Chapter 192
Zeke, bewildered by Shadia's words, asked back,
"What?"
"The Northern Duke killed all the lords who posed a threat and subjugated all their vassals."
She said to Zeke in a slightly trembling voice,
"Boss, the Northern Duke I saw... was a monster."
Shadia was the first disciple of the Old Man of the Mountain and an assassin of the Murderer's Guild who had gone through all sorts of bloody battles.
Even she was genuinely terrified by what she had seen in the north.
Zeke asked Shadia,
"So what's the situation in the north now?"
"...Everyone is holding their breath and waiting to see what the Northern Duke will do."
Zeke put down the documents he was holding.
"This information you brought is no longer useful."
Shadia nodded silently.
Zeke turned his head and looked out the window. He then recalled a memory from his past life.
The image of the Northern Duke, clad in armor and a thick wolfskin cloak, wielding a greatsword.
She had the majesty of a Valkyrie from legend.
The allied forces called her with reverence, and the enemies with fear,
The Iron Blood Sword.
Zeke looked at his face reflected in the window and chuckled.
'To think I was worried about the Iron Blood Sword. If she heard that, she would have laughed for three days and nights.'
The protector of the north and the king of the north.
In his past life, she was the goal and ideal that Zeke desperately wanted to hold onto.
He found it funny that he had worried about the Northern Duke for a moment.
He, more than anyone else, knew that she wasn't someone who needed anyone's help.
Shadia asked Zeke,
"What should we do, Boss? Do you want me to gather information about the situation in the north again?"
Zeke shook his head.
"No, there's no need for that. I'll give you a different mission."
"What mission is it?"
Zeke handed Shadia the information about the Abyss's base that he had obtained by interrogating Dario.
"This is information I've gathered about coffee production areas. Find places where there are traces of old churches or suspicious cult activity."
Shadia took the information and nodded.
"Understood, Boss."
With that reply, Shadia's body vanished.
The carriage carrying Zeke continued forward as if nothing had happened.
***
Arriving at the mansion, Zeke took a break and fell asleep for the first time in a while.
Two hours of sleep a day was enough for Zeke, so he devoted the rest of his time to training.
Zeke usually fell asleep without dreaming, but today felt different.
'What's this?'
Zeke regained consciousness and realized he was in a familiar space.
A space with a dense bamboo forest.
It was the Highlander territory of Mount Ouroboros, where the Hermit of the Story resided.
'I don't know how this happened.'
Zeke couldn't tell if this was a dream or reality.
Wary of his surroundings, he went up to the Hermit of the Story's house.
When he went up, the Hermit was lying on a platform, waiting for Zeke.
"Wow, we're finally connected."
Seeing Zeke arrive, the Hermit stretched and sat up.
Zeke looked at the Hermit of the Story and asked,
"Is this a dream?"
The Hermit replied with an expression that suggested it was difficult to explain,
"It's a dream to you, but not to me. I called you to my domain through a dream."
He didn't understand exactly what it meant, but it seemed that Zeke's body itself hadn't been transported to this space.
The Hermit of the Story grumbled at Zeke,
"What have you been doing? I kept trying to call you in your dreams, but I couldn't connect at all."
"I've been a bit busy, so I haven't been sleeping much."
"You haven't been sleeping? Are you even human?"
The Hermit of the Story shook his head.
He clicked his tongue for a moment, then unfolded his fan and said to Zeke,
"I heard you found the Holy Grail. I hear you're quite famous here and there."
"Me?"
"Yeah. Quite a few guys at the High Table said they've heard of you. Oh, and Nigel said he knows you too."
Zeke was flustered by the sudden mention of his former master.
"...How does he know me?"
"The Rock tribe chief asked him to catch the Nine-Headed Serpent, so he finally found a substitute and left the forest, but you had already caught it."
"Ah, the Hydra..."
It was a story from this life, not his past life. Zeke was relieved and patted his chest.
But the Hermit of the Story continued,
"He's grinding his teeth, saying you stole his prey. Be careful if you ever go to the Forest of the Forgotten Ones."
"..."
Zeke felt that his master was no different from his past life and once again resolved not to look in that direction.
With a forcedly calm expression, Zeke said,
"I found one of the sacred relics. I need to find the other two."
"I actually asked the High Table guys about that. That's why I contacted you."
The Hermit of the Story waved his hand and pulled out a book.
"Hmm. Let's see. Oh, here it is."
He flipped through the book and said to Zeke,
"I asked everyone, but no one really knew about the sacred relics. They've all lived in vain."
He continued as he turned the pages,
"I found some credible information. Have you ever heard of Tyr's Shield?"
"I've never heard of it."
"I guess you wouldn't know since it's such an old legend. Anyway, to briefly explain, Tyr is the name of a warrior who was as valiant as the Hero King Kaisir, even before the ancient Chronos Kingdom was founded."
"A valiant warrior...? Wait a minute. Is that person perhaps the Valiant Knight Tius? One of the Knights of the Clock Tower..."
"Tius? Ah, the pronunciation could change like that. But the original pronunciation is Tyr."
While watching the Kaisir Chronicle video, Zeke also learned various things about the legendary Knights of the Clock Tower.
Tius, or Tyr, mentioned by the Hermit of the Story, was a rival figure in the legend, who fought on par with Kaisir until the very end.
Even Kaisir, who feared nothing in the world, said that he fought Tius for three days and nights and barely managed to win.
Tyr, defeated by Kaisir, wholeheartedly surrendered and became one of his knights, making a name for himself as the most valiant knight.
Kaisir himself had said that if it weren't for the Valiant Knight Tius, there would have been more sacrifices when founding the Chronos Kingdom.
