Chapter 100

Chapter 100

Chapter 100

─ Drink this blood.

Unlike the assumptions of ordinary people, Ray Eurys did not possess solely the status of “adopted son” of the Crimson Duke.

─ Through this act, you will overcome the barriers of mortals to integrate into our exalted lineage.

He represented the successor to the mystical heritage of an illustrious lineage, a dynasty that had cemented its hegemony through blood essence. That constituted a union that far exceeded conventional bonds of filiation.

“Under no circumstances will I disappoint my father.”

Guided by that iron purpose, Ray Eurys raised his gaze. In front of his position stood the firstborn of the Saxon lineage, known as the “Black Prince.”

The most exalted prodigy of the nation, the winner of the black and white confrontation, the military champion of the island of Britannia…

That individual represented the personification of the inequities of fate, a living emblem of irrationality.

“──Oh, King of Cold Ashes.”

The stillness came to an end at that moment. Through the fall of the Black Prince of Saxon, Ray Eurys would ratify his legitimacy before his own dynasty.

The mystical volume belonging to the Demon King Balor, who in the past succumbed to a champion, emerged from a whirlpool composed of flames and shadows, exhibiting the power of the sovereign of the demonic faction.

From the depths of the lake of shadows, the limbs of the Shadow Stalker launched into the attack, while Ray Eurys’s physiognomy began to fragment into dusty residues.

Although he still lacked absolute mastery over said faculty, he possessed the magnitude required to subjugate a descendant of the Saxon house.

The historical heritage recorded in Ray’s vital fluids was not an element that could be defeated merely by the innate aptitudes of the Black Prince.

“I am going to take down the empire’s greatest prodigy on this very stage.”

Fire and shadow collided in a whirlwind, structuring the silhouette of a Death Knight.

That dark force had been obtained after consuming the veteran leader of the Black Tower in past events.

The Death Knight, erected from such energy, held a two-handed sword of dark and reddish tones. The weapon, imbued with fire and shadows, made a cut in the air, causing the dark flames within to completely extinguish the lake of shadows.

From the depths of the dark waters, the hidden entity displayed its fearsome aspect: an uncountable multitude of stalking shadows.

At the moment the predator of the darkness was preparing to confront the ignited Death Knight, Dale uttered a few words.

“Four cannons, 12 gauge, buckshot.”

A spell from an alien reality resonated in the space, with terms that Ray found himself unable to decipher. Four pieces of artillery and scattered ammunition.

Contrary to large cartridges, used with solid lead spheres for the capture of larger prey like deer or cattle, the smaller variants scatter hundreds of tiny projectiles destined for hunting birds and smaller prey.

On this occasion, the goal pursued by Dale did not consist of an offensive of a lethal nature.

Four bluish-toned cylinders flashed behind his back, spreading the Blue Dissonance they harbored within.

“Do you understand the reason why I avoid molding Death Knights using fire or frost?”

“…!”

“Because sustaining an entity conceived purely through magic represents one of the most complex challenges.”

Had it been a conventional death servant, it would not have experienced any alteration from the blue dissonance projected by Dale.

Such a phenomenon disturbs magical origin configurations, respecting the skeletal structures or metallic protections of the fallen. Locating the dark fragments minutely interwoven in the inert remains turns out to be a practically unfeasible task.

However, the Death Knight summoned by Ray Eurys lacked material consistency. The flames and darkness that gave it shape constituted only manifestations of sorcery.

Faced with the dissonance that dismantled the structural core of magic, the creature found itself devoid of defenses. There is a founded reason why practitioners of blue magic are considered the ultimate rivals of sorcerers.

Only a specialist in blue magic possessed the capacity to disintegrate with such fluidity the incandescent Death Knight under Ray’s orders.

And, unfortunately for Ray Eurys’s aspirations, that ideal opponent was right in front of him.

“Did you suppose that you would achieve triumph by mechanically replicating invocations without deciphering the true background of the dark?”

