Episode 221
A whirlwind of fiery energy swirled around the feet of the Blood Duke, and as it did, crimson runes began to etch themselves onto his body. It was the ultimate symbol of the Red Tower Master’s power, the arcane tome known as the Book of Blood.
“Oh my, are you planning to take us on a nostalgic trip down memory lane?” Arachne teased, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“…”
The Marquis of Eurys remained silent, not rising to her bait.
“Why do you serve the Lord of Truth, master of deception that you are?” she pressed.
“Have you ever considered that those who pursue lies more beautiful than truth are, in fact, the ones most obsessed with truth itself?” Arachne countered.
“In seeking a ‘truthful lie,’ you can never escape the shadow of the Shadow Lord. In the end, aren’t we all just slaves to truth?”
“Do you really think a mere upstart from Saxon is fit to be the ‘Lord of Truth’?”
“Who knows?” Arachne laughed, clearly amused.
“As you said, both I and the sorceress of the Blue Tower have withdrawn from the War of the Roses. Except for one, ‘Mistress Titania,’ who remains involved as a stakeholder.”
“…I see.”
With that, the Blood Duke’s circle ceased its rotation, and the raging flames began to die down.
“Even for you, taking such a risk for a mere heir is unexpected.”
“…”
The Blood Duke did not respond immediately.
“It was an experiment, throwing over a hundred children with blood magic potential into the sewers to find the last survivor.”
After a pause, the Blood Duke spoke.
“That child, Ray, survived to the end. When I came for him, he smiled at me.”
“…”
“‘I’ve been waiting for you, Father.’ Those were his first words to me.”
“So you decided to become his father? How touching, a tale of fatherly love that brings tears to the eyes,” Arachne laughed, unable to contain her amusement. But the Blood Duke did not join in her laughter.
“We can never be the truth. The world will end in ice. You’re right. No matter how much we extol the virtues of lies, we are nothing but imitations that can never become the truth.”
Arachne remained silent.
“This world is filled with harsh truths beyond what we mortals can bear, and we are nothing but fakes trying to escape from those inescapable truths.”
“…”
Arachne stayed silent, and the Blood Duke smiled.
“Return, Lord of Fire and Blood,” Arachne finally said.
“The influence of our Blue Tower in your war ends here. I promise you that on my name.”
“This war won’t end here,” the Blood Duke replied coldly.
“As long as the Lords of Gold and Shadow exist, even if this war ends, another will begin. And until either lies or truth disappear, the war will not end. When the next war comes, will you still remain silent?”
“Of course not. The war between gold and shadow, truth and lies, has only just begun,” Arachne laughed.
“But at least we will withdraw from this battle, and I can assure you of ‘Ray Eurys’s’ safety. Is there anything more you desire?”
“…”
A brief silence fell.
“I accept your proposal,” the Blood Duke finally said, turning away. He had ventured into enemy territory alone for his son, and his courage was rewarded. For the Marquis of Eurys, nothing more was needed.
The hellish web spun by the Blue Tower Master finally came to an end, as if it had all been a lie.
The spiders that had been devouring the soldiers of John Lancaster’s side vanished, and in their shock, the soldiers regained their senses. They were no longer in the frozen tundra of the north but back in the familiar campgrounds of the Lancaster Duchy.
“Now’s the time.”
One of Dale’s subordinates whispered, and a magical flare shot up into the sky.
“Now, proud swords of Lancaster!”
At the same time, a knight with a red and white rose emblazoned on her white armor lowered her helmet and rallied her cavalry.
Charlotte Lancaster.
The main forces gathered at Lancaster Castle remained still. But it was impossible to track the small elite group of Rose Cross Knights led by Charlotte. Especially in a situation filled with such turmoil.
Charlotte’s cavalry numbered only about five hundred.
But with the Blue Tower’s machinations disrupting the main forces, the significance of ‘five hundred cavalry’ was anything but trivial.
Especially when led by a swordsman known as the ‘Heavenly Sword,’ one of the continent’s Seven Swords.
“Charge!”
The Rose Cross Knights supporting Charlotte Lancaster began to ravage the panicked enemy forces.
Boom!
They broke through the disordered ranks, trampling soldiers underfoot, their spears piercing through flesh and bone.
As Charlotte’s sword danced, petals of plum blossoms began to scatter.
