Everyone rushed toward the Gate of Hell. A Specter was sitting on the gate; he had been waiting for a long time—it was Mephisto.
He stood up, looked down at the crowd, and said, "You have finally arrived. I have been waiting for a long time."
"Mephisto..." Azazel said, looking at Mephisto with a complex expression.
"To be honest, I don't want to fight you either, but we each serve our masters. My apologies," Mephisto said apologetically.
Then, Mephisto's tone shifted. "Unlike the Seventy-two Earthly Fiend Specters from before, my strength and status are equivalent to the Four Heavenly Kings of the Underworld."
"Furthermore, he is here as well."
Mephisto reached out, and a colorful magic circle lit up on the Gate of Hell. As everyone looked on in confusion, Mephisto explained, "Every facility in the Underworld is guarded by a Specter and a Dragon. Appear! The dragon blessed by magic! [Magic Crystal Dragon, Enhydro Magic God]—Guilders!"
"Roar—!!!" A dragon's roar erupted from the magic circle as a giant dragon appeared.
This was a giant dark gray dragon covered in prismatic scales. Clusters of magnificent, colorful crystals grew from the gaps in its exoskeleton—some like amethyst, some like emerald, and others like red agate or sapphire... These were crystals formed by the dissipation of excessively dense magic elements. The overflowing energy even naturally formed multi-pointed star magic circles around its body, looking like a group of mages casting spells together, exceptionally brilliant.
"What incredible magic power!" Georg said, looking at Guilders.
Ddraig and Albion also spoke in shock, "I didn't expect Hades to possess such a powerful dragon."
In truth, the Guardian Dragons of the Underworld were all Hades's yu-gi-oh! cards. He had returned to his apartment in his original world; fortunately, he was an orphan, so no one noticed him. He had been a yu-gi-oh! fan since childhood and remained one.
Furthermore, he was obsessed with dragons and had collected a whole binder of dragon cards from yu-gi-oh!.
Guilders snorted, scanned the crowd, and told them, "As long as we are here, you can forget about passing through these Gate of Hell."
Those among the group who specialized in magic began to attack Guilders. Colorful magic circles lit up in Guilders's eyes as he roared toward the sky:
"Roar, roar, roar—!!!"
Those using magic attacks suddenly felt that they could no longer channel the magic power within their bodies.
Then, a massive colorful magic circle with a dragon's head at its center enveloped the entire ground in front of the Gate of Hell.
"[Magic Nullification Field]. Now, within this formation, no one except Mephisto and me can use magic to attack!" Guilders raised his head and said with a grin.
The expressions of some people turned grim; magic attacks were one of their greatest advantages, and they hadn't expected this dragon to possess such formidable magical power.
"My lion! King of Nemea! Thou who art called the Lion King! Respond to my call! Transform into armor!" Sairaorg chanted the incantation for his Balance Breaker and attacked Guilders while clad in the [Lion King's Armor].
Guilders spat colorful dragon flames from his mouth. These flames weren't just intensely hot; the different colored flames each carried magic with different effects.
Sairaorg endured the fierce colorful flames, but by the time he rushed through them, he began to age rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye. The [Lion King's Armor] also showed symptoms of poisoning, burns, and frostbite.
When Guilders's dragon flame attack ended, Sairaorg's figure reappeared. By now, he was a very frail old man, and the [Lion King's Armor] was covered in damage.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Sairaorg coughed weakly as his 'Queen', Kuisha, came over to support him.
Le Fay also stepped forward to examine him. When she saw Sairaorg's condition, she was shocked and said, "This is! Aging, burns, frostbite, and poisoning! There's also damage from other magic!"
"I see. A dragon blessed by magic—even its flames contain various spells," Azazel said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
Le Fay added worriedly, "And now, because of Guilders's [Magic Nullification Field], we can't use dispelling or healing magic."
At that moment, the Evil Dragon Saint Tannin quickly stepped forward to attack, and Guilders responded by raising a magic circle for defense.
Mephisto looked at Tannin and asked, "Tannin, are you going to stop me as well?"
Tannin nodded and said, "Yes, Mephisto, you have gone astray, so I must stop you. This is my duty as your 'Queen' and your friend."
