The Supreme sword shuddered, following its master’s will.

Dissolving into a liquefied state, a humanoid shape began to take form.

The silhouette climbed upward, reaching two and a half meters... yet it kept going.

Stalling at the three-meter mark, Devil’s familiar figure loomed over the surroundings.

His single pupil studied the area carefully, getting accustomed to the sudden change in gravity.

Raising one of his arms, he stared at his prolonged limb. Abruptly, it changed shape. It was now capable of becoming shorter or longer depending on his preference.

"Well... I’ll be damned." Devil murmured, his voice dripping with pure amusement.

At a glance, he grasped the ability he had gained upon attaining the Supreme Rank...

Shapeshifting.

"Finally, the stars in the universe have aligned!" Devil bellowed, possessing the power most men could only dream of.

His gaze shifted downward, to his smooth lower area.

Without a second thought, Devil was about to alter its form, changing its structural shape by giving himself an additional limb. A colossal manhood, which he by all rights should have had from the very beginning.

"Achm!"

Michael cleared his throat loudly, bringing Devil out of his daze.

Just now realizing that he was in fact not alone, Devil met Michael’s fearsome eyes.

Ruby and Nicole stood slightly behind, wondering what Devil had been about to do a moment prior.

Michael’s cold gaze made it clear that exposing himself before them would lead to very painful repercussions.

With a scoff, Devil chose to delay the formation of his third lower limb. The important fact was that he could manifest it whenever he desired. More than a win in his book.

His body trembled once more, becoming shorter, by more than a meter. Devil matched Michael’s height, easing communication.

"Partner!" Devil smiled widely. "Now, after having assumed Demonic Form, have you come to appreciate the hard work I do? Not only keeping your negative feelings at bay, but also not going rogue like you did?"

There was merit to Devil’s claim. He was essentially a catalyst for Michael’s darkest side.

The Eternal Loyalty Bond they now shared allowed them to fuse, granting Michael unparalleled power for his realm, yet also drawing out his madness state.

Whatever that was uniquely tied to Devil, or all soul weapons in general, was unknown.

Perhaps fusing with Heaven’s Judgment would yield different results, with fewer drawbacks.

Only time could tell.

"I have always appreciated your assistance." Michael let out a deep sigh. "But couldn’t you have at least warned me what was going to happen before we fused?"

Devil shrugged. "How was I meant to know you would go full psycho mode? And let’s not act like we had much of a choice at the time. It was either enter the Demonic state or die... Our decision was the correct one."

While the two conversed, Nicole observed them with palpable curiosity.

"So, by fusing with his soul weapon, he became that monster?" She murmured, seeing Devil in the flesh for the first time.

Unknown to her, Devil was currently constrained.

Given the deep connection Nicole and Michael shared once, those feelings rubbed off on Devil as well, like he was in the presence of Scarlett or Isabella.

Essentially, Devil was on his best behavior.

"So you can change shape at will..." Michael stroked his chin, an idea forming. "How small can you get?"

"Don’t know." Devil shrugged.

Michael smirked. "Try it."

With a frown, Devil obliged. Shrinking, he became shorter than Ava, stopping at one meter in height. It was slightly humiliating, since the soul weapon had gotten accustomed to staring at everybody from above, only to find himself in the opposite situation.

Michael prompted him to keep going.

"That’s low enough." Michael barely suppressed a laugh.

Devil now stood slightly taller than the palm of a person’s hand.

Notably, the smaller he got, the harder it was to maintain control over his form. Losing his rugged appearance during his shrinking process, he no longer emitted a fearsome presence but rather resembled a cute mascot.

"Finally!" Devil exclaimed in annoyance. Yet due to his shortened vocal cords, his voice came out too high-pitched to sound truly threatening.

Shaking his head, Michael extended his palm.

"Climb aboard."

"..."

Devil blinked slowly.

"Brat! Have you lost your mind?! That’s no way to treat an entity of pure destruction!"

Michael raised an eyebrow. "You can’t fly like I can, can you? Though, if you’re so opposed to me carrying you, I suppose I could always use you like a board instead."

Grinding his teeth, Devil obliged, climbing onto Michael and settling on his shoulder, sulking.

"The humiliation of the century!" Devil murmured bitterly.

With a small smile, Michael scooped Ruby up from the ground. She was the only one unable to fly, so he was more than willing to carry her.

Ruby’s eyes curiously fixed on Devil’s altered appearance.

Poke~

Instinctively, she reached out and poked the side of his adorable cheek, her tail twitching innocently.

"Cute!" She giggled. A part of her feline instincts urged her to hunt the small creature, yet she suppressed the desire, reminding herself that the charming mascot was still undoubtedly dangerous.

"AHHHHH!" Devil screeched in a high-pitched voice, feeling like he was going mad. "I will burn this world down!"

While Devil endured the torment of Ruby’s playful caressing, Michael used Psychokinesis to gather every piece Cyberfang had left behind after his self-sacrifice.

They wouldn’t have survived if it hadn’t been for the quick thinking of the AI. Although Cyberfang was gone and would never return, in the end he had proven himself a more worthy soldier than most humans.

Michael intended to hold a funeral... It was the least Cyberfang deserved after the time they had spent together.

Michael, along with Nicole and Robert, rose high into the sky toward the hole leading to the surface.

Traversing the colossal opening where lava had once traveled, falling into the hollow valley, they ascended.

At long last, they came out, the outside world coming into their view.

"It’s finally over."

Michael exhaled deeply, a wave of relief washing over him now that the hollow valley issue was behind them.

"Time to gather with the others..."