Underworld.
Satan's Castle.
Demon soldiers who hadn't yet entered the cross-world channel stared dumbfounded at the moss-covered giant hand reaching toward the portal.
"What is that?"
Before anyone could answer, two figures teleported before the gate.
Instantly, words infused with terrifying magical power boomed:
"All soldiers retreat one kilometre!!"
Falbium's command, imbued with magical compulsion, forced every soldier's body to withdraw automatically.
After forcibly moving the troops back, Falbium immediately shouted to Sirzechs:
"Sirzechs, hurry!!"
"This wasn't part of the plan!"
Sirzechs abruptly accelerated, his entire body enveloped in tangible purple-red magical energy. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a humanoid figure wreathed in violet-crimson flame's light, charging into the cross-world channel and colliding head-on with the enormous moss-covered arm.
No sound of impact occurred!
The moment they clashed, the moss-covered giant hand began melting rapidly like fat poured into a scorching pan. Meanwhile, the violet-crimson flame's light surrounding Sirzechs also faded swiftly.
Soon, Sirzechs' head came into view as the purple-red radiance faded. Witnessing this, Falbium gasped in shock, clasping his hands together:
"Even Sirzechs' Power of Destruction can't annihilate it? Only neutralise it?"
"No choice now!"
"Soldiers!"
"Lend me your strength!!"
As he spoke, an enormous, intricate purple magic circle materialised behind Falbium, casting an eerie violet glow.
Within breaths, the robust demon soldiers—capable of wrestling tigers bare-handed—collapsed limply to the ground, utterly bereft of energy to even twitch.
Gathering their combined power, Falbium roared:
"Catch this, Sirzechs!!"
Hearing this, Sirzechs' gaze sharpened as his Power of Destruction suddenly expanded, releasing a violent shockwave:
"I've been waiting!"
An immense surge of demonic energy crashed into Sirzechs from the void.
Whoosh!!
Violet-crimson flames erupted from Sirzechs with explosive force.
The towering purple-red flame's light instantly overwhelmed the mossy hand, spreading across its surface until it was completely engulfed.
The giant mossy hand now resembled something plunged into the magma of destructive magic, visibly dissolving through mutual neutralisation until vanishing into nothingness.
As the mossy arm disappeared, Sirzechs exhaled slightly and questioned:
"Did we destroy that hand?"
"Obviously it's gone..." Falbium grumbled while blocking the channel entrance.
Yet the next moment—
Countless moss-covered, crack-riddled arms resembling limbs stretched forth from the void, pouring down like torrential rain.
They intertwined and rapidly overlapped, forming writhing mossy tendrils like claws emerging from hell.
Seeing the cascading mossy arms, Sirzechs' face paled as he steeled himself:
"Falbium, retreat first! I'll hold them off!!"
Preparing to unleash his trump card reserved for Lilin, Sirzechs braced to eradicate the skyful of mossy limbs.
But then—a hand abruptly appeared, pressing down on Sirzechs' shoulder.
"Idiot! We're not his primary target!"
Ajuka Beelzebub materialised with a furious shout, yanking Sirzechs backwards like lightning.
While retreating, Ajuka swiftly drew a palm-sized black cube from his robes and hurled it into the channel.
A resonant hum echoed.
The black cube abruptly expanded, instantly swelling hundreds of thousands of times larger, sealing this space along with the portal to the Underworld within its confines.
Noticing this, the encroaching moss-covered arms paused momentarily. Some arms crashed against the black cube, emitting resonant hums, while more arms bypassed the sealed area, stretching deeper into the channel.
...
Akihabara Underground.
Within the unreachable subterranean space.
Above the Yellow Emperor's Blood, inside a massive crater, numerous black-red chain-like objects were continuously retracting, as if slowly hauling back some heavy weight.
Meanwhile, Enigma, with her numerous avatars, turned to Luo Shu with evident unease:
"A moss-covered hand appeared over Akihabara, directly destroying the cross-world channel created by Ajuka Beelzebub."
"Was this within your expectations, too?"
On the elevated platform, Luo Shu gazed upward at the hollow space before him where chains clinked incessantly:
"Let's just say it wasn't unexpected..."
After a pause, he continued calmly:
"The technique for summoning Flame Demons originated from True Hell. Being marked by the one who provided the technique was always an anticipated possibility."
"Moreover, Ajuka layered an additional cross-world teleportation technique over it."
"Heh. Though I don't know which viscount from True Hell provided the Three-Eyed Spider's technique, stacking another technique atop theirs without detection would be strange indeed."
At this, Luo Shu turned his head, looking down at Enigma from the platform:
"So the question arises—what would a noble demon think upon discovering another demon tampering with their technique?"
Enigma's expression immediately turned peculiar:
"They'd consider it an enemy poaching their prey... I see. You intended for that demon viscount to clash with Ajuka from the start?"
"No." Luo Shu shook his head impassively. "I simply didn't warn Ajuka."
Hearing this, Enigma shot Luo Shu an odd look.
Deliberately withholding the technique's flaw—this was blatant sabotage!
Ajuka must be tearing his hair out by now.
Not only had a demon viscount locked onto their world's coordinates, but they'd also probably already launched an attack.
At this rate, she likely wouldn't see His Majesty Beelzebub, Satan of the Underworld, for quite some time.
Hesitantly, Enigma asked:
"If the summoning technique is compromised, won't we be directly targeted by that demon viscount when summoning the Flame Demon?"
"How then can we safely bring them to reality?"
Luo Shu didn't answer immediately, his gaze fixed on the chains still laboriously hauling their heavy load through the void, before murmuring:
"This distance should suffice..."
"It's up to you now... Miko..."