《The Eminence in the Shadow》 -1 Start of a new series! @@ Tenshi Translations KAGE NI HISOMI, KAGE WO KARU MONO... Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Saw this brand new series on Syosetu the other day. After reading the first 2 volumes, I fell in love with it. So I''m sharing it here with you guys, hope it brings a smile to your face too! Here is the full translated synopsis from Syosetu: Just like how everyone adored heroes in their childhood, a certain young man adored those powers hidden in shadows. After hiding his strength and living the mediocre life of a mob character by day while undergoing frenzied training by night, he finally reincarnates into a different world and gains ultimate power. The young man who is only playing at being a power in the shadows, his misunderstanding subordinates, and a giant organization in the shadows that gets trampled.. This is the story of a young boy who had adored powers in shadows possibly eventually reigning over the world of shadows in another world.@@ 1 Remaining Within the Limits of Being Human Means You Would Be Vaporized By a Nuke I don''t remember what was the trigger. All I know is that ever since I can remember, I''ve always yearned after "powers in the shadows." Was it because of anime? Manga? Or movies? Actually, it doesn''t really matter. As long as it was a power in the shadows, it didn''t matter what it was, I loved it. Not the hero. Nor the last boss. I''m talking about those existences that work their interference and flex their true strength only from the shadows. I adored them, and wanted to be one of them. What heroes were to everyone else was what powers in shadows were to me. That''s all that was. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. But unlike those children who adored heroes, mine was not a short-lived passion. It was something much deeper, something that burned from the depths of my heart, and it continuously propelled me forward. Karate. Boxing. Kendo. Mixed martial arts. And more. To become strong, I threw myself into learning everything I would need, all while hiding my strength. For the sake of the day when I would get to reveal myself. At school, I was mediocrity itself. Harmless to man and beast, one and all. Mob character A. But on the flip side of my everyday life was grueling training. That was my youth, and that was my school life. But as time passed and I grew older, unease pressed upon me. It became time to face reality. The reality that all my effort was meaningless. No matter how many martial arts I master, I would still be far from the overwhelming power possessed by those powers hidden in shadows depicted in stories. The most I could achieve would be the strength to beat up a few punks. If firearms came into the picture, things would get tough. And if I got surrounded by soldiers wearing full equipment, well then, that''d be game over. Power in the shadows that gets beaten up by soldiers. How laughable. Even if I spent several more decades in training, even if I became the world''s strongest martial artist, if I got surrounded by soldiers, I''d still get beaten up. Mm, or maybe I would be able to handle it somehow. Perhaps, with enough training, humans might possess the potential to beat up soldiers even if originally surrounded. However, even if I could beat down every single soldier, if a nuke fell on my head, I''d get vaporized. That is the limit of being a human. This alone I could say with utmost certainty. The power in shadows that I adored would not get vaporized by a mere nuke. Which means that I, too, had to become a human who wouldn''t be vaporized by a nuke. What is it that I needed such that a nuke wouldn''t be able to vaporize me? Punching power? A sturdy body? Endless stamina? Of course not. I would need something different, an altogether different kind of strength. Magic, mana, qi, aura, anything was fine. I would need to acquire a mystical power of some sort. And that was the answer that I had arrived at, after facing reality. If there was someone searching for real magic, I''m sure everyone would doubt that person''s sanity. So would I. Of course he''s insane. But, well, how is it really? In this world, no one has yet been able to prove the existence of magic. But on the flip side, neither has anyone been able to disprove, with utter certainty, that magic does not exist. Sanity would not grant me the strength that I sought. It for sure is something that lies beyond the realm of insanity. From that point on, my training became much more difficult. Magic. Mana. Qi. Aura. No one knew how to learn any of these. I meditated Buddhist-style, I meditated under waterfalls, I meditated quietly, I fasted, I mastered yoga, I converted, I searched for spirits, I prayed, I even affixed myself to a cross. There was no correct answer. My only option was to keep going down the path that I believed in, all alone in the darkness. With the passage of time, I finally approached the last summer of my high school era. I still had yet to find magic or mana or qi or aura... After finishing the usual training, I realize that the sky has become completely dark. I put on the underwear that I''d dropped next to me before threading my arms through my school uniform. I still had yet to grasp a mystical power. However, I feel like I''m making some progress in my recent training. Such as right now. Having just finished a training session, there is a bright light flickering on and off inside my head, and my vision is wobbling unsteadily. Either magic... or perhaps aura... I am definitely feeling the effects of either one of those. I can say that today''s training was meaningful indeed. By taking off all my clothes while in the forest, I was able to feel myself becoming one with nature. By continuously banging my head against a thick tree trunk, I was able to purge my mind of distracting thoughts AND stimulate my brain to encourage it to awaken to mystical powers. It is a perfectly logical training menu. Aah, my vision is blurring over. It''s almost as if I''m suffering from a cerebral concussion. With floating steps C it''s as if I''m almost floating through the air! C I come down from the forest. Abruptly, I see a swaying light. Two lights actually, swerving through midair. How mysterious they are! They seem to be guiding me, inviting me. "C-, could it be... magic?" I approach with tottering steps. It must be! It''s magic! Finally! I have finally found a mystical power! Before I knew it, my steps have turned into a dash. There are tree roots in my way, but even when I trip I continue rolling towards the lights, simply plunging forward like a wild animal. "Magic! Magic! Magic! Magicmagicmagicmagicmagic!!!" I jump out before the two lights, and grab... "Ah...?" The headlights dye my world pure white. The sound of screeching brakes reverberate inside my head. The shock penetrates my body, and I... my... magic...... In conclusion, I did find magic. When I woke up, my surroundings was filled with magic. It''s a bit different from those two lights that I saw at the end, but hey, who cares about the insignificant details. Oh right, and another insignificant detail is that I apparently reincarnated. Perhaps it was because I found magic that the gate of reincarnation opened for me. Or whatever. Again, who cares. At the moment, I am a baby of several months. It was only recently that I came to be fully aware, and my sense of time is still a bit blurry, so I''m not sure of the exact details. Above anything else, I don''t understand the language. All I do know is that this world has a medieval European-like culture, which, well, I suppose is good enough. Because what actually does matter is that I have finally gotten my hands onmagic.That is the be all and end all. The process and other extra details are of no interest to me. As soon as I''d come to, I had noticed the magic. The sight of those glittering particles floating around in the air is exactly like what I had felt while running through a field of flowers buck naked as part of my training in my previous life. That training was by no means pointless. The proof of that is the fact that I''d immediately been able to sense magic, and that now I''ve become as proficient with it as with my own hands and legs. This feeling is just like that time when I had affixed myself to a cross while buck naked... no, it is like when I had repeatedly converted religions and danced in prayer while buck naked... I''m sure every bit of my training is now bearing fruit. I''ve already confirmed that physical strengthening is indeed possible. Pouring all the free time that a baby is blessed with into training, this time for sure I will become a power in the shadows... ah, gonna poop. Speaking of which, I''d learned somewhere that birds are incontinent, but so are human babies. No matter how much my reasoning tells me to resist, my instinct screams at me to let it out. However, with the physical strengthening that I had spent days and nights training up, I constrict my anal sphincter to buy time, during which.. "GYAaaaaaAAAA!" ... I call for help. 2 Bandits Are Basically Just Walking Bonus Stages I think about 10 years has gone by. Magic is amazing. With it, I can easily make movements far beyond human limits. Crushing rocks? Easy. Running twice the speed of a horse? Totally. Jumping higher than houses? You bet. But I''m afraid a nuke is still beyond me. Magic can up my physical resistance, but mighty are Earth''s weapons. The thought that "There is no nuke in this world, so isn''t it fine to drop this?" did cross my mind, but what worth is there in a power in the shadows who attained his position by compromising? None, absolutely zero. Thus, I continue to strive towards attaining a body that can win over anuke. To that aim, I have poured my days into research and training. Recently, a certain possibility has surfaced in my mind, and I''m currently experimenting on it. Oh and by the way, the family that I was born into is apparently a noble house. It''s a lineage that has continuously spat out knights that fight while using magic to strengthen themselves C so-called magic swordsmen. And I was brought up as the family''s heir with sky high expectations and respect... or not. Nah, they just treated me like any other apprentice swordsman. Powers in shadows reveal their true strength only to people and in places of their choosing. Up till that moment... Though I am holding back, the training for apprentice swordsmen is not completely useless to me. I am able to learn how this world fights with magic, and it is also a chance for me to review my own fighting style. To be blunt, the fighting techniques that I had learned in my previous life are several folds more polished and rational. This could be easily seen just by watching any modern martial arts match. Useless techniques and unnecessary movements have all been weeded out, and different schools have taken and adopted other schools'' very best. That melting pot effect was indeed bringing all those schools towards the path of being perfected. Of course, modern martial arts have boundaries called ''rules,'' but that does not change the fact that their various techniques are being polished against each other and undergoing the process of selection. But this world, in comparison. Firstly, there is absolutely no way that a technique crosses between countries. Neither would a technique cross schools. There are techniques that apparently only disciples can learn and are forbidden from leaving the school grounds. Even if a technique gets publicized, there is no media to spread it. In other words, there is no melting pot, no selection, no polishing. If I had to sum them up in a single word, it would be "crude." But this world''s fighting is indeed fundamentally different from that of my previous world. Exactly, because of magic. Due to magic, basic physical stats of this world''s people are on a totally different level. For example, physical strength. People can lift someone else up with a single hand. Just because of that, all grappling techniques become obsolete. Even if I mount someone, they can jump into the sky just by flexing their abdominal muscles. Even if I put someone into the guard position, they can send me flying with just a single leg. So yea, grappling techniques, all out the window. People fight the way that people fight, and goblins fight the way that goblins fight. That''s all there is to that. Furthermore, the speed and distance of step ins are different, so maai are considered differently.And actually, this is the most important one. (T/N: ''Maai'' refers to the space between two opponents in combat; formally, the "engagement distance". It is a complex concept, incorporating not just the distance between opponents, but also the time it will take to cross the distance, angle and rhythm of attack. It is specifically the exact position from which one opponent can strike the other, after factoring in the above elements. For example, a faster opponent''s maai is farther away than a slower opponent. ~Wikipedia) Martial arts are, in essence, a fight over maai. Distance, angle, positioning, these are all what the fights are all about. It took me quite some time to determine my own maai in this world. I mean, this world''s people''s maai are so far away. They start fights standing 5m away from each other. Sure, their step in is long, and their speed is fast, so it''s not like I don''t understand. At first, I was impressed with it and thought "ohh so this is this world''s fighting style"... but nah, turns out that it''s only because their defense techniques are undeveloped. We have this kind of people in our world too C people who suck at defense so they just meaninglessly distance themselves from their opponent as much as possible. The opponent''s attack is scary, isn''t it? Being in a place where their attacks can''t reach you is safer, isn''t it? So that''s why fights become just blandless repetitions of opponents dashing in to make an attack before dashing right back out. Hit and run, is it? Sorry, useless and simple back and forth movements don''t count as hit and run. To me, 5m and 100m is equally worthless. After all, proper attacks can''t be launched from either distance. 6m, 7m, 10m, it''s all the same. There''s no point to it, so let''s just walk closer together and close the distance, shall we? But at a certain distance, there is enormous meaning between the difference of 1mm, which is maai. Whether my attacks will hit, whether my opponent can react in time, considering the angle and various other things, gaining or losing advantage by moving half a step sideways or tilting a certain degree. By no means is it just running 5m to make an attack before jumping backwards 6m. All my preconceptions about another world and magic and all that confused me for quite a while, but recently I was finally able to determine my own maai, so all''s good, I suppose. So yea, that''s pretty much how my daily training at home goes. There''s only me, my older sister, and my dad C my dad teaches my older sister and me, and my older sister and I spar. My older sister of 2 years above seems to have quite the talent, and will most likely become the heir of the house. In this world where magic can be used, even girls can become crazy strong, so girls becoming the heads of their families is not that uncommon. And because of that, I get beaten up by my sister pretty much every day. I mean, I can''t win, right? After all, to become a power in the shadows, I have to act out my common life as an unremarkable Mob A. Which is why I spend everyday going "fueee, onee-chan you''re so strong~" while getting beaten up. So, such is my daily life. During the daytime, I also have studies related to being a noble, as well as various other tasks that I need to carry out as Mob A, so I don''t have much free time. Therefore, my personal training naturally ends up having to be carried out at night, after everyone else has gone to sleep. Of course, that means decreasing my sleeping hours, but by combining the effects of meditation and magic''s recovery powers, I was able to develop a unique sleeping style that is super short but super effective. Well then, let''s work hard at training today as well. For today, I have a bit of a special menu after the usual running in the forest. As of late, it seems that some ruffians have taken to occupying a nearby abandoned village. Upon investigation, they turned out to be a bandit gang of quite some size. Yep, they make for perfect tameshikiri targets. (T/N: A sort of urban legend is that there were swordsmen in the Edo period who would test out new swords by cutting up random pedestrians on the streets, and this act was called tameshikiri.) I do kill random scattered brigands whenever I come across them, but something the level of a full-fledged bandit gang is like a once in a year event for me, so I''m quite excited. All year long I''m in lack of a proper sparring partner, so I love these kinds of criminals. Aah, can the local public order go down please? In the rural areas of this world, criminals can generally be killed without a trial. More like, only the large cities have judges, so those in the rural areas aren''t too fussed up about this kind of thing. Which is why I will judge you all, kekeke. Today is to commemorate a new weapon that I have recently been trying out C the slime bodysuit. Allow me to explain what the slime bodysuit is. This world has magic. This world''s people fight by using that magic to strengthen themselves and their weapons. However, there is always some degree of loss when they use magic. For example, a normal iron sword would only have 10% efficiency C you pour in 100 points of magic, but the effect is only a boost of 10 points. Which means that 90% of the magic is lost in the process. Even for mithril, a metal lauded for its high conductivity, a sword capable of 50% efficiency would already be considered to be a high grade item. So in short, there is always a huge amount of loss. Then I came to consider slimes. Slimes are, well, true to their appearances, magical beings. They change form and move around using only magic. When I studied them further, I realized that their magical conductivity is a mind-shattering 99%. Furthermore, as they are in liquid form, they can freely change form. So I hunted slimes, crushed their cores, and experimented on the leftover slime jelly. The number of slime cores that I have crushed are easily in the thousands. It was to the degree where the local area began suffering from a slime deficiency, forcing me to go on expeditions further afield. The slime jelly was quite easy to process. After strengthening and compounding it, I was eventually able to make a full-body bodysuit out of it. Unlike armor, it does not make any sound, is comfortable, and actually even provides support to any movements I make. And of course, its defensive capabilities are also guaranteed. At the moment, I''m wearing a completely black bodysuit made from slime jelly mixed with black pigments. There is no unnecessary adornments, the suit fits my body perfectly, and my vision and breathing is unobstructed. I pretty much look exactly like the villains in a certain detective manga. Perhaps I should also think of a more appropriate design in preparation for the day when I shall intervene as a power from the shadows. So with that, I''ve arrived at the abandoned village. Despite the late hour, they''ve got torches lit up all over the place. Apparently, they''ve just successfully assaulted a merchant caravan, so now they''re having a feast. Yep, my luck is pretty good. Bandits generally have zero planning skills, so they have a strong tendency to immediately use up whatever they get their hands on. It''s only right after an assault that they actually have things worth anything. What belongs to the bandits, belongs to me. This is how I''m saving up capital for becoming a power in the shadows in the future. With max tension, I crash into the feast. I don''t play the stealth route, because then that wouldn''t count as practice. "Hyaha~! Bring out all your money and valuables!!" So I yelled standing smack dab in the middle of the camp. "The fuck is with this little squirt?" I''m 10 years old, so I guess the ''little squirt'' comment is not entirely undue. "Oraa, I said to bring out all your money!" After I kick away the rude guy who called me a squirt, the other bandits finally take up their weapons. "Oi, if you look down on us too much don''t think we''ll go easy on you just ''cus you''re a...!" "Oraa!" That guy''s lines were just too cliche that I couldn''t help but to cut off his head first. Naturally, my weapon is made of slime material; it''s an exceptional weapon that I can take out only when needed. Furthermore, this slime sword still has several more handy functions. Handy Function 1: it stretches. "Ora ora ora ora oraaaAAA!" I stretch the slime sword and swing it in a horizontal arc to take out all the nearby bandits. The elasticity of mochi paired with the sharpness of an actual sword. It''s the first time I''m using it in real combat so I had been slightly apprehensive, but turns out it performs quite well. "ORA ORA ORA ORAAA... hmm?" After getting caught up in the moment and cutting every which way indiscriminately, I suddenly realize that the surroundings has become really quiet. Eh, there''s only one guy left? "Y-, you, who the hell are you...?" "Sigh, no other choice. I''ll test Handy Function 2 on you then." "Wha-, what are you saying...!?" "It seems that you''re a bit stronger than all those other guys, so you''re probably the boss or something, yea? Unfortunately, there is zero possibility for you to win against me, but if you agree to be my practice partner than you can probably live for 2 more minutes. Try your best, alright?" "Fuck you, making light of me! I''ll have you know, I''m...!" "Unnecessary comments are unnecessary, seriously." "FUCK YOU!!!!!!" Boss A charges at me in rage. In the face of that dull slash, I... choose not to evade. So Boss A''s sword smashes into my chest, the shock causing me to roll onto the ground. "Haha, this is what happens when you make light of me! I have completely mastered Royal Capital Bushin Style... wha-, WHAT?!" "Hmm, not even a scratch." I stand back up as if nothing had happened. I am completely satisfied with the suit''s defense capabilities. Seems like it can completely negate at least something on the level of Boss A''s attacks. "Ooo, Royal Capital Bushin Style? Isn''t it the school that has been pretty popular in the royal capital of late? Hey, show me more!" "Shit, you asked for it!" Boss A attacks. Er, um, yea, easy. He''s giving his very best in trying to cut me, but I don''t even have to hold up my sword. Just with positioning and stepping alone, handling him is easy-peasy. But this Bushin Style? I think I quite like it. Uncommonly so for this world, I can see that this style is not one bound by idealism or trite traditions, but takes direct and rational ways to close in to the opponent. I can recognize that even from Boss A''s crappy swings. Instantaneous acceleration, pressing forward by half steps, and the variety of other methods to press towards the opponent resonates with me. But, well, Boss A is really just too crappy at it. The moment when Boss A''s attacks let up, I easily step out of his maai. "My, my sword... why didn''t you get cut!" "I mean, you''re weaker than my dad. You''re probably stronger than my older sister at the moment, but she''ll probably overtake you in one more year or so I think?" "YOU GODDAMN BRAT!!!!" After parrying Boss A''s reckless swings, I lightly kick his shin. Light, but snappy, it was a kick from below the knee. At which... "Gu, aa, why...?" Boss A crumples into a kneel, pressing down on his shin. Red blood gurgles through his fingers and makes a stain on the ground. What happened was simple; there is an ice pick-like sword extending from my toes. Slime bodysuit Handy Function 2: able to to extend a sword whenever and wherever I want. The way I thought to use this function is to kick the opponent''s leg with a sword extending from my toes. It is really hard to defend against an attack aimed at the legs. Block the opponent''s sword with my own, seal their movements, then kick their leg. Bland, but effective. "Guess there''s no point keeping up with this any longer." "W-, wait!" "You didn''t even last the full 2 minutes, man." I kick upwards with the sword from my toes, skewering Boss A''s head from under his chin. Death by impalement. Kicking away Boss A''s convulsing body, I search the camp for loot. "I don''t know a fence who can handle these works of art... eh, foodstuffs I don''t need either... come on, where are you, cash and jewels and precious metals~" There were several carts of loot. And also several corpses of merchants. "I''ve already helped you guys take revenge, and your goods will be used for a good cause, so rest in peace, alright?" I gathered the passable quality of loot and offered a moment of silence. If I convert all this to cash, I guess it''ll be about 5 million Zeny. Oh, 1 Zeny is about the same value as 1 yen. All of this will become the funding for my activities as a power in the shadows. If only the entire world could have worse public order such that it would overflow with bandits. Maybe to the level in games, where you can encounter one just by walking several steps on the road. "Work harder in your next life and become the bandit king, alright?" So I say to the silent Boss A... before noticing something further beyond. "Cage...?" It''s a pretty big and sturdy-looking one too. "Slave? I can''t fence that, so pass~" But maybe, just maybe, there''s something good in there. So just in case, I remove the tarp covering the cage. "This... I did not expect." Inside is, um, how to say... a rotten lump of flesh? I can just barely make out the humanoid shape, but can''t discern the gender nor age nor anything else. But well, it''s still living. Maybe it still even has consciousness. When I peered into the cage, I noticed the lump of meat twitching. I''ve heard of this before. It''s called demon possession, and the Church executes these monsters. They were originally born as normal humans, but one day their body suddenly begins to rot away. They would eventually die if left alone, but the Church proactively buys them and executes them in the name of purification. This purification of demons is pretty much just genocide of patients, but the Church gains acclamation from the populace for "protecting" the common populace from the "demons." What can I say, it''s medieval Europe indeed. If I sell this lump of meat to the Church, it''ll fetch a price higher than the combined worth of everything I looted today. But again, I can''t actually go sell it, so there''s no meaning to it. Guess I''ll at least just put it to rest. I slide the slime sword in between the bars of the cage... but then suddenly realize something. There is an enormous amount of magic inside this lump of meat. Even though I''ve been training my magic ever since I was a baby, the amount I have still pales in comparison. What a monstrous amount of magic. And furthermore... "This wave... is it magic deviation...?" Is it possibly the case that the reason why this lump of meat became like this is due to magic deviation? Previously, I had also suffered from magic deviation. If I hadn''t successfully brought my magic back under control that time, would I have also become like this? Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Magic has an undeniable effect on the physical body. A certain day, I thought of a certain possibility. Would it be possible that through magic deviation, I can train my body to become further accustomed to magic, such that it can become easier for me to control magic? But purposely causing magic deviation is too dangerous, so in the end I had shelved the idea. But if this lump of meat is truly the product of magic deviation, and if I can perform my experiments on this lump of meat... then I can get even closer to the strength of a power in the shadows with zero risk to myself. "This meat, can be of use..." I reach out to the lump of meat, and begin to pour magic into it. 3 Sudden Emergence of the Order of Diabolos?! It''s been almost a month, I guess. While thinking of the day I got my hands on that lump of meat, I sigh deeply while standing in that same abandoned village. How did things become like this. The experimentation on the lump of meat went well until around halfway through. Since it was not my own body, I had no qualms about pouring in tons and tons of magic. Not this, not that, maybe this way, maybe that way, oh I just had tons of fun with the experiments day after day. Damn it was fun. I got closer to the essence of magic, and felt my own strength growing at a visible rate. Everything was good. I improved on my magic control, making it denser, finer, and stronger, until the moment came that I was able to completely suppress the magic deviation... then suddenly I found a young blond elf girl in front of my eyes. I was too absorbed in controlling my magic that I didn''t notice the lump of meat turning into a blond elf until that moment. It''s pretty amazing, being able to return from being that lump of meat. So I pretty much decided to send her off like "You''re free now, so return to your home!" or "May you be happy in the future!" But then she was like "I can no longer go home" and like "I must return this debt of gratitude." I mean, seriously, I wasn''t helping you, you''re just a coincidental outcome, alright? It seemed like a pain, and I considered just running away, but in the end I agreed to have her become my very first subordinate as a power in the shadows. Doesn''t seem like she''ll betray me, and she seems pretty smart, and kind of possesses an unnecessarily capable aura. Even though her age is 10 just like me, but apparently the rumor that elves mature mentally much faster wasn''t a lie. "Which is why, from today onwards, your name will be Alpha." , Alpha, either way is fine. "I understand." She nodded. Blond hair, blue eyes, white skin, outstanding beauty, she''s very much the stereotypical elf. "And as for your duties..." I stop talking and take a moment to think. This part is important. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Her job is to support me as a power in the shadows, that''s for sure. But then I''d have to clarify exactly what a power in the shadows means, and what my actual aim is. In other words, I have to tell her the fundamentals of my role in this world as a power in the shadows. The setting of any plot is important. If the reason for fighting is "because I got pissed after losing at pachinko" then that''ll just be dumb. In that area, I am thoroughly prepared. Before coming to this world, and certainly after coming to this world, I''ve continuously dreamt of my best idea of being a power in the shadows. Combining together the several thousands, several tens of thousands of patterns that I had thought up previously, I instantaneously arrived at the optimum scenario. "From the shadows, we shall interfere with, and stop, the resurrection of the demon Diabolos." "The demon Diabolos...?" Alpha tilts her head in puzzlement. "I''m sure you already know that in distant history, the demon Diabolos had almost completely destroyed the entire world. However, three heroes C one an elf, one a beast person, and one a human C stood up and defeated Diabolos, thus saving the world." "I''ve also heard that before, but isn''t that just a fairytale?" "No, it actually happened. Though the truth was much more complicated than the fairytale..." So saying, I smile wryly. For someone of my capabilities, combining this world''s various legends into a believable struggle in the shadows scenario is a piece of cake. "Right before he died, Diabolos casted a curse on the three heroes. That is called the Curse of Diabolos." "The Curse of Diabolos? I''ve never heard of such a thing..." "No, the Curse of Diabolos truly exists. But it is commonly known by another name C ''demon possession.'' Indeed, it is exactly what you had been suffering from." "How could that be..." Alpha''s eyes open wide in shock. "The descendents of the heroes who defeated Diabolos will forever suffer from that curse. However, long ago, that Curse of Diabolos was treatable. Just as you were." The fact that Alpha''s skin is now white and unblemished C as if she had never been afflicted with demon possession C is the greatest proof of what I''m saying. It''s all a big, fat lie though. "Demon possession is the proof of being a descendent of one of the heroes. As the children of those who had saved the world, they were valued, protected, thanked, and extolled. All in past tense though." "But now we are not thanked. Rather, we are..." Alpha''s face scrunches up, unable to continue her sentence. "Someone had distorted history. Hiding the fact of it being the symbol of the heroes, hiding the method to treat the curse, and furthermore even renaming it as ''demon possession'' and turning it into a target of scorn." "WHO?! Who would do something like that?" "They are those who are plotting the resurrection of the demon Diabolos. Those suffering from the Curse of Diabolos are, without exception, those with high magic capabilities due to having heavily inherited the blood of the heroes. In other words, they are our precious military strength, and thus obstacles to Diabolos." "Which is why they call it demon possession and execute them? They''re the lowest of the low!" "Having been branded with the fabricated sin of demon possession, having been chased from your home and family, do you feel hatred?" "I. Hate. Them. How can I not?" "The Order of Diabolos. That is our enemy. They would never stand in the public stage. As such, we too must lurk in the shadows. We will lurk in the shadows, and we will hunt the shadows." "To possess that much influence even without appearing in the public stage... In other words, it means this Order must have many members in very powerful positions, and that there are many people being manipulated by them without even knowing of their existence." I nod gravely. "It will be a path filled with thorns and thistles. However, this is something that must be done. Will you lend me your strength?" "If it is your wish, I am resolved to even offer my life. On top of which, this is my own wish as well. We shall succeed without fail." Alpha fixes her blue eyes on me and laughs with fearlessly. Her young and beautiful eyes are filled with resolve and determination. I mentally do a guts pose. Damn yea, this elf is hella gullible! Naturally, the Order of Diabolos does not exist, so no matter how hard she searches, there''s no way she''d find anything. Every once in a while, we''ll go take out some random bandit gang on suspicion of being a member of the Order. Or we''ll jump in and interrupt a fight between some some protagonist-like people and say things like "The destruction of this world is nigh!" or "The resurrection of the demon is nigh!" before making a flashy exit. Or we can flashily show up on a battlefield and say "Oh ye foolish sheep who know not that you are being manipulated..." before taking everyone out. Ohhh, all the things that we can do! The sky''s the limit! Oh right, as for the all-important name of our organization... "We shall be known as Shadow Garden... We who lurk in the shadows and hunt the shadows..." "Shadow Garden. What a wonderful name." Today, at this moment, Shadow Garden came to be. And at the same time, the enemy of this world, the Order of Diabolos was also born. I have taken one more step towards becoming a power in the shadows. "Well, for now, let''s just improve our magic control and swordsmanship. The bulk of the fighting I will take on, but I will assign you to deal with the small fries so you''ll also have to become at least strong enough to handle that much." "I understand. The enemy is powerful, so we have to raise our own strength." "Yep, yep, exactly." "And we must also search out the other descendants of the heroes and safeguard them." "Um, yea, that too. In moderation." Playing as a power in the shadows with more people would indeed give it more of an organization feel, but we don''t really need too many. To be honest, personally speaking I''m fine if it''s just the two of us. "Well, for the near future let''s focus on getting stronger first." So saying, I bring up my wooden sword and parry Alpha''s attack. She has made enormous progress after only a month of training. Her sense is great, and she has more than enough magic. Seems she''ll be of quite some use. So I thought as I continued swinging my wooden sword underneath the moonlight. 4 If Only He Had Hair…… It has been about 3 years since the establishment of Shadow Garden. Alpha and I have both become 13 years old, and my older sister Claire is now 15. There is no particular meaning associated with the age 13, but that is not the case with the age 15. When the children of nobles reach 15, they have to attend a school in the royal capital for 3 years. Nee-san is pretty much the rising hope of the Kagenou baron family, so my mom is all pumped up with setting up the farewell party and all that. Yep, rising hope indeed. (T/N: ''Nee-san'' is what the MC calls his older sister.) All that''s fine and all. Really. But problem is, when it came day for her to actually set off for the capital, she up and disappeared. Thus the enormous tumult at the Kagenou house at the moment. "When I came into the room, it was already like this." So says my father in a dandy voice. His face isn''t too bad either. "There is no sign of a struggle, but the window was indeed forced open from the outside. The fact that neither I nor Claire was alerted means the kidnapper very skilled indeed." My dandy dad places one hand on the windowsill and looks off into the distance. All that''s missing from this picture is a whiskey glass in his hand. And hair... "So?" A chilling voice is directed at him. "Very skilled, so there''s no helping it? Is that what you''re trying to say?" It''s mom. "No, no of course not. I was merely stating the facts..." So answers my dad as cold sweat rolls down his face. "You STUPID BALDYYYYYY!!!!!!" "Hiii, I''m sorry, I''m very sorry!!!" By the way, I''m air. Nothing is expected of me, and neither do I cause any trouble. That''s the position in this family that I''m striving to maintain. But well, Nee-san was a pretty good person, so it''s a bit of a pity. The crime happened at night when I was at the abandoned village, so there was nothing that I could have done either. I quietly listen to my parents'' bickering and, at the first chance I get, return to my own room. I place my palms together in the direction that Nee-san had disappeared, then dive into my bed. Then. "You may come out now." "Yes, my lord." Immediately, my curtains sway slightly, and a young girl wearing a black slime bodysuit steps out. "Beta, huh." "Yes, my lord." Same as Alpha, she is also a young elf girl. But where Alpha has blond hair, Beta''s is silver. She of the cat-like green eyes and a mole under her eye was the third person to join Shadow Garden. Even though I told Alpha "in moderation," but Alpha brings them in like stray cats or something so their numbers keep growing. "Where''s about Alpha?" "Searching for traces of Claire-sama." "Fast reaction. You think Nee-san is still alive?" "Likely so." "Can she be saved?" "Possible, yes... but might require Shadow-sama''s help." Ah by the way, they''re calling me ''Shadow.'' Cus I''m the master of Shadow Garden, fufufu. "Is that what Alpha said?" "Yes, my lord. She said that since they have a hostage, it would be best to bring our full force." "Heeh~" To be frank, Alpha has gotten quite strong. The fact that even Alpha is asking for help must mean that someone of very significant power is involved. "My blood boils..." I clench my fist while instantaneously releasing magic to create a small explosion. There''s no particular meaning to it, but I like this kind of theatrics. I can hear Beta murmuring "As expected..." with surprise. As of late, I haven''t been in lack of a sparring partner, what with Alpha and Beta and Delta and the crew, but something fresh is good every once in a while. Above all else, I want to play at being a power in the shadows, so this seems like a good opportunity. "It''s been a while since I last got serious..." Just like so, I''ve also gotten used to exuding the aura of a power hidden in the shadows. Also, lately Alpha and Beta have taken to fleshing out our setting even further, so it''s been a blast. "The criminal is, as expected, part of the Order of Diabolos. Even more, he is one of their upper echelons." "One of their echelons, huh. So why did they kidnap Nee-san?" "They suspect her of being a Descendent of the Heroes." "Hmph, those sharp-eyed bastards..." So yea, like that. Furthermore, they''ve also been ''gathering research'' and saying things like "As expected, your words were entirely correct..." and "About a thousand years ago, Diabolos'' descendents..." and "From this stone monument we can glean clues that point to the existence of the Order of Diabolos..." and other similar such. I mean, I can''t read ancient letters so how would I know? I bet Alpha can''t really read them either, so she just lays out all these ancient-looking materials and whatnot of a similar general feeling in front of me, so that we can feel like we''re making some headway in investigating the Order. I''m sure that must be it. "Please take a look at these documents. These are the hideouts that we think Claire-sama might be held in, based on our latest intel." After saying that, Beta plonks a huge pile of paper on my table. Ok seriously, I have no idea what to do with all this. More than half of it is in an ancient language and the rest is filled with indecipherable mathematical equations or something. Damn, you guys have gotten good at making up this kind of stuff. I''ll admit, you all have gotten even more pro at it than me. While ignoring Beta''s ''explanations,'' I take out a throwing knife and throw it at the map on the wall. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Thunk. With a dull sound, the knife pierces a certain point. "There." "That place? What is there?" "That''s where Nee-san is." "But that place, there''s noth-... no, wait, could it be...!" Beta hurriedly rummages through the materials as if she''d just realized something. Um, yeeaa, I just randomly threw that knife, alright? But wow your acting is good, Beta. I can see where this is going C you''re going to tell me that there is a secret hideout at that location, aren''t you? "In conclusion, after comparing various sources, it seems that there is indeed a high possibility that there is a secret hideout at the location that Shadow-sama just pointed out." Called it. "But still, to read through this enormous amount of materials in a split second and even deduce the location of a hidden hideout... as expected of Shadow-sama." "You still lack training, Beta." "I shall double my diligence." Seriously, she''s good. Even though I know it''s acting, but I can still feel the emotions that she''s conveying. You''ve got all the important points down pat, Beta. "I shall inform Alpha-sama at once. Will we move tonight?" "Mm." Beta bows, then takes her leave. Her eyes are glittering and all, such that I can totally feel the respect and whatnot. Cheers to her Academy-level acting. 5 Real Member of the Order, and Real Person of the Curse A man was walking alone through a dark underground tunnel. Age in the mid-thirties. A well-trained body and sharp eyes. Swept back grey hair. His footsteps stopped as he reached the end of the tunnel. In front of him was a door protected by 2 soldiers. "Is the Kagenou girl inside?" "Yes, Olba-sama." The soldier that he addressed saluted, then unlocked the door. "Sir, please mind yourself in there. Though restrained, she is extremely aggressive." "Hmph, who do you think I am?" "!! I''m very sorry, sir!" Olba opened the door then walked in. The room beyond was an underground stone-walled jail. A single girl was affixed to the wall with with magic-sealing chains. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "You must be Claire Kagenou." At Olba''s voice, the girl called Claire raised her head. She was a very beautiful girl. As she had been kidnapped while sleeping, she was still wearing a thin negligee that could not hide her full breasts nor her luscious thighs. With her silk-like black hair cut in a straight line behind her back, the girl glared up at Olba with with strong-willed eyes. "I''ve seen your face at the royal capital before. If I remember correctly, you are Viscount Olba, are you not?" "Hou, you were with the Imperial Guards previously... Ah, no, it was at the tournament during the Festival of the God of War?" "Festival of the God of War, heh. Oh yes, that time when Princess Iris cut you up every which way." Claire laughed in merriment. "Hmph, it was within the limits of a match, and thus didn''t mean anything. In a real fight, there''s no way I''d lose to her." "Nothing would be different in a real fight, oh Viscount Olba who lost in the first round in the tournament." "Fool. You don''t even know how much of an honor it is to simply just stand on the stage of that tournament, you ignorant girl." Olba glared back at Claire. "I will be able to stand on that stage just 1 year later." "Too bad for you, you don''t have a year left." The chains restricting Claire clinked. Immediately afterwards, her teeth snapped just barely short of Olba''s neck. If Olba hadn''t tilted his head that little bit, then his carotid artery might have been torn out right there and then. "The one who can''t live for one more year C will that truly be me? Or will it be... you? Do you want to bet on it?" "No need for the bet, Claire Kagenou." Olba''s fist slammed into the chin beneath Claire''s dauntless smile. She crashed onto the stone ground, but her strong eyes never left Olba. Olba lowered his fist, having felt less resistance on his fist than expected. "You jumped backwards." Claire smiled dauntlessly. "Was there a fly in the room?" "Hmph, seems you''re not just led around the nose by your large magic capacity." "I was taught that magic is not about amount, but control." "What a good father you have." "I''ve never learned a thing from that baldy. It was my little brother." "Brother...?" "My impertinent little brother. Every time we fight, I''d win. But I''m always learning from my little brother''s sword. But he never learns anything from my sword. That''s why I pick on him everyday." So said Claire in an impish tone. "What a pitiful younger brother. That would make me an ally of justice who saved him from his tyrannical older sister. Anyways, that''s enough pointless banter." Olba cleared his throat and fixed his gaze on Claire. "Claire Kagenou. As of late, have you felt anything strange with your body? For example, your control over your magic slipping, or your health being unstable, or a sharp pain whenever you try to use magic, or black rot appearing on parts of your body? Do any of those symptoms bring anything to mind?" "After going to all the trouble of kidnapping me, what you wanted to do was to play doctor?" The edge of Claire''s glossy lips raised into a sneer. "I, too, previously had a daughter. I do not wish to employ more violent means. Answering my questions honestly would lead to the best outcome for us both." "Ooo, is that a threat? Unfortunately, I have a personality that makes me want to rebel when threatened. Even if my head understands that it would not be logical to do." "So you mean to say that you have no intention to cooperate?" "I wonder~" Olba and Claire glared at each other. The one who broke the silence first was Caire. "Very well. It''s nothing big anyways, so I''ll tell you. You mentioned instability with my body and magic, right? Now I''m perfectly fine, aside from these chains." "''Now''?" "Yes, ''now.'' It was about a year ago when I had those symptoms that you listed." "You mean to say that you no longer have them? They went away by themselves?" To Olba''s knowledge, there''s never been a case of ''that'' being healed. "Hmm, I didn''t really do anything spe-... oh right, my little brother had me do something he called ''stretches''? I don''t really know the details, but he asked me to practice it, and before I knew it my body returned to being in top condition." "''Stretches''? Never heard of it... But the fact that you had the symptoms before means that there''s no mistake, you are indeed compatible." "Compatible? With what?" "There''s no need for you to know. You''ll be broken before long anyways. Ahh, I''ll need to investigate your brother too then..." Something suddenly smashed into Olba''s nose, cutting off his words. "Guh?" Olba retreated to the door, glaring at Claire while suppressing his nosebleed. "Claire Kagenou, you bitch...!" All four of her limbs were supposedly restricted, but for some reason her left arm is currently hanging free, with blood dripping down from it. "You scraped off your own flesh and dislocated your finger...?!" The chains binding her were not normal chains, but magic-sealing chains. In other words, Claire had used pure brute strength to chafe off her own skin, crush her finger bones, and thus free her arm from the chain. That''s how she was able to hit Olba. Olba was greatly shocked at that truth. "If something happens to him, I will never forgive you! I will kill you, your loved ones, your family, your friends, and everyone else that means anything to you...!?" Olba''s full power punch landed on Claire''s stomach. Bound in place by the magic-sealing chains, Claire had no way to evade to evade Olba''s magic-strengthened blow. "You brat!" Olba spat on Claire''s crumpled body. The blood that flowed from Claire''s left hand was pooling together into a dark red stain on the ground. "No matter. You should now understand..." So muttering, Olba reached towards that blood. But right at that moment, a soldier breathlessly rushed into the room. "Olba-sama, it''s terrible! We have intruders!" "Intruders?! How many?!" "Unknown! They seem to be few in numbers, but we are being completely run over!" "Kuh, very well, I''ll go out myself! You lot fall back and set up a defensive formation!" After clicking his tongue once, Olba turned around. 6 Your Drug Test Result is ‘Positive’ By the time Olba reached the front lines, the entire area was already thoroughly dyed with blood. The soldiers protecting this high value facility were by no means weak. Among them were even those with enough strength to join the Imperial Guards. But this... "How did this happen?!" In the hall of this underground facility, at the only point where light could shine in from the outside, there is an entire mountain of corpses. All of them bore only a single sword wound. Completely dominated by an overwhelming difference in strength. "It was you bastards...!" The target of Olba''s glare is a group of individuals wearing black bodysuits. Judging from the bulges on their bodies, all of them are young girls of small stature. They number 7 in total. But in this location currently illuminated only by moonlight, their presence is so thin that Olba would lose sight of them if he let his attention wander for even a moment. The girls, through their uncommonly high proficiency with magic, are controlling their own presence. They possess power enough to match that of his own. Olba has no choice but to acknowledge this fact. Among them, a young girl drenched head to toe with blood looks Olba up and down under the light of the moon. "...!" That moment, alarm bells go off inside Olba''s head. There is no particular reason, it is all instinct. Every fiber of his being is screaming at him that she is dangerous. While the blood of her bodysuit drips onto the ground, drip drop, drip drop, she also begins to slowly approach him. All while slovenly dragging her blood-soaked sword over the ground, leaving a trail of blood behind. "Who are you people? What is your aim?!" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. So asks Olba while suppressing his fear. Every single one of them has enough strength to rival his own, but there are seven of them. How out of luck is he? To do battle would be sheer folly. Even while lamenting his own unluckiness, Olba continues to search for a way out of this situation. But the blood-stained girl does not seem to have heard Olba''s question. She only laughs. Underneath her blood-stained mask, the blood-stained girl only laughs. I''m going to be killed! Or so thought Olba, when... "Fall back, Delta." The blood-stained girl stops moving. Then she turns back as if nothing had happened. Olba watches her go with a sigh of relief. In exchange, a different girl steps forward. "We are Shadow Garden." It is a voice so beautiful that if the situation wasn''t was it is, he might have fallen in love with it. "And I am Alpha." And suddenly, he realizes that she had taken off her mask. Under the moonlight, her skin shines a dazzling white. The girl takes one step forward. "...!" A blond elf. Beauty enough to steal his breath away. Then she takes another step forward. "Our aim... is the destruction of the Order of Diabolos." She swings the black blade that had appeared in her hand out of nowhere through the air. The night was sliced through. Or so the black blade caused Olba to hallucinate. The air pressure, the sword pressure, every single part of it intimidated and terrorized Olba. How on earth did she manage to gain such strength at such a young age?! Olba finds himself shuddering with both jealousy and fear. But what he finds more shocking than her strength are the words that had come out of her mouth. "You bastards... where did you hear that name from?!" The Order of Diabolos. In this facility, there is only a small handful of people who know of this name. "We know about it all. The demon Diabolos, the Curse of Diabolos, the Descendants of the Heroes, as well as... the truth of demon possession." "How, what, that..." Among what Alpha just said were things that even Olba learned of only recently. Those secrets are protected so carefully that there is no way they had leaked outside. "Did you think that you people were the only ones chasing the Cursed of Diabolos?" "Kuh...!" This information leak can never be forgiven. But to kill these girls to plug the leak? He does not possess the strength to do so. In that case, what Olba must do is... to survive. He must survive and warn Headquarters of these girls'' existence. Therefore, Olba charges forward. "AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" Olba draws his sword with vigor, and slashes at Alpha. "Ara, how reckless." Alpha easily parries his sword. Her counter slashes Olba''s cheek, causing blood to fly through the air. But Olba does not stop. Again and again, without regard for how many times his swings miss, Olba continues brandishing his sword, searching for an opportunity to escape. But she dodges every stroke by a paper''s length. Exerting only the minimum amount of movement, she has already fully seen through his swordsmanship and dodges everything perfectly. In converse, it is Olba who is getting cut. Cuts on his arms. Cuts on his legs. Cuts on his shoulders. But none of the cuts are fatal. Determining that her intention is to subdue himself for interrogation''s sake instead of to kill, Olba laughs. He has finally found the path to victory. After the nth time that his sword slices through empty air, Olba suffers a cut to his chest, and totters back in retreat. "Seems that continuing this any longer would be a mere waste of time." Olba does not answer. Kneeling down while pressing down on his chest wound, Olba smiles... then drinks something. "What are you d-... what?!" Abruptly, Olba''s body doubles in size. His skin turns jet black, his muscles expand, and his eyes turn red. And above all else, the amount of magic in his body increases explosively. "...!" Without any notice, Olba''s blade flashes in a mowing attack. Alpha manages to block in time, but the shock causes her to grimace. As a snap judgement, she decides to take some distance by riding the shock and jumping backwards. "What an interesting trick." Flapping her slightly numbed hands, Alpha tilts her head. "That wavelength is magic deviation, is it not? Hmm, and you are trying to suppress it with brute strength?" "Alpha-sama, will you be alright?" So asks another girl at the back, seeing Alpha retreat for the first time in this fight. "Not a problem, Beta. It''s merely gotten a bit annoying... hmm?" When Alpha returns her attention towards Olba, he is no longer there. Instead, there is now a square hole in the spot that he had been standing, with a staircase extending downwards. Hidden door. "... He ran away." "He got away... shall we give chase?" But Alpha stops the girl who was preparing to jump into the hole. "No need. At the other end... ''he'' is there." "''He''... Speaking of which, earlier Shadow-sama did say that he''d go ahead and split up from us. Could it be...?" "Indeed. He went off towards an undetermined direction, so I''d originally thought that he had gotten lost, but..." Alpha laughs gently. "To think that he had predicted even this outcome... he never ceases to amaze." The eyes of the girls peering into the hole are all glittering with respect. 8 Powers in the Shadows are Lonely The aura around Olba is changing. The frenzied magic that I''d been feeling from him is shrinking, being compressed, and contained within his body. His blood vessels are bursting, his muscles are tearing apart, and his bones are snapping, but everything is being recovered instantaneously. Surpassing the limits of being human, a vast amount of magic now dwells inside his body. The Order calls this ''Awakening.'' Now that he''s become like this, there is no way to revert back. However... in exchange, he gains tremendous power. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Together with a beast-like roar, Olba''s figure disappears. Together with a dull sound, the young boy clad in black is blown away. Right before he smashes in the wall, the boy kicks it, then fixes his stance and lands. However, Olba''s sword continues to send the boy flying around like a rag doll. "So slow! So light! So brittle! This is reality, you brat!" Olba continues attacking. Every time there is a sound, the boy is blown away. Olba''s slashes are absolutely fast, absolutely heavy, and absolutely merciless. An overwhelming amount of violence. When a tiger kills a rabbit, it doesn''t need to use any tricks. It simply brandishes its strength, and that''s enough. There is no way to resist. The boy in black is one-sidedly being crushed. Or so Olba expected. "!?" Blood suddenly spurts from Olba''s chest. When was this not so shallow cut made? Olba stops moving for an instant, but then sends the young boy flying again the next moment. "IT''S USELESS! IT''S COMPLETELY USELESS, YOU BRAT!!!" Olba''s wound is supposed to be deep enough to reach bone. However, the wound bubbles, then regenerates in a split second. "THIS IS POWER!! THIS IS STRENGTH!!" Olba accelerates even more. The scene of him spurting blood while zooming through the air is almost like a red flash. Black versus red. The two clash C the black is sent flying, while the red spurts blood. The exchange of blows cannot be followed by the naked eye. Only the red afterimages and the sight of the black being sent flying indicate that there is something going on. But this does not last long. The disparity between the two is obvious, and it requires no stretch of imagination to predict the black being destroyed eventually. It is supposed to be a fight that where there''s no way for him to lose. Repeatedly he swings his sword, and repeatedly he demonstrates his dominance over the black. But, why. Why... how does the boy in black continue to stand back up again and again, looking none the worse? "Why... why can''t I reach you...?" There is no visible change on the black. Having used almost no magic, having made almost no movement, simply allowing his body to follow the flow of Olba''s attacks. Exactly like a leaf caught in a rapid current. But he was not only flowing along, but also using Olba''s momentum to deliver accurate and precise strikes. There is nothing unnecessary, nothing extraneous. Just being natural, letting things be the way they are. "How ugly." So says the black. Those eyes that seem like they can see through all things are focused on Olba. "What do you know... WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW?!?!?!" So screams Olba. With that, his sword, his body, his everything is poured into a mowing attack accompanied by a howl. Even if it costs him his life, he will erase this black. This strike is well and truly the greatest one that Olba has ever made in his entire life. But. "Playtime is over." It is easily bisected. As if swinging through empty air, the black sword completes its trajectory without any resistance. Olba''s sword, his immense amount of magic, his well-trained body, all of it was cut in half by a single swing. The jet black sword has no magic, no strength, and no speed. It was perfected with only pure skill. Or so Olba originally thought. But that wasn''t it. "What... was that..." It was indeed a stroke that could cut through anything and everything. As it sliced through his sword, his magic, his flesh, and his bones, Olba noticed it. That stroke contained a highly condensed amount of magic, a tremendous amount of strength, and an overwhelming amount of speed. And to top it all... there was skill. This, this is true perfection. Apparently the black had possessed everything from the very start. It was only that he didn''t use it. There is absolutely nothing that that stroke cannot cut. "To think it was... to this... level..." Blood spurts into the air. The upper half of his body falls off, while the lower half crumples. Even after being split clean in half, Olba''s body continues trying to regenerate, but it''s already gone past its limits. It begins to rot, dyeing the ground black. Olba looks up as his opponent looks down. Having crossed swords, Olba now understands the black. The black''s sword is a honest sword, a commoner''s sword, a sword attained from effort filled with blood and sweat. He had thought him a mere brat who did not know anything. But that is wrong. He already knows everything, but regardless had made a conscious choice to fight, knowing full well the odds. Powerless. Olba''s life was powerless from start to finish. What he tried to achieve, what he could not achieve. "Emi... li... a.." Olba reaches for a jewel-studded short sword, then closes his eyes. The last thing that comes up in his fading consciousness is the smile of the beloved daughter that he had lost. So that''s basically how we wiped out that bandit group and saved Nee-san. When we found Nee-san, she was unconscious, so we freed her restraints and then just left her there. The very next day, she showed up back at the house, in high spirits. That person is excessively resilient, so her hand injury had already mainly healed up after just one night. After that was a whole week of recovery or investigation or whatnot before she finally left for the royal capital. And for some reason, during that one week she kept fussing over me, it was quite annoying. Alpha and the others were apparently busy with investigating the bandit gang and cleaning up the leftovers. Ah right, sorry, they''re not bandits, but the Order. Well, bandits by any other name are still bandits in the end. But damn, that red-eyed ossan sure had talent. It was partly his credit that I was able to use a cool-sounding line like "Then I will dive. It matters not how deep." Too bad he died, otherwise I would have hired him as a supporting actor. And my power in the shadows play and ad libbing was a must-see! It''s a pity that there was no audience, but I only have to bear with it for 2 more years. Two years later, I will also be going to the royal capital. It''s the royal capital, that capital! One of few great metropoli of this world, the only city in this country with a population higher than a million. I can bet that there would be both protagonist-like characters and last boss-like characters there. There would be an abundance of incidents, conspiracies, and intricacies that could never occur in a backwater place like here... and thus opportunities for me to make an appearance as a power in the shadows. Aahh, in that light, then the current me who is making do by only taking out mere bandits is but a frog in a well. My story so far was only the prologue. As I continued to build up my strength in preparation for 2 years later, Alpha and the 6 others requested to meet with me together. Apparently they want to ''report'' on their ''investigation into the Order'' and the results of their ''research into the Curse.'' Lately they''ve all gotten quite busy, so it''s rare to see all 7 gathered together at the same time. There''s no actual point to ''investigating'' and ''researching,'' so you guys should keep it to a moderate level, alright? is what I''m thinking as I listen to their ''reports.'' To sum it all up. All of the heroes who fought Diabolos were female. That''s why the Curse of Diabolos only manifests in females. What a novel idea! But unfortunately, the general consensus is that they were all male. Ohhh, because Shadow Garden only has girls (except for me), so they''re making that their pretext? Next, the largest percentage of those who manifest the Curse are elves, then beast people, and finally humans. This is related to the lifespans of the races. For example, humans have the shortest lifespans, so the blood of the heroes flows the thinnest in them, which makes it hard for the Curse to manifest. Elves, in contrast, have the longest lifespans, so it is the opposite for them. Then the beast people are in the middle of the spectrum. Speaking of which, I am the only human in Shadow Garden, and I didn''t even have demon possession. As for the 7 of them, 2 are beast people, and the remaining 5 are elves. All of them previously had demon possession. Wow you guys, good job thinking up a setting for even something like this. Alpha and the girls also ''reported'' a few other things to me, but it basically just went in one ear and out the other. And with that, they moved onto ''reporting'' about the Order. Supposedly the Order is an enormous organization that has grown roots all over the entire world. Nice, I like that you girls think large scale. The Order calls those suffering from demon possession (or the Curse, you can call it what you want) as ''Matches,'' and prioritizes the capture and execution of such people. It became that in order to mount a resistance against the Order, members of Shadow Garden also have to scatter across the world, leaving only 1 person to stay with me on a rotation basis. The rest will focus on reaching out to and sheltering those suffering from demon possession and also continue digging into the Order or run interference where opportunities arise. Hearing that, I got it. They have realized that the Order of Diabolos does not actually exist. Which is why they are trying to say that they can''t play along with this farce any longer, that they want to be set free. That''s what ''scatter across the world'' means, right? But because I really did cure them of demon possession, so to repay that debt they''ll take turns to accompany me, and for me to be content with that much. That is the message between the lines that they are hoping for me to read. I found myself feeling a little sad. Even in my previous life, everybody adored heroes when they were children. And I adored powers in shadows in the same way. But eventually, everybody grew up, and before I knew it, they''d all forgotten about their heroes and left me all alone. These girls have also grown up, that''s all there is to that. Despite feeling a bit sentimental about it, I quickly agreed to let them go. In the first place, I didn''t even plan to gather so many of them. It would be enough with just me and one assistant. I saw off the girls who all teared up at the parting, then swore to myself that I''ll definitely become a power in the shadows, even if I become the only person left in the entire world. 9 The Frolicking of Those Who Know Nothing of the World of Shadows I have finally become 15 years old, and have matriculated into the Midgar Magic Swordsman Academy. It is known as one of the top leading magic swordsman academies in the continent, gathering talents from both inside and outside of our country. In the two months that I''ve been here, I have purposely maintained my grades somewhere slightly below average, the most optimum position for a mob character. And in the meantime, I have been keeping an eye out for protagonist-like characters. Among the few that I have my eyes on. Princess Alexia Midgar. The most promising one is her. Even a chimpanzee would be able to figure her for a big potato just from hearing the title ''Princess Midgar.'' Incidentally, above her is someone even bigger and more famous called Princess Iris Midgar, but unfortunately she has already graduated from the academy. And it is this Princess Alexia that I am going to have participate in a super important mob event. To be more specific, it is a penalty game. Yep, you guessed it. It''s that one where the loser has to confess to a girl. Thus, I am now on the school roof, standing a certain distance away from Princess Alexia and facing off against her. She has shoulder-length silvery white hair, and her red eyes are enchantingly... arg anyways she has pretty eyes too, and... her brows are, um... screw this, I give up. In short, she is really beautiful in the well-featured cool beauty kind. Unfortunately, thanks to Alpha and the others, I''ve gotten used to seeing pretty faces. I think it would be better if you let some of that tension out of your face, you know? Showing a bit more emotion would make you look a bit more human. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Well, let''s set that aside for now. Naturally, I am not the first to attempt this foolhardy challenge. After entering the school for 2 months, already more than a hundred retards have approached her and gotten shot down with the same emotionless phrase. "Not interested." It''s not like I don''t understand. She''s probably already got a political marriage lined up for after graduation, and she simply isn''t interested in this kind of child''s play. But the large majority of the nobles that tried to confess to her should also be in the same boat. After graduation, it''ll be straight off to arranged marriages for most of them. That''s why they are hoping to have a love affair or two while still in the academy. Well, whatever their motivations, in the end it is all but the mere frolicking of those who know nothing of the world of shadows. However, as a mob character, I am also fated to take part in this frolicking. Forced through a punishment game to confess to the school idol and get turned down in the harshest and most heart crushing manner C it is truly a mob-like event, is it not? By completing this event in the most mob-like method possible, I would get one step closer to the most ideal image of a mob character inside my head. And that, in turn, would bring me that much further down the path towards becoming a power in the shadows. For the sake of this moment today, I stayed up all night deep in thought. What can I do... How can I confess to make this into the most mob-like confession ever? Word choice is of course important, but there is also articulation, pitch change, and vibrato, to list only a few. After the whole night of research, I have attained the ultimate mob-like confession, and am now standing at the decisive battle. Battle. Exactly. For a mob character, this is nothing short of a great battle. Power in shadows have power in shadows battles to fight, while mob characters have mob battles to fight. And thus I, at this moment, as a mob character, must give it my very best. With resolve in my chest, forward I face. Princess Alexia... you might be standing there looking composed and all, but if I really wanted to cut you down, your head would leave your body before you even know what happened. In the end, that is your limit as a person. Therefore, watch closely. This is the world''s most mob-like confession! "P, P, P... Priness Alexia..." I reveal the ''Stutter'' attack card, then display my nervousness through the (in)articulation of ''princess," followed by a pitch change when saying her name. "... I, I like you...!" My eyes leap away from Princess Alexia to swim all over the ground, while my whole body trembles at a barely perceptible degree. "P-, please go out with me...?" My word choice is kept to the basics, with no fancy additions, while my pronunciation, pitch, and articulation are flying off to god knows where. Then I ended it all with a rising inflection to exhibit my lack of confidence. It was perfect...! Now this, this was the perfect mob-ness that I have been aiming for! Satisfaction. I feel pure satisfaction. "Very well. Please take care of me." "Nn?" Feeling satisfied, I was preparing to go back when I heard an auditory hallucination. "You, what did you just say?" "Please take care of me." "Ah, ok." Something doesn''t seem right here. "F-, for starters, let''s go back together after school." Still not fully wrapping my head around this development, I meet up with Princess Alexia after school, we walk back to the dorms together, and part smilingly with a promise to see each other again tomorrow. Then I go back to my own room, dive into my bed, bury my face in my pillow, then scream. "HOW THE FUCK DID I ENTER THE MC ROUTE OF A GODDAMN LOVE COMEDY?!?!?!?!" 10 Apparently He Discovered Her Secret And Is Blackmailing Her…… "Isn''t it strange?!" "That''s strange alright." "That''s so strange." Lunchtime the next day, I am having lunch with my mob friends while going over how yesterday went down. Consequently, all three of us are of the same opinion, that it was strange. "To be honest, you simply don''t have the specs to go out with Princess Alexia. Even I would be barely at the acceptable level, you know?" So says Hyoro. He is the second son of the Baron Gali family. His appearance is tall and thin, and it might seem like he is kind of fashionable and puts some effort into his appearance, but he has terrible sense. From afar, he could perhaps somehow pass off as handsome. Or not, scratch that last part, I can''t see it at all. Of course, this Hyoro Gali does not have the specs to go out with Princess Alexia. Why? Because he is someone that I''ve acknowledged as a mob friend. "If even Sid-kun could pull it off, then even I could have succeeded. Ah~, I should have done the confession myself." And this is Jaga. Second son of the Baron Imo family. His appearance is small and bony, like that extra guy in every baseball club. He is outstandingly talented in that even when looking from afar, no matter the angle, he wouldn''t even have the atmosphere of being a handsome guy. Naturally, he is also a mere mob character who would never be a good match with Princess Alexia after even a thousand years. Oh and by the way, my name is Sid. Sid Kagenou. When I go by this name, I am your average, everyday mob character. "Seriously, this is not as good as it sounds. It freaks me out that there is probably some deeper circumstances here, and in the first place the worlds we live in are too far apart." "You got that right. After all, your caliber is even less than mine. I bet the longest this would last would be a week." "I say three days max. Take a look around." At Jaga''s words, Hyoro and I glance around. Almost everybody in the cafeteria are looking my way and whispering furiously to their respective companions. "Look, he''s the one..." "No way! His looks are so average..." "Is there some misunderstanding here..." "Damn, then even I could have..." "Ehhhh!" Et cetera, et cetera. "I heard that he discovered a secret of hers and is blackmailing her... from that guy called Hyoro Gali." "Are you serious?! I''m gonna kill that bastard..." "Act like it was an accident..." "How could we call ourselves men if we don''t stand up here..." Et cetera, et cetera. I have good ears, so I can pick up pretty much all of it. But for starters, I glare at Hyoro Gali. "Nn, what''s the matter?" "... Nothing." Such is the friendship between mob characters. "But seriously, what am I to do? It would be super suspicious if I turn around and dump her the very next day after confessing." In the first place, it is not mob-like to breakup with a princess. But then again, I was forced out of being mob-like the moment she said ''yes.'' "Why not just go along with it? Who knows, maybe you can even get a good memory or two out of it." So says Hyoro with a smirk. "I agree. Even if it was a mistake, you are currently officially going out with a princess. It would be such a waste to chicken out due to a few minor obstacles." "I can''t actually do that, now can I?" The longer this state of affairs lasts, the farther that rumors about me would spread, and the further I would be from a mediocre mob-like life. "But now that things have developed to this level, we absolutely cannot let slip that it was just a penalty game." So says Jaga. "Agreed. The moment it becomes leaked, things will descend into absolute chaos. So I''m begging you guys, alright? Especially you, Hyoro." "Me? Pfft, no one would be able to make me talk." "Of course, I would also never tell." "I''m seriously begging you guys, alright?" I sigh, then reach for my 980 Zeny Daily-Set-Meal-for-dirt-poor-nobles. Let''s eat quickly then leave this extremely uncomfortable cafeteria. But I was too late. A 100,000 Zeny Daily-Set-Meal-for-filthy-rich-nobles is set down right across from my seat. By a maid, with oh so graceful skill. Then. "This seat, is it free?" Princess Alexia enters the scene. Fuck, I knew it. That''s why I wanted to eat quickly. "O-o-o-o-of course!" "I-i-i-i-i-i-i-if it pleases you, please!" I can almost see Hyoro and Jaga visibly shrinking into themselves. And these are the people who were bragging mere moments ago that even they could have gone out with her. As expected of the mob friends that my mob character had fully acknowledged as true mobs. Now I just want to cry, for various reasons. "Sit if you want." Alexia was waiting for my answer, so I answered. "Well then." And with that, she sits down. "Nice weather, isn''t it?" For starters, I try to fill the gap by bringing up the weather. "I suppose." Thus continued our bland and banal conversation. With elegant motions, she puts her hands to her extravagant lunch. As expected of a princess, she has wonderful manners. Low ranking nobles are pretty much just commoners slapped with a title. "That super expensive meal sure is a lot." "It is, isn''t it? I always end up unable to finish it all." "What a waste." "To be honest, I would rather choose a lower rank course, but when I do, then everyone else finds it hard to order this." "Ahh, ''k. If you can''t eat it all, then may I grab some?" "I don''t mind, but..." "If you''re worried about the manners and all that, don''t be. This is the lower nobles'' seating area, after all." I plunder the meat main dish from the bewildered-looking Alexia and stuff my cheeks with it before she can utter a complaint. Yep, delish. