Chapter 419
Chapter 419
Chapter 419
Zeke turned his head to look at the statue Arataso pointed to.
The figure of Jiemens Apollion wearing full-body armor and holding a sword did resemble Zeke wearing the Hersion at first glance.
Then something crossed Zeke's mind.
'The Fisher Knight Reyes mentioned it. That Jiemens Apollion cherished Goddess Theia's Hersion.'
Hero King Kaisir had given Goddess Theia's Hersion as a gift to his adopted son Jiemens Apollion, and among all the treasures he received, Jiemens loved this armor the most.
So the armor that the statue of Jiemens Apollion was wearing was likely Goddess Theia's Hersion.
'Though the appearance is different, the overall composition seems similar.'
There was a reason why the Fisher Knight Reyes immediately recognized Goddess Theia's Hersion when he saw Zeke.
Additionally, according to Sethon, since the Draker family were descendants of Jiemens Apollion, it wasn't impossible for Zeke, a distant descendant, to resemble him.
But there was no need to tell Arataso all this, so Zeke just nodded once and turned toward the altar.
Climbing the stairs to the altar, there was a large box on the platform.
'It's faint, but I can sense dragon energy from inside.'
Zeke slowly examined the box on the platform.
TAP! TAP!
When Zeke knocked on the box's surface, it felt different from ordinary metal.
'It feels similar to that door from earlier.'
Moreover, unlike normal boxes, there were no visible seams where it could be opened.
Strictly speaking, it was difficult to call it a box.
'The Earth God seems to be sealed in here.'
Zeke examined the box all over, but couldn't even find a keyhole.
"No choice then."
He decided to use the same method as before.
Just as Zeke took out his hammer to strike the box, Arataso shouted:
[W-wait!]
Arataso, who had somehow made it up to the altar, stopped Zeke.
"What is it, Arataso?"
[Wow, such an uncivilized human. Do you try to smash everything you see? Are you sure you're not actually a demon instead of a human?]
Even the aggressive demons of the demon realm wouldn't mindlessly destroy things like this.
Arataso held back Zeke who was about to swing his hammer and examined the box carefully.
After a moment, he turned to Zeke and said:
[This is different from that door earlier. It has powerful magic on it.]
"Magic, huh. Then I'll just burn out all the circuits with magic Reversal."
As he was about to deploy the reversal field, Arataso frantically waved his hands.
[C-calm down! Demon realm secure magic isn't that simple! If you make a mistake, you could damage what's sealed inside!]
Not knowing what was in the box, Arataso seemed to think the contents were some precious artifact.
Even though the contents were different from what Arataso imagined, they still couldn't be damaged, so Zeke lowered his hammer and said to Arataso:
"Then can you break this seal, Arataso?"
At those words, Arataso shook his head.
[You seem to have forgotten, but I'm an honored knight with demon realm rank. Obviously I can't do something like that.]
Hearing Arataso's words, Zeke raised his hammer again.
Arataso waved his hands and shouted:
[I can't do it but there's someone who can!]
Zeke tilted his head at Arataso's words.
"Someone who can break demon realm seals? Who?"
Arataso shook his head in disbelief.
[Don't tell me you forgot about Nebilos who you captured earlier?]
"Ah."
Only then did Zeke remember that he had sealed Nebilos, a high-ranking demon and Abaddon's inspector, inside the Damascus sword.
He took out the Damascus sword from his inventory after a long time.
WOOOOOONG!
He hadn't noticed since it was in his inventory, but the Damascus sword was humming and vibrating.
It seemed the sealed Nebilos had been continuously sending signals.
Zeke stabbed the Damascus sword containing the sealed Nebilos into the ground.
Then he infused energy to summon Nebilos.
WOOOOOONG!
A summoning circle appeared on the ground and black chains shot upward.
CHARARARAK!
Along with the black chains, the high-ranking demon Nebilos emerged from the magic circle, revealing himself.
Blue ghost fire rose from the empty eye sockets of the skull visible under the old hood.
Nebilos's limbs were bound by black chains.
Zeke looked at the summoned Nebilos and said:
"It's been a while, Nebilos."
Nebilos glared at Zeke and spoke in an eerie voice:
[Zeke Draker... I'd heard rumors that you tortured numerous demons and even annihilated their souls, but I never knew you were this vicious.]
When first trapped in the sword, he thought he would be taken out after some time for interrogation.
However, Zeke Draker left him alone and did nothing, as if not caring about him at all despite being Abaddon's inspector and a high-ranking demon.
After being sealed in the sword for so long, Nebilos felt he was undergoing sophisticated psychological torture.
He was confident in enduring psychological torture with his strong willpower.
But Zeke Draker, as if mocking him, simply left him alone without even interrogating him, acting as if he had forgotten Nebilos existed.
During that long mental battle, Nebilos finally ran out of patience and started screaming to be let out.
But the cruel Zeke Draker ignored even those cries, continuing his psychological pressure through complete neglect.
Nebilos glared at Zeke and ground his teeth.
