[continued from Match 20]

Beneath the abyss, the lifeless corpse of Gezora sank. What was once a mighty cephalopod had been slain by a living nightmare. Vile fluid continued to seep from its split cranium, staining the crystal clear water with its alien blood. The thing that killed it fled the area, seeking far greater opposition and life to end. But the demonic thing knew naught of what it had just done. From the split body of Gezora, a strange glow emerged. Like a nocturnal animal emerging from its cave at night, the glow moved as if it were alive and seeing the world for the first time. Like a giant worm, the glow continued to tear itself free from its murdered vessel. This was what controlled Gezora. This is what had transformed a simple squid into a towering abomination of unholy size.

Kumasogami may very well be a demon from the burning reaches of Hell, but this universe contained its own demons. And now that walking juggernaut of corruption had started a war with an entity just as vile and just as ruthless...

- Two Weeks Later –

On the coastline of Japan, the horrible thing began wrecking havoc. The demonic entity was hell-bent on the destruction of all life and to transform the beautiful planet of Earth into a wasteland of hellfire and brimstone. Even now, the skies were darkening and the rain that fell was near the boiling point. Fissures were opening up everywhere its horrible steps took it, spitting fire and magma across the city. Kumasogami chuckled as humanity tried fighting back, pelting it with missiles and other explosives. Nothing worked. Their puny weapons were like gnats to him. He swiped attack helicopters out of the air with demonic swords and struck overhead bombers and jets with explosive arrows.

But then he heard it. It was the sound of something else. A high-pitched squeal caused Kumasogami to turn his ugly head around. Emerging from the water was a monstrous turtle. A massive and multi-pointed shell was like a living island making landfall. Powerful legs tipped with bone-white, razor-sharp claws dug trenches into the sand. Its head armored with monstrous jaws and dagger-like teeth.

Kumasogami spun his body around, lowering his arms as the bow and arrows sunk into his forearms before erupting into serrated swords. The demon snorted as Kamoebas crawled on land. But there was something about this reptile, something familiar. The way it looked at the hell spawn, it was as if it knew him.

Then it hit him.

It did know him! Kumasogami could sense the evil thing that drove the reptile. It was the same thing it could sense inside of Gezora. Whatever it was, it had returned for retribution. It had stolen the body of one of God’s other many creatures and twisted it into something of nightmarish proportions. Kumasogami stepped back as Kamoebas continued its advance. The turtle cried out once more as it reared onto its hind legs, flailing its front limbs as its mighty jaws generated tremendous snapping sounds. It then fell back down to the ground, causing the streets to crater and ground to tremor. Kumasogami wasted no time and charged, bringing his twin swords down upon Kamoebas back. The turtle’s head retracted into his shell as bits of the hard shell flew in every direction. As the swords pulled back up, they began to morph once more. They became wider and heavier, taking on the form of hammers. The demon brought them down, smashing the shell as if it were an anvil. More chunks of the shell broke off as Kumasogami’s rolling chuckles echoed for miles.

This was no challenge!

Kamoebas shrieked as the hammers lifted and came crashing down again. Its head shot forth like a spear. Its snapping jaws latched onto the demon’s inner thigh. Sharp teeth penetrated the rocky exterior of the demon’s body. Boiling fluid began to spill into the reptile’s mouth and onto the ruined ground below. The entity snarled, lifting its hands in order to bring them down upon Kamoebas’ neck. The reptile’s eyes looked up and its jaws released the thing. Its head shot back into its shell faster than lighting, causing both hammers to hit nothing but the ground. The demon was now hunched over awkwardly and Kamoebas took its chance, shooting its head out again and using its armored skull as a battering ram, colliding with Kumasogami’s own. A thunderous boom sounded as the demon stumbled back, tripping over his own feet.