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Ah..." "I''ll help myself to the fish too, then." "Wait a..." Damn, I feel lucky. Thanks to you, my stomach is now in seventh heaven. In sharp contrast to yesterday, my attitude towards Alexia is now super meh. The reason? It''s because I''m currently in the middle of carrying out the ''make her dump me'' strategy. "Sighs... oh well." "Thanks for the food. ''K, seeya." "Wait a second!" I was hoping to just eat whatever I could and then leave like it''s nobody''s business, but no dice. Grudgingly, I sit back down. "Your practical studies after lunch is Royal Capital Bushin Style, is it not?" "Yea, sure." This school''s curriculum is separated into theoretical studies before lunch and practical studies after lunch. Theoretical studies are separated by years, but practical years are all elective-based and students from all years are mixed together. The point is to pick the fighting style that fits you best from among all the ones that they offer. "I also take Royal Capital Bushin Style, so how about let''s go together?" "Uh, that''s not happening. I mean, you''re in Group 1, and I''m in Group 9." Bushin Style is a pretty popular course. With 50 students in a Group, there are a total of 9 Groups, with Group 1 being the most proficient and Group 9 being the worst. Having joined the academy only 2 months ago, I am still in Group 9. My plan is to eventually settle down in Group 5, by the way. "With my recommendation, a spot was freed up in Group 1, so don''t worry about it." "Isn''t that, like, abuse of power or something?" "Do you want me to come to Group 9, then?" "Oh god please don''t, you''d destroy my standing." "These are the only options available. Choose one." "Seriously?" "It is an order, by my authority as princess." "Group 1, here I come!" And so ended my lunch. Hyoro and Jaga remained as ornamental decorations to the very end. 11 Conflict is Entertaining When You Are Uninvolved "So wide..." I could not help but to say that out loud the moment I stepped into Royal Capital Bushin Style Group 1''s classroom. Within the area of a gigantic stadium, aside from the changing rooms, there are also baths, a bar, and several other amenities. Even the doors are automatic (maid powered). Incidentally, the classroom of Group 9 is outdoors, be it rain or shine. No doors, thus no need for maids. In order to not get tangled with, I change at super speed, then stayed in a corner to wait for Alexia. After a short while. "Let''s loosen up a bit first, shall we?" Alexia in a dougi enters the scene. The one for girls is a long dress with a deep slit, very much like an unadorned China dress. The color of hers is black. Bushin Style uses color to show proficiency C black is for the best, white is for beginners. Mine is of course white. I am the only white in this whole classroom. I stick out like a sore thumb. Ignoring the stares composed of 70% hostility and 30% inquisitiveness, I start doing some light stretches. "Interesting." Says Alexia while copying what I''m doing. In this world, the idea of loosening up before exercising is well known, but the way to do so has not been established, so everyone kinda just does it their own way. Those who do sports but underestimate the importance of stretching would definitely destroy their body. In this world, magic can perhaps somehow take care of such such injuries, but there would still be an effect on performance. On this, Alexia is actually quite conscientious, which is laudable. I, too, am extremely conscientious when it comes to anything related to combat. I have as much confidence as I do in the taste of that drink that I always drank at the East Coast. (T:N: I have no idea what this is a reference to.) After a short while, class begins. "Today onwards, a new friend will be joining us." Was the way that the teacher in charge introduced me. "My name is Sid Kagenou. I will be in everyone''s care." Then came the barrage of stares from people who absolutely are not thinking of me as a friend. Aah, as expected of Group 1. Just by taking a quick glance around, I see super important people here and there. That ikemen over there is the second son of a Duke''s family, that beauty is the daughter of the current leader of the Magic Swordsman Knight Order, and even the class instructor is our country''s Swordsmanship Instructor. He is even a blond ikemen and merely 28 years of age. "Everyone, get along well." After which then began practice. Starting from magic control through meditation, all the way to basic training like practice swings. Good, this is good. The basics are important. In Group 9, we only did a short time of practice swings before everyone started just banging their swords against each other. Guess the truly strong really do understand what''s what. Everyone here seems high level, so this is honestly a really good environment. Above all else, this Royal Capital Bushin Style is one that makes a lot of sense. It''s wonderful that every ounce of effort poured into it would never go to waste. "Do you like the Royal Capital Bushin Style?" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. So asks the blond ikemen while approaching me. If I remember correctly, his name is Zenon Griphi. "Do I look like I do?" "Oh yes, you look like you enjoy it very much." In response to my answer, Zenon-sensei gives a refreshing laugh. "As you probably already know, Royal Capital Bushin Style is a new branch off of Bushin Style. Traditional Bushin Style was originally already the most popular style in our country, so the reformed Royal Capital Bushin Style had a strong start. Then with the patronage of Princess Iris, it became the second most popular style in this country, behind only the traditional Bushin style." "I''ve heard that Sensei is also quite an influential proponent of the style." "What I''ve done is insignificant in comparison to what the princess has done. But even so, I feel like I was a part of nurturing Royal Capital Bushin Style to where it is today. That''s why when I see someone else liking this style, I get so happy that I can''t help myself. Sorry for interrupting your practice." With that, Zenon-sensei goes off to watch the other students. I, too, fully understand how he feels. I like seeing Alpha and the girls swinging my sword. My sword is something that I had built up myself, so the feeling of being recognized when seeing someone else use it is an exceptional kind of happiness. "What were you two talking about?" So asks Alexia. "About Royal Capital Bushin Style." "Fuun. Anyways, it''s mass next, so let''s pair up." ''Mass'' refers to light practice of actual fighting forms. The point is to confirm the feeling of using certain techniques and parries, all without actually touching your opponent. "Isn''t our mastery too far apart?" "Won''t be a problem." So we take a stance across from each other with our wooden swords. I make a move, which Alexia parries. Then she makes a move, which I parry. The attacks don''t land, and our movements are slow. Neither are we using any magic. Around us are several pairs fully utilizing magic and whamming each other fiercely, but to my surprise Alexia is matching along with me. No, rather than matching along with me... This might be what she normally does. Mass is ultimately the confirmation of techniques, so there is absolutely no need for speed nor strength. She has a firm eye on the true intended purpose of this training. This can be seen just from looking at her sword. Her older sister, Princess Iris, is praised for her strength to heaven and back by absolutely everyone in this country. Genius, wizard, every single person has a different word to praise her with. At the moment, she is even said to be the strongest in the entire country. On the other hand, the reputation of Alexia is not so good. She has magic, and her sword is honest, but she simply pales in comparison to her sister. This is the valuation of Alexia shared by the general populace. But now that I''m here standing opposite her, I realize that her sword is a pretty good sword in and of itself. Faithful to the basics, firm foundation, and plain. Yes, it''s plain. But that plainness is the crystallization of her effort. After everything useless is removed, then the rest is just her continuously building upon her foundation, step by step. Delta, take a good look at this. I couldn''t help but to mentally call out to that beast person girl who swings a sword that I find hard to acknowledge. "Nice sword." So says Alexia. "Thanks." "But I don''t like it." So she''s the type to bring you up before dropping you. "It''s like I''m looking at myself. Let''s stop." So saying, she begins to wrap up. Seems like class is almost over anyways. Against general expectations, I was able to safely get through the class without anything untoward happening. Let''s quickly clean up, get changed, then dash back at full speed.. "Wait a second." Or not. Alexia grabs me by the scruff of my neck and drags me somewhere. "So this is your answer?" For some reason, we have come to Zenon-sensei. "Indeed. I''ve decided to go out with him instead." "You can''t keep running away like this indefinitely. You know that, right?" So asks Zenon-sensei with severe eyes. "Us children don''t understand the circumstances of adults." Says Alexia with a ''hohoho'' laugh. Based on this conversation, I''ve finally understood most of what''s going on. The reason why I was brought here, and the reason why she decided to go out with me. While praying earnestly that I won''t be dragged in, I turn myself into air and merely watch these two protagonists having their event. 12 Hi, My Name Is Pochi! Nice to Meet You, Everyone! "In other words, Alexia and Zenon-sensei are engaged, and I''m the stalking horse?" I''m currently facing off against Alexia behind the school building after school. "We''re not engaged. He''s just a fianc candidate." So returns Alexia with a composed face. "Whatever, same thing." "No, it''s not the same. It''s not even been confirmed yet, but he''s already trying to forcefully move the talks along. I''m quite troubled by it." "Ok, seriously, whatever. Sorry, but I have no intention to be swept up in the circumstances between you two." "Oh dear, what a heartless thing for my boyfriend to say to me." "Boyfriend? You just wanted a convenient stalking horse, didn''t you?" "That is true. But the same goes for you, no?" An unpleasant smile appears on Alexia''s face. "Same? What are you talking about?" "Oh, you plan to feign ignorance? Oh Sid Kagenou-kun who lost in a penalty game?" Her smile deepens even more. Oook, wait a second. Let''s calm down. "How cruel, to play with an innocent girl''s emotions like that." So says Alexia while crying crocodile tears without even a shred of innocence coming from her. No problem, I am calm. "I have no idea what you are talking about though. What, do you have evidence or something?" Yep, evidence. Regardless of how much suspicion she might have, as long as those two don''t betray me... "Is his name Jaga-kun? As soon as I talked to him, his face became all red and he began telling me things that I didn''t even ask about. You have such a good friend." I mentally beat Jaga up and smash him into mashed potato to maintain my own mental health. "Are you alright? Your face is convulsing like crazy." "Not a problem. My character is twisted so my mouth is twisted too." "Ahhh, I see." "Still better than you, though." "Nn, did you just say something?" "Uh, no. So what is it that you want anyways?" I admit defeat. The reason for my loss is my choice of friends. "Let me see..." Alexia crosses her arms and leans against the school building. "For now, continue pretending to be my lover. Time duration is until that man gives up." "My status is but that of a mere Baron family. To be honest, I don''t even have the strength to be of much use as a stalking horse." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "I am fully aware. As long as we can buy time, then that''ll be enough. The rest I''ll handle by myself." "Furthermore, I don''t want to be put into any danger. The other party is the country''s Swordsmanship Instructor. If anything happens, I wouldn''t be able to deal with it." "Blah, blah, blah, you sure are noisy." So saying, Alexia takes out gold coins from her chest pocket and scatters them over the ground. "Pick them up." A gold coin is 100,000 Zeny. And there are at least 10 pieces there. "Heeh~, do I look like a guy who would wag his tail for money?" So I say while crawling on the ground and carefully picking up the gold coins piece by piece. "Yes you do." "You''ve got a good eye." 11th piece, 12th piece, 13th piece... ah, there''s one more! Right as I''m about to reach for that last piece of gold coin, Alexia''s loafer steps onto it. I look up at Alexia. Alexia''s red eyes look down at me. I can see the inside of her pleated skirt. "You will move exactly as I tell you to, yes?" Confirms Alexia with a smile revealing every last bit of her terrible personality. "Of course, of course." Answers I with a full-faced smile. "Good boy, Pochi." Alexia pats my head like I''m a dog or a child, then leaves with a flutter of her short skirt. I carefully wipe the gold coin that had her shoe print on it before pocketing it. (T/N: ''Pochi'' is an extremely common name for dogs in Japan, the way ''Tama'' is for cats.) Even after I entered the academy, I had continued cutting into my sleeping hours to continue my own training. But now with the whole fake love thing with Alexia, my time has decreased even further. "Come with me." With just that single utterance, I was forced to come to the Royal Capital Bushin Style Group 1''s classroom early in the morning. Shafts of the morning sun stream in, lighting up the quiet, spacious room occupied by only the two of us. Morning practice. Alexia focuses solely on swinging her sword. I, too, swing my sword beside her. Alexia is singularly earnest towards her sword. That point at least is something that I truly appreciate. We do not talk. We only continue swinging in silence. For me, it is a surprisingly not painful time. "It really is quite mysterious, your sword." It was Alexia who first broke the silence. "You''ve got the basics down. And that is literally the only thing you are doing. But still..." Of course, I am suppressing my strength, my speed, my magic, my skill, and everything else while swinging my sword before her. So naturally, the only thing left is the basics. "For some reason, I find it hard to tear my eyes away." "Thanks, I guess?" A bird chirps outside the classroom. That lovely voice is actually not singing, but struggling for territory. I can hear the beaks clashing, too. "But I really don''t like it, your sword." After saying that, our conversation cuts off, then we resume swinging our swords in silence. 13 Incidentally, I’m In the Zenon Faction Two weeks after that, I am somehow making do as Alexia''s boyfriend. Every once in a while I get harassed by other students, but everything so far is still within tolerable levels. More than anything else, Zenon-sensei has not come to beat me up or seek to ''solve'' things with any direct approaches that involve violence, so at least that''s a relief. As for the man in question, he continues to give Alexia and I appropriate and thoughtful guidance during classes. He no longer comes over for casual talks, but clearly is an adult capable of keeping public and private separate. In comparison to that. "That man truly irritates me. Looking like he''s all that just because he is a little good at the sword." When we''re before people, of course she''s got her act on and all, but when we are alone, her words become like a tornado of vilification. "Yep, yep, that''s right." I am pretty much just a yes-robot. I learned early on that any and all rebuttal would only be a waste of time. "Pochi, you also saw that absolutely shady smile of his, did you not?" "Yep, yep, I did." It has become our routine to return to the dorms after school via a longer path through the woods that few other students use. During that time, I simply continue to agree with whatever Alexia says. Not even 10% of it actually enters my brain. We continue walking slowly down the path as the sun sets above. Whereas walking normally would get us through to the other side in 10 minutes, we easily take longer than 30 minutes. Some days, I can already see the stars by the time we get through, but patience. Some days I feel like yelling at her to just find a random wall to talk to instead, but patience. I can bear it. Patience, patience, and more patience. But even I have one thing that I really need to say. "Ahh, can I ask you something?" "What, Pochi?" Alexia sits down on her favorite tree stump and crosses her legs. Why the hell are you sitting down, get the fuck up and continue walking C is what I really want to say but I know I have no choice but to also sit down next to her. "In the end, what is it about Zenon-sensei that you dislike so much? Objectively speaking, as a marriage partner he seems like a pretty good catch to me though." "You... were you even listening to what I was saying?" Alexia looks slightly displeased. "Everything, alright? I dislike his very existence, and everything about it." "He is handsome, is the country''s Swordsmanship Instructor, has a high social status, has money, and is able to clearly demarcate between public and private. Everything about him seems good. In actual fact, he is quite popular among the female students, I hear." My words are only met with a scornful laugh. "That''s all just his outward appearance. Appearances can be fabricated and kept up as much as wanted. As a prime example, me." "I see, damn that''s a convincing example." Speaking of which, Alexia is also highly popular. Since she''s putting on so deep an act that it makes me want to puke sometimes when I see it. "That is why I do not evaluate people based on appearances." "Then how do you evaluate people?" "By their flaws." So says Alexia with a self-satisfied look. "A truly negative judgment method. Fits you to a tee." "Why, thank you. Incidentally, the fact that you are only composed of flaws and that you possess absolutely no virtues whatsoever scores you relatively highly in my book." "Thank you, it''s my first time receiving such a compliment that does not make me happy at all!" Alexia smiles wryly. "It''s good that you are an easily identifiable piece of trash. And that is why I dislike that man." "Since we''re on the topic, tell me some of Zenon-sensei''s flaws, then." "From what I can see, he has none." "Then isn''t he just perfect?" "There isn''t a single human alive who is perfect. If there truly is, then that person is either a big, fat liar, or there are screws loose in their head." "I see, I see. Thank you for that totally jaded and prejudiced reply. I truly learned something today." "You are very welcome, oh Pochi of the endless list of flaws. Go fetch~!" With that, Alexia takes out a single gold coin and throws it. I dash out at full speed to catch it. Damn straight, just done earned me 100,000 Zeny. I put the gold coin into my pocket, then return to Alexia, who is clapping her hands in delight. "Good boy, good boy." She is patting my head. Patience. "You''re hating this, you''re hating this so much~" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. While being patted, once more I think to myself that she is a terrible human being. "It''s showing in your face, you know?" "I''m letting it show in my face." With a ''fufu'' laugh, Alexia stands back up. "Well then, about time to get back." "Yes, yes." "Pochi, tomorrow I''m going to smash that annoying face of his with a wooden sword, so make sure you watch carefully." Upon hearing Alexia say so, I couldn''t help but to ask. "That thing... are you seriously going to do it?" "What are you implying?" Alexia turns around and glares at me. I really shouldn''t have asked that. But it is something that I truly cannot turn a blind eye to. "Zenon-sensei is indeed stronger than you. But from what I can see, the difference between you two is not so great that you''d be single-sidedly done in." I like Alexia''s sword. Because it is a sword built up from days and days of accumulation, one step at a time. But when it comes to the real thing, actual combat, there is one unnecessary element mixed in. And I really cannot stand seeing a sword that I had recognized being tainted by that one element. "Easy for you to say. What do you know, white robe?" "Sure, it''s the nonsense of a white robe. There is no need for you to pay any mind to it." "Fine, I''ll tell you. Things are not as simple as you think." "Is that so?" "I have no talent. I was born with a large magic capacity, and I''d like to think that I''ve also put in a fair share of effort. I think myself relatively strong. But even with all that, I can never win against a real genius." "You sure?" "I''ve always been compared to Iris nee-sama. There were expectations from the people all around, but even more than that, I myself also greatly respected Iris nee-sama and wanted to catch up to her. But I could not do things the way Iris nee-sama could. What each one of us had from the very start was too different. So I decided to find my own way to become stronger. But as a result, do you know what people call my sword?" When the sisters'' swords are raised in comparison, there is a certain phrase that comes up with almost guaranteed certainty. "The commoner''s sword." (T/N: ''Commoner'' here refers to ''a common person''. As opposed to a genius. This is completely unrelated to her status as a princess.) "Yes, that. Oh and by the way, yours is also the commoner''s sword. Too bad, eh?" Alexia laughs in self-derision. "I don''t think it a bad thing at all. I like your sword, after all." Upon hearing my words, Alexia''s breath stops for a brief moment, then she scowls at me. "Previously, someone else had also said those words to me. It was Iris nee-sama, on the stage of the Festival of the God of War, after my unsightly defeat at her hands." " ''I really do like your sword, Alexia.'' " With curled lip, Alexia attempts to imitate Princess Iris''s voice. "I''m sure that person didn''t understand even a fraction of my feelings. How wretched I felt at that moment. Even since that day, I''ve hated my own sword so much." Then Alexia laughs. I don''t know what is contained in that laugh, but at the very least it is not a happy laugh. I have something that I really must say. If I don''t say it, then it would be akin to denying my very self. "I am an extremely facetious person. If something happens and a million people suddenly die, I wouldn''t really care. If you go mad and become a serial killer going around indiscriminately slashing people left and right, I wouldn''t really care either." "If I go mad, the first person I cut would be you. I''ve just decided." "But there is one thing that I would never compromise on. Even if it is worth absolutely nothing to other people, to me it is the most important thing in my life. And the way I live my life is to protect only that single thing that is important to me. Which is why, what I will say next, I fully mean with all of my heart." Just one sentence. "I like Alexia''s sword." After a short period of silence, Alexia replies. "What meaning is there in those words?" "None. But if I really had to say, it''s because I got angry hearing something that I like being denied. That''s all there is to it." "Is that so." Alexia turns around... "Today, I will go back alone." ... And then walks off. 14 It Would Take Serious Effort To Make Me Truly Flip Ou "How long has it been since we last had a meal with just the three of us like this?" So says Jaga the Traitor. "Since this guy eats with the princess for literally every single meal." And that was Hyoro. "What choice do I have?" Me. For the first time in quite a while, we three are eating together in the cafeteria. Alexia is, for a surprising change of pace, not present. "Sid-kun, can you forgive me already?" "Hear, hear. Men don''t hold grudges over insignificant things!" "I even treated you to a 980 Zeny Daily-Set-Meal-for-dirt-poor-nobles, didn''t I?" "Hear, hear. He already treated you, so just let bygones be bygones!" "Gah, alright already." I heave a huge sigh. "Thank you, Sid-kun." "Yea, yea." "So, how far have you actually gone?" So asks Hyoro in a subdued voice. "Gone where?" "Duh, I''m talking about ''that'' and Princess Alexia. You two have already gone out for 2 weeks so you''ve been getting some of ''that,'' haven''t you?" Seriously, stop saying ''that.'' Oh my god what a retarded conversation this is. "Nothing has happened, and nothing will happen." "Kah, what a useless wimp. If it was me, I''d have reached last base already." "Agreed. I would have at least gotten to the kissing stage." "As I keep saying, we''re not like that." I half-heartedly fend them off while continuing to eat my lunch. But then all of a sudden. "May I sit here?" The blond-haired ikemen Zenon-sensei enters the scene. "Yes of course!" "All yours!" With that, the two once again turn into ornamental decorations. "What business do you have with me?" I am slightly on my guard. Just in case he''s aiming for me now that Alexia is not present. "I''m sure you''ve already heard, but Princess Alexia has not returned to the dorms since yesterday." Naturally, this is my first time hearing such news. But I''m sure she''s merely gone off on a trip of self-discovery or something. That''s what teenagers do, right? "During our search this morning, we found this." What he takes out is a single loafer. It''s Alexia''s. "There were signs of a struggle nearby. The Knight Order is considering it to be a kidnapping case, and investigations are underway." "What, how could this be...!" Is what I shout out loud in a grieving voice, but inside I''m shouting "Hell yea, serves you right!!" while making a guts pose. "When we were narrowing down the list of suspects, the last person confirmed to have been seen with her came up." So saying, Zenon-sensei looks at me. "The Knight Order would like to ask you a few questions." Standing at the entrance of the cafeteria are members of the Knight Order wearing their full equipment and projecting bloodthirst. "You will cooperate with us, yes?" Oh, I can see where this is going. Fuck me. After that, I was brought to a place like a police cell, where I answered a few questions before being released in the evening. 5 days later, that is. "Get a move on, you fucker." My back is pushed roughly as I am effectively evicted from the building. Then my belongings are thrown out right after me. As I am now only in my underwear, I pick up my clothes and shoes and put them on right there and then. Because I no longer have fingernails on either hand, it takes a bit longer than usual. After I finish arranging myself, I heave a sigh then walk off. The pedestrians going to and fro that I pass all stare at my ''scratches'' and bloody appearance. I heave another sigh. "Stay calm, me. Stay calm. What''s the point of flipping out over a few small potatoes?" I try my best to not remember the face of the knight who interrogated me while maintaining calm. "They were merely doing their job." My wounds are all only superficial, and I can grow my fingernails back whenever I want. The only reason why I don''t is to fully act out my mob character. "Yes, I am the very definition of calm." Tranquility. I take a deep breath. My vision widens back up. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Probing with my senses, I notice some supicious presences. "They put two tails on me, huh." The kidnapper is yet to be found. Naturally, Alexia''s safety is still unconfirmed. My head is not so full of daisies that I think I have been acquitted. They didn''t have enough evidence, but my name is definitely still on the list of suspects. I keep my face down and pretend to be haggard and exhausted while making my way back to my dorm. Along the way. "Later..." A really, really tiny voice reaches my ears. Accompanied by the faint smell of a familiar perfume. "Alpha, huh..." The avenues are extremely crowded in the evenings. Her figure is nowhere to be seen. Having returned to my dorm room, I turn on the lights. From the shadows, a young girl reveals herself. "You wanna eat?" She is wearing a tight bodysuit that seems to be emphasizing her recently acquired assets. In her hand is a thick sandwich filled with tuna, bought from the famous store MagRonald in the royal capital. (T/N: ''Maguro'' in Japanese means ''tuna.'') "Thanks. It''s been a while, hasn''t it, Alpha? What happened to Beta?" I haven''t had anything proper to eat for 5 days straight, so I attack the sandwich with gusto. Beta was the one who had been supporting me recently. "I heard from Beta. Seems things have gotten a bit troublesome, hm?" She sits on my bed and crosses her legs. Both her silky blond hair and long-slitted blue eyes seem somehow nostalgic. In the short time that she''s left my sight, she has grown up so much. "Guess so." I throw the last scrap of the sandwich into my mouth. "There''s water in that." Thx~" I drain the large cup in one breath. "Whew, back to life." I throw off my shoes and coat, then dive into my bed. "At least change your clothes first!" "Nah, gonna sleep." "You... do you even understand the situation you are in?" "The prep I''ll leave to you." Alpha is super capable. By giving her free reign, I am sure she will ready the most wonderful stage for me. But until then, I am going to sleep... I mean, conserve my strength. Alpha sighs deeply. "I''m sure you understand this, but the way things are currently developing, this will be pinned on you." "Probably, yea." As long as the real culprit is not found, it is almost certain that the one under the most suspicion would be executed. Especially since this case is the kidnapping of a member of royalty. Someone''s head has to fly, or else the case can''t be closed. Yay for the Middle Ages. "Get up, I have another sandwich." "!! I''m up." I receive the sandwich from Alpha. "There is movement to actively frame you as the culprit for this." "Heeh~, even though I would become it automatically if left alone?" "They probably want to resolve things quickly. An average performing son of a poor baron family is the perfect scapegoat." "Agreed. I''d do the same too, if I were them." "The knights cannot be trusted." "The Order has moles inside?" "Without doubt. It was the Order who kidnapped her. Their aim is probably her thick Blood of the Heroes." Alpha and the girls are still sticking to the whole Order of Diabolos setting for me. How considerate of them. "Do you think she''s still alive?" "You can''t draw blood from a dead person, right?" "Good point." "Though we can''t seem to understand why you decided to take part in a romance story with a princess." So says Alpha while frowning at me with half-closed eyes. "It is not what it seems." "I''m sure you must have a reason, something that you can''t tell us." I evade Alpha''s eyes as she tries to peer into mine. And of course, I remain silent. Because I don''t have any really big reason. "It''s fine, we understand that you''re shouldering something really big." What do I do if I''m not actually shouldering anything as important as she''s making it sound? "But I just want to say, please trust us a little bit more. Even this time, if you had given us a heads up in advance, things wouldn''t have blown to such proportions. Right?" "Alright, alright." "Anyways, don''t worry about it anymore. It''s our job to follow up after you." So saying, Alpha smiles at me. "When this incident is all resolved, treat me to MagRonald. That second sandwich was my share, actually." "Sure thing. Sorry for eating your share too." "Don''t mind it." Alpha stands up, opens the window, and puts a foot through. Her small hip sways. "I''m going now. You just keep low for a while." "Got it. What''s the plan?" "I''m going to gather numbers. We currently don''t have enough people in the capital. Also, I''m going to call Delta too." "You''re going to call her too?" "She said she really misses you." Delta the Loose Cannon. Or by another name, Delta the Suicide Weapon. To put it simply, she''s basically an idiot specced solely for battle. Since it''s been a while, guess everyone wants to host a reunion or something like that? I sincerely hope that they''re all living decent, respectable lives. "The details I''ll tell you after the prep is over. Well then." After flashing me one last smile, Alpha covers her face with the bodysuit and then disappears through the window. 15 Oh Wow, What a Wonderful Idea In a Monotone Voice "Is that it for your report?" Asks a beautiful girl with red hair the shade of flames. The red hair that reaches all the way down her back glitters in the candlelight, as her wine-red eyes flash over the investigative report. That imposing, beautiful figure of hers makes the reporting knight''s cheeks dye red. "Th-, that is all, Iris-sama. We will continue our investigation." Iris nods, then gestures for the knight to leave the room. When the door closes, only Iris and a handsome, blond-haired man are left alone in the room. "Marquis Zenon, thank you very much for your help this time." "The incident occurred with school grounds, so I am also partly responsible. But more than that, I am also worried about Alexia-sama..." Zenon looks down and bites his lower lip in frustration. "You also have your duties as the Swordsmanship Instructor. I am sure no one would find fault with you for this. For now, what we should focus on is not who to blame, but to safely rescue Alexia." "Indeed..." "So." Iris suddenly closes the report folder. "How sure are you of the probability of this student Sid Kagenou being the culprit?" "I am also loathe to consider a student of the academy a culprit, but circumstances show him to be the most suspicious. But when considering his strength, it is highly unlikely for him to win if he faces off against Alexia-sama in a direct fight." Zenon chose his words carefully while replying. "In which case, it would either mean that he has an accomplice, or that he had to have used drugs of some sort. But he didn''t confess to anything even under the interrogation of the knights, right? Are you sure about this?" "I want to believe in him. I truly do." Iris nods, then closes her eyes. "You have already assigned trustworthy knights to follow him, right? Then there''s nothing else that we can do aside from waiting for their report." "I shall pray for Alexia-sama''s safety." With a bow, Zenon turns to exit the room. But at that very moment, a single girl slides into the room through the door that Zenon had just opened. "Iris-sama! Please listen to me!" "Clare-kun, what do you think you are doing! Please pardon her rudeness, I''ll bring her back out immediately!" Zenon seizes the girl who just slid in, Claire Kagenou, and tries to drag her out. "Marquis Zenon, who is this?" Iris stops Zenon and asks. "She..." "My name is Claire Kagenou! I am Sid Kagenou''s older sister!" "Claire-kun! S-, she is an exemplary student at the academy, and is currently temporarily with the Knight Order on a sort of experience program." "I see... Very well, you may speak." "Thank you very much!" Claire Kagenou proceeds before Iris in supplication. "My little brother, Sid, would never do something like kidnapping Princess Alexia! I''m sure there must be some big mistake here!" "The Knight Order is conducting their investigation with the utmost caution so that there would be no mistakes. It is still not yet confirmed that your younger brother is the culprit." "But the way things are currently going, if the real culprit is not found, it will be him who gets executed!" "The Knight Order is being very careful. They will not mistakenly execute the wrong person." "But still!" "Claire-kun!" Zenon stops Claire as she frntically tries to press closer to Iris. "Claire-kun, leave it at that. Anymore would be an affront to the Knight Order!" "Kuh...!" Claire glares first at Zenon, then at Iris. "If anything happens to that child...!" "Claire-kun, don''t you dare finish that sentence!" Covering Claire''s mouth with his hand, Zenon drags Claire out of the room. BAM. Staring at the forcefully closed door, Iris sighs deeply. "So our love for our family is the same, huh..." She murmurs. "Alexia, please be safe..." Long ago, these two sisters were very close. But when was it that they began to pass by each other? How many years has it been since they last talked? Could it be that they would never again be able to talk with each other? "Alexia..." As she closes her wine-red eyes, a single tear rolls down her cheek. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. When Alexia opened her eyes, she found herself in a dim room. No window, and only a single lit candle. The walls are stone, and a sturdy-looking door is right in front. "This is..." She has no memory of anything after separating from Pochi after school. When she tries to move her body, she hears the clinking of metal rubbing against metal. Looking towards the origin of the sound, she realizes that all four of her limbs are chained to a pedestal. "Magic-sealing chains..." She cannot use her magic. Escaping by herself would be difficult in the extreme. Exactly who was it that took her away, and for what purpose? Kidnapping, coercion, human trafficking... a train of possibilities flit through her mind, but there''s no way to confirm. Alexia is not in the line of succession for the crown. But her status as a princess still has a certain amount of utility value. This she knows. However, the information she has on hand at the moment is really too little to draw any conclusions with Alexia stops thinking about it, but then a different thought suddenly comes up in her head. Is Pochi alright? The boy with a terrible personality who had recently become her friend. She is quite fond of him, because he always saying things to her straight without any fear. If he was truly caught up in this, then by now he is probably... let''s stop there. Alexia shakes her head, then looks around. Stone walls, iron door, candle stand... and a black mound that looks like trash. That mound is right next to Alexia, and for some reason is chained up. Upon closer inspection, Alexia notices a slight movement. It is breathing. The ''mound'' is a living creature wearing tattered rags. "You there, can you hear my vo-...!" The creature moves, and looks at Alexia. The ''creature''... is a monster. It is an extremely emaciated monster restrained with chains. Its black, festering face only barely retains what seems to be eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Its entire body is bloated in an non-uniform manner, with its left arm even longer than Alexia''s leg. In contrast, its right arm is shorter and thinner than Alexia''s own, and seems to be affixed to its chest as if clutching something. Such a monster is right beside Alexia. Whereas Alexia has all four limbs chained up, that monster is only chained by its neck. If it reaches out with its long arm, it might actually be able to reach Alexia. In order to not aggravate the monster, Alexia lowers the sound of her breathing and looks away. But the monster is looking at her. Alexia can feel the monster''s gaze on her body. After a period of silence that seems as if time had stopped... Jyarara, the sound of chains rings in the air. Peering from the corner of her eye, Alexia sees that the monster has curled up and gone to sleep. Alexia breathes a sigh of relief. After another while, the door in front is opened. "Finally! Finally, I have gotten my hands on it!" The person who comes in is a skinny man wearing a labcoat. His cheeks are hollow, his eyes are sunken, and his lips are cracked. His sparse hair is sticking to his skin and giving off a horrible smell. Alexia quietly observes the man. "Blood of the royals, blood of the royals, blood of the royals!" Blood of the royals. The man continues to repeat that phrase while taking out a contraption connected to a thin needle. It seems that he intends to draw her blood. The royal physicians have done it to her a few times before, so she recognizes what that contraption is. But. She does not understand why this man wants her blood so badly that he would go to the trouble of kidnapping her. "May I ask something?" Alexia''s voice is steady. "N, nn?" The man replies Alexia with some weird grunting. "Why do you want my blood?" "Y-, y-, your blood is demonic blood. It can revive the demons in this day and age!" Alexia has no idea what he''s talking about, but at least can gather that he is not right in his mind, and that he is in some sort of a cult. "But it would be a bit of a problem if you draw too much of my blood. I''m not quite ready to die yet." "Hihi, hi, n-, no worries. I want a, a lot so I''ll c-, come everyday to d-, drain a little at a time." "Wonderful, let''s go with that then." As long as this man needs her blood, then chances are low that she would be killed. Do not resist, remain cooperative. Alexia determined that her best choice of action at the moment is to wait for rescue. "It, it wasn''t supposed t-, to be like this. It was all the f-, fault of those i-, idiots!" "I understand, I hate idiots too." ''Because dealing with you is tiring'', whispers Alexia to herself while looking at the man in the labcoat. "M-, my research, all, all destroyed! They got to that idiot Olba first." "That''s right, that idiot Olba was the first." "After that, again and again and AGAAAIIINNNN! AAAARRRRRHHHHH!" "How terrible. It must have been hard on you." "YES, YES IT WAS! MY, MY RESEARCH IS SO CLOSE! SO CLOSE, SO CLOSE, BUT IF I DON''T FINISH IT, I''LL, I''LL BE EXCOMMU-, EXCOMMUNICATEEDDD...!" "What, how could they!" "SH-, SHIT, SO USELESS, SO USELEESSSS!" The man in the labcoat rushes towards the chained up monster and kicks it violently. Again and again, he kicks it and stomps on it. The monster simply curls up and does not react. "Weren''t you going to draw my blood?" "Oh right, oh right, your blood, as long as I have your blood I can finish...!" "Isn''t that great?" The man picks up the contraption and sticks the needle into Alexia''s arm. "With this, with this! I can finish, I won''t be excommunicated!" "Please do it painlessly, ok?" ''Otherwise I''d want to punch you,'' adds Alexia inside her mind. The needle enters Alexia''s arm. Alexia looks on like it''s someone else''s business as the glass container is gradually filled with red blood. "Hihi, hihihi..." When the glass container is fully filled, the man cradles it with utmost care and leaves the room. Alexia waits for the door to close before heaving a long sigh. Everything was for the sake of this day. Tw days after my release from the knights, I am in my dorm room, sorting through my power in shadows collection and picking out what I can use. Cigar... it''ll be a long while yet until when I would be of the appropriate age to use it well. Vintage wine... this is a rare one from Portau in southwestern France that is worth 900,000 Zeny. Good, this is just right for the moonless night tonight. Which means I need the ultimate glass to go with this... ah yes, the only glass made by Vuitton. This is also French-made, and costed me 45,000 Zeny. Then there''s also this antique lamp... and this... this too... oh right, and this legendary painting called ''The Scream'' that I had coincidentally picked up that time. It goes on the wall like so, and... ahh, perfect. My heart feels so full. Bandit hunting and crawling on the ground picking up gold coins was all for the sake of this. I shed a tear of admiration for this room that I had decorated with the very best items from my collection. The coup de grace is this invitation that I had received just today. Then all that''s left to do is to wait. I continue waiting, for that moment. Waiting. Waiting... Waiting in suspense! Until... Finally! The moment the girl clad in black comes in through the window, I open my mouth. "The time has come... Tonight shall belong to the world of shadows..." Verily, everything was for the sake of this very day! 16 Currently Writing the Complete Version of ‘The War Chronicles of Shadow-sama’ "The time has come... Tonight shall belong to the world of shadows..." Those were the words that greeted Beta the moment she got to Shadow''s place. Shadow is sitting in a chair with his legs crossed and his back to Beta. The back looks defenseless, but Beta knows that it is the furthest thing in the world. In his hand is a wine glass glittering under the light of an antique lamp. And the wine that he is drinking without a care... even Beta, who knows almost nothing about wine, recognizes the label as one of the most precious in the world. Beta is shocked at seeing the various first grade items decorating the room, until she notices the painting on the wall. It is Munch''s ''The Scream.'' It is known as a phantom treasure that cannot be attained regardless of how much wealth one is willing to offer. Beta almost wanted to ask how on earth he got his hands on it... but then realized that there would be no meaning in such a question. Because it is him. That''s why. That single phrase is more than sufficient explanation in and of itself. The fact that he owns ''The Scream'' feels only natural. More like, it could be said that there is no one in the entire world more fitting to own this item. "The world of shadows. It''s true that with the moon hidden, tonight is indeed a world most fitting for us." Says Beta. Shadow gives Beta a single glance, then only brings the glass to his lips again. "All the preparation is ready." "I see." He already knows everything. So sagacious is his voice, that Beta feels herself almost hallucinating so. Actually, he most definitely already knows everything that Beta will tell him now. But even so, Beta will say them. For this is her mission. "Under Alpha-sama''s order, everyone nearby who could move have been gathered in the royal capital. Our total number is 114." "114?" "...!" Is it too few? Considering Shadow Garden''s battle strength, this should be sufficient though. But... no. Beta realizes that she has misunderstood. 114 random riff raff would, in the end, be but supporting actors. In truth, the ones who truly matter are not even 10% of that number. And tonight, he is the main character. The moment she realizes that the role of the supporting actors is to show up the main character, then 114 is truly, truly too little. "W-, we''re so so-...!" "Extras, huh." His words cut off Beta''s apology. What is an ''extra''? Beta does not understand the meaning of that word. "No matter. Don''t mind it, that was just me talking to myself." "Yes, my lord." Beta knows better than to ask any further. Every single thing he says contains meaning so deep that Beta cannot even imagine how far it goes. She has neither the privilege nor the strength to ask. But, still. One day, she will stand next to him, and she will be strong enough to support him in everything he does. That goal is what fuels Beta''s very being. One day. For the sake of that day. Beta continues speaking. "The strategy is to simultaneously attack all hideouts of the Fenrir branch of the Order of Diabolos that are scattered across the royal capital. While attacking, we will also search for Princess Alexia''s magic signature. The moment her position is confirmed, we will immediately change gears towards her protection and extraction." Shadow only nods, as an indication for her to continue. "Overall command will be handled by Gamma, but the on-scene command will be taken by Alpha-sama, with me as support. Epsilon will be in charge of logistical support, and Delta will spearhead the attacks and initiate the start signal. The composition of each squad is..." Before Beta goes into further detail, Shadow raises one hand to stop her. In his hand is a single piece of paper. "It''s an invitation." After catching the letter that was thrown her way, she reads it as instructed. "This is..." An invitation that was written so badly that it makes Beta both exasperated and furious. "I''m sorry for Delta, but... I will be the one to play the prelude." "Yes, my lord. I will make the arrangements." "Come along, Beta." So saying, he turns around. "Tonight, the world shall learn of our existence..." Beta is shivering with the delight of being allowed to fight by his side. The place written on the invitation is a spot deep inside the woods, close to where Princess Alexia was abducted. Shadow approaches in his school uniform. Beta is hidden a slight distance away, keeping her presence suppressed. After a short while, two new presences draw near. Then something suddenly flies towards Shadow. Catching it with one hand, he takes a look at it, then mutters. "This... is Alexia''s shoe, huh." At which point. The figures of two men step out onto the woodland path. "Hey there, lady-killer. What are you doing, holding Princess Alexia''s shoe and standing there?" "A~h, now your magic signature is all over it. You are the culprit, Sid Kagenou." The two men are wearing the Knight Order''s equipment. Without mistake, these two are the ones who had interrogated Sid. "I see, so that''s the way you''re doing this." "Yep, this is the way we''re doing this." The knights don''t even make an effort to refute Sid''s words, only smirking in return. "If you had only confessed earlier, then we wouldn''t have had to go to all this trouble, you know?" "And you would also have been able to get through everything without having to suffer all that pain." The two unsheath their swords, then immediately charge towards him without warning. How foolish... Beta finds herself struck dumb at the foolishness of these two. "Well then, Sid Kagenou. We need to detain you on suspicion of kidnapping the princess." "Don''t bother resisting, there''d be no point." One of them is laughing while thrusting his sword towards Sid. At that moment. "O?" Sid stops the sword with two fingers, after which there is a flash of light. Sid''s left leg had just barely touched the man''s neck. But blood spurts out from that neck. And there is now a jet black blade dripping with blood extending from Sid''s left foot. "Ah... ah...h...!!" The man collapses while clasping his neck. It won''t be long till he dies. "YOU FUCKER, WHAT DID YOU DO?!" The other man slashes at Sid in a fluster. But his attacks are too simple, too crude. Sid evades by merely tilting his head, then kicks the man''s leg in exchange. Everything below the man''s knee is suddenly gone. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!" The man screams while clutching onto the knee that is fountaining blood. "My l-, MY LEEGGGG!!" Then he begins crawling on the ground, desperately trying to distance himself from Sid. "You bastard, don''t think you can get away with doing something like this to us knights...! If, if we die, you will be the one that everyone suspects first!" Sid only quietly walks along the path of blood painted by the man crawling on the ground. "Hii, hiiii...! Y-, you''re finished...! Finished, I say...!" The man continues crawling in an unsightly manner, fueled by pure desperation. "When night lifts... your two bodies will be found." "Y-, yea, when day comes you''ll be finished...!" The man crawls on the ground, while Sid walks on the trail of blood. "But there is nothing to fear." It was a mere moment. The man suddenly realizes that Sid has already caught up. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Hii!" Sid''s left foot flashes. "When night lifts... everything will be finished." The man''s head flies through the air. With the fountain of blood in the background, Sid turns around. Beta cannot help but to shiver at the sight. The Sid wearing his school uniform is no longer there. In his place is Shadow in pure black. Jet black bodysuit and jet black boots. In his hand is a jet black blade, and his jet black longcoat flutters in the wind. With the hood of his long coat pulled forward, the top of his face is hidden in shadows, revealing only the bottom half. And even that face is covered with a magician''s mask, such that the only visible part of his actual face is the red eyes glowing within the darkness. Beta almost faints at the sight of that imposing and beautiful figure, but gathers herself together and takes out, from between her cleavage, the the memopad of the book that she is writing, The War Chronicles of Shadow-sama. With a shubabababa, her pencil flies over the paper as a sketch takes form. Right beside the sketch, she adds today''s Shadow-sama''s analects. All done in merely 5 seconds. This is a digression, but in Beta''s room, there is a whole wall covered with sketches of Shadow-sama and compilations of his analects. Penning the War Chronicles of Shadow-sama before going to sleep is Beta''s irreplaceable enjoyment. Then, suddenly the sound of an explosion echoes from afar, drawing Beta back to reality. "Delta, huh... the nocturne has begun. Beta, let''s go." "Yes, my lord! Right away!" Beta shoves the memopad back into her cleavage, then hurries after him. Of course, he knows nothing about this magnum opus that she is working on. 17 Fragment of Diabolos! Squish! "Wh-, who are you, what have we ever done to you?!?!" Sea of blood. So shouts a man in a place truly fitting of that phrase. ''That'' had come all too suddenly. Without prior notice, without any explanation, suddenly busting a hole through the wall and beginning to massacre everyone. Just now, one more fell to that jet black blade. Not a single person has anymore intention of fighting ''That.'' The only thing in their hearts is the thought of escape. But the sole exit is behind ''That.'' "What the hell did we ever do to you guys?! Nothing, we did nothing!" ''That'' turns towards the man... and sneers. "Hiii...!" Even though the face of ''That'' is hidden behind a jet black mask, the man can almost palpitably feel its complete disregard for his life. "Please s-, save me...!" The man''s body vertically splits into two. Bisected from the crown of his head to his crotch, spraying blood everywhere while falling down. ''That'' stands unmoving, blissfully bathing in the shower of blood. Its figure is female, but its appearance is truly that of a demon. ''That'' looks around and, upon noticing that there are only very few prey left, extends its sword. The jet black sword extended. Not in the metaphorical sense, but literally. It even stabbed into the opposing wall. ''That'' gives its sword a big swing. "No, NO, N-...!" Everything, even the building itself, was cut through. "So it has begun." Atop a clock tower, a beautiful elf watches on as an entire building is severed like a joke and subsequently collapses. Her golden blond hair flows in the wind, sparkling in the dark of night. "Delta... that girl always goes too far." She sighs, and shakes her head. But there''s no helping what''s done. Alpha looks over the entire royal capital from the clock tower. At which moment, flurried movement erupts throughtout the entire royal capital. Exactly according to plan, everything has been set in motion. But most of the attention has been drawn towards the building that Delta had cut apart. "It is a fact that thanks to Delta, it will be easier for the others to move, but still..." As long as all the collateral damage is ignored, then it can be said that she has completed her mission with a perfect score. "It''s about time for me to move out as well." So murmuring, Alpha covers her face with her jet black mask. The outside is very noisy. Alexia opens her eyes. The only people who come into this room are the man in a labcoat and the woman who takes care of her needs. In her position of being bound to the pedestal by all four limbs, there''s really nothing else for Alexia to do than to sleep. As for her monster roommate, the two of them have an unspoken mutual non-interference agreement, so they get along alright. The tumult outside gradually grows in noise, until it reaches the level where Alexia can tell that there is some fighting going on. Alexia smiles in expectation of rescue. "Can they perhaps bust through the wall with a big bang?" So whispers Alexia with no particular reason. She probably just has quite a bit of stress built up. She shakes her chains hard to make them ring, even while knowing that such an action would be of no meaning. At which time. "Oh, I''m sorry, I must have woken you up." The monster next to her raises its head. "But I think you might want to stay awake for this. I''m sure it''s going to get fun." Though Alexia knows that she would get no reply, she still couldn''t help but to speak to it. Boredom makes people go mad. After a short while, she hears the door being unlocked. And it is in a hurried, unsettled manner too. "Shit, shit!!" Labcoat man opens the door with force and rushes in. "Good day, isn''t it? How do you do?" "Just a little more. I WAS SO SO CLOSE!!" The man ignores Alexia''s clearly sarcastic greeting. "Th-, they came!! They came for me!! It''s over, everything is over...!" "I advise you to give up, resistance is useless. If you release me from my chains, I''d help to ask them to spare your life at least." ''But only ask,'' adds Alexia silently. "L-, like they''ll let me go...! D-, dead, everyone is dead! Th-, they are killing everyone!!" "The Knight Order won''t indiscriminately kill people without reason. If you don''t resist, then they won''t take your life." ''Since when have the been so nice?'' Alexia laughs at her own lie inside her mind. "Knight Order? What do I care about the Knight Order! N-, no, they''re killing everyone! Everyone!!" "It''s not the Knight Order?" If that''s true, then who is it? No, there is the possibility that this man is just confused. "Either way, you''re finished. Just give up." "No, th-, this cannot be! No, no, no, No, NO, NO, NONONONONO!! I... as long as I finish this!!" Tearing at his hair, the man then turns his bloodshot eyes towards the monster. "P-, prototype, right! W-, with this, even a failure l-, like you can be of use!" With that, he picks up a contraption with a needle, which he inserts into the monster''s arm. "I think you probably shouldn''t do that. I''m getting a really bad premonition." So says Alexia in a serious tone. Of course the man ignores her and injects some sort of fluid into the monster''s arm through the needle. "Be-, behold! This is a F-, Fragment of Diabolos!!" "Oh, fun." Almost immediately, the monster''s body rapidly swells up. Its muscles begin to fill out at a visible rate, and even its bones begin to lengthen. Its originally thick left arm turns even more fiendish, even more sinister, and the claws attached to it grow to the size of a human foot. Its right arm, however, remains unchanged in both size and position, still making it look as if it is cradling something to its chest. The monsters lets loose a high-pitched roar. "H-, how wonderful! How splendid!!!" "This... is shocking indeed." But of course, the monster''s restraints were unable to withstand the monster''s sudden gain in size. With a clang, the chain ring around the monster''s neck snaps open and flies off. "And that is precisely why I warned you to stop!" And then, squish. The man wearing the labcoat was smashed into a pulp by the monster''s left arm. "Well then." Alexia and the monster stare at each other. Alexia is paying full attention to the monster''s movements. Having all four limbs restrained, the things that Alexia can do are extremely limited. But the list of options is not entirely empty. She has no intention of dying from being mere collateral due to someone else''s idiocy. The monster brandishes its left arm. Immediately, Alexia twists her body as far as she can. As long as she avoids a fatal strike...! "...!" The monster''s left arm misses Alexia, and instead pulverizes the pedestal under her. The shockwave still hits her though, slamming her against the far wall and leaving her groaning with the pain. "Guh...!" But none of her bones are broken, and none of her wounds are serious. She can still move. After confirming her own physical condition, Alexia quickly stands back up. But. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. The monster is no longer here. The destroyed pedestal, and busted wall. "Could it be... that it helped me?" Even though Alexia could not move, the blow had still missed. But if that''s so... no, there is the possibility that it had just mis-aimed. "Anyways." Alexia searches for the key for her shackles from the squashed pile that used to be the labcoat man, then frees herself. Finally, she can use magic again. After stretching her body a few times to warm up, she exits through the hole left behind by the monster. It is a dim hallway. The soldiers that the monster seem to have killed by running over are lying in heaps on top of each other. "Guess you won''t be needing this sword anymore." Alexia seizes a mithril sword from one of the corpses. It''s a cheap mass produced item, but it would have to do for now. (T/N: Wow a world where mithril is cheap.) She continues proceeding down the corridor, until she turns a corner. "Oh dear, this cannot do. Things would get quite troublesome if you escape." "Y-, you, why are you here?!" Alexia''s eyes open wide in shock. 18 Keep Watching from Below the Stage ''What on earth is happening?'' Iris is dashing through the royal capital at full speed in the dead of night, her red hair fluttering after her. A building was cut. She doubted her ears when such a report came to her. But while heading towards the scene torn between belief and disbelief, successive reports reached her continuously. Large scale attacks are occurring simultaneously all over the royal capital. It did not take long to draw such a conclusion. But problem is, the targets of attack share no point of commonality that they can determine. A trading firm, a warehouse, an eatery, a noble''s private residence... the fact that these attacks were premediated is clear to see, but their aim is unclear. But it is actual fact that the entire royal capital is currently shaking. All members of the Knight Order have been dispatched as emergency response, and the evacuation of important people are underway. Many citizens are watching from their windows despite the late hour, and not few of them are even approaching the attack sites in curiosity. Iris continues rushing towards the biggest scene, all while shouting at any citizens she passes by to return to their homes. This is definitely no simple incident. Iris'' intuition is telling her so. Then abruptly. A scream reaches Iris'' ears. "M-, monster! It''s a monster, we need reinfor-...!!" It is a knight''s voice. He is not far. Iris changes her direction and heads straight for the origin of that scream. She turns the corner, takes an alleyway, then comes out onto a main avenue... a monster is there. A gigantic, ugly monster. It is swinging around its bloated, bloodstained left claw, reducing the nearby knights into meat patties. "What is this...?!" Though surprised, Iris does not stop moving. "Fall back!" Unsheathing in a flowing motion, followed by a flash of white in the darkness that runs through the monster''s torso. All the way through. The huge monster was cut down, just like that. "Are you all alright?" Not even bothering to look at the falling monster behind her, Iris immediately addresses the knights. "Thank you for saving us, Iris-sama!" "As expected of Iris-sama! To bring down such a monster with only one swing!" All of the knights turn out to be largely unscathed. The ones that are still alive, that is. "We lost 8 men." Only one blow per person, that''s all it took. Iris'' wine-red eyes are shaking at the sight of their gruesome corpses. "You all go on ahead and retrieve the remains. I will report to your squad lea-..." "IRIS-SAMA!" Abruptly, one of the knights raises a shout. The others also point behind her with voiceless shouts. "Wha-...!" Iris brandishes her sword even while turning. At which time, her sword clashes with the monster''s left arm. "Kuh...!" Finding herself being pushed back, she immediately releases an enormous amount of magic to reinforce herself, which gives her enough strength to fully receive the blow. Riding the momentum, she dashes into the monster''s chest and severs its legs. Keeping her eye fully affixed on the monster this time, she retreats from its maai. The very next moment, the monster''s left arm mows through her previous position, flying past so closely that the wind pressure severs several strands of her red hair. "It is regenerating...?" The bisecting wound that she had inflicted earlier is already nowhere to be seen, and its legs are also already regenerating at a visible rate. "Impossible... to be cut in half by Iris-sama but still regenerating..." "You''re joking, right...?" "All of you, fall back." Iris calls out to the shaken knights while stepping forward to receive the monster''s follow up attack. That attack has speed, has strength, and has weight. But it is too simplistic. "A mere monster in the end." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. There is no mercy in Iris'' counterattack. Cutting up its arms, severing its legs, and detaching its head Her attacks rain upon the monster in unceasing fashion, as if to say "if you can regenerate this, then let''s see you do it!" in brazen challenge. No resistance is allowed. The monster can only stand in place and be one-sidedly cut up. But, even with that. "You''re still regenerating?" The monster still lives. Taking advantage of a brief moment between Iris'' attacks, it brandishes its left arm, forcing Iris to jump back. Then. It lifts its face towards the night sky and lets out a high-pitched roar. Almost as if in the response, the empty, black sky begins to rain. It starts off as a drizzle. Then gradually it grows heavier, causing white steam to raise up wherever the rainwater comes into contact with the monster''s blood. "Seems this is going to take a while..." Iris gives up on a quick conclusion, and readjusts her stance while deciding on how to fight. She does not think she will lose. In fact, up till this point, Iris has yet to feel even once the possibility of her losing. However, this seems like it''ll take quite some time. Bringing her sword up, Iris once again dashes towards the monster. But at that moment. With a shrill sound, Iris finds her sword flying out of her hands. It was because of a blow so heavy that even her hands have gone numb. After a sideways glance at her beloved sword flying far away behind her, Iris glares at the sudden interloper. The interloper also gives Iris a look. Their eyes clash. It is the interloper who first breaks the silence. "Why can''t you see that she is just in pain? And that all you are doing is torturing her?" It is a female wearing a jet black bodysuit. Her face is hidden, but her voice sounds young. "Who are you?" With her guard up all the way, Iris shifts herself so that she can see both the monster and the interloper at the same time. "Alpha." After that single word, the female turns her back on Iris, as if having lost all interest in her. "Wait a moment. What do you plan to do? If you are an enemy of the Knight Order, then we will show you no mer-..." " ''Enemy''...?" Alpha cuts off Iris'' words and laughs without turning around. It is a laugh full of ridicule. " ''Enemy''... To think that the princess would be capable of such a joke. To mention the word despite not knowing anything... know your presumptiousness." "What did you say...!" Iris'' magic swells up. The almost explosive increases causes a wave that blows away even the rain and raises a wind. But Alpha does not spare even a glance. She still has her back to Iris. "The audience should just keeping watching from below the stage like the audience they are and not get in our way." Leaving behind only these words, she begins walking towards the monster. There is no hostility in her back profile. It is clear that Iris is not even in her mind anymore. " ''Audience''..." Clenching her still numb fists, Iris can do nothing aside from silently glaring at that dismissive back. "You poor thing. It must have hurt a lot, didn''t it?" Alpha continues walking towards the monster while talking to it. "You no longer have to suffer. Neither do you have to be sad." Her jet black blade extends. To a length greater than''s Alpha''s own height. "That''s why, don''t cry anymore, ''k?" Then with the most natural of movements, she takes one more step forward, and the monster''s body is bisected again. No one could react. Not Iris, not even the monster, could do anything before it was cut. It was all too natural. There was no killing intent. The cut seemed to have simply manifested as if it was the most natural thing in the world. The large body collapses. The rain comes into contact with its blood, raising a huge plume of white smoke. The body itself shrinks, until it reaches the size of a young girl. Then from its right hand, a short sword falls out. It is a short sword inset with a red jewel. ''To My Beloved Daughter, Emilia'' That was carved into the handle. "I pray... that you find peace in your next life." So saying, Alpha disappears into the white smoke. Thunder roars in the distance. Iris simply stands dumbstruck. The falling rain flows along over her hair and her face. But her body is shivering. Iris does not know the meaning of this shivering. "Alexia..." So whispers Iris. Her little sister is in the middle of this entire incident. Iris'' intuition is telling her so. "Alexia, please be safe..." Coming back to her senses, Iris picks up her sword, then runs off. The rain continues to fall heavily. 19 Far Off Memory "Y-, you, why are you here?!" Upon turning a corner, Alexia finds before her a face that she is quite familiar with. "There''s no ''why'' about it. This facility is mine, after all. I made an investment in that man. That''s all there is to it." Blond hair, a well-featured face, and that confident smile. It is none other than Zenon-sensei. "What a relief. I''ve always though that you must have some screws loose in your head. Feels good to be proven right." So says Alexia while slowly backing up, one step at a time. Behind Zenon is a flight of stairs. Most likely, that is the way out. "Is that so? I don''t care what you feel though. All I want is your blood." "Every single person here keeps going on and on about blood. Are you guys researching vampires in here?" "For you, it might be something similar." "Wasn''t actually hoping for an answer. I have zero interest in the occult." "Thought as much." "I''m sure you already know, but the Knight Order will arrive very soon. You''re already finished." "Finished? Exactly what is it of mine that would be finished?" Zenon''s smile is the same as ever. "Your social status and prestige will be ripped from you, and of course your life too. I''ll drop the guillotine blade for you." "See, that''s not gonna happen. Because you and I will be escaping through an escape tunnel. Together." "Wow, what a romantic invitation. But unfortunately, I hate your very guts." "Oh, you will come with me. With your blood and my experiments, the 12th Seat of the Rounds will be mine. The status of such a position is like heaven and earth in comparison to a worthless position like ''Swordsmanship Instructor.'' " " ''Rounds''? Is that what you and your group of crazy friends call yourselves?" "Twelve knights recognized and chosen by the Order, ''Knights of Rounds.'' Status, prestige, and wealth, everything will come to my hands at a rate incomparable to anything before. My strength has already been acknowledged. The only thing that I have left to do is to present a tangible achievement, but that will soon be cleared too, courtesy of your blood and my research." (T/N: Yep this naming is a reference to the Knights of the Round Table. But the author even used katakana to indicate that he wants them to be called Knights of Rounds, so I''m going to stick with that.) Zenon spreads his hands theatrically and laughs. "Really couldn''t care less. More like, I''m getting tired of this stupid conversation about blood." "To be honest, if I could choose, I''d have preferred Princess Iris'' blood, but I suppose I''ll have to make do with yours." "I will fucking kill you." "Oh, pardon, you dislike being compared to your sister, right?" "...!" Alexia''s flare of killing intent turns into the starting bell of their fight. Her sword flies straight to Zenon''s neck, but... "Ooooo, so scary." It is repelled by Zenon at the last possible moment. Then he also proceeds to handle Alexia''s follow up attacks. The two swords collide violently again and again, filling the air with sparks. Just by looking at the exchange of blows and the two swords dancing through the air, it can perhaps be said that the two are equal. However, the facial expression of the two are in sharp contrast. Alexia''s is grim, while Zenon''s is a relaxed smile. Sure enough, the one at a disadvantage is Alexia. After a soft click of the tongue, Alexia retreats from Zenon''s maai. "In the short time that I haven''t seen you, it seems that you''ve changed to using a rather cheap sword." What Zenon is looking at is Alexia''s sword. Alexia also looks at it, albeit with a bitter expression. Although it hasn''t been long since the start of the fight, her blade is already chipped in numerous places. "Masters don''t choose their sword, right?" Alexia decides to put up a strong front. "That''s true. Actual masters, that is." Zenon scoffs. "But you, you are a commoner. That I can guarantee, as the Swordsmanship Instructor." Alexia''s face visibly distorts. For a split second, she looks close to tears, then the next moment it is all wiped away by a fierce anger. "Then you keep looking. Whether or not I am a commoner." With another flare of killing intent, she dives back into the fray. Alexia knows. She knows that even if she fights Zenon with normal circumstances, she wouldn''t win. And now, her weapon is even a cheap, mass-produced sword. It will not last long. However, Alexia has not been swinging her sword everyday for nothing. With her sister as a goal, she has been analyzing her own shortcomings, and pouring in effort to overcome them. And she has also seen her sister''s sword up close far more than anyone else. She is already capable of flawlessly tracing a tiny bit of her sister''s sword. Which is why she can easily pull off this move. "HaaaAAAAHHH!" That one attack truly resembled that of her sister''s. "...!" For the first time, the smile is wiped off of Zenon''s face. He is also forced to inject magic into his sword. The two swords meet in a violent clash, then bounce back from the recoil. The two were equal... no. It was Alexia who had come out slightly on top in that exchange. There is a single red line left on Zenon''s face. With a surprised face, Zenon traces the cut with a finger, then confirms the redness on his finger. "I''m surprised." It is pure and simple praise, with no hidden meanings at all. "I truly did not expect you to be hiding something like this." Zenon continues gazing at his finger in different angles, as if to confirm the color of his blood. "I will make you regret it if you underestimate me." "Kuku." However, the smile is back on Zenon''s face. "I am indeed surprised. But I am only surprised. In the end, it is merely a mimicry. This is far too removed from the original." Zenon shakes his head. "You sure know how to talk." "Since we''re at it, how about I get a bit serious?" So saying, he takes a stance with his sword. "...!" The very air around them changes. The magic surrounding Zenon qualitatively becomes sharper and more condensed. "Allow me to say this beforehand. Up to now, I have never once gotten serious in front of outsiders. What you will now see is my true sword, and is also the strength of someone who will soon become a member of the Rounds." Then the air shakes. "This..." The very dimension that they are on is too far apart. This strike contains far more power than Alexia has ever seen Zenon pour into his sword. Genius and commoner... the gap between the two is too vast. The unbridgeable distance causes Alexia to despair. She acknowledges that this man''s strength might even be enough to match her sister. Alexia has no way to defend herself from the blade speeding towards her with overwhelming pressure. It is only due to her many years of training that at least her body''s muscle memory kicks in. However, there is no clash. Sword meets sword... then Alexia''s sword simply shatters into pieces. Alexia feels herself looking at those glittering fragments flying through the air as if it is somebody else''s business. As if she is looking on from far away. The far off memories from her childhood, when she had been swinging her sword because it was so fun, flashes through her mind. And her sister had always been right beside her. These are memories from so long ago that she had already forgotten them. "You cannot be like your sister." A single tear falls from the corner of Alexia''s eye. "You will come with me now." From her hand falls what is now a mere handle. It makes a dry rattle upon hitting the ground. Then at that moment. