Zeke looked at Lilith, who had extended her hand toward him.
On the surface, she appeared to be a pitiful girl seeking help, but in essence, she was a high-ranking demon harboring immense power.
Since she was an opponent against whom he could never let his guard down, Zeke did not readily take her hand.
"The essence of the Arrogant Savior."
It was true that Zeke had absorbed the soul of the Arrogant Savior and attained divinity, but he had not fully assimilated all of his memories.
The Arrogant Savior was one of the first constellations closest to the primordial light, a being who had carried memories from the very moment of the world's birth.
Though Zeke had attained divinity, he was fundamentally human, and taking in all of the Arrogant Savior's memories would overwhelm his soul entirely.
Thus, most of those memories lay deeply buried in his subconscious.
However, as Zeke's divinity grew and expanded the scope he could handle, fragments of the Arrogant Savior's sealed memories gradually unlocked.
Yet, as Lilith had said, the core memories concerning the true essence of the Arrogant Savior remained locked away.
The problem was that to fully wield the Arrogant Savior's unique authority and domain, Zeke needed to completely comprehend that essence.
Zeke considered that if he could grasp the Arrogant Savior's essence through Lilith, he could make his authority and domain entirely his own.
To stand against the constellations of the celestial realm, the power of the Arrogant Savior—who had once possessed divinity on their level—was essential.
After a moment's contemplation, Zeke extended his hand toward Lilith.
Lilith gazed at him, her eyes trembling.
It was the look of someone who had waited endlessly for this moment.
Just as their hands were about to touch—
"I have one question."
Right before their hands met, Zeke looked at Lilith and spoke.
"Who imprisoned you here? Tell me."
At Zeke's question, Lilith hesitated for a moment.
Then, she slowly opened her mouth.
"The one who confined me here... was the Arrogant Savior himself." Zeke furrowed his brow at her words.
His assumption that one of the other grand lords had sealed her away was incorrect.
He asked her again.
"Why would the first vassal of the Arrogant Savior, the avatar who attained divinity through him, be imprisoned by him?"
Lilith struggled to answer Zeke's question at first, but eventually, she spoke slowly.
"Sir Zeke, in truth, I was once his long-time consort."
Zeke's expression showed surprise at her words.
It was hard to believe that the Arrogant Savior, the greatest among the archdemons, would take one of his own vassals as a consort.
She continued, looking at Zeke.
"I once loved him deeply as well... but after learning the truth hidden behind the lies, that love turned to hatred."
"The truth hidden behind the lies. Is that what you mentioned earlier about the essence of the Arrogant Savior?"
"Yes."
Zeke pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"Very well. I'll trust your words for now."
With that, he grasped the hand Lilith had extended.
Woooooong!
A powerful wave emanated from Zeke's hand, clasped with Lilith's.
At the same time, the chains binding her hands and feet began to shake violently.
Clatter clatter clatter!
As the chains rattled, Lilith's small body shook along with them.
Zeke's eyes changed, and he seemed about to say something, his lips moving.
But without uttering a sound, he closed his eyes as if his consciousness had been severed, freezing in place.
Seeing this, Lilith's eyes shifted.
Ssssss—
Her faint platinum eyes had turned into crimson-red eyes that gleamed as she smiled slyly at Zeke, whose hand she still held.
At the same moment, the chains binding her hands and feet began to change form.
Crunch crunch crunch—
The chains transformed into serpents flicking their tongues, coiling around Lilith's arms and legs.
The serpents wrapping around her body slithered up Zeke's wrist, which held her hand, and coiled around his neck and entire body.
Lilith gazed at Zeke, who remained frozen while gripping her hand, with an alluring look in her eyes.
", you are far too naive a vessel for the soul of the Arrogant Savior. There's a saying in the demon realm: 'Beware most the child and the elder.' It seems you were unaware." Rising from the bed, Lilith's body began to change.
In an instant, her fragile, pitiful girl form grew into that of a seductive woman.
Still holding Zeke's hand, she looked down at him with a smile.
"Dream on. Dream deeply and profoundly. In the meantime, I'll take what is mine."
Lilith approached Zeke, who was seated in the chair, and knelt before him, slowly opening her mouth.
Then, a stream of soul energy flowed from Zeke's mouth into hers.
The power contained within the soul of the Arrogant Savior, along with the divinity Zeke had accumulated as a constellation, transferred directly to Lilith.
"Haaaa..."
Lilith marveled at the astonishingly pure energy filling her mouth.
"For a human to possess such power. It's beyond imagination."
With this level of strength, she could shatter the seal binding her and more.
At that moment, the head butler Shamos, watching from the side, trembled in rage.
He glared at Lilith, who was draining Zeke's energy, with an expression as if he were shedding tears of blood.
Lilith sneered at Shamos.
—Shamos, you look envious. Were you hoping this one might become your new master and free you?
Shamos bit his lip and slowly bowed his head.
"My sole glorious master is only you, Lady Lilith."
Lilith was the avatar of the Arrogant Savior and a being who had gained divinity by sharing his soul.
When the Arrogant Savior ascended to the phenomenal world and Babel fell, his vassals who could not follow had three paths.
One was to perish valiantly, like the bone corps captain Asmodi.
Another was to become vassals of another archdemon, like the Clear Verdant Aspiration.
The final option was to pledge themselves to Lilith, who had inherited a portion of the Arrogant Savior's divinity.
