Episode 392
Rumble―
The avalanche swept away all the charging beasts and monsters.
Alicia surveyed the now pristine snowy landscape before turning to Zeke.
“Ha! Zeke Draker, you’re not quite what I imagined.”
But Zeke remained vigilant, his eyes fixed on the snowfield.
Moments later, the snow began to stir, revealing beasts that had survived the avalanche.
Swoosh!
Zeke swiftly swung his sword, attacking the beasts.
Seeing this, Alicia also drew her sword and charged at them.
“Filthy beasts!”
Thanks to Alicia’s vigorous swordplay, the once pristine snowfield was soon littered with the remains of the beasts.
After dealing with the beasts, Zeke and his group continued their ascent up the icy mountains.
On their way to Himonas Castle, they encountered northern knights searching for Alicia, who had fallen off a cliff.
“Juuuuun!”
From afar, Sven came running with a loud shout.
Seeing Alicia with unfamiliar knights, he eyed them warily.
Alicia waved a hand at Sven.
“Ah, it’s fine. This is Zeke Draker, here to help us wipe out the monsters and the Empire’s forces.”
Hearing the name Draker, Sven’s wariness only increased.
Then Zeke stepped forward and spoke.
“Good to see you’re well again.”
Sven frowned and replied gruffly.
“Do I know you? I’ve never had dealings with Draker’s lot.”
“Seems you’ve forgotten. I once saved you when you were on the brink of death.”
Sven looked puzzled, prompting Zeke to continue.
“Do you remember the name Zeke Murray?”
At the mention of the alias, Sven’s eyes widened in recognition.
“Zeke Murray? Of course, I remember the name of my savior! But Nicolai said Zeke Murray was a northern mercenary aspiring to be a ranger?”
Zeke chuckled.
“Who would openly claim to be a Draker in the north? It was just an alias.”
Sven’s expression grew complicated.
“So, a Draker saved my life…?”
Though he couldn’t deny Zeke’s role as his savior, the fact that he was a Draker troubled him.
As Sven stood there, unsure of what to do, Alicia approached and slapped him on the back.
Smack!
Sven cried out in pain.
“Ow! My lord! Are you trying to break my spine?”
Alicia clicked her tongue.
“I don’t know the whole story, but if you owe your life to Zeke Draker, you must repay the debt as a man of honor from the north.”
“Even if he’s a Draker?”
“Yes, even if he’s a Draker.”
Sven nodded at Alicia’s words and bowed to Zeke.
“I apologize for my rudeness, Zeke Draker. Thank you for saving my life. I was too overwhelmed at the time to thank you properly.”
“I’m glad to see you’re well. But I don’t see Nicolai.”
“He’s recovering from injuries sustained in battle. Only those who could still move came with our lord.”
It seemed they had gathered only the elite from Nicolai and Sven’s Thistle Knights to form a monster hunting party.
Listening to the conversation, Alicia ground her teeth.
“Damn, those Empire bastards brought these cursed monsters with them.”
Zeke spoke to Alicia.
“To stop the monster horde, we need to find the gate as soon as possible. Otherwise, the entire north will be overrun.”
Sven stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“Is the gate like a big hole where the monsters come out?”
Zeke nodded at Sven’s question.
“That’s right. Have you found it?”
“One of the scouts mentioned seeing something similar. Not up close, but from a distance.”
“Can you tell us where it is?”
Sven called over a scout, and Zeke confirmed the approximate location with him.
Marking the location on his system map, Zeke realized it was near the site of the Elder Dragon ruins.
‘Could the Black Stage have left, and the Abyss taken over to set up a gate?’
If the Abyss had indeed taken over the site, it would be a significant problem, given the treacherous terrain and narrow paths, much like a natural fortress.
‘Even knowing the location, it won’t be easy to attack.’
For now, they needed to regroup at Himonas Castle and wait for word from Nikki.
With a plan in mind, Zeke and Alicia headed towards Himonas Castle.
“Hahaha! Zeke Draker! Drink up! Bottoms up!”
As soon as they returned to Himonas Castle, Alicia, true to her northern roots, hosted a feast for the visitors.
Northerners believed that failing to properly entertain guests brought misfortune, so they always offered grand hospitality to visitors, unless they were enemies.
Zeke took the cup filled with strong liquor that Alicia handed him and downed it in one go.
“Ooooooh!”
Sven and the northern knights marveled at Zeke’s drinking prowess.
As he set the empty cup down, they cheered even louder.
“Impressive!”
“Not like a Draker at all!”
The knights of Turn, whose ancestors hailed from the north, quickly adapted and mingled well with the knights of Himonas.
In one corner of the banquet hall, Felix was performing magic tricks, but the arm-wrestling matches with the barbarians were far more popular.
Thud!
None of the northern knights, confident in their strength, could defeat the barbarian known as Iron Fist in arm wrestling.
This spurred the northern knights to gather around Iron Fist.
At some point, Alicia, watching from the sidelines, rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward.
“Barbarian! Iron Fist, was it? Let’s see how you fare against me.”
Despite her small stature, Alicia possessed the strength of a great warrior.
Her arm was much thinner compared to Iron Fist’s.
Yet, the usually fearless Iron Fist looked tense as Alicia approached.
The other barbarians teased him.
“Scared?”
Iron Fist snorted, trying to deny his fear, and stood before Alicia.
Alicia pointed a finger at him.
“I’ll take you on with just this.”
Alicia was bold enough to challenge a barbarian with just one finger.
