Episode 253
Every beginning has an end.
After the fall of winter, the world of the long, dark winter nights finally faded away.
For Dale, it was nothing more than a “landscape of the past.”
The true identity of the otherworldly hero who had appeared before him, the intentions of the goddess Sistina, and what had become of her frozen form—none of it mattered anymore.
The specter of the winter night had vanished, as had winter itself.
In the grand hall of the Saxon Citadel, within the Demon King’s domain, those who remained after the world’s clash had ended gathered.
“Dale.”
Charlotte was there. She had defeated her father, the Holy Sword Bardel, and claimed victory.
“You fought Sir Bardel, the Holy Sword.”
Dale spoke softly, and Charlotte remained silent. Understanding the weight of her silence, Dale too held his tongue.
“The otherworldly hero appeared here as well.”
“The hero…”
Charlotte’s expression froze, and Dale nodded.
“Did you fight the hero?”
The specters of two winter nights, and those who had fought and triumphed over them, stood there.
“Yes.”
“Did you kill him?”
Charlotte asked, her eyes filled with a hatred that Dale couldn’t ignore. In her shadow, he saw the cold hatred directed at the hero who had resurrected her father as a specter of the winter night.
After a moment of silence, Dale nodded.
”…The hero is dead.”
“I see.”
Hearing Dale’s answer, Charlotte nodded quietly, a faint smile of relief crossing her face.
“Thank you, Dale.”
“For what?”
“For avenging my father.”
”…”
Charlotte expressed her gratitude, but Dale did not respond.
The hero was dead. That was the truth, and it was no lie.
Yet, to Dale, those words felt strangely false.
“Our actions alone prove our truth.”
The hero’s words came to mind. They were true.
Choosing silence over speaking the truth.
That was Dale’s action, and it was his truth.
Thus, at the very end, the Lord of Truth spoke a lie.
The most hideous lie imaginable.
“Well, well.”
Marquis Eurys, the Blood Duke, stood there.
Surrounded by the Saxon father and daughter, Charlotte, Sepia, and countless shadow riders.
“I never expected my trump card to be defeated like this.”
Marquis Eurys murmured bitterly, as if it were someone else’s problem.
Behind him lay the endless history of blood etched into his body, and he laughed resignedly.
“Both Ray and Scarlet are gone, and once again, I’m left alone.”
The one left behind.
Watching him, the head of the Saxon family, the Duke of Shadows, spoke.
“The war is over. And the fear of the end you dreaded is over as well.”
“Is that so?”
“Even if the end of the universe is predetermined, the earth won’t freeze over tomorrow.”
“Ah, that’s a relief.”
The Blood Duke chuckled nonchalantly.
“It seems there’s no point in struggling any further.”
“Do you have any last words?”
“Not really.”
The Blood Duke shrugged. At the same time, his circle accelerated, and flames surged.
”…!”
Some were startled and hurriedly raised their swords, but Alan of Saxon extended his arm to stop them.
The flames consumed no one but the Blood Duke himself.
“After witnessing the winter of the universe, I shivered in cold my entire life.”
In the blazing inferno, the Blood Duke spoke calmly.
“But the true cold was the solitude of losing loved ones and being left alone.”
”…”
“Why did I fear an endless future and shiver in the cold?”
As if questioning himself, the Blood Duke murmured.
“Now, I understand nothing.”
Whoosh!
“I longed for warmth all my life. It was too late when I realized it was there all along.”
The Blood Duke laughed bitterly.
The flames consumed his flesh, melted his skin, and burned his bones.
The man who had feared a world ending in ice met his end in blazing fire.
The flames engulfed him.
The history of blood etched into his body melted away. Yet, even in the searing flames, his expression was one of peace.
As if savoring the warmth of spring sunlight.
At the very end, the man’s world came to a close.
A world that ended in fire.
With the war over, an endless cheer echoed across the entire north.
And there stood the Duke of Shadows, the head of the Saxon family, to whom they pledged their loyalty and raised their voices.
The Lord of Shadows had defeated the Emperor of the Empire and subdued the Golden Riders, proving a power that none could defy.
The northern, central, and even the distant Britannia Island, including the former imperial capital known as the Heart of Gold, were no exceptions.
In the Great Hall of the once-golden empire, the victor of the great war, the one deemed the mightiest in the empire, took a step forward.
