The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

The black mist stopped on the seventh step, condensing into a blurry human figure with indistinct features, except for the mouth, which was vaguely visible.

"Wow, what a grand display!"

Baal's voice was no different from when it was in Chen Guan's mind, lazy, as if he had just woken up.

"This place wasn't this pretty when I was here last time. Have you renovated it?"

Astaroth ignored the question, making no attempt to conceal his arrogance: "Get out of my territory."

"Don't rush."

Baal shook his blurry head, picked up his foot again, and continued walking uphill.

"The little trick you pulled in the human world was quite a spectacle: a six-winged projection, a heart-carrier, a blood-red magic circle—a classic three-piece set."

Baal said with a smile, feeling incredibly excited at the thought of what he was going to do next.

Astaroth spread two of his six wings, and light enveloped the area around the throne: "Are you teaching me how to do things?"

"No, no, Lord Baal doesn't have that kind of free time."

"Then what are you here for?"

Baal reached the twelfth step, halfway to the platform, and stopped.

"I came to see you."

"Look at me?"

"Hmm, look at what you look like now."

Astaroth narrowed two of his three eyes, while the remaining eye fixed on Baal, the killing intent in his gaze hardening.

"You have no right to speak to me in that tone, Baal. Your fragments are scattered all over the world, and your original body is sealed in the deepest level. You can't even form a complete body now."

He rose from his throne, his six wings spread out, and the eyes on them lit up one by one. The dome of the City of Angels began to tremble under this oppressive force.

"You came to my territory because you think I wouldn't dare to shatter this fragment of you?"

Baal's humanoid silhouette tilted its head.

"Want to break it?"

In response to the provocation, Astaroth raised his hand, and a white beam of light shot out from his fingertips, piercing through Baal's torso.

The black mist exploded and dispersed.

Astaroth withdrew his finger, the pillar of light dissipated, and the steps were empty.

"Vulnerable."

He turned to sit back on the throne.

"whee."

Laughter came from behind.

Astaroth's movements froze in mid-air.

The scattered black mist is regrouping on the long steps, ten times faster than when it was shattered, and the humanoid outline is forming again, even clearer than before.

Facial features became clear.

It was the face of a young man, with arched eyebrows and an exaggeratedly wide smile, the kind of appreciative look a hunter has when watching his prey step into a trap.

"Astaroth".

When Baal spoke, his tone was completely different from before; the lazy manner had disappeared, leaving only an extreme sense of pleasure.

"You don't actually think I'm going to go through all that trouble to collect these fragments, do you?"

Astaroth's six wings twitched.

"Those kinds of lies you tell to children."

Baal took a step forward, his foot landing on the bone steps. Instantly, spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface of the steps, spreading wildly to both sides and extending all the way to the base of the Angel City's walls.

"You believed it?"

Another step.

The twelve upside-down spires atop the dome of Angel City trembled in unison, and two of them began to crumble at their bases.

"You actually believed that!"

Baal's laughter exploded at that moment, loud enough to lift the dome.

"Hahahaha!"

The laughter echoed through every inch of Angel City, seeping into every crevice of bone stone.

The city walls are laughing.

The floor is laughing.

The dome is laughing.

The entire city of Angels resonated, emitting terrifying laughter from all directions. That laughter created a powerful resonance, causing dust to fall in a flurry.

Then, the oppressive aura arrived.

That power seeped out from beneath Baal's feet, from the cracks in his bones, from the molecules of the air, from the gaps in the light, and from the very foundational rules of this space itself.

It has no shape, no color, and no temperature.

It's just there.

It's like the darkness before the birth of the universe suddenly opening its eyes.

Baal stood there all alone, yet His laughter, His presence, and His everything emanated from all directions.

Astaroth's twelve eyes were all wide open.

His six wings began to twist in the face of this power, each feather curling inward and withering in the flames.

The throne shattered.

The solidified stardust disintegrated from the inside, turning into powder.

"That's impossible!"

For the first time, fear appeared in Astaroth's voice.

"Your true form is sealed at the bottom, your power is divided by seven layers of chains, and now..."

"yes."

Barr answered with a smile.

"Then why...?"

"How can there be such power?"

Baal finished speaking for Him, tilting his head with an overly innocent expression.

"That's a good question. Lord Zombar, please think about how to answer it."

He tapped his temple with one finger.

"I've made up my mind."

"Hehe, I won't tell you."

Lord Baal isn't going to waste time arguing with a phantom online, hehe, come on, real person!

Astaroth's body was shaking violently, the light of his six wings flickering, and the barrier of the entire Angel City was being peeled away layer by layer by that invisible force.

He wanted to run away.

The moment both feet leave the ground, the space closes.

All directions—up, down, left, right, front, and back—were sealed off; the boundaries of Angel City were folded into a closed box by Baal's will.

"What's the rush?"

Barr's footsteps echoed on the stairs.

"It's been so long since we last met, how about we catch up?"

"What are you going to do!"

"What are you doing?"

Baal's smile faded, and his tone unconsciously carried a hint of nostalgia: "I really miss that feeling of watching you bunch of idiots tremble in front of me."

He extended one finger.

His fingertips were aimed at the collapsing afterimage of Astaroth.

"The last time I had this experience was in an era without heroes."

"No, Baal, wait..."

"What are you waiting for?"

Baal extended his finger an inch forward.

Flames burst from fingertips.

That was not human fire, nor demon fire, nor even fire that should exist under any known rules.

It was black, yet brighter than any light source, illuminating every corner of Angel City while simultaneously setting those corners ablaze.

The dome caught fire.

The city walls caught fire.

The bone steps caught fire.

Astaroth's screams were swallowed by the flames, the feathers on his six wings turned to ashes one by one, and his twelve eyes went out one by one in the black fire.

His form twisted and shrank in the flames, transforming from the outline of a god into a huddled point of light.

Baal withdrew his finger and blew away smoke that wasn't actually at his fingertip.

"Don't worry, you won't get burned."

He crouched down, looking at the trembling speck of light on the ground. Of course, He wouldn't kill Astaroth, even though it was something he could do easily. But the great Lord Baal wouldn't do something that would destroy the Great Wall.

"Lord Baal is just here to deliver a message."

The light spot did not respond.

Baal extended his index finger and gently poked the ball of light.

"My contractor, that little guy is kind of interesting, but your people touched him."

The light spot trembled even more violently.

"Lord Baal, although he doesn't meddle much, that kid is, after all, a toy that Lord Baal has taken a liking to."

He stood up and dusted off non-existent dust: "Stop reaching out, Astaroth."

"Otherwise, next time, Lord Baal won't just burn down your city."

Baal didn't intend to take a drastic approach. In His view, the interactions among His followers were nothing more than children playing around, so He decided to let them be.

However, the fate of Astaroth, an adult, is not what Lord Baal wants to see.

As the black mist dissipated, Baal's figure disappeared from Angel City.