Time waits for no one.
According to Sherie and Annin, after slaying the first Demon King, they had one year to kill the second—otherwise, the slain king's position would be filled by a new one. In this era, the world lacked many things—people, resources—but demons were never in short supply.
After a month of preparation, the group set out.
The core force was essentially just Annin.
Yamiru served as the secondary pillar. Even in his base form, he surpassed the other Earthlings, though his demonic transformation's power fluctuated unpredictably. Against a high-tier Demon King, he'd struggle—but he was the only one capable of supporting Annin.
The remaining Earthling warriors? The strongest among them might rival one or two Master Roshis, while the rest hovered around a few King Chappas—fighters Yamiru could easily defeat even without transforming.
As for Sherie… no one could say for certain if she was truly with them.
Most of the time, she was nowhere to be seen. Yet occasionally, the angel would appear nearby without warning, idly twirling her scepter. She often strolled leisurely, hands clasped behind her back, her demeanor clashing starkly with the mission's gravity. Sometimes, she'd even hum tunes that seemed to hail from another universe. If noticed, she'd either ignore the attention or meet the observer's gaze with a playful "Hmm?", leaving them flustered.
"She's really at ease," Yamiru mused, sitting down as the group rested. He took a swig from his canteen. "Whis, and by extension Beerus he trained, share this same temperament… Are all angels like this?"
These angels were said to be creations of the Celestial God within the Celestial Realm.
The Outer Court, the Spiritual Realm's reflection of the Mortal Realm was a continent of planet-like islands.
The Dragon Court, The Dragon Realm's reflection, was a series of stellar rings centered around the Dragon God's abode.
And the Celestial Court, Celestial Realm's reflection, A World Tree as vast as the sea.
"I've heard that King Kai and Kaioshin originate from a place called the 'World Core Tree'… Is that the Celestial Realm's World Tree? Or just the part embedded within the Mortal World? Angels share some resemblance to King Kai and Kaioshin—could they too be 'grown' from the World Tree…?"
Yamiru's thoughts drifted. The power of those three supreme deities—capable of creating universes and intelligent life—was truly incomprehensible.
"When I was poisoned and near death, it was likely the Dragon God who heard my 'knock' and came to Earth out of curiosity… Did he see through my 'future' origins? If so, how much did he perceive? If he did, it's as if he exists beyond the dimension of time itself! Terrifying… And to think I once chatted casually with such a being?"
He shook his head inwardly, refocusing. His gaze flicked to Annin, resting nearby.
"But if the Dragon God has such abilities, what about Annin—the future Supreme Elderly Lord? How exactly did she send me here?"
No answers for now. Yamiru closed his eyes, emptying his mind, and slipped into a meditative state.
A martial artist's ki wasn't purely physical energy—it encompassed mental traits like courage and conviction, all influencing its fluctuations.
This made sense. Where did psychic powers originate? The brain—a physical organ!
Mental and physical strength shared the same roots.
In his original timeline, Goku had instinctively mastered telepathy, mind-reading, and even a godlike omniscience during the Cell Games. Yamiru suspected this was because Goku's ki, dispersed during his illness, functioned like telepathy—or perhaps, akin to King Kai, he'd subconsciously observed Earth's events from afar.
Thus, for a martial artist of Yamiru's caliber, meditation could indeed hone his skills, though efficiency varied by preference.
Now, seated here, Yamiru replayed his battle against Samuel the Demon King in his mind.
He repeatedly simulated absorbing more underworld miasma, attempting to defeat Samuel alone.
But without fail, once the demonic energy surpassed what he could comprehend, the overwhelming power became a burden.
His further draconic transformation was secondary.
The golden dragon mark from the Dragon God shielded his consciousness—for now, at least.
But just like the massively muscular form of Super Saiyan Future Trunks, blindly pushing energy to a level beyond one's control turns this power into a burden instead.
His speed becomes sluggish!
His stamina drains rapidly!
Even his once-precise control over his strength becomes rough and clumsy.
If the energy in his body was originally like clear spring water, then the mindlessly accumulated power is like a vat of murky sludge—or perhaps toxic mercury.
Squelch! In his mental simulation, Samuel's claw tears through the colossal body of the Demon Dragon, overloaded with demonic energy...
"Huff..." Yamiru, his eyes tightly shut, breaks out in a cold sweat as he thinks to himself, "It seems that at my current level, the amount of demonic energy I can wield is only this much... But martial arts mastery isn't something you can improve just by thinking. If I want to reach a level where I can control even greater power, the most straightforward way is to cultivate stronger energy of my own... When Son Goku first transformed into a Super Saiyan, his power multiplied fiftyfold, and he initially lost control due to excitement. But since it was his own awakened strength, he quickly adapted to it... Once the foundation of power rises, so too does one's mastery and insight.*
"But the crux of the problem is—I'm only resorting to demonic energy because it's so hard for me to cultivate greater strength on my own...
"Now I'm right back in the same dilemma. To wield greater power, I must first cultivate greater power... It sounds like a damn paradox."
Annin, along with the others, sips water and chews on dry rations while glancing at Yamiru.
This mysterious man seems intent on cultivating greater strength... It appears he's trying to use that strange, demonic transformation-like method to harness even greater power, but only after raising his base energy.
"If, at the critical moment, Master can pass the Furnace to Yamiru..." Annin muses silently. "But even if I'm willing to risk my life to take down Satan, would Yamiru agree to sacrifice all his hard-earned power to seal that gateway to Hell using the furnace?"
The more diligently Yamiru trains now, the less likely Annin thinks it is.
Aside from someone like her—who believes her abilities were granted by the Furnace in the first place and is thus willing to discard them—how could someone like Yamiru, who painstakingly cultivated his strength, ever accept such a loss? Especially since sealing the dimensional rift with the furnace wouldn't kill the user! It would mean that, as long as the Furnace suppresses the rift, the user would forever lose their power—with no hope of ever recovering it.
'If I were Yamiru, would I be willing?' Annin tries to put herself in his shoes, but she simply can't.
'We'll just have to take it one step at a time...'
She steels her resolve. If there's even the slightest chance, she might have to deceive Yamiru into binding himself to the Bagua Furnace to seal the Netherworld passage—no matter what it takes to end this.
"Something's coming!"
Yamiru's warning snaps everyone to attention. The other Earthling martial artists freeze, lowering their rations and canteens as they scan the dim surroundings. "Where?" they ask, though none doubt his judgment—they've already witnessed his strength firsthand, both at Satan's castle and back at the settlement.
Annin snaps out of her thoughts, brow furrowing. "Underground! Be careful, it's already surging upward!"
"It's fast!" Yamiru leaps into the air, putting distance between himself and the ground. "And... there are so many of them!!"
Before the others can react, the earth erupts—countless massive demonic insects, reeking of fiendish energy, swarm up from the depths below!
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