"It's almost ready! Soon we can rush into the human world and feast to our hearts' content!"
A demon shouted excitedly, already imagining the glorious life awaiting in the human world—a paradise for these lesser demons.
Crack!
A fissure suddenly appeared in the wildly fluctuating space. A light blue glow emanated from Hell's side, while a crimson light appeared in Gotham.
Both lights expanded steadily until they revealed the true nature of what lay beyond.
A new passage had opened. This abnormal phenomenon made Bruce hesitate.
What is this?
He stared at the monstrous figures visible through the red light, the sulfurous stench wafting through. Though momentarily stunned, his body continued moving almost instinctively, dodging the Talons' attacks.
"What you see is literally Hell!"
Following this declaration, a blue energy wave rippled like water through the ranks of Talons. Chains of binding materialized instantly, immobilizing the assassins.
The Talons lost all mobility, unable to even struggle against their shackles.
The assassins didn't recognize the voice, but Bruce and Selina knew exactly who had arrived—their teacher Marcus.
Transformed into Harrow [Exorcist], Marcus approached the pair. In his hand, he wielded an Incinerator that radiated energy like a flail.
"Teacher... I—" Bruce began.
"You're both doing well," Marcus interrupted, "but leave this to me. Deal with these assassins, and if any creatures escape from Hell, help clean them up too."
With that, Marcus swung the Incinerator and began an energy gathering ritual.
Concentrated Incinerator
Marcus channeled his battle armor's energy into the Incinerator. The weapon's power intensified, emitting an increasingly brilliant light.
As the demons from Hell charged toward Gotham, Marcus swept his Incinerator forward, unleashing Blame Bondage against the attacking demonic horde.
Before the demons could emerge from the passage, waves of binding energy rolled across the ground. The frontrunners were immediately shackled in place, completely immobilized.
This didn't deter the demons behind them. The Blame Bondage had limited range—though it expanded gradually, it couldn't restrain all the demons at once.
The demons in the rear continued surging forward toward the passage.
"Perfect density... ideal for this," Marcus remarked.
His arm transformed into Volt.
Zzzap!
With a blinding flash, the advancing demons were pierced by devastating electrical currents.
The lethal electricity continued spreading through the densely packed demons. In moments, the entire passage became an electrified tunnel.
Bruce and Selina watched in amazement.
They had thought they'd glimpsed a fraction of their teacher's power, but now realized that even if their strength were doubled, they couldn't match the small demonstration Marcus had just given.
"So this is the teacher's power? Truly terrifying," Bruce whispered.
He found himself particularly intrigued by the Harrow [Exorcist] transformation. When they had been hunted by the beast-men, he had witnessed Marcus transform into Ash [Shadow Assassin].
That form had split into three shadow assassins, leading Bruce to believe Marcus was some kind of master ninja.
Now seeing Harrow [Exorcist], which resembled clerical armor, Bruce wondered if Marcus had once been one of the legendary judges of the church.
With a teenager's imagination, Bruce couldn't help but speculate about the mysteries surrounding his mentor.
Marcus, however, paid no attention to their amazement. His Incinerator released numerous energy tendrils, connecting to the demons.
As waves of demons perished in the electrical storm, energy pulses radiated from the Incinerator, dispersing power gathered during the ritual.
The control wristbands on Bruce and Selina's arms suddenly lit up. Their energy indicators showed a full charge.
"Our battle suits..." Both exchanged incredulous looks.
"Don't be so surprised. I'm extracting the life energy from those demons. Now that you're fully charged, get moving!" Marcus ordered.
Following his command, the pair drew their special weapons.
Bruce increased the energy flow to his rapier to maximum, making the spatial distortions around the blade more pronounced.
Selina did likewise, extending her energy whip to its full potential, its radiance illuminating the surroundings.
Both wielded their weapons at full strength, though the energy indicators on their wristbands flickered constantly.
The energy consumption of fully activated weapons was tremendous. Without Marcus replenishing their power, their battle suits would be depleted within minutes.
They turned their attention to the rampaging beast-men. With their equipment now operating at peak capacity, their destructive potential had increased exponentially.
Swoosh!
Bruce charged forward with all his might, swinging his rapier as he rushed toward a cluster of beast-men.
The space-warping blade demonstrated terrifying destructive power, effortlessly slicing through beast-men bodies.
Selina's energy whip proved equally devastating. With Marcus continuously replenishing her energy, she could use it without restraint.
Recalling the immense damage Marcus had caused with a similar weapon, Selina felt eager to test its full potential. With virtually unlimited energy, she might replicate his feat.
She lashed the whip downward at another group of beast-men. The energy weapon traced a brilliant arc through the air.
In an instant, most of the beast-men were sent flying. Only those caught at the whip's very tip were severed by its incredible speed.
"Not bad... but I need more practice," she thought.
Opportunities to use the energy whip without limitations were rare. She needed to master Marcus's technique as quickly as possible.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Sudden gunfire erupted nearby, causing Selina's expression to change dramatically. The shots came from where the beast-men she had struck had landed.
"Come with me—we need to help!" she called to Bruce, brandishing her energy whip as she rushed toward the gunfire.
On the opposite side, Harvey and Gordon frantically fired at the beast-men rising from the ground.
"Damn it, these things have gotten stronger!" Harvey cursed loudly.
His shotgun blasted continuously, momentarily driving back the charging creatures.
These beast-men were clearly superior to those they'd encountered earlier. Though their bodies weren't completely bulletproof, their accelerated healing quickly closed wounds that would have been fatal to humans.
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