Chapter 290
K-K-K-K-K-KRACK!
The surface of Zeke's Hercyon armor began to freeze as he flew through the ice storm, but he did not stop.
Zeke's sword, imbued with the Astral Sword, tore through the very domain created by the Queen of Snow and advanced forward.
The Queen of Snow, one of her arms melted away by the White Flame, panicked at the sight of Zeke's sword, which carried an extraordinary power, and retreated.
[Kuaaaaaargh!]
The Queen of Snow spread and flapped her wings, and silver feathers shot out, freezing everything in the vicinity. Even the air itself froze, making it difficult to breathe. It felt as though inhaling that air would instantly freeze one's lungs.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
But Zeke's sword did not stop. It tore through the very domain created by the silver feathers and charged toward the Queen of Snow.
The Queen of Snow raised her hand, and ice crystals gathered to form a shield.
KRRRR-CRACK!
Bahamut, imbued with the Astral Sword, pierced straight through the shield the Queen had created.
[Kaaaaaaargh!]
The Queen of Snow let out a horrifying scream, casting aside all dignity.
Zeke's sword was lodged in the very center of her chest.
K-K-K-K-K-KRACK!
Her domain of origin destroyed by the Astral Sword, fine cracks began to spread all over the Queen's body. Zeke pushed the sword deeper into her body.
In that instant, the Queen untied the cloth covering her eyes. Where her eyes should have been, two blue gems were embedded. A flash of light erupted from the gems.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
The area the gems faced was instantly frozen solid. It was literally a domain of 'Absolute Zero'.
Feeling the threat from the domain of Absolute Zero created by the Queen's gaze, Zeke urgently pulled out his sword, retreated, and used his Spirit Body skill while grabbing his scabbard.
Tsssssss—
Zeke's body crossed over to the border of the spirit realm. However, the domain of Absolute Zero seeped even into the cracks of the spirit realm.
'Kugh!'
Zeke escaped the domain of Absolute Zero while in his Spirit Body state and returned to the physical world. Because he had fled to the border of dimensions, he was fortunate enough to escape with only frost covering his armor. If he had been even a moment later, his body, along with Hercyon, would have been frozen solid.
Floating in the air, Zeke aimed his sword at the Queen, whose body was covered in cracks.
The Queen touched her fractured chest with two hands, while covering her two eyes with two others.
[How dare you! How dare a mere human!]
Ice crystals rained down from the Queen's body, and those crystals transformed into small birds. Soon, countless birds were circling around the Queen.
Zeke raised his sword again. However, having used the Elemental Sword and the Astral Sword in succession, his mana was almost completely depleted.
If it had been a normal monster, it would have been easy to use Gluttony, but the monsters created by the Queen of Snow quickly scattered into ice crystals, so he couldn't use Gluttony properly, and his mana recovery was slow.
Zeke gripped his sword and steadied his breath.
'If I don't finish her here, she will surely grow stronger after recovering her power.'
Like Qiongqi of the Four Perils, the Queen of Snow seemed to absorb power and grow by expanding her domain.
Zeke gripped his sword and drew upon the power of his Soul Destruction .
VWOOOONG!
If the Astral Sword was a sword that reached the origin of existence, the Soul Destruction was a technique that inflicted damage on the soul. Since the Queen's origin was already wounded, if he could strike her soul with the Soul Destruction , her very existence would surely be shattered.
Just then, the Queen of Snow shouted at the ice birds she had just created.
[Kill him!]
Thousands of ice birds with wings like blades charged at Zeke.
The flock of ice birds, streaking through the air leaving trails of white light, was beautiful to look at, but the chill they carried was enough to freeze an entire city in an instant.
Zeke drew upon the power of his Soul Destruction and entered the God Body state.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE—
With his mana almost depleted, he could feel the strain on his body as he drew upon the power of his soul.
'Kuuugh.'
Zeke gritted his teeth and focused the power of his Soul Destruction into his sword. He took the stance of the Infinite Sword Form and simultaneously chanted the words of power for his Soul Destruction .
‘Soul Destruction’
‘Double Spell’
‘Will of Breakthrough’
Zeke's body, holding the sword, became a single blade and clashed with the flock of incoming ice birds.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
Zeke charged straight through the storm of ice blades created by the ice birds.
"Haaaaaaaaah!"
