Chapter 59
Chapter 59
Chapter 59
Rigos (1)
Massive magic formed a huge dome, creating a space like an arena.
Even with his escape route blocked, Rudian looked at Rigos with a snicker.
"A human... Did you notice?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
Rigos had watched from the top floor as Rudian's head flew off to Kimaris.
And after watching Rudian grow for a while, he came to a definitive conclusion.
"I've thoroughly examined your essence. Your true identity is nothing but a lowly human, never one connected to the gods."
"That's right, I'm human."
"That bitch Asmodeus is really stupid too. To fall for such bluffing and give time to mere humans."
Rigos mocked Asmodeus, who had constantly ignored him.
Even thinking about how she had despised him as a muscle-brain since their demon realm days, dismissing all his heartfelt opinions, still made his teeth grind.
Now, if he could eliminate the enemy before him and return triumphantly, Asmodeus would no longer be able to oppose him.
"There's one thing I'm curious about."
Rudian tilted his head and asked Rigos.
"How do you plan to beat me?"
Rigos was currently in a state where his power was restricted.
If it weren't for Leviathan's proposal, he wouldn't have even been able to reach this place.
However, Rudian, who had gone through trials and learned to work in harmony with Adi, had acquired the capability to reach this place on his own strength.
There was no way Rigos didn't know this fact.
"Kukuku, so you've gained some confidence over these 10 years?"
"Quite a lot."
"But even so, it's still human level. If the Demon Gate opens, I could smash this pathetic tomb in less than a day."
No matter how much Leviathan's followers could display power close to their prime within this virtual space.
If Rigos, with all restrictions removed, destroyed this space from the outside, Leviathan and his followers would vanish futilely.
"So? Is the Demon Gate open now?"
"Even if the gate isn't open, there are ways. Why do you think I accepted Leviathan's proposal?"
WHOOSH!
The black magic flames that had been seen around Kimaris began to burn fiercely around Rigos as well.
"Is this huge dome that method?"
"Yes, at least you have some sense."
Rudian tapped the giant barrier surrounding them.
'It's not just a simple wall of magic.'
He could feel demonic nature opposing divine nature.
Rigos asked Rudian with a confident smile.
"Human, do you know what creates the difference between Demon Kings and demons?"
Rigos had asked this assuming that Rudian wouldn't know the answer, but when it came to knowledge about the worldview, there was no one with higher knowledge than Rudian except for the original author.
"Authority."
"...!"
When the answer came immediately, Rigos's face stiffened slightly.
"The nature of demonic essence. It's not just wielding power, but being able to bloom your own individuality - that's what makes one recognized as a Demon King, isn't it?"
Rigos let out a groan as if surprised.
Until now, there had never been a single human who knew this fact.
"You're certainly not an ordinary human."
"In that sense, the current demon realm is a mess. Shoving in unqualified bastards who haven't even awakened their authority and calling them the seventy-two Demon Kings or whatever."
"Kahaha! I'll admit that."
Rigos laughed heartily at Rudian's criticism.
From the moment the magic dome completely enclosed them, Rigos was certain of victory.
Perhaps because of this, every action was filled with leisure.
"You're the first human I've met who sees through the demon realm's situation so clearly. If I had met you without knowing anything, I might have mistaken you for an incarnation."
But incarnations don't do things like training.
An incarnation's power is determined solely by the rank of the god who is their main body.
As long as he was certain that Rudian was an ordinary human, Rigos's absolute superiority would never change.
"If you're so well-informed about our demon realm, you should be able to tell what my authority is, right?"
"...I'm not sure?"
In the original work, Rigos dies in a one-on-one duel with Sword Saint Crux at the end of Chapter 1.
The problem was that since Rigos wasn't a particularly important villain, only the description of him being defeated by Crux appeared, and what exactly his authority was had never been revealed.
But looking at the current situation, he could roughly guess.
"But within this circular sphere, you can use full power ignoring all restrictions, something like that."
"Ho? Correct!"
Rigos applauded and praised Rudian.
Then he completely changed his expression and shouted fiercely.
"The nature of my authority is equality! Within this space, anyone and anything can use all their power without any restrictions! Even if it's a divine seal, even if it's the providence of the world!"
'Indeed... No wonder you're so confident.'
If the nature of the authority was like that, Rigos's overflowing confidence made sense.
Of course, there would be limitations to deploying that authority.
Usually, Demon Kings' authorities have long cooldowns or accompanying demerits proportional to their power.
'Still, the only ones who can face a Demon King-class opponent with power restrictions completely removed at this point are upper-tier dragons.'
If he had to find one more, it would be Archduke Quihiller, the only one among humans...
Even then, it would only be buying time, and this gentleman had retired leaving everything to Crux, so even in the original work, his name was only mentioned sporadically.
"The chatter has gone on long. Now, shall we fight?"
Rigos took one big step forward.
But Rigos hesitated for a moment at Rudian's restraining gesture.
"Fighting like this wouldn't be bad, but wait a moment."
"...What now?"
"Something important is still missing, isn't it?"
Rigos frowned, not understanding what Rudian meant.
Rudian ignored him and started shouting in various directions around them.
"Hey, Leviathan! I know you're listening! Let me ask something before fighting this guy!"
Then, from the middle of the dark space, an object in the shape of a small snake revealed itself.
Originally, he should have talked with that creature, the owner of this space, first before starting, but due to Rigos's impulsive nature, they couldn't even properly greet each other.
