Episode 223
“Peter Pan is after my sister?”
Bill, who had just regained his lost memories, spoke urgently.
“I-I remember now. The captain stirred up the waves to wreck the ship, and then fought with that beautiful yet terrifying knight.”
“Where are they now?”
“They went… further inside.”
“Inside the ruins?”
“Yes, that’s right. The Silver Knight couldn’t handle the captain at sea, so he fled inside. The captain went after him and told us to stay here and stop anyone who tries to come in.”
Hearing Bill’s words, Zeke realized that Carly was being pursued by Peter Pan.
“If I’m too late, Carly might die at Peter Pan’s hands, just like in my past life.”
Zeke turned to Bill.
“Bill, I need your help. It’s the only way to save not just your captain, but all of you.”
If Peter Pan killed Carly, there would be no turning back. Abel would undoubtedly seek revenge, wiping out the merfolk and burying the events here.
Bill’s face turned pale at Zeke’s words.
“We have to save the captain. Can you really do that, sir knight?”
“Yes, your captain is likely cooperating because the Empire has taken your merfolk hostage.”
Bill nodded vigorously.
“That’s right, that’s right.”
“Take me to your captain. I’ll help free the captured merfolk.”
Bill hesitated for a moment before standing up.
“Alright. I’ll take you to where the captain is. Can you swim?”
Zeke nodded, and Bill led him back into the circular chamber filled with seawater, pointing to one side.
“There’s a path this way!”
With that, Bill dove into the water. Zeke followed, diving in as well.
As he submerged, his newly acquired skill, “Underwater Breathing,” activated.
“It’s amazing that I can breathe underwater.”
Zeke swam with ease, following Bill. The underwater space was much larger than the temple they had seen from above, though it too was in ruins, destroyed by someone.
Following Bill, Zeke swam through the ruins of the underwater temple and headed further inside. A massive entrance appeared below them. As they approached, a message flashed before Zeke’s eyes.
[Entering the Sanctuary of the Deep Sea Tribe.]
“The Deep Sea Tribe?”
It seemed to refer to the ancient merfolk.
“Are the ancient merfolk the Deep Sea Tribe, just as the ancient sky people are the Sky Tribe?”
Zeke followed Bill into the sanctuary of the Deep Sea Tribe. Bill gestured for Zeke to surface, and they both emerged from the water.
“Ah!”
They found themselves in a large circular space filled with seawater, just like when they had entered.
Zeke rose to the surface, using his mana to expel the seawater.
Drip, drip!
Dried salt crystals fell to the ground. Bill watched Zeke with amazement.
“You can do all sorts of things, sir knight. I’ve never seen anyone who can stay underwater as long as us.”
“It’s nothing. But do you know where we are, Bill?”
Bill shook his head at Zeke’s question.
“We don’t really know either. We were brought here under the influence of that drug. I think they wanted us to see what’s inside since it’s hard for people to get this far.”
“Do you remember what they asked you to find?”
“It’s a bit hazy… but I think they wanted us to report anything dangerous or rare.”
As Zeke suspected, the merfolk were being used to explore the ruins.
“It seems they don’t know this is the Sea God’s ruin.”
Zeke had always wondered how the Empire knew where ancient ruins were located. They might not know exactly what or where the ruins were, but they seemed to have some idea that something was nearby.
“Could they have some kind of magical artifact specialized in exploration, like an absolute compass?”
The Empire’s use of bizarre magic and sorcery made it hard to rule anything out.
Zeke continued deeper into the ruins with Bill. As they moved further in, Bill suddenly looked down at the ground, startled.
“Huh? What’s this?”
“What’s wrong?”
Bill pointed to the ground.
“There are footprints I’ve never seen before.”
Zeke examined them and recognized them as traces of the Empire’s soldiers.
“Judging by the depth and the consistent stride, they were wearing armor, but something about it seems unnatural.”
Zeke realized these were the tracks of a demon.
Suddenly, Zeke pushed Bill against the wall, signaling him to be quiet and pointing to one side.
Demons were patrolling the corridor across from them.
Zeke whispered to Bill.
“Is there another way in?”
“There might be. The ruins are vast. The captain and the Silver Knight probably came through a different entrance.”
It seemed the Empire’s forces had reached a point they deemed safe.
Leaving Bill behind, Zeke approached the demons. He summoned his ghost soldiers to scout the area.
“Is it because it’s so vast? There are only those three over there.”
If things got noisy, Carly and Peter Pan might flee elsewhere, and Zeke couldn’t afford to lose them again. He decided to handle it quietly.
He stealthily extended his shadow control power.
Ssshhh—
Zeke’s shadow expanded, connecting with the demons’ shadows.
Rumble—
As his shadow ensnared theirs, the demons froze in place.
Simultaneously, Zeke’s ghost soldiers seized the demons’ bodies.
He swiftly lunged forward, using his dragon’s claw to decapitate them.
The ghost soldiers caught the falling heads.
In an instant, Zeke had eliminated the three demons.
To leave no trace, he devoured them with his gluttony power.
Ssshhh—
The demons, wrapped in shadows, vanished without a trace.
[You have devoured a corrupted demon consumed by dark energy.]
[Your stamina, mental strength, and mana are replenished.]
[You receive 300 Karma Points as a reward.]
He had earned 100 points per demon.
“Not bad.”
