Episode 150
Zeke turned to the girl standing beside him and said, “It’s a horrible sight. Best not to look.”
Despite his warning, the girl couldn’t tear her eyes away from the cardinal, who was writhing in agony.
“Is this God’s punishment?” she asked Zeke.
He shook his head. “No, it’s not God. It’s his own greed and ambition that brought him to this. The pain, though—that was my doing.”
The girl looked up at him, her eyes wide with curiosity. “Then, are you a god, sir knight?”
Zeke shook his head again. “No, I’m just a human, like you.”
She continued to gaze at him, her voice filled with a mix of hope and belief. “They said a god with black eyes would save us.”
By now, the cardinal had completely dissolved, leaving no trace behind. Zeke dusted off his hands and knelt down to meet the girl’s eyes.
“Who told you that?” he asked gently.
“I don’t know,” she replied with a calm expression. “But all the kids trapped in the monastery know. They always talk about the god with black eyes.”
Zeke placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I’m not some great being. But I’m glad I could save you. If I hadn’t, Princess Arina would have been heartbroken.”
He led the girl over to the other children from Luvern. Turning to Boris, he said, “We should get some food into them.”
Away from the brutal battlefield, Zeke set up a base camp. With no immediate threat on their trail, they could relax, light a fire, and prepare a meal.
The children huddled around the warm flames, thawing their chilled bodies. Zeke prepared a gentle soup and handed it to them. They tasted it with curious eyes, slowly savoring each spoonful.
Soon, their eyes sparkled with delight as they spoke animatedly. “Wow! This is really good!”
“Try this bread! It’s so soft and tasty!”
Though the food was just a simple meal ordered specially and stored in his inventory, it was far better than standard rations. Yet, their enthusiastic reactions hinted at the poor treatment they’d received in the Holy Kingdom.
After eating their fill, the children snuggled into the soft sleeping bags Zeke had provided and drifted off to sleep. As the girl settled in, she looked at Zeke and asked, “Sir knight, you’re not going to take us back to the monastery, are you?”
Zeke gently patted her head and nodded. “No, I’ll take you somewhere with even better food and softer beds. The elders of the Luvern family will be there to take good care of you.”
The girl clung to Zeke’s hand, as if to assure herself that this wasn’t just a dream. He held her hand until she fell asleep.
Once the children were all asleep, Zeke spoke to Boris. “Boris, we need to get these kids safely to Mycenae.”
“Understood, boss. But…” Boris looked at Zeke with a hint of surprise. “I didn’t know you cared so much about the kids.”
Zeke gave a wry smile. “Don’t read too much into it.”
In his past life, Zeke had worked as a hitman for Don Juan, carrying out orders without hesitation, regardless of whether the target was an elder or a child. Though his return to the past had erased the horrors he committed, the memories of those terrible deeds remained.
‘Helping these kids won’t atone for what I did back then,’ he thought. ‘But maybe it’s a start.’
The next day, Boris led the children of Luvern out of the cave. The girl glanced back one last time, her eyes lingering on Zeke.
After Boris and the children left, Zeke returned to the cave and stood before the door. A statue still stood guard.
Approaching the statue, Zeke commanded, “Dismiss summon.”
At his words, magical circles appeared on the guardians’ bodies, dissolving into light and vanishing.
Before the Holy Kingdom’s forces arrived, Zeke had already entered the chamber and confronted the guardians. By recognizing the access codes hidden within their cores, he had registered them as summons and opened the door to face the paladins.
[Summons Idas and Lynceus have been dismissed.]
[Entering hibernation for self-recovery.]
The newly registered Idas and Lynceus, along with the guardian Horus found in the temple of the Joins, required a period of self-recovery due to their prolonged time in safe mode.
With the guardians sorted, Zeke stepped through the door. As he fully entered, the massive door slowly closed behind him.
Time passed after Zeke entered, and a figure in a black robe emerged, surveying the scene of fallen paladins.
“What a mess,” he muttered.
Others in ashen robes appeared behind him, bowing respectfully. “Apostle, we will retrieve the relic. Do not worry…”
Suddenly, the one called Apostle turned, extending his hand.
“Gah!”
The four figures in ashen robes were lifted into the air, gasping for breath.
“You lost a precious vessel in the southern lands,” the Apostle said, his voice cold. “And you recklessly used the power of a servant that should not appear in this realm.”
“Pl-please, Apostle… forgive us…”
When the Apostle lowered his hand, the robed figures fell to the ground. His eyes, visible through the black robe, were like those of a reptile.
The mages of the abyss, trembling with fear, cowered under his gaze. The Apostle’s red eyes glowed ominously as he retrieved something from his robe.
