695
Chapter 695
RUMBLE!
Zeke quickly descended toward the obelisk as he watched the massive explosion of light filling the sky.
The obelisk, seen up close, was far more enormous than what he had estimated from a distance.
As he approached the obelisk, Zeke tried to pinpoint Terakan Draker's location to head straight there.
However, perhaps due to Ajitahaka's power, Terakan Draker's position was no longer marked on the system map.
'First, I need to find the entrance.'
Zeke decided to search for the entrance through his system first.
Soon, the structure of the obelisk unfolded before his eyes.
The system analyzed the entire building and located the entrance.
After determining that the obelisk and the entire city of Eden were oriented toward the direction of the rising sun, the system discovered the entrance.
"Bucephalus, let's go that way."
Zeke rode Bucephalus toward the entrance as indicated by the system.
Upon reaching the entrance in the middle of the obelisk, he noticed black stains spread across the building's surface.
After pausing to examine them, Zeke realized these stains were caused by the demonic energy emanating from the Demon King's soul.
'The seal is weakening progressively.'
With solemn eyes, he dismounted Bucephalus, unsummoned it, and entered the obelisk.
Inside the massive entrance, the black stains were even more severely spread.
The areas free of stains resembled the structure and style of the Carcosa pyramid he had seen before.
Zeke proceeded deeper while observing the patterns and relief murals engraved on the walls.
Following the structural map of the obelisk analyzed by System Laura, he headed toward the deepest part when he sensed an ominous presence ahead.
GROWL!
Soon he saw demonic creatures emanating demonic energy approaching him.
These creatures generally had the form of Nephilim, but couldn't truly be called Nephilim.
They seemed transformed into something completely different, marinated in demonic energy.
They had massive horns on their heads, terrible skin with acidic bodily fluids flowing, no visible eyes, and noticeable sharp teeth and claws.
Zeke could sense an aura similar to the ‘Four Fiends’ he had faced in the past.
'Are these ancient beings corrupted by demonic energy?'
GROWL!
The corrupted Nephilim approached Zeke, baring their sharp teeth.
Zeke summoned Ascalon and Leviathan and observed their movements.
He planned to handle them as quietly as possible to avoid attracting others with a commotion.
When Zeke remained still, the corrupted Nephilim, perhaps thinking he was paralyzed by their demonic energy, raised their claws and charged quickly.
GAAAK!
As they rushed toward Zeke, black shadow blades erupted from the floor.
SLASH!
The shadow blades cleanly severed the neck of the leading corrupted Nephilim.
The severed Nephilim head dropped to the floor with a thud.
The corrupted Nephilim disappeared into the black shadow swamp Zeke had laid out.
Zeke smiled with satisfaction seeing the karma points granted by the corrupted Nephilim.
'Not bad.'
The other Nephilim behind, not realizing what had just happened, continued charging toward Zeke.
Again, black shadows extended from Zeke's body, forming black blades.
SWOOSH!
Black blades emerging from the walls, floor, and ceiling slaughtered the corrupted Nephilim silently.
They were absorbed into Zeke's shadow without even knowing what had happened to them.
After dealing with the group of corrupted Nephilim, Zeke advanced deeper.
The deeper he went into the obelisk, the more concentrated the demonic energy became.
At some point, the normal atmosphere disappeared, completely replaced by demonic energy.
'This place is worse than the demon realm.'
As Zeke, descending while protecting himself from the demonic energy with his shadow, was clicking his tongue internally, a new space appeared before him.
It was a massive cavity with an altar prepared for a ritual.
Zeke carefully descended toward the cavity.
Unlike the corridors filled with thick demonic energy, the cavity seemed devoid of demonic energy.
Zeke, deactivating his shadow, examined the surroundings of the cavity.
But then, the seemingly empty cavity began to vibrate, and powerful magical energy started rippling from the floor.
TSSS!
Soon, strange patterns emerged from the floor, and Nephilim were summoned, revealing themselves.
Unlike those seen earlier, these Nephilim appeared intact, similar to those encountered outside. However, unlike the Nephilim encountered in the air, these wore thicker heavy armor and carried shields and swords.
Hundreds of these fully armed Nephilim knights were summoned in the cavity, emanating a terrifying presence toward Zeke.
Zeke could sense that each one possessed power comparable to a Black Knight.
"Whew. Alright. Let's do this."
He had to eliminate them to get past and catch up with Arthur Draker.
As if understanding his words, the Nephilim knights raised their swords and let out strange, incomprehensible battle cries.
Then they charged toward Zeke simultaneously.
Zeke likewise launched Leviathan and Ascalon toward them.
CRACKLE!
BOOM!
Lightning of light imbued with the power of the Holy Spirit Weapon and shockwaves imbued with the power of the Dark Soul Weapon poured toward the Nephilim knights.
They raised their shields to block, and condensed energy surged from the shields, trying to protect the knights.
That's when Zeke gripped Gram and unleashed his Soul Technique.
WHOOSH!
The Soul Technique Zeke unleashed, Will of Shattering, flew toward the Nephilim knights.
The energy flowing from the shields was nullified by the Will of Shattering, and the lightning and shockwaves struck them directly without interference.
BOOM! BOOM!
But as knights fell to Zeke's lightning, other knights filled their places and charged toward him again.
Zeke raised Gram and swung his sword at the charging knights.
The strikes of the Infinite Sword Technique tore through the knights' solid armor like paper.
