Episode 186
Jack the Ripper. The name alone sent a shiver down Dale’s spine.
“I’ve been expecting you, the ‘Black Prince’ of Saxon.”
Jack spoke, and Dale was struck by an unexpected sense of familiarity. The man wore a mask with a grotesque grin, like a crescent moon.
“The Laughing Man…”
Dale muttered under his breath.
“What does that mask signify?”
“When attending a masquerade, everyone hides behind a facade. I’m no exception,” Jack replied with a sly smile.
“Do you believe in the existence of God?”
”…”
“Ah, never mind. But surely you believe in the existence of the devil.”
Jack’s words echoed in Dale’s mind, reminding him of something another “Laughing Man” had once said.
“Imagine a demon who could predict every event in this world, just as we predict the future by studying the guild city’s ledgers and the continent’s political landscape…”
A being that knows the exact position and momentum of every molecule in the universe. Laplace’s demon.
“I believe in the existence of demons. And this all-knowing demon can foresee everything that happens in this world and the future,” Jack continued.
“Like how to commit a crime without getting caught, or where to strike so the crime remains hidden in the shadows… The omniscient demon whispers these secrets to me.”
He adjusted his grip on the knife, standing over the lifeless body of a male prostitute.
“As you can see, I have no power of my own,” Jack said. “No magic, no aura, not even the strength to guarantee victory in a fight against an ordinary person.”
”…”
“But every time the demon whispers to me, I know. That’s how I’ve survived, even after tearing these bodies apart time and again.”
He flicked the blood off his blade.
“The people of the city curse my name daily, drowning in fear and terror as they walk the streets. Ah, there’s no thrill quite like discovering something new.”
Jack shivered with ecstasy, a sight that left Dale speechless.
“Isn’t it magnificent, Shadow Lord?”
“So, the demon whispered my identity to you as well.”
“Yes, that’s how I knew I’d meet you here.”
Jack smiled, the grotesque grin of the Laughing Man’s mask stretching across his face.
“What do you hope to gain from this meeting?”
“As a disciple of the omniscient demon, I’m here to convey our intentions to you, Prince.”
“Our intentions?”
“We are known as the ‘Consortium.’”
At that name, Dale’s expression hardened.
“Our leader hopes you’ll join us, Shadow Lord.”
“And you think I’ll just agree to that?”
Dale laughed at the notion.
“Oh, don’t misunderstand. We have no interest in gold or shadows.”
“No interest?”
“We seek only one thing: pleasure,” Jack said.
“The pleasure of slaughtering terrified prostitutes in the night, the intellectual pleasure of exploring forbidden knowledge hidden in the White Tower, the culinary pleasure of tasting the world’s most exquisite delicacies… Gold and shadows have no place in our pursuits.”
Dale remained silent.
“What do you say, Shadow Lord? Our Consortium desires the infamous ‘Black Prince’ to join us, beyond the battles of gold and shadow.”
“Let me ask you something.”
After a pause, Dale spoke.
“Did your demon also tell you this might be your grave?”
”…?”
Jack tilted his head in confusion.
“Did your demon whisper that you’re just a pawn, destined to be discarded after running your mouth here?”
Dale’s voice was laced with cold hatred, the pure revulsion and loathing one feels in the presence of evil.
“Did your demon fail to mention that I will never forgive scum like you?”
”…!”
For the first time, Jack’s expression faltered.
“Is your omniscient demon a fraud? Or did it plan to use you as a mere pawn all along?”
There’s no denying that Jack possesses the power of a disciple. Those who receive special powers from the divine beings watching us from above.
Most disciples bow to the omnipotent beings in the sky, just as the holy maiden who received the Sistine Sisters’ revelation did. Jack was no different.
The foolishness and blind faith were so laughable, words failed him.
“That can’t be…!”
Finally, Jack swallowed hard, visibly shaken.
“I know. I know how you’ll move, how to defeat you. The omniscient demon whispers to me constantly.”
In his desperation, Jack began to threaten with a murderous intent. It was almost laughable.
“Oh, really?”
At the same time, a chilling aura erupted from Dale’s body, forcing Jack to retreat.
“Ice Bullet, ‘Gatling Style.’”
Dale extended his arm again, not with shadows, but with the icy energy surging from his heart, crafting bullets.
