Side story 11
* * *
It was an emotion that even Yuffie could not understand. It was just that the darkness that the man held was so scary and at the same time so lovely. Lovely? It was a form of emotion that even Yuffie could not understand.
“I like you, Uncle Dale.”
“… … Miss Yuffie.”
The gods of the other world blinked their eyes and trampled on humans with their tentacles. Screams rang out, followed by laughter. Calls to the gods, curses, and mad cries rang out.
Even so, the sound that resonated was very fleeting and faint.
He didn’t even pay attention to the eyes of the gods blinking in the sky.
The world was extremely quiet, and the only thing that could be felt in it was Dale’s presence.
As a young girl, you wouldn’t understand that Dale was protecting her ego, protecting her from the madness of those gods.
But at the same time, the act is bringing up emotions that even Dale could not have anticipated.
It wasn’t a false feeling. Dale was just pulling the trigger to protect her mind.
As they continued their journey together, Upi’s heart towards Dale grew stronger day by day.
“This is not a suitable place to confess your feelings to Miss Yuffie.”
“… … I’m sorry! Mr. Dale, I just… … ”
“There is no need to say more.”
Dale said with a bitter smile, and Yuffie turned her head in surprise. Her cheeks were red. Only then did Yuffie realize how ridiculous her words had been.
Before we knew it, the torn gap in the sky was filled and sealed.
The Mass of Madness ended, and Dale turned his head.
Still, the shadows cast beneath the robe were extremely thick and dark.
It was time to go beyond the mountains and seas of blood built up from the corpses of the revolutionary army and to lift the curtain of the past.
* * *
It was a city once built by a lord of the old empire. Dale also knew the name.
The Marquis of Yuris. And this place was once the territory ruled by that very Red Tower Lord.
Even now, the Yuris clan continues to fight behind the scenes alongside the revolutionary army, but they are no longer the rulers of the empire that shined so brilliantly before.
Dale, as the Black Gold Lord, stood against the Third Empire, and all the Golden Riders were defeated or brought to their knees. House Uris was no exception.
The Marquis Yuris Castle there was also an abandoned castle that collapsed when the Third Reich fell.
A vampire’s castle that should disappear into history.
Despite this, the vampire clan that was thought to be extinct survived and continues to maintain blood ties. Could it be that they are intertwined with the secrets of the Fourth Empire that disappeared into history?
I couldn’t figure it out.
No one could stand in Dale’s way anymore, for the heavens were torn apart and the gods held a festival of madness, annihilating every single revolutionary army there.
Dale took a step forward, and in the direction he was walking, terrified revolutionaries were running away. Dale crossed the halls of the castle without even looking at them.
There was an old, faded portrait hanging there.
They were once the most brilliant rulers of the empire, the Bloody Duke Marquis Yuris and his younger sister Lady Scarlett.
“… … .”
Looking at the portrait, Dale opened his mouth.
“Do you know them?”
“… … ”
“He was my unforgettable enemy.”
“Surely you are… … .”
Just then, a voice was heard from behind without any sound. Yuffie turned her head in surprise, and Dale just stared blankly at the portrait.
The man of the red light was there. Albert Julis, a descendant of the Julis clan, had suddenly appeared at the entrance to the castle.
“You didn’t listen to my warning, young vampire.”
Albert muttered in disbelief, and Dale spoke, his voice devoid of even a shred of emotion.
“You are not the leader of the remaining clans, are you? And you are not the leader of the revolutionary army either.”
“… … .”
“Is the leader of the revolutionary army, the new Golden Lord, here? Is the leader of your clan the Golden Lord, and is he leading these revolutionary army?”
“… … Yes, Your Majesty the Black Gold.”
Albert lowered his head with a faint trembling voice. Only then could I understand.
“The Black Gold Monarch… … ?”
At those words, Yuffie held her breath for a moment. This was because she remembered what Margrave Rosenheim had once told her about the Fourth Empire, and the nickname of the man who ruled as its ruler.
The Magic Emperor, said to be stronger than anyone else throughout the history of the continent.
The absolute being who put an end to the conflict between gold and shadow and held the power of both was before him.
That’s why I couldn’t dare to go against it.
Putting an end to the fight between gold and shadow, crumpling the revolution into pieces like a piece of paper, and bringing the self-proclaimed emperor of the empire to his knees – that would be nothing to this man.
“I guess that’s good. The conflict between gold and shadow has no meaning to me anymore.”
Still, after a moment of silence, Dale spoke. Leaving behind the countless corpses of revolutionary soldiers spread out beyond the ruins.
“Lead me to the legacy of the old empire that lies dormant in this castle.”
Albert Uris hesitated for a moment at Dale’s words. But the hesitation was short-lived.
No one can stand in this man’s way.
