Like the automated golem Hades had created, the golem before Zeke greeted him with a natural movement, offering an illusory welcome.
'Itʼs even more natural than the one Lord Hades made.ʼ At a glance, it almost looked like a real person was inside.
The golem knight rose to its feet.
"Successor, I shall guide you to the Sanctuary of Radiant Light."
Zeke gazed at the golem with renewed curiosity, struck by its archaic speech.
He followed the golem knight, who led the way into the ruins.
Unlike the exterior, the interior had been preserved through the system and maintained its original form. Thus, the distinctive style of the Rubern Dynasty and its symbolic rose emblems were visible everywhere.
'I heard that after the Holy Empire, most of the Rubern Dynastyʼs style was destroyed, making it hard to find intact ruins or relics. To think thereʼs a site preserved like this— scholars would drool and rush over if they saw it.ʼ
Rubern Dynasty artifacts were highly valued for their ornate yet practical craftsmanship, despite the elaborate decorations.
As a result, undamaged antiques from the Rubern Dynasty era fetched exorbitant prices, even without any magic enchantments.
Zeke closely observed the golem knight guiding him from ahead.
'An automated golem that moves this naturally. I didnʼt know the Rubern Dynastyʼs holy magic extended to something like this.ʼ
The Rubern Dynasty was known for expanding its influence under the first Holy King, Gio Rubern, and his empowered Holy Knight Order.
Gio Rubern, who inherited the abilities of the founding Mage of Light, Claudia Rubern, could wield powerful holy magic. With that power, he was able to bestow enchanted holy weapons upon the Holy Knight Order.
This allowed the Rubern Dynasty to expand its territory and establish the first Holy Empire.
Zeke addressed the golem.
"Guide, I have a question."
"Speak, Successor."
"Were you created by a mage of the Rubern Dynasty?" In response to Zekeʼs question, the golem replied.
"My form was crafted by Lordshi, the Watcher of Dawn Hyperion of the Silver Clan, but it was He Who Inherits the Radiant Light, Gio Rubern, who awakened my consciousness."
After the War of Liberation, dragons had vanished from the Central Continent.
It was surprising that a guardian created by a dragon protected the resting place of the Holy King.
'The Watcher of Dawn Hyperion. Is he a dragon with a direct connection to the Holy
King? I should ask Lord Hades about it later.ʼ
At that moment, another question arose in Zekeʼs mind.
'Come to think of it, why is the relationship between the Holy King Gio Rubern and the
Dragon Slayer Terakan Draker not recorded anywhere?ʼ
It was documented that the Holy King was of the bloodline of the Mage of Light, Claudia Rubern.
However, no records anywhere indicated the connection between the Holy King and the Dragon Slayer Terakan Draker.
Zeke recalled that the Draker family had deliberately erased records about Terakan.
'Did they hide their own scandals by wiping out the connection to the Holy King as well?
Why does the Draker family have so many secrets?ʼ
Even though it was his own family, the Draker family remained full of mysteries.
After the progenitor Shattan Draker, they had carried on the history under the name of the Absolute Sword House, but now they had erased that name and rose to prominence as the Dragon Slayer family founded by Terakan Draker. And yet, Terakan himself, the legend-maker, had been an outcast banished from the family.
'I should learn those secrets in the Forest of the Forgotten.ʼ
Zeke believed that the secrets of the Absolute Sword House Draker were left in the secret cave Shattan Draker had hidden.
At that moment, the golem knight spoke to Zeke.
"Successor, we have arrived at the entrance to the resting place."
Looking up, Zeke saw a massive door adorned with intricate and ornate decorations.
Zeke asked the golem knight.
"Is the first Holy King laid to rest here?"
"He Who Inherits the Radiant Light has waited a long time for the Successor."
The golem knight seemed limited to responding only to predetermined questions and did not give a precise answer to Zekeʼs words.
But Zeke was satisfied with that and extended his hand toward the door.
[Connecting to the Administrator System.]
[Verifying the code.]
