508. Antimagic

Levithus had fulfilled his role. All that was left now was for him to wait for the Humans to arrive. He was fully aware he was going to perish here— the land beneath his tail was going to be his grave. But he gladly accepted it. His death would only fuel the grand summoning ritual.

His King was finally here. Regnorex stood at the other side of the ritual circle in the Netherworld. It was like he was in a parallel dimension. The Demon King stood like a reflection in a puddle relative to Levithus. A small army of the greatest Demons in all of the Netherworld waited and kneeled.

It was an army that could crush the entirety of the Human lands in one fell swoop. If they crossed over now, this grand Human army encroaching on the ritual would be quickly crushed. But the truth was, they couldn’t cross into the Mortal Realm just yet.

The tall ceiling above Regnorex faded, and the first vestiges of the domed roof of the dark palace materialized in the Mortal Realm. It rose out of the ground slowly. Like a tree sprouting from its seed. It was mostly powered by all the past deaths— the gathered mana from the sub-rituals, as well as clashing of armies right outside of the fallen city of Inor.

But that magic alone wasn’t going to be enough to transport Regnorex or his army across the planes. That was why more was needed. More deaths. More sacrifices. There was a reason why there was a battle raging just ahead of Levithus.

Slaying the wild Demons summoned alone was just going to recycle the mana used to bring them over— a dead Level 150 Primeval Demon was only going to be able to bring over another Level 150 Primeval Demon. But a dead Level 150 Primeval Demon after killing thousands of Human soldiers was maybe going to bring over a Level 180 Primeval Demon, or maybe it was going to bring over thousands of Archdemons.

So the first legions of Demons brought over was going to be fodder. But there needed to be a source of additional fuel, if not it was all moot. There had to be a reason for the Human armies to converge posthaste. And all that required was moving the final step to the first step. The merger of planes was always the goal, however it couldn’t be accomplished so easily. By forcing an early merger, the Human armies would have no choice but to act quickly to stop it.

And that was not all— by muddying the Mortal Realm with smudges of the Netherworld, even the highest-leveled Human [Mages] were going to be too distracted to notice that the grand ritual worked as a collection point to store mana too. Perhaps if they investigated closely… but they couldn’t. Time was of the essence, and the Humans fell right into the Demon King’s trap.

His kingdom had come. Soon, all of Demonkind would be reborn into their new home. Levithus simply luxuriated in his success, knowing that what came next was his own martyrdom.

And perhaps that was his greatest folly.

Levithus saw the flicker of light. He looked up, blinking as a giant spell circle fell upon half the city of Inor. It was expansive, and it formed a dome, but it didn’t span the entire width of the battlefield as the grand ritual did. It was tiny in comparison. However, it did its job.

The spell circle flashed, and the world around Levithus turned gray. It was like everything had been drained of color. His vision was reduced to a grayscale lens. He spun around, wide-eyed.

“What is this—”

The Primeval Demon wondered aloud, and the answer came shortly.

“[Antimagic Field]!”

Levithus blinked. He heard the voice of Clayton Skyshredder himself echoing in the distance. And everything slowly clicked. The Primeval Demon glanced down, and he saw the image at his tail distort.

The visage of his King blurred. Regnorex opened his mouth, but Levithus didn’t understand what was being said.

“No…”

The emerging spires crossing through the portal nearly ground to a halt. It was still moving, but far more sluggishly now. Levithus saw this— he watched as the summoning ritual was reduced to a snail’s pace. And anger boiled within him.

This Grand Skill— this [Antimagic Field]— from Clayton Skyshredder wasn’t enough to completely halt the grand summoning ritual. But it could slow Regnorex’s entrance to the Netherworld. That fact alone enraged Levithus.

He raised his snake-like head and faced the source of this vile magic. Clayton Skyshredder floated thousands of feet above the fallen city of Inor, a mere speck in the sky. But Levithus saw the Human [Mage] there.

And Levithus screamed in anger.

“HOW DARE YOU DESECRATE HIS MAJESTY’S RETURN!”

The hulking Primeval Demon shot into the sky. He flew without wings, his undulating figure swaying like a serpent’s body. He drew closer and closer to Clayton Skyshredder. Levithus approached his target as he opened his mouth and unleashed his rage.

Black flames coalesced in his maw before spewing out like dozens of giant fireballs all at once. The attack should have reached Clayton moments later. Levithus himself should have reached Clayton moments later.

But despite that— despite the tremendous speed of the spells, and the fiery wake left behind by the Primeval Demon’s tail— Levithus never drew closer to Clayton Skyshredder. It didn’t make sense. Leviticus was always approaching his target, but never reaching it.

He roared in fury, snapping his jaws like a wild Demon.

“How?”

He asked himself as Clayton’s condescending gaze bore down into him. Levithus huffed in anger, bellowing out.

“Why can’t I reach you—”

And Levithus caught himself. The question stopped him. The Primeval Demon hovered there, before looking back down at where he was. He hadn’t even moved an inch from where he had been. His tail hadn’t even lifted off the ground.

