Transcending Realms With My Leveling System As A Demon-Chapter 84: Zylus Elwis Vs The Top 5 (2)

The Fourth-Rank didn’t even have time to scream.

His body was ripped off the ground and hurled sideways, slamming into the stone floor like a broken doll. The impact echoed across the arena, a deep, hollow sound that vibrated through the walls. Cracks spiderwebbed outward from where he landed, and dust rose into the air in a slow, suffocating cloud.

Zylus stood still.

"So fragile," he muttered, tilting his head slightly, "all that power, all that rank... and your body still obeys my significant strength.

The Fourth-Rank tried to push himself up. His arm shook violently, muscles spasming as if they no longer remembered their purpose. His fingers scraped uselessly against the stone before giving out completely.

Chris clenched his jaw.

"That’s enough," he said, finally stepping forward, his voice no longer calm, "this ends now, Zylus Elwis."

Zylus slowly turned his gaze toward him.

"...Ends?" He smiled faintly. "That’s strange," he said, "you haven’t even started to fight or defend. That title of ’Demon King’ truly means nothing nowadays."

Chris disappeared.

The air burst apart behind Zylus as dark energy warped space, and the Demon King reappeared with his blade already descending. The strike was flawless, calculated, and empowered by authority that had crushed countless enemies before.

Zylus didn’t even hear Chris mutter anything to go by a technique, but somehow, Chris went again.

It struck nothing. Chris froze. For the first time since stepping into the arena, uncertainty crossed his face.

Zylus’s voice came from behind him. "Too slow."

The pressure that followed wasn’t an attack. It was an existence rejecting weakness.

Chris was launched forward violently, skidding across the arena floor, boots carving long, deep grooves into the stone before he managed to stabilise himself. The sound of friction was painful to hear.

He slowly lifted his head. His expression, once confident, became something else, one that he never thought he would hold. It was one of recognition. Throughout both Realms, throughout the forgiveness of his heart, he had recognised someone more than a pawn.

That was Zylus Elwis.

"...You’re not using a system anymore," Chris said quietly, "It’s almost like, you’ve become one."

Zylus spread his arms slightly. The stone-like texture on them pulsed again, pink cracks glowing brighter as if a second heart beat inside his limbs.

"Now you’re starting to understand," Zylus replied. "I am not limited to the restrictions you Demons like to think of."

The Second-Rank forced himself upright, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as he struggled to breathe properly.

"H-how... Where did he come from?!"

Zylus averted his gaze, sending it back at the Second-Rank. He thought of them as no more than simple vermin at this point.

At one point, Zylus, whom Chris thought would be a hero, became a villain.

"You vermin," Zylus announced, "You still hold hostility when you look like a star under the moon."

In the next instant, he vanished.

The Second-Rank didn’t even see him move.

One moment he was standing, the next his body was lifted off the ground, his throat locked inside Zylus’s grip. His feet dangled helplessly above the floor as panic exploded across his face.

Zylus wasn’t given any quest; he was doing this of his own will. He was trying to prove something to these insignificant individuals who stood before him and his path to vengeance.

His hands clawed at Zylus’s wrist.

"Zylus!" Ivy called out, her voice cracking.

Zylus paused. "...What is it?" he asked calmly.

She stepped forward despite the crushing pressure, her legs shaking, her breath uneven.

"If you kill them like this," she said softly, "then you really won’t be able to turn back."

Zylus stared at her.

"...Who said I wanted to?"

The Second-Rank’s breathing became erratic, his vision blurring as his strength drained away.

Zylus released him. The man collapsed to the ground, coughing violently, his life hanging by a thread.

"That," Zylus said, "was mercy."

Chris straightened his posture slowly.

"So what now?" he asked, "You dominate us, humiliate us... then vanish again?"

Zylus’s eyes glowed faintly.

"No," he replied, "now you remember me. Give me order of this realm, give me the rights to make the final say, to command final wars."

He looked around the arena.

"At every council. At every throne. At every ranking ceremony."

His presence thickened, pressing against their lungs.

"When someone says my name... I want silence to follow. And I want all the Spirits to die before me, and my troops, not yours."

The sky above the arena darkened slightly, as if the realm itself acknowledged his declaration.

Ivy whispered, "...Zylus."

He looked at her. "You wanted to know if I was still me."

She nodded slowly.

"I am," he said, "I just decided to stop wasting time, welcome the real me, won’t you? My dear Noctis."

It felt like [Connection] had no limit whatsoever.

The arena was left in silence.

Chris exhaled slowly.

"...What do we even do?"

The Second-Rank struggled to sit up, his hands trembling.

"How... how do we fight something like that?"

Chris didn’t answer immediately.

"...We don’t," he finally said, "we survive through it, there must be a limit."

Ivy watched the now overwhelming Zylus.

"He’s going to change everything," she whispered.

"Yes," Chris replied quietly, "he already has."

He’s going to change everything.

Zylus heard it. Of course he did. Sound had become something strange to him; it existed both inside and outside his body at once. Every breath, every heartbeat in the arena echoed through his mind like distant thunder. The [Connection] was still flowing, still feeding him, still holding him upright like invisible hands pressed against his back.

Change everything.

He lifted his head slightly, eyes drifting over the broken ranks, the shattered stone, the fear that no one even tried to hide anymore. Once, he had wondered what it would feel like to stand above them. Now he knew.

"You keep saying that like it’s a warning," Zylus said calmly. "But you’re all still breathing. That alone should tell you how merciful I’m being." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Chris met his gaze. "Mercy isn’t mercy if it’s forced."

Zylus smiled faintly. "No. Mercy is a choice. And I’m choosing it. Right now."