515
Chapter 515
Zeke turned his head to find himself in the head office of the Four Seasons Castle.
Arthur Draker approached Zeke while brushing back his gray hair.
"Why are you standing there staring blankly? Sit over here."
Zeke knew this was Germain's illusion.
Remembering that Germain said he knew Arthur's secret, Zeke sat across from Arthur as instructed.
Arthur poured drinks into two glasses and passed one to Zeke.
"It's strong but goes down smoothly, so you'll be fine."
Zeke took the glass Arthur offered, savored the aroma, then drank slowly.
As he said, the drink went down smoothly.
Arthur put down his glass and said to Zeke.
"I'm proud of you, Zeke."
Zeke felt dizzy for a moment at Arthur's words.
'What's this?'
Though very briefly, Zeke felt ripples in his heart and noticed a small crack forming.
At the same time, he realized he had momentarily forgotten this was an illusion.
Arthur Draker continued speaking.
"Zeke, you are my true son."
Feeling dizzy, Zeke again felt himself forgetting reality.
From deep within his heart, thoughts kept creeping up wishing this was reality instead of the painful truth.
'I need to stay focused.'
Zeke reminded himself that Germain was trying to penetrate his mind and make him believe this illusion was reality.
If he were to believe this place was real and forget the true world, it was clear that creature would take possession of his body.
Then Arthur Draker looked at Zeke and said:
"There's something I want to tell you."
He stared at Zeke silently for a moment before slowly speaking.
"Words I should have said long ago. I was inadequate and kept putting it off. But... now seems like the right time to finally say it."
Zeke resisted being drawn in while recognizing this as an illusion.
Arthur Draker looked directly into Zeke's eyes and said:
"Zeke, you are not my biological son."
Zeke's thoughts froze at Arthur Draker's words.
'I'm not Arthur Draker's son?'
All sorts of thoughts swirled in Zeke's mind.
Germain had said he knew Arthur Draker's secret.
Then what Arthur Draker's illusion was saying now could be that secret Germain claimed to know.
The completely unexpected words momentarily shook the solid walls of Zeke's mind.
Various thoughts invaded through the cracks that formed.
Countless notions began multiplying and intertwining within the steadfast mental barriers he had maintained.
His mother Laura Agamemnon's face, Arthur Draker's cold gaze when he had cast him out of the family in the past, questions about the Draker family itself that he had dreamed of taking revenge against - all swirled chaotically in Zeke's mind.
'If I'm not Arthur Draker's son, am I not a Draker? No. If I wasn't a Draker, I couldn't have accepted the dragon's heart. Then what exactly is going on?'
As Zeke's mind grew more complex, questions led to endless more questions.
His resistance to this world's reality gradually faded.
He was beginning to forget this was even an illusion.
He remained caught up in the words that he was not Arthur Draker's son.
The curse of those words seemed to bind him.
Watching Zeke, Arthur smiled and said:
"Zeke, though you may not be my biological son, you resemble me more than anyone."
He picked up his glass again and continued.
"Blood relations don't matter. You are the son I love most."
After staying silent, Zeke spoke after hearing Arthur's words.
"Is it true that I'm not your son?"
Arthur nodded at Zeke's question, putting down his glass.
"You seem surprised."
Zeke gave no response to Arthur's words.
Seeing this, Arthur or rather Germain disguised as Arthur smiled inwardly.
'Become more confused.'
The more Zeke's thoughts dug into this issue, the more he settled into this illusion, the more his forgetting accelerated.
Eventually, he would have no choice but to feel this was reality.
Arthur looked at Zeke and said:
"Zeke, don't worry about such trivial matters. I want to dream of a new future for the Drakers with you."
Zeke raised his head.
"What kind of new future?"
"Though we now reign as the continent's strongest dragon slayer family, we don't know how long this will last."
Arthur continued with a solemn expression.
"I've bloodied my hands many times to protect our family. Thanks to that, everyone fears the Drakers. However..."
He shook his head mid-sentence.
"I want the Draker family you'll lead to be different from when I was leader."
"How so?"
"Rather than a name built on lies and violence, I want the Draker name to endure through truth and trust."
Zeke stared at Arthur's face.
It was a serious and solemn expression he'd never seen before.
"I'm sorry to burden you, but this is something only the Knight of Salvation, not the Tyrant King, can accomplish."
The Knight of Salvation, renowned across the continent.
Germain believed Zeke harbored a desire for his father's approval and sought to exploit this.
A great father's shadow inevitably eclipses his son.
Though Zeke Draker's reputation was high, he had not yet matched the Tyrant King, the continent's strongest.
To receive recognition from a great father, inherit everything from him, and have the entire continent honor his name - this was the ideal that every knight dreamed of.
Arthur slowly rose from his seat.
He approached Zeke and gripped his shoulders from behind.
"Zeke, I believe in you. Only you can remake the Drakers anew."
Zeke slowly raised his hand to grasp Arthur's hand on his shoulder.
Germain, who created this illusion, was satisfied, believing Zeke had completely fallen into this world.
While Zeke's soul remained in this illusion, he could enter the deep realm and seize control to possess the body.
He tried to maintain the illusion while sending only his mental form into the deep realm.
But then Zeke gripped Arthur's hand tightly and spoke.
