Arthur Draker.
The name of the Overlord, said to be long dead, came up, and the High Priest spoke to Baron.
"Baron Draker, your jokes are getting worse."
"Why do you think it's a joke?"
He continued, looking at the High Priest.
"The conditions are the same as for Abel Draker. In fact, it's an even better situation. Arthur Draker possesses the rank of a Transcendent, so transplanting Zeus's heart should allow him to draw out the full power of a dragon."
The High Priest furrowed his brow upon realizing how much Baron knew about the matter.
"Arthur Draker is dead."
"But you know that's not true."
The Overlord Arthur Draker was known across the continent to be dead.
But in truth, he had not died; he had simply gone into hiding.
The High Priest stared silently at Baron, who stated this so openly, then slowly opened his mouth.
"Arthur Draker, alive, volunteering to become the vessel for the Demon King? That's utterly unbelievable."
"I never said Arthur Draker is volunteering to become the vessel himself."
At those words, the High Priest unleashed a wave of dark energy once more.
"If you're trying to toy with me, you'll pay a heavy price." Baron waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't get excited. Why not hear me out first and then judge?"
The High Priest pondered Baron's words, then reined in the surging dark energy.
"Speak."
Baron nodded at the High Priest's words.
"Arthur Draker is currently in a comatose state."
"Comatose? The Overlord?"
"Yes. He trusted in his own power and ventured into a realm no human could reach."
"Explain more precisely."
Baron replied with a glint in his eye.
"Black Star."
In that instant, the black energy around the High Priest trembled as if agitated.
Baron continued slowly.
"Arthur Draker entered the land of the Magical Beasts beyond the Giant Mountain Range and returned with the Black Star."
"...I never imagined he would go there."
Even the High Priest of Narak knew that the Black Star existed in the extreme region beyond the Giant Mountain Range.
But even for Narak, which could control Magical Beasts, venturing to the heart of the extreme region—to the sealing site—was impossible.
The closest viable target had been the Forest of the Forgotten, which they had attempted to conquer, only to fail because of Zeke.
Yet according to Baron, Arthur Draker had slipped into the extreme region during that time and retrieved the Black Star alone.
"Arthur Draker had long been searching for relics of the Elder Dragon. But he ultimately failed. So he changed his approach."
"Choosing a heart instead of an Elder Dragon relic."
"That's how you could see it. But there was one problem. The Black Star cannot be transplanted into an ordinary human body." The High Priest knew this as well.
From the start, implanting a dragon's heart into a human body had been impossible.
It had been possible only because of the special bloodline of the Draker Family.
"Arthur Draker learned that to fully absorb the Black Star, he first needed to transplant a dragon's heart."
"So that's why he took Zeus's heart."
A few days earlier, the High Priest had received a message from Baron through a secret network.
They had Zeus's heart and wanted to meet.
He had even sent a recorded projection of extracting the heart from Abel Draker's chest.
This was also why the High Priest had forcibly possessed an ordinary mage's body.
Staring at Baron, he continued.
"You were waiting for this. For Abel to awaken the Light Dragon's heart, neutralizing the madness, and for the Authority of Devouring that Ramon Siemens held to be imprinted on the dragon's heart."
Baron smiled at those words.
"It turned out that way by circumstance; I didn't intend it." The High Priest found it hard to believe Baron's words.
The Black Stage had been scheming endlessly under Arthur Draker, who sought to seize the continent.
For Baron, the Black Stage Captain, devising such a plan might have been difficult but not impossible.
Baron looked at the High Priest and continued.
"Arthur Draker transplanted Zeus's heart into his body and absorbed the Black Star. He thought that with the rank of a Transcendent, he could fully digest it." As he spoke, Baron wore a sinister smile.
The High Priest looked at him and spoke.
"It seems the absorption failed."
Zeus's heart and the Black Star, a fragment of an Elder Dragon's heart.
Zeke Draker had been the only one who had properly digested them so far.
Even he had been trapped in the deep mental world for over two hundred years before finally escaping.
For Arthur Draker, who already possessed the rank of a Transcendent, the deep mental world he created himself would undoubtedly have been even more powerful than Zeke's.
And Arthur Draker's soul had become isolated in that deep mental world, unable to escape without overcoming his own limits.
The High Priest pondered Baron's words.
"You want to use the comatose body of Arthur Draker as the vessel for the Demon King."
"The most ideal vessel, wouldn't you say? His consciousness is gone, leaving only the body of a Transcendent with the hearts of Zeus and the Elder Dragon."
If Baron's words were true, it was indeed a far better vessel than Abel Draker.
It might even have resulted in a descent stronger than that of the past Siemens Apollyon.
But the problem was that the one bringing this deal was Baron.
'No one is harder to trust than the seeds of Draker.'
Even he, who had lived so long, had to be wary of the cunning of the Draker Family.
They could strike from behind at any moment, and even apparent cooperation might have been part of a larger scheme.
A deal with Draker was more dangerous than one with demonkind.
That made it hard to easily trust Baron's words.
"Baron, what do you want in exchange for handing over Arthur Draker as the vessel for the Demon King?"
At the High Priest's question, Baron replied with a serious expression.
"I want the Draker Family."
What he desired was not gold, jewels, beauties, power, territory, or a king's throne—it was the Draker Family.
"You want to become the head of the Draker Family."
"I was a collateral branch of the Draker Family. Fortunately, I was a Pureblood Awakener, but not strong enough to become an Official Knight."
Baron suddenly grabbed his face with his hand and tore it sideways.
