Were it not for someone viciously slapping his cheeks multiple times, Zeke wouldn’t have woken up. He heard constant rumblings and explosions, but what caught his attention was a floating and half-illusory woman.Her violet-colored eyes and disproprotionately wide mouth made him recognize her identity almost instantly.“Alexia?”She was named Alexia, previously using John as a host. The 5th-grade Artifact, the Talking Sin, had finally awakened from her slumber.“It’s not the time for chitchat!” She half-turned her ghost-like body and pointed to the right, where Jeremy and the White Mask were still going at it.“See that big black eye? Take it from them!”While holding his aching head, Zeke sat up and examined his body. He was feeling quite energetic and stronger than ever before. A couple of moments passed before he rolled to the side, avoiding a large falling boulder.“The entire place is collapsing. It’s time to bail!”The place wasn’t going to last any longer, and his high physica
It was undoubtedly an unforgettable night for Heaven’s End and all its residents, including Emperor Ascalon Serey.The Commercial District, which was entrapped inside a multi-layered barrier empowered by the four Magic Pillars, had suffered considerable direct and collateral damage.Most of the damage, however, was caused by the momentary clash between Zeke and the Angel.“Your Radiance.”Archmagus Robert, Archmagus Fin, and Kleya were facing the ruler. The former two were kneeling on the ground, looking physically and mentally exhausted. However, they had to report immediately after all that happened.Sulong Braveheart was declared missing and many knights were dispatched to search for him. As for Sarah, she opted to rest as she had suffered a lot of wounds.During her final clash against the White Mask, she had actually succeeded in landing a powerful hit, but in return, she also suffered a direct strike to the chest, leaving her incapacitated.“The cultists of the Ascetic Blaspheme
“First and foremost, I was the Seat of Sin under Edward Heart, who would later be known as the Mad Emperor. Very much like the Seat of Criminality and Seat of Death under you, I had special circumstances and was eventually ‘recruited’ by Edward.”Alexia had a melancholic expression as she faithfully recounted her experiences without missing any detail.“The second, and more important, clarification that I want to make is about the Three Divine Scriptures: The Paths of Extinction System, the System of Sun and Moon, and the Heavenly System. Yes, they are 8th-grade Artifacts, one of the existing 6. However, they were all based on schematic illustration, so to speak. All three originated from the one and only 9th-grade Artifact, the Grimoire of Transcendence. The grimoire depicted how to create the Systems, including the necessary energies, the materials, the rituals, the sacrifices, etc… Moreover, only someone who had become a Divine being, a God, is able to create a System. And even the
Time passed and no one bothered Zeke. It was unknown whether those looking for him had found his location, but he liked to think otherwise.He stayed by Jennifer’s side, splitting his time between silent meditation and checking up on her. Her condition was stable and the flow of Aether in her body was normal.He could sense that she had gotten significantly stronger, and linking that with the odd occurrence that Bran had mentioned, he suspected that she rose up to become a 6-star Witch.It was common knowledge that Witches were able to raise their so-called ‘stars’, but it would progressively become harder. The existence of only 3 6-star Witches was proof of how hard to ascend a Witch’s ‘rank’.As he stayed inside the inn room, enjoying serenity to think about all that had happened, Zeke was, unavoidably, interrupted by a guest.There was a light knock on the door, followed thereafter by a soft voice of a man,“Mister Orland.”As voltage appeared all around Zeke, crackling in the air,
The Royal Palace was unbelievably huge, so much so that it took Zeke and Robert close to half an hour to reach the majestic and spacious Throne Hall. The Hall, which was empty except for thick ceiling-high golden pillars, felt a bit chilly and unwelcoming. Still, Zeke focused his gaze on the middle-aged man sitting on the throne. Emperor Ascalon, who was over 90 years old, looked like a 35 middle-aged man; He had a fairly well-built physique, a nice cleanly-cut beard, long light auburn hair, and commanding jawline. His unique red pupils were distinct and his gaze was authoritative but not overly domineering. “Your Radiance, I’ve brought Mister Orland.” Archmagus Robert respectfully bowed and stood next to the stairs leading to the somewhat unremarkable and shabby throne. Meanwhile, Zeke performed a polite bow, “Zeke Orland greets his Radiance.” Besides being a capable and well-respected ruler, Zeke’s knowledge about Ascalon was superficial, at best. Although he was meeting th
As promised, Archmagus Robert guided Zeke to where his mother was taken. They reached their destination within 20 minutes, but the door was sealed by a layer of Darkness magic.Zeke frowned and was about to use his voltage to break it but Robert stopped him.“Wait. Maybe Miss Kleya isn’t done yet. Let’s wait a bit.”Although he seemed very reluctant, Zeke nodded his head and crossed his hands as he leaned against the wall. Soon enough, he seemed to be absent-minded, but the Archmagus broke the silence.The bespectacled man had never left Zeke’s side, though it was unsure whether it was due to courtesy or to monitor him. Either way, Zeke didn’t seem that bothered.“Would you be willing to talk about the recent ‘event’, Mister Orland?”“You mean the raid on the Ascetic Blasphemers? What about it?”Robert still didn’t get used to the youth’s gloomy attitude and cold stare, but he still kept his amicable smile and polite behavior. He was a distinguished mage, renowned across the entire w
Zeke patiently recounted what happened to his mother, who attentively listened with a faint smile on her face. Due to their relatively ambiguous relationship, caused by the tumultuous circumstances of their several meetings, she didn’t forcefully do anything. For instance, albeit sitting right next to him, she didn’t touch his hand or anything, though it was likely due to his reserved and awkward current attitude.She might not know everything about Zeke, but she did learnt quite a bit when she briefly stayed at his apartment years ago.He might not necessarily act like a teenager, but he was still young and clearly needed guidance, especially with everything that has been going on around and to him.When he was finally done speaking, Jennifer nodded her head and said,“All that matters is that you’re okay. To begin with, you shouldn’t have recklessly charged in when they were waiting specifically for you.”“...”Zeke was wont to object to anyone that showed displeasure to his actions
The conversation between Zeke and Jennifer came to an abrupt end as none of them knew what to say. She thoughtfully looked at him as she kept holding his hands, wanting to enjoy this moment of peace and warmth as long as possible. Although she was his mother, she couldn’t dictate what he should or should not do. Forcing him to accompany her to the Witch Association would only worsen their relationship and possibly ruin her chances of actually being a genuine mother to him. “What about you, mother? Will you be returning?” “Miss Kleya will be staying for a bit longer in the Empire. I’m going to stay with her until she returns.” Jennifer was the Army Commander of the Witch Association. Regardless of her personal feelings, she couldn’t abandon her post and be with her son around the clock. Nevertheless, she wasn’t going to remain idle and do nothing either. She was planning to talk to the Witch Queen in hopes of convincing her to finally make a move and put an end to this bloody war