Tale From The Afterlife - a Helluva Boss Fan Story

Chapter 64. Sisters in Chains: Embers of Redemption

Content Warning: This chapter contains scenes of violence, including graphic depictions of combat, injuries, and death. It also includes themes of trauma, abuse, and captivity. Reader discretion is advised.

As the trio made their way through the dimly lit corridors of the complex, footsteps echoing against the concrete floor, Sylra suddenly came to a halt. Her keen senses caught a familiar scent wafting through the air, drawing her attention to a nearby door marked "Morgue". Without a word, she turned towards it, her expression unreadable as she pushed the door open. Vergil and Loona exchanged a glance before following her inside. The morgue was a somber place, lined with rows upon rows of compartments, each labeled with a name and a date of death. The air was heavy with the scent of formaldehyde and decay, a chilling reminder of the fragility of life.

Sylra saw that most of the compartment labels had the same date of death, because she filled the majority of her morgue with her fights. Her eyes then came to rest on one of the body bags that was recently rolled in and was partially open - the lion. Bullet hole in his head as his eyes stared blankly into the void. Silently, Bloodclaw approached the lion's body and with a gentle touch, she reached out and closed his eyes, offering a silent prayer for his soul. Her final words to her opponent being "Rest in Peace, Regulus" as she read off the label on his body bag before zipping it up fully. Her reverence didn't stop there. With a heavy heart, she moved through the compartments, paying respects to each of the fallen warriors, whose life she had ended in the brutal arena. Sylra apologized for the pain she had caused, for the lives she had taken, her voice barely above a whisper. One name stood out to the pair of assassins however as it was the same name as the client who gave them the contract. This meant that their client was killed by the tigress and yet instead of seeking revenge on the direct opponent, he instead decided to bring down the entire operation.

To Vergil this looked familiar as it felt like the same scenario that Elena, the Viper was in when they had to take her out. Yet here, Bloodclaw was able to pray for them and ask for forgiveness more directly, instead of writing down her thoughts and prayers in journals. As the tigress finished her vigil, the trio stood together in silence at the morgue, with Sylra getting a somber reminder of the cost of her inactions against the Butcher. As they turned to leave, the female tiger's heart weighed with her sins as she vowed to carry the memories of those who were slain by her.

A guard platoon rounded the corner just as the trio was about to continue their mission. Three armed guards, their expressions grim and determined, stood in their path. But before they could react, Vergil used his teleportation, causing him to vanish from one spot and reappear behind the guards in the blink of an eye. With lightning-fast precision, Vergil dispatched two of the guards with well-placed pistol shots to the back of their necks, dropping them silently on the ground. The third guard barely had time to register what happened before Vergil pounced, using his agility to wrap his legs around the guard's torso and slam him forcefully onto the cold floor.

"You better tell me where the armory is or else I am going to feed you an incendiary grenade and watch as you melt into the floor!" the male wolf demanded, his eyes burning with intensity. The guard, stunned and disorientated, stammered out a response, pointing shakily down the corridor they came from and to the right. Without another word, the white wolf released him and then chopped his head off with a flame blade created from his fire as it was the quickest death he could think of. Bloodclaw was confused at first on why Vergil would ask for the armory, given they both have weapons on them. Vergil explains that the tigress needs a weapon too.

Sylra didn't contest Vergil's decision, believing it was the smarter idea as the battle ahead could be tough. As the trio reached the armory, the tigress ignored the firearms and instead went straight for the big sword that Regulus had brandished in their fight. She swung the weapon a few times, getting accustomed to the weight of the weapon in her hands. Vergil and Loona just restocked on ammo and grenades, though with the male wolf also adding frag grenades in his arsenal. As they were getting ready it seemed like the alarms were pulled as they all could hear a large number of footsteps headed in their direction.