Episode 177
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“The disgusting smell of humans is vibrating.”
“That’s true.”
Elves of zeal and crystal were gathered around a towering table. The truth hidden by the empire that boasted of having once unified the continent. The kingdom of elves made of zeal and crystal.
The rulers of the two kingdoms, the Lord of Sand and Desert and the Queen of Crystal, looked down upon Dale.
As if looking at a defendant standing in a courtroom.
It was the opening of the Fairy Parliament.
“What a disgusting human being, watch your words.”
It was at that moment that one of the snow elves beside the Crystal Queen spoke. It was Erjeda, the sorceress of the Blue Tower.
“As all of you, distinguished members, know, the Being before us is no ordinary human being.”
Is she here as a councilor of the Snow Elf Kingdom, or is she carrying out a mission for the ‘spider web’ that the Blue Tower is spreading across the continent? Perhaps both.
“Ha! Have you forgotten how many false kings have taken that name to curry favor with our race?”
“Don’t be so excited, my dear child of the House.”
The one who stopped the dark elf who was trying to continue speaking as if he couldn’t believe it was a mountain woman with the appearance of a young dark elf. However, what you see on the outside is not everything about the elves.
“your majesty!”
The dark elf in the olden days swallowed his breath in bewilderment, as if he were addressing a superior he could not dare to look up to.
“… … .”
Looking at that sight, Sepia’s mother, the Crystal Queen, remained silent.
“After all, isn’t it our mission to discern who truly deserves to be the Shadow Lord among the false kings who claim to be so?”
The Lord of the Desert and the Sand said:
“That is exactly what you said.”
That was why Dale nodded. It was not difficult to gauge the gazes of the elves pouring in from all over the place, and the hostility lurking there.
Although it was nothing compared to when he unfolded the Shadow Lord’s avatar, the insight in Dale’s eyes was no longer what it used to be. It was not necessarily the power to distinguish between truth and lies.
“I came here for two purposes.”
Dale continued.
“One, to prove your legitimacy as the Shadow Lord to those who call themselves the Shadow Riders.”
There was jeers and jeers from all sides, but Dale paid no attention.
“Two, on behalf of the Blue Tower, I, the daughter of Her Majesty the Crystal Queen and an exile from the Crystal Lands… … wish to guarantee the safety of Lady Sepia and forgive her life debt.”
But when Sepia’s name was mentioned, a silence as thick as a feather settled over the room.
“… … .”
The snow elf sitting on the throne beside the Lord of the Desert and Sand remains silent.
“Lord of Cold and Crystal, please answer me.”
She was the queen who ruled over the land of crystals, and she was a girl with the body of a child who looked like an old woman on the mountain.
Silence continued in the freezing stillness.
“Then do that.”
After a silence, the Crystal Queen answered.
“I guarantee that as long as the child is in the frozen soil of Saxony, the mountain assassins will not touch his life. Does anyone have any objections?”
No one answered her words. So the Crystal Queen just sat up, as if there was nothing more to do.
“With this, the House is adjourned.”
“for a moment……!”
Dale asked urgently to the blunt-spoken Queen.
“Is that all?”
“Have you any further wishes, child of Saxony? Do you really expect us to kneel down and hand over our kingdom to you?”
A cold mockery finally appeared on the Queen’s face, and Dale shut his mouth.
“As you wished, the child is yours. I don’t want to know how you will treat the child, nor do I need to know. The story is over.”
It was so cold that it was hard to believe that she was talking to her own daughter. It was a voice without even a shred of emotion. It didn’t change anything about Dale’s purpose, as the Queen of Crystal said.
It wouldn’t be strange if you accepted the offer and went back.
But it didn’t feel good.
Because we still don’t know the truth about Sepia. Until we know the truth, even if Saxony is protecting her, it’s only a temporary measure.
Above all, ultimately… …nothing has changed about the cruel mercy that the Mountain Assassins show to their own kind.
“No, the story isn’t over yet.”
So, Dale opened his mouth to face the Crystal Queen who had turned her back.
Choaack!
The Dark Blood’s body trembled, the tentacles of Shuv wrapped around his body, and the Shadow Lord’s avatar appeared.
The world of truth unfolded, with light disappearing and shadows filling it.
There, the eyes that glimpsed the truth beyond the curtain of lies turned directly towards the shadow of the Queen of Crystal.
No, I was trying to head towards it.
At the same time, a vortex of cold air swirled around the area beneath the Shadow Lord’s feet.
The absurd speed of the spell or the flow of magic power was so fast that it was impossible to even perceive it. The coldness of the ice began to engulf Dale’s being, starting from his feet, in an instant.
But for Dale now, it was never something he could chase.
──Because the eyes of truth were watching it.
It wasn’t just about telling other people’s secrets or past history.
No, rather, combat is like a dance of truth and lies. Where will the sword swing, where will the magic strike? The opponent’s intentions, bluffs, fakes, combat is like a test to figure out a single truth between the countless crossroads of decisions.
