The Four Great Demon Kings, merged in this way, had become even more powerful, but their minds had grown less agile.
Originally, each Demon God possessed unique abilities, but now they had been reduced to pure, violent berserkers.
Otherwise, if they had used their abilities flexibly, they could have completely obliterated the Papiyas' corpses instead of leaving remnants behind.
This pure transformation into violent berserkers resulted in the remaining Papiyas occasionally sneaking attacks.
As for the instant annihilation of four Papiyas earlier, it wasn't solely due to the overwhelming strength of the Four Great Demon Kings.
The reason they could kill four Papiyas in their first clash was largely because the Papiyas had underestimated them.
The eight who survived the ordeal naturally took it seriously, so when they faced the Four Great Kings again, they wouldn't be slaughtered in the blink of an eye.
Yet even so, the Four Great Kings held an almost overwhelming advantage, forcing the Papiyas to barely keep up with defending against the attacks, let alone countering.
Thus, they needed reinforcement—by devouring themselves.
But during the battle, some had already been slain.
"Trash, is this all you've got?"
"Only four pieces of trash left?"
Two of the Seventy-Two Demon Gods sneered at the Papiyas, twisting their expressions in fury.
Back in the sandbox world, these Papiyas had mercilessly mocked the Seventy-Two Demon Gods, calling them trash.
"Good, very good!"
"I can't hold back anymore!"
"If that's how it is, the three of us will give ourselves to you!"
Three of the Papiyas suddenly spoke these words to the fourth.
The next moment, the fourth Papiyas plunged its hands into the chests of two others while simultaneously opening its maw and biting down on the last one's torso.
Feasting!
This grotesque spectacle once again sent chills down the spectators' spines.
But an even more horrifying sensation followed—the aura emanating from this final Papiyas made some feel an overwhelming urge to flee.
Now, its body bent and trembling,
"This is the feeling!"
It suddenly straightened and roared, the sound waves shaking the entire arena.
"This is the feeling of killing you all!!!"
The moment it roared these words, the earth trembled violently, eliciting another wave of screams from the audience.
Most, however, tensely fixed their eyes on the battlefield, for the instant the Papiyas roared, the Four Great Kings launched their assault. The clash of their powers was what caused the earth to quake.
"H-He blocked it!"
Heimdall nearly popped his eyes out of his glasses.
As he said, the Papiyas had intercepted all four fists of the Four Great Demon Kings.
But "blocking" here didn't mean catching the punches with its hands—after all, the Papiyas only had two.
Instead, it simply endured the blows with its body.
Its face, chest, side, and spine were all deformed and caved in.
"Caught two, hehehehe!"
A bone-chilling voice emerged from its twisted mouth as black, ribbon-like tendrils extended from its body, wrapping around the arms of all four.
The Four Great Kings' expressions darkened instantly. They yanked their arms back, putting distance between themselves and the Papiyas, their faces grim.
Their arms had been torn off. The Papiyas opened its maw and swallowed them whole without even chewing.
"Huh? What's it doing?"
Just when an even more earth-shattering battle should have erupted, the Papiyas' sudden actions left Heimdall bewildered.
It abruptly turned and leaped toward the pillar where Beelzebub stood, casting a savage glare his way.
A sudden unease gripped Heimdall.
When the Papiyas first appeared, it had sought to devour its master. Could it now have gained enough power to rebel?
"You can't control me anymore. So hand them over—I can sense there are more fragments of me on you. Make me whole, and I'll grant you a swift death!!!"
As the Papiyas spoke, its oppressive aura made the very air around Beelzebub scream in agony. Even the pillar beneath him began to crack.
Yet within his seemingly magnanimous gaze, a flash of cruelty flickered.
"Oh? You're fully awake now?"
"Yes, my mind is perfectly clear about who I am—the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, Papiyas."
Though he had introduced himself when first appearing, that moment was entirely different from now.
Previously, he had seemed fragmented, with missing memories and a mind that wasn't fully agile.
But now, he remembered everything completely—that he was once the berserker of the underworld, the warrior who nearly brought about its destruction.
"I see."
Beelzebub's voice carried a tone of weariness, yet also a hint of relief, as if unburdened.
Immediately, he flung open his cloak, causing numerous glass containers to tumble to the ground.
Inside these containers were grotesque creatures—each with twin horns, a mouth, and a tail fused into one bizarre form.
These were the Seeds of Papiyas, cultivated by Beelzebub.
They writhed, all straining toward one direction—Papiyas himself. They yearned to merge into one.
Then, a complete Papiyas should be able to kill him, shouldn't he?
As for the tempting conditions offered by the sponsor—terms he couldn't refuse earlier—Beelzebub had never truly placed his hopes in them from the start.
It wasn't that he didn't want his friend resurrected, but rather that a revived friend would still live under that person's control, with life and death at their mercy.
In that case, it was better not to resurrect them at all. Better to let Papiyas kill him so he could follow his friend in death.
That was why he had concealed his research on Papiyas from the sponsor.
And that sponsor… was that very person!
"Not good!"
Hades' expression abruptly darkened.
But it was too late. The arena had activated a protective barrier over the spectator stands, preventing him from intervening immediately.
He could only watch helplessly as Papiyas shattered all the glass containers in an instant, sending the creatures flying toward him. They latched onto his body like leeches, burrowing into his flesh.
The demon king who had once nearly destroyed the entire underworld was now on the verge of fully awakening.
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