Episode 56
“Bring down the Draker family, you say.”
Zeke locked eyes with Abel, trying to decipher his true intentions.
Those vivid, crimson eyes.
Zeke could sense the power of destruction and madness swirling within them.
“Is he here to sway me back, knowing I’ve sided with Sister Carly?”
Though Zeke’s current strength was limited, once he graduated from Valhalla and joined the family as a full-fledged knight, he could quickly rise to power as a pureblood awakened. Moreover, being the official disciple of Duke, the Black Knight, meant he could potentially bring Duke into his fold with the right support.
Zeke’s potential value was greater than it seemed.
When Zeke remained silent, Abel took another sip of wine and spoke again.
“Do you find my words hard to believe?”
Zeke decided to play along to better understand Abel’s motives.
“I’m not sure how to interpret your talk of bringing down the family.”
Abel chuckled, looking at Zeke.
“While the other siblings might not get it, I thought you, Zeke, would understand.”
He peered into Zeke’s eyes.
“You and I share a similar scent. The scent of blood and battle clings to you. Perhaps it’s because you carry the blood of the dragon slayer so strongly.”
“That dragon slayer blood again.”
Zeke decided to probe further.
“Bringing down the family… Is that why you’re aligning with the Empire?”
Abel paused at Zeke’s direct question, then nodded.
“I can’t deny it. Zeke, have you ever been to the Empire?”
Zeke shook his head. In his past life, he had infiltrated various cities on missions, but he hadn’t visited the Empire in this life yet.
Abel continued slowly.
“Many claim Atlas is the greatest city on the central continent, but I disagree.”
He elaborated.
“Atlas is just a city with autonomy. Without Draker’s backing, it’s a sandcastle ready to crumble. But the Empire is different.”
“What do you mean?”
“Every part of the Empire is connected through its capital, Rom. The Empire is constantly building roads, aiming to connect the central continent to the northern, southern, and even eastern continents.”
“Why the relentless road-building?”
“Zeke, that’s the Empire’s unseen strength. Unifying the continent. Different languages, cultures, and resources have always caused strife. The Empire can connect all this into one through its roads. And when that happens, the world will be a better place.”
Zeke watched Abel’s grand vision of the Empire unfold and commented.
“Sounds like something an Emperor would say.”
For a brief moment, Abel’s eyes changed, and Zeke instinctively sensed there was more to it.
“Kain, who bore the name of Constantinus. His middle name was Siemens. Abel’s maternal family is Siemens, and they support him. There’s definitely a connection between Abel, Siemens, and the Empire.”
If that were true, Abel’s willingness to hand Draker over to the Empire made some sense.
Abel addressed Zeke.
“Zeke, I want to offer talented individuals the positions and rewards they deserve. You have the potential to wield the brightest sword and possess the finest jewels by my side.”
A promise of being the second most powerful in his faction.
Zeke saw the ambition in Abel’s eyes, eyes filled with the madness befitting someone who would plunge the continent into chaos and war.
Zeke remembered the era of turmoil and war Abel had created in his past life.
Thus, he spoke slowly.
“Sorry, but I don’t think I’m suited for that role.”
He aspired to be the continent’s strongest, not a butcher.
Zeke stood up.
Abel asked him.
“Are you sure you won’t regret it?”
Zeke turned to Abel and replied.
“I doubt I will.”
With that, Zeke left the room, leaving Abel behind.
Alone at the table, Abel turned to gaze at the night view outside, sipping his wine.
A while later, William entered, surprised to find Abel alone.
“Why are you alone? Where’s Zeke?”
Abel looked at William and said.
“He chose a different path.”
The wine glass in Abel’s hand suddenly melted, spilling onto the table.
The hot, molten glass burned the table as it dripped to the floor.
Abel clenched his fist and spoke.
“William, it seems we should nip this in the bud before it’s too late.”
Today was Abel’s last offer to Zeke.
Abel turned to the noble night view of Atlas.
The moonlight shone particularly somber that night.
Back in Atlas, Zeke prepared for the new semester at Valhalla.
Valhalla operated on a single-year term, so he was already in his second year.
Unlike other students who graduated in five years, Zeke, at seventeen, was preparing for early graduation.
Having already advanced to a Blue Knight and holding a formal knight position in Draker, he could focus on the required credits and graduate early.
His unprecedented early graduation request led to a meeting with the headmaster.
Zeke went to meet Headmaster Flaubert after a long time.
But in front of the headmaster’s office, he found two others waiting.
“Yo! Bro!”
One was Diego, whom he knew well.
The other was a stranger.
“Who is he?”
A tall, lanky young man with tired eyes stood there.
Zeke, Diego, and the weary-looking young man sat before Flaubert.
Flaubert greeted them warmly.
“It’s been a while, Zeke, Diego, and Aster.”
Zeke was taken aback.
“Aster? Could it be Aster Aladov, the Phantom Knight?”
Zeke had a reason to be surprised.
In the Third Continental War of his past life, Aster Aladov, the Phantom Knight, was one of the five-star knights known for his exceptional skills. Except for being a Valhalla graduate, no personal information about him was ever revealed.
