Episode 76
A golden flash surged forward, moving with a speed that seemed to embody light itself. It was the first time since his past life that he faced the pinnacle of a knight’s skill, an avatar of power.
But this was “Dale’s World.” A world of death reflecting that white and dark winter night, with its biting cold and shadows. The arena that trapped the two of them.
For a mage, projecting the world of thought into reality was akin to building a “mage’s fortress.”
For ordinary 6th-circle mages, who might not fully grasp this concept, it merely meant optimizing incantations, amplifying mental images, strengthening formulas, and refining their magical essence. But Dale was different.
He understood the true meaning of the world of thought—the “mage’s fortress”—and knew how to wield its power.
Mages don’t train for war. Even if their power is extraordinary, no matter how high their circle, they don’t specialize their thoughts for battle.
Unlike the 6th-circle elders who fell to Dale’s hand in his past life, they were merely “scholars” with a bit more power than ordinary people.
No matter how terrifying or cruel the principles of their studies, no matter the extraordinary power they wielded, a scholar could never defeat a warrior.
Yet, Dale remembered the “world” shown by the greatest battle mages who had once fallen to a hero’s hand. Mages who did not hesitate to become warriors, reaching the heights of the 6th circle and beyond.
He recalled the form of a world built solely for combat, the true might of a mage’s fortress.
A world of slaughter, an ultimate stronghold in itself.
And there was an attacker rushing to bring down that fortress.
The Holy Maiden Aurelia, the golden Valkyrie.
The battle between a knight and a mage of such high caliber was a siege in itself.
Cold winds and darkness swirled, blocking the path of the charging Holy Maiden Aurelia.
At that moment—
Whoosh!
─ Hahaha!
A pitch-black tendril struck down.
To Dale, it sounded like the pure laughter of a young girl.
”■■■■──!”
To the Holy Maiden Aurelia, it was nothing but the horrific scream of an otherworldly abomination.
‘……!’
The golden Valkyrie swung her sword. A golden light surged forth, purifying the grotesque, slicing through the darkness, and heralding the dawn.
Her sword severed the tendrils of “Shub,” and a tar-like black liquid splattered before her.
Yet, the Holy Maiden Aurelia defied the laws of physics, halting her charge and leaping back to widen the distance.
Avoiding the essence of evil and corruption that even her golden armor could not withstand.
“This is my domain.”
Immediately after, the “shadow cloak” mimicking Dale’s black surcoat began to flutter wildly.
From the depths of the white-stained night, a lake of darkness spread. Simultaneously, 《Shadow Lurkers》 hidden in the shadows unleashed their spiny tendrils.
Beside Dale, a girl with the horns of a black goat lifted the hem of her dress. The tendrils struck down in unison.
A hell of tendrils.
A world brimming with malice, unleashing its malevolence without restraint. Yet, the Holy Maiden Aurelia remained unfazed.
Ignoring the ominous feeling of seeing the seed of malice in the child before her, she swung her golden sword with silent determination.
Not a holy sword, but the sword of an unnamed soldier. Yet, before the radiant gold enveloping that sword, even the light of a holy sword seemed insignificant.
Like the light of dawn rising through the dark twilight.
The golden Valkyrie, the warrior maiden, faced the onslaught of tendrils with a whirlwind of light.
“……!”
Nothing remained.
A sweep.
Even the lake of darkness was no exception. As if a river had dried up, revealing its barren bed.
‘This won’t be easy.’
An opponent against whom victory was uncertain, even with full power. And the “3rd-circle mage” began to accelerate the circle of his heart once more. Three circles, and the tendrils of darkness entwining them… 『The Book of the Black Goat』.
The power emanating from two black sources spread throughout Dale’s world.
To transform the landscape of a white and dark winter night into his fortress.
Knights hone their swords and armor with the sole purpose of standing on the battlefield. Thus, what they project onto their swords and armor is the “ideology of slaughter” they have built. Even if the power they wield comes from a goddess’s revelation, it is no different.
A warrior.
A mere scholar can never defeat a warrior. But Dale was no mere scholar.
“……!”
For a moment, a wary expression crossed the Holy Maiden Aurelia’s face. She turned, and the golden Valkyrie swung her sword.
Clang!
The unnamed sword of the Holy Maiden clashed. With what?
A Black Blade.
The jet-black aura blade symbolizing the House of Sachsen. A Death Knight’s sword, clad in the black armor of the Raven Knight, wielding enough skill to block the Holy Maiden’s strike.
That very black-bladed knight charged, swinging a blow at the Holy Maiden.
