Zeke, with blades protruding from every part of his body, showed no sign of movement.
Even so, Rahim couldn't approach him easily.
'I don't know what trick he's pulled this time.'
He planned to wait until he was certain Zeke's breath had completely stopped.
But then, something strange stirred from the floor.
Crackle!
A chill spread across the ground, climbed up Najim and Rahim's legs, and instantly froze their lower bodies.
"Th-this!"
This time, Zeke, whom they thought was dead, rose from his spot and moved as if nothing had happened. He casually pulled out the blades embedded in his body.
Ting!
As the blades fell to the floor, Zeke's wounds healed in an instant.
Shock twisted Rahim's face at the sight.
"Im-impossible... How can a human possess the power of immortality...!"
Zeke rolled his neck from side to side and glared at Rahim.
"Is the power of corrupted sacred blood only this much? I've seen all I need to see, so let's end this now."
Cutting him off, Zeke finished his words, raised the spear, and hurled it straight ahead with all his might.
Swooooosh!
Rahim and Najim tried desperately to escape, but their lower bodies, frozen by the authority of freezing, wouldn't budge.
"Kaaaaak!"
The Holy Spear, infused with metal power, pierced Najim's chest and embedded itself even into Rahim's body.
"Kuhuk!"
The Holy Spear's power annihilated the corrupted sacred blood extracted from the Four Fiends.
As it did, the chimera's endlessly regenerating flesh began to crumble.
Thud thud thud!
Najim's body disintegrated first, and fine cracks formed across Rahim's.
He reached out toward Zeke.
"N-no! Sp-spare...!"
Before he could finish his plea for mercy, his body turned to dust and scattered as well.
Zeke picked up the Holy Spear from the floor amid the dispersing particles.
He stored the Holy Spear back in his inventory and looked down at his tattered Draker uniform, riddled with holes.
"An ability that creates blades capable of tearing through a uniform made from dragon hide."
The chimera, created from the Four Fiends' power, had its bloodline abilities enhanced as well and was capable of at least red knight-level strength.
If the Nostra Family had developed a more stable drug and administered it to someone with a stronger bloodline ability than Six, it might even have produced black knightlevel power.
Still, the knowledge that he could annihilate the chimera with the Holy Spear's power gave him a strategic edge.
'I need to learn more about the Nostra Family bastards who created something like this chimera from the Four Fiends.'
Zeke approached Masa, one of the members of Six, who lay collapsed on the opposite side of the floor.
Her physical abilities must have been quite low, for she seemed to have passed out from the aftermath of the battle midway through. 'This one doesn't seem to have become a chimera.' At that moment, Shadia entered the grand hall.
She knelt before Zeke and reported.
"My lord. We've subdued everyone inside the castle." Zeke nodded at Shadia's words.
"The Salmak Master and the remaining disciples have all fallen beyond the Bottomless Pit. Among the captured prisoners, separate out those willing to convert, and for anyone even slightly suspicious, lock them in prison, interrogate them, and deal with them accordingly."
"Understood, boss."
Zeke handed over the unconscious Masa and instructed Shadia to send Masa to Arina upon their return.
Arina would undo Masa's brainwashing and arrange a place for her at the academy.
After entrusting the cleanup to Shadia, Zeke used the Eye of the Sage to locate where the Earth God was sealed.
Guided by it, Zeke descended into the castle's underground. He discovered the position of a secret passage hidden behind the wall and pulled out his hammer to strike it hard.
Boom boom boom!
The secret passage, concealed behind the wall for centuries, revealed itself at Zeke's hand.
Zeke slowly descended the underground stairs that appeared through the secret passage.
As he went down the spiraling stairs, Zeke carefully examined the murals carved into the walls.
'What is this...?'
They seemed to depict the chronicle of some figure in mural form.
Among the depictions, Zeke recognized something.
'A knight extracting a dragon heart and implanting it into his own chest. A corps commander leading ork and dark elf legions.'
Surprisingly, the murals chronicled Siemens Apollyon.
They deified Siemens Apollyon, portraying him as the true successor chosen by the Hero King. He received a heart transplant from a dragon to gain transcendent power as a superhuman.
'History varies by the writer's perspective, but this is a bit much.'
The murals depicted the world falling into corruption after the Hero King departed to the fairy realm. Siemens Apollyon rose to save it, leading other races in war against the corrupted Kingdom of Chronos.
Curiously, the Kingdom of Chronos and allied forces were depicted viciously, while Siemens Apollyon, leading the demon king's army, was shown as a holy knight.
'Depending on who's depicting it, it's completely different.'
If it had been from the allied forces' perspective, Siemens Apollyon would surely have been carved in the most evil form.
Looking at the murals on the wall, Zeke realized one thing.
'Then this castle was the base of Siemens Apollyon's demon king's army.'
Unlike the other divine dragons sealed in their own domains, the Earth God's body and soul were separated and sealed without even an avatar.
If Siemens Apollyon had deliberately hidden that soul in his stronghold, it showed how much attention he had paid to the Earth God's seal.
'It also means he was that wary of the Earth God.'
Zeke reached the bottom of the stairs and scanned the murals.
Unlike dwarven architecture, the walls were characteristically built from sturdy gray bricks.
The Eye of the Sage automatically selected and informed Zeke of relevant stylistic information.
'Not dwarves, but orks built this castle. Impressive.'
