Episode 413

A guttural screech echoed through the air.

Zeke raised his sword, summoning the full force of his spirit. He focused his will on defense, manifesting a colossal shield before him. The amorphous clones charged at him, only to be halted by the barrier he had conjured.

With a resounding crash, Zeke unleashed his intent to cut, and a massive greatsword materialized above his own blade. He swung it with all his might, slicing through the clones with ease. The power of his spirit-infused weapon was such that even these formless beasts could not withstand it.

The clones let out a strangled cry before dissolving into a gelatinous mass, their acidic remains evaporating with a foul stench. Zeke realized that using his spirit energy was far less taxing than when he had relied on incantations in the past.

“I used to avoid using this in battle due to the high energy cost… but now it’s much more efficient,” he mused. Before meeting Nigel, his reliance on incantations had only drained him further.

With renewed determination, Zeke turned his attention to the true form of the beast. The creature, seeing its clones easily dispatched, began to writhe. From its body, hundreds of grotesque legs emerged, skittering across the ground. Its flesh split open to reveal a maw filled with razor-sharp teeth, lunging at Zeke.

A tongue shot out, attempting to ensnare him, but Zeke deftly sliced it away, the clash ringing like metal on metal. “What is this thing made of?” he wondered, noting its flexibility yet incredible hardness.

More mouths opened, unleashing a barrage of whip-like tongues. Zeke took to the air with the wings of a dragon, freezing the tongues mid-flight with his power. He then summoned a hammer from his inventory, channeling his will into it before smashing the frozen appendages to pieces.

The beast recoiled, its eyes blinking in confusion. Zeke swung his hammer, now attached to a chain, and grinned. “My turn,” he declared, hurling the weapon with all his might. The hammer flew with terrifying speed, shattering the creature’s flesh with a sickening crunch.

The beast shrieked, attempting to burrow into the ground, but Zeke wasn’t about to let it escape. He ensnared it with the chain, pulling it back with a field of force. The creature writhed as Zeke unleashed a holy light through the chain, searing its dark energy.

With one hand, Zeke drew Roland, donning the masks of Hershion and Agamemnon. The blade shimmered with purifying power, and the beast, sensing danger, tried to flee. Zeke recognized its strength, akin to the dragon he had faced before, but now he was stronger, more confident.

Suddenly, the beast convulsed, its flesh rupturing to release a black vapor. The vapor coalesced into a sphere, a single red eye forming at its center. The flesh collapsed, revealing a mass of half-digested creatures and monster parts, all dissolving into a viscous liquid.

“So that wasn’t its true form,” Zeke realized, eyeing the floating sphere. “Is that the real beast?”

The red eye glowed, unleashing a barrage of compressed energy at Zeke. He quickly summoned his shield, but the attack pierced through, forcing him to brace himself. The impact was powerful, but his armor held firm.

“What kind of attack is this?” he wondered, perplexed by its nature. It wasn’t magic, yet it had bypassed his defenses.

The black sphere began to writhe, tendrils shooting out towards him. Zeke soared into the air, the tendrils in pursuit. He slashed at them with his blade of light, but they reformed as quickly as they were cut.

“This isn’t working,” he thought, realizing the creature’s intangible nature made it a formidable foe. He needed a new strategy.

Zeke turned his focus to the sphere, preparing to strike with his purifying blade. But as he closed in, the beast dispersed into mist, evading his attack. The mist reformed behind him, the creature whole once more.

“I need to purify it in one go,” he concluded, as the beast began to multiply, creating smaller clones with the same red eyes. They surrounded him, firing compressed energy from all sides.

Zeke deflected the attacks, pondering his next move. The creature’s intangibility made it a challenging opponent. Then, an idea struck him.

“This might just work,” he thought, raising his sword to summon a powerful gust of wind. Dust swirled around him, obscuring his form. The beast, sensing an opportunity, created more clones to overwhelm him.

But within the dust, the clones began to vanish, one by one. The beast let out a furious roar, realizing too late that it had been outmaneuvered.

It seemed like a command of sorts, as the shadowy clones began to emerge from the dust and move toward their original form.

But then, suddenly, the clones’ movements came to a complete halt. No matter how much the original form commanded, the clones refused to budge.

Soon, a massive shadow rippled across the ground, rising up to swallow the clones whole. It was Zeke, using his absorption skill to devour them.

The monstrous creature blinked its red eyes in confusion as its clones were consumed by the shadow.

As the dust settled, Zeke emerged from the shadows, sword drawn, ready to face the beast.

The creature lashed out with its tentacles, attempting to attack Zeke. They shot toward him with blinding speed, ready to ensnare him.

But just as they were about to reach him, the tentacles froze mid-air, unable to advance any further.

The creature was bewildered, unable to move its tentacles or even its own body.

Zeke extended his hand toward the creature.

“Shadow Dominion.”

The beast, made of black mist, was trapped under Zeke’s shadow control, unable to escape. Its very essence was bound by the power of Zeke’s title, Master of the Sunset, which had grown even stronger.

With the creature immobilized, Zeke approached it slowly, wielding Roland, a sword imbued with radiant light.

A strange, eerie sound emanated from the creature.

Zeke, gripping the blade of light, spoke to the beast.

“You’ve had your fun, but this is the end of the line.”

Without hesitation, he drove the blade into the creature’s eye.

A piercing scream erupted as the beast, unable to disperse into mist due to the shadow’s hold, writhed in agony from the light’s assault.

Under the purifying power, the creature began to emit black smoke, gradually disintegrating.

Zeke withdrew Roland and stepped back, activating his absorption skill on the suffering beast.

The shadows rose up, enveloping the creature.

With a final, anguished cry, the beast was slowly drawn into the endless black swamp created by Zeke’s shadow, sinking completely.

At that moment, a message appeared before Zeke’s eyes.

[You have devoured a fully corrupted external species tainted by demonic energy.]

[Your stamina, mental strength, and mana are replenished.]

[The skill ‘Clone (Grade A)’ has evolved into ‘Shadow Clone (Grade A+)’ by absorbing the external species’ abilities.]

[The proficiency of the skill ‘Stealth’ has increased by absorbing the external species’ abilities.]

[The proficiency of the skill ‘Healing’ has increased by absorbing the external species’ abilities.]

[You have been awarded 2,000 Karma Points as a reward.]

[You have received one special random box as a reward.]

“External species?”

Zeke had heard of ancient or aberrant species, but this was his first encounter with an external species. Though it felt different from typical monsters, he hadn’t anticipated it being an entirely separate kind.

“Maybe my master will know.”

Deciding to ask when he returned to the forest house, Zeke approached the withered, desolate tree standing alone in the basin.

“It’s enormous.”

Had it not withered, it might have grown as large as the tree in the city of the Nagas.

Zeke placed his hand on the rough surface of the dried-up tree.

“System, search for any secure area containing a seal.”

[Searching for secure areas as per the administrator’s command.]

[No specific secure area exists in this region.]

“What?”

Zeke was taken aback. He had assumed the Earth God would be sealed here, but there was no secure area.

“Could it be somewhere else?”

Pondering this, Zeke decided to explore the surroundings further. He examined the area around the withered tree, searching for any entrance.

“There must be something here.”

As he tapped the tree’s surface, his senses detected something unusual.

“There’s a hollow space here.”

When Zeke knocked a bit harder, cracks formed, and the dried bark crumbled away, revealing a hidden staircase leading downward.

“What is this…?”

To his surprise, the broken bark had uncovered a passageway descending into the depths.