[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 126
'It's changing shape?'
The color of the Hercyon, imbued with Teia's power, changed from gray to black, similar to Bahamut.
Furthermore, the shape, which had been similar to ordinary full plate armor, changed to perfectly fit Zeke's body, making it even more comfortable to move in.
[Shape transformation complete.]
[15 out of 28 grand magic circles activated.]
[Registering the grand magic circle of the inherent ability 'Shield' from the existing Meteorite Iron armor set to ???'s Armor.]
[16 out of a total of 29 grand magic circles activated.]
[An authentication code is required to activate all functions of the armor.]
[Go to the designated area and activate the authentication code.]
At the same time, a quest window popped up.
—Achievement Quest (Advanced Mission)—
[Find the Temple of the Moon Goddess Teia and acquire the authentication code. (No time limit)]
[Quest Mission Reward: Title Teia's Blessing]
'Teia's Blessing...'
Zeke, who had acquired the unique class Immortal thanks to the Ancient Dragon's Blessing, found the title of the goddess's blessing attractive as well.
Zeke checked the authentication code activation coordinates marked on the map.
Then, he frowned.
'This is... the middle of the Rom Empire's capital, isn't it?'
Rom, the capital of the Rom Empire, was where the Mad Emperor resided.
Although it was possible to enter Rom since the Continental War hadn't broken out yet, the relationship between the Drake family and the Rom Empire was subtly strained due to the incident of Carus's exile.
'Still, if I'm going to Rom, it would be better to go before the Continental War breaks out.'
Zeke planned to go to Rom later, using a mission as an excuse.
Just then, Golin, looking at Zeke, said,
"Oh, it's fascinating how the armor transforms on its own. Is it due to the influence of Meteorite Iron, which absorbs energy?"
Golin examined the Hercyon Zeke was wearing and nodded.
"It seems there are no problems. How does it feel to move?"
Zeke moved around wearing the Hercyon.
Like the previous Meteorite Iron armor, the finely divided armor plates moved according to Zeke's movements, eliminating any minor discomfort he had felt before.
When Zeke unequipped the Hercyon, it returned to its original breastplate form.
Golin had a satisfied expression.
"How is it! My skills!"
Although he was eccentric, he was indeed a skilled craftsman.
If his disciple Gelion was a silent craftsman, his master Golin felt like a genius artist.
Zeke offered Golin a handshake.
"Thank you, Master Golin."
Golin also shook Zeke's hand vigorously.
"Thanks to you, I got some great inspiration! Go quickly! I have to create my next masterpiece!"
Instead of seeing Zeke off, Golin kicked him out of the smithy, telling him to leave quickly without even looking at him properly.
Zeke shook his head as he looked at Golin.
'He's quite eccentric.'
He went down to the village and looked for King Fist.
"King Fist, I have to go now."
"Huh? Brother Zeke, leaving already?"
"I'm busy."
King Fist had a disappointed expression.
But he couldn't stay here forever.
Although he expressed his disappointment, King Fist, understanding Zeke's circumstances, saw him off to the outskirts of the Barbarian territory.
"Brother Zeke! Come visit again!"
Zeke chuckled as he saw King Fist waving from afar.
He hadn't realized in his previous life that the Barbarians, known for their ferociousness, could have such innocent personalities.
When King Fist was out of sight, Zeke looked at Richmond, who was following behind, and said,
"Richmond, what's that you're carrying on your back?"
Richmond was carrying a huge bundle with a grunt.
"Ugh, these are precious monster materials! I couldn't hunt, so it was difficult to obtain these, but they were just lying around here, so I picked them all up!"
Zeke clicked his tongue as he looked at Richmond.
"Can you go to Atlas carrying that?"
"Where's Atlas?"
Zeke was once again reminded that Richmond was a lich from 500 years ago.
'But since he's a black mage, I wonder if it's okay to keep him in Atlas.'
If he were an ordinary summon, he could hide him in the shadows like Gurab, but Richmond, being a humanoid summon, could live a normal life.
