Thud! Thud! Thud!
Zeke's heart pounded wildly as he stared at the Sun Sword Gram that had burst forth from the tentacle.
'How could this be...?'
After his regression, Zeke had met Gelion and sought to recreate the Sun Sword Gram once more.
But unlike in his previous life, in this timeline, Gelion had forged Bahamut instead of Gram
The sight of the sword, which existed only in his memories from his past life, threw Zeke's mind into turmoil.
'Could this be some kind of mental attack... an illusion?'
Convinced that the Sun Sword Gram before his eyes couldn't possibly be real, Zeke tried to reason more logically.
But just as the tentacle that had spat out Gram was about to be sealed away, it left one final message in his mind.
『Remember... our... will... Child of Chaos.』
Clang!
The tentacle vanished into the Sword God Statue as if sucked inside, and Gram clattered to the ground.
With Zeke's authority completing the reconfiguration, the Sword God Statue returned to its original form, and the energy of the Ineffable Gloom that had been trying to emerge from within vanished without a trace.
Yet Zeke's mind was a whirlwind of confusion.
'So it wasn't an illusion after all.'
He landed beneath the Sword God Statue and picked up the Gram that the tentacle had expelled.
The moment he gripped it, Zeke knew for certain.
This was undoubtedly the very sword he had wielded in his previous life.
"To think I'd see this again."
In his past life, Zeke had been unable to access his lower dantian, making it impossible for him to generate aura.
That was why this sword, which could convert mana from his middle dantian into aura, had been as vital to him as his own life.
The master smith Gelion, indebted to Zeke for saving his life, had crafted the blade best suited to his needs.
As he gazed at the sword from his previous life, Zeke recalled memories from the past.
Events from the timeline before his regression, which no longer existed, felt as vivid as if they had just happened.
This only deepened Zeke's suspicions about the Outsider Species that had expelled a Sun Sword Gram impossible in this timeline.
'A Child of Chaos that defies the timeline.'
The Ineffable Gloom had called him that.
Zeke fixated on the title "Child of Chaos."
'The God of Chaos, the god trapped in the name of Goddess Theia, the one who made King Solomon the first Irregular.'
The Sun God Apollyon, the God of Chaos, and the Outsider Species.
There had to be something connecting them that Zeke didn't yet know.
'Arthur Draker holds the key to that riddle.'
Zeke felt an urgent need to find Arthur Draker as soon as possible.
Collecting his thoughts, he turned back to see that Hela had swept away all the other Outsider Species beasts. The chamber was left with scorch marks and lingering flames here and there.
"Good work, Hela."
He dismissed Hela and began searching for any traces Arthur Draker might have left behind.
But then—
"Zeke Draker."
A voice called out from what had been complete silence, with no hint of presence.
Startled, Zeke whirled around, Laevatein drawn and ready.
There stood a stranger.
'What is this...?'
A young knight with gray hair, clad in a pristine white Draker uniform.
'What?'
Though it was a face he'd never seen, the attire and aura felt strangely familiar.
The knight fixed Zeke with a cold gaze and spoke.
"By my father's name, I command you: die." With that, the knight drew his sword.
Whoooong—
As he assumed his stance, a sword resonance hummed from the blade.
Zeke was stunned by the familiar rider form the knight had taken.
'Dragon Slaying Technique?'
In an instant, the knight lunged forward, swinging his sword at Zeke.
Slaaaash!
The ferocious strike clashed against Zeke's Laevatein.
Claaaaang!
The swords met, but the impact rippled like two massive iron slabs colliding.
Glaring at the knight in the white Draker uniform, Zeke demanded, "Who the hell are you?"
The knight replied, "My name is Rivein Apollyon."
He raised his sword again and continued, "I am my father's true son—not a fake like you." Zeke furrowed his brow at the knight's words.
'Apollyon?'
The name of the Sun God. The only one Zeke knew who had used it as a family name was Siemens Apollyon, the adopted son of the Hero King and disciple of the Great Sage.
Zeke asked the knight who called himself Rivein Apollyon, "Your father's true son, you say. Who exactly is this 'father' you speak of?"
"Do not sully the great father's name with that worthless mouth of yours. You and everyone bearing the Draker name are nothing but utter fabrications."
Watching Rivein deny the Draker name, Zeke guessed at who this "father" might be.
"Surely the 'great father' you mean isn't Arthur Draker."
Rivein scowled and spat, "The name Draker is a lie, a remnant of the old era. My father will cast off the shackles of humanity to become the king and god of a new world." As Zeke had suspected, Rivein was one of Arthur Draker's followers.
Shaking his head, Zeke glared at him and said, "Arthur Draker as king and god. What nonsense."
When Zeke uttered the Draker name again, Rivein's expression hardened.
"For blaspheming a god, you will be punished by death."
With those words, Rivein twisted the bracelet on his wrist.
Keeeeeen—
A shrill sound rang out, and an ominous energy surged from his body.
Zeke raised his sword, sensing the familiar aura emanating from Rivein.
'This is...?'
Incredibly, the energy flowing from Rivein carried the distinctive waves of Demonic Qi Art.
The demonic energy concentrated on his sword, causing the blade to hum and vibrate.
Whoooosh!
Rivein assumed the Dragon Slaying Technique stance and swung at Zeke.
A half-moon slash infused with demonic energy waves hurtled toward him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Zeke swung Laevatein to deflect Rivein's strike.
A normal knight might have faltered against the disruptive waves of the Demonic Qi Art, but Zeke was different.
