Episode 552
“I can feel the power of a Celestial from that creature.”
It wasn’t the power of a demon, but the true power of a Celestial that had fallen into the demon realm.
After the order of the material world was established, the Celestials ascended to the heavens and had not shown themselves since. Yet, here was their power manifesting through an unknown entity.
Zeke furrowed his brow in disbelief. He hadn’t imagined that even the power of the Celestials from the heavens would be experimented on in the abyss.
Rumble!
The clash between Zeke’s power and Harvey West’s created a relatively stable middle ground.
In that space, the mysterious entity was absorbing the power of the homunculus, blossoming into its true form.
Zeke shouted at Harvey West, “Harvey West! What is that creature?”
Harvey West replied with a grim expression, “This is an unexpected outcome for me as well. I never thought the fragment of an angel would react to the power of the Hero King.”
Zeke looked puzzled, unable to comprehend. “An angel? That creature is an angel?”
He recalled reading about angels in the “Apocrypha,” a relic of Laura Agamemnon. In it, angels were described as messengers of the primordial light’s will.
When beings on earth succumbed to corruption and the temptations of evil, angels would descend from the heavens to sound the trumpet of doom. This would signal the primordial light to cleanse the earth with fire and flood, eradicating the roots of corruption.
The legendary city of Carcosa was said to have been consumed by such a light after thirteen angels descended and sounded the trumpet of doom.
“Is that creature a fragment of the angel mentioned in the Apocrypha? But why would an angel’s fragment react to the master’s homunculus?”
The Hero King, Kaishir, was known to be born of the Fairy King and a Great Sage. The Fairy King was the sole bearer of the primordial light’s power, and Kaishir inherited that power.
Kaishir, having grown too powerful to remain in the material world, left his physical form to reside in the fairy realm. The Great Sage, to combat the Demon King, created a homunculus in Kaishir’s likeness.
Thus, the homunculus of Kaishir contained the Hero King’s power, which, if traced back, held the primordial light’s power.
Though Zeke and Harvey West hadn’t considered it, even a trace amount of that power was enough to awaken the original essence within the angel’s fragment.
As a result, the angel’s fragment, having absorbed Kaishir’s homunculus, regained its original power.
Crack!
While Zeke and Harvey West were locked in a power struggle, the angel’s fragment fully restored its form.
Whoosh!
As it spread its wings, the body hidden within was revealed.
Its skin was smooth and hard, like marble, and its body was three times the size of a human, with two pairs of wings sprouting from its back. Its limbs and torso were robustly built.
The head, devoid of hair, had harmonious features, giving it a sleek appearance. It looked more like a statue in a temple than a living being.
Sensing the aura emanating from the fully formed angel, Zeke realized its identity.
“The Celestial of the Scorpion Constellation, one of the Thirteen Constellations.”
The Rom Empire worshipped the Sun God, the Moon Goddess, and the Thirteen Constellations. The empire’s thirteen legions symbolized these constellations, and their commanders received the Herseion, imbued with the constellations’ powers.
Zeke had once retrieved the Herseion of Morgan Buffon, a knight of the Scorpion Constellation, to study the power of the constellations.
However, unlike the fallen Celestials, the powers within the Herseion were too weak to manifest any special abilities.
Thus, it was believed that the powers of the Celestials couldn’t fully manifest after they left the material world.
Yet, the being before him was radiating the unmistakable aura of the Scorpion Constellation.
Whoosh!
The angel, having spread its wings and stood tall, unleashed a storm-like aura.
At the same time, a message appeared before Zeke’s eyes.
[Sentinel 13 is connecting to the dimensional server.]
[Information is being updated.]
[Sentinel 13 detects exclusion targets.]
[Excluding unauthorized entities.]
[Sentinel 13’s annihilation program is activated.]
With the message, the angel’s eyes flashed with light.
Simultaneously, the angel opened its mouth wide.
Roar!
As the angel let out a terrifying scream, a unique domain began to spread from its center.
[Sentinel 13’s unique domain is unfolding.]
The dimensional storm unleashed by Zeke and Harvey West was absorbed into this domain, transforming the labyrinth into an entirely different place.
When Zeke blinked in surprise at the sudden change, a cityscape unfolded before him.
White buildings, reminiscent of temples, lined the streets, with some towering structures reaching skyward.
Though the city appeared vibrant and alive, there was no trace of any living beings.
It felt similar to when he had visited Carcosa, where the primordial temple once stood.
As he surveyed the scene with a serious expression, another message appeared before Zeke.
[You have witnessed the forgotten city, ‘Holy City Laocon,’ within Sentinel 13’s unique domain.]
[Fragments of forgotten time have been detected.]
[Fragments of forgotten time are connecting to the Akashic Code.]
[A large amount of karma data is being updated.]
[You have acquired information about ‘Holy City Laocon’ through the data.]
[System restriction codes related to this information are being lifted.]
[You can now access the skill and item list related to ‘Holy City Laocon.’]
Zeke was astonished by the message.
“A forgotten city? Holy City Laocon?”
He had never heard of a city named Laocon before.
Even in the Apocrypha discovered by Laura Agamemnon, there was no mention of such a city.
