Episode 268
Crackle!
The purifying power of Bucephalus’s lightning struck Gung-gi’s body.
“Keaaak!”
Black smoke billowed from Gung-gi’s body where the lightning hit. Watching this, Zeke realized that the lightning from Bucephalus, his spirit beast, was different from any magic-induced lightning.
“The power of a spirit beast can be linked with purification.”
It was a technique he had stumbled upon by chance, but its effect was remarkable.
Gung-gi, regaining his senses, spread his wings and circled in the air, trying to evade Zeke.
“Bucephalus! After him!”
Though Zeke had cast a soul-binding spell, fighting here could cause significant damage to those at the camp. Hesitating for a moment, he decided to let Gung-gi go for now and pursued him on Bucephalus.
Having devoured the dead beasts, Zeke’s mana was fully replenished. Gung-gi fled at a rapid pace, but the speed of Bucephalus, the dragon horse king, was not to be underestimated.
Realizing he couldn’t escape like this, Gung-gi suddenly turned and flapped his wings, creating a fierce gust aimed at Zeke.
Boom!
Sharp feathers whipped through the air, and a massive whirlwind engulfed Zeke and Bucephalus.
Neigh!
Bucephalus soared, dodging the whirlwind. At the same time, Zeke drew Bahamut and unleashed the Elemental Sword, the Field of Wind.
Rumble!
As the Field of Wind opened, thunder roared from the sword.
“What? Was the Field of Wind always like this?”
Puzzled, Zeke watched as a storm, accompanied by thunder, erupted from his sword.
“Ugh, I can’t control this power…!”
One of the techniques Kaishir frequently used was the Storm Sword. During training, Zeke had been knocked out by it hundreds of times. He had thought it was a powerful sword, but he hadn’t realized it could summon an actual storm.
Crash!
The storm Zeke conjured swallowed Gung-gi’s whirlwind whole.
Screech!
Not only that, but the storm also swept up the fleeing Gung-gi.
Boom!
Caught in the raging storm, Gung-gi struggled desperately to escape as thunder relentlessly struck him.
“Keaaak—”
Amidst the unending storm and thunder, Gung-gi fought with all his might to break free. Zeke felt his mana depleting rapidly, like a receding tide, as the storm raged on.
“Haaah!”
Though the attack was immensely powerful, Zeke couldn’t afford to exhaust all his strength. He quickly gripped his sword and reined in the power.
Gradually, the storm subsided, and the sky returned to its original state.
“Phew, even as a Black Knight, I can’t control this power. Just how strong was Master Kaishir?”
Reflecting on his training with Kaishir, Zeke realized how much his master had held back.
Rumble!
Though the storm had ended, Gung-gi, caught in the Storm Sword’s fury, lost strength and plummeted into the forest below.
Zeke guided Bucephalus to where Gung-gi had fallen.
Whoosh!
Leaping off Bucephalus’s back, Zeke searched for any sign of Gung-gi. But all he found were uprooted trees, with no trace of Gung-gi himself.
“Quick one. Did he escape again?”
Zeke activated his blood vision to track Gung-gi’s trail.
“Got him. He went that way.”
He swiftly pursued Gung-gi’s trail into the depths of the forest. As he ventured deeper, a cleverly hidden cave revealed itself.
“Is this Gung-gi’s lair?”
Given how cunning Gung-gi was, Zeke couldn’t be sure what traps might be lying in wait. He summoned ghost soldiers to scout the cave first.
The cave, though not branching into multiple paths, was quite deep. Fortunately, it seemed devoid of traps.
Zeke deactivated the mana-draining Hershion and entered the cave.
“The stench is awful.”
Places tainted with dark energy always reeked like this. Zeke drew his holy weapon to ward off the dark energy and continued to track Gung-gi.
The cave was littered with petrified remains of monsters. It seemed Gung-gi had been feeding on their souls to grow stronger.
“The more souls he consumes, the stronger he becomes. When Master and I encountered him in my past life, he must have come to the central continent to consume more souls and grow even stronger.”
The Gung-gi they fought back then was far more formidable than now. If Zeke let him escape to the central continent, capturing him later would be even more challenging.
“I have to stop him here.”
Just then, he sensed something suspicious ahead. Zeke gripped Bahamut and stealthily moved forward.
A moaning sound, like a wail, echoed from the front. As he approached, dark shadows lunged at Zeke.
Screech!
Zeke charged at the shadows, only to find they weren’t beasts or monsters but humans. Humans clad in tattered armor and wielding weapons were the source of the shadows.
Zeke swung Bahamut, deflecting their swords, and unleashed a radiant mace with his holy weapon.
Boom!
The humans struck by the radiant mace screamed and collapsed. Black fluid gushed from their mouths.
Upon closer inspection, Zeke realized they were mere husks, barely recognizable as human.
“Did he capture humans and fill them with dark energy to control them?”
Whether it was Gung-gi’s unique ability or a trait of his kind, Zeke couldn’t tell. But the idea of using dark energy to enhance abilities was reminiscent of the Empire’s experiments with dark knights.
A thought struck Zeke.
“Could the Empire’s experiments with dark energy be related to Gung-gi and the other Four Fiends?”
In his past life, Zeke and his master had encountered two of the Four Fiends, including Gung-gi. One had a unique ability that even his master couldn’t easily approach, and the other had vanished, eluding discovery.
Perhaps the undiscovered Fiend was connected to the Empire’s dark energy experiments.
“I need to investigate this.”
If Zeke’s hypothesis was correct, eliminating the Fiend used in the Empire’s experiments could halt their efforts to enhance knights with dark energy.
