Episode 616
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
With a deafening crash, the carpet pierced through the barrier and descended into the heart of Atlantis.
“Ugh!”
Nabu groaned, feeling as if he’d been pummeled all over, and slowly got to his feet, rubbing his aching back.
“Ah, my poor bones. What on earth am I doing here? What kind of riches am I chasing to put myself through this?”
Leaving Nabu’s grumbling behind, Zeke approached Nigel.
“Are you alright, Master?”
Though Zeke had fully recovered physically, he couldn’t mend the damage to Nigel’s soul. Nigel had risked annihilation to break the seal, and Zeke couldn’t help but worry.
Nigel, though a bit pale, nodded reassuringly. “I’m fine. But this place…”
The central city of Atlantis, now exposed, was starkly different from the outside. The sky was overcast, as if shrouded in dark clouds, casting everything in shadow. No light penetrated the gloom.
Buildings lay in ruins, black mold spread across surfaces, and strange moss and vines crept over the walls.
Nabu gaped at the sight. “Wow, what is this? It’s completely different from outside.”
Zeke knelt, touching the ground and the overgrown plants, then nodded. “I’ve seen a place like this before.”
Nabu looked at him, surprised. “A place like this? Where?”
“Though it was through memories of the past… a continent beyond the Dark Sea, where another Book of the Dead is hidden. It looked just like this.”
Nigel frowned at Zeke’s words. “So the power from the Book of the Dead has affected the environment.”
Nabu’s jaw dropped. “A sealed book, and only half of it at that, can leak this much power?”
Zeke turned to Nabu. “The continent beyond the Dark Sea was in even worse shape. Not only was it bizarre, but everywhere…”
Before Zeke could finish, a monstrous howl echoed from afar.
He glanced in the direction of the sound and continued, “Creatures tainted by dark energy roamed everywhere.”
Zeke stood, raising his sword. “We need to stay alert and reach the center where the Book of the Dead is sealed as quickly as possible. We don’t know how far Baron has gotten.”
Nigel drew his sword and nodded in agreement. The three of them set off toward the city’s center, on high alert.
Zeke led the way, with Nabu in the middle and Nigel bringing up the rear. As they navigated through the half-collapsed buildings, they sensed something approaching.
Grrrr—
A beast resembling a wild dog bared its teeth at them, its mouth splitting open in four directions rather than two, a menacing sight.
And it wasn’t alone. Dozens of such beasts emerged.
Zeke aimed his sword at the creatures. “I’ll handle them. You two cover me from behind.”
With that, Zeke lunged forward, striking the nearest beast with his sword.
BOOM!
The sword, imbued with radiant power, struck the beast squarely.
Screeech!
The beast, engulfed in light, collapsed, oozing foul fluids, and Zeke’s shadow swiftly enveloped it.
Sssss—
Absorbing the fallen beast, Zeke felt his karma points increase, and a satisfied grin spread across his face.
“Good, I needed more points anyway. Come on, then.”
Grrrr—
The beasts lunged at Zeke, baring sharp teeth and flicking tongues tipped with venom.
Nabu shuddered at the sight. “Ugh, I’ve seen my share of beasts, but these are just grotesque!”
He muttered in frustration, summoning arrows of light that hovered in the air.
Behind him, Nigel pulled out pieces of orichalcum he’d gathered, infusing them with all his strength.
The beasts, eyeing them, charged from all directions.
Screeech!
Nabu was the first to act, launching the arrows of light at the creatures.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The arrows struck true, embedding in the beasts’ bodies.
Screeech!
The beasts hit by the light arrows staggered back.
Then Nigel hurled the orichalcum pieces, charged with his energy, at the retreating beasts.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The orichalcum shards pierced through the beasts, tearing their limbs apart.
Zeke’s shadow moved in, absorbing the remains of the fallen creatures.
The karma points gained from absorbing these beasts were substantial.
‘Is it because they’ve been directly influenced by the power of the Demon King from the Book of the Dead? The karma points are quite high.’
Knowing that Baron and Arthur Draker’s followers manipulated twisted causality, having a wealth of karma points was advantageous for Zeke.
‘Let’s wipe them out in one go.’
Zeke reached for the orichalcum shards scattered by Nigel.
Vrrrr—
The shards responded to Zeke’s energy, rising into the air and spinning fiercely.
Zeke clenched his fist, and the spinning shards flew through the air, slicing through the beasts, reducing them to chunks.
Screeech!
The beasts’ tough, slippery bodies were nearly impervious to ordinary attacks.
But the orichalcum shards, powered by Zeke, shredded them effortlessly.
Sssss—
The decimated beasts were swiftly absorbed into Zeke’s shadow.
With a satisfied smile, Zeke noted the significant increase in karma points.
