<w:bottom w:space="0" w:sz="0" w:val="nil"><w:right w:space="0" w:sz="0" w:val="nil"><w:between w:space="0" w:sz="0" w:val="nil"><w:shd w:fill="auto" w:val="clear"><w:spacing w:after="0" w:before="0" w:line="276" w:linerule="auto"><w:ind w:left="0" w:right="0" w:firstline="0"><w:jc w:val="left"><w:rpr><w:rfonts w:ascii="Liberation Serif" w:cs="Liberation Serif" w:eastasia="Liberation Serif" w:hansi="Liberation Serif"><w:b w:val="0"><w:i w:val="0"><w:smallcaps w:val="0"><w:strike w:val="0"><w:color w:val="333333"><w:sz w:val="24"><w:szcs w:val="24"><w:u w:val="none"><w:shd w:fill="auto" w:val="clear"><w:vertalign w:val="baseline"><w:r w:rsiddel="00000000" w:rsidr="00000000" w:rsidrpr="00000000"><w:rpr><w:rfonts w:ascii="Calibri" w:cs="Calibri" w:eastasia="Calibri" w:hansi="Calibri"><w:b w:val="1"><w:i w:val="0"><w:smallcaps w:val="0"><w:strike w:val="0"><w:color w:val="333333"><w:sz w:val="22"><w:szcs w:val="22"><w:u w:val="none"><w:shd w:fill="auto" w:val="clear"><w:vertalign w:val="baseline"><w:rtl w:val="0"><w:t xml:space="preserve">Chapter 345 Zeke was startled seeing the Holy King's Hersion.'Why is the Holy King wearing the Goddess Theia's Hersion?'Although its form differed from when ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he got it from Cain, he could sense that what the Holy King wore was the same as his own Goddess Theia's Hersion.The Holy King in Hersion looked down at Zeke from before the throne."Successor."The Holy King's voice echoed in Zeke's mind.As he stretched out his hand, light gathered surprisingly into a silver spear.'A spear?'Among the many stories passed down about the Holy King, he had never heard anything about him using a spear.WOONG! WOONG!But the Holy King held the spear naturally, and the silver spear in his hand created vibrations.The Holy King looked down at Zeke and spoke."I shall test the successor's qualifications myself."As his words ended, a flash of light sparked from the Holy King's spear.KUGUGUGU!A powerful light flew as if to pierce through Zeke's body.WHEEEEEK!Zeke immediately drew Bahamut and blocked the flash.PAJIJIJIK!Surprisingly, the flash of light from the spear transformed into electricity and wrapped around Zeke's body.'KUGH!'Zeke tried to remove the electricity by deploying magic sealing techniques.However, even after activating the magic sealing technique, the light's electricity didn't disappear.'Does this mean it's not magic?'Zeke stepped back and raised aura throughout his body.TSUTSUTSU―Only then did the light's electricity finally disappear.But the Holy King who had been before the throne was nowhere to be seen.'Could it be?'The Holy King had somehow moved to Zeke's blind spot and was thrusting his spear toward him.KWAKWAKWAKWA!A powerful sonic boom occurred toward Zeke's side.WHOOOONG!Zeke immediately deployed the Shadowless step technique, changed direction, and unleashed the Dragon Slaying technique.KWACHING!Zeke's sword collided with the Holy King's spear.'The attack is heavy.'Zeke's wrist stung from receiving the attack.It felt similar to when he had faced Poseidon.The Holy King didn't hesitate and continuously thrust his spear toward Zeke.WHOONG!The sharp spear spun as it flew toward Zeke.He tried to strike away the Holy King's spear with his sword, but due to the rotational force in the spear, Zeke's sword strike was pushed back.'This is!'PACHING!The Holy King's spear strike exploded against Zeke's body.KWADUDUK!As the spear strike pierced his body, Zeke also opened his Hersion.In an instant, Theia's Hersion wrapped around Zeke's body.Though the Hersion blocked the spear strike, it couldn't completely nullify the impact, causing Zeke's body to be pushed far back.'WHEW.'Only after his body stopped did Zeke glare at the Holy King who was pointing his spear tip toward him.The Holy King spun his spear and spoke to Zeke."Is this all you have, successor?"Zeke corrected his stance while looking at the Holy King who was provoking him.Then he spoke to the Holy King."If I defeat you, will I be acknowledged as the successor?"At those words, the Holy King struck the audience hall floor with his spear.KWADUDUK!The solid floor cracked and split into several fissures."Try it if you can."Zeke gripped Bahamut and drew up his energy at the Holy King's words.KUGUGUGUGU!As the Black Knight's power was fully released, the entire audience hall instantly became Zeke's domain.The energy of the Astral Sword rose from Zeke's sword.SHWEEK!When he swung his sword, the Holy King's spear was knocked upward.Simultaneously, Zeke deployed both magic sealing technique and strong wave