[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 71
'Ancient dragon species?'
Zeke quickly turned around.
Graaaaaaaaagh!
A giant beast opened its maw wide and swallowed Zeke whole.
Crack!
Zeke hurriedly dodged and drew Bahamut.
He then pointed his sword at the giant beast.
KwaKwaKwaKwaKwaKwa!
A huge vortex began to swirl around Zeke's sword.
Elemental Sword
Water Sword
Wave Sword
A massive tsunami arose in the calm lake.
KwaKwaKwaKwa!
The energy of the Wave Sword flew towards the giant beast, swirling in a vortex.
Gaaaaaaaaaaah!
Despite being underwater, the beast's roar echoed.
Zeke adjusted his grip on the sword and charged towards the beast.
Woooong!
The surging Aura Blade cut through the beast's hard scales.
Slash!
Unbeknownst to Zeke, the beast had never encountered an enemy who could pierce its scales.
In the pain it felt for the first time, the beast glared at Zeke with bloodshot eyes and opened its maw.
Then, a huge splash erupted from its mouth.
KwaKwaKwaKwaKwa!
The immense water pressure pressed down on Zeke's body as if to tear him apart.
'Ugh!'
Zeke gritted his teeth to withstand the tremendous water pressure.
It was too disadvantageous to fight like this.
Then he remembered something.
'Hercyon!'
Zeke immediately activated the Hercyon he had taken from Cain.
Clank!
The Hercyon, which was in the form of a breastplate, unfolded and transformed into a full plate armor that enveloped Zeke's entire body.
Wearing the armor, Zeke could feel the effect of the water pressure lessen.
Now able to move more freely, Zeke planted his feet on the lakebed, held up Bahamut, and gathered his energy.
Woooong!
Strangely, when he gathered his energy while wearing the Hercyon, a much stronger power condensed at the tip of his sword.
Powerful Aura rampaged like a storm.
Zeke pointed his sword at the beast.
Dragon Slayer Style, True Dragon Sword Skill
Eighth Stance, First Verse
Dragon Scale Slash
A huge Aura surged from Zeke's sword.
The Aura Blade, surging over ten meters, flashed and struck the charging beast.
Clank!
The beast, directly hit by Zeke's Dragon Scale Slash, momentarily stopped moving.
And then the sword attack exploded belatedly.
KwaKwaKwaKwa!
The beast screamed and roared in pain as its whole body was torn.
Zeke didn't miss this opportunity.
He regained his stance.
Woooong!
Energy gathered in his sword once again.
A huge vortex swirled around Bahamut.
Zeke aimed the tip of his sword at the beast's neck.
He focused all his strength on the tip of the sword.
Dragon Slayer Style, True Dragon Sword Skill
Eighth Stance, Third Verse
Dragon Scale Thrust
A tremendous energy enveloped Zeke's sword and shot towards the beast like a powerful spear.
KwaKwaKwaKwaKwa!
The giant spear made of Aura Blade pierced right through the beast's body.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The beast barely managed to twist its body and avoid a fatal blow, but the powerful energy tore through its scales and flesh.
The beast finally faltered and retreated.
Zeke, thinking he had to finish it here, chased after the beast.
And as it tried to flee, he used the Dragon Claw skill from behind.
Slash!
The ferocious dragon claws tore through the beast's back.
The beast writhed and screamed, but it didn't stop trying to escape.
Zeke used Gale Force to quickly chase after the beast.
As soon as he got close, he thrust his sword into the beast's neck.
Crack!
Zeke, who had plunged his sword into the beast's neck with the power of gold, pushed down with force, sinking them both to the lakebed.
Thud!
As the giant beast sank to the bottom, mud billowed upwards, obscuring the surroundings.
Zeke used his Dragon Eyes skill to secure his vision and then used Dragon Fear to threaten the beast.
A message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[You have instilled fear in the ancient dragon species corrupted by tainted energy.]
[Innate ability Dragon Domination activated.]
[Would you like to subjugate the target dragon species?]
Zeke had previously subjugated the chimera created by the dark mage, Gurab, and turned it into a summon.
'Can such a large beast be subjugated?'
The beast Gaguk he had caught recently wasn't a dragon species, so he just devoured it with Gluttony and obtained a skill.