He gestured to Nabu and Nigel. “As we get closer to the center, the beasts will be stronger. Stay alert.”
Nabu and Nigel nodded, tense but determined, and followed Zeke.
As expected, the closer they got to the center, the more formidable and grotesque the beasts became, their condensed dark energy making it hard to breathe.
Yet even these powerful beasts were merely good sources of karma points for Zeke.
Thud!
A beast resembling a giant fell to Zeke’s sword strike.
As always, Zeke’s shadow hungrily devoured the beast’s body.
Given the beast’s dense dark energy, Zeke gained a large amount of karma points.
Fighting off the attacking beasts, they finally reached the heart of Atlantis.
Nabu pointed to a building at the center. “Is that where the Book of the Dead is?”
Surprisingly, a temple stood where he pointed. Unlike typical temples, it was a stone structure with sharp spires, unfamiliar and imposing.
Just then, a voice echoed in their ears.
【Welcome, new king.】
Nabu’s eyes widened at the voice. “Did you hear that? The voice saying ‘welcome’ or something.”
Zeke nodded. “Yes, it seems the Book of the Dead is indeed sealed there.”
He raised his sword and cautiously approached the temple.
But as he neared, a surge of magical energy crackled in front of him, blocking his path.
Simultaneously, a message appeared before Zeke.
[The highest level of security is controlling this area.]
[Access is denied without an authentication key.]
Zeke pondered the message briefly, then spoke to the system. ‘Use my control over R’lyeh to disable the security.’
The system paused, seemingly attempting to comply, then displayed another message.
[The control over the Abyssal City of R’lyeh does not include an authentication key for this security zone.]
It seemed the control authority Zeke held over R’lyeh and the management system of this security zone operated independently.
After a moment’s thought, Zeke instructed the system again. ‘Check if I can access the security system using my titles and powers.’
The system went silent, attempting to connect to the security system.
Moments later, a warning appeared.
[Warning. Unauthorized intrusion detected by the system. Activating protection program.]
[A guardian protecting this area is being summoned.]
Zeke was taken aback by the system’s warning.
‘What kind of system is this that even the Kabbalah system can’t access it?’
As Zeke retreated in surprise, a magic circle appeared before the temple, summoning a guardian.
Vrrrr—
The guardian emerged, exuding a powerful aura.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The summoned guardian was none other than a colossal golem.
Towering well over five meters, it wore a helmet shaped like a lion’s head. In one hand, it gripped a hefty club, and a longbow was slung across its back.
What stood out most was that this golem was crafted from a radiant, silver metal.
Zeke stared at the golem, slowly realizing the nature of the metal.
“An orichalcum golem?”
The massive golem was made entirely of orichalcum.
Zeke’s own orichalcum Hersion was a rarity, but to see a golem made entirely of the legendary metal was beyond belief.
The golem exuded an imposing presence, blocking the path to the temple, and Zeke couldn’t help but be awed.
Just then, Nabu, who was standing behind, exclaimed in shock.
“What, what is that… could it be… Hercules, the real Hercules?”
Nabu stepped forward, eyes wide with excitement.
“Unbelievable! The legend says Atlantis wielded its ultimate power through the orichalcum golem, Hercules!”
Nabu quickly summoned a book, comparing the imagined depiction of Hercules with the real thing, and gasped.
“My goodness! The reality is even more incredible than the legend! The books speculated it was orichalcum-plated or some similar-sounding metal. But no! This is pure orichalcum! Wow, the Atlanteans were something else!”
Nabu, ever the scholar, was practically bouncing with excitement at this new discovery.
But then, the golem known as Hercules began to move.
Creak!
It set down the club it was holding and drew the longbow from its back.
With a powerful pull, it aimed the bow.
Magic began to concentrate on the empty bowstring.
Vwoooom!
In an instant, the magic condensed into an arrow.
Seeing this, Nabu was once again thrilled.
“Hercules’ arrow! They say it repelled invaders who attacked the city…!”
Suddenly, a flash of light burst from Hercules’ bow.
Boom!
The arrow of light soared high into the sky, then arced down toward Zeke and his companions.
Nabu snapped back to reality, screaming.
“Aaaah! I didn’t mean I wanted to get hit by it!”
Before the scream even ended, the arrow of light struck, exploding with tremendous force.
Boom!
The explosion left the area completely devastated.
As the dust settled, a spherical shield made of shadow emerged.
Zeke had deployed his Shadow Armor to block Hercules’ arrow.
Seeing this, Hercules prepared to draw the bowstring again.
Zeke shook his head, transforming the Levatein he held into a spear.
“I’m not generous enough to take that twice!”
With that, he hurled the spear-shaped Levatein at Hercules.
Boom!
With a thunderous roar, the Levatein sliced through the air toward its target.