Ramonʼs headless body thudded to the ground.
His face, rolling across the floor, was contorted in a mix of rage and shock.
Only in his final moments did he realize the truth.
Harvey West, the high priest of Narak, had deceived him.
It was all a scheme to revive Abel using Ajitahakaʼs power and then eliminate Ramon through him.
But by the time he understood, it was far too late.
Ramon, who had dreamed of ruling the continent, met an utterly unforeseen death at the very instant of his ambitionʼs fulfillment.
Abel gazed silently at Ramonʼs fallen face.
His mind felt foggy, as if he had been asleep for a long time.
But one thing was crystal clear: the unprecedented power that surged through his body.
Somehow, the strength that Ramon Siemens had concealed for so long had flowed into Abelʼs own form.
Rumble—
Abel slowly turned his body.
Ajitahakaʼs partial remains conveyed something to him.
Abel accepted the fell godʼs will flooding into his mind.
He nodded slowly.
"So thatʼs how it was."
The fell god Ajitahaka had chosen not Ramon Siemens, but Abel Draker, as his avatar.
In his human days, Ajitahaka had displayed unimaginable madness under the name of the flesh-devouring emperor.
To wield such power required madness of equal measure.
Abel, who had preserved his sense of self within the heart of the light dragon and refused to let his twisted mind break, was more than qualified to become Ajitahakaʼs avatar.
Rumble—
The red moon hung more vividly in the sky.
Abel felt Ajitahakaʼs authority surging into him even stronger.
He invoked another authority he had gained.
The authority of devouring.
The ground cracked open in an instant and birthed a horrific maw lined with razorsharp teeth.
The mouth Abel had conjured stirred and turned toward Ramonʼs collapsed body and head.
It gaped wide and swallowed him whole.
Through the authority of devouring, Abel absorbed Ramon Siemensʼs memories and abilities.
He scanned those memories and nodded with cold eyes.
"So thatʼs what happened."
It looked serene at first glance, but a madness even greater than before churned deeper in Abelʼs eyes.
Whoooosh—
In that moment, an ominous energy stirred behind him.
Abel turned slowly.
The reason he had clung to his sense of self amid the hellish heart of the light dragon was an unbearable rage and hatred.
And the target of those emotions now stood before him.
Abel gripped Zahhak and spoke in a leisurely tone.
"Itʼs been a while."
With a brighter expression than ever, he smiled.
"Zeke, Iʼve really missed you."
*
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Zekeʼs heart pounded wildly.
Gripping Laevatein, Zeke stared at Abel in disbelief.
"What the hell is this?"
He had assumed Ramon Siemens attempted to reclaim Ajitahakaʼs authority and resume his descent.
But what had unfolded here far exceeded Zekeʼs expectations.
Abel had been revived.
And after slaying Ramon Siemens, he had devoured him using the authority of devouring.
The worst possible scenario—one Zeke had never anticipated—had come to pass.
Abel, holding Zahhak, said to Zeke,
"Itʼs been a while."
Zeke stared at Abelʼs horrific smile, long forgotten.
He continued,
"Zeke, Iʼve really missed you." Rumble!
Before Abel could finish, Zeke charged at him with Laevatein raised.
Boom!
A fierce sword strike hurtled toward Abel.
Abel swung Zahhak lightly.
Boom!
Blood-crimson energy erupted, nullifying Zekeʼs attack.
As their strikes clashed, a cloud of dust billowed up.
Zeke pressed on toward Abel without pause.
But then, Abel burst from the dust cloud first, swinging his sword at Zeke.
Boom!
Zeke blocked Abelʼs assault with Laevatein.
Thud!
Abel, emerging from the dust, now wore ancient blood-crimson Hercion armor.
Zeke had recovered it after Abelʼs death and handed it over to Feynen and Golin for study, yet here it was, refitted to Abelʼs body.
"A weapon imprinted on the soul, perhaps."
