Chapter 189
"The King in Yellow?"
It sounded familiar.
Zeke recalled what Richmond had mentioned in passing when explaining the Book of the Lion.
'He said it was some kind of legend passed down among dark mages.'
Seeing Zeke's unfamiliarity, Hoshgar nodded and spoke.
"It's no surprise you wouldn't know about the King in Yellow when even the Liberation War hasn't been properly passed down."
She continued,
"The King in Yellow refers to the newly resurrected Demon King."
"What do you mean by 'newly resurrected Demon King'?"
"It's from Chronos' prophecy. The original text goes like this: 'Through the sacrifice of the most noble one, the one who fell to the very bottom will be resurrected as the King in Yellow.'"
"That's cryptic."
"Prophecies are all like that. Even dragons can't help it."
"By the sacrifice of the most noble one, do you mean Bahamut's sacrifice?"
"No, it doesn't refer to Bahamut, but to the Great Sage."
"Sage?"
"You know the legend of the Hero King, right?"
"Yes. The Fairy King and the Sage who created Kaisir. Are you referring to that Sage?"
"That's right. There are quite a few versions of the Hero King legend. And among the lesser-known versions, there are some that focus on the 'Sage' instead of the Hero King."
"I've heard a similar story. The story of how the Hero King Kaisir sealed the Demon King."
"It'll be quicker if you already know. The Demon King's invasion happened even before the Liberation War. Legendary heroes, including Kaisir and the Sage, fought against the Demon King's army."
"By the Demon King's army, do you mean the hordes of monsters?"
"No, the race with the greatest power on the continent at that time was none other than the 'Orcs'."
"By Orcs... do you mean the ancient Orc race?"
"There are stories like that, but strictly speaking, it's different. Orcs are Orcs. They are a powerful warrior race who can wield weapons from birth. They worshiped the fallen constellations, offering them blood and the frenzy of battle in exchange for greater power."
Zeke remembered how Arataso loathed the constellations and their followers whom the Orcs worshiped.
'The power of the constellations, like the standard-bearers of blood and frenzy, must have been stronger in the Hero King era.'
Hoshgar continued her explanation.
"The Demon King's army, composed of demons and Orcs, tried to invade the entire continent, including the Chronos Kingdom. Kaisir, as the Hero King and a brave warrior, fought against the Demon King's army. He had a final duel with the Demon King, but he ultimately lost."
Zeke had personally experienced how strong Kaisir was.
He couldn't even imagine how powerful the Demon King was if even Kaisir had lost.
"But the Demon King was also almost exhausted. So the Sage sacrificed their soul to seal the Demon King."
Although there were differences in the details, the basic narrative was similar to what Richmond had told him.
However, Zeke had one question here as well.
'But why didn't Master Kaisir tell me about this?'
Unlike Hoshgar, who was in a spirit state, Kaisir was Kaisir himself, even though he appeared temporarily as a heroic spirit.
He had heard quite a few stories from Kaisir and had seen the chronicle video he left behind, but there was no mention of the Demon King's invasion or the Sage.
'Could there have been some distortion in the Hero King legend as it was passed down, just like the Dragon Slayer legend?'
With this question in mind, Zeke asked Hoshgar,
"Are you saying that the noble one in the prophecy is that Sage?"
"That's how we interpreted it. The one who fell to the lowest place through the Sage's sacrifice. The Demon King was sealed. But the latter part of the prophecy bothered us. 'Will be resurrected as the King in Yellow.'"
"You thought the Demon King who led the Liberation War was the King in Yellow?"
"That's right. Bahamut conducted various experiments to somehow avert Chronos' prophecy. But in the end, he couldn't prevent the resurrection of the King in Yellow. So Bahamut chose to accept the Demon King's soul into his own body and die, thereby ending the prophecy of destruction that Chronos spoke of."
"Is there more to Chronos' prophecy?"
"Yes. But I can't tell you the original text. Saying it might change something again."
"I understand. Then what do you mean the prophecy of destruction, which we thought was over, isn't over?"
"After Terakan disappeared, I also went into seclusion and focused on researching a new level of magic. But the moment I entered that new level, I started seeing things I hadn't seen before."
"About the prophecy of destruction?"
"Yes. So the original 'me' fixed the spiritualized 'me' before ascending. To pass on the realization about the prophecy of destruction to future generations."
After hearing Hoshgar's words, Zeke pondered for a moment and then asked her a question.
"I only happened to enter this mansion by chance. Is it alright for me to hear about the prophecy of destruction?"
Hoshgar shook her head.
"The fact that you came here and awakened me means you are qualified to receive the arrangements made by the original 'me'. I haven't seen as far as the original 'me' did, so I don't know exactly what happened. I'm just delivering the message I need to deliver."
She looked at Zeke and continued,
"The original 'me' said to find all three sacred relics in preparation for the prophecy of destruction."
"Sacred relics?"
"Yes. Do you know about the sacred relics?"
He had already found one of the sacred relics, the Holy Grail, and was keeping it safely stored in his inventory.
Zeke nodded.
"I only know that one of them is the Holy Grail."
"That makes sense, since the most widely known one is the Holy Grail."
"Do you know about the other two sacred relics?"
"Unfortunately, I don't know the details either. I only know that one of them is a shield."
"A shield..."
At the same time, a message window popped up.
―Main Quest Mission (Linked)―
[Go to the Forgotten Primordial Temple with the sacred relic containing the primordial power. (No time limit / The coordinates of the temple will be automatically activated when all three sacred relics are acquired)]
[Find the three sacred relics to prepare for the prophecy of destruction delivered by the spirit of Archmage Hoshgar. (No time limit)]
[Main Quest Mission Reward: ???]
[Linked Quest Mission Reward: Title - Archmage's Blessing]
'What's this?'
