Chapter 295
Chapter 295
Chapter 295
A massive bear with golden fur was crouching under a tree.
'What an incredibly large bear. Is this what a divine beast feels like.......'
Zeke slowly approached the bear.
GRRRRRRR!
The crouching bear was making a dry breathing sound.
When he got closer, the size was much larger than it had looked from a distance.
It felt like an entire hill was placed there.
As Zeke and Michel approached, the bear slowly opened its eyes.
Its eyes alternated between looking at Zeke and Michel.
Then Michel ran to the bear with a tearful expression.
"Ohh! Mountain Lord!"
Michel buried his face in the Mountain Lord's fur and began to sob.
『Turusino. It's been a while.』
With his face wet from crying, Michel raised her head and looked at the Mountain Lord.
"Oh, Mountain Lord, I'm sorry. I was supposed to bring medicine... I ended up doing something stupid again as usual."
Then the Mountain Lord spoke in a warm voice.
『Turusino, you are never stupid. You're just a bit slower compared to others. But sometimes, that slowness can be important.』
His voice was infinitely gentle and full of love.
Zeke understood what the Mountain Lord meant to Michel.
'So this is why he was trying to get the elixir. To save this divine beast.'
The Mountain Lord turned his eyes towards Zeke.
『I felt the power of a dragon and wondered what was happening, but a rare-powered individual has arrived.』
Zeke bowed to the Mountain Lord and spoke.
"Greetings. My name is Zeke Draker. I have come here to retrieve the power of the sacred relic."
When the words "sacred relic" were mentioned, the Mountain Lord's eyelids trembled.
『A sacred relic. Rare one. Do you know what it means? The reemergence of a sacred relic is a sign that this world will be thrown into chaos.』
"Mountain Lord, the current world is already in chaos. High-ranking demon tribes are revealing themselves, and groups are emerging who want to use this power to overthrow the continent."
The Mountain Lord took a deep breath at Zeke's words.
『Are you trying to stop them with the power of the sacred relic?』
Zeke's original purpose was to become the strongest on the continent.
In the process of getting entangled with Abel, Jiemens, and the Empire, he had reached this situation.
'If I just leave it be, the entire continent will turn to ashes, and becoming the strongest in such a situation would actually be meaningless.'
Zeke nodded towards the Mountain Lord.
"Yes, though it happened somewhat by chance... that is the current situation."
The Mountain Lord's eyes looked into Zeke's eyes.
『Come closer and place your hand on my body.』
Zeke approached and placed his hand on the Mountain Lord's golden fur.
He could feel the Mountain Lord's warm body temperature through his hand.
The Mountain Lord's voice echoed in Zeke's mind.
『One who defies the laws. But within your heart is an unwavering spirit and indomitable will that no one can follow. Such a pure and brilliantly shining soul. It's truly amazing.』
Zeke was taken aback.
"...Thank you for your words, but I cannot agree that my soul is pure and beautiful."
『You who are stronger and more beautiful than anyone else. You can certainly guide the sacred relic on the right path.』
At those words, Zeke asked with a pleased expression.
"Then, can you open the way to the Fairy Lake?"
The Mountain Lord shook his head at Zeke's words.
『To open the path to the Fairy Lake, I must recover my divine power, but as you can see, I have lost almost all of my strength.』
The divine beast Mountain Lord was still crouching, unable to support himself.
With his hand still on the Mountain Lord's body, Zeke asked the system.
'System, what illness is the Mountain Lord suffering from?'
The system then searched for related information and soon displayed a message.
[Divine beasts are connected to the realms they inhabit. The Lord of the Mountains, as a divine beast, is connected to the Ogre Mountains. Currently, the demon realm has infiltrated this mountain range, and as a result, the divine beast’s soul has been struck.]
‘The demonic energy has infiltrated? How do I heal him?’
[You need to purify the demonic energy and restore the divine beast's divinity.]
Agamemnon's Mask, which had the power of purification, was currently worn out and unusable.
