A faint pattern etched itself onto the Ring of Solomon.
'Part of the Harbinger of Blood and Madness has been sealed?ʼ
It seemed that in trying to wield direct power against Zeke, the very source of the Constellation had flowed into him instead.
The wizard recoiled in confusion as the power of the Constellation vanished from his staff.
Zeke seized the opening, gripped Roland tightly, and channeled even more power of purification into it.
Woooong!
The golden aura that enveloped Roland blazed more fiercely and extended outward in all directions.
Deprived of the Harbinger of Blood and Madness's power, the staff was now nothing more than an ordinary wooden rod.
Crack!
The staff clutched by the black-masked figure shattered under Zeke's force, unable to withstand it.
"Anomaly detected. Anomaly detected."
A repetitive voice emanated from the wizard.
Ignoring it, Zeke drove the Blade of Purification into his body.
Tsss—
The golden aura seeped into the wizard's form, and soon black smoke began to pour from him.
Zeke reached out and removed the wizard's mask.
Crack!
But the face hidden behind the mask was nothing like Zeke had expected.
'Not human?ʼ
The visage beneath the black mask was not that of an ordinary human but a mechanical assembly of magic drive plates and clockwork gears.
At its center sat a crystal orb that swirled with blood-crimson energy.
A voice emanated from the mechanical contraption.
"Target, target, exterminate, exterminate...."
Moments later, the light faded from the blood-crimson crystal orb, and the thing masquerading as a wizard slumped limply.
At the same time, the dimensional rift sealed shut, cutting off the black smoke laced with demonic energy that had been seeping from it, and it dispersed into nothing.
The black knights, who had been endlessly reviving, could no longer draw on the power of demonic energy.
The barbarians behind the barrier, grinding their teeth in frustration, assessed the situation and stepped forward with grins.
"Kraaaargh!"
Roaring their battle cries, the barbarians charged and hammered their fists into the black knights.
Crunch!
The black knights flew back in their armor, slamming into the barrier.
Without demonic energy to restore their strength, they could no longer wield their black auras.
As if they had been waiting for this moment, the eight barbarians overwhelmed and battered dozens of black knights.
Richmond and Bane, who had been watching the situation, entered the barrier and joined the assault on the black knights.
Soon, most of the black knights were subdued, and as Zeke deactivated Defense Mode, the guardians vanished.
[Defense Mode level increased.]
[Some Defense Mode functions unlocked.]
[Fortress-scale defense settings became available.]
Having fought two battles in Defense Mode, the configurable range had expanded to fortress scale.
'Fortress scale, huh. Iʼll have to check it out when I have time.ʼ Just then, Richmond and Bane approached Zeke.
"Master!"
Zeke showed Richmond the blood-crimson gem embedded in the golem's head.
"Richmond, do you know what this is?"
Examining it at Zeke's question, Richmond replied in surprise.
"This is a blood tear stone, sir. And this one... it looks like a natural one, not artificial.
Wow, these are incredibly hard to come by."
"A natural blood tear stone...."
Zeke pondered for a moment, then ordered the black-masked golem and the black knights to be captured and moved inside the autonomous district.
"Arenʼt you coming with us, Master?"
"I have something to take care of." Zekeʼs eyes gleamed.
*
In a tent away from the battlefield, Williamʼs hand trembled as he watched the situation through a crystal orb.
'No, it canʼt be. Nightgon defeated?ʼ
The Narak wizard beside him wore an expression of utter disbelief.
"The great Harbinger of Blood and Madness personally descended his power into what was essentially an avatar... How could a mere human...!"
Nightgon was the pinnacle of collaboration between the Siemens family and Narak.
Since no living being on the surface could directly receive the Harbinger of Blood and Madness's power, he had taught them how to imbue it into inanimate objects.
After numerous trials and errors, they created tokens infused with his power, allowing a golem modeled after his form to manifest a portion of that authority.
They had secretly brought it out of the ghetto to test its performance, never imagining it would be destroyed by Zekeʼs hand here.
Even the cool-headed William felt his head spin in this situation.
'No, this isnʼt the time. I need to get out of here fast.ʼ
Pulling himself together, he called for Rahim.
"Rahim! We need to escape this place now!"
But scanning the surroundings, he couldnʼt spot Rahim anywhere, leaving William in panic.
"W-Where did that bastard go...?"
Rahim, with his spatial teleportation ability, was essential for a swift escape.
Calling for him again and searching, still no sign of Rahim.
That was when it happened.
Boom boom boom!
An explosion rocked outside the tent.
Williamʼs face paled.
'Zeke Draker... It has to be him coming.ʼ He shouted at the wizard.
"Go out and stop him! Hurry!"
William sent the wizard out and hurriedly retreated to flee on a flying magical beast.
Boom boom boom!
Another massive explosion thundered.
William raced as fast as he could toward where the flying beasts were.
Mounting one of the wyvern-like magical beasts huddled against the cliff, he placed his hand on the control device and issued the command.
"Take off now! Hurry!"
As the beast spread its wings to lift off—
Slash—
A sword strike from behind severed the beastʼs wing.
Kieeeek—
The beast screeched in agony and tumbled to the ground.
William rolled across the dirt in the fall.
"Urk!"
He scrambled up quickly, aiming for another beast, but the massive carcass pinned him, preventing him from steadying himself.
As he lifted the beast and finally freed himself to stand— Someone stood before William.
"Z-Zeke Draker...."
Zeke Draker looked down at him with cold eyes.
"Long time no see, William. Didnʼt expect to run into you here." William clenched his teeth, his eyes darting frantically for any way out.
