A mysterious being he had never seen before spread its wings in front of him.
It gazed at Zeke with elegant, upturned eyes and shook its tail feathers of iridescent, beautiful colors.
Zeke looked at the mysterious being and thought of something.
'A chicken?'
In that instant, the mysterious being pecked Zeke's forehead hard.
"Ugh!"
Its beak was so hard that even Zeke, with his immortal power, thought his forehead might split open for a moment.
After he healed the wound on his forehead with his Healing Factor, Zeke sat up and looked at the mysterious being through his Dragon Eye.
―Divine Beast Info―
Description: A mysterious and beautiful rare phantom species
Unique Ability: Phoenix Cry
Special Notes: From ancient times, the phoenix has been called an auspicious omen.
Being near it brings good fortune.
'An auspicious omen that brings luck?'
Zeke set it down and watched the phoenix walk gracefully, flaunting its shimmering, multicolored feathers.
The phoenix spread its wings again and flew toward Zeke, landing on his shoulder.
Wooo!
It was a cry that seemed to blend five different tones in a strange harmony.
Zeke felt his mind ease as he listened to the phoenix's cry.
And at that moment, the dizzying, beautiful scenery that unfolded before his eyes gradually settled.
It still held a mystical aura, but it had transformed into the appearance of an ordinary forest and lake.
'Its unique ability is listed as Phoenix Cry, so there must be some power contained in
its call.'
At that moment, a statue-like, beautiful figure with water-blue hair emerged from the lake, wrapping lake water around its body like a dress.
Zeke realized this was the Fairy of the Lake upon seeing its appearance, reminiscent of Kaisir and Chronos.
The Fairy of the Lake glared at Zeke with mystical eyes and said,
『One who possesses immortal power is dangerous. Karma will not leave you be.』 Zeke realized the Fairy of the Lake would never revive the Sacred Relic for him.
'Damn, without reviving the Sacred Relic, I can't progress the quest further.' He pondered for a moment before he made a decision.
'Then I'll just call the one who made it.'
He wasn't sure if summoning the Fairy King would revive the Sacred Relic, but it seemed better than trying to persuade the Fairy of the Lake.
He pulled the Tears of the Fairy King from his inventory and immediately opened the bottle.
The Fairy of the Lake shuddered at the power emanating from the bottle.
『Y-You, that can't be...!』
A brilliant glow burst from the opened bottle. Suddenly, the Fairy of the Lake's body rippled.
[The Tears of the Fairy King activated.]
[You received a correction effect from the power of the Fairy Lake.]
[Communication with the Fairy Realm was now possible.] In an instant, light flashed in the Fairy of the Lake's eyes.
Zeke felt an overwhelming presence from the Fairy of the Lake, incomparable to before.
A message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[The Fairy King gazed upon the immortal.]
Zeke felt a pressure from the Fairy King possessing the Fairy of the Lake that made his knees buckle.
He barely opened his mouth toward the possessed Fairy King.
"Fairy King, please revive the Sacred Relic."
At Zeke's words, a radiant light emanated from the Fairy of the Lake's eyes.
[The Fairy King said the immortal's power was too great, and possessing a Sacred Relic risked disrupting the phenomenal world.]
"The demon king's army is attempting to revive. Without the Sacred Relic, how can I stop them?"
[The Fairy King pondered the immortal's words.]
[The Hero King expressed his will.]
'Hero King? Master Kaisir?'
[The Hero King said this immortal was foolish and dim-witted but would not misuse the power of the Sacred Relic.]
Zeke felt as if he could hear Kaisir's voice in his ear as the messages appeared.
[The Fairy King pondered after hearing the Hero King.]
[The Hero King scolded the Fairy King for just pondering forever.]
[The Fairy King told the Hero King to stay quiet.]
Zeke grew flustered as the messages kept appearing.
'Why are they fighting?' It was then.
The Fairy of the Lake, carrying the Fairy King's will, trembled violently, and urgent messages flooded in.
