Chapter 217

“…”

Asura blinked his eyes slowly.

As he lay on the ground, he realised two things. One was that the sky in Hell, which he had been looking at for thousands of years, was still very ugly, and the other was that he’d accepted his defeat much more calmly than he expected.

‘When was the last time I lost?’

Asura tilted his head for a moment, but he soon decided to stop thinking about it. This wasn’t the time to be locked in memories of the past.

His gaze turned to Frey.

Unlike Asura, who became a wreck, he didn’t have any injuries to speak of, and he was able to remain smiling. Nevertheless, he was able to get the sense that he was very exhausted.

‘It’s not because of me.’

Asura knew this, so he couldn’t help but ask.

“What were you fighting? You weren’t even focusing on me during our fight.”

“…”

“…well. I’m not really asking. You don’t have to answer.”

In any case, Asura was the loser.

Frey had been right. His strength was more than one level above Asura’s. Even though his attention had been focused elsewhere, it hadn’t been hard for him to subdue him.

In fact, Asura was curious about why he was even alive at that moment. In Hell, defeat usually meant death. The more powerful the individuals involved were, the more true that was.

The winners would not want to leave any regrets behind, so they would take preventative measures.

That was why Asura thought he would die if he were to ever lose.

“So are you willing to accept my will now?”

“What else can the loser do?”

“Good.”

That was enough.

Frey pressed against his throbbing temples and turned to look at Beelzebub’s castle.

Paht.

In the next instant, his body appeared in front of the other Archdukes.

“I’ve persuaded Asura. So all that’s left is… Barbatos.”

The Ruler of the Despair Hell became nervous when Frey called his name. However, the words he heard next were unexpected.

“Won’t you change your mind?”

“H-, huh?”

“I understand your position. For a ruler, borrowing the power of a foreign party would certainly make you feel uncomfortable. But there are exceptions to everything, and I believe this situation is an exception.”

“…”

Barbatos thought that he would be singled out as the next opponent. Now that Asura had been defeated without much effort, the other was more than able to overpower him. It wouldn’t even be a difficult task.

Nevertheless, Frey spoke in a calm voice, and it seemed that he truly intended to genuinely persuade him, without argument or sarcasm.

“I don’t want Hell to be destroyed. Not for the demons or for you. What would happen to the majority of the High rank demons after this world is destroyed? Would they simply lie down and accept their end? No. Never. I’m certain that they would look for ways to survive. Regardless of what it takes. And this will naturally result in them stretching their claws towards the continent. That is what I’m worried about.”

Although the demons were unable to use their full power when they left this world, naturally, there were exceptions. The fact that a High rank demon named Kaltud was able to become Nozdog’s Apostle was proof enough.

‘Even if it’s weakened, if it’s a High rank or stronger demon, it would certainly cause chaos if it descended onto the continent.’

This was something that Frey believed with all his heart.

If the other side was human or another mortal race, he might have been more casual. But they were talking about demons.

“Mm…”

“I see. So it’s not for us but for the continent.”

Barbatos nodded at Zefar’s words.

Such frankness was very effective against the demons. They preferred this kind of calculative remark rather than meaningless courtesy or compassion.

In a way, this statement even made Barbatos feel relieved.

He’d realised something when he saw the fight with Asura. He couldn’t beat Frey.

Nevertheless, if Frey decided to fight him, he would have no choice but to accept it. The title ‘Ruler’ resting on his shoulders would not allow him to refuse.

It was possible that Barbatos might even become the one to propose the fight first.

However, Frey understood Barbatos’ position and gave consideration for his position as Ruler.

It was a novelty. To be exact, it was something Barbatos had never experienced before.

After all, this was Hell, where only the strong survived and the weak were eaten.

That’s why he never expected that Frey, who had the position of supreme predator in this bloody world, preferred to lower his head.

“…fine. I will cooperate.”

So it didn’t take long for him to make a decision.

Frey sighed in relief at Barbatos’ words. This wasn’t because Barbatos had said the words he wanted to hear. Rather, it was for himself.

He could have fought Barbatos. In fact, he still had the urge to do that. However, Frey believed that if he fought again, he might have really killed his opponent.

That was why he was restraining himself.

Because he wanted to unleash this feeling upon Lucifer or Lord.

“…by the way, where did Beelzebub go?”

Frey looked around as he said these words.

Lilith had an ambiguous expression on her face as she said.

“I’m not sure. He suddenly flew up into the sky.”

The sky?

Frey followed her gaze.

Then he used his clairvoyance to look for Beelzebub.

“…”

But there was no one in the sky.

* * *

“Hmm. So Nozdog came to Hitume Ikar, and he’s after the Great Medium…”

After hearing all of this, Anastasia became lost in thought.

As wrinkles appeared on her youthful face, Ivan smiled belligerently.

“Good. Nozdog is one of the Apocalypses, isn’t he?”

He was on the same level as Agni, who he’d fought in Silkid. If he defeated him, he might be able to restore some of his wounded pride.

But Anastasia shook her head firmly.

“We don’t have to fight him.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ll explain later, so be quiet. I’m more curious about where Frey’s consciousness went.”

When he said those words while looking at the self-proclaimed Grey Trowman, the Great Medium answered his question.

“He went to Hell.”

