The death of Lord Embers was completely unexpected.
From the very beginning, it seemed as if he had everything under control.
Yet, facing the Spear of the Blighted Sun, his fate was sealed.
With his death, the Colossal Undead—lacking his support—froze.
The bones making up its body quivered as continuous cracks resounded.
The next moment, its body exploded, turning into a sea of bones that fell to the ground, embedding into the earth and forming a large bone forest.
Some of these bones fell on Liora, who was preoccupied with the string of crimson numbers flashing in her field of vision.
When the numbers settled, they turned into "642,359", while right next to them, another slightly smaller word appeared, reading "23rd."
These were the Slaughter Points that Liora gained by killing Lord Embers, as well as her position in the Crucible Ranking.
The sheer amount of Slaughter Points was astonishing, a result of Lord Embers having slain all the powerful Devils, effectively gathering the points of everyone in the City of Embers.
Unfortunately, Liora didn't have time to celebrate such a grand event.
There was still one more threat—a person staring at her intently.
The Two-Headed Devil.
Although it was shocked by her sudden outburst and hesitated for a brief moment, both of its faces showed a surprisingly decisive expression.
Looking at Liora's current state, which was admittedly very bad, it didn't choose to flee.
Instead, it slowly inched closer while maintaining its high altitude.
Clearly, it had noticed that she was unable to fly in the air and wanted to use this to its advantage.
Stopping right above Liora, both of its heads opened their mouth wide, ready to launch an attack.
Since it didn't hide, its movements were obvious to Liora. However, her current condition made it impossible for her to put up a fight.
Her internal organs had been burned as if cooked, while the rest of her body was covered in deep wounds.
This was the price she had paid to kill Lord Embers.
Of course, this was to be expected.
Spear of the Blighted Sun—an ability that could instantly kill a ranked Devil—was bound to have some side effects.
Liora understood that the only reason she was still alive was her uniqueness.
More specifically, it was because of the high defense provided by the Myriad Devils Armor.
Even so, she was currently powerless.
Even a Little Devil might be able to kill her, let alone a ranked Devil like the Two-Headed Devil.
Yet, Liora didn't panic. She knew full well that using the Spear of the Blighted Sun would have severe consequences.
The reason she didn't hesitate to use it was because she was confident in her preparations.
Thinking of this, and seeing that the Two-Headed Devil was about to attack her, Liora moved.
With one knee touching the ground, she slowly lowered her palm and pressed it down.
The next moment, the ground shook and rolled over, revealing the many objects she had buried over the past couple of days.
Large amounts of flesh, blood, skulls, and rare weapons appeared, covered in complicated crimson runes and glowing with an eerie light.
"Infernal Golem Summoning Array.", Liora whispered.
Following her words, the many objects on the ground, along with Lord Embers' soul and the remains of the fallen Devils, exploded, becoming fuel for the newly-formed Array.
With their "full efforts", boundless demonic energy gathered in the air right above her.
It quickly took material form, turning into a golem.
However, unlike the golems that Liora had previously summoned, this one was completely different.
More than fifty meters in height and covered in scorching lava, the golem looked powerful and imposing, even more terrifying than the Undead Colossal.
Hot air blew out of its mouth as it let out a rough, hoarse roar.
Before the Two-Headed Devil could react, the Infernal Golem raised its gigantic hand and waved it toward it.
Despite standing on the ground, its massive size and long hands allowed it to reach into the sky, like a giant plucking the stars.
The Two-Headed Devil, having been on guard against Liora, quickly reacted. It shifted its body and was about to dodge.
But the golem's movements were far faster than it could ever imagine.
After all, Liora had prepared for a long time, having consumed countless resources as well as the essence of the fallen Devils to summon it.
The golem's hand whistled through the air, making the space around it tremble, and the next moment, it struck the Two-Headed Devil.
Its palm opened wide and encased the Devil within it before it clenched it into a fist.
Bones shattered, flesh tore, and agonized screams reached Liora's ears as she watched blood drip down the golem's palm.
The flashing number in the corner of her vision, only half a second later, confirmed this sight—the Two-Headed Devil was truly dead.
Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, the Infernal Golem transformed back into demonic energy, having exhausted its energy.
Liora was not surprised.
The Infernal Golem Summoning Array was, after all, a relatively simple array that any Devil with some Devil Rune knowledge could set up.
The only reason the Infernal Golem possessed such overwhelming power was because of her efforts and the "selfless" contributions of the other Devils.
"Is it finally over?", Liora couldn't help but mutter in a low voice.
The floating dead souls, the smell of blood, and the many ruins reminded her of what had happened, but also let her know that everything was finally over.
The lack of danger made her relax, but also caused her to exit her focused state.
As such, the pain and tiredness she had been suppressing immediately assaulted her mind.
Her vision became blurry, and her mind groggy as she tried to stand up but failed.
Her attempt only served to make her injuries even more severe as her various wounds broke out.
The last thing Liora saw was the word "3rd", before she slumped down to the ground again, this time completely unconscious.
--
In an unknown place, elsewhere in the Crucible, an old man sat in a dark cave, surrounded by many shadowy figures.
Many rare materials lay on the ground before him, both metals and Devil parts.
From time to time, the old man would grab one of these materials, and after a brief inspection, he would put it aside.
After he did this a few more times, creating a small pile beside him, he nodded in satisfaction.
With a wave of his hands, a white flame appeared, which he carefully brought close to the materials.
Under its intense heat, the materials quickly melted into liquid.
The old man didn't stand still, but moved quickly, using his demonic energy to shape that liquid.
Under his concentrated efforts, the materials soon took the shape of a wrinkled, withered hand.
Picking it up, the old man approached one of the shadowy figures and placed it gently on its empty shoulders. With a click, the arm attached directly.
"Another one... another one...", the old man muttered as he returned to his original place and began forging once again.
Under the white flame's brilliance, his appearance was revealed.
Covered in deep wrinkles, he seemed like a walking undead, as if he would die the very next moment.
Shockingly, the white flames also revealed the appearance of the shadowy figures—who possessed faces that mirrored his own in unsettling detail.
If Liora were here, she would instantly recognize that face.
It was the face of the elderly Devil.