Chapter 615
Chapter Title: Checkmate
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615.
“A letter has arrived from the Llewellyn family, offering to help resolve this incident.”
Upon hearing the report, Ecgerson’s eye twitched.
His face soured with displeasure.
“I don’t know what the Llewellyns take the Jerdingers for. Don’t you agree, Lord Patriarch?”
At Ecgerson’s question, the cool gaze of the Jerdinger Patriarch, Selde, turned to him.
The moment their eyes met, Ecgerson’s body flinched.
‘This bastard?’
Ecgerson Jerdinger.
A hero who earned the moniker ‘Sword of Ash’ because those cut by his blade were left as nothing but cinders.
Despite such a grand achievement, Ecgerson was considered a step below Selde Jerdinger, the patriarch of the family.
Selde Jerdinger of the Inferno.
Not only did he possess a power that ranked him among the greatest patriarchs in the history of the Jerdinger family, the most prestigious knightly house, but he was also always mentioned in discussions of who became the strongest knight after the Sword Saint passed away.
He was, by name and by right, the strongest knight in the Empire.
A man who wielded an overwhelming flame that surpassed even the previous patriarch.
“The Llewellyn patriarch sent that letter out of concern for my younger brother.”
Selde’s head tilted slightly.
“Does that displease you so?”
*Wooooosh—*
The temperature in the room rose sharply.
Everyone present was a swordsman trained in the Jerdinger way.
All of them were users of flame aura.
Yet even they felt a sudden, intense heat from the formidable presence Selde was emitting.
“Brother.”
Jis, the patriarch’s younger brother seated beside him, called out to Selde.
Instantly, the heat vanished.
Silence fell over the meeting room.
Amidst the quiet, one of the elders cautiously spoke up.
“Mages would be far more adept at tracking the culprit’s movements. What if we were to accept their help in that regard?”
At Jis’s words, the key figures of the Jerdinger family nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Ecgerson swallowed the rage he felt from the pressure Selde had just exerted on him.
‘How dare this arrogant whelp! He may be the patriarch, but to treat me, the de facto leader of the Elder Council, this way!’
Having been humiliated in a gathering of the family’s most important members, Ecgerson felt a fire burning in his gut.
But now was the time to suppress his anger.
As powerful as the Elder Council’s authority was, it could not compare to the patriarch’s.
Besides, security was the domain of the Elder Council, so this was his own failure.
To be precise, he had deliberately made it lax, but if the enraged patriarch made an issue of it, the Elder Council would have no choice but to shrink back.
‘That cannot happen.’
Ecgerson never thought he himself would become the master of the Jerdinger family.
His son, Reed, couldn't either.
Selde Jerdinger was simply too powerful for that.
However…
‘My grandson can become the patriarch.’
If an unforeseen accident were to happen to the current heir, Lis, then Celia would take her place as the next patriarch.
And if something happened to Celia, then it would be Leo.
At a glance, it seemed like a long line.
But.
‘If those three disappear, there will be no one left to sit on the patriarch’s throne.’
The patriarch’s younger brother, Jis Jerdinger, had one daughter.
But she was just an ordinary young lady from a noble house, far removed from the life of a knight.
‘This is an era of great upheaval. Tartaros is stirring, and the world is falling into chaos.’
The Jerdinger family was a renowned house of heroes.
They had earned their current fame by taking up their swords in times of crisis for the Empire, and by extension, the world.
Even the heirs to the patriarch could not be allowed to remain in a safe place.
‘They may be strong, but they’re still unfinished brats. An unforeseen accident can happen at any time.’
Wasn’t that why he had unleashed the best hunting dog?
‘Even the patriarch cannot possibly discover that the Elder Council is behind this incident.’
Most of the family’s knightly order followed Selde Jerdinger.
But the Jerdinger family’s shadows were mostly led by the Elder Council.
For a long, long time.
It was not easy for knights who fought on the front lines to track the movements of the shadows who operated in the dark.
