Chapter 189
Chapter 189
"The King in Yellow?"
It seemed like he had heard this somewhere before.
Zeke recalled that Richmond had briefly mentioned it when explaining the Book of the dead.
'It seemed like a legend passed down among dark mages.'
As Zeke showed signs of not understanding, Hoshgar nodded and opened her mouth.
"In a situation where even the Liberation War is not properly conveyed, how could one know about the King in Yellow?"
She continued speaking.
"The King in Yellow refers to the Demon King who will be reborn anew."
"What does it mean that the Demon King will be reborn anew?"
"It's from Chronos's prophecy. The original text goes like this: Due to the sacrifice of the most noble one, the one who had fallen to the lowest depths will be reborn as the King in Yellow."
"It sounds like a riddle."
"Aren't all prophecies like that? What can you do about it?"
"If the sacrifice of the most noble one refers to Bahamut's sacrifice, does it mean that?"
"No, it refers to the Great Sage, not Bahamut."
"A sage?"
"Have you heard of the Hero King legend?"
"Yes. The Fairy King and the sage who created Kaisir. Are you referring to that sage?"
"Correct. The Hero King legend has quite a few versions. And among the lesser-known versions, there are some that deal with the 'sage' instead of the Hero King."
"I've heard a similar story. The story of Hero King Kaisir sealing the Demon King."
"If you already know that, the story will be quick. The Demon King's invasion existed even before the Liberation War. Kaisir, the sage, and the legendary heroes fought against the Demon King's army."
"By Demon King's army, do you mean the beast and monster legions?"
"No, at that time, the tribe with the largest force on the continent was none other than the 'Orcs'."
"If it's Orcs... I know them as the ancient Orc tribe, is that correct?"
"There are such stories, but strictly speaking, it's different. Orcs are Orcs. They are a battle tribe so strong that they can wield weapons from the moment they are born. They worship fallen celestial beings, offering blood and the madness of battlefields in exchange for greater power."
Zeke remembered that Arataso despised the celestial beings and their followers that the Orcs worshipped.
'During the Hero King era, the power of the celestial beings of blood and madness must have been stronger.'
Hoshgar continued her explanation.
"The Demon King's army, composed of demons and Orcs, tried to invade the Chronos Kingdom and the entire continent. Kaisir, as a Hero King and warrior, fought against such a Demon King's army. He engaged in a final duel with the Demon King but ultimately was defeated."
Zeke had directly experienced how strong Kaisir was.
He couldn't even imagine how strong the Demon King must have been, given that such a Kaisir had lost.
"However, the Demon King was also in a state of nearly exhausted power. That's why the sage sacrificed his own soul to seal the Demon King."
Though there were differences in the details, the basic narrative was similar to what Richmond had told him.
But Zeke had one question.
'Why didn't Kaisir's master tell me about this story?.'
Unlike the spectral state of Hoshgar, Kaisir had appeared in a temporary spirit state, but he was Kaisir himself.
Zeke had heard many stories from Kaisir and had seen the chronicles he left behind, but there was no content about the Demon King's invasion or the sage.
'Could the Hero King legend have been distorted in the process of being passed down, like the Dragon Slayer legend?'
Zeke held onto his doubts and asked Hoshgar.
"Is the noble one in the prophecy referring to that sage?"
"We interpreted it that way. The sage's sacrifice caused the one who fell to the lowest depths to be sealed. But the latter part of the content concerns me. 'Will be reborn as the King in Yellow'."
"Do you think the Demon King who led the Liberation War is the King in Yellow?"
"Yes. Bahamut conducted various experiments to somehow distort Chronos's prophecy. However, he ultimately failed to prevent the rebirth of the King in Yellow. So Bahamut tried to end Chronos's prophecy of destruction by accepting the Demon King's soul into his own body and choosing death himself."
"Is there more to Chronos's prophecy?"
"Yes. But I can't tell you the original text. Saying it might change something."
"I understand. What does it mean that the prophecy of destruction, which we thought was over, is not yet over?"
"After the Terakan disappeared and I went into seclusion, I focused on researching magic at a new level. When I reached that new level, things that were previously invisible began to appear."
"Are you talking about the Prophecy of Destruction?"
"Yes. That's why I fixed my spectral self before transcending my original self, to pass down what I realized about the Prophecy of Destruction to future generations."
After hearing Hoshgar's words, Zeke pondered for a moment before asking her a question.
"I just happened to enter this mansion by chance. Am I allowed to hear about the Prophecy of Destruction?"
Hoshgar shook her head.
"The fact that you came here and awakened me means you are qualified to receive the arrangement prepared by my original self. I haven't seen what my original self saw, so I don't know exactly what happened. I'm just here to deliver the message."
She continued, looking at Zeke.
"My original self said to find all three sacred relics to prepare for the Prophecy of Destruction."
"Sacred relics?"
"Yes. Do you know about the sacred relics?"
Zeke had already found one of the sacred relics, the Holy Grail, and was keeping it safely in his inventory.
Zeke nodded.
"I only know that one of them is the Holy Grail."
"The Holy Grail is probably the most widely known."
"Do you know about the other two sacred relics?"
"Unfortunately, I don't know the details. I only know that one of them is a shield."
"A shield..."
Simultaneously, a message window appeared.
―Main Quest Mission (Linked)―
[Bring the sacred relics containing the primordial power to the forgotten primordial temple. (No time limit / Temple coordinates will be automatically activated when all 3 sacred relics are obtained)]
[Prepare for the Prophecy of Destruction by finding 3 sacred relics, as conveyed by the spectral form of Archmage Hoshgar. (No time limit)]
[Main Quest Mission Reward: ???]
[Linked Quest Mission Reward: Title - Archmage's Blessing]
'What is this?'