But Zeke gave him no opening.
Clink!
Chains shot from his left hand, binding Williamʼs body.
"Guh!"
Bound by the soul confinement technique, William thrashed but couldnʼt break free.
Grabbing William by the scruff, Zeke said,
"Youʼd better have a good explanation for why the heir of the Siemens family was here." He summoned Bucephalus, loaded William onto its back, mounted himself, and took to the air.
As Bucephalus ascended, Zeke drew Bahamut and unleashed the Chamber of Firepower, incinerating all the tents where William had been.
Whoosh!
Seeing the azure flame Zeke exhaled consume the tents, William stared in disbelief.
'Zeke Draker using magic? No, an artifact? But can a mere artifact produce that kind of power?ʼ
Zeke Draker was far more dangerous than he had anticipated.
Dragged like baggage, William ground his teeth.
'I was completely wrong. Zeke Draker has surpassed all my expectations. Heʼs... a monster beyond what I imagined.ʼ
By the time he realized it, it was too late.
Zeke flew toward the autonomous district with William in tow.
*
Zeke had confined William in an underground warehouse prepared separately at the behest of the spirit of white moonlight.
He then summoned Decker and Boris to the holding area.
Seeing William Siemens, heir to the Siemens family, bound in chains and crumpled like refuse in the warehouse, Decker and Boris gaped.
Boris recovered first and asked Zeke,
"Boss, what do you plan to do with William Siemens?"
Zeke looked at Boris and replied,
"What do you think?"
As Boris tensed, assuming it meant an interrogation like usual, Decker shook his head from behind.
"My lord, interrogating the heir of the Siemens family without cause could lead to complications. Wouldnʼt it be better to hand him over to the Draker Tribunal?" Zeke turned to Decker.
"Do you think handing him over would result in a verdict that William Siemens manipulated monsters and magical beasts to attack the ghetto?" Decker pondered Zekeʼs words, then shook his head.
"...Probably not." "Thatʼs why Iʼm troubled." Zeke glanced at William.
With his senses sealed by the soul confinement technique, William was currently blind and deaf.
Moreover, before Boris and Decker arrived, Zeke had already scanned Williamʼs memories using the dragonʼs senses and shadow domination.
He turned to Boris and Decker.
"I plan to use William as bait to draw out Abel." Deckerʼs eyes widened in surprise.
"You mean the Red Lion Sword? No... Is he here?" Zeke nodded.
"Yes, the ones behind this are Abel and the Empire. One of the imperial armyʼs corps commanders, Morgan Buffon, has already been dealt with by my hand."
Decker and even Boris were stunned by Zekeʼs revelation.
Boris calmed himself and grasped the implication.
"Since this is inside the ghetto, we can pass off Morgan Buffonʼs death as an attack by monsters."
"Exactly. That means we can do the same for William here—and for Abel Draker." Decker swallowed dryly at Zekeʼs words.
"My lord, you intend to eliminate Abel Draker here?"
"Abel is plotting a continental invasion with the Empireʼs backing. As youʼve seen, theyʼre even resorting to taboo methods like brainwashing monsters to lead the charge. Imagine if this happened in Atlas."
Deckerʼs mind conjured a horrific scenario.
His face darkened further.
Zeke addressed the grim-faced Decker and Boris.
"If we donʼt stop Abel here, heʼll strike at Sister Kali and become the Draker heir, wielding unchecked power. You donʼt want the Empire and Draker joining forces to plunge the entire central continent into the flames of war, do you?" Decker shook his head.
"Of course not. But...."
After all, Zeke and Abel were blood brothers.
Decker hoped Zeke wouldnʼt be caught in the tragedy of fratricide.
Understanding Deckerʼs concern, Zeke approached and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Decker, I know what youʼre worried about. But failing to stop him here means weʼll have almost no other chance."
The ghetto had become a sort of inviolable zone that no one could access.
Abel and the Empire had deliberately created it to seize the ghetto, but that very isolation presented a golden opportunity to strike them.
Zeke continued to Decker and Boris.
"Iʼll attack the imperial garrison to draw out Abel. Meanwhile, take the Black Sword Knight Order to the Alencia border region. Joining up with Sister Kaliʼs army there will secure your safety."
Hearing Zekeʼs resolute tone, Decker realized his mind was made up.
"Understood, my lord."
Boris, standing beside him, asked Zeke,
"What about William Siemens? Shall we dispose of him here?"
Since everything would be buried here anyway, killing William Siemens made sense.
But Zeke thought for a moment and shook his head.
"William has another use. Boris, prepare to attack the imperial garrison with Bisco."
"Understood."
After Decker and Boris left, Zeke summoned Richmond.
"You called, Master!"
"Richmond, with your abilities, how many monsters from the surroundings can you gather?"
"Hmm, right now, about three hundred. Of course, the time it takes will vary by distance."
"Can you also mobilize large monsters capable of siege?"
Richmond pondered, then replied,
"That would require preparing a ritual in advance. And weʼd need to decide which monster to control."
At that moment, Zeke pulled something from his inventory.
It was the horn and fang of the Balrog that had evolved into a dragon species, retrieved from the inverted tower earlier.
"Could you make an undead with this?"
Richmondʼs eyes widened as he took the horn and fang from Zeke.
"Huh, how did you get something like this...."
The genius necromancerʼs curiosity piqued, and drool practically formed as he examined it closely. He said to Zeke,
"It seems possible... but weʼd need one more material."
"What do you need?"
Richmond hesitated, then spoke.
"The natural blood tear stone we just found. With that, I can create a Draco Lich."