Episode 129
Zeke set off with Felix to his hometown.
As Felix had mentioned, it wasn’t far from Zeke’s domain, and they arrived by midday.
“Wow, the village has changed a lot.”
Felix hadn’t been back since his grandfather passed away, making it a decade since he last saw his hometown.
As the knights led their horses into the village, the village chief rushed out in surprise.
“Wh-what brings knights to our humble village…?”
Felix recognized the chief and called out.
“Ah! Uncle Thomas!”
The village chief, Thomas, was taken aback when he saw Felix.
“What? Could it really be you, Felix from old man Favre’s house?”
Felix jumped off his horse and stood before the chief.
“Yes, it’s me, Felix. How have you been? I didn’t know you’d become the village chief, Uncle Thomas.”
Thomas was astonished to see the once mischievous Felix return as a confident knight.
“Goodness, when you ran off saying you’d become a knight, the whole village was in an uproar. But you really did become a knight?”
Thomas lowered his voice slightly as he glanced at Zeke, who had dismounted slowly.
Felix shook his head.
“No, not yet. I’m still a squire. This is Sir Zeke Draker, whom I serve.”
Zeke greeted Thomas with a nod.
“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Zeke Draker.”
Thomas noticed the gloves Zeke wore and gasped.
“A pureblood Draker! I-I apologize for not recognizing someone so distinguished!”
Zeke calmed the flustered chief.
“No need to be nervous. We’re just here to take a look around since this is Felix’s hometown.”
The chief could hardly believe that a pureblood Draker had come to their little village.
Felix leaned in to whisper to the chief.
“Uncle, my lord wishes to keep his visit quiet, so please don’t tell anyone.”
The chief nodded vigorously.
Zeke followed Felix to his old home.
“Wow!”
After ten years, Felix’s childhood home was covered in dust.
Felix stood there, lost in memories of his grandfather.
He opened the door and stepped inside.
“Oh dear.”
Dust filled the air, making it hard to breathe.
Felix turned to Zeke.
“My lord, this is the place, but I doubt there’s anything here.”
Zeke activated his keen sight, scanning the house thoroughly.
There was nothing unusual, just the typical belongings of a common household.
‘Did he really leave nothing behind?’
Zeke meticulously searched both floors, even tapping the floorboards, but found no clues.
“It must have been Felix’s grandfather…”
As Zeke muttered to himself, he realized Felix was nowhere to be seen. When he called out and got no response, he stepped outside.
In the backyard, Felix stood before three gravestones.
“Felix.”
Felix remained silent, staring at the gravestones.
They bore the names of his grandfather, Favre Valencia, and two others presumed to be Felix’s parents.
Felix spoke slowly.
“Grandfather said it was a carriage accident.”
Zeke had never heard Felix speak of his parents before. He only knew Felix had been raised by his grandfather, hinting at some untold story.
Felix gently touched his parents’ gravestones.
“I was about three when it happened. The carriage overturned, and I was the only one who survived. After that, I lived with my grandfather.”
Zeke asked Felix, “Do you remember their faces?”
Felix shook his head.
“No. It’s like a faint memory that I can’t quite grasp.”
Zeke understood Felix’s feelings, as he too had no memory of his mother’s face or name.
He patted Felix’s shoulder, sensing he needed a moment.
Then, something caught Felix’s attention.
“Huh?”
Felix, who seemed lost in sorrow, suddenly spoke with curiosity. He had noticed something odd around the gravestones.
“My lord, take a look at this.”
Zeke examined the area Felix pointed to.
“What is it?”
“The area around the gravestones. Isn’t it too clean?”
Zeke inspected the surroundings. While the house and front yard were overgrown and dusty, the area around the gravestones was pristine.
‘Could it be?’
Zeke activated his keen sight again and discovered a cleverly hidden entrance behind the gravestones.
He instructed Felix, “Step back.”
Strengthening his muscles with his power, Zeke dug his fingers into the earth behind the gravestones and lifted a heavy stone slab.
Rumble!
A secret space, hidden for decades, was revealed.
Felix was astonished to see an entrance leading underground.
“My goodness, I never knew there was something like this in our backyard…”
Boom!
After fully opening the entrance, Zeke asked Felix, “Did your grandfather ever mention this place?”
Felix shook his head.
Together, they descended the underground stairs.
The stairs led deeper than expected, revealing a stone-constructed underground structure that impressed Zeke.
‘This wasn’t built overnight. It must have taken decades to complete.’
It reminded him of a catacomb he had seen in a past life, where bodies were interred beneath a temple.
Zeke found it hard to believe that Felix’s grandfather had created such a vast catacomb alone.
As they ventured further, they came upon a massive hall.
Zeke noticed an emblem hanging at the front of the hall.
‘Is that…?’
It was a sun emblem, similar to the one symbolizing the Paladins, but with a more intricate design.
Zeke recognized it.
‘Agamemnon’s Mask.’
He retrieved Agamemnon’s Mask from his inventory.
