Episode 678

“Terrakan Draker.”

Inside Claudia, Zeke couldn’t help but be taken aback as he faced Chronos.

Watching the old man in the Ark’s vision, Zeke had thought he resembled Arthur Draker. But now, the man controlling Claudia with a field of magic bore an uncanny resemblance to Zeke’s past life.

His sharp eyes, fierce demeanor, and the scars and wounds etched across his face—he looked like a wounded beast, much like Zeke during his relic-hunting days before his return.

While Zeke was momentarily surprised by the resemblance, Terrakan Draker slowly approached Claudia.

As he drew near, Claudia bit her lip and reluctantly dispelled the lightning she had summoned.

Terrakan, too, withdrew the magic field that had been neutralizing her lightning and spoke to her.

“Claudia, unleashing such intense lightning can’t be good for the child.”

Claudia furrowed her brow at his words.

“Terrakan, are you trying to rile me up too?”

Crackle!

Lightning sparked from Claudia’s body involuntarily. Terrakan shook his head at the sight.

“Calm down. If you really lose your temper, the magic circuits in the artifacts and equipment at headquarters will all burn out. Then I’ll be the one getting scolded by the chief wizard.”

Claudia Luvern, known in history as the Light Mage and Saint, was actually quite hot-tempered. Both enemies and allies feared her wrath. Even after her contract with Terrakan, which prevented her from manifesting as a dragon and left her in human form, her unruly nature remained unchanged.

Once Terrakan calmed Claudia, he finally turned to face Chronos.

“Chronos, it’s been a while. But I can’t say I’m pleased to see you.”

Chronos had tried to manipulate both Claudia and Terrakan with her prophecies. Initially, they had believed her and fulfilled her unreasonable requests. But all they got in return were near-death experiences and a life on the run from the Seven Kingdoms.

Eventually, Terrakan and Claudia had to leave the central continent and settle in the small western town of Troy, hoping to escape the eyes of the Seven Kingdoms and Chronos.

There, they quietly built a small domain, hunting monsters and beasts descending from the mountains.

But then, demons began to appear in the physical realm.

With the emergence of fierce monsters, beasts, and black magicians, the entire Seven Kingdoms fell into chaos.

While they could somehow counter monsters and beasts with existing magical weapons, they were powerless against the demons, known as the lords of magic.

To combat the demons, they needed knights who could wield aura.

The rulers of the Seven Kingdoms had no choice but to seek help from Terrakan Draker, the strongest knight on the continent.

The immortal knight who emerged victorious in the fierce Holy Grail War. The only one who could single-handedly defeat the magical battalions of the Seven Kingdoms was Terrakan Draker.

Initially, Terrakan and Claudia scoffed at the Seven Kingdoms’ request and refused. But as the demon and monster armies began to threaten Troy, they couldn’t just stand by.

Reluctantly, Terrakan led his knights and swept away the demon armies.

As news of Terrakan’s victories spread, people across the continent began to take notice.

Soon, the small town of Troy was flooded with knights and mages from all over the continent, eager to join the cause.

Terrakan and Claudia accepted them, forming a knightly order to combat the demon armies.

They categorized the knights not by origin but by strength, using colored bands to distinguish them.

The strongest knights received red bands, followed by blue and purple based on set criteria.

Those gathered in Troy revered Terrakan, always clad in black, as the “Shadow Knight” or “Black Knight.”

Under Terrakan’s leadership, the Shadow Knights achieved victory after victory against the demons, unlike the magical battalions of the Seven Kingdoms.

As a result, the Seven Kingdoms, unable to find a way to counter the demons, had no choice but to pay attention to Terrakan.

Even the Draker family, which had once disowned him as a bastard, erased those records and publicly declared him a member of the family again.

Many young knights from the family admired Terrakan Draker and flocked to Troy, diminishing the significance of the family itself.

The era of the Seven Kingdoms was waning, and the age of the hero Terrakan Draker was rising.

As the demon armies crumbled under the leadership of Terrakan Draker and the Shadow Knights, an unexpected problem arose.

Black magicians succeeded in summoning the soul of a high-ranking demon and possessing a dragon, bringing it into the physical realm.

The power of a high-ranking demon in a corrupted dragon’s body was immense.

Terrakan’s Shadow Knights and Claudia’s Light Mage Battalion had to muster all their strength to stop such a dragon.

They sought out ancient relics hidden across the continent, utilizing the weapons and knowledge left behind.

In the process, Terrakan acquired a summoning stone for Pegasus, chains of light, and an ancient sword called Zahhak.

Armed with these ancient weapons, Terrakan and the Shadow Knights became known as “Dragon Slayers.”

The name was earned from battling demons possessing dragon bodies.

Thanks to their efforts, the initially disadvantaged faction found some stability.

Moreover, since possessing a dragon with a demon’s soul was no easy feat, they could launch surprise attacks on the black magicians’ strongholds, addressing the root of the demon invasion.

As the situation gradually settled and the war neared its end, Claudia became pregnant.

Terrakan and Claudia were initially taken aback by the unexpected news, but they believed this child would symbolize a new world and prepared for the birth with great care.

