A massive bear with golden fur crouched beneath the tree.
"What a huge bear. Was this what a Divine Beast felt like...?" Zeke approached the bear slowly.
Grrr...
The crouched bear let out a dry, rasping breath.
Up close, it was far larger than it had appeared from a distance.
It felt like an entire hill sat there.
As Zeke and Michel drew near, the bear slowly opened its eyes.
Its gaze shifted back and forth between Zeke and Michel.
At that, Michel's face crumpled, and he rushed toward the bear.
"Uwaaaah! Mountain Lord!"
Michel buried his face in the Mountain Lord's fur and began to sob.
"Turushino. It's been a long time."
Michel lifted his tear-streaked face to look at the Mountain Lord.
"Uwaaaah. I'm so sorry, Mountain Lord. I was supposed to bring back the medicine no matter what... but I ended up doing something stupid again, just like always."
The Mountain Lord replied in a warm voice.
"Turushino, you are never stupid. You're just a bit slower than others. But sometimes, that slowness can be important."
It was a voice filled with boundless compassion and love.
Zeke felt like he understood what the Mountain Lord meant to Michel. "So that's why he had been trying to get the Elixir. To save this Divine Beast." The Mountain Lord turned its eyes toward Zeke.
"I sensed the power of a dragon after so long and wondered what was happening, but a bearer of rare power has come."
Zeke bowed his head toward the Mountain Lord and said,
"I come to pay my respects. My name is Zeke Draker. I have come here to reclaim the power of a Sacred Relic."
At the mention of the Sacred Relic, the Mountain Lord's eyelids trembled slightly.
"A Sacred Relic. Rare one, do you know this? The return of a Sacred Relic is an omen that this world will fall into chaos."
"Mountain Lord, the Phenomenal World is already descending into chaos. High-Rank Demonkind have revealed themselves, and groups seeking to overthrow the continent using this power have emerged."
The Mountain Lord drew in a deep breath at Zeke's words.
"You intend to stop them with the power of the Sacred Relic?"
Zeke's original goal had been to become the strongest on the continent.
In the process, he had become entangled with Abel, Siemens, the Empire, and various enmities, leading to this situation.
"If I just let things be, the continent would turn to ashes. Becoming the strongest in such a world would be meaningless anyway."
Zeke nodded toward the Mountain Lord.
"Yes, though it's turned out that way by circumstance... for now, that's the case." The Mountain Lord's eyes peered into Zeke's.
"Come closer and place your hand on my body."
Zeke approached as instructed and placed his hand on the Mountain Lord's golden fur.
The warm body heat of the Mountain Lord flowed through his palm.
The Mountain Lord's voice echoed in Zeke's mind.
"One who defies the laws. Yet in your heart lies an unyielding resolve and indomitable will that no one else can match. Such a pure and beautifully shining soul.
Truly astonishing."
Zeke was taken aback by the Mountain Lord's words.
"...I appreciate the compliment, but I can't quite agree that my soul is pure and beautiful."
"Stronger and more beautiful than any other. You are more than capable of guiding the Sacred Relic on the right path."
At those words, Zeke's face brightened as he asked,
"Then, can you open the way to the Fairy Lake?"
The Mountain Lord shook its head at Zeke's question.
"To open the path to the Fairy Lake, I must recover my divinity, but as you can see, I have lost nearly all my power."
The Divine Beast known as the Mountain Lord was in a state where it could barely hold itself up, remaining crouched.
, with his hand still on the Mountain Lord's body, asked the system.
"System, what was wrong with the Mountain Lord?"
The system searched for related information and soon displayed a message.
[Divine Beasts were beings connected to the domains they inhabited. The Mountain Lord's domain was linked to the Ogre Mountain Range, and it had suffered damage to its soul due to Demonic Energy invading this mountain range.]
"Had Demonic Energy invaded? How did I heal it?"
[Purify the Demonic Energy and restore the Divine Beast's divinity.]
The Agamemnonʼs Mask, which held the power of Purification, was currently too low on durability to use.
Zeke pondered how to deal with the Demonic Energy permeating the Mountain Lord's body.
