The silver-white ice arrow pierced straight through the chest of the owl.
After piercing through him, it continued unimpeded through Keith's body, thudding heavily into the ground behind, and with a bang, it shattered.
The ground should have exploded into a large crater, but at the moment it shattered, it was already frozen, coating an area of several dozen meters in a layer of silver-white.
No blood poured from the owl's chest; instead, a blossom of ice bloomed.
Before he could react, the ice crystals had already spread across his entire body, turning him directly into an ice sculpture.
Behind him, however, Keith, who was also pierced by the ice arrow, flickered like a phantom and then solidified again.
He glanced at the surrounding ice crystals and then at Gray, who exuded cold air: "This is Shilba's magic... and his appearance as well... So that's it."
Keith thought he had guessed the truth, and said somewhat regretfully, "Father and son in conflict, a battle between the living and the dead, what a pity I couldn't witness it firsthand."
On the other side, Lucy was marveling at Gray's new magic: "So powerful!"
Jubia's eyes sparkled: "As expected of Master Gray!"
"To think he solved one in a single strike," Hapi said, "I heard the Three-Plumed Crow were quite strong."
"How did they die again? Oh, I think it was by Rhode and Mira... then it's fine."
Natsu looked at Keith, floating in his black robe, puzzled: "What's with that person?"
"He's my opponent," Gray said, leaving those words as he rushed out.
"Hey!" Natsu followed him out.
Lucy quickly caught up: "Anyway, let's deal with the others first."
At this time, in the control room of the Gate of the Underworld.
The topmost first screen was displaying the scene above the Netherworld King Beast, where the Purgatory Sub-Dragon was wreaking havoc under the guise of teasing Jia Ka'er and Dempsey Tower.
The second screen was showing the situation on the battlefield in front of the Netherworld King Beast.
The third screen was a map, marked with red dots showing the positions of most of the ambush forces.
The other dozen or so screens displayed a dense array of images and data, all related to Feis's location and status.
Crawford's fingers flew over the virtual keyboard non-stop, occasionally glancing nervously at the battle unfolding above.
Franmars, somewhat anxious, urged, "Former Speaker, brother, please focus a little, hurry up."
"I know, I know! The connection will be completed soon. Once it's done, as long as I press the start button, all 3000 Feis will start preheating at the same time! I'll just... ugh!!!"
Crawford's rotund belly caved in, his eyes nearly bulging out, and he spewed blood.
His heavy body flew momentarily, smashed through the control room wall, and rolled into the corridor.
"Former Speaker, brother!" Franmars widened his one eye, only to see a tall figure appearing where Crawford originally stood.
A faint green mist slowly dissipated around that person.
"Who are you?! Do you know what you are doing?" Franmars swore angrily without waiting to see the person's face clearly,
"The Feis plan is about to start, do you know how much this plan is worth? Hmm? Do you know its value?!"
That person ignored him and instead turned to look at the screens floating in the air: "The person is down, yet the magic remains? Are these screens a function of the control room itself?"
"Of course, it's just that the former Speaker's magic made it easier to control these... ah! It's you!"
Franmars belatedly recognized this uninvited guest, "You're that human named Rhode who killed Dempsey Tower's brother and disrupted Jia Ka'er's actions!"
"Yes, it's me." Rhode searched among the screens until he found what he wanted to see.
"Operation successful! The former Speaker has lost consciousness, and Feis hasn't been activated yet.
Also, from that countdown, even if activated, it would take an hour to preheat."
Mira's voice echoed in Rhode's mind: "Received, then I'll start as well."
The ground started shaking, the roar of the Netherworld King Beast resonated into the control room, seemingly carrying fear rather than the anger from being attacked by the Purgatory Sub-Dragon.
Franmars panicked: "The Netherworld King Beast! What's going on this time?!"
The roaring gradually weakened, and a few seconds later, it completely ceased.
The ground shook violently one last time, and sounds of collapsing echoed around.
From the outside, the Netherworld King Beast's black tentacles and small horns had all disappeared, and its gigantic mouth had also closed.
But it hadn't reverted to the squarish shape of the Netherworld Island, instead, it was somewhat deformed.
It looked like magic had been removed from every layer by someone, causing the entire island to collapse inside and out.
The palace of the Gate of the Underworld, having been slightly reinforced by the Netherworld King, did not collapse.
As soon as the shaking stopped, Mira had already jumped through the window, landing lightly beside Rhode.
She was now in her standard demon form, her hands transformed into the iconic Devil Claw, her entire body clad in black tight-fitting attire, with a few black segmented 'ribbons' trailing from her back, resembling the shrunken tentacles of the Netherworld King Beast.
Her long white hair was tied into a bundle behind her head, crossed with a spiky black hairband.
The place where the hairband crossed bore the emblem of the Gate of the Underworld—looking like this, someone would definitely believe she was one of the Nine Ghosts Sect.
If there was any discordant element, it would be her bulging abdomen, which couldn't compare to her usual figure.
"You..." Franmars sensed the Netherworld King Beast's power from this woman (demoness?) and feared her identity, "What... have you done?"
Mira playfully stuck out her tongue: "Oh, nothing much, just watched that big guy outside make a fuss, spent a bit of time studying him, and then absorbed his power."
"Brilliant!" Rhode praised.
Mira smiled and asked: "Are you saying my new form is brilliant, or that I did a brilliant job?"
Rhode laughed: "Of course, it's a double entendre."
Shilba said the Netherworld King could use a magic called 'Joy' through the Netherworld King Beast.
That magic could instantly assimilate everyone on the Netherworld Island, turning them directly into a part of the Netherworld King Beast.
Thus, Rhode vetoed the initial plan of dispatching an elite team to the island to sabotage.
Instead, they let the Magic-guided Cluster Cannon, the Purgatory Sub-Dragon, and the Canyon Vanguard probe the Netherworld King Beast's offensive and defensive capabilities.
Then sent the Void Worm for a feigned attack while comrades provided remote support to draw enemy attention.
This provided Mira with time and favorable conditions for her Receiving Magic.
Meanwhile, Rhode protected Mira while stealthily approaching the Netherworld King Beast to study and observe, also waiting for an opportunity to stop the former Speaker from activating Feis.
Now everything had gone smoothly, only the eradication of these demons remained!