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Katsu. Katsu. A sound of footsteps rings out from behind Zenon. Katsu. Katsu. Katsu. Someone is coming down the stairs. When the sound finally stops... A man wearing a jet black coat is there. 20 sI AM……” Clad in jet black from head to toe, deep hood pulled forward, face hidden behind a magician''s mask. The man walks forward composedly, until finally stopping a step away from Zenon''s maai. "The Black-Cloaked One... So you are the stray dog who has been barings fangs against the Order as of late." With a sharp glint in his eyes, Zenon glares at the man. "My name is Shadow. I lurk in the shadows, and I hunt the shadows..." It is a voice so deep and so low that it almost seems to be emanating from the bottom of an abyss. "I see. You might be feeling full of yourself after crushing several of our small hideouts, but I shall enlighten you. In the hideouts that you''ve crushed, there hasn''t been a single person truly important to the Order. In other words, you are merely a coward who only targets the small fries." For some reason, the man who called himself Shadow is enemies with Zenon. For Alexia, this is great news. However, she can''t imagine this man being her ally either. "Who I hunt, and where I hunt, it is all the same." "Unfortunately, it is not all the same. A core power of the Order is here. Today, you will be the one to be hunted. Such is your fate." Zenon turns his sword towards Shadow. "I am Zenon Griphi, the person who will soon become the 12th Seat of the Rounds. Taking your life shall become my achievement!" Then he flies towards Shadow with the force of a hurricane. However. Shadow''s figure disappears, causing Zenon''s thrust to pierce through empty air. "Wha-...?!" Immediately afterwards, Shadow is standing behind Zenon. In a mere moment, his back had already been compromised. He cannot move. As if forgetting about the flow of time, Zenon holds his sword still, and even stops breathing, concentrating every last drop of his concentration towards his back. No one moves. Indeed, Shadow is only standing back to back with Zenon. With his arms crossed, no less. Then comes a single question. "So, this core power or whatever... where is he?" Zenon''s face distorts with the burning humiliation. Immediately, he turns round with a sharp mowing attack. But there is no longer anyone there. "How cou-...?!" The rustle of a coat flutter turns his head. He realizes that Shadow is now standing in his original position, looking as if nothing had happened. Even as someone looking from the outside, Alexia could not catch what had happened. If there was no trickery or contrivance involved, then that would mean this man is someone of quite some skill... no, one could even call him an aberrance. Zenon pushes down his shaken heart, and slowly turns around. "It seems that I had underestimated you a bit. Though they were small, it seems that you do indeed possess the strength to destroy several of our hideouts." This time, he has his guard up, and boosts himself with magic before facing Shadow again. The magic gathered around him is making the air vibrate. And at a scale much larger than that attack that he had used to shatter Alexia''s sword. Shadow is certainly powerful. However, Zenon is no pushover either. Growing up amidst the furor of being called a wonder child, having taken the championship of several tournaments, until finally climbing to the position of Swordsmanship Instructor. In this country, there is no swordsman who doesn''t know the name of Zenon Griphi. "I shall show you. This is the strength of someone a mere step away from becoming a member of the Rounds." So fast...! Alexia''s eyes could only barely catch up with Zenon''s sword. The white blade cleaves the air, flying straight towards Shadow''s neck. However. "What a dull sword..." With a jet black blade that he seem to have drawn out of nowhere, he easily receives Zenon''s attack. "Kuh...!" Zenon tries to lock their swords together into a pushing contest. But Shadow instead lets all the strength out of his sword and uses Zenon''s momentum to fling him away. "Fuh...!" The last possible moment before smashing into the wall, Zenon performs an ukemi, then he recovers his stance. But the disturbance in his heart is now clear on his face. Neither of them move. For Shadow, he is simply choosing not to move. For Zenon, he cannot move. Because he is under the illusion that every single one of his moves has been sealed. "Not coming, Rounds-wannabe?" "..!" Zenon''s face is dyed with rage. Anger towards his opponent, but even more than that, anger towards himself. "DON''T YOU DARE TO BELITTLE ME!!!!!" Along with his roar, he swings his sword. Thrusts with the speed of a hurricane. Continuous slashes with the fierceness of a raging fire. But. Not a single attack lands. "AAAAaaaaaaaAAAAHHHHHHH!!" His battlecry echoes around the room emptily. It is almost like a practice session between an adult and a child. Alexia watches this fight with enormous shock. Has Zenon ever cut such a sorry figure before? With both his composed smile and his mask of being a person of character ripped off, but still he cannot reach. The strongest existence that Alexia knows is her sister. But even her sister would not be able to deal with Zenon so handily. Kan. Kan. Kan. The sword sounds ringing out are so light as to be out of place here. It is unmistakably the sound of a practice session. The jet black and white swords draw their arcs through the air. Before she knew it, Alexia found herself mesmerized by the fight. She is drawn deeper and deeper into the jet black blade, unable to tear her eyes away. Why? Because it is... "The commoner''s sword..." It is the appearance of what lies beyond Alexia''s own sword. It is the perfected state of the ideal sword that Alexia had been spending all her time thinking up. This is the sword for those without talent, without strength, without speed C a sword that can be reached solely by the accumulation of pure effort. But her sword was compared to her sister''s and branded ''the commoner''s sword,'' causing Alexia to lose her way. Despite that, she couldn''t bring herself to give up on it. That ''commoner''s sword'' is now completely repressing the genius Zenon Griphi. "Amazing..." Alexia likes this sword. By looking at someone''s sword, you can see that path that they had trodden. This sword is earnest and straightforward, a sword built up bit by bit. Is it possible that her sister had been thinking the same thing? "Nee-sama..." Now, she feels like she finally understands her sister''s words from that day. "Gah... sh-, shit...!" Zenon''s body flies through the air, then crashes down. It is already the nth time. Zenon glares at Shadow while breathing heavily. His rage-filled eyes show that he still cannot accept this reality. "Y-, you bastard, who are you...! Why do you hide yourself when you already possess such strength!" With Shadow''s strength, wealth and fame is but a fingertip away. And his strength would be known and feared across the world. But no one has ever heard of Shadow''s sword. Even if he hides his face, those who''ve seen his sword only once would never be able to forget it. But today is the first day that both Zenon and Alexia learned of the existence of someone with such strength in the sword. "We are Shadow Garden. We lurk in the shadows, and hunt the shadows. That is all we live for..." "Are you in your right mind?!" Zenon''s and Shadow''s gazes clash. Alexia is completely a mere bystander by this point. Why are these two fighting? She doesn''t know either one''s reason nor aim. Blood. Demon. And Order. There are several keywords that she''s already heard. But she is not able to connect the dots into a complete picture. Perhaps it''s only the ravings of deluded lunatics. But, what if. What if it is not mere ravings. What if, in the shadows of this world, there is something of great enormity happening beyond Alexia''s knowledge. "V-, very well. Since you are serious about this, then I shall answer in turn." So saying, Zenon takes out a red lozenge from his chest pocket. "This lozenge can turn people into people who''ve crossed the limits of being human. We call them the Awakened. However, normal people are unable to properly control such power, and thus would self-destruct and die. But the Rounds are different. Only those capable of fully controlling that overwhelming power can be admitted into the Rounds." Zenon swallows the lozenge in a breath. And then. "Awakened, 3rd." Magic rips around as a roaring squall. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. All of Zenon''s injuries heal in a split second. His muscles tighten, his pupils turn bloodshot, and his capillaries bulge out. The weight of the power is so overwhelming that it seems it would crush anything in its way. "I will show you the power of the world''s strongest." Says Zeno with the composed smile back on his face. Without doubt, the current Zenon is far stronger than even Princess Iris. In the face of such power, Alexia would have curled up and despaired. That is, if she hadn''t come to learn of Shadow''s sword. For the current Alexia, Zenon''s current appearance is far from the title of ''the strongest.'' Rather... "So terrible..." "How terrible..." Alexia''s and Shadow''s voice overlapped. The sword sought by the two of them are the same. Therefore, their sentiment is the same. "Terrible, you say...?" So asks Zenon, the smile gone from his face. "Don''t pretend to be the strongest with that mere level of strength. It is an affront to the truly strong." "You fucker!" "There is no path towards that title that involves reliance on borrowed power." For the first time today, Shadow''s magic gathers. Up to now, he has used only almost insignificant amounts of it. Shadow''s magic condenses. It becomes so condensed that it can almost no longer be sensed. But, just, what is this. That rising magic is taking on the appearance of violet lines. Numerous extremely, extremely thin strands. Like lightning, like blood vessels, it surrounds Shadow, painting an exquisite design. "So pretty..." Alexia is enchanted by the sight. Enchanted not by the beauty of the light, but by the beauty of the density of the refined magic. Enchanted to the point of yearning. "What, is this..." Zenon is shocked once again. He has never seen anyone use magic in this form. "What true strength really is... burn it into your eyes." Magic gathers into the jet black blade and carves out a pattern. It is a spiral that sucks in even more magic. It is almost as if everything in the world is being sucked towards that spiral. A terrifying amount of power now rests within that blade. "This is my strongest." Shadow raises his sword into a stance. It is the stance of a thrust. It is a stance solely for the sake of a thrust. "D-, don''t..." What is shaking with that rattling sound? Is it the earth? Is it the air? Is it Zenon? No... it is all of them. Everything is shaking. Alexia realizes that she, too, is shaking. But she is not afraid. Rather, she is ecstatic. For this is her final destination. This... is the sword of the strongest. "Behold..." The jet black sword clad in light is drawn back... "Secret Technique: I AM ATOMIC." ... and then released. Sound disappeared. The torrent of light swallows Zenon, then rushes past Alexia. It pierces through the wall, the earth, everything. It pierces, swallows, then soars into the sky. And then... it explodes. A pattern of light is seared into the night sky, casting a violet shade over the entire royal capital. From far, far away... a violent wind reaches the capital belatedly. It instantaneously disperses all the rain clouds, shakes every house, shakes the earth, and then passes by. The only thing left in its wake is a bright starry sky and the full moon. Zenon was vaporized, with not even an atom left. The hole bored through the wall continues all the way to aboveground. And then... With a flip of his coat, Shadow fades back into the shadows. Previously, there was a man who challenged the nuke. The man trained his body, his mentality, and his techniques. But the nuke was simply too far away, too high up. But he did not give up. At the end of his training of madness, he arrived at the answer. Question: How can I not be vaporized by a nuke? Answer: I simply have to BE a nuke. Thus from the simple chain of inspiration was born the ultimate Secret Technique: ''I AM ATOMIC.'' How long has she been standing in place, shell-shocked. All of a sudden, Alexia realizes that someone is calling out her name. "Alexia...! Alexia...!" From far away, there is a breathless voice calling out to her. Alexia recognizes that voice. "Nee-sama... Iris nee-sama!!" After shouting, she begins to run. Passing through the large tunnel, all the way to the other side. "Alexia, Alexia!" Iris rushes over. "Nee-sama, I...!" Before Alexia can say anything else, she is wrapped into a hug. Iris''s body is drenched and cold, yet so warm at the same time. "I''m so glad you''re alright. Just... so glad." More and more powerful is being poured into the hug. Alexia hesitantly wraps her own arms around to Iris'' back. "I''m sorry, I must feel so cold." Alexia shakes her head, buried in Iris'' chest as it is. For some reason, her tears just wouldn''t stop. 21 Urgent Question The Way to Dispose of a Dead Body on Campus Anon Early summer finds two students standing together on a rooftop. One of them is a beautiful teenage girl with silver-white hair. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. The other is a common-looking teenage boy with black hair. "In the shadows, it seems like the incident is still causing various waves, but for all appearances'' sake everything has been resolved. However, Nee-sama is setting up a specialist investigative squad, and I plan to help with that. So it can probably be said that for me, it was only the start of everything." So says the girl. "Just keep it at a moderation, hm?" So replies the boy. "And thus, all suspicion against you have been cleared. Sorry for all the trouble." "That''s great and all, but ..." The wind blows between the two of them. The girl''s skirt flutters, revealing her white legs. "...It''s fricking hot, so can we go inside already?" The weather is great today. In other words, the summer sun is shining away at full blast. Deep shadows stretch from both their legs, and the sound of summer insects can be heard from far away. "Wait. There are two things that I need to say." "Here?" Here." The girl narrows her eyes and looks up at the blue sky. "Firstly, I want to at least give you a word of thanks. That time, you told me that you like my sword. It''s a bit late, but thanks." "It''s fine, don''t worry about it." "I''ve finally come to like my own sword. None of the credit is yours, though." "I think you said a sentence too much there." "It''s the truth though." The two''s eyes clash. The one who looks away first is the boy. "Well anyways, you came to like it, so good on you." "Yep, good on me." The girl smiles. "So what''s the second thing?" "We were pretending to go out up to now, but Zenon went and died." "Ah, so my role is finished? I''m fired?" "The second thing is sort of a suggestion, actually." The girl stops talking for a while, as if she is searching for the words to say something hard to say. "If it''s fine with you..." Her red eyes are darting every which way. "... What say you we continue this relationship for just a little while longer?" The girl was finally able to say it all, albeit in a slightly quieter voice. The boy flashes her a bright smile. "I refuse." So he replies while sticking up a middle finger. Immediately, the schiing of a sword being unsheathed rings out. Later in the day, another student came up to this rooftop, and discovered a huge bloodstain on the ground. However, despite the large amount of blood, there was no corpse nearby. The students and school faculty investigated extensively, but there were zero reports of anyone being severely wounded or missing. Thus it became a cold case. Aterwards, this became known as the ''Corpseless Murder Incident,'' and entered the ranks of the school''s Seven Mysteries. 22 That Which Anyone Would Overlook Summer is almost here. Under a sky that at least feels like that, I am energetically swinging my wooden sword. It is now the time period for the afternoon practicals. After having been emancipated from Alexia, I am back in the same group as my ''good'' friends Hyoro and Jaga. Due to Zenon-sensei''s scandal, the reputation, and thus number of students, of Royal Capital Bushin Style has taken a sharp nosedive. Thanks to that, the three of us have now been bumped up to Group 7. "So hey, how did it go with Princess Alexia anyways?" So asks Hyoro while doing practice swings next to me. "As I keep repeating, we simply broke up, and that was it." Almost got killed in the process though. "What a waste. You didn''t even get one kiss in?" Asks Jaga. "Nope, not one." Just like that, we carry on a lackluster conversation while relying on mere momentum to continue our lackluster practice swings. Welcome to Group 7, yea? It is truly a waste of time, but as such is the Way of the Mob, I have no choice but to quietly play along. "Oh by the way, it''s almost the season for the Festival of the God of War. Have you two already submitted your applications for the Senbatsu Tournament?" "Who do you think I am? If I show off a bit at the tournament, then bringing two or three girls home would be a piece of cake." So says Hyoro. Keep dreaming, cherry. "Mufufufu, handling three at the same time might be a bit tough." So says Jaga. Keep dreaming, cherry. "Sid, you didn''t apply yet, right?" Festival of the God of War refers to a gigantic tournament that is hosted once every two years. Famous swordsmen from both inside and even outside the country all gather together for it. And in the tournament, there''s a bracket for schools. The Senbatsu Tournament is our school''s way to decide who gets to represent us. (T/N: ''Senbatsu'' means ''selection.'' As in, the best is ''selected'' from among them. I''m gonna just leave the naming as is, cus AKB <3) Naturally, being the mob that I am, I have zero intention of joining something like that and gathering attention to myself. It''s absolutely unthinkable. "I wo-..." "I helped you submit an application already, so thank m-...!!" For some reason, Hyoro is suddenly clutching his stomach and fainting away. "H-, Hyoro-kun! What is wrong all of a sudden!" It was a extremely fast body blow. The kind that anyone other than me would overlook. "Oi, oi, Hyoro. Why are you falling over like you just received a left hook that was aimed straight at your stomach?" So I ask while unclenching my left fist. "T-, that was strangely specific, Sid-kun." "This is no good, he''s completely lost all consciousness. I''m going to carry him to the infirmary, so lend me a hand. Oh right, do you know if it''s possible to cancel my entry to the tournament?" "No idea. Ah, Hyoro is spewing bubbles." After reporting to the teacher that Hyoro had fainted due to a sudden fit, we got permission to leave class to go to the infirmary. Along the way. "What''s that?" I notice an important-looking group walking around the campus. "That''s... oh hey, that''s Princess Iris." As an aside, I see Alexia too. The moment our eyes meet, she turns her head to the side with a ''fun.'' I still haven''t told anyone yet about her going deranged and turning into an indiscriminate slasher. As long as she doesn''t mess with me, I have no intention of telling anyone about that incident on the roof. Mutual non-aggression pact is the word. She can just enjoy slashing random people for all I care. It seems that her skill has been improving as of late, so I suppose it''s not a bad idea to polish her techniques on actual people. As long as it''s not me. "Oh right, I remember hearing something about Princess Iris having something she needs Midgar Scholar Academy to investigate for her." One might not think this when looking at Jaga, but he''s actually quite well-informed. Our Midgar Magic Swordsman Academy is ridiculously huge, and we apparently share our campus with the Midgar Scholar Academy. Over there they do science or research or something. I don''t really know the details. "Fu~n." Right, she did mention the formation of a new squad or something. Jaga and I watch the group of knights go by, chuck Hyoro into the infirmary, then play hooky for the rest of the class. Talks are underway in a large reception room with a few people in it. "I wish to ask you, who is famed throughout the royal capital as the forefront expert in this field, to decipher this artifact." The person who says this while holding out a large, pendant-like item is the beautiful red-haired Princess Iris. "But I am still only a student." The person who takes a look at the artifact and then declines is a beautiful pink-haired teenage girl. "Your research results are well known both inside and outside our country. In this field, there is no one who is ahead of you, Sherry Barnett." "But still..." "This is a good chance. Why not give it a try?" The person who interrupts Sherry is a middle-aged man. "Vice Principal Ruslan Barnett..." "I don''t mind if you call me ''father'' though." Says Ruslan with a laugh. Sherry only flashes a troubled smile. "Sherry, you are someone who will eventually fly out into the world as a researcher. This request from Princess Iris could very well be an important stepping stone for your bright future." "But someone like me..." "Sherry, I always say this, do I not? Have more confidence in yourself. This can be done if it''s you. This can be done only by you." Ruslan places one hand on Sherry''s slender shoulder. "Alright then..." Sherry accepts the artifact from Iris. "I see, language of the ancients. And even written in code." "It was at one of the facilities of a religious order called the Order of Diabolos. We suspect they were conducting research related to the ancient civilization, but we don''t know the details. We also think that the code is also related to the ancient civilization." "Then this is indeed a request suited for me." Sherry gazes at the artifact, curiosity already twinkling in her eyes. "And we also wish to assign some knights to guard the artifact." " ''Guard''...?" Ruslan reacts to Iris'' words. "We will be upfront. This artifact is being targeted by the Order of Diabolos even this very moment." "That sounds quite dangerous." Ruslan''s eyes sharpen. "This artifact was originally seized from a facility of theirs. Of course, this wasn''t the only thing we seized at the time C there was also a large amount of documents and other items. But to our chagrin, the other day, the facility where we had been safekeeping all those things was torched. The only thing left is that artifact." "Ahh, that fire incident. Speaking of which, it was after that incident that Princess Iris established a new knight order, wasn''t it?" "Indeed. Though it is still quite small in size." "If I remember correctly, the name is The Crimson Order? So you are here today under that identity?" "Yes, I am..." "That''s how much you can''t trust the existent Knight Order?" Iris does not answer Ruslan''s sharp-witted question. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. She only looks straight at Ruslan without a single change in her expression. "Fumu, very well. I will grant permission. But for only two." "Two... The safest would be for me to take on the position myself, but..." Iris displays a conflicted expression on her face. "If Iris-sama is always out in the field, then there''d be no progress at all with our other work as a knight order." The person who says this is the knight with a large build sitting at Iris'' right. Hair like the mane of a lion, and a well-trained body. There''s even a large scar on his face. "That''s true too, I suppose. Alright then, Glen, this will be your new assignment from now on." "Yes ma''am! I shall do my utmost." Glen lowers his head. "Nee-sama, allow me to help out with this." So says Alexia from Iris'' left. "The more people you assign here would mean the fewer people you have investigating the Jet Black Incident." Iris remains silent. "The Crimson Order is still far too short-handed. On top of which, I''ve met him before. There''s no one more suited to this role than me." "However, Alexia, you are still..." "A student? But what does that matter since I have the strength? It was you who said those words, Nee-sama." "I said no such thing." "You said something similar to it to Sherry-san just now." Iris sulks, as Alexia grins with composure. "You used to be so cute too.." So grumbles Iris in a small voice. "I heard that. Nee-sama, I really want to know. What their aim is. And... whether they are our enemies or not." "But it''s dangerous!" "I am aware." Iris and Alexia gaze at each other for a while. "Very well. But only to the degree where it does not negatively affect your studies, and only on missions with low chance of danger." "Thank you very much." Alexia smiles while lowering her head. "About the artifact, we will leave it in your hands then." So says Iris to Sherry with a sigh. 23 Otherworld General Trading Company Mitsugoshi Co. In the late afternoon, I went to cancel my entry in the Senbatsu Tournament. "Thank you for your time." After offering the perfunctory word of thanks, I am now leaving the Student Affairs Office. "So, how''d it go?" Hyoro and Jaga, who were waiting outside, gather to me. "Apparently the tournament pairings have already been decided, so they couldn''t do it." I sigh heavily. "Well, cheer up. Just think of how popular you could get if you do well!" "That''s right. ''Troubles are just opportunities in disguise.'' That''s what they say, right?" I shake my head. "It''s not about winning or losing. I simply don''t want to enter at all." "Haah, there''s no helping it then. I''ll introduce you to a good shop, how about that?" "G-, good shop?" Jaga reacts with wide eyes. "Not THAT kind of shop! It''s that store that everybody''s talking about nowadays, Mitsugoshi Co. I hear that they sell amazing products that nobody''s ever seen before. For example, there''s a confectionery called ''chocolate'' that''s supposedly sweet and tastes absolutely delicious." (T/N: Mitsu''go''shi lol) "A sweet confectionery? Sounds good..." "Stu~pid. What''s the point if you eat it yourself?" Hyoro smacks Jaga''s head. "You''re supposed to give it to a girl as a present. Let me teach you something good. As long as you give girls something sweet, they fall right into your hands." "I, I see. As expected of Hyoro-kun! I''ve learned something new today." "I know, right?" So says Hyoro proudly. "So with that, let''s go, Sid!" "Let''s go, Sid-kun." Both of their eyes are glittering. "Fine, let''s go." With a sigh, I agree to go along. I wonder what this world''s so-called ''chocolate'' is like? Led by Hyoro, we proceed down the royal capital''s main avenue. In the early evening, the crowds are huge, and all the stores in prime locations are filled to bursting. The one with the most bustle out of even all of them turns out to be the rumored Mitsugoshi Co. "Uwaaahh, how impressive." A gorgeous, brand-new building that towers over all its neighbors. Furthermore, it seems very tasteful C even a bit modern, perhaps. How do I put this, this is a place that makes me feel every bit as out of place as I did in those brand name stores back in my previous life. And the line at the entrance. Every single person lining up is either a noble or someone clearly connected to a noble. A single look is all that''s needed to see that they are high class customers. At the end of the line, there is a lady in a uniform holding a placard. According to that, it seems that we''ll have to wait 80 minutes. "It says that we''ll have to wait 80 minutes." That was me. "Which means we have exactly enough time to get back to the dorms before curfew." That was Jaga. "We''ve already gotten here. Let''s just line up." And that was Hyoro. "But there''s a rumor that lately there''s a slasher around. Going back too late..." "Stupid, we are three magic swordsmen together. Even if he attacks us, we''ll beat him at his own game." Hyoro pats the sword on his hip with a ''pon pon.'' "I, I suppose." "Hey, what''s this about a slasher?" I interrupt their exchange to ask. "Apparently, there''s someone going around the royal capital at night and killing random people. He''s supposedly quite skilled, and there''ve even been knights who fell victim..." So explains Jaga in a softer voice. "Heeh, that sounds scary. Guess I won''t be going out during the night anytime soon, then." A slasher incident?! That sounds fun as heck! I definitely must take part. "Ooii, let''s line up already. Else we''ll miss our curfew." Hurried by Hyoro, all three of us join the end of the line. "H-, hey, l-, lady. You''re p-, pretty. W-, w-, what''s your h-, hobby?" Hyoro immediately tries to talk up the lady holding the placard, but his advance is effortlessly handled by a business smile clearly polished over a hundred battlefields. But then for some reason, the lady gives me an actual smile. "Dear customer, would you be willing to lend us a bit of your time?" With dark brown hair and eyes of the same color, she is a beauty with a calm vibe and an elegant face. She is wearing a simple deep blue mini-one piece adorned with the company''s logo. It somehow makes me think of the cabin attendants of my previous life. "Eh, me?" I ask while pointing at myself. "Yes. It''ll only take a short while, we only need you to help fill out a questionnaire." ''Questionnaire''? I think this is the first time I''ve even heard of this concept in this world. "I don''t mind, but..." "Thank you very much." "I, I, I''ll also help!" "M-, me too!" Hyoro and Jaga, appealing with all their might. "Only 1 person is needed." The lady links her arms with mine, then walks me to the head of the line and straight into the store. When I take one last glance behind, I see Hyoro and Jaga staring at me with pure despair on their faces. Following behind the lady, I enter the extremely well-decorated store. The showiness is toned down on the more obvious spots, while careful attention has been paid to even the smallest corner. Overall it generates a calm and sublime feeling. Even I, as a complete amateur in such matters, can see that it''s been done with incredible taste. And as I''d expected from the outside, the style of the interior is indeed a bit modern. I am guided straight through the sales floor to the backdoor for employees, but the products that I caught glimpses of were... oh, man. The popular chocolate is a given, but there is also coffee and cosmetics and soap and a variety of things that I''d never seen before in this world. There are also clothes and accessories and shoes and even underwear with tasteful designs that look both novel and beautiful. It''s basically a complete lineup of everything that even I can tell would sell like crazy in this world. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Whichever way I think about it, this is... oh, man. In the very near future, this company will become a hegemony. This I can guarantee. Passing through the door for employees, we proceed down a hallway; up an amazing staircase like the one in that movie about a lavishly decorated passenger liner; down a wide, well-lit hallway with a red carpet running down it; before finally coming to a gigantic door with refined engravings all over it and polished to the point of glowing. There are two beautiful ladies standing in front of that door. The two of them give me a bow, then slowly open the door. Beyond is an enormous space. There are rows of pillars like in those Greek temples, and the marble floor is absolutely sparkling. And on either side of the red carpet that continues into the depths of the room stand two rows of more beautiful women. "Eh?" The moment I step into the room, all of them kneel simultaneously. "Umm, the questionnaire...?" At the far end of the room, there is a huge chair. The chair almost looks like a piece of art, what with the highly detailed engravings all over it, as well as being lit up in a madder red color from the twilight sunlight shining through a skylight. It is currently unoccupied. But next to that chair, there is a beautiful elf with blue hair. With a style like a model''s, and wearing a voluptuous black dress, she is giving off a polished and refined air. I know that face. "Apologies for the very long wait, my lord." She kneels as if she is an actress. "Gamma..." After Alpha and Beta, Gamma was my third practice partner. With her wise-looking face and intelligent blue eyes, anyone can tell with a single glance that this girl definitely has a sharp mind. And she is none other than the brains behind Shadow Garden. 24 7 Girls and 1 Guy. Obviously Someone’s Going to Be Left Ou Gamma is smart. She really is smart, but she also possesses an enormous weakness. Her nickname is Gamma the Weakest. Indeed. Within the Seven Shadows, despite her seniority, her battle strength is at the very bottom. Oh, and Seven Shadows refers to the first 7 who joined Shadow Garden. It sounds cool, so that''s why I named them so. Among them, Gamma is the only one who possesses a fatal lack of hand-eye coordination and battle sense. If it is said that Delta is the one with the highest sense, then Gamma is the one with the lowest. But in my personal opinion, these two are the same. If I say this out loud, Delta would be super happy, and Gamma would give me a very wronged look, but these two are undoubtedly the same. While teaching Gamma and Delta the sword, I learned two things. One: Regardless of how high someone''s sense is, if they are an idiot, then saying anything would be a mere waste of time. Two: Regardless of how smart someone is, if they have no sense, then saying anything would be a mere waste of time. So that''s why I ended up telling the two of them the same thing. "Just pump yourself up with magic and cut your opponent." I ask no more of them. It is the dope up, rely-purely-on-stats fighting style that I detest the most. Exactly. My conviction had met sound defeat the moment I met these two. Even now, whenever I think of that day, I get a headache. No, that''s enough. Let''s wipe it from my memories. I shake my head. "It has been a long while, my lord." Gamma walks towards me in an elegant model''s walk. Swinging her hips seductively, with her high heels clacking with a crisp sound with every step. But. "Pegyah!" She trips over literally empty air. "T-, these heels are pretty high, aren''t they?" Then she blames it on the heels. The moment she gets up while rubbing her nose, a nearby lady rushes right in with a ''shubababa'' and changes her shoes into low-heeled pumps in the blink of an eye. "W-, well then, my lord." So says Gamma as if nothing had happened. That''s fine with me. After seeing a lady''s embarrassment, there are really only two choices: to pretend like you didn''t see it, or to tease her about it. And I belong to the former faction. However, even so, there are things that need to be said. "You have a nosebleed." In a blink, another lady rushes in with ''shubababa'' and wipes her nose. "P-, please take your seat." Seeing the blushing Gamma, I had a thought. It''s as if she''d never grown up. Allowing myself to be led by Gamma, I end up sitting in the large chair. The view from here... is great. This is really great. Large, spacious hall, with the madder red sunlight shining through the skylight, and the rows of kneeling beauties on either side of the red carpet. It''s as if I''ve become the king of the world of shadows. What a truly wonderful job Gamma has done, preparing such an expensive set. I am deeply touched, my very heart quivering with delight. Thus I cross my legs, prop my chin with my right hand, and raise my left hand. Then I gather violet-colored magic into my left hand, and release it into the air. "Receive your reward..." The magic explodes into a rain of light. When the rain touches the kneeling women, their bodies flash violet for a brief moment. Well, to be honest, the effects of this light is merely something like alleviating fatigue, improving magic flow, healing very minor injuries, things to that level only. "This day shall be my lifelong treasure." So says Gamma in a quivering voice while kneeling beside me. Nice acting. But thing is, Gamma is not the only one quivering. The beauties kneeling on either side of the carpet are all quivering, with some even shedding tears. The lady who guided me here is also sniffling. It seems that Gamma also has quite the talent as a director. "Well done, Gamma. So, now I have a few questions regarding this trading firm." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Seriously, this company. Chocolate, and all those products I saw while passing through the sales floor, and even this building''s design. None of it is stuff from this world. "Please ask me whatever you wish." "Could it be that the products of Mitsugoshi Co are the things I talked about previously?" Ever since long ago, for some reason Gamma has been extremely curious in regards to my knowledge. Every time after getting beaten up by Delta, she would come to me with a half crying face to badger me to tell her more. During those moments, I would just tell her about random things in Japan in a dramatic manner and wrap it all up as ''Wisdom of the Shadows.'' "Yes, my lord. Despite my meager means, I have attempted to realize a fraction of the heavenly knowledge that my lord had bestowed upon me." "I, I see." I mean, all I told you was merely on the level of ''there''s something sweet called chocolate that''s made of bitter beans and a ton of sugar hardened together.'' How on earth did you reproduce it from that? Is this intelligence? Is it that I merely lack the intelligence to do so?! But well, fine. Let''s just let that go. In all worlds, there are geniuses, and there are idiots. That''s all there is to that. But there is something that I really must ask. "Do Alpha and the others know about this company?" "Yes, of course." Which means, this is that. The pattern where I''m the only one to be left out. I get it, I really do. I''m the only guy, so it''s probably hard to include me in their girl circle. "A-, and are you profiting quite a bit?" "Currently we are setting up branches in the main cities in this and the surrounding countries. The expansion is going smoothly. But of course, the more important point is how deep we can plant our roots through the company." Nobody needs that forced tie-in to the shadow world. In other words. The girls left me out, used my ideas, and are raking it in. If they had given me even a tiny cut, I wouldn''t have had to crawl on the ground picking up gold coins, nor would I have had to pretend to be a dog and chase after gold coins. But it''s fine, they did prepare such a large-scaled set for me. Let''s be satisfied with this. But. Just a little bit? "Umm, I''m just asking, but could I borrow a few gold coins?" I''ll eventually return them. Maybe. "Yes my lord, at once." After giving me an immediate reply, Gamma signals the lady who had guided me in. In a short while, a cart laden with gold coins is pushed in. A whole mountain of it. There is more than I''ve seen in my entire life, just glittering away on that cart. This is easily more than a hundred billion Zeny. "This... is a bit..." Even I''m not shameless enough to borrow this much without paying it back. "!? Is it too little? I''ll immediately have them bring more..." "No, it''s fine." I interrupt Gamma and reach towards the gold coins. With an exaggerated motion, I stab my left arm into the pile of coins. The coins clink noisily. The point here is to gather all their attention on my left hand. I concentrate with every last one of my nerves. And then. "Hmph." I grab about 15 coins with my left hand, then make a show of putting it into my left pocket. That is 1.5 million Zeny. The moment they had all focused on my left hand, I had exercised the very limit of my right hand''s hand speed to also grab some coins and pocket them without anyone noticing. Alpha and Delta would be one thing. There''s no way Gamma would have caught that. "A-, are you fine with only that little? You can actually take it all..." So says Gamma, but I am secretly laughing at her. She thinks that I''ve only borrowed 1.5 million Zeny. But actually, I''ve gotten twice that amount: 3 million Zeny! "This is fine. It''s sufficient." So I say while pushing down the laughter that''s threatening to bubble up. "Yes my lord. Then we shall put these back away." Gamma claps, and several ladies come over to take away the cart. Then Gamma kneels before me. "We are fully aware of the reason for our lord''s visit today. Undoubtedly it is in regards to that issue." "Mmm." I nod sagely. What does she mean by ''that issue''? "We are truly sorry. Currently we are continuing our investigation, but still have yet to identify the offending party. Please give us a bit more time. That fool who wears black and call himself Shadow Garden while indiscriminately cutting the citizens of the royal capital C I, Gamma, swear to bring him down without fail." "Fumu..." This is literally the first time I''m hearing about this. 25 Respite in an Alleyway "Fumu..." Gamma watches as, after saying just that, Shadow falls silent in thought. There is a slight quiver of unease in her blue eyes. Abruptly, a single tear spills out from the corner of her eye. Seeing that nostalgic violet magic had made her remember the past. That violet light had been the start of Gamma''s life. If he hadn''t been there, Gamma would have died off as a mere rotting pile of flesh. Cast away by her family, chased by her country, having lost everything, trapped inside a mire of pain and fear and despair. It was that young man who gave off that violet light who had saved her from all that. Gamma would never forget that violet light for the rest of her life. For Gamma, that is the light of life. Life is imbued within that violet light. Previously, Alpha had told her so. Gamma herself thinks so too C not because of any logical reason, but instinctively she knows that it is so. That light is definitely not something that only heals surface wounds. It is something that reaches much deeper, something that heals the recipient''s very life. The moment Gamma was touched by that light, she experienced the feeling of something shackled inside her becoming free. Something important and precious that had been repressed was finally given freedom, and she had returned, in full, to who she truly was. That day, Gamma was born again. When she was given the name ''Gamma,'' she resolved to dedicate her new life to Him. But in contrast to her resolve, she turned out to be the weakest among the Seven Shadows. She was overtaken by those who came after her, lost innumerable times, crawled on the ground in defeat, and tasted humiliation again and again. Eventually, Gamma realized that no matter how much effort she put in, she would always remain the weakest. So Gamma became depressed. What is the meaning of her existence? If the only thing she can do is get in everyone''s way and look unsightly, then perhaps it would be better for her to just disappear. But the day that she decided on this, for some reason He called her over. And then He began to talk of the ''Wisdom of the Shadows.'' A path different from the martial. A path of intellect. Gamma clutched at the Wisdom of the Shadows with all she had. Knowing that this is her only way to live, she single-mindedly poured her life into reproducing the Wisdom. With hindsight, she realizes that he had seen through everything. Gamma''s internal struggle as well as her rightful path, it is because he knew it all that he bestowed the Wisdom upon her. What Gamma felt at the moment of realization was heart-rending pain. It tore her heart her as she thought of how lonely He must feel, being in a place so high up as to be unreachable. Is the existence of Gamma even necessary to Him? The moment she thought about it, tears welled up from Gamma''s eyes. But this is why she will wipe her tears and work harder. She will make Shadow Garden bigger and stronger, she will nurture it into an organization truly worthy of His name. And when she does, then surely... this is the thought that fills her. "I see, so that''s what it is." His voice draws Gamma back to reality. "I have a lead. I''ll look into it on my side." Upon hearing that sagacious voice that seems to know everything, Gamma''s chest tightens. Would she again be of no help at all this time? He is always able to arrive at the answer with only a tiny bit of information. How easily he grasped a lead that even she, after mobilising all her subordinates, could not. However, Gamma does not give up. Some day... to be recognized by Him some day, she had decided to never give up. "Nyuu, come." She calls over the subordinate with dark brown hair who had guided Him in today. "This is Nyuu. Number 13 of the Numbers." "Mmm?" He looks at Nyuu with narrowed eyes. In those sharp pupils of His, probably every aspect of Nyuu''s strength has already been analyzed and seen through. "Though it has not been long since she''s joined us, she possesses strength that is recognized by even Alpha-sama. Please use her freely for miscellaneous tasks or for communication or anything else." "My name is Nyuu. It will be my honor to serve." Nyuu''s voice is slightly shaking with nerves. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "I''ll call you if the need arises." "Yes, my lord." Nyuu backs away with lowered head. "Well then, it''s about time for me to go back." So saying, He stands up. "Oh, right. I want to buy some chocolates. It would be great if I can have the cheapest one at a friend discount and marked even cheaper." "We shall prepare the the highest quality item immediately." "Umm... how much would that be then?" "Friend discount is 100% discount." "100% discount... you mean it''s free? Lucky me! Ah, then please give me 3 portions." "As you wish." When He puts in effort to be a common person as Sid Kagenou, Gamma finds even that to be charming. "This is bad, we won''t make it in time for curfew!" "It''s because Sid-kun was late!" "I already said sorry! I got you guys the chocolates, didn''t I?" The three of us are running through the royal capital after the sun has already set. Though I did indeed come out a bit late, Hyoro and Jaga were also very insistently questioning me about the placard lady. Nyuu, was it? Well anyways, I somehow gave them the slip with random vague answers. But still. I didn''t expect Alexia to really become an indiscriminate slasher. If it''s not Delta, then she''s the only other person that I can think of. The moment I heard the details from Gamma, I realized that she''s finally gone and done it. Despite her blessed lot in life as a princess, what is it that would drive her this far... The female heart is a mystery. But well, I don''t think that being an indiscriminate slasher is that bad a life. Isn''t it fine that some people are simply like that? But it''s an altogether different story to use the name of our Shadow Garden. Unfortunately, that is something that I cannot forgive. Suddenly. "Hey, did you guys hear that?" "No, what was it?" So discusses Hyoro and Jaga while running ahead. It seems the two of them did not hear it clearly, but I caught it nice and clear. It is the sound of sword against sword. Far away, a fight is taking place. I stop. "Oi, what''s the matter?" "They''re going to close the gate!" After a brief while, Hyoro and Jaga notices and also stops. I point at an alleyway. "I gotta take a dump." Hyoro and Jaga both have a "is this guy for real?" face on. "If I don''t do it here now, I''m going to leak while running." "That... does sound pretty serious." "So it''s a question of curfew or dignity." Their faces turn serious. "Leave me behind and go on ahead. I don''t want to be seen by anyone..." "!! Got it, we''ll never tell anyone that you became late because of shitting outdoors!" "No matter what anyone says, Sid-kun''s choice was the right one... I truly believe so!" "Can''t hold on any longer... quick, go!" "Sid... we will never forget you!" "Sid-kun... despite the outdoor shitting, we''ll always be friends!" "Go, you must gooooo!!!" The two of them turn their heels and run off. After seeing them off, I enter the alleyway, then make my way towards the sound of fighting. 26 Ugh, My Head... The place of fighting turns out to be deep within a dark alleyway. There are two magic swordsmen fighting. One is wearing a familiar-looking uniform and short skirt C it is undoubtedly Alexia. However, the other is a man wearing all black and a mask. What is this strange situation? I would understand if Alexia is the one wearing black and pretending to be Shadow Garden, but their positions are reversed. I climb to the rooftop of a nearby building, erase my presence, and watch their fight. "Give up already. You cannot win against me." The fight is proceeding in Alexia''s favor. The man in black is not weak, but he is no match for Alexia, after her recent huge growth in strength. The black outfit is gradually being cut to tatters, and blood stains the stone pavement. With just one more push, the fight will soon be over. "Why do you kill innocent people? Is this what you people do?" "We are Shadow Garden..." Shadow Garden. The man in black definitely said that. "That''s the only thing you''ve been saying the entire time. Is this the will of the man called Shadow?" "We are Shadow Garden..." So repeats the man in black. There is no mistaking it anymore. This man in black is the criminal who''s been pretending to be Shadow Garden. I''m sorry, Alexia. Turns out you are innocent. I''ve now apologized to you inside my heart. In that case, then why is this man pretending to be Shadow Garden? This is a natural question, but of course I already have an answer. Because I am me, I can tell at a glance. This... is yearning. He is someone who adores and yearns for Shadow Garden... for powers in shadows. I cannot deny that feeling of his. Because this yearning had also been the beginning of everything for me. Yearning after those powers in shadows in movies and anime and manga, and then trying to copy it all. That was my beginning. He is also treading that path, and the target of his yearning is Shadow Garden. Indeed, he is this world''s very first Shadow Garden follower. A hot feeling rises up in my chest. I am so happy to see the path I am treading being acknowledged by someone else. Add oil! I find myself cheering for him. But still, I cannot forgive him. Why? Because I, too, am a power in the shadows. If I forgive someone who is taking my organization''s name in vain, then I would no longer be a power in the shadows. Just as he is a power in the shadows, I too am a power in the shadows. There is no room there for mercy nor compromise. I harden my heart and continue watching the two of them fight. "This is the end." With that, Alexia''s sword causes the man''s sword to fly off into the distance. But at that moment, I sense new presences rapidly approaching. "This is the end." Alexia sends her opponent''s sword flying. With a ''garan,'' it clatters onto the stone pavement a long ways off. But at that moment. "...!" The sudden cutting attack from the back forces Alexia to roll away in evasion. She blocks the follow up attack, then kicks her new opponent''s torso to take a distance. While settling her slightly disarranged breathing, Alexia sizes up the interlopers. Two more magic swordsmen have joined the fight. And both of them are also wearing full black. Seeing the first man pick his sword back up, Alexia clicks her tongue. So now there are three of them. And none of them seem weak. If it''s only one, she can win. If it''s two, she won''t lose. But if it''s three... "To gang up on a frail lady with three big men, how horrible." Please let them be willing to pick up the conversation. "Oh, I have a good idea. How about let''s have a one-on-one three times? Sound good?" They are slowly circling around to encircle her. Alexia continues to readjust her positioning while making sure that her back isn''t taken. "Oh, the moon is just so pretty tonight. Take a look behind you!" She attempts to restrain the enemies trying to circle around with her eyes alone. With minute movements of the sword, both sides attempt to probe the other. "Come on, you won''t look? But I think it''d be better if you did look." Alexia smiles. Beneath the moonlight, her red eyes are sparkling. "Because Nee-sama is behind you." "...!" They fell for it. Immediately, Alexia moves. Her white blade flashes towards the enemy''s now unguarded back. "Die." So whispers Alexia without actually saying it out loud. The black clothing is cut through, and fresh blood dances in the air. But it was too shallow. One more strike, and she can fini-... That instant, a shock pierces through Alexia''s abdomen. "aGUHhh...!" A black boot has been buried into her stomach. The ''baki baki'' sound of several of her ribs cracking ring out clearly. Even while spewing blood, Alexia plunges her sword into the black boot. But the boot is withdrawn at the last possible second, and her sword merely strikes the stone pavement. He is no longer in her maai. Alexia spits out the blood in my mouth with a ''peh,'' then wipes her mouth. Her hand is now dyed in red. That moment, two of the men had fallen for her bluff, but one person had not. It was he who had kicked her in the abdomen and gotten in the way of her delivering the killing strike. Alexia glares at the three of them with enmity in her eyes. 3 vs 1. The numbers are still unchanged. But the situation has worsened. Two of the enemy are uninjured, one is heavily injured but still capable of swinging his sword. None of them can be ignored. In contrast, she now has a few broken ribs, at least one of which has pierced a lung. ''I''m going to be killed,'' thinks Alexia. Which is why there''s no helping it. Alexia takes out a red lozenge from the chest pocket of her uniform. It is a drug that she had secretly pocketed even before the arson incident. It is against her will to brandish such a terrible sword, but it''s still better than dying. She brings the drug to her lips. While reassuring herself by telling herself ''I''m the type that does well even without prior practice,'' she makes to swallow the drug. But at that moment. Jet black descends from the skies. Without a single sound, as if like a crow that flies through the night. In the same motion, a jet black blade bisects one of the men, causing a vivid red flower to bloom in the night. A cloying scent of blood fills the alleyway. The man in jet black... Shadow swings his sword to get the blood off. With a splash, a horizontal red line is drawn onto a nearby wall. "You fools who take the name of Shadow Garden in vain..." Shadow. The most powerful existence that Alexia can never forget, he who had showed her the perfected form of her sword. He is enemies with these men...? It seems that he is not allied with these men in black. "That sin... shall demand your lives as recompense." The moment Shadow speaks, the remaining men in black move. It was a split second decision. They kick the stone pavement, kick the walls, and ascend to the roofs, aiming to get away. But. "How foolish..." Shadow chases them. "W-, wait a moment...!" Alexia''s voice causes Shadow to stop. He slowly turns around, then looks at Alexia. Her sword is clattering audibly. That what she is doing is sheer folly... this Alexia is well aware. "My name is Alexia Midgar. I''m a princess of this country." Shadow merely silently continues to look at Alexia. If he feels like it, he could reap Alexia''s life before she even knows that it happened. "Tell me what your aim is. For what do you wield your strength, what are you fighting against, and... do you intend to bare your fangs against this country?" Shadow turns around. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Don''t get involved. It''s better for you to not know." "...! Wait! If you truly are an enemy of ours...!" "What would you do if I am?" His killing intent slams into Alexia. She instinctively shrinks back in the face of this existence that she knows she definitely cannot win against. However, to fight against one''s instincts is what it means to be human. "I will fight. You will definitely kill my Nee-sama. And I cannot allow that to happen." The only sound from Shadow is the flutter of his coat. "I, I understand your sword. Even if it''s not possible now, some day, I..." "You will kill me?" Leaving that question hanging in mid-air, Shadow disappears into the shadows. Alexia whispers to the empty darkness. "Yes, I will..." Silence has returned to the night. Now alone by herself, Alexia falls to her knees while clutching her abdomen. Her sword falls from her shaking hands. She has done a foolish thing. She knows this full well. However, Alexia has recently finally understood. Why she swings her sword, what is precious to her, what is that which she truly wishes to protect. It is for that one person who is her sister, and for that one person who is her friend. Alexia had resolved to protect only those two. "This... is pretty bad..." Her consciousness is fading. If she faints in an alleyway like this, Alexia knows that nothing good is going to happen to her. Somehow, she manages to rely on the wall to stand up. At that moment. "...Alexia ...Alexia!" She hears her name being called from far away. "Ne-, Nee-sama... Nee-sama, here!" "Alexia...!!" Footsteps approach rapidly. Something soft envelops and holds up Alexia''s crumpling body. "Alexia, why did you go off on your own...!" "Nee-sama..." Alexia buries her head in her sister''s chest. "Later on, I will have you tell me in detail what happened. Prepare yourself." "... Alright." "And also, you will also tell me what this is about." "Eh...?" With a glance, she notices red lozenges scattered over the stone pavement. Dropped there by someone. "Ne-, Nee-sama, I know nothing ab-..." "Be quiet." "Really, I really don''t kn-..." "I will not forgive you." "Ugh, my head..." Alexia chooses to let herself faint away. 27 High Heels & One Piece & White Legs Two figures are dashing through the royal capital in the night. Clad in black from head to toe, they keep glancing behind while stopping in a narrow alleyway. They must have been rushing quite a lot. They are leaning against a wall, completely out of breath. For a while, the only sound echoing in the alleyway is that of their breathing. But suddenly. Katsu. A new sound rings out from the depths of the alleyway. The two men swiftly turn around, trying to peer into the depths of the shadows. Within the darkness, something is drawing near. Katsu. Katsu. That is the sound of boots on the stone pavement. The two men in black bring up their guard and ready their swords. But in that instant. A jet black sword sprouts from one of the men''s head. Without any herald, in complete suddenness, the man was pierced through. "Ah, h-... agah...!" The jet black sword is withdrawn, leaving the man to writhe on the ground spraying bodily fluids while releasing a death rattle. "...!" When the remaining man quickly backs off in a fluster, the figure of a man materializes from the shadows. That man is wearing a jet black coat, holding a jet black blade, and has his face covered in a magician''s mask. "Did I make you wait?" It is a deep voice that seems to reverberate from the depths of the earth. "Hii..." Finding himself struck dumb with fear, the man in black can only continue to back up. "Why so serious?" So he says. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Could it be that... you actually thought you can escape?" The man in black turns around and dashes off. However. "Wha-?!" "As expected of Shadow-sama." Before him is a single girl. Wearing a mini one piece, she seems like a very classy woman. "To think that you could apprehend him this quickly, as expected indeed." "Nyuu, is it?" "Yes, my lord." The two of them are talking over the man''s head. The man has his back against the wall and is beginning to hyperventilate. "Please leave the rest to us. We will draw the information out of him." He puts away his sword. "...I want no mistakes." "Yes, my lord." With that, he turns on his heels and disappears into the darkness. The woman sees him off with her head lowered. Then only the man in black and the woman are left in the narrow alleyway. Whereas the man is wearing full body gear, the woman is wearing a one piece and high heels, with not a weapon on her. The man''s decision is swift. With a very fast mowing attack, he kills the empty-handed woman. Or so he intended. The hem of her one piece flutters, and her white, shapely leg slices through the darkness. Karan. The man''s sword falls to the ground. Belatedly, 8 of the man''s fingers fall alongside his sword. "Ah, AHHHH...!" Is it his fingers that he is trying to pick up, or his sword? He reaches out with a hand that only has a thumb left. However, that hand is stepped on by the stilleto of a high heel. "Igi..." At the tip of the heels is a jet black blade. The blood flowing from the stumps of the man''s fingers pool on the ground. "I am not as merciful as Shadow-sama." Her chilly voice descends from above. When he looks up, he sees sharp, freezing eyes staring down at him. "Do not think that you can die an easy death." The hem of her skirt flutters again, and her knee smashes into the man''s jaw. The next morning, a gruesome corpse is strung up above one of the royal capital''s main avenues. There is a message written out in blood on the corpse''s abdomen. "The End of a Fool" The corpse''s face is frozen in agony and terror. 28 Otherworld-Style Valentines Day Alexia is lying in a clean bed, looking up at her older sister''s very serious face. "I understand." So says Iris from her position beside the bed. "So the slasher incident was not actually Shadow Garden, but some other group that was using their name." "That''s what Shadow said." " ''Shadow''... In the end, we are still no closer to their true identity." Iris ponders a bit while looking down. "During that previous royal capital incident, I also came across a very powerful swordswoman who also seemed to be a member of Shadow Garden." "You said that she named herself Alpha, right?" Iris nods. "Judging from various other reports, we know that the organization called Shadow Garden possesses extremely high fighting strength. Then from your report, we also know of the man called Shadow, and the name of their organization. But those are literally the only facts we know. Everything else is wrapped in a mystery, including the aim of the organization." "I saw that Shadow is hostile against the Order of Diabolos. Perhaps the their aim lies with the Order?" "So the lead lies with the Order..." Iris heaves a sigh. "Nee-sama...?" "I had thought them to be a mere gathering of eccentrics who worship the demon Diabolos, but their roots seem to be much deeper than expected." "You''re talking about the arson case?" "The arson too, but actually the budget for the Crimson Order is not being approved. I''m going to have to shoulder our expenses out of my own pocket for a while." Alexia frowns. "So they have infiltrated not only the existent Knight Order, but also the civil officials?" "I do not know. Maybe it''s people from the Order, or maybe they''re merely being controlled by money... The establishment of our knight order was also a bit forced, so I can''t insist too vehemently either." "I can also help you with the expenses." "Thank you, but the thought is enough. You know how many people we have in the Crimson Order, right?" "Eight people." "Exactly, we only have eight people. My personal assets can easily last us more than a decade." "But in this state, we cannot expand the knight order." "At the moment, there''s no point in us expanding. We still don''t know who else we can trust." "Nee-sama, um..." Alexia looks up at her sister, clearly having difficulty getting out her next words. "Who is our Crimson Order enemies with C Shadow Garden or the Order of Diabolos?" Iris smiles while answering. "Both. As long as they are within our borders, I will not allow them to do as they please." "Nee-sama... we must not fight against Shadow." Alexia grabs her sheets tightly. "Alexia, there you go again about that..." "It is only because Nee-sama has not yet met Shadow that you can say that. Didn''t you also see that attack that colored up the royal capital''s sky?!" "It has been determined that that was an artifact going berserk." "I clearly saw Shadow release that attack! With my own two eyes!" Iris draws closer to the bed and looks into Alexia''s red eyes. "It is physically impossible for a human to control that much power. Either your memory is muddled due to your long period of captivity, or else you were hallucinating due to being drugged. I know you''re not lying, but you were indeed very tired at that time." "Nee-sama!" Iris wraps Alexia hand with both of her hands. "Even if it was indeed an attack released by that man called Shadow, I still cannot run away. If I run away, who will protect our country?" "Nee-sama..." Iris pats Alexia''s head, then stands up. "Rest up and get well soon." "..Once I recover, I''ll come back to help." "There will be no need for that." "Eh?" "I forgot to tell you, but you''re under house arrest for a while." "EHHHH?!" "Theft of evidence." Iris takes out a red lozenge, causing Alexia to be struck dumb. "Properly reflect on your actions." The door shuts with a ''patan.'' I''m being stared at. The moment I step into the classroom, I feel stares boring into me from every which direction. Everyone is looking my way and whispering up a storm. "It''s him, it''s him..." "Leaking shit while running..." "I heard that he did it right there on the road..." I glare at Hyoro and Jaga, whose eyes start swimming all over the place. "H-, hey there, quite the misfortune yesterday eh?" "G-, good morning. Bad day yesterday, wasn''t it?" (T/N: I I tried so hard to refrain from using "shitty day" since it''s not in either of their character, but at least I gotta put it here in a T/N ?) "Good morning indeed. I wonder why I feel like today is going to be even more of an ordeal." The smiles on their faces are so stiff. I heave a huge sigh. "S-, so, did you all bring your chocolates from yesterday?" So says Hyoro while taking out his package of wrapped chocolate. "Yes I did." Says Jaga. "So far as it goes, I did too, I guess." Say I. "Alright, then let''s all give it out during lunch break!" "Mufufu, isn''t it so exciting?" "... Yea." Thus, lunch break. Hyoro claimed to ''show us how it''s done,'' so at the moment Jaga and I are just going along with him. We are currently near the second years'' classroom. Hyoro is on standby around the corner. The two of us are watching on from a bit farther away. "An upperclassman. As expected of Hyoro-kun!" "... Yea." After a short wait, a cute girl comes out. "Um, p-, please accept this." Hyoro holds his chocolate out to her. But in that instant. "Oi, what business do you have with my fiance?" A hand lands heavily on his shoulder. Behind Hyoro is a macho-looking upperclassman with bulging muscles. "Ah, no, that is..." "Let''s have a talk right over there, shall we?" Hyoro sends us an SOS with his eyes, but we pretend to not see it and turn around. "Let''s go." "Yep." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Hyoro''s wail reverberates behind us. Jaga''s battlefield is apparently the library. As this library is also shared with the Scholar Academy, it''s quite large. And of course, the musclebrains of the Magic Sword Academy almost never come here. Which includes me, of course. "So your opponent is a student of the Scholar Academy." "Yes. I will not make the same mistake as Hyoro-kun. I''ve already researched my target thoroughly. I know everyone she associates with and her relationship with every one of them, I know her favorite foods, her dorm room number, the toilet she frequents, the size and smell of her shoes, the color of all the underwear she owns, her three sizes, and from a cup that she used I..." "That''s enough. Go." I push Jaga into the library, then immediately turn around and leave. "KYAAAAAHHHH!! THIS PERSON IS A STALKER!" A high-pitched scream reverberates behind me. I walk around randomly while dangling my packet of chocolates. I rarely come to this area, so everything seems quite fresh. Then I call out to the first female student I pass by. "Here you go, it''s chocolate." "Eh?" It turns out to be a cute girl with pink-colored hair. After pushing the chocolates onto her, I quickly stride away. "Eh?? Eh??" I hear a perplexed voice from behind. I feel like I''ve seen her face somewhere before. But I can''t recall it, so meh, who cares. 29 A Mob Can Tell "What is this?" A teenage girl is talking to herself in a research lab. She is a cute girl with pink-colored hair. What her cool eyes are currently fixed on is a box of brown-colored objects. Even when she lifts it up and smells the sweet smell wafting from it, she doesn''t know what it is. If she remembers correctly, the boy who handed these to her had called it ''chocolate''? "Sherry, what is the matter?" The person who calls out to her is a middle-aged man. He has salt and pepper hair in a swept back style. "Vice Principal Ruslan..." "You promised to call me father when we are alone." "Step-father." Sherry gives an embarrassed laugh. "So then, what is up with those chocolates?" "Chocolate? A boy from the Magic Swordsman Academy gave these to me." "Heh~" Ruslan strokes his moustache. "That is an expensive confectionery that''s all the rage among girls nowadays. I''m sure it''s a present for you." "Eh? But I didn''t know him." "Then it must have been what they call ''love at first sight.'' The one you have there is supposedly a phantom product that even lining up from the break of dawn might not even guarantee you the opportunity to buy it. It seems that that boy has gone to quite the lengths for your sake." "L-, love at first sight..." So Sherry whispers, her cheeks slightly dyed. "What reply will you give him?" "Reply...?" "He must be waiting for your reply." "B-, but I''m..." Sherry''s cheeks are now fully red, and her eyes are swimming. "It would be good for you to also learn how to get along with other humans, rather than focusing only on your research. This is also what a school is for, after all." "... I understand." Ruslan smiles gently as Sherry hangs her head down. "So, how''s progress on the artifact?" "There''s not much, I''m afraid. I''ve only just started, after all." With her cheeks still red, Sherry gives a troubled smile. "That''s true, I suppose." "But there is one thing that I''ve determined so far. The text on that artifact is using a very unique code." "A unique code?" Sherry begins spreading documents before Ruslan. "I think it''s a code used by a specific ancient country or organization. And also... I think it bears strong resemblance to the code that my mother was working on." "I see, Luclaire''s... she was also a very exemplary researcher." Ruslan closes his eyes, as if he''s remembering the past. "The meaning of the cipher that my mother was deciphering before her death, I want to know." At the moment, Sherry''s side profile is exact that of a researcher''s, from head to toe. "This is a good job that you''ve accepted, isn''t it?" "Yes, it is." Ruslan pats her head, and she smiles bashfully. "So, where is the artifact right now?" "Oh, the knights in the other room are holding onto it." "You don''t need to have it in hand?" "Only at times. Since I need to spend time thinking, and I get a bit nervous when I''m with the knights." "I se- cough, cough, s-, sorry about that..." Ruslan turns around and coughs. "Step-father! Are you alright?" Sherry hurriedly rubs Ruslan''s back. Ruslan''s body is thin, and his cheeks are hollow. "I, I''m fine, I''m fine." Ruslan slowly gets his breath back. "I even seemed to be doing a bit better nowadays though. I guess that''s just how sicknesses are." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Step-father..." "Don''t make that worried face. Rather than that, that study abroad offer from Academy City has come again." "Academy City Rawagas..." "The world''s top brains have already acknowledged your research results. If you go to Rawagas, you can grow a lot more, learn a lot more. I think it''s a great idea to go." Sherry shakes her head. "You''re still sick, there''s no way I can go." "Sherry, you don''t have to worry about me, really." "After my mother died, if you hadn''t adopt me, I would definitely have died somewhere. I... I want to help you, just as you helped me." Sherry''s eyes are tearing up. "Sherry... I have such a good daughter indeed." Ruslan smiles gently. "Do well with your research then. Also, make sure to eat those chocolates." "... Yes, I will." Ruslan exits the research lab. Left alone, Sherry reaches out for a piece of chocolate, her cheeks blushing. "So sweet... so delicious..." And then she reaches for a second piece. I am enjoying a perfectly peaceful day absent of Hyoro and Jaga and Alexia, just walking back to my dorm. After I leave the garden that is currently dyed by the setting sun and the number of students near me drops, a female student suddenly approaches me. She is wearing a second-year''s uniform, has dark brown hair down up in buns, and is wearing lame-looking glasses over her similarly colored eyes. But I can tell, with my long history as a mob. That is actually a beautiful person who is only pretending to be a mob to not stand out. "Hey there, do you have some time?" I recognize that voice. "Nyuu, huh." So I say in a low voice. She nods. To think that a classy lady can change this much with glasses and cosmetics and a different hairstyle. We continue talking in low voices. "You attend this academy?" "No, this uniform is borrowed. So I can blend in." "I see." The academy is so large that the faces you know would be far less than the faces you don''t. As long as the other person is wearing a uniform, then why would you give them a second look? "Where shall we talk?" "How about that bench over there?" There is currently no one near that bench that has an unbroken view of the beautiful garden. At that place where the setting sun is a bit blinding, the two of us sit next to each other. 