A shrill whistle pierced the air from somewhere nearby.
The White Silver Knight Order and the Black Sword Knight Order, locked in confrontation in front of Winterkeep, startled at the sudden alarm signal.
At that moment, one of the White Silver Knight Order members who had rushed over whispered something to Kali.
With a hardened expression, Kali nodded and immediately headed underground into Winterkeep.
Seeing this, the members of the Black Sword Knight Order surged forward aggressively.
"Whatʼs going on!"
"Our lord is down there! Get out of the way now!"
The White Silver Knights blocked the Black Sword Knight Order as they tried to push through.
The two knight orders stood in unyielding opposition, neither side yielding an inch.
Then, Duke Draker stepped forward from within.
Fierce anger burned in his eyes.
Drawing the gale sword he had used during his time as a black knight, Duke spoke in a low voice to the White Silver Knights.
"Step aside. This is your final warning."
The White Silver Knights swallowed hard at Dukeʼs murderous warning.
But they too were knights who moved on Kaliʼs orders.
They gripped their swords and held their ground against Dukeʼs killing intent.
At their defiance, gale qi surged from Dukeʼs body.
Woooong—
Just as he was about to charge at the White Silver Knight Order, something flew in at high speed.
Boom!
An old sword embedded itself in the ground between Duke and the White Silver Knights.
Duke instantly recognized what it was.
'Bernas.ʼ
It was none other than Sword King Bernasʼs sword.
Soon, Bernas emerged from among the White Silver Knights.
Duke frowned as he watched Bernas grasp the hilt of his old sword stuck in the earth.
"Sword King, what do you think youʼre doing?"
Bernas stood silently, holding his sword without a word.
Duke knew he was Kali Drakerʼs mentor and patron, but he hadnʼt expected him to side with her even in this situation.
Moreover, Bernas had few connections within the Draker family, yet he and Duke were close enough to share drinks.
Duke knew well that the Sword King had no interest in the familyʼs politics or power struggles, so he couldnʼt understand his current actions.
Even as Duke voiced his doubt, Bernas remained still, not drawing his sword.
Watching him, Duke realized something.
'Could it be...?ʼ
After locking eyes with Bernas for a moment, Duke took a step back.
He then sheathed his sword.
"...Weʼll withdraw for now."
On the surface, it looked as if Duke was backing down out of fear of Bernas.
But at least the Black Sword Knights knew Duke wasnʼt the type to do that.
If he ordered a retreat, there had to be a reason.
The Black Sword Knights glared at the Sword King and the White Silver Knight Order before slowly falling back as per Dukeʼs order.
Only after the Black Sword Knight Order had fully retreated could the White Silver Knight Order finally relax.
Even with the Black Sword Knight Order gone, Sword King Bernas stood his ground.
It was because Gareth, the Knight of Scars leading the Black Wolf Unit, had just arrived.
Garethʼs face hardened as he saw the Sword King and White Silver Knight Order guarding the entrance to Winterkeepʼs underground.
"Sir Bernas. An alarm signal has gone off indicating an intruder in the Four Seasons Star.
We need to investigate, so please step aside."
In response, Bernas drew his sword from the ground and pointed it at Gareth.
"I forbid it."
The short words carried immense weight, coming from Sword King Bernas.
Bernas showed no disturbance in the standoff with the Black Wolf Unit led by Gareth.
With Bernas, the strongest in the Draker family and a black knight, blocking the way, even Gareth found it hard to press further.
At that moment, Kali Draker emerged from underground.
She looked at Gareth, who had brought the Black Wolf Unit, and slowly spoke. "Sir Gareth. There was an ambush in the memorial chamber beneath Winterkeep." Kali continued calmly.
"Weʼve confirmed that Zeke Draker, the Knight of Salvation, was attacked by Siemens assassins while paying his respects..."
*
The news that Zeke Draker, a direct bloodline of the Draker family and the Knight of Salvation, had been ambushed right in the heart of the Four Seasons Star—during the family headʼs funeral rite—spread quickly beyond Atlas to the entire Central Continent.
No body had been found yet, so his death wasnʼt officially announced, but the bloodstains on the walls and floor of the memorial chamber made it almost certain.
Still, to cling to any possibility, every knight in the Draker family was mobilized, scouring all of Atlas in search of the missing Zeke Draker.
While they searched every corner of Atlas, Howardʼs men in black used an unknown underground waterway to transport Zekeʼs body.
This ancient underground waterway, secretly connected to Winterkeepʼs depths, was known to almost no one.
Built during the Holy Empire era before Atlas became the center of the Midland, even the Draker family was unaware of it.
Howardʼs subordinates navigated the labyrinthine underground waterway with familiarity, heading deeper in.
Thud!
They set down the casket containing Zekeʼs body somewhere.
As the men in black left, Zeke emerged from the shadows in the empty darkness.
Sss—
The Zeke in the casket was a fake created by his shadow clone.
The real Zeke had hidden his presence, observing how Howard and his men would act.
He had attached ghost troopers to Howard to monitor who he met and discussed things with.
Zeke intended to use this opportunity to root out all the rats hiding within the Draker family.
What he hadnʼt anticipated was the place Howard had dragged his "dead" body to.
From Howardʼs perspective, the safest move would have been to leave traces of the Siemens assassins on Zekeʼs body and immediately announce his death to plunge the family into chaos.
Holding onto Zekeʼs corpse risked exposure if he slipped up, which could turn the situation completely against him.
'There must be a reason he brought my body all the way here.ʼ Zeke examined the room where the casket had been placed.
