643
Chapter 643
Rex tried to run towards Arthur, whose heart had been pierced by tentacles.
Ramon, who was behind him, grabbed Rex.
"It's too late!"
Ramon held Rex back as he tried to go towards Arthur and pulled him backward.
But Rex pushed Ramon away and tried to run towards where Arthur was again.
Seeing Rex like this, Ramon clenched his jaw and took out another scroll from his chest.
He immediately tore the scroll to activate the magic.
WOONG!
As the spatial magic activated, light spread out and enveloped Ramon and Rex.
'So that's how Ramon and Rex were able to escape.'
Zeke, who was inside Rex's body, instinctively rejected the light.
TSTSTSTS!
Soon, Rex and Ramon's figures disappeared with the light.
But then, something surprising happened.
'Huh?'
Zeke realized that instead of being teleported while inside Rex's body, he was standing in the cave in his own form.
[System Akashic Record activates.]
[Authority Eye of the Sage activates.]
[Authority Recreation activates.]
[Reconstructing memories of the past.]
Through Zeke's authority, he was able to see the past that Rex couldn't witness.
Seeing his own translucent body, Zeke turned his head.
Arthur Draker, who had fallen with his heart pierced, lay motionless as if dead.
At that moment, the bisected outer being beast slowly raised its body.
GRRRR!
Tentacles sprouted from the cut parts and stuck together, returning the separated body back to its original form.
'They didn't know about the strong regenerative ability of outer being beasts.'
It was natural since this was their first time seeing such a monster.
As Zeke clicked his tongue internally, the outer being beast raised its body and examined the fallen Arthur Draker.
Then it moved its tentacles to wrap around Arthur's motionless body and lifted him up.
GRRRR!
The outer being beast carried Arthur Draker and moved somewhere.
Zeke carefully followed behind the outer being beast with a puzzled expression.
The outer being beast carried Arthur Draker deep into the cave.
'The outer being beast is taking Arthur Draker, who died with his heart pierced?'
Although it was a memory of the past, it was recreated through Zeke's authority as a deity, making it no different from reality.
Therefore, this situation was something that had actually happened in the past.
While Zeke wondered how this could have happened, the monster continued going deeper underground.
During this, at some point, Zeke noticed something had changed.
'This is an artificially created space.'
While the dungeon above was a natural cave, he could sense that the pathway and corridors leading underground had been artificially constructed at some point.
And Zeke had seen similar architectural structures before.
'The underground structures built by orcs. This was definitely the same style and structure.'
The ancient temple Arthur Draker had been searching for was an orc underground labyrinth.
However, even he couldn't understand why there was an outer being beast in an orc-made underground labyrinth.
'An ancient temple located in an orc-made underground dungeon. And it's guarded by outer beings. Just what is the identity of this place?'
Zeke recalled how Arthur Draker hadn't properly explained the identity of this place to his companions Rex and Ramon earlier.
At that time, while inside Rex's body, Zeke had noticed something while reading Arthur Draker's expression.
'Even Arthur Draker didn't properly know what this place really is.'
But Arthur Draker wasn't reckless enough to explore a suspicious ancient ruin without knowing what it was.
So there must have been a reason for him to come here despite such uncertainty.
'Though he tried to hide it... Arthur Draker was clearly desperate and anxious.'
Zeke could read the anxious signs hidden beneath Arthur Draker's indifferent expression.
He must have been in a desperate situation that required him to find 'something' here, despite not properly understanding the place's identity.
It felt strange to Zeke that Arthur Draker, who was always composed and tried to keep everything under his control, had a past where he suffered from such desperation.
And it was also hard to believe that Arthur Draker had died with his heart pierced by a monster in this nameless dungeon.
'I'll probably find out what happened when I reach the end of this labyrinth.'
Zeke quietly followed behind Arthur Draker's corpse as it was being carried away wrapped in the outer being beast's tentacles.
After going down the corridor for a while, the outer being beast suddenly stopped moving.
Zeke also stopped behind the monster and examined the surroundings.
Soon he discovered a massive door blocking the way in the darkness that the monster faced.
Surprisingly, the outer being beast bowed its head in front of the door as if praying.
It looked like it was showing reverence to the seal engraved on the door.
'This is the first time I've seen a monster react like this.'
Zeke moved forward and carefully examined the seal on the door where the monster had bowed.
He couldn't help but be surprised.
The seal engraved on the door was something Zeke knew well.
'The Sword Seal?'
The door was engraved with the sword seal that symbolized the Absolute Sword Family Draker, passed down from Sword Saint Sethon Draker.
However, looking closely, there was a slight difference - unlike Sethon Draker's sword seal, this one had a sun-like circle drawn around the sword.
'A seal of sword and sun.'
Zeke had no idea why a symbol almost identical to the Draker family's sword seal was engraved in this ancient temple.
Moreover, it was incomprehensible why the outer being beast was showing reverence to this seal.
While Zeke was confused by these questions, the outer being beast moved again.
GRRRR!
It put Arthur Draker down on the floor and moved dozens of its tentacles toward the seal engraved on the door.
The monster's tentacles entered the tiny holes around the seal.
GRRRR!
Dozens of tentacles entered the holes and carefully moved the door's mechanism.
KIRIRIRIK! KIRIK!
The disk engraved with the sword and sun seal began to turn with a sound.
