Into Hellfire

Chapter Six

Crossing over the threshold into the Nether was, quite literally, like entering Hell itself. In fact, it was entering Hell itself. Several of the Frostbourne broke stride upon hitting the Nether's intense heat, but they didn't have time to get used to it as a group of Wither Skeletons charged at their forward lines. Rain and Stella were the first to engage them, having led the army forward. Upon clashing with the charred skeletons, Rain swung his mighty Greatsword, cleaving through a good portion of them like they were nothing. At his side, Stella began to cast her arcane magic through the Dragonseer's staff. The few Ender Watchers who remained followed Ceris's lead, charging fearlessly into the group, cutting down most of the skeletons who survived Rain and Stella.

Behind them, Patrick rallied his troops again, and forward again they marched. The Ender Watchers and the Nether Rebels hung along the Frostbourne Army's flanks, their weapons ready and waiting as they followed the Frostbourne Elite towards Naeus's citadel. Of course, as soon as their portal opened, the alarms were sounded and the Nether Horde began to rally. Their armies sat waiting on the large bridge to the Citadel, weapons drawn and ready to defend to the end. At the head of their wall stood Naeus, Amelia, and... Enderheart?

The Dragon Woman's eyes were crimson, staring daggers at the Frostbourne. Her horns had taken on the same red hue as Stella's, and her wings and claws had changed to match. As they drew close, Naeus signaled to her, and she let out a roar, charging towards the approaching army alongside several other Demons. At the head of the Frostbourne Army, Stella shrieked, a signal that every soldier understood and obeyed. The three factions charged directly at Enderheart and her Demons, weapons ready. The Elite were the first to hit the oncoming wave.

Ceris and Zeganirn led the Ender Watchers head-on into a group of Demons, their inherent ability to teleport making the Demons' fireballs useless. As the Endermen practically taunted the Demons, Ceris sliced through them one by one with her energy swords. Zeganirn backed her up, chomping and slicing any who made it through Ceris's wrath.

Abigail, Kronos, and Blair led the Nether Rebels into a group of flying Demons, the Wither Angels engaging the demons first and forcing them to the ground, where the Pigmen and the Wither Skeletons attacked. Once again, the Demons' fireballs were useless, due to the Skeletons and Pigmen having inherent fire resistance from their time in the Nether. Abigail planted the blade of her staff in one, swinging around on it and planting a kick in the face of another demon, snapping its neck. Kronos hacked and slashed through them with his axe, the Netherite blade slicing easily through flesh and bone. Blair had more trouble with the Demons, but her fiery skin prevented the Demons from getting to close to her, so she just slashed at them with her katana until they stopped moving.

General Patrick, Azura, Gabriel, and Amethyst led the Frostbourne Army forward, rushing right past Enderheart as they collided with the Nether Horde on the bridge. The two armies clashed as Patrick and Azura chose their targets. Azura and Amethyst went after Amelia while Patrick and Gabriel chose to take Naeus on directly. The Frostbourne General drew Enderheart's blades, charging forward without a care in the world while Gabriel directed his wing-blades at the Skeleton General. The God-General easily dodged both attacks, teleporting back behind Patrick. Unfortunately for him, the Grandmaster had predicted this, slashing back behind him, clipping Naeus's arm with Enderheart's blades. The Skeleton General's red eyes faded- barely a scratch had been enough. However, Naeus was still a competent fighter without his godlike powers, using his new Netherite spear to deflect every blow that Gabriel and Patrick delivered.

Amethyst and Azura bore down on Amelia with everything they had. The Nether Queen's dual daggers proved to be effective weapons in deflecting Azura's wrist blades, but Amethyst's magic was too powerful. One arcane blast was enough to knock Amelia off the bridge. Azura dove after her, unholstering her SMGs and mag dumping towards the Queen. Amelia, amazingly, raised some kind of fiery shield, not only blocking every round, but also deflecting the molten metal back at Azura, who was forced to break contact in order to dodge. However, Amy was already waiting at the bottom, arcane blades in both hands. Amelia flipped in the air, her daggers colliding with Amy's swords. Immediately, she kicked off of Amy, knocking the smaller girl to the ground and allowing her to gain some distance.

Azura was about to dive-bomb Amelia when she heard a scream, and as she looked back, the entire Frostbourne army had begun to retreat alongside Gabriel and Patrick. On another look, she saw why.

Two massive dragons now sat in the center of the battlefield.