Episode 221
* * *
A whirlwind of karma swirled around the feet of the bloody ball, and at the same time, bloody letters began to be carved onto his body. It was the symbol of the red magic tower bead finally expending its full power, the magic book 『Book of Blood』.
“Oh my, are you planning on showing us our beautiful old days again?”
“… … .”
Arachne asked back cheekily, but Marquis Yuris did not answer.
“Why are you loyal to the Lord of Truth? You master of false schemes.”
“Have you ever thought that those of you who pursue beautiful lies rather than the truth are the ones who are obsessed with the truth more than anything else?”
Arachne asked back.
“At the point where you pursue ‘true lies’ rather than truth, your existence cannot ultimately be free from the shadow of the Shadow Lord. In other words, aren’t we all no different from slaves to truth?”
“Do you really think that a mere Saxon rascal is fit to be the ‘Lord of Truth’?”
“well.”
Arachne laughed happily.
“As you said, both I and the sorceress of the Blue Tower have withdrawn from the War of the Roses. Except for one, Mistress Titinia, who is participating as an interested party.”
“……okay.”
As he said that, the circle of blood-red balls stopped spinning. The magical power of the swirling flames subsided.
“Even if it’s you, I’m surprised you would take this much risk for a mere heir to your bloodline.”
“… … .”
The bloody ball did not answer right away.
“It was an experiment where over a hundred children with an aptitude for blood magic were thrown into the sewers and the last survivors were selected.”
After silence, the bloody ball spoke.
“That kid, Ray, survived until the end. After he survived, he smiled when I came to find him.”
“… … .”
“──I’ve been waiting for you, Father. Those were the child’s first words.”
“So you volunteered to be that child’s father? Oh, this is it. This is truly a father-son relationship that you can’t help but cry about.”
Hearing those words, Arachne burst out laughing. As if she couldn’t stand it anymore. But the Blood Ball never laughed.
“We can never be true. The world will end in ice. You are right. No matter how much we cry out for the value of lies, we are ultimately nothing more than counterfeit products that can never become true.”
Arachne remained silent.
“This world is full of cruel truths that we mortals cannot bear, and we are nothing but fakes trying to escape from the truth that we cannot escape.”
“… … .”
Arachne remained silent. The blood-red ball laughed without paying attention.
“Go back, Lord of Fire and Blood.”
After a moment of silence, Arachne spoke.
“This is the extent of our Blue Tower’s influence on your war. I promise it to you on my name.”
“The war will not end here.”
The bloody ball answered coldly.
“As long as the Lord of Gold and Shadow exists, even after this war ends, there will be another war. And the war will not end until one of the lies and the truth disappears. And when the next war breaks out, will you still remain silent?”
“That’s not true. The war between gold and shadow, truth and lies, has only just begun.”
Arachne laughed.
“But at least we can withdraw from this battle, and furthermore, we can guarantee the life of ‘Ray Yuris.’ Is there anything else you wish for?”
“… … .”
A brief silence fell again.
“I accept your offer.”
At the end of the silence, the bloody ball turned its back. He had stepped into the enemy territory alone for his son, and the father’s courage was rewarded. At least for the current Marquis of Yuris, nothing more was needed.
* * *
The hellish spider web spread by the blue magic tower finally came to an end as if it were a lie.
The spiders that had been devouring John Lancaster’s men on all sides disappeared, and they regained consciousness in shock. They were no longer in the frozen Arctic, but in the campsite of the Duke of Lancaster that they knew so well.
“Now is the time.”
And then one of Dale’s men, who had been waiting for the right moment, whispered, and a magical firecracker shot up into the sky.
“Now is the time, proud swords of Lancaster.”
At the same time, the knight wearing a red-and-white rose engraved on his pure white armor lowered his helmet and shouted at the cavalry under his command.
Charlotte Lancaster.
The main force gathered at the Duke of Lancaster’s Castle is not moving. However, it is impossible to detect even a small number of elite Rosicrucian knights led by Charlotte. Especially in a situation like now where all sides are filled with unrest.
Charlotte’s cavalry force numbered only about five hundred.
However, amidst the chaos in which the Blue Curtain and the Sorceress Council were disrupting their main force and collapsing, the significance of the ‘Five Hundred Cavalry’ was by no means light.
Especially in front of the cavalry commanded by the swordsman who was the first of the Seven Swords of the Continent and had the name of ‘Heavenly Sword’.
“charge!”
The Rosicrucian knights supporting Charlotte Lancaster began to trample on the troops who were scattered in fear.
Kuung!
They dug into the gaps in the broken ranks of the troops, crushing the soldiers, their spears piercing their bones.
At the same time, plum leaves began to scatter along the tip of Charlotte’s sword.