Though Lilith's constellation status was far below that of true constellations, the vassals of the Arrogant Savior—who could neither die nor submit to other demons—had no choice but to bow to her to survive and bide their time.
But Lilith was no pushover.
Her constellation name upon attaining divinity, , reflected her delight in insidious schemes.
Even amid Babel's collapse, she had bound the Arrogant Savior's vassals with unjust oaths, subjugating their souls to her, a bond that persisted to this day.
Shamos clenched his fist as he watched Lilith steal the power from Zeke's soul.
He had briefly hoped that this human, who had risen to grand lord status through recognition by his peers despite his mortal form, might break the impasse of their imprisonment—neither dead nor alive—under Lilith's grasp.
But Lilith possessed a powerful authority of seduction that could even tempt archdemons.
Thus, even the Arrogant Savior had fallen for her, only realizing her danger later and imprisoning her in the castle.
When the Arrogant Savior was sealed in the phenomenal world and Babel crumbled,
Lilith, confined in the castle, sought to absorb his vassals to turn the tide, but breaking his power proved impossible.
Then, Mephistopheles, lord of Pandemonium, appeared and proposed a contract.
In exchange for separating the castle—herself and her vassals included—into another dimension for safety, he would use it as a meeting place for the grand lords.
Even Lilith could not outmaneuver the demon of contracts, Mephistopheles.
With Babel's destruction imminent, she had no choice but to accept.
Thus, the castle of Marduk, once a symbol of Babel, devolved into an isolated prison.
"To lead the one thread of salvation into the flames with my own hands."
Bound by his oath to Lilith, Shamos had no choice but to bring Zeke here, but in truth, he wanted to reveal everything to him immediately.
All he could do now was sink into despair and frustration, watching Zeke helplessly lose his divinity to Lilith.
—Good, this should suffice for now.
Lilith lifted her head, reveling in the immense karma surging within her, and let out a pleased voice.
"An astonishing power. If I absorb all of that human's soul, I might even become a grand lord myself."
With a satisfied smile, she tried to release Zeke's hand.
But something was off.
Zeke was still gripping her hand tightly.
Lilith frowned and tried to shake off his hand.
Yet it clung as if fused to her own, refusing to let go.
Frowning deeper, she twisted her body to pull away once more.
But then, something utterly unexpected occurred.
Woooooong!
A powerful vibration emanated from her hand, gripped by Zeke, and a seal slowly emerged on the back of her hand.
Lilith's eyes widened in shock at the sight.
"Th-this... how...!"
A demonkind's seal was an aggregate of information defining their existence.
As a mark directly linked to the soul, it never revealed itself except in critical moments.
Yet Lilith's seal had surfaced on its own, and even the double and triple layers of security barriers she had set began to unlock automatically.
"No! Stop it right now!"
Geometric patterns rose from the seal, transforming into characters bearing ever more vital information.
Clatter clatter clatter!
The strings of text unfurled so rapidly that they filled the entire room in moments.
Lilith felt utterly exposed, as if stripped bare without a thread of clothing.
She screamed, desperately trying to wrench her hand free, but all her efforts were futile.
Amid the flurry of text streams, a cluster suddenly gathered before Zeke.
Woooooong!
The characters aligned into complete sentences.
At the same moment, Zeke's eyes snapped open.
A message appeared before him.
[Connection to the incomplete divinity soul body has been successful.]
[Interpretation of the relevant soul body has been completed.]
[Through the authority of absolute dominion, you have acquired the right to subjugate and forcibly execute the soul body.]
[Will you exercise the acquired right?]
A cruel smile spread across Zeke's face as he read the message.
*
Rumble rumble rumble!
Nigel, Nabu, and Manna rowed their small boat toward Storm Island.
As the waves grew fiercer, Nabu flipped open the book he held.
"Ah, this damned island!"
Desperately searching for an incantation to calm the waves, Nabu cried out.
"Uuum! Yes, here it is! Towering waves crash before me! But with steadfast spirit and will, they part, guiding us to serene passage!"
His uttered tale became word magic, and the waves around Storm Island split in half.
A path to the island opened in their midst, and Nigel spoke to Manna behind her.
"Now!"
Manna formed a joined-palms seal, creating a barrier.
A spherical barrier enveloped the entire boat, and it advanced through the parted waves.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Nabu fidgeted anxiously, unsure when the split waves might crash back.
"Manna! Faster! Hurry!"
Despite Nabu's frantic urging, Manna maintained her composure, steering the boat steadily.
At that moment, a ripple appeared at the end of the parted wave path.
Woooooong!
A portal into Storm Island had opened.
Nabu shouted upon seeing it.
"Whoa! There it is. Let's go through!"
But then, the parted waves began to stir again.
The area was so tangled with energies that even word magic's effect was fleeting.
Nabu's teeth chattered as he yelled toward Storm Island.
"Aaaah! Why is this happening! This is too much!"
Watching from the side, Nigel let out a soft sigh, then drew her sword.
She moved to the boat's stern and focused her energy into the blade.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The aura of full power technique gathered on her sword.
With a thrust toward the sea, an explosive force surged from the blade, propelling the boat forward at tremendous speed.
Vwoooooosh!
The waves shattered in the boat's wake.
"Eeeek!"
Amid Nabu's scream, the boat narrowly escaped the collapsing waves and plunged into the portal.