Chaos reigned everywhere. Terrified by the explosion, the villagers had begun running around in panic, screaming and colliding with one another.
Taking advantage of the confusion, Axel and Eldon had managed to move closer to the ritual site.
The sight before them made Eldon's stomach churn.
At the center of a massive ritual circle drawn in blood stood a crude cross made from two roughly nailed planks.
On the tables surrounding the circle lay the decaying corpses of various wild animals, their bodies already beginning to rot.
As the cloud of dust raised by the explosion slowly dispersed, Eldon looked toward the cross.
It was empty.
Zach had succeeded.
He had saved Harper.
Now, there was only one thing left to do.
Destroy the ritual site completely.
Eldon already had a plan in mind—but they had to hurry. Time was running out. Judging by Axel's weakened condition, the ritual was nearly complete.
They moved quickly.
The chaos around them showed no sign of slowing.
On the far side of the ritual circle stood a man dressed in a black robe like the others. But he was different.
In his hands, he held a thick, worn book.
It was the grimoire the villagers were using to perform the ritual.
Axel could feel the ominous energy radiating from it.
They rushed toward the robed man without hesitation, ignoring the villagers who noticed them and began shouting from behind.
The moment they seized the book, this grotesque circus would come to an end.
Just as Eldon was about to tackle the dazed villager, a powerful blow struck the left side of his body and sent him flying.
The chainmail he wore beneath his coat had protected him.
He lifted his head.
A massive robed man—nearly two meters tall—was advancing toward him.
Eldon didn't rush.
He deflected the incoming punch and countered.
A sudden flash of light struck the robed man's face.
The man let out a loud scream and stumbled backward.
The hidden blade attached to Eldon's wrist by a special mechanism had pierced straight through the man's left eye.
From a distance, it looked almost like something out of an assassin movie.
The enraged man charged at him.
Eldon never lost his composure.
He evaded one lethal punch after another. When there was nowhere left to retreat, he kicked off the rock behind him and leapt into the air.
The man's fist smashed into the stone, shattering it instantly.
"No doubt about it—a demon-blood user," Eldon said mockingly.
"I prefer enemies who are a little smarter than that. At least they're more fun to fight."
The man roared in rage, resembling a wild beast.
At that moment, as the moonlight fell upon him, something glinted around his neck.
Eldon looked at him with disappointment.
"I'd love to keep playing with you, but as you know, I have to stop idiots like you."
"ZZZZT!"
A thin but sharp sound cut through the air.
Before anyone could understand what had happened, the large man's feet lifted off the ground, leaving him suspended nearly a meter in the air.
He clawed desperately at his neck with both hands, as if trying to free himself.
"No matter how hard you struggle, it's useless. You can't tear angel steel apart with your bare hands."
Hidden inside Eldon's coat was a compact pulley system. Attached to it was a special wire made of angel steel.
In the midst of the fight, Eldon had swiftly looped the wire around one of the rocks above and slipped it around the man's throat.
The rest was simple.
He pressed the retraction mechanism and grabbed the tightening wire with both hands, pulling with all his strength.
Beneath his clothes, Eldon wore an artificial skeletal support system—an advanced and complex structure.
Thanks to it, he wasn't as strong as Zach, but far stronger than any ordinary human.
He pulled harder.
Terror filled the man's face.
Soon, the struggling stopped.
When Eldon loosened the wire, the man's massive body slammed onto the ground.
He was dead.
Eldon didn't linger.
He immediately turned toward Axel.
Things were chaotic on his side as well—but there was no real danger.
Axel was raining one glowing punch after another onto the body of another massive robed man.
Apparently, demon-blood users weren't strong enough to withstand the power of an angel.
By the time Eldon reached him, the robed man was already lying motionless on the ground.
"I finished my side faster," Eldon remarked.
"Thirty-two," Axel replied, exhaustion clear on his face.
"If I weren't weakened by what these bastards did, two punches would've been enough."
With a mocking smile, Eldon turned and moved forward.
"Now we can deal with this one."
The robed man holding the grimoire stood before them.
The remaining villagers had surrounded them.
Eldon shouted:
"Nobody move, or we send your leader straight to the deepest pit of Hell!"
The villagers were forced to step back.
Fear was clearly visible in their eyes.
"That's better."
Eldon turned to the man.
"Hand over the grimoire."
The man didn't respond.
"GIVE US THE DAMN BOOK!" Eldon shouted again, louder this time.
The man twitched.
Then he burst into laughter and pulled a dagger from within his robe, swinging it wildly.
Eldon and Axel both stepped back at once.
The man raised the dagger high—then drove it into his own throat.
Blood sprayed everywhere, splattering onto them as they watched in stunned silence.
Eldon rushed forward and examined the body.
"The eyes," he said in a trembling voice.
When Axel came closer and saw the scene, he turned his head away.
The man's eye sockets were empty.
"So the demon was communicating with our world through this man," Axel said.
