[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 51
“Constantine? And Siemens?”
Constantine was the family name of the Rom Imperial clan.
The fact that Siemens was included as a middle name meant that he was a blood relative of that clan.
It didn't make sense for Siemens, one of the main bloodline clans of Draker, to be a blood relative of the Rom Imperial Clan.
This was because only the elector clans, who had the right to vote in the election of the emperor, could be included as middle names among the noble clans that had maintained the Rom Empire for a long time.
Cain took a stance and looked at Zeke.
“You're a knight too valuable to kill here, but you've seen something you shouldn't have, so it can't be helped.”
Woooong!
An eerie aura blade surged from Cain's sword.
KwaKwaKwaKwa!
Unlike the blue knights, who only create aura blades, the red knights can freely control them.
The length could be extended, and the shape could be changed at will.
Cain's aura blade surged and then took the form of a giant lancer.
Seeing that the surface was stably materialized, it was clear that he was completely controlling the aura with his will.
As Cain raised his sword, Hercyon activated and the helmet automatically covered his face.
Cain, clad in the great magic armor, aimed at Zeke with the giant lancer made of aura blade.
Then he slid towards Zeke.
KwaKwaKwaKwa!
Perhaps due to the magical effect of Hercyon, he dashed in a straight line toward Zeke at a tremendous speed.
At the same time, the lancer-shaped aura blade began to rotate.
Kiiiiiiiiiing!
The surrounding atmosphere was sucked into Cain's lancer.
Zeke took a breath, holding Bahamut.
‘I can't counter it with ordinary techniques.’
Zeke took the starting position of the Elemental Sword.
The technique he had the most difficulty learning.
The field of water power unfolded from Zeke's hand.
Elemental Sword
Water Power Field
Wave Sword
Like a giant wave, Zeke's sword created ripples and collided with Cain's rapidly advancing lancer.
Kiiiiiiiiing!
As he countered Cain's swirling lancer head-on, Kaisir's voice rang in Zeke's ears.
‘You fool! The essence of water power is gentleness! If strong and strong collide, all that remains is mutual destruction!’
At that moment, Zeke relaxed his body while still holding the sword.
Recalling the relaxation he learned while being beaten by Kaisir, he relaxed his body as much as possible and gently deflected the strongly pushing lancer.
Whoosh!
Like a surging wave, Zeke's sword passed over the lancer and struck Cain's waist.
Bang!
Even though Bahamut struck, there was not a single scratch on Cain's Hercyon.
But Zeke, undeterred, stepped on the phantom light and went around to Cain's blind spot.
Then he swung his sword again towards Cain's back.
Bang!
Again, the sword strike hit, but it couldn't cut through anything.
Cain had already distanced himself and aimed the lancer at Zeke.
Despite the short distance, he used elasticity to thrust the lancer strongly with his whole body.
KwaKwaKwaKwa!
It had the power to tear his whole body to pieces with a single graze.
Zeke hardened his skin with the dragon skill Dragon Scale Armor to withstand the pressure of the lancer.
They fought each other at close range with the lancer and sword, evenly matched.
Zeke created distance and used the dragon skill Dragon's Claw to aim for an opening.
Chaak!
But Cain's Hercyon even blocked the Dragon's Claw.
At this point, he was curious what the armor was made of.
Zeke circled around Cain, trying to find a gap.
If they fought one-on-one, he would have the advantage in a long battle with his infinite stamina, but in the current situation, as time passed, other imperial knights would flock, and that would put him at a much greater disadvantage.
At that moment, Cain slowly stepped back.
He aimed the lance at Zeke and said.
“Truly amazing. I never thought there would be a knight who could fight me like this at your age.”
Cain raised the lance upwards.
“But I think it's time to end this.”
Pazzzzzzzzic!
Suddenly, red electricity sparked from Cain's lance.
At the same time, an even more eerie energy surged from his body.
Zeke caught his breath and gripped his sword again.
Just then, a message popped up before his eyes.
[Demonic energy detected.]