The human-skin mask he wore peeled away, revealing Baron's true face.
His nose was cut off, his eyelids, lips, and ears were gone, and his face was covered in scars.
Baron, with an appearance even more grotesque than a lich, continued slowly.
"So, despite being a Pureblood Awakener, I ended up in the Black Stage. This is the result of a lifetime of loyalty to Draker."
The pent-up resentment and anger that Black Stage Captain Baron Draker had hidden were fully revealed.
He had lived as the Overlord's shadow, handling all the dirty work of the Draker Family.
Though he bore the Draker name, as he was not an Official Knight, he was never treated as a true Draker.
As if that had always been his grievance, a fierce glint flashed in Baron's eyes.
"After Arthur Draker fell, I thought about it. This might be my chance."
Baron had shared secrets with Arthur Draker for a very long time, so he knew the details of the Demon King's descent.
He also knew Arthur Draker's true intentions well: Arthur planned to let Narak rampage moderately and then eliminate them before the Demon King descended, once the time was right.
The reason he had watched Narak in silence was nothing else.
The continent needed to be somewhat unstable for the other kingdoms to rely more on Draker.
In stable peace, they would have started having other ideas, so Arthur Draker had carefully maintained the balance to prevent the Central Kingdoms from harboring rebellious thoughts.
But variables arose in that process.
The first variable was Zeke Draker.
Arthur Draker's calculations began to go awry little by little due to the exploits of Zeke Draker, the Knight of Salvation.
Narak needed to sow chaos across the continent for Draker's knights to be dispatched and infiltrate the kingdoms, but Zeke had resolved all the major incidents.
The second variable was Ramon Siemens.
Siemens, the Draker Family's greatest Blood Oath ally, had betrayed them. Moreover, Family Head Ramon Siemens had become the avatar of the Fell God Ajitahaka and sought to bring him down.
With Narak and the Nostra Family becoming involved, the situation grew complicated, and with Zeke Draker at the center, controlling the board became even more chaotic.
But unexpectedly, Zeke was making a strong showing among them, so Arthur Draker changed his plan.
He stepped back one step, leaving Narak and Siemens matters to Zeke to divert attention, and in the meantime, he aimed to conquer the extreme region.
And while Arthur Draker faked his death and was away on the extreme region expedition, the one who filled the vacuum was Baron Draker.
The High Priest realized that Baron had directly felt the power of the authority Arthur wielded, even if only indirectly and briefly.
From that moment, the desire to possess the Draker Family must have grown in Baron's heart.
Or perhaps it was the trigger that awakened a long-suppressed desire.
Baron said to the High Priest.
"High Priest, let me ask in turn. What does Narak want by descending the Demon King into the Phenomenal World? Do you truly wish to lead this world to destruction?"
The High Priest could not easily respond to Baron's question.
Depending on how he answered, he could either take Baron's extended hand or reject it.
After thinking, he slowly spoke.
"Breaking the stagnant order. That is the purpose of descending the King in Yellow."
"Breaking the stagnant order. What does that mean?"
"Baron, do you think the current Phenomenal World is normal in your eyes?"
"Normalcy varies by each person's standards."
"The current Phenomenal World is twisted and distorted. We live trapped like sheep in a farm or fish in a pond, confined within a framework someone has created."
"Then, the purpose of reviving the Demon King is to shatter that pen and framework?" "You could say that."
"Hmm, then who created that pen and framework holding us?"
At those words, the High Priest pointed a finger toward the sky.
"Those up there."
Baron's eyebrows twitched.
"Surely... you mean the Constellations of the Celestial Realm? But they left this land long ago..."
"Invisibility doesn't mean they have no influence on the Phenomenal World." The High Priest said in a low voice.
"This land is still the playground of the gods, and we are merely their toys." Baron pondered those words and soon nodded.
"Fine. As long as the purpose of descending the Demon King isn't the destruction of this world, I don't care."
He continued, looking at the High Priest.
"The deal terms are this: Hand over Arthur Draker's body, and I'll help you make me the head of the Draker Family, and afterward, I won't encroach on Draker's territory." The High Priest considered Baron's words briefly, then nodded.
"Agreed. But we have one condition as well." Baron smiled knowingly at that.
"I knew you'd accept the deal. What is the condition, Doctor West?" Tssst—
The body the High Priest had possessed was crumbling bit by bit.
Possessing an ordinary mage's body without being an apostle of Narak had required enormous karma.
From the crumbling body, the High Priest looked at Baron and spoke.
"Zeke Draker. I know he is not Arthur Draker's legitimate heir."
The High Priest had once tried to kill Arthur Draker by using Zeke Draker's blood to cast an ancient curse.
He had his subordinates collect Zeke's blood and attempted to curse his father Arthur with it, but it failed.
Because Zeke and Arthur were not blood-related, the curse did not take hold.
The High Priest spat out in a sharp voice.
"I need all information on him remaining in Draker."
"All information on Zeke Draker..."
Baron pondered the High Priest's words, then slowly nodded.
"Fine. I accept the condition."
"Remember this, Baron Draker. Breaking a deal with Narak will cost you dearly."
"I could say the same. Don't take your deal with Draker lightly either."
The High Priest did not respond to Baron's words, and soon the mage's body completely crumbled.
In his place, the mage's flesh vanished without a trace, leaving only gray ashes.
Baron watched this, then slowly raised his head.
Tssst—
Baron's grotesque face rippled, soon changing into another face.
A middle-aged man with ash-gray hair slicked back.
It was the Overlord Arthur Draker, said to have lost consciousness after failing to digest the Black Star.