Daria could sense that Abel's declaration of intent to kill her was no bluff.
"Is this the power of a black knight?"
Daria had personally encountered one of the Empire's black knights before.
Duke Crevan de Panion, the Bright King, who was counted among the five strongest knights on the continent alongside Draker's Sword King Bernas.
He was the only one in the Rom Empire permitted to carry a sword even in the emperor's presence.
The sensation she felt from Abel was similar to what she had experienced standing before the duke.
If the duke's aura felt like a finely honed blade, Abel was like a savage beast forcibly restrained by chains.
Looking at the unmoving Daria, Abel spoke.
"Good. Now it seems we can talk."
He stroked the hilt of his Red Dragon Sword as he continued.
"The one who killed Morgan Buffon and unleashed those monsters to attack the Imperial
Army was none other than Zeke Draker."
Daria's eyebrows twitched at the sudden mention of Zeke's name from Abel's lips.
As Abel gradually released his pressure, Daria finally managed to open her mouth.
"...Zeke Draker, the curse-healer knight and direct descendant of Draker?"
"That's right. My proud little brother. He's the one manipulating the monsters and spreading red flower disease among the Zoin tribe to seize the ghetto region." Daria's body trembled faintly at Abel's words.
Deep down, she had harbored suspicions that the perpetrator of those atrocities might actually be Morgan Buffon.
"Why that expression? You don't believe me?" Daria bit her lip hard.
Having reached this point through numerous experiences, she instinctively sensed that Abel was spinning sophistry and acting unreasonably.
But denying his words would mean admitting that the Empire was responsible for all of this.
Seeming to read her mind, Abel curled the corner of his mouth into a smile.
"Zeke Draker is here. And he's attacking the Imperial Army. Isn't there only one thing left to do?"
Daria glared at Abel and said.
"You're using the Imperial Army to eliminate Zeke Draker and keep your rival Kali Draker in check, aren't you?"
At her words, Abel grinned and replied.
"Legion Commander Daria. Think carefully. Have you forgotten who's here right now?" Here was the Second Prince, first in line for the throne.
As if urging her to think it over, Abel stared straight at Daria and continued.
"Zeke Draker killed Morgan Buffon and framed it on the monsters. There's no law saying he wouldn't do the same to the Second Prince."
"There's no reason for Zeke Draker to break the treaty and kill the Second Prince."
In response to Daria's rebuttal, Abel smirked.
"If the Second Prince dies, the Empire falls back into chaos—that's obvious. Right now, the First Prince's side is staying quiet because they're pushed back by Julius's power, but what if the Second Prince dies? Would they really hold back?"
As Abel said, if the Second Prince were to die, the Empire would undoubtedly plunge into division once more.
Daria bit her lip tightly.
"He was trying to use us to capture Zeke Draker no matter what..."
With a black knight like Abel acting so outrageously, in this situation, she had no choice but to follow his lead.
"Kali Draker's ambitions are greater than you think. After using Zeke Draker to take the ghetto region, she's planning to march on the Empire itself. That's why His Highness permitted the Imperial Army's mobilization—he knows this."
The monsters were indeed swarming in, making it hard to completely deny his words.
Abel drove the point home to Daria.
"I'll protect the prince. In return, you capture Zeke Draker."
"You're telling me to lead the knights of the Inmagung to attack the autonomous district."
Abel shook his head at her words.
"No, Zeke Draker is already here. Right in this place."
*
Pshuk!
Zeke slit the sentry's throat with Anexi's dagger and quietly disposed of the body.
From the information gleaned from the sentry's shadow, he had grasped the fortress's layout.
This was a solidly built fortress. He had to give the Empire credit for their fortification techniques.
The Rom Empire was famous for three things.
Roads that extended everywhere, sturdy and efficient architecture, and notoriously bad food.
In his previous life, there was even a joke that the Empire waged conquests to seize the fine dining spots of other kingdoms, given how infamous their cuisine was.
The reason was that Imperial food had developed prioritizing preservation and convenience over taste, focusing on dried and salted provisions.
This approach sacrificed flavor but allowed the Rom Empire to expand its territory faster than any in continental history.
They boosted internal mobility with their pervasive road network, fortified defenses with solid bastions everywhere, and stabilized army logistics with long-lasting rations.
It was the epitome of a military state.
Zeke concealed his presence and slipped into the fortress, searching for where Abel might be.
If he did not catch Abel here, the opportunity would not come again.
From William's memories, Zeke knew Abel had left the Red Lion Knight Order behind, bringing only a few escort knights to this place.
As a guardian knight of Draker, he had come to lend legitimacy to the Imperial peacekeeping forces, so he traveled light without his full order.
Of course, with the special units cultivated by the Siemens faction, Narak's mages, and the monsters waiting in the rear, he saw no need to bring his knights—that was why he made this decision.
For Zeke, it was a golden opportunity.
With William Siemens captured, Abel must have known Zeke would make a move.
And Abel surely saw this as his own perfect chance to catch Zeke.
They had both set traps for each other.
Abel still did not know Zeke was a black knight. He was hiding his abilities too, but in the current situation, Zeke had the advantage.
The problem was the Second Prince's presence here.
Daria Calvi's arrival had heightened the Imperial Army's vigilance.
Abel would undoubtedly be glued to the Second Prince's side.
Under the pretext of protecting him, he would manipulate the upright Daria to corner Zeke.
