"Master has been captured?"
Zeke repeated Nabu's words in disbelief upon hearing them from the Hermit of Stories.
In the Phenomenal World, there was virtually no one who could threaten his master, Nigel.
Unless every black knight on the continent combined their strength to lure her into a trap and launch a total assault, it was hard to even imagine Nigel being captured.
Nabu hurriedly responded to Zeke's question.
―"Static—demons! Top-tier ones!—!"
The connection was poor, so Nabu's words kept cutting out.
Zeke maintained his authority of amplification and shouted into the mirror.
"A top-tier demon captured Master?"
―"Static—Narak bastards—static—lunar eclipse ritual—static—"
The noise grew worse, and soon Nabu's face vanished from the mirror.
Zeke tried using the authority of amplification again to reconnect, but the signal didn't return.
'Narak was performing a ritual during the lunar eclipse? Could it have been referring to
Ramon Siemens's second consecration rite...'
He couldn't be sure, but he could tell the situation was turning critical.
Zeke stood from his seat.
'I need to head back to the Central Continent immediately and stop them. Otherwise... the omen of the apocalypse will resurrect the demon king.'
*
The next day, Zeke explained the situation to Serazade and decided to use the imperial palace portal to travel to the Dorta Republic.
Thanks to her understanding the urgency, Zeke, Hades, and the Black Ravens Unit led by Yellin and Himmel soon stood before the imperial exclusive portal.
Serazade saw them off with a regretful expression.
"I had planned a month-long banquet for you all. Yet you leave so abruptly."
"I am grateful for your gracious hospitality, Your Majesty. Once I finish this urgent matter,
I will return to the imperial palace and share the rest of our stories." Serazade nodded at Zeke's words.
"I look forward to it. This is a gift from me, so take it without burden."
At her words, slaves appeared and began stacking dozens of boxes inside the portal.
The boxes were filled with precious Eastern silks, porcelain, and jewelry.
Zeke was startled and waved his hands in refusal.
"Your Majesty, your hospitality alone is more than enough."
"It is customary to accept gifts from the sultan, even if formally. These hold little value to me, but I hear they are highly prized on your continent. Take them and convey the dignity and prosperity of the Murk Empire in my stead."
Zeke nodded at Serazade's words.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. This may not be sufficient in return, but please accept it." Zeke pulled out a small box and handed it to Serazade.
Curious, Serazade opened the box. Inside was a bundle of Raven's feathers.
"In the Eastern Continent, they say phoenix feathers ward off impurities and bring good fortune. This is my wish for Your Majesty's and the Empire's peace."
Serazade looked at the Raven feathers Zeke offered and smiled in deep satisfaction.
"You've given something truly precious. Thank you. It seems you should stay here and marry me..."
Zeke pretended not to hear Serazade's words and hurriedly led his group onto the portal.
Soon, light rose from the portal's magic circle.
Though the format differed from Central Continent portals, the mechanism seemed similar.
Intense light burst from the portal, and Zeke and his group vanished within the glow.
Thus, Zeke and his companions departed the Eastern Continent amid the fervent farewell of the Murk Empire's sultan and ministers.
*
Woooong!
With the portal's light, Zeke and his group arrived at the Dorta Republic portal terminal.
"Hoo..."
Perhaps because it was a long-distance portal connecting continents, everyone except Zeke looked pale with motion sickness.
Even the dragon Hades struggled to suppress his nausea, but Zeke remained completely fine.
"Ugh... Hoo. Zeke, are you okay?"
To Hades's question, Zeke replied with a calm expression.
"Yes, I'm fine. Everyone seems to be suffering from severe motion sickness."
Having traveled back in time across timelines and crossed entirely different dimensions, a long-distance portal was nothing to him.
Zeke booked rooms at a top-tier hotel in the Dorta Republic for his nauseous companions to rest.
Once they recovered, they would take a portal to Mycenae and return home.
After sending the others off, Zeke stayed at the terminal and went to the VIP lounge, where he pulled out the mirror and tried reconnecting using the authority of amplification.
―Static static static
The screen flickered, perhaps because the distance to the Eastern Continent was shorter now.
The connection stabilized, and Nabu's face appeared.
―"Damn it! Oh, it's back!"
Nabu cheered as the communication with Zeke resumed.
―"Where the hell are you! Why does the connection keep dropping!"
To Nabu's frustrated complaint, Zeke gripped the mirror and explained. "I was in the Eastern Continent. I just arrived in the Dorta Republic via portal."
Nabu slapped his forehead at Zeke's words.
―"The Eastern Continent? My god. No wonder it was impossible. Wait, the Dorta
Republic isn't easy to connect to either—how...?"
"I'll explain later. First, tell me the situation. Did a top-tier demon summoned by Narak really capture Master Nigel?"
To Zeke's question, Nabu briefly summarized the battlefield situation.
A horde of magical beasts and monster legion had appeared west of the Forest of the Forgotten, and the Highlanders had been dispatched to hold them off.
Then, a top-tier demon had emerged, and Nigel went to confront it, only to leave behind a mysterious message before her traces vanished.
"Even against a top-tier demon, for Master to be captured... It's hard to believe." Nabu grimaced and replied.
