"Emergency!"
As the monster legion surrounded Mycenae Castle, Agamemnon Castle erupted into chaos.
Key figures from the Agamemnon Family, including Hades, had all gathered, and the
Black Sword Knight Order that was on standby in the castle, along with the Knights of Thurn who had been conducting joint training, the Ishtar Mystics, and even the Salmak Assassins, all entered emergency alert status.
Woooong!
The portal magic circle that was installed in Agamemnon Castle activated, and Duke, Aul, and Andrei emerged from within, their expressions grave.
Klone bowed her head toward Duke.
"Please come in, Sir Duke."
"Save the greetings for later."
He waved her off and headed to the central tower of Agamemnon Castle with Klone.
At the central tower, Hades was joined by Rufus, the head of the Agamemnon Family, as well as Farel, Yellin, Reina, and Shadia.
Duke first bowed his head to Hades and Rufus.
"It's been a while."
Given the situation, Rufus and Hades wore grim expressions.
Hades ground his teeth, scowling as he spoke.
"Damn it, what the hell are these demon bastards up to all of a sudden..." In truth, Duke had anticipated something like this to some extent.
Since Zeke had been working actively to prevent the Demon King's resurrection, it made sense for those trying to revive the Demon King to target Mycenae—practically Zeke's home base—to stop him. It wasn't unusual at all.
Duke turned to Rufus.
"Family Head, how long can Mycenae Castle hold out against those monsters?" Rufus, already clad in full plate armor, answered promptly.
"With that many forces, it won't last more than a week at most."
Few cities were as fortified as Mycenae, but Rufus remained realistic.
It was impossible to predict how many more monsters might emerge from the gate, and the power of the demons leading them was hard to gauge accurately, so he was estimating conservatively.
Duke nodded and turned to Farel.
"Has there been any contact with Zeke?"
At that, Farel replied with a tense expression.
"I reached out to Rick, who went with him to Thebea, but he's currently on a solo mission deep in the royal palace underground, where communication is difficult." Hades, standing nearby, let out a frustrated grunt.
"Damn that guy, why is he always so busy! The situation's this dire, and he's off somewhere. Tell him to get here quick!" Duke held Hades back and asked him.
"Lord Hades, then when can the knights equip the enhanced suits?"
Hades furrowed his brow, calculating mentally before responding.
"Ugh, the Hercion suits already issued to the Black Spirit Unit can be fitted with new magic circuits right away. The mass-produced versions haven't arrived from the Southern Archipelago yet. They're nearly complete, but..."
"We have to hold out here until we can reach Zeke. Lord Hades, please prioritize the Black Spirit Unit's enhanced suits first. I'll send word to Atlas to get the Black Spirit Unit personnel here as quickly as possible."
"What a hassle. Fine, got it."
Though his response carried clear annoyance, it was remarkable that the dragonkin Hades even entertained a human like Duke to this degree.
Duke turned to Klone beside him.
"Klone, contact the Southern Archipelago and relay the details to Kay. Urge the dwarves to expedite shipping the enhanced suits in production here."
"Understood."
Duke planned to prepare for a prolonged battle to hold off the monster legion until Zeke arrived.
But just then—
Felix burst in urgently.
"Sir Duke! Visitors have arrived at the castle. They say they've come to honor the agreement with the young master!"
Duke looked surprised at Felix's words and asked.
"An agreement with Zeke? Who are they from?"
"Th-they're from a place called Highlander, which I've never heard of."
Though Felix said it was unfamiliar, Duke had heard of Highlander from Zeke before.
A secretive group that hunted magical beasts from the shadows of history, maintaining the balance of the phenomenal world.
Their skills were said to rival those of any knights.
"Felix, bring them in."
"Understood!"
Soon, under Felix's guidance, Adnan and Bodmir appeared.
Adnan pulled a letter from his bosom and handed it to Duke.
Zeke's seal was imprinted on the envelope.
Adnan spoke slowly.
"We've come to provide aid in accordance with the agreement between Sir Zeke Draker and Highlander."
Duke unfolded and read the letter Adnan had given him.
It stated that the Highlanders were experts in battles against demons and to seek their assistance.
Duke tucked the letter away, bowed his head, and said.
"Thank you for your help. I am Duke Draker." Adnan bowed his head toward Duke.
"It is an honor to meet the Knight of the Gale in person. I am Adnan. This is Bodmir." Bodmir, standing behind, grinned and said.
"Pleased to meet you, knights."
Just as Adnan and Bodmir finished their greetings—
Eeeeeeng—
An air raid alarm blared across the entire city.
At that, Adnan's expression changed.
"We don't have time for leisurely introductions, Sir Duke." He looked at Duke and said.
"Please guide us to the most vulnerable point in this city's defenses." *
Woooong!
With a halo of light, Zeke appeared.
'This is...ʼ
Having used the system portal to reach the location of the Don's main body, Zeke surveyed his surroundings.
A vast underground waterway stretched out like a labyrinth.
Zeke gazed into the depths of the waterway with sunken eyes.
Gooooo—
It was as if he had entered the belly of a massive monster; a wailing sound echoed from afar.
Zeke immediately summoned the shadow spirits.
Shhh—
Hundreds of shadow spirits materialized in hazy forms.
They were the very shadow spirits he had created by absorbing the lost souls that poured from Ajitahaka's censer.
Zeke commanded the shadow spirits.
"Search every inch of this place."
He planned to locate the Don and Abel using the shadow spirits, who took on spirit forms.
