Editor : Amethyst00



"Lewellin has sent a letter offering assistance in resolving this incident."

Upon hearing the report, Edgerson's eyes twitched.

His face twisted in displeasure.

"I wonder what on earth Lewellin thinks of Zerdinger. Don't you agree, my Lord?"

At Edgerson's question, a cold gaze from Selde, the head of Zerdinger turned toward him.

Edgerson flinched as their eyes met.

'This bastard?'

Edgerson Zerdinger.

A hero known by the nickname "Blade of Ash" because those cut by his sword were said to leave behind nothing but ashes.

Despite such achievements, he was considered inferior to Selde Zerdinger, the current head of the family.

Hellfire Selde Zerdinger.

He not only possessed power among the greatest of all heads of the prestigious knight family Zerdinger, but was always mentioned in discussions of the strongest knight since the death of the Sword Saint.

Undoubtedly the strongest knight in the empire.

A man with overwhelming flames that even surpassed those of his predecessor.

"The head of Lewellin sent a letter out of concern for my younger sibling, offering help."

Selde tilted his head slightly.

"Is that so displeasing to you?"

Goooooo—

The temperature in the room suddenly spiked.

Everyone present had trained in swordsmanship at Zerdinger.

All of them users of flame aura.

Even they found the heat almost unbearable—the pressure emanating from Selde was immense.

"Brother."

Zeiss, the younger brother of the family head seated beside him, called out to Selde.

In an instant, the heat vanished.

Silence fell over the conference room.

Then, one of the elders cautiously opened his mouth.

"It would be better to leave the tracking of the criminal to the mages. Why not accept help in that regard?"

At Zeiss's words, the influential members of Zerdinger nodded.

Edgerson, however, swallowed his rage at Selde's display of power.

'This arrogant bastard! How dare he! Even if he's the head of the family, how dare he treat me—the de facto power of the Elder Council—like this!'

Having been humiliated in front of the influential figures of the family, Edgerson was burning with fury.

But now was not the time for anger.

No matter how powerful the Elder Council was, it still couldn't compare to the head of the family.

Moreover, security had been under the Elder Council's jurisdiction—it was technically his own failure.

Though the lapse had been intentional, if the enraged family head decided to pursue the matter, the Council's influence would suffer.

'That must not happen.'

Edgerson never expected to become the master of Zerdinger himself.

His son, Reed, couldn't do it either.

Selde Zerdinger was simply too powerful.

However…

'My grandson can become the family head.'

If anything happened to the current heir, Rhys, the position would go to Celia.

If something happened to Celia as well, then it would fall to Leo.

At a glance, it seemed like there were many successors.

But…

'If these three disappear, there's no one left to take the seat of family head.'

Zeiss Zerdinger, the younger brother of the family head, had only one daughter.

But she was just an ordinary noblewoman, unrelated to swordsmanship.

'Now is an era of great upheaval. Tartaros stirs, and the world is falling into chaos.'

Zerdinger is a house of heroes.

They earned their current renown by fighting for the empire—and the world—during times of crisis.

Even the successors to the family head cannot be allowed to stay safe.

'Strong as they are, they're still incomplete fledglings. Accidents can happen at any time.'

Was that not why he had unleashed the ultimate hunting dog?

'No matter how powerful Selde is, he cannot uncover that the Elder Council is behind this incident.'

Most of the family's knights followed Selde Zerdinger.

But the shadows of Zerdinger were largely controlled by the Elder Council.

For many years…

It was never easy for knights on the battlefield to trace the secretive movements of shadows.

'To have encountered that man… it must be fate. Proof the gods have chosen me.'

Edgerson smiled inwardly as he thought of the Hero Slayer.

He didn't know how that figure had returned to this world.

But the Hero Slayer, who had once slaughtered legendary heroes, was the perfect hunting dog for this operation.

bl

After the meeting…

Edgerson headed straight to his office in the Elder's Hall.

The elders followed behind him.

"The family head won't be able to trace this back to us, right?"

One elder asked with a nervous face.

Another elder smirked.

"The shadows of Zerdinger answer to the Elder Council. No matter how powerful Selde is, unless he commands them, he won't know we're behind it."

Another elder chimed in.

"What if Lewellin's shadows get involved?"

Edgerson snorted.

"The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. There's no force in the western continent that can swallow Zerdinger's shadows."

Even if Lewellin's shadows tried to dig, they'd be limited in Zerdinger's domain.

Opening the doors of the Elder's Hall, Edgerson spoke.

"No one can uncover this secret. No one."

Creak—!

As the doors of the Elder's Hall opened—

Edgerson's face hardened.

Not just his—everyone who saw the interior was shocked.

Zerdinger's shadows lay collapsed across the room.

And it seemed the hall had been thoroughly searched.

Documents were strewn all over the floor.

"Wh-what is this?!"

Just as the elders cried out in shock—

Edgerson stormed forward and grabbed the collar of one of the barely breathing shadows.

"What happened here? Who did this?"

The shadow wheezed.

"They… they came… cough!"

