Chapter 423
Chapter 423
Chapter 423
SCREECH!
The monster with its severed arm screamed and stepped back.
Simultaneously, Zeke swung his sword and beheaded the monster.
THUD!
Behind the monster that collapsed with its severed head, Zeke appeared holding Roland.
He shouted at Duke who was standing dazed while holding his sword.
"Behind you!"
At Zeke's words, Duke instinctively swung his sword.
SLASH!
The sword cut through the rushing monster's neck.
However, he couldn't avoid the incoming tail.
The monster's tail dug into Duke's side.
CRUNCH!
"UGH!"
The monster's solid tail pierced through the armor into Duke's body.
Whether the tail was poisoned or not, Duke felt dizzy and staggered for a moment.
That's when Zeke rushed in from behind with his sword.
"Duck!"
As Duke immediately dropped to the ground, Zeke extended Bahamut and swung it wide.
SLASH!
In one strike, the gathered monsters' bodies were split in half.
He then approached the fallen Duke and cast a wide-area healing buff.
TSSS!
Duke's wounds healed instantly.
"How is this…?"
He barely raised his head and looked around.
All the monsters had died, their corpses scattered on the ground.
"How are you feeling?"
Duke looked confused seeing the suddenly appeared Zeke.
"Draker uniform... Did the head of the family send back up?"
Hearing Duke's words, Zeke realized that he didn't recognize him in this memory.
'To examine master's memories in detail, it would be better to play along.'
Zeke nodded and said.
"That's right. Thinking the current numbers wouldn't be enough, they dispatched more knights including me... but everyone else died, so I came looking for Lord Duke alone."
Duke slowly got up after hearing this.
"That recovery earlier. Was that healing?"
Zeke thought about how to answer before nodding.
"Yes, it was."
"Hm, a knight who uses healing. I've never heard of such an exceptional young knight like you before. Surprising."
"I mostly handled special missions so I rarely appeared in public. The healing is actually magic contained in this sword. It's been passed down through generations in my family with various recovery abilities."
Zeke showed Roland to Duke as he spoke.
Duke nodded, seemingly accepting Zeke's explanation.
He turned to look at the dead knights' bodies with a sorrowful expression.
Duke slowly stood up, dug holes by kicking the ground, placed the bodies inside, and made mounds.
"Thank you all. I will surely return alive, carrying your will."
Though knowing it was meaningless in this memory world, Duke buried their bodies and offered prayers.
Zeke quietly watched Duke's actions.
As Duke stood up, Zeke said.
"It will be dark soon. Let's find somewhere to take shelter first."
At Zeke's words, Duke replied with a tired expression.
"This place is full of monsters everywhere. Fortunately, the ship we came on has magic that prevents monsters from approaching. We need to get to where that ship is."
"Where is the ship?"
Duke pulled out a roughly made parchment map from his pocket.
He pointed to their current location and moved his finger towards the coast quite far away.
"The ship is here. What happened to the ship you came on?"
"It hit a reef and broke apart just before arrival. We lost many companions because of that."
Zeke smoothly delivered the lie.
But Duke, who had no way of knowing this, believed Zeke's words and nodded.
"I see. Come with me to the ship for now. Once we reach it, we should be able to somehow escape this terrible place and return to the central continent."
Duke strapped his sword to his back and headed towards the coast with Zeke.
Though Zeke had healed his wounds, Duke was quite exhausted.
He eventually collapsed after walking just a short distance.
Zeke asked Duke, who was leaning against a tree catching his breath.
"When was the last time you ate?"
At those words, Duke chuckled and said.
"I can barely remember. Here, nothing can be eaten - not the trees, grass, or even the water."
Zeke took out water and dried rations from his inventory and handed them to Duke.
"Drink the water slowly and chew the rations very slowly."
Duke was surprised to see Zeke giving him such precious supplies.
"If you give this to me, what will you eat?"
"Don't worry, I've set aside my portion to eat."
Duke briefly fell asleep after barely satisfying his hunger with the water and provisions Zeke gave him.
Zeke observed Duke sleeping while extending his spiritual perception to survey the surroundings.
He could sense demonic beasts waiting for an opportunity to attack nearby.
However, they were too frightened to approach carelessly due to the terrifying aura Zeke was deliberately emitting.
Less than an hour into his watch, Duke suddenly snapped awake.
"Huh, did I fall asleep?"
"You seemed very tired. Is this the first proper rest you've had since coming here?"
"How could I sleep with these damn demonic beasts swarming from all directions? But it's strangely quiet now."
Duke stood up, having recovered his strength.
The two managed to reach the coastal area by walking diligently.
Though demonic beasts attacked occasionally, Zeke and Duke's combined efforts easily repelled them.
Following Duke's memories, Zeke felt something was odd.
'Though dealing with many demonic beasts while exhausted would have been difficult, it seems strange that this would break Master Duke's spirit to this extent. Should I not have intervened....'
While lost in thought and following Duke along the coast, Zeke spotted a ship anchored on the water.
"Sir Duke. Is that the ship?"
Duke nodded enthusiastically at where Zeke was pointing.
"Yes! Good heavens. I can't believe I made it to the ship alive!"
Immediately, both men ran toward where the ship was located.
But then it happened.
Something caught Zeke's spiritual perception.
'What is this energy?'
He sensed a sharp energy that felt like it was piercing his lungs.
He turned his head.
Something was standing above the shoreline.
A mysterious figure wrapped in bandages from head to toe, wearing a black coat.
An ominous energy was flowing from them.
But then it happened.
"URGHK!"
