Episode 155
Vroooom!
With the Holy Grail in hand, Zeke’s dragon senses kicked in automatically.
In an instant, fragments of the Ark’s past memories surged into Zeke’s mind like a tidal wave.
“Ugh!”
The overwhelming flood of memories threatened to burst his head apart.
[A steadfast mental defense is activated.]
Thanks to his skill, Zeke managed to regain a bit of composure.
Once he steadied himself, he found his soul navigating a vast ocean of memories.
‘Is this what it’s like to have mastered the dragon’s senses?’
He could now explore past memories with far more freedom than before.
Countless fragments of memories flashed by rapidly.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, one of those fragments flew toward Zeke.
‘What is this?’
In that moment, the sea of memories was engulfed in a blinding light.
When Zeke opened his eyes, a completely different scene unfolded before him.
‘Where am I…?’
He was in a dense forest, not the Ark.
Zeke recalled the time he had become Terracan Draker through past memories at the Temple of the Join Tribe.
‘Is this a similar situation?’
He examined his surroundings and his own body.
He was running through the forest, dressed like a mercenary, as if being chased.
“Huff! Huff!”
Someone emerged from behind him.
“Zeke Freid! Stop! There’s nowhere left to run!”
Knights adorned in ornate armor and luxurious capes, gliding over the ground like wizards, were pursuing Zeke Freid.
Zeke Freid drew the sword from his back and unleashed an aura blade at the knights.
Boom!
The strike flew toward the knights.
Vroooom!
A translucent dome formed around the knights, blocking Zeke Freid’s attack.
They glided through the air and soon surrounded him.
“Do you think you can face us with such outdated techniques?”
The knights, who had been floating, landed on the ground.
With a wave of their hands, swords appeared from thin air, as elaborately decorated as their armor.
Zeke Freid knew well how many enchantments were placed on those swords.
He smirked and said, “Typical of the Siemens Knights. All dressed up in money.”
The knights’ expressions twisted in anger, and blue lightning crackled from their swords.
Crackle!
The power of the Siemens Magic Knights’ lightning swords was beyond imagination.
Zeke Freid, holding an old arming sword, grinned at the knights.
“I know your gear is top-notch, but can you even wield those fancy swords properly?”
His taunt seemed to work, as the knights charged at him with their lightning swords.
Crackle!
Powerful lightning surged toward Zeke Freid.
In an instant, an aura blade over three meters long erupted from Zeke Freid’s sword.
Vroooom!
The aura blade tore through the oncoming lightning.
Simultaneously, Zeke Freid assumed a stance.
Dragon Slayer Sword Technique
Fourth Form: Crescent Moon Slash
‘Dragon Slayer Sword Technique?’
Zeke, observing Zeke Freid’s consciousness, was taken aback by the swordsmanship he displayed.
It wasn’t the usual dragon-slaying technique but a move from the original Dragon Slayer Sword Technique.
Zeke Freid swung his sword wide, cutting down the knights surrounding him in one fell swoop.
Slash!
“Ugh!”
Zeke Freid’s aura blade sliced through both the enchanted swords and the magic armor of the Siemens Knights.
One knight, struck by the attack, crawled away, muttering in disbelief.
“Impossible… How can mere aura have such power…?”
Zeke Freid slowly approached and stabbed the knight in the neck.
“Ugh!”
The Siemens knight let out a short groan and died.
Zeke Freid rifled through the dead knights’ belongings, collecting anything of value.
At that moment, someone appeared from the other side of the forest.
“Zeke.”
Zeke Freid looked up at the woman who called him.
Zeke, within his consciousness, was startled.
‘Mother?’
The woman who emerged from the forest looked strikingly similar to Laura Agamemnon from the photographs.
She, too, was stained with blood on her face and clothes, as if she had been in a fierce battle.
Zeke Freid’s mouth opened.
“Claudia.”
Zeke realized who she was.
Claudia Luvern.
The founder of the Luvern dynasty and a mage of light.
Zeke Freid and Claudia, having risen to their feet, moved deeper into the forest to evade other pursuers.
Finding a cave, Zeke Freid dug a pit inside and lit a fire.
Then he pulled out some dried jerky from his pocket and began to chew on it.
Watching him tear into the jerky, Claudia spoke.
“Zeke, more pursuers are on our trail.”
At her words, Zeke Freid scoffed and replied.
“I’m not scared of those bastards.”
“At least you should escape. There’s no need for you to die a pointless death.”
Zeke Freid shook his head and looked at Claudia.
“You owe me your life once. I can’t leave until I collect on that.”
“Foolish! You’re risking your life just to collect a debt?”
He grinned and continued chewing on the jerky.
Claudia sighed at his stubbornness and seemed to ponder something. After a moment, she pulled something from her pocket.
A plain wooden cup.
The Holy Grail.
Zeke Freid chuckled when he saw it.
“I thought it would be something grand, being a relic made by the Fairy King. It’s really quite humble.”
This wooden cup had sparked a war among the seven kingdoms, all because of rumors that it granted immortality.
Zeke Freid asked Claudia.
“But can this shabby-looking cup really grant immortality?”
Claudia shook her head at his question.
“The Grail has the power to unlock a person’s potential. The effect varies depending on what potential that person has. The problem is… if you can’t handle the power, it could kill you.”
Hearing this, Zeke Freid shook his head.
“Well, why are the kings so desperate to get it? They might die instead of gaining immortality.”
Claudia’s gaze hardened at his words.
“Humans have always been like that. Ruining everything with their greed. That’s why I want to destroy it. So it can’t be misused by humans. That’s the only way to change fate.”
