Episode 230
Beyond the Demon King’s domain lay the land of darkness, a place where even sunlight barely penetrated. In the twilight, eerie cries echoed.
It was a land as strange as the deep sea on land, and even the creatures that lived there were no exception.
Yet, in this foreboding place where even the battle-hardened horses of the north dared not tread, a father and son walked side by side.
They paid no heed to the swarming monsters rushing to hunt them.
Dale extended his arm, and shadows scattered from his fingertips. Without a single incantation, bullets of darkness rained down.
These shadow bullets were more powerful than anything before, mercilessly slaughtering the beasts of the demon realm.
After delivering the blow, Dale glanced sideways.
His father, Duke Saxon, spoke calmly.
“It seems we should make camp for the night.”
“Yes.”
Dale nodded silently at his father’s words.
They traveled without servants or attendants, not even knights to guard them, each carrying their own heavy packs.
After finding a suitable spot to spend the night, Dale kindled a fire on the demon land.
“You’re using red magic.”
Crackle, crackle.
As the fire crackled, the Black Duke spoke.
“It’s a power I gained through Shub’s strength, against the Purifiers of the Red Tower.”
“Yes, you faced them during the Rose War in the Grand Duchy of Lancaster.”
The Black Duke nodded quietly.
By now, the meat of a beast Dale had hunted was roasting over the fire.
“The meat seems ready.”
“I think it’s about time to eat.”
“Hmm, yes.”
The Black Duke awkwardly reached out, unfamiliar with cooking. Dale chuckled and said, “Let me handle it, Father.”
”…Alright, please do.”
Dale sprinkled spices he had brought for such occasions and skewered the meat for both of them.
“Thank you.”
‘It’s almost like camping with my father.’
Though family meals at the ducal estate were not uncommon, sharing a campfire and eating hunted game was a novel experience.
Even if their destination was the darkest and most ominous land on the continent.
“Thank you, Father.”
“For what?”
“For everything you’ve given me.”
The Black Duke smiled gently at Dale’s words.
“We should have talked like this more often.”
“It’s not too late now.”
“Yes, you’re right.”
The Black Duke nodded quietly.
So much had happened. The truth about Dale and Elena had come to light, yet this man never showed weakness. Still, within his shadow, there was always a part of him that cried like a child. As a father, the weight he carried was something Dale could hardly fathom.
“What about your relationship with Lady Charlotte?”
”…”
At that moment, the Black Duke asked. It was no longer a light question. Now that he knew Dale’s truth. Yet Charlotte of Saxon still did not know.
That he was the hated hero who had defeated her father.
“Did you save her to atone for your past?”
“To be honest, partly, yes,” Dale admitted. “But also because her talent shone brighter than anything else.”
“Indeed.”
The Black Duke nodded quietly.
“You are not as ruthless as you think. Just as Elena was not the cunning sorceress she believed herself to be.”
”…”
“You simply have the calmness to decide what needs to be done when necessary. Just like you.”
Dale couldn’t respond immediately, only managing a bitter smile. He didn’t know what to say.
Seeing the truth in people doesn’t always require otherworldly abilities. At least in this, the Black Duke had insight.
“As the head of the Saxon family, you already have the qualifications.”
“Thank you for saying so.”
Dale smiled and bowed his head.
“But you’re still too vigorous to step down, Father.”
“There is a chance that not all of us will return alive from the Shadow Tower.”
At that moment, the Black Duke spoke. Dale swallowed hard at his words.
“And if one of us must die, I hope it will be me, not you.”
“That won’t happen.”
Dale shook his head quietly.
“I won’t let it.”
“Yes, you’re very reliable.”
The Black Duke smiled.
Crackle, crackle.
The campfire between them flickered, scattering embers. In those embers, the image of Ray Eurys overlapped. A fleeting flame destined to burn out in the cold and darkness.
In the freezing cold, wrapped in blankets, the two slept.
For ordinary people, this dark land would be a place where freezing to death was not unusual, but they were far from ordinary.
Humans teetering on the edge of human limits.
Wrapped in his blanket, Dale listened quietly to the surrounding silence.
Could they reach the Shadow Tower where the Immortal Duke Frederick resided and achieve their goal?
