Episode 672
Rumble!
The mobile fortress descended from the sky with a thunderous noise, settling near the coast of the abandoned continent.
Whirrr!
With a flash of light, several figures emerged from the fortress, descending toward the shoreline. Among them were Zeke and Yekaterina, accompanied by the Tuma tribe.
“Hmm.”
The coast of the abandoned continent appeared as tranquil as the beaches of the central continent. There was no sign of beasts or monsters.
Yekaterina approached Zeke and spoke.
“Great Lord, where shall we erect the tower?”
After the battle with the beasts, Yekaterina had completely submitted to Zeke’s authority. Moreover, with Mephistopheles, the master of the demon princesses, sealed within Zeke, they had no choice but to follow his lead.
Zeke heightened his senses, scanning the surroundings for a suitable location to open a gate. After a moment, he pointed to a spot beyond the forest, where a valley and cliffs lay.
“Set up the tower over there and open the gate.”
At Zeke’s command, Yekaterina and the Tuma tribe nodded and prepared to head beyond the forest.
Watching them ready themselves, Zeke summoned the undead legion he had received from the Abyssal Sovereign.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Skeletons, Dullahans, and Death Knights emerged endlessly from Zeke’s shadow.
Zeke also summoned a commander to lead this undead army.
“Come forth, Nebilos.”
Nebilos, the inspector of Abaddon, responded to Zeke’s call and appeared.
Rumble!
Due to the alliance between Zeke and Beelzebub, the Abyssal Sovereign, Nebilos was now bound to remain by Zeke’s side.
Nebilos bowed his head toward Zeke.
“You summoned me, Great Lord?”
Having suffered much at Zeke’s hands, Nebilos struggled to keep his voice steady, though it trembled with fear.
Ignoring this, Zeke issued his orders to Nebilos.
“Assist Yekaterina in summoning the tower over there. Fail, and you’ll find yourself back in the sword.”
Nebilos shivered at Zeke’s threat. Even the infamous inspector of Abaddon felt an instinctive fear toward this human.
He quickly bowed his head, eager not to provoke Zeke further.
“Understood, Great Lord.”
As Yekaterina and Nebilos’s demon army moved toward the valley, Zeke summoned Arataso from the shadows.
Ssshh—
Arataso, clad in green armor, appeared.
“You called, my lord.”
Having fully acknowledged Zeke as his master, Arataso bowed with knightly grace.
Satisfied, Zeke nodded and spoke.
“Arataso, I’ll assign you shadow wraiths. Find the last tower on this land.”
With that, Zeke summoned the dragon warriors and the shadow wraith unit. The shadow unit, recognizing Arataso as their leader, lined up behind him.
Arataso raised his spear toward Zeke and declared, “I shall carry out your command, my lord.”
With those words, Arataso led the shadow unit in search of the final tower. Meanwhile, Zeke contacted Elizabeta in the mobile fortress.
“While Yekaterina’s tower is being summoned, we’ll set up a temporary camp here. Report any unusual signs immediately.”
―Understood, my lord.
As the mobile fortress maintained its watch, Zeke planned to establish a defense zone inland from the coast. Raising his hand, he activated his power of recreation.
Whirrr!
In response, the sand on the beach rapidly gathered, forming bricks that stacked themselves into a wall, creating a makeshift fortress.
Crumble!
The sand-formed wall constructed itself, completing the temporary camp in no time. Once finished, Zeke designated the wall as a defense zone, reinforcing its protection.
Having swiftly set up the defense zone, he contacted the mobile fortress again.
“The mobile fortress is too conspicuous. Cloak it and have everyone except the essential crew come down to the camp.”
Following Zeke’s orders, Elizabeta activated the fortress’s cloaking function, rendering it invisible. She then led the mages down to the camp.
Seeing the temporary camp Zeke had created, she couldn’t help but be amazed. Despite being made of sand, he had constructed a sturdy fortress in an empty space in an instant.
‘Amazing power.’
While she marveled, Zeke asked her, “How is Anastasia?”
“Her body is fine, but she hasn’t recovered from the shock of harboring her father’s soul for so long.”
Even for an avatar, enduring a great demon like Mephistopheles was no small feat.
To properly operate the gate on the abandoned continent, the fortresses of all three princesses were needed. Zeke’s plan was to summon Yekaterina’s tower, set up Anastasia’s erosion fortress around it, and stabilize the space by floating the mobile fortress above before opening the gate.
However, Anastasia, the most crucial element, was unconscious, unable to withstand Mephistopheles’s power, and thus couldn’t summon the erosion fortress.
For now, they would have to set up Yekaterina’s tower, secure the area, and wait for Anastasia to awaken before opening the gate.
‘But first, we need to deal with the beasts in the vicinity.’
As if reading Zeke’s thoughts, the once-quiet beach suddenly changed.
Rumble—
With a thunderous sound, something charged toward the coast.
Zeke drew his sword, Levatein, and turned toward the source of the noise.
‘Is it starting?’
The sound came from all directions. From every side, something was rushing toward them.
Roar!
With a deafening roar, a countless number of monsters charged toward the camp, kicking up clouds of dust.
