As Lin Xiao sealed off the wedding hall, his consciousness delving deep within the Crown of Reason to struggle for survival alongside Qi Yue’an’s fragments on the outskirts of Ancheng, the world outside erupted into a veritable inferno, boiling over with chaos.
The Western Network Hub of Lixing Temple, once a vital nexus linking Lixing Temple to other major demon domains, now lay utterly devastated, a landscape of charred ruins.
Twisted metal wreckage, still-smoldering remnants of magic-guided facilities, and horrifying scorch marks etched into the ground silently bore witness to the fierce battle that had recently raged there.
The air hung heavy with the acrid scent of ozone, gunpowder, and a faint, metallic tang of blood.
The Global Emergency Response Organization had clearly committed its full might, as an endless torrent of armored units, adorned with the camouflage of various nations and specialized task forces, roared through several forcefully stabilized, large-scale teleportation gates.
These were no mere conventional forces; each vehicle shimmered with the faint glow of temporary enchantments, a clear indication of emergency modifications tailored to counter demon characteristics and the prevailing magical environment.
Magical girls, clad in diverse combat attire, moved with agile precision among the armored vehicles, serving as the vanguard and very heart of this formidable joint force.
Within the hastily erected command base, Bai Jin stood in a daze, her gaze fixed on the gleaming “Medal of Valiant Assault” that had just been pinned to her chest.
A senior magical girl commander, radiating an air of competence and clearly possessing third-tier strength, regarded her with undisguised admiration.
“Well done, Operative Bai Jin.”
The commander’s voice, clear and resonant, cut through the cacophony of the base with remarkable power.
“You successfully engaged and held back the Demon Lord Lin Xiao, the Demon Queen Qi Yue’an, and Executive Li Yan, thereby creating a crucial window of opportunity for our frontal assault. More importantly, you exposed Lixing Temple’s vast conspiracy to dominate the world using the ‘Black Sun’ device!”
While officers and magical girls around them cast admiring glances, Bai Jin’s mind was utterly elsewhere.
Anxiously, she tugged at the commander’s sleeve, her face upturned as she inquired,
“But… Sister Xiyin, and my sister Bai Zhi… where are they?”
The commander’s expression of praise faltered slightly, replaced by a fleeting shadow of pity and solemnity.
She knelt down, striving to soften her voice as much as possible.
“Operative Xiyin and Operative Bai Zhi…”
She paused, carefully selecting a statement that was both vague and truthful.
“They are currently still incommunicado, their last confirmed location being the core of the wedding venue. However, rest assured, we will dedicate every effort to pursuing all leads; we will never abandon a comrade.”
In her heart, she knew the wedding venue was utterly cut off by an unprecedented, two-way spatial blockade, rendering all detection methods useless, like stones plummeting into a bottomless ocean.
Even with three of their own third-tier magical girls still inside, facing the Demon King Lin Xiao and Executive Li Yan, whose conditions remained unknown, the odds were grim.
At this moment, this seemingly delicate girl might well be the sole “lucky survivor” of a battle from which no other news had emerged.
Patting Bai Jin’s shoulder, she rose to her feet once more, turning to face the vanguard troops who had already assembled.
Her voice, amplified by a magic array, resonated across the entire forward base.
“Warriors! Sisters! Lixing Temple’s preposterous wedding, this ritual attempting to seize divine authority, has utterly laid bare their ambition to dominate the world! The ‘Black Sun’ is no salvation; it is a sword poised precariously above the heads of all humanity!”
Her voice, imbued with fervent resolve, galvanized the spirits of every combatant present.
“We have successfully breached their western defenses, annihilating the guardians of demon strongholds 233 and 234! An offensive corridor, striking directly into the heart of Lixing Temple, now lies open!”
With a decisive sweep of her arm, she commanded,
“Teleportation strike teams, frontal assault formations, long-range magic support units—advance in concert! Leverage our superior armor and firepower to push steadily forward, eliminating all resistance along the way! Exercise caution to evade enemy fixed emplacements, and prioritize focusing fire on elite demon units! Our objective is singular—”
Her voice, sharp as a blade, declared,
“To conquer Lixing Temple, to utterly dismantle the ‘Black Sun’ device! To bring those ambitious fanatics before the judgment seat!”
