Episode 153
“Did you say that beyond the Demon King’s territory, in the dark lands of the Demon Realm, lie the ‘Immortal Duke’ and the ancient Saxon clan?”
Dale asked, and the Black Duke nodded in confirmation.
“But that was in a past so distant it’s almost unimaginable…”
Dale trailed off, suppressing a chuckle that threatened to escape.
Beings that could hardly be called human ruled the Empire. These creatures had woven themselves into the fabric of the Empire’s history, changing their forms and identities over time. Just like the vampires at the pinnacle of the Red Tower, who sustain their eternal lives by drinking the blood of others.
Why would the Saxons be any different?
“The beings known as high demons are the inheritors of the ideology of the ‘Shadow Tower,’ established in the Demon Realm by the Immortal Duke and the ancient Saxons.”
“So, are they human too?”
“Some are, and some aren’t. But to survive in those dark lands, anyone with magical power becomes a shadow sorcerer of the Shadow Tower… and they are the true identity of what we call high demons.”
“Then the ‘ancient demons’ that people talk about, could they be…”
Dale continued.
“Another Saxon clan? Liches who have achieved immortality?”
“They are beings who have reached an even higher state.”
The Black Duke shook his head.
“──They are the Eldritch.”
“What are they?”
“They are the ultimate form of immortality pursued by the Black Tower, incomparable to mere liches.”
Dale couldn’t quite grasp it. After all, he didn’t know everything about this world.
“A lich is just someone running from death, hiding their life vessel to escape its reach. But the Eldritch… they deceive death itself.”
“And what does that mean?”
“They are deceivers of death.”
”…”
Dale couldn’t immediately understand that either. But one thing was clear: these beings were the true monsters of truth, far beyond the reach of the Black Tower’s extremists.
“So, when Demon King Balor fled the Demon Realm with the high demons, it means—”
“They fled from another Saxon.”
The great migration of demons was merely a struggle for survival, fleeing from the darkness of their homeland, the Demon Realm. It wasn’t hard to guess who ruled that realm.
“They fled from the ancient demons at the top of the Shadow Tower, from the Immortal Duke Frederick and the Eldritch.”
The Black Duke spoke, and Dale couldn’t help but laugh.
The Golden Empire was undoubtedly Dale’s enemy. Yet, even the shadows that the Shadow Church revered weren’t entirely his allies.
No, he was certain.
As long as Dale claimed the title of ‘Shadow Lord,’ the Shadow Tower and its rulers… the ancient Saxons who ruled the Demon Realm would never bow to him willingly.
In fact, they would likely hide their fangs, waiting for a chance to seize the ‘Throne of Shadows’ from him.
From the start, Dale stood in a place that was neither golden nor shadowed.
Fortunately, for now, the battlefield Dale would face was not the Demon Realm. It was merely the Demon King’s territory, where the remnants of the Demon King, desperately clinging to survival, resided.
Yet, if Dale and the Imperial Crusaders reached the dark lands at the edge of the Demon King’s territory, would the other Saxons, who maintained their silence beyond, continue to do so?
For now, it was an unknown.
”…I’ve started teaching Lize magic, as Father requested.”
Dale changed the subject with effort.
“What do you think of her?”
“She’s a child with Saxon blood and talent.”
Dale replied, and the Black Duke fell into a heavy silence.
“But Lize wishes for her magic to be the kind that truly amazes the people of this world.”
”…”
“That’s why I want to respect the path she chooses in magic.”
The Black Duke smiled bitterly.
“Not the darkness of our Saxons, but a magician who can bring wonder and mystery to the people of this world.”
“And if one day, she decides to inherit the ‘Saxon darkness’ of her own will?”
The Black Duke asked.
“When she becomes a black magician who carries on our legacy, what will you think?”
Dale fell silent at his father’s question.
“Now I understand why you and Mother hesitated so much.”
It’s inevitable that children can’t fully understand their parents’ hearts.
And equally inevitable that parents can’t fully understand their children’s hearts.
“Even so, I just want to respect Lize’s decision.”
Dale said.
“Until then, helping her find her path is the duty of family.”
“Yes, I’m glad to hear you say that.”
The Black Duke smiled quietly at Dale’s words. It was the unmistakable smile of a father thinking of his child, yet it held an inexplicable complexity.
Some time later, in the lord’s castle of the Demon King’s territory, ruled by the Saxon Viscount.
“Sir Yones.”
In one of the rooms, Dale called for the captain of the Black Armor Company, and Yones was there in response to the summons.
“You called for me, Captain.”
“Have a seat.”
Dale said.