Abel, clad in the Hercion once worn by Siemens Apollyon, boldly swung at Zeke.
Boom!
With each swing, blood-crimson energy blasted forth.
Zeke parried with Laevatein, but the prolonged maintenance of the chaos field took its toll, straining both his mind and body.
Abel looked at Zeke and said,
"Are you alright, Zeke? Itʼs our long-awaited reunion, yet you look so unsteady. Itʼs quite pitiful."
Zeke glared at the taunting Abel and readjusted his grip on his sword.
"Is Abelʼs revival and Ramon Siemensʼs death part of Narakʼs scheme?"
Ramon had planned to absorb Abelʼs flesh with Ajitahakaʼs power and descend the sealed demon king into his own body.
From Narakʼs perspective, which sought the demon kingʼs revival, Ramon was a dangerous threat who could turn enemy at any moment.
Harvey West, Narakʼs high priest, had successfully eliminated Ramon and turned the situation to their advantage.
Zeke trembled with fury at Narakʼs foolish decision as Abel approached.
"To kill Ramon and awaken the worst madness in Abel... those lunatics."
From Narakʼs viewpoint, Abel rampaging across the continent and escalating the flames of war would only aid the demon kingʼs revival, so they had orchestrated this.
Even in his past life, Abel had stood at the center of every war.
Zeke recalled the horrors Abel had wrought as head of the Draker family, leading the third continental war.
The knight of madness, Abel Draker.
He had returned.
Sizzle—
The gray whirlpools in the sky began to dissipate.
Facing Abel, empowered by Ajitahakaʼs authority, Zeke could no longer sustain the mentally taxing chaos field. The walls of the gray domain shattered inevitably.
Whoooosh—
The red moon fully emerged.
Rumble—
Ajitahakaʼs scattered body reacted to the revealed red moon.
Ajitahakaʼs eyes shifted.
Screeeeech—
At the same moment, an eerie sound emanated from Ajitahakaʼs remains.
Following the noise, mara and spirit devourers emerged beyond the chaos fieldʼs walls.
The mara and spirit devourers bowed to Abel, as if pledging their loyalty.
Seeing this, Abel smiled and said,
"The flesh-devouring emperor Ajitahaka. It wouldnʼt be bad to inherit his legacy and found a new empire."
Abelʼs body slowly rose into the air.
Looking down at Zeke, he said,
"Do you know one thing all mythical heroes have in common, Zeke?"
With an exceedingly benevolent tone, Abel continued,
"Itʼs resurrection. The power of immortality. Zeke, I have finally met the conditions to become this eraʼs hero."
Abel had truly died, his soul departing his body.
Yet part of his soul had slumbered in Zeusʼs heart, concealed by the high priest.
With only the high priest knowing this secret, Abelʼs soul had gradually recovered within the heart of the light dragon. Then, as his flesh devoured the fell god Ajitahakaʼs body, he gained the authority, and through its reversal, reclaimed his original spirit.
Rumble!
The resurrected Abel was far stronger than before.
The once-incomplete heart of the light dragon was now fully integrated, and Ajitahakaʼs authority had propelled him beyond human limits.
Abel addressed the fully revealed mara and the utterly grotesque spirit devourers. "Rip everything apart and devour it." Boom!
The mara and spirit devourers charged at Zeke.
Raaargh!
Baring sharp fangs and claws, they sought to tear him to shreds.
Zeke switched to the holy sword Ascalon and unleashed holy spirit qi.
Whoooosh!
Holy spirit qi, infused with primordial light, flowed from Zekeʼs sword.
Zeke unleashed lightning of light upon them.
Boom!
Bolts of light rained down, shattering and scattering the bodies of the mara and spirit devourers.
Zeke immediately summoned his shadow to absorb them.
But the shadow failed to do so.
There was only one explanation for that.
"No way... these things are human?"
Shadows could only absorb those eroded by demonic energy or wraiths.
