Episode 511
The head boss clapped his hands, a smirk playing on his lips.
“Wow. Impressive. If I could, I’d give you an award. The Detective of the Year Award! Something like that.”
From behind, another round of applause echoed.
It was yet another head boss making his entrance.
“Bravo! Long live the Knight of Salvation!”
The head bosses emerged from different directions, each wearing a distinct mask. One mask bore a wide grin, while the other had a single tear etched beneath the eye.
The two head boss doppelgangers took turns speaking.
“Zeke Draker.”
“Even if you’ve uncovered our secret.”
“There’s not much you can do about it.”
Zeke looked at the two head bosses and asked, “Where is Abel Draker?”
At this, the two head bosses burst into laughter, clutching their sides.
“Hahaha!”
Their laughter abruptly ceased as one of them straightened up, his expression turning serious.
“You little punk.”
“Do you think we’re a joke?”
Suddenly, the bloodline powers of the two head bosses flared up.
But then—
CRACK—
With a jarring dissonance, one of the head boss doppelgangers vanished from the waist up.
“Huh?”
The remaining doppelganger recoiled in shock.
Beside Zeke, a massive shadowy maw gaped open, his eyes glinting coldly.
“Try to run if you can. I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth and swallow you whole.”
The head boss doppelganger, unnerved by Zeke’s icy gaze, stumbled backward.
‘What… what is this?’
He couldn’t comprehend the identity of the enormous mouth that had devoured his counterpart in an instant.
They were beings born of chaos, undefined entities. As irregulars, they could absorb the powers of bloodline users and wield them through chaotic energy.
Having lived for so long, they knew far more than they didn’t. Yet, the giant mouth that had consumed his doppelganger was beyond his understanding.
‘Is it the power of the Flesh Emperor Azitahaka? No, I’ve seen that through Abel Draker. This is different.’
Zeke summoned the power of shadows, unleashing the Devourer to press the head boss doppelganger.
The Devourer was a power even Zeke found difficult to control, but it was a necessary choice to subdue the head boss wielding chaotic energy.
Fortunately, one doppelganger was easily consumed by the Devourer, and the sight of it left the other in disarray, confirming Zeke’s strategy had worked.
The head boss doppelganger addressed Zeke.
”…What is that thing?”
“Curious? You’ll find out if you let it eat you.”
The Devourer, with its gaping maw, advanced menacingly toward the head boss.
Realizing he couldn’t discern its nature immediately, the head boss decided to retreat.
CRACKLE—
He attempted to escape through spatial movement, but Zeke’s magic reversal technique rendered his ability useless.
‘Damn it. What kind of power does this guy have…?’
From an enemy’s perspective, Zeke was a formidable opponent. Master of swordsmanship, magic, powers, bloodline abilities, and even possessing the unique skills of other races, he was virtually without weakness.
As Zeke approached, the head boss changed his approach.
“Alright, Zeke Draker. You win.”
He raised his hands above his head in surrender.
“I concede. Tell me what you want.”
Zeke, skeptical of the head boss’s sudden capitulation, replied, “You expect me to believe that? You wouldn’t surrender so easily.”
The head boss shook his head.
“What can I do in this situation? Even as a doppelganger, I possess a soul. Though my identity is lost, mixed and mingled over time.”
Their origin was as six princes of a fallen kingdom. But through a curse on the Thebea Kingdom, they absorbed the vengeful spirits of second sons who died, growing stronger.
As they absorbed the spirits of unjustly killed second sons, even the consciousness of infants was swept into them.
Over a thousand years of absorbing such spirits, their sense of self had faded.
The head boss doppelganger continued, “We are new beings now. The main body can’t move easily, so it splits its soul into puppets.”
He rotated his head 360 degrees as he spoke.
“Of course, over time, even puppets develop their own consciousness. We’ve settled into these forms, becoming distinct entities from the main body.”
The fusion and division of souls into new independent entities.
Zeke recalled a similar power held by a celestial being.
‘Mammon, the Ever-Desiring. He too split and multiplied his soul, creating avatars.’
It seemed the power of chaos had granted the cursed princes such abilities.
The head boss doppelganger slowly approached Zeke.
“But you see, we’ve been searching for a long time. A strong body to inhabit.”
The Nostra family sought bloodline users, created enhancers, and conducted chimera experiments for this purpose.
They needed a vessel for their souls.
His eyes gleamed as he spoke.
“And that body is right here.”
In an instant, the head boss doppelganger lunged at Zeke.
CRACK—
The mask he wore split open, moving like a living creature to cover Zeke’s face.
SLITHER—
The mask wriggled, settling onto Zeke’s face.
In Zeke’s mind, the doppelganger’s voice echoed.
[The main body covets your flesh too much to resist. I can’t let it go.]
Using the mask as a conduit, the head boss doppelganger invaded Zeke’s mind, attempting to seize control.
