Kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah!
With a massive impact sound, the flying carpet pierced through the barrier and entered the central city of Atlantis.
"Ugh!"
Feeling as though his entire body had been pummeled, Nabu pounded his back and pushed himself up.
"Aigoo, my poor back. What the hell is this? Why am I enduring all this just for a bit of glory?"
Leaving Nabuʼs grumbling behind, Zeke approached Nigel.
"Are you alright, Master?"
Though Zeke had used full recovery to restore her body, even his power couldnʼt mend the damage to her soul.
Having risked annihilation to break the seal and push herself to the limit, Zeke couldnʼt help but worry about Nigel.
Her face was slightly pale, but she nodded as if to say she was fine.
"Iʼm okay. But this place..."
The central city of Atlantis, which lay beyond the breached barrier, felt utterly different from the outside.
The sky was overcast as if shrouded in dark clouds, dim and lightless, with no sunlight piercing through.
The surrounding buildings were either collapsed or covered in black mold, while bizarre moss and overgrown vines blanketed the walls everywhere.
Nabu gaped at the sight.
"Wow, what is this? Itʼs completely different from outside."
Zeke knelt to touch the ground and the sprouting grass, then nodded.
"Iʼve seen a place like this before." Nabu looked at him in surprise.
"A place like this? Where?"
"It was from peering into past memories, but... the continent beyond the dark sea, where another Book of the Lion is hidden. It looked just like this." At Zekeʼs words, Nigel furrowed her brow and spoke.
"So, the power leaking from the Book of the Lion is affecting the surrounding environment." Nabuʼs jaw dropped.
"From a sealed book—and only half of it at that—this much power is seeping out?" Zeke glanced at Nabu.
"The continent beyond the dark sea was in even worse shape. Not just grotesque in appearance, but everywhere..." Kaaah!
Before Zeke could finish, a monstrous screech echoed from afar.
He continued, gazing toward the source.
"...there were magical beasts corrupted by demonic energy, lurking in every corner." Zeke stood, raising his sword.
"We need to stay alert and head straight to the center where the Book of the Lion is sealed. We donʼt know how far Baron has gotten." Nigel drew her sword and nodded in agreement.
The three assumed combat readiness and immediately moved toward the city center.
Zeke took point, Nabu in the middle, and Nigel at the rear.
As they navigated through half-ruined buildings, something approached from ahead.
Krr-ruh...
A magical beast resembling a wild hound bared its teeth at them, advancing.
As it glared and opened its mouth, it split not top to bottom, but in four directions—a rather menacing sight.
And it wasnʼt just one or two; dozens emerged.
Zeke aimed his sword at them.
"Iʼll handle them. You two cover from behind."
With that, Zeke lunged forward, unleashing a sword strike at the nearest one.
Kwah-kwah-kwah!
The slash, infused with radiant light, struck the beastʼs torso dead-on.
Kaaak!
The magical beast, engulfed in light, spewed foul fluids as it collapsed, and Zeke extended his shadow to envelop it in an instant.
Shhh...
Absorbing the fallen beast, Zeke noted the karma points rising and smirked.
"Good. I could use more points. Come on." Krr-ruh...
The beasts opened their maws wide toward Zeke, exposing sharp fangs and flicking tongues tipped with venomous stingers.
Nabu shuddered at the sight.
"Ugh, Iʼve dealt with plenty of magical beasts, but these are just too grotesque!"
Grumbling irritably, he invoked word magic to summon arrows of light, floating them in the air.
Behind him, Nigel pulled out scavenged orichalcum shards and infused them with full power technique.
The beasts glared before charging from all sides.
Kaaak!
Nabu fired his arrows of light first.
Pew-pew-pew-pew!
Dozens pierced the beastsʼ bodies precisely.
Kee-eek!
The struck beasts staggered back.
Then Nigel hurled the orichalcum shards charged with full power technique.
Kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah!
The shards shot out, piercing the retreating beasts.
Crunch-crunch-crunch!
Limbs shattered, scattering everywhere.
Zekeʼs shadow swept in, absorbing the corpses.
The karma points from the absorbed beasts were substantial.
'They had been directly influenced by the Demon Kingʼs power from the Book of the Lion. High karma points.ʼ
Knowing Baron and Arthur Drakerʼs subordinates wielded twisted causality, more karma points meant better countermeasures—for Zeke, it was a boon.
'Wipe them out in one go.ʼ
Zeke reached toward the orichalcum shards Nigel had scattered as more beasts approached.
Whoooong!
