To the beings in the underworld, there were three questions that had no value in discussions.
When will a bloodbath erupt?
Anytime.
Where will a bloodbath start?
Anywhere.
Who will join a bloodbath?
Everyone.
After one realized the meaning of these three answers, one would understand that be it a confrontation in a small, dark alley or random riverside, it would eventually turn into a war involving millions of creatures. Everywhere in this place was always a part of a bloodbath and due to this reason, when Rhode raised his weapon, there was no point in using exaggerated language to warn him that this would trigger a war.
Because war had already begun.
Rhode stretched his arms out and the blades in his hands emanated a blinding radiance. They erupted, forming a long and narrow shape ‘X’ that struck at the devil fleet. Right behind this cross-shaped blade rays, the tide rolled over quickly as though it were sucked in by a powerful force. In the blink of an eye, the tide rose into a huge wave of several meters tall like an enormous monster widening its mouth and was about to devour the devil fleet ahead. The violent waves overthrew the ships and the devils onboard were thrown into the water. But no one cared about their predicament. Since the devils had swallowed a whole stomach of river water, there was actually not much difference from them writing their names on the book of death.
Boom!
The bright, dazzling radiance erupted, causing the waves in the River Styx to rage. The river flow suddenly turned the opposite direction due to the massive impact, shaking the ferry that Rhode’s group boarded. Shortly after, the radiance dissipated and perhaps due to this, the devils gained sight of their enemies. They soared to midair, pressing forward together like a thick, dark cloud. At the same time, thousands of fireballs appeared densely in midair, blasting toward Rhode’s group. But despite that, the fireballs were completely ineffective because Canary had raised her arms and cast a scarlet, plastic film-like barrier that enfolded the entire ferry. The instant the menacing fireballs struck the red barrier, they became as though raindrops falling into a pool of water, vanishing to nowhere. Apart from the ripples they caused, they served no other purposes. On the other hand, the fireballs that missed the barrier and plunged into the river caused a series of explosions and an eruption of mists. The strong waves in the river swayed the drifting ferry uncontrollably. But perhaps due to the high-level spell from Canary, the ferry continued to stay afloat stubbornly and didn’t capsize at all.
“Damn it, damn it!” At the same time, the calm ferryman finally lost his cool and became exasperated. He clutched the long pole and his maroon eyes glinted in anger. He widened his mouth and revealed a terrifying and malevolent expression. If an ordinary person were to see his face, perhaps he or she would have fainted. “You guys sure are troublemakers! And you even dragged me into it! I’m warning you now. If my ferry and I are to get hurt even a little, I will abandon all of you! Even if you eliminate the thousands of devils, you shall stay lost in this endless River Styx!”
“If it weren’t for someone who tried to show his dignity by controlling everything and purposely bringing us near a ‘transportation channel’, would we even need to face these annoying devils?”
Stefania was not as prepared for battle as everyone else. She chuckled, resting her cheeks on her hands and sitting in the middle of the ferry. Her bright eyes glinted wittily as she gazed at the ferryman.
“Now you know that we’re entirely different from the country bumpkins that are everywhere in this underworld, right, Mr. Ferryman? What a pity for your wishful thinking. But you still have a chance to correct your mistake.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Miss Merchant.”
The ferryman turned over, unsure if he was feigning ignorance.
“I guarantee this is only a coincidence. They are not demons; they are damn devils who never ensure strict obedience. Who knows if they will suddenly go berserk and try to show us their ‘prestige’? I’m not afraid to tell you that even if all the young ladies on this ferry, including yourself, are sold, it won’t be enough to compensate for the loss of my ferry. Even if I disregard all of you, I still have to look after my ferry, isn’t it?”
Even though the ferryman said that, he continued to row the ferry away with the long pole, carefully drawing a distance away from the devils. Since there was still hope, he wouldn’t give up his customers so easily. Yugoloths were neither demons nor devils. They would neither follow their hearts’ desires nor be forced to obey some established rules. Instead, they were like humans, roaming flexibly among Order and Chaos. As long as it was profitable, there was nothing they wouldn’t do.
“Oh-oh-oh, how reminiscent.”
Mini Bubble Gum stood by the bow of the ferry and gazed at the devils advancing rapidly toward them in the distance. Not only did the number of dense, thick dark clouds not scare the young lady, but she also revealed an exhilarating expression. She raised her right arm and along with her movement, a gigantic, white light column erupted and blasted forward.
“———!”
