Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: The Death Knight and the Faceless
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* * *
“What in the world is that form…!”
The Shadow Lord's avatar began to radiate an aura incomparable to what it had shown just moments before.
Exuding an overwhelming magical power beyond imagination… a veritable god of magic stood there.
Four circles, wreathed in red mana, were running rampant. Yet, this was by no means a desperate, last-ditch effort.
On the contrary, Dale’s circles were now operating like a ‘state-of-the-art clockwork device,’ functioning with more precision than ever before, based on knowledge from another world.
He was using red mana to enhance the circles, and with that power, he was generating an unimaginable amount of magical energy.
And he was pouring that energy over the Armor of Dark Blood, augmenting all of its abilities.
The Shadow Lord's avatar, obtained through Shub's power, was not operated by aura. It was operated by mana.
Thus, he was unilaterally pouring an absurd amount of mana into the Armor of Dark Blood to strengthen it.
As a mage who wields the three colors of black, red, and blue.
The jet-black beast, Lord Helmut Blackbear, kicked off the ground once more. And to meet that blow, the Shadow Lord swung his sword.
*Clang!*
Against the two-meter greatsword, ‘Frenzy,’ the jet-black magic sword, ‘Hunger,’ clashed. Without even the slightest tremor.
‘He’s not being pushed back in strength…!’
Lord Helmut gasped, unable to hide his astonishment.
The Shadow Lord’s sword had parried the strike of the North’s strongest knight, a man who had dedicated his entire life to the blade. This was not the same figure who had been unilaterally overwhelmed with every swing of Lord Helmut’s sword. It was completely different.
They were clashing as equals, knight to knight.
“Ha, hahaha!”
In the midst of their power struggle, with their two swords locked, Lord Helmut burst into laughter. As if he couldn't contain his sheer joy and amusement.
“Yes, this is it! One could not possibly bear the ‘weight of Sachsen’ without being at least this strong!”
As Duke Sachsen's closest sword, the jet-black berserker’s fighting spirit blazed as he laughed maniacally. At the same time, aura began to explode violently around his body once more.
“As Helmut, I cannot contain my sheer joy at the accomplishments of the Empire’s greatest genius, Lord Dale!”
An energy of conflict, which had evolved beyond mere aura, began to envelop Lord Helmut’s avatar.
Combat aura.
Just as it was for the Holy Sword Master, for knights at the apex, an avatar was not necessarily limited to a single form.
‘To think he has even more power than this…!’
The Shadow Lord readjusted his grip on the jet-black magic sword, and in the next instant, the distance between them closed. Nothing had changed. Dale was currently accelerating his body by forming a heat engine with red mana. How far could he stand against the ‘North’s strongest knight’ with this power?
Dale, too, smiled, filled with a berserker’s fighting spirit that was no less than Helmut’s.
*Clang!*
A sword strike clashed. It was a blow with an overwhelming presence, incomparable to before. It was difficult enough to receive, but more than that, an indefinable chill clung to the blade.
After the clash, Dale lifted his head.
Amidst the swirling combat aura, the second form of Lord Helmut Blackbear’s avatar finally revealed itself.
‘…!’
A Death Knight stood there.
Its body was a skeleton, devoid of a single shred of flesh, clad in the black armor of Sachsen. A Death Knight.
That very Death Knight readjusted its grip on the two-meter greatsword, ‘Frenzy.’
“How is this, Lord Dale?”
The skull of Helmut Blackbear opened its mouth. A bizarre voice, which could hardly be called human, flowed out.
“This is the proof of the will that I, Helmut Blackbear, have dedicated to House Sachsen.”
The sword of death, the armor of an ideology that vowed loyalty to House Sachsen even after death, was there.
“Lord Helmut…”
And Lord Helmut, now a Death Knight, knelt before Dale. Not to continue the fight.
*Thud!*
“I shall never forget the martial prowess that you have shown me today, Lord Dale!”
He plunged his greatsword vertically into the frozen earth of the Demon Realm. As if Dale could command this Death Knight as his own limb.
But what stood before him was no mere Death Knight. It was the North’s strongest knight, who thought and acted of his own free will, and who had sworn a lifetime of loyalty to House Sachsen.
“Rise, Lord Helmut.”
Seeing this, Dale finally deactivated the Shadow Lord’s avatar. The red mana accelerating the circles in his heart subsided.
It was right after that moment.
“…Hk!”
A sudden pain, as if his heart were ablaze, assaulted Dale. His body collapsed, and he fell to his knees. Helmut rushed toward him in alarm, but Dale quickly extended an arm to stop him.
“There is no need for concern.”
“Are you not yet accustomed to using this ability?”
Lord Helmut replied as if he had expected it. He was right on the mark. The reason he hadn't continued the fight was his understanding that a newly awakened ability could become a double-edged sword.
“As expected of you, Lord Helmut.”
Dale forced a calm smile. The heat engine accelerating his heart's circles had ceased its operation, but the residual heat remained, burning his heart.
Hastily generating blue mana to achieve thermal equilibrium within his body, Dale began to calmly assess the risks of his new ability.
“I, Helmut, swear to gladly raise my sword for your training in the future as well.”