After some thought, Zeke decided to leave it to the Syndicate since it was unclear.
'I'll just summon him when I need him.'
He could use him like Nahuel, who stayed in his own territory and was summoned when needed.
Zeke put the monster materials Richmond was carrying into his inventory and headed to the laboratory where Richmond had been staying.
"Take everything you need."
Richmond took out all the materials he had diligently researched for 500 years and piled them up like a mountain.
Fortunately, his inventory had expanded, so he could put everything in with room to spare.
Richmond was surprised to see Zeke's inventory, which could hold all those things.
"I-I've never seen such spatial magic."
"Anything else?"
"No, no. This is all, Master."
Zeke thought that Richmond's monster research would be helpful in dealing with monsters in the future.
Feeling somewhat proud, he took Richmond and left the cave, heading down the mountain.
But just then, he sensed a suspicious presence.
'Who are those?'
They were none other than the Empire's Hounds.
Zeke activated his Hercyon and drew Bahamut, transforming its shape.
"Richmond, show them what you can do."
Zeke first transformed Richmond into a Demi Lich and sent him out.
Kyaaaaa!
Richmond, letting out a roar, was clearly a high-ranking undead.
The Hounds were flustered by the sudden appearance of a Demi Lich.
"A-a monster!"
Richmond was inwardly hurt by the Hounds' reaction, who openly called him a monster.
"Kyaaaak!"
So he cast his magic even more powerfully.
Crash!
The black lightning that Richmond unleashed devastated the area where the Hounds were.
"Damn it! That's a Demi Lich! Retreat!"
A high-ranking undead like a Demi Lich, not even an ordinary lich, required a Blue Knight level to fight properly.
As the Hounds retreated, the excited Richmond shot black flames at them.
Crash!
It was far more powerful than an ordinary fireball.
"Kyaaaak!"
The Hounds, engulfed in the flames Richmond unleashed, screamed and collapsed.
Zeke gave an order to Richmond.
'Don't kill them all. Follow the remaining ones and find their base.'
Following Zeke's words, Richmond turned invisible and started chasing the Hounds.
The Hounds, who had entered the depths of the mountain range, seemed to have set up camps in various places.
Zeke, checking the camps through Richmond's vision, decided to infiltrate them to test the performance of his new Hercyon.
'Summon the monsters, Richmond.'
Richmond used magic to summon the surrounding monsters towards the camp.
Krrrrrr!
Reacting to Richmond's magic, monsters began to gather towards the camp one by one.
Groan!
High-ranking monsters, from minotaurs to cyclops and ogres, swarmed into the camp.
As Richmond became a Demi Lich, the level of monsters he could control also increased.
The Hounds' camp was thrown into chaos by the sudden monster attack.
"Monsters are swarming in!"
Not only the Hounds, but also the soldiers on standby came out to stop the monsters.
Even for skilled knights, dealing with high-ranking monsters was quite tricky.
While Richmond was drawing attention outside with the monsters, Zeke stealthily infiltrated the camp.
Unlike the front, which was in chaos from fending off the monsters, the inside of the camp was quite quiet.
Zeke went inside while remaining hidden.
He wanted to find traces of the 'Harbinger of Blood and Madness' that caused the Hydra's strange behavior.
Just then, something caught Zeke's eye.
'What's that?'
A knight clad in black armor.
It was a Dark Mage he had seen in the temple at the Zoin ghetto.
The Dark Mage knights were moving in formation, blocking the path leading to the inside of the camp and standing guard.
'Is there something inside?'
Zeke called Richmond. Soon, Richmond, who was controlling the monsters, came to Zeke's side.
'Richmond, go past the knights and look inside.'
'What? If those knights attack me, I'm dead.'
'Why are you so attached to life, being a lich? It's fine, so go.'
As a summon, he couldn't disobey his master's orders.
Richmond, trembling, headed towards the Dark Mage knights.
But surprisingly, the Dark Mage knights didn't react to Richmond.
'Huh?'
