Episode 248
Beyond the Demon King’s domain lay the land of Labyrinthos, the city of mazes. It was where the Saxon Viscounty stood, and where Elena and Lize had taken refuge from the Great War.
As the ground trembled ominously, the two men of Saxon did not hesitate.
A black sphere extended its arm, and the earth beneath them split open. The world seemed to tear apart, revealing a dragon made entirely of bones from the depths below.
“Mount it, Dale.”
“Understood.”
Following his father’s lead, Dale climbed onto the skeletal dragon, which unfurled its bony wings and began to ascend.
The dragon soared through the dark, moonlit sky, revealing the sprawling mountain ranges and the landscape of the Demon King’s domain below.
“Could it be… the Great Labyrinth of the Demon King’s realm…?”
“Do not be shaken, Dale.”
Despite the situation, his father’s voice remained remarkably calm, befitting the composure expected of the Saxon Viscount.
“Did we not leave your mother and sister Lize unprotected at the Saxon estate?”
”…Indeed.”
His father was right. The elf mage, Sephia, who was protecting them, was no exception.
“We defeated the Golden Lord, and the war has ended.”
Dale spoke with a calm demeanor.
“Yet strangely, it doesn’t feel like anything has truly ended.”
“Do you think the disappearance of the Golden Lord would erase the greed and obsession of mortals for gold?”
”…”
“You merely won the war and became the new ruler of this continent. Nothing has truly changed.”
The Duke of Saxon spoke matter-of-factly, guiding Dale with wisdom unclouded by blind faith in gold or shadows.
“People will now fear and revere you as the Lord of Shadows, just as countless in the Empire once revered and bowed before the Golden Lord.”
“I never desired the Empire or the throne.”
“Then what do you hope to achieve with this victory?”
The Empire had fallen. Amidst its ruins, what Dale desired was nothing more than the ruins themselves.
“As the head of the Saxon family, you defeated the Golden Lord and proved yourself. Whether you wish it or not, that proof will bind you like a shadow.”
“What should I do?”
Dale asked, and Allen replied.
“Take what is rightfully yours as the victor.”
”…”
Dale fell silent at Allen’s words, but the silence did not last long.
The dragon, soaring through the sky, began to descend rapidly toward the city of Labyrinthos.
Despite the tremors, the distant view of the city remained unchanged.
Dale leaped from the dragon, becoming a shadowy wraith as he raced forward.
──And there he was.
In the grand hall of the Saxon estate, as if he had been waiting for Dale all along.
“I’ve been expecting you.”
He sat arrogantly on the throne meant for the lord, looking down at Dale with a serene gaze.
And at the sight of the man, Dale caught his breath.
“How…?”
“You recognize my face? I never thought the Lord of Shadows would remember the face of a hunting dog.”
And the presence beside the man was unforgettable.
The Lord of Loyalty and Conviction, the most noble knight known as the Divine Sword, stood there.
The Hero from Another World and Sir Vardel, the Divine Sword.
“Who are you?”
Dale asked.
“I’ve had many names. The Hero from Another World, the Empire’s Hound, the Merciless Butcher…”
The Hero from Another World continued with a smile.
“But the one I liked best was ‘The Greatest Monster Hunter.’”
“Father, take Mother and Lize and leave the Demon King’s domain.”
Dale said, looking at the hero. The black sphere nodded without hesitation, as if acknowledging that this was not his stage.
As the black sphere receded, Dale asked.
“Why are you here?”
“I heard a voice calling me from the Great Labyrinth of the Demon King’s realm.”
“What did you see there?”
“The truth of this world.”
“I know the truth as well.”
Dale replied, and the hero laughed.
“No, you know nothing.”
“That can’t be.”
Dale responded coldly, unleashing the aura within him. The hero’s avatar, clad in the armor of the Night Raven Knight, appeared.
Simultaneously, he removed his black helmet, revealing the face beneath.
“On that day, facing death, the ‘Stone of Rebirth’ functioned perfectly. The hero’s consciousness was transferred to the eldest son of the Saxon family. To this body, Dale of Saxon.”
“So you’re saying you’re the real one and I’m the fake?”
“What makes you claim you’re the real one?”
“What do you think can prove the truth or falsehood of one’s existence?”
Dale did not answer.
“Actions.”
The hero said, without a hint of hesitation.
“Truth is proven only through actions.”
At the same time, a blue hologram appeared beside him. Dale recognized her immediately.
“Noah…?”
