Rumble!
When Harvey Draker saw that Nigel's aura had completely changed from before, he furrowed his brow. "Pointless resistance..."
Boom!
Harvey Draker had no choice but to shut his mouth as the overwhelming presence emanating from Nigel's body hit him.
Even so, he showed no great tension and simply gazed at her calmly.
After receiving the dragon heart transplant, he had awakened to an entirely new world.
Originally, his body had been so unstable that even basic movement had been difficult.
But after receiving the rite of consecration from Arthur Draker and transplanting the dragon heart, his unstable flesh had fully stabilized.
Just the fact that he no longer needed to hide in the shadows and could now step forward boldly made him believe that pledging loyalty to Arthur Draker had been well worth it.
Moreover, since Arthur Draker's ultimate goal had aligned perfectly with his own, he had no reservations.
As he faced Nigel's powerful presence, Harvey Draker drew upon the dragon's power within himself.
Rumble!
Dragon scales formed on Harvey Draker's skin as he summoned the dragon's strength.
The massive clash of auras between the fiercely colliding Nigel and Harvey Draker shook the entire Rʼlyeh.
Rumble!
Rʼlyeh, the deep-sea city, was a domain maintained by the custodian's power.
If forces too powerful clashed, the domain itself would collapse.
Nabu assessed the situation and shouted at Nigel. "Nigel! You old hag, ease up! We'll all die at this rate!" But Nabu's words didn't reach Nigel's ears at all.
She was consumed only by the thought of cutting down Harvey Draker before her.
She concentrated her power into her sword and shot forward like a spring.
Boom!
Sword light burst in all directions from her blade as the power of her full power technique erupted.
Full Power Technique
Double Spell Will of Annihilation
Boom!
A sword strike infused with the fierce intent to annihilate the enemy poured toward Harvey Draker.
In response, Harvey Draker drew out the power from the dragon heart and unleashed a dragon's roar.
Whoooong!
The compressed mana cannon collided with Nigel's full power technique, causing an explosion.
To block the immense shockwave, Manna and Nabu hurriedly erected a barrier.
"Argh! You mad bastards!"
A massive explosion rocked the barrier they had formed.
Boom!
The barrier couldn't fully contain the impact, so the shockwave rattled all of Rʼlyeh.
Nabu, Manna, and even Ivan were pushed back by the force.
Rumble!
As the shock subsided somewhat, the figures of Nigel and Harvey Draker came into view.
Nigel furrowed her brow when she saw Harvey Draker standing unscathed, despite her having poured nearly all her strength into the full power technique.
'Even though his power had been restricted...ʼ
Though he had lost the authority of the Arrogant Savior, transplanting a holy dragon's heart into his body as a Nephilim—a fragment of a god—had granted Harvey Draker a power surpassing even that of a transcendent.
He glared at Nigel as his dragon eye flashed.
"Is this the extent of a guardian's skill? Quite disappointing."
At his provocation, Nigel tightened her grip on her sword and spoke.
"I'll cut off that neck of yours, and then you won't spout such nonsense anymore."
Leaving an afterimage, Nigel's form surged forward.
Slash—
Her sword flew toward Harvey Draker's neck.
In response, dragon scales covered Harvey Draker's arm, blocking her blade outright.
At the same time, he cast a spell toward her.
Roar!
Black flames poured toward Nigel.
She dodged it and circled to the side, aiming to stab Harvey Draker's back with her sword.
But his body rippled, and he vanished in an instant with blink magic, reappearing behind her to tear at her with sharp claws.
Nigel swiftly turned her sword to parry his attack.
Crack!
An exchange too fast for the eye to follow continued.
Watching from behind, Nabu said to Ivan.
"Shouldn't we help?" Ivan shook his head.
"Interfering might just hinder Nigel." Manna agreed.
"Ivan's right. Half-hearted aid could create an opening instead."
Nabu heard them and watched the clash between Nigel and Harvey Draker with growing anxiety.
'That guy wasn't just attacking mindlessly. There had to be some other scheme...ʼ Something suddenly flashed through Nabu's mind.
He pulled out several books and frantically searched for a passage.
"Ugh, that's it. It has to be here. Hmm... Ah! Found it!" Nabu quickly read the passage he had located.
"The wicked one hides the truth and deceives us with a false guise! Behold, the mirror.
All the lies and deceptions enveloping this place shall now reveal themselves here!" As he spoke, a massive mirror floated above his head.
Nabu instructed Ivan and Manna.
"Angle it to shine on that bastard!"
Following his words, they adjusted the mirror he had summoned to reflect Nigel and Harvey Draker.
The mirror immediately emitted a massive vibration.
Whoooong!
The mirror blurred, and a new image formed within it.
Nigel's form, which resembled a young girl's, appeared in the mirror as a cold yet noble female warrior with long horns on her forehead and flowing silver hair.
