Veronica grabbed Benniah by the throat, lifting her high into the air, and said to her with a rather beautiful smile on her face:
"Give up. My body has been blessed by Thanatos; even a scythe of death cannot harm me."
"You are of Lord Thanatos's direct bloodline, so I won't kill you. Please just wait obediently on this ice field for the completion of the Great Eclipse."
After Veronica finished speaking, she let go, and Benniah slumped down onto the cold, icy ground.
Meanwhile, the other Specters and Guardian Dragons (Beasts) also finished their battles. They all turned to leave, intending to depart from Cocytus, leaving the fallen Issei Hyoudou and others to fend for themselves in Cocytus.
"Wait... Specters..." Benniah reached out weakly. Everyone had been knocked to the ground by the Specters, their bodies enveloped by the piercing cold winds of Cocytus.
Even the summoned Fafnir had been turned into an ice sculpture on the spot, standing tall where he was.
"Hmm?" Sensing another presence, the Specters and Guardian Dragons (Beasts) turned to see the light of a large teleportation magic circle shining brightly.
The Heavenly Spirit Specters and Guardian Dragons (Beasts) in Cocytus instantly became alert as Issei Hyoudou's reinforcements arrived.
Having heard about Hades from Ajuka, they had quickly gathered allied forces and come to the Underworld through Ajuka's communication magic circle.
The arrivals included Sirzechs's peerage (except for Grayfia) and Ajuka; high-ranking Fallen Angels Bail, Armaros, and Sariel; from the Norse side came a team led by Vidar, God of the Forest, Surtur, King of the Fire Giants, and Brynhildr; Greece sent no one, seemingly fearing the majesty of Hades; from Mt. Sumeru came Indra with his Four Heavenly Kings and the Journey to the West group; and from Japan came youkai leaders like Onra and Ibaraki-doji, along with the current heads of the Five Great Clans.
"Enemies!!" The hot-tempered Ayeris, with flames erupting from his claws, attacked the incoming reinforcements.
Seeing Ayeris charging, Shinra Byakko immediately stepped forward to meet the enemy, his body gradually transforming into a white tiger beastman form:
"From the West of the four directions, respond to my voice! Master of the Metal of the Four Gods, Byakko!"
"Roar——!!" After transforming into the white tiger beastman, Shinra Byakko let out a roar and attacked with his claws, just like Ayeris.
The scene was like a fierce tiger wreathed in flames fighting a white tiger filled with divine majesty, neither side giving an inch.
However, Ayeris held the advantage; whether in combat technique or elemental attributes, he completely countered Shinra Byakko.
"Who are you?! Why do you have such a violent aura?!" Shinra Byakko said in a very coarse voice as he continued to counterattack.
Ayeris bared his teeth and said to Shinra Byakko: "Heavenly Strange Star Specter, Ayeris of Dawen."
"You're a Specter!!" Shinra Byakko cried out in surprise, and in that split second, he was almost struck in a vital spot by Ayeris.
Shinra Byakko quickly dodged and jumped back to his team, clutching a wound on his side. "So he's a Specter; his strength is truly formidable."
Ajuka stepped forward and said, "Not only that, he is a Heavenly Spirit class Specter. His strength might be greater than most people here."
"More intruders."
"So many people trespassing in the Underworld today, coming wave after wave."
"Since they've come, let them sleep forever here in Cocytus."
"Roar——!!"
Seeing the new enemies arrive, all the Heavenly Spirit Specters and the Ice Dragon Legion returned the way they came. The cold aura and the Cosmos of Death and Darkness surged forward, making the reinforcements feel exceptionally cold.
Ajuka, braving that terrifying Cosmos, stepped forward and shouted to the Specters:
"Where are Sirzechs and the others?!"
Balendane's expression remained unchanged as he pointed toward them. "Look behind you."
Upon hearing this, everyone turned around to look. Issei Hyoudou and the rest of the vanguard were all lying on the ice field, their bodies already covered in a layer of frost, with the frozen Fafnir being the most prominent.
"Sirzechs!!"
"Azazel!!"
"Akeno!!"
Ajuka, Armaros, and Bail rushed forward, shouting in concern. Then, the Valkyrie squad stepped up to provide treatment, while Yu-Long breathed dragon fire to melt the ice on Fafnir.
Balendane and the other Heavenly Spirit Specters did not step forward to stop them. Instead, they watched silently, allowing the opposing group to recover out of sheer confidence in their own power.
Ajuka helped Sirzechs up, calling out alongside Sirzechs's 'Bishop', MacGregor: "Sirzechs! Wake up, Sirzechs!! Grayfia, Millicas, and the others are waiting for you!!"
"Ugh... is that voice Ajuka..." Sirzechs regained consciousness, though he was still weak. When he opened his eyes, he could see nothing and had to rely on sound to identify people.
MacGregor looked at Sirzechs's eyes, which were now completely white, and said to Sirzechs in shock:
"Lord Sirzechs! Your eyes!!"
Hearing this, Sirzechs covered his right eye and said, "It was the Heavenly Swift Star Specter. His poisonous wind stripped away my sight, leaving me blind."
After hearing Sirzechs, MacGregor quickly took a vial of potion from his robe and said, "Fortunately, the blindness was caused by poison. This should be able to restore it."
With that, MacGregor opened the vial and dripped the potion into Sirzechs's eyes. When Sirzechs blinked again, his vision began to return. Once his sight was restored, he stood up once more.
The others were also gradually recovering, leaving only Fafnir, who was still being defrosted.
Yu-Long put in a great deal of effort to finally thaw Fafnir. "A-choo——!!" After being successfully defrosted, Fafnir sneezed and thanked Yu-Long while rubbing his runny nose:
"Thank you, Yu-Long! I thought I was going to freeze to Death!!"
Yu-Long teased Fafnir, "Fafnir, what happened to you? How did you get frozen into an ice sculpture so easily?"
"You're so tough! Why don't you go fight those guys made entirely of ice!!" Hearing Yu-Long's words, Fafnir immediately roared back at him.
"Entirely made of ice?" Hearing Fafnir's words, Yu-Long turned to look and saw the Ice Dragon Legion standing behind the Specters. Just as Fafnir said, their entire bodies were composed of ice, occasionally emitting a freezing mist.
"Why are there dragons in the Underworld? And they have strength at least at the Heavenly Dragon level, and in such numbers?" Indra said, looking at the Ice Dragon Legion in confusion.
Issei Hyoudou, who had mostly recovered, stepped forward and said, "Every hell in the Underworld is guarded by Specters, and they have Guardian Dragons accompanying them to manage the hells. It's because of them that our numbers dwindled as our companions stayed behind to hold them off so we could advance."
"Then what about Ikuse Tobio and the others?!" Armaros, the teacher of the Blade Dog Squad, was very worried about his students' safety.
Vali stepped forward to answer Armaros's question: "The Blade Dog Squad was intercepted by the earth dog star Specter, the earth bewitching star Specter, and Xiangjian Dagong on our way to the Fourth Hell."
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