Dale inquired.

By that moment, Ray Eurys’s physical structure had been reduced to particles of grayish dust, scattered throughout the combat zone, erasing any hint of human nature.

Simultaneously, those residues of dissolution began to spin with force. The inevitable end spread in all possible directions.

The ashes descended upon the surface, degrading and gnawing at the terrain as if the chronological events were marching in the opposite direction.

The mystical tome of the demonic sovereign Balor, the “King of Cold Ashes,” was manifesting.

The mortal residues began their turbulent advance toward Dale, who proceeded to remove the metallic blade attached to his side. During the movement, he transferred his own determination to the steel.

The latent energy inside the champion’s favorite weapon, known as Peacemaker.

Peacemaker.

The gray fragments of death rushed upon Dale, enveloping his position in a field of absolute annihilation from which it seemed impossible to escape; nevertheless…

“…!”

The figure of Dale, or more precisely, the influence of the ashes scattered by Ray Eurys, vanished.

That did not pass as more than common dust diluting into the environment.

Ray Eurys would never have anticipated such an outcome.

The manifestation of the power of Peacemaker that Dale was employing at that precise moment.

Forced peace.

And that concept of “peace” carried a single meaning.

A mystical perimeter that invalidated any “action of permanent and irreversible hostility” that occurred within its area of influence.

A blade lacked the capacity to tear tissues. The flames were prevented from consuming matter, as well as from devastating or eradicating. As long as they remained under the rules of the influence of Peacemaker, breaking that “peace” turned out to be unviable.

Although this constituted merely a vestige of the champion’s faculties, a similar logic applied to the domain of the demon monarch exhibited by Ray Eurys. His execution turned out to be so premature and rustic that it barely deserved the denomination of “fragment.” At least, the capabilities of the sovereign of the underworld that Dale evoked in his memories, associated with the tome in his possession, would not have been contained in that way.

Just as it happened with the action of Peacemaker under Dale’s direction.

“Exhibiting the champion’s strength imprudently implies facing considerable danger.”

However, in the same way that he had previously dispersed the Blue Dissonance, Dale had verified his aptitudes as a practitioner of blue magic.

Therefore, the invalidation of Ray Eurys’s secret resource would not generate suspicions among the observers.

The fact that the most outstanding prodigy of the territory nullified the sorcery of a rival was considered an “entirely coherent” event.

Gripping Peacemaker more firmly, Dale shortened the distance. Under the regime of concord that he decreed, neither Ray’s Death Knight nor the Shadow Stalker represented an exception to the rule.

With the exception of the individual who executed said restriction.

The materiality of Ray Eurys was found fragmented into dust around the area, but for Dale that scenario lacked relevance.

“Immobility.”

Dale pronounced in an attenuated tone. Using not the dark force, but the clear flow of blue, he generated a rotating current.

Evidencing the icy rigor and darkness characteristic of Dale’s internal reality, the surface of the arena began to solidify from the cold.

“──!”

The scattered components of Ray Eurys unified at a determined point.

Surrounded by flames and darkness, Ray Eurys fixed his gaze on his opponent.

He put into operation the biological assimilation device of aberrant configuration, the “Dragon’s Jaw.” His mouth area, modified in the likeness of the jaws of a serpentine beast, executed a movement.

“How…?”

The burning Death Knight together with the ashes of destruction. His primordial offensive, executed using his full potential from the beginning of the confrontation, had been completely neutralized.

In front of him, the “Black Prince” did not exhibit the slightest hint of hesitation.

“Did you suppose that I would dispense with the faculties of a blue mage after having contemplated the dark and blue arts?”

Dale asserted with feigned coldness, plunging Ray Eurys into silence.

“Do you possess knowledge about this mystical tome?”

“Does anyone exist who is ignorant of the existence of said volume?”

