"Gurgling~~~" The golden magma lake churned ceaselessly, and that massive golden liquid hand reached for the remaining three Highgod demons.
Only three of them were left alive!
"That bastard Salomon—we'll drag him down with us even if we die!" Sbori transmitted his divine sense to the other two. They were already finding it nearly impossible to dodge.
"Fine! Let him die with us!"
Demons in Hell were always prepared for death. That didn't mean they welcomed it—and even if they had to die, they wouldn't let the other side walk away unscathed!
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"
The three Highgod demons charged toward Salomon almost simultaneously. But before they could get close, a withered, charred hand swatted toward them. With a thunderous "Boom!" the head of one of the Highgod demons exploded on the spot.
"Aliquen!" The other two Highgod demons were horrified.
Clearly, Aliquen would not let them kill Salomon!
"Kill his sister!" Sbori and the other surviving Highgod demon knew death was inevitable. Consumed by fury, they figured they might as well take someone with them. The two demons narrowly dodged the golden liquid hand and dove straight toward Nisa, who was hovering nearby.
At that moment, Bei Bei was floating motionless in the air. When he saw Lin Lei and Dilia fall into the golden magma pool, he had been stunned. But then—
"Boss isn't dead." Joy lit up Bei Bei's eyes. "I can sense the Boss's soul!"
Their souls were linked—as long as Lin Lei lived, Bei Bei would know.
The golden magma pool wasn't very large. Given the speed of a Highgod demon, Nisa had barely enough time to shift slightly before the demon was right in front of her. A blurred, distorted blade影 slashed toward her, and her face went deathly pale in an instant.
"Clang!" The sharp ring of metal striking metal.
Nisa felt herself being held tightly. She opened her eyes in shock: "Bei Bei!" It was Bei Bei who had embraced her, shielding her from the blow with his own body.
"Aagh!" That Highgod demon, jarred by the rebound of his slash, was immediately seized by the golden liquid hand below. Despite his desperate struggles, he was dragged down into the golden magma pool. Not a trace of life remained.
"Hissing~~~"
Massive golden liquid hands, like petals folding inward, swallowed the last Highgod demon—"Sbori"—and pulled him straight into the golden magma lake.
"Bei Bei, are you all right?" Nisa asked worriedly. The moment the words left her mouth, she caught herself, remembering that Lin Lei and the others might have revealed her brother's secret. This Bei Bei had likely gotten close to her on purpose.
"I'm fine. That bastard even used a soul attack." Bei Bei's face was a little pale. Then he paused—he had noticed Nisa's expression.
Bei Bei gave a bitter smile and gently released her.
Nisa stepped out of that embrace, and for reasons she couldn't explain, felt a stab of pain in her heart.
Bei Bei rubbed his own nose. "I was being sentimental." Hearing that, Nisa felt awful, but the matter of the leaked secret was like a thorn in her heart. "No, wait—if Bei Bei were truly deceiving me, he wouldn't have risked his life to save me just now."
"Take care of yourself, Nini," a voice whispered in her ear, followed by a "splash!"
Only then did Nisa snap back to reality, but Bei Bei had already plunged into the magma lake. She was completely dumbfounded. In her mind she could still clearly picture that boy—the one who loved to joke around, yet sometimes genuinely cared for her, the one who always wore that straw hat.
"Is Bei Bei… dead?" Nisa felt as though her heart were being torn apart.
"Nisa, what are you doing!" Salomon barked as he flew over to her side.
"Brother, Bei Bei he…" A misty sheen rose in Nisa's eyes.
Salomon snapped, "What are you thinking? That Bei Bei did it on purpose. His body is incredibly tough—he knew he could take that hit, so he did it deliberately. There was no real danger to him! Remember, Lin Lei and his people are our enemies. Fortunately they're dead. If they weren't…"
Resentment still filled Salomon's heart.
"But… but if Bei Bei didn't care about me, he could have just not saved me at all," Nisa argued.
"He wanted you to think exactly that," Salomon said with a cold snort. "Nisa, this Bei Bei is far more cunning than you realize."
Just then, a deep, rumbling "Boom~~~" echoed through the cavern as the stone walls expanded outward again, enlarging the space within the cave. Aliquen descended to the flat ground with the golden kitten cradled in his arms, and Salomon flew over with his sister in tow.
At the bottom of the golden magma lake, there was a spot where the magma had automatically parted, forming a hollow void. Lin Lei and Dilia were embracing each other inside.
"What… what happened?" Both Lin Lei and Dilia had regained consciousness.
Dilia immediately used her divine power to repair her body, then looked at Lin Lei in confusion. Lin Lei shook his head. "I don't know either."
Then both of them smiled.
"Lin Lei, I thought I was dead," Dilia said softly.
"I thought the same—that I was going to die." Warmth blossomed in Lin Lei's heart. To have a wife like this in life—what more could a man ask for?
To have truly walked the line between life and death, especially this time—Lin Lei had genuinely believed he was finished. And yet he wasn't. The experience shook him to his very soul.
"Lin Lei." Dilia looked up at him from within his embrace. "After what happened, I've let go of my fears. Lin Lei, there may be countless dangers in Hell, but as long as you're with me, I won't be afraid no matter where we go."
Lin Lei held Dilia close, his heart brimming with profound happiness. He said nothing.
"You two certainly seem comfortable," a deep voice echoed through both Lin Lei's and Dilia's minds.
They were both startled.
"Who are you?" Lin Lei asked.
"Everyone who fell into this Liquid Golden Flame Lake, aside from the two of you, is dead—even the Highgod," the deep voice continued.
In an instant, Lin Lei and Dilia understood the speaker's identity.
"You're the volcano giant?" Lin Lei said.