Squelch—squelch—
The monster crawled out of the waterway on all fours, its steps thudding heavily.
It twisted its flesh-lump of a face this way and that before turning toward Zeke.
Then the lump of flesh writhed and split open into eight jagged maws.
Kaaaaak—
Sharp teeth were embedded densely in the cross-sections of the flesh, and at their centers, an eerie red light flickered.
Zeke eyed the grotesque and hideous creature, guessing its nature.
"An Outsider Species?"
Outsider Species had roamed the outer waterways too, but the one before him now felt different somehow.
"Either way, itʼs just as repulsive."
The monster gaped its eight maws wide and charged at Zeke.
Kaaaaak—
Zeke sprang to his feet and swung Ascalon at it.
Thwack—
It felt like slamming a lump of iron into meat.
Crunch—
Where Zekeʼs sword had struck, the body had split open as if torn apart.
Yet organic matter wrapped in bodily fluids surged from the monsterʼs body, filling the severed section and regenerating its flesh.
Crunch—
Zeke gripped his sword again and assumed the rider form of the Dragon Slaying Technique as he watched the restored monster.
He concentrated mana into his blade.
But like the power of light, the Aura Blade flickered briefly before fading away.
Sizzle—
Zeke furrowed his brow at the phenomenon.
"Could this world absorb all light?"
It was a space thick with mana density, where mana was concentrated.
The bizarre space itself might have been absorbing mana or aura.
"In that case…"
Zeke sheathed Ascalon.
Then he approached the monster bare-handed.
The monster glared at the seemingly defenseless Zeke with the red light in its maws before swinging a long arm at him.
Swoosh—
In an instant, Zekeʼs shadow rippled, and a massive black scythe burst forth, severing the monsterʼs arm.
Kiaaaak—
The monster let out a horrific screech.
At that moment, Zeke absorbed the severed arm into his shadow.
Sizzle—
Perhaps because it was an Outsider Species, absorption into the shadow was possible. "Now I have a sense of how to deal with you." He extended his hand.
His shadow coalesced, forming a sword in Zekeʼs grasp.
The Shadow Sword Caladbolg revealed itself.
Zeke raised Caladbolg and charged at the monster in the rider form of the Dragon Slaying Technique.
Slash—
The Dragon Slaying Techniqueʼs sword strike severed another of the monsterʼs arms. Kieeeek—
The monster screeched and retreated.
Then it thrust its belly forward at Zeke.
Its belly split wide, and hundreds of tentacles erupted from within, lunging at Zeke.
Swoooosh—
Zeke raised his shadow to form a shield.
The tentacles, sprouting sharp teeth, crashed against Zekeʼs shield.
Seizing the opening, Zeke summoned the Chains of Solomon.
Clang!
The chains rose and bound the bundle of tentacles.
The monster tried to retreat in panic as its tentacles were ensnared.
But Zeke immediately brought Caladbolg down on the bound tentacles.
Schling!
With a sharp sound, the monsterʼs tentacles were sliced off.
Before the severed tentacles could reattach, they were devoured by Zekeʼs rising shadow, vanishing without a trace.
Realizing its power couldnʼt touch Zeke, the monster withdrew the stumps into its belly and slunk backward.
Zeke advanced slowly toward the monster, his body wrapped in shadow.
"Where do you think youʼre going?"
For the first time, the monster felt "fear" as it looked at Zeke.
It had always been the source of such terror for others, never once experiencing fear itself.
Thus, this strange emotion felt utterly alien.
Kaaaaak!
The monster screeched louder, as if to shake off the unpleasant feeling.
But no amount of noise could dispel the deeply etched fear.
Zeke raised Caladbolg and charged at the monster.
"Hyah!"
The basic form of the Dragon Slaying Technique unfolded from Zekeʼs hand.
Dragon Slaying Technique: True Dragon Sword Formula
Chapter 2 Verse 2
Earth Thrust
The shadow sword Zeke thrust pierced the monsterʼs body.
Rumble!
The swirling sword strike bored a massive hole in the monsterʼs belly.
Kee-ee-eek!
Viscous fluids poured out.
Dripping melted organics from the hole, the monster writhed in agony.
Zeke approached and unleashed the Chamber of Metal Power.
Boom boom boom—
The intense gravitational force pinned the monster in place, immobilizing it.
Kee-ee-eek!
The monster thrashed to escape the gravity field.
Zeke extended his hand toward the writhing monster with cold eyes.
Crackle!
Dragonʼs Wisdom activated, and the monsterʼs memories flowed into Zekeʼs mind.
Much like the clone body, most of the information was fragmented and hard to interpret.
Even so, Zeke used the Eye of the Sage and the data absorbed from previous clone bodies to analyze the broken pieces.
It was possible because he had encountered such entities multiple times before.
Light returned to Zekeʼs eyes.
"So they brought underground creatures into the Inner World and used the power of chaos to create these aberrant beings."
He recalled how there hadnʼt been even a single rat or insect in the underground waterways.
And he realized the grave mistake the king of Thebea and the allied forces had made a thousand years ago in trying to open the Gate of Chaos.
They had conducted the ritual in Thebeaʼs secret underground labyrinth.
This ancient site harbored unidentified curses and magics from antiquity.
But when the Gate of Chaos opened, those ancient mysteries had awakened.
The summoning had failed as a result, and the princes of the fallen kingdoms, sacrificed as offerings, had been swept into the power of chaos, becoming these monsters.
Infused with chaos, Germain had spent a millennium amassing power to reopen the "Gate of Chaos."
The plan was to manifest the entity meant to be summoned into the Phenomenal World, seize control of it, and plunge Thebea and the entire Central Continent into ruin.
"So the fusion of chaos and curse created these horrific aberrant entities."
