Chapter 6: Demons Gather at the Imperial Court
Since Tang Ping and Tanoxi had flown directly to the center of the Pacific, near the International Date Line, the time difference added an extra three or four hours to their journey. Combined with the seven or eight hours they had to wait for the island to take shape, they couldn't just hover in place. Instead, they set up camp on a nearby uninhabited island and waited until the early hours of the morning to return and inspect the site.
As expected, the scene remained hellish. Most problematic of all was the concentration of volcanic ash in the air; it was so thick you literally couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Had it not been for the protective light orb isolating them, Tang Ping felt certain he would have suffocated within five seconds.
"This smoke is irritating! I can't see a thing... Descend!"
*Clap!*
Tanoxi pressed her palms together. The sound of the impact rippled out from the orb, echoing to the farthest corners of the ocean. Suddenly, the dust in the air seemed to be hit by a freezing spell, halting mid-air before falling in a perfectly synchronized descent. It looked as if God had accidentally knocked over a bottle of gray paint; a massive, soot-colored rain began to pour from the sky.
*Pitter-patter... pitter-patter...*
Ten minutes later, the deluge finally ceased. As the last drop hit the ground, the sky over this patch of ocean returned to its original color. Free from the light pollution of the big cities, the stars shone with extraordinary brilliance, and the air became exceptionally crisp.
"Lady Tanoxi..."
"What is it, loyal servant? Are you so moved by the sight of my divine miracle that you've lost your words?"
"No, I wanted to ask... since every cloud for hundreds of kilometers has vanished, did you consider the possibility that we might be spotted by satellites?"
*Smack!*
Tang Ping once again made intimate contact with the floor.
"I just made a stellar contribution to your human 'carbon reduction plan'! Stop complaining!" Tanoxi retracted her tentacle and barked at him, hands on her hips.
"...It'll be a huge mess if we're photographed. We'd better find a way to fix this," Tang Ping said helplessly, dusting himself off.
Looking at her overly cautious servant, Tanoxi rolled her eyes. "You're so long-winded! Are you a man or not? If they come, we'll just crush them. We'll beat them so hard they'll go running home to their mommies!"
"..."
Tang Ping shot her a look of pure sarcasm. *Heh, you're quite the comedian.*
Despite her grumbling, Tanoxi took action. She snapped her fingers.
*Snap!*
Instantly, the light orb enveloping them began to expand. Like an inflating green balloon, it grew until it swallowed the sky, the sea, and the entire island. A massive barrier appeared, centered on the island. From the perspective of outer space, it looked like a giant green glass dome inverted over the surface of the ocean.
"There. From the outside, it looks like nothing but an illusion of ordinary open sea. The interior is completely hidden."
Tanoxi used a tentacle to grab Tang Ping, and the two descended slowly onto the scorched earth. Tang Ping expected his feet to be burned by the ground, but to his surprise, the soil wasn't hot at all. Instead, it felt like a quilt that had been basking in the sun—warm and comforting. He scooped up a handful of dirt, marveling once again at the miracles Tanoxi could perform.
As he examined the soil, he asked the Evil God, "By the way, can you also prohibit other ships from entering? I'd rather not wake up to find a stray missile falling from the sky."
"I've already thought of that! Don't assume I'm as slow-witted as you. This isn't just a simple barrier; it has a filtering capability. At the very least, if a human vessel touches the eastern side of the barrier, it will emerge directly from the western side."
*Forced spatial relocation...? That's insane...*
"Ugh—!"
Tanoxi suddenly collapsed to her knees. She gasped for air, her features contorted in pain as if she were about to die.
"What's wrong?! Are you okay, Lady Tanoxi?!"
"I... I think... I overdid it..."
"What? H-How can I help you?!" Tang Ping panicked, his hands trembling. He hadn't brought any medicine—what a massive oversight! *I'm screwed, I'm screwed! What do I do?!*
"This world... it... is rejecting me!"
Even though her snow-white skin and galaxy-like hair were stained by the dirty mud, Tanoxi gritted her teeth, trembling as she pushed herself up. As one of the most malevolent dark races in the universe, the mere existence of a Cthulhu was a taboo. When Tanoxi crossed through the rift in space-time, the World Will had keenly detected this dangerous presence and sealed her power. As an outsider, she couldn't absorb the mana generated by this planet to replenish her energy. Consequently, she had set her sights on the planet's most abundant creatures: humans—the sentient race possessing mana.
Previously, when Tanoxi had attacked the humans in Rookie City, the World Will hadn't reacted. She had theorized that because the Age of Gods had ended and humanity was a lost cause, the planet's mana cycle had collapsed. She thought the World Will wanted to restart the world and thus didn't care about human lives.
But now, Tanoxi realized something: the World Will might ignore the deaths of a few humans, but it would never tolerate an outsider polluting a planet that was drawing its final breaths.
"I... can't hold it! Servant, get back!"
Tanoxi's tentacles suddenly lashed out at Tang Ping, knocking him far away. She pressed her palms together, fingers interlocking, concentrating every last drop of divine power remaining in her body.
"AAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
The sky wailed, and the earth trembled. Countless bolts of lightning flickered in succession, lighting up the pitch-black sky until it was as bright as day.
"Abyssal Art—Kin Summoning!"
*CRACK—!*
The sound of something brittle shattering filled the air. A massive surge erupted from the sea, and a giant dragon, as thick as a city bus, emerged. A draconic roar thundered through the heavens.
*CRACK—!*
This time, the sound came from behind the volcano. A moment later, a giant bird wreathed in golden flames soared over the mountains, flying freely through the vast sky. It was a second sun.