After a brief moment of stillness, Ray formulated the question, obtaining a detached reply from Dale.

“In the same way, I am aware that it does not represent a force that you are qualified to direct in your current state.”

Ray Eurys did not possess the level required to dominate the “King of Cold Ashes” in that period. Identically to Dale’s experience, who in his third circle determined that the attributes of the “Book of the Black Goat” possessed a minor transcendence.

“What was the motive for which you did not manifest your own grimoire?”

“Because I still do not possess one.”

Dale answered, adopting a posture alien to the matter.

“… Your words are false.”

Ray Eurys replied without showing the slightest doubt.

“Certainly, it is an artifact that you cannot exhibit openly before the public gaze.”

“It turns out ironic to hear that comment from someone who carries the grimoire of a demonic sovereign.”

“Are you referring to the Book of the Black Goat?”

For a brief second, Dale performed a swallowing movement with notable effort.

“You minimize the reach of the information services corresponding to our Red Tower.”

“……”

“However, I also underestimated the capabilities of the ‘Black Prince’.”

Ray added, preserving his composure.

“At this moment I manage to understand it.”

“What is it that you understand?”

“That the renown as the greatest prodigy of the nation does not constitute an empty affirmation.”

Ray Eurys expressed.

“That you represent an insurmountable obstacle for my current capabilities.”

Despite that, there were no traces of the discouragement manifested by other rivals who had challenged Dale. It was not the desolation of facing an unjust reality, but rather the determination of a competitor who identified the opponent he had so longed to find.

The deformed Dragon’s Jaw reflected a satisfaction difficult to explain.

It was not a barrier impossible to tear down, but a challenge destined to be overcome.

“This meeting concludes with my surrender.”

Ray Eurys began his declaration. Or, more precisely, that was his intention.

“Shub.”

Dale cut his discourse, invoking the energy of the “Book of the Black Goat” settled in his inner forum.

In that same instant, at the sight of the totality of the attendees gathered in the fight club.

“Impressive, how many spectators are gathered!”, Shub testified employing a candor typical of childhood. And before the gazes of Ray Eurys and all those present in the enclosure…

The most aberrant and hair-raising manifestation of existence made itself present.

A monstrous creature originating from an external dimension, provided with hundreds, thousands of appendages that agitated in the likeness of worms, all intertwined with each other.

A viscous and dark substance, with the consistency of pitch, emanated from the appendages.

Zap!

The pitch-black limbs began to deploy in multiple directions throughout the enclosure, as if they sought to exhibit the potential of the “Book of the Black Goat” before the attendees.

Boom!

The appendages impacted against the surface, fracturing the ground and instilling a panic comparable to that of an uncontrollable creature plunged into frenzy.

Crash!

The protective perimeter of the fight club fragmented before the onslaught of the demolishing limbs.

Exclamations of horror and gasps dominated the environment, merging with manifestations of derangement.

It did not turn out to be an absolute surprise that in the Red Tower they had knowledge about the “Book of the Black Goat.” At a minimum, once the suspicions were originated, determining the facts did not require great effort, and in the current context, the Sistine Church would find itself in a state of profound agitation.

Under such circumstances, it turned out to be preferable to expose it without reservations. To evidence before the public the reach of the magical volume in possession of the “Black Prince” of Saxon.

After manifesting the energy of Shub, Dale proceeded to store the “Book of the Black Goat.”

“I take your capitulation as good.”

Even in the facilities of the fight club, it turned out to be unviable to end the life of the descendant of the Bloody Duke and successor of the Red Tower. The imperial authorities and the Red Tower did not maintain their misgivings about young Dale, but regarding the “Black Duke.”

Ending the existence of the young heir to the Red Tower would only provide them with a justificatory argument in perpetuity.

Conforming with the outcome, Ray Eurys nodded in a silent manner.

For the initial occasion, he experienced a slight weakness in his lower limbs upon performing a movement of retreat.

Chapter 100