Episode 671
Zeke’s eyes widened at the arrogant savior’s words.
“Become the perfect Adam and you can become the Sun God himself?”
Until now, Zeke had assumed Arthur Draker was merely following the will of the Sun God, Apollyon. But the arrogant savior claimed otherwise—that Arthur Draker sought to become the Sun God himself.
Zeke glared at the spirit of the arrogant savior and spoke.
“Wasn’t Arthur Draker just a puppet of the Sun God?”
At this, the arrogant savior turned his head towards Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles, with a disgruntled expression, huffed before finally speaking.
“You could say that. But he became the Sun God’s puppet deliberately, to overcome his own limitations.”
Zeke recalled a scene from his past. He had witnessed Arthur visiting an ancient temple, dying at the hands of an otherworldly beast, and then being resurrected through a twisted causality. The Arthur Draker who emerged was a different man entirely.
“Are you saying Arthur Draker went there on purpose to obtain the Solar Body?”
Mephistopheles smirked, a mocking grin spreading across his face.
“Without that, a talentless fool like him could never have become the head of the Draker family.”
Zeke sensed something amiss in Mephistopheles’ words. One of the mysteries that had long puzzled him was how Arthur Draker had known about and found the ancient temple. And in that moment, Zeke realized the truth.
“It was you, Mephistopheles. You led Arthur Draker there.”
Zeke’s killing intent wrapped around Mephistopheles. Despite the oppressive aura, Mephistopheles grinned maniacally.
“Yes, Arthur Draker had the makings of a fine sacrifice. Lacking in talent but overflowing with ambition. There’s no better contractor for a demon!”
Mephistopheles had approached Arthur Draker, concealing his true identity, and guided him to what he sought—a place where he could die and be reborn anew. Arthur, threatened by the Draker family, was desperate to survive, even if it meant following a demon’s path.
Zeke’s mind pieced together the puzzle. The reason Mephistopheles had shown Arthur Draker the ancient temple was clear.
“You intended to use Arthur Draker as the vessel for the Demon King, to resurrect him and bring down the heavens.”
Mephistopheles laughed maniacally at Zeke’s words. When Arthur slipped from his control, Mephistopheles had chosen Zeke as his next pawn.
Zeke glared at Mephistopheles and continued.
“So, you’re the root of all this, Mephistopheles.”
Mephistopheles stopped laughing and shook his head.
“Zeke Draker, that’s not true. I merely tested Arthur Draker’s desires. Everything that happened afterward was his doing.”
Zeke clenched Levatein tightly at Mephistopheles’ irresponsible words. The demon’s sole concern was achieving his goals, regardless of the world’s fate.
‘The notion of a benevolent demon was always a fantasy.’
Zeke had never trusted demons, but knowing the truth only fueled his anger. Mephistopheles, observing Zeke’s fury, spoke.
“Don’t hate me too much. The heavenly beings tried to destroy the demon realm, so we had to find a way to survive.”
Zeke sneered at his words.
“You intended to resurrect the Demon King to attack the heavens. You’re no different from the celestial beings. Just two sides of the same coin.”
A brilliant light erupted from Zeke’s sword. Mephistopheles shrugged at the arrogant savior’s spirit.
“Satan, are you satisfied now?”
The arrogant savior watched with interest, arms crossed.
—Mephi, seeing your flustered face after millennia is quite the reward.
Mephistopheles shook his head and addressed Zeke, who was approaching him.
“My fun’s been ruined. Zeke Draker, I’ll take my leave for now. But remember, our contract still stands.”
With that, Mephistopheles snapped his fingers. But nothing happened.
“What…?”
He was supposed to return to the demon realm from Anastasia’s body, but he was trapped in the domain Zeke had summoned.
Shimmering chains of Solomon, imbued with radiant light, approached Mephistopheles as Zeke advanced.
Mephistopheles panicked and shouted.
“Damn it, Zeke Draker! What trickery is this?”
In Zeke’s unique domain, “The Vanished Stage,” even celestial beings couldn’t escape its influence.
Zeke watched the frantic Mephistopheles and spoke.
“Just like the celestials, it seems demons lack the ability to learn.”
He held up the ring of Solomon on his finger.
“Didn’t you learn anything from seeing the celestials—Raziel, Samael, Raguel, Ramiel, Azrael—sealed?”
Mephistopheles knew Zeke had bested the celestial beings of the Thirteen Constellations. Yet, his demonic arrogance had led him to underestimate Zeke.
As Zeke approached, Mephistopheles unleashed his power in desperation.
“Kaahhh!”
A violet aura enveloped Mephistopheles, shaking the entire domain.
The summoned Babel began to crumble under the pressure.
Zeke snapped his fingers.
Fwoosh!
The crumbling Babel was engulfed in flames. The purgatory, the arrogant savior’s domain, overlaid upon it.
The flames of the burning Babel surged towards Mephistopheles.
Fwoosh!
But Mephistopheles, a true demon duke, scattered the purgatory’s flames with his violet aura.
