Beyond the Apocalypse-Chapter 987: The power of Terra

It was unmistakable—an army of Hell.

But its appearance made no sense.

To teleport such an enormous force directly from the infernal realms to the world of Terra should have been impossible. The energy required would have drained an entire Layer of Hell dry. No sane commander would attempt it.

What Vlad and the others did not yet know was that, only days earlier, the powers of Hell had conquered a nearby world—a desolate sphere whose spiritual boundary now brushed against Terra’s own. Using that ruined planet as a bridge, they had torn open the veil of reality and launched their invasion.

There was no time to speculate, no time for theory or hesitation. The threat was here. The enemy was descending.

They reacted instantly.

Jormungandr, Freya, Ouroboros, and Fafnir transformed into beams of psychic energy, their essences merging with Vlad’s soul. Six dark wings erupted from his back, each one carved from dark plasma and lightning.

Beside him, Overlord raised his hand, summoning Gram—the sword of annihilation. The weapon roared with the fury of a sun, golden fire spiraling down its blade as it cut open the air itself.

Without another word, the two launched into the sky.

At that same moment, the Xaos Tower awoke.

Its vast mechanisms pulsed with warning lights, and sirens echoed through every city of the Xaos Kingdom. Automated guardians guided civilians into subterranean shelters with flawless precision. Armies mobilized. Energy barriers rose across continents.

Above all, two figures—lightning and flame—ascended to meet the storm.

Vlad and Overlord were preparing to unleash their first strike into the millions of Devils when the sky split wider. Two massive tears opened across the firmament—each one large enough to swallow a moon.

From the first rift emerged a monstrosity of bone and flesh, a being whose body resembled both spider and titan.

Vlad recognized it instantly.

"Nebolex," he hissed.

The second tear rippled, and a vast shape emerged—a dragon the size of a continent, its body covered in jagged obsidian scales threaded with glowing violet veins. A storm of raw chaos surrounded it, and its wings stretched across the void like torn storm clouds.

Overlord’s gaze hardened. "Alioth," he murmured. "Lord of Sector Five."

Neither of them had seen Alioth in person, but the stolen memories of slain Devil Lords had shown them enough. These were the rulers of the realms they had ravaged during their campaigns in the Third Layer of Hell.

Devouring the life essence of the Third Layer had elevated the True Depravitas and Overlord exponentially. But it had also earned them the undying hatred of Hell’s sovereigns.

There was no point regretting it now.

Vlad’s wings spread wide. Overlord’s blade burned brighter. Together, they released their power and launched forward in unison, leaving thunder in their wake.

If the armies of Hell reached Terra’s surface, it would be disastrous.

If the Lords themselves reached it, it would be cataclysmic.

The battle had to be fought in the void.

Nebolex and Alioth scowled as they stabilized their forms within the rift. Their goal had been to materialize directly inside Terra’s atmosphere, ensuring that even in defeat they would devastate the planet’s surface.

But they had underestimated Terra’s new strength. Ever since the World Heart had fused with it, the planet’s natural laws had become unyielding. The invasion portals could only open beyond the sky, near the border of the Void.

Still, both Devil Lords adjusted quickly—until two small, winged figures flashed through the clouds.

Vlad and Overlord broke through the demonic ranks like meteors, cutting down thousands of Devils in seconds. Their arrival tore shockwaves across the upper atmosphere.

Before Nebolex and Alioth could fully acclimate, the duo was upon them.

Gram collided with Nebolex’s armored chest, the impact shaking the void. Lightning lanced across the void as Vlad’s fist struck Alioth’s jaw, detonating a cosmic storm.

Though the Devil Lords were each the size of moons, the two Depravitas—barely five meters tall—hit with the force of collapsing stars. The titanic demons were hurled backward, their enormous bodies spiraling into the distant dark.

The legions below froze in disbelief. Their commanders—invincible rulers of Hell’s Third Layer—had been blasted away-

For a moment, the army hesitated.

Then, as if reminded by some unseen command, they resumed their descent. Devils were creatures of order twisted into cruelty; their obedience to hierarchy was absolute. Their orders were simple and clear—kill everyone within the world below.

They dove toward Terra, wings blazing with unholy fire.

They had barely crossed the stratosphere when the air above the Xaos Tower erupted.

From its core surged an ocean of shadow and eyes, mouths stretching into infinity. The Nightmare Universe had awakened.

Its emergence was so vast that even the Devils—creatures forged from sin—shuddered in instinctive terror. The monstrous entity lunged upward, swallowing thousands of Devils in a single motion. Their screams became fuel, their bodies dissolving into the black tide.

The Nightmare spread outward, transforming into a dark sea that flowed across the sky, consuming wave after wave of infernal invaders.

It was a sight both terrifying and magnificent. Every second, thousands of Devils died—yet still, they came. Driven by hatred and the laws of Hell, they continued their charge, clawing through the ocean of nightmares toward Terra’s light.

The Nightmare Universe was powerful, but even it could not guard the entire sky. The invasion portals were scattered across the edge of the world, too many to cover.

Fortunately, it was not fighting alone.

The Xaos Tower began to glow brighter and brighter, its peak igniting with radiant fire. A massive sun-like orb formed at its summit and, with a single command from Overlord’s distant consciousness, unleashed a storm of golden flames into the firmament.

Hundreds upon hundreds of divine fireballs shot upward like a barrage of meteors, each one detonating with apocalyptic force. Every explosion erased hundreds of Devils, vaporizing their bodies and tearing their souls apart.

And the Xaos Tower was not alone.

Every city of the Xaos Kingdom possessed weapons forged from divine technology—planetary cannons powered by crystal cores. Now, one by one, they came alive. The sky filled with streaks of energy as defense arrays locked onto the descending horde and unleashed their fury.

In less than thirty seconds, not a single Devil had yet touched Terra’s surface—

but already five percent of Hell’s army was dead.