"B-Block it!"
The cultist wizards cried out in horror at the sudden lightning strike.
But the light of the lightning didnʼt fall only on the palanquin.
Crackle!
The lightning spread sideways, sweeping over the bodies of the nearby cultist wizards.
"Grrgh!"
The cultist wizards struck by the lightning frothed at the mouth and collapsed.
The Imperial Guard, who had been charging forward to engage the golem knights, turned toward the palanquin.
But at that moment, the golem knights raised their greatswords and attacked the Imperial Guard.
Whoosh!
A greatsword larger than the height of an average adult male came crashing down on the Imperial Guard knights.
Boom!
Unlike the knights of the Celestial Scorpion Palace, the Imperial Guard scattered individually to dodge the greatsword.
At that instant, a powerful mana cannon shot toward the palanquin where the emperor was.
Before the Imperial Guard could rush over, the mana cannon arrived in a flash and exploded.
Boom!
The massive explosion shook the entire Holy Kingʼs ruins.
From his hiding spot in the rear, Carlito ground his teeth as he watched.
"Damn it. I shouldnʼt have come here. I shouldʼve bowed my head to Julius and aligned with his side!"
Soon, the dust cloud cleared, revealing the palanquin.
Surprisingly, the palanquin was completely unscathed.
Sizzle—
A protective barrier had enveloped the palanquin, blocking the mana cannon. But as if exhausted, the hemispherical barrier soon crumbled and vanished.
With the protective barrier gone, the Imperial Guard immediately rushed toward the palanquin.
"Weʼre leaving this place now!"
The Imperial Guard lifted the emperorʼs palanquin and tried to depart immediately.
But at that moment, something suddenly protruded from behind the curtain.
Snap!
A black, withered hand—like that of a mummy—grabbed the head of the Imperial Guard knight carrying the palanquin.
Sss—
The desiccated hand instantly drained the knightʼs life force.
"Argh!"
The knight carrying the palanquin shriveled up like a mummy as his vitality was sucked away.
Thud!
Now reduced to a skeleton wrapped in thin skin, the knight collapsed to the ground.
The withered hand gripping the knightʼs head—the emperorʼs hand—gradually regained vitality, returning to a normal handʼs appearance.
But even that hand barely looked human.
The skin was blackened, and the nails were long and sharp like a beastʼs.
The emperor retracted his hand into the curtain and shouted.
"Enter the place where the Holy Kingʼs remains are at once! Hurry!"
Convinced that finding the remains would restore his original power, the emperor urged the Imperial Guard onward in a mad voice, driving them toward their deaths.
The Imperial Guard headed toward the door as ordered. As they raised their swords with firm resolve, aura blades surged forth.
The Imperial Guard swung their aura blades at the golem knights.
Boom!
The powerful sword strikes landed, but the golem knights blocked even the Imperial Guardʼs aura blades.
Their shields, made of solid mithril plated with orichalcum, rendered the attacks useless.
Thud!
The golem knights simply raised their shields forward, blocking the entrance like an impenetrable wall.
With the solid barrier in place, they could advance no further.
Then the emperor shouted from inside the palanquin.
"Awaken Gillian!"
At the emperorʼs bellow, the nearby cultist wizard flinched in surprise and hurriedly raised the sacred relic high, shaking it.
The skull idol entwined with a serpent began to vibrate strongly, then its mouth gaped wide.
Hiss—
The serpent carving, which had been thought to be stone, began to writhe with an eerie sound.
The serpent slithered down the staff and into the ground, then swiftly moved toward the bound Gillian.
"W-Whatʼs that?!"
Carlito, beside Gillian, was startled by the approaching black serpent and swung his sword wildly to drive it away.
"Get away! Get away!"
But the serpent raised its head stiffly and met Carlitoʼs gaze.
The serpentʼs red eyes flashed, and Carlitoʼs eyes began to glaze over.
"Uh...?"