To defeat him and claim the title of Shadow Lord, becoming the ruler of the continent? He didn’t know. Dale only knew he had things he must protect, and he couldn’t just sit idly by. That was all.
To climb higher.
It was then.
In the darkness, he sensed a presence. Suspicious, to say the least.
And in this land of darkness, that could only mean one thing.
A shriek pierced the air. Simultaneously, shadows writhed madly in the surrounding darkness.
‘Shadow sorcerers…!’
Dale quickly rose, but it was then.
The Black Duke had already risen, extending his arm toward the writhing shadows.
“Reveal yourselves, specters of shadow.”
Eight circles accelerated from beneath his feet, and darkness spread like a living thing. The living shadows reached out, and soon hundreds of arms bound the presences hidden within the shadows like chains.
Like prisoners bound in chains, robed sorcerers were dragged into view.
But beneath their robes lay deep shadows, obscuring their forms. Soon, the robes were removed, and Dale swallowed hard at what lay beyond.
There was no flesh or bone.
Silhouettes made entirely of shadow knelt in unison.
Sorcerers of the shadow, living in this land of darkness, without a doubt.
And within their shadows, their truth was revealed. Loyal to the Immortal Duke, and further, servants to the Eldritch.
The Black Duke regarded them with an emotionless expression.
“Do you intend to block our path?”
“Hehe, no, of course not.”
One shadow chuckled.
“We were merely ordered by the Tower Master to escort the two of Saxon with respect.”
The Tower Master of the Shadow Tower, the founder of Saxon, the Immortal Duke Frederick.
”…”
The Black Duke remained silent for a moment.
After the silence, he snapped his fingers.
Crack!
A sound of something bursting. The intangible shadow shattered like a human skull breaking.
One by one, their shadows burst, and the shadow sorcerers’ expressions froze.
The last one.
“Return to the Immortal Duke of Saxon and deliver my message.”
The Black Duke spoke to him with an emotionless expression.
“According to ancient law, we will determine the king of shadows, and the trial must be equal for all, including the Immortal Duke.”
“Understood.”
One shadow sorcerer bowed with a sinister smile. The Black Duke waved his hand, and the shadowy arms binding him melted back into the ground.
Once again, only Dale and the Black Duke, the father and son, remained.
“It seems this journey won’t be easy.”
“I was prepared for that.”
His father spoke with concern, and Dale shook his head calmly.
Once defeated by the Golden Empire, the Shadow Empire had fallen and crumbled.
The Immortal Duke Frederick and the Eldritch were merely remnants who had fled from the Golden Lord.
But Dale had no intention of becoming a remnant hiding at the world’s end.
Therefore, he had a duty to prove himself before those in this ruined empire.
The shadows would rise again, and the ancient war between gold and shadow would begin anew.
And the one to lead the shadows in that war would be him.
But it was not a battle waged for ancient fanaticism or belief. As his father said, he had no intention of being a puppet of the shadows any longer.
This was no holy war.
It was simply a task that had to be done, a mission to protect what needed safeguarding.
A war to prepare for peace.
Despite the irony, Dale took another step into the land of shadows.
With the most dependable father in the world by his side.
The ruins of the Shadow Empire, defeated by the Golden Empire and driven to the world’s end.
The Shadow Tower.
It was there that the former lords of Saxon had gathered. They knelt before the one who stood at the pinnacle of the Shadow Tower, the Immortal Duke Frederick.
“I can feel my daughter drawing near.”
The Immortal Duke spoke softly.
“My beloved daughter, Liese, is coming closer to her father.”
His voice was filled with an obsession beyond compare.
“My children, a trial awaits you.”
The Immortal Duke announced. At his words, the Eldritch, cloaked in black robes, exhaled a sound like wind escaping from beneath their hoods.
“Brother.”
It was then.
A woman cloaked in robes spoke from beside the Immortal Duke. Like him, she was wrapped in black bandages—a young girl.
“In accordance with ancient tradition, I urge you to refrain from using underhanded tactics.”
”…”
“This trial must be conducted with fairness. All who claim the title of Shadow Lord are no exception.”
The Immortal Duke fell into a deep, ominous silence at her words.
“Even if it is you, Brother.”