'Siemens Apollyonʼs memory?ʼ
After King Solomon became the first demon king and his soul was sealed, the one who had brought that soul down to the phenomenal world was none other than Siemens Apollyon.
The adopted son of Hero King Kaisir and disciple of the Great Sage.
But after Kaisir departed for the fairy realm, when Sword Saint Shattan Draker became the successor to Chronos, Siemens Apollyon flew into a rage and became an enemy of Chronos.
He was the man who had ripped out his own heart meant for contracts, had implanted it into himself, had gained the authority of the dragon, and had sought to claim even the soul of the demon king.
Thus, it was entirely possible that Siemens Apollyonʼs memories resided within the soul of the demon king.
At that moment, a message appeared before Zekeʼs eyes.
[Part of the recorded karma data that has been restored will now play.] Simultaneously, a voice echoed in Zekeʼs ears.
—...Siemens, you...
Zeke was startled by the voice that rang in his ears.
'This voice?ʼ
The voice that emerged from the restored data belonged to none other than the dragon of time, Chronos.
He had no idea why Chronosʼs voice would remain in the memories contained within the soul of the demon king.
The voice continued.
—...Why such a tragedy... Incomplete...
But the voice cut off intermittently, which made it impossible to grasp the full meaning.
To understand the entire content, it seemed he would need to fully absorb and restore the karma data.
Tzzzzz—
At that moment, the black light that poured from the hole in the archive all flowed toward Zeke, and the aberrant angel that hovered above the gate began to show signs of movement.
Krrrrrr—
By then, no trace of Harvey Draker remained in the aberrant angel.
Baron, who had taken a direct hit to his soul from a single sword strike, wiped the blood from his mouth and shouted at the aberrant angel.
"...Capture Zeke Draker. Devour him and reclaim the soul of the demon king!" Baronʼs bloodshot eyes filled with murderous intent.
To Baron, a fanatic who worshipped Arthur Draker as a god, Zeke was undoubtedly the most irritating obstacle.
He believed that with the power of the aberrant angel, created through Arthur Drakerʼs authority, he could eliminate Zeke and reclaim the soul of the demon king.
The aberrant angel, which floated above the malformed gate, reacted to Baronʼs words and began to move.
Kududududu!
Because it had not fully received the power of the black light streams due to Zeke, gaps of empty black crystals dotted the aberrant angelʼs body.
The aberrant angel raised its head and let out a monstrous roar.
Kaaaaaaa!
At the same time, wriggling tentacles burst from behind the aberrant angelʼs back and began to take shape.
The shape resembled dragon wings.
But they were grotesque, with teeth and eyeballs embedded throughout the wings.
The aberrant angel spread its newly formed wings and slowly rose into the air.
Kugugugugu!
Even in its incomplete state, having not absorbed the entirety of the demon kingʼs soul, the aura that emanated from the aberrant angel was powerful enough to rival the grand lords of the demon realm.
Zeke, who had been absorbing the shadow-corrupted karma data while floating in the air, looked down at the aberrant angel.
'The soul of the demon king that it absorbed. I need to reclaim it.ʼ
In truth, Zeke was still skeptical about absorbing the soul of the demon king, just as the Arrogant Savior had said.
Even the great King Solomon had ultimately succumbed to temptation, becoming the "First Fallen One" and the demon king who threatened the phenomenal world.
There was no guarantee that Zeke wouldnʼt fall to the same temptation. But now, he had changed his mind. It was because of the karma points.
'If I can purify the soul of the demon king with karma points, I can escape that temptation.ʼ
Without the risk of temptation, the soul of the demon king would simply be a fine way to elevate the rank of the constellation.
Zeke gripped Laevatein as he gazed at the aberrant angel that roared toward him.
Woooooong!
Laevatein resonated with a sword cry, syncing with Zekeʼs will.
'Iʼll reclaim the soul of the demon king.ʼ
Zeke unlocked the rank of the constellation.
The power of the constellation "He Who Surpassed the Wall" spread throughout the entire archive.
Kugugugugu!
The aura from the aberrant angel clashed with Zekeʼs rank, which created a powerful shockwave that whipped up a gale.
