"I intended to remain in my slumber, but your battle has awakened me," Hades continued.
Issei Hyoudou asked him, "So, were you helping us just now?"
Hades immediately retorted, "Helping you? Don't make me laugh. I have no intention of helping you at all; you were simply too noisy while I was trying to sleep."
"Besides, as of now, I am your enemy."
As soon as Hades said this, everyone was shocked. They had seen it clearly just now—the process of Hades taming Beast King 666. The Beast King 666 had surrendered to his mere presence alone; one could only imagine his true strength.
"Why is that, Hades?" Vali looked at Hades and asked.
Hades shifted his gaze, pointing at Issei Hyoudou and the other Reincarnated Devils. "Because I loathe humans, especially Reincarnated Devils who were once human."
"Huh?" The Reincarnated Devils tilted their heads, confused by his reasoning.
"What do you mean by that?! Hades!!" Azazel looked at Hades and questioned.
Hades looked at Azazel and said, "Azazel, like me, you have lived from the Age of Myth to the modern era. In this long span of time, you must have seen how foolish, filthy, and irredeemable humans can be."
These words left Azazel unsure of how to argue back.
In truth, these weren't Hades's sincere feelings, as he was originally human himself. He simply didn't feel safe leaving the world in their hands, especially since Issei Hyoudou was still so immature.
Hades closed his eyes and continued, "I am the King of the Underworld who governs Death. Over the long eons, I have watched humans wage wars for so-called power, money, and fame. For the sake of profit, they have destroyed the earth, polluted the rivers and oceans, and tainted the skies, ruining the beautiful world created by the gods. Finally, they have even raised the banner of rebellion against the gods themselves."
"Therefore, I believe humans are foolish, filthy, and irredeemable creatures."
Hearing this, everyone felt that Hades's words held a certain degree of truth.
Sirzechs curled his lip into a smile and said, "But Hades, there are more of us here than there are of you. Even with Beast King 666, you can't take on this many people at once, and many reinforcements will be arriving shortly."
"Is that so?" Hades smiled slightly with his eyes closed and head bowed.
Then, he looked up at the bright starry sky and shouted loudly, "Since the Age of Myth, the 108 Demon Stars that have hung in the sky to serve me, Hades, King of the Underworld—now is the time of your awakening!"
The 108 Demon Stars in the sky flashed with a blinding light, instantly eclipsing the radiance of all other stars.
Many strange metal sculptures began to emerge from the ground where everyone stood. These peculiar sculptures were shaped like mythical creatures; they were the underworld armor of the 108 Specters who served Hades, King of the Underworld.
The Demon Stars fell from the sky one after another, surging into the underworld armor. Among them, the Celestial Darkness Star surged into the giant black cocoon enveloping the body of Beast King 666. After the cocoon shattered, the underworld armor for Beast King 666 appeared. With a single thought from the Beast King, the underworld armor equipped itself onto his body, featuring heads on the chest, shoulders, knees, and bracers.
The Demon Stars of the celestial leader star and the Celestial Passage Star also flew off in other directions.
The underworld armor began to disassemble into individual parts and reassemble into humanoid forms.
One by one, the Specters appeared, their gazes sweeping over the crowd. Everyone shuddered under their stares, as if they were being met with the gaze of Death itself.
Hades said with a smile, "They are the Specters, the strongest warriors of the Underworld who serve me, Hades. They wear underworld armor forged from Underworld Gems—the crystallization of the power of the Netherworld and the Underworld. Chosen by the 108 Demon Stars in the sky, they have slept from the Age of Myth until the modern day, just as I have."
The Specters opened their eyes and looked at the crowd opposite them. Then, Hades snapped his fingers, and a golden rain poured down upon Issei Hyoudou and the others, causing their stamina and energy to begin recovering.
The crowd looked at Hades in confusion. Sensing their gazes, Hades smiled and said, "Rest assured, this rain is only to help you recover. You consumed a significant amount of stamina in the previous battle, and I would not enjoy defeating you in such a state."
"Go! My Specters!" Hades shouted loudly.
"As you command, Lord Hades!!" The Specters began to charge toward the crowd, and everyone stepped forward to meet the enemy, each facing off against a Specter.
Tigra of the Celestial Skill Star, Hanuman, faced off against the Monkey King. The Monkey King swung his Golden Cudgel to attack, but Tigra nimbly dodged. He then kicked the Monkey King in the face, sending him flying, and mocked him: "Is this all the descendant of the Victorious Fighting Buddha is capable of?"
The Monkey King slowly stood up, touching the footprint on his face where he had been kicked, and said, "This guy is really fast."
