Woooong!
The three who passed through the portal opened their eyes in a space utterly different from the one before.
As the sight of the central tower in the deep-sea city Rʼlyeh came into view, Nabu finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew, we finally made it in."
Entering Storm Island had never been easy, but the sea had never blocked their path so fiercely before.
It felt as if the security barrier had gone berserk, rampaging wildly without distinguishing friend from foe.
As the three checked themselves over, someone approached from one side.
"It's been a while, everyone."
A tall man in a black coat and a fedora strode toward Nigel.
His pale face and long curls spilling from under the hat exuded an inexplicable chill.
Nigel greeted him with a silent bow.
The man's name was Id van Helsing.
Known simply as Ivan, he was a High Table member renowned as a mage, an assassin, and the greatest magical beast hunter.
Nabu, who had been slumped down, rose to his feet and waved at Ivan.
"Hey! Ivan, long time no see. Last time was about fifty years ago, right? Still got that lifeless face of yours."
Ivan nodded without a flicker of expression at Nabu's words.
"It's hard for one who wields dark magic to find vitality." Nabu looked sheepish at Ivan's measured reply.
Then Nigel asked Ivan.
"Have the other High Table members arrived?"
Ivan shook his head, his face as impassive as ever.
"No, I'm the only one here so far. You three are the next to arrive." Ivan's flat tone somehow sent a chill down their spines.
Manna, rolling his prayer beads, spoke up.
"For the others not to have arrived yet... This is far from normal."
The High Table members were bound by oath to the Custodian; unless extraordinary circumstances prevented it, they had to come to Storm Castle when summoned.
With only four out of the twelve High Table members present, something was clearly wrong.
At that moment, the surrounding scenery rippled.
Tssst—
The space they occupied shifted to the top floor of Rʼlyeh's central tower.
Surrounded on all sides—even the ceiling—by glass walls, the room offered a fantastical view of vibrant marine life and colorful coral reefs in perfect harmony. But no one paid it any mind.
Seated at the designated spots around the High Table—a circular desk symbolizing the transcendents among the Highlanders—they exchanged grim looks.
Of the twelve High Table seats, only the four they had just met were occupied.
Nabu broke the silence, his face tense.
"Surely the other High Table members...?"
Just then, the Custodian appeared at the table, cloaked in a robe.
Nabu shot to his feet at the sight.
"Custodian! What the hell is going on here!" Nigel grabbed Nabu from the side.
"Nabu, calm down and sit."
Though she restrained him, her own eyes sharpened as she addressed the Custodian in a low voice.
"Custodian, we need a satisfactory explanation." The High Table were not the Custodian's subordinates.
They were allies bound by contract, closer to equals.
They had attained the rank of transcendent, yet lingered in the phenomenal world due to lingering attachments, evading Karma's sanctions through the Custodian's power.
After a moment of silence, the Custodian spoke.
"Those who haven't come here have all been annihilated."
The group couldn't hide their shock at the Custodian's words.
This wasn't a departure of the soul to a higher dimension due to Karma's sanctions—it meant their very existence had been erased, something hard to accept.
Nabu shouted at the Custodian.
"Annihilated? What do you mean? Annihilated how? Who the hell would...?" Nabu suddenly flinched, his face twisting.
"You don't mean Arthur Draker...?"
At the mention of Arthur Draker's name, the Custodian let out a low hum and slowly nodded.
"That is correct. He has absorbed the authority of the fell god Ajitahaka, summoned by Ramon Siemens. With that authority, he hunted the High Table members and devoured their souls."
Nabu's face drained of color at the Custodian's words.
For a transcendent's soul to be devoured by the authority of a fell god—it was something he had never even imagined.
His hands trembling, Nabu stammered.
"No... Why would he...?"
Nigel, furrowing her brow, interjected.
"To elevate his own rank. To surpass the transcendent and reach divinity." Nabu turned to Nigel and yelled.
"Divinity? A constellation's rank? How could a human possibly...?"
Nigel replied in a low voice.
"You fool. Have you forgotten how the fell god Ajitahaka attained divinity?" Nabu snapped back to reality at her words.
"...The flesh-devouring emperor. Right, that's how it was. Hah, so Arthur Draker is trying to become the new flesh-devouring emperor...?"
As the two conversed, the Custodian slowly spoke.
"Arthur Draker is targeting this place."
Nigel and the others scowled at the Custodian's words.
Nigel looked at him and said.
"You mean he's after the black star here." The Custodian nodded.
"The black star is indeed one of his targets. But not the only one." Nigel eyed the Custodian warily.
"You've kept too much from us. Even after knowing you for over a thousand years. What exactly is Arthur Draker after...?"
The Custodian rose and waved his hand, cutting her off.
Something floated up onto the table.
It was a black-bound book.
Nabu stared at the book the Custodian had summoned, then jumped up in alarm.
"W-Wait, that's...!"
With a wave of his hand, over a dozen books floated into the air, their pages flipping open.
Nabu hurriedly scanned the pages, his gaze halting at one spot.
His face paled as if his soul had fled, and he shouted at the Custodian.