He fell with a groan, landing hard on his back. Kamoebas moved with surprising speed for a monstrous turtle. Like a rapid dog, it began to bite and claw at Kumasogami’s feet. The demon sat up, transforming his hands back into his notorious bow and arrows. It fired point blank, covering the upper body of the marine reptile in a series of explosions. The turtle released the demon’s legs and moved back as another volley of arrows detonated. It retracted its limbs back into its shell, protecting its flesh from the blistering heat and explosions generated by the assault. Kumasogami pulled its arms apart and began to climb back to his feet. He snorted, moving both of his arms outward and transforming them into his massive hammers once again. He moved in from the side, careful to avoid Kamoebas’ head opening. Instead he began to hammer it from the side, blow after blow, in an attempt to crack the shell like an egg.

Crimson ooze began to seep from the armor after several impacts. Soften cries of agony came from within the shell as the armor broke. Suddenly, Kamoebas’ head erupted from its shell. The snapping jaws were carried back a long neck, once again taking the demon by surprise. The head wrapped around to the side, still able to reach its target. The jaws sunk into the mid-section of Kumasogami’s side. The dagger-like teeth sunk in to the base of the turtle’s gums. The demon’s wail of pain sounded as it used its hammers to clobber Kamoebas’ armored skull. Blood quickly began to flow, but the turtle’s body was moving to reposition itself behind its head. Its legs began to push up, pulling Kamoebas up and Kumasogami down.

Soon the turtle was on top of its opponent, biting and slashing like wild. The demon’s arms fell to his sides, the hammers flattening and widening into rectangles. Jagged teeth formed on the edges as Kumasogami turned his hands into monstrous bone saws. He then lashed out, driving the saws into either side of Kamoebas. He began to saw like mad, chewing through the armor and soft flesh underneath. The turtle cried in agony, releasing its victim in order to pull away.

Kumasogami was quick to climb back to his feet. He lunged, leaping onto the turtle’s back. He began to use his saws to hack away at the armor and sides of the monstrous turtle. Kamoebas began to buckle in an attempt to dislodge the demon. Its mouth shot up and around, snapping at the thing’s ankle’s and shins. It took massive bites out of its legs, but the demon was focused on ending its life. Thick streams of blood began to flow from the trenches into the reptile’s body. Kamoebas began to panic. The thing that controlled it couldn’t allow itself to be bested once again. This was its domain, not some hellspawn’s!

Its cruel eyes then spotted it.

Not far away, the open sea had to be the answer. Kamoebas’ hind legs began to push it to the sea. The demon was too determined to notice as he hacked and slashed. His hands transformed into a pick and axe, each blow cracking the shell and sides of his opponent. Each blow slowed Kamoebas’ crawl, but it too was determined to drag the demon into the water where, hopefully, it would have the upper hand.

By the time the demon noticed, it was far too late. Kamoebas’ jaws held it steady as it pushed itself into the bay. As the demon’s legs touched the salt water, steam began to rise and the water began to sizzle. Its rocky body was rapidly cooling. The fiend sounded its fury as he began to drive his weapons down harder and faster. Each blow sounded like a demonic drum, throwing chunks of shell and scale in every direction. However, Kamoebas refused to release him. Kumasogami tried pulling away and climbed off of its shell, but the water was already cooling the lava that acted as its blood. Its legs were, at this point, logs of solid rock. It crashed onto its knees as Kamoebas tugged at its body. The demon’s three-pointed eye began to fade as the hellfire that gave it life was extinguished. Its movements began to lessen as the sea flooded every opening in its body, rapidly cooling and solidifying its molten body.

Soon, only its head and arms stuck out of the water as gloom statues. Kamoebas hissed, standing upright as the water flowed over its body and continued to steam. The turtle was victorious. More importantly, the entity that created and drove it was victorious. Not only did it gain its retribution, but it toppled one of the biggest pieces of opposition it faced in its conquest of the planet. While it may have just saved the world from the fiery pits of Hell, now it could introduce the world to a new type of Hell, one populated by its own unnatural abominations...