Episode 207
Watching Zeke skillfully interrogate the demon with his purification skills, Reyes wore a troubled expression and spoke up.
“Good heavens, Schatten! The noble knight who once faced Siemens now carries a fierce aura. The wickedness of Siemens has become a thorn of poison, piercing the heart of my dear friend and turning him into a harbinger of doom!”
As Reyes finished his impromptu sonnet filled with lament, Zeke had already extracted all the information from the demon.
[Ugh. I’ve told you everything. Now, as promised, let me go. Hurry!]
Zeke nodded and drew Bahamut, plunging it into the demon’s heart.
Thud!
The demon glared at Zeke before disintegrating into ashes.
Zeke pocketed the magic stone and shrugged at Reyes, who was looking at him oddly.
“I kept my promise, didn’t I? Maybe not in the way that demon wanted, but still.”
Reyes clicked his tongue and began reciting a new sonnet.
With their brief moment of tension relief over, the two men steeled themselves and cautiously entered the tower.
Swish!
Zeke hurled a dagger attached to a chain at a demon patrolling the corridor.
Thud!
“Argh!”
The demon, struck by the dagger, was quickly ensnared by the chain, unable to move.
As Zeke reeled in the captured demon, Reyes swiftly finished it off with his spear.
Sizzle—
Working in tandem, Reyes and Zeke dispatched the demons as they made their way deeper into the fortress.
The attacks were surprisingly effective.
‘Not all demons are strong, it seems. Was that one who used the six-demon martial arts special?’
Zeke wondered to himself, and Arataso responded.
‘I told you before, unless they’re battle demons, most of them rely on magic or control beasts.’
Demonic magic, primarily curses and summoning dark arts, was far more potent on the battlefield.
The Demon King’s army didn’t lead with orcs for no reason.
Combining the orcs’ formidable physical strength with demonic dark magic created an incredibly powerful force.
However, those demons who wielded such magic were vulnerable to direct attacks.
This was why Zeke’s assassination techniques were so effective.
Before long, Zeke and Reyes found the location of the boss.
Guarding the door were orc warriors clad in heavy armor.
Reyes gritted his teeth and whispered.
“Those are from the Fang Tribe. Damn, of all things, those tenacious ones are guarding the place.”
Zeke, observing them quietly, activated Hershion.
Shimmer!
Reyes was taken aback by the sight of Zeke wearing Teia’s Hershion.
“What, Schatten, where did you find that?”
“You know about Hershion?”
“Hershion? Isn’t that one of Siemens’ prized treasures? It was one of the things he cherished most from Kaishir.”
Zeke was startled by Reyes’ words.
‘Master Kaishir gave Teia’s Hershion to Siemens?’
Just as Zeke was about to ask Reyes more, the orcs noticed them.
“There’s something over there! Capture them!”
Zeke shouted to Reyes.
“Charge them head-on! I’ll flank them!”
Reyes swung a net and charged, throwing it at the orcs.
“Come on, you Fang brutes!”
Whoosh!
The net unfurled, attempting to ensnare the charging orcs.
In response, the orcs hurled their axes at the net.
Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!
The net caught the flying axes and fell to the ground.
Seeing this, the orcs drew their greatswords and shouted.
“It’s the net-thrower! Capture him before he throws it again!”
Reyes quickly gathered the net and retreated.
“Cunning orc scum!”
As an orc charged at the still-recovering Reyes, Zeke struck from the side with a powerful sword attack imbued with resonance.
Boom!
The orcs were sent flying by Zeke’s strike.
Immediately after, Zeke activated his ultimate technique, “Explosion.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The area where Zeke’s sword struck erupted, causing the orcs’ heavy armor to explode.
“Argh!”
While Zeke dealt with the orcs, Reyes swiftly gathered his net.
He then cast it over the disoriented orcs.
Whoosh!
This time, the orcs couldn’t evade and were ensnared.
“Damn it! Cursed net-thrower!”
Reyes’ net, enchanted with dragon magic, was unbreakable even by the orcs’ strength.
Reyes hurled his spear at the trapped orcs.
Thud!
“Argh!”
The spear, once embedded in an orc, returned to Reyes’ hand.
As Zeke continued to fight the remaining orcs, he realized how knights from the Hero King era fought.
‘They used enchanted artifacts to fight. They didn’t need to train in aura to be powerful.’
Schatten Draker’s True Dragon Swordsmanship was difficult even for modern knights in the age of aura.
For knights accustomed to magical artifacts, aura training must have seemed cumbersome.
“Die!”
Zeke deflected an orc’s axe with his sword and countered, stabbing its neck.
Sizzle—
With the area cleared, Zeke gathered the weapons dropped by the fallen orcs and turned to Reyes.
Reyes called out to Zeke.
“Schatten! I’ll hold them here! Go and slay the master of this fortress! Let your nobility cleanse the foul blood of the demons!”
Zeke watched as Reyes charged into the horde of orcs.
‘I had more questions… but there’s no time.’
Leaving Reyes behind, Zeke approached the boss’s chamber.
He raised his hand and opened the door.
At that moment, a message appeared before Zeke’s eyes.
[You have entered the third hidden stage boss chamber.]
Inside, a grand room with a lavish throne awaited.
Seated there was a demon with crimson eyes.
He wore clothes befitting nobility, had pale skin, and sharp fangs.
Arataso, who had been observing from outside, suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
“My goodness, Garin? Why is a Royal Vampire here?”
“Do you know this demon?”
Arataso swallowed hard and replied.
