Stars blinked gently in the distance. Strange lights floated like fireflies across the dark, endless space. It was cold. Silent. Not a sound, not a breeze—just the empty void of the universe.
Scarlett clenched her fists, her teeth grinding in frustration as she looked around.
Asmodeus had hit her so hard, she was thrown outside the entire galaxy.
And he did it like it was nothing.
Her face joints were dislocated from the punch—a punch so strong that even her god-like body, which didn't get a single scratch from a nuclear explosion, was damaged.
But before even a second could pass, the joints in her face clicked back into place.
Her terrifying regeneration ability worked instantly, healing her like it was just a small tap.
Scarlett didn't care about that. She didn't care about pain, injuries, or even being thrown across the universe.
The only thing in her unbeating heart was revenge.
Her voice was low, filled with cold rage.
"Teleport."
A huge amount of mana was used, enough to crush normal beings. But for Scarlett, who had mana like an endless ocean, it didn't even much.
In a flash of purple light, she vanished from space and reappeared back inside Noir's ruined castle.
She looked around, hoping to find Asmodeus still there. But what she feared had come true—she was too late.
The contract said "one punch," and that's all Asmodeus had done.
He had punched her once.
And then he left.
Scarlett was about to let out a sigh of disappointment when her gaze landed on something that made her freeze in place.
Her gaze shifted toward the wall.
There, Aoto was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. He was breathing heavily, and sweat covered his face and neck. His chest rose and fell as if he had just run for miles.
But what caught her attention was his hand—no, not just his hand… his entire arm.
It was stretched out unnaturally long, like rubber.
It was red, with deep burn marks, and parts of it were still burning slightly—like it had been dipped in lava just seconds ago.
Scarlett's eyes widened behind her blindfold in shock.
She turned to look at Chiyoko.
He was standing, but his right arm was hanging oddly, clearly broken, Not just broken but more like "Crushed".
Scarlett was confused—what could've done this?
Her gaze followed Aoto's stretched, burning hand to the other end.
It was wrapped tightly around someone like a rope, keeping them tied down and unable to move.
The person being captured was an old man with a half-bald head, slight wrinkles, and a face that screamed "creepy old man." He wore a long white lab coat—the typical look of a scientist.
Scarlett's gaze narrowed.
Dr. Magi.
The perverted scientist who always with Dr. Raki like his closest subordinate.
Dr. Magi's was laying on ground, His eyes shut, Completely unconscious while aoto's rubber like arm wrapping around his body.
And most importantly there was a huge swollen wound on his face like someone had punched him very hard.
Scarlett didn't knew what happened and how it happened, But her lips curled upward and she just couldn't help but laugh, Laugh with pure joy, Bottom of her heart
"Pfttt...", It started from small chuckled and then Scarlett looked up at ceiling who was already completely oblirated by asmodeus 'z punch showing the clear sky, while streching her arms wide in "T" shape.
"HEHEHEHHAHAHAHHAHAAAAA!...",
She laughed so loudly that even kilometres away was her laughing voice was echoing.
Aoto who was still conscious looked at Scarlett and laughed as well joining her lunatic laugh.
Only Chiyoko was left awkwardly and didn't know why they both were laughing.
"Why are they laughing?, We just captured a scientist right? Wait a minute why aoto was so desperate to catch him anyway?", he thought but no real answer came to his mind.
He vaguely remebered what had happened.
Asmodeus had sent Scarlett flying in one punch causing the whole ceiling to get oblirated on spot.
Chiyoko and aoto thought that they were dead for sure but instead of dealing with them , Asmodeus didn't wait a second and went back to his portal to go back.
It's as if he was racing against time to go back.
Chiyoko had a sigh of relief, Because his instict were telling him that he was no match for asmodeus.
But at the last moment when the portal was just about to close, Aoto used his unique skill "Reality Warping" on himself and streched his hands wide and grabbed Dr.Magi and dragged him out of the portal before it closes in the blink of an eye.
Dr.magi panicked by the sudden attack, As he touched aoto's hand and casted.
"Advanced Fire magic!", He willed and at once, Aoto's hand burned like scorching lava but despite the intense pain he didn't let go of him and his eyes showed some determination that he wasn't letting go of him no matter what.
But at that moment something unexpected snapped inside Chiyoko's head, He immediately dashed forward behind Dr.Magi and raised his fist.
"Cosmic Punch!", He shouted.
Yes! With his unique skill : Imitation, He imitated asmodeus 's cosmic Punch but of course it was way weaker than what asmodeus used but it was enough.
BAMMMMMM!.....
A huge shockwave erupted, And Chiyoko's own hand crushed by it's own pressure but it left a deep swollen wound on Dr.Magi's face and he immediately lost consciousness.
And at the same time, Scarlett teleported herself back and saw the scene of the three and now she started laughing like crazy and aoto joined her too.
---------------
Somewhere far away in a hidden corner of the universe, inside a strange lab filled with blinking lights and humming silence, panic spread like wildfire.
The portal had just closed—but Dr. Magi wasn't there. No… he had been pulled out, captured by Aoto.
Dr. Raki's eyes widened in horror. He spun around and ran toward the sealed portal, his hands trembling.