Zeke was shocked that no records existed of this vast city before him.
He realized that Laocon was another ancient civilization created and erased by the whims of the Celestials.
“To think a city of this scale could vanish entirely at the will of the Celestials…”
Zeke opened his status window to check the skills and items related to Laocon.
He confirmed that new lists had been updated.
Amazingly, there were thousands of holy magic spells and items similar to the light magic of Luverne.
With enough karma points, these items and skills could be realized.
“By recognizing fragments of forgotten time and updating that information, I can recall the karma data from those past cities.”
Zeke finally understood what the ‘fragments of forgotten time’ given to him by Mephistopheles meant.
The erased times of the world by the Celestials.
The missing parts of history that his mother, Laura Agamemnon, sought were indeed fragments of forgotten time.
As he quickly reviewed the information about Holy City Laocon, a change occurred in the sky.
Rumble!
The sky split open, and an angel with wings descended from above.
The angel of the Scorpion Constellation, who had drawn Zeke into this domain.
The angel hovered silently in the sky, gazing down at Laocon, then opened its mouth wide.
It let out a massive roar that resonated throughout the city.
Roar!
In response to the angel’s roar, the city began to tremble.
Simultaneously, the tall tower in the city started to change.
Hum!
A massive crystal emerged atop the tower.
The crystal shimmered with white light, then shot a beam toward Zeke.
Zing!
The powerful light rapidly approached Zeke.
He raised shadows to block the beam from the tower.
Crackle!
Even with his Shadow Armor, the force was strong enough to push Zeke back.
Then, crystals appeared on all the towers throughout the city, each firing similar beams of light.
Zing!
Dozens of beams flew toward Zeke.
He raised his Levatein and unleashed a strike imbued with the power of the Astral Sword toward the light.
Boom!
Zeke’s strike collided with the beams, causing a massive explosion of light in the air.
The powerful explosion created shockwave-laden ripples.
Zeke blocked it with his Shadow Armor, but the light’s ripples seeped through, brushing against his body.
“Ugh!”
Surprisingly, the light’s ripples managed to affect Zeke’s body, despite his immortal and transcendent nature.
Through the Akashic Code, Zeke confirmed that this light was a weapon specifically designed to combat beings with divine attributes.
“A defense weapon created throughout the city to combat the Celestials.”
Holy City Laocon had developed weapons to fight the Celestials to prevent the apocalypse.
However, Laocon was eventually erased from history, and its ultimate weapon fell into the hands of the Celestials, used against their enemies.
Hum!
The crystal atop the tower seemed to be gathering light for another attack.
Seeing this, Zeke raised his sword.
“I’ll destroy the tower first.”
Judging that offense was the best defense, Zeke summoned the Elemental Sword and unleashed a field of force toward the tower.
Rumble!
A powerful gravitational field surged, shaking the towering structure to its core.
Yet, astonishingly, the tower responded with a flash of light, forming a protective barrier.
Vroooom!
The barrier countered the pressure of the gravitational field that Zeke had created, shielding the tower from harm.
“To think a civilization capable of creating something like this could be erased without a trace. Just how powerful are the Celestial Constellations?”
As Zeke pondered this with a grave expression, another tower began to fire beams of light at him.
Zzzzaaaang!
Zeke deftly dodged the incoming beams, deflecting them with his sword. But the beams he thought he had evaded ricocheted off the surface of another tower, targeting his exposed flank.
Zzzzaaaang!
The entire area was bathed in the white light of the towers’ radiant spears. It felt as if the whole city was a trap designed to capture the Constellations.
While fending off the spears, Zeke turned his gaze to the angel hovering in the sky.
“This is its domain. If I can defeat the angel and nullify its power, I should be able to return to the original dimension.”
Zeke retrieved a bloodstone from his inventory, absorbing its energy to replenish his strength.
Rumble!
Taking a deep breath, his eyes gleamed as a powerful aura surged from his body. He planned to attack the angel with his full strength and then unleash chaos to nullify its power.
Just as he was about to launch his attack on the angel—
Bzzzzing—
The space before Zeke shimmered, and someone appeared.
“Zeke Draker.”
It was none other than Harvey West, who had been hiding, suppressing his presence, and now revealed himself before Zeke.
Zeke, surprised by Harvey’s sudden appearance, prepared to redirect his attack.
But Harvey raised his hands, signaling he meant no harm. “I have a proposal for you.”
Zeke narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Harvey. “A proposal now? Are you getting desperate because things didn’t go as planned?”
Harvey nodded in agreement. “You’re right. I didn’t anticipate the angel’s fragment would fully awaken. If left unchecked, it will lead to disaster.”
Zeke frowned at Harvey’s words. “What do you mean?”
Harvey’s expression turned serious. “Angels are the heralds of the apocalypse. They awaken at the command of the Celestial Constellations. But one has awakened unintentionally, and the rest will soon follow.”
Zeke began to grasp the gravity of Harvey’s words.
“Could it be…?”
Seeing Zeke’s tense expression, Harvey nodded. “If all the angels of the Thirteen Constellations awaken and sound the trumpet of doom… this world and its civilization will be completely erased.”