Episode 101
The opponent’s breath brushed the back of his neck. Allen couldn’t feel his opponent’s presence, though. a disproportionate difference. Allen had already met such a person once.
Knowing the identity of the other person made me even more calm.
It was she who was rather puzzled when she acted like that.
“yes? Baby, why are you stopping? Are you scared?”
“If resistance is meaningless, shouldn’t there be no need to do it?”
The shadowy queen asked in a subdued voice.
“Then would you just die?”
That voice was playful. However, the life that tickled his downy hair had tightened his neck as if it was always targeting him.
“If the Shady Queen wants it, what can’t it be?”
“Isn’t the word ‘second seater’ wrong?”
When Allen responded without agitation to her threats, the life that had been strangling her neck disappeared in an instant.
“Yeah, if you cooperate with me, it’s good that I don’t have to go too harsh.”
The breath behind the neck disappeared at some point. Allen awkwardly turned her stiff neck, casting her gaze in a corner.
there she was
A mysterious woman with dark purple hair that is close to black and wearing a simple black dress.
When did you move there, or were you there from the beginning? With Allen’s skills, he couldn’t even tell which one it was.
In fact, even now, I concentrated my sensing power throughout the room, but even though she was in front of me, I couldn’t feel her presence.
She asked calmly, as if she had seen all of Allen’s work, but didn’t even threaten him.
“Did you look at them all? So can I ask now?”
She smiled and walked slowly towards the center of the room. As she walked, the dark areas increased.
“… Yes, yes.”
Allen thought of countless assumptions in his mind.
Why did she come here? money or stuff? No, she would have asked for something like that. then information? Any information she might want?
‘More than that, did you hear everything?’
No matter how thorough Allen’s security was, it was nothing compared to the ability of the Eight Rivers.
First of all, it would be better to follow her words and think quietly.
“It’s not good to think too much… Well, I didn’t come here to talk about that.”
Her steps stopped at the corner of the room. A place where no one can see through with thick shadows and darkness.
She put her hand there. Her arms didn’t stop, even though her hands must have reached the wall.
“Allen Reinhardt. Are you a member of the Reinhardt family?”
“Yes. you’re right.”
“Besides, it was my first prayer, and I was born to Jeongsil, so I know everything. right?”
As if satisfied with Allen’s answer, she smiled and pulled her arm.
“Then, I will ask. To the Reinhardt family, why?”
Kudangtang-
A black seal was struck and thrown to the floor, rolling in front of Allen. Coming out of the shadows was unexpected for Allen.
“Can you tell if there are any traces of the Dark King?”
A prospective butler of the family who followed Arcandus and the others. He was stunned with a look of horror on his face.
“It seems that the child was unspeakable.”
Her smile turned cold.
“yes? Baby, can you tell me?”
The arm is always challenged.
If you think about where the forebody of the first eight limbs came from, it was natural.
Eight companions of the hero who fought against the Demon King.
Eight colleagues who were said to be the strongest on all continents were the predecessors of the Eight Rivers, so it was natural for Eight Rivers to always be challenged and tested.
So, should the Eight Rivers accept the challenge at any time?
With little time?
That wasn’t it.
The eight rivers were also people. A living being who feels fatigue and breathes.
Although they were half-human and their limits were incomparably higher than those of ordinary humans, they were also living creatures.
However, in order for the Eight Rivers to exist as Eight Rivers, they must not reject the challenges of others.
Therefore, they set a time limit for each challenger to be challenged.
Only once a year, a day when you can challenge the Eight Rivers at any time.
During that time, anything could be mobilized.
No matter how many challenges, the use of any weapon is allowed, including poisons, artifacts, magic and traps.
It was even good to collusion with challengers and engage in wheel warfare, and it was okay to challenge alone if you were confident.
Of course, it doesn’t matter if you don’t adhere to that period.
However… , I don’t even know where my arms are, can I challenge myself?
For example, in the case of Pierre Bernaf, the strongest of the Empire.
His biggest job is to escort the emperor and to solve various disasters in the empire according to the emperor’s orders.
Can ordinary people meet him like that?
Knowing the location, would they have the courage to break through the strict boundaries and guards of the imperial palace and even attack the front of the emperor’s residence?
But others weren’t happy.
Douglas Abel, the leader of the Berserk Knights, called the spear of mankind, travels around the world to defeat evil things.
Madame Empress Venessa Sabrina, who is said to be running around the city from behind, is rumored to be rife and cannot be found where she is.
Salvator, the heretic elven ghost, sealed himself deep underground in the Great Sea for several decades.
Finding them was also a formidable task, and there was no way that he could defeat the perfect arm in such a weak state.
Therefore, those who wanted to challenge the Eight Rivers had no choice but to aim for that day.
The Empire took advantage of it and made it into a huge festival to show off their national power.
The former Eight River, the Shady Queen, was also located in the Eight River until three years ago, so there was a day when I could challenge her.
Seven days of the year in the last week of October.
The only day that can bring down the queen who rules the shadows.
People I knew called it the Dark Moon Festival (暗月祭).
A day when even the female kings, officially her pupils and unofficially called hounds, do not hesitate to stab her in the back.
