Chapter 231
Dragon Slayer Art
Bahamut
Black Wind
A black wind swirled from Zeke's sword.
Poseidon, having negated the dragon's breath, immediately thrust his spear shaft towards the Black Wind.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
The formless power emanating from the spear shaft negated the Black Wind.
Poseidon watched Zeke, who had broken through the wall and reached a new realm, with admiration.
'To actually break through and surpass the wall.'
It had taken Terakan Draker over a thousand days to break through the wall.
Yet, Zeke had surpassed the wall with just a single moment of realization.
'Well. The instinct to survive sometimes unleashes a terrifying power greater than any talent.'
Poseidon himself was one of those individuals.
Amidst dragons wielding absolute authority, he had silently swung his spear for thousands of years.
But eventually, he had transcended the limits of dragons, and even Bahamut, the Shadow Dragon praised as the strongest among dragons, could not withstand his spear.
The only being who could truly contend with Poseidon, who had received the title of Divine Dragon, was the Hero King.
Poseidon, lost in thought, negated Zeke's Bahamut and then tried to retrieve his spear shaft.
But then, an astonishing thing happened.
The black wind, which he thought had been completely negated, revived and entangled Poseidon's body.
'This is?'
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
Like a small ember rekindling, Zeke's Bahamut stubbornly revived.
Poseidon watched the formless energy that entangled his body and created the black whirlwind with pure admiration.
'Is this an immortal power that transcends the power of survival?'
Power was the vessel that contained the soul of its master.
Poseidon smiled and raised his spear shaft high before slamming it down on the ground.
Thud!
The formless power he unleashed instantly erased the black whirlwind.
Poseidon, who had been floating in the air, slowly descended to the ground.
He landed gracefully and looked at Zeke.
Zeke stood upright, holding his sword, but he was unconscious.
He had literally surpassed his limits by expending all his power.
Poseidon approached Zeke.
He admired Zeke's desire, which was as pure as it was intense.
Poseidon, looking at Zeke, slammed his spear down on the ground with a thud.
Then, a brilliant light flashed from the Spirit Regeneration Device and entangled the entire space.
* * *
"Huh?"
Zeke, regaining consciousness, sat up and sprang to his feet.
"What happened?"
The reason Zeke was surprised was that his surroundings were completely different from where he had been before he lost consciousness.
It wasn't a cleanly organized artificial facility but a natural space, a mystical place where grass, trees, and a small lake harmonized.
It seemed that the Trial of the Sea God had ended while he was unconscious, and he had been moved to another space.
'Did I return to the island?'
But the atmosphere was too different to be the Isle of the Sea God.
This place felt like an idealized world seen only in myths.
Then, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[You have unread messages.]
'What is this?'
Zeke immediately checked the messages.
[You have overcome the Trial of the Sea God.]
[You have received the recognition of the Divine Dragon Poseidon.]
[As a reward, the passive skill 'Steadfast Mental Defense' has changed to 'Unbreakable Will'.]
[You have created a new special skill, 'Bahamut'.]
[You have surpassed your limits and pioneered a new realm.]
[The caliber of your soul has increased.]
[The proficiency of the special skill 'Devotion' has increased.]
[The proficiency of the special skill 'Holy Fire' has increased.]
[The proficiency of the special skill 'Infinite Chain Binding' has increased.]
[The proficiency of the active skill 'Purifying Blade' has increased.]
"I pioneered a new realm?"
Only then did Zeke realize that his senses felt different from usual.
He stood up and raised his hand.
He somehow felt like he could use aura even without Bahamut.
Zeke focused his energy on his hand blade.
Uwooo-oong!
Surprisingly, an aura blade actually sprang from his hand.
"This is possible. I really did surpass the wall...!"
Zeke had finally reached the level of the long-awaited Black Knight.
With a somewhat dazed feeling, he created aura blades on both hand blades and moved his body.
Chwaaaaaak!
Aura blades extended from both hands, and the Infinite Chain Binding unfolded.
Only after ascending to the Black Knight did Zeke finally fully understand the meaning of Lord Fabre's insight.
'The sword is merely an extension of the hand...'
