Episode 114
Mikhail’s crimson and white Peacemaker clashed against the shadowy blade.
Here, there was no longer any “Enforcer of Peace” to protect him.
As the Shadow Lord, Dale had submerged the area into a lake of darkness, summoning his creations. Shadow Stalkers and Shadow Knights surged forward at their lord’s command.
To wage war between the two.
“Your growth is truly astonishing, befitting the name of the ‘Black Prince.’”
Amidst the onslaught from all directions, Mikhail Lancaster let out a bitter smile. Yet, despite the relentless attacks, there was no sign of anxiety or disturbance in his demeanor.
This man was strong. Even Dale, who was growing stronger by the day, could not afford to be complacent against him.
But Dale’s caution towards Mikhail Lancaster wasn’t solely due to his strength.
‘This man is dangerous.’
His obsession with the otherworldly hero, and the true nature of the “peace” he sought with the Peacemaker in hand.
Dale wasn’t one to talk, but this man harbored truly absurd and perilous ideas.
A monster of peace.
In the end, was he just another noble of the Empire? No, Dale found it amusing that he had ever thought Mikhail Lancaster might be different. Different? Not at all. Dale had never truly believed he was different.
He simply hadn’t realized that the hesitation and integrity Mikhail showed in the fight club were so twisted in nature. With that thought, he burst into laughter.
Cruel nobility. The red and white aura symbolizing the “power” of the Red Tower and the “hypocrisy” of the White Tower.
It was Dale himself who had pulled the trigger.
The unforgettable, bitter defeat of that day. And the peace he had gained as an otherworldly hero.
Mikhail Lancaster was no exception. Like those who struggled in vain to escape Dale’s shadow, his “nobility” simply hadn’t accepted that fact yet.
Suppressing the laughter that threatened to escape, Dale launched himself forward.
The shadowy prosthetic hand wielded the jet-black demon sword, “Gluttony.” Simultaneously, the Shadow Knights, each holding a replica of “Gluttony,” charged in unison.
Shadow Knights, created by merging the “Shadow Cloak” and “Gluttony” through the resonance of darkness.
The dark knights, loyal to the command of the “Shadow Lord,” all aimed their swords at Mikhail Lancaster. A critical strike that even Mikhail Lancaster could not evade.
It was at that moment.
Amidst the rushing onslaught, the red and white aura emanating from Mikhail surged like a storm.
”……!”
Dale’s movements halted abruptly. He swallowed quietly.
“Oh, my….”
There stood the apostle of fire and light.
No longer a mere human, but a “Knight of Fire and Light,” scattering radiant flames.
A knight who illuminated the world like the sun, with flames as fierce as the sun’s heat.
Light surged forth. It was the light of dawn, brightening the dark pre-dawn hours.
Dale’s shadow creations crumbled before the light, as if their existence was intolerable.
Even Dale himself was overwhelmed by the power emanating from Mikhail Lancaster’s “avatar,” as if he were a vampire facing the midday sun.
Simultaneously, the dark knights moved to swallow that very sun.
“Please forgive us, Viscount Sachsen.”
Before he knew it, two female knights supporting the “Black Prince” had their aura blades poised. Lady Black and Lady Shadow.
Yet, they did not deploy their “avatars” against the knight who had revealed his.
They understood that Mikhail Lancaster’s sword bore no intent to kill. Dale understood this as well. That was why he did not deploy his own “avatar” when Mikhail revealed his.
The point of the two knights’ swords was a message of loyalty, a refusal to tolerate any disrespect before their lord.
“──I instinctively felt threatened by Prince Dale’s strike.”
Mikhail Lancaster revealed his “avatar” for only a fleeting moment. The apostle of fire and light. Before long, the aura vanished from his body, and he knelt quietly before Dale.
“Without using the avatar, it would have been a fatal blow I couldn’t survive.”
He continued speaking calmly, driving his sword vertically into the ground.
Behind him, the two female knights held their crimson and black aura blades aimed at his neck and chest.
“Once again, I’ve been defeated twice now.”
”…….”
“You truly live up to the name of the ‘Black Prince.’”
Yet, there was no trace of a “defeated man” in his voice. It was clear. This was merely a show to impress Dale. Thus, Dale remained silently observant.
Before the fleeting light scattered by the sun, the “shadows” that had enveloped the area had vanished.
Even the shadow creations were no exception. The artifact “Shadow Cloak” itself seemed to writhe in agony before Mikhail’s light.
Fragments of shadow scattered throughout the fortress were drawn towards Dale’s feet.
As he sheathed the demon sword “Gluttony” back into the scabbard on his sword belt, Dale spoke.
“Unfortunately, if we wish for any more ‘peace,’ my fortress might not survive.”
“I agree.”
Simultaneously, the red and white aura imbued in Mikhail’s sword dissipated, and he too sheathed the Peacemaker.
