Episode 258
The explosion was so massive, it could have been mistaken for a high-level spell from the Red Mage Tower.
A mushroom cloud spread across the night sky, and a storm of annihilation swept through the area.
The destruction was on par with a tactical nuclear weapon, and in the midst of the blast, Dale quickly raised a shield of darkness.
Even the Shadow Lord’s shield trembled under the overwhelming explosion. Those without the strength to raise a shield didn’t stand a chance.
When the flames finally subsided, they found themselves standing in an empty crater.
Dale, Lize, and Sepia stood in stunned silence, unable to believe what they were seeing.
“What on earth…?”
The kidnappers and their hideout were gone without a trace, and the entire city had been wiped off the map.
There were no groans of the wounded or even ruins to speak of. There was simply nothing left.
“All this just to silence us…?”
Dale muttered in disbelief.
Outsiders. The moment their existence was mentioned, this catastrophe unfolded.
“Brother, what happened?”
Lize tilted her head, unable to comprehend what had occurred amidst the explosion.
“Don’t worry about it, Lize.”
Before she could say more, Dale gently embraced her and whispered. Sepia, who had also raised a shield of ice, spoke up.
“This is beyond belief.”
Dale nodded solemnly at her words.
“They’re the kind of people who would do this just because we mentioned their name. They’re not ordinary foes.”
“I thought the war was over.”
Sepia murmured bitterly. The end of the universe, the retreat of winter, and the fall of the Golden Empire. She thought there would be no more wars. She was wrong.
“We must track them down.”
“But the link to their whereabouts is gone. What will you do?”
“Those here were just pawns. If they can orchestrate something of this scale, they’re surely connected to even greater forces.”
Dale turned his gaze.
The self-proclaimed ruler of this land, the one Dale was initially tasked to oversee as a watcher of kings.
He had planned to gather evidence from the bottom up, but the situation had changed.
“Where did all the people in this city go?”
At that moment, Lize whispered from within Dale’s arms. Even after witnessing the event firsthand, she couldn’t grasp what had happened, shaking her head in confusion.
”…”
Dale didn’t answer immediately. He pondered what to say to Lize, still just a child, before finally shaking his head.
“There was an explosion.”
After a long silence, Dale spoke.
“A massive explosion engulfed the entire city, and aside from us, no one survived.”
“Did everyone die?”
“Yes.”
“Why would they do something so cruel?”
“Because they have the power to.”
Dale replied, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.
“That’s all there is to it.”
Some time later.
Dale made his way to the count’s castle in the capital of the Balaina Principality.
“Who goes there?”
The knights guarding the castle tightened their grip on their swords and demanded his name. Dale calmly removed his robe and answered.
“I’m here to see the count.”
“What…?”
“As the head of the Saxon Grand Duchy, I’m here to hold your lord accountable.”
Dale stated. The knights swallowed hard at the mention of his name, but their expressions remained skeptical.
“The Duke of Saxon himself, visiting the principality in the dead of night without any formalities?”
“Yes.”
Even if they called themselves a nation, they were merely a moderately powerful county, and the count was just a count. The knights wouldn’t recognize the face of the Duke of Saxon, the Black Duke.
“Don’t believe me?”
Dale tilted his head and extended his arm. Seven circles and a shadow circle accelerated from his heart, and darkness, the pride of the continent’s greatest dark mage, swirled at his feet.
“I’ll ask again. Is it so suspicious that the Duke of Saxon has come to see the lord of the principality without formalities?”
The knights’ faces turned pale at the darkness that seemed ready to swallow them whole.
“No, sir! We were just…”
“I have no intention of speaking at length. Tell your lord that Dale of Saxon, the Black Duke, has come to see him.”
“Understood!”
Dale spoke, and the knights hurriedly turned and retreated.
“Brother…”
Watching Dale’s cold demeanor, Lize quietly called his name. Her expression was as if she were seeing a stranger, not the brother she knew.
“Are you afraid of me, Lize?”
“N-no, I’m not.”
Lize shook her head quickly.
“It’s just that you’re so different from the brother I know, it surprised me a little.”
“You must be very surprised.”
”…”
“That’s why I wanted you to come on this journey with me.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to show you a side of me you didn’t know.”
Dale said.