Zeke's body moved on its own, and all the techniques he had mastered began to merge into one.
The techniques of the True Dragon Sword Style emerged, then the Golden sun Swordsmanship, followed by the Infinite Chain Binding, and then the Swordsmanship of the Sun.
Zeke could finally understand the meaning of Saturn Draker's 'Return to the Origin of All Things' – that everything ultimately leads to one.
While swinging both hands, the forms of the swordsmanship he had gradually mastered disappeared and merged into one.
And at some point, a message appeared.
[You have realized the profundity of the Return to the Origin of All Things.]
[The special skills True Dragon Sword Style, Infinite Chain Binding, Forceful Quake, and Bahamut are combined into one.]
[The special skill Infinite Sword Style (SS-rank) has been created.]
Kung!
Zeke stepped on the ground.
He felt a sensation completely different from before.
"Infinite Sword Style. I've broken free from the form of the True Dragon Sword Style."
For him, who had become a Black Knight, the formality of swordsmanship no longer held meaning.
That was because he himself was no different from the will of the sword.
It was when Zeke was pondering the newly created Infinite Sword Style.
Clap clap clap clap!
The sound of clapping came from somewhere.
Turning his head towards the sound, he saw someone clapping while looking at Zeke from a tree.
'I didn't sense his presence?'
The figure in the tree was clearly there, yet it was difficult to perceive its existence.
It wore a style of clothing he had never seen before, and its face, as well as its hair and eyebrows, shone white.
Furthermore, it had deer antlers growing from its head, making it impossible to tell whether it was a boy or a girl based on appearance alone.
The mysterious being looked at Zeke with a smile as pure as a child's.
[The Forgotten Sea God gazes curiously at the Immortal.]
'The Forgotten Sea God?'
Zeke recalled Poseidon, who had been beating him up until just now. He had called himself the Sea God's avatar.
'Then is this being the true body of the Sea God?'
The Sea God, who had by then descended from the tree, tilted his head near Zeke and stared intently at him.
Then, he poked Zeke's arm and clapped while giggling gleefully as if something was amusing.
[The Forgotten Sea God feels affection for the Immortal.]
[The Forgotten Sea God tells the Immortal to follow him.]
Before he knew it, the Forgotten Sea God was running far ahead.
Zeke used Phantom Step to chase after him, but strangely, the distance between them didn't close.
Maintaining a constant distance, the Forgotten Sea God led Zeke somewhere in the forest.
He followed the Forgotten Sea God deeper into the forest.
And at some point, the Forgotten Sea God stopped somewhere.
It was a rather steep cliff.
An old, large tree extended from the cliff face.
[The Forgotten Sea God gestures for the Immortal to look at what he is pointing to.]
'What is he telling me to look at?'
Zeke looked at what the Forgotten Sea God was pointing at with his finger.
At first, he thought he was pointing at the cliff.
But upon closer inspection, that wasn't it.
'A tree? Wait, is that not a tree?'
Zeke moved closer to the cliff. Upon closer examination, it wasn't a tree.
It was the form of a giant dragon, leaning against the cliff and collapsed.
At that moment, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[You have found the trace of the Forgotten Sea God.]
[You have completed an achievement mission.]
[As a reward, 1,000 Karma Points have been awarded.]
[As a reward, you have acquired the title Blessing of the Sea God.]
[As a reward, you have acquired the Treasure of the Sea God.]
'This is?'
Surprisingly, the form of the dragon that had hardened like a tree was the trace of the Forgotten Sea God.
Then, the Forgotten Sea God next to him pointed at the dragon's form and then pointed at himself again.
Zeke looked at the Forgotten Sea God and asked,
"Is that Lord Poseidon?"
[The Forgotten Sea God nods, indicating that the Immortal's words are correct.]
[The Forgotten Sea God gestures for you to follow.]
The Forgotten Sea God's body floated into the air and then smoothly entered the dragon's form.
'Even if most people found this, they wouldn't be able to follow...'
Zeke shook his head and floated his body with his dragon wings, following where the Sea God had entered.
The Sea God had entered through a hole in the giant body's flank.
Hoo-oong!
