Episode 174
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“I am human.”
Dale answered, releasing the dark armor that encased his body.
“Hoo.”
The old woman on the mountain smiled happily upon hearing Dale’s answer. With the body of a young dark elf, she exuded an extremely alien presence among the mountain assassins.
“Okay, then may I ask why that human came to the land of the elves in person?”
“I have come here before to take over the contract that the Blue Tower has with you in the name of Black.”
“There are indeed many contracts between us and the Blue. Which of them are you referring to?”
“The only reason I came here was to ensure Sepia’s safety.”
Sepia. The air among the mountain assassins stirred ominously at the mention of that name. Nevertheless, the mountain woman paid no attention and asked back.
“Hoo, the ‘Shadow Lord’ himself came all the way here to protect one blue puppet?”
“At first, yes.”
Dale nodded.
“But after witnessing yet another outcast in the Imperial City, and furthermore the ‘mercy’ you show to that child… … I became a little more curious.”
“Curiosity. Tell me.”
The old woman on the mountain asked back, as if she was happy.
“Why do you show such cruel mercy to your own people?”
“Hey, Shiful. I never thought I’d say that, but could you please watch your mouth?”
As Dale spoke, a sandstorm swept through the mountain assassins. Even Master Baro couldn’t hide his bewilderment and joined in, but Dale paid no attention.
“I have heard that the Mountain Assassins are the executors of the divine orders of the Shadow Goddess. However, I am skeptical as to whether your actions are truly what the Shadow Goddess desires.”
“So you are saying that you know what the Shadow Goddess wants?”
“Because that’s what the Shadow Lord exists for.”
Dale answered.
Gold and Shadow. As the Black Lord once said, no one on this continent can escape the fanaticism that has persisted since ancient times.
And as long as Dale exists as a shadow monarch, whether he wishes it or not… … there is no need to turn down the assets that have been given to him, just as he uses the title as heir to the Duke of Saxony.
“What do you wish for?”
“I just want to know why the Mountain Assassins, and the entire Elf race, are so obsessed with their cruel blood traditions and mercy.”
Dale answered.
At first, I sought out the mountain assassins simply to ensure Sepia’s safety.
But when they saw the terrified young elf outcast in a city in the eastern part of the Empire, it was pure ‘humanity’ that drove Dale and Master Baro to action.
An altruistic action that comes from the mindset that one cannot simply pass by without any gain or understanding.
“What on earth did that child do that deserves to be banished from elven society, and even more so, to be kept from the blades that pursue her under the pretense of mercy? I would like to hear the reason directly from the head of the organization that carries out the will of the Shadow Goddess.”
“ha ha ha!”
The old woman on the mountain burst into laughter at Dale’s words, as if she found them ridiculous.
“You are so arrogant that it’s almost laughable.”
“Why were you, Lady Sepia, and the child banished from their homeland, and why are you threatening their lives?”
“Don’t open your mouth so rashly in front of your elders, human… …!”
“That’s enough, kid. That’s enough.”
Soon, the old woman on the mountain spoke, interrupting the mountain assassin who was about to open his mouth. One of the assassins quickly closed his mouth at her words.
“We haven’t declined to the point where we forget to be polite to our guests.”
The old woman on the mountain said this and turned her back.
“Follow me, humans.”
Just then, one of the mountain assassins snapped his fingers, and one of the desert predators whose blood had been calling for blood just moments before crouched down in front of Barowa and Dale.
“… … Heh heh, damn it. Surely I won’t get dragged into the sand pit riding this thing, right?”
Master Baro asked with concern, and the old woman on the mountain turned her back and answered.
“Isn’t that your karma, you damn disciple?”
“What a truly wonderful sight of a teacher and student.”
Leaving their conversation behind, Dale muttered as if it were someone else’s business.
* * *
It was a distance that could not possibly be reached even if it took several days and nights, or even longer, to ride a desert horse without stopping.
But it was only after the sun had set that the desert monster that had turned its back on Dale reached ‘their kingdom’.
The empire ruled by the Golden Emperor never ceased boasting about their achievements, claiming that they had unified the entire continent. They declared that they were the only nation that existed on this earth.
As Dale, who had dedicated his life to being the Empire’s proud standard-bearer and hunting dog, he knew that those words were not just empty boasts.
Yet, the more Dale realized the truth of this continent, the more he realized that the Empire was a mirage, a fleeting and insignificant cause.
Beyond the Northern Demon King’s Territory of the Saxon Dukes, the ‘Empire of the Demon’ ruled by the Eldritch spreads endlessly.
Moreover, what stretched out endlessly beyond this sweltering desert was the once veiled kingdom of the dark elves themselves.