His eyes narrowed as he swept his gaze over his surroundings, finally comprehending.

“Belzu.”

Levithus snarled, and an insect flitted out of the nearby rubble. Belzu floated out, sneering at the giant serpent.

“Greetings, Levithus.”

I watched as the spell circle fell upon Inor. It spun and glimmered, shining with inverted colors. It was both white and black and gray at the same time. The entire field encapsulated by the Grand Skill was overcast, removed of color. It was like the entire fallen city had been drained of magic.

I swept my gaze over the ruins of what had once been the Capital city of the Inoria Empire. With the initial grand ritual for the merger, the city had already been in shambles. But a few buildings still stood, even amidst the rubble. Part of the walls remained. The streets were still recognizable, and overall, it looked like a city.

However, now, after the battle began— after Helena Warshade’s Grand Skill— the city was reduced to nothing but rubble. Everywhere I looked, I saw piles of dust and debris, forming mounds that stood tall like small hills. There was only the vague outlines of buildings where they had once stood— the barest of their foundations remained, but the rest had been blown away.

I spotted Levithus in the distance. His large undulating figure was visible even from high above, and it helped that he was in the center of the dome. He looked like he was facing something, but I wasn’t entirely certain what. I just knew that he was my target.

I needed to stop him.

So I swooped down. Even as a sea of winged Demons barred my path to the [Hellprince]. Wild Demons and Archdemons filled the skies, locked in combat with each other, and exchanging a volley of spells with the flying Human [Mages] in the distance.

They saw my approach. I sped down, and a few glanced up to face me. A [Savage Agarat] hissed, diving my way.

[Savage Agarat - Lvl. 141]

But I sheared straight through it with my Divine Nebular Scythe. The sharp edge of my weapon burned with a brilliant blaze. The wild Demon hissed and fell apart— shredded into flakes of ash.

I killed it in a single strike. I remembered when I struggled even to beat one. But now, they were so easy to deal with.

I sent a cone of iridescent flames around me as I continued flying down, keeping the hordes of Demons back. They burned, and I heard the deluge of notifications in my head. I would’ve continued unimpeded towards Levithus. I soared further down, seeing my target.

But a blurred figure shot up towards me.

“Wha—”

I barely raised my Divine Nebular Scythe in time to block the attack. A scything limb struck me, knocking me out of the air. I was sent crashing into the distance. I managed to land on my feet, but I glanced up and saw the shadow rapidly approaching.

I leapt to the side, and a giant eight-legged creature crashed into the earth. The [Archarachne]— the last of the Primeval Demons— towered over me. We were just outside the bounds of the [Antimagic Field], but for whatever reason, its wrath was drawn towards me.

I narrowed my eyes. I was almost certain I had seen it breaking free from being controlled— I had seen it rampaging wildly as its spawns of [Aranea] poured out by the thousands. But now it was eerily calm once again, and it was not going to let me through.

I gritted my teeth as it let out a shriek before slicing down at me once again.

“So the Lord of Lies has returned.”

Levithus spoke simply as he circled around the giant insect. He saw Belzu, but he wasn’t wary. Not of the other [Hellprince]. Belzu, himself, was eerily calm. And that was why Levithus too didn’t seem to fear a surprise attack.

“I am aware this is but an illusion you have concocted. There is no reason for you to show yourself to me. Dispel with these useless tricks. Try as you might, you will not be able to defeat me.”

It was a warning. Levithus bared his teeth dangerously, but the false apparition of Belzu hovered there calmly.

“This is no illusion, Hound of the Demon King. And I will not kill you. I am no fool— I know that doing so will only fuel this ritual even further.

Belzu gestured towards the distorted image playing on the ground. Regnorex was barely visible now— the rest of his army was but a smudge in the background. This [Antimagic Field] was grating. However, Levithus looked down and saw the ritual slowly continuing.

He felt his magic flowing through him. And he understood that Clayton Skyshredder’s Grand Skill couldn’t suppress all magic in the field. No— the Headmaster of Mavos Academy was far too focused on stopping the grand summoning ritual.

“Very well, then.”

Levithus harrumphed and started forward. Belzu waited where he flew as the serpentine Primeval Demon rippled with black flames.

“All you are doing is delaying the inevitable. His kingdom shall come, and we shall find the promised land no matter what.”

Levithus' scales shone a dark color— a flare in this gray world.

“I will kill you, Belzu. If your life’s purpose is to stand in my King’s way, then I shall ensure you fulfill it till the very end.”

And once Belzu was taken care of, Levithus would deal with Clayton Skyshredder. After all, Levithus was the Hound of the Demon King. He was a [Forsaken Hellprince]. Cast aside by his minions, and saved only by Regnorex.

There was nothing Levithus wouldn’t do for his King.

With that, the two Primeval Demons clashed in battle as the war raged on outside of the [Antimagic Field].