"What do you mean Abaddon is in the mortal Realm?" Ra asked.
"Exactly what I just said," Plutonia replied. "As you know, the veil was weakened when our curses were summoned to the mortal realm. It seems Old Gramps found a way to slip one of his demon generals into the mortal realm—well, some parts of him, at least. He barely has five percent of his powers," Plutonia added.
"How long have you known this?" Kokou asked curiously.
"A short while after our curses were summoned," Plutonia replied.
"And why didn't you tell us?" Kokou asked in annoyance.
"Don't shout at me, Kokou!" Plutonia roared back.
"Calm down, you two," Ra said.
"He started it!" Plutonia complained.
"She had such information and kept it to herself," Kokou said, his irritation evident.
"I don't want to hear it from either of you," Ra replied sharply. "And now's neither the time nor the place to sort this out. We'll deal with the Demon King and his lackeys later. First, we need to handle what's in front of us." Ra's gaze shifted to the massive golden door ahead of them.
"Fine. But when we return, I'll break Tonia out myself and teach her a lesson," Kokou grumbled.
"I'll be expecting you, War Boy," Plutonia retorted before cutting the link.
"That girl..." Kokou muttered through gritted teeth.
"Calm down," Ra said.
"Don't tell me to calm down," Kokou snapped.
"Then don't," Ra replied with a shrug, turning his attention back to the door.
Ra reached out and placed a hand on the golden surface. The moment his hand touched it, a sharp jolt repelled him. It was as if the door itself rejected him as an intruder.
"It seems Old Man Nik isn't taking visitors," Ra muttered. "Maybe he's working on a new experiment."
"Then he should have answered our request to enter so we wouldn't interrupt whatever he's doing," Kokou said with a scowl.
"He doesn't have to," Ra replied flatly.
"You know what? I'm not in the mood for silly rules and regulations," Kokou said, summoning a massive war hammer.
"What are you—?" Ra began, but before he could finish, Kokou swung the hammer with all his might at the gigantic door.
At first, nothing happened. After all, bringing down such a massive door with brute force seemed impossible. But then, cracks began to form, spreading across the surface. Moments later, the door shattered into countless pieces.
"This isn't right," Ra said, frowning.
"I don't care," Kokou replied, stepping through the now-open doorway. Ra hesitated for a moment before following him.
Once inside, both gods froze in shock.
The domain of the God of Wisdom was in ruins. What was once a grand, awe-inspiring place was now a desolate wasteland. The grand library, along with its keepers and librarian, was gone. Tendrils of darkness snaked across the domain, preventing it from healing itself. Though the domain had not completely crumbled, it was barely holding together.
At the center of the devastation, a pulsating cocoon of darkness loomed, its presence ominous and unnatural.
"Is that..." Kokou said staring at the Cocoon
"I can feel old man Nik Inside that thing," Ra said
"Those guys did this," Ra said grimly.
"I don't doubt it," Kokou replied, stepping forward to get a closer look.
As he took his second step, Ra felt a shift in the air—something had been triggered.
"Stop, Kokou!" Ra called, but it was too late.
The gate behind them suddenly regenerated, sealing shut. An unseen force yanked them forward before either of them could react, pulling them deeper into the domain.
Both gods stumbled to a halt near the dark cocoon, disoriented by the sudden pull. But their disorientation quickly turned to alarm as a loud screech echoed in the distance.
A beast shrouded entirely in darkness flew toward them. It resembled a wyvern, though smaller in size, and it had no eyes. On its back sat a rider clad in polished silver armor.
"What the hell is that?" Kokou asked, readying his weapon.
"I've never seen anything like it," Ra replied, his gaze fixed on the rider. "But I can feel Nyxa's divinity all over that beast."
The creature flew closer, picking up speed as it approached. At the last moment, it accelerated even further, crashing into the ground near the gods with a deafening impact. Ra and Kokou dodged to either side, bracing themselves for a fight.
Now that it was closer, they could see the beast of darkness and its mysterious rider clearly.
"The rider... It feels human, but it's not," Ra said, studying the figure.
"It has the shape of a human," Kokou replied, "but that armor—it's infused with divinity."
"Well, we're dealing with gods here, so that's not surprising," Ra said, his voice tense. "But we still don't know what this creature is."
"It doesn't matter," Kokou said firmly. "Let's destroy it and move on."
The dark beast suddenly opened its mouth, purple flames gathering within. It fired a massive fireball toward the gods.
Ra raised his hand, a small ball of flame forming at his fingertip. He launched it toward the incoming attack, and his flame not only destroyed the fireball but continued toward the beast, forcing it to dodge.
"You think it'll be that easy, huh?" Ra asked, enlarging the fireball as it moved.
The beast, caught off guard, was consumed by the explosion that followed.
"That was easy," Kokou said, lowering his weapon.
"I doubt it," Ra replied, his eyes narrowing. He was right.
As the dust settled, the dark beast and its rider emerged unscathed.
"How is that possible?" Kokou asked, his voice filled with shock.
The beast opened its mouth again, but this time it unleashed something far more sinister than purple flames—it was pure darkness.
"I'll stop it this time," Kokou said, stepping forward.
"No," Ra interrupted, grabbing his arm. "We're dodging this one."
The two gods moved just in time as the dark blast obliterated everything in its path, leaving only destruction in its wake.