Chapter 172
The Oath of Silence was a blood pact that had upheld the Nostra clan's secrets for hundreds of years.
Dario spoke to Zeke,
"Murray, prove your loyalty."
Dario first pricked his finger on the needle attached to the pen.
Blood flowed to the nib.
He wrote his name, Dario Nostra, on the contract.
Then he handed the pen with the needle to Zeke.
"Sign here."
The moment you sign, you can never escape the clutches of the Nostra clan.
Zeke, trembling, took the pen and slowly wrote his name.
As Zeke wrote his name, their respective names were engraved on each of their wrists.
Dario checked the name engraved on his wrist.
But something was strange.
Dario read the name engraved on his wrist.
"Zeke… Draker?"
Dario quickly raised his head and activated his bloodline ability, "Paralysis," towards Zeke.
Woooong!
[The skill Curse Reflection reflects the curse of Paralysis.]
Just like with Bisco, Zeke's Curse Reflection skill activated.
The reflected curse paralyzed Dario instead.
Thud!
Dario froze and collapsed to the floor.
Clank!
Zeke bound Dario's fallen body with Soul Binding magic.
Zeke looked at Dario and said,
"Nice to meet you, Dario Nostra."
Dario's eyes darted around at the sudden change in Zeke's energy.
He was so dumbfounded that he couldn't comprehend what had just happened.
Zeke folded the signed Oath of Silence and put it in his pocket.
Then he dragged the paralyzed Dario to the safe.
Just like before, Zeke used Dario's eyes to open the safe.
He rummaged through the piled-up documents, found a secret ledger, and whistled.
"Jackpot."
This ledger alone was more than enough to complete Draker's mission.
Zeke put all the documents inside the safe into his inventory. Since it was a secret safe, he assumed nothing inside would be ordinary, so he planned to take them and check them later.
After securing all the documents, Zeke looked at Dario, who was lying paralyzed on the floor, and said,
"Do you remember Lady Angelina?"
Dario's eyes wavered at Zeke's words.
"I caught a shaman a while ago. Dusk, you probably know him, Dario."
Dario realized that Zeke knew everything and had set a trap.
Unable to move his body due to paralysis and Soul Binding, Dario trembled with rage.
"Don't be so upset. You were trying to exploit me too."
He had thought Zeke was good prey and tried to devour him whole, but he ended up being devoured instead.
Zeke patted the cheek of the immobile Dario and spoke into his communication device.
"We're ready here. Commence."
― "Understood, boss."
Zeke dragged Dario under the sofa and lay down.
A few minutes later, a huge explosion shook the entire hotel.
Simultaneously with the tremors, Zeke threw the mana bomb he had been carrying at the wall.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
The mana bomb exploded, creating a hole in one side of the room.
Bang!
The guards and knights kicked open the door and rushed in.
They were bewildered to see the explosion in the room.
"Boss! Quickly find the boss!"
Just then, Zeke, who was hiding under the sofa, raised his hands, trembling.
"H-here! Here, s-save me…!"
The knights found Zeke and the collapsed Dario.
Dario was bound by Zeke's chains and unable to move, but the guards and knights didn't grasp the situation properly.
That's when it happened.
Shhh!
The Dragonian Knights Zeke had summoned beforehand appeared and shot arrows at the knights and guards.
"Enemies! Block them!"
The Dragonian Knights drew their swords and spears, blocking the knights and guards.
Then, one of the knights stepped forward.
Woooong!
He seemed to be a Blue Knight, as he unleashed an Aura Blade and pushed back the Dragonian Knights.
Crack!
Unable to withstand the Aura Blade, the Dragonian Knights collapsed and turned into smoke.
Seeing this, the knights shouted in confusion,
"Damn it! Magic! Find the mage! Quickly!"
The Blue Knight took the collapsed Zeke and Dario and exited the room.
Zeke then said to the knight,
"Wh-what happened?"
"An unidentified group detonated bombs throughout the city, including the hotel."
