Episode 109
“Ugh!”
The sorcerer staggered back, caught off guard by the flash bomb skill that Zeke had thrown.
In an instant, Zeke dashed forward with the speed of a gale, swinging his sword at the sorcerer.
Slash!
The sorcerer’s form wavered, dissolving into black smoke before reappearing at a distance. He glared at Zeke, his eyes glowing a menacing red.
“You wield a power I cannot comprehend.”
Still reeling from the flash bomb, the sorcerer shouted at his hunting hounds, who were struggling to open their eyes.
“You fools! Get up and capture him!”
With the sorcerer’s aid, the hounds regained their sight and surrounded Zeke. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and swung his sword, imbued with the power of his resolve.
Slash!
The hounds, unable to block Zeke’s blade, fell with their heads severed in a single stroke. As the hounds fell, the sorcerer began chanting an ominous incantation.
A foreboding energy gathered around the sorcerer as Zeke dispatched the relentless hounds and charged at him with his sword.
Just as the sorcerer completed his spell, a dark aura began to rise from his body, seeping into the corpses of the fallen hounds.
Crack!
The dark energy invaded the hounds’ bodies, causing them to twist and rise once more.
Groan!
The severed limbs of the hounds reattached, and they picked up their weapons, charging at Zeke again.
“What on earth are they…?”
Though taken aback, Zeke swung his sword at the undead hounds.
Slash!
Yet, even as their limbs were severed, the hounds reassembled and continued their assault.
Roar!
Realizing that simply cutting them down would lead nowhere, Zeke understood he needed a different approach.
“I’ll have to use purification.”
If he delayed any longer, more hounds might arrive, cutting off his escape entirely. Zeke activated his auto-slot, equipping Agamemnon’s Mask on his face. He then unleashed his purification skill on the undead hounds charging at him.
Hum!
A golden wave emanated from Zeke, enveloping the hounds.
“Argh!”
“Ugh!”
The hounds writhed as the golden wave struck them, black blood oozing from their eyes, ears, and mouths. Soon, black smoke billowed from their bodies.
Zeke followed up with a lightning skill aimed at the hounds.
Crackle!
The hounds, charred by the electric shock, collapsed to the ground. The sorcerer, witnessing the hounds fall once more, stared at Zeke in disbelief.
“You… neutralized the power of the dead? Impossible…”
The sorcerer realized that the knight before him was no mere intruder. He struck the ground with his staff.
“I cannot let you leave here.”
Cracks began to form where the sorcerer struck, spreading across the laboratory floor until it collapsed with a rumble.
“Damn it!”
Zeke attempted to use wind magic to lift himself back up, but the sorcerer wasn’t about to let him escape.
Whoosh!
A dark cloud, emanating from the sorcerer’s staff, blocked the opening above. Zeke swung his sword at the cloud.
Though it dispersed momentarily, the cloud quickly reformed, attempting to ensnare him.
“Get out of my way!”
Zeke descended along the wall, evading the cloud, and used his purification skill against it.
Hum!
The golden wave turned the dark cloud into black ash, scattering it. However, Zeke couldn’t ascend and continued to fall along the wall.
Thud!
As soon as he hit the ground, Zeke surveyed his surroundings with a keen eye.
“Where am I?”
It seemed the laboratory was connected to an ancient ruin. The walls, carved from sandstone, formed a temple so vast that its ceiling was out of sight.
Zeke marveled at the scale of the ruins, his mouth agape. Despite having explored many dungeons in his past life, he had never encountered one of this magnitude.
After a moment of awe, Zeke quickly regained his composure, aware that the sorcerer in the black robe could appear at any moment. He began searching for a way out of the ruins, wary of revealing his identity if the hounds spread the word.
As he cautiously moved deeper into the temple, he found himself in a vast hall lined with massive pillars adorned with the distinctive symbols of the ancient Joins.
At the end of the hall, there appeared to be an entrance to the temple.
“So, the temple entrance is here. The excavation site outside must have been the residential area of the ancient Joins.”
If the residential area and temple were connected, the amount of excavation required would be enormous. The empire seemed determined to claim this territory, given the discovery of such a large dungeon.
The Joins were known for their mysterious powers, and the emperor was likely seeking the secret to immortality from their ruins.
Zeke approached the temple entrance, only to find a colossal statue standing guard.
The statue resembled the armored Joins warrior depicted on the laboratory wall.
“What an imposing presence.”
As Zeke attempted to enter the temple, the statue began to move.
Rumble!
The statue, in the form of a Joins warrior, rose and swung its massive axe-spear.
Whoosh!
Startled, Zeke leaped back.
“What the hell is that? A golem?”
Though he had encountered golems in previous dungeons, he had never seen one of this size.
The Joins golem began to speak in an unknown language, but fortunately, the system translated it for him.
[Intruder detected in the temple. Eliminate the enemy.]
Flames flickered in the golem’s eyes as it unleashed a torrent of fire at Zeke.
“Hah!”
Zeke summoned all his strength to manifest the will of ‘Defense.’
The flames parted around him, unable to touch his body.
The sudden appearance of the golem and its relentless attacks left Zeke reeling.
Just then, a rift opened in the air, and the sorcerer, who had remained hidden, appeared before Zeke.
In a chilling voice, he addressed Zeke.
“That golem will eliminate any intruder in the temple. If you wish to live, you must surrender to me.”
With the massive golem in front and the sinister sorcerer behind, there was no escape.
“Damn it. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.”
At that moment, a system message appeared before Zeke.
[The system has detected a guardian in safe mode.]
