Tearing Open the Gates of Hell
Creak.
"Huh?"
Doha tilted his head, hand pressed against the gate that led into Hell. He had put a fair amount of force into it, yet the door refused to budge. Not his full strength, of course — but enough to shove a bus aside without breaking a sweat. The gate did not so much as tremble.
"Ugly piece of work, isn't it."
He shook his head, staring up at the colossal doors that stretched toward the sky. Whoever had designed this thing had a truly grotesque sense of aesthetics. The surface looked as though lava had once poured across it, and faces of screaming humans were carved into every inch.
"Not just humans, either."
Looking closer, he found angels and demons among them — and the faces of monsters as well. Every last one wore an expression of pure agony.
"So how am I supposed to open this?"
He spun around and looked back toward the Nile River. He had meant to ask the ferryman how the gate worked, but the man was already gone.
"Guess I'll just smash it open."
Boom!
Doha turned back to the gate and drove his fist into it.
And then—
Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!
Guaaaaargh!
Gueeeehk.
Every face carved into the door began to scream at once, as though they were truly suffering the torments of Hell.
"That's unpleasant."
Doha's brow furrowed at the spectacle. He drew up his power.
Baek-bo Myeol-hwang Gong — Third Step: Cheon-hyeon-geum-gang.
Shwaaaaah!
Six enormous arms of golden light bloomed into existence behind his back.
"There's a limit to how much eardrum terrorism I'll put up with."
The six golden arms seized the Gates of Hell.
And then—
Kwa-deu-deu-deu-deu-deu-deuk!
Veins bulged across all six arms as they tore the Hell Gate clean in half.
Kwaaaang.
"Ugh… feels like all I've done since arriving in the Underworld is cause trouble."
Doha scratched his head, staring at the gate now shredded like paper. This had not been the plan. He had assumed Canteas would handle the Trial Gate on his own and had no intention of getting involved. He had only moved because of the possibility that Anubis might interfere — but was it really okay to be raising this much hell?
"Anyway, where am I supposed to find Canteas?"
Having ripped the Underworld Gate free and stepped inside, Doha glanced around. He had ridden the ferryman's boat this far, but he had no idea where the Trial Gate actually was.
"Hm?"
As he scanned the surroundings, he spotted someone in the distance sprinting toward him, golden staff in hand.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Oh, come on. I thought you were Anubis."
The beast-headed figure had looked enough like Anubis at a glance, but it wasn't him. Similar appearance, different energy, different face.
"Some kind of gatekeeper, maybe? Please tell me they don't all look like that."
That would be far too hideous… every single one of them identical. Surely that wasn't Anubis's personal aesthetic?
"A living human?!"
The gatekeeper, still charging at full speed, sniffed the air — and his eyes went wide. How had a living being crossed the Nile? The only way across was through the ferryman.
"Hey, can I ask for directions?"
"You madman!"
The gatekeeper bellowed at Doha's words. He had just torn the Hell Gate open by force, and the first thing out of his mouth was a request for directions?
"Look, don't pick a fight for no reason. Just point me the right way."
Shwaaaaak!
Grab!
One of the golden arms shot forward and seized the gatekeeper by the nape of the neck.
Squeeze.
"Ghk!"
Thud.
The massive hand clamped down hard, and the charging gatekeeper dropped to his knees on the spot — a thoroughly humiliating posture. But the grip on his neck was so crushing he could not break free.
Footsteps approached.
"I'm not looking to cause problems. Just give me directions."
"You force open the Hell Gate and now you claim you don't want to cause problems?!"
"That's right."
Smack!
Doha slapped the gatekeeper across the face.
"Correct answer."
"You bastard…!"
The enraged gatekeeper glared up at him — and one of the enormous golden arms hovering behind Doha began to drift slowly downward.
"Next time, that arm does the slapping."
"…"
"Well? Still not causing problems, am I?"
"…"
"Nothing to say? Maybe another slap will loosen your tongue."
"Ah… no problems yet."
"There we go."
Doha smiled, satisfied. If he was going to be this cooperative, why start by yelling?
This is so humiliating…
The gatekeeper clenched his teeth, body trembling. To suffer this kind of degradation at the hands of a mere human. But what was the man standing in front of him? How had he crossed the Nile? How had he torn open the Hell Gate? How was he this strong? Everything about him was a mystery.
"Answer my questions properly and you get to live."
"Didn't you just say you only wanted directions?"
"That was the original plan. Then you came at me, so now I've got more questions. That's what you get for trying to attack me."
"What kind of—"
The gatekeeper seethed. The one who had ripped open the Hell Gate and barged in was this man. He was a gatekeeper. Of course he was going to confront an intruder — was he supposed to give him a guided tour instead?
