Boom boom boom boom!
Struck by the dragonʼs breath, Abel plummeted from the sky.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Having flown some distance already, his body fell beyond the imperial garrisonʼs territory and into the ghetto region.
Zeke immediately pursued the spot where Abel had crashed.
The crash site was an abandoned village from long ago, where houses made of earthen walls had all crumbled away, leaving only faint traces of the people who once lived there.
Zeke landed in the ruined village and scanned the surroundings, searching for the fallen Abel.
'I have to deal with Abel here, no matter what.ʼ
Zeke summoned ghost troopers and had them scatter to search for Abel.
Sharing his vision with the ghost troopers, Zeke soon spotted traces of Abel.
'I wonʼt let him get away.ʼ
Zeke immediately unleashed flying step and launched himself toward where Abel had fallen.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Inside the ruins of a house with a collapsed roof lay Abel, still clad in his Hercion, unconscious.
Zeke gripped Bahamut and approached slowly, calmly.
Once he had closed the distance somewhat, Zeke attacked Abel with the dragonʼs claw skill.
Slash!
The dragonʼs claw sliced through Abel and the earthen wall behind him.
Crunch!
As the earthen wall crumbled, a thick cloud of dust billowed up, obscuring the view.
Just as Zeke moved to close in further, a blood-crimson flame bomb pierced through the dust cloud and flew toward him.
Boom!
Zeke raised Bahamut, deploying the will of defense to block the incoming flame bomb.
Whoosh!
The flame bomb, scattered by the power of full power technique, spread in all directions, its blood-crimson flames igniting the surrounding earthen walls.
The flame bomb Abel had thrown was a flame born of authority, something that couldnʼt be blocked by magic or aura.
'But full power technique can block the power of authority.ʼ
Zeke didnʼt know the exact principle behind how full power technique blocked authority.
Unless he sought out his mentor from his previous life, Nigel, he wouldnʼt learn the reason.
'...Forest of the Forgotten. I thought Iʼd never have to go there again in this life.ʼ Blocking the incoming flame bombs, Zeke gradually approached Abelʼs position.
This time, a massive black flame erupted toward Zeke, engulfing him.
Boom boom boom boom!
A fierce storm of flames enveloped Zeke, but it was futile.
The flame attacks conjured by Abelʼs manifested authority couldnʼt pierce the defense of full power technique.
As Zeke shook off the flame storm, Abel staggered to his feet amid the collapsed debris.
With his helmet released, Abelʼs long red hair whipped around as his crimson eyes gleamed.
"...Zeke, you bastard..."
Unlike earlier when the Hercion moved on its own, Abelʼs voice rang out.
'Heʼs regained consciousness.ʼ
Zekeʼs guess that the Hercion was treating Abel had been correct.
However, as Zeke examined the slowly approaching Abel, he noticed something odd about his face.
'Thatʼs...ʼ
The right side was his original face, but the left side was covered in bloodcrimson scales.
Unlike when Zeke had deployed dragon scale armor, it felt like the skin itself had transformed.
Zeke realized that Abel was different from a typical dragonkin.
'A side effect of the rite of consecration? Or did he receive something other than the power of a dragon?ʼ
Abel grimaced slightly and released the gauntlet on his left hand.
He realized that his left hand had also become grotesquely altered, just like his face.
It was covered in blood-crimson scales, with sharp claws like those of a magical beast.
Abel lifted his head, his crimson eyes flashing as he glared at Zeke.
"Iʼll never forgive you... Iʼll kill you right here."
In that instant, blood-crimson energy surged from Abelʼs body.
A red emblem slowly rose on his chest.
It was a different form from Zekeʼs.
'Whatʼs that?ʼ
Zeke sensed an ominous energy from the emblem on Abelʼs chest, yet it felt strangely familiar.
'Thatʼs... exactly like the energy that flowed from Bahamutʼs heart the first time.ʼ
When Zeke had first discovered Bahamutʼs heart in the library basement, the attached name was "Heart of the Cursed Light Dragon Bahamut."
