Episode 138
“You caught all of these on your own?”
“Is it not enough?”
Eunja shook his head.
“No, it’s more than enough.”
He hadn’t expected Zeke to bring back ten beasts in less than an hour. Even for a skilled knight, hunting magical beasts was no easy feat. It required understanding their nature and mastering the art of stealthy tracking. Moreover, the Uroboros Mountains were teeming with formidable creatures, each one unique and dangerous enough to warrant Eunja’s own presence.
Eunja scrutinized Zeke with a suspicious gaze.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Do you know what a Highlander is?”
Feigning ignorance, Zeke shook his head.
“What’s that?”
Zeke’s nonchalant demeanor made him seem genuinely clueless about the term. Watching Zeke’s convincing act, Eunja dismissed his suspicions.
“No, never mind. It’s just… I can’t believe this is possible.”
Eunja eyed Zeke thoughtfully.
“Are you looking for a new job by any chance?”
“I’m already overwhelmed with what I’m doing now.”
Zeke quickly cut off Eunja’s offer, wary of being roped into another Highlander oath.
Eunja clicked his tongue in disappointment. “What a waste. Nigel would be very interested in you.”
Hearing his mentor’s name almost made Zeke choke. ‘Not in this lifetime,’ he thought. The last thing he wanted was to encounter Nigel, even in a dream.
He swiftly changed the subject. “Now, about the relic you promised to tell me about.”
Having passed the test, Zeke was entitled to some answers. Eunja asked, “Where did you hear about the relic?”
“I happened to meet a servant of the ‘Master of the Lowest Place.’ I heard there’s a fierce competition among the demons for the relic.”
Eunja dropped his fan in shock. “What did you just say?”
“Uh… I was just answering your question…”
“Say it again. Did the ‘Master of the Lowest Place’ really appear?”
“The demon itself didn’t appear, but one of its servants did, using a human body. It was a creature named Griesmodal, looked like a werewolf.”
Eunja’s face turned pale. “Griesmodal? The infamous demon beast tamer, master of 999 beasts?”
“You know of him?”
“Not personally, but that’s not the point. You said the demons are competing for the relic?”
“Yes. Griesmodal mentioned that bringing the relic would elevate a servant’s status, granting them a celestial name.”
Eunja slumped, overwhelmed. Zeke asked, “What does it mean for a demon to have a celestial name? It’s not like they become gods.”
Eunja picked up his fan, trying to cool himself. “That’s exactly what it means.”
“Excuse me?”
“Having a celestial name means becoming a demon.”
“A demon is a celestial being?”
“Demons are celestial, just on the darker side.”
“I thought only the Sun God, Moon Goddess, and the Zodiac had celestial names.”
Eunja shook his head. “Demons were once like them, but they fell, changing their essence to match their desires. The ‘Master of the Lowest Place’ is a reflection of such a desire.”
“So, raising a demon’s status means turning them into a demon.”
“Demons are still bound by mortal limits. Becoming celestial frees them from those constraints.”
Zeke understood why the demons were so desperate for the relic. He asked Eunja, “Does the relic have the power to turn demons into celestial beings?”
Eunja shook his head. “Not directly. The relic is likely needed by another demon who has the power to transform them.”
“If a human were to find and offer the relic, the demon could easily grant them immortality.”
“Immortality? Well, that’s a bit tricky, but a powerful demon could offer something similar.”
Zeke realized why even the Emperor was searching for the Lubern family. Princess Arina thought the Holy Kingdom and the Rom Empire were seeking a healer capable of miraculous cures, but there was more to it.
‘Using the Lubern family to find the relic and offering it to a demon for immortality… That crazy Emperor would definitely do it.’
Zeke resolved to find the relic first. Eunja pondered before asking, “If demons and their servants are involved, this is serious. Why hasn’t Karma shown any signs?”
Zeke was startled. “You know about Karma?”
Eunja was taken aback by Zeke’s reaction. “Karma? Of course, I know. How do you know about it?”
Zeke calmly replied, “I found the term in the resting place of Terracan Draker.”
“Terracan Draker’s resting place? Wow, today has been full of surprises.”
“What exactly is Karma?”
Eunja hesitated before explaining, “Karma is like a collection of causal relationships.”
“Causal relationships?”
“Yes. If you plant a seed, in a hundred years, a great tree will grow. There’s a causal link between the seed and the tree. Karma refers to the sum of these links between concepts.”
“That’s… complex.”
Eunja planted his fan in the ground. “Do you think a tree will grow from this in a hundred years?”
“Unlikely.”
“There’s no causal link between a fan and a tree. But…”
Eunja waved his hand over the fan, and small branches sprouted from it.
Zeke was astonished. “Is that magic?”
“Magic is one way to manipulate causality. But this is adjusting Karma directly, bridging the gap between the fan and a tree.”
Zeke began to grasp the concept. ‘So Karma Points quantify the ability to adjust causality, allowing the impossible to become possible.’
Eunja waved his hand again, and the fan returned to its original state. “Anyway, back to the point. Demons and their servants can’t appear in this world without significant causal adjustments.”
