Power of the Outsider Species
Zeke knew only that it was connected to the Evil God "Chaos," but even he had no idea of the exact nature of that power.
As he watched the High Priest wield the power of the Outsider Species with such ease,
Zeke wondered what kind of relationship the man might have with the Evil God "Chaos."
'Heʼs too dangerous to leave alone. Iʼll eliminate him here, no matter what.ʼ
Zekeʼs eyes gleamed as he ground his teeth. At that moment, a change began to occur in Asmodiʼs body, which had accepted the power of the Outsider Species.
"Kraaaaaah!"
Asmodi let out a scream that was almost a roar, and at the same time, sharp teeth began to sprout from the bone armor covering his body.
Viscous bodily fluids oozed out, and tentacles emerged from his back, writhing like snakes.
No trace of demonic aura could be felt from Asmodi, who had transformed into an Outsider Species.
Instead, his body had grown even larger than before, and the grotesque bone armor seemed to have fused completely with his flesh.
"Grrrrrr..."
The distorted faces protruding from the bone armor bared their teeth and emitted savage growls.
"Kaaaaah!"
Asmodi raised his bone spear with a cry of anguish, and the power of the Outsider Species rippled outward.
"Rumble rumble rumble!"
His body generated vibrations so intense that they shook the entire space.
Sharp bone blades jutted out from the tentacles sprouting from Asmodiʼs back.
He glared at Zeke and shouted.
"I offer this glorious victory to my lord!"
"Rumble rumble rumble!"
The tentacles wrapped around his bone spear.
The massive bone spear, fused with the tentacles, rose into the air.
The power of the Outsider Species concentrated on the bone spear, sending waves radiating in all directions.
"Kaaaaaaaah—"
A wail of the soul leaked from Asmodi.
Zeke, who had pierced through his essence, sensed that Asmodi, having accepted the power of the Outsider Species, was pushing beyond his limits through sheer force.
Facing the storm of power surging toward him, Zeke raised his sword.
"Whoooong!"
Ascalon, confronting Asmodi, emitted a brilliant light.
"Whoooong!"
As the power of Great Purification merged with Holy Spirit Qi, a golden aura and bolts of light extended in all directions.
At the same time, that power focused on Ascalon.
"Rumble rumble rumble!"
Thus, his sword, infused with the radiant light, carried the primordial force so powerful that no demonic Qi or demonic energy could even approach it.
But Asmodi, completely consumed by the power of the Outsider Species, was lost in the madness born of his twisted loyalty and felt not a shred of fear.
With a roar, he spun the bone spear rising into the air.
"Crunch crunch crunch!"
Asmodi glared at Zeke and thrust the spinning bone spear forward with tremendous force.
"Kaaaaaaaah—"
From the bone spear flying toward him with intense rotation came an ominous roar that shook the soul.
Zeke held Ascalon aloft, where golden lightning surged, and assumed the stance of the Dragon Slaying Technique.
Asmodiʼs bone spear hurtled toward Zeke with the momentum to tear him to shreds.
Zeke swung his sword toward the bone spear carrying that grotesque energy.
Dragon Slaying Technique Secret Form
Light-Extinguishing Technique
Forbidden Thunder
Asmodiʼs bone spear and Zekeʼs sword charged at each other in midair.
"Crunch crunch crunch!"
The sinister power of the Outsider Species dwelling in the bone spear clashed with Zekeʼs energy.
"Boom boom boom boom boom!"
As the two immense energies of differing natures collided, a storm of waves spread outward, shaking the entire labyrinth.
"Rumble rumble rumble!"
At the same time, the power of Forbidden Thunder that Zeke had unleashed countered Asmodiʼs force and burrowed inward.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—"
The power consumed by the encroaching Forbidden Thunder shattered bit by bit, scattering golden halos in all directions.
Asmodiʼs spear struggled to push forward, but it was merely eroded by the already infiltrated power of Forbidden Thunder.
Forbidden Thunder burrowed even deeper into the bone spear.
"Crunch crunch crunch!"
