4 The Sustenance Blade

"Wha-"

*Splash*

Without much hesitation, Marick slashed his new blade at the small bull imp in front of him. Its white edge slid through the creature's hardened skin like butter through a rock. The thing didn't even have a second to process its death, cut off in the middle of its sentence. It's a bit silly that the thing that had once threatened him died to a strike moving at x0.25 speed of his full-speed strike. It would have never happened so easily if it weren't for the obvious power reduction to demons and the element of surprise.

The eyes on the pommel of the new blade opened widely as the creature died under Marick's strike. An excited expression appeared on its face, like how a human might look when seeing a delicious full-course meal laid out in front of them. The face then opened its mouth and smiled with a delighted expression, while making chewing motions with its mouth.

Marick felt something change in him as energy filled him from the blade, feeling like he had eaten a full meal and just woken up from an 8-hour rest. The cool sensation passed throughout his body like cold water. He felt good, full, well rested.

He glanced down at the demon's corpse below him, which was now shriveled up like a dried grape. The blade in his hand... wasn't it exactly what he was considering he might need. He had only been in this place for a few minutes, but his body's thirst was already unbearable. Now, he doesn't feel thirsty any longer. 

And that wasn't all. The heat he had once felt was searing the undersides of his feet was no longer the same. It was gone too.

He looked at the expression of his Behelit on the pommel of the sword still chewing with its eyes closed in an expression of contentment. Perhaps, he really could still survive.

He turned his gaze back to the nearest tiny demons around him and let out a vicious smile. Despite only having a single working eye and a severely wounded body dripping with blood from the whip strikes, he had a path forward to survive this mess. He just needed to kill. Kill to survive.

"Let me return the greeting." He said breaking into a madly wide grin.

...

2 years later, the First Layer of Hell Eternity.

*ROAR*

A small horde of demons charged into a narrow cavern area with sadistic expressions on their faces. They all carried weapons that contained powers of extreme cold, coated in poison, and other nasty brutal ways to kill the human that had caused much trouble the past few years.

"Hellwalker, you're mine!"

A vicious bone devil screeched as it plunged its arm into the white hot metal of the cave, shooting up bone spikes all along the ground aiming at a man in a tattered cloak.

"DIE!!"

"YOU CAN'T WIN, WE ARE ENDLESS!"

"LOOK AT HIM DANCE! HAHA"

"GO GO GO!"

The demons laughed and jeered at Marick who was moving in a set of strange patterns, keeping his legs on the ground and refusing to jump or leave the ground. It was a strange footwork developed specifically for navigating the 'immobility aura' of this layer of eternity. Over the past 2 years, he spent hunting weak demons while continuously forcing his body further and further beyond the human limit to overcome this 'immobility aura'.

He had significant success, increasing his speed from x0.25 to x0.95 a normal human reaction speed while within this layer of hell. As a result, his 6'10 Inhuman form had changed drastically. The Sustenance Blade was indispensable to his transformation, as it devoured the demon's astral bodies he slaughtered and turned them into a natural supplement of nutrients to maintain his body and mind. 

His muscles, bones, organs, and brain, all began to work and adapt to the overwork he put them under. As a result, his size had shrunk from 6'10 to 6'3 in height, while his muscles and bones had adapted and grown into stronger and highly flexible formations to handle the constant effect of this place. His joints and ligaments became incredibly strong, containing new flexible muscle tissue to endure the pressure.

Throughout all this time, he rarely had time to rest. The days went uncountable without him knowing when 24 hours would pass. Each demon he killed, and imp he slaughtered sustained him. Even the lull of sleep was pushed off, keeping him awake all these years.

His intelligence increased, his focus could be sustained longer, and his endurance higher. However, the demons of hell took notice of him. They had named him. They called him the hellwalker. The only human still walking, still moving in this place. And it became a game for them to hunt him down.

Marick had grown quite strong in this time. His Sustainance Blade was like his symbol. The demon-eating sword made him immune to high heat and considering the majority of the weapons on this layer of hell involved fire and heat, it was difficult to use their commonplace tactics to deal with him.

*Spash*

Marick weaved in between the bone devil's spiked attack and under its legs, cutting straight into its torso from in between its legs. He moved by shuffling his legs like he was on ice, to maximize his movement ability. If he were to jump or leave the ground he would return to the x0.25 times speed he was normally restricted to. He was only able to overcome this through sheer effort and exertion on his muscles.

The bone devil hurriedly shuffled away from the dangerous blade as the fatal slash healed instantly. 

"You're blade will not feast today." The bone devil's eyes widened crazily.

*Boom*

The bone devil exploded, causing bone shards to fly out into every direction like a shrapnel grenade.