Yet, possessing Anastasia’s body, Mephistopheles was sweating and breathing heavily.
Zeke observed him and spoke.
“As expected, you haven’t fully recovered from your battle with Baal and Agares. They wouldn’t have fallen for your contract traps, so you had to confront them directly.”
As a demon of contracts, Mephistopheles needed some level of communication for his schemes to work. But Baal and Agares were warlords, uninterested in such things.
To subdue them, Mephistopheles had to display his true power. Though he disliked exerting himself, he had seized the opportunity to subjugate the Abyssal lords by forcing Asmodeus into a contract and allying with the powerful Beelzebub.
In this state, Mephistopheles had recklessly descended to the mortal realm, hoping to manipulate Zeke. But Zeke had seen through his ploy and pushed back even harder, and the plan had worked perfectly.
Mephistopheles, feeling the pressure of the encroaching flames, addressed Zeke.
“Zeke Draker, let’s calm down and talk this through.”
Zeke shook his head at Mephistopheles’ words.
“I think we’ve talked enough. Now, let’s settle this another way.”
A brilliant light burst from Zeke’s sword, flying towards Mephistopheles.
Boom!
Mephistopheles hastily gathered his energy to form a shield against Zeke’s attack.
Crash!
In the demon realm, he could have easily blocked such an attack, but now even maintaining his energy was a struggle.
‘Damn it. How did things get so messed up?’
Mephistopheles realized he had underestimated Zeke. Despite his status as a grand duke, he had dismissed Zeke as a mere pawn, unworthy of facing him.
Acknowledging his mistake, Mephistopheles sought a way to escape.
The arrogant savior’s spirit spoke to him.
—Need help, Mephi?
“Shut up! This is all your fault!”
—Oh dear, my apologies. Demons often find themselves in trouble because of their own schemes. Just like me.
Ignoring the irritating savior, Mephistopheles sighed and steadied himself. He decided to unleash his power, despite the cost to his karma and soul.
Rumble!
As Mephistopheles released his true power, a different kind of pressure emanated from him.
Crack!
His surrounding domain warped, slowly encroaching upon the area with his own unique domain.
Simultaneously, the vessel, Anastasia’s body, rapidly matured from a girl to an adult.
In the form of a fully matured demoness, Anastasia’s body was now host to Mephistopheles, whose violet eyes glinted as he glared at Zeke.
“This is where the games end, Zeke Draker. Next time, you won’t catch me off guard like this.”
With a snap of his fingers, the landscape of Purgatory, his unique domain, began to blur, shifting back to Mephistopheles’ own realm. But as the domains clashed, dimensional rifts opened, spewing forth plasma.
Crackle!
A plasma storm erupted, destabilizing the surrounding area. Mephistopheles, who had been preparing to return to the demon realm, was caught off guard by the sudden anomaly and turned his gaze back to Zeke.
“What have you done…?”
In that instant, Zeke’s form wavered and vanished. He reappeared right in front of Mephistopheles, driving a radiant sword into Anastasia’s chest.
Thud!
“Gah!”
The moment the sword pierced her, Mephistopheles’ spirit was forcibly ejected from Anastasia’s body, flung backward. Zeke watched the spirit with a cruel smile.
“Got you.”
As he murmured, Solomon’s chains sprang to life, wrapping around Mephistopheles’ form.
“You…!”
Without hesitation, Zeke absorbed the ensnared spirit into Solomon’s ring.
Roar!
Even as he was pulled into the ring, Mephistopheles struggled fiercely, resisting with all his might.
“You won’t have your way!”
With a defiant shout, he changed course, diving into Zeke’s body instead of the ring.
Rumble!
Before Zeke could react, Mephistopheles’ spirit was absorbed into him. Zeke frowned, looking up to see the arrogant savior still floating above, chuckling with amusement.
“The sealed spirit of Mephi has hidden somewhere within your depths.”
Faced with the threat of being sealed in the ring, Mephistopheles had taken refuge in Zeke’s own abyss. Zeke, bewildered, unbuttoned his shirt to find Mephistopheles’ mark etched onto his chest.
“Well, at least he’s sealed. No more tricks for now.”
The arrogant savior’s spirit, observing Zeke’s bemusement, spoke again.
“Whether we’ll meet again, I cannot say, but I look forward to your journey. It was a pleasure, one who has surpassed the wall.”
With those words, the spirit vanished like smoke. Zeke stared at the spot where it had disappeared, then turned his attention to the unconscious Anastasia amidst the plasma storm. He snapped his fingers.
Sizzle—
As the unique domain dissolved, the space around Zeke and Anastasia shifted, revealing the interior of a moving fortress.
“My lord.”
At that moment, Elizabeta, the first princess, appeared before Zeke, having crossed through space. She glanced at Zeke and the unconscious Anastasia, momentarily surprised, then bowed her head.
“I’ll ask for details later.”
Raising her head, Elizabeta gestured ahead.
“We’ll soon arrive at the Abandoned Continent.”