Brother Hawen's heart and throat had been pierced, theoretically rendering him incapable of casting spells. Yet, a sinister smile stretched across his face—or rather, a demon manipulating his body forced that grin.
For the true caster of a Warlock's spells wasn't the Warlock himself, but the demon residing in the Nine Hells. Brother Hawen merely served as a conduit. Though on the verge of death, he clung to life.
Those final few seconds were all the demon needed to complete its spell.
Seventh-level Conjuration School: Fall into Avernus!
As Cipher knew, other Seventh-level Conjuration School spells included Create Demiplane and Planar Teleportation. Ritual magic, while requiring extensive preparation, yielded effects far surpassing those of ordinary spells of the same level.
The effect of Fall into Avernus was precisely what its name implied. Avernus was the first layer of the Nine Hells. Brother Hawen's Lord, this demon, aimed to drag the entirety of Chaos City into the infernal realm, forging a lasting connection between the Nine Hells and the Material Plane.
Once established, countless demons could flood into the Material Plane through this newly opened gateway.
In truth, even with ritual magic, a mere Seventh-Level spell should have been insufficient to pull an entire city into another plane. However, Chaos City was no ordinary place. The battle between the Demon Lord and the Hero had left the fabric of space dangerously thin, making it uniquely vulnerable.
Interestingly, Brother Hawen's Lord, this particular demon, hadn't opened the planar gate to lead an invasion of the Material Plane. Instead, he was doing it to... sell tickets!
In other words, any demon wishing to enter the Material Plane simply needed to pay him a small fee for passage. By any measure, this was a business poised to rake in massive profits.
However, as the Magic Circle beneath their feet continued to expand, it suddenly stuttered. According to the demon's plan, even if the circle hadn't yet encompassed the entire city, it should have been sufficient to sink at least half of it into the other plane.
The Magic Circle resembled a vast and intricate circuit diagram. Unfortunately, Cipher had cut corners during its creation, leaving a crucial "wire" disconnected. This single flaw rendered over half of the entire diagram useless!
Moreover, the demon discovered that Cipher's shoddy work wasn't an isolated case; similar problems were emerging in other sections of the circle as well.
Black Hand smirked. "I knew you were up to no good, so how could I just stand by and do nothing?"
Cipher had to admit, Black Hand's sudden declaration was undeniably cool. But then she remembered: he didn't possess the divine power of Trickery, nor could he deceive Brother Hawen with lies. How could he possibly sabotage their plan?
The answer was simple: quietly follow the other lackeys, and after they scattered the Red Earth, swoop in and collect it.
Unrefined and unglamorous, but practical and effective—except for the sheer physical exertion.
Cipher glanced again at Black Hand's arrogant posture, picturing him bent over, painstakingly gathering soil crumbs one by one. She nearly burst out laughing.
Meanwhile, sensing a critical flaw in his magic, the demon controlling Brother Hawen's body frantically opened and closed his mouth. But with his throat pierced, only a hoarse, choking sound escaped.
Boom!
Even though the Magic Circle remained largely unfinished, the spell could still take effect. The Blazing Fire Gang's camp, serving as both the circle's core and focal point, began to plummet rapidly amidst a deafening roar!
Cipher felt like she was in a runaway elevator, only this elevator was enormous. Turning her head, she saw that the space beyond the Blazing Fire Gang's camp had transformed into a swirling vortex of white light.
The sight instantly reminded her of the Marvel movies she'd watched in her previous life, particularly the scenes where Thor traveled on the Bifrost. The current situation bore a striking resemblance.
The rapid descent caused everyone to float weightlessly, the ground receding rapidly beneath them. After about ten seconds, when they were roughly ten meters above the ground, the fall abruptly halted.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Ouch!"
"Hiss!"
"Ah!"
Amidst the cacophony of bodies hitting the ground and pained cries, everyone crashed down like dumplings dropped into boiling water. Cipher clearly saw Aria plummet headfirst into the earth, the "Ouch!" echoing from her impact.
