As he smiled, Roku's physical pressure vanished. He did it so suddenly that the shock wave provoked by Ezequiel's Infinity Heart collided with his body.
Unless they used their energy to protect themselves, that pressure could affect even Primary Sun Domain existences, but the moment it clashed with Roku, it dissipated instantly.
Ezequiel's eyes widened when he saw that. The Supreme Neo-Demon noticed how the shock wave did not even manage to touch Roku's body.
The Royal's physical power reached such a monstrous level that it formed a force field, similar to a Crystal Wall.
'His soul force puts him in the Early Supernova stage, but his body already surpassed the limits of Rank 6!'
Pushing one of your centers of power to the Being of Laws level before your True Soul reached Peak Rank 6 was an incredible feat for someone who followed the Magi Path of Power.
"The tales about your strength were not an exaggeration. Sorry about that test, but I needed to know if you were powerful enough to face the contest without losing your life. I have no desire to incite Zatiel Daybreak's wrath."
Roku's words drew Ezequiel out of his internal analysis, and he stared at the Magus for a moment before speaking with a calm tone.
"According to what I heard from the trio, the Gods' Tomb Champion Contest became harder for me due to your weakness and negligence."
When the Royal heard those words, coldness appeared in his eyes as he stared at Ezequiel.
"I am sure they did not use those words, and they most likely took the blame themselves."
"The defeats and victories of a subordinate are a reflection of their leader's capabilities." Ezequiel's will could not be affected by something so trivial as the cold eyes of a Rank 6 life from, and he remained firm.
Roku's eyes narrowed after hearing the Supreme Neo-Demon's words, and after a moment, he nodded.
"You are right. It was my fault." The Royal's aura and dignity did not weaken for even an instant after saying that.
It was clear for the Supreme Neo-Demon that Roku never intended to distance himself from the responsibility or blame someone else for his mistakes.
A wave of soul force emerged from Roku's Inner Law Dimension, and in a second, a magic projection appeared above the duo.
Ezequiel stared at the illusion, and while it was something fake, he could still feel the powerful auras of the people in it.
In the illusion, Roku and five other Magi battle giant fiends with monstrously powerful bodies. Some of them reached hundreds of million meters in size!
The place where this epic battle occurred resembled an endless corridor, with walls so large and tall that the giant fiends were minuscule in comparison.
A nefarious and dark aura filled the air, and it carried a corrosive power capable of melting Rank 4 life forms.
Thanks to the information from the Neo-Demon Race's archives, Ezequiel managed to recognize the place and enemies Roku's team faced.
"The Tartarian Depths of Carceri. The Prison and Birthplace of the Demodand Race."
Roku glanced at Ezequiel when he heard the way this one referred to the Principal Plane and nodded before focusing back on the illusion.
In the illusion, Roku's group fought a hard battle against the giant Demodands. The fiends' bodies were incredibly powerful, and many of the Magi's attacks failed to provoke severe damage.
If it weren't for Roku fighting a melee battle against the Demodands and protecting the rest, the fight would have ended a long time ago.
While they fought, the clash between their energies provoked fissures in space that unleashed monstrous attraction force.
Both the Magi and Demodands were cautious of the fissures, as they knew that being pulled inside one of them would send them into the lower levels of Carceri.
Surviving in those levels would be almost impossible without the strength and consciousness of a Rank 7 life form. Illusions and all kinds of distortion in spacetime made Carceri's lower level a mighty prison.
Roku pushed back a giant Demodand the size of an island with a single punch and managed to block another fiend's path, protecting the rest of the group and giving them time to unleash a barrage of spells against the enemy.
A giant multicolored explosion consumed the fiend and blinded everybody's vision.
The explosion also altered spacetime, making a fissure appear next to Roku. That took the Royal by surprise, but he overcame the attraction force using all of his strength.
Roku had almost reached safety when three ruthless attacks landed on his back.
The Royal was a seasoned warrior, and none of the Demodands could have taken him by surprise.
Unfortunately, the attack did not come from the enemies' side but from his group. The spells pushed him back toward the fissure, and this time, he would not be able to overcome the attraction force.
He did his best to turn his body and saw how three of his comrades, who had just attacked him, also fired lethal spells toward the other two members of the group.
The duo was shocked by the actions of the people they considered friends and were unable to resist.
There was no rage or cries of revenge from Roku as the fissure swallowed him. The only thing the traitors received were a couple of emotionless eyes that made their souls tremble.
The illusion ended there, and although he saw nothing else, Ezequiel already formed an idea behind Roku's predicament.
"I fell into Carceri's depths due to my inability to see the traitors deep within my ranks. During my absence, many of my allies distanced themselves from me or right away betrayed me. While some stood loyal, the number that survived my enemy's attacks was little."
Roku made a slight pause after saying that. Although his face showed nothing, Ezequiel felt that the Royal was like a raging volcano, ready to explode at any moment.
"My return surprised that man, but while their plot to kill me failed, he gained a lot of control over the empire during my absence. Using his authority, he twisted the rules of the Gods' Tomb Champion Contest to his favor."
The Royal sent a crystal with information about the contest toward Ezequiel.
When the Supreme Neo-Demon saw the new rules of the Gods' Tomb Champion Contest, he could not help but be impressed by the shameless behavior of King Bork.
