Then Kang Woo sighed, drawing in a silent breath. He lifted his hand again, fingers flicking sharply through the air, signaling: Don't say "Jikkai." That will summon the Commandment wherever its last location is. It'll hover beside you—and The Commandment will Amplified The qliphoth devil due to the commandment nature
Makima held her stare for a beat longer… then gave a crisp nod.
Kang Woo exhaled softly, turning his gaze back toward the edge of the stealth field. Without a word, he lifted his right hand. Blue Reishi gathered and solidified, forming into a dagger as slender as glass and sharp enough to slice atoms.
Moving like a shadow among shadows, Kang Woo slipped forward. Each step was silent as a breath. The nearest low-rank Qlipoth devil—a thing of leathery limbs and quivering spikes—never even twitched as Kang Woo's blade glided across its throat. Its body dissolved into mist before it could utter a sound.
One after another, the devils fell, shredded by ghostly blue flashes as Kang Woo worked his way around the perimeter.
Meanwhile, Makima's eyes remained fixed on one of the glowing magic circles still pulsing at the center of the clearing. The glyphs etched into the soil shifted and writhed like serpents, emanating a low hum that vibrated in her bones.
Suddenly, without a word of warning, Kang Woo raised his left palm. Reishi swirled there, crystallizing into a shimmering Heilig Pfeil arrow. He notched it into an invisible bow and fired in a single smooth motion.
The arrow flew like a streak of pure moonlight, striking the glowing magic circle dead center. The runes hissed and sputtered, fragments of light flying outward as the circle's energy destabilized.
Kang Woo lowered his arm, leaning close to Makima and whispering into her ear. "Stop staring at the circle. It might accidentally transport you to their own version of the underworld."
Makima blinked once, her eyes still gleaming with curiosity, then gave another silent nod.
Kang Woo's crimson gaze narrowed thoughtfully, a faint crease forming between his brows. His thoughts churned in tight spirals.
Three circles… like a dark triad. I know the breach is entirely my fault—my Trompette blast punched open the veil—but even so… for a gate like this, there's usually a catalyst.
He clenched his jaw briefly… then shook off the intrusive speculation. Without further hesitation, he raised his palm again. Another Heilig Pfeil flared into existence, blazing with condensed Reishi. Kang Woo fired it into the second magic circle, shattering it into shards of vanishing light.
But as his gaze swept toward the third and final circle, something monstrous began to crawl forth from the sigils.
The soil erupted upward as an immense, writhing mass surged into view. It was a tentacled blob of Qlipoth devils, fused together into a single grotesque entity. Thick appendages slithered and coiled, their surfaces crawling with scales, pustules, and twitching eyes. One massive tentacle rose higher than the rest, crowned with four devil horns and ending in a yawning mouth filled with jagged, black, needle-like teeth—its maw wide enough to swallow entire buildings whole.
Makima simply stood there, utterly unfazed. A playful glint danced in her eyes as she turned her mischievous gaze toward Kang Woo. A faint smile curved her lips as she spoke, her voice tinged with amusement.
" What's the plan, Kang Woo? That version of a devil looks practically like an alien. And from what I can see, it's burning the last of its power just to force this breach open, isn't it?"
Kang Woo stared at the monster, his expression cool and distant. Then he tilted his head slightly, his crimson eyes sliding back to Makima. "Depends. Do you want me to solo it… or make it a team effort?"
Makima leaned forward, her red hair brushing his shoulder, and gave him a sly, wicked grin. "Make it a team. I want to test my Quincy abilities—the ones I learned from you… oh, powerful Quincy King."
A vein pulsed faintly at Kang Woo's temple. He let out a humorless laugh. "This is the second time I've told you, Makima—I'm not the Quincy King. I'm just a crazy alien stranded in your world."
Makima's grin only widened. "Mhm. Keep telling yourself that, Kang Woo. Now…" She cracked her knuckles, her eyes alight with gleeful anticipation. "Let's go kill ourselves an alien devil."
Kang Woo rolled his eyes. "Fine. Put Reishi into your legs and follow me. This is called Hirenkyaku."
Without another word, Kang woo leaned forward—and vanished. A sharp gust of wind rippled through the blue rain as Kang Woo blurred forward, leaving streaks of luminous particles in his wake. Small, shimmering Reishi platforms flickered into existence beneath his feet, each one appearing for only a split second before dissolving into stardust.
Makima blinked, a flush of excitement painting her cheeks. She let out a quiet laugh. "Honestly… that man."
Her eyes glowed as she focused. Blue particles surged around her calves and thighs, winding like coils of ethereal silk. In the next instant, she launched forward, replicating Kang Woo's motion perfectly, each footstep touching down on tiny floating Reishi panels as she shot after her husband.