"Family Head, I have one question."
"What's with 'Family Head'? Call me father. What do you want to know?"
Zeke gripped Arthur's hand harder.
"Did you love mother?"
Arthur replied softly.
"Yes, I loved your mother more than anyone."
"Did mother love you too?"
Arthur nodded at Zeke's question.
"I believe she did."
Zeke's grip on Arthur's hand grew even stronger.
Germain sensed something was wrong.
Zeke slowly spoke.
"Laura Agamemnon... hated you. No, it was closer to disgust."
Germain tried to pull his hand away, bewildered by Zeke's unexpected response.
But he couldn't free his hand, as if held by a giant.
CRACK!
Germain, in Arthur's form, grimaced at the pain of his hand bones being crushed.
"KUUUGH!"
When Germain finally groaned, Zeke applied more pressure and said:
"The Tyrant King groaning from just this much? Your acting is amateur."
Germain finally realized Zeke hadn't fallen into the illusion.
SWOOSH
His body blurred and reappeared behind in a different form.
A masked man in a suit.
Germain glared at Zeke and roared.
—You.
—How did you escape the illusion?
—I clearly penetrated your mind's gap.
—This is impossible.
"Did you think I wanted Arthur Draker's approval?"
Zeke spoke in a low voice as he slowly stood up.
He looked down at Germain with cold eyes and said:
"Whether Arthur Draker is my real father or not doesn't matter. He abandoned me, and I died miserably."
The Four Seasons Castle head office background blurred and changed to a completely different place.
A snowy field in a blizzard.
The middle of a valley in the Ice Mountains.
Germain was startled by the sudden change of location.
—To interfere with my domain barrier.
—Unbelievable.
—Does he have stronger willpower than us who've lived a thousand years?
Zeke ignored Germain's words and stared at a spot in the Ice Mountain valley.
He saw himself dead, leaning against a cold ice wall, clutching the black dragon statue.
Germain was confused by this sight.
—This is not an illusion.
—To witness one's own death.
—Impossible.
Zeke turned to look at Germain.
"After experiencing a miserable death, many things look different."
TSSS!
The shadow sword Caladbolg appeared in Zeke's hand.
Germain finally realized Zeke had completely taken control of his domain barrier.
An incomprehensible being even to Germain who had lived for ages.
Germain's mental forms felt fear towards Zeke.
—Kill him!
Germain stepped back and used his blood ability against Zeke.
BANG
An explosion occurred right in front of Zeke's nose.
But the explosion hung in the air as if time had stopped just before detonation.
This domain barrier space was already under Zeke's control, allowing him to manipulate it at will.
Zeke grabbed the explosion that had stopped just before detonation.
HISS!
The explosion pathetically fizzled out.
Germain finally realized entering Zeke's mental world had been a grave mistake.
—Must escape from here.
—As quickly as possible.
—If we make a mistake, we'll be trapped in his mental world.
ZIIING!
The space cracked as if breaking in the middle of an icy valley with cold winds.
It was an escape route that Germain forcibly opened.
He tried to squeeze through the gap in the unique barrier to get back outside.
But Zeke wouldn't just stand by and watch.
SWOOSH!
Solomon's chains shot out from within the ice wall.
SWOOSH!
Germain's limbs were entangled by Solomon's chains as he tried to escape through the barrier gap.
Bound by the chains, Germain tried to escape once again by transforming his body into mist like before.
CRACKLE-
Solomon's chains, which held onto souls, tried to restrain him no matter what form Germain changed into.
Finally, Zeke approached Germain who was caught in the chains.
"How does it feel to be trapped in the barrier you created?"
Germain looked at Zeke and conveyed his thoughts.
—Release me.
—I will give you anything you want.
—I will hand over Abel Draker too.
—If you want to know where Arthur Draker is, I'll tell you that as well.
Zeke was completely unmoved by Germain's thoughts flooding into his mind.
He approached slowly with an expressionless face and grabbed Germain's mask.
CRACKLE!
Intense sparks flew from where Zeke grabbed.
He spoke while looking at Germain.
"You are a form combined of chaos power and curse."
Zeke continued speaking while firmly gripping the mask.
"I suddenly became curious. What would happen if I were to 'purify' your curse?"
CRACKLE!
As he activated the purification skill along with his words, powerful sparks flew from Germain's body.
RUMBLE-
As the purification progressed, the being showed an unusual reaction.
Zeke continued activating the skill without stopping.
The cursed bonds that had bound Germain's mental bodies were weakening.
—No.
—The bonds must not collapse.
—We cannot exist as ourselves.
Zeke spoke to those mental bodies of Germain.
"Were you still fooled by such nonsense?"
He spoke while glaring beyond the mask.
"Princes of the fallen nation. You have been bound by the chains of curses and used all this time. By a being trapped beyond the Gate of Chaos."
As Zeke maintained the purification, the power of the curse faded and the vengeful spirits that formed the mental body flew away.
In the end, only the vengeful spirits of the six princes of the fallen nation who were first cursed remained.
Zeke looked into the being beyond them, holding those vengeful spirits.
"The pinnacle of the Four Fiends, and the only Evil God who reached divinity."
Then he called out the name of the hidden being with the power of verbal command.
"Dijiang."