The street was quiet for a heartbeat. Too quiet.
Then Vario's crimson eyes flared brighter than ever, the shadows coiling around him thickening like living smoke.
"Enough," he said, voice low, rumbling like distant thunder. "You will not touch her."
Nyx froze mid-step, her Beybroll spinning in her hand. Yuwen's tail bristled. Even the manager, standing at the edge of the store, instinctively took a step back.
And then it happened.
Vario's form began to shift. His body elongated, muscles rippling unnaturally. His wings—once small, shadow-like appendages—burst outward into immense, jagged spans that darkened the streetlights. Horns curved higher from his head, jagged and black, etched with glowing red runes that pulsed with every heartbeat. His tail thickened, tipped with a spade-like end, and claws sharpened to obsidian points that glinted in the dim light.
The air vibrated with power, oppressive and suffocating. Even the villain from their world froze, a flash of recognition—or perhaps fear—crossing his glowing eyes.
"This…" the villain muttered, stepping backward. "This… is impossible."
Nyx's jaw dropped. "…Okay. Yep. Definitely not normal human crime. Definitely insane."
Yuwen raised her hands, magical energy crackling. "That… is his true form. He never revealed this in the past world."
The shadows surrounding Vario writhed and lashed outward, brushing the edges of the street like living smoke. The asphalt cracked under the sheer pressure of his aura.
Vario's voice rose, now a roar that seemed to shake the very night. "I am no longer restrained by the rules of that world. I am your reckoning!"
Nyx blinked, still wide-eyed, then whispered, "Oh… we are so not paying rent after this."
The villain's cloak flared as he readied a spell. "So… this is the Demon King. I expected arrogance… but not—this!"
Vario stepped forward, wings spreading wider. Shadows coiled along the street, twisting into spiked tendrils that hovered menacingly. "Step closer," he said, voice dripping with deadly calm, "and you will understand why none defy me."
Bella, bound in faint magical light, stirred slightly. Even unconscious, she could feel the pressure emanating from him. Nyx clenched her fists, grinning like a maniac. "Finally. Showtime. Let's wreck him."
But the moment they prepared to strike, Vario's aura shifted again—thickening, pressing, almost alive. Even Yuwen's magic trembled under its weight.
The villain's confidence faltered. "I… I didn't know…"
Vario's tail lashed out, cutting the distance between him and the rift where Bella hovered. "No one… escapes me."
And with that, the convenience store street became a battlefield unlike anything that had ever touched the real world. Shadows, magic, and demonic power collided with the night air.
For the first time, the heroes and villains alike realized: this was the Demon King unleashed.