[The Fairy King had finished pondering and decided to restore the Sacred Relic.]
[The Hero King scolded the Fairy King, saying if that was the case, why not restore it sooner instead of now.]
Zeke sighed in relief at the messages.
'Good thing. I didn't expect the fairies to be this wary of an immortal's power... Probably because of Siemens Apollyon who summoned the demon king.' At that moment, Kaisir scolded Zeke through a message.
[The Hero King told the immortal to stop learning trivial skills and focus on mastering
Elemental Sword more diligently to spread his achievements to the world.]
'This guy hasn't changed even in the Fairy Realm.'
Zeke knew the power of Elemental Sword, but as a human, the mana consumption was too high and control too difficult for him to use it freely; it alone couldn't handle enemies.
Unaware of Zeke's circumstances, Kaisir continued his nagging through messages.
And then, the Fairy of the Lake's eyes shone, and that light flew toward the Sacred Relic Zeke had placed on the ground.
Woooong!
The Holy Grail, scabbard, and Mask of Agamemnon connected with each other, and the broken mask began to restore its original form.
Crack!
At that moment, the Emblem of the Sun attached to the mask's head fell off, revealing another pattern beneath it.
'That pattern...?'
A pattern of a snake biting its own tail.
Zeke felt like he had seen that pattern somewhere before.
And the instant he realized the source of the déjà vu, chills ran down his spine.
'The Siemens crest!'
The Siemens family crest depicted two serpents biting each other's tails.
Zeke couldn't understand why a pattern similar to the Siemens family crest was engraved on the Sacred Relic mask.
[The name of the ??? Mask had been confirmed.]
[The Mask of the Great Sage Atrahasis had been restored.]
The mask gleamed brilliantly and floated up alongside the other Sacred Relics.
Zeke finally understood the true nature of this mask.
'A mask made by the Great Sage. So the sage's name is Atrahasis.'
Even in the Hero King's tales, the Great Sage's name was never mentioned.
Everyone in the phenomenal world, including Zeke, knew him only as the 'Great Sage.' Another message appeared.
[The Fairy King advised the immortal not to be swallowed by the monster in the abyss.]
[The Hero King told the Fairy King to stop chattering and give the immortal another good item.]
[The Fairy King pondered the Hero King's words and decided to give the immortal
a gift.]
[You acquired a Special Random Box containing the Fairy King's gift.]
[You acquired a Special Random Box containing the Hero King's gift.]
Before Zeke could express his gratitude to the Hero King and Fairy King, the energy possessing the Fairy of the Lake vanished.
"Huh!"
The Fairy of the Lake, left with the lingering energy of the Fairy King, trembled and looked at Zeke.
『How could the Fairy King give the Sacred Relic to an immortal...』
Zeke quickly stored the Sacred Relics and random boxes in his inventory and said to the Fairy of the Lake,
"Hey, I'm done here, so show me the way out."
The lake water enveloping the Fairy of the Lake rippled fiercely.
The fairy trembled and manipulated the lake water to create a mirror-shaped portal.
It shouted at Zeke,
『Immortal, remember my words! Those who break the laws will surely pay the price...』
Zeke jumped into the portal without listening to the Fairy of the Lake.
The forest spirits watching laughed merrily.
The Fairy of the Lake splashed water once more, trembled, and returned to the lake. *
Woooong!
As Zeke emerged from the portal, water filled his vision.
'Hup!'
Grasping the situation, Zeke quickly activated Amphibious (Grade B), allowing him to breathe underwater.
Glancing beside him, the phoenix sat gracefully on his shoulder without issue breathing in the water.
'It looks like a pretty chicken, but it's a Divine Beast.'
As if reading Zeke's thoughts, the phoenix pecked his head with its beak again.
'Ow, you little—!'
Zeke blocked the phoenix's beak and swam upward.
"Phew!"
Looking around, he was surprisingly at the lakeside.