“Both I and our father are powerful as the heads of the Saxon family, and I wanted to show you how we use that power.”
“Power…”
“And the power I have is also your power.”
Dale continued.
“I want you to think about how you’ll use that power when you become someone with strength.”
”…”
Lize remained silent, and Dale continued walking toward the great hall of the count’s castle. Soon, the lord of the principality, still holding the title of count, appeared.
In the Imperial Council, the man had once seen the face of the Black Duke.
And he knew well that even if the duke came alone, without any escort, and even if this was his kingdom, there was nothing he could do.
Even if he gathered all his knights, mages, and able-bodied men, they couldn’t stand against this being.
With a mere gesture, that monster could sweep them all away.
“D-Duke of Saxon…!”
Thus, there was only one action he could take.
“Why have you come to this humble place without any notice?”
The Count of Balaina knelt.
“Do you remember the explosion that occurred in your territory?”
“Y-yes! We’re still trying to understand what happened…”
“Do you know anything about the Outsiders?”
Dale asked. The count’s expression turned icy. But as Dale spoke, the world around them began to warp.
Still, the white and dark winter night remained.
“I’ll ask again. Do you know anything about the Outsiders?”
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
Before he could finish, darkness surged from beneath Dale’s feet. He paid no mind to Lize and Sepia, who were still watching.
The merciless Black Duke was there.
The swirling darkness wrapped around the count’s limbs like tentacles, and Dale walked forward calmly.
“An entire city vanished from the map, and all its people were reduced to ashes. Do I look like I have the luxury to entertain your nonsense?”
Dale continued.
“Close your eyes, Lize.”
Understanding the implication, Sepia quickly covered Lize’s eyes.
Crack!
A scream echoed. A spike shot up from the shadows, impaling the count, and blood splattered.
“I’ve heard that they’re interested in the beings of this continent, especially elves, treating them as ‘goods.’ Tell me everything you know about the Outsiders right now.”
“They’ll reveal themselves…”
“They’ll reveal themselves?”
“The Outsiders have been here from the beginning!”
The Count of Balaina shouted in agony. And as soon as he finished speaking, the world Dale had created began to twist.
Intruders were finally revealing themselves in the world crafted by a high-level mage.
”…!”
Seeing the Outsiders, Dale also caught his breath.
The beings there were not human. They weren’t even alive. Their entire bodies were made of a smooth, metallic texture.
Bipedal automatons stood there.
“Outsiders…?”
”■■■■─.”
An Outsider spoke in an incomprehensible voice, and hot gas spewed from its body. It was steam.
─ How boring!
At that moment, Shub appeared beside Dale.
─ They’re not human! They’re not even interesting.
“Count, how did you communicate with those beings?”
“Understanding your inefficient and primitive language is not difficult for us.”
An Outsider replied. Dale chuckled at the response.
“Are you really from the eastern continent?”
“Belle Epoque. That’s what you call our land.”
The Outsider answered. With each word, more steam billowed from its body.
“What are you planning by taking the beings of this continent?”
“Don’t misunderstand, imperfect mortal.”
Mortal. Dale smirked bitterly at the term.
“We have come to enlighten you.”
“Enlighten us?”
“I have come to offer you the baptism of ascension, to you who rely on your imperfect organic structures.”
”…”
“And this baptism will begin with the elves, those who have a high synchronization rate with the nanomachines in the atmosphere.”
The Outsider spoke without a hint of doubt or hesitation. The words were so absurd that they didn’t even provoke laughter.
“Do not resist. Accept it. This is for the good of us all.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“We cannot respect those who reject the baptism of ascension and refuse enlightenment.”
“And what do you plan to do about it?”
Dale asked, just as the Outsider extended an arm.
The nanomachines that once covered ancient Earth, the mana scattered by the goddess Sistina, began to merge with their bodies.
This wasn’t the method of a mage drawing mana into their body through a circle and processing it. All cumbersome processes were bypassed, and the mana in the air fused directly with their bodies.
“Annihilate them.”
The swirling mana enveloped their metallic bodies, finally forming into weapons.
These were not the tiresome swords or spears so commonly found in this world.
Hot weapons… an uncountable number of gun barrels were aimed at Dale and his companions.
And then, the triggers were pulled.