"Who?!"

As blood spilled from the man's mouth, he gasped— "The Shadow… Lord… the ruler of the world's darkness… came…"

Edgerson's eyes widened.

Shadow Lord.

Edgerson had heard of their existence.

The Empire of Shadows.

Led by the Xian Empire, rulers of darkness from each race.

"Why are they targeting Zerdinger?! For what reason?!"

"Zerdinger is not our target."

A voice rang out from the darkness.

Shrring—

At that sound, all the elders drew their swords.

Each of them was either a hero or close to one.

Their killing intent alone could slice a man in half.

But the woman who emerged from the shadows didn't flinch in the slightest.

"Beastkin?"

Edgerson frowned.

The Southern Shadow Lord, Kirin, spoke in a lazy tone.

"Our target is the betrayer of the world, who colluded with the Hero Slayer."

Kirin narrowed her sleepy eyes.

"The Elder Council of Zerdinger."

At her words, Edgerson scoffed.

"Such absurd accusations."

"Oh my, it's not absurd at all."

From beside Kirin, a hooded woman stepped forward—Anya.

In her hands was a crystal orb.

Edgerson's face momentarily stiffened at the sight.

But he quickly regained composure.

To the untrained eye, it was just an ordinary orb.

"This is the Crystal of Secrecy. An artifact that could only be made using the magic of the legendary elven alchemist."

"And what of it?"

Anya smiled.

"Most of the artifacts made by that alchemist could only function with his own magic. After his death, those artifacts became useless junk."

She rolled the orb in her hands.

"The alchemist had his magic stolen and was killed by the Hero Slayer. And it's officially confirmed that his magic no longer exists. Thus, to make this artifact, his magic was required."

"……"

"This orb—clearly a recent creation."

Anya tapped the orb.

Magic activated, and a clear bloodstain appeared on its surface.

To activate it, the user's blood had to be registered.

"My specialty is blood magic. I can restore blood traces like this."

"And what does that prove?"

Anya smiled again.

"All magical artifacts retain traces of mana. Communication artifacts preserve voices."

Edgerson's face darkened.

"No matter how complex an artifact, if it was created by a skilled mage, its inner structure can eventually be analyzed. Even if it can't be reproduced, one can still manipulate it. Which means… this is possible too."

"What happened to Rhys Zerdinger?"

"He's still alive."

"Didn't you promise to create an opportunity to eliminate him?"

The orb echoed both an unknown voice—and Edgerson's.

As Edgerson tried to shout, Anya spoke.

"Don't claim it's fake. Any mage can verify this. You can have it appraised by Lewellin or the Magic Tower."

Edgerson's face twisted.

Anya chuckled.

"Checkmate. You betrayed the world—but didn't even cover your tracks well."

It wasn't sloppiness.

It was simply a catastrophe no one could have imagined.

No matter how deep and dark Zerdinger's shadows—

They couldn't compare to the shadows of the world.

Just as the world's powers are fractured—

So too are the shadows.

Who could have imagined?

That the world's darkness served a single master.

And that the one who ruled that darkness was the very person they had tried to kill.

No one could've foreseen that their retribution would arrive before the day was done.

Edgerson spoke.

"Zerdinger is not weak. We'll kill you all right here."

"Southern Lord, he wants to kill us all."

"Shadows like us? No way we could withstand Zerdinger's sword."

Flame aura burst from Edgerson's body.

Kirin said dryly.

"I'd love to cut that tongue of yours to stop the nonsense, but unfortunately, he said he'd deal with you himself."

"He?"

As Edgerson frowned—

Boom—! KRAKABABABABOOM! FWOOSH—!

Flames surged at the entrance to the Elder's Hall.

Edgerson's face stiffened.

"Zerdinger's flame?"

bl

FWOOSH—!

Flames engulfed the entrance to the Elder's Hall.

Through it, Leo walked in.

Step— step—

Knights who had tried to block him were groaning in pain.

"You found the evidence faster than expected."

"They probably never imagined the Shadow Lords would investigate their own."

Algren replied calmly.

"What is the meaning of this, Leo Plov?!"

"Reed Zerdinger."

Leo smirked upon seeing Edgerson's son, the true power of the Elder Council.

"Do you know where my mother is?"

"What?"

"I heard she was kidnapped by the Hero Slayer."

Reed's expression hardened.

'How does he know that?'

"I learned your Elder Council was involved."

"You bastard! What kind of slander—"

CRASH—!

FWOOOOSH—!

Reed barely blocked Leo's incoming sword.

"You guys are making me revert to my old personality."

'This brat… how does he emit such killing intent?'

"I'll give you a choice. Confess and die painlessly? Or stay silent and die screaming?"

Gooooo—!

"You arrogant brat! Just because you became a hero at a young age—don't think you can do as you plea—"

CRUNCH—!

SPLURCH—

"For some reason, people like you never pick the painless option."

"Aaaaargh!"

Reed screamed, clutching his severed right arm.

Leo lifted his sword and tilted his head.

"Where shall I cut next?"