"Judging by that face, you've got a lot to say."
One of the golden arms beside him slowly clenched into a fist.
"Haha — a misunderstanding, I assure you. I just have a naturally fierce-looking face."
Confronted with those enormous, golden-glowing arms, the gatekeeper forced a pleasant smile. He still had no idea who this being was, but the power radiating from those arms was far beyond anything he could handle. And there weren't just one of them — there were six.
Don't tell me this is Asura…
Six arms, and power on this scale — who else could it be but Asura?
"How do I get to the Trial Gate?"
"What Trial Gate?"
"The one for becoming the King of the Underworld… no, the Lord of the Underworld."
"?"
"?"
The gatekeeper tilted his head. Doha tilted his right back. That wasn't a blank look of feigned ignorance — he genuinely seemed not to know.
"You know the Book of the Dead?"
"Of course. It's the artifact bestowed upon the King of the Underworld."
"And you don't know what happens if someone reads the whole thing?"
"No?"
"How do you not know that?"
"Because I've never read it…"
"…"
Doha's brow furrowed at the gatekeeper's shameless honesty. What a completely useless specimen.
"Doesn't know a thing. Just a door-watching idiot. Worthless."
"That's a bit harsh."
"Ah, sorry. Meant to keep that as an internal monologue…"
The gatekeeper's face crumpled as if wounded. So that was how the man had been cursing him in his head.
What now?
Should he just kill him? Holding onto someone who knew nothing was a pure waste of time. He could push deeper inside, grab someone else, and ask again — but the problem was what to do with this gatekeeper in the meantime. Leave him free and he might attack, or call for reinforcements. Kill him and it really would look like he was just rampaging through the place.
It'd be ideal if this guy guided me…
He might not know what the Trial Gate was, but he would at least know the geography of the Underworld. Having him along would keep Doha from wasting time wandering into useless places. The problem was that cooperation was clearly not on the table.
"Ah. Right. That'll work."
"?"
Doha clapped his hands. The gatekeeper tilted his head, a sudden unease crawling up his spine.
What was this bad feeling…?
Footsteps.
"Um…"
"What?"
Doha glanced at the gatekeeper walking beside him.
"Could you maybe remove this… unidentifiable force?"
Some strange power was controlling him. More precisely, it was forcibly moving his body. Something invisible was yanking his arms and legs around against his will. He wanted to shake it off, but it clung to him like a second skin, leaving him helpless.
"Where exactly are you taking me…?"
"Stop whining and wait. I've got a plan."
"…"
The gatekeeper's brow furrowed. That plan was exactly what made him nervous. What on earth was this man thinking, dragging him along like this?
"Oh — someone's over there. Colleague of yours?"
After walking for some time, Doha pointed toward a large figure in the distance. The being far ahead had the head of a bird.
Why does every single one of them have an animal head?
Anubis had a jackal's head. Surely not every creature in the Underworld looked like this?
"That is not a gatekeeper! That is an Investigator! Please don't pick a fight — just go around!"
"Stronger than you?"
"Obviously!"
"Your superior?"
"In human terms, yes."
"Oh, is that so?"
Doha grinned.
A chill ran down the gatekeeper's spine. What was that smile? Why was he suddenly smiling?
"Let's go say hello."
Doha flicked his hand, and the telekinetic force controlling the gatekeeper's body shifted.
"W-wait a second!"
His legs began moving on their own. The gatekeeper nearly jumped out of his skin. He had just said to go around — why was he being marched forward?!
"Hm? Forme. What brings you all the way out here? Your post is at the Hell Gate—"
The Investigator frowned at the gatekeeper named Forme. Abandoning one's post carried severe punishment. Forme had to know that.
But before the Investigator could finish speaking, Forme's body moved first.
Whoosh.
Shwaaaaaak!
Crack!
The Investigator, arms still folded, took a sudden blow to the head and crumpled to the ground.
"Aaaagh!"
Forme, still clutching his staff, let out a scream. His body had moved on its own and struck the Investigator across the skull.
"Wow. You're cold. Even if you hate your boss, you just haul off and hit him like that?"
"What have you done to me?!"
As Doha approached, shaking his head, Forme's face twisted into a miserable grimace. Just kill me already, you lunatic. What had he done to deserve this?
"Why are you mad at me? You're the one who hit your superior."
"That was you controlling— wait."
"Controlling what?"
Suddenly able to jab a finger at Doha, Forme went blank. Wait. Why could he move freely all of a sudden? Just a moment ago, some strange force had been puppeting his entire body.
"Well, what's done is done. I'll look the other way about you hitting the Investigator. Just give me a rough guide."
"Y-you planned this from the start…"
"You're an accomplice now."
Doha murmured the words softly, a thin, wicked smile spreading across his face.