Episode 233
In the face of death, so many things become meaningless, too numerous to count. Yet, there are things that remain significant, even before death.
If death were to come for us tomorrow, what should we focus on? Even the most dazzling wealth and fame are mere mirages when confronted with death.
The god of death, with his six black wings, scattered his power alongside death.
Caw, caw!
A swarm of ravens descended, pecking at the ancient Saxon lords.
No magic or resistance could stop these ravens, as they hungrily tore at the Eldritch robes and the darkness hidden beneath.
A scream, as if a soul was being torn away, echoed through the air, while the Black Duke stood silent and unmoved.
A thought crossed my mind. Perhaps the Black Duke had acquired the grimoire, “The Scales of the Heart,” and allied with death precisely for this day.
He had anticipated the time when the Eldritch and Dale would face each other honorably. Though they were no match for the Black Duke, they were not mere opponents to be easily defeated.
But for Dale’s father, it was different. They were more like natural enemies.
Immortal beings, unaware of death, were desperately fleeing from the ravens that filled the sky.
Like the victims in Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” they were pitiful and desperate.
“The trial has only just begun.”
Yet, there was no sign of complacency in the Black Duke. He simply subdued the Eldritch blocking his path and continued forward.
Towards the top of the tower, where the Immortal Duke Frederick and the Mother of Saxon awaited.
“Ah, Alan. I’ve been expecting you.”
As he reached the upper levels of the tower, there was only one Eldritch present.
“Why have you forsaken the truth and left the embrace of your kin and mother, my shameful son?”
”…Father.”
“It’s not too late. Return to your family. Your mother and I are ready to forgive you.”
Unlike the ancient lords who had blocked the Black Duke’s path, this voice was clear and distinct.
Dale could only remain silent, unable to respond.
The Saxon lords, who chose immortality and became puppets of the Shadow Tower, were no exception, not even the Black Duke’s father.
“I am already with my family.”
The Black Duke replied, a sinister darkness writhing beneath his hood.
“Are you so bewitched by the blue that you would commit atrocities against your mother’s sons, your brothers?”
”…This is my will.”
“Then, do you intend to strike down even your father without hesitation?”
“Step aside, Father.”
“I cannot, my son.”
“Then I have no choice.”
The Black Duke spoke.
“Dale, go forward. This is as far as I can guide you.”
”…Understood.”
“I cannot allow that.”
Dale nodded silently, and the Black Duke’s father reached out his arm.
Whoosh!
“Neither can I.”
”…You truly drive a stake into your parents’ hearts.”
A darkness unlike any other Eldritch swirled around them. But it was the Black Duke’s task to confront it.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he unfurled his six black wings against his father.
“Wait for me, Father.”
Leaving that scene behind, Dale did not hesitate.
Reaching the end of the Shadow Tower, the Black Duke’s display of dark power and magic marked the end of his tutelage for his successor.
From here on, Dale must fight alone.
It was time to move forward and claim the throne of the Shadow Empire.
To the pinnacle of the Shadow Tower, where the Mother of Saxon and the Immortal Duke awaited.
“So, you’re the son of my brother.”
On the next level, where the Black Duke faced his father, the Immortal Duke and Lady Persephone were still absent.
Instead, another Eldritch stood there.
“Brother…?”
“Our Saxon kin all share one mother. What difference does it make?”
The Eldritch spoke, and Dale couldn’t help but think how absurd it was.
‘What a tangled family tree.’
“Usurper claiming the title of Shadow Lord. I cannot let you reach where my wife, mother, and father reside.”
Wife, mother, and father. The meaning was clear. It was a lineage so twisted it was hard to unravel.
The Immortal Duke Frederick and Lady Persephone’s son, who also claimed her as his wife to preserve Saxon’s bloodline. Through the generations, down to Dale’s father, the Black Duke.
“I have the right. And I am undertaking the trial accordingly.”
“Defeating you here is also part of the rightful trial.”
“Indeed.”
Dale nodded, and the circle engraved on his heart began to accelerate.
The realm of the sixth circle, plus the circle left by the blue veil for his son.
A total of seven circles accelerated, and the shadows of those circles began to accelerate as well.
Fourteen circles spun, engulfing the world around him.