Dale spoke, and the blue hologram replied coldly.
─ You are not registered in the database as a commander.
Despite having the hero’s avatar, she regarded him with the coldness of an outsider.
─ And I have discarded that name. My name is…
Just as Noah was about to continue, the tendrils gripping Dale’s heart began to stir.
─ Sistina…!
The ancient Mother of Darkness muttered with a voice filled with hatred. Dale caught his breath at those words.
The Goddess of Sisterhood and Compassion was there.
“Our existence is proven only through actions. What have your actions proven?”
“They proved our mission to bring down the Empire.”
“You said ‘our’? Perhaps so.”
The hero burst into laughter at those words.
“But on those ruins, you, as the Lord of Shadows, accepted the impending end of this world. You chose to embrace the end rather than fight against it. That is your action and your truth.”
“Dragged into a world I didn’t know, used like a dog for a future that may never come. Do you really think I care about some distant, uncertain apocalypse?”
“A world you didn’t know, an uncertain future?”
The hero laughed.
“Sistina, play the recording.”
─ Playing the log.
Simultaneously, the landscape began to overlay. It wasn’t magic. It was the familiar technology of his past life, a hologram.
And the real truth began to unfold.
The events on Earth after his disappearance, and the events in ‘this world’ after countless eons.
The great flood and the ark, a world consumed by self-replicating nanomachines.
And the Golden Lord, Emperor Arthur, who led the survivors of the ark.
“This is not an unknown world, nor is the apocalypse you speak of an uncertain future.”
The hero said.
“Countless eons have already passed.”
”…”
“And you, as the Lord of Shadows, still accept the impending end of this planet. Your Empire of Shadows is proof of that.”
“Darkness and shadows are not the end. You speak as if I’m bringing about the world’s end.”
“Perhaps. But there’s one thing missing.”
The hero said.
“Winter is coming, sound familiar?”
The primordial darkness and the chill of the apocalypse that resided within Dale. On that day, the Lord of Shadows willingly embraced the chill of the end for power.
“Your very existence is a threat. You accept the end of the world and wield the power that comes with it.”
Even now, within Dale’s body, resided the chill of the apocalypse that heralded the end of the world.
“As the Lord of Shadows, you accepted the impending end of this world. That is your action. Therefore, I must act as well.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“To complete the mission we couldn’t finish. To save the world we couldn’t save.”
The Hero from Another World said.
“Do you think defeating me will change anything?”
“Better to resist until the end than to become a pawn of an inescapable truth.”
The hero said. Dale bit his lip in silence.
A hopeless battle, the resolve to resist until the end against the invaders from another world.
That was his past self.
And now, the Lord of Shadows no longer denied the end of the world. Everything that exists has an end. He accepted that fact and did not shy away from becoming the Lord of the Cruel Truth.
Like those in his past world who despaired at a hopeless fight and gave up resistance.
”…”
And the being before Dale was resolved to fight until the end.
Another ‘Golden Lord’ stood there.
Not driven by greed or obsession, but willing to fight for a lie more beautiful than the truth.
What was right? No, it no longer mattered.
Dale silently drew the hero’s beloved sword.
And just as he was about to accelerate the circle to refine the swirling magic in the area.
“Sistina.”
The hero spoke, and the holographic AI nodded.
─ Re-encrypting the nanomachine response protocol within the area.
And the artificial goddess who loved humanity began to unfold her miracle.
The aura swirling within the Aura Heart, the magic, and all the mana in the vicinity vanished without a trace.
The extraordinary power that had once resided in his body dissipated, leaving behind an ordinary, unremarkable form.
“You truly know nothing,” the hero muttered coldly, drawing his sword. Around him, the aura and magic continued to surge violently.
The mysterious energy saturating the air was finally understood, and Dale gasped in shock.
The swirling circle came to a halt. The mana in the atmosphere was no longer perceptible through his breath.
Yet, despite this.
The “Book of the Black Goat” that enveloped Dale’s body still exuded an ancient darkness. The circle, entwined with Shub’s tendrils, activated, and the shadow heart, along with the living circle wrapped around it, was no exception.
Even though he could no longer wield mana, the Shadow Lord retained his power.
It was a force composed of primordial darkness and the chill of the apocalypse.
“That’s your true form.”
Without the ability to use aura, he could no longer cloak himself in the hero’s avatar. Now, Dale was simply Dale.
With Shub’s tendrils, the armor of the abyss coiled around him, revealing the avatar of the Shadow Lord.