Zeke would turn his plan against him.
At that moment, a loud horn blared from deep within the fortress.
Piiiik!
With the horn's call, knights of the Inmagung scattered to various points in the fortress.
Zeke realized Abel had fully deployed them under Daria's command.
But Zeke was already inside the fortress.
Perfect. He would use this opening to go deeper.
Zeke redoubled his efforts to mask his presence as he delved further, seeking where Abel might be.
But then, an arrow sped toward him.
Shushuk!
Zeke swung his dagger to deflect it.
Kwang!
The aura embedded in the arrow detonated.
Zeke, shielded by his Hercion from the blast, looked toward where the arrow had come from.
Daria Calvi stood there, longbow drawn and aimed at him.
She did not send the knights to chase him—she sent them to block his escape.
Abel had already known Zeke was inside the fortress.
Whatever method she used, Daria had pinpointed Zeke's position despite his stealth and loosed another arrow.
Kwang!
Another explosion rocked where Zeke had stood.
She saw through his stealth?
For an archer like her, "insight" was paramount.
Daria had invested heavily in both insight and qi sense training, specializing in detecting invisible foes.
Realizing stealth was useless, Zeke drew Bahamut and charged at Daria Calvi.
Whoosh!
He closed the distance in an instant, swinging his aura blade–infused sword at her.
Daria rolled aside immediately, then fired an arrow at Zeke.
The sword wreathed in aura clashed with Daria's arrow, exploding on impact.
Kwang!
Seizing the momentary blindness from the blast, Daria rolled again and unleashed a barrage from her longbow.
Shushushuk!
Six arrows targeted Zeke's vitals, but he swept them all aside with his sword.
Then Zeke lunged at Daria using illusion step.
Daria fired relentlessly, and Zeke twisted to dodge the arrows while closing in for a sword strike.
Fwoosh!
His blade arced toward Daria's side.
But in that instant, Daria's longbow transformed into a spear.
Clang!
She swung the spear to parry Zeke's sword.
Then, stepping forward and twisting for rotational force, she thrust at Zeke.
It was the secret art she had learned directly from Duke Crevan de Panion, who had reached the pinnacle of the black knight realm with his spear.
Panion-style spearmanship
Bright King Spear
Twilight One-Flash
The thrust that pierced even twilight bore down on Zeke.
Kwa kwa kwa!
Zeke raised his sword against the Twilight One-Flash targeting his heart.
His signature technique, black sword qi, activated.
Dragon slaying technique applied form
Black Sword Qi
Black Gale
The inky aura Zeke unleashed enveloped Daria's attack, neutralizing it and redirecting the force back at her.
Daria's spear bent as Zeke's strike hit her side.
Kwang!
Thanks to her Inmagung, it did not cut deep, but the powerful blow rattled her insides.
"Urk!"
Zeke's black sword qi incorporated the principles of strong wave resonance.
The vibrations seeped into the body, disrupting internal aura—fatal to knights.
Yet Daria gritted her teeth, retreated, and switched her spear back to a bow, firing another volley.
Tung!
Unlike before, it was a plain arrow without aura.
Zeke walked slowly toward her.
The arrow bounced off his Hercion.
Daria ground her teeth, glaring at Zeke.
"Zeke Draker. You have illegally invaded Imperial territory and violated the treaty." Zeke replied in a tone of disbelief.
"It's laughable hearing about the treaty from the Empire. Wasn't it the Empire that unleashed monsters on the ghetto region?"
At his words, Daria shot back.
"...Spare me the sophistry. The situation is that you, Zeke Draker, violated the treaty and attacked the Imperial Army. Drop your weapon and surrender immediately." From Daria's words, Zeke pieced together the situation.
As expected, Abel had set a trap using Daria to catch him.
The Knight of Madness, Abel, was a master at framing others for his crimes.
In his previous life, he had massacred entire cities and then manipulated the news bulletins to claim the liberation army slaughtered innocent civilians—he was adept at such propaganda.
He planned to use Daria to capture Zeke and pin the entire ghetto incident on him.
It would not go as Abel wished.
Daria, seemingly recovered some strength, retreated further and loosed arrows again.
Shushushuk!
Aura-infused arrows flew at Zeke.
Zeke twisted swiftly to dodge, then unleashed black sword qi.
Whoosh!
A gale-like black aura rose, ensnaring Daria's arrows and hurling them back at her.
Kwa kwang!
Daria leaped aside to evade her own arrows.
But when she looked up, Zeke was waiting from a blind spot.
Kwang!
Zeke struck her back with a fajin palm thrust infused with strong wave resonance.
Woo woo woong!
The powerful vibrations pierced her Hercion, churning her insides.
"Kuhuk!"
She collapsed, spitting up blood from the reflux.
Zeke pressed his sword to her throat and said coldly.
"Knight of the Inmagung, Daria Calvi. Surrender with honor as a knight." Daria ground her teeth, glaring up at Zeke with fury.
Zeke looked down at her, a question forming in his mind.
For someone who learned the Bright King Spear directly from Duke Crevan and reached the black knight realm, she fell too easily...
It was then, as Zeke harbored that doubt.
Woo woo woong!
Daria's Hercion suddenly glowed with light.
At the same time, tiny holes formed across it, from which thousands of arrowheads erupted.
Chiiing—
Amid the intense flash, countless arrowheads poured toward Zeke.