“You’ve heard that the Church has declared a holy war and the Second Crusade is gathering.”
“Yes, we’re focusing on reorganizing and strengthening the Black Armor Company in response.”
“Good, and since we’re aiming to drive out the demons from the Demon King’s territory… there’s a good chance we’ll face battles on multiple fronts simultaneously, more than we can imagine.”
“We’re keeping that in mind as well.”
As the practical leader of the Black Armor Company, Sir Yones’s learning never ceased. Not just in physical training, but in strategy and leadership of the troops.
“Then it’s time to evaluate the results of your learning.”
Dale smiled at him.
“Trust me to perform well in the Crusade.”
“Who said anything about going to war right now?”
Sir Yones declared confidently, and Dale tilted his head in curiosity.
Dale pulled something from the table. Wooden pieces representing different military units, several maps, and a rulebook as thick as an encyclopedia.
“Let’s have a match.”
It was a war game, played with models of units and strict rules that simulated real warfare.
It wasn’t long before Yones muttered, “You play a mean game,” under his breath.
As the Empire’s strong gathered one by one to dispel the darkness of the Demon King’s territory, the expansion of barracks and construction projects within the territory seemed endless.
And as people gathered, the gold in their pockets began to circulate, transforming the Demon King’s territory and the Saxon Duchy into more than just a remote northern land.
Despite the harsh and barren northern tundra, countless people flocked to the area. They breathed life into the territory, boosting trade within the Demon King’s territory and bringing a golden wind to the entire northern region.
The Saxon Duchy was no longer a black bear curled up in the north. On the foundation laid by the Saxon Duke, the seeds Dale planted had sprouted and borne fruit, turning the Saxon Duchy into one of the most prosperous lands in the Empire.
Using the ledgers of the Guild City, Dale acquired information unknown to others, and the results of his land development projects began to show.
The wealth accumulating in the north was mostly in the name of the Saxon Duke, but the core of it, the ‘wealth within the Demon King’s territory,’ was not.
It was solely the property of the Saxon Viscount, Dale.
And with that wealth, Dale made an unprecedented shopping spree.
He selected the elite heavy infantry of the Black Armor Company and equipped them all with ‘artifacts.’
As the personal guard of the ‘Black Prince.’
The audacious idea of arming each soldier with priceless treasures. It wouldn’t be long before that idea shone brightly.
Some time later.
The war that didn’t start overnight, and as the years passed and months went by, the ‘war’ was now imminent.
Countless nobles from various nations of the Empire and their troops, gathered within the Demon King’s territory for the holy crusade.
The top leaders of the Crusade were assembled in a room of the Saxon lord’s castle.
The mission to drive out the remnants of demons within the Demon King’s territory and to draw a boundary with the Demon Realm beyond, turning it into ‘Saxon territory.’
The fact that the ‘other Saxons’ in the Demon Realm had remained silent until now suggested that they were unconcerned with the movements of the demons in the Demon King’s territory or the Empire.
In other words, if they drove out the demons from the Demon King’s territory and halted their advance at the entrance to the Demon Realm, the likelihood of clashing with the other Saxons was low.
“I deeply appreciate the passion and faith of the lords gathered here.”
After summarizing the information, Dale, as one of the representatives of the Crusade, began to speak.
He looked at the faces of the Empire’s strong gathered there, one by one.
Nobles from all corners of the empire, eager to make a name for themselves, and seasoned warriors who had already proven their worth, gathered to join the cause of the “Holy War.”
“And through the grace of the Sister Goddesses and your unwavering passion, we have finally gathered here to seize the opportunity to drive out the ‘Darkness of the Demon Realm.’”
“The Goddess wills it.”
At that moment, the Church’s swords, assembled for the sacred mission, raised their voices.
Another Master Templar spoke, and he was not alone. Alongside him were numerous White Elders, including the 7th Circle White Mage, Borenus.
But they were not the only ones.
“Prince Dale speaks the truth.”
Catherine of York, once betrothed to Philip and now representing the York family, spoke up. After the Second War of the Roses, she had annulled her engagement with the Count of Brandenburg and stood alone, leading the countless Blue Rose Knights of her house in support of the holy cause.
The imperial family, the Red Tower, and the most influential lords of the empire, including those from Lancaster and York, had gathered there. This was no mere alliance.
What they sought to undertake was a holy war, aiming to uproot the high-ranking demons and their kin within the Demon Realm.
Beyond the Demon Realm lay ancient darkness, the depths of which were unknown to them.
“The time has finally come.”
In that place, where the greatest army of the empire had assembled—an army incomparable even to the First Crusade—the war the Goddess desired had begun.