The Draconic Tongue was a unique authority of the Dragon Species, allowing them to infuse their will into Word Magic and adjust the structure of the Phenomenal World using karma.
Zeke channeled the power of his authority into the Draconic Tongue, even expending karma points to embed his intent.
His meticulous plan worked. An abnormal reaction stirred within Harvey West's body.
Tssstsss—
Cracks formed in the bindings that had firmly held the Arrogant Savior's soul. At some point, haze leaked from Harvey West's form.
"Graaaah!"
Due to Laevatein's Chaos Field, Harvey West could no longer wield the Arrogant Savior's power.
Moreover, until then, whenever he had deployed the Chaos Field as an area effect, Zeke had been caught in its influence as well.
But this time, by overlaying it onto his sword and limiting its range to the target alone, the technique's utility doubled.
In the end, the Arrogant Savior's soul form slowly emerged from within Harvey West's body.
Seeing this, Zeke summoned his shadow.
The shadow gaped open like a monster's maw and advanced to swallow the Arrogant Savior's soul form that had emerged from Harvey West's body.
Then Harvey West barely managed to extend his hand, unleashing the power of the Outsider Species.
Shalala!
Tentacles burst from his hand, blocking the encroaching shadow and preventing it from reaching the Arrogant Savior's soul.
At the same time, more tentacles erupted from Harvey West's back.
The sharp-toothed appendages lunged toward Zeke, who gripped Laevatein, to attack him.
In that moment, Raven emerged from the dimensional rift on Zeke's shoulder.
Wooooo!
Raven unleashed Phoenix Cry toward the charging tentacles.
The wave of Phoenix Cry rippled outward, causing the Outsider Species' tentacles to falter and then retreat, drained of strength.
Zeke unleashed even more of Laevatein's power into the blade embedded in Harvey West's back, injecting the Chaos Field directly into his body.
"Guhhh!"
Unable to use Re-Creation, Harvey West could not heal his body. Sensing the crisis, he shouted at Zeke.
"Zeke Draker! Are you choosing to live like a puppet from here on out?!"
Zeke looked at Harvey West and replied.
"I have no intention of being anyone's puppet. I will always forge my own path with my own will."
As he spoke, the Arrogant Savior's soul slipped free from Harvey West's body.
The soul of the Arrogant Savior gleamed with a luster that belied its demonic nature.
The tentacles that had barely held back Zeke's shadow could no longer endure.
Tssstsss—
Zeke's shadow, having already infiltrated, began to slowly erode the Arrogant Savior's soul.
Seeing this, Harvey West cried out in anguish.
"Zeke Draker! I know who your real father is! Stop now, and I'll tell you your true identity!"
But Zeke ignored Harvey West's words entirely and continued injecting the Chaos Field's power.
Wooooo!
Realizing his scheme had utterly failed against Zeke, Harvey West finally felt fear.
"So that's why he was chosen by the Elder Dragon and the Great Sage." An unyielding, steadfast will.
This was Zeke's greatest authority.
Zeke's shadow gradually eroded the sealed form containing the Arrogant Savior's soul.
Harvey West felt a chill of dread, fearing he himself might be swept away by Zeke's shadow.
"Damn it..."
He had no choice but to make his final gambit.
Harvey West drew a dagger from his bosom.
It was a dagger engraved with the grotesque image of an Outsider Species' abomination.
Harvey West swung the dagger, severing the chains of binding that linked him to the Arrogant Savior's sealed form.
Fwaaa!
A brilliant light burst forth, separating the Arrogant Savior's sealed form from Harvey West.
"Grk!"
As a Nephilim, severing the soul bond dealt Harvey West a severe blow.
But it also alleviated the burden of the Chaos Field's power surging through him.
Most of the Chaos Field's energy had naturally shifted to controlling the Arrogant Savior's sealed form.
Seizing the opening, Harvey West invoked the Outsider Species' power to dissolve his flesh around Laevatein and slip away to the side.
