"How could this happen?"
"Damn it, why is this happening?"
"I, a will projection of the Evil God… actually lost across the board?"
…
The Evil God's will projection was on the verge of collapse!
All the powerful guardians it had painstakingly prepared were smashed to pieces! They couldn't stop the invaders at all!
Meanwhile, the places where it had casually thrown in a few trash-tier guardians just to stall for time—
Those were the ones pressing the invaders to the ground and rubbing them in the dirt!
"Hmm?" The Evil God's will projection soon discovered something even more infuriating.
More than a dozen Headless Knights were still standing in place, not moving.
"What's going on? What are these Headless Knights doing? After killing invaders, they should move on to other areas! If they can't win, they should be destroyed! Why are they still there? What the hell?"
The Evil God's will projection shifted its gaze—
—and nearly coughed up blood.
The areas those Headless Knights were guarding did indeed have invaders.
However…
Those invaders weren't advancing at all. They were sitting on the ground—
Having hotpot.
"See? I told you coming in to eat would be awesome!"
"Not bad! Enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Evil God Maze, soaking in this sinister atmosphere, while eating hotpot—so fragrant!"
"Quick, add more meat! Oh hey, there are bones on the ground—should we wash them and toss them into the pot for extra flavor?"
…
These invaders were chatting and eating hotpot as if they were on a picnic, with absolutely no intention of moving forward.
The Evil God's will projection couldn't understand it. It really couldn't.
Aren't you here to stop the Evil God's descent?
Do you have even the slightest awareness of being righteous heroes?
You barge in here just to slack off and feast instead of advancing? Damn it, then what did you even come in for? To mess around?
The Evil God's will projection wanted nothing more than to rush over and beat these freeloaders to death.
"There's no other choice. These detestable humans are too detestable! The task of blocking them can only be handed over to the Apostle's subordinates!"
The Evil God's will projection had truly run out of patience and quickly retreated to the final segment of the path.
At this moment, the fastest Dark Souls Guild players had already reached the end of the fifth segment and were locked in fierce combat with its guardian.
The Evil God's will projection knew that the first five segments had effectively fallen.
So instead of insisting on eliminating the invaders, it might as well change strategy—
Extend the length of the final segment, increase its complexity, and deploy as many guardians as possible to stall for time!
After all, why did it absolutely have to kill these invaders?
As long as it delayed long enough for the main body to descend successfully—
The main body possessed billions of will! Its power was on a completely different level from this mere sliver of will!
Once the true body descended, a single wave of its hand would erase every single invader!
"Gu Aotian, you need to speed up! But at most, in one hour, the ritual will be complete! And if I focus entirely on stalling, I can delay these guys for three or four hours!"
"In the end, the one who wins this battle will still be this Evil God!"
…
After a quick calculation, the Evil God's will projection regained its confidence.
It stopped overthinking and began concentrating fully on a time-stalling strategy.
Meanwhile—
"Heh. Looks like those invaders won't make it in time. At most one more hour, and Lord Gu Aotian will complete the ritual!"
"Once our god descends successfully, everything will be decided!"
…
Outside the final chamber, beyond the eastern gate, a powerful figure murmured smugly.
It was none other than one of the Four Heavenly Kings—
Demon Palm Zaher!
"With a strand of our god's will controlling the Evil God Maze, it's absolutely impossible for any invader to step foot here!" Demon Palm Zaher sighed in admiration.
Lord Gu Aotian was simply too cautious!
How could there possibly be invaders capable of passing through this absolutely impenetrable Evil God Maze?
If someone truly managed it—
Unless…
That person could ignore the maze entirely—
And traverse space itself!
"Hahaha, how cou— huh?"
Demon Palm Zaher almost burst out laughing at the thought, but suddenly his eyes widened.
Tap.
With the sound of a single footstep, a familiar figure appeared before him once again.
"Y–you?" Demon Palm Zaher could hardly believe his eyes!
That guy who should have definitely died…
Had actually appeared in front of him again!
And he had even passed through the Evil God Maze controlled by a strand of the god's will?
A black suit.
Short blond hair.
Curly eyebrows.
And that smooth, practiced motion of lighting a cigarette.
It was—
Handsome Sanji!
The very man Demon Palm Zaher had once crushed to the ground with a single palm strike.
"Tell me. Where is she?" Handsome Sanji asked coldly.
"Heh. So what if you know? You're just a defeated underling! I don't know how you made it here, but this time, you won't escape! Last time that fool Thousand-Bone Bolun saved your life!"
"This time, I will—"
Bang!
Before he could finish speaking, a kick smashed into his face. His facial bones caved in, teeth shattered, and his entire body was blasted hundreds of meters away, slamming violently into the wall.
"Pwah!" Before he even hit the ground, Demon Palm Zaher spat out a mouthful of blood.
What the hell?
Wasn't this the same weak brat who was on the verge of death back then?
How could that kick possibly be this powerful?!
"The moment I think about my little princess being used as a sacrifice by you bastards…"
"I get so damn furious I'm about to explode!!!"
Handsome Sanji roared.
"BOOM!"
A terrifying aura erupted from him, shattering the surrounding ground into fragments. His presence surged explosively once more!
"His power is still increasing? How is that possible? Since when does human strength grow with emotion like this?!" Demon Palm Zaher was completely dumbfounded.
"I can hear her calling me… She's asking me for help…"
"For her sake—"
"I'm burning up!!!"
Handsome Sanji roared again. His pupils turned into flames!
Heavenly fire burst forth, wrapping around his entire body and blazing wildly!
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!"
The terrifying heavenly fire spread outward, incinerating everything around into ashes—
Yet not harming Handsome Sanji in the slightest!
"Damn it!" Demon Palm Zaher's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
What the hell was wrong with this human?
He was actually on fire!
And why couldn't such terrifying flames injure him at all?
How was that even possible?!
"Demon Palm!!!"
Demon Palm Zaher roared. His surging blood energy circulated wildly through his body, concentrating into his hands!
In an instant, both of his hands turned pitch black—and grew enormous!
Vast, terrifying power coiled around them.
"My Sacred Body is called the Earth-Shattering Sacred Body!!! All my power is condensed into these two demon palms!"
"With a single strike, I can crush a thousand-meter mountain into dust!"
"Insect! As long as I stand guard here, you will not pass!"
…
He assumed a stance and snarled fiercely.
"I don't have time to waste on you!"
"One move. We decide it in one move!!!"
…
Handsome Sanji stopped talking. His body spun in a swift rotation.
His crimson right leg was wrapped not only in Intent power and heavenly fire, but also swirling demonic energy!
"True Demon Wind Kick!!!"
He roared and unleashed the kick!
"Die!!!"
Demon Palm Zaher thrust both palms forward at the same time. Two enormous black demonic palm phantoms materialized, crushing toward Handsome Sanji with overwhelming force!
"BOOM!!!"
In the blink of an eye, Handsome Sanji was swallowed by the massive palms.
"Hahaha! Now you know my power—!"
Demon Palm Zaher's laughter abruptly froze.
Because—
A blood-soaked figure burst through the black demonic palm, piercing straight through it—
And with savage ferocity, drove a kick straight into Demon Palm Zaher's face!