Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Shadow Lord
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The surrounding landscape was consumed by an endless darkness.
The ‘Shadow Cloak’ Dale wore spun out of control, submerging the Grand Court in a lake of darkness. Everything vanished into the darkness, save for the Saint and Dale.
A jet-black barrier.
And within that barrier, a woman with goat horns revealed herself. Not a young girl, but an elegant, captivating lady of indescribable grace. The Mother of Ancient Darkness.
“Shub.”
Dale spoke her name cautiously. From within Dale’s shadow, Orelia also emerged. As the Holy Maiden, tainted and fallen by the darkness of 『The Book of the Black Goat』.
“Ah, Mother of Ancient Darkness and Black Abundance.”
The Shadow Saint smiled ecstatically at Shub. She finally unwound the black bandages covering her eyes.
“...!”
Seeing her, Dale gasped.
What should have been behind the bandages was gone.
“To see the things that lie beyond, there are some things one must occasionally give up.”
Where her two eyes should have been, there was only a void, filled with darkness. A profound darkness, like peering into the bottom of an abyss.
“And at last, I can see.”
“...”
“I have been waiting for this very moment.”
The Shadow Saint smiled, unconcerned.
“As the apocalypse foretold—the Apostle of Black shall appear, with the she-goat of the black forest who mothers a thousand young.”
The Apostle of Black, wielder of 『The Book of the Black Goat』.
“He shall gather the world’s last flame, and as the final light fades, the world of shadow will arrive.”
It was needless to say what this referred to.
“These are the words left by the founder of Sachsen, the First Apostle, ‘Immortal Duke Frederick’.”
The First Apostle.
*‘It wouldn’t be strange for the Shadow Church and the Black Magic Tower to have had a point of contact back in the days of the Black and White Magic Towers.’*
But that was an event of an unfathomably ancient past, and even Dale couldn’t possibly know everything about this world.
Furthermore, in a world that firmly and unswervingly believes in the existence of gods, it went without saying how seriously the Shadow Church would take the weight of those words.
*‘An unexpected connection has formed.’*
It wasn’t that he agreed with the Shadow Church’s faith. It was just that if they were going to mistakenly call him the ‘Apostle of Black,’ there was no need to shatter their belief.
Use what can be used. That was all there was to it.
“As the Apostle of Black, who will drive out the empire of fire and light, which is filled with lies.”
The empire of fire and light.
“I greet the ‘Shadow Lord,’ who will bring forth the true empire of shadow.”
With those words, the Shadow Saint knelt before Dale. Willingly offering herself as a loyal servant.
“Huhu, I have waited for this day when my prayers would be answered.”
Kneeling, she kissed the top of Dale’s foot.
“Please, use us as you see fit, as the cornerstone upon which to build the empire of shadow.”
Tentacles squirming from beneath Shub’s hem slithered out and coiled around the Shadow Saint’s body.
—Ah, my faithful child.
Each time a tentacle wrapped around the Saint’s body, she smiled in unbearable ecstasy.
—Your faith shall be rewarded.
“Ah, Mother of Black Abundance.”
—The day the world’s last flame is extinguished and the final light fades is near.
Once again, the darkness swirled.
The Shadow Saint and Orelia soon vanished, leaving only two people behind: Dale and the ‘Mother of Ancient Darkness’.
“...What did you do to her?”
Dale asked Shub, who smiled meaningfully. Countless tentacles squirmed beneath her dress.
—You don’t believe her words?
She had reverted to the young girl Dale knew. With an inscrutable smile.
—The revelation that the Goddess of Shadow would send the Apostle of Black to build an ‘empire of shadow.’
“There are no such things as gods in this world.”
Dale replied coldly.
A world without gods. At his words, Shub tilted her head as if puzzled.
—You doubt, even after seeing me before you?
“At least, not one who watches our every move from the sky all day long.”
To Shub’s question, Dale continued.
“If we assume a god is a stalker who loves us and has a list of dos and don'ts,”
He said nonchalantly.
“then there are no such things as gods in this world.”
—Then what do you think we are?
“A person looking down at an ant.”
Dale answered.
“One day, the ant suddenly starts shouting their name, and they find it so fascinating and surprising that they can’t help but be intrigued.”
At least, when Dale had seen ‘Death’ through Lord Black, he could sense it. It would not be an exaggeration to say that, in a sense, they possessed power like that of a god.
The realm of a Magic God that mages so desperately wished to reach, a world of true principles unknown even to Lord Crimson.
At the same time, they were the heartless invaders who had trampled his home planet.
Those great celestial dwellers.
To them, a creature like a human was nothing more than an ant.
And when the collective unconscious shared by humanity became aware of ‘their existence’ and summoned fragments of them to this land, it was, in a sense, not so different from ‘an ant calling a person’s name.’
Just as had happened to Dale's home long ago.
For the person, it would be truly surprising, fascinating, and immensely interesting. Without even understanding the future implications of that act.
“That is the true nature of the beings we call gods in this world.”
The ‘Mother of Ancient Darkness’ beside Dale was no exception.
“You mistake the occasional interest they show for something more...”
And so, Dale continued.
“and call it a divine revelation, praising it as such. It’s nothing more than that.”
—Kyahahahahat!
At Dale’s words, Shub burst into laughter, as if she couldn’t contain her amusement.
—I really do like you.
