Judging from the rumors that the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents could contest dominion over the Shadow World, her comprehension of shadow power had clearly reached an extraordinarily advanced level.
As expected, the moment shadow power surfaced, it immediately replaced the previous purifying holy light. Even under the devastating force of the blood-red lightning and spatial storms, it remained steady as a mountain.
"...Ten Thousand Serpents — Devour!"
The grey shadow power boiled upward, forming countless enormous serpents that bared their fangs at the colossal demon hand.
"Hmph! ...The gate of the new world shall open for me at last!"
A multitude of terrifying grey snakes hissed in concert — Devil White Phosphor Serpents, Komoin Giant Serpents, and nearly every bloodline descendant of the Ten Thousand Serpents could be found among these shadow behemoths.
The terrifying force, combined with the corrosive bite of shadow, immediately left tearing wounds across the demon's massive hand.
But Beilusebabu paid no heed. Skin and muscle burst open, dark-red blood raining down like a deluge. Forcing itself through the injuries, both colossal hands wrenched outward, finally tearing the spatial rift completely open.
A streak of black light surged from the rift and merged with the dark-red blood moon hanging in midair.
The mass of light writhed, finally coalescing into a massive phantom — vast, tattered membrane wings riddled with holes, grotesque arms ending in seven-fingered hands, knotted black muscles, and a face covered in compound eyes that seemed to form soul vortexes. Above all, the Demon Lord's flames that perpetually wreathed the figure left no doubt as to its terrifying power!
Beilusebabu, the mighty Demon Lord, favored of the Primal Force of Consumption, had finally descended upon the Purgatory World!
For a moment, it seemed as though the entire world held its breath, while several terrifying consciousnesses watched from afar.
"A split soul?!" Leilin studied Beilusebabu's condition carefully.
Due to the earlier world traversal and the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' assault, the figure cut a sorry state. Both demon arms were clearly grievously wounded, and most of the body was covered in horrifying spatial lacerations.
But none of this diminished the aura of overwhelming evil radiating from it. The surrounding air itself seemed faintly tainted, the corruption steadily spreading.
"Its true body is probably too powerful to cross over directly, so it could only split its soul and traverse as a spiritual entity..."
Leilin's eyes flickered rapidly.
"Compared to physical traversal, a spiritual crossing clearly costs far less. Even so, this passage has left it gravely wounded... Of course, if this weren't the Purgatory World, I suspect it might have perished entirely."
Of all the worlds it could have chosen, the Purgatory World offered the least resistance to Beilusebabu's crossing. Had it attempted such a passage through the Wizard World, the suppression of the world's will combined with the devastation of the spatial storms would likely have annihilated this split soul outright.
The more powerful an entity, the greater the suppression from a world's will. Beilusebabu could project Morning Star or even Radiant Moon–level avatars into the Wizard World, but a split fraction of its true spirit was far too powerful and far more likely to be resisted.
Even if Beilusebabu found some small world whose will could not resist its descent, the world might simply destroy itself, dealing Beilusebabu a serious blow.
So it could not reach the high-level worlds, and the smaller ones could not endure it. The discovery of this Purgatory World was nothing short of a treasure trove for Beilusebabu — an enormous treasure trove!
It was enough to make it split its very spirit just to descend directly.
"However, in this 'half-spirit' state, without even a physical body, it's certainly no match for the Snake Mother. Today's battle won't happen..."
While the citizens of the Holy City were consumed with worry, Leilin was already looking further ahead.
"Of course, with the abilities of the Lord of Gluttony, finding a physical body is a trivial matter. As long as there is sufficient food, its strength will recover quickly. And with a Lord holding the fort, purging the Plain of Ten Thousand Serpents won't be so easy for the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents either..."
Though Beilusebabu could not currently defeat the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents, if it fought a guerrilla war across the Plain of Ten Thousand Serpents, the Mother might not be able to finish it off either — after all, this was the true spirit of a Rank 8 existence. They stood on the same level!
"The Power of Gluttony shall rule this place!"
High in the sky, Beilusebabu's multitude of compound eyes met the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' gaze without flinching, even as its body slowly began to fade into translucence.
"Shadow — Cage!"
A Rank 8 existence was flawless in both its mastery of rules and its mental fortitude. Upon realizing that nothing would be gained from the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents today, Beilusebabu immediately chose to withdraw.
The Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents, likewise, would not let this chance for a permanent resolution slip by.
A ring of shadow spread beneath her feet, instantly forming a cage composed of countless shadow serpents — one that encompassed the entirety of the Holy City.
Horrifying shadow chains, agile as enormous serpents, coiled around Beilusebabu's spiritual phantom.
"Useless! I am the incarnation of law! Wherever the Power of Gluttony exists, I am undying and imperishable..."
Accompanied by Beilusebabu's declaration-like voice, its body detonated.
Waves of energy rippled outward, yet they dealt no damage to the surrounding shadow cage. When the explosion subsided, the space within the chains was completely empty.