Her voice was filled with disillusionment and disdain for humanity.
Zeke Freid was used to seeing Claudia like this, so he let it slide.
Just then.
“Damn, it’s the pursuers.”
Zeke Freid grabbed his sword and headed toward the cave entrance, awakening his senses with aura to scan the surroundings.
He sensed more than a dozen presences around the cave.
Zeke Freid gritted his teeth.
“It seems all the knights of the seven kingdoms have gathered.”
Claudia tucked the Grail into her pocket and stood up.
“We need to escape immediately.”
Zeke Freid nodded.
“Right, while I hold them off, you go. Once you reach the Ice Mountains, they won’t be able to follow.”
Claudia was taken aback by his words.
“What do you mean? You want me to go alone?”
“Or do you want us both to die together?”
Claudia bit her lip as she watched Zeke Freid twirl his sword.
She spoke to him.
“Why are you doing this? You say you’re collecting a life debt, but you’re throwing your life away!”
At her outcry, Zeke Freid looked at Claudia and said.
“You said it yourself. Humans ruin everything with their greed.”
He gazed at her with serious eyes.
“I’m just as human as anyone else.”
“What do you mean?”
Claudia looked at him, puzzled.
He gave her a sly grin, then dashed out of the cave with his sword.
Vroooom!
He unleashed an aura blade toward the presences hiding outside the cave.
“Ugh!”
Zeke Freid’s aura blade sliced through thick armor and enchanted weapons alike.
As he appeared, the hidden knights revealed themselves.
A knight from Thebea, the youngest of the seven kingdoms, stepped forward and shouted at Zeke Freid.
“Zeke Freid Draker, the criminal who stole the relic, hear me! Surrender the relic and take your own life honorably! Then your family, the Drakers, will be spared!”
Zeke Freid chuckled at the words.
“Long time since I heard that. Draker, huh? Guess you didn’t hear how those bastards beat me to a pulp as a kid and tossed me into the crematorium.”
The knight from Thebea, who had demanded his suicide, looked bewildered by Zeke’s harsh words.
At that moment, Zeke Freid removed his gloves.
Crackle!
As he did, sparks flew from the armor and swords of the knights around him.
“What the…?”
The enchanted weapons reacted strangely, causing the knights to panic.
Zeke Freid seized the opportunity.
“Come on, you bastards!”
“Ugh!”
Around Siegfried lay the bodies of dozens of fallen knights.
“Haah!”
But Siegfried himself was not unscathed; his back was riddled with arrows.
With a grunt, he yanked a spear from his side.
Blood trickled down.
Siegfried staggered toward the last knight still standing.
The knight, sensing the madness in Siegfried’s eyes, trembled in fear.
“No, stay back! Don’t come any closer!”
Siegfried lunged at him.
They tumbled together onto the pile of corpses.
Grabbing whatever weapon he could, Siegfried thrust it into the knight’s neck.
“Gah!”
The knight soon lay lifeless among the others.
“Damn it…”
Siegfried collapsed onto the heap of bodies, gasping for breath.
Known as the Immortal, even he couldn’t survive such wounds.
With trembling hands, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket.
He tried to bring it to his lips, but his strength failed, and it fell into a pool of blood.
“Damn it… The fortune teller said a woman would be my end, and here we are.”
Siegfried recalled his first meeting with Claudia Lubern.
She was like a noble lady stepping into the world for the first time—stubborn and willful, yet utterly naive.
Initially, he had saved her because she was a skilled mage, and they traveled the continent together. But over time, his feelings began to change.
”…I’m a fool. Truly.”
Siegfried’s eyes began to close.
Then, someone approached.
”…Is there still someone alive?”
Siegfried struggled to move.
He had to kill one more to ensure the pursuers wouldn’t reach her, so she could safely reach the Ice Mountains.
But the figure he saw was none other than Claudia herself.
“Why… are you here? Go, quickly…”
Claudia looked down at Siegfried, her face on the verge of tears.
She knelt beside him, clutching his clothes tightly, her eyes filled with reproach.
“Humans… They’re despicable, reckless, selfish. I hate them. But Siegfried, why are you…”
“That’s… because I’m the same. I don’t particularly like humans… either.”
Siegfried slowly raised his hand to stroke Claudia’s hair.
But his strength gave out, and his hand fell limply to the ground.
In a hurry, Claudia pulled a grail from her belongings.
She infused it with power.
A bright light emanated from the grail, and it began to fill with water.
Claudia quickly brought the grail to Siegfried’s lips.
“Siegfried! Drink this, quickly!”
But Siegfried couldn’t swallow. His body was too weak.
Claudia took the water into her mouth and transferred it to Siegfried’s.
With her help, he managed to drink the grail’s contents. Then it happened.
“Ugh!”
Siegfried groaned in agony.
Claudia held him, shouting urgently.
“Siegfried! Don’t reject the grail’s power! Accept it, or it will kill you!”
He was already at death’s door, having lost too much blood, and wasn’t in a state to accept the grail’s power.
“Argh!”
Siegfried’s veins darkened and swelled, his eyes bloodshot.
“No, Siegfried! You can’t die!”
Claudia, frantic, clutched the sun pendant around her neck.
It was the seal that bound her power.
To save Siegfried, she decided to break the taboo. She couldn’t let him die.
Crack!
She tore off the pendant that sealed her power.
And she called out to Siegfried.
“Siegfried! Look at me! Listen to my voice!”
Siegfried’s breath was barely there.
In that moment, Claudia’s eyes transformed.
They revealed the golden gaze of a great being.
She spoke to Siegfried.
“My name is Bahamut, the Ruler of the Dusk.”