Chapter 72
Chapter 72
"Grandfather."
Zeke firmly held Rufus's remaining hand.
Rufus embraced Zeke.
"Finally, I get to hug you."
When they first met, Rufus had suppressed his emotions and couldn't properly hug Zeke for fear the curse might harm him.
The other Agamemnon elders approached and embraced Zeke together.
Being all large in stature, Zeke was soon buried among them.
However, since their eyes were full of affection for Zeke, he felt no discomfort.
Rufus finally ended his embrace with Zeke and said:
"This isn't the time. Let's quickly head to the castle. We must properly welcome our family's benefactor."
Another elder nearby shouted with joy.
"Finally, no more of that horrible herb soup!"
"That damn curse made us eat that stuff for 50 years, damnit."
Felix, who was behind them, sighed in relief hearing those words.
'So I wasn't the only one who thought that soup was strange.'
Thus, Zeke and Felix headed to the castle with the Agamemnon family elders.
The castle's atmosphere had completely changed.
The once narrow and old castle was now adorned with wide corridors and classical decorations.
Felix gaped at the castle.
"Ah, no. Master. H-how did the castle change overnight...?"
He never expected to witness the legendary situation where the castle regained its original beautiful form once the curse was lifted.
Unlike Felix who was admiring the castle in amazement, Zeke recalled the message window from earlier.
'It definitely said emergency defense mode was being deactivated.'
It seemed possible to use various functions through system integration, like the Dragon Slayer's Haven or Kaisir's Haven.
Zeke thought that his system's abilities might be related to the Elder Dragon artifact he had discovered before dying in his previous life.
'Could Cain's Hersion and this mask also be related to the Elder Dragon?'
Lost in various thoughts, Zeke arrived at where they had soup yesterday.
Like other parts of the castle, the dining room's atmosphere was completely different from yesterday.
Beautiful stained glass surrounded all the walls, and clear sunlight streaming through the windows gave the entire dining room a fresh feeling.
When Zeke, Felix, and the elders sat down, maids brought out the food.
"Young Master Zeke with black eyes! We've demonstrated our skills after 50 years for our family's savior."
Instead of a hunched elderly woman, a refined lady in neat maid attire spoke in an elegant voice.
Felix was surprised again.
"Is, is that the same person from yesterday?"
"Heek! Heek! Of course."
The head maid playfully replied as she began serving the food.
Their bodies had been deteriorating from magic corruption, but through Zeke's great purification power, the magic was purified and their bodies were restored to their original form.
This time, elegant noble cuisine filled the table abundantly instead of thick soup.
Looking at the food, Rufus said.
"When cursed, we couldn't see sunlight or even eat proper food. This made our condition worsen, our tongues stiffened, and we could barely speak properly."
The elders nodded in agreement with his words.
They were finally able to eat warm food after 50 years.
Following etiquette, Zeke focused on eating without speaking.
The elders also enjoyed the food that the head maid had prepared with care.
After finishing their meal, they decided to move to the garden for tea.
Sitting across from Rufus, Zeke took out the golden mask from his chest.
Rufus's face filled with emotion upon seeing the mask.
"The Golden Mask of Agamemnon. To think our family's symbol would return."
Zeke asked Rufus:
"Lord, could you explain what happened?"
Rufus nodded.
"Yes. You have every right to know our family's secret history."
He stroked the golden mask and said:
"Fifty years ago, a great plague struck Mycenae."
"This is the first I've heard of a plague from 50 years ago."
Rufus nodded.
"That's expected. Our family used every means possible to prevent the plague from spreading beyond Mycenae. I was just a young man who had come of age then."
Rufus stared into space, recalling the past.
Then he continued.
“The elders of the family tried to isolate those infected with the plague and bring the uninfected into the castle to enforce strict quarantine measures. However, the plague spread so quickly that it was impossible to contain.”
"Do you remember what kind of disease it was?"
Rufus nodded.
"It was a terrible disease. Those infected suffered from high fever and red spots appeared on their faces. Most coughed up blood and died within three days."
Zeke was surprised by Rufus's words.
'Could this plague possibly be the Hong-hwa disease?'
Although the time until death varied, the symptoms were very similar to the Hong-hwa disease that was spreading in the Allensia border region.
In his previous life, this Hong-hwa disease spread and the nations of the central continent had to pay a heavy price.
Fortunately, a cure was developed and the disease could be stopped before it spread further, but if that hadn't happened, something terrible would have occurred.
Rufus slowly continued speaking.
"But the problem wasn't the plague. When the sun set, terrible things happened."
"What do you mean by that?"
Rufus's hands trembled slightly.
"At night, those who died from the plague would rise and begin attacking the living."
Zeke's expression hardened as he heard this unbelievable story.
"Are you saying they became zombies?"
"They were somehow different from the zombies that dark magicians control. When the risen dead bit the living, that person would also rise and attack the living."
"So it's infectious. Just like a plague."
"Yes. We could only explain it as a curse that had fallen on Mycenae. During the day, people died from the disease, and at night, the dead would rise and attack the living."
The scene Rufus described was truly horrifying.
"So what happened then?"
"We completely isolated Mycenae city from the outside, fortified the castle, and waited with the living for the plague to pass. But the number of dead only continued to increase."
