Dragonslayer’s Class Regression Chapter 150

Chapter 150

Zeke spoke to the girl standing beside him.

“It’s horrible. Best not to look.”

Despite Zeke’s words, the girl didn’t take her eyes off the Cardinal who was screaming in agony.

She asked Zeke.

“Did God punish that person?”

Zeke shook his head at those words.

“It wasn’t God, but his own greed and desire that made him like this. I’m the one who inflicted the pain.”

Then the girl looked up at Zeke again and asked.

“Then are you God, Sir Knight?”

Zeke shook his head again.

“No, I’m not God. I’m just a human like you.”

The girl looked up at Zeke and said.

“They said a god with black eyes would save us.”

By now, the Cardinal affected by the power of decay had completely melted away, leaving no trace.

Zeke dusted off his hands, knelt down to match the girl’s eye level, and asked.

“Who told you that?”

The girl replied with a calm expression.

“I don’t know. But all the children locked in the monastery know. They always talk about the god with black eyes.”

Zeke held the girl’s shoulders and said.

“I’m not such a great being. Anyway… I’m glad I saved you all. If not, Princess Arina would have been very sad.”

Zeke took the girl and approached the children of Lubern.

He said to Boris.

“For now, we should feed the children something.”

Zeke set up a base camp away from where the brutal battle had taken place.

Since there were no enemies pursuing Zeke for now, they comfortably lit a fire and prepared food.

The children warmed themselves by the warm flames.

Zeke boiled soft soup and handed it to the children.

The children slowly sipped the soup with curious eyes.

After a while, the children spoke excitedly with sparkling eyes.

“Wow! This is really delicious.”

“Try this bread too! It’s super soft and tasty!”

Though it was convenience food specially ordered from the cook and stored in the inventory, so it would taste better than regular combat rations, objectively it wasn’t delicious enough to warrant such praise.

Watching the children repeatedly express amazement while tasting the soup, Zeke could gauge how they had been treated in the Holy Kingdom.

The children ate their fill of the food Zeke provided and fell asleep in the soft sleeping bags he laid out.

As she got into her sleeping bag, the girl looked at Zeke and said.

“Sir Knight. You really won’t take us back to the monastery, right?”

Zeke stroked the girl’s head and nodded.

“That’s right. I’ll take you to a place with even more delicious food than what you ate today and soft beds. There are Lubern bloodline adults there who will take good care of you.”

The girl held Zeke’s hand tightly.

She wouldn’t let go of Zeke’s hand, as if trying to confirm that this situation wasn’t a dream.

Zeke held her hand until she fell asleep.

After confirming all the children were asleep, he said to Boris.

“Boris, we need to safely take these children to Mycenae.”

“Understood, Boss. But…”

Boris looked at Zeke with a surprised expression.

“I didn’t know you cared so much for children, Boss.”

Zeke gave a bitter smile at Boris’s words.

“Don’t say stupid things.”

In his previous life, when working as a hitman for the Cartel, Zeke worked like a dog under Don Juan.

He killed without hesitation when Don Juan ordered it, regardless of whether they were elderly or children.

Though the atrocities Zeke committed were undone after returning to the past, the horrific memories from that time hadn’t disappeared.

‘This won’t atone for what I did to those children back then.’

He thought this was nothing more than hypocrisy to ease his own conscience.

* * *

The next day, Boris took the Lubern children and went outside the cave.

Until the last moment, the girl turned back to keep Zeke in her eyes.

After Boris left with the Lubern children, Zeke, who had been watching them, went back inside the cave and stood in front of the door.

The stone statues were still firmly standing in front of the door.

Zeke approached the statues and said.

“Release summons.”

At Zeke’s command, magic circles appeared on the Guardians’ bodies, then transformed into light and disappeared.

Before the Holy Kingdom troops arrived, Zeke had already opened the door and confronted the Guardians.

He had recognized the access codes hidden in the Guardians’ cores, controlled them through the system, registered them as summons, and then opened the door to have them face the Paladins.

[Releasing summons Idas and Lynceus.]

[Entering hibernation for self-recovery.]

Like Guardian Horus found in the bird  temple, the newly registered Idas and Lynceus also needed a self-recovery period as they had been left in safe mode for a long time.

After organizing the Guardians like that, Zeke went inside the door.

As he fully entered, the massive door slowly closed.

* * *

Some time after Zeke went through the door, a figure in a black robe revealed their enormous presence.

Looking at the scattered corpses of Paladins in front of the door, they opened their mouth.

“What a mess.”

Behind them, others wearing ash-colored robes appeared.

They addressed the one in the middle with respectful postures and said.

“Apostle. We will certainly seize the holy relic. You need not worry…”

Then suddenly, the one called Apostle turned around and stretched out his hand.

“HUK!”

The four figures in ash-colored robes floated in the air, choking and gasping for breath.

The Apostle spoke while looking at them.

“You lost the precious vessel in the southern lands. Moreover, you carelessly used the power of beings that should not reveal themselves in the physical realm.”

“KEH…KEK! A-Apostle… please calm your anger…”

When the Apostle withdrew his hand, the robed figures fell to the ground.

The Apostle’s eyes revealed between the black robe were like those of a reptile.

The abyss mages who met the Apostle’s red eyes trembled and cowered in fear.

He took something out from his clothes while his ominous red eyes glowed.

The Apostle buried two black orbs in the ground.

