Thus, as Loki was swallowed by the sealing magic circle, the giant wolf Fenrir—after releasing one final skyward howl—leaped in pursuit before vanishing from everyone's sight.
The palace hall finally quieted once more.
Moments later, still within the palace hall, court physicians responsible for emergency treatment wove through those below the stage—carrying away devil guards injured while attempting to obstruct Fenrir for medical attention.
Onstage, having inscribed his signature upon the monolith, Odin withdrew his fingertip.
"Alright. With this, the alliance is complete."
"We regret Loki's actions."
Sirzechs offered quiet consolation.
Odin sighed softly.
"This counts as my failure. I knew from the start that bastard intended this—just never imagined he'd have balls big enough to actually pull such a stunt."
"By the way, regarding the seal..."
At this moment, Ajuka—who'd remained silent throughout the entire ceremony—suddenly interjected.
"There's something I haven't told you yet. Because the situation unfolded so suddenly, even I could only temporarily seal him into a dimensional gap. So that's not a particularly stable seal."
"Meaning... risk of escape?"
As lifelong friends, Sirzechs immediately caught the subtext.
"Precisely."
Ajuka nodded gently.
"By my estimate, we have at most one day to prepare."
"Hmm..."
Hearing this, Sirzechs propped his chin while quietly contemplating.
At this moment, Odin suddenly mused: "One day, huh? Push hard enough, might just make it."
"Make it? What do you mean?"
Serafall leaned in from the side, asking curiously.
Odin inhaled deeply.
"Well, since Norse mythology caused this mess, I—Odin, as Norse All-Father—should naturally take responsibility. Though Loki himself isn't particularly powerful, his son Fenrir possesses strength far exceeding his father's. Even I must borrow Mjolnir's power to suppress him."
"So I plan to depart immediately. That way, I should return to the demon realm with Mjolnir before Loki escapes tomorrow."
"Sounds like timing won't be particularly generous."
Serafall blinked.
"No—not 'sounds like.' Definitely won't make it."
However, Ajuka shook his head.
"I said at most twenty-four hours remaining. Meaning after twenty-four hours, Loki escapes. If we want to ensure we can reseal him after escape, first we need to pinpoint his emergence location from the dimensional gap."
"Which means..."
"Which means I must proactively release him from the dimensional gap early. So strictly speaking, we don't have a full twenty-four hours."
In other words—arrange personnel to stall Loki, including Fenrir, after early release until Mjolnir arrives.
"Well, in that case, leave the stalling to us."
After brief silence, Azazel spread his hands while shrugging.
Then he directly turned toward the silver-haired youth who'd just descended from above onto the stage.
"Hey Vali, you two Heavenly Dragons finally finished arguing?"
"I suppose."
The silver-haired youth's tone carried rare irritation.
"Those two argued nonstop for nearly two weeks straight. I waited until they literally exhausted their talking points before finally having time to come over. Then along the way, I picked up this thing."
Speaking, he hoisted the monkey he'd been gripping by the collar.
"Hey hey hey, don't yank my collar—you'll rip it!"
Previously somewhat dazed, Bikou finally snapped to awareness. He swatted away Vali's hand from his collar before standing—clearing his throat with mock dignity.
"Earlier, rushed timing prevented proper introductions. Let me repeat: I'm Bikou, this generation's Sun Wukong. My visit to the demon realm was purely hitching a ride to see old friends."
"Sun Wukong... a Divine Land youkai from the human realm."
Azazel stroked his chin.
"Plus, I recall before getting launched, you mentioned your old friend was..."
"Hold up—he said that. Bokue and I never acknowledged it, nya~"
Before finishing, a certain black-haired, straight-haired cat-eared girl's voice drifted from the stage edge's stairway direction.
Following the sound revealed Kuroka—arm linked with Bokue's—already ascending the stage. Behind them followed Rias and the assembled girls.
Kuroka swept the previously boastful Bikou with somewhat contemptuous eyes.
"Still got the nerve calling yourself 'old friend,' acting like you bonded through combat. Truth is, years back when Bokue and I passed through Mount Huaguo, we crossed a peach orchard. I casually picked one peach to eat. Next second, some broke-ass monkey charges out trying to scam us, claiming they're immortal peaches costing 648 per bite. Then Bokue one-handedly pressed him into the ground, beating him until he nearly shit his pants..."
"I was joking back then! Joking!"
Embarrassing history revisited, Bikou practically jumped.
"Besides, how was I supposed to know he'd go full berserker mode—not saying a word before suddenly swinging fists?? Ten years later, still the same damn attitude!"
"What do you mean?"
Bokue shrugged.
"I told you earlier: 'Let's start right here.'"
"Then immediately after saying that, you tried killing your old friend??"
"Not at all."
"Still denying it?? You punched me flying across my ancestor's somersault cloud distance! If I hadn't blocked with my Ruyi Jingu Bang, I'd be scattered in pieces by now! How much force did you even use??"
Bikou clutched his chest dramatically.
Yet Bokue couldn't even be bothered looking at him. That earlier strike—rather than Bikou blocking with his staff—was purely because Bokue had aimed for the staff from the start.
Otherwise, genuinely going all-out? Even swapping in Indra, one punch would scatter him into pieces.
"Oh right, there's one thing I forgot to ask."
Azazel redirected his attention toward the nearby silver-haired youth—fully clad in White Dragon Emperor armor, expression unreadable beneath, yet constantly observing Bokue and Bikou's bickering.
"Vali, you mentioned the Two Heavenly Dragons finished arguing. Since you're here now, where's Ddraig?"
"If you're worried Red might wander around causing commotion in the demon realm, no need."
Before Vali could respond, the light wings behind him flashed while emitting sound.
"He's also arrived at Lilith—waiting for us at the central square before the palace entrance."
"...What??"
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