Episode 620
Rumble—
At Zeke’s single command to kneel, the dark knights fell to the ground as if pinned there, unable to rise.
Hovering above them, Zeke extended his hand, his gaze piercing them with the eyes of a grand lord.
Rumble!
With just a gesture, an overwhelming pressure crushed the dark knights, leaving them immobilized under the force of Zeke’s unleashed aura.
Then, from the ground, vines began to stir once more.
Sssshhh!
The vines twisted together, forming a massive arm that reached for Zeke, as if to grasp him from the air.
Zeke’s eyes flicked toward the vine-formed arm.
With just a glance, the giant arm convulsed, its surface bubbling and swelling grotesquely.
Screeeeech!
With a bizarre shriek, the vine arm melted away, leaving only foul-smelling remnants to fall to the ground.
Zeke descended slowly, standing before the kneeling dark knights.
With the eyes of a grand lord, he peered into the souls trapped within their corrupted forms.
Each soul, once a hero, now screamed in agony, filled with hatred and regret, their memories and reason long gone, leaving only a destructive instinct.
Their souls, more ravaged than those of the vengeful wraith soldiers, had lost all traces of their former nobility.
‘These souls cannot be saved.’
Zeke resolved to free them from the twisted causality that had summoned them back to this place.
He reached out to the dark knights, intending to use his karma points to remove the distortion of causality.
But then—
Sssshhh—
The souls of the dark knights began to react to the purgatory, the unique domain of the arrogant savior.
Purgatory, another form of the lost world of Babel, was the savior’s most painful memory.
Surprisingly, the dark knights’ souls sought peace within that purgatory.
‘They choose suffering over rest.’
For these past heroes, who had lived with hatred and regret for so long, purgatory might indeed be a more peaceful place.
Zeke decided to share in their inescapable pain.
He extended his hand toward the dark knights, unleashing the power of purgatory.
Their bodies shuddered violently, black smoke seeping from the gaps in their armor.
Sssshhh—
The tormented souls were drawn into Zeke’s hand.
Rumble!
The armor clattered as it expelled all the black smoke.
The souls of the dark knights were swiftly swept into purgatory.
Zeke felt the increase in the number of souls wailing in agony within the depths of his own purgatory.
In a past life, he too had been one of those endlessly screaming souls.
‘Perhaps that’s why I can fully accept them, the souls of Babel, into purgatory.’
As he pondered this bitterly, the bodies of the dark knights, now soulless, crumbled, leaving only sticky remnants of dark matter.
Zeke incinerated the remains with purgatory’s flames, then turned to the black vines entwining the temple and Heracles.
‘I can’t be held back here any longer.’
A massive eye appeared above him.
Sssshhh—
Two eyes, resembling those of a grand lord, gazed at the vines ensnaring Heracles and the temple.
The surface of the vines began to blaze with a crimson fire.
Whoosh!
The purgatory flames, ignited by the grand lord’s eyes, consumed the vine stalks, spreading and burrowing into the ground.
As the flames reached deep within, an earthquake suddenly erupted.
Rumble—
The ground in front of the temple split open, revealing a massive cocoon.
Screeeeech!
The cocoon, the root of the vines, was the very one Baron had used to summon the dark knights.
As the purgatory flames reached the cocoon, it writhed in agony, emerging above ground.
Screeeeech!
The cocoon shrieked at Zeke.
Zeke shook his head.
“Now is not the time to look at me.”
Sensing something amiss, the cocoon transformed, sprouting hundreds of eyes across its surface.
With its newfound vision, the cocoon spotted Heracles, who had freed himself from the vines and was charging with an orichalcum spear.
Rumble!
Heracles hurled the spear with all his might at the cocoon.
Boom!
The spear flew with a thunderous roar toward the cocoon.
The cocoon gathered vines to form a wall, attempting to block the spear.
But it was too late to react.
Crash!
The spear pierced through the vine wall, embedding itself in the cocoon.
Thud!
As the orichalcum spear penetrated, the cocoon let out a long, agonized wail.
Screeeeech!
The surface of the cocoon began to bubble, and tentacles emerged instead of vines.
The tentacles moved in unison to extract the spear.
But then—
Sssshhh!
Zeke summoned Solomon’s chains, wrapping them around the tentacles and the cocoon.
The top of the cocoon split open, revealing a gaping maw from which black matter threatened to erupt.
Zeke approached, his eyes glowing.
“It’s too late.”
With those words, Zeke placed his hand on the orichalcum spear lodged in the cocoon.
Vroom!
The grand lord’s power surged through the spear, sending a wave through the cocoon.
Screeeeech—
The powerful wave swept through the cocoon, dispersing the black matter it tried to expel, causing sticky fluids to ooze instead.
Screeeeech!
As the cocoon wailed in agony once more, Zeke unleashed purgatory’s flames.