Ahead of them, the tentacled blob of Qliphoth devils let out a wet, gargling roar. The mass of twisted flesh and scales rippled violently. Its countless eyes swivelled toward the pair racing across the battlefield, realizing they were trying to cancel the breach into this world.
With a guttural shriek, the creature bunched several of its thick tentacles together, forming an enormous fist. It swung downward in a hammering blow large enough to flatten a skyscraper.
But Kang Woo didn't even flinch. He raised one hand and caught the monstrous fist in his palm as if it weighed nothing. Cracks radiated across the forest floor beneath his feet, but he forced the creature's blow downward and slammed its knotted mass into the earth, pinning it there with crushing force.
"Makima—now!" Kang Woo barked, his eyes blazing.
Makima skidded to a stop beside him, her breath steady. She already held her Kojaku bow in her left hand, its sleek frame glowing softly under the blue rain. In her right hand shimmered a slender Heilig Pfeil, bright and sharp as an icicle. Blue Reishi veins crawled up both her arms, flickering like lightning. Her skin trembled under the strain, and sweat beaded along her brow. Quincy offensive forms were brutal on her devil body—opposite energies colliding in violent resistance—but she held her stance, unwavering.
With a quick exhale, she pulled back the string.
Makima unleashed a salvo of arrows. A dozen streaks of shining blue light tore through the air, each one screaming toward the Qliphoth blob's horned tentacle-head.
The creature let out a gurgling roar as the arrows struck, sinking deep into its rubbery flesh and punching through bone and scale. Black ichor sprayed across the crater walls. Its many eyes rolled wildly as the beast thrashed under Kang Woo's unyielding grip, but it couldn't retaliate—not with Kang Woo anchoring its massive limb to the ground.
Makima lowered her bow, breathing heavily but grinning. She glanced over at Kang Woo, her eyes glowing with an eager, almost childlike spark. "Any other techniques you can teach me? I feel like I'm in that 'zone' athletes talk about. Everything feels sharper."
Kang Woo released a short laugh. His lips curled into a faint, mischievous smile. "There is, actually. But it might be too advanced for you right now."
Makima huffed, puffing out her cheeks in playful annoyance. " At least give me a taste. I deserve to know the heights of how advanced Quincy techniques can go, right?"
But before Makima could tease him further, Kang Woo's gaze snapped past her shoulder. His expression shifted as he caught sight of something pulsing with malevolent energy deeper in the darkness.
Another Qliphoth magic circle was forming. Runes burned into the ground like molten iron, spinning and interlocking as lines of searing crimson light stitched themselves into an intricate web. From its center, a second monstrous blob began to rise—another tentacled mass of Qliphoth devils, its limbs whipping the air, each covered in eyes and dripping strands of oily black ichor.
Kang Woo's brow furrowed. His fingers twitched as though itching to snap, to summon the swirling maelstrom of power coiled in his veins.
Tch… should I just launch the Purgatorial Storm and wipe them all out at once?
He drew in a breath—but then froze as a voice sliced cleanly through his mind.
Mikhail's telepathic voice: Master. I've already analyzed what's happening, step by step. Your Trompette ability did tear the veil of this world's sky. However—do NOT use any of your Demon King abilities or Authorities right now. The invaders are using the leftover residue from your earlier power surge to widen this world's veil even further.
Kang Woo's lips tightened. He telepathically snapped back:
Kang Woo (telepathy): Mikhail… are you saying the invaders will keep coming because they've realized Anos Voldigoad is here? Or—
Mikhail (telepathy): No. They do NOT know that you are here. They only know the leftover residue of your power exists. If you use Demon King abilities again, they'll exploit the energy signature to pry the veil open wider. Quincy abilities—or Zaiphon that I generate—are preferable. They don't recognize those as linked to you specifically, nor do they suspect you can wield holy-type powers like Quincy techniques or Zaiphon magic.
Kang Woo clenched his jaw, cursing silently. So they're just sniffing out leftover traces of power like rats in a dark tunnel.
Beside him, oblivious to the silent mental exchange, Makima tilted her head slightly. Her fingers drummed restlessly on the smooth curve of her Kojaku bow.
"Kang Woo…" she called, her voice edged with urgency. "There's another alien circle starting to form again. Should I shoot it with my Heilig Pfeil?"
Kang Woo glanced over at her, a faint smile curling his lips. "Makima… come close to me. Now."
Makima arched one eyebrow, her grin turning sly. She shifted closer until she was standing right beside him, close enough that their shoulders brushed. Her voice dropped to a playful murmur. "Another surprise for me, my husband? Though… I think you've already given me quite a lot."