In the end, cracks began to form in Asmodiʼs bone spear and bone armor, enhanced by the power of the Outsider Species.
Seeing this, Zeke gripped Ascalon in one hand and drew Laevatein with the other. "Whoooong!"
He infused Laevatein with the power of Full Power Technique.
Zekeʼs Full Power Technique, having attained the rank of a Transcendent, had reached the level of his master, Nigel.
In the midst of the radiant light eroding Asmodi, Zeke concentrated his power on Laevatein and assumed his stance.
Then, he slowly swung the sword.
Full Power Technique
Double Spell
Will of Shattering
The sword strike infused with the Will of Shattering flew toward Asmodi, ensnared by Forbidden Thunder.
"Boom boom boom boom boom!"
The blade of Full Power Technique struck true on Asmodiʼs immobilized body.
"Crunch crunch crunch—"
The Will of Shattering passed through Asmodiʼs body like slicing through waves.
"Kaaaaah!"
The formless power of Full Power Technique rattled every particle of his spirit body, and Asmodi writhed in agony.
Asmodiʼs bone armor, struck head-on by Zekeʼs Full Power Technique, crumbled completely into dust.
"Gahhh!"
Asmodi spat blue blood from his mouth and, unable to endure any longer, plummeted from the air and crashed to the ground.
"Rumble rumble rumble!"
A storm of energy scattered in all directions, filling the space with halos of light amid the waves.
The knights of Asmodiʼs 2nd Battalion, witnessing his fall, could not advance due to the dispersing halos and aftershocks of the waves; they were forced to retreat.
Zeke descended from the air and looked down at the fallen Asmodi.
Asmodi, stripped of his bone armor and exposed, was a complete mess from head to toe.
He lay smashed into the ground, trembling and struggling to rise.
But he couldnʼt move an inch.
Behind such an Asmodi, the High Priest stood silently, saying nothing.
Asmodi turned his body and reached out toward the High Priest.
"L-Lord..."
The High Priest showed no reaction to Asmodi, who extended his hand pathetically while trembling.
Soon, Asmodiʼs body began to scatter bit by bit.
Until the very end, Asmodi looked at the High Priest and said.
"A glorious victory... to my lord..."
He couldnʼt even finish his words before crumbling completely into dust and scattering.
Even in his final moments, Asmodi clung to his blind, mad loyalty to the Arrogant Savior, reaching out to him, but all that remained was oblivion.
As Asmodi vanished, the 2nd Battalion behind him also began to turn to dust, their forms dispersing.
And when everything had scattered, only bone helmets remained, one by one.
Looking at the worn bone helmet left where Asmodi had been, Zeke finally pieced together how the now-obliterated being had manifested here.
'He regenerated him using the karma data left in the helmet.ʼ Everything that exists leaves behind karma data.
Zeke recalled how, though not in reality, through the Game of the Constellations, he had summoned long-vanished heroes and the ruins of their civilizations.
'If that too was created through the Arrogant Saviorʼs authority long ago...?ʼ
If he obtained that authority, it would be possible to recreate obliterated existences in the Phenomenal World based on past data.
Zeke organized his thoughts on the matter and lifted his head to gaze at the High Priest.
He took a step toward the High Priest, pointing his sword at him.
"Now, at last, I can face you properly."
Nothing stood in the way between him and the High Priest anymore.
The High Priest remained standing silently.
Zeke did not lower his guard and took another step toward the High Priest.
Then, in an instant, Zeke lunged at the High Priest.
"Slash!"
His sword strike grazed the High Priestʼs head.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—"
The High Priestʼs body rippled like mist and vanished like a mirage, nullifying Zekeʼs strike.
The High Priest reappeared right behind him and spoke to Zeke.
"Zeke Draker, you cannot kill me with that."
At those words, Zeke gripped his sword again, readjusted his stance, and unleashed Elemental Sword.
"Rumble rumble rumble!"
A powerful gravitational force crushed down on the High Priest.
Even a mighty Tuma would be crushed under the intense gravity bearing down on him.
The High Priest, however, calmly raised his hand and snapped his fingers while standing there.