30 Bastard Looking down at the academy garden, Nyuu''s eyes narrow behind her glasses. Originally, she is supposed to be attending this school as an actual second-year student. Up until that day when she had been discarded due to demon possession, she had not doubted even for a second that her future would be smooth and peaceful. Bu in the end, all of it turned out to be mere fantasy. Everything that Nyuu had believed in and taken for granted, be it family, friends, or peace, turned out to be a tower built upon a very, very thin sheet of ice. Not knowing what lay beneath the ice, she had been merely frolicking around as an ignorant child. She gazes at the students in the garden with both envy and pity mixed in her eyes. Down there is a face that she recognizes. Nyuu used to be the daughter of a marquis family, and she had been quite well known in the social circle. Those days had been glittering. But even that is merely in the past now. She was erased from her family genealogy, turned into someone who never existed. How many of those people who had been her close friends actually still remember her? Oh right, there was that person, wasn''t there? Like that. Probably rather than nostalgia, only disgust would be involved if she comes up in a conversation now. That''s what demon possession is. It was not necessary for her to go to the trouble of coming to the academy in the daytime to meet Shadow. However, it''s just that she has a tiny fragment of hope that she has never been able to completely discard. In some corner of this peaceful academy, there is still a place for her. She merely wanted to see that foolish dream for a brief moment. Nyuu laughs. Even though she might no longer have a place in the world of light, she now has comrades who share her will. And... beside her is her beloved and respected lord. He had started the fight all by himself. And he would probably continue fighting to the very end, even if he becomes the only person left. His existence is what props up Shadow Garden. Humans are weak, every single one, so they all want to rely on an absolute entity. If for the world, God is that absolute entity, then for Shadow Garden, he is that absolute entity. But he''s so much better than God. When she opens her eyes, he is there. If she reaches out, she can touch him. "Nn, what''s the matter?" "There was something on you." She brushes away the lint on his shoulder. Then she looks at his face in profile. "Please keep this a secret from Gamma-sama. If she knows that I infiltrated into the academy in the daytime, she''d get really angry at me." "Sure. But I''m surprised, to think that you can look so different with cosmetics." "My facial structure is actually quite bland, so it''s easy to change its impression. I guess you can sort of say that it was one of the things that I was good at in the past." "Heeh, so that time at Mitsugoshi Co. also?" "Yes, at that time I was trying to look older than I am." "I see. Incidentally, how old are you?" "That''s a secret." Nyuu smiles bewitchingly. "I came to report about the black-clothed man from yesterday." "Fumu." "We interrogated him, but was not able to draw out any information. His mind was already broken by what seems to be very powerful brainwashing. Based on that and a few other traits, we identified him to be a Children 3rd of the Order of Diabolos." "Fumu?" Diabolos Children. The Order of Diabolos combs through orphans and children of poor families, and kidnaps any one of them that displays even the slightest affinity for magic, then raises them in specialized facilities. Due to the repeated application of severe training menus, brainwashing programs, and drug administration in those facilities, those who successfully graduate are less than 1% of the number that go in. Children 3rd is considered the failures of the graduates, pawns to be used and thrown away. Because their minds are already broken, they can''t leak any information, but their fighting prowess greatly overshadows any average knight. 2nd are those whose minds are stable. The very few 1st are those who possess very significant power by world standards. Of course, there''s no need for Nyuu to explain all this information to him, so she leaves it out. "It is clear that the Order is involved with a series of recent events. We think they are most likely trying to lure us out." "Fumu." "However, that is not their only aim. The other day, we confirmed that a Named Children 1st has come to the royal capital. It is Lex the Treacherous Player. We believe they have a more specific goal for which they are gathering their strength, but we lost sight of Lex and are currently investigating." "Fumu?" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Named Children. Those among the Diabolos Children who have provided exceptional contribution to the Order are granted a name. Most Named are 1st, but named 2nds are not entirely unheard of either. Furthermore, there are Named who have climbed into the ranks of the Knights of Rounds. More like, within the organization, being Named is almost considered a requirement to be considered for a position in the Rounds. And actually. There is a former Named Children 1st in Shadow Garden. All the information that we have was provided by her. Of course, there''s no need for Nyuu to explain all this information either, so she leaves it out. "Please stay on your guard. The Order is plotting something. We will continue investigating, and will report to you as soon as we find anything out." "Fumu." The sun dips below the far horizon. The afterglow stains the clouds madder red. Fanning the slightly sweaty nape of her neck, Nyuu stands up. He yawns, then also stands up beside her. Perhaps in a parallel world, there exists a different version of the two of them who can talk with the other like lovers, enjoying their school life. Nyuu laughs at her regretful self. But now, for just a short while. "Now look here, aren''t you supposed to escort a lady?" "Escort? Like this?" Nyuu links her arm with his proffered arm. They begin walking together. Surely such a future exists somewhere, thinks Nyuu to herself with a laugh. A male student from far off shouts something. "It''s the poop bastard!!" Nyuu clicks her tongue. She has recollection of that male student who had utterly ruined the mood. He is a piece of trash who had insistently approached Nyuu back when she had been in the social circle. She decides to thoroughly thrash him up later. For some reason, the boy beside her is shifting his eyes. Nyuu merely hugs his arm even tighter. 31 Can You Keep Up With Me? If someone asks who is the strongest in the academy, a year ago, the unanimous answer would have been Iris Midgar. But after she graduated, the seat of the ruler of the academy became empty. Or so everyone had thought. But the next ruler appeared out of the blue. In a way that no one expected, a person that no one had expected came to reign over the entire Midgar Magic Swordsman Academy from the very top as the absolute ruler. Her name is Rose Oriana. She is an exchange student from Oriana Kingdom, the ''country of art.'' She is also the daughter of Raffaello Oriana, king of said country. Oriana Kingdom is allied with Midgar Kingdom, and her study abroad had been planned for a long time. But it''s just that no one had imagined a princess of the country of arts to become the top ruler in the Midgar Magic Swordsman Academy. Well, frankly speaking, whether it was expected or not means absolutely nothing to me. The problem is that my opponent for the first round of the Senbatsu Tournament is exactly that Rose Oriana. There is of course the option to just withdraw. Hyoro is bedridden after the ''talk'' with that upperclassman. Jaga is under house arrest after being caught trespassing into the girls'' dorm. In other words, there''s no one to stop me from finding a random excuse to not participate in the tournament. But when I thought about it more, I realized one thing: to lose in an unsightly manner to the school''s absolute ruler in the first round of a tournament, doesn''t that seem really mob-like? Yep, it''s definitely mob-like! Perish the very thought of withdrawing! As a mob, I have the duty to show the world how a mob loses in a mob-like way. And so, here I am, drawing my sword in front of the huge audience. Standing before me is Rose Oriana. With her elegant honey-colored rolls, her fashionable battle clothes, and her thin sword. She has a soft-looking face, and first class style, and is anyways very chic. As expected of the country of art. Furthermore, on top of being an exchange student and a second-year, she is also the current Student Council President. Due to her looks, her strength, and her popularity, the cheering in the venue has already reached incredible levels. Not a single person is shouting my name. A small part of me thinks "support your home country''s side!" but eh, whatever. This is exactly the stage of a mob. It is the best. My sword is clattering audibly. Have I ever been this nervous in a fight? What is requested here is not a simple ending where victory, murder, and even dust is vaporized into a cloud. What is requested here is my mob-like defeat. What does it mean to be mob-like? This question steps into the realm of philosophy. But there is no need for worry. For the sake of this day, I have perfected the ''Forty-Eight Mob-Style Secret Techniques.'' "Rose Oriana versus Sid Kagenou!!" The referee announces our names. Rose''s ice-blue eyes and my mob-like eyes clash in a shower of sparks. Oh, Rose Oriana. Can you keep up with me? In this battle against... a mob who has reached the utmost limits! "Fight!!" The instant the fight starts, Rose''s thin sword dances. It draws a sharp, beautiful arc headed straight for my chest. A normal mob would not even be able to see this attack. I can see it. I can, but... I choose not to react. I must not display even a hint of a reaction. Why? Because I''m a mob. I will not move even a muscle until the instant the sword makes contact with my chest. The swords being used in this tournament all have their blades dulled, but taking a head on blow would still lead to quite significant injuries. Her thin sword stabs my chest. That instant, I spring into action. Without showing any outward indication of moving, I fly backwards with only the strength of my toes, and incorporate the pushing power of her sword to add a spin to my flight. Furthermore, I secretly take out a packet of blood that I had collected yesterday, and break it. All this happened in less than a fraction of an instant. I am sent flying backwards with a tailspin while spraying blood like a fountain. "PegyoOOEEEEEEeeeeEEE!!" The red tornado of blood paints a beautiful picture in the air. Mob-Style Secret Technique: ''Tailspin Bloody Tornado'' Then I crash into the ground, bounce once, then roll across the stage. A huge roar of cheering shakes the arena. "Gu, guhah, voeeEEee!" Then I break another pack of blood and pretend to vomit out its contents. PERFECT! Every single person in the venue is believing thoroughly in my mob-ness. Not a single person is doubting it. I feel a strong urge to smile ear to ear at my full score performance, but I push it down. Because this is not over yet. It is not over yet. "Gegeh, gehoOOoooOOOO!!" I spend 10 more seconds pretending to struggle to stand up while near death. Indeed... there are still 47 techniques left in the Mob-Style Secret Techniques! Why, how, is he standing back up? Rose Oriana shudders at the boy who keeps standing up again and again no matter how many times he falls. He is covered with blood from head to toe, and it seems doubtful whether he can even swing his sword properly anymore. He is no shape to be fighting. Or rather, the fact that he can still stand is already a miracle. Rose''s sword may be thin, but it is by no means light. Though the blade is dulled, the magic imbued into it is real. It is very possible to render someone incapable of further combat with just a single strike. However. How many times has this boy eaten her attack? It is not only once or twice. Despite having been bathed by her attacks for more than 10 times, still he stands back up with persistent fighting will. Why is he going to such lengths? Even though his physical body must have already exceeded its limits, his eyes are still not dead. They are vividly telling her that there is still so much more that he wants to do. Rose is incredibly impressed at his figure. Exactly how much emotion did this boy bring with him when he stepped onto this stage? He has a reason why he absolutely cannot lose. There is no comparing the difference in strength between Rose and him. There isn''t even a one in a million chance of him winning. In spite of that, he does not give up. His burning eyes are glaring at Rose. It''s not over yet. It''s not over yet, with only this little. Rose can only sigh in admiration at the sight of him surpassing the limits of his body through his unbending will, continuously challenging an opponent that he can never win. In Rose''s heart is profound respect for this boy, Sid Kagenous, but also a deep apology to him. At the start, she had looked down on him, thinking him an easy opponent that she can quickly defeat. Indeed, it might be true that in a fight of only sword mastery, he wouldn''t last even one second against her. However, in the fight of the heart C this is Rose''s complete defeat. "The next one will be the end." Which is why Rose decides to quickly end this. If this continues, he would probably continue standing up until he really dies. She doesn''t want to kill this boy of such promise. The cheering in the arena has stopped some time ago. Everyone is creeped out by him. Rose imbues more magic into her sword than she has for any other strike today. The air vibrates, and the audience buzzes. However, even so. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "As I''d thought C you still won''t give up." His eyes are burning with searing flames. There isn''t even a shred of fear towards her coming attack. There is only an infinite amount of fighting will in his eyes. In which case, then she has no choice but to go all out. Rose''s sword begins to hum, but at that moment. "STOP!! STAND DOWN, THE MATCH IS OVER!" The referee interrupts and declares the match to be over. It is because he determined that it would be dangerous if he allowed things to proceed any further. Rose sighs with relief. However, it is the opposite for the boy. "What! But I still have thirty three left..." His eyes are still conveying that he can still fight. "Winner, ROSE ORIANA!!" Thunderous applause falls upon Rose. Rose shakes her hand in response, then bows deeply towards the crumpling Sid Kagenou. 32 The Undying Magic Swordsman After the match, it seemed that I was going to be forcefully brought to the infirmary, so I gave them the slip and escaped. That was dangerous. If someone sees that I''m pretty much unscathed, how could I explain it? I almost had to cut myself back there. I exit through the participants-only door, then walk down an empty hallway. I guess the remaining 33 techniques would have to be saved for next year. Hopefully a good opportunity comes before then. "U-, um..." "Nn?" Suddenly, a student that I''m not familiar with calls out to me. It is a cute girl with pink hair wearing the school uniform. I feel like I might have seen her before. Or maybe not? Not sure. "Your injuries... are you alright?" "J-, just barely... avoided any deep wounds... I think?" I nonchalantly take the pose of pressing on the wound on my chest. "That''s a relief. Um, I saw your match." "I, I see." "I don''t watch matches often, but the way you kept standing back up, I thought it was really cool." "Erm, it was cool...?" "Yes..." She nods with a slight blush. What a strange girl she is to find a mob ''cool.'' Well, there were indeed a lot of people in the audience, so I guess it wouldn''t be strange for one or two to have such eccentricities. "So, um, this..." The girl timidly holds out a small package. "This is?" "I baked some cookies... in return..." Is this like a gift for a good match? "Thanks." Since she already went to the trouble, then might as well. The girls smiles happily. "I-, if it''s alright with you, can we start as friends?" "Friends? Sure." Aside from a certain exception, I generally live by a policy to not cause girls embarrassment. "Yes! Step-father, we became friends." Step-father? The girl is looking towards a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair in a swept back style who is walking towards us. Now this thin man, I recognize. "Vice Principal Ruslan..." He is this academy''s vice-principal, and also used to be a master fencer who had taken the championship once at the Festival of the God of War. And if this girl is calling him ''step-father,'' then it must mean she is...! "Sherry Barnett...!" "Yes?" According to my own investigation, she is arguably the biggest character in the Scholar Academy. I had arbitrarily imagined her to be someone who offers fitting advice to a protagonist, or solves huge mysteries, or crafts powerful equipment to defeat bosses. Since I''d most likely never have to fight directly with a student of the Scholar Academy, so honestly I had kind of let them slip from my mind. "So you are Sid Kagenou-kun." Vice Principal stands next to Sherry. "Yes, sir." "Are your injuries fine?" "D-, due to some miracle... Ohhhh, she must have held back on me?" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. He rubs his chin in contemplation. "Fumu, it''s true that Rose-kun would be unlikely to mistake her strength. But you should still get yourself properly checked out by a doctor." "Yes, for sure." For sure I will not. Ruslan nods, then places a hand on Sherry''s shoulder. "This girl only knows how to do research, and doesn''t have any proper friends." "Step-father!" Ruslan laughs jovially before continuing. "Now she can laugh as you can see, but she has also gone through a lot. Please be a good friend to Sherry. This is my wish as a mere father." Ruslan''s face is the very definition of serious, and Sherry is giving an embarrassed smile next to him. ''It''s impossible because I''m a mob and she''s not''... is not something that this atmosphere would allow me to say. "... Yes, sir." "Well then, I''ll leave the rest to you two youngsters." After giving my shoulder a pat, the Vice Principal walks off. "Umm, yoroshiku onegaishimasu." "Yep, yoroshiku." "So, what should we do?" She tilts her head... "Oh, right, doctor! You have to go to a doctor first! I''m sorry for forgetting, I got a bit too excited." ... then smiles apologetically. "No, it''s fine." "Eh, but...?" "Don''t worry about the doctor, I''ll go later. I''ll definitely go. So let''s have some tea." "Umm, are you sure?" "It''s fine, it''s fine." "Magic swordsmen are pretty amazing, aren''t they." "I know, right?" This beauty who is way beyond the league of a mere mob smiles brilliantly at me. After that, we had tea and her cookies together and chatted lightly. I came to realize that she''s actually a normal girl, but just that she''d recently accepted a request from some knight order to research an important artifact. Wow, that''s pretty impressive, I told her. By the way, the cookies were simple but quite delicious. Well, she''s far from what can be considered as ''friend of a mob,'' but with the size of the academy, we''ll probably never meet again, so it''s fine. The next day, in order to not raise suspicion, I applied for 5 days of leave, on the pretext of recuperating from my injuries. When I did go back to school, my classmates'' looks were a bit gentler than before. 33 What Every Boy in the Universe Dreams Of The next day after my revival, the morning class ended a bit earlier than normal. "From now on, a candidate for the Student Council election, and also the Student Council President, will be here to give an address, so all of you, stay in your seats." So said the teacher to the students who were trying to rush off. "Not that I care, but do you know where the third years have gone?" "No idea." I give a half-hearted answer accompanied with a yawn in response to Hyoro''s random question. "Oh, the third years? This week they''re away on an extracurricular trip..." So informs Jaga after turning around from his seat in front of us. At that moment, the classroom door opens, and two female students come in. In exchange, the teacher goes out. I recognize one of the faces. It is Student Council President Rose Oriana, who I had fought the other day. Why is it that even though it''s the usual uniform, when a chic person wears it, it somehow gains a mysterious chic aura? "Umm, we are very grateful to the teacher for setting aside precious time for us today. About the Student Council election..." The first year girl, clearly still not used to this, starts speaking in a stiff voice. Is it only for me that speeches like this go in one ear and right out the other? I notice Hyoro also listening to the speech with a blank face and yawning. Jaga is taking down notes of some sort. Abruptly, I feel like the Student Council President and my eyes had met. If she really remembers the mob who only suffered an unsightly defeat against her in the first round, then she''d be quite something indeed. "Oi, the Student Council President just looked at me." So says Hyoro while arranging his bangs. "Good for you." "Oi oi, I might get scouted by the Student Council." "Good for you." "Oi oi oi, I really don''t want to get involved with bothersome things." "Good for you." And that''s pretty much how the time is going by. But suddenly, I felt a disturbance in my magic. "Eh?" "What happened?" I am constantly manipulating and controlling my internal magic as practice, but as of just now, I suddenly can''t seem to feel that magic anymore. It feels like something is obstructing the flow of magic. I can either push through it with brute force, or I think I can also circumvent it by making my magic extremely fine. As these thoughts go through my mind, I feel some presence approaching the classroom. "They''re coming..." I just felt like saying that. But at that moment. Abruptly, an enormous explosion echoes out. The door to the classroom is blown away, and the entire class is rendered dumbstruck. Immediately afterwards, men in black holding naked blades march into the classroom. "Nobody move! We are Shadow Garden, and we have occupied this academy!" So shouting, they stand in front of the exit. "No way..." My mutter is drowned out in the surrounding commotion. There is not a single student who can move. Is this a drill, a prank, or... real? Almost all of the students are having trouble coming to grips with the reality that the Magic Swordsman Academy is under attack. I am the only one who has fully grasped the situation. That these men are for real, that all magic in the surrounding has been blocked, and that the same thing is currently happening in all the other classes. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Awe~some..." Words of appreciation automatically spilled from my lips. These guys, they''re truly gone and done it. They''ve actually done it. ''That thing'' that every boy in the world has dreamt of. ''That thing'' that has colored a page of our teenage fantasies. ''That thing'' being... having the school being attacked by terrorists! I am shivering with emotion. Exactly how many times have I fantasized this situation. Several hundred, several thousand... several hundred million times. I''ve explored all the innumerable patterns that such a situation can turn, and finally, it''s actually happening in front of me! "Stay in your seats, and raise your hands!" Seeing the students gradually coming back to their senses, the men in black threaten the students with their swords. I thought I''d prefer to be on the terrorist side, but it already got chosen by them. No worries, being on the student side is more common. So, what should I do? How should I move? Infinite possibilities are spread out before me. "It seems like you lot fail to understand what kind of place this is." At that moment, a gallant voice rings out. A single girl places her hand on the sword on her waist and confronts the men in black. "You wish to occupy the Magic Swordsmen Academy? It seems that you are not in your right minds." Only one person, Rose Oriana, is standing out to face against the men. "We told you to discard your weapon, little girl." "I refuse." So saying, Rose draws her sword. "Hmph, you''d be just right as a prime lesson." One of the men in black raises his sword in a fighting stance. This is bad. She still hasn''t realized that she can no longer use magic here. "...! What is happening?" Agitation colors Rose''s face. "So you finally realized it?" The man in black laughs behind his mask. Bad, this is bad. This cannot continue like this. "But it''s already too late." He swings his sword towards Rose. There is no way that a girl whose magic has been sealed can ward off that sword imbued with magic. I jump up from my seat and dash forward. "...!" Stop, this is isn''t how it''s supposed to go. My brain processing speed accelerates, and the world slows down. Right now, my heart is filled with a bottomless impatience and rage. "...aaaAAAAHHHH!!" At this rate, she will become the first one to be killed by the terrorists, Victim #1. That must not happen. It definitely cannot be allowed to happen. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" The first person in the class to be killed by the terrorists is always... A MOB CHARACTER! "SSSSSTTTTTTOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP IIIIITTTTTT!!!!!!!" Along with the roar from my very soul, I manage to slip in between the two of them. Watching the naked blade drawing close, Rose foresees her own death. With a weak body that cannot manipulate magic, she can neither block nor evade the attack. In order to make the wound as shallow as possible, she tries to turn her upper body, but even that feels extremely sluggish. She will not make it in time. Death is there, as simple reality. But at that moment, a cry pierces her eardrums. "SSSSSTTTTTTOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP IIIIITTTTTT!!!!!!!" Immediately afterwards, something crashes in from the side and sends Rose flying. "Kya...!" By reflex, she lands with an ukemi. And when she looks up, a shocking sight greets her eyes. "How could..." There is a blood-covered boy lying limp on the ground. The blood flowing over the floor is making a puddle that is growing larger by the second. It was apparently a fatal blow. "KYYYAAAAHHHHH!!" Someone''s scream reverberates around the classroom. Rose rushes over to the boy''s body, not caring the slightest about the blood staining her clothes. This boy is someone who had left an extremely deep impression on her only very recently. "Sid Kagenou-kun..." In response to Rose''s murmur, the boy faintly opens his eyes. "Baka, why did you cover me...?" She had met him only just so recently. She hasn''t even had the chance to have a proper talk with him yet. There shouldn''t have been a reason for him to save her, even at the cost of his own life. The boy opens his mouth, seemingly trying to say something. "Geho, goho!" But only manages to cough up a large amount of blood. "Sid-kun!" Some of the boy''s coughed up blood splatters on Rose''s white cheek. The boy smiles with his blood-covered face... then breathes his last. His dying face is one filled with accomplishment. "Why..." A single line of tears flow down Rose''s cheek. Rose clutches the boy''s body and holds back the sobs racking her body. Seeing the boy''s dying face, Rose finally understands the answer to all the mysteries. His abnormally tenuous struggle in the Senbatsu Tournament. That burning gaze that he looked at her with. And how he protected her, even with his own life. Everything is now connected. Rose is not quite that slow on the uptake. With her status as a princess and her looks, ever since when she was young, a countless number of people have proffered love to her. But no one previously have shown her such passionate love. She has never been loved with love so deep that the other side is willing to even lay down his life for her. "Thank you..." She would never have the opportunity to answer his feelings. But she swears that she will never let them go to waste. "Hah, that made a good lesson." The man in black stops before Rose. "...!" Rose bites her lip and stares up furiously at the man. "You still want to resist?" "Kuh... I will do as you say." Rose hangs her head. She had already sworn to not let the boy''s feelings go to waste. Now is not the right time. "Hmph. Alright, everyone make your way to the auditorium!" The men in black all begin moving. They make the students stand up, bind everyone''s hands behind their back, and direct them to leave the classroom in single file. There is no longer anyone trying to resist. At the end of the line, two of the male students turn around for a brief moment. "Sid..." "Sid-kun..." They look at the corpse on the ground, looking like they have something they want to say. "Move!" The men in black prod them to resume walking. Then the classroom becomes empty. The sound of footsteps recede down the hallway, until silence comes to fill the air. Then. The dead boy''s arm twitches. 34 There Are Times When A Mob Has to Ac Confirming that there is no longer anyone left in the classroom, I pound my chest with my fist. "Move! Move!" Again and again, I pound my chest, forcefully trying to restart my breathing. "MooooOOOVVVEEEE!!" Then, finally. "Geho, goho, goho!" It worked. My heart, which had stopped, successfully restarts. Mob-Style Secret Technique: ''10 Minute Heart Break Mob'' It is a secret technique that allows the user to maintain an abnormally long period of cardiac arrest without suffering any after effects by using minute amounts of magic to maintain blood circulation to the brain. This technique is super risky, such that even a single mistake would guarantee death, but there are times when a mob has to act, even with his life on the line. Today was such a time. That''s all there is to that. "Owww..." I examine the wound on my back. This time, there was a high chance that I would be looked at up close, so I had to allow myself to actually get slashed. Of course, I evaded fatal damage, but to make it look real, the wound had to be relatively deep. I apply first-aid treatment on the wound with magic. It seems that I can indeed continue using magic when I make it extremely fine. Alternatively, I think it''d be possible to forcefully get rid of this obstruction with brute magical force. "I guess this is about right." It would take too long to completely seal off my wound, and it would also be bad if someone looks at it afterwards. Recovering to the point where it won''t negatively affect my movement is good enough. Then I can just go with the ''by some stroke of luck, I managed to hang on to life'' excuse. "Yokkorase." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. (T/N: In Japanese, people (more so for older people) sometimes say something meaningless when standing up, sort of as an expression of the effort. Yokkorasho, yokkorase,yokkoisho, and several other variations.) I stand up while confirming my physical and magical status. I wipe off the blood on my face, and fix my messed up uniform. A refreshing afternoon wind blows in through the window, causing the white curtains to billow. Along with the curtains'' movements, the strong sunlight and dark shadows change shape accordingly. Fallen chairs. Disorganized desks. Broken door. And the blood on the ground. All of this speaks of the fact that normalcy has been broken. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. "Let''s go then." Exiting the classroom, I proceed down the empty hallway. Sherry Barnett was so engrossed with deciphering the artifact that she was late in noticing the commotion. "This is..." She peers closely at the artifact in her hands. Her pink eyes narrow slightly, as if she has noticed something. "No way... how could this be..." Even though her eyes are focused on the artifact, the pen in her hand is still moving furiously. The nearby tumult is not even being registered in her brain. Both the sounds of explosions and footsteps in the hallway, everything is outside the realm of her consciousness. "What''s happening?!" "The academy is under attack!" "If we can''t use magic, then we can''t move around carelessly." Even the two knights'' conversation is not entering her ears. "How could this... how could this...!" That''s how concentrated she is on the artifact. Even normally, she often gets so concentrated on her research that she doesn''t notice her surroundings, but it''s never been to this level. This artifact has something of great importance that has so thoroughly grabbed all of her attention. Her quill pen continues moving, with scratching sounds. Her pink eyes are only a step away from the truth hidden in the artifact. But at that moment. Abruptly, the windows shatter, and a single man wearing black jumps into the room. One of the glass fragments lightly graze Sherry''s cheek. "Ow...!?" "Who are you!" The two knights bring up their swords. Due to the pain on her cheek, Sherry finally notices her current situation. "Eh? Eh?" Clutching the artifact to her chest, Sherry dives underneath a desk. When she lightly rubs her cheek, some blood is left on her hand. "We are, um, Shadow Garden. Wait, was it Shadow Guardian? Ah, whatever. I am Lex, Lex the Treacherous Player. You all can call me Lex-sama." The man in black laughs behind his mask. "This is seriously in the way." Then he throws away his mask. He has dull red hair and a frivolous aura, as well as eyes that look like that of a starving stray dog. "Hii!" The mask slides to where Sherry is, causing her to shrink even deeper into her hiding place. "Shadow Garden... so you bastards are the rumored..." "Regardless of your aim, don''t think you can get away easily after attacking the academy!" Lex laughs at the two knights'' words. "Yea, they probably won''t get away easily. Shadow Garden, that is. Oh, and by the way..." There is a break in Lex''s words. "I''ve already forgotten what our aim is." Ka, ka, ka, reverberates his laughter. "Are you screwing around with us?" "No, I''m not screwing around. Just that I don''t really care about it. I was told to retrieve some pendant-like artifact thing. After retrieving that, then I can do whatever I want, they said." Lex''s eyes narrow with a sharp glint. "Do you guys know anything about it?" He scowls at the two knights. "!... Not the faintest idea." "We''ve never heard of such a thing." The knights'' answers brings a big smile to Lex''s face. "Your faces are saying that you do know something!" The air vibrates with magic. Lex is applying a huge amount of pressure on the area with a ridiculous amount of magic. "...!" Sherry hurriedly clamps her hands over her mouth to hold back the scream that almost escaped, then desperately begins crawling over the floor. Just a little more, the door is so close! "Who~ should~ I~ start~ with~ first~?" Lex sweeps the room with his starved stray dog eyes. "How about that young lady over there?" Abruptly, he disappears. Then suddenly, he is standing before Sherry. "KYYYYAAAHHHHHH!" "Bye~" "NO!" Sherry clenches her eyes shut and curls up while clutching her head. But. "We won''t let you!" Lex''s downward swing hits the floor. When Sherry slowly opens her eyes with trepidation, she sees a knight with hair like a lion''s mane holding his sword and standing in front of her. "Heeh~, to be able to move this well even without magic." "Magic is not everything. With the difference in our strengths, warding off your attacks is a walk in the park." "Difference in our strengths... Don''t tell me you actually believe that you are stronger than me?" Lex glares at the large knight with a vicious glint in his eyes. "I do indeed." "Let''s at least hear your name." "Vice Commander of the Crimson Order, Glen of the Lion Mane." The other knight stands up beside Glen. "Marco, also of the Crimson Order." "No one asked for your name." Then Marco looks back at Sherry. "Run." Then the fighting begins. Sherry scrambles over the floor, manages to exit to the hallway, then runs away at full speed. The dying screams echoing from behind her causes her to clamp both hands over her ears. 35 The Romance of Looking Down From a Rooftop I am now on a roof, looking out over the entire academy. I can see everybody in the school being shepherded towards the auditorium. The auditorium is so huge that it can easily fit everybody. The school entrance ceremony is always held there, and sometimes there are plays or speakers or whatnot that are also held there. I can see many knights crowding around outside the academy, drawn here by all the noise. But they are maintaining a certain distance away, probably because that''s the boundary beyond which magic is sealed. There are almost no more presences within the rest of the school grounds. There''s only men in black scouring the rooms for any students who are still hiding. While looking at the state of the academy, a laugh escapes my lips. I''ve always wanted to do this. School under attack, students under capture, mysterious terrorist organization, and me, looking over it all from a rooftop. I got to check off one item on my to-do list. "Me looking down from a rooftop." Been there, done that. Well then, what should I play to occupy my time until night falls? Actually, I''ve had a thought ever since those men in black rushed into my classroom. That these terrorists have zero sense of esthetics. It is now afternoon. The sun is shining brightly, the sky is clear with not a cloud in sight, and there''s a refreshing wind blowing. Then there''s these guys, wearing black longcoats. How ridiculous. They have made a crucial mistake. That is... they have underestimated TPO. Everyone is free to choose their own fashion, but disregarding TPO would turn it into mistaken fashion. As such, now, they just look dumb. Black longcoats are only for night time, duh. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. But well, I want to enjoy this for a while longer, so it''s not a problem that they''re taking their time. What a waste it would be for this to end quickly. I have decided on Operation Take-My-Time-Till-Night. While looking over the academy with such thoughts in my head, I spy two men in black walking down a hallway. Yep, black longcoats in broad daylight really do look dumb. Hey, let''s play sniper. I cut out a thumb-sized piece of slime from my slime suit. I roll it into a ball and imbue it with magic, lie down on the rooftop, then take a finger flick pose. "You fool, you''re in my line of fire." So muttering, I flick. Psshun. Leaving behind the sound of something slicing through air, the slime ball pierces through the man''s forehead. "Ah..." Then the slime ball also pierces the other man''s heart. To think that I''d get the One Shot Two Kills achievement here. Come on, I wanted to shoot one more time. "Oh well, let''s look for another target then." I ready another slime ball, then close one eye and curl my fingers over my other eye, as if I''m looking through a scope. I spy a defenseless idiot walking around the school building that I''m facing. "Target confirmed, pink-haired girl... eh?" Isn''t that Sherry? What is she doing. She''s walking around while restlessly looking all around, but she''s actually already been found. "Sherry-chan, they''ve noticed you." I see a man in black rapidly approaching Sherry from behind her. I take aim... then flick. Psshun. The man''s head bursts. "Mission complete." Sherry continues walking on, oblivious to what had happened, until she turns a corner and leaves my sight. Fumu, she''s involved with all this. My mob sensor is telling me, with utmost certainty, that the main scenario is proceeding right now. When the main scenario finally reaches the climax, then I appear gallantly as a power from the shadows... noice. Alright. I gather magic in my legs, confirm that no one is looking, then jump. "Tou!" (T/N: In sentai shows, jumping while saying ''tou'' somehow makes it cooler lol.) I land on the roof of that other building. Then I slip into the building through an open window on the top floor. I proceed down the hallway and... spotted. That pink hair looking around restlessly like a suspicious person. "As I said, they''ve noticed you." There is another man in black behind Sherry. Right before he grabs her, I move at top speed. "Eh?" Feeling some movement behind her, Sherry turns around. She thinks she also heard the sound of something cutting through the air, but there''s no one there. The quiet, empty hallway stretches on into the distance. "Just my imagination...?" Carefully checking her surrounds, Sherry continues walking on with her flapping shoes, clutching the artifact tightly to her chest. The knight had said back then that magic cannot be used. If his words were real, then Sherry thinks she knows what''s going on. It''s related to her. And then, this artifact is also... Sherry hugs the artifact even closer. "I have to do something about this...!" The figures of the two knights who fought to let her escape resurface in her mind. She cannot let their deaths go to waste. With such thoughts whirling around in her head, she turns the corner. "Ah!" There''s a man in black there! Sherry quickly hides back behind the corner. What to do, it seems that their eyes had met! There''s that sound again, of something cutting through the air. "It''s fine, I wasn''t spotted, I wasn''t spotted..." So praying, she slowly peeks around the corner... "Oh whew, he didn''t see me..." The man in black is gone. Resolving to focus more, Sherry resumes her flapping steps while carefully observing her surroundings. "Ah!" There''s a man in black in a classroom who is looking out at the hallway! Sherry hurriedly hides herself, but it''s too late. The classroom door is opened, and the man in black comes out. "Hii." Sherry clutches her head, and clenches her eyes shut. ... ... Again there''s the sound of something cutting through air. "Eh?" Sherry opens her eyes with trepidation, and realizes that the man in black has disappeared. "Oh wheeewww, I wasn''t spotted..." Sherry focuses even more, then flaps on. She checks all corners, the inside of all classrooms, and even behind her. Looking here, looking there, looking everywhere. Having to confirm everything in her surroundings naturally means that her process becomes extremely slow. "Ah!" She trips. Falling flat on the ground, she watches the artifact flying through midair. The artifact falls on the ground... or not. Right before it does, it is caught by someone. Looking upwards, she sees her recently-made friend standing there. "Sid-kun...!" However, he is covered with blood. "Eh, are you alright?! You''re hurt..." "I''m alright. By some miraculous stroke of luck, I managed to pull through. So don''t worry about it." For some reason, he seems really tired, and is looking at Sherry with a half-opened eye. "There is a lot that I want to say. Firstly, please stop walking while immersed in your thoughts. Secondly, please stop talking to yourself out loud. Thirdly, please pay attention to the ground." Then he sighs deeply. "But before anything else, please take off your really noisy flapping loafers, alright?" Sherry nods. 36 Relieved That Its More Decent Than Expected With me supporting Sherry, we make our way to the Vice Principal''s office. Incidentally, along the way, I secretly took care of 5 more guys. We open the slightly heavy door and go inside. The interior is decorated quite tastefully, and one of the walls is covered with bookshelves that reach the height of a normal person. There are stacks of documents on the Vice Principal''s desk, and sunlight is gently shining through the north-facing windows. It has a really composed atmosphere, and truly feels like ''an adult''s space.'' Sherry begins going through the drawers with familiarity. "Please don''t make loud noises, alright?" The pink hair on the other side of the table nods silently. "Fuu..." I throw myself onto the two-person sofa and let out a long breath. I''m so tired. There is no doubt that Sherry is this time''s main character, but it''s beyond her. There''s absolutely no way she can clear this scenario by herself. In situations like this, the main character always has a partner character, but there isn''t even the shadow of such a presence. This is a really crappy scenario. So after thinking about it, I decided to take up the assistant mob character position myself. As a mob, I must never take the position of a main character. Never ever. "Found it." Sherry comes back over to this side of the table with a bunch of documents in her hands. Then she spreads them out over the coffee table. "What''s this?" It''s all symbols and figures and equations. I haven''t the faintest idea what any of this is. "This is an artifact called the Eye of Avarice. I''m almost certain that this is what''s interfering with all the magic in this place." She is pointing at a circular, ominous-looking design roughly the size of a ping pong ball. "This Eye of Avarice sucks up all nearby magic and stores it. So when it is activated, it becomes extremely difficult to use magic in its vicinity." "The men in black are using magic as usual, though?" "They must have registered their magical signatures with the Eye of Avarice beforehand. It''s already been confirmed that the Eye doesn''t suck magic from registered signatures. Extremely fine magic and extremely vigorous magic, the Eye cannot absorb, but in the first place, no one can handle such magic." Fumu. "This ability alone is already quite troubling, but actually, the magic stored in the Eye of Avarice can also be used. I believe that the original purpose of this artifact is to be used so, but due to the fact that it cannot store the absorbed magic for a long period of time, it was deemed as a faulty artifact." "So, if a long period of time is impossible, does that mean that a short period of time is possible?" "Yes. Currently, there is a large number of magic swordsmen students captured in the auditorium. If all the magic being absorbed from there is released all at once... the entire academy would be blown to bits." "Heeh..." "This Eye of Avarice is something that I''ve previously researched and deciphered. Due to how dangerous it is, I never did publish my results and gave it directly to the country for safekeeping, but... how did things become like this." Sherry looks at me with a meek gaze. "Either there was another one with the same function, or the one you gave to the country was stolen. So, putting that aside, is there a way to counteract the effects of the Eye of Avarice?" "Yes there is." Sherry nods, then takes out a large pendant. "What a dirty-looking pendant." "I believe this is a controller for the Eye of Avarice. In the first place, the Eye is not an artifact by itself, but a pair, together with a controller. With the controller, its status is no longer a faulty artifact incapable of long term storage." "So it becomes capable of long term storage?" "I don''t know for sure because I''ve never studied the two of them together, but I think there is a high possibility." "Fumu." "And this being the controller, it is also capable of temporarily stopping the Eye of Avarice. In that time frame, we can free the students from the auditorium." "Sounds good. So, what needs to be done?" "Umm, I still haven''t finished deciphering this artifact, so I''d need to finish that up first." "Fumu." "After I''m done, then this artifact needs to be activated and then brought close to the Eye of Avarice." "How so?" "Umm... because there are so many guards all around, I think our best bet is to go underground." Sherry gives me a slightly troubled smile. "Underground?" "Yes." She walks towards the bookshelves, then begins to take out several books. After which one of the bookshelves rotates, revealing a staircase that leads downwards. "Wow." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. I love contrivances like this. "There are several escape routes hidden throughout the school facilities. But it seems that this one hasn''t been used recently." Sherry''s eyes cloud over with sorrow and worry. "The dust on the steps is undisturbed... there are no footsteps. How reassuring it would have been if stepfather had escaped from here already." "Vice Principal Ruslan, huh. He is your stepfather, right?" "He had originally been supporting my mother''s research. We were in his care ever since long ago. Then when my mother died and I had nowhere to go, he took me in and raised me by himself." "He sounds like a really great person." "Yes he is, very much so. I''m always being helped by him... which is why this time, I want to help him." So says Sherry with a bright smile. "Hope he''s safe. So, what happens after we get close from underground?" "Ah, umm... we get close from underground, then throw the activated artifact into the auditorium." "It won''t break?" "Even if it breaks, it would still cancel out the Eye''s effects for a while, so that would be fine too. Then everything after that would have to be up to the magic swordsmen students themselves, I think..." The ending is a bit weak, but I guess I can become Shadow and somehow make do. More like, it''d make for a pretty good entrance scene for me, so I should probably be grateful for it. "Wonderful. Let''s go with that, then." "Yay. Then I''m going to continue deciphering this artifact." "My wound is hurting, so I''m afraid I can''t be of much more help. I wish you all the best." I''m relieved that she actually has a pretty decent plan. With this, then it seems there''d be almost no more screen time for the assistant mob character. "Sid-kun too, don''t push yourself too hard. I''ll do my best. I''ve never been able to do anything so far, so now I''m going to save stepfather and everybody else." "Un, add oil. Ah, I have to go to the toilet." Leaving behind Sherry, who''s already engrossed with her work, I head out for some fun. The man with the eyes of a starved stray dog, Lex, opens the doors of the auditorium and boldly saunters in. Several men in black follow Lex in. When they pass by, the students sitting in chairs all keep their heads down. All doors of the enormous auditorium have been blocked by the men in black. The students are constantly under supervision, and talking is forbidden. With a frivolous smile on his face, Lex walks through the auditorium and into the waiting room at the back. "So, how did it go?" So asks the man in black sitting inside the room, as soon as Lex closes the door. It is a low, dignified voice. His face is covered by a mask, and though the rest of his appearance is the same as the others, he has an aura such that anyone can tell with one look that he''s of a different status. "Don''t be so impatient, ''Thin Knight''-san. The occupation of the school is almost complete. The Knight Order is raising a racket outside, but that''s of no concern to us." "I don''t care about any of that. What I''m asking is, how went the retrieval of the artifact?" "Ahh, artifact, the artifact..." Lex shrugs his shoulders and looks at the Thin Knight. "Probably that girl has it. The one with pink hair." "You failed to retrieve it?" Lex scratches his head and averts his eyes. "Well, you could say that, I suppose." "Are you fucking with me?" The Thin Knight''s magic raises, causing the air to shake. That killing intent causes Lex''s face to go stiff. "Come on, don''t be mad. We know the general area where she is, we''ll get it soon enough." "Do you know just how much your fooling around has hindered the progress of the plan?! The next time you fail me, I WILL kill you. Do you understand!" "Yes, yes! OK." The Thin Knight watches with sharp eyes as Lex leaves the room with raised hands. "Ah, by the way." Stopping right before the door, Lex seemingly remembers something. "I think there might be a pretty dangerous guy around." Lex turns around to gauge the Thin Knight''s reaction. The Thin Knight silently prompts Lex to continue. "Several 3rd have been killed. Two 2nd have also been killed. Most of them died with their hearts directly crushed, or had a fatal point pierced by a small hole. The latter is most likely from a rapier. All the bodies had only a single wound. Which means the opponent must be extremely skilled." So saying, Lex smiles like a starved wolf. "Hou... so Shadow Garden is moving. We''ve successfully lured them out." "Probably. You should probably watch your back too." "Kuku... you are telling me to watch my back?" "Well, you''ll probably be fine, former Rounds-san." "Hmph. Bring me the artifact and the head of that Shadow Garden member. Failure will not be forgiven." "Che, I shouldn''t have told you." With one final grin, Lex leaves the room. The Thin Knight, left alone in the room, laughs to himself. "Finally, everything will be fulfilled..." Taking out an ominous-looking artifact from his chest pocket, he gazes at it with a suspicious glint in his eyes. "With this, I can reclaim my rightful place amongst the Rounds." A disturbing laugh continues reverberating around the room. 37 The Course of an Advanced Psychological Battle That was something that happened when Lex was walking down a hallway together with some subordinates. A very strange phenomenon befell them while they were searching for the artifact. Lex''s subordinate, who was walking ahead of him, suddenly vanished. "Hah?" Unable to comprehend what had just happened, Lex looks all around, but there is nothing that looks out of place. The only thing that might be a clue is the sound of something cutting through air. Shunn, shunn, there it is again. And then. "...!" The subordinate next to him disappears. But this time, he barely managed to see. It is the figure of a teenage boy wearing the academy uniform, covered in blood. He had knocked out that subordinate with the heel of his palm, then whisked that subordinate away. Lex was only barely able to see all that by strengthening his eyes to the very limit and concentrating. That''s how fast it was. "Be careful, we''re under attack!" So shouting, Lex vigilantly scans his surroundings. "...Ah?" But he is immediately rendered dumbstruck. The other subordinates who were supposed to have been following behind him are no longer there. Before he knew it, he had apparently become the only person standing in that long hallway. Then... shunn. As soon as that sound reaches his ears, Lex protects his heart with everything ounce of his strength. "Kuh...!" An enormous force slams into Lex''s arm. Baki. Together with the hair-raising sound of snapping bone, Lex is blown backwards with great momentum. "Kuh... FUCKER!" But he manages to immediately get back on his feet and draw his sword. However, there is no one in front of him. Lex tsks. With a single attack, his right arm, which had even been protected with magic, was broken. If his guard had not made it in time, his heart would have been pulverized for sure. Shunn. This time, Lex moves at the same time as the sound. Relying on pure intuition, he swings his sword towards the presence at his back. The timing is perfect. However. This bastard... he can go even faster?! After his sword harmlessly flies behind the teenager, Lex immediately shifts to protecting his heart. "Agah...!" But he loses his ribs in this exchange. Lex allows himself to fly backward, trying to catch a clear look at the teenager while he slowly kills his momentum. But there isn''t even an afterimage for him to see. "...Tsk." Lex spits out some blood-stained saliva, then takes up a stance. An enemy that he almost cannot see at all. Counterattacking is impossible. He is only single-sidedly taking a pounding. Objectively speaking, there can be no worse predicament as this. However... he has safely overcome this level of predicament numerous times before. He is Lex, one of the Named Children. "Seems you''re using a pretty useful artifact there." So says Lex in a voice that his opponent can hear. He''s figured out the secret. Through only this amount of fighting, Lex has seen through what''s happening here. The enemy''s movements has completely surpassed what a human can make. Which would mean that the other side must be borrowing an abnormal power. "At first glance, it might seem like I am at a disadvantage. But actually, you''re also pushing yourself quite hard, aren''t you?" To gain inhumanly speed would require a corresponding amount of sacrifice. The proof of this did not slip by Lex''s eyes. "Your uniform is already soaked with blood, isn''t it?" Indeed... it is thanks to the bloodstained uniform that Lex was able to solve this mystery. His enemy is using the power of an artifact to gain that inhuman speed. But the cost is that his body takes damage with each usage. Judging from the amount of blood on the uniform, Lex determines that his enemy is close to reaching his limit. And if Lex can properly take advantage of that moment... then he would win. Able to strip his enemy naked with only a tiny piece of information... this is Lex the Treacherous Player, one of the Named Children. "Based on my judgment, you only have two or three attacks left in you. That is your fucking limit!" So declares Lex with full confidence. There is no response from his opponent. Ever since Lex had begun speaking, the other side had not done anything to him, choosing only to maintain silence. "So I hit the bullseye." A corner of Lex''s lips curls upward in a smirk. His victory is in sight. However... Lex''s current situation is not as good as he is making it sound. Another way to rephrase what he just said is that he still has two or three almost invisible attacks that he needs to evade. "Heyyy, why''d you go silent?" That''s why Lex opts to put on a strong front. He must not let his opponent see him faltering. This fight... is an advanced psychological battle. "Come get me, you chicken!" Shunn. At the same time as the sound, Lex evades relying only on intuition. He tilts his upper body, shifting away from the trajectory of the incoming palm heel. But. So fast!? He abruptly brings his left arm forward in a guard. "GAAHH!" With several snaps, his left arm is also broken. Maintaining his grip on his sword through sheer willpower, Lex retreats. But his enemy gives chase. This enemy who had only been making burst attacks so far is giving chase. This... must mean that he is trying to finish up this fight! "COME AT ME, YOU FUCKER!!" Along with a roar, Lex pours everything he has into protecting his vitals. His enemy is at his limit! As long as he successfully endures this attack, it would be his victory! Immediately after, the palm heel smashes into his abdomen. "Gahah!! AAAAAaaaaahhh!!" Lex is blown backwards while spewing blood out of his mouth. He flies through a wall into a classroom, crashing into tables and chairs while tumbling to a stop. "Goho, goho...!" Clutching his stomach, Lex can''t help but to vomit up another mouthful of blood. His ribs have punctured several organs. But... he is still alive! It seems that putting everything into defense had paid off. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "He he..." Lex laughs with blood still on his lips, and looks up. But what greets his eyes is... "Wh-, what is this..." The classroom is filled with innumerable corpses lying in a haphazard pile. All of them are clad in black. And each one of them bears only a single wound. Could it be that all these Children were... by himself?! Katsu, katsu, katsu. Someone is coming down the hallway, his footsteps ringing out clearly and crisply. Katsu. Katsu. The footsteps stop before the door to the classroom. Silence. Lex realizes that his sword hand is sweating like crazy. Kacha. The click of the door knob turning breaks the silence. Then... the door opens. There is no one there. But there is a shunn sound, at which Lex''s right arm is ripped off. Shunn. Shunn. Shunn. Every time that sound rings out, Lex''s body loses a different part. "Ah, aa, aaH, aahh..." The final moment when the only part left, his head, is sent flying, Lex finally realizes that this enemy has no limits. "You... were wonderful." That is the last thing Lex hears the moment all life leaves him. 38 Lending Just a Tiny Bit of Help Nyuu looks down at the bodies in the devastated research lab. Her dark brown hair and eyes are accompanied by lame-looking glasses and the academy uniform. She can dress up in inconspicuous clothing, but she has a sexiness that cannot be hidden. "The Crimson Order''s ''Glen of the Lion Mane,'' huh." The corpse''s anguish-filled face is glaring vacantly at empty air. It seems that he had suffered quite a lot before dying. He was quite famous within the Knight Order, but with his magic sealed, he became easy picking. Then Nyuu''s interest shifts elsewhere. There is one more knight on the ground. He is actually still breathing. "Marco Granger. So you had entered the Crimson Order." Nyuu recognizes him. He has beautiful blue hair and a handsome face, and is also quite skilled as a knight. There were even rumors that he might be elected as the Grand Commander of the Knight Order in the future. Now that she''s thinking about it, she remembers that he has also had a strong sense of justice ever since he was young. In what seems like a lifetime ago, Marco had been Nyuu''s fianc. They''ve exchanged many letters, and have danced together in many balls. But in the end, he was only the partner that her parents had decided. Nyuu doesn''t know what he had thought of her, but to the very end, she never did come to fall in love with him. But then again, she didn''t particularly hate him either. She didn''t love him, but she did think of him as a nice person. She didn''t feel averse to the idea of marrying him in the future, and had actually thought that by marrying this person who everyone praises, she might have a shining future ahead of her. Path, decided by someone else. Partner, decided by someone else. Future, decided by someone else. Back then, Nyuu had a very thin sense of will. She merely followed along with the values espoused by those around her, and obeyed the orders from those in a position to order her. Even now, she doesn''t think such a way of living is that bad. It''s just that in comparison to her current life, it seems so very constrained. While looking at Marco''s face, Nyuu recalls the memories of them dancing together. Remembering herself being brought around like an accessory by the handsome Marco, Nyuu smiles wryly. Memories that she wants to forget, but cannot forget. "Nyuu, what are you doing?" Nyuu turns around at the voice that suddenly addresses her. She feels no presence, but there''s no need for alarm. Because she recognizes that voice. "Shadow-sama..." There is a black-haired teenage boy with a common-looking face standing in the research lab. The boy walks past Nyuu, then opens a cupboard in the lab. "This person used to be my fianc." "Heeh~ What are you going to do about him then?" "Personally speaking, I have no reason to save him, nor any reason to kill him." "Isn''t that fine to just leave him be, then?" So saying, the boy continues looking for something in the cupboard. Nyuu leaves Marco and stands beside the boy. "Shadow-sama, I''m sorry for the delay, but I have something to report." "Un." "Currently, Shadow Garden is lying in wait in the vicinity of the academy. They can move as soon as you give the order." "Un." "However, there would be a certain risk with fighting under this magic restriction. The only ones who can move as usual are the Seven Shadows, but the only one of them currently in the capital is Gamma-sama. And, um, Gamma-sama is not very suited for this kind of..." "Yep, she''s got zero sense." "That''s... yes, sir. As for me, I can only use about 50% of my usual strength..." "I see." "Gamma-sama is currently taking general command. She predicts that this state of magic restriction would not last long, so her standing order is for us to standby until it is lifted." "Un." "The men in black have barricaded themselves in the auditorium, then shown no further movement. They have also not made any demands. The Knight Order has the academy surrounded, but the only one of them who has enough strength to fight these men is Iris Midgar and the Grand Commander. Due to the fact that the two of them are usually at each other''s throats, cooperation between them is highly unlikely." "Un." "Do you have any further instructions for us, Shadow-sama? If not, then we''ll continue being on standby." "Un." "Will that be all, sir?" "Un... ah, wait a second." "Yes, sir." "I''m looking for a few things, give me a hand. Mithril forceps, earth dragon powdered bones, ash magic stones..." As the boy continues to rattle off a list of utensils and ingredients, Nyuu takes them out from the cupboards and shelves. "Thanks, you were a great help." "It was my pleasure. Umm, may I ask what you are going to do with all these?" Nyuu asks the teenage boy who has both hands full. "Aah, this? It''s for modifying an artifact." "Modifying an artifact?" It is beyond her expectation that he would be proficient even with artifacts, but then again, his existence being what it is, it would not be surprising if he is. But it''s just, why this during the current situation? "What''s causing the magic interference right now is an artifact called the Eye of Avarice. These are for the final modifications to a different artifact that can temporarily cancel out the effects of the Eye of Avarice." "How... as expected of Shadow-sama." To think that he''s already determined the cause of the magic interference, and is even already in the process of preparing a countermeasure. But to prepare something that can counteract an artifact capable of causing such an enormous magic interference would require an abnormal amount of knowledge. In fact, it would be impossible without knowledge on par with the top minds of the country. Nyuu shivers at his unfathomable brilliance. "It should be done around when the sun sets." "Then we will ready ourselves to begin moving in concert with that timing." "It''s gonna be fun, isn''t it?" "Yes, sir." After seeing off the teenage boy with utensils and ingredients in both hands, Nyuu reconfirms her former fianc''s consciousness. Her jet black blade touches his neck. His breathing and heartbeat are both normal, with no tremor. He is indeed alive, but unconscious. "Guess you got lucky today." Leaving only a shallow cut on his neck, Nyuu turns around and leaves. "I''m back." Seeing Sid coming back with utensils in his arms, Sherry smiles. She takes each item from him and lines it up on the table. "Thank you very much. With this, I will be able to finish it." "Ganbatte." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Sherry immediately goes back to working on the artifact. Sid takes a seat on the sofa and reads a book. The time passes by in silence. The sunlight shining through the windows gradually takes on a madder red shade. Every once in a while, Sid gets up to go to the toilet. Seeing Sid going to the toilet so often, Sherry hands him some digestive medicine, which he accepts with a complicated look on his face. Then the sun sets. The madder red color grows darker, and the shadows begin to grow thicker. When Sherry lights a lamp, the outside of the room has already gotten another shade darker. The sun has already completely disappeared when Sherry''s work is finally finished. "I''m done!" Sherry looks up at Sid with the pendant in her hands. Sid, who is reading a book with his legs crossed elegantly, looks up. "That''s amazing." "Yep, I did it!" "Un, the sun has also set, so it''s good timing too. The future of the academy is in your hands." Sid stands up and gives Sherry''s back a few pats. "There''s no longer anything for me to help you with. Go and save the world with your own hands." "I, I''ll do my best!" After replying in a slightly nervous voice, Sherry picks up the lamp and heads towards the staircase leading underground. "Really thank you so much, Sid-kun. It''s all thanks to you that I can go save my stepfather." Right before she reaches the staircase, Sherry turns around and lowers her head. "All I did was lend you a tiny bit of help. Everything else was your own effort. Hope your stepfather is safe." "Yep!" Sherry flashes one last smile, then descends the staircase. The damp staircase continues downwards for a while, until it stops in front of a tunnel with different air. Her lamp is the only illumination in these dark underground passages. If she makes one wrong turn, she could very easily get lost. "Umm..." Sherry opens her map and confirms the route to the auditorium. "I have to go straight, then take the third right..." Her progress at the beginning is slow and fearful. She remembers having taken these passages before with her stepfather. Even though he was busy with work, she had selfishly begged him to play with her. It is a precious memory for Sherry, one that she''ll never forget. She has no memory of her actual father. He had died soon after her birth. Her memories of her mother is also fading. She had been killed in the night by a robber when Sherry was 9. That night, Sherry had been hiding in a closet and peeking out from a crack. She remembers the black shadow of the robber, her mother''s scream, and that disturbing laughter. Even to this day, sometimes they still plague her dreams. For several years after that incident, Sherry wasn''t able to speak at all. She rejected everything around her, and focused solely on the artifact that her mother had left behind. She immersed herself in research, as if to follow her mother''s footsteps. The one who saved her was her stepfather. He adopted her, supported her research, and showered her with the love of a father, until she finally regained her voice. For Sherry, memories of family are mostly all with her stepfather. She has been supported by her stepfather all this way. Finally the day has come for her to do something back in return. "I''ve got to make sure this succeeds." Sherry continues proceeding down the passage, all alone. There is no longer fear in her steps. After a short while, she reaches her destination. "So this is underneath the auditorium..." There are several paths here. One leads to the first floor, one leads to the middle, and one leads to the second floor... She confirms with her map in hand, then walks on. "Ah...!" Then she finds it. It is a small vent grill between the second and third floors. It''s too small for a human to go through, but more than enough to throw the pendant through. Sherry furtively peeks through the vent grill. The main trick to erasing her presence is to let all the strength out of her body. Sid had told her so. She lets out all her strength, and slows down her breathing. There are many students sitting in the auditorium. There are also quite a few teachers. The number of men in black are actually not that high. Sherry thinks that as soon as the magic interference is gone, escape should indeed be possible. Alright. Sherry backs away from the grill, then takes out the pendant. Then she places the prepared magic stone into the slot on the pendant, which then begins to give off white light and letters. Firmly gripping the shining pendant in her hand, Sherry throws it into the auditorium through the vent grill without any hesitation whatsoever. 39 Wanting to Live for Just One More Day Rose observes the men in black with her ice-blue eyes. It has already been quite some time since she''s been brought to the auditorium. The sun has already set, and the auditorium is illuminated by warm lamp light. She had already cut the constraints tying her hands together with a small hidden knife that she had on her. While pretending to be still tied, she had passed the knife to the student next to her, after which the knife continued being passed on to each successive student. She herself can move at any moment. But she fully understands that her moving wouldn''t mean anything. The men in black are not high in numbers, but each and every single one of them are quite strong. And they are also following a clear chain of command. There is that one called Lex, and also that ''Thin Knight'' who seems to be the highest in command. Both of them are stronger than the others by several notches, and the teachers who had mistakenly gauged the difference in strength and tried to resist had been slaughtered without being able to achieve anything. Even if she can use magic, she is not sure that she can win. Fortunately, Lex hasn''t come back in quite a while. It would be great if he was defeated by the Knight Order outside, but... she can''t imagine someone with Lex''s strength making such a big blunder. Honestly speaking, Rose really hopes to be able to do something before he returns. The Thin Knight is frequently holed up in the green room at the back of the hall, but every once in a while he would come out and look around. Then when he sees that Lex hasn''t returned yet, he would curse a bit, then go back inside. From the Thin Knight''s dense magic and posture, Rose can tell that he has skill far beyond that of any normal master. He might be even stronger than that Iris Midgar... well, she hopes not. If he really is, then even if she regains her magic, her chances of winning against him are extremely slim. Either way, now is not the time to move. However, it is also true that time is running out. Along with the passing of time, Rose can feel the magic inside her body gradually being drained away. It is very likely related to the phenomenon of not being able to use magic, but she cannot determine the cause. Rose herself can still hold on for a while longer, but the students with small magic capacity are already beginning to struggle. In several hours, they would begin to suffer from magic deficiency. Then the chance for a counterattack would be lost forever. Unease and impatience whirl inside her heart. But what helps her to rein herself in is the figure of a certain boy. Every time she remembers the gallant figure of Sid protecting her at the cost of his own life, something hot wells up within Rose''s chest. She must not let his feelings go to waste. Rose endlessly repeats that to herself while continuing to wait. Then that moment arrives all of a sudden. A brilliant white light suddenly illuminates the auditorium. She does not know what it is. However, she is already moving before any coherent thought is formed in her mind. It doesn''t matter what that light is. All she knows is that her instinct is shouting at her that this would be the only opportunity she would ever have. When everyone is still blinded by the brilliant light, Rose dashes towards the man in black closest to her. The moment her hand reaches his unprotected neck, Rose realizes. She can use magic! In an instant, Rose severs the man''s neck with a hand chop coated with magic. She doesn''t know why she can suddenly use magic, and she really doesn''t care. She grabs the sword from the waist of that man who is now missing his head, and thrusts it into the air and shouts. "OUR MAGIC IS FREED!! ARISE, THE TIME FOR THE COUNTERATTACK IS NOW!!" The auditorium erupts. Boys and girls standing up, instantaneously breaking free of their bonds. Then the freed students begin moving. Everyone is united with the same will, and the very air shakes with their fervor. Rose unleashes her enormous magic, and sends one man in black flying. Everything for the sake of victory. Rose is fully aware that right now, this very instant, she is the symbol of their counterattack. As long as she continues to fight, everyone else will fight. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. She must continue winning in a way that everyone can see. So she decides to pay no mind to her magic output, focusing only on swinging her sword with all her might. "FOLLOW THE STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT!!" "GRAB THEIR SWORDS!!" While feeling the attention centered on her, the animosity and the acclaim, Rose continues killing enemies and freeing more students. Her figure is exactly that of those heroes depicted in epics. Everyone is looking up to her, and chasing after her. However, what she is doing is also a reckless charge without properly pacing her magic usage. No matter how much magic she might have, the more she uses, the closer she approaches her limit. Rose calmly assesses her own limit while feeling the rapid drain. As she loses magic, her strikes becomes duller, and her body becomes heavier. An enemy that she could have killed in one strike now requires two. Then two becomes three. Just a little more, a little bit more... but against her wishes, she finds herself already surrounded. Just one more person, then she''d probably collapse. The auditorium is already fully enveloped in the students'' fervor. Even if she falls now, there is no stopping the students anymore. One boy''s feelings passed onto Rose, then Rose''s feelings passed onto everyone else. Even though several lives had been lost in the process, those feelings had indeed been properly passed down. It was not wasted. The death of the boy, and also her own incoming death. There is a reason why Rose of the country of arts had aspired towards the sword. It is a really silly reason that she had never told anyone, a mere dream of a child. However, Rose had decided to seriously pursue it. Has she gotten a little closer to that dream? While such thoughts were flashing in her mind, Rose brandishes her sword for one last time. There is almost no magic imbued in that attack. There is also not much strength. And neither is it particularly fast. But drawing an arc more beautiful that any other strike that she has ever made, it cleanly decapitates one more enemy. It is the the very best strike in Rose''s entire life. That moment, Rose feels like she had grasped a very important sensation. But... The fact that it had come to her at the very last instant of her life is just too regrettable. While staring at the blades falling down on her from all four directions, Rose wishes that she can live for just one more day. And then. Her wish is granted. A black whirlwind sweeps over her. Leaving vivid red blood flying in the air, all the enemies around her are wiped out in a fraction of a moment. Her vicinity becomes silent, as if time had stopped. And in the midst of it all, there stands a man in a jet black coat. "Well done, ye who wields a beautiful blade..." That voice that sounds like a reverberation from the depths of the earth is directed towards Rose. Those words were probably praise for Rose''s final strike. However, Rose has received a shock so great that it cannot be expressed with such words. "My name is Shadow." The sword of that man who introduced himself as Shadow... was stunningly incredible. "I, I''m Rose. Rose... Oriana." Unable to recover from her shock, Rose replies in a quivering voice. Shadow''s sword is at a faraway pinnacle. It is a sword that is the fusion of the best techniques from innumerable schools, polished and sharpened to the limit, attained through unceasing effort. Rose even felt eternity from that sword. It is a sword far more complete than that of anything that Rose had ever seen in her life. "Come forth, oh loyal companions of mine..." Shadow shoots a beam of violet light towards the sky. A large group of figures wearing black rush into the auditorium, bathed in that violet light. Reinforcements...?! Rose''s unease is quickly proved needless. The group lands elegantly, then immediately engages the men in black in combat. Internal strife... does not feel like this. And neither do they seem to be from the Knight Order. And when she observes them more closely, Rose realizes that they are all women. And also... "So strong..." Every single one of them is strong. All of them are unbelievably strong. The men in black are going down in mere moments. All of these women''s swords are the same as Shadow''s. There is no doubt that Shadow is the one leading all of these paragons of strength. "Shadow-sama, we are glad to see you unharmed." "Nyuu, huh." One of the women kneels besides Shadow. "Their ringleader has set fire to the academy and is making to escape." "How foolish... I leave this place to you." "Yes, sir!" "Do they actually think they can run away...?" Shadow laughs in a low voice. Then he turns around, slices the auditorium''s door into bits with a single swing of his sword. The men in black in the way were also reduced to mere pieces of meat by the same swing. That swing had been quite similar to Rose''s, as if he was showing it to her. Then he calmly continues walking onwards, until his figure melts into the night. In Rose''s eyes, every single one of his movements had been the greatest lessons of her life. "Are you alright?" The woman who had been called Nyuu is calling out to Rose. "Yes..." "That was a really good strike back there." After saying that, she brandishes her own jet black blade, and dives into the fray. However, Nyuu''s own sword has also reached outrageous heights. The men in black are only being single-sidedly cut down. Rose''s common sense... no, everything that she knows of being a magic swordsman has been destroyed. The swing brandished by this group in black is not that of any existent school. It is a completely brand new school. Where on earth has such a group, of such a school, appeared from? It is beyond strange that she had never even known of them until today. "Fire, there''s a fire!!" That shout brings Rose back to her senses. There is indeed a fire coming from the back of the auditorium that is spreading quickly. "Starting from those close to the exits, calmly make your way out of the auditorium!!" So shouts Rose as she takes on the role of guiding the students. Thanks to the group in black, casualties are minimal. The fighting is already reaching the end. Rose lends her shoulders to two severely wounded students and escorts them to the exit. "The Knight Order is here!!" That shout causes everyone to sigh in relief. Rose also feels the strength leaving her such that she nearly falls, but she quickly regathers her focus. She continues to help students out of the auditorium. The fire is growing, and all the men in black are dead. And before anyone realized it, the group of women have also disappeared. As if they had never been here in the first place, leaving no trace behind, without anyone noticing, their brilliant figures disappearing into thin air. Rose helps the last student out of the auditorium, then turns around to look at the auditorium that is enveloped in roaring flames. "Exactly who were they..." All of a sudden, Rose thinks back again to Nyuu''s voice. For some reason, that voice sounds so nostalgic, as if it is a voice that she had heard long ago. 40 That Which is Truly Importan In the nighttime, the light from the faraway fire dully illuminates the Vice Principal''s room. In that dim room, there is a figure moving around. The figure pulls out several books from the bookshelves, and throws them to the ground and sets them on fire. The small fire is fed more and more books, until it grows to the point where the room is brightly lit. The now illuminated figure is revealed to be a thin, black-clad man. "What are you doing in such an outfit... Vice Principal Ruslan?" The thin figure shivers. He thought he had been alone in the room, but without him noticing, he apparently has company in the form of a teenage boy. The boy is sitting on the sofa, legs crossed, calmly reading a book. He is a black-haired boy with a face that can be found anywhere. However, the boy is not sparing even a glance for the man in black nor the spreading fire, focused only on his rather thick book. The sound of him turning a page seems unnaturally loud. "So, you noticed." So says the man in black. Then he takes off his mask, revealing the face of a middle-aged man. With his salt-and-pepper hair in an swept back style, he is undoubtedly Vice Principal Ruslan. Ruslan throws his mask into the fire, then takes off his black costume and throws that in too. The room becomes brighter by a notch. "Just for reference''s sake, can you tell me how you figured it out, Sid Kagenou-kun?" Ruslan sits down on the other sofa facing Sid''s. "I could tell with a look." Sid gives Ruslan a glance, then returns to his book. "A look, you say. Then perhaps it was my stride, or my posture... well either way, you have a very sharp eye." Ruslan studies Sid, while Sid continues reading his book. The shadows of the two of them generated by the fire flicker and shift. "For reference''s sake, can I also ask you something?" So asks Sid while still keeping his eyes on his book. Ruslan wordlessly prompts him to proceed. "Why are you doing this? I didn''t really peg you as having this kind of hobby." "''Why,'' huh... The story is going to have to go quite a while back." So murmurs Ruslan as he crosses his arms. "Long ago, I had stood at the pinnacle. It was before you were even born." "I''ve heard of you taking the championship at the Festival of the God of War." "The Festival is a far cry from the pinnacle. The real pinnacle is a lot farther down the road. Though I don''t think you would get it even if I told you." Ruslan laughs. There is no scorn there, only an indistinct sense of weariness. "Right after I reached the pinnacle, I became ill, which forced me to step back down. After all my effort clawing my way up, my glory lasted only for the briefest of moments. Then I had to focus on searching for a method to heal myself, until finally I saw the possibility for it in an artifact researcher named Luclaire." "Is this story going to be long?" "A bit, yes. So, Luclaire was Sherry''s mother. She was far too smart, such that she was hated by the entire academic world at large. However, her knowledge and ability as a researcher was arguably the top in the world, so she was in a position very convenient for me. Thus I decided to support her research, and we managed to gather many artifacts. Luclaire would research the artifacts, then I would use her results. She had no interest in wealth nor fame, so we had a good relationship. Then one day, I came upon the Eye of Avarice. It is the artifact that I had been searching for this entire time. But Luclaire... that silly woman, she called the Eye of Avarice ''dangerous'' and tried to apply to the country to take custody of it. That''s why I had to kill her. I started stabbing her from her extremities, then gradually worked my way inwards, until I finally stabbed her heart and even gave it one last twist." Sid closes his eyes to listen, with his book still open. "So I managed to keep in Eye of Avarice, but the research was not yet complete. However, I quickly found another convenient researcher C Luclaire''s daughter, Sherry. She did not know anything, did not doubt anything, and merely devoted herself to me. All while remaining ignorant of the fact that I''m the one who ripped her mother from her. My sweet, sweet, foolish stepdaughter. Thanks to the efforts of mother and child, the research on the Eye of Avarice was eventually completed. All that was left was to prepare a stage for absorbing magic and find a convenient scapegoat. And today... is the best day of my life, the day when my dream shall finally be achieved." Ku ku ku, laughs Ruslan. "So how was it, did it make for a good reference?" Sid opens his eyes at Ruslan''s question. "Alright, I get the general gist of it now. But... there''s just one thing that I want to confirm." "Try me." "Is it really true that you killed Sherry''s mother and are only using Sherry?" Sid takes his eyes off his book and looks straight at Ruslan. "Of course it is true. What, are you mad, Sid-kun?" "I wonder... Actually, I am someone who very clearly differentiates between things that are important to me, and things that are not." Sid casts his eyes down slightly. "May I ask why?" "To not be distracted, I think. I have something that I really want to achieve, and that something is extremely far away. That''s why I kept on whittling." "Whittling?" "As most people live on, things that they deem important grow in proportion. They make friends, find a spouse, get a job... in that way, it grows. But I did the opposite. I kept on cutting things off as I lived on. Don''t need this, don''t need that, like that. In that way, after whittling myself down to the very core, I finally determined that which is truly important to me. Now I live only for the sake of that single, tiny thing, so I don''t really care much about everything else." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Sid closes his book with an audible snap. He stands up, then throws the book into the fire. "So you mean that you don''t care at all about the foolish mother and daughter pair?" "Not exactly. I said that I don''t really care, not that I don''t care at all. Right now, I feel a little... chafed, I suppose." Then Sid draws the sword on his waist. "It''s about time we get started. I have a feeling that we will get interrupted if we take too long." "Good idea. Well then, I guess it''s time for us to part." Ruslan stands up and also draws his sword. The two white blades glitter in the light of the fire, and the outcome is decided in an instant. Ruslan''s sword pierces Sid''s chest, sending fresh blood flying. Sid''s body crashes through the room''s door from the momentum of the attack, straight into the now burning hallway. The boy''s body is immediately swallowed by the crimson flames, disappearing from sight. "Farewell, young man." Ruslan sheaths his sword. The fire from the hallway is beginning to invade his room, its might growing with every passing minute. But the moment Ruslan turns his heels and is about to leave... "Where are you going?" "...!" A voice that sounds like a reverberation from the depths of the earth reaches him. When Ruslan turns around, he sees a man in jet black standing there. His face is covered with a magician''s mask, and the hood of his longcoat is pulled forward deeply, but that coat is now burning with red flames. However, the man shows no sign of it bothering him at all, only silently drawing his jet black blade. "You are...!" Ruslan raises his own sword. "I am Shadow, he who lurks in the shadows and hunts the shadows..." "So you are that Shadow bastard..." Ruslan, who is holding his white blade up, faces off against Shadow, who is carelessly dangling his jet black blade. After staring at each other for a while, it is Ruslan who first stands down. "I see, you are strong indeed." "Hou..." "I, too, am someone who lived by the sword. Just by facing off, I can get at least a general read on my opponent. The current me is no match against you. So I''ll have to go full strength from the start." Ruslan takes a red lozenge out of his chest pocket and swallows it. Then he also takes out the Eye of Avarice and its controller. "The Eye of Avarice reveals its true worth only when the two parts are combined. Like this." With a click, the two are joined together. Abruptly, the two pieces release a brilliant white light, amidst which letters of the ancient language can be seen bursting out. A spiral of ancient letters whirls around the room. Laughing maniacally, Ruslan pushes the artifact against his own chest. "Right here and now, I shall be reborn!!" The artifact sinks into Ruslan''s chest. As if it is sinking into water, the artifact phases through both his clothes and his flesh. "OOOOOOOOoooooooHHHHHHHH!!" Ruslan furiously scratches his chest while roaring at the top of his voice. The ancient letters converge on Ruslan, carving themselves onto his body. The white light grows increasingly brighter, until it dyes the room pure white. And then. After the light subsides, there is Ruslan, on one knee. He slowly stands up, as white smoke rises from his body. When he raises his face, it can be seen that there are tiny, shining letters branded onto his face, looking like a tattoo. "Yes... this is the feeling... power, I feel the power coursing through me... I AM HEALED...!!" Magic blows in violent torrents emanating from Ruslan, causing the flames to bend back. A second glance reveals that the glowing letters are not only on his face, but also on his neck and hands. "Do you understand it, the feeling of this raging power! This magic that supersedes all humanly limits!!" Then Ruslan begins to laugh. "Firstly, I will now try it on you." Ruslan disappears. The next instant, he reappears behind Shadow, his sword already in the midst of a mowing attack.. A high-pitched clang rings out, and the air surrounding the two of them is blown away. "Hou, good job blocking that." Shadow is just standing there, his back still to Ruslan. Only his jet black sword is behind him, blocking Ruslan''s sword. Ruslan pours more strength into his sword, but Shadow''s doesn''t even tremble. "It seems that I had underestimated you a little. How about this then?" Ruslan disappears once more. This time, the high-pitched clanging rings out several times in quick succession. Every time the sound is heard, it can be seen that Shadow''s sword had changed positions slightly. Just the barest of movements, the bare minimum movement required to perfectly block each incoming attack. After the fourth clang, Ruslan reappears in front of Shadow. "To think that you could block even those. Very well, I shall acknowledge your strength." Then he looks at Shadow with a smile full of confidence. "In respect of that strength, I shall also get serious." Ruslan''s stance changes. He raises his sword overhead, and begins gathering an enormous amount of magic. With blindingly white light, his sword becomes the eye of a whirlpool of magic. "You may boast in the next life of having made me get serious." His attack hurtles towards Shadow with incredible strength and speed. But. Even that is easily parried by the jet black blade. "What?!" Sparks jump due to the clash. "You can handle even that?!" "Don''t tell me... this is all you''re capable of?" The two of them glare at each other in close proximity. "Guh... No, it has only just begun!" Ruslan''s sword accelerates. Its afterimages paint exquisite arcs in the air as it dances furiously. "UUUUUOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" The white sword flashes out in attack after attack to the accompaniment of Ruslan''s roar, but everything is repelled by the jet black sword. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" The white slashes clash with the jet black blade repeatedly, filling the air with sparks and the almost unceasing sound of metal on metal. Like some sort of brutal and barbaric music, the sounds ring on, adding a new dimension to the burning night. But eventually, it draws to a close. After one last swing of the jet black blade, Ruslan is sent flying. His body crashes into his desk before rolling to the ground. "Guh... h-, how can this be...!" Suppressing the pain running throughout his whole body, Ruslan slowly stands up. His wounds heal at a visible rate, but the light of the ancient letters on his skin dim in proportion. "To think that it would be such a tough battle. Kuku, you really are something indeed. But regardless of how strong you may be, you are already finished." "Finished, you say?" "Hah, I''ve already made all the necessary preparations so that this entire incident would be blamed on you and your Shadow Garden. Evidence, witnesses, I''ve got it all. It doesn''t matter how great you are at fighting, it won''t do you even a whit of good." Ruslan laughs. His twisted countenance closely observes Shadow to see his reaction. However, Shadow also laughs. Emanating from behind his mask, it is a low, low laugh that pours out. "Wh-, what are you laughing at..." "You. To think that you would call something on that level ''the end.'' Oh, you fool." "You''re just being a poor loser." So says Ruslan, the smile gone from his face. Shadow shakes his head. Condescendingly, even, as if he is mocking Ruslan for his failure to understand. "From the very start, our path has never been that of the just. But neither is it the path of the wicked. We are those who simply walk our own path." Then Shadow opens his arms wide, his coating making an audible snap from the gesture. "If you can, bring to us all the sins of the world. We will bear it all! But nothing will change. We will still carry on doing what we ought to do." "Are you saying that you are not afraid of having the entire world as your enemy?! That is sheer hubris, Shadow!" "Then how about you come over and try to crush my hubris?" Ruslan rushes over with a howl. Then his white sword is swung down from overhead, slicing straight towards Shadow. That attack which should have split Shadow''s head goes astray at the last second. "What!!" Fresh blood dances. Ruslan''s left wrist is pierced through by a jet black blade. Immediately, Ruslan changes to using his right hand and backs away. But. "WHAT!!" This time, it''s his right wrist that gets pierced. Ruslan continues trying to back away, but Shadow gives chase. "Guh... gah...!" Under an onslaught of stabs faster than his eyes can even follow, Ruslan cannot even react as his body becomes stained with blood. The innumerable thrusts pierce his wrists, then his feet, then his arms, then his thighs, gradually making their way inwards. "From the extremities, then gradually working inwards..." Shadow''s low voice reverberates in between thrusts. "Then finally it''s the heart, with a twist... is that correct?" The instant Shadow utters that sentence, his jet black sword pierces Ruslan''s chest. "How...!!" Even while spitting blood from his mouth, Ruslan tries to pull out the sword in his chest, desperately resisting. Ruslan''s eyes clash with the eyes of the boy behind the mask. "You bastard, you ar-...!" Right as Ruslan is about to say something, then jet black blade twists. "Gah, agah... aaa...!" Then the jet black blade is jerked back, causing a great amount of blood to fountain out. The light in Ruslan''s eyes and the ancient letters on his skin both gradually fade away. All that is left is the gaunt corpse of a middle-aged man. At that moment. A small scream pierces the air. "Stepfather..." Shadow turns around in his clothes dyed with Ruslan''s blood... and sees a pink-haired teenage girl by the door. "STEPFATHEEERRRRRR!!" The pink-haired girl runs past Shadow, making a beesline for Ruslan''s corpse. "Nooo... stepfather.. Why... WHY...!!" She clings onto the thin corpse as tears stream down her face, but her stepfather will never move again. The girl''s tears fall like rain over Ruslan''s face. Shadow looks down at the heartbroken girl, then turns around. "There''s no need for you to know..." Then he disappears into the depths of the crimson flames, with the heartrending wails of the girl ringing in his ears. 41 Arrival of the Summer Rain "What do you think?" The one who asked that while holding out a single sheet of paper is a blond elf beautiful enough to turn anyone''s head. She is wearing a dress as dark as the night, and standing in the Mitsugoshi Co. building in the deep of night. Gamma accepts the offered piece of paper and struggles for an answer. "Umm, Alpha-sama... I, I don''t really..." "Ah, sorry, it must be hard for you to answer." The elf called Alpha laughs lightly. The paper in between them is a wanted poster. On it is a sketch of Shadow''s figure in a jet black coat. "Sworn enemy of the kingdom, Shadow. Charged with indiscriminate murder, confinement, arson, and robbery... what a terrible person this is." "There is also a wanted poster for Shadow Garden with Alpha-sama''s name on in. All they have is your name, though." "Let me see." Alpha reads the other wanted poster taken out by Gamma. "Shadow Garden... this is a pretty terrible organization too, isn''t it." The light of the fireplace illuminates her from the side, giving her beauty an almost fantastical edge in the darkness of the night. "But what a pity. I hurried back as quickly as I could, but almost everything was already over by the time I arrived." Alpha throws the wanted posters into the fireplace. She watches as the dark stain at the corners of the papers spreads. " ''Bring to us all the sins of the world. But nothing will change. We will still carry on doing what we ought to do.'' ... what wonderful words indeed." As Alpha continues watching, the wanted posters gradually turn into ash, and crumble away. "Somewhere in my heart, I had thought us to be on the side of justice. But apparently it was not so for him." Her beauty as illuminated by the flickering fire changes along with the shifting shadows, her expression giving off differing impressions accordingly. At times like a goddess, and at times like a devil. Back and forth, and back and forth. Whimsically, capriciously, fickly. "It is our duty to answer to his resolve." Alpha turns around, the expression on her face causing Gamma to swallow her breath. "Gather all of the Seven Shadows who are free." "Yes ma''am, immediately." Gamma bows her head. Cold sweat slides down her neck, slowly making its way down until it disappears between her cleavage. Then after a slightly chilly gust of night wind, Gamma raises her head to see that there is no longer anyone there. All that is left is the flames in the fireplace flickering vigorously. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Umm...!" Hearing a voice calling out to him in front of the half-burnt academy, the common-looking teenage boy with black hair turns around. "Aah, sorry, sorry, I was thinking about something. So, what''s up?" "Someone told me that I would be able to meet you if I waited here. Because I have something I wanted to tell you..." The pink-haired girl looks straight at the boy. "Sure, I still have time until it''s my turn for the witness interview. And since classes would be off for quite a while." "So, um, thank you very much for the other day." The pink-haired girl bobs her head. "Sid-kun was really a huge help." "Nah, I didn''t really do that much." "If I was alone, I wouldn''t have been able to accomplish anything." "Don''t worry about it, really." "So actually, what I wanted to tell you today, is that I''m going to study abroad." "Aahh, that explains the luggage." The pink-haired girl is holding a large piece of luggage. "Yes. I''m going to get on the next carriage. I''m going to Rawagas." "The academy city, huh... wow." "I, I''ve found something that I really need to do. And the amount of knowledge I have at the moment is far too little to do that thing." "I see. Hope you get to learn a lot over there, then." "And also... I no longer have a reason to stay here anymore." The girl looks back at the school with a sorrowful face. "I really wanted to talk with Sid-kun more, but..." "Un. Let''s meet again, someday." "Yes, let''s." The pink-haired girl smiles, then walks past the boy. "Oh right, wait a second." "Yes?" The girl turns around at the boy''s voice. "Can... Can I ask what it is that you need to do?" The girl gives him a slightly troubled smile. "It''s a secret." "I see." "But, just that, if everything finishes... would you care to listen to my story?" "... Anytime." The two exchange smiles. Then they both turn around and begin walking off. The burning summer sun is suddenly obstructed by a large cumulonimbus. The tepid wind brings with it the smell of rain. "I, definitely will..." All of a sudden, the wind carries the girl''s voice to the boy''s ears. That small whisper that normally would not have been heard by anyone was clearly heard by the boy. He turns around, gazing at the girl''s dwindling back. Then plop, plop, comes tiny raindrops from the sky. It slowly wets that pink-colored hair. The boy walks on as if nothing had happened. The two of them never turned back again. 42 Proposing the Leech-style Mob Life What started it all was a single letter from Alpha. There was only one sentence on the letter. "If you''re free, then come to the Holy Land." That was it. Due to half the academy being burned down, summer holidays began early, so I am indeed quite free. And speaking from experience, Alpha''s invitations do lead to fun events the majority of the time, so I set off for the Holy Land the very next day after I saw the letter. Lindwurm, the Holy Land. Actually, I''ve been there once before. It is one of the holy sites of the most widespread religion of this world, The Word. It is a monotheistic religion that believes in Beatrix, the goddess who had granted powers to heroes in the legends. Getting from the academy to the Holy Land takes four days by carriage. It''s within the country, and actually not that far away. I was torn between dashing there at my full speed or taking the slow carriage as a mob, but in the end decided to diligently be a mob. Everyday decisions are important for character building, is what I told myself while putting on airs in an affected manner. Now I really want to punch that past me. I should have just ran. If I did it seriously during the night, it would have taken no time at all. The result of not having done so is that I am now inside the carriage belonging to the Student Council President, Rose Oriana. Inside the extravagant and spacious and comfortable carriage is just Rose and me. After taking a cheap carriage to an inn town, I had coincidentally bumped into Rose, who then enthusiastically invited me to ride her carriage. I had refused. I did refuse, but ended up losing to the power of royalty and thus ended up having to go to the Holy Land together with her. According to her, there''s some event called Trial of the Goddess that''s going to be held there, and that she had been invited as a VIP to said event. While thinking that that''s probably what Alpha''s invitation is referring to, I continue listening to Rose. But it''s just that about halfway through, she loses me completely. "Someone who possesses a heart as gallant as Sid-kun''s truly must not die in an incident like that." So says Rose with a gentle smile. Un, I''m just a mob, so I''m not gallant or anything, and since when have we been on a first name basis? But no matter, at least I can still understand her up to here. "The day I heard that you had survived, I felt that it was fate. The fact that the day has come where we can talk with each other again like this surely must be proof that the world has given us its blessing." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. This is the part around where I start to get lost. I don''t even believe in fate in the first place, and what the heck does she mean by ''the world''s blessing.'' I belong to the faction that sticks up our middle fingers to the world. "Our path will surely be one filled with thorns. With no one to bless us, and no one to acknowledge us." Didn''t you just say that the world is blessing us? "But the great hero in the legends who received his strength from the goddess is said to have been a commoner who built up enough wealth and fame to finally marry the princess of a great country. The path might be full of thorns, but there surely is a blissful future on the far side of it. This I truly believe." Is this some religious doctrine? The part where an extreme example, the hero in this case, is raised in order to bewilder the average person is really religion-like. "Overcoming this time''s Trial of the Goddess would be sure progress down that road of thorns. I, too, would be able to tell my father the story of a gallant boy." Guess whoever overcomes that trial would be a lucky fellow indeed. "That path of thorns must be traversed, one step at a time, but as two people together. And thus each step would engender deeper and stronger love that is tied all the tighter." So, like a three-legged race? That mentality of helping each other really does sound like a religious doctrine. "I haven''t told anyone else yet, but let''s work hard, for a happy future." "Sounds good." Rose offers me her hand, so I shake it. I really don''t know about all that religious mindset or teachings, but I do agree with the part about the happy future. Happiness is important, yep. For me, I mean. What do I care about other people''s happiness? While feeling Rose''s fiery gaze and slightly sweaty palm, I silently consider taking a distance from this girl. I don''t mean to reject religion, but it''s just that the difference in temperature is a bit hard to bear. I think everyone would be happiest if people on fire stick to hanging out with others similarly on fire. "Today''s weather is pretty good, isn''t it?" So I say while looking out the carriage windows at the clear blue sky and rolling green grassland. When you want to steer the conversation away from a troublesome topic, the weather is often a safe bet. "It sure is. Though the sun is so strong that it must be quite hot outside." Rose is now also looking outside. It is shady inside the carriage, but even so we are perspiring a bit. There is a shining sheen of sweat on Rose''s porcelain white neck. Her elegantly curled honey-colored hair sways gently in the wind, and her dazzling, pale-colored eyes narrow in enjoyment. For a while, we continue talking about the weather and the school and whatnot, until we gradually lapse into silence, both searching for a next topic. The thing about silence is that there are many different kinds of it. But they can generally be split between comfortable silences and uncomfortable silences. The silence where both parties are searching for a topic might be uncomfortable for most people, but that''s not really the case for me. Just knowing that we''re both searching for a topic gives me a somewhat heartwarming feeling. In the first place, if two people are alone together in a carriage for an extended period of time, then it''s only natural for topics to eventuallyrun out. The fruitless struggle to resist that eventuality is what is most heartwarming of all. After falling into silence several more times in that manner, Rose finally brings up that topic. The afternoon sun has already fallen quite a bit, and the light is already beginning to take on a madder red tinge. "That incident, there''s probably something deeper about it." "Nn?" Rose''s eyes reflect the faraway setting sun. "The men in black who claimed to be Shadow Garden, and the man who named himself as Shadow, those two are most likely from different organizations." "Why do you think so?" "The difference in their swords are just too stark. The swords of the men in black were all of the common variety. In contrast, the swords of Shadow and the women that followed him was a brand new school, one that has never been seen before." "Is that so." "I had told this to the Knight Order of Midgar Kingdom, that the men in black and Shadow were fighting each other. But the public announcement issued by the Knight Order considered the men in black to be of the same organization as Shadow. They did not provide any convincing argument for that conclusion. As such, I am sure that there is something much deeper about that incident." "Aren''t you just overthinking it?" "If so, then that''s fine. But, what if I''m not. What if Midgar Kingdom has pitted itself against the wrong enemy... then it might lead to an unthinkable catastrophe. I''m having Oriana Kingdom look into it too, but Sid-kun, you be careful." I nod. Rose smiles gently, then nods back. "We''ll be reaching the next inn town soon. I''ll get you a room next to mine, alright?" "Nah, I''m good. I''ll just find a cheap place." "You must not! It is very dangerous in those kinds of places! Don''t worry about the fee, I''ll pay for everything." "No no no, how can I trouble you so? I''ll be fine, really." "There''s no such thing as ''troubling'' between the two of us." In the end, I lost and ended up staying in the 30,000 Zeny per night top class inn. We then had dinner at a top class restaurant, after which I was dragged along to do window shopping and had a fashionable outfit coordinated for me. Lastly, we played for a short while at the casino, before finally returning to the inn. Of course, it was the royal treatment everywhere we went. The bed is soft and fluffy and there''s even a shower in my room. Through it all, my total expenditure was 0 Zeny. Could it be that the leech-style mob life is actually really great?! If I can just keep one eye closed in regards to her slightly fanatic religious side, this might actually be worth considering. 43 That Thing Thats As Enigmatic as Wooden Swords At Tourist Spots It is in the afternoon two days later that we finally reach Holy Land Lindwurm. A magnificent church stands in terrain that looks like a hollowed mountain, and under it spreads a townscape heavily based on the color white. The main street that runs through the town leads straight to the staircase that continues to the church, and there is a huge number of people going to and fro. We eat lunch at a top class restaurant as per usual, then stroll down the main street while browsing through the stalls. I find some souvenirs that look like those small accessories of a dragon wrapped around a sword that can be commonly found in tourist sites in Japan, and wryly thinking about the fact that they have these even in a different world. But it''s just that for some reason, the ones here are of a sinister-looking right arm wrapped around a sword. Slightly interested, I pick one up. "Caught your eye?" "Nn, a bit, I guess. So, why the right hand?" Rose peers at my hands. It''s just hot if you stick so close to me that our shoulders are touching. The altitude here is high so it''s a bit better, but you haven''t forgotten that it''s summer right now, have you? "Ah, that''s the sword of the hero Olivie and the right arm of the demon Diabolos. It is said that long ago, Olivie had severed and sealed Diabolos'' right arm in this land. Over there, that''s the place." Where Rose is pointing to is a spot even farther behind the church perched above the long staircase. "On that steep mountain surface is an ancient ruin called the Holy Ground, and that''s where Diabolos'' right arm is sealed. Or so goes the myth, at least." Rose smiles before continuing. "I believe that souvenir is quite popular among guys." "Yea, I can imagine. Excuse me, I want one of these!" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. This will be Hyoro''s souvenir. It costs quite a bit at 3,000 Zeny, but this I really can''t let Rose pay. Jaga had given me an entire shopping list of what he wants. It''s a pain so I haven''t looked at it yet. I put the souvenir into my pocket, then we continue walking. The stream of tourists flowing by and the liveliness around all the stalls somehow feels nostalgic. Then suddenly, Rose pulls my hand. "Over there is a an autograph session by Natsume-sensei! I''m a huge fan of hers!" The place we are heading towards is an enormous crowd. It''s in front of what seems to be a bookstore, but I can''t even see the shop''s signboard. "Umm, may I go line up for this? It might take quite a while though..." So asks Rose with upturned eyes. "I''ll wait for you, so go on ahead." "Thank you! How about you also come and meet Natsume-sensei?" "Nah, I''m good." Rose buys one of the books on display shelves that are for sale, then joins the line. Having nothing to do, I also take up a book and flip through it. "I am a dragon. As yet I have no name." Hell, isn''t this a complete rip-off? (T/N: Natsume Soseki was a super famous Japanese writer. I Am a Cat is a very well known satirical novel of his, and it starts off as "I am a cat. As yet I have no name.") No wait, I''m sure that it''s just that, by some freak stroke of coincidence, a literary master was born in this world who shares similar sentiments,. I collect myself and pick up another book. Romeo and Julietta. Yep, complete rip-off. There are more. Cinderella. Red Riding Hood. Oh wow, novelizations of Hollywood movies and manga and anime even. By this point, I finally get the message. Apparently, there are reincarnators here aside from me. I buy one book and get in line to meet ''Natsume-sensei.'' For starters, I''ll take a look at this person''s face. I''ll think about my next step after that. While engrossed in such thoughts, I have apparently reached close enough to the front of the line to lay eyes on ''Natsume-sensei.'' It''s a bit hard to see due to that large hood, but that figure is definitely female. Beautiful silver hair cropped close to the shoulders, cat-like eyes, and a mole under an eye. The opened top of her blouse is revealing a very deep cleavage. "Seriously?" How can I not recognize her? That person right there is someone I know very well indeed. I pinch the bridge of my nose and turn to quietly leave the line. "That person over there, where are you going?" I got stopped. It seems that the other side noticed me before I could leave. I am escorted straight to the front of the line, face to face with this beautiful silver-haired elf. Yep, she is an elf that I am extremely familiar with. It''s none other than Beta. "Pass me your book." Beta smiles at me, but I just hand her the book and try my best to act like I don''t know her. But while watching her sign my book with a practiced hand, I can''t hold myself back from asking. "How''s business?" In a super tiny voice. "So-so. I''m steadily spreading my name." Et tu, Beta. Here is another person making a profit by using my knowledge from my previous life. I did previously tell Beta stories from my previous life. She seemed to like literature, so I told her the ones I remember in a cool way, just for the heck of it. To think that she''d rip everything off almost verbatim and make a killing off it. Beta-kun, you have disappointed me. I look down at Bera with cold eyes while receiving my now signed book. "I''ve been invited as a VIP. I can leak information from the inside to some degree. I''ve written the full details of the plan in your book." The instant before I turn away, Beta says all that by moving her mouth a tiny bit. We part just like that, without looking at each other anymore. I love it, it''s like we are in a spy movie. Beta-kun, you have redeemed yourself. After I exit the store, for some reason a really happy Rose is waiting for me. "I knew it, you''re also a fan of Natsume-sensei, aren''t you!" "No, I''m not rea-..." "Don''t worry, I understand. You saw all the female fans, so it became hard to admit it, right? But though it''s true that it''s mostly female fans who come to these kinds of events, she actually also has a lot of male fans." "I... see..." "The greatest thing about Natsume-sensei is that absolutely amazing imagination of hers, isn''t it? All her works are completely original, have startlingly novel worldviews, and are filled with characters possessing such unique values." Oh yea, it''s all original and novel and unique, sure. "Romance, mystery, action, children''s tales, and even pure literature. There is no genre that she has not mastered. Every single work is as different from the one prior, almost as if it was written by an entirely different person. That great diversity is what has enabled her to have an iron grip on so many people''s hearts." That''s probably because they werewritten by entirely different people. "Look at this, this is my signature. Then I asked Natsume-sensei to sign her name right next to mine!" So saying, Rose spreads her book open, showing me her signature and Natsume-I''m-a-Rip-Off-sensei''s signature. Speaking of which, she had said that she wrote the details of some plan in my book. I also open my book to take a look. "This... is it the ancient language?" Comments Rose as she peers over my shoulder. I can''t read a single word. "Can you read it?" "No, the study of the ancient language is extremely difficult, so I only know a tiny bit. The lettering is indeed from the ancient language, but it seems to have been scrambled quite a bit also, so it wouldn''t make any sense to read it as it is." "Heeh~" But that makes it seem like a secret code, which is awesomely cool. As someone who had given up trying to learn the ancient language, I have a sort of admiration towards it. "But whyever did she write in the ancient language?" "Because it''s cool." "It''s cool?" "Un." "Guys sure seem to love this kind of thing." We then go on to check into a top class hotel, after which we have to part because Rose has to go around making her greetings to important people. She tells me that she can''t introduce me to them because we are still just school friends. What does she mean by ''still just.'' Does she actually have plans to convert me? I''m sorry, but I''ve already decided to not go deeply into any religion. 44 Holy Sword Excalibur I''m the type of person who doesn''t have a lot of likes nor dislikes. And most of those things I classify as ''whatever things.'' Even though they''re just ''whatever,'' I still do have my preferences. They''re not particularly important to me nor even necessary, but what I like is what I like, and what I dislike is what I dislike. No matter how hard I may try to make rational distinctions, it''s not possible to rationalize even feelings. I call them my ''whatever likes'' and my ''whatever dislikes.'' Among my ''whatever likes'' are hot springs. In my previous life, there was a period of time when I did not bathe at all. At that time, I had thought bathing to be an absolute waste of time. But with that said, I did still have to keep up with my mob life, so I showered for exactly 3 minutes everyday. It''s the time for soaking in a bath that I dealt away with, opting instead to dedicate that time to further training. It was around that time that I had felt myself hitting the limits of being human, so even mentally speaking I had no room for baths. I was seriously considering how to punch back a nuke with a right straight. After many things happened, I eventually realized that my head was in an unnatural state, so I did recover the habit of taking baths. What triggered it was hot springs. The act of soaking in hot water gives the heart composure. Composure is directly linked to the quality of training, and induces the flexibility necessary to sense magic and aura and all that. And so, I am now in a hot spring. Lindwurm is apparently famous as a hot springs town too, so I''m enjoying it in secret. The time now is early morning, because I like entering hot springs in the early morning. Of course, it''s not that I don''t go in at all during nighttime, I just prefer early morning more. The reason is because almost no one else does this, so I get to feel like I''d reserved the whole place. Today I had also come in hopes of the full reservation, but it seems that there is a prior customer here who had the exact same thought as me. As my bad luck would have it, it turns out to be Alexia. With her silvery white hair tied up, she widens her red eyes for a second upon seeing me, but then immediately turns to look off at nowhere in particular. After that, we both pretend to not see each other, maintaining a mutual non-intervention policy. This spring is a place only for super high class people to use, and in the early morning when there are very few users, the partition is removed and the entire place becomes a mixed bath. As I soak in both the spring and the rising sun, I think to myself how great it would feel if I really did have this place all to myself, what with this wide a spring, the sea of clouds under my eyes, and the beautiful sunrise. Alexia and I are occupying opposites ends of the outdoors spring with the best view, watching the sun climb up amidst a rather uncomfortable silence. In the corner of my eyes, I see Alexia''s white skin shake and cause waves on the water surface. It''s a bit of a waste, but let''s get out a bit early. Or so I am thinking, when Alexia suddenly breaks the silence. "Is your wound all healed?" So she asks in a voice relatively soft for her. "All healed." Wound? Which wound is she talking about? So I think to myself while answering. "I got a bit emotional and reflexively cut you for real, but well, I''m glad that you''re alright." "Thanks, I guess?" Oh, so she''s talking about that wound. Having been together with her for as long as I have, I understand that this is her way of an apology. I had thought that she didn''t know what an apology is because no one had taught her, but apparently this is an Alexia-style apology. "I guess I''ll also apologize then, for thinking that you''d turned into an indiscriminate slasher." After a small splash, several drops of water hit my face. "Like hell I would." "That''s what they all say. So anyways, why are you in Lindwurm?" "VIP for the Trial of the Goddess. You?" "I got invited here by a friend who told me there''d be a fun event. I''m starting to think it''s probably the Trial, but do you know what they actually do there?" Alexia sighs audibly. "So you came here without knowing even that? The Trial of the Goddess is a fight that takes place once per year, on the day when the door to the Holy Ground opens. Memories of ancient warriors are summoned from the Holy Ground, and challengers fight against those memories. Any magic swordsman can participate by submitting an application beforehand, but the ancient warriors might not necessarily respond. Every year, several hundreds of magic swordsmen challenge it, but only about 10 people get to actually fight." Sounds interesting. Maybe Alpha is planning to join this? "By what standards are they selected?" "Apparently it''s based on whether or not there is a matching ancient warrior or not. In most cases, the ancient warrior that shows up is slightly stronger than the challenger, which is why the name became Trial of the Goddess. Around 10 years ago, there was a wandering swordsman called Venom who managed to summon the hero Olivie, which became a hot topic for a very long time." "Heeh~ Did he win?" "I heard that he lost. But it''s not like I was there in person, so I can''t confirm nor deny it. Same for whether or not it was actually the hero Olivie that he summoned." "Fu~un." Would Alpha be able to call out the hero? Wouldn''t it be fun if she does? "So you''re not participating? I heard that you got a lot stronger lately though." "As if I would. This year I''m busy with something. Actually, there''s a lot of dark rumors about the archbishop here. So I''m here to investigate." "Dark rumors?" "I''m not going to tell you. If you really want to know, come join the Crimson Order." "Then I''m good, thanks." "Come join after you graduate." "I''m good, thanks." "I''ll fill out the application for you." "Don''t you dare." "You''re so stubborn." Then the conversation hits a lull. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. We are again wrapped in silence. Now it doesn''t feel so bad. "I had expected a stare like being licked all over, but it seems I''d guessed wrong." She did not specify a stare of what. "That''s quite some confidence." "Being as perfectly beautiful as I am, the lust-filled gazes just never stop, so it''s a bit troubling." So troubled that you don''t bother covering up? "When in a hot spring, I try not to look at other people. So that everyone can properly enjoy it." "That''s a good attitude." "Which is why you should stop sneaking peeks at my Excalibur." "Pft!" Alexia laughs. She is laughing at me from the bottom of her heart. "You call that Excalibur? You sure you didn''t mean Earthworm?" "If you think that it''s an earthworm, then that is fine. I''m fine with both whatever you want to call it. But just, a warning for you." I stand up with a splash, causing waves to spread. "Never judge a book by its cover. What you thought to be an earthworm might be actually only still sheathed." Then I turn to leave the spring without covering myself up at all. "Wha-, what''s that supposed to mean..." So mutters Alexia with crimson cheeks. "The Holy Sword, once drawn from its sheath, with naked blade released, would surely become the guide to the Garden of Chaos..." So I say profoundly, before slapping my butt, pechin, with my towel passed underneath my crotch. I like doing this thing that ossans do when they get out of hot springs. There''s no meaning to it. But if I don''t do this when I get out, it doesn''t feel like I was in a hot spring. I do it two more times, pechin, pechin, before finally going to the dressing room. Around when I finish getting clothed, I hear two pechin''s from the direction of the spring. 45 Plan A Has Failed, Shift to Plan B The solemn cathedral is illuminated by the warm glow given off by lamps, which causes the scene to seem fantastical, even. The only person standing here in this cathedral is a stunningly beautiful elf. Her blue eyes are directed at the statue of the hero Olivie, and she is wearing a jet black dress. The name of that elf who looks like brilliantly shining moonlight within the darkness of night is Alpha. "All we wish for is the truth." It is as if Alpha is talking to the statue. "Hero Olivie. What is it that you actually did in the Holy Ground? Now truth and lie is mixed together so thoroughly, it is like reading the darkness of history." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Then she begins walking, the sound of her high heels reverberating crisply throughout the cathedral. Gradually she approaches something red on the marble ground. "Archbishop Drake. What was it that you had been hiding? If only your mouth was still functional, then I could have had you answer me." The red thing on the marble ground is a large piece of meat covered with blood. What used to be a corpulent man is completely cut up, with not a breath left in him. The high heels stop right on top of the puddle of blood. The knee length skirt reveals her white, shapely legs. "Who were you killed by? Who is it that could cut down someone in a position as high as yours?" The eyes of the archbishop''s corpse speaks of the sublimity of the line on the boundary of death. The dark rumors of the archbishop had reached even the royal capital. Yet when someone is being sent over to investigate, he is erased. "We will await the opening of the door to the Holy Ground tomorrow." Alpha gives the statue of the hero Olivie one last glance before turning away. From beyond the doors to the cathedral float voices looking for the archbishop. Paying them no mind, Alpha opens the doors and strides out. As the sound of high heels gradually fade into the distance, knights surge in as if in exchange. Though they immediately see the corpse of the archbishop, not a single one of them speak of the golden-haired elf. In fact, not a single one of them had even registered having passed by her. The only proof that she had been here is the trail of red heel marks stretching off into the depths of a white marble corridor. On the night of the eve festival, I am looking down on Lindwurm from the top of a clock tower. The eve festival hosted the day before the Trial is currently under full swing. Both sides of the city''s main street are packed tightly with a huge variety of stalls, and the light of the lamps looks like a river winding into the distance. Rose apparently has a party with the church. Naturally, she did not invite me. If she did, I would have definitely declined though. With the wind ruffling my hair, I smile. I love scenes like this where a character looks down at the city and the people and all that from a high place like this. All the more so when the stage is night and there''s something actually happening down under my eyes. "So it''s started..." So I mutter on the spur of the moment. "So this... is the choice of that side..." (T/N: This is the choice of Steins Gate...) Then this is the part where I abruptly narrow my eyes. "In that case, we shall resist." I change into the figure of Shadow in an instant. "For we cannot condone this..." Then I jump into the night. My jet black longcoat flutters, and I clinch the landing. Here is an alleyway removed from all the ruckus of the eve festival. In front of me is a man who has his face hidden behind a mask. I have been following this guy with my eyes ever since he had left the church in a really suspiciou manner. I bet he''s a thief. Actually no, there is a faint scent of blood coming from him. Did he end up having to hurt someone while inside? If he did, then that would make him a muggler instead. "Did you think you can get away...?" The masked man backs up a step. "In the night, all is obscured. And there the world that belongs to us..." Mask Man draws his sword. "... A world from which no one can ever escape." Mask Man brings up his sword and faces me. I myself do not even touch my sword, merely standing in place, waiting forthat. Then the moment right before he swings his sword, his head just flies off. I watch on wordlessly, waiting until a female walks up from behind the corpse. "It has been a long while, my lord." So saying, she kneels before me. She is none other than Epsilon, the 5th member of the Seven Shadows. She draws back the part of the bodysuit covering her face and looks up at me. She is an elf with hair the color of a clear lake and eyes of a slightly darker color. When it comes to beauties, there are various types. And she, she is the glamorous type. Her finely chiseled face is glamorous, and her body style is glamorous. Everything shakes when she walks. She steals everyone''s gazes, male and female alike, even if the person is not actually interested. However, I actually know her secret. "Decapitation with a slice? Nicely done." "I am honored." Epsilon smiles with slightly red cheeks. Her dignified-sounding voice might come across as overbearing to some people. But for me, it somehow makes me think of the sound of a piano, so I don''t particularly dislike it. Among the Seven Shadows, she is the one with the highest precision in magic control. Normally, after magic leaves one''s body, it becomes very hard to control. She, however, is able to not only control it without effort, but her best technique is to even send it flying as a slicing attack. Thus her second name is ''The Precise.'' Though she is quite prideful and has a rather prickly personality, she is always all sweet when it comes to me. She gets misunderstood quite often, but she''s actually a very good girl who even poured me tea everyday in the past. She also obediently listens to Alpha, and is someone who really respects hierarchy relationships. It''s been a long time since I last saw her and so there''s a ton that I want to catch up with her on, but I realize from her atmosphere that she is in Shadow Garden mode. Very well. Then I shall also respond in kind. "What happened to ''that'' plan?" Epsilon grimaces. She''s probably desperately thinking up a story. "The target was eliminated by the Church''s ''Executioner.'' We took care of the pawns, but the Executioner slipped through our fingers." "Hou..." So she''s going with an ''Executioner.'' Nice, I love it. "So we will shift to the second plan." Ooo, the pattern of shifting to Plan B when Plan A fails. "Proceed. But you know what that means, right?" "Our resolve is firm. Even should it turn the Church into our enemy, even should our name reverberate with infamy..." "We will simply do what we do. Do not fail." "Yes, sir." Seeing Epsilon bow her head with a backward glance, I then exit the scene by erasing my presence and disappearing into the night with high speed movement. 46 A Woman Who Seems Shady and A Woman Who Seems Cheap and A Woman Who Seems Blissful How irritating, thinks Alexia inside her heart. She is currently watching the opening ceremony of the Trial of the Goddess from the VIP section. The first row of this section is occupied by, in order, Natsume, Alexia, and Rose. There are many more VIPs seated behind them, but the organizer is very blatantly putting the three of them in an obvious place so as to gather more participants. But she''s fine with that. There are two things that is actually responsible for her current mood. Firstly, she finds Acting Archbishop Nelson, who is currently self-importantly giving his greetings on stage, thoroughly irritating. She had talked with him in regards to the death of the archbishop yesterday, but he had refused to grant her permission to investigate the incident. He had given her some bullshit logic like ''The person you came to investigate is dead, so there''s nothing left for you to investigate.'' She tried to say ''my investigative target died so of course I now have to investigate all the more you retard'' in a more indirect way, but after that Nelson only continued insisting that she apply again for permission to investigate. Even if she returns back to the royal capital in a hurry, it would still take 3 days. Then it would require about a week for her own higher ups to give permission for the investigation. Then 3 more days to get back to Lindwurm. Then she would have to wait for Nelson to process the request, which can take as long as he wants it to. Based on her judgment of his character, he would probably get around to it after a week. But with that much time loss, naturally all evidence and witnesses and of course the culprit would be long gone. But with that said, as a representative of the country, she cannot push too forcefully. The Church spans the entire continent, so if Alexia antagonizes the Church, the surrounding countries would definitely come to pressure Midgar Kingdom. Above all, she, and the royal family by extension, would lose the citizens'' support. Religion is extremely convenient as an ally, but makes for an extremely troublesome opponent. While glaring at Nelson, who is enthusiastically given his speech, Alexia mentally berates him for being a baldy who is not mourning as he should be. Even though the archbishop''s death has yet to be publicized. By the way, yes Nelson is actually bald. (T/N: When Alexia calls him a ''baldy'' the first time she meant it as an insult (for some reason, calling someone a baldy in Japanese is an insult). Thus the follow up clarification.) Alexia sighs, then takes a sidelong look at Natsume-sensei at her right. Natsume is Alexia''s second point of irritation. Natsume is sitting with perfect manners, smiling in response to the crowd''s cheers. She has silvery white hair, blue cat-like eyes, and a well-featured face that includes a mole under an eye that increases her attractiveness. With perfect actions, Natsume is both smiling and waving her hand in thanks, gathering the love of the crowd with her beautiful looks. Alexia is only thinking ''she is shady as heck'' while watching on. She is being called a genius novelist with talent that appears only once in a thousand years or something, but Alexia has never even heard of her name until today. It is true that Alexia doesn''t have even a speck of interest in the arts, but as a princess she at least knows of anyone famous for anything in her kingdom. Which would mean that Natsume is a newbie who had only debuted recently. This much presence and bearing and popularity despite being a newbie? Every single detail just screams shadiness. This is not jealousy. If she really had to put a name to it, she would call it ''hatred for someone similar to herself.'' Alexia also acts perfectly in front of the masses. She represses her inner self to put on a performance as the perfect princess, that is how she lives. Those who stand above others all do this to some degree or other, but very few take it as far as she does. And it is a given that those who repress themselves that much further are actually that much blacker inside. "Thank you for all your support, everyone!" So says Natsume to the crowds. The sight causes Alexia to silently click her tongue. That voice that sounds like a cat''s purr is revolting. That excessively deep neckline is guileful. Don''t lean forward and press up your boobs, you fox. Stop acting all cute and shit. In that manner, Alexia continues to spout venom inside her heart even while smiling and waving to the masses herself. But the reaction of the crowd is markedly less heated than it was with Natsume. The smile on Alexia''s face stiffens for a brief instant, then she crosses her arms. By crossing her arms, she ''inadvertently'' pushes her breasts up, then she leans forward a little bit. The volume of the crowd''s cheering increases a little. Just a little. W-, well, she''s not wearing clothes that expose her cleavage after all, is how Alexia comforts herself while settling back in her chair. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. A brief glance to her left shows her Rose with a blissful smile on her face. She''s been like this ever since this morning. Then Alexia peeks at her right, just in case. That instant, Alexia sees it. Natsume has one corner of her lip raised in a smirk. She is fucking smirking. Alexia thinks she hears the sound of something snapping inside her heart. How irritating, thinks Beta inside her heart while maintaining the act of Natsume the novelist. There is only one thing that is responsible for her current mood: Alexia Midgar, who is currently sitting at her left. This woman is a harmful insect who is abusing her identity as a princess and as a classmate to get closer to her beloved master. She cajols the crowd with her revolting voice that sounds like a cat''s purr, she waves her hand while smiling the shadiest smile ever, and even her ''perfect princess'' act is shady as heck. Though Beta doesn''t think in the slightest that her master would fall for such a cheap-looking woman, but there''s always that one in a billion chance. Even without all that, this woman is a mere interloper who isn''t worthy of being in Beta''s ''The War Chronicles of Shadow-sama.'' The time when Beta heard that Shadow-sama had saved this woman in that princess abduction incident, Beta was absolutely livid. That role was supposed to be hers... well, no, but... yes, she was furious that such a cheap-looking woman had troubled Shadow-sama to move personally. This is not jealousy. In order to quell her anger, Beta described the rescued princess as a cute elf with silvery white hair and blue eyes and a mole under her eye, then kept on reading that part over and over again, deep into the night. If this woman continues appearing in The War Chronicles of Shadow-sama, then that would be a grave problem indeed. Even though Beta herself is more powerful and more beautiful and loves Shadow-sama so much more, why does this cheap-looking woman keep on butting in. Why can''t you just f-, fuck off. In that manner, Beta continues to spout venom inside her heart even while semi-automatically responding to the crowd''s cheers. When she takes a sidelong glance at her side, that cheap-looking princess is, of all things, emphasizing her cheap-looking boobs and trying to curry favor with the crowd. Ahh, how sickening. And the volume is hers is even markedly less than Beta''s own. Alexia''s is only normal sized. So I win in even this area, thinks Beta as she looks down at her prided deep cleavage and smirks. Oh oops, did she catch that? Beta opts to feign ignorance, but that instant, a sharp pain runs through her left foot. "Ou-...!?" Suppressing her voice, Beta looks over, and sees Alexia''s high heel stepping on her left foot. Beta thinks she hears the sound of something snapping inside her heart, but she presses it down, and calmly speaks up. "Alexia-sama, can you please move your foot..." Alexia pretends to only just notice it and gives Beta a nonchalant look before finally removing her foot. Then without even apologizing, she, of all things, smirks. THIS FUCKING BITCHHHH!!!!!! But on the edge of completely flipping out, Beta recalls her loyalty to her beloved master Shadow-sama and to Shadow Garden, and barely manages to hold herself back. The operative word being ''barely.'' Like, right-on-the-literal-edge level of barely. Blood drips down from the corner of Beta''s lip. The entire time, Rose is just smiling blissfully. 47 The Theory That When a Bomb Goes Off It Can Erase Everything Else That Had Happened I am currently absentmindedly gazing at the proceedings of the Trial of the Goddess from the audience seats. It is still daytime, and the event has only just started. Then there are greetings and VIP introductions and parades and all that jazz. The actual Trial will begin only after the sun sets, apparently. At the moment, I am merely a mob character in the audience seats. I look at the three VIPs in the front row of that section getting along together well and sigh. I want to do something. I want to do something ''power from the shadows''-like. I''m here at such a huge event! How can I forgive myself if I just go through it all as a mere mob without doing anything?! The most common pattern would be to hide my identity and participate in the Trial. Like, I could display my overwhelming strength and make everyone think "who on earth is this person?!" But unlike a tournament, each person only gets to fight once, and from my prior research, it seems that it''d be difficult to participate while hiding my identity. I did also consider the sudden intrusion pattern, but I kind of want to save that for a more important fight in the future. While bringing up and shooting down plans in my head, the event proceeds on. Haah, never mind. I couldn''t think of anything yesterday even with the whole day, so how can I so conveniently suddenly think of something right on the spot? I decide to continue enjoying the event as a mob, having half given up. In this world, events like this are quite rare, so it''s unexpectedly turning out to be actually quite fun. I also dabble a bit at the gambling corner and manage to earn a little bit. Then finally the sun sets, and the long-awaited Trial of the Goddess finally begins. Gorgeous lights illuminate the entire venue as letters from the ancient language begin floating up from the ground of the fighting field. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. The letters shine with a white light while deploying into a dome, which causes the volume of the cheers to go up several notches. The way this works is that the challenger would walk into the dome, which would cause the ancient warrior suitable to them to show up. Then they fight, and all interference from outside is blocked until either one of them is rendered incapable of further combat. Apparently there are even challengers who''ve died. Having to fight to that point means that I can''t participate as a mob, because the risk of me exposing my true strength would be quite high. After all this and that is over, finally, the first challenger is introduced and then steps into the dome. Apparently he is some valorous guy from the Knight Order. But there is no response. He swears, then steps out and leaves. That was the 200,000 Zeny participation fee disappearing into thin air. And there is even more than 150 challengers this time. Well, successfully clearing the Trial of the Goddess is apparently an enormous honor. You would get a commemorative medal, and pretty much everywhere you go would be like "oh, you cleared the Trial of the Goddess? Alright, you''re hired!" At least, that''s what I heard. I keep watching on as challenger after challenger keep going up, eagerly waiting for Alpha''s name to be called. It is the 14th person who finally gets an ancient warrior to appear. The moment Annerose, a traveller from Vegalta, the country of swords, steps into the dome, the ancient letters shine in response. Their light gathers into a humanoid shape, finally coalescing into a half-transparent warrior. According to the commentary, that warrior''s name is Bolg. The two fight normally, then Annerose wins normally. I had held some expectations for these ancient warriors, but they turn out to be rather normal. I look forward to seeing stronger warriors get summoned next. After that, the event continues, and I get a better bearing. It seems that Annelose was actually kind of strong. Eight people in total had summoned ancient warriors, but so far she was the only one who actually won. Which would mean that Bolg-kun was actually relatively strong. The night grows deep. There aren''t many challengers left. As the event gradually begins to feel like it''s ending, the name of a certain challenger is called out. "Next is a challenger from the Midgar Magic Swordsman Academy! His name is... Sid Kagenou!!" Who is Sid Kagen-... what the fuck, that''s my name! There can''t possibly be another Sid Kagenou from Midgar Magic Swordsman Academy. But wait, I have absolutely no memory of applying for this! "Let us greet our brave challenger with applause!" No, wait, don''t do that! Huge applause rises up. The cheers and whistling livens up the venue. This is a very bad atmosphere. My face is frozen stiff as my brain whirls at full speed. In this situation, there are really only three options. Option 1: Give up and go fight. If all goes well, then I can finish it all as a mere mob. But if a strong ancient warrior really gets summoned, then there''s a risk of my strength getting exposed. Option 2: Run away. All I am in the end is but a mob student. No one knows my face, so it''d be easy to slip away. However, that might cause the Church to become mad at me. They could put in a complaint with the school and get me expelled. Option 3: Muddy the waters. Yep, this is really the only reasonable one. I erase my presence and hide myself through high speed movement. Then in an empty place, I change into Shadow, and fly up into the air. I am currently advocating the theory that ''regardless of how bad a battlefield is, when an explosive explodes it can erase everything else that had happened.'' And so. Operation Burst onto the Scene as a Mysterious Power and Muddy the Fuck out of Everything starts... now. I descend into the dome area, and flutter my longcoat. "My name is Shadow... I am he who lurks into the shadows and hunts the shadows..." The entire venue falls into turmoil. The ancient letters react, and begin forming a shape. "Tonight shall be thy release..." I draw my jet black blade and thrust it towards the night sky. Beta''s slack-jawed face from the VIP seats is what leaves the deepest impression on me. 49 Those That Donst Understand Are Boring How long has it been since I''ve been able to enjoy this feeling. I face off against this woman with violet eyes, and smile underneath my mask. She is also smiling. Most likely, she is also feeling what I''m feeling right now. I like to think of fighting as a conversation. The quiver of a sword tip, the direction of the eyes, the positioning of the feet; every tiny detail has meaning, and to read that meaning and respond appropriately is what fighting is all about. The power to read meaning from the smallest of actions, and the power to provide the better response. It would not be an exaggeration to say that these two are the biggest strengths when it comes to fighting. And that''s why fighting is a conversation. The higher both sides'' conversational strength is, the further they can read and respond, and then read the other''s response and respond to that, continuing the conversation in that manner ad infinitum. But if their conversational strength is low, or if there is a large difference in their conversational strengths, then the conversation won''t even take place. One side, or perhaps both sides, would just do what they want to do, and then that would be that. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. There would be no conversation in there, no process, and only the result. I actually think that people who don''t intend to converse in the first place would be better off just competing with rock-paper-scissors. Delta, I''m talking about you. She would probably just keep on thrusting out ''rock'' to send ''scissors'' and ''paper'' flying her entire life. It''s a ridiculous rock-paper-scissors that she plays. But I''m not exactly in a position to say this of others. It''s been so long since I''ve had a real, proper conversation. The only way I''m different from Delta is that I do make the offer to initiate conversation. But it''s just that it always ends up being ''rock.'' And this is why I am now so happy to meet this violet-eyed lady. She is actually looking at me. At my sword, at my eyes, at my feet. Though she looks like she''s just casually smiling, she is properly paying attention to all my movements. Let''s just call her Violet-san. My dear Violet-san. For a while, we converse while simply looking at each other. In that way, we gradually get to know the other. She is the type to fight from a distance, and I''m the type who changes fighting style according to my opponent. I am definitely not the type to only go with ''rock'' every time. And so. Go on ahead. I offer her the first move. The next instant, I jerk my foot back. Immediately afterwards, something that looks like a red spear pierces up from where my foot had just been. How logical to aim for the foot. I retreat half a step in the same motion. To think that her first move would come from under the ground. The red spear splits into two, then chases me from the left and right in an effort to trap me. My first move is wait-and-see. I carefully observe the red spears'' speed, power, and mobility. To that end, I dodge the right spear and use my sword to deflect the left one. The feedback on my hand is quite heavy. This is strong enough to kill me with one hit. The evaded spear explodes with branches. The red, glinting needle-like lines may number even a thousand. Then all of them rush towards me from all directions. I clad my sword in magic and sever all the red spears with one swing. "No matter the size of a scourge of mosquitoes, they cannot kill a lion." Violet-san smiles gracefully. We look at each other again for a brief while. Higher conversational strength means evaluating the opponent''s strength in that short a time. And it also means understanding the opponent''s situation to some degree. That is true for me, and most likely for Violet-san too. We both already know how this fight is going to end. Then. Spears the width of logs sprout from the ground all at once, pulverizing the silence. Their total number is 9. I can evade the thick spears, but they are deforming into tentacles that are chasing after me. Stabbing like a spear, entangling like string, snapping like a jaw. This is her fighting style. These tentacles that she can manipulate freely would only one-sidedly torment her prey. But I''m still in wait-and-see. I look at the tentacles, and optimise my actions. I gradually decrease the amount that I have to move to evade. One step becomes half a step. Two moves become one. I can''t win by only evading. Evading is merely the preparation for counterattack. And the tighter the evasion, the quicker it can chain into a counterattack. Evade, then counterattack in the same instant. With a single step, I am standing right before her. Since who knows when, she is holding a huge scythe in her hands. She swings it in a mowing attack. I deflect that single strike with my sword. At the same time, I kick her leg. The slime sword protruding from the tip of my toes stabs her foot. Lately, this sword has been reduced to a mere prop for performances, but it is originally a surprise weapon that can enable me to break the equilibrium when fighting against a strong opponent. Her movements stop for the briefest of moments, but that''s more than enough for me. Violet-san smiles in acceptance of the outcome. "I would have loved to fight you at your full strength." So I say in a voice that only Violet-san can hear, amidst the scattering blood. "As I had said, it seems that Shadow is already on the ropes." So says Nelson triumphantly, which Alexia ignores. In this fight between Shadow and Aurora, it had been Aurora''s incessant onslaught from the very first move. Alexia watches on with shock at the red lines dancing at terrific speeds. No matter how she looks at it, there''s no way that that is a forged weapon. It is clear to see that its shape is freely changeable, and Aurora is controlling it as if it''s a part of her body. Most likely, it is capable of spreading in a much larger range to pierce a large number of targets all at once. Someone restricted to a single sword is no opponent. This is a fighting technique of old. Alexia is well aware that this is definitely not something that she can even dream of standing against. "He''s clinging on longer than expected. But the difference in strength is all too obvious." That''s not it. Alexia refutes Nelson''s assessment in her heart. It may look like Shadow is being pressed by Aurora''s fierce attacks, but that''s only because he hasn''t initiated a single attack yet. He is still only observing this fighting technique that he is seeing for the first time. Aurora is indeed strong. Since she can fight with Shadow in the truest meaning of the word. However, it''s just that the red spears have yet to graze Shadow even once. "No matter the size of a scourge of mosquitoes, they cannot kill a lion." So says Shadow as he blows away those spears that number more than a thousand with a single swing. Then the red spears become as thick as logs, assaulting him from all directions. They raise high-pitched screams as if to assert that they possess enough strength to kill lions, at times splitting, at times snapping like jaws, chasing and chasing and chasing Shadow. But none of them land. Instead, after every single pass, Shadow''s evasion becomes more refined. What seems to be the smallest possible movement is eclipsed the next moment by one even smaller. What Alexia thinks the ultimate exchange of offense and defense is overwritten again and again. "Amazing..." "As expected..." Alexia''s and Natsume''s murmurs overlap. The truly strong can drive the opponent to the ropes through defense alone. That is something that her swordsmanship teacher had previously told her. The very illustration of that is being played out before her eyes. "What is that damned witch doing. Just finish him off already!" Irritation can be heard in Nelson''s voice. But, no longer. No longer can Aurora stop Shadow. The decisive moment is but a flash. All Alexia can see is a fraction of the exchange. Shadow steps in, Aurora swings her huge scythe, then there''s already blood fountaining into the air. Blood from Aurora, that is. That seemingly effortless and instantaneous ending is exactly like a lion wringing the neck of a lamb. What did Shadow do exactly? What had happened in the exchange? No one knows. That''s why there was no suspense. It is as if the furious fight spread out before them mere moments ago was but a dream. The entire venue is as still as death. "She... lost? That''s impossible! It was Aurora who was on the offense the whole time!" So shouts Nelson. Most likely, in his eyes, Aurora had been winning to the very end. His head is not capable of processing what he perceives to be an abrupt upset. But Nelson is not the only one. Almost everyone in the audience had probably been mistaking the winner and loser while watching. "Exactly what had happened... there''s no way Aurora can lose! That woman is...!" Shadow flutters his jet black longcoat and soars into the night sky. "W-, wait! Give chase! Don''t let him get away!" So shouts Nelson immediately after regaining his senses. The Holy Knights all spring into motion, chasing after Shadow in a fluster. Alexia releases the breath that she had been holding in since who knows when, then ruminates over Shadow''s sword in her head so that she won''t forget it. "What a terrific sword as always..." So sighs Rose. Right when Alexia is about to voice her agreement, the venue is once again filled with dazzling white light. 