Like a long spear piercing through a storm, the ice birds in Zeke's path were shattered to pieces and scattered.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE—
Having broken through the ice storm, Zeke raised his sword and charged straight at the Queen of Snow.
Then, the Queen of Snow formed a hand seal with her remaining five hands, and a round mirror appeared in front of her.
Light reflected from the mirror poured down on the charging Zeke.
Tssssssss!
The light from the mirror contained not a chill, but an ultra-high heat.
Bahamut, taking the light head-on, glowed red hot. If Bahamut didn't possess the property of indestructibility, it would have surely melted.
Piercing through the fiercely raging light, Bahamut shattered the mirror the Queen had created and charged forward.
"Kugh!"
The tip of Bahamut's blade barely missed reaching the Queen.
The Queen looked down at Zeke and said,
[Insolent human. You lot will be our slaves for eternity.]
A sharp ice blade was now in the Queen's hand.
[Consider it an honor to die by my hand!]
Just as the Queen was about to strike Zeke down with the ice blade, a green light flowed out from the green sword, Arataso, which was on Zeke's back.
VWOOOONG!
The light instantly coalesced, and Arataso was summoned.
KWAKWANG!
Arataso swung his spear, blowing away the Queen's arm that was holding the blade.
He shouted to Zeke,
[The Nephilim will regenerate if not completely annihilated!]
At Arataso's words, Zeke let go of Bahamut and took out Roland. With his mana depleted, he couldn't generate an aura, and it was then that he remembered Roland was a Gem Sword.
Zeke activated the gem magic engraved on Roland.
VWOOOOOONG!
[A skill will be activated at random.]
[The Will of the Emerald is activated.]
Pzzzzzzzzzt!
Roland unleashed a massive bolt of lightning at the Queen of Snow.
[Kuaaaaaargh!]
The Queen shrieked as she was struck by the lightning.
Zeke used the opening to consume a large number of mana recovery potions he had stored in his inventory. However, because Zeke possessed a Dragon's Heart, it was impossible to fully recover his mana with just potions.
Just then, Zeke noticed an item in his inventory. An idea suddenly flashed through his mind. He first used the mana he had recovered to generate an aura, then gripped Roland and charged at the Queen of Snow.
"Haaaaah!"
He plunged Roland, which was crackling with lightning, into the same spot where Bahamut had been lodged.
PZZZZZZZZT!
The Queen, unable to move properly due to the electric shock, barely managed to turn her head toward Zeke. As she tried to move the hand covering her eyes, Zeke activated another skill of the Gem Sword.
[A skill will be activated at random.]
[The Will of the Alexandrite is activated.]
A series of explosions erupted on the Queen of Snow's face.
[Kieaaaaaaak!]
In that gap, Zeke took out the item he had spotted in his inventory.
VWOOOONG!
The God Slaying Spear, which had pierced the heart of the Divine Dragon Poseidon.
The spear, made of Adamantium, the metal that kills gods, revealed itself.
The Queen of Snow panicked as she felt the power of the spear.
[H-how do you have that!]
Zeke raised the God Slaying Spear and charged at the Queen.
The spear, shrouded in aura, embedded itself deep in the Queen's side.
KRRRR-CRACK!
As the God Slaying Spear pierced her body, the Queen let out a bizarre scream, different from before.
KIEEEEEEEEEEEK—
The Queen's wings lost their light, and she plummeted to the floor.
RUMBLE!
Zeke slowly descended to where the fallen Queen lay. The Queen's minions that had been on the ground had already turned to crystal and scattered.
With her wings broken and her remaining arms twisted grotesquely, the Queen had lost all of her initial dignity. White blood trickled from her mouth.
Zeke picked up Bahamut, which had fallen to the ground, and slowly approached the Queen.
The Queen then spat a curse at Zeke.
[You damn mortals. I will not die like this. The wheel of reincarnation will bring me back to this physical world. As long as there is cold and winter in this land, I shall return...]
SLASH—
Without listening any further, Zeke swung Bahamut and cut off the Queen's head. White blood gushed from the severed neck like a fountain.
Zeke raised his shadow and used Gluttony on the Queen of Snow.
Tsssssssss—
The true identity behind the legend of the White Witch, the incarnate body of a Constellation, the Queen of Snow, vanished into Zeke's shadow.
As he used Gluttony on the Queen of Snow, a series of messages appeared.
[You have used Gluttony on a Nephilim forged from corrupted Sacred Blood.]
