Flesh-Devouring Emperor Ajitahaka.
It was the name of a cursed figure erased from human history.
In particular, his infamy was well-known among demons because he had summoned them, drained their blood, and devoured their flesh.
Ajitahaka had been the emperor of an ancient empire on the Eastern Continent, where he wielded immense power and authority.
Even Blood King Caligula, the ruler of Shambhala, seemed like a firefly compared to the moon next to Ajitahaka.
Ajitahaka possessed a powerful bloodline ability: the power to absorb the strength of those he consumed.
With that ability, he devoured countless mighty beings and transcended the limits of humanity.
Once he had surpassed human boundaries, Ajitahaka sought to become a constellation himself.
In that pursuit, to gain the power of a fallen constellation, he consumed not just humans but demons, absorbing their strength.
Because of that, the infamy of Flesh-Devouring Emperor Ajitahaka spread even to the Demon Realm, and though human, he acquired authority surpassing that of a constellation.
But Ajitahaka was not satisfied; to ascend to an even higher rank, he sought to absorb even fallen constellations.
What halted the unstoppable rampage of the Flesh-Devouring Emperor was none other than himself.
In the process of summoning a fallen constellation to absorb its power, Ajitahaka lost his physical body, and his soul became trapped in the Isolated Plane, known as the prison of the abyss.
With the disappearance of Ajitahaka, who had come closest to becoming a constellation as a human, the empire he had built crumbled at a rapid pace.
Peace returned to the Eastern Continent, long suppressed by Ajitahaka's power, and the emperor of terror was shunned by those he had tormented, ultimately erased from history.
That Azmun held a sword infused with Ajitahaka's power shocked Lopocale.
He had already known that Azmun had joined hands with Ramon Siemens and was receiving his support, but he hadn't anticipated that Azmun would bring forth the power of the Flesh-Devouring Emperor.
Azmun swung the grotesquely transformed sword containing Ajitahaka's power toward the low-rank demons.
Kaaaaak!
The Flesh-Devouring Sword, imbued with Ajitahaka's authority, momentarily changed its form and devoured the upper body of the low-rank demon whole.
Crunch! Crunch!
With a deafening sound, the body of the low-rank demon, now missing its upper half, thudded to the floor.
Lopocale gritted his teeth at the sight.
'The power of Ajitahaka. So that's why Azmun was so confident in striking from behind.'
Ajitahaka had been a being who was human yet not human, devouring demons whole and absorbing their power.
As a demon himself, Lopocale found it a terribly unfavorable matchup.
Lopocale wrapped the chains binding Zeke around his hand and first retreated backward.
Clatter!
The chains fixed to the ceiling and floor detached, and Zeke's body, which had hung suspended in restraint, thudded to the floor.
Lopocale yanked the chains, pulling Zeke toward him, and quickly activated the barrier.
Rumble rumble rumble—
As the barrier activated, black lightning shot out from the ceiling and struck down toward Azmun.
Crackle crackle!
While the black lightning held Azmun at bay, Lopocale tried to escape the grand hall with Zeke.
"Stop him!"
The royal guard knights, infected with parasitic spawn from the Demon Realm, charged at Azmun on Lopocale's command.
Azmun swung the sword infused with Ajitahaka's power and headed toward Lopocale.
But Lopocale's magic was faster.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Black mist enveloped Lopocale and Zeke, bound by the chains, and in an instant, they vanished from the grand hall, teleporting somewhere else.
Boom boom boom boom!
Azmun swung his sword fiercely at the mist to catch the fleeing Lopocale, but the black smoke had already escaped the grand hall.
Azmun's eyes flashed red as he missed Lopocale.
He swung the sword containing Ajitahaka's power toward the royal guard knights in front of him.
Crunch crunch crunch!
The royal guard knights, who kept rising again, were reduced to mangled torsos from that single blow, collapsing and twitching on the floor.
And immediately after, as Azmun released the sword, a massive maw formed, devouring all the writhing bodies of the royal guard knights on the floor.
Crunch crunch crunch!
