Chapter 39

As soon as we crested over the moat of lava, we were met with a cloud of what I could only be flying gargoyles that moved from their slumber around the castle in order to intercept us.

Thankfully the Gargoyles didn't have any outward expressions of magic or anything other than their stone-like hard skin so despite them being three-meter-tall flying monsters they were easily destroyed by the two of us.

We only had some dust covering our forms from the stone-like monsters' bodies breaking against our unyielding superhuman strength.

"Whatcha think is in the castle?" Galatea asked me excitedly as we flew towards the large keep in the distance.

"Seeing as we are in Hell. Most likely cursed treasure that will melt your flesh just touching it and of course a stereotypical edgy throne with at least three skulls embedded in it." I dryly answered as we went into the creepy castle only lit by the dull light coming from outside some tiny windows and some obviously magical ever-burning candles that burned with a soft blue flame.

Galatea looked back to me, and I could see the wry smile as she acknowledged the baddies typically had very similar setups and an edgy evil castle in the depths of hell almost certainly would have some kind of trap or super edgy throne for the 'evil overlord' to brood within.

"Jake why are villains and the crazy people we deal with almost... Predictable in their actions." Galatea half-mused and asked me in puzzlement.

"Well Galatea, the secret is that almost all villains are patterned after the hero they stalk for whatever reasons. Like Batman's Rouge Gallery is for the most part super psychologically disturbed people, to put it bluntly. Where a number of the Flash's and Green Arrow's villains are still insane. But they aren't massive psychos who want to cause nothing but suffering like the Joker does." I explained while mentally adding a couple of exceptions to that little tidbit, like Reverse Flash.

Galatea had to chew on that for a bit but as we walked through the derelict castle.

There were some paintings and such on the sides of the grand hallway we were walking in, but honestly, I couldn't even read whatever language the plagues beneath the paintings had. But if I had to say, the people in the paintings looked human and wearing European nobility clothes but that was a given with how this was a likewise European castle.

But eventually, we reached the end of the grand hallway and likely literally by magic the large double doors at the end of the hallway opened at our presence allowing us into what was most assuredly the throne room.

"Well, you were right about the throne..." Galatea deadpanned as she stared at the almost gaudy obsidian and gold throne with what looked to be skulls lining the top of the throne and on the end of the arms rest.

"Don't sit in it," I warned as I grabbed her wrist. "It's rude to steal someone's seat, isn't it?!" I spoke with more volume as I habitually pinged my Pesquisa and felt a soul residing within the seat.

Then before our very eyes, a misty form congealed out from a nondescript crown, laying atop the throne, seemingly made out of obsidian and looking rather rough in its design.

"At least you intruders have some form of limit to your impropriety..." The ghostly form hissed, and I wondered if I should be a hollow and just eat the soul like Horcrux as it was plain that his soul was tied to that crown or even the throne.

I mean it's like the principle of the matter, and it was like waving a peanut butter and cheese whiz-covered dog treat in front of said dog...

"Yeah, we came to explore and find some loot to pawn at the Fae Marketplace. So do you have a treasury or something we can loot or is the whole castle a decrepit wreck?" I asked as I looked around the ghostly man's throne room and it matched the rest of the decrepit castle with the only exceptions being the crown and throne, but I didn't want to be lugging around obviously magical shit that may or not be a vessel to being possessed by said artifact.

The ghost seemingly completely nonplussed by my complete candidness in coming to basically rob his home finally erupted in fury as his ghostly form on a denser weight and I could feel his soul become even more solid as the ghost raged. "I have spent centuries in Hell, building up my army of Gargoyle and you came and wrecked all that just to steal some what?! My silverware and other baubles!"

I shared a look with Galatea and we both shrugged. "I mean you have an evil-looking castle surrounded by a moat of lava... Doesn't that just scream adventure and loot to be gotten?" I answered the ghost who looked like he was having a heart attack as he held his chest.

"I am Lord Tepes! The true born heir of Vladimir Tepes and I will not be insulted like this!" He roared and I felt his soul become even stronger as his ghostly form leapt from his throne towards us.

"Huh... A child of Dracula. But you are fucking weak." I muttered as I carelessly grabbed the charging ghost by its throat and with nary a care I snapped the ghost's neck making it melt into a pool of ectoplasm that seemed to slowly be moving back to the throne and the crown that was lying on said throne.

"I call dibs on the throne," Galatea said suddenly making me almost trip across the uneven stone flooring as I gave the woman a look. "Oi look at that edgy ass throne. A woman in all white can't pull that off... Come on you can't call dids on the throne Galatea!" I almost begged but the Kyrptonian only shrugged.

"I called dibs, sorry Jake. Should have let him monologue more, I wanted to hear his grand plan and how he was going to redeem his family name or something." Galatea said cheerily making me scowl.