A barrage of ice rained down, and Jack weaved through the hail of bullets. Yet, he seemed to know exactly where to be to avoid them, as if he could see the blind spots.
”…!”
Slash!
Jack’s blade swung, leaving a gash on Dale’s body.
Dale tried to counter with the Shadow Lord’s avatar, but Jack had already vanished behind him.
“See, I know everything. How you’ll act, how to bring you down.”
Jack sneered coldly.
“The omniscient demon, Laplace.”
Dale muttered.
“Oh, you know of the being I serve.”
“Then you must also know the names of the other ‘three demons.’”
Dale replied.
“Three demons…?”
Jack hesitated, swallowing hard at Dale’s question.
“Don’t you know the four great demons of scientific history? Ah, it seems you don’t.”
Finally, Jack’s movements showed signs of unease.
“Those fictional beings that could be debunked with a high school textbook, are they really the demons you speak of?”
“Fictional beings, you say?!”
These demons are merely byproducts of thought experiments conducted by ‘scholars from another world.’
How the beings of this world understand these concepts is unknown, but it wasn’t a concern at the moment.
“Those who think they know everything are usually the biggest fools.”
Dale sneered coldly.
“I can see the future. Your actions and movements, I see them all.”
With those words, Jack lunged. As he claimed, he calculated Dale’s every move, predicting how he would counter. Even the barrage of shadows and armor was no exception.
Black blood splattered.
Before a mere criminal who couldn’t even wield aura, the Shadow Lord’s body was being torn apart by his blade.
“See, this is the difference between those who know and those who don’t.”
Yet the Shadow Lord responded.
“If you’d had a proper education, you wouldn’t be spouting such nonsense.”
─ Hahaha!
With those words, Shub, who had been silently by Dale’s side, burst into laughter.
Dale accelerated the five circles once more. Among the black and blue, only the blue mana.
The icy energy within his blood exploded, enveloping the shadow armor.
It was armor made of the frost of the apocalypse.
At that moment.
”…!”
Jack’s movements came to a halt.
“You said the demon whispers to you.”
Dale, clad in the absolute zero armor, asked coldly.
“Is the demon still whispering this scene to you?”
The world of absolute zero. The Shadow Lord projected the winter of the universe onto the shadow armor.
“A-Aaaah…!”
The frost of the apocalypse began to spread from beneath the Shadow Lord’s feet. Simultaneously, he moved, wrapped in the absolute zero armor.
“N-No, don’t come any closer…!”
Jack began to tremble violently, as if in a seizure. The cosmic winter whispered by the omniscient demon, a terror beyond his limited perception, echoed in his ears.
“Ignorance is bliss, as they say.”
Dale muttered, as if it were someone else’s problem.
“You said you knew exactly how I’d react in a few seconds.”
“N-no, no, please, no…!”
Jack the Ripper began to thrash about as if in a seizure. Even now, through the whispers of the demon by his side, he was being enlightened with knowledge far beyond what any mere mortal could bear.
“Heh, hehehe, heh.”
The knife-wielding Jack dropped to his knees.
“Winter… winter is coming.”
”…”
“Winter is coming! A winter no one can escape is on its way!”
Dale watched him silently.
“Yes, that’s the truth. It’s the inescapable truth for everyone.”
After a moment, he continued calmly.
“For a mere extra, it’s a scale that’s just too grand to handle.”
Leaving the frothing madman behind.
Some time later, at the high court in Harlem, where a representative from the Grand Court was scheduled to make regular contact.
Leading a group of assassins in bird masks and coats, one of the judges from the Grand Court arrived.
However, it was not the head of the high court, McGee, who greeted him.
“Well, what brings such a distinguished guest to our humble abode?”
Master Baro asked, his feet propped up on the table.
Beside him, the Shadow Lord watched with an expression devoid of emotion.
“Ah, ahhh…!”
The judge’s face froze over with a chilling expression.
“Why did you betray the Shadow Goddess, Bishop Mars?”
“I-I, I just…!”
The judge of the Grand Court, Bishop Mars, fell silent. The assassins meant to protect him shifted their stance as they faced Master Baro and the Shadow Lord.
“Oh, there’s no need to worry.”
The Shadow Lord spoke.
“I merely wish to have a conversation.”
Calmly.
“A long, honest conversation, with nothing held back.”