His post-graduation activities were unknown, and it was only known that he was part of the Imperial Army.
Always clad in full plate armor and helmet, Zeke never imagined Aster would have such a frail appearance.
Seeing the strong knight Aster now slumped and clutching his head was indeed surprising.
“Ugh, sorry, Headmaster. I haven’t slept properly for a week.”
“Oh dear. That chronic issue still persists, I see.”
Indeed, Aster Aladov suffered from severe insomnia.
His sensitive nature and perfectionism exacerbated his neurosis, leading to insomnia so severe he struggled to keep up with his studies.
Diego, watching Aster, gestured animatedly.
“Yo, bro! When you can’t sleep, just chill with some music, and you’ll be out like a light!”
Aster pressed his temples and replied.
“Ugh, sorry, but my head’s pounding. Could you keep it down?”
Diego’s boisterous nature seemed ill-suited to Aster’s temperament.
Zeke looked at the insomnia-stricken Aster with sympathy.
“Insomnia, huh. I struggled with that in my past life too, thanks to that cursed Don Juan and his endless nightmares.”
Understanding the torment of insomnia, Zeke empathized with Aster’s plight.
A thought crossed Zeke’s mind.
“Maybe this could be a way to bring Aster to my side.”
Just then, Flaubert addressed the three of them.
“The reason I’ve called you all here is that you’ve all applied for special early graduation at the same time.”
Though Diego often seemed carefree, and Aster appeared frail, they were among Valhalla’s top talents.
Diego wanted to focus more on his music, while Aster, unable to attend classes due to insomnia, applied for early graduation out of sheer frustration.
Flaubert tapped his fingers on the desk.
“Diego and Aster have completed their required courses through the third year, and Zeke, you plan to substitute credits with written exams.”
Zeke nodded.
“Yes, Headmaster. I want to graduate as soon as possible to take on family duties.”
Zeke played the part of the polite student, saying exactly what Flaubert wanted to hear.
The headmaster nodded and addressed the three students.
“Very well. After discussing with other professors, there’s no objection to you all taking the special early graduation exam. The question is how to evaluate it…”
He pulled out a letter from the desk.
“A cooperation letter from Delphoa.”
Zeke quickly grasped what the headmaster was implying.
“They want to evaluate us through a real-world mission.”
Indeed, Valhalla’s graduating class often participated in missions with other kingdoms’ knight orders as trainee knights.
Those who excelled were often recruited directly into those knight orders upon graduation.
Valhalla’s partners were typically prestigious central kingdom knight orders.
Delpoa was one of the five great kingdoms of the central continent, but it had a unique characteristic: due to its tradition as the homeland of magic, the mage corps held more power than the knight corps within the kingdom.
This meant that life in the knight corps was somewhat more relaxed, but it wasn’t exactly the place of choice for students from Valhalla seeking fame.
Flaubert spoke slowly.
“Have you ever heard of the Black Yacha?”
At this, Zeke nodded.
“I know them as outlaws turned continental enemies.”
“You’re well-informed about the continent, Zeke. The Black Yacha have been absorbing mercenary groups and have settled near Delpoa.”
The outlaws from the borderlands had learned aura in ways different from the knights of the central continent.
Though their methods weren’t proper aura training, their skills were specialized for killing, making them effective in real combat.
There was a reason the cartel paid handsomely to recruit these outlaws.
Zeke looked at Flaubert and said, “Are we to collaborate with the Delpoa knight corps to eliminate the Black Yacha?”
Flaubert nodded. “Most of the work will be handled by the Delpoa knight and mage corps, but they’ve requested skilled knights of at least the purple rank.”
The fact that a knight corps of Delpoa’s size requested purple-ranked knights spoke volumes about the situation.
‘The battle mages will handle most of it, and the knights will likely just clean up afterward.’
It seemed they thought it was too risky to send graduates, yet they couldn’t ignore the situation entirely, so they decided to include it as a special graduation exam mission.
Flaubert addressed the three of them. “If you participate in the mission and return safely, you’ll pass the first exam.”
“How many stages are there in total?” Zeke asked.
“There are three stages in total. After the first, the second and third will involve missions with the graduating students.”
It seemed they intended to make up for the lack of practical experience with these missions.
Zeke nodded. “I’ll participate, sir.”
Diego and Aster also expressed their willingness to join.
“Good. You’ll depart in a week, so prepare well. Especially you, Zeke, since this will be your first official mission.”
“Understood.”
In truth, Zeke was a seasoned veteran of countless battlefields, but Flaubert had no way of knowing that.
After leaving the headmaster’s office, Zeke sent Diego ahead to the club room for practice and approached Aster.
“Aster Eladoff.”
Aster looked at him with a dazed expression, eyes clouded with fatigue.
“Ugh, my head. Huh? You mean me?”
His vacant gaze and haggard appearance made it hard to believe he was one of the five-star knights, known as the Knight of Illusions.
Zeke approached Aster and asked, “Do you need something for insomnia?”
He grinned and whispered, “I’ve got some good stuff.”