526
Chapter 526
'The sixth lord of the demon realm?'
Zeke couldn't hide his bewilderment, not expecting Mephistopheles to make such a proposal.
Watching him, Mephistopheles calmly explained.
"I didn't know you would have divine status like this now. There are limitations to the information when observing the physical realm from where I am. Anyway, now that you've transcended species and started gaining divine status, you're certainly qualified to have a constellation name."
Zeke gathered his thoughts at Mephistopheles' words.
'He's one of the six lords of the demon realm. Although he's currently manifested with only part of his soul descended, in terms of rank, he should be considered at the highest position among all constellations. I must not be deceived by those words.'
He had personally seen how the constellations had devastated the physical realm in the past, and how many civilizations had to be destroyed as a result.
That's why he thought it was dangerous to believe everything Mephistopheles said.
Looking at Zeke, Mephistopheles gave a bitter smile.
"It's natural that you're wary of my proposal first. I understand."
Mephistopheles was quite understanding for a demon lord.
When he clapped, the screen split into four again, showing the four regions of the demon realm.
"Currently, there are two lords in Abyss, one in Abaddon, one in Gehenna, and one in Pandemonium which I rule. That makes five in total. However, the rulers of the demon realm are known to be six."
He asked Zeke.
"Where do you think the remaining one is?"
Zeke had also wondered about this before.
The great demons who ruled the demon realm were known to be six, but there were only five lords ruling the territories.
"A demon realm lord without a territory to rule. Is this related to your proposal to me?"
Mephistopheles smiled with pleasure.
"It's good that you understand quickly. Among demons, there are many simple-minded ones, so I often have to exercise great patience to explain things one by one."
Mephistopheles changed the screen back to Pandemonium.
"Actually, the last demon realm lord who is now gone used to rule Pandemonium with me. Since Pandemonium is the largest of all demon realm territories, it could easily accommodate two lords."
Zeke spoke after hearing Mephistopheles' words.
"Did a conflict arise in between?"
Mephistopheles' eyes changed slightly.
He nodded with a bitter smile.
"You could say that. The other lord who ruled Pandemonium with me, the 'Arrogant Savior', is currently sealed."
Zeke repeated the constellation name Mephistopheles mentioned.
'The Arrogant Savior.'
Mephistopheles spoke with a distant expression as if recalling the past.
"Actually, it wasn't me but the Arrogant Savior who first designed the current form of Pandemonium."
"Are you saying the Arrogant Savior tried to create a new civilization in the demon realm?"
"True to his constellation name, he wanted to save us and our followers who had fallen to the demon realm."
Mephistopheles shook his head and continued.
"But he was as arrogant as his desire to save. His enthusiasm came first and his self-conviction was strong, so he pushed forward with his plans without considering the situation of the constellations or demons."
From Mephistopheles' words, Zeke could easily guess what had happened.
"So other constellations attacked the Arrogant Savior together."
At those words, Mephistopheles shook his head.
"Rather than other constellations, 'I' was the one who sealed him."
Mephistopheles wore an expression steeped in reminiscence, unlike a great demon.
"If he had continued to push his will, not just Pandemonium but the entire demon realm could have collapsed. That's why I had to make a decision."
Zeke interpreted Mephistopheles' words in a different way.
He couldn't rule out the possibility that there had been an intense power struggle between him and the Arrogant Savior over the territory of Pandemonium.
'I can't believe everything a great demon says, but it seems certain that one of the six great demons is sealed.'
Zeke pondered how he could use this newly learned fact.
Then Mephistopheles said to Zeke.
"Though the Arrogant Savior was sealed, the lord's position still remains. His subordinates were torn apart and scattered to other factions with their abilities sealed. That friend Arataso you have with you is such a case."
Zeke was surprised when Arataso's name came from Mephistopheles' mouth.
'Is he saying Arataso was originally in the Arrogant Savior's faction?'
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
But then, suddenly sparks began to fly from Anastasia's body where Mephistopheles had descended.
It seemed karma's sanctions had penetrated into Mephistopheles' unique domain.
Frowning, Mephistopheles continued.
"...There's less time left than I thought. Zeke Draker. To get to the point, I propose that you absorb the sealed Arrogant Savior's soul to gain constellation status and become the sixth lord of the demon realm."
The sixth lord of the demon realm.
It was an opportunity to become a constellation that reigns above other constellations, not just an ordinary one.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
Anastasia's entire body was engulfed in sparks from the causality backlash.
Looking at Mephistopheles, Zeke asked.
"Why do you want me to become the sixth lord of the demon realm?"
"To protect Pandemonium that we've built over a long time. The other lords except me plan to resurrect the Demon King, destroy the physical realm, and summon the demon realm to earth."
Zeke unwittingly broke into a cold sweat at Mephistopheles' words.
'Summon the entire demon realm to the physical realm?'
Anastasia's invasion fortress was summoned on an ancient castle to reduce karma's sanctions.
If they expanded the range in the same way, summoning the demon realm's territory to earth wouldn't be impossible.
Gehenna's burning lands, Abaddon made of abyssal darkness, the endless struggle of Abyss, and Pandemonium, the city of demons.
