Episode 577
Rumble!
The shadows coiled around the imprisoned twin angels, gradually turning their bodies black.
Roar!
The angels of the Twin Furnace cried out, as if resisting the encroaching shadow of Zeke.
But stopping the shadow that was consuming them was impossible.
[The power of the Constellation ‘One Who Transcends Walls’ is eroding the Third Sentinel.]
[With the unique authority of Absolute Dominion, the Third Sentinel is subjugated.]
[The Third Sentinel succumbs to the power of the Constellation.]
Soon, the angels of the Twin Furnace were completely engulfed by the shadow and merged into one.
The pair of angels, incomplete and lacking their lower halves, fused to form a single, complete entity.
Crackling—
As Solomon’s chains unraveled, the newly unified angel rose.
Its body, like other shadow spirits, was blackened, with eight wings and four eyes on its face.
As the transformed angel of the Twin Furnace revealed itself, a message appeared before Zeke.
[The eroded Third Sentinel has been reconstituted as a Shadow Avatar through the power of Rebirth.]
[The reconstituted Shadow Avatar is registered as the user’s Guardian.]
[Would you like to name this Guardian?]
Zeke had transformed the apocalyptic sentinel into a Shadow Avatar and made it his Guardian.
He bestowed a name upon his new Guardian, the angel of the Twin Furnace.
“I shall call you Ashvin.”
Originally a pair of twins, now a single entity due to their incomplete emergence, Zeke named the Shadow Avatar after a forgotten ancient hero known as the Divine Twins.
Upon receiving the name Ashvin, the Guardian’s eyes snapped open.
Golden light poured from its two pairs of eyes.
Ashvin knelt before Zeke, conveying its intent.
[Shadow Avatar Ashvin pledges unwavering loyalty to the Great Lord.]
Bound by the power of Absolute Dominion, the Avatar seemed to swear absolute fealty to Zeke.
Zeke looked at Ashvin, kneeling before him, with a satisfied expression.
“Unexpectedly, I’ve gained a Guardian as powerful as Caligula.”
Using the power and knowledge of Satan, he had managed to make the apocalyptic sentinel, a Constellation’s Avatar, his Guardian and completely subjugate it.
Had the Twin Furnace angels fully emerged, even with Satan’s power, subjugating them would have been impossible.
“This will be a great asset in the upcoming war.”
With a contented heart, Zeke sent Ashvin back into the shadows.
Soon, the celestial city of Laputa, the unique domain created by the Twin Furnace angels, began to crumble.
Crackling—
As cracks spread, the world of the unique domain shattered like a breaking glass window.
Standing firm in the shaking, crumbling world, Zeke looked around and found himself back in the Dragon’s Grave Canyon.
He slowly lifted into the air and drew Levatein, aiming it at the canyon.
Vroom!
Zeke unleashed the power of the Elemental Sword, now fully under his control.
As the field of gold spread, the entire canyon began to tremble in response.
At that moment, Zeke’s eyes transformed into dragon eyes, and the vibrations in the canyon intensified.
Rumble!
The canyon collapsed under the force of the golden field.
He couldn’t leave such a dangerous place, capable of luring dragons into traps, so he used the Elemental Sword to bring it down in one fell swoop.
Crash!
Watching the collapsing canyon, Zeke turned his gaze.
The war was concluding as the allied forces raised their flag over Jupiter Castle.
Zeke’s eyes, which had been sharp, now calmed.
“With this, the immediate threat is extinguished.”
Having dealt with the remnants of the Empire following the fall of the Abyss’s headquarters in Siemens’ Labyrinth, he had addressed all visible threats.
But a fundamental danger still loomed.
“The Demon King, the Constellations of the Celestial Realm, and… Arthur Draker.”
Uncertain of Arthur Draker’s plans, Zeke felt even more uneasy than when facing the Abyss.
He decided to track down Arthur Draker, who had faked his death and vanished.
With his thoughts organized, Zeke retrieved something from his inventory.
“Arthur Draker’s legacy.”
It was the only clue Zeke had to track him down.
Holding the key, Zeke’s dragon eyes gleamed.
Simultaneously, Zeke’s form vanished from the collapsed canyon.
Thud, thud, thud!
Kane Breaker, the leader of the Breaker Mercenary Corps, known as the Vanguard Mercenaries, led his remaining men out of Jupiter Castle.
Kane, with a long scar across his face, was a formidable warrior with the skills of a Blue Knight, despite being a mercenary.
Upon witnessing the appearance of a monster in Jupiter Castle, he immediately led his forces to escape.
“Damn those black sorcerers…”
The sudden monster, along with the curse of the black sorcerers, drove them into a frenzy, causing them to lose half their forces to the allied army.
Recalling the bizarre events at Jupiter Castle, Kane clenched his teeth and trembled.
Memories he would rather forget.
“Damn it, trusting Castro’s words left us in ruins.”
Though he managed to smuggle out some of the Empire’s treasures hidden in the castle before escaping, it was a small consolation compared to the losses his mercenary corps suffered.
Having lost nearly half his men, with the rest injured, Kane clicked his tongue and aimed to retreat far from here to regroup.
As they traveled, his deputy spoke up.
“Captain, where do we go now? The central continent will soon be under Draker’s control. Is there any place for us?”
Kane gritted his teeth at the deputy’s words.