Demons consumed by dark energy were high in Karma Points and could be devoured, making them efficient targets.
After dealing with the demons, Zeke turned to Bill, who was trembling as he watched.
“Are you a monster, sir knight? I’m not tasty, you know…”
Bill was clearly shocked by Zeke’s swift dispatch of the demons and his shadowy consumption of them.
“If I were a real monster, why would I have left you alone until now? Stop worrying and lead the way. That was just magic.”
Reassured by Zeke’s words, Bill calmed his racing heart and continued deeper into the temple.
He led Zeke through a hole in the temple wall.
“We used to wait here and move according to orders when the captain arrived.”
Inside, they found a makeshift base.
Bill moved further in, calling out.
“Captain! It’s me, Bill!”
At that moment, Zeke sensed something amiss and grabbed Bill by the scruff of his neck.
Whoosh!
A sharp blade shot out from the wall.
“Eek! What was that?”
Zeke tossed Bill aside and drew Bahamut, activating Hersion.
Clang!
He equipped Hersion because the presence he felt behind the wall was formidable.
“What is this presence?”
It was as fierce as a demon’s, but more refined.
Zeke recalled a similar feeling.
“A demon?”
Boom!
A knight clad in full plate armor emerged from behind the wall, face hidden by a helmet.
Zeke recognized the armor as Hersion.
“An Imperial knight?”
The knight moved.
Boom!
Though far away, the knight closed the distance to Zeke in an instant with a single step.
As the knight approached, he swung his sword at Zeke.
Crash!
Zeke raised Bahamut to block the strike.
But he felt the knight’s attack resonate through his body.
“What is this?”
Zeke quickly retreated, identifying the energy that had passed through him.
“Resonant Wave? No, it’s different. Another type of martial technique?”
An ordinary knight would have been unable to stand after such an attack, their aura scattered.
Zeke gripped Bahamut, unleashing his own Resonant Wave.
Wooooom!
Waves radiated from him.
Sensing the waves emanating from Zeke, the knight flinched.
He raised his sword again, aiming at Zeke.
“The swordsmanship is Imperial, but the technique is demonic.”
A difficult opponent to identify.
Zeke readied his sword, calling out to Arataso.
“What is it?”
“Arataso, analyze the martial technique that knight is using.”
“Do you think martial techniques are child’s play? Humans can’t possibly use…”
Crack!
“…them?”
The knight’s technique, imbued with waves, left Arataso stunned.
The knight swung his sword in a series of rapid strikes.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Even within the simplicity of the knight’s swordplay, there was a subtle wave of energy that made it quite challenging to counter.
But that was only true for ordinary knights.
Zeke, however, was gradually reading the flow of the energy the knight infused into his sword and neutralizing it with his own technique, effectively nullifying the knight’s attacks.
Clang!
Before long, Zeke’s sword pushed back the knight’s blade, turning the tide of the battle.
Thud!
The knight, overwhelmed, staggered backward, struggling to maintain his footing.
Sensing an opportunity, Zeke nodded with a sly grin.
“Alright, let’s see how long it takes before you start spilling your secrets.”
The knight, regaining his stance, prepared himself once more. To Zeke’s surprise, the stance was unmistakably that of the Dragon Slayer technique.
‘This guy? No way…’
Boom!
With a powerful step, the knight launched into an advanced Dragon Slayer move, one taught only to the elite knights of Draker.
Dragon Slayer Advanced Technique
Form Three
Thunder Strike Sword
The sword came down on Zeke like a bolt of lightning, swift and deadly.
Zeke stepped forward, meeting the attack with his own Dragon Slayer technique.
Dragon Slayer True Dragon Sword Form
Chapter One, Verse Two
Sky Piercer
Zeke’s sword pierced through the lightning, thrusting forward with precision.
Crash!
The deflected strike obliterated the spot where Zeke had stood moments before.
Seizing the moment, Zeke lunged with his sword.
Crack!
His blade struck the knight’s armor with a resounding impact.
Zeke infused the Sky Piercer with a resonant wave of energy.
Boom!
The wave penetrated the knight’s body, vibrating through his aura circuits.
Crack!
The force sent the knight hurtling back, crashing into a wall.
Boom!
The knight smashed through the wall, debris tumbling down around him.
Zeke approached the fallen knight slowly.
As he drew closer, he saw the knight was barely clinging to life.
Quickly, Zeke used his shadow mastery to delve into the knight’s memories.
With the knight on the brink of death, only fragmented pieces of information trickled into Zeke’s mind.
As he sifted through the memories, Zeke frowned.
The fallen knight was one of the members of the Silver Knights.
Zeke rapidly scanned for more information.
‘The data is so fragmented. Baptism? That word keeps repeating. And another word…’
Zeke clenched his jaw as he looked at the fallen knight.
“Hail, Siemens.”
It was a phrase he had heard clearly when he had peered into Aaron’s memories.
Zeke’s expression turned icy.
“This bastard was raised by Siemens.”
Just like the Night Killers, he had been brainwashed from a young age, trained as a knight, and then placed within the Silver Knights.
Zeke shuddered at the cunning of Siemens’ schemes.
‘Are they completely insane?’
They had been meticulously preparing for years to strike at the heart of Kali at a critical moment.
The knight’s life slipped away, leaving him limp.
At that moment, a frantic voice called out from inside the camp.
“Sir Knight! We’ve got a big problem! Our captain’s dead!”