Episode 488
Rumble―
The creature’s hard shell was nearly shattered, and black blood oozed from its body.
Even in its weakened state, the formidable beast known as Do’ol was not an opponent to be taken lightly.
As the wounded beast suddenly appeared, Yellin tensed, gripping Anexi’s dagger as she turned towards Zeke.
“Sir Zeke, what is that…?”
Just as Zeke was about to reassure Yellin, he sensed something unusual.
He stepped in front of her, silently taking a defensive stance.
The air shimmered, and someone appeared before Do’ol.
“Hmm.”
A man in a black suit, wearing a clown mask.
He nodded as he looked at the fallen Do’ol.
“Why did you come out from there? Lived too long and wanted to die?”
His tone seemed friendly, but his words were anything but.
The man, with his peculiar way of speaking, glanced at Do’ol before turning his gaze to Zeke and Yellin.
He tilted his head, clapped his hands, and nodded.
“Ah, so you’re him. Zeke Draker.”
As he rubbed his mask, it instantly changed expressions—from a blank stare to an angry glare.
He looked at Zeke and spoke.
“I heard you were dead, but I guess not?”
As he took a step forward, the air around them grew heavy.
Zeke raised his sword, pointing it at the man.
This opponent felt distinctly stronger than any he had faced before.
‘He’s as formidable as Ramon Jimenez or Harvey West.’
As Zeke thought this, the man shook his head.
“Comparing me to a rookie like Ramon? That’s a bit insulting.”
Zeke flinched in surprise.
‘He read my mind.’
Zeke’s mental defenses were unparalleled, bolstered by his passive skill, Indomitable Will, and the power of the Blood King.
Reading Zeke’s mind was nearly impossible.
Yet this man had done the impossible.
Zeke knew who he was from what Do’ol had told him.
‘The head of the Nostra Family.’
The Nostra Family, a mafia organization shrouded in mystery for a millennium, had revealed its secretive leader.
The boss, wearing the angry clown mask, looked at Zeke and said,
“Zeke Draker, I thought you were finally dead this time, but seeing you alive is both delightful and annoying.”
As he finished speaking, the boss snapped his fingers.
Bang!
Something exploded right in front of Zeke’s face.
Sizzle―
Zeke turned his head to avoid the blast, hearing the sound of his collar singeing.
The boss clapped his hands, amused.
“Oh, quick reflexes.”
He snapped his fingers again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of small explosions erupted around Zeke.
Though he flinched at the blasts on his arms, legs, and shoulders, they weren’t severely damaging.
The real issue was that Zeke couldn’t fully perceive these explosions.
‘The speed is too fast.’
Zeke couldn’t comprehend how the boss could create explosions faster than his Grandmaster-level perception.
But he understood one thing.
‘He’s a bloodline ability user.’
Such rapid, traceless explosions couldn’t be achieved with magic or aura.
Only a bloodline ability user, who could wield their power as naturally as breathing, could do this.
Zeke recalled what Do’ol had told him about the boss before he saved him.
‘I couldn’t grasp what kind of power he wielded or even what he was. That’s why I ended up captured.’
Even Do’ol, one of the Four Fiends, couldn’t fathom the boss’s power, making it hard for Zeke to imagine.
But facing him now, Zeke understood.
‘He’s on a different level than ordinary ability users.’
As Zeke stood still, glaring at him, the boss shook his head, bored.
“What, just going to stand there?”
The boss nodded as if coming to a realization.
“Ah, I see. This should do it.”
He snapped his fingers again.
Bang!
Another explosion occurred, but this time, there was no trace on Zeke’s body.
Zeke turned around in shock.
“Ugh.”
Yellin staggered, clutching her arm, blood trickling down.
Zeke gritted his teeth, glaring at the boss.
The boss clapped his hands, delighted.
“Now that’s better. Not focusing during a fight is a bit off-putting. It’s like not giving your all.”
He raised his hand again.
“Where should I aim next? That noble, pretty face? Or maybe an arm or leg? Zeke, you choose. I’ll target wherever you pick…”
Before the boss could finish, Zeke charged at him with Ascalon.
Boom―
The sword, imbued with the power of the Holy Spirit, flew towards the boss.
Boom!
A powerful storm of light swept the area.
But the boss had vanished without a trace.
“Whew, quite the force.”
The boss reappeared behind Zeke, speaking in a relaxed tone.
Zeke realized the boss’s ability.
‘Rahim’s spatial movement ability.’
The boss could use spatial movement, allowing him to travel freely anywhere.
Seeing the boss wield two top-tier abilities at once, Zeke was certain of his identity.
‘He’s a bloodline ability user and an Irregular.’
An existence outside the world’s laws.
Zeke suspected the boss’s illogical power was the strength of an Irregular.
The boss nodded.
“Oh, right. You’re smart, Zeke.”
He responded as if reading Zeke’s thoughts again.
The boss added, addressing Zeke.
“Now I see why you’ve failed so far. I completely misunderstood your abilities. You’re not just strong; you have an exceptional ability to assess situations. You find ways to defeat your enemies and exploit those openings.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished and reappeared right in front of Zeke.
The boss leaned in, his masked face close to Zeke’s.
“But do you think that’ll work on me?”
Zeke swung his sword at the boss.
Whoosh―
But the boss evaded the strike and disappeared, only to reappear again.
Zeke watched him, adjusting his grip on his sword.
He focused his mind.
No thoughts, no distractions.