50 The Heroine Who Directed and Acted in Her Own Production Rose narrows her eyes, patiently waiting for the light to subside. When it does, there is a large, white door. "That is...?" So Rose murmurs. "It''s opening...?" While giving off a faint glow, the door is indeed slowly opening. The sight is quite strange. "Don''t tell me, the Holy Ground responded...?" So mutters Nelson in shock. "What does that mean...?" "As you probably already know, today is the one day in the year that the door to the Holy Ground opens." "I heard that the door is in the church proper though?" "Yes, it is indeed. But there isn''t only one door. The door can be altered to specially welcome someone, depending on who is knocking. Other names for the door include The Unbidden Door, The Door of Convening, and finally, The Door of Welcome... And there''s no way of telling what lies beyond that door aside from actually going in." Nelson answers Rose''s question absentmindedly while still looking at the door. "Now that it''s come to this, it is impossible to resume the Trial of the Goddess. Have all the audience leave." After receiving Nelson''s instruction, his subordinate goes off to arrange the guiding of the audience. Those in the VIP seats also get up in turn. In that interval of time, the door has opened even farther. "Do not allow anyone to get close to that door!" So instructs Nelson. Then when the door has opened up enough for a single person to slip through, he turns to the three girls. "Kindly also make your way outside the venue." So says Nelson. But in that instant, Rose draws her sword. At the same time, Alexia also draws her sword. Then the two of them stand back to back while holding up their swords. "What are y-...!?" Flustered, Nelson looks around, and notices that the entire venue has been completely surrounded by a group in black. Even Rose and Alexia had failed to sense their presences until when it was too late. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "We apologize for the slight inconvenience, but we need all of you to stay put until the door closes." So declares a beautiful voice that sounds like the ringing of a bell. Then a single woman in a markedly different get-up appears before them. "You people... are you perhaps Shadow Garden?!" Among the group wearing black bodysuits, she is the only one wearing a dress-like robe. With elegant steps, she approaches the door. Along the way, she shoots a glance towards Rose and Alexia. The two''s shoulders jump. Then they are frozen entirely stiff, with their shoulders still pressed tightly together. So strong...! There was enormous pressure in that gaze. She possesses an overwhelming presence, almost as if she is a monarch over the night. The two of them acknowledge Shadow as ''the strongest.'' But this woman is someone who perhaps reaches his feet. That is what they felt. "Epsilon, the rest I''ll leave to you. As for those ladies over there, be good girls, alright?" "Understood, Alpha-sama." "Wait, don''t you dare go into the Holy Ground!!" Ignoring Nelson''s shout, the woman called Alpha disappears into the door of light. "So that was Alpha..." So murmurs Alexia. Rose nearly blurts out ''eh, you know her?!'' but manages to swallow the words down. "So then, what is your aim in doing all this?" So Alexia asks the one called Epsilon. "All we need is for you guys to stay put until the door closes. But Acting Archbishop, you will have to come with us." So says the voluptuous woman. After being called by name, Nelson becomes even more flustered. "What do you plan to do in the Holy Ground?" "It is not what we are going to do, but what is already there. Anyways, no harm will befall you if you don''t act up." Then she silences Rose and the others with her eyes. Her beautiful, clear eyes that look like lakes simply continue to focus on them vigilantly. This woman is also very strong. Not to Alpha''s level, but she does have that vibe particular to the truly strong. But, if push comes to shove... "If you move, even I don''t know what I might do to her." So says Epsilon, as if she had read Rose''s and Alexia''s hostility. At the end of her gaze is Natsume-sensei, who has been captured by several women in black. "I, I''m so sorry..." Natsume-sensei has her eyes cast down apologetically. "Natsume-sensei...!" Rose''s chest constricts at the sight of Natsume-sensei trying to hold back her tears. All her intention to resist leaves her... but. "Abandoning her is also an option." So says Alexia in a voice that only Rose can hear. "What, no!" Rose vehemently refuses. "We''ll be better off abandoning her, she''s too shady." "I said no, so no!" While the two of them are having that exchange, the door opens all the way, then begins to close. Slowly, ever so slowly. The group in black also enter the door one by one, with the captured Natsume-sensei and Acting Archbishop Nelson also being dragged along. Rose and Alexia can only watch on, powerless to do anything about it. Their enemy has no openings. Everyone in the group in black is strong individually, and also follows a clear chain of command. They are also in teams of three to follow up after each other. Even when someone has an opening, they are immediately covered by their team members. Their teamwork is extremely polished. The door is still steadily closing. "No, it hurts, you''re hurting me!" Nastume-sensei screams in resistance as she is forcefully strong-armed towards the door. "Natsume-sensei!!" "I, I''ll be fine, don''t worry about me!" So Natsume-sensei shouts gallantly in a quivering voice, before she too disappears into the door. Rose is on the verge of tears while seeing her off. "Am I the only only who found that shady?" So someone may have muttered but Rose pretends to not have heard it. The only other people left is Epsilon and the bound Nelson. After Epsilon takes one last look around to confirm that there''s nothing out of place, she turns around to push Nelson into the door. Nelson resists, which causes Epsilon''s attention to stray. At that moment. A black figure suddenly swoops down and slashes Epsilon. "Well done, Venom the Executioner!!" Nelson''s loud laughter echoes out. 51 The Birth of sPrecises Epsilon watches the blade slice into her own body. Despite having been caught completely off guard, the fact that she is able to shift her upper torso a bit is already worthy of merit. But all that does is lead to a tragedy. Epsilon''s past flashes by within her brain, like a revolving lantern. She remembers how she had been born the daughter of an elven noble. And how she had manifested demon possession, and thus become discarded by her family and pursued by her country. And also that day when she had gained a brand new life. That day when she had been saved by Shadow, everything that she had believed in previously all fell away, and she had found a new reason to live. Epsilon had been a forceful person ever since long ago. She never doubted the fact that she was privileged, and it was her personality to flaunt that privilege wherever and whenever she could. In actual fact, her lineage was impeccable, she was beautiful, she was very smart, and she also had great martial talent. She was very prideful, but did possess ability befitting of that pride. Which was probably why, perhaps. The day she discovered she had demon possession, the moment when everything had crumbled away, she was probably the one who took it the hardest, beyond anyone else. She lost her reason for living, but did not have the courage to die. On a certain day, Shadow suddenly appeared before her, as she was dragging her rotting body up a mountain trail. "Do you wish for power?" So he had said in a voice that seemed to reverberate from the depths of the earth. Epsilon, in her foggy consciousness, had thought that it was a demon that had showed up. But she was indeed thirsty for power. If she had power, she could take revenge on those who had abandoned her. She could torture every single one of them to death, and make them regret. "Then I shall grant it to you..." Then she was enveloped in a sweet, violet magic. That light and that warmth, Epsilon remembers vividly even to this day. That somehow nostalgic, warm, healing light had caused her to break down into tears before she knew it. On that day, Epsilon had been weak, brittle, and unsightly. And it was Shadow who had saved her, when she was at her lowest. "Falling into madness within a world of lies is fine too. But if you wish to know the truth of this world... then follow me." Epsilon had chased after him without a moment of hesitation. The word ''unsightly'' was the perfect and comprehensive adjective for the her who had lost everything. And when such an unsightly her was saved, it felt like her real self had been acknowledged and accepted. She had no need for lineage. The same went for beauty. And what point is there in bragging of strength? What is truly important lies elsewhere. Then she came to learn of the truth of this world, met four senpai, then had to revoke her previous words. Lineage, she really had no need of. But strength, that''s indispensable. The martial arts that she had been so good at was ranked only two from the bottom. Among her senpai was someone who she will probably never win against, and a perfect superhuman. Her prided intelligence was also ranked only second from the bottom. The intellect specialist and perfect superhuman had crushed her self-confidence to dust. In terms of general utility, there was again that perfect superhuman, and an all-rounder who handled everything flawlessly. Epsilon had nowhere to stand. And above all else, beauty was also necessary. Her appearance became very important to her. Because her beloved master is male. Upon objectively observing and analyzing her own charm, she concluded that it''d be a rather tight comparison. If the criteria was only appearance, then she had nothing to worry about. But she did have one future concern. To be blunt, the females in her lineage were, without exception, all flat. Just as guys lament over their bloodline''s hairline, Epsilon lamented over her bloodline''s body shape. If she did nothing, she would only becoming increasingly disadvantaged with the passage of time. That was why the moment Epsilon met that, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning. The slime bodysuit. With but a single look, she saw its potential, and had her heart stolen. Whereas she would normally listen to Shadow''s words without letting a single syllable slip, at that moment she had ceased to register his words, as her full attention had been commanded by the slime bodysuit. This was what was running through Epsilon''s mind: This can make me bigger! After that, it took Epsilon only three days to get to the point where she could manipulate the slime bodysuit exactly how she wanted. Under the pretext of training her magic control, she started wearing her slime bodysuit all the time from that day on. Then day by day, she gradually increased her own bust size. In almost imperceptible increments, to avoid suspicion. But at times a bit bolder, because puberty. But after she reached a certain size, she realized something. The feel is different. Slime is still slime in the end. Both the feel and the way it jiggles is different. That day onwards, Epsilon kept on staring at Beta as if at a lifelong enemy. After several days, she was able to perfectly control her slime bodysuit to reproduce the feel and movement. By this point, Epsilon''s magic control had risen to a level that merited even Alpha''s praise. Thus she came to be called Epsilon the Precise and was acknowledged by everyone, but she was already beyond caring about that. Rather than that, Epsilon continued observing Beta everyday, and couldn''t help but to shiver. This woman, she can grow even bigger?! By this point, it has already turned into a full out battle. A battle between the natural against the artificial. In conclusion, Epsilon just kept on adding more and more, until she won. Humans have always faced threats from Nature and overcome them. But the price was great. The day she lost a tiny bit of that pride of hers, she looked into a mirror and thought this. The balance is terrible. Unfortunately, she has a slender and small-statured body. But after deeply pondering on the matter, Epsilon was able to come up with a solution. Why don''t I make my butt bigger too, to balance it out? In conclusion, she did not stop with just her butt. She used slime to increase the size of her butt in a shapely way, then used slime to tighten her stomach, then used secret heels to increase her height and the length of her legs and attained the perfect hourglass figure, then... there''d be no end if all the smaller details were to be listed out in full. In short, through the slime bodysuit, she had managed to attain the ultimate perfect body. It was only possible due to an incalculable amount of effort, constant high vigilance to not let anyone find out, and the existence of a worthy rival. But above all else, it was due to her love for her beloved master. Epsilon''s ''precise'' magic control was but a byproduct. Her true strength lies in the unnaturally high physical defense due to the thick slime padding all around her body. Then the revolving lantern stops. The swooping figure brandishes his sword. Epsilon watches as the crystallization of her efforts is sliced. The two softest lumps of her slime bodysuit fly into the air. That instant, Epsilon... awakes. In this kind of place... After coming this far...! HELL IF I LET MYSELF BE EXPOSED!!!!! Epsilon controls the magic remaining in the two lumps in midair to retain their shape. That ability to perfectly control magic that has already left her body requires such skillfulness as to make any observer faint in shock. At the same time, she draws in the magic, instantaneously reattaching the lumps to their previous position. That precision that would not allow even a millimeter of error, and the speed that accomplished all that in the blink of an eye. The feat was indeed worthy of being called divine. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Then she ends the process with the reproduction of the jiggling motion. This is Epsilon the Precise. "Well done, Venom the Executioner... eh?" Nelson takes a second look at Epsilon. She is supposed to have been cut, but is still standing there unharmed. Or rather. "Did you see...?" "Eh...?" What is with that overwhelming pressure?! Nelson''s knees are clattering audibly. "Did. You. See. Anything!" "Hiii... n-, no, I saw nothing...!" "You two over there?" Epsilon turns towards Rose and Alexia. Both of them vigorously shake their heads. "Then it''s fine. Come." Epsilon grabs Nelson by the back of his neck and drags him along. "Hii! What are you doing, Venom the Executioner! Help me!!" "The Executioner? He''s..." Epsilon whispers into Nelson''s ear. "... already dead." Then the Executioner''s head slides off. "Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!" Epsilon then disappears into the door, with Nelson in tow. The door continues to close. At the last possible moment, she jumps up. "Alexia-san?!" Ignoring Rose''s cry, Alexia dashes into the door gap. "Aaaah, mou!" Rose also chases after and dives in, immediately after which the door closes entirely. Then the door disappears, leaving behind only a faint glow in the air. 52 The Truth Within Memories "Kyah?!" Rose falls on top of something soft. Shaking her head while getting up, Rose realizes that there are two girls pinned under her. "Ah, so sorry!" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Rose-senpai, can you please get off?" "Alexia-sama, kindly refrain from touching anywhere weird." Alexia and Natsume are glaring at each other even while pinned down under Rose. When Rose gets up, the two immediately spring up and turn their backs against each other. Rose feels slightly saddened at seeing the two of them not getting along. "You two, fighting is not good...ah!" Halfway through her words, Rose realizes all the gazes gathered on her. This place is a dim, large space. Surrounding them are all the women in black. Among them are even Alpha, Epsilon, and the captured Nelson. "Umm, we''re..." Understanding that there''s no way out of this situation, Rose raises both hands as a start. Then she forces a smile onto her face, trying to appeal to the enemy her lack of hostility. Next to her, Natsume-sensei is pitifully trembling in fear. The moment Rose thinks to herself that she must do something, Alexia smoothly steps forward. "Apologies, we stumbled and fell. The door happened to be right in front of us, there was nothing we could have done." Today Rose learns that persuasion is all about having a confident attitude. Even if it is a bald-faced lie, by saying it with the confidence of a demon king, it becomes extremely troublesome to refute. ''Er, sure, let''s go with that then'' is the attitude with which everyone is looking at Alexia. "Very well, you all may come along. But stay quiet, do not touch anything, and do not stray off. Perhaps this is something that you all should know about as well." So says Alpha after giving Alexia a glance. Then she immediately begins firing off instructions, after which the women in black scatter. Alexia clinches a slight guts pose and murmurs "Did it!" Now the only ones left are Alpha, Nelson, Rose, Alexia, Natsume, and a as-yet unidentified woman in black who is not Epsilon. "What are your intentions in doing all this?" Nelson glares at Alpha while still restrained by the woman in black. For some reason, everyone is sure that Alpha is smiling underneath her mask. "It is said that long ago, the hero Olivie had cut off the demon Diabolos'' right arm and sealed it on this land." "What about it? Did you come in search of the arm?" Nelson scoffs. "That sounds interesting too, but... that is not what we wish to know. We are here in search of information about the Order of Diabolos." Alexia reacts to the mention of the Order of Diabolos. Rose notices at the corner of her eyes Alexia''s gaze turning grim. "Whatever that means..." "We know that you can''t answer us. That''s why we''re here, in person. In search of the truth that had been buried within the darkness of history." Alpha turns around, and walks towards a large statue. The clacking of her heels reverberates in the spacious area. "So, a statue of the hero Olivie." Alpha''s words cause Rose to tilt her head in puzzlement. "Hero Olivie...? But Olivie was a man, was he not?" The statue that Alpha had identified as that of the hero is the figure of a woman brandishing a sword. A beautiful, gallant, almost divine even, figure of a woman warrior. "We already have a general understanding of everything. All we were lacking was solid proof. The truth of the past, the true aim of the Order, and..." Alpha reaches out to the statue, and gently strokes its cheek. "...Why I have the exact same face as the hero Olivie''s." At which, she turns around, the mask on her face gone. "Elf...?" No one knows whose murmur that was. However, every single person had their breath stolen by her beauty, all while coming to the same realization. Her face is indeed an exact copy of the statue''s face. "Don''t tell me, you are the elves''... but you were supposed to have manifested demon possession and died..." "So you do know something after all." "...!" Nelson hurriedly clamps his mouth shut. "We already know the truth of ''demon possession.'' For the Order that wishes to control the world order, our existence must be quite the thorn in your side, no?" Nelson keeps his eyes down, remaining silent. Rose has no idea what they''re talking about. But she sees that Alexia seems to have at least some understanding, and Alpha does not look like she''s just spouting absolute nonsense. An organization with such power would not be dabbling in archeology just as a mere hobby. There must be some enormous reason. The reason for Shadow Garden. And perhaps also, the reason for the Order of Diabolos. The recent academy attack incident surfaces in Rose''s mind. There is no way that that was unrelated. Two gigantic organizations are embroiled in an epic struggle hidden from the sight of the common people. Rose finds herself shivering at this realization. If there comes a time when their struggle grows in intensity, how can countries ignorant of their existence deal with the fallout? "We also know that the aim of the Order is not merely the revival of the demon. However, we had no proof. And so, everyone, let''s all go together and see for ourselves." After saying that, Alpha pours magic into the statue. The rising density of magic causes the very air to quiver. "This much magic... you really do have demon possession. Did you Awake by yourself...?" That absolutely outrageous amount of magic causes shivers to run down Rose''s spine. If this woman turns her spearhead against a country, how much would that country have to lose in order to stop her? "Long, long ago, there was a great battle that happened on this land. The hero sealed the demon, and innumerable lives were lost. The magic of both hero and demon mixed and gathered into a whirlpool, which also sucked in and sealed the memories that had nowhere else to go. In short, this place is a grave where ancient memories and the grudges of the demon lies." The status begins to shine in response to the magic. Then letters of the ancient language float up, cladding the statue in a rainbow of colors. "Hero Olivie. I thought that you would answer me." There appears the hero Olivie, looking like a mirror image of Alpha. "What on... how can this be..." Nelson''s legs are shaking. Olivie turns her back on Rose and the others, and begins walking. The direction that she is heading towards is gradually dyed with a light that begins spreading everywhere. "Come, let us take a trip into the world of fairytales." Alpha''s voice is the last thing left as the world disappears amidst a blinding light. 53 The Escape Plan of a Fragile, Dainty Girl After defeating Violet-san, I dash at my full speed to throw off any pursuers. Just in case, I even leave Lindwurm altogether, stopping on a mountain outside the city. I wait for a while, but it seems that I had successfully gotten away. Heaving a sigh of relief, I return to my usual appearance. I hope this was enough to gloss over the issue. At the moment, the venue must be bustling with talk of the ''mysterious intruder,'' and no one should even remember about the mob character from the Magic Swordsman Academy. I worked extra hard today, so let''s go into a hot spring, then straight to bed. Or so I had thought while getting up, but then suddenly a strange door appears before me. This dirty and shabby-looking door is floating in midair, here in the middle of nowhere. There''s a dark stain on it that clearly is dried blood no matter how I look at it. "What is this." This is not even on the level of being ''suspicious.'' Even I would opt out of touching this thing. So I turn my heel. "Oi." Then I turn around again. "You gotta be kidding me." I jump backwards. "Seriously?!" The door is following my movements with everything it has. I try to take a distance, I turn to a different direction, I somersault backwards with a hundred spins, but the door appears in front of me after every single thing I do. Then what other choice do I have? "Le''s cut it then." Immediately, I draw my sword and slash the door. But. The place that I had cut returns to normal. I sheath my sword and take a moment to think. It''s out of the question to return back to town with this dirty door in tow. It''s going to make me stand out so badly. In the first place, what even is this door? There is no human presence anywhere in my current vicinity, so it''s unlikely to be a prank. There''s nothing behind the door either. "Otherworld version of an Anywhere Door?" I somehow feel a desperation in the way it keeps on following me, so perhaps everything would be resolved if I enter it. But today, I really feel like going to a hot spring and then straight to bed. After thinking seriously for 30 seconds, I come to a conclusion. Screw it, let''s quickly get this over and done with. Opening the door reveals a deep darkness that seems to be sucking me in. Please don''t let this be the pattern where going in means instant death. With that, I dive into the darkness. When I come to, I find myself in a stone-walled room. It is a dreary room, with a single door, and a woman bound to a wall by all four limbs. Oh, it''s Violet-san. "Hey there." I call out to her. She looks at me, then her eyes open wide in surprise. Then she copies my "Hey there." "Haven''t seen you since the last few minutes." "Pretty much. So, was it you who called me here?" "Called...? No, I had no such intention. But it was fun, wasn''t it?" "Yea, that was really fun." "My memory is incomplete, but from the parts that I do remember, you are the strongest by far. How great it would have been if you had been there during my time..." "Well, that''s an honor." "So then, why are you here?" She looks at me in puzzlement. "A door appeared, so I went in, and this is where I ended up." "Not sure I follow." "I''m quite confused about it too. You wouldn''t happen to know a way out of here, would you?" "I wonder? I don''t remember ever having gotten out." "You were fighting with me just now, though?" "I was just suddenly there. That was the first time that had happened. From what I remember, at least." "I see. That sucks." I wrack my brain for what to do. There is a door, so I guess I might as well open it and see where it goes. But the moment I decide so, Violet-san calls out to me while pouting. "Before your eyes is a pretty girl bound by all four limbs." So she says, so I look the crosswise-bound girl, and nod. "There is indeed." "Why not try freeing her first?" I tilt my head slightly, then realize that I had been under a misunderstanding. "Aah, sorry. I thought you were in the middle of training." "What, why?" "I did that training myself a long time ago." I destroy Violet-san''s bindings with my Academy-issued sword. Apparently I can''t use my slime sword here. She stretches in satisfaction, then flashes me a smile that seems nostalgic to me somehow. "Thank you. It''s my first freedom after around a thousand years." "Good for you." "Just a rough number. Because I don''t remember. But at least a thousand." She straightens her thin robe, then tucks her glossy black hair behind her left ear. That''s her style, apparently. "Well then, our interests seem to coincide." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. So she says with a nonchalant tone. "Un?" "I wish for release, and you wish for escape. Am I right?" "Aah, yep." "Let''s cooperate, then." "I don''t mind, but do you know the way out?" "Not really. But I know the method for release. The Holy Ground is a jail of memories. In the center of the Holy Ground is a Magic Core. If that gets destroyed, I can be free." "Just you?" She shoots me a sidelong glance, then smiles impishly. "Everything and everyone. So, you too." "Would the Holy Ground collapse?" "Who cares about that? It''s not like it''d bother you, right?" I ruminate over Violet-san''s question in my head. "Now that I think about it, you''re right, I don''t care. Alright, let''s go with that then." "So we''re agreed. And I believe you''ve already noticed it, but magic can''t be used here. This place is close to the center of the Holy Ground, so any magic you weave gets immediately sucked up by the Core." "So it seems." It''s a much more powerful version of what the terrorists had that time. The moment I weave any magic, it immediately disappears. I''m trying various things at the moment, but it seems like it''d take quite a while. "No problem, I''m good at destroying things." "How reassuring. So, I''m a fragile, dainty girl who can''t use magic. I''ve always dreamed of being protected by a knight-sama." She smiles impishly again. That composure does not belong on a fragile, dainty girl. She proceeds forward as if to guide the way, and opens the door without hesitation. "Hey, so after you are released, what do you plan to do?" So I ask Violet-san''s back. "I''ll vanish and disappear. I''m only a memory, after all." She does not turn around. 54 Gratz for Taking First Place in the sHumans Who Canst Use Magics Tournamen The other side of the door is a forest in early morning. The light of the rising sun shines through the cracks between the branches and leaves, and morning dew glitters on the grass. It is a place that I have no recollection of. I look all around. "We''re inside a memory." So says Violet-san. "Your memory?" "I do seem to remember it." So saying, she proceeds forward. I follow her so as to not be left behind. After quietly walking through the forest for a period of time, our vision suddenly opens up. There is an open plaza brightly illuminated by the morning sun. And in the middle of the plaza is a small girl sitting on the ground, clutching her knees. The little girl''s hair is black. "She''s crying, isn''t she?" "So it would seem." The two of us approach the little girl. I squat down to peer into her face, and notice tears flowing from her violet-colored eyes. "She looks exactly like you." "She only looks like me." "Why do you think she''s crying?" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Did she perhaps wet herself?" So says Violet-san. I''m pretty sure that''s not it. The girl is crying without letting her voice spill out. The bruises all over her body are plain to see. "So anyways, what are we supposed to do?" "If we want to proceed, we have to end this memory." "In other words?" Violet-san lifts up the face of the crying girl. "Crying won''t solve anything." Then she slaps the little girl''s face with a loud sound. "Horrible." "It''s fine, it''s myself." "So you do acknowledge it." Then the world cracks. Just like a mirror shattering, the morning forest breaks into a thousand pieces, then disappears into a deep darkness. Then we are in an empty darkness. But I can still faintly make out Violet-san''s figure. "Let''s keep going." "Sure thing." Inside the empty darkness, we continue towards the direction that our magic is begin sucked towards. There is no other feeling in this place. Even while walking, the feeling of my feet on the ground is vague, and I have almost no sense of up and down. As a test, I try to walk upside down, like when doing a handstand. Oh, it works. Violet-san looks at me walking upside-down with half-open eyes. "Don''t peek into my skirt, alright?" "I can''t see, so no worries." After walking for a while longer, we are enveloped in a madder red light. "Uwah." I almost hit the ground head-first, but manage an ukemi in time. "That''s what you get for fooling around." Violet-san looks at me rolling on the ground, and stretches out a hand. "Thanks." I grasp that cold hand and stand back up. This place is a battlefield lit by a setting sun. The blood-colored sun is shining right above the horizon. "Uwah, they''re all dead." Fallen soldiers cover the land dyed black with blood. This continues to the horizon. "Let''s get going." Violet-san starts walking, as if she already knows where her destination is. Literal mountains of corpses. While stepping on corpse after corpse, we make our way through the twilight battlefield. I, too, want to rampage in a battlefield like this one day. After a while, we find a blood-covered little girl crying in the middle of the battlefield. We stop before her. The girl is crying while clutching her knees, sitting on top of a corpse. Even without looking at her face, I can tell that she''s Violet-san. "You''re crying again." "I was a crybaby. Lend me your sword." "Here you go." Violet-san raises the sword, and stands before the little girl. Her face is devoid of emotion, as if the emotions had been locked away somewhere else. Violet-san swings down the sword. That instant, I jump into motion. Grabbing her waist, I fly backwards. "The corpses!" It seems she has noticed it too. The soldier corpses are beginning to move, and one of them had almost cut her. If I hadn''t saved her, she would have been slashed. "The Holy Ground is rejecting us... how troublesome." "Like an anti-virus program reacting to a virus?" So I ask while kicking away several zombies. "Not sure I understand that comparison." "Sorry, I don''t know it well either. By the way, what happens if you die?" "Probably back to the jail at the start." "Eh, that sounds like a pain. You know how to use the sword?" "To some degree, I guess?" "Then it seems better for me to use it." I take my sword back from Violet-san, then start slashing at the nearby soldiers. I can bisect them in one swing, but then the next one stands up, until we are surrounded. I quickly give up trying to wipe them out, and instead shift to trying to break through. Violet-san stomps on the zombies on the ground with her heels. "You really do seem meh without your magic." "I told you, I''m just a fragile, dainty girl. On the other hand, you seem to be moving quite well even without magic." "I told you, ''no problem.''" I make a mowing attack with my sword, cutting down the zombies pressing in. "I was able to weave magic even since young, so I had remodeled my body along with my growth. I optimized my body for fighting. My muscles, nerves, bones, and everything else, I processed and stimulated with magic." After cutting down 3 with a swing, I then send one more flying with a kick. The zombies individually are slow. They''ve only got numbers, so I feel like an absolute juggernaut at the moment. "How overwhelming. You''re like an adult kicking children around." "Couldn''t you have come up with a cooler comparison?" "If there is a tournament for humans who can''t use magic, you''d take first place." "Thanks for the upgrade in status." But with that said, even I would reach my limits if I only continue fighting endlessly. Without magic, I cannot kill all of the zombies in this crowd that reaches all the way to the horizon. How great it would have been if I could use magic and go on a rampage. I force my way through, and stab the little girl who is still crying. "Sorry." Blood spills from the little girl''s mouth, then we are swallowed into a whirlpool together with all the zombies, and the world cracks again. After the world splinters into a million pieces, we are standing in darkness again. "You alright?" "Thanks to you." So Violet-san answers me as I put away my sword. Then we resume walking in the darkness, until we are once again enveloped in light. We have reached the center of the Holy Ground. 55 Just Look at What You Want to Look At Then Alexia finds herself in a white hallway. The hallway continues into the far distance, with the end nowhere in sight. On the left and right of the hallway are rooms lined with iron bars, looking very much like jail cells. There is no identifiable light source, but the place is well-lit. Feeling somewhat like reality, yet somewhat like a dream, this is an airy kind of place. Olivie is walking in front of their group, with Alpha following close behind. Alexia also hurries after them in order to not be left behind. The adult body of the beautiful elf Olivie is growing younger with every step she takes, until she is reduced to a small child. Small Olivie walks through the bars right into a cell, and crouches on the ground. "Long ago, young children who had nowhere to go were gathered." Alpha''s voice reverberates down that endless while hallway. Then Alpha walks on. The cells on the left and right are now suddenly filled with small children. Boys, girls, humans, elves, beast people. Aside from their youth, there are no other common points between them. "Here, those children were turned into subjects of a particular experiment." Alpha stops before a cell. There is a little girl inside this cell. She is rampaging inside her cell, seemingly having lost her sanity. From the way that she is banging her head, scratching the walls, and rolling on the ground, anyone can tell that she is trying to escape some unbearable pain. Alpha walks on. Inside the next cell is a bloodstained girl. But that blood is not from self-harm. Due to a strange alteration to her body, blood is dripping out from cracks on her skin. That blackened and rotting appearance, Alexia recognizes. "Demon possession..." So whispers someone. "The majority of the children did not react positively to ''that'', and died." Alpha walks on. There is no one in the next cell. However, the ground and walls are stained with blood, and there is a hand print that seems to be crying for help. Then Alpha walks on, without stopping. Cell after cell after cell, the same scene is seen repeating itself. Children suffering, and children dying. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "How terrible..." So laments Rose with a hand over her mouth. Alexia also mentally agrees. All of the dying children share one commonality. The girls die with symptoms of demon possession, but the boys die without such symptoms. "It was only a small handful of girls who were fully compatible." Then Alpha stops. Inside this cell is a slightly grown-up version of Olivie. She is not wounded nor suffering. Clutching her knees, all she is doing is staring at the cell across from her own. The cell across is filled with blood. Then the next instant, the place flickers, and it is clean. Then a little girl appears in it. Then she suffers, and dies. Then another girl appears inside. Young Olivie watches it all. "Why would they... something so horrible..." So asks Rose in a quivering voice. "Why indeed, Acting Archbishop Nelson?" Alpha turns to Nelson. Nelson turns away and hems and haws for a while, before finally answering in a mutter. "Power was needed to resist the demon Diabolos..." "That''s the Order''s stance. Regardless of the actual reason, it is fact that Olivie did manage to chop off Diabolo''s right arm. Olivie was but one among a handful of children compatible with ''that''." With that, Alpha continues walking on. "You have mentioned ''that'' several times already, but what is it exactly?" Alexia''s question causes Alpha to stop for a brief moment. "Diabolos cells. That''s what we''re calling it. In order to resist the demon Diabolos, they chose to take in Diabolos'' strength." "Diabolos'' strength...? Was Diabolos not a mere fairytale?" "It''s not like we''ve seen it with our own eyes. All we know is from historic texts. If you believe it to be a mere fairytale, that is your prerogative." So saying, Alpha resumes walking. "We''re not here to debate on the truth of what happened in the far past. Even this memory, we do not know how much to believe. Memories fade over time, and can change due to hopes and desires." The cells go by without end. But the cells gradually become empty, until there is only Olivie left. She is now a beautiful teenage girl. Her face indeed looks extremely similar to Alpha''s. "After having grown up and acquired the power of Diabolos, Olivie was tasked with a certain mission." "To kill Diabolos...?" Alpha shakes her head at Rose''s question. "That''s what it says in history, but we have determined that to be a fabrication. Most likely, the mission she was tasked with was to gather more Diabolos cells." "That''s complete bullshit!" So shouts Nelson. With a reddened face, he glares at Alpha. The woman in black tightens her grip on the back of Nelson''s neck, causing him to croak like a frog. "Even after she acquired that power, Olivie remained obedient to the Order. The reason is not clear, but we speculate that it was because she truly believed, from the bottom of her heart, that defeating Diabolos would bring about peace. That is why she cooperated." Olivie walks out from her cell. Armor envelopes her body, a sword appears on her hip, and she sets off. Seeing the expression on her face, Alexia agrees with Alpha''s speculation. Olivie was surely hoping for the world''s peace from her heart. What was on her face was resolve and hope. As she walks down the endlessly continuing hallway, the direction that she is heading towards begins being dyed with a bright light. "But the aim of the Order lay elsewhere." Then the light fills the world. "The aim of the Order... was the acquisition of that power itself..." The light-filled world cracks like a mirror, until it splinters into nothing. Then an entirely different world spreads out before them. 56 Genes, Age, or Stress? The place is a battlefield. But there are no warriors here. In that battlefield filled with corpses colored madder red by a setting sun, there stand several men in labcoats around a black thing. Olivie is nowhere to be seen. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Alexia and the others follow Alpha, who is already making her way towards that black thing. "What is this..." So asks Rose in a murmur. The black thing is revealed to be a gigantic arm. A very black, very thick, and horribly enlarged arm of a monster. The sharp claws extending from it are plastered all over with bits of flesh. "That''s Diabolos'' right arm. Even though it was cut off, it is still alive, to this very day." Just as Alpha says, the arm is indeed still alive. One of the men in labcoats carelessly gets too near, and is instantly impaled by one of the claws. Though the arm is restrained with chains and stakes, a massive amount of magic is still leaking out from it. "The Order was able to seal Diabolos'' right arm by using powerful artifacts. However, the sealing was imperfect, such that a distortion was generated, which eventually became the so-called ''Holy Ground.'' But that''s a topic for another day. What is important here is that the Order is after the astonishing vitality of Diabolos cells." The men in labcoats are drawing blood and slicing off pieces from the sealed arm. The drawn blood and cut off parts regenerate after a short while. "Through their research of Diabolos'' right arm, the Order is developing a medicine that can strengthen humans. At the current stage, that medicine still causes side effects, but it can be used by men." Alpha takes out a lozenge from her chest pocket, and flicks it into the air. After drawing an arc in the air, the lozenge rolls on the ground, until it bumps into Nelson''s shoe and stops. Alexia recognizes that red lozenge. "This has become a pillar of strength holding the Order up, but it is not the real source of the Order''s strength. After sealing Diabolos''s flesh, they spent numerous months and years researching it, until they finished a certain medicine." The scene changes. They are now in a white laboratory. More men in labcoats are huddled around a single table, fervently waiting for the moment when that is finished. Then a single drop of something falls into a small vial. "That brilliantly red liquid is said to seem almost like the living blood of Diabolos." The liquid in the vial is indeed a beautiful, vivid red, not unlike real blood. The men can be seen rejoicing and cheering. Then the one who seems to be their leader licks it up. "Anyone who licks that liquid gains enormous strength... and a body that does not age. Apparently our speculation was correct after all." Alpha looks at Nelson, who is looking downwards as if to hide his face. "Now then, a question. Who here thinks that the man in a labcoat over there..." So saying, Alpha points towards a certain person standing near the edge of the group in labcoats. "... bears resemblance to Acting Archbishop Nelson over here?" "...!" Alexia hurriedly looks at Nelson''s face. Just as Alpha points out, Nelson''s face and the face of that man in a labcoat is the splitting image of each other. The similarity is so great that it''s gone beyond the level of ''looking alike,'' to the point where it is almost certain that they are the same person. "So what is the name of this wonderful medicine?" "...The Tears of Diabolos." So mutters Nelson. "Thank you. But actually, this Tears of Diabolos is also not a perfect product. In fact, it has two large flaws." Alexia has already realized one of those flaws. The current Nelson is bald. But the Nelson in the memory... "Acting Archbishop Nelson had hair in the past. It seems that the unaging property is imperfect." Alexia laughs. "That is incorrect." Alpha denies Alexia''s speculation. "Me being bald is because of stress." So declares Nelson with certainty. "Oh, I''m sorry." Alexia apologizes. "The first flaw is that the Tears of Diabolos must be taken regularly, or else its effects will be lost. It that correct?" "Once a year, yes." "As we''d speculated. And the second flaw is that its production is extremely limited." "12 drops every year." "12 drops. And if I remember correctly, there are exactly 12 seats in the Knights of Rounds." "Hmph..." Nelson barks out a laugh while still looking down. "The Order has 12 knights possessing exceptional power called the Knights of Rounds. Everyone in the Order aims to join the Rounds, seeking the eternal life that such a position promises. Isn''t that so?" Nelson continues laughing, a disturbing laugh emanating from the back of his throat. "The Order is putting an enormous amount of resources into the research to perfect the Tears of Diabolos. The key to that research is the sealed body of Diabolos, and the heroes'' descendants who have strongly inherited the blood of their hero ancestor. Like me, for example, who strongly inherited Olivie''s blood." "Correct on all counts. And... I am the 11th Seat of the Knights of Rounds, Nelson ''the Avaricious''." Nelson lifts his face up, revealing glowing red eyes. Feeling an enormous amount of magic swirling into motion, Alexia drops into a stance. That instant, a jet black blade pierces Nelson''s chest. That woman who had been restraining Nelson had reaped his life without any hesitation whatsoever. Nelson falls to the ground, all strength leaving his body. "Sorry, Alpha. But Delta felt that this man needed to be hunted down." (T/N: Delta refers to herself in 3rd person. This is something mainly done by children, so when a non-child character does this, it is an indication of relative mental immaturity.) It was a voice that sounded somewhat soulless. "Delta..." "Delta is good at hunting. Just recently, there were these boars on a mountain..." "Be quiet." Delta clasps her hands to her mouth and looks around ruefully. "Too late. And also, look at your prey carefully." Nelson''s body is crumbling. Starting from the side, it gradually disappears entirely into nothing. That is not the way a person dies. It is almost like a mirror breaking... "Incoming." Alpha''s warning and Delta''s response happened at the same time. Right before being bisected by a greatsword, Delta drops to the ground, then springs forward like a beast. Delta''s fangs clash with the greatsword. "You beast...!" "Delta is really good at hunting." So Nelson exclaims, to which Delta laughs wildly. Delta''s canines are stained with blood, blood from the scratch on Nelson''s face. However, Nelson merely wipes the blood off his cheek as if it''s of no consequence. Indeed, the wound has already healed. Delta greatly extends her jet black blade, then crouches on all fours, ready to pounce at any moment. But right then. "Delta, wait." Alpha''s voice causes Delta to jolt in surprise. "Your ears are showing." "Ah...!" Delta''s furry ears are protruding from a gap in her bodysuit. Incidentally, the bottom half of her face is also revealed. As she flusteredly covers back up, this time it''s her white behind that gets revealed. Her bushy tail swings back and forth. "Beast person..." So gasps Rose. "Ah, um, Alpha-samaa~, I feel like my magic is being sucked awaaayyyy~~~" "That''s because we are close to the center of the Holy Ground." It is Nelson who answers Delta. "The Holy Ground is our territory. The closer to the center, the more power you fools lose." Nelson''s voice is blurred. Before anyone had noticed, Nelson had become two. Or so it had seemed, but now he is only one. "I had wanted to make my move a bit closer, but no matter, this will suffice. Allow me to formally introduce myself once more." Lightly resting his greatsword that is about the length of the average person''s height on his shoulder, Nelson briefly bobs his head. "11th Seat of the Knights of Rounds, Nelson the Avaricious. You all shall now learn to regret having bared your fangs against the Order." His face is not that of a man of the cloth. Rather, it is filled with the ferocity of a warrior. 57 Everything Is Within His Expectations The scenery changes. This is an empty, white space that stretches on endlessly. The sky, the ground, and even the horizon; everything is a bland white color. Alpha and Delta are standing off against Nelson. Nelson''s figure blurs, then there are two of him. Delta gradually inches forward, body bent low. Alpha merely stands in place with arms crossed, not even drawing her weapon. Instead, she has her gaze focused on the two Nelsons, carefully observing them. "...Shi!" With a sharp exhalation, Delta makes a move. Her lowered body pounces forward like a beast. Riding that forward momentum, her jet black blade makes a horizontal slash. Her sword that is now longer than the average person''s height is devoid of technique and heart, filled entirely with pure violence. The tremendous shock rocks the atmosphere. Nelson attempts to parry the violence that threatens to mow down everything, and ends up being sent flying. It appears that he had barely managed to defend himself, but on his face is unmistakable shock. "You monster...!" Delta laughs. But right as she is about to pursue him in a follow-up attack, the second Nelson steps in. His greatsword attempts to intercept the advancing Delta. But. "One down." "Ah...?" Even before he finishes his swing, the second Nelson''s head has sprouted a jet black blade. Without anyone noticing, Alpha had circled behind him, and stabbed her sword into the back of his head. In the same motion, Alpha chops off his head. Without sound, without killing intent, as if it''s the most normal thing in the world. Blood fountains into the air, creating a striking stain on the white ground. But the next instant, that corpse shatters into pieces like a mirror, then disappears. "The feedback was indeed human. The movements and smell were also human. This is probably a part of the Holy Ground''s defense mechanism." So murmurs Alpha, as she looks at the blood on her sword also fading away. "Indeed." Nelson hides his astonishment, then takes a stance. The next moment, he becomes 2, then 4. "It seems that I had let down my guard a little. Now let''s see how you two fare against 4 people." Leaving 1 behind, the other 3 Nelsons step forward. Delta plunges into their midst. The risk of being surrounded by superior numbers means nothing to her. The mad charge towards prey is everything. "So a mere beast after all..." Nelson laughs. Delta also laughs. She first slices down the foremost Nelson in one attack, sword and all. But then the two other Nelsons who now surround her assail her together. The horizontally mowing greatswords converge from both her front and back. Left without an escape route, Delta parries the greatsword coming from the front, then snaps her head around. And then. She bites the greatsword approaching from the back. Delta''s canines pierce into the greatsword, which then shatters with a dull sound. "Hah...?!" A stupified exclamation escapes Nelson''s lips. In the time it takes Nelson to rubs his eyes, the two remaining Nelsons have already been killed by Delta. "How can this..." Alpha''s and Delta''s magic should be largely suppressed. Due to the effect of the Holy Ground, their control should also be unstable. That''s no state to put up any proper fight. However, despite being under these conditions, these two have already killed several Nelsons. This is something that far exceeds the boundaries of common sense. "Did you two Awake by yourself...? But the method to do so should have been lost long ago..." Nelson''s question is answered only by a smile from Alpha. Delta seems to be having trouble with controlling her slime bodysuit. In the end, she gathers it only around her chest and lower body, creating a simple bikini armor. With the barest minimum of her face and body properly covered, Delta nods in satisfaction. "W-, well, this much is still within expectation." So says Nelson in a slightly shaky voice. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Behold, then, my full strength!" Together with those words, the number of Nelsons increase. Their number is a far cry from anything so far. Going beyond 10, approaching 100 even. "Mountain of preeeyyyyy..." Delta laughs with delight, then plunges into their midst once again. "Can you not even understand numerical disadvantage, you beast!" But when Delta clashes with the Nelsons, it is Nelson''s face that stiffens. Several Nelsons are sent flying through the air, like some sort of a joke. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!" Delta''s roar echoes like some bad quality laughter. Then begins the massacre. Alexia watches on with a slack jaw from far away as Delta''s jet black blade spins like a tornado. Her sword is different from Shadow''s, different from Alpha''s and Epsilon''s. There are no stances, no techniques, only pure violence. It is far removed from what Alexia has come to acknowledge as true strength. Are you fine with this? So Alexia would have asked if he had been present. But she is undeniably strong. To an outrageous degree too. With Alpha also thrown into the fray, the Nelsons are exterminated in no time at all. "H-, how... and so easily...!?" "You must have been a researcher." So says Alpha, with a slight tinge of pity in her voice. "No matter how many copies you make, you only have 1 brain. Human brains don''t have the capacity to control several bodies. When you bring out a hundred bodies, then they become nothing more than mere scarecrows." At that moment, Delta defeats the last copy, then walks forward while swinging her tail. "One last preeyyyy..." Her face is distorted into a fiendish smile. It is as if she is a wild beast starving for blood. "Hiii...!" Nelson backs away. "And it seems like there''s a limit to the number of copies that you can produce." So comments Alpha while watching on. In truth, Nelson no longer has the ability to make anymore copies. And so... He calls out the final guardian of the Holy Ground. "Come, come quickly...!" In response to that pathetic voice, there appears a tear in space. Light spills out from the split, then forms into the figure of a woman. That figure that looks exactly like Alpha is... "Olivie..." So gasps Alexia. There stands the hero Olivie. However, there is no light in her eyes. Those blank, glass bead-like eyes somehow look sorrowful. She stands in front of Nelson, as if to protect him. Delta laughs. But surprisingly, she does not jump forward. Neither does she approach Olivie''s maai. She is only observing her prey with bloodshot eyes that seem to be licking Olivie all over. "Hero Olivie... So you really are..." Alpha bites her lip. Delta licks her lips, and wipes away her drool. At that moment. "Alpha-sama, the investigation is completed!" A voluptuous woman in black appears. But for some reason, she is standing quite far away. "Epsilon... Which means our preliminary inspection is over." Alpha turns around and begins walking away. "Y-, you''re running away, huh!" So shouts Nelson in an obviously relieved voice. "What interest do I have in the life of a small fry? Our aim is the destruction of the source of your power. We now know the full details of the Holy Ground''s defenses. Next time, we''ll wrench it open with everything we have." "Y-, you think I''ll let you get away?" "Ara, do you plan to pursue us?" "Hii!" Nelson hides behind Olivie. "Delta, we''re going... Delta!" Alpha grabs Delta by the back of her neck, but Delta throws off her grip and bares her teeth. "GAHH!!" "..." Then with a start, she returns to herself. "Haun, I''m sorry..." "We''re going." With ears flattened and tail curled, Delta submissively follows along behind Alpha. "Alpha-sama, please hurry! The exit is this way! Hurry, hurry!" Epsilon is furiously swinging her hands while repeating ''hurry.'' The two lumps of slime are going boing boing. Everyone goes into the shining tear in space indicated by Epsilon, then silence pervades the Holy Ground. Nelson crumples to the ground, and breathes out a long sigh of relief. "W-, well, I have remembered the face of that Alpha or whatever. When we get our hands on her blood, the research should make great progress. Everything is still within expectation." So he mutters to himself for a while. "First, I should report up. Let''s say that I lured them into the Holy Ground, sprung a trap on them, and thus exposed Alpha''s identity." With that, he should be able to protect himself. "And then... nn?" That moment, Nelson feels an irregularity in the Holy Ground. "Don''t tell me... a rat has sneaked into the center of the Holy Ground?" Nelson looks around, then a malicious smile appears on his face. "Hmph, I just happen to be in need of something to torture to vent this frustration. Olivie, follow." Then Nelson and Olivie also disappear. 58 That Which Can Only Be Drawn By the Chosen This is a place that looks like ancient ruins of some sort. The vague, dream-like feeling that had been present the entire time is now gone. In its place is a slightly chilly air that quickly wakes me up. The ceiling is high, and the entire surroundings is illuminated by magic light. "So this is the center." Violet-san does a quick spin to take in the entire space. "So what is it that we should destroy?" I don''t see anything that looks like a magic core. The only thing here is a huge door standing a distance away. "Beyond the door, most likely." Violet-san walks on the stone paving, approaching the door. "Makes sense." I follow after her. The door is ridiculously enormous. Its width is enough for 100 people to walk abreast. Well alright, maybe that''s a bit of an exaggeration. Point is, it''s a really big door. That ancient-looking door is covered here and there with black stains that is clearly blood, underneath which are innumerable ancient letters packed tightly together. Wound around the entire door are swathes of chains thicker than the average human waist that are keeping it tightly shut. "Would we be able to go in if we get these chains off?" "Probably." I grab one of the chain links and pull. It doesn''t even budge. "Yep, not happening." No matter how many tournaments for people who can''t use magic I may win, something this thick is just physically impossible for me. If I try to cut it with my sword, it''ll definitely be my sword that breaks. "You know, this thing most probably has a key." "I see, good point." We spot it in one second. Right beside the door is a dais with a really fancy-looking sword stabbed into it. "Whichever way anyone looks at it, this is it for sure." "Whichever way whoever looks at it, this is it for sure." The side of the sword dais is, again, packed tightly with ancient letters. "It seems that this sword can cut through those chains." So says Violet-san as she reads the ancient lettering. But I''ve already understood it. A sword in a dais. This pattern... "But this sword can''t be drawn, right?" "Eh...?" "I can tell with a single glance..." So saying, I place a hand on the sword hilt and give it a tug, but as expected it does not budge. "As I had thought... here, too..." So I mutter profoundly. "This sword can only be drawn by the chosen..." "What...!?" Violet-san hurriedly traces the ancient lettering on the dais with her fingers. And so, I let go of the sword. "The sword... is rejecting me..." So I say on the spur of the moment, but the sword''s not actually rejecting me. But the sword stuck in the dais being draw-able only by the chosen hero is mere common sense, a cliche used well and well again. "The Holy Sword can only be drawn by direct descendants of the heroes... that''s indeed what it says here. I''m surprised you managed to read and decode this magic text in one look." "Hmph... everything exists as cliches..." "So you''re familiar enough with magic letter secret codes to recognize the various patterns as cliches... so that''s how you knew." "Something like that." I nod with satisfaction. A sword stuck in a dais, and a seal on a door that can only be undone with said sword. It''s indeed extremely cliche, but actually I love contrivances like this. Isn''t it great? Really feels like a fantasy world. "How troublesome..." Violet-san sits on the dais and sighs. "Any other way?" I sit down next to Violet-san. "None recorded on here, at least." "I see." I think for a while in the silence. Probably we''re both thinking about the other. So I speak up first. "You want to disappear?" "Disappear?" "Didn''t you say that if the core is destroyed, you''d disappear?" "Hmm, how should I put it. Rather than ''disappear,'' it''d be more accurate to say that I''d be ''freed,'' I suppose." Violet-san looks at me and smiles. "What''s the difference?" "Here is a jail where memories are repeated again and again without end, for eternity. It''s a bit hard to bear for me, you see..." So she murmurs in a voice that sounds like it might vanish at any moment. "I see. Then let''s wait a while." "Wait...?" "If we wait a while, we might be able to do something about the door. But before that... we have guests." Before the door appears a glowing rift in space. The rift gradually grows to a certain size, then a bald ossan and a beautiful elf girl comes out from there. "Nn...?" "What''s the matter?" "Not much, just that that elf-san''s face looks really similar to a friend of mine." But they''re different people. Their bone structure is different. So is their gait and manner too. "Hou... to have brought Aurora all the way here." So says the bald ossan while looking at Violet-san. "You know him?" "I don''t remember having seen him before. But my memory is incomplete, so maybe I''ve met him before?" The two of us are whispering to each other. "But what a pity. The door cannot be opened by the likes of you." The bald ossan is smirking. "You''re quite an unlucky one, aren''t you, lad?" "Eh, you''re talking about me?" I point to myself. "I don''t know where or how you''ve wandered into here, but because you were deceived by the witch''s honeyed words, you will now have to die. Cut to pieces by this Olivie here, to be specific." Under Bald Ossan''s instruction, the elf-san steps forward. Bald Ossan is not much, but this beauty is strong. "You can''t, she is..." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "I know, she''s strong." "Let''s run!" "Why?" We''re whispering again. "If you must hate someone, hate that witch next to you, not me. And also your foolish self! Kill him, Olivie!" Olivie-san readies a sword that looks exactly like the Holy Sword. I draw my cheap Academy-issued sword. Her glass bead-like eyes are looking solely at me. I can feel a smile spreading on my face. "Wait, you can''t fight her!" Why? Violet-san''s voice emanates from behind me. 59 Inescapable Attack The fight begins with Sid being sent flying. He crashes into the stone-paved floor with incredible force, then vomits out blood. Olivie shows no mercy to the faltering Sid. Her Holy Sword flashes horizontally, aiming for his neck. His head flies... or at least, that''s what it leads everyone to think, so fast is the swing. In actuality, Sid had squatted down, barely managing to evade Olivie''s sword. A deepһmark is carved into the stone wall behind him. However, he knows that a follow up attack is coming immediately. And so, he takes a step forward to eliminate their maai. But his efforts prove to be in vain. Even faster than he can take one step forward, Olivie takes half a step back. Olivie''s attack slams into the Sid caught defenseless halfway through a step. With a high-pitched ''kiin'' sound, his sword snaps. It seems that he had raised his guard in time, but the cost is half of his sword. And he still ends up slamming into the ground anyway, coming to a stop only after bounding several times. This can no longer be called a fight, as one-sided as it is. But this is only natural. This is no time to talk about technique and whatnot. Their comparative strength, speed, stamina, and general physical stats are like heaven and earth. Just like how a proper fight cannot be established between an adult and a baby, this tragedy is what results when a boy who cannot use magic crosses swords with a hero who can. It is already a miracle that the fight did not end in the first exchange. "Olivie, don''t let a mere brat give you trouble." So says Nelson in a vexed tone, accompanied by a tsk. While Olivie stops moving, Sid gets up. His attempt to wipe his nosebleed causes a streak to remain on his face. The sputum that he spits out with a ''che'' is unmistakably stained with blood. He gazes at the half of a sword that he has left, then swings it as if in confirmation. It is almost as if he believes he would still have a chance to use that sword. "What do you think you are doing?" "Nn?" Sid tilts his head in puzzlement at Nelson''s question. "Are you actually thinking that you can do something with that broken sword?" "I wonder. But it''s true that the things I can do have decreased quite significantly." "What''s with that face." "Nn?" "Why the fuck are you smiling." Having been asked so, Sid touches his own face. He discovers that he really is smiling. "There''s none that I find more offensive that those who do not understand their own place. The only reason why you are alive, is due in full to sheer luck." Nelson waves his arm, at which Olivie once again springs into motion. She takes his back once again effortlessly, then swings down her Holy Sword. There''s no time for parrying, for blocking, nor even evading. The only thing he can do is throw himself forward. Then blood fountains from Sid''s back. Skin is ripped, and muscles torn, but at the very least it was not a fatal strike. That is the only way that he has been able to hold onto life for so long. Olivie continues her assault on the defenseless Sid. It is a merciless onslaught that grants no respite. Blood fountains again and again, as the number of not so superficial wounds on Sid''s body continues to grow. However, he just doesn''t die. "Wh-, how...?" So questions Nelson. His voice is colored with disbelief. "How are you still alive?" Confirming that Nelson has indicated for Olivie to back off, Sid drags his bloodstained body up. "Fights without conversation, are monotonous. That''s, why I''m still alive." "What are you saying?" "She has no heart. My questions, they fall on dead ears." He laughs somewhat sorrowfully. That mouth of his is glistening with the bright color of blood. "That''s enough. Kill him." The gaze in Nelson''s eyes is as if he''s looking at something disgusting. But the moment Olivie moves, a figure jumps into the fight. "Please stop." The beautiful woman with jet black hair and violet eyes grabs Sid''s shoulders and supports him. "What''s wrong?" "Please, no more..." So says Aurora in what sounds like a beg. She had known it would end like this from the very start. The instant Aurora had laid eyes on Olivie, she knew that this woman is strong. Aurora''s memory is incomplete. Her memories only tell her part of what happened in her life. And Olivie is nowhere in those memories. But for some reason, she knows that Olivie is dangerous. There''s no memory, but her heart is afraid, as if it knows. That''s why she tried to stop this fight. But in opposition to her expectations, Sid chose to take up his sword. Maybe if it''s him... Such a faint anticipation had caused her to be late. But this is already more than enough. In her entire life of being despised and scorned, there has never been anyone who stood up for her, even at the cost of their own life. Now she has a memory that she would never forget. It''s already plenty. "There''s no need for you to die. I''ll handle the rest somehow." "What can a witch robbed of her magic do?" So scoffs Nelson. "I can at least help him to escape." Aurora steps forward, as if to protect Sid. "To think that I''d see the day where the witch protects someone. Is there anything more laughable than this? But... if you swear to cooperate with us, then I won''t mind letting the brat go." "Cooperate?" "Indeed, cooperation. It''s all because you continue to reject us that we have been delayed so." "What are you talking about?" "Hmph, so do you don''t remember. Anyways, all you have to do is swear to cooperate. If you take too long, the brat may end up dying, you know?" Aurora turns around and looks into Sid''s face for a moment. "I understand..." "Umm, can you guys not proceed the conversation all by yourselves?" Sid''s laid-back voice thrusts in between the two''s conversation. Aurora turns around again, this time to glare at Sid. "Look here, it''s for your sake that I..." "No need." Sid walks forward and stands in front of Aurora. "I''ve been listening for a while, but why are you guys talking as if I''m going to lose? How disagreeable." "I find you more pitiful by the minute, brat. To think that you don''t understand the situation you are in. If you had kept quiet and stayed obediently, I might even have actually let you go." "As I said, no need." Sid turns around, and looks at Aurora. "And you, just stay there and keep watching." "I''m tired of this. Just kill him already." "WAITTT!!" But Aurora''s hands are not long enough. Sid steps in and collides into Olivie. Olivie meets his tactless and frank charge with her Holy Sword. Her choice is a thrust. That attack of unbelievable speed tears through the air, and plunges into his abdomen. With complete ruthlessness, her sword even reappears on the other side. "... Caughtcha." While impaled, he smiles, exposing all his bloodstained teeth. Then he grabs Olivie''s arm and drags her towards him with all his strength. His muscles bulge and scream from exceeding their limits. For a split second, Olivie''s movement stops. This distance is just right for a half-broken sword''s maai. Sid''s sword aims for Olivie''s jugular, but she manages to avoid it by jerking her upper body backwards. However, in doing so, she loses her balance. Sid lets go of his sword, hugs Olivie close, then pushes her down. Then he plunges his teeth into her jugular. His teeth stab into her thin neck, and rip her jugular vein open. Hugging her with all the strength he can muster, pinning down her flailing arms, and tearing her neck apart piece by piece. Every time he bites into her neck, her entire body convulses. Until finally, Olivie shatters into nothing, like the way a mirror breaks. All that''s left is the bloodstained Sid. "Wha-, what, but Olivie... What the fuck are you!! Why aren''t you dead even though there''s a sword piercing through your stomach!!!" Nelson''s question is only natural. The front to back wound in Sid''s abdomen is fatal in all appearances. It''s already baffling enough that he''s not dead, but to even kill Olivie with that wound? That''s not something that a human can do. "Humans die very easily. It''s not rare for people to die just from a mere bump in the back of their head. I am no exception. Just a mere bump, in the correct part of the back of my head, and I might very well be gone." He stands up while examining his wounds, as if to confirm the state of his body. "But if the vital points are protected, humans are quite tough. Even though my abdomen is pierced, since I protected my major blood vessels and the important organs, here I still stand. Don''t you think that''s just so wonderful?" "Wonderful...?" "It is so! By counterattacking when the opponent attacks, it saves you the effort of getting close. When your face is punched, you can punch their face at the same time. If they stab your abdomen, you can rip their neck apart with your teeth. When attack and defense become one, the delay for countering is shortened to the absolute limit. It becomes a counterattack that borders on being nigh inescapable." "Your head... your head is fucked up!" "So you''re alright?" Sid nods in reply to the worried Aurora. "Well then, elf-san has disappeared. Does that mean my next opponent is now you, ossan?" Nelson is extremely flustered. "O-, okay, you win! I never even imagined that Olivie would lose! You''re just too strong! Everything was my mistake, my fault, so please forgive me!" Nelson hangs his head, but then begins chuckling. "... Did you actually think that I would say something like that? Sure, I''m surprised that a boy who can''t use magic managed to defeat Olivie. You really are something, brat, even if it was all due to luck. Regardless, a win is a win. Well done." Nelson looks up, clapping his hands. "But don''t get ahead of yourself after defeating a single low quality copy. The amount of magic stored in the Holy Ground is beyond your ken. With it, I can do even something like THIS." Then Nelson flings his arms, causing light to fill up their surroundings. When the light subsides, it reveals Olivie. To be specific, not one Olivie. But rather, an innumerable number of Olivies, enough to completely fill the ruins. "H-, how can this be...." Aurora trembles. Though Sid has yet to receive a fatal wound, the ones he did receive are by no means light. His body cannot withstand a fight with one more Olivie, let alone this many. "This is the power of the Holy Ground!!!" The countless number of Olivies all leap towards Sid. Sid smiles thinly. "That''s quite a surprise indeed. But... time''s up." The Olivies approaching him from all directions... are bisected. "WHAT?!" Since when has that jet black sword been in his hands? "Where did that sword come from... no, rather than that, you can use magic?!" Sid''s body is enveloped with crackling violet-colored magic. Magic of extremely high density, to the point where it is visible. That magic that has been refined to an unimaginable level is shining oh so beautifully. "If the magic I weave gets sucked away, then all I have to do is make it so dense that it can''t be sucked away. Though it took a bit of time, it''s pretty easy, actually." How could it be easy. Even Aurora, she is who called ''the Witch,'' cannot accomplish this feat. "Tha-, that''s... impossible!! As if anyone can actually do that!! H-, hurry up and kill hiiimmmmm!!" So shouts Nelson with a face spasming with fear. Once again, a countless number of Olivies charge forward. But Sid extends his jet black blade, then swings it in a complete circle. "This has gotten be a fucking joke! Olivie is, that Olivie is, the Olivies are!!" "I told you, didn''t I? That time''s up." Again and again, the Olivies rush towards Sid. They come, and Sid cuts them down. They come, and Sid cuts them down. Each exchange takes only several brief moments. But each time, more blood drips out from Sid''s wounds, causing his face to distort with pain. This equilibrium will not last long. This is clear in everyone''s eyes. "HAHAHA, that''s the way, press him, keep pressing him!!" So laughs Nelson with the face of a cornered rat. As Aurora looks at Sid in his predicament, tears fall unbidden from her eyes ''If it''s him''... that faint anticipation had once again risen in her heart. But anymore than this... "Please, be safe..." Aurora prays for his survival. That moment. "Hey, so we have to draw the Holy Sword, cut the chains, and destroy the core, right?" In the midst of this desperate situation, so Sid asks Aurora. "Eh? Yes..." So confirms Aurora in confusion. "If I skip all the annoying procedures and directly destroy everything, there shouldn''t be any problem, right?" "There shouldn''t be, but... don''t tell me, eh, wait, you''re joking right?" Sid grins, then does another 360 sweep with his sword. The Olivies are all blown away, opening up some space around him. Sid transfers his sword to his other hand, then holds it high above his head. His violet magic begins to whirl in a spiral, gathering towards his jet black sword. "I AM..." