Chapter 447
Chapter 447
Chapter 447
When the name Zeke Draker was mentioned, Manna showed an interested expression.
"Ah, the Knight of Salvation. I heard he became Nigel's disciple."
At those words, Nigel became irritated.
"What disciple?! His skills were so terrible that I only taught him the basics of handling a sword!"
Nabu snorted at that comment.
"Acting tough after losing everything to him."
Nigel directed her killing intent toward Nabu again. Then Manna brought his palms together in prayer position.
THUD!
Suddenly, an aura spread from Manna's body and Nigel's killing intent disappeared completely.
Manna, the last monk of the ancient Dara religion whose traditions had been lost long ago, had deployed an absolute defensive barrier.
After chanting a brief prayer, Manna spoke.
"Om aranam arada svaha... So, Nabu. Why do you say we need the power of the Knight of Salvation?"
Though the killing intent was gone, Nabu spoke while still being choked by Nigel.
"KUHEK! URGH. Well you see... there's a karma limit placed on that place."
Upon hearing about the karma limit, Nigel shook Nabu's neck that he was holding.
"Don't try to gloss over it, speak clearly. You sly snake!"
Nabu made a pained expression and barely managed to open his fan!
TSUTSUSU!
In an instant, Nabu's form disappeared and reappeared behind Manna. Avoiding Nigel, he spoke from behind Manna.
"Such a foul-tempered old hag. Anyway, what I mean is, if we go there, karma might recognize our existence and open a path to the Peach Blossom Spring."
Even Manna showed a shocked expression at Nabu's words.
"A path to the Peach Blossom Spring... that means the restrictions of the oath placed on us by the leader could be lifted."
Nigel ground his teeth and said.
"What Peach Blossom Spring?! Who wants to go to that old folks' home?!"
Nabu clicked his tongue at those words.
"Honestly, it wouldn't be strange for old hag Nigel to go there anytime. Frankly, it doesn't make sense for such a monster to remain in this world..."
WOOOONG!
As Nigel raised her energy again, the absolute defensive barrier Manna had deployed rippled.
Manna intervened and barely managed to calm down her excitement.
Nabu spoke while floating in the air in a reclined position, fanning himself.
"Anyway, since we'll head straight to the Peach Blossom Spring if we go, we need a reliable proxy."
Manna asked Nabu.
"Is there a reason we can't select suitable personnel from among the Highlanders?"
Nabu made a slightly troubled expression and replied.
"Well, how should I put this... but our people would all die before even reaching that place."
Manna's eyes widened in shock at Nabu's definitive statement.
Nabu, known by the title ‘Hermit of Stories,’ might seem frivolous usually but never spoke falsely.
Moreover, since Nabu was extremely discerning about people, receiving his acknowledgment meant someone was incredibly skilled.
"For Nabu to say such things. I'm becoming quite curious about this Knight of Salvation."
Nigel glared at Nabu with a dissatisfied expression and said.
"Damn it, I get what you're saying. Then hurry up and call Zeke. Can't we just have him destroy that place and then we clean up the remaining evil spirits?"
Nabu made an embarrassed expression again at those words.
"Ah, well. I've been trying to contact Zeke, but whatever he's doing, I can't get through."
Nigel finally exploded at Nabu's words.
"You bastard! Are you playing around after calling busy people here?!"
"Hey, why are you getting mad at me?! Is it my fault your disciple isn't answering? Seriously, both master and disciple are just as willful!"
While Nigel and Nabu were bickering, Manna turned his head to look outside the tent.
He spoke in a low voice to Nigel and Nabu.
"It seems this is not the time for us to be fighting amongst ourselves."
Nabu and Nigel turned their heads and focused on where Manna was looking.
Both of them were shocked simultaneously.
"What is this? High-rank demon... no, this is the energy of a supreme-rank demon?"
The Abyss had devised a way to summon high-rank demons to this world using artificial blood stones.
However, it was known that the maximum limit that could be summoned with artificial blood stones was up to high-rank demons.
