Cael brought Makima, Kobeni, and Fami into the Spider Devil's body and left Hell.
Princi instinctively tried to close the zipper.
To her, only those under Makima were allies. Everyone else living or dying meant nothing.
Chii.
Guangxi grabbed the zipper and yanked it open wider.
Then she shoved her four Fiend partners into the Spider Devil.
"You girls go first. I'll cover the rear."
The Spider Devil trembled in anger but said nothing.
Makima and the others had more important matters. No one had time to argue.
Guangxi was nowhere near Cael or Makima in strength, but handling the Spider Devil was still easy for her.
Tokyo.
Shinjuku had turned into a sea of fire.
Burned corpses covered the streets.
The stench of blood hung so thick it stung the eyes.
On a distant rooftop, Cael and the others appeared.
Without wasting a second, they moved toward the battlefield where Asa, Reze, and Santa Claus were fighting.
It was impossible to miss.
Santa Claus had built a massive body from doll corpses, a towering figure close to a hundred meters tall.
It barely resembled a human anymore.
"Cael, you're finally back!" Asa's eyes lit up, tears forming as she saw him.
Santa Claus stared down at him, eyes glowing red, her expression tightening.
"Impossible. The Darkness Devil is invincible. You shouldn't be alive. You must have escaped somehow."
Cael flicked his hand.
Boom.
A violent shockwave tore through the air and erased Santa Claus instantly.
Her body shattered into bone dust, her insides exploding into a rain of blood that painted the ground.
"Sorry. I took my time." Cael wiped the blood and ash from Asa's face with a casual motion.
Shushushushu.
"Useless, useless!"
Santa Claus reformed almost immediately, her body knitting itself back together.
"Do you have any idea how strong I am right now?" she said, grinning. "I fused with the Darkness Devil's flesh. As long as there's darkness, I can revive endlessly."
"Jesus, you talk too much."
Cael tossed a Bell Sound Sword straight at her.
At the same time, he sliced open his own abdomen, cut through his intestines, and shoved several doll corpses inside.
The bodies were absorbed instantly, converted into his own mass.
Ding.
The bell rang.
Santa Claus died again.
Then she revived again, the darkness restoring her body.
"Heh… now I get it," she said, smiling wider. "You're strong. You can kill me instantly. So what?"
She spread her arms.
"I'm evolving. I'm not limited to touch anymore. Anyone fully covered in darkness, I can turn into a doll instantly."
Her grin widened further.
"Do you know how many dolls I have across the world? They look like normal people. You'd never notice."
"No, not just people," she continued, almost laughing. "Dogs. Fish. Anything alive. I can turn all of them into dolls."
"Killing me is pointless. My will flows through all of them. Every single one is Santa Claus."
Her voice grew more unhinged.
"We'll come at you when you least expect it. You'll never have peace. If I can't beat you, I'll destroy everyone around you. Your woman. Your future kids."
"To erase me completely, you'd have to kill every living thing on Earth."
She laughed loudly.
"So what now? You got the guts for that?"
"Tsk. That's fucking disgusting." Cael glanced to the side at Pingtsi, the Insight Fiend. "Oi. Find her weakness."
Guangxi smirked.
"No need. She's nothing in front of my girls."
She looked at Cosmo, who was clinging to her arm.
"Cosmo. Time to work. Give her the serious version."
"Halloween!"
Cosmo snapped upright.
"You think this works on me?" Santa Claus sneered. "You weaklings really think you can—"
Guangxi ignored her.
Cosmo's expression shifted completely. She stretched her body slowly, like preparing for something.
"Hal… low… Hal-low… Hal-low…"
"Halloween?" Santa Claus frowned.
"Halloween."
In an instant, her world changed.
She stood inside a vast library, rows of books stretching endlessly.
Her massive body was gone.
She was just a normal girl again.
"Halloween." Cosmo sat behind a desk, resting her chin on her hands, smiling gently.
She looked completely different now.
Quiet. Composed. Intelligent.
Santa Claus walked between the shelves, glancing around.
"So this is your mind attack?" she said with a smirk. "Useless. My brain is shared with every doll in the world. This is like trying to dye an ocean red with a drop of ink."
Cosmo took a slow breath.
"Hello, Santa Claus. I am Cosmo, the Cosmos Fiend."
Her voice was steady and soft.
"Don't be afraid. Even though you've done terrible things, I don't hate you."
Santa Claus scoffed.
"Oh? And what are you going to do?"
Cosmo's eyes glowed faintly.
"You will understand everything."
Santa Claus burst out laughing.
"From you? You think you can—"
Cosmo interlocked her fingers.
"The knowledge you have," she said softly, "is less than a single page in this library."
She raised her hand slightly.
"Now, I'll give you all of it."
"Please do," Santa Claus mocked.
Snap.
Cosmo snapped her fingers.
Everything collapsed inward.
Santa Claus felt her mind twist violently.
The books grew massive.
Or maybe she was shrinking.
The library stretched into something endless, like an ocean.
Her head throbbed.
Her skull itched.
It felt like her brain was tearing itself apart.
Her lips moved uncontrollably.
"Hal… low… Hal-low… Halloween…"
Outside.
"Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!"
Santa Claus screamed the word over and over, completely losing control.
She stopped attacking.
Stopped thinking.
Everywhere across the world, creatures began repeating the same word.
Humans.
Dogs.
Cats.
All affected.
Because their minds were connected.
When Santa Claus collapsed, they all collapsed with her.
If Cael stood at the peak of raw power, then Cosmo stood at the absolute peak of intellect.
Any being whose mind was flooded with the knowledge of the Cosmos… never returned.