Eldon nodded.
"He killed himself. Did he give up?"
"No," Eldon replied grimly. "We're too late. He was the final offering."
At that moment, the ground began to shake violently—as if the entire mountain were coming to life.
"HEY, YOU IDIOTS! GET AWAY FROM THERE!"
The voice was familiar.
Both of them turned and saw Zach and Harper running toward them.
Zach shouted again:
"RUN, YOU MORONS! OR THE MOUNTAIN'S GOING TO SWALLOW YOU TOO!"
The ground beneath them suddenly split open.
Everything happened so fast that many villagers fell straight into the massive fissure that had opened beneath their feet.
"What's going on? Did the summoning fail? The demon should've already crossed into our world!" Eldon asked.
Zach replied with a deeply troubled expression.
"He's already here."
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The area had grown calmer.
All of them stood at the edge of the fissure, staring into the darkness below.
"So what you're saying is… the villagers weren't trying to summon a demon into our world. They were trying to free one that was already imprisoned here," Eldon said.
"Exactly," Zach replied.
Eldon crouched down, rubbing his forehead in frustration.
"What a headache. If we'd known from the start, we would've focused on the man holding the grimoire instead of wasting time."
There was a crucial difference between summoning a demon into this world and releasing one that was already imprisoned.
The ritual itself.
Rituals designed to summon demons were like bridges between this world and Hell. They had to be flawless. Even the smallest mistake would render everything meaningless.
But this situation was completely different.
Freeing an imprisoned demon didn't require a perfect ritual at all. Depending on the demon's strength, it might not require a ritual in the first place.
What truly mattered was the offering.
The spilling of innocent blood and presenting it to the demon—that alone was enough.
They hadn't known this when they arrived. That was why their first priority had been stopping the ritual.
If they had known, they would've immediately targeted the demon's medium—the man with the empty eye sockets who had just killed himself.
If they had stopped him, the demon would've lost all contact with this world, and everything would have been resolved.
But now, the situation had evolved into something far worse.
They were too late.
The door sealing the demon was beginning to open.
"There's still time."
Everyone turned toward Zach.
"What kind of madness are you thinking of now?" Eldon asked.
Zach grinned.
"We can stop it before the door fully opens."
"How?" Eldon asked, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
"By melting all the angel steel we have and pouring it along the edges of the door."
Eldon looked down, despair written on his face.
"I thought of that too. We could force the opening door shut and buy time until the Syndicate arrives—but it's impossible. No one can hang over a chasm holding molten metal and seal a door."
Zach looked at him with an arrogant grin.
Eldon raised his head.
"You're serious?"
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"This is pure insanity," Axel said, pain etched into his face.
"Less talking. More hands," Harper added irritably.
"This is the last of it. All the angel steel we have."
"Nice work, princess."
Harper turned to Zach.
"Do you realize how insane this is?"
"You know, every person wants to be crazy at least once in their life."
"No, they don't!" Harper snapped.
Zach smiled.
"I agree. This is completely insane. Descending from that height while holding molten metal defies all logic."
Still smiling, Zach placed a hand on Eldon's shoulder.
"But you know this is the only way. And if we don't do it, a lot of people will die. Do you really want to watch that demon slaughter innocent people? Besides—what are heroes for, if not moments like this?"
Zach tried to lighten the mood with his casual tone.
He was fully aware of how dangerous what they were about to do was—but they had no other choice.
"Alright. Everyone except Zach, move back!"
As Axel spoke, Eldon stepped closer to Zach one last time.
"Let me go over the plan again. We'll secure you and lower you into the fissure with the molten angel steel. When you reach the door, you'll pour the metal along its edges. That should buy us enough time."
"There are things you must not forget," Eldon continued. "Angel steel solidifies far faster than ordinary metal. You'll have to be extremely quick. Also, when angel steel melts, it releases a gas that's highly toxic to humans. Even a few seconds of inhalation could kill you. And finally—there's the demonic energy leaking from the opening seal. You'll be directly exposed to a demon's pure power. An entire village went mad because of it. Be careful."
Zach met his gaze seriously and nodded once.
Then he turned toward Axel.
"You'd better start holding your breath now. It's already melting."
The most common way to melt angel steel was through angel forges.
Sacred stones said to have fallen from Heaven were used in special mechanisms to transfer their energy into the metal, allowing it to be melted and shaped.
There were fewer than a handful of such forges in the entire world.
But with a real angel right there, why bother with sacred stones?
Axel plunged his hands into the cauldron containing the angel steel tools, using the last of his remaining angelic power to melt them.
He was nearly finished.
After a few seconds, Axel spoke.
"Now!"
Zach took one final deep breath, lifted the cauldron by its edges, and ran.
It was far heavier and hotter than he had expected. His skin burned—but he ignored it.
When he reached the edge of the chasm, he didn't hesitate.
His friends were behind him.
He trusted them.
He stepped into the void.
The rope around his waist tightened as he was lowered rapidly into the darkness.
