591
Chapter 591
'Mother?'
Zeke's face turned pale upon seeing Laura Agamemnon collapsed and bleeding.
'Arthur killed mother?'
Arthur Draker, the head of the Draker family and one of the strongest warriors across the continent known as the Overlord.
He had killed his wife Laura Agamemnon with his own hands.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
An tremendous aura burst forth from Zeke's body.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
The kaleidoscope realm visible before him shook unstably from his power.
Zeke wanted to crush and kill Arthur Draker right now for murdering Laura Agamemnon.
But the Arthur Draker before him was just a fragment of the past, not the real one.
Zeke noticed that if he didn't control his aura, the kaleidoscope realm would collapse, so he suppressed his rage and contained his power to watch the situation until the end.
HISS! HISS! HISS!
When he withdrew his aura, the kaleidoscope realm returned to normal.
Arthur Draker turned away from the fallen Laura.
In the direction he turned, there was what appeared to be a stone altar platform with a basket placed on top.
Arthur Draker approached the basket.
"HMM."
He looked at the child inside the basket.
A child with black hair and black eyes.
Arthur Draker's expression twisted when he saw the child.
Looking at the fallen Laura Agamemnon, he said,
"Do you think this child can break the wheel of fate as prophesied?"
Arthur Draker pointed his sword at the child.
"If I kill this child now, all your efforts will have been for nothing."
At those words, Laura Agamemnon, even as she was dying and bleeding, looked straight at Arthur and said,
"...Arthur, you will never... be able to kill that child."
Arthur Draker sneered at Laura Agamemnon's words.
"Ha, how absurd! Why do you think I won't be able to kill this child ? If something stands in my way, even if it's a newborn baby..."
"Akashic Code."
Arthur Draker stopped speaking at Laura Agamemnon's quiet words.
"...That child alone... uniquely... Elder Dragon's... relic... Akashic Code..."
Her gaze gradually grew dim and her voice faded.
Watching from behind, Zeke couldn't help but be surprised at Laura Agamemnon's words.
'Mother knew about the Elder Dragon and the Akashic Code?'
He knew she had received revelations from Chronos, the Dragon of Time, but he didn't know she knew about the Akashic Code as well.
Those were Laura Agamemnon's final words before she could say no more.
Arthur Draker clenched his teeth as he looked at the lifeless Laura Agamemnon.
A momentary flash of regret crossed Arthur Draker's face as he gazed at the dead Laura Agamemnon.
But he quickly changed his expression and approached Laura Agamemnon's body.
However, Laura Agamemnon's body became enveloped in a mysterious light before dissolving into particles of light that disappeared somewhere.
Seeing this, Arthur Draker glared fiercely at the dispersing light.
"...Laura, you make me miserable until the very end."
A moment later, Arthur Draker turned to look at the child in the basket.
The black-eyed child didn't cry but stared intently at Arthur Draker.
Arthur Draker's expression grew complicated as he watched the child reach out towards him.
At that moment, the figure of Decker could be seen crawling from afar with his body completely broken.
Decker, crawling while clenching his teeth and bleeding from his mouth and eyes, saw the situation in the cave and shouted.
"N-No!"
He realized Laura Agamemnon had lost her life at Arthur Draker's hands when he confirmed her absence.
Decker coughed up blood and cried out:
"Why, why did you do this?! Someone as strong as you! Why?!"
Arthur remained silent at Decker's outcry, simply staring mutely at the child in the basket.
He then picked up the basket with the child and approached Decker.
THUD!
He set down the basket next to Decker almost like throwing it.
Arthur Draker looked down at Decker and said in a cold voice:
"This is Laura's child. She is no longer in this world, so Decker, you will be responsible for raising this child as a member of the Draker family."
Decker trembled all over upon hearing Arthur's words and crawled toward the basket to look inside.
"NGGGHH!"
He had neither the power nor the authority to refuse Arthur Draker's command.
The child in the basket reached out and touched Decker's cheek.
Decker unknowingly shed tears as he met the child's clear black eyes.
He barely managed to get up and held the basket with the child against his chest.
Seeing this, Arthur Draker turned around.
Then Decker quietly spoke to Arthur's back:
"The child's name... what should I name him?"
Arthur, who was about to leave the cave, stopped in his tracks.
"A name..."
Arthur turned around slowly and said to Decker.
"Siegfried, the cursed bastard of the great Draker. Following his name, we'll call him 'Zeke'."
WHOOSH!
At that moment, the kaleidoscope realm collapsed and Zeke returned to the original antique room.
HISS! HISS! HISS!
Zeke woke up on the bed with Mephistopheles.
He sighed, feeling dizziness similar to when he crossed the timeline.
"HAH..."
He understood why Mephistopheles had deployed the kaleidoscope on the bed.
As the dizziness subsided, Zeke got off the bed and accusingly asked Mephistopheles:
"Is this the hidden truth? That Arthur Draker killed my mother?"
Mephistopheles smiled subtly and replied:
"This is the truth I know. Were you expecting something else?"
Zeke fell silent at Mephistopheles's words.
He had only made the condition with Mephistopheles based on the Arrogant Savior's words, so he couldn't have known what truth would be revealed.
Of course, the past truth of Arthur Draker murdering Laura Agamemnon was enough to cause great shock and hatred in Zeke.
