523
Chapter 523
Elizabeth, wearing a golden mask while sitting on the throne, spoke to Zeke.
"Zeke Draker, descendant of the Dragon Slayer Terakan Draker. Son of Arthur Draker."
She slowly rose from her seat and stepped forward.
TSTSTSTS!
As she took a step, a shimmering golden bridge appeared in the air.
Standing on the bridge, Elizabeth looked down at Zeke and said.
"I have been waiting for you."
Zeke responded while looking at Elizabeth.
"You're speaking quite comfortably after attacking someone's territory without a declaration of war."
CRACKLE!
Lightning sparked from Zeke's body as he finished speaking.
The demon realm warriors watching him raised their staffs cautiously.
Being demons under Elizabeth, most seemed to be mages.
Elizabeth spoke to her subordinates.
"Enough, all of you lower your magic."
At her words, the demons hesitated before stepping back.
As Elizabeth took another step, golden stairs appeared this time.
She descended the stairs with elegant posture.
Now at the same eye level as Zeke, Elizabeth continued speaking.
"Zeke Draker, I have a proposal for you."
Zeke immediately responded to Elizabeth's words.
"You want me to hand over Third Princess Anastasia?"
Elizabeth shook her head at those words.
"No. Anastasia, that child is just a cute jester who runs wild without knowing her place."
Contrary to Zeke's expectations, First Princess Elizabeth showed little interest in Anastasia.
She opened her mouth again while looking at Zeke.
"What I'm interested in is you, Zeke Draker."
Zeke remained silent at Elizabeth's words.
Then he slowly spoke.
"I don't know what you mean. I have no interest in demon women."
The demons behind her let out angry voices at his statement.
"Such a blasphemous human!"
"How dare he spout such nonsense to the noble Princess?!"
"Tearing him apart alive wouldn't be enough punishment!"
Ignoring the demons spewing curses, Zeke spoke to Elizabeth again.
"Stop with the nonsense and get out of Mycenae immediately. Otherwise, I'll erase your very existence by destroying your soul."
Again, the demons' furious shouts filled the hall.
When Elizabeth raised her hand, the demons fell silent.
She spoke calmly while looking at Zeke.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding. Zeke Draker, what I'm interested in is your ability."
Elizabeth stretched out her hand.
An ethereal light rose from her palm.
Strange magical formations intertwined and began spinning in circles.
Zeke sensed an unusual energy from the light Elizabeth revealed.
'That is...'
The powerful authority of a constellation was compressed within that small light.
Elizabeth spoke to Zeke.
"Zeke Draker, I want strong talent. I spare no investment in gathering exceptional individuals."
She extended the ethereally glowing light in her palm and continued.
"Join me. Then I will give you the opportunity to cast off your human shackles and become a noble of the great demon realm."
Surprisingly, Elizabeth was proposing that Zeke become a demon and her subordinate.
Zeke tilted his head after hearing Elizabeth's words.
"Can a human become a demon?"
Elizabeth nodded at those words.
"This light is the authority I received from my father itself. Father's authority is 'Contract'. Once our contract is established, you can easily shed your human limitations."
She was saying she would use the authority of the Demon Archduke, one of the demon realm's rulers, to bring Zeke under her command.
Looking at Elizabeth, Zeke asked about this radical proposal.
"Why go so far as to use authority to make me your subordinate?"
He pointed at her subordinates behind her and said.
"Those guys must not be very reliable."
The demons bared their teeth and raged at Zeke's provocation.
"GRRRR! My Lady! Please allow us to kill him!"
"I'll separate that human's bones and flesh right now!"
"Blasphemous one! Your soul will be ground to dust and vanish without a trace!"
That's when it happened.
SWOOSH!
Sharp killing intent burst forth from Elizabeth's body.
The raging demons stepped back trembling in fear.
Her eyes glowed an icy blue behind the golden mask.
"Who dares cause an uproar while I am speaking?"
The demons lowered their heads and shook at the killing intent Elizabeth emitted while scanning them.
Her presence alone overwhelming hundreds of demons was clearly different from Third Princess Anastasia.
Elizabeth turned her head to look at Zeke again and spoke.
"Zeke Draker, I will answer your question. But remember this. My patience has limits, and the moment your rudeness exceeds those limits, you die."
She stretched out her other hand.
A huge screen appeared in the air.
The four-split screen showed different scenes from the demon realm.
Gehenna filled with endless volcanic fires and fierce demon beasts, Abaddon sunken in abyssal darkness and fog, Pandemonium with its endless barren wastelands, and Abyss with its constant struggles and chaos.
These were the four worlds ruled by the six demon realm rulers.
"The demon realm forbids invasion of each other's territories by treaty. This was agreed upon by each territory's rulers."
She pointed to the Abyss.
"Most of the battles occur in the Abyss. It is a domain where both the ruthless Tyrants of the Six demon realms and the Unwavering Strict Ruler."
Zeke interrupted Elizabeth.
"I didn't come here to learn about demon realm affairs. Just tell me whether you'll withdraw from Mycenae or not."
Elizabeth continued, ignoring Zeke's words.
"Recently, this treaty was broken."
Zeke furrowed his brows at Elizabeth's words.
'Is she saying internal conflict broke out in the demon realm?'
Elizabeth pointed to one part of the four-split screen.
"Different movements were detected from Gehenna and Abaddon."
