Chapter 404
Chapter 404
Chapter 404
Zeke, grabbing his throbbing head, said:
"......Richmond, didn't I tell you to repair the ship? When did you make something like this demonic warship?"
Richmond, wearing a proud expression, responded:
"Hehe, isn't it magnificent? I put a lot of effort into preserving the master's dignity."
Unlike the tactless Richmond, Bane caught Zeke's distorted expression and immediately approached him, saying:
"Master! I tried to stop the senior somehow, saying this would please you..."
Bane was now making excuses and abandoning Richmond to save himself.
Zeke pointed to the densely embedded ice blades on the ship's side and the massive ice horns decorating the ship's front:
"Bane, why did you attach such things to the ship?"
Then Bane moved his skeletal mouth with a clacking sound:
"I thought these might at least help hide Richmond senior's grotesque bones and tried to attach them stylishly!"
It seemed this disaster occurred while trying to cover one strange taste with another strange taste.
'It's my fault for entrusting this to Nirvana members who are far from common sense.'
Zeke sighed and jumped onto the deck.
The interior was more ordinary than expected.
'Well, it's better than a small boat at least.'
Zeke, gathering a positive mindset, spread the wind technique to move the ship towards the sea.
SWOOOOSH!
The ship moved out to sea riding the wind.
Even though they hadn't gone far from the coastline as the fishermen said, the waves were rough and the ship swayed.
True to its name as a stormy sea, strong winds blew that seemed capable of capsizing the ship.
'The wind is blowing in the opposite direction, so the ship isn't moving forward.'
Zeke furled the sail and summoned Nahuel after a long time.
GRRRRRR!
The summoned Nahuel gave a pleasant cry towards Zeke.
"Nahuel, I'm sorry for making you work right after summoning you. To break through this storm, I'll need your help."
Nahuel nodded at Zeke's words and pulled the ship, breaking through the waves and wind.
At that moment, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[With the title Ocean God's Glory, stabilizing the rough sea.]
[Title Sea Beast's Blessing synchronizes with Water Spirit Nahuel. The range of Ocean God's Glory expands.]
[Title Fairy's Blessing expands the stabilization range.]
Due to the abilities of Zeke's titles, the waves around his ship subsided and the wind did not blow strongly.
Thanks to this, Nahuel could pull the ship more easily.
'Fortunately. I didn't expect the titles to be effective here.'
It seemed they could reach the storm port more smoothly than anticipated.
The ship led by Nahuel continued to move quickly towards the stormy sea area.
Zeke decided to spend time meditating in the cabin until reaching the storm port.
While closing his eyes and meditating, searching for a clue to a new realm, Zeke suddenly felt a strange presence and broke out of his trance, opening his eyes.
'What's this?'
He immediately went up to the deck.
According to the time, morning should have risen, but thick storm clouds covered the sky, and the surroundings remained pitch dark.
Outside of Zeke's ship, protected by his titles from the stormy sea's influence, was chaos with rough waves and whirling winds.
Zeke carefully surveyed the surroundings and discovered an island beyond the rough waves.
'Is that the storm port?'
The ship led by Nahuel was gradually approaching the visible island.
And then it happened.
RUMBLLLLLE!
Something began to rise from beneath the rough sea.
'Something is rising.'
Zeke sensed an ominous energy and drew Bahamut.
ROOOOOAR!
A terrifying monster's cry, as if echoing from the depths of hell.
Along with it, something massive rose above the water surface.
"An octopus?"
What rose from the sea was an octopus leg of such enormous size that it was difficult to estimate its scale.
Each leg, stretching long upwards like a tower, rose erect, occupying all four directions around Zeke's ship.
Even with title protection, it seemed impossible to withstand if these legs were to strike down on the ship.
Zeke drew up his mana while looking at the gigantic octopus legs towering like towers.
'I wonder if this is the monster of the storm port from the stories.'
A monster driven out by the Hero King, locked on an island, breaking a promise and summoning a rough storm.
Zeke tensed, looking at the enormous monster's legs, whose size he couldn't even estimate.
At that moment, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes again.
[Unrecognized System connecting to administrator's system.]
[Requesting authorization code.]
[Searching for relevant code.]
[Extracting authorization code from the title 'One Blessed by the Great Dragon'.]
[Updating authorization code.]
[Connecting to the system of this city.]
[Connection successful.]
[Welcome, Administrator. Welcome to 'Rluie', the deep-sea city where the Constellation 'Great Dream Owner' resides.]
'The deep-sea city of Rluie.'
Zeke recalled the golden city of Blanca where Hades was imprisoned.
Like Blanca, this was the true identity of the storm port - an ancient city protected by a constellation.
With the message, a massive portal appeared in front of the island.
RUMMMBLE!
Richmond and Bane, standing next to Zeke, fearfully alternated their gaze between the giant octopus legs and the portal.
"M-Master. Something is strange here."
"This is an unidentifiable place. Perhaps we should return..."
Zeke ignored the timid Liches' opinions and drove the ship directly into the portal.
"AAAAAH! M-Master!"
"Are we going to die like this?!"
Bane, already dead and turned into a Lich, spoke nonsensically.
Zeke's ship, which entered the portal, instantly disappeared.
Simultaneously, the massive octopus legs that had revealed themselves also sank back into the sea.
* * *
'Huh?'
After passing through the portal, Zeke opened his eyes in a space he had never seen before.
