Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: The Black Prince's Trial
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A new system for the Duchy of Sachsen, established by Dale.
Furthermore, the ducal affairs he had to oversee as the acting Duke of Sachsen were endless, including the task of developing the Demon King's territory and the Labyrinth City—originally under his purview as Viscount Sachsen—into a hub for artifact and magic stone trade.
However, governing the duchy as the Empire's foremost grand duke was not a role for the duke alone.
There was the head butler of House Sachsen, the Duke's trustworthy and loyal subject Lord Helmut, and countless other vassals.
“Worry not, Young Lord! I, Helmut, am with you!”
Dale had already been receiving various lessons in statecraft as the heir to the duchy, so there was no reason to be flustered by suddenly sitting on the throne of Sachsen Castle.
As always, by his side was the black-clad female knight, Lady Shadow.
But as fate would have it, it was around that time that the annual 'Tower's Trial' at the Black Magic Tower was scheduled to take place.
***
Meanwhile, in Lord Black's office.
“Has your body still not returned?”
Dale asked the Duke of Sachsen, who was present, with a worried tone.
He recalled the day his father had faced the Drowned Duke, revealing himself as the continent's greatest black magician. It had been an undeniable clash of 'true magicians'—a transcendent battle that Dale, in his current state, could not even dare to approach.
“Worry not. My identity has already been imprinted upon this body; only a few adjustments remain.”
Lord Black said. As a black magician well-versed in the principles of life and death, the weight of his words made Dale hold his breath.
“Then, is it possible to maintain an immortal life that way?”
For a moment, Lord Black smiled bitterly at Dale's question.
“Do you yearn for an immortal life?”
“Why did the heads of House Sachsen, generation after generation, forsake immortality?”
Dale asked in return. At his question, Lord Black's expression darkened slightly.
“──Why do you think the heads of Sachsen meekly accepted death?”
“...!”
Hearing this, Dale gasped.
“Don't tell me they also…”
“My father, and not a few other heads, could not accept death and chose an immortal life. To do so, there was only one choice they could make.”
“Have they been reborn as 《Eldritch》 alongside the Drowned Duke?”
Lord Black nodded silently. Another Sachsen. But their existence was by no means a collateral branch that had split off in ancient times.
“Then, Father, you too…”
Dale was about to ask if he, too, would attain an immortal life like them. But Lord Black silently shook his head.
“Not everyone chose such an immortal life. There were heads who, of their own will, forsook immortality and chose 'death.' This was because they believed that one who was not prepared for death was abandoning the duties of the Black Magic Tower and House Sachsen. I am one of them.”
But they were a tiny minority.
From the beginning, the clans of Sachsen shared a single root.
Beyond the Demon King's territory, in the darkness of the demon world, the heads of House Sachsen still slumber, led by the Drowned Duke.
This was information incomparable to what he learned when he first witnessed the Death Order. It was no surprise that the darkness of Sachsen far surpassed the imagination of ordinary people.
But even Dale had not expected it to be to this extent.
“Is this all to drive out the Golden Empire from this land and bring about the Shadow Empire?”
Dale asked, voicing the oldest and most secret conflict in this world, one that had continued since ancient times.
“Who told you that?”
“Everyone in this Empire says so.”
Dale replied. Furthermore, as one of the Empire's foremost grand dukes, the Duke of Sachsen could not possibly be unaware of this story.
“The Shadow Church swore allegiance to me, calling me the 'Shadow Lord,' and the Drowned Duke also claimed to be the Shadow Lord, calling me a usurper. And you, Father…”
“Called me the Lord of Darkness and Death, I suppose.”
Lord Black answered, and Dale nodded silently.
In this world, there are those who receive celestial revelations to execute the will of Gold and Shadow.
They are beings called apostles, and among them, only those with exceptionally great and special power can earn the right to be called a 'Lord'.
Just like the man standing before him.
“Then, when the Shadow Church and the Blue Sorceress Council swore allegiance to you, calling you the 'Lord of Shadow,' how did you take it?”
“...!”
Lord Black asked, casually mentioning information Dale considered a secret.
“I do not agree with their faith.”
Dale soon feigned composure and answered calmly.
“But for the sake of my goal, I decided I would gladly become their lord.”
“I am the same.”
Lord Black replied.
“I simply cannot understand why the countless powerful individuals in this Empire are so obsessed with that ancient fanaticism.”
At those words, Dale remained silent.
“But as long as you possess the blood of Sachsen and 『The Book of the Black Goat』, the ancient fanatics who follow you as the Shadow Lord will never disappear. Moreover, that very fact will endlessly attract those who see you as a threat.”
“I was prepared for that from the beginning.”
“And what is that for?”
“To bring down this Empire.”
