Chapter 101: Allen Seeks Local Help
"Sea cucumber shot!"
Allen raised his leg and kicked. The skull arced through the air like a ball.
Immediately, he chased after it, shouting excitedly, "Tsubasa Ozora, possess me!"
Catching up, he kicked it again mid-air.
The skull tumbled through the sky, screaming in terror.
"Boss! Stop kicking! I'm gonna crack! My skull's splitting apart...!"
Allen controlled his strength but kept kicking, muttering stuff like, "The national team will win," and "Here comes the golden right foot"—all kinds of cringey one-liners.
Before long, Allen stopped and let out a long breath. "A bit of exercise really is good for the body and mind."
"Boss, I think I'm dying. Is... is the top of my head cracked?"
The skull lay on the ground, completely despairing. He deeply regretted ever poking his head out—he should've just stayed underground. Now look where that got him.
"No worries, I'll glue it back together later."
Allen picked up the skull and tucked it under his armpit.
Crack!
The fissure on the skull lengthened again.
"No big deal. Hang in there," Allen comforted.
"..."
Forget it. I don't want to live anymore.
The skull longed for a swift end—this was a living hell worse than death.
"Someone used to live here?"
Allen pointed at the ruins of a nearby city, the devastation plain to see.
The skull explained, "Some of the architecture in Hell is a projection from the real world. Other times, it's wreckage from destroyed worlds that ended up here. Demons and fallen angels aren't exactly known for their artistic creativity."
"Demons and fallen angels?"
Allen raised the skull and scrutinized it. "You don't seem like a demon."
The skull's tone when mentioning demons and fallen angels had dripped with disdain.
"Boss, I'm undead. Didn't you notice?" the skull said aggrievedly. "I thought you knew."
Allen tossed the skull aside with a sneer. "Screw that, I need someone local."
"Boss, come back!"
The skull called out, "I know this place inside out. Don't leave me!"
"You should've said so sooner."
Allen picked the skull back up, dusted it off, and said with concern, "Did you get hurt?"
"Uh... no, I'm fine."
Seeing Allen acting all sweet and concerned made the skull uncomfortable. Still, he began explaining: "Boss, this is the borderland between the Underworld and Hell. Battles break out here all the time. I ended up here after one such battle."
"Underworld and Hell!?" Allen frowned deeply, annoyed. "The author's insane—why make the map so huge? Can he even write all this? Stupid hack. Just wants me to travel all over till I drop dead."
"There's more," the skull sighed. "There's also the Purgatory faction. It used to be a three-way balance between Hell, the Underworld, and Purgatory. But then those damn fallen angels sided with Hell, throwing everything out of balance. Now Purgatory and the Underworld are ganging up on Hell."
"This is just a big game of Three Kingdoms Kill—so childish," Allen scoffed. "Violence won't solve anything. I should invite them for tea, sit down, talk it out, build something great together."
"..."
Who do you think you are?
Like anyone's giving you the time of day.
The skull didn't dare say that aloud, lest he get kicked around again.
So he quickly changed the topic and asked, "Boss, did you end up here by accident? I know a way to get you back."
"Really?" Allen looked skeptical, convinced the skull was plotting something.
"Boss, you're way too smart. With my brain, how could I ever fool you?" the skull flattered shamelessly.
"Skully, you've got a good eye."
Allen straightened up. "Alright, tell me your idea."
"Send me back to the Underworld. My liege there can help return you to the mortal world. She's easy to talk to, super nice, and drop-dead gorgeous. She's got suitors lining up from the Underworld all the way to Purgatory!" The skull couldn't stop talking, as if pledging allegiance to her had been the best decision of his life.
"Damn, you're laying it on thick. I don't believe it. I have to see this for myself."
Allen looked skeptical, then narrowed his eyes. "You're trying to trick me into going to the Underworld so your master can kill me, right?"
"..."
The skull fell silent.
Allen had hit the nail on the head—that really was the plan.
The Underworld would never tolerate a living human. Violators were executed on sight.
Back in the day, powerful human mages kept barging in to retrieve the souls of the dead, humiliating the Underworld. The lords eventually held a summit and decreed: no undead could leave, and any living intruder must die. Only death-aligned deities were granted any exceptions.
"No worries. I love gambling with my life."
Allen grinned and headed for the ruined city.
Walking to the Underworld would take too long. He needed transportation.
And with his maxed-out alchemy skill, building a car was practically child's play.
He strolled through the ruined streets, peeking into dark, broken windows that let in no light.
It felt like demons were hiding in the shadows, ready to pounce at any moment.