“What?!”

Ignoring Ivan’s shocked scream, Anastasia spoke calmly.

“…naturally, that doesn’t mean that something went wrong and he fell into the underworld, does it?”

“Right. The place he went to was the land of the Demons.”

“Hmm. I see. So that’s why he left his body behind.”

When she nodded with a look of understanding, Ivan tilted his head to the side.

“What are you talking about? What does going there have to do with throwing away his body?”

“The pressure applied when crossing between dimensions breaks up and dissipates all forms of matter. In this sense, the body is nothing but a burden. The soul of an ordinary being would never be able to accomplish something like that… but it might be possible for the current Frey.”

Anastasia couldn’t help but feel that Frey was growing further and further away.

As she tried to soothe her aching heart, Ivan spoke again.

“So you’re saying his soul left his body. Doesn’t that mean he’s dead?”

“In a sense, yes. That would have probably been the case if I didn’t enter this body.”

This time, it was Grey who answered.

His appearance and voice were identical to Frey’s. But his tone and expression were very different.

That was why they felt strange.

Unlike Frey, who rarely showed his emotions, there was always a small smile on Grey’s face.

“Then who are you?”

“I am a Wizard who was active about 2,700 years ago.”

Then, after falling silent for a moment, he added something else as though he felt his explanation was too short.

“I was the strongest 9 star Wizard of my time.”

“Hoh…”

“At that time, there were also people fighting against the Demigods, and I was one of them. I dare to say that. After the Era of Light, which was ruled by the Great Mage, Lukas Trowman, we were probably the ones who fought back the most against the Demigods.”

Pride was obvious on Grey’s face.

The Great Medium sighed and interrupted.

“Grey, you’re getting off-track.”

“…ah. Right. Pardon me. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to use my tongue.”

He gave a short laugh before continuing.

“In any case, I died. And when I came to my senses, I had become a spirit body.”

“Spirit body?”

“I guess you could call it a ghost. Then I met a man… and when I heard what he had to tell me, my jaw literally hit the ground.”

“Frey.”

“Exactly, it was the Great Mage himself who called out to me.”

“Actually, it was me, not him, who called your soul.”

Grey shrugged at the Great Medium’s lazy words.

“Ah. You’re right. Heh. Sorry…. Anyway, he told me everything. After going to Hell, if his body was left alone, it would eventually collapse, so he asked me to stop that from happening. Of course, I was honored to help. I immediately accepted his request… and that’s all that happened before we arrived here.”

So it was the Great Medium’s ability that drew his soul into Frey’s body.

‘…but is that it?’

Anastasia knew Frey well.

She didn’t believe he’d do something as troublesome as to find a new soul just to maintain his body. Considering Frey’s efficiency, there should have been several reasons why he allowed Grey to possess his own body.

Of course, there was still one thing she was curious about.

“Then how are you a Trowman? Frey didn’t have any children.”

“I used to be a slave. Naturally, this meant that I didn’t have a last name. So I borrowed the name of the man I respected the most. I thought I had the qualification to do so.”

Anastasia nodded.

If it was a 9 star Wizard, he was certainly qualified to call himself a Trowman. Because of Frey’s personality, he wouldn’t have had a problem with that either.

However, Ivan seemed to be a little disappointed. He was expecting something more dramatic and interesting.

Suddenly.

“Wa-, wait! Wait a minute! What are you guys talking about?”

It was Jekid who hurriedly asked this in a distraught voice, his pupils shaking violently. (TL: I was wondering where he was in all of this)

If anyone who knew his usual temperament were to see this scene, they would be shocked.

Jekid Deosis, Circle Master of the Lucid Swords. (TL: I think the author forgot his last name here xD called him ‘Deocide’)

He was always serious, and he rarely panicked. So no one would expect him to act in such a way.

Unfortunately, the only subordinates who could have borne witness to this sight were those beside him, and they were just as shocked.

Only then did Ivan realise that they’d completely forgotten about Jekid’s existence and nodded.

“…oh, yeah. This guy was here too.”

“Yeah.”

Though he was openly ignored, Jekid shook without even realising it.

“Gre-, Great Mage Lukas? Why are you mentioning the names of ancient heroes? P-, plus a Wizard from 2,700 years ago? Are you all crazy?”

“Mm.”

Anastasia frowned slightly.

His tone was strong as he said that, but it was understandable.

And he hadn’t even realised anything.

No, that expression was wrong.

Frey and Anastasia did not feel the need to hide their identities any longer.

Besides, the other was the Circle Master of one of the three Great Circles. To an extent, he had the right to understand the situation.

Therefore, Anastasia spoke with a solemn voice.

“Listen, Lucid’s successor. Frey Blake is Lukas Trowman. After being imprisoned for 4,000 years in a place called the Abyss, he escaped relatively recently, and now, he’s headed to Hell to stop the Demigods’ plot.”

Then, she pointed to herself with her thumb as she continued.

“As for me, I’m the Great Sage, Schweiser Strow, praised as the Great Mage’s best friend and the Representative of Truth. I’m sorry for my delay in greeting you, but I sincerely hope we can continue our friendship.”

Jekid’s jaw dropped again.

Then the man beside him couldn’t help but speak.

“Lu-, lunatic!”

“…”