Debuff Master-Chapter 1056

Chapter 1056
[Archangel of Death: Zerachiel]
[HP: ■■■■■■■■■■]
The one that emerged from the Celestial Gate was the Archangel of Death.
“It’s been a while since I last came here... to the Middle Realm.”
Surprisingly, Zerachiel looked so calm and composed as if he had just stepped out for a casual stroll, which was not one would expect after hearing his intimidating title.
He was around one hundred sixty centimeters tall at most. His youthful face had soft, rounded features, and his glossy golden hair swayed gently with the wind.
The Archangel of Death, Zerachiel, looked like the textbook definition of a beautiful boy.
“This one’s quite powerful,” he muttered with interest as he glanced at the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp in his hand.
Woooong!
The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp was still brimming with the immense energy of Touch of Death, but it looked so helpless in the hands of the Archangel of Death.
“Dangerous things like this shouldn’t be flying around,” Zerachial said nonchalantly.
And with that, the Archangel of Death casually tossed the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp far away.
BOOM!
The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp crashed into the town hall, obliterating it in an instant without leaving any traces of it. It was as if nothing had ever existed there to begin with. It was like the place had always been uninhabited.
“Ah...” Siegfried muttered weakly as he watched the destruction unfold.
“Brother!”
“Brother!”
“Brother!”
The Fallen Angels approached Zerachiel in unison, dropping to one knee before him as they paid their respects to the Archangel of Death.
Given that an Archangel was equivalent in rank to a Demon Lord, it was only natural for the lower-ranking angels to show such reverence to him.
“Brother, huh...” Zerachiel muttered as he looked over the angels bowing to him. Then, he nodded slightly and said, “Yes, we
were
brothers and sisters."
Just then, something unthinkable happened.
“Die. All of you,” Zerachiel said, his voice void of any emotions.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Fallen Angels kneeling before him collapsed one after another.
Every single one of them was dead.
‘
W-What’s going on?!’
Siegfried exclaimed inwardly, unable to grasp what was happening.
Why did an Archangel suddenly kill the angels bowing before him? However, what truly shocked Siegfried was the fact that the Archangel did not kill the angels with any physical attacks, but rather, with mere words.
Zerachiel simply
commanded
the angels to die, and they actually died.
Even after seeing it with his own two eyes, Siegfried found it hard to believe.
However, what happened next was even more shocking.
Seuk... Seuk...
The Fallen Angels who were just condemned to death by the Archangel, began to rise one after another, not in their physical forms, but as wraiths.
“My brothers and sisters... You’ve been reborn. Death has no dominion over you now. Go and spread death. Bring peace to all,” Zerachiel commanded the wraiths.
As soon as the command was given...
The wraiths scattered throughout Angela and attacked the remaining citizens.
“
Aaaaack!”
“N-Noooo!”
“Somebody help!”
“
Kyaaaah!”
The sight of the people getting mercilessly slaughtered in droves by the wraiths was quite horrifying, but what happened next was even more horrifying.
Seuk... Seuk...
As they died, the souls of the people floated out of their bodies. Then, they themselves turned into wraiths, just like the Fallen Angels did.
It was like a zombie virus spreading; one touch and the living became the dead.
‘
What in the hell is happening? And what the hell is that guy?!’
Siegfried couldn’t comprehend what was going on or why the Archangel was doing any of this.
Zerachiel killed his own allies, resurrected them as wraiths, and turned even the civilians into wraiths.
None of his actions made any sense.
“And now...”
Zerachiel slowly turned toward Siegfried.
A chill shot down Siegfried’s spine as he gritted his teeth.
‘Argh! It’s like he’s dragging me in!’
The moment his eyes met Zerachiel’s, he felt like he was on the verge of being driven into madness. Just locking eyes with the Archangel made him feel like he was being sucked into a bottomless pit of chaos.
“So, you’re a ruler of the Demon Realm. I guess you won’t just lie down and die because I told you to?” Zerachiel said.
“What are you talking about?” Siegfried asked in response.
