Riiip—!
Bang!
"Is it in here?"
Following the resonance of the mask, Liver tore open the iron gate and descended the stairs leading into the basement.
The underground chamber was brightly lit, its walls composed entirely of spotless gray metal. At the end of a long corridor, a circular vault door roughly three meters in diameter came into view.
"Found it..."
Excitement surged within him. As Liver raised his hand, the rhombus-shaped crystal at his collar began to emit an otherworldly glow.
Crack—!
Several pitch-black spatial rifts split open behind him.
Shhhhk—!
Jets of water, condensed into high-pressure blades, shot forth from the rifts, cutting straight through the vault door.
With a grinding metallic roar, the reinforced steel finally gave way and collapsed inward with a thunderous clang!
Stepping inside, Liver's gaze fell upon three masks securely stored within their containment slots. A faint smile tugged at his lips. "There you are."
At his command, four Ninja Khan soldiers emerged from the shadows in the corner, each holding an Oni Mask.
"With these three, and the two I already have... that makes nine in total." Liver retrieved the Squid Khan mask he had taken from Paco, along with the Ninja Khan mask he wore. Together, all nine masks were finally united.
Vmmmm—!
The instant the nine masks gathered, a strange resonance filled the room. Even the violet-red Ninja Khan mask on Liver's face began to glow with a blue light and emit a low hum.
The next moment—crack, crack!—all nine masks shattered simultaneously. At the same time, the Ninja Khan soldiers under Liver's control dissolved into nothingness.
"You do realize what happens when all nine masks come together, don't you? Then why would you do this?" A familiar voice spoke. Tarakudo's orange head emerged from the cracks in the wall, his tone wary.
Originally, Uncle's chi banishment spell should have prevented Tarakudo from approaching Section 13—but now, with the masks united and his power restored, the barrier was no longer effective.
(In the original story, the onion curse was nullified by General Ikazuki.)
Ignoring the demon's question, Liver raised his arms, his face flushed with exhilaration. "The Great Will shall descend!"
"Hmph... still putting on airs? Is this 'Great General' you speak of your master? Then show him to me!" Tarakudo sneered.
But before he could move, the shattered fragments of the nine masks glowed once more—and from within them, the physical forms of the nine Oni Generals began to materialize.
"My lord." ×9
Surrounded by his restored generals, Tarakudo's confidence surged. Power flooded back into his body. "I'll give you one last chance. Join me—or die!"
But things didn't go as Tarakudo expected.
The violet-red Honkai Cube at Liver's collar pulsed with blinding light. In an instant, the nine Oni Generals—who had only just been freed—collapsed unconscious.
Even Tarakudo, despite his resistance, couldn't hold out for long.
As darkness closed in, he heard a voice—cold, regal, and feminine—echo softly beside his ear.
"Well done, Liver. Excellent. The ultimate darkness shall be yours to unleash... The time for Honkai's descent has come. Begin preparing the coordinate nodes. The Honkai Legion's entry is imminent."
"Yes, Milady."
"Oh... still resisting, Tarakudo? Heh. The 'sole commander of the Shadowkhan'? Take your delusions... and sleep forever."
...
Meanwhile, elsewhere—having been delayed only moments—Jackie, Uncle, and the others raced toward Section 13, arms laden with magical tools. Along the way, they passed several panicked, blood-covered agents fleeing in terror.
"Where's Captain Augustus?!" Jackie demanded, grabbing one of the terrified agents by the arm.
The man shoved him aside roughly, screaming incoherently as he ran. "They're all dead! Everyone's dead! All of them—!!"
The sight filled Jackie's group with dread.
When they finally reached Section 13 and saw the horrific scene before them—like a slaughterhouse drenched in blood—they couldn't hold it in any longer. Each of them dropped to their knees, vomiting violently.
Then suddenly—a familiar voice rang out.
"Get away from me, you monsters!"
"It's Captain Augustus!" Overcoming their nausea, Jackie followed the sound immediately.
"Captain Augustus!" Sure enough, just around the corner, Jackie caught sight of Captain Augustus Black's familiar bald head and his deep-red turtleneck shirt.
But before Jackie could reach him, a beam of violet-red light burst forth.
In that instant, Jackie wished more than anything that he'd brought the Rabbit Talisman with him—wished he could move fast enough to stop what he was about to see. Instead, he could only watch helplessly as the unknown beam struck Captain Augustus Black.
The energy spread like electric current, engulfing Black's entire body. Then, with a crackling flash, the light flared blindingly bright.
Captain Augustus Black looked toward Jackie, his lips parting as if to speak—but before a sound could escape, his entire being, along with his weapon and clothes, disintegrated into gray-black dust, crumbling into fine ash that drifted to the floor.
Witnessing his friend's death, a surge of pure fury erupted within Jackie's chest. "Liver!"
But the rage didn't last. Confusion quickly replaced it when something unfamiliar emerged from around the corner—a towering mosquito-like creature, easily as tall as a man.
"What... what is that?" Jackie murmured in shock. Even with all his biological knowledge, he couldn't identify the creature. Its entire body was white and violet, crowned with a crimson halo, twin wings spread wide as it hovered effortlessly in the air.
"That's no creature of this Earth," Uncle said gravely, gripping the dried pufferfish in his hand as he stepped forward. His eyes locked on the Seraph-class Honkai Beast before them.
ROAR—!
Sensing life, the Honkai Beast let out a piercing shriek. Its body flared with violet-red light as it dove at them with terrifying speed.
"Look out!" Uncle shouted, tackling the stunned Jackie to the ground just as the monster crashed through the alloy corridor.
BOOM! The reinforced hallway shattered under the impact, molten metal and debris scattering everywhere.
"Jackie, now is not the time for grief..." Uncle muttered, leaping to his feet. The dried pufferfish in his hand glowed green as he hurled it at the Honkai Beast.
But it had no effect. The Seraph-class Honkai Beast merely smoldered for a moment before letting out another shriek.
Uncle's eyes widened as realization struck him. "These aren't magical constructs like the Shadowkhan... They're living creatures!"
He turned sharply toward Jackie. "Jackie! Put on the Divine Armor! The world's calamity has begun!!"
Tohru hurriedly helped Jackie don the divine armor, while Uncle opened his grimoire, chanting rapidly under his breath.
"You again... You never learn, do you? But this time, there's no escape! The Great Will has descended!"
Before the words even finished echoing through the ruined base, Liver's cold voice filled the air. A burst of blinding violet-red radiance engulfed Section 13's central hall.
Then came the deafening explosion.
BOOOOOM—!