“For the future—advance!”
“For the future!”
A thunderous chorus of affirmation erupted.
In that instant, the fully mobilized forces surged forward like a unleashed deluge, hurtling towards the stable teleportation gates.
Magical girls led the charge, their varied magical auras flaring to life, forming dazzling yet deadly vanguard arrows.
The steel torrent followed closely behind, the roar of engines and the glow of magic heralding the advent of a colossal battle.
****
Meanwhile, in the core district of Lixing Temple, within the “Black Sun” control center.
In stark contrast to the raging conflict outside, the “Black Sun” device’s control center was enveloped in a chilling silence, broken only by the low hum of machinery.
Across the colossal circular screen, dozens of segmented views vividly displayed the brutal combat unfolding in the western network zone, alongside reports of several front-line strongholds succumbing to the enemy.
Executive Su Qiao, codenamed “Arrogance,” sat elegantly with crossed legs upon the central command throne.
Clad in an immaculate Lixing Temple senior uniform, her golden hair meticulously styled, she received a real-time battle report from a deferential demon officer.
“Commander, the third and fourth outer defense lines have been confirmed breached. The enemy’s main forces are now advancing towards Lixing Temple via the stabilized network paths, and our peripheral strongholds have sustained heavy losses. Based on our projections, GERO’s current mobilization far surpasses all previous estimations. Should they… completely disregard the ‘Heaven-Severing Accord’ and leverage public opinion and conventional military assets from the overt world to exert pressure, our current scale of operations would…”
The officer’s voice betrayed an undeniable tremor of anxiety.
After all, the Global Emergency Response Organization, backed by the limited official support of various nations, possessed a potential for mobilization that Lixing Temple, an organization primarily operating in the “shadows,” simply could not match.
Su Qiao’s slender fingers tapped lightly across the battle report.
Far from revealing any trace of fear, her exquisite features instead curved into a smile of absolute confidence, tinged with a hint of mockery.
Activating the communication channel linking the commanders of all major defense zones, her voice, cool and unwavering, resonated throughout the control center.
“My esteemed colleagues, have you all witnessed it? Those jackals at our gates, parading under the banners of ‘justice’ and ‘order,’ are in essence nothing more than mercenaries and brigands driven by avarice! I neither expect nor require them to comprehend the blueprint for a new world that the Demon Lord has envisioned for us!”
Her gaze swept across the images of the embattled demon defenders displayed on the screen, and her voice grew increasingly impassioned.
“The accusations they fabricate are nothing more than a flimsy pretext for their ingrained patterns of plunder and infiltration. Their true fear has never been some supposed ‘threat,’ but rather that we demons have finally forged our own path, refusing to be mere prey destined for slaughter!”
Slowly, she rose from the command seat, her voice piercing through the communication network to reach the ears of every Lixing Temple defender.
“Remember this! From the moment we were forced to conceal ourselves in the shadows, this war became inevitable! Truth resides solely within the range of cannon fire! Empty rhetoric and compromise will never secure our right to exist!”
She raised a hand, pointing towards the colossal, low-humming core of the “Black Sun” device displayed on the main screen.
“For the ideal of combating the apocalypse and reshaping the world! For the right of all ‘humans’ to walk openly beneath the sun! For a magnificent future for the entire world—”
Her voice, resolute and unwavering, delivered a final pronouncement.
“All units, engage the enemy across the entire front! Hold your positions to buy time for the Demon King! The very survival of Lixing Temple and all demons hinges upon this day!”
“Freedom belongs to Lixing Temple!”
From the communication channels, a thunderous, overwhelming response echoed from the garrisons across their territories.
Su Qiao’s command instantly ignited a comprehensive response from the defense systems spanning Lixing Temple and all its associated domains.
Energy shields ascended at critical nodes, concealed magic-guided turrets emerged from their camouflaged positions, and countless demon warriors moved into their designated emplacements according to pre-established protocols.
