Episode 88
Wandering the continent alone with nothing but a sword is a death wish. Even in a world where legendary knights are said to slay dozens or hundreds with a single blade.
And the odds that this “traveler” standing here right now is one of those legends? Slim to none. Logically speaking, someone of that caliber wouldn’t be wandering around in such shabby attire.
In the southern empire, the Marcel Mountains block the path to Guild City.
That’s why the bandits of the “Greenwood” gang, who had set up camp there, didn’t hesitate. They blocked the path of the traveler in the black robe, ready to rob him of whatever he had.
It didn’t have to be gold coins.
Beyond the southern Marcel Mountains lies Guild City.
There, a living person is a highly valuable commodity. In that sense, the Greenwood bandits were little more than subcontractors regularly supplying “goods” to Guild City.
And with the tacit approval of the grand guilds, their business was thriving.
“Well, look at this fearless soul.”
At least, it was until that “traveler” came to them.
“To step into our territory without a care, you must be from out of town, huh?”
“Indeed! What rotten luck you’ve got!”
The Greenwood gang laughed, while the traveler remained silent. In the blazing sunlight, the shadow beneath his hood was impossibly dark.
“Looks like you’re running some kind of human trafficking operation here, aren’t you?”
The traveler in the robe finally spoke.
His voice was youthful, belying his appearance.
”…!”
But his unflinching demeanor silenced the Greenwood gang for a moment. Few could maintain such composure in front of bandits.
“Well, there’s no point in chatting with small fry.”
The traveler, Dale of Saxon, muttered as if it didn’t matter.
“You little…!”
Tension descended among the Greenwood gang. The silence didn’t last long.
One of the bandits, gripping an axe, charged forward.
Swish!
In an instant, the Greenwood gang couldn’t comprehend what had happened.
The arm holding the axe vanished. Blood spurted from the severed limb, but that wasn’t the end. A “crimson thread” wrapped around the bandit’s body, tracing a line from the crown of his head, down his lips and neck, and straight from his chest to his groin.
Another “crimson thread” followed, and soon dozens of bloodlines crisscrossed his body.
Thud!
The bandit’s body began to collapse like hundreds of diced cubes, reminiscent of the opening scene of the movie “Cube,” without even a chance to scream or writhe in pain.
“From the shadows… a monster emerged…”
Murmured one of the Greenwood gang, staring at their fallen comrade.
“A m-monster…!”
Beside Dale, a shadow took form.
Not a monster, but a human silhouette.
Beneath a black helmet, hair as dark as night fluttered.
Clad in the black armor symbolizing the Night Raven Knight, holding a sword unstained by blood. Not an ordinary Night Raven Knight. One who had taken the Oath of Silence, protecting the Saxon family from the shadows with unmatched strength.
A knight who disregarded the nobility and virtues of knighthood, unhesitant to become an assassin’s blade when necessary… wielded strictly by the Saxon family’s methods.
The “Grave Guard”… Aurelia was there.
Lady Shadow.
Not loyal to the Saxon duchy, but devoted entirely to Dale from within his shadow.
That day, Aurelia chose to become Dale’s shadow of her own volition. By accepting both her shadow and the darkness of Shub through the “Book of the Black Goat.”
It was a pact between the “Mother of Old Darkness” and the holy maiden Aurelia, and there was no trace of the once-pure holy maiden in her appearance.
“These are people who must die. Kill them all.”
“As you command, my lord.”
Dale spoke. Aurelia did not hesitate. She launched forward, her sword swinging again. Flesh, blood, and bone scattered. With each life she took, a euphoric thrill surged through her blade.
“Please, please spare me…!”
The pleas for mercy were so delightful, she couldn’t resist. Was this what pleasure felt like?
“Ah…”
The ecstasy of slaughter. Like a child discovering the world, devoid of emotion.
Freed from the shackles of the divine, Aurelia faced the world with her own desires and will. Without turning away from her darkness and shadow.
Where did her will end, and where did the darkness from the “Book of the Black Goat” begin? It no longer mattered.
The prayers of the holy maiden Aurelia never reached the goddess. The “Black Prince” drove the holy maiden to ruin, and in that ruin, extended a hand. That day, the holy maiden Aurelia made a pact with a demon.
In exchange for the empire’s ruin.
Amidst the bandits’ desperate pleas for mercy, Aurelia’s sword swung.
The black sword of Saxon, wrapped in a pitch-black aura blade.
