Agarez looked down at Zeke from the air and raised his hand.
Then, the entire fighting pit was engulfed in blue flames.
Roarrrrr!
An azure flame hotter than the fires of hell swept over not just Zeke but the very space he occupied.
Boom boom boom!
The azure flame, capable of incinerating thousands of troops in an instant, devoured everything and blazed across the entire fighting pit.
Within the vortex of azure flames, Zeke's figure was completely swallowed, no longer visible at all.
Agarez, hovering in the air, gazed at the fiercely burning blue flames with a satisfied smile.
But it was then.
Swooooooosh—
A sharp sword strike pierced through the blue flames, flying straight toward Agarez. Slash—
The half-moon sword strike grazed one of Agarez's wings, slicing it off.
At the same time, a ripple appeared in the air, and Zeke revealed himself.
Sizzle sizzle—
Zeke, his entire body wrapped in shadows, held Caladbolg infused with black sword qi.
Rumble rumble!
In that state, Zeke assumed the rider form of the Dragon Slaying Technique and drew up his energy.
Dragon Slaying Technique Infinite Sword Art
Chapter 6 Verse 1
Dragon Heart Thrust
The sword style of the Draker family, dragon slayers by lineage, unfolded.
Boom boom boom!
The shadows swirling around Caladbolg pierced toward Agarez, who had taken the form of a dragonkin, as if to skewer his heart.
Seeing this, Agarez smirked mockingly and extended his hand, creating a spear of azure flame.
Boom boom boom!
Without hesitation, Agarez thrust the azure flame spear toward the incoming black sword strike.
Rumble rumble!
Zeke's black sword strike clashed with Agarez's blue flame, sending shockwaves rippling outward in all directions.
Crackle crackle!
The collision of such immense power began to tear cracks in the dimension, just like with Baal earlier.
Plasma erupted from the rifts, and even the backlash of causality started to manifest. Crackle crackle!
As the clash continued, the dimensional rifts deepened, and the backlash of causality began to sweep over the entire fighting pit.
Baal, watching from the spectator stands, shot to his feet.
He turned to Mephistopheles and said,
"Archdemon, are you just going to sit there and watch? If this keeps up, this place could tear apart!"
Creating a meeting hall where the grand lords could gather all at once was no easy feat.
Mephistopheles, who had been watching the duel with interest, pouted at Baal's words but stood up as if he understood.
He snapped his fingers toward the spot where Zeke and Agarez were clashing.
Sizzle sizzle—
Incredibly, the rifts reversed as if time itself was rewinding, sucking the plasma back into the dimensional holes.
Once the plasma had vanished, the cracked dimensional rifts knit back together, restoring their original stability.
At the same time, the backlash of causality sweeping the fighting pit faded away.
With the dimension stabilized once more, Zeke and Agarez pulled back in the air, glaring at each other.
Agarez opened his mouth toward Zeke.
"Insolent human. If you'd dared set foot in my domain and faced my true body, your soul would have evaporated in an instant." Zeke sneered at Agarez's words.
"A trivial demon's authority is nothing once neutralized. You should pray I never enter your domain, Agarez."
At Zeke's words, Agarez's rage flared, and he tried to summon the azure flames again.
But the moment they ignited, Agarez's azure flames vanished in an instant.
Realizing that the Archdemon and creator of this fighting pit domain, Mephistopheles, had intervened, Agarez turned his head toward the spectator stands.
"What do you think you're doing? Release the restrictions right now! I want to chew that human alive!"
Mephistopheles shook his head at Agarez's shout.
"Sorry, but no more. If we continue, this whole place will collapse." Agarez ground his teeth at Mephistopheles's words.
He knew this place was an unstable dimension, which was why he'd tried to incinerate Zeke in one go with his authority. Yet Zeke had not only endured the azure flames but even counterattacked.
With no choice, Agarez reined in his power.
Sizzle—
Returning from his dragonkin form to his original Tuma tribe appearance, he looked at Zeke and said,
"Human, I cannot acknowledge you. A pathetic creature like you could never be a grand lord."
Zeke scoffed at his words and replied,
"Good. I didn't want to acknowledge you either. Why don't you step down from your grand lord seat and quietly fade away? That might be better for the Demon Realm."
Agarez nearly lost his reason again at Zeke's provocation and tried to unleash his flames once more.
But Mephistopheles snapped his fingers again.
Rumble rumble!
In an instant, the fighting pit vanished, returning to the original grand assembly chamber.
Mephistopheles, seated at the head of the table, smiled and said,
"This should be proof enough that Zeke Draker has the qualifications."
Baal nodded in agreement, while Agarez bared his teeth and growled, clearly unwilling to accept it.
Then Asmodeus stood from his seat and spoke.
"Archdemon, I have one proposal."
Mephistopheles furrowed his brow at Asmodeus's words.
"Hmm? What proposal?"
Asmodeus, lord of Gehenna, was a grand lord with power rivaling Mephistopheles's.
Especially tricky was his ability to always suspect Mephistopheles's schemes and see through them.
If the demons under Asmodeus could even slightly comprehend and follow their lord's intentions, the Archdemon position might have changed hands long ago.
Asmodeus turned his head toward Zeke and said,
"I want to confirm if he truly qualifies as the successor to the Arrogant Savior and thus as a grand lord."
"Hm? Confirming his lordship? Wasn't the battle just now enough?"
"If excelling at brawling were all it took to qualify as a grand lord, then the or the could have become one too."
