"Right Wing Captain, it's been a while."
Zeke spoke in a low voice toward the crystal ball.
Souma's voice flowed out from the crystal ball.
—"What brings Sir Zeke all the way out here?" He reacted sharply to Souma's sly tone.
"Cut the pointless probing—we both know better." Zeke continued in a barbed voice.
"Arthur Draker. Where is he?"
Zeke struck first, and Souma fell silent for a moment before responding.
—"If you mean the former family head, he's already passed..." Crackle!
Zeke didn't wait to hear more and shattered the crystal ball.
There was no need to use it further anyway, so this served as both a warning and a firm statement.
Moreover, the Right Wing Unit, which handled intelligence for the Black Stage, was led by Souma—a far from negligible figure.
With Arthur Draker's intentions still unclear, Zeke risked being swayed if he let the man talk.
'The best way to handle that was to shut it down beforehand.' It was a quick lesson Zeke had learned in his previous life.
He cut out the tongue of any silver-tongued foe before they could spin their words.
He glanced at the Black Stage ship ahead, his eyes sharpening as he issued orders to his summons.
"Prepare for battle. Smash them all."
Richmond and Bane nodded with tense expressions at Zeke's words.
After reverse-summoning Nahuel, Zeke pulled something from his inventory. Ssssh—
An ice-attribute elemental stone, radiating intense cold, appeared.
He turned toward the Black Stage ship and flashed a chilling smile.
"Souma, you'll regret opposing me."
Zeke held the stone and immediately cast polymorph.
Tsssh—
Transformed into an elf, Zeke summoned a water spirit while gripping the elemental stone.
Boom boom boom boom!
Zeke floated the stone toward the high water spirit.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The stone's chill fused with the high water spirit's power, spewing even stronger cold in all directions.
Zeke applied his unique authority Infinite Breakthrough to this force.
In that instant, the cold amplified and spread across the entire sea.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
The sea, roiling with waves, froze solid where the chill touched.
The intense cold kept expanding, astonishingly reaching even the Black Stage ships.
Crack crack crack crack—
From Zeke's ship to the entrance of Storm Castle Island, the entire sea was locked in ice. Bane and Richmond gaped in shock.
Bane, who specialized in ice magic, was especially stunned by Zeke's power to freeze the whole ocean.
"No, how is this even..."
He barely swallowed the words "brute force," realizing anew just how absurd Zeke's strength was.
As the two liches reeled in shock, Zeke smiled in satisfaction at the frozen sea.
Then he addressed Richmond and Bane.
"What are you waiting for? We've got solid ground to fight on, and the enemy is right there."
Snapping out of their daze at the unbelievable sight, the two archliches came to their senses.
They summoned troops onto the thick ice covering the sea.
Growl!
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Ice beasts and armored skeleton units advanced in orderly formation.
At the same time, Zeke summoned shadow spirits.
The Gurab Unit, led by Gurab, along with the Kaiman Unit, surged upward and charged toward the Black Stage ships.
Thud thud thud thud!
As the summons raced across the ice with momentum, something began crawling out from the Black Stage ships trapped in the frost.
Screeech—
An outsider-species magical beast, resembling a fusion of tiger and scorpion, let out a monstrous cry as it climbed onto the ice.
Roooar!
Following its lead, more outsider-species magical beasts emerged from the Black Stage ships: massive mantis-like horrors, enormous earthworms, serpents fused with spiders —grotesque forms of all kinds.
The outsider-species magical beasts lined up in formation, as if under orders, spreading out to await Zeke's summons.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The skeletons and ice beasts charged first.
Roooar!
The outsider-species magical beasts matched their horrific appearance with overwhelming power.
A single scorpion tail swing reduced skeletons to bone dust, scattering them, while ice beasts shattered into powder.
Screech!
Insect-type magical beasts spat viscous venom, clashing with the shark dragon unit led by Gurab.
Surprisingly, even against Gurab's formidable strength, the outsider-species held their ground and counterattacked the rear shark dragons.
That's when Kaiman, charging from behind, led his dragon knight unit in a flanking assault on the outsider-species engaging Gurab's forces.
Crunch crunch crunch—
The outsider-species' carapaces cracked under the Kaiman Unit's strikes, producing deafening noises.
But it didn't end there—sharp-toothed tentacles erupted from the broken shells.
Screeech!
As the tentacles wrapped around the shadow spirits to drain their power, a red aura poured from above.
Whoooosh—
Caligula, now summoned, had halted the tentacles with the power of the Blood Eye.
Beside him, Ashvin, with four wings spread, poised with a black spear.
Ashvin hurled the black spear at the outsider-species magical beasts.
Boom boom boom!
Impaled by the black spear, the beasts screeched and oozed sticky fluids.
Though their wounds healed and tentacles regrew from severed parts, their movements were far slower than before.
While the summons held off the outsider-species, Zeke stealthily headed toward the Black Stage ships.
Trapped in ice, the ships couldn't move, allowing Zeke to infiltrate.
Tsssh—
Appearing on the flagship's deck, Zeke sensed no presence aboard.
'Not here?'
Given that Souma had contacted him directly, he should have been present—likely hidden somewhere.
Zeke planned to capture the elusive Souma first and extract information on Arthur Draker.
He descended slowly to the deck below.
