Episode 419

Zeke turned his head to look at the statue Arataso was pointing at.

The statue depicted Siemens Apollyon, clad in armor and holding a sword, and it bore a striking resemblance to Zeke in his Herseion.

A thought suddenly crossed Zeke’s mind.

“The Fisher Knight Reyes mentioned it, didn’t he? That Siemens Apollyon cherished the Herseion of the goddess Theia.”

The Hero King Caishir had gifted the Herseion of the goddess Theia to his adopted son, Siemens Apollyon, who treasured this armor above all other gifts.

Thus, it was highly likely that the armor worn by the statue of Siemens Apollyon was also the Herseion of the goddess Theia.

“Though the appearance is different, the overall structure seems similar.”

There was a reason the Fisher Knight Reyes had immediately recognized the Herseion of the goddess Theia when he saw Zeke.

Moreover, according to Shaton, the Draker family was ultimately descended from Siemens Apollyon, so it wasn’t impossible for Zeke, a distant descendant, to resemble him.

However, there was no need to share all this with Arataso, so Zeke simply nodded and turned towards the altar.

Ascending the steps to the altar, he found a massive box resting on the platform.

“Faintly, but I can sense the presence of a dragon inside.”

Zeke carefully examined the box on the platform.

Tap, tap!

He tapped the surface of the box, noting that it felt different from ordinary metal.

“It feels similar to that door from earlier.”

Moreover, unlike a typical box, there were no visible seams or hinges to open it.

Strictly speaking, it was hard to even call it a box.

“It seems like the god of the earth is sealed in here.”

Zeke inspected the box from various angles, but there wasn’t even a keyhole in sight.

“No choice, then.”

He decided to use the same method as before.

Just as Zeke was about to strike the box with a hammer, Arataso shouted.

“Wait, wait!”

Arataso, who had somehow climbed onto the altar, stopped Zeke.

“What is it, Arataso?”

“Wow, you brute of a human. Do you just smash everything you see? Are you sure you’re not a demon in disguise?”

Even the warlike demons of the underworld wouldn’t just smash things indiscriminately.

Arataso stopped Zeke from swinging the hammer and examined the box closely.

After a moment, he looked at Zeke and said, “This is different from that door. It’s protected by powerful magic.”

“Magic, huh. Then I can just burn out the circuits with a magic reversal technique.”

As he prepared to create a reversal field, Arataso frantically waved his hands.

“Calm down! The security magic of the underworld isn’t that simple! You could damage whatever’s sealed inside.”

Arataso seemed to think the contents were some precious artifact, even if they were something else, damaging them was not an option. Zeke lowered the hammer and asked Arataso, “So, can you break this seal?”

Arataso shook his head. “Have you forgotten? I’m an honorable knight with a title from the underworld. Of course, I can’t do something like that.”

Hearing this, Zeke raised the hammer again, prompting Arataso to wave his hands and shout, “I can’t, but there’s someone who can!”

Zeke tilted his head in confusion. “Someone who can break an underworld seal? Who?”

Arataso shook his head in disbelief. “You haven’t forgotten about Nebilos, have you?”

“Oh.”

Zeke finally remembered that he had sealed the high-ranking demon and Abaddon’s inspector, Nebilos, inside the Damascus sword.

He retrieved the Damascus sword from his inventory for the first time in a while.

Wooooong!

He hadn’t noticed while it was in the inventory, but the Damascus sword was vibrating.

It seemed that the sealed Nebilos had been sending signals all along.

Zeke planted the Damascus sword into the ground and infused it with energy to summon Nebilos.

Wooooong!

A summoning circle appeared on the ground, and black chains rose up.

Clang!

With the black chains, the high-ranking demon Nebilos emerged from the magic circle, revealing himself.

Underneath a tattered hood, blue ghostly flames flickered in the empty eye sockets of his skull.

Nebilos’s limbs were bound by black chains.

Zeke looked at the summoned Nebilos and said, “It’s been a while, Nebilos.”

Nebilos glared at Zeke and spoke in a sinister voice, “Zeke Draker… I’ve heard rumors of you torturing countless demons and even annihilating souls, but I didn’t expect you to be this ruthless.”

When he was first trapped in the sword, he thought Zeke would interrogate him after some time.

But Zeke Draker had left him alone, as if he didn’t care about the high-ranking demon and Abaddon’s inspector at all.

Sealed in the sword for so long, Nebilos felt he was undergoing a high-level psychological torture.

He believed he could withstand psychological torture with his strong will.

But Zeke Draker, as if mocking him, didn’t even bother to interrogate him, leaving him to languish.

In that long, drawn-out mental battle, Nebilos eventually lost his patience and began to scream to be released.

Yet the relentless Zeke Draker ignored his cries, continuing to apply psychological pressure through sheer neglect.

Nebilos glared at Zeke, grinding his teeth.

“To shake the iron will and frozen heart of me, Nebilos, Abaddon’s inspector, with mere psychological pressure… you’re more ruthless than the rumors, Zeke Draker.”

Zeke had inadvertently broken Nebilos’s spirit by simply forgetting about him.

“Seems like there’s a bit of a misunderstanding, but it doesn’t matter.”

Deciding to let it slide, Zeke approached Nebilos and said, “Good, it seems you’ve learned a bit about me. You held out well as Abaddon’s inspector, but that’s not enough. I have hundreds of ways to break your kind’s spirits.”

Nebilos’s ghostly flames flickered with fear as he looked at Zeke.

