"Don't waste too much time on these drags," Nacht said, glancing at Noelle and Asta. "Join us soon against the highest-ranking demons."
In response, a surge of mana erupted around Noelle. A full-body armor of flowing blue water formed around her, and a water lance materialized in her grasp, her silhouette taking on the unmistakable image of a Valkyrie descending into battle.
'Good thing it wasn't a dud,' El thought, briefly glancing toward Noelle's future visage.
Contrary to El's expectations, the killing intent pouring from Asta's devil was not directed at their allies, but squarely at Namaah and Lilith. Whatever the reason, it worked in their favor.
The horde of weaker spectator demons surged forward, but instead of rushing El and Natch, they diverted toward Noelle and Asta.
"Sea Dragon's Roar!" Noelle shouted.
A massive water dragon burst forth from her, coiling through the demon ranks like a raging serpent, wiping out rows upon rows of demons as it advanced.
"Black Wave!"
Asta launched himself headfirst into the oncoming tide, his half-demonic form cleaving through the strongest among them as effortlessly as vegetables on a chopping board. His Anti-Magic erased every spell that came near him.
Nacht vanished into the shadows without a sound.
At the same time, El focused and accelerated toward his true target—the demon Lilith—no longer holding anything back. Time was no longer a luxury he could afford.
As if anticipating his move, Lilith reinforced her vital points with layers of unbreakable ice.
The crimson blade, Murasame, sliced through the frozen ice like butter but not deep enough to draw blood instead he was bombarded with thousand of Ice spike thrown his way.
With his enhanced vision, El could clearly read Lilith's ice attack patterns. He weaved through them with precision, carving wounds as deep as possible.
However, Lilith adapted quickly.
Understanding both the curse embedded within Murasame and the solar flames suppressing her regeneration, she began severing her own flesh—cutting away afflicted portions before they could spread and dodging direct confrontation altogether.
The battle between them escalated, no longer a clash of power alone, but of calculation and survival.
***
El had to end the fight quickly. His eyes could clearly see the half-star symbol in there chest providing continuous supply of mana.
Unlike the other demons, their reserves did not waver. Prolonging the battle would only turn it into a losing war of attrition.
"You are quite entertaining," Lilith said, her voice cold and amused. "Separating Namaah and me… do you really think you can win like this? Let's see if you survive this."
From beneath her feet, a wave of absolute cold erupted outward, freezing everything within a thousand-meter radius.
The entire arena turned white in an instant—demons and humans alike encased in solid ice. Around El, jagged ice spikes erupted from every direction, poised to impale him. Reading the mana flow and grasping Lilith's intent, El moved immediately.
Sun Breathing, Fifth Form: Blazing Sun Wheel.
A blazing circular arc erupted around him, slicing through the rising spikes before they could strike. A ring of fire formed around his body, stabilizing the temperature and holding the encroaching cold at bay.
In the distance, Asta and Noelle—along with the demons they were fighting—were frozen solid. Asta reacted at once, flooding Anti-Magic through the ice and shattering the seal around Noelle, pulling her free from the devastating attack.
El shifted his stance, his grip tightening.
"I will not play your games demon," he said calmly.
His blade burned brighter than ever, the bound souls within Murasame screaming as pure solar energy surged through them.
Sun Breathing, Fourteenth Form: ...
***
Elsewhere, the clash with Namaah continued.
As planned, Nacht had dragged Namaah into the shadow dimension, severing his connection with Lilith—but their ongoing battle was tearing the space itself apart. More precisely, Namaah's absolute fire magic was burning his shadows.
Devil Union: Equus × Gallus — Crusher
(Nacht had previously used the Future Projection card—the same one Noelle once used—and had mastered Devil Union with two devils.)
Blocking the incoming flames with his shield, Nacht moved forward. In a single motion, he closed the distance and slashed with his clawed hand toward the only weakness his vision revealed—the heart.
The shadows protecting his arms were incinerated instantly, and an overwhelming blast of flame hurled him backward.
An explosion thundered where he should have fallen—but at the very last instant, Nacht shifted forms.
Devil Union: Felis
He vanished from sight and reappeared several meters away, barely keeping his balance as the shadow space around them continued to crack and burn.
"You're a slippery one," Namaah said, his smile widening. "But how long do you think you can keep me trapped here? Your domain is already crumbling."
"Long enough to kill you."
"Mana Zone: Dark Prison Hunting Ground."
Nacht released a torrent of darkness, completely engulfing Namaah. He attacked relentlessly, forcing his way forward, struggling to gain supremacy over the absolute fire while delaying the fight as long as possible.
"Entertain me more… ahhh—!"
Namaah suddenly screamed in pain as the symbol on his chest shone with blinding light.
A pillar of black fire erupted from his body, obliterating the Mana Zone and blasting Nacht away with a vicious backlash. Nacht coughed up blood as he was thrown aside.
