Episode 548
Rumble―
With a powerful tremor, something burst forth.
Boom!
The tightly sealed door shattered, and from within, a mass of flesh twisted and forced its way out.
Roar!
The grotesque mass swelled endlessly, parts of it stretching like rubber bands to snatch the knights standing before it.
“Aaaah!”
The knights screamed as they were sucked into the flesh.
The attack was so swift that evading it was impossible.
The surviving knights at the back raised their aura blades, swinging at the emerging mass.
Slash―
But the parts touched by the aura blades were only briefly cut, quickly reattaching and returning to their original form.
Despair filled the knights’ voices as they shouted.
“Where are those damn wizards?! Call them!”
Yet, despite their cries, the wizards did not appear.
In the end, the knights were all consumed by the mass.
Growl!
The flesh let out a bizarre sound, writhing as it began to search for new prey.
Boris and his group watched the entire scene unfold from their hiding spot.
Shadia turned to Boris and said, “Commander, are you sure it’s wise to awaken something that dangerous?”
Boris gestured in the opposite direction of the flesh’s path and replied, “Once all the buried bombs go off, that thing will be buried too. If not… the boss will handle it.”
Boris had unwavering faith that Zeke would take care of anything they couldn’t manage.
Shadia nodded in agreement. “True, if it’s the boss…”
Zeke had already earned the absolute trust of his subordinates.
Leaving the perilous experiment loose in the labyrinth, Boris moved on to continue their work elsewhere.
From the direction Boris had left, screams and monstrous roars continued to echo.
Rumble!
A golden aura swept through the entire space.
“Grrr!”
Asmodi gritted his teeth against the powerful wave of purifying energy, charging toward the priest.
But just then, a bolt of light struck down toward Asmodi.
Crackle!
Asmodi quickly raised his bone spear to block the lightning.
“Out of my way!”
Boom!
Though hastily blocked, the powerful energy from the bone spear managed to neutralize the lightning.
Rumble!
The wave of light receded, revealing the platform that had been hidden.
Zeke, holding Ascalon, and the priest floating in the air glared at each other.
Zeke eyed the priest with a fierce gaze.
‘I definitely felt the hit.’
While Asmodi and Arataso were locked in battle, Zeke had been waiting for the right moment, hidden by the power of etherealization, to strike the priest.
He had appeared at the critical moment to deliver a blow to the priest.
Though he couldn’t fully grasp the extent of the priest’s powers, he believed that the purifying force could neutralize demonic and otherworldly powers, dealing a significant blow.
His calculated strike had indeed hit the priest accurately. Yet, the priest seemed unaffected.
The priest, floating in the air, looked at Zeke and spoke.
“Foolish, Zeke Draker. The more you struggle in a place that is not your stage, the deeper your suffering will become.”
Zeke raised his sword and replied, “I’ll be the judge of that.”
The priest’s eyes, hidden beneath his hood, glowed red.
“Zeke Draker, I know what you seek is the soul of the arrogant savior.”
With those words, an aura imbued with the power of the constellations emanated from his body.
“Perhaps you were deceived by the demon lord’s temptation. Did you not know that the master of the contract you cannot defy possesses the most dangerous tongue in the demon realm?”
“The tongues of demons are all dangerous. You, who conspire with demons to devour the mortal realm, are no different. It’s laughable to hear such words from you, Harvey West.”
The priest offered no response, instead gathering his energy.
Rumble!
As the aura from the priest’s body intensified, Asmodi’s energy grew stronger in response.
The ruby eyes of Asmodi glowed with a red light.
“The blessing of my lord has descended upon me! I shall offer the glory of victory to my lord!”
As his power surged, the skeletal knights also began to move, their eyes glowing with light.
Zeke addressed Asmodi, “Commander of the Morningstar 2nd Battalion, Asmodi. The soul of the lord you served is held captive by that dark sorcerer. Can you still call yourself a loyal knight?”
But Asmodi, intoxicated by the power of the constellations, did not hear Zeke’s words.
He shouted with a voice filled with madness, “I will sever the enemy’s head and offer their heart to my lord!”
With his cry, the skeletal knights also let out a battle cry.
They moved forward, wielding bone swords and shields.
Seeing this, Zeke activated offense mode and summoned the golem knights.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The golem knights appeared before Arataso and Nevilos, armed with shields and swords.
Zeke instructed Arataso and Nevilos, “Keep them from reaching us.”
At his command, Arataso raised his lance again, and Nevilos summoned his magic.
The aggressive skeletal knights charged at the golem knights.
Boom!
Swinging their bone swords with great force, the skeletal knights demonstrated the might of the Morningstar.
But the golem knights, formidable summoned creatures, boasted incredible defense.
They raised their shields, blocking the attacks of the Morningstar knights.
“Haah!”
Arataso, having regained some strength, swung his lance at the skeletal knights.
Nevilos unleashed a barrage of spells from behind, summoning more undead.
As the skeletal knights clashed with Zeke’s summoned creatures, Asmodi’s fury grew, and he gathered his energy.
He raised his bone spear, looking at Zeke, and shouted, “Insignificant human! You have committed an unforgivable sin by opposing the great Morningstar. This sin cannot be repaid even with the annihilation of your soul!”
Zeke raised Ascalon and retorted, “For a demon, you sure have a long tongue. Did the arrogant savior teach you that?”
Provoked by Zeke, Asmodi grew even more enraged, advancing with his bone spear.
“Arrogant human. I will sever your limbs and annihilate your soul in an instant!”
With those words, he swung his bone spear above his head and charged forward.