Rufus's voice trembled faintly.
Then, touching his golden mask, he said.
"Zeke, this mask is a sacred artifact that has been passed down in our family for generations. From the ancestor of the ancestor of Agamemnon's ancestor. It has been passed down from our most ancient ancestor."
"Do you know who made this mask?"
Rufus shook his head.
"That information wasn't passed down. Most records from before the Golden Age have disappeared."
Zeke was disappointed by Rufus's answer.
He had hoped he might find a clue about the Orichalcon Hersion.
Rufus continued his story.
"This castle and the golden mask has symbolized House Agamemnon for generations. Perhaps because of its sacred power, even the dead couldn't enter this place. But there was a limit to how long we could hold out in the castle. Eventually, my aunt, who was the head of the family at the time, made a decision."
"What kind of decision?"
Rufus swallowed and answered.
"It was to sink the dead in the sacred lake to purify their unholy energy. The family head and the elders of the family at the time volunteered to be the bait."
"So that picture you showed earlier was about that."
"Yes. Through the sacrifice of the family head and the elders, we succeeded in luring the dead into the lake. But a problem arose."
Zeke had some idea of what it might be.
"The unholy energy of the dead tainted even the sacred lake."
Rufus nodded.
"You're right. The sacred lake changed into a swamp, and even the lake's guardian spirit was transformed into a monster by the unholy power."
Zeke could now understand why Nahuel, who had been a spirit beast, had transformed into a monster.
Rufus spoke with tears in his eyes.
"So the family head, holding the golden mask containing sacred power, jumped into the unholy lake herself. To purify the unholy power, no matter how long it took."
Zeke recalled the golden mask glowing at the bottom of the lake.
'So they used the mask's purification skill. To purify the magical energy.'
Even after death, Agamemnon's family head had been activating the sacred artifact's power for 50 years, continuously purifying the lake's magical energy.
However, that magical energy was so strong that it overcame the speed of purification and even eroded the surrounding territory.
If Zeke hadn't come, the House of Agamemnon might have been completely eroded by the magical energy and become a land of death where no one could live.
Zeke looked at Rufus and said.
"So spreading rumors about the curse was to protect the citizens."
Rufus nodded.
"Yes. It was a measure we took in case any remnants of the plague remained."
"And the curse that kills children must have also been due to the unholy power."
"That must be right. If even our trained bodies were being destroyed by this power, fragile children wouldn't have been able to withstand it."
This was the moment when the true nature of the curse that had fallen on the House of Agamemnon was revealed.
House Agamemnon deserved respect for their noble sacrifice, taking on the stigma of a curse not for their family but for the territory's people and countless others across the continent.
Zeke was relieved that this was his maternal family.
He bowed his head to Rufus with sincere feeling.
"I express my respect and reverence for the honorable sacrifice of House Agamemnon."
At Zeke's sincere greeting, not only Rufus but also the other elders looked at him with pleased expressions.
Rufus looked at Zeke and said,
"The more I look at you, the more you resemble your mother."
Zeke raised his head, looked at Rufus, and asked,
"Grandfather, I want to hear about my mother."
At that, Rufus's expression hardened.
"Didn't Arthur tell you about your mother?"
Zeke nodded his head.
"I don't even know my mother's name. Everyone at Draker avoided talking about my mother."
At those words, Rufus clenched his fist and trembled.
With an anger-filled face, he shouted,
"That bastard Arthur. I should have stopped Laura from marrying him!"
'Laura Agamemnon.'
For the first time, Zeke learned his mother's name.
He asked Rufus,
"I heard once that House Agamemnon was the strongest blood ally of the Drakers, more powerful than any other family."
Then Rufus snorted.
"Blood ally of the Drakers! Ha, Zeke. Originally, the House of Draker was merely an allied house to our Agamemnons."
"Not a blood ally, but just an alliance?"
"During the Holy Empire era, the House of Draker was just a rural knight family wielding power in some corner of the western continent. Their advancement into the central continent along with the Dragon Slayer legend would have been impossible without the help of House Agamemnon, who was the central continent's ruler and carried the tradition since the Holy Empire era."
Rufus's explanation continued.
"Midland too was originally a city alliance centered around Mycenae after the fall of the Holy Empire. But the Drakers took advantage of Mycenae's collapse due to plague, swallowing up Mycenae's blood-allied houses and growing larger."
There was no sense of lies or exaggeration in Rufus's voice.
To Zeke, who knew well the political nature of House Draker despite their pretense of being just a house of knights who only knew the sword, Rufus's words felt more credible.
'That's just like those Draker bastards.'
Zeke asked Rufus,
"My mother must have known all about these ways of House Draker, so why did she marry Arthur Draker and give birth to me?"
Then Rufus heaved a deep sigh.
"Laura was my daughter, but she was a truly unpredictable child. When children kept dying in our family due to the corrupted power, both I and my now-deceased wife had given up. But then, miraculously, Laura was born."
"That's amazing. The fact that only mother was born and grew up unaffected by the corrupted power."
Rufus nodded his head and said,
"There was a reason for that."
He lowered his voice and said,
"Zeke, your mother was of the Healer class."