But the demon energy being felt now was clearly that of a supreme-rank demon.
Nabu spoke with a serious expression.
"Moreover, this one... it's been summoned with all of its powers intact. The wavelength itself feels different."
Nigel nodded, drew her sword and said.
"Those Abyss bastards have gone and summoned a supreme-rank demon now. Must think they have ten lives to spare. Manna, you focus on keeping the defensive barrier intact, and Nabu, stop messing around and keep trying to contact Zeke until you reach him. When you do, tell him to get here fast."
WOOOONG!
Her body floated into the air as the power of the divine vessel enveloped Nigel.
"I'll take care of that demon bastard."
KUAAAANG!
With a massive boom, Nigel's body left the tent and rushed toward where the demon's energy was felt.
Feeling Nigel's storm-like energy, Nabu broke into a cold sweat.
"PHEW, that old hag sure is strong."
Looking back, Manna was already sitting cross-legged in the tent, chanting prayers while focusing his mind.
This was to firmly maintain the absolute defensive wall that prevented evil spirits from entering.
Nabu took out a mirror from his chest.
"UGH, Zeke you bastard answer already. Quickly."
* * *
"Solomon obtained the power of immortality."
Zeke's eyes wavered at the Elder Dragon's words.
Zeke too had wondered how the power of immortality was created, and how that power had been passed down through generations from Solomon to the Draker family.
'The first immortal. Was that power a trace of deviation created by a crack that escaped fate.'
The small crack called Irregular created by the God of Chaos.
That crack combined with various elements to create the unexpected result known as the power of immortality.
After thinking for a moment, Zeke asked the Elder Dragon.
"Solomon didn't seek the power of immortality from the beginning, did he?"
"The power of immortality is itself a contradiction that mortals cannot possess. Even Solomon couldn't deliberately create such a contradiction. The crack created by the God of Chaos manifested in this result."
It was surprising that the immortal with the unique power to kill constellations had occurred simply by chance.
Then the Elder Dragon continued.
"After becoming immortal, Solomon contemplated what he could do. And the path he chose was something even I couldn't predict."
Hearing the Elder Dragon's words, Zeke guessed what it was.
"Don't tell me that's when he started the God-Killing Campaign?"
"Upon realizing he had become an immortal who could not be destroyed, Solomon sought to save the earth from the grasp of the constellations."
Since it was ultimately the same story, Zeke nodded and took out Solomon's ring from his inventory.
"Then was this ring also received when starting the God-Killing Campaign?"
"Solomon used the Akashic Code to create the initial form of the system. After sharing that system, I too became able to handle karma. That ring was the first artifact I created while handling karma, and it was meant to seal evil beings."
Sensing something strange in the Elder Dragon's words, Zeke asked.
"Then it wasn't originally created for the purpose of sealing fallen constellations?"
"In the age of constellations, there were many dangerous beings on earth besides the constellations. To protect his people, Solomon fought those beings without borrowing the power of constellations and sealed their souls in the ring."
According to the system's explanation, Solomon's ring was described as sealing fallen constellations and high-rank demons, so Zeke hadn't thought there might have been other uses.
'So it was originally capable of sealing other souls as well.'
But suddenly the floor and walls began to shake.
DUDUDUDU!
Feeling the massive vibration, Zeke asked the Elder Dragon.
"What's suddenly happening?"
JIJIJIJIK!
The Elder Dragon statue placed on the throne flickered, its form repeatedly disappearing and reappearing.
"It's them."
Sparks flew from the dragon statue on the throne.
PAJIJIJIK!
As Zeke tried to approach the dragon statue, the Elder Dragon's voice penetrated his ears.
"It seems I've used too much of my remaining causality."
Stronger sparks flew as electricity scattered in all directions.
The dragon statue flickered as the Elder Dragon's words continued intermittently.
"This place Carcosa... exists yet does not exist... exists in fragments of spacetime... lacking causality... they can invade..."
