Episode 178
“Oh, thank heavens! It’s not that witch! Thank you, God!”
Dario let out a sigh of relief, tears welling up in his eyes as he recognized the newcomer as Zeke.
‘Lady Arina, what on earth have you done…?’
Trembling, Dario clung to Zeke, his voice quivering with fear.
“I-I’ll do anything you ask. Just, please, don’t hand me over to that witch!”
Zeke regarded the terrified Dario for a moment before speaking slowly.
“Dario Nostra. I have a proposition for you. Testify against the Nostra family at the Draker trial, and I’ll spare your life. Of course, you’ll spend the rest of your days in prison, but you’ll be alive.”
Dario shivered at Zeke’s words, then slowly nodded. The thought of Arina’s interrogation was terrifying, but the Nostra family’s retribution was even more so. They would surely know he had broken his vow of silence and would stop at nothing to kill him brutally.
In this situation, even a life in prison seemed preferable if it meant staying under Draker’s protection and staying alive.
Tears streaming down his face, Dario agreed. “Alright, I understand.”
Zeke watched him for a moment before leaving the underground cell and heading up to the castle. He planned to hand Dario over to Kali’s side.
‘Once Dario is put on trial, my mission to dismantle the human trafficking ring will be complete, and the responsibility will shift to the Draker family.’
Even the Nostra family wouldn’t dare openly challenge the Draker family. So, as long as Dario was brought to trial, the task was nearly complete. Meanwhile, the Nostra family would likely move quietly, seeking an opportunity to assassinate Dario.
Zeke intended to use that opportunity to strike at the heart of the Nostra family.
‘It’s almost over.’
The next day, Zeke arranged for Dario to be secretly transported from Mycenae to Atlas for the trial. To conceal his involvement, he manipulated information to make it seem like Red Eye had handed Dario over to the Draker side for trial.
With the syndicate’s information network and Kay’s influence, altering the information was not difficult. Disguising his identity, Zeke decided to personally oversee Dario’s transport.
He planned to carry out the operation with members of Salmak, whose identities were also concealed. To create an alibi for contact with Red Eye, he set a route from Mycenae through Panstass to Athens.
The challenge was that they couldn’t use portals during the journey. Using the Panstass portal would make it impossible to avoid the Nostra family’s watchful eyes scattered across the continent.
Zeke and his team had no choice but to take a detour to transport Dario.
Rumble—
Disguised as a merchant, Zeke traveled with Salmak members, pulling a specially designed transport carriage toward Atlas. Initially, they considered using the railway, but Salmak advised against it due to the higher risk of assassination, so they opted for the carriage.
Taking a detour instead of the main road took considerable time. They traveled for several days, but fortunately, there was no sign of an attack from the Nostra family.
Despite this, Zeke remained vigilant.
One of the Salmak members approached Zeke during the journey.
“We’ll reach the Atlas Mountains by tomorrow.”
The Atlas Mountains were one of the final barriers on the route from Panstass to Atlas. The terrain was rugged, and the roads were rough, so most travelers used tunnels or detours.
However, to avoid detection, Zeke had no choice but to go through the mountains.
‘If there’s going to be an attack, it’ll be here.’
The next day, Zeke and his team entered the Atlas Mountains.
Creak!
The narrow, poorly maintained paths were unsuitable for the heavy carriage.
“Push! A little more! Now!”
They struggled to push and pull the carriage, causing further delays.
Contrary to Zeke’s expectations, there was no attack in the Atlas Mountains, and the team passed through quietly.
After safely crossing the mountains, they entered an outer city before reaching Atlas. Once a thriving city, it had become a ghost town due to urbanization in Atlas and other Midland cities.
Zeke sensed something was off as soon as they set foot in the city.
‘This doesn’t feel right.’
He led the carriage to a pre-arranged inn, chosen for its secluded location to avoid prying eyes.
Zeke and the Salmak members skillfully maintained their merchant guise as they entered the inn. While others paid and ordered meals, Zeke stayed in the stable, guarding the carriage and keeping watch.
It was then that Zeke’s senses picked up something.
‘Where is it?’
He scanned the surroundings, but nothing seemed amiss. Expanding his senses with his dragon’s eye, he focused.
‘The ground?’
Suddenly, cracks began to form beneath the carriage and Zeke’s feet.
Crack!
Reacting instantly, Zeke used his power to pull the carriage away from the inn’s stable with great force.
Rumble!
The stable floor split open, collapsing into the ground below.
Watching the ground cave in, Zeke clenched his teeth.
‘Magic? Or is it another bloodline ability?’
New presences emerged in Zeke’s senses. Enemies appeared from the surrounding buildings.
‘Damn it, Night Killers?’
Special snipers from the Empire’s magic corps revealed themselves.
Zeke pulled out a shield magic scroll and tore it open.
Whoosh!
A shield enveloped Zeke and the carriage.
Bang!
In that instant, the snipers’ magic bullets flew toward Zeke and the carriage.
The shield held for now, but it was uncertain how long it would last.
Swish!
Meanwhile, Salmak’s assassins emerged from the inn, spreading out to engage the Night Killers.
As the assassins charged, the Night Killers retreated.
But the attack didn’t end with the Night Killers. Suddenly, people poured out of the buildings, rushing toward the carriage.