After much thought, he first spoke to Michel, who was clinging to the Mountain Lord's body.
"Michel, I'm going to treat the Mountain Lord. Step back."
At Zeke's words, Michel wiped his tears and immediately retreated.
"P-Please, save our Mountain Lord!"
Zeke steadied his breathing and first examined the Mountain Lord's body.
Woooong!
An Area Buff activated, enveloping the Mountain Lord with the healing factor.
A halo of light settled into the Mountain Lord's body, but its rasping breaths showed no improvement.
"The Demonic Energy had penetrated deep inside."
said to the Mountain Lord,
"Mountain Lord, I'm going to burn away the Demonic Energy lodged in your body. It might hurt, but please endure it."
"You suffer on my account."
With permission granted, Zeke immediately summoned the Sacred Flame Technique.
While the healing factor was active on the Mountain Lord, Zeke channeled the Sacred Flame Technique into its body.
Whoosh!
It wasn't as effective as the Purification skill, but the Sacred Flame Technique still had the power to incinerate Demonic Energy.
The Sacred Flame Technique roamed through the Mountain Lord's body, burning away the Demonic Energy.
Sizzle...
At some point, black smoke began to escape from the Mountain Lord's mouth and nose.
The Mountain Lord's body trembled from the pain of the internal burning.
Sweat beaded on Zeke's forehead as well.
"The Demonic Energy had hardened completely and embedded itself throughout the body."
The Sacred Flame Technique could only burn away a tiny portion.
It had solidified so rigidly, fusing with the Mountain Lord's body, that continuing would risk harming the Mountain Lord itself.
"Ugh!"
The Mountain Lord writhed in agony.
gritted his teeth.
"This wouldn't work. I needed the Purification skill." He carefully pulled out the Agamemnonʼs Mask.
With only 20% durability left, it could shatter if he wasn't careful.
"I would end this as quickly as possible." Zeke steadied his breath and donned the mask.
Woooong!
A golden aura rose from Zeke's body.
Using the Purification skill after so long felt like wielding a long-lost weapon.
The power of Purification seeped into the Mountain Lord's body.
Tssst...
As the golden aura touched it, the hardened Demonic Energy shattered into pieces.
Unlike the Sacred Flame Technique, the Purification power gently eradicated only the Demonic Energy without straining the Mountain Lord's body.
Sizzzzzle...
Thicker black smoke than before poured out of the Mountain Lord's body.
The Mountain Lord's pained expression softened compared to when the Sacred Flame Technique had been used.
Then, a warning message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[The durability of Agamemnonʼs Mask had fallen to 15% or below.]
[Continuing to use the Purification skill would reduce durability further.]
[If durability reached 0%, recovery would be impossible.]
Zeke clenched his teeth and tried to remove the Demonic Energy embedded in the Mountain Lord's body as quickly as possible.
"Faster, even faster!"
Woooong!
The Purification power swiftly eradicated the Demonic Energy in the Mountain Lord's body, but the problem came next.
The Demonic Energy had hardened and adhered to the entirety of its lungs.
Even fully concentrating the Purification power yielded no movement.
As the Agamemnonʼs Mask's durability steadily decreased, Zeke grew anxious.
Crack!
Before he knew it, visible cracks had formed on the mask.
Pushing further could shatter it completely.
As Zeke reduced the output of the Purification power in worry, the Demonic Energy in the lungs began to writhe and extend once more.
It then slowly crept back over the areas Zeke had treated.
"Damn it."
[The durability of Agamemnonʼs Mask had fallen to 10% or below.]
[Continuing to use the Purification skill would reduce durability further.]
[If durability reached 0%, recovery would be impossible.]
As the Purification power weakened, the Mountain Lord looked at Zeke and said,
"You need not push yourself too hard. This is my fate as well."
At those words, Zeke ground his teeth.
"If this continued, the path to the Fairy Lake would remain sealed anyway."
Without the Divine Beast's power, he couldn't reach the Fairy Lake, and thus couldn't restore the Agamemnonʼs Mask.
