wolf asked, with sadness permeating in his voice. Another prisoner, an old rooster pipes up, stopping the initial conversation in its

Rooster: "Hell wolves feeling sympathy for the living, I wouldn't have believed it, if I didn't see it with my own eyes."

Loona: "Hey! Just because we are hellhounds does not mean we are emotionless killing machines. Now, unless you have something to add, shut up!"