It was a completely new place, not the ship he was riding.
The surroundings were made of transparent glass, and outside was an incredibly surprising underwater landscape.
Exotic, five-colored marine creatures and beautiful coral reefs created a fantastical and strangely shocking scene.
'Where am I?'
Zeke tried to find traces of his summoned Liches, Richmond and Bane, but could not sense them at all.
Nahuel was the same, and he suspected this was not an ordinary space.
'Have I entered a mental realm? Or... like the Inverted Tower, it might be a unique domain.'
At that moment, someone approached Zeke.
"Zeke Draker, I'm truly sorry for bringing you to this distant place."
A tall man appeared wearing a gray robe.
His hood covered his face, but his voice and tone suggested age and experience.
"Come, sit here."
As he spoke, a table appeared out of nowhere.
Not only did it suddenly appear, but it was made of a material Zeke had never seen before, neither metal nor wood, making it impossible for him to determine the nature of this place.
Sitting down, Zeke spoke to the man.
"Are you the leader of the Highlanders?"
The man nodded.
"Yes. I wanted to meet you through Nabu, or rather, the Hermit of Stories."
Zeke heard the Hermit of Stories' name through the leader for the first time but didn't show it.
As the leader extended his hand, a teacup and teapot appeared on the table.
He poured steaming tea into the cup.
Once the tea was poured, the cup automatically moved to where Zeke was sitting.
Zeke stared at the cup, then smelled and sipped the tea.
"The tea tastes excellent."
The leader nodded, also drinking his tea.
"It's a tea variety that can't be tasted in this era."
"This era... Could this space be from a past time period?"
The leader shook his head.
"Moving time lines is a unique ability of Chronos. It's impossible for me to touch that."
Zeke had asked casually, but the Highlander's leader surprisingly knew about Chronos's time-handling ability.
'Who exactly is he?'
The leader put down his teacup and looked at Zeke.
"I called you here not just to see you directly, but to seek cooperation in stopping the events happening on the continent."
Zeke looked at the leader and said,
"I understand Highlanders as an organization that hunts monsters."
The leader shook his head.
"Hunting monsters is not our only task. The purpose of Highlanders is to maintain the balance of the current world."
"Balance of the current world? Why would Highlanders do such a thing? I understand you're not establishing an organization to gain any particular benefits."
"Benefits. That's a very relative and human-centric concept."
As the leader waved his hand, a continental map appeared on the table.
It displayed not just the Central, Northern, and Southern Continents, but also the Eastern Continent across the sea.
The leader looked at the map and spoke:
"We have been pursuing the Abyss for a very long time. Since the Demon King was sealed, his followers have hidden in the world's shadows, waiting for their time to come."
Zeke was startled by the leader's words.
'Has Highlander existed since the time of the Demon King's seal?'
Zeke had no idea the Highlander's history was so old.
But when he recalled the transcendent strength of his master Nigel, it somehow made sense.
The leader waved his hand again, and black dots appeared across the continent.
"The Abyss find gaps in the world and burrow into them. Greed, desire, jealousy, laziness - all negative emotions are good driving forces for them. Abyss use these to divide the world and create conflicts."
"So Highlanders have been blocking such Abyss conspiracies?"
"Indeed. We have many different names. One of them is related to your mother, Laura Agamemnon."
Zeke's pupils trembled.
"Could it be... Dawn Society was also a Highlander organization?"
"I told you. Our purpose is to balance the current world. The Dawn Society's activities are just one part of what we do. Monster hunting and protecting prohibitions are in the same context."
Zeke had never anticipated that Dawn Society shared roots with Highlanders.
He looked at the leader and asked:
"Then is the ultimate goal of Highlanders to completely eliminate the Demon King?"
The leader was silent for a moment.
Then he slowly spoke:
"Complete elimination of the Demon King. From the perspective of maintaining the world's balance, perhaps that could be true."
Zeke felt slightly tired of the leader's cryptic conversation style.
Sensing Zeke's attitude, the leader spoke:
"Zeke Draker, from what I've seen, you have clear goals and move precisely and efficiently to achieve them. That's an advantage I don't possess. Perhaps because I've lived too long, I always overthink things. Hesitating and ultimately missing opportunities."
He paused, organizing his thoughts, then continued.
"That's why I want to entrust this task to you."
"What task?"
The leader waved his hand again, and a three-dimensional image of a figure appeared on the table.
A man wearing a black robe.
Zeke looked at the image and asked the leader:
"Who is this?"
The leader slowly spoke:
"The Abyss High Priest."
Zeke frowned, staring at the three-dimensional image of the Abyss High Priest.
The leader continued:
"He has led the Abyss for a long time and created the current power structure. High Table hermits like myself tried to stop him together, but most of us have movement limitations and couldn't properly stop him."
"You mean this priest is working with Jiemens to resurrect the Demon King?"
"Yes. He has been obsessed with immortal power for a long time. His goal was to create an immortal by obtaining the Sealed Lion's Book containing the Demon King's power."
Something flashed through Zeke's mind hearing the leader's words.
'Immortal? Immortal creation experiments...'
The report on immortal creation experiments, close to forbidden human bio-alchemy, that he had seen in Nirvana's system information.
Then the leader spoke:
"The Abyss High Priest's true identity is Harvey West. Once a doctor with genius-level skills and one of Nirvana's necromancers."