Episode 630
“Adam, the Incarnation?”
Zeke’s eyes widened in surprise at the unfamiliar name etched into the message that had appeared before him.
Harvey Draker was the first of the Drakers, a regenerated being cultivated by the great sage’s homunculus.
So, the Adam mentioned in the system message must have referred to the original form of Harvey Draker.
As the message about absorbing Adam’s regenerated form appeared, a series of other messages followed in quick succession.
But before Zeke could even begin to process them, the Infinite Library started to distort.
Creeeeak—
The areas Zeke had barely managed to hold together with his divine power began to tear apart, causing the unique space to collapse.
Books from the library, along with the scattered remnants of the constructs, were sucked into the rift between dimensions.
Rumble!
A powerful force tried to pull Zeke into the dimensional rift as well, but he resisted with all his divine might.
Determining that his task was complete, Zeke flew towards Innocent.
“Innocent! Open the portal!”
At Zeke’s command, Innocent raised his staff.
Vwoooom!
A light emanated from the staff, opening a portal that led out of the unique space.
As Zeke moved to enter the portal, a bizarre wail echoed from the rift.
Woooooo!
The mysterious, enormous wail seemed to intensify its pull, as if trying to prevent Zeke from leaving.
Gritting his teeth, Zeke glared into the rift.
Rumble!
The force pulling him grew stronger by the second.
Just then, a message appeared before Zeke’s eyes.
[You sense an unknown, twisted gaze from the Abyss of Dimensions.]
[Your unique power ??? activates in response to the gaze.]
With the message, a white light flickered around Zeke like flames.
He looked at the warm light enveloping him.
“This light…”
He realized it was the same light he had seen when he opened the Primordial Jar.
The light seemed to shield him from the gaze emanating from the abyss, protecting him.
Freed from the force pulling him, Zeke reached for the portal.
But as the unstable collapse of the dimension accelerated, the portal began to vanish.
Seeing this, Zeke shouted loudly.
“Raven!”
At his call, Raven emerged from the rift.
Surprisingly, Raven looked different than usual.
He was glowing brightly, like a pure white flame, as if made of the same warm light surrounding Zeke.
Raven spread his pure white wings wide and let out a long cry.
Rumble!
As the phoenix’s song resonated, the distorted dimension stabilized, and the portal returned to its original state.
The portal’s brilliant light enveloped Zeke, Raven, and Innocent.
Vwoooom!
As the white light surrounded them, the dimensional walls completely tore apart, and the Infinite Library collapsed.
Rumble!
Moments later, everything was sucked into the abyss, and the space itself reverted to nothingness.
Vwoooom!
With a flash of white light, the portal opened, revealing Zeke, Raven, and Innocent.
Zeke looked around and realized they were in front of the temple where Hercules stood guard.
“Zeke!”
At the sound of his name, Zeke turned to see the High Table members, who had escaped the Infinite Library earlier, running towards him.
Nigel spoke urgently to Zeke.
“Zeke, Atlantis is about to collapse.”
No sooner had she spoken than the ground beneath them began to tremble.
Rumble!
The earth cracked, and the ground started to sink.
Just as the continent of Atlantis had once sunk into the sea, this time-frozen space was collapsing in the same way.
Watching the crumbling Atlantis, Zeke spoke to Hercules.
“Hercules, is it truly time for us to leave this place?”
Hercules bowed his head in response.
[My loyalty is to my master. Wherever you wish to go, that is where I belong.]
Acknowledging Hercules’ words, Zeke nodded and sent him and Innocent back.
Then, turning to Raven, still cloaked in the pure white flames, he said,
“Raven, help us leave this place safely.”
Rumble!
In response to Zeke’s words, Raven’s phoenix song echoed once more.
The warm light emanating from Raven enveloped Zeke and the High Table members.
Raven’s light stabilized the surrounding unstable dimension.
Realizing they couldn’t miss this moment, Zeke used Overclock to expand the system portal’s capabilities.
Vwoooom!
The white light flickered, and a portal formed once again.
“Quickly, enter through here!”
Following Zeke’s command, the High Table members swiftly entered the portal.
After Raven entered, Zeke took one last look at the collapsing Atlantis before stepping into the portal.
The sight of a once-glorious civilization vanishing into nothingness always left a deep void.
“If I don’t stop Arthur Draker… the current world will end up like this.”
Clenching his fist, Zeke entered the portal.
Once the portal disappeared, Atlantis was completely destroyed, leaving no trace behind.
Vwoooom!
A massive light appeared in the sky.
“Aaaah!”
Nabu screamed as he plummeted from the sky.
Regaining his senses, he quickly summoned his carpet.
Whoosh!
The summoned carpet caught Nabu as he fell.
Soon after, Nigel, Ivan, and Mana also landed safely on the carpet.
Nabu looked around and asked,
“Where’s Zeke?”
Ssssh—
As he spoke, Zeke and Raven appeared.
Raven had returned to his original colorful phoenix form, the white light gone.
Zeke, with Raven perched on his shoulder, climbed onto the carpet.
At that moment, Nigel pointed to one side.
“The island… it’s sinking.”
Rumble!
The storm island, long the headquarters of the Highlanders, was sinking into the sea.
Below the storm island lay the deep-sea city of R’lyeh, the last legacy left by the great sage and the secure area where the Book of the Dead was kept.