He buried two black orbs in the ground and began chanting in a language of the demon realm.
As he chanted, black mist rose from his body, seeping into the earth.
Rumble!
From beneath the ground, something began to bubble and grow rapidly. Two masses of black ooze and flesh swelled, becoming larger than a person.
“Wow!”
The mages in ashen robes gasped in awe at the sight of the growing flesh.
The Apostle extended his hand toward the masses, chanting once more. This time, two black wraiths emerged from the ground.
“Power of the corrupted death,” he intoned.
Guided by the Apostle, the wraiths entered the fleshy masses. As they did, the masses began to pulse like living hearts.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The Apostle approached the pulsing flesh, drawing a black dagger from his robe. The dagger, engraved with a grotesque demon, radiated a sinister energy.
“I bestow new power upon the corrupted death,” he declared, slicing into one of the masses.
Splat!
Black liquid gushed out like a burst water balloon. The mages watching swallowed hard.
Creak!
From within the split mass, something began to emerge—a skeletal knight clad in black armor, wielding a sword and shield.
“That’s…!”
The mages in ashen robes paled in shock.
‘A Death Knight!’
A fallen wraith knight, the pinnacle of the undead, had appeared in the mortal realm.
But it wasn’t over. The Apostle sliced open the other mass, revealing another being.
An undead wearing a rusted crown, with jeweled eyes and a tattered robe.
“An Arch Lich!”
The Death Knight and Arch Lich knelt before the Apostle. The Death Knight spoke in a chilling voice.
『I am Luis Marchisio. I offer my sword in worship and praise to the Apostle of Death and Darkness.』
The Arch Lich followed suit.
『I am Verdi Albici. I offer bloodstained glory to the Apostle of Death and Darkness.』
The Apostle addressed Luis and Verdi, now a Death Knight and Arch Lich. “The great power of darkness has granted you new life. Will you swear loyalty to the one who slumbers beyond the abyss?”
『I swear upon my corrupted sword and shield.』
『I swear upon my tainted intellect and robe.』
“Good. The one who cruelly killed you is inside. Go, and exact your bloody revenge.”
The Death Knight and Arch Lich’s eyes gleamed as they spoke in unison.
『We shall offer the enemy’s blood and soul to the Apostle.』
They rose, and the Arch Lich extended a hand toward the fallen paladins’ corpses.
A dark aura emanated from his tattered robe.
Crack!
The ominous energy enveloped the dead paladins’ bodies.
From the fallen paladin’s body, skeletal knights clad in black armor began to rise.
Thud!
The skeletal knights, armed with swords and shields, knelt before the Death Knight and the Arch Lich.
The Arch Lich cast another spell, summoning a ghostly steed.
Rrrrrr!
More beast than horse, it had a mane of blue flames.
The Death Knight mounted the spectral horse with the ease of one who had ridden it all their life.
The dark-robed necromancers stood agape, overwhelmed by the sudden emergence of the undead legion.
At that moment, the apostle addressed the sorcerers.
“Slay Zeke Draker with the Legion of Death and retrieve the relic. Fail again, and your souls will be offered as sacrifices to the great constellations.”
Terrified, the sorcerers fell to their knees before the apostle.
“W-We will obey your command, Apostle!”
The apostle glared at the necromancers before turning away and gesturing with a sweep of his hand.
A black portal appeared on the massive, firmly shut door.
Wooooom!
The Legion of Death began to march slowly into the dark portal.
Then it happened.
Crack!
The apostle’s body, the one who had opened the portal, began to twist grotesquely.
“Ughhh!”
In an instant, the apostle in the black robe vanished, replaced by a dark sorcerer of the abyss, his life force drained, twisting like a mummy.
“Aaaaargh!”
With a final scream, the dark sorcerer melted away, dissolving into nothing.
Sssssss!
The remaining sorcerers trembled in fear as they watched their comrade reduced to a mere puddle of blood.
‘We cannot fail this mission!’
They hurried into the ruins before the portal closed.
The Legion of Death was closing in on Zeke.
“How far do these ruins go? They seem endless.”
Zeke had been walking deeper and deeper into the ruins, searching for the relic.
After what felt like an eternity, the narrow corridor finally ended, revealing a massive wall adorned with an intricate bas-relief.
“Wow, what is this?”
The wall, over ten meters high, was carved with a mural unlike any he had seen in the ruins of the Jo-in tribe.
The figures in the mural faced forward, but their faces were turned to the side.
‘What does this depict?’
Zeke took photos of the bas-relief, storing them in the secure archive folder, just as he had done with the Jo-in tribe’s ruins.
As he carefully examined the mural, something caught his eye.
“This shape…?”