Carlito staggered back, and the serpent slithered toward the restrained Gillian.
Hiss!
The serpent climbed Gillianʼs body with an eerie sound.
As it burrowed into the leather restraints, Gillian let out a monstrous roar and thrashed wildly.
Roooar!
Gillianʼs convulsing body soon went limp.
Then suddenly, he jerked upright.
Sss—
An ominous black energy flowed from Gillianʼs body.
The leather restraints, their magic undone, could no longer hold him.
Gillian tore the leather restraints apart.
Crack!
The magical restraints made from dragon hide ripped straight off.
Gillian ripped off the metal muzzle covering his face and tossed it aside.
"Hah, hah..."
Gillianʼs revealed face bore a black serpent tattoo-like mark.
His eyes were stained red, similar to the serpentʼs eyes that had dazed Carlito earlier.
"Urgh!"
Gillian clutched his head in agony.
At that moment, a shout erupted from the palanquin again.
"Gillian! Clear those pests from my sight at once!"
At the emperorʼs command, Gillianʼs eyes turned even redder.
"Grrr!"
Black energy surged from Gillianʼs body.
Gillian, on the verge of becoming a black knight, had originally been an outstanding knight among the imperial corps commanders.
But the energy emanating from him now far surpassed his usual level.
Gillian drew the greatsword strapped to his back.
He tore off the chains wrapped around it with his bare hands and unwound the cloth.
It was a large, blunt greatsword, like something a butcher in a slaughterhouse would use to sever beastsʼ necks.
He charged at the golem knights blocking the way, greatsword in hand.
Whoosh!
Wreathed in black energy, Gillian swung his greatsword at the golem knightsʼ shields. Boom!
The golem knights, unmoved by the Imperial Guardʼs aura blades, had their formation shattered by this single blow.
But Gillianʼs assault didnʼt end there.
Whoosh!
He drew back his greatsword and struck the golem knights repeatedly.
Boom!
The shields and even the mithril armor dented under Gillianʼs greatsword, and some golem knights were sent flying into the wall by the strikes.
Rumble!
With the golem knightsʼ formation broken by Gillianʼs powerful attacks, the path to the door opened.
The Imperial Guard seized the moment to carry the emperorʼs palanquin inside swiftly.
The interior of the Holy Kingʼs resting place was vast, comparable to the grand cathedral of the Principality of Vadoka.
Intricate murals adorned the walls, and the space was beautifully and reverently decorated in Rubern style.
In the center stood a massive statue of the Holy King, with a stone sarcophagus placed before it.
The cultist wizard shouted excitedly.
"Your Majesty! Thatʼs it! That must be the Holy Kingʼs remains."
The emperor extended his hand from behind the curtain, gesturing for them to check.
The Imperial Guard knights approached and opened the sarcophagus lid.
Inside lay a knight in armor identical to the statue, sword placed on his chest, hands clasped in prayer.
It was a fitting pose for the Holy King, symbol of the holy knights.
Rumble—
But at that moment, the entire resting place began to shake.
As if unconcerned, the emperor rose from the palanquin, parting the curtain and slowly stepping out.
Yet the emperorʼs body, now revealed, seemed off.
His face was covered by thick cloth, but his massive build—far beyond a normal human —strained the imperial purple robes symbolizing the Rom Empireʼs emperor, as if they might burst.
Crack!
A strange sound came from the emperorʼs shoulder as bone protruded unnaturally. The already taut robes were on the verge of tearing.
Each step the emperor took from the palanquin made the floor tremble.
He finally reached the sarcophagus with slow steps.
As he extended his beast-like hand to grasp the Holy Kingʼs remains inside, the cultist wizard approached the emperor.
"Y-Your Majesty!"
The emperor turned his head, glaring at the cultist wizard from behind the cloth, and shouted.
"What are you doing?! The Holy Kingʼs remains are here! Offer them to the Serpent in the Black Mouth and restore my body at once!"