Tssstsss—
The Arrogant Savior's sealed form, now detached from Harvey West's body, was fully eroded by Zeke's shadow.
Having absorbed the sealed form, Zeke immediately prepared to unleash a sword strike to annihilate Harvey West.
But at that moment, a massive light flashed outside the window.
Kugugugu!
A spear of light launched from the tower obliterated the entire building.
Moments later, Zeke emerged from the ruins where the building had stood, clad in Hercion alongside Raven.
"Where is that bastard Harvey West?"
Harvey West had realized Zeke's deception and dismantled the barrier on the building, luring the angel's attack.
In the distance, Zeke spotted Harvey West fleeing toward an alley.
"Harvey West!"
Zeke tried to pursue with his shadow, but unlike before, it refused to obey his will.
A message appeared before his eyes.
[Absorbing the Arrogant Savior's sealed form.]
[The sealed soul's divinity is high, so absorption will take time.]
[Shadow Armor cannot be used until absorption is complete.]
"Damn..."
In the brief moment Zeke had overlooked him, Harvey West had already vanished.
As Zeke turned toward the direction of Harvey West's escape, another spear of light hurtled toward him.
Pajijijik!
Though unexpected, Hercion's plasma barrier activated in time, blocking the spear of light.
Looking toward the source, Zeke saw the angel, who had been hovering in the sky, now descending toward the tower and glaring down at him.
"So you've marked me as the target."
Harvey West was effectively trapped in the angel's unique domain anyway; no matter where he fled in the city, he was a rat in a trap.
Zeke decided to subdue the angel first, then capture Harvey West.
Kugugugu!
At that moment, a familiar power began to surge from the tower that had been firing the spears of light.
Pajijijik!
Heavenly Thunder—one of the ultimate light magic spells used by Princess Arina—spread in all directions.
The entire sky over the city was engulfed in bolts of light.
As if that weren't enough, the angel from Sagyeon Palace raised its hand skyward, gathering the light bolts into a spear forged from thunderclap.
The angel gripped the thunder-spear and fixed its gaze on Zeke.
Gooo—
With a roar that shook the surroundings, the angel hurled the thunder-spear straight at Zeke's position.
Pishushushushu!
The spear of light plunged from the heavens toward the ground.
Zeke held his breath momentarily under the pressure of the oncoming force.
But his eyes flashed as he raised Laevatein, drawing forth the power of the Heart-Sword.
Wooooo!
The Will-Forged Strong Qi Field erupted, instantly enveloping Zeke's surroundings.
As dominion over the domain unfolded, Zeke's eyes pierced the essence of the incoming spear.
He thrust his sword toward that essence.
Infinite Sword Art Secret Transmission Form
Black Sword Qi
Black Dragon Emerges from Water
A black dragon manifested from Zeke's sword and collided with the thunder-spear.
Kugugugu!
The black dragon bared its fangs, biting into the thunder and charging toward its core.
Kwakwakwakwa!
The clash between the black dragon and the thunder-spear unleashed a shockwave that swept through the city.
Buildings crumbled, and the earth split.
Amid the chaos, the black dragon coiled around the thunder-spear, devouring its core and shattering its power.
Undeterred, the black dragon surged skyward, roaring at the angel who had thrown the spear.
Kaaaa!
The angel showed no reaction to the approaching black dragon.
Just before the black dragon collided with the angel—
Kwakwakwakwa!
A transparent barrier formed around the angel, halting the charging black dragon.
Kugugugugu!
The angel, statue-like, stared impassively at the black dragon straining against its barrier.
Then, slowly, it raised its hand.
Wooooo!
Light gathered in the angel's hand, forming a spear that gleamed like white marble.
From within the barrier, the angel thrust the spear at the black dragon gaping toward it.
Kwakwakwakwa!
The spear pierced the barrier and impaled the black dragon's maw.
Kaaaaak!
