501
Chapter 501
KUGUGUUG!
Duke stared at the approaching Chimeras and unleashed a Wind Storm technique.
KWAKWAKWAKWA!
Duke, wielding his sword, became a gust of wind and swept through the Chimeras.
KWADEUDEUDEUK!
The Chimeras were hit head-on by Duke's Wind Storm and shattered, scattering in all directions.
KUBUNG!
After swiftly dispatching the Chimeras, Duke approached Zeke.
"Whew! It's been a while since I ran, I'm out of breath."
Zeke looked at Duke with a surprised expression.
"Master, how did you get here...?"
Duke pointed to one side.
DUDUDUDU!
Through the dust, the Black Sword Knights that Zeke had gathered could be seen engaging the Chimeras.
The Black Sword Knights were wearing newly modified enhancement suits, handling the massive Chimeras without difficulty.
"Over here, you bastards!"
Clonne was flying around in an enhancement suit, smashing Chimera heads with her mace.
Farrell and Felix followed behind, while from other directions, the Black Legion members, the Barbarian unit led by King Fist, and Zeros's magic unit were pushing back the Chimeras.
Seeing them, Zeke finally relaxed.
Duke spoke to Zeke, who was staggering while holding his sword.
"You've worked hard. We'll take care of this place, so you can rest easy now."
Hearing Duke's words, Zeke's tension released and he lost consciousness.
It was a sense of relief he had never felt in his previous life when he had no comrades.
* * *
"Mmm."
Zeke barely regained consciousness and opened his eyes.
As he painfully got up, he realized he was lying on a field bed in a tent.
'Must be the Black Sword Knights' camp.'
When Zeke got up and went outside, as he expected, the Black Sword Knights were busily moving around everywhere.
"My Lord!"
Felix and Liam immediately ran over when they saw Zeke emerge.
Liam quickly examined Zeke's condition and asked.
"My Lord, are you feeling alright?"
Zeke nodded.
"Yes, how long was I unconscious?"
Felix immediately answered.
"About a day!"
Liam added.
"We set up a base not far from where the altar was. We've dealt with both the Chimeras and Jiemens' remnants, and we've taken prisoners."
Zeke nodded with satisfaction at their efficient handling.
"Who's at the scene now?"
Liam continued.
"Zeros is examining the site with other mages."
Zeke nodded.
"I see. I'll hear the details directly. First, bring Duke."
Liam and Felix saluted and withdrew.
Zeke sat in the tent, lost in thought for a moment.
Soon Duke entered the tent.
"Why are you up already? You should rest more."
"I'm fine. Please sit here. I have something to tell you."
Zeke offered Duke a seat and handed him prepared tea.
Then he got straight to the point.
"Abel Draker has been resurrected."
"KUHUK!"
Duke, who was drinking tea, choked when he heard Zeke's words and looked at him in shock.
"W-what did you just say? Abel? Abel Draker has been resurrected?"
Zeke nodded.
"Ramon Jiemens tried to summon the evil god Ajitahaka but ended up resurrecting Abel instead."
Duke shook his head in disbelief at Zeke's words.
"Good heavens, Abel Draker. If he's alive, things get complicated."
Although Abel had been excommunicated from the Draker family, he had been recognized as legitimate royalty by Julius, the Empire's regent.
Duke frowned and said.
"If Ramon Jiemens uses him to bring in Jupiter's forces and persuade the imperial nobles..."
As he said, if Abel joined hands with Castro Pollock and rallied imperial forces around Jupiter, the war situation could change unpredictably.
But Zeke shook his head at Duke's grave words.
"That won't be possible."
"What do you mean it won't be possible? Ramon would definitely..."
"Ramon Jiemens died by Abel's hand."
Duke's jaw dropped again in shock at Zeke's words.
"Ramon was killed by Abel?"
"Yes, and because of that, the evil god's power he possessed has passed to Abel."
Zeke said through gritted teeth.
"It was the Abyss's scheme from the start. Using Ramon Jiemens' ambition to resurrect Abel as a vessel for the Demon King and throw the continent into the flames of war according to their will..."
Zeke trembled as he recalled the devastation of the continental war he had witnessed in his previous life.
'This time, I won't let such things happen.'
Duke massaged his temples as if he had a headache before speaking again.
"Sigh, things are getting more complicated. So what happened to Abel? We captured all of Jiemens' remnants here."
Zeke's expression darkened as he replied.
"The boss of the Nostra Family appeared and took him away."
Duke made a bewildered expression at the sudden mention of the Nostra Family.
"The mafia suddenly got involved?"
"They're not just simple mafia. I thought they only experimented on blood abilities, but they were conducting Chimera research. Moreover, Arthur Draker was involved in the Nostra Family's Chimera research through Howard Draker. I learned this when setting a trap for Howard earlier."