Zeke pondered whether it would be better to devour the beast with Gluttony or subjugate it.
'I'll try subjugating it, and if it doesn't work, I'll just devour it with Gluttony.'
Zeke responded to the message that appeared, saying he would do so.
Woooong!
Unlike with the chimera, a magic circle-like pattern appeared from Zeke's ether hall.
A magic circle of the same pattern spread around the beast's body.
Crackle!
Sparks flew from the magic circle, and the beast screamed as if in pain.
Kyaaaaagh!
But surprisingly, the beast's appearance was changing little by little.
'What's this?'
Crack!
Like hardened clay peeling off, the black energy that had been covering the beast's body fell away.
Whoosh!
The beast, freed from the black energy, now had the appearance of a dragon species with a mystical aura, not a monstrous beast.
As soon as the black energy completely disappeared, the magic circle began to shine.
Rumble!
The light from the magic circle seeped into the dragon species.
Then, a message appeared.
[The demonic energy that had corrupted the ancient dragon species has been purified, and its former divinity has been restored.]
[You have subjugated the ancient dragon species.]
[Would you like to name the subjugated dragon species? A named dragon species can be summoned at any time by the Authority user.]
Zeke looked at the ancient dragon species, now purified of demonic energy.
It had been a monster just a moment ago, but now, free from the demonic energy, it had a mystical appearance with blue scales that shone with five colors.
After some thought, Zeke named the ancient dragon species.
'Nahuel.'
Zeke named it after the lake, Nahuel.
Nahuel, seemingly pleased with its name, raised its long neck and roared.
Roar!
Unlike when it was a beast, it was a clear and mystical roar.
[You have acquired the divine beast Nahuel.]
[The divine beast Nahuel can only be summoned in places with water.]
At the same time, information about Nahuel appeared.
Nahuel Information
Description: A divine beast with auspicious water energy
Innate ability: Can control water
Special note: Corrupted by demonic energy right before evolving into a holy beast. Can evolve into a holy beast under certain conditions.
'It can evolve into a holy beast?'
However, the information didn't specify what the conditions were.
Nahuel gracefully extended its head towards Zeke.
It wasn't as openly affectionate as Gurab, but it seemed quite dignified.
'Is it telling me to get on its back?'
Zeke thought to himself, and as if reading his mind, Nahuel nodded.
The summoned beast, subjugated to the master of Authority, was connected by the soul, allowing communication through thoughts alone.
Zeke climbed onto Nahuel's back.
Then, Nahuel ascended to the surface of the lake at high speed.
Splash!
Nahuel cut through the water and emerged above the lake.
Roar!
The sun had risen, and the clear sunlight warmly illuminated the lake.
Zeke rode Nahuel towards the shore.
When they reached the shore, he stroked the scales on Nahuel's neck.
"I look forward to working with you, Nahuel."
Whoosh!
Nahuel let out a long cry and then returned to the lake.
Unlike the chimera Gurab, it seemed Nahuel would stay in this lake and be summoned when needed.
As Zeke climbed onto the shore, Felix stared at him with his mouth agape.
"M-Master, what was that just now?"
Zeke said with an indifferent expression,
"It was the beast in the lake. The curse was lifted, and it transformed like that."
"Yes? The curse was lifted?"
"I don't know exactly. I'm hungry, so prepare something to eat, Felix."
Felix was still bewildered, but he followed Zeke's instructions and built a fire to prepare food.
Zeke sat at the campsite and examined the golden mask he had retrieved from the bottom of the lake.
"Hmm. The engraving on the forehead is similar to the Holy Kingdom's insignia."
Although the shape and form were different from the Holy Kingdom's insignia that Felix had, the basic format was the same.
As Zeke fiddled with the mask, he recalled how the relic of Terakan Draker had reacted to mana.
He subtly channeled mana into the mask.
Woooong!
Surprisingly, it reacted to mana this time as well.
He channeled more mana into the mask.
At the same time, a message appeared.
[You have acquired the Mask of ???]
[Would you like to register as the user of the mask?]
A window similar to the one that appeared when he acquired Cain's Hercyon popped up.
'This one also has question marks.'
According to Gelion, the Hercyon that Cain had was made before the Golden Age.
This mask could also have been made in a similar era.
With various questions in mind, Zeke registered himself as the user of the mask.