“As I thought… my suspicions were correct. Zeke Draker, you’re truly a terrifying human.”

Zeke, seeing the fear in his eyes, added, “This isn’t even considered torture. We have a real expert on our side.”

“There’s a torture expert even more skilled than you?”

“Yes, her name is Arina Lubern. Anyone who enters a room with her comes out shedding tears of repentance, reflecting on their entire life.”

Nebilos was shocked by Zeke’s words.

“A torture expert like that… I’ve never heard of such a person even in the underworld.”

Seeing Nebilos’s fear, Zeke took a step closer and continued, “Nebilos, I have a proposal for you. If you cooperate with me, I’ll provide you with a comfortable sealed space like Arataso. But if you refuse… you’ll meet Arina Lubern and shed tears of repentance.”

Nebilos trembled, his spirit already broken, and he succumbed to Zeke’s words.

”…What do you want me to do?”

Zeke pointed to the box on the platform. “Open that for me.”

Nebilos floated towards the box, examining it closely before recoiling in surprise.

“This is…?”

Zeke, seeing Nebilos’s reaction, asked, “You’re not saying you can’t open it, are you?”

Nebilos clenched his teeth and replied, “Do you know who I am? I’m Nebilos, known as the Abyssal Sorcerer in the underworld!”

He gestured towards the box. “I can break this seal. However…”

Nebilos hesitated before turning to Zeke and continuing, “The problem is that the seal on this box is far from ordinary.”

“Far from ordinary? What do you mean?”

After a moment of contemplation, Nebilos slowly answered, “It seems the seal on this box might be the Demon King’s seal.”

Zeke frowned at the revelation. “Are you saying the Demon King sealed this box?”

Nebilos pondered before responding, “Hmm, it’s a bit tricky to say for sure. It seems like the Demon King’s seal, but in some ways, it doesn’t.”

Zeke furrowed his brow at Nebilos’s ambiguous words. “So, you can’t open it? It seems a comfortable sealed space isn’t suitable for you. Look forward to meeting Arina Lubern.”

Nebilos, alarmed by Zeke’s threat, waved his hands frantically. “Wait, wait! I said the seal isn’t ordinary, not that I can’t break it.”

Zeke, still skeptical, urged, “Then hurry up and open it. We don’t have all day.”

Zeke’s urgency seemed to spur Nebilos into action. He raised his skeletal hand towards the box.

In appearance, Nebilos looked more like a lich than the actual liches Richmond or Vayne.

Sssss―

Blue ghostly flames emanated from Nebilos’s hand, seeping into the box.

After a moment, a blue glow reappeared on the surface of the box, weaving its way around as it began to unravel the complex magical circuits.

Zeke turned to Nevilos and asked, “How long will it take?”

[It’s locked with an old method and the formula is quite intricate, so it’ll take about 30 minutes. It’s only this quick because it’s me. Any other wizard would take much longer.]

Nevilos took the opportunity to boast about his exceptional magical skills.

While Nevilos worked on breaking the seal, Zeke wandered around the altar, pondering Siemens Apollyon.

“The Demon King’s seal, huh.”

A seal of the Demon King, yet not quite.

Siemens Apollyon had attempted to summon the Demon King’s soul into his body after transplanting a dragon’s heart.

If the soul hadn’t fully settled into the body, and the god of the earth had been sealed here, it might have left such an ambiguous mark.

“So the Demon King’s soul can’t just descend into a body all at once.”

The source of darkness had first taken Solomon’s body, becoming the first to fall. Then, it descended into Siemens Apollyon, leading the first Demon King’s army invasion, only to be sealed by the sacrifice of a great sage.

Later, during the Liberation War, it descended into Bahamut’s body, but was defeated by Terracan Draker and sealed in the Book of the Dead.

And now, the Demon King was attempting to resurrect under the name of the King in Yellow.

“Of all times, it had to happen while I’m around…”

In his previous life, Zeke had been swept along by the tides of a great war. After returning, he simply wanted to live freely.

That was all he desired, but fate had led him down the path of a savior.

Zeke still felt the title of savior didn’t suit him.

“Savior or not, once I destroy the Demon King’s soul, nothing will bother me anymore.”

Zeke preferred not to overthink things. Dwelling too long often led to poor decisions.

“I’ll push forward with what I feel is right.”

His unwavering determination was Zeke’s greatest weapon.

As he organized his thoughts, a brilliant light erupted from behind him.

Clang!

He turned to see the seamless box unfolding in all directions, disassembling on the pedestal.

Nevilos, having broken the seal, tilted his head at the contents inside.

[What is this?]

With a snap of Zeke’s fingers, chains pulled Nevilos back.

Clatter!

[Ugh!]

Nevilos was dragged back toward the sword.

“Good work, Nevilos. I’ll enhance the sword when I have time and make it more comfortable. For now, back inside.”

[You! Wicked human! Aaargh!]

With a final cry, he was sealed back into the sword.

Zeke examined the contents of the box Nevilos had opened.

Inside was a totem made of earth.

“Is this the seal of the god of the earth?”

It looked like a crudely shaped totem with mismatched proportions, but Zeke could faintly sense the power of the dragon within it.

Then it happened.

Vrrrrm!

The soul of the earth god, residing within Zeke, reacted to the totem. A symbol emerged from his chest.

Vrrrrm!

A white halo of light emerged from the symbol, circling around the totem.

After a moment, the halo seeped into the totem.

A message appeared before Zeke’s eyes.

[The soul of the god of the earth is merging with the seal.]