"Damn it! That's the Necronomicon!"
Manna, rolling his prayer beads, asked Nabu.
"Nabu, what is that book?"
The answer came from an unexpected source.
"The book of the lion."
It was Ivan, who had been silent.
"The soul of the demon king is sealed within it." Nigel muttered with a frown at Ivan's words.
"A book sealing the demon king's soul..." She turned to the Custodian.
"Showing us this means the book is here in Storm Castle." The Custodian nodded slowly.
"To be precise, half of it is here."
Nigel's expression remained stern as she pressed.
"And the other half?"
"I cannot say."
Nabu slammed the table and yelled at the Custodian.
"Damn it! So Arthur Draker is coming here for a book with half the demon king's soul sealed inside? And you've kept this from us all this time!" Panting with rage, he accused the Custodian.
"Damn, when Zeke asked if something was off, I should have suspected. Custodian, what the hell are you really?"
As Nabu pressed the Custodian, Ivan stood.
He pulled something from his coat and tossed it onto the table.
Thud!
Nabu turned to see what Ivan had thrown.
It was a dark crimson ore, emanating an eerie energy despite not being a mana stone.
Ivan pointed at it and said.
"This came from the bodies of the magical beasts that attacked me." Nigel extended her hand, and the dark crimson ore on the table floated up.
As it approached her, the faint alien energy became clearer.
Nigel realized what the energy was.
"It's infused with the aura of the outsider species."
The outsider species were utterly unlike ordinary magical beasts.
Even the High Table had yet to uncover their true nature.
Ivan nodded at Nigel's words and continued.
"The outsider species that attacked me were completely different from any I'd seen before."
Nigel asked.
"Different how?"
"They were intelligent beings capable of speech, and they attacked me on someone's orders."
Nigel, Nabu, and Manna recoiled at Ivan's words.
The Custodian, who had been listening, spoke.
"It is Arthur Draker who commands those outsider species. The other High Table members were also attacked by them." Nigel turned to the Custodian.
"Did you know this would happen?"
The Custodian offered no reply to Nigel's question.
Watching from the side, Nabu exploded in frustration.
"Damn it! You've been coming and going here for centuries, and you knew nothing?!" He took deep breaths to calm himself and said.
"Whew! Whew! Fine. So Arthur Draker is coming here for the hidden black star and half the demon king's soul. Bringing never-before-seen outsider species magical beasts with him. Custodian, if there's anything else you haven't told us, spill it now. I'm pissed you've hidden important stuff, but we need to know to prepare against him." At Nabu's words, the Custodian slowly spoke.
"Arthur Draker isn't simply after the demon king's soul itself."
"Huh? What do you mean? Isn't he trying to seize the demon king's soul to summon the demon king?"
"He does intend to summon the demon king."
"Damn, here we go again with the riddles. Can't you just speak plainly?" Ivan spoke to Nabu from the side.
"The Custodian can't speak plainly even if he wants to, due to Karma's sanctions." Nabu turned to Ivan.
"Ivan, do you know something?"
Instead of answering, Ivan glanced at the Custodian, who nodded.
With the Custodian's permission, Ivan spoke.
"Arthur Draker's intent to summon the demon king is clear. But his purpose differs from Narak's."
"What do you mean, different purpose?" Ivan paused briefly before replying.
"Arthur Draker aims to absorb the demon king's power using the authority of the fell god." "What?"
The fell god Ajitahaka had attained divinity by devouring Nephilim and other beings infused with constellation power.
Arthur Draker had transplanted the heart of the light dragon Zeus—infused with the fell god's authority from Abel's body—and gained that power.
On top of that, he had absorbed the black star, the elder dragon's heart, and even the souls of transcendents like the High Table members using that authority.
If Arthur Draker, who already bordered on divinity beyond the transcendent rank, absorbed the demon king's soul as well, his power would surely become unimaginably vast.
Nabu, his face confused, asked Ivan.
"D-Damn. So Arthur Draker plans to summon the demon king into his own body and absorb it? That's why he's attacking here?" Ivan shook his head at Nabu's words.
"The one who becomes the demon king's vessel loses their self and functions only as a container. No matter how strong Arthur Draker is, directly receiving and absorbing the demon king's soul is impossible."
"Then?"
"Summon the demon king into another, then absorb that soul. That is Arthur Draker's ultimate goal."
Nabu frowned, pondering Ivan's words deeply.
Then he looked at Ivan and said.
"Wait, but that doesn't add up. Abel, who was meant to be the demon king's vessel, is dead, and if Arthur Draker won't become the vessel himself, who does he plan to summon it into?" Rumble!
At that moment, an immense presence surged from behind.
Nabu whirled around in surprise to see Nigel gritting her teeth, glaring at the Custodian.
She drew her sword and pointed it at him, shouting.
"You bastard! You don't mean...!" Startled, Nabu tried to stop her. "Whoa whoa! Nigel, calm down! Even so, drawing blades among ourselves is too much!" But Nigel shoved Nabu aside and yelled.
"Don't you see, Nabu? He's planning to use Zeke as bait to catch Arthur Draker!"