Chapter 124: Strikes back

Production Booth

Bub, Monny, Levi, and Stan watched as the audience collectively gasped.

That reaction, however, didn’t mean they actually understood what they were looking at.

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On the main stage stood a seven-meter-tall gate-like structure, its surface carved with familiar devilish ornaments—designs that any Murican would immediately recognize.

“That’s the Great Demon Gate,” Bub said, leaning forward slightly. “A miniaturized one.”

“Oh my… what is it doing here?” Levi muttered.

“The goddess energy emanating from it…” Monny’s voice lowered as her expression tightened. “It feels like the time when we were about to be sealed millennia ago…”

“It is…” Stan narrowed his eyes. “Not as strong as the real one, but it’s still powerful.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

“Seems things are going to get dangerous,” he muttered as he dialed.

The call connected.

“Hanz,” Stan said, his tone turning completely serious. “Prepare for Defcon 2. Inform Rusalka and Fujin as well.”

There was a brief pause as the voice on the other end responded.

“Yes,” Stan replied grimly. “This is a real one.”

He ended the call and lowered his phone.

“Guys…” he said, looking at the other Demon Dukes. “I’m afraid we need to get our hands dirty.”

The others exchanged looks, their earlier composure giving way to quiet tension.

Back on the stage, the Murican audience couldn’t truly sense the divine energy hidden within the miniaturized demon gate. As low-class demons, that level of perception was beyond them.

Even so, something felt off. Unsettling.

It crept in through instinct rather than understanding.

“For the past year, evil has been allowed to roam freely for too long,” Ignacio declared to the crowd.

Meanwhile, Paerith stepped back toward the miniature demon gate and gave a small nod to the elf mages surrounding it.

The mages moved immediately, spreading out into a circle around the gate and taking positions that faced inward, forming a complete perimeter.

“It has been the saddest time for humanity!” Ignacio continued, raising his voice. “The saddest! Even more than any demon invasion ever recorded!”

Behind him, Paerith took his place among the mages, aligning himself within their formation.

“Why?” Ignacio shouted, pointing toward the crowd. “Not because death has been plaguing our world!”

His voice sharpened.

“But because of you! Humans! Beastmen! Dwarves! And all the other races who have received the goddess’s grace of light!”

The crowd began to stir, unease spreading through them.

“All of you have been turning a blind eye to the demons standing beside you,” Ignacio continued, his tone rising with fury. “Look at you—standing next to each other, smiling, laughing together!”

“ALL OF YOU DESERVE THE SAME FATE AS THE DEMONS!” Ignacio roared. “TO BE PURIFIED! TO BE BURNED AND SCORCHED!”

Behind him, Paerith and the elven mages began chanting, their voices rising in unison as they channeled energy into the demon gate. The structure lit up almost instantly, arcs of energy crackling across its surface as a deep, vibrating hum filled the air.

Then the production booth exploded outward.

Glass shattered violently as four figures burst through it, leaping straight toward the stage. Stan, Levi, Bub, and Monny moved almost in perfect sync, their descent aimed directly at Ignacio and the gate behind him.

The holy knights and elven mages reacted immediately. Weapons were raised, staffs aligned, and within seconds a barrier formed—a dome of shimmering energy that sealed off the stage completely.

The four Demon Dukes collided with it mid-charge.

A heavy impact echoed as they were stopped just short of their target, their hands pressing against the barrier as they tried to force their way through.

Stan’s fist halted less than a meter from Ignacio’s face. For a brief moment, the two simply stared at each other.

“Can’t believe you actually brought an explosive into a place like this,” Stan said.

“Not an explosive, Demon Duke,” Ignacio replied calmly. “Implosive would be more accurate.”

Bub, still pressing his fist against the barrier, frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You see, this small demon gate can generate the same kind of barrier that sealed you for millennia,” Ignacio said. “Now imagine if that barrier doesn’t shatter when deactivated. Imagine it keeps shrinking instead… smaller and smaller… until it disappears.”

Levi’s expression shifted as he understood.

“Oh my… you’re planning to crush everything inside it to death…”

Ignacio smiled.

“That’s right. Including the four Demon Dukes standing right in front of me.”

“FUCK OFF!” Stan roared.

His body began to change immediately, expanding as demonic energy surged outward. The other Demon Dukes followed, their forms growing larger as the pressure inside the barrier spiked rapidly.

The elven mages struggled to maintain control, but the strain was too much. The barrier cracked then shattered into fragments of light.

Stan moved the instant it broke, his arm swinging forward in a clean, decisive motion that severed Ignacio’s head from his body.

At the same time, the others rushed toward the demon gate.

The Celeste Holy Knights stepped in to intercept them, forming a defensive line. Steel met force as they attempted to hold the Demon Dukes back.

The clash lasted barely a second. The knights were overwhelmed and swept aside in a second.

...but that single second was enough.

“YOU’RE TOO LATE, DEMONS!” Paerith shouted, pouring the last of his mana into the gate.

And then it happened.

A blinding light erupted from the demon gate.

It didn’t flare or build up—it simply appeared, overwhelming everything in an instant as it tore across the stage and beyond.

“Shit—” was all Stan managed to say before the light swallowed him whole.

The surge didn’t stop there. It expanded outward at terrifying speed, devouring streets, buildings, and sky alike until, within mere seconds, the entire expanse of Dawn City was engulfed in white.

And then it stopped.

The light stabilized, forming a massive dome that covered the whole city. Its glow hardened, condensing into a colossal barrier stretching across the sky like a second firmament.

For a brief moment, there was silence.

Across Dawn City, every living soul stood frozen in confusion and fear. One second the world had been normal—then everything turned white—and now, just as suddenly, it was gone, replaced by an immense barrier enclosing them all.

Then the barrier moved. It began to shrink.

At first it was subtle, almost imperceptible. Then it accelerated.

The dome contracted inward at a horrifying pace, pressing everything inside it with absolute, indifferent force. Buildings crumpled as if made of paper. Trees snapped and vanished. Animals, humans, demons—none were spared, none were distinguished.

There was no resistance. No escape.

Only compression.

The city folded into itself as the barrier continued to close, smaller and smaller, tighter and tighter, until the space it contained could no longer be called a city at all.

And then—

Nothing.

The barrier disappeared.

Dawn City disappeared with it.

Stan. Monny. Levi. Bub.

Also gone...

In their place remained only an empty void—a vast, unnatural hollow where a city once stood.

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The Black House, Meeting Room

Belphy can be seen standing in front of the meeting room, filling his role as Solo stand-in. Seated across from him were Luke, Lilith, Samael, and the Four Horsemen, each holding the same script titled “The Celeste Empire Strikes Back”, with a smaller line beneath it that read: By Belphy.

“So it’s not an explosion—but an implosion!” Belphy declared, veins bulging with excitement.

Belphy pointed at them expectantly, clearly waiting for some kind of reaction—applause, admiration, anything.

What he got instead was silence.

Flat stares met him from every direction. Unimpressed. Unmoved. Entirely unenthusiastic.

Famine yawned without bothering to hide it. Pestilence had already fallen asleep face-first on the table.

“Huh? Huh? What do you think?” Belphy tried again, his confidence starting to crack.

No one answered.

They just kept staring at him.

Judging him.

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Uhh… Happy April Fools’ Day?

Please dont hate me :(

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Yeah, sorry, it was april fools day when i post this chapter so...

Please dont hate me still...

Next real chapter coming soon