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"I don't quite understand what you're saying... Are you saying I freed the prisoners?"
"Don't play innocent, you bastard! Who else could it be if not you? Only you, me, and Gero and the guards knew that the Runcandels were in the lowest prison. And yet, Gero and I are here, and those guards lying over there wouldn't have released them."
"Why wouldn't they? There's nothing absolute in this world. I once had such a complacent thought and ended up losing my position to my son."
Kelliark said calmly. Ragal took a deep breath, his anger soaring as if his organs were twisting inside.
"Huff... I almost killed this bastard. Alright, since the deed is done, there's nothing we can do about it now. Choose, will you go to the torture chamber obediently, or will you go with a bang?"
"In my opinion, you should go out and personally search for the escaped prisoners with your subordinates. If you really need those prisoners, that is."
"You're playing tricks again. If I go out in a hurry to find the prisoners, are you planning to escape this time?"
In response, Kelliark let out a smirk.
"Why would I escape? I've personally sworn allegiance to Mr. Zito to become a member of the True Demon World. There's no place for me in the human world anymore. So, why would I run away? And why would I release the prisoners? My friend, you need to think a little."
Each word further escalated Ragal's anger. Ragal struggled to hold onto his sanity.
'No... I can't... If I kill this guy, there will surely be problems. Lord Zito didn't entrust this to me for no reason. I do not know what it is, but since this human has a connection with the Witch, Lord Zito had no choice but to accept him. So, I mustn't kill him. Stay calm, Ragal...!"
Unfortunately, Kelliark had no intention of easing Ragal's mind.
"Oh, am I looking afraid? So you thought I'd run away? Well, Ragal, you don't seem like much of a threat to me. Don't waste your strength on meaningless protests, go out and find the prisoners."
Tch-! The fragile thread of reason snapped. Ragal glared at Kelliark with murderous eyes.
"Even though I was about to finish this with a good beating instead of torture... You have to die, now. I'll take care of the aftermath."
Hiss...!
The moment Ragal finished speaking, a poisonous mist suddenly spread. The poison mist instantly filled the entire dungeon, but it wasn't only spread here.
Ragal's poison had already completely filled the entire territory of the Extreme Poison Zone. The poisonous mist seemed poised to horrifically dissolve anyone who wasn't Ragal's subordinate.
In various parts of the city, the screams of the demons from other territories who had arrived in the Extreme Poison Zone echoed. Friends, lovers, traders, even passersby were all facing death.
However, right in front of Ragal, facing the most intense miasma, Kelliark still had a smile on his face.
"Poison... My ancestor, who was considered the strongest, was threatened by this poison. But, unlike my ancestor, I don't have to protect anything."
Kelliark's staff was engulfed in flames. The poisonous mist swirled and was sucked into the staff.
"Actually, it's you who should be in a position to protect now. You've longed for the title of Demon King, and received the title of 'Demon'... So it wouldn't be good to see everything turn to ashes overnight, right?"
Shhhaaaak-!
The flames on the staff exploded, instantly demolishing the dungeon. Ragal was thrown against the wall, and as he opened his eyes again, Kelliark had already pierced through the ceiling and was outside the castle.
Two wings made of fire were spread out on his back.
At the sight of this, the demons in the city were momentarily thrown into confusion. It was a time when the artificial sun should be turned off, yet the sky suddenly brightened, causing them to mistake Kelliark for the artificial sun.
However, what filled the entire sky was not the distinct pale light of the artificial sun, but rather billowing fire of a reddish hue.
Ragal's poison couldn't pierce through the heat. With a calm expression, Kelliark looked down on Ragal and everything he possessed.
Then, without even chanting a spell, Kelliark began to used magic that symbolizes himself.
Spatial explosion—magic that detonated everything within sight through sheer will.
The first to explode was the upper part of the Poison Demon Castle. Not only the guards but even the commanders who rushed out met their demise without realizing the moment of their death.
With each explosion, someone died or something collapsed. Ragal was momentarily lost in unexpected events, but he quickly regained his senses and released his poison.
"This bastard...! How dare he look down on this Ragal? Let's see how long you can keep this up. You will suffer in unimaginable pain!"
Ragal spread his wings and soared into the sky. He intended to press the concentrated poison in his grasp into Kelliark's heart.
However, before Ragal could ascend more than a dozen meters, he was caught in a spatial explosion, causing one of his wings to burst.
Although the wing immediately regenerated, the result was the same when he tried to fly again. Instead of reaching Kelliark, he was shot down as soon as he took flight.
Even attempting ranged attacks yielded the same results. Although all the poison in the Extreme Poison Zone was channeled through Ragal's power, Kelliark's fire curtain proved even stronger.