After swimming out of the lake, Zeke checked his map and confirmed he was near the Druid Village.
Zeke left the lakeside and entered the Druid Village.
As soon as he appeared, the villagers cheered.
"The knight has returned!"
It was a completely different attitude from their initial wariness.
The druids swarmed toward Zeke.
'What is this?'
The druids gathered around Zeke, extended their hands with palms facing him, closed their eyes, and bowed their heads.
Zeke watched their solemn actions quietly.
But when nothing else happened, Zeke slowly walked forward, and each druid he encountered took the same pose.
Thinking it was some druid ritual of respect, he continued to the plaza, where the village chief waited with his staff.
Upon meeting, the chief also bowed his head and showed his palm to Zeke.
The chief soon raised his head and said to Zeke,
"Thank you so much for saving the Mountain Lord."
His attitude was so polite it was hard to imagine the village chief who had cursed and beaten Michel earlier.
Zeke shook his head and said,
"It was only what I should have done as a knight."
It was Zeke's first model-knight-like statement in a long time.
The chief smiled warmly and pointed to the druids bowing to Zeke.
"This is a ritual expressing our gratitude by sharing the blessings we hold with you." It was then.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
From the village side, the Mountain Lord and Michel approached carrying large barrels.
The druids and Divine Beasts ran toward the Mountain Lord with smiles.
"The Mountain Lord's honey liquor!"
"It's a festival after so long!"
The Mountain Lord reached the plaza and set down several large barrels.
As the lids were opened, an unbelievably sweet aroma spread throughout the village.
Michel scooped a large cup of Honey Liquor and brought it to Zeke.
"Knight! Try it. The Mountain Lord's Honey Liquor is the best!" The druids all looked at Zeke.
Zeke accepted the cup from Michel without refusal.
A thick amber liquid was visible inside the cup.
The aroma was sweet, and the color beautiful.
Just as Zeke was about to drink, his clothes bulged, and the phoenix poked its head out, dunking its head into the cup.
Wooo!
The phoenix let out a mystical cry and drank all the Honey Liquor in the cup.
Then, delighted, it emerged fully, spread its iridescent feathers, and flew into the sky.
Wooo-oo-oo-oo!
The phoenix sang joyfully, soaring over the entire village.
The Mountain Lord, sitting to one side, looked up at the flying phoenix in surprise.
『Heh heh, a phoenix. What a rare Divine Beast to behold.』 At the Mountain Lord's words, the druids were astonished.
"A phoenix? That auspicious omen from legends?"
"My goodness, phoenixes really exist."
The druids' reactions were enthusiastic. Among them, Michel was so thrilled by the phoenix flying in the sky that she nearly fainted.
Zeke asked the Mountain Lord,
"I fell into the Fairy Lake, and the Spirit Beast's egg absorbed its power, resulting in this Divine Beast."
The Mountain Lord took a swig of Honey Liquor and looked intrigued.
『A Spirit Beast's egg is precious in itself. The Fairy Lake likely awakened the egg, but what Divine Beast hatched from it was determined by your power.』
"My power caused this phoenix to hatch?"
『It's said that a Spirit Beast's egg produces a Divine Beast matching the soul of its bearer. Zeke, this phoenix is essentially your soul's counterpart, so treat it dearly.』 Zeke looked displeased at the phoenix crying out drunkenly in excitement.
'No matter how I look at it, it's like a pretty chicken...'
As if sensing his thoughts, the phoenix swooped down from the air and pecked at him relentlessly with its beak.
The druids burst into unrestrained laughter for the first time in a while, watching the phoenix and Zeke.
Zeke mingled with the villagers and enjoyed the village feast with a relaxed mind.
After the feast ended and everyone had fallen asleep, Zeke covered the sleeping phoenix with his cloak and opened his inventory.
The three Sacred Relics lay before him.
Zeke looked at them, then with a resolute expression, infused power into the Sacred Relics. In that instant, a white light burst forth.