Episode 673

Zeke glared at the dark sorcerers of the Abyss hovering in the air, raising his sword, Levatein, high.

“Who would have thought there were still dark sorcerers of the Abyss left?”

After the priest Harvey Draker was absorbed by Zeke and vanished, the Abyss on the central continent was nearly obliterated. Zeke’s Black Sword Knights, along with the Highlanders, had scoured the continent, eradicating any trace of the dark sorcerers.

Yet, the Abyss had tenaciously survived, maintaining its presence on this forsaken land.

“Could it be that the Abyss was connected to Arthur Draker from the start?”

The one who allied with the Abyss was Ramon Siemens, the head of the Siemens family. However, it was possible that Arthur Draker had orchestrated events from the shadows, manipulating Siemens and the Abyss to his advantage.

In fact, the Nostra Family, a mafia organization, had conducted horrific human experiments in the Atlas underground with Arthur Draker’s support.

Zeke recalled the Apollyon Knights, the so-called perfect new humanity created by Arthur Draker. It was hard to believe that the experiments conducted by the Abyss, the mad emperor’s Rom Empire, the Nostra Family, and Siemens hadn’t influenced their creation.

“So, Arthur Draker is the root of all the chaos that unfolded on the central continent.”

A powerful light surged from Levatein, fueled by Zeke’s anger. The dark sorcerers of the Abyss, revealed in the air, remained unmoved, as if determined to protect Asmodeus’s Gate.

Without hesitation, Zeke swung his sword at them.

With a brilliant flash, the Astral Sword flew toward Asmodeus’s Gate. The dark sorcerers guarding the gate drew out bizarrely shaped staffs in response.

A translucent barrier formed in front of the gate, shifting the entire area into another dimension, allowing Zeke’s attack to pass through harmlessly.

Inside this separate dimension, impervious to physical attacks, the dark sorcerers continued their ritual to summon Asmodeus into the material world.

Zeke sensed a familiar power emanating from the staffs they wielded.

“Dark matter and twisted causality.”

The staffs, made entirely of dark matter, allowed them to defy the laws of nature using twisted causality. Seeing this, Zeke was certain of their connection to Arthur Draker.

“Their presence here means… Arthur Draker has already arrived on this forsaken continent.”

Arthur Draker was undoubtedly targeting the final tower where the demon king’s soul was sealed.

“He must have anticipated my arrival and placed the dark sorcerers here to obstruct my path. I never expected him to attempt summoning the overlord Asmodeus directly.”

Zeke recalled Asmodeus’s urgent words from earlier. It seemed that sealing Mephistopheles had somehow affected the situation.

But releasing Mephistopheles, sealed in the abyss, was out of the question. Unleashing a scheming archdemon could lead to unpredictable disasters.

Zeke drew Ascalon, preparing to send Asmodeus back to the demon realm.

“I’ll deal with the dark sorcerers first, then focus on returning Asmodeus.”

Asmodeus, struggling to emerge from the gate, was still in a frenzied state. Zeke believed that defeating the sorcerers would help Asmodeus regain his senses, making it easier to send him back.

Just then, Elizabeth’s voice echoed in his ear.

“My lord! Thousands of unidentified creatures, likely beasts, are approaching from not far away!”

With monsters from the forsaken continent and those summoned from the demon realm converging, the news of additional beasts approaching made Zeke sigh softly.

“A rock and a hard place.”

There was no time to conserve energy or assess the situation. Zeke quickly summoned a guardian from the shadows.

“Caligula.”

He called forth Caligula, who had been guarding one of the central continent’s strongholds with the Tri-Eyed Clan. As a powerful summon created from the Blood King’s soul, Caligula wore the “Cursed King’s Skull Crown,” one of the Arrogant Savior’s treasures, granting him strength surpassing his former life.

Zeke addressed Caligula.

“Control the monsters with your blood eye. Stop the approaching beasts.”

Caligula nodded and flew toward the fortress wall where the monsters were gathering. He unleashed the power of his blood eye, amplified by the crown, over the monsters.

The monsters’ consciousnesses were gradually overtaken by the blood eye’s power, and soon, thousands of them succumbed to Caligula’s control.

Following Zeke’s command, Caligula directed the monsters to intercept the approaching beasts.

With the immediate threat somewhat contained, Zeke turned his attention back to Asmodeus.

The chimera-like Asmodeus had almost emerged up to his knees. Zeke, wielding Levatein and Ascalon, ascended into the air.

The dark sorcerers, holding staffs made of dark matter, watched Zeke warily, determined to ensure Asmodeus’s full descent.

Zeke addressed the sorcerers.

“Do you really think you can stop me with your power?”

With those words, Zeke activated Overclock, revealing his divine power.

The unleashed divine power was beyond what the dark sorcerers could withstand. The mere force of his presence forced them to retreat.

Calmly, Zeke pointed Ascalon at the sorcerers.

