"Zeke Draker!"
Rumble!
Hearing Ramonʼs furious roar, Zeke pointed Ascalon at them.
'If Iʼd been even a little later, things wouldʼve gone south.ʼ
After ransacking Edwardʼs mind, heʼd learned that Ramon Siemens was trying to use his authority to create a passage connecting to Ajitahaka. Heʼd moved quickly as a result.
Moreover, waiting for the other forces to mobilize would have made it hard to arrive there before the Red Moon rose. So heʼd simply given the orders and come ahead alone.
Having arrived in the wasteland via the coordinates obtained from Edward, Zeke had immediately headed to the site of the rite to disrupt Ramonʼs consecration.
As someone who also possessed the authority of Ajitahaka, Zeke was able to neutralize Ramonʼs authority and prevent the passage from opening.
If Ramon hadnʼt noticed anything amiss and kept trying to use his authority, Zeke could have stalled longer. But Ramon had quickly switched tactics, unleashing a stronger surge of authorityʼs power that Zeke couldnʼt fully block.
If left alone, a passage to Ajitahaka might have opened, so Zeke had revealed himself to directly interfere with the rite.
Realizing that Zeke Draker was the one disrupting him, Ramonʼs rage peaked, and he shouted at the high priest.
"High Priest! Zeke Draker has come to interfere, just as expected! You keep your promise too!"
The high priest slowly nodded at Ramonʼs words.
If they kept getting disrupted there and missed the Red Moon, they might have lost their chance to fully manifest Ajitahaka.
He snapped his fingers, and a black portal appeared in the air.
Whoooong!
From within the black portal, something emerged amid an ominous aura.
It was over two meters tall, with black horns protruding from its forehead, gray skin, and a body as hard as rock. Its hand was wrapped tightly in leather straps studded with iron spikes.
Zeke furrowed his brow at the unsettling aura emanating from the demonkind that had emerged from the portal.
'Itʼs no ordinary demonkind. Thatʼs... a top-tier demonkind.ʼ
Anastasia had been top-tier demonkind as well, but her strength lay in her authorities and unique abilities, not raw combat power.
But the demonkind the high priest had summoned was clearly of the Tuma tribe.
Even standing still, the demonic qi it exuded was palpable to Zeke from a distance.
Then Aratasoʼs voice rang out.
'Is that... freaking Tantaros?ʼ
Even Nebilos sounded shocked in response to Arataso.
'Tantalos, the executioner of the Abyss, has appeared in the phenomenal world. Unbelievable.ʼ
Seeing Arataso and Nebilos react so strongly confirmed it wasnʼt an ordinary demonkind.
'If itʼs the Abyss, thatʼs the region in the eastern part of the demon realm, right?ʼ
Nebilos replied to Zekeʼs question.
'Yes. The Abyss is an area in the demon realm where many of the Tuma tribe gather. Moreover, itʼs home to two of the most belligerent great demons among the six, making it the place with the most battles.ʼ
'Donʼt tell me the Judge of Unending Strife is one of the demons in the Abyss too.ʼ
'He is the right hand of the Merciless Sovereign, one of the rulers of the Abyss. And
Tantalos is one of the favored executioners under the opposing sixth demon, the Unyielding Arbiter of Strictness.ʼ
If it was a subordinate directly commanded by one of the six demon archlords ruling the demon realm, it was no ordinary strong demonkind.
'I donʼt get why a demonkind like that would come to the phenomenal world and obey the Narak bastards.ʼ
As Zeke pondered this after hearing explanations about the opponent from Arataso and Nebilos, the summoned Tantalos raised his head and stared intently at Zeke.
Then he extended his hand, palm outward.
Thud!
He merely pushed lightly at the empty air with his palm, but a tremendous storm of demonic qi surged toward Zeke.
Whoosh!
'Ugh!ʼ
Zeke spurred Bucephalus and swiftly escaped the storm of demonic qi.
At that moment—
Sss—
Without any warning, Tantalos appeared right in front of Zeke.
He immediately thrust his fist toward Zeke.
Boom!
It was just a single punch, but it tore through the air, producing a horrific sound.
Zeke twisted his body quickly to dodge Tantalosʼs punch.
Whoosh—
The sheer power of the fist caused friction heat that scorched the air.
