Episode 440

Zeke followed the compass to its destination.

To his surprise, the location of the Temple of the Goddess Theia was unexpected.

“This place…?”

It was the royal tomb, scorched by Abel’s black flames.

The compass pointed directly to that very spot.

Zeke, cloaked in darkness, entered the charred remains of the tomb.

“It’s completely in ruins.”

Once a sacred site of the Rom Empire, it was now nothing more than a desolate wasteland, marked only by the remnants of fire.

Clicking his tongue in disapproval, Zeke ventured deeper into the tomb, guided by the compass needle.

The needle finally settled on a specific spot.

“Here it is.”

Zeke cleared away the debris, revealing a worn stone slab embedded in the ground.

Kneeling, he examined the slab but found no passage leading underground.

“System, check for any accessible doors nearby.”

At his command, the system began its search.

Soon, a message appeared.

[Sealed configuration detected. Would you like to use the Unlock Skill to release it?]

Upon seeing the system message, Zeke immediately activated the Unlock Skill.

[Releasing the sealed configuration with the Unlock Skill.]

[Seal released. Analyzing the configuration.]

[Configuration confirmed as portal coordinates to an underground space. Would you like to open the portal and move to the coordinates?]

It seemed the Temple of the Goddess Theia was hidden beneath the tomb.

Zeke decided to spend 100 points to open the coordinates.

[Executing portal to the set coordinates.]

With a hum, the system portal activated, and Zeke vanished in a flash of light.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a stone dungeon.

“Is this the Temple of the Goddess Theia?”

He surveyed his surroundings with a keen eye.

The temple’s architecture resembled the ancient style of the golden city of Blanca.

“Was this also built during the era of the constellations?”

Zeke attempted to access the temple’s management system through his own.

[Access to the management system is not possible.]

“Can’t access it at all?”

Zeke, who usually had access to most ancient sites, found himself unable to connect to the temple’s system. He realized he would have to explore the temple manually.

Accepting the situation, Zeke ventured further inside.

As he walked down the long corridor, he found it surprisingly barren.

“For a temple, there’s not much here.”

Typically, temples were filled with symbols and records dedicated to the deity they worshipped.

Yet, the Temple of Theia lacked any statues or symbols related to the Goddess Theia.

Without prior knowledge, one might mistake it for just another ancient ruin.

The Rom Empire was the only place on the central continent that worshipped the Moon Goddess Theia.

Most other central kingdoms, including Midland, worshipped the God of Light or the Sun God.

When the Rom Empire split from the Holy Kingdom, the Sun Cult also divided. The main difference between the two was the worship of the Goddess Theia and the 13 constellations.

In the Holy Kingdom, the Sun God was the sole deity, but the Rom Empire embraced a polytheistic approach, worshipping various constellations alongside the Sun God.

While the Sun God was the most revered, many also believed in the Moon Goddess Theia.

In some regions, statues of the saintly figure modeled after the Goddess Theia were worshipped.

“Even though this is the Temple of Theia, there’s not a single statue of her.”

Zeke found the absence of expected elements curious but not particularly alarming. The temple’s original form might have been different.

At the end of the long corridor, a vast chamber appeared.

Unlike the plain corridor, the chamber’s walls were adorned with unique decorations, and various sculptures stood between the pillars.

At one end of the chamber was a massive stone door.

Curiously, four stone sarcophagi were lined up in front of the door.

“What are those?”

Zeke cautiously approached the sarcophagi.

Just then, a message appeared before him.

[The security system of this area sends a warning to the user.]

[Unauthorized access detected. Security measures activated.]

[Guardians of the security zone awaken from dormancy.]

“Guardians?”

Seeing the system’s warning, Zeke took a step back.

But it seemed he was already too late.

Steam began to hiss from the four sarcophagi.

Hiss—

The sarcophagi split open vertically, and something began to rise from within.

Thud!

The heavy stone slabs lifted automatically and locked into place.

Each slab held a figure, masked and bound in chains, fixed in place.

Snap!

As Zeke watched warily, the chains binding the figures unraveled.

Clatter!

Freed from their restraints, the four figures staggered out of the sarcophagi.

Crack—

The sound of bones aligning emanated from the masked figures.

Though their faces were hidden, their builds suggested they were teenagers.

All four wore identical, worn gray garments resembling hospital gowns.

“Are these the temple’s guardians?”

Creak—

Once their bones were set, the four figures simultaneously lifted their heads and turned toward Zeke.

“Intruder.”

“Eliminate.”

With eerie voices, the guardians advanced toward Zeke.

Though they exuded no killing intent or threatening aura, Zeke instinctively prepared for battle.

He drew his sword, Roland, and aimed it at the approaching guardians.

Then, in an instant, the guardians vanished.

“What…?”

Startled by the sudden disappearance of their presence, Zeke heightened his senses.

At that moment, a crushing pressure enveloped his entire body.

Rumble—

It felt as if his body had become ten times heavier.

Zeke recalled a similar attack he had faced before.

“Zion’s telekinesis.”

Zion, a member of the Six, wielded powerful telekinesis through his bloodline ability.