Iron Fist gritted his teeth and extended his own finger.
Watching from behind, Zeke clicked his tongue.
“He’ll regret it.”
Reina, standing next to Zeke, nodded.
“Exactly. No matter how strong she is, challenging a barbarian like that is…”
“No, I meant Iron Fist will regret it.”
“The barbarian will regret it?”
Crash!
Before Reina could finish her sentence, a loud crash echoed.
“Ugh!”
Iron Fist, who had engaged in a finger-wrestling match with Alicia, found himself slammed to the ground the moment the match began.
Alicia raised her arms in a victory pose.
Iron Fist, unable to believe he had lost to a small human woman, looked dazed.
The other barbarians surrounded him, each making a comment.
“Wow?”
“Impressive?”
Iron Fist gritted his teeth, enduring the teasing from his fellow barbarians.
Then Alicia turned to Zeke and called out.
“Zeke Draker, how about you? Care to take me on?”
Zeke, who had been quietly sipping tea to cleanse his palate after drinking, looked up at Alicia’s sudden challenge.
Meeting her gaze, he glanced around to see the knights of Himonas, the knights of Turn, and even the members of the Black Order all watching him expectantly.
‘These guys…’
Though he didn’t particularly want to step forward, Zeke knew refusing would dampen the mood, so he slowly rose from his seat.
“Ooooooh!”
Everyone in the banquet hall cheered as Zeke and Alicia approached the table for an arm-wrestling match.
Alicia placed her hand on the table.
“If you want, I can use just a finger.”
Zeke chuckled at her words.
“Already looking for an excuse if you lose?”
Zeke placed his arm on the table and grasped Alicia’s hand.
As Zeke summoned his strength, Alicia’s expression shifted.
‘He doesn’t seem to be using aura…’
In her life, Alicia had never encountered anyone who could match her strength without using aura.
The air around Alicia and Zeke changed as they clasped hands.
The other knights, caught up in the excitement, suddenly fell silent, sensing the intense aura emanating from the two.
Only Sven, acting as the referee, nervously blew his whistle.
Tweet!
The whistle’s sound echoed through the banquet hall.
But Zeke and Alicia, their hands locked on the table, remained completely still.
The onlookers exchanged puzzled glances.
‘What’s going on?’
‘They started, didn’t they?’
As they watched in confusion, they noticed the table supporting Zeke and Alicia’s arms trembling slightly.
An immense force clashed between them, maintaining a delicate balance with neither side yielding an inch.
Everyone held their breath, watching the motionless duel between the two.
A single bead of sweat fell from their clasped hands onto the table.
Plop!
In that instant, the table supporting their arms gave way, unable to withstand the pressure, and shattered.
Crash!
The table, made from the legendary black ironwood of the North, known for its strength surpassing steel, lay in pieces.
Yet, Alicia and Zeke’s hands remained firmly clasped in mid-air, unmoving.
Sven, who had been watching them intently, blew his whistle.
Tweet!
The sound signaled a draw, and only then did Zeke and Alicia release their grip.
Their hands trembled slightly, as if cramped from the effort.
Alicia, trying to appear unfazed, spoke to Zeke.
“Ha! You’ve got some strength there.”
“Well, it seems the duke won’t be getting beaten up anytime soon.”
Despite their arms being too exhausted to move, they couldn’t resist a bit of bravado.
Alicia gritted her teeth and said, “Hey, Sven, go fetch the whole barrel of liquor. Tonight, I’ll show you a drake crawling on all fours.”
In the end, Zeke found himself dragged into a night of heavy drinking with Alicia.
“Dizzy…”
Zeke shook his head as he stepped out of the banquet hall.
Alicia had been relentless in her drinking, and even Zeke, with his immortal constitution, felt a slight buzz by the end.
Eventually, even Alicia succumbed to the alcohol and passed out.
The other knights had long since fallen, leaving Zeke the last one standing.
With a healing spell, he banished the remaining traces of intoxication and left the hall, pulling out his trusty compass.
“This way leads to the stairs down to the castle’s underground.”
In his past life, Zeke had spent considerable time at Himonas Castle, familiarizing himself with every nook and cranny.
Without hesitation, he followed the compass’s direction down to the castle’s underground.
There, a memorial space housed statues honoring the past dukes of the North.
Alicia often came here to clear her mind when troubled, so Zeke found the place familiar.
The compass pointed past the statues to an altar.
Unlike the central continent, the Northerners didn’t worship the gods of light or the sun.
Each region had its own local deities, with no unified church or religion.
Himonas revered the sacred Wolf King, Fenrir, who had raised the Hero King, and adopted him as their symbol.
Alicia’s sword, passed down through generations of dukes, was said to be forged from Fenrir’s fangs.
The altar at the center was dedicated to Fenrir.
Zeke approached the altar, puzzled.
“Why is there no reaction?”
If Caligula’s tomb were here, the system should have responded the moment Zeke realized it, but there was nothing.
He addressed the system.
“System, is there no detectable site here?”
A message appeared before his eyes.
[Scanning the surroundings as per user’s request.]
[No sites reacting with the system detected.]
The system confirmed there was nothing to be found.
“Then why is the compass pointing here?”
Zeke moved closer, examining Fenrir’s altar.
That’s when he noticed something.
A single hourglass sat atop the altar, emanating a familiar energy.
“This is…?”
Zeke slowly reached out toward the hourglass.
A new message appeared before him.
[The power of Reversal is linked with Chronos’s Hourglass.]