Hades covered his right hand with a layer of purple Cosmos as he faced the four weapons floating before him: Leikang's black metal armored boots, Ailun's shark-head greatsword, Corinne's long-handled circular saw, and Rina's electricity-generating gloves.
Afterward, Hades waved toward the four weapons in front of him.
Instantly, the four weapons all underwent a great change. Although the color of Leikang's high-heeled armored boots turned slightly gray, their design became like two wild wolves baring their fangs at an enemy.
Ailun's shark-head greatsword turned dark purple, with an additional blood-red eye appearing on it, looking like a giant shark rushing toward its prey in the ocean.
The blade of Corinne's long-handled circular saw turned a deep red, and its surface now featured a dark blue sea monster pattern coiled in a circle; the sharp fins on the sea monster's back were actually the teeth of the circular saw.
The surface of Rina's gloves became smoother than before, and the patterns on them formed the image of a beautiful woman wearing a crown. However, upon closer inspection, red patterns resembling bloody tears could be seen on the woman's face.
Then, Hades opened his right palm again. Four purple stars rotated in his hand before merging into the four upgraded weapons.
With a flash of purple light, the four weapons infused with the stars began to change shape, transforming into four metal sculptures of underworld armor.
The first was a shiny black three-headed wolf, with its three heads howling in different directions. The middle wolf head roared toward the sky, while the other two heads, transformed from the high-heeled armored boots, gazed vigilantly in all directions.
The second was a giant shark leaping from a massive wave, with a single horn on its head formed from the shark-head greatsword.
The third was a bipedal giant bear covered in sharp weapons, its claws gripping the sea monster circular saw.
The last was a noblewoman in magnificent dress emerging from a mirror, her demeanor very elegant, with tear stains on her face and objects resembling flowing blood surrounding her.
"What is this?" Leikang stepped forward to look at the four underworld armor sculptures and said in confusion.
Hades walked over and said, "In the name of Hades, King of the Underworld, I appoint you as Extra Specters, responsible for gathering and scouting intelligence for the Underworld. You are..."
As Hades spoke, the four brand-new pieces of underworld armor instantly turned into purple meteors and equipped themselves onto the four members of Victoria Housekeeping.
"Tianshu Star · Three-Headed Demon Wolf, Von Leikang." The left and right wolf heads transformed into armored boots on Leikang's legs, and a full set of knight-like armor adorned him without diminishing his gentlemanly air. The middle wolf head split in two to rest on his shoulders, and a purple mask with the silhouette of a wolf's head covered his face. The golden pocket watch Leikang always carried hung from the left chest of his underworld armor.
"Tianxuan Star · Abyss Great Shark, Ailun Joe." Ailun gripped the Abyss Great Shark greatsword in her right hand. The giant waves from the sculpture transformed into a fauld over her maid skirt, and the shark head became armor protecting her shark tail, looking like a shark biting its own kind's tail. The underworld armor's shark tail folded into arm and leg guards, while the torso part with fins on the back became a breastplate.
"Tianji Star · Iron-Eating Beast, Corinne Wickes." Little Corinne held the sea monster circular saw with both hands, wearing a giant bear helmet with a fierce gaze. The bear claws from the sculpture's front arms separated to become shoulder guards, while the remaining long arms became arm guards. The bear's sturdy torso folded into a breastplate and fauld over her maid skirt, and finally, the thick hind legs straightened into leg guards fitting Corinne's petite legs.
"Tianquan Star · Bloody Mary, Alexandrina Sebastian." The noblewoman's face mask retracted, and the noblewoman part transformed into full-body armor for Rina. The objects of flowing blood combined into ribbon-like structures. The mirror part split into four; two parts folded at the sides and combined with the ribbons to form shoulder guards, while the remaining parts became miniature underworld armor worn by the two Bangboos floating beside Rina: Anastasia (brown hair) and Drusilla (gold hair).
The four members of Victoria Housekeeping looked themselves up and down in surprise at the underworld armor they wore. Although it looked heavy, it felt as light as a feather when they moved.
"Thank you for your gift, Master," Leikang said, performing a standard gentleman's bow. The three maids of Victoria Housekeeping also bowed respectfully to Hades.
"Right, take these four cards as well." Hades threw four yu-gi-oh! cards toward the four members of Victoria Housekeeping. Most of them caught the cards between two fingers in an instant, but Corinne seemed a bit nervous, fumbling for a moment before managing to hold onto her card.
"Master, what is this?" Head Maid Rina asked, looking at the card Hades had given her before looking up at him.
"Those cards are Guardian Dragons (Beasts) of the Underworld that can be summoned as familiars in the tournament," Hades said immediately. He then gave three cards to the Five people in purple cloaks nearby.
It seems they were also being granted Guardian Dragons as familiars to participate in the international tournament.
Finally, with a wave of Hades's hand, the Dimensional Screen expanded. He turned to Pandora behind him and said, "Pandora, as the [King], lead them well. Do not shame our Underworld."
"Yes, Lord Hades," Pandora said, bowing to Hades's back.
Afterward, Pandora twirled her hand, and a trident appeared. She led the four members of Victoria Housekeeping and the Five people in purple cloaks into the Dimensional Screen.
Once everyone had entered, the Dimensional Screen vanished automatically.
"Mephisto, arrange the classes and names according to this list and send them to the organizers of the international tournament," Hades said, holding up a list before Mephisto's magical projection, which had not yet dissipated.
Mephisto glanced at it, immediately memorized the contents, and replied:
"Yes! Lord Hades, I will arrange it immediately!!"
With those words, Mephisto's magical projection vanished instantly.
Underworld, Red Dragon Stadium
On either side were giant statues of Issei Hyoudou in his Balance Breaker and Rias as the Crimson Extinction Dragonar, built to commemorate the love between Issei Hyoudou and Rias.
One of the competing teams, the [Blazing Red Dragon Emperor] team, had already arrived, while the Underworld's team was nowhere to be seen, causing the audience in the stands to begin buzzing with discussion:
"The Underworld might get a free pass again this time."
"Impossible. This team is led by the Red Dragon Emperor himself. The teams that played against the Underworld before might have been weak, which is why they surrendered, but it might not go that way this time."
"That's true, but I heard they surrendered because of Hades' reputation."
"Hades isn't even competing directly; it's impossible to surrender just for that reason."
...
Various rumors spread through the general seating area; those who didn't know the truth about the 'Great Eclipse' or the Underworld's true strength could only think this way. However, the high-ranking figures in the VIP seats, such as Sirzechs, Odin, Zeus, and Shiva, thought differently and began to discuss among themselves:
"Do you think... Hades will send Specters...?"
"Unlikely. Mephisto just said that there are no regular Specters competing in this tournament."
"Does that mean Hades is just sending some random underworld soldiers?"
"That's even more impossible! My big brother isn't the type of god to do things so carelessly!"
...
In the VIP stands, various opinions flew back and forth without reaching a conclusion. Meanwhile, on the field, the [Blazing Red Dragon Emperor] team was the most tense; the fear of the Specters hung over them like a shadow, and they truly hoped their opponents wouldn't be them.
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