Earth would literally become a world of demons.
Zeke frowned deeply, not having thought that the great demons' ultimate goal would be summoning the entire demon realm to earth.
'Those damn demons...'
If they couldn't stop the Demon King's descent, the physical realm would truly become a living hell.
As Zeke quickly organized the situation in his mind, a question occurred to him and he spoke to Mephistopheles.
"Unlike other great demons, I don't quite understand why you, the demon craftsman, refuse the summoning of the demon realm to the physical realm. Wouldn't it be better to move Pandemonium to earth for your followers?"
To Zeke's words, Mephistopheles calmly continued even amidst the causality backlash.
"Tsk, if only worldly matters could be resolved so easily. But the problem is that coming up to earth isn't necessarily all good for us."
He pointed his finger to the sky above.
"If we erode the physical realm, those beings up there can intervene too."
Zeke asked in surprise at Mephistopheles' words.
"Those beings up there... you mean the constellations of the celestial realm?"
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
When the words celestial realm constellations were spoken, the causality backlash affected even Zeke beyond Mephistopheles.
It meant karma's sanctions wouldn't allow mention of this.
Seeing Zeke flinch at the sudden electrical discharge, Mephistopheles said.
"If those damned beings come down too, the physical realm might truly be annihilated this time. Then there will be no winners or losers. The others don't care about that right now as they're just greedy for the physical realm, but I don't want that."
He stretched out both hands and created something while enduring the causality backlash.
WOONG!
Brilliant light condensed into a spherical form.
"It's difficult to decide everything in the current situation. Time is short, so take this first."
The sphere of light Mephistopheles created flew toward Zeke.
Watching it fly toward him, Zeke realized what the sphere of light was.
'Karma data?'
He could sense the compressed karma data contained within the sphere of light.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
Mephistopheles said to Zeke.
"You should know what that is. Everything I want to say is in there. See it and judge for yourself."
As soon as he finished speaking, light burst forth from Anastasia's body.
RUMBLE!
Along with an enormous light, the divine unique domain gradually disappeared.
Zeke, who was inside that domain, felt time begin to flow again after being stopped.
If left alone, Mephistopheles' domain would completely disappear and this karma data would also be erased, caught in the causality backlash.
'Damn...'
While it was difficult to trust a great demon's words, they couldn't be completely ignored either.
Zeke clenched his teeth and grasped the sphere of light Mephistopheles had passed to him.
BZZT! BZZT!
The karma data flowed into his body.
And moments later, surprising messages appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[You have received 'Fragment of Forgotten Time' from the Fallen Constellation Master of Unbreakable Contracts.]
[Fragment of Forgotten Time connects to the Akashic Code.]
[Large amount of karma data is being updated.]
[Acquired information about 'Fallen Constellation' through this data.]
[System restriction code related to this information has been released.]
[Final scenario mode unlocked due to condition fulfillment.]
[Final Chapter Scenario - Chapter of Fallen Constellation - is now open.]
-Final Chapter Scenario (Chapter of Fallen Constellation)-
[Find and absorb the seal of the Arrogant Savior hidden in the physical world to obtain complete divine status.]
[Final Chapter Scenario Reward: Granting of Constellation Name]
Zeke was surprised to see a Final Chapter Scenario appear instead of a main quest.
'Final Chapter Scenario. Does this mean the Demon King's advent is near.'
Zeke examined the part about the Arrogant Savior's seal being hidden in the physical world.
He understood why Mephistopheles proposed this deal specifically to him.
'Even if the fallen constellations of the demon realm descend through avatars, they cannot stay long in the physical world. Using other subordinates would be quickly discovered. There's also the question of who can withstand the seal's power.'
In contrast, as a human, he had no restrictions moving in the physical world.
Moreover, he had become a transcendent with divine status, capable of absorbing and handling a sealed archdevil's soul.
Mephistopheles must have considered all this when proposing the deal and transferring part of the forgotten time.
'Given that the Final Chapter Scenario appeared, he wasn't lying...'
If Mephistopheles was telling the truth, this was beneficial for Zeke.
Not only could he raise his status by absorbing the Arch demon’s soul, but if he could prevent other demon realm lords from summoning the Demon King as Mephistopheles intended, it aligned with his own goals.
As Zeke re-examined the Final Chapter Scenario contents, the unique domain that had spread across the hall completely disappeared.
WOONG!
Simultaneously, all the demons affected by Mephistopheles' divine domain collapsed from exhaustion.
Especially Anastasia, who had to endure the descent as an avatar, was completely sprawled on the floor.
Among them, Yekaterina regained consciousness first.
"UGHH!"
Being from the Tuma clan with an exceptionally gifted body, she recovered fastest.
After getting up, she stretched out her hand to summon her weapon.
RUMBLE!
Yekaterina, wielding a massive and grotesque bone sword with both hands, charged at Zeke with battle spirit rising.
"You human scum! How dare you deceive us?!"
Not having heard Zeke's conversation with Mephistopheles, Yekaterina swung her sword while expressing intense anger.
SWOOSH!
The bone sword infused with aura flew towards Zeke.