Episode 8
* * *
At dawn, a wooden sword swung in front of my nose and cut through the eerie wind.
The training ground of the vassal knights at the Duchy of Saxony.
Dale parried the blade of the knight who was swinging at him. He swung the blade away from the center of the body with a frightening thud, then dug in and slammed the body down towards the hilt.
Phew!
At the same time as the blow, the blade of the wooden sword in Dale’s hand was already pointed at the nape of the knight’s neck.
The outcome was decided in a matter of minutes with just a few exchanges of blows.
‘Huh!’
Sir Helmut gasped in surprise at the sight. Even the knights of the duke’s family who were watching the confrontation between the two were no exception.
Although Dale’s opponent was an Esquire who had not yet been formally knighted, that did not diminish the value of Dale’s victory in the least.
The opponent, who was nineteen this year, was a man from a family of knights who had walked the path of the sword all his life. He was a young knight who was soon to be officially knighted by the Duke of Saxony. He was defeated by a mere nine-year-old child.
Even to a wizard who has no intention of walking the path of the sword!
“Good job, Miles.”
But no one, including Helmut, rebuked the knight who lost to Dale.
“It’s not your immaturity. Don’t blame yourself.”
“……All right.”
The defeated knight also left behind the bitterness in his heart and accepted the inevitable reality.
Even if you feel wronged, what can you do?
The world is not fair. Dale of Saxony, the prodigy of the Duke’s family, was the living proof of that ‘unfairness’.
Dale’s growth, which began around the age of eight with an extraordinary talent for swordsmanship, was truly astonishing. By the time he turned nine, a year later, he had even mastered his own swordsmanship style.
A quick sword suitable for a young body.
It was a sword that understood its own situation with surprising coolness. It was to the point where it seemed like a swordsman of great skill was inside a child’s body.
“Uncle Helmut, who’s our next opponent?”
Dale asked again, holding the wooden sword in his hands. Helmut burst out laughing at his audacity.
“How about the Seven Swords of this Continent next time!”
“great!”
As he said that, Sir Helmut was about to get up.
“Dale.”
Beyond the white marble corridor, a voice calling out to him is heard.
“I respectfully greet Your Majesty the Duke!”
As soon as the voice was heard, the knights around him all knelt down and saluted. Dale turned his head. There was Dale’s father, the Duke of Saxony.
“father?”
“Have you been practicing swordsmanship here?”
The black ball asked as it crossed the pillars of the corridor.
“yes.”
It was well known that Dale, apart from walking the path of magic, did not neglect his sword training.
“It’s really nice to see you diligently practicing.”
Looking at that sight, Black Gong couldn’t hide his father’s delight.
“But let’s stop sword practice at this level today.”
After speaking, he continued with a very serious expression.
“I have something to show you.”
“Okay, Dad.”
Dale nodded silently.
“Unfortunately, our showdown with Uncle Helmut will have to be postponed until later.”
“Haha, I’m looking forward to that day!”
Dale puts down the wooden sword he is holding with regret. Helmut laughs heartily as usual and quietly bows to the two fathers as they walk away.
* * *
There is something I want to show you. After saying that, Dale’s father headed to the magic workshop in the basement of the duke’s castle.
And there, an unexpected face was standing there.
“Are you here, Dale?”
“Teacher Sepia?”
Sepia was Dale’s tutor, a 6th circle elf wizard, and an elder of the Blue Tower.
“Follow me.”
Looking at the two masters crossing the workshop, Dale also felt an ominous atmosphere and kept his mouth shut.
‘What’s happening all of a sudden?’
The place the black ball was headed to was the end of the workshop, and further down the basement at the end was a passage leading to an even deeper and darker basement.
Dale followed silently.
And as I stepped through the passage, an ominous chill involuntarily ran through my body. It was a secret room surrounded by layers of strict barriers that ordinary wizards would never even think of entering.
All around, there is a plethora of equipment, as if it were an armory.
As soon as he saw it, Dale could tell that this was no ordinary piece of equipment.
These are pieces of equipment that each contain powerful magical power, and a very dark and ominous type of magical power.
‘The Artifact of the Demon King’s Spirit… …!’
Just as Dale was about to take a step forward, unable to hide his interest.
“Don’t touch it without permission.”
A sharp voice was heard stopping Dale.
“These are pieces of equipment imbued with powerful dark powers.”
Crossing the room, the black ball continued speaking.
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“We, the Saxons, have been handling and controlling this cursed power for generations.”
The power of taboos that command people’s fear and awe.
“To protect our land and people from our enemies.”
Even necromancy and black magic are no exception.
“Therefore, as the eldest son of the Duke’s family, it is also a burden you must bear.”
“What do you mean?”
