Episode 231
* * *
How many days passed in the darkness?
The two rich men finally appeared in the ruins of the Shadow Empire, which had been defeated and collapsed before the Golden Empire.
There, the test of those who claim to be the Shadow Lord is held, and further, the ‘test’ to obtain the qualifications to become the Emperor who will rule this Shadow Empire is held.
There were immortals wearing robes.
Before the Immortal Frederick, they were the heads and descendants of the Saxon family who had sworn loyalty to him for generations.
The darkness swirling under the hood was so ominous that it was scary to even try to figure out the true nature of the shadows writhing within.
“I’ve been waiting.”
A young girl appeared among them. Like the Immortal, she had her eyes covered with black bandages.
“He who calls himself the Lord of Shadows.”
“… … .”
Dale bowed his head silently.
“Please come in.”
The girl stretched out her arms, and the old lords of Saxony bowed their heads before Dale and the Black Duke.
“There is a test prepared for you, and for all of us.”
In the freezing cold and darkness, the two rich men walked silently.
Not for the sake of ancient blind faiths like gold or shadow, but to obtain what they rightly ought to protect.
* * *
It was a test of the tower, no different from the Black Tower.
It was a ridiculously shabby tower, consisting of only ‘twelve steps’.
However, in this tower named Shadow Tower, the meaning of each and every floor is by no means light.
“The Black Duke, the current head of Saxony. Have you also come here to bear the name of the Shadow Lord?”
The girl in the black bandage asked. The Duke of Saxony quietly shook his head at her words.
“I have come here simply to claim myself as the standard-bearer of the monarch I serve, just as my ancestors here claim themselves as the standard-bearers of the Immortal.”
At those words, a sound like souls were being sucked out from among the robed 《Eldritch》.
“Just as you block my son’s path for the sake of the Immortal, I too wish to pass through the layers you are blocking for the sake of my son.”
“father……!”
Dale swallowed his breath, pondering the implications of those words.
“Even if this test is conducted according to an ancient tradition, you cannot climb to the top of this tower alone.”
The black ball spoke, and Dale remained silent.
“Don’t worry, Dale.”
It was her father’s voice, no different from any other time. Hearing those words, the girl in the black bandage burst into laughter.
“Alan of Saxony, the proud child of Saxony who chose to remain human.”
“… …Lady Persephone.”
“I wished for you to attain immortality and, furthermore, to sit at the top of this tower.”
“Unfortunately, that is not the place for me.”
“You have the talent and qualifications to be worthy of the title of ‘Shadow Lord’ more than anyone else. Even more so than my brother, the Immortal Lord.”
“As I said, for me, it was something not worth giving up on humanity.”
The black ball answered, his voice filled with conviction that left no room for doubt.
“Then what about the child next to you?”
Lady Persephone turned to Dale.
“Do you wish to abandon humanity and sit atop this shadow empire?”
“I have already given up a lot.”
Dale answered. As the agent of the beginning and the end, embracing the darkness of the beginning and the cold of the end.
“But just like my father, I have no intention of giving up on humanity.”
“Look at your body, youngest child of Saxony.”
Lady Persephone laughed.
“The color of the blood that flows through your skin, the shadow that falls on your heart, who can see you and call you human?”
The bloody flesh and shadow heart. The grotesque physical form of that body was, as she said, a portrait of a monster that could not possibly be called human.
─ Ah, this is the body.
It was just then.
A voice was heard. At that voice, the air in the area froze.
“Ah, ahh… … !”
Lady Persephone’s expression froze for a moment.
“Mother, our ancient mother of darkness… … !”
A dignified lady appeared beside Dale, and her appearance was the same to everyone else as to Dale.
─ This child is undoubtedly human. And in front of you who have given up being human, he wishes to sit on the throne of a fallen empire filled with shadows.
Persephone and the other old lords of Saxony all knelt down.
“According to ancient traditions, the test to determine the King of Shadows will be conducted fairly.”
─ Yes, that’s right. This body will also be watching.
Shuv smiled as if he was enjoying himself. Dale remained silent, and soon Persephone and the heads of Saxony raised their heads.
“Black ball.”
“Please speak, Lady Persephone.”
“My brother, the Immortal Lord resides at the top of this tower. And the old lords of Saxony will stand in your way and your son who calls himself the Shadow Lord.”
“I understand that.”
“You too will claim to be the standard-bearer of the monarch you serve, and you will be given the right to break through those who stand in your way.”
“That is enough.”
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The black ball nodded silently.
The Shadow Empire lies in ruins, and the fight to sit on its throne.