It seemed that the Dark Mages didn't consider Richmond an enemy because he had absorbed the purified essence of the 'Harbinger of Blood and Madness.'
Zeke let Richmond go further inside and looked into the camp through his vision.
Unlike the other makeshift camps, it seemed that considerable effort had been put into constructing the structure here.
Then, Zeke sensed something strange at the end of the hallway.
'Richmond, that black door at the end of the hallway. Go through there.'
Richmond turned into a spirit form, passed through the wall, and slipped inside the black door.
Zeke was surprised to see the inside of the room through his vision.
'What's that?'
Surprisingly, there were several artifacts on the table that emitted an energy similar to the staff that contained the essence of the 'Harbinger of Blood and Madness.'
'Richmond, look around the room.'
Following Zeke's instructions, Richmond looked around the room and found a map attached to the wall.
'There's a map, Master.'
The map showed the Giant Mountains, with some markings here and there.
Zeke marked the coordinates indicated on the map onto his own map.
Then, Zeke noticed that the largest marking was the cave where the Hydra had been.
'So those markings are all places where artifacts containing demonic power are installed?'
Zeke realized why monsters were rampaging in the Giant Mountains and why there were problems with the guardian tower in the Barbarian territory.
The problem arose because various parts of the mountain range were being consumed by malice due to the artifacts containing demonic power.
Zeke recalled Agamemnon Castle, which had been consumed by malice.
'This place almost ended up like that.'
Thanks to Zeke purifying the entire area consumed by malice with Grand Purification, the artifacts containing demonic power had all lost their power.
Only then did he realize that the reason the Hounds appeared throughout the mountain range was to collect the artifacts that had lost their power.
'Richmond, can you bring those artifacts on the table?'
Richmond shook his head.
'I can't pass through walls if I carry those.'
Zeke thought for a moment and then got up.
He needed to collect those artifacts even if it meant causing a commotion.
'Richmond, when I break this place, take those and get out immediately.'
'Y-yes, sir!'
At that moment, Zeke deactivated his stealth and charged towards the Dark Mage knights.
Clang!
The Dark Mage knights unleashed malice towards Zeke, who had suddenly attacked.
Woooong!
The Purification Blade emanated from Zeke's sword.
Tsssss!
The Purification Blade cut through not only the malice but also the Dark Mages' bodies in one go.
It was then.
Beep!
A whistle echoed throughout the camp.
Soon, the Empire's knights would rush in, and the Hounds would cast their nets.
Zeke immediately pointed his sword at the black door.
Woooong!
He swung his sword, imbuing it with the will of Destruction.
Crash!
The sword strike containing the will of Destruction blew away not only the black door but also the surrounding walls.
Seeing that Richmond had collected the artifacts, Zeke unleashed another Destruction sword strike.
Crash!
A hole leading outside was created.
He quickly ran and conveyed his intentions to Richmond.
'Richmond! Transform into a monster!'
At Zeke's words, Richmond transformed into a dragon-type monster.
Keeek!
Richmond, who had become a Draco Lich, spread his wings and soared.
Zeke jumped onto Richmond's back.
Kieeek!
Richmond let out a monstrous roar.
The Hounds shot arrows, and the knights threw spears towards Zeke riding on Richmond.
Clang!
However, the arrows and spears were deflected by the shield embedded in Zeke's armor.
Zeke aimed his sword at the camp from the air.
Then, he created the 'pure fire' he had learned from working with Golin and rained it down on the camp.
Whoosh!
The Hounds and knights in the camp were startled as the pure fire, the essence of fire, poured down like a shower, and they started to escape.
However, they couldn't get out properly because monsters were swarming from both front and back.
Zeke imbued the flames with his will, making sure only the area around the camp burned.
'This way, they won't know who attacked.'
He put the artifacts Richmond brought into his inventory and immediately left the Giant Mountains.
The place where the camp had been was filled with blazing flames and the screams of the Imperial army, trapped and unable to escape due to the monster attacks.
***
A few days later, Zeke appeared in front of the Four Seasons Castle gate, covered in dust.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]