* * *
Albert Uris led Dale to the deepest part of the castle, a passage leading underground.
Even in this age of chains and magic, where magic is fading away, the magic that sealed the entrance was imbued with a very powerful force.
But Dale stretched out his arm, and the cold and darkness swirling around his hand shattered it all too quickly.
Clang!
The chain imbued with magical power broke like glass. Albert’s expression froze as soon as he saw it.
I stepped further into the interior where magic was protecting me.
Car camping.
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As soon as I took a step, I stepped on the water that was filling up under my feet. When I looked down, I saw that it was blood.
“Whoa?!”
Yuffie screamed, and Dale wordlessly stretched out his arms.
“It’s dangerous to go any further. Miss Yuffie, stay here.”
“Well, still… … ”
“I don’t intend to leave Miss Uffie alone.”
Dale smiled wryly and snapped his fingers again.
Then, darkness rose up like a swirl, forming a human silhouette. It wasn’t a skeleton. It was a literal silhouette, a knight made of shadows.
Abyss Knight, a highly advanced magic that was considered the highest level of necromancy even in the days of Dale.
Albert held his breath, shuddering at the power the being radiated. So did Yuffie.
“This being will protect Miss Yuffie.”
But Dale spoke, and the black knight knelt before Yuffie and thrust his sword vertically, as if he were swearing a knight’s oath before a lady.
At that sight, Upi smiled for a moment and nodded. Dale turned his head again.
Car park, car park.
Dale waded through the blood, heading towards the most secret place this castle kept hidden.
And that was when it happened.
The blood Dale was standing on began to flow like waves.
At the same time, the ‘cold air of the apocalypse’ flowing within Dale’s body began to stir.
The traces of Shuve wrapping around the heart, a biological circle of pitch-black tentacles throbbed.
“… … .”
Dale just raised his head.
In the darkness, there was a radiance that was indescribably beautiful.
It was never a color of this world. When I thought it was crystal color, it turned into jade color. When I thought it was jade color, it took on a purple tint. When I thought it was purple, it became jade color.
“Gate… … .”
Dale knew that brilliance too.
“I, who know about hate, will say this.”
Just then, a voice was heard.
“Ice can destroy the world just as much as fire.”
A silhouette hiding behind the brilliance appeared.
“I have been waiting for this day to come, Black Prince.”
The silhouette smiled as it spoke the now ancient title. Even Dale, the greatest in the world, could not hide his surprise at the sight.
Albert Uris fell to his knees.
“… …Ray Yuris?”
“You remembered me.”
“How are you alive?”
“What do you think defines existence?”
Ray asked.
“It’s a memory.”
“… … .”
“Even if that memory is synonymous with fantasy.”
‘An illusion that does not awaken cannot be distinguished from happiness.’
Lize’s words came to mind without thinking. At the same time, blood-red letters began to be carved like knife marks all over his body.
“The Book of Blood… … .”
“Ray Yuris died at the hands of the ‘Black Prince’. However, I, who have memories that are indistinguishable from that child, could be said to be another Ray Yuris in a sense.”
“Then who are you really?”
“I, too, have forgotten who I was in the past. The only thing that defines me now is the ‘Book of Blood.’”
As he said this, Dale turned to Ray Uris’ shadow.
“Even if my existence was a lie from the beginning, my father willingly sacrificed himself to revive the lie. That is the first memory I remember.”
“Are you talking about the bloody ball?”
“It is a very distant past for you, and even more so for me.”
The truth that was reflected in the shadows was there. The lie that could not be distinguished from the truth, the child of lies, Ray Yuris was there.
The new golden monarch.
It wasn’t entirely impossible to guess his true identity. The Yuris siblings couldn’t possibly be the entirety of their family, and there was even a possibility that he was the ‘evolutionary demon’ Scarlett was conceiving.
The world still hasn’t changed.
By now, it was all good. Neither truth nor lies, neither gold nor shadow, nor anything.
“But to reach you, you have already ascended too high.”
Ray Yuris smiled bitterly.
“There is only one thing I seek. There is no reason to kill you, no reason to fight.”
“What are you looking for?”
“Is the end of that child and the Fourth Reich written in the Book of Blood?”
“Unfortunately, no one in this world remembers that history.”
Ray Yuris, the Lord of Gold and Lies, shook his head quietly.
“But the answer may lie beyond this.”
At those words, Dale turned his head.
Looking at the colors of the universe shining between Dale and Ray, and the gaping abyss beyond.
“Winter of the Universe… … .”
The cold apocalyptic wind swirling around Dale’s body, the very being that gave him that power is waiting.
winter.
He once tried to end this world with ice, and Dale fought back and won.
And that very being might hold the answer Dale is seeking right now.
So there was no room for hesitation.
