Chapter 1972: Destroying the Main Underworld Portal
*BOOM!!*
The space shook as a shockwave reverberated through the air and slammed into the ground far below. The ground was no longer the landscape it once was. Any trees, hills, or mountains that once decorated the terrain were gone. The ground was now a flat land filled with rubble. No living things were visible in miles. Those who failed to flee far enough already died from the repeated shockwaves.
This was what happened in the area where divine beings scuffled for almost a full day.
"Begone...!!!
"
A powerful rainbow energy lashed out from Lucifer's swing. Pride was smacked away by the force. A wave of chaotic rainbow energy followed. This wave pushed the other Gods and
Goddesses away.
"You seem pissed. Has Volgroth destroyed the main underworld portal?
" Greed asked with a mocking tone.
Lucifer answered by pointing at him and firing a concentrated multicolor arrow. Wrath and Fear hurriedly combined their power with Greed and formed a shield that blocked the arrow. Even though they successfully blocked the arrow, they were pushed back and felt something heavy had rammed into their bodies.
Lucifer was indeed pissed, but not because of Volgroth. The main underworld portal was still standing. What pissed Lucifer off was he sensed the death of all the devils, including Satan. As much as he found that unbelievable, the disappearing links between him and the six devils were unmistakable. Only one thing explained the disappearance of these links. The devils had died.
This was an irreparable loss. He needed the devils to maintain control once they conquered the upperworld. Now, he could only rely on those lowly demons for the job. The perfect world The envisioned was now no longer possible.
To make matters worse, there was still the problem with Volgroth. Although the main underworld portal was still standing, he could sense that his barrier had lost half of its energies. He needed to get back to that portal!
"I will drag you punks into hell and torture you for eternity!!!
" Lucifer shouted in fury. He spun. His six colorful wings released multicolor energies that formed a hurricane. This hurricane expanded.
"Hold him!
" Wrath yelled. Fear, Greed, and she channeled their negative energies to halt the hurricane's expansion.
"Urghh...! He is too strong!!
" Fear exclaimed. They were as if trying to stop a broken dam.
On the opposite side, Love and Serenity approached Pride.
"Are you fine?
" Serenity asked.
Many scars were visible on Pride's armor. Its luminance, which was usually dazzling, was now rather dull. Traces of light were seen seeping out of those scars.
"Your essences are slipping,
" Love said with worry.
"Never mind me,
" Pride told them.
"He is going all out. We must as well!
"
"We have already gone all out,
" Love said.
"No. I know you haven't. Listen, you two. Stop worrying about me. If we fail to stop Lucifer here, all will be lost. Everyone and everything in this upperworld will no longer be what it used to be. Even if we survive this fight, it will be meaningless. There is no point in me surviving this, do you understand?
"
The two Goddesses have complicated expressions. Serenity turned to the multicolor hurricane that was still being retained by the bad Gods' energies. The hurricane had stopped expanding, but from the expressions of the three Gods, they wouldn't be able to keep doing that for long.
"I understand,
" Serenity said.
"Sister...?
" Love turned to Serenity in disbelief.
"As Brother Pride said. If we failed to keep Lucifer here before Volgroth completed his mission, all will be lost,
" Serenity said. She then turned to Pride and asked,
"How long can you last if we give you our all?
"
"As long as I need to,
" Pride answered.
Serenity nodded. She turned to Love, who was still showing a troubled expression. Under Serenity's firm gaze, Love found her resolve. She steeled her expression.
The two pushed their hands in Pride's direction at the same time. A brilliant light flowed from them and into Pride.
"Hrrgghh...!
" The influx of energy took Pride by surprise. Although he had prepared himself, the power that flowed into him was still more than he expected. He felt like his body was about to explode. He clenched his fists. With a thundering roar, he forced this overflowing energy under control.
The light from Serenity and Love condensed and wrapped around his body. Pride turned into a humanoid creature made of light. None of his armor was visible under the dense light.
With another roar, he charged forward. He pierced into the multicolor hurricane and crashed straight into Lucifer, who was in the eye of the storm. A powerful shockwave radiated from the collision. The multicolor hurricane ruptured from the shockwave.
Lucifer was shocked his full-powered attempt was stopped. He was even more surprised he felt hurt from the impact just now.
"You...,
" Lucifer noticed the change in Pride's appearance.