The Greenwood stronghold.
The black Valkyrie was slaughtering the Greenwood bandits. Who could associate that avatar with the noble holy maiden of Britannia Island?
She bore no wings of pure white light, no trace of radiant gold. Only an undeniable joy in each swing of her sword.
That day, through the “Book of the Black Goat,” she faced her shadow by her own decision. And that decision made her who she was now.
The Black Maiden, Lady Shadow.
The black Valkyrie’s cloak billowed like a living creature. Like Dale’s “shadow cloak,” it became a pitch-black skewer, impaling the bandits’ bodies from all directions.
Blood splattered.
“Ah, ahhh…”
Dale approached the terrified Greenwood leader, who had collapsed in fear.
“I have a question.”
“Y-yes, please ask!”
The Greenwood leader begged on his knees at Dale’s words.
“Is there anyone among the ‘grand guilds’ of Guild City who has dealings with you?”
Officially, the grand guilds claim to be involved in finance, textiles, commerce, or law… but each one has its hands in all sorts of criminal enterprises they can’t publicly disclose. Through the network of Guild City, which spans the entire continent.
In other words, Guild City itself is a massive criminal organization.
The thief guild “Kaleidoscope” that once attacked Dale was nothing in comparison.
Even the Black Tower of the past received “test subjects” from them regularly.
Thus, finding a way into the deepest darkness of Guild City, beyond just becoming a customer of the black market, was necessary.
“I-I know! I know them!”
The Greenwood leader pleaded desperately.
“There are people who regularly come to take the slaves we’ve captured! I-I know them!”
“Good, it’s fortunate you know.”
Dale said. The black Valkyrie had already sheathed her sword. Leaving the scattered corpses behind.
The terrified leader wet himself, and Dale reassured him.
“That information will be your lifeline.”
A few days later. When someone from Guild City came to the Greenwood stronghold to receive their regular “goods.”
”…!”
Faced with the carnage, he was at a loss for words.
A man in a black robe stood there.
His black robe fluttered ominously in the still air, the shadow beneath his hood deep and dark in the sunlight.
Beside him, the Greenwood leader knelt, trembling.
‘W-what happened here…?’
At first, he couldn’t comprehend the situation. Had a punitive force from outside Guild City come to wipe them out? Then who was the man standing there?
“The ‘diversification of business’ in Guild City is truly astonishing.”
The man spoke, lowering his hood. Beneath it was the face of a child, not yet rid of his youthful innocence.
“Just in time.”
But the moment he saw the “skull ornament” in the man’s hand, a chilling fear gripped his heart. It was an invitation to the black market. A level of existence that someone like him couldn’t even dream of approaching.
The fact that a mere twelve-year-old held it could only mean one thing.
The empire’s greatest genius. No, the monster of the Saxon family, renowned beyond that.
“The young lord of the Saxon family…!”
“Surely this band of thieves didn’t dare offend you…!”
The Guild City man cautiously inquired, and Dale nodded.
“They’ve paid the price for their insolence.”
Dale said.
Thunk!
From the shadows at his feet, a pitch-black sword emerged, aimed directly at the trembling leader of Greenwood, who was kneeling in fear.
The dark blade rose from the shadows and then vanished back into them.
“Gah, urgh…!”
His throat was slit, and blood spurted forth.
“However, the reason I sought you out here,” continued the ‘Black Prince’ of Sachsen, unfazed by the scene before him.
“Is not merely as a customer of the Black Market, but as the ‘Emissary of the Black Tower Master’…”
His voice was devoid of any emotion.
“I have matters to discuss with the Grand Guild of Guild City.”
“The, the Grand Guild…!”
“Fortunately, it seems someone who can escort me to the Grand Guild is right here in front of me.”
”…!”
The mention of the Black Tower Master’s emissary made the Guild City representative swallow hard.
‘Could it be… he’s here to negotiate for more ‘test subjects’ for the Black Tower?’
There was no denying that the Black Tower had once been one of Guild City’s largest clients. The thought sent a shiver down the representative’s spine, yet he managed a smile.
“V-very well!”
It was the kind of business smile that never faltered, no matter the circumstances.
“Since the Duke of Sachsen, and indeed the emissary of the Black Tower Master, has graced us with his presence…”
He quickly began calculating in his head.
“Our Grand Guild of Guild City must, of course, extend the appropriate courtesies.”