Episode 207
* * *
In the frozen land where there was nothing, in the cold snow field that stretched to the end of the horizon, there was a knight in black and gold.
“Where on earth am I… … ?”
He recalled the memory from before. In the Hall of Swords, he had clashed with Saxon’s ‘Black Prince’ for the position of the Heavenly Sword. Immediately after, the coldness in the tip of his sword engulfed Modred, and he lost consciousness.
It should have been so.
Immediately afterwards, a terrible cold, as if flaying the flesh from his body, began to envelop Modred’s being. This was by no means some kind of frivolous metaphor. It was a literal gust of wind that tore through his flesh.
“Ugh, it’s cold, it’s cold… … !”
In agony, the Black Gold Knight and Seventh Prince Modred shivered. As he breathed, the cold air penetrated deep into his throat and esophagus, and began to spread painful coldness again within his body.
I felt like I was freezing to death.
A chilling coldness seeped into every bone and organ in my body, and even breathing was painfully difficult.
Modred fell to his knees in agony as if his flesh and bones were being torn apart. However, he was too afraid of the cold seeping into his body with every breath to even scream out loud.
All I can do is writhe in pain.
It was just then.
“The 7th Prince of the Empire, Modred.”
A voice was heard, and Modred quickly raised his head.
On the desolate frozen ground where there had been nothing until just before, the Shadow Lord appeared, carrying with him the cold and darkness of the apocalypse from which there was no escape.
“Do you want to be free from this cold?”
“… … !”
Modred swallowed his breath at Dale’s question.
“What can you sacrifice for that?”
“What, what did you say?”
“Can you kneel before me and be loyal to me?”
Just then, Dale asked back with an expression devoid of any emotion.
“For the Shadow Lord, are you willing to give up gold and become a rider of shadows?”
“How dare you… … !”
“Don’t hate me.”
Just as Modred was about to mutter something, Dale stretched out his arm as if it wasn’t worth listening to.
Phew!
A cold wave that was incomparable to the one just before swept over. The cold just now was a pain that felt funny like a spring breeze, and Dale spoke to Modred, who was screaming silently.
“Where do you think this is?”
There was no time to even think of an answer, but Dale’s voice dug deep into Modred’s consciousness.
“Your body in the outside world is frozen, a shining piece of ice.”
Dale said.
“But consciousness is not like that.”
“… … !”
The body was frozen, but consciousness was not. Modred swallowed his breath as he pondered the meaning of those words.
“Are you prepared to face the cold for the rest of your life, locked in a prison of frozen flesh?”
Dale asked. Modred tried to open his mouth urgently, despite the pain that chilled his bones.
But soon, the Shadow Lord was no longer there. It was as if there was no need to wait for Modred’s answer.
“W-Wait! Wait… … !”
Left alone in the midst of the apocalyptic winter with nothing, Modred began to howl in frustration.
But there was no answer until the very end.
* * *
Dale, who had his eyes closed, opened them right away.
The Sword Hall to decide the position of the Seven Swords of the Continent. In front of him was a statue that was frozen beautifully to the point of being pitiful. It was the 7th Prince Modred who had confronted Dale for the position of the Heavenly Sword and could not accept defeat until the end.
“You dare to approach the prince’s presence… …!”
The Swordsman Sepilia put her hand on the hilt of her sword at her waist and let out a murderous aura. Likewise, the three swordsmen of Saxony, Sir Helmut, Master Baro, and Wandering Sword also stretched out their arms to the hilts of their swords.
“You don’t have to worry.”
It was Dale’s job to break up the standoff.
“Isn’t Prince Modred still alive?”
“… … !”
“If I set my mind to it, it is not difficult to lift this cold and bring the prince back.”
Dale said.
“Then return the prince’s body immediately. If you harm even a single hair on his head, the entire Saxon family will have to shoulder the responsibility.”
“Oh, that can’t be.”
The swordsman Sepilia raised her voice threateningly, and Dale shook his head quietly.
“Prince Modred has not yet accepted defeat.”
“what……?”
“Because the consciousness inside my frozen body is still telling me that it will not surrender to me and will fight.”
“… … !”
Blue magic is never limited to ice. It is the magic of lies and trickery that manipulates and brainwashes people’s consciousness and minds.
As the blue-haired black curtain ‘Arachne’ once did, binding or manipulating human consciousness to a single point is not a difficult task for them.
As a full-fledged blue wizard, it wasn’t difficult for him to enter Modred’s consciousness using the cold air of the end as a medium.
“We are fighting a fair fight for the position of the Seven Swords. The Grand Master refuses to accept defeat, so why should I stop my ‘attack’?”
Even now, Modred’s consciousness is trapped within his frozen body. And it will be a slow, tedious, and near-eternal agony, far beyond what he feels in the outside world.
“Because the fight isn’t over yet.”
Dale smiled quietly, knowing that fact.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
* * *
While Dale and Modred duel for the position of the Heavenly Sword.
According to the rules of the three, another match was taking place in the Sword Hall.
Now, the Duke of Lancaster, who had acquired the name of the divine sword, was facing his protégé Charlotte.
