Yuuki moved first.
With absolute faith in his immunity to magic and Skills, he dashed forward and fired a sharp, heavy kick toward Guy. The kick came with a flawless feint—first sweeping low for Guy's legs, then snapping upward in a brutal rising strike.
The devastating blow landed cleanly.
But Yuuki was the one who grimaced.
"Tch… what are you made of?" he spat in annoyance.
His Anti-Skill penetrated any defense—magic, blessings, barriers, divine protections—but Guy Crimson didn't budge. It was as if Yuuki had kicked a mountain of living steel. No tricks. No buffs. Guy's body alone was harder than diamond and yet flexible enough to move like wind.
That was the scale of his strength.
"Hahaha! That tickled." Guy laughed, amused. "This isn't even a fight yet. If you don't entertain me, I'll kill everyone here."
A flame flickered to life in his open palm.
Napalm Burst—a serpentine flame-dragon of superheated fire lunged toward Yuuki, ready to burn him until nothing remained but ash. Fire at several thousand degrees roared forward.
Yuuki scoffed.
"That won't work on me! Magic doesn't—"
A sudden chill hit his spine.
His instincts screamed.
Yuuki leapt away just in time.
"Hoh… sharp reflexes," Guy smirked.
Yuuki didn't get the chance to answer. He was too busy throwing himself to the ground, rolling violently as he attempted to smother the flames licking at his clothes. Anti-Skill prevented the magic from harming him—yet the flame still burned oxygen itself.
If Yuuki had hesitated even a second, he would've suffocated.
All of it happened in moments.
He wasn't burned. But the lesson was brutal.
Guy didn't need magic to kill him.
The realization made Yuuki's face tighten. He rose slowly and asked in a low voice, "Why didn't you attack again? Are you trying to fight me fair and square?"
Guy's grin widened.
"Ahahaha! Don't be stupid. You know I've figured out the secret behind your power."
Yuuki clenched his teeth.
Exactly as he feared.
His Anti-Skill could cancel magic, Skills, and combined Arts—but not physical laws. Not oxygen. Not heat conduction. Not the fragility of a human body. He had vulnerabilities he could not erase.
Guy spoke casually, mocking him.
"I know someone who nullifies magic perfectly. Didn't matter—I can still crush them. Magic isn't the only force in this world. Physics still exists. Fragile humans like you? Plenty of ways to break you."
Guy had already seen through everything in the first exchange.
Yuuki's body. His limits. His weakness.
If Guy wanted him dead, he could've killed him already. But that wasn't the point.
He wanted Yuuki to despair first.
Guy looked down on him like a disappointed teacher.
"If I just wanted to slaughter you, I wouldn't have come myself. Now that I'm here—entertain me."
Yuuki's jaw tightened.
He understood.
He wasn't being fought.
He was being played with.
But giving up was not an option.
His brain raced. The difference in power was massive—far too massive. But Guy was arrogant. Overconfident. That was something Yuuki could use.
He had more trump cards.
His natural superpower.
Mariabell's Greed.
Creator, capable of producing any Skill he needed.
You'll regret not killing me when you had the
chance.
Yuuki straightened, let out a slow breath, and met Guy's gaze.
"Don't get full of yourself. I've only shown you a fraction of my power."
Not bragging—strategizing.
If he provoked Guy, the Crimson King might slip. Might get careless.
Yuuki focused, channeling everything inside him.
His flesh changed. His existence rose.
From human → Sage → Saint.
Breath vanished from his lungs—he no longer needed it. He had ascended beyond mortal limits. A spiritual lifeform, free from the weaknesses of human biology. His magicule output soared, now rivaling Demon Lords like Leon and Luminas.
But Guy simply rolled his eyes.
"How disappointing. If that's the extent of your evolution, you could fight me a million times and still lose."
"Then I'll make it worth your while!" Yuuki shouted back.
His power erupted.
The battle resumed—
—and one second later, Yuuki learned why Guy Crimson was feared as the Strongest Demon Lord.
The Pharaoh Descends
The scene had reached its breaking point.
Yuuki was sprawled on the ground, unable to stand, barely able to breathe. His body shook from the damage. Every plan, every trick he tried had been useless. His strongest attacks didn't even scratch Guy Crimson.
"D-Damn it… damn it all!"
Yuuki's voice cracked. Rage, frustration, and humiliation mixed inside him. That he could still speak at all was a miracle.
Laplace stood frozen, eyes wide.
This wasn't weak Yuuki.
This was Guy Crimson being far beyond anything that should exist.
Boulders hurled by psychokinesis at over a
hundred meters per second—ignored.
Fires hot enough to melt steel—extinguished effortlessly.
Mental waves capable of stunning elite fighters—blocked like a child's prank.
Guy wasn't fighting.
