548
Chapter 548
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Something burst out with a powerful vibration.
BOOM!
CRASH!
The firmly closed door shattered, and a flesh mass could be seen twisting its body as it squeezed through.
GRAAAAAAAA!
As the grotesque flesh masses endlessly swelled up, parts of it stretched like rubber and snatched the knights standing in front.
"AAAAAAAGH!"
The knights screamed as they were sucked into the flesh mass.
The attack was so quick that it was impossible to avoid.
The knights who survived behind raised their aura blades and swung them at the approaching flesh masses.
SLASH!
But the parts touched by the aura blades were only cut momentarily before quickly sticking back together and returning to their original form.
The knights cried out in despair.
"Dark mage bastards! AAAAARGH! Call those dogs!"
But despite the knights' screams, the mages did not appear.
Eventually, all the knights there were devoured by the flesh mass.
GURGLE! GURGLE!
The flesh mass let out a strange sound and began to writhe, searching for more prey.
Boris and his group were hiding behind, watching the entire situation.
Shadia looked at Boris and said:
"Commander, I'm not sure if it was a good idea to wake up something that dangerous."
In response, Boris gestured in the opposite direction from where the flesh mass had gone.
"When all the buried bombs explode, that thing will be buried too. If not... the boss will take care of it."
Boris showed absolute trust that Zeke would handle anything they couldn't manage.
Hearing this, Shadia nodded in agreement.
"Well, if it's our lord..."
Zeke had already earned absolute trust from his subordinates.
Boris left the extremely dangerous Abyss experiment loose in the labyrinth and moved to another location to continue his work.
From the opposite direction where Boris had moved, screams and monstrous sounds continued to echo.
* * *
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Golden aura swept through the entire space.
"Ugh!"
Asmodius clenched his teeth against the wave of aura containing powerful purification energy and rushed toward where the priest was.
But at that moment, a lightning bolt of light struck down toward Asmodius.
CRACKLE!
Asmodius hurriedly raised his bone spear to block the lightning.
"Get out of my way!"
BOOM!
CRASH!
Though he blocked it in a hurry, fortunately for Asmodius, the powerful force that surged from his bone spear neutralized the lightning.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The light wave receded and the covered platform was revealed.
Zeke holding Ascalon and the priest floating in the air were glaring at each other.
Zeke stared fiercely at the priest.
'I definitely felt like I cut him.'
While Asmodius and Arataso were engaged in battle, Zeke had been hiding with his power of etherealization, waiting for an opportunity to strike the priest.
And at the decisive moment, he revealed himself and struck the priest.
Although he couldn't identify all the powers the priest possessed, he thought that purification power could neutralize demonic energy and alien species' power, thus delivering a significant blow.
His calculated strike had definitely hit the priest accurately. Nevertheless, the priest showed no signs of being damaged.
The floating priest looked at Zeke and said:
"How foolish, Zeke Draker. The more you struggle in this place that is not your stage, the deeper your pain will be."
To this, Zeke raised his sword and replied:
"I'll be the judge of that."
The priest's eyes, hidden under the hood, flashed with a red light.
"Zeke Draker, I already know that what you seek is the soul of the arrogant savior."
Simultaneously, aura imbued with constellation power erupted from his body.
"Perhaps you fell for the demon lord's deception. Did you not know that the master of unbreakable contracts has the most dangerous tongue even in the demon realm?"
"All demons' tongues are dangerous. The same goes for you, who contracts with demons and demonic tribes to devour the physical realm. It's laughable that someone like you would say such things, Harvey West."
In response to Zeke's words, the priest raised his energy without replying.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
And as the aura power erupting from the priest's body reacted, Asmodius's fighting spirit in front of him grew even stronger.
Red light flowed from Asmodius's ruby eyes.
"The lord's blessing has descended upon me! I shall offer the glory of victory to my lord!"
As his power strengthened, the waiting skeleton army also began to move properly with light flowing from their eyes.
