Zeke turned his head and realized that he was already in the family headʼs office of the Four Seasons Star.
Arthur Draker approached him, brushing back his ash-gray hair.
"What are you doing just standing there staring blankly? Come sit over here." Zeke knew this was Germainʼs illusion.
Recalling that Germain had claimed to know Arthurʼs secret, Zeke sat down across from him as instructed.
Arthur poured liquor into two glasses he had brought and handed one to Zeke.
"Itʼs strong, but it goes down smoothly, so it should be fine." Zeke took the glass from Arthur, sniffed it, and then sipped slowly.
As he said, the liquor went down smoothly.
Arthur set his glass down and looked at Zeke.
"Iʼm proud of you, Zeke."
Zeke felt a momentary dizziness at Arthurʼs words.
"What is this?"
For just an instant, he sensed ripples in his mind, creating a small crack.
At the same time, he realized that he had briefly forgotten this was an illusion.
Arthur Draker continued.
"Zeke, you are truly my son."
The dizziness returned, making Zeke feel like he was forgetting reality again.
Deep in his heart, the painful reality gave way to a growing desire for this to be real.
"I need to stay focused."
Zeke reminded himself that Germain was burrowing into his mind, trying to make him believe this illusion was reality.
If he accepted this place as real and forgot the true world, Germain would undoubtedly take over his body.
At that moment, Arthur Draker looked at Zeke and said,
"Thereʼs something I want to tell you."
He fell silent for a moment, gazing at Zeke intently, then slowly spoke.
"Itʼs something I should have said long ago. I kept putting it off because of my own shortcomings. But... now it seems the time has truly come."
Zeke resisted, trying not to get drawn into the illusion while recognizing it as such.
Arthur Draker met Zekeʼs eyes directly and said,
"Zeke, you are not my biological son."
Zekeʼs thoughts froze at Arthur Drakerʼs words. "Iʼm not Arthur Drakerʼs son?"
A whirlwind of thoughts swirled in Zekeʼs mind.
Germain had said he knew Arthurʼs secret.
So, what the illusion of Arthur was saying now might be that very secret Germain knew.
The unexpected words shook Zekeʼs steadfast mental defenses for a moment.
Through the crack that formed, various thoughts flooded in.
Doubts about his mother Laura Agamemnonʼs face, Arthur Drakerʼs cold gaze when he had cast Zeke out of the family in the past, and the Draker family itself, which he had once dreamed of avenging—all of it churned chaotically in his head.
"If Iʼm not Arthur Drakerʼs son, then am I not a Draker? No, if I werenʼt a Draker, I couldnʼt have accepted the dragon heart. So what exactly is going on?" Zekeʼs mind grew more tangled, with one question leading endlessly to another.
His resistance to whether this world was real began to fade.
Before long, he started to forget that this was an illusion.
He couldnʼt escape the words that he was not Arthur Drakerʼs son.
It was as if he were bound by a binding curse through spoken words.
Seeing Zeke like this, Arthur smiled and said,
"Zeke, even though you are not my biological son, you resemble me more than anyone." He picked up his glass again and continued.
"Blood relations donʼt matter. You are the son I love most."
In response to Arthurʼs words, Zeke, who had been silent, finally spoke.
"Is it true that I am not the family headʼs son?"
Arthur set down his glass and nodded at Zekeʼs question.
"You must be shocked."
Zeke gave no reply to Arthurʼs words.
Seeing this, Arthur—or rather, Germain disguised as Arthur—chuckled inwardly.
"Become more confused."
The more Zekeʼs thoughts delved into this issue, the more he settled into the illusion, accelerating his forgetfulness.
In the end, he would have no choice but to feel that this place was reality.
Arthur looked at Zeke and said,
"Zeke, donʼt worry about such trivial matters. I want to dream of a new future for Draker together with you."
Zeke raised his head.
"What kind of new future?"
"Right now, we rule the continent as the dragon slayer family and the strongest force, but no one knows how long that will last." Arthur continued with a stern expression.
"To protect the family, Iʼve stained my hands with much blood. Thanks to that, everyone fears Draker. But..."
He trailed off and shook his head.
"I hope the Draker you inherit is different from the one I led as family head."
"How so?"
"Not a name built on lies and violence, but one that endures through truth and trust." Zeke stared intently at Arthurʼs face.
It was a serious and solemn expression he had never seen before.
"Iʼm sorry to burden you with this heavy responsibility, but only the Knight of Salvation, not the Overlord, can achieve it."
The Knight of Salvation, renowned across the continent.
Germain believed Zeke harbored a desire for his fatherʼs approval and stimulated it.
Germain believed that with a great father, a son was always overshadowed by his shadow.
Though Zeke Drakerʼs fame was high, it had not yet surpassed that of the Overlord, the continentʼs strongest.
To be acknowledged by a great father, inherit everything from him, and have the entire continent honor his name.
It was the ideal paradise every knight dreamed of.
Arthur slowly rose from his seat.
He approached Zeke and placed his hands on his shoulders from behind.
"Zeke, I believe in you. Only you can remake Draker anew."
Zeke slowly raised his hand and grasped Arthurʼs hand on his shoulder.
Germain, who had created this entire illusion, was convinced Zeke had fully immersed himself and felt satisfied.
While Zekeʼs soul remained trapped in this illusion, Germain planned to enter the deep mental world and seize control, thereby taking the body.
He intended to maintain the illusion while sending only his mental body into the deep mental world.
