Episode 178
* * *
──There once was a ‘Second Empire’ that ruled the continent of the past based on the frozen land of crystals and the desert of heat.
The Elven Empire, an ancient nation of elves, yet so distant in the past that only its name remains in human history.
“The ancient ancestors of the Empire had no doubt that you were of a nature capable of controlling and manipulating the natural order.”
The Crystal Queen spoke, and she finally revealed her shadow before the ‘Shadow Lord’.
“They knew how to understand the universe beyond this planet, the movements of the stars, and even the ultimate end they would bring.”
“… … !”
“The fact that this universe is still freezing, and that in the ultimate end, the frost of the apocalypse will engulf the universe and the entire world.”
Information flows into Dale’s head through the Eyes of Truth.
“Some say the world will end in fire, others say it will end in ice.”
The Queen of Crystal continued speaking softly.
“I, who know hate, will say this: Ice is as capable of destroying the world as fire.”
“… … .”
The Big Freeze, a doomsday hypothesis that the universe will expand infinitely and, according to the second law of thermodynamics, will infinitely approach absolute zero.
A truth deeper than a hundred words was engraved into Dale’s brain with a pain that was enough to melt it.
“And in the end, the foolishness of claiming to be the ‘ruler of providence’ left irreparable scars and ruins on this land.”
The Queen of Crystal smiled bitterly.
“Our ancestors ultimately wanted to be reborn as rulers of providence in order to prevent the coming apocalypse of this universe… … .”
That’s how the Second Empire fell.
After that, the so-called ‘Age of Man’, also known as the Third Reich, began, and in reality, it was nothing more than a breeding ground unilaterally ruled by beings that could not be called human.
The land of ardor and crystal, which left nothing but scars, trampled the elves’ homeland. Those who remained finally realized how foolish it was to resist the providence.
“And then… … we chose eternal stagnation so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past.”
The Queen of Crystal said.
“Therefore, two organizations were established to carry out that divine mandate, consisting of elves of the Crystal and the Heathen.”
One, the Mountain Assassins. An organization that once executed outcasts from elven society.
“Did you ask the Lord of the Desert and the Sands why the Assassins of the Mountains show such cruel mercy?”
“Yes.”
“There was no mercy from the beginning. It was just a disguise to deceive your eyes.”
“… … !”
“The true purpose of the Mountain Assassins is to purge the Imperial Elves who, while wishing for the revival of the old empire, are also working with the ‘Third Empire’ with boundless mercy.”
“Imperial Elf… …?”
“You know them well, don’t you? The Blood Elf Lord who calls himself the Lord of Fire and Blood and his sister. No, perhaps you are more familiar with that title.”
“──Vampire, the Yuris clan.”
The peak of the Red Tower, in pursuit of ultimate power, is the Bloody Ball and Lady Scarlet.
Dale muttered softly, and the Crystal Queen nodded silently.
“Those who still cannot forget their former glory and bow their heads before the Golden Lord, and who have been reborn as ‘unhuman’ rulers of the Third Reich. They are the real targets that the Mountain Assassins are trying to deal with.”
Only now did the true nature of the great shadow that ruled this empire begin to be understood.
“There is also another organization that has declared itself to watch over and protect the legacy left behind in the ruins of the old empire.”
At the same time, in the shadow of the Queen of Crystal, the shape of their organization began to appear.
Sentinel of Frost.
“An organization of snow elves who carry out divine missions together with the mountain assassins in order to protect the unforgivable legacy of the Second Empire that remains there.”
“Then, surely Lady Sepia… … .”
“That child was in charge of leading the organization of Frost Watchers, and he broke the rules.”
He once touched the forbidden power that the ancestors of the Elven Empire had in their possession. But why?
There was no need to say more.
Because in the shadow of the Queen of Correction, the truth of that day was reflected.
The Blood Elves of the Red Tower attacked the place that the Frost Watchers were supposed to guard, and they were barely able to repel them.
Lady Scarlett and the Red Tower’s strong men with a cruel smile. Sepia from the past, who is carrying out her duties as a ‘Frost Watcher’.
But it was by no means a cost-free victory.
‘Ser!’
‘Whoa, Sister… … .’
At her side was a wounded snow elf.
“After defeating the blood elves, the boy’s younger brother, my son, was irreparably wounded.”
“… … .”
“It was a wound that could not be healed by the power of providence.”
Finally, a feeling of blood freezing overtook me. Involuntarily, I remembered the conversation I had with Sepia when I first saw her.
‘Teacher, don’t you find the Black Tower’s necromancy unsettling?’
‘Why do you think so?’
‘Of course, bringing the dead back to life goes against the laws of nature… … .’
‘Do you think that bringing the dead back to life is against the laws of nature?’
‘Well, isn’t that so?’
