Zeke flinched at Bacchus's words and set down the teacup he was holding.
He looked at Bacchus and said, "Arthur Draker is dead? The Overlord, the strongest on the continent?"
Bacchus nodded.
"I couldn't believe it at first either... but it seems to be true." Zeke's mind raced with complications.
Arthur Draker's death.
It was something that had happened in his previous life as well, but it struck him with fresh shock now.
Zeke asked Bacchus, "What was the cause of death?"
"Natural causes from a chronic illness. Apparently, he'd been suffering from it for quite some time."
Black Knights weren't immune to illness.
There were cases where they died from aging or chronic conditions.
However, Arthur Draker was on the younger side among the Black Knights and had been actively engaging in external activities, so Zeke hadn't suspected any illness.
Zeke fell back into thought after hearing Bacchus's words.
'In my previous life, Arthur Draker died from a chronic illness too. And with Abel taking over as Family Head, the continental war began.'
After Arthur Draker's death, the Central Continent had plunged into massive chaos. As Zeke recalled that time, he formed a new hypothesis.
'What if Arthur Draker faked his death to sow chaos across the Central Continent?'
Just like in his previous life, the ripples from the Family Head of Draker's death in the current situation would be enormous.
There would be significant turmoil within Draker itself, and it would affect not only Midland but the entire Central Continent's political landscape.
Zeke looked at Bacchus and spoke again.
"What's the situation inside the Draker Family?"
"We haven't fully grasped the details within the Four Seasons Star yet. But one thing is clear."
He paused before continuing.
"Baron Draker of the Black Stage. Something is brewing around him." Baron Draker was Arthur Draker's most loyal retainer.
Hearing that, Zeke's suspicions deepened.
'What if Arthur Draker faked his death, and Baron is managing the resulting fallout?'
It seemed like there was some purpose, but he'd have to enter the Four Seasons Star to know for sure.
"What about Kali and Helen?"
"Both are staying in Iason's territory. They haven't shown any particular movements, but some Elders seem to be reaching out to them."
With the Family Head position vacant, they needed to put forward the next candidate.
It was only natural for the Elders to approach Kali Draker, who had been a candidate for Family Head.
'They'll contact me soon too.'
Zeke decided he'd head to the Four Seasons Star as soon as he wrapped things up here.
Just as his conversation with Bacchus was winding down, Niki entered the central command tent.
Shedding her previous languid demeanor, she knelt with disciplined poise and said to
Zeke, "My king, I have something to report."
"Speak."
"We captured some suspicious intruders who broke into headquarters earlier. I thought you should see them, so I brought them here." "Suspicious intruders. Understood. Bring them in." Niki nodded and whistled.
Her subordinates then dragged in the bound figures on chains and entered the tent.
Niki said with a cold expression, "This is in the presence of the king. Bow your heads at once."
Zeke examined the ones Niki had brought.
'Hm? Those guys.'
Surprisingly, the captives were members of the Third-Eye Clan.
All four possessed a faint trace of Blood Eye power, though the youngest among them barely qualified as having it.
Niki forced them to their knees and said with icy eyes, "These bastards suddenly appeared in front of headquarters and started causing a ruckus, demanding submission. Their aura is faint but unusual, so I brought them to you." Zeke understood the situation from Niki's words.
Successors like Titus from Tantra had emerged on the Central Continent to reclaim the power of the Blood King.
They planned to subjugate the White-Face Clan, Beastman Clan, and Nightmare Demon Clan—former vassal races—and rebuild their forces to seize the Blood King's power.
'They tried to subjugate the Red Eye vampires and got caught instead.'
They had foolishly targeted the Royal Vampire progenitors without properly wielding Blood Eye power.
Zeke slowly approached the Third-Eye Clan members.
They had red hair and pale skin like Titus and Yulina, but the tattoos on their faces and bodies differed in pattern.
It seemed patterns varied by family.
The child at the front appeared about Titus's age.
He was trying to act composed, but he trembled faintly under the Blood King's aura emanating from Zeke.
Zeke pondered as he looked at them, then said to Niki, "Go ask the Western Alliance side if they have similar ones."
Niki bowed her head at Zeke's command and left the tent.
A short while later, she returned with a group of Third-Eye Clan members whose faces were bruised and clothes reduced to rags.
They too had apparently tried to subjugate the beastmen of the Western Alliance and ended up captured.
The Third-Eye Clan successors, now kneeling before Zeke after being seized by the Red Eye and Western Alliance, recognized each other and wore grim expressions.
Zeke gazed down at them and activated his Blood King's power.
Tzzzzz—
A third eye appeared on his forehead, rippling with red energy.
Unlike the tyrannical Caligula, Zeke's third eye glowed with a mystical red light, free of any impure aura.
The Third-Eye Clan successors shuddered at the sight.
Zeke said to them, "Even before the true king, you keep your heads held high." The successors felt as if Zeke's eye pierced through everything about them.
Overwhelmed by an irresistible fear and surging reverence, they belatedly bowed their heads and pressed their foreheads to the ground.
"W-We meet the true king!"
The dozen or so Third-Eye Clan members submitted to Zeke, who had unleashed the Blood King's power.
Zeke asked the successor from what seemed the highest-ranking family among them,
"How did you cross from Tantra to here?"
The successor fought his fear and barely managed to reply.