Not a corpse resurrected by the Raven Knight’s “material.” In this world, such limitations held no meaning.
This was a world where a mage projected their thoughts, and Dale was the god of this world.
He possessed the capability to make it possible.
A realm beyond the dreams of mere 6th-circle elders.
──A white and dark winter night.
Snowflakes fluttered, and in the swirling cold and darkness, the undead army began to appear one by one.
Death Knights wielding Sachsen’s black blades, protecting their lord and the “master of the world.”
Death Knights built with the power of thought. Each one projected the prowess of a once-called hero.
After raising the Death Knights, Dale had accumulated endless data as the captain of the Black Armor Company. The essence of the sword, honed through countless trials and errors with the sword genius Charlotte.
The “formula” that infused that essence was overlaid onto the Death Knights.
「Automatic Formula」.
Though still at a trial level, it was a worthy opponent for its first real test.
‘How far can they stand?’
Facing an extraordinary opponent with full power for the first time, Dale was unleashing more than 100% of his strength without reservation.
In the overclocked state of his heart’s circles, each circle accelerated beyond thousands of RPM. The tendrils of darkness, claiming another “black source,” infused power into his heart and circles.
Now, Dale was the master and god of this world.
Yet, he was neither omniscient nor omnipotent. To wield power, he had to expend the corresponding magic.
Raising Death Knights of this scale and projecting the hero’s prowess onto each with an automatic formula was not free.
His heart felt like it would burst from the pain. But undeterred, Dale lifted his head.
At that moment—
─ Ah, brother…
The girl with the horns of a black goat wrapped herself around Dale’s shoulder, as if she couldn’t contain her affection.
Her pale, slender fingers caressed Dale’s cheek.
“……!”
But to the Holy Maiden Aurelia, it appeared as if a grotesque mass of tendrils was enveloping Dale.
A repulsive otherworldly abomination, dripping tar-like black and dark mucus, wrapping its tendrils around him.
Ignoring the nauseating scene, she tightened her grip on her sword.
“──It seems.”
Facing the oncoming black-bladed knights from all directions, Aurelia spoke, her sword gleaming with golden light.
“It will be difficult to continue treating you ‘lightly,’ my lord.”
“That doesn’t concern me.”
“I do not wish to betray the favor you showed by handing over the lance.”
The golden Valkyrie said.
“If I exert my full strength, I cannot guarantee your life.”
“I was prepared for that from the start.”
Dale replied.
“But before that, I have a question.”
“Please, ask.”
“Do you think the one who will become the king of the New Britannia Kingdom will be a good king?”
“……!”
“Seeing how desperately you strive to pass the throne to Charles VII.”
Dale asked calmly.
“He must be a flawless saint of a king.”
“…….”
“Concerned for the people suffering under the empire’s tyranny, knowing justice, and genuinely caring for the kingdom’s future.”
Dale said.
“Is that truly worth it?”
Aurelia, the Holy Maiden, understood the underlying meaning of the question. It wasn’t really a question at all. The young heir of the Saxon family already knew the answer.
The true nature of the man known as Charles VII.
“Just because he has royal blood running through his veins…”
As if nothing else mattered.
“Do you intend to offer this entire country to him, Holy Maiden?”
“Thinking is not my role.”
“No, Lady Aurelia, you must think about it.”
There it was again.
“About what it truly means when the Sister of Sistina says she wishes to ‘save the Kingdom of Britannia.’”
“As I’ve said before.”
But Aurelia, the Holy Maiden, remained unfazed.
“I am merely here to carry out the will of the goddess.”
To save the kingdom from the empire’s tyranny and hand the throne to the most deserving. And Charles VII had that right. The divine right of royal blood.
“Are you choosing to be a puppet of the heavens?”
A puppet of the heavens.
Though her expression was hidden beneath a golden helmet, the air around them seemed to freeze, even in this world already chilled by a biting cold.
“Our fate is not ours to control,” Aurelia said.
“Indeed, you speak the truth,” Dale agreed, nodding. It was a sentiment he had once shared with Sir Yones.
There is no destiny we can change with our own hands.
“But just as fate is not ours,” Dale continued, “it is not ‘the heavens’ either.”
As if to say he would never become a puppet of the heavens.
“Is that so?”
Aurelia nodded silently at his words, adjusting her grip on her nameless sword.
“Then our conversation ends here.”
A golden vortex swirled around her feet, and six wings of light unfurled majestically.
She was no longer merely a golden Valkyrie. She stood as the executor of divine will.
A Seraph.
”■■■■■■■■──!”
At that moment, a girl with the horns of a black goat let out the most horrifying scream imaginable.