The loaded Shell Ships would deliver them to the Land of Torment. There, Devil bureaucrats called Anzumon would read the markings of each soul. They would then record in a hefty ledger the name of the Devil responsible for harvesting it. All manner of torture and suffering, diverse and abundant in their cruelty, awaited them in terrifying rooms.

After the last remnants of humanity had been violently ripped from the bodies of the Soul Shells, what lay shivering incessantly and utterly warped inside the train were these unrecognizable husks. They would be sent to the train's final destination, the great pit of Avernus, the Maggot's Nest.

There, they would rapidly decay and then be reborn as Inferior Demons, the bottom-dwellers of all Devilish forms.

With no mind to speak of, writhing in tremors, they would forever endure the agonies of the flesh.

To distinguish themselves from their foolish kin and thus climb the ranks was their only hope and path through a wretched demonic existence.

It is worth mentioning that Byel, the current Archduke of Avernus and ruler of the Bronze Citadel, had risen from such an inconsequential Inferior Demon. He was once deemed too insignificant even for cannon fodder.

As such, Byel, lowly-born, had always been subjected to the scorn of other Archdukes and even other Devils.

While David's family listened with a sense of morbid curiosity as Yolanda, their Barto Hell guide, explained the local rumors and some basic rules, Tania, who had been looking around all the while, suddenly pointed ahead and said, "Up ahead, it looks like there's a meteor shower."

"Hmm? A meteor shower of fire? Is there a battle up ahead?" David was somewhat puzzled.

As an outsider, David simply felt his luck had soured. He had heard that all of Avernus was part of the Blood War battlefield, its entire rhythm one of constant preparation for war. He just never imagined he would actually stumble into it.

Yolanda, however, was startled. "How is this possible? This is the heartland of Avernus; how could the Blood War frontline have reached here?"

"Is that very unusual?" David asked.

Yolanda's expression turned grim. "Ever since Archduke Byel took power, the Blood War frontline has always been maintained near the Bronze Citadel. This place hasn't fallen in a thousand years."

A conspiracy? An enemy's plot? Or something else? For a moment, the mind of this privileged Dragonkin Succubus raced with possible scenarios and strategies to escape. Gradually, her mind went nearly blank. Once caught on the Blood War's battlefield, even legendary figures might not be able to protect themselves. What should I do!?

ARGH!!!

Yolanda was abruptly startled from her thoughts by a Barbed Demon's dreadful scream. She then saw David curl his tail and hurl the demon driving the Soul Train straight down.

"What are you doing?" Yolanda stammered, dumbfounded. They were already at this critical point; what was the logic in throwing the train driver off?

"Since we can't avoid it, and flying away isn't a good option either, then... just crash straight through!"

Saying this, David, with a fierce smile curling at his lips, firmly stepped on the connection between the train cars, sending all but the first one flying into the sky.

He caught one of the falling sections and hefted it onto his shoulder. Then, he tilted it, dumping its entire contents—the Soul Shells—into the Soul Furnace.

Then, he opened his maw wide as the Abyss itself and swallowed the sky full of plummeting Soul Shells, already drained of the dregs of humanity, in one gulp.

[Authority—Gluttony]

The next moment, the Soul Train, like a Taliban truck completely out of control, charged into the Blood War battlefield that lay deep in the heartland of Avernus.