Feeling the life force within him steadily fading, Cid curled his lips into a sly grin.
After unleashing two consecutive bursts of Magical Power from inside his own body, his insides were already riddled with damage, exactly as he had intended.
He had Cao Cao to thank for this. If Cao Cao hadn't disrupted the arena's elimination spell, he would have been judged unable to continue and teleported out halfway through his fight with Riser.
Of course, he did have a backup plan. If Cao Cao didn't show up, he would personally smash the entire venue to pieces. But that would have undermined the mystique of an Eminence in Shadow.
Now, not only had he achieved his strategic goal, he had even settled an old score. A massive win.
Lying on the ground, he feigned total collapse, as if the earlier spatial transfer shockwave had sent him flying, triggering all his injuries at once and knocking him unconscious. At the same time, he released the Evil Piece he had been suppressing inside his body.
Freed from Cid's control, the Evil Piece began carrying out its preset racial conversion procedures, scanning his body.
Under normal circumstances, once the Evil Piece detected his rapidly declining life force, it would activate another internal spell, releasing the life energy originally meant for Devil reincarnation to heal him. And he would then make use of that released energy.
Something went wrong.
Cid froze as a surge of emerald-green life force suddenly appeared inside him, healing him before the Evil Piece could even act.
Struggling, he turned his head toward the source. With his sharp eyesight, he saw the "Do Not Attack" token Rias had given him faintly glowing green.
Before blasting himself with Magical Power and entering a near-death state to rush into battle, he had worried that the token might expose his identity as an Eminence in Shadow. So he had tossed it aside. At the time, it had been secretly channeling life force to Rias and Claire.
Even in his weakened state, his hearing was still sharp enough that, once he focused, he could pick up Rias's constant dodging footsteps.
So now that he had released the Evil Piece and entered the token's detection range, it had included him as a target of its support.
I don't need this!!!
Instinctively, he tried to gather Magical Power and trigger another internal blast to burn off the excess life force, but all he felt was emptiness.
Ah... right.
Annoyed that Great Red had gotten away, and because his plan required him to completely exhaust his Magical Power to fool everyone, he had already put that power to use. Following a method from the Library on creating anti-dragon attacks, he expelled that Magical Power, imbued with anti-dragon properties, deep into the Dimensional Gap.
If his previous attacks were like nuclear bombs, then throwing them into the depths of the Dimensional Gap would have caused catastrophic damage to the human world.
But this anti-dragon Magical Power was different. Its impact on the human world was negligible. For Great Red, however, it was like dozens of stink bombs detonating in a space smaller than ten cubic meters, enough to make him wish he were dead on the spot.
It had felt great at the time.
The downside was that all his stored Magical Power was gone. He could not even trigger a Magic Burst now to consume the excess life force.
And extracting Magical Power was not an option either. That required a body without fatal injuries. But if his fatal wounds were healed, what was the point? This match was his last chance to openly get rid of the Evil Piece.
Wait, there was still one way to obtain Magical Power.
Remembering his body's unique trait, Cid's eyes lit up. He struggled to open his mouth and sucked in a small stone lying near his lips.
No time to chew. He swallowed it in one gulp.
What kind of shoddy material is this, there's barely any Magical Power!!!
Feeling the faint trace of Magical Power generated inside him, so little it was almost nonexistent, Cid nearly despaired.
After a quick estimate, he realized that if soil and stone in this alternate space all had such a low conversion rate, then even if he did not use a Magical Power burst and instead tried to offset the life force directly, he would have to eat at least an entire building.
Might as well scrap Plan B and go with Plan C. Release the Evil Piece, complete the racial conversion, and let Rias die from the backlash. At this point, he could not suppress it anymore anyway, and Devils did not exactly die alongside their masters.
As drowsiness overtook him and he was about to lose consciousness with that thought, he suddenly saw a purple Magic Bullet, much smaller than the one he had fired earlier, break through the barrier at the edge of the alternate space, streaking across the sky.
...Alright, Rias. Looks like it is not your time to die.