―"The bastards targeted the High Table's weakness precisely. If we use our full power now, we could ascend to Peach Blossom Paradise immediately."
Zeke recalled what he had heard about ascension from Hoshgar's spirit body, the founder of Nirvana.
"So, what you're saying is... if the High Table reveals their true power here, the limits of causality could spiritualize them into heroic spirits and pull them to a higher dimension?"
―"Exactly. You get it right away. Yes, that's right. The Narak bastards somehow figured it out and lowered our karma ceiling to break the oath's restrictions set by our leader."
The High Table members, who had surpassed human limits, originally possessed power too great to remain in the Phenomenal World.
They had realized that their strength disrupted the world's balance—like Hero King Kaisir who went to the fairy realm or Hoshgar who ascended to a higher dimension—so the High Table should have left as well.
The law of karma guided souls of excessively powerful beings to higher dimensions to maintain the Phenomenal World's equilibrium.
Thus, the High Table had sworn an oath with the Highlander leader to evade the law of karma's gaze, living only as harmonizers without revealing their power to the world.
Now, the High Table hermits were at risk of all ascending to Peach Blossom Paradise.
Zeke looked at Nabu in the mirror and said.
"We need someone who can exert power without breaching the law of karma."
―"Yes, that's why I've been trying to reach you nonstop."
"But why are they attacking the forbidden area of the Forest of the Forgotten? I remember they only extracted the monsters there to form their legion."
―"The invaders this time are a new type of magical beasts. They seem brought from outside."
Zeke tilted his head at Nabu's words.
"They're going to such lengths to bring in magical beasts from outside just to attack the
Forest of the Forgotten?"
Static—
The connection weakened again, the screen flickering with noise. ―"Static—Narak bastards are searching for something here—static—" Before he could finish, Nabu's face disappeared from the mirror.
Zeke stared at his reflection, then bit his lip.
'The Narak bastards were invading and searching for something... It seemed something crucial for the second consecration rite during the lunar eclipse was in the Forest of the Forgotten.'
Attacking the forest guarded by the Highlanders on the eve of the second consecration rite, even deploying a top-tier demon, meant something extremely important was inside.
Zeke rose from his seat.
'Whatever they were after, they wouldn't get it.'
*
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The powerful impacts that reverberated through the stone walls shook the entire temple.
Narak's apostles watched with fearful eyes as Abel, transformed into a demon-dragonkin, punched the walls and roared.
"Kaaaaah!"
After raging with roars and fists for a while, Abel turned his mad gaze toward the apostles who watched him.
Grrrrr—
Covered in crystallized scales, Abel looked like a grotesque monster.
As Abel lunged, the apostles extended their hands simultaneously.
Ssssss—
Black miasma rose from their hands, wrapping around the charging Abel.
"Kaaaaack!"
Abel thrashed against the black miasma that bound him.
The apostles, struggling to contain his power, broke out in cold sweat but held firm.
Grrrr!
Defying the apostles, Abel soon snapped the miasma that bound him and lunged at them with sharp claws.
Kaaaaack—
Suddenly, Abel's body halted in midair.
Woooong—
A massive vibration erupted around Abel's body, perfectly restraining him and preventing movement.
The sweating apostles finally stepped back.
Among them, the high priest in faded, worn ceremonial robes approached the airborne Abel with one hand extended.
He plunged his other hand into Abel's left chest.
Crunch—
The high priest pulled out the throbbing heart.
But the heart, linked to Abel, was blackened.
"The heart of the blue knight can only hold out this far." The high priest tore out the blackened heart and incinerated it.
He then gestured to the apostles behind him.
At his signal, Narak's apostles brought someone forward.
A knight in full plate armor with vacant eyes followed the apostles.
One apostle said to the high priest.
"He's the captain of the Rom Empire's imperial palace guard. We acquired him through a deal with Castro Pollock."
Castro Pollock, gathering forces at Jupiter to oppose Leo and Carus, had reached out to Narak.
The high priest nodded and approached the guard captain.
His hand passed through the armor and pierced the left chest.
"Ughhh—"
Though mentally suppressed by Narak's apostles, the guard captain groaned as if sensing danger and resisting.
But he could do nothing, and soon the high priest withdrew his hand, holding a pulsing heart.
"A heart of the red knight."
He slowly carried the guard captain's heart to Abel.
He placed it into the empty left chest cavity.
As the throbbing heart settled, Abel's chest wound began healing rapidly.
Once the heart entered Abel's body, the guard captain's limbs twitched.
Soon, he collapsed like a marionette with cut strings.
Black blood poured from his eyes, ears, and nose.
In contrast, Abel's body, covered in crystallized scales, began stabilizing.
Crunch—
The crystals encasing his body crumbled and fell to the floor.
The madness in Abel's eyes gradually faded, and he lost consciousness.
As the high priest withdrew his hand, the airborne Abel dropped to the ground with a thud, and the apostles supported the fallen Abel, helping him up.
Then, one apostle approached the high priest.
"Contact from the unit dispatched to the forest."
The high priest's eyes gleamed beneath his ceremonial robes.
The apostle continued slowly.
"They've found traces of the black star inside the forest."