Crimson’s fists sank deep into his flesh over and over again, tearing him apart.
"You were not born to become a subordinate?"
"How arrogant."
"That way of thinking does not suit you."
"Only victors are allowed to think that way."
"ONLY THE STRONG THINK THAT WAY!!!!"
Crimson roared while destroying the Duke mercilessly.
"You are weak, Gael!"
"Weak!!"
"If you cannot even defeat me—a man who embraced the mentality of a subordinate that you despise—"
"Then how dare you dream of fighting the King?!"
"You never will!!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Crimson’s Aura exploded even more violently.
Gael’s flesh and blood scattered everywhere around the battlefield.
Every time the Duke attempted to alter his body and create something stronger...
Crimson instantly destroyed it with his bare fists.
"You will die here..."
"A king who never ruled anyone."
"A king incapable of controlling the fate of others..."
"Not even his own fate !"
The Duke of Hell had been cornered.
Closer to death than ever before.
Within the Maze of Doors, the Upper First completely overwhelmed Gael, forcing the Duke of Hell into a corner where he could no longer withstand the crushing assault raining down upon him.
Gael realized that if he continued fighting Crimson head-on, defeat was inevitable. With no other option left, he chose to drag others into the battle with them.
His body expanded violently.
Mutated, rotting flesh burst outward in grotesque quantities until it swallowed the Upper First inside a colossal cocoon of decayed crimson flesh filled with jagged mouths.
Those mouths spat black venom capable of exterminating living beings with terrifying ease.
Gael knew that trapping Crimson would not last long, so he used the brief opening to relocate both of them somewhere else entirely.
By the time Crimson shattered the cocoon apart, he found himself standing within a completely different area.
Before him stood the golem, still pinned to the wall by Kingslayer.
Beside it stood a tall woman radiating a dark blue aura.
"So it was you... you cowardly witch!"
The Upper First lunged at her immediately after seeing her attempt to free the golem from Kingslayer.
The witch instantly raised her hand toward him and screamed:
"Stop. Do not move!"
Her voice carried a strange force within it.
The moment she spoke, Crimson froze in place, unable to move as though a mountain had descended upon his body.
"That cursed ability...!"
Crimson naturally recognized it.
It was the power of words wielded by the Lady of Witches herself, one of the Seven Great Powers—
Rhaenys.
The witch immediately turned toward the golem, fully aware she would not be able to restrain the Upper First for long.
"Grant me strength enough to move the world."
She spoke in a deep voice.
Her magic responded instantly, forming glowing blue hands that seized Kingslayer and tried to pull it free from Zahara’s chest.
The golem screamed in pain, sorrow written all over him as he reached out toward Rhaenys.
The witch tried with all her power to free him, but Kingslayer contained an overwhelming amount of force infused into it by Crimson.
The Upper First had already broken free from the prison of words.
He surged forward immediately, swinging his fist with the intent of killing the Lady of Witches in a single devastating blow.
The moment she saw him approaching, fear appeared on the witch’s face.
Zahara understood at once that she was in danger.
His eyes instantly turned furious.
His body separated around the spear, tearing itself free at the last possible moment.
Passing in front of the witch, the golem formed himself before her to protect her.
His fist, hardened with Agares’ power and wreathed in black flames, collided against Crimson’s dark crimson fist.
The two forces crashed violently, unleashing a monstrous explosion of aura.
But only seconds passed before the Upper First’s fist tore through Zahara’s, reducing the golem’s arm to pieces.
Zahara screamed loudly in agony.
Crimson did not even allow him time to continue screaming.
He extended his other hand and summoned Kingslayer back to himself.
With a single swift swing, the golem’s head was severed cleanly from his body.
Zahara’s head rolled across the ground before Crimson’s feet.
The Upper First crushed it into fragments beneath his boot without mercy, utterly indifferent to the pained look the golem gave him.
"A worthless creature that knows only how to copy..."
Crimson said coldly as he turned toward Rhaenys.
"Was this supposed to be your trump card?"
"The thing through which you planned to restore the honor of your race?"
He approached slowly, raising Kingslayer high into the air, prepared to split the witch in half and end her life.
Yet Rhaenys stood before him without fear.
"You do not understand, Upper First..."
"The creature you describe as worthless is not an existence you would wish to anger."
The moment those words left her mouth, space behind Crimson trembled violently.
The golem’s body began reforming once more.
Zahara’s tearful red eyes returned from nothingness, now filled with overwhelming anger, pain, and sorrow.
He looked like a furious child whose eyes longed desperately for something.
In those moments of unbearable pain unlike anything he had ever experienced before, Zahara remembered faces he had always relied upon.
He remembered a kind white-haired man who had treated him warmly.
Around him had been children who treated him the same way.
Zahara looked around frantically, searching for them everywhere.
But he found none of them.
At that moment, he realized no one was coming to save him.
This time, he was alone.
Rhaenys was the only person capable of calming him with her Word Magic.
The only one who had treated him kindly.
But now she was relying on him to protect her.
He no longer had any choice except to rely upon himself and unleash everything he possessed against the monster standing before him.
Zahara released a savage howl.
A far denser aura erupted from him, one tinged with a dark crimson hue so powerful that even Crimson’s expression darkened heavily.
"This... King’s Presence?"