Episode 492
“Raaaargh!”
The Nephilim let out a monstrous roar as the man approached.
And then it happened.
Crack―
The masked man’s body suddenly swelled, muscles bulging and veins popping.
He swung his bare fist at the Nephilim, who was still screaming at him.
Boom―
The sound of the impact was so explosive, it was hard to believe it came from a mere punch. The Nephilim staggered, blood pouring from its mouth.
Seeing this, the man gestured, and soldiers released the chains binding the Nephilim.
Crash!
Freed from its chains, the Nephilim spread its wings and lunged at the man.
Screech―
It tried to trample and bite him, but what happened next was beyond belief.
Snap―
The masked man grabbed the Nephilim’s massive foot with both hands and tore it apart.
Screams of agony erupted from the Nephilim.
And then, something even more shocking occurred.
The man removed his mask, opened his mouth, and began to devour the Nephilim’s foot.
Crunch!
He ate it, flesh and bone, without hesitation. The Nephilim recoiled in terror.
But the man’s bizarre actions didn’t stop there.
Whoosh!
He leaped into the air, clasped his hands together, and brought them down like a hammer on the Nephilim’s head.
Thud―
With a sickening crack, the Nephilim collapsed to the ground, unable to move.
The man climbed onto the fallen creature and grabbed its shimmering wings.
Rip―
He tore them off, and silver blood flowed freely.
The Nephilim screamed in primal agony, but the man paid no heed, ripping off all four wings.
Thud!
He tossed the wings aside and began to feast on the living Nephilim.
Crunch!
The Nephilim, now wingless and unable to move, could only scream as the man devoured its body.
Before long, half of the Nephilim’s body was gone, yet it still clung to life, its divine blood refusing to let it die.
The man reached into the Nephilim’s exposed ribcage and tore it open.
Crack!
Inside, the heart beat furiously.
The man grasped the pulsing heart and ripped it out.
Screech―
The Nephilim slowly closed its eyes, unable to survive without its heart.
Yet, the heart continued to pulse in the man’s hand.
He approached a demonic statue, where women knelt, offering a censer.
Zeke realized the censer was identical to the one Richmond had discovered.
The man placed the Nephilim’s heart into the censer.
Rumble―
An ominous energy emanated from it.
The man took the censer from the women and moved closer to the statue, chanting in an incomprehensible language.
He entered the lake of blood, raising the censer above his head.
The blood in the lake began to stir, as if alive, and flowed into the censer.
Rumble―
The blood, steeped in malice and fear, was absorbed into the censer, leaving the lake empty.
A strange pattern was revealed at the lake’s bottom.
The man continued his incantation, and black energy rose from the censer.
Watching this, Zeke realized the energy was the same as that of the Outsiders.
The man placed the censer on the ground and reached inside.
Thick, black liquid filled the censer.
He pulled out the Nephilim’s heart, still coated in the dark substance and still beating.
Muttering, he brought the heart to his mouth.
Chomp!
He devoured the still-pulsing heart without hesitation.
And with each bite, something extraordinary happened.
Boom!
The man’s body began to transform.
His already swollen form grew larger, his skin turning a pale gray.
Growl―
Sharp teeth emerged from his mouth, and his nails became claws.
He was becoming something beyond human.
“Raaaargh!”
The man, having consumed the Nephilim’s heart, was unrecognizable.
Two additional pairs of arms sprouted from his back, and his size doubled.
Amidst his wild hair, his eyes glowed with a frenzied red light.
He drank the black liquid from the censer and smashed it to the ground, roaring.
Roar!
A powerful energy radiated from the creature, shaking the earth.
“My God…”
Zeke realized he had felt this energy before.
It was the transcendent presence he had encountered in the sealed Karma data.
“The Flesh-Eating Emperor, Azidahaka.”
The censer contained memories from when Azidahaka was still human.
“It was used in Azidahaka’s flesh-eating ritual.”
Zeke understood why so many souls were trapped within it.
Azidahaka had devoured not only the races of the material world but also demons and Nephilim, leaving traces of his consumption within.
Zeke realized Azidahaka had summoned the power of the Outsiders through the ritual.
He had abandoned his human form to become something greater.
The priestesses conducting the ritual for the monstrous Azidahaka knelt and began chanting.
The soldiers followed suit, kneeling and chanting as well.
A red moon rose in the sky.
Hum―
The grand hall filled with a strange energy under the moon’s light.
The soldiers, infused with this energy, let out crazed cries and began to transform.
Growl―
Each soldier became a grotesque Outsider.
Shedding their armor, they stood in the hall, howling at Azidahaka.
Azidahaka responded with a terrifying roar.
It was like witnessing a scene from hell.
Zeke remembered seeing something similar before.
“The statues of the Outsiders in the Temple of Theia.”
The Outsiders worshipping Azidahaka in the hall overlapped with the statues in the temple.
In the crimson light, Zeke thought of Ramon Jimenez.
