The sky was black with smoke.
The battlefield—if you could still call it that—was a shredded hellscape of fire, blood, and broken bodies.
Screams cut through the night, some human, some not.
A massive Baron's head exploded as Thor's hammer crashed through it. Flesh and bone splattered the ground. Sparks burst from the metal implants fused into the creature's skull. Thor's expression was tight, fury in his eyes.
"Keep moving!" he shouted back to his tired Paladins, who fought off the twisted horde alongside Hashiras and Demon Moons alike.
Nearby, Slayer rammed a spike-covered demon into the ground, used it as a shield as another lunged from behind, then spun—his Power Gauntlet crackled to life—and punched the next creature so hard its chest caved in like wet clay.
Kratos crushed a demon's skull beneath his boot, grabbed a fallen slab of stone, and hurled it straight through three Marauders. The ground cracked as he leapt into the air and body-slammed a Baron's pack leader, snapping its spine on impact.
Even Muzan was in it now. His arms had mutated, tendrils whipping across the battlefield like a living storm. One swipe eviscerated a dozen demons mid-lunge. His expression? Cold. Efficient. Unimpressed.
"They dare challenge me in my world?" he muttered, ripping another demon in half. "Pathetic."
Backline – Underground Entrance
Kagaya's breathing was shallow as Gyomei carried him on his back, Rengoku clearing the path ahead with wild, furious swings of his flame katana.
"Almost there," Rengoku said. His voice was serious now. No loud declarations. Just focus.
Civilians were being ushered down below—a fortified shelter hidden beneath the mountainside HQ. Screams echoed from above as Kushiki staff dragged children and wounded inward. Some Slayers stayed to cover them, blades soaked red, backs pressed to the tunnel mouth.
Atreus' View – Rooftops
Atreus stood on a crumbling roof, bow drawn tight. His eyes were locked in. Calm. Sharp. A demon charged toward Tanjiro's group on the ground—
THWIP.
The arrow pierced its eye.
"Keep your formation!" Atreus shouted down.
Tanjiro looked up, blood on his cheek. "Thanks!"
Zenitsu screamed and sliced one crawling up behind Inosuke, who didn't even flinch.
"We're not gonna make it!" Zenitsu cried.
"Yes we are!" Inosuke roared, charging headfirst into another monster.
The lower-ranked Slayers fought harder than ever. This time, a few of them actually killed one or two demons before being torn apart. Progress. Bloody, tragic progress.
Meanwhile – Center Field
A thunderclap.
Then silence.
The ground trembled.
He arrived.
A hulking figure stepped through the smoke and fire, his body encased in obsidian armor, a sickly green glow leaking from cracks in his flesh. Horned, taller than any Baron they'd seen, with a face half-shrouded in what looked like a crown of bone.
The Minister.
He surveyed the battlefield with a slow, pleased look. Hellfire rose behind him, casting his shadow long across the broken courtyard.
"So this… is their resistance," he muttered, voice echoing like metal scraping bone.
The demons around him roared louder. His presence alone made the weaker Slayers stagger in fear.
"Kill the weak," the Minister ordered. "I want their ashes to carry back."
Trio of Beasts – Slayer, Kratos, Thor
Thor swung Mjölnir into a Marauder's midsection, caving it in, then looked to Kratos.
"We finish this, now."
Kratos didn't reply—just drove his boot into another skull.
Slayer was already running, fast and silent, toward the Minister.
Thor gripped his hammer tighter. "He's going in."
Kratos followed, cracking his neck. "Then so are we."
The three tore through the battlefield like a living spear. Demons tried to block their path—slaughtered in seconds.
Marauder heads flew.
Baron guts spilled across the dirt.
The Minister smiled.
"So, you're the ones who think yourselves saviors."
The Slayer didn't reply. He just raised his gauntlet.
Thor twirled his hammer.
Kratos flexed his fists.
No speeches.
No prayers.
Just war.