Standing by the side of the challenger Dale was the most trustworthy father in the world, and the one who took up the challenge was none other than the Immortal Frederick, once called the progenitor of Saxony.
And countless old Saxon lords stood in his way.
The Shadow Trial has begun.
* * *
First test, level 1.
There were old lords of Saxony who served the Immortal Lord as his shadow lord and claimed to be his standard-bearers.
To stand up to them was not the job of a subject serving a king, but of a father devoted to his son.
As the Duke of Saxony, he had an ancestor that was too numerous to count. He was the one who cheated death, and the leader of the shadow magicians who ruled this dark land.
Eldritch.
A man who stood before them, yet never ran away from death, raised his head.
Dale’s father, the greatest necromancer on the continent, and the one who stands at the top of the Black Tower.
“Alan of Saxony, our ancient lord of Saxony!”
The black ball bowed its head indifferently and showed its respect. And there was an Eldritch standing in front of him.
Inside his hood was just endless darkness, and yet his voice was nothing more than the sound of the wind, as if his soul was being sucked out.
A shadowy phantom that cannot even utter a voice of its own will.
‘… … .’
Only after seeing that appearance could I understand. The price paid for giving up humanity and escaping from death, in order to obtain immortality.
What was there was something that could no longer even be called a ‘person’.
He thought of all that he had lost over the eons, without even a shred of self that could be called his own.
Eldritch, the old lord of Saxony, stretched out his arm. At the same time, a circle began to rotate around his heart.
There were eight.
The Magic Tower, known as the five wizards of the continent, has eight circles that are like its symbol.
Nevertheless, I could understand.
‘Is that really the realm of the 8th Circle?’
It wasn’t awe.
‘That can’t be true.’
Rather, it was an indescribable disappointment.
But at the same time, he could not deny the fact that eight circles were accelerating in his heart. He was on par with Dale’s father, the Black Lord, and was known as one of the five wizards of the continent.
However, the 8th circle of Eldritch swept in, and there was not even a hint of movement on the face of the black ball facing it.
He gives up humanity and gains immortality. And over the course of eternity, he hones his magic.
Although at first glance he seemed to be in a state of absolute perfection as a wizard, the magic that the old head of Saxony performed in those eons was not like that.
What the ghost had gained by giving up humanity was something indescribably fleeting.
‘Why?’
The black ball accelerated his circle, and at the same time, darkness swirled beneath his feet.
The old lord of Saxony used his magic to fight against the encroaching darkness, but it was not even a fight.
“How did you become so corrupt?”
The black ball opened its mouth indifferently, asking the same question Dale was thinking.
Unable to hide his disappointment, he wore an expression full of bitterness.
“Why do you, the proud ancestors of Saxony, perform such feeble and fleeting magic?”
In front of the Black Gong’s mockery, darkness swirled again beneath Eldritch’s hood.
Pfft!
At the same time, the two figures disappeared from the spot. I understood it as soon as I saw them.
‘The world of ideas… … .’
But in their world, there is no place for Dale and the others.
Dale, who was left behind, remained silent. Along with the Eldritches, who were also watching the test and making an ominous sound of the wind.
‘… … They are strong. But they don’t feel as intimidating as my father.’
Dale thought about the old Saxon lords whom he had seen for the first time. Why had these people, who had once reigned at the pinnacle of the Saxon House and the Black Tower, fallen so pitifully? What on earth were the ‘humans’ they had given up on?
I didn’t know. But I had to know.
Phew!
A storm of magical power swept through the area, breaking the silence that had been there until just before.
The one who appeared in the midst of the swirling magic was his father, the Black Duke.
Foodie!
Spreading six ominous black wings.
At the same time, an ear-piercing scream rang out. It was a sound that sounded like the soul was being ripped out, and Eldritch was struggling in front of the black ball.
The darkness within the hood convulsively twisted, and at the end of the twist, Eldritch collapsed helplessly on the spot.
“Is this all there is to it?”
The black ball asked in an extremely cold voice.
“Is this really something worth fleeing death for?”
There was no answer. Lady Persephone simply opened her mouth indifferently after a period of silence.
“The test has just begun, child of Saxony.”
* * *
At that moment, there were those who began to move separately from the rich Saxon man who was taking the test at the end of the world.
Those who move not for gold and shadow, but simply for their own beliefs.
The White Tower Celestial Duke proclaimed the independence of the Sistine Nation against the Empire, in the name of the Virgin Aurelia.
At the same time, Barbarossa, the Drowned Duke, one of the three great dukes of the empire, also declared independence for the Four Sea Islands he ruled.
