Episode 441

The four guardians advanced toward Zeke, reaching out in unison.

Their intent was clear: to eliminate the intruder completely.

In an instant, a swirl of black mist, cold air, and telekinetic force engulfed Zeke.

But just as quickly, Zeke’s form began to crumble away.

Ssshhh—

However, the fallen figure was merely a shadow clone, not Zeke’s true self.

Realizing this, the guardians shouted urgently.

“That’s not the intruder’s true form.”

“We must eliminate the intruder.”

“Find the intruder.”

At that moment, something shot up from beneath the guardians’ feet.

Clang!

Solomon’s chains emerged, wrapping around the bodies of the four guardians.

Crack!

The guardians struggled desperately to free themselves from the chains.

Zeke then revealed himself before the entangled guardians.

Ssshhh—

Having used the power of the spirit realm stored in his scabbard, Zeke emerged from the dimensional boundary, finally showing his true form to the guardians.

“A power that turns blood acidic. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Had Zeke not possessed an immortal body and a healing factor, he would have been reduced to a mere puddle of blood.

But his formidable regenerative abilities overcame the guardians’ power, restoring his body.

Realizing that facing the guardians head-on would be difficult, Zeke had created a shadow clone to distract them, hiding his true form with spirit realm magic and waiting for the right moment.

The guardians, bound by the chains, struggled to break free, but Solomon’s chains were unbreakable.

Zeke approached the guardians slowly, intending to remove the masks from their faces.

Zap!

As he attempted to remove a mask, a strong current of electricity surged.

Simultaneously, the guardians emitted the same eerie sound as before.

“Warning. Warning.”

“To completely eliminate the intruder.”

“Activating self-destruct system.”

Rumble—

A bright light began to emanate from the guardians’ chest areas.

Seeing this, Zeke urgently spoke to the system.

“System, connect to those guardians and cancel the self-destruct command.”

In response to his command, the Kabbalah system accessed the guardians’ control systems.

[Protected by a powerful security program.]

[To cancel, access and interpret the karma data using the wisdom of the dragon.]

Upon seeing the system’s message, Zeke immediately ordered execution.

Ssshhh—

The system activated the wisdom of the dragon, accessing the guardians’ karma data and selectively reviewing the relevant information.

[Encrypted administrator access code found.]

[Would you like to use the unlock skill to decrypt the code and access?]

“Yes, unlock it.”

Following Zeke’s command, the system used the unlock skill to bypass the guardians’ security settings and cancel the self-destruct command.

“Canceling self-destruct command.”

Once the self-destruct command was canceled, a strong current of electricity once again surged through the masks on the guardians’ faces.

Zap!

Simultaneously, the guardians collapsed to the ground like puppets with their strings cut.

Thud!

Zeke approached the fallen guardians.

He examined them closely, tilting his head in curiosity.

“They look too human to be golems… and they don’t have the usual aura of the undead.”

Grasping one of the guardians’ hands, Zeke once again invoked the wisdom of the dragon.

This time, the karma data regarding their existence surfaced.

Only then did Zeke understand the true nature of the guardians.

“Homunculi?”

The guardians were none other than homunculi.

Zeke knew of a homunculus created by a great sage to resemble the hero king, meant to stop the demon king.

The dark elves had feared this hero king’s homunculus as a war weapon.

Thus, Zeke regarded the four guardians with newfound interest.

“Homunculi… so that’s how they could wield such power.”

Zeke laid the fallen guardians against a wall and asked the system.

“Is it possible to reactivate these guys?”

The system responded with a message.

[Reactivation requires a power source and new system settings.]

Zeke scratched his head at the message.

“A power source and new system settings, huh…”

Not being an expert in this area, he realized he couldn’t reactivate them immediately.

Pondering the fact that these were not ordinary golems and required something extra, Zeke looked around and found the sarcophagi where they had been resting.

“If they’re not living beings but homunculi and need a power source…”

Zeke placed one of the guardians into a sarcophagus and closed the lid.

Then, he tried storing the entire sarcophagus in his inventory.

Ssshhh—

To his surprise, the sarcophagus containing the guardian fit into his inventory.

“I tried it on a whim, but it actually worked. The sarcophagus must be the power source.”

Zeke stored the remaining guardians in their sarcophagi in his inventory as well.

“Perhaps Lord Hades will know something.”

If he could reactivate them and investigate, he might uncover how ancient homunculi were endowed with such powerful bloodline abilities.

After securing the guardians, Zeke stood before the tightly sealed stone door.

Given the strength of the guardians that had blocked it, it was clear that the temple of the goddess Theia lay beyond.

“But to think homunculus guardians are guarding the temple of the goddess Theia. I can’t quite grasp what kind of constellation this is.”

Typically, ancient ruins or temples were guarded by monsters or guardians related to the constellation in question.

It seemed unlikely that the constellation itself had created homunculi as guardians.

“Did someone else place homunculi here to prevent access?”

Pondering this, Zeke attempted to connect to the system at the door.

But once again, he failed to gain access.

The temple of the goddess Theia was more securely protected against intruders than any other secure area.

With a sigh, Zeke pulled out a hammer and swung it at the door.

Bang!

To his surprise, the recoil from the hammer’s impact was reflected back at him.

“Hmm.”

Rubbing his tingling hands, Zeke examined the door again. It was clear that this stone door was unlike any typical ancient dungeon door.

After some thought, he drew his sword and used the spirit realm skill.

Ssshhh—

He intended to slip through the dimensional rift and enter beyond the stone door.

But astonishingly, he couldn’t pass through to the other side.

Buzz—

Bounced back from the dimensional rift, Zeke stared at the stone door in disbelief.

