Max returned to the party building where he had left all the demons and sinners trapped in his web of Universal Threads.
They were still there.
Dozens of them hung suspended in the air, wrapped tightly in glowing threads like insects caught in a massive spider web. Some struggled, others cursed, and a few just hung there silently, knowing escape was impossible.
Several of them were powerful—some even had Overlord-level energy—but it didn't matter. The threads were nearly unbreakable unless Max released them himself.
Max walked slowly through the web, hands in his pockets, examining each trapped demon one by one.
"I was honestly just going to kill all of you," Max said casually.
Several of them froze.
But then he stopped walking.
Something caught his attention.
One of the trapped demons had a very specific aura.
Max turned slowly and walked toward him.
The demon looked like a normal sinner at first glance, but the energy around him was unmistakable.
Rat.
Disease.
Decay.
Max stopped in front of him and crouched slightly so they were eye level.
The sinner glared back at him.
Max glanced at the webbing around him.
"Acid burns," Max said, pointing to parts of the thread. "Fire damage. Ice attempts. Electrical burns."
He tilted his head.
"You tried a lot of things to get out."
The sinner smirked slightly.
Max nodded slowly.
"I do have to admit," Max said, "using Bee to bring all your bodies into one place probably would've been a good idea…"
He leaned slightly closer.
"…if I hadn't threatened to kill you earlier."
The sinner laughed quietly.
"Yeah," he said. "You probably should've thought about that before threatening me."
He tilted his head slightly.
"I didn't expect you to be this powerful though."
His eyes scanned Max carefully.
"You can shapeshift… use multiple abilities… and you have some kind of strange magic system."
He smiled slowly.
"I want you."
A cloud of green gas suddenly burst from the sinner's mouth and rushed toward Max's face.
Max didn't even move.
The gas reached him, lingered for a moment…
Then Max casually created a small wind current with his hand and blew it away like smoke.
"Yeah," Max said calmly. "That's not going to work."
The sinner's expression darkened slightly.
Max leaned closer.
"But considering how smart you claim to be…"
He smiled slightly.
"I bet if I kill every one of your active bodies, I can eventually find your true body."
He tapped the sinner's forehead lightly.
"After all… you're not dumb enough to use your real body for field work like this."
For just a fraction of a second—
The sinner twitched.
That was all Max needed to see.
Max stood up slowly.
"Thought so."
The sinner's confidence faded slightly.
"But you won't kill everyone here, right?" the sinner asked quickly. "Let me go, and we'll leave you alone."
Max stopped walking.
Then slowly turned his head back toward him.
"No," Max said calmly.
"The reason I hold back isn't here."
He spread his arms slightly and looked around.
"And this…"
He smiled slightly.
"…is the Ring of Indulgence."
He stepped closer to the sinner again, his eyes glowing faintly.
"And I feel like indulging in a little killing."
He leaned close enough for only the sinner to hear.
"Plus… when sinners reincarnate here, they often run back to familiar territory."
He smiled slightly.
"You might accidentally lead me to your real body."
That wasn't actually his plan, but the rat didn't need to know that.
Max raised his hand slightly.
Then pulled one of the threads.
Every thread in the web tightened instantly.
And then—
Slice.
Every demon and sinner caught in the web was cut apart instantly.
Silence fell over the area.
Max stood there for a moment, watching the bodies fall.
He wasn't actually planning to track the reincarnated sinners. He knew the Rat Overlord would probably intercept them before they could lead him anywhere.
But one thing was true.
If he killed enough of the Overlord's active bodies, the main body would eventually become easier to locate.
And that was enough for now.
Max turned to leave.
But then something caught his eye across the street.
He stopped walking.
"…Verosika."
She stood near one of the buildings, looking irritated and slightly drunk, holding a bottle of Beelzejuice.
Max rubbed the back of his neck.
"Right… she has a Beelzejuice addiction."
He watched her for a moment.
"She might actually be a good addition…"
He sighed slightly.
"I do feel bad for her."
He thought for a moment.
"And honestly… at this point I'm starting to lose compassion for Vox."
He shrugged.
"He's not really a bad guy…"
He looked around at Hell.
"…but this is Hell."
"Morality gets blurry here."
As he thought about it, a faint pink ring appeared in the air in front of him—an invisible fate path representing a possible future involving Verosika.
Max stared at it for a moment.
"…That would be risky."
He was a very possessive person, and adding a succubus into the harem—even with loyalty contracts—was complicated.
But there were ways to make it work.
He sighed.
"Something to think about later."
He turned to leave.
"Anyway, I need to find a place to stay and—"
Before he could finish, a Hellhound servant approached him and bowed slightly.
"Miss Beelzebub would like to speak with you."
Max blinked.
"…She does?"
He frowned slightly.
"She should be way too drunk to remember anything from tonight."
He looked back toward Bee's mansion.
"…Now I'm curious."