Zeke instructed Elizabeta, “Deploy mages in all directions. Fortify the mobile fortress with barriers. We might face aerial attacks as well.”
Elizabeta nodded and relayed the orders to the mages.
Meanwhile, Zeke activated the defense mode, summoning turrets along the walls.
As the mages prepared to respond, he fired cannonballs at the oncoming monsters.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With a loud noise, the magical cannonballs flew toward the monsters.
Thud! Thud!
The monsters at the front were crushed and exploded upon impact with the cannonballs. Yet, the ones behind paid no heed, their eyes filled with madness as they charged at the walls.
Roar!
The monsters slammed into the walls, trying to bring them down with sheer force.
At that moment, the mages, having completed their preparations, activated their spells from the magic circles.
Crackle!
The spells, amplified by the power of enhancement Zeke had placed on the defense zone, enveloped the monsters.
Roar!
The destructive power, combined with the amplification, was beyond imagination. Even the monsters, strengthened by demonic energy, couldn’t withstand the magic and fell, charred to ashes.
Yet, the number of monsters was still overwhelming.
Despite the magical cannonballs and the spells of the demon mages, the horde of monsters only seemed to grow.
Zeke frowned slightly at the sight.
In a situation where they didn’t know what kind of beasts might appear, using too much power risked exposing their strength, so he wanted to conserve energy.
However, most of his summons were guarding key locations on the central continent, making it impossible to call them here.
‘There’s no choice.’
As the number of monsters increased, Zeke reluctantly prepared to step in with Levatein.
But then, it happened.
Whirrr!
A black hole opened in the sky, and something emerged from it.
Roar—
It was a horde of thousands of monsters and beasts, pouring out and attacking the monsters of the abandoned continent that were swarming the fortress.
A gate to the demon realm had opened, and the monsters and beasts from there had appeared.
‘The demon realm’s monsters and beasts have been summoned? The abandoned continent is unstable, making it difficult to fix gate coordinates.’
Puzzled, Zeke communicated with Elizabeta.
“Elizabeta, how was a demon realm gate opened without a power source?”
―Great Lord, I did not open that gate.
Her response left Zeke even more perplexed. Opening a gate of this scale was impossible without a mage of Elizabeta’s caliber.
‘Then who opened the gate?’
As Zeke looked around, trying to identify who had opened the gate, a massive presence stirred within it.
Rumble!
The powerful aura emanating from the gate shook the entire area, causing even the charging monsters to hesitate momentarily.
Zeke recognized the aura, having felt it before, and knew who was emerging from the gate.
‘Asmodeus, the Great Lord of Gehenna?’
Asmodeus, who had been dethroned by Mephistopheles and lost his domain of Gehenna, was now descending upon the abandoned continent through the gate.
Crackle!
When a great demon like him descends directly into the physical realm without using an avatar, the force of karma’s restrictions hits hard.
Even for a demon of his stature, defying the absolute laws set by the primordial light was no easy feat.
Yet Asmodeus pressed on, determined to manifest.
A low growl rumbled through the air.
Moments later, Asmodeus’s true form, a chaotic blend of beasts and monsters, emerged through the gate.
Zeke watched the demon’s struggle to enter the realm and spoke.
“Asmodeus. Why have you shown yourself here?”
Halfway through the gate, Asmodeus turned his many eyes toward Zeke, conveying his intent.
【…Was it you who sealed the Fair Arbiter of Pain, the Master of the Unbreakable Contract?】
Asmodeus had immediately sensed Mephistopheles sealed within Zeke.
Straining to free himself from the gate, he urgently communicated with Zeke.
【Release the seal on the Master of the Unbreakable Contract! Now!】
Zeke sensed something amiss as Asmodeus demanded the release of Mephistopheles.
Just then, Asmodeus writhed in agony, his body twisting as he let out a pained roar.
【Aaaaargh!】
His eyes turned a fiery red, and he opened his mouth wide, unleashing a barrage of magical energy at Zeke.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Zeke swiftly swung Levatein, sending a radiant astral sword to meet the oncoming blasts.
Crash!
The astral sword collided with Asmodeus’s magic, neutralizing the attack.
The shockwave rippled outward, shaking the defensive walls and causing parts to crumble.
‘What on earth is happening…?’
But that wasn’t the only problem.
Aaaaargh!
Thousands of monsters poured from the gate, their eyes glowing red like Asmodeus’s, and turned to assault the fortress.
In an instant, the enemy numbers doubled.
Elizabeta’s mage division was pushed to their limits, desperately trying to fend off the onslaught.
Meanwhile, Asmodeus, having lost all reason, struggled fiercely to free himself from the gate.
If the demon lord fully emerged, the monsters would be the least of their worries.
Watching the sudden change in Asmodeus, a thought flashed through Zeke’s mind.
‘Could it be…?’
Just then, a dark portal opened beside the gate, and figures cloaked in black robes emerged, exuding a sinister aura.
Zeke recognized them immediately.
‘The Abyssal Warlocks?’
The warlocks of the Abyss, who had vanished after the fall of their priest, Harvey West, had reappeared on the forsaken continent.