"Open it! Open the portal! My brother's been caught! save him!" he screamed, his voice shaking as he turned to Asmodeus for help.
But Asmodeus stood calmly, his face blank like a stone.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "It's too risky. If I get discovered by 'them', I'll be killed instantly."
Dr. Raki's voice cracked. "But he's my brother! And your trusted subordinate!"
Asmodeus didn't flinch. He simply turned his back and walked away.
"So what? That idiot shouldn't have stayed near the portal acting like he was some big shot."
"You… What are you trying to say?" Dr. Raki's face turned red with anger. He stepped forward, voice louder now.
Asmodeus stopped. He didn't turn around, but gave a cold sideways glance that sent a chill through Raki's whole body.
"Keep your voice down," Asmodeus said in a cold, sharp tone. "I know there's no such thing as twin geniuses, The twin biology prodigy of the universe. There's only one real mind behind all those experiments—you. Your brother? He was just your assistant, living in your shadow, Do you think I wouldn't notice?."
Raki's mouth opened, but no words came out.
"I was planning to get rid of him anyway,He was an eyesore!."
And with that, Asmodeus disappeared into the shadows, leaving only cold silence behind.
Dr. Raki clenched his fists, teeth grinding.
"Coward bastard!... genius or not, he was my brother. I'll make sure you regret this one day," he swore quietly. But for now, he had no choice but to keep working with Asmodeus.
-------
Back at the broken castle, Scarlett finally stopped laughing. She rushed over to Aoto and Chiyoko, her smile turning to concern.
She held out her hands and used her Fire of the Phoenix to heal them. Warm golden flames wrapped around their wounds, closing them quickly.
But then her gaze turned serious.
She looked at the unconscious Dr. Magi. Normally, any servant of Asmodeus would have already been blown to pieces by now and died, but this wasn't just any servant. This was Dr. Magi, one of the two top scientists under Asmodeus, with high authority.
Still… Scarlett wasn't willing to take any risks.
Without hesitation, she extended her hand and stabbed it straight into his chest. Dr. Magi stopped breathing immediately.
Aoto's eyes widened. "W-Why did you kill him?! He could've told us so much!"
But Scarlett simply smiled and pulled her hand back.
A small, glowing black-blue orb floated in the air—his soul. It shimmered with strange dark energy, sparks of lightning dancing inside it, It was an fallen soul filled with greedy and envy.
"This is why," she said calmly, placing the soul into her spatial inventory where it couldn't escape. "I made sure he doesn't slip away."
She also took Dr. Magi's body and stored it away to reincarnate him later.
Aoto's arm had finished healing. He stretched it a few times and grinned. "Looks good as new."
Scarlett turned to him, curiosity in her voice. "How did you do it, though? Why didn't Asmodeus finish you off?"
Chiyoko, now fully healed too, walked over and joined them.
Aoto scratched his head and explained how he had pulled Dr. Magi from the portal, how Magi had burned his arm, and how Chiyoko delivered the final punch.
Scarlett listened carefully. Then she smiled—a proud, joyful smile.
"I really made the right choice bringing you two with me," she said, her voice full of warmth.
Aoto laughed, and even Chiyoko gave a small nod but still confused.
He glanced at Scarlett's bright, cheerful expression. Right now, she wasn't hiding her happiness—her face sparkled with excitement, and her grin stretched from ear to ear.
"I've never seen Ms. Scarlett like this before," Chiyoko thought, puzzled. "But… I don't think this is the right time to ask. I'll wait and ask Aoto about it later."
So he stayed quiet.
Meanwhile, Scarlett couldn't stop smiling. Her eyes behind blindfold gleamed with mischief.
"I can already imagine a thousand ways of torturing that bastard... fufufu…" she whispered, clearly talking about Dr. Magi's soul.
But then, she took a deep breath and calmed herself. She turned to the boys and asked, "I don't think we should stay here any longer. What if Asmodeus changes his mind and comes back? Want to go to my place in DreadHaven?"
To her surprise, Aoto gently shook his head. He looked completely exhausted.
"Today was really rough," he sighed. "I don't think I'll be able to relax around demons and monsters right now. But I'll definitely come visit after my exams are done!"
He ran his fingers through his messy hair and then added dramatically, "Besides, the whole kingdom is probably waiting to hear about my glorious adventure, facing two demon kings!"
He puffed up his chest like a hero. Chiyoko immediately rolled his eyes and made a fake gagging sound.
But this time… he didn't feel annoyed by Aoto's usual over-the-top behavior.
"I always thought Aoto was just a narcissist," Chiyoko thought. "But today, he was really serious. That scientist must be someone truly dangerous to Ms. Scarlett."
Even though he was still a teenager, Chiyoko wasn't stupid. He had seen the fire in Scarlett expression and Aoto's eyes—the anger. He could feel it clearly. That scientist, Dr. Magi, wasn't just some random enemy. He was someone important to their past.
---------
Scarlett nodded gently.
"All right then. I'll drop you both near the kingdom. If I get any new information, I'll come and tell you myself."
Aoto nodded back with a soft smile.
And with that, after the long and exhausting day, they finally decided it was time to leave.
But just as they were about to go, a sudden thought struck Chiyoko like lightning.
"Wait a second… where's the Fifth Demon King—Noir?"