The battlefield was already in chaos.
Hundreds of soldiers surrounded the heroes.
The remaining army of the Demon Queen had finally entered the fight.
Leo cracked his knuckles.
Lily stood beside him.
Yuna adjusted her sleeves quietly.
And the surviving World Martial Artist General looked toward the enormous army.
He smiled.
"So…"
He stepped forward.
"Shall we go?"
Lily nodded.
Yuna nodded as well.
The General suddenly looked at them.
"Then let's move!"
The three charged forward.
---
The first soldier rushed toward Lily.
She simply stepped aside.
WHOOSH!
His fist passed beside her face.
Lily grabbed his arm.
BAM!
She threw him into another soldier.
"Next!"
Another soldier attacked.
Lily ducked.
A small burst of spiritual energy gathered around her fist.
BAM!
The soldier went flying.
She looked at her hand.
"Still pretty easy."
Yuna was fighting nearby.
She wasn't using her Snow Lion.
She wasn't using her stronger abilities.
She was simply teleporting short distances, dodging attacks, and using small amounts of spiritual energy.
WHOOSH!
She disappeared.
Reappeared behind an enemy.
BAM!
Then disappeared again.
The General was even more straightforward.
No Spiritual Beast.
No complicated technique.
Just martial arts.
Punch.
Kick.
Elbow.
Counter.
The three were handling the soldiers without even revealing their real strength.
Lily yawned.
"Honestly…"
She dodged another attack.
"…I don't feel like transforming yet."
Yuna nodded.
"Me neither."
The General laughed.
"Then let's save our strength."
They continued fighting.
Everything seemed manageable.
Until—
A strange presence suddenly appeared.
BOOOOOOM!
A dark portal opened in the sky.
Everyone stopped.
A figure stepped out.
He wore heavy armor.
A large helmet completely covered his face.
Dark energy surrounded his body.
The soldiers immediately stepped aside.
The Demon Queen looked upward.
The armored man slowly descended.
He stopped before her.
"Demon Queen."
She looked irritated.
"What?"
The General pointed toward the battlefield.
"You are the next candidate for the title of Demon King of the Multiverse."
The Demon Queen stared at him.
"…Yes?"
The General continued.
"And the next candidate…"
He turned his head toward Kaito Jin's unconscious body.
"…is the master of the Black Dragon."
Kaito Jin.
The Demon Queen's expression immediately became annoyed.
"Excuse me?"
The armored General remained silent.
She raised an eyebrow.
"We are literally in the middle of a battle."
She pointed toward the battlefield.
"And you came here to give me some speech about candidates?"
"I was ordered to inform you."
"I don't care."
The General paused.
"…Understood."
The Demon Queen turned away.
"Now get out of my way."
---
Somewhere in the Demon King's Universe
The Demon King had been watching everything through a giant projection.
The moment he heard the Demon Queen's response—
His eyes sparkled.
"Oh my God!"
His General looked at him.
"Sir?"
"What a reaction!"
He placed both hands against his cheeks.
"She rejected the announcement without hesitation!"
His face became bright red.
"What an elegant woman!"
He started shaking with excitement.
"My God…"
He hugged the projection.
"I'm really in love with her!"
Suddenly—
GRAB!
Someone grabbed his ear.
"OWWWWW!"
The Demon King froze.
Slowly—
He looked behind him.
Lily.
His First Mom.
She was holding his ear.
"What did you just say?"
"N-Nothing!"
"What did you say?"
"I said the battlefield is very interesting!"
"You said you're in love with her."
The Demon King immediately pointed toward Sera.
"SECOND MOM!"
He ran behind her and hid between her legs like a little child.
"Please save me from First Mom!"
Sera looked down at him.
Then at Lily.
Then sighed.
"Lily…"
"What?"
"That's enough."
Sera adjusted her glasses.
"Ever since you came here, you've been constantly bothering him."
Lily crossed her arms.
"No."
She grabbed the Demon King's collar.
"I'm not finished."
The Demon King panicked.
"First Mom!"
"You've become way too rude."
"But—"
"You've been like this ever since we left."
"But I'm the Demon King!"
"So?"
Lily smiled.
"You're still my son."
The Demon King immediately became quiet.
"…Yes, Mom."
Sera covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
The Demon King looked at her desperately.
"Second Mom…"
"Sorry."
Sera adjusted her glasses again.
"I can't help you this time."
"WHY?!"
---
Back on the Battlefield
The fighting continued.
Lily, Yuna, and the General were still dealing with the soldiers.
But something was missing.
Someone.
The mysterious masked man.
The man who had appeared with Lily and Sera.
He was nowhere to be seen.
Nobody knew where he had gone.
Nobody had even noticed when he disappeared.
He had simply vanished from the battlefield.
The only two people who knew he had actually been there were—
Lily…
and Sera.
Lily briefly looked around.
"Where did that guy go?"
Sera looked around as well.
"I don't know."
"He disappeared pretty quickly."
"Yes."
Lily shrugged.
"Well…"
She turned back toward the battlefield.
"Forget him for now."
Sera nodded.
But neither of them noticed—
Far away from the battlefield…
A lone figure was standing in the darkness.
The blue cloth around his head moved gently in the wind.
His face remained hidden behind the mask.
He quietly watched the battlefield.
Not fighting.
Not helping.
Just watching.
And nobody knew where he had come from…
Or where he would go next.
To Be Continued…