*CRACK—!*
The sharp sound echoed from the distance, accompanied by rising clouds of dust. A pack of wolves, each as large as a car, raced forward. They had blue-gray fur marked with strange black patterns on their faces and limbs. Wherever they passed, the air grew frigid, and the warm volcanic mud turned into permafrost.
"W-What on earth is this?!"
"They are my kin—which means they're your comrades now!"
"Your kin?!"
"Come! Give me your power! Every drop of mana—hand it over to me!"
Tanoxi spread her arms wide, and the tentacles behind her back blossomed like a flower. They frantically absorbed the mana leaking from the rift in space-time. Even the colossal magical beasts launched their attacks: high-pressure water jets teeming with mana, freezing blades of azure wind, and the Solar Flame capable of purifying all filth. These energy blasts, powerful enough to sweep away entire armies, shot straight toward Tanoxi.
Enveloped in a blinding green radiance, a spherical barrier erupted from Tanoxi's body. It didn't just block the attacks; it absorbed their energy. As she siphoned the power, her form began to swell like a balloon, and her very shape started to shift.
Her towering figure grew so immense it seemed she could pluck the moon from the sky. Her shadow draped over the land, painting a deep hue of terror upon the face of Gaia. Her legs became thicker than millennial oaks in an ancient forest, and the fragile earth groaned and cracked under her weight.
In the blink of an eye, the stunning beauty had transformed into an abyssal behemoth. This was Tanoxi's true form—a gargantuan monstrosity resembling a cross between a jellyfish and a squid, a powerful entity from another world.
The Great Evil God, Tanoxi, had descended!
"AAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Tanoxi let out a soul-shattering roar that echoed through every corner of the sea. Heaven and earth seemed to tremble. The summoned monsters instinctively fell to their knees, bowing their heads in total submission.
Witnessing this series of upheavals, Tang Ping's legs had long since turned to jelly, and he sat paralyzed on the ground. He gazed up at the massive Evil God, standing over thirty meters tall, his mind a chaotic mess.
Then, Tanoxi looked down at him.
"Loyal servant, remember to hold on tight!"
"Hold on to what?"
Before Tang Ping could react, a tentacle coiled around his waist and flung him onto the back of the abyssal beast. Feeling that her servant was securely fastened, Tanoxi raised her arms and slammed them into the ground with all her might.
With her as the epicenter, the ground instantly splintered into countless web-like fissures. Sand and dust swirled into the air, forcing Tang Ping to squeeze his eyes shut as he clung to her body. Consequently, he didn't see the pulses of green light that surged into the earth the moment her hands struck the ground, rippling out across the entire island.
---
Twenty minutes passed before the howling wind and the sound of cracking earth finally subsided. Realizing the "natural disaster" had ended, Tang Ping cautiously opened his eyes and looked around.
Everything was calm.
He slowly slid down from Tanoxi's back. Reaching the ground, he finally let out a long breath of relief. "Whew~"
*Now, let's see what kind of surprise our Great Evil God has in store for us...*
Tang Ping scrambled up a small hill on all fours. Standing on his tiptoes, he peered into the distance, hoping to see the majestic landscapes he had envisioned. But the result shocked him.
"Huh?"
Why... why hadn't much changed?
When they were camping on the other island, he had clearly explained the territorial layout to Tanoxi. The island was to be divided into five sectors: East, South, West, North, and Central. High mountains in the East, plains in the West. Sandy beaches in the South, prairies and lakes in the North. And the Central region—the most important part, the capital—was to be a plateau acting as a buffer between the mountains and the plains.
*I even made data charts! I told her to just follow the instructions!* Tang Ping remembered her clearly stating it would be no problem at all for her power. So... what was this?
"Lady Tanoxi...!"
Tang Ping turned to ask her what had gone wrong, but he was startled to find her massive body shrinking rapidly, like a deflating balloon. Finally, she transformed into a tiny, completely naked young girl—a loli.
"Huff... puff... This... was more... exhausting... than I thought...!"
Tanoxi collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air. Tang Ping rushed forward to support her.
"Lady Tanoxi! Are you okay?!"
"No... I've had enough... I'm not playing anymore..."
Tanoxi looked like an overworked office lady after a brutal shift, her face a mask of despair. She buried her face in Tang Ping's chest, attempting to hide from reality. "Huff... puff..."
"I see... then let's stop playing..."
Tang Ping gathered the loli Evil God into his arms, gently stroking her back to soothe her pain. But as his eyes fell upon her slender, fragile neck, a bold thought suddenly surged into his mind.
*She's so weak right now...*
*Maybe... this is the perfect time to kill her...*
"Huff... puff..."
The girl in his arms continued to gasp. Her sweat, pouring like rain, soaked through Tang Ping's shirt. Seeing her in such a pitiful state, the strength immediately drained from the right hand Tang Ping had just begun to lift.
*Forget it... she worked so hard...*
But a demonic voice whispered again: *If you don't do it now, you might never get another chance... Kill her, and you'll be the hero who saved the world...*
*A hero...? No... I'm no hero. At least... I shouldn't be one right now.*
Unbeknownst to him, the demonic voice faded away. Tang Ping looked down at Tanoxi; she had stopped gasping and was staring up at him with wide, watery eyes.
"...What's wrong?"
"Mmm-mm~"
The loli Evil God didn't answer. She simply rubbed her face against his chest again, like a cute kitten.
"......"
*Sigh... one day, I'll probably regret this...*
Feeling Tanoxi's breathing gradually stabilize, Tang Ping ran his fingers through her hair and smiled helplessly.