Abyssal Chronicles

"Damn it... those guys didn't actually screw this up, did they? They were so confident earlier, guaranteeing they could eliminate this Abyssal Lord..."

Whatever.

No matter what, we need to provide support first!

"All forces, prepare for battle. Bellophen, open the spatial tunnel."

Lawrence stopped overthinking and issued the advance order directly.

At the same time, he couldn't help but pray silently.

Praying that all his fears were just paranoid worries.

After all, if Yaohuaba and the other ten Level 9 couldn't handle the Abyssal Lord, the consequences would be unimaginable.

But soon enough, Lawrence discovered that reality was apparently far more brutal than he'd anticipated.

The instant Lawrence gave his command, red lights flashed throughout the bridge and a deafening crimson alert shattered the quiet, making Lawrence's entire body shudder.

"Huh?"

"This is bad, Lord Lawrence!! We're detecting abyssal demon signatures! A demon swarm is approaching us!"

Staring at the feedback on his screen, an operator shouted at Lawrence in panic.

"A demon swarm?!"

Lawrence's face went white as those words hit his ears.

Besides the Abyssal Lord, there's actually a demon swarm too?!

What the hell—

How did they even get in here?!

Are the border guards just sitting around doing nothing?!

Lawrence cursed furiously in his mind.

"How many? Which direction?"

"This... this..."

The operator's lips trembled slightly.

"Stop stammering and just tell me!"

"Too many to count accurately... and as for location... they're coming from all directions..."

"Wh-what?!"

Lawrence was stunned the moment he heard that answer.

With his whole body shaking, he looked up at the projection screen.

"You've got to be kidding me."

The next moment, under the tense gazes of Lawrence and the others, the space around the fleet suddenly twisted like a distorted painting, then shattered completely.

Immediately after, countless black demons poured out like a tide. Their bodies were massive and terrifying, muscles bulging, eyes gleaming with savage light—like demons straight from the depths of hell.

These creatures came in all varieties: some wild and beastlike, others twisted like demons, some covered in black scales, others with arms elongated into giant hooks. Their roars were deafening, and in an instant, the entire star region reeked of thick, bloody stench.

Along with that bloody smell and piercing shrieks came overwhelming waves of Shadow power.

"How... how can there be so many?"

Teleporting to the flagship's deck and surveying the demon swarm that blotted out the sky in all directions, Lawrence clenched his fists tight.

When he spotted several behemoths the size of moving cities within the demon swarm, Lawrence couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

"Hah, haha, hahaha... Sky Prison Beasts, and seven of them... This is really screwed now."

Screwed or not, facing the demon swarm roaring toward them with destructive intent, Lawrence had no choice.

Forget supporting Yaohuaba and the others in Sky Nation—how to stay alive was the real priority!

"Activate barrier shields! All units and high-level ability users deploy for defense! Main cannons charge immediately!! Everything else that can fire, blast away—blow those bastards to pieces!"

With Lawrence's orders, hundreds of magic barriers instantly activated, forcibly blocking the demons' Shadow Annihilation attacks.

At the same time, every warship unleashed its full firepower! Thunder-like roars erupted! Cannons boomed, laser beams cut through space like lightning, weaving together into a massive defensive line against the black monsters' assault. Countless spiritual fission missiles shot into the demon swarm, triggering earth-shattering explosions, desperately trying to devour the howling demon horde.

And inflicting as much damage as possible on those Sky Prison Beasts.

For a moment, the space filled with smoke and blood, battle sparks flying around the interstellar fleet, creating a spectacular yet brutal scene.

...

—

Meanwhile,

on the Sky Nation battlefield, facing the tens of thousands of demons pouring out of the Demon Temple, the allied forces—who hadn't even caught their breath yet—suffered devastating losses.

Before they could regroup, they went head-to-head with the black tsunami rushing toward them.

So, the mech soldiers got torn apart by demons before they could even set up their cannons.

The magic corps, having lost their front-line protection, were hit by hundreds of Shadow Annihilation blasts before they could finish their incantations, instantly vaporized...

In an instant, the battlefield became a slaughterhouse. Facing the sudden demon swarm, the allied forces had virtually no ability to fight back, falling one after another to the demons' attacks.

Screams, wails, and the mad shrieks of demons rose and fell.

...

"Damn it!"

Surveying the retreating allied forces around him, Yaohuaba gritted his teeth, madness gradually seeping into his sea-blue eyes.

I thought we only had to deal with her alone.

Who knew she had actually hidden so many demons in her body?!

Bringing that many demons into Sky Nation—real smooth move!

Even worse, this abyssal lord's true form is actually a temple?

Are you serious?!

Yaohuaba roared furiously in his mind.

Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to dwell on it.

Because the next second, a massive sword crackling with violent thunder power came tearing through space with world-destroying momentum, smashing down toward his head!

?!!!

"Shit!"

Yaohuaba raised his Black Moon sword in a defensive stance, barely blocking that devastating strike.

BOOM!!!

With an earth-shaking crash, the moment the black blade clashed with the thunder sword, the ground exploded into a massive crater half a mile across! Blood involuntarily spurted from Yaohuaba's mouth.

"Damn... it..."

Staring at the enormous figure wrapped in purple energy armor before him, Yaohuaba felt like screaming.

Without a doubt, this sword-wielding entity unleashing wild Shadow power was also a Level 9 being!

If he could, he really wanted to hack that bastard Lena to pieces.

Bitch...

Didn't we agree there'd only be one strong opponent?

Not only did a demon swarm show up... what's the deal with this Sky Prison Beast-level bastard?! And... it's clearly only early Level 9, so why, why... is his power so... so heavy?!! I may not be fully recovered yet, but I shouldn't be unable to handle an early Level 9!!

His arms shaking constantly, as the energy clash continued, Yaohuaba had clearly fallen behind in this battle, gradually being suppressed by his opponent.

Worry and anxiety crept into his sea-blue eyes as his gaze drifted toward the black-haired girl walking away in the distance.

Damn it, if this guy keeps holding me up... won't that mean certain defeat?

That technique can only be used once! And I can't waste it on this guy...

Yaohuaba fell into unprecedented indecision.

However, as it turned out,

in battles between powerhouses, the slightest distraction would be exploited.

The moment Yaohuaba lost focus, the armored monster in front of him let out a bone-chilling roar and suddenly kicked forward! Completely dishonorably aiming for Yaohuaba's crotch.

BOOM!!!!!

...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

In that moment, hysterical screams echoed between heaven and earth.

—

Meanwhile,

Yaohuaba's screams didn't catch Yumo's attention at all, since... there were simply too many screams on the battlefield right now, practically forming a delightful symphony together.

Smiling slightly, Yumo shifted back from Demon Temple form to human shape, then elegantly turned and walked away. She strolled leisurely across this brutal battlefield while enjoying ice cream from her spatial ring. The carefree girl eating ice cream against the surrounding carnage created a bizarre sight.

"Well then... I'll leave the cleanup work to my sweeties. Perfect timing—having just mastered their power, they need some practice~"

Yumo said to herself.

Now then, time to find that woman...

However, just as Yumo was planning this and thoughtfully gazing into the distance, an unexpected, fierce and hoarse voice suddenly rang out behind her.

"Don't... don't think you can just walk away, you monster!!! This isn't over yet!!! You killed my son—don't think you can escape!!"

"Hm?"