She killed all of the challengers because she did not forgive the traitor.
That was something the female kings who followed her could not escape, but… , there have always been exceptions.
“Now, can you tell me why there are traces of the female king on that child?”
Those who were preparing to escape from her from the beginning. They took advantage of her fall into her trap and ran away.
The movement of one of the escaped female kings was found on the body of the preliminary butler.
Because she directly taught the female kings, it was possible to notice only the movements of the preliminary butlers.
“Baby, why aren’t you talking?”
Allen did not answer. Not because he didn’t want to tell me, but because he really didn’t know anything about him.
‘Are there any traces of the Dark King? In the body of the prospective butler sent from the family?’
She seemed to have misunderstood when she saw Allen’s hard expression, so she approached him slowly and hurriedly. darkness deepens The shadow that dyed his feet spread like it was sweeping Allen.
“What kind of dark king does it have to do with … Ravi? Navid? Mulan?”
Allen shook her head before her misunderstanding deepened.
“It’s something I don’t even know.”
“You don’t know?”
I wondered if she tilted her head, then disappeared from my sight. Her voice reappeared in her ears.
“Baby, I don’t really like lies.”
A sharp anticipation reached the tip of his neck.
A dark, thick life enveloped him. Allen answered calmly without turning her head towards her.
“… However, it is not without a guess.”
“Tell me.”
Her voice didn’t change with Allen’s answer. A soft, smiling voice. She was able to control even the slightest bit of emotion.
Allen answered immediately, without hesitation.
“General Butler Gardel.”
“Gadel? Gardel, Gardel… . ah.”
While in the mansion, Allen felt nothing strange about him. His steps and breathing were normal, and he was an ordinary person with no magical powers.
However, when I think about it now, it was even more suspicious.
‘If it is a decent family, members of the family will also be trained.’
To be precise, it could be said that the family gave them to them in the form of a bounty.
By giving away a small vision from the family, the attendants develop a strong loyalty, and they train hard to prove it.
But Allen felt ‘nothing’ in Gardel.
There was not even the slightest amount of magical power, not even the habit of learning martial arts.
‘Gardel is said to have worked for the family since she came to the family with her mother.’
He must have gained a lot by working as a general butler, but there is no way he could not look like a normal person.
Being so thorough, Allen, on the other hand, only now realized his ideal.
Allen explained these doubts to her without adding or subtracting.
Later, when she went to Gardel with a firm answer, it was clear that the wrath would come back to her if he wasn’t the Dark King.
“And Iza is also one of the prospective deacons who are learning under General Butler Gadel… , so there is no one else who is most powerful as a dark king.”
After hearing Allen’s story, she thought for a moment and then smiled again.
“Yeah, how would you like to tell me what you know?”
Her figure suddenly appeared in front of Allen again.
The darkness in the room began to dissipate.
The floor that looked like it was going to fall into the mud, and the darkness that made the walls and ceiling indistinguishable.
“Now that I’ve heard the answer, the baby will be tired, so will I stop?”
She turned around as if she would disappear at any moment. No, half of her body had already begun to melt into the darkness.
Allen, as usual, would not have caught her.
He tries to get things done within a pre-planned and controllable variable.
He was the one who moved by calculating whether there was a possibility even if something happened suddenly.
But arm?
Meeting the shady queen this time was a coincidence.
So, for Allen, it would have been the right choice to let her go like this.
👌👌👌👌👌
“Allen wondered if it was right to let her go like this.”
– it will
“Her body begins to disappear. do i really have to go? She wished there was an information guild. She was shady and thought she didn’t care how much it cost if she could hire a queen. But why is she standing still?”
A white book was opened.
Allen took a step forward, even though it was something he would not have done normally.
“little.”
The queen, shadowed by his actions, turned around with a puzzled face.
“How about staying a little longer?”
“Do you think I’m not afraid of you?”
“Excuse me, but I’m not in a very good mood right now.”
She always resolved it through conversation with Allen. It may be her original nature, but her true identity is the ruler of the shadows.
“Is that how she proceeded with conversation rather than overwhelming power? How did she stun the prospective butler like that?”
That figure itself suggested that the Shadow Queen might have been injured.
“If there is a disturbance, you know that you are at a disadvantage, so you have to be careful.”
“Huh-”
Her eyes narrowed. She has a face that looks like a plastic thing. Who cares who?
“Baby, am I happy? Having a conversation like this, you just feel confident, huh?”
She thought for a moment, then shook her head.
The shadowy queen’s body began to melt into the shadows again.
“I want to give my soul to you… , feel good I’ll just pass today. So, in the future, be careful with your words.”
“I will help.”
“Do you know what you are going to do?”
“It takes time and hard to come back to the great shade by yourself, so you’re not looking for a decent hunting dog.”
The body that had melted into the shadows stopped.
She looked at him coldly enough to feel a chill unlike before.
“Baby, didn’t I tell you to watch your mouth a little while ago?”
“I’ll also get you anything that helps with the injury.”
“It doesn’t make sense, kid.”
Her expression became expressionless.
