Episode 496
“Zeke Draker!”
Ramon’s furious roar echoed as Zeke aimed Ascalon at them.
‘That was close. Any later, and it would’ve been a disaster.’
After sifting through Edward’s mind, Zeke discovered that Ramon Jimenez was attempting to create a conduit to Azidahaka using his powers. Realizing the urgency, he acted swiftly.
Waiting for reinforcements would have meant missing the opportunity to arrive before the blood moon rose. So, he issued orders and moved alone to this location.
Using the coordinates obtained from Edward, Zeke arrived at the site of the ritual and disrupted Ramon’s ceremony.
As a fellow wielder of Azidahaka’s power, Zeke was able to nullify Ramon’s abilities and prevent the opening of the conduit.
If Ramon hadn’t noticed anything amiss and continued using his powers, Zeke might have bought more time. But Ramon quickly adapted, unleashing a stronger force that couldn’t be stopped.
Thus, Zeke had no choice but to reveal himself and directly intervene to halt the ceremony.
Upon realizing that Zeke Draker was the one interfering, Ramon’s rage reached its peak, and he shouted at the priest.
“Priest! As expected, Zeke Draker is here to disrupt us! You must keep your promise!”
The priest nodded slowly in response to Ramon’s words.
If they continued to be hindered and missed the blood moon, they might lose the chance to fully summon Azidahaka.
With a snap of his fingers, a black portal materialized in the air.
A low hum resonated as something ominous emerged from the portal.
Standing over two meters tall, with a black horn protruding from its forehead, gray skin, and a body as solid as rock, the creature held a leather strap studded with spikes.
Zeke furrowed his brow at the formidable aura emanating from the demon that emerged from the portal.
‘This isn’t an ordinary demon. It’s… a high-ranking demon.’
Anastasia was also a high-ranking demon, but her strength lay in her unique abilities and powers, not in raw combat prowess.
However, the demon summoned by the priest was undoubtedly a Tuma demon.
Even from a distance, Zeke could feel the intense energy radiating from it.
Then, Arataso’s voice echoed in his mind.
‘Is that… Tantalos?’
Nevilos, equally shocked, chimed in.
‘Tantalos, the executioner of the Abyss, appearing in the mortal realm? Unbelievable.’
Seeing Arataso and Nevilos so agitated, it was clear this was no ordinary demon.
‘The Abyss… that’s the region in the eastern part of the demon realm, right?’
Nevilos responded to Zeke’s question.
‘Yes, the Abyss is a domain where many Tuma demons gather. It’s also where the most battles occur, as it’s home to two of the most belligerent of the six great demons.’
‘Is the “Judge of Endless Strife” also a demon from the Abyss?’
‘He’s the right hand of the “Ruthless Sovereign,” one of the rulers of the Abyss. Tantalos, on the other hand, is favored by the “Unyielding Lord of Rigidity,” one of the six great demons on the opposite side.’
If Tantalos was a direct subordinate of one of the demon realm’s rulers, he was undoubtedly a formidable opponent.
‘Why would such a demon appear in the mortal realm and follow the orders of the Abyssal ones?’
As Zeke pondered this, having learned about the opponent from Arataso and Nevilos, Tantalos lifted his head and fixed his gaze on Zeke.
Then, he raised his hand, palm facing forward.
Boom!
With just a light push of his palm, a massive storm of energy surged toward Zeke.
Crash!
‘Gah!’
Zeke quickly maneuvered Bucephalus to escape the oncoming storm of energy.
It was then that Tantalos appeared right in front of Zeke without a sound.
He immediately swung a fist at Zeke.
Whoosh!
The mere swing of his fist tore through the air with a terrifying sound.
Zeke swiftly twisted his body to evade Tantalos’s punch.
Whoosh—
The friction from the punch heated the air, a testament to its immense power.
Zeke, keeping his silence, glared at Tantalos, who was preparing to strike again.
He swiftly swung his sword at Tantalos.
Whoosh!
Ascalon gleamed as it flew toward Tantalos.
Boom!
Tantalos raised his arm, wrapped in the spiked leather strap, to block Zeke’s strike.
The holy sword Ascalon had a special effect against demons, but it failed to activate.
‘What’s going on?’
Tantalos, having blocked Zeke’s attack, clenched his fist and assumed a stance.
He took a deep breath and rapidly unleashed a flurry of punches.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The punches came at Zeke with such speed they were nearly invisible.
Crash!
Zeke used shadows to block Tantalos’s punches.
The force was so great that the shadows dispersed, unable to reform.
‘Is this the true power of a Tuma demon?’
While fending off Tantalos’s attacks, Zeke glanced at Ramon Jimenez and the priest at the altar.
Ramon was once again attempting to connect the conduit with his powers.
Zeke looked up to see the full moon almost completely obscured by shadows.
‘I must stop that ritual!’
To do so, he first needed to deal with Tantalos.
He dismissed Bucephalus and deactivated Theia’s Hersion.
To face Tantalos, he needed to be as unencumbered as possible.
Then, Zeke drew Levatein instead of Ascalon.
Sss—
The Shadow Armor enveloped Zeke, dark shadows swirling around him.
“Come forth, Caligula.”
Rumble!
The shadows coalesced, forming the shape of the shadow guardian Caligula, who appeared beside Zeke, adorned with prayer beads.
Created from the soul of the Blood King, Caligula exuded an aura even more intimidating than a high-ranking demon.
Tantalos, too, seemed intrigued by Caligula, a hint of competitive spirit in his expression.
“Caligula, hold off that demon.”
[Understood, master.]
Caligula responded in a deep voice, slowly advancing toward Tantalos.
Without warning, he opened his mouth wide and unleashed a torrent of flames at Tantalos.
