Episode 48
“It feels like I’m dreaming.”
Elizabeth, wrapped in sheets in the bedroom of Marquis Eurys, known as the ‘Crimson Duke,’ smiled. He was the very image of a prince from a dream.
“Did you have a pleasant dream?”
Marquis Eurys asked, taking a sip of the crimson wine in his hand, as Elizabeth blushed.
Elizabeth nodded, lost in bliss, and the marquis leaned in to kiss her. A liquid flowed from his mouth to hers.
Crimson wine…?
At that moment, Elizabeth felt something strange in her mouth and swallowed hard. It wasn’t the taste of wine.
”…!”
It was blood. Elizabeth spat it out, staining the white sheets with crimson.
“Oh dear.”
Marquis Eurys chuckled coldly at the sight.
“Was the drink not to your liking?”
His smile was as chilling as ice.
In a battle between a knight and a sorcerer, distance is crucial.
But what Dale had just demonstrated with his shadow cloak… the dark lake and the monstrous creatures slumbering within it.
The thorny hell of the ‘Shadow Lurker.’
The advantage Dale’s shadow creatures had in close combat with a knight was beyond even Sir Helmut’s imagination.
For a knight, who should gain the upper hand as the distance closes, to willingly step into a death trap…
Moreover, if one were to disregard the influence of distance in a battle, it would be obvious who would dominate in a fight between a knight and a sorcerer.
“Lord Dale has won!”
Amidst the soldiers cheering for Dale’s victory, Sir Helmut Blackbear pondered.
‘Did he choose the shadow cloak knowing this would happen from the start?’
Such a feat would be impossible without a complete mastery of one’s abilities and the principles of combat. It’s not just understanding or knowledge—it’s mastery.
As if he were a god of battle.
From raising a ‘Death Knight of the Black Sword,’ a feat only high-level dark sorcerers could achieve, to defeating an orc warboss with his own body…
With unparalleled talent and growth in both swordsmanship and magic within the empire…
‘Lord Dale continues to evolve, over and over.’
He compensates for his weaknesses and strengthens his strengths. All elements interlock, creating a near-perfect harmony.
He doesn’t falter in physical combat against knights, nor in mental battles against sorcerers.
Only then did Sir Helmut realize.
What Dale seeks is the most perfect form of combat.
From the beginning, he aimed to never lose against the strongest knights and sorcerers.
Even Sir Helmut Blackbear, one of the continent’s seven greatest knights, the ‘Seven Swords,’ was astounded by Dale’s lethal talent.
And who could possibly be the opponent Dale strives to reach with such honed combat abilities?
Could anyone withstand the enmity of the ‘Black Prince’?
After pondering this, Sir Helmut quietly shook his head. For now, it was simply time to celebrate Dale’s victory.
The great migration of the demon race.
The battle concluded with the halting of the massive southward march of the orc horde.
Though their numbers were not comparable to the armies of high-ranking demons or demon lords, defending the empire against thousands of orcs was no easy feat. Especially when facing enemies bolstered by the ‘Twelve Purifiers.’
In the Duke of Saxon’s office.
“We’ve extracted the brains of the Purifiers and completed a three-day investigation.”
Eris, the secretary of the Black Tower Lord, continued.
“Any significant findings?”
“They had already erased most of their brain functions, including memory.”
“Of course.”
The Black Duke nodded, unsurprised.
The fanaticism of the red tower’s sorcerers was unmatched by anything in the five-colored towers. After nodding, the Black Duke spoke calmly.
“They knew in advance that Dale would act separately with the cavalry.”
And that could only mean one thing.
“An insider on our side must have given the Purifiers detailed orders about Dale’s movements.”
“Do you have any suspects?”
“The monsters of truth.”
The Black Duke replied.
”…Are the hardline elders of the Black Tower colluding with the Red Tower?”
“Have you forgotten the exploits of the Black-Red Guidance Corps?”
The Black-Red Guidance Corps. An unofficial unit established during the empire’s unification war for ‘academic exploration and cooperation’ between the Black and Red Towers.
Though the unit was disbanded and records erased after the war, and the Black Tower under the Black Duke chose to sever ties with the ‘darkness of the old era.’
Not everyone in the Black Tower agreed with his methods.
Even if they couldn’t openly oppose the Black Duke, there were hardliners who still justified the unforgivable atrocities of the Black-Red Guidance Corps as part of the truth. These monsters rejected the Black Duke’s regime and allied with the Red Tower.
“Another purge is on the horizon.”
Eris, the Black Duke’s deputy, spoke calmly.
Remembering that the man before her could never truly escape that darkness.
The underground workshop of the Black Duke.
There lay the bodies of the night raven knights, perfectly preserved.
Even in death, they awaited to fulfill their duty, to become part of the legacy built by the Saxon family over generations.
Before these knights’ bodies stood the two men of the Saxon family.
“They were my knights.”
Dale’s knights. The swords of Saxon that Dale failed to protect.
“As their lord… I have a duty to honor their wishes.”
Therefore.
“Teach me how to invoke the ‘Death Order.’”
Dale spoke without a hint of hesitation.
The secret of the Saxon family to maintain death knights without continuous magical supply.
But their true value was more than that. Seeing them, Dale instinctively knew they were no ordinary death knights.