[If you recognize the guardian’s access code, you can control it via the administrator system.]
Zeke was taken aback by the system’s message.
“System, how can I recognize the golem’s access code?”
[The access code for humanoid guardians is typically engraved inside the core located in the left chest.]
It was akin to the heart in a human.
“So, I need to extract the core from its heart.”
Zeke aimed his sword at the massive ancient golem. The only silver lining was that the sorcerer wasn’t controlling the golem.
Zeke charged at the golem, sword in hand.
The sorcerer, not expecting Zeke to confront the golem, shouted in alarm.
“You fool! That’s not something a human can fight!”
The sorcerer, who had intended to capture Zeke alive for interrogation, was now anxious that the golem might kill him.
While the sorcerer was caught off guard, Zeke had already closed in on the golem. As he approached, the golem swung its axe-spear at him.
Whoosh!
The sorcerer, realizing he had no choice, used magic to distort space and block the axe-spear.
Screech!
“Just as I thought.”
Taking advantage of the sorcerer’s distraction, Zeke raised his sword.
Hum!
The power of his resolve surged into the blade.
Zeke summoned the most potent single spell he knew.
“Break.”
Rumble!
The will of ‘Break’ infused Zeke’s sword. He thrust it toward the golem’s heart.
Crash!
The powerful incantation clashed with the golem’s heart.
The sorcerer, watching from behind, was stunned.
“What is that?”
It was a power unlike anything he had ever seen, distinct from the aura used by knights.
As the sorcerer’s desire to capture Zeke intensified, he dispelled the barrier, allowing the golem’s axe-spear to fall toward Zeke.
Boom!
The temple floor caved in, sending up a cloud of dust.
The sorcerer used his magical eye to track Zeke’s presence.
The magical eye, capable of perceiving the souls of living beings, was impossible to evade with any magic or skill.
“There you are!”
The sorcerer cast a spell, targeting the life force he detected.
But what emerged from the dust cloud wasn’t Zeke.
“Kaaargh!”
The chimera, Gurav, lunged at the sorcerer.
“Ugh!”
The sorcerer retreated, narrowly avoiding the chimera.
Simultaneously, Gurav spat a venomous dart at the sorcerer.
Screech!
The wizard, who had deflected the poison dart with a spatial distortion, gritted his teeth in frustration.
“Damn it! Wait a minute, aren’t you Gurav’s chimera?”
He recognized the chimera of Gurav, the elder of the Scorpion Clan. Suddenly, everything clicked in his mind.
“So it’s you! The one who attacked the southern continent’s laboratory!”
A dark aura erupted from the wizard’s body, and his eyes turned a menacing red. The atmosphere shifted dramatically.
“If you’re the one who killed Cain, I must capture you.”
As the wizard’s red eyes bore into Gurav, fear crept into the chimera’s heart, and he instinctively stepped back. But the wizard wasn’t about to let him go. He raised his hand, reaching out toward Gurav.
Just then, a blade of wind sliced through the air toward the wizard.
With a screech, the wizard distorted space again to block the attack. Turning his head, he saw Zeke perched on the shoulder of a golem, disbelief etched on his face.
“How… how did you manage to control the Sky Golem?”
It was beyond comprehension. Even with the knowledge of the Abyss, the golem was something not even a wizard could command, yet here was a knight doing just that.
Zeke issued a command to his guardian. “Capture him.”
The guardian’s eyes glowed, and its mouth opened wide. A brilliant light gathered within its beak.
A massive beam of light shot forth, engulfing the wizard.
“Gah!”
He quickly tore through space to escape the beam’s path. ‘I need to get out of here!’
He was dealing with someone who had consumed the vessel. If he wasn’t careful, he might be the one to die before capturing his target.
As he attempted to tear through space again to hide, he found his magic unresponsive.
“Could it be?”
Zeke’s magic reflection skill had sealed the wizard’s powers. The wizard raised his staff, aiming it at Zeke.
“You insolent wretch!”
Zeke leaped from the golem’s shoulder, sword in hand, charging at the wizard.
With a swift slash, Zeke severed the wizard’s arm and immediately thrust his sword into his abdomen.
“Ugh!”
The wizard collapsed to the ground, defeated by Zeke’s blade. Zeke approached, pulling back the wizard’s black robe to reveal his face.
Strange symbols were etched all over the wizard’s face, and an unfamiliar rune was branded in the center of his forehead.
Zeke pointed his sword at the wizard and spoke. “Answer my questions, and I’ll spare your life.”
The wizard panted heavily. Zeke pressed on.
“What is the Abyss?”
The wizard let out a bitter laugh. “You’ve… meddled with something you should never have… cough, touched.”
“You’re all talk for someone on the brink of death.”
Zeke pushed the wizard down completely, pressing his foot against his throat.
“Ugh.”
“You’re not with the Scorpion Clan, are you? Are you part of another illegal clan researching forbidden magic?”
The wizard remained silent. Zeke decided it was time for drastic measures.
He donned Agamemnon’s mask.
“Purification.”
A golden wave emanated from Zeke, seeping into the wizard’s body.
“Aaaagh!”
As Zeke had anticipated, the wizard writhed in agony under the purifying light.
“Argh!”
Zeke demanded again, “Tell me about the Abyss.”
“No! I can’t!”
Zeke intensified the purification.
The wizard’s eyes rolled back, and foam bubbled from his mouth.
“The… Book of the Dead!”
“The Book of the Dead?”
Suddenly, something began to squirm out of the wizard’s eyes, mouth, and nose.
“Ugh!”
Dozens of grotesque insects burst forth.