He was amused.
Yuuki's Anti-Skill, his last line of defense, had already been bypassed.
"That won't work on me anymore," Guy said with a casual smirk.
Hearing those words alone chilled Laplace to the core.
Clayman and Kazalim had warned them about the Ten Great Demon Lords… but this level? They hadn't understood. Guy wasn't powerful.
Guy was catastrophic.
A being so far above the food chain that calling him "unreachable" was an understatement.
Yuuki, the strongest among them, lay helpless like an infant.
Laplace swallowed hard.
One of us… has to die, huh…
Even knowing it meant death, Laplace stepped forward. The air thickened with tension.
"M-Magnificent power, Demon Lord Guy-sama," Laplace began with a shaky, fake-casual tone. "We, the Moderate Clown Troupe, are always open for business. But since our boss over there lost… looks like our contract's over, right?"
"Huh?"
"Laplace!? What the hell are you doing!?" Footman shouted.
But Laplace didn't look at them.
He only looked at Guy.
And Guy looked back, intrigued.
Perfect. Just keep his attention on me…
Laplace wasn't betraying Yuuki. The Clown Troupe had one golden rule:
Never betray your companions. Never betray your client.
This was a distraction.
A sacrifice.
A desperate gamble to buy Yuuki time to escape.
Laplace straightened, swallowing fear.
"I'm sure I'd be useful to Guy-sama. So how about it—spare me?"
Guy's lips curled into a wicked smile.
Just before Laplace could continue—
"A-ha-ha… don't force yourself like that, Laplace."
Yuuki's trembling voice cut through the air.
He was standing. Barely. But standing.
"Am I really that unreliable?"
Yuuki already knew. Laplace was acting. Always protecting the troupe. Even when Yuuki was broken and beaten, Laplace chose to believe in him.
It made Yuuki… furious at himself.
If only I had more power…
And then—
«…You want power? Let me help you.»
The voice echoed inside his mind.
«Trade places with me, and you will obtain strength beyond imagination. Your dream of conquest—child's play.»
Yuuki grit his teeth.
Shut up. I don't borrow power from someone I don't know. My ambition means nothing if it isn't mine.
Silence.
The voice faded.
Yuuki inhaled sharply. He understood Guy now.
Guy didn't kill them immediately.
Guy didn't want him dead.
He wanted something.
"I get it now," Yuuki said. "You don't want us going to the Eastern Empire. Something about Rudra gaining more power, right?"
Guy's eyes narrowed.
Yuuki smiled boldly.
"If you wanted me dead, I'd have been dead ten minutes ago. Every attack of yours put me right at death's door… but never crossed the line. You were never planning to kill us."
Guy didn't deny it.
Yuuki pressed on.
"So let's make a deal."
"A deal?" Guy tilted his head.
"If you let us go… we can serve your goals. I know you don't want us joining Rudra, but I might persuade—"
And then—
The world changed.
A pressure fell upon the battlefield so suddenly and so brutally that Yuuki felt his bones creak.
The air screamed.
The ground shook.
The sky itself cracked like glass.
Guy stiffened.
Rain and Misery froze in place.
Because they knew.
They knew who this aura belonged to.
Guy clicked his tongue.
"…Sorry kid. Looks like you won't get to finish that sentence."
Yuuki's eyes widened.
Laplace, Footman, and Tear dropped to their knees, unable to withstand the force.
A voice echoed—deep, regal, absolute.
"Yuuki… you had your chances. But your greatest mistake…"
The sky split open like a door to another realm.
A figure descended through the rift—wrapped in gold, shadow, and power.
A crown of ancient light.
Eyes like burning amethyst.
A presence so overwhelming that reality bent around him.
"…was thinking you could deceive me."
It was Atem, the Pharaoh Dragon, Monarch of Eterna.
The True King.
His aura didn't just shake the world—
It rewrote it.
Solarys, Sovereign of Wisdom, resonated within him, analyzing every thread of existence.
Guy, the feared Crimson King, the strongest Demon Lord, stood utterly still.
He remembered.
Atem had defeated him twice.
Not fought.
Defeated.
Crushed him.
Humiliated him.
Rain and Misery trembled.
Guy's smile faltered.
Yuuki and the Clown Troupe stared in shock.
They had never seen Atem show his true power.
Not once.
Not even a fraction.
Now they understood:
Atem was not a Demon Lord.
Not a hero.
Not a ruler.
He was a cosmic force wearing the form of a king.
Atem landed.
The earth bowed beneath him.
He raised a hand.
The pressure increased until Yuuki's throat closed.
It wasn't an attack.
It was authority.
The authority of a Pharaoh who judged both gods and monsters.
Atem looked at Yuuki—
and Yuuki felt as though his soul was being weighed.