TSSS! TSSS! TSSS!
Knights whose bodies were sliced by Zeke's sword were absorbed into the shadows and disappeared.
The hundreds of Nephilim knights filling the cavity rapidly diminished.
At this rate, it seemed he could break through them soon.
At that moment, a massive summoning array appeared near the altar in the cavity.
WHOOSH!
A knight larger than the ordinary Nephilim knights emerged from the summoning array.
Though wearing solid armor like the other Nephilim, its size made the sword it held and the aura it emanated seem formidable.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
As the Nephilim knight with the greatsword approached Zeke, the other knights stepped aside.
Zeke calmly assessed the situation, gripping Gram and targeting the newly appeared knight.
Facing each other, the Nephilim knight with the greatsword charged toward Zeke first.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Though it was a simple motion of raising the sword, the knight accelerated without preparation at a speed almost invisible to the eye.
Instantly charging to Zeke's front, the Nephilim knight brought the greatsword down from above.
CRASH!
The spot where the greatsword struck was deeply gouged and exploded violently.
RUMBLE!
Though dust clouds rose and obscured vision, the Nephilim knight calmly raised the greatsword again and took a defensive stance.
Then Zeke appeared from behind and swung his sword at the knight.
CRASH!
Zeke's Gram and the knight's greatsword collided with a powerful explosive sound.
The Nephilim knight retreated, quickly regained balance, and charged at Zeke again, swinging the greatsword.
Though the sword was taller than an adult, the Nephilim knight wielded it freely, pressuring Zeke.
Zeke secretly admired the skill of the Nephilim knight pressuring him with orthodox swordsmanship.
But the knight was merely a trace of a fragment from a vanished time.
Though surely a renowned knight in the primordial city of Eden, now it was nothing more than an obstacle hindering Zeke.
Zeke concentrated power into Gram as it clashed with the Nephilim knight's sword.
WHOOSH!
The four powers of the Elemental Sword activated simultaneously.
Flames engulfed the Nephilim knight's body, wind pushed it back, and powerful gravity pressed down.
RUMBLE!
Simultaneously, Zeke's sword wrapped around the Nephilim knight's sword like a surging wave and deflected it.
CRASH!
As the Nephilim knight retreated, Soul Technique energy surged from Zeke's sword.
Taking a step forward, he triggered Double Spell, Will of Destruction.
"HAAAH!"
The destructive energy from Zeke's sword combined with the Elemental Sword's power and pierced through the Nephilim knight's spiritual body.
BOOM! BOOM!
Cracks formed across the Nephilim knight's armor, and though it stood firm gripping its sword, it eventually couldn't withstand the power and scattered into dust.
RUMBLE!
As the knight with the greatsword vanished, Zeke concentrated power into Leviathan and Ascalon floating in the air.
Immediately, lightning and shockwaves spread throughout the cavity, sweeping away the remaining Nephilim knights.
The surroundings were now filled with ashes left by the vanished spiritual bodies.
From the ashes, Zeke walked toward the altar of the cavern.
He approached the altar and reached out his hand toward the strange wave that could be felt there.
CRACKLE!
A strong plasma current sparked as the wave rejected Zeke.
But Zeke concentrated his power more strongly and twisted open the wave.
CRACKLE!
As plasma currents swirled, space tore open above the altar.
Zeke carefully inserted his body into that space.
Then a completely different landscape from the cavern unfolded.
A twisted black earth and black sky spread out.
CRACKLE!
Purple electrical storms raged in the sky, and it was literally a land of death where not a trace of life energy could be found no matter how hard one looked.
On that land, a single temple with an ominous atmosphere sat alone.
Zeke felt an indescribably ominous magical energy from that temple.
At that moment, a voice echoed in Zeke's ears.
[Come here. Chosen one.]
He could feel the whisper made of will rather than exact words being transmitted directly to his soul.
It was the Demon King's whisper that had echoed in Zeke's soul before.
Zeke sensed that he had almost reached the place where the Demon King's soul was sealed.
He approached the temple where the Demon King was likely sealed.
The temple door was already wide open, and dense magical energy was spreading from inside like fog.
This magical energy flowed from the sealed tower affecting not only the abandoned continent but also reaching the central continent across the Dark Sea.
Zeke raised shadows to protect himself from the magical energy and entered the temple.
Expecting magical beasts influenced by the Demon King's energy, Zeke scanned his surroundings on alert. But Zeke's expectations were wrong.
Only traces of bones and molted skins of what were presumably magical beasts were scattered throughout the temple, with nothing alive and moving to be found.
The magical energy flowing from the Demon King's soul seemed too strong for any magical beast to properly absorb it.
As he went deeper into the temple, the magical energy grew thicker, and it felt like falling into complete darkness without a single point of light.
Zeke remembered having wandered through such darkness before.
Therefore, he could move forward calmly, finding his way without panic.
As Zeke walked through the darkness, a door suddenly appeared before him.
On that door was a pattern symbolizing the primordial light.
Zeke slowly opened the temple door.
RUMBLE!
The temple door opened without resistance.
Beyond it appeared a new landscape, not endless darkness.
A pedestal built with black bricks, and behind it a massive headless statue entered Zeke's view.
And, someone was sitting on the black throne placed on the pedestal.
Zeke identified who was sitting on the throne and stared at him intently.
"Welcome, Zeke."
Arthur Draker was looking down at Zeke with his own body, not Rivein's.