588
Chapter 588
WOOOONG!
The three people who passed through the portal opened their eyes in a completely different space from moments ago.
Seeing the central tower of Rue, the underwater city built in the deep sea, Nabu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh my, we barely made it in."
While entering Storm Island wasn't always easy, the sea had never blocked them as roughly as this time.
It felt as if the security barrier had gone berserk, unable to distinguish between friend and foe, running wild indiscriminately.
As the three were checking their bodies, someone walked over from one side.
"It's been a while, everyone."
A tall man wearing a black coat and a fedora approached Nigel.
The man with a pale impression and long curly hair falling beneath his hat exuded an inexplicable eeriness.
Nigel bowed silently upon seeing him.
The man's name was Id van Helsing.
Commonly known as Ivan, he was a High Table member known as the most excellent beast hunter who was both a magician and assassin.
Nabu, who had been sitting down, stood up and waved at Ivan.
"Yo! Ivan, long time no see. It's been about fifty years since we last met. Your face still lacks any sign of life."
At Nabu's words, Ivan nodded without changing his expression.
"It's difficult for one who deals with black magic to find vitality."
Nabu made an embarrassed expression at Ivan's composed retort.
Then Nigel asked Ivan.
"Have the other High Tables arrived?"
Ivan shook his head, his face still expressionless.
"No, I'm the only one who has arrived. You all are the next to arrive."
Ivan's monotone voice somehow sounded chilling.
Manna rolled his prayer beads while speaking.
"That quite a few unusual things are happening, unlike usual, since others haven't arrived yet."
According to their covenant with the Leader, High Tables had to come to Storm Island when called unless there were special circumstances.
It was clearly strange that only four out of twelve High Tables had arrived so far.
Then the surrounding scenery began to ripple.
TSUTSUTSUTSU!
Their location changed to the top floor of Rue's central tower.
Although fantastic scenery unfolded where colorful marine life and beautiful coral reefs harmonized in a place where even the ceiling was made of glass walls, no one paid attention to it.
They looked at each other with hardened faces from their designated seats at the 'High Table,' the round table symbolizing transcenders among Highlanders.
Only four people who just met were seated out of the total twelve High Tables.
Nabu opened his mouth with a stern expression.
"Don't tell me the other High Tables...?"
Just then, the Leader appeared at the table, wearing a robe.
Nabu jumped up from his seat and shouted when he appeared.
"Leader! What exactly is going on here?!"
Nigel grabbed Nabu who was next to her.
"Nabu, calm down and sit."
Though she stopped Nabu, she also spoke to the Leader in a low voice while flashing sharp eyes.
"Leader, we need a reasonable explanation."
The High Tables were not the Leader's subordinates.
They were closer to allies bound by covenant.
Although they had transcendent status, they needed the Leader's power to remain here, avoiding karma's sanctions, as they had lingering attachments to the current world instead of ascending to higher dimensions.
After a moment of silence, the Leader spoke.
"Those who couldn't come here have all been annihilated."
Nigel's group couldn't help but be shocked by the Leader's words.
It was hard to believe since it meant their very existence was annihilated rather than their souls ascending to higher dimensions after leaving their bodies due to karma's sanctions.
Nabu shouted at the Leader.
"An-annihilated? What do you mean?! Annihilated! Just who would do such…?"
Suddenly Nabu flinched in surprise and contorted his face.
"Don't tell me it was Arthur Draker?"
When Arthur Draker's name came up, the Leader sighed and slowly nodded.
His voice rang out again.
"That's right. He absorbed the power of Ajitahaka, the evil god summoned by Ramon Jiemens. With that power, he hunted the High Tables and devoured their souls."
Nabu's face turned pale at the Leader's words.
The idea of devouring transcenders' souls with an evil god's power was something he couldn't even imagine.
Nabu spoke with trembling hands.
"No... why would he…?"
Then Nigel furrowed her brow and spoke.
"It must be to raise his status. To reach divine status beyond transcendence."
Nabu looked at Nigel and shouted.
"Divine status? The status of a constellation! How is that possible for a human?!"
To that, Nigel answered in a low voice.
"You fool. Have you forgotten how the evil god Ajitahaka obtained divine status?"
Nabu suddenly came to his senses at Nigel's words.
"...The Flesh Emperor. Right, that's true. Ha, don't tell me Arthur Draker is becoming the new Flesh Emperor..."
The Leader, who had been listening to their conversation, slowly spoke.
"Arthur Draker is targeting this place."
Nigel, Nabu, and Manna frowned at the Leader's words.
Nigel looked at the Leader and said.
"You mean Arthur Draker is after the Black Star here?."
The Leader nodded at those words.
"The Black Star is indeed what he's after. But that's not all."
Nigel looked at the Leader with a guarded expression.
"You've kept too much from us until now. Even though we've known you for over a thousand years. Just what is Arthur Draker after..?"
Cutting off her words, the Leader stood up and waved his hand.
Something could be seen floating above the table.
It was in the form of a black hardcover book.
Nabu saw the book the Leader had floated and stood up in confusion.
"W-wait, that..."
As he waved his hand, dozens of books floated in the air with their pages spread open.
Nabu quickly scanned the pages and his gaze stopped at one spot.
He shouted at the Leader with an expression like his soul was about to leave his body.
"Insane! That's the Necronomicon!"
Manna rolled her prayer beads and spoke to Nabu.
