Just as Regulus and Tenma relaxed, they found the surrounding darkness had grown even denser, churning like ink.
Tenma's eyes widened. "That guy isn't dead yet? Could it be… Balor broke the seal?"
As if answering his question, a demonic eye the size of a door panel abruptly appeared mid-air. Its pitch-black pupil flowed with spine-chilling, sinister light.
Just as the two prepared themselves, Setsuna suddenly appeared. "Not just Balor. There's an even more troublesome one."
The floating demonic eye suddenly trembled violently. Surprisingly, Balor's screams came from within.
"Get out! Get out of my demonic eye!"
Horrifyingly, this hate-filled roar gradually transformed into peaceful, serene sutra chanting. "Namo… Namo…"
Regulus and Tenma exchanged shocked looks. "That evil god… got brainwashed?"
'What terrifying power could make a notorious evil god instantly convert?'
A low laugh came from the demonic eye. "Chiaki Setsuna, using an evil god as your sacrificial offering… is this meeting gift satisfactory?"
Setsuna's golden Cosmos burned steadily within the darkness. "One evil god isn't enough. How about adding you, the Terrestrial Chief Star among Specters, Atavaka?"
"Wh-what's going on?" Cúana tightly clutched her clothes, her eyes full of fear and confusion.
Regulus turned to Cúana. "Don't be afraid. This is our teacher, hailed as the [Immortal Saint]!"
Nearby, Ferghas suddenly widened his eyes. "C-could it be… the [One-Man-Against-A-Nation] Phoenix Saint?!"
Cúana looked at the knight, puzzled. "You know him?"
Ferghas's voice trembled with excitement. "Setsuna-sama once single-handedly destroyed two armies of wicked England. To us Irish, he's a hero-like existence."
Setsuna, however, shook his head. "That British fleet at sea wasn't destroyed by me… Never mind. That's not important. The key now is the enemy before us. The opponent is a Specter called [Closest to God]."
Cúana looked at Setsuna, confused. "Didn't you even defeat gods? If he's only close to god…"
Setsuna shook his head slightly. "The gods I speak of aren't acquired evil gods like Balor, but powerful beings called gods from birth."
Atavaka's laughter came from the demonic eye. "The vessel chosen for my last descent was too fragile, letting you escape. This time, I specially chose this evil god as a vessel. Should allow me slightly more ease."
Atavaka materialized a form, hands clasped, forming a Buddhist mudra.
With his motion, space cracked like fragile glass, showing spiderweb fissures.
"Hūṃ!"
The moment the demon-subduing mudra pushed forth, the entire castle hall began twisting and collapsing.
Just as Regulus and Tenma charged forward to assist, they shockingly discovered an invisible chasm seemed to separate them from the battlefield.
Though right before their eyes, no matter how they ran, they couldn't get closer.
"Space is being distorted?" Tenma desperately threw punches. Silver-blue Cosmos stirred ripples in the void, yet couldn't breach that intangible barrier.
Regulus gritted his teeth, activating lightspeed movement. But even running at lightspeed, the distance between him and Setsuna didn't shorten at all.
Yet Setsuna, at the storm's center, appeared exceptionally calm. The flame patterns on the Phoenix Cloth still burned steadily amidst the spatial shattering turbulence.
"Atavaka, truly worthy of being the one closest to god in the Underworld." Setsuna was quite impressed. Even an evil god like Balor was merely his descent vessel.
Of course, compared to Sea God Poseidon's divine blood, it was like comparing clouds and mud.
No splendid light, no complex starting stance.
Setsuna purely used physical force, sinking his stance, right fist drawn to his waist.
This was the most primitive, purest power eruption… Taurus's ultimate technique, [Titan's Nova].
These past two years, he hadn't been idle, learning almost all the Gold Saints' ultimate techniques.
Regarding this, the other Gold Saints merely warned him about being broad but not deep, not hoarding their techniques.
Boom!
A simple, straightforward straight punch shot forth. The demon-subduing mudra's spatial cage shattered like fragile eggshells.
Cracks appeared on the demonic eye Atavaka descended upon. He stared at Setsuna in disbelief. "In just five years, you grew to this extent?!"
This time, the vessel he chose could exert nearly eighty percent of his strength.
"It seems I truly underestimated you. Rokudo Rinne!"
Atavaka formed hand seals. Purplish-black Sanskrit chains extended from the void, instantly coiling around Setsuna's soul.
Instantly, Setsuna's consciousness was dragged into endless cycles… Naraka Realm, Preta Realm, Animal Realm, Asura Realm, Human Realm, Deva Realm. Six distinct painful memories surged like tides.
"Your soul shall sink eternally in the cycle of reincarnation." Atavaka's voice echoed in the spiritual world, a confident smile on his lips.
This time, he could finally reap the fruits of victory.
However, when his consciousness returned to the physical world, he found Setsuna's body was still moving.
The Phoenix Cloth's wings spread. A precise Hoyoku Tensho struck the demonic eye's core.
Before Atavaka could stop it, the demonic eye shattered accordingly.
Atavaka's eyes were full of disbelief. "How…? Without a soul, the body still fights? What terrifying combat instinct!"
While Atavaka was shocked, the Rokudo Rinne's shackles suddenly broke.
Setsuna's soul returned to his body, discovering the demonic eye was actually shattered.
"Don Slime, thanks this time." While expressing gratitude, Setsuna's soul felt unprecedented fatigue.
"Not me." Don Slime exclaimed in the spiritual world. "Before I could help, your body moved on its own!"
"My body automatically fought?" Setsuna inwardly shuddered, recalling that legendary realm from the Dragon Ball World. "Could I have unconsciously entered the Ultra Instinct realm?"
Unlike the Super Saiyan realm requiring extreme anger, Ultra Instinct demanded extreme inner calm. For someone emotionally stable like him, it was actually easier to touch than emotional outbursts.
"But even if it's Ultra Instinct, it's not complete." Setsuna's heart calmed down.
Though Ultra Instinct was a god's technique, it didn't mean he truly entered the divine realm.
Only when Ultra Instinct training succeeded completely would divine power be born. Setsuna didn't think he currently possessed any divine power.
In his view, he merely used the Seventh Sense to cleverly enter Ultra Instinct.
But regardless, this accident undoubtedly pointed him toward a new path.
If he could transform into Super Saiyan while in the Ultra Instinct state, perhaps he could truly obtain power surpassing gods… even if only for an instant, it would suffice.