Episode 232
Before Zeke’s eyes lay the breathtaking scenery of a transformed island.
He marveled at the view, taking in the vibrant landscape.
“The island’s changed, hasn’t it?”
The first time he had visited, the island was shrouded in thick fog, a foreboding place where monsters could appear at any moment. But now, the mist had cleared, revealing trees that glowed with a lush, green light, and colorful orbs of light flitted about like playful spirits.
It was then that he heard a voice.
“It’s been ages since I last gazed upon the blue sea.”
Startled, Zeke turned to see Poseidon standing beside him, trident in hand.
“Lord Poseidon! How are you able to be here?”
Poseidon chuckled. “Thanks to you finding the Sea God’s divine seat, I can venture this far.”
“That’s a relief. But how did you manage to create an avatar when your divine power was sealed? I thought you couldn’t use your powers.”
Initially, Zeke had assumed Poseidon had left an avatar in the physical realm, like Hoshigar. But he was curious how Poseidon had managed to prepare an avatar in a secure area while his main power was sealed.
Poseidon explained, “When the spear pierced my heart and my divine seat was sealed, Chronos gathered the remnants of my soul to create this avatar, tasking it with guarding the sealed area until a way to remove the spear could be found.”
Zeke was astonished to learn that Chronos had intervened to protect the Sea God’s divine seat.
“What happened that the Sea God’s heart was pierced by a god-slaying spear?” Zeke asked, intrigued.
Poseidon hesitated before speaking. “It was long ago. After the Hero King departed for the land of the fairies, many dragons lost interest in the human realm and vanished.”
He continued, “By then, I had already ascended to the rank of a divine dragon and was residing in the southern seas. But a war broke out.”
Zeke quickly realized which war Poseidon was referring to. “The Demon King’s invasion?”
Poseidon nodded. “Yes, with the Hero King absent, the allied forces were in dire straits. Although divine dragons like myself were not supposed to interfere in the physical realm, the demons’ involvement was an exception.”
“So, the divine dragons helped fend off the Demon King’s invasion?”
“Though it was an exception, we could only offer indirect assistance, like heeding the Great Sage’s request.”
“What request was that?”
Poseidon paused before answering, “We helped create a homunculus of the Hero King.”
Zeke tilted his head in confusion. “A homunculus of the Hero King? What do you mean?”
“Think of it as a golem modeled after the Hero King.”
“Is that even possible?”
“While it couldn’t wield the full power of the Hero King, the combined might of the divine dragons and the Philosopher’s Stone crafted by the Great Sage worked a miracle.”
Zeke finally understood the traces of the Hero King that remained even after his departure to the fairy realm.
‘So the Hero King that the Dark Elves feared was actually a homunculus.’
Poseidon continued, “When the Demon King’s forces learned of our involvement, they launched a direct attack against us.”
“Surely not?”
“Indeed. They used a god-slaying stone to pierce our dragon hearts and seal our divine seats.”
“Who could have done such a thing?”
“A being with immortal power.”
Poseidon elaborated, “Zimenz Apollyon. It was his doing.”
Zeke was taken aback. ‘Zimenz Apollyon, who summoned the Demon King, was an immortal?’
He recalled how he had pulled the god-slaying spear from the dragon heart. ‘Could it be because I’m also of the immortal class?’
Amidst his confusion over this new revelation, a massive explosion suddenly erupted from the sea.
BOOM!
The surrounding orbs of light scattered in fear.
Zeke turned to see a fleet of warships pursuing a single vessel in the distance.
‘That’s a ship from the Reinhardt Trading Company.’
The empire’s warships were firing magical cannons at the Reinhardt ship Zeke had arrived on. Though the ship was skillfully evading the barrage, it seemed only a matter of time before it succumbed to the overwhelming numbers and firepower.
‘Those persistent imperial scoundrels. If Sister Kali is on that ship, she’s in danger.’
Poseidon turned to the fleet firing their cannons. “Which of them are your enemies?”
“The ones with the greater numbers. But there are hostages on that ship we need to save.”
Poseidon nodded. “I can’t offer much help due to karma, but I hope this assists you somewhat.”
With a wave of his hand, a massive turtle retracted its neck and began to sink beneath the waves.
RUMBLE!
As the turtle submerged, the sea surged, pushing the warships away from the island, allowing the Reinhardt ship to escape through the gap.
Poseidon turned to Zeke. “Do you have a deep-sea kin among your companions?”
“Yes. When the blood of one known as the Sea God’s heir touched the sea, the true form of the Sea God’s island was revealed.”
With that, Poseidon retrieved something from his robes and handed it to Zeke—a conch shell the size of a fist.
“What is this?”
“Give this to your deep-sea kin. If they are truly the Sea God’s heir, they will be able to read the ‘Tome of the Deep Sea’ contained within.”
At the same time, a quest appeared before Zeke.
―Achievement Quest (Minor Mission)―
[Deliver the ‘Tome of the Deep Sea’ to Poseidon’s heir. (No time limit)]
[Quest Mission Reward: Medal of the Deep Sea Kin]
Zeke carefully tucked the conch shell away. “I’ll make sure it gets to them.”
Poseidon smiled at Zeke, his form beginning to fade. “Now that the seal on my true form is lifted, this avatar will soon disappear.”
He smiled warmly at Zeke. “Zeke Draker, may your path be filled with peace and safety.”
Moments later, Poseidon’s form vanished completely.
Zeke bowed his head toward the spot where Poseidon had stood, a gesture of sincere respect for a warrior of great stature.
Raising his head, Zeke turned back toward the sea, and soon, his figure disappeared.
