688
Chapter 688
Zeke was watching this entire situation from inside Terakan's body.
As he watched the situation seriously due to unexpected circumstances, strong demonic energy flowed from Claudia's body, whose soul was being consumed by the Demon King.
After a moment of confusion, Hoshgar regained his composure and focused magical power into the magic circle to try to prevent the Demon King from coveting Claudia's soul.
"UGH..."
Hoshgar frowned at the powerful magic flowing from Claudia.
At that moment, Terakan stepped forward and removed his glove.
CRACKLE!
He focused Draker's unique magic reflection power on Claudia.
Then Claudia's eyes, which had turned black, turned toward Terakan.
[Immortal One. Does it not pain you to see your companion suffering?]
When Terakan's eyes wavered at the Demon King's voice, Hoshgar shouted.
"Terakan! Don't listen to the Demon King! What he ultimately wants is your body!"
What the Demon King wanted most was none other than Terakan, the Immortal One.
However, even the Demon King could not penetrate Terakan's mental defenses.
That's why, as an alternative, he tried to inhabit the body of Bahamut, the strongest dragon.
While maintaining the barrier, Hoshgar shouted at Claudia.
"Claudia! Get a hold of yourself! You can't let the Demon King control your soul!"
As if hearing Hoshgar's desperate words, Claudia's body began to tremble.
Claudia's eyes, which had both turned black, began to glow faintly, and she writhed in pain while clutching her head.
When she lifted her head, one of her eyes had returned to normal.
Claudia called out painfully to Terakan and Hoshgar.
"Everyone, run away! The Demon King is not... targeting me..."
Just as she was trying to say something, an even more intense demonic energy surged.
Then Claudia resisted that power and invoked her purification ability.
WHOOSH!
The golden aura flowing from her body collided with the Demon King's demonic energy, creating black heat haze.
The demonic energy and purification power clashed inside Claudia's weakened body.
"COUGH!"
Blood flowed from her eyes and mouth.
Seeing this, Terakan stepped forward in shock.
But it was none other than Claudia who stopped Terakan.
"Stay back!"
Claudia, almost completely consumed by the Demon King, cried out desperately toward Terakan.
"Terakan, I'll somehow... hold back the Demon King... so please protect our children..."
At that moment, Claudia's body floated into the air.
RUMBLE!
Claudia, transformed into a half-dragon, spread her black wings while containing the Demon King's power and immediately jumped out the tower window.
CRASH!
Claudia, now Bahamut who had transformed back into a dragon form with four pairs of black wings, disappeared far into the sky.
Watching Bahamut's retreating figure that became a dot in an instant, Terakan collapsed in that spot with a vacant expression.
Hoshgar approached Terakan with a sorrowful expression.
"Terakan."
Terakan, who had lost his companion, couldn't come to his senses.
Temeter approached Terakan and handed over the two children she had been holding.
The twins squirmed as they burrowed into Terakan's arms.
Only then did Terakan slightly regain his senses and met the children's eyes.
Seeing this, Hoshgar summoned a chair with a snap of her fingers, sat down heavily as if tired, and spoke to Terakan.
"There's something Claudia told me right before giving birth. It's about her contract with the Demon Lord."
When the Demon Lord was mentioned, Terakan raised his head and looked at Hoshgar.
"Claudia made a contract with the Demon Lord?"
"Yes, it seems the Demon Lord himself appeared here when the demon race attacked."
She pointed to the child with brown eyes and said.
"Geo. This child won't be attacked by the demon race according to the contract between Claudia and the Demon Lord. However..."
Hoshgar pointed to the other child.
"Claudia, who didn't know she was carrying twins, only specified Geo as the protected subject in the contract with the Demon Lord. This means other demons could target the remaining child."
At those words, Terakan's eyes changed to dragon eyes.
"...No demon can touch the children of Claudia and me."
To Terakan's words, Hoshgar continued with a cold expression.
"Think rationally. I hope so too, but we can't be certain. The Demon King creates gaps and approaches in ways we never expected."
Just then, Temeter brought a glass of water and handed it to her.
Hoshgar drank the water, caught her breath, and continued speaking.
"And the problem is... what the Demon King was really targeting wasn't Claudia."
At those words, Terakan spoke while clenching his teeth.
"I know. That the Demon King's real goal is to devour my soul and take the power of the Immortal One."
Then Hoshgar shook her head.
"No, the Demon King wasn't targeting you."
Terakan looked at her with puzzled eyes, and Hoshgar pointed to the child in his arms.
"This child is what the Demon King was targeting. The child with unknown power that even Claudia couldn't detect with her own abilities."
Terakan's eyes wavered at Hoshgar's words.
"The Demon King is targeting this child?"
Hoshgar nodded at his words.
"Yes, based on the circumstances, that's the only conclusion. Claudia accepted the Demon King into her body to protect that child safely."
At Hoshgar's words, Terakan's hands holding the child trembled.
But the children, unaware of what was happening, just looked at him with their big eyes.
Terakan lowered his head and looked into the children's eyes.
One had mysterious blue eyes like Claudia, while the other had brown eyes like himself.
'Claudia...'