Shub coiled around Dale and smiled. Like stroking a beloved cat.
—And this is my ‘surprise gift’ to you.
“...A gift box that would have been received no matter who opened it, I suppose.”
He wasn't wrong. There was no particular reason why the one the Shadow Saint pledged loyalty to and kissed had to be Dale.
It just had to be someone who possessed 『The Book of the Black Goat』 and inherited the will of the Immortal Duke. Anyone with the blood of Sachsen who could endure the darkness of the grimoire would have sufficed. However, finding someone who could satisfy both those conditions was like finding a needle in a desert.
There was no reason it had to be Dale. At the same time, it was a gift box that no one but Dale could open.
“Thank you, Shub.”
And so, Dale smiled.
“At the very least, the ‘revelation’ they arbitrarily believe in will come to pass.”
Dale spoke.
Gathering the world’s last flame, and the fading of the final light. The fall of the empire of fire and light.
Not as a puppet of the heavens, but entirely by Dale’s own will. In a world without gods, he would become a god for those who seek one.
After destroying the empire, what would he build upon its ruins?
The answer was not as difficult to find as he thought.
*‘The empire of shadow.’*
Dale’s empire.
*‘Shadow Lord.’*
—I hope you like my favor.
With those final words, Shub’s form also vanished. The darkness receded, drawn back into Dale’s Shadow Cloak.
Dale was once again in the setting of the ‘Grand Court’.
Dale, Orelia, and the Shadow Saint. In that place gathered the men in plague doctor masks and one of the Seven Swords of the Continent… Killing Sword, Master Baro.
“Heh, for fuck's sake.”
‘Master Baro’ spoke.
“Look at this widower’s lot, can’t even join the conversation, just sipping on beer.”
He chugged his beer, as if he couldn't care less.
“Master Baro, the revelation has been fulfilled.”
The Shadow Saint spoke in response to Baro’s words.
“The Apostle of Black, who will destroy the empire of fire and light to free us… and establish the empire of shadow.”
Her eyes still covered by the black bandages.
“Has finally appeared before us.”
There wasn’t a shred of doubt in the Shadow Saint’s words. Fanaticism and obedience. Before everyone, she again knelt before Dale and kissed his instep.
An undeniable oath of submission.
In the face of her actions, no one dared to object.
“If I were to fight for all of you, to drive the empire of light from this land.”
And so, amid the Saint’s kiss, Dale spoke.
“What can the Shadow Court, no… the Shadow Church, do for me?”
Even in this sudden situation, he was thoroughly calculating what he could use.
“Everyone in the Shadow Court will kneel at the ‘Shadow Lord’s’ feet.”
The Saint answered. The bond between black and shadow. The arrangement Dale had once hoped for had come to fruition in a way he had never imagined. It was an undeniable deus ex machina.
“Heh heh, hold on a moment.”
It was then.
Finishing the beer in his hand, the assassin with the title ‘Killing Sword’ spoke.
One of the Seven Swords of the Continent, Master Baro.
“I have no intention of doubting the shine on the silver spoon the eldest son of House Sachsen was born with, but...”
He rose to his feet, his hand moving toward the hilt of the sword at his waist.
“Whether you’re really worthy of me bowing my head is something I’ll decide after we’ve had a go.”
“...”
Gaining the submission of the entire Shadow Court meant gaining control of the continent’s greatest assassin organization.
“Something I’ve learned in my time is that you gotta be careful who you bow your head to.”
And among them, the powerhouse before Dale, the ‘Killing Sword’ of the ‘Seven Swords of the Continent,’ would be no exception.
“Even if it’s for the great House of Duke Sachsen.”
He wouldn't accept it so meekly.
He hadn't expected to gain control of the entire organization on the Shadow Saint’s word alone in the first place. Winning each of their individual loyalties would be a separate matter.
“Please leave this to me.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Orelia took a stance to draw her sword before Master Baro, but Dale reached out an arm to stop her.
“One cannot simply hand over an organization as historic as the ‘Shadow Court’ to someone unworthy.”
“Hoh.”
“Rather, it is a great honor to have one of the Seven Swords of the Continent personally gauge my qualifications.”
“Heh heh, what a smooth talker.”
Master Baro smiled coldly and drew his sword.
“Grit your teeth, kid.”
A blood-red aura coiled around the tip of his blade.
“Revelation or whatever.”
As if to prove his name as the Killing Sword.
“If you don’t want a one-way ticket to the afterlife, that is.”
“I am prepared.”
At the same moment, Master Baro’s form vanished.
One of the Seven Swords of the Continent, and at the same time, the continent’s greatest assassin.
*Clang!*
And the sound of a blood-red aura blade, swung from behind Dale, rang out as it clashed against another blade and was repelled.
“Well, I'll be damned.”
Master Baro gasped in surprise.
“He blocked it?”
Dale didn't even turn his head; he remained silent and perfectly still.
It was not Dale who had moved. It was Dale’s knight, the one he had acquired from the Fight Club. That very Death Knight, wielding Sachsen’s black sword, had parried the ‘Killing Sword’s’ strike. Projecting the Peacemaker's power onto its jet-black aura blade.
The Hero’s beloved sword, now swung with aura for the first time in this world.
“At this rate, isn't my own head gonna be the one flying off?”
Master Baro muttered, and soon, the ‘Hero’s Proxy’ surged toward the ‘Killing Sword’.