The Married Life Of Immortals

‘I was hoping that we could work together, but you are just a loose cannon that needs to be melted down. I normally only set this to hard mode for other challengers, but I have turned it up to Nightmare Mode just for you,’ Baalaniur's voice said in his mind as Bane's head broke back up through the water.

"Oh, so now I have to deal with a level scaling difficulty?" Bane grumbled, and he felt Onyx roll his eyes.

'I expected this to happen. The Halls of Darkness is a strange artifact meant to be a fortress to keep out invaders, but it requires a large amount of demonic energy. That means it is not as useful in Dominion Online as it is here in the demon world that has an unlimited supply of demonic energy. While inside, the controller can force trials on the invaders, but they can also change the terrain and augment the troops defending each trial,' Onyx explained as Bane swam to shore and started to look around.

"So, what you are saying is that the asshole has an army of demons inside of here, and is going to try and use them to stop me?"

'Not an army, but a few stronger ones that have been augmented. Normally, the challenge would be to defeat the forces of darkness, but he has turned it to Nightmare mode, so you have to survive as well. Normally, a demon entering would be invincible, and there would be limits to each area, but as I am guessing, he can make changes and send the demon hordes after you at any time,' Onyx confirmed, and Bane nodded.

"Fantastic," Bane groaned, and then pulled out his storage cube, removing the demon skins Lex had given him. This was his first time looking at the info the demon had given him for each of the trails, and he had no clue how accurate the information would be, but it was the best he had.

"Well, this seems pretty useless after Ballin changed everything," Bane growled after scanning over everything twice. "This place is supposed to be a crater with a single demon in it, not a pond. This is going to be a lot more difficult than I thought. At least there are only two ways to go."

Bane looked up the path that led from the pool that was a long corridor lined with torches. The walls and floor were made of stone, and the path was straight, leading towards a door that was lit by a red light.

"Well, let's see what the fuck I am dealing with," Bane grumbled, and started down the path, his body tense and ready for anything, but he wasn't expecting to come to a room and find a single woman standing in the center.

The woman was dressed in a flowing dress made of dark silk, and had her arms wrapped around herself as she looked down the hall at him. She was a beautiful woman, but it was a twisted kind of beauty. Her eyes were completely black, her skin was pale white, and her long black hair framed her face like a mask.

"You are a very strange creature," she said in a whisper that chilled him, but Bane was not one to be intimidated by a single woman.

"That isn't fair, we only just met, you weirdo. Where do you come off calling me strange?" Bane retorted as he walked over with his elbow in one hand, while the other flopped in random directions.

"You don't seem to care at all," the woman said in a tone of disbelief, and Bane shrugged.

"I am a big boy. I can handle myself. What, are you going to try and stab me?" Bane asked, but the woman shook her head.

"No, but you can't hurt me. My master is very powerful, and he is the one that will punish you. I can feel his hatred for you, and I can sense the power radiating from you."

Bane put both hands on his hips, and rolled his eyes. "Do you really want to test that theory? I am not really good at holding back."

The woman smiled and shook her head. "I am not here to fight. I was told to stop you, so you cannot leave this place without defeating me."

"Your master has put you in a bad spot," Bane said with a shrug and walked over to the woman. "So how do this work? Arm wrestle? Or do I just take you down with a punch?"

The woman gave Bane a knowing look, and shrugged, stretching her arms out to the side. "I have the ability to make my body incorporeal. There is no way that your fists could ever-"

*Smack!*

A meager back hand from Bane sent the woman flying before she could even finish her sentence. It was not a powerful hit, but Bane's enhanced body packed a mean punch.

"Huh, well that was easy. Not that I am complaining, but I thought it would be more of a fight," Bane mused as the woman's limp form flew down the hall and landed with a wet slap against the door at the end.

"That's one way to do it, I suppose," Onyx commented, and Bane nodded, walking over to the woman who had her face pressed into the ground.

"Well, looks like she is out. I wonder if she has a key. Let's see if we can wake her up," Bane said, and grabbed the woman by her dress, and pulled her off the floor. He then lifted her up to his face, and proceeded to start shaking the demon woman awake.

"That is not the way to wake someone up," Onyx commented as the woman's body flopped around like a fish out of water.

"Hey, have you got any other suggestions? I would like to get out of here, and she is the door. We could be stuck in here for a while if we don't get out soon, and I don't know about you, but I really don't want to be in this place for long."

Onyx didn't answer, but the demon woman started to move, and Bane dropped her on her feet. She wobbled a little, but then seemed to snap to attention, staring up at Bane with a shocked look.

"How can you touch me?!"

"Why isn't the door opening?"

"Don't ignore my question!" The woman snapped, and Bane rolled his eyes.

"Would you like me to prove I can again?" Bane asked, and the woman narrowed her eyes at him, but then walked forward and put a hand on Bane's chest.

"Why can I touch you?" She asked, but Bane took her wrist with two fingers and pulled it from his chest.

"Whatever your issue is, it doesn't matter to me. I control demonic energy, so I just prevented your body from using whatever innate ability it has. Basic," Bane said with a yawn, and then let go of her wrist and pointed at the closed door. "Can you open it?"

"My name is Nia," the woman said as she looked up at him with a glowing pink heart and each one of her black eyes that Bane didn't like. "I will open the door for you, and I will never leave your side again. You are the first demon that has been able to touch me, and I touch you. You are the demon I am meant to stand beside and give my life and body to serve."

As the door opened behind him, Bane put his arms up to make an "X" while shaking his head. "I can see that glassy look in your eyes, woman, and those unnatural weird glowing hearts. Negative. I have a wife, and I am not looking for more."