Episode 680

“How is Mephistopheles here?”

Zeke, who had been residing within Claudia, was taken aback at the sight of Mephistopheles manifesting through Anastasia’s body.

As a grand duke of the demon realm, Mephistopheles had to pay a steep price to descend into the mortal world due to the constraints of karma.

The only reason he could confront Zeke was that he had managed to siphon off a massive amount of karma from other demon lords.

But during the Liberation War a thousand years ago, amassing such karma would have been impossible.

Claudia, sharing Zeke’s disbelief, glared at Mephistopheles and spoke with defiance.

“I don’t know how a demon lord has manifested here, but… get lost. I have no desire to converse with filthy demons.”

Anastasia’s body, possessed by Mephistopheles, erupted in laughter, clutching her stomach.

“As expected, the noble shadow dragon is different. You don’t even want to speak with a demon.”

Claudia’s expression hardened at Mephistopheles’ words.

Her identity as Bahamut, the Shadow Dragon, was a closely guarded secret. If it were revealed, those with old grudges would surely come seeking revenge.

Mephistopheles, noticing her reaction, laughed heartily once more.

“Surprised that I know you’re the ruler of the twilight?”

He continued with a smile that suggested he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

“No matter how great a shadow dragon you are, being bound to a human body by a contract renders you powerless, doesn’t it?”

Having been toyed with by a demon she could have crushed in her true form, Mephistopheles’ words pierced Claudia’s heart like a dagger.

Floating in the air, Mephistopheles addressed her again.

“Other demons will likely continue to attack, trying to get their hands on your child. And as long as you’re human, you won’t be able to stop them.”

The mention of demons targeting her child made Claudia grit her teeth.

At that moment, another wave of intense pain hit her.

“Ughhh!”

Chronos stepped in front of the suffering Claudia, facing Mephistopheles.

“Step back, demon lord. No matter how many demons come, they won’t take this child.”

Mephistopheles’ violet eyes gleamed as he responded.

“Chronos, your audacity remains unchanged. It’s unsightly how you cling to the mortal realm even after your contract with the fairy king ended.”

Unlike his gentle demeanor with Claudia, Mephistopheles’ attitude towards Chronos was harsh.

Claudia, struggling to breathe through the pain, addressed Mephistopheles.

“Why are the demons after my child?”

Mephistopheles looked genuinely surprised.

“Ha, so the shameless dragon didn’t tell you? Of course, that secretive dragon wouldn’t share such a thing.”

After mocking Chronos, Mephistopheles turned back to Claudia with a grin.

“Your child’s lineage is of great importance to the demons.”

Still confused, Claudia fought through the pain to ask again.

“Lineage? What do you mean by that…?”

“What else could it mean? Your child is destined to be the vessel for the Demon King.”

The shock of his words momentarily made Claudia forget her pain.

She turned to Chronos, her voice trembling.

“You knew… Is that why you said the Demon King’s revival was connected to this child?”

A child born from Terracan Draker, who had awakened the power of the immortal, and Bahamut, the shadow dragon. There was no more suitable vessel for the Demon King.

Chronos, pale-faced, looked at Claudia.

”…It’s just one possibility. The future is never set in stone…”

“Enough!”

Claudia shouted at Chronos, her voice raw with anger.

“You knew the demons were after my child! Why didn’t you tell me?”

Chronos remained silent in the face of her accusation.

He always acted this way, monopolizing the possibilities of the future with his unique abilities, making decisions without sharing the full story.

Claudia’s fury rose at the thought that her child was part of Chronos’ decisions.

“This time, I will not…”

Another wave of intense pain cut her off, and she collapsed, overwhelmed by the agony.

Chronos, alarmed, tried to help her, but she rejected his touch.

Mephistopheles, watching, smiled and spoke to Claudia.

“Now, it’s time for my proposal.”

He extended a hand towards her, his tone serious.

“Make a contract with me. I will protect your child from the demons.”

Claudia, drenched in sweat, glared at Mephistopheles.

“Why would a demon lord protect my child? Aren’t you just using this as an excuse to target the child yourself?”

Mephistopheles shook his head.

“I’m not like the other lords who wish to revive the Demon King. Personally, I’d prefer if the Demon King didn’t return.”

Before he could finish, Chronos interjected, warning Claudia.

“Claudia, don’t listen to him. He’s the most deceitful of all demons…”

Snap!

With a snap of his fingers, Mephistopheles silenced Chronos, his words swallowed by some unseen force.

Mephistopheles turned back to Claudia with a smile.

“No need to listen to the interrupter. It’ll be quiet for a while. Now, make your decision. The child will be born soon.”

Claudia, gasping for breath through the pain, looked at Mephistopheles and asked.

“A demon wouldn’t make an offer without a price. What do you want in return?”

