The Tigress Queen and the Tigon Queen barely had time to react.

One second, they were mid-leap toward the Snow Wolf King.

The next—

Their bodies veered violently sideways.

A force, invisible yet overwhelming, seized their cores and ripped them from their intended path.

"W-what?" the Tigress Queen blurted out, eyes wide as her body bent unnaturally through the air.

"Impossible!" the Tigon Queen roared, trying to flare her ether wings to stabilize…

But it was too late.

Their momentum twisted into a violent arc, flung across the landscape like broken puppets.

And at the center of the force stood Mark with a calm expression and his hand stretched out.

The two generals, helpless, were slammed into the same spot midair, right above his palm.

"Let's finish this quickly," Mark murmured.

His other hand rose.

"Activate, Singularity."

A black point formed in the space between them.

Singularity.

The space collapsed.

In an instant, sound died. Light bent.

The two beast generals barely had time to scream before their bodies stretched unnaturally, caught in the crushing grip of a localized void.

Their bones shattered.

A shockwave burst outward as the singularity imploded, releasing a flicker of cracked space before fading.

Ash scattered into the air. The bodies of the two elite generals… gone.

Mark raised his head, staring at the Domain. "I lost most of my ether again. Need to wait another minute now."

Meanwhile, inside Bael's domain;

The Demon Cat Empress flinched.

She turned toward the direction of the shockwave. "Those two were erased as well."

Bael chuckled, blood dripping from one corner of his mouth. "Seems like Lu Zhen's warmed up."

The Empress narrowed her golden eyes. "Regardless of his antics, neither that primate nor you will be able to leave with your life today."

She moved faster than before. At hypersonic speeds.

Bael gritted his teeth, blocking with both arms…

The impact sent him skidding back, his armor fracturing.

Outside the domain, Mark's gaze shifted to the Wolf King.

Mark called out, "Go back into the tower. Leave the rest to me."

The Wolf King didn't argue.

After sending him back to the Eternal Pagoda, Mark once again paid attention to the battle up there.

He couldn't see anything, but two blurs kept on attacking. Due to the Domain in place, no energy was escaping outside. So, he was completely unaffected by the battle.

Focusing on the domain, he shut his mind, connecting to the demon king.

A direct line of intent formed as he transmitted his thoughts into Bael's mind: "Bael, this is the plan. First, you have to let me inside. Second, you have to neutralize her in whatever way you can so that I can have the perfect hit. And three, on my signal, you have to pick me and Anan, take us far away."

Bael, mid-clash, parried a sweeping claw and countered with a strike that split the clouds. He got the message instantly.

The demon couldn't help but glance down.

Mark stood there.

Still. Hand raised. Gaze locked on them.

He sent back the reply telepathically. "Understood."

The Demon Cat Empress noticed the pause and followed his gaze downward. Her slit-like pupils flared as she snarled.

"You dare take your eyes off me, demon?" she hissed, voice cracking space itself.

She slashed horizontally…

A scar of golden-black ether tore across the domain, hurtling toward Bael.

Bael twisted aside in a spin, narrowly avoiding it.

It sheared off one of his horns.

Roughly a minute later;

The Demon Cat Empress slashed at Bael's abdomen, spilling out blood. However, it recovered immediately. He grinned, "Your divinity is natural, kitten. My divinity is acquired. There's a stark difference. You cannot kill me."

The Demon Cat Empress growled. "But you are on a summons, demon. You will disappear soon, anyway."

Bael grinned again. "We'll see about that.

He stretched his arms widely and spoke aloud. "Domain Expansion."

At once, his domain expanded.

The air twisted, time warped, and in the blink of an eye, Mark vanished.

He reappeared inside the blood-red void of Bael's personal domain, hovering just behind Bael.

The Demon Cat Empress blinked in surprise. Then she grinned, showing her sharp fangs. "Bringing your master into your cage? If anything, this is foolishness. As long as I kill that primate, you will disappear on your own."

Bael said nothing. On Mark's silent signal, he launched forward once again.

