Rumble!
The shadows that enveloped the Angels of the Gemini Palace, bound in chains, gradually turned their bodies black.
Whoooosh!
The Angels of the Gemini Palace cried out as if they resisted Zeke's shadow.
But they could not stop the shadow's erosion.
[The power of the Constellation "He Who Surpassed the Wall" eroded Sentinel No. 3.]
[Using the Unique Authority "Absolute Dominion," Sentinel No. 3 was subjugated.]
[Sentinel No. 3 submitted to the power of the Constellation.]
Soon, the Angels of the Gemini Palace were fully eroded by the shadow and merged into one.
The incomplete pair of angels, who had failed to fully hatch and lacked lower bodies, combined to form a single complete entity.
Ssssk—
As the Chains of Solomon loosened, the unified angel rose to its feet.
Like the other Shadow Spirits, its body was dyed black, with eight wings sprouting from its back and four eyes embedded in its face.
As the transformed Angel of the Gemini Palace revealed itself, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[The eroded Sentinel No. 3 was newly reconfigured into a Shadow Avatar through the Authority of Re-Creation.]
[The reconfigured Shadow Avatar was registered as the user's Guardian.]
[Would you like to bestow a name upon this Guardian?]
Zeke had transformed the angel, a Watcher of the Apocalypse and incarnation of a Constellation, into a Shadow Avatar and made it his Guardian.
He bestowed a name upon the newly acquired Guardian, the Angel of the Gemini Palace.
"I'll call you Ashvin."
Originally a pair of twins, but hatched incompletely as a single entity, Zeke named it after the forgotten ancient hero known as the Sacred Twins.
The Guardian, receiving the name Ashvin, snapped its eyes open.
Golden eye-glow flowed from its two pairs of eyes.
Ashvin knelt before Zeke and conveyed its will.
[Shadow Avatar Ashvin pledged eternal loyalty to the great lord.]
Subjugated by the Authority of Absolute Dominion, it seemed to swear absolute loyalty to Zeke.
Zeke looked at the kneeling Ashvin with a satisfied expression.
"I unexpectedly gained a Guardian as strong as Caligula."
Using the power and knowledge of Satan, he had made the Watcher of the
Apocalypse—essentially an incarnation of a Constellation—his Guardian and achieved complete subjugation.
If the Angel of the Gemini Palace had fully hatched, even absorbing Satan's power would not have allowed such easy subjugation.
"It will be a great help in the wars to come."
With a contented mind, Zeke sent Ashvin back into the shadows.
Soon, the Unique Domain created by the Angel of the Gemini Palace—Laputa, the Sky City—began to collapse.
Ssssk—
Cracks spread through the surroundings, and the world of the Unique Domain shattered like breaking glass.
Zeke stood firm amid the crumbling, shaking world. In an instant, he looked around and saw the Dragonʼs Grave ravine again.
He slowly levitated into the air, drew Laevatein, and aimed it at the ravine.
Whoooong!
Zeke unleashed the fully controllable power of the Elemental Sword.
As the Chamber of Metal Power unfolded, the entire ravine began to shake in response.
At that moment, Zeke's eyes transformed into Dragon Eyes, and the vibrations in the ravine intensified.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Soon, the ravine collapsed under the influence of the Chamber of Metal Power.
He could not leave a place dangerous enough to lure and trap a dragon intact, so he used the Elemental Sword to destroy it in one go.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Zeke turned his head as he watched the crumbling ravine.
The Allied Forces had entered Jupiter Castle and raised their flag, bringing the war to an end.
Seeing this early victory, Zeke's gaze calmly settled.
"This puts out the most urgent fires."
Following the destruction of Narak's main headquarters in the Siemens Labyrinth, he had now dealt with the Empire's remnants. All overt threats had been eliminated.
But fundamental dangers remained.
"The Demon King, the Celestial Constellations, and... Arthur Draker."
Unable to fathom what plans Arthur Draker schemed, Zeke felt greater unease than he had when facing Narak.
For now, he set his goal on tracking Arthur Draker, who had faked his death and gone into hiding.
Having organized his thoughts, Zeke pulled something from his inventory.
"The legacy left by Arthur Draker."
It was his only clue to tracking him.
Zeke's Dragon Eyes flashed as he gripped the key.
At the same time, his figure vanished from the collapsed ravine.
*
Thud thud thud thud!
Cain Breaker, captain of the Breaker Mercenary Company—known as the Advancing Mercenaries—led his remaining mercenaries out of Jupiter Castle.
Cain, with a long scar crossing his face, was a powerhouse with the skills of a blue knight despite being a mercenary.
Upon spotting the monster in Jupiter Castle, he had immediately led his forces in a retreat.
"Damn those black mages..."
The sudden monster, combined with the black mages' curses driving his men mad and charging the Allied Forces, had cost him most of his troops.
Cain clenched his teeth and shuddered, recalling the bizarre events in Jupiter Castle.
They were memories he did not want to dwell on.
"Damn it, trusting that Castro bastard got us completely wiped out."
Before fleeing the castle, he had grabbed some treasures from the hidden imperial warehouse of the Rom Empire, thinking it would cover their final payment. But compared to the losses the mercenary company suffered, it was negligible.
Nearly half his men were dead, and the survivors were all injured.
Clicking his tongue inwardly, Cain planned to get as far from here as possible, rebuild his forces, and regroup.
