The Gauntlet of Pong Wu

By Nicholas John Powter

The Gaunlet of Pong Wu is about a sister who goes on a gaunlet to save her sister from a pack of demons that have spewed out of hell.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: May 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781982290665

Nicholas John Powter

I think I have a unique and interesting stories to tell and likewise a storyteller in general, I think have a lot to say about life in general and I think I could even quite possibly teach the reader a thing or two.

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Copyright © 2021 Nicholas John Powter.

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ISBN: 978-1-9822-9065-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-9066-5 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 05/24/2021

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 The awakening of Kreed

Chapter 2 Lee...Antartigo Lee

Chapter 3 The assault and infestation of the fourth ring of Hell.

Chapter 4 The pact

Chapter 5 The wretched saint of pestilence

Chapter 6 The spectres of vaku forest

Chapter 7 Paimon’s apes

Chapter 8 The Tengu

Chapter 9 The waste of Gilead

Chapter 10 The Yokai

Chapter 11 Sakura the guide

Chapter 12 All that Hell has to offer

Chapter 13 The shifting sands

Chapter 14 Trials of maw and impediment.

Chapter 15 The whore of Beelzebub

Chapter 16 The cusp of Satan

Chapter 17 The last hurdle of Antartigo’s soul

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CHAPTER 1

The awakening of Kreed

‘Oh, Murdeecius, come out of the depths of Hell, break from the shackles of the lord of the flies himself and come unto me. Pong Wu’s time has come. Their transgressions against my clan and his former people must be paid with blood. Your master does not answer my call. But I know of the stories that my father told of the great Quan Ping’s dealings with you, Murdeecius. You are no ordinary demon. Please, I shall do whatever you ask’, the man whispers. His hand-crafted Japanese leathers, no doubt created by the fine tailors of Pong Wu, gleam a deep blood-red in the light of a nearby flame. He whispers into smoke of the small candle that rests in the centre of a large carving on the wooden floor. The large carving spans the length and breadth of the room in this ancient house which has not been trodden upon in an age. Carved into the floor is a realistic depiction of a creature with two horns on its head like a ram and wings like a dragon, hooves and muscular legs like a horse, and an abdomen like an armoured arachnid.

Its most distinguishing features are its eyes, mouth and nose - they resemble those of a man, but the creature’s teeth were of a wolf and its ears like a goblin or imp. It stood tall and straight, leaving no slouch in its posture in any way. ‘Have you slain the man known as Yuan Chi, the man who once escaped King Paimon’, asks the demonic voice. ‘Yes, I slit his throat’, replies the man nervously as the candle slowly starts to smoke and then, within about five seconds, comes alight. ‘What of his children. Have you taken care of them?’ asks the voice as it seems to resonate from the floorboards of the old temple. ‘No, I left them just for you. I know you wish to relinquish the entire bloodline of them, but you know you must keep your bargain. Pong Wu must pay, my father and my brother and many kin before them. The Phaltish clan must die, but they must suffer first’, says the man pleadingly.

‘I can sense that you are a man of your word. Your sacrifice is sufficient, but unfortunately, I am no longer in allegiance to the prince of darkness, for I am much like you - cast away abandoned, accused of a trespass I did not commit. You see, I know of your affair with the clan leader’s wife and your subsequent banishment. My situation is equally dire. I refused to do my duties in Hell. I did not wish to torture any longer those who committed extortion and false exoneration, for I refused for thousands of years, in fact. I escaped, and I hid in the forgotten portions of Hell not mentioned in any scripture or sermon, for I find myself somewhat of a befuddlement and a conundrum in what to do next. However, I do know this. I am in need of a host. I cannot bear it down here anymore. I need to be among the living. I do seek pleasure in the discomfort of murderers much like those who bear residency in Pong Wu, and I can defeat them for you’, whispers the demon.

‘I cannot........ please. I just want revenge. You promised that if I slew this man, you would serve me. The emperor is weak. His morale is failing. The many clans of Pong Wu are closing on the Phaltish clan. We can strike at the very heart soon. So, will you serve as a mortal demon? You did give me your word’, says the man forcefully.

‘I will, but I need a body, for I alone can defeat and wipe out the entire clan and many others. There are not enough superlatives to describe the wickedness of Pong Wu. This land is full of thieves in aspect of shadow and and come in the appearance of a fiend, whores with their hearts set alight till the point of conflaguration for sex. Murderers that come for the innocent. The nature is almost the polar opposite of the man that inhabits it. You know this place to be a perfect habitat for God’s creatures, but it has been tarnished by Man greatly, and you are right. They must pay.

‘First things first. Remove the candle in the centre of the carving and lay down inside it.’ The man lays down face first on the floor as a sudden silence consumes the air. Within a couple of seconds, flame rises up over the chalk lining of the carving as a small wall of fire surrounds the man. The man struggles violently as the demon possesses him and becomes enveloped in the spirit of Murdeecius Kreed. ‘Don’t struggle. This is meant to hurt. Anyway, I’m sure your love for me will stop you rebelling against me. You must let me take over if you are to have your revenge’, whispers Kreed. The man struggles for some seconds before passing out. Within a few minutes, he awakens, and his eyes gleam with malevolence .For a moment, he breathes deeply, his gaze focusing on the paper wall in front of him. Suddenly, he felt a tugging sensation behind his heart, an urge by Kreed to make his way down into the village of Targin Chow, where the Phaltish clan resides.