"So you were watching after all."
-It's my first time seeing this.
No matter how much of a barrier Rigos had set up, it wasn't to the extent that Leviathan, also called the Primordial Serpent, couldn't even spectate.
-What's your reason for calling me?
"Isn't it obvious? The stakes."
He was the mastermind who had called Rigos here and even assigned Kimaris as a training instructor to set up this situation.
Naturally, his goal would be Rigos's elimination, but for Rudian, a future where a two-round battle continuing from Rigos to Leviathan would occur was undesirable.
Leviathan seemed to understand Rudian's words and nodded.
-Stakes... Would this be enough?
Before long, a black orb that looked like processed obsidian was held in the small snake's mouth.
That must be the 'Fragment of Leviathan,' the treasure that Abel obtained after conquering this place in the original work and the driving force that maintains this tower.
Although it couldn't compare to Diablo, given Diablo's characteristic of being difficult to draw out all its power, the Fragment of Leviathan actually had the advantage of being much more convenient to use.
In other words, it was a mythic-grade special item with several S's attached to its rank.
"That's not enough."
But Rudian tilted his head with an indifferent expression.
-...What?
"Rigos with his authority deployed is clearly stronger than you. He'd be capable enough to tear apart this tower. Moreover, I climbed all the way here through hardship, so if my opponent is stronger than the existing boss, wouldn't I feel a bit wronged?"
-Have you forgotten that I'm the one who trained you?
"It was only a matter of time anyway. Overall, I'm at a loss."
It was ridiculous nonsense, but Leviathan had no particular grounds to protest here.
-So what are you trying to say?
"Add that and one more thing."
-...
Rudian couldn't read a snake's expression, but he could sense that Leviathan was looking at him with a feeling like 'What the hell is this bastard?'
-You're a greedy human.
"That orb will disappear anyway and you'll achieve nirvana. Since you're being generous, why not be a bit more generous?"
That orb was an object containing Leviathan's last power.
When it goes outside, naturally this tower would disappear and Leviathan would meet complete extinction.
It could be said to be everything Leviathan currently possessed, but for some reason, Rudian strongly felt that the creature was hiding something more.
-Huhu, huhuhuhuh...!
Leviathan let out a chuckle as if something was funny.
-Did 'he' tell you to even strip away this fallen body's hidden assets?
It was essentially a statement acknowledging Rudian's words.
"It's just my guess. He has nothing to do with it. And that guy was a shut-in for ten thousand years, so there's no way he'd know about others' affairs."
-Who are you calling a shut-in!
Diablo's scream shook Rudian's eardrums, but Rudian successfully defended by blocking his ear canals.
-...Fine.
As if there really was something hidden, Leviathan glared at Rudian with sparkling eyes.
-If you kill this bastard and can make one more promise with me... I'll give you additional compensation.
"Good, that's how you should come out."
-May you fight well...
The snake's phantom disappeared, and only Rudian and Rigos remained in the place.
Rigos, who had been quietly watching the situation without intervening, summoned a giant spear of darkness with a triumphant laugh.
"Perfect. Now there's one more thing to gain."
Whatever Leviathan was giving, Rigos was confident that it wouldn't end up in his opponent's hands.
No matter how great his confidence in his own abilities, he didn't expect him to be this oblivious.
"Phew, even though you're famous as a muscle-brain among Demon Kings, I thought you'd notice by now."
"...What are you talking about?"
Rudian slowly drew Diablo while his eyes glinted coldly.
"You're fucked."
***
Rigos had certainly played a card that made him confident of victory.
But what he had observed was only Rudian's human aspects.
Rudian had never used that creature to show his full power, whether during training with Kimaris or while climbing the tower.
Therefore, Rigos blinked his eyes the moment he saw the magic bursting from Rudian.
"...Huh?"
Magic.
No, demonic nature.
The power of a very familiar, very chilling, very frightening existence... Why was it being felt from that human?
While Rigos was hesitating for a moment, Diablo asked Rudian with a slightly expectant tone.
-You're not used to this kind of combat. Shall I do it for you?
'What nonsense? How often do I get to accumulate such precious combat experience?'
-Hehe, but if you die within this domain, you can't be revived even with Leviathan's authority. It would be truly eternal death. You can't not know that, right?
'I don't care. It's not like I have no chance of winning, and if I only pursue safety, there's no meaning to real combat.'
Why did he risk coming all the way here in the first place?
Rudian shouted at Diablo.
'Just properly lend me your power. Your seal should be temporarily lifted because of that bastard's authority.'
-Kukuku, how could there be any hesitation?
Originally, Rudian's magic had a refreshing blue light, no different from others.
But as Diablo's seal was temporarily released and Diablo's power flowed in infinitely without any risk, Rudian's magic, which had been bright blue, was transformed into a dark navy blue close to black.
Rigos recognized the identity of that power and stammered.
"Why, why is this?"
"What?"
"Your seal being lifted should happen at least 20 years from now! But why... Why are you here now?"
Perhaps because the mental shock was so great, the fighting spirit he had barely ignited was extinguished as if cold water had been poured on it.
"As expected."
There are few cases where mental damage comes more than when one's expectations are shattered.
Especially when those expectations are close to certainty!
What Rigos was showing now was the appearance of someone whose certainty that something could never happen had been shattered.
Then what had made that creature have such certainty?
Rudian looked at Rigos with a sinister smile.
"You bastards... You've been working with the gods."