The flames flowed through Solomon’s chains into the cocoon.
Whoosh!
Unable to resist, the cocoon burned away. As the purgatory flames consumed the core, the vines scattered as ash.
Zeke absorbed the remnants into his shadow, then descended slowly from the air.
Though the vines covering the temple had turned to ash, the weakening seal left the entire area steeped in a foreboding power.
Zeke realized that the soul of the arrogant savior he had absorbed was reacting to this ominous force emanating from the temple.
‘The power of the Demon King.’
The arrogant savior had ascended to the mortal realm to reclaim the Demon King’s soul, only to be sealed and lose the city of Babel he had created.
Zeke now understood that the Demon King’s soul, which the savior had sought so desperately, was sealed within this temple.
As Zeke moved toward the temple, a tremor sounded from behind.
Thud!
Turning, he saw Heracles approaching.
Zeke and Heracles locked eyes.
To Zeke’s surprise, Heracles knelt on one knee, bowing his head respectfully.
He removed his lion-headed helmet and mask, revealing a face that seemed a blend of elf and barbarian.
He spoke to Zeke.
[Greetings to the great constellation. I am Heracles, the last warrior of the Titans.]
Heracles was not a golem, as Zeke had suspected.
‘A Titan.’
A race so large and imposing they could be mistaken for golems.
At that moment, a message appeared before Zeke.
[You have encountered Heracles, the last warrior of the Titans.]
[Fragments of forgotten time related to the ‘Free City of Atlantis’ are connecting with the Akashic Code.]
[A large amount of karma data is being updated.]
[You have acquired information about the ‘Free City of Atlantis.’]
[System restriction codes related to this information have been lifted.]
[You can now access the skill and item list related to the ‘Free City of Atlantis.’]
As Heracles revealed his identity, the karma data concerning Atlantis was updated.
Zeke addressed Heracles, who knelt before him.
“Heracles, last warrior of the Titans. Your demeanor has changed completely. Why is that?”
Heracles looked at Zeke and replied.
[Having witnessed the stature of the great constellation, how could I dare to be disrespectful again?]
In ancient times, cities with advanced civilizations were closely tied to constellations.
The stature of a constellation was one of the great forces sustaining a city’s civilization.
Understanding this, it was only natural for Heracles to regard Zeke with a sense of reverence.
Zeke, noticing the change in Heracles’ demeanor, asked him, “Very well, Heracles. Let me ask you this: Are you a spirit who remains to guard the temple?”
Heracles nodded in response.
“Indeed, my lord. As the last warrior of the Titans, I accepted the great sage’s proposal to become the temple’s guardian for the eternal peace of Atlantis.”
“The great sage’s proposal? What was it?”
Heracles looked at Zeke and explained, “The sage foresaw that a malevolent force would sink Atlantis into the sea and come to release the most wicked soul trapped within the temple. As a warrior sworn to protect Atlantis, I could not stand by and let that happen. Thus, I bound my soul here to guard the temple.”
Zeke swallowed hard at Heracles’ words.
‘Just like the Highlanders,’ he thought.
Warriors who tether their souls to the physical realm, battling monstrous forces from the shadows to maintain the world’s balance. The great sage had long been binding heroes in such a way, entrusting them with the duty of protection.
Zeke looked at Heracles and asked, “Do you have any regrets about your decision? Atlantis has long since fallen, existing now only in legend.”
Heracles shook his head. “I have no regrets about becoming a guardian. However… I do regret failing to fulfill my final duty to protect the temple.”
After a brief pause, Heracles raised his head to look at Zeke again. “My lord, I have a request.”
Zeke, feeling a solemn weight in the air, replied, “Speak, warrior Heracles.”
He expected Heracles to ask for the release of his bound soul. But Heracles’ request was unexpected.
“Please, my lord, take me under your wing.”
“Take you? You don’t wish to be freed from this place?”
“I was the last warrior of the Titans. Atlantis, the free city, was the only place that accepted me when all others turned me away. I became a guardian for them, tirelessly defending against external threats.”
Zeke, having updated his karma data, knew of Heracles’ forgotten tales of heroism. Heracles had faced twelve trials that threatened Atlantis, sacrificing his life to overcome them, and in doing so, became a hero.
Heracles pleaded with Zeke, “I wish to remain a guardian of Atlantis until my soul fades. Please, my lord, take my spirit so I may continue to fight against wicked foes.”
Zeke could feel the powerful resolve emanating from Heracles. He looked at him and said, “Once you are bound to me, there is no turning back. Are you sure you won’t regret it?”
“In my current state, my spirit will soon vanish anyway. I wish to fight as a warrior until the very end.”
Zeke nodded solemnly, acknowledging Heracles’ unwavering determination. “Warrior Heracles, I accept your noble will.”