Episode 623
A piercing sound echoed from the Book of the Lion in Baron’s hands.
“Damn it!”
Sensing something was amiss, Baron tried to discard the book quickly. But the book clung to his hand, sending a shiver through his muscles.
The vibrations intensified.
“Zeke Draker!” Baron shouted.
At that moment, the Book of the Lion exploded.
A massive surge of magical energy engulfed Baron, and the ensuing white mist swallowed the surrounding mages.
The mages, caught in the mist, froze solid. Zeke had rigged the fake Book of the Lion with an Elemental Stone, unleashing the power of absolute zero.
The mages, wielders of ominous magic, were trapped in ice.
The white mist, imbued with the power of absolute zero, began to freeze the entire cavern.
Then, a cracking sound pierced the air.
From within an ice pillar that reached the ceiling, Baron emerged, shrouded in a dark aura that twisted causality.
But he was far from unscathed.
Steam rose from his skin, which was peeling away, revealing raw, red muscle beneath. He had managed to neutralize the absolute zero power, but not without consequence.
Half of Baron’s face was necrotic, exposing the muscles beneath. His usual composure shattered, he roared with rage.
“Zeke Draker! I’ll kill you and offer you to the gods!”
A storm of dark energy erupted from Baron’s body, slowly dissipating the absolute zero power.
Behind the rising energy, the cries of monstrous creatures echoed. Baron’s twisted aura connected to the abyss beyond dimensions, threatening to unleash nightmarish beasts into the world.
The space before Baron shimmered.
A figure emerged, the pale hand of the one who had led him here, cloaked in black.
Baron glared at the figure.
“Who are you…?”
A voice echoed in his mind.
【Why do you reject my guidance?】
Baron frowned, recognizing the voice that had brought him here. Sensing something, he raised his hands.
Dark energy shot from his hands toward the pale figure.
The energy wrapped around the figure, causing the space to crack like glass.
With a shattering sound, the figure vanished, revealing Zeke, cloaked in shadows, hovering in the air.
Zeke looked down at Baron with cold eyes.
“Baron, what a pity. I hoped you’d find peace in eternal darkness.”
Only then did Baron realize Zeke had deceived him, mocking him in endless darkness.
“Zeke Draker, you filthy bastard!”
Baron roared at the sight of Zeke. Had he wandered in the darkness as Zeke intended, he would have been trapped in the labyrinth, unable to fulfill the divine command.
Overcome with rage, Baron lost his usual calm.
His body began to swell, red muscles exposed as small tendrils emerged, replacing his skin.
Half of Baron’s body was soon covered in tendrils, resembling a monstrous creature.
From his shadow, grotesque, indefinable monsters began to crawl out.
Baron commanded the creatures.
“Capture him and retrieve the Book of the Lion!”
The monsters charged at Zeke.
Zeke calmly raised his hand, now holding Ascalon.
He unleashed a brilliant bolt of light imbued with holy power at the monsters.
The lightning pierced the creatures, burning or melting them.
Yet, from Baron’s shadow, more monsters emerged, seemingly endless.
While Zeke battled the creatures, Baron approached the mages trapped in ice.
His twisted aura nullified the absolute zero power, causing the ice to melt.
The eternal ice, unmelting by any means, dissolved under Baron’s power.
Zeke’s radiant lightning swept through the cavern, obliterating the monsters.
Baron, regaining his composure, realized Zeke had arrived first and set a trap.
But Zeke’s presence meant he hadn’t yet secured the Book of the Lion.
‘If he had the book, he wouldn’t confront me directly.’
Baron deduced Zeke was stalling, just as he was, to find the book first.
‘I must find the book before him, using the mages.’
As the ice melted, the mages began to stir.
The ice cracked further as they moved, and soon, shards fell away.
Baron addressed the mages as they emerged.
“Find the Book of the Lion! It’s hidden here somewhere!”
The mages, clad in ominous leather robes, nodded. They gripped daggers etched with monstrous forms and began chanting.
Their incantations, in an unknown tongue, exuded an aura of blasphemy.
As they chanted, crimson mist flowed from their daggers, spreading throughout the cavern.
The mist seemed to seek the Book of the Lion, imbued with demonic power.
Just then, a massive magic circle appeared on the cavern floor.
Chains erupted from the circle, similar to Solomon’s chains, ensnaring the mages.
The mages, caught mid-chant, were immobilized by the chains.
Chains shot up around Baron as well.
He swung a black dagger, severing the chains.
But the chains reformed, more numerous, and flew at Baron again.
Baron realized this was another of Zeke’s traps.
‘The High Table must have meddled.’
He thought of the sage Naboo, frowning.
Clicking his tongue, Baron evaded the chains and reached into his robe.
He pulled out a small cocoon.
Taking a deep breath, he swallowed it whole.
A transformation began within Baron’s body.
Already half-transformed into a monstrous form, his body continued to mutate.
From his back, grotesque, branch-like structures began to grow.
Baron swung his dagger with precision, slicing through the grotesque form that seemed to grow larger as if harvesting a monstrous crop.
Thud!
The severed mass hit the ground, taking root and forming a circular shape.
Rumble!
The amorphous entity, which had been sprouting like a tree trunk, solidified into a circular gate-like structure.
Clang!
Chains attempted to ensnare both Baron and the gate made of the grotesque form.
At that moment, Baron extended his hand once more.
Sizzle—
A dark energy flowed from his hand, turning the chains black before they disintegrated into ash.
The energy seeped into the monstrous gate.
Rumble—
The gate reacted to Baron’s energy, and tendrils emerged from the circular frame, filling the interior.
As the writhing tendrils filled the frame, a massive mouth formed within.
Growl—
The mouth, lined with sharp teeth, gaped open, revealing a dark void from which something began to emerge.
Rumble!
With a cacophonous noise, the monstrous gate regurgitated its contents.
Splash!
Amidst a foul-smelling fluid, a human figure appeared before the gate.
Hovering in the air, Zeke frowned at the sight of the emerging figure.
“That’s…”
To his astonishment, the figure Baron had summoned was none other than Harvey Draker.
Zeke distinctly remembered leaving Harvey Draker in the custody of Mana and Ivan for surveillance.
Yet here Harvey was, unexpectedly present.
The monstrous gate shuddered again.
Groan!
It emitted another strange sound and expelled something else.
Clang!
Mana and Ivan, who had been holding the chains binding Harvey Draker, also emerged through the gate, looking bewildered.
“Where… are we?” Ivan stammered, equally confused by their sudden relocation.
At that moment, the dark energy sent by Baron began to corrode Solomon’s chains that bound Harvey Draker.
Sizzle—
The energy, defying the laws of causality, was potent enough to neutralize even the chains of King Solomon.
Mana, realizing the situation, attempted to erect a barrier.
“Ha!”
As he clasped his hands to form the barrier, Harvey Draker’s eyes regained focus.
Rumble!
In an instant, Harvey Draker broke free from Solomon’s chains and stood up.
Crash—
Freed from the chains, Harvey reverted to his half-dragon form, stepping back and glaring at Zeke, who hovered above.
“Zeke Draker…”
His eyes flared red once more.
Just as Harvey was about to charge at Zeke, Baron shouted.
“Harvey Draker!”
Baron’s eyes glowed with an eerie light as he called out to Harvey.
“For our god! Fulfill your glorious duty!”
With those words, Baron snapped his fingers at Harvey.
Boom!
At the signal, Harvey felt his heart plummet as if it were sinking.
Gripped by the sudden sensation, Harvey clutched his chest, his body trembling violently.
Then it happened.
Crack!
Something burst forth from Harvey Draker’s chest.