Liora's hand passed straight through a Devil's head, while a sword made of ice struck her in the back.
Surprisingly, when the sword struck the Myriad Devils Armor, it failed to penetrate her defense and shattered into countless tiny fragments.
When the Devil saw the half-broken handle in its hands, it took a step back, wanting to flee. But just then, a sharp pain assaulted its mind—Eshara had launched a soul attack.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liora turned around and slashed her claws through its flesh, cutting it in two.
Blood splattered all over her, yet she remained unfazed, calmly observing the room.
By now, the battle was finally coming to an end. More than half of the original Devils had ended up as sacrifices, thrown into the formation like food.
The Devils who were still alive were all quite strong, but four of them stood out in particular.
One of them was Liora, while the others included the Horse-Faced Devil, a slimy ball with furry tentacles, and a spider with a human face.
Whether it was because of their abilities, their physical strength, or even their combat style, these four stood out as the strongest.
"These two should be just enough.", Liora muttered as she kicked the two corpses toward the formation.
As soon as they entered its range, they dissolved into drops of liquid and fell directly onto it.
This scene was quite similar to what happened not long ago, but the difference now was that only a small portion of the formation was still there. The rest of it had been dyed black.
With these two drops, though, even that last part disappeared.
Moments later, a cracking sound echoed throughout the room, causing everyone to stop fighting and their eyes to turn toward the coffin.
It was only then that they discovered that the Devil Runes were covered in dense, web-like cracks, making them look like pieces of broken porcelain.
Following the cracking sound, the Devil Runes began to fade, transforming into black light that fell on the white coffin.
"The formation's broken!", the Horse-Faced Devil that set off this whole craze shouted, but instead of getting closer, she stepped back.
Liora, the Spider Devil, and the Slime Devil did the same, while the rest of the Devils followed, only half a step behind.
However, before any of them could run very far, the white coffin in the center of the room suddenly shook.
A screeching noise filled the room as black spots spread across its surface, like a malignant virus.
Looking back, Liora found that a small gap had opened in the coffin, revealing the boundless darkness inside, as well as a pair of terrifying, aloof silver eyes.
A white, slender hand stretched from within and grabbed the coffin's lid before pulling it aside.
With the lid removed, the owner of the silver eyes emerged.
It was a woman with long silver hair that reached her knees and a cold expression, her face pale, as if it had not seen the sun for a long time.
She wore a white dress that perfectly matched her appearance, and if it were not for the blood surrounding her, anyone would have mistaken her for a human-sized doll.
Yet, no one in the room was deceived by her beauty.
"Soul Devil...", Liora whispered, and sensing the powerful strength hidden inside the woman's unassuming body, her expression turned serious.
The woman, the Soul Devil, didn't seem to notice or care about Liora's and the other Devils' reactions.
After she rose to her feet, her cold gaze wandered around the Devils, and murderous intent flashed in her silver eyes.
"Have the fish finally taken the bait?", she muttered, her voice plain and indifferent.
"Thankfully, you idiots have come. Otherwise, it would have been hard to recover from my injuries."
As the Soul Devil spoke, she opened her clenched fist, revealing the dark droplets in her palm.
"The essence of so many Devils is more than enough to restore my strength.", she whispered and threw the Devils' essence directly into her mouth.
Her already powerful aura increased even further, as if she were advancing. However, everyone in the room understood that this was not true and she was merely recovering from her injuries.
"Don't let her recover! Once she regains her strength, we will be finished!", one of the many Devils shouted and was about to activate their abilities, only for the Soul Devil's gaze to shift toward them.
The next second, a silver hue appeared in the Devil's eyes, and they fell to the ground.
At the same time, Devil Runes began appearing on the room's four walls, shining with a bright white glow.
If one were to take a closer look at these runes, they would discover that they were exactly the same as the ones that made up the previous formation.
"You've already fallen into my trap. What's the point of putting up a meaningless struggle?", the Soul Devil raised her hands in an exaggerated, theatrical manner, as if she were a villain in a show.
She smacked her lips, savoring the lingering taste, then smiled at the remaining Devils.
"Haven't you understood yet? Your every action has been part of my plan."
"Did I suffer the Demon World's Punishment? Yes. But this was merely a way to get you to gather together."
"Now, based on this Heaven Devouring Array and your flesh and blood, I'll finally achieve my goal! I'll advance to become a Lesser Devil and leave this damned place!"
The Soul Devil explained her whole plan in detail, as if she were very satisfied with herself and wished to show off her achievements.
The more she spoke, the more excited she became, and by the end of her speech, a maniacal smile spread across her lips.
However, what was surprising was that none of Liora, the Horse-Faced Devil, and the other two strongest Devils showed any change in their expression.
Instead, they seemed strangely calm.
"Haven't you wondered why we allowed you to recover? Did you think that we didn't notice your conspiracy?", the Horse-Faced Devil spoke up, before her voice rose:
"Everyone! What are you waiting for?!"
The moment the Horse-Faced finished those words, Liora controlled her demonic energy and poured it into the ground. Or to be more accurate, she allowed it to flow into the semi-transparent Devil Runes at her feet.
The Spider Devil and Slime Devil did the same. With their combined efforts, a formation that had been hidden suddenly materialized, with the Horse-Faced Devil standing at its center.
The formation gathered everyone's demonic energy and poured it into the Horse-Faced Devil, causing her strength to skyrocket.
In just a split second, her aura matched that of the Soul Devil, then went even further, surpassing it.
"How could it be?! When did you engrave this formation?", the Soul Devil's eyes shrank like needles, and she took a step back, an expression of horror flashing across her face.
It seemed that the Horse-Faced Devil's trump card had really caught her off guard.
Her fearful eyes satisfied the Horse-Faced Devil's vanity, and she smiled proudly, ready to explain.
But before she could do so, the Soul Devil's figure vanished and teleported beside her.
"You wish to sneak-attack me? With the formation supporting me, you can never be my opponent—"
The Horse-Faced Devil was mid-speech when she noticed that a part of the demonic energy coursing through her body had disappeared.
The part that disappeared was that of Liora.
However, it was not her intention.
The moment the Soul Devil attacked, Liora felt a sharp pain in her left chest. Lowering her head, she saw that a hand had pierced her chest and was tightly holding her heart.
Turning around, she stared at the hand's owner in disbelief.
"Eshara...", were her last words before she fell to the ground, completely motionless.