Following the Sea God into the hole, Zeke could examine the inside in detail. The dragon's form had hardened like solid fossil, indicating the immense passage of time it had spent there.
'Just what happened?'
Zeke looked at Poseidon, who resembled a child gesturing towards him, and suspected that he had lost his original body and the authority of a Sea God, leaving only a spirit that could move.
The Forgotten Sea God continued to gesture at Zeke, pointing somewhere.
Zeke snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head, looking around that area according to the Sea God's gesture.
Upon closer inspection, there was a huge crystal that had lost its light embedded in the wall.
The area around the crystal was densely covered in unfamiliar characters and diagrams, and something was lodged in the very center of the crystal.
'What is this?'
Pushing aside some branches with his hand, Zeke saw a spear deeply embedded in the wall.
The Forgotten Sea God pointed at the spear embedded in the wall.
Then, he clutched near his heart and showed signs of pain.
"Did this harm you?"
[The Forgotten Sea God nods, indicating it is correct.]
As Zeke looked at the spear that had harmed the Sea God, something flashed through his mind.
'Godslayer?'
A figure who had killed the constellations and become the king of the fallen constellations himself after becoming corrupted and falling.
It seemed that the power of Godslayer was embedded in the Sea God's Dragon Heart, sealing him.
Zeke slowly approached the wall and grabbed the spear.
'Is this why he brought me here, to show me this?'
As if Zeke's thoughts were correct, the Forgotten Sea God stared intently at Zeke holding the spear.
Then, he made various gestures at Zeke and then shook his head.
[The Forgotten Sea God says that the spear can never be removed.]
It was the Spear of Godslayer that the Godslayer himself had thrust into the Dragon Heart.
Zeke nodded at the Sea God's words.
"Well, the Spear of Godslayer wouldn't come out easily..."
Swoosh—
"Huh?"
But as Zeke was speaking and applied force, the Spear of Godslayer embedded in the Dragon Heart lightly came out.
The Forgotten Sea God next to him was startled and jumped up and down in the air.
At the same time, a message appeared.
[The Forgotten Sea God is surprised that something unbelievable has happened.]
[The Spear of Godslayer that was piercing the Forgotten Sea God's heart has been removed.]
[The Forgotten Sea God has regained his divine authority.]
Ddddddd!
As Zeke completely pulled out the spear, the Dragon Heart began to shake violently.
Uwooo-oong!
Little by little, light returned to the Dragon Heart that had lost its brilliance.
Then, the Forgotten Sea God's body began to glow brightly.
The childlike body grew and gradually became larger, reaching a familiar build.
It was a figure resembling Poseidon that Zeke had seen, but the difference was the horns on his head.
[The Forgotten Sea God's divine authority is released.]
[The Sea God Poseidon slightly recovers his divinity.]
[Due to the influence of the Sea God Poseidon, the unstable waters of the Southern Sea gradually stabilize.]
[The actions of the monsters existing in the waters are restricted.]
Zeke was taken aback by the messages that appeared. He had inadvertently restored the divine authority of the sealed Sea God.
Poseidon, having regained his divinity, approached Zeke.
Uwooo-oong!
Poseidon shone even more brilliantly than before and smiled at Zeke.
[The Sea God Poseidon expresses his gratitude to the Immortal.]
[The Sea God Poseidon bestows a reward upon the Immortal.]
Poseidon detached one of the horns on his head and placed it in Zeke's hand.
[The Sea God Poseidon says he wishes the Immortal safety and well-being on the path he intends to take.]
[You have acquired the Sea God Poseidon's horn.]
[The title Blessing of the Sea God has changed to the title Glory of the Sea God.]
[Due to the influence of the title Glory of the Sea God, the active skill 'Underwater Breathing (C-rank)' has changed to 'Amphibious (B-rank)'.]
[The Treasure of the Sea God has changed to the Sacred Relic of the Sea God.]
'Not a treasure, but a sacred relic?'
At the same time, Zeke felt the Sea God's power dwelling within his body, enveloping him.
'This is incredible power. Is this the Sea God's power?'
In that moment of astonishment, Zeke's eyes suddenly flashed brightly.
When Zeke blinked and regained his senses, a completely different scene unfolded before him.