Chapter 105

Chapter 105

Chapter 105

“So the rumors about an intriguing upstart in Saxon were not entirely unfounded, it seems.”

Amidst the tense atmosphere, the Drowned King finally spoke.

“Young man, I accept your proposal.”

“…!”

“Or rather, I have no other choice but to accept it.”

His response was immediate and without hesitation, which surprised even Dale, who held his breath.

“But don’t think for a second that I will become your puppet.”

“I understand that perfectly,” Dale replied with a mischievous smile and a nod.

There was no other option. A cornered rat will bite the cat without hesitation. Faced with the threat of the Drowned King holding his heart in his hands, Dale was willing to risk his life for a ruthless revenge.

However, if a cornered rat finds an escape route, the situation changes. Not even the Drowned King would be willing to throw his life away. Dale had counted on that, and the Drowned King understood his intentions.

“Then it is decided,” announced the City Master.

“Lord Dale of Saxon has bid for the ‘Heart of the Drowned King’ through the prize awarded to the champion of the Fight Club.”

Behind him, six guild masters stood still, unable to comprehend the unexpected turn of events.

“The bid closes at eight hundred and thirty-nine black tokens.”

Ray Eurys, Mikhail Lancaster. Among those who rose as the next generation of powerhouses after the fall of the current ones, it was Dale of Saxon who took the first victory.

The emblem of the Barbarossa family—a skull with crossed femurs—waved on the sails of a fleet under the night breeze.

The invincible fleet of the Drowned King, Barbarossa, was retreating beyond the dark horizon, having surrounded the city of Cambio.

With the “immense loot” they had plundered from the city known as the Golden Empire, particularly from the financial district of Cambio.

To maintain his reputation as a pirate, he left the city with a scar that would not easily disappear, although he refrained from destroying it completely.

They had raided the “Guild Bank” in Cambio, emptying its vaults.

The city was in flames, a message from the Drowned King that he would not surrender easily, a message that Dale understood all too well.

The coastal district lay in ruins, a testament to the visit of Francisco Barbarossa, the Drowned King.

Some time later, seven great guild masters gathered in the Guild City.

It was time to vote for the next city master.

With the unanimous vote of the six guild masters, excluding himself, the new city master was chosen.

A man wearing the mask of the “Smiling Man.”

“What are you planning?”

In the city of Cambio, at the Arte del Cambio town hall, stood the man with the “Smiling Man” mask, his mouth twisted into a crescent moon shape.

“I am not planning anything,” the city master replied indifferently to Dale’s question.

“I simply know things.”

“What do you mean?”

“That Lord Dale has coerced the Calimala guild master, has seized the Court of Shadows, and foresees a future where this city will dance to the tune of the powerful.”

It was no surprise that the city master knew of Dale’s dealings with the Calimala guild master. However, the fact that the Court of Shadows, the most important assassin organization on the continent, had sworn loyalty to Dale was an entirely different matter.

“Have you infiltrated a spy into the Court of Shadows?”

“Of course not,” the City Master replied.

“I just know that the ‘Church of Shadows’ has a long connection to the Saxon underworld.”

“… Once the deal is closed, the Drowned King will not leave you alive.”

“I am also aware of that,” the City Master replied, laughing as if it were someone else’s problem.

“I know many things.”

There it was again.

“That the Heart of the Drowned King will fall into the hands of Saxon, before the gaze of the Empire, the Red Tower, and the envoy from Lancaster… and what will happen afterwards.”

As he spoke, the city master took something out of a desk drawer. It was the guild city’s ledger.

“I suppose Lord Dale wants this ledger to understand the events taking place across the continent.”

“…”

“Have you ever thought about it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Suppose there is a ledger that records all the events of this world and a ‘demon’ that can predict the world’s movements based on it.”

An omniscient demon.

“Foreseeing all future events would not be impossible.”

“Laplace’s demon…”

A being that knows the exact position and momentum of every atom in the universe.

“What are you exactly?”

“Oh, I am just a simple merchant,” the City Master replied with a mischievous smile behind the “Laughing Man” mask.

“Just a merchant who knows too much.”

“Surely not.”

“But knowing it does not necessarily change anything.”

The city master continued calmly.

“Not even my impending death is an exception.”