After hearing the Elder Dragon's broken words, Zeke repeated those words.
'In the fragments of space-time? What exactly is this being...?'
SCREEEECH!
A horrific sound echoed throughout the great hall.
'This sound?'
Something began creeping in through the cracks in the ceiling and walls of the great hall.
Tentacles dripping acidic fluid through the wall cracks revealed sharp teeth.
Zeke knew what these tentacles were.
'Those are Outer Beings?'
A part of the tentacle swelled up, then split open as an eyeball popped out.
The eyeballs that emerged from the tentacles glared at Zeke.
The suddenly appeared Outer Beings tentacles gradually wrapped around the great hall's pillars as they descended.
Then they stood upright like snake heads and slowly approached where Zeke was.
As the Outer Beings appeared, the electrical storm wrapping around the dragon statue above the throne intensified.
The Elder Dragon's voice flickered and was heard again.
『Connection... Zeke Draker... to the north of the city... there's a temple...』
With those words, the dragon statue completely disappeared.
Though Zeke didn't hear the complete message, he realized it was time to move.
He immediately drew out Roland and equipped Hersion.
He pointed his sword toward the dozens of tentacles approaching him.
"Come and get me."
SCREEEECH!
The tentacles all rushed toward Zeke at once.
In that moment, the power of the Holy Light Flag surged from Roland.
CRACKLE!
White lightning spread in all directions from the Holy Light Flag floating above Zeke's head.
SCREEEECH!
The tentacles hit by the light lightning burned black, but quickly regenerated and multiplied into several tentacles.
Watching this, Zeke, wearing Agamemnon's mask, raised a Radiant blade of light and struck down the tentacles.
SLASH!
Acidic fluid sprayed from the cut surfaces.
HISSSSS!
The fluid was so corrosive that the stones where it fell corroded and crumbled away.
No matter how many times Zeke cut them, the tentacles kept growing and only increasing in number.
'This is endless.'
Zeke first used the power of freezing to stop the tentacles' movement.
TSSSSSS!
Cold air containing the power of freezing spread out from his body.
CRACK!
The tentacles touched by the cold air froze in place, unable to move.
Zeke succeeded in stopping the tentacles' movement with the power of freezing.
'I should head north in this gap...'
At that moment, one of the frozen tentacles suddenly began turning red.
HISSSSS!
Surprisingly, it broke free from the cold air created by the power and began moving again.
HISSSSS!
The other tentacles also turned red, one by one breaking free from the freezing power and baring their teeth at Zeke.
ROARRR!
'Breaking free from the power on their own, what kind of beings are these? This is my first time seeing this...'
Zeke immediately released the freezing power and swung his sword at the tentacles.
He dodged the flying tentacles while simultaneously unleashing dragon clan skills and soul techniques.
BOOM! BOOM!
The dragon's claws and will of the sect cut through the tentacles.
But the cut tentacles regenerated unchanged and increased their numbers even more.
The number of tentacles had clearly increased compared to the beginning.
'These are annoying beings.'
But then something crossed Zeke's mind.
He remembered using the elemental power of the Elemental Sword when fixing the statue of Saint Theia when the Outer Beings tried to emerge.
'Perhaps the Elemental Sword?'
Zeke immediately gripped Roland and raised the power of the Elemental Sword.
"Haaaa."
The Elemental Sword was so powerful that even Zeke found it difficult to control its power.
Because of that, it could go berserk if he wasn't careful, so controlling it was important.
Among the Elemental Sword powers, Zeke raised the most powerful one, the Field of Fire Power.
WHOOSH!
Pure fire rose from his sword.
'I can control it up to here. The important part is when swinging the sword.'
The tentacles rolled their eyeballs as they approached Zeke along the walls, floor, and ceiling.
And at some point, the tentacles sprang up like arrows.
ROARRR!
Zeke immediately gripped his sword and took a step forward.
Elemental Sword
Field of Fire Power
White Flame Dance
The blazing white flames dyed the entire great hall white.