“Yes, we were once in the same legion. But… I thought he perished during the first invasion of the material realm…”
It seemed that not only Reyes but also the boss demon were remnants of the past, lingering as spirits in the hidden stage’s scenario.
Zeke asked Arataso.
“Is that demon strong? There are vampires in the material realm too.”
Arataso scoffed.
“Garin is a Royal Vampire. He’s on a different level from the lowly vampires in the material realm.”
If Arataso spoke so highly of him, the Royal Vampire’s status in the demon realm must be significant.
At that moment, Garin rose from his throne.
[Lowly human. How dare you enter my domain, harm my loyal servants, and bring your filthy human scent here.]
Without waiting for Garin to finish, Zeke charged forward.
He retrieved a dagger from his inventory, infused it with explosive intent, and hurled it at Garin.
Garin raised his hand to intercept the dagger.
Crackle!
A crimson barrier formed in Garin’s hand, stopping the dagger.
His eyes flashed with a blood-red light.
[Impudent human! I’ll extract your soul and make it my plaything!]
Suddenly, a blood-red mist erupted from Garin’s body.
Rumble!
The mist, as if alive, surged toward Zeke.
“Ha!”
Zeke retreated, but the mist pursued him like tendrils.
Crack!
The mist latched onto Zeke’s leg, clad in Hershion.
Vroom!
Reacting to the mist, Hershion automatically activated its defensive magic.
[External intrusion and attack detected]
[Deploying automatic defense magic field]
[Calculating attack range]
[Executing 6th-circle magic ‘Plasma Field’]
Vroom!
Plasma, tinged with purple and blue, erupted from Hershion.
Crackle—
The plasma field, previously used against the swamp’s master, unfolded.
In an instant, the fortress was filled with plasma emanating from Hershion.
Crackle!
The blood-red mist caught in the plasma disintegrated into ashes.
Garin, evading the approaching plasma, summoned mist to envelop himself.
Sizzle—
Seeing this, Zeke charged forward.
“Haaah!”
He swung his sword at Garin, unleashing a resonant wave.
Vroom!
The powerful wave surged toward Garin.
Garin extended his hand, and the blood-red mist vibrated subtly, neutralizing Zeke’s wave.
“Is the Resonance Wave not working?”
Arataso responded, “A Royal Vampire is a high-ranking demon, skilled in blood magic and combat techniques. Although it can’t unleash its full power while summoned in this realm, it’s at least as strong as a mid-level demon.”
A low hum filled the air as Garin shook the energy wave forming in his hand and hurled it at Zeke.
Boom!
The powerful shockwave surged toward Zeke, who countered with a sword strike, neutralizing Garin’s attack.
Despite wearing the Hershion armor and deploying a plasma field, Zeke found his mana reserves rapidly depleting. His infinite stamina skill wasn’t enough to recover quickly, so he retrieved a mana stone from his inventory, a trophy from a defeated beast, and absorbed its energy. It wasn’t as potent as a Balrog’s mana stone, but it sufficed to replenish the mana consumed by the plasma field.
Taking a deep breath, Zeke charged forward with Bahamut in hand.
Crash!
Zeke’s sword strike flew toward Garin, who calmly manipulated a red mist to block the attack.
“That mist is really annoying,” Zeke thought.
The mist, swirling around Garin, served as both a weapon and a shield, defending against attacks and pursuing Zeke whenever he retreated.
Zeke summoned an aura blade to attack the mist.
Crack!
The aura blade clashed with the mist, scattering it momentarily before it reformed, just as the Resonance Wave had been neutralized.
“This won’t work,” Zeke realized, stepping back to equip Agamemnon’s Mask.
“Alright,” he exhaled.
Unable to use the active skill, Blade of Purification, due to its high mana cost, Zeke resorted to the mask’s purification skill. A golden aura radiated from him as he activated it.
Charging at Garin, Zeke shouted, “Hyaaah!”
The red mist disintegrated into ash upon contact with the purifying light.
Sssshhh—
Garin, startled by the loss of his blood magic, retreated, quickly drawing an ornate dagger from his cloak. He stabbed his hand, letting blue blood drip to the ground.
A low hum resonated as the blood pooled and expanded, forming a grotesque ‘Blood Golem.’
Without hesitation, Zeke continued his charge, directing the purifying aura at the golem.
Sizzle—
The golem, its body burning, valiantly blocked the aura, buying Garin time to prepare another blood magic spell.
A red magic circle, pulsating with ominous energy, appeared around Garin.
“I have to stop this,” Zeke thought, wrapping chains around the Blood Golem to restrain it.
Rumble!
The golem’s body turned into a viscous liquid, slipping through the chains. It solidified its arm into a crimson spear and hurled it at Zeke.
Boom!
Zeke unleashed the Resonance Wave, shattering the spear with a barrage of energy blasts.
The golem’s body rumbled, producing a swarm of small, blood-red arrows.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dozens of arrows flew toward Zeke, who raised his sword and executed the Infinite Chain Technique.
Infinite Chain Technique
Spinning Strike
Wall Formation
His sword spun, creating a barrier that deflected the arrows, which fell harmlessly to the ground.
Rumble!
With its attack thwarted, the Blood Golem charged directly at Zeke.
Zeke met the charge head-on, sword poised, drawing upon every ounce of his strength.
Feeling the surge of powerful energy, Zeke infused his will into the blade.
Ultimate Technique
Double Spell
Explosive Strike
Boom!
Zeke’s sword strike exploded outward, raining down upon the Blood Golem with devastating force.