“Heh… hehehe? What’re you whispering about? Breakfast—tasty enough for you?”
“…”
Anyway, after they finished breakfast and dinner, they set out.
On the way, they heard the whole city was hunting down the ones who’d killed and burned in the Pleasure Maiden Hall last night. Xu Chen and the others slipped through quietly. Before any demons could trace them, they’d already entered the passage inside the city, showed their Proof of Abi Hell, and were allowed through a long underground tunnel, heading deep into Abi Hell itself.
Right now, on the cliff where the four Oni Lords of Great Lundar Prison had gathered—
A gorgeous, mysterious altar had already been built.
At the center of the altar, a black vortex-shaped totem spun. On it, tiny, twinkling stars seemed to shimmer. Looking closer, every one of those countless stars was actually an incredibly precious Lust Crystal—one thousand in total.
And at the top of that vortex, the beautiful woman Star Dance, dressed in a semi‑transparent gauze dress, was hanging by her arms. Two huge fanged pillars had spat out iron chains that held her aloft. Her arms were stretched into a Y‑shape, suspended in midair like a goddess in torment.
Countless green ripples, filled with the raw breath of life force, were being slowly drawn out of her body. They flowed into the mouths of five strange beast statues around the altar, placed in the shape of a pentagram.
Behind each beast statue, a figure was controlling it, channeling energy into the statue so it could drain Star Dance’s life force.
Those five figures were the four Oni Lords and one of the former four Oni Lords—Hiiro.
“Hahahahaha! Little sister! You thought gathering a thousand Lust Crystals could save me. But you probably never imagined that you yourself are the final bargaining chip to free me. And these thousand Lust Crystals? They were prepared to extract your life force and bring my lord back to life! Hahaha!” Hiiro’s eyes burned with fanatic light. A wish she’d held for countless years was finally coming true; her laughter was almost deranged.
“General Hiiro! You’ve been acting out this play for billions of years. Truly scheming to the bone. I, Azkago, admire you from the bottom of my heart!”
“General Hiiro! I, Gebig, offended you many times before!”
“Not at all. Without all that, I’d never have fooled my clever little sister,” Hiiro said with a smile.
Star Dance gave her elder sister a calm glance, then stared blankly into the distant sky again.
There’s no grief greater than a dead heart.
Whether they extracted her source of life, or the Oni Lords decided to do something else to her—it all drew no reaction now. No sadness, no pain.
She’d schemed and calculated, been cautious at every step, risked her life over and over, given up every bit of happiness a woman could have. Her one and only faith was to save her sister. She had fought like that for billions of years. And in the end, everything she’d held onto for those endless years had been crushed in one second—by the person she loved most, the only person she truly cared about—her big sister.
Almost as if she wanted Star Dance to understand everything clearly, Hiiro went on, “Back then, when I was trapped in Great Lundar Prison, I was almost violated by demons. At the critical moment, my lord manifested and saved me. Right then, I swore to serve my lord. My lord is infinitely noble, beautiful, absolutely and undeniably powerful. Even a single thought of hers was so strong it made my soul kneel in willing devotion. Don’t think I was under some spell! No. I submitted to my lord’s charm of my own free will. To me, she’s the most perfect goddess in this world.”
Hiiro continued, “To resurrect my lord, I schemed and plotted and laid out this game over billions of years, working with her. The four Oni Lords joined forces with me as well. But to revive my lord, we needed a thousand Lust Crystals. I was trapped in Hiiro Moon Prison and couldn’t leave. Looking across the whole World of Mercenaries, only you, little sister, might have the ability to gather them. That’s why the four Oni Lords and I put on that farce of me being held hostage by them, and Azkago signing the contract with you! For billions of years, I barely dared to hope. But you kept going, kept holding on. In the end, you actually did it. What a great love between sisters that is! Unfortunately, compared to my devotion to my lord, all of that is just worldly emotion—not worth mentioning.
“To resurrect my lord, there’s one last condition: the extraction of a God General’s life force. And normally, how could a God General’s life force ever be taken at will? That’s the true purpose of Hiiro Moon Prison. You all thought entering Hiiro Moon Prison was a trial, that it just pushed your power back. But you were wrong. Your life force was sealed by the prison’s special barrier. Only after it’s sealed can it be extracted using this grand array my lord taught me!
“And this round of Hiiro Moon Prison is just perfect. You happened to gather a thousand Lust Crystals, and your strength just happened to be pushed back down to Earth‑rank. You know what my lord said: only a God General whose power has been forced back to Earth‑rank can have their life force fully extracted. A heaven‑sent opportunity! All the conditions are in place. My lord’s resurrection will be achieved today! Long live my lord! I finally get to see your true glory! When my lord is reborn and descends, she will destroy this era and plunge the world into a new birth! Hahaha!”
Hiiro turned to the four Oni Lords again. “Once my lord is reborn, she’ll keep her promise and release you from Hiiro Moon Prison. She’ll reward you so richly you’ll be able to rule the entire World of Mercenaries.”
“We’re willing to serve our lord!” the Oni Lords said in unison.
Overwhelmed with excitement, the five powerhouses increased the rate of extraction.
Star Dance’s brows tightened slightly. She could feel her life force trickling away, bit by bit.