Zeke, holding his sword, addressed Asmodi, “Your imagination is quite lacking. That won’t be enough to annihilate me.”
Continuing to provoke Asmodi, Zeke infused power into Ascalon.
A brilliant light emanated from his sword.
At that moment, Asmodi charged forward with his bone spear.
Boom!
Asmodi, seemingly one with his bone spear, dashed toward Zeke at a speed too fast to see.
Whoosh!
The bone spear, as if intent on tearing Zeke apart, pierced through the air with fierce momentum.
Zeke calmly unfolded a gravitational field toward the charging bone spear and swung Ascalon.
Crash!
Asmodi felt the immense power in Zeke’s sword through his bone spear.
Momentarily stunned by the force that reverberated through his body, Asmodi hesitated and stepped back.
‘How can a human possess such power?’
Asmodi, who could contend with the demon realm’s colossal beasts barehanded, couldn’t believe a human had effortlessly deflected his power-laden attack.
But having unexpected strength didn’t mean he could afford to be pushed back. Asmodi concentrated his power again and swung his spear.
“Die!”
Boom!
With a sound like an explosion, the spear descended toward Zeke’s head.
Once more, Zeke unfolded a gravitational field, infusing his sword with gravity to deflect the attack.
Crack!
The sound of bones misaligning echoed.
In the direct clash, Asmodi was overpowered. The sudden, powerful impact nearly made him lose his grip on the spear.
‘Grr!’
Zeke didn’t miss the opportunity.
He immediately charged forward, executing a dragon-slaying technique toward Asmodi.
Rumble!
The concise yet powerful dragon-slaying strike pierced Asmodi’s side.
Crack!
Asmodi’s bone armor shattered in a single blow.
“Gaaah!”
Asmodi let out a monstrous scream as the massive shock coursed through his body, veering to the side.
“Huff, huff!”
Asmodi readjusted his grip on the spear, catching his breath.
Despite the overflowing power of the constellations within him, which had once brought the demon realm’s mightiest to their knees and etched fear into the skeletal knights, he couldn’t land a decisive blow on Zeke.
As proof, Zeke stood before him, holding his sword, his stance unchanged.
Watching Zeke, whose breathing hadn’t even changed, Asmodi felt a growing sense of confusion.
“Is that guy even human?”
A whirlwind of questions swirled through his mind, only to vanish just as quickly.
At that moment, the priest standing behind spoke to Asmodi.
“Asmodi, do not doubt the power within you. The might of the great and arrogant savior is with you.”
For a brief moment, Asmodi’s eyes glazed over, then returned to normal. He gripped his bone spear tightly and murmured, “Glory to my lord. Victory to my lord.”
Watching Asmodi, Zeke realized the priest had cast some sort of spell on him.
“Brainwashing? How did they manage that on a demon… No, the fact that they summoned a supposedly extinct being is strange enough.”
The priest was using the power of the arrogant savior to strengthen Asmodi. If Zeke could defeat Asmodi and disrupt this power, the priest would suffer a severe backlash. Zeke planned to seize that opportunity to take down the priest.
“First, capture him.”
As soon as Zeke finalized his plan, he drew his sword and moved with the speed of a gale, closing the distance between them in an instant. He swung his sword upward from below.
Whoosh!
Asmodi, still muttering, instinctively swung his spear to block Zeke’s attack.
Crack!
But Zeke’s resolve and strength were formidable. The bone spear shattered into pieces with a single blow. Despite the destruction of his spear, which was harder than any metal in the demon realm, Asmodi showed little reaction. He simply reached out and conjured another bone spear.
“Victory to my lord. Victory.”
Still not in his right mind, Asmodi gripped the spear and instinctively assumed a defensive stance. Facing the formidable opponent that was Zeke, Asmodi’s body automatically recalled the spear techniques he had mastered long ago. Unlike before, he took a cautious, defensive posture, then suddenly lunged at Zeke with all his might.
Boom!
With a sound like an explosion, the spear sliced through the air, hurtling toward Zeke. Zeke watched the much stronger attack from Asmodi with calm composure, ready to defend.
Clang!
The sword and spear clashed, sending shockwaves in all directions. Zeke blocked Asmodi’s spear and immediately counterattacked.
Whoosh!
In response, Asmodi’s bone armor rapidly grew, forming a shield. Though the shield blocked Zeke’s sword, it couldn’t withstand the force and shattered.
“Ugh!”
The shield absorbed the blow, but the shockwave seeped through Asmodi’s body. Zeke pressed on, relentlessly attacking Asmodi. Unable to regain the momentum, Asmodi’s movements began to slow.
Crack!
Asmodi staggered back from Zeke’s assault, lowering his spear momentarily, his red eyes fixed on Zeke.
“Victory… to my lord…”
It was then that the priest’s voice penetrated Asmodi’s weary mind.
[Asmodi.]
To Asmodi, the priest’s voice overlapped with that of the arrogant savior.
In a daze, he cried out, “My lord! My lord!”
The priest’s voice echoed within Asmodi’s mind.
[If you wish to offer me victory, you must accept new power.]
Asmodi’s eyes wavered at the priest’s words.
“New power… granted by my lord?”
[Indeed. My most loyal knight, I bestow upon you new power. Ensure you achieve victory.]
Nodding, Asmodi replied, “I accept! I will bring victory!”
The moment he declared his acceptance, a different aura emanated from Asmodi’s body.
Rumble!
Zeke frowned at the energy radiating from Asmodi.
“That power…”
The power bestowed by the priest was none other than the power of an external entity.