resonance.PAJIJIJIJIK!Due to the two techniques Zeke deployed, not only magic but even the flow of aura was disrupted, causing electricity to spark from the Goddess Theia's Hersion the Holy King was wearing.The Holy King stepped back at Zeke's sudden attack.Zeke didn't miss this opening and used Shadowless step to penetrate the Holy King's blind spot.WHEEEEEK!Zeke, who had deployed the golden aura field, swung his sword toward the Holy King while wrapped in divine body enhancement.KWADUDUK!Zeke's sword imbued with golden aura carried the weight of ten thousand jin.The Holy King who blocked Zeke's sword had his feet sink into the floor from the unexpected powerful sword strike.Zeke didn't stop here and pressed on with his sword."HAAAAH!"He continuously swung his sword imbued with golden aura.Infinite Sword TechniqueContinuous StrikeEight Directions StrikeKWAKWAKWAKWAKWA!Zeke rapidly drove his sword without giving the Holy King a chance to counterattack.KWACHING! KWACHING! KWACHING!Though the Holy King quickly moved his spear to block Zeke's sword strikes, Zeke's sword, having caught its rhythm, showed no signs of stopping.The Holy King was eventually pushed back to the wall.He blocked Zeke's sword by raising his spear and struck the floor.KWAKWAKWAKWAKWA!The spear's rotational force shattered the floor, sending stone fragments flying.The Holy King had tried to create breathing room by sending fragments at Zeke, but it was completely ineffective against Zeke who dominated the domain itself through the opened Astral Sword.PABABABABAT!All fragments flying toward Zeke turned to powder and scattered.Simultaneously, heat haze rose from Bahamut and took form.Zeke raised the Astral Sword that destroys the source itself and swung it toward the Holy King.At that moment, golden aura burst from the Holy King's body.TSUTSUTSUTSUTSU―The aura the Holy King raised was familiar to Zeke.'Agamemnon's Mask.'As the purifying aura settled in the Holy King's spear, brilliant light burst forth.The brilliant light created by the Holy King collided with the Astral Sword.KWAKWAKWAKWAKWANG!As the different forces collided and canceled each other out, the surroundings filled with light.WHOOOONG!Zeke was pushed back by the shockwave.The Holy King slowly rose while leaning against the wall, holding the spear with weakly flickering aura.Zeke pointed Bahamut at the Holy King after regaining his stance and spoke."Do you still need more testing?"At Zeke's words, the Holy King waved his hand and the spear disappeared back into light."The test is over. You have proven yourself worthy as successor."Zeke deactivated his Hersion at the Holy King's words."That's a relief. But I have a question."He stepped closer to the Holy King and spoke."What do you mean by successor?"At Zeke's words, the Holy King silently looked at him before raising his hand."I have something to show you."He snapped his fingers.The audience hall scenery rippled and changed into a different appearance.It felt similar to the hero spirits he had seen in the inverted tower.'Did the Holy King also leave his spirit behind to pass something on to future generations? Wait, but this place is...?'The completely transformed space looked similar to the previous Dragon Slayer's sanctuary.Several doors leading to other rooms were on one wall of the large circular cavern.In the center of the cavern was a high platform with stairs leading up to it, and on top was something made of glass.The Holy King gestured to Zeke.He slowly followed the Holy King up onto the platform.Inside the glass case on the platform was none other than a spear.Zeke suddenly realized something looking at the spear in the case.'This spear... it's made of Adamantium.'The only metal that could kill gods.It was a spear made of Adamantium, known as the god-slaying metal.Zeke had previously pulled out an Adamantium spear that had been sealing the body of Poseidon, the divine dragon.The god-slaying spear that Jiemens Apollion had used to seal the divine dragon when trying to incarnate the Demon King into his body.The spear then was just a crude Adamantium blade sharpened to a point and attached to a shaft.But the spear inside this glass case was made entirely of Adamantium from tip to shaft.The Holy King spoke to Zeke."The reason I called you successor is because you are the next owner of this spear."Zeke was shocked at the Holy King's words."Owner of the Adamantium spear? Are you telling me to become a God slayer?"The Holy King nodded."As the new owner of the holy spear Longomiant, you must inherit the fate of killing the resurrecting Demon King."Zeke