Episode 237
“Sefia…?”
Dale called her name, his voice barely audible as he staggered, losing his balance amidst the chaos. Sefia’s hand reached out just in time to steady him.
“That’s a blue magic I never taught you,” she remarked, her tone calm and measured. Dale nodded silently, offering no further explanation. Sefia, a master of blue magic herself, needed no elaboration. She understood the complexity and power of the spell Dale had cast—magic that was beyond her current capabilities.
Moreover, it bore a striking resemblance to the level of mastery shown by the shadowy figure of the blue.
“Why did you leave Lady Charlotte in the Lancaster Duchy?” Sefia asked, her question seemingly unrelated to the situation at hand.
“Charlotte has her duties as the Duchess of Lancaster,” Dale replied.
“Of course,” Sefia nodded quietly. “But she deserves to be by your side.”
”…”
“Treat her with the care she deserves,” Sefia advised gently. Dale opened his mouth to respond but then closed it, choosing silence instead.
Sefia continued to support him, fulfilling her role as a mentor who cherished her student.
Meanwhile, at the Sistina Papal Palace.
“What do you mean by this?” The church had officially declared its separation from the Empire, yet it had never truly severed ties.
“Exactly as I said, Holy Maiden,” replied Cheonsang-gong, the pinnacle of the White Tower and a golden knight, speaking with a quiet authority.
“Our enemy is the enemy of the goddess—the Shadow Lord who seeks to cast darkness over this land.”
“Are you saying you won’t support the separation from the Empire?”
“Precisely,” Cheonsang-gong smiled, while the expression of Saint Aurelia, who held the sacred sword, turned to stone.
“I cannot accept this…!”
Aurelia, clad in pure white, began to protest, but she was interrupted.
“We have no need for the approval of a fraud, Holy Maiden.”
”…!”
Cheonsang-gong’s smile vanished, his heart racing as chains of light began to bind Aurelia’s body.
“When I first heard that the Saxon prince had burned the ‘Holy Maiden’ in his domain, I was skeptical. And now, it seems my suspicions were correct. You have become a loyal servant of Saxon and the shadows, playing the role of a spy.”
Cheonsang-gong’s voice was icy as he continued, “Do you think I’m a fool?”
“I am…!”
No, the Aurelia standing here was not the real one who had been saved by the Saxon prince after her defeat. She was merely a fake, given form through dark magic.
“I only wish to bring the goddess’s kingdom to this land…!”
“Enough of this tiresome talk.”
Cheonsang-gong waved his hand dismissively, unwilling to listen any longer.
Boom!
A sudden cry echoed through the hall.
“Please, release me! It’s a misunderstanding! I am…!”
Aurelia turned her head. Church knights had captured Nikolai, a cardinal and puppet of Dale, and forced him to his knees before Cheonsang-gong.
“The Holy Maiden accused of witchcraft did not die that day; she was rescued by the ‘Black Prince’ of Saxon. Yet, knowing this, our brother Cardinal Nikolai chose to lie to save his own life.”
”…!”
“And now, the shadow’s agent, disguised as the Holy Maiden and the sacred knight, has infiltrated the heart of our church. As a servant of the goddess and leader of the church, I feel a heavy burden of responsibility.”
“My devotion to the church and the goddess is not a lie…!”
It’s not a lie. The real Aurelia had indeed fallen to the shadows, becoming a dark witch, but the one here had not.
Aurelia tried to speak the truth but ended up laughing bitterly. What did it matter now? The man who claimed to lead the church only sought to become part of the hated Empire. He had no interest in the ‘goddess’s kingdom’ she desired.
From the start, everyone here was merely a puppet of the Shadow Lord.
‘The answer to which Holy Maiden was right will be found by the one who stands over the Empire’s ruins, won’t it?’
The Aurelia here had failed. But the other Aurelia, kneeling before the shadows, had not.
Through her failure, the dark Aurelia would finally understand which decision was correct. The existence of the pure white Aurelia was merely a sacrifice to prove that fact.
Realizing the truth, even a bitter laugh escaped her.
The blue web binding her body would surely inform the ‘Black Prince’ of Saxon of this fact.
‘Are you blaming the defeat on the failure of good?’
‘A good that cannot win is meaningless.’
The white had asked, and the black had answered. It was true.
She was wrong, and the other was right.
“Don’t think you’ll die easily.”
Cheonsang-gong smiled coldly at the self-mocking Aurelia.
“A witch who dares to defy the church and the Empire will not find an easy death.”
