An Unknown World.
A burly man with rugged features spoke to the black-robed figure in front of him: "Boss, don't worry! The bait is set. That guy 'Specter' doesn't have the guts to face me alone. If he set this meeting up, 'Radiance' and her crew must be behind him!"
Undoubtedly, this rugged man was the World-Ending Society member nicknamed "Battle-Axe" whom Specter had mentioned.
The black-robed figure replied, "If we can catch Radiance and her group in one fell swoop this time, we won't need to hide anymore!"
Battle-Axe nodded vigorously. "Yeah, those bastards keep hounding us every day. I've wanted to kill them for a long time! Hmph, thinking they can fight a Hegemon with just their strength? They've lost their minds!"
Just then, a spatial rift opened, and several more members of the World-Ending Society arrived. The black-robed leader addressed everyone: "Let's begin setting up."
Including Battle-Axe, several Society members immediately started preparing traps.
Although they verbally disparaged Alice and her group, they knew perfectly well that Alice and Hengo were top-tier Lantern Bearers. In a fair fight, they couldn't guarantee a victory.
The reason they dared to set bait for a decisive battle this time was partly because Alice's pursuit was becoming too tight, forcing a reaction. But there was another, more important reason: this time, they had the support of the Entity behind them. Therefore, their confidence was at an all-time high!
As long as they dealt with Alice's group, the other scattered Lantern Bearers would be of no concern. Then, the World-Ending Society could do as it pleased in the universe.
Before long, the traps were set.
Led by the black-robed leader, the other members hid themselves, leaving only the rugged Battle-Axe at the meeting point to wait for the prey.
After a while, accompanied by a dim glow, a spatial rift opened, and two figures walked out.
Battle-Axe first saw Specter leading the way, but his gaze quickly shifted to the figure walking behind him.
"Just one person?"
He frowned, making no effort to hide his disappointment. The fact that he had joined the World-Ending Society hadn't spread through the circles yet, so he needed to use this opportunity to deal a heavy blow to Alice's group. If he only killed one or two irrelevant pawns this time, he would likely face endless pursuit from Alice and her team in the future.
"I hope the one in the back is Alice!" Battle-Axe thought to himself. He put on a wide smile and stepped forward to greet them. "Hey, partner! Setting up a meeting in such a hurry—what's the matter? And who is this?"
Specter didn't answer. Instead, he stepped aside.
Seeing this, Battle-Axe immediately understood that the person Specter brought was a big shot—either Alice or Hengo.
At that moment, Shinji, dressed in black robes and wearing a mask, walked past Specter toward Battle-Axe. As he walked, he said, "You may leave."
Specter felt as if he had been granted amnesty. without a word of nonsense, he used his Lamp to open a spatial rift and departed.
"Damn it!"
Seeing Specter flee as if for his life, Battle-Axe knew something was wrong.
However, he didn't panic. First, the Society had laid traps, their leader was present, and they had the backing of that Entity. Second, the opponent was alone. Even if it really was "Radiance" Alice, he wasn't afraid.
Thinking of his ambushing colleagues, Battle-Axe spoke with confidence: "Hmph, it seems you know. In that case, don't think about leaving—"
Whoosh!
Before Battle-Axe could finish, Shinji flickered right in front of him. Reaching toward Battle-Axe's waist, he grabbed the Lamp hanging there and gently squeezed.
Bang!
With a crisp sound, the bright Lamp exploded instantly.
Whoosh...
As the Lamp shattered, the Embers within the vessel began to scatter. With an indifferent expression, Shinji absorbed every mote of the drifting Embers into his own Lamp.
"!?"
It wasn't until he saw the Embers from his own Lamp being absorbed by Shinji that Battle-Axe reacted, his face filling with shock.
It wasn't that he was careless; he had been on high alert the moment Shinji walked toward him. It was simply that Shinji, a Kekkei Mora, moved too fast and struck too fiercely!
Furthermore, Shinji was a Lantern Bearer himself. He knew perfectly well that a Lantern Bearer's weakness lay in their Lamp, so he targeted it immediately.
In reality, a Lamp is extremely difficult to destroy because it is the materialized product of an entire world's will. Unfortunately for Battle-Axe, he encountered Shinji. In Shinji's hands, the Lamp, which seemed indestructible to others, was no different from ordinary glass.
In the next instant, before the shock on Battle-Axe's face could fully spread, his entire being went slack.
Undoubtedly, he had fallen under Shinji's genjutsu.
With the Lamp's protection, he was a Lantern Bearer immune to most mental controls and various pollutions. But without the Lamp, he was merely an ordinary living being, utterly unable to resist the genjutsu cast by Shinji's Six-Tomoe Rinnegan.
After controlling Battle-Axe, Shinji looked toward the World-Ending Society members who thought they were well-hidden. "Come out. I'm in a hurry."
The black-robed leader of the Society stepped forward, asking coldly, "You aren't Alice! Who are you?"
Shinji had dealt with Battle-Axe so cleanly it was eerie. Even with the backing of that Entity, the Society's leader was filled with apprehension.
The other members were even worse off; every single one wore a look of dazed shock. Battle-Axe wasn't weak among them, yet he had been neutralized in a single encounter, his Lamp shattered. The impact on their morale was immense.
Shinji naturally had no intention of wasting words with this group. His gaze swept over the members one by one. "Six people in total, is it?"
Seeing this, the black-robed leader shouted hurriedly, "Do it!"
Instantly, the traps laid by the Society activated simultaneously.
Explosives, toxic gases, curses, magical restraints, paranormal attacks—assaults from various power systems converged on Shinji from all directions. These attacks were physical, magical, mental, and some even touched upon the level of rules. Had it been anyone else—even Alice—they would have likely suffered severe injuries instantly!
However, just as every member of the Society thought Shinji would surely die in the trap, a voice drifted from behind them:
"What exactly are you expecting?"