Episode 527
Yekaterina’s bone sword, charged with her fierce energy, sliced through the air, aiming to crush Zeke’s skull.
Thud!
Zeke raised a hand and caught the bone sword, enveloped in Yekaterina’s aura, with a firm grip.
Crack!
As he applied pressure, fine cracks began to appear on the surface of the sword.
“This… this can’t be happening.”
Yekaterina’s bone sword was a special weapon, forged from the spine of a beast from the abyss and tempered in the flames of Gehenna. It was said to be harder than any metal, and the idea that a human could break it with sheer grip strength was unthinkable.
Startled, Yekaterina tried to pull the sword back and retreat.
But she couldn’t free the sword from Zeke’s grasp.
“Ugh!”
Though she prided herself on her strength, for some reason, she couldn’t wrest the sword from Zeke’s hand. Sweat trickled down her forehead as she struggled.
At that moment, Elizabeta, having regained her composure, approached.
“Rina, stop this at once!”
With those words, Elizabeta knelt respectfully before Zeke.
Yekaterina was aghast and shouted in disbelief.
“What madness is this, Beta! Have you lost your mind?”
Ignoring Yekaterina’s outburst, Elizabeta bowed her head to Zeke and spoke.
“I am Elizabeta, the First Princess. I greet the honored guest of Pandemonium.”
Yekaterina was shocked to hear Elizabeta refer to Zeke as the “honored guest of Pandemonium.”
“What do you mean? Are you saying this man is recognized by Father as an honored guest?”
Elizabeta remained silent, waiting for Zeke’s response, still in her respectful posture.
Seeing this, Yekaterina, sweating profusely, finally released her grip on the bone sword.
As she withdrew her intent to attack, Zeke let go of the sword as well.
Yekaterina dismissed the bone sword and stepped back, still unable to fully believe what was happening. Unlike Elizabeta, she didn’t immediately show respect, standing awkwardly instead.
Zeke, leaving her be, turned his attention to Elizabeta and spoke.
“What does it mean to be an honored guest of Pandemonium?”
Elizabeta raised her head and explained.
“It means you are a noble guest recognized by the ‘Master of the Irresistible Contract,’ the ruler of Pandemonium. We, as followers, cannot be disrespectful to such a guest and must show all due courtesy as if addressing our master.”
Zeke listened to Elizabeta’s explanation with a look of disbelief.
“Mephistopheles, what kind of game are you playing?”
He hadn’t even accepted the contract yet, but he was being treated as an honored guest of Pandemonium, preventing the princesses from attacking him.
Zeke asked Elizabeta again.
“Does being Mephistopheles’ guest mean that followers like you can no longer oppose me?”
When Zeke mentioned Mephistopheles’ true name, both Elizabeta and Yekaterina turned pale. For followers like them, even uttering the name of a celestial being was heavily restricted, and Zeke’s casual use of the true name left them shocked.
Yekaterina, standing behind, trembled, while Elizabeta struggled to maintain her composure.
Zeke clicked his tongue inwardly and addressed Elizabeta once more.
“As an honored guest of Pandemonium, if I order you to cease the invasion and withdraw, you have no choice but to comply, correct?”
Elizabeta, regaining her senses, nodded.
“We cannot enter the guest’s domain without permission. I have already ordered the entire army to retreat.”
Zeke turned to look at Yekaterina.
She bit her lip and nodded reluctantly.
”…The entire army has been ordered to retreat…”
Yekaterina, a proud member of the Tuma tribe, seemed uncomfortable showing deference to a human, but she had no choice.
Realizing that the two princesses could not oppose him, Zeke decided to address the most pressing issue first.
“First, it’s best to withdraw the invading forces. And then…”
He picked up the unconscious Anastasia by the scruff of her neck and addressed the two princesses.
“Let’s find a quiet place to talk.”
The demon forces attacking Mycenae halted their assault.
Those who had defended the fortress to the end cheered in victory, while also mourning their fallen comrades.
Once Zeke’s defense mode was deactivated, the summoned creatures and guardians vanished, returning to their realms.
The citizens of Mycenae began repairing the damaged walls and city infrastructure, returning to their daily lives.
Hades vowed to fortify the city against future demon invasions, urging Phainon and Gelion to inscribe a grand protective barrier for the entire fortress.
As Mycenae returned to normalcy, Zeke took the three princesses to the Hoshgar Mansion in Baranown.
Though now used as a research lab by Richmond and Bane, the mansion was known as the cursed abode of a wraith for a thousand years, keeping people away and providing a quiet place for conversation.
Inside the Hoshgar Mansion, Elizabeta showed curiosity about the traces of the great archmage, while Yekaterina was intrigued by the bone and ice summons left by the liches.
Anastasia, still in her cat form, seemed unable to stay conscious, likely burdened by the demon lord’s possession.
Zeke had brought the princesses to the mansion to distance them from Mycenae and to learn about the sealed celestial being, the “Arrogant Savior.”
Elizabeta, understanding Zeke’s intent, spoke first.
“Honored guest, the seal of the Arrogant Savior is in the present world.”
Though Zeke already knew this from the final scenario, he listened quietly to Elizabeta.