Then he began to chant.

“????????????????????????????????”

When he chanted the spell in demon realm language, black smoke rose from their body.

The rising smoke  seeped into the ground.

KUDUDUDUDUK!

Then something began to bubble and grow rapidly from underground.

Two masses of black liquid and unidentified flesh grew larger until they were much bigger than a person.

“OHHH!”

The dark mages in ash-colored robes behind exclaimed at the two masses of flesh that grew from the ground.

The Apostle stretched his hand toward the flesh masses and chanted another spell.

This time, two black ghost crawled up stealthily from underground.

The Apostle murmured in a low voice toward the ghosts approaching them.

“O,Corrupted power of death.”

Following the Apostle’s guidance, the black wraiths each entered the masses of flesh.

When the ghosts entered, the giant masses of flesh began pulsating like living hearts.

KUNG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG!

The Apostle approached the flesh masses, chanting while taking out a black dagger.

An ominous power resided in the dagger engraved with grotesque demon figures.

The Apostle pointed the dagger at the pulsating flesh masses.

“I bestow new power upon corrupted death.”

Simultaneously, the Apostle sliced one of the flesh masses.

CHWAAAK!

Black liquid poured out from the split flesh mass like a bursting water sack.

The dark mages in ash-colored robes watching from behind gulped.

KIGIGIGIGIK!

Then something began walking out from inside the split flesh mass making grotesque sounds.

A skeletal knight wearing black armor walked out holding a sword and shield.

“Th-that’s!”

The dark mages in ash-colored robes were shocked with pale faces.

‘D-Death Knight!’

A Death Knight, the corrupted spirit knight existing at the pinnacle of undead, had revealed itself in the physical realm.

But it didn’t end there.

The Apostle sliced the other flesh mass with the dagger.

Another being making grotesque sounds walked out from inside.

An undead wearing old robes with a rusted crown on its head and jewels embedded in both eyes.

“A-Arch Lich!”

The Death Knight and Arch Lich approached the Apostle and knelt.

An eerie voice flowed from the Death Knight.

『My name is Luis Marchisio. I offer my sword of worship and praise to the Apostle of Death and Darkness.』

Then the Arch Lich also stated its name.

『My name is Verdi Albici. I offer blood-stained glory to the Apostle of Death and Darkness.』

The Apostle spoke to Luis and Verdi who had become a Death Knight and Arch Lich.

“The great power of darkness has granted you new life. Do you swear allegiance to the One who sleeps beyond the abyss?”

『I swear upon my corrupted sword and shield.』

『I swear upon my tainted intellect and robes.』

“Good. Your enemy who killed you cruelly is inside. Go and take revenge on the one who corrupted your soul and killed you.”

The Death Knight and Arch Lich’s eyes glowed as they spoke simultaneously.

『We shall offer the enemy’s blood and soul to the Apostle』

The Death Knight and Arch Lich rose from their places.

Then the Arch Lich stretched their hand toward the dead Paladins’ corpses.

WOOOONG!

Ominous energy burst forth from his corrupted robes.

KWADUDUK!

The ominous energy enveloped the dead Paladins’ bodies.

Then skeleton knights armed with black armor rose from the Paladins’ corpses.

KUGOONG!

The skeleton knights prostrated themselves before the Death Knight and Arch Lich holding swords and shields.

The Arch Lich cast magic again to summon ghost horses.

KRURURURU!

More like magical beasts than horses, they had manes of blue flames.

The Death Knight mounted the ghost horse skillfully as if it had been his original horse.

The dark mages in ash-colored robes were overwhelmed by the might of the undead army created in an instant and stood with their mouths agape.

Then the Apostle spoke to the mages.

“Kill Zeke Draker with the death legion and bring the holy relic. If you fail again, I will take your souls as sacrifices for the great constellations.”

The mages trembled in fear and knelt before the Apostle.

“W-we will obey the Apostle’s words!”

The Apostle glared at the dark mages, then turned around and waved their hand.

A black portal appeared on the firmly closed giant door.

WOOOONG!

The death legion slowly entered the black portal.

That’s when it happened.

WUDUDUDUDUK!

The body of the Apostle who opened the portal suddenly began to twist grotesquely.

“KUHEOEOK!”

In an instant, the figure of the Apostle wearing black robes disappeared, and in its place stood an abyss dark mage, twisted like a mummy with all life force drained.

“KUAAAAK!”

With a scream, the dark mage’s body shriveled and melted away.

CHIIIIK!

The remaining mages trembled in fear watching their fellow mage turn into a handful of blood water.

‘We absolutely must not fail this mission!’

They entered the ruins before the portal closed.

The death legion was approaching Zeke.

* * *

“Where does this ruin even end? It’s endless.”

Zeke walked and walked deep inside the ruins for a long time to find the holy relic.

After walking for who knows how long, when the narrow corridor with nothing in it ended, a massive wall carved with intricate relief murals appeared in front.

“Wow, what’s this?.”

The murals were carved into a solid wall over ten meters high.

It was a different style from the historical records seen previously in the bird tribe ruins.

In the murals, the figures’ bodies faced forward while their faces were turned to the side.

‘What does this mean?’

First, like in the bird tribe ruins, Zeke took pictures of the relief murals’ contents and saved them in the secure archive folder.

As he slowly examined the murals, something caught Zeke’s eye.

“This shape is…”