He tried to use the slight strength restored by the life force flowing into him to push himself up, but dizziness overwhelmed him. His body rose halfway before staggering and collapsing back onto the ground.
So sleepy… maybe I should just let Rias die. No one would ever think her death was caused by reincarnating me. At most, they'd assume she died from some curse.
The heavy blood loss left Cid's hands and feet ice-cold. As his body struggled to repair itself, the drowsiness only grew stronger, his eyelids slowly drooping.
Yeah, right. Plan C might be solid, but giving up like this is anything but the way of an Eminence in Shadow.
He raised a sharp stone in his right hand and stabbed it hard into his wound. Blood sprayed out, and the sharp pain drove away his sleepiness, forcing his eyes open and snapping him back to focus.
What a weak, pathetic strike. With this little strength, trying to kill himself would probably cost less than what his life force could regenerate. He might just fall asleep halfway through.
After mocking his current condition, he pushed himself up and fixed his direction.
Going this far just to save a red-haired senpai he'd only known for three days… not even really a friend… that was pretty cool.
He casually spat out the slime fluid to lighten his load, then roared inwardly as he sprinted toward where the purple streak had fallen.
...
After helping her brother and Rias up, Ravel dodged the falling boulders and fled the densely packed area amid tremors that felt like an earthquake. Once she reached a safer spot, she looked up at the sky, which had inexplicably darkened, and let out a troubled sigh.
On the tablet in her hand, a magical device similar to a monitor that could relay real-time footage from Riser and his Peerage Members, she had watched Riser get beaten senseless by a crazed woman after attacking Cid, who, like herself, was under protection from combat.
Ravel swallowed hard. Thinking back on her interactions with Cid, she reassured herself that she had only been a bit sharp-tongued and had never actually hit him. Even so, she continued watching with unease.
When Claire's Blood Burst destroyed the magical device on Riser, causing the screen to go black, and no elimination announcement followed, Ravel quickly reached the same conclusion as Rias. She decided to go out and check the situation, not because she wanted to eliminate Rias, but simply because she had no interest in fighting.
It didn't take long for her to find Claire lying on the ground. Soon after, she saw Cid.
He was moving slowly in a certain direction, his body swaying, yet his steps remained firm. Hatred flickered in his eyes, and killing intent radiated from him.
Startled by his state and worried he might turn into another Claire, Ravel only dared to follow from a distance as she watched Cid relentlessly beat her brother.
Just as Riser finally collapsed, before she could even gather her thoughts, the alternate space suddenly shook violently. The magical barrier was destroyed, and the surging Magical Power blasted Cid away. Ravel had no choice but to grab Rias and Riser midair and flee.
Carrying both of them, she dodged the erupting waves of Magical Power. From time to time, powerful surges would break through the boundary of the alternate space, attacking from above and below. It didn't take long for Ravel to become completely exhausted.
Fortunately, the Magical Power stored beneath the alternate space was quickly depleted under such waste, and the incoming Magical Power attacks from outside also ceased, giving her a chance to catch her breath.
Looking up at the empty, pitch-dark sky, Ravel felt a headache coming on.
The sky of the Underworld was supposed to be dark purple. The earlier dark purple sky in the alternate space had actually been the Underworld's sky shining through the venue's skylight.
She wasn't foolish. From the change in the sky's color, she could already tell that the alternate space had been moved. It was no longer in the Underworld.
What she needed to know now was whether only the alternate space had been transferred, or if the Underworld venue had been moved along with it.
If it was the former, then it wasn't too serious. It would mean the one who carried out the transfer wasn't very powerful, and rescue would come soon.
If it was the latter, then it was a major problem. Moving so many powerful individuals at once meant the other party had a huge scheme. They were nothing more than small pieces in it.
A series of footsteps interrupted her thoughts.
Turning toward the sound, she saw Cid sprinting toward her, his body drenched in blood, wounds still pouring out fresh streams.
Seeing him like this, Ravel froze. Her lips parted slightly as she stood there in a daze, watching him draw closer and closer.