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Wh-, what is that magic?! N-, no, NO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" The Olivies dash at their full speed. The closest one thrusts with her Holy Sword. The strike with her entire weight behind it reaches his defenseless chest. Her sword accurately pierces the position of his heart. The bloodstained sword tip emerges from his back. Aurora screams, and reaches out with a hand. But. "... ALL-RANGE ATOMIC!!!" Even with his chest stabbed straight through, he swings his sword down, and plunges it into the ground. Violet magic stains the entire world in an instant. All the Olivies are vaporized, Nelson is vaporized, and the Holy Sword is vaporized. The violet magic swallows everything as far as the eye can see. What he had just used was the short-ranged all-direction annihilation secret technique ''I Am All-Range Atomic.'' That day, the Holy Ground was erased. 60 Puzzle Piece When he comes to, Sid finds himself in a pitch black place. Even when he strains his eyes, he cannot see anything. It is a darkness that seems to have no end. In this darkness where there is no up or down, no left or right, and where even his sense of self seems to be fading away, something seems to be looming towards him. It is a grotesque right arm restrained by chains. It seems to be so far away, yet so close as to be within reach. Abruptly, the chains shatter. The fragments fall away, each piece breaking into even smaller pieces. The now freed right arm reaches towards Sid, as if to grab him. Sid raises his jet black sword in readiness, then... The world is enveloped in light. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Sid finds himself standing in a forest in early morning. It is the exact same place where he had gone into the door. He quickly scans his surroundings, but that right arm is nowhere to be seen. The bright morning light enters his eyes, causing him to squint. "So even with your heart pierced, you won''t die." Hearing a voice addressing him from behind, Sid turns around. There stands a somewhat indistinct-looking Aurora. "I shifted the position of my heart. But I am a bit tired..." He looks up at the morning sky, sighs, then sits with his back leaning against a tree. "You are a person of surprises. Way more surprises than even me, it seems." She sits beside him, then reaches out towards the wound on his chest. Blood does not get onto Aurora''s hand. In fact, her hand cannot even touch him. It merely phases through. "So you really are disappearing." "So it seems." The two sit there, gazing at the beautiful morning sun. "I did actually call you. Sorry for lying about it." "Don''t worry about it." "I also lied to about about a few other things." "Don''t worry about it." Birdsong filters through the leaves. Morning dew shines, glitters. "I had always wanted to disappear. I wanted to forget everything." "Un." "But now I have one memory that I really do not want to forget. Even if I disappear, I wish for this memory to remain forever." Then she smiles. "Thank you, for this precious memory." But she is gradually fading away. The forced smile on her face is colored with sorrow. "I had fun too. Thank you." "One day, if you ever meet the real me..." She whispers to him with her hand positioned over his cheek. But he can no longer see her. There is no one there, merely the morning continuing on in its silence. " ''Please kill me,'' huh..." He murmurs Aurora''s final words, then touches his own cheek. For some reason, it feels like her warmth is still lingering. Alpha and Epsilon look down on Lindwurm from a mountaintop. Alpha''s dress is ruffled by the wind, leading to her white legs being visible in glimpses. "The Holy Ground has been erased." "So it seems." Alpha presses the bridge of her nose. "Retrieval of the Holy Sword?" "The Holy Sword was evaporated." Alpha sighs. "Sampling of the core?" "The core was also evaporated." Alpha shakes her head. "The simplest and the surest solution. How like him." "The only one who could actually accomplish it is Shadow-sama alone." So says Epsilon with pride in her voice. "The path he walks, is the path we walk." Alpha''s beautiful blond hair glitters in reflection of the morning sun. While gazing at the faraway city of Lindwurm, she narrows her eyes. "Beta?" "Guiding the princesses. If all goes well, she should be able to plant herself." "Noted. Investigation at the Holy Ground?" "We gathered all information that we could at the present stage." "Tell me." Epsilon explains, while Alpha listens. Her brilliant mind instantaneously sorts through the information. "Enough. That matter?" "Our hypothesis was ...indeed correct." So answers Epsilon with the simplest word choice possible, but only after a brief moment of hesitation. "Aurora the Witch of Calamity... by another name, the demon Diabolos." Alpha directs her blue eyes towards the faraway morning sun. "I see... so that''s why he..." The sound of a puzzle piece falling into place seems to reverberate in the air. 61 The Girl and the Sound of Rain The sound of rain can be heard. Rose''s attention is slightly drawn by the sound of water reverberating from outside. While re-adjusting her breathing, she puts down her thin practice sword. Wiping off the sweat on her forehead with a single hand, she quickly runs her fingers through her dishevelled hair. The sound of rain alone fills the dimly-lit dojo. For a while, Rose closes her eyes and lends her ears to that sound. She drinks in a deep breath of the damp air. She has always found the sound of rain to be beautiful. Rose was born as the princess of the country of arts, Oriana Kingdom. She has been exposed to various arts ever since young, and her consciousness towards esthetics is very high. The Oriana royalty all each decide on one art and spend their entire life perfecting it. Be it painting, music, theater, every single member of royalty picks one that they like. The young Rose showed great interest towards all arts, but was unable to choose a single one. In her eyes, all forms of art was beautiful and wonderful. Painting, music, theater, embroidery, sculpturing, everything was so wonderful, so how could she choose? And so she chose everything. And she was talented enough to receive acclaim in all of them. What road would Rose eventually choose? It was a question that every single artisan in Oriana Kingdom paid great attention to. However, what Rose came to choose was the sword. It was entirely abrupt, and with that choice came also her decision to abandon all other forms of art. She said that she would solely focus on the sword. Everybody asked Rose why the sword. Rose did not say much. Her only reply was that she saw beauty in the sword. But in Oriana Kingdom, the sword is scorned as something uncivilized. Not a single person would acknowledge the sword as a form of art. Rose threw off her family''s restrictions, and went to Midgar Magic Swordsman Academy as an exchange student. The image of a certain beautiful sword is branded onto Rose''s very heart. It is her most precious memory, one that she has never shared with anyone. The reason why she had decided on the path of the sword is because of her far off aspiration towards a certain swordsman. Rose cannot forget the beauty of the sword that she saw that day. How can she imbue that same beauty in her own sword? This question is the foundation of her lifelong pursuit. No one in the country of arts acknowledges her art. But she does not mind. Beauty is not something to be chased for the sake of someone else''s acknowledgement. Even without anyone''s acknowledgement, she will walk her own path. So she had resolved. Rose was satisfied with that. But the other day, an envelope had reached her. "Father is coming to this year''s Festival of the God of War..." The murmur falls unbidden from her sakura-colored lips. The king that scorns swordsmanship coming to watch the Festival of the God of War is unprecedented. Without doubt, he is coming to bring Rose back. A certain rumor that has been flying around lately had caught Rose''s attention. That there has been a fianc chosen for her. The day Rose heard that rumor, she had sent a letter home asking for clarification, but no reply came back. There is already someone in Rose''s heart. That boy who possesses a beautiful, burning heart who would not hesitate to lay down even his life for her, that''s the one that she had decided to be her lifelong partner. Which is why she must, at all costs, get her father to acknowledge that at the Festival of the God of War. Firstly, her sword. Then, fingers crossed, him too... Rose slaps her own cheeks. "Let''s focus." So saying, she discards her shirt that had gotten heavy from soaking up her sweat. Her skin shines from the sweat. The sports bra purchased from Mitsugoshi Co. that is holding up her ample breasts is the only article of clothing she is wearing from the waist up. Though her appearance is a bit immodest, Rose is the only person allowed access to this place, so there''s no need to worry about it. Rose brings up her practice sword, then recalls that memory. The memory of the greatest sword swing that she had ever made in her life. That swing during the incident at school was undoubtedly the best one in her entire life so far. The Festival of the God of War is soon. She has only a short amount of time to get that feeling back. Rose''s thin sword cuts through the air. Sweat dances. Beautiful honey-colored hair comes unbound. Brushing away the hair in front of her face, Rose continues to swing her sword. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. The sound of rain continues reverberating the entire time. That feeling... did not come back. 62 I Am a Man Who Rides the Waves The season for the Festival of the God of War is has arrived. I walk through the bustling streets of the royal capital. Everyone''s faces are different from usual. The people going to and fro are of different races, different nationalities, and different occupations, but all share the common goal of enjoying the festival. Though they''re not talking to each, and may never meet again, everyone seems to be bound together by a curious sense of unity. That''s what festivals are. And I, well, I don''t hate this atmosphere. If I had to say why, it''d be because I can do that. Where a large number of people have their attention focused on is precisely the greatest stage. Festival of the God of War. "There''s no choice but to ride this big wave, right?"'' I can finally enact that item from my to-do list. By that, I am referring to: Entering a tournament as a mystery entree and making the audience go "Oi, oi, that guy''s definitely going to die" to "Wait, that guy is that strong?!" to "Who on earth is that guy?!?!"! In order to make it happen, I''m going to need everyone''s help. I make my way through the crowds, heading for the royal capital branch of Mitsugoshi Co. With the mentality of ''it''s my friend''s shop so it''s ok,'' I ignore the line and go directly into the store. The place is enveloped in the flurried air unique to peak business hour, but it is not long until a pretty attendant spots me and approaches. "This might sound like a lie, but I''m friends with the owner here." "We have been informed." I am doubtful for a moment whether she''s actually been informed, but quickly realize that she has indeed. I am brought to the room from the last time, the one with the fancy chair. I sit in that fancy chair. Umu, this chair really does make me feel like a king. A cup of 100% apple juice is prepared for me. They sure know their stuff. I am in the apple juice faction rather than the orange juice faction. This chilled juice is delicious in the heat of summer. Chirin, chirin, rings the sound of summer. "Oh, wind chimes..." I look out the window to see wind chimes hung up, beyond which is the blue sky and a large cumulonimbus. "Please wait for a brief while." I nod. The attendant lady goes off to call for Gamma, and another one arrives with a large fan and begins fanning me. While wearing a summer one piece with high skin exposure. "I''m feeling slightly peckish." "We''ll bring something immediately." While staring at the cumulonimbus, I make up my mind to come leech off this place if I ever find myself troubled for food. The moment Gamma hears of her beloved master''s visit, she delegates what she''s working on to her subordinates, then hurriedly makes her way to the ''Chamber of Shadows.'' She has on a thin, black dress, with matching summer-like white heels. After spraying herself with a refreshing perfume, into the Chamber of Shadows she goes. "Excuse me." Her master is seated on the Throne of Shadows with legs crossed, staring at the sky. Is his sharp gaze looking at the cumulonimbus, or something else altogether? Gamma cannot tell. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "I have one request." So saying, her master turns his gaze towards Gamma. Gamma''s heart thumps at his gallant as ever eyes. The completely out-of-place thought of whether he notices her different hairstyle springs unbidden into her mind. "Anything you ask for, my lord." "I want to participate in the Festival of the God of War with a hidden personality." So says her master. That instant, the gears inside Gamma''s head whirl at incredible speeds. She is putting her full effort into trying to read her master''s intentions, and to grasp their underlying reasons. But... she only comes up blank. Why is something like this necessary? She cannot solve this mystery no matter how hard she thinks. And so Gamma raises her voice while swallowing her shame. "That''s... may I ask why?" Her master''s eyes leave her, and look toward the sky. The moment she feels her master''s eyes leaving her, Gamma feels like her master had lost his interest in her. Her eyes begin to shake. "The reason... can you not ask it?" Her master''s eyes seem to be looking off somewhere in the distance. Gamma hangs her head and bites her lip. When Gamma had heard about her master fighting against Aurora the Witch of Calamity, she had wondered: if it had been her at the scene, would she have been able to read her master''s intentions? Gamma has no confidence that she could. Among the members of Shadow Garden who had been present, not a single one of them had been successful. But in the end, it was proved that their master''s decision had indeed been the best one, and that no one had been able to stand in the same place as him. But, if Gamma had been there, it would have been her duty to read his intentions. Gamma is the brains of Shadow Garden. Her intelligence is why she is here. So if she could not do it, then there would be no reason for her being in Shadow Garden. And yet despite that. Again, she has struck out. "I''m sorry... it''s something that I can''t tell anyone." Gamma cannot read her master''s intentions, nor his emotions, nor anything at all. What an unforgivable disgrace. It would be so much easier to just do as she is told, without thinking anything. "Very well, I will not ask. All shall be as my lord wishes." Gamma kneels with bowed head to hide the tears of frustration leaking from the corner of her eyes. 63 The Mysterious Young Swordsman Jimina After secretly wiping away her tears, Gamma instructs her subordinates to bring over a certain item. "This is?" So asks her master while looking at what she has in her hands. "Slime formed based on the Wisdom of the Shadows. After running magic through it, its texture changes to become exactly like actual skin." "Heeh~" Gamma holds out the skin-colored slime towards her master. "So I just put this on my face?" "Yes, my lord." Her master puts it on his face and lightly stretches it. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Feels like sticking a sheet of clay onto my face." So says her master while looking into the proffered mirror. "From here on is Nyuu''s job." "Please pardon me." Nyuu stands in front of her lord, and takes out a carving knife and various other tools. "I will now shave the slime." "I see." "What kind of face do you wish for?" "Hmm... a weak-looking face." "Weak-looking, is it..." Nyuu thinks for a short while. "How about this man?" Gamma spreads open some documents, and shows Nyuu the family census of a certain young man. "Jimina Sehnen. Noble of the Altena Empire, 22 years of age. Due to his slothfulness and low aptitude as a magic swordsman, was disowned five years ago. Wandered through the lands as a mercenary and escort, but ended up accepting an escort mission for a demon possessed." (T/N: When read together, ''jimi na seinen'' literally means ''ordinary/plain young man.'' I changed seinenC>Sehnen as an artistic flair.) He was merely slothful, not sinful. He guarded the carriage of a demon possessed without knowing anything. In other words, he had merely ran out of luck. "His bone structure is similar, so it should do well. We have his identification papers too." "Indeed. Safer than making up a fake identity out of nowhere. My lord, is this fine with you?" "Un, let''s go with Jimina-kun, then." "Then I shall begin." With knife in hand, Nyuu begins working on the slime. She who is good with cosmetics is Shadow Garden''s authority on special effect makeup. In no time at all, the plain face of a plain young man has been carved out from the slime. "Ohh, this is..." Looking at the mirror, their lord raises his voice in appreciation. "How do you find it, my lord?" "Un, very nice, makes me look really weak." It is a face without any specific characteristics, describable only by the word ''plain.'' With a slightly unhealthy pallor and a stubble, it comes across as completely unreliable. The corners of the mouth are turned down, and the skin is also dull. Gamma''s heart warms while watching her satisfied master. "After you run magic through it, the shape gets fixed, so then you can take it off and put it on as you please." "Very nice, very nice indeed." "The faults are that the flexibility is much lower than the normal slime bodysuit, and that it holds almost no defensive capability." "So it''s specialized only for the face. You''re right that this isn''t suitable for the bodysuit." "Yes, my lord. And also..." After listening to Nyuu''s complete explanation, their master stands up. "It''d fit the image better if I have a hunch, right?" So then he bends his back and walks. "Very skillful, my lord." Gamma claps her hands and smiles. By looking at someone''s posture and the way they walk, that person''s understanding of how to use their own body can be inferred. Power is mostly something that begins from the legs. People who are proficient at using their body would walk in a way that maximizes the transfer of power from their legs to the rest of their body. Of course, that is not the be all and end all of measuring someone''s strength. But it is indeed a reference. Gamma had been taught this by her master long ago, and she had completely understood it. However, she simply had not been able to put it into practice. Gamma''s posture is perfect, but that''s all it is. She is an archetypal example of how posture and strength can be unrelated to each other. "Then I''ll slope my shoulders slightly, and yep, this seems about right. I don''t really want to shift the position of my pelvis, as it might make me pick up some strange quirks." Gamma heartwarmingly watches over her master practicing a weak-looking walking gait as she gives instructions to her subordinates. "Ready an outfit and a cheap sword." "How thoughtful of you." That sentence alone is enough to fill Gamma''s heart. "Alright, this is great. I''m off to register for the Festival then." Apparently, their master had tweaked his vocal cords. Now he has a lower, husky-sounding voice. "Here are your identification papers. Please take care of yourself." Gamma lowers her head to see off her master''s back. "Thanks. Oh, right." Right before the door, her master stops. "That hairstyle really suits you." Gamma''s brain grinds to a halt. As the door shuts with a patan... "Pegyah!" Gamma''s heel snaps. "Gamma-sama?!" Gamma has a nosebleed as a result of hitting the floor face first, but her face is the very image of sheer bliss. The registration for the Festival of the God of War is being held at the reception area of the fighting arena. I join the end of the line for magic swordsmen, then observe my surroundings. The warrior in front of me is tall and has well-trained muscles. At first glance, he looks strong, but his center of gravity is not stable. Unn, it might be a close call, but I think I look just a little bit weaker than him. Another warrior joins the line behind me. His center of gravity is stable, but he has too much fat in his stomach. More like, it seems that his center of gravity is stable because of the fat. He most likely drinks too much. But it should be fine. He has a grim face, so I''m sure I look weaker than him. In that manner, I look all around, arbitrarily hosting a ''who looks the weakest'' tournament inside my head. In order to have people go from "Oi, oi, that guy''s definitely going to die" to "Wait, that guy is that strong?!", it''s a necessity that I look the weakest among these people. That guy is small fry, that guy over there is also small fry, the one across is small fry also, and the one all the way over there is trash... come on, why are they all small fry. But it should be fine. The current me is Jimina Sehnen. As a result of a strict judging, I conclude that I am indeed the one who looks the weakest here. I nod as a way to convince myself. At that moment. "Wait a second, you over there. Stop right there." "Nn?" "If you participate, you''re going to die." When I turn around, I see a young girl wearing a magic swordsman getup. My heart leaps. Could it be that thatevent is happening? "Who are you?" "My name is Annerose. If you are joining with a halfhearted attitude, then I advise you to stop." Annerose glares up at me with a sharp gaze. That instant, I do a guts pose inside my heart. Indeed, this is... the event that happens without fail when a weak-looking character applies for a tournament! 64 Spartan Hazing From a Festival Regular! "You''re an amateur, right? I can tell with a look." Annerose walks towards me, and stops barely within reach. She has light blue eyes shining with a strong will, and her hair of the same color is cut to around shoulder length. "You have a cheap sword, and a weak-looking body." Annerose lightly taps my sword and body with her index finger. "Though the swords used in the tournament are dulled, if you take them lightly, you can die." Then once again, she shoots me a sharp glare. I look into her eyes, and think for a bit. The reaction that I should show here is... "I''d advise you to not judge books by their covers." So saying, I turn away from Annerose. Indeed, the setting that I''m going with here is that I look weak but am actually really strong. And thus, it would be contrary to come off deferential here. The best effect is if I get them to think ''this guy is weak, but sure is presumptuous.'' "What is with that attitude. And here I am actually worrying..." "I don''t need it. Save it for someone who does." Ah right, gotta remember to use the pronoun ''ore'' to refer to myself. (T/N: There are many options in Japanese for the pronoun ''I,'' depending on gender, age, relative status to the conversational partner, etc. ''Ore'' is the most masculine one, to the degree where in some situations would come across as excessively aggressive.) "I''m being serious, you really..." "Oi brat, that was a warning, not advice. And warnings are meant to be taken seriously." Abruptly, a man interrupts our conversation. If I have to use a simile to describe him, then he is like an rough-looking pro wrestler. However, the sword on his waist is well-used, and the various scars on his face give off a ''veteran of battlefields'' aura. In actual fact, among everyone present, he seems to be the strongest after Annerose and me. "I am Quinton. I''ve participated in the Festival several times already, and every time I see weaklings like you pouring cold water on the audience. How about you just run on back home and suck your mama''s tits?" Quinton''s brazen ridicule is met with voices of approval and vulgar laughter from the surroundings. But I shoot Quinton a sideways glance, then sneer. "At the very least, I''m stronger than you." Quinton''s face turns livid. "Gyahaha! Quinton, you''re being looked down on!" "Quinton, you gonna just let a small fry run his mouth off about you?" Quinton''s eyebrows scrunch up from the jeering, and he grabs me by my collar. "Oi, you better be careful with your tongue. Who the fuck did you say is stronger than me?" I do not answer. But I do raise a corner of my mouth in a sneer again. "Seems that you are in need of some... educating!" So saying, he throws me. I crash into some people, then roll on the ground. "Yea, show him who''s who!!" "Gyahaha, make sure you go easy on him!!" The people around Quinton and me back off into a ring. As expected of these people who make their living from violence, they sure know how to react. "This is your last chance to apologize." So says Quinton while cracking his neck with koki koki sounds. "Your standard really is low." I shake my head with a ''yare yare''. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "I will fucking KILL you!" Quinton charges at me with a punch. To be honest, unarmed combat in this world is almost entirely undeveloped. More like, people are stronger when using a weapon, so the only opportunities for unarmed combat are either when the fighter is that much stronger, or when the fighter has been driven to the ropes to that degree. Otherwise, unarmed combat almost never happens. If there is an unarmed combat tournament, I would undoubtedly take first place. That''s how much confidence I have. The various ways that I can react to this situation flash through my mind. Countering with a left straight or right hook would be simple yet effective. Stopping him with a jab or front kick then wait-and-see would be safe. Not doing anything and going completely wait-and-see would be even safer. Meeting him with an elbow or knee would be very effective. Tackling him and then locking him into a joint lock on him would be good too. If this was a real fight with a strong enemy, I would definitely go with the jab. But not with a fist, but with outspread palm, all five fingers aimed towards his eyes. But against mere Quinton, there is no need to go that far. In the first place, I... don''t even feel like fighting yet. "ORA!!" Quinton''s fist sinks into my cheek. Then I am sent flying away flashily, crashing into the surrounding human wall. "There''s more where that came from!!" Quinton''s punches land on me. Right, left, right, left, left, left. I allow myself to continue being punched without raising my own hand, then arbitrarily collapse by myself where I think appropriate. "This guy is weak! He''s way too freaking weak!" "Gyahaha, so he is a small fry after all!" The gallery''s derision is music to my ears. "Is he too scared to do anything? What a wimp!" Quinton looks down on me and scoffs. "My fists are not so cheap as to be used on the likes of you." So I say while looking up at Quinton and smiling. "So you haven''t had enough yet?!" "Stop it already!!" Quinton''s raised fist is stopped by Annerose''s voice. "You''ve already gone too far. If you''re still itching for a fight, then I''ll be your partner." Annerose glares up at Quinton. "Oi oi, the lady said she''d be your partner!" "Gyahaha, can you be my partner instead?!" In contrast to the jeering, Quinton''s face grows grim. Leaving behind a ''tch,'' he turns on his heels. "What''s wrong, Quinton? Going for a piss?" "How boring, it''s already over?" As Quinton leaves, the human ring also beaks up. "I''m sorry, I didn''t foresee it turning into that." Annerose reaches out a hand. I stand up while ignoring that hand. "If you''d actually wanted to, you could have stopped it at any moment. Am I wrong?" Annerose flinches from my question. "Rather than something that you can''t recover from happening to you during the tournament, I thought it better for you to learn a lesson here first. But he really did go too far. Are your wounds alright?" Annerose reaches towards me, but I intercept it with one hand. "No problem." "But you...eh?" It seems that Annerose has noticed. Despite having being punched so many times, there are no obvious wounds on me. If I have to point one out, the only thing I can raise is the small cut on the side of my mouth. I use a thumb to wipe away the blood slowly oozing beside my mouth, then turn to leave. "The taste of blood... how long has it been last..." So I murmur in a small voice loud enough to be heard by Annerose. "...! Wait! What is your name?" I feel her strong gaze on my back. "...Jimina." With that, I disappear into the sea of people. Then I clinch a guts pose. Hell yea! I have successfully done it. ''The small fry that everyone underestimates, but a small minority have realized that he might not be what he seems!'' I absolutely love this clich. In my opinion, those who unveil their strength before the tournament even begins are mere third-rates. Where''s the fun in that? What''s the point of revealing your true strength in the least interesting place possible? Being underestimated by everyone before the tournament begins is just right. Then when the tournament begins, you make more and more people think "Wait, isn''t that guy kind of strong?" Then only at the climax do you reveal your true strength to make people go "Hell, that guy was actually that fucking strong the entire time?!" Now that is a first-rate flow. To maintain control over the audience''s impression of me until that crucial moment is the task that I have been tasked with during this Festival of the God of War. I host this single-person reflection session while hiding into the shadows. Then after confirming that Annerose and the rest have left, I secretly get back in line and complete my registration. 65 No Need to Rush, Youngster, For Life is Long The prelims for the Festival of the God of War begin next week. I return to Sid''s appearance to check out the fighting arena and consider all possible developments. Then I hit MagRonald and buy two sandwiches to eat on the way back to my dorm. While walking beneath the twilight sun, I remember that I had promised to treat Alpha to MagRonald. But Alpha always seems busy, so we haven''t really found the time. Oh well, I''ll get around to it someday. Alpha is Alpha, so she''ll probably easily live for more than 300 years. And me, I intend to use magic to lengthen my own lifespan to over 200 years. I just have to treat her once before I die. Let''s think long term. As I approach the academy, the sound of cicadas increase in volume. Twilight in summer is the cicadas'' time. Or maybe not, maybe that''s just my arbitrary impression. The academy as illuminated by the setting sun is well into the process of reconstruction. At this pace, the reconstruction should indeed finish in time for the usual starting time of the new semester. Previously, Hyoro had cursed it with "I wish it had all burned down," but I concur. I''m sure the entire student body that wishes for an extension of the summer holidays are of the same opinion. I walk past the school buildings towards the road that leads to the dormitories. There are very few people. The large majority of students have returned home. Speaking of which, Nee-san had also said "we will go home together," but then I ignored her and went to the Holy Ground. I wonder what happened after that? Would she be back around the time of the tournament proper? While thinking such thoughts, I throw the last morsel of the first sandwich into my mouth. At that moment. "Unpreparedness is one''s greatest enemy, you know?" The sheath of a thin practice sword touches my shoulder. There is almost no killing intent at all, so I didn''t react to it. The owner of the sheath giggles, then withdraws the sword. She has honey-colored hair and a gentle smile. It''s Rose. "Yaa, you back from practice?" "Indeed. I found myself with some free time, so I went to swing my sword for a bit. Sid-kun, you went to MagRonald?" "I''m acquainted with the store manager over there. Happened quite recently, though." "I also went the other day, with two friends. That place really is very delicious." "Two friends?" "Yes! Natsume-sensei and Alexia-san." I don''t quite get the relationship between the three of them, but well, they were together at the Holy Ground, so maybe something came out of that? "You close with them?" "I''ve gotten really close with Natsume-sensei. Alexia-san is also a really good person, so it won''t be long before we become close." As long as you are under the impression that Alexia is a good person, that means you are not close to her. "But it''s just that Alexia-san and Natsume-sensei don''t really seem to get along well with each other." Rose looks slightly sad. What to make of the Beta and Alexia pairing? Though I do think they''re birds of a feather. "It''ll probably sort itself out eventually." "I''d be glad if that is the case... I''m just so worried about whether those two can get along well if I''m gone. From here on, we''re going to cooperate together. Though we still don''t know what it is that we can do, but we hope to make the world at least a little bit better." "World peace is important indeed." "Yes it is!" Rose is now smiling brightly. "Ah, I''m sorry. It''s about time for me, so I have to get going." Our surroundings are gradually getting darker. "Un, see you around." "Um..." Despite saying that she has to get going, it seems like Rose still has something else to say. "What''s up?" Rose hesitates for a while before opening her mouth. "Now, I''m going to meet my father. It seems that he might be introducing my fianc to me." "Is that so?" "Yes." "Congratulations... is something that I''m not going to say." Rose''s face tells me that it is not something she wishes for. "I am the princess of Oriana Kingdom. As a princess, I shoulder many expectations while I live. However, in my selfishness, I have betrayed all that." "Un." "I might end up betraying the expectations of a large number of people, again." Rose smiles a painful smile. "But this time, it is not selfishness. It would be great if I''m just worrying for nothing. But... if... if something happens, will you believe in me?" "Un, got it." Rose looks down as if to hide her face, then turns around to leave. "Hey." I call her back, then throw the other MagRonald sandwich towards her. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Take it. You should relax your shoulders a bit." "Thank you." Rose smiles at me gently. The next day, I am jolted awake by Hyoro''s scream. "Student Council President Rose stabbed her fianc and fled!!" While still in bed, I tilt my head in puzzlement at what drove her to do such a thing. 66 The Harmless Poyoyon and Mole "What is she doing, that girl..." So sighs Alexia inside her own room, accompanied with a ''tch.'' "It seems that Rose had fled to the northern part of the royal capital. She is most likely still within the city." The one who said that in a businesslike tone is Natsume, who is sitting on the opposite sofa. Alexia looks at Natsume with a bitter face, then clicks her tongue again. It is thanks to Natsume that the details of Rose''s attempted murder of her fianc reached Alexia''s ears. Though her nature is suspicious as ever, but her information is sure. She has also supplied various information related to rumors regarding the Order of Diabolos. "It seems that Oriana Kingdom wishes to treat it as an Orianan problem. They requested Midgar Kingdom to not get involved." (Natsume) "That sounds suspicious." (Alexia) "It does indeed. She can be tried under Midgarian law, but then that would affect the relationship between the two countries. Midgar Kingdom will most likely acquiesce." (Natsume) "Well, it''s my father we''re talking about. I''m sure he''s decided on wait-and-see." (Alexia) Alexia recalls the face of her peace-at-any-price father, then clicks her tongue once more. "Rose-sama''s fianc is Doem Ketsuhat, second son of a duke family of Oriana Kingdom. Once she''s caught, she will probably be punished heavily." (Natsume) (T/N: ''Do M'' = ''super masochist'', and I think ''ketsuhat'' = ''asshat''. Anyone got a better read? Here''s the original for your reference: ɥ?ĥϥå) "She''s a royalty, so execution is definitely off the table, but probably imprisonment or exile... But for now, let''s the two of us find Rose-senpai first before Oriana Kingdom does, and hear her out." (Alexia) "Wait a moment. Rose-sama did not tell us anything in regards to this case. I believe that we should avoid causing any international problems with our intervention." (Natsume) "So, what?" (Alexia) Alexia''s eyes are focused on Natsume. "I''m just saying that we should refrain from any actions that might possibly lead to problems." (Natsume) "So you''re saying that we should abandon her?" (Alexia) "I did not say that. But we should think carefully before we act." (Natsume) "So you''re saying that I don''t think before I act?" (Alexia) "I did not say that. But we should spend a bit more time thinking things through." (Natsume) "So you''re saying that I''m an idiot?" (Alexia) "I did not say that. People all have their own strengths and weaknesses." (Natsume) "If you have something to say about me, then how about just coming straight out with it?" (Alexia) "How could I be so presumptuous..." (Natsume) Natsume hugs her shoulders while her eyes shake from anxiety. Alexia walks forward with crisp steps, then grabs Natsume by her collar. Natsume''s revealed cleavage jiggles with an almost audible ''poyoyon'' sfx. "Don''t you go acting all innocent and harmless with me." (Alexia) Alexia glares at her at zero distance. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Hiii, d-, don''t kill meee...!" (Natsume) Natsume struggles to get free, which causes her chest to jiggle with even more ''poyoyon'' than before. Alexia notices a mole on one of those lumps, which for some reason pisses her off excessively. "As I keep saying, every single one of your reactions seem fake!" (Alexia) "Fueee..." (Natsume) "I am so going to kill you." (Alexia) "Hawawa..." (Natsume) Seeing Natsume looking up with teary eyes, Alexia clicks her tongue and lets go. Natsume collapses onto the sofa. "Rose-senpai surely has her own reasons. I also understand that she doesn''t want to drag us into this. But that''s what irritates me." (Alexia) "So..." (Natsume) "When I''m told to stop, that only makes me want to do it. When someone tries to not involve me in something, that only makes me want to rush into it." (Alexia) "Umm..." (Natsume) Natsume looks up at Alexia with a face that''s clearly troubled as to how to respond. "We are friends. I don''t know what you''re thinking inside, but at least you''ve also decided to act out being friends. Am I correct?" (Alexia) "I, guess..." (Natsume) "And we cannot abandon friends. Of course, I also will not abandon you. Understood?" (Alexia) "... Alright." (Natsume) Natsume stands up with her eyes cast down. "In that case, then I''ll go gather information about Rose-sama. There also seem to be black rumors about her fianc, so I''ll look into that too." (Natsume) "Sounds wonderful. I''ll go speak with my Nee-sama." (Alexia) "Let''s meet again tonight then, to exchange information." (Natsume) "Aren''t you recovering too fast?" (Alexia) "So then, see you tonight." (Natsume) "Saying this just in case, but take care." (Alexia) "You too, Alexia-sama." (Natsume) Natsume bows once, then leaves. Alexia stares at that back, then sighs heavily. "Well, no other choice but to do something about it..." (Alexia) After rearranging her slightly disheveled appearance, Alexia also exits the room. 67 Sure-Win Golden Dragons Sure-Win Formula The weekend has come, and along with it, the start of the preliminaries of the Festival of the God of War. I am sitting together with Hyoro in the audience seats at the fighting arena, watching the matches. The sun is still high in the sky, and spectators are sparse. Well, this is just the prelims after all. More like, this number is a pretty good turn out for the prelims. Actually, I had fought two matches already last night. Not in the fighting arena, but at random grassy locations. Yep, the first and second rounds of prelims are held at the grasslands outside of the royal capital. Nobody comes to watch those matches. The quality of my opponents was also the worst. I beat both of them by knocking them out with a half-hearted lariat. Both victories were entirely joyless. Then from the third match onwards, it''s finally the fighting arena! By this point, the quality of the matches have finally reached barely acceptable standards. Though few, there are at least some spectators, which is also a big improvement. What most people refer to when they mention the Festival of the God of War is the tournament proper, after all. "Oh yea, where''s Jaga?" So I ask Hyoro, who appears to be taking notes of some sort. "He said that he went home to do some farming." (T/N: The joke here is that Jaga''s last name is ''Imo,'' so when you put it together his name is ''Jagaimo'' = potato. And he''s farming. Lol.) "I see." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Hyoro continues to enthusiastically take notes while watching the match. Around his neck is the Holy Sword necklace, the souvenir that I had gotten for him at the Holy Land. I''m glad that he likes it enough to wear it. But more than that, I have misgivings about his sense of taste, to actually like something like that... "So, what''re you doing?" "I''m gathering battle data. Noobs would bet based merely on their intuition, but I am different. I collect data, I apply statistics, and then bet based on probability." "Fu~n." I steal a glance at Hyoro''s memo pad. ''Probably strong'' ''Probably weak'' ''No idea'' is what it says. "Winning in betting is considered from the cumulative total." So Hyoro says confidently while continuing with his notes. "Is that so." "Noobs bet on one match and call that a win or a loss. But I am different. I do not fixate on the results of a single match. I increase the number of trial runs, combine the probabilities, and win in units of 10 matches." "Is that so." "For I am a man who wins by totals..." "Good on you." I yawn. "That''s an interesting conversation you guys are having over there." That moment, a young man appears behind us. "Our conversation is interesting?" "It is indeed!" In response to my question, the blond handsome guy with an almost visible background of sparkles smiles with a pose. "You, you are...!" "You know him, Hyoro?" "You are the Undefeatable Myth, Goldoh Kinmekki-san!!" (T/N: When read together, his name means ''gold gilding/plating''.) Goldoh-san brushes up his hair in response to Hyoro''s reverent gaze. "That nickname is quite embarrassing. By all means, call me Sure-Win Golden Dragon Goldoh Kinmekki instead!" "Y-, yes for sure! Sure-Win Golden Dragon Goldoh-san!" Eh, I prefer ''Undefeatable Myth'' though. "Are you gathering battle data?" "Yes I am!" "Prospect, you hold. I, too, never forgo the collection of battle data." "I-, is that true?!" "Indeed. Always in pursuit of victory... see?" "SO COOL! Can you tell me more?!" "Yare yare, just a little bit then." I have a feeling that this is going to take quite a while. My entry is just about approaching too, so it''s good timing. "Gonna go take a shit." "Go already." I change in the toilet, then head towards the participants'' waiting room. Hyoro is listening to Sure-Win Golden Dragon Goldoh Kinmekki''s sure-win theory with rapt attention. "For example, see. Take the next match as an example." "Yes, sir!" It just so happens that the participants of the next match are being called into the arena. "Round 3, Match 12! Gonzales versus Jimina Sehnen!" The two magic swordsman face off. "My theory enables me to measure most people''s general strength before it even begins. First let''s consider Gonzales. His physical strength can be determined by looking at his muscle balance. His eyes and expression give him the aura of a veteran who has waded through many a battlefield. At a quick glance, his battle power is 1,364." "B-, battle power?! What is that!!" "After I gather and analyze a fighter''s battle data, I quantify it. Battle power of 1,364 is not a bad number." "Awesome!" "In contrast, Jimina Sehnen... fumu." Sure-Win Golden Dragon Goldoh Kinmekki stares at Jimina with sharp eyes, falling silent. "H-, how is he?" "No, how could he... But, this is..." "G-, Goldoh-sensei?" "Sorry about that. I was merely a bit taken back." "Could it be that Jimina is actually that...?!" "Indeed, that man... Jimina Sehnen is.... an incredibly small fry!" "Eh...? Small fry?" "No doubt about it! I haven''t the faintest idea how he managed to win his way to the third round! Perhaps by a miracle?" "He does look kind of weak..." "Weak-looking face, weak-looking body, and weak aura! Jimina''s battle power is 33! Haha, he''s the bottom of the barrel as a magic swordsman!" "Which means that it''ll be Gonzales'' win?" "With just one blow, most likely. There''ll be nothing to see in this match." Then the match begins. The one who moves first is Gonzales. With a speed unbefitting of his large muscular body, he rushes towards Jimina, brandishing his sword. His movements are a notch above most other participants in this third round. Goldoh''s evaluation of him as a veteran of battle seems to be not entirely unbased. Jimina does not even react to Gonzales'' attack. Every single person is sure of Jimina''s loss. But, at that moment. Gonzales... trips. Right in front of Jimina, Gonzales stumbles and rolls. Then in the same movement, his head hits the ground, and he loses consciousness. The entire arena falls completely silent. ''Come on, he''s gonna get up, right?'' is what everybody is thinking. But Gonzales does not even twitch. Jimina sheathes his sword and turns to leave, before the judge finally reacts. "W-, winner, Jimina Sehnen!" "W-, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" "RETURN MY MONEY TO ME!!" Jeering falls like rain upon the unconscious Gonzales. Not knowing how to react, Hyoro peers at Sure-Win Golden Dragon Goldoh Kinmekki''s face. "W-, well, this happens too, every once in a while." So says Sure-Win Golden Dragon Goldoh Kinmekki with a slightly twitching face. "Battle data can help us to predict the outcome. However, nothing is ever certain in a fight. This was a good lesson, was it not?" "D-, don''t tell me, Sensei actually predicted that this would happen...?" "Hmph..." Sure-Win Golden Dragon Goldoh Kinmekki merely smiles in reply. "Let me teach you something good." "Eh...?" "There are two ways to win a gamble. The first is to seek out a strong participant, and to bet on that participant. The other way is to seek out a weak participant, and to bet on the opponent of that participant." Sure-Win Golden Dragon Goldoh Kinmekki stands up and turns his back. "Tomorrow''s Round 4, Match 6 will be Sure-Win Golden Dragon Goldoh Kinmekki vs. Jimina Sehnen." "Wha-... you mean!" Sure-Win Golden Dragon Goldoh Kinmekki turns around, and points at Hyoro. "Have you... also figured out the sure-win formula?" Then he leaves while brushing up his sparkling blond hair. "S-, so cool...!" Hyoro sees Sure-Win Golden Dragon Goldoh Kinmekki off with a dazed face. "Yo, I''m back from my shit." A black-haired teenage boy returns to his seat. "Oi, Sid! Tomorrow there''s a match with guaranteed victory! Bet all your money on it!" "Eh, don''t wanna." "Just do it, pretend you were tricked by me!" "No thanks." "Tch, forget it then. Don''t come crying to me afterwards!" Then the two of them resume watching the matches. 68 The Match Where The Stronger One Gets All the Attention Round 4 of the Festival of the God of War has begun. Annerose is sitting in the front row of the audience seats, waiting for a certain match. With her light blue hair being brushed by the wind, her eyes of the same color are focused on the arena. The number of spectators has gone up a bit from yesterday, but more than half of the seats are still empty. "Jou-chan, you also here to see that guy''s match?" (T/N: ''Jou'' or ''Ojou'' is a relatively neutral way of addressing young ladies or girls. Then the suffix ''-chan'' or ''-san'' is a reflection of how familiar you purport to be to the lady/girl OR a reflection of the amount of respect. The former consideration is for someone you know, the latter consideration is for complete strangers.) Hearing a voice calling out to her, Annerose turns around. "As I recall, you are..." "Quinton." The Quinton who is like a rough-looking pro wrestler sits heavily into the seat next to Annerose''s. "You also watched the match yesterday in Round 3, didn''t you?" "I did, yes. From your tone, you also...?" "I had no intention to, but just happened to see it. Jimina''s Round 3 match, what did you think?" Quinton sprays his legs forward while asking Annerose. "At the very least, I don''t believe that his opponent just happened to trip by himself to allow him a lucky win." "Me neither. That guy definitely did something. I couldn''t tell what it was that he did, but thought maybe you caught it, Annerose-san of the ''Seven Swords of Begalta.''" Quinton''s insolent gaze is met by Annerose''s sharp eyes. But quickly, Annerose turns her face away and crosses her legs. The slit in her skirt reveals a glimpse of her white legs. "I''ve already discarded that name. Now I am ''only'' Annerose." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Well sorry then. It''s a bit late, but congratulations on passing the Trial of the Goddess.''" "Thanks." "So, could it be that even Jou-chan didn''t catch it? What that guy did?" "Y-, yea, I couldn''t catch it either." So answers Annerose with a slight pout. "It was beyond my expectations that I would overlook it. It completely caught me off guard. However... I thought I saw Jimina-kun''s left hand move." "Hou, his left hand." "But I couldn''t tell what it was that he did with his left hand. The only thing I can say is that whatever it was, it was incredibly fast." "Hmph. Then that means my guess was off." Quinton snorts as if he''s lost interest. "Guess?" "I thought he had used a forbidden artifact or something." "I see... I suppose that possibility also cannot be crossed out." "Either way, today''s match will make everything clear." "Agreed. His opponent is that Undefeatable Myth Goldoh Kinmekki." "I don''t know him personally, but apparently he''s famous? Something about him never having lost a fight before." "For better or worse, he is famous indeed." So says Annerose with a wry smile. "Is he strong?" "Let me see how to put it... So I''ve fought in a few different countries. I''ve been in actual battle, and have also participated in several tournaments. In tournaments in the past, I''ve been matched with Goldoh Kinmekki three times." "Hou... if he''s never lost before, that means that you lost to him all three times?" Annerose shoots Quinton a light glare. "As if. All three times, we didn''t fight. Whenever he meets a strong opponent, he runs away." "Hah? What the hell?" "He makes sure to never fight against an opponent that he has a chance of losing to. He only participates in fights with guaranteed victory, and the other ones? He just forfeits. His nickname is ''Undefeatable Myth.'' After all, it''s true that he would never lose. Though it seems that he hates that nickname and is going around calling himself Sure-Win Golden Dragon." "''Sure win'' and ''Undefeatable.'' It''s true that both sound the same but have completely different connotations." Quinton barks out a laugh. "So in other words, we can''t expect anything from Undefeatable Myth-san?" "Not quite, maybe." Annerose smiles with only one corner of her mouth. "Nn, what do you mean?" "It''s true that Undefeatable Myth only fights opponents that he''s sure to win, and climbs tournaments that way. However, he''s actually even won the championship in several small-scale tournaments." "Hou... so he''s not really that weak." Quinton''s eyes turn sharp. "Indeed. His strength is in accurately gauging difference in strength. And he did not forfeit the match with Jimina. In other words..." "I get it." Quinton laughs with a mad glint in his eyes. "Even Undefeatable Myth could not see through Jimina''s true strength." "That, or that Jimina really is a coward relying on the power of an artifact or some other external aid." "In addition, Undefeatable Myth has only ever fought opponents that he was sure to win against. Which means that he''s never displayed his true strength either." "Now it''s gotten interesting." "Indeed, it will be interesting for sure." Quinton laughs like a beast, while Annerose licks her lip. Then the two of them direct their full attention towards the arena. Amidst a rain of cheers, Jimina Sehnen and Goldoh Kinmekki are both facing off against each other. The only people in the audience who understand the true meaning of this match are, as of this moment, only two. "Round 4, Match 6: Goldoh Kinemekki vs. Jimina Sehnen! Battle... start!!" Then begins the match. 69 Evil ** Kill ** Dragon!! The one who makes the first move is Goldoh. Right at the moment the fight begins, he closes the distance in one go. In the same movement, he unleashes a mowing attack with his excessively ornamented sword, aimed straight at Jimina''s neck. The targeted Jimina has yet to draw his sword. He is just standing in place, not showing any reaction whatsoever. Sure of his victory, Goldoh flashes his teeth. That instant, a ''koki'' sound can be heard. "Eh?" The one who exclaims in confusion is Goldoh. But it is not only him, but all eyes in the arena that are straining for a clue as to what just happened. Goldoh''s sword had missed Jimina''s neck and swung by harmlessly. When Goldoh comes to, he realizes that his torso is completely unguarded. "Tch!" Goldoh''s face stiffens. Seeing his opponent in such a fatally compromised posture in front of him, Jimina moves. And then. Jimina only slowly draws his sword. That''s it. Completely overlooking the opportunity presented by Goldoh''s mistake. Jimina''s movements were so slow, it was almost as if he didn''t even notice what had happened. Goldoh quickly retreats back out of range, then glares at Jimina. "You making light of me?" Irritation can be heard mixed into Goldoh''s tone. "Did you see it?" So Quinton asks Annerose in the audience seats. "Just barely." So answers Annerose while fixing vulture-like eyes on Jimina. "As expected. I couldn''t see a thing. I really thought that Undefeatable Myth''s sword had gotten Jimina''s neck." "It really was a timing that is normally unavoidable. But... right before the sword hit, Jimina cracked his neck." There is unmistakable shock in Annerose''s voice. "He cracked his neck? The hell does that mean?" "He just cracked it, like normal. With a ''koki,'' then another ''koki.''" So saying, Annerose also tilts her own head, demonstrating what she''s describing. "Ok wait, that just made it even more incomprehensible." "I don''t get it either, alright? But the instant that he tilted his head, there was a koki sound, and Goldoh''s sword really did miss." "Oi oi oi, you gotta be shitting me. You saying that he tilted his head to crack his neck, which just happened to enable him to evade the sword?" "Yes I am." "You pulling my leg?! Like hell such a coincidence happened!" "What if it wasn''t a coincidence?" Annerose''s eyes turn sharp. "What... are you saying?" "He had cracked his neck at a speed that even I would have missed if I wasn''t completely focused on him. Can a normal human do something like that?" This is the logic that a super speed neck crack that bare eyes cannot catch is normally impossible. "Guh! You''ve a point..." "Perhaps for him, evading the sword was merely a byproduct. He first wanted to crack his neck, but it just happened that a sword was passing by, and it just so happened that his neck evaded the sword." "What the fuck! Now THAT''s a true impossibility! Goldoh''s sword was fast! And you''re saying it was evaded as a byproduct?!" "I am also feeling extremely incredulous at the moment. Maybe it really was a sheer coincidence. But if it was not a coincidence, then..." "!! Hell if I swallow that!!" Goldoh speaks up while still glaring at Jimina. "You piss me off. Just now, you had let a golden chance slip right through your fingers. That was the single chance in your entire life to defeat me, but you had let it go. And yet, why do you still look so composed!" Goldoh gnashes his teeth audibly. "Be more wracked with regret! Wail! Struggle more, in your unsightly way! Otherwise, it would be an insult towards me." Jimina merely silently listens to Goldoh''s words. "Don''t tell me, you didn''t even realize that you had an opportunity? If so, then there''s no helping it, as you are but a small fry with only a battle power of 33." Goldoh laughs from the back of his throat. "To think that a small fry cast shame on me. I''ll beat you down with all I''ve got. Don''t fault me if you accidentally end up dying, alright?" Goldoh takes up a stance with his sword, then begins accumulating magic. The air vibrates, and a large amount of magic gathers. Great furor rises up from the audience. "I''ll teach you something as a souvenir to hell. My battle power is 4,300!" With that, he once again closes and swings his sword. "EVIL GOD?INSTANT KILL?GOLDEN DRAGON SWORD?!" The golden flow of magic seems to be evoking the image of a golden dragon. The golden dragon assaults Jimina. Or so things should have proceeded. But in actuality, after a weird ''kshuu'' sound, the golden dragon disappears. "Bubera!!" (T/N: Bubera is what people in mangaka ManGatarou''s works reflexively say when they are hit. Kind of like his made-up word for ''ouch.'') Then Goldoh flies through the air with a tailspin. The audience falls silent. Everyone watches on in shocked silence as Goldoh hits the ground with a splat. He does not show anymore movement after that. "W-, winner, Jimina Sehnen!!" So rises the victory cheer as Jimina turns around and leaves. "To think that Goldoh Kinmekki is actually so strong..." That is the first thing that Quinton says after the match. After listening to Annerose, Quinton had somehow been looking down on Goldoh in his heart. But to think that he can actually materialize his magic to such a degree. That last attack of his had contained enough strength to easily clear the preliminaries of the Festival of the God of War. "Turns out he is a lot more skilled than expected. If he had devoted his time to aiming higher and fighting with people stronger than himself, he might have been an even stronger magic swordsman." "So, what was it that Jimina did at the end?" Annerose crosses her arms and sighs while answering. "If I saw correctly... he sneezed." "Hah?!" "If I had to venture a guess, it''d be because the golden dragon was too bright. Jimina''s sword fell along with a sneeze, which Goldoh charged into. Thus the collision." (T/N: "Reflexive sneezing induced by light, and sunlight in particular, is estimated to occur in 18 to 35 percent of the population and is known as the photic sneeze reflex (PSR)..." [Scientific American]) "Wait, wait, wait, that just sounds absurd. A dragon and a sneeze clashed and the sneeze won?!" "That''s what actually happened, so what can I do? Goldoh had mentioned a golden chance, but perhaps for Jimina it was nothing at all. Jimina could have defeated Goldoh at any moment. Thus there was no need to exploit a mistake... no, more like, maybe in Jimina''s eyes, every single motion of Goldoh''s is exploitable...?" Annerose shivers at her own deduction. No way. Indeed, this is only a mere supposition... simply an overvaluation of Jimina''s strength. "How retarded." Quinton laughs from his nose, then violently stands up. "I''m the idiot for listening seriously. No way in hell I''d acknowledge such a ridiculous guy. If Jimina continues to win, then he''ll meet me in the finals of the prelims. I''ll unmask his true self for all to see." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Quinton shoots a glare towards the arena that is now absent of Jimina, then stomps away. Annerose returns to her own seat, and ruminates over Jimina''s movements. "Can I do what he did...?" Still staying in her seat, she cracks her neck and sneezes. Again and again. Faster each time, and with smaller movements. Koki, kshun, koki, kshun, koki! "Kshun, ah..." When she finally notices the weird looks that everyone nearby is shooting at her, she blushes to the tip of her ears and dashes away. 70 In Expectation of This Happening The Undefeatable Myth was finally defeated. This news spread like wildfire among all the tournament mania in the city. Despite this being only the prelims, there had been quite a bit of attention on Undefeatable Myth Goldoh Kinmekki. Though many were surprised to hear that he had been defeated by a completely unheard-of new participant, they found themselves convinced upon hearing the details of the match. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. It somehow seemed like this new guy had won by chance. That was the frank opinion of most of the tournament mania. However, a small minority of them, as well as some who had seen the match first hand, came to hold doubts regarding Jimina''s evaluation. They purposely sought out Jimina''s matches, hoping to see him up close to gauge his strength for themselves. However. "AAHHH!! Contestant Quinton is DOWN!! He cannot get back up! Contestant Jimina, once again he wins with a single attack!!" Finals of Block B of the Festival of the God of War prelims once again ended with Jimina''s victory. Once again, with a single attack. None of the tournament mania could accurately gauge Jimina''s strength. Today''s match confirmed Jimina''s entry into the tournament proper, but not a single person understood how on earth he managed to win all the way to this point. This is entirely too much to be pure coincidence, so he probably has some strength. His opponent in the prelim finals, Quinton, was a magic swordsman with stable strength who is evaluated quite highly among the tournament mania. Since even this Quinton had lost, then they had no choice but to acknowledge Jimina''s strength. But since no one understood howJimina won, no one could grasp exactly how strong Jimina is. He''s most likely stronger than Quinton, but is he strong enough to stand on the stage of the tournament proper? Even if he is strong enough to do so, is that strength enough to earn him a place among the Festival''s history of champions? This topic became all the rage among the tournament mania. Many did not believe that Jimina has the strength to go high in the tournament. In light of his achievements, this couldn''t be helped. Almost all other contestants in the tournament have sold their names in other tournaments or battlefields. However, Jimina had not done any of that. Objectively speaking, there wasn''t a single thing to prove Jimina''s true strength. And thus, his evaluation naturally was low. But a small portion of the tournament mania were pushing Jimina as a dark horse. Looking at this year''s participant list, it is almost certain that the champion will be Iris again. However, if there really is someone who can overturn that result... then it can only be this mysterious young man with as-yet unmeasured strength. With such expectations on his back, Jimina leaves the arena. The tournament proper begins next week. The first match will be Jimina Sehnen vs. Annerose. 90% of people predict that it will be Annerose''s win. While thinking about how today''s ossan opponent was strangely energetic, I leave the arena. His name was Q-... um, sorry, I forgot. He had quite relentless killing intent, so it was a bit new. With this, my entry into the Festival of the God of War is confirmed. The first match is next week. To this point, the audience''s reaction is about so-so. The plan is to slowly begin revealing my strength in the matches starting next week, so until then I''ll be doing image training. While walking down the long corridor of the contestant entrance with such thoughts on my mind, I find my way blocked by a lady with light blue hair. If I remember correctly, her name is Annerose. "You have business with me...?" "To think that you would advance to the tournament proper. You''ve sure done it." Her strong-willed eyes are looking at me. "A natural result." "I admit that I had misjudged your strength. But I have a warning for you." "Warning...?" "I''ve already seen through your movements. Don''t think that you can continue winning in the same way as before." Annerose flashes me a confident smile. "Hmph..." I laugh with only a corner of my mouth. Then, as if to insinuate that she is not worthy of anymore of my time, I indifferently walk past her. ...Please call out to me! So I shout within my heart. "What''s so funny." I can feel Annerose''s glare. THANK YOU! I turn only my neck around, as if sizing her up with only the corner of my eye. "A warning from me too, then..." So saying, I undo the wristband that I had put on in expectation of this happening, and throw it at the ground by Annerose''s feet. Dosa. The wristband makes a heavy sound upon hitting the ground. "Th-, this is... don''t tell me you had this weight on while fighting...?!" "These weights are the chains that seals my strength... guess play time''s over..." Dosa, dosa, dosa. I take off the weights on both hands and both feet, then begin walking away. "Kuh... w-, wait a moment!" But I no longer stop. "I said, wait a moment!" Annerose circles in front of me in a fluster. "Don''t think that you''ve won with just this, alright? Watch..." Then Annerose cracks her neck, with a koki. For some reason, it''s excessively fast. "Even I can do something of this level, alright?" "Is that so..." I don''t quite get it, so I just walk past Annerose with her doya-gao. What did she even want to do anyways? 71 Betas Job The summer morning is refreshing. I open my mouth wide in a yawn while gazing at the blue sky spread out beyond my window. I roll around in my bed, not doing anything in particular, just dazedly passing the time. There isn''t much of the summer holidays left. The tournament proper of the Festival of the God of War begins next week too, so I''ve got to do image training. However, spending time like this, letting time pass by without doing anything in particular, is necessary for humans. Nah, sorry, that''s a lie. At the very least, it''s necessary for me. "Oi Sid! I''ve got a really interesting story, so open up!" Suddenly Hyoro is pounding my door while shouting. As long as humans live with humans, troublesome things are bound to occur. Why do humans continue to seek other humans even while feeling this troublesomeness? This is what I''m ruminating upon in the morning of my now scarce summer holidays. Isn''t this great, this feeling? It''s like the ''yare yare'' kind of master who keeps a certain distance from humankind. "Alright, alright, I''m coming." I unlock the door and allow Hyoro in. "This is the wanted poster of Student Council President Rose. 10 million Zeny for capturing her alive! And at least 500k Zeny for useful information!" "Fu~n." I accept the wanted poster from Hyoro and take a look at it. "Let''s go catch her!" "What, why?" "I''m broke." So says Hyoro with desperation. "Didn''t you say that there''s a match with guaranteed victory?" "Don''t mention that to me ever again." "Didn''t you earn a lot from betting?" "Shut up. Shut up. Ok, listen to me. I won''t say the reason, but anyways I''m broke. Thus, I need money." (T/N: Urusai damare.) "Is that so." "So, help me." "Eh, so troublesome. Do it by yourself." "Don''t be so hasty, think about it deeply. Two people searching is a lot more effective than one person searching. Why? Because then the probability of finding her would be doubled!" "Heeeh~" Even while my shoulder is being shaken by Hyoro, I''m just thinking ''what a pain.'' In the first place, I quite appreciate Rose''s rebellious spirit that enabled her to stab her fianc. Isn''t it great that she has all that energy and spunk? So in other words, I''m leaning more towards the side that hopes for Rose''s successful escape. "Please, I''m begging you!" Hyoro actually lowers his head. "U~n..." At that moment. "Sid-kun, your Onee-san has come." The dorm manager peeks into my room while saying so. "Onee-san?" "Sid-kun''s older sister. She''s waiting for you in front of the dorm, so don''t keep her waiting too long, alright?" Leaving those words behind, the dorm manager leaves. "Claire nee-san... so she''s back." I have a really bad feeling. In s split second, I weigh which option would be more troublesome. "Alright, let''s begin Operation Capture Rose." "Sid, I had believed in you! As expected of my good friend!" I grab Hyoro by the back of his neck, and open the window. "Oi Sid, what are you doing?" "There''s no time. We''re going by the window." "Hah? What are you saying? Eh, wait a, EHHHHH?!" "Tou!" (T/N: Again, ''tou'' is like what sentai rangers say when they jump, the idea being that it somehow makes the jump cooler.) And thus we fly down. "Iris-nee-sama said thanks for the information. She wants to continue the cooperation, apparently." "What an honor." So replies Beta while looking at the back of Alexia, who is walking in front of her. The spiral staircase is illuminated by Alexia''s magical lamp. They''ve already gone quite the distance down. The cold, humid air tells them that they are underground. "It seems that Doem Ketsuhat is indeed connected to the Order." "Indeed." "Problem is, we have no evidence." "This is a problem between the Church and the country, so normal evidence would not be sufficient." "I am well aware. My father did stress this to me. He said that if we are to expose the connection between the Order of Diabolos and the Church, we would need justification that can convince our citizens and the surrounding countries." "Because if our country is branded heretical, everything would be over." "I don''t think that all members of the Church are tied to the Order of Diabolos. It''s probably only a handful of the upper echelons." "And that''s what makes this so troublesome." "Indeed." The two''s footsteps continue reverberating throughout the staircase. "My father is solely insisting on not causing a dispute with the Church. But then what of the Order, right?" "He probably intends to leave them alone, same as he''s done so far." "Same as so far..." Alexia''s footstep is late by a beat. "Merely my arbitrary conjecture. Please forget it." "... Well, that''s fine for now. Nee-sama said something that caught my attention. That the king of Oriana Kingdom seemed a bit vacant." "Vacant, you say..." "It was my first time meeting him, so I couldn''t tell. But there was some sort of sweet smell around him." Sweet smell. A certain drug comes to Beta''s mind. "Perhaps it''s already too late then..." "The Order has begun to move. With my father''s way of doing things, eventually our country would also..." The two continue down the staircase, now in silence. "We''ve arrived." Alexia has stopped before a deep vertical hole with a ladder. "One of the entrances to the royal capital''s underground tunnel system. You know of it, do you not?" "To some degree, yes. The tunnels that stretch underneath the entire city, built long ago as escape routes for the royalty, right?" "Correct. But what with the gradual loss of maps and keys and secret passwords and whatnot, now it''s just a labyrinth." "So then, why are we here?" "To erase you." Then Alexia puts a hand on the sword at her waist... and laughs. "That was a joke. And you''re not even scared the slightest bit." "Hiii, don''t kill me...!" "There''s a possibility that Rose-senpai is hiding inside these tunnels." Beta pouts slightly at the way Alexia completely ignored her wholehearted acting. "Let''s begin searching in here." So saying, Alexia reaches for the ladder without delay. "Um, please wait a moment." "What?" "Did you tell anyone else about this?" "How could I? Anyone I can trust to tell would stop me." "If this is a labyrinth, how can we be sure that we ourselves won''t get lost?" "Easy. We just have to return the way we came." "Um, this is kind of hard for me to say, but can you stop involving me in your whimsical fancies?" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "No." The two glare at each other for a while. "If you have a problem, then you can go back by yourself." Alexia goes ahead and starts climbing down the ladder by herself. Beta considers just leaving Alexia to her own devices and going home, but at this current point in time, it would indeed be problematic if Alexia dies. "Protecting her is also your job, Beta." So convincing herself, Beta also reaches for the ladder. 72 A Power in the Shadows Playing Under the Moonligh I am walking through the royal capital in early morning. Hyoro said that he''s going to go ask around and went off somewhere. In this world, people begin moving when the sun rises. The streets are already bustling with people. Though I did say that I would look for Rose, I''m not actually going to do it seriously. My hope for her successful escape is still unchanged as of now, so I guess I''ll just kill time while pretending to look for her. But well, I do kind of want to ask her about the motive that led to this incident full of rebellious spirit that involved stabbing her fianc. If possible, I''d like it hear it in her own words. Either way, as long as I can kill time, that''s good enough for me. Anger is something that fades with the passage of time. I''m sure Nee-san just needs some time to calm her head. While thinking such thoughts and sort of dazedly wandering the streets, I suddenly pick up the sound of a piano from somewhere. "Fumu..." I''m actually kind of good at the piano. In my previous life, I had practiced the piano as part of my training to become a power in the shadows. Well alright, that''s a lie. It was just my parents forcing me to learn it. To be frank, rather than practicing the piano, I would much rather have spent that time doing actual training for becoming a power in the shadows. In other words, I had zero motivation. But then again, what meaning does that hold in the face of parents? Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. (T/N: Asian parents.) And so I grudgingly started learning the piano, but eventually came to think it not so bad. Firstly, if someone is good at the piano, surrounding people arbitrarily make their own assumptions. Such as, this guy is busy because he has to practice the piano as soon as he gets home. For the me who had limited human relationships to the bare minimum for the sake of becoming a power in the shadows, that misunderstanding was extremely convenient. Secondly, I simply came to recognize the coolness of the piano. A power in the shadows playing the piano under the moonlight... how cool is that? Exactly, this is the character setting that ''I am not only strong in fighting, but also proficient in the arts.'' Awe~some... Before I realized it, I had gotten quite serious about the piano. Of course, my top priority was my training to become a power in the shadows. However, I did become quite fond of the idea of playing the piano to set up the mood for a battle. And so, I don''t mean to toot my own horn, but I''m actually quite good at the piano. "This... is pretty good, hmm..." So I murmur. Thing is, the person who''s currently playing the piano is also quite skilled. Beethoven''s Piano Sonata No. 14 "Moonlight Sonata" huh... This is a song that I really like. More like, it''s in my list of ''best ever'' for a power in the shadows. And so, I don''t think myself inferior when it comes to "Moonlight Sonata." However, this performer''s expression is also quite unique and tasteful. "Not bad at all... I can almost see the light of the moon inside my mind... even though it''s morning at the moment..." As I play out the "oh, this person is not so bad either" clich, I suddenly jolt in realization. Isn''t it strange to hear a song by Beethoven in this world? My face turns serious as I make my way through the crowd towards the sound of the piano. Alright, I''ll be honest. I already know what''s coming. I''m not a complete idiot, alright? The sound of the piano is coming from the first floor cafe of one of the royal capital''s top class hotels. The security is so tight that normal people can''t go in, but the guards here let me go right in. As I go into the store without reservation, the performance is just about over. "Epsilon..." She is a beautiful girl with dazzling hair the color of a clear lake. Though her dress is a sleeveless dress, her chest area is, of course, fully covered to hide the slime. Her legs are also completely covered under tights, and her boots with hidden heels are cleverly concealed. A magnificent job as always. When I draw close, she also seems to notice me. She gives the customers a bow, then leads me towards the waiting room. After the door closes with a click, she smiles. "My lord, you were listening? How embarrassing..." She looks at me with upturned eyes and slightly blushing cheeks, but I refuse to be deceived. "Epsilon, that song just now was Moonlight Sonata, was it not?" "Yes. Among the numerous songs that my lord had taught me, it is the one that I love the most." "Oh, is that so? It''s my favorite too." Though I had no intention of teaching her, it''s quite a happy thing to find someone else liking something that you like. "Thanks to my lord, I am building my connections and influence as a pianist and a composer." "Eh, composer..." "Yes, my lord. Beginning with Moonlight Sonata, I''ve also used Minute Waltz, Turkish March, The Girl with the Flaxen Hair, and..." (T/N: Moonlight Sonata is by Beethoven. Minute Waltz is by Chopin. Turkish March is by Mozart. The Girl with the Flaxen Hair is by Claude Debussy.) Epsilon continues proudly talking about how she''s received rave reviews from nobles for ''releasing'' famous classic and modern songs, how she''s gotten awards, and how she''s been invited to the country of arts. I apologize, Beethoven, Bach, Mozart... and all other great composers. In this world, all the credit for your great works has gone entirely to Epsilon. "... The previous concert was extremely well received, so I''m soon going to Oriana Kingdom for work. As I''m sure you already know, Oriana Kingdom is currently a place with very worthy ''work'' to be done." "It is the country of arts after all." "Indeed, because it''s the country of arts... this time especially, I expect to get some really good ''work'' done." Epsilon smiles bewitchingly. "Do your best out there." "I will do great ''work'' and give them a performance truly worthy of the wonderful songs entrusted to me from my lord." Epsilon gives me a graceful bow. "Oh right, I''m changing the subject, but would you happen to know anything about where Princess Rose has gone?" "Princess Rose, is it? I believe that matter is currently being handled by Beta, so I am not too informed on it. Ah, but I did hear something about her escaping into the royal capital''s underground. For the full details, it would probably be best to ask Beta directly." "Ah, knowing that alone is already more than enough." If I really do happen to find Rose by luck, then I''ll at least listen to what she has to say. "Thank you. Umm..." While looking at the smiling Epsilon, I think of what to say after my thanks. Just like how I was glad to hear that she likes Moonlight Sonata, there must be words that she would be glad to hear. "Your figure is as beautiful as ever, isn''t it?" "Th-, th-, there''s no such thing I still have a f-, f-, far way to go...!" Without looking at Epsilon''s face, I divert my gaze outside of the window. Ah, the blue summer sky sure does stretch on. Ah, the world sure is turning today too. 73 The Girl Who Dreams a Dream and the Boy Who Walks a Dream Rose is plodding through the dark underground. The wound on her back that she had received while escaping is even now still oozing blood. Though it is not deep, it is also definitely not shallow. She needs treatment urgently, but with pursuers on her tail, she has no time nor opportunity for that. She is concentrating her magic on the wound as a makeshift measure, but the pain is only increasing along with the passage of time. And in inverse proportion, she is expending both magic and physical strength. Her breathing is ragged. Even while keeping her senses sharpened to pick up signs of pursuers, she has been thinking the entire time. That moment, what was the truly correct choice? What was the best choice? This question without an answer is merely going round and round in her head. Stabbing Doem, her fianc, was an on-the-spot decision. But it was by no means an impulsive action. Within the limited amount of time allotted to her, she had concluded that this was the best choice. Or at least, it was supposed to be. But her plan had failed. Doem still lives, and she is now a fugitive. But hindsight is 20-20. Her mistake was in mis-gauging Doem''s true strength. But that does not necessarily mean that her choice to eliminate Doem was also a mistake. It can even be said that she had no other choice. The instant she saw her changed father... the instant she saw the eyes of the king of Oriana Kingdom, Rose had decided to eliminate Doem. The connection between Doem and the Order and all other rumors involving the Order had instantaneously turned into confirmed truths in her mind the instant she saw the father who had lost his self and been turned into a mere puppet. That''s why she drew her sword. Was she impulsive at that moment? Was she too impatient? Was she not moving in haste and anger? At the time, Rose had thought herself calm. She did not want to borrow Alexia''s nor Natsume''s help. To the very end, this matter must have handled purely within Oriana. That''s what her intuition told her, and that''s what she followed. This political intuition of hers was not wrong. Although she ultimately failed, this is Rose''s own mistake, and a problem of Oriana Kingdom alone. The sparks have yet to spread to Midgar Kingdom. She had unconsciously avoided the worst case scenario. But that, too, is merely a matter of time. The words that Doem had shouted when she fled reverberate inside her mind. "Surrender yourself before the end of the Festival of the God of War! Otherwise, I''ll make the king of Oriana Kingdom start killing VIPs!" If the Orianan king truly kills VIPs as Doem threatened... war will break out. Rose could not tell how serious he was, but she gets the message that the Order sees her Oriana Kingdom as no more than a mere pawn. If that really is so... Rose gnashes her teeth in vexation. Her father was not a particularly enlightened monarch, and Oriana Kingdom is not that big of a country. But he is her one and only father, and it is her one and only motherland. And that''s why she wanted to protect them both. That feeling was what fueled her agitation. Rose slams a fist into the wall of the underground tunnel. All that can be said at this moment in time is that she had let her emotions free rein and acted impulsively. If she can eliminate Doem, then all would be resolved. Such had been her misreckoning. But after all is said and done, Doem himself is also a mere pawn. The Order has most likely spread its roots deep into Oriana Kingdom, so getting rid of Doem alone would not resolve anything whatsoever. There should have been a different choice. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. A magical choice that could have solved everything altogether... Rose sinks into a sitting position in the damp underground tunnel. If only she had chosen the absolute best solution, and everything had gotten resolved... Catching herself thinking such impossibilities, Rose laughs in self-derision. Everything is already done and in the past. She does not even know why she is fleeing. What does she plan to do after fleeing? What should change if she flees? Should she not surrender? Oh yes... surely that would be best. "I see... I should just surrender." She still does not know what she should have done instead at that time. However, what she should do at this moment in time is clear to see. If she surrenders, at the very least, war would be evaded. She feels just a little bit lighter. But then she is immediately assaulted by an overwhelming sense of loss and sorrow. Rose takes out a wrapping paper from MagRonald out of her pocket. She''s already eaten the contents, but there''s still a faint smell of bread coming from it. Then she thinks of a certain black-haired boy. Surely he has already heard of her incident by now. What does he think about it? Is he worried for her? Does he believe in her? Could it be... that he is searching for her? If she had successfully eliminated Doem and restored the king''s sanity... if there had been such a future where everything is resolved perfectly... could she had spent her entire life with him? Surely that was merely a dream that she had wanted to see. "I''m so sorry..." Rose apologizes. A single tear rolls down her cheek. The dream that she had painted has already crumbled into dust. Rose carefully folds the MagRonald wrapping paper, then returns it to her skirt pocket. Almost as if it is the last fragment of her dream. "Ow...!" A sharp pain runs through Rose''s chest. She peeks into her shirt to see a pitch black patch of skin. That is the proof of demon possession. The symptoms have appeared only recently. At the very start, her dream was already an impossible one. Rose hangs her head and laughs. That moment, a soft sound reaches Rose''s ears. Is it the sound of a pursuer? But the sound is too gentle and beautiful to be footstep. When she strains her ears, she recognizes it as the sound of a piano. "Moonlight Sonata...?" As someone well versed in music, she knows that song. This song that had been exceptional well received even in Oriana the country of arts is now coming from the tunnel in front of her. "How beautiful..." The performance is so deep and perfect that it is as if the performer is pouring everything of his whole life into it. Rose begins walking towards the source of the sound, as if led by moonlight. This place is called the Royal Capital Underground Labyrinth, but Rose feels that it''s more of a historic site than a labyrinth. The ground is properly paved with stone, and there are carvings of reliefs and ancient letters on the walls. On the way here, she''s come across several doors in the walls, but none of them could be opened. Either a key was required, or some ancient mechanism had broken down. The sound of piano grows closer. Then Rose turns a corner, and sees a big, broken door in front of her. The sound is coming from beyond. Rose ducks through the large hole in the door, and finally arrives. The space she finds herself in is a cathedral with fantastical light shining through. The sky high stained glass depicts the three heroes and the defeated demon. Radiant light is falling from the stained glass. And in the middle of the light is a single grand piano. "Shadow..." In this long forgotten cathedral, he is here, playing Moonlight Sonata by himself. 74 The Single Ray of Light Shining Into the Darkness Rose closes her eyes and concentrates on that beautiful melody. The Moonlight Sonata that Shadow plays is different from any other rendition that Rose has ever heard before. The song might be the same, but the expression can vary greatly based on the performer. Shadow''s Moonlight Sonata is darkness. A deep, endless darkness. With a single ray of light shining into it. Is that light from the moon? Or is it... But before she is able to arrive at an answer, the performance comes to an end. Only after fully appreciating the lingering note reverberating around the cathedral does Rose clap her hands. The clapping of a single person echoes. Naturally, Shadow hears that clapping. He stands up, and bows elegantly in response. "Shadow, you are..." Abruptly, Rose realizes that she does not know what to say next. However, she feels that Shadow would definitely leave if she does not say something. "Among all the renditions of Moonlight Sonata that I''ve ever heard, I can say with certainty that yours is the best. Umm..." Rose herself does not know what she is saying. There surely are other things that she should ask Shadow. "What is it... that you hope to achieve..." So says Shadow in his reverberating-from-the-abyss voice. "Eh..." With a little thought, Rose understands. He is inquiring about the incident. "I... merely wanted to protect everyone... wanted to grasp the best future... But I could not do it...!" Rose squeezes out her words. "And it''s over...?" "Eh...?" "Your fight, it''s over...?" "Even I... don''t want it to end here...!" Rose hangs her head but clenches her fists. She wanted to make it work. Even now, she still thinks so. However, there is no longer anything that she can do. "If you still have the will to fight... then I shall grant it to you..." So saying, Shadow gathers violet magic on top of his outstretched hand. "... Power." "Power...?" The violet magic grows increasingly bright, beautifully coloring the entire cathedral. The dense magic causes the air to vibrate. "If I gain that power, would I be able to change the future...?" "That would depend on you." Rose finds herself enthralled by the violet magic. What if she possesses Shadow''s strength? Then surely everything would have been different. If she has the strength... then there would still be things that she can do. As the princess of Oriana Kingdom, there would still be things that she needs to do. Light returns to Rose''s eyes. "I... want it. I... want that power...!" "Ask, and ye shall receive..." Then the violet magic is let loose. It shoots straight towards Rose''s chest and, after being sucked in, begins circulating around her body. That warm strength calms Rose''s agitated magic. Her magic, which had felt somehow heavy and unresponsive, silently begins flowing like water. "How amazing..." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Rose thinks so from the bottom of her heart. So this is Shadow''s magic... So this is the world that Shadow sees... "Resist... and prove to me that you are worthy to fight beside me." Before she realizes it, Shadow''s figure has already vanished. Only his voice remains, as a lingering echo. "Forget it not... true strength comes not from power, but from the way you live..." Then Shadow''s presence fades entirely. Rose is left alone in the cathedral. She hears the footsteps of her pursuers. She feels the vibration in the air. Magic more than she has ever felt in her entire life fills her entirely. She had even considered resigning herself to being caught. But now, with this power in hand... there is so much that she can still do. Rose draws her narrow sword, steadily gazing at the broken door. Then the next instant, a group wearing black appears through the door... and blood fountains. They had, without even knowing what had happened, fallen to Rose''s sword. After staining the cathedral with blood, Rose sheathes her sword and closes her eyes. So this is how Shadow has been fighting against the Order all along. In places beyond anyone''s eyes, endlessly continuing the fight. Shadow''s Moonlight Sonata rises back up in Rose''s mind. She feels that she''s come to understand the single ray of light shining into the deep darkness. That light is perhaps Shadow himself. He is not the darkness, but the single ray of light standing against the darkness. So Rose believes. 75 The Girlss Paths, and His Decision "See, if we keep unrolling this roll of thread, then we won''t have to worry about finding our way back." So says Alexia while proceeding through the underground passage. "Yay us." So replies Beta from behind while yawning. "Did you just yawn?!" "Nope. But we have been at this for more than half a day already, so how about let''s go home? She''s probably not in the underground labyrinth anyways." "I wonder indeed. I got the information from a pretty trustworthy source though..." "How about let''s go back for now and re-confirm the information?" The two''s footsteps echo around the underground passage illuminated by Alexia''s magic light. The monotonous passage continues into the distance. Abruptly, Beta senses an enormous magic signature, and stops her feet. After a slight delay, Alexia also stops, and turns around. "Just now... someone used magic. And an incredibly big one at that..." "Perhaps it was Rose-sama?" "By the way, did you sense it even faster than me?" "Mere coincidence. I am only proficient enough to protect myself." "Well, whatever. Let''s hurry." The two begin running towards where the magic had come from. Then they pass through a large, broken door, and find themselves in an old cathedral. "Rose-senpai..." There stands Rose, with her eyes closed. At her feet are several men wearing black who are no longer breathing. Sensing Rose''s vibe being different from usual, Alexia does not approach any further. "So it''s Alexia-san..." Rose slowly opens her eyes. "That magic, what happened..." "Power was given to me, and I... I will walk the path that I believe in." So saying, Rose walks past Alexia. "W-, wait a moment! What is going on anyways?! Why did you stab your fianc?!" Rose turns only her head around at Alexia''s shout. "Alexia-san... I''m sorry, but I don''t want to drag you into my problems." Then she gazes at Alexia as if looking at something bright. "Just tell me the reason! I can''t help you if you shut me out!" "Telling you would already be dragging you in." Alexia glares into Rose''s eyes. "Inside the Holy Ground... we could not do a thing. Not knowing who is right and who is bad, we were there merely as onlookers. I have this really strong feeling that if I remain in the dark, someday something really important to me is going to be stolen away. We talked about this, didn''t we?! That''s why we said we''d protect what''s important to us, all 3 of us, together!!" Listening to Alexia''s words, Rose seems to be looking at a faraway place. "I really wanted to believe in the words from that day. But in spite of that, why are you looking at me with those eyes? Are you also treating me like just another onlooker?!" "I''m sorry..." "Answer me!" Rose''s smile is tainted heavily with sorrow. "I... can no longer return. That''s why I''m envious." "I don''t get it. Are you saying that you''re envious of an onlooker who doesn''t know anything?!" "That''s not what I meant. I have already lost many things, and surely will lose many more things from here on. Everyone will reject me and curse me as evil." "What is it that you plan on doing...?" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "I''m sorry... I have to go now." Rose begins walking, but Alexia stops her with a tongue click. "Stop right there." So saying, Alexia draws her sword. "I''ve had enough. I''ll stop you even if I have to use force. I am no onlooker." Rose also draws her thin sword. Alexia and Rose gaze at each other. In Alexia''s red eyes is anger, and in Rose''s honey-colored eyes is deep sorrow. Rose''s sword flickers. The next instant, both of them move at the same time. Their reaction is concurrent, the speed of their sword is equal, and their skill is on par with each other. For the briefest of moments, surprise flashes in Rose''s eyes. Rose is the strongest in the Magic Swordsman Academy. There should have been a significant difference in skill between her and Alexia. At the very least, that''s how things had been when they entered the academy. However, Alexia''s sword has grown so much in such a short period of time. Furthermore, Alexia''s sword bears great resemblance to his sword. Indeed, Alexia''s sword... is Shadow''s sword. The two swords clash. Magic flashes and stains the cathedral. Though the two are even, the result is clear. Alexia''s sword flies through the air, while the pommel of Rose''s sword slams into Alexia''s chin. Thus Alexia crumples from her knees. What decided the match was simply the difference in the amount of magic. If Alexia had the same amount as Rose... there''s no telling what the result would have been. "I''m very sorry." With a final apology, Rose walks away. Then she notices Natsume. Strangely, she had completely failed to sense Natsume''s presence. "Natsume-sensei... I''m sorry, but I have to go." "I won''t stop you. I don''t have the right to stop you." So says Natsume with an unreadable face. The Natsume in Rose''s memory always had a gentle expression. "It''s just... I''m a bit surprised, I suppose. It seems that the idiot had thought things out in her idiotic way. The three of us are from different countries, different organizations, have different personalities, and have different beliefs. However, we were heading towards the same goal. Perhaps we actually made a pretty good group..." "Natsume-sensei..?" "I bid you godspeed. Our paths will surely cross again. Until then, I''ll be babysitting for a little while longer." So saying, Natsume kneels down and tends to Alexia. "Natsume-sensei, who are you...?" "You should get going. She''s only unconscious, and will wake up soon." Natsume flashes a slightly impish smile. There''s so much to ask. But both understand that neither are in the mood to answer anything. "Well then..." Rose turns around, and vanishes. Natsume rests Alexia''s head on her knees and sighs. "So this is your decision, Shadow-sama...?" The figures of the three heroes and the tragic demon depicted on the stained glass somehow seem to be hinting at something. 76 The Basics of Human Relationships Is Abandonment Play Humans have difficulty maintaining any emotion for a prolonged period of time. Even when something precious is lost, the sense of loss would not last for ten whole years. Emotions get weathered down gradually, same as the stones on riversides and beaches. Similarly, even positive emotions, such as happiness, won''t continue for ten whole years. So even the emotion that is anger would also wane as time passes. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. In other words. I am an advocate of the theory that if you evade an incoming collision with someone else and leave them alone for long enough, time will take care of the issue for you. "Do you know what I was thinking while waiting for you in front of your dorm?" "No idea." I answer frankly the question posed by Claire-nee-san, who had forcibly barged into my room. Guess one day was not enough. It seems that Nee-san needed a longer cooling-off period. "I was beating you up inside my head. Again and again and again. For every second that I was waiting, my anger doubled." "Interesting." It''s my first time learning of a kind of anger that increases with the passage of time. But well, all humans eventually die. Regardless of how angry Nee-san gets, she can''t bring that emotion to her grave. In other words, it''s still something that can be resolved with the passage of time. "You are thinking ''whatever'' inside your head right now, aren''t you." "No way, of course not." I am currently looking up at the ceiling of my dorm room, with Nee-san mounted on me and strangling my neck. I catch glimpses of Nee-san''s red eyes and black hair moving from the edge of my vision. "Should we perform an experiment to test how long humans can go without breathing?" "When humans get strangled, they faint because the carotid artery gets cut off and so blood stops flowing to the brain. It''s actually not related to breathing at all." "Ohhh, I see. Either way is fine though." The hands on my neck are tightening gradually. Oh, I''ve a good idea. How about I just allow myself to lose consciousness here and go to sleep? "You''re thinking of allowing yourself to lose consciousness and go to sleep, aren''t you." "N-, no way, of course not." "It''s written all over your face." "Just your misunderstanding." "The next time you break a promise, I won''t ever forgive you. Capiche?" "I''ll try my best to become a human who fulfills his promises. And so, could you kindly get off me?" Nee-san lets go of my neck, but still maintains her position on top of me. "I heard that when dogs establish hierarchy, the dominant one gets on top." "I see. But no worries, I already understand fully." "Not good enough. I don''t like your attitude." So saying, Nee-san drops a piece of paper onto my face. "This is...?" I pick it up and take a look. Seems to be a ticket of some sort. "Special seating at the Festival of the God of War. Absolutely unattainable by normal channels." "Heehhh~" "I''m giving it to you, so go see the matches and learn from them. You can call me blind, but I see great potential in you, really." "Is that so?" "Because I recognize your potential, I''ll practice with you. If you earnestly put in the effort, you can go quite far. More like, do so." "U~n, that''s quite impossible, I think." "It''s not impossible. You hear me, right? Make sure you definitely go watch!" "Alright ok." "Good boy." Then Nee-san gets off of me while still looking displeased. "Speaking of which, Nee-san, you''re not participating this year?" "Hah?" Nee-san glares at me with a seriously scary face. "I am participating, as the replacement school representative in place of Princess Rose. You''re not going to tell me that you didn''t know that I''d be participating, right?" "O-, of course I knew. I was just confirminguhi!" Nee-san''s left hand is once again on my neck in an eagle grip. Then she brings her face close and glares at me from zero distance. Like what those school delinquents do. "Incidentally, you remember my birthday, right?" "O-, of course." "Of course you do. And so you have also memorized my tournament record so far, right?" "O-, of course." "What was the date of my first victory?" "Y-, yep I remember." "Very well. There are things in the world that you must never forget. Things that you must not forget... if you wish to live long." I can only silently nod my head. Nee-san patronizingly slaps my cheeks a few times before letting me go. "This year I''m going to take the championship, so make sure you come watch." "Yes, ma''am." After one last glare, Nee-san leaves my room. "Haaah~ That was tiring." Tomorrow is finally the start of the tournament proper. "Let''s get started on image training." I close my eyes as is. 77 And Who Are You? The new week has begun, and along with it the tournament proper. Apparently Nee-san has to go into the arena first. So I am alone in looking for the special seating, ticket in hand. This fancy and gold-leafed ticket truly does shout ''special seat.'' Upon following the directions on its back, I find myself in front of an extremely extravagant door. Unlike normal seats, this place alone is mysteriously isolated. I''m thinking ''nah it''s probably not here, right?'' while showing the ticket to the staff standing before the door, but turns out it really is here. I am guided into the room with extreme courtesy. But the instant I step inside, I want to leave. This place is no ''special'' seating. This is the VVIP seating. It''s filled with some ridiculously high ranked nobles and their families. Almost the entirety of the Academy''s top caste are gathered. Over there is the daughter of the current leader of the Magic Swordsman Knight Order, and that ikemen over there is the second son of a Duke''s family. Oh wow, I actually recognize a few of them from Royal Capital Bushin Style Group 1''s class. After taking the seat that I am guided to, I realize that I am right next to royalty. "Ara, who might you be?" Red eyes and hair the color of flames. She is none other than Alexia''s older sister, Princess Iris Midgar. "I am Sid Kagenou. It appears that there''s been some mistake with the seating arrangements. Please pardon me." I clinch an elegant about face and attempt an escape. "Ara, so you are Claire-san''s younger brother. Which would mean that Claire-san had given you the ticket." "... You know of my sister?" My escape attempt has fallen flat. There''s no way I can pretend to not hear when a member of royalty talks to me. With the sole exception of Alexia, of course. "Indeed. The incident where my younger sister was kidnapped was what triggered our relationship. Claire-san plans to join the Crimson Order after her graduation. Please, take your seat." "Umm..." "There''s no mistake with the seating arrangement. Kindly take your seat." "... By your leave." How can I refuse Princess Iris'' honest smile? If it was Alexia''s pure evil smile then I could have easily just flicked my middle finger and turned right around though. "I''ve heard much about Sid-san from Claire-san. I''m quite envious at how close the two of you are." "Uh, I don''t think we''re actually that close, really." "Speaking of which, Sid-san has been getting along well with Alexia too, haven''t you?" "Rather than ''getting along well,'' we''re... our relationship is more like one picking up the gold coins that the other throws, I guess." "Throwing gold coins?" "Like throwing a bone for a dog to retrieve." "Oh, so you two have been playing together with a dog? Thank you for playing together with Alexia." "Eh, not really ''with'' a dog, I''m the dog... ah never mind. Oh, right, the gold coins originate from the royal family, so I''m the one who''s actually been taken care of." Princess Iris appears to be smiling from the bottom of her heart while listening to me. "Alexia and Sid-kun truly are getting along well, I''m so glad." "No, no, that''s not really true, at all." "Alexia was originally supposed to come today also, but she suddenly said that she had something else to do..." "Haha, is that so." "I''ll apologize on her behalf, is that alright?" "No, no, no, please pay it no mind. Really." And that''s pretty much how our conversation is going as I continue sipping on the complimentary drinks. "Which participants are Iris-sama paying attention to this year?" So asks the daughter of the current leader of the Magic Swordsman Knight Order. "Ah, I wish to know too." The ducal family''s second son ikemen joins in. Apparently they got to know Princess Iris personally through Royal Capital Bushin Style. "I''m looking at all the participants who made their way to the tournament proper, but if I really have to mention one..." Princess Iris places a hand on her cheek while choosing her words. "The former member of the ''Seven Swords of Begalta'' Annerose-san, I suppose. I am familiar with many of the faces participating in this year''s tournament, but it''s her first time in this one. I saw her final match in the prelims, and she truly is strong. Once she wins her first round, she''ll be facing off against me, so I''m looking forward to it quite a bit..." There is great confidence in her smile. "I also saw her match. She really is strong, much stronger than I myself currently am..." (girl mob) "I saw it too. But of course, the victor will be Iris-sama for sure. After that incident, the support behind Royal Capital Bushin Style has lagged quite considerably, so when Iris-sama clinches the championship here..." (guy mob) "Wait a moment, don''t pressure Iris-sama, and don''t push it all onto her shoulders!" (girl mob) "No, that was not my intention, I was merely..." (guy mob) The two begin quarrelling, but Iris'' voice interrupts them. "Calm down, both of you. It''s fine, from the very start I''ve intended to win. Royal Capital Bushin Style, this country, and many other things, I''ve resolved to shoulder them all." "Iris-sama..." (girl mob) "As expected of Iris-sama." (guy mob) I''m a bit sorry about it now that the atmosphere''s turned kind of serious, but I want to join in on the conversation too. "Umm, is there any other participant that has caught your eye...?" I cut in just like that, pretending to not read the atmosphere. "Speaking of which, who are you?" "Why do I feel like I''ve seen you somewhere... Oh right, you''re the kouhai who previously came to Group 1." "Ohh, so you are Claire-sama''s..." "He is Sid Kagenou. Claire-san''s younger brother." Princess Iris'' introduction evokes looks of understanding on both their faces. "Unlike Claire-san, you have no talent, right? But don''t worry about it, steady effort will get you far." "Your sword didn''t look particularly remarkable. There''s no much meaning in looking upwards, the most important thing is steady and earnest effort." Wow, I''m so thankful for the precious advice from the two senpai. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Thank you. And so, is there any other participant that Iris-sama is paying attention to?" "Hmm..." "H-, how about the opponent of Annerose-sama in the first match, that Jimina Sehnen? H-, he''s also participating for the first time." I attempt to survey the general reaction to Jimina in a completely natural manner. "Jimina... I haven''t seen any of his matches, so I can''t really say." Princess Iris dodges the question. So Princess Iris still doesn''t know about Jimina. "Ah, I saw it. His sword is fast, but that was about it. His posture is amateur, and it feels like he''s come so far on luck alone. I''m quite certain that it will be Annerose-sama''s win." (girl mob) "I saw it too, but... he does not possess the qualifications to stand on the tournament stage. He only has momentum but no true strength." So both of them have determined Jimina to be a small fry. Pretty much as expected. So my control on the general impression of Jimina so far is going well. All the pieces are in place. Here on is where everything starts to move... "Though not a participant, there is one more person that I''m paying attention to." After asking what I wanted to ask and receiving a satisfying answer, suddenly Princess Iris brings the conversation somewhere else. "The champion of the first Festival of the God of War, the elven Sword Saint nicknamed ''Goddess of War'' has come to the royal capital." "The elven Sword Saint... don''t tell me!" "She hasn''t appeared on any stages for more than 10 years already!" Umm. "I am sure that every single participant in the tournament is paying attention to the Goddess of War, Beatrix-sama''s intentions." Who''s that? I''m not paying any attention at all though. 78 What Always Ends up Happening from Stopping at the Last Instan When the time for my match comes close, I leave the room on the pretext of having to visit the toilet and hurry to the participants'' waiting room. It seems that Nee-san had successfully won her first match. Perhaps she might be able to go pretty far. As I walk down the corridor with such thoughts in my mind, a gray-robed person passes by me. That instant, my feet stop. Then a slight moment later, the other person also stops. We turn around at the same time. Blue eyes size me up from the depths of the gray robe. "You smell of elf." It is a husky female voice. The faded gray robe appears frayed in several places. I maintain silence, waiting for her next words. "Do you know any elves?" Her blue eyes gaze into my eyes, as if trying to probe inside. "I do have several friends who are elves." There''s no particular reason to hide it, so I admit it. "I am looking for an elf." "Is that so." "She''s a cute girl." "Heehh~" "Anyone come to mind?" "With just that alone, I can''t really..." "She looks really similar to me." "I see." "She''s the daughter of my departed younger sister." "Heehh~" "Any elf who looks really similar to me come to mind?" "Umm." "You''ve thought of someone?" "I can''t see your face because of your robe." "Oh, right." She draws back her hood and exposes her face. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. I don''t react at all. I consciously make the effort to not react at all. Her face looks extremely similar to Alpha''s. "Hmm, I don''t think so, no." "Really?" "Yea." I should probably confirm this with Alpha the next time I meet her. Though they don''t look completely alike, but there''s enough similarity there that I would believe it if they are related by blood. "I see." She shrugs her shoulders in disappointment, then draws her sword in a natural movement. There''s no killing intent, no extra movement, simply a single sure-kill strike. I catch it in the edge of my vision, and accept it. I know what this is, she''s going to stop at the last instant. In result, her sword touches my neck and stops. It''s only touching. It hasn''t even cut the surface of my skin. Then at this exact timing. "Uwah?!" I fall on my butt, as if my knees had given way. Yep, passing mark. "Mu?" She tilts her head and withdraws her sword. "I made a mistake. Sorry." Then she bobs her head in apology. "I thought you to be stronger. What''s your name?" So she says, while reaching out a hand. "S-, Sid Kagenou..." So I reply in a quivering voice, accepting her hand and getting back up. "I am Beatrix." Beatrix does not let go of my hand. "Erm...?" "Nice hand. You will get strong." Then she flashes an elegant smile. That smile is extremely similar to Alpha''s. "Sorry for surprising you." After one last apology, Beatrix turns around and walks away. I gaze at her departing back, and mutter, "... she seems pretty strong." Then I, too, turn around. Iris is waiting for the start of the next match in the special seats. The special seats are situated such that anyone inside can command a view of the entire arena, and there is also a dedicated staircase that allows direct access to the floor of the arena. There are already two magic swordsmen standing in the arena. One of them is the person that Iris has her eyes on, Annerose. She is a female swordswoman with hair the color of water. The other is a black-haired swordsman that she''s seeing for the first time, Jimina Sehnen. Iris gazes at the both of them with sharp eyes. "It''s just about to begin." A man sits in the seat next to Iris''. That''s Sid''s seat. "That seat..." "Yes?" Iris sees the man''s face and swallows her words. Then she mentally apologizes to Sid. "Doem-dono..." "Iris-sama, good day to you." Doem elegantly smiles, but his eyes are not laughing at all. "Being able to watch a match together with Iris-sama, it''s like a dream come true." "Surely you jest. Does Doem-dono not have a fiance?" "To my chagrin, she''s run away. But there''s no cause for concern. It is merely a lover''s quarrel." Doem laughs breezily. His face is quite handsome for a thirties-something, but Iris cannot bring herself to like that smile of his. "Is the Oriana king not feeling well?" "Unfortunately, he cannot make it today. But he did say that he would surely come tomorrow." Doem adroitly answers Iris'' question. "Tomorrow also happens to be when the Midgar king begins attending." "What a coincidence." Iris attempts to probe Doem''s eyes, but fails to read anything from those unsmiling eyes of his. "So she is the rumored Annerose." So says Doem while looking down on the arena. "Indeed." "She is the magic swordswoman who''s riding on the biggest momentum right now, right? I heard that she left Begalta on a journey of training, but I would very much like to invite her to our country." "Sure you would. A magic swordswoman of her caliber would be greatly welcome in our Midgar Kingdom as well." "Ha ha. Doesn''t Midgar Kingdom already have numerous exemplary magic swordsmen? In comparison, our country..." "That''s what our alliance is for, yes?" "But we do feel quite apologetic relying so heavily on Midgar Kingdom." "Is that so..." ''This is so tiring,'' sighs Iris inside her heart. It almost feels like she''s speaking with a puppet. "How is the opponent, Jimina?" "Today will be the first time I see a match of his. The rumors about him are generally not so positive, and he himself also does not look strong." "Which means Annerose''s victory is guaranteed." "I''m not so sure though.. Jimina gives me a slightly uncanny feeling." So says Iris in an ambiguous tone. "Uncanny, you say?" "Yes. He does not look strong with any stretch of the imagination. However, he possesses a characteristic that would never appear on the truly weak." "Hou... what characteristic is that?" "Absolute confidence. From what I can see... he is absolutely confident that he will win." "Isn''t that just mere hubris?" "Perhaps. But there is not even a shred of doubt in his eyes. Assured victory... exists at least in his eyes." "''At least in his eyes'', is it. Then do you see it too, Iris-sama?" "No I do not. How about Doem-dono?" "Me? I know nothing at all about the sword." "Is that so." Iris shoots a glance towards Doem''s well-trained hands. "Ahaha, as expected of Iris-sama, nothing gets past you. The sword is scorned in Oriana Kingdom, so I beg your pardon. To be honest, I am proficient, to some degree." "''To some degree,'' is it." "Indeed, to some degree." Doem flashes another smile that does not reach his eyes. "Well then. Let''s take a look at how much this absolute confidence is worth, shall we?" Then he looks down on the arena. "Annerose vs. Jimina Sehnen!!" Both participants'' names are called. "Battle, start!!" Then it begins. 79 Isve Won! Assured The instant the match begins, Annerose charges into Jimina''s maai. She has already seen through Jimina''s strength. Indeed, the secret to his strength is overwhelming speed. He holds down his opponents with incredible speed that even she, as a former member of the Seven Swords of Begalta, cannot fully follow. That is both Jimina''s strength as well as his method of fighting. However, in contrast to his speed, his skill with the sword must be low. Up to now, he has won all of his fights with only a bare minimum amount of sword exchange. Why is that? His opponents could not follow his speed. That''s certainly a reason. However, Jimina''s posture is that of an amateur. Is it not true that it''s actually Jimina himself who is avoiding sword exchanges? What if he''s actually afraid of exposing his shoddy skill with the sword? In other words, in order to hide his skill level, he''s been aiming for victory that does not involve crossing swords. In that case, then the key to victory against him lies in not being bewildered by his speed. That is the conclusion that Annerose has arrived at. But there is one thing that remains on her mind... that is, the weights that Jimina had taken off. If, after removing his shackles, Jimina displays speed that exceeds what she herself can react to... that would doubtlessly spell out her defeat. That single worry is what Annerose has set out to squash the moment the match begins. If the opponent is one who wins through speed, then she merely has to stop his feet. If she does that, then she would not lose. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "HAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" After rushing into Jimina''s maai in a split second, Annerose shouts with fighting spirit while unleashing a slash towards him. It is an attack that has completely caught him off guard. However, he still manages to block Annerose''s sword. As expected, he''s fast. A sword attack brandished with a timing that normally cannot be blocked, was indeed blocked by him. However, due to blocking her sword, his feet are not moving. This is Annerose''s true aim. "Shiii!!" Annerose once again attacks the stationary Jimina. Once again Jimina blocks her successfully, but Annerose''s furious onslaught allows him no opportunity to make use of his speed. Three more attacks, four more, five more, Annerose''s sword is met by Jimina''s again and again. Until finally Jimina''s posture becomes unstable. I''ve won! So Annerose is assured while stabbing Jimina''s chest. Her stab is indeed going through, but... "Eh...?" There''s no feedback on her sword. Rather than that, Jimina''s figure has actually completely disappeared from her line of sight. "... It''s an after image." His voice emanates from behind her. Annerose''s shoulders quiver. Calm down. She purposely turns around slowly. She is indeed shaken. But she must not let him know that. So she tells herself. "You''re faster than I thought..." Her voice is absolutely normal. At the very least, that''s what she thinks. Then she focuses her eyes on Jimina and thinks. What can she do? His speed is indeed far beyond what she can react to. What method is there to overturn this difference in speed? Think. Think...! THINK....!! "Eh...?!" Abruptly she realizes that Jimina''s figure has disappeared once more. Even before thinking, Annerose moves. That moment, being able to react to that briefest of vibrations in the air is not skill nor experience, but pure luck. Gakiii!! The incredible clash sends Annerose flying. She desperately clutches onto both her fading consciousness and the sword that she is almost dropping. "Kuh...!" A groan of pain falls from her lips. Jimina is standing a distance away but right in front of her, with his sword languidly lowered. He doesn''t take up a stance, nor does he rush over to finish her off. But Annerose does not think of that as hubris. He has the strength befitting of that attitude. "I acknowledge it. You are strong." Annerose calms her heavy breathing, and hardens her resolve. Jimina is simply, but absolutely overwhelmingly, fast. Annerose does not think of it as unreasonable. For everyone is strong in their own way, speed being one of them. But neither does Annerose think that she cannot win. Her chance at victory is low. However, it is not zero. If her opponent is only fast, then... she merely has to adjust her strategy to match. Counter. The moment Jimina attacks is the last chance of victory left to her. The problem is whether she can react in time to Jimina''s speed. The block that she made just now was nothing more than sheer luck. She does not expect to be able to do the same thing again. In that case, then rather than luck, she must rely on her own strength. If she can''t react, then she''ll rely on her experience. If her experience is insufficient, then intuition. It doesn''t matter what it is that she relies on. The crucial key is timing. After that she''ll merely have to cut him down with all the skill that she has amassed. Annerose silently sharpens her focus to the absolute limit, and waits. Then. Without any warning. Jimina''s figure vanishes, then in the next instant... no, even before that, Annerose swings her sword. There is no one where her sword is slashing towards. But the next moment. I''ve won! Jimina reappears. Annerose is assured of her victory. Her sword is perfectly in line with Jimina''s path of movement. At this speed, there is no way he can evade in time. So she thinks. "Eh..." Annerose simply gazes at him with a dumbfounded face. Because he has stopped. As if this had been decided from the very start, he has stopped exactly beyond Annerose''s maai. Annerose''s sword barely misses his nose, cutting nothing. This is no coincidence. This is maai management to the absolute limit. He possesses an unbelievable eye for spatial awareness. Annerose had thought that she had adjusted her strategy to him. But in actual fact, it is he who had adjusted his strategy to her. "Ah, I see..." That instant, she finally understands. With that split second of exchange, everything has been clarified. He, Jimina Sehnen... possesses skill that is also on a completely different dimension. Then Jimina''s sword approaches the demoralized Annerose. That strike is the slowest one today. However, that sword... is so sublime as to bring ''skill'' to the level of ''art.'' "Ahh..." How beautiful indeed. With that being the last thing she sees, Annerose''s consciousness fades to black. 80 Exactly Who Are You? "Strong..." Iris'' murmur is picked up by Doem from the next seat over. On the arena, Jimina is right in the middle of turning to leave after KO-ing Annerose. "''Absolute confidence''... Iris-sama''s intuition was spot-on indeed." So comments Doem to cover up the shock in his mind. "No, even I did not expect him to be this-.... I find it hard to believe how a magic swordsman of his skill has remained nameless so far." "Me too. Jimina Sehnen... I truly have never heard it before." "I''ve also never seen his sword before. It was so sharp, and above all else, so beautiful." "It''s from none of the existent schools." Doem has never before seen such a beautiful sword flow. Most likely it is the same for Iris. So it means that a practitioner of a never before seen school has come public for the first time. "Indeed. Though we won''t know for sure without asking him directly. It was truly astonishing." Iris leans into the back of her seat. Then she sighs, as if to expel all of the tension in her body. Everyone in the special seating is buzzing about the upset. Their interest has fully shifted from Annerose to Jimina, and the subject of his next match has become the hottest topic around. "In the second round, it will be Iris-sama against Jimina, wouldn''t it?" "Yes it would." Iris smiles. "It seems that you are confident about it." ""I very much intend to win." "Hou..." "His sword is fast, sharp, and more beautiful than any other. In terms of beauty of the sword, I cannot even hope to match him. However, victory is not based on beauty. If that is his full strength, then he is still far from me." "I feel the same." Doem nods, but continues thinking silently. If that was truly Jimina''s all, then naturally Iris still holds the advantage. Iris'' magic cannot be stopped with average techniques. But what if that was not his all? "In all likelihood, he is still hiding something. He has been faking his posture, his stances, and sword all this time, yet still managed to win to this point." "Despite knowing all that, your confidence still stands?" "Though I do not know what it is that he is hiding, I will simply cut everything in my way. I quite dislike losing, you see." Iris smiles beautifully, then stands up. That smile is radiating with so much competitiveness that it seems almost belligerent, even. "I see." "Well then, it''s time for my match, so pardon me." While seeing Iris off, Doem heaves a sigh. Doem had beforehand investigated everyone and anyone who might pose as an obstacle to the plan. Naturally, Jimina''s name had not been on his list. If he truly is to become an obstacle, then the faster he eliminates him, the better... but haste makes waste. It shouldn''t be too late to make the judgment after seeing his match with Iris. Jimina Sehnen. The practitioner of a beautiful and completed sword. It absolutely does not make sense for someone so skilled to be nameless. Surely there is some reason for it. Some reason why he needed to hide his true strength. A reason why he did not go public earlier. Perhaps he is the sole disciple of a school buried in history, or maybe even someone from Outlaw City with a forged identity. Outlaw Citya nest of greed and evil that does not belong to any country. Even the Church has yet to spread her influence to the Big Three, and their close aides, who reign over and contest for supremacy over Outlaw City. If he''s truly someone who successfully left Outlaw City, then chances are that he''s from the Queen of Blood''s ''family.'' Judging by his strength, he is at least echelon class. Perhaps there is a need to do a background check on him... One more possibility is that he''s from Shadow Garden. But Jimina is a man. And furthermore, those people should have no need to make a scene at the Festival of the God of War. The probability of this one is low. At any rate, Doem feels a depthlesssomethingfrom him. It seems highly likely that he, too, is a member of the ''hidden world,'' same as himself... "Who on earth is he...?" Doem''s murmur is drowned out in the furor of the arena. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Wait a second, Jimina!!" After regaining her consciousness, Annerose immediately runs off after Jimina and calls him to a halt. As Jimina turns around, Annerose stops right in front of him. "It was my utter and complete loss. I truly could not do anything to you at all." Annerose looks up at Jimina and smiles. "For the sake of becoming stronger, I left my country quite a while ago. And I really do think that I''ve gotten stronger than back then. But it seems that somewhere along the way, I had also grown conceited." Then she holds out her hand. Jimina looks down at Annerose''s hand, then slowly holds out his own hand. "It was a lesson that I needed. Thank you." "It was my first time without the weights. You have nothing to be ashamed of." "... You honor me with your words." Annerose smiles, then the two shake hands. "Jimina, who exactly are you? How did you get so strong?" Jimina smiles forlornly, then turns his head. His eyes seem to be looking at a place very far off. "Discarding everything... I am merely a fool who sought nothing but strength..." "Jimina..." Annerose feels her chest grow tight while gazing at his lonely side profile. Surely he has had a sorrowful past that allowed him no other choice. "If... that''s only if you want, but how about coming to Begalta Empire and becoming an officer? I can guarantee a position worthy of your skills." But Jimina shakes his head. "... It''s a bit toobrightfor me." Then he turns around and begins walking off. "Wait! I, I''m leaving tomorrow! So if you change your mind before then, you can come see me!" Jimina no longer stops. Annerose stares at his shrinking figure, then finally turns around. In this world, there is always someone better. Having fought Jimina, and having seen his sword up close, has become an irreplaceable experience for her. That was almost like a sword whetted and honed to the very limit, to the point where it has become art. In that sword, Annerose felt like she saw everything of the world contained inside. He will surely claim the championship. And not far in the future, his name will surely thunder across the entire world. He will surely climb to unimaginable heights. The current her can do nothing but merely look up at him. However, she can still grow. The path that she must tred has already been illuminated by Jimina''s sword. One day, surely, she will become strong, and meet him again. She swears to continue fighting, until that day comes to be. 81 Breakfast at the Special Seating NAO Oh yeah~, that went well. Oh that went well indeed. As planned, I managed to fight while heavily stressing on beauty of form. For the sake of becoming a power in the shadows, I had a phase where I solely focused on mastering beautiful sword forms. It''s so pretty that it''s quite different from Shadow''s sword, but I''m glad that my efforts from back then have finally borne fruit. Thanks to Annerose, I''ve already accomplished around 70% of what I wanted to for the Festival of the God of War. The only task left is to bring things to a good conclusion. But I have several options that I quite like, so it''s hard to choose. The simplest one would be to win the championship, but after looking at the tournament brackets, it seems that the biggest climax to this narrative would be the next match, the one against Iris. Simply disappearing after defeating Iris is also worthy of consideration. It would totally give off the whole "mysterious powerhouse" kind of feeling. After defeating the person that everyone acknowledges to be the strongest, then saying something like "My aim has been achieved..." and then vanishing. Nice, isn''t it? If I defeat Iris and then disappear, then Nee-san would very likely win the championship. Me turning out to be an evil assassin would be great too, it''d be so intense. In the middle of the match, I can say "I am sent from an assassin organization... your life shall be mine!" and then abruptly start fighting with complete disregard for the rules. The fact that this would enable me to leave the tournament in a natural way scores high in my book. Ah~, but I guess ending by claiming the championship really would give me the greatest sense of accomplishment. There are still several more options that could turn out really fun, so let''s take the time to think this through before deciding. As I return to the special seats while thinking such thoughts, I notice a random ossan that I don''t know sitting in my chair. I quietly close the door and do an about face. Nee-san''s match is already over anyways, so it should be fine. So I return to the dorms early to do a bit more image training. The next day. I am sitting in the special seats and enjoying their complementary morning coffee. Apparently Mitsogoshi Co. still holds a monopoly over coffee. How impressive is that? "Delicious." By the way, I''m the type to add lots of milk and sugar. At first I had really been leery of this special seating, but after getting used to it, I very much enjoy its convenience. Just by asking one of the maids, I can get most anything for free, so I get to feel like a celebrity. After enjoying the atmosphere of the venue for a while, Princess Iris makes her appearance. "Good morning." "Morning, good morning." (T/N: His greeting started out casual, then he caught himself and added a suffix that makes it more respectful.) "Oh, coffee. It''s sure gotten popular lately. I like the fragrance, but I''m a bit bad with the bitter taste..." "You can just put in lots of milk and sugar and turn it into caf au lait." "Caf au lait..." Princess Iris immediately calls one of the maids over to server her one, and gives it a taste. She sure moves fast. "Oh, this is pretty good..." "I know, right? It''s like a magic technique to make all coffee taste the same." With that, I also order some toast and eggs to make it into a classy breakfast. If there was social media in this world, I would have totally snapped a smug selfie and wrote "breakfast NAO with royalty in special seating." Around when I finish my breakfast, the other actually important people begin to slowly file into the room. Then their gossipingoh, I should call it ''socializing'' I suppose?begins. As someone from a baron family, naturally I''m not part of the conversation and am left behind. It''s fine, I don''t intend to be a part of it anyways. So please stop trying to be considerate by directing the conversation to me, Iris-sama. Amidst this slightly uncomfortable atmosphere, it has become almost time for the second day of the matches to begin. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Everyone else also heads towards their own seats, and the mood starts to calm down. At that moment, the door to the special seats opens again. When I turn around, I see a figure clad in a faded gray robe. As before, her face is hidden inside her robe, but that''s unmistakably Beatrix. She notices me and gives me a small wave, to which I smile and nod in return. Kind of like a "hey, we meet again" feel. However, the eyes of everyone else in the room grow harsh. I can almost audibly hear "who the hell is this dirty-looking fellow why don''t the guards kick her out already." So this is wordless pressure, huh. "Dear customer, I beg your pardon, but..." A maid calls out to her, but then at that moment. "It''s fine. She''s my guest. Please, come sit here." Iris calls out to Beatrix. Beatrix sits next to Iris. Then I''m on the other side of Iris. Incidentally, the seat that Beatrix is in actually belongs to Alexia. "Iris-sama, this person is..." "She is the God of War, Beatrix-sama." When one of the nobles approaches and asks Iris, her answer causes a great stir through the crowd. "She is that..." "God of War..." "The legendary Sword Saint..." Oooh, that sounds so cool! I also want people to say "that guy is the legendary Shadow..." one day. "It has been quite a while since Beatrix-sama last came into the public scene, hasn''t it?" "Un. I''m looking for someone." She nods in response to the noble''s question. "My niece, her face looks very similar to mine." Clearly having learned her lesson, this time she draws back her hood immediately. "Ohh, how exquisite..." "Anyone recognize my face? I heard that lately there have been eyewitnesses in this country of an elf with a face similar to mine." "Hou, in this country... I do not think I would ever forget it if I see an elf as beautiful as Beatrix-sama." "So, no recollection?" "Unfortunately..." All the nobles uniformly shake their head. "I see..." She puts her hood back on in disappointment. "I''m sorry. Everyone here has a wide range of connections, so I thought you would get a clue by asking here." Iris apologizes to Beatrix. "No worries. I''m an elf, I have lots of time." "Incidentally, has Beatrix-sama seen some of the matches of the Festival?" "Not many." "Is that so. Just within the range of the ones that you know, which participant do you have your eye on?" "Participant... u~n." She looks around the room while considering. "Sid." Then she points at me. "Umm, Beatrix-sama...?" "I''m paying attention to Sid. Surely he can become strong." "Uh, no I won''t." I deny her within a second. The stares from all around hurt. "This young man... will become strong?" "He is our kouhai, but his innate talent is a bit..." "I mean, he is Claire-san''s young brother, but his sense for the sword..." "Since Beatrix-sama has said so, then it must be so." With Iris'' statement, the ambiguous atmosphere is settled somewhat. However, the nobles'' gazes towards Beatrix have turned skeptical. Is she even the real one? They can only see a dirty vagrant. From my eyes, though, I see that she is, in a good way, in her most natural state. Her appearance, personality, title, and strength too she is not ornamenting anything, so the average person cannot see through to her true strength. "Well then, if anything catches your attention in the match, then please point it out to us too." For now, the general consensus is to prop Beatrix up, at least while in Iris'' presence. Then amidst this ambiguous atmosphere, the second day of the Festival of the God of War truly begins. 82 The Smelly Man is Part of the Plan When Doem steps into the special seats room, a person in a gray robe turns around and looks at him. The physique tells Doem that the person is female, despite her face being hidden under her hood. After looking at Doem, she then turns her head to look at the Orianan king standing beside Doem. Then a word. "Smelly." "Oi woman, that''s disrespectful." "Sorry." Doem suppresses his shaken heart by glaring at the woman in the gray robe. In order to turn the Orianan king into a puppet, Doem had used a plant that causes strong dependency. The effectiveness of the plant is beyond reproach, but it does have the flaw of causing addicts to emit a unique sweet smell. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. But he is having the king hide that smell with perfume. No normal person should be able to notice it. "Doem-dono, this person is Goddess of War Beatrix-sama." "Well, I''ll be..." Goddess of War Beatrix. He''s heard the news of her being in the royal capital, but to think that she''s here in the flesh! She does not at all look like a master of the sword worthy of the nickname ''Goddess of War.'' She is wearing a faded gray robe, and is not mannered. After offering a single word of apology, she''s already turned back to watching the fight. She doesn''t look strong, but... if her true strength is as the rumors say, then there is the the possibility that it is Doem himself who is unable to see it. In consideration of the fact that Princess Iris herself has acknowledged this person, then he should assume her to be the real one indeed. He''s heard that Goddess of War Beatrix''s face bears great resemblance to that of the hero Olivie. If only he can see the face under that hood... "I beg your pardon, it was I who was disrespectful." With both Beatrix''s and Doem''s apology, the matter is settled. Beatrix''s comment is treated as if it was directed towards Doem. Doem also does not want to draw any attention to the smell. But still, what luck for Beatrix to appear at the Festival of the God of War. Today, of all days... Doem softly clicks his tongue. "King of Midgar, I delight to find you well today again." "Umu." Changing gears, Doem turns to greet the Midgarian king, who is seated on a throne placed in the middle of the room. After exchanging the standard greetings, the king of Oriana sits next to the king of Midgar. Then Doem sits on the other side of the king of Oriana. The Orianan king is capable of standard responses, but anything beyond that is doubtful. That''s where Doem comes in, to guide the conversation and follow up where necessary. Well, everything so far is still according to his plan. Doem''s top priority at the moment is the capture of Rose. The last time they met, she had already begun manifesting symptoms. Her blood would be of extremely high value to the Order. For the sake of that, Doem has baited her with the threat of making the Orianan king assassinate the Midgarian king should she fail to show up at the Festival of the God of War. Naturally, it was just a threat, but Doem is not averse to actually carrying it out. If the Midgarian king is killed, war would break out, and Oriana Kingdom would be destroyed. However, preparations are already underway to turn the heir of the Midgarian throne into a puppet. If all goes well, the Order has the greatest benefit to reap. There is indeed the risk of failure, but the possible reward is so valuable as to merit the carrying out of this plot. If he is to raise an unknown variable, it would be Iris. She has displayed signs of suspicion towards the unresponsive Orianan king. The possibility of her interfering cannot be dismissed. But by initiating the assassination in the middle of her match, he can eliminate her from the equation. As such, all is still well. However, now Beatrix is also present. To eliminate her would be difficult, and her strength is also above that of Iris''. If she moves in obstruction, she would pose an even bigger problem than Iris. Furthermore, the aim of the mysterious Jimina is also yet undetermined. He is undoubtedly a resident of the Hidden World. For sure he is moving with some aim in mind, but a background check on him revealed nothing whatsoever. This is the work of a pro. He merits the greatest amount of caution. Doem heaves a huge sigh. Though everything is going according to plan, there are too many unknown variables all around. The situation is not one where he can relax in at all. But in spite of all this, as long as Rose show up in the venue, then all would be resolved. Her appearance would null the need for him to take any risks. And show up she will, without fail. She is not someone who can abandon her father and country. That is how Doem read her. It''s true that there are many unknown variables, but they do not matter. Everything should go well. So Doem tells himself while watching the fight. Then with the passage of time, the fight ends with Claire Kagenou''s certain victory. "Hou..." Though she is not a participant who he had been particularly paying attention to, her strength is unexpected. She possesses high magic, but is not being thrown around by the magic. She is already quite strong, but clearly possesses the talent to become even stronger. "Claire-san... so she has gotten stronger once again." After ascertaining Claire''s victory, Iris stands up. "My match is coming up, so pardon me." Everyone showers Iris with words of encouragement, at which point the black-haired teenager sitting next to her also stands up. "Gonna hit the toilet." Every single person is thinking ''we didn''t need to know that, just go already.'' With the sole exception of Beatrix, whose eyes are following his exit. He is called Sid, and is a run-of-the-mill teenage boy. For some reason, he is sitting next to Princess Iris, but otherwise there is absolutely nothing else noteworthy about him. Doem forgets about him almost immediately, then directs his attention towards the coming match. This match between Iris and Jimina also holds great meaning for Doem. Firstly, it might give him clues as to the aim of Jimina, a resident of the Hidden World. Furthermore, this is the opportunity when Iris is absent from the room. The two leave the room, and after a while... Iris and Jimina step into the fighting arena. 83 From A Far Away Height... The moment Iris enters the arena, she is greeted with thunderous applause. This tremendous popularity is the proof that she is the main character in this tournament. Iris studies Jimina as they face each other, and calms herself down. Jimina Sehnen. He is undoubtedly a formidable opponent. Even when seeing him up close like this, she cannot gauge his strength, despite feeling a depthless something from him. Strength incongruous with his appearance. A young man that emits an out of balance feeling that messes with her sense of reality. However, Iris does not think that she cannot win. Above that, Iris must win. She believes it her calling to win in this Festival of the God of War. Her political sense is nonexistent, and she herself admits it. The only thing she can do is to be Midgar Kingdom''s symbol of strength. ''As long as Iris Midgar is present, then Midgar Kingdom is safe.'' It is her calling to be the one to grant this sense of security to her citizens. To that end, she does not mind being propped up as a portable shrine. As someone with no other strength than brute force, she understands that she would be used in politics. But that was only until recently. As the price for having been a mere prop so far, her first effort at standing on her own two feet... fell flat. Anxious about the future of her country, she founded the Crimson Order, but could not gather people nor resources, ultimately changing nothing. Since then, she''s been able to gradually gather some numbers, but she is still miles away from her vision. But having said that, she is aware that dipping her hand into politics this late in the game would only lead to her being used by everybody and every faction. So politics will be left to the politicians, while she will gather her strength in the way that she knows best. She knows how powerful her popularity with the citizens is. Those who can serve as the brains of the Crimson Order have already been gathered. All that''s left is for her to take the championship at the Festival of the God of War and cement her popularity amongst the populace. Then everything else will fall into place. With this belief in her heart, Iris raises her sword and waits for the starting announcement. Jimina, I''m sorry, but I''ll be going full throttle from the very beginning. Regardless of what you are hiding, you will not have time to use it. Everything will be decided in a split second. "Iris Midgar vs. Jimina Sehnen!! Battle start!!" Immediate rush. Along with the start of the match, Iris steps forward, then stops. "...eh?" A tiny utter of doubt escapes her lips. Why does Jimina''s figure feel so far away? Did she mistake the distance between them? But she double checksshe is not mistaken. However, it''s her feeling that is telling her that Jimina is far away. She does not know the reason why. Perhaps she is just nervous. But that doesn''t matter. All that matters is that she had stopped moving. She refocuses, readies her sword, then throws in a feint. The instant she confirms that Jimina''s eyes have been drawn by the feint, she rushes in. But. "...?!" Once again, her feet stop. She jerks her upper torso as if to evade something, then leaps backward. She saw a sword. She saw Jimina''s sword severing her head. But Jimina''s sword had not moved at all. Naturally, her head is still connected. "Why...?" She could not help murmuring out loud. She clearly saw Jimina''s sword. The instant she rushed in, Jimina''s sword had slashed with overwhelming might and cleanly severed her head. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. She had thought everything to be over. Her loss... no, she had been sure of her death. But apparently that was a mere illusion. Jimina doesn''t even have his sword raised, and is just standing there in place. Iris cannot comprehend what had just happened. She brings up her sword, and attempts to circle the edge of the arena, as if to probe him. One round. Two rounds. Three rounds... The distance between them remains unchanged. Yet somehow, Jimina''s figure feels even further away now. "... You''re not coming?" So Jimina asks. But Iris cannot step in. Every fiber of her being is telling her not to take that one step. "HaaAAAAHHHH!!" Iris screams, as if to throw off her hesitation. Then she takes that step with the greatest amount of speed that she can muster. Howeverhis eyes are following me!! Jimina''s gaze is still solidly centered on Iris. Then, as if to indicate something, his eyes move. "aaaAAAAHHH!!" That instant, Iris brakes by instinct. An enormous burden assaults her body, and she even hears a disturbing sound from her knee joints. But without paying that any mind, Iris stops herself, then flies backward in a tumbling motion. She had clearly seen Jimina''s sword piercing her chest. "... No way." However, her chest is completely unwounded. There is also no trace of Jimina having brandished his sword. "This cannot be happening..." Before her eyes, Jimina is just standing there, still with sword unraised, same as before. "... What''s wrong?" So he asks. Iris''s body shivers in response to... something. She''s got to do something. Agitation and fear thrusts her into motion. That same instant, Jimina''s eyes move. As if he is reading the future, his eyes and the tip of his sword both flick to a position in front of Iris. At which, Iris hallucinates her arm being cut off. "Ah, aaaa..." Finally, she understands what is going on. She understands that Jimina has only been feinting her the entire time. He completely reads her movements, then sends her warnings with only his eyes and the tip of his sword. That if she doesn''t stopshe would die. With just that alone, Iris has been hallucinating his sword. The visions of her being cut were almost indistinguishable from reality. Past words from her master raise up in Iris'' mind: "A master''s ''lies'' feel like reality." True to those words, her master had led the young Iris around by the nose. But what Jimina is doing now is "reality" far beyond what her master had been capable of. Is something like that even possible...? Iris does not claim to be the strongest in the world. She understands that there''s always someone better out there. However, from an objective point of view, her strength as a magic swordsman should be within the top ranks of the world. That''s what she had believed. And such a person is being led around the nose by mere feints? If that is true, then Jimina''s true strengthhe would indeed be the strongest in the world, hands down. And that would be in a dimension that not a single person can even come close to. Is that actually possible? Really? Iris berates herself. "Don''t be tricked." He hasn''t even swung his sword once. All she has to go off on is mere speculation. "...Don''t stop." So Iris murmurs, as if towards her instincts. She firms her resolve to not stop no matter what, then takes a step forward. There is a sound of something cutting through air. The next instant. An incredible impact slams into Iris'' entre body. Her consciousness blacks out for a few seconds, then she finds herself staring at the sky. In the middle of the arena, Iris is lying on her back, staring at the sky. What had happened? Iris could not see Jimina''s sword at all. All she remembers is Jimina''s eyes tracing her movement, then an incredible impact. It''s a miracle how she still hasn''t let go of her sword. Iris forces her aching and unresponsive body to sit up. "Iris Midgar... is this all you amount to?" A sword is thrust before her eyes. Jimina is looking down at Iris with eyes devoid of emotion. Even though he is so close that she can touch him by reaching out, his figure appears to be so, so far away. So very far away... Ahh... so that''s what it was. Iris finally realizes. His figure appearing far away was no illusion. From the very start, he has been in a far, far away height, looking down upon her. A place so far that Iris can never touch, no matter how much she reaches out... Iris'' sword falls from her hand, raising a dry clang. In the arena that has fallen as silent as a crypt, that clang echoes. Iris Midgar had been defeated with a single attack. That fact has caused everyone to be frozen with shock. Amidst the silence. Kotsu, kotsu, sounds out footsteps from Iris'' back. A stir gradually runs through the arena. Kotsu, kotsu, kotsu goes the footsteps, until they stop. Every single eye in the audience is focused on the person who had caused those footsteps. Even Jimina is displaying slight surprise on his face. "I have returned, Father." The person standing there is the beautiful princess of Oriana Kingdom, Rose Oriana. Not sparing even a glance for Iris and Jimina, Rose is staring straight at the special seats box. 84 Final Duty That Iris Midgar had fallen to a single stroke of the sword. Before that reality, Doem merely stands in dumbfounded shock. Being a resident of the Hidden World, Doem knows powerhouses stronger than Iris Midgar. However, does the strongest one that he knows possess the strength to fell Iris Midgar in one stroke? No. Without catching her off guard, without any coincidences, such a thing would be impossible. In other words, this is something that cannot happen. Being able to defeat Iris Midgar in one stroke makes Jimina the strongest magic swordsman that Doem knows. Such a... youngster! Having been surpassed by someone so much younger than himself wounds his pride that much more. The shock in Doem''s heart had, before he knew it, turned into burning jealousy. His head is rejecting and denying Jimina. There must be a reason to explain Iris'' defeat. Even if it was not a coincidence, there''s the idea of compatibility in fighting. It just so happens that Iris is the kind of fighter that Jimina finds easy to fight against. Maybe. Besides