Mephisto pulled down his magician's top hat and lowered his head in silence.
Guilders grabbed Tannin's wings and whispered in his ear, "Mephisto has his reasons for doing this; you will understand later."
"What do you mean?" Tannin looked at Guilders in confusion.
Guilders spread his wings, keeping a firm grip on Tannin's. He flew upward and began to spin. After reaching a certain height, he began a rapid descent, slamming him hard into the ground.
Tannin spat out a large amount of dragon blood, but he slowly stood up with his back to his companions and said, "Go quickly. Leave Mephisto and Guilders to me."
"Uncle..." Issei Hyoudou looked at Tannin's back and spoke with a complex expression.
Tannin forced himself to stand. It was clear that Guilders's strike had seriously injured him. With blood trickling from his mouth, Tannin looked at his comrades behind him and said:
"The range of the [Magic Nullification Field] should only be in front of the Gate of Hell. While I hold them back, hurry through the gate."
Then, Tannin dragged his body forward. A giant clock appeared behind Mephisto, and he waved his hand, pointing at Tannin.
"Hand Shot!"
The giant hand on the clock shot out, aimed directly at Tannin.
Seeing this, Tannin raised his arm as a shield, but after a moment, he didn't feel the impact of being pierced. Tannin looked ahead and saw his son, Bakuha Tannin, had blocked the blow for him.
"Bakuha!!" Tannin cried out.
Bakuha silently pulled the clock hand out of his body and said with blood at the corner of his mouth, "Father, please let me stand with you."
"You really are a foolish son." Seeing Bakuha's determined gaze, Tannin smiled helplessly at his child while blood trickled from his lips.
"Let's go, Father!!"
"Yeah! Let's go, Bakuha!!"
With those words, the father-and-son dragon pair, Tannin and Bakuha, rushed toward Guilders and Mephisto. One side spat dragon fire, while the other released countless powerful spells in response.
In an instant, sparks flew and magical lights shone in front of the Gate of Hell, immediately drawing the attention of everyone who had already passed through.
"Uncle Tannin..." Issei Hyoudou's eyes glistened as he looked back at the battlefield in front of the Gate of Hell, which was now a chaotic scene of magical bombardment and dragon fire. Memories of Tannin's training and care when he first arrived in the Underworld flashed through his mind.
Noticing his student's reaction, Azazel walked over and placed a hand on Issei Hyoudou's shoulder, saying, "Alright, don't be sad. With the strength of Tannin and his son, they'll surely be fine."
And then, Sairaorg, who had recovered, also walked over to comfort Issei: "Yes, Lord Tannin risked his life to send us through the Gate of Hell. We cannot let their efforts go to waste."
Hearing their words, Issei Hyoudou wiped his eyes and looked forward with a determined gaze: "Thank you, Sairaorg, Professor Azazel. Let's keep moving."
Seeing Issei recover, everyone nodded in relief.
Subsequently, they all ran toward the next location. Originally, they had intended to fly, but for some reason, they were unable to spread their wings or use flight magic within the territory of the Underworld.
"Is this... the ocean?!"
"No!! Based on the flow, it should be a river!!"
"Could this be the Acheron River!?"
After running for a while, the group arrived before a turbid sea and exclaimed in surprise. However, the flow of this sea was not the up-and-down of waves but a current from right to left; it was actually a river the size of an ocean.
A thick mist hung over the Acheron River, making it impossible to see the opposite bank.
"Yo-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho, yo-ho-ho~~!!" At that moment, a cheerful song drifted from the mist on the Acheron River, instantly putting everyone on high alert.
A massive figure gradually emerged from the mist, swimming toward the shore where the group was standing.
It was the size of a cruise ship, built entirely of dark wood and minerals that reflected moonlight, shaped like an ancient three-masted ship.
"Captain! There are people on the shore!! A whole group of them!!" A person on the ship wearing underworld armor of a Ghost Soldier looked down at the crowd on the shore and shouted toward someone.
"Specters!" Seeing the figures in underworld armor holding scythes, everyone on the shore immediately assumed a combat stance and became alert.
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