With the Heart of the Drowned King exchanged, the Drowned King would not forgive the City Master.

“When the current City Master dies, the Guild City must appoint as successor the guild master with the next highest number of votes.”

The city master spoke while taking a dagger from the drawer, its blade shining coldly.

“Six guild masters voted for me, and I gave one vote to the ‘Calimala Guild Master’.”

“…”

At the same time, the City Master slashed his wrist with the dagger.

Dale gasped.

“This world is already predetermined and no one can change it.”

Blood gushed from the severed artery.

“We are nothing but puppets of destiny.”

Turning away from the “Laughing Man” mask, the City Master spoke.

“Just as Lord Dale was once a ‘puppet of the Empire’.”

“…”

Dale’s face was a mask of surprise. The City Master continued, unfazed.

“And there is nothing more tedious than a story with a known ending.”

“What is that ending?”

“That is a trade secret.”

The “Laughing Man” smiled mischievously.

Those were his last words.

As life slipped away, the City Master’s body slumped onto the table. Before him, Dale remained silent until the end.

With the Court of Shadows under his control, the Calimala guild master became the city master, following the “Laughing Man’s” decision to end his life before Dale.

The city master died, but the mechanisms he set in motion proved Dale’s innocence in the Court of Shadows.

“Just as I promised.”

Before the new leader of Guild City, Dale spoke.

“I have kept my promise.”

The promise to place him in the seat of City Master.

“Now it is time for the Calimala guild master and the mayor to keep their promise.”

A mutual agreement. In exchange for naming him city master, the promise to share the heart of the guild city… the city master’s ledger.

The “Black Prince” would have kept his promise, in a way the Calimala guild master could have never imagined.

Or would not have even wanted to imagine.

“… Understood.”

Therefore, the decisions the city master could make from his position were limited.

In the hideout of the Court of Shadows, with no affiliation to any city in the Guild City territory.

“Damn it,” Master Baro cursed, downing a beer.

“There is nothing better than a beer after finishing a shitstorm.”

The storm that had plunged Guild City into chaos had passed and a new order had emerged.

Officially, the Calimala guild master was in charge of the Guild City, but the true ruler was found elsewhere.

“Oh, black apostle who will extinguish the world’s last flame and put out the last light.”

Before him, the Saint of Shadows, with her eyes covered by black bandages, spoke.

Kneeling before the “Black Prince” of Saxon, with the loyalty of the most important assassin organization on the continent, the Court of Shadows.

“Please, tear down the Empire of fire and light, and lead us to the Empire of shadows.”

As she spoke, the “Lord of Shadows” stood there, true to his name.

A crushing sense of defeat weighed on Ray Eurys’s heart.

He had promised his father that he would step out of the shadows and reveal himself to the world. But when he finally did, it was the “Black Prince” of Saxon who struck him down.

As the heir to a great lineage, the humiliation was unbearable. And the Black Market incident was no exception.

Faced with the overwhelming power of the “Ferryman,” Ray Eurys realized how ignorant he had been.

Now he found himself in the world beyond the well.

A broken sword lay before Mikhail Lancaster.

The Blood Flower Sword. A blade like a crimson whip.

He remembered the sword that the “Black Prince” had wielded in the fight club that day.

It was overwhelming, like facing a warrior superior to the Seven Swords of the Continent. Although the “Avatar” had not used his full strength, neither had his opponent. A mage of such talent surely would have unleashed the “World of Thought.”

He knew it instinctively.

This sword would never reach the “Black Prince.” Not with his current approach. He could not overcome that monster that way.

Mikhail, hailed as the empire’s unparalleled talent in swordsmanship, had been defeated by a boy ten years his junior, a mage, not even a knight.

However, that defeat did not break Mikhail’s spirit. On the contrary, it ignited a flame in the void within him.

Dale Saxon. A formidable rival he had to defeat with all his might.

Resolute, Mikhail Lancaster placed his hand on the hilt he carried at his waist. It was an ordinary knight’s sword, without any distinguishing features.

Shortly after, the Saxon “Black Prince” left Guild City safe and sound and returned to the Saxon duchy.

He returned with unimaginable loot, things the Duke of Saxony could never have dreamed of.

Chapter 105