Episode 374
“Gah!”
Roland, firmly lodged in Nevilos’s chest, radiated a brilliant light.
Sssss―
The concentrated power of purification began to eradicate the foul energy emanating from Nevilos.
“Ugh!”
Nevilos glared at Zeke in agony.
“You insolent human!”
Dark energy surged from his body, transforming into a massive black skull above him. The skull rose into the air, scattering a dark mist in all directions.
Zeke realized that the dark mist was akin to the barrier of darkness created by the Abyss Knights, but on a much larger scale.
‘The range is far beyond what the Abyss Knights could manage.’
It seemed Nevilos intended to envelop the entire battlefield in darkness.
At that moment, Zeke turned and shouted, “Raven!”
Raven, perched atop the tyrant disguised as a phoenix, responded to Zeke’s call.
Wooooo―
Raven launched a Phoenix Star at the black skull. Just as it had against the Abyss Knights, the Phoenix Star began to disperse the dark barrier created by the skull.
Nevilos was incredulous as his dark barrier disintegrated.
“What are you? How is this possible?”
Nevilos, a powerful demon among the upper echelons of the demon realm, couldn’t believe he was being overpowered by a mere human. Even though he couldn’t use all his powers in the mortal realm, the bloodstone allowed him to wield 70% of his true strength.
Yet here he was, being humiliated by a single human.
Determined, Nevilos spurred his phantom steed toward the Abyssal Pit.
“If it comes to this, I’ll unleash the Abyssal Beasts and destroy everything!”
Among the Abyssal Beasts were creatures so fearsome that even Nevilos found them difficult to control. Initially, he had planned to summon only a few to destroy and then conquer the city. But his pride as a demon noble had been shattered by Zeke, and now he was ready to destroy everything indiscriminately.
Rumble―
The entrance to the Abyssal Pit began to widen.
Hades, analyzing the situation, shouted to Zeke, “Hey! Stop that lich! It’s ruining everything!”
Hearing Hades’s urgent plea, Zeke flew straight toward Nevilos, drawing Bahamut and activating his soul technique.
Wooooo!
With his improved mastery of incantation magic, using the soul technique felt much more natural.
Zeke gripped Bahamut, summoning his willpower from deep within. The power of his will infused the sword.
Soul Technique
Double Spell
Will of Exorcism
Zeke’s sword, imbued with the will to banish evil, flew toward Nevilos.
Sensing the ominous energy in the sword, Nevilos conjured a skull-shaped shield from his staff. But it was no match for Zeke’s sword, charged with the Will of Exorcism.
Crack!
Zeke’s sword pierced through the skull shield and struck Nevilos between the eyes.
Crack!
As Bahamut embedded itself in Nevilos’s forehead, he screamed in agony.
“Aaaaargh!”
For a high-ranking demon, this was an unprecedented humiliation.
Zeke drove Bahamut deeper into Nevilos’s forehead, then grabbed Roland from his chest, unleashing a radiant blade of light.
Wooooo!
With the power of exorcism in his head and purification in his chest, even the mighty Nevilos couldn’t withstand the assault.
Clutching his skull staff, Nevilos cried out to the Abyssal Pit.
“O great overseer of the Abyss! Grant your pitiful servant strength! Let the Abyssal Beasts devour these insignificant beings!”
Wooooo!
The skull staff vibrated intensely, and the entrance to the Abyssal Pit widened further. A massive crocodile-like maw began to emerge.
Hades, watching from behind, shouted to Zeke, “Damn it! Can’t you stop it? We’re almost there!”
Zeke shouted back, “Hades! If we delay any longer, the beasts will be summoned! Just activate the formula!”
“If I activate it now, it might malfunction and work differently!”
“Anything is better than letting that thing out!”
After a moment of hesitation, Hades gritted his teeth and activated the formula.
“Damn it! Let’s hope this works!”
Eeeeeee―
Countless magic circles appeared around the Abyssal Pit and near Zeke and Nevilos, lines extending and connecting them.
Seeing this, Nevilos gripped his staff tightly, trying to widen the pit further.
Zeke’s left hand shot out a chain.
Clang!
The chain wrapped around Nevilos, but the demon noble’s will was formidable. Despite the pressure, he refused to let go of the skull staff.
An idea flashed through Zeke’s mind.
‘What if I seal him in the sword like Arataso?’
Zeke quickly retrieved the Damascus sword, which had once imprisoned Kaiman, from his inventory. This sword could summon chains to bind souls.
He thrust the Damascus sword into Nevilos, already impaled by Bahamut and Roland.
Chains erupted from the sword, wrapping around Nevilos.
“Aaaaargh!”
With both the soul-binding chains and the Damascus sword’s chains ensnaring him, Nevilos could no longer move.
At that moment, the lines from Hades’s magic circles connected.
Wooooo!
A massive vibration resonated as the magic circles activated.
But as the Abyssal Pit widened, the range of the activation expanded unexpectedly.
Hades was taken aback.
“Oh no! This isn’t right!”
Caught off guard, Hades hurriedly adjusted the formula. Sparks flew from the circuit, causing Zeke and Nevilos’s bodies to shimmer.
Rumble!
A powerful light burst from Hades’s formula, reversing the Abyssal Pit.
Zeke pushed the chain-bound Nevilos into the light.
“Take this!”
Then, a massive explosion of light erupted from Hades’s magic circle, and the Abyssal Pit vanished from the sky.
Simultaneously, Zeke and Nevilos were engulfed in the explosion and disappeared without a trace.