[Bonus points can be acquired by defeating an enemy with demonic energy.]
‘Demonic energy?’
Before Zeke could fully grasp the message, Cain, his entire body wrapped in red electricity, charged towards Zeke with his lance.
KwaKwaKwaKwaKwa!
Towards Cain, who was charging like a red meteor, Zeke also took a stance with his sword thrust forward, ready to charge.
It was the True Dragon Sword Art left by Saturn Draker.
Dragon Slaying Art, True Dragon Sword Art Style
Chapter 8, Verse 2
Dragon Scale Thrust
It was a finishing technique that aimed to subdue a dragon by piercing its vital point in a single strike.
With his legs firmly planted on the ground, Zeke twisted only his upper body, adding a powerful rotation to his thrust.
The aura imbued in his sword rotated and collided head-on with Cain's lance.
KwaKwaKwaKwaKwa!
As thrust met thrust, a massive shockwave shook the entire dungeon.
“Kugh!”
Zeke gritted his teeth as he saw Cain's aura pushing through his own thrust and flying towards him.
The heart of Bahamut, nestled in his ether hall, throbbed fiercely, continuously emitting mana.
KwaKwaKwaKwaKwa!
But in the end, overwhelmed by the power of Cain's aura, Zeke was thrown back and crashed into the burning camp.
Kugugugu!
The burning camp completely collapsed from the force of the powerful aura.
Step by step!
Cain, who had deactivated the helmet of Hercyon, waved his hand towards the wreckage of the camp, and the ashes parted to both sides.
And there, Zeke was slumped against the debris, bleeding with a gaping hole in his stomach.
“Kugh!”
He tried to get up, but he couldn't move because he had no strength in his body.
Cain slowly approached Zeke.
He looked at Zeke and said.
“It seems you're a blood relative of the Draker Clan.”
Zeke frowned and looked up at Cain.
“How… did you know…”
“The way you deflect mana, and the True Dragon Sword Art you use is similar to Dragon Slayer Art.”
The sword techniques Zeke used from the True Dragon Sword Art Style were mostly from the latter part of the Dragon Slayer Art.
This meant that Cain knew the latter part of the Dragon Slayer Art, which was prohibited from being leaked outside.
‘Those damn Siemens bastards, could it be…’
He didn't know exactly what kind of plot Siemens was hatching, but it was certain that they were deeply connected to the Empire.
Zeke coughed up black blood and asked Cain.
“Are you… a Red Knight of the Empire?”
Cain looked at the dying Zeke and said.
“I haven't officially been promoted, but you can say that. However, such a rank doesn't mean much to me.”
“…What do you… mean it doesn't mean anything?”
“It's literally what it means. The old, outdated aura cultivation methods are meaningless anymore. I will transcend the Black Knight with a new power, reaching a realm beyond.”
Cain slowly raised his sword.
“I seem to have said too much. It's been a while since I've had a decent opponent. I'll give you an honorable death in tribute to our battle.”
He approached Zeke, held his sword upside down, and aimed it at his heart.
“Rest in peace.”
Puck!
Cain's sword pierced Zeke's heart.
After a while, seeing that Zeke had completely stopped moving, Cain pulled out his sword.
Then, he sheathed his sword, turned around, and muttered.
“It'll take some time to move everything to the lab.”
That was when it happened.
Slice!
The wind blade grazed Cain's neck.
Cain instinctively turned his body, but he couldn't completely avoid the blade.
He covered the blood flowing from his neck with his palm and looked back with an incredulous expression.
“How?!”
Zeke, having barely recovered from his shattered heart and stomach wound, ran towards Cain with Bahamut.
Then, he thrust his sword into the gap in Hercyon, where he had finally managed to make a scratch after striking it repeatedly.
Puck!
Bahamut, coated with aura, pierced Cain's side.
Cain glared at Zeke with bloodshot eyes.
“You! You bastard!”
Zeke tripped Cain, sending him falling to the ground. Then, he straddled him, pinned his arms to prevent him from pulling out the sword, and with his remaining hand, grabbed a dagger he took out from his inventory.