Others also faced their respective Specters, while the leaders of the three factions—Sirzechs, Michael, and Azazel—faced the three strongest Specters: the Three Judges of the Underworld.
"Aiacos of the Celestial Valiance Star, Garuda," Aiacos said to Michael, taking a combat stance.
Michael was puzzled at first, then pointed his sword at Aiacos and said, "Seraphim Michael."
"Minos of the Celestial Noble Star, Griffon," Minos said, raising both hands and looking at Azazel.
Azazel smiled slightly and said, "Do you Specters all like to announce your names before a fight? Then I shall do the same. The Twelve-Winged Fallen Angel, Azazel."
Sirzechs and Rhadamanthys stared at each other as if drawn together by their mutual strength. Rhadamanthys held out his hands as if preparing to attack and said:
"Rhadamanthys of the celestial fierce star, Wyvern."
"Demon King Lucifer, Sirzechs." After speaking, Sirzechs donned a suit of crimson battle armor.
With that, the two charged at each other, their clashing fists creating powerful air currents.
"Not a bad punch, Lucifer," Rhadamanthys praised with a smile.
"You as well, Wyvern Star," Sirzechs replied with a similar smile.
Following that, an unprecedented battle unfolded.
Minos and Azazel fought at a blistering speed that was completely impossible to track with the naked eye. Suddenly, Minos gave a cruel grin and reached out his right hand.
"Cosmic Marionettion—!!!"
Azazel suddenly stopped in mid-air as if frozen. He asked in confusion, "What's going on?"
Minos wiggled the fingers of his right hand and said with a laugh, "Now you are my loyal string puppet. How should I torture you next?"
"First, a finger." Minos moved one of his fingers, and a finger on Azazel's right hand snapped uncontrollably.
"Ugh..." Azazel gritted his teeth against the pain.
Next, Minos continued to torture Azazel, snapping his arms and legs one by one. Azazel let out screams of agony.
Michael and Aiacos engaged in a battle of flashing blades in the sky. Michael was fast, but Aiacos was even faster. Aiacos struck Michael's chest with a palm.
Michael was hit by a powerful impact and fell to the ground, the armor on his chest shattering as a result.
With a smile on his face, Aiacos reached out his hands and erupted with a powerful Cosmo. "Michael, let me show you my greatest secret technique."
Michael looked up weakly at Aiacos. Aiacos's hands moved continuously, and then countless terrifying demonic eyes appeared behind and around him.
Finally, he pressed his palms together, his ten fingers emitting a brilliant purple light: "Galactic Illusion—!!!"
Aiacos threw Michael into a strange alternate dimension, where spatial fluctuations continuously tore at Michael's armor and body.
"Aaaaaah—!!!" Michael let out a painful howl. His armor was pulverized into atoms, and his six pairs of golden wings were stained red with blood.
The battle between Rhadamanthys and Sirzechs was a masculine clash of fists and kicks. Sirzechs threw countless Destruction Magic Bullets with both hands, but Rhadamanthys calmly extended his left hand, unleashing hundreds of millions of light-speed punches in an instant.
The light-speed punches and Destruction Magic Bullets collided and neutralized each other, but countless light-speed punches still landed on Sirzechs. His crimson armor was gradually smashed to pieces, and Sirzechs's body took countless hits.
With his upper body bare, Sirzechs clutched his chest and said, "Is this the power of a Specter?"
Rhadamanthys said to Sirzechs, "I, Minos, and Aiacos, along with our new member Huang, are the four strongest among the 108 Demon Stars. We are known as the Four Heavenly Kings of the Underworld. If you want to defeat us, you will need much greater strength."
"The Four Heavenly Kings of the Underworld..." Sirzechs fainted with those words on his lips.
Meanwhile, the children of destiny of this world, Issei Hyoudou and Vali, faced off against Huang, the Beast of Revelation of the Celestial Darkness Star. Both immediately entered their Balance Breaker states and charged.
Huang calmly reached out and grabbed both of their heads. No matter what they tried, they couldn't break free. With a forceful squeeze from Huang, their Balance Breaker armor instantly shattered.
Huang spoke softly: "Doomsday Roar."
The seven heads on Huang's underworld armor opened their mouths. "ROAARRRR—!!" The seven mouths emitted intense sound waves infused with a powerful Cosmo. It wasn't just their ears; even their brains and bodies couldn't withstand it.
"Aaaaaah—!!" The two let out painful howls, and even the souls of the Two Heavenly Dragons within them could not bear it.
After the seven mouths of the underworld armor closed, Huang threw the two of them aside. Issei Hyoudou and Vali landed on their backs, struggling to look at Huang with their injured bodies.
Huang beckoned to them with three fingers. Both knew very well that Huang was provoking them.
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