Bahamut, who had sealed the demon king within himself and sacrificed to save the world by dying on the blade of his lover, Terakan Draker.
The heart of Bahamut, who had taken on the demon kingʼs curse himself, bore a powerful curse.
Zeke had overcome the light dragonʼs curse with steadfast mental defense, but without the passive skill of the healer class, his mind would surely have been corrupted by the potent curse etched into the dragonʼs heart.
Zeke realized that the energy emanating from Abel now was the same cursed energy from the light dragonʼs heart.
'Did Abel also implant the heart of the cursed light dragon into himself? If the rite of consecration means that...ʼ
Siemens and Narak could not only summon high-rank demons to the surface but also implant dragon hearts into humans to create dragonkin.
Though they couldnʼt use the system like Hoshgar or Zeke, it was a power that could elevate a red knight to black knight in an instant.
'It doesnʼt seem like they can mass-produce it like blood tear stones...ʼ
It likely wasnʼt a method available to many, but with the aid of a constellation like the harbinger of blood and madness, who knew what might be possible.
This gave Zeke one more reason to eliminate Abel here.
The thought of Abel Draker, the knight of madness, possessing the light dragonʼs heart sent chills down his spine.
A slaughter even more horrific than what heʼd seen in his previous life might unfold.
Zeke deflected the light dragonʼs curse emanating from Abel with curse reflection and slowly closed in.
Abel ground his teeth and shouted at Zeke.
"How... how are you unaffected by my power!"
Abel was growing increasingly fearful of the unknown power Zeke wielded.
His own power, which he believed transcended humanity, had no effect on Zeke.
He had believed that if he fully unleashed his hidden strength, he could make even Ramon Siemens or Arthur Draker, the head of the Draker family, kneel.
The shock was immense.
Moreover, Abel had never been strong in mental fortitude to begin with.
Realizing that the power heʼd trusted had no effect on Zeke caused his already riddled mind to crumble rapidly.
The curse etched into the light dragonʼs heart wouldnʼt miss that opening.
Dark memories Abel had buried deep in his heart surged forth, beginning to erode him. "Huff! Huff!"
Abelʼs breathing grew labored, and soon he was breaking out in cold sweat, his face paling.
His features twisted even more grotesquely, his skin changing faster.
It wasnʼt the form of a typical dragonkin, but that of a demon-dragonkin infused with malevolent power.
Abel swung his sharp claws at Zeke.
Boom boom boom boom!
As if using a dragon race skill, claw marks scarred the surroundings, shattering the earthen walls.
But his power was uncontrolled, so the attack veered away from Zeke toward other directions.
Abel clutched his head and screamed at Zeke.
"Raaargh!"
Boom boom boom boom!
His roar unleashed an intangible force that swept through part of the village, blowing it away.
"Hah, hah, hah."
Using the demon-dragonʼs power in an uncontrolled state, Abel felt his body growing heavier.
Watching Abel, Zeke keenly felt what happened when one grasped a power they couldnʼt handle.
'If Cain had obtained this power instead of Abel, it might have been even more dangerous.ʼ
In his previous life, Cain might have gained this light dragonʼs power unbeknownst to him.
Abelʼs impatience, spurred by Zekeʼs exploits, had led him to undergo the rite of consecration and accept the light dragonʼs power—a fatal misstep.
To Abel, Zeke approaching now looked like a monster.
Baring his teeth, Abel shouted.
"You monster! Iʼll kill you!"
But despite his mad voice, a faint tremor accompanied his ragged breaths.
Zeke said to Abel.
"Abel, if you keep using that power, youʼll lose your reason completely and become a madman. Stop and die as a knight with dignity." Abelʼs ears couldnʼt hear Zekeʼs words at all.
He summoned Zahhak again and swung it at Zeke.
"Die! Die!"
Zeke raised Bahamut at the sight of Abel, whose mind had shattered.
The knight of slaughter who would drive countless souls to miserable deaths in the future.
There was no reason to let him live.
Zeke infused full power technique into his sword.
Whumm!
Bahamut, laden with the will of severance, flew straight at Abel.
