Episode 226
Boom!
Knights wielding combat techniques charged at Kali.
Despite her injuries, Kali swung her sword with all her might.
Whoosh!
Though she couldn’t use aura due to the combat techniques, Kali was renowned for her sheer strength, earning her the nickname “The Mighty Sword.”
Even a simple swing of her sword unleashed a powerful gust.
“Ugh.”
She managed to fend off the attacks, but her wounds were worsening, and the pain was becoming unbearable.
Kali gritted her teeth.
“I never thought a moment of impatience would lead to this.”
Bringing only an elite force to the island for speed had been a grave mistake.
She never imagined her trusted subordinates would betray her.
Kali instinctively sensed the presence of death. Yet, she refused to despair, steadying her breath and gripping her sword tightly.
“Even if this is the end, I’ll die with honor, like a true knight.”
Buzz!
She summoned her energy.
Her silver armor responded to her call.
Crackle!
White currents flowed from the armor, converging on her sword.
“Haaa!”
Lightning infused Kali’s mighty sword.
Crackle!
The powerful lightning surged toward the knights.
Vroom!
The knights’ bodies emitted waves that deflected the lightning.
But Kali, undeterred, charged at them with her electrified sword.
Dragon Slayer Technique
Silver Aura
Falling Thunder
Kali Draker’s secret technique unfolded.
Her body transformed into a bolt of lightning, crashing down on the knights.
Boom!
The lightning, imbued with her immense strength, split and wrapped around the knights.
Crackle!
The force was so overwhelming that even their waves couldn’t block it.
The knights were engulfed in the lightning.
Rumble—
The surface of the knights’ armor was charred black from the direct hit.
They collapsed to the ground, white steam rising from their bodies.
Exhausted, Kali knelt, clutching her sword.
“Ugh.”
She felt she might collapse at any moment.
Just as she was barely holding onto consciousness, the fallen knights began to rise again.
Creak!
Kali was shocked to see them moving as if nothing had happened, despite enduring the full force of the lightning.
“How is this possible…?”
She knew their capabilities better than anyone, having trained them herself.
No knight of their rank should withstand such an attack.
Desperate, Kali tried to stand, but her body had reached its limit.
The charred knights slowly approached, swords drawn.
Kali struggled to lift her sword against them.
But even holding it made her body tremble.
Their swords emitted dark aura blades, black as night.
Red glows shone from within their helmets.
Just as the cursed blades were about to strike Kali—
“Kali, sister!”
A familiar voice echoed in her ears.
“Could it be…?”
Zeke, wielding Bahamut, leaped into the air, diving toward the knights.
Boom!
He swung his sword at the knight in front of Kali, sending him crashing into the wall.
Crash!
Zeke’s sword, imbued with his power, couldn’t be stopped by their combat techniques.
The knights’ eyes glowed even fiercer at Zeke’s sudden appearance.
Zeke assessed the four knights surrounding him.
Swoosh!
In an instant, he vanished, slipping into the blind spot of the innermost knight.
Crash!
A single powerful strike caved in the knight’s side.
The knight was flung into the wall, crumpling to the ground.
Zeke didn’t stop, unleashing a wave of energy.
Vroom!
The knights, startled by Zeke’s technique, tried to counter with their own waves.
But they couldn’t match Zeke’s overwhelming power and range.
Zeke seized the opening, driving his sword into the hesitating knight.
Clang!
The knight’s helmet spun as he was knocked to the ground.
The remaining two knights hesitated, retreating.
Zeke unleashed a crescent-shaped aura blade at them.
Boom!
The knights, struck by the crescent blade, fell and couldn’t move.
Zeke rushed to Kali’s side.
“Are you alright, sister?”
With Zeke’s support, Kali managed to stand.
“Z-Zeke, how did you…?”
“I came to help you. I’ll explain later, but first, we need to get you to safety.”
Zeke noticed the severity of Kali’s injuries.
Though he could heal her, he chose to prioritize their escape, not wanting to reveal all his powers just yet.
At that moment, Peter Pan gestured from behind.
“This way! Hurry!”
Kali flinched at the sight of Peter Pan.
“It’s alright, sister. Peter Pan and the merfolk have agreed to help us.”
Despite Zeke’s reassurance, Kali hesitated, her expression doubtful.
Ignoring her suspicion, Zeke supported her as they ran toward Peter Pan’s signal.
As they moved deeper into the cave, Peter Pan glanced back and shouted.
“Those guys! They’re getting back up!”
The knights Zeke had knocked down were rising again, pursuing them.
Reinforcements of demons and dark mages had also joined the chase.
Some dark mages even summoned monsters.
“Go, capture them, now!”
Growl!
Wolf-like monsters, summoned by the dark mages, bared their sharp teeth, chasing Zeke and the others.
“Get lost, you beasts!”
Peter Pan summoned a torrent of water, aiming it at the monsters.
The monsters deftly dodged the water, closing in faster.
Zeke shouted to Peter Pan.
“Take her and go! I’ll hold them off!”
Zeke handed Kali over to Peter Pan, who caught her in surprise.
“Ugh, she’s heavy.”
Even made of mithril, the armor’s weight was too much for Peter Pan alone.
Using a water stream, he supported Kali and ran forward.
Once Peter Pan and Kali were moving, Zeke turned to face the oncoming beasts, unleashing his sacred fire technique.
Fwoosh!
The sacred fire formed a shield, blocking the monsters’ advance.
Growl!
The monsters hesitated, unable to approach the sacred fire.