Nabu, carrying Nigel on the flying carpet, descended to the lower part of the archive to avoid the wind.
"Eeeeeek! Hold on tight!"
He reunited with Ivan, loaded him onto the carpet again, and took shelter inside the barrier created by Guardian Innocent.
Drdrdrdr—
The collision of the powers unleashed by Zeke and the aberrant angel caused the entire infinite archive—the unique space of the Great Sage—to tremble.
As members of the High Table, it was their first time witnessing beings with the rank of grand lords clash directly, and they couldnʼt help but be shocked by the sheer force.
"Theyʼre insane. Are all constellations such monsters?"
At Nabuʼs mutter, the other High Table members nodded in agreement as they stared toward the clash.
The first to move was the aberrant angel.
Kaaaaaaa!
It let out a roar that blended a dragonʼs cry with a monsterʼs howl and shot up into the sky.
It was impossible to know how much of the demon kingʼs soul it had absorbed, but the rank of the soul it exuded was markedly different from the previous Harvey Draker.
The aberrant angel opened its mouth wide and unleashed a torrent of mana cannon blasts rippling with black energy toward Zeke.
Kwakwakwakwa!
The condensed mana blasts hurtled toward Zeke with enough force to pierce his body.
Zeke raised Laevatein and charged forward.
"Haaaaah!"
Zeke executed the sword forms of the infinite sword art and swung his sword down toward the mana blasts.
Shhhhhh—
After perfecting the heart-sword technique, Zekeʼs swordsmanship displayed a completely different level from before.
It was a simple downward slash, but the profound insight contained within it harbored a multidimensional power incomparable to the past.
Shaaaaak—
The moment the mana blasts touched Zekeʼs sword, they split in half and scattered without a trace.
It was an attack with enough power to obliterate an entire city in an instant, yet Zekeʼs sword had perfectly cleaved it away.
Zeke had truly transcended the realm of sword saint to reach the domain of sword god.
Nigel, watching Zekeʼs sword from below, couldnʼt help but wear an expression of admiration.
'Zeke...ʼ
Having recalled the memories of her past life inscribed in her soul, Nigel knew what kind of life Zeke had lived before the regression.
Thus, she could vividly feel the significance of the swordsmanship Zeke had perfected.
The aberrant angel, seeing its attack rendered futile, roared and flew toward Zeke even faster.
Kaaaaaaa!
Zeke blocked the aberrant angelʼs soul-piercing roar with the sword cry of Laevatein.
Woooooong!
Laevatein, which had been crying out with a sword resonance, left Zekeʼs hand and floated into the air.
At the same time, an intense light erupted from Laevatein.
Kugugugugu!
The fierce light that surged from Laevatein illuminated the entire space.
Laevatein spewed sword light and flew toward the aberrant angel of its own volition.
Shaaaaaaaak!
Laevateinʼs movement, slicing through space, was markedly different from swords controlled by magic.
Each burst of sword light was akin to an aura blade thrust by a black knight.
Kaaaaaaa!
The aberrant angel bellowed a thunderous roar toward the oncoming Laevatein with its terrifying momentum.
But undeterred, as its movement didnʼt halt, the aberrant angel spread its wings wide and thrust its chest forward toward Laevatein.
Then, the crystallized black armor split open, revealing a massive maw inside.
Woooooong!
A greater surge of energy than before began to condense within the gaping maw. Kudududuk—
The power was so immense that the surrounding space warped, causing distortions.
The archives and books near the distorted space were sucked into it.
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
Soon, the energy condensed in the chest maw confronted the incoming Laevatein head-on.
The maw widened further and spewed the gathered energy forward.
The condensed energy formed a pillar of darkness that engulfed Laevatein wrapped in sword light.
Thunderous booms echoed everywhere, and the erupting dark energy shattered the archive space.
But then.
Shaaaaaaaak—
Laevatein, enveloped in sword light, cleaved through the pillar of darkness and continued advancing toward the aberrant angel.
Connected to Zeke through their souls, Laevatein carried his will, offsetting the condensed pillar of darkness as it sought to pierce the aberrant angel.