‘Then is the divinity of priests who revive patients with serious illnesses who are destined for death the will of nature?’
How could I forget the bitter smile Sepia gave as she spoke like that?
“The child has abandoned his duty as a Frost Watcher, has broken his duty to protect his brother, and has touched the taboo.”
The Queen of Crystal said.
“I saved the life of my son, the younger brother of the child who should have died, by trapping his heart in the ‘World of Absolute Zero.’”
For that, he took the legacy of the Second Empire and the forbidden book that goes against providence… … the 『Book of Absolute Leadership』.
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Sepia could not have been unaware of the meaning of that act, or the repercussions that that act would bring.
Thus Sepia was banished from the Land of Crystal, a traitor to her own people who abandoned her duty to protect her younger brother.
“That is the truth of that child.”
The Queen of Crystal spoke, and Dale remained silent. An unknown sensation squeezed his heart.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
After a moment of silence, Dale lowered his head. At the same time, the white, dark winter night world that Dale was unfolding disappeared.
“As I said, I will fulfill my contract. Nothing will change.”
The expression on the Queen’s face once again showed her mother’s agitation, and it lasted only a moment.
The scenery of the Fairy Council finally came into Dale’s sight. At the same time, Dale also released the Shadow Lord’s avatar.
Silence fell.
It was a freezing silence.
* * *
At that moment, the red tower’s room.
In the darkness, Marquis Yuris arose. Beside him lay a young noblewoman, innocent and ignorant of anything, sleeping soundly.
Not even knowing that he would become his prey, he was so intoxicated with his inflated dreams.
“… … It’s so cold.”
Marquis Yuris turned his head away and muttered softly.
“Why is it so cold?”
As a ruler who remembers the glory of the old empire and as one of the ancient elves, when that empire proclaimed itself to be the ‘Ruler of Providence’ and glimpsed the future of the universe to come… … .
I remember the ‘Frost of the End’ that swept across the future beyond the curtain. How could I forget it?
No flame or heat in this world can melt it. Even the flame that he possesses as the Red Tower Master is nothing more than a candle in the midst of a swirling typhoon.
That bitter cold, the frost of the end, still enveloped his being. It was a cold that had tormented him for eons. The end of absolute zero, the death of the universe, from which he could not escape no matter how hard he struggled.
This world will end in ice.
But that is a matter of an incalculable future. Nevertheless, for the elves who have eternal life, that distant future is by no means someone else’s business.
That’s why fire was needed. A fire that could melt even the frost of the apocalypse.
“I feel like I’m going to freeze to death.”
At the muttering words that were as if she was sleeping, the noble young lady turned over and buried her head in Marquis Yuris’s.
“Are you feeling warm now, Marquis?”
Young-ae asked with a flirtatious tone, and Marquis Yuris smiled coldly, savoring the warmth flowing through her body.
“Oh, it’s so warm.”
He hid his fangs, which were as cold as frost, behind his blood-red lips.
* * *
The Elven Council was not yet finished. However, after a brief recess, Dale was finally able to leave.
“Oh my, damn it. You’re done already?”
Although the council chambers were inaccessible, there was a man waiting for Dale outside.
“No, it’s still far away.”
Dale said, and Master Baro shrugged. Seeing that, Dale asked back.
“The old woman on the mountain personally vouched for you and allowed you to enter, so is there any other reason why you were refused entry?”
Master Baro was never an outsider, just as Dale was. Nevertheless, he did not wish to participate in the council of his own volition.
“Haha, what difference would it make if I were there?”
“It will be my strength.”
At those words, Master Baro burst into laughter again, as if he was delighted.
“It is true that I bow down to you, but, unfortunately, loyalty is a separate thing.”
“Well, I knew that much from early on.”
Dale shrugged, not really caring.
“I have seen your truth.”
“Oh, okay.”
To Dale’s words, Master Baro answered without changing his expression. Nothing would change. He never lied to Dale.
“It would be hard to find someone in the world whose words and actions are consistent like yours.”
“What a piece of shit. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Yeah, that’s a compliment.”
Master Baro answered, and Dale nodded and sat up. It was at that moment.
A cold wind that seemed to run down his spine enveloped the area. Dale turned his head.
“Oh, so you’re the famous ‘Black Prince’?”
An elven male with crystal-colored hair was there, with his ‘Frost Watchers’ following him in silence.
“… … .”
It was his first time seeing his face, and yet Dale knew something about him.
The younger brother of Sepia, who once saved his life by breaking the rules of his clan, and the son of the Queen of Crystal.
“The heir to Saxony, who was said to be possessed by a traitor, was a mere brat.”
Dale remained silent, but the snow elf before him made no secret of his hostility.
“The meeting has begun.”
So Dale just let his words pass and turned away.
“Please finish what you want to say there.”