Seeing this, Zeke said to Asmodius:
"Captain of the Morningstar second Battalion, Asmodius. The soul of the lord you served is being held captive by that Dark mage. Despite this, can you still call yourself a loyal knight?"
But Asmodius, intoxicated by the constellation's power, could not hear Zeke's words.
He shouted with excitement in a crazed voice.
"Cut the enemy's throat! I shall tear out their heart and offer it to my lord!"
With his cry, the knights of the Skeletal army also roared.
They began to move forward, holding bone swords and shields.
Seeing this, Zeke activated Offense Mode and summoned the Golem Knights.
CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!
The Golem Knights appeared before Arataso and Nebilos, holding shields and swords.
Zeke said to Arataso and Nebilos.
"Keep them from coming this way."
At his command, Arataso picked up his lance again, and Nebilos raised his magical power.
The aggressive Skeletal army charged toward the Golem Knights first.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
The Skeletal army, swinging bone swords with powerful momentum, fully demonstrated the power of Morningstar.
But the Golem Knight Corps were also summoned creatures boasting tremendous defensive power.
The Golem Knights did not yield to Morningstar, raising their shields to block their attacks.
"HYAAAAH!"
Arataso, having recovered some strength, attacked the Skeletal Corps while swinging his lance.
Nebilos fired magic from behind and summoned more undead.
Seeing the Skeletal Corps clash with Zeke's summons, Asmodius grew angrier and raised his energy.
Then, looking at Zeke standing before him, he raised his bone spear and shouted.
"Worthless human! You have committed an unforgivable sin by opposing the great Morningstar. This sin will be difficult to repay even with the annihilation of your soul!"
Zeke raised Ascalon in response to Asmodius's words and replied.
"For a demon, you have quite a long tongue. Is that what your arrogant savior taught you?"
Asmodius, further enraged by Zeke's provocation, stepped forward with his bone spear.
"Insolent human. I'll cut off your limbs and then annihilate your soul in one breath!"
As he spoke, he stepped forward, wildly spinning his bone spear above his head.
Then Zeke raised his sword and said to Asmodius.
"Your imagination is quite lacking. That won't be enough to annihilate me."
Zeke continued to provoke Asmodius while infusing power into Ascalon.
Brilliant light power flowed from his sword.
At that moment, Asmodius charged forward with his bone spear.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
As if becoming one with the bone spear, Asmodius rushed toward Zeke at an invisible speed.
WHOOSH!
The bone spear came piercing through the air with intense force, as if to tear Zeke's body apart in one go.
Zeke calmly spread a gravity field and swung Ascalon toward the charging bone spear.
CRASH!
Asmodius could feel the powerful force in Zeke's sword through his bone spear.
Surprised by the force that shook his entire body, Asmodius hesitantly stepped back.
'How can a human possess such power?'
Asmodius had never backed down even when fighting the Tuma clan, who could tear apart massive demons of the demon realm with their bare hands.
He couldn't believe that a human had so naturally deflected his power-infused attack.
But he couldn't just give in because the human had unexpected strength. Asmodius concentrated his power again and swung his spear.
"DIE!"
KABOOM!
The spear fell toward Zeke's head with a sound like an exploding bomb.
Again, Zeke spread a gravity field and deflected upward with gravity-infused sword.
CRACK!
The sound of bones shifting was heard.
Asmodius had been pushed back in the head-on collision. He almost lost his grip on the spear from the sudden powerful impact.
'URGH!'
Zeke didn't miss the opening.
He immediately rushed forward and unleashed the Dragon Slaying Technique on Asmodius.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The simple yet powerful sword strike of the Dragon Slaying Technique pierced right into Asmodius's side.
CRACK!
Asmodius's bone armor shattered completely in one blow.
"GAAACK!"
Asmodius let out a terrible cry and veered sideways from the massive shock that penetrated his entire body.
"HUFF, HUFF!"
