Chapter 174

“I am human.”

Dale answered. He released the dark armor that enveloped his body.

“Huh.”

Hearing Dale’s reply, the mountain crone smiled as if pleased. Possessing the body of a young dark elf, she radiated an utterly alien presence among the mountain assassins.

“Very well. Then may I ask why that human has personally come to the land of the elves?”

“I came here to take over the contract the Blue Mage Tower has with you in the name of the Black.”

“There are indeed many contracts between us and the Blue. Which one do you speak of?”

“I came here solely to secure a guarantee of Sepia’s safety.”

Sepia. The mere utterance of that name sent an ominous ripple through the assassins gathered on the mountain. Yet the old woman on the mountaintop paid it no mind and replied.

“Hoho, so the ‘Shadow Lord’ has personally journeyed this far to protect a mere blue puppet?”

“That was the initial reason.”

Dale nodded.

“But after witnessing another exile in the empire’s city, and furthermore, seeing the ‘mercy’ you bestow upon that child… my curiosity grew a little more.”

“Curiosity, you say. Tell me more.”

The old woman on the mountain asked cheerfully,

“Why do you show such cruel mercy to your own kind?”

“Huh, Shyphul. I never thought I’d say this, but couldn’t you watch your mouth?”

As Dale spoke, a storm of killing intent swept through the mountain assassins like a sandstorm. Even Master Baro couldn’t hide his bewilderment and interjected, but Dale paid him no mind.

“I’ve heard the Mountain Assassins are executors of the divine will, serving the Goddess of Shadows. Yet I find myself wondering whether your actions truly align with what the ‘Goddess of Shadows’ herself would desire.”

“So you claim to know what the Shadow Goddess desires?”

“Because I am the Shadow Lord who exists for that purpose.”

Dale answered.

Gold and shadow. As the Black Count once said, no one on this continent can escape the ancient fanaticism that has persisted since time immemorial.

And as long as Dale existed as the Shadow Lord, regardless of whether he desired it or not… there was no need to refuse assets freely offered. Just as he utilized his title as heir to the Saxon ducal house.

“What is it you desire?”

“I simply wish to understand why the mountain assassins—indeed, the entire elf race—cling so fiercely to this cruel tradition of blood and mercy.”

Dale replied.

At first, he had sought out the Mountain Assassins merely to vouch for Sepia’s warrior.

But when he saw the terrified young elf exile in the eastern city of the Empire, it was pure ‘humanity’ that drove Dale and Master Baro to act.

An act of altruism born purely from the conviction that he simply could not pass by, without any gain or interest.

“What on earth did that child do to deserve banishment from elven society, and why, even then, can she not escape the blades pursuing her under the pretense of mercy? I wish to hear the reason directly from the head of the organization that enforces the Shadow Goddess’s will.”

“Ha ha, ha!”

At Dale’s words, the mountain crone burst out laughing as if utterly flabbergasted.

“Your meddling is so excessive it’s laughable.”

“And why were Lady Sepia and that child exiled from their homeland? What threatens their lives at your hands?”

“Don’t speak so recklessly in front of the elders, you human…!”

“Enough, child. That’s enough.”

The old woman on the mountain cut off the assassin who was about to speak, and said. At her words, one assassin hurriedly shut his mouth.

“We haven’t declined so much that we’d forget to show courtesy to a guest who has taken the trouble to visit us.”

The old woman on the mountain said this and turned her back.

“Follow me, humans.”

With that, one of the mountain assassins snapped her fingers. Instantly, one of the desert predators—who had been locked in a bloody battle just moments before—crouched before Baro and Dale.

“……Heh heh, damn it. Surely this guy won’t get dragged down into the sand pit, will he?”

Master Baro asked anxiously, and the old woman on the mountain, who had turned her back, replied.

“Well, that’ll be your own karma, you damn disciple.”

“What a lovely sight, master and disciple.”

Leaving their conversation behind, Dale muttered as if it were none of his business.

Riding the desert steed nonstop for days and nights, it was a distance where even if it took longer, there was no guarantee they would arrive.

But it was only as the morning sun sank beyond the horizon that the desert monster, which had turned its back on Dale, reached ‘their kingdom’.

The empire ruled by the Golden Emperor boasted unabashedly of its achievement in unifying the entire continent. It proclaimed itself the sole nation existing on this earth.

Dale, who had devoted his life as the empire’s banner of conquest and hunting hound, knew this claim was no empty boast.

Yet the more Dale came to understand the truth of this continent, the more he realized that the empire’s proclaimed righteous cause was nothing but a mirage, utterly fleeting.

Beyond the northern Demon Realm of the Saxon Duchy, the ‘Demon Empire’ ruled by the Eldritch stretched endlessly.

Moreover, beyond the scorching desert here lay the very kingdom of the Dark Elves, shrouded in mystery since time immemorial.

