Episode 240

After finishing his conversation with the head of the family, Zeke left the Four Seasons Castle and headed towards Atlas’s mansion.

Inside the carriage, Zeke was still reeling from the shock.

“Arthur Draker was a Grand Master?”

Zeke had always believed that no Grand Master had existed since the era of the Hero King, but it seemed he was wrong.

Another question suddenly popped into his mind.

“If Arthur Draker was a Grand Master, why did he die in his previous life?”

The story known from his past life was that after Abel Draker became the successor, Arthur stepped back from family affairs and soon died of an illness.

Even a Black Knight could fall ill, but for someone of Grand Master caliber, it was a different story.

The Hero King, who was also a Grand Master, was so powerful that he left for the land of the fairies, claiming he disrupted the balance of karma.

Though there might be a gap between Arthur Draker and the Hero King, it was still hard to imagine someone of his stature dying from a mere illness.

Zeke formed a hypothesis.

“Arthur Draker might have faked his death in his previous life.”

It seemed more plausible that he had staged his death rather than actually succumbing to an illness.

“If that’s true, then why did Arthur just watch Abel and Siemens without intervening? Was he planning something?”

Zeke could only guess that Arthur Draker had some secret.

Lost in thought, Zeke arrived at the mansion and met his mentor, Duke Draker, after a long time.

Duke, as usual, was drinking and greeted Zeke.

“I hear the Four Seasons Castle is in chaos?”

Zeke nodded.

“Did you know Abel became a Black Knight?”

“I only found out after the ceremony. I thought Arthur was up to something again when he was given the title of Guardian Knight, but I was shocked to hear Abel was promoted to Black Knight.”

Duke swallowed hard, still finding Abel’s promotion unbelievable.

Zeke looked at Duke and asked, “Master, may I ask you something?”

Duke seemed to guess what Zeke wanted to ask, his face tensing slightly.

Then he spoke slowly.

“You want to know why my promotion to Black Knight was revoked, don’t you?”

Zeke nodded silently.

Duke’s case was rare in the entire history of the Draker family—having been a Black Knight and then not.

While it wasn’t uncommon for Black Knights to retire due to old age or injury, having one’s promotion revoked like Duke was unprecedented.

Duke filled his glass again and downed it in one go.

He looked at Zeke and said, “Do you know why I drink all the time?”

“I thought you just liked alcohol.”

“You fool! You don’t know your master at all.”

As he set down his glass, his hand trembled.

Duke looked at Zeke and said, “No matter how much I drink, I can’t get drunk since that day.”

Zeke had never seen Duke drunk, though he often saw him drinking. He knew Duke sometimes acted like a drunkard, but he was never truly intoxicated.

“What do you mean by ‘that day’?”

Duke rubbed his face with his palm, a dry wash.

His lips had turned a pale blue.

Zeke had never seen Duke so frightened.

“It resembles the symptoms of mercenaries or knights who suffered great shock after a war. What did the mage call it? Post-traumatic stress disorder?”

Duke finally calmed his breathing and spoke.

“I went beyond the Dark Sea.”

Zeke’s face hardened at Duke’s words.

“The Dark Sea? You mean the sea beyond the western continent?”

Duke nodded.

Zeke asked urgently, “Why did you go beyond the Dark Sea? Is there something there?”

Duke pressed his lips together, then slowly said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you anything about that, not even you, Zeke.”

Duke’s voice was firm.

But even that was enough for Zeke to infer quite a bit.

“It was a secret mission of the Draker family.”

If Duke Draker, a Black Knight, was involved, it was no ordinary mission.

Zeke recalled Terracan Draker’s last message about going beyond the Dark Sea.

“Was it to find traces of Terracan?”

Many questions arose, but it was impossible to get information about the mission from Duke now.

Then Duke spoke again.

“I can’t tell you about the mission, but I can tell you about what happened afterward.”

He took another drink and continued.

“After that mission, I couldn’t use the power of a Black Knight properly. No, I couldn’t engage in combat at all.”

“That’s impossible! You taught me the Gale Technique!”

“I told you, I can’t fight. I can spar with a sword, but real life-and-death combat… that’s impossible.”

It seemed whatever happened beyond the Dark Sea had severely affected Duke’s mind.

Zeke thought of something as he watched Duke struggle.

“Would a mental skill like Indomitable Will help?”

But he remembered the backlash when he used a mental defense skill on Felix before.

Mental skills could lead to irreversible damage if used incorrectly, so it seemed best not to meddle in Duke’s serious condition.

“I recall a quirky mage in Nirvana researching post-traumatic stress disorder. I should look him up if I ever go to the Aten Peninsula.”

If Duke Draker could regain his original strength as a Black Knight and join Zeke’s side, it could tip the balance in their favor against Abel.

Duke looked at the amber liquid in his glass and spoke.

“After that, it was the start of dirty political games. I was one of the prominent Black Knights of the head’s faction, so there were elders who saw me as a thorn in their side. I was reckless back then, and they seized the opportunity to revoke my promotion and remove me from my position.”