Zeke sent out the shadow spirits and slowly proceeded inward along the waterway, examining it.
Judging by the construction, materials of the bricks, and patterns, it seemed to date back to before the Golden Age, to the era of the Seven Kingdoms.
'A place over a thousand years old, preserved so intact.ʼ
As Zeke walked along the waterway, he realized the paths twisted into such a complex maze that further personal inspection would be pointless, so he stopped in place.
He pulled a chair from his inventory, sat down, and shared vision with the shadow spirits.
The views from hundreds of shadow spirits flooded into his mind at once.
For an ordinary human, it would have been enough information to overload and burst the brain, but Zeke, who could interface with the Akashic Code, had no issue with this level.
As he scanned the interior through the shadow spirits' visions, Zeke noticed something odd.
'There were no enemies in sight.ʼ
If this was indeed the Don's main body location, there should have been other subordinates guarding it, yet no enemies were visible in the waterways.
Not just enemies—there wasn't even a rat or insect anywhere.
'Was it possible for such a vast underground waterway to have not a single rat or bug?ʼ It was an unnaturally lifeless space, devoid of realism.
But then—
Through the vision of a shadow spirit sent eastward, Zeke spotted something strange.
At the end of the waterway, something was engraved on a massive wall.
'That... a magic circle?ʼ
It didn't look like a standard magic circle; it resembled an ancient one.
Zeke ordered the shadow spirit to approach the magic circle.
The shadow spirit slowly moved toward the wall.
Then, suddenly, a massive plasma spark erupted.
Pzzzzzt—
It was a force powerful enough to instantly dissipate the shadow spirit.
'Even a spirit-form shadow spirit couldn't get close...ʼ Zeke stood and immediately activated the portal.
The shadow spirit served as the most precise coordinates for him.
The system portal flashed, and Zeke arrived right at the wall with the engraved magic circle.
With ample karma points, he could use the system portal freely, making movement far more advantageous than before.
He dismissed the shadow spirit's summoning and slowly approached the wall with the drawn magic circle.
He extended his hand toward the wall.
Pzzzzzt—
A plasma spark jumped again.
Wondering if he'd need to have Raven absorb the barrier like before, Zeke started to call for Raven but suddenly realized this felt different from the previous defensive barrier.
'This had a stronger magical or shamanic aura. Enormous mana was emanating from here. Was this magic circle the reason for the high mana density in the Thebea royal palace?ʼ
Zeke decided to approach the magic circle more cautiously.
He first tried using the curse-lifting treatment skill to dispel the barrier itself, but it had no effect.
Pondering various methods, Zeke drew the Holy Sword Ascalon.
Then, he activated the authority of spiritualization.
Shhh—
Zeke's flesh transformed into a heroic spirit, departing the phenomenal world.
Surprisingly, as the dimensional layer shifted, the wall with the magic circle looked entirely different.
'A mirror?ʼ
What had appeared as a solid wall now showed a massive mirror embedded in it from this layer.
Zeke slowly advanced, but the plasma barrier didn't activate. 'Could the entrance only be visible from this dimensional layer?ʼ Zeke approached the mirror on the wall.
He placed his hand against it.
Yet, as if it were a passage filled with mercury, his hand sank right in.
Shhh—
The spiritualization time was ending soon, and he'd return to the phenomenal world, losing sight of this space.
'No choice but to dive in.ʼ
Zeke thrust his body into the mirror.
Woooong—
The first sensation upon entering the world within the mirror was a strange resonance.
It was as if he were submerged in water; a constant humming echoed in his ears.
Zeke squinted slightly and looked ahead.
'What was this?ʼ
The world inside the mirror seemed frozen in time.
Even individual specks of dust floated motionless in the air, with almost no flow of atmosphere.
Shhh—
Then, as the spiritualization ended and he returned to the phenomenal world, the scenery shifted once more.
It was as if a layer of paint had been applied over the world; the colors changed.
All hues of the world vanished, dyed in a bluish-gray tint.
At the same time, the wall pulsed like a living organism, and the floor oozed with viscous organic matter asserting its presence.
'What was this place?ʼ
Zeke felt this space resembled the one where he had faced the Don's clones.
But there was one key difference.
Everything was mirrored left to right.
The world inside the mirror was a left-right reversal of reality, and this place was the same.
'A left-right reversed world... Could this have been another dimension?ʼ Zeke tried to summon Raven while staying alert.
But unlike usual, Raven didn't appear on his shoulder.
As a phoenix and divine beast, Raven could traverse dimensional layers.
For Raven not to respond to the summons meant this wasn't a normal dimension.
'A perfect hideout for a cursed being.ʼ
Zeke gripped Ascalon and scanned for traces of the Don.
Then, he sensed something suspicious behind him.
Zeke whirled around, deploying Holy Spirit Qi to strike first.
But astonishingly, the lightning of light didn't manifest.
Pzzzt—
A spark flickered briefly before vanishing.
It felt as if light itself was forbidden here.
As Zeke faltered in this unexpected situation, something burst from the water.
Kaaaaak—
A massive arm lunged toward Zeke's body.
Kwaaaak—
Zeke was sent flying into the wall by the arm's impact.
Despite the tremendous force, the wall didn't shatter.
It felt like sinking into flesh.
Wrinkling his nose at the unpleasant sensation, Zeke pushed himself up from the sticky organic mass.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Raising his head at the earth-shaking sounds, he saw a long-armed monster emerging.