Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Inside the fortress belonging to the Duke of Saxony, the advance of the night served as a refuge for those moving stealthily. The most radical leaders belonging to the Black Tower, determined to transform themselves into aberrations in order to attain absolute knowledge, were carrying out a clandestine operation in the name of their grim cause.

“In honor of the Black Tower.”

“And in the name of the Leader of the Black Tower.”

The goal they pursued was unique and clear.

From the moment their former boss formed a home with his beloved and Dale was born, the warmth of family life extinguished the relentless nature of the Black Tower Leader they worshipped. With his symbolic disappearance, the fundamental principles of the Black Tower vanished.

For this reason, the plan consisted of eradicating that domestic affection that had bent the Black Tower Leader, thus causing the fearsome creature of the past to return.

“Elena of Saxony, Lise of Saxony, and also…”

“The Black Prince must be included.”

Although Dale possessed the greatest potential in the entire imperial territory and was emerging as the natural heir to command the Black Tower, he simultaneously represented the main factor that fueled the supposed vulnerability of the Black Duke.

The extremist leaders of the Black Tower, completely convinced of their mission, pronounced a phrase in unison.

“The truth shall set you free (Veritas vos liberabit).”

Behind this group, an endless formation of Death Knights gripped their weapons firmly. The dark swords characteristic of the Sachsen dynasty, now controlled by these undead warriors, cast a gloomy and disturbing glow in the direction of the residence of the lineage to which they owed total loyalty.

These were weapons that emitted energy as dark as the night itself.

The dire offensive had just begun.

The incursion was executed taking advantage of the gloom that precedes the birth of the day.

A constant tolling began to resound.

The bells of the Duke of Sachsen’s fortress, whose sounds were heard on rare occasions, emitted an urgent clamor. That vibration functioned as a warning that an external danger was lurking.

“Enemy invasion! We are under attack!”

“Take your equipment and prepare to fight!”

“Occupy the defensive lines and wield the steel!”

A direct aggression. The events were not taking place on the outskirts of the Saxon domains, but in the most protected sector of the Duke of Saxony’s bastion. This alert evidenced a harsh reality: there were only a few capable of entering the building without triggering the suspicions of the guards.

The leaders of the Black Tower.

In the company of the Death Knights under their direct control.

The Order of the Night Raven Knights, the elite force and pride of the Sachsen dynasty, readied their weaponry to contain the aggressors. Wearing the dark armor distinctive to the Sachsen dynasty, they prepared to contain the advance of the persistent undead troops.

They were going to duel against former allies who now controlled swords impregnated with energy as dark as the night itself.

A young girl continued her training with the steel in complete solitude, defying the late hours of the dawn.

She wore dark protection built specifically for her physique, corresponding to the Night Raven Knights’ gear, and deftly held a greatsword typical of Saxony.

“……”

The moment the alarm rang out in the facility, Charlotte did not show the slightest hesitation.

Doubts and wavering were not part of the mindset of a true warrior. A fighter’s worth was measured exclusively through their actions. With this in mind, she secured the handle of her weapon, ready to fulfill the obligations of her rank.

The young woman, considered the bearer of the most outstanding talent with steel in the imperial region, prepared to measure her own level.

“Wait for me, Dale.”

These were the words that Charlotte Orhart, the descendant of the Divine Sword, whispered in a low murmur.

What was the reason why the Black Tower leaders were raiding the Sachsen dynasty’s residence while the head of the Black Tower was not at the location?

What caused the Death Knights, who should represent the ultimate security, to raise their weapons against the Night Raven Knights belonging to the Sachsen lineage?

It was evident that the radical faction of the Black Tower, completely opposed to the Black Duke’s guidelines, was carrying out an internal rebellion.

However, for Sir Helmut Blackbear, nicknamed the Mad Sword and the highest authority among the Night Raven Knights, political backgrounds were irrelevant.

Just like Charlotte Orhart, abstract dilemmas did not enter the duties of a protector.

