Chapter 490
Chapter 490
Chapter 490
When Zeke contacted him about meeting, Baron Draker personally visited Terra.
Upon entering Terra, Baron Draker was shocked by its scale and facilities.
State-of-the-art magic circles were installed everywhere, and the dwarves' craftsmanship could be felt in every building.
'Reputation that shakes the continent, natural talent, and tremendous wealth.'
The Baron's eyes deepened.
'Zeke Draker has already become an existence that cannot be evaluated simply as a knight.'
The Baron went up to Zeke's office while being guided through Terra's headquarters.
When the door opened, Zeke greeted the Baron.
"Welcome, Lord Baron."
This was their first face-to-face meeting since Arthur Draker's death.
"I'm glad you're safe, Sir Zeke."
The Baron offered a ceremonial greeting since it was publicly known that Zeke had been attacked by the Jiemens family.
Zeke nodded and guided the Baron to the table in the center of his office.
After they sat down, Zeke personally prepared tea and handed him a cup.
"Please drink."
The Baron, who knew little about tea, took a sip with an indifferent expression.
"I heard you captured Howard Draker."
At the Baron's words getting straight to the point, Zeke also put down his teacup and nodded.
"Yes, that's correct."
Howard was one of those who moved under Arthur Draker's orders along with the Baron.
Zeke watched for the Baron's reaction to this.
And seeing Zeke like this, the Baron bowed his head.
"As the Commander of the Black Corps , I thank you, Sir Zeke."
Zeke narrowed his eyes at the Baron's unexpected response.
He thought the Baron would either propose a deal regarding Howard's whereabouts or pretend not to know, so he didn't expect him to offer thanks like this.
The Baron continued speaking while looking at Zeke.
"I've been chasing Howard Draker for quite a long time. Because I sensed the distorted ambition he harbored in his heart."
"Distorted ambition. You mean he coveted the Draker's power?"
The Baron shook his head at Zeke's words.
"It's more than that. Knowing he couldn't fully handle the Drakers, he deliberately tried to weaken the family's power so he could manipulate it easily."
In fact, Howard had drawn in outside forces to seize power for himself.
He even reached out to the Nostra Family mafia organization and Ishtar's side, though that was Zeke's plan.
If given the chance, he would have joined hands with the Jiemens as well.
The Baron continued.
"The late head of the family also knew of Howard's such ambitions. That's why he rather kept him close to watch him. Otherwise, he would have become a constant headache for the Drakers."
It meant Arthur Draker followed the maxim of keeping enemies closer.
Zeke tried to gauge how much of the Baron's words he could believe.
'Arthur Draker might have actually done that. He could have kept Howard close and manipulated him to handle dirty work.'
Since Arthur Draker's intentions were difficult to properly understand, Zeke couldn't fully trust the Baron's words.
Zeke asked the Baron.
"Did the head of the family entrust you with monitoring Howard?"
"Yes. The more dangerous an existence is, the more carefully one needs to approach. We kept the right-wing commander by his side and continued surveillance while throwing necessary information as bait."
The right-wing commander Souma was someone Zeke knew as well.
'So Souma was playing the role of a double agent.'
The head of the Black Corps intelligence unit could certainly play the role of a double agent.
The question was how much of the Baron's words were true.
For now, Zeke decided to keep listening to what the Baron had to say.
"The head of the family anticipated that when he passed away, the cunning Howard would try to take over the family by reaching into the succession competition."
"He anticipated all this? Then why didn't he designate a successor? If the head of the family had clearly designated a successor, there wouldn't have been such chaos in the first place."
The Baron shook his head at those words.
"The head of the family thought differently. The reason was... because of you, Sir Zeke."
Zeke showed a surprised expression at the Baron's words.
"What do you mean by that?"
The Baron moistened his throat with tea before continuing.
"Actually, the head of the family wanted to designate you, Sir Zeke, as the Draker successor. However... he worried about this until his final moments."
"You're saying the head of the family worried until the end whether I had the qualities of a successor."
The Baron shook his head.
"No. It's the opposite."
The Baron put down his teacup and said.
"The head of the family thought your qualities were too outstanding to be tied down to the Draker family."
Zeke showed a surprised expression at the Baron's words.
'Arthur Draker?'
The Arthur Draker he knew was not the type to highly evaluate someone's qualities and be considerate of them.
The Baron spoke to Zeke who was struggling with what to say in surprise.
"Sir Zeke, do you know one of the oldest principles of the Draker family?"
Zeke slowly nodded.
"The Drakers exist only as a family. Is that what you mean?"
It was one of the principles passed down in the Draker family from long ago.
The Draker family, which held longer traditions than kingdoms boasting long histories in the Central Continent, maintained its family form to keep this principle despite being able to become a kingdom.
The Baron opened his mouth again after hearing Zeke's answer.
"The head believed that you could break the first principle of the Draker family and establish a new order in the Central Continent."
The material to create not the Drakers as a family but the Drakers as a new kingdom or empire.
Zeke couldn't help but be surprised at the Baron's words.
While Arthur Draker outwardly gained fame as the head of the Draker family and the strongest in the continent, behind the scenes he was someone who didn't hesitate to commit dirty deeds.
Since he was someone who would do anything for his goals, Zeke couldn't help but constantly doubt Arthur's death itself.
It was hard to believe that Arthur had evaluated Zeke that way. Even if this was some kind of trap, the fact that such words came out meant that thought existed to some degree.
As Zeke's thoughts deepened, the Baron spoke again.
"The Family head ordered us to help with everything needed for you to open a new beginning for the Drakers."
"Are you saying you'll transfer the Drakers' power to me?"
The Baron shook his head at those words.