Kang Woo merely exhaled slowly, his gaze sharpening as he fixed his focus on the swirling energies rising from the newly forming circle.
Then, without another word, Kang Woo lifted his arms outward.
A dazzling surge of Reishi exploded around him. Light burst upward like a geyser, forming a massive pillar of radiant blue energy. The beam spiraled into the sky, ending in a colossal Quincy Zeichen floating at its summit, its intricate lines gleaming like silver filigree.
All around them, the forest trembled under the power pouring forth. An ethereal chime of bells rang out, their music cascading like crystalline waves through the blue rain.
Makima's eyes widened in pure astonishment. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared up at the pillar of light towering above them.
"That light…" she whispered, wonder filling her voice. "It's like… signaling the birth of a new form. Though… I don't know what it is—or if it's going to clash with my physiology."
The pillar slowly began to dissolve, its glow fading into a thousand drifting motes of blue light. When it cleared, Kang Woo stood transformed.
Above his head hovered a Quincy Zeichen like a blazing halo. Sprouting from his back was a pair of Reishi wings, sleek and luminous, each feather crackling faintly with spiritual energy. Their blue glow bathed Kang Woo in an otherworldly aura, making him look simultaneously divine and dangerous.
Makima's lips parted in awe. She lifted her hands and clapped them together in delighted applause, her grin radiant. "Kang Woo…! That's incredible. Are you trying to show off? Because the bells are still ringing so loudly in my head I can't hear myself think!"
Kang Woo rolled his eyes, his Reishi wings flaring slightly as he exhaled. "This is the first time I've done it. Don't ask me."
Makima let out a small, delighted laugh, leaning forward to examine the glow of his halo more closely. "Heh. The so-called crazy alien… showing off the pinnacle of Quincy evolution. Not bad, my husband. Not bad at all."
Kang Woo lifted his chin slightly, a wry smile playing on his lips. "This… is Quincy: Vollständig. The pinnacle of what a Quincy can achieve."
Makima folded her arms, eyes sparkling with admiration and curiosity. "So… does this mean you're finally admitting you're basically a Quincy King?"
Kang Woo huffed. "No. It means I'm improvising. As usual."
Before Makima could fire off another tease, a furious roar tore through the clearing.
The other tentacled blob of Qliphoth devils lunged toward Kang Woo, tentacles whipping through the air like living spears. At the same time, the creature's swollen maw gaped wide, spitting a massive torrent of blazing fire magic toward him.
Kang Woo didn't flinch. He lifted one hand, and shimmering Reishi surged around his fingers, coiling together like molten glass. The energy elongated, forging itself into a broad, imposing Reishi broadsword. Two sharp protrusions jutted diagonally from either side, forming the sword's cross-guard..
He tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing as he stared down the monstrous blob rushing toward him.
"Too bad," Kang Woo said, voice edged with disdain. "If you were using Bifröst-type energy… or even Hollow or Arrancar-based power… I might've hesitated to use this technique. But all magic in this world… till this day… always uses mana, right?"
Makima stood behind him, a small, crooked smile curving her lips. She thought silently to herself, Typical Kang Woo… his bad habit of looking down on his opponents.
Kang Woo shifted his stance, sword held at the ready. His voice dropped into a low, commanding tone. "Sklaverei."
The effect was instantaneous. A visible shockwave rippled outward from Kang Woo's body. The swirling fire magic headed his way flickered and died mid-flight, collapsing into harmless sparks. Tendrils of mana began streaming from the two Qliphoth blobs like wisps of vapor sucked toward a vortex.
Kang Woo's Reishi wings flared wider as he siphoned not just the devils' mana—but also the very Reishi particles falling as the blue rain around them. The air grew thinner, drained of all spiritual and magical energy, until it pulsed with eerie emptiness.
The monstrous Qliphoth blobs shuddered violently, their tentacles convulsing as the light dimmed from their countless eyes. With a single fluid motion, Kang Woo stepped forward and slashed his Reishi broadsword downward.
The blade cleaved through both creatures in one stroke. The devils disintegrated into black dust, their forms collapsing as if they'd never existed.
Kang Woo exhaled sharply, turning his attention toward the last flickering magic circle, its runes trembling, desperately trying to sustain themselves with no mana left to draw upon.
He started to lift his sword again—ready to erase the final remnant of the breach.
But in that instant… A chill rolled down Kang Woo's spine, cold enough to freeze marrow. His eyes widened just slightly.
For a split second, visions flooded his mind,. He saw a monstrous figure clawing at the walls of an invisible prison—a figure draped in crimson robes, its formless face framed. Its presence pulsed with sheer, malevolent will..