Beyond that, at the very edge of the Antarctic, lies the Crystal Land, the domain of the Snow Elves.

And that was not all.

Moreover, the countless rulers who constitute the empire itself… From the outset, those who ruled this empire were the mighty beings of the demonic realm, beings that could scarcely be called human. And as for the ‘Anatolian Eastern Continent’ that Admiral Barbarossa proved existed beyond the oceans, it scarcely bears mentioning.

Therefore, the empire’s claim to be the sole nation on earth was nothing more than a futile attempt to cover the sky with one’s palm.

Even knowing this truth, what Dale felt was sheer astonishment.

It was vast. Too vast.

“What on earth did you imagine, human child?”

At last, the mountain crone laughed as she looked down upon their kingdom.

“Surely you didn’t imagine a community of savages living peacefully in tattered tents, huddled together in villages at the edge of the continent?”

“…….”

To be honest, he couldn’t simply deny it.

But he never imagined there could be land left on this empire-ruled continent large enough to warrant calling itself a ‘nation’.

Once, even the most ambitious explorers of the empire dared not venture to the edge of the desert. Yet unbelievably, that very edge marked only the beginning of their ‘Dark Elf Kingdom’.

Centered around desert oases, a kingdom stretching endlessly beyond the horizon lay spread out there.

Their towering fortresses and cityscapes, so immense they could obscure even the setting sun, were no exception.

“At the edge of this desert land, we are connected to the frozen lands of the Snow Elves, bordering the sea.”

The old woman on the mountain spoke cheerfully, as if explaining ‘the vastness of this world’ to a child.

“Why did you ask why the exiles break the taboo and are driven out from the land of the elves?”

“……”

“Have you ever questioned why the most powerful noble family of your empire was wiped out overnight, leaving their entire clan destitute on the streets?”

The old woman on the mountain countered. At her words, Dale could say nothing.

“After all the strife and glory surrounding gold, was it so surprising to exile an innocent child to the wallpaper of death?”

“……”

“Did you say cruel mercy, child?”

The mountain crone said.

“And you, the people of your empire who speak such words—have you ever even considered bestowing such cruel mercy?”

Dale could not bring himself to continue and fell silent.

“When the empire subjugated countless kingdoms across the continent, and invaders raped wives and slaughtered sons and daughters in that hell, did you ever even consider showing such cruel mercy?”

By now, even the trace of a smile had vanished from the old woman’s face.

“In that land so small and cramped as millet grains, did you ever pause to reconsider that foolishness—that audacity to believe yourself the center of the world without a shred of doubt… that presumption to usurp the name of gold and shadow?”

As the dark elf of the imperial city once sneered at Dale.

But the old woman on the mountain did not execute her because her claim was wrong. It was simply because a mere soldier had disobeyed her superior’s order. That was the sole reason.

“Heh heh, Master. Please stop there.”

At last, Master Baro spoke to the mountain crone whose voice was growing louder.

That was when it happened.

Whoosh!

A whirlwind of blades swirled around the ground beneath Master Baro’s feet.

Yet that whirlwind never touched Master Baro. For the coordinate system connected to the ground beneath his feet was not his physical body.

Far away, empty space itself warped and distorted, caught in the blade’s wind. It was an absurd, shattering force, as if space-time itself was twisting.

“Oh my, damn it. The master’s temper remains as fierce as ever.”

“So that’s how you talk, you little punk? Your guts suddenly shrunk smaller than an ant’s gallbladder.”

“Heh heh, as people grow old, they all become less than they once were, you see.”

Master Baro chuckled and took a step back. Among the mountain assassins, the Old Woman of the Mountain raised her head.

“Now, do tell us again. You human child who calls yourself the Shadow King.”

The young dark elf asked, turning toward Dale.

“In this vast land and kingdom of our people, amidst the countless absurd power struggles and political strife, amidst the endless civil war where blood begets blood among our own kind…”

As if it were truly laughable beyond endurance.

“As one who dares to claim the title of Shadow Lord, I beg you—show me the way to bring eternal peace and glory to this kingdom.”

At those words, Dale could not utter a single reply.

Even now, knowing the countless power struggles unfolding within the empire and the innocent children sacrificed to them, what difference does it make? There is no difference.

Rather, it was Dale who had rashly dismissed the elven community as a primitive tribal society, just as the old woman on the mountain had said.

“……”

And so, after the silence, Dale knelt.

“I will not beg forgiveness for my foolishness, which is no more than that of a frog in a well.”

“Huh.”

“Therefore, I beg you to grant me another chance. No, dare I say……”

The mountain crone smiled again, and Dale continued.

“Nothing will change, I suppose.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m speaking of the opportunity for me to prove my worth as ruler to you and the people of this kingdom.”

Leaving behind the black blood endlessly churning within his flesh, the Shadow Monarch spoke.