Episode 601
Rumble!
Harvey Draker felt as if his entire body was being crushed under the immense pressure emanating from Zeke Draker.
“Zeke Draker… what on earth happened to you?”
He had already assumed Zeke would be stronger after absorbing the soul of the arrogant savior. But the power Zeke now wielded was beyond imagination. It felt as if he was facing a celestial being, surpassing even the ancient Nephilim.
Harvey Draker braced himself, raising his dragon scales, and shouted at Zeke.
“Zeke Draker! No matter how much you struggle, the final act will proceed as planned!”
Zeke chuckled at his words.
“That final act nonsense again. I’m tired of it. Whoever set the stage, I’ll just tear it all down.”
With that, Zeke swung his sword at Harvey Draker.
Whoosh!
It was a simple strike, yet the force behind it was anything but light.
Boom!
Harvey Draker thrust his arms forward, channeling his magic to form a protective barrier.
Crash!
Zeke’s strike collided with the barrier Harvey had erected.
“Ugh!”
Harvey gritted his teeth as the impact seeped through the barrier, reverberating through his body.
He clenched his jaw and invoked his most powerful dragon spell.
“Vanish!”
It was the strongest incantation Harvey Draker could muster.
But then, something unexpected happened.
“Cough!”
Harvey suddenly coughed, spewing blue blood from his mouth.
“Gah!”
His dragon scales fell away, his body splitting open as blood streamed down.
Unable to maintain his dragon form, Harvey reverted to his human shape and plummeted to the ground.
Crash!
He tumbled across the floor, unable to steady himself.
‘What… what just happened?’
Before he could gather his wits, Zeke was upon him, the blade of Levatein poised at his throat.
Zeke looked down at him and spoke.
“Using such a powerful spell against someone stronger than you without knowing how to wield it properly… I can’t tell if you’re brave or just foolish.”
Zeke, possessing the hearts of Bahamut and an Elder Dragon, could also use dragon spells. But he had ascended beyond that, capable of wielding divine language.
Harvey’s spell had backfired, reflecting upon him due to the vast power gap between him and Zeke.
“That… that’s impossible.”
Harvey knew that a failed spell could rebound on the caster. But for that to happen, there had to be an insurmountable difference in power.
He never imagined such a gap existed between him and Zeke Draker.
The sharp edge of Levatein pressed against Harvey’s neck.
“I thought you’d crawl back into your hole to recover, like a mole. But you made an unexpected choice.”
Zeke’s blade dug deeper into Harvey’s neck.
“Harvey Draker. Bearing the Draker name and siding with Arthur Draker… How should I interpret this?”
Harvey watched Zeke closely, searching for a chance to escape.
Just then, something shot up from the ground.
Clang!
It was Solomon’s chains, wrapping tightly around Harvey’s wrists and ankles.
“Ugh!”
Bound by the chains that constricted his limbs, Harvey struggled fiercely.
Zeke shook his head at the sight.
“Resistance is futile. I brought back an interesting name from the demon realm. You can’t escape me with your power.”
The impartial harbinger of pain.
No one could match Zeke in inflicting pain.
Crackle—
A faint current flowed through Solomon’s chains, seeping into Harvey’s body.
“Argh!”
Even a weak current was excruciating for Harvey, who had suffered severe internal injuries from the spell’s backlash.
Zeke looked at Harvey and spoke.
“Arthur Draker sent the Black Stage here. Did he come himself?”
Despite the pain, Harvey kept his mouth shut.
Zeke shook his head.
“You seem to have a strong will. Fine, that works for me.”
He increased the intensity of the current.
Crackle!
Harvey’s groans echoed throughout the chamber.
Zeke watched him endure the pain and spoke.
“Ordinary pain won’t do, huh?”
He approached Harvey quietly.
A crimson eye appeared on Zeke’s forehead.
Sizzle—
The light from the blood eye was drawn into Harvey’s dragon eyes.
The power of the Blood King attacked Harvey’s mental defenses from all angles.
Even as he was assaulted by the blood eye, Harvey glared at Zeke and shouted.
“It’s useless! This power won’t penetrate my mind!”
Zeke ignored Harvey’s defiant words and slowly extended his hand.
Sss—
In response to his gesture, shadows slithered toward Harvey’s shadow.
Harvey was alarmed as he saw Zeke’s shadow merging with his own.
“What are you trying to do now?”
Zeke gave a cold smile at Harvey’s urgent cry.
“The blood eye alone isn’t enough, so I’m trying different methods. Are you scared?”
From above, the power of the blood eye, and from below, the power of shadows, targeted Harvey’s soul.
Harvey reinforced his mental defenses, trying to fend off Zeke’s assault.
But even a Nephilim with dragon power couldn’t withstand Zeke’s divine authority.
Buzz—
Harvey felt his mental defenses crumbling.
He clenched his teeth and struggled.
“Argh! I won’t fall so easily! Zeke Draker!”
As he screamed in defiance, his body began to change.
Crack!
Harvey’s body swelled, transforming from a half-dragon into a true dragon.
Roar!
A dragon’s roar erupted from Harvey’s mouth.
Massive wings sprouted from his back, his neck elongated, and a tail emerged.
But the transformed Harvey resembled a demon dragon from the demon realm rather than a typical dragon.