On the other side of the frozen hell, El stood with his sword drawn—a massive, gaping hole torn through where Lilith's heart should have been, utterly devastated.
A half-sphere of light drifted toward Namaah, Nacht raised his shadow to intercept it—but the light tore straight through, destroying the shadows and merging with Namaah nonetheless.
"Look, Asta—they've killed one of the highest-level demons!" Noelle shouted, retrieving the water sphere from the remains of the high-ranking demon, its body crumbling into stone.
"They're incredible. We should hurry and help them," Asta said, but his words trailed off when he saw Noelle's face.
"This… this can't be right," Noelle whispered.
"The other demon's power is increasing. He's five—no, ten times stronger than before…" She took a step back without realizing it.
"Eh… you mean to say he is ten times stronger than before? Then where are El and Vice-Captain Nacht?" Asta asked.
"Behind you."
Two figures rose silently from Noelle's shadow.
"His power is still rising," Nacht said. Everyone nodded in agreement—everyone except Asta, who couldn't sense a thing.
The demon they had been fighting began to change as it neared completion, its presence growing heavier and more oppressive with each passing second. Nacht briefly recounted what had transpired inside his domain.
"Their merging was inevitable." El said calmly.
"The moment I obliterated Lilith's heart, their mark reacted." he continued, beads of sweat forming on his forehead disappearing instantly.
"Their ice and fire can destroy even concepts." Nacht said grimly. "How did you get past that?"
"By meeting them with equal power." El replied, raising Murasame. The blade burned with pure white flame utterly anti-demonic.
Nacht understood immediately. To negate the absolute nature of their attributes, one needed an equally destructive force—El's solar fire or Asta's Anti-Magic. His Mana Zone, at best, could only delay them.
El turned to Noelle. "You're holding up well. Can you stop the remaining 5 high-ranking demons?"
Noelle tightened her grip on her weapon and nodded without hesitation.
Nacht turned to Asta. "How are you holding up?"
"I feel good," Asta replied. "I think I can get used to this power."
"Good," Nacht said, his tone serious. "Because we don't have time for that. I'll release Sixty percent of the seal on your grimoire. You'll act as our backup."
He placed a hand on Asta's grimoire. "We'll try to kill that demon ourselves—but if we fail, you drive your sword straight into its heart."
"Understood." Asta said, his expression hardening.
Even maintaining thirty percent of the seal had strained him. The moment Nacht loosened it further, whispers flooded his mind—curses, promises, hunger. A viscous black liquid surged outward, coating more than half of his body, his eyes dulled, losing focus.
Guided by instinct—and his sword—Asta launched himself toward the merged demon, the largest mana signature in their vicinity.
The demon raised two massive pillars—one of ice, one of fire—each towering over a hundred meters. With a single motion, it sent them crashing toward El and Nacht, clearly intending to take Asta's attack head-on.
El vanished.
Using instant transmission, he appeared behind Namaah and cleaved her back with a single swing of his sword.
Sun Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dragon Sun Dance.
At the same time, Nacht slipped into his shadow, evading the fiery pillar and reappearing behind the highest-ranking demon but Namaah moved faster.
He kicked El aside and twisted, her hand seizing Nacht's neck as he emerged from the shadows. The moment he touched him, ice surged outward, encasing him in a frozen cocoon. With an almost playful motion, he hurled him directly at the incoming Asta.
"Tch." El clicked his tongue.
Even his perception—normally slowed—he was barely keeping up now that Namaah had powered up. Changing course mid-strike, El redirected himself toward Nacht.
Sun Breathing, Seventh Form: Sunflower Thrust.
The thrust shattered the ice cocoon around Nacht and knocked him to the side, opening a direct path for Asta's Anti-Magic slash to continue toward the demon.
Namaah unleashed a combined ray of ice and fire. It collided head-on with Asta's blade, the opposing forces grinding violently against each other pushing him away.
"Who is this brat?" Namaah roared, her voice laced with irritation. "He nullifies my attacks, yet I can't sense a single drop of mana from him!"
Nacht re-entered the fray in Devil Union: Gimodelo × Felis, a form built for speed and numbers. Shadow clones swarmed Namaah, striking again and again. The attacks did little damage, but they disrupted her form and movement continuously.
Annoyed, Namaah stopped holding back.
True Demon Magic: Icy Hell.
Absolute magic erupted outward—freezing and burning everything it touched. The world turned white. Ice and fire spread as far as the eye could see, encasing El, Nacht, Asta, Noelle, and even the surrounding demons.
In an instant, Namaah appeared before the nearest target—Nacht—and kicked him with overwhelming force, sending him flying far into the distance.
As the demon's hands moved toward Asta's frozen cocoon, El shattered free from his own prison. He clapped his hands together, using boogie woogie, teleporting Asta away buying him precious seconds.
Asta also broke free with Anti-Magic tearing through the ice, when a presence formed behind El.
"How did you weaklings kill Lilith?" Namaah whispered, her voice slow and chilling.