Brilliant white lightning, imbued with the power of the Sacred Soul, shot toward the sorcerers.

The sorcerers, taken aback, raised their staffs to block the lightning.

They attempted to distort the lightning with twisted causality, but their power had limits.

The lightning multiplied, filling the entire area with hundreds of bolts.

The sorcerers, visibly panicked by the searing lightning that burned nerves and shriveled muscles, struggled to defend themselves.

Zeke, with a cold gaze, spoke to them.

“Struggle all you want. You won’t escape this hell.”

He intensified the lightning, creating a storm that engulfed the sorcerers.

The sorcerers, who had been distorting the lightning with twisted causality, were gradually pushed back toward Asmodeus’s Gate.

Zeke unleashed the power of the Dark Soul, countering the twisted causality.

The staffs made of dark matter emitted black smoke as the sorcerers, caught off guard, waved them frantically.

The smoke was absorbed by Zeke, converting into karma points.

Zeke, watching the flustered sorcerers, murmured softly.

“Disappear.”

With the twisted causality nullified, the Sacred Soul’s lightning swept over the sorcerers.

Screams of agony filled the air as the sorcerers turned to black ash in an instant.

Their staffs crumbled to dust, absorbed into Zeke’s shadow and vanishing.

They had relied on the power of dark matter given by Arthur Draker, but it was ineffective against Zeke’s divine power.

Turning to the nearly emerged Asmodeus, Zeke spoke.

“Asmodeus, have you come to your senses yet?”

Though Zeke addressed him, Asmodeus remained in a frenzied state.

Observing him briefly, Zeke decided to personally reverse summon Asmodeus back to the demon realm and close the gate, approaching slowly.

But then, a strange power began to ripple from Asmodeus’s body.

His eyes turned crimson, and in his chimera form, he opened his mouth wide toward Zeke.

From his gaping maw, lava and corrosive acid spewed forth, hurtling toward Zeke.

The ground shook with the force of the onslaught.

Zeke reached out towards the torrent of acidic liquid cascading like a waterfall.

In response, a translucent barrier formed in front of him, blocking the corrosive substance spewed by Asmodeus.

The acid, diverted to the ground below, hissed ominously as it dissolved the earth of the forsaken continent, releasing a sinister green smoke.

Zeke frowned at the sight.

“This is…”

Meanwhile, Asmodeus fully emerged from the gate.

Rumble!

Asmodeus’s true form, a chimera-like creature, was a grotesque blend of dragon, griffin, and basilisk. Despite its bizarre appearance, the aura and presence it exuded were fitting for a demon lord of the underworld.

Just by unfurling its wings and revealing itself, a powerful energy pressed down on the entire realm.

Rumble!

Zeke watched as Asmodeus manifested completely in the physical world. Normally, such a being would be restricted by the laws of karma, unable to appear in its true form.

Even Mephistopheles could only manifest through his avatar, Anastasia, and that required an enormous expenditure of karma.

Yet, Asmodeus had descended directly, unrestrained.

Zeke realized that the strange power emanating from Asmodeus, a twisted causality, made this possible.

“Perhaps it’s because this is the forsaken continent. It’s part of the physical world, yet not truly of it.”

This continent, which shouldn’t exist, was created by the Elder Dragons and the last of the great dragons to seal away the demon lords.

Thus, it was the only place in the physical world where one could escape the constraints of karma.

“Did Arthur Draker know all this when he summoned Asmodeus here?”

Zeke wondered if Arthur Draker might know even more about this forsaken continent.

As Zeke pondered, Asmodeus, now fully emerged from the gate, took a deep breath and then raised its head to the sky.

Roar!

The deafening roar echoed across the continent, summoning beasts from the sky and intensifying the ominous atmosphere.

“The entire forsaken continent is now aware of our presence.”

Zeke, gripping Ascalon and Laevatein, glared at Asmodeus and spoke.

“It seems you’ve lost your mind.”

He decided to change his approach. If returning Asmodeus to the underworld was impossible, then subjugating him here might be the better option.

Vwoooom!

With his decision made, Zeke unleashed his divine power, and a radiant light burst forth from his body.

Asmodeus instinctively recoiled, opening its mouth wide.

Screech!

The mere sound of its voice was enough to stir a massive storm, a testament to the demon lord’s overwhelming power.

Asmodeus spread its wings wide and, without any preparatory movement, shot into the sky.

Boom!

Breaking the sound barrier, Asmodeus soared high before abruptly changing direction, diving towards Zeke with terrifying speed.

Rumble—

With a sound like the sky splitting, Asmodeus’s body became a spear aimed to pierce through Zeke.

Zeke steadied his breath and summoned the flames of the abyss.

Whoosh!

Black flames enveloped Zeke.

“Haaah!”

He launched himself towards the descending spear.

The spear of black flames collided with the storm-creating spear in the sky.

Crash!

The impact was like the world itself shattering, reverberating across the entire continent.