The Central Hall of the Mayura Evil Palace. This was the most critical stronghold within the castle leading to the quarters of the Evil Army General, Anra Mainyu. Accordingly, the Evil Army forces stationed here possessed extraordinary strength. Even for a high god of the Heavenly Army, breaching this formidable barrier would have been nearly impossible. Yet right at this moment, it was under assault by the worst kind of monster.
"Dieee!"
"Chestooo—!"
The elite guardian soldiers, clad in black military uniforms and brandishing long claws, sprinted across the floor from left and right, lunging toward a black-haired boy wielding a sword with an unusually long blade. The razor-sharp claws on both their hands slashed downward at the boy's head, only for him to effortlessly evade them. And then—
"Eh?"
"Huh?"
Letting out utterly dazed cries, the clawed guardian soldiers in black were cleaved vertically in two from the head down, slumping to the floor.
Unfazed by the demise of their comrades, three diminutive guardian soldiers closed in from behind, but the black-haired boy simply pivoted and unleashed a single stroke. Without sparing a glance at the guardian soldiers sliced straight down the middle of their faces and reduced to corpses, the black-haired boy resumed his stride—
"Ready!"
From the depths of the hall, a formation of guardian soldiers wearing black robes emblazoned with a monster's crest gathered. In unison, they aimed their right hands at the black-haired boy.
"Fireee!"
Red, blue, yellow, green, black, white, and brown—rays of light in a myriad of colors twisted and snaked through the air, hurtling toward the black-haired boy at blinding speed. Just before impact, several streaks of light cut through the air surrounding him. Then, as if winding back time, the warping rays of light reversed course, surging straight back toward the robed unit that had fired them—and detonated.
In the blink of an eye, the entire squad in black robes bearing the monster crest sustained fatal injuries. The black-robed commander, who had been directing them from the rear and was the sole survivor unscathed, stared down at his dying subordinates in a daze. When he lifted his gaze—
"Guhieeh?!"
Right in front of him stood the worst monster imaginable. Paralyzed by a terror so profound it felt as though the blood in his veins was flowing in reverse, the commander turned to flee, only for his body to burst into shredded pieces of meat that scattered across the floor.
"What is this? Not even the slightest resistance," the black-haired boy muttered softly in irritation.
"Master, seeking resistance from the likes of them is a mistake in the first place," the woman dressed in exotic black garments beside him retorted in exasperation.
Confronted by the mountain of corpses, the battle-hardened guardian soldiers defending the final grand gate began trembling violently.
"M-Monster..."
They shrank back, shuddering from head to toe.
"Weaklings have nooo right to liveee!"
Suddenly materializing, a pudgy, towering monster with a bald, painted head swept away the retreating guardian soldiers with a metal club.
"You're telling me a small fry of a brat managed to push all the way in here? You lot are utterly useless."
Hovering in the air, a small, masked man with bat wings spat out those words in disgust.
"Now, nowww~ That just means we have moooore to play withhh~ Isn't that~ totally fineee~?"
A monster donning a pure white robe with the head of a slug abruptly appeared, chiming in with an airy, foolish drawl.
"Even so, I don't sense any strength from this guy at all! Why on earth did Lord Anra dispatch us, the Six Great Demon Gods, against such small fry?"
The pudgy, bald monster tilted its head as it peered down at the black-haired boy.
"Word is, there's a chance Beelzebub's kin has launched an attack."
"Something like that is the kin of that calamityyy?!"
The moment the slug-headed monster let out a shrill, hysterical shriek, the black-haired boy raised his right hand.
"Belze, I don't mind. Besides, it's been a while since anyone treated me like small fry. These guys look quite promising."
A faint trace of anticipation colored his voice.
"No, no, Master, they are just fools who don't know reality."
The woman dressed in exotic black garments vigorously waved her right hand back and forth in front of her face to dismiss the idea.
Ignoring her, the black-haired boy said,
"Well then, let's get right to killing each other."
He tapped his right shoulder with the flat of his long blade as he spoke.