The shards reacted to his energy, rising into the air and spinning fiercely.
Zeke clenched his fist.
The spinning shards tore through the air wildly, shredding the beasts into chunks.
Kee-eek!
Their tough, slick bodies resisted normal attacks, but Zekeʼs empowered orichalcum shards tore them apart like minced meat.
Shhh...
The devastated beasts dissolved into Zekeʼs shadow.
Satisfied with the massive karma points gained, Zeke gestured to Nabu and Nigel.
"Stronger magical beasts will appear as we near the center. Stay sharp." They nodded tensely and followed.
As Zeke predicted, fiercer, more powerful beasts emerged deeper in, their condensed demonic energy making even breathing uncomfortable.
Yet even these potent foes were mere point sources before Zeke.
Thud!
A beast resembling an origin beast fell to Zekeʼs slash.
His shadow greedily devoured its flesh.
Rich in condensed demonic energy, it yielded a huge karma haul.
Battling onward, they soon reached Atlantisʼs heart.
Nabu pointed to a structure at the center.
"Is that where the Book of the Lion is?" Surprisingly, a temple stood there.
Unlike typical ones, it was a stone edifice with sharp spires.
Its unfamiliar form felt alien and imposing.
Then, the voice from before echoed in their ears again.
[Come. New king.]
Nabuʼs eyes widened.
"You heard that too, right? The 'comeʼ or whatever." Zeke nodded.
"Yes. That must be where the Book of the Lion is sealed." He advanced slowly toward the temple, sword ready.
But as he neared, lightning crackled before him, blocking his path.
A message appeared.
[Highest-tier security system controls this area.]
[Entry denied without authentication key.]
Zeke pondered, then addressed the system.
'Use my control over Rʼlyeh to bypass the security.ʼ
The system went silent, attempting it, then displayed another message.
[Control over the abyssal city Rʼlyeh does not include authentication keys for secure zones.]
The custodianʼs Rʼlyeh authority seemed separate from this zoneʼs system.
Zeke thought, then instructed again.
'Check if I could access the security system using my titles and authorities.ʼ The system tried silently.
Soon after.
[Warning. Illegal intrusion detected. Protection program activated.]
[Guardian of this area will be summoned.] Zeke panicked at the warning.
'How was this system built that even Kabbalah couldnʼt access it?ʼ
As Zeke retreated in surprise, a magic circle formed before the temple, summoning a guardian.
Whoooong!
The guardian emerged, radiating immense power.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
It was a colossal golem, over five meters tall, helmet shaped like a lionʼs head, wielding a massive club in one hand and a longbow slung on its back.
Crucially, it was forged from gleaming silver metal.
Zeke realized what it was.
"Orichalcum golem?"
Crafted entirely from orichalcum—this immense guardian.
Zekeʼs own orichalcum Hercion was unparalleled, but a full orichalcum golem?
Unbelievable, even seeing it.
Its imposing presence, blocking the temple, awed Zeke.
Then Nabu exclaimed from behind.
"What, what is that? Heracles? The real Heracles?" Nabu stepped forward excitedly.
"Insane! Legend says Atlantisʼs super-ancient civilization wielded supreme power thanks to this orichalcum golem, Heracles!"
He summoned a book, comparing Heraclesʼs illustration to the real thing, gasping.
"My god! Even more insane than the legends. The book speculated orichalcum plating or some similar metal. No! Itʼs solid orichalcum all the way! Wow, the Atlanteans were wild!"
Like a true sage, Nabu bounced with excitement at the discovery.
But then the golem called Heracles stirred.
Creak!
It set down its club and drew the longbow from its back.
Pulling the string taut, it aimed.
Mana converged on the empty bow.
Whoooong!
In an instant, it formed an arrow.
Nabu thrilled again.
"Heraclesʼs arrow! With it, they routed invading armies...!" Suddenly, a flash from the bow.
Kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah!
The light arrow soared high, arced, and plummeted toward them.
Nabu snapped to, screaming.
"Gah! I didnʼt mean I wanted to experience it firsthand!" Before his cry ended, the arrow struck, exploding.
Kwah-kwah-kwah-boom!
The blast devastated the area.
As dust settled, a spherical barrier of black shadow emerged.
Zeke had deployed shadow armor to block Heraclesʼs arrow.
Seeing this, Heracles drew again.
Zeke shook his head, reshaping Laevatein into a spear.
"Iʼm no pushover to take two hits!"
He hurled the spear-form Laevatein at Heracles.
Kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah-kwah!
It cleaved the air amid thunderous roars.