It was completely sealed off, seemingly designed to block external access.
'It doesnʼt look like a prison. What is this?ʼ
Zeke planned to slip out in stealth mode and properly investigate the nature of this space.
Stepping outside, he found a long, dark corridor stretching ahead.
There were many branching paths, and the identical structure made it hard to tell directions apart.
The purpose of such a design was clear.
'Itʼs built to make escape nearly impossible. Even if you break out of the room, youʼll just get lost and wander deeper in.ʼ
As Zeke carefully surveyed, he concluded this wasnʼt a hideout or secret space created by Howard.
No matter how much of a Cross Order councilor Howard was in the Draker family, he couldnʼt build and maintain a facility of this scale alone.
Even if he could, thereʼd be no reason to.
'Then it must be a place Howardʼs allied with. I can find out who his backers are.ʼ
In his previous life, Howard had sided with the Empire, playing a major role in handing the Draker family over to Abel Draker and the mad emperor.
In this life, with the mad emperor dead and the Empire split, heʼd made a different choice, but Zeke needed to uncover who he was betraying them to.
'Siemens, or perhaps Narak.ʼ
Excluding those two, no other group came to mind that could secretly build an underground facility of this size in Atlas.
Spotting people walking down the corridor, Zeke shadowed them while hidden.
They wore robes, suggesting they were mages, but he didnʼt sense the dark magic aura of Narakʼs dark mages.
'Then maybe a secret Siemens lab?ʼ
Zeke drew closer, listening to the two magesʼ conversation.
"Now that the chimera research has stabilized, the higher-ups will surely recognize our contributions."
"Donʼt jump to conclusions. Itʼs a true success only after weʼve granted bloodline abilities to the test subjects and perfected the functionality tests."
"The bloodline ability enhancement and transfer experiments are basically successful.
Weʼve reached the level the chief desired."
Hearing this, Zeke realized this was a chimera research laboratory.
'A chimera research lab... could it be...?ʼ
Come to think of it, besides Siemens and Narak, there was one other group capable of such a secret space.
'The Nostra Family.ʼ
The mafia that had endured for a thousand years had built this horrific lab beneath Atlas, secretly creating chimeras while mocking the Draker family.
Zeke realized Howardʼs allies were the Nostra Family.
The realization ignited fury at the Nostra Familyʼs audacity and Howardʼs alliance with such scum.
'Howard, you conspired to control the Draker family by allying with mere criminals?ʼ
Just like in his previous life, Howard had betrayed the Draker family in this one for his own gain and power.
This was the perfect chance to eradicate Howard and all the familyʼs traitors and threats.
'Leaving enemies inside could mean a knife in the back later.ʼ
It was an ideal opportunity to eliminate all the exposed internal foes at once.
Calming his excitement, Zeke coldly reassessed the situation.
'Howard must have planned to bolster his insufficient forces through deals with the Nostra Family. Eliminate me, install Sister Kali as family head, then manipulate the family from the shadows.ʼ
But Howardʼs own power couldnʼt overpower Kali or the White Silver Knight Order.
So, heʼd schemed to use the Nostra Familyʼs help to impose a geas on her, forcing obedience to his commands.
It was a sinister, underhanded plot to seize and shake the Draker direct line. 'Wait, but a petty schemer like Howard wouldnʼt openly ally with the Nostra Family.ʼ Howard was a craven, loyal dog following Arthur Drakerʼs orders.
'Would Arthur Draker truly be unaware of an alliance with the Nostra Family?ʼ
Moreover, it was hard to believe he didnʼt know about this lab connected to the Four Seasons Star.
'On the contrary, itʼs more likely Arthur or Baron orchestrated the deal with the Nostra Family.ʼ
As Zeke pieced it together, he speculated that Howard had acted as an intermediary, then struck a new deal with the Nostra Family after Arthurʼs death.
The Nostra Family had lost Dario, Six, and several test subjects to Zeke, so their grudge ran deep.
Theyʼd likely used this chance, through Howard, to dispatch bloodline ability users to eliminate him.
Reaching that conclusion, Zeke felt a chill at the thought that Arthur Draker might have ties to the Nostra Family too.
'Just how many secrets was Arthur Draker hiding?ʼ
With sunken eyes, Zeke followed the two mages deeper into the lab.
They stopped before a massive black door and placed their hands on two crystal orbs on either side.
Woooong!
Light emanated from the crystals, and the black door slowly parted.
Zeke couldnʼt help but be shocked by what lay beyond.
Inside a huge glass tube floated a turtle-like magical beast, bound entirely in chains.
Zeke recognized the entity in the tube.
'The Four Fiends?ʼ
It was Doul, one of the Four Fiends.
He already knew the Nostra Familyʼs test subjects were chimeras made using Doulʼs blood.
But he hadnʼt realized the place extracting the corrupted sacred blood from Doul was right under Atlas.
The mages examined the vial beside the glass tube where Doul was confined, watching black blood drip one drop at a time.
The chief mage shook his head.
"The quality and quantity of the blood are far below previous levels."
"Well, weʼve been extracting it for quite a while now. Even for such a formidable beast, there are limits."
The chief mage clicked his tongue, collected the gathered blood from Doul into a vial, and tucked it away.
As he turned to close the door and leave—
"Hm?"
It seemed someone had sent him a message spell.
The accompanying mage tilted his head and asked.
"Whatʼs wrong?"
Looking at his senior, he said.
"Word from Howardʼs side: the pureblood dragon slayerʼs body we agreed on has arrived."
The chief mage smiled faintly.
"A chance for the final experiment."