Episode 651
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Zeke’s heart pounded wildly as he stared at the Sun Sword Gram emerging from the tentacle.
“How is this possible…?”
After his regression, Zeke had sought out Gelion to recreate the Sun Sword Gram. Yet, unlike his past life, Gelion had crafted Bahamut instead in this timeline.
Confronted with the sword that existed only in his memories, Zeke’s mind was a whirlwind of confusion.
“Could this be some kind of mental attack… an illusion?”
Convinced that the Sun Sword Gram before him couldn’t be real, Zeke tried to reason it out. But just as the tentacle that had expelled Gram was about to be sealed, it left a final message in Zeke’s mind.
“Remember… our… will… Child of Chaos.”
Thunk!
The tentacle vanished into the statue, and Gram clattered to the ground. As Zeke’s power completed its reconstruction, the statue returned to its original form, and the ominous darkness that had tried to emerge disappeared without a trace.
Yet, Zeke’s mind remained in turmoil.
“It wasn’t an illusion after all.”
Landing beneath the statue, Zeke picked up Gram, the sword the tentacle had spat out. The moment he held it, he knew for certain—it was the very sword he had wielded in his past life.
“To think I’d see this again.”
In his previous life, Zeke couldn’t use his lower dantian, making it impossible to generate aura. This sword, which could convert mana from the middle dantian into aura, had been as vital as life itself. Master craftsman Gelion had owed Zeke his life and had crafted the sword he needed most.
As Zeke gazed at the sword from his past, memories flooded back, vivid as if they had just happened. He grew increasingly suspicious of the entity that had produced the Sun Sword Gram, something that shouldn’t exist in this timeline.
“Child of Chaos, traversing the timelines.”
The indescribable darkness had called him that. The title “Child of Chaos” gnawed at him.
“The god of chaos, the one trapped in the name of the goddess Theia, and the being who made King Solomon the first irregular.”
The Sun God Apollyon, the God of Chaos, and the external beings—there was undoubtedly something Zeke didn’t know connecting them all.
“Arthur Draker must hold the key to this mystery.”
Zeke resolved to find Arthur Draker as soon as possible. As he turned to leave, he saw that Hela had already dealt with the other external beasts, leaving the cavern scorched and aflame.
“Good work, Hela.”
After sending Hela away, Zeke began searching for any trace of Arthur Draker. But then—
“Zeke Draker.”
A voice called out from nowhere, startling him. Zeke spun around, gripping Levatein tightly, to find a stranger standing before him.
“Who…?”
A young knight with gray hair, clad in a pristine white Draker uniform.
“Who is this?”
Though unfamiliar, the attire and aura felt oddly recognizable. The knight’s cold gaze met Zeke’s as he spoke.
“In the name of my father, I command you. Die now.”
With those words, the knight drew his sword.
Vroom—
As the knight assumed a stance, his sword began to hum with power. Zeke was taken aback by the familiar technique.
“Dragon Slayer Technique?”
The knight lunged forward, swinging his sword at Zeke with terrifying force.
Slash!
The fierce strike clashed with Zeke’s Levatein.
Clang!
The impact was like a collision of massive iron blocks, sending shockwaves through the air. Zeke glared at the knight in the white Draker uniform.
“Who are you?”
The knight replied, “My name is Rivein Apollyon.”
He raised his sword again, declaring, “I am the true son of my father, not a fake like you.”
Zeke frowned at the knight’s words.
“Apollyon?”
The name of the Sun God, Apollyon, was used as a family name only by Siemens Apollyon, the adopted son of the Hero King and disciple of the Great Sage.
Zeke questioned the knight who called himself Rivein Apollyon.
“The true son of your father, you say. Who exactly do you call father?”
“Do not sully the name of my great father with your worthless mouth. You and the name Draker are nothing but falsehoods.”
Zeke pondered who Rivein referred to as “father,” given his denial of the Draker name.
“Could it be that the great father you speak of is Arthur Draker?”
Rivein scowled at Zeke’s words.
“The name Draker is a lie, a relic of the old world. My father will transcend humanity to become the king and god of a new world.”
It seemed Zeke’s suspicion was correct—Rivein was one of Arthur Draker’s followers. Zeke shook his head and retorted.
“Arthur Draker as king and god? What nonsense.”
Rivein’s expression hardened at the mention of Draker’s name.
“For the crime of blaspheming a god, you shall be punished with death.”
With that, Rivein twisted the bracelet on his wrist.
Whirr—
A sharp sound resonated as an ominous energy emanated from Rivein’s body. Zeke raised his sword, recognizing the familiar aura.
“This is…?”
To his surprise, the energy flowing from Rivein was the unique wave of combat techniques. The energy concentrated in Rivein’s sword, causing it to vibrate.
Whoosh!
Rivein assumed the Dragon Slayer stance and swung his sword at Zeke, sending a crescent wave of energy his way.
Boom!
Zeke countered Rivein’s attack with Levatein. An ordinary knight might have been thrown off by the disruptive wave of combat techniques, but not Zeke. He could handle this level of attack with ease.
“I need to capture him and interrogate him about Arthur Draker’s whereabouts.”
Just as Zeke prepared to charge at Rivein, something unexpected happened.