In addition, there is a land of crystals at the tip of Antarctica, the land of the snow elves.
That’s not all.
Furthermore, the countless number of monarchs that make up the empire itself… … In the first place, those who ruled this empire were powerful beings from the magical realm who could not be called human, much less the ‘Anatolian Eastern Continent’ that Barbarossa the Drowned One had proven by setting out across the ocean.
Therefore, the empire’s claim to be the only nation on earth is ultimately nothing more than a ploy to cover the sky with the palm of one’s hand.
Even knowing that fact, what Dale felt was literal shock itself.
It was wide, but too wide.
“What on earth were you imagining, human child?”
Only then did the old woman on the mountain look down upon their kingdom and laugh.
“Did you ever imagine a community of savages living in humble tents in a remote corner of the continent, forming a village and living in seclusion?”
“… … .”
To be honest, I couldn’t just deny it.
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But it is because I could not even imagine that there would be enough land left in this land ruled by the empire to call itself a ‘nation’.
The edge of the desert, where even the most ambitious explorers of the Empire would never dare venture, but that edge was, incredibly, only the beginning of their ‘Dark Elf Kingdom’.
There, a literal kingdom stretched out endlessly beyond the horizon, centered around a desert oasis.
The landscape of their castle and city, towering so high that it even blocks out the setting sun, was no exception.
“At the edge of this desert land, across the sea, we are connected to the frozen lands of the Snow Elves.”
The old woman on the mountain spoke cheerfully to a child, explaining the ‘vastness of this world.’
“Why, you ask, are the outcasts banished from the land of the elves for breaking the taboo?”
“… … .”
“Have you ever wondered why your empire’s mightiest nobles were wiped out overnight, leaving their entire families out on the streets?”
The old woman on the mountain asked back. Dale was left speechless.
“After all the strife and shame over gold, was it really that surprising to banish an innocent child to the land of death?”
“… … .”
“Did you say it was cruel mercy, child?”
The old woman on the mountain said.
“Did those of your empire who speak thus ever think of showing such cruel mercy?”
Dale couldn’t bring himself to continue speaking and closed his mouth.
“In this hell where the Empire subjugates kingdoms of countless continents, where invaders r**e wives and slaughter sons and daughters, have you ever thought of showing such cruel mercy?”
Before long, even the smile on the old woman’s face had disappeared.
“Have you ever thought even a little about the foolishness of daring to believe, without a doubt, that you are the center of the world, in such a small and cramped piece of land as small as a grain of rice… and of falsely claiming the names of gold and shadow?”
As the dark elves of the Imperial City who once mocked Dale once said.
But the reason the old woman on the mountain executed her was not because her claims were wrong. It was simply because a mere soldier disobeyed the orders of his superior.
“Haha, Master. Please do that.”
Only then did Master Baro open his mouth to speak to the old woman on the mountain whose voice was finally getting louder.
That was when.
Choaack!
A whirlwind of blades swirled around the ground that Master Baro was standing on.
However, the vortex never reached Master Baro. The coordinate system that the ground he was standing on was connected to was not Master Baro’s body.
The empty space in the distance was distorted as it was swirled by the wind of the blade. It was an absurd force of destruction, as if space-time itself was being twisted.
“Oh my, damn it. The Master’s temper is still the same as before.”
“You little brat who says things like that, you’ve suddenly become smaller than an ant’s gallbladder.”
“Haha, as people get older, they’re not the same as they used to be.”
Master Baro smiled and took a step back, and the old woman on the mountain raised her head among the mountain assassins.
“Now, please speak again, you human child who calls yourself the King of Shadows.”
The young dark elf asked Dale.
“In this vast land and kingdom of our people, in the midst of countless bloody struggles and political strife, in the midst of endless civil wars that call for blood among our people… … .”
As if it was so funny that he couldn’t stand it.
“As one who dares to claim the name of Shadow Lord, please tell me how to bring eternal warriors and glory to this kingdom.”
Dale couldn’t answer that question.
Because Dale knows the countless conflicts taking place in the empire right now, and the innocent children who are being sacrificed to them. What would be different? It is not different.
Rather, as the Old Woman of the Mountain had said, it was Dale who dismissed the elven community as an extremely uncivilized tribal society.
“… … .”
So after a moment of silence, Dale knelt down.
“I will not ask for forgiveness for my foolishness, which is nothing more than a frog in a well.”
“Hoo.”
“So please give me a chance. No, dare I say… … .”
The old woman on the mountain smiled again, and Dale continued.
“I guess I should say that nothing will change.”
“What do you mean?”
“To you and to those of this kingdom, I have the opportunity to prove to you my worth as a monarch.”
The Shadow Lord spoke, leaving behind the black blood that endlessly swirled within his body.
