Even so, the Four Pillar Gods held an almost overwhelming advantage, leaving the Pāpīyas barely able to fend off their attacks, much less counterattack.
So, they needed to grow stronger—by eating themselves.
But some of them had also been killed during the battle.
"Trash, is that all you've got?"
"Only four pieces of trash left?"
The two Pillars of Demons taunted the Pāpīyas opposite them, twisting their faces in rage.
Back in the sandbox world, these Pāpīyas had viciously mocked the Seventy-two Pillars of Demons, calling them trash.
"Good, very good!"
"I can't hold back anymore."
"If that's how it is, the three of us will give ourselves to you!"
Three of the Pāpīyas suddenly said this to another Pāpīyas.
The next second, that Pāpīyas thrust both hands into the hearts of two Pāpīyas. At the same time, he opened his bloody maw and viciously bit down on the last Pāpīyas's chest.
He was feeding!
The sight made the audience's scalps tingle once again.
But an even more horrifying sensation followed. The aura radiating from the last Pāpīyas made some people want to flee.
He bent over, his body trembling.
"This is the feeling!"
He suddenly straightened up and roared. The sound waves from his voice shook the arena.
"This is the feeling of being able to kill you all!!!"
The instant he shouted those words, heaven and earth shook, drawing another wave of screams from the audience.
More people stared tensely at the arena, because after Pāpīyas shouted those words, the Supreme Four Pillars of Demons had launched their attack. Their colliding powers were what caused the world to tremble.
"H-He caught them!"
Heimdallr looked as though his eyes were about to pop out of his glasses.
Just as he said, all four fists of the Supreme Four Pillars of Demons had been caught by Pāpīyas.
But he had not caught the four fists with his hands—after all, Pāpīyas only had two hands.
Rather, Pāpīyas had caught them by directly taking their attacks with his body.
His face, chest, waist, and spine were all smashed in and deformed.
"I caught two of them, hehehehe!"
A hair-raising voice came from his distorted mouth. Black, ribbon-like tendrils spreading from his body had already wrapped around the arms of all four of them.
The Four Pillars of Demons' expressions changed. They pulled back their arms and widened the distance, their faces turning grim.
Their arms had been torn off by Pāpīyas. He opened his huge mouth and swallowed them whole without even chewing.
"Huh? What is he doing?"
A far more earth-shattering battle should have begun immediately, yet Pāpīyas's sudden action left Heimdallr confused.
He turned and leaped toward the pillar platform where Beelzebub stood, fixing him with an exceedingly savage gaze.
Heimdallr suddenly felt uneasy.
When Pāpīyas first appeared, he had tried to devour his master. Could it be that he now had enough power to resist?
"You can't control me anymore. So hand them over. I can sense that you still have many more pieces of me. Make me more complete, and I'll grant you a quick death!!!"
As Pāpīyas spoke, he released a pressure so terrifying that the air around the man named Beelzebub seemed to scream. Even the pillar platform began to crack.
Yet beneath his seemingly magnanimous gaze, a trace of cruelty flashed.
"Is that so? Have you fully awakened?"
"Yes. My mind is completely clear now. I know exactly who I am—the Sixth Heaven Demon King Pāpīyas."
Although he had introduced himself when he first appeared, that had been different from now.
Previously, he had seemed to be in a split state. His memories were incomplete, and his mind had not been very sharp.
Now, he remembered everything completely. He was once the berserker of the underworld, the berserker who had nearly destroyed the entire underworld.
"I see."
Beelzebub's voice sounded weary, yet also faintly relieved, as though he had finally found release.
Then, he pulled open his cloak, and a pile of glass jars fell out.
Inside the jars were strange creatures with two horns, mouths, and tails fused into a single form.
They were all Pāpīyas Seeds cultivated by Beelzebub.
They wriggled toward one direction—toward Pāpīyas. They yearned to fuse into one.
Then, a complete Pāpīyas should be able to kill him.
As for the conditions offered by the sponsor behind him—conditions he had once been unable to refuse—Beelzebub had never truly expected anything from them.
It was not that he did not want his friend to be resurrected. But even if his friend returned to life, he would still be trapped in that person's clutches. Whether he lived or died would remain under that person's control.
In that case, it would be better not to resurrect him. Better for Beelzebub to follow his friend and let Pāpīyas kill him.
That was why he had concealed his research on Pāpīyas from the sponsor.
And that sponsor was that person!
"This is bad!"
Hades's expression suddenly changed.