Charlotte was no longer just a knight. She was a force capable of turning the tide of battle single-handedly.
The supreme swordsmanship of the legendary swordmaster Vardel Orhart unfolded there.
Petals of blades scattered.
As the soldiers regained their senses from the madness sown by the Blue Tower Master and the sorceresses, they found themselves facing the Heavenly Sword and the Rose Cross cavalry.
“The Heavenly Sword, it’s the Heavenly Sword!”
“Ch-Charlotte Lancaster…!”
Draped in a surcoat with the red and white rose, Charlotte Lancaster swung her sword.
Lancaster was synonymous with ruthless nobility.
True to its name, the petals of blades mercilessly slaughtered her enemies.
Slash!
Blood sprayed everywhere. No matter how thick the wall of shields, it couldn’t stop the petals of blades. Especially when the soldiers had just been floundering in the enemy’s illusions.
A flower of death bloomed, and the petals soaked in blood scattered.
“Th-The Black Prince…!”
In a panic, John Lancaster drew his sword. Ray glanced at him and spoke.
“Could you wait a moment?”
“For what?”
“I need to silence this trash.”
With that, Ray reached out.
Crack!
“Gah, ugh…! Y-You…!”
Ray lifted the heavily armored John Lancaster with one hand, turning his head slightly.
“I never liked you from the start.”
His expression was devoid of any emotion. Dale, too, watched silently.
There was no reason to refuse someone else dealing with an enemy for him.
John Lancaster’s neck snapped, his limbs going limp like a puppet with its strings cut.
Thud!
Ray Eurys tossed aside John Lancaster’s lifeless body and turned his head.
At the same time, the landscape beneath their feet began to warp.
A world of white and darkness, and in response, Ray Eurys revealed ‘his world.’
“…”
It was a world of ash, like a desolate ruin after an apocalypse. But it was not Dale’s otherworld.
It was the end of this world.
A world destroyed by fire.
“This world will not end in ice. I won’t let it,” Ray Eurys declared.
“I have no interest in the end of the world. Why are you so fixated on it?”
“Because changing the inevitable truth of this world is our duty.”
The unavoidable end, the Big Freeze.
It was a future so distant and unimaginable, spanning eons. Dale couldn’t understand why the Golden Emperor, the Blood Duke, and the heralds of lies were so obsessed with it.
“As I said, it doesn’t matter to me,” the Shadow Lord replied coldly, embodying the very essence of the universe’s winter and primordial darkness.
Sitting on the black-gold throne made of tendrils.
─ Ah, another interesting human has come!
Beside Dale, Shub grinned, her grotesque tendrils caressing Dale’s body, causing Ray to frown.
At the same time, black and red magic began to swirl at his feet.
In Ray’s world, the ashes gathered, forming human silhouettes.
Knights of Ashes.
It was a scene reminiscent of a necromancer commanding his undead, and Dale responded in kind, extending his arm. Unmoving on the black-gold throne.
Knights of ice and darkness, forged from thought, stood there.
Two lords faced each other, and for their lords, the knights clashed.
Ice and darkness, and ashes.
The Knights of Ashes surged forward, and within their ashen forms, embers began to ignite.
Crackle, crackle!
At first, it was just a faint spark, as if it might extinguish at any moment. But soon, it blazed like a wildfire. Encircled by the searing flames, the knights of ash charged forward.
Opposing them were the knights of Dale, armed with darkness and cold.
They surged forth, embodying the chill of the apocalypse, a truth that could not be avoided.
Clang!
Each time their swords clashed, the icy chill of the apocalypse traveled down the blades, enveloping the knights of ash, freezing the flames and cinders in their tracks.
All within a single sword’s reach.
“You cannot defeat me. The difference in our power is too obvious.”
The Shadow Lord declared.
”…”
Ray Eurys bit his lip softly. The Shadow Lord was right.
The truth was that his existence could never even reach the Shadow Lord’s feet. Another undeniable truth.
Why is the truth always so cruel and merciless? He couldn’t understand.
‘It is our duty to change these cruel truths, Ray.’
His father’s words came to mind unbidden. The apostles of falsehood, resolved to resist the inescapable cruel truth.
And so, Ray gritted his teeth.
“This is just the beginning.”
He awakened the grimoire that once belonged to the Demon King Balor, now fused with his heart… the Book of Cold Ash.