The sudden explosion of Mala's head was something no one present had anticipated.
"Was it out of anger… that he chose to self-destruct?" Yamoshi swallowed hard, seemingly recalling some brutal scenes from her past. Facing the cruel and savage S-warriors, some strong-willed Saiyans had chosen to self-destruct.
"No," Namek said gravely. "If it were self-destruction, it's unlikely that only her head would explode. The entire body should have detonated to cause maximum damage before death. Besides…"
Yamiru, deep in thought, added, "Besides, the name she muttered before her head exploded…"
Great Demon King Satan… another Demon King, the most powerful one?
"You're not suggesting—" Yamoshi's eyes widened. "He was killed by that so-called Great Demon King Satan, who's who-knows-where? How is that possible? Just because of a name, her head exploded?" She turned her head, scanning the surroundings, and frowned. "Although I can't sense others like you can… that Great Demon King Satan shouldn't be nearby, right?"
Yamiru and Namek exchanged a glance. Due to their personal experiences and racial traits, they could somewhat understand… the possibility of demons possessing abilities beyond the physical realm.
For example, telepathic communication between demons over vast distances.
And through such telepathic means, using immense power to forcibly explode the head of a insignificant subordinate… it wasn't entirely impossible to grasp the principle behind it.
"Those terrifying Demon Kings are divided and rule separately…"
"If they were to unite, perhaps there would be no humans left in this world…"
"The one we've heard the most about is Demon King Samuel in this region. As for the other Demon Kings… even their names are rarely mentioned."
"Ever since I can remember, the world has been like this."
The other humans spoke one after another, their voices filled with both anger and sorrow.
Just by uttering a name, a powerful demon's head exploded? What kind of terrifying Demon King is this Great Demon King Satan that Mala spoke of?! Faced with such a bizarre event, everyone felt a chill as they looked at the splattered remains of Mala's head on the ground.
After the battle, the already grim scene fell silent for a moment.
They hadn't even reached the doorstep of the Demon King they were targeting, and yet they had already glimpsed the terrifying power of another Demon King… It was undeniably disheartening.
"Do you still want to continue?" Yamoshi couldn't help but ask the others. "Going forward… people might die."
Even she and Namek might not be able to guarantee their own safety, let alone protect the others. Moreover… in such an environment, talking about "protection" was too much of a luxury.
"Of course."
"This is why we came."
The Earthlings spoke up one after another. Not just the ordinary humans, but also the animal-like and monster-like ones—whether simple-minded or shrewd—all exuded a resolute determination.
Namek was moved by the Earthlings' willingness to face death. "This Earth is shrouded in ominous energy… and in such an environment, those who can maintain their humanity must all be like this," he thought, recalling Yamiru's earlier words. He glanced over at Yamiru.
The latter's expression was the same as when he had first been brought into the group. Even though he had been unconscious at the time, there had never been any trace of confusion or hesitation in his demeanor—even now, with Yamiru's face covered in eerie, demon-like black scales, Namek could sense that his spirit remained unchanged.
"I have a goal I must accomplish… so I have no choice but to go forward."
Yamiru gazed into the distance, where the faint aura of justice seemed to waver. That was Annin's energy.
According to Mala's dying words, Annin had been poisoned by Demon King Samuel's deadly toxin for a long time and might not hold on much longer. As for the goal Yamiru felt he must achieve… aside from the method Annin might possess that surpasses the limits of Earthlings, there was also the thought of "how to return to the original era."
Since arriving here, everything he had experienced and felt had been so real—he had nearly lost his life here.
Had the Supreme Elderly Lord truly sent him through time to this ancient era?
Yamiru thought carefully and found it hard to believe—time travel was explicitly forbidden by gods like the Kaiōshin! Even mortal nations like the Galactic Empire had laws prohibiting the use of time machines or similar devices, or even superpowers. It seemed that, at a certain level, such rules were common sense.
How had the Supreme Elderly Lord managed to send Yamiru back tens of thousands of years, truly reversing the flow of time?
Was her status higher than that of the Kaiōshin? That seemed highly unlikely.
'Unless this is just an illusion, a virtual yet real experience…'
But Yamiru glanced at the dragon-shaped mark on his right wrist, which now clearly had detoxification capabilities, and held little hope for that possibility.
If the Supreme Elderly Lord's illusion could even deceive the Dragon God, then she would be far too powerful. It would be more believable to say that she could outright ignore Kaiōshin-level laws and send him through time…
Before continuing forward, the Earthlings did something unexpected.
Instead of immediately setting off, they began digging a pit, Throwing the the corpses of the dead demon grunts and Mala's headless remains, then buried them together.
Yamoshi was somewhat surprised, but Yamiru and Namek, being both smart and careful people, quickly understood the reason behind their actions. After exchanging a glance, Yamoshi also figured it out and fell into a somber silence.
How many of these dead demons… had once been ordinary humans? Especially those demon soldiers who seemed to be inferior defective products, who seemed highly likely to have been humans before their transformation… This made Yamoshi think of her own homeland. The S-warriors of Sadala hadn't been born so cruel either…
A friend Yamoshi had known, once a strong and gentle sister, had one day suddenly gone mad, her combat abilities skyrocketing as if she was out of control, rampaging everywhere. Her personality had drastically changed, yet she hadn't lost her mind, still remembering Yamoshi and everything… And that was precisely what made it so painful for Yamiru. That cruel and violent look in her eyes was no longer the person she had known…
"Let's go!"
The voices of Yamiru and Namek pulled Yamoshi back from her dark memories.
The pit had been filled, burying the grief and pain, but what had piled was an even stronger anger and hatred toward those demons… Even though their strength was generally inferior to Yamoshi, Namek, and Yamiru, the determined eyes of these ordinary Earthlings made it impossible for them to despise them.
And so, the group pressed on, heading straight toward the territory of Demon King Samuel, as revealed by Mala before her death…
Meanwhile, deep within the Demon King's lair, a figure with a white cloth wrapped around their head and a face as dark as coal walked through the area, his expression was dull and his movements were like a ghost.