675
Chapter 675
KUGUGUGUGUGU!
Asmodeus's reddened eyes suddenly returned to their original state at Zeke's words.
After a moment, he looked at Zeke and spoke.
[Guide of Fair Pain.]
Zeke met Asmodeus's gaze as he spoke.
"Finally speaking now."
Zeke had noticed that Asmodeus's power had been restored and his clouded mind had returned after the Legion Commanders injected him with power from the battlefield.
Zeke continued looking at Asmodeus.
"Since you've already descended to the physical realm, were you planning to resurrect the sealed Demon King here too?"
Asmodeus was one of the Demon Lords among the great demons of Hell who tried to resurrect the Demon King.
While in Hell, he could only intervene indirectly since he couldn't break the Demon King's seal directly, but once in the physical realm, it became possible to break the seal with his own power.
At those words, Asmodeus glared at Zeke and shook his head.
[Guide of Fair Pain, you have no idea what you've done.]
Zeke furrowed his brow and said to Asmodeus.
"Don't you think you're being too pompous for a Demon Lord who was forcibly summoned to the physical realm by humans?"
Zeke continued speaking sharply to the serious Asmodeus.
"Anyway, stop talking nonsense. Tell me what contract you made with Arthur Draker. Seeing how you were directly summoned to the physical realm, there seems to be something Mephistopheles doesn't know about."
At Zeke's words, Asmodeus remained silent before changing his chimera-like appearance.
TSTSTSTS!
Transformed from a chimera into a sensual woman with horns on her head, Asmodeus glared at Zeke with yellow beast-like eyes.
He judged there would be no advantage in clashing with Zeke while not having fully recovered his power.
Nevertheless, Asmodeus's voice carried strong hostility toward Zeke.
"How do you plan to handle the massive chaos you've caused?"
"Is it a demonic racial trait to ignore context and only say what you want to say?"
At Zeke's words, Asmodeus bit his lip once before slowly speaking.
"When the Demon Lord Mephistopheles's soul was sealed, Hell fell into great chaos."
Mephistopheles was not only the master of Pandemonium but had also subjugated Asmodeus to become the master of Gehenna, and had also subdued Baal and Agares to become the new master of the Abyss.
Problems were inevitable now that Mephistopheles, who had claimed more than half of Hell, had abandoned his position.
"Hell is beginning to collapse."
It was none other than the great demons who were supporting the unstable realm of Hell.
Without them, Hell, created from gathered fragments of forgotten time, would have no choice but to disappear again.
After explaining the situation, Asmodeus glared at Zeke and continued.
"While I dislike the ways of the '‘Master of Unbreakable Contracts,' I cannot deny that he is currently a crucial pillar supporting Hell."
Despite Mephistopheles subjugating him through clever contracts, Asmodeus was actually defending him.
Listening to Asmodeus's words, Zeke had one question.
"I understand that Hell is collapsing due to Mephistopheles's absence. But there's something I don't understand. If that's the situation, couldn't you just attack Pandemonium and take his place?"
The lords of Hell had been opposing each other to claim each other's territories for a very long time.
Now that Mephistopheles's soul was sealed by Zeke, this should have been the perfect opportunity to aim for that vacant position.
In fact, Mephistopheles himself had become the master of Pandemonium by taking advantage of the absence of Satan, the Arrogant Savior.
At Zeke's words, Asmodeus hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"...He placed an irrefutable contract on our souls. To prevent us from invading his territory even in his absence."
Mephistopheles, the demon of contracts, had already taken complete measures to prevent the Demon Lords he had subdued from betraying him.
Hearing this, Zeke nodded.
"Well, that's possible. It is Mephistopheles after all. Wait, then wouldn't Beelzebub, the Administrator of the Depths, be able to target Pandemonium?"
At Zeke's words, Asmodeus bit his lip tightly.
Seeing this, Zeke understood how the situation in Hell was unfolding.
"Tsk tsk. I get it now. You, Asmodeus, fled to the physical realm to escape the Administrator of the Depths."
Despite making excuses about Hell's collapse, he had actually escaped to the physical realm to avoid the Administrator of the Depths who was moving in to take Mephistopheles's vacant position.
Now Zeke could understand why Asmodeus came up to the physical realm despite the drain on his power, while looking for Mephistopheles whom he didn't even like.
'The Administrator of the Depths, Beelzebub. If defeated by him, one's soul either perishes or becomes eternally subjugated.'
Even Mephistopheles avoided direct confrontation with Beelzebub.
Because if one were to fight and lose against Beelzebub, the ruler of all dead beings, it would be impossible to plan for the future.
The result of defeat would be either annihilation or becoming his slave.
Zeke spoke while looking at Asmodeus.
"You hastily accepted Arthur Draker's proposal to escape from Beelzebub."
Unlike Baal and Agares who were strong fighters, Asmodeus was a demon who knew how to use schemes.
He had noticed that when Mephistopheles, who was supposed to be responsible for their territories, was sealed, Beelzebub would seize the opportunity to move beyond Abaddon into Pandemonium, Gehenna, and the Abyss.
It would be nothing short of madness to directly face Beelzebub while their souls were bound to Mephistopheles.
When Arthur Draker proposed descending to the physical realm, Asmodeus saw it as an opportunity and accepted.
