Episode 686
Rumble!
A fierce energy clashed between Zeke and the Sentinel, filling the air with tension.
The Sentinel spoke, directing its words at Zeke.
“Those who come here are met with nothing but curses…”
“Is that all you can say?” Zeke interrupted, stepping forward.
Boom!
His presence suppressed the Sentinel’s aura, intensifying the clash of forces between them and sending shockwaves in all directions.
Duke and the advance team struggled to withstand the spreading energy, barely managing to hold their ground.
The Sentinel combined the bandage-wrapped swords in its hands, forming a massive greatsword as long as Zeke’s Levatein.
Zeke frowned as he watched the Sentinel take a step toward him.
Silence fell between them once more.
In an instant, the Sentinel lunged at Zeke.
Whoosh!
The bandage sword came crashing down toward Zeke’s head.
Zeke raised Levatein to block the attack.
Vroom!
A burst of light erupted from Levatein, and the recoil sent the Sentinel flying back.
In mid-air, the Sentinel twisted its body and launched a kick at Zeke.
Crash!
Zeke conjured a shield with his Shadow Armor to block the kick.
Despite the counterattack, the powerful impact pierced through the shield and reached Zeke.
“What incredible strength.”
The force was akin to the shock of unleashing the Elemental Sword’s power.
The Sentinel’s assault didn’t stop there.
Landing swiftly, it swung its greatsword at Zeke’s lower body.
Whoosh!
Zeke leaped into the air to evade the sweeping strike.
The Sentinel extended its free hand, sending bandages flying toward Zeke.
Swish!
The bandages wrapped around Zeke’s ankle, halting his ascent.
The Sentinel pulled, drawing Zeke toward it.
Boom!
Using the momentum, Zeke charged at the Sentinel with Levatein.
Their swords clashed, creating a thunderous roar as if the sky itself was collapsing.
Crash!
The impact drove the Sentinel into the ground, while Zeke was flung in the opposite direction.
Yet, the bandages around his ankle prevented him from going far, suspending him in mid-air.
As Zeke’s movement paused, the bandages began to climb up his body, attempting to bind him completely.
Seeing this, Zeke summoned the Abyssal Flame.
Fwoosh!
Black flames erupted behind him, forming a dark ring.
The flames spread to the bandages, racing toward the Sentinel.
Sizzle!
Sensing danger, the Sentinel quickly severed the burning bandages and retreated.
At that moment, Zeke appeared behind the Sentinel.
Boom!
A strike imbued with the power of the Abyssal Sword surged toward the Sentinel.
In response, a brilliant light burst from within the bandage sword, blocking Zeke’s attack.
Crash!
As their swords collided, plasma sparks flew, distorting the space around them.
Rumble!
A rift in the dimension opened, pulling everything nearby into its void.
“Ugh!”
Duke and the advance team struggled desperately to avoid being sucked into the rift.
The battle between Zeke and the Sentinel had transcended human limits, and the aftermath alone was overwhelming.
“Zeke is one thing, but who exactly is that opponent…?”
Duke tried to dismiss his rising thoughts as he unleashed a gale to counter the dimensional rift.
Boom!
The gale formed a barrier, blocking the force emanating from the rift.
The advance team finally caught their breath.
Meanwhile, inside the distorted space, Zeke and the Sentinel continued to face off, swords at the ready.
Vroom!
Zeke eyed the shimmering sword of the Sentinel and spoke, gripping Levatein once more.
“A Grandmaster knight on this forsaken continent. I think I know who you are.”
The Sentinel’s eyes flickered at his words.
Zeke continued, watching the Sentinel closely.
“Dragonslayer Terracan Draker. Did you choose to become the tower’s guardian to resurrect Bahamut?”
In a flash, the Sentinel moved with blinding speed, swinging its sword at Zeke.
Crash!
A dazzling blade of light slashed toward Zeke.
Though it seemed like a wild swing, the longer the sword danced, the more its form became apparent.
A familiar style to Zeke.
It was none other than the basic dragon-slaying technique.
Before long, both Zeke and the Sentinel were engaged in a duel, wielding the foundational dragon-slaying swordsmanship.
Boom!
The techniques of Dragon Head Cleave and Dragon Heart Pierce clashed, creating a massive shockwave.
The two stepped back, widening the distance between them.
Zeke addressed the Sentinel once more.
“Nothing can bring back the dead. Yet, Terracan, you sought to revive Bahamut, even if it meant using what should never be touched.”
Rumble!
As Zeke spoke, the Sentinel’s aura grew even more intense.
Yet Zeke didn’t stop.
“The Demon King’s soul. You intended to use it to resurrect Bahamut, didn’t you?”
The Sentinel swung its sword wildly, as if trying to erase Zeke’s words.
Crash!
A powerful strike flew toward Zeke, but it was blocked by Levatein’s light.
Though the Sentinel remained silent, Zeke could sense its heightened agitation.
He decided to provoke the Sentinel further.
“I found traces of Bahamut in the hidden Dragon’s Gorge. An empty shell without a heart or fangs.”