But at that moment, Zeke gripped Arthurʼs hand tightly and said,
"Family head, I have one question."
"What family head? Call me Father. What is it?" Zeke gripped Arthurʼs hand even tighter.
"Did Father love Mother?"
In response, Arthur said in a gentle voice,
"Yes, I loved your mother more than anyone."
"Did Mother love Father?"
Arthur nodded at Zekeʼs question.
"I believe so."
The grip of Zekeʼs hand on Arthurʼs tightened further.
Germain sensed something amiss.
Zeke slowly opened his mouth.
"Laura Agamemnon... hated you. No, it was closer to loathing."
Germain, caught off guard by Zekeʼs reaction, tried to pull his hand away.
But it was as if a giant held it fast; he couldnʼt free himself.
Crack—
Germain, in the form of Arthur Draker, grimaced in pain as his hand bones crushed.
"Urgh!"
Finally, as Germain groaned, Zeke applied more pressure and said,
"To think the Overlord would groan like this. Your acting is amateurish." Only then did Germain realize Zeke had not fallen into the illusion.
Flash!
His body blurred and reappeared behind Zeke in a different form.
A man in a suit with a mask.
Germain glared at Zeke and roared mentally.
—You.
—How did you escape the illusion?
—I clearly breached the crack in your mind.
—This is impossible.
"Did you think I desired Arthur Drakerʼs approval?"
Zeke spoke in a low voice as he slowly rose from his seat.
He looked down at Germain with cold eyes and said,
"Whether Arthur Draker is my biological father or not doesnʼt matter. He abandoned me anyway, and I died miserably because of it."
The background of the Four Seasons Star family headʼs office blurred and shifted to somewhere entirely different.
A snowy plain with a blizzard raging.
It was the middle of a valley in the ice mountain range.
Germain was startled by the sudden change in location.
—Interfering with my unique domain.
—I canʼt believe it.
—To possess a mental strength greater than ours, who have lived a thousand years.
Zeke ignored Germainʼs words and stared at one spot in the ice mountain range valley.
There, he saw himself dead, clutching a black dragon statue, leaning against the cold ice wall.
Germain was confused by the sight.
—This is no illusion.
—Gazing upon oneʼs own death.
—Impossible.
Zeke turned his head to look at Germain.
"After experiencing a miserable death, many things come into view differently."
Swoosh—
The shadow sword Caladbolg appeared in Zekeʼs hand.
Only then did Germain realize that Zeke had completely dominated the unique domain he had created.
An incomprehensible existence, even by the standards of Germain, who had lived for ages.
Germainʼs mental bodies felt fear toward Zeke.
—Kill him!
Germain retreated while unleashing his bloodline ability at Zeke.
Boom!
An explosion erupted right in front of Zekeʼs nose.
But just before it detonated, time seemed to stop, leaving the explosion suspended in midair.
Since this unique domain space was already under Zekeʼs control, he could manipulate it at will.
Zeke reached out and grabbed the halted explosion.
Sizzle—
The explosion fizzled out weakly.
Germain realized too late that entering Zekeʼs mental world had been a grave mistake.
—I must escape.
—As quickly as possible.
—Or Iʼll be trapped in his mental world.
Vrrr—
In the middle of the icy valley with razor gales, space cracked like shattering glass.
It was Germainʼs forced escape route.
He tried to slip through the gap in the unique domain to return outside.
But Zeke wouldnʼt allow it.
Rattle—
Chains of Solomon burst from the ice wall.
Rattle!
Germainʼs limbs, attempting to flee through the domainʼs crack, were ensnared by the Chains of Solomon.
Bound by the chains, Germain tried to turn his body into mist once more to escape.
Crackle—
The Chains of Solomon, which bound souls, refused to let go, pursuing him no matter his form.
In the end, Zeke approached the chained Germain.
"How does it feel to be trapped in the domain you created?"
Germain looked at Zeke and conveyed his intent.
—Release me.
—Iʼll give you whatever you desire.
—Iʼll even hand over Abel Draker.
—If you want to know where Arthur Draker is, I can tell you that too.
Zeke remained unshaken by the torrent of Germainʼs thoughts in his mind.
With a stoic expression, he slowly approached and grasped Germainʼs mask. Crackle—
Intense sparks flew from the point where Zeke gripped.
He looked at Germain and said,
"You are a fusion of chaos and curse."
Zeke continued, tightening his grip on the mask.
"I suddenly wondered what would happen if I performed curse-lifting treatment on your curse."
Crackle—
As he activated the curse-lifting treatment skill with his words, powerful sparks erupted from Germainʼs body.
Grrrr—
As the curse-lifting progressed, the entity began to show abnormal reactions.
Zeke persisted without stopping.
The binding curse that had united Germainʼs mental bodies was weakening.
—No.
—The binding must not break.
—We cannot exist as ourselves.
Zeke addressed Germainʼs mental bodies.
"Were you still deceived by such nonsense?"
Staring beyond the mask, he said,
"Princes of the fallen kingdom, you have been bound and used by a curse all this time.
By the being trapped beyond the Gate of Chaos."
As Zeke continued the curse-lifting, the curseʼs power faded completely, and the vengeful spirits forming the mental bodies scattered.
In the end, only the six vengeful spirits of the fallen kingdomʼs princes who had first received the curse remained.
Zeke peered beyond them, at the entity that held them captive.
"The pinnacle of the Four Fiends, the sole evil god to reach divinity."
Then, invoking its name with the power of word magic, he called out.
"Di Jiang."