Duke began trembling and collapsed, clutching his head.
"NNGH! No! NO!"
Though Duke struggled to compose himself through the agony, he couldn't rise from the ground.
The bandaged figure slowly approached.
Zeke drew his sword and faced off against them while checking on Duke.
Watching Duke still writhing on the ground, Zeke realized.
'So this one is the cause of Master's trauma.'
In reality, Duke had never mentioned this mysterious figure when talking to Zeke.
He only remembered his companions being killed by demonic beasts.
This meant he couldn't recall memories of this person.
Clearly, these terrible memories had sunk into his unconscious, gripping his soul and eating away at it.
Zeke pointed Roland at the mysterious figure and spoke.
"What are you?"
The bandaged man raised his hand.
TSSSSSS!
The bandages wrapping his body gathered in his hand and incredibly, formed into the shape of a sword.
Holding the sword made of bandages, he approached Zeke.
Zeke unleashed Holy Light toward the bandaged man.
CRACKLE!
Powerful lightning of light poured toward the bandaged man.
But amazingly, when the bandaged man raised his left hand, the bandages clustered together to form a shield large enough to cover his entire body.
The lightning of light Zeke had unleashed was blocked by the shield made of bandages.
Zeke couldn't help but be shocked seeing the Holy Light disappear without a trace.
'What are those bandages made of?'
Though there could be some differences since this was a virtual world created from Duke's memories, its foundation was Karma data. It was reliable, and seeing how Holy Light had no effect, the bandaged man seemed to be more than a simple magical beast.
'Let's see if this works then.'
This time Zeke used Thunderbolt, the new skill he had acquired.
RUMBLE!
When he activated the skill, clouds emerged from Zeke's body.
The clouds surrounding Zeke turned black and lightning crackled from them.
RUMBLE!
Amazingly, low thunder began to sound from the dark clouds.
At the same time, the clouds grew larger and lightning shot out with the thunder.
BOOM!
CRACKLE!
Dozens of thunderbolt shot toward the bandaged man.
Once again, the man formed a shield by gathering his bandages.
CRACKLE!
The thunderbolt struck the shield made of bandages.
Though blocked by the shield again, unlike with Holy Light, the bandaged man was pushed back.
Seeing this, Zeke grinned.
'Good, this works.'
Knowing the skill was effective, Zeke unleashed combo skills against the bandaged man.
The combination skills of Hell Lightning, Hell Fire, and Hell Ice poured endlessly toward the bandaged man.
BOOM! BOOM!
The area where the bandaged man stood was instantly devastated.
Zeke looked at the deeply carved shoreline while holding Roland.
'Did I get him?'
He turned toward Duke, who was still not fully conscious.
"Sir Duke, are you coming to your senses?"
Zeke supported Duke and helped him up.
"I've dealt with him, so you don't need to worry anymore..."
That's when it happened.
TSSSSSS!
The bandaged man who should have been destroyed by the skill attacks was approaching, completely unharmed.
Seeing the approaching bandaged man, Duke began muttering something.
"...Never come to the tower. Never set foot in this place. Never come..."
After briefly watching Duke repeat similar words with unfocused eyes, Zeke set him down and raised his sword again.
"Seems you won't back down easily."
Zeke leaped forward and swung Roland at the bandaged man.
WHOOSH!
An Aura Blade surged from Roland.
The Aura Blade clashed with the sword made of bandages.
CLANG!
Surprisingly, the sword made of bandages produced a metallic sound.
But Zeke didn't hesitate at all, immediately pressuring the bandaged man with Infinite Sword Technique.
However, Zeke's eyes gradually widened. The bandaged man was blocking all of his sword strikes.
'This swordsmanship is extraordinary.'
The bandaged man wielded his sword freely, defending as if he knew all of Zeke's sword paths.
After stepping back, Zeke spoke while watching the bandaged man.
"Whether you're real or an illusion created by Master's memories, I feel like eliminating you will solve Master's problem."
He gripped his sword and drew forth the power of Soul Technique .
RUMBLE!
Zeke imbued his sword with his will.
The will of Destruction that shatters everything.
While calling forth the will of Destruction, Zeke deployed the Water Field of the Elemental Sword.
WHOOSH!
Zeke swung his sword naturally as if riding a wave.
Elemental Sword
Water Field
Wave Sword
Soul Technique
Solo Spell
Will of Destruction
Zeke unleashed both techniques simultaneously through his sword.
CRASH!
The bandaged man tried to block the massive wave with his bandage sword.
But the wave was impossible to block.
Finally, Zeke's sword imbued with the will of Destruction struck directly into the bandaged man's body.
BOOM!
Waves of shock spread in all directions from where the man was struck.
WHOOSH!
As the massive shockwave subsided, the bandaged man was revealed kneeling on one knee.
He raised his head and spoke to Zeke.
"A terrible curse will befall all who come here. Never come to this place."
Zeke realized the meaning of Duke's muttering.
'This one implanted those words into Master.'
He approached the bandaged man and spoke.
"Who are you to say whether to come or not? You don't seem to be a demonic beast, so what are you? A guardian created by the dragon?"
RUMBLE!
Suddenly the ground began shaking.
Black flames rose from the bandaged man's body.
He transformed like an evil spirit and screamed in a horrifying voice.
"Only Death awaits those who come here! Stay away! Stay away! Stay away!"
Zeke sensed this world of memories gradually collapsing.
He raised his sword toward the black flame demon charging at him.
WHOOSH!
A radiant sword light pierced the demon's body and caused a massive explosion.
Simultaneously, the world of memories shattered.