A similar force was now pressing down on Zeke.

But that wasn’t all.

Crack—

A chilling cold began to creep up from his legs, freezing him in place.

Then, a black mist rose, wrapping around Zeke and immobilizing him completely.

Zeke tried to discern the nature of the strange powers restraining him.

“Could the temple’s guardians possess bloodline abilities?”

Moreover, their abilities far surpassed those of typical bloodline users.

They were even stronger than the enhanced members of the Six, who had used drugs to boost their powers.

With three abilities holding him down, something else began to happen.

Rumble—

Zeke looked up.

“What?”

From the ceiling, a black rain began to fall.

Drip—

The black liquid hit the ground with force.

As soon as it touched the floor, white smoke rose.

Hiss—

A powerful acidic solution was pouring down like rain.

Even Zeke’s dragon-hide uniform began to dissolve under the onslaught.

At first, only the surface was affected, but as the rain continued, the damage spread.

“What a terrifying ability.”

If someone wielded this power on a battlefield, they could annihilate an entire knight order in an instant.

Zeke realized he needed to escape the three abilities restraining him to avoid the deadly acid rain.

Rumble—

He summoned his energy, resisting the telekinesis, cold, and black mist.

But the more he resisted, the stronger the forces binding him became.

“Let’s see how you handle this.”

In a flash, Zeke drew upon the power of the Elemental Sword, unleashing both the force of metal and wind.

Boom—

A fierce wind erupted, dispersing the mist and cold, while the power of metal helped him break free from the telekinesis.

Crack—

As Zeke forcibly twisted free, the guardians increased their power output.

Boom—

The guardians’ tightening grip prompted Zeke to sheathe Roland and draw his hammer, channeling all his strength.

In his empowered state, Zeke swung the hammer against the invisible forces.

Whoosh—

The hammer tore through the telekinetic grip.

Simultaneously, Zeke felt the pressure on his body lift.

With the pressure gone, Zeke stomped the ground with his metal-infused foot.

Boom—

The impact reverberated throughout the chamber.

Without pausing, Zeke raised his hammer high and unleashed the Thunder Strike skill.

Rumble—

Crackle—

A massive thunderclap filled the chamber, sending electricity surging in all directions.

No matter how well they hid, it was nearly impossible to completely evade the widespread attack of Thunder Strike.

As Zeke had anticipated, four guardians emerged from the shimmering space where they had been hiding.

“For the complete elimination of the intruder.”

“Releasing the limiters.”

“Commence.”

Rumble!

Zeke could feel a surge of power emanating from the guardians, stronger than before.

“They’re releasing their limiters? Does that mean they can use even greater abilities here?”

Just as he was beginning to feel a twinge of anxiety, one of the guardians reached out towards him.

Crack―

A telekinetic force gripped Zeke, making him feel as if his limbs were being torn apart by a giant.

“Ugh!”

Caught off guard by the unexpected strength, Zeke pushed his own power to its limits to counter the guardian’s telekinesis.

Then, from another guardian, black smoke began to rise again.

Whoosh!

The smoke solidified into dozens of whips that wrapped around Zeke’s arms and legs.

Sizzle―

To his shock, the black mist began to absorb his mana.

“Absorbing mana? What kind of ability is this?”

But it didn’t stop there.

A guardian who controlled ice extended a hand towards the sky, forming a massive block of ice above Zeke’s head by rapidly freezing the moisture in the air.

A sharp, conical chunk of ice plummeted towards him.

“Haaah!”

Gritting his teeth, Zeke resisted the telekinesis and the black mist’s power, hurling his hammer at the descending ice.

Swish!

Grasping the chain of Solomon attached to the hammer, Zeke adjusted its trajectory.

Crash!

The hammer struck the ice as intended, and Zeke immediately channeled his power through the chain.

Flare!

A powerful blaze traveled along the chain, melting the ice into fragments in an instant.

Seeing Zeke withstand their unleashed power, the guardians retreated slightly.

The guardian who had summoned the acid rain extended a hand towards Zeke.

“The intruder must be completely eliminated.”

Zeke pulled the chain, retrieving his hammer.

“Your powers are no match for me. Stand aside and open the path to the temple.”

He spoke in a calm, steady voice, stepping forward.

But then, something trickled from his nose.

“What?”

Black blood began to flow from his nose, then from his mouth and eyes.

Thud!

Unaware of what was happening, Zeke fell to his knees, his body trembling.

“This can’t be happening…”

His body was supposed to be immune to all poisons.

The ability to summon acid rain alone shouldn’t have been enough to bring him down.

“Ugh!”

Zeke coughed up more black blood, finally realizing what was happening inside his body.

“Their ability wasn’t to summon acid rain.”

The last guardian’s power was to “turn liquids into acid.”

By transforming the blood within Zeke’s body into a potent acid, they had bypassed his immunity, causing him to collapse.

Thud!

Zeke fell to the ground, black blood pouring from his body.

The four guardians exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming.

“Mission complete.”

“The intruder is fully neutralized.”

“Eliminate without a trace.”

“Remove completely.”

The four guardians slowly approached the fallen Zeke.