”…We’ll head to the lawless zone first. We’ll sell the treasures there to raise funds, then head south to regroup.”
The southern regions and southern continent still had many areas beyond the reach of the kingdoms’ influence.
Kane planned to establish a base there, away from the central continent’s eyes, and rebuild over the next few years. Given the continent’s current chaos, they might find a place before others.
But then, something appeared before the Breaker Mercenary Corps.
“What is that?”
Kane saw a flag with a familiar emblem.
“The Mercenary Corps of Patience, Kallam”
“The Mercenary Corps of Valor, Brothers”
Two of the continent’s top three mercenary corps, excluding the Vanguard Breaker Mercenary Corps, had appeared.
Kane was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the Kallam and Brothers mercenary corps.
“Why are they here?”
On the hill, Kallam’s leader, Jayna Kallam, and Brothers’ leader, Fain Rogers, looked down at Kane.
But between them stood someone unfamiliar to Kane, causing him to frown. The one who puzzled Kane was none other than Liam, a knight of the Black Spirit Corps.
Fain, with a twig in his mouth, grinned and spoke to Liam.
“Looks like the captain was right. He’s here.”
In response, Jayna, with a cold expression, retorted.
“Fain Rogers, have you no pride? Calling him captain so easily.”
Fain shrugged at Jayna’s stern words.
“Well, it’s something we both agreed on, isn’t it? We had a fair duel, and the loser follows the winner’s orders. We lost, so it wouldn’t be right to back out now.”
Jayna frowned at Fain’s words.
The Kallam and Brothers mercenary corps had stood against the Breaker Mercenary Corps, backed by the Empire, and faced a major crisis after losing many of their forces.
The one who saved the two mercenary corps, pursued by enemies on the battlefield, was none other than Liam, leading the Stone Mercenary Corps.
Liam had received a special mission from Zeke, which was to form a mercenary corps and operate independently.
Following his mission, Liam gathered skilled individuals from disbanded mercenary corps and unemployed mercenaries to form the Stone Mercenary Corps.
With the capital provided by Zeke and Liam’s exceptional skills, the Stone Mercenary Corps quickly grew in strength.
Liam, leading the Stone Mercenary Corps, followed Zeke’s orders to prioritize recruiting the Kallam and Brothers mercenary corps by saving them and making an offer.
He proposed a duel: if he won, they would join the Stone Mercenary Corps without any conditions.
Fain and Jayna accepted the challenge, but even together, they couldn’t defeat Liam.
As a result, the two mercenary corps came under the command of the Stone Mercenary Corps, with two of the continent’s top three mercenary corps now following Liam’s orders.
Fain, with his easygoing nature, quickly adapted and accepted Liam as their leader, but Jayna still seemed uncomfortable with being under someone else’s command.
Listening to their conversation, Liam spoke.
“Jayna Kallam, you don’t need to respect me as your leader. Mercenaries aren’t knights, after all.”
He paused, drawing his twin swords, and continued.
“But remember this: the world of mercenaries follows the law of the strong.”
Vroom!
Liam turned his gaze away from Jayna and shouted at Cain, the leader of the Breaker Mercenaries.
“Cain Breaker! My name is Liam Stone! As the leader of the Stone Mercenaries, I challenge you to a duel!”
Cain, standing atop the hill, frowned at Liam’s bold declaration. Among mercenaries, Cain was renowned as the strongest, a formidable force to be reckoned with. Unaware of Liam’s knightly origins, Cain saw him as nothing more than a naive pup barking at a lion, oblivious to the danger.
Stunned into silence by the audacity of the challenge, Cain hesitated. But Liam’s voice rang out again, taunting him.
“Are you afraid to face me with your sword? If so, dismount and surrender on your knees!”
Cain’s face flushed with anger at the insult. “You insolent whelp!” he roared, drawing his sword in a flash.
Before his second-in-command could intervene, Cain spurred his horse forward, charging toward Liam.
Liam, watching the approach, murmured under his breath, “Watch closely.”
The ground thundered beneath them as Liam urged his horse down the hill, meeting Cain’s charge head-on. Cain’s presence was fearsome, his sword vibrating with a powerful aura that rippled through the air.
Cain had learned the art of aura manipulation from a reclusive knight, setting him apart from ordinary mercenaries. His blend of superior swordsmanship and battle-hardened instincts made him unrivaled among his peers. Even the proud kingdoms of the central lands vied to knight him.
Yet, Liam showed no sign of intimidation. With twin swords in hand, he lowered his stance and charged at Cain with calm determination.
As the distance between them closed, Cain’s sword erupted with a devastating aura blade, poised to cleave through Liam and his horse in one fell swoop.
“Hyah!”
The ground shook as the powerful aura blade descended toward Liam. But in a flash of light, Liam’s twin swords unleashed their own aura, deflecting Cain’s attack.
Cain’s eyes widened in disbelief, unprepared for his sword to be repelled. Liam seized the moment, his swift blades a blur of motion.
In an instant, Liam’s rapid strikes sliced past Cain, too fast for the eye to follow.
To onlookers, it seemed as if the two had merely brushed past each other in a fleeting clash. But something was amiss with Cain as he rode past Liam.
A strangled sound escaped Cain’s lips, and then, shockingly, his head toppled from his shoulders, rolling to the ground while his body remained upright on the horse.