Having deactivated his avatar, the Lord Helmut that Dale knew stood there once again.
“Thank you, Lord Helmut.”
Seeing him, Dale smiled softly. As he said, this was only the beginning. As a mage who had awakened the Shadow Lord’s avatar and could utilize the three colored attributes.
The hearth within the fortress on a white, dark winter’s night was blazing hotter than ever before.
* * *
Some time later, at the castle of the Viscount of Sachsen in the Labyrinth City.
“The noble faction centered around the S-rank adventurer, Edward of Dules, is extending its influence to the ‘Guild Street.’ Furthermore, there are reports that his martial prowess has grown abnormally in recent days.”
“The number of adventurers going missing within the labyrinth has surged in the past few weeks. The figure far exceeds the projected rates for disappearances and deaths.”
An assassin from the Shadow Court, which monitored adventurers from the darkness, reported to the Viscount of Sachsen.
“Do you have any leads?”
“The Shadow Court’s assassins are closely monitoring the movements of adventurers entering the labyrinth, but we have yet to find any solid clues.”
“…”
Hearing this, the Viscount of Sachsen, Dale, remained silently in thought.
“Speaking of which, I heard that ‘Lady Scarlet’ of the Red Magic Tower personally registered her information with the Adventurer's Guild a while ago.”
“That is correct.”
“Have there been any suspicious movements from her within the labyrinth?”
“Well…”
The Shadow Court assassin trailed off.
“She moves with such elusiveness within the labyrinth, evading our surveillance network, that we cannot track her whereabouts at all.”
That a single mage was evading the Empire’s finest assassins. For Lady Scarlet, at least, that was by no means a difficult feat.
“I see.”
Therefore, there was only one thing for Dale to do as the ruler of the Demon Realm.
“Continue your duties and do not let your guard down.”
After saying that, Dale rose to his feet.
* * *
It was undeniable that the red mages of the Red Magic Tower, led by Lady Scarlet, were contributing to the development of the Demon Realm. The same was true for the Knights of the Rose Cross, who were fulfilling the Lancaster family’s promise to the Grand Alliance against the demons.
However, setting aside House Lancaster, he could never lower his guard against the dark intentions harbored by the Red Magic Tower.
The tower of fire and blood, worshipers of power who executed the Empire's zeitgeist.
Moreover, that wasn't all Dale had to consider. There were also the various groups moving with their own ambitions centered around this Labyrinth City.
Therefore, officially resolving the situation was not the role of ‘Viscount Sachsen.’ It would be the job of the S-rank adventurer who had once made his name in the Labyrinth City,《Faceless》.
* * *
It was a veritable hellhole where countless factions and organizations fought for a fortune.
Among them, Edward of Dules and his faction of noble adventurers were one of the most powerful organizations in the city.
Hailing from the renowned Count Dules family of the Empire, Edward was a knight whose skills were beyond reproach. The influence he wielded among adventurers was extraordinary from the very beginning.
Furthermore, around the time the Viscount of Sachsen had left his domain to fight in the War of the Roses, Edward had acquired a certain artifact from the labyrinth's depths.
He then took advantage of the Viscount’s absence, laundering the artifact through a guild he had connections with instead of reporting it to the ‘Adventurer’s Guild,’ thereby making it his own.
And before long, Edward had become a powerhouse and a formidable figure that other adventurers in the city could not dare to challenge.
* * *
Leaving the murmuring crowd behind, when ‘Faceless’ entered the Adventurer’s Guild, a red-haired beauty who captured everyone's attention was there.
It was Lady Scarlet, who was being revered like a queen among the adventurers.
“My, my, how very kind of you.”
Scarlet smiled bewitchingly, and the shadow of Faceless under his hood turned toward her. For a moment, her gaze met his.
“Oh my.”
As if seeing through to the presence of Faceless beneath the hood, Scarlet giggled in amusement.
“Faceless, the legendary adventurer the city folk speak of has appeared!”
“…”
Watching Lady Scarlet shrug her shoulders in an exaggerated manner, Faceless simply turned his head away. As if she wasn't even worth his time.
“Ah, how cold.”
“Hah, well, shit.”
Just then, a voice finally came from under Faceless’s hood. It was the coarse voice of a man.
“Huh…?”
“The way this little lady wags her tail is a real work of art.”
At the unexpected voice, even Lady Scarlet was taken aback and fell silent. It was a voice that didn't match the ‘identity of Faceless’ that the Red Magic Tower’s spies had reported in the slightest.
During the War of the Roses, the adventurer Faceless had vanished. In truth, it wasn't difficult to deduce his identity from that fact alone.
And Dale was not so foolish as to not understand that.
Therefore, from now on, the role of the adventurer Faceless would not be played by the ‘Black Prince.’
“So, how about this legendary adventurer and you go take a cozy little tour of the labyrinth together?”
It was Master Baro, the strongest of the Shadow Court that monitored the Labyrinth City from the darkness.
“Ah, unfortunately, I don't make a habit of associating with swine from the mud.”
And at Master Baro's words, Lady Scarlet turned her head away, her expression completely devoid of emotion.