The tunnels trembled.
Not from the Baron's footsteps.
But from the rhythm of war.
A full-on, synchronized assault.
Kokushibo, Rengoku, Commander Halgar. Three completely different styles—three forces of destruction—charging into hell's core together.
The Baron roared.
Its fire breath spilled like a flamethrower, liquefying walls. Rengoku met it head-on, slicing upward in a burning arc.
"Flame Breathing, Ninth Form – Rengoku!"
The flames clashed. His blade became a barrier of searing light—and for a moment, the tunnel split into red and gold. But the Baron was already moving.
It ripped a nearby stone pillar from the ground and hurled it like a spear.
Kokushibo appeared behind it before it even landed.
"Moon Breathing – Eighth Form: Moon-Dragon Ringtail."
Six slashes. Clean. Curved. The pillar shattered midair, debris raining down like glass shards.
Commander Halgar used the chaos.
He vaulted onto the Baron's back using a collapsing chunk of wall like a ramp, then plunged his sword into the demon's neck. Holy fire erupted along the blade.
The Baron screamed.
But didn't fall.
It ripped Halgar off its back, slammed him into the floor, and then into the wall—twice.
"COMMANDER!" one paladin screamed.
But Halgar still stood—bloodied, laughing. "You call that a hit?"
Above – Slayer. Kratos. Thor.
Three gods of battle stood as the Minister unfurled wings of corrupted bone and flame.
The sky cracked open.
Slayer blinked once, then dashed.
He shoulder-checked a chunk of rubble into the air—Kratos jumped off it, launching higher.
In that same second—Thor hurled Mjölnir.
Kratos grabbed it mid-air and spun full circle, dragging its momentum into a horizontal arc that smashed into the Minister's skull.
The impact cratered the clouds.
Slayer was already behind him. Shotgun. Grapple. BOOM.
Then, a chainsaw up the spine. The Minister shrieked.
But it wasn't enough.
He regenerated—faster this time—and slammed them all back with a shockwave of hellfire. The trio crashed into different rooftops.
Still—they rose.
Thor, his eye glowing with stormlight. "We kill that thing now."
Below –
Kokushibo and Rengoku struck together this time. Their attacks flowed, not just fast—but intuitive.
When Kokushibo slashed wide, Rengoku ducked under and struck upward. When Rengoku drove the Baron back, Kokushibo moved into the blind spot and sliced a hamstring.
They moved like dancers—deadly ones.
"Left!" Rengoku shouted.
"Understood," Kokushibo replied.
And they split paths around the Baron just as Halgar crashed down from above, dragging a slab of broken stone like a divine battering ram, slamming it into the Baron's chest.
The monster screeched, coughing molten blood.
Still not dead.
It roared again—and this time, something happened.
The ground split open.
Hell energy surged.
The black spire—the source—pulsed violently, feeding the Baron with pure demonic power. The tendrils around it wriggled faster.
"We have to cut the source now!" Kokushibo barked.
But more demons poured in.
Crawlers, Marauders, flying beasts with screeching faces and twitching wings.
Rengoku gritted his teeth. "You two cut the source. I'll hold this bastard."
He planted his feet.
"Flame Breathing – Purgatory Form."
The tunnel ignited in red and gold.
Underground – Atreus, Tanjiro, and the Paladins
Atreus fired arrows that tracked midair—spiraling with runes that exploded on contact. Tanjiro moved with blinding speed, cutting down Crawlers protecting the spire. Inosuke rammed his swords into a demon's mouth and tore upward like splitting a tree.
The paladins fought beside them—divine and relentless.
One was dragged away screaming—but another threw his sword like a javelin, impaling three demons in one line.
Kokushibo and Halgar reached the spire.
"It's alive," Halgar said.
Kokushibo nodded. "Then let's kill it."
The tendrils snapped to life, lashing out like snakes. Halgar caught one and held it—his arm sizzling—long enough for Kokushibo to slide beneath and cut three others.
But the spire fought back—with every severed tendril, another sprouted. It was endless.
Until—
"RAAAAGHHH!!"
Inosuke shoulder-charged through, mouth foaming, ignoring pain.
"JUST BREAK IT!!"
He drove both swords into the base and started sawing.
Above – Slayer, Kratos, Thor
They were bleeding now.
The Minister floated, wings stretched wide, body cracked with energy, eyes white-hot.
Kratos hurled the Leviathan Axe. Thor flung Mjölnir. Slayer followed both with a Doomblade throw—all three struck in a triangle pattern.
Then the trio charged behind it.
Slayer used a broken archway as a ramp, flipped over the Minister midair, and unloaded two shells into its skull.
Kratos grappled its arm and ripped the bone wings off.
Thor, howling, brought Mjölnir down—
CRACK.
The Minister finally screamed in agony.
They had turned the tide.
Below – Final Strike
Kokushibo saw the spire starting to weaken.
One crack. Then another.
"NOW!"
Everyone unleashed their final blow.
Atreus – Light Arrow of Jötunheim.
Kokushibo – Twelfth Form.
Halgar – Blade of Bifrost.
Inosuke – Wild Beast Rampage.
All of it—directed into the core.
The spire split.
The energy imploded, dragging every demon inside it with a horrible, shrieking wail.
The Baron froze.
Its eyes went wide.
And with a final roar of defiance—
Rengoku cut it from hip to neck.
It fell, flames eating it alive.
Silence followed.
Blood. Fire. Ash. Rubble.
But… they were standing.
They had won.
And yet—far above in the sky, something unseen watched.
Smiling.
And whispered:
"So they can bleed."