A palpable, chilling killing intent permeated every corner of the floating island.
This was far from an isolated engagement; it served as a detonator, instantly igniting long-simmering, global conflicts.
In Europe, within the subterranean depths of an ancient castle, a colossal holographic sand table displayed the fierce clash between the blue points representing Lixing Temple’s forces and the red points of GERO and its allies, a conflict spanning every hidden corner of the European continent.
“Confirmed! Lixing Temple’s ‘Sanctuary’ Number Seven, nestled within the Alps, has entered maximum readiness! Executive ‘Sloth’ is suspected to be guarding it.”
“The Far East branch reports success in disrupting three of Lixing Temple’s primary network paths to the East Asian region, but they encountered fierce counterattacks from Executive ‘Greed’s’ personal guard!”
“North America… damn it! Executive ‘Lust’s’ forces have infiltrated our logistics chain! Three supply points have lost contact! They appear to be launching a localized counteroffensive.”
Commands, reports, and alarms intermingled in a ceaseless clamor.
Those present understood that GERO, as an alliance, suffered from complex internal factions and inherent coordination difficulties.
Numerous independent magical girl squads, localized demon management organizations, and even clandestine groups with their own disparate agendas, each played distinct roles in this sprawling conflict.
While their collective scale might be immense, their power remained fragmented, and their chain of command lacked the seamless efficiency of Lixing Temple’s.
The key to victory lay in delivering a decisive blow to Lixing Temple’s core before the “Black Sun” could achieve its final deployment.
****
North America, Eden Tech Group Headquarters.
Superficially, the Silicon Valley-esque modern skyscraper hummed with its usual activity, employees moving purposefully through its polished halls.
Yet, on a plane imperceptible to ordinary individuals, powerful anti-detection barriers were fully active.
Within the highest-level meeting rooms of the corporation, several executives of extraordinary demeanor closely monitored the volatile shifts in global capital markets and the policy inclinations of major world powers.
“Public opinion manipulation has been initiated, overtly characterizing GERO’s actions as ‘malicious business competition and terrorist acts targeting leading technology enterprises’.”
“Our ‘friends’ on Capitol Hill have begun to exert pressure, questioning certain unauthorized military deployments.”
“The overt struggle is equally crucial… but we must ensure the framework of the ‘Heaven-Severing Accord’ is not completely shattered, otherwise, the difficulty of this confrontation will escalate dramatically.”
Eden Tech’s immense financial resources and its leading technological edge in the overt world served as a critical foundation and shield for Lixing Temple.
Furthermore, as the vast majority of its core employees were administrative demons from Lixing Temple, this allowed them to mitigate some of the restrictions imposed by the ‘Heaven-Severing Accord,’ presenting their sole and most significant advantage.
****
Meanwhile, deep within the vast, pristine rainforests of Africa, in a region controlled by Lixing Temple and rich in unique magical ore veins, a brutal jungle war erupted between the defending demon tribes and GERO mercenary squads attempting to seize resources.
Beneath an uninhabited island reef in the South Pacific, the deep-sea research institute belonging to Executive “Gluttony” was ambushed by unidentified magical girl special forces, the resulting massive explosion even triggering a localized tsunami.
The entire hidden world plunged into war.
This had long transcended a simple “battle between good and evil”; it was a collision between two paths, two distinct futures.
The “Black Sun” device was precisely the focal point of this conflict.
Its revolutionary capabilities meant that whoever controlled it would hold an absolute, dominant position in the impending “new era” of intensified magic manifestation.
It could be a solution to the energy crisis, capable of quelling the disasters brought by the resurgence of magic, or it could be a “demonic sword” used to annihilate all resistance and establish absolute rule.
The demons of Lixing Temple fought for survival and their ideals, while GERO’s allied forces fought to prevent a potential hegemony.
The flames of war burned not only on Lixing Temple’s floating island but also spread across every hidden domain possessing a magic network node, resource point, or strategic significance.
The world’s destiny teetered at a crossroads, and at the core of it all lay the sealed wedding hall and the Crown of Reason, imbued with divinity.