[The Successorʼs code has been authenticated.] [Opening the portal to the Sanctuary of Radiant Light.] Woooong!
Rather than the door opening, a white light rippled in front, forming a portal.
'This is...?ʼ
The golem knight standing beside him said to Zeke.
"This is the true entrance, which opens only when the rightful Successor arrives."
For some reason, Zeke could sense that the Holy King had arranged this for someone specific.
'For the descendants of Rubern? Or perhaps the descendants of Draker?ʼ He couldnʼt fathom what the Holy King had intended.
'Iʼll find out once I go in.ʼ
Zeke slowly stepped into the portal of light.
Surrounded by light on all sides, he could barely keep his eyes open.
A moment later, after passing through the portal, an entirely different space appeared.
'This place is...?ʼ
It was an audience chamber decorated with brilliant, multicolored ornaments that shimmered radiantly.
Zeke was startled by the sudden appearance of the audience chamber.
'This isnʼt a space inside the ruins.ʼ
He had experienced something similar before.
He remembered that when he met the War God Tyr on the final floor of the Inverted Tower, he had been transported to the great hall of Creta Castle.
At that moment, someone entered the audience chamber.
Zeke looked up and gazed at the one who had entered.
A knight entered with confident strides, clad in armor radiating a mystical glow, and sat upon the jade throne.
His face was hidden by the full-body armor and helmet.
But Zeke felt he knew who it was.
'The first Holy King. Gio Rubern.ʼ
As he realized this, Zekeʼs eyes wavered.
It was because the armor Gio Rubern wore looked familiar.
'Thatʼs...ʼ
It was none other than the Hercion of the Goddess Theia.
*
Freed from the brainwashing, Carlito racked his brains, pondering how to escape this situation.
He judged that joining the emperorʼs side was the best course for now, so he decided to obediently follow the lead of the hunting dogs.
As Carlitoʼs group descended through the underground passage toward the catacombs, they suddenly felt the entire subterranean space shake with vibrations.
'Damn it.ʼ
He had no idea if something was happening above or if the ground itself was weakening and about to collapse.
With nothing he could do about it at the moment, Carlito pressed on deeper inside with the knights, harboring various anxieties.
However, in the midst of this, some of the knight order members began to collapse from exhaustion.
Having marched harshly while brainwashed, and with some knights having repaired their damaged bodies at the cost of their life force due to the cultistsʼ magic, their bodies simply couldnʼt hold out any longer.
"Weaklings! How can you call yourselves knights of the Celestial Scorpion Palace like this!"
Carlito ordered them to abandon the exhausted knights and continue advancing.
In the current situation, the only way was to rendezvous with the emperorʼs side as quickly as possible and secure an escape route from this place.
Once they reached a safe area, he didnʼt care about leaving the emperor behind and escaping on their own.
But at that moment, the hunting dog operatives flinched and raised their hands.
"What is it!"
One of the hunting dogs put a finger to his lips, signaling silence, and whispered.
"Somethingʼs behind us."
Turning at the words, Carlito saw something approaching from the darkness.
Growl...
A sinister sound, like that of a magical beast, echoed through the underground space.
What emerged was none other than the dead soldiers, transformed into monstrosities by the cultistsʼ evil magic.
Undead often arose on battlefields, so it wasnʼt entirely surprising. The problem was that the dead soldiers had become cursed ghouls due to the cultistsʼ magic.
Ghouls were faster and stronger monstrosities than ordinary zombies.
It seemed the ghoul soldiers, wandering in search of flesh to devour, had found their way here through another entrance instead of the collapsed one.
Over a dozen ghoul soldiers advanced toward Carlitoʼs group with eyes filled with madness.
Growl!
Carlito shouted at the sight of the ghoul soldiers.
"Damn these monster bastards, where do they think they are!"
As he drew his magic sword to unleash a spell on the ghoul soldiers, a hunting dog operative panicked and stopped him.
"If you use explosive magic here, it could cause a dust explosion and collapse the cave!"