Zeke resolved to draw out the remaining Purification power to the maximum and eradicate the Demonic Energy in the Mountain Lord's body in one go.
Woooong!
Zeke focused his power.
[The Purification function combined with the Immortal's talent, evolving into 'Great Purification.']
['Great Purification' linked with the user's Area Buff skill.]
Zeke concentrated the Great Purification skill on the Mountain Lord's body.
Woooong!
A brilliant golden aura seeped into the Mountain Lord's body.
A message appeared before Zeke's eyes, showing the mask's durability dropping rapidly.
"Eek!"
The Demonic Energy embedded in the Mountain Lord's body was nearly eradicated by the Great Purification's power.
Then it happened.
Crunch!
The root of the Demonic Energy, lodged deepest in the Mountain Lord's lungs, writhed.
Zeke focused the Great Purification power on the root.
But even the Great Purification couldn't disperse the Demonic Energy's root.
"Why wasn't even Great Purification working?"
Zeke tried to incinerate the root with the Sacred Flame Technique as well.
But the more he did, the more the Demonic Energy seemed to cling fiercely.
Grrrrraaah!
The Mountain Lord writhed in agony, letting out a long howl.
At that moment, a durability alert for the mask appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[The durability of Agamemnonʼs Mask had fallen to 2% or below.]
[The durability of Agamemnonʼs Mask had fallen to 1% or below.]
"Ah, no!"
The golden aura was gradually diminishing.
Crunch!
The Demonic Energy seized the opportunity, rampaging through the Mountain Lord's body with renewed ferocity.
The Great Purification power was being overwhelmed by the Demonic Energy. [The durability of Agamemnonʼs Mask had fallen to 0% or below.] Crack crack!
Finally, the Agamemnonʼs Mask began to shatter. The Demonic Energy surged within the Mountain Lord's body, shaking Zeke.
Zeke stared at the fading golden aura in despair.
Then it happened.
[Authority "Fortune" activated.]
The Elixir he had placed in his pocket earlier spilled out due to the shock, pouring onto the Sacred Relic of the Sea God that was with it.
From the Sacred Relic of the Sea God where the Elixir fell, a prismatic glow surged upward.
[The Elixir reacted with the Sacred Relic of the Sea God.]
[The Sacred Relic of the Sea God "Divine Dragonʼs Yeouiju" unlocked its power.]
["Divine Dragonʼs Yeouiju" linked with the Authority "Rewind."]
"What?"
In an instant, time stopped for everything except Zeke.
Chronosʼs Clock appeared before his eyes.
[Authority "Rewind" activated.]
As the clock hands turned backward, Zeke's time rewound.
At the same time, the shattering Agamemnonʼs Mask reassembled and settled back on Zeke's face.
Zeke was startled to see the Agamemnonʼs Mask restored to its original state.
"So Rewind had this kind of power?"
["Divine Dragonʼs Yeouiju's" power activated the Authority "Rewind" without penalty.] The halted time resumed as before.
[The durability of Agamemnonʼs Mask had fallen to 20% or below.] The mask's durability had returned to 20%.
Zeke immediately summoned the Great Purification power.
Woooong!
The golden aura enveloped the Mountain Lord's body once more.
The root of the Demonic Energy embedded within writhed, trying to spew energy in all directions.
Zeke focused the Great Purification power on the root.
Woooong!
The Great Purification power surrounded the root from all sides, holding it in place so it couldn't escape.
The Demonic Energy's root thrashed as if screaming.
At the same time, the Purification power eradicated the root, exploding outward.
Wooong wooong wooong!
A golden ring spread from the Mountain Lord's body, extending across the entire domain.
The golden aura transcended the Mountain Lord's domain, enveloping the druid village and the whole Ogre Mountain Range.
Tssst...
Soon, all the black smoke fully escaped from the Mountain Lord's body. Its pained breathing gradually stabilized.
Zeke, utterly exhausted, checked the message before his eyes.
[The durability of Agamemnonʼs Mask had fallen to 1% or below.]
He had succeeded in the Purification just before the mask shattered.
Unbeknownst to himself, Zeke's eyes slowly closed, and his consciousness faded.