"A mage who sought us out and Tantra's sorcerers combined their powers to create a gate with a mandala."
Zeke looked surprised at the successor's words.
"You mean you created a gate connecting beyond the Everwinter Mountain Range to here using Tantra's mandala." The successor nodded.
"Y-Yes. Mandalas have amplification and sustaining effects, so as long as mana is supplied, they can be used in various ways. However... the larger the power handled, the more complex the mandala must be, which takes a lot of time. Activating it requires Sacred Blood-level sorcerers as well...."
As the successor explained everything he knew, Zeke recalled the mandala Yulina had drawn on the ground.
It was far more intricate and complex than Central Continent magic circles, yet it had created a barrier strong enough to contain the mid-rank demonkind Morgant.
'If used properly, it could have many applications.'
It took time to create, so it wasn't suitable for immediate battlefield use, but it seemed useful for establishing defensive lines and camps.
Zeke thought for a moment, then decided to take the Third-Eye Clan to Mycenae where Hades was.
Hades, who had inherited the Tome of Hyperion, might be able to develop something further by applying their mandalas.
Zeke said to Niki, "Treat them and prepare a place for them to stay."
"Understood, my king."
He left the Third-Eye Clan in the central command tent for now and headed to Nigel's tree house.
He wanted to check on Nigel's condition before returning to the Four Seasons Star to assess the situation.
Zeke used the system portal to reach Nigel's tree house in an instant.
Entering the house, he was surprised to see the purple-haired triplets playing tag with Yulina in the front yard.
'Master must have healed the children.'
He watched with a warm heart, but the children, who had been playing happily, spotted Zeke and looked frightened.
They were so startled that they dropped the stone they were holding without realizing it.
Zeke, seeing the scared children, thought of a way to reassure them.
"Raven."
At Zeke's call, Raven, with its magnificent feathers, appeared on his shoulder emitting a phoenix cry.
Urrrrr—
The mystical aura of Raven's phoenix cry calmed the triplets.
The children gazed at the beautiful phoenix in wonder.
Raven, basking in their admiring looks, proudly flapped its wings.
As Raven spread its wings and soared into the sky, the children cheered and followed after it.
"Pretty bird!"
"Play with us!"
"Come here!"
Zeke smiled contentedly as he watched the triplets and Yulina resume playing, chasing after Raven.
Just then, the door to the tree house opened, and Nabu emerged with a tired face.
"You're here."
Zeke approached Nabu with a smile and said, "Hermit, your face tells a story."
"Ugh, I pulled an all-nighter with Manaya fixing broken barriers here and there."
"You've worked hard. How's Master?"
"She woke up earlier and said she was going for a walk."
"I'm glad she's safe."
Zeke nodded and asked Nabu, "What about Anastasia?" Nabu pointed toward the shed as if to say she'd know.
Zeke opened the shed door and entered.
But there was nothing inside.
"Anastasia."
As he called her name, two glowing eyes appeared in the darkness.
Then, something suddenly lunged at him from the shadows.
Kaaaaak—
Zeke swiftly dodged to the side and grabbed the neck of whatever was attacking him.
Surprisingly, what was in Zeke's hand was a fierce-looking cat.
The cat wriggled in Zeke's grasp.
He looked at the cat and said, "You seem to like your new body?" At Zeke's words, the cat bared its teeth with a resentful glare.
But it just looked like a cat's playful antics.
This ordinary-looking cat was actually the demon realm princess Anastasia.
Through his deal with Anastasia, Zeke had gained ownership of her soul.
To control the unpredictable Anastasia, he used the Blood King's power over souls.
He first bound her soul with the Chains of Solomon, then, borrowing Nabu's power, transformed it into a cat using the Blood King's strength.
Recalling the story of the princess cursed into a cat, Zeke had turned the demon realm princess Anastasia into one.
When Zeke snapped his fingers, a humming sound accompanied Anastasia's voice.
[Kaaaaah! You damned human! I'll kill you! Get me out of this wretched beast right now!]
He had silenced her because she was too noisy, but as soon as he released it, she started yelling again.
Zeke looked down at her with cold eyes and said, "Would you prefer being sealed in a ring or ceasing to exist?"
Anastasia flinched at Zeke's words and went limp.
She trembled inwardly, vowing to find a way to escape this place somehow.
Zeke dragged the cat-form Anastasia out of the shed and tossed her onto the ground.
Thrown without care, she landed gracefully with a cat's agile movements.
Zeke looked at her and said, "You know why I let you live."
The cat Anastasia flicked her tail up and replied, [You're using me as bait to lure in my sisters and father. Clever human.]
Anastasia was the adopted daughter of the Demon Archlord, the demon grand duke.
Among the six demons ruling the demon realm, the one at the pinnacle, the Demon Archlord, was collaborating with Narak to revive the Demon King.
Zeke realized that to free the phenomenal world from the Demon King's threat, he needed to eliminate the Demon Archlord and his demonkind followers.
That's why he kept Anastasia, the grand duke's most cherished daughter, to set a trap to draw them out.
"Since you're the daughter who receives the demon grand duke's love, he'll come to rescue you soon. Isn't that right, Anastasia?"
Anastasia looked at Zeke and said, [Zeke Draker, there's something you don't know.]
"What is it that I don't know?"
The cat-form Anastasia glared at Zeke sharply and said, [The demon realm is in the midst of a fierce war right now.]