Episode 411
“A mind sword?”
Zeke focused intently on Shaton’s sword.
But no matter how long he waited, Shaton’s sword remained still.
“Master Shaton? Why isn’t anything happening…?”
Just then, Zeke felt something was off.
Swish!
In an instant, he felt his neck severed, his head dropping to the ground.
“Gah!”
Zeke snapped back to reality, eyes wide open.
He touched his neck, realizing it was still intact.
“What just happened?”
He had vividly felt his head being cut off.
Yet, when he came to, everything was back to normal.
Turning to where Shaton stood, he spoke up.
“Master Shaton, what was that…?”
But Shaton was nowhere to be seen.
At the same time, Zeke felt another strange sensation.
This time, his right arm was gone.
“What…?”
He hadn’t felt it being cut, nor did he know when it happened.
It was as if his arm had always been missing.
When he regained his senses, his left arm and one of his legs had vanished too.
“This… is this the mind sword?”
Snap!
The sound of fingers snapping brought Zeke back to his senses.
Amazingly, Shaton was still in the same stance as when he first drew his sword.
Zeke, too, hadn’t moved an inch from his original position.
His back was drenched in cold sweat.
“An illusion? No, it wasn’t an illusion. I was truly cut.”
Shaton sheathed his sword, taking a deep breath.
“How was it? Experiencing the mind sword firsthand.”
Zeke was at a loss for words.
He couldn’t even tell if what he experienced was within the realm of swordsmanship.
Finally regaining his composure, Zeke rubbed his face with his hands, taking a deep breath.
“Wow…”
There were no physical wounds, but his spirit felt shredded.
He began to understand why Shaton called it the “mind sword.”
Looking at Shaton, he asked, “Is this something I can learn? I can’t even grasp how it happened.”
Shaton smiled at Zeke’s question.
“Realizing that much is impressive. If you weren’t who you are, you wouldn’t have woken up after your head was cut.”
Zeke nodded at Shaton’s words.
Having experienced death once before, he truly believed he had died again when his head was severed.
It was incomparable to any mere illusion of death.
Zeke looked at Shaton and asked, “A sword of the mind… does it mean that even without physical contact, if you cut someone with your will and spirit, it’s as if you cut them with a real sword?”
“In simple terms, yes. But you should know how difficult it is to cut someone with your mind.”
“Cutting with the mind…”
Zeke’s head throbbed with the strange sensation of understanding yet not understanding.
Whenever he reached a new level, he could usually break through quickly.
But Shaton’s mind sword was on a level far beyond that.
Seeing Zeke’s confused expression, Shaton spoke.
“I didn’t show you this expecting you to master it immediately. I planted a seed in the soil that is Zeke Draker, hoping that one day your sword will reach the mind.”
This was the final insight Shaton Draker, known as the Sword Saint, had gained.
For Zeke, who hadn’t even reached the level of a Grand Master, understanding it immediately was impossible.
After a brief pause, Shaton spoke again.
“My time in this world is almost up.”
“Already? Master Kaishir stayed for nearly a month.”
“He’s always been special. Remember, you are the successor of both my sword and Master Kaishir’s. In this world, there’s no one who can withstand Master Kaishir’s Elemental Sword.”
“Not even the Demon King?”
“If the Demon King had revived while Master Kaishir was around, things wouldn’t have gotten so complicated.”
“Would Master Kaishir have found a way to destroy the Demon King even if he wasn’t immortal?”
“If he couldn’t destroy him, he would have relentlessly pursued him until the Demon King destroyed himself.”
“Ah…”
It was an answer that made sense.
As Zeke murmured, Shaton Draker’s spirit began to fade, a smile on his lips.
“It was a pleasure to cross swords with a talented successor. May peace and tranquility accompany you in the turbulent future you face.”
True to his noble nature, Shaton Draker left with graceful words, slowly disappearing.
Zeke watched the spot where he vanished, then bowed his head.
“Thank you for your teachings, noble knight. Rest in peace.”
The insight of the mind sword he had planted took root deeply in Zeke’s heart, just as Shaton had hoped.
How it would blossom was up to Zeke.
“I still have a long way to go.”
As he steeled his resolve, a message appeared before Zeke’s eyes.
―Achievement Quest (Linked)―
[Find the hidden chamber where Sword Saint Shaton Draker’s insight remains.]
[Discover the last legacy of the Draker family, the Absolute Sword.]
[Quest Mission Reward: The Sword Saint’s Final Insight]
[Quest Mission Reward: Special Bloodline Ability]
[Achievement Quest completed.]
[You have obtained the Sword Saint’s Final Insight as a quest reward.]
[Special skill ‘Mind Sword’ registered. (Inactive)]
[You have acquired the special bloodline ability ‘Magic Rejection’ as a quest reward.]
[Active skill ‘Magic Reflection’ and bloodline ability ‘Magic Rejection’ have combined.]
[Active skill ‘Magic Reflection (A-rank)’ has evolved into ‘Magic Reversal (S-rank)’.]
[A special random box has been awarded as a reward.]
“Magic Reversal?”
Zeke examined the details of the newly evolved Magic Reversal skill.
―Skill Information―
Magic Reversal: Reverses magic cast on the user, causing magic to backfire.
Zeke’s eyes lit up as he read the description.