As they traveled, his vice captain spoke up from behind.
"Captain, where to now? The Central Continent will be run by those Draker bastards from here on. Where do we even fit in?"
Cain ground his teeth at the vice captain's words.
"...We head to the lawless zone for now. We'll sell off the treasures there to raise funds, then go south to regroup."
The Empire's south and the Southern Continent still had many areas beyond the kingdoms' reach.
Cain intended to establish a base there, away from the Central Continent's eyes, and spend a few years rebuilding. The continent was in chaos now, so with luck, he might find a promising spot first.
But then, something appeared before the Breaker Mercenary Company. "What the—?"
Cain spotted a familiar emblem on a flag.
「Kallam Mercenary Company of Endurance」
「Brothers Mercenary Company of Valor」
Two of the continent's three great mercenary companies—excluding the Advancing Breaker Mercenary Company—had appeared.
Cain was stunned by the sudden arrival of the Kallam and Brothers companies.
"Why the hell are they here?"
From the hilltop, Jaina Kallam of the Kallam Mercenary Company and Fain Rogers of the Brothers Mercenary Company looked down at Cain.
But between Jaina and Fain stood someone else.
Unsure of the figure's identity, Cain furrowed his brow. It was none other than Liam, knight of the Black Spirit Unit.
Fain, chewing on a twig, grinned at Liam.
"Looks like the captain was right—he showed up." Jaina, across from him, replied coldly.
"Fain Rogers, have you no pride? 'Captain' rolls off your tongue so easily."
Fain shrugged at the stiff Jaina's words.
"Come on, we all agreed to this. The loser follows the winner's orders after a fair fight.
And we lost. Complaining now would be lame." Jaina frowned at Fain's response.
The Kallam and Brothers companies had been at odds with the Empire-backed, arrogant Breaker Mercenary Company, suffering heavy losses and facing crisis.
The two companies, fleeing enemies on the battlefield, had been saved by Liam's Stone Mercenary Group.
Liam had received a special mission from Zeke: form and operate a mercenary company.
Following that, Liam had gathered skilled survivors from shattered mercenary groups and jobless mercenaries on the battlefield to form the Stone Mercenary Group.
With Zeke's capital and Liam's exceptional skills, the Stone Mercenary Group grew rapidly in a short time.
Liam led it according to Zeke's orders, prioritizing the recruitment of the Kallam and Brothers companies. He saved them and made an offer.
A two-on-one duel: if he won, they joined under the Stone Mercenary Group without conditions.
Jaina and Fain accepted and attacked Liam together, but they could not defeat him.
In the end, the two companies fell under the Stone Mercenary Group, and two of the continent's three great mercenary companies now answered to Liam.
Fain, with his easygoing nature, quickly accepted Liam as captain. But Jaina still seemed resentful of serving under someone.
Listening to their exchange, Liam spoke up.
"Jaina Kallam, you don't need to respect me as captain. Mercenaries aren't knights, after all."
He paused, drew his twin swords, and continued.
"But remember this: the mercenary world follows the law of the jungle." Whoooong!
Turning from Jaina, Liam shouted toward Cain Breaker, captain of the Breaker Mercenary Company.
"Cain Breaker! I am Liam Stone! As captain of the Stone Mercenary Group, I challenge you to a duel!"
Cain furrowed his brow, hearing Liam's shout from the hilltop.
He was renowned as the strongest among mercenaries.
Unaware Liam was a knight, Cain saw it as a pup yapping ignorantly at a tiger.
Absurd, he could not even respond—until Liam shouted again.
"Are you afraid to cross swords with me? Then dismount, kneel, and surrender!" At Liam's insulting words, Cain's face flushed red as he bellowed.
"You insolent whelp!"
He instantly drew his great cleaver.
Before his vice captain could stop him, Cain spurred his horse toward Liam.
Seeing this, Liam said in a low voice.
"Watch closely." Thud thud thud!
Liam also spurred his horse down the hill.
Cain charged from the opposite side with ferocious momentum.
Whoooong!
A powerful vibration rose from Cain's sword, followed by a fierce aura wave.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Unlike ordinary mercenaries, Cain had learned aura training from a reclusive knight.
His swordsmanship overwhelmed knights, combined with the sharp combat sense honed as a mercenary, making him the unchallenged strongest among mercenaries.
Even haughty Central Kingdoms had vied to knight him for his prowess.
But Liam showed no sign of being intimidated. He lowered his stance with twin swords drawn, calmly charging to meet Cain.
As the distance closed, an explosive aura blade surged from Cain's sword.
It had enough force to cleave Liam and his horse in one stroke.
"Haaah!"
Rumble rumble rumble!
As the powerful aura blade descended toward Liam's head, a flash erupted.
Clang!
An aura blade surged from Liam's twin swords, deflecting Cain's strike.
Ziiing!
Cain's eyes widened in shock—he had not expected his sword to be repelled.
Liam did not miss the opening.
In an instant, his swift swordplay unfolded.
Shuu shuu shuu shuu!
His strikes, too fast for the eye, grazed Cain's body.
Thud thud thud!
To onlookers, it looked like they had clashed and passed each other in a blur.
But as Cain passed Liam, something ominous happened.
"Grrrk!"
Cain's body seemed to tense—then it was not.
Still mounted, Cain's head rolled to the ground.