Episode 690
Zeke’s eyes widened in surprise at the Watcher’s words.
“You’ve been searching for me?”
The Watcher nodded, his eyes gleaming through the bandages.
“Chronos sent you, and I scoured the entire continent to find you. But you were nowhere to be found. Then I realized—she had sent you to a future beyond the wall of time.”
Chronos had entrusted Zeke to his apostle, Laura Agamemnon, sending him a thousand years into the future to protect him from the demons.
The Watcher continued, “Not knowing where in the future you existed, I decided to leave a legacy for you. I hid the Heart and Fang of Bahamut, along with my armory and library, in a place only those who can use the Kabbalah system could find.”
Zeke realized that the legacy of Terracan was meant for him all along. The many fortuitous encounters he had after his return were all orchestrated for the savior’s path he was destined to walk.
The Watcher spoke again, “I used the power of the Holy Grail to summon the Demon Lord and made a deal. In exchange for Bahamut’s body, I revealed the location of the final tower where the Demon King’s soul was hidden.”
Zeke was taken aback by the revelation. “You made a deal with the Demon Lord as well?”
“Yes, it was a necessary choice to reclaim Bahamut’s body. And… as I mentioned before, I wanted to completely annihilate the Demon King. I believed that by doing so, my child, burdened with the savior’s fate, could be free.”
Zeke clenched his teeth at the Watcher’s words. The fate that bound Bahamut, Terracan, and Zeke was tangled and relentless.
”…But things didn’t go as planned, did they?”
The Watcher nodded. “No. Having lost the power of immortality, I couldn’t destroy the Demon King’s soul, and my aging body was on the verge of collapse. As a last resort, I became the guardian of the tower, ensuring no one could approach the place where the Demon King was sealed.”
Zeke’s eyes widened as he realized something. “The guardian of the tower… then the one binding your soul isn’t the Demon King, but…”
He thought of the being who created the final tower.
“The Elder Dragon. It was the Elder Dragon who bound you here for a thousand years.”
The Watcher remained silent, not responding to Zeke’s words. After a moment, he raised his sword towards Zeke once more.
“The Demon King’s soul must not be allowed to anyone. Not even you.”
Zeke shook his head, addressing the Watcher. “The one you should be stopping as the tower’s guardian isn’t me, but Arthur Draker. He’s trying to bring about the end of the world by using the Demon King’s soul, having absorbed the power of chaos as the Sun God’s avatar.”
The Watcher flinched, disbelief in his voice. ”…The end of the world, Ragnarok?”
As soon as the Watcher finished speaking, a massive wave shook the space, breaching the isolated dimension.
Rumble!
Plasma erupted from the Watcher’s body with the wave.
Crackle!
Zeke, startled by the sudden plasma current, tried to approach the Watcher.
But the Watcher raised a hand, shaking his head. “Do not come closer!”
Behind the Watcher, the space began to tear apart, slowly pulling him in.
Zeke shouted at the Watcher, “What’s happening all of a sudden?”
As the Watcher was gradually swallowed by the space, he spoke, “It seems the one you mentioned has approached the final tower.”
The Watcher’s eyes glowed as he addressed Zeke. “I warn you once more. Leave this place as quickly as possible. Otherwise, you will be caught in the chaos.”
Rumble!
With his warning, the torn space engulfed the Watcher.
Crash!
Immediately after, the barrier of the dimension collapsed.
Zeke’s view revealed the endless sea of the abandoned continent.
Hovering in the air, Zeke looked up at the sea’s horizon and murmured softly, “System, no… Laura. Pinpoint the location of Terracan Draker.”
Having identified the Watcher’s true identity as Terracan Draker and having crossed swords with him, Zeke could now use the Akashic Code to pinpoint his location.
A message appeared in response to Zeke’s words.
[Marking the coordinates of Terracan Draker on the map.]
Zeke confirmed the coordinates marked in the vast sea, indicating where the final tower was hidden.
He tore his gaze from the message, looked up at the sea, and then turned to fly towards the fortress.
His father, Terracan Draker, had told him to leave, but Zeke couldn’t. The final battle surrounding the end was about to begin.
Boom!
Hundreds of Apollyon warships hovered in the air, launching magical artillery at the hidden black tower deep within the sea.
The black tower was fending off the magical shells with a translucent barrier.
Atop the command tower of the largest flagship among the fleet stood Libain, clad in black armor.
He watched the final tower, protected by the barrier, with a detached gaze.
The place had been created by the combined efforts of the Elder Dragon and the surviving dragons, making it impossible to break the barrier with mere magical artillery.
Observing this, Libain issued a command to the mages below the command tower.
“Awaken the angels.”
The mages relayed the command through crystal orbs.
Four warships advanced, approaching the final tower.
Rumble!
The front of each warship lifted, revealing pulsating cocoons on their decks.
Mages managing the cocoons began infusing magic into the bloodstones scattered around.
A deep hum resonated as the red energy from the bloodstones seeped into the cocoons.