Zeke glared silently at Tantalos, who was preparing another punch without a word.
He swung his sword swiftly toward Tantalos.
Whoosh!
Ascalon glowed as it flew toward Tantalos.
Boom!
Tantalos raised his arm, wrapped in the leather straps studded with iron spikes, and blocked Zekeʼs sword strike.
The holy sword Ascalon had a special effect that dealt massive damage to demonkind.
Yet that special effect didnʼt activate.
'What the hell?ʼ
Having blocked Zekeʼs strike, Tantalos clenched his fist again and assumed a stance.
He regulated his breathing and swung his fist with explosive speed.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Fists rained down on Zeke at speeds too fast to see.
Boom boom boom!
Zeke blocked Tantalosʼs punches by summoning shadows.
The force was so immense that the shadows dispersed and failed to reform properly.
'So this is the true power of the Tuma tribe.ʼ
While fending off Tantalosʼs attacks, Zeke glanced toward Ramon Siemens and the high priest at the altar.
Ramon Siemens was invoking his authority again, trying to reconnect the passage.
Zeke looked up and saw the full moon nearly engulfed in shadow.
'I have to stop that rite!ʼ
To do so, he needed to deal with Tantalos first.
He released the summon of Bucephalus and deactivated Theiaʼs Hercion as well.
To face Tantalos, he figured he needed to make his body as light as possible.
Then Zeke drew not Ascalon, but Laevatein.
Sss—
Shadow Armor rose, enveloping Zekeʼs body in thick, rippling shadows.
"Come forth, Caligula."
Rumble rumble rumble!
The shadows coalesced into form, and beside Zeke appeared the shadow guardian spirit Caligula, adorned with prayer beads.
Caligula, forged from the soul of the Blood King, exuded an intimidating presence surpassing that of top-tier demonkind.
Tantalos, eyeing Caligula, showed an intrigued expression, his competitive spirit ignited.
"Caligula, hold off that demonkind."
[Understood, master.]
With a heavy voice, Caligula slowly advanced toward Tantalos.
Then, without preamble, he opened his mouth wide and spewed flames toward Tantalos.
Whoosh!
Intense flames erupted from Caligulaʼs maw.
Tantalos punched toward the flames pouring from Caligulaʼs mouth.
Whoosh!
The powerful fist wind reversed the flow of Caligulaʼs flames.
Rumble!
As a result, Caligula ended up engulfed in his own fire.
Moments later, the flames subsided, and Caligulaʼs form, caught in them, was nowhere to be seen.
As Tantalos turned his head to head toward Zeke again, surprisingly, Caligula reappeared behind him.
Whoosh!
Caligula unwound his prayer beads and wrapped them around Tantalosʼs neck.
Having restrained Tantalos with the prayer beads, Caligula grabbed his shoulder with his other hand.
His forehead split open, revealing a third eye.
Ziiing—
The third eye emitted a strange sound as it probed into Tantalosʼs mind.
But the mental defenses of Tantalos—a top-tier Tuma tribe member who had honed Demonic Qi Art for thousands of years—were unbelievably solid.
Rumble!
His mind rebelled against the intrusion, instead inflicting a mental blow on Caligula.
As Caligulaʼs power slackened from the mental strike, Tantalos swiftly assumed his stance and drove a straight punch into Caligulaʼs side.
Boom!
With a powerful whoosh, Caligulaʼs side exploded and scattered.
Rumble!
Caligula, dispersing like mist, reformed his body a short distance away.
Reformed, Caligula unfurled his robes toward Tantalos this time. Endless shadows rippled within them.
And soon, something emerged from the shadows.
A massive red eye.
The red eye conjured by Caligula flashed toward Tantalos.
Sss—
Tantalos, meeting Caligulaʼs eye, blinked shut and then opened his eyes.
The moment he did, Tantalos froze, finding himself surrounded by renowned warriors of the demon realm glaring at him.
And at that instant, they all charged at Tantalos simultaneously.
Boom!
Without hesitation, Tantalos swung his fists at them.
The demonkind were crushed and vanished under his punches.
But soon, more demonkind appeared.
These were illusions created by Caligula, lacking substance.
The moment their eyes met, Tantalos had fallen under Caligulaʼs spell.
