Chapter 164: Othello 3
The Demon King ranked 29th.
The fact that he was here meant that the system's restraints weren't absolute for everyone.
It was probably because the White Ghost King’s dimension was low-levelled.
Even if they were all Demon Kings, their abilities differed greatly depending on their ranks.
Since Astaroth was much more powerful than the other demon kings Woohyuk had encountered so far in this life, this situation wasn’t so surprising.
“What are you doing here, Orobas?”
“He, help me, Astaroth! Asura is trying to disrupt our plans! He’s with the demon kings of Ars Nova!”
Orobas told Astaroth what had happened to him.
Then Astaroth turned to Woohyuk's party and summoned his exclusive weapon, Regius.
“…How sneaky of you, Asura. So you’ve come all the way here while pretending to be staying in the Dane Kingdom.”
Currently, Choi Kayoon was acting as Woohyuk while staying at the Ecclet County.
Therefore, the demon kings who were monitoring Woohyuk thought that he was still investigating Angrboda's whereabouts.
It was a deceptive trick.
He had even tricked Astaroth, who was a high ranking demon king.
“Don’t you Demon Kings use tricks more often than me? I was just imitating you guys a bit.”
In the past 40 years, he had confronted the 72 Demon Kings, so Woohyuk was well informed about their tricks.
Woohyuk summoned Verserios and checked Astaroth's status window.
[Astaroth, 29th Demon King]
-Class: Demon King (Count)
-Properties: Leadership (50,000), Regius (Exclusive weapon. One of the opponent's skills can be used by the owner for 10 minutes while disabling the enemy’s skill in the meantime. Can attack and defeat enemies within a 1km radius by causing a meteor storm. Can store up to 3 skills of defeated enemies), Land of Grief (After making hostile targets within a 1km radius lethargic, can absorb their life force. Those who lose consciousness can be controlled at will), Mobilization (Can open abyssal gates and summon the monsters from his territory) Demon King’s Dignity (Immune against B-grade or lower weapons, as well as low or intermediate magic. Increases immunity to debuffs by 35%), Master/Slave Contract (As a demon king, can accept vassals)
-Stats
Strength 547
Vitality 534
Agility 541
Intelligence 466
Spirit 525
'He’s no pushover.'
In particular, the two-handed sword he was holding, Regius, required special attention.
It could disable the opponent's skill and copy said skill for 10 minutes.
The same was true for its ability to store 3 skills of defeated opponents.
At this point in time, those three skills were important variables since Woohyuk didn’t know what skills Astaroth had stored.
The meteor storm and the Land of Grief were also powerful wide-range attacks, so it was meaningless to fight him with tactics.
Moreover, those with weak mental power would be turned into enemies by getting their control over their bodies robbed by Astaroth.
'If I use buffs, I can get my stats slightly higher than his, but...’
The problem was that Astaroth could summon his vassals.
He was not bound by the restrictions of the White Ghost King’s dimension.
While Woohyuk struggled to make a decision, a pillar of light descended by the edge of the arena and a group of people appeared.
It was Eteria Rodinus and Catsy.
“I didn't think I’d come back here. I had such a hard time earlier because of the demon men trying to attack me because I was too pretty.”
Helena grumbled with lemon jelly in her mouth.
Then, Ibn Rusud stepped towards her and rebuked her.
“If you keep eating sweet things like that, then no one will call you pretty later on. Do you not want to get married?”
“…You should worry about your own future, Mr. Wiseman. At least I have a man who buys me lemon jelly.”
Helena winked at Woohyuk.
After ignoring her, Woohyuk asked Boetius a question.
“I can handle this on my own. Why did you come?”
“You tend to be overconfident, similar to Rosenkreuz, that arrogant fanatic.”
Boetius thought that Woohyuk would later destroy the world while trying to forcefully bring out the Demon God’s power.
That's why he kept his beautiful granddaughter, Helena, by his side as much as possible.
The other members of Eteria Rodinus also didn't fully trust Woohyuk.
Woohyuk clicked his tongue when he saw their cold gazes,
“I guess the Sangreal Chronicles really are here. Otherwise, the five wisemen of Eteria Rodinus would not have come here to meet the White Ghost King.”
Astaroth spoke in a confident tone and lifted Regius up high.
Then, the azure sky instantly turned dark, and meteors of all sizes began to fall at extreme speeds.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
It was Meteor Storm, one of Regius’ skills.
The members of Eteria Rodinus had cast a protective barrier to resist this formidable attack, and they groaned due to the shocks.
“Kyaa…!”
“Urgh…!”
The 29th Demon King was too strong for them to handle.
However, because Boetius was with them, the barrier did not crack or break.
“I have no intention of handing over the Sangreal Chronicles to you!”
“As expected, your divine power is quite powerful, Boetius. You remind me of Martinus.”
Martinus was a member of Eteria Rodinus who lived during the War of Gods and Demons.
A person who had reached the level of Saint and was called the White Sage.
Woohyuk had met him in the Izuna Royal Library's secret section.
'So Boetius is Martinus' successor.'
