Chapter 409
Chapter 409
Chapter 409
'Revenge.'
It was the most universal and base emotion humans possessed, and an easily understandable reason.
However, Ropocale did not believe that the man before him had come to find him simply because of the emotion of revenge.
This was because he had never felt a deep bond between Azmund and Fritz that would warrant discussing revenge.
'It seems he's using revenge as a pretext for something.'
Ropocale decided to listen to Azmund's words for now.
Since he himself was in a situation where he had to capture Zeke Draker by his master's command, using the hand of Azmund, a cunning schemer, was not a bad situation.
He spoke to Azmund:
"The Knight of Salvation, Zeke Draker. It is true that he has been continuously hindering the empire's grand cause."
As Ropocale did not refuse the proposal, Azmund spread his thick lips and smiled slyly, saying:
"If we leave him be, he will gain even more influence within the Draker household. Although Arthur Draker is not currently at the forefront, if he creates justification by using the Knight of Salvation and Julius's rebel army to declare a full-scale war, it will become quite exhausting."
Ropocale also agreed with Azmund's words.
'We should have eliminated Julius over at Dorta. I never expected Nebilos and Viper to fail.'
Especially Nebilos was a demon race member recognized for his powerful strength even in the demon realm.
He never expected him to fail the invasion, which had complicated the situation quite a bit.
Azmund spoke to Ropocale in a subtle voice:
"Currently, the Jiemens household is not taking the lead. Since it's unclear what Ramon Jiemens is thinking, if a full-scale war breaks out, it's questionable whether Jiemens will stand against Draker."
Ramon Jiemens, the head of the Jiemens household, had raised the mentally incomplete Abel as emperor and then stepped back.
He did not show his face at any official gatherings and was not involved in the empire's affairs at all.
Therefore, it was impossible to grasp his true intentions.
Although they thought he would use Abel to rule by proxy, he instead kept his distance and maintained an attitude of indifference, and even the schemer Azmund could not guess what Ramon Jiemens was aiming for.
Of course, Ropocale, who held the memories of the Apostle of the Abyss, knew that Ramon Jiemens was secluded preparing for the second baptism, but he did not need to inform Azmund of this.
'Azmund does not know much about the situation with the Abyss and Jiemens. I should actively use this.'
Ropocale nodded in response to Azmund's words.
"Indeed. As the commander said, the Jiemens are certainly difficult to trust."
After pondering for a moment, Azmund pulled something out from his chest.
"Would the acting governor please take a look at this?"
Ropocale received and examined what Azmund had taken out.
'What is this?'
What Azmund had taken out was an old book.
On the book's surface, a sentence was engraved with a sword drawn on a shield.
Ropocale looked at Azmund and asked:
"What is this?"
"A forbidden book containing the secrets of the Dragon Slayer Terakan Draker."
Ropocale could not help but be surprised by Azmund's words.
Although he was a demon race member, he was greatly interested in human affairs and already knew about the Dragon Slayer Terakan Draker. That was why he was surprised that a forbidden book containing his secrets still existed.
Azmund smiled at Ropocale's reaction and said while looking at the book:
"House Draker has spent a long time manipulating history to hide that Terakan Draker was an illegitimate child of the family, and put great effort into creating the Dragon Slayer myth. If we inform Rom that this forbidden book exists and propose a negotiation to Zeke Draker, he will definitely come here."
"Knowing it's a trap, he will still come?"
"Arthur Draker will probably command Zeke Draker to come. His command is absolute. No matter how much of a Knight of Salvation he is, he won't be able to refuse."
After hearing Azmund's words, Ropocale thought the plan was plausible.
'If they are humans obsessed with honor and justification, they will definitely make such an irrational decision.'
After pondering, Ropocale soon nodded.
"It seems like a good plan, commander. Let's catch Zeke Draker using this as bait and avenge Commander Fritz together."
Azmund smiled slyly at his response.
"I look forward to it."
* * *
WHOOSH!
Zeke entered the depths of the Forest of the Forgotten with Nigel.
In the endless water disaster, one could easily get lost and become permanently missing if not strictly following the designated path.
And Nigel, the master of this forest, was the only being who could find a path within the water disaster.
After traveling deep into the forest for a while, Nigel stopped in front of a certain cave inside the forest.
Zeke stood beside Nigel and looked at the cave before them.
He instinctively realized that this was the secret cave of the Absolute Sword House.
Nigel gestured for Zeke to follow and boldly entered the cave.
The cave was ordinary, with nothing particularly special.
No monsters or beasts were visible.
After entering deep inside for a while, something appeared at the end of the cave.
'What is this...?'
A door with the Absolute Sword House emblem.
It was exactly the same door he had seen in the Draker household's secret space with Arthur Draker.
'Master indeed knew about the existence of this secret cave.'
As Nigel approached, the door opened automatically.
"Let's go in."
Zeke entered the secret cave's door with Nigel.
'Oh.'
Surprisingly, there was a training ground inside the secret cave, and the walls were lined with various swords and other weapons.
There were dozens of different types of swords alone.
'It seems like every type of weapon that exists on the continent is here.'
When Zeke turned his head and looked at the wall at the end opposite the door, he saw the sword statue he had seen in the secret space.
Zeke looked at the sword statue and spoke to Nigel:
"So there's a Sethon Draker God of Sword statue here too."
