"A curse to bring down Draker? How?"
Zeke was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected words.
As he pondered deeply, he suddenly recalled something from his previous life.
"In my previous life, the reason Draker fell... Arthur Draker died suddenly of illness. There was no way a grandmaster could die so simply from a disease."
Zeke thought that the curse Docheol mentioned might be targeting Arthur Draker.
"If Narak is truly aiming at Arthur Draker with a curse..."
In the current situation, if Arthur Draker fell to a curse, it would undoubtedly bring major changes to the war between Rom and Draker.
Arthur Draker, the current family head of the Draker family, held more power and influence than any family head in history.
Conversely, that meant if he collapsed, the Draker family would weaken, and other blood oath families would exploit the gap.
In that case, some blood oath families might side with Siemens, and in the worst scenario, a rebellion could erupt within Midland.
"If it escalates to civil war, Draker would definitely be at a disadvantage."
If civil war broke out, they would have to face not only Siemensʼs powerful secret weapons but also the demon realm legions summoned by Narak, making it a double or triple burden.
Even the central kingdoms that were currently favorable to Draker would surely wash their hands of the matter and revert to neutrality once the great pillar that was Arthur Draker crumbled.
"If the family head dies as that priest intended, itʼll become a huge problem." Docheol eyed the contemplative Zeke, quietly searching for a way to slip away.
His gaze soon turned toward the shed husk he had discarded.
"Getting trapped in the husk again is horrifying, but itʼs better than complete annihilation."
One of Docheolʼs horns melted away, slithering like a snake toward the husk sprawled on the ground.
That horn contained his soul, and as it slowly moved, it burrowed into the huskʼs brain.
Tssst—
Before long, Docheolʼs consciousness shifted back to the husk.
"Good."
Opening his eyes in the husk once more, Docheol tried to escape while Zeke wasnʼt paying attention.
He sank the husk very slowly so Zeke wouldnʼt notice.
Soon, most of his body had sunk into the ground.
"Now, if I just twist away..." But it was then.
Piiing!
A holy spear flew and embedded itself into the ground where Docheolʼs husk was sinking. [Kugh!]
The holy spear pierced through the earth and completely impaled Docheolʼs body.
Slither—
Docheol, who had been trying to flee, was pulled back up to the surface.
Zeke was now standing right in front of him.
"What you guys do, right? Too bad. You couldnʼt escape."
[W-Wait a moment!]
As the startled Docheol thrashed desperately, Zekeʼs shadow grew larger and wrapped around his tattered body.
Feeling an ominous energy enveloping him, Docheol cried out in panic.
[S-Spare me! P-Please!]
But despite Docheolʼs desperate pleas, his body slowly sank into the shadow.
As his body was devoured by Zekeʼs gluttony, Docheol screamed.
[N-No! Rather than this! With that spear! Let me vanish cleanly...!] Docheolʼs body, mid-scream, completely vanished into the shadow.
Rumble!
Zeke felt that Docheol had been fully absorbed.
At the same time, a message appeared before Zekeʼs eyes.
[You have devoured a completely corrupted aberration species eroded by demonic energy.]
[Your expended stamina, mental strength, and mana are replenished.]
[You absorb the bloodline ability of the devoured aberration species and acquire the authority "Control."]
[As a reward, 1,500 karma points are granted.]
[As a reward, one special random box is granted.]
"Authority: Control, huh. Truly a fiend-like power."
Zeke opened his status window to check the details of the authority "Control."
―Authority Information―
Control: It is possible to issue commands to targets with lower mental strength than the user, forcing them to move. However, it has no effect on opponents with higher mental strength than the user.
Understanding the authorityʼs information, Zeke realized why Docheol had tried to treat him like a subordinate.
"He must not have imagined that a human like me would have higher mental strength than a nephilim like him."
Having fully dealt with Docheol, Zeke turned to survey the situation behind him.