The emblem on the mask matched the one in the hall perfectly.
Initially, he thought the design was similar to the Holy Kingdom’s symbol, but upon closer inspection, there were subtle differences.
Yet, the emblem in the catacomb and on Agamemnon’s Mask were identical.
‘Is there a connection between Agamemnon’s Mask and this place?’
Zeke tucked the mask away and activated his keen sight to examine the surroundings.
He realized something he hadn’t before.
‘It’s truly a tomb.’
Inside the walls were dozens of hidden tombs, each carefully constructed with stone.
As Zeke examined the names inscribed on the tombs, he was taken aback.
“Luvern?”
An unexpected name appeared.
Zeke checked each tomb.
While not all, most bore the name Luvern.
He understood the catacomb’s true nature.
‘These are the descendants of the Luvern dynasty, thought to be extinct in the Holy Empire. Favre Valencia must have hidden them here.’
The Arc Paladins were a crucial force in the Holy Kingdom, the only ones capable of opposing the Black Knights. It had always puzzled him why they would be disbanded. Now, he had some answers.
To the Holy Kingdom’s papal faction, the Luvern dynasty’s descendants were a vulnerability that could undermine their authority.
Favre, despite being an Arc Paladin, had defied the Holy Kingdom’s orders and smuggled the Luvern dynasty’s descendants to the Duchy of Troy.
‘This was more than just political intrigue.’
If Favre Valencia had joined forces with those seeking to overthrow the corrupt papal faction and restore the Luvern dynasty, it would have been a monumental event, capable of toppling the entire church.
Zeke felt a sense of futility as he looked at the tombs of the Luvern dynasty’s descendants, whom he had sought for a quest.
‘Perhaps there are no more Luvern descendants left.’
At that moment, Zeke’s keen sight detected something new.
Behind the sun emblem in the hall was an empty space.
Zeke leaped up, slicing through the emblem with his hand.
Thud!
As the emblem fell, a hidden space was revealed.
Zeke reached in and retrieved a long, cloth-wrapped box before landing back on the ground.
“What is it, my lord?” Felix asked.
“We’ll find out once we open it.”
Zeke unwrapped the cloth to reveal an old box.
He broke the lock and opened it, finding an aged sword in its scabbard, a book, and a letter.
Felix recognized the handwriting on the letter and was shocked.
“Oh? This is my grandfather’s handwriting.”
Zeke unfolded the letter left by Favre Valencia and quickly scanned its contents.
‘My suspicions were correct. Favre Valencia was trying to save the Luvern dynasty’s descendants.’
He had rescued them from a hidden location within the Holy Kingdom’s main church and fled to the Duchy of Troy.
Even after going into hiding, he traveled across the continent, searching for the scattered descendants of the Lubern bloodline since the fall of the Holy Empire.
During his travels, he happened upon a child whom he adopted. That child grew up, married a village maiden, and had a son named Felix.
Tragically, Felix’s parents didn’t die in a carriage accident. They were killed by a secret organization from the Holy Kingdom, which was tracking down Fabre. It was a warning: they couldn’t kill Fabre, the Arch Paladin, but if he returned to the Holy Kingdom, his sins would be forgiven.
Yet, Fabre Valencia remained steadfast, continuing his quest to find the Lubern descendants while raising young Felix as if he were his own grandson. Before succumbing to illness, he passed on his aura through a sacred transmission.
However, he chose not to burden Felix with his mission, keeping it hidden and buried in silence.
Zeke read the final words of the letter:
“The Order feared the Lubern bloodline stepping into the world, yet they also feared its extinction. This was likely due to the bloodline’s unique abilities. The Lubern descendants possess the power to perform ‘miracles.’
I believed it was my divine mission to rescue those imprisoned and exploited by the Order for their abilities, solely for the Order’s gain.”
The letter ended there.
Zeke, after some contemplation, handed the letter to Felix. It was up to Felix, not him, to decide what to make of his grandfather’s hidden secrets.
As Felix read the letter, Zeke examined the sword and book Fabre had left behind. Drawing the sword from its sheath, he realized its true nature.
“An orichalcum sword…”
It seemed to be forged from an orichalcum hammer, crafted by a master smith.
The gentle glow emanating from the orichalcum sword felt familiar to Zeke, reminiscent of the Lubern crown that Richmond had presented to him as a treasure.
“That crown wasn’t made of orichalcum. Strange.”
It wasn’t the material but the power within that felt similar.
Zeke used his dragon’s eye to inspect the sword’s details.
―Sword Information―
Description: An orichalcum sword crafted with the utmost care by a master artisan.
Unique Abilities: Judgment of Light (effective only upon striking), Veil of Light, Arrows of Light
Special Note: Inflicts triple damage when used against undead and demons.
Like the crown, the sword was imbued with light-based skills, likely abilities it possessed even when it was still a hammer.
“These are different from the Mace of Light and Shield of Light. Let’s give it a try.”
Zeke raised the sword and called out, “Veil of Light.”
Instantly, a massive halo of light enveloped him.