The young daughter of an old friend. The blood of the divine sword flowing through her body was undoubtedly hers. However, no matter how excellent the bloodline, it is ultimately up to her to draw out its potential.
In that respect, Charlotte Orchardt was truly a ‘genius of the sword’.
After arriving at the domain of the Archduke of Lancaster alone at the end of her journey, it didn’t take long for Charlotte to realize her ‘true potential’ under him.
And above all, she had persistence.
The desire to become stronger.
The emotions that resided in that young girl’s body were incomparable to the easy-to-understand spirit of victory or determination of those who practice swordsmanship.
It was an obsession bordering on madness.
I asked her why she wanted to become so strong. Perhaps it was to take revenge on the empire that destroyed her father and her country. However, Charlotte’s answer was quite unexpected.
‘To become a knight who can protect his lord.’
Moreover, there was no doubt as to who Charlotte’s master was referring to.
Because he was the ‘Black Prince’ of Saxony, the hateful being who defeated the son of the Heavenly Sword Lancaster.
And when Charlotte finally received her father’s sword from the greatest swordsman on the continent who understood the divine sword, Badel, her growth was incomparable to anything else.
When the Duke of Lancaster saw Charlotte, who had attained the rank of ‘Auror Master’, the emotion he felt was hope.
A chance to revive the Lancaster Dukes, who were on the path to ruin.
In front of him, personal feelings were not important.
At least for now, Charlotte Orchardt is Lancaster’s sword, and there will be plenty of opportunities to settle her debts in the future.
Even the death of his son Mikhail was accepted as an inevitable fate. In fact, even now, he had no personal feelings of hatred for the ‘Black Prince’.
Nevertheless, after seeing Charlotte’s talent for dancing on the edge of a sword, a new ambition began to rise in the heart of the Duke of Lancaster.
* * *
The fight over the position of the Heavenly Sword took place, but the clashes that took place in the Sword Hall were not limited to that.
There was a virgin named Aurelia who claimed to be the owner of the Holy Sword.
A creature of three demons and a being of lies, despite knowing that he was a fake, nothing changed.
The pure white maiden took hold of her sword, the Holy Sword Durandal.
And in front of her was a man wearing golden armor.
Lancelot, the Sword of the Lake, the first prince of the Empire and the head of the Knights of the Iron Cross organization directly under the Imperial Family.
It was known from early on that he had skills comparable to those of the Seven Swords of the Continent, but he never officially participated in the ‘Test of Sword’ to prove his swordmanship.
It was he who should have done so, and finally, after silence, went out in person to obtain the name of the Seven Swords.
“The Sistine Sisters raised the Virgin from the ashes of the Saxon permafrost.”
The Sword of the Lake spoke.
“It seems certain that the Virgin received the revelations of the Goddess, but the independence of the Kingdom of Britannia was never the will of the Sister Goddess. Therefore, the Virgin was defeated by the ‘Black Prince’ and burned in the frozen soil of Saxony.”
“… … How could people like us dare to fathom the depth of the goddess’s intentions?”
“Yes.”
First Prince Lancelot smiled coldly.
“So, for example, even if the Holy Virgin were to be defeated here and I were to obtain the Holy Sword… … there would certainly be a ‘Will of the Sister Goddess’ that we cannot understand.”
The pure-white virgin Aurelia did not answer.
A person cannot know the will of the Goddess. However, if we assume that the Goddess is truly an incomprehensible being that far transcends the will of man, then what reason would there be for a person to believe in God?
Surely the Goddess loves people and is preparing some kind of plan to save them.
Believing this fact without any doubt, and furthermore, affirming her own existence as nothing more than a fake, the virgin took up her sword.
“Be prepared.”
He has no doubt that his lies are more truthful than the truth.
* * *
A storm of aura swept through the entire Sword Hall.
But in this place where powerful ancient artifacts and magic act as barriers, simultaneous fights cannot affect each other.
The pure white virgin, holding the holy sword Durandal, kicked the ground.
Charlotte Orchardt rushed forward, holding the Saxon greatsword.
The Archduke of Lancaster drew his sword against her, and the Sword of the Lake was no exception.
Kaang! Kaang!
Four swords clashed, each with its own purpose.
In the midst of all this, the ‘Black Prince’ closed his eyes in silence.
Towards Modred’s body frozen in front of Dale, and towards his consciousness trapped within that body.
Using the cold inside Modred’s body as a medium, they connect each other’s consciousness.
The winter of the end was unfolding there.
“Hee, hee hee, hee hee… … !”
There, Modred, whose black and gold armor had disappeared and who was now naked, was shivering. He was curled up in unspeakable pain and could only burst into laughter.
And when the Shadow Lord appeared before him.
“Please, please forgive me!”
He had no pride or self-esteem left to protect. He simply bowed his head at Dale’s feet and kissed them, like a begging slave.
“Please free me from this hell!”
Modred lowered his head and begged desperately. Watching him, Dale asked.
“Are you ready to become a loyal rider of the Shadow?”
A desperate, almost desperate answer came back. As if the time had come, Dale quietly snapped his fingers.
Blue butterflies flew up behind him.
