Episode 228
* * *
An old gentleman in a suit gestured with his hand, and a flock of crows swarmed around him.
And in response, the old Mother of Darkness, Shub, spurted pitch-black tentacles from beneath the hem of her dress.
Death, darkness, and the Mother Goddess.
It is a primordial symbol that is the origin of various myths and legends, and an idea that people cannot escape from the moment they are born.
The vessels of thought that the two wizards, Dale and Black Gong, each had engraved in their hearts, clashed.
‘The Old Dark Mother… … .’
The symbolism that a person has from birth ultimately comes from their life. Just as there is no being that can avoid death, the fact that a person gains life comes from the blessing of the mother.
Life and death, death and mother. It all felt like two faces of the same coin.
─Why are you doing this, human child?
Shubga, who had grown into a respectable young lady, smiled with a graceful smile. It was a smile full of affection and grace, just like her mother.
Choaack!
At the same time, Shuve’s tentacles fluttered against the flock of death crows that filled the sky and rushed forward.
She was never someone else. She was an incarnation of the Grimoire that had merged with Dale’s heart and existed as a part of it.
Like the older gentleman in a suit standing in front of Dale.
That doesn’t mean you have to let go and do nothing, though.
“I will give it my all.”
Dale opened his mouth while the crows were held back by Shuv’s tentacles. The black ball nodded silently.
At the same time, the dark blood armor wrapped around Dale’s body.
Even though it is said to be power, it is impossible to deploy the avatar of a warrior in front of the black ball. However, Dale’s immediate goal is not to defeat the black ball.
Getting closer to the truth of his death.
As a wizard of the 8th circle and a master of death, it was to understand the realm that the greatest black magician on the continent had built up.
Dale rushed forward, wrapped in the armor of Dark Blood. The cold air of the end was scattered, and he drew his sword.
It was not a peacemaker, but a demon sword with a pitch-black blade called ‘Hunger’.
A sword that devours magic.
Dale held the sword and kicked the ground, and at the same time, pitch-black magic began to swirl from under the black ball’s feet.
‘It’s different from before.’
He vividly remembers the past when he was a child, when Dale confronted his father with all his might. The gap was so overwhelming that he could not even fully understand the true nature of the magic he was using, even though he struggled with all his might.
But now it’s different. He’s grown into a wizard, and he’s even holding onto the power he gained in his previous life as a warrior of the other world.
Above all, there was the 『Book of Cold Ashes』 that was engraved through the shadow heart.
The Lord of Ashes appeared, and at the sight of him, the Black Duke’s expression finally lost all emotion.
The Shadow Lord, who leads the Old Dark Mother and the Demon King, unleashed his power.
The ash of destruction swept towards the black ball, and at the same time, pitch-black magic began to swirl like a storm beneath his feet.
He is no longer an opponent you can confront with the thought of learning from or something like that. Unless you have the determination to defeat this man with all your might, you will never be able to reach him.
That’s why Dale’s circle and Auror Heart exploded and swept away, and at the same time, the ‘world of ideas’ he was standing on began to unfold.
A pitch-black citadel filled with the darkness of primordial times and the cold of the apocalypse.
Dale finally opened up his world by facing the greatest warlock on the continent.
Looking at this dark world filled with cold and darkness, what would his father think? He couldn’t know. But it wasn’t something to think about right away.
It should have been so.
“Why don’t you give it your all?”
Just then, the black ball asked back.
At the same time, the Shadow Lord’s Eye of Truth unconsciously turned towards his father’s shadow.
The secret of the black ball hidden in the shadows was there.
──Dale’s movements, which should have been rushing forward with all his might, stopped.
“… …Why are you doing that?”
Father Black Gong asked back.
Dale couldn’t say anything.
I just felt out of breath.
“Didn’t you say you would fight me with all your might?”
The black ball opened its mouth again, and Dale swallowed his breath.
“father…….”
After saying those three words, Dale continued in a trembling voice.
“What are you so surprised about?”
The black ball asked back indifferently. As if there was nothing to be surprised about.
“Aren’t you using the warrior’s avatar?”
“… … .”
I didn’t know what to say in response.
There was a man standing in front of Dale, keeping his composure as if nothing had happened.
At the same time, in the shadow of the black ball, the truth of the man sobbing like a child was reflected.
It was the same guy.
Elena, the blue-haired man was right. The black-haired man was never stupid. And when he realized the truth, this man who seemed never to be flustered knelt down for the first time and showed weakness.
In the shadows of an empty workshop, alone.
“… …Why were you silent?”
So Dale asked back.
“From the beginning, the Blue Tower approached you with a purpose.”
“Be careful what you say.”
But then, a cold voice unlike any I’ve ever heard before was heard. Like a father scolding his son.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“She is my wife, and at the same time, your mother.”
“Why… … .”
Dale muttered softly.