Surprisingly, the mara and spirit devourers belonged to neither category.
Zeke recalled the Nostra familyʼs test subjects, twisted into monsters by enhancers.
Abel, commanding foes immune to shadow absorption, was Zekeʼs most troublesome adversary.
Sizzle—
The shattered mara and spirit devourers soon reverted to their original forms through Abelʼs authority of reversal.
Abel gazed at Zeke with a relaxed expression and said,
"Use more of your strength, Zeke."
As he raised his hand, a massive maw appeared in the air.
It gaped open, spilling forth more spirit devourers.
Abel grew accustomed to wielding Ajitahakaʼs power.
Zeke felt intense fatigue as he fended off the endless onslaught of spirit devourers and mara.
Against magical beasts or demonkind, he could replenish his strength by absorbing them with shadows, no matter their numbers. But now, without that option, the exhaustion doubled.
"Damn it..."
Then, something caught Zekeʼs eye.
Ajitahakaʼs body.
As a being who had transcended humanity to become a constellation, Zeke could absorb it.
Zeke instantly pulled an ice-attribute elemental stone from his inventory.
He invoked the chamber of water power, drawing forth the stoneʼs energy.
Boom!
A gale of cold air swirled around Zeke.
The spirit devourers and mara charging at him froze solid.
Seizing the moment, Zeke raised Ascalon and activated spiritualization.
Slipping into the dimensional rift, Zeke evaded Abelʼs sight and approached Ajitahaka.
Upon reaching his target and emerging from the rift, something hurtled toward him.
Abelʼs black flame.
Boom!
Zeke donned Theiaʼs Hercion and activated the plasma barrier, blocking the attack.
Abel shouted at Zeke,
"Zeke! What are you doing? Itʼs a reunion of brothers after so long! Shouldnʼt we clash more fiercely?"
Ignoring Abelʼs arrogant cry, Zeke extended his shadow toward half of Ajitahakaʼs severed head.
Sizzle—
Shadows surged from Zekeʼs body, enveloping Ajitahakaʼs head.
Sensing something ominous from Zekeʼs sudden shadow, Abel felt a chill.
"Zeke Draker! What are you trying now?"
In that instant, a massive black lightning bolt erupted from Abelʼs body.
It was the authority of heavenly punishment, from the light dragon Zeus, which he hadnʼt used before.
Black lightning gathered on the raised Zahhak.
Abel unleashed the authority at Zeke.
Boom!
A deafening roar split the sky as black lightning struck down at Zeke.
Zeke maximized his plasma barrier and shadow armor.
Boom!
But Zeus, once called the strongest dragon before Bahamut, wielded an authority that even shadow armor couldnʼt fully withstand.
"Urgh!"
As the heavenly punishment seeped in, Theiaʼs Hercion malfunctioned.
Crackle—
The Hercion deactivated, reverting to its original cuirass form.
Even the shield-form shadow armor began to warp under the authority.
Abel shouted at Zeke,
"Zeke! Behold this! I have reclaimed my true power!"
Intoxicated by his strength and swept in madness, Abel drew even more from Zeusʼs heart.
Boom!
Ultimately, the shadow armor crumbled against the heavenly punishment.
The struck area was utterly devastated.
Rumble!
The spot where Zeke had stood was charred black, forming an impossibly deep crater.
Abel smiled in satisfaction.
"Zeke, you canʼt go that easily. You have a duty to entertain me more."
He descended from the air toward the crater, searching the scorched earth for traces of Zeke.
As he peered in, Abel suddenly sensed something amiss.
"Ajitahakaʼs head?"
That was when it happened.
Swoosh—
Black blades erupted from the ground.
Abel hastily retreated, dodging them.
The earth heaved as Zeke, shrouded in black shadow, emerged.
Abel grinned maniacally at the surviving Zeke.
But the smile soon faded from his face.
Rumble!
For the same authority of Ajitahaka emanated from Zekeʼs body.