“Silence.”
For the first time, the Sentinel uttered something different.
Zeke took this as confirmation that the Sentinel was indeed the vanished Dragonslayer, Terracan Draker.
“I expected to find Terracan’s tomb here. But to think he would still be alive.”
Though a millennium had passed, Terracan was a transcendent being beyond human limits, not bound by ordinary human constraints.
Despite the unexpected turn of events, Zeke saw this as an opportunity. He aimed to extract information about the final tower by provoking Terracan.
But then, an unforeseen change occurred in the Sentinel.
Vroom!
The Sentinel’s eyes turned crimson, exuding a familiar energy.
“This is…”
Zeke sensed the twisted causality emanating from Terracan Draker.
Rumble!
The Sentinel’s sword emitted a dark light, gradually turning black.
Crash!
The dark aura spread, radiating a powerful, twisted causality.
To counter it, Zeke gripped Levatein and summoned the power of the Abyssal Flame.
Vroom!
The Sentinel’s dark aura clashed with Zeke’s gray light.
As if on cue, the Sentinel charged at Zeke.
Crash!
The twisted causality warped the realm.
Astonishingly, the attack emerged from a completely different direction than the sword’s swing.
Crack!
The sword, swung from above, distorted space to strike Zeke from below.
Caught off guard, Zeke was hit by the unexpected attack.
Slash!
A long wound appeared on Zeke’s leg.
He retreated in surprise.
Though he expected the wound to heal quickly with his regenerative power, the Sentinel’s unique authority seemed to slow the process.
“Damn…”
Since becoming a transcendent, Zeke had rarely been injured, so he was understandably shocked.
Seeing Zeke’s reaction, the Sentinel charged again, its sword enveloped in dark light.
Crash!
Dozens of dark beams shot toward Zeke, aiming to pierce him completely.
Zeke attempted to block the attack with Levatein’s Abyssal Flame once more, but the space distorted again.
Thud!
The dark, shadowy blade of the Sentinel emerged from behind Zeke, striking him squarely in the back.
“Ugh!”
Though he had his Shadow Armor to shield him, the Sentinel’s attack pierced through, leaving Zeke gritting his teeth against the searing pain that coursed through his body. He tried to heal himself with the power of complete restoration, but the wounds refused to close easily this time.
Watching Zeke struggle, the Sentinel spoke.
“A new immortal, are you? There’s nothing more foolish than relying on the illusion of immortality.”
Zeke, enduring the pain, glared at the Sentinel and replied, “Terrakan Draker, you were once an immortal too, weren’t you? You made a pact with Bahamut to become a dragon knight and awaken the power of immortality. So, you’re hardly one to talk.”
He remembered vividly how Terrakan, the former Siegfried, had become an immortal.
The Sentinel fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
“An immortal’s presence here is dangerous. The Demon King’s spirit will covet your immortal flesh.”
“And yet, here you are,” Zeke retorted. “Aren’t you worried the Demon King might covet your body too?”
The Sentinel replied, “The Demon King has no need to covet mine.”
What he said next was entirely unexpected.
“After Bahamut left my side, I lost the power of immortality. The half-heart we shared was left in her grave when I departed the continent.”
Zeke was taken aback. “Terrakan Draker lost his immortality?”
The heart of Bahamut now resided within Zeke, complete despite its curse. If Terrakan still possessed half of it, Zeke wouldn’t have found the whole heart in the Dragon Slayer’s tomb.
The Sentinel continued with another surprise.
“I didn’t come here to resurrect Bahamut with the Demon King’s power.”
Zeke narrowed his eyes. “Then why are you here, haunting this place like a specter?”
The Sentinel paused before answering.
“To completely annihilate the Demon King’s spirit.”
Zeke’s eyes widened. “Terrakan Draker came to this forsaken land to destroy the Demon King’s spirit?”
The Terrakan Draker he had heard about from Hoshgar was a broken man, obsessed with reviving Bahamut at any cost. The records in the Ark painted a similar picture. Yet, the Sentinel, who seemed to be the real Terrakan Draker, was telling a different story.
Raising his sword, the Sentinel addressed Zeke’s confusion.
“But I realized something upon arriving here. Human strength alone cannot destroy the Demon King’s spirit. That’s why I guard this place, ensuring no one reaches the tower.”
With a rumble, the Sentinel’s sword once again flared with dark energy.
Zeke raised his own sword, Levatein, steeling himself against the pain as he faced the Sentinel.
“So, you really are the guardian of the final tower.”
As he spoke, something remarkable happened.
The wounds on Zeke’s body vanished, restoring him to his pre-attack state. His powers of ‘Infinite Regression’ and ‘Immutable’ activated, fixing his mind in place while his injured body reverted to its former condition.
The Sentinel watched as Zeke returned to his original form, his sword still glowing with dark energy. In a low voice, he said, “So, Chronos’s prophecy was true.”
The Sentinel’s eyes flared red, and a fierce killing intent surged toward Zeke.
With a voice filled with desperation, he shouted, “Avatar of the Sun God! I will never let you reach the tower!”