Rumble—
The rigid carapace was nearly shattered, and black blood streamed from its entire body.
Even in a weakened state, Dool, one of the Four Fiends, was no magical beast that could be taken lightly.
As the massive, suddenly injured beast appeared, Yellin tensed and turned back toward Zeke, gripping Anexiʼs Dagger.
"Sir Zeke. What is that...?"
Just as Zeke was about to reassure her, his senses picked up something ominous.
Without a word, he stepped in front of Yellin, on guard.
The space rippled, and someone appeared before Dool.
"Hmm."
A man in a black suit and a clown mask nodded as he looked at the fallen Dool.
"Whyʼd you come out here? Have you lived so long that you want to die now?" His tone was friendly, but the content was anything but.
The man with the peculiar speech pattern glanced at Dool before he turned his head to look at Zeke and Yellin.
He tilted his head, then clapped his hands and nodded.
"Ah, youʼre the one. Zeke Draker."
As he rubbed his mask with his hand, it instantly changed to a different expression.
It had been a neutral face moments ago, but now it was an angry one with narrowed eyes.
He looked at Zeke and said,
"I heard you were dead, but looks like that wasnʼt true." As he took a step forward, the air around them grew heavy.
Zeke raised his sword, pointing it at him.
The strength that emanated from him was markedly different from the enemies they had faced until now.
'He was on the level of Ramon Siemens or Harvey West.ʼ As he thought that inwardly, the man shook his head.
"Comparing me to a kid like Ramon? That kinda hurts my feelings." Zeke flinched in surprise for a moment.
'He read my mind.ʼ
Zekeʼs mental defenses were unparalleled, thanks to the passive skill: indomitable will.
On top of that, he had fully absorbed the Blood Kingʼs power, and numerous titles protected him.
Reading Zekeʼs thoughts was nearly impossible.
Yet this man had made the impossible possible.
Zeke knew who the man was from what Dool had told him.
'The boss of the Nostra Family.ʼ
The mafia organization that had endured for a thousand years, the Nostra Family.
The secretive boss, long shrouded in mystery, had finally revealed himself.
The boss, wearing the angry clown mask, looked at Zeke and said,
"Zeke Draker, I thought youʼd finally died this time, but seeing you alive... itʼs both pleasing and annoying."
As he finished speaking, the boss snapped his fingers.
Pop!
Something exploded right in front of Zekeʼs face.
Sizzle—
Zeke turned his head to dodge the blast, and the edge of his clothing began to burn.
Seeing that, the boss clapped his hands as if amused.
"Oh, quick reflexes?"
The boss snapped his fingers again.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Small explosions erupted continuously near Zekeʼs body.
He flinched from the blasts on his arm, leg, and shoulder, but they were not serious injuries.
The problem was that Zeke had not properly perceived these explosions.
'Too fast.ʼ
He could not comprehend how explosions could surpass the perception speed of a grandmaster like himself.
But one thing was clear.
'He was a bloodline ability user.ʼ
Magic or aura could not create explosions this traceless and swift.
Only a bloodline ability user, wielding their power as naturally as breathing, could do this.
Zeke recalled what the boss had told him before rescuing Dool.
'I couldnʼt even grasp what power he uses or what he is. Thatʼs why I ended up captured
like this.ʼ
Even Dool, one of the Four Fiends, had called it a power whose nature he could not fathom, so Zeke had found it hard to imagine.
But facing it now, he understood.
'His power was on a different trajectory from ordinary ability users.ʼ
As Zeke stood silently glaring at him, the boss shook his head as if bored.
"What, just standing there blankly."
The boss tilted his head side to side, then nodded.
"Ah, right. This should do it." The boss snapped his fingers again.
Pop!
An explosion occurred, just like before.
But there were no traces on Zekeʼs body.
Zeke turned in surprise.
"Ugh."
Yellin clutched her arm, staggering.
Blood flowed from her arm.
Zeke ground his teeth and glared at the boss.
The boss clapped and seemed delighted.
"Now weʼre getting somewhere. Not focusing in a fight is no fun. Itʼs like youʼre not giving it your all."
He raised his hand again.
"Where to aim this time? Shall I ruin that noble, pretty face? Or the arms, legs? Zeke, you pick. Iʼll target whatever you—"
Before the boss could finish, Zeke charged at him with Ascalon raised.
Whoosh—
The sword infused with holy spirit qi flew toward the boss.
Boom!
A powerful storm of light swept through the surroundings.
But the boss had vanished without a trace.
"Whew, impressive momentum."
The boss reappeared behind Zeke, speaking leisurely.
Zeke realized what the bossʼs ability was.
'Rahimʼs spatial teleportation.ʼ
The ability to move freely anywhere, anytime—the boss could use it too.
Seeing the boss wield two special abilities at once, Zeke was certain of his identity.
'He was a bloodline ability user and an irregular.ʼ
A being outside the worldʼs laws.
Zeke surmised that the bossʼs illogical power was that of an irregular.
The boss nodded.
"Oh, correct. Youʼre smart, Zeke."
He had read Zekeʼs thoughts again and responded accordingly.
The boss added, looking at Zeke,
"Now I get why youʼve succeeded so far. You completely misunderstood your own abilities. Youʼre not just strong—you excel at assessing situations. You find ways to defeat enemies and exploit their openings."
As soon as he finished, he vanished and reappeared right in front of Zeke.
The boss shoved his masked face close to Zekeʼs and said,
"But do you think thatʼll work on me?"