Zeke murmured the name of the cursed being that had endured for a thousand years.
"Master Germain."
It was the name of the entity that ruled the Central Continentʼs darkness from beneath Thebeaʼs underground labyrinth—existing yet not.
It was then.
Kee-ee-eek—
The monster, bound by the Chamber of Metal Power, let out a long wail before its body began to swell.
Gurgle—
Emitting a grotesque sound, the monster ballooned like a sphere before exploding outward in all directions.
Boom boom boom—
Zeke raised Shadow Armor to block the acidic fluids and sharp tooth fragments spraying everywhere.
The area was filled with sticky bodily fluids.
Zeke dispelled the Shadow Armor and shook his head at the horrific sight of scattered, melted flesh lumps.
He planned to quickly find the main body, deal with Abel, and return to reality.
But then, bubbles rose in the waterway.
Growl—
Dozens more monsters emerged from within.
Each one bore a grotesque and terrifying form.
The aberrant monsters infused with chaos crawled toward Zeke along the floor, walls, and ceiling.
Ordinary knights would have lost their will to fight from the sheer disgust of their appearances and the pressure they exuded.
But Zeke drew Caladbolg again, assumed the stance of the Dragon Slaying Technique, and his eyes gleamed. "Come on, you monsters." Kee-ee-eek!
The monsters spat acidic fluids and charged at Zeke.
The waterway filled with horrific screeches.
*
In a vast cavern, an organic mass resembling a human brain writhed.
Thousands of tentacles extended from the organic body, adhering to the walls.
The tentacles writhed continuously, as if sucking something in or injecting it.
The organic body was truly like a living brain.
Outwardly, it seemed to pulse rhythmically, but within, intense exchanges of thought were occurring.
—We must kill him immediately.
—No, we cannot kill him.
—We must make him our flesh.
—If itʼs his body, it can withstand the power of chaos we harbor.
—Itʼs too dangerous.
—He has already entered this domain.
—He is the apostle of the God of Chaos.
—We could be devoured by him.
No conclusion emerged from the fierce debate among the mental entities.
They had once been distinct minds, but after over a millennium of fusion, distinguishing one from another was impossible.
Thus, they decided everything together yet separately under the name of Master Germain.
The topic of this debate was the disposal of Zeke Draker.
Initially, they had agreed to use a clone body to claim Zeke Drakerʼs flesh as a new vessel.
But as he followed the cloneʼs trail all the way to Thebeaʼs palace, opinions split.
They feared Zeke Drakerʼs power.
Germainʼs mental entities concluded that Zeke needed to be eliminated before he became a greater threat.
Yet some of the mental entities still coveted his body.
If they could use a real body as a host instead of a puppet, their influence in the Phenomenal World would expand.
Some of Germain raised their voices again.
—Taking Zeke Draker as a host is dangerous.
—The cloneʼs mental body was sucked into his deep mental world in an instant.
—He is no ordinary human.
—It would be safer to use Abel Drakerʼs body as the host instead.
Mention of Abel Draker accelerated their thoughts.
—We have a contract with Narak.
—We know we cannot touch Abel Drakerʼs body.
—The soul of the Demon King will dwell in him.
—We cannot open the Gate of Chaos with a body meant to host the Demon King.
The Gate of Chaos.
The king of Thebea and the allied forces had tried to open the Gate of Chaos to summon an entity from another dimension to stop Bahamut, in whom the Demon King had resided.
But the summoning failed, and only the sacrificed princes of the fallen kingdoms were caught in the chaos, becoming these monsters.
Infused with chaos, Germain had spent a thousand years building power to reopen the "Gate of Chaos."
The plan was to bring the intended summon into the Phenomenal World, control it, and lead Thebea and the entire Central Continent to destruction.
—When the Gate of Chaos opens and the "being from beyond" appears, the boundaries of dimensions will mean nothing.
—Even without a body, we will be able to advance into the real world.
—There is no need to bear the risks of variables like Zeke Draker or Abel Draker.
After long deliberation, Germainʼs mental entities concluded: kill Zeke Draker, and hand Abel Draker to Narak as per the contract.
Only Narakʼs high priest could fulfill the final condition to open the Gate of Chaos.
If they didnʼt deliver Abel Draker, the high priest of Narak wouldnʼt open the gate, forcing Germain into another endless wait.
—Send more children of chaos.
—We must completely annihilate Zeke Draker here.
Having reached a consensus, the mental entities tried to send more monsters toward Zeke via the tentacles.
And at that moment, Germain realized it could no longer sense Zeke Drakerʼs movements amid his battle with the pre-sent monsters.
He had vanished somewhere during their heated debate.
—Heʼs gone.
—Has he returned to reality?
—If he hides after leaving, it will be hard for us to find him.
—The clone bodies have limits against him.
—We must kill him here.
The mental entities issued commands to all aberrant entities in this Inner World as their thoughts raced.
—Find Zeke Draker.
—And kill him.
The horrific aberrant beings lurking in the reverse side of reality screeched at the mental entitiesʼ orders and began searching for Zekeʼs traces.
—He must be a living being.
—There should be traces left.
—No aura of the living can be felt anywhere.
—Thatʼs impossible.
—As a being of the Phenomenal World, he must leave traces. —A human of the Phenomenal World cannot evade our sight… It was then.
Boom boom boom boom!
Something fell rapidly from above.
A massive spear formed of shadow.
The spear, fused from Shadow Armor and Caladbolg, spun toward the main body with rotational force.
Sensing the immense physical energy, Germain unleashed its bloodline ability.
Ziiiiing—
A translucent barrier generated by it enveloped the entire cavern.
Rumble rumble—
The black spear plunged toward the barrier.