When he got within a certain distance, she noticed his mouth opening and closing, as if he were saying something.
"Get… out… of… the… way?"
Why should I move?
Even after reading his lips, confusion filled her mind. Then a gust of wind rushed past her from behind, and she instinctively turned her head.
A purple Magic Bullet, less than a few meters away, came into view, causing her eyes to widen in shock.
When did…?
I'll die. I'll die. I'll die.
Before the thought could fully form, a sense of impending death had already swallowed her whole. The precision of that purple Magic Bullet exceeded the revival limit of her Phoenix Bloodline. If it hit her, she would die.
For the first time, Ravel felt true fear of death.
Her body froze as if plunged into icy depths. She tried with all her strength to flap the flaming wings on her back, but she couldn't even remember how to use her Magical Power.
All she could do was watch helplessly as the Magic Bullet closed in.
"Get out of the way!"
A furious shout burst from his lips as Cid shoved the stunned Ravel aside, twisting his body to take the Magic Bullet head-on.
Perfect. My Eminence in Shadow plan really is flawless.
"Guh!"
The impact hit like his entire body was being torn apart. He was blasted off his feet and slammed hard into the ground. As he lay there, his body mangled and drenched in blood, he coughed up a mouthful of it. Yet only one thought filled his mind.
As the life force supplied by the "Do Not Attack" token was completely drained by the worsening injuries, another spell within the Evil Piece activated. A steady stream of life force and Magical Power surged out from it.
Gathering the last of his focus, he controlled that Magical Power, converting it into Power of Destruction, then slammed it straight into his own body.
The parts of his body that had just begun healing were torn apart again, only to regenerate once more under the constant influx of life force.
In this cycle of destruction and rebirth, the areas damaged by the Power of Destruction began to change ever so slightly during regeneration. His body was trying to evolve resistance to the Power of Destruction.
This was the most critical step.
Reject, reject, reject...
Immunity, immunity...
Reject, reject, reject...
Immunity...
Reject, reject, reject...
Reject...
His rational mind forcefully suppressed his body's instinct, halting the evolution midway. What should have become immunity regressed into rejection. It was only temporary, though. After repeating this process a few times, it would still evolve into full immunity.
But that didn't matter.
By the day after tomorrow, the "Power of Destruction Rejection Constitution" would be complete. From then on, anything containing Power of Destruction that entered his body would be immediately expelled.
With the transformation ritual forcibly interrupted, his already unsuitable constitution for becoming a Devil would mutate further, making it impossible to restart the ritual.
A perfectly natural and flawless excuse. Hahaha!!!
Come to think of it, getting injured this badly is pretty rare. Well, it couldn't be helped. This time, the enemy really was a bit stronger than usual...
The Bone Dragon was just a bit troublesome. In a way, it even helped wake me up.
Do the worms and that white fur on the Rot Dragon count as some kind of mental attack? That was disgusting.
As for Great Red, aside from that initial clash that made my hand go numb for a moment, it just ran off.
Riser... putting him next to those three dragons almost feels disrespectful. Then where did all these injuries come from?
Lying there, completely drained, Cid's wandering thoughts suddenly stopped.
Let me think.
The first time was when Riser suddenly attacked me. Since I didn't have any blood packs, I had no choice but to trigger a Magical Power burst inside my body.
The second time was when I realized a fatal wound left untreated would actually stay fatal, so to catch up with the fight, I blasted myself again to force a near-death surge.
The third time was when I deliberately dispersed my Magical Power and took a direct hit from the magical attack released by the Magic Bullet I fired at the Underworld arena.
So the MVP of the losing side... was actually me!!!
With that realization, Cid lost consciousness.
…
In the Underworld's lower region, within the land of the dead, Cao Cao held the Longinus in his hand and watched the scene reflected in the mirror before him, the Underworld venue floating in the Dimensional Gap as it descended back into the Underworld. He tapped the Longinus against his shoulder and spoke to Hades, who was standing beside him watching the mirror as well.
