Episode 485
A sharp whistle pierced the air.
The Silver Knights and the Black Sword Knights, who had been facing off in front of Winterkeep, were startled by the sudden alarm.
One of the Silver Knights rushed over to Carly and whispered something in her ear. Her face hardened as she nodded and quickly descended into the depths of Winterkeep.
Seeing this, the Black Sword Knights surged forward aggressively.
“What’s happening?”
“Our lord is down there! Stand aside immediately!”
The Silver Knights blocked the path of the advancing Black Sword Knights, neither side willing to give an inch.
At that moment, Duke Draker stepped forward, his eyes blazing with fierce determination. Drawing the Stormblade he once wielded as a Black Knight, he spoke in a low voice to the Silver Knights.
“Step aside. This is your final warning.”
The deadly seriousness in Duke’s voice made the Silver Knights swallow hard. Yet, they too were bound by their duty to Carly and stood their ground, gripping their swords tightly.
As Duke prepared to charge, a worn sword flew through the air and embedded itself in the ground between him and the Silver Knights.
Duke recognized it instantly.
‘Bernas.’
It was none other than the sword of the Sword King, Bernas.
Bernas emerged from among the Silver Knights, gripping his old sword. Duke frowned at the sight.
“Sword King, what are you doing?”
Bernas stood silently, holding his sword. Duke knew Bernas was Carly’s mentor and supporter, but he hadn’t expected him to intervene in this situation. Despite Bernas’s usual detachment from the politics of the Draker family, he and Duke had shared enough drinks to consider each other friends.
Duke couldn’t understand why Bernas was acting this way, especially since he had no interest in the family’s power struggles. Even as Duke voiced his confusion, Bernas remained silent, his sword still sheathed.
Duke sensed something in Bernas’s demeanor.
‘Could it be…?’
After a moment of eye contact with Bernas, Duke took a step back and sheathed his sword.
”…We’ll withdraw for now.”
To an outsider, it might have seemed like Duke was intimidated by Bernas. But the Black Sword Knights knew Duke better than that. If he chose to retreat, there was a reason.
The Black Sword Knights slowly backed away, keeping a wary eye on Bernas and the Silver Knights. Only after they had fully retreated did the Silver Knights relax.
Even with the Black Sword Knights gone, Bernas remained at his post. This was because Gareth, the Scarred Knight, had arrived with the Black Wolf Brigade.
Gareth’s face hardened as he saw Bernas and the Silver Knights guarding the entrance to Winterkeep’s underground.
“Sir Bernas, an intruder has breached the Four Seasons Fortress. We need to investigate, so please step aside.”
In response, Bernas drew his sword and pointed it at Gareth.
“Denied.”
It was a single word, but coming from the Sword King, it carried immense weight. Bernas stood firm, unshaken by the standoff with Gareth and the Black Wolf Brigade.
As the strongest knight of the Draker family, Bernas’s presence made it difficult for Gareth to press further.
Just then, Carly Draker emerged from the underground. She addressed Gareth, who had arrived with the Black Wolf Brigade.
“Sir Gareth, there was an attack in the memorial chamber beneath Winterkeep.”
Carly spoke with a calm demeanor.
“Sir Zeke Draker, who was paying his respects, was ambushed by assassins from Siemens.”
The news of Zeke Draker, a direct descendant of the Draker family and a Knight of Salvation, being ambushed during the family head’s funeral in the heart of the Four Seasons Fortress spread rapidly across the central continent.
Though his body had not been found, the bloodstains on the walls and floor of the memorial chamber made his death almost certain.
In a desperate bid to find him, every knight of the Draker family was mobilized to search Atlas for the missing Zeke Draker.
While they scoured the land, agents under Howard’s command were secretly transporting Zeke’s body through an unknown underground waterway.
This ancient passage, connected to Winterkeep’s underground, was a relic from the Holy Empire era, long before Atlas became the center of Midland. Even the Draker family was unaware of its existence.
Howard’s men navigated the labyrinthine tunnels with ease, carrying Zeke’s body deeper into the shadows.
Thud!
They set down the crate containing Zeke’s body in a hidden chamber. Once the agents left, Zeke emerged from the darkness.
Sssss—
The Zeke in the crate was a shadow clone, a decoy he had created. The real Zeke had been observing Howard and his men, tracking their movements and meetings.
Zeke intended to use this opportunity to uncover the traitors within the Draker family.
Unexpectedly, Howard had brought Zeke’s “body” to this hidden location. From Howard’s perspective, it would have been safer to leave evidence of Siemens assassins on Zeke’s body and announce his death, plunging the family into chaos.
‘There must be a reason he brought my body here.’
Zeke examined the chamber. It was a sealed space, seemingly designed to isolate its contents from the outside world.
‘It doesn’t look like a prison. What is this place?’
Zeke planned to explore the area further, using his shadow abilities to remain hidden.
Outside the chamber, a long, dark corridor stretched ahead, with numerous branching paths that made it difficult to navigate.
The design had a clear purpose.