"Anyone in there? I see you!"
Allen yelled through a window, peering inside.
The skull's soul flame nearly went out from fear.
This was exactly the kind of place demons liked to hide—and low-level ones usually moved in packs.
At this rate, they might not even make it to the Underworld before dying.
This guy was nuts.
Suddenly, a shadow lunged from the corner, attacking Allen.
Without even looking, Allen caught the creature by the neck. When he turned and realized what it was, he yelped, "Whoa! That scared me! Good thing Righty was watching out for me. Righty really does love me."
"That's a Lizard Demon. They're pack hunters," the skull said, voice trembling.
The creature was about four feet tall, resembling a massive lizard. Its skin was dark red, and its face—narrower than a lizard's—was vaguely humanlike.
Hissss…
The demon thrashed and hissed, a long tongue flicking out. It seemed to be both threatening and calling for backup.
Smack!
Allen slapped it hard. "Behave."
Hissss…
Smack!
"You're still hissing?!"
Smack!
Hissss…
Smack!
Hissss…
Smack!
...
Allen kept slapping it until the demon's face was swollen, its voice barely intelligible.
"Boss… something's happening!" the skull stammered.
"Don't interrupt, I'm busy."
Allen kept slapping the demon, lost in the moment.
"Boss, we're surrounded."
The skull looked around in terror. They were now encircled by a whole pack of Lizard Demons—thousands of them.
Allen glanced around, unimpressed. "Oi, kid, are these your friends? You messing with me? Don't you know I'm from Gotham?"
Nope.
Sorry, this is Hell.
Allen turned and said smugly, "Ever heard of Gotham's One-on-One King? That's me. But I'm also the One-vs-All King. Be smart—stick both hands up your butt and surrender."
Sorry, we choose not to be smart.
Your demands are too outrageous—we physically can't do that.
"You guys are bold. No room for negotiation, huh?"
Allen grabbed the nearly unconscious Lizard Demon, held it by the tail, and swung it like a nunchaku.
The skull wisely extinguished his soul flame and played dead.
Hiss hiss hiss…
The Lizard Demon horde swarmed toward them.
"Time to use my nunchaku. Hmph! Ha! Hey!"
"Time to use my nunchaku. Hm-na, what now?!"
...
Allen wasn't just swinging one stunned Lizard Demon—he grabbed another by the tail with his left hand and started dual-wielding.
That's right. Pure beatdown.
With maxed-out dual classes and 24x physical stats, pummeling a bunch of low-tier demons was like a grown man beating up kindergartners.
"Boss, you're amazing! So cool! So strong and glorious!" the skull gushed after relighting his soul flame. He saw Allen going full berserker in the demon crowd, like a god of war incarnate.
"Keep it low-key."
Allen replied coolly, "We DC heroes make it with our fists. Not like those Marvel guys—take away their hacks and they're all scrubs."
One hour later.
Allen hadn't killed a single demon—just thrashed them all brutally.
"Males to the left, females to the right."
At his command, the Lizard Demons quickly split into two groups.
They understood that this man could kill them but chose not to.
Lizard Demons didn't have adult human-level intelligence, but they were like ten-year-old kids—enough to follow orders and fear strength.
To protect their group, they had no choice but to obey.
"Females are hostages. Males—go gather parts for me."
When Allen first saw them, he already had a plan: make them work.
This city ruin was their home, and relocating would be a last resort.
Using his alchemy skill repeatedly, Allen crafted new parts one after another. With the demons' help, the frame of a vehicle gradually took shape.
Meanwhile—
At the spot where Allen had descended into Hell...
A spatial rift tore open, and three girls stepped out.
"So this is Hell? Looks pretty barren," said Yukio, glancing around.
Ellie stayed on guard—it was her first time here, and the environment was unknown.
"Don't worry. This is my territory. The stronger demons have already been killed or driven out."
Illyana scanned the area, but Allen was nowhere to be seen.
Finding someone in Hell was no easy task.
Even she didn't know which way was which. If she didn't have to stay here, she wouldn't. It was far too inhospitable for humans.
Whistle~
A small dragon soared into the sky, then landed gently on her shoulder in response to her call.
Illyana stroked its chin. The little purple dragon—Lockheed—closed its eyes contentedly.
"Lockheed, help me find someone," Illyana said softly.
Roar...
The dragon let out a puff of blue flame in agreement.
Then it took off, wings flapping.
Having lived in Hell for a long time, Lockheed knew this part of the realm well. He was practically the steward when Illyana wasn't around.
Besides, she was sure a human couldn't have walked far in just half an hour.