Even more astonishingly, Aria quickly scrambled to her feet, rubbing her throbbing head. Though she winced in pain, she appeared largely unharmed.
Cipher couldn't help but marvel inwardly once more at the freakish resilience of people from another world.
As for Cipher herself? She was a Cat, after all! She landed effortlessly on her feet, bending her knees slightly to absorb the impact, completely unscathed.
Thud!
The next moment, Douglas, clad head-to-toe in plate armor, crashed into the ground beside her like a stone, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Damn it! My back!"
Well, in comparison, Cipher's landing was undeniably more graceful.
While the others were still groaning, Cipher was the first to stand and survey their surroundings. The thick blanket of snow that had covered the Blazing Fire Gang's camp had vanished completely. All that remained was cracked, red earth. She even spotted a slow-flowing river of lava nearby, its waves of heat washing over them.
She took a breath, and the scalding air filled her lungs with the stench of sulfur. They had gone from one extreme to another—it was unbearably hot!
"Damn it! Damn it, damn it!"
A furious tirade erupted nearby. Cipher's cat ears twitched as she turned toward the sound. A red-skinned demon stood outside the former Blazing Fire Gang camp, stomping the ground in frustration. "Damn it! Just a tiny sliver of a portal, just a crack! It'll close any minute now! How am I supposed to do business like this?!"
"It's all your fault!" the demon shrieked. "Quick, slaughter all these damned humans!"
Surrounding the demon was a massive swarm of Lesser Devils, creatures resembling goblins but with red skin and bat-like wings. These beings were among the most common inhabitants of the Nine Hells, enslaved by demons to serve as their workers.
Now, hundreds of Lesser Devils surged into the sky, forming a dense, ravenous cloud like a swarm of locusts descending upon the survivors.
Each Lesser Devil wielded a crude weapon: battered, rusty swords, crude axes, or even bows fashioned from tree branches and twine. But regardless of their weapons, their sheer numbers posed a terrifying threat.
"Oh my god!"
"Save me! I want to go home!"
The sight of the swarm paralyzed most Blazing Fire Gang members with fear. Some unfortunate souls, still reeling from the earlier battle, were swiftly cut down by the newly risen Barbarians.
Black Hand roared, "Can't you morons stop fighting amongst yourselves?! Focus on killing these demons first!"
Black Hand's roar was futile. Though his words made sense, the Barbarians were in a Berserk State, completely deaf to reason.
Even if Nathaniel himself tried to change their orders, it would take far too long. He'd have to approach each Barbarian individually, restrain them, and then communicate through a mix of words and gestures, gauging their intelligence to determine how long it would take them to grasp his meaning.
It was an incredibly tedious process, but they couldn't risk ending the Berserk State now. The subsequent period of weakness would leave them vulnerable, making them easy targets.
It seemed the Barbarians' formidable battle prowess came at a steep price.
As the Barbarians continued their pursuit of the Blazing Fire Gang, the Flame Demon, wreathed in flames, was the first to retaliate. With a thunderous roar, it leaped into the air, ignoring the swarm of Lesser Devils overhead, and charged straight at the demon commander.
"Damn it! Why won't this oversized oaf just die?!" the demon cursed, unfurling its massive crimson wings and taking flight as it began chanting a spell.
The battlefield descended into utter chaos. The Blazing Fire Gang members fled in panic, blindly running in every direction. The Barbarians relentlessly pursued them, while Nathaniel chased after the Barbarians, desperately trying to redirect their attacks.
In the end, only Black Hand, Cipher, Feidric, Aria, and Douglas remained to confront the swarm of Lesser Devils circling overhead.
Facing over a hundred Red-skinned Flying Goblins, the five heroes found themselves in a precarious situation.