[To shake the steel-like mind and frozen heart of me, Nebilos, Abaddon's inspector, with psychological pressure alone... You're even more vicious than the rumors say, Zeke Draker.]
Zeke had somehow subdued Nebilos just by sealing him away and forgetting about him.
'He seems to have made some big misunderstanding, but whatever.'
Deciding to let it slide, Zeke approached Nebilos and said:
"Good, you seem to have learned something about me. You held out well as expected of Abaddon's inspector, but that's not enough. I have hundreds of ways to break the minds of your kind."
The ghost fire in Nebilos's eyes flickered violently with fear as he looked at him.
'As expected... my predictions were right. Zeke Draker, truly a terrifying human.'
Seeing his wavering eyes, Zeke added:
"Actually, this barely counts as torture. We have a real expert on our side."
[Y-you're saying there's a torture expert even worse than you?]
"Yes, her name is Arina Lubern. Anyone who enters her room comes out shedding tears of repentance, reflecting on their entire life."
Nebilos was greatly shocked by Zeke's words.
'To think such a torturer exists... I've never heard of one even in the demon realm.'
Zeke took a step closer to the frightened Nebilos and continued:
"Nebilos, I have a proposal for you. If you cooperate with me, I'll provide you with a comfortable sealed space like Arataso's. But if you refuse... you'll meet Arina Lubern and shed tears of repentance."
Nebilos trembled at Zeke's words.
His spirit already broken, Nebilos surrendered to Zeke's words.
[...What do you want me to do?]
He pointed to the box on the platform.
"Open that."
Nebilos floated over to the box.
After examining it carefully, he was startled.
[This is...?]
Zeke asked the surprised Nebilos:
"Don't tell me you can't open it?"
At those words, Nebilos clicked his teeth and said to Zeke:
[How dare you underestimate me, Nebilos, called the Abyss Mage in the demon realm?!]
He pointed at the box and said:
[Opening this is possible. However...]
Nebilos hesitated for a moment, then turned to Zeke and continued:
[The problem is that the seal on this box is far from ordinary.]
"What do you mean by far from ordinary?"
After pondering for a while, Nebilos slowly answered:
[It seems this box is sealed with a Demon King's seal.]
Zeke frowned at those words and asked:
"You mean a Demon King sealed this box?"
Nebilos thought for a moment before responding:
[Hmm, that's a bit unclear. It seems like a Demon King's seal, but in some ways it also doesn't.]
Zeke furrowed his brow at Nebilos's ambiguous answer.
"So you're saying you can't open this box? I guess a comfortable sealed space doesn't suit you after all. Look forward to meeting Arina Lubern."
Flustered by Zeke's threat, Nebilos waved his hands.
[W-wait a moment! I said the seal was extraordinary, not that I couldn't break it.]
Zeke responded with a doubtful expression:
"Then hurry and open it. We don't have time."
Zeke deliberately pressured the meticulous demon to prevent him from thinking too much.
His plan seemed to work as Nebilos raised his skeletal hand toward the box.
Just by appearance, the demon Nebilos looked more like a lich than the actual arch liches Richmond or Bane.
TSUTSUTSUTSU!
Blue ghost fire erupted from Nebilos's hands and seeped into the box.
After a moment, the blue ghost fire reappeared on the box's surface, moving around to unravel the complex magical circuits.
Zeke asked.
"How long will it take?"
[About 30 minutes, given the old-style lock and complex formulas. Others would take several times longer.]
While Nebilos worked on breaking the seal, Zeke examined the altar and thought about Jiemens Apollion.
'A Demon King's seal.'
A seal that was and wasn't a Demon King's.
After transplanting the dragon's heart, Jiemens Apollion tried to summon the Demon King's soul sealed within his body.
If he sealed the Earth God here before the Demon King's soul fully settled, it could explain such an ambiguous mark.
The Dark Origin first possessed Solomon's body to become the First Fallen, then manifested in Jiemens Apollion's body to lead the First Demon King Army's invasion before being sealed by the Great Sage's sacrifice.
Later sealed in the Book of the Dead after being defeated by Terakan Draker during the Liberation War when it possessed Bahamut's body.
Now that Demon King was trying to resurrect as the King in Yellow.
Just then, a bright light burst from behind.
CLICK!
The seamless box opened in all directions, disassembling on the platform.
Nebilos tilted his head at what was inside.
[What is this?]
Zeke snapped his fingers and chains pulled Nebilos back.
CHARARARAK!
[Urghk!]
"Good work Nebilos. I'll enhance the sword to make it comfortable when I have time. Go back in for now."
[You! Evil human! ARGHHHH!]
He was sealed back into the sword with a scream.
Inside the box was an earthen totem.
'Is this the Earth God's sealed form?'
Though it looked like a crude totem with mismatched head, waist and leg proportions, Zeke could faintly sense dragon power within.
WOOOOOONG!
The Earth God's soul within Zeke reacted with the totem. A crest appeared near his solar plexus.
WOOOOOONG!
White light emerged from the crest, circled the totem, then seeped inside.
A message appeared before Zeke's eyes:
[Earth God's soul is combining with the sealed vessel.]