Chapter 184

Organizations beneath organizations beneath organizations. The meticulous task of tracing back through an endless web of connections, point by point, had begun.

In the back alleys of the Imperial Free City of Harlem, a tavern.

Externally, it was advertised as a tavern, but in reality, no one came in for drinks or lodging. It was merely a front to comply with city laws.

Its true nature was that of a subordinate organization to the Shadow Court, one of the criminal guilds ruling Harlem—infamous as the continent’s foremost assassin guild.

The floor of the tavern is littered with the corpses of assassins. They couldn’t even mount a proper defense against the hail of daggers.

The survivors lay prostrate on the floor, heads pressed to the ground.

“Alright, then. Now I’ll show you a magic trick where fingers disappear.”

Squish!

“Aaaah!”

And from there, a scream echoed.

The man who officially claimed to be the manager of the tavern screamed. What on earth was the identity of this man standing before him? How dare he lay a hand on someone who claimed to be a judge of the Small Court?

The small court Smith presided over was, in truth, nothing more than a nameless criminal organization. But those above it were not.

An organization above the organization—this was the true small court of the Shadow Court.

But even they were not the ‘true head’.

That was the terrifying aspect of the Shadow Court. What you thought was the head wasn’t the head, and what you thought was the body wasn’t the body. No one could grasp their true nature completely.

And that very fact was the greatest problem of all.

Even those who could be called the ‘true masterminds’ of the Shadow Court didn’t fully grasp the true nature of their own organization.

“Heh heh, even if the head comes, they won’t recognize it. What good is this Supreme Court anyway?”

“P-please, forgive me…!”

“Right, you said ruling this city was the head of the Shadow Court.”

“That’s right!”

“Right?”

“Y-Yes, it is!”

“Then are you also the one ruling the Free City Alliance?”

“Ah, no! We are merely the lower court! The one who rules this city is the higher, the High Court above us!”

“High Court?”

At those words, Master Baro quietly tilted his head.

“Oh, come now. Did our court ever have such a thing?”

The Shadow Court’s organizational structure has only two tiers: the Small Court and the Grand Court. Even if the subordinate organizations calling themselves Small Courts vary in size and power, and even if the assassins of the Small Courts are merely a criminal organization rather than executors of divine will.

“Well then, shall we gradually spill the beans about the High Court?”

“Do you… think I’d just blurt out the organization’s secrets like that?!”

“Hmm, where is that sound coming from?”

At those words, Master Baro pricked up his ears and asked back.

“A sound?”

“The sound of your fingers begging to be told.”

Snap. Simultaneously, the finger bones twisted horribly, snapping tightly against the back of the hand.

“Aaargh! I’ll talk! Aaaargh! I’ll tell you everything! I’ll spill it all, so please forgive me!”

“Heh heh, I rather like this fellow’s lack of principle.”

The shopkeeper spilled the beans smoothly, and it was right then.

“Wait, what are you guys, some kind of kangaroo court?”

Leaving Master Baro’s exploits behind, the hooded man sitting in the corner of the tavern finally spoke up.

“Oh, come now, don’t be like that. Did I even found this organization? I was just the dedicated ass-kisser from the start.”

The Shadow Lord replied to Master Baro’s words.

“I’ve long heard of the Supreme Court Justices and the courts they oversee. But this is the first I’ve heard of their courts existing within the Free City Alliance.”

“Our Shadow Court extends beneath the minor courts, and even beneath those, further down still.”

The title of the continent’s foremost assassin organization is by no means an empty claim. However, an organization that has grown to this scale inevitably sprouts uncontrollable branches in a world where information and communication are underdeveloped.

Therefore, the Shadow Lord’s first objective was precisely the task of pruning and cleaning up those branches.

“The High Court, huh? Well, it certainly sounds like a reasonable name.”

Dale nodded and stood up.

“Oh, where are you going?”

“Well, I’m off to the High Court, of course.”

It was right then.

“Ah, well, I suppose we don’t need to go looking for it ourselves.”

The wind blew. It was a very familiar wind.

After the wind blew, silhouettes appeared there. They were men wearing bird-beak masks and coats.

“So you’re the ones who dared to lay a hand on our ‘Shadow Court’ without a shred of fear?”

One of the men in the bird-beak masks spoke.

Each one possessed an overwhelming presence that dwarfed the local punks. They were literally the Shadow Court’s executioners, pure and simple.

“Huh. Judging by your appearance, you’re not just some stray dog bone picked up off the street.”

Master Baro opened his mouth, looking at them with apparent interest.

“I have no intention of shedding blood needlessly.”

Dale said at the same time.

“As a member of the Grand Court of Shadows, I command you. Lead us to where your High Court resides.”

“Did you say the Grand Court?”

One of the bird-beaked masked assassins spoke up.

“Yes, I’m the big boss of your swordsmen, you hear me?”

Master Baro chuckled. But then.

“Ha, ha ha!”

The shopkeeper, his fingers mangled beyond recognition, burst into laughter at the sight of them.

“So the ‘real assassins’ of the Shadow Court have finally moved! Now you’re all dead men!”

As if the two were no different from the dead.

“So you’re saying everything here is fake?”

“At least that means they’re the real assassins from the court you’re talking about.”

