The Purifier was a transcendent strike—
a fusion of the Demon King’s power combined with countless world-breaking abilities he had devoured throughout his life.
An attack that could neither be blocked nor repelled ..
so absolute that Nameless had fallen instantly when Agaroth used it against him.
Yet Odin ..
the Pale Devastation ..
had stopped it.
Not only that .. he had taken no damage whatsoever.
"This... is impossible."
For the first time ..
the demons felt fear.
Fear that their great king...
might lose.
Meanwhile ..
Odin dispersed the remaining power of the Purifier as his smile widened.
"I must admit,"
he said calmly,
"you surprised me, Demon King. I have never seen an attack like that before. Truly... this is the pinnacle of aura manipulation."
Odin laughed loudly and clapped his hands mockingly at Agaroth.
"Well done! But unfortunately—
this type of attack does not work on me."
His expression twisted into something terrifying.
"Aura... does not work on me."
The declaration of the Lord of the Great Ones
shook the hearts of every demon.
Odin advanced slowly toward the Demon King.
"Despite knowing this ..since you fought me in the past .
you still foolishly try it against me. I must say..."
"...how disappointing, Agaroth."
Even the Purifier had failed.
What could the Demon King do now,
after his strongest attack had failed to even scratch Odin?
"I told you before, Demon King,"
Odin said coldly.
"You do not understand. You understand nothing."
"A demon cannot defeat a Great One."
"A king cannot defeat a god."
"A creation cannot defeat the creator."
"You are nothing but a trivial being, forged by trivial hands.
You may claim power.
You may claim tyranny.
But you will never defeat me."
Odin smiled—a terrifying smile—
as he drifted like a phantom through the pale mist toward the Demon King.
Odin was completely dominant.
And yet ..
at the height of that dominance ..
Odin stopped.
Why?
Because his opponent—
the Demon King, Agaroth—
was laughing.
The Demon King laughed,
and laughed...
and laughed.
He laughed loudly ..
hysterically ..
and it unsettled Odin.
Why?
Why was he laughing?
Why laugh after being pushed into such a miserable corner?
Even his followers—who once revered him—
were drowning in despair.
And yet Agaroth kept laughing.
Then, after a few moments ..
the Demon King finally calmed.
A terrifying smile spread across his face.
And in that moment ..
something happened that made Odin frown.
The Demon King’s body ..
which had been overflowing with aura and overwhelming power ..
changed.
Without any warning, all of that power—
all of that aura—
vanished completely.
Agaroth discarded it.
Every last drop.
"Odin... Lord of the Great Ones,"
Agaroth said, his words striking like an earthquake as his crimson eyes flared violently,
"it seems that you are the one who understands nothing."
"I know that aura does not work against you. But I was curious ..
curious about the extent of your ability to endure it... to control it."
"That is why I attacked you with my strongest aura-based powers."
"And you did not disappoint me,"
the Demon King continued as his body trembled.
"You repelled every single one of them."
"But do you truly believe..."
Agaroth’s lips curled upward,
"...that this is the end?"
"Hehehe... hahahahahahahahaha!!!"
The Demon King laughed ominously ..
and his body began to change completely.
From nothingness, a black substance erupted and wrapped itself around Agaroth.
That substance hardened, transforming into a strange, ominous black metal.
The metal crawled over every inch of his body, spreading until it covered his mouth and nose .. leaving only his deep crimson eyes exposed.
Agaroth’s new form was unsettling.
There was no aura.
No overwhelming power.
No crushing pressure.
Yet from his body rose a dark mist ..
a cursed, ominous dust.
Faced with this sight, Odin faltered.
Agaroth had unquestionably done something.
That black mist was clearly a form of power.
And yet ..
Odin could not sense a single trace of aura from him.
It was as though Agaroth had abandoned it entirely.
"You claimed that I could not defeat you.
You claimed that I could not reach you.
You claimed that I could not see the truth."
"But you are the blind one here, Odin."
"Blind to the fact that my darkness..."
Agaroth said coldly,
"...has already begun to swallow you."
As those words fell ..
Odin raised his head toward the sky,
and his eyes widened at what he had failed to notice.
The pale, pristine white sky had changed.
A strange darkness had emerged from nowhere, devouring it ravenously ..
until the sky itself was split in two.
One half pale and gray.
The other pitch-black and abyssal.
Each side struggled violently, trying to consume the other.
At that moment ..
Agaroth surged forward once more.
Faster than ever before, he charged at Odin.
This time, the Demon King’s fist was not blazing.
Not adorned.
Not radiant.
Yet that fist transcended everything.
It shattered the invisible force itself and struck Odin squarely in the face.
The thunderous blow sent Odin flying, shock and confusion etched across his features,
until he slammed violently into the ground.
But he recovered almost instantly.
Even so—
Agaroth was already upon him.
The Demon King’s fists drove forward relentlessly, tearing into the Great One’s body with terrifying speed before the eyes of every distant observer.
Somehow ..
Agaroth had turned the tables.
And Odin realized it.
He realized that he had underestimated the Demon King.
A smile returned to Odin’s face as he regained his footing and retaliated, launching rapid counterattacks and exchanging blows with Agaroth.
The two clashed savagely ..
without mercy ..
as everything around them exploded.
All of Helmond trembled.
Its destruction became inevitable.
Amid the exchange, Odin roared madly:
"Then come, Demon King!
Show me everything you have!!"
The pale mist ignited as the void around Odin shuddered violently while he battled Agaroth.
"You and your power of devouring—
I will overwhelm everything you possess!"
"You may try, you filthy Lord of the Great Ones,"
Agaroth replied coldly,
"but in the end... you will be devoured—just like all those before you!"