Zeke was surprised by the suddenly appearing linked quest.
A linked quest had been added to the main quest he had already received.
'Archmage's Blessing? I don't know exactly what it is, but since it's related to the Archmage, it must be good.'
At that moment, Hoshgar said to Zeke,
"Zeke, to find the sacred relics, it would be efficient to follow Terakan's traces. He was unusually obsessed with sacred relics."
"Do you mean Terakan Draker?"
"Yes. He thought the sacred relics were the key to reviving Bahamut."
Even as Terakan Draker's heir, this was the first time Zeke had heard such a story.
'Hmm, I'll need to carefully search through the documents in the secure archives one by one.'
Then.
WOOOONG!
Hoshgar's body began to blur instantly.
She looked at Zeke and said,
"Looks like my time is up."
"Are you dissipating as a spirit?"
"Yes. Because my original self hastily created me, I can't exist for very long. The law of karma wouldn't allow it either."
Zeke watched Hoshgar's gradually fading body.
Suddenly, Hoshgar spoke to Zeke.
"It's strange. Looking at you reminds me of Bahamut, no, Claudia."
"Are you talking about Claudia Lubern?"
Hoshgar was surprised and asked back,
"Yes, that's right. How do you know that?"
After some consideration, Zeke answered,
"I am a distant bloodline relative of Lubern."
Hoshgar burst into big laughter.
"Hahaha! So the child born by Claudia has continued like this. HAHAHA!"
After laughing heartily, she said to Zeke in her almost translucent form,
"I have nothing special to give to my precious friend's distant descendant. Right. You can use the power of a dragon being?"
"Yes, I have the title of a dragon being."
"Title? I don't know what that is. Anyway, I hope this helps a little."
Hoshgar's dragon eye flashed with light.
Simultaneously, Zeke's eyes were forcibly transformed into dragon eyes.
'What is this?'
A message window appeared before his eyes.
[Some of Archmage Hoshgar's abilities are being transferred.]
[A new function is added to the dragon skill Dragon Ghost knights.]
[You can now summon an additional 5 Ghost Dragon.]
'Ghost Dragon warriors? Could it be...?'
Hoshgar, who had transferred her abilities to Zeke, had become so transparent that she was fading away.
She waved her hand with a smile.
WOOOOO!
As Hoshgar's figure completely disappeared, the reception room's space began to crack like a glass wall breaking.
JJEOJEOJEOJEOJIK!
Soon, the completely cracked space shattered and broke apart.
A moment later, when he looked around bewilderedly, the reception room was gone, and he had returned to the original space.
As Zeke looked around, the gem of the spirit regenerator in the center of the space had completely lost its light.
Moreover, the spirit dragon soldiers who had been guarding the space were nowhere to be seen.
"Hmm, did she transfer the abilities of those dragon warriors to me?"
Zeke tried summoning a spirit dragon warrior as a test.
TSUTSUTSUTSUTSU!
Unlike the dragon warriors Hoshgar had used, they appeared similar to the dragon warriors Zeke usually summoned.
Instead, their bodies were ghostly and blurry, similar to Hoshgar's dragon soldiers.
"How strange."
Because the ghost dragon warriors could completely hide their presence and traces, they were suitable for secretly infiltrating enemy lines or for assassination.
"Let's call you 'ghost warriors' to distinguish you from the regular dragon warriors."
Zeke cancelled the summoning of the ghost warriors and looked around Hoshgar's laboratory.
"This was the laboratory used by the founder of the Nirvana family. It seems a waste to leave it as is."
He tried summoning Richmond again. Perhaps because Hoshgar's power had disappeared, the secure system no longer blocked the summoning, unlike before.
"Oh, my lord! Please do something about that guy!"
Richmond, who began wailing the moment he was summoned.
"The knight killer has woken up?"
"As soon as he woke up, he was causing such a commotion that I even summoned a dragon to restrain him."
He was definitely not an ordinary person, seemingly due to his special training.
Zeke summoned a dragon warrior and sent him to where Aaron was to have him restrained.
Then he showed Richmond the laboratory.
"What do you think?"
"What do you mean?"
"This laboratory."
Richmond only then looked around the laboratory. Soon, his eyes began to sparkle.
"My goodness! What kind of mage used this place? It's completely optimized for research. Wow, that equipment is hard to find these days!"
Zeke said to Richmond,
"It was the laboratory of Nirvana's founder."
At those words, Richmond froze while holding the equipment he was examining.
"W-who?"
"Hoshgar. The founder of the Nirvana family."
Upon hearing those words, Richmond began to tremble and put down what he was holding.
"I'll go up first, my lord."
Zeke grabbed Richmond by the nape of his neck.
"Take this and find out what Hoshgar was researching."
"How can I understand the research of such a great mage! The fields are completely different!"
"Stop talking so much."
Zeke dismissed his resistance and summoned the ghost soldiers again to show him.
Richmond panicked and struggled.
"Th-those are ghosts, aren't they?"
"These were the guardians Hoshgar stationed to protect this place. Isn't it intriguing?"
Richmond, who was very interested in rare monsters, showed an intrigued expression upon hearing they weren't ghosts and seeing the ghost warriors.
"Oh... they're in a ghost like state. How are they maintaining substance? Hmm, should I classify them in the undead monster category…?"
Zeke had successfully ignited Richmond's research passion.
Eventually, Richmond was lured into moving the temporary research laboratory from the Troy principality to this location.
Although the identity of the ghosts as Hoshgar's guardians was revealed, Zeke still performed a full purification on the entire mansion just to be safe.
WOOOOO!
A golden aura illuminated every corner of the mansion, purifying the tainted energy.
While completing the purification process, Zeke discovered a hidden space inside the mansion.
'What is this...?'