was surprised at the Holy King's words."Holy spear? What do you mean by inheriting the fate of killing the resurrecting Demon King?"Though he had heard about the Demon King's resurrection through Chronos, he hadn't expected to hear about it from the Holy King.The Holy King looked at Zeke and spoke."Originally, this was a task that should have been completed by the previous successor, Terakan Draker, but he only managed to seal the Demon King's soul without using this God slaying spear."He continued."I tried to accomplish the task of destroying the Demon King that Terakan Draker failed to complete as the next successor, but it was impossible. I was unable to fully utilize that god-slaying spear."Zeke had a hunch about something after hearing the Holy King's words.'Jiemens Apollion, Terakan, and me. We all had the power of immortality.'It was possible that the god-slaying power within Adamantium could only be properly used by someone with the Immortal class.And if the Holy King only had the power of the Healer class rather than the Immortal class, it made sense that he could use the purifying power of Agamemnon's Mask but not the god-slaying power.Zeke looked at the Holy King and spoke."Why didn't Terakan Draker use this spear to completely destroy the Demon King?"After a silence, the Holy King slowly spoke."Terakan Draker refused to destroy Bahamut, which held the Demon King's soul. Therefore, he used his sword Zahak rather than the god-slaying spear to collapse Bahamut's physical form before sealing only the Demon King's soul back in the Book of the Dead."Zeke was startled by the name 'Zahak' that the Holy King mentioned.'Could it be the same demon sword that Abel used?'Abel had attacked Zeke wielding Zahak and wearing an unfamiliar type of Hersion.While the identity of Abel's Hersion remained unknown, the identity of his sword was now revealed.'I never imagined that sword was Terakan Draker's.'The sword that destroyed Bahamut, the Shadow Dragon inhabited by the Demon King.An indescribably evil power had emanated from the Zahak that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Abel wielded.Among various legends, he had read about a holy sword that had cut down demons and drunk their blood countless times, transforming into a powerful demon sword that dominated its owner's mind.Zahak may have transformed into a demon sword in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the same way.Then the Holy King clenched his fist and spoke while looking at the holy spear in the glass case."...If only Terakan Draker had properly destroyed the Demon King's soul then, the physical world could have found peace and tranquility again. The regret is unbearable."Terakan Draker simply couldn't kill Bahamut, who was his contract dragon, soulmate, and lover.However, Zeke felt something strange while listening to the Holy King's words.'Does the Holy King not know that he is the child of Bahamut and Terakan Draker?'He showed no signs of thinking of Terakan Draker as his father.Zeke asked the Holy King."Your Majesty. Perhaps... do you know how your mother, Claudia Lubern, met her fate?"The Holy King was silent for a moment at the sudden question.Then he slowly continued."I know she passed away in battle shortly after giving birth to me."Zeke realized his suspicion was correct.'The Holy King didn't know that Bahamut was Claudia Lubern.'Zeke had learned this fact through stories from the Hermit and memories of the past remaining in the ruins.If Terakan Draker had intentionally hidden this, the Holy King may not have known the identity of his parents.Zeke looked at the Holy King again and asked."Then do you know who your birth father is?"At those words, the Holy King stared intently at Zeke while wearing his helmet.It could have been quite a rude question, but the one before him was a spirit, not the actual Holy King.Getting necessary information was more important than being polite to a spirit.He looked at Zeke before shaking his head."...I don't know. Neither my nurse who raised me nor my mother's companions would tell me about that."Terakan had clearly hidden the fact that he was the father and had others raise Geo Lubern, who became the Holy King.'Now I understand why he took the Lubern surname instead of Draker.'That's when it happened.The Holy King deactivated his Hersion helmet.The Holy King's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠face that had been hidden under the helmet was revealed.And only then did Zeke become startled upon seeing the real Holy King's face.'Huh?'The revealed Holy King's face was identical to Zeke's.