They named the child “Geo,” meaning “light” in ancient language, reflecting their hopes.

Dreaming of a future where they could raise their child happily in their Troy home, Claudia was suddenly visited by Chronos in a dream.

Chronos prophesied the imminent resurrection of the Demon King and claimed that Claudia’s unborn child was connected to it.

Since that prophetic dream, Claudia had been on edge.

She had been fiercely protective, ready to unleash her wrath on anyone who dared threaten her child.

And now, Chronos had appeared before Claudia and Terrakan in person.

Terrakan spoke to Chronos.

“When the demons’ souls merged with the dragons, creating the dragon demons, we sought help from the Lords. But they refused our plea. You remember that, don’t you, Chronos?”

When the dragon demons first appeared, Terrakan and Claudia had approached the dragons for help.

But they refused, claiming they couldn’t interfere in the physical realm as mediators.

Chronos remained silent at Terrakan’s words.

Claudia, standing beside him, glared at Chronos with resentment.

“If the dragons had helped back then, the war wouldn’t have claimed so many lives. Don’t you think their arrogance only fueled the conflict?”

Chronos listened to their words of reproach and slowly began to speak.

“If the dragons had intervened and disrupted the balance of karma, the Demon King’s resurrection might have been hastened…”

Crackle!

At the mention of the Demon King’s resurrection, Claudia couldn’t hold back any longer and summoned lightning.

Terrakan calmed her and addressed Chronos.

“As you can see, now isn’t the time for such talk. The birth is near. Chronos, it would be better if you came back later. Then, we’ll listen to whatever you have to say about the resurrection or anything else…”

But just then, Terrakan sensed something amiss.

Claudia, standing beside him, also frowned and looked at Terrakan.

“This is…”

Terrakan nodded.

“A dragon demon. And it’s of a higher order than a holy dragon.”

Despite attacking the black magicians’ stronghold, it seemed some remnants remained.

As Terrakan hurriedly turned to leave, Claudia moved to follow him.

But Terrakan shook his head.

“You stay here. The knights and I can handle this.”

Claudia looked worried but eventually nodded.

Terrakan left, and Claudia exhaled deeply, sitting down in a chair.

Chronos remained standing, watching her.

Claudia, growing weary of the silence, finally spoke.

“Chronos, you’re just a spirit here, aren’t you? Just disappear already. I don’t have the energy to argue with you.”

She gently caressed her rounded belly, trying to steady her breathing.

Chronos, who had been standing still, slowly approached her.

Claudia was taken aback when she noticed a shadow moving beneath her feet. She had assumed Chronos would appear in spirit form.

“Wait, you’re not a spirit? Chronos, if you wander around like this in your current state…”

Despite her sharp tone, Claudia, who had lived as a human for so long, had become more emotional than she was as a dragon. She felt a familial bond with Chronos, who shared the same origin.

Chronos, too, had been in human form ever since the contract with the Hero King, and felt the same connection. Though not bound by blood, they were linked as soul sisters.

Chronos approached Claudia and gently caressed her belly. “Poor child of fate,” she murmured, tears suddenly welling up in her eyes.

Claudia, flustered by Chronos’s unexpected tears, stammered, “Y-you’re crying? I thought you’d come in spirit form to spout another prophecy. If I’d known you were here in person…”

Claudia had always been particularly vulnerable to Chronos’s tears.

Chronos, still tearful, lifted her head to meet Claudia’s gaze. “Bahamut, listen carefully.”

“When have I ever not listened? It’s just that your stories have caused me so much trouble,” Claudia replied, her tone softening. Chronos gave her a slightly sorrowful look.

“Your child will become a king,” Chronos declared, causing Claudia’s eyes to widen in disbelief.

“What are you talking about? One moment you’re saying the Demon King will rise, and now you’re telling me Gio will be a king? What is this…”

Chronos continued, undeterred by Claudia’s skepticism. “He will become a king and usher in a new world. The current kings will fade into history. And… the child who becomes king will forget his father’s name and carry on his mother’s.”

Chronos’s sudden prophecy left Claudia bewildered. Her predictions were always vague and imprecise. This was the first time Chronos had spoken with such clarity.

Claudia, her expression turning serious, asked, “Chronos, what on earth is going on?”

Just as Chronos was about to respond, a deafening crash shattered the air. The wall exploded, and dark energy seeped through the breach.

Instinctively, Claudia unleashed a spell of light towards it.

Crackling with power, the lightning shot towards the broken wall, dispersing the dark energy. But it wasn’t over.

A low hum filled the air as black-robed sorcerers, wearing masks and wielding staffs that emitted dark energy, entered the room.

Claudia’s golden eyes flashed with anger. “You insolent fools, do you even know who you’re dealing with…”

In that instant, lightning surged from her body. But then, a magical circle of dark energy appeared beneath Claudia and Chronos.

The lightning that had been coursing through her vanished in an instant.

“What… is this?” Claudia, her light magic blocked, tried to escape the circle, but found herself unable to move.

As she frowned in frustration, one of the sorcerers stepped forward and spoke to her.

“Hand over the child of light you carry.”