Asmodius gripped his spear again and caught his breath.
Right now, the power of the constellation was overflowing in his body.
Even though he was exerting the power of his prime, when he had made the mighty ones of the demon realm kneel and carved the terror of the Skeletal Corps, he couldn't land a proper hit on Zeke.
As if to prove this, Zeke stood in the same stance, holding his sword, as they faced each other.
Asmodius was confused, seeing Zeke standing there without even changing his breathing.
'Is this guy really human?'
Countless questions arose and disappeared in his mind.
At that moment, the priest behind him spoke to Asmodius.
"Asmodius, do not doubt the power dwelling within you. The power of the great Arrogant Savior is with you."
At the priest's words, Asmodius's eyes turned momentarily hazy before returning to normal.
He gripped his bone spear again and murmured.
"Glory to my lord. Victory for my lord."
Seeing Asmodius's state, Zeke realized the priest had used some trick on him.
'Brainwashing? How could he control a demon…? No, bringing back an annihilated being is strange to begin with.'
The priest was empowering Asmodius with the Arrogant Savior's authority.
If Zeke destroyed Asmodius and disrupted this manifestation of power, the priest would also suffer a strong backlash.
Zeke formed a plan to capture and kill the priest in that window of opportunity.
'First, I'll take him down.'
As soon as Zeke finalized his plan, he moved using Wind Spirit Technique with his sword. The distance between them closed instantly.
Upon approaching, Zeke immediately swung his sword upward.
WHOOSH!
Asmodius instinctively swung his spear to block Zeke's sword.
CRACK!
But Zeke's sword, wielded with determination and purpose, was powerful. The bone spear shattered into pieces in one blow.
Despite his bone spear breaking harder than any metal in the demon realm Asmodius showed little reaction and simply stretched out his hand to create another bone spear.
"Victory for my lord. Victory."
Still not in his right mind, Asmodius gripped the bone spear and instinctively took a fighting stance.
Facing the powerful enemy that was Zeke, Asmodius's body automatically drew upon the spear techniques he had mastered long ago.
Unlike before, he now took a notably defensive posture, carefully holding his spear.
Then suddenly, he thrust the spear toward Zeke with all his might.
KABOOM!
With an explosive sound, the spear cut through the air toward Zeke.
Zeke calmly defended against Asmodius's strike, which had become much stronger than before.
CLANG!
When sword and spear collided, shockwaves exploded in all directions.
Zeke counterattacked immediately after blocking Asmodius's spear.
WHOOSH!
Instantly, Asmodius's bone armor grew and formed a shield made of bone.
He blocked Zeke's sword with the newly formed shield, but it shattered completely under the power of the sword.
"URGH!"
Though the shield had prevented direct sword contact, the shockwave penetrated his entire body.
Zeke continued his relentless attacks against Asmodius.
Unable to establish a counterattack rhythm, Asmodius's movements gradually slowed.
CLANG!
After backing away from one of Zeke's attacks, Asmodius, appearing exhausted, momentarily lowered his spear.
He glared at Zeke with glowing red eyes.
"To my lord, victory for my lord..."
At that moment.
The priest's voice penetrated Asmodius's exhausting mind.
[Asmodius.]
But in Asmodius's ears, the priest's voice overlapped with the Arrogant Savior's voice.
With hazy eyes, he shouted.
"MY LORD! MY LORD!"
The priest's voice echoed through Asmodius's mind.
[If you wish to offer victory to me, accept this new power.]
Asmodius's eyes wavered at the priest's words.
"New power... given by you, my lord?"
[Yes, my most faithful knight. I bestow new power upon you. You must bring victory.]
Asmodius nodded at the priest's words and said.
"I accept! I shall bring certain victory!"
The moment he declared his acceptance, a different energy rose from Asmodius's body.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Zeke frowned upon seeing the energy flowing from Asmodius's body.
'That power is...'
The power bestowed by the priest was none other than the power of the Outer Beings.