Zeke pondered how to deal with the demonic energy that had permeated the divine beast's body.
After much deliberation, he first spoke to Michel, who was still clinging to the Mountain Lord's body.
"Michel, I will treat the Mountain Lord. Step back."
At Zeke's words, Michel wiped his tears and immediately stepped back.
"Please, please save our Mountain Lord!"
Zeke took a deep breath and first examined the Mountain Lord's body.
WOOOOO!
A wide-area buff was activated, and a healing factor was applied to the Mountain Lord's body.
A cluster of light settled into the Mountain Lord's body, but his dry breathing did not improve.
'The demonic energy has penetrated deep into the body.'
Zeke spoke to the Mountain Lord.
"Mountain Lord, I will burn the demonic energy lodged inside your body. It might be painful, but please endure."
『I am causing you trouble.』
Since it was a word of permission, Zeke immediately activated his sacred fire.
While maintaining the healing factor on the Mountain Lord, Zeke inserted the sacred fire into his body.
WHOOSH!
Although not as effective as the purification skill, the sacred fire also had the effect of burning demonic energy.
The sacred fire moved around inside the Mountain Lord's body, burning the magical energy.
SCREEEEECH!
At one moment, black smoke began to emerge from the Mountain Lord's mouth and nose.
The Mountain Lord trembled from the pain of being burned from the inside.
Sweat beaded on Zeke's forehead.
'The demonic energy has completely hardened and is embedded throughout the body.'
Only a tiny portion could be burned by the sacred fire.
Because it had hardened so firmly and attached to the Mountain Lord's body, continuing to burn it might actually cause problems for the Mountain Lord's body.
『UGH!』
The Mountain Lord twisted in pain.
Zeke clenched his teeth.
'This won't do. I need the purification skill.'
He carefully took out Agamemnon's Mask.
Since only 20% durability remained, one wrong move could shatter the mask itself.
'I'll finish this as quickly as possible.'
Zeke steadied his breath and put on the mask.
WOOOOO!
A golden aura rose from Zeke's body.
Using the purification skill after a long time felt like wielding a lost weapon.
The power of purification seeped into the Mountain Lord's body.
TSSS! TSSS!
The golden aura touched the hardened magical energies, shattering them into pieces.
Unlike the sacred fire, the purification power did not strain the Mountain Lord's body and gently eliminated only the magical energy.
SCREEEEECH!
An even darker black smoke emerged from the Mountain Lord's body compared to before.
The Mountain Lord's expression was much softer than when the sacred fire was used.
At that moment, a warning message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[???'s Mask durability has dropped below 15%.]
[Continuing to use the purification skill will decrease durability.
] [If durability reaches 0%, it cannot be restored.]
Zeke bit his teeth and tried to remove the demonic energies embedded in the Mountain Lord's body as quickly as possible.
'Quickly, even faster!'
WOOOOO!
The purification power rapidly eliminated the magical energies embedded in the Mountain Lord's body, but the next problem was critical.
Magical energy had completely hardened and stuck to the entire lungs.
Even when fully concentrating the purification power, it did not budge.
As Agamemnon's Mask's durability gradually decreased, Zeke grew anxious.
CRACK!
Noticeable cracks had appeared in the mask.
If he used more force, the mask might completely break.
As Zeke lowered the purification power output, the demonic energy clinging to the lungs began to squirm and spread again.
It started to coil around the areas Zeke had treated.
'Damn it.'
[???'s Mask durability has dropped below 10%.]
[Continuing to use the purification skill will decrease durability.]
[If durability reaches 0%, it cannot be restored.]
As the purification power gradually weakened, the Mountain Lord looked at Zeke and said.
『You don't need to overdo it. This is also my fate.』
At those words, Zeke clenched his molars.
'At this rate, the path to the Fairy Lake will be completely closed.'
Without the divine beast's power, he couldn't go to the Fairy Lake, nor could he restore Agamemnon's Mask.