As they paused, Zeke spread the flames outward.
Boom!
The shield exploded, scattering fiery fragments everywhere.
The monsters, caught in the sacred fire, writhed in agony before being consumed.
The cave was engulfed in light from the lingering sacred fire, halting the dark mages and demons.
“Damn it! Put out that fire, now!”
A dark mage forced the demons into the flames.
The sacred fire clung to their armor, burning through their bodies and the dark energy within.
Sizzle—
Seeing the demons reduced to ash, the dark mage gritted his teeth.
“Damn it! We’ll go around!”
As the dark mages retreated, Zeke dashed toward where Peter Pan and Kali were.
Momentarily losing track of them, he heard Peter Pan’s voice.
“This way!”
The cave connected to a vast chamber.
Zeke sprinted toward Peter Pan’s call.
But he heard something pursuing them from behind.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Despite the sacred fire clinging to them, the knights, eyes glowing red, were chasing Zeke.
“Did they take some kind of awakening drug?”
They seemed impervious to pain, recovering from any injury, which was far from normal.
Entering the chamber, Zeke planted Bahamut into the ground.
He summoned his ultimate technique, “Will of Explosion,” through his energy wave.
Rumble!
The cave shook under the will of explosion, and soon the ceiling began to collapse.
Boom!
The falling debris buried the knights, immobilizing them.
The rubble blocked the entrance to the chamber, cutting off the dark mages as well.
As dust filled the air and the entrance was sealed, Peter Pan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Phew. What kind of monsters are those?”
Zeke hurried to Kali’s side.
Her face was pale as a sheet, her breathing faint.
Zeke drew Roland and used Recovery.
Vroom!
A warm light enveloped Kali, but she remained unconscious.
Zeke used Healing Factor to treat her wounds and gave her a potion.
Her color returned, but she didn’t wake.
Peter Pan asked from behind.
“Is she… dead?”
Zeke checked her pulse and shook his head.
“No, she’s just unconscious. She’ll wake up soon.”
A moment later, and it might have been too late.
Injured and having overexerted his aura, Zeke was in a dire state with severe internal injuries.
While Zeke could heal his own wounds with his healing factor, it was much harder to mend the injuries of others with his area-of-effect buffs.
“I need to get us to a safe place and treat these injuries quickly.”
Zeke pushed himself up and surveyed his surroundings.
“Peter Pan, where are we?”
Peter Pan shook her head in response.
“I’m not exactly sure. All I know is that this is the end of the ruins.”
She went on to explain that despite the Empire’s demands to thoroughly search the ruins, they hadn’t found any significant relics or the Pirate King’s treasure.
Nodding, Zeke decided to venture further inside to find a way out.
“I’ll go take a look. Stay here and keep an eye on her.”
He conjured a small flame to hover near Peter Pan and then moved deeper into the ruins.
Just as Peter Pan had said, the ceiling above was open, allowing light to pour in.
“Maybe I can climb up and get out that way.”
Thinking he could use his dragon wings to fly up, Zeke reached for the wall to start climbing.
Suddenly, the wall reacted to his mana.
[Would you like to enter the Tomb of the Deep Sea Tribe?]
The unexpected message startled Zeke.
“The Tomb of the Deep Sea Tribe?”
He recalled the Dragon Slayer’s tomb he had read about in the library.
When Zeke chose to enter, the wall shifted, unlike the portals he had encountered before.
With a rumbling sound, part of the wall slid aside, revealing a passageway. Zeke cautiously stepped inside.
The interior resembled a temple, with thousands of urns lining the walls.
“Is this the Tomb of the Deep Sea Tribe?”
As Zeke took in his surroundings, Peter Pan’s shocked voice came from behind him.
“Oh my god!”
She had entered the tomb, carrying Kali on a bed made of water.
She asked Zeke, astonished, “How did you find this place?”
It seemed she had followed the loud noise from the opening of the tomb’s door.
Zeke asked her, “Do you know what this place is?”
She nodded.
“Yes, this is practically a sacred site for the Deep Sea Tribe. When they die, they turn into pearls, which are then placed in those urns.”
Zeke had never heard of the Deep Sea Tribe turning into pearls upon death.
He looked around the tomb with renewed curiosity and said, “We need to find another way out. Can you move with her?”
“Yeah, I can manage.”
Peter Pan set the water bed on the ground, and it began to follow her like a slime.
Together, Zeke and Peter Pan ventured further into the tomb. After passing through a narrow corridor, they entered a larger space.
“What is this place…?”
The room was constructed in the unique architectural style of the Deep Sea Tribe, with tiles of intricate patterns on the walls and floor, and passages connecting to the sea like wells.
“Did they use these to travel between the sea and land?”
“Yes, only the descendants of the Sea God among the Deep Sea Tribe could come to land. So, the fact that this place is on land means only a select few could enter.”
“But aren’t merfolk able to travel between both sea and land?”
“Merfolk are hybrids of the Deep Sea Tribe and humans. The Deep Sea Tribe vanished, leaving only the hybrids, who evolved over time into merfolk capable of traversing both realms.”
Listening to Peter Pan’s explanation, Zeke continued deeper into the sacred site.
The inner sanctum resembled a dock.
To their surprise, a ship was floating in the water that had flowed in.
“A ship here?”
Peter Pan exclaimed, pointing at the vessel.
“Wait, that ship… is it the Triangle?”
Zeke turned to her, puzzled.
“The Triangle?”
Peter Pan gestured at the ship.
“Yes, that one! It’s Captain Kidd’s ship!”