The cocoons pulsed more violently.
Crack!
Inside the cocoons, the sound of bones aligning was heard, and soon the surface bulged and rippled.
Rip!
The surface of the cocoons tore open, spilling red amniotic fluid onto the decks.
From the four cocoons emerged angels, enveloped in viscous fluid.
They were the angels of the constellations: Haniel of Aries, Sariel of Capricorn, Anael of Aquarius, and Sarakael of Pisces.
However, the angels that emerged from the cocoons bore little resemblance to their divine forms.
Their surfaces were slick with sticky fluid, their skin wrinkled and twitching.
With sharp teeth, forked tongues, and membranous wings, they resembled demons from hell more than angels.
Having hatched through a twisted causality, they manifested in the world without divinity, in grotesque forms.
Screech!
The angels, newly emerged from the cocoons, soared into the sky.
They circled the final tower, shrouded in its protective barrier.
The angels opened their mouths wide, spewing forth black energy.
Rumble!
The ominous black energy coalesced into spheres, growing larger.
The black spheres, expelled by the angels, flew towards the final tower from all directions.
Crash!
The black spheres adhered to the protective barrier of the final tower.
From the spheres, spiral drills emerged, attempting to pierce the barrier.
Buzz!
With intense vibrations, black currents crackled from the drills as they tried to penetrate the barrier.
The black spheres clung tenaciously, drilling persistently.
Under simultaneous assault from four directions, the once sturdy barrier began to crack.
Crack!
As the barrier fractured, a change occurred within the final tower.
Rumble!
The top of the final tower, tightly sealed, opened, revealing the dragons thought to be lost.
Roar!
Dozens of dragons, remaining in spirit form to protect the final tower, soared into the sky.
The dragons glided freely, unleashing their breath upon the Apollyon warships.
Boom!
The warships struck by the dragons’ breath plummeted with a cacophony.
Libain, observing from the flagship, issued another command.
“Release the dragon slayers.”
At his command, hundreds of dragon slayers from Apollyon’s fleet took to the skies.
They rode on Pegasi and dragon steeds, both tainted by dark magic.
Once noble creatures, the Pegasi and dragon steeds had been corrupted into demonic beasts.
The dragon slayers, clad in Hersion armor, wielded swords and chains.
They soared into the air, hurling their chains at the approaching dragons.
Clang!
Chains forged from the power of dragons shot through the air, reaching for the ethereal forms of the dragons themselves.
Whoosh!
The chains wrapped around the dragons’ necks and wings, binding them and restricting their movements as intended.
The ensnared dragons thrashed wildly, summoning magic with their draconic incantations in a desperate attempt to break free.
Boom!
A fierce magical storm erupted, crashing down upon the dragon slayers. Yet, the surface of their armor, crafted from Herseion, shimmered brilliantly, not only deflecting the dragons’ magic but reflecting it back.
Their method of hunting dragons was none other than the ancient technique used by the dragon slayers led by Terracan Draker a thousand years ago.
Roar!
The dragons caught in the chains let out anguished cries. At that moment, angels hovering near the tower swooped down towards one of the bound dragons.
Crunch!
The angels drove their tails into the dragon’s nape, siphoning its power. The dragon, in its spiritual form, quickly dissolved into a burst of light as its strength was drained.
The angels, now infused with the dragon’s power, grew larger and began to transform.
Screech!
With a malevolent aura, the angels charged at the remaining dragons. But just then, something hurtled towards the angels.
Crash!
A powerful sword strike slammed into the angels, forcing them back. Emerging from the shadows was the most imposing of all dragons, the colossal black dragon, Bahamut, with a sentinel astride its back.
Bahamut, as if signaling the true beginning, opened its massive jaws and unleashed a dragon’s breath upon the warships and angels.
Boom!
The shadow dragon’s breath obliterated a dozen warships in an instant. In response, the angels soared into the sky, claws poised, ready to strike at Bahamut.
The sentinel signaled Bahamut to maneuver in the air.
Rumble!
With its four wings spread wide, Bahamut twisted its body, lashing out at the angels with its tail.
Crash!
The massive tail of the shadow dragon struck the angel of Magalgung, shattering its form into pieces.
The fragmented body seemed to fall towards the ground, but then, drawn by the dark matter within, the pieces began to reassemble like a magnet.
Crack!
The shattered form reconstituted itself, returning to its original state. The restored angel of Magalgung bared its fangs at Bahamut.
From atop Bahamut, the sentinel leaped into the air, eyes fixed on the flagship where Rivaine, the orchestrator, stood. He raised a sword wrapped in bandages above his head.
Rumble!
The sword pulsed with the twisted power of causality, a force granted by the Elder Dragon from the god of chaos, which the sentinel could wield.
Just as the sentinel was about to unleash a strike imbued with the power of his past immortal self upon the angels—
Thud!
Rivaine, having appeared behind the sentinel unnoticed, drove the cursed sword Zahhak deep into his back.