“Phew, I thought we were done for.”
Clone wiped the cold sweat from his brow as he watched the retreating warships. With no way to fend off the magical cannon fire from dozens of imperial warships, they had been in a tight spot until something massive—an island or perhaps a giant turtle—sank into the sea, altering the currents.
Thanks to that, they managed to slip past the warships and escape to the other side of the island.
Just then, Felix, standing beside Clone, shouted, “Instructor! Look! Isn’t that a pirate ship?”
As they rounded the island, they were met with a line of Captain Hook’s pirate ships blocking their escape.
Clone gritted his teeth. “Those bastards! They’re trying to trap us here!”
He clenched his fists, then grabbed his mace, readying for battle. “Felix! Brace yourself! We’re breaking through!”
Felix drew his sword, nodding with determination, ready to face whatever came next.
The captain steered the ship with gritted teeth, and they all braced themselves as they approached the foremost pirate ship.
Clone and Felix leaped toward the pirate ship, intending to seize the initiative.
But something was off.
“Huh?”
There wasn’t a single pirate in sight on the ship.
Suddenly, the cabin door swung open, and someone stepped out.
Clone and Felix were stunned.
“My lord!”
“Good heavens! Captain Zeke!”
The two rushed toward Zeke.
Zeke grinned at them. “I’m glad to see you’re both safe.”
Felix approached Zeke, asking, “My lord! Where have you been? And how did you suddenly appear here?”
“Questions later. First, let’s assess the situation. What’s going on?”
Clone lowered his mace and explained, “Things got complicated.”
“What do you mean?”
“The merfolk led by Peter Pan joined us at the camp without issue. We were trying to rescue the merfolk captured by the empire, just as you instructed. But… something unexpected happened.”
“Did the captive merfolk attack?”
Clone nodded, surprised at Zeke’s insight. “Exactly. We reached the place where the merfolk were held, but they were completely brainwashed, under the influence of some stimulant.”
The empire had planned to use the merfolk to explore the ruins. Even as captives, they wouldn’t have left the merfolk, who could navigate the sea freely, unchecked. They must have been brainwashed with stimulants to bend them to their will.
“In the end, we couldn’t rescue the merfolk and had to split up to escape. Felix and I took the ship to lure the warships away.”
After listening to Klone, Zeke took a moment to assess the situation before speaking.
“Where is everyone else?”
“They scattered, but they should be regrouping at the camp.”
“And what about Kali?”
“She’s at the camp, being protected by Farrell and the Silver Knights. We made sure she regained consciousness before we left.”
Hearing that Kali was awake was a relief. Given her resilience, she would likely recover faster than most, and as long as they managed her internal injuries, she should avoid any further danger.
‘Still, it would be best to get her to safety as soon as possible.’
Just then, someone emerged from the cabin. It was a pirate from the Hook Pirate Crew. Klone and Felix, startled, raised their weapons, but Zeke raised a hand to calm them.
“It’s alright. He’s under my control for now.”
Zeke had used his blood magic to subdue the pirate’s mind, leaving a mark of a red eye on the pirate’s forehead.
Zeke turned to Klone and Felix. “We need to steer the ship back to the camp.”
Felix shook his head, clearly concerned. “My lord, if we do that, the Imperial Navy might follow us and discover the camp’s location.”
Zeke was pleased with Felix’s sharp insight, which was uncharacteristic of him. He grinned at the pirate beside him.
“Let’s give the Empire a taste of their own medicine.”
Klone and Felix exchanged confused glances, not quite understanding Zeke’s plan.
The Imperial warships, which had been pushed off course by the currents, were now back on track, approaching the island. On the largest of these ships stood a young knight clad in luxurious full plate armor, known as Hersion. He gazed out over the sea from the bow.
The captain approached him, bowing deeply in respect. The knight addressed him.
“Have you found the ship?”
“Yes, it’s fleeing towards the back of the island.”
The young knight nodded. “Capture them immediately. I will personally conduct the interrogation.”
As the captain withdrew, another knight approached the young man. It was none other than Morgan Buffon, a knight of the Imperial Guard. He bowed respectfully to the knight.
“Lord Leo, the wind is quite cold. Perhaps you should go inside.”
The knight, maintaining a stern expression, replied, “If the commander retreats from the battlefield, how can any soldier be expected to risk his life in battle?”
Morgan Buffon could only grit his teeth in silence, unable to argue. ‘Damn it… If the second prince gets hurt, I’ll be the one to take the fall.’
The young knight was none other than Leonardo Crowley Constantinus, the second prince and first in line for the throne. After the fourth prince, Carus, defected to the Draker side, Regent Julius had elevated Leo to the top of the succession line, consolidating his power. He had also begun to quietly eliminate the first prince’s supporters.
As a result, the imperial capital of Rome was embroiled in a silent war of political intrigue. The first prince’s faction was eventually crushed, and even the council that supported him collapsed. This left Rome firmly under the control of the second prince’s faction.
Despite the political turmoil, Prince Leo was eager to win the emperor’s favor. That’s why he had volunteered for the mission Morgan Buffon was overseeing. The problem was that while Leo might have been a talented knight, he lacked experience as a commander. Morgan was struggling to manage the battlefield while also covering for the prince.
‘Damn it, as if things weren’t complicated enough, now these strange pirates show up…’
As Morgan was grinding his teeth in frustration, his lieutenant approached with a report.
“Commander, a Hook pirate ship has appeared to our rear.”
Morgan frowned. ‘Those damn pirates were supposed to hold their position, so why are they…’
At that moment, a thunderous explosion erupted as the Hook pirate ship began firing its magic cannons at the warship.