Episode 349
“Stop it! Stop it now!”
The cult’s sorcerers screamed in panic as bolts of lightning suddenly struck down from the sky.
But the lightning didn’t just target the palanquin.
Crackle!
The electric charge spread out, sweeping through the bodies of the cult’s sorcerers nearby.
“Gahhh!”
The sorcerers, caught in the electric storm, foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
The emperor’s guards, who had been preparing to charge at the golem knights, quickly changed direction and rushed toward the palanquin.
But just then, the golem knights raised their massive swords and attacked the guards.
Whoosh!
The enormous swords, taller than most grown men, came crashing down toward the guards’ heads.
Boom!
Unlike the knights of the Celestial Bow, the guards scattered, deftly avoiding the giant blades.
At that moment, a powerful mana blast was launched toward the emperor’s palanquin.
Before the guards could react, the mana blast hit its target and exploded.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The deafening explosion shook the entire ruins of the Sacred King.
Watching from a hidden spot, Carlito gritted his teeth in frustration.
“Damn it. I shouldn’t have come here. I should’ve bowed to Julius and joined his side!”
As the dust settled, the palanquin emerged, miraculously unscathed.
Sizzle―
A protective barrier had enveloped the palanquin, absorbing the mana blast. But as if exhausted, the barrier soon faded away.
With the barrier gone, the guards rushed toward the palanquin.
“We need to get out of here, now!”
The guards lifted the emperor’s palanquin, ready to make their escape.
But just then, something emerged from beyond the veil.
Thud!
A hand, dry and skeletal like that of a mummy, grabbed the head of the guard holding the palanquin.
Sssss―
In an instant, the withered hand drained the life from the guard.
“Aaaah!”
The guard, now a shriveled husk, collapsed to the ground.
The hand, which had been skeletal, regained its vitality and returned to a more normal appearance. Yet, it was still far from human.
The skin was darkened, and the nails were long and sharp, like those of a beast.
The emperor, his hand still within the veil, shouted out.
“Get to the Sacred King’s remains! Now!”
Driven by the belief that reclaiming the remains would restore his power, the emperor’s voice was filled with madness as he urged his guards into danger.
The guards, following the emperor’s orders, turned toward the door. As they brandished their swords, aura blades flared to life.
They swung their aura blades at the golem knights.
Boom!
Despite the powerful strikes, the golem knights withstood the assault, their orichalcum-plated mithril shields proving impenetrable.
Thud!
The golem knights raised their shields, forming an unyielding wall in front of the door.
With the path blocked, the guards could advance no further.
From within the palanquin, the emperor shouted again.
“Awaken Gillian!”
Startled by the emperor’s command, a cult sorcerer quickly raised a sacred relic and shook it.
The idol of a skull entwined with a serpent began to vibrate, its mouth opening wide.
Hiss―
The stone serpent, thought to be merely a carving, began to move with an eerie sound.
The serpent slithered down the staff and swiftly moved toward the bound Gillian.
“What the—!”
Carlito, standing beside Gillian, was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the black serpent. He swung his sword wildly, trying to fend it off.
“Get away! Get away from him!”
The serpent raised its head, locking eyes with Carlito.
Its red eyes glowed, and Carlito’s vision began to blur.
“Uh…?”
As Carlito staggered backward, the serpent slithered toward the restrained Gillian.
Hiss!
The serpent climbed up Gillian’s body, making its way inside the leather restraints.
Gillian screamed and thrashed as the serpent burrowed into the bindings.
Roar!
Gillian’s body, which had been writhing on the ground, suddenly went limp.
Then, with a jolt, he sprang to his feet.
Sssss―
A sinister black aura emanated from Gillian’s body.
The magical leather restraints, once binding him, could no longer hold.
Gillian tore through the restraints with ease.
Rip!
The dragon-hide bindings were shredded.
Gillian also ripped off the metal muzzle covering his face and tossed it aside.
“Huff, huff…”
With his face revealed, a black serpent tattoo was etched across Gillian’s features.
His eyes glowed red, reminiscent of the serpent’s gaze that had ensnared Carlito.
“Ugh!”
Gillian clutched his head in agony.
From within the palanquin, the emperor’s voice boomed once more.
“Gillian! Get rid of them, now!”
At the emperor’s command, Gillian’s eyes burned even brighter.
“Raaagh!”
A dark energy surged from Gillian’s body.
Once a formidable commander on the brink of becoming a black knight, Gillian’s current power far exceeded his usual prowess.
He drew the massive sword strapped to his back.
With his bare hands, he tore away the chains and unwrapped the cloth.
The sword was massive and blunt, like something a butcher might use in a slaughterhouse.
Gillian charged at the golem knights blocking the path.
Whoosh!
With a swing of his sword, Gillian unleashed a torrent of dark energy at the golem knights’ shields.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The golem knights, who had withstood the guards’ aura blades, were thrown into disarray by Gillian’s assault.
But Gillian’s attack didn’t stop there.