“Prince Mikhail of Lancaster, as the Viscount of Sachsen, representing the ducal house….”
After sheathing his sword, Viscount Sachsen, Dale, bowed respectfully.
“──Welcome to the land of the Demon King.”
Here, as the ruler of the Northern Demon King’s domain.
The labyrinth city of Labyrinthos, governed by Viscount Sachsen.
As the frenzy of the “Artifact Rush” swept through, the city was filled with those dreaming of striking it rich, and dawn descended upon the city.
Without bothering to conceal his identity, Mikhail Lancaster registered with the adventurer’s guild and was immediately granted S-rank adventurer status, allowing him access to the “deep layers.”
This brought the number of S-rank adventurers with access to the labyrinth’s depths to twelve. Faceless, Mikhail Lancaster, the monster hunter Drake, and Edward, the second son of the Dulles Count family leading the “noble faction adventurers,” among others. The remaining eight adventurers were also being identified through Dale’s information network.
It was the power of the guild city, which had woven an information network like a spider’s web across the Empire, alongside the “Shadow Court.”
The adventurer rank was ostensibly a certification granted by Viscount Sachsen to prevent incidents within the labyrinth. At least, officially, that was the case.
In reality, it was also a mechanism to identify the strong who were drawn to the north by the Artifact Rush.
No overwhelming force on the level of the continent’s Seven Swords had yet appeared. However, the Empire and the royal family would not idly watch as the development of the labyrinth city and the Demon King’s domain proceeded smoothly.
But that was not a matter to consider immediately.
At that time, a secret envoy from the Calimala Guild, which regularly traveled to and from the Sachsen Viscountcy, arrived with “very confidential information.”
Viscount Sachsen’s office, Dale’s study.
The envoy from the Calimala Guild paid his respects before the “Viscount Sachsen.”
Among the seven great guilds of the guild city, the Calimala Guild’s master, who reigned as the “City Master,” had only one thing to convey to Dale regularly.
The city master’s envoy spoke.
“The lion has roared… and the cicada dances on the maiden’s shoulder.”
At those words, Dale nodded calmly.
“The jester builds bricks, the priests feast on animals, and the traveler assaults the wind.”
“Has the gold donned clothes?”
“No, the gold remains unclothed.”
“Has the wind borne the traveler’s child?”
“Triplets, all daughters.”
“How many animals have the priests consumed?”
“They’ve eaten three roosters and five eggs, with two eggs broken. And the priests have stolen horses and fled.”
“Black horses?”
“No, two white horses and six brown horses, all ‘warhorses.’”
Warhorses. At that, Dale’s expression momentarily twitched.
“Not breeding horses, then.”
“Yes, all warhorses.”
It was a conversation as cryptic as a dialogue between madmen, and even the city master’s envoy did not know what it meant. Only two people understood its significance: Dale and the city master.
That day, the contract made between Dale and the Calimala Guild’s master in the guild city.
What flowed from his lips was the transaction details recorded in the “City Master’s Ledger.”
The information recorded by the seven great guilds of the guild city, which had taken root throughout the Empire, detailing all their transactions.
It was impossible to simply memorize the “ledger’s transaction details” and send someone to Dale.
And so, they spoke in the form of a prearranged code.
The conversation continued in a manner that was utterly unpredictable, and each time, Dale’s quill moved swiftly across the page.
“Thank you for your efforts.”
At last, the discussion came to an end, and Viscount Sachsen offered a quiet smile.
“As for the request to expand the Calimala Guild’s trading post, we’ve already secured a location on Guild Street and are in negotiations with the stonemasons’ union.”
“Th-thank you!”
“Furthermore, a patent granting ‘tax privileges’ in the name of Viscount Sachsen will soon be issued on Guild Street. I remember well the ‘sincerity’ the Calimala Guild has shown.”
Dale smiled meaningfully, and the envoy of the city master, who also acted as the interim guild master of Calimala, quickly bowed his head.
“Of course, Viscount Sachsen!”
Give and take.
Even the continent’s foremost commercial organization, the Guild City, was not immune to the artifact rush and the winds of the northern frontier era that Dale had brought. Thus, the bond between Dale and them, particularly with the Calimala Guild, was exceptionally unique.
As the ruler of the Labyrinth City and the Northern Demon Realm, Dale had his own ambitions.
Soon, the city master’s envoy departed, and Dale glanced over his shoulder at the glass window. Even in the frozen lands of the Demon Realm, the sun rose as always, scattering its light—a symbol of fire and illumination.
It was far too early to conclude his duties as Viscount Sachsen.
Yet, Dale rose quietly, ready to undertake tasks that could only be accomplished now.
Not as the ruler of the Demon Realm, nor as Viscount Sachsen.
But as the faceless one, the S-rank adventurer known only as “Faceless.”