For the next few seconds, he held nothing back; his divine light and demonic flames collided around his fists as he overwhelmed the Empress, forcing her into retreat with sheer ferocity.

The Demon Cat Empress growled. "You think you can overpower me? The Empress of the Feline Empire?"

She flared her aura and retaliated, momentarily pushing Bael back.

"Raaaa…" Letting out a cry, Bael pushed his strength to the limits as he charged at her but disappeared and tightly bound her limbs from behind.

"You…" The demon cat empress suddenly struggled. Her demonic energy was suppressed by his divine half, while her divine half was suppressed by his demonic half.

That was Mark's moment to act.

He flew forward, body blurred, and appeared right before her, his fingers almost brushing her fur-covered chest.

Right then, she snarled, her tail glowing with destructive energy, was thrust forward.

It instantly struck Mark, piercing through his chest.

"Ach…"

Mark coughed out a mouthful of blood.

As she raised his body above with the tail, she let out a laugh. "What a foolish brat. You should have stayed outside."

Mark, however, managed to raise his arms and grabbed her tail as he spoke. "No, you are the one who is foolish, falling into my trap. Goodbye, Kitty."

And he whispered…

"Disintegration: Activate."

Disintegration: Touch the target and induce antimatter particles in the cells of the body, causing disintegration of the body, as long as the target is below 15-circle realm. Cost: 100% ether energy. CD: 72 hours.

In an instant, all of his ether reserves were once again consumed while a heavy amount of antimatter was induced into her body.

Her pupils shrank, feeling the negative energy inside her system instantly.

"What… What did you do?!"

Right then, Bael freed her and appeared behind him in an instant, grabbing Mark by the arm, freeing him from the tail.

"Now," Mark coughed. "Take us."

Bael instantly dismissed the domain and disappeared, reappearing beside a floating unconscious Anan, grabbing with his other hand and soaring upward.

Meanwhile, the Demot Cat Empress found her body breaking down at a rapid pace. The annihilation was destroying all of her cells. Her body instantly collapsed into a puddle of organic mush, leaving behind no spirit core.

It was about to fall down, but then the lingering energy caused an enormous explosion, almost enveloping Bael.

"Reverse."

Then he uttered the reverse summon command.

With a flash of red infernal energy, all three disappeared.

Scene Break: Netherworld

In the dark citadel of the Netherworld, Bael tossed Mark down onto the black-marble floor.

Mark gasped, blood trailing from his mouth, the hole in his chest still gaping.

Anan lay nearby, unconscious but alive.

The demon servants rushed in, but Bael raised a hand. "No one touches him."

Mark blinked at the obsidian ceiling.

His vision flickered…

Alerts triggered.

SYSTEM ALERT: Body Integrity = 7%

Immediate death imminent. Activating Phoenix Resurrection Trait

His body glowed again—seared flesh stitched itself together, muscles restored, nerves reborn.

He gasped and rolled to the side as air flooded back into his lungs.

The AI's voice whispered in his mind:

ALERT: VITAL SIGNS CRITICAL

PHYSICAL BODY AT 2% FUNCTIONALITY

HOST WILL DIE IN 13 SECONDS

FORCEFULLY ACTIVATING BLOODLINE EMERGENCY TRAIT

His vision went almost black.

But right then, he saw a bright flame of a phoenix inside his head, speaking. "Arise, my descendant."

FWOOOM.

A wave of red-gold flame surged from his chest, recovering his flesh at a rapid pace.

Mark gasped, lungs filling with sharp, cold air as he sat up at the base of the crater.

The AI's voice rang in his head again:

Phoenix Bloodline Trait Activated: Rebirth Flame

Death Count: 2

Remaining Lives: 7

Immortal Realm is detected. No side effect of cultivation was imposed

The Soul leakage is detected from the core. Sending master into hibernation

Mark slept there in an unconscious state, lying on the ground. Bael furrowed his brows, "Hmm… it looks like he went into hibernation… I should send him to that place."