As the sudden change in the arena unfolded, the group of powerhouses seated at the very top finally showed some reaction. To put it simply, they had finally started paying attention to the match.
So boring. Was I out of my mind when I agreed to come here with the PR department?
Cid had guessed right. Most of the special guests invited to this event were thinking the same thing.
To be fair, even though Rias had been getting suppressed by Riser throughout the match, there had still been quite a few impressive moments.
The audience's reaction below said it all. This was a pretty good match.
The problem was, who exactly were they?
This was a group of powerhouses who would unquestionably rank among the top fifty in the world. Asking people like them to sit through this kind of rookie-level scuffle was just too much.
As for the engagement, they did not care. They might have had a little interest in that sort of gossip, but not nearly enough to come here for it.
The title of "strongest of the younger generation in the Underworld" might have been enough to draw them in, but that title was obviously fake. If this was really the strongest of the younger generation in the Underworld, they would die laughing.
It could be said that because the Underworld's PR department had randomly lost its mind, these people had been forced to come watch this rookie-level match and waste a good chunk of their time. Quite a few of them had already decided that once they got back, they were going to give the Devils some trouble.
And now, with the change inside the arena, a few of them were finally paying attention to the match.
"Interesting. Although it's a similar kind of power, it's completely different from the weakness of those so-called Kingdom Knights in World No. 3. This power is stronger and far more versatile. If it reaches its completed form, it probably won't be any weaker than mine.
It seems Shadow's appearance was no accident. World No. 3 is not as weak as it looks. There are definitely a lot of things hidden there."
Azazel watched the scene below with growing excitement, even taking out a sheet of paper to record what was about to happen.
Seeing his friend like this, Ajuka smiled helplessly. He knew Azazel's urge to research had kicked in again. He was just about to say something when he suddenly paused and looked to the side.
Just like Ajuka, the other three Devils also turned to look.
The target of their attention was a figure wearing a ritual crown, draped in priestly robes, and holding a glowing skeleton staff.
"Old Man Hades, are you planning to leave already? The match is only just getting to the interesting part."
Faced with the god of the underworld, it was Sirzechs, the one the other four tacitly regarded as their leader, who spoke first.
"No. A match like this is utterly meaningless. I would be far more comfortable returning to my own underworld."
He clearly had not opened his mouth, yet that gloomy voice echoed out from nowhere all around them.
"Then I hope Old Man Hades returns to the underworld as soon as possible and does not run into any accidents on the way."
"Should I take that as a threat, bat?"
"It's not a threat. It's a friendly reminder. Because your visit was so sudden, Old Man Hades, we did not prepare a Magic Circle leading to the underworld. We would hate for something to happen to you on the road."
"Instead of worrying about me, worry about yourselves. After all, a bat's lifespan is quite short."
Sirzechs's words were far from polite, but Hades did not seem angry. He only mocked him once, then left.
"How did you even end up inviting that guy? Isn't he always hostile toward the other pantheons?"
After watching the whole exchange, Azazel raised a brow and asked with interest.
"We don't know."
"You don't know?"
Ajuka nodded and explained to Azazel.
"Hades arrived without warning. We had no advance notice that he was coming. Even Old Man Zeus looked surprised when he saw Hades. Clearly, Hades did not inform anyone before coming this time."
"Now that is interesting. Hades has never been a good person. There's no way he came here just for the sake of the Greek pantheon's reputation."
Inside the arena, the moment Cid was injured, the atmosphere, which had been normal until then, instantly turned grim.
Standing in the white mist, Claire released a huge amount of pitch-black Magical Power. Under the influence of that overwhelming Magical Power, the wounds on her body vanished in an instant.
Scarlet tentacles stretched out one after another from behind Claire. Her crimson eyes locked tightly onto Riser, giving off a red aura. A crushing pressure fell over Riser, carrying a chill that sank all the way into the bone.
"I'll kill you!!!"
Facing Claire like this, the relaxed, carefree look on Riser's face vanished. The flaming wings behind him beat instinctively as he tried to pull away.
But a sudden resistance came from behind. He turned his head reflexively and saw two tentacles rising from the ground, tightly binding his wings.
"Whoosh!"
A sharp gust of wind came from the front, but this time Riser didn't even have time to turn.
"Slash!"
Claire's sword pierced straight into Riser's chest. In an instant, pitch-black Magical Power surged along the blade into his body, and then it exploded.
"Boom!"
The explosion inside his body blasted a huge hole through Riser's abdomen, blood spraying everywhere. The force sent him flying backward through the air.
The Phoenix bloodline activated, flames emerging at the wound to heal his injuries, preventing the arena's system from judging him as defeated despite the severity of the damage.
Still suspended in midair, Riser hadn't even recovered from losing most of his strength in that instant before Claire's next attack arrived.
The sword hilt shattered under the overwhelming Magical Power. With sonic booms tearing through the air, Claire appeared above him in the next moment and pressed a hand onto his face.
A massive surge of Magical Power erupted from behind her, crashing against the barrier of the separate space. That deep, light-devouring black Magical Power spread across the sky, dimming visibility throughout the entire area.
"Bang!"
The explosive force altered Riser's trajectory midair. Driven by Claire's overwhelming Magical Power, he was slammed straight into the ground with a violent impact.