"Devotee Nabu. What is that book?"
But the answer came from an unexpected place.
"The Book of the Dead."
It was Ivan, who had been quiet, who spoke.
"The soul of the Demon King is sealed in that book."
At Ivan's words, Nigel frowned and muttered.
"A book with the Demon King's soul sealed inside..."
She turned her head and spoke to the Leader.
"Showing us this means this book is here in Storm Island?"
The Leader slowly nodded at her words.
"To be precise, half of it is here."
Nigel asked, still not relaxing her expression.
"Where is the other half?"
"I cannot say."
Nabu slammed the table and shouted at the Leader.
"Damn it! So now Arthur Draker is coming here to find a book with half the Demon King's soul sealed inside! And you've been hiding this from us until now!"
He pressed the Leader while fuming.
"Damn, I should have been suspicious when Zeke said something was strange. Leader, just what are you planning?!"
As Nabu pressed the Leader, Ivan stood up from his seat.
Then he took something out and threw it on the table.
THUD!
Nabu turned his head to look at what Ivan had thrown.
It was a reddish-black ore that was emanating a strange energy despite not being a magic stone.
Ivan pointed at the ore and spoke.
"This was found in the bodies of the magical beasts that attacked me."
When Nigel reached out, the reddish-black ore on the table floated gently into the air.
As the ore approached her, she could more clearly feel the faintly flowing alien energy.
Nigel noticed what that energy was.
"It contains the energy of an outer being."
Outer beings that were different from ordinary magical beasts.
Even the High Tables had not yet uncovered the true nature of Outer beings.
Ivan nodded at Nigel's words and continued.
"The outer being magical beasts that attacked me were completely different from the ones we've seen before."
Nigel asked a question after hearing Ivan's words.
"Different? What do you mean?"
"They were intelligent beings capable of conversation and attacked me under someone's orders."
Nigel, Nabu, and Manna were startled at Ivan's words.
Then the Leader, who had been listening, spoke.
"It was Arthur Draker who controlled those Outer beings. The other High Tables were also attacked by them."
Nigel turned her head to look at the Leader.
"Did you already know this would happen?"
The Leader did not answer Nigel's words.
Nabu, who was watching from the side, burst out in anger.
"Damn it! We've been coming and going here for hundreds of years but knew so little!"
He took a deep breath and barely calmed himself before speaking.
"Phew! Phew! Okay. Anyway. So now Arthur Draker is coming here to find the Black Star and half of the Demon King's soul hidden here. And he's bringing never-before-seen outer being magical beasts. Leader, if you have anything else you haven't told us, tell us now. I'm angry that you've hidden important things, but we need to establish countermeasures to stop them anyway."
The Leader slowly spoke at Nabu's words.
"Arthur Draker is not simply after the Demon King's soul itself."
"Huh? What do you mean by that? Isn't he trying to summon the Demon King by stealing his soul?"
"He is trying to summon the Demon King, that's correct."
"Damn, here we go again. This frustrating person speaking in riddles. Can't you just speak clearly?"
Then Ivan, who was next to them, spoke to Nabu.
"The Leader cannot speak freely due to karma's restrictions."
Nabu turned to Ivan at those words.
"Ivan, do you know something?"
Instead of answering, he glanced at the Leader. The Leader soon nodded.
Once he received the Leader's permission, Ivan spoke.
"Arthur Draker is certainly trying to summon the Demon King. But his purpose is different from the Abyss."
"What do you mean his purpose is different?"
Ivan was silent for a moment before answering.
"Arthur Draker plans to use the evil god's power to absorb the Demon King's power."
"What?"
The evil god Ajitahaka had obtained divine status by devouring beings imbued with constellation power, including Nephilim.
Currently, Arthur Draker had gained power after transplanting the heart of the Mad Dragon Zeus, who had absorbed the evil god's power from inside Abel.
He had also absorbed the Black Star, an Elder Dragon's heart, and even the souls of transcendent High Tables with that power.
If Arthur Draker, who could already be said to have divine status beyond transcendence, were to absorb the Demon King's soul as well, his power would clearly grow beyond imagination.
Nabu asked Ivan with a confused expression.
"D-damn. So Arthur Draker plans to summon the Demon King into his body and then absorb it? Is that why he's attacking here?"
Ivan shook his head at Nabu's words.
"The being that becomes the Demon King's vessel loses their ego and only functions as a container. No matter how strong Arthur Draker is, directly accepting and absorbing the Demon King's soul is impossible."
"Then?"
"Summoning the Demon King into another person and then absorbing that soul. That is Arthur Draker's ultimate goal."
Nabu frowned and pondered something after hearing Ivan's words.
Then he looked at Ivan and said.
"Wait, but that doesn't make sense. Abel, who was meant to be the Demon King's vessel, is already dead, and if Arthur Draker himself won't be the vessel, who is he planning to use for the summoning?"
RUMBLE!
Just then, an incredible pressure rose from behind.
When Nabu turned around in surprise, Nigel was glaring at the Leader with clenched teeth.
She pointed her sword at the Leader and shouted.
"You! Don't tell me now...!"
A startled Nabu tried to stop her.
"Whoa whoa! Calm down, old lady Nigel! No matter what, fighting among ourselves isn't right!"
Then Nigel pushed Nabu aside and shouted.
"Don't you understand, Nabu?! That bastard is trying to use Zeke as bait to catch Arthur Draker!"