“It is as I said. You won’t die just because I tell you to. After all, you’re a Demon Lord.”
As it stands, it seemed that Zerachiel couldn’t simply condemn Siegfried to death with mere words, at least, not while he was still in his Demon Lord of Greed and Betrayal form.
“In that case, I will just have to do it myself,” Zerachiel muttered, drawing a massive scythe.
[Scythe of Repose]
[The sacred relic wielded by the Archangel of Death, Zerachiel.]
[Anyone struck by this scythe will die.]
[Type: Weapon]
[Rating: Mythic]
[Attack Power: Infinite]
[Durability: Infinite]
[Note: A light graze will not be fatal, but getting struck by it will.]
Surprisingly, Zerachiel’s Scythe of Repose was quite similar to the instant-death weapon used by the Blue Knight of Death.
“I will grant you death myself,” Zerachiel said.
As soon as he uttered those words, he lunged at Siegfried without wasting a second.
‘Holy shit!’
Siegfried couldn’t help but panic at the Archangel’s speed.
The Archangel of Death was like a bolt of lightning. He was blindingly fast to the point that Siegfried nearly lost sight of him.
***
Meanwhile, all eyes in the Celestial Realm were locked onto Angela, where the Archangel of Death, Zerachiel, had descended. As this was one of the rare Archangel's descent, they naturally couldn’t help but monitor the situation with great interest.
However...
“What in the heavens?!”
Gabriel, who was watching the scene through the Celestial Telescope, which was a device that allowed the Celestial Realm to monitor the Middle Realm, was shocked beyond words. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that Zerachiel would massacre their own brethren the moment he descended into the Middle Realm.
His actions were no different from trolling on a divine level!
“Zerachiel! What in the heavens are you doing?!” Gabriel roared in disbelief.
However, there was no way Zerachiel could hear him.
“I shouldn't have allowed him to go...” Gabriel muttered in regret, but it was too late.
The damage was done. Letting Zerachiel, who was the most unpredictable of all Archangels, descend into the Middle Realm was a big mistake, but that was not even the worst of it.
“Lucifer is going to explode when he finds out what happened...” Gabriel gritted his teeth and growled under his breath.
He couldn’t even begin to imagine ing this to the Chief Archangel, Lucifer.
Why?
It was all because he was the one who talked Lucifer out of intervening directly with the Middle Realm using Zerachiel’s descent as a reason.
But now? There was nothing he could say.
Gabriel shuddered as he imagined the Chief Archangel's wrath.
Lucifer possessed the power to cause a level of devastation that defied anyone’s imagination, and Gabriel had no idea how to appease him this time.
***
The battle between Siegfried and Zerachiel turned into a high-speed chase.
Zerachiel was so fast that he was still chasing after Siegfried even though the latter had amplified the effects of Embrace of Despair using Discharge. His base movement speed was so absurdly high that even the debilitating slowing debuff Siegfried cast while in the Demon Lord of Greed and Betrayal form wasn't enough to slow the Archangel down.
“You’ve got some pretty interesting skills. I’ll give you that. But it doesn’t matter. Death is inevitable,” Zerachiel said with a hint of intrigue after suddenly closing the gap between them.
Zerachiel then swung his Scythe of Repose at Siegfried.
Shwiiik!
The scythe that would condemn all living creatures to death sliced through the air at a terrifying speed.
‘
I’m dead if I get hit by that!’
Siegfried shrieked inwardly and dodged with everything he had.
He had to avoid getting hit by the Scythe of Repose at all costs, as it would be game over the moment he was hit by it.
However, the scythe was the least of his problems right now.
[Alert: Demon Lord’s Descent has 2 minutes 11 seconds remaining!]
[Alert: Demon Lord’s Descent has 2 minutes 10 seconds remaining!]
[Alert: Demon Lord’s Descent has 2 minutes 9 seconds remaining!]
The Demon Lord’s Descent skill was steadily consuming his soul energy, and it was only a matter of time before he ran out of it and his transformation was undone.
’
I need to change things up and fight in more favorable conditions,’
Siegfried thought.
