"Your subordinate gave a fine performance."
Agaroth’s fist sank into Frey’s chest, forcing blood to burst from his throat as he pressed forward without pause.
"You need to do better than him... otherwise, there’s no meaning in this."
As he spoke, the Demon King manipulated his aura, striking at everyone who tried to approach—Abraham, Snow, and the rest—ensuring no one would interfere this time.
The timing was not right yet.
And so Frey was alone once again, forced to endure everything by himself.
He felt The Pursuer ignite within him, pushing him forward desperately against an opponent that surpassed all boundaries of power, a level that could not be measured even in dreams.
Agaroth was cunning. He could have ended Frey with a single blow, yet he deliberately adjusted his power each time, ensuring he would not kill him.
He maintained a vast gap ... just enough for The Pursuer to keep chasing.
And then he beat Frey down.
Relentlessly.
He crushed him in a one-sided display of power, destroying everything across the planet at the same time... yet, for some reason, he avoided the humans.
"Not yet."
Agaroth smiled as Frey’s body was once again swallowed by a dark cocoon, far larger this time... and far more powerful.
"The fifth phase of SSS..."
Frey’s power surged violently, boiling over as he stepped into an entirely new level of overwhelming strength, becoming an existence few could stand against.
But even that... was not enough against the Demon King.
Frey attacked with everything he had, and at some point—
Dark Sister shattered once again.
And with it, Balerion broke as well.
His weapons were gone.
So he formed a blade from gray-dark aura, while summoning the Shadow Bolt spear—the only weapon he could still wield at his current level.
Explosions followed one after another, black lightning tearing through the skies and raining down upon the earth in devastating storms.
The ground shook endlessly, volcanoes erupting as if the planet itself was reacting in fury to what they had done to it.
But this—
Was only the beginning.
The two had become walking disasters. One a dark abyss, the other a gray storm wrapped in lightning.
Yet one was clearly superior.
And the Demon King wiped the ground with Frey.
He struck him with such force that Frey’s face snapped back behind Nameless’ mask.
The mask endured ... but Agaroth did not stop. He continued attacking, pressing him relentlessly, to the point that even Nameless’ mask began to dent under the sheer brutality of the blows.
From afar, the living heard it ... a horrifying sound, a mix of laughter and screams.
The Demon King laughed, enjoying himself.
And Frey screamed in agony, trying desperately to keep up.
Those who attempted to chase them and intervene were met with an ocean of fire, lightning, darkness... and something else.
Something no one could understand.
Their power reshaped the Earth itself, forging a new land born of magma and flame.
A level no one could ever dream of reaching.
And once again, after being pushed to the very edge, it happened.
Another black cocoon formed, vastly larger this time, stretching across an immense expanse... so vast that no one could even glimpse its end.
Frey rested within it, arms wrapped around himself, trying to savor every second.
The few moments Agaroth had granted him to break through... were the only refuge he had.
The only time he could rest, even slightly, from the nightmare waiting beyond.
And Frey broke through.
"The sixth phase of SSS."
The same stage Amon had reached, and Agares, the second highest.
Yet in Frey’s case, it felt far more terrifying... far more monstrous.
Because of the destructive powers he carried.
After that, the battle fell into complete silence.
Frey heard nothing.
A long, absolute silence.
Because the next clash... did not last even a single second.
In that single second, he and Agaroth crossed half the planet, exchanging blows.
Frey’s aura rose to an entirely different level, his hand grasping a power he had never even dreamed of.
A monstrous force that made him feel as if the entire world now rested in his palm.
What overwhelming power.
What terrifying grandeur.
"Then why?"
Frey wondered.
"Why... even after placing my hand on all this power... has one thing not changed?"
He couldn’t do it.
He couldn’t land even a single hit.
Agaroth blocked everything, then drowned him beneath a relentless storm of strikes that tore him apart completely.
And after just one second... Frey fell.
He crashed into the void.
Agaroth stood before him, a cloak of shadow and flame fluttering behind his back.
Frey looked up at him, staring into those dark crimson eyes of the King... then tried to rise.
He couldn’t.
His legs refused to gather the strength to stand.
No matter how hard he tried, he failed.
Yet he clenched his teeth and kept trying... even grabbing onto Agaroth’s leg in desperation.
The King kicked him away.
"Are you finished?" Agaroth asked, his face devoid of all expression, his smile completely gone.
His eyes were terrifying... like gateways to hell.
He slowly approached as Frey crawled across the ground.
"Your growth has stopped at the sixth phase. Even with The Pursuer active, your strength isn’t increasing... I see."
"So this is all you can do for now."
Slowly, Frey raised his head toward him.
The Demon King... whose excitement had vanished entirely, replaced by something else.
Boredom.
Like a child who had grown tired of a toy that could no longer entertain him.
And in that state... he had only one option.
To find a new toy.
Agaroth’s smile returned gradually, and Frey’s heart stopped for a full second as he understood what was about to happen.
"Your role is over, Frey. It’s time to involve the others."
The Demon King turned.
Abraham... Snow... and Kalameet stood behind him, surrounding him from all sides.
Frey watched from afar, everything unfolding before his eyes in slow motion.
Kalameet attacked first, his overwhelming physical power unleashed, wielding the durability of the Pantheon and world-breaking force through his spear.
Agaroth blocked him.
Then completely overwhelmed him physically with a single punch... one that carried his true power.
The same power he had not used against Frey... so he wouldn’t kill him.
Half of Kalameet upper body was erased instantly.
His indestructible armor, his massive body, his iron bones... all obliterated. Nothing remained.
The lower half of his body fell to the ground, his organs scattering.
Abraham and Snow attacked next.