Nigel tilted her head and responded:
"What are you talking about? This is not a statue of the Sword Saint."
"Huh? We have a similar statue in our household. I believed this was modeled after the Sword Saint's appearance."
"How absurd. To claim to be his successor without even knowing his appearance."
Of course, Zeke also knew that the statue was different from the actual Sword Saint's appearance.
Having met the Sword Saint's spirit in the Inverted Tower, he knew his true form.
'I thought the statue was symbolic... Could it be the image of someone entirely different from Sethon?'
Zeke, with his doubts, asked Nigel:
"Whose form is this statue, then?"
Nigel spoke in a serious voice:
"The founder of swords, unprecedented throughout the history of the current world. The statue of Solomon, who was called the Sword God."
Zeke was startled by Nigel's words.
"Solomon... Do you mean the King of Carcosa?"
Nigel seemed surprised that Zeke knew about Solomon.
"This is a history not passed down to humans. How do you know about him?"
"It just happened by chance. I didn't know this sword statue was of King Solomon."
Nigel nodded and said:
"I would never have known either if not for the records left here."
"Records... Do you mean Sethon Draker's records?"
Nigel shook her head.
"No. I couldn't enter the places where the Sword Saint's traces remained. What I read was a record left by Bahamut, the Ruler of twilight."
"Bahamut knew about the existence of this secret cave and left records here?"
Nigel nodded in response to Zeke's question:
"Yes, though he never directly encountered it, the master of this place before me was none other than Bahamut. So you could say we have a deep connection."
This was the first time Zeke learned that Bahamut had managed the forbidden Forest of the Forgotten before Nigel.
Nigel continued:
"Under the leader's guidance, I became the master of the Forest of the Forgotten that Bahamut had left vacant. This happened over a thousand years ago."
"What? Does that mean you've been here for over a thousand years?"
"What kind of idiot are you? What did you know about me before your regression?"
He had only been beaten up all day long and never properly heard about such things.
'No wonder her personality became so quirky, being locked up in a place like this for a thousand years.'
Unaware of Zeke's inner thoughts, Nigel clicked her tongue and pointed at the sword statue:
"Before leaving, Bahamut left many records for the new manager who would succeed him and manage this place. One of them was this Sword Saint's secret cave. He had swung swords here for a long time when creating the Soul Blade."
"So you don't know what's inside the secret cave?"
"No matter who I am, I cannot enter places not permitted. That's why I've just been guarding it until the rightful owner appears."
Zeke nodded at Nigel's words.
'If it's locked by a system, even Master wouldn't be able to enter without destroying this place.'
Nigel, who was removed from the secular world, had no reason to go through the trouble of destroying the secret cave.
Zeke looked at the sword statue and then took out the Absolute Sword Sect's ring from his inventory.
'System, find a door that can enter the inner part of the secret cave.'
[Searching the management system of the designated area according to the user's command.]
[Connecting to the management system.]
[Requesting access code.]
[Searching for related codes.]
[Confirming the title of Sword Saint's Successor.]
[Confirming the seal of the Absolute Sword House Draker household. Extracting access code.]
[Entering access code.]
[Access authentication completed in the management system.]
[Opening the door to the secure area.]
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Right after the last message appeared, the sword statue moved to the side, revealing a hidden entrance.
'Is this the entrance to the Absolute Sword House’s secret cave?'
As Zeke was about to enter, he stopped and turned back. Nigel was standing still and not moving.
"Aren't you coming?"
Nigel let out a snort of laughter.
"Why would I go there? My role is finished after guiding you here."
Nigel said this and then vanished instantly.
It seemed like she was telling Zeke to explore and return on his own.
Zeke thought Nigel's detached reaction, even when seeing the secret cave where the Sword Saint's secret techniques were sleeping, was typical of her.
Zeke removed his gaze from where Nigel had been and slowly walked inside.
As he walked, lights began to turn on one by one on the ceiling.
When he reached the innermost part, a door with the Absolute Sword House’s emblem appeared.
[Please recognize the authentication code on the door.]
Following the message, Zeke brought the Absolute Sword Sect's seal, which he wore on his finger, close to the door.
The door then split open vertically.
The Sword Saint's secret cave, which had been sleeping for thousands of years, was finally opened after a long wait.
As he stepped inside, Zeke was startled.
'It's exactly the same as the Hero King's resting place?'
From the altar in the center to the floating gem on top, the overall composition was completely identical.
Zeke slowly climbed onto the altar and examined the gem.
'Only the color is different. The Hero King's resting place was sky blue, but this one is purple.'
He slowly reached his hand towards the gem.
A magic circle rose from the altar, and suddenly a strong light flickered from the gem.
"UGH!"
Startled by the sudden burst of strong light, Zeke stepped back.
The intense light gathered in one place and soon formed a shape.
SWISH! SWISH!
The light soon created a human form.
A small-statured swordsman, looking like a boy with ash-gray hair.
It was exactly Sethon Draker's appearance that he had seen in the Inverted Tower.
He looked at Zeke and his eyes sparkled.
"Zeke Draker, we meet again."
Zeke was bewildered by Sethon Draker's words.
'He knows me? How?'
Sethon drew his sword.
"Let me test how much you've improved since last time."
As soon as his words ended, Sethon's divine form shot towards Zeke.