Along with the Noble Knight Saturn, he was also the knight Kaisir trusted the most.
The Hermit of the Story continued,
"Anyway, I think this Tyr's Shield is a sacred relic."
Zeke tilted his head at his words.
"In the legend, I heard that Tius jumped into enemy lines with only a sword, without armor or a shield, to prove his valor. Did he have a shield?"
"So that's how the recent versions are recorded. Hold on..."
The Hermit of the Story waved his hand, and a large picture appeared as a three-dimensional image.
In the picture, which seemed to depict an ancient war, a man was charging towards the enemy lines with only a shield.
"Is that Tius?"
"In the older versions, it's said that Tyr charged into enemy lines with only a shield, not a sword."
"Only a shield?"
"Yes. Nowadays, swords are more popular than shields, so I think it might have been changed to a sword as it was passed down. Stories often get distorted by those who tell them."
It was a plausible story.
Even the Dragon Slayer legend had been passed down with completely false information, creating the myth of the Liberation War and the Dragon Slayer Terakan Draker.
Zeke carefully examined the shield in the image.
He remembered Hoshgar saying that one of the sacred relics was a shield right before she disappeared.
It was highly likely that the second sacred relic was Tyr's Shield.
Zeke asked the Hermit of the Story,
"Is there a reason why you think Tyr's Shield is a sacred relic?"
"There are quite a few different versions of the Tyr legend. But they have something in common."
"What is it?"
"Tyr, holding the shield, is not injured by enemy attacks. Even if he is injured, he recovers quickly."
"Is that proof that it's a sacred relic?"
"Terakan Draker, who possessed a sacred relic, also got up and bravely fought against enemies despite being injured. The valiant Tyr, the Dragon Slayer Terakan Draker. Don't you think they're similar?"
Terakan Draker obtained the unique class Immortal through the power of the Holy Grail and his contract with a dragon. It was the result of many coincidences overlapping.
'What if Tyr's Shield is an artifact that grants the power of Immortal to its holder?'
Even if it wasn't a sacred relic, its power was terrifying enough to change the tide of battle.
If that shield fell into the hands of the Abyss, the Empire, or even Abel, the war would likely escalate uncontrollably.
'It would be good to find Tyr's Shield first.'
Zeke asked the Hermit of the Story,
"Where is that shield now?"
The Hermit of the Story pondered and then slowly spoke,
"Have you ever heard of Crete?"
"Crete? What's that?"
"You know the Minotaur, right?"
"Yes. Isn't that a monster?"
"Crete was a kingdom that existed in the Northern Continent. There were so many Minotaurs living there that a warrior's coming-of-age ceremony was a Minotaur hunt."
"This is the first time I've heard of such a kingdom. But why did you suddenly bring it up?"
"Because Tyr was from that kingdom."
The Hermit of the Story continued,
"Tyr was the illegitimate son of the King of Crete. He was abandoned in the forest as soon as he was born, and the druids of the forest raised him. It is said that Tyr displayed tremendous valor even before he came of age. He even caught a Minotaur with his bare hands when he was fifteen."
"Oh my god. There was no concept of aura in that era."
"That's right. In some versions, it is said that Tyr was blessed by the Lake Fairy and could exert tremendous power."
"The Lake Fairy...?"
"Considering the context, it must be the Fairy King."
"Do you think the Fairy King gave Tyr a shield imbued with his power?"
"That's what I think. The sacred relics are ultimately artifacts created by the Fairy King with his power for humans. It is said that Tyr returned to his hometown after the Hero King Kaisir left for the Fairy Kingdom. And he only has one hometown."
"Crete."
"Yes. Currently, the Kingdom of Crete has disappeared, but its lineage continues to this day."
"How so?"
"You know it well. The Turunn clan."
Zeke was taken aback by the Hermit's words.
"The Turunn clan, Draker's blood alliance?"
"That's right. The Turunn clan's bloodline is from the Kingdom of Crete, in other words, descendants of Tyr."
Zeke was confused by the unexpected words.
'Turunn...'
Leaving Zeke to his thoughts, the Hermit of the Story continued,
"It's highly likely that the Turunn clan doesn't know that their bloodline originates from the hero Tyr. Because so many related stories have disappeared. Even you only knew him by the name Tius."
Zeke nodded at the Hermit's words.
'I've never heard of the Turunn clan using shields. Perhaps Tyr's Shield is neglected somewhere within the clan.'
Zeke looked at the Hermit and said,
"I'll try to find Tyr's Shield while investigating the Turunn clan. But how can I contact you?"
"It's a method that's not used much these days... Stand in front of a mirror, hold any storybook in your hand, and call me."
"Will that get the message across?"
"No, that just calls me."
"Then how do I get the message across?"
"I'll call you in your dreams like this again."
"..."
He wanted to ask him to install a communication device, but he wondered if the magic signal would even reach this Highlander territory.
In the end, Zeke nodded in agreement. The Hermit of the Story promised to pass on any information about the other sacred relics to Zeke as soon as he heard it.
"I should go back now."
"Ah, you're leaving already? Alright. Heave-ho."
The Hermit got up from his seat and tapped Zeke's head with his fan.
"What are you doing...?"
Thump!
Zeke sat up in bed.
"Huh? It really was a dream."
He looked around, but this was definitely the Atlas mansion. What had just happened felt so vivid that he couldn't distinguish between reality and dream.
He realized once again that even though the Hermit of the Story seemed a bit eccentric, he was a member of the High Table, transcending the laws of this world.
Zeke recalled the story he had heard from the Hermit.
"The Turunn clan. I was planning to meet them sometime anyway. This is good."
Zeke's eyes gleamed as he got up from his seat.
It was time for him to take action again.