He emptied his mind, trying not to think at all.
The boss, observing him, nodded.
“Interesting. Most people, when they try not to think, get caught up in the thought of not thinking. But not you.”
He swept his hand over his mask, changing its expression again.
This time, the mask was frowning.
“I was going to finish this quickly, but now I want to play a bit more. Is that why the others got counterattacked?”
He extended his hand towards Zeke.
Rumble!
A powerful telekinetic force crushed Zeke’s body.
The pressure was far stronger than what he had faced from Zion.
The boss watched Zeke endure his power, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Wow, you’re really tough. Let’s see.”
This time, the boss raised both hands.
Vroom!
The pressure doubled, threatening to tear Zeke apart.
The force pressed down from above and pulled him apart from the sides.
‘Ugh!’
Zeke endured, his body reinforced by his full strength. If he were an ordinary knight, he would have been torn to shreds instantly.
In his state of no thoughts, Zeke absorbed everything about the boss into his mind.
Perhaps he was as strong as his mentors, Nigel or Arthur Draker.
Rumble―
Despite the immense pressure, Zeke’s body held firm, and the boss tilted his head in curiosity.
Then he snapped back to attention, raising his head.
“Hmm? You’re testing me, aren’t you?”
The longer the fight dragged on, the more his powers were exposed, and that information could lead to his defeat.
The boss began to understand how Zeke’s subordinates had been defeated.
“This is always how it was. Seeing you, I get it. You act like you’re about to die but never do, which makes people want to torment you more before finally killing you.”
The boss swept his mask again, changing it to a bright, smiling face.
“I can’t leave you be. You’re too dangerous. I need to deal with you here.”
He formed a square with his thumb and forefinger, peering at Zeke through it.
Suddenly, Zeke felt a chill down his spine.
Whoosh―
Zeke dodged forward, avoiding something unseen and unfelt.
Slash!
A long line was drawn where Zeke had been standing.
He broke into a cold sweat from the unexpected attack.
‘I didn’t sense it this time either.’
Like the explosions, the attack was undetectable.
He had evaded purely on instinct.
Zeke thought that without his passive skill, Warrior’s Intuition, dodging would have been impossible, and he sighed in relief.
The boss was genuinely surprised.
“Huh? You dodged that too?”
It was an ability used with the intent to kill.
Once activated, the power was nearly a guaranteed death sentence, yet Zeke had managed to evade it.
The crime boss pondered for a moment before addressing Zeke.
“It seems I can’t kill you just yet. I’ll have to postpone it.”
He took a step back.
“Until next time, Zeke Draker.”
Just as he was about to vanish using his teleportation ability, something unexpected happened.
Thud—
Though Zeke stood in front of him, a shadow flickered behind, and another Zeke emerged, stabbing him from behind with a sword.
The blade pierced through, protruding from his abdomen.
However, the crime boss’s body turned gelatinous, slipping off Zeke’s sword like slime.
“Nice try, but a bit clumsy…”
Vroooom—
In that instant, Zeke unleashed the power of the Third Eye, channeling the might of the Blood King from his forehead.
The crime boss, exposed to the Third Eye, froze in place.
Simultaneously, Zeke invoked the Wisdom of the Dragon against him.
Crackle—
Suddenly, a powerful current surged between Zeke and the crime boss.
“Ugh!”
The crime boss staggered back in shock.
Zeke, too, was overwhelmed by a dizzying sensation, clutching his head as he stumbled.
It felt as if an unmanageable torrent of information had flooded his mind.
The crime boss looked at Zeke, disbelief etched on his face.
“You, you…?”
He tried to speak but stopped, attempting once more to escape using his teleportation ability.
But Zeke was faster.
Crackle—
As a field of magical interference unfolded, the crime boss’s teleportation was disrupted.
His mind was in turmoil.
It was impossible for one person to wield so many powers.
While he was caught off guard, Zeke drew the dark blade, Levatein.
Vroooom—
He unleashed a gravitational field, pinning the crime boss to the ground, forcing him to his knees under the pressure.
Bound by the Third Eye’s power, the magical interference, and the gravitational force, the crime boss was immobilized.
Zeke approached, sword in hand.
With a swift motion, he brought the blade down on the crime boss’s neck.
Slice—
The crime boss’s head was severed cleanly.
Thud!
His head and body fell to the ground.
Yet, not a single drop of blood spilled from the severed neck.
Yellin, who had been watching tensely from behind, gasped in shock.
“How… how is that possible?”
Zeke calmly picked up the severed head.
Removing the mask, he revealed the face of a puppet.
A voice emanated from the puppet’s face.
“Zeke Draker, we will meet again.”
Crackle—
The light faded from the puppet’s eyes.
Zeke clenched his jaw tightly.
“Even as a mere clone, such power…”
The crime boss’s strength was beyond Zeke’s imagination.
Yet, the fact that he had never shown himself and only acted through the Nostra family suggested there was some limitation to his power.
“If he ever unleashes his full strength without restraint, we’ll be facing another formidable enemy.”
The thought that the Nostra family was more than just a mafia organization deepened Zeke’s concern.
“I suspected something was off since the Chimera experiments… I need to learn more about the Nostra family.”
He stored the crime boss’s puppet body in his inventory.
Then, he turned and approached the fallen Do’ol.
Do’ol was breathing faintly.
He spoke to Zeke.
[Messenger of the God of Chaos.]
He continued slowly.
[End this cursed life for me.]