Duke was shocked to hear about the connection between the Nostra Family and Arthur Draker.
"Arthur dealt with the Nostra Family? For what purpose?"
"While I don't know exactly what was traded, we can assume Arthur Draker provided protection since they set up a Chimera lab under Atlas for enhancement drug experiments."
Duke nodded with furrowed brows.
Arthur Draker, as head of the Drakers, must have known about the Nostra Family's secret lab in Atlas.
After contemplating, Duke asked Zeke.
"The situation has become very complicated. Why do you think those mafia took Abel?"
Zeke tapped his fingers on the desk before slowly responding.
"The Abyss escaped midway, so I'm not sure yet. What's clear is that the Nostra Family's boss was involved in this ritual and knew about Abel's resurrection."
Zeke suspected the Nostra Family's mafia appearance was just a front, and they were actually a secret organization that had existed much longer.
'I should ask the High Table. The boss seemed to know the Abyss priest for a long time, so they might be an organization predating the Nostra Family.'
After organizing his thoughts, Zeke said to Duke.
"Please return to the Four Seasons Castle and monitor the Council of Elders. Kali's inauguration vote will happen soon, and we need to prevent any other discussions before then."
Duke nodded and stood up.
"Alright. But are you really okay with giving the family head position to Kali?"
Zeke nodded.
"Sister Kali is suited to be the Draker family head. I believe she'll erase the family's long-standing infamy and normalize it."
Duke shook his head at Zeke's words.
"I believed all humans are greedy. Most show their greed at crucial moments. Arthur was very true to his desires in that regard."
Duke exhaled sharply and continued.
"But I can't figure you out. A person without greed. Ha, if such a person exists, it would be you."
"Everyone has greed, including me. Just not for the Draker family head position."
"That's what's difficult. As Draker family head, there's almost nothing you couldn't achieve."
Zeke smirked at that.
"You’re not greedy either, Master."
Duke clicked his tongue.
"TSK, a disciple who doesn't understand his master's heart. I've already achieved what I wanted by meeting you. TSK TSK."
Duke left the tent with those words.
Zeke pondered the meaning of Duke's last words.
Duke's desire was to find a disciple who could perfectly inherit his Wind Storm technique.
It was such a difficult technique that he thought it would be lost in his generation, but then the once-in-a-lifetime genius Zeke appeared and inherited it.
Thanks to Zeke, he also overcame his trauma and regained his Black Knight powers.
Though he hadn't thought about it before, Zeke seemed to be an exceptionally remarkable disciple to Duke.
Finally understanding Duke's meaning, Zeke sheepishly scratched his head.
'Master is the one without greed. Calling something like that greed...'
Zeke rose from his seat, thinking he should send Duke some good liquor later.
Just then, someone entered the tent.
"Master."
It was Zeros and Jason who had gone to investigate the site.
Zeke offered them seats.
"How was the site?"
Zeros placed a report in front of Zeke and summarized the findings.
Zeke frowned at Zeros's explanation.
"So all their traces have disappeared?"
"The powerful shockwave that swept through made it difficult to find any magical traces. However..."
Zeros pointed to a section of the report.
"We found one trace."
"What kind of trace?"
"Related to spatial movement. Jason discovered it by chance."
Zeros turned to Jason.
Jason spoke with slight nervousness.
"Master... it's complicated to explain."
"Skip the complex details. Keep it simple."
"Well... um... while looking at the non-linear traces in the ground, using the uncertainty principle I've been researching, when I back-calculated..."
Jason struggled to find a simpler explanation before giving up.
"I found traces of spatial movement created by blood abilities through an incredible method."
Zeke felt much was omitted from Jason's explanation but let it pass.
"Don't understand the method, but good that you found traces."
Jason beamed at Zeke's praise.
Zeros nodded and added.
"It's a remarkable achievement. If we can theorize this mathematically, we might be able to detect blood ability traces with magic."
Zeke's expression turned serious.
"You mean tracking spatial movement traces with magic?"
Zeros nodded.
"Yes, boss. If possible, we could defend against and prepare for blood abilities with magic."
The frightening aspect of blood abilities was their unpredictable nature and lack of countermeasures.
While most blood ability users except the Nostra Family's elite weren't threatening to knights, those like the boss who enhanced their abilities with drugs were challenging even for Zeke.
Being able to counter them with magic would make dealing with blood ability users much easier.
Zeke nodded with satisfaction.
"Excellent news. Jason, work on the formulas with Master Feinan."
"Yes, boss."
Getting back to the main point, Zeke asked the mages.
"So where did that trace lead?"
Zeros answered slowly.
"The Kingdom of Thebea, Master."