“What I desire,” he said, looking down at her slowly, “is your body.”

Claudia’s eyes widened at his words.

Mephistopheles quickly clarified.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. I’m not asking to take your body right now. I simply want you to promise that if your soul ever leaves your body, you’ll give me the shell. A shadow dragon’s corpse holds great value for me.”

Claudia frowned, deep in thought.

Beside her, Chronos shook his head vehemently, mouthing words of protest despite his silence.

She fixed Mephistopheles with a steely gaze.

“If I agree to give you my body after I die, you’ll protect my child from the demons?”

“I am a demon of contracts. I never break them.”

After a moment of contemplation, Claudia spoke.

“Fine. But I’ll only give you my body, excluding my heart and fangs.”

Mephistopheles, possessing Anastasia’s body, furrowed his brow slightly.

After a moment of consideration, he narrowed his eyes at Claudia.

“Hmm… A dragon’s body without the heart and fangs. It’s quite a loss for me, but I’ll make an exception this time.”

With a snap of his fingers, a contract appeared in the air.

Mephistopheles offered it to Claudia.

“Review the terms and sign. But don’t think of signing with your human name. Tricks won’t work.”

Claudia nodded, quickly scanning the contract.

The dragons, masters of language, have a keen sense for words.

She confirmed there were no hidden traps in Mephistopheles’ contract and signed her true name, Bahamut, on the signature line.

As her name was inscribed, Mephistopheles smiled and snapped his fingers again.

A mark appeared on the inside of Claudia’s wrist, signifying her binding contract with the demon lord.

Mephistopheles bowed respectfully to her.

“I shall take my leave. May you have a pleasant night.”

As suddenly as he had appeared, he vanished without a trace.

As the tension left her body, Claudia collapsed, just as the door burst open.

“Claudia!”

Terracan rushed in with healers and mages in tow.

Unaware of Mephistopheles’ visit, he instructed the healers urgently.

“We need to move her quickly. The child is coming!”

The healers carefully lifted Claudia, who was writhing in pain, and carried her to the infirmary.

As Terracan prepared to follow, he noticed Chronos slumped on the floor and approached him.

“Chronos, you need to recover too. Let me help you to the infirmary…”

Chronos lifted her head, revealing eyes marked with clock-like symbols.

Terracan was startled by the unfamiliar sight.

“Chronos? Are you alright?”

In that moment, Chronos’ body began to float, and she spoke to Terracan.

[Terrakan Draker, you will soon face a difficult decision. It will be a tragedy born of noble love, marking the end of your promised peace.]

The prophecy from Chronos came out of nowhere.

Terrakan looked bewildered at Chronos, who had suddenly delivered such a grim prophecy.

Chronos, enveloped in a silver glow, floated into the air and then vanished without a trace.

“That old man… he should really take it easy.”

Terrakan stared at the spot where Chronos had been, then quickly dashed toward the infirmary where Claudia had been taken.

Meanwhile, Zeke, who had been flung away by Bahamut, watched Terrakan in his semi-transparent form.

“Bahamut made a pact with Mephistopheles, sacrificing his own body to protect King Geo Luvern?”

Zeke recalled the past when Terrakan Draker had vanquished the demon-possessed Bahamut with his sword.

Bahamut’s body had disintegrated into black ash, leaving only the heart and fangs behind.

Terrakan had stored the heart and fangs in the Dragon Slayer’s Tomb, where Zeke discovered them a thousand years later.

“So Bahamut’s body wasn’t destroyed by Terrakan’s sword but was transferred to Mephistopheles through a pact.”

What Mephistopheles did with Bahamut’s body remained a mystery.

With Bahamut’s soul sealed within Zeke’s depths, there was no way to summon him and ask.

“Mephistopheles… you’ve been scheming from the shadows for a millennium, manipulating events to your will.”

Though he couldn’t destroy him, Zeke felt fortunate to have at least sealed him away in the abyss.

Then, suddenly—

A faint cry of a baby echoed from afar.

“King Geo Luvern. He’s been born.”

Zeke remembered his encounter with him, even if only in spirit form.

Until the very end, he never knew that Terrakan Draker was his true father.

Chronos’s prophecy had come true.

“But why did Bahamut bring me here? Did he want to show me the pact with Mephistopheles?”

Just as Zeke thought he had seen everything, he pondered why Bahamut’s heart, resting within him, and the black sword Bahamut had brought him to this place.

Once again, he heard something.

A long, resonant cry of a baby.

“What?”

The cries overlapped with the ones he had heard earlier.

Hearing the simultaneous cries, Zeke turned and moved toward the infirmary.

Crack—

At that moment, the space of memories began to fracture.

“No.”

Zeke hurried, but just as he reached the infirmary where Claudia and Terrakan were, the memory space shattered completely.