Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Beyond the borders of the Duchy of Saxony, in the northern wastelands controlled by the Demon King.

This region is under the command of the young Viscount of Saxony, who rules in place of his progenitor, the Duke of Saxony.

“We will hold our position until our last breath!”

“Keep the ranks tight!”

In the midst of the celebrated and resilient “Unbreakable Formation” of the Black Armor Company, a warrior advanced alone.

Facing an endless tide of ghouls, Viscount Sachsen, Dale, looked up.

He was the true sovereign of the Demon King’s lands.

The so-called “Black Prince” snapped his fingers, causing a spiral of dark energy to sprout from the ground. His “Shadow Cloak,” disguised as a dark tunic, billowed strongly, transforming the terrain into a veritable pit of shadows.

Just at the moment the ghouls surrounded Dale.

“Kieeeek!”

From the depths of that shadowy pool, a “Shadow Lurker” let out a terrifying howl.

Slash!

The “Shadow Lurkers” threw their sharp appendages simultaneously. That burst of thorns lacerated the bodies and bones of the ghouls, reducing them to piles of flesh.

Despite losing limbs, these beasts, endowed with speed and strength superior to ordinary undead, persisted in their attack. However, not even these dangerous spawn of the Demon King’s territory stood a chance against the prehensile limbs of the “Shadow Lurkers.”

It was like putting them into a high-powered shredder, disarticulating them completely until any trace of mobility was erased.

Tradition dictated that the Demon King’s domains harbored a mystical and dark force. However, such darkness was insignificant compared to the dark mantle manifested by the “Black Prince.”

A superior gloom that devours darkness itself.

The heavy infantry soldiers belonging to the Black Armor Company watched the scene filled with admiration and reverence.

“The leader has shattered the enemy ranks!”

“Eliminate the scattered survivors!”

“Do not break formation! We will fight here until the end!”

The troop roared in unison. That was their leader, the fearsome “Black Prince” who ruled those territories.

The labyrinthine metropolis known as Labyrinthos.

In times past, it functioned as a bastion built by the previous Duke of Saxony in order to contain the waves coming from the “Great Labyrinth,” an abyss of unfathomable proportions. After assuming control of the Demon King’s territory, Dale restructured and expanded it, turning it into a prosperous city and the capital of the Viscountcy of Saxony.

A vital bulwark for the progression of the Demon King’s domain and the central axis of the Viscount of Saxony’s rule.

Through the paths of this metropolis walked “Viscount Sachsen,” having left behind the battle against the ghouls. By his side marched the Night Raven Knights, emblem of the Sachsen lineage, along with the protected soldiers of the Black Armor Company.

A ruler only fourteen years of age, frequently called the young Viscount Sachsen so as not to confuse him with his progenitor, the Duke.

Despite his youth, in the labyrinth city, no one dared to challenge or belittle Viscount Sachsen, nor the “Black Prince.”

The artifact fever attracted crowds to the Demon King’s domains, motivated by the promise of unimaginable riches, which unleashed a wave of disorder and greed.

However, the fortified city of Labyrinthos preserved stability due to a single factor.

The regime of terror imposed by Dale, the ruler of the Demon King’s lands.

Following his father’s maxim, the Duke of Saxony, fear is the safest path to loyalty.

The fortress of Viscount Sachsen.

Exercising his role as “representative of the Duke,” Dale took his place in the command chair. After distancing himself from his father’s ducal bastion, he now commanded the Demon King’s region from his position as lord of the castle of Saxony.

At his sides stood the subordinates of Viscount Sachsen, Dale’s closest allies.

Guarding the throne were his two faithful personal bodyguards.

Lady Black, the warrior servant Charlotte.

Lady Shadow, the holy maiden Aurelia.

Hiding their features behind armor and helmets of dark tones, common citizens were unaware of their true faces. Although their protections hinted at feminine forms, no one dared to question the sharpness of their weapons.

The fate of the drunken mercenaries who dared to start a dispute, ignoring that they were provoking the “knights,” remained in memory.

They were the main executioners designated to guard the “Black Prince.” Only a fool would doubt their combat capabilities.

Likewise, Dale’s main advisors were in the room.

In the position of maximum closeness to Dale, always offering accurate recommendations, was the elven-blood sorcerer, Sepia. A short distance away stood Sir Veil of Baskerville, commanding the Night Raven Knights loyal to Dale’s cause.

Growth was not limited solely to Dale.

Sir Veil had progressed to become an Aura Master, manifesting his own avatar and joining the “Grave Guard.” Despite this, he maintained his unwavering loyalty to Dale, guarding the “Black Prince” alongside the Holy Maiden Aurelia.

Also added was the second in command of the Black Armor Company, Sir Kenneth Yones.

With the expansion of the northern domains of the Demon King, the advanced scout corps, the “Winter Watchers,” took the initiative in exploring new frontiers. This division completely transformed into an espionage network that answered directly to Viscount Sachsen.

Finally, although they operated outside the official protocol of Dale’s court, were the “Assassin Blades,” tasked with carrying out the designs of the “Black Prince” from anonymity, handling the darkest tasks.

The so-called Court of Shadows.

An execution organization that travelers mentioned in low voices, as if it were an urban myth.

The artifact fever formally began the “Northern Frontier Era,” fueling the ambition of fortune seekers, while the consolidation of the Demon King’s realm advanced firmly under Dale’s direction.

In the middle of the night.

Under a closed night mantle, Dale left the main rooms of the fortress alone.

His “Shadow Cloak,” which usually emulated a dark surcoat, took the form of a hooded tunic to protect his identity from others’ gazes.