Trapped in Caligulaʼs technique, Tantalos was forced into a fierce battle against the illusory demonkind.
Meanwhile, Zeke had left Tantalos to Caligula and flown straight toward the altar.
He raised Laevatein and unleashed Elemental Sword toward the altar.
The Chamber of Metal Power expanded, applying pressure across the entire altar.
Rumble!
Under the intense pressure, cracks began forming in the demon statues supporting the dais.
At that moment, to block the approaching Zeke, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse appeared in the air.
Each horsemanʼs sword unleashed their unique abilities.
From the white horsemanʼs sword came lightning; from the blue, a cold gale; from the black, poisonous mist; from the red, flames.
Whoosh!
The varied unique abilities poured toward Zeke, but to no avail.
Zeke summoned Shadow Armor, blocking all their attacks.
Not just blocking—he countered by sending shadows to assail them.
Slash—
The shadows, sharpened into blades, engaged the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Zeke intensified the Chamber of Metal Power, aiming to collapse the dais itself. But then— Boom!
Tantalos, having subdued Caligula, unleashed a fist wind toward Zeke.
Boom!
The fist wind exploded near Zekeʼs face.
Rumble!
Zeke spun his body urgently to dodge the attack.
As soon as he evaded, he looked up to see Tantalosʼs form had changed.
His muscles were more swollen, and black lightning crackled from his elongated horns.
It wasnʼt just Demonic Qi Art; the power of a constellationʼs authority was evident.
'Heʼs reinforcing his body with authority.ʼ
Tantalos assumed a stance toward Zeke and clashed his fists together.
The tremendous shockwave from the colliding fists surged toward Zeke.
Boom!
Zeke blocked it with his sword and unleashed the Chamber of Metal Power once more.
Crunch!
While checking Tantalos, he applied pressure to the altar as well, causing the dais to gradually tilt.
Rumble!
If the altar collapsed, the rite couldnʼt proceed, so Zeke increased the pressure.
But suddenly, the tilting, crumbling altar reverted to its original state.
'What?ʼ
Looking closely, he saw the Mara, previously damaged by the light of will, emerging from the demon statues again, clinging to and supporting the collapsing dais.
Zeke gritted his teeth and intensified the Chamber of Metal Power.
Watching this, Tantalos raised his fist again.
Then he slowly opened his mouth.
"Human warrior. Strong."
With those words, he clashed his fists once more, and black energy surged fiercely from his horns.
Crackle crackle!
Black lightning coiled around Tantalosʼs fists.
Rumble!
Immediately, Tantalos drove his lightning-wreathed fist forward with immense force.
Rumble rumble!
The punch, infused with black lightning, flew toward Zeke.
Maintaining Elemental Sword, Zeke summoned Shadow Armor to block Tantalosʼs attack.
But Shadow Armor alone couldnʼt fully withstand it.
Ziiing—
The punch and black lightning pierced through, striking Zekeʼs body.
"Guh!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth, yet Zeke endured without collapsing.
Unlike usual, his healing factor wasnʼt functioning properly.
It was hard to grasp how an immortal like him had taken such damage.
Enduring the pain, Zeke glared at the altar.
'I need to destroy that thing in one go.ʼ
Gritting his teeth against the pain, he prepared the dragon race skill Dragonʼs Breath.
It was a technique heʼd used cautiously due to its high mana cost when unleashed at full power.
Zekeʼs eyes turned into Dragon Eyes, and a pattern emerged above his chest.
"Haaaaah!"
Light gathered in the pattern, soon compressing into a mana cannon that blasted toward the altar.
Whoosh!
The dragonʼs breath, capable of destroying everything, hurtled toward the dais.
As the halo of light reached the dais, the lights swelled instantly, engulfing everything.
Boom!
A massive explosion echoed everywhere, and blinding light swept over all.
But then—
Ziiing—
As if time were rewinding, the erupting light began coalescing in one spot.
Sss—
And soon, Zeke stared in disbelief as the dragonʼs breath futilely dispersed.
The dais and altar, moments from exploding in light, revealed their original forms.
Pushing aside the fatigue wracking his body, Zeke looked up at the sky.
The full moon floating there was completely shrouded in shadow, and above it, the ominous red-glowing Red Moon shone.