‘It was seen.’
So before the swirling cold could engulf Dale’s feet, he kicked off the ground and left the place.
‘There is no need to win.’
Kicking the ground and moving, the Shadow Lord thought.
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‘Just looking is enough.’
A momentary flicker, nothing more is needed. There is no need to even win. This is not a battle.
It would be no different even if the opponent were the Crystal Queen.
He just raised his head.
The Shadow Lord’s Eye of Truth finally took on a new color.
And then… … there it was.
The existence that is reflected in the eyes of truth.
──The retina of a living organism changes light information into electrical information and transmits it to the brain through the optic nerve. By doing so, we form images of objects and see the world.
And what was reflected in Dale’s eyes was not the Crystal Queen who had turned her back.
Before she knew it, the ‘crystal mirror’ she had set up was refracting and reflecting light… … and it was Dale’s own shadow.
“… … !”
The warrior from another world was there. His chest was torn open, the blade of the holy sword sticking out, his own dark, white winter night self.
“What do you see, a human child who claims to be the lord of truth?”
The Queen of Crystal turned her back and asked back. Dale could not answer. It was a truth that could never be revealed.
“It must be an unspeakable truth. A secret that I want to keep hidden behind a veil of lies for the rest of my life.”
The Queen of Crystal sneered coldly.
“Does he, who has hidden himself behind a veil of lies, dare to call himself the Lord of Truth and spy on our shadows?”
“… … .”
“You are not worthy of claiming to be the Lord of Truth. Just as those who once called themselves the Lord of Shadows were.”
Dale was speechless at the laughter.
“The weight of truth to you is nothing more or less than what the Blue Tower thinks is true.”
The Queen of Crystal rebuked her coldly. Dale’s expression froze at her words.
“I regard the truth as nothing more or less than a weapon that can be used to strangle the opponent.”
The Lord of the Desert and Sand also looked at Dale with an expression devoid of even the slightest emotion.
I could understand by looking at her expression.
‘Was it like that?’
After hearing that story, all I could do was laugh.
Dale raised her head again, to look at herself in the mirror the Crystal Queen was reflecting.
The otherworldly warrior, the ‘Black Prince’ of Saxony, was there. But that was not all.
──Sepia was there.
A master who smiles affectionately at Dale. A master who understood his talent for killing early on, and who was willing to stay by Dale’s side despite that.
‘I just hope you don’t feel sad.’
Sepia said so. Only then was she able to understand her own truth.
That’s why Dale didn’t hesitate.
The world centered around the footsteps I was standing on was covered with the white and dark scenery of a winter night.
It unfolds a world of imagination where only Dale and the Crystal Queen are allowed.
“Her Majesty the Queen is right.”
But you could never find any fighting spirit in Dale.
“Therefore, I am willing to reveal my truth to you.”
“… … .”
The Crystal Queen, who had turned her back, finally turned her head.
The body of a young snow elf, yet there was not a shred of charm in her appearance.
“Did you say it was true, human child?”
“Yes.”
Dale said.
“To you, the truth is still nothing more than a bargaining chip, a weapon to hold the reins of negotiations.”
The Queen of Crystal sneered coldly.
“He just revealed his true colors because his situation was unfavorable. Isn’t that all?”
“Maybe so. No, that’s right.”
Dale nodded blandly.
“To me, truth is nothing more than a card to use to threaten others and to threaten my own weaknesses.”
Dale said.
“Nevertheless, I am willing to reveal to you all my cards and all my capital.”
The Queen of Sunjeong held her breath.
“Even if it means helping Professor Sepia, that is the only truth I can tell you.”
As the Shadow Lord, and further as the Lord of Truth, Dale spoke.
“Why are you so devoted to that child?”
“Because I like Teacher Sepia.”
Dale answered. It was a truly ridiculous answer.
“Even if I don’t receive any reward, I don’t care. No, I secretly hope for a reward. That’s the truth. But even if I don’t receive any reward, I’m willing to protect Mr. Sepia. That’s also the truth.”
A truth that cannot be dressed up no matter how fancy a name one tries to give it.
“That’s all.”
Dale said, and that was it.
On a dark and white winter night, revealing one’s naked body in the cold and darkness.
“… … .”
At those words, the expression on the Crystal Queen’s face finally became agitated. Silence fell. However, in the world of ideas that the Shadow Lord was unfolding, she, who had covered her own existence with a crystal mirror, had never revealed any more malice than this.
“I have touched the magic of absolute zero.”
After a moment of silence, she opened her mouth.
“And even now, that curse lingers in her heart.”
Dale took a deep breath as he realized what it meant.
“『Book of Absolute Zero』… … ”
Dale muttered softly, and the Crystal Queen nodded silently.
“That is why my daughter was banished from the land of crystal.”
The Lord of Cold and Crystal spoke, and his voice was filled with the agitation of a parent counting his daughter for the first time.
