"Hmph."
Quanxi let out a cold snort as she reluctantly put on her clothes.
While she dressed, Cael explained everything, why he killed her, and what happened after, including his fight with the Darkness Devil.
By the time he finished, her anger had mostly settled.
The Darkness Devil retreating was the best possible outcome.
Still, she ignored Cael and walked straight to the scattered bodies of her fiends, crouching down and working on them without a word.
Watching her, Cael frowned slightly. For a second, he thought she had snapped. Losing all her women like that would break anyone.
"My condolences. Your girls are completely dead," Cael said.
"Shut up," Quanxi replied flatly.
She adjusted one of the corpses with careful precision.
"My women do not die that easily."
She bit her fingertip, letting blood drip onto Pingtsi's body.
Something strange happened.
The stitches across Pingtsi's body began to move on their own, pulling flesh and limbs back together.
Within moments, her eyes twitched.
Then she stood up.
Pingtsi was a Stitch Fiend. Her vitality far exceeded that of a normal fiend. Even if her body was cut apart, she could survive as long as the pieces remained intact.
They had been lucky.
The Darkness Devil had used a spatial slash. If it had been anything else, Pingtsi might not have made it.
The reason she lay still earlier was simple. She had been completely overwhelmed by the Darkness Devil's presence, frozen in terror.
"Pingtsi, get to work. Put Cosmo and Long back together."
Pingtsi nodded. The stitches on her body extended outward like threads, weaving through the scattered remains.
Her movements were quick and precise, like a skilled tailor stitching fabric.
Quanxi continued feeding them blood.
Soon enough, Cosmo and Long regained consciousness.
After hearing that the Darkness Devil had retreated, relief spread across their faces, though the fear lingered beneath the surface.
At that moment, Princi slowly crawled over and nodded toward Makima.
"Miss Makima, I have almost recovered. I can open the passage again."
Makima immediately grabbed Cael's arm.
"Good. No time to waste. We are heading back to Tokyo."
Princi lay flat on the ground.
The zipper on her forehead began to open.
Then suddenly—
Clang!
A clear, echoing bell rang through the space.
Princi froze, her body shaking as the process was instantly interrupted.
"It is Him! He is coming!" Fami clutched her head and dropped to her knees.
"What the hell is going on?" Cael snapped.
They were inside his Klein Cage. Time was frozen here, space looping endlessly.
Nothing from outside should be able to interfere.
And yet it was happening.
"No! No! I cannot take this again!" Pingtsi broke down completely. "Lady Quanxi, I want to die!"
Even Quanxi frowned, feeling a strange pressure pressing down on her.
"Who now?" she muttered.
"It is... the White Devil!"
Suddenly, the Klein Cage began to distort.
A white, wax-like substance seeped out of empty space.
Cael's domain was being eroded.
They were being forced out.
In an instant, everything shattered, and they were dragged back into Hell.
Bang!
Bang!
"Praise the Pure White!" Fami slammed her head against the ground repeatedly. "Long live the Pure White! Long live the Pure White!"
In a flash, all color drained from the world.
Everything became white.
A towering structure appeared before them, pure and radiant.
At the top stood a figure, glowing so brightly it was impossible to look at directly.
Clang!
The White Devil struck a massive bell with a wooden mallet.
The sound echoed endlessly.
Cosmo, Long, and Pingtsi collapsed again, their minds unable to withstand it, just like before with the Darkness Devil.
Another Primal Devil.
But Cael and Makima felt something different.
Instead of pain, the sound seemed to wash over them, clearing their minds. The faint buzzing that had lingered before disappeared completely.
Makima turned her head toward Fami.
"I see it now. You are my true second sister."
At that moment, she understood.
Her perception had been tampered with. The Death Devil had altered her mind using the power of noise. That lingering distortion had gone unnoticed until now.
The White Devil's bell had erased it.
Transparent steps formed in the air.
Step by step, the White Devil descended, looking down at them.
Raising a silver staff, the figure spoke in a voice that sounded almost like music.
"Come. Those who still live, those oppressed by darkness, those with no path forward. Come under me."
"Praise the Pure White!"
Fami raised her hands, tears streaming down her face.
"Only white is allowed. All other colors must be erased!"
The White Devil clapped softly, pleased.
"Very good, my daughter Fami. You understand the White Will. I am pleased."
Unlike most Primal Devils, the White Devil was different.
It was not born from human fear, but from the fear of devils themselves.
Many devils feared white, feared purity and brightness. That fear only grew because of how the White Devil acted.
Yet its logic was simple.
Submit and become one of its children.
Or be erased.
Even other Primal Devils avoided dealing with it.
For weaker devils, though, it was something like a twisted guardian.
Now, the White Devil extended a hand.
"Come. Become my children."
Fami shot desperate looks at everyone.
One by one, they nodded.
Fighting a Primal Devil like this was pointless. Even others of its kind avoided it.
If it wanted to play parent, then fine.
No need to argue with insanity.
But when it came to Cael, the White Devil shook its head.
"No. You cannot."
Cael narrowed his eyes.
"And why the hell not?"
The White Devil's tone turned cold.
"Your body carries the aura of the Darkness Devil. That black is a forbidden color. It must be erased."
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