‘They plan to finish this here.’
To avoid revealing their identities, they had hired mercenaries, each with different armor and weapons.
Given that Zeke’s senses hadn’t detected them, it seemed a skilled mage was among them.
“Kill him and take the carriage!”
The mercenaries shouted, weapons raised, charging at Zeke.
Zeke slammed his palm against the carriage.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The reinforced skeletons began to emerge in a line.
Seeing the skeletons clad in violet bone armor, the mercenaries hesitated.
“U-undead?”
A man who appeared to be a mage shouted from the back.
“Vampires summoned these undead! They’re just skeletons! Don’t be afraid, attack!”
The battle-hardened mage calmly commanded the mercenaries.
At that moment, the skeletons’ eyes glowed with a violet light.
They immediately raised their bone shields and charged at the mercenaries, colliding with them.
Crash!
The mercenaries were forced back by the skeletons’ immense strength.
In the chaos, the skeletons swung their weapons.
Whoosh!
Created by Richmond, these skeletons were far more powerful than ordinary ones.
The mage at the back was visibly shocked by their strength.
“How can undead be this strong?”
His surprise was short-lived as he gritted his teeth and raised his staff to cast a spell.
Boom!
A standard fire spell rained down on the skeletons.
Richmond’s skeletons, infused with the power of the Blood and Madness Cavalry, were unaffected by the fire spell, which was weaker than the hellfire of the demon realm.
Overwhelmed by the skeletons’ power, the mercenaries began to retreat.
As the situation seemed to be under control, Zeke expanded his senses, remaining on guard.
‘These guys are just bait. The real threat hasn’t shown up yet.’
At that moment, something plummeted from the sky at high speed.
Boom!
A massive iron ball crashed down, engulfing Zeke, the carriage, the skeletons, and the mercenaries.
Crack!
“Argh!”
The mercenaries caught under the iron ball screamed as their lives were snuffed out.
Zeke drew his sword, using his power to deflect the incoming iron ball.
Crash!
The building collapsed under the weight of the human-sized iron ball.
Simultaneously, someone descended from the sky, landing atop the iron ball.
“Wow, you’re the first to deflect my ball with a sword.”
A boy in a suit and shorts.
It was Zion, a member of the elite bloodline ability group, the Six, making his reappearance.
Zion smirked, raising his hand as five more iron balls floated into the air, orbiting around him.
Zeke estimated the weight of the iron ball he had deflected to be around a ton.
Even knights using aura to enhance their bodies and weapons ultimately engaged in a battle of physical force.
The heavier and faster the attack, the more powerful it was.
Zion’s ability to control a one-ton iron ball with ease demonstrated strength surpassing that of a red knight.
“You’re a tricky one to deal with.”
Zeke, unable to use his full power while in disguise, found this opponent anything but easy.
Sion twirled a metal sphere in the air and taunted Zeke. “Hey, you! Try blocking this!”
With a flick of his palm, the sphere shot toward Zeke at high speed.
Whoosh!
Zeke rolled to the side, dodging the sphere, then deflected it with his sword as it hurtled toward a nearby carriage.
Boom!
The force behind the sphere was immense, and Sion’s eyes widened in genuine surprise as Zeke managed to repel it repeatedly.
“What the—? Are you a knight? You don’t seem like one of those pathetic vampire bastards. A Draker knight, maybe?”
Zeke didn’t bother to answer. Instead, he raised his sword and charged at the boy with swift, determined strides.
Swish!
Caught off guard by Zeke’s sudden assault, Sion leaped into the air.
Slash!
Zeke’s sharp attack sliced through the front of Sion’s clothes as he retreated mid-air, his face twisting in anger.
“You little—”
Rumble!
A massive storm erupted around Sion, swirling with power.
Crash!
Five metal spheres rose into the air, spinning wildly in the storm before Sion launched them at Zeke.
Boom!
Zeke summoned a field of water energy, effortlessly catching the incoming spheres with his sword and sending them hurtling back at Sion.
Elemental Sword
Water Field
Reverse Wave Blade
The spheres, now charged with the power of the Reverse Wave Blade, flew back at Sion, who hastily raised his palm in defense.
Crack!
Sion strained to stop the spheres, veins bulging on his forehead from the exertion.
“Ugh!”
Seizing the moment, Zeke unleashed a lightning attack straight at Sion.
Zap!
The massive bolt struck Sion directly, sending him crashing to the ground. Zeke sprinted toward where he fell.
But then—
Crack!
The ground split open before Zeke, and a massive rock shot up.
Slash!
Despite the sudden turn of events, Zeke remained unfazed, slicing the rock cleanly in two.
Beyond the shattered rock, Sion was nowhere to be seen.
Zeke realized there was another member of the Six here, someone with the power to manipulate the earth.
“An earth manipulator, huh.”
This was a power on a whole different level from ordinary bloodline abilities, faster and more potent than any high-level earth magic.
Just then, the metal spheres on the ground began to move again.
Crack!
To Zeke’s surprise, the spheres had transformed, now bristling with sharp spikes instead of their usual smooth surface.
As the dust settled, Sion, scorched by the lightning, glared at Zeke with fury in his eyes.
He extended his hand toward Zeke.
“You bastard. Die!”