His only purpose consisted of moving the steel for the benefit of his leader. To annihilate any danger and safeguard the integrity of his lord and his loved ones, offering his own existence if required.

Pure action.

Therefore, Sir Helmut held his prized weapon, Madness, firmly. He lunged straight toward the Death Knights, who had dared to use the dark steel of Saxony to invade the inner galleries of the building, seeking to reach the Black Tower leaders who advanced protected by the tumult.

“Sir Helmut, the Mad Sword…!”

“How dare you cross our path?”

The most powerful warrior in the northern region, Sir Helmut, raised his voice.

“To use the steel of Sachsen so dishonorably against my leader and tarnish the reputation of our respectable Night Raven Knights.”

Releasing a dense plume of dark energy from his very being, Sir Helmut Blackbear exclaimed in a low voice.

“Filthy vermin, how dare you, how dare you…!”

Issuing a clamor so powerful that it gave the impression of fracturing the firmament and the ground.

“I will reduce your muscles and your skeletons to dust!”

Violent cracks resounded in the space!

At that precise moment, a physical mutation occurred.

The dark protection that Sir Helmut wore, incapable of containing the violent and massive expansion of his musculature, began to fracture and change shape. However, it was not limited to a simple break.

The heavy dark metal molded and bonded intimately with the alterations of his physique…

Sir Helmut Blackbear’s uncontrolled physique and his dark equipment ended up fusing completely.

There is a maxim that points out that mystical arts consist of materializing thoughts, and that “the mastery of the sword in its purest state does not differ from mystical arts.” Due to this, the ability to translate ideas into the physical plane does not belong solely to practitioners of magic.

Warriors who manage to reach the pinnacle of the path of steel and energy manipulation can impregnate their weapons with their own ideals, manifesting extraordinary qualities identical to those of any sorcerer.

In the same way that high-ranking mystics possess their own conceptual environments.

A warrior has the capacity to project those ideals onto their weaponry, their protection, and their anatomy, adopting the definitive combat manifestation.

The armor of ideology.

The Avatar.

Under the guise of a being transformed into a “black heavy armor creature,” combining his altered physique, his dark metal plates, and the enormous greatsword he carried into a unified structure.

A living fortress with human features consolidated in the place. Emanating energy as dark as the night itself, his dark greatsword Madness integrated directly with his upper extremity.

“Not even the embrace of the grave will cleanse your insolence…!”

The dark-armored being roared loudly as he threw himself into combat. The enormous dark greatsword, now turned into an extension of his anatomy, performed a transverse cut.

Destructive rip!

“I will exterminate you, I will tear you apart, I will rip off your skin and undo your bones!”

Exclaimed the completely shadowy-looking warrior.

Deafening impacts followed!

It gave the impression that an imposing war machine had adopted human features, projecting absolute intimidation around it. It resembled the passage of an armored unit destroying the ranks of foot soldiers, a force impossible to contain.

This was not a metaphor. Sir Helmut’s physical structure constituted an armored block composed of dark metal.

The Death Knights, who represented the maximum force of the Black Tower leaders, ended up destroyed like simple recruits without experience.

Sir Helmut’s enormous steel, Madness, performed circular trajectories, and with each movement, the bodies of the Death Knights ended up shattered without leaving a trace of their original form.

“The bloodthirsty beast at the service of Duke Sachsen…!”

The Black Tower leaders expressed their frustration at witnessing the scene.

Neither the constant onslaughts of the Death Knights’ troops managed to stop his advance, and the darkness spells cast by the Black Tower leaders could not damage his heavy dark protection.

A physique shielded by such dark plates that even the spells of a sixth-ring leader could not easily penetrate them. Even scholars at the pinnacle of mystical arts were reduced to simple defenseless sorcerers when measured against a warrior in an avatar state.

Added to this, the consequences of a simple mystic allowing a warrior to shorten the distance were predictable.

The vital fluid stained the surroundings.

