Episode 513
Creak— Creak—
A monstrous creature crawled out of the sewer on all fours, its grotesque form lumbering forward. Its face, a mass of writhing flesh, twisted and turned before it fixed its gaze on Zeke.
Suddenly, the creature’s flesh split into eight gaping maws, each lined with razor-sharp teeth, and a sinister red glow emanated from its core.
Zeke studied the hideous creature, trying to discern its nature. “An Outsider, perhaps?” he mused. Though he had encountered Outsiders in the sewers before, this one felt different, more menacing.
“Regardless, it’s still a nightmare,” he thought as the creature lunged at him, its eight mouths wide open.
Zeke sprang to his feet, swinging his sword, Ascalon, with precision.
Thud—
The impact felt like striking a mass of iron, and the creature’s body split as if torn apart. Yet, from the severed flesh, organic matter surged forth, rapidly regenerating the damaged area.
Zeke watched the creature’s body mend itself, then tightened his grip on his sword, preparing to unleash a dragon-slaying technique. He focused his mana into the blade, but the aura flickered and died out.
“What is this place?” Zeke wondered, furrowing his brow. “Could it be absorbing all light and energy?”
In this space, dense with mana, it seemed the very environment was siphoning off his power.
“If that’s the case…” Zeke sheathed Ascalon and approached the creature barehanded. The monster, sensing an opportunity, swung a long arm at him.
In an instant, Zeke’s shadow flickered, and a massive black scythe emerged, severing the creature’s arm.
The monster shrieked in agony as Zeke absorbed the severed limb into his shadow.
“So, that’s how it is,” Zeke said, a hint of understanding in his voice. He extended his hand, and his shadow coalesced into the form of a sword—Caladbolg.
With Caladbolg in hand, Zeke charged at the creature, executing a dragon-slaying strike that cleaved through another of its arms.
The monster recoiled, then thrust its abdomen forward, revealing hundreds of tendrils that lashed out at Zeke.
Zeke conjured a shadow shield to block the onslaught of fanged tendrils. Seizing the moment, he summoned Solomon’s Chains.
Clang!
The chains wrapped around the tendrils, binding them tightly. The creature, realizing its predicament, tried to retreat, but Zeke swiftly brought Caladbolg down on the bound tendrils.
Slash!
The tendrils were severed, and before they could regenerate, Zeke’s shadow consumed them.
Realizing its attacks were futile, the creature retracted its tendrils and began to back away. Zeke, shrouded in shadow, advanced slowly.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he taunted.
For the first time, the creature felt fear—a foreign emotion for something that had always been the source of terror. It let out a piercing scream, trying to shake off the unsettling feeling, but the fear remained.
Zeke charged, Caladbolg raised high. “Take this!”
He unleashed a dragon-slaying technique, the Shadow Dragon Strike, piercing the creature’s body.
Boom!
The attack left a gaping hole in the creature’s abdomen, and viscous fluid oozed out as it staggered in pain.
Zeke approached, unleashing a gravitational field to pin the creature in place.
The monster struggled against the force, but Zeke’s cold gaze remained fixed on it as he reached out.
Crackle!
The wisdom of the dragon flowed through him, and the creature’s memories flooded into Zeke’s mind. Though fragmented and cryptic, Zeke used his sage’s eye to piece together the information.
He recalled the absence of even rats or insects in the underground sewers and realized the grave mistake made by the king of Thebea and the allied forces a millennium ago. They had attempted to open the Gate of Chaos in the secret underground labyrinth of Thebea, awakening ancient curses and magic.
Though the summoning of the Gate of Chaos failed, the cursed beings were drawn into the hidden world beneath the labyrinth, transformed by the fusion of chaos and curse.
“Master Germain,” Zeke whispered, recalling the name of the cursed entity that had ruled the darkness beneath the central continent for a thousand years.
Suddenly, the creature, bound by Zeke’s gravitational force, let out a long wail and began to swell.
Boom!
The monster exploded, sending acidic fluid and sharp teeth flying in all directions. Zeke’s shadow armor shielded him from the debris, but the area was left coated in sticky residue.
Zeke shook his head at the gruesome scene, determined to find the main body and defeat Abel to return to reality.
But then, the water in the sewer began to bubble.
Dozens of other monstrous creatures emerged, each as grotesque and terrifying as the last, crawling toward Zeke from the floor, walls, and ceiling.