"Whoooong!"
The power of the Arrogant Savior emanated from the High Priestʼs body, and blue orb-like objects floated around him.
The orbs shimmered, countering the Chamber of Metal Power that Zeke had deployed.
'The authority of the Arrogant Savior.ʼ
Unlike ordinary authorities, the Arrogant Saviorʼs authority seemed to have an extremely broad range of application.
Zeke decided to pour all his strength into taking down the High Priest here.
Without pause, he summoned the Four Great Elementals.
"Rumble rumble rumble!"
The four high elementals of fire, wind, earth, and water appeared, surrounding the High Priest.
At Zekeʼs command to attack, a storm infused with the attributes of fire, wind, earth, and water assailed him from all sides.
Even as the four high elementals focused their assault, the High Priest maintained a remarkably composed posture amid it all.
Then, he snapped his fingers again.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—"
Surprisingly, black elementals similar in form to the Four Great Elementals appeared around the High Priestʼs body.
Each bore the attributes of fire, wind, earth, and water, but they were dyed pitch-black.
The High Priest, who had summoned elementals corrupted by demonic energy, ordered them to clash with the high elementals Zeke had called.
"Boom boom boom boom boom!"
In an instant, the elementals unleashed their powers, sweeping through the entire space.
"Rumble rumble rumble!"
Though the dark elementalsʼ attributes were faint compared to those of the Four Great Elementals, they displayed far greater destructive power.
Realizing that even the elementalsʼ attacks were futile, Zeke sent them back to the Elemental Realm.
The High Priest, still standing calmly, opened his mouth toward Zeke.
"Didnʼt I tell you? You cannot kill me with this."
Zeke silently drew Caladbolg from the shadows and pointed it at the High Priest.
The aura of Heart-Sword dwelled in Caladbolg.
"Rumble rumble rumble!"
Heart-Sword, which severed essence itself, could not be evaded by anything.
Under the influence of Zekeʼs Heart-Sword, the entire space filled with his will.
The shadow sword in Zekeʼs hand and the sword in his heart became one.
In that moment, Zeke swung his sword toward the High Priest standing before him. "Shrrr—"
He could feel that he had 'slashedʼ the High Priest in the invisible dimension of origin.
However, as Zeke withdrew his Heart-Sword and stepped back, he witnessed an astonishing sight.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—"
The High Priestʼs body dissolved like mist, only to reform into its original shape.
'What the hell is this?ʼ
It had clearly seemed as if the existence was being severed at its origin and obliterated, yet just before that, his body had reconstructed itself, returning unscathed.
Looking at the bewildered Zeke, the High Priest spoke.
"A sword that cuts through origin beyond Astral Sword. Zeke Draker, your power far exceeds my expectations."
Zeke furrowed his brow at the authority that nullified even the power of Heart-Sword.
'So the Arrogant Saviorʼs authority is that powerful.ʼ
The High Priest approached Zeke and said.
"You look confused. Just as I was surprised by your power, you must be surprised by mine as well."
He spread his arms wide toward Zeke.
"Zeke Draker, I admit that I have underestimated you until now. I acknowledge that you are one of the key players who can take the stage in the final act." Zeke looked at the High Priest and said.
"What exactly is this 'final actʼ you speak of? No, first of all, what the hell are you...?" Instead of answering, the High Priest slowly removed the hood he was wearing.
As the hood came off, the High Priestʼs hidden face was revealed.
Seeing his face, Zeke couldnʼt help but hold his breath for a moment.
"Rubern?"
The High Priest had the distinctive white hair and skin of Rubern, along with red eyes like those of a demon.
High Priest Harvey West looked at Zeke and said.
"Are you surprised, Zeke Draker?"
Zeke had never imagined that Narakʼs High Priest could be of Rubern blood.
'Why would a Rubern be Narakʼs High Priest?ʼ
Shaking his head at Zekeʼs confused expression, the High Priest said.
"I am not of Rubern blood."
He met Zekeʼs eyes and continued.
"I am Draker—the progenitor of that bloodline."