[Your depleted health, mental energy, and mana are replenished.]
[As a reward for using Gluttony on a being imbued with the origin of a Constellation, your Gluttony skill's rank will increase.]
[The skill 'Gluttony' evolves into 'Absorption'.]
[You have acquired the authority to 'Freeze' from the consumed being.]
[By absorbing the heart of a Dragonkin, the seal on Bahamut's Heart is partially released. Current compression seal level is 45%.]
[Your Elemental Sword (SS) skill rank has increased from Beginner to Adept.]
[Your proficiency in Defense Mode has increased.]
[You have acquired 1,500 Karma Points.]
[You have acquired 1 Special Random Box.]
By using Gluttony on the Queen of Snow, he was able to replenish his spent energy. Only then did the tension finally leave him, and Zeke collapsed onto the ground.
'Why did Master Kaisir only seal such a dangerous being instead of killing it?'
The chronicles he had left behind did not go into detail on the matter. He could only guess that Kaisir had sealed it because the Nephilim were such a rare existence.
Zeke put the question aside and, recalling that his 'Gluttony' skill had changed to 'Absorption', checked the information.
—Absorption Information—
It is possible to use shadows to absorb anything without restriction and convert it into energy.
It can absorb beings or items with bloodline abilities to acquire their powers. Additionally, absorbed abilities can be transferred to the Shadow Spirits.
"I can absorb anything without restriction through my shadow?"
In the case of Gluttony, it was only possible to absorb monsters or artifacts that contained magical power.
Zeke tested the skill by tossing a nearby ice crystal into his shadow.
Tssss—
The ice crystal disappeared into the shadow.
"With this ability, I could even absorb trees or rocks during a fight to recover some energy."
For Zeke, whose skills consumed a large amount of mana, this was a much-needed ability. Moreover, it was also possible to transfer absorbed abilities to his Shadow Spirits.
"I can give the skills I've absorbed but don't use often to the Shadow Spirits. This is great."
As his summons, including the Caiman and Gurav units, grew stronger, Zeke's own power would also increase, making it an excellent ability.
He was satisfied with his newly acquired Absorption skill.
Just then, Arataso approached him.
[It's surprising that you killed a Nephilim. They're not the type to die just because you kill them.]
Zeke looked at Arataso and asked,
"Arataso, why did you save me? If I had died, you would have been set free."
At his words, Arataso flinched for a moment, then quickly turned his head away.
[Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't save you; I helped you kill that Nephilim. It's just incredibly annoying when beings who aren't even Constellations act all arrogant and smug, pretending they are.]
Even after saying it, Arataso seemed embarrassed and continued to avoid Zeke's gaze.
Zeke looked at Arataso and said, "Thank you, Arataso. You saved my life."
His sincere gratitude seemed to startle Arataso, who actually took a step back.
[It gives me the creeps hearing words like that from a guy who's more demonic than a demon. It doesn't suit you at all, so cut it out!]
"Oh yeah? Then should I give you a taste of some Holy Fire after all this time?"
[Grrr. Maybe I should have just let you die. I regret my earlier actions.]
While Zeke and Arataso were bickering, Richmond, looking half-dead, approached Zeke.
"Uwaaaah! Master!"
Richmond collapsed in a heap in front of Zeke.
"What's wrong with you now?"
Richmond barely managed to pick himself up and said, "I really thought I was going to die this time."
"You're a lich and a summon, you can't die anyway."
"But if you die, Master, don't I die too!"
Zeke nodded at Richmond's words.
"Right, I suppose that's true."
Just then, Arataso's body blurred and turned back into a sword.
[It seems staying in the physical world for long is still too much for me.]
"The time will get longer."
Arataso let out a small laugh and was unsummoned. Immediately after, Zeke unsummoned his other units, except for Richmond, and opened his Dragon's Eye to scan the hall.
Richmond looked at Zeke and asked, "What are you doing, Master?"
"From my long experience in dungeon delving, a place with a sealed being of this level is bound to have a hidden item."
Zeke, scanning the area with his Dragon's Eye, focused on the platform where the Queen of Snow had first been standing. He tapped the platform a few times with Bahamut, then imbued it with the Field of Golden Power and struck it with all his might.
KWAKWANG!
With his increased proficiency in the Elemental Sword, controlling his strength was much easier than before.
The platform split apart, revealing a chest inside.
'Just as I thought. There was something.'
Zeke approached and opened the chest.