"Old man Hades, we've already done what you wanted to see. So, are you satisfied with this ending?"
"If you ask whether I'm satisfied, they ultimately didn't suffer any major losses. But if you ask whether I'm dissatisfied, seeing this scene does make me quite happy."
"So... what else do you want, old man Hades?"
Hearing the meaning hidden in Hades's gloomy voice, Cao Cao went straight to the point.
"Infinite power."
"Fine. Then we're taking Samael with us."
"As you wish."
After signaling to Georg, Cao Cao got up and left. Throughout the whole exchange, Hades kept staring at the Longinus in Cao Cao's hand, still in its released state. Its holy light pierced through the black mist all around them, bringing light into the land of the dead.
"No opportunity at all..."
Only after Cao Cao had left did Hades finally murmur those words.
"So Shadow was the surprise Teacher spoke of. The shock was certainly real enough, but I didn't see anything worth calling joy. We need to prepare ourselves to make an enemy of Shadow."
After walking out of the land of the dead, Cao Cao immediately started complaining to Georg.
"And that ill-intentioned bastard Hades, one of these days we'll kill him too."
"Cao Cao, there's news from Siegfried."
Ignoring Cao Cao's grumbling, Georg brought up another piece of intelligence.
"What news?"
"Vali attacked them. After injuring Heracles and Jeanne, he took Ophis away."
Hearing that, Cao Cao stopped in his tracks, turned his head, and showed a look of surprise.
"How did they even dare?"
Georg gave an indifferent shrug. He was curious too about how Vali had found the nerve.
Cao Cao tapped the Longinus against his shoulder again, then changed direction and started moving, killing intent rising in his eyes.
"And there's more. Leonardo obtained Great Red's flesh and blood. He says he can do it, but he needs infinite power to fill it."
Georg continued reporting.
"That is good news, but Ophis has already been taken. Where are Vali and the others now?"
There was no joy at all in Cao Cao's voice, and the killing intent around him deepened further.
"They attacked Loki in the north before and stole Fenrir. Then they attacked Siegfried and took Ophis. After that, they should have headed east. They're probably going to seek refuge with Azazel."
"No. I invited him before. Vali isn't that kind of person. And he still hasn't officially acted under the banner of Khaos Brigade, so Azazel doesn't know he joined us. He's probably still looking for something."
After sorting out his thoughts, Cao Cao had Georg prepare a teleportation circle.
Destination, the island nation.
...
"Pleasure doing business!"
"Pleasure doing business!"
"By the way, though I'm curious how you found out, Rizevim, we found the technology you asked us about last time. Do you still want it?"
"Netheril even has this kind of technology? Let me take a look... It's that expensive!? Why don't you just go rob someone?"
"That's a funny thing to say. Is robbery faster than selling weapons?
"Besides, most of this technology was personally developed by our Lord of Netheril, and the small remainder came from the Mitsugoshi Company. Expensive... well, that's only natural."
"Don't forget, the spark for this whole incident was something our Khaos Brigade and your Netheril stirred up together. Treating your own allies like this isn't very nice, is it?"
"Hey, hey, hey... don't slander us. We only accepted the Underworld's invitation because we got a little curious and wanted to watch the drama. Later on, the Underworld went crazy, and since we didn't have anyone strong enough to control the situation, we didn't send anyone over."
"We had no prior knowledge of Khaos Brigade launching simultaneous attacks on all the pantheons this time. And besides, didn't your Khaos Brigade also steal a batch of weapons from Netheril? So, in short, Khaos Brigade has nothing to do with Netheril. Are you buying or not? If not, forget it."
"Keh keh keh... I'm buying. I've got money now."
"Then get ready. Payment and delivery tomorrow. Also, what's with that laugh? You weren't this disgusting before."
"A certain close friend gave me the suggestion. Don't you think this laugh suits my evil nature perfectly?"
"That close friend of yours... has, has very refined taste. Next time, please laugh in front of someone else."
"You people just don't appreciate evil."