”…”
“Moreover, the Saxon Duke’s family will pay for betraying the goddess and the nation, allying with the witch and becoming traitors to the Empire.”
Hearing this, the false Aurelia laughed. The sacred sword at her waist emitted a faint, powerless glow.
“Please, forgive me!”
A man knelt, begging for mercy. Once a noble of the newly formed Kingdom of Britannia, he had chosen to become a pawn of the Empire as the tides of war turned against him.
Before him stood a face he could never forget.
The Shadow’s Blade, Lady Shadow.
A specter of death and terror among the island’s imperialist nobles. Her true identity was shockingly unexpected.
“The Holy Maiden was said to have risen from the dead, wielding the sacred sword as the church’s blade…!”
Why was Aurelia here? The man had no way of knowing the intertwined fates of the white and black Aurelia.
Srrng.
The black Aurelia adjusted her grip on her sword, its blade stained crimson.
“P-Please, by the mercy and grace of the twin goddesses, forgive me…!”
“Don’t worry.”
Aurelia smiled gently.
“I have no intention of blaming or forgiving you.”
“Oh, thank you!”
For a moment, hope lit up the noble’s face.
Slash!
His head rolled to the ground almost simultaneously.
“But I have no reason to show mercy either.”
Her voice was cold, devoid of any emotion.
As blood splattered, the black Aurelia wore a smile of pure ecstasy.
And the night of slaughter was far from over.
There were still many who needed to die on this island.
Shortly after, an imperial decree arrived at the Saxon Duchy.
The Imperial Assembly was to convene, summoning the Duke of Saxon and his son to stand before it.
This included even those like Barbarossa, who had declared separation from the Empire, and the church, meaning all the continent’s lords would gather in one place.
A war encompassing the entire continent does not begin overnight.
Dialogue before war is an essential, unavoidable process.
Thus, the Shadow Lord accepted the invitation without hesitation.
To face the Golden Lord, who had finally broken his silence, with his own eyes.
It was time to prepare for the greatest war.
“The Imperial Assembly, huh.”
In the Duke of Saxon’s study, the Black Duke spoke calmly.
“I’d ask if you’re walking into a trap willingly, but…”
He paused, considering his words.
“You have no choice but to go.”
“Yes,” Dale nodded quietly.
“Do you think you’re ready to face the Golden Lord?”
“Since defeating the Immortal Lord, I’ve been ready.”
”…I suppose you could say that.”
The Black Duke nodded quietly, a brief silence following.
“But not yet.”
”…What do you mean?”
After a pause, the Black Duke spoke again, prompting Dale to ask.
“You’re not ready yet.”
The Duke of Saxon stated plainly. As Dale began to respond, the Black Duke interrupted.
“Didn’t I tell you? I’m waiting for the day when you’ve grown enough to surpass me and reach the pinnacle of the Black Tower.”
”…!”
Dale swallowed hard at the Black Duke’s words.
“There is still time before the assembly convenes. There’s no need to rush.”
“But I’m still…”
“What are you hesitating about?”
At the Black Duke’s question, Dale shook his head. Indeed, this wasn’t a battle where one had to die for it to end.
To defeat his mentor and father, and to stand at the pinnacle of the Black Tower—that was all that mattered.
Proving it in front of everyone would be enough.
“No, that’s not true.”
Dale shook his head, steeling his resolve as he spoke.
“I am ready at any time.”
”…I see.”
Hearing this, Duke Sachsen, his father, smiled quietly.
“I will be waiting for you at the top of the Black Tower.”
He rose from his desk, the sunlight streaming in from behind casting him into silhouette. His figure, shrouded in shadow, appeared dark and foreboding.
The battle against his father, Duke Sachsen, to determine the pinnacle of the Black Tower. The new master of the Black Tower.
It meant only one thing.
To defeat his father and inherit everything he had built.
‘Has it really come to this already?’
From the moment he was reborn into the Sachsen family, growing and striving, the end he sought was now within reach.
With these thoughts, Dale lifted his head.
Necropolis, the summit of the Black Tower.
──The man was there.
He was the man who had cast the largest shadow over Dale’s life.
Seated upon the obsidian throne, the man looked down at the challenger who had come to face him.
“Dale of Sachsen, I humbly greet the pinnacle of the Black Tower.”
Dale bowed respectfully, and the greatest dark sorcerer on the continent rose to his feet.
The stage was set for the final duel, a battle to determine the true master of the Black Tower.