Krrrk!
As Laevatein defied its power and pressed on, the aberrant angel concentrated its force even more intensely.
Kugugugugu!
The pillar of darkness compressed its power further, attempting to halt Laevatein.
But the sword light showed no sign of faltering; instead, it shone even more brilliantly as it flew straight toward the aberrant angel.
Kaaaaak!
The aberrant angel unleashed its full might in a roar, squeezing out every ounce of power to block Laevatein.
Yet the black sword never stopped.
Realizing this wouldnʼt work, the aberrant angel spread its wings and ascended higher.
Then, changing direction, it opened its maw wide toward Zeke for a direct attack and gathered energy.
But when the aberrant angel looked to strike, Zeke was nowhere to be seen.
"Looking for me?"
Zekeʼs voice came from behind.
The moment the aberrant angel turned in surprise, Ascalon pierced through its back and protruded from its chest.
Kaaaaaaaak!
The aberrant angel writhed in agony and roared in torment.
Zeke followed its movements and thrust Ascalon even deeper.
Kwaduduk!
From Ascalon, deeply embedded in the aberrant angelʼs body, the same light as Laevatein surged forth.
Woooooong!
As sword light erupted from the embedded Ascalon, the black crystals that enveloped the aberrant angelʼs body began to crumble and fall away.
The fallen crystals were sucked into Zekeʼs shadow.
[You have absorbed corrupted karma data.]
Reading the message before his eyes, Zeke confirmed that the black crystals attached to the aberrant angel were crystallized portions of the demon kingʼs soul.
'It didnʼt fully absorb the soul of the demon king but crystallized it like a dragon heart, drawing power from it externally.ʼ
It seemed a method devised to use it without letting the demon kingʼs temptation erode the soul.
By combining the dragon heart bestowed by Arthur Draker, the power of the outsider species, and the force of twisted causality, such a bizarre phenomenon had been induced.
Even as Zeke analyzed the phenomenon, the aberrant angel, pierced by the sword, thrashed about, trying to shake him off.
At some point, the aberrant angelʼs wings wriggled and transformed, branching into tentacles centered around the eyeballs and teeth.
Kaaaaaaaak!
The tentacles lunged toward Zeke, who gripped Ascalon.
Zeke released Ascalon and retreated.
At the same time, Caladbolg materialized from the shadow and entered Zekeʼs hand. Tzzzzz—
Caladbolg extended shadows toward the tentacles.
Shaaaaaaaak—
The shadows turned into sharp blades that shredded the tentacles and voraciously devoured them as they advanced.
Kudududuk!
'This?ʼ
Zeke flinched, sensing traces of the authority of gluttony in Caladbolg.
The authority of gluttony, unlocked by absorbing the power of the fell god, was a formidable force that devoured all things, but it was hard to control, so he had refrained from using it as much as possible.
Zeke couldnʼt help but question why Caladbolg naturally harbored such an authority.
At that moment, the aberrant angel roared again and unleashed sharp claws infused with dark energy toward Zeke.
Kwakwakwakwa!
Six hook-like claws spun toward Zeke, intent on tearing him to shreds.
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
Zeke stared at the incoming claws and swung Caladbolg.
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
Caladbolg generated a shadow storm that devoured all of the aberrant angelʼs claws.
Seeing Caladbolg display an even greedier momentum than before, Zeke furrowed his brow.
'The stronger my divinity grows, the stronger Caladbolgʼs power seems to become.ʼ He deactivated Caladbolg in his hand and returned it to the shadow.
Even as it vanished, Caladbolg seemed to regret not devouring more.
The aberrant angel, seizing the opportunity as Caladbolg disappeared, erected crystallized spikes like blades across its body and charged at Zeke.
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
Each blade tore through space, creating ripples.
Kaaaaaaaak!
Soon, the crystallized spikes that sprouted from the aberrant angelʼs body shot out, whipping up a storm as they poured toward Zeke.
Then, a massive light flew in front of Zeke.
Shaaaaaaaak!
Laevatein, wrapped in sword light, pierced through the storm of spikes.