Episode 435
Zeke was momentarily taken aback by the priest’s unexpected proposal.
“Eliminate Arthur Draker?”
Sensing Zeke’s reaction, the priest continued slowly.
“You must realize by now that Arthur Draker is the one who has effectively brought this continent to a standstill.”
Zeke glared at the priest, demanding an explanation. “What do you mean by ‘brought the continent to a standstill’?”
The priest’s voice was firm as he replied, “Arthur Draker has committed numerous injustices under the guise of righteousness. He has meddled in the succession of other kingdoms using assassins, crushed burgeoning trade guilds to benefit the Draker family, and manipulated or eliminated those who stood in his way. But his greatest crime is…”
A powerful pressure emanated from the priest, distorting the very air around them.
“…altering history to suit his own ends.”
Zeke’s mind raced, recalling the manipulated legend of the Dragon Slayer.
The tale of Terracan Draker, who supposedly liberated the continent from an evil dragon, was a fabrication. In truth, Bahamut, the so-called evil dragon, had sacrificed itself to seal the soul of the Demon King. The Draker family had twisted this story to elevate their own honor, a false legacy that had persisted for a millennium. Arthur Draker had used this distorted legacy to establish the Draker family as the rulers of Midland.
“Arthur Draker is a dangerous man. He will eventually use even your reputation as the Knight of Salvation to his advantage and then discard you.”
The priest’s voice was earnest and persuasive as he approached Zeke.
“Zeke Draker, I value your talents. If you join me, I can give you the power to stop Arthur Draker.”
The priest extended his hand toward Zeke, who, as if entranced, slowly reached out to take it.
From behind, Boris shouted urgently, “My lord! Snap out of it!”
But Zeke seemed oblivious to Boris’s words, his hand already clasped in the priest’s.
A satisfied smile spread across the priest’s face. “You’ve made the right choice, Zeke Draker.”
At that moment, a golden aura burst forth from Zeke. He had activated the purifying power hidden within Agamemnon’s mask.
A powerful wave of purification surged toward the priest.
As the priest’s hand was exposed to the purifying force, black smoke began to rise. Yet, unlike other demons who would scream in agony, the priest merely looked down at Zeke with a calm expression.
“So, this is your choice, Zeke Draker. How disappointing.”
Zeke drew Bahamut, the sword of radiant light, and thrust it toward the priest’s heart.
The blade, imbued with brilliant light, pierced deep into the priest’s body, black smoke billowing from the wound. Yet the priest’s expression remained unchanged.
“You will regret today’s choice, Knight of Salvation.”
The priest grasped the blade impaling his heart.
With a slow, deliberate motion, he began to pull the sword from his body, despite the radiant light searing his flesh.
Zeke gritted his teeth, trying to drive the blade deeper, but it was futile.
“How can my power not affect him?”
Suddenly, cracks began to form on Bahamut’s blade, unable to withstand the priest’s strength.
“This can’t be happening.”
Despite its supposed indestructibility, the sword was breaking. Zeke quickly withdrew Bahamut into his inventory and stepped back.
The black smoke seeping from the priest’s heart began to diminish.
Zeke then drew Roland, donned Agamemnon’s mask fully, and unleashed the purifying power once more.
The priest, seeing this, retreated slightly and extended his hand toward Zeke.
The priest’s palm split open, revealing a crimson eye that seemed to paralyze Zeke on the spot.
“Ugh!”
Despite summoning all his strength, Zeke found himself unable to move.
The priest’s hand grew larger, threatening to engulf Zeke entirely.
Just then, a rift in the dimension opened, and Raven emerged, letting out a mystical phoenix cry.
The sound resonated within Zeke, awakening Bahamut’s dormant heart, which resisted the force binding him.
A sigil began to glow on Zeke’s chest.
Sparks flew across his body as the paralysis slowly began to lift.
“I need to widen this opening.”
Raven cried out again, creating a gap that Zeke seized upon, summoning the power of the Blood King Caligula.
A third eye appeared on his forehead, countering the eye in the priest’s palm.
Sparks intensified around Zeke as the priest’s hand drew closer.
With the dragon’s heart pounding fiercely, the power of the third eye surged.
Just before the hand could reach him, Zeke managed to move, retreating swiftly with a burst of speed, sweat pouring down his face as he glared at the priest.
The massive hand that had tried to seize him was gone.
The priest looked between Zeke, who held Roland ready, and Raven, who continued to cry out, and spoke.
“To wield the power of a dragon, the Blood King, and even a divine beast like the phoenix… I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself.”
With those words, the space around the priest began to warp, creating a rift.
Zeke recognized the ability as the spatial manipulation once used by the late Rahim, leader of the Six.
Immediately, Zeke focused his energy on Abel, who stood behind the priest.
“Haah!”
He unleashed the Infinite Sword Technique, sending an astral blade toward Abel.
The attack tore through the air, but the priest was quicker, vanishing with Abel and the Horsemen of the Apocalypse through the rift.
The astral blade only managed to slice through the empty space they left behind.