‘It’s meant to trap anyone trying to escape. Even if you get out of the room, you’ll end up lost and wandering deeper inside.’
Zeke concluded that this wasn’t a hideout or secret space created by Howard. Even as a member of the Draker’s Cross Council, Howard couldn’t have built and maintained such a large facility alone.
Even if he could, there was no reason to.
‘This means Howard has allies. I need to find out who he’s working with.’
In his previous life, Howard had sided with the Empire, helping the Draker family fall into the hands of Abel Draker and the Mad Emperor. In this life, with the Mad Emperor dead and the Empire divided, Howard must have made a different choice. Zeke needed to identify the new betrayers.
‘It’s likely Siemens or Narak.’
Aside from those two, no one else could have constructed such a vast underground facility in Atlas.
Zeke spotted figures walking down the corridor and followed them silently. They wore robes, suggesting they were mages, but he didn’t sense the dark energy typical of Narak’s necromancers.
‘Could this be a secret Siemens research lab?’
Zeke moved closer, eavesdropping on the mages’ conversation.
“With the chimera research nearing stability, the higher-ups will recognize our achievements.”
“Don’t be hasty. We need to complete the bloodline ability transfer and functionality tests before we can claim true success.”
“The bloodline enhancement and transfer experiments are practically complete. We’ve nearly reached the summit the chief envisioned.”
Listening to their conversation, Zeke realized this was indeed a chimera research lab.
‘A chimera lab… could it be…?’
There was one more group capable of creating such a secret space, aside from Siemens and Narak.
‘The Nostra Family.’
A mafia organization with a thousand-year history. They had secretly established this horrific lab beneath Atlas, mocking the Draker family by creating chimeras in secret.
Zeke understood that Howard’s allies were the Nostra Family.
Realizing this, Zeke’s anger surged at the audacity of the Nostra Family and Howard’s betrayal.
‘Howard, you dared to conspire with criminals to manipulate the Draker family.’
In both his past and present lives, Howard had betrayed the Draker family for personal gain and power.
Zeke resolved to root out all traitors and threats within the family.
‘Leaving enemies within only invites future betrayal.’
This was the perfect chance to eliminate the internal threats that had surfaced.
Zeke calmed himself and continued to assess the situation with a clear mind.
“Howard must have planned to bolster his forces by striking a deal with the Nostra family. He intended to eliminate me, elevate Sister Carly to the head of the family, and then control everything from the shadows.”
Yet, Howard’s own strength was insufficient to overpower Carly or the White Knights.
So, it seemed he intended to use the Nostra family’s help to place a binding spell on her, ensuring she followed his orders.
It was a sinister and underhanded scheme to manipulate the direct line of the Draker family.
“Wait a minute, but someone as petty as Howard wouldn’t openly ally with the Nostra family.”
Howard was nothing more than a despicable, loyal dog following Arthur Draker’s commands.
“Could Arthur Draker really have been unaware of Howard’s dealings with the Nostra family?”
Moreover, it was hard to believe that Arthur was oblivious to the true nature of this lab connected to the Four Stars.
“More likely, it was Arthur or Baron who orchestrated the deal with the Nostra family.”
As Zeke pieced the situation together, he speculated that Howard had acted as a middleman in the deal and, after Arthur’s death, forged a new agreement with the Nostra family.
The Nostra family, having lost several test subjects like Dario and Six to Zeke, would surely harbor a deep grudge.
It seemed they had seized this opportunity to send bloodline users through Howard to deal with Zeke.
The thought that Arthur Draker might have been involved with the Nostra family sent a chill down Zeke’s spine.
“Just how many secrets was Arthur Draker hiding?”
With a somber gaze, he followed the two wizards deeper into the lab.
The wizards stopped before a large black door, placing their hands on two crystal orbs on either side.
A low hum resonated as the orbs glowed, and the black door slowly parted open.
What Zeke saw beyond the door left him stunned.
Inside a massive glass chamber, a beast resembling a turtle was suspended, bound by chains.
Zeke recognized the creature within the glass.
“The Four Fiends?”
It was Do’ol, one of the Four Fiends.
He already knew that the Nostra family’s test subjects were chimeras created using Do’ol’s blood.
However, he hadn’t realized that the place extracting the corrupted holy blood from Do’ol was hidden beneath Atlas.
The wizards observed as black blood dripped into a vial beside the glass chamber imprisoning Do’ol.
The head wizard shook his head.
“The quality and quantity of the blood are far less than before.”
“Well, we’ve been extracting it for quite some time. Even a formidable beast like this must have its limits.”
The head wizard clicked his tongue, placing the collected blood into a vial and tucking it away.
Just as they were about to leave, the head wizard paused.
“Hmm?”
It seemed someone had sent him a message through magic.
The wizard beside him tilted his head in curiosity.
“What’s the matter?”
The head wizard turned to his colleague and said, “We’ve received word from Howard’s side. The body of the pureblood dragonslayer we were promised has arrived.”
A faint smile crossed the head wizard’s lips.
“It’s time for the final experiment.”