While there were people like Ptolemy who had preceded Boetius, looking at the crystal staff in Boetius' hand, Woohyuk didn’t think he was wrong.
Martinus' staff was with Boetius.
'Since it’s come to this, let’s borrow Boetius' power.'
Boetius was a wiseman who had reached the level of Saint.
If Boetius supported the other members of Eteria Rodinus from behind, it would be fine even if Astaroth summoned his army.
Eventually, when the meteor storm ceased, Woohyuk gave instructions to the three demon kings under his command.
[You three are to incapacitate Orobas so that I can seal him after the battle.]
[Understood, Lord Asura.]
[The three of us are more than enough for this task.]
[I never thought the opportunity to beat up Orobas would come one day. I'm looking forward to it.]
Dantalion was the most excited among the three demon kings.
He had a bad relationship with Orobas.
During the War of Gods and Demons, Orobas had publicly embarrassed Dantalion by referring to him as the Trashy Demon King several times.
When the three demon kings removed their protective barriers and rushed toward Orobas in unison, he turned to Astaroth in tears.
“He, help me! Astaroth!”
“…What a useless guy.”
Astaroth raised his left hand toward the sky.
Soon enough, an abyssal gate appeared and demons began to fall down one by one.
He had summoned the vassals in his territory of the demon world
Suddenly, Woohyuk appeared with his pitch-black wings right next to Astaroth.
[You have received the White Ghost King's Fury buff. Its effects will remain for 10 minutes.]
[All stats increased by 150.]
[Immunity against abnormal condition increased by 150%.]
[Damage to hostile targets increased by 150%.]
[Health recovery speed increased by 150%.]
[Magic recovery speed increased by 150%.]
He had received the best possible buff of the system and had approached Astaroth in an instant.
However, as they now had stats at similar levels, Astaroth still easily prevented Woohyuk's attack.
Clang!
The two weapons clashed, and a blue spark shot out.
Astaroth watched Woohyuk with interest.
“Were you always this strong? No wonder Lilith is so interested in you.”
“I'm not very interested in Lilith though. All I want to do is to tie her to a burning stake and watch her die.”
“It will be difficult to do that as you are right now. Lilith is on a completely different level compared to the enemies you’ve faced so far.”
“I don’t think you’d be able to say that if you learn who I truly am.”
He was the one who had inherited the name of Asura, the former Demon God.
One day, if all the 72 Demon Kings were sealed in Lemegeton and its hidden functions were unlocked, he would be able to challenge the Demon God’s Throne.
No matter what they planned, Lilith and Aleister wouldn’t be able to stop him.
And compared to those two, Astaroth wasn’t a notable opponent.
As Woohyuk’s fighting spirit ignited, Astaroth pushed him away with Legius.
Then, a system message popped up in front of Woohyuk's eyes.
[Demon King Astaroth has disabled your skill 'Summon Verserios'.]
[It will last for 10 minutes.]
[In the meantime, Demon King Astaroth can utilize 'Summon Verserios'.]
'…What the?'
Woohyuk doubted his eyes for a moment.
Certainly, 'Summon Verserios' fell into the category of ‘skill’, but Verserios was a unique weapon that could only be used by Asura.
It was absurd that Astaroth could take it.
When Verserios disappeared from his hand, Woohyuk urgently drew Grandia from his waist.
Astaroth was holding Regius in one hand and activated the skill ‘Summon Verserios’.
But even at his call, Verserios did not appear.
“…So it doesn’t work. I wanted to try using it at least once since it looked like a powerful weapon though...”
“If you touch it carelessly, you will be sucked into the Abyss.”
"The Abyss… you say? That wouldn't be so bad either. The abyss is like a mother to us.”
Demons had no parents.
They were born in the abyss and sent to the demon realm.
However, they did not know what was in their hometown, the Abyss.
In short, the demon race’s true identity was ambiguous.
Even Astaroth had been wondering about his origin for a long time.
That was why he was trying to obtain the Sangreal Chronicles.
According to Lilith, a secret of the demons related to the Holy Grail was recorded in it.
When Astaroth spoke of his purpose, Woohyuk shook his head.
“You will never obtain the Sangreal Chronicles, because you will be sealed in Lemegeton right here, right now.”
“…I see that you’re full of confidence even without your exclusive weapon. Then show how long you can withstand my attacks.”
There were still around 9 minutes left until Woohyuk could use Verserios again.
Overall, Astaroth was in a very favorable situation.
Woohyuk’s expression also showed his nervous sentiments as he knew that fact.
'Eteria Rodinus is currently fighting Astaroth's army… Should I call Nakron?'
He could still get help from him one more time.
It was not a bad choice because if he crossed this hurdle, he would have six demon kings in total under his command.
With six demon kings sealed in Lemegeton, the game of Othello against the demon world would become more advantageous for him.
Woohyuk suddenly heard Nakron's voice in his head as if he had seen through Woohyuk's feelings.
[Do you need help, my disciple?]
It seemed that he was watching this battle the entire time.
Woohyuk nodded with zeal.
[I want your cooperation, King of Fallen Wizards.]
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