577
Chapter 577
RUMBLE!
The shadows enveloping the bound Twin Arch angels gradually turned their bodies black.
ROAR!
The Twin Arch angels screamed in resistance to Zeke's shadows.
But they couldn't stop the shadows consuming them.
[Constellation 'One Who Crossed Walls' power corrupts Guardian No. 3.]
[Unique Authority Complete Dominion subjugates Guardian No. 3.]
[Guardian No. 3 submits to constellation's power.]
Soon the Twin Arch angels merged into one as the shadows fully consumed them.
The imperfect pair of angels without lower bodies combined into a complete being.
TSTSTSTS!
As Solomon's chains loosened, the merged angel rose.
Like other shadow spirits, it had a black body with eight wings and four eyes on its face.
Messages appeared before Zeke when the transformed Twin Arch angel revealed itself.
[Corrupted Guardian No. 3 reconstructed as shadow avatar through Recreation authority.]
[Reconstructed shadow avatar registered as user's Guardian.]
[Would you like to name this Guardian?]
Zeke had transformed the angel of apocalypse into a shadow avatar and made it his Guardian.
He named the Twin Arch angel that became his new Guardian.
"I shall call you Ashvin."
Since it was a shadow avatar that became one entity despite originally being an imperfect pair of twins, Zeke gave it the name of a forgotten ancient hero known as the divine twins.
The Guardian named Ashvin opened its eyes wide.
Golden light flowed from both pairs of eyes.
Ashvin knelt before Zeke and conveyed its intention.
[Shadow Avatar Ashvin swears loyalty to the great lord.]
Being an avatar subjugated by Complete Dominion authority, it seemed to swear absolute loyalty to Zeke.
Zeke wore a satisfied expression looking at Ashvin prostrating before him.
'Unexpectedly gained a Guardian as strong as Caligula.'
Using Satan's power and knowledge, he was able to make the apocalyptic Guardian, equivalent to a constellation's avatar, his completely subjugated Guardian.
If the Twin Arch angels had fully hatched, subjugating them would have been impossible even with Satan's absorbed power.
'This will be a great help in the coming war.'
Zeke sent Ashvin into the shadows with satisfaction.
Soon the celestial city Laputa, the unique domain created by the Twin Arch angels, began collapsing.
TSTSTSTS!
The unique domain's world shattered like breaking glass as cracks spread.
Standing firm in the crumbling world, Zeke suddenly found himself back in the Dragon's Tomb Ravine.
He slowly floated up, drew Leviathan, and aimed at the ravine.
WOONG!
Zeke raised the power of the Elemental Sword, now fully under his control.
As the force field expanded, the entire ravine began shaking in response.
At that moment, Zeke's eyes changed to dragon eyes and the ravine's vibrations grew stronger.
RUMBLE!
The ravine collapsed under the force field.
He couldn't leave such a dangerous place capable of trapping dragons, so he used the Elemental Sword to destroy it in one go.
CRASH!
Zeke turned his head from the crumbling ravine.
The war was ending as the allied forces entered Jupiter Castle and raised their flag.
Zeke's eyes grew calm seeing this.
'That puts out the urgent fires.'
With the Abyss headquarters in the Siemens Labyrinth and the Empire's remnants dealt with, all visible threats were handled.
But fundamental threats remained.
'The Demon King, the celestial constellations, and... Arthur Draker.'
Zeke felt greater anxiety than when facing the Abyss, unable to know Arthur Draker's plans.
He set his goal to track down Arthur Draker who was hiding after faking his death.
After organizing his thoughts, Zeke took something from his inventory.
'Arthur Draker's legacy.'
The only clue for tracking him.
Zeke's dragon eyes flashed holding the key.
His form vanished from the collapsed ravine.
* * *
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Kane Breaker, leader of the advancing mercenary group called the Breaker Mercenaries, escaped Jupiter Castle with his remaining mercenaries.
Kane, with a long scar across his face, was a powerful warrior with Blue Knight skills despite being a mercenary.
He immediately led his forces to escape the castle after seeing monsters appear.
'Damn dark mages...'
Suddenly appearing monsters, as well as those driven mad by the black mage's curse, charged at the allied forces, resulting in the loss of most of their troops.
Kane recalled the bizarre events at Jupiter Castle, grinding his teeth and shuddering.
These were memories he'd rather not remember.
'Damn, I got completely wiped out for believing Castro's words.'
Although he managed to take some of the Rom Empire's treasures hidden in the warehouse, thinking he'd receive the remaining payment before escaping the castle, it was insignificant compared to the damage suffered by the entire mercenary group.
Nearly half of the mercenary group was lost, and the remaining members were injured.
Kane clicked his tongue internally and planned to move far away from here to replenish their forces.
While traveling, the vice commander behind him spoke to Kane.
"Commander, where are we heading now? The central continent will be controlled by those Draker bastards, so where can we stay?"
Kane ground his teeth and responded to the vice commander's words.
"...We're going to the lawless zone first. We'll sell the treasures there to secure funds, then head south to regroup."
The southern Empire and southern continent still had many areas beyond the kingdoms' influence.
Kane planned to establish a base there, hiding from the central continent's eyes, and spend several years regrouping. Given the current chaotic situation on the continent, they might get lucky and find somewhere first.
