Chapter Text
The War Devil had never felt like this.
Everything was silent.
She's not used to hearing nothing, feeling nothing, doing nothing like this. The place in hell she is most comfortable in was always changing, always at war, warm from burning fields and wet with the blood of her slain enemies and allies. But all of it had disappeared.
Her Body? Gone.
Her Weapons? Gone.
All the power she spent so long cultivating and growing? Gone like it had never existed.
Being powerless is an alien feeling to her, she could make the mightiest of devils kneel and beg for their lives with only a touch, but now any contact with another devil would destroy her. All the power she had streaming through her veins had disappeared, she felt empty. Everything taken away by that one devil who couldn't stay dead. It had been the final challenge for her, when even the Primal Devils avoided her like they avoided each other she knew there was only one who would fight her. And being the War Devil, the only true warrior of hell, she took the challenge on.
Stupid!
Stupid!
Stupid!
She should have never trusted them! Her own sisters betrayed her in battle. They had never fully trusted each other but she had always shown them the respect they deserved, or what I thought they deserved. The recent Conquest, who she had always felt closer to than her other sisters, had trapped her with the Chainsaw Devil and watched. Famine had listened to her cries for help, too cowardly to do anything. And Death, well she was always too far removed from the others to even care, too busy doing nothing and being pretentious. All had they refused to help or intervene as she and Chainsaw Man tore each other to shreds, until she finally had nothing left.
Wait?,
Did I die?
She's not sure. She doesn't feel like she is anywhere at all, just floating in the nothingness, like all her senses were removed from her body completely unable to affect anything, removed from any cause or consequence. Maybe it's better this way? She likes the silence, after ages of hearing the noises of war and dying devils around her it's nice to finally have something else. Maybe it could help her think more clearly. Maybe she should just give into the silence and keep floating alo...
NO!!!
She feels a sharp pain somewhere deep within her, telling her to stay awake. She remembers seeing the flashing light of Chainsaw Man's eyes before her and feeling the immeasurable pain of being eaten by him and being torn up again and again and again while she desperately tries to heal herself. She remembers her desperate attempts to attack him, never managing to completely destroy his body. She remembers hittting him one last time.......... and nothing.
She remembers nothing after that. The vision abruptly stops, leaving her mind in the same dull state as before. At least I know I'm not dead now. She returns to the silence, but there's something different about it, a nagging in the back of her mind. How long had she been here? She tries to recall but the pain in her memory is too unbearable to handle in this state.
I have to do something.
Suddenly she hates the silence. It's like something is pressing on her ears, telling her to do something about it. She wants the war noises back, no, anything would be enough. But there is nothing she can do. She doesn't have a body, everything she usually relies on is gone. If she still had eyes she knows she would be crying, she feels more helpless than ever, she is useless. She has never been useless before! Unlike those cowards of sisters she had always fought for as long as she could, until she won. She's a warrior, she's the War Devil! She doesn't give up.
A light flickers in her memory, something she recognizes, a similar feeling she inherited from the previous incarnation of War. A similar feeling of helplessness, like she knew what was coming but could do nothing about it, it was the last thing she thought before she died. The last time she died. The last time...
I DON'T WANT TO DIE
She feels the panic rising in her. But with it comes power, the power to do something. And she does what she had always done and turns to face the threat. For she is War, and she ALWAYS has to fight.
She feels the pain tearing into her again, but it's different now, it's fueling her. She makes her decision, and jumps into the abyss, using the last power she manages to scrape together. She's afraid of death but she has a purpose now.
And she falls
and falls
and falls
until she feels something again
While she flies down she feels her senses returning as a new body forms around her, fragile and weak, but it's enough to keep going. And for the first time in hundreds of years she feels the cold wind in her face. She breathes in and feels the energy flowing through her muscles as she begins to fly again.
Her body is much smaller than usual, she could feel the wind pulling on her feathers trying to pull her away, trying to take control of what little she had left. But she was used to this, it's not much different from what happened in hell, although there the wind was made of devils clinging onto her wings as she took off. She smells the rain and heard the water droplets falling on her beak. Finally she opens her eyes and saw the world beneath her.
She hasn't seen the world outside of hell in a long time, but it's not that different here. It's night time and she can't see clearly because of the rain, but she can make out that she's flying above a simple grass field surrounded by rows of trees. This new form has much weaker eyesight. Beyond the trees more fields appear and continue for as far as she can see. It looks a lot like the peaceful parts of hell, the regions where no regular devil dares to go and the Primals make their home. But this does not look that dangerous.
She needs to rest, her weak new wings already feel tired after only a few minutes of flying. A tree will have to do, no place here is worthy of the War Devil anyways. She sits down on a branch, making herself as comfortable as she can in this state, and thinks about what has to happen now. She's weak, weaker than she's ever been, she can't rely on her strength or speed or weapons anymore. Her allies have either left her or can't reach her anymore, she's alone on earth with the rain and the branches. But whatever she will do next, her goal is clear as day.
I will make you pay Chainsaw Man!