Zeke sensed the power of an outsider in Harvey’s monstrous form.
‘He’s using the power of an outsider to transform into his true dragon form.’
Having completed his transformation, Harvey shook off Zeke’s mental assault and spread his four wings wide, letting out a mighty roar.
Roar—
The sound reverberated throughout the chamber.
Though smaller than a typical dragon, the power he exuded surpassed that of a holy dragon.
Zeke calmly raised Levatein, aiming at the monstrous Harvey.
The creature approached Zeke, swinging its massive tail down at him.
Crash!
The tail smashed into the stone floor, sending debris flying in all directions.
Zeke leaped back, twisting in mid-air to assume a dragon-slaying stance.
Hum!
Levatein hummed with power.
As Zeke swung his sword, a crescent-shaped slash flew toward the monstrous Harvey.
Swish!
The sharp crescent aimed for the creature’s neck.
A translucent barrier appeared in front of the monster.
Buzz—
The barrier successfully blocked Zeke’s fierce attack.
As the clash dissipated in the air, the creature opened its mouth wide at Zeke.
Rumble!
A massive ball of energy gathered at the creature’s maw, then fired a concentrated energy blast at Zeke.
Boom—
The searing blast swept toward Zeke and his surroundings.
Seeing the incoming attack, Zeke raised his Shadow Armor to defend.
Buzz!
Astonishingly, the creature’s blast pierced through the Shadow Armor.
Zeke quickly retreated, donning Hershion to form a protective shield.
Crash!
The creature’s blast exploded against Zeke’s shield.
Rumble!
The shattered chamber’s debris turned to dust, scattering around.
The creature remained vigilant, wings spread wide amidst the dust cloud.
Its intent echoed clearly throughout the chamber.
【Zeke Draker, come forth. I’ll crush you thoroughly for ruining everything.】
Though transformed into a monster, Harvey Draker retained his consciousness.
From within the dust cloud, Zeke emerged, clad in Hershion.
Though the blast had scorched its surface, most of the damage had been mitigated, leaving him largely unscathed.
Seeing this, Harvey bared his teeth.
【If I let you continue, who knows what might happen. So I’ll end this today.】
Upon hearing those words, Zeke raised Levatein and assumed the stance for the Dragon Slayer Technique.
“Thanks for saying what I was thinking.”
Zeke’s focus shifted, becoming more intense than before.
Wooooom!
As the Astral Sword unfolded, the area around Zeke expanded, his consciousness reaching further and further.
He realized that the Astral Sword could mimic the unique barriers of the constellations, and he combined this with his powers.
Rumble!
As Zeke’s Astral Sword extended to where Harvey Draker stood, Harvey frowned and summoned the energy of the Outsider.
Crackle!
The energy of Zeke’s Astral Sword clashed with Harvey Draker’s Outsider force, causing a rift in the dimension.
Both were beings beyond the causality of the physical world, so they weren’t bound by karma, but the dimension they occupied grew unstable, unleashing a chaotic aftermath.
Zeke advanced slowly, unleashing the Infinite Sword Technique imbued with the power of the Mind Sword towards Harvey Draker.
Infinite Sword Technique: Secret Style
Second Form
Dragon Cleaver
Zeeeeeeeng—
The strike, imbued with the power of the Mind Sword, flew silently and invisibly through the dimensional boundary towards Harvey Draker.
Rumble!
Sensing the Mind Sword, Harvey Draker, who had been resisting Zeke’s domain with Outsider power, spread his wings and soared into the air.
Whoooosh!
He then used dragon speech and Outsider power to conjure a shield and cast all sorts of magic around him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ice storms, firestorms, lightning, and heavy barriers erupted simultaneously.
Zeeeeeeeng—
But the Mind Sword was not something that could be stopped by such means.
The strike cut through the source of the magic, heading straight for the dragon heart within Harvey Draker.
Realizing that his heart would be cleaved if things continued, Harvey Draker understood the gravity of the situation.
【Roooooar!】
In desperation, he unleashed the full force of the Outsider power he had gained through baptism.
The surface of the dragon’s body swelled, and black tendrils emerged from within.
Rumble!
The black tendrils sprayed an inky substance towards Zeke’s Mind Sword strike.
Thud—
The inky substance coalesced and began to move on its own.
Amazingly, it swallowed the Mind Sword strike whole.
Thud—
The alien force that consumed the essence-severing Mind Sword grew larger.
Zeke’s expression shifted as he watched.
“What is that…?”
It wasn’t a power, nor was it Outsider energy—it was something entirely different.
Zeke recalled a power similar to the black substance Harvey Draker had unleashed.
“The Power of Devouring…”
It was a power he had acquired after absorbing the malevolent god Azitahaka, capable of consuming anything.
“Does Harvey Draker possess the Power of Devouring?”
Though it felt different from the Power of Devouring, it was similar enough to make its nature difficult to discern.
Like ink spreading in water, the alien force crept closer to Zeke.
Thud—
Anything that touched the inky substance was swallowed, leaving no trace behind.
Zeke prepared to unleash chaos energy against the mysterious substance.
But then, a voice called out from behind him.
“Zeke Draker.”
Turning around, he saw the shattered leader addressing him.
“I know what that is.”