"To think I would be reduced to such a pathetic state!" Aim thought to himself, the army of snakes made of flames he had become swiftly rushed towards the blue gate. He had never thought Elayne would pull such a bullshit trump card as summoning her own Domain in the scene! He was furious how he had been cornered in such a short amount of time.
"I had even become allies with those damned Blighters and their disgusting goddess…" He groaned to himself. "All so I could weaken my enemies first and get some sort of advantage over them! Yet… at the end, they're much stronger than I could have ever hoped."
He had planned for them to be severely weakened, to the point he could approach them once they were weak and kill them off instantly. He had no high hopes on Kalma and her Blighters, although he had to admit they surprised him based on how resilient they were.
Nonetheless, two of them died, and their leader escaped alongside Kalma, who received a severe wound to her Divine Soul. However, Elayne was weakened. He attempted to strike her down several times, all for naught!
And now, with her Domain suppressing his powers, boosting her own, and constantly pushing him into a corner, this was his last resort. The glitching blue gate summoned by the Demon King of Death, that was still existing. Even though it no longer summoned Bone Beasts, it was useful for Aim.
"What are you planning?!"
"Stop!"
Mark and Elayne rushed towards him. Their gigantic bodies stomping over his many "body parts" all crimson snakes made of demonic flames. And extinguishing them one after another. The demon was cornered, but it wasn't as if Elayne was any better. Her Domain Core's energy was constantly running lower, about to hit rock bottom now by pushing it to its limits.
Although they destroyed most of his body, ten small snakes remained, leaping into the blue gate with all the leftover demonic energy they had, and fusing themselves into it. This was Aim's last resort. To go to such lengths to win, and to please his King below the depths of Hell, who desired the destruction of mankind and the heavens to fall.
"If it is for my King, you will all fall!" He laughed monstrously.
The Gate was corrupted, its glitching intensified as a huge shockwave of demonic and dimensional energy was released. The entire Domain shook tremendously, Mark and Elayne were pushed back constantly, as much as they tried to move forwards, they couldn't. The gate slowly changed colors, from clear blue it turned dark blue, then dark purple, clear purple, pink, and lastly, crimson red.
"The gate's colors are changing?!" Mark muttered. "What does that even mean?!"
"No! STOP!" Elayne roared, her powers quickly trying her best to manipulate her Domain and contain the Gate from expanding further.
But she failed.
BOOOMMM!!!
A huge explosion of pure demonic flames consumed everything, the Domain shook. The spell summoning here broke, and its entire invocation stopped. The Domain disappeared, as the Red Gate was able to further expand through the mall. The crack in the middle of the empty air expanded into the skies, growing as tall as fifty meters. It was no longer a circular portal-like formation, but a vertical crack on space.
As the smoke dissipated, Elayne and Mark opened their eyes to see what had happened. The Gate evolved, transforming into something they never thought was possible. A Demonic Gate, and where could such a gate lead? Well, they had already fought a monster with such a power in BNLO… but now that this was their world, things suddenly felt even more dangerous than ever before.
"T-This is…!" Mark muttered. "Is this a Gate leading to Hell?! I can feel it… The flames! T-The Hands are there too, Elayne!"
"Is that what he was planning all along? His master plan was… THIS?!" Elayne was only panicking; her body was barely moving to her commands. She had once more emptied her reserves of energy. "If this continues as it is… No, we can't let it continue as it is! Mark please help me… Give me some of your mana so I can- UGH…!"
Elayne's body slowly turned back to her human form, her wood growing weaker. She had overused her powers too much and the Domain summoning didn't help. Mark ran to her help, and as she asked, he imbued half his Mana into her body.
"Quickly! Absorb it all!"
FLAAASH!
As this happened, the Demon Gate halted its growth, reaching the limits of what Aim's powers provided. And then… the shadows of countless gigantic demonic hands started slowly emerging, trying to break open the crack even larger. The people around the quarantined zone panicked. Police and civilians both crying in horror at the horrendous scene. Agents of SWORD already made their way there, trying to control the civilians from approaching the scene.
"Hahhh… Hahhh… D-Dammit…!" Elayne groaned, her energy being restored enough for her to quickly take as many potions and other ingredients as she could. She started drinking them and eating them. Her own Yggdragon Fruits were precious and delicious, and the potions as well.
Everything provided energy, which she also feed to Mark and to her daughter and Morpheus. The latter two, accompanied by the rest of Elena's friends, had ran towards her once they saw the rest of the Bone Beasts being dead. The four Druids was well, surrounded her, protecting her from any incoming danger.
"Mom! Are you okay?! You looked like you were dying!" Elena cried, as she restored her Mana.
"I-I'm fine dear, I'm fine!" Elayne smiled gently. "T-This is nothing… I have to do this. W-we have to. I know this is too much to ask but… I might need your help."
"Of course! Please let me help in anything I can!" Elena nodded, the looming demons emerging from the Demon Gate echoed behind them. "Ah! They're already here!"
"W-What are those things?! They feel so much more terrifying than the other undead…!" Monica panicked.
"Those?" Elayne asked, feeling more composed and recovered. "They're Demons."
