Chapter 363: Demon Invasion, Shamanic Concert
It had been more than a week since Allen entered the Spirit Realm.
The exorcists who had narrowly survived returned home to recover.
The matter was then handed over to official authorities.
Inside a house now packed with medical equipment, medical staff kept a constant watch on Allen and Kevin's vital signs.
Kevin had IV tubes in both arms—one delivering saline, the other glucose to maintain basic metabolic function.
A week without food or water would be fatal to any normal person; without medical support, Kevin would've long succumbed to starvation.
Even if a soul managed to escape the Spirit Realm, it wouldn't necessarily mean returning to the body was possible.
Allen, however, was the complete opposite—he only needed basic heart rate monitoring. No IVs, no supplements. He lay sound asleep on the couch, perfectly healthy.
Realizing this man was clearly not ordinary, no one dared view him through a normal lens.
"They haven't woken up yet?"
Bruce walked in, clearly exhausted, his battle suit stained with blood.
"Not yet," Ellie sighed.
In the meantime, a string of demon attacks on civilians had broken out in Los Angeles, and the frequency was only increasing—clear evidence that a demonic invasion was imminent.
Exorcist factions were running ragged across the city, trying to deal with increasingly difficult cases, but even so, they were clearly overwhelmed.
Manpower losses were skyrocketing exponentially.
The government had mobilized the military to lock down the city.
Civilians were evacuated in large numbers. The once-vibrant metropolis had become a ghost town.
And of course, many demons were possessing humans and going on murderous rampages.
Worse yet, regular military units had been possessed and were using heavy weapons in suicide assaults against their comrades.
At that moment, a golden lightning bolt flared across the sky.
Barry had returned.
His voice was grave. "Something big's happening. There's a sinkhole at Century Square. I think the demons are launching a full invasion."
"Take me there," Bruce said.
Right now, Bruce and Barry were the core forces holding the line.
Bruce used his battle suit to relentlessly hunt down demons, growing stronger and unlocking new abilities along the way.
Barry relied on the Speed Force, zipping between danger zones and developing new abilities to handle typical demons.
Scene shift.
Before Bruce could even blink, he was suddenly standing at Century Square.
Around the perimeter of the square, wrecked armored vehicles and mutilated soldier corpses were scattered everywhere. Blood was splashed across the pavement—a scene straight out of hell.
The military unit that had arrived first was clearly annihilated on the spot.
Hovering in the center of the square was a figure, surrounded by demons kneeling on one knee in the middle of a ritual.
"The Blood Queen?!"
According to recently declassified intel, she was once an evil witch over two centuries ago who had sacrificed her own body and fully transformed into a demon.
Back then, she was defeated by a coalition of exorcists and had her body dismembered and sealed across the world.
"Demon hunter."
The Blood Queen looked at Bruce with admiration. "I'll give you a chance. Serve me, and when I unify the mortal world, I'll grant you supreme power—and you may have me."
"No thanks," Bruce corrected her flatly. "Also, I'm Batman."
The Blood Queen blinked in surprise.
She was stunningly beautiful—countless men had fallen for her charms. Yet here she was, rejected on the spot, as if slapped in the face.
The real reason she became a demon was her desire for eternal beauty.
"Reject me, and you'll pay with your life."
As soon as she finished, six demons unfurled their wings and lunged at Bruce.
"Barry, stop the ritual!"
"Got it."
Bruce acted instantly.
Barry entered Speed Force mode, transforming into a whirlwind that circled the square at such speed he was invisible to the naked eye.
Even the Blood Queen's expression grew grave. She pulled her blood-red cape wide, transforming it into a churning sea of blood to block Barry's golden nunchuck-charged lightning bolts.
Meanwhile, Bruce's utility belt deployed grappling chains, and he gripped a cleaver-sized blade.
Even while outnumbered six to one, he didn't fall behind.
After slaying so many demons, Bruce finally understood how much he owed Allen.
His battle suit evolved with every kill, empowering his body.
By now, the enhancements had brought real changes: increased strength, rapid regeneration, night vision, and hyper-cognition—all superhuman traits.
And the suit was still evolving.
Truthfully, with all those cursed artifacts and Allen's maxed-out alchemist skills, the suit's potential was far from exhausted.
"You shouldn't struggle anymore. Today marks the start of the demon army's invasion. The human world will become one with Hell," said the Blood Queen, hidden in her sea of blood, trying to disrupt their focus with words.
But Bruce stayed locked in combat with the six high-level demons. Every kill meant more power.
Barry kept slinging lightning—not highly effective, but enough to erode the Blood Queen's blood sea gradually.
But this was only one ritual site.
Across Los Angeles, demons sealed for centuries were now freed and converging, trying to open a permanent passage between Hell and Earth.
Exorcists fought valiantly, unleashing their abilities.
Once even one portal was fully opened, it would allow an endless influx of demons.
Victory would go to Hell.
Boom!
A pillar of flame shot skyward, black smoke rolling into the sky like a raging inferno.
But exorcists and troops on the front lines knew the truth—Hell's gate had been opened.
Special forces helicopters were thrown from the sky by unknown forces.
All electronics across Los Angeles failed simultaneously.
"What's going on?"
The medical equipment shut down.
Ellie anxiously turned to the medical staff.
Now removed from the inner circle, she fully realized the incompetence and ignorance of those in charge. Even at humanity's brink, they couldn't let go of their power struggles.
She no longer counted on the government. Her only hope was Allen.
Though it seemed unrealistic, there was no alternative—he was their last card.
Even if it seemed hopeless, hope still remained.
"Maybe a blackout?"
Doctors and nurses exchanged helpless glances.
"This is bad—no oxygen support. The female patient could die from hypoxia."