As planned, under Boris's command, the Rose Knights had raided the Nostra clan's shell companies, stolen relevant data, and then blown them up.
Zeke stammered, feigning confusion,
"Oh, uh… Mr. Dario said we should go to the rooftop."
The knight also thought it would be better to take refuge on the rooftop until the situation calmed down.
"The escort unit will follow me and take Mr. Dario to the rooftop!"
The knight, along with the escort unit, took Zeke and Dario through the emergency exit to the rooftop.
The guards firmly locked the rooftop door.
The knight bent down to check on Dario's condition.
However, Dario, who they thought was unconscious because he wasn't speaking, was wide awake. Moreover, he noticed that Dario's eyes were constantly darting around strangely.
Just then, he sensed something odd.
Woooong!
Suddenly, grotesque skeletons appeared on the rooftop.
The Blue Knight drew his sword and shouted,
"A mage! Find the mage!"
The bloodline ability users and knights confronted the surging skeletons.
The Blue Knight unleashed his Aura Blade, cutting down the skeletons.
However, the shattered skeletons soon rose again with a dark red smoke.
"This is insane…"
Then, Skeleton Knights appeared from behind the skeletons.
Ten Skeleton knights clad in purple armor, each possessing strength surpassing that of a Purple Knight.
Sensing the danger, the bloodline ability users and knights charged towards the Knights.
Crack!
However, some were unable to block the Knights' swords and were cut down.
Finally, the Blue Knight, who was guarding Dario, unleashed his Aura Blade and charged towards the Knights.
"Haaaat!"
Just then, an Arch Lich appeared in the air.
The Lich began to fire magic spells everywhere with a swing of its staff.
"Damn it! Kill the Lich first!"
At those words, the Lich suddenly changed direction, flew towards the knight, and swung its staff at him.
Woooong!
A dark red energy enveloped the knight's body.
Simultaneously, the knight's body became heavy, and his movement speed drastically slowed.
"Oh no!"
Knights swarmed around the slowed knight.
The knight tried to block the Knights' attacks by swinging his Aura Blade.
"Ugh!"
However, there was a limit to how much he could swing his sword while under a curse.
Soon, the Knights' swords pierced the knight's body.
Other enhanced skeletons also defeated the escort unit.
Before long, the cleanup was complete, and Richmond approached Zeke, who was hiding in a corner.
"Master, it's all done."
Zeke got up from his crouched position and looked around.
There was no one alive on the rooftop.
If all of Dario's escort unit had been concentrated there, it would have been difficult to deal with them, but since they were divided, he was able to handle them more easily than expected.
Just then, Dario, seemingly freed from the paralysis, shouted at Zeke,
"Damn it! Release this at once! Otherwise, the wrath of the Nostra clan will fall upon you, your clan, and everyone you know!"
Zeke replied calmly,
"Go ahead. Arthur Draker would be delighted. If the Nostra clan attacks first, that is."
Dario was momentarily speechless at Zeke's words.
No matter how much influence the Nostra clan had in the underworld, they couldn't compare to Draker, who could shake the entire continent.
Furthermore, if they touched Arthur Draker, the Black Knight and head of the Draker clan, the Nostra clan's name would be erased from the continent that very day.
Zeke channeled electricity through the chains towards the speechless and trembling Dario.
Crackle!
"Uggggh!"
He looked down at Dario, who was writhing in pain from the electric shock, and said,
"This isn't even a millionth of the pain Lady Angelina suffered. Just you wait. I'll make you experience all kinds of pain."
At Zeke's threat, Dario desperately tried to hide his fear, his eyes darting around.
"Richmond, transform into a monster."
At Zeke's command, Richmond changed form.
Crack!
His body became much larger than when he was a Demi Lich, and the two horns on his head rose majestically.
Zeke placed Dario on Richmond's back and climbed on himself.
Then he said to Richmond,
"Let's clean up and go."