But it was too late. The arena had deployed a barrier to protect the audience, so he could not rush over immediately.
He could only watch as Pāpīyas instantly shattered every glass jar, causing those creatures to shoot toward him and bite onto his body before burrowing into him like leeches.
The Demon King who had once nearly destroyed the entire underworld was now fully awakening.
The Strange Heart Devours Pāpīyas
Everyone's skin crawled, because the sight before them was the stuff of nightmares.
Those fist-sized creatures had two horns, mouths full of sharp teeth, and strange tails—or perhaps they were more like worms?
Large numbers of them pounced onto Pāpīyas and burrowed beneath his skin like leeches.
"What are those things?"
"So disgusting."
"What the hell has Beelzebub been researching?"
No matter which side they were on, the audience was deeply uncomfortable both physically and mentally at the sight.
The gods in particular were worried. Had Beelzebub only created the worm-like abominations currently on the field?
There were no more, right?
They were truly afraid that he might have released these things throughout the Heavenly Realm. What if one suddenly burrowed into their bodies while they slept? Who knew what might happen then?
Letting this man represent the gods had been a completely mistaken choice.
No, perhaps this choice had also allowed them to realize how terrifying Beelzebub was. Otherwise, if Beelzebub had not participated, they would never have known what horrifying things he had been researching.
By the time they tried to guard against him, it might already have been too late.
Their gazes returned to Pāpīyas. After those things entered his body, they wriggled strangely beneath his skin, causing bulges to slide across his surface. It was both disgusting and terrifying.
Yet Pāpīyas himself seemed to enjoy the sensation immensely.
The next instant, his body suddenly swelled, and his entire frame grew even larger.
The contours of his muscles became more defined, as though his body had been carved from stone. Black patterns also appeared over his skin.
But the gods did not care about those changes. What mattered was that Pāpīyas's aura was skyrocketing.
"Roarrrrr!"
He clenched his fists and roared toward the sky!
Boom—!
A deafening thunderclap rang out as a terrifying bolt of lightning descended from the sky and struck Pāpīyas, leaving everyone stunned.
The power of that lightning strike looked no weaker than Thor's Divine Punishment.
Was this King Solomon's attack?
"Trash, is that all? Useless!"
Pāpīyas raised his middle finger toward the heavens. His action seemed to provoke the sky, and thunder snakes slithered across the entire firmament.
The next moment, they gathered at the center and crashed down.
"T-That's Heavenly Punishment!!!"
Someone finally recognized it and cried out in horror.
Heavenly Punishment and Divine Punishment were not the same. Although people often confused them—humans in particular, believing the two were identical—they were actually different.
Heavenly Punishment was an instinctive attack launched by the World Tree of this space when it sensed a threat, something that should not be allowed to exist. It sought to destroy and expel it.
Yet an even more shocking scene unfolded.
The new bolt of Heavenly Punishment, powerful enough to move even the Main Gods, split in two the instant it touched Pāpīyas.
"W-What did he do?!"
"You've got to be kidding!"
"He actually... tore the lightning apart?"
Countless eyes nearly bulged from their sockets as fear swept through the crowd.
Pāpīyas had torn the lightning apart. Even the thunderclouds in the sky were torn open along with it before dispersing.
For the moment, they seemed unable to gather again.
"It looks like he has fully awakened and resurrected."
Hades's expression became exceptionally grave.
"W-What do we do? Lord Hades, should we stop this duel?"
Ares, God of War, panicked helplessly.
Lord Hades had said that the Sixth Heaven Demon King Pāpīyas had once nearly destroyed the entire underworld, and the underworld was no small space.
The so-called Hell, Demon Realm, Land of Roots, and similar places were all classified as part of the underworld.
Thus, nearly destroying the entire underworld meant all of it.
"Enough. Why are you panicking? You're making yourself look like some pathetic god."
Hades's words made Ares stiffen. His face then flushed red with shame, not anger.
Not only outwardly, but even inwardly, he did not dare feel angry. Ares deeply respected and feared Hades.
"However—"
Hades did not continue. Instead, he immediately communicated with Zeus through telepathy.
They still had to prepare. This thing was no longer something Beelzebub could control.
Looking at Beelzebub in the arena, Hades saw the faint smile on his face and sighed helplessly.
This man had finally achieved his goal.
Thus, Pāpīyas, having shattered Heavenly Punishment, lowered his raised head and looked back at Beelzebub.
He revealed a cruel smile, and then—
Splat—!
Before you continue