Creak—
Each step made the stairs groan, the wood twisting.
The narrow cabin corridor was shrouded in darkness, with no signs of life.
Zeke scanned for traces of Souma using his Dragon Eye.
Then, something approached from the corridor's end.
Grrrk!
It staggered forward, emitting strange groans.
'There was no presence before...'
Zeke focused his Dragon Eye on the approaching figure.
A Black Stage operative stumbled toward him, his condition dire.
"Grrrk!"
Half his face was grotesquely distorted, and anemone-like tentacles burst from his mouth.
Spotting Zeke, the operative reached out.
Tentacles shot from his hand, aiming to ensnare Zeke.
Boom boom boom!
Zeke raised shadows to block the tentacles.
He then unleashed lightning infused with light energy.
Crackle crackle!
Struck full-force, the operative convulsed and collapsed.
Zeke frowned at the Black Stage member bearing the aura of an outsider-species magical beast.
'Did they implant outsider-species magical beasts into Black Stage operatives?' Outsider-species magical beasts differed fundamentally from ordinary ones.
Even the Akashic Code offered scant information on them.
Growl!
The operative struck by Zeke's lightning rose slowly.
Thicker, more grotesque tentacles sprouted across his body.
As he extended his arms, thick, vine-like tentacles with razor teeth lunged like serpents.
The narrow cabin left no room for his sword, so Zeke shaped a dagger from shadows.
Slash!
Wielding the shadow dagger, Zeke severed the incoming tentacles.
Yet they regrew endlessly, regenerating without cease.
'This won't do.'
Zeke gripped the dagger in one hand to slice, then extended his other toward the stumps, emitting purifying light.
Whoooosh!
A golden halo extended from Zeke's hand, touching the tentacles.
They began to melt away.
Screeech!
Unlike mere severing, the pain elicited agonized shrieks from the beastmerged operative.
Zeke dismissed the shadow and summoned golden halos in both hands.
Whoooosh!
Adopting the Infinite Linked Rings rider stance, Zeke charged the operative.
Boom boom boom!
Tentacles vaporized on contact with Zeke's hands.
He drove a fist forward, channeling Full Power Technique into the strike.
Boom!
The punch, infused with the Will of Break, tore a massive hole through the operative.
Purifying power seeped into his body, halting regeneration and melting him completely. Screeech!
As the outsider-infused operative ceased attacking, Zeke tried reading his memories— but found none.
'Did someone deliberately erase the data?' Then it happened.
Zeke's instincts detected something amiss.
He looked up sharply at the ceiling.
His eyes widened.
'What was that?'
Cocoons dangled thickly from the ceiling.
One tore open, spilling viscous fluid as something dropped to the corridor.
Splat!
Another Black Stage operative, fused with an outsider-species, rose and approached Zeke.
All the ceiling cocoons held demonoids infused with outsider power.
From the start, the ship was a trap to lure Zeke in.
Crackle crackle—
Tearing sounds echoed from the ceiling as more cocoons burst, demonoids dropping one by one.
Screeech!
The horrific creatures rose, advancing on Zeke.
Unfazed by their grotesque forms, Zeke assumed the Infinite Linked Rings rider stance.
"Come on, then. I'll handle you all."
The demonoids lunged, tentacles outstretched, as the dark corridor flooded with golden light.
*
Rumble rumble rumble—
Deep in the Storm Castle sea, a massive kraken lay dead, being devoured by something.
The beast that slew the kraken, guardian of the Storm Coast for millennia, was an outsider-species magical beast in sea serpent form.
The sudden intruder had coiled around the kraken, injecting venom via tentacles to subdue it gradually.
Seizing the opportunity, the infiltrators forced open the path to Storm Castle and entered the island.
Thus, the kraken met its end at the outsider-species' hands, its guardian role fulfilled.
Souma, the Right Wing Captain of the Black Stage, controlled this sea serpent.
From a translucent orb affixed to the beast's forehead, Souma watched the surface via crystal ball.
'Zeke Draker, no matter how strong you were, you couldn't stop hundreds of mutant consecrated ones alone.'
Those who served Arthur Draker were called consecrated ones—humans empowered by outsider species.
Not everyone could receive the consecration perfectly.
Only the chosen were reborn as a new "race." Souma was one such chosen.
He had set a trap in the ship filled with failed mutants to draw Zeke in.
Even a Black Knight couldn't solo hundreds of endlessly regenerating, dividing mutants.
Souma believed this would eliminate Zeke Draker completely.
As he awaited Zeke's death, the crystal ball suddenly bathed in golden light.
"Ugh!"
Souma squeezed his eyes shut, then looked again—the ball no longer showed the surface.
Frowning at the unexpected golden burst from his trap, he wondered.
'Zeke Draker?'
Newly joined Harvey Draker had warned to rate Zeke above Black Knight level.
Souma and the other consecrated ones hadn't fully trusted it.
Still, accounting for that, he'd set the trap—yet this unforeseen reaction occurred.
A twinge of unease hit Souma.
'I needed to check what was happening up there.'
He started to move but hesitated, directing the linked sea serpent to discard the mangled kraken and surface.
Clunk!
As Souma maneuvered, the serpent snagged on something, refusing to budge. 'What was that—?' Then.
Boom boom boom crash!
A massive impact struck the serpent.