Any ordinary knight would have been paralyzed with fear at the sight, but Zeke drew Caladbolg once more, assuming a dragon-slaying stance, his eyes gleaming with resolve.
“Come on, you monsters.”
The creatures spewed acidic liquid as they charged, filling the sewer with their horrific cries.
In a vast cavern, an organic mass resembling a human brain pulsated. Thousands of tendrils extended from it, clinging to the walls, continuously absorbing or injecting something.
The organism functioned like a living brain, its surface appearing to pulse rhythmically, while intense mental exchanges occurred within.
“We must kill him immediately.”
“No, we must not kill him.”
“We should make him one of us.”
“His body could withstand the chaos we harbor.”
“But it’s too dangerous.”
“He’s already entered this realm.”
“He is an envoy of the Chaos God.”
“If we’re not careful, he could consume us.”
The mental entities, once distinct, had merged over a millennium, losing their individual identities. Under the name Master Germain, they made decisions collectively.
The current debate centered on Zeke Dreiker’s fate. Initially, they had agreed to use his body as a new vessel, but as he approached Thebea’s palace, fear of his power divided them.
Some believed he should be eliminated before he became a greater threat, while others coveted his body, seeing it as a means to exert more influence in the physical world.
A faction within the Germain raised their voices once more.
“It’s too dangerous to use Zeke Draker as a host.”
“Even our mental projections were swiftly drawn into the depths of his mind.”
“He’s no ordinary human.”
“It would be safer to use Abel Draker’s body as the host instead.”
The mention of Abel Draker quickened their thoughts.
“We have a pact with the Abyss.”
“You know we can’t touch Abel Draker’s body.”
“The Demon King’s soul is destined to inhabit it.”
“We can’t open the Gate of Chaos with a body meant to host the Demon King.”
The Gate of Chaos.
Tebea and the allied forces had attempted to open the Gate of Chaos to summon beings from another dimension to stop Bahamut, who was possessed by the Demon King. But the summoning failed, and only the sacrificed princes of the fallen kingdom were consumed by chaotic power, turning into such monsters.
Germain, infused with the power of chaos, had spent a thousand years amassing strength to open the Gate of Chaos once more. Their plan was to summon the being that should have originally been called forth, control it, and bring ruin to Tebea and the entire central continent.
“When the Gate of Chaos opens and the ‘Otherworldly Being’ appears, the boundaries of dimensions will become meaningless.”
“We won’t need a physical body to enter the real world.”
“We don’t need to risk the dangers posed by variables like Zeke Draker or Abel Draker.”
After lengthy deliberation, Germain’s mental entities decided to kill Zeke Draker and hand over Abel Draker to the Abyss as per their contract. Only the priest of the Abyss could fulfill the final condition to open the Gate of Chaos. If they didn’t hand over Abel Draker, the priest wouldn’t open the gate, and Germain would face another indefinite wait.
“Send more of the Chaos Spawn.”
“Zeke Draker must be completely eradicated here.”
Having reached a consensus, the mental entities prepared to send more monsters to where Zeke was.
At that moment, Germain realized they could no longer sense Zeke Draker, who had been fighting the monsters they had already sent.
He had vanished while they were deep in discussion.
“He’s gone.”
“Has he returned to reality?”
“If he hides there, it will be difficult for us to find him.”
“Our projections alone can’t handle him.”
“We must kill him here.”
The mental entities issued commands to all the grotesque beings within this shadow world.
“Find Zeke Draker.”
“And kill him.”
The horrific creatures lurking in the shadows of reality heeded the command, letting out shrieks as they began searching for Zeke’s trail.
“He must be alive.”
“If so, there should be traces.”
“But there’s no sign of life anywhere.”
“That’s impossible.”
“As a being of the physical realm, he can’t leave no trace.”
“It’s impossible for a human from the physical realm to evade our sight…”
It was then.
BOOM!
Something plummeted rapidly from above.
A massive spear forged from shadows.
The spear, a fusion of Shadow Armor and Caladbolg, spun as it descended toward the core of the boss.
Sensing the immense physical energy, Germain activated their bloodline ability.
ZZZZZZZZZ—
A translucent barrier enveloped the entire chamber.
RUMBLE—
The black spear drove into the barrier.