Chapter 208
Pabababak!
Sword s imbued with the power of Spirit Energy burst out in all directions, riddling the Blood Golem's body with holes.
Perhaps a fragment of the sword strike pierced its core, as the Blood Golem's body wavered before its form began to flow and melt away.
Kroooooooar!
Having turned into a sticky mass of blood, the Blood Golem dissolved, its shape collapsing.
The fragments of the sword strike that Zeke had unleashed passed through the Blood Golem and flew towards Garin, who was casting blood magic.
Pabababak!
The will of explosion pierced through the blood magic's magic circle and struck Garin's body.
[Kuh-uk!]
Garin, who had been intermittently empowering the Blood Golem while preparing a new spell, couldn't evade the sword strike and had holes blown through his arms and legs.
Nevertheless, Garin didn't stop chanting and finally completed his magic.
Zeke, catching his breath, turned his gaze to completely eliminate the Blood Golem first.
However, the Blood Golem had already returned to the form of a pool of blood, just as when Garin had first summoned it, and was being absorbed back towards Garin.
Whoooooom!
Just as Zeke was wondering if he should stop it, blood, bones, and flesh surged up from the blood-red magic circle.
Soon, a knight clad in red armor, mounted on a similarly armored horse and emitting an ominous aura, appeared in its place.
Arataso exclaimed in astonishment.
[A Blood Knight! To see the cursed knights of the Blood Keep again!]
The Blood Knight held a long spear and shield and approached.
Runes emitting an eerie aura were engraved on his armor and shield.
'One obstacle after another.'
Zeke quickly absorbed a magic stone, recovering his mana.
He pointed his sword at the Blood Knight and unleashed the power of Purification.
Golden aura spread far and wide.
Tssstssstss—
At the same time, a red aura began to swirl around the Blood Knight. Then, the red aura blocked the power of Purification, protecting Garin behind it.
Seeing this, Zeke infused the shockwave of the Vibrating Force Resonance into the aura of Purification.
Whoooooom!
The golden aura pulsed, trying to scatter the Blood Knight's aura.
At that moment, Garin behind him began to chant again.
Pzzzzzzzt—
Then, a red mist arose from Garin's shadow.
Gradually, the red mist thinned and spread, and small red bats appeared within it.
Kreeeak!
Dozens of bats flew towards Zeke, obstructing his vision.
"Chahat!"
Zeke calmly expanded the range of his aura, annihilating the bats Garin had sent.
At that moment, the Blood Knight, who had been watching for an opportunity, spurred his horse and charged towards Zeke.
Kwakwakwakwa!
The cursed runes engraved on the armor emitted an eerie light, resisting the aura Zeke had created.
Having somewhat overcome the aura of Purification, the Blood Knight thrust his spear wrapped in red aura towards Zeke.
Clang!
Zeke swung Bahamut, blocking the Blood Knight's spear.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The spear thrust by the Blood Knight was quite heavy.
Moreover, as the attacks continued, the speed and weight of the spear flying towards Zeke steadily increased.
Zeke gripped Bahamut with both hands, deflecting the Blood Knight's spear and counterattacking.
Whoong!
The Blood Knight's spear pierced through Zeke's counterattack and struck first.
Clang!
Sword and spear collided, creating a tremendous sound of impact.
Zeke retreated, catching his breath.
'Just pushing through with brute force will only lead to the same result as before. Become one with the sword and read the flow.'
Zeke decided to trust the realm he had pioneered.
'Deactivate Hercyon, which consumes a lot of mana, and focus on the sword.'
Charrrrrk!
Zeke, his bare body exposed, held Bahamut and aimed it at the Blood Knight.
His figure, now beginning to move, swayed back and forth, leaving afterimages.
Shushushuk!
Zeke evaded the spear with Phantom Step and unleashed the Rotating Strike of the Infinite Chain Binding again.
Thwack!
Zeke's sword struck the horse's flank.
Clang!
The Blood Knight's body also staggered from Zeke's attack.
Not losing the flow, he dashed forward, stepped on the ground with Phantom Step, and unleashed the Vibrating Force Resonance.
Whoooooom!
A powerful shockwave swept past the Blood Knight's body.
[Krrr...]
For the first time, there was a reaction from the Blood Knight.
