Episode 177
“A… a Death Knight? Damn it, is this another illusion?”
Carlito exclaimed, drawing his sword in a flash. Like his armor, the sword was a rare artifact he’d paid a hefty price for. He swung it directly at the Death Knight, the blade slicing through the air.
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted around the Death Knight. Carlito grinned triumphantly.
“Ha! Just a damn monster!”
But then, through the cloud of dust, the Death Knight emerged, walking slowly. Carlito’s face turned ashen.
“No way, how is this possible?”
As he stood there in shock, the Death Knight’s sword began to emit a dark aura. Carlito, flustered, tried to swing his magical sword again.
“Sir Carlito!”
At that moment, a man in a suit, sweating profusely, came running towards Carlito. Just as the Death Knight’s sword was about to strike, the suited man appeared beside Carlito in a flash, creating a small portal with his hand. The Death Knight’s sword passed through the portal.
Crack!
The sword emerged from the portal behind the Death Knight, stabbing it in the back. Carlito’s eyes widened at the sight of the suited man’s ability. The Death Knight’s eyes glowed red as it was pierced by its own sword.
In an instant, the suited man grabbed Carlito and disappeared into a portal he created behind them. The Death Knight stared at the spot where they vanished for a while.
Zeke, ensuring no one else was around, removed his cloak and returned to his original form, a puzzled expression on his face as he thought about the vanished Carlito and the suited man.
“Teleportation, huh. What a ridiculous ability.”
Even among the mages of Nirvana, only those of the seventh circle or higher could teleport. To use spatial movement without any delay was astonishing.
“Is that a bloodline ability too?”
It seemed the man was one of the elite bloodline ability users known as the Six. Zeke sheathed his sword, frowning.
“It’s a shame we lost the commander, but discovering a spatial mover isn’t a total loss.”
While bloodline abilities were powerful, knowing their nature made it easier to counter them. Now that he was aware of the spatial movement ability, he could prepare accordingly.
Zeke turned his gaze to the battle ships of Siemens positioned on the river. With Nahuel attacking from below and illusionary assaults from above, along with the onslaught of dragon soldiers and undead, even mages and knights would struggle to hold their ground.
Watching the burning ships, Zeke signaled to Richmond. Upon receiving the signal, Richmond detonated the magic bombs pre-installed on the ship disguised as a ghost ship.
Boom!
With a massive explosion, the ship shattered, and Siemens’ battle ships began to sink, unable to withstand the blast. Richmond, in the form of a beast carrying Visco, soared into the sky.
Zeke activated his stealth skill and disappeared into the bushes.
A week later, Zeke and Visco safely returned to Agamemnon Castle.
“Sir Zeke!”
The first to greet him was none other than Arina.
“Lady Arina.”
He entered the castle with Arina, who had come to welcome him. Zeke sensed something unusual about the atmosphere among the Rose Knights in Agamemnon Castle.
“Everyone seems on edge. Did something happen?”
“Well, actually…”
After hearing Arina’s explanation, Zeke understood why the Rose Knights were in such a state.
“Dario revealed the location of the monastery where the Lubern bloodline is held?”
Arina nodded.
“Yes. Just as you suspected, Dario’s organization was kidnapping members of the Lubern bloodline and handing them over to the Holy Kingdom.”
While Zeke and Visco dealt with Siemens’ pursuers, Boris had safely brought Dario to Agamemnon Castle. Despite being captured in enemy territory, Dario, a high-ranking member of the Nostra family, maintained a defiant attitude.
That was until Arina, who had been observing, volunteered to interrogate him. Initially, Boris doubted whether Arina, with her delicate appearance, could conduct a proper interrogation.
However, less than an hour after she entered, Dario began trembling like a leaf, spilling everything he knew. Among the information was the location of the Lubern bloodline.
Arina spoke to Zeke.
“Sir Zeke, we plan to go to the monastery and rescue the Lubern bloodline.”
“It’s in the heart of the Holy Kingdom. Is it possible?”
Arina smiled quietly, her determination evident.
“We’ll make it possible.”
Her resolve to succeed, no matter the circumstances, was palpable. Zeke nodded in agreement.
“Understood. Let’s do it. Oh, and I have a request.”
“Anything, just say the word.”
“Please allow Felix to accompany us and fulfill his grandfather Sir Fabre’s mission. He’s still inexperienced, but he’ll be more than capable.”
Arina smiled warmly.
“Having Sir Felix with us would be a great help.”
She stood up slowly, taking Zeke’s hand.
“Thank you, Sir Zeke. You’re truly a great benefactor to Lubern.”
Zeke felt a bit embarrassed by her words. Then, something came to mind, and he asked her.
“By the way, how are Jason and Arin, whom I asked you to train?”
Arina laughed brightly.
“I wanted to thank you for entrusting such interesting children to us. The Lubern children learning magic with them adore them.”
It seemed they were adapting well. Thinking it was a good opportunity to see them, he rose to follow Arina.
Zeke and Arina headed to the magic training room together. Inside, they heard a strange sound.
“Ugh… kids, I’ll give you candy if you help me out here…”
It was unmistakably Jason’s voice. Curious, Zeke opened the door to find a surprising scene.
‘What on earth?’
Jason was inside a large barrel, filled with dirt and stones, with only his head sticking out. The problem was that the dirt and stones were gradually rising, threatening to cover his face.
The Lubern children gathered around Jason, watching with interest. One of the children noticed Zeke and ran over to him.