Splattered by the scarlet substance, the dark-armored warrior emitted another roar.

Even the Black Tower leaders belonging to the sixth ring experienced a deep sense of dread at such a display of power.

The dark-armored being advanced destroying any obstacle in his path.

Faced with this threat, the Black Tower leaders activated their own conceptual environments at the same time.

The greatest force in the northern region, in charge of the security of Duke Sachsen’s fortress, was in front of them.

The task of the leaders in this place consisted of limiting the mobility of said force, and none of them held the hope of preserving their own lives.

They concentrated all their potential to restrict the movements of this colossal being, allowing the rest of their allies to conclude the incursion in the internal rooms of the building. They were completely determined to act as offerings in favor of their grim cause.

Dale moved at high speed through the galleries of the fortress. His objective was the beings he needed to protect using his own capabilities.

At that moment.

A familiar figure stopped his advance in the middle of the hallways of the structure. The adopted descendant of the Crimson Duke, destined to inherit the Red Tower, remained planted in the place.

“Ray Uris…!”

Showing his discontent internally, Dale inquired in an icy tone.

“Is your purpose here to block my path?”

“What is the reason for that thought? Are we not united by a friendship?”

Questioned Ray Uris, showing genuine confusion on his face.

“I understand that the leaders of the Black Tower divided themselves into different cells to enter the building.”

“……”

“It is almost certain that Sir Helmut Blackbear is containing the main contingent… While that happens, some three or four individuals could be seeking to access the upper residential areas of the fortress.”

Analyzing the circumstances analytically.

“And I am fully prepared to fight in favor of my companion.”

Showing his biological integration tool, Dragon Jaw, in conjunction with the two power rings that moved around his chest.

“Does a simple sorcerer possessing the second ring assume he has the capacity to contain a Black Tower leader?”

The odds were stacked against him. However, the distinction as the descendant of the Crimson Duke had not been granted to him without real foundations.

“He certainly possesses some hidden resource.”

In any case, evaluating those details did not correspond to the current moment.

“… I thank you.”

There were no reasons to postpone the actions. Dale moved on leaving Ray Uris behind, mobilizing the force of darkness through his chest as he continued his advance through the galleries.

Seeking to reach the beings that Dale had to protect. With the intention of saving his mother and his little sister.

Simultaneously, at the Red Tower facilities located in the Capital of the Empire.

In the highest sector of the structure was an individual, the one who exercised absolute control over the Red Tower, qualified as the most relevant practitioner of red magic in the Empire, the Crimson Duke.

“Do you consider that Ray is performing adequately?”

A lady possessing striking red hair, the owner of undeniable attractiveness, consumed a portion of fluid contained in a crimson-toned container while conversing with the Crimson Duke at a short distance.

“It will be necessary to await the events, Lady Scarlet. My esteemed sister.”

“Wow, really. At times it causes me concern that your goals for Ray turn out to be excessively high, brother.”

Faced with the doubts expressed by Lady Scarlet, the Crimson Duke silently consumed another portion of the crimson fluid he carried. That was not a common liquor.

“Wow, the characteristics of its flavor are quite acceptable.”

From the high area of the Red Tower, Lady Scarlet shifted her gaze and contemplated diverse fragments of anatomies suspended inversely, a scenario that bore a resemblance to a meat processing site.

The vital fluid emanated from the structures attached to metal supports at the top, collecting in vessels intended for liquors located right below.

For someone foreign to this environment, the scene could be interpreted as the twisted entertainment of a member of the court who finds pleasure in the fluids of beasts.

However, the entities that remained suspended from the metal hooks at the top did not correspond to farm animals at all. Nor had they lost their lives.

For the family members who were in the room, these beings held the same equivalence as the animals that human communities process for their sustenance.

In the same way that it is considered common for human communities to take advantage of the resources derived from cattle or pigs… it logically corresponded to the rules of the food chain that the entities located above humans made use of them.