“I’ve been expecting you, Duke of Saxon.”
And in the empty space where the rightful ruler should have been, it was the Empire’s Fifth Princess, Kiara, who greeted Dale.
“Princess Kiara.”
“I can no longer be called a princess, just as you can no longer be called the Duke of Saxon.”
Dale did not respond. But she was right.
The Golden Empire had fallen, and where he stood was the ruins of a fallen empire.
“O King who will bring a new order, the Empire of Shadows.”
Kiara smiled quietly and knelt. As a member of the royal family and a sorceress of the Blue Tower who claimed the title of Shadow Rider.
“Please, take the throne of this imperial city.”
”…”
Dale did not answer immediately.
“I cannot.”
After a moment of silence, Dale replied.
“My wish is to prevent the repetition of the Golden Empire’s mistakes.”
“Do you think peace will come to this land with the empire’s disappearance?”
“At least we won’t repeat the madness of the Crimson Cult, trembling in fear of intangible horrors.”
“You have too much faith in humanity.”
“Even if the Golden Empire vanishes, those who cannot be called human still rule this continent, don’t they?”
Dale asked coldly.
“You who claim the title of Shadow Rider will build your kingdom on the ruins of the empire.”
“Are you refusing to bring the Empire of Shadows?”
Kiara asked icily, and Dale shook his head.
“I have already brought the Empire of Shadows.”
Dale answered.
“What will be created in this darkness depends on the capabilities of those who will build that kingdom.”
”…”
“But as you said, Princess Kiara, I do not wish for an era of war to be opened by countless nations.”
Dale said.
“Therefore, I wish to convene the Imperial Council once more.”
In the name of the Lord of Shadows, the Duke of Darkness, the Imperial Council was convened.
“What do you intend to decide there?”
“We must test the qualifications of the rulers.”
Dale said.
“As kings who will lead the new era, how truthful they will be.”
With the fall of the empire, nobles who claimed to be independent rulers began to declare themselves kings.
And in that chaos, the Duke of Saxon, the Lord of Shadows, who had defeated the Golden Lord and brought the empire to ruin, convened the Imperial Council.
The one who had toppled the Golden Lord and the empire, driving it to destruction.
Thus, no one could defy his summons. At the same time, they understood the significance of the council he convened.
The Lord of Shadows did not seek a single nation like the empire on the ruins of the empire.
But he also did not wish for an era of war to be repeated by the kingdoms that would spring up on those ruins.
In other words, the Imperial Council he convened would be a stage to test the qualifications of the rulers who would emerge on the ruins of the empire.
One order had crumbled, and a new order that none could defy was being established.
Just as the Golden Empire once was, it was an order of power that none could dare defy.
Some time later, the final Imperial Council was convened.
Though it was a kingdom in name only, no longer worthy of being called an empire, the one who desired the council was far from a mere figurehead.
After the great war, a being with power that none could defy finally emerged in this empire.
The Duke of Darkness.
He was no longer merely the Duke of Saxon.
The head of the northern Saxon family, the ruler of the Saxon Duchy.
Like Charlotte Lancaster, he bore the title of Grand Duke of Saxon.
Countless vassals gathered in the Imperial Council Hall, paying their respects to that very being.
In the strictly assigned seats according to rank, the highest seat remained vacant.
Below, seated beneath Princess Chiara and Mordred, were the surviving members of the royal family, and just beneath them sat the Duke of Black.
Yet, with the throne vacant, the hierarchy of seating held no real significance.
Moreover, this gathering was not convened to decide the empire’s future.
“In this assembly…”
In the solemn silence, Dale took it upon himself to speak, assuming the role of chair.
“We have achieved an undeniable victory against the Golden Empire and Emperor Arthur.”
A murmur rippled through the room. Though everyone was aware of this fact, hearing it from Dale lent the words a weight they hadn’t carried before.
“And many among you harbor ambitions to declare a new nation upon the ruins of the empire.”
Dale continued, and the sound of people holding their breath could be heard throughout the hall.
“As I have said, I have no intention of insisting on a single nation or ruler on this earth, as the old empire did.”
”…”
The lords, each calculating in their minds, waited in silence for the words they knew were coming.
“Therefore, I hereby officially declare the dissolution of the empire upon its fallen ruins.”
It was a proclamation marking the end of one era and the dawn of another.