Swoosh—
Rivein’s body blurred and vanished, only to reappear from Zeke’s blind spot, launching another attack.
Slash!
Caught off guard, Zeke retreated, deflecting the strike. He realized that the technique Rivein used to disappear wasn’t a knight’s footwork.
“Spatial movement… a bloodline ability?”
Rivein had used the spatial movement bloodline ability, once wielded by Rahim, the leader of The Six from the Nostra family.
“Combat techniques and bloodline abilities? Could it be…?”
Rivein vanished again, reappearing from a blind spot to attack with a combination of the Dragon Slayer technique and combat techniques. But that wasn’t all.
Crack!
As he executed his swordplay, he also used telekinesis to attack Zeke. The ability to traverse space freely, wield a sword, and use telekinesis simultaneously was an extraordinary power far beyond that of a typical knight.
Swoosh—
Rivein twisted Zeke’s arm with telekinesis, but the immortal body quickly healed the injury. Seeing this, Rivein glared at Zeke, his face contorted with rage, and suddenly slashed his own wrist with his sword.
Swoosh—
Amazingly, Rivein’s wound healed rapidly, just like Zeke’s. He possessed not only combat techniques and bloodline abilities but also the ability to heal himself.
Zeke realized the truth about Rivein’s identity.
“Is he the culmination of all the experiments conducted by Narak, the Nostra family, Siemens, and Draker?”
Arthur Draker’s vision of a new humanity, the ideal pureblood Draker, might very well be embodied in Rivein.
Rivein glared at Zeke, raising his sword.
“I cannot allow a fake like you to tarnish my father’s name any longer.”
He snapped his fingers, and to Zeke’s astonishment, dozens of knights in similar attire appeared behind Rivein. They all had gray hair and wore white uniforms. Though their appearances varied, they shared a similar aura and presence.
Zeke saw in them the fanatical zeal reminiscent of the Draker of his past life.
“Abandoning the old Draker and creating entirely new zealots. Just like something Arthur Draker would do.”
Rivein shouted to the other knights.
“Unleash your power! Kill the fake and uphold our father’s honor!”
The knights twisted their bracelets like Rivein had.
Click!
Instantly, powerful combat energy surged from them. The knights, swords charged with energy, vanished simultaneously.
Whoosh—
In an instant, they reappeared in the air, swinging their swords at Zeke in unison.
Boom!
The modified Dragon Slayer technique, imbued with combat energy, erupted from their swords. Zeke raised his Shadow Armor to block the knights’ attacks.
Rumble!
But it wasn’t over. Another group of knights appeared, extending their hands to unleash telekinesis at Zeke.
Whirr—
Astonishingly, the shadow armor scattered under the telekinetic force of the knights, unable to maintain its form.
Seizing the opportunity, other knights charged in, swinging their swords at Zeke.
Clang!
Zeke calmly parried their blades with a swift motion of his Levatein.
“Impressive, but each of them only has the strength of a red knight at best.”
Their attacks were varied, but not beyond his ability to handle.
After carefully observing and analyzing the knights’ attack patterns, Zeke leaped into the air.
Whoosh!
The knights pursued him, soaring even higher than Zeke himself.
Zeke aimed his sword at the Apollyon knights who had ascended above him.
“This is how you really slay a dragon.”
Rumble!
A thunderous sound emanated from Levatein.
Zeke raised his sword, assuming a stance.
The first technique every Draker must master when learning dragon slaying.
The fundamental form of dragon slaying.
Chapter 1, Verse 1.
Sky Cleave.
The purest form of dragon slaying unfolded from Zeke’s blade.
Crack!
The space around them split open, and the Apollyon knights caught within froze in place.
Thud!
Their swords shattered and fell to the ground.
Simultaneously, their bodies were cleaved in half along with the space around them.
Thud, thud, thud!
A dozen knights fell to the ground, bisected in a single stroke.
With one decisive strike, Zeke had cut down all the knights charging at him.
Landing gracefully, Zeke turned to Rivaine and spoke.
“And they call this the new humanity of the New World? Perhaps Arthur Draker has lost his mind.”
Rivaine furrowed his brow at Zeke’s words.
But then, something unexpected happened.
Sizzle—
The bodies of the bisected Apollyon knights began to reattach, returning to their original form.
In no time, they stood there, their pristine white uniforms untainted by a single drop of blood.
Zeke, witnessing this, addressed Rivaine.
“Self-regeneration… So that’s what you were counting on.”
In an instant, white flames erupted from Zeke’s body.
Fwoosh!
The Elemental Sword’s Fire Domain.
The purest flame, capable of burning not only the flesh of regenerating beings but also their false souls.
As Zeke advanced with the Fire Domain, he spoke to Rivaine and the knights.
“Arthur Draker’s puppets, I’ll incinerate you all.”
Just as he was about to unleash the power of the Elemental Sword—
Fwoosh!
To Zeke’s surprise, white flames ignited from Rivaine’s sword as well.
Zeke’s eyes widened in shock.
“That…?”
The flames from Rivaine’s sword were the same pure fire created by the Elemental Sword’s Fire Domain.
Rivaine looked at Zeke and spoke.
“False phantoms, vanish with the end of the old era.”