Each one was a high-level death knight, akin to Sir Veil of Baskerville or Sir Milvas the Pure Sword.
”…”
The Black Duke didn’t answer immediately. He simply recalled the scene Dale had shown before the orc warboss… imagining the landscape when Dale’s talent merged with the deep-rooted darkness of the Black Tower.
When Dale eventually surpassed him and became another ‘Duke of Saxon,’ standing at the pinnacle of the Black Tower. How free could this child be from the darkness that even he couldn’t escape?
“When you grow and surpass me…”
After a moment of thought, the Black Duke spoke.
“When you ascend to the pinnacle of the Black Tower.”
As if to say the time wasn’t right yet.
“The army of darkness will be yours alone.”
Understanding the meaning behind those words, Dale swallowed hard.
To defeat the continent’s greatest dark sorcerer, the one at the top of the Black Tower, with his own hands.
With that thought, Dale couldn’t suppress his insatiable curiosity and spoke up.
”…Father.”
“What is it?”
“May I challenge my master to a duel here and now?”
The wall that was the ‘Black Duke’ before him was too intriguing to resist.
“Very well.”
The Black Duke nodded quietly. There was no better way for a master and apprentice to gauge each other’s skills than a duel.
“What will you use to compete?”
“Allow me to give it my all.”
Dale said, his shadow cloak billowing at his feet.
“Use all your strength.”
The Black Duke nodded.
“Rise, black swords of Saxon.”
Dale snapped his fingers, reciting the optimal incantation to raise his death knights.
The fallen knights, gripping their swords, rose in unison. The black swords of Saxon, wielding their pitch-black aura blades.
“Your incantation is quite precise.”
The Black Duke couldn’t hide his satisfaction as a teacher, seeing the clear imagery and concise command.
Surrounded by death knights, each one a reflection of Dale’s dark magic and swordsmanship, they began to unleash the prowess of warriors who once felled divine swords.
Simultaneously, Dale unfurled the ‘Lake of Darkness’ with his shadow cloak. A flood of shadows engulfed the area, and the ‘Shadow Lurkers’ plunged their thorny tendrils into the ground.
From beneath the underground workshop, from all directions, lethal strikes targeted the Black Duke without a hint of restraint or mercy.
And then it happened.
The world stopped.
More precisely… the black swords of the death knights and the thorny tendrils of the Shadow Lurkers, all aimed at him, froze in place. They halted and then turned their malice towards Dale.
Even the Death Knights and the elusive “Shadow Lurkers” were not exempt from his command.
It was just like before. Just as Dale had once subdued the “Headless Knight” during the tower’s trials, he now bowed his head before an even greater darkness.
“In a duel between dark sorcerers, losing control of one’s creations is the most fatal mistake.”
The Black Orb spoke calmly.
”…”
Thus, Dale focused his consciousness once more.
He envisioned a world filled with icy cold and ashen void, projecting the dark blue magic forged from the shadows of that winter night.
The Death Knight’s black sword, which had been halted, finally began to move.
Slowly and stiffly, yet unmistakably, it aimed for the “Black Orb’s neck.”
Dale had wrested control of the Death Knight from the continent’s greatest dark sorcerer and brought it back under his command.
”…!”
Even the Black Orb couldn’t hide his shock at the sight.
Whoosh!
In that moment of astonishment, the Death Knight’s black sword swung. The severed head rolled helplessly to the ground. Silence descended like a feather. Yet within that silence, Dale showed no sign of panic.
“Truly remarkable.”
As expected, the severed head of the Black Orb spoke from the ground.
“To think you could wrest control of the undead from me.”
It was like something out of a B-grade horror movie.
“An unexpected strike indeed.”
With the composure of a master, he couldn’t hide his satisfaction at his pupil’s display. How on earth? Dale gasped in surprise.
Before he knew it, the Black Orb’s head had returned to its original place, as if it had never been severed. Just like before, when the Purifiers had attacked Dale, unable to die even if they wished.
“How is this possible…?”
Realizing the truth, Dale asked again. Even he, with all his knowledge, couldn’t grasp the trick behind it. A trick? No.
This was no mere parlor trick.
“Have you still not understood? I have not permitted your deaths.”
With that thought, a possibility dawned on Dale, and he swallowed hard.
“Reality manipulation…?”
Magic is the power to turn imagination into reality. Yet the human mind is so imperfect, never truly omnipotent.
However, for those who have truly reached the pinnacle of magic—like the man hailed as the continent’s greatest dark sorcerer—it might be possible to manipulate the very laws of this world with sheer will.
For instance, erasing the concept of “death” itself.
Realizing this, Dale let out a hollow laugh. There was no way he could win. No matter how young he was when he became the empire’s greatest prodigy, achieving unimaginable feats, it made no difference.
If the man before him were to exert his full power, the outcome would be decided in an instant.
Just as the whispered tales of the “Black Prince” suggested, the name of the man the empire feared most was no mere legend.
Some time later, an envoy from the emperor arrived to commend the Saxon family for halting the great demon migration.
Along with lavish gifts to showcase the empire’s grandeur, they officially recognized the achievements of the “Black Prince,” who had shone brightly against the demon migration despite his young age.
Furthermore, they extended an invitation for Dale to spend a few weeks at the Red Tower Academy in the capital, to foster “exchange between the black and the red.”