This was not the same Dale who had been helpless before the Immortal Duke. Even Dale, who grew stronger by the day, couldn’t fully grasp the extent of his current power.
In a sense, this was the perfect opponent to test his abilities before the real battle.
The avatar of the Shadow Lord, the armor of the abyss wrapped around Dale’s body.
The circle of Shub, entwined with the shadow heart, scattered endless darkness.
Simultaneously, an incomprehensible sense of omnipotence consumed Dale’s consciousness.
Following the accelerating circles, the primordial darkness felt like clay in a child’s hands.
He experimented by condensing the shadows into a form.
A soldier wielding a weapon.
At the same time, life was breathed into the shadowy creation.
“Do you think I’ll let a usurper like you reach my father…!”
The soldier began to move. The sword in its hand swung, and the son of the Immortal Duke shouted.
Clang!
Tentacles rose from beneath the Eldritch, mercilessly consuming the shadow soldier.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
The son of the Immortal Duke mocked as he devoured Dale’s shadow creation. But Dale remained silent and composed.
He simply reached out again.
The circle accelerating along the shadow heart spewed primordial darkness, and Dale began to mold it.
More soldiers.
‘These could be anything. So why did I create swordsmen?’
There was no need for that.
After questioning himself, he waved his arm. The weapons held by the soldiers changed shape.
They became soldiers wielding firearms.
The darkness Dale created held the potential to become anything. Thus, he crafted what he desired from the shadows.
Soldiers with automatic rifles. They pulled the triggers, and bullets began to rain down.
“Do you think you can claim the title of Shadow King with mere bolt magic?”
The Eldritch roared, unleashing tentacles from the darkness. Indeed, to this being, it was merely fast, lethal bolt magic. It wasn’t suitable for use against a high-level mage.
“Perhaps.”
Once more, the Shadow Lord extended his arm.
“──Let there be fire.”
Dale murmured. Simultaneously, his shadow molded something like clay and hurled it at the Eldritch.
Finally, the darkness peeled away, revealing its true form.
Hellfire raged.
It was as if missiles were raining down, and the Eldritch desperately unleashed dark tentacles.
Bang!
At that moment.
Bullets rained down again. But these were no ordinary bullets.
They were loaded with the “Blue Dissonance” crafted by the Blue Tower Master, a specialty of blue magic that dismantles the very structure of magic.
And now, what Dale wielded was on par with the results of a mage standing at the pinnacle of the Blue Tower.
The blue dissonance was loaded into the chambers of Dale’s shadow soldiers, firing endlessly.
The Eldritch’s existence was a form of magic sustaining its immortality. And with each blue dissonance bullet that struck, it threatened the very cohesion of its being.
“Ah, aah…!”
For Dale, this wasn’t a battle. It was merely a test to savor his new abilities.
But for the son of the Immortal Duke facing Dale, it was anything but.
The Shadow Lord snapped his fingers. Instantly, the shadow soldiers ceased their gunfire.
Eldritch was thrashing about in a pitiful struggle.
“Memento mori,” Dale murmured softly, facing the immortal being that claimed to cheat even death.
“Are you afraid of death?”
“You… how could you…!”
“Stand down,” commanded the Shadow Lord. “And after the trial, await the new ruler who will ascend the throne of the Shadow Empire.”
“I will never let you near my father!” Eldritch cried out, unleashing his tendrils in desperation. Father and son. The father’s battle, the son’s battle. The two men of the Shadow Tower, living reflections of each other, were both similar and at odds.
Dale understood his heart and resolve. He wasn’t so different himself.
Which was why he had no reason to hesitate.
With a swift motion, a web unfurled.
It was a blue web, emitting a cold, pale light.
Countless strands intertwined, ensnaring Eldritch’s very being.
Like a butterfly caught in a spider’s web, it was a pitiful and fleeting sight.
The Blue Tower Master, his mother, had bestowed upon him the blue power and wisdom.
A spider does not pity the prey caught in its web. Yet, it is not so ravenous as to devour every creature ensnared.
And so, Dale moved forward with quiet determination.
To bring the tower’s trial to an end and claim the throne of the Shadow Empire.
It was time to earn the right to topple the Empire of Fire and Light, the Empire of Gold and Deceit.