The fires surrounding the man subsided not long after he awoke, leaving a smouldering border around his body as he stands up and makes his way out of the temple. He makes his way down a hill that supports the temple and through a pristine and clear jungle with plants and shrubs and other edibles said to allow miracles and healings—the ability to levitate, the ability to hear the thoughts of the trees and the nature around them, also being able to tame and subdue animals that may or may not cause harm.

Pong Wu is infused with a rich history, a place many miles off the mainland of Japan where many events have taken place, some of wonder and miraculous proportions amidst others of great violence and suffering. It is said the lands had been blessed by many covenants and missions of all sorts of religions and spiritual groups. Buddhist and Hindu, Jew or Christian, even some practitioners of pagan traditions have journeyed to the region.

All matter of visions and prophecies and dreams have led many to this place from all over the world.

Torrents of prayers, blessings, sacrifices, and many forms of penance have taken place over many ages. The many foods and beverages of this place had been claimed in legend and in fable to both heal and to kill those who had come upon them. Why, there were also stories of lizards and insects that could speak in the tongues of Man, of canine, and of feline. There were also fawn and deer that were able to mimic and imitate prey and enemy by morphing into them in both appearance and mind.

Legends speak of birds that could change currents and direction of the winds and clouds by the tweaking of their bills and primates that were able to change one day of the year to whatever temperature and season that they might wish. Most of all, a particularly common claim in tales of Asian myth permeating the land are the prehistoric creatures that are said to roam here. Though rare, the idea that dinosaurs or such creatures of that age may still walk the earth in this place is a firmly held belief by some.

The man, now possessed by Murdeecius, travels through the forests that surround a large portion of Pong Wu. Dense forests and bushlands compose a vast portion of the island which, in itself, is about a quarter of the size of its native neighbour, Japan. He makes his way down through the forests in the depth of the night and makes for some shuteye underneath a hanging thorn-riddled bush until dawn, for it takes nearly a day’s travel from the temple of Zizian Wu to the village of Targin Chow on foot.

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CHAPTER 2

Lee...Antartigo Lee

The Sun rises above as a sparring of men and swords are about to take place.

‘Remember, I don’t want any killing. Just get your opponent to the ground or have them surrender. Good luck, gentlemen, and may the soul of the emperor Quan Ping watch over both of you during this fight’, says the man standing in the centre of two fighters. They wear matching white silk robes with a long unending black stripe bordering the edge of the cloth, the edges of their robes hovering just above the impressive dragon carved into the stone arena beneath their feet. ‘Whoever wins will be assigned to wed my daughter and is ordered to love her and take great care of her - much more than I did’, says the man as he turns, stepping off of the platform. He makes his way off the right side of the arena and takes a seat on a blue silk mat next to a young lady with ravishing black hair. Her slim physique and fine apparel indicate her status as one of the ladies in the clan responsible for childbearing and home keeping, rather than the small group of women trained for war.

Her sister, Whytigo, sits to the right of her, feeling the attention of hundreds of people gazing at her family from all around the arena. If this village were not one of minuscule population, it would roughly be in the thousands. ‘For the emperor’s honour and for the great dragon, Burou-burou, glory commence!’ shouts the man as the two combatants begin striking each other with youthful vigour, for they are not veterans of any sort, and there they are as healthy as any man could possibly be. The highly trained fighters strike and strike without mercy, showing off their vast array of skills, developed during many raids and harvests of the fellow villages of man. One of the men delivers a broad downward strike onto his opponent, forcing him to block and be knocked backwards onto the ground. He rolls quickly backwards, narrowly avoiding being stabbed by his opponent as he gets to his feet and punches him in the face.

It was a good punch at that, causing a small amount of blood to gush from his mouth as he then proceeds to engage his opponent once again, circling him and exercising a number of quick strikes, running around him and trying to strike his legs. He is unsuccessful in his endeavour as his fellow opponent combats his attack by striking his right hand across the palm violently as a decent quantity of blood oozes from the gash as the man grimaces in pain. The two men reposition themselves in the centre of the arena as they recommence their fighting, this time with all the power that their bodies can muster as they strike across the torsos with furious wrath and do so for some minutes. They begin to tire, as the man who started on the right at the beginning is now exerting large breaths as he begins to retreat slowly towards the edge of the arena.

The opposing man quickly hones in on him, striking across the face of his torso as his opponent struggles to stay on his feet. He narrowly blocks the strikes as he is pushed to the very edge of the platform. He performs a massive under-strike upwards to the centre of his blade as the man with a green bandana loses control of his sword. The other man with a red bandana then follows through with a spinning back kick, sending his opponent tumbling out of the arena. ‘The victor is ‘Thaihimarko Ujin’, and Evo Zuziki is disqualified!’ yells the umpire as the crowd erupts in a booming ensemble of applause and chanting as the Thaihimarko raises his sword in the air and makes his way around the arena, engaging with the crowd. ‘The victor must come to discuss not only the winnings but the wedding preparations. The ceremony shall take place tonight, in accordance with the Great Dragon commandments passed on through the generations which mandate that the victor must wed on the very day of their victory, says the umpire.

Antartigo,