"Gaaahhhhh—!"
Mofrey clutched her head, kneeling on the ground in agony.
The momentary clash of mental strength just now had nearly made her faint.
The Demon King's soul wasn't as vast as an ocean like Sigmund's, but how could someone possessing the [Pinnacle of Magic] leave their mind completely defenseless?
Those defensive spells were layered upon each other, building his consciousness into an impregnable fortress where even the tiniest crevices were sealed tight.
If it weren't for Mofrey's somewhat special mental strength, she likely wouldn't have been able to pry open even that momentary lapse in the Demon King's focus.
But it was enough. That split second was enough.
Mortis lifted the Demon King's body with a single hand.
The mucus from within the fluid humanoid's body dripped down his arm—one drop, two drops, becoming slower and thicker.
That body, which could once rewrite the course of a battlefield with a flip of a hand, was now deflating inch by inch like a punctured waterskin.
The corners of Mortis's mouth finally rose again. That smile wasn't boastful, but it carried the exhilaration of three hundred years of suppression!
"I know you relied on the [Pinnacle of Magic] and didn't take my skill sealing seriously." His voice wasn't loud, spoken only for the Demon King in front of him to hear. "Even if I broke every spell you cast, faced with your near-instantaneous casting speed, it would merely be futile."
"However, against a mental attack, this split second was enough!"
"How is it? How does it feel to suffer a backlash from your own experimental creation? But then again, having done so many experiments, I'm afraid you probably don't even remember her."
The Demon King did not respond. His body continued to flatten completely, until only a layer of jelly-like outer skin remained draped over Mortis's hand.
"Truly boring."
Fresh blood surged up from beneath Mortis's feet, sweeping up the mucus that had dripped from the Demon King and enveloping it within that thick scarlet mass.
On the city walls, in the plazas, and atop the towers, the Empire's soldiers looked up at that figure towering above the tide of blood, looking at the lifeless Demon King.
"Eternal Empire! Eternal Emperor!"
It was unknown who shouted first, but then came a second voice, a third, a tenth, a hundredth.
Cheers erupted from all directions!
Mortis stood in the center of the cheering but did not smile. Instead, he turned and descended onto the teleportation array below.
He was no longer satisfied with being called Emperor; in the future, people would call him the Demon King!
With a flash of light from the magic array, Mortis arrived in a secret chamber known only to him.
Several complex magic arrays were engraved within the secret chamber. One of them was the Ritual of Seizure that he had modified.
He placed the Demon King's lifeless body and all that leaked mucus onto the position of the sacrifice within the ritual.
Mortis couldn't wait a moment longer. Once everything was prepared, he immediately activated the ritual.
He felt a long-lost joy of an impending breakthrough: "What Demon King, what Hero? They are nothing but lucky ones chosen by the gods. Without those titles, what do you amount to? Only I am truly worthy of this kind of power!"
As the ritual activated, the extremely precious S-class magic crystals around it shattered one by one, and a power of extraction enveloped the Demon King's remains.
"Come!" Mortis spread his arms, welcoming his rebirth.
The rebirth did not arrive.
Even without any outsiders present, Mortis still fell into a deep silence.
A similar accident happening twice in one day—Mortis forcefully suppressed his rage and bent down, just preparing to inspect where the ritual beneath him had gone wrong, when the teleportation array behind him—whose coordinates only he knew—suddenly lit up!
Mortis's eyes widened as he watched the Demon King slowly walk out from it.
"You...?" He looked back at the ritual's sacrificial altar; the Demon King's corpse was still lying there.
"Are you that surprised? Didn't you know I was divided into six pieces and sealed separately?"
"Ha, is this your backup plan? Sacrificing a part of yourself to create an opportunity to face me one-on-one? Foolish!" Fresh blood wrapped around Mortis once again. "Having lost the part with the [Pinnacle of Magic], what power do you have left?"
"Lost?"
A soft palm reached out from behind and rested on Mortis's shoulder. Surging mana poured in along it, instantly severing his control over his own body.
Mortis shifted his eyeballs in terror, only to see that puddle of mucus that had become active again.
The arm resting on his shoulder was the first to form, followed by the torso, limbs, and head.
Before long, a second Demon King appeared in the secret chamber.
"How is that possible! That part of you clearly had no vitality left; it was as dead as it could be! I couldn't have misjudged!"
"It did die," both Demon Kings spoke simultaneously, their overlapping voices echoing in the secret chamber. "But have you ever wondered why a guy as powerful as Link died, yet I was merely divided and sealed away?"
"Wh... y?"
"Unranked Skill — [Immortality]. Although it's just one of the byproducts I researched using the Blood Calamity, it is indeed quite useful."
The two Demon Kings drew closer, squirming and merging into one.
He then looked down at the ritual beneath his feet, his voice carrying a hint of appreciation. "No wonder you brought me here. So you actually restored the Ritual of Seizure. You do indeed possess an excellent mind."
"Restored? What do you mean?" Mortis asked, while secretly exerting strength, trying to break free from the mana's bindings.
"Exactly what it means. The so-called Blood-Seizing Ritual was originally modified from the Ritual of Seizure by Rune. Unfortunately, he failed to modify it to achieve the effect he desired."
Mentioning Rune, the Demon King's mood seemed to drop a bit.
He grabbed Mortis, who was almost on the verge of breaking free from his bindings.
"You... what are you going to do?"
There was no longer a trace of emotion in the Demon King's eyes as he looked at Mortis. "Exactly what you were going to do. There's a complete, ready-made ritual here, which actually saves me quite a bit of effort."
"Don't even think about it—"
Mortis violently broke free from his bindings, only to be ruthlessly slammed onto the sacrificial spot single-handedly by the Demon King the very next moment!
The ritual beneath him lit up once again. In a daze, only one question flashed through Mortis's mind: The Demon King's physical strength... why is it so great?
Immediately after, a painful sensation of peeling that originated from the soul struck him.
"Aahhhhhhhhhhh—!"
"I am the true King, you are merely... merely a lucky one..."
"Hahaha, the Ritual of Seizure, aaahhh— This is your true face! You monster!"
Screams, curses, and furious roars... ultimately all turned into unwilling maledictions.
Emperor Mortis's final voice was entirely sealed within this secret chamber known to no one.
At the circular fortress.
Beside the teleportation array, Mofrey supported her forehead, alleviating her pain, while soldiers cleaned up the mucus that was everywhere.
Everyone was waiting. Waiting for the Emperor's figure to walk out of the teleportation array, waiting for that name they had just cheered to echo through the fortress once again.
Suddenly, the teleportation magic array lit up.
Mofrey looked over excitedly, but her expression immediately froze on her face—holding the lifeless Vampire Emperor, the fluid humanoid walked out of the teleportation array.
(End of Chapter)
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