“This isn’t just a simple door.”

Though it appeared as a door, it seemed to be a passage to another dimension.

Without the proper method, entering the temple of Theia seemed impossible.

“Hmm…”

After some contemplation, Zeke retrieved a sword from the Eastern continent from his inventory.

He then summoned Nebilos, who was trapped within.

Clang—

With a clatter of black chains, Nebilos appeared.

“Zeke! Zeke Draker!”

Having been tricked by Zeke into unlocking the seal of the demon realm only to be sealed back into the sword, Nebilos roared with fury.

Zeke addressed Nebilos with a smirk.

“How have you been, Nebilos?”

Seeing Zeke’s shameless expression, Nebilos’s eyes flared with ghostly fire.

“I’ve heard the rumors, but you truly are more devilish than a demon, Zeke Draker.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Since you’re out, why don’t you take a look at this?”

Zeke deflected the comment with ease and gestured toward the unyielding door.

Nebilos’s eyes flared even more intensely at the sight.

“Do you know who I am? I am the overseer trusted by the ruler of the abyss! A noble of the demon realm…!”

Clank!

Zeke pulled out a bundle of black chains from his inventory.

These were the soul chains that Rofocale had procured from the East to capture Zeke.

Seeing Zeke holding even more chains than those binding him, Nebilos’s ghostly fire wavered.

“W-what is that?”

“I thought you might find your current accommodations a bit too comfortable. So I got more chains.”

At Zeke’s nonchalant tone, Nebilos clattered his teeth in frustration.

“A human threatening a demon… the end times must be near.”

Despite his words, Zeke’s threat seemed to have worked, as Nebilos calmed his ghostly fire and approached the door Zeke had indicated.

After examining the stone door for a while, Nebilos shook his head.

“I don’t know this.”

“Guess you found your accommodations quite cozy, huh?”

As Zeke twirled the chains, Nebilos hastily waved his skeletal hand.

“I’m not lying! It’s true! This isn’t a demon realm method, nor is it enchanted! It’s imbued with the power of a constellation!”

Zeke narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Nebilos with suspicion.

Under Zeke’s gaze, Nebilos shook his head, protesting his innocence.

“Even if you look at me like that, what’s impossible is impossible! Without the power of a strong demon, this can’t be opened…”

At that moment, Zeke took a step closer to Nebilos.

“What did you just say?”

Startled by Zeke’s sudden approach, Nebilos stammered.

“W-what do you mean?”

“You mentioned something about the power of a strong demon.”

At Zeke’s words, Nebilos clattered his teeth and replied.

The door was sealed with a power that could only be unlocked by an equally formidable force. Yet, the idea that anyone could wield such power multiple times seemed impossible.

Zeke shook his head at Nevilos’s words. “You can’t be so sure about that.”

[What do you mean?]

Zeke sat Nevilos down and explained the powers he possessed, including those stored in Solomon’s ring from the fallen constellations. He then asked if there was a way to combine them to open the door.

Nevilos listened, his jaw dropping in disbelief. The idea of a human possessing such powers was more astonishing than any potential combination.

[Wait, are you saying you have the power of the ‘Black Serpent in the Mouth’ too?]

“You mean Belial’s power? Yes, I can use the power of ‘Deception.’”

Nevilos was taken aback by the mention of Belial’s power.

[Good heavens, a human with that power? The great demons of the underworld would faint if they heard.]

Despite his shock, Nevilos calmed himself and began to think of a way to open the door, as Zeke urged him to do. After deep contemplation, he devised a method using Zeke’s powers.

[With Deception and Spirit Form, it might just be possible.]

“Really? How does that work?”

Nevilos, a renowned dark sorcerer even in the underworld, explained calmly.

[The door is structured to connect to specific coordinates only under certain conditions. It’s protected by the power of the constellations, reflecting any external force, making it impossible to open by conventional means.]

Zeke nodded, recalling the moment he struck the door with all his might and felt something was amiss.

[But with the power of Deception, you can trick the door into thinking the conditions are met. Once it opens the coordinates, you can use Spirit Form to hide your body and slip inside.]

Nevilos’s explanation seemed plausible.

“What happens if it fails?”

[You’d likely lose your body and become a lost soul in the dimensions.]

Nevilos spoke of such a terrifying possibility with unsettling nonchalance.

Zeke nodded, gripping the sword from the Eastern Continent.

With a swift motion, Nevilos was once again ensnared by the chains of the soul, drawn back into the sword.

[Z-Zeke Draker!]

Watching Nevilos being pulled back, Zeke smirked. “If I get lost in the dimensions, you’ll be stuck in the sword with me. So, you’d better hope for success, Nevilos.”

[Noooo!]

With a cry of frustration, Nevilos was sealed back into the sword.

Zeke glanced at the sword containing Nevilos and slightly loosened the seal.

[Wait, I can see and hear what’s around me. What’s going on?]

Now able to sense his surroundings even from within the sword, Nevilos’s voice was filled with confusion.

Zeke chuckled and said, “Consider it a reward for your effort. Behave, or I’ll tighten the seal again.”

[Alright, alright.]

Nevilos was slowly becoming accustomed to Zeke’s ways.

Taking a deep breath, Zeke stood before the stone door and extended his hand, adorned with Solomon’s ring.

“Deception.”

As the power of Deception activated, Zeke’s body was enveloped in a shroud of black mist.

With a soft hiss, the door, which had been firmly shut, began to respond.

Simultaneously, a message appeared before Zeke’s eyes.

[$!# Confirmed. Conditions met. #%@$. The Great Sage’s @#!&@!]