“After a while, we will gather troops to subdue the orc horde that has risen up in the Demon King’s Territory.”
The black ball continues speaking.
“And before that, you too will be with me.”
“… … !”
Only then did Dale realize what was happening.
“I will also go to battle with my father… …!”
The Duke of Saxony nodded silently.
“Therefore, before we set out, we will first learn how to control the dark powers that reside here.”
In other words, the things here are weapons prepared for Dale.
“Embracing and adapting to the power of an artifact is never something that can be done overnight.”
“Don’t worry too much, Dale.”
After saying that, Sepia, who had been silent, opened her mouth.
“I will also do my best to help you.”
In a very gentle voice.
“… … .”
Dale’s gaze was immediately drawn to the display case of artifacts, where swords, suspicious books, helmets, armor, and all manner of equipment were lined up in rows.
‘This is!’
Suddenly, something caught Dale’s attention. At first glance, it was a black cloak with no other features. But how could he forget it?
The shadows that should have been cast beneath the cloak were writhing like living creatures.
‘Shadow Cloak.’
It was the equipment of a high-ranking demon that Dale had faced as a warrior of the other world in the past.
The Demon General of the Demon King’s Territory and the Illusionist Berka. The highest-grade artifact he favored, which allowed him to give substance to shadows and display the art of combining offense and defense.
For Dale, who wields both magic and swords, it was the perfect equipment.
‘An unexpectedly large fish was caught.’
So Dale didn’t hesitate. Ignoring his father’s warning, he reached out and snatched the Shadow Cloak.
Just driven purely by the desire for power itself. Like a child who doesn’t think about the consequences.
“Dale!”
As soon as he caught it, the black ball’s shock continued.
Artifacts are powerful in their own right, but they also place a huge burden on their users. Those powered by dark powers in particular are so dangerous that even touching them can result in death.
Even the Duke of Saxony would not ask such harsh suffering from a nine-year-old child.
Perhaps what the Black Ball originally intended to give Dale was something that was suitable for a ‘nine-year-old’s level’, considering Dale’s genius. At most, it would be something like summoning a low-level dark spirit to protect him when he was in danger.
However, what Dale had chosen was a high-level artifact that was incomparable to the ‘lower-level dark spirit’, and without hesitation, he snatched the shadow cloak and wrapped it around his body.
Darkness enveloped us.
As if he was being swept away, the shadows beneath the cloak began to move again, like living creatures, like a school of piranhas rushing in at the scent of blood.
It was never an ‘ordinary shadow’.
“I’m hungry! I’m hungry! I’m hungry!”
A living shadow with malice. An ending where not even bones remain, becoming prey to the hungry shadows.
That was the terrible future that suddenly appeared in Black Ball and Sepia’s heads.
So, at the moment when the two people were about to use their magic to protect Dale, Dale calmly reached out and stopped the two people. He left behind the endless hallucinations of shadows ringing in his ears.
“Don’t worry.”
Dale said, in a voice that showed not a hint of hesitation or vacillation, subduing the shadows that had been running wildly beneath his feet just moments before.
Yes. The shadows that had been shaking like crazy until just before are now standing still without even a single movement. As if bowing their heads before an unstoppable being.
“I am fine.”
At Dale’s words, the two people’s movements suddenly stopped.
“How on earth──.”
It was an unbelievable sight. The black ball watched the scene with a startled breath. It was an expression of astonishment unlike anything he had ever seen before.
“Oh, isn’t it painful?”
Dale smiled bitterly at Sepia’s question, who was carefully concerned about him.
“Just a little bit.”
The intense malice that swept over him as he put on his cloak was frightening.
This is the dark power that the House of Saxony must bear. And it is the destiny of the House of Saxony to bear this evil, and to properly control and lead its power.
It will be difficult for a normal mind to handle. And at the very moment when the user succumbs to this malice, he or she will become prey to these shadows.
Artifacts are like greedy creatures, never giving power without a price. Especially those that are powered by dark powers are of even worse quality. But that’s how it was in the end.
“Just a little bit, it stings a bit.”
Yet the shadows rippling beneath their feet are rejoicing as if they are meeting a new master.
“But I’m fine.”
Dale answered in his usual unwavering voice.
That’s all there is to it.
He spent his entire life fighting monsters on the battlefields where saturation fire raged for humanity. Afterwards, he was bred as a hunting dog for the Empire, slaughtering countless anomalous beings and ‘enemies of the Empire’.
Compared to the malevolence that permeates Dale’s entire life, the malevolence of these shadows is nothing more than a prick of a needle.
“Can I try on more of these things?”
Dale said with a childlike, sparkling look in his eyes. There was still an endless amount of gear to try on.