But with the Book of the Dead absorbed by Zeke, its purpose was fulfilled, and it collapsed, completing its final mission.
As the island sank with a loud noise, the frozen sea Zeke had created with the Elemental Stone shattered.
Rumble!
The bone ship, anchored in the ice sea, began to move slowly.
“Master, please take us down there.”
Following Zeke’s instruction, Nabu descended to the ghastly undead ship.
As soon as the carpet landed, Richmond rushed towards them.
“Master!”
Seeing Richmond’s urgency, Zeke sensed something was wrong.
“What happened, Richmond?”
Richmond quickly explained, and Zeke was taken aback from the first words.
“Master, during the month you were out of contact, chaos erupted!”
To Zeke’s shock, a month had passed since he entered the storm island.
“Was the flow of time different outside the unique space?”
Calming his startled mind, Zeke asked,
“Chaos on the central continent? Did Arthur Draker launch a massive attack?”
Richmond shook his head.
“I’m not sure if it’s Arthur Draker, but the major kingdoms are under attack by unknown beasts! They’re in the midst of fierce battles even now!”
Zeke furrowed his brow at Richmond’s words.
“If the beasts are attacking the kingdoms on such a scale, the Black Knights should have intervened.”
Richmond, clenching his teeth, replied,
“That’s the thing…”
Hesitating, Richmond continued,
“Most of the Black Knights in each kingdom have been attacked and either killed or severely injured.”
Zeke’s eyes widened at Richmond’s report.
“The Black Knights were attacked simultaneously?”
He recalled how the Blood Count and the Red King had been ambushed and killed by Arthur Draker.
The sudden attacks by mysterious beasts across the continent and the simultaneous assaults on the Black Knights were no coincidence.
Zeke considered who could orchestrate such events.
“Arthur Draker…”
Even when he was the head of the Drakers, Arthur Draker had manipulated the continent’s affairs from the shadows.
Given Arthur Draker’s nature, it was highly likely he was behind this as well.
Moreover, there was no one else with the capability to execute such a large-scale operation.
Listening to this, Nigel spoke to Zeke.
“Without the Black Knights, the kingdoms won’t be able to withstand a siege by the beasts.”
Zeke nodded at Nigel’s assessment.
If these beasts were summoned by Arthur Draker, they would undoubtedly possess the power of the Outsiders, making them far more formidable than ordinary beasts.
At that moment, Richmond spoke to Zeke again.
“In the central continent, Mycenae, Alensia, and Thebea are currently holding the line against the beasts,” Richmond reported.
With Hades, Yellin, and the Black Sword Knights stationed in Mycenae, it seemed they had the situation under control.
Zeke looked up and asked Richmond, “What’s the status of the Rom Empire and Midland?”
Richmond hesitated, his expression troubled. “The Empire is faring better, thanks to the combined efforts of Red Eye and the Western Alliance. The Continental Alliance stationed in Jupiter moved towards Midland, but they got bogged down by the sheer number of enemies.”
If Helen’s Continental Alliance was immobilized, it meant Midland was overrun.
Zeke’s face darkened as he asked, “What about Atlas?”
Richmond shook his head. “Atlas has been isolated from Midland for some time… and we lost contact last week, Master.”
Atlas was where Kali and Boris led the intelligence group Nemesis. The loss of communication with them and the Four Seasons Castle suggested a dire situation.
Zeke furrowed his brow and turned to Nigel. “The situation is urgent. I will head to Atlas immediately. Master, please take the other High Tables and sail to the Southern Isles.”
The Southern Isles housed the headquarters established by Arina and Kay. Zeke spoke earnestly to Nigel, “You must lead the remaining Highlanders.”
With Storm Island, the Highlanders’ base, gone, a new center was needed. Zeke hoped Nigel would take on that role in the Southern Isles.
Understanding Zeke’s words, Nigel’s expression hardened before he nodded. “I will do as you say.”
Satisfied, Zeke turned to Nabu. “Please take care of Master.”
Nabu, uncharacteristically serious, nodded at Zeke’s earnest request.
Ivan, too, agreed with Zeke’s plan, knowing it was the best course of action.
Seeing no more to be done here, Zeke instructed Richmond, “Take the ship straight to the Southern Isles. Arthur Draker will likely expand his reach from the central continent to the north, south, and even the eastern continent.”
His eyes flashed with determination. “Strengthen the defenses there with Lady Arina. We must block their path to the southern continent.”
Richmond nodded vigorously. “Understood, Master! I’ll sail there immediately!”
Zeke summoned Nahuel to assist with the ship’s movement, then leapt into the air, creating a portal.
With a resonant hum, Zeke and Raven disappeared into the portal, leaving only a shimmering white light in the sky.
Watching Zeke vanish, Nigel was lost in thought. Nabu tried to reassure her, “Don’t worry too much, old lady. There’s hardly anything in this realm that can harm Zeke.”
Though meant to comfort, the word “hardly” lingered in Nigel’s mind. Irritated, she kicked Nabu’s shin.
“Ouch! Have you lost your mind, old hag?” Nabu yelped.
Ignoring his cries, Nigel ordered Richmond to set sail. The undead ship moved out of the stormy waters towards the Southern Isles.
A massive storm of war loomed over the entire continent.