With his face plunged into the gloom of his hood, the mysterious traveler left the building. Without any escort, he left the limits of Sachsen castle to mingle with the nocturnal environment of the labyrinth city.

Despite the ungodly hours, activity in the city did not cease. Groups of fighters, after finishing their days, partied loudly in local establishments, while others, anxious to get a quick fortune, ventured into the Great Labyrinth.

On the outskirts of Labyrinthos, the boundaries between daylight and nighttime hours vanished. The torches and bonfires that gave life to the city during the night remained lit, while the abyss of the labyrinth retained a dense and imperturbable darkness.

During the day, Dale was forced to fulfill his responsibilities as a ruler. Only upon finishing those commitments and finding a moment of isolation could he begin his personal journeys, descending into the bowels of the Great Labyrinth.

The so-called “faceless.”

In the confines of Labyrinthos, it was impossible to find someone outside of that moniker.

A lone warrior who emerged from nowhere to quickly position himself among the most prominent explorers of the region.

It took him only a few weeks to process his accreditation before the local “Adventurer’s Guild” and ascend meteorically to the most select category, the S-rank.

Doing without allies, he entered the deepest sectors of the labyrinth, slaying highly dangerous creatures individually, and always returning with relics of great value.

The Faceless One.

The dense gloom under his hood prevented anyone from distinguishing his features, a quality that earned him that pseudonym.

Certain sectors speculated that it was one of the Seven Blades of the continental territory operating incognito, while others suggested that it was a renowned beast exterminator.

The residents of the area wove myths around the identity of the “Faceless One,” and by chance, some grazed the reality.

However, every time they expressed such conjectures, they received mockery from the rest: how could the “Black Prince” himself roam the labyrinth devoid of an army to protect him?

Such an idea seemed a total impossibility.

The mysteries surrounding the “Great Labyrinth” remain numerous.

In the past, it was assumed that it corresponded only to an underground bulwark devised by the Demon King Balor. However, after the paladin’s victory over the dark sovereign, the Empire’s authorities understood that the construction went beyond a simple work of demons.

Neither the paladin himself nor the most formidable warriors of the Empire managed to completely subdue the Great Labyrinth.

A large part of this stagnation was due to the political conflicts of the era. The Empire, dependent on the goods provided by the Duke of Saxony, showed no real interest in dissipating the darkness of these wastelands.

The rest of the failure was attributed to the real dangers that inhabited the underground, capable of putting even the most experienced warrior in check.

To this day, different smaller-scale underground structures continue to manifest throughout the continent, although none equal the proportions of the Great Labyrinth.

The most supported hypothesis argues that the labyrinths constitute legacies of evil deities of the past, whose entrances are exposed due to alterations in the earth’s crust, which would explain their origin.

Scholars of these phenomena comment with suspicion on the existence of an archaic mystical entity, whose power eclipses that of the Demon King himself, which lies dormant in the most remote sectors of the abyss or in the darkest territories.

There was a creature there.

In the deepest sectors of the underground structure, a spawn wandered without a fixed course in the midst of opacity.

These beings lacked specific names. Similar to unknown varieties of abyssal fauna, their anatomies presented enormous diversity, it being extremely complex to find identical specimens.

They were pure manifestations of the word monster, defined by distorted and disconcerting aspects.

In this environment, subduing just one of these creatures demanded an enormous amount of energy; fortunately, they usually moved individually.

This particular entity showed characteristics reminiscent of an Asura from ancient myths, provided with six upper limbs, carrying a different weapon in each of them.

In front of the beast, the S-rank warrior nicknamed “Faceless One” unleashed his winter blade.

At first glance, it seemed like a conventional cavalry weapon, but the energy concentrated in its structure was far from common.

The legendary sword, Peacemaker.

Clang!

The six appendages of the Asura moved following a disordered cadence, causing successive impacts in a strident combination.

Six consecutive onslaughts.

Simultaneously, the influence of Peacemaker modified the physical dynamics of the environment, annulling the effectiveness of the Asura’s offenses against “Faceless One.” This was the characteristic effect of the “Impossible Peace,” designed to repel any external aggression.

Despite this, said protection manifested only for a brief moment.

Clang!

The violent multiple impact broke the “Impossible Peace” barrier that guarded the area. The Asura managed to neutralize the superior influence of the weapon using its own mystical energy.

“This ends here.”

Although these entities were cataloged within monsters, not all corresponded to the category of demons. The qualifier of demon was reserved for beings endowed with advanced cognitive capabilities, not to define a particular lineage.

This beast, however, lacked intellect. It did not establish clans nor did it use organized tactics like orcs, nor did it show a structured combat pattern.

Even so, it possessed a strength that far exceeded that of ordinary demons, moving through the environment as a living enigma.

As the influence of Peacemaker waned, a glimmer of curiosity crossed the gaze of “Faceless One,” Dale.

That was the key point.

“The mystical enigma that these entities harbor within them.”

And the truths hidden in the abyss.

The real reason why the successor of the Saxon lineage, the descendant of the Viscount, ventured alone into the depths of the earth, without bodyguards.

He evoked passages of his former path as a paladin and analyzed the strangely familiar aura that emanated from those chaotic entities.

Slash!

As the six weapons projected in his direction, Dale’s Peacemaker contained them in a direct clash. With each impact, a fragment of his dormant memory began to react.

It did not correspond to his experiences as a paladin. It was a much more remote vestige, rooted in the deepest strata of his being. A perception so subtle that it should have disappeared into oblivion, but which now gained strength again.

The primordial gift that gave rise to Dale’s trajectory and to the warrior he was in the past.

The innate faculty of the “Monster Hunter.”

Chapter 108