Gusion and Wirinome possessed forces and power that rivaled the grand lords.
Yet there was a reason they hadn't become grand lords.
Asmodeus's eyes gleamed as he said,
"I want to see if Zeke Draker has fully inherited the Arrogant Savior's authority." The unique authority befitting a grand lord's rank.
Without it, no amount of raw power could earn recognition as ruler of the Demon Realm.
Mephistopheles's expression turned peculiar at Asmodeus's words.
He turned his head toward Zeke.
"Zeke Draker, that's what he says. What do you think? Can you prove it?"
At Mephistopheles's question, Zeke glanced at Asmodeus, then drew a sword from his inventory.
He infused the sword, reminiscent of dawn's light, with the energy of the Arrogant Savior.
Sizzle—
In an instant, Arataso, sealed within the sword, revealed himself.
Thud!
Arataso silently bowed his head, kneeling in submission to Zeke.
Having appeared in his prime form as the former leader of Morning Star's 1st Battalion, Arataso's loyal demeanor toward Zeke changed Asmodeus's expression.
"...Dawn Captain."
According to the grand lords' council decision, Arataso had lost not only his original power but even his status as Dawn Captain.
Yet now, empowered once more by the Arrogant Savior's authority, he boldly displayed his full prime strength.
But that wasn't the end.
Zeke pulled another item from his inventory.
A worn bone helmet cracked in places.
He infused it with the Arrogant Savior's unique authority of re-creation and the power of his unique domain, Purgatory.
Sizzle—
As Zeke poured in his power, the bone helmet began to change.
Rumble rumble!
A demon clad in bone armor with a helmet emitting a deep blue glow and eyes like rubies.
Asmodi, captain of Morning Star's 2nd Battalion, the Bone Corps, had been revived through his power.
Summoned anew from Purgatory, a fragment of forgotten time, Asmodi knelt before Zeke.
"I await my lord's command."
Seemingly unaware of his previous annihilation at Zeke's hands, Asmodi showed unwavering loyalty to Zeke, who had inherited the Arrogant Savior's soul.
Seeing the two captains symbolizing the Arrogant Savior acknowledge Zeke as their lord, Asmodeus shrugged as if he had nothing more to say.
Zeke looked at the greater demons seated in the chamber and said,
"This should be proof enough."
Even Agarez, who had been scowling in dissatisfaction, fell silent upon seeing Arataso and Asmodi, unable to find grounds to object further.
But then, the , who had remained silent, turned his head toward Zeke.
[Zeke Draker.]
Zeke looked at the Lord of the Abyss who had called him and recalled his true name.
'Lord of Abaddon, Beelzebub.'
Beelzebub, master of the undead, spirits, and formless beings, had been one of the constellations who loved the beings of the phenomenal world as much as the Arrogant Savior before his fall to the Demon Realm.
The Arrogant Savior had speculated that Beelzebub's love manifested in raising the souls and bodies of the dead into an immortal legion.
Since the Arrogant Savior had gathered fragments of forgotten time to create the Demon Realm, most demons were remnants of annihilated civilizations.
But Beelzebub's followers were those he had personally awakened from the abyss.
As they consisted of undead transcending death and pure spirit forms, Abaddon took on a form unlike any other region in the Demon Realm.
Zeke gazed at the burning skeletal knight possessed by Beelzebub.
Beelzebub's voice echoed in his mind once more.
[You are the one most akin to Abaddon.]
An immortal being like Zeke.
As Beelzebub said, Zeke resembled the undying existences raised from death in that he did not die.
Before Zeke could respond, Beelzebub continued.
[Abaddon acknowledges the Undying Zeke Draker as a grand lord. Furthermore, I have a proposal.]
At Beelzebub's words, Mephistopheles, listening nearby, flashed a wary glint in his eyes.
Beelzebub's voice resounded in Zeke's mind again.
[Undying one, Abaddon wishes to propose an alliance with you.]
The sudden declaration from Beelzebub startled all the grand lords in the chamber.
In particular, Agarez, who had refused to acknowledge Zeke, shot to his feet and shouted at Beelzebub in a rage-filled voice.
"What nonsense is this? Not only acknowledging that human as a grand lord, but proposing an equal alliance? ! Have you lost your mind?"
His voice dripped with fury, but Beelzebub ignored Agarez and said what he needed to.
[What say you, Undying one? If you accept my proposal, I shall formally request it through Nebilos, your inspector of Abaddon, as envoy.]
Beelzebub, whom Zeke had thought would be the hardest to approach, had made the first alliance offer unexpectedly.
Zeke pondered why Beelzebub had proposed it to him first.
Seeing Mephistopheles's darkened expression, unlike before, Zeke understood.
'He's making the first move to check the Archdemon.'
The Archdemon had orchestrated this meeting by offering exclusive exchange with Zeke's domain, the phenomenal world.
He had likely anticipated elevating Zeke to grand lord status but hadn't expected another grand lord to openly propose an alliance.
Zeke organized his thoughts and said to Beelzebub,
"What are the terms of the alliance?"
Beelzebub replied,
[I seek the advancement of necromancers' rights in the phenomenal world.] Zeke asked in surprise at the unexpected condition from Beelzebub.
"You want me to protect the necromancers?"
[Indeed. The necromancers and undead of the phenomenal world currently suffer unjust persecution.]
Beelzebub spoke in a serious tone.
[Undying one, I believe you can protect them.]