Episode 93
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How to interpret the name of the ‘Sistine Sisters’ has been one of the greatest doctrinal issues in church history.
Is she a single goddess who likens the concepts of mercy and compassion to sisters? Or is she a ‘sister goddess’ as the name suggests, possessing two spirits of light and shadow, yin and yang respectively?
However, the founder of Saxony, the Immortal Frederick, and the Black Party had previously risen up, and the Black and White Towers, which were one in black and white, split into the Black and White Towers through the ‘Black and White Wars’… … .
The White Tower has adopted the interpretation that the Sistine Sisters are ‘the unity of mercy and loving-kindness’.
Needless to say, it was a thoroughly political intention to erase any traces of blackness.
The Shadow Church was an independent sect that rejected the mainstream interpretation of the White Tower at the time, and still worshipped the sister deities as the two goddesses of light and shadow.
Since the devotion to the Goddess of Light is already deeply rooted in this land, the role of the Shadow Church is to return the scales to equilibrium by thoroughly serving the Goddess of Shadow.
Shadow of the Sistine Sisters.
Unlike the Goddess of Light, who symbolizes mercy and compassion, the Goddess of Darkness is cruel and merciless.
And now, where Dale was was their chapel. The underground chamber of their organization, now known as the ‘Shadow Court’. The man wearing the bird’s beak mask took off Dale’s blindfold.
“I brought the defendant.”
Still by Dale’s side is the Death Knight he obtained from the Fight Club. Also, the ‘Shadow Lady’ lurking in Dale’s shadow.
If you want, fighting them is one way. But that is never a good decision. No, it was also a great opportunity.
“I came to court to assert my innocence and acquittal.”
Dale opened his mouth.
“The Master of the Kalimala Guild was involved in an assassination attempt using black magic, and then a bomb attack.”
In the darkness, a voice was heard.
“Are you denying that it is black magic?”
Likewise, men wearing bird-beak masks looked down on Dale from above, from a deliberately elevated position, like judges looking down on a defendant.
“If I had made up my mind to kill the Master of the Kalimala Guild.”
Dale continues speaking blandly.
“I wouldn’t have killed him in such a sloppy way.”
As it was, he concentrated his black magic towards his fingers.
“「M24 SWS」, 「7.62x51mm NATO」.”
SWS(Snpier Weapon System).
An all-in-one sniper rifle. With that certain otherworldly chant, Dale fired a shadow bullet.
“… … !”
Among the judges of the shadow court looking down on him.
As if on cue, the men in the beak masks were thrusting the tips of their swords at Dale’s neck, chest, and back.
But no further bloodshed occurred. Dale’s magic did not have a murderous aura. No matter how hard you try to hide it, you cannot fool the assassins of the Shadow Court.
And the fact that they didn’t even detect it means they literally had no intention of killing.
“Even from dozens of times the distance now, I am confident that I can accurately hit a person’s vital spot.”
Dale opened his mouth.
“If you don’t believe me, I’ll prove it to you.”
“… … .”
“Who would be so foolish as to try to move a corpse with such a volt magic?”
“Are you aware of the rudeness of your actions?”
“I think it would be more impactful if you saw it for yourself rather than just explaining it to you for a hundred days.”
Dale answered as if it was someone else’s business. The meaning of the one shot Dale showed was certainly not light.
“… … As the Black Knight said, flaunting fear has always been the Black Tower’s way.”
nevertheless.
“Can you tell me that what you showed was not an act of ‘killing’, but rather an act simply to show off your blackness?”
“Do you think that the eldest son of the House of Saxony can stand up to the Shadow Court alone and win?”
Dale asked back.
“The ‘horror’ that black pursues is not of such a vulgar and crude nature.”
As they say, even fear has its own class.
“Do you dare to think that indiscriminate terrorism without elegance or grace is the same as the ‘fear’ that we blacks pursue?”
“Is there any other way to prove one’s innocence?”
“Even if I tell you, you won’t believe me.”
Dale answered.
“Ray Yuris.”
“… … .”
For a moment, silence fell among the men of the shadow court.
“Before the black market, it goes without saying what the purpose of the ‘agents’ gathered here is.”
Dale said.
“He intends to use the next City Master as his puppet and get his hands on the ‘ledgers’ of Guild City.”
Even if it is a secret, it is only a secret that applies in the world of ordinary people.
The world Dale is facing now. In the midst of the Empire’s greatest grand lords, the Red Tower, the imperial family, and the hungry ghosts of all the powerful, it won’t even be a secret.
“And Ray Yuris knew that I had made contact with the Master of the ‘Kali Malar Guild’.”
“… … .”
Silence fell.
“That is to say, again.”
After a moment of silence, the judges of the shadow court spoke.
“Is it safe to assume that you too have the ambition to destroy the ‘order of Guild City’?”