‘Learning of that man’s existence must mean that God has chosen me.’
Ecgerson smiled to himself as he thought of the Hero Slayer.
He didn’t know how he had manifested in the present age.
But the Hero Slayer, who had slaughtered heroes long ago, was a hunting dog perfectly specialized for this kind of work.
After the meeting concluded.
Ecgerson arrived at the Hall of Elders and immediately headed for his office.
The other elders followed behind him.
“The patriarch won’t find out who’s behind this, will he?”
An elder asked with a worried expression.
Another elder chuckled in response.
“The Jerdinger shadows are under the Elder Council. No matter how powerful Selde is, he won’t figure out we’re behind this unless he has the shadows under his command.”
At that, another elder spoke.
“What if he brings in the Llewellyn shadows?”
Ecgerson let out a smirk.
“Where the light is strong, the shadows are deep. There is no force in the western continent that can consume the Jerdinger shadows.”
Even if the Llewellyn shadows were to dig into this, they would eventually hit a limit within Jerdinger territory.
Opening the door to the Hall of Elders, Ecgerson spoke.
“No one can reach the secret. No one.”
*Creeeak—!*
The moment the door to the Hall of Elders opened.
Ecgerson’s face hardened like stone.
He wasn’t the only one.
Everyone who saw the inside of the Hall of Elders was struck with horror.
Jerdinger shadows lay collapsed everywhere.
And as if the Hall of Elders itself had been ransacked.
Countless documents were scattered across the floor.
“Wh-what is this!”
Just as the elders let out cries of shock.
His face grim, Ecgerson strode toward a shadow who was still breathing in a corner and grabbed him by the collar.
“What happened here? Who did this!”
At his words, the shadow gasped for breath and spoke.
“They… they came. *Cough!*”
“‘They’ who!”
As he pressed the shadow, who was coughing up blood, the Jerdinger shadow panted and said.
“The Shadow… Lord… the one who rules the world’s darkness… has come….”
Ecgerson’s eyes widened.
The Shadow Lord.
Ecgerson had heard of their existence.
The Empire of Shadows.
Beings who ruled the darkness of each race, led by the Shan Empire.
“Why would they target the Jerdingers! Why!”
“We aren’t targeting the Jerdingers.”
A voice came from the darkness.
*Shing—*
At the words, the elders all drew their swords in unison.
All of them were heroes or beings on par with heroes.
The killing intent they emitted was enough to cut a person down just by being exposed to it.
But the woman who emerged from the darkness didn’t even bat an eye at their killing intent.
“A beastwoman?”
Ecgerson’s brow furrowed.
Kirin, the Southern Shadow Lord, spoke in a languid tone.
“What we were targeting were the traitors of the world who colluded with the Hero Slayer.”
Kirin’s eyes narrowed.
“The Jerdinger Elder Council.”
At those words, Ecgerson scoffed.
“You’re spouting ridiculous accusations.”
“Oh my? They’re not accusations, you know?”
A hooded Anyas walked out from beside Kirin.
In her cupped hands was a crystal ball.
Seeing it, Ecgerson’s face momentarily stiffened.
But he quickly regained his composure.
The crystal ball appeared to be an ordinary one at first glance.
“This Crystal of Secrecy. An artifact that, long ago, could only be created with the magic of the elven hero, the Alchemist of All Things.”
“What of it?”
At Ecgerson’s question, Anyas smiled faintly.
“Most of the artifacts created by the Alchemist of All Things were only possible because of his magic. And after his death, when their magic faded, the artifacts turned into junk.”
Anyas rolled the crystal ball around in her hands.
“The Alchemist of All Things was murdered, his magic stolen by the Hero Slayer. And it has been officially confirmed that the Alchemist’s magic does not exist as a reward for conquering the World of Heroes. Therefore, to create this artifact, the magic of the Alchemist himself is required.”
“…”
“This crystal ball. No matter how you look at it, it’s a recently made item.”
Anyas tapped the crystal ball.