A bell rang in Allen’s head. As she swung her hand, her blade soared in her darkness.
“I’ll take a look. Should I repent when I wake up?”
There was no Bestla, and it was too late to use magic.
“My story!”
I had to catch her.
“Didn’t you hear my story… .”
The blade stopped, leaving only one hair to pass through. Even though he hadn’t touched it yet, his skin stinged at the sharp anticipation.
“Since you stole my story, can you pay me for the story?”
She looked at Allen’s face without moving.
Slowly, he asked a question.
“A story worth?”
“Yes, by story value.”
“Only now, Allen was able to see a little bit of the reality of the forces helping Julius.”
They can even meddle in one territory.
Has the ability to split the ring bridge.
They even operate an unknown number of information organizations.
『Aside from that, you can use space movement, deliver funds to the Reinhardt family, and even the lord of the territory follows them.』
In the future, even strong men comparable to the Eight Rivers will help Julius.
“Like luck.”
The more Allen became aware of them by combining them with the memories of his pre-return, he became more impatient.
“Is it really possible? Can I succeed?”
He prepared everything he could, and even accepted the part that had to be sacrificed.
“Nevertheless, doubts arose as to whether the real Julius could be recovered.”
Wouldn’t it be surprising if I gave up on getting it back and killed it?
『Accidentally misses an attack, a passerby helps, or the ground suddenly collapses and the attack fails.』
Allen was afraid that such a situation would fail both of revenge and reclaiming Julius.
“If you don’t succeed the first time, there will be no next time.”
So more cards were needed.
“Even if the opponent presses him down, a hand that can aim for a single rebel.”
The future is good, and it is important to aim for one chance.
“However, it was possible only if the current foundation was well established.”
To do that, I needed her help.
“In order to straighten out the current organizational system and to increase the power to deal with the situation.”
“… … Hmm, yes. If it’s worth the story… I have to listen.”
After being silent for a while, her answer was, fortunately, in the affirmative.
“Then I will stay here, and you can send me the medicine with the name I said here. Baby, no, you live a very dangerous life.”
“… If you’ve heard it, you’d know it, but there’s nothing you can do about it.”
When Allen smiled bitterly, she shook her head and headed for the bed.
“But you shouldn’t have thought that I was going to help you. Because this is a deal.”
“Yeah, it’s a clear deal. But it is enough.”
Allen takes care of the chores she doesn’t have to do so that she can become the Queen of the Shadows again, and she grants Allen’s favors a few times.
Their actions had that meaning.
“Neither did I think I could tamper with the Shadow Queen.”
I’m just glad I didn’t go out.
For now, this kind of relationship was enough.
On the contrary, even though the emotional part took precedence over the calculations, he was stunned by the good results.
“You just came up with something like that and said something like that, really.”
She rolled her eyes and completely dispersed the darkness.
The bright moonlight poured down from the window.
She turned her back to Allen, looked out the window and opened her mouth.
“Then will you leave now? Or do you have more to say… Yes, for example, do you want to be in the room with me?”
There was a lot of playfulness in the voice that smiled brightly at the end, and it was full of intent to make him in trouble.
Allen couldn’t help but admire the way he was completely in control of his emotions, unlike his previous appearance.
‘… It’s not even the same race as Inelia, but it’s like this.’
He smiled bitterly and bowed his head politely.
Allen carried the spare butler, who had fallen on the floor, on his shoulders and left the room.
The white book he glanced at just before he left, as always, was just floating in the air.
As if when was it ever unfolded.
“I have no intention of disturbing the rest of the shady queen… , I’ll just leave. I hope she rests in peace.”
She waved softly until Allen left.
The door closed and silence returned again. She whispered softly as she recalled what had just happened.
“… The story is too expensive.”
Or, have you paid too much?
The reason she accepted Allen’s offer was simple.
It was because that little boy named Allen, instead of Gardel, had enough skills to take care of the after-treatment.
… But that was only a superficial reason, and the real reason was different.
She narrowed her eyes and lay down on the bed.
‘Why did I attack Zachnir?’
An assassin has to be able to control any emotion, and he has to be patient for a long time.
She was the queen of such assassins and the ruler of the shadows.
He said that he attacked Zaknir with a vengeance that he did not measure back and forth?
‘It’s a better plan to sneak into the city and attack.’
If not, it could be possible to expand the power of the shadows little by little and wait until the original power is restored and then wage a power war.
I’m not going to join hands with the former family of Jacques.
It was much more self-assured. It was not her usual shady queen for her to come up with such a crude plan because she had only suffered three years of humiliation.
I realized that it was strange because no one was as good at self-objectification as her.
That’s why he may have put away the commotion and withdrew his feet as soon as the Beast King appeared.
‘… There must be something.’
To get to know him, I decided to stay with him and investigate.
There was a need to heal the wound, but… , it was even greater that he needed time to gather his thoughts for a moment.
Since she also heard Allen’s story, the force that helped Julius seemed very strange.
“Hey, I hope something good comes out.”
If they were the ones who controlled her at that time, they would never be able to get over it.
She closed her eyes.
As the deep night passed, only the large moon gave off its presence and illuminated the earth brightly.