Zeke began to understand why Duke felt disillusioned with the Four Seasons Castle and had secluded himself at the academy.

Duke clicked his tongue and said, “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have come back to Atlas. I didn’t want to see that filthy place again.”

“Yet here you are.”

“Indeed. I don’t know how I got tangled up with someone like you and ended up in this mess.”

Duke grumbled as he pulled something from his pocket and handed it to Zeke.

It was a thick stack of papers.

“What is this?”

“What do you think? It’s the result of a great master’s sweat and effort, all because of his lacking disciple.”

Zeke unfolded the papers Duke handed him and read through them.

To his surprise, they contained detailed information about the current power dynamics and relationships within the Draker family.

“Master, this is…?”

“You’ve been busy running around, forming the Black Sword Knights or whatever. You must have a reason for it. I used all my old connections to gather the best information, so use it well.”

In the Draker family, information was power.

It seemed Duke had reluctantly taken on tasks from the head of the family to gather this information.

Zeke felt genuinely grateful to Duke.

In both his past and present lives, Duke was the only person, aside from Decker, who had done something for him without expecting anything in return.

He hesitated before speaking.

“Thank you, Master. I mean it.”

Duke flopped onto the sofa and said, “You fool, take good care of your master. Who else will I rely on when I’m old and tired? You should take care of me and bring me drinks every day.”

Zeke smiled at Duke.

“Understood. I’ll even find you a good match and get you married.”

“What? You think you can shackle me? I’m forever a glamorous single, you fool.”

Zeke put the stack of papers Duke had given him into his inventory and suddenly thought of Andrei.

“Is Professor Andrei still in Valhalla?”

“He quit after a year, said it didn’t suit him. He’s back at the Four Seasons Castle now.”

“Where exactly?”

“The Celestial Sword Corps. He’s been getting along with Owl lately, always coming by to have his sword checked. Annoying fellows.”

Though he complained, Duke didn’t seem to mind.

“I wanted to ask Sir Owl about the Eastern Empire anyway. This is perfect. I’ll have a chat with him when he comes by.”

Zeke hoped to recruit Owl and Andrei into the Black Sword Knights, but since it wasn’t an official order yet, he planned to persuade them slowly after becoming a senior knight.

After thanking Duke once more, Zeke went up to his room.

There, he took out Agamemnon’s Mask.

Though he had paused due to the Sea God quest, his first priority was to find the Fairy Lake and restore Agamemnon’s Mask to its full power as a holy relic.

Zeke carefully examined the mask, turning it over in his hands.

“The emblem on your forehead suggested there might be more to you, but I never imagined it was a holy relic.”

If it could regain its original power as a relic, it would undoubtedly wield a force far beyond mere purification.

‘It might come in handy when dealing with Abel’s faction, who have been baptized by the demonic realm.’

Zeke tucked the mask away and pulled out the Absolute Compass.

It pointed in a certain direction, but it was hard to believe that simply following it would lead him to the lake. As he stared at the direction indicated by the compass, Zeke organized his thoughts.

‘The lab, huh… I need to hand over the items from the Inverted Tower and the Herseon of the baptized to Lord Fainan anyway. I should head out.’

Zeke had also hired Gelion, the soul blacksmith, to work alongside Fainan.

Though it was disguised as a pharmaceutical company lab, it was essentially Zeke’s secret hideout.

He boarded a carriage bound for the lab in the heart of Atlas.

Even during the ride, Zeke kept a close eye on the compass, fixated on the direction it pointed.

But as they entered the city, the needle began to spin wildly.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

[The compass is recalibrating to find the optimal path to the ‘Fairy Lake.’]

[Information updated.]

[Guidance to the new direction has begun.]

The needle stopped spinning and settled on a new direction. However, unlike before, it kept shifting as they moved.

“Is it broken? What’s happening?”

Before long, the carriage arrived near the lab in the city. Zeke disembarked and checked the compass again.

The needle was still subtly shifting.

‘Hmm, I can’t make heads or tails of this.’

Just as he was about to head into the building where the lab was located, Zeke sensed something unusual.

‘A killing intent?’

It was a faint malice, almost imperceptible to anyone but a seasoned knight.

Feigning ignorance, Zeke entered the lab building. He could feel the presence of those exuding the killing intent following him.

‘Assassins in broad daylight? Whoever they are, they’ve got guts.’

Their movements were anything but ordinary.

Zeke deliberately moved towards the garden at the back of the building.

Sensing the assassins trailing him, he casually sat on a bench in the garden, waiting for them to make their move.

It was then that—

“Ah! My lord! When did you arrive?”

Gelion, who had been strolling through the garden, spotted Zeke on the bench and approached him with a smile.

In an instant, Zeke sprang up, grabbing Gelion and rolling to the side.

Shing!

The assassins, hidden in the blind spot, drove their blades into the spot where Zeke had been sitting.

Crack!

The bench was completely shattered.

Gelion, saved by Zeke’s quick action, turned pale.

Rising to his feet, Zeke’s expression hardened as he identified his attackers.

‘Those guys?’

The assassins were none other than the Ravens of Ishtar.