He could handle an attack of this level with ease.
'I'll capture him and interrogate him about Arthur Draker's whereabouts.'
As Zeke prepared to close in on Rivein after parrying, the knight's body suddenly blurred and vanished without a trace.
Then, from Zeke's blind spot, he reappeared and swung again.
Slaaaash!
Caught off guard by the sudden ambush, Zeke retreated while batting away the strike.
He realized the technique Rivein had used to disappear wasn't a knight's footwork.
'Spatial Teleportation... a bloodline ability.'
Rahim, the former head of the Six from the Nostra Family.
Rivein had used the same spatial teleportation bloodline ability.
'Demonic Qi Art and a bloodline ability? Don't tell me...'
Rivein vanished again with spatial teleportation, reappearing in another blind spot.
He immediately swung with the Dragon Slaying Technique infused with Demonic Qi Art— and that wasn't all.
Crunch!
Mid-swing, he unleashed psychokinesis to attack Zeke.
Freely traversing space, wielding his sword, and deploying psychokinesis simultaneously.
It was a power far beyond that of an ordinary knight.
Tssst—
Rivein's psychokinesis twisted Zeke's arm, but his Immortal Body healed the injury in an instant.
Seeing this, Rivein glared sharply at Zeke, his face twisting in frustration. Suddenly, he slashed at his own wrist with his sword.
Tssst—
Incredibly, Rivein's wound also healed rapidly, closing up.
Not only did he wield Demonic Qi Art and bloodline abilities, but like Zeke, he could regenerate himself.
Witnessing Rivein's array of powers, Zeke realized his true nature.
'The culmination of all the experiments conducted by Narak, the Nostra Family, Siemens, and Draker.'
The ideal of the new humanity that Arthur Draker sought to create.
This might be the form of the true Pureblood Draker he envisioned.
Rivein raised his sword, glaring at Zeke.
"I can no longer stand by while fakes like you defile my father's name."
He snapped his fingers.
In an instant, dozens of knights in similar attire appeared behind him.
They all had gray hair and wore white uniforms, just like Rivein.
Though their appearances varied, the fanatic aura they exuded was eerily similar.
The blind zeal Zeke sensed in them reminded him of the Drakers from his previous life.
'He's discarded the old Drakers and created entirely new fanatics. Just like something Arthur Draker would do.'
Rivein shouted to the other knights, "Unleash your power! Kill this fake and protect our father's honor!"
The knights twisted their bracelets to the side, just as Rivein had.
Click!
At once, powerful demonic energy surged from them.
The knights raised their swords, now concentrated with demonic energy, and vanished simultaneously.
Whoooosh—
In a flash, they reappeared in the air, swinging at Zeke all at once.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The special transmission techniques of the altered Dragon Slaying Technique, infused with demonic energy, erupted from their blades.
Zeke summoned his Shadow Armor to block the knights' strikes.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
But it didn't end there.
Another group of knights appeared, extending their hands and unleashing psychokinesis at Zeke.
Keeeeeen—
Incredibly, their combined psychokinesis dispersed Zeke's Shadow Armor, preventing it from holding form.
Seizing the opening, more knights charged in, swinging at him.
Clang!
Zeke calmly swung Laevatein, deflecting their blades.
'Impressive, but each one's power is only on par with a red knight or higher.' Their attacks were varied, but not unbeatable.
Zeke analyzed their patterns and leaped into the air.
Whoooosh!
The knights pursued, ascending even higher than Zeke.
Zeke pointed his sword at the Apollyon knights above him.
"The true Dragon Slaying Technique is like this." Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
Thunder roared from Laevatein.
Zeke raised his sword and assumed the stance.
The foundational posture every Draker learning the Dragon Slaying Technique had to master first.
Dragon Slaying Technique Basic Form
Chapter 1 Verse 1
Sky Slash
The purest form of the Dragon Slaying Technique unfolded from Zeke's sword.
Crack! Crack! Crack—
Space tore under Zeke's Sky Slash, and the Apollyon knights within its range froze in place.
Clatter!
Their swords split and fell.
Simultaneously, their bodies cleaved in half along with the space.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Over a dozen knights plummeted to the ground, bisected in a single stroke.
With one slash, Zeke had cut down all the knights charging at him.
Landing on the ground, Zeke looked at Rivein and said, "This is the level of skill you call the new humanity's gods? Arthur Draker might be losing his mind." Rivein scowled at Zeke's words.
But then—
Tssst... Tssst...
The bisected bodies of the Apollyon knights began to knit back together, regenerating to their original forms.
Soon, they stood once more in their pristine white uniforms, without a drop of blood.
Seeing this, Zeke said to Rivein, "Self-regeneration... So that's what you were counting on."
In an instant, white flames erupted from Zeke's body.
Roarrrrr!
Elemental Sword: Chamber of Firepower.
The purest flame could incinerate not only regenerative flesh but even their false souls.
As Zeke advanced on Rivein and the knights with the Chamber of Firepower active, he declared, "Puppets of Arthur Draker, I'll burn you all to ash."
But just as Zeke prepared to unleash the full power of the Elemental Sword— Roarrrrr!
Incredibly, white flames also rose from Rivein's sword, facing him.
Zeke's eyes widened. 'What is that...?'
The flames surging from Rivein's blade were the pure fire of the Elemental Sword:
Chamber of Firepower, just like Zeke's.
Rivein looked at Zeke and said, "False phantoms, vanish with the end of the old era."