Hades blinked at the empty sky and muttered, “Well, we’re screwed.”
Wooooo!
With a great light, something appeared beneath the dense jungle canopy.
Thud!
The head of a massive crocodile-like beast crashed into the jungle below. Zeke and Nevilos plummeted rapidly alongside it.
Zeke stowed Roland and Bahamut in his inventory, gripping the Damascus sword tightly as he held Nevilos’s soul with the binding chains.
“Aaaaargh!”
The demon noble Nevilos resisted to the very end.
But Zeke was even more relentless.
Clutching the Damascus sword, he summoned a radiant blade of light.
Wooooo!
As the purification power surged through him again, Nevilos finally lost his strength and could no longer resist.
Clang!
The binding chains burrowed into Nevilos’s body, rooting themselves in his soul.
Nevilos’s soul was trapped within the Damascus sword.
“Aaaaargh!”
Bound by the black chains, Nevilos screamed in agony.
Zeke channeled the power of the sacred light into the Damascus sword.
“Aaaaargh!”
As the sacred light’s energy flowed in, Nevilos writhed in unbearable pain.
After being pierced by Bahamut and enduring successive attacks, he couldn’t regain his composure.
Inside the green sword, Arataso clicked his tongue.
“Even the Abyssal Overseer Nevilos ends up like this. Zeke, you’re more of a demon than the demons themselves.”
In truth, demons were rivals, each coveting the other’s domain unless they served the same constellation. Arataso watched the scene with a cynical detachment.
The Abyssal Overseer and the Clear Green Wish were nearly adversaries, making Arataso’s reaction all the more understandable.
With the sacred light coursing through him, Nevilos’s will was utterly broken, leaving him powerless to resist.
Clang!
The black chains pulled Nevilos into the sword.
“This can’t be!”
Sensing the danger, Nevilos uttered his last words before being swiftly drawn into the Damascus sword.
The noble demon of the abyss, the high-ranking Nevilos, was sealed within the sword.
The sword, now containing Nevilos, gleamed with a radiant blue light.
Zeke looked down at the Damascus sword and shook his head.
“Whew, I’ve never met anyone so tenacious.”
Arataso’s voice echoed with disbelief.
[Nevilos is one of the few demons in the underworld who has been granted a noble title. Sure, he can be insufferably arrogant, but there’s no denying his exceptional skills.]
Hearing this, Zeke asked Arataso, “But does a title really mean anything in the underworld?”
Arataso clicked his tongue in response. “Humans might inherit titles or earn them through their subordinates’ achievements. But in the underworld, it’s different. You can only earn a title through your own strength.”
“Hmm, I see. But who grants these titles? The Demon King is sealed away, isn’t he?”
Arataso paused for a moment before letting out a sigh. “Ah, explaining this to a human… You might not remember, but the master I serve, the one with the brilliant green aspirations, is under the command of a demon lord.”
Zeke nodded, recalling his first encounter with Arataso. “Right, I remember now. A constellation with a constellation as a subordinate. That was the guy searching for the sacred relics. Back then, you said you couldn’t reveal the demon lord’s name.”
“That’s right. I still can’t say the name. But what I can tell you is that this demon lord currently acts as the Demon King’s proxy in the underworld.”
Zeke’s eyes widened in surprise. “The demon lord is acting as the Demon King’s proxy?”
“Yes, but the demon lord isn’t the Demon King. Not all demons follow him. Some powerful demons are even vying for his position.”
“So, is it the demon lord who grants the titles?”
“The demon lord can’t do it alone. He and the six strongest demons in the underworld make the decision together. It’s a way to select outstanding subordinates in preparation for the Demon King’s eventual return.”
Zeke was taken aback by this revelation about the underworld, a secret unknown to the mortal realm.
He continued to question Arataso. “So, does that mean the demon lord and the other five powerful demons are in conflict with each other?”
“That’s right. Nevilos’s master, the ‘Overseer of the Abyss,’ is one of those six demons. The Overseer commands other demons as well, thanks to his immense power.”
“Are there any among them who don’t want the Demon King to return?”
Arataso burst into laughter. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard. Every demon and their followers desire the Demon King’s return. Despite their conflicts, the six demons meet regularly for one reason. Can you guess what it is?”
Zeke responded to Arataso’s question. “To bring back the Demon King?”
“Exactly. There’s no other reason for the great demons to gather.”
Zeke pondered over Arataso’s words. ‘Even if the demons and their followers are at odds, they unite under the Demon King’s name.’
If the Demon King were to return, the fractured underworld would unite and likely set its sights on invading the mortal realm first.
Zeke shook his head to clear his thoughts. ‘No need to overthink it. If I can destroy the Demon King before he returns, the demons won’t unite and will weaken themselves through infighting.’
He stood up, placing the Damascus sword, which sealed Nevilos, into his inventory, and looked at the massive beast’s head that had fallen in the jungle.
“That’s monstrously huge.”
Relieved that he had dealt with it before it could cause trouble, Zeke manipulated the shadows to swallow the beast’s head whole.
With his energy replenished, Zeke took a deep breath and activated his minimap to get his bearings.
“This is… the southern continent’s jungle region? No wonder the scenery looked familiar.”
It was a place he had frequented during his hitman days, raiding the enemy organization’s Soma camp as if it were his own backyard.
“Seems like Hades’s spell went awry and flung me to the southern continent. Could’ve been worse.”
As Zeke pondered how to return to the central continent, he sensed something and turned his gaze toward the other side of the jungle.
‘This… this is the presence of a dragon?’