Impaled by the angel's spear, the black dragon thrashed in its final agony, unleashing all its energy.
Black lightning erupted from its body in all directions.
Pajijijijik!
The core of the thunder-spear that the black dragon had devoured now spread as blackened bolts.
The black lightning coiled around the light bolts blanketing the sky, reversing their flow.
Pajijijijik!
The blackened lightning infiltrated the tower that had generated the light bolts.
The towers began showing signs of malfunction.
Pajijijijik!
The net of light bolts spreading across the sky slowly canceled out.
The black dragon's energy, which had surged toward the angel, dispersed as black lightning upon being struck by its spear—but in doing so, the tower lost functionality as well.
Pajijijijik!
The spreading black currents disrupted the angel's senses.
The angel, facing an anomaly it had never encountered in prior descents, sought a countermeasure.
But then— Kugugugugu!
Zeke burst through the black lightning, swinging Laevatein—infused with Chaos Field— toward the angel.
Shaaa!
The angel's protective barrier shattered in an instant under the strike.
The absolute barrier shielding the angel—practically an avatar of the constellation—had never been breached by any entity from the Phenomenal World.
Yet the Chaos Field, capable of nullifying a constellation's power, tore through it like paper.
Zeke poured the Authority of Flame into the rent barrier.
Fwoosh!
The unquenchable Authority of Flame, burning until its target was utterly consumed, ignited the angel's body.
The angel turned its head toward Zeke, remaining eerily composed even as it burned.
A message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[Through Sentinel No. 13, the master of Sagyeon Palace gazes upon the Undying.]
[The master of Sagyeon Palace expresses displeasure at the Undying's insolence.]
[Promises the Undying eternal soul-binding and torment.]
The master of Sagyeon Palace—one of the Thirteen Palaces of the Zodiac.
A celestial constellation, not a fallen one, had intervened in the Phenomenal World to issue a direct warning to Zeke.
But Zeke ignored the message and raised Laevatein.
"Talk of soul-binding and eternal torment."
If it were before, he might have hesitated, but a direct warning from a celestial constellation no longer instilled fear in him.
He swung the Chaos Field-infused sword toward the burning angel.
Dragon Slaying Technique Special Transmission Form
Chaos Field
Godslayer Slash
A technique to slay constellations.
Zeke unleashed the Dragon Slaying Technique laced with Chaos Field upon the angel.
Kwakwakwakwa!
No barrier could withstand the Chaos Field's power.
The angel urgently retreated, folding its wings to shield its body from Zeke's attack.
Kwakwakwakwa!
The pair of wings blocked the Chaos Field sword strike.
But half the wings were sheared away, and the remnants hung tattered and broken.
Gooo!
Through the mangled wings, the angel revealed its face.
It glared at Zeke, its eyes blazing with intense light.
In that instant, a beam of light shot from its eyes toward Zeke.
Ziiiiiing—
Zeke dodged the angel's gaze, and the beam grazed past him.
The gaze struck one side of the city. A massive explosion of light erupted behind Zeke.
Kugugugugu!
A blinding flash birthed a colossal mushroom cloud rising to the heavens. In that single blast, half the city vanished without a trace.
Witnessing the spectacle, Zeke realized anew why the angel of the Thirteen Palaces of the Zodiac was the Trumpeter of the Apocalypse.
"Creating something like this... The celestial constellations are out of their minds."
Another message appeared.
[The master of Sagyeon Palace vows to annihilate the Undying in agony and vents
its fury.]
The master of Sagyeon Palace, enraged at being toyed with, sharpened its indirect threats.
In that moment, a thought flashed through Zeke's mind.
"That angel was essentially an avatar of the constellation. Perhaps... it could work." Having finished his calculations, Zeke addressed the angel.
"Master of Sagyeon Palace."
He continued in a haughty tone and demeanor.
"Stop cowering behind your sentinel and come out. I'll deal with the likes of you myself."