But Zeke couldn't shake the feeling that there might be something more hidden.
'Mephistopheles, the master of unbreakable contracts. He certainly won't lie according to the contract. But it's possible for him to show only parts of the truth as he wishes.'
Zeke thought of someone who might know the whole story, now aware that there were complex issues between Arthur Draker and Laura Agamemnon that he didn't know about.
'Rex Tourn.'
Rex Tourn, Reina's biological father and head of the Tourn family, was also a longtime friend of Arthur and Laura.
He had previously wanted to hear about his mother Laura Agamemnon from Rex Tourn. The opportunity had been postponed due to sudden events, but he thought that might have been for the better.
He didn't think Rex Tourn would know everything about how Laura Agamemnon knew about the Elder Dragon and Akashic Code, how Arthur Draker knew Zeke would break the wheel of fate, and why he let him live despite knowing this.
But hearing stories about the two would surely provide some clues.
'I should meet Rex Tourn first.'
Zeke turned to Mephistopheles.
"I'm returning to the physical realm now."
Mephistopheles made a disappointed expression.
"Hmm? Leaving already? The feast isn't even over and we could have more fun..."
Zeke waved his hand dismissively at Mephistopheles's words and immediately summoned Raven.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The now much stronger Raven beat its burning wings and shook the Phoenix Castle.
Simultaneously, a gap formed between the unstable dimensions.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
Powerful plasma rose from the dimensional gap.
Mephistopheles hurriedly called out to Zeke who was about to leave,
"Such an impatient human ! Zeke Draker, the return journey will be different from when you came here! Now that you have the status of a demon realm Demon lord, the karma's restrictions will be stronger!"
Zeke ignored Mephistopheles's words and entered the dimensional gap with Raven.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
A powerful dimensional storm enveloped and pulled him in, and the gap closed instantly.
Mephistopheles, left alone in the room, grinned at the vanished dimensional gap.
Then someone appeared behind him.
One possessing beauty surpassing all others.
The Arrogant Savior stood next to Mephistopheles in spirit form.
He spoke to Mephistopheles:
―Your bad taste remains. Why didn't you tell Zeke Draker all the truth?
Mephistopheles smiled and answered:
"Life would be too boring without fun like this."
The Arrogant Savior's spirit shook his head at Mephistopheles's words and said,
―Zeke Draker is not an opponent weak enough to fall for your games.
Mephistopheles smiled even wider at those words and said:
"I know. That's what makes it more fun. To see how this stage will reach its final chapter. I'm very excited."
When he waved his hand, kaleidoscope glass windows appeared in front.
Looking at the glass windows showing different scenes, Mephistopheles grinned.
"Zeke Draker, I'm really looking forward to seeing how you'll ruin this stage. So... please don't break."
Mephistopheles smiled with a pure yet eerie expression, like a child playing with an interesting toy.
* * *
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Zeke followed Raven through the dimensional gap toward the physical realm.
As Mephistopheles warned, the karma's restrictions and repulsive forces were stronger than before, making the journey difficult.
ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!
Without Raven guiding the way to the physical realm in front, he would surely have lost his way in the gap due to the dimensional storms hitting from all directions.
Zeke raised the power of the constellation to protect himself and Raven as they headed toward the entrance to the physical realm following Raven's guidance.
'Where does this path lead?'
Originally, they had opened a path from Baranon's mansion to Mephistopheles's realm. But the current path seemed to connect to somewhere different.
WHOOSH!
Then Zeke saw the passage to the physical realm before his eyes.
He said to Raven:
―Raven, let's exit through there!
Raven pushed forward through the plasma storm at Zeke's words.
Zeke endured the strong karmic repulsion and leaped into the massive light.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
An tremendous aftershock of causality struck Zeke.
But with his large amount of karma points, this level of aftershock was manageable for Zeke.
After emerging into the physical realm through the dimensional gap, Zeke checked his body's condition and looked around.
'This is...?'
An unfamiliar ancient ruin spread before him.
The moss-covered stone buildings were worn and abandoned, suggesting people hadn't visited for a long time.
"Ancient ruins. Unique architecture."
Having explored most ancient ruins in the Central Continent in his past life, Zeke was intrigued by this unfamiliar style.
Zeke opened his map to check his current location.
Surprisingly, he wasn't in the Central Continent.
'Eastern Continent?'
Moreover, he was in a mountain range beyond the Eternal Wall, not in the Muruk Empire's territory.
"Ancient ruins within the Eternal Mountains."
Zeke began examining the ruins.
The architectural style differed significantly from ruins in the Central Continent.
'Hmm, even considering these are Eastern Continent ruins, they're quite different from Muruk Empire style.'
Examining the ruins, Zeke could tell this place was built long before the Muruk Empire.
As he studied the ruins carefully, Zeke recalled a place with similar architecture.
'Carcosa.'
In the lost memory fragments he'd visited seeking the Primordial Temple, Zeke had seen Carcosa's pyramid.
These ruins shared many similarities with Carcosa's pyramid.
While pondering possible connections, Zeke discovered traces of an altar inside as he explored.
Approaching the altar, he saw something engraved on the wall.
When he created and raised an orb of light, the wall surface was brightly revealed.
Zeke raised his head to look up at the ruins' wall.
'That is?'
On the wall of the ruins, a symbol of three eyes was clearly engraved.