As the magic activated, a clear bloodstain appeared on the surface of the crystal.
The material needed to activate the crystal ball was the blood of its registered user.
“Blood magic happens to be my specialty. I can regenerate bloodstains like this.”
“And what of it?”
Anyas smiled faintly.
“All magical artifacts retain a residual trace of magic. And in the case of magical communication devices, it remains in the form of a voice.”
Ecgerson’s face hardened.
“No matter how complex a magical artifact created by a great mage is, its operating principles are eventually deciphered by later generations. Even if they can’t make it, knowing its structure allows them to do various things. In which case, something like this becomes possible.”
“What has become of Lis Jerdinger?”
“She’s still alive.”
“Didn’t you say you would eliminate Lis if I created an opportunity?”
An unknown voice and Ecgerson’s voice flowed out from the crystal ball.
Seeing this, just as Ecgerson was about to shout, Anyas spoke.
“Don’t say it’s fabricated. It’s a method any skilled mage can perform with ease. If you have doubts, you can have it appraised by the Llewellyns, or you can have it appraised by the Mage Tower.”
At those words, Ecgerson’s face contorted.
Looking at him, Anyas let out a small, mocking laugh.
“Checkmate. For someone who betrayed the world, you were quite careless, weren’t you?”
He hadn’t been careless.
It was just that an unimaginable disaster had occurred.
No matter how deep and dark the Jerdinger shadows were.
They could not be as deep and dark as the shadows of the world.
And just as the world’s powers were fractured into various forms.
The shadows were the same.
Who could have possibly imagined?
That the entire darkness of the world followed a single person.
And that the one who ruled that darkness was the very person whose life they were targeting.
That he would be at their throats in less than half a day.
It was something no one could have imagined.
Ecgerson opened his mouth.
“The Jerdingers are by no means weak. I just need to kill all of you right here.”
“Southern Lord, he says he’s going to kill us all.”
“Mere lowly shadows like you have no hope of withstanding the swords of the Jerdingers.”
A flame aura erupted from Ecgerson’s body.
Watching him, Kirin spoke with indifference.
“I’d love to cut that tongue out right now so you can’t spout any more nonsense. But unfortunately, *He* said he would deal with you personally.”
“‘He’?”
The moment Ecgerson frowned.
*Flash— Kra-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-kang! Fwooooosh—!*
Flames shot up at the entrance of the Hall of Elders.
Seeing it, Ecgerson’s face hardened.
“The Jerdinger flames?”
***
*Fwooooosh—!*
The entrance to the Hall of Elders was a sea of fire.
Leo was walking through it.
*Thud— Thud—*
The knights who had blocked his path were groaning all around.
“You found the evidence faster than I thought.”
“They probably never imagined that the Shadow Lords themselves would be digging into their affairs.”
Algren said calmly.
“What is the meaning of this! Leo Flove!”
“Reed Jerdinger.”
Seeing the son of Ecgerson, the de facto leader of the Elder Council, Leo’s lips curled into a smirk.
“Do you know where my mother is?”
“What?”
“I heard she was kidnapped by the Hero Slayer.”
At those words, Reed’s complexion hardened.
‘How did this brat find out that much?’
“I also found out it has something to do with your Elder Council.”
“You bastard! Where do you get off making such wild accusa—!”
*CRASH—!*
*Fwooooosh—!*
Reed’s eyes widened as he barely managed to block Leo’s sword.
“Because of you people, my old personality is about to come out.”
‘How can this young whelp possess such killing intent….’
“I’ll give you a choice. Will you talk and die peacefully? Or will you die in agony?”
*Woooooosh—!*
“You arrogant brat! You must think you’re invincible just because you became a hero at a young age! Not all heroes are the same….”
*Squish—!*
*Splat—*
“Strangely enough, guys like you never choose to die peacefully.”
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
Reed screamed, clutching his right arm.
Lifting his sword, Leo tilted his head slightly.
“Where should I cut next?”