"You are truly ready to die...?
"
"Which part of it that you don't understand?
" Pride said and sent a blindingly fast punch that struck Lucifer's jaw.
Lucifer reeled from the punch but quickly returned with a punch of his own.
"So be it! Die! You, miserable pretender!
" Lucifer exclaimed. His punch was equally fast. The impact generated another earth-shattering shockwave.
One day passed after Satan was defeated. At the main underworld portal, the yellow barrier covering the portal was dimming. The HP bar above the barrier was nearly depleted.
On the ground surrounding the portal were mountains of demon corpses. These were the demons who originally guarded the portal and those who were called back to defend the
portal.
Xugguth was still alive. He almost died once, though. After that, he kept his distance and used his subordinates as cannon fodders. He only attacked when Volgroth was occupied.
These demons were not Volgroth's opponents. Volgroth could have dispatched them easily, but they were still a nuisance. Their interference caused him to be unable to focus his offense on the main underworld portal. He ended up needing two days to bring down the barrier's HP.
"Hmph! You, demons, truly are bothersome, but this is the end for you. Prepare to get sent back to the underworld!
" Volgroth exclaimed while unleashing his Celestial Soul Breath. The silver beam vaporized the demons on its path before crashing into the yellow barrier. This attack took out the barrier's HP. The yellow barrier faded out and exposed the main
underworld portal.
"Finally!
" Volgroth exclaimed. This task had taken much longer than he planned. He knew they were in a race against time. He knew the upperworld Gods were holding Lucifer down. If Lucifer returned, he would be finished. Even if he was the strongest being, he was still nothing against a God.
"I will not let you!
" Xugguth came at Volgroth from behind. Now that the barrier was gone, the main underworld portal was vulnerable. He couldn't afford to play it safely anymore. No matter what, Volgroth must not destroy the portal. He had to answer to Lucifer if that happened. He feared facing Lucifer's wrath rather than losing his life because Lucifer's wrath meant unending torture where he wished he was dead.
Volgroth sensed Xugguth's approach. He easily repelled the demon using a tail swipe.
"Nothing is going to stop me from destroying that portal!
" Volgroth exclaimed.
The main underworld portal itself possessed an HP bar. It would take time to destroy the portal, but Volgroth had no intention of wasting more time. He flew back, which confused the demons. Why did the dragon retreat after the portal was exposed?
When Volgroth started glowing and the space around him distorted, the demons understood. Volgroth was not retreating. He was preparing an attack. Particles of light started to gather from all over, forming rivers of light that flowed toward the celestial dragon.
What Volgroth was preparing was his ultimate attack. The one he used when he first appeared here. The skill had gone off cooldown a while ago, but he refrained from using it to destroy the barrier, which HP was almost depleted. He kept it so he could use it now to destroy the
main underworld portal in one hit.
"Stop him! Stop him...!!
" Xugguth exclaimed. He could sense the intensity of the mana being siphoned by Volgroth even from this distance. He remembered the beam that almost killed him when Volgroth appeared. He did not doubt the dragon was repeating that attack. The demons followed Xugguth's command. They rushed toward the dragon. Xugguth stayed before the portal and used a defensive skill, Ki Wall, which conjured a large energy wall. Like his Ki Shield, this wall contained dark elements. Xugguth pumped mana manipulation into the wall, empowering it.
The gathered mana before Volgroth's mouth formed a giant ball. Several rings with runic
symbols appeared around the ball and circled it. Before he unleashed the gathered energy, he activated Celestial Dragon Lifeforce. The energy ball before his mouth expanded abruptly.
"Begone...!!!
" Volgroth exclaimed. The giant ball exploded into a massive beam. The runic rings merged with the beam. Runic symbols adorned the surface of the beam.
This beam was even more powerful than the first one because it was boosted by the power of the Celestial Dragon Lifeforce. All the demons rushing toward Volgroth were swallowed by the beam. Some evaporated upon contact. The stronger ones lasted longer, but they still perished. None of the demons were in full health, to begin with.
The beam crashed into Xugguth's dark wall. It didn't last even a second. The beam pierced through and engulfed Xugguth. His face was in despair as he vaporized. He was not in full health like when the beam hit him the first time. The beam was also much stronger this time. The beam went on and crashed into the main underworld portal.