Gathering momentum, Zeke unleashed the Gale Force Technique towards the Blood Knight.
Dragon Slayer Art
Gale Force
Cleaving the Atmosphere
Zeke's sword split the eerie aura emanating from the Blood Knight along with the very air.
Crack!
Despite not using an aura blade, Zeke's sword strike cleaved through the Blood Knight's armor.
Zeke realized that he was reaching a new level of swordsmanship.
'An aura blade is merely the manifestation of the inner energy, giving it form. What truly matters is the will of the sword itself.'
Whoooooom!
Zeke's sword roared its name.
He moved forward again.
Garin, behind him, shouted at the Blood Knight.
[Kill that human quickly!]
Simultaneously with his command, a blood-red aura poured out from the Blood Knight's armor.
Kwakwakwakwa!
That aura wrapped around the Blood Knight's spear.
The death knight, wielding the blood-red aura, charged towards Zeke.
The crimson spear, formed by compressing the eerie aura, was swung towards Zeke.
At that moment, the Blood Knight's spear seemed to fly towards Zeke in slow motion.
'What is this?'
Everything in the world seemed to be moving slowly.
Zeke could perceive everything: the Blood Knight's spear, his breathing, the horse's movements, and even the flow of the air.
Zeke moved his sword according to that flow.
Swoosh—
The Blood Knight's spear was cut in two by Zeke's sword with unbelievable ease.
The Blood Knight roared and charged relentlessly towards Zeke.
Zeke jumped up, spun his body, and vertically cleaved the Blood Knight's head.
Slash!
The helmeted Blood Knight's head split in half.
Thud!
The Blood Knight dropped the spear he was holding.
Then, his body soon turned into red liquid, flesh, and bones, breaking apart.
Zeke unleashed the power of Purification towards the shattered Blood Knight.
Tsssk!
The Blood Knight, exposed to the power of Purification, turned into black ash and disappeared.
Only the armor emitting an ominous aura remained where the Blood Knight had been.
Zeke turned his body and approached Garin. Garin raised the red mist again.
Whoong!
This time, Zeke simply swung his sword, cutting through the red mist.
He had cut through the incorporeal mist with just the will to do so.
[How dare you, a mere human, do this to me, a noble Royal Vampire!]
Zeke didn't listen to Garin's words and rushed forward.
As if making a final desperate effort, red light flared in Garin's eyes.
Kugugugugu!
The red mists erupting from his body writhed and gathered towards one point.
They took a single form and transformed into a massive spear.
Garin hurled the red spear towards Zeke.
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
The red spear rotated as it flew towards Zeke.
Zeke calmly took the initial stance of the Dragon Slayer Art.
Then, he imbued his will into his sword and unleashed the Dragon Slayer Art Form.
Dragon Slayer Art Form Ultimate Art
First Form
Sun and Moon Cleaving Strike
Zeke's sword cut through the red spear flying towards him.
Swoosh—
Despite being virtually formless, the red spear was cleanly split in half.
Garin shouted in disbelief.
[To, to cut blood magic! That's impossible...]
And at that moment, Garin noticed something strange.
[Kuh-uk.]
Small cracks began to appear on his body.
Garin reached out his hand towards Zeke.
[N, no way!]
The Sun and Moon Cleaving Strike didn't just cut the red spear, but also Garin who had unleashed it.
Thud thud thud!
Cracks spread across Garin's body, and he crumbled.
Tssstssstss—
Garin's collapsed body emitted red smoke before scattering into ash.
But Zeke didn't stop there.
He continued to swing Bahamut relentlessly.
As Zeke swung his sword in a trance-like state, something like heat haze rose from it.
Zeke could see a side of a new world he had never seen before.
'So this is what I hadn't been able to see.'
At some point, Zeke stopped swinging his sword.
The sensation of gripping and swinging the sword was different from before.
'A realm beyond the aura blade, where the sword can be wielded with pure will. I've grasped a thread of the Astral Sword.'
From the edge of the Red Knight, Zeke was now truly on the verge of reaching the Black Knight stage.
The Black Knights, of whom there were only eight on the entire continent.
Zeke, at the young age of nineteen, had almost reached the realm of the Black Knight.
Calmly organizing his thoughts and regulating his breathing, Zeke sheathed his sword and examined the spot where Garin had disappeared.