With the gruesome sound of bones shattering, the royal guard knights, who had become demons, left no trace behind.
The sword returned to its original form, as if there was nothing left to eat.
Azmun gripped his wrist, gritting his teeth in pain.
He removed his gauntlets and rolled up his sleeve to reveal black veins bulging on the wrist holding the sword.
'I used too much of the sword's power.'
Ajitahaka's authority was powerful, but the more it was used, the more it eroded the user's body.
If mishandled, he could lose his body to the sword and become a monster obsessed only with devouring flesh.
Azmun glared at the sword once before composing himself. He opened the doors of the grand hall, and the knights of the Capricorn Palace waiting outside entered.
He shouted to the knights.
"The acting consul has fled! His true identity is demonkind! He's still somewhere in this imperial palace—find him and recover Zeke Draker!"
At Azmun's shout, the knights of the Capricorn Palace scattered throughout the imperial palace.
*
"Damn it! Why did Ajitahaka suddenly pop up there!"
Lopocale, who had urgently fled to his secret hideout, ground his teeth.
He hadn't received any authority from his master, the Squelching Pit of Darkness, capable of blocking Ajitahaka's power, so he had no choice but to escape hastily.
'Even if it were my master, could they block the authority of flesh-devouring...?' In the secret hideout, Lopocale racked his brain urgently.
A way to escape this place, evade Azmun's pursuit, and carry out the order given by the Squelching Pit of Darkness.
He looked at Zeke, collapsed on the floor, still bound by the chains.
'I need to take that guy to the contract site.'
Zeke Draker was a figure whose rumors were rampant even among the fallen constellations.
It was because tales circulated in the Demon Realm that not only high-rank demons but even powerful fallen constellations had fallen to him.
The Squelching Pit of Darkness planned to subdue Zeke's soul and turn him into a vassal, allowing it to descend directly into the phenomenal world.
If it could descend perfectly into the phenomenal world while possessing Zeke Draker's body, it judged that claiming the phenomenal world for itself was not impossible.
Lopocale opened a prepared box and took out an egg containing parasitic spawn. 'If I implant this into Zeke Draker's body first, he won't be able to defy my commands.' He carefully gripped the egg to implant it into Zeke's body and closed the box.
But at that moment, he sensed something amiss.
The hairs on his body stood on end, as if a razor wind was brushing his skin.
Lopocale slowly turned his head backward.
Zeke Draker, who had been bound by the chains just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen.
'H-How did he break free from the soul-binding chains...?' Clatter!
Before his thought could finish, a chilling sound rang out, and white chains erupted from the floor at his feet.
Crunch crunch crunch!
The Chains of Solomon wrapped around Lopocale's body.
"Urgh!"
Bound by the Soul Confinement Technique, Lopocale thrashed about but couldn't escape no matter what.
At that moment, Zeke approached the fallen Lopocale.
As he extended his hand, the black chains scattered on the floor floated into the air and were sucked into Zeke's hand.
Clatter!
Zeke gripped the black chains and said to Lopocale.
"To think you'd believe these could restrain me. How laughable."
Having mastered the Soul Confinement Technique, Zeke knew better than anyone how to handle soul-binding chains, so escaping them wasn't particularly difficult.
Moreover, with Lopocale and Azmun fighting and buying him time, slipping free like this was a piece of cake.
Lopocale, bound by the Chains of Solomon, rolled his eyes desperately as he looked at Zeke.
Zeke stored the black chains in his inventory and then unleashed the Sacred Radiance Technique.
Crackle crackle!
Lightning of light coursed through the Sacred Radiance Technique, flowing over Lopocale's body.
"Urgh!"
"Where is the real Abel?"
At Zeke's question, Lopocale clenched his teeth and said nothing.
Zeke unleashed the Sacred Radiance Technique again with an amused expression.
Crackle crackle crackle!
The secret room flashed with lightning.
"Gah! Urgh!"
Lopocale reached a point where the relentless pain made it impossible for him to even open his mouth.
Zeke looked down at him and soon shook his head.
"For someone who only spouts nonsense, you have some spirit. Not that I want to praise you."