"The position of head will go to Lady Kali. Instead... he said he would pass on the legacy of Arthur Draker, including the Black Corps, to you."
The Baron took out a key from his breast pocket and handed it to Zeke.
"This is the key to reach the head's legacy. I was only told to deliver this key and don't know where the legacy exists."
Zeke examined the key received from the Baron.
It was just an ordinary old key, though made long ago.
'Is something hidden?'
Zeke decided to investigate it thoroughly later and put the key in his pocket for now.
"Thank you, Lord Baron. In the end, I followed the head's will. I also decided to concede the position of head to Sister Kali."
The Baron nodded at those words.
"The head also said that you would make such a choice."
He continued speaking while looking at Zeke.
"And, there is one more thing."
The Baron spoke in a more serious voice than before, and Zeke looked at him with sunken eyes.
The Baron slowly opened his mouth.
"The head said Ramon Jiemens must be stopped. If his defection cannot be prevented, the entire Central Continent will turn to ashes."
Zeke recalled the Third Continental War from his previous life.
The cityscape where everything was destroyed and blood and screams ran rampant flashed chaotically in his mind.
If Ramon Jiemens received the Second Baptism and gained the power of the Flesh-Eating Emperor Ajitahaka, he would certainly wage a full-scale war with that terrifying authority.
'If he gets the power of the Demon King on top of that... the phenomenal world will become a battlefield.'
Though it was unknown how much Arthur Draker knew, Zeke nodded with a serious expression since he agreed that Ramon Jiemens was dangerous.
"I think so too. But we haven't found traces of Ramon Jiemens yet."
Then the Baron took out a document file from his breast pocket and handed it to Zeke.
"This is location information of where Ramon Jiemens is preparing his defection."
Surprisingly, the Black Corps had already identified Ramon Jiemens' location.
At that moment when he felt doubt and surprise at that fact, the Baron bowed his head toward Zeke.
"The Black Corp’s now follows Lord Zeke Draker. Even if Lady Kali becomes the head, our true master will be Lord Zeke. So please tell us whenever you need anything."
The Baron had chosen Zeke as an existence above the head according to Arthur Draker's will.
'The Black Corps.'
It felt similar to when he received the black card in the head's name from Arthur Draker before.
While it was certainly useful, he felt it shouldn't be used carelessly.
'A double-edged sword is dangerous, but it depends on how you use it.'
He spoke to the Baron.
"Good. From now on, the Black Corps are my people. Baron Draker. Will you swear loyalty to me?"
The Baron raised his head and looked at Zeke as he spoke.
"I swear, my lord."
Zeke nodded at the Baron's oath of loyalty.
Then he immediately gave an order.
"Assign Right-Wing Commander Souma as the intermediary contact. I'll contact you through him if needed."
"Understood, my lord."
Keep your enemies closer.
Zeke had also decided to follow this maxim.
The Baron who left Zeke with various things to think about greeted him and left the office.
Left alone, Zeke opened the file the Baron left and skimmed through the contents.
Then he confirmed the location where Ramon Jiemens was hiding.
'Baranaon.'
It was where the capital of the Chronos Empire was located in the past.
* * *
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The sound of hitting the wall echoed from inside the cage made of mixed black iron and fairy stone.
The knights guarding the cage gulped at the sound.
In front of them stood dozens of dark mages, and opposite them were special magic battalion personnel holding magic guns, as well as black knights wearing black armor.
And at the negotiation table sat Ramon Jiemens and Harvey West, the priest of the Abyss.
Ramon Jiemens, looking more gaunt than before, spoke while looking at the priest possessed by an apostle's body.
"I thought you'd come in your original form today, but you're still parasitic."
Despite Ramon's provocative words, the priest spoke calmly without being swayed.
[Given the circumstances, I ask for your understanding.]
Ramon Jiemens clicked his tongue and gestured to the knights behind him.
Soon the knights brought a box to the table.
THUD!
Ramon Jiemens stood up and slowly opened the box placed on the table.
Inside was, surprisingly, a beating living heart.
The priest nodded while closely observing the heart with black blood vessels.
[The heart of Mad Dragon Zeus. Certain.]
Dragon Lord Zeus was the contract dragon of Jiemens Apollion who started the demon war in the Hero King era.
He was an ill-fated dragon who went mad after his heart was stolen by his contractor, Jiemens Apollion.
After transplanting the mad dragon's heart, Jiemens Apollion gained immortal power and completed preparations to accept the Demon King.
Although Jiemens Apollion disappeared due to the war afterward, his heart was preserved by the Abyss and has been passed down until now.
Then this heart was transplanted into Abel, and he was reborn as a dragon person.
Then due to the complex cooperative relationship between the Abyss and Jiemens, Ramon Jiemens had removed Zeus's heart from Abel's body in preparation for possible situations.
The priest who confirmed the heart nodded.
Then the dark mages standing behind chanted spells toward the black cage.
RUMBLE!
The firmly closed cage wall slowly began to open.
GROWL!
Inside, Abel's form, half-transformed into a dragon person, was revealed.
Although they put in the Red Knight's heart, it was still insufficient to handle the dragon energy consuming his body.
Ramon looked at Abel's body with cold eyes and then nodded.
"Good. Confirmed. We'll put the heart back in on the day of the Second Baptism."
[I accept that condition.]
Jiemens and the Abyss agreed to rebuild their cooperation system for the Second Baptism.
The Abyss personnel put Abel back in the cage and disappeared through a black portal.
Ramon's eyes turned cold as he stared at the empty space where the Abyss had left.
'The moment the Second Baptism ends, you too will kneel at my feet.'
He eagerly awaited only the red moon that would soon rise.