His eyes began to burn from the gas rising off the molten angel steel. Tears streamed down his face and vanished into the abyss.
Before long, he reached the recess where the door was.
He stepped onto the ledge, lifted the cauldron, and poured the molten metal into the widening gap of the door.
At that moment, his vision went dark.
Had he gone blind?
No.
Something far worse.
This was the entrance to Hell.
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Cold, endless darkness.
That was exactly what the entrance to Hell was like.
He looked around.
He couldn't see his physical body.
So only his spiritual body had been pulled here.
As he moved through the void, he began to hear rising screams of agony.
With his next step, the space around him shifted.
There was no doubt anymore.
He was in Hell.
He could see the punishments inflicted upon countless sinners—people burning, suffering, screaming.
Demons danced barefoot across their bodies, singing as they did.
Zach turned to run—but froze.
Fear wrapped around him completely.
Standing before him was a high-level demon.
"Pathetic hybrid. Neither human nor demon. You are nothing but a punishment God bestowed upon your parents."
Zach couldn't respond.
He couldn't even move.
The being before him was nearly five times his height.
"Do you like this place? This is where you'll end up because of the tainted blood in your veins. You'll suffer here forever, just like these sinners. Endless torment."
Though his body was trapped in the human world, demons were always connected to Hell.
A demon cut off from Hell could not exist—no matter how powerful it was.
And now, a truly powerful demon stood before him.
Not the kind he chased through back alleys—but one capable of erasing his very existence with a snap of its fingers.
The seal binding it had loosened, and that alone had been enough to drag Zach's soul into Hell.
That was the true power of a high-level demon.
"Why aren't you speaking, hybrid? Or are you so afraid that your tongue's gone numb?"
The demon laughed loudly, its arrogance unmistakable.
"Thank you for the trouble of bringing your soul all the way here. It was a pleasant stroll—but now I must go. That's enough for me."
Zach spoke deliberately, his tone mocking.
The demon glared at him with eyes full of rage and hatred.
"Did you think I didn't know? You only managed to pull my soul here. My body is still in my own world. So even if you try to kill me here, nothing will change. When I open my eyes again, I'll be back in my body."
"You arrogant, disgusting creature!" the demon roared.
"You may speak boldly now, but one day you'll come here—and I'll be waiting for you until the end of time!"
Zach continued, unfazed.
"You want me? Get in line. As you know, I'm pretty popular down here."
The demon's fury surged.
Before Zach could react, the demon tore straight through his chest.
He gasped and opened his eyes.
He was drenched in sweat.
He jumped to his feet and looked around.
"The door," he thought.
He turned immediately.
The task was complete.
The demon had dragged his soul into Hell to intimidate him—but it could no longer do that.
He heard a voice.
"ZACH!!!"
It was his friends, shouting from above.
Zach smiled.
"Hey! Pull me up already!"
As he grabbed hold to climb, Eldon and Axel seized him and hauled him up.
"What exactly happened down there? When the demon's power weakened, your soul's presence faded too," Axel asked.
Zach shrugged as if nothing had happened.
Harper stared at him with worried eyes.
Eldon turned toward him.
"Are you okay? How are you?"
"I'm fine. Like I told you before, nothing's going to—"
His vision went dark.
His body collapsed.
Before he could even understand what was happening, his consciousness slipped away.
The last thing he heard was his friends shouting his name.
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The sun was already beginning to set, painting the sky in shades of orange.
Zach slowly opened his eyes and sat up.
A voice spoke.
"If I were you, I wouldn't rush things."
It was Lilith.
She was sitting in a chair beside his bed.
"What happened to me?" Zach asked.
"Angel steel poisoning. If you're trying to commit suicide, I can recommend better methods."
Zach smiled.
Lilith's face was filled with anger.
"We didn't have any other choice. The demon was about to break free."
Lilith shook her head helplessly.
They were in the infirmary of the detective agency.
"How long was I out?"
"Two days."
"Two days?" Zach repeated in shock.
"Trying to keep you alive while purging the poison from your blood—on top of treating your other injuries—wasn't easy. And don't forget to thank Axel. In his weakened state, he spent two days keeping you alive."
"And you helped too, didn't you?" Zach asked.
Lilith smiled.
"Where are the others?"
"They're resting. They're fine."
Zach lay back down, relief washing over his face.
"What about the seal?"
"After you left, the Demon Hunter Syndicate took over. The seal was repaired successfully and restored to its original state."
"Good. So I almost died for nothing."
"If you want, I can kill you right now."
"I'll pass. I'm too tired to die."
They both smiled.
"I'll leave you alone. Get some rest. We'll talk again later. If you need anything, just call my name. I'll be right outside."
Zach nodded.
Lilith left the room, closing the door behind her.
Zach stared up at the ceiling.
What had happened this time was too much—even for him.
He was too exhausted to think.
His eyelids slowly closed.
And he fell asleep.