“...”
Dale answered without a hint of hesitation, and Lord Black remained silent.
“As long as you claim to be the Shadow Lord, I, too, shall claim to be the loyal standard-bearer of the Shadow, in accordance with the ancient rules.”
After a moment of silence, Lord Black spoke.
“But my reason for wanting to be the standard-bearer of the Shadow has nothing to do with the ancient fanaticism of Gold versus Shadow.”
“Then why?”
“Because you are my son.”
Lord Black said, and Dale held his breath.
“Therefore, I have only one piece of advice for you.”
“Please, tell me.”
“Do not be consumed by the Shadow.”
Lord Black said.
“Never forget that you are merely playing the role of the Shadow Lord for your own purposes—a false god for your followers.”
“I have no intention of being consumed by the Shadow's creed.”
“I have seen countless foolish lords who were consumed by the fanaticism of Gold and Shadow, who came to believe without a doubt that they were gods.”
Lord Black began, a bitter tone in his voice.
“They are the ones who believe they are destined to bring the empire of Gold or Shadow to this land, convinced that their actions are never wrong. That is why the most fearsome people are those with conviction. Do you know why?”
“Because they have no desire to know the truth.”
“Just as I'd expect from my son.”
“Because there is nothing more terrifying than an ignorant and uninformed person with conviction.”
At Dale's words, Lord Black gave a bitter smile.
*'Strong convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.'*
As an ancient philosopher from his past life once said, it was a wisdom befitting the pinnacle of the Black Magic Tower, which seeks truth.
Realizing his father's wisdom anew, Dale nodded.
“Yes. And I only hope that you do not repeat that folly.”
“Don't worry, Father.”
The one who will bring down the empire of fire and light, and bring forth the empire of shadow.
“For I will never be consumed by the Shadow.”
The Shadow Lord spoke, and the Lord of Death and Darkness, who called himself the standard-bearer of the Shadow, smiled quietly.
***
Meanwhile, on the island of Britannia.
A land where the Holy Maiden Orelia's war for independence had ended in failure, now under the merciless rule of the Empire.
There was a man who had declared himself the Holy Maiden's most loyal standard-bearer, a man of piety beyond compare.
But after witnessing the Holy Maiden being branded a witch and turned to ash in the frozen lands of Sachsen, and seeing the Sister Goddesses of Mercy and Benevolence remain silent even as his homeland fell to ruin...
After that, not a trace of faith remained in the man's heart.
There is no such thing as a god. This world is a hell forsaken by the gods.
In the place of faith, a new conviction blossomed from despair.
It began with 'an experiment': kidnapping a devout choir boy from the church and torturing him to death.
“Please, please spare me!”
“Go on, call out the name of your goddess. Let's see if she answers your prayers.”
“Oh, Sister Goddesses! Please help me!”
“How strange. Why would the goddesses who so love benevolence and mercy remain silent when one of their lambs is suffering so?”
Until the very end, the boy cried out for the goddesses, but no answer came to his desperate pleas.
“Why won't the goddesses answer your prayers? Ah, what more definitive proof is there that gods do not exist?”
Watching those who cried out for the goddesses die in agony, the pleasure he derived, especially from the death of a pretty boy, was indescribable.
And with each slaughter, the man's conviction grew ever stronger.
*'This is a world abandoned by the gods. There never were any gods to begin with.'*
To prove this conviction, Gilles de Rais decided to devote his entire life to it.
And to prove the absence of gods, the scale of his experiments grew larger by the day.
It was also around that time that a mysterious man calling himself a 'demonologist' came to see Gilles de Rais.
***
While his father, the Duke of Sachsen, was taking a long-overdue rest and spending his days teaching magic to his daughter, Lije...
As the acting Duke of Sachsen, Dale traveled the main road of Necropolis.
He rode in a carriage emblazoned with the night raven crest symbolizing House Sachsen, accompanied by an escort of Night Raven Knights.
Necropolis, the City of the Dead.
However, thanks to Dale's new policies, the winds of openness blowing across the entire northern duchy had not spared this place.
Furthermore, as part of those policies, a new festival was being held throughout the city.
The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos).
It was an event intended to improve the image of the Black Magic Tower and Necropolis, where people would wear skull masks and honor the spirits of the dead.
Countless projects were being carried out under his authority as the acting Duke of Sachsen.
But Dale had not come to Necropolis to enjoy the festival. While he did intend to check on the festival's progress, his true purpose lay elsewhere.
As the acting Master of the Black Magic Tower, he was to supervise the Tower's Trial in the master's absence.
Furthermore, as a disciple of Lord Black, it was to prove himself as a black magician after having broken through the 20th floor that day.
And so, the 'Black Prince's' trial began.