“Haaaat!”
Zeke stabbed the dagger towards Cain's exposed neck.
“Kuaack!”
Cain tried to activate Hercyon, but Zeke had already cast magic reflection, so the armor wouldn't function as he intended.
Zeke stabbed Cain's neck repeatedly with the dagger.
“Ku, Cough!”
Blood spurted from Cain's mouth.
Soon, he died with his eyes wide open.
[You have eliminated the enemy eroded by demonic energy.]
[300 Karma points will be awarded as a reward.]
Only then could Zeke finally get off Cain's body.
“Haa… Haa…”
The heart pierced by the sword had recovered to some extent, but the stomach wound inflicted by the aura was only superficially closed; the inside was still a mess.
If he hadn't put a potion in the quick slot, he might have died the moment he was hit by Cain's technique.
Zeke staggered and tried to get up, but his body wouldn't obey.
And at that moment.
[Due to excessive skill usage, fatigue has exceeded the critical level.]
[The administrator's consciousness will be blocked for safety.]
Zeke was startled to see the warning message.
‘Oh, no!’
He couldn't lose consciousness in the middle of enemy territory.
He hurriedly tried to open the portal, but his consciousness was already hazy, and he couldn't even properly see the open window.
Just then, Zeke saw Cain in front of him.
Immediately, he shouted the skill name with all his might.
“Gluttony!”
Before his consciousness faded, a shadow stretched out from his body and absorbed Cain's body.
[You have devoured the fallen demon eroded by demonic energy.]
[Consumed health, mental strength, and mana are restored.]
[By absorbing the bloodline ability of the devoured demon, the active skill Static Electricity (C-rank) has been transformed into Electrocution (A-rank).]
His consciousness, which was about to fade, slowly returned.
Zeke took a deep breath and sat up.
“Damn it, I almost died.”
He had absorbed Cain's body in a hurry, and not only did he regain consciousness, but his skill also changed.
‘The skill rank increased?’
Zeke tried using the Electrocution skill, which had changed from Static Electricity.
Pazzzzzzzzic!
Although not as powerful as Cain's, an electric shock strong enough to envelop the entire weapon occurred.
‘So, I can gain bloodline abilities by devouring not only monsters but also demons eroded by demonic energy with Gluttony.’
Zeke sheathed his sword and tried to get out of there quickly.
But he noticed something lying where Cain had died.
“What is this?”
It seemed to be a breastplate that covered the chest and abdomen.
As Zeke picked up the breastplate, a message window popped up again.
[You have acquired the armor of ???.]
[Would you like to register as the user of the armor?]
‘Armor of ??? Why isn't the name showing up?’
Zeke chose to register for now.
Then a strange pattern appeared on the breastplate.
At the same time, the breastplate disassembled with a clattering sound and automatically attached itself to Zeke's body.
[You have been registered as the user of the armor.]
[You can determine the open form of the armor according to your will.]
[Out of the 28 great magic circles engraved on the armor, 3 magic can be activated currently.]
As Zeke activated the armor, the breastplate transformed, enveloping his entire body in a full-plate armor, just like the one Cain had worn.
“Wow, this is insane.”
Despite being a full-body armor, it wasn't heavy at all, and perhaps because of that, there was no discomfort in his movements.
Zeke changed the armor back to its original breastplate form.
“If I wear it as it is, the Imperial bastards will recognize it, so I'll have to modify it or something. First, escape…”
For now, escaping this place before other knights arrived was the priority.
Zeke opened the map and searched for a way out of the dungeon.
He quickly left the cave where the camp was located, trying to get out of favela Cartel's territory.
But he sensed something strange ahead.
‘This smell…’
It was the smell of dried blood and filth.
Zeke hesitated, but then decided that there must be something important, so he cautiously approached.
Then he examined the scene, secretly hidden deep inside the dungeon.
‘These goddamn bastards.’
Seeing the scene, Zeke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
This wasn't an ancient ruin.
It was the Rom Empire's human experimentation site.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]