With that thought, he tried to catch the Archangel of Death off guard, but the Archangel proved to be far sharper and cunning than anyone else he had faced until now.
Zerachiel was not a fool who charged in recklessly, believing his superior stats would easily help him win in battle. He seemed to be quite experienced in battle, evident by his movements, which only proved that he was no empty shell.
’
You have to focus. Don’t lose focus,’
Siegfried gritted his teeth.
Against an opponent like Zerachiel, he couldn’t afford to think about anything else aside from the enemy in front of him.
The battle was truly fierce. The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp and the Scythe of Repose clashed against each other.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Each time the weapons clashed, sparks and shockwaves would spread all over the place.
“You have... to die...”
”Become a vengeful wraith... like us...”
“You too... must join the dead...”
The people of Angela, who had been turned into wraiths, lunged at him in droves. Not only that, but even the Fallen Angels turned into wraiths as well, soaring toward him like a tidal wave.
‘
How the heck?! Is this guy some kind of necromancer or what?!’
Siegfried exclaimed inwardly.
He felt like he was not fighting an Archangel anymore, but a necromancer leading an undead legion.
“Just give up already. You cannot win against me,” Zerachiel said, swinging his scythe.
“
Argh!”
“No matter how strong of a demon you are, you can’t defeat me by yourself. You demons should know about that, no? It will take at least three demon lords for you to stand a chance against me.”
Of course, Siegfried had no way of knowing that.
Why?
It was all because even though he was the Demon Lord of Greed and Betrayal, he knew nothing about the tens of thousands of years of history between the Celestial Realm and the Demon Realm.
And he knew nothing about the Archangel Zerachiel, either.
In fact, Zerachiel was so powerful that even three demon lords would struggle to take him down, and his reputation was well known across both realms.
“Just die already. Stop resisting.”
With those words, Zerachiel drove Siegfried further into a corner.
“I’ll pass. Why don’t you die instead?” Siegfried sneered in response.
At that moment—
Flash!
Siegfried activated Absolute Zero, causing a blinding white light to explode out from him.
“...!”
The wraiths froze in their spot, and even Zerachiel’s movement speed visibly slowed. He was not completely frozen, but the slowing effects of Absolute Zero undeniably affected him.
‘
Now!’
Siegfried seized the opening.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Zerachiel was hit three consecutive times on the head.
Kaboom!
The Mark of Death appeared above his head, and a fourth strike detonated the mark, causing a massive explosion.
‘
Still not enough!’
But Siegfried did not stop there.
Shwiiiik! Puuuuk!
Siegfried transformed his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a stake and drove it into Zerachiel’s abdomen, quickly following it up with channeling Wave of Annihilation at the same time.
‘
More!’
Still unsatisfied, Siegfried instantly morphed his weapon into a saber and used Quick Draw at Zerachiel’s neck.
The final blow in the three-skill combo aimed to decapitate the Archangel of Death, but..
Kwachik!
Zerachiel grabbed the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp.
“...!”
Siegfried’s eyes went wide at the shocking sight.
How was Quick Draw stopped so easily with just bare hands?
However, the Archangel was not unscathed by it. Blood poured from his hand that was gripping the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp.
“
Haa...”
Zerachiel let out a sigh, looking visibly annoyed.
The Archangel’s insides should have been torn to shreds by the Wave of Annihilation by now, yet all he did was scowl slightly and look annoyed, bearing the pain of his cut palm without a sound.
“You really don’t know anything about me, do you?” Zerachiel asked.
“What...?” Siegfried muttered, still reeling in shock.
“You’re just a fledgling,” Zerachiel said, letting out another sigh. Then, he twisted the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp and flashed a chilling smile, “You’ll never be able to defeat me.”
Rumble!
A tremendous energy erupted from Zerachiel, blasting Siegfried with immense raw force.
“
Ghaaak!”
Siegfried was hurled far into the distance after getting hit by the massive wave of energy. Even in his Demon Lord of Greed and Betrayal form, he couldn’t withstand the impact—no, forget about withstanding it, he was severely injured by the attack.