Understanding the command, Richmond breathed fire towards the rooftop.
Whoosh!
In an instant, huge flames engulfed and burned the entire rooftop.
Looking at the burning corpses, Zeke wore a grim expression.
"I can't use the name Zeke Murray anymore."
Since he had been pretending to be wealthy, many people might have observed him closely.
He intended to have Zeke Murray declared dead here and create a new alias and identity.
Zeke used his Shape-Shifting Cloak to transform into Richmond's appearance.
To anyone watching, it would look like a Lich kidnapping Dario while riding a monster.
Whoosh!
Zeke, riding Richmond, leisurely left the Siemens Hotel and disappeared into the sky.
***
Bang!
William Siemens slammed his fist on the table.
"An undead army appeared in the middle of the city and attacked the hotel? Are you serious?!"
William Siemens, after receiving the report about the incident at the Siemens Hotel, couldn't contain his anger and shouted.
Edward, who was beside him, flinched at William's reaction.
William turned his head and glared at Edward.
"Edward, tell me right now why you were with Dario Nostra at the hotel at that hour."
Edward hesitated before finally opening his mouth.
"B-brother. Well, you see…"
"Don't even think about playing dumb and tell me straight. I'm tired of listening to your half-witted schemes."
Edward finally confessed the truth to William.
After hearing everything, William clenched his fists and trembled with rage.
"You were trying to participate in an investment set up by the Nostra clan? And to pay off your gambling debts?"
"No, I didn't know they were the Nostra clan. But if that black ore mine really hits it big, it'll be a huge jackpot…"
Thud!
Unable to hold back any longer, William threw the paperweight that was on the desk.
Knowing he would be scolded even more if he used Aura to block it, Edward took the hit.
Drip!
Blood flowed from Edward's head, hit directly by the paperweight.
Edward immediately prostrated himself on the floor.
"B-brother! I-I really didn't know. Really! I was just trying to help the clan…"
"It's a disgrace that a scum like you bears the Siemens name. You imbecile."
Edward slammed his forehead on the floor and said,
"It-it's not just me! Zeke Murray! He said he was going to invest a million gold there!"
At Edward's words, William suddenly raised his head.
"Say that again. Who?"
Edward flinched in confusion.
"Wh-what?"
"Say again who was going to invest a million gold."
"Th-there is… Zeke Murray. A young guy who got rich from the mythril mine."
"By mythril mine, do you mean the one Graham Bank invested in?"
"Y-yes, that's right."
"Zeke Murray, Zeke… Wait a minute."
William Siemens recalled the information the Rat had sent him a while ago.
He had inquired about Zeke Draker heading to Argos to take down a human trafficking organization.
'The human trafficking organization is managed by the same people who kidnapped Dario Nostra.'
The pieces of information fell into place in William's mind. He finally realized Zeke Murray's true identity.
"Damn it. Zeke Draker. Was it him again?"
Edward stared at William with a dumbfounded expression at the sudden mention of Zeke Draker.
William tossed a handkerchief to Edward and said in a cold voice,
"You're confined until your baptism. If you cause any more trouble, I'll tell Father and have your name erased from the Siemens clan."
Edward wiped the blood with the handkerchief and shook his head.
"R-really! I'll be quiet. Really, brother. Believe me."
At William's gesture, Edward quickly got up and left.
William pressed his temples and fell into thought.
'Of all times, this had to happen while Abel is away preparing for his baptism.'
After pondering for a moment, William looked at the man standing beside him like a statue and said,
At first glance, he looked like an ordinary office worker.
But in reality, he was one of the elite agents of the 'Strategic Headquarters,' the core of the Siemens clan's power.
"I need to see Father."
"The Patriarch said he wouldn't meet anyone until the ceremony."
"I know. But the situation has changed. Go and tell Father. It seems Zeke Draker has figured out the identity of Narak."
William Siemens' eyes gleamed.
"Tell him it's time to stop watching and take decisive action."