"But he was trash Galatea! Literally, if they cannot withstand a slap from me, then they aren't worth listening to their multi-century grand plan that will likely involve spilling Hell's monsters onto the Earth in some stupid ass plan to probably attempt to wipe out the Vampire clans." I said as I sullenly walked over the throne and picked up the honestly crappy obsidian crown and I instantly felt the wisp of a soul within it.

"Yep, definitely a Horcrux," I muttered before dropping the crown on the ground and stomping it into pieces, so I didn't have to worry about it possessing someone.

While Galatea was smugly sitting down in her new throne, I was wondering if I should just blow up the damned castle as it had been a bit of a wash and I didn't want to chance grabbing the supposed silverware that may have been used to eat human flesh as was apparent in the man probably being some kind of alchemist and dark wizard in life before he lost most of his power taking a ghostly form.

"Hey, Jake," Galatea called out to me as I sat down on the armrest of the throne beside Galatea as I thought of our next move and whether I should even be taking Galatea further into Hell.

"Hmm?" I grunted.

"Do you think we can teleport the castle or something... I like this throne." Galatea said as she slumped into the actually well-padded back of the gold and obsidian throne.

"When you rob a house, and you love a love seat do you steal the whole fucking house?" I asked incredulously and for a moment I thought Galatea was going to punch me again, but she just face palmed as she realized that yes, her question was fucking stupid.

"Alright fair enough... But do you have a way?" She asked and I nodded for the first time I used my reality marble as I pulled Galatea to her feet and with a pop the chair just ceased to exist as it appeared in the white sands of my reality marble that was basically Hueco Mundo.

After explaining to Galatea that I could just as easily bring out the throne she didn't freak out about her so loved throne disappearing and then she asked me something that struck me. "Well let's get out of Hell and get some food or something." Hearing her words, I realized that with my new human transformation, I could actually go out with people which I had been unable to do with how the Young Justice team had been super busy with their own mentors after the whole Klarion incident.

We had actually spent several hours doing the whole Columbian thing plus the whole drama and messing around in Hell meant that Galatea's very 'normal' physique basically needed to be refueled as neither of us certainly brought any food.

"Alright," I said shrugging as I didn't mind at this point going back to Earth as I had come to Hell to indulge in some basically senseless violence and I did so, with the Fomorian and the alchemical Gargoyles that guarded this castle.

So, I was now feeling pretty chill, and seeing as it hadn't even been two hours since we arrived in Hell then that meant that not even a couple minutes had passed back on Earth. "All aboard the tunnel of infinite darkness." I heard Galatea mutter as she firmly grabs hold of my arm as I opened up a Garganta leading back to Earth.

-

Once we both got back from Hell I could hear and feel a series of vibrations coming from Galatea making her stagger in place before blushing slightly as she stuck her hand into her boob window and by using the innate magic of women pulled out a cell phone that somehow, I missed in her skintight leotard.

"Galatea! Jake Bariss! Where the hell are you!" I heard Wonder Woman yelling and the only thought in my head was 'I am in danger!' As I realized WW was actually quite pissed off and was assuredly going to beat the ever-living tar out of the two of us in the name of training.

"Uh... Northern Hemisphere?" I answered wryly as I looked around and saw that it was nighttime wherever the hell we landed and recognized some of the constellations and such.

That was the only bad part about my Garganta's across dimensions. It was like blindly throwing a rock into a lake, with the lake representing the Earth and the rock being the Garganta and wherever the rock lands are where I come out from.

"Hold on, I will trace the call." Wonder Woman muttered and not even a couple minutes later I heard her hiss." Dammit Jake, you teleported into Romania!" Hearing Diana's curses that slipped into ancient Greek I had no idea why this was such an issue.

"Uhhh what's wrong with Romania?" I asked with Galatea giving me look of confusion as though I was the stupid one and it only took one word from Diana to make want to go back to Hell.

"Jake, you landed in the Supernatural side of Romania. You are in Transylvania... Don't move and if anything attacks you, kill it. The rules of superhero society don't exist there, as even Batman has had to break his rules when it comes to Vampires and other kinds of ilk that feed on humans." Wonder Woman grumbled before she told me that she was flying here and that I should stay where I was as spatial travel through Transylvania was apparently wonky and could just as easily throw you into the Sun instead of taking you to a neighboring country.

"Can't we just fly out of here?" I asked feeling fed up with this contrived situation, but Wonder Woman cut off that little thought.

"Yeah, you can try to fly out with Galatea, but you will be undoubtedly attacked by the hordes of Vampires and other monsters that make up the Supernatural hub that is Transylvania... Jake please just wait for me. The League has a pact with the denizens within to stay there, just let me get there and retrieve you both, so a battle with you two, don't make the monsters decide to flee into the neighboring countries and kill a bunch of innocents." She almost begged and I sighed agreeing to wait in this foggy creepy ass forest.

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