"Riser-sama! We're here to save you!"
In just a few seconds, they had been driven back to the place where the battle first began, Rias's base.
Seeing their master in such a state, Riser's Peerage Members rushed forward to rescue him.
A black Magic Bullet shot from the hand of a purple-haired woman and struck Claire, triggering a violent explosion. Blood mist burst outward, and the wind from the Magical Power swept through, mixing the white mist and blood into a thick haze.
"Yubelluna-sama, be careful!"
In the next instant, the drifting blood mist gathered in front of the purple-haired woman, forming Claire's figure clad in blood. Her left fist, wrapped in visible Magical Power, smashed toward Yubelluna.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Riser's Queen, Yubelluna, had no time to react and was knocked to the ground by the impact.
"Bang!"
Just as Claire moved to follow up, two masked girls wielding greatswords stepped in together and blocked her strike.
From behind, the twin sisters armed with chainsaws lunged at Claire, but she spun instantly and sent them flying with a powerful kick.
Taking advantage of the opening, an orange-haired maid rushed in and carried the fallen Yubelluna away, while a kimono-clad girl fed Riser "Phoenix Tears."
A total of eight girls, together with Riser, surrounded Claire.
No longer holding back and without the slightest hesitation, Riser gathered Magical Power in his hands, forming blazing flames. Together with Yubelluna, who had taken Phoenix Tears and unleashed her strongest destructive magic, they attacked Claire at full power.
"Boom!!!"
The explosion lasted for several seconds, thickening the blood mist in the air.
After that attack, the Magical Power inside Riser and Yubelluna was nearly exhausted. They gasped for breath, staring tensely at the center of the explosion.
"Buzz…"
A pillar of Magical Power several times stronger than before erupted in Riser's line of sight. Beams of Magical Power shot wildly in all directions, blasting apart the replicated buildings and clearing most of the space.
The Magical Power covering the sky distorted the very space itself, while the ever-increasing pressure bore down heavily on Riser.
"Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!"…
Sharp piercing sounds echoed from behind him and from within his own body.
Lowering his head in a daze, Riser saw a vivid crimson tentacle piercing straight through his abdomen.
The blood mist spilling from his mouth gradually condensed into blood-red spheres, drifting through the air and scattering across the surroundings.
"Boom!"
An explosion that covered half the separate space roared into the sky, the crimson light shining for more than ten seconds.
When it ended, all of Riser's Peerage Members had been eliminated. Only Riser himself remained, lying on the ground, kept in the arena solely by the Phoenix's regenerative ability.
But even though he was still alive, he could only lie there, watching his own blood drip away, quietly waiting for death.
During that explosion, he had resurrected more than ten times, only to die again the instant he revived.
Now, his Magical Power, stamina, and even his bloodline had all reached their limits. He no longer had the ability to resurrect.
"Tap, tap, tap…"
Footsteps echoed as Claire slowly approached him.
She was now covered in blood, thick crimson tentacles extending from her back. A blood-red sword formed in her hand, and with madness in her eyes, she walked toward Riser step by step.
"I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you…"
Hearing her voice filled with killing intent and insanity, fear appeared in Riser's eyes. Yet he could only watch helplessly as she drew closer.
The blood sword in her hand became wrapped in a deep crimson aura. Claire raised it high and drove it down toward his heart.
I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die…
At that moment, that was the only thought left in Riser's mind. His Phoenix bloodline could not save him, and the arena's elimination system could not protect him.
He tried to surrender, but his throat, damaged by the explosion and the battle, could not produce a single sound. He could only watch as the blade descended toward his heart.
"That's enough. Do you really want to kill him?"
"Kill him, kill him…"
At the critical moment, Aurora acted within the consciousness space, knocking Claire down and pinning her firmly in place.
Looking down at Claire, who was still struggling desperately beneath her, Aurora scratched her head in frustration.
"Your brother is fine. Don't go this crazy. Just teach him a lesson. If you actually kill him, how are you going to deal with the aftermath?
Your body was already in bad shape to begin with, and after pushing it this far, it's on the verge of collapsing again."
"Kill him, kill him…"
Claire ignored her completely, as if she hadn't heard a word, continuing to mutter about killing Riser.
Seeing that Claire not only hadn't calmed down after hearing the explanation, but was struggling even more violently, Aurora realized something was wrong.
She leaned in and looked directly into Claire's eyes, trying to assess her condition, then froze.
What she saw wasn't simple madness, but an obsession that had completely taken over. And it was growing more intense with every passing moment.
Aurora's mouth parted slightly, disbelief filling her eyes as she stared at Claire.
"Snap out of it. It's not even certain your brother was seriously hurt. Even the injuries he's showing would only take a few days to heal at most. And you actually lost control over something like this?
And you still say you're not a brother-obsessed sister?"
A brother-obsessed sister was terrifying.
Putting Aurora's complaint aside, in reality, Claire's body lost control as the Claire within the consciousness space was suppressed by Aurora.
With her consciousness gone, her body, already burdened by Aurora's power, began to sway.
The next moment, a large cloud of blood mist burst out behind her. Blood flowed from the corner of her mouth as she collapsed heavily onto the ground.