Whoosh!
He swung his sword again, relentlessly striking the golem knights.
Boom!
Even the mithril armor, which had resisted so much, buckled under Gillian’s blows, sending some golem knights crashing into the walls.
Crash!
With Gillian’s powerful attack, the golem knights’ formation crumbled, opening a path to the door.
The guards seized the opportunity, carrying the emperor’s palanquin inside.
The interior of the Sacred King’s sanctuary was as grand as the great cathedral of the Barodka Kingdom.
Intricate murals adorned the walls, and the space was beautifully and reverently designed in the Louverne style.
In the center stood a colossal statue of the Sacred King, with a stone sarcophagus placed before it.
A cult sorcerer, filled with excitement, shouted.
“Your Majesty! There it is! That must be the Sacred King’s remains.”
The emperor gestured from within the veil, signaling for confirmation.
The guards approached and opened the sarcophagus.
Inside lay a knight, clad in armor identical to the statue, with a sword resting on his chest, hands folded in prayer.
It was a fitting image for the Sacred King, symbolizing a holy knight.
Rumble―
Suddenly, the entire sanctuary began to tremble.
Yet, the emperor seemed unfazed. He pushed aside the veil and slowly emerged from the palanquin.
But something was off about the emperor’s appearance.
Though his face was hidden by thick cloth, his massive frame and build were far beyond that of a normal human, straining the imperial purple robes of the Rom Empire to their limits.
Creak!
A strange sound came from the emperor’s shoulder as a bone jutted out, threatening to tear the already taut fabric.
With each step the emperor took, the ground seemed to quake.
He slowly made his way to the sarcophagus.
As he reached out with his beast-like hand to grasp the Sacred King’s remains, a cult sorcerer approached him.
“Y-Your Majesty!”
The emperor turned, glaring through the cloth at the sorcerer.
“What are you doing? The Sacred King’s remains are here! Offer them to the Black Serpent and restore my body!”
The sorcerer, looking confused, replied.
“T-The Constellation does not desire this.”
Rumble―
The sanctuary shook again, cracks forming in the walls.
Even through the thick cloth, the emperor’s fierce gaze was palpable.
“Are you defying me?”
The emperor reached for the sorcerer.
The sorcerer, caught in an unseen force, was pulled into the emperor’s grasp.
“Y-Your Majesty!” the wizard gasped, struggling for breath as the Emperor held him aloft with a single hand, his voice a raspy growl like that of a beast.
“I brought you the remains your god demanded, yet this isn’t what you wanted?”
With a sickening crack, the Emperor tightened his grip, snapping the wizard’s neck, leaving his body to dangle lifelessly.
A sinister energy flowed from the wizard into the Emperor, causing his back and shoulders to bulge, straining against his clothes.
“Summon your god immediately!” he bellowed at the other wizards. “Bring me a young, strong, immortal body!”
Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced his back. The Emperor turned slowly, eyes wide with shock. The remains of the Holy King, once lying in the stone coffin, had risen and driven a sword into him.
“You rat!” he snarled, as the sword erupted with a brilliant light, sending electric shocks through his body.
“Aaaargh!” he screamed, consumed by the searing power.
From the coffin, Zeke emerged, shedding his disguise. Leaving the sword embedded in the Emperor, he drew Bahamut, ready for battle.
The Emperor’s guards charged at him, but Zeke stood his ground, unfazed by the oncoming aura blades.
He leapt from the coffin, his sword slicing through the air towards the guards.
“Black Wind!” he shouted, unleashing a dark, swirling force that swept through the guards, forcing them back.
As they struggled to regain their footing, Zeke summoned an icy hell, the temperature plummeting and slowing their movements.
“Haah!” the knights fought desperately to ward off the cold with their aura, but then a massive wave of flames engulfed them.
“Aaaargh!” they cried, as Zeke’s fiery hell combined with the Black Wind, wrapping them in a fierce blaze. They thrashed in vain, trapped in a nightmare of fire and ice.
Amidst the chaos, Zeke advanced towards the Emperor, confident that the lightning strike had left him vulnerable.
As he approached the Emperor’s hidden chamber, cultist wizards cast curses at him.
The curses rebounded, striking the wizards down with their own dark magic.
“Fools,” Zeke muttered, decapitating the fallen wizards with swift, merciless strikes. “Their magic is more like sorcery, relying on substances and celestial powers, unaffected by my magic-sealing techniques.”
With the wizards dispatched, Zeke moved closer to the Emperor’s chamber. Suddenly, the chamber itself flew towards him.
With a mighty swing of Bahamut, he shattered it, only to face another massive attack.
A concentrated mana blast hurtled towards him, but Zeke deftly countered, splitting the blast with his sword.
He looked up to see the source of the attack—a monstrous figure, larger than an ogre, with wild hair, a tangled beard, and sharp, beast-like teeth.
This grotesque creature was none other than Nero Claudius Constantinus, the Emperor of the Rom Empire.