Then, more message windows popped up.
[You have been registered as the user of the mask.]
[Would you like to activate the mask's function?]
Although the function of the mask wasn't explained, and he didn't know what it was, Zeke decided to activate it.
'What is this? Is it like the Hercyon?'
The moment Zeke chose to activate it, the mask suddenly began to emit light.
"What, what's this?"
The mask emitted a strong light, just like when he first found it at the bottom of the lake.
At the same time, the mask unfolded and automatically wrapped itself around Zeke's face.
'What, what is this!'
Then another message window appeared.
[Activating the function of the Mask of ???]
[Linking with the Intermediate Administrator system and functions.]
[Confirming Class: Immortal]
[Activating skill 'Purification']
[Skill 'Purification' combines with the Immortal Class to transform into the Unique Class exclusive skill 'Grand Purification']
['Grand Purification' function linked with the user's skill Area of Effect Buff]
[Confirming the range of Grand Purification]
[Conducting purification of demonic energy that has corrupted the land]
Zeke was startled to see the messages that appeared.
'Unique Class exclusive skill?'
Woooong!
An enormous golden light surged from Zeke, who was wearing the mask.
"Gasp!"
Felix, who was preparing the meal, was startled to see Zeke, wearing the golden mask, bathed in golden light.
And at that moment, the golden light emanating from Zeke's body began to spread out like waves in all directions.
Whoosh!
The first thing the golden light from Zeke's body touched was the thick thorny vines.
The black dust that had clung to them fell away, and the thorny vines began to transform into beautiful rose vines.
"Oh my god."
Not only Felix but also Zeke stared blankly at the sight.
As the golden waves slowly spread, the area where the thorny vines had been turned into a rose garden, and the grotesquely twisted trees also transformed into beautiful ornamental trees.
Whoosh!
The black lake water became clear, and the barren land sprouted fresh green shoots, turning into vibrant land full of life.
The spreading golden waves reached the castle.
At the same time, a new message window appeared.
[Connecting to the management system of ???]
[Changing the mode of ???]
[Emergency defense mode deactivated]
Rumble!
The castle was literally transforming.
The walls moved, the towers that made up the castle changed positions, and the crouched castle completely unfolded, transforming into a grand and elegant appearance, unlike before.
"M-Master... th-the c-castle..."
Felix, seeing the gloomy ghost castle transform into a beautiful castle with a rose garden, was speechless with disbelief.
The golden waves didn't stop there but spread further, transforming the entire hill where the castle stood.
The desolate hill turned into a garden full of roses and beautiful trees.
[Purification complete.]
Clank!
The golden mask detached from Zeke's face and returned to its original form.
Zeke stared at the golden mask in wonder.
'What in the world is this?'
It was then.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Something came running at a tremendous speed.
People on horseback were galloping towards Zeke.
Felix, flustered, drew his sword and took a defensive stance.
But Zeke stopped Felix.
"Felix, calm down. They're not enemies."
Whoosh!
The riders on the large horses dismounted and walked towards Zeke and Felix.
They were large and imposing, all dressed in old aristocratic attire.
Surprisingly, despite their large builds, they were all old men with white hair.
One of them approached Zeke and shouted,
"The prophecy has been fulfilled! The child with black eyes has restored the clan to its original state!"
The other elders also echoed his words.
"The child with black eyes!"
"The savior of the clan!"
Felix looked at the elders who suddenly appeared and said to Zeke,
"M-Master, w-who are these people?"
Zeke replied to Felix,
"Didn't we meet and greet them earlier?"
Felix asked back in surprise,
"Yes? A-Are they those ghosts from before?"
"They weren't ghosts, but they were deeply ill due to the curse. Now that the curse is lifted, they've returned to their original forms."
The elder at the forefront approached Zeke and knelt on one knee.
At the same time, the other elders also knelt.
"Rufus Agamemnon, head of the Agamemnon clan, expresses his gratitude to the savior of the clan!"
"We express our gratitude!"
The other elders also expressed their gratitude in loud voices.
After a moment, Rufus Agamemnon rose from his position and approached Zeke.
He placed his large hand on Zeke's shoulder and said,
"Zeke Draker! My grandson with black eyes! You have lifted the curse on the family and saved us!"
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]