Zeke decided to draw out the remaining purification power and eliminate all the magical energies embedded in the Mountain Lord's body at once.
WOOOOO!
Zeke concentrated his power.
[The purification function combines with the immortal's talent, transforming into 'Grand Purification'.]
['Grand Purification' function syncs with the user's skill wide-area buff.]
Zeke focused the Grand Purification skill on the Mountain Lord's body.
WOOOOO!
A brilliant golden aura seeped into the Mountain Lord's body.
A message appeared before Zeke's eyes showing the mask's durability rapidly decreasing.
SCREECH!
The magical energies embedded in the Mountain Lord's body were almost completely eliminated by the Grand Purification power.
At that moment.
CRACK!
The source of the magical energy deep within the Mountain Lord's lungs squirmed.
Zeke concentrated the Grand Purification power on its source.
However, the source of the magical energy did not disperse even with the Grand Purification power.
'Why isn't Grand Purification working?'
Zeke tried to burn the source of the magical energy using even the sacred fire.
However, the more he tried, the more the magical energy seemed to stick even more strongly.
GRRRRRR!
The Mountain Lord twisted in pain, letting out a long, agonized cry.
At that moment, a notification message about the mask's durability appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[???'s Mask durability has dropped below 2%.]
[???'s Mask durability has dropped below 1%.]
'Oh, no!'
The golden aura was gradually diminishing.
CRACK!
The demonic energy did not miss this opportunity and violently churned the Mountain Lord's body again.
The Grand Purification power was being overwhelmed by the magical energy.
[???'s Mask durability has dropped below 0%.]
CRACK!
Eventually, Agamemnon's Mask began to shatter. The magical energy writhed inside the Mountain Lord's body, shaking Zeke's body.
Zeke fell into despair, looking at the fading golden aura.
Then.
[The power of divine intervention activates.]
The elixir he had previously put in his pocket opened from the shock and spilled onto the divine artifact of the sea god that was with it.
A five-colored radiance erupted from the divine artifact where the elixir had fallen.
[The elixir and the divine artifact react.]
[The divine artifact 'Divine Dragon's Wish Orb' opens its ability.]
['Divine Dragon's Wish Orb' connects with the ability 'Rewind'.]
'What?'
Suddenly, time stopped for everyone except Zeke.
Chronos' clock appeared before his eyes.
[Ability 'Rewind' is activated.]
As the clock hands moved backward, Zeke's time reversed.
Simultaneously, the shattering Agamemnon's Mask reassembled and settled back on Zeke's face.
Zeke was startled, looking at the Agamemnon's Mask that had returned to its original state.
'Was this the ability of Rewind?'
['Divine Dragon's Wish Orb' has activated the ability 'Rewind' without penalty.]
The stopped time returned to its original flow.
[???'s Mask durability has dropped below 20%.]
The mask's durability had returned to 20%.
Zeke immediately raised the Grand Purification power.
WOOOOO!
The golden aura again wrapped around the Mountain Lord's body.
The source of magical energy embedded in his body struggled, trying to emit energy in all directions.
Zeke concentrated the Grand Purification power on its source.
WOOOOOOO!
The Grand Purification power surrounded the source of the demonic energy from all sides, preventing it from escaping.
The source of the demonic energy writhed as if screaming.
Simultaneously, the purification power exploded, eliminating the source of the demonic energy.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A golden ring spread from the Mountain Lord's body and extended across the entire realm.
The golden aura spread beyond the Mountain Lord's realm, covering the Druid village and the entire Ogre Mountains.
TSSS! TSSS! TSS!
The black smoke completely disappeared from the Mountain Lord's body. The Mountain Lord's painful breathing gradually stabilized.
With an exhausted body, Zeke checked the message before his eyes.
[???'s Mask durability has dropped below 1%.]
He had succeeded in purification just before the mask shattered.
Without realizing it, Zeke's eyes slowly closed, and his consciousness was cut off.