Until the very end, she sacrificed herself by resisting the Demon King's power to protect her children.
Terakan couldn't betray Claudia's will.
Terakan, who had been sitting on the floor, stood up.
He approached Temeter and handed over Geo, speaking in a low voice.
"Please take care of Geo, Temeter."
Temeter, polymorphed into a woman with innocent features, nodded at Terakan's words.
As Terakan tried to leave the room holding the other child, Hoshgar shouted.
"Terakan! Where are you going?! Didn't you hear me? Not just the Demon King, but the demon race will target that child!"
At her words, Terakan stopped briefly and turned his head.
He looked at Hoshgar with determined eyes and said.
"...I'm going somewhere that can keep the child safe."
"What? At this point, what place besides Troy is safe? The crumbling Seven Kingdoms? The arrogant Mage's Tower? Or perhaps the Absolute Sword Family Draker?"
At Hoshgar's words, Terakan shook his head.
"I'm going to find Chronos."
Hoshgar was speechless, not expecting Terakan to say he would seek out Chronos directly.
She knew how much Terakan had suffered from Chronos's prophecy of fate.
It was hard to believe that Terakan, who had refused to be involved with Chronos, would say he would seek her out directly, a sign of how desperate he was.
Terakan turned again and said.
"...It won't take long. Please take care of Troy until then."
With those words, Terakan left with the child.
Zeke, who dwelled in Terakan's body, felt something change as the surroundings suddenly rippled.
'What's this?'
The scene changed instantly, and a familiar figure appeared before Terakan.
"Chronos."
Terakan had come to the Clock Tower himself with the child to face Chronos.
Chronos, standing before the massive clock that had now stopped, looked at Terakan who had come to find her.
Her gaze was fixed on the child in Terakan's arms.
Then Terakan fell to his knees before her.
"Chronos, no, Great Dragon of Time. Please protect this child."
Terakan desperately pleaded before Chronos.
Chronos merely looked at Terakan without showing any emotion.
When Chronos gave no answer, Terakan raised his head and cried out.
"Dragon of Time! You must know what's happening outside the Clock Tower! Bahamut, consumed by the Demon King, is leading other corrupted dragons to destroy the Seven Kingdoms! They're trampling all races including humans, and above all, systematically exterminating the dragon race!"
The Clock Tower was not easily accessible.
Because of this, it took time for him to reach the Clock Tower, and many things happened in the physical world during that time.
The demon race, which had been almost cleaned up thanks to Hero Terakan Draker's efforts, began forming new legions under Evil Dragon Bahamut's command.
Evil Dragon Bahamut created a massive gate connecting the demon realm and the physical world, summoning demon beasts and monsters from there to destroy the Seven Kingdoms one by one.
As Hoshgar said, demons constantly targeted Terakan's child, and he had to cross through what could only be described as hell to protect the child.
After finally reaching the Clock Tower through numerous hardships, Terakan faced Chronos, but she only stared at him without saying a word.
Terakan cried out to Chronos once more.
"Say something! Even that cursed prophecy! Say something about fate!"
Finally, Chronos opened her mouth.
"Terakan. Do you remember what I told you before? That you would soon face a difficult decision."
When Terakan slowly nodded with a pained expression, Chronos glided toward him.
Then she slowly reached out her hand toward the child in his arms.
"The time for decision has come. If you want to protect this child safely... you must make a choice."
Terakan spoke to Chronos.
"I'll do anything if it means protecting the child."
Then Chronos slowly spoke.
"You must eliminate Bahamut with your own hands."
Terakan's eyes wavered at Chronos's words.
He had believed that if the Demon King's soul was sealed, the possessed Bahamut would return to normal.
But Chronos was telling Terakan that he must eliminate the being he loved most himself.
Terakan's lips trembled.
"...Is there no way for Bahamut to return?"
"Bahamut's sacrifice is necessary to escape the wheel of fate."
He wanted to escape from this fate that flowed from Chronos's lips.
But despite all his struggles, it led to this moment today.
Terakan looked at the child in his arms.
The child with piercingly blue eyes like Claudia was smiling brightly.
He turned his gaze to Chronos and calmly said.
"I'll do it. So please... protect the child safely."
Chronos nodded at Terakan's words.
Then she took the child from Terakan.
Looking at the child in her arms, she said.
"Terakan, this child is the only being with the possibility of breaking the wheel of fate."
At that moment, the giant clock behind her began to move.
WHOOSH!
Shortly after, the power of chaos dwelling in her body flowed into the child.
Then amazingly, the child's blue eyes began to change.
CRACKLE!
The blue eyes changed to pitch-black eyes, and Bahamut's power that had dwelled in the child's body was deeply sealed into the abyss.
Soon after, space began to crack with a thunderous sound behind her.
Seeing this, Terakan shouted in surprise.
"Chronos! What are you doing?!"
Just as he tried to rush toward Chronos, Terakan's body froze and couldn't move.
From within Terakan's body, Zeke watched as Chronos, holding the child, slowly approached the cracking space.
Soon, another space appeared from within that crack.
Zeke couldn't help but be surprised at the face of the person beyond that space.
'Mother?'
The person on the other side of the crack was none other than Laura Agamemnon.