She continued.
“In the past, the power of the Arrogant Savior was so great that it instilled fear in all fallen celestials.”
“The demon lord mentioned that the Arrogant Savior was the original architect of Pandemonium.”
Elizabeta nodded at Zeke’s words.
“That’s correct. The idea of building a new civilization and city in the demon realm originated with the Arrogant Savior. However, the city he attempted to create, ‘Babel,’ failed.”
“Babel, you say. Was that the original name of Pandemonium?”
“Babel was a massive city that encompassed not only Pandemonium but the entire current demon realm.”
Zeke looked surprised at her words.
“Even Abyss, Abaddon, and Gehenna?”
“Yes. The Arrogant Savior sought to create a city in the demon realm as vast as the present world using his power. He succeeded to some extent, which is why the four realms are now fixed, forming the demon realm.”
Unlike the present world, the demon realm exists in the gaps between dimensions, making its spatial stability inherently unstable. Establishing stable realms there demonstrated the Arrogant Savior’s power, far beyond that of ordinary celestials.
Zeke pondered for a moment before asking Elizabeta.
“Why did the city of Babel, created by the Arrogant Savior, fail?”
Elizabeta shook her head.
“Neither I nor my sisters know. It happened so long ago, and it’s not part of the history we’re permitted to know.”
Zeke frowned slightly at her answer. He had received a karma data fragment called “Shards of Forgotten Time” from the demon lord. The problem was that this data was also incomplete.
Through the Akashic Code, he could only verify that the demon lord’s account wasn’t false, but he couldn’t determine exactly what events led to Babel’s collapse and the Arrogant Savior’s sealing.
“It seems I’ll need to find the sealed entity to fill in the missing information.”
Zeke addressed Elizabeta.
“Do you know where the sealed entity of the Arrogant Savior is hidden in the present world?”
Elizabeta quietly nodded at Zeke’s question.
Though she was the demon lord’s adopted daughter, it seemed she wasn’t privy to the secrets of the fallen celestials.
At that moment, Yekaterina, who had been silent, spoke up.
”…I’ve heard a related story.”
Her voice was much softer than before, as if she was still uncomfortable showing deference to a human like Zeke.
Zeke turned to Yekaterina and asked.
“What story did you hear?”
Yekaterina pressed her lips together before speaking.
“I heard that the Arrogant Savior descended to the present world to reclaim the soul of a sealed demon king and couldn’t return to the demon realm.”
Zeke furrowed his brow at Yekaterina’s words.
“The Arrogant Savior descended to reclaim the soul of a sealed demon king?”
He recalled Mephistopheles claiming responsibility for sealing the Arrogant Savior. The Arrogant Savior, with power so immense that no one in the demon realm could oppose him, was likely lured to the present world and sealed using the demon king’s soul as bait.
“If the soul of a sealed demon king was used to lure the Arrogant Savior, it might be connected to the Abyss as well.”
Having gained a lead on finding the Arrogant Savior’s sealed entity from Yekaterina’s words, Zeke nodded and spoke.
“I’ll need to investigate this further.”
He looked at Elizabeta and Yekaterina and spoke with authority.
“I understand the situation now. It’s time for you to return to the demon realm. I cannot allow you to continue causing chaos in this world.”
Elizabeta was taken aback, shaking her head in protest.
“That… that can’t be. My father instructed me to stay here and assist the esteemed guest.”
Yekaterina, who had also grasped the gravity of the situation, bit her lip and nodded in agreement.
“My father’s word is absolute. We have no choice but to obey.”
Mephistopheles had plans for Zeke to absorb the arrogant savior’s seal and become the sixth lord of the demon realm.
‘If what he says is true, then he needs a force to counterbalance the other demon lords.’
As long as the demon princesses were here to help and not to attack, Zeke saw no immediate issue with their presence.
After organizing his thoughts, Zeke addressed Elizabeta and Yekaterina.
“Very well. You may stay for now. But be warned—any suspicious behavior, and you’ll be sent back to the demon realm immediately.”
Elizabeta nodded respectfully, while Yekaterina bit her lip in frustration.
With a dismissive gesture, Zeke signaled for Richmond and Vane to escort the three princesses to their quarters.
Left alone, Zeke pondered for a moment before retrieving a green sword from his inventory.
He then summoned Arataso.
A low hum filled the air as Arataso, clad in green armor and resembling a centaur, appeared before him.
Zeke regarded Arataso with a knowing look.
“You understand why I’ve called you.”
”…Yes.”
According to Mephistopheles, Arataso had once been part of the arrogant savior’s faction before scattering to another.
“When I asked how a mid-level demon like you received a knighthood and followers, you only mentioned complicated circumstances. Was it because you moved from the savior’s faction to the demon lord’s?”
Arataso nodded slowly in response to Zeke’s inquiry.
“That’s right. Now that you’ve uncovered the truth, the restrictions are lifted, and I can speak freely.”
He straightened his posture, his eyes glowing with a vibrant green energy.
“I was a member of the once-mighty knight order ‘Morning Star,’ led by the fallen celestial, the arrogant savior. I was his most loyal sword.”