With her words, demon beast soldiers from Gehenna and undead soldiers from Abaddon appeared marching somewhere.
After quietly watching the scene, Zeke spoke to Elizabeth.
"So you want me to become a demon to stop them?"
Elizabeth turned from the screen and spoke to Zeke.
"Strictly speaking, that's not the only reason."
Her eyes flickered blue again.
"Their movements are connected to events in the mortal realm. They're responding to the Abyss's summoning to resurrect the sealed Demon King."
Zeke sensed something strange in Elizabeth's words.
'Could it be...?'
She looked at Zeke and spoke.
"Zeke Draker, let me explain the contract terms in more detail."
ZIIING!
The floating light of authority suddenly shone brighter than before.
"If you become a demon and help me, Pandemonium will prevent the Demon King from descending to the mortal realm."
* * *
"Why are those bastards so quiet?"
Felix watched the demon realm legion's movements slow from atop the outer wall.
The battlefield had gone quiet after giant ice boulders swept through the monsters at the south gate.
Clonne, beside Felix, shouldered her mace and put tobacco in her mouth as if taking a breather.
"Whew... damn demon bastards, why'd they suddenly invade?"
Dead demon beasts and monsters lay scattered before the wall, evidence of the fierce battle with the demon legion.
While the entire Black Specter Squad showed exceptional skill, Felix and Clonne's performances stood out.
The Paladin swordsmanship Felix learned and Clonne's power as Lubern's Holy Knight were particularly effective against demons.
Additionally, Felix had learned swordsmanship directly from the Arch Paladin through exchanges between Draker and the Holy Kingdom.
Baord had taught him to properly utilize the power of former Arch Paladin Fab residing within him.
Thanks to this, Felix demonstrated power exceeding a Red Knight, at least when facing demon legions.
Then Liam, beside them, pointed his sword beyond the wall and spoke.
"Something's moving."
Felix and Clonne focused their eyes ahead.
"What is that?"
Where Liam pointed stood an imposing tower emanating pressure.
They didn't remember such a tower existing around Mycenae.
As the Black Specter Squad was confused, Hades appeared in the air.
"Damn it all. Looks like those crazy demon realm bitches are seriously pissed."
Felix looked at Hades and asked.
"Lord Hades, what do you mean?"
Hades clicked his tongue and spoke.
"That's an invasion fortress possessed by the demon realm princess. I've never seen this form even in records. Must be either advanced or an ancient relic."
At Hades' words, Clonne frowned while gripping her mace.
"Invasion fortress. Even the name's shit. Forget everything else, let's just go smash it."
Hades crossed his arms and shook his head.
"Was she really a nun before? Don't talk nonsense. Inside that invasion fortress is no different from the demon realm. It'll be crawling with high-ranking demons. You'll be in big trouble if you think they're like these worthless demon beasts and demon realm monsters."
Even the tough Clonne had to hesitate when the dragon being Hades said that.
But then something began shooting out from the tower.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Instantly, demon beasts resembling wyverns blackened the sky.
SCREEECH!
The demon beasts flapped their wings and flew toward Mycenae.
The demon beasts weren't the problem.
"There are demons riding on top of them!"
Demon realm low-rank warriors in armor were riding the demon beasts.
Though low-ranked, they were still threatening due to being stronger than humans.
Felix shouted to Hades.
"Lord Hades! Can't you put up another barrier?"
Hades yelled back.
"You think I can just put up such large-scale barriers whenever? I need complex magic formulas and massive mana to avoid karma's sanctions, kid!"
Since Zeke and Hades didn't have a formal contract, he couldn't directly intervene in the mortal realm.
There were clear limits to how he could help.
Just then.
"Everyone prepare for battle."
Duke appeared and spoke while raising his sword.
The Black Specter Squad members tensely put on their reinforced suit helmets and raised their swords.
As Duke was about to strike the approaching enemies in the air with wind magic...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
CRASH!
Surprisingly, the enemies at the front fell from the air with explosions.
"Huh?"
The tense Black Specter Squad turned around in confusion at the unexpected counterattack.
At the same time, the walls began to change.
SWOOSH!
Sharp bone walls attached to the outer walls, and bird-like golems were summoned to the front.
The golems shot light from their eyes and mouths, shooting down enemies flying through the air.
Additionally, bizarre four-armed summons floated in the sky, their eyes flashing red.
Each time, the approaching demon beasts began acting strangely and fighting each other.
Seeing this, Duke couldn't help but exclaim.
"Good heavens!"
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Meanwhile, armored golems appeared, taking positions on the walls to guard against approaching enemies.
Zeke's shadow legion rose beneath the walls.
As a large army suddenly appeared, Duke and the entire Black Sword Knights gaped.
Hades smiled watching from the air.
"Was wondering where he went after closing the gate, looks like Zeke has shown up."
Zeke had designated Mycenae in defense mode and built defensive lines with summoned creatures.
Guardian Horus and Caligula blocked enemies in the air, while the shadow legion firmly guarded the ground.
Second Princess Yekaterina was watching all this from inside the tower.
CRASH!
When Yekaterina, with blood-red hair, struck the throne with her fist, the armrest made of solid demon realm minerals crumbled to dust.
Yekaterina rose from her seat wearing armor engraved with an imposing demon image.
"Prepare the entire army for deployment."
She shouted with glowing red eyes.
"I shall invade that place myself!"