“You mean it takes a lot of causal manipulation for them to manifest here.”
“Exactly. The world is built on causality. If it becomes unbalanced, Karma shows signs. It’s strange that there are no signs.”
“Could the demons have found a way to adjust causality without triggering Karma?”
“That’s the only explanation. This is troubling. I might have to convene the High Table.”
Zeke was surprised. The High Table was a council of Highlander representatives with the authority to amend their oaths. His mentor, Nigel, was a member, so Zeke was familiar with the concept.
‘To think I’d encounter the High Table twice in my lifetimes. Is this luck or fate?’
Eunja, after some thought, said to Zeke, “I know this is sudden, but you need to find the relic quickly.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
Eunja nodded and waved his fan, producing a book. “Let’s see… Ah, here it is. The relics were gifts from the Fairy King to humans. Do you know this story?”
Zeke nodded. “I heard it from the Lubern heir.”
“Good, that speeds things up. There are three relics in this world. I only know the exact location of one.”
“What about the other two?”
“I’ll ask the other High Table members. They’ve lived long enough to know.”
“Understood. Which one do you know?”
“The one I know is the ‘Holy Grail.’ Have you heard of it?”
“First time.”
Eunja closed his fan and began explaining. “The Holy Grail is connected to Terracan Draker and Lubern.”
“How so?”
“You know Terracan Draker’s legend as the dragon slayer who defeated Bahamut, right?”
“Of course, as a Draker myself.”
“The Draker family’s version of the dragon slayer legend is heavily censored.”
Zeke had noticed this during his research. The Draker family had edited and unified the legend, leaving much obscured.
Eunja waved his fan, summoning several books. “The dragon slayer legend is… Ah, found it. It’s so convoluted. Remember, what I say might not be entirely accurate. I’m just reading what’s been recorded.”
Zeke watched the books floating around Eunja with fascination.
Even as she felt Zeke’s gaze on her, Eunja paid it no mind and began to unravel the hidden truths behind the legend of the Dragon Slayer.
“The term ‘Dragon Slayer’ doesn’t just refer to Terrakan Draker. It was actually the name of a special unit.”
“A Dragon Slayer unit?”
“Exactly. While Terrakan Draker was indeed the leader of this unit, the Liberation War would have been lost without the help of his allies.”
Zeke recalled the old footage from the Liberation War he had seen at the Fourth Defense Base. Under Terrakan Draker’s command, various races had united to fend off the beasts and dragons.
Eunja spoke slowly, “One of those allies was none other than Claudia Lubern, the ‘Mage of Radiant Light.’”
“Lubern? I’ve never heard that the ancestor of the Luberns was a mage who aided Terrakan Draker.”
“It goes beyond that. Claudia and Terrakan were lovers.”
“What?”
“Claudia used the Holy Grail, a sacred relic, to create light magic and weapons effective against the demonic forces. Thanks to her power, Terrakan Draker could lead the Dragon Slayer unit to defeat the evil dragon Bahamut’s monstrous army.”
“So, the Holy Grail’s power was to create light magic?”
“No, the original power of the Grail was to grant eternal health and longevity to those who drank from it. Claudia harnessed the power of the fairy king within the Grail to create light magic.”
“Then the Lubern lineage descends from Claudia Lubern, which is why only they inherit the light magic.”
“That’s right. Claudia and Terrakan had a child, who became the founder of the Lubern dynasty.”
Zeke was taken aback by Eunja’s revelation.
“Are you saying the Lubern dynasty is descended from Terrakan Draker?”
“To be precise, the lineage is more closely tied to Claudia. Their child was a healer.”
“A healer?”
“Yes. Claudia’s use of the Grail created a bloodline ability known as the Blessing of Light.”
“My goodness.”
The fact that Terrakan Draker’s child was a healer was nowhere to be found in the Dragon Slayer legend.
Zeke then asked Eunja, “After the firstborn healer, did Terrakan Draker have any other children with the talent of a swordsman?”
Eunja shook her head. “Claudia tragically passed away during childbirth. Terrakan loved her so deeply that he never considered marrying anyone else.”
Zeke’s face hardened. “Then how did the current Dragon Slayer family come to be? Terrakan is known as the founder…”
Eunja waved her fan and opened a new book. “The Draker family history is quite complex. Let’s see… Terrakan Draker… Ah, here it is. The Draker family existed long before, dating back to the era of the Hero King.”
Zeke knew this, as the noble knight Shaton, known as the Sword Saint, bore the Draker name.
‘Is the real Shaton Draker the true founder of the Draker family? Then why is Terrakan Draker recorded as the founder instead of the Sword Saint Shaton Draker?’
Eunja continued, “Here’s an interesting tidbit. Terrakan Draker was actually an outcast from the Draker family.”
Zeke looked as if he’d been struck by a hammer. “Terrakan Draker was?”
Eunja spoke slowly, “The name Terrakan was given to him when he became a free knight. His original name was…”
Eunja paused for effect before revealing, “Siegfried.”