The current Charlotte was no longer a mere knight. She was an extraordinary strongman who could change the course of a battle with just her presence.
The strongest swordsmanship on the continent, once displayed by the divine sword Badel Orhart, began to spread out there.
The petals of the blade fluttered.
When they finally regained their senses amidst the madness spread by the Blue Tower Masters and Sorceresses, the next thing they saw were the Heavenly Sword and Rose Cross Cavalry swarming through their units.
“Heavenly Sword, Heavenly Sword!”
“Sha, Charlotte Lancaster… … !”
Wearing a surcoat embroidered with red and white roses, Charlotte Lancaster brandished her sword.
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What symbolizes Lancaster is brutal nobility.
As the name suggests, the fluttering petals of blades were mercilessly slaughtering her enemies.
Choaack!
Blood was splattered everywhere. No matter how thick the shield wall was, it was impossible to block the blades flying like plum leaves. What’s more, the opponent was struggling in the enemy’s illusion until just before.
The flower of death has bloomed, its petals dripping with blood.
* * *
“Hey, Black Prince… …!”
John Lancaster drew his sword in confusion and panic. Ray glanced at him and opened his mouth.
“Could you please wait a moment?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I think we need to shut this piece of trash up.”
As he said that, Ray stretched out his arm.
Kwajik!
“Ugh, ugh… …! Yes, you… …!”
Ray turned his head as he nonchalantly lifted John Lancaster, who was armed with heavy armor, with one hand.
“I didn’t like you from the beginning.”
His expression was devoid of even the slightest emotion. And Dale, too, just silently watched him.
There is no reason to refuse to take care of the enemy that needs to be taken down.
His neck was twisted and his limbs sagged, like a puppet with its strings cut.
Kuung!
Ray Uris turned his head as he threw away John Lancaster’s body.
At the same time, the scenery beneath the feet of the two people began to distort.
The world of white and dark winter, and Ray Uris also took out ‘his world’ to confront it.
“… … .”
It was an ashen world. A world filled with ephemeral ruins and ash, like a world after destruction. But it was by no means Dale’s otherworld.
It was the end of the world.
A world destroyed by fire.
“This world will never end in ice. I won’t let it.”
Ray Yuris said.
“I have no interest in the end of the world. Why are you so obsessed with the end of the world?”
“It is our duty to change the unavoidable truth of this world.”
The inevitable end, the Big Freeze.
It was a time far, far away, and inconceivable, longer than the eons of time. Dale could not understand why the Golden Emperor, the Bloody Duke, and the Riders of Lies were so obsessed with that fact.
“As I said, it’s a good thing for me.”
The Shadow Lord answered coldly, bearing the cold of the apocalypse and the darkness of primordial times, symbolizing the winter of the universe itself.
Sitting on the black gold throne in the pitch-black fortress made of tentacles.
─ Ah, another interesting person has arrived!
Suddenly, Shuv smiled beside Dale. The strange tentacles wrapped around Dale’s body as if caressing him, and Ray frowned at the sight.
At the same time, black magic began to swirl beneath his feet.
In Ray’s world, scattered ash gathered together to form a human silhouette.
They were the Knights of Ashes.
It was as if a warlock was summoning his dead, and Dale responded by stretching out his arms, not even moving a muscle on his black gold throne.
There were knights of cold and darkness built up through thoughts.
There were two monarchs there, and the knights loyal to them clashed.
Cold, darkness, and ash.
The knights of the ash pile rushed forward, and at the same time, embers began to burn within the ashes that made up them.
Knock, knock!
At first, it was a faint ember that seemed ready to go out at any moment, but soon it began to burn like a conflagration. Knights of the ash pile rushed in, engulfed in blazing flames.
Opposing him were the knights of Dale, armed with darkness and cold.
Knights, armed with the inescapable truth and bearing the chilling aura of the end of the world, rushed forward.
Kaang!
As their swords clashed, the chill of the apocalypse coursed through the blades and enveloped the Ash Knights, freezing the fire and ash in their tracks.
In front of just one sword.
“You can’t beat me. The difference in strength is too obvious.”
The Shadow Lord said.
“… … .”
Ray Yuris bit his lip softly. It was as he said.
The truth that his existence will never reach the Shadow Lord’s toes. It is the truth again.
I couldn’t understand why the truth was so cruel and merciless.
‘It is our duty to change the cruel truth, Ray.’
My father’s words came to mind involuntarily. The apostles of lies who decided to resist the cruel truth that they could not escape.
That’s why Ray bit his lips.
“It’s just beginning.”
A grimoire that once belonged to the Demon King Balor, and now fused with Ray’s heart… … awakening the 『Book of Cold Ashes』.