The recoil from this powerful attack caused the swaying ferry to shake and slide backward. The ferryman quickly held down the pole to stop it from capsizing, at the same time looking at the young lady in exasperation. It was apparent that Mini Bubble Gum had totally disregarded the threatening words of the ferryman.
The blinding radiance merged into the dense, dark cloud. Then, a thunderous power exploded, sending rays of dazzling light out of the dark mass of devils. Before the devils that were enveloped in the radiance reacted, they lit up on fire instantly like moths flying into the flame, burning into ashes completely.
There were tens of thousands of devils, but they weren’t worthy of a mention in the eyes of Rhode’s group. No matter how many ants there were and even if they had an advantage in numbers, they couldn’t make up for the difference in strength, not to mention that they were facing one of the five Creator Dragons. And the true Creator Dragon, that was.
Just two attacks were enough to eliminate one-fifth of the devils. But even so, the devils didn’t seem to be retreating. Perhaps they completely disregarded what Rhode’s group had done and only cared that not only did these uninvited visitors block their path, but they also launched attacks at them.
At this moment, it was Cassidy’s turn.
The timid and cautious Deity Warden stood up. She knitted her brows and gazed at the snarling devils in dissatisfaction. The devils flapped their wings and descended from above, stretching out their claws and revealing their razor-sharp teeth. The number of devils was enough to bury them alive. But Cassidy wasn’t afraid at all. She extended one finger and drew a horizontal line in midair.
The devils’ attack came to an abrupt end. Then, they started ‘crashing’ at the high altitude.
That’s right, ‘crashing’. Along in Cassidy’s movements, this moment was as though the direction of gravity had switched around. Not only did the devils not get any closer to their targets after forcefully flapping their wings, but they also crashed to the ground (or perhaps sky) like airplanes that went out of control. In the blink of an eye, the brazen devils approaching the ferry instantly turned into little stars that vanished in the endless horizon like what Rhode often read in comics. As for whether they could survive, it wasn’t within Cassidy’s consideration.
“…!”
Witnessing this scene, Rhode couldn’t help but blow a whistle and feel really glad that he only fought against Cassidy’s soul fragment back then. If he fought this form of hers back then, this ‘reversal of gravity’ would surely give him a hard time.
In an instant, a huge chunk of devils were eliminated. 30,000 to 50,000 devils were crushed to powder by the combined attacks from Rhode, Mini Bubble Gum, and Cassidy. If they were in the main plane, they would have already reached the end of a war. But in a bloodbath like this, it was only the beginning. A number like 10,000 to 20,000 was merely cannon fodder to both sides at the start of the war. The casualty count for both sides in a bloodbath would begin from at least the hundreds of millions. The battles in the main plane were incomparable to those here. The sacrifice they put in was nothing more than nourishment to this piece of land.
“This is meaningless!”
The ferryman growled and as though proving his words, a string of flashes appeared from the edge of the devil fleet in the distance. That was the devils’ summoning and teleportation spells to call forth bored and idle devils to join this bloodbath on the River Styx. In the blink of an eye, the emptied space was refilled and the number of devils increased yet again.
“We can’t clash with the devils here. No matter how powerful you are, you can never eliminate the endless source of devils. I’m warning you. There is a time limit for the teleportation in the River Styx. If we’re unable to reach our destination before the time limit, I will need to take the longer route to complete our deal! Even though the teleportation vortex is just ahead, I can only bring you to Gray Ruins if we can’t eliminate the devils quickly. I will say this beforehand! This isn’t a scheme of mine!”
After hearing the ferryman’s words, Rhode’s expression remained unchanged. He wielded the daggers, squinted at the devils in the distance, and then the corners of his lips perked up slightly. Then, he ordered.
“Alright then, in that case, we don’t have much time to waste. Please advance.”
“Are you crazy?”
Upon hearing Rhode’s words, the ferryman widened his eyes in bafflement.
“There are a few millions of devils ahead and you want me to sacrifice my precious ferry?!”
“Indeed, it may be tough if we do it ourselves. But don’t worry, we’re not fighting alone.”
Rhode said, turning around and gazing at Celestina who had closed her eyes silently.
“How’s it, Celestina?”
Celestina opened her eyes to his question. Her scarlet eyes glinted in a flash.
“Don’t worry, Master. They’re already here.”
Boom———!
As though responding to Celestina, the peaceful River Styx behind them suddenly surged and in a massive, loud boom, a tall, majestic ship appeared before their eyes.