Indeed, Kevin's body was too weak to breathe on its own.
A nurse quickly grabbed a manual oxygen pump and began hand-pressing it to keep her organs functioning.
But it was only a stopgap.
If she didn't wake soon, her organs would shut down.
Spirit Realm, Ghost City
Allen stood on the tallest rooftop, arms crossed, overlooking the cityscape.
Behind him, all 366 True Gods stood in formation.
Having slaughtered over a hundred vengeful spirits and tens of thousands of evil ghosts, the spiritual energy gained had not only restored the Divine Hall but also elevated the gods to new heights.
Now, aside from the Ghost Bride, there were no real threats left—just wandering souls.
"Look, sis."
Allen held the Ghost Bride's hand and gestured proudly. "All this? I conquered it for you."
"For me?"
The Ghost Bride looked at him in astonishment.
Ruling a Ghost City—something once unthinkable.
With millions of souls to draw upon, she could soon evolve into a vengeful spirit, then perhaps even a terrifying deity.
She even fantasized: if she reached that level, she'd be one of the underworld's elites—maybe even on track to challenge the forbidden.
The Forbidden.
An untouchable, unspeakable rule.
Maybe just a myth—but maybe not.
"If not for you, who else would take it?" Allen scoffed. "I'm a living human. It's not my place to meddle in underworld politics."
Not your place?
When you were slaughtering ghosts by the thousands, you didn't say that…
"Well, thank you."
The Ghost Bride accepted with gratitude. "I won't let you down."
"You used to be a salted fish—now you'll be the saltiest of all," Allen praised.
"…"
Get lost.
You're terrible at compliments.
The gods turned into divine light and returned to the temple.
Allen pulled Kevin toward the stairs, inserting a key into a lock.
...
Gasp…
The long-lost sensation of breathing made Kevin's chest burn with pain.
She looked around at the bustling medical team, dazed.
"The patient is awake!"
Everyone sighed in relief.
Another day and she would've died from organ failure.
Kevin's eyes were bloodshot, vision blurry. Her mouth dry, lifting a finger took all her strength—her whole body ached.
"Is Allen back?"
Ellie stepped forward to ask, but a doctor stopped her. "The patient's still recovering—consciousness is fragile. She needs soft food to regain strength."
At that moment, a squad of soldiers burst in.
The leading officer reported to Ellie, "Ma'am, we've received orders: all non-combatants must evacuate Los Angeles immediately."
The government was clearly using special channels to coordinate with the military—trying to prevent chaos among the ranks.
Ellie's expression dimmed.
She knew exactly what the higher-ups were thinking.
If the situation became irreparable, they wouldn't hesitate to drop a nuke on the city.
After all, nukes were humanity's only trump card against demons.
Though even that wasn't guaranteed to work.
"Yoo-hoo…"
Allen suddenly sprang off the couch with a grin. "Looks like it's time for me to save the world again."
Ellie asked urgently, "You have a plan?"
"Relax—I've got friends upstairs."
Allen pointed upward confidently.
He meant the Divine Hall.
"Here's your key back."
He added, "If anyone gets trapped in the Spirit Realm, just say my name."
That's right—"Allen" was now currency in the Spirit Realm. With the Ghost Bride in charge, his name carried weight.
Though she might still deny it later…
Slinging his guitar over his shoulder and straightening his hospital gown, Allen strolled out with a jaunty step.
His first sight: ominous demonic energy blanketing the skies above the city like storm clouds.
Countless demons with wings patrolled the air.
The sound of artillery fire echoed—it was the military battling the demon army.
But judging by the scale, things didn't look good.
Using portals to hop across rooftops, Allen searched for Bruce and Barry.
Soon, he spotted the two of them locked in brutal combat.
Bruce was surrounded, Barry covering him with lightning-fast strikes.
After an hour of nonstop fighting, Bruce had lost track of how many demons he'd killed.
Each slain demon allowed his belt chains to absorb power, feeding his suit.
Now, his wrist blade glowed crimson, black mist rising from his skin, blood-red lines snaking across the suit's surface.
Ah…
He watched a demon burn to ash the moment it was cut.
"New ability unlocked?"
Then came the answer.
Allen dropped his invisibility and said, "Your suit has no holy attributes."
A bunch of cursed relics couldn't possibly have light-element effects.
"Bruce, Barry—stop messing around. Let's go."
With a wave of his hand, Allen opened a portal and pulled them through.
The three gathered on a rooftop.
They looked out at multiple hellgates billowing black smoke into the sky—it was overwhelming.
Bruce and Barry had been too deep in the battle to see the big picture, but now that they saw it clearly, their morale plummeted.
Bruce looked mentally drained, going numb mid-battle.
Barry, still using the Speed Force nonstop, was starving.
"Don't panic. Time for your master to put on a show."
Allen placed his guitar in front, fingers flickering.
A jarring, headache-inducing noise filled the air.
"Mi do la mi do… si do la mi re…"
It wasn't just the demons who wanted to kill him—Bruce and Barry both clenched their fists, ready to beat their teacher.
"Sound check complete."
Allen stopped the strings and solemnly declared, "The first concert of the Musical Shaman is about to begin."
Snap!
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
One after another, flags materialized from thin air and fluttered despite the still air.
Totem banners.
Each represented a True God, complete with glowing effects.
The demons immediately took notice and swarmed the rooftop.
The 72 demon commanders hovered in the sky, observing, trying to understand what trick was being played.
With the gates of Hell already open, the demon army was flooding in.
Victory was in hand, so the commanders were in the mood for a show.
Bruce and Barry stood off to the side, cold sweat on their foreheads—they could clearly feel the oppressive aura radiating from the demon commanders.
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