But then something appeared before the Breaker mercenary group.
'What's that?'
Kane spotted familiar emblems on flags.
"The Enduring Kalam Mercenary Group"
"The Valiant Brothers Mercenary Group"
Two of the continent's three major mercenary groups, excluding the Breaker Mercenary Group of Advance, had appeared.
Kane was startled by the sudden appearance of The Enduring Kalam Mercenary Group groups.
'Why are they here?'
On the hill, Zeina Kalam, leader of the Kalam Mercenary Group, and Fein Rogers, leader of the Valiant Brothers Mercenary Group, were looking down at Kane.
But looking closely, someone was standing between Zeina and Fein.
Kane frowned, not knowing their identity. The person making Kane curious was none other than Liam, a knight of the Black Specter Squad .
Fein spoke to Liam with a branch in his mouth and a slight smile.
"Just as the captain said, he came."
Zeina, who was on the opposite side, responded coldly to those words.
"Fein Rogers, have you no pride? Calling someone captain so easily."
To Zeina's rigid words, Fein shrugged and replied.
"Well, this is what we both agreed to. The loser follows the winner's orders in a fair fight. And we lost. It wouldn't be right to go back on our word now."
Zeina frowned at Fein's words.
The Enduring Kalam Mercenary Group groups had faced a major crisis, losing many troops while opposing the Breaker Mercenary Group, which was emboldened by the backing of imperial forces.
The Stone Mercenary Group led by Liam was the one who saved the two mercenary groups being pursued by enemies on the battlefield.
He was carrying out a special mission from Zeke, which was to organize and operate a separate mercenary group.
Following this mission, Liam formed the Stone Mercenary Group by gathering skilled mercenaries who had lost their jobs and from disbanded mercenary groups on the battlefield.
The Stone Mercenary Group was able to grow rapidly in a short time thanks to the capital received from Zeke combined with Liam's outstanding abilities.
Following Zeke's instructions, Liam led the Stone Mercenary Group and made a proposal to draw in The Enduring Kalam Mercenary Group groups after saving them as a top priority.
The proposal was that if he won against the two of them in a one-versus-two fight, they would join under the Stone Mercenary Group without any other conditions.
Fein and Zeina accepted the proposal and attacked Liam simultaneously, but they were no match for him.
Eventually, the two mercenary groups came under the Stone Mercenary Group, and two of the continent's three major mercenary groups came under Liam's command.
Fein, having a smooth personality, quickly accepted Liam as captain and adapted, but Zeina still seemed displeased about being under someone else's command.
Listening to their conversation, Liam spoke.
"Zeina Kalam, you don't need to respect me as captain. Mercenaries aren't knights, after all."
He paused briefly, drew his dual swords, and continued.
"But remember this. The world of mercenaries follows the law of the strong."
WOOOONG!
Turning his gaze from Zeina, Liam shouted toward Kane, the leader of the Breaker Mercenary Group.
"Kane Breaker! My name is Liam Stone! As leader of the Stone Mercenary Group, I challenge you to a duel!"
Kane frowned hearing Liam's shout from the hill.
He was famous for being the strongest among mercenaries.
Not knowing that Liam was a former knight, Kane saw this as nothing more than a puppy barking without knowing to fear the tiger.
While Kane was too dumbfounded to respond, Liam shouted again.
"Are you afraid to cross swords with me?! If so, dismount and kneel in surrender!"
At Liam's insulting words, Kane's face turned red as he shouted.
"How dare you?!, you little brat!"
He immediately drew his sword.
Before the vice commander beside him could stop him, Kane charged on horseback toward where Liam was.
Seeing this, Liam spoke in a low voice.
"Watch carefully."
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
Liam also rode his horse down the hill.
From the opposite side, Kane was charging with a terrifying momentum.
WOOOONG!
Strong vibrations emanated from Kane's sword, followed by waves of rough aura.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Kane, who had learned aura techniques from a retired knight, was different from ordinary mercenaries.
Combining swordsmanship that overwhelmed knights with the sharp combat instincts built as a mercenary, he reigned as the strongest among mercenaries, with none able to match him.
His achievements were so impressive that even the prideful central kingdoms competed to invite him to become a knight.
Yet despite Kane's prowess, Liam wasn't intimidated by his pressure at all. He charged forward calmly toward Kane, lowering his stance while holding his dual swords.
As the distance closed, an explosive aura blade erupted from Kane's sword.
It had enough force to cut both Liam and his horse in half with a single strike.
"HYAAAAAAH!"
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Just as the powerful aura blade was about to fall on Liam's head, there was a flash of light.
SWOOSH!
An aura blade also erupted from Liam's dual swords, deflecting Kane's sword.
ZING!
Kane's eyes widened, apparently not expecting his sword to be deflected.
And Liam didn't miss this opening.
In an instant, his swift swords were unleashed.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
Liam's sword strikes passed by Kane's body at a speed invisible to the eye.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
To those watching from afar, it looked like they simply collided and passed by each other instantly.
But something ominous happened to Kane as he passed by Liam's side.
"URRRK!"
It seemed like Kane's body was tilting, but that wasn't it.
Kane's head rolled to the ground while his body remained on the horse.