“This horrific tragedy must not repeat.”
Suddenly, Zeke’s vision shifted.
Crackle―
The past memory data vanished, and he saw Richmond and Vane’s concerned faces.
“Master!”
“Master!”
The two liches looked worriedly at Zeke, who stood dazed, holding the censer.
Zeke felt a moment of dizziness but quickly recovered, shaking his head.
Using the wisdom of the dragon had become more natural.
He gazed at the old censer, then tossed it into his shadow.
Swoosh―
The trapped souls became part of Zeke’s shadow spirit, but he deemed the censer, tainted with the Outsiders’ ominous energy, too dangerous to keep.
At that moment, a message appeared before Zeke.
[You have absorbed a censer imbued with the energy of a malevolent god.]
[An incomplete portion of the Flesh-Eating power has been unlocked.]
The censer, used in the ritual, had unlocked part of Azidahaka’s power.
“Though I don’t really need the Flesh-Eating power with the Shadow King’s abilities.”
Curious about any new functions, Zeke activated the unlocked power.
As soon as he did, an overwhelming hunger surged through him.
He was consumed by the urge to devour anything in sight.
Crunch―
His body began to change.
Fangs sharpened, nails lengthened, his jaw strengthened, and his mouth stretched wide.
Zeke quickly suppressed the power.
Even with his indomitable will, the hunger was difficult to control.
Then, Zeke sensed something amiss.
“What is this?”
Far off to the west, he could sense another being with the same power of flesh manipulation as himself.
If it was someone with the power of Ajitahaka, it could only be Ramon Jimenez.
By unleashing his own power, Zeke was able to pinpoint Ramon Jimenez’s location.
“So, that’s where you’ve been hiding, Ramon Jimenez.”
After confirming the location, Zeke paused for a moment before addressing Richmond and Vane.
“Richmond, Vane. We’re scrapping the reconnaissance plan. Go outside, clear the garden, and keep watch. We’re going to gather all our forces here to strike Jimenez.”
Richmond and Vane, feeling the commanding presence in Zeke’s voice, nodded with a newfound tension.
Zeke’s eyes gleamed with determination as he spoke.
“It’s time to end this long-standing grudge with Jimenez. We’ll wipe them out once and for all.”
Baranaon was a small kingdom, yet it boasted a rich history and tradition.
Its lands were dotted with ancient ruins, shrouded in mystery and yet to be fully understood.
Some scholars even argued that Baranaon, with its countless unsolved mysteries, should be considered one of the continent’s forbidden zones.
One such enigma was the “Ruins Where No Grass Grows.”
Currently, this site was guarded by Night Killers from Jimenez’s special magic corps and former imperial hounds who had gone into hiding.
After the emperor’s death, Ramon Jimenez had absorbed the hound unit, whose position in the empire had become uncertain, into his private army.
The reason the Night Killers and hounds were stationed at the ruins was because Jimenez had long been preparing for a second baptism to take place there.
The Night Killers, equipped with telescopes enchanted to enhance their vision, were vigilantly monitoring the area.
Then, one of the Night Killers spotted something suspicious ahead.
Click!
He aimed his magical rifle at the movement he detected.
Holding his breath, he searched for the movement again.
With the latest magical enhancements, his telescope allowed him to see as clearly as daylight, even in the dark.
And then, something darted across his field of vision.
Bang!
A bullet shot out from the modified magical rifle in an instant.
Thud!
There was a sound of something falling, hit by the bullet.
The Night Killer signaled with a light, prompting the waiting hounds to move in and check what had been hit.
They pushed through the reeds to find the source of the disturbance.
“What the…”
But what they found was just an ordinary rabbit.
As the hounds were about to return with the dead rabbit, a thought struck them.
“Could a rabbit even be here?”
This was the “Ruins Where No Grass Grows,” after all.
Apart from the dense reeds at the front, there wasn’t a single blade of grass or any animals.
The sudden appearance of a rabbit was strange.
Just as they were about to send a warning signal, it happened.
Rustle!
Someone emerged from the darkness and swiftly took them down.
“Mmph!”
A man with gray hair laid them down in the reeds and quickly stabbed them in the chest with a dagger.
It was none other than Bacchus Draker.
Leading the Red Eye vampires, Bacchus carefully made his way through the reeds toward the ruins.
Watching from afar through a telescope, the Night Killer noticed the hounds hadn’t returned and sensed something was amiss.
“What’s going on? Could there really be an intruder?”
He stood up to send a warning signal.
Thud!
But in that instant, the Night Killer was suddenly pulled into the ground, disappearing without a trace.
A hole opened in the earth, and from it emerged Boris, Zion, Serena, Adol, Bisco, and finally Aaron.
Boris addressed the intelligence unit.
“Aaron, keep an eye on their movements from here. Bisco, prepare the illusions. We’re going to confuse them.”
The first strike from Zeke Draker’s side, led by the intelligence unit, had begun.