In contrast, the figure of Harvey Draker beside her showed no clear form—just a rippling black shadow.
Seeing this, Nabu shouted to Nigel.
"Damn it! Nigel! We've been tricked! That guy's not the real one!"
What he had summoned was the mirror of truth, which revealed essences.
Realizing the essence of the figure fighting Nigel was a formless shadow, he knew it was a fake.
Hearing Nabu, a fierce glow erupted from Nigel's eyes.
"You think a mere clone can stand against me!" A terrifying aura flowed from her sword.
A sword strike infused with the energy of her full power technique poured toward Harvey Draker's clone.
Boom!
Unlike before, the clone struck by Nigel's sword strike rippled and transformed entirely into a black shadow.
The shadowy Harvey Draker looked at her and spoke.
[Foolish transcendents. You are uninvited guests on this stage. It is impossible to stop the descent of the King in Yellow with your power.]
Instead of replying, Nigel grimaced and swung her sword at the shadow's neck.
[No one can stop it. The king shall descend soon!]
The shadow, dissolving like mist, vanished with a sneer.
Frustrated, Nigel gripped her sword tightly and glared at where Harvey Draker had disappeared.
Then Nabu rushed over to her.
"Nigel, they've pinned us here while heading to where the Book of the Lion is! We need to hurry to the custodian!"
At his words, Nigel turned to Ivan.
"Ivan, the custodian didn't tell us, but he must have told you where the Book of the Lion is."
Ivan silently stared at her.
Nigel approached and grabbed his collar.
"You'd better tell me right now where that custodian is. Before everything goes to hell." *
The robed custodian stood motionless and silent in the dark stone chamber.
The chamber was vast enough to hold thousands, and though worn, the walls bore intricate bas-reliefs.
From the traces, one could imagine how splendidly it had once been adorned.
At the front of the chamber stood a half-collapsed altar.
The custodian gazed at it, then raised his hand.
Whoooong!
Dozens of mirrors floated before him.
They reflected the situations unfolding across Rʼlyeh and even in the seas before Storm Castle.
The custodian turned his head to one mirror.
It had just shown the High Table members battling Harvey Draker's clone.
Now, with the clone gone, the survivors were demanding Ivan reveal the custodian's location.
The custodian turned to the other mirrors.
But amid all those screens, he couldn't find Zeke Draker.
'Zeke Draker...ʼ
He had clearly seen him breach Rʼlyeh's barrier, but after that, no trace remained.
This could only have meant one thing.
'Zeke Draker's rank had surpassed mine.ʼ
He couldn't predict how Zeke Draker's transcendence to divinity would affect defying fate.
The custodian had long awaited Zeke Draker as part of his plan to break the vicious cycle of tangled fates.
No matter the process, fulfilling his sacred duty was paramount.
'I merely fulfilled my appointed task.ʼ
As he reaffirmed his mission and searched the mirrors for Zeke Draker, an ominous reaction stirred behind him.
Sss—
A rift tore through space, the surroundings warped like haze, and a figure emerged.
It was none other than Harvey Draker.
With white hair and flashing red eyes, he glared at the custodian before the altar.
"Creator, at last we meet again."
Harvey Draker's voice carried a torrent of emotions.
Even though the intruder had entered the chamber, the custodian didn't move.
Toward him, Harvey Draker raised his hand, his dragon eye gleaming.
Boom!
A compressed mana cannon shot toward the custodian.
The seemingly immobile custodian left only an afterimage and vanished.
Harvey Draker shouted into the empty chamber.
"Distorted trace of the Great Sage! I am here! Your broken creation stands before you!" Rumble!
The chamber shook in response to his cry.
The custodian reappeared before him.
He simply gazed silently.
Harvey Draker spoke again.
"I am yet another failed proof of your making. Are you afraid to face me?" The custodian replied.
"I have fulfilled my duty and never failed."
Hearing the custodian's flat tone, Harvey Draker let out a mad laugh.
"Fulfilled your duty! Blind and foolish words! Look at me. All your deeds were ultimately futile! Your vain dream of creating a savior with your own hands is nothing but the selfish delusion of a mortal steeped in arrogance and presumption!" Harvey Draker denied everything the custodian had done.
Yet the custodian remained unmoved by the insults.
Harvey Draker shook his head.
"Well, words to a wraith like you are meaningless anyway. I will restart this halted stage."
His eyes gleamed coldly.
"Tell me where the Book of the Lion and the black star are." The custodian slowly raised his hand in response.
Sss—
A wooden staff appeared in his grasp.
It was an ancient form of magic staff that modern mages no longer used.
Seeing it, Harvey Draker sneered.
"Distorted trace of the Great Sage. Do you think you can stop me?" Rumble!
Harvey Draker's body began to float into the air.
"I'll show you how your broken creation has grown!"