Feidric acted swiftly, casting Protection from Evil on Cipher, Aria, and Douglas. To illustrate its effect, if the Lesser Devils were mosquitoes, this spell essentially transformed the three into giant mosquito coils. The magic didn't provide physical defense, but it instilled an instinctive fear in the creatures.
As a result, many Lesser Devils hovered around the group, their faces etched with hesitation and terror, unwilling to attack.
Black Hand, however, remained unaffected. Nimbly dodging and weaving through the air, he shouted at Feidric, "Hey, buddy! What about me? Can't you throw a shield my way too?"
Feidric ignored him completely. Turning to Aria, he declared, "This time, it's up to you!"
Feidric immediately cast Haste on Aria, doubling her speed. She nodded so quickly that her movements left afterimages, then raised her longsword and charged into the swarm of Lesser Devils, shouting, "Divine Smite!"
Paladins were the natural enemies of demons and devils, and Aria's Divine Smite could inflict unimaginably devastating damage upon them.
Boom!
Golden Magic Power erupted from Aria's blade. Direct hits weren't necessary; even glancing blows caused the Lesser Devils to melt like ice cream on a summer day—quite literally.
Douglas, instead of charging, stood guard beside Feidric, while Cipher asked, "Are we... in the Nine Hells now? Is there any way back?"
Feidric replied, "We can either use a Seventh-Level Planar Teleportation spell to transport everyone back, or we'll have to wait. The Fall into Avernus spell isn't permanent. Once it wears off, we can return to the Material Plane—if we're still here."
But how long that would take remained unclear, and every second spent in the Nine Hells carried immense risk.
Whether it was the oppressive heat or his overwhelming anxiety, Feidric's brow had been tightly furrowed since arriving in the Nine Hells, never relaxing as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.
Cipher gently patted his shoulder. "Don't worry," she reassured him. "Everything will be alright."
Castorice was already on her way from the Material Plane to the Blazing Fire Gang's headquarters. Since the Fall into Avernus ritual could bring demons into the Material Plane, it stood to reason it could also be used to travel from the Material Plane to the Nine Hells. After all, it was a two-way portal. And if all else failed, a dragon would soon descend from the sky.
Feidric turned to look at Cipher, the catgirl beside him. Her confident expression and the cheerful sway of her tail behind her gradually calmed his nerves.
Having reassured Feidric, Cipher joined the battle. She moved to assist the increasingly exhausted Black Hand. As she approached, the magic of her Protection from Evil spell instinctively drove the Lesser Devils back. Cipher swiftly targeted the nearest creature.
Cipher crouched slightly, then leaped into the air, executing a flawless inverted hook kick that struck a Lesser Devil squarely in the head. The creature was sent flying like a soccer ball, bowling over seven or eight of its companions and clearing a large portion of the demons surrounding Black Hand.
Black Hand stared in astonishment. Watching Cipher perform a graceful backflip in mid-air before landing smoothly, he muttered, "Nice... nice shot?"
To be fair, Black Hand wasn't exactly a saint. But seeing his desperate efforts to thwart the demons' plans (even if he hadn't fully succeeded), Cipher decided to lend him a hand.
Besides, Black Hand had been through enough. Aisha had ambushed and beaten him up for no apparent reason, and Pollux had sprayed him with her toxic breath during the fight. Though he'd managed to escape with his life, the "Sorcerer Divine Artifact" he'd spent ten years searching for in Chaos City had been stolen.
Worse yet, the artifact turned out to be a fake. Now Castorice despised the staff so much she'd gladly return it to Black Hand—if only she knew how he'd react to that revelation.
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PS: Demons and devils don't have "classes" or "professions" in the traditional sense. After all, "Class Holders" are humans who have developed specialized paths to enhance their power through dedicated study. Demons and devils, being inherently powerful, have no need for such artificial systems.
If forced to categorize them, devils most closely resemble sorcerers, as their bodies flow with pure devil blood, granting them innate spellcasting abilities.