“So if someone uses magic on me, it backfires on them.”
If the description was accurate, it would greatly enhance his existing magic suppression techniques against mages.
“It should be called Magic Reversal Technique instead of Magic Suppression. And if I add a wide-area buff to it…”
Expanding the range of the Magic Reversal Technique could allow him to deal with mages on the battlefield in one fell swoop.
It was a skill that would be advantageous against the mages of the Abyss.
“I’ve gained so much from the Forest of the Forgotten.”
Now, all that remained was to free the sealed “God of the Earth,” as he had heard from Hyperion.
Zeke left the hidden chamber of the Absolute Sword and swiftly made his way back to Nigel’s forest house.
“They’re setting a trap to capture Zeke Draker?”
Ramon Siemens looked up from his papers in the Siemens Labyrinth, questioning the robed mage before him.
The mage nodded.
“Yes, it seems Azmoon Barrios and the acting governor have joined forces.”
Ramon closed the papers and turned to face the mage.
“The acting governor… that demon, Rofocale, right?”
Not only the priest but Ramon Siemens had also seen through Rofocale’s true identity.
“Correct. A servant of the Clinging Abyss.”
“Hmm… the Clinging Abyss. So a servant of a sinister constellation and a scheming tactician have teamed up.”
The mage spoke up at Ramon’s words.
“Perhaps they’ve only formed an alliance on the surface, hiding their true intentions.”
Ramon pondered, resting his chin on his hand, before speaking slowly.
“What about the priest’s side?”
“They haven’t shown any significant movement yet. I suspect they’re preparing a curse for Arthur Draker, as mentioned before.”
If the priest could curse Arthur Draker, either killing or binding him, the Siemens family could rise to the surface.
Even with Rom in their grasp, it was difficult to make a move.
The moment they acted, the Draker family would surely strike at Siemens’ stronghold.
“Arthur must be waiting patiently for me to make a move.”
Despite having various plans in place, Ramon was well aware of the Draker family’s hidden strength.
This made it difficult to act rashly.
According to the plan, Cain would have received the blessing, becoming Rom’s heir, and Abel would have taken over the Draker family, sweeping across the continent while preparing for the second blessing.
But the unexpected variable, Zeke Draker, had thrown all their long-prepared plans into disarray.
After some thought, Ramon spoke to the mage.
“We’ll support Azmoon and Rofocale’s plan to ensure Zeke Draker is eliminated this time.”
“Is it necessary for us to get involved? If Zeke Draker takes the bait and enters Rom, he’s as good as dead.”
“We’ve thought that before, but he always escapes. We’ve even suffered counterattacks. I won’t allow it any longer. We must eliminate Zeke Draker before the second blessing.”
The mage nodded at Ramon’s words.
“Understood. What forces should we deploy?”
“Prepare the third experimental subject.”
The mage hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly.
“Master, isn’t it excessive to use that just to capture Zeke Draker?”
Ramon looked at the mage and replied.
“Zeke Draker killed Abel after the first baptism. Do you still think that’s excessive?”
“Well… I believe it was the dragon’s heart implanted in Lord Abel that caused such severe side effects.”
“Every time you underestimate Zeke Draker, we end up paying for it. Enough talk. Prepare yourself. This time, we must kill him. We can’t let him interfere with our plans any longer.”
”…Understood, my lord.”
Ramon continued, “Is William still detained in Helia?”
“Yes, he’s being held under the guise of protection, watched by Julius’s rebels and the Black Sword Knights.”
Ramon frowned at the wizard’s words. “Is the seal still active?”
“Yes, as long as the seal is in place, even Zeke Draker won’t be able to do anything.”
“Good. You may leave now.”
The wizard bowed to Ramon and exited the room.
Left alone, Ramon slowly rose from his seat. He placed his palm against one wall, and a magical circle appeared, revealing a hidden passageway. Ramon descended the stairs into the passage.
At the bottom, he stood before a secret altar. Gazing at it, he drew a dagger from his cloak and sliced his palm.
Drip. Drip.
Blood trickled from his hand into a dish before him. Once the dish was filled, he rubbed the wound with his other hand, and astonishingly, the cut vanished completely.
Ramon placed the blood-filled dish on the altar and began to chant.
”????????????????????????????????????????…”
The words that flowed from his mouth were unrecognizable, perhaps not even a language at all. From the dish on the altar, a dark crimson mist began to rise, coalescing into a faint shape.
Ramon addressed the form, “Azitahaka, the ill-fated emperor who sought divinity but fell from the heavens.”
Rumble!
The mist reacted to his words, causing the entire altar to tremble. Ramon continued, “On the day the moon devours the sun, the second baptism will commence. Before that, grant me the power of foresight with your arrogance.”
The shape of Azitahaka shifted, transforming into a circular mirror. Ramon scrutinized the strange currents of smoke swirling within the mirror. Suddenly, his eyes widened.
“Azitahaka, is this truly the future you foresee?”
The form of Azitahaka did not respond, dissolving into smoke and disappearing. Ramon frowned at the statue of Azitahaka on the altar.
‘It seems the priest has some hidden agenda. I need to investigate.’
With the second baptism fast approaching, he couldn’t afford any mishaps. Once the baptism was complete, Ramon Siemens would be reborn anew.
‘When that day comes, everything will bow before me.’