The moment Angel Yan and Angel Azhui spotted Morgana, their instincts kicked in. They almost stood up from their seats at the barbecue stall, ready to unfurl their wings and draw their weapons.
That kind of reaction had become second nature to all angels whenever they encountered demons.
"Hold on. Wait for Demon One to show up."
Yamanaka Shinno gently pressed his finger down, using a form of magic energy that couldn't be detected by dark energy to pin Yan and Azhui firmly to their seats.
"Shinno... isn't Demon One already on Earth?"
Angel Azhui's expression was tense, confusion flashing in her eyes.
Earlier, Shinno had preemptively acted even before Demon One launched a dark energy scan, proving he had the ability not just to detect but possibly even track and lock onto Demon One.
So what were they still waiting for?
"The space-time wormhole is still open."
Angel Yan forced herself to suppress the murderous urge that surged up the moment she saw Morgana. Her eyes were locked on the wormhole in the sky, hundreds of meters above, which had yet to close.
The demon legion had been able to go toe-to-toe with the angels for thousands of years not only because they could keep reviving their warriors—but because Morgana was incredibly skilled at fleeing and hiding.
She had just suffered a major defeat not long ago.
Her energy reserves were low, her forces depleted—she should be on high alert.
And now that Demon One had scanned all of Earth with dark energy, even if they hadn't pinpointed her and Azhui, they had likely detected other angels.
Those cunning bastards were definitely prepared to flee at any moment.
Shinno didn't rush to have Yan and Azhui reveal themselves.
Most likely, he wanted to cut off Morgana's escape routes, forcing Demon One to come to her rescue.
That way, they wouldn't have to chase after the demons. It'd be much easier to take them all down in one clean move.
"Sharp observation."
Shinno gave a soft chuckle and shot Yan a look of approval.
No wonder she had been entrusted with such responsibility after Keisha's fall, becoming the new Angel Queen.
Even without relying on an engine or a celestial computer, her perception and reactions were far superior to those of most angel warriors.
"Bio-Engine, lock down all of Morgana's escape options."
Shinno gave a silent command to the Bio-Engine.
[Activating combat mode. Scanning target. Target is a humanoid lifeform possessing third-generation angel genes, third-generation demon genes, high-level dark energy manipulation... Searching for all potential escape methods.]
[Search complete. Activating high-level material definition and conceptual rewriting. Sealing a 10-kilometer radius around target Morgana in spatial conceptual lockdown. All spatial abilities are now prohibited. Seal complete. Establishing underground barrier—burrowing techniques prohibited. Barrier deployed. Anti-dark energy barrier deployed...]
"Oh, and block Morgana's demon conversion ability too."
Shinno sensed a subtle fluctuation in the spatial concepts around them. Unbothered, he picked up a lamb skewer from the table and took a bite.
[Demon conversion involves gene strikes, transplantation, activation, and catalysis. Optimal algorithm located. Locking temporal anchor point. Anchor set. Any attempt to rewrite genes will forcibly revert the target to the anchored temporal state.]
"Tch... Even Dormammu didn't get this kind of treatment."
Feeling his inner energy draining rapidly, Shinno muttered under his breath before downing another glass of beer.
...
To Angel Yan and Angel Azhui, it looked as if nothing had changed.
But in the sky above them, the space-time wormhole quietly closed as Shinno casually ate and drank.
Morgana, standing at the center of the street just outside the gate, remained completely unaware.
She continued her demonic monologue uninterrupted.
"...You poor lambs, bound and broken—your Queen shall bestow upon you a life of over a thousand years, freedom without limits, wings to soar without restraint. Let me usher you into your final evolution! Rejoice in the beauty of being a demon!"
Her teasing gaze swept across the crowd.
The moment they sensed something wasn't right, the bystanders began fleeing.
A few older folks dashed straight into the nearby police station and dragged out the officer on duty.
Meanwhile, some braver young people stayed at a distance, watching from afar and whispering about the woman in goth attire.
"Oh? Long time no see, Ato."
Morgana turned her eyes to a young man nearby holding a hoe.
Swaying her hips seductively, she walked right up to him and patted him on the shoulder.
"Uh... I'm not Ato. I'm..."
The young man stammered, clearly confused.
Morgana smirked, a sinister glint in her heavy eye makeup. She activated the engine within her and gently exhaled a puff of air toward him.
Only...
The breath left her lips—but the dark energy dissipated immediately after leaving her body.
The trace amount of demon genes that had made it into his body never got the chance to take effect. A strange aura flared up, instantly restoring him to his previous, uncorrupted state—as if rewinding time.
"What the hell?!"
Startled, Morgana jumped back several steps.
Only now did she realize that her dark energy manipulation was being seriously disrupted—it vanished the moment it left her body!
Even the escape wormhole she'd prepared in the sky was gone!
And her connection with Demon One—completely severed!
...
Without thinking, Morgana leapt into the air. Her demon wings beat furiously as she tried to fly away from this unsettling village that sent chills down her spine.
But after jumping barely half a meter, she dropped straight back to the ground.
She looked down at the unblemished pavement beneath her feet—and panic finally set in.
Clearly, this place was under some kind of power effect. The ground wasn't just harder than steel—it was now a flight-restricted zone!
Normally, with the strength she'd just used, jumping dozens of meters would've been effortless!
"Damn it! I'm screwed! You idiot! You told me this was pre-nuclear civilization! That no one here could fight?! That pansy wants me dead, doesn't he?!"
Her eyes turned fierce as she swept the crowd, trying to find whoever was behind this trap.
The young men who had been curiously watching from afar suddenly panicked and scrambled back even further.
In times like these, nobody wanted to be the one getting hit by some lunatic.
"Hey! You're disturbing public order! Come with me to the station and cool off for a bit!"
The officer from the police station stepped forward, sighing at the sight of this scene-creating goth lunatic.
The crowd could gawk all they wanted—but he couldn't let someone run wild in his jurisdiction, or he'd be dealing with complaints all day tomorrow.
But to Morgana, surrounded by invisible threats, she had no patience for a mere human.
She raised her hand and threw a punch at his gut—intending to swat this annoying fly away...