The magical beasts seemed mostly handled by the golem knights, and Kaiman and the shadow knights were facing off against the enemy knights.
"Kaimanʼs unit hasnʼt finished them off yet? The enemy knights must be stronger than expected."
Zeke picked up his warhammer again and headed toward the enemy knights.
Boom!
Even as the shadow knights struck down the enemy knights, they soon regenerated and rose again.
The shadow knights could maintain their form as long as Zeke continued supplying mana.
As a result, the battle between the enemy knights and shadow knights dragged on in circles without much progress.
"How the hell did those Siemens bastards create something like this?" Immortal knights that rose again even after being shattered.
Zeke was curious about which constellationʼs authority they had used.
At that moment, Zeke thought of a way to resolve his curiosity and pulled the green sword from his inventory, summoning Arataso.
Tssst—
Arataso appeared in the form of a centaur clad in armor.
"Arataso, can you figure out which constellationʼs authority is embedded in those guys?"
Arataso grumbled at Zeke, who had suddenly summoned him and jumped straight to a question.
[Youʼre treating me too casually these days, arenʼt you?] Zeke nodded at Aratasoʼs words.
"Probably. Then, like before, Iʼll use sacred radiance technique to make you quake and ask."
Arataso shook his head frantically at those words.
[I was joking. If weʼre going to be together anyway, itʼs better without distance.
Constellation authority, huh. Wait a moment.]
Arataso looked in the direction Zeke indicated and sensed the energy emanating from the enemy knights.
After a moment, Aratasoʼs expression turned subtle, and he tilted his head.
[Hmm?]
"What is it, Arataso?"
[No, this...]
Arataso hesitated before shaking his head.
[Honestly, Iʼm not sure.]
"Itʼs not from a constellation strong enough for you to recognize?"
[That part is strange. The energy I sense from them is a powerful authority on the level youʼd feel from archdemons.]
"And?"
[But among the archdemons I know, none possess this kind of power.]
"So itʼs one of the archdemons you donʼt know."
[Thatʼs hard to say. Iʼm a noble with a title in the demon realm, after all. Even if itʼs formal, all archdemons participate when titles are bestowed. Thereʼs no way I wouldnʼt know an archdemon with this level of power.]
Zekeʼs thoughts grew complicated as he watched the puzzled Arataso.
"Stronger than an archdemonʼs power, but not an archdemon." Something flashed through Zekeʼs mind then.
"Arataso, could a regular constellation, not a fallen one, grant authority to a human like that?"
Arataso shook his head at the question.
[If that were possible, all constellations would lend their authorities to humans.
Constellations grow stronger the more followers they have.]
After pondering Aratasoʼs words, Zeke reached a conclusion.
"If thinking about it wonʼt yield an answer, thereʼs no need to dwell on it long. The fact that theyʼre enemies doesnʼt change."
Zeke decided to deal with the enemy knights first and figure out the background later.
Having made his decision, Zeke charged straight at the enemy knights facing off against the shadow knights.
Whoosh!
As he menacingly swung his warhammer, the enemy knights retreated.
Zeke used the authority of freezing on the enemy knights in that state. Crackle—
The powerful chill instantly froze the enemy knightsʼ bodies.
Creak—
Even the enemy knights, who had regenerated immediately upon shattering, couldnʼt withstand the authority of freezing and froze solid in place.
"As expected, itʼs not simple magic. Since it can be countered with an authority, it must be an authority at work."
But then, unlike the other enemy knights, Bishop Castick broke free of the freezing authority and moved.
Swish!
He raised his sword and charged at Zeke.
Clang!
It was an unexpected attack, but Zeke easily blocked Bishopʼs sword with his warhammer.
The eyes inside Bishopʼs helmet were completely blackened.
"He doesnʼt seem to be in a normal state."
Zeke first tried using blood eye to suppress Bishopʼs mind.
Wooong—
The red eye that rose from Zekeʼs forehead delved into Bishopʼs mind.