Time had already been delayed more than expected, so Zeke had no desire to waste more here.
He placed his hand on Lopocale's head and activated Dragonʼs Wisdom.
Woooong!
In an instant, a vast array of karma data, including Lopocale's memories, unfolded before Zeke's eyes.
He used the Eye of the Sage to selectively browse the data.
Through the karma data, Zeke located Abel.
Looking down at Lopocale, he muttered.
"So you separated Abel from Siemens and held him as a hostage."
Boldly, Lopocale had exploited the fact that Abel's body was more important to Ramon Siemens than anything else.
Under the pretext of management, he never left Abel's side for 24 hours and blocked any approach from the Siemens side.
For Ramon Siemens, Lopocale's actions must have felt like a significant threat.
'So he used Azmun to kill Lopocale and recover Abel's body.' Enduring the pain and trembling, Lopocale said to Zeke.
"Z-Zeke Draker... Let's join hands. Then... you could become the ruler of this continent.
I promise..."
Zeke unleashed the Sacred Radiance Technique again.
Crackle!
As the white current swept over Lopocale's body, his eyes rolled back.
Zeke looked at him and said.
"If you're talking about offering my body to your master and dreaming of dominating the phenomenal world, forget it. Your master doesn't have the capability for that."
The Squelching Pit of Darkness was not particularly strong among the fallen constellations.
It was the type that attached itself to stronger constellations, offering advice and receiving protection, without possessing any notable authority itself.
Compared to the Harbinger of Blood and Madness or the Serpent in the Black Mouth, which wielded potent authorities, it was a lower-rank constellation, so Zeke found its proposal ridiculous.
As if he had obtained everything he needed, Zeke looked down at Lopocale with cold eyes and said.
"You're not particularly capable, and all you think about is backstabbing, so there's no need to keep you alive."
At Zeke's words, Lopocale cried out in horror.
"W-Wait! Z-Zeke Draker! No, Lord Zeke! Hear me out...!" Woooong!
Zeke gripped the chains, donned the Agamemnon mask, and infused it with the power of purification.
Golden aura seeped into Lopocale's body.
"Gaaaaah!"
Lopocale screamed in agony incomparable to the Sacred Radiance Technique.
Feeling his soul beginning to dissipate, Lopocale instinctively slipped out of his apostle's body without realizing it.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
The black smoke that emerged from the body coalesced in the air.
This smoke was essentially Lopocale's true form.
Lopocale desperately tried to escape this place.
He could find a new body, but if his soul dissipated, his very existence would scatter into nothingness.
But Zeke wasn't about to let him go.
Clatter!
The Chains of Solomon, which bound even souls, transformed into smoke and restrained Lopocale as he tried to flee.
At the same time, Zeke's shadow rippled.
The Chains of Solomon dragged Lopocale's true form toward Zeke's shadow.
Lopocale resisted fiercely, but to no avail.
Zeke's shadow, which had grown in size, devoured Lopocale's soul form bound by the Chains of Solomon.
Ssssss—
As Lopocale's soul body was absorbed into the shadow, a message appeared before his eyes.
[The soul of mid-rank demonkind Lopocale, vassal of the Squelching Pit of Darkness, has been absorbed.]
[Depleted stamina, mental strength, and mana are being restored.]
[Absorbing the ability of the devoured demonkind grants A-rank skill 'Smokeform.']
[As bonus reward, 1,500 karma points are awarded.]
Zeke examined the skill Smokeform he had gained from absorbing Lopocale.
'A skill that temporarily turns the body into smoke for evasion.' It seemed that was how he had escaped from Azmun earlier.
Zeke gathered all the useful items he saw in Lopocale's secret hideout and sent a message to Richmond.
He had previously summoned Richmond and attached him to Boris's side.
Zeke relayed the location of the real Abel to Richmond and then drew Bahamut. "Now, it's time to really play."
Woooong!
Bahamut let out a resonant cry in response to Zeke's words.
At the same time, Lopocale's secret hideout was completely destroyed in a massive explosion.