Zeke thrust his sword straight at the boss.
Whoosh—
But the boss dodged the strike, vanishing and reappearing.
Zeke gripped his sword again, watching him.
He focused his mind.
No thoughts, no attachments.
He emptied his head, trying to think of nothing.
The boss, who had been watching him, nodded.
"Impressive. Most people, when told not to think, get caught up in the thought of not thinking. But not you."
He rubbed his mask again, changing its expression.
This time, the maskʼs face was frowning.
"I was going to kill you quickly, but now I want to play a bit more. Ah, is this why the others fell to your counterattacks?" He extended his hand toward Zeke.
Rumble!
Powerful psychokinesis crushed down on Zekeʼs body.
It was incomparable to what Sion had used—overwhelming pressure battered Zeke.
Yet, seeing Zeke endure his power, the boss shook his head.
"Hoo? Youʼre really tough. Letʼs see."
The boss raised both hands this time.
Hum—
The pressure doubled, trying to tear Zeke apart.
It pressed down from above and ripped viciously from the sides.
'Urgh!ʼ
Thanks to full power technique reinforcement, he held out, but a normal knight would have been shredded instantly.
In his no-thoughts state, Zeke endured while imprinting everything about the boss in his mind.
He might have been on the level of his master Nigel or Arthur Draker.
Rumble—
Meanwhile, as Zeke withstood the force no matter how much he applied, the boss tilted his head.
Then, as if snapping out of it, he looked up.
"Hmm? Youʼre testing me?"
The longer this dragged on, the more his powers would be exposed, potentially becoming the key to his defeat.
Now, the boss understood how his subordinates had fallen to Zeke.
"So thatʼs how it always goes. Seeing you, I get it. You hang on tenaciously without dying, making them frustrated and wanting to torment you more before finishing it." Then, the boss rubbed his mask again, changing it.
Now, the mask smiled brightly.
"This wonʼt do. Youʼre too dangerous to leave alive. Iʼll just end you here."
He formed a square with his thumbs and index fingers, then peered at Zeke through it.
Suddenly, Zeke felt a chill down his neck.
Whoosh—
He dodged something invisible and unfelt, lunging forward.
Slash!
A long red line appeared where Zeke had stood.
He broke into a cold sweat from the sudden attack.
'Couldnʼt sense it again.ʼ
Like the explosions, this attack was imperceptible.
He had evaded it purely on instinct.
Without the passive skill: war godʼs senses, it would have been impossible, Zeke thought, exhaling in relief.
Seeing this, the boss was genuinely surprised.
"Huh? Dodged that too?"
It was a power he used to kill in earnest.
Once activated, it brought near-absolute death—yet Zeke had evaded it.
The boss pondered, then said to Zeke,
"Looks like I canʼt. Putting you down is on hold for now." He stepped back.
"See you later, Zeke Draker."
As he tried to vanish with spatial teleportation,
Stab—
Zeke was clearly in front, but a shadow rippled behind, and another Zeke appeared, stabbing him from the back.
The sword protruded from back to front.
But the boss turned slimy like a slime and slipped off Zekeʼs sword. "Nice try. But sloppy..."
Hum—
At that moment, Zeke activated the third eyeʼs authority, unleashing the Blood Kingʼs power from his forehead.
Exposed to the third eye, the bossʼs body stiffened.
Simultaneously, Zeke used dragonʼs wisdom on him.
Crackle—
But suddenly, a powerful current sparked between Zeke and the boss.
"Urk!"
The boss recoiled in panic.
Zeke also clutched his head, staggering from intense vertigo.
It felt like an overwhelming flood of information surged into his mind.
The boss stared at Zeke in disbelief.
"You, you bastard...?"
He tried to continue but attempted to flee with spatial teleportation again.
But Zeke was faster.
Crackle—
As the mana reversal field expanded, the bossʼs teleportation was disrupted.
The bossʼs mind reeled in confusion.
No one could possess so many abilities.
In his moment of fluster, Zeke drew the black darkness sword Laevatein.
Hum—
Unleashing the chamber of metal power, he pinned the boss with gravity, forcing him to kneel, unable to resist the pressure.
Bound by the third eyeʼs authority, mana reversal field, and chamber of metal power.
Zeke approached with his sword raised.
Then, he swung down at the bossʼs neck.
Slash—
The bossʼs head was severed cleanly.
Thud!
The head and body fell to the ground.
But no blood flowed from the cut neck.
Yellin, who had watched tensely from behind, gasped in surprise.
"How...?"
Zeke calmly lifted the severed head.
Removing the mask revealed a dollʼs face.
A voice emanated from the dollʼs face.
"Zeke Draker, we will meet again."
Crackle—
The light faded from the dollʼs eyes. Zeke ground his teeth.
'Even a clone had this much power.ʼ
The bossʼs strength exceeded Zekeʼs expectations.
The reason he had not revealed himself until now, operating only through the Nostra Family, seemed to be some limitation on his power.
'If he unleashes his full might without restrictions, itʼll be another major threat.ʼ
Zekeʼs expression grew grave, suspecting the Nostra Family was more than a simple mafia.
'I thought something was off since the chimera experiments... I need to investigate the
Nostra Family more thoroughly.ʼ
For now, he stored the bossʼs clone body in his inventory.
Then, he turned and approached the fallen Dool.
Dool was breathing shallowly.
He said to Zeke,
[O emissary of the God of Chaos.]
Then, slowly continued,
[End this cursed life of mine.]