“God of the Black Eyes!”
Recognizing Zeke as their savior, the child approached with sparkling eyes. Zeke smiled, patting her head.
“It’s been a while. How have you been?”
“Yes! Thanks to you, we have a home, and the pretty princess is teaching us magic!”
Arina blushed at being called a pretty princess.
“Oh my, Alice. Pretty princess, really.”
Learning the child’s name was Alice, Zeke addressed her.
“Alice. That’s a lovely name. My name is Zeke.”
“Does God have a name?”
“I’m not a god, so I have a name.”
“Then I’ll call you Sir Zeke!”
Alice replied energetically, forming a hand sign. A bright light burst from her hand.
Alice looked at Zeke with wide, sparkling eyes.
“The princess taught me this magic! Isn’t it pretty?”
Zeke was taken aback by the light Alice created.
‘Healing?’
He knew the Lubern bloodline could learn light magic, but he hadn’t expected a ten-year-old like Alice to use magic so quickly.
‘What incredible talent.’
Just then, Jason, nearly buried in dirt, called out in a pitiful voice.
“Sir Zeke! Ugh! Please, get me out of here!”
Holding Alice, Zeke turned to Arina.
“Lady Arina, is this part of the magic training?”
Arina nodded with a smile.
“Yes. Jason has great talent, but his will is weak. He exhausts himself after casting a few big spells.”
Arina candidly assessed Jason’s magical skills.
“If Jason can physically connect with the earth’s will, he could become a remarkable mage.”
Zeke nodded at Arina’s words.
“That makes sense.”
Hearing their conversation, Jason, now almost completely buried, cried out desperately.
“Ack! Sir Zeke! Ugh! The dirt’s getting in my mouth!”
At some point, Jason’s voice was no longer audible, completely buried. The other Lubern children poked the barrel with curious eyes.
Then it happened.
Rumble!
The barrel shook violently, and dirt and stones erupted, spilling over. Moments later, Jason emerged from the barrel.
“Ha!”
Barely escaping before suffocating, Jason crawled out of the barrel, his face pale.
Arina watched him with a smile.
“Oh my, he really did it!”
She seemed genuinely surprised, as if she hadn’t expected him to succeed.
With a flick of her finger, the mound of earth that had erupted returned to its container.
Watching Arina, Zeke realized that she had mastered not only light magic but other forms as well.
“Sixth circle? No, maybe even seventh or higher.”
A seventh-circle mage wielded power comparable to a red knight, a formidable force indeed.
Zeke thought that, aside from himself, Arina was likely the strongest person in their group.
As he watched Jason, who was deep in thought, Zeke pondered what kind of training Arina might have in store for him. He cautiously asked her, “Lady Arina, where is Arin?”
Arina responded with her usual bright smile, “Oh, Arin? Well… that’s a secret.”
“A secret? What on earth did she have Arin doing?” Zeke wondered, but instead of pressing further, he simply hoped Arin was safe.
Leaving behind Jason, who was pleading to be taken along, Zeke headed toward the knights’ training grounds.
There, an unexpected scene unfolded.
“Come on! One more!”
Rick was engaged in basic strength training with Farrell.
Thud!
Rick set down a special, heavy barbell designed for Agamemnon, his physique noticeably more robust.
Upon spotting Zeke, Farrell and Rick stopped what they were doing and straightened up.
“Salute the lord!”
Following Farrell’s command, Rick saluted.
Zeke shook his head, gesturing for them to relax. “I don’t see the others around.”
“Sister Cloné took them to hunt monsters nearby to hone their combat skills,” Farrell explained.
Thanks to their training expeditions, the area around Mycenae was now free of monsters, bandits, and outlaws.
Cloné and her group even ventured beyond the city for their training.
“Entrusting it to Cloné was the right decision,” Zeke thought, nodding. He turned his attention to Rick, picking up a wooden practice sword from the ground.
Without warning, he swung it at Rick.
Swish!
Despite the sudden attack, Rick rolled away, dodging Zeke’s strike. Zeke continued his assault, swinging the wooden sword relentlessly.
Rick, covered in dirt, focused on maintaining his balance as he evaded the blows.
After observing Rick’s movements for a while, Zeke finally lowered his sword.
“You’re much improved from before.”
Rick’s eyes sparkled as he bowed his head. “Thank you, my lord! I’ve realized how sheltered I was!”
Growing up under the shadow of his exceptional brother, Jeffrick had never truly dedicated himself to training.
He had gone to Valhalla seeking motivation but found himself adrift there as well.
However, witnessing his peers train fiercely and break through their limits day by day had a profound impact on him.
As a result, Rick decided to heed Farrell’s advice, starting from the basics with strength and reflex training.
Though repetitive and tedious, the training was undeniably effective.
The stagnation in his skills began to crack, and Zeke could see that Farrell’s training methods had worked wonders, as evidenced by Rick’s well-balanced physique.
“I’m looking forward to his future growth,” Zeke mused.
Jeffrick Solma, too, had been one of the five-star knights who shone brightly in his past life.
His potential was second to none.
After checking on his comrades, Zeke made his way to the underground of Agamemnon Castle.
Entering the deepest dungeon, he found a man with a haggard face and white hair crouched in a corner.
Zeke was taken aback by Dario’s transformation, so different from when he had interrogated him.
“The man has completely changed.”
Suddenly, Dario lifted his head and looked directly at Zeke.