An unsuppressible dread suddenly washed over the Darkness Devil.
There was no way it could ignore the nearby Tianyuan Cauldron. And there was no way it couldn't guess that the massive pot, looming quite large in its eyes, had been prepared specifically for it.
But what drove the devil to utter despair was that it could not resist at all. It couldn't run, and it couldn't fight.
As the bottom of the cauldron grew increasingly red, a scorching heat radiated throughout Hell. It felt like its absolute destiny.
Reze examined the massive bronze cauldron with curiosity. Naturally, she didn't recognize it. Just like the Darkness Devil, she simply thought this pot was extraordinarily large. She subconsciously glanced at Zoran, but no thoughts of resistance dared to cross her mind.
Not long ago, this very devil had saved her, allowing her and Denji to escape together. Looking back now, he must have made some sort of advance agreement with Denji.
Her mouth parted slightly in surprise, unable to help but marvel at how extraordinary he was. She had seen human-eating devils; this world was practically crawling with them. She had also seen devil-eating devils, one was standing right next to her. But this was the absolute first time she had ever seen someone process a devil with such intricate steps, exquisite craftsmanship, and refined techniques.
Compared to these methods, the way Denji had previously latched onto the Darkness Devil to blindly gnaw on it made him look like an uncivilized caveman.
Finally, Zoran, who had been waiting at total ease, received his result.
The victory had been decided from the very start.
In Hell, the final remnants of darkness vanished without a trace. The Black Chainsaw stood silently before Zoran, completely speechless.
The Darkness Devil was dead.
"Grand victory!" Kobeni pumped her fists, hopping up and down with joy.
The Darkness Devil was dead, and she hadn't died. She hadn't even lost a hand, a leg, or any organs. For Kobeni, this was a grand victory in every sense of the word!
Zoran and the Black Chainsaw exchanged a look, and Zoran nodded with satisfaction. He pointed a finger, channeling the Moon Demon Chi to envelop the Black Chainsaw.
A magic spell was quietly released.
The Black Chainsaw's body began to dissolve, turning as soft as modeling clay. After a few moments, the power of the spell subsided.
The Black Chainsaw before them had been split into three.
On the left was a naked, slightly dazed Denji. On the right was Pochita, a small orange-yellow dog with a little chainsaw on its head. And in the middle was exactly what Zoran wanted.
A twisted, writhing orb of dark light floated in the air.
The Darkness Devil, completely devoured and slain.
Zoran had used a spell to separate the three of them. With a flick of his finger, the dark orb rapidly flew into a small opening on the cauldron's lid, vanishing soundlessly.
Next, he just needed to wait a little while.
"Pochita!" Denji finally snapped out of it. His voice trembled with excitement and pure joy, a massive grin spreading across his face.
He lunged forward and scooped up the little dog, happily rubbing his face against its head. Just like old times, he gave it a tight embrace.
"Pochita, Pochita..." Denji called out its name repeatedly.
Little Pochita's eyes widened, happily accepting Denji's affection. Before disaster had struck and forced Pochita to become Denji's heart, this was exactly how they used to live together.
Denji instinctively touched his chest. The original starter cord had completely disappeared. Zoran had separated him and Pochita into two independent entities, just like they used to be.
"Pochita!" Denji said happily. "I don't want to be a Devil Hunter anymore. Let's go to the countryside together, you, me, and Reze!"
He set Pochita on the ground, wanting to hear its opinion.
Reze walked over as well, crouching down in front of Pochita. She extended her hand, petting Pochita's head just like a real puppy.
"Woof!" Pochita responded to Denji, happily rolling around on the ground.
"Haha, Pochita!" Denji scratched its chin.
Watching this scene, Reze couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.
Kobeni glanced at the heartwarming scene, then trotted over to Zoran's side. She squatted down quietly, resting her chin on her hands as she stared at the Tianyuan Cauldron.
As expected, she still preferred staying in the big city and becoming rich. She curiously examined the Tianyuan Cauldron, this legendary elixir-refining furnace.
"When Mr. Demon first made a contract with me, he had already targeted the Darkness Devil. Turns out he wanted to cook it!" Kobeni murmured.
She leaned her upper body forward slightly, though she couldn't see anything through the thick walls of the cauldron.
"Will it be boiled into soup?" Kobeni blinked. "Can I have a sip?" she asked innocently.
Then, she shook her head, shuddering at her own thought. Smacking her lips, she said, "Ugh, that guy was so ugly. Even if it's boiled into soup, it'll definitely be pitch black!"
As she spoke, Zoran raised his hand and lifted the cauldron lid.
A massive plume of hot steam billowed out, spreading through Hell like a thick mist. A dark elixir radiating a faint, gloomy light flew out, hovering quietly in the air.
"Want a taste?" Zoran teased, looking down at Kobeni beside him.
Kobeni took one look and quickly shook her head. She knew Mr. Demon was just teasing her. There was clearly only one pill; she wasn't the type of person to overstep her bounds.
Zoran smiled and nodded.
Come to think of it, as a chef certified by both Po Kong and a world of gourmet delicacies, this was the first time he had ever refined an elixir, or rather, cooked a meal, for himself.
He hooked his finger slightly. The elixir drifted toward him, transforming into a wisp of light smoke just before contact and dissolving into his mouth.
Zoran closed his eyes, then slowly opened them a moment later.
This was exactly how it should be.
On the journey to rescue his brothers and sisters, he also needed to continuously strengthen himself. The Darkness Devil was an excellent supplement. Given his ability to traverse the myriad worlds of the universe, there was no shortage of diverse supplements out there. Perhaps sometimes, he really should take a page out of Po Kong's book.
With a wave of his sleeve, he stored the Tianyuan Cauldron away. Looking around, he said softly, "Let's go."
Beside him, the group suddenly felt their vision go black. In the next split second, they reappeared in the human world, right at the exact location where they had been captured and dragged into Hell.
Entering and exiting Hell in this world was many times simpler than in his original world.
It was worth mentioning that, due to certain reasons, a large number of devils had suddenly flooded the human world. Of course, Kobeni didn't do it. The Moon Demon Chi did.
Out on the streets, the corpses of dolls were scattered everywhere. The dolls that had been jumping around so erratically earlier were now collapsed haphazardly on the ground, completely immobilized. They blocked the entire street, creating a total gridlock.
Kobeni was raring to go, her eyes scanning back and forth across the surroundings. She was looking for the mastermind behind all of this.
"This isn't over yet! I want to see exactly who dragged us into Hell!" Kobeni clenched her fists, full of confidence.
"Yeah!" Denji agreed, holding Pochita and nodding aggressively.
The two of them scanned the streets, but aside from the ground covered in dolls, they found absolutely nothing.
"No need to look," Zoran spoke up.
"Eh?" Kobeni let out a confused squeak. "Did Mr. Demon already take care of them?"
Zoran smiled and shook his head. "You took care of them."
The mastermind behind the scenes was Santa Claus. Not only had she captured Kobeni and the others into Hell, but she had also entered Hell herself. Her goal was to enter Hell, obtain a piece of the Darkness Devil's flesh, and use that power to kill Makima.
But unfortunately for her, Makima was already dead.
And this tragic assassin hadn't even had the chance to lay eyes on the Darkness Devil before meeting her end. Instead, she had first encountered the phantom moon that Kobeni had dragged down from the sky.
Consequently, during Kobeni's massive area-of-effect strike that enveloped nearly all of Hell, the assassin had quite inadvertently perished.