Within the Maze of Doors, the material world was on the verge of witnessing one of the fiercest clashes imaginable.
The First Upper Demon, Crimson, now stood against the Great One of Krat—
A Great One who had appeared from nowhere and attacked with the sole intention of ending his life.
Crimson had successfully blocked the assault.
Not only that, he retaliated immediately, forcing the Great One of Krat to retreat dozens of meters after taking a direct strike from the King-Slayer Spear.
Yet the First Upper Demon did not seem pleased with the result.
Casting a glance toward his tyrannical spear, confusion and curiosity flickered within his crimson eyes.
’What exactly did my spear touch just now?’
He wondered that because the King-Slayer Spear had not felt as though it struck a living being.
The King-Slayer was no ordinary weapon.
It was one of the three strongest weapons in the entire material world, possessing absurd durability, a monstrously sharp edge, and an ability that allowed it to steal the aura and strength of whatever it wounded.
And yet...
The King-Slayer had absorbed no aura after striking the Great One of Krat.
Nor had it managed to wound him.
’The King-Slayer managed to injure Midir, the toughest creature I have ever faced... so why can it not cut through this bastard?’
Crimson tightened his grip around the weapon, preparing himself for battle while simultaneously issuing orders toward Marvas and Agares.
"Remain alert in case one of the great powers decides to interfere," he said firmly, his crimson eyes never leaving the Great One of Krat.
"I will deal with him myself."
Choosing to fight alone in a one-on-one battle—
That decision alone revealed just how absolute the First Upper Demon’s confidence in his own strength truly was.
And the Great One of Krat had expected precisely that.
"Crimson, the Red Moon... you are powerful."
"But you are not wise."
The Great One of Krat’s cold, mechanical voice echoed outward as his body slowly ascended into the sky until he stood at the same height as Crimson.
For a brief second, the First Upper Demon froze after seeing a strange aura coil around the Great One.
Then slowly...
A gigantic eye manifested behind him.
A yellow eye split by a savage black slit—
The eye of some unknown creature Crimson had never seen before.
"You are now fighting the unknown."
"A battle against an enemy you know nothing about."
The Great One of Krat extended his hand toward Crimson.
The overwhelming aura surrounding him began taking physical shape, summoning a creature from an entirely different world.
It was a colossal being with monstrous yellow eyes and a long silver body resembling that of a sea serpent.
The creature coiled itself around the Great One of Krat, releasing a bizarre cry that echoed throughout the entire Maze of Doors.
"Silver-Tailed Mist Blade."
The sea serpent circled around the Great One before moving according to his command, its enormous body turning toward Crimson.
"You know absolutely nothing about what I am... nor what I am capable of."
"But unlike you..."
"I know everything about you and your abilities."
The silver sea serpent straightened its body.
And once fully extended, it resembled a radiant silver blade so sharp and flawless that, were it not for those glowing yellow eyes, no one would have believed it was alive.
"Go, Mist Blade."
At the Great One’s command, the serpent shot toward Crimson with terrifying speed.
Even the First Upper Demon had not expected the creature to move that fast.
The gigantic beast collided with him directly.
And the moment it struck—
Crimson felt a scorching wave of force invade his body, bypassing his armor completely.
He could not hold his ground for even a single second.
The Mist Blade overwhelmed him instantly, smashing him down into the earth.
The sea serpent soared upward immediately afterward before reshaping itself into the form of a blade once more and crashing downward again, burying Crimson deep beneath the ground.
This time, the First Upper Demon resisted the impact.
He thrust forward the King-Slayer Spear, colliding it directly against the creature’s head.
At once, a violent clash of aura erupted from the point of impact—
Silver against dark crimson.
Both powers pushed against one another before the shockwave forced them apart.
The sea serpent retreated and assumed its sword-like form once more, preparing to strike again.
Meanwhile, Crimson was still trying to comprehend what had just happened.
Earlier, when the creature struck him...
He had felt genuine damage spreading through his body.
And that should have been impossible.
"Blood Armor... an armor that absorbs incoming damage and heals your body."
"I am fully aware of it."
The Great One of Krat’s voice echoed once more.
This time, however, a different aura emerged from him entirely.
Once again, the aura took physical form.
And another bizarre creature was summoned forth.
"Eyes of the Sage: Owl Eagle."
It possessed enormous pure-white eagle wings.
Yet its body belonged to an owl, complete with massive glowing violet eyes.
White feathers scattered everywhere as those eyes began shining brilliantly.
From within them descended an overwhelming pressure of aura that rendered Crimson unable to move.
The pressure was abnormal.
It resembled gravity—
But countless times harsher.
To the point where moving even a single finger required an absurd amount of effort from him.
"The Owl Eagle freezes whatever falls beneath its gaze."
"And the Silver Mist Blade destroys everything in its path."
"One exposes the enemy defenseless..."
"And the other annihilates them without mercy."
The sea serpent attacked once again.
And the First Upper Demon suffered another brutal assault from the bizarre creature unlike anything the material world had ever seen.
The Great One of Krat observed everything calmly while standing atop the giant owl.
This was the Great One’s tyrannical power—
Odin’s Treasury.
An ability that allowed him to summon creatures that did not belong to the material world itself.
Creatures originating from the World of Aether.
The summons were limited only to the beings stored within Odin’s Treasury.
But that was hardly a weakness.
Odin’s Treasury contained a horrifying number of abominations that possessed no equal within the material world.
And now, the First Upper Demon found himself forced to battle creatures like these without knowing a single thing about them or their abilities.
The Silver Mist Blade possessed the power to inflict genuine damage upon him despite the protection of Blood Armor.
And its strength was far from ordinary.
"What an irritating ability."
Crimson’s furious voice echoed from beneath the earth after that sea serpent buried him under its overwhelming weight.
But the First Upper Demon was not an opponent who would fall to something like this.
The Great One of Krat’s eyes narrowed slightly when an overwhelming surge of aura erupted from beneath the ground.
An absurd amount of aura.
So much that Crimson forcibly moved his body despite the Owl Eagle’s restraint.
"King’s Presence..."
"So that is the power you inherited from the Demon King."
The Great One of Krat immediately recognized that pressure.
It originated from King’s Presence—
An ability that granted Crimson an aura reserve and oppressive presence equal to Demon King Agaroth himself.
Releasing that terrifying aura without restraint, Crimson lunged toward the Silver Mist Blade as it attacked him once more.
This time, however, the First Upper Demon’s raw power completely overwhelmed the sea serpent, forcing it backward violently.
"A troublesome ability indeed."