Grinding his teeth at the words, Carlito yelled.
"Then what are you waiting for! Go and take them out right now!"
With Carlito falling back and shouting, the Celestial Scorpion Palace knights and hunting dogs had no choice but to confront the ghoul soldiers.
Shriek!
Moments later, the ghoul soldiers climbed the walls with grotesque movements and attacked them.
Shriek!
The ghoul soldiers lunged at the Celestial Scorpion Palace knights—who had once been their comrades in the imperial army—sinking their teeth into necks and slashing with sharp claws.
"Argh!"
The Celestial Scorpion Palace knights tried desperately to shake off the ghoul soldiers, but no matter how they stabbed with swords or severed limbs, the ghouls only clung more tenaciously.
The hunting dogs, at least, threw daggers to restrict the ghoulsʼ movements before they approached and struck them down with their swords.
But then, a grotesque sound came from above on the ceiling.
Growl!
More ghouls were crawling down from the ceiling.
These new ones were dressed as knights, not soldiers.
The ghoul knights sprang from an unexpected direction and overwhelmed them.
"Argh!"
As the Celestial Scorpion Palace knights and hunting dogs were pushed back by the ghouls, Carlito drew his magic sword again.
'Damn it. If things get this bad, Iʼll blast them with magic without mercy.ʼ
If worst came to worst, he could release Gillian from the restraints and let him wipe them all out.
But with the emperorʼs brainwashing lifted, it was questionable whether Gillian would listen to him now.
Gillian had been restrained because even under the cultistsʼ brainwashing, he hadnʼt properly followed the emperorʼs orders, so there was a risk he might turn on Carlito as well.
Shriek!
The sound of more ghouls swarming grew louder.
As Carlito gritted his teeth and moved to draw his magic sword, footsteps approached from behind.
Thud. Thud.
'What is this sound?ʼ
From the darkness emerged a single knight in bloodstained brass armor.
Brass armor could only be worn by the Imperial Guard Knight Order.
Holding a sword in one hand and a buckler in the other, the Imperial Guard knight passed Carlito and raised his sword.
Sizzle...
A vivid aura blade ignited from his sword.
Soon after, the swing of his sword not only cleaved the ghouls but also the knights and hunting dogs they had seized, scattering them as chunks of flesh.
Plop. Plop.
With the Imperial Guard knightʼs arrival, the ghouls were cleared in an instant.
Carlito was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the Imperial Guard knight.
'At least a blue knight, maybe even red knight class...ʼ
As he grew wary, wondering why an Imperial Guard knight had appeared here, the knight sheathed his sword and approached Carlito.
"Vice Captain Carlito."
Carlito composed himself at the knightʼs words and stood straight.
Pretending still to be brainwashed, he shouted.
"Where is His Majesty now! Escort me to His Majesty at once! As long as Carlito is here, these villains shall not harm His Majesty!"
Even at Carlitoʼs exaggerated tone, the Imperial Guard knight showed no particular reaction.
In a calm voice, he said to Carlito.
"His Majesty summons you. Bring Captain Gillian and follow me." With that, the Imperial Guard knight turned and headed forward.
Carlitoʼs brow twitched at the knightʼs words.
'His Majesty has summoned me?ʼ
He couldnʼt understand why the emperor, who had been ready to discard him, was calling him back now.
After quickly thinking it over, Carlito concluded that for now, he had no choice but to follow the Imperial Guard knight and join the emperorʼs side.
'I donʼt know whatʼs going on, but Iʼll stick with the emperorʼs group to escape this place. Staying near the Imperial Guard knights means at least I wonʼt die to the monsters.ʼ
Carlito glanced at Gillian, who was restrained and following him, his eyes gleaming.
'If the emperor tries anything strange again, Iʼll release the captainʼs restraints and escape alone in the chaos.ʼ
Carlito was a survival specialist, equipped with the cunning to do whatever it took to stay alive.
He led the surviving Celestial Scorpion Palace knights and followed behind the Imperial Guard knight.