"Before the castle completely collapses, you should face reality. Don't resist too fiercely. Unlike in the past, it's not easy to control my strength."
As the continued spatial explosions caused the left side of the fortress to crumble lifelessly, Ragal tried to seize the opportunity to attack. However, by the time he glanced back at the destroyed fortress, the center of the city had already exploded, engulfed in flames.
"Lord Ragal! Please save us...!"
"Lord Ragal!"
Throughout the fortress, wounded demons cried out. Even the high-ranking commanders were sounding as pitiful as ordinary soldiers, and their wounds were not healing.
The fire was consuming flesh and bones at a rate that surpassed high-speed regeneration. And Ragal realized that not a single spark that had attached to him had gone out.
Even Ragal's super-speed regeneration, a power of a Demon King, couldn't withstand Kelliark's fire.
'Even if I am tired from my battle with Elona... this is unbelievable. Isn't he more terrible than that person...!'
Genesis Knight, or Supreme Demon.
Whether it was called True Demon World or Human World, the known limits to which mortals can reach are the same. And although Ragal had fought Elona before, he never felt as overwhelmed as he did now.
"You must be feeling that I am stronger than my ancestor. I don't know that either, Ragal. But one thing is certain. Without hostages, you wouldn't have been able to lay a finger on my ancestor. Don't underestimate Zipfel. From what I know, even the strongest man in this world didn't underestimate her."
The cries for help from his subordinates continued. Ragal gathered his strength once again to attack, but all he achieved was a part of his body being blown apart by a spatial explosion.
Ragal was now left with no choice but to redirect even the poison throughout the Extreme Poison Zone to his final struggle.
However, just as Ragal gathered his poison to release it, Kelliark, who had descended to the ground, pierced Ragal's throat with his staff.
"Compared to that man, you're nothing more than a bug."
Thud-!
The staff was driven into the ground like a stake, pinning Ragal's throat. Ragal knelt with his upper body thrown back in an awkward posture. What he saw was not Kelliark, but the burning Poison Demon Castle behind him.
"Hahaha... hah!"
"Being a demon is quite convenient. Even though your throat is pierced and pinned to the ground, you can still breathe. How about it, do you want to die like this?"
"Yes... I...!"
"Think carefully. I'm giving you a chance right now. Depending on how you answer, Ragal Fun and the Extreme Poison Zone will disappear from the True Demon World today... or you'll enjoy even greater power than before."
"Ugh, aaah...!"
As Kelliark twisted his staff, Ragal also cried out in agony, writhing in pain like his subordinates. Tears of blood streamed from his eyes, and his entire body trembled from the excruciating pain.
"Well, it seems you're unable to speak. Like I said before, I'm still struggling with controlling my strength, which makes it difficult. I'll give you 10 seconds. If you can keep your eyes open without blinking for 10 seconds, I'll take it as a sign that you want to live. But if you blink even once, you'll become a handful of ash."
How can this madman expect me to keep my eyes open when I'm in so much pain...!
Ragal wanted to scream, but his voice wouldn't come out. He had to survive for now; he had to endure the 10 seconds no matter what.
Those 10 seconds were undoubtedly the longest 10 seconds of Ragal Fun's long life.
"Keheeaaak!"
As Kelliark pulled out his staff, Ragal lurched forward, grabbing his throat with both hands. Saliva, blood, and tears flowed from every hole on his face.
"You endured well. And now, you've assumed a perfect posture to face me in the future."
Almost instinctively, Ragal knelt, bowing his head and keeping his body low.
Unable to argue or resist, Ragal barely lifted his head to look at Kelliark. The man who had been a strange human entrusted by Zito just moments ago now appeared as fearsome as Zito himself.
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"You are asking a strange question. I intended to stay quiet, Ragal. I warned you, but it was you who needlessly provoked a fight."
"From the start, you planned for this, didn't you? You've broken me, so now you want to take my place and become the owner of the Poison Demon Castle?"
"Would I, as the one who was once the ruler of Zipfel, desire a wretched castle in the underworld? Moreover, I become a member of the True Demon World, not a demon, so becoming a Demon King would be absurd."
"Well, your actions right now seem the most absurd..."
"Get up. There probably aren't many subordinates left who witnessed your pitiful state directly. You should hurry and heal your wounds. Don't worry about the witnesses, they will be dead soon."
The voices of Ragal's subordinates begging for their life grew fainter.
As Kelliark swung his staff, the fire clinging to Ragal's body began to dissipate. Only after the fire was completely extinguished could Ragal begin to recover.
"For now, let's consider this battle as your victory over me. It would be better to return to the castle and finish the rest of the story."
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