Crash!
The intense flames erupted from Caligula’s mouth.
Tantalos countered the flames with a punch.
Whoosh!
The powerful gust from his punch reversed the flames back toward Caligula.
Rumble!
As a result, Caligula was engulfed in his own flames.
Moments later, the flames subsided, and Caligula was nowhere to be seen.
As Tantalos turned to approach Zeke, Caligula unexpectedly reappeared behind him.
Whoosh!
Caligula unraveled the prayer beads and wrapped them around Tantalos’s neck.
With Tantalos ensnared by the beads, Caligula grabbed his shoulder with his other hand.
His forehead split open, revealing a third eye.
Zzzzz—
The third eye emitted a strange sound, probing into Tantalos’s mind.
However, Tantalos, a high-ranking Tuma demon with millennia of martial training, had an incredibly fortified mental defense.
Rumble!
His mind resisted the intrusion, causing Caligula to suffer a mental backlash.
As Caligula’s grip weakened from the mental strain, Tantalos quickly regained his stance and delivered a punch to Caligula’s side.
Boom!
With a powerful sound, Caligula’s side exploded and scattered.
Rumble!
The mist-like form of Caligula reassembled a short distance away.
Reformed, Caligula now directed his power at Tantalos, creating a vast shadow within which something began to emerge.
A giant red eye.
The red eye, conjured by Caligula, flashed at Tantalos.
Sss—
Caught in the gaze of Caligula’s eye, Tantalos momentarily closed and reopened his eyes.
Upon reopening them, he found himself confronted by renowned warriors of the demon realm, all glaring at him.
And then, they charged at him simultaneously.
Crash!
Without hesitation, Tantalos swung his fists at them.
The demons were crushed and vanished under his blows.
But soon, more demons appeared.
These were illusions crafted by Caligula.
Caught in the gaze of the eye, Tantalos had fallen into Caligula’s trap, forced to battle the illusory demons.
Meanwhile, Zeke left Tantalos to Caligula and swiftly flew toward the altar.
He brandished the Levatein and unfurled the elemental sword toward the altar.
As the field of golden power expanded, pressure mounted across the entire altar.
Rumble!
The intense force began to crack the demon statues supporting the platform.
Just then, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse appeared in midair to intercept the incoming Zeke.
Each of the Horsemen unleashed their unique powers from their swords.
The White Horseman wielded lightning, the Blue Horseman a chilling gale, the Black Horseman a poisonous mist, and the Red Horseman a torrent of flames.
Boom!
Despite the onslaught of diverse powers aimed at him, Zeke remained unfazed.
He had summoned his Shadow Armor, deflecting all their attacks effortlessly.
Not only did he block them, but he also counterattacked with shadows of his own.
Swish—
The shadows, sharp as blades, clashed with the Four Horsemen.
As Zeke intensified the field of golden power, he aimed to collapse the platform itself.
But then, suddenly—
Whoosh!
Tantalus, having subdued Caligula, launched a powerful gust toward Zeke.
Crash!
The gust exploded near Zeke’s face.
Rumble!
Zeke quickly twisted his body to evade the attack.
As he looked up, he noticed Tantalus had transformed.
His muscles had swelled, and black lightning crackled from his elongated horns.
It wasn’t just martial prowess; the power of a constellation was at play.
“Has he enhanced his body with divine power?”
Tantalus assumed a stance toward Zeke, clashing his fists together.
The resulting shockwave surged toward Zeke.
Boom!
Zeke raised his sword to block it and expanded the field of golden power once more.
Crack!
With Tantalus restrained and pressure mounting on the altar, the platform began to tilt.
Rumble!
If the altar collapsed, the ritual couldn’t proceed, so Zeke applied even more pressure.
But suddenly, the tilting altar righted itself.
“What?”
Upon closer inspection, he saw the Maras, previously scattered by the light’s will, emerging from the demon statues to hold the collapsing platform steady.
Gritting his teeth, Zeke intensified the field of golden power.
Watching this, Tantalus raised his fists again and slowly spoke.
“Human warrior. Strong.”
With those words, he clashed his fists once more, and black energy surged from his horns.
Crackle!
Black currents wrapped around Tantalus’s fists.
Rumble!
Immediately, Tantalus launched a punch charged with black electricity.
Boom!
The electrified strike hurtled toward Zeke.
Maintaining the elemental sword, Zeke tried to block Tantalus’s attack with his Shadow Armor.
But the Shadow Armor alone couldn’t withstand Tantalus’s assault.
Screech—
The punch and black currents pierced through the Shadow Armor, striking Zeke.
“Gah!”
Blood spurted from his mouth, yet Zeke stood his ground, refusing to fall.
His healing factor wasn’t working as usual.
He couldn’t fathom how this attack had affected his immortal body.
Enduring the pain, Zeke focused on the altar.
“I must bring it down in one blow.”
He prepared the dragon skill, “Dragon’s Breath,” despite the significant mana cost of using it in one go.
Zeke’s eyes transformed into dragon eyes, and a sigil appeared on his chest.
“Haaaah!”
Light gathered in the sigil, and a concentrated mana blast shot toward the altar.
Boom!
The destructive Dragon’s Breath surged toward the platform.
As the light hit the platform, it expanded rapidly, engulfing everything.
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed, and a blinding light swept over everything.
But then—
Screech—
As if time were reversing, the exploding light began to converge into a single point.
Fizzle—
Watching the dissipating Dragon’s Breath, Zeke’s face was a mask of disbelief.
The platform and altar, seemingly on the brink of destruction, returned to their original state.
Pushing aside the fatigue weighing on him, Zeke looked up at the sky.
The full moon, now completely shadowed, glowed ominously with a blood-red hue.