But the cultist wizard looked at the emperor with a gaze full of incomprehension and said.
"The constellation desires not this."
Rumble—
The resting place shook again, cracks splitting the walls.
Even through the thick cloth, the emperorʼs feral glare was evident.
"Are you defying me now?!"
The emperor reached out toward the wizard.
An immense force drew the wizard irresistibly into the emperorʼs grasp.
"G-Guh! Y-Your Majesty!"
The emperor gripped the wizard in one hand and rasped like a beast.
"Your god desired the remains, so I brought them. But now you say this is not what it wants?!"
Crack!
As the emperor squeezed, the wizardʼs neck snapped, his body dangling like a doll.
Sizzle—
The emperor absorbed the wizardʼs life force.
Crack!
His back and shoulders bulged unevenly again, swelling the robes taut once more.
He shouted at the other wizards.
"Summon your god at once! Bring me a young, strong body of immortality..." Stab!
The emperor slowly turned at the sudden pain in his back.
The Holy Kingʼs remains, lying in the sarcophagus, had risen and pierced his back with a sword.
The emperorʼs eyes flashed.
"You rat!" Crackle!
Brilliant light and lightning surged from the sword stabbed into the emperorʼs back.
"Argh!"
The emperor screamed as the lightʼs power burned through his body.
Sss—
Zeke, who had been lying in the sarcophagus, shed his transformation cloak and returned to his true form.
Leaving Roland embedded in the emperorʼs back, Zeke immediately drew Bahamut.
The Imperial Guard charged at him.
Whoosh!
Over a dozen aura blades flew toward Zeke, but he didnʼt flinch.
Zeke leaped from the sarcophagus and swung his sword at the charging Imperial Guard.
Dragon Slaying Technique Applied Form
Black Sword Qi Black Gale
The sword wind infused with inky energy swept over the oncoming Imperial Guard.
"Urgh!"
As the Imperial Guard recoiled, Zeke activated glacier hell on them.
Struggling to steady themselves from the black gale, they panicked as the temperature plummeted and their bodies slowed.
"Hah!"
The Imperial Guard knights strained to shake off the cold with their aura.
Then a massive flame engulfed them.
"Argh!"
The flame hell Zeke unleashed in succession combined with the black gale, igniting a fierce blaze that wrapped around the Imperial Guard.
Before the chill faded, the flames seared their bodies. They thrashed to escape, but it was futile.
The plight of the Imperial Guard knights was hell itself.
Amid the roaring flames, Zeke slowly approached the emperor.
"With Roland stabbed in and heavenly thunder hitting him dead-on, he shouldnʼt last."
Thinking that, Zeke headed toward the palanquin hiding the emperor when the cultist wizards cast curses at him.
Hum!
Curse reflection activated, bouncing the curses back at the casters.
"Argh!"
The wizards collapsed, trembling from their own returned curses.
Zeke swung his sword mercilessly, severing their necks.
"They used magic despite the mana suppression technique. Itʼs closer to sorcery than true magic."
The cultist wizardsʼ magic preserved the form of ancient spells, closer to sorcery as Zeke suspected.
Not reliant on mana but on drugs as catalysts or borrowed constellation power, it evaded mana suppression.
As Zeke dispatched the wizards and neared the palanquin, it suddenly lurched toward him.
Boom!
Zeke cleaved the flying palanquin in two with Bahamut.
Then another massive something hurtled at Zeke.
Boom!
Condensed mana, like Zekeʼs compressed mana cannon, poured toward him.
Zeke swiftly raised Bahamut and swung at the mana cannon.
Boom!
The mana cannon split sideways and was canceled out, shattering.
Zeke looked up to identify the one who fired the mana cannon at him.
Growl—
A body and build larger than an ogre. Hair and beard splaying wildly. Sharp, pointed fangs like a monsterʼs.
A horrific form impossible to see as human.
This grotesque monster was the true identity of the Rom Empireʼs emperor, Nero Claudius Constantinus.