"Iʼll kill you—"
Slash—
Before Abel could finish, his head was severed and fell to the ground.
Thud!
Abelʼs headless body collapsed.
Looking at the fallen Abel, Zeke felt various memories flash by.
Faces of the many heʼd lost to Abel and the Empire in his previous life came to mind.
Zeke picked up Abelʼs head from the dirt and placed it back on the body.
He intended to melt it away completely with authority of decay, leaving no trace.
As Zeke prepared to use his authority on Abel.
Whirr—
Space tore open, and Rahim, the spatial teleportation ability user, emerged and swiftly grabbed Abelʼs corpse.
'That bastard!ʼ
Zeke hurriedly activated authority of decay.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle—
As authority of decay took effect, space cracked again, and Abelʼs corpse vanished along with the spatial teleportation ability user.
"Damn it!"
Zeke quickly activated dragon eye to scan the surroundings.
But the spatial teleportation ability user was nowhere to be seen.
He had undoubtedly teleported beyond Zekeʼs field of vision.
'Authority of decay activated, but I canʼt be sure it melted the entire corpse.ʼ Still, Abelʼs death was confirmed.
Even Narak couldnʼt revive the dead, so the objective was achieved.
He might be resurrected as a death knight, but without power, he posed no great threat to Zeke. As a Draker, Abel was dead, and that was satisfying.
'With Abel gone, Kali will secure her position as heir in the Draker family. The Empire wonʼt dare start a war recklessly.ʼ
Yet an uncomfortable feeling lingered in a corner of his mind.
Failing to fully dispose of Abelʼs corpse nagged at him.
Just then, contact came from Richmond, forcing Zeke to shake off the unease.
'Master!ʼ
At Richmondʼs urgent voice, Zeke responded.
'What is it, Richmond?ʼ
'The tyrant is too strong and destroyed the fortress, so monsters have breached into the garrison area.ʼ
The power of the tyrant, the balrog turned dragon species, exceeded expectations.
The Empireʼs fortifications were excellent, but they couldnʼt withstand the tyrantʼs aerial bombardment.
Zeke recalled that the second prince, first in line for imperial succession, was at the fortress.
'If the second prince is there... that gives me another card to pressure the Empire.ʼ Zeke ordered Richmond to hold the imperial forces and summoned Bucephalus.
"Letʼs go, Bucephalus."
Zeke flew straight toward the fortress.
*
Thud!
Ramon Siemens entered the consecration chamber within the Siemens underground labyrinth.
"Where is he?"
The head of the Siemens strategy headquarters, his face pale, said to Ramon.
"On the altar."
With a stern expression, Ramon ascended the stairs to the altar.
Below the altar, Rahim leaned against the wall, half his body melted gooily by authority of decay from Zeke, gasping for breath.
Ramon gazed at Rahim and snapped his fingers.
Surprisingly, the authority of decay melting Rahimʼs body vanished.
"Huff, huff."
Freed from authority of decay, Rahim pulled a potion from his pocket, drank it, and sprinkled it on his melted wounds.
Sizzle—
Bubbles formed where the potion touched the dissolved skin.
Ramon gestured to the headquarters chief, and agents who understood approached to support Rahim and led him out of the consecration chamber.
Left alone, Ramon approached the altar and looked at Abelʼs corpse lying on the stone dais.
Abelʼs half-melted face and body still bore the marks of becoming a demon-dragonkin.
Sizzle sizzle—
Due to authority of decay, Abelʼs corpse was gradually decaying.
Ramon watched, then extended his hand toward the corpse.
As if time had rewound, the decaying corpse began reverting to its original state.
The demon-dragonkin form remained, but the severed head reattached to the body.
Yet that didnʼt revive the dead Abel.
Ramon stared silently at Abel, then fixed his gaze on a dark corner.
As if responding, the apostle slowly emerged from the shadows.
Ramon raised his hand toward him, and an intangible energy enveloped the apostle.
"Urk."
The apostleʼs body was pulled involuntarily, his neck gripped in Ramonʼs hand.
Ramon glared at the apostle, squeezing his nape, and said.
"Summon the high priest. Right now."