Within the scattered ashes, the ornate dagger he had possessed remained.
Zeke collected Garin's dagger and the Blood Knight's armor.
'If I hadn't gained enlightenment during the battle, I might have been defeated.'
Just then, a message appeared before his eyes.
[You have perfectly cleared the third hidden stage.]
[The Domain of the Fighting God marvels at the subject's unbelievable capabilities.]
[Rewards will be granted for successfully clearing the stage.]
[Assessing rewards.]
[Rewards are being delivered to the subject.]
The message disappeared, and three random boxes appeared before Zeke.
Two of them were glowing gold, while the other shone with a bizarre color.
'What's this? It has multiple colors like a rainbow?'
Another message appeared.
[10,000 experience points have been granted as a reward for surviving the third hidden stage.]
[Two special random boxes and one out-of-grade random box have been granted as a reward for clearing the hidden stage with unbelievable capabilities.]
"Out-of-grade?"
Zeke slowly approached the boxes.
First, he opened the two special random boxes.
Once again, golden light poured out as he opened the boxes.
Zeke checked the artifacts inside the boxes.
"A medal and... is this a book?"
Zeke checked the information of the medal and book from the special random boxes, as well as Garin's dagger and the Blood Knight's armor he had collected earlier.
---Armor Information---
Description: Armor of the Blood Knight who guards the Blood Keep
Unique Ability: Blood Field
Special Note: If a living being wears it, they will be cursed.
---Dagger Information---
Description: Dagger of a Royal Vampire
Unique Ability: Blood Golem Summon
Special Note: Can summon a Blood Golem using the wielder's blood as a medium.
---Medal Information---
Description: A medal containing the power of a Royal Vampire
Unique Ability: Blood Mist
Special Note: Can cast 'Domain of Blood' using the wielder's blood as a medium.
---Book Information---
Description: Ancient Blood Magic Grimoire
Unique Ability: Blood Magic Inheritance
Special Note: Secretly passed down only to Royal Vampires, it is a grimoire of ancient blood magic cast using blood as a medium. (Only vampires can learn it)
Zeke exclaimed in astonishment after reading the artifact information.
"Artifacts containing the power of a Royal Vampire? That's incredible."
Having personally fought Garin, Zeke deeply understood how powerful the Royal Vampire race was, making the value of these artifacts even more apparent.
While marveling, Zeke was about to organize the items when he looked at the Blood Magic Grimoire and wore a disappointed expression.
"Blood magic, huh. The power is amazing, but it's a shame that only vampires can learn it. I'll keep it for now and see if I can use it later."
The Blood Knight's armor seemed like something he could give to Richmond for research later.
Zeke examined the Royal Vampire's medal and dagger.
"The dagger can summon a Blood Golem... and the medal can cast Domain of Blood, which means I can summon that red mist that guy used earlier, right?"
The red mist, which provided both defense and offense simultaneously, had considerable utility.
Zeke wore the medal and tried to cast the skill.
Tssstssstss—
A red mist rose from Zeke's body.
Watching it, Zeke mentally issued various commands. The mist moved naturally according to his will.
Zeke wore a satisfied expression.
"The mana consumption is quite high, but it will be very useful in battle."
After putting all the other artifacts into his inventory, Zeke stood before the last box.
Looking at the random box with its surface shimmering in rainbow colors, Zeke wore a tense expression.
Even the special random boxes had yielded tremendous artifacts, so he couldn't imagine what would come out of something labeled 'out-of-grade'.
Zeke carefully opened the box.
Multicolor radiance poured out from inside the box.
"Ugh."
The light was so brilliant that Zeke could barely open his eyes.
[You have opened the out-of-grade random box.]
[You have acquired 500 Karma Points as an achievement reward.]
He had acquired Karma Points just by opening the out-of-grade random box.
As the radiance subsided, Zeke was able to see the artifact inside the box.
What was inside the box was surprisingly ordinary.
"A ring?"
What was inside the out-of-grade random box was none other than a crude, brass-colored ring.
Zeke picked up the ring and examined its shape.
A unique insignia was engraved on the ring. It was a star-shaped insignia made of overlapping triangles.
At that moment, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[You have acquired the legendary item 'Ring of Solomon'.]