“Damn it!”
Zeke stomped the ground in frustration, clenching his teeth at having lost Abel right before his eyes.
“Who would have thought the priest himself would appear here?”
Even Zeke hadn’t anticipated that Harvey West, the elusive priest of the Abyss, would make a direct appearance at this moment.
As Zeke struggled with his anger, Boris approached him.
“Boss, we need to get out of here.”
With the sacred site in flames, it was only a matter of time before the Empire’s knights arrived.
Hearing Boris’s words, Zeke nodded grimly. There was no point in letting his anger consume him now.
He grabbed Boris and opened a portal.
With a hum, the two vanished into the portal’s light. Even after they disappeared, the sacred site continued to burn.
In the end, the ancient tomb, a sacred site of the Rom Empire, was reduced to ashes and blackened ruins.
After Abel set the sacred site ablaze, events unfolded as Zeke had planned.
The once-neutral nobles and great families of the Empire turned their backs on Siemens and pledged their allegiance to Julius.
Soon, the second prince, Leo, and the fourth prince, Carus, entered the Rom capital alongside Julius.
Behind them marched the knights of the Centaur Palace and the Scorpion Palace.
With the priest of the Abyss having vanished with Abel, there was no trace of Siemens or the Nostra family left in Rom.
It seemed they had withdrawn their forces from Rom, sensing the shift in power.
The first task of Julius’s forces upon entering Rom was to eliminate the monsters that plagued the city.
From the sewers to abandoned houses, hills, and caves, creatures emerged from every corner.
As the newly arrived imperial forces subdued the monsters and stabilized the city, the citizens of Rom, who had been hiding in basements, finally emerged.
The once-terrified citizens cheered and wept tears of joy as Rom began to return to normalcy.
“Praise the Knight of Salvation who saved Rom!”
“Sir Zeke Draker is the true hero of our time!”
Rumors spread that it was Zeke who freed Rom from Abel’s grasp, and his reputation as a savior knight soared to new heights. His fame reached far and wide, from the central continent to the northern and southern lands, even as far as the eastern continent.
While Zeke’s exploits were celebrated, Julius swiftly stabilized the situation in Rom. Initially, he intended to crown the fourth prince, Carus, as emperor. However, to everyone’s surprise, Carus declined the throne, choosing instead to pass the crown to the second prince, Leo. By personally supporting Leo, Carus aimed to bolster Leo’s legitimacy and ensure a stable reign.
Zeke nodded in understanding at Carus’s decision to refuse the imperial throne. “Carus probably thought it better to let Prince Leo handle the throne while he enjoyed a carefree life in the background,” he mused.
Ultimately, Prince Leo accepted Carus’s proposal and ascended to the throne. He appointed Julius and Carus as regents to manage the empire’s affairs. With the new emperor quickly established, Rom found stability sooner than expected, but challenges remained.
In the southern part of the Rom Empire, a faction opposed to Julius’s orchestrated enthronement took root. Surprisingly, the leader of this faction was none other than Castro Pollock, the knight of the Twin Fangs, who had previously warned Zeke about Azmun Barrios’s trap. Castro, along with like-minded noble families, the Golden Bull Knights, and staunch purists, gathered forces in the southern stronghold city of Jupiter.
Zeke speculated that Siemens, who had been stationed in Rom, might have joined Castro in Jupiter, though it was merely a suspicion. Amidst the rapidly changing political landscape, Zeke remained in Rom with the Black Sword Knights, keeping a close watch on the situation in Jupiter. During this tense period, a visitor from the Four Seasons Castle arrived to see Zeke.
It was Baron Draker, the captain of the Black Stage and a trusted aide of Arthur Draker. As usual, Baron approached Zeke with an expressionless face. Zeke welcomed Baron into the imperial palace and led him to the office, which he used freely as if it were his own, given that Carus rarely occupied it.
Baron bowed to Zeke. “Sir Zeke, congratulations on completing your mission. The head of the house is greatly pleased with your achievements.”
Officially, the order from the head of the house was to negotiate for the forbidden book held by Azmun Barrios. However, Arthur Draker’s true command was different: “Seize the imperial palace of Rom.” It was an almost impossible task to oust the occupying forces and claim the palace, yet Zeke accomplished it with remarkable success—an achievement unmatched by any guardian knight of the Draker family.
Zeke listened to Baron’s words and then spoke slowly. “How did the head of the house react to the plan to announce Siemens’s involvement with demons?”
“He said to proceed as you see fit,” Baron replied.
Zeke intended to expose Siemens’s atrocities in Rom through newsletters, detailing everything from summoning monsters to attack cities to illegal chimera experiments and demon summoning. His goal was to ensure Siemens had no place left on the continent.
As Zeke organized his plans, encouraged by the head’s positive response, Baron spoke again. “There is another message from the head of the house.”
Zeke, lost in thought, looked up, signaling Baron to continue. Baron spoke slowly, “The head has ordered you to challenge the Dark Knight of the Empire, Duke Crevan di Panion, to a duel.”