Abyssal Lord of the Magi World

In Icarus, there was a giant structure that resembled a coliseum. Its size was truly amazing, capable of accommodating thousands of individuals.

Usually, this structure, to whom everybody referred to as Imperial Arena, was empty, but today, not a single seat was unoccupied. Despite the vast number of people, there were no life forms present with power beneath Rank 3. 

Floating above the Imperial Arena, there were luxurious balconies. The ones who occupied them were all higher-ups from the Aeternum Empire, and in each group, there was at least a Primary Sun Domain Stage existence.

Among the balconies, there were three that stood up. Not only were they more extensive and outstanding than the others, but the people occupying them were at the highest level of the empire, both in status and power.

In the balcony positioned in the north, a man with black hair, a golden royal robe, and a crown over his head sat with his eyes closed. He was the leader of the Aeternum Empire, the current Emperor, Kurt Silverlight.

The Emperor was not alone, since by his side there was a beautiful woman and many youngsters. They were Kurt's direct family.

The two strongest Kings occupied the balconies positioned at the east and west of the Imperial Arena, King Roku and King Bork.

Unlike King Roku, who was completely alone on his balcony, accompanying King Bork were twelve more Kings and twenty-six individuals whose soul force put them at Peak Rank 5.

There was no lack of gossip among the higher-ups of the empire when they saw the distribution of power among the two Kings, and it was clear for everybody who had the upper hand in the race for the Emperor position. 

"Hahahaha, what happened Roku, where is your Champion? Don't tell me he ran away. I guess you chose a coward to fight for you, but I don't blame your poor judgment. Who else would side with a failure!?"

The one yelling those words was a fat King, and he was the same who suffered great humiliation during the banquet due to his loose mouth.

Despite that, in the fat King's mind, the lack of control over his words was not the cause of his downfall. He blamed all the fact he insulted someone he should have not, as Zatiel Daybreak.

On the other hand, Roku and everybody associated with him were people that not only he could insult, but he needed to do it to prove his worth to the others.

The fat King's words echoed through the Imperial Arena, making more eyes focus on Roku.

Unlike what the fat King expected to get, Roku remained indifferent to the people's gazes and stood straight with his head up.

Seeing how his taunts failed to affect Roku, the fat King got angrier and was about to yell again when a powerful voice reached the Imperial Arena.

"I have been called many things in my life. Hero, monster, saint, genocidal, but coward, that is a new one."

The voice covered the sky, and the sound of lighting and thunder accompanied it. From a distance, the people saw a torrent of white lightning approaching with a monstrous speed.

It did not take long for the torrent of white lightning to appear above the Imperial Arena, and everybody saw the handsome man with white hair and an imposing body inside it.

Everybody would know who he was once the fight started, so Ezequiel saw no reason to continue hiding his identity. He did not even bother to cloak his soul force, and the people could feel that his True Soul was at the 2nd Engraving Stage.

The Supreme Neo-Demon's low cultivation did not make people look down on him. On the contrary, it had the opposite effect. 

All the Rank 6 life forms felt the immense power of the white lightning surrounding Ezequiel, and those beneath the Primary Sun Domain Stage were sure that energy would severely harm their bodies and souls if it hit them.

Being capable of displaying that monstrous might when you are not even close to the peak of Rank 5 shocked the higher-ups from the Aeternum Empire.

Ezequiel looked at King Bork for a moment before focusing on the people he would have to fight. His eyes narrowed when he felt that although the Champions had different soul auras and appearances, they all adopted the same rigid posture, and their eyes glowed with a dark flame. 

He felt there was something odd with those people, but since they were all Peak Rank 5 life forms, they fulfilled the condition to participate in the contest, and he could do nothing about them, so he just took a step forward and appeared by Roku's side.

Invictus' appearance shocked the people in the balconies, and when they saw him stand by King Roku's side, they all began to whisper among themselves.

The fat King who was yelling just a few moments ago became pale. He had been punished severely for speaking idly about Zatiel Daybreak, and now he insulted that man's right hand.

Suddenly, he began to tremble when he felt King Bork's cold eyes focusing on his back. The fat King lowered his head and silently moved to a corner of the balcony.

King Bork did not have the time to bother with the man, as Ezequiel's status as Roku's Champion surprised and disturbed him. He glanced back at the twenty-six Champions who would fight in his name, and he felt confident that the fight would go his way, but there was something else that worried him.

"So he is your Champion. I am impressed, Roku!" King Bork spoke with a smile to Roku, but it was clear he was not interested in chatting as he turned toward Ezequiel the next second.

"Invictus, it is a pleasure to meet you. I would have preferred our first encounter to be in a more friendly way, but I think this is destiny. I want to ask you one thing before the fight starts. Are you here on your own or representing the Daybreak Clan?"

That question had a profound meaning, especially when someone else emphasized it.

"I would also like to know that." For the first time since he appeared in the Imperial Arena, the Emperor opened his eyes, focusing on Ezequiel.

No Rank 6 life form, no matter how noble or imposing they were, could affect a Moon Shatterer's will, so Ezequiel stared back at them before answering with a cold voice.

"If I lose, then that would be the end of it. You don't have to worry about Master interfering with this trivial contest." Those words drew the silent ire of many people, but Ezequiel did not care as those were his honest thoughts. 

If it weren't for this being the most straightforward way to use the Astral Chaos Pagoda, Ezequiel would have never wasted his time in this show.

King Bork was also angry because the Supreme Neo-Demon looked down on something he considered fundamental in his path to glory, but the man proved his mental fortitude as he just smiled and nodded.

The Emperor showed nothing and limited himself to raising his hand and lowering it before closing his eyes. That small action signaled everybody that the Gods' Tomb Champion Contest Battle Royale could start.

The twenty-six Champions on King Bork's side rose in unison before flashing toward the center of the Imperial Arena.

Despite the Imperial Arena's size, it was not capable of holding a fight between individuals with Rank 6 battle power. Luckily, that wasn't a problem since the battle would not be technically occurring inside it.

On the coliseum's battlefield, there was nothing but a barren ground with what seemed to be a glowing grain of rice. The moment the twenty-six Champion approached it, they immediately vanished.

Ezequiel knew there was something off with those people, but he did not hesitate before also flashing toward the grain of rice.

The moment the Supreme Neo-Demon also vanished, the grain of rice shone with glorious light before transforming into a giant three-dimensional image.

In everybody's vision, a dimension the size of a continent with vast mountain ranges, volcanic chains, and giant trees appeared. Ezequiel and the other twenty-six Champions were in the center.

Ezequiel did not wait for even a millisecond before making his energy explode. He fused with his Law Avatar, activated Doomsday Incarnation, merged the World Strength Incarnation into his skin, and invoked the Astral Destroyer Godslayer Mantle.

Other than his Bloodline Apocalyptic Metamorphosis, Ezequiel activated every power-up in his arsenal. 

His strategy was simple and effective. He would use all his power and burn his energy to unleash a devastating field attack that would kill most of the Champions and severely injure the rest.

That would leave him exhausted, but there was no way a bunch of injured Rank 5 Magi could pose a threat to him.

All those preparations took him less than a second, but unfortunately for the Supreme Neo-Demon, something happened that shocked him just as he was about to attack.

Every single Champion on King Bork's side exploded and transformed into masses of bloody shadows!