“Why did you pretend not to know even though you knew?”
It wouldn’t be strange if he trembled with betrayal, and it wouldn’t be strange if he poured out all his hatred. However, after realizing the truth and sobbing for several days, the Black Knight’s attitude toward his son and wife didn’t change at all.
Just in the shadows, Dale and Elena appeared.
‘Believe me, I am your father’s son.’
‘I always love you.’
The two people also did not change.
“Only then did I understand the suffering Elena was showing in front of me. You were the same.”
“I am…….”
“That’s why I was silent.”
The Duke of Saxony said.
“Because I knew that your lies were truer than the truth.”
Dale remained silent after hearing that. He didn’t even laugh.
“I just trust your sincerity.”
A heart without lies. Dale was speechless after hearing those words.
“I am…….”
After a moment of silence, Dale opened his mouth hesitantly.
“He is still your son.”
“That’s it.”
The black ball nodded, and Dale didn’t hesitate.
In the silence, an explosion of Aura hearts swirled around, and the warrior’s avatar finally revealed itself.
At the same time, he was a pitch-black knight armed with the Saxon House’s night raven armor.
An otherworldly warrior wearing the shell of Saxony.
A fraud. Ray Uris called Dale that. He was right. But the black man didn’t panic when he saw that. He just continued to speak in silence.
“From now on, I will engrave a mana circle into the ‘shadow heart’ you possess.”
“… … !”
Dale swallowed his breath, pondering the implications of those words.
“A circle in the shadow heart… … ”
“This will be a task that brings out the true power you possess as a Shadow Lord.”
As a teacher who was finally leading Dale to the next level, the Black Knight spoke.
“Okay, Father.”
Dale didn’t hesitate when he heard that. Why didn’t he think of it? He couldn’t even laugh out loud when he heard that idea.
As a Shadow Lord, and furthermore as a warrior of the other world, there was another heart. That was the true essence of power worthy of the name of Shadow Lord.
* * *
That night.
When the Duke of Saxony entered the ducal couple’s bedroom, Elena was there.
Not as a loving wife as usual, but as a blue-haired villain without even a shred of emotion.
“Elena.”
“Do you still call me by that name?”
“Do you remember what eight-year-old Dale wished for for his birthday?”
The black ball asked back. Elena held her breath at those words.
“You said you wanted a younger sister.”
“… … .”
“Because of that, sleeping with you has been really burdensome since that day.”
The black ball smiled bitterly as if joking.
“But thanks to that, we had a lovely daughter.”
Elena couldn’t say anything. She thought of Lize’s loving smile.
“Was even Lize’s existence a lie to win over Dale and me? Do you think Dale’s wish for a younger sister was also a lie to deceive us?”
“Alan, I… … .”
“You made our son your puppet, and made him walk the path of the ‘Shadow Lord’, and now that son is the Lord of Truth, and he figures out our lies, and he thinks of what to do with his own will. I am… … so happy.”
Elena held her breath at the unexpected words.
“The child still deeply considers his duty as the heir to Saxony, just as you, as the wife of the Duke of Saxony, have devoted yourself to me and our son.”
“Even if it is the result of lies and conspiracy, don’t you care?”
“I think you’re mistaken.”
The Duke of Saxony said.
“You’re not as good a liar as you think you are.”
“… … !”
“I, too, at first thought that you, who approached me as a blue magician, were of some use to me.”
I knew it from the beginning. Elena held her breath when she heard that.
“As for Dale’s work, to be honest, I did feel a sense of betrayal.”
“You don’t have to forgive me.”
“But I am still proud of my son. And you are too.”
“What an incredibly stupid person.”
“As you know, I haven’t been a very good person either.”
The black ball spoke. Elena could not have not known either. She knew better than anyone else the evil deeds of this man through the blue spider webs scattered across the continent.
“… … .”
“You don’t have to pretend to be a loving wife for me. But the way you smile at Dale and Lize… … I’m afraid of losing you too.”
The Black Duke spoke, and Elena remained silent. At the end of her silence, she fell to her knees and began to sob. And the Duke of Saxony, as usual, silently put his arm around her shoulders.
Nothing changed.
* * *
The heart that is fused with the 『Book of the Black Goat』, and the six mana circles wrapped around that heart.
And in the shadow of that heart, the shadow of a circle began to appear.
There are twelve circles in total in terms of the number of circles. However, that does not mean that they are the same as the eight circles of the Five-Colored Tower.
Still, it was clear that if this exercise was successful, then only then could they have a weight class on par with them.
After the Black Ball left, Dale, left alone, quietly regained consciousness in the castle on a dark, white winter night.
Sitting on the black gold throne, Shub was beside him, stretching out his arms lovingly.
─ Are you ready, human child?
The old dark mother, who had the appearance of a lady, spoke.
Dale nodded silently.