Zeke was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the linked quest.
A linked quest had been added to the main quest he had already received.
'Archmage's Blessing? I don't know exactly what it is, but it must be something good since it's related to an Archmage.'
Just then, Hoshgar said to Zeke,
"Zeke, it would be efficient to follow Terakan's trail to find the sacred relics. He was particularly obsessed with them."
"Terakan Draker?"
"Yes. He believed the sacred relics were the key to reviving Bahamut."
This was news even to Zeke, the heir of Terakan Draker.
'Hmm, I'll have to meticulously search through the documents in the security vault one by one.'
That's when it happened.
Woooong!
Hoshgar's body suddenly began to blur.
She looked at Zeke and said,
"It seems like time is up."
"Is your spirit dispersing?"
"Yes. The original 'me' created me in a hurry, so I can't exist for very long. The law of karma wouldn't allow it either."
Zeke looked at Hoshgar's fading body.
Suddenly, Hoshgar looked at Zeke and spoke,
"It's strange. Looking at you, Zeke, reminds me of Bahamut, no, Claudia."
"Are you talking about Claudia Lubeern?"
Hoshgar was surprised by Zeke's words and asked back,
"Yes, that's right. How do you know that?"
Zeke pondered for a moment and answered,
"I am a distant descendant of Lubern."
Hoshgar burst into laughter at his words.
"Hahaha! You mean the child Claudia gave birth to continued on like this. Hahaha!"
She laughed heartily and then, in an almost faint voice, said to Zeke,
"I don't have anything to give to a distant descendant of my dear friend. Well then. You can use the power of a Draconian, right?"
"Yes. I have the title of Dragonian."
"Title? I don't know what that is. Anyway, I hope this helps you even a little."
Hoshgar's dragon eyes flashed.
At the same time, Zeke's eyes were also forcibly transformed into dragon eyes.
'What's this?'
A message window appeared before his eyes.
[Part of Archmage Hoshgar's abilities will be transferred.]
[A new function has been added to the dragon skill Dragon Knight.]
[You can summon 5 additional Dragon Knights in spirit form.]
'Dragon Knights in spirit form? Could it be?'
Hoshgar, who had transferred her abilities to Zeke, was now almost transparently faint.
She smiled and waved her hand.
Woooong!
As Hoshgar's form completely disappeared, the space of the drawing-room began to crack like a breaking glass wall.
Crack!
Soon, the completely cracked space shattered and crumbled.
A moment later, as he looked around in a daze, the drawing-room was gone, and he was back in the original space.
Zeke looked around and saw that the gem of the spirit regeneration device in the middle of the cavity had completely lost its light.
Also, the spiritualized Dragon Knights guarding the cavity were no longer visible.
"Hmm, did she transfer the abilities of those Dragon Knights to me?"
Zeke tried summoning a spiritualized Dragon Knight as a test.
Tsssss
Unlike the Dragon Knights that Hoshgar commanded, they appeared in a form similar to the Dragon Knights Zeke usually summoned.
However, their bodies were hazy like ghosts, similar to Hoshgar's Dragon Knights.
"Interesting."
The spiritualized Dragon Knights could completely conceal their presence and traces, making them suitable for infiltrating enemy lines or assassinations.
"Let's call you Ghost Knights to distinguish you from the Dragon Knights."
Zeke unsummoned the Ghost Knights and looked around Hoshgar's lab.
"This is the lab used by the founder of the Nirvana family. It's a bit of a waste to leave it like this."
He tried summoning Richmond again. Perhaps because Hoshgar's power had disappeared, the security system didn't block the summoning this time.
"Oh, Master! Please do something about that guy!"
Richmond cried out as soon as he was summoned.
"Did the Night Killer wake up?"
"As soon as he woke up, he caused such a commotion that I even had to summon a dragoon to restrain him."
As expected of someone who underwent special training, he was certainly not ordinary.
Zeke summoned a Dragon Knight and sent him to where Aaron was to keep him restrained.
Then, he showed Richmond the lab.
"What do you think?"
"About what, Master?"
"This lab."
Only then did Richmond look around the lab. Soon, Richmond's eyes sparkled.
"Oh my goodness! What kind of mage used this place? It's completely optimized for research. Wow, that equipment is hard to come by these days!"
Zeke told Richmond,
"This is the lab used by the founder of Nirvana."
At those words, Richmond froze, holding a tool he was examining.
"W-who?"
"Hoshgar. The founder of the Nirvana clan."
Richmond trembled at those words and carefully put down what he was holding.
"I-I'll go up first, Master."
Zeke grabbed Richmond by the scruff of his neck.
"I'll give this to you, so try to figure out what Hoshgar was researching."
"H-how can I possibly understand the research of such an Archmage! It's a completely different field!"
"You talk too much."
Zeke dismissed his protests and summoned the Ghost Knights again.
Richmond struggled in surprise.
"A-aren't those specters?"
"They were guardians that Hoshgar placed here to protect this place. How about it? Doesn't it pique your interest?"
Richmond, who was very interested in rare monsters, was intrigued by the spiritualized Ghost Knights when he heard they weren't specters.
"Oh, this is... they're in a spiritual state like wraiths. How do they have a physical form? Hmm, should I consider them undead monsters...?"
Zeke had successfully ignited Richmond's research fervor.
In the end, Richmond fell for Zeke's trick and decided to move the lab he had temporarily set up in the Troy Duchy to this place.
Although the identity of the specters was revealed to be Hoshgar's guardians, Zeke performed a Great Purification on the entire mansion just in case.
Woooong!
A golden aura illuminated every corner of the mansion, purifying the contaminated energy.
While carrying out the purification as a final step, Zeke discovered a hidden space inside the mansion.
'What is this place?'