Zeke collected the black fluid from the controlled humans in an empty potion bottle and stored it in his inventory, intending to send it to Fainan for analysis.
After disposing of the human corpses with the power of decay, Zeke ventured deeper into the cave.
As he progressed, he heard a familiar wail, likely from Gung-gi.
Screech!
Following the sound, Zeke found Gung-gi writhing in agony. The Storm Sword had scorched his entire body, and black smoke continued to rise from his wounds.
Gung-gi twisted in pain, letting out a tortured cry.
At that moment, a voice echoed in Zeke’s mind.
[Curse you, human! I will not forgive you!]
Zeke was momentarily taken aback.
“Did that creature just speak?”
It wasn’t exactly speech but more like a telepathic transmission of intent. Zeke had never encountered such a thing while hunting beasts.
“I need to capture him.”
If Gung-gi escaped now, not only would he grow stronger, but his heightened wariness would make him even harder to catch.
Zeke drew Anexi’s dagger, attached it to a chain, and cautiously approached Gung-gi. He swiftly threw the dagger, ensnaring Gung-gi with the chain.
Clang!
The dagger embedded itself, and the chain wrapped around Gung-gi’s legs.
Screech!
Gung-gi reacted quickly, attempting to sever his own leg. Zeke, prepared, threw another pair of daggers, binding Gung-gi’s entire body with chains.
Screech!
Zeke gripped the chains with both hands, holding Gung-gi in place. He infused the chains with purifying power.
Hum!
A golden aura traveled along the chains, aiming to burn away Gung-gi’s body.
Screech!
Gung-gi writhed in agony, letting out a pained cry. Zeke, holding the chains, sent a telepathic message.
―Can you speak?
Gung-gi glared at Zeke, responding telepathically.
[Human scum! I’ll kill you! I’ll devour your soul! You are our food! You wretched creatures!]
The message was filled with hatred and contempt. Zeke tightened his grip on the chains.
―You talk too much for a harmful beast. What are you, and why do you keep appearing?
Gung-gi’s eyes glinted sharply as he glared at Zeke.
[You pathetic humans… living under the delusion that you own this land. You fools… We were the original rulers of this place, not you small, filthy creatures.]
Zeke frowned at Gung-gi’s words.
―What do you mean this land belongs to beasts?
Gung-gi growled lowly, staring at Zeke.
[We do not die. In the end, humans will become our food, just as in the past, and live as our slaves.]
Suddenly, Gung-gi’s body began to swell. Zeke realized he was about to self-destruct.
Quickly, Zeke activated Devour.
Ssssh—
Shadows rose, enveloping Gung-gi’s swelling body.
Gungi’s eyes wavered dramatically, a stark contrast to just moments before.
As he began to vanish into the shadows, Gungi reached out, shouting in desperation.
“No, why is this happening? …No, it can’t be!”
Slowly, Gungi was swallowed by Zeke’s shadow.
Rumble!
Zeke sensed Gungi’s body shattering into pieces within the shadows.
At the same time, a message appeared before Zeke’s eyes.
[You have devoured a completely corrupted aberrant creature tainted by dark magic.]
[Your stamina, mental strength, and mana are replenished.]
[You have absorbed the bloodline ability of the devoured aberrant creature and gained the power ‘Charisma.’]
[Your proficiency in the skill ‘Curse Reflection’ has increased.]
[You receive 1,500 Karma Points as a reward.]
[You receive a special random box as a reward.]
Zeke was taken aback to discover that the ability he gained from devouring Gungi was a power.
“There’s definitely something different from the ancient species like Gaguk. I got a constitution from Hydra, but this is a power.”
He checked the details of the newly acquired power, ‘Charisma.’
―Power Details―
Charisma: Allows the user to inspire loyalty and issue commands to those with lower mental strength.
“A power that inspires loyalty?”
Zeke recalled how Gungi had commanded other beasts, moving them like a well-organized army.
It was practically impossible for beasts driven by instinct alone to move so cohesively.
It must have been thanks to Gungi’s Charisma ability.
“It’s an intriguing power, but I’ll need to think about how to use it.”
Mental abilities were potent but came with side effects, requiring careful use.
After reviewing the power details, Zeke turned his attention to the special random box he had received.
Just like the ones he had seen in the Inverted Tower, the box opened with a radiant glow.
What emerged from the box was unexpected.
“An egg?”
Zeke immediately checked its information.
―Egg Details―
Description: An egg containing the dormant power of a spirit beast.
Unique Ability: Undetermined
Special Note: The egg will hatch under certain conditions. The spirit beast that emerges will reside in the physical realm, not the spirit realm.
“A spirit beast that stays in the physical realm.”
Zeke already had two spirit beasts as summons.
One was the Dragon King Bucephalus, and the other was Nahuel, a dragon-type spirit beast.
Bucephalus was summoned from the spirit realm, while Nahuel was summoned from the lake at Agamemnon Castle.
“Could it be a spirit beast like Nahuel that stays in the physical realm?”
Spirit beasts residing in the physical realm consumed less mana when summoned.
However, Nahuel, being the guardian of the lake, could only be summoned for limited periods before needing to return.
Unless it became a divine beast, it was bound to the lake.
Zeke gathered his thoughts and carefully took the spirit beast egg.
“If I meet the conditions to hatch it, I might gain a new summon.”
Before leaving, he purified the cave where Gungi had been with a grand cleansing spell and returned to the camp.
As Zeke approached the camp, a welcome visitor had arrived on the island.
The Queen of the Cusco Kingdom had come to the island with Simon.