They shot toward Ethan from every direction, techniques blazing and weapons drawn—only to stop dead in shock as the females, who had been tearing into each other just seconds ago, suddenly stopped fighting amongst themselves.
As one, they turned and redirected every ounce of their fury toward the incoming males. The shift was so sudden, so perfectly coordinated despite being entirely instinctive, that several of the men took devastating hits before they even understood what was happening.
A few suffered injuries so severe they were blown clean out of the venue, while the rest barely managed to retreat in time, scrambling backward with wide, disbelieving eyes.
"What is the meaning of this?" A handsome young man demanded—and handsome was an understatement. He was terrifyingly attractive, the kind of face that could charm both men and women regardless of their preferences. He hovered above the chaos, his gaze locked onto the Ice Phoenix Sect ancestor, the woman he had spent his entire life pursuing.
"Stay out of this." She snapped at him with open disgust, the words hitting him like a slap across the face. The funny thing was, not once during this entire event had she looked at Ethan with that kind of disgust. Hatred, yes. Killing intent, absolutely. But never disgust.
She turned her attention back toward Ethan, only to pause when she saw him sitting in a chair, legs crossed, leaning back comfortably as he watched the chaos unfold around him like it was entertainment. Instantly, the expressions on every female face in the venue turned dark.
"Stand up." All of the females snapped in unison, their voices blending together into something twisted and almost demonic in how perfectly synchronized it was. Ethan didn't acknowledge them, but he did stand up a moment later—not because they told him to, but because the chair was uncomfortable and he didn't feel like sitting anymore. It had nothing to do with them. Nothing at all.
But everyone—every cultivator, every Martial Emperor, every furious woman and broken-hearted man—suddenly froze in place as they felt their connection to the outside world sever completely.
It was like a door being slammed shut on reality itself. They looked toward the sky, and their pupils shrank to pinpoints. Above them, covering the entire venue and the land surrounding it for miles in every direction, was a domain. Not one domain—not two, not three—but four.
Four Demi God-level domains had been layered on top of one another, forming a cage so absolute that not even light could escape it without permission.
Four demigod demons looked down upon everyone from above, their combined presence pressing against every living being in the venue like the weight of a collapsing star. Before anyone could react, before anyone could even formulate a plan, the girl in leather rose from her seat.
Her human disguise began to dissolve, peeling away like burning paper to reveal red skin, sharp features, and an aura that radiated raw, demonic power. The demon smirked and began walking toward Ethan at a leisurely pace, each step unhurried.
Every human in the venue—every cultivator, every elder, every Martial Emperor—tried to move, tried to intercept her, but under the pressure of four Demi Gods bearing down on them, what could they possibly do? Their bodies wouldn't obey.
Iris was on her feet now, her concealment abandoned entirely, her full presence flooding the venue as she glared up at the four Demi-God-level demons who were looking down at her with mocking, amused expressions.
"We meet again," the demon said as she reached Ethan, but the playful smirk on her face twisted into something far uglier—a look of pure, undiluted hatred as her eyes locked onto his. Ethan, for his part, stood there with a genuinely stunned expression, not having expected this in the slightest.
"Why are you here?" Ethan asked. This demon was Seraph—a demon he had crossed paths with in the past. She had tried to kill him, but somewhere along the way, in a turn of events, she had lost herself to the thrill of what happened between them instead.
"Why?!" She roared, rage boiling over in her eyes as the air around her rippled from the force of her emotions. She stormed up to Ethan, grabbed the front of his shirt with both hands, and pulled him toward her until their faces were inches apart.
"You used me, and disappeared, and you're asking why?" She screamed, her voice cracking with a fury that went beyond anger and into something far more personal.
"Used you?! Didn't you say I was a disgusting, weak ape, and we couldn't be a thing?" Ethan shot back, genuine anger flashing across his face for the first time, and Seraph paused. Her grip on his shirt loosened just slightly, because she had indeed said those exact words to him. She remembered every syllable.
"How do you say stuff like that, and expect me to stay? You broke my heart." Ethan said, and the anger on his face shifted into something more vulnerable—a heartbroken look that made her release his shirt entirely and take a step backward. She stood there, caught off guard, unsure of what to say or how to respond to an accusation she hadn't been prepared for.
"N-no… why did you wait until after we slept together?" She asked, her voice dropping as a feeling of unease crept through her. Something about this felt wrong, the reality she knew and the reality Ethan knew was different… but Ethan'sreality looked seemed more true.
"I didn't want to… but after that kiss, my world went blank… something about you…" Ethan said softly, reaching out and gently rubbing his thumb across her cheek.
The touch was tender, intimate—and it lasted exactly one second before he felt the killing intent from every other female in the venue spike so violently that the air itself seemed to crack.
It was as though they had completely forgotten about the four Demi Gods hovering above them. Ethan's hand froze, then slowly lowered back to his side. He shut his mouth, sweat breaking out across his forehead as the killing intent took physical shape behind the females—forming a massive, twisted demonic face in the air that glared down at him with hollow, burning eyes.
"F-fine… I will forgive you," Seraph said, and Ethan was left speechless by the sudden shift.
"What did I do?" Ethan asked in genuine confusion, blinking at her.
"You went ahead and got married to someone else. You didn't recognize me. You didn't stay and fight for our love." She said coldly, listing each offense like charges being read before an execution. Ethan opened his mouth to respond, then closed it, then opened it again.
"I was kidnapped," Ethan said flatly.
"You could have done anything, like killing yourself. But you would rather be with another bitch." She said coldly, her anger reigniting the more she thought about it.
Ethan looked at her for a long moment, then slowly closed his mouth.
"Now, in front of all these bitches, let them watch our wedding." She said happily, wrapping both arms around his and pressing herself against his side with a bright smile that looked genuinely joyful for the first time since she had revealed herself.
"I don't want them to die," Ethan said, his voice calm and even, cutting through the tension like a blade.
"What?" The happy glow vanished from Seraph's face in an instant, replaced by a cold glare that could have frozen blood. It was a terrifying look—hollow and empty, the kind of gaze that belonged to something that had stopped caring about the concept of mercy a very long time ago.
"What is the goal of this attack? It's too weak. Humanity, which the other races have pushed to be the first line of defense against the demon race invasion. If you kill the people here, wouldn't that just motivate the rest of the human race to stand united against the demon race even harder than they already do? Sure, the humans would be weakened in the short term, but human birth rates are high; in a few thousand years, new geniuses would be born to replace every single person you killed today." Ethan said calmly.
"Most likely, you already have spies embedded in other races who would act to suppress humanity. But there is only one Demi-God here on Earth right now. If there were more, humanity might never fully recover from a blow like this. But just one isn't enough to cripple us permanently. If you truly want to rule this galaxy, I think you guys need to do something different." Ethan said with a smirk, and the shift in the atmosphere was immediate. Every demon in the sky was now paying attention to him—not as a hostage, not as a tool, but as someone who was speaking their language.
"What's that?" One of the demigods in the sky asked with a raised eyebrow, looking down at Ethan with genuine curiosity. They had never encountered a mortal like this before. The demon lord had instructed them to ensure Ethan survived this operation, stating that he was worth more to them alive than dead—but none of them had understood why until this very moment.