Dale answered flatly and turned his head away.

“I have no desire to shed blood needlessly. But to prove it, I suppose it can’t be helped.”

In a voice devoid of even a trace of emotion, Dale addressed the Shadow Court’s assassins.

Thwack!

At the same moment, the assassins in the bird-beak masks scattered, kicking off the ground. Simultaneously, a shower of blades fanned out in a wide arc, and just as Master Baro was about to react to the action,

Dale silently restrained him. Simultaneously, he extended his arm.

To test his new power.

Five circles accelerated, and the ‘Cold of the End’ dwelling within his body flowed outward through the blue magic power.

Just as the magic scattered by young Riza had shimmered like crystal, holding the biting cold of the surrounding area.

Strictly speaking, Dale wasn’t using magic either. He merely fused the ‘Cold of the End’ within his body during the process of releasing magical energy in gaseous form, then indiscriminately scattered that cold.

But it was neither beautiful nor pretty like his little sister’s, nor did it shine.

It was merely the deathly cold of a cruelty so bitter it was almost pitiful.

“……!”

Like invisible poison gas consuming them, the Apocalyptic Cold was scattered and touched the assassin’s body the instant it reached him…

It did not offer the easily recognizable pain of ice.

The winter of the universe, the meaning of absolute zero, is by no means an easy concept to grasp. It signifies the very extinction of existence itself, where the disorder of matter (entropy) reaches its extreme, causing the core particles of material structure to collapse.

The collapse of order—that was the ultimate conclusion signified by the cold of the apocalypse and the winter of the universe.

As soon as the apocalyptic cold engulfed them, flesh and bone dissolved down to the particle level, leaving not even a trace of form behind.

Yet even this was merely a fraction of the ‘Cold of the Apocalypse’s’ capabilities.

‘Just how far can this power ultimately be harnessed?’

Understanding the meaning of disorder, and being a Shadow Lord possessing knowledge from another realm, made him feel it all the more keenly. This power was far beyond the level of merely killing a single person.

An ability that has reached the pinnacle of Matter Manipulation.

‘This isn’t something to think about right now.’

One assassin wearing a bird-beak mask had every element symbolizing its existence scattered and annihilated at the particle level.

Not even ashes remained.

“……!”

The assassins’ movements froze completely. They weren’t fools either. That’s why, the moment they saw Dale, they must have sensed it instinctively.

That he was in a different league.

Heh heh, you lot. Starting to get a sense of which end you should be sticking your heads into, aren’t you?

No sooner had Master Baro finished speaking than the assassins moved. Their movements were nothing short of divine skill. Yet, it was not to sever the enemy’s neck.

“We dared not recognize the great hero!”

The assassins of the Shadow Court simultaneously bowed their heads before Dale and Baro.

“Heh heh, I like these fellows. They’re so consistent. Just like blades.”

Master Baro smiled warmly at the sight. After laughing, he turned his head.

“Well, then, where should we go…”

“Hee, heeek!”

With the appearance of the Shadow Assassins, directed at the shopkeeper who had just moments before sneered at Dale and Baro, calling them “dead men.”

“Shall I show you a trick where your head disappears?”

At that moment, in Harlem’s underground hideout, which claimed to be a high court.

Recent disturbances had rocked the city, prompting the dispatch of assassins. Not long after, they returned. Convinced they had fulfilled their mission, Judge ‘McGee’ of the High Court rose.

“So, you’ve returned safely after completing your mission.”

“I finished it perfectly and came back.”

And from within the new beak mask, a voice utterly unfamiliar to him sounded.

“……!”

Removing the mask, the Shadow Lord finally revealed his true form.

“How…!”

Simultaneously, the assassins of the Shadow Court, who should have sworn allegiance to McGee, all knelt before the Shadow Lord at once.

“You bastards, daring to betray the Court…!”

Despite this, McGee, the assassin who claimed to be the head of the High Court, did not panic. Rather, he was so flabbergasted he was on the verge of laughing.

The judge of the Shadow Court—at least he was a being of a different caliber than the motley crew that had come before.

Before long, he had reversed the incantation, and a crimson aura blade began to manifest in response. It was the unmistakable symbol of a high-ranking assassin.

He couldn’t possibly be unaware of its meaning.

But then it happened.

“Hey, you bastard.”

A man wearing a similar bird-beak mask opened his mouth. And that voice was terribly familiar.

Seeing you acting like a king around here just because you’ve grown a bit bigger, this elder brother is so moved I’m lost for words.

The man also removed his mask. And how could anyone not recognize that face?

To become a high-ranking assassin of the Shadow Court, one needed the ‘Blood-Red Aura Blade’. And the one who could impart that blood-red aura was only one person: the strongest of the Shadow Court, the Supreme Court’s Sword of Death, the one and only.

“B-Brother…?”

Macgie swallowed hard in shock, and Master Baro spoke.

“McGee, you little brat, this elder brother won’t beat around the bush out of old affection.”

“Speak, brother!”

“Bow your head.”

Master Baro spoke, and High Court Judge and High Assassin McGee willingly slammed his head into the ground. Not a single assassin present, including High Assassin McGee, was exempt.

For an organization claiming to be the ruling power of Harlem, one of the Free City Alliance’s factions, it was a truly pathetic end.