But the power of blood eye hit a wall and couldnʼt reach Bishopʼs mental world.
"Is it because an authority is embedded, so a skill canʼt suppress it?"
Zeke pondered and decided to try the authority of control he had gained from absorbing Docheol.
Wooong!
This time, Zekeʼs eyes glowed red.
As the authority of control activated, Bishopʼs eyes also glowed red.
Soon after, unlike before, Bishop sheathed his sword and stepped back.
He stood rigidly, sword in hand, as if on standby.
Zeke looked at him and said,
"Bishop Castick, do you remember who you are?"
Bishop slowly opened his mouth.
"Heil, Siemens. I am an honorable knight who has earned the right to pledge my loyalty for the glory of Siemens."
With the authority of control, Zeke could command actions, but it seemed Bishopʼs mental world was still trapped in Siemensʼs brainwashing.
"Were all the five-star knights in my previous life in this state?"
In his previous life, he had only brushed past the five-star knights on the battlefield without a chance to meet them individually, so he didnʼt know their condition.
But seeing Bishop Castick, one of the five-star knights, like this, Zeke could reasonably infer that Siemens had brainwashed talented knights and infused them with authorities to create excellent war machines.
Zeke pondered as he looked at Bishop Castick.
"Maybe recovery can heal him."
For now, Zeke drew Roland and cast recovery magic on Bishop, also infusing the power of purification.
Tssst—
Black smoke poured out from Bishopʼs body.
But the problem was that his life force was being shaved away along with it.
"The demonic energy has completely eroded even his marrow, making recovery impossible."
Creak—
As the power of the freezing authority gradually waned, the other enemy knights began to move as well. "What to do."
With the authority of control, he could manipulate them, but maintaining the authority continuously wasnʼt easy.
"For now, Iʼll put them on standby with the authority and think about what to do later."
Zeke issued a standby command to the enemy knights using the authority of control and bound them with the chains of Solomon.
Then, he dismissed all his summons and surveyed the situation below the cliff.
The monsters and gate had already been handled by Aliciaʼs side.
Zeke descended, leaving the cleanup to the others, and dragged the high-rank nightmare demon Icaros, whom he had captured earlier, to resume the interrogation.
"Explain in more detail what you said earlier." Icaros trembled at Zekeʼs words and replied.
"W-What do you mean?"
"About Caligula."
"Iʼve told you everything."
"Why are you guys looking for the vampire kingʼs tomb?"
"I-I donʼt know that either. I just follow orders."
"Just follow orders. Who gave the orders?"
Icaros shook but didnʼt speak at Zekeʼs question.
Zeke shook his head and infused the chains holding him with the power of sacred radiance technique once more.
Crackle!
"Kwaaak!"
"Iʼll ask again. Who ordered you to find Caligulaʼs tomb?"
At Zekeʼs question, Icaros glanced around before slowly opening his mouth.
"R-Ramon Siemens!"
Zekeʼs thoughts swirled in confusion at Icarosʼs answer of Ramon Siemens.
"Ramon Siemens knows about Caligulaʼs tomb?"
Emperor Nero had been obsessed with immortality and even formed a hunting dogs unit to search ancient ruins.
Now that such an emperor had vanished, it bothered Zeke that Ramon Siemens was acting similarly.
"The elder dragon was worried about Caligulaʼs power being released back into the phenomenal world. Perhaps that power is connected to the demon kingʼs resurrection."
Zeke decided he couldnʼt delay any longer and needed to find Caligulaʼs tomb as soon as possible. He pulled out the key Hyperion had given him.
Zing!
Light extended from the key, pointing toward a deep part of the ice mountain range.
"I should go there first."
Zeke lifted the panting Icaros and said,
"You might cause trouble if I leave you, so youʼre coming with me." Icarosʼs face paled at those words.
"I should have just stayed in the demon realm."
Icaros, who had been summoned to the phenomenal world and suffered all sorts of hardships and humiliations, thought regretfully.