When the sword tip pointed upward, there was a clicking sound.
Simultaneously, dark red light began to spread across the entire door from the disk.
TSTSTSTS!
After a moment, the door became covered in dark red cracks like capillaries and slowly split open.
KUGUGUGU!
When the door opened, it revealed a massive cavity that could easily fit thousands of people.
KUGU! KUGU!
Surprisingly, the cavity walls were chaotically intertwined with dark red lines like capillaries, similar to the door they had just seen.
These lines were pulsating like real blood vessels while emitting an eerie light.
Zeke's eyes widened at the bizarre appearance of the revealed cavity.
'To think such a temple existed.'
It felt more bizarre than any of the dungeons, underground labyrinths, and heretical temples Zeke had seen.
GRRRR!
The outer being beast extended its tentacles again, wrapped Arthur Draker's corpse, and entered the cavity.
Zeke gathered his thoughts and followed the monster.
Once inside, he could truly appreciate the enormous size of this cavity.
Not only was it wide, but looking up, the ceiling wasn't even visible.
'It's hard to guess how deep underground this was built.'
Inside, the pulsating dark red lines spread like blood vessels could be felt more distinctly.
The entire massive space seemed alive.
While Zeke examined the interior, the outer being beast carried Arthur Draker toward the center of the cavity.
There stood an altar so high it looked like a tower.
The outer being beast began climbing the altar's stairs with Arthur Draker.
Zeke followed the monster up the altar while observing its actions.
'Is it going to offer the corpse to the altar?'
He still couldn't properly understand what the monster was doing or what this place was.
The important thing was that whatever happened here would be related to Arthur Draker's resurrection.
Zeke calmly followed the monster up the high altar for quite a while.
When they reached the highest point of the altar, he discovered something standing there.
Zeke couldn't help but be surprised at what was placed in the center of the altar.
'That's...?'
It was none other than a statue.
The reason for his surprise was that he had seen this statue before.
'The God of Sword statue.'
It was the same God of Sword statue that the Draker family used as a class identifier for children's awakening ceremonies, and the one Zeke had seen in the Draker family's secret space when he entered with Arthur Draker.
Zeke couldn't help but feel confused again seeing this God of Sword Statue standing on the altar of this ancient underground temple.
'Arthur Draker said this God of Sword statue was modeled after the Sword Saint Sethon Draker, their ancestor. But why is it here? Could this statue be what Arthur Draker was looking for?
Zeke recalled when Arthur Draker told him this God of Sword was modeled after Sethon Draker.
The statue depicted a knight-like man with a sturdy build holding a bastard sword.
However, the Sethon Draker that Zeke knew had a slender body that made gender indistinguishable, and used a thin rapier rather than a bastard sword.
He remembered thinking then how the statue didn't match Sethon Draker's appearance at all.
Suddenly something flashed through Zeke's mind.
'Yes, this statue isn't modeled after Sethon Draker.'
Being placed in an ancient temple meant this statue was created before the Hero King era, even before Sethon Draker's time.
'The Absolute Sword Family Draker was created when Sethon Draker adopted Jiemens Apollion's bloodline. But if this is from before then...?'
Zeke knew that Jiemens Apollion's bloodline traced back to King Solomon, who became the first Demon King's avatar.
And King Solomon was descended from the Nephilim created by the constellations to rule over humans.
Zeke finally understood the statue's true identity.
'The first Nephilim who appeared in human form to rule the material world.'
He knew who this first being was from the system after absorbing Harvey Draker.
Because Harvey Draker was the being created when the Great Sage's homunculus cultivated the Draker bloodline's founder.
'The first humanoid Nephilim and founder of the Draker bloodline.'
Zeke looked up at the God of Sword statue.
"Avatar Adam."
The moment he discovered the statue's identity, the outer being beast placed Arthur Draker on the altar.
Arthur Draker was completely lifeless with his pierced heart.
The outer being beast that brought Arthur Draker bowed its head as if worshipping the God of Sword statue.
Suddenly the God of Sword statue began to vibrate.
KUGUGU!
The entire cavity vibrated starting from the statue.
KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG!
The pulsing grew stronger than before.
With beats like a giant heartbeat, something began emerging from various spots on the cavity floor.
GRRRR!
Amorphous outer being beasts like lumps of flesh revealed themselves from the floor.
The initially formless monsters gradually took on clearer shapes as time passed.
In an instant, the massive cavity was filled with thousands of outer being beasts.
GRRRR!
KIRIRIRIK!
KAGAGAK!
The monsters began making their bizarre cries toward the altar.
Then the God of Sword statue on the altar moved backward.
TSTSTSTS-
Something appeared in the space where the God of Sword statue had retreated.
'That's...?'
It was a sword.
A claymore-type sword made entirely of black.
It was the same sword that Arthur Draker had called Sethon Draker's sword in the family's secret space before.
And Zeke also possessed a sword that looked exactly like this one.
'Shadow Sword Caladbolg.'
It was the sword containing the authority of Predation that grew stronger over time and was breaking free from Zeke's control.
Then an ominous energy burst forth from the black sword stuck in the floor.
TSTSTSTS’
The energy bursting from the black sword began gathering into one.
Then it created a black stone with a strange texture.
Zeke immediately recognized the identity of the black stone created by the sword.
'Dark Matter?'