Zeke spoke while looking at Asmodeus.
"It's hard to criticize a demon for acting like a demon. Fine, I understand the situation. A Demon Lord who abandoned their territory and subordinates they were supposed to protect and came to the physical realm to survive..."
At Zeke's words, Asmodeus trembled with humiliation.
He hadn't mindlessly headed to the physical realm without any thought. He had planned to regain his old Legion Commanders and soldiers before finding the power to oppose Beelzebub.
But due to the clash with Zeke, not only the Legion Commanders but also almost all the soldiers were annihilated, so Zeke's mockery wasn't wrong.
Finally, Asmodeus surrendered.
"Guide of Fair Pain, I have a proposal."
Zeke showed an indifferent expression at Asmodeus's words.
"I'm not very keen on proposals from demons."
Despite Zeke's attitude, Asmodeus firmly continued his words.
"Rather, completely absorb the sealed soul of the ‘Master of Unbreakable Contracts.' Then you become the Demon Lord and take his territories in Hell."
He judged it would be better for Zeke, a human, to become the Demon Lord and rule Pandemonium, Gehenna, and the Abyss rather than Beelzebub.
Zeke responded to Asmodeus's words with the same indifferent expression.
"Well, I'm not sure if I really need to go that far."
Asmodeus's eyes widened at Zeke's unexpected response.
"...This is an opportunity to become the actual ruler of Hell. Are you saying you'll just let such an opportunity pass?"
"What good would it do me to rule over a barren and unstable Hell? Demons like you would just be a nuisance trying to stab me in the back. You have your own ulterior motives, don't you?"
"You, you..."
Asmodeus was left speechless at Zeke's words.
Indeed, as Zeke said, Asmodeus had planned to persuade Zeke, use him as a front while recovering his power behind the scenes, then steal the Demon King's soul and return to Hell to attack Beelzebub.
If Zeke were to absorb and destroy Mephistopheles's soul, the contract would become void and he could regain his freedom.
Zeke had already seen through such thoughts of Asmodeus.
"Asmodeus, let me tell you in advance, it's a big mistake to think you'll be free if I absorb Mephistopheles's soul."
Asmodeus was startled at his words.
Zeke continued with a smirk at Asmodeus's reaction.
"If I absorb his soul, the contract will also transfer to me. Then you'll be subjugated to me instead of Mephistopheles."
Asmodeus's face contorted as he hadn't thought that far.
'That damned human...'
He could neither return to Hell nor remain in the physical realm.
That's when Zeke spoke to Asmodeus.
"Alright, since you seem desperate, I'll make a special proposal."
Asmodeus raised his head at Zeke's words.
"A proposal? What kind of proposal?"
"Help me prevent the Demon King's resurrection. Then I'll receive the contract from Mephistopheles and release the subjugation binding your soul."
Asmodeus's eyes wavered at Zeke's words.
Mephistopheles's contract couldn't be undone even by another Demon Lord.
But when Zeke, who had sealed his soul, offered to release the contract of subjugation, Asmodeus couldn't help but be tempted.
"...Are those words true?"
"Unlike demons, I only speak the truth. Of course, these aren't the only conditions.
Asmodeus showed an expression that suggested he had expected Zeke's words.
"What other conditions are there?"
Zeke looked at him straight in the eyes and slowly opened his mouth.
"Help me by mobilizing not just yourself but all the demon realm forces you possess."
At his words, Asmodeus frowned.
"What nonsense is that? The reason I could come here was because of the power of the Sun God that Arthur Draker possessed. Without that power, it's impossible for my other subordinates to come here."
At those words, Zeke shook his head.
"To be precise, it's not the power of the Sun God but the power of distorted causality. Now I see you didn't even know how you could descend to the physical realm."
Zeke had learned the true nature of this power at the Temple of the Distorted Constellation. But even the Demon Lord Asmodeus didn't seem to know that secret.
Zeke continued speaking.
"Anyway, that's not important. What will you do? Will you accept my proposal? Or will you just return to the demon realm and face Beelzebub?"
Asmodeus seriously pondered Zeke's words.
In fact, it was unprecedented for a great demon to be cornered and swayed by a human's proposal like this, so his pride was severely hurt.
However, currently, it was Asmodeus who was in need, not Zeke.
Eventually, he had no choice but to accept Zeke's conditions.
"Guide of Fair Pain, I accept your proposal."
Zeke showed a satisfied expression at those words.
"Good, from now on you must follow my orders, Asmodeus."
Following Mephistopheles, Asmodeus was now another Demon Lord who submitted to the human Zeke.
Suppressing his sense of humiliation, he spoke to Zeke.
"...Understood, my lord. But... how do you plan to summon my legion from the demon realm here?"
Just as he finished his question.
KUGUUGUGUGU!
A massive vibration echoed from beyond the coast.
Simultaneously, a tower that hadn't existed before could be seen erected on the mountainside.
Asmodeus gaped at this sight.
"Is that an Invasion Fortress?"
Yekaterina's tower, the second princess of Mephistopheles, had been properly summoned.
Asmodeus finally realized why Zeke had been so confident about being able to summon his legion here.
'This person has far transcended the realm of humans.'
Zeke spoke while looking at Asmodeus, who still couldn't close his mouth.
"Asmodeus, prepare to move. That place is now the new territory you must protect."