Though not widely known, orks were also proficient in handling metals and tools.
However, while dwarves incorporated aesthetic elements into their craftsmanship, orks did not.
Their technology had developed purely for practicality.
As a result, their architecture was crude but sturdy and quick to build.
Zeke passed through the corridor, constructed in the ork style—large, crude, and solid.
At the end of the corridor appeared a heavy, massive door.
He approached the door, extended his hand, and commanded the system.
"System. Open the door."
In response to Zeke's command, the system attempted to connect to the administrator system to open the door.
But instead of the door opening, a warning message appeared.
[Administrator system for this area cannot be found.]
Zeke recalled that this was Siemens Apollyon's space, not a dragon's lair.
'The system doesn't connect here.'
He even tried the curse-lifting treatment skill on the door, but there was no reaction.
Having never encountered this before, Zeke pondered what to do, then shook his head.
"When I don't know, it's fastest to just ask."
He pulled out the Green Sword and summoned Arataso.
Woooong!
With a burst of green light, Arataso's form materialized.
He stretched and yawned.
[Yawn! Why'd you summon me when I was sleeping so well?]
"You're really suited to being sealed. Want me to seal you in Solomon's Ring for good?" At Zeke's words, Arataso waved his hands in horror.
[D-don't say creepy shit like that! Anyway, why'd you call?] Zeke pointed to the solidly locked door.
"Do you know how to open this? It seems like a castle made by the demon king's army side, and my usual methods aren't working."
Arataso slowly approached the door Zeke indicated.
He touched it lightly, examined it closely, and tilted his head.
[This... it's just a door?]
Zeke gritted his teeth at Arataso's words.
"Who doesn't know it's a door? That's why I summoned you—to ask if there's a special way to open it in the Demon Realm."
Faced with Zeke's threatening tone, Arataso backed away and said.
[Wh-what special way is there to open a door? You just open it, or if it's locked, use a key!]
"A key? Like infusing mana or entering a specific code?"
[What are you talking about? Just a key. You insert it and turn. Don't humans have keys?]
Since most ruins used system codes to open doors, he hadn't even considered a plain key.
'The Demon Realm uses keys too.'
Zeke scratched his head awkwardly and examined the door again.
Looking at the bottom, there really was a keyhole.
Zeke turned to Arataso and asked.
"What do they do for doors without keys in the Demon Realm?" Arataso thought for a moment before answering.
[Well, usually call a locksmith. Demon Realm locks have very complex structures—if it's not the right key, they lock even tighter with multiple mechanisms. This looks like a typical Demon Realm lock.]
Without the key, opening the door would be difficult.
'What to do.'
After racking his brain, Zeke made a decision.
He pulled a hammer from his inventory.
"If nothing else works, smashing it is the best way." Zeke disliked overcomplicating things.
When Zeke suddenly pulled out a hammer, Arataso panicked.
[Y-you're not going to smash this, are you? Don't. This is a door sourced directly from the
Demon Realm. It's not something you can break by hitting...]
Before Arataso could finish, Zeke swung the hammer infused with metal power.
Clang!
He struck hard with the metal power-infused hammer, but it rebounded, nearly knocking Zeke back.
Seeing this, Arataso shook his head.
[See? What'd I tell you? You can't break it by hitting.]
But Zeke ignored him and infused the hammer with the power of the full power technique.
Woooooong!
The hammer vibrated with a resounding hum.
"Something's bound to work."
With so many techniques at his disposal, he planned to test them one by one until one worked.
Zeke gripped the hammer and invoked the full power technique 'Will of Break ("Pa")'.
A massive image of a crushing device overlaid the hammer in his hand.
"Hah!"
With a shout, the hammer smashed into the door.
Boom boom boom!
The hammer and door collided, producing a powerful shockwave.
Surprisingly, unlike before, the door dented.
Arataso's mouth fell open at the sight.
[N-no way... This isn't supposed to happen like this?]
It wasn't just sturdy metal; the door was enchanted with various magics.
Yet the full power technique, using spirit power, seemed effective.
Zeke grinned and raised the hammer again.
"Got the feel."
He gripped the hammer tightly, infused it once more with the full power technique, and struck the door with all his might.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
After dozens of blows from the full power technique-infused hammer, the door could no longer hold.
Boom boom boom!
With a deafening crash, the door shattered.
"Whew! Haven't relieved stress like that in a while."
[Y-you're insane...]
Arataso had never imagined someone would smash a Demon Realm door with a hammer.
Zeke stepped over the broken door into the interior.
The interior was a vast circular space, formed like a dome, with an altar in the center.
The walls bore bas-relief murals of Siemens Apollyon's deeds, and statues resembling him lined the area.
Arataso, following Zeke, admired the statues and murals.
[Whoa, what is this? Feels like we've entered a museum in the Demon Realm.] At Arataso's words, Zeke replied incredulously. "Does the Demon Realm even have museums?" Irritated, Arataso snapped back.
[Don't forget that we are the ones to convey the beauty of art to humans.]
Arataso's master, the Clear Verdant Aspiration, was a constellation that particularly loved art.
Matching his master's inclinations, Arataso was also very interested in artworks.
After snapping at Zeke, Arataso leisurely examined the sculptures, then tilted his head.
[Hmm?]
He turned to Zeke and said.
[These statues... they kinda look like you, don't they?]