“Yes.”
Dale nods and continues.
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“But even if I let go, I can’t go against the flow of the times.”
Indifferently.
“Just as the ‘Shadow Church’ was once banished and reduced to a parasite in Guild City.”
Not in the shadow court, but in their true names.
“… … !”
Suddenly, there was a gasp of breath from all over the place.
“… … Be careful what you say.”
One of the assassins, who had been thrusting his blade into Dale’s vital points, opened his mouth, his murderous intent burning along the tip of the blade.
“We know that to the Shadow Court, Guild City is nothing more than a host.”
Dale said.
“I also understand that Guild City has invaluable value as a host.”
Saying the truth that even they cannot avoid.
“But the host’s life is coming to an end. The power that Guild City now holds will soon fall into the hands of the Empire and the Imperial Family.”
The shadow court expressed its worst fears.
“Do you really think we’ll hand this city over to you without any countermeasures?”
“It would be my utmost wish if you could stop their ambitions.”
Dale nodded.
“But the masters of the seven great guilds are already blinded by their own ambitions.”
No one can stop a burst dam. Human desires are not much different from a burst dam.
“That is why I would like to propose an alliance between the Black and Shadow Courts.”
“What a ridiculous thing to say.”
“Our ancestors, the Immortal Frederick and the Black Sect also shared the same will as the ‘Shadow Church’.”
Dale answered.
“In the face of the Empire and the White Tower’s tyranny, the bond between Black and Shadow runs deeper than you might think.”
“… … .”
“The Empire and the Imperial Family, the Red and White Towers, are joining hands and aiming for Guild City.”
Their enemies.
“Against that, it is by no means strange to join hands with the enemy of the enemy.”
“… … Does Black have the strength to stand up to them?”
“Does the Shadow Court have the power to stand against them?”
Dale asked back.
“They must also know the true identity of the ‘shadow court’.”
As the Empire takes over Guild City, the White Tower will also seek to eradicate the thorn in its eye, heretical religion.
“It seems like you don’t understand your own situation.”
One of the judges in the shadow court opened his mouth. It was then.
“Everyone, please stop there.”
A voice was heard. It was a voice so clear and pure, like jade resonating.
“Here, Saintess!”
“How can the Shadow Lady be in such a shabby court!”
The judges in their new beak masks turned their heads in confusion. There was a white-haired girl wearing a pitch-black dress.
A black bandage was wrapped tightly around him, blocking his vision so that he could not see ahead. It was no ordinary bandage, but an artifact that gave off a powerful magical power.
‘Saint… … ?’
Shadow Saintess. That’s a name even Dale doesn’t know.
“The guest here is by no means a defendant in our court.”
It was she who opened her mouth indifferently.
“Rather, it was the Goddess of Shadows who brought him here by her will.”
“Ha, Haona, Saintess!”
“We will invite the Prince of Saxony to the ‘Shadow Court’.”
The saint spoke, and no one raised an objection. The Supreme Court. Before anyone could fathom the meaning, the assassins in the bird-beaked masks all drew their blades.
* * *
The destination of the Shadow Court was not any of the seven great guild cities. It was outside the city, in a large underground fortress within the guild city territory.
A scene reminiscent of a persecuted Christian chapel during the Roman Empire.
The number of people there is not that many. The Shadow Court is spread out across the seven cities and the empire in the form of a sect organization, and this place is likely to be the head office that holds the sect together.
In a sense, it could be said that it is a hideout where the highest ones gather.
Dale was right there.
The Shadow Saint. And the man who enabled the Shadow Court to become the greatest assassin organization on the continent.
‘… … !’
“Hey, easy.”
He gulped down his beer without any regard for formalities and swore at others.
“How did Confucius, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, end up in such a shitty place?”
He was a shallow man without any trace of dignity. Nevertheless, Dale knew his true identity.
‘I was wondering where you disappeared to, but you were definitely here.’
A swordsman with the title of ‘Salgeom (殺劍)’, one of the Seven Swords of the Continent.
Master right away.
A man who was once one of the seven greatest knights on the continent, and is now reborn as the continent’s strongest assassin.
The evidence was right there in the ‘grand court’ of the shadow court.
“Prince Dale.”
Right between them, the Shadow Saintess opened her mouth without a care. Despite the black bandages obscuring her vision, she stared straight at Dale.
“And the Virgin Aurelia.”
Dale swallowed softly at the unexpected words. How could he know that?
“Under the care of the Shadow Goddess, we have finally gathered here.”
The Shadow Saintess opened her mouth.
“Isn’t that so, Mother of Darkness of old?”
“… … !”
“Ia Shub Niggurath.”
Those words I can never forget.
At the same time.
─ Ah, my child.
The mature voice of ‘Shoove’ was heard, and the scenery of the area was engulfed in endless darkness.