CRACKLE—
As Zeke’s mental defenses opened, the doppelganger’s consciousness swiftly infiltrated.
[Hahaha! It’s mine now!]
Once inside Zeke’s mind, the doppelganger planned to absorb his soul, gaining control over his powerful body.
The doppelganger had grown stronger by absorbing the souls of powerful bloodline users.
But as his consciousness grew too strong, ordinary bodies couldn’t contain it, forcing him to inhabit a puppet made of bloodstone.
However, Zeke’s formidable body seemed capable of withstanding his consciousness.
Eagerly, the doppelganger delved deeper into Zeke’s mind, seeking his soul.
As he approached the core of Zeke’s consciousness, a massive chasm appeared.
It was the entrance to Zeke’s inner mind.
The doppelganger hesitated, startled by the sight.
‘What is that?’
As a cursed consciousness, he had invaded countless minds, consuming souls.
But never had he seen anything like this.
A vast entrance, incomparable to any typical inner world.
The darkness within the chasm instilled a primal fear in him.
‘If I enter there… I’ll never return.’
He realized he had stepped into a place he should never have entered.
He needed to escape immediately.
As he turned to flee—
“Where are you rushing off to?”
Zeke had manifested within his own mind, confronting the doppelganger.
The doppelganger, a nebulous form, was taken aback.
CRACKLE—
He transformed back into the suited figure he had been.
[Get out of my way!]
The doppelganger reached for Zeke, but found his powers useless here.
Zeke approached him calmly.
“This is my mind. Did you think you could use your stolen powers here?”
Realizing his abilities were ineffective, the doppelganger changed tactics.
‘I need to escape and return to the main body.’
He resolved to force his way out of Zeke’s mind.
CRACKLE—
His form blurred as he attempted to withdraw from Zeke’s body.
But then—
WHIRR—
The doppelganger found himself trapped, unable to escape.
[How is this possible…?]
Panicked, he reformed his original shape.
Zeke stepped forward.
“Entering here was a grave mistake.”
As an immortal class with an indomitable mind, Zeke’s mental strength was unparalleled.
Even the Blood King Caligulama, ruler of Shambhala and the Three-Eyed Clan, couldn’t withstand Zeke’s mental realm and was absorbed.
No matter how ancient and cursed, invading Zeke’s mind was futile.
Zeke reached out to the doppelganger.
Chains of Solomon materialized from the void.
CLINK—
The chains bound even the doppelganger’s ethereal form.
The doppelganger screamed in frustration.
[Damn it! Let me go!]
Zeke tightened the chains around the head boss.
“Soon, you’ll meet your main body. Don’t take it too hard.”
Sssss—
The ground beneath the chained crime boss transformed into a black swamp.
His spirit was being inexorably drawn into it.
[No, no! Nooooo!]
The crime boss screamed as he sank deeper, until he vanished completely.
A part of his essence had been absorbed into Zeke’s mental realm.
Soon, a message appeared before Zeke’s eyes.
[You have absorbed a fragment of the cursed being’s spirit, imbued with chaotic power.]
[Your depleted health, mental strength, and mana are replenished.]
[You have acquired multiple bloodline abilities from the absorbed spirit.]
[You receive 15,000 Karma Points as a reward.]
The bloodline abilities were cataloged as skills, but most were not particularly useful to Zeke at the moment. He decided to convert them into Karma Points or transfer them to his summoned creatures.
However, absorbing the spirit allowed him to restore some previously indecipherable Karma data.
Through this, Zeke sensed the location of the crime boss’s true form.
‘The core lies at the deepest level of this labyrinth.’
He exited the mental realm and returned to reality.
Crack—
The mask on his face crumbled to dust.
Before moving on, Zeke gazed at the puppet that had housed the spirit.
‘Hades might appreciate this. It could be useful for his research.’
He stored the now-empty puppet in his inventory.
Then, he set coordinates for a location close to the underground chamber where the core was hidden.
‘Abel will be there with him.’
Zeke’s body vanished into the portal in a flash of light.
At that moment, Hades was at Agamemnon’s castle in Mycenae, engrossed in his exosuit research.
He was refining his creations with insights from the Tome of Hyperion that Zeke had given him.
“Wow, I never realized it could work like this. Hyperion truly is remarkable…”
Just then, Felix burst into Hades’s lab.
“H-Hades, we have a problem!”
Hades, who despised interruptions, glared at Felix.
“Felix, you insolent fool. How many times have I told you not to disturb me when I’m working?”
He levitated with a surge of magic.
“You dare to treat a dragon lightly? Perhaps seeing my awe-inspiring true form will knock some sense into—”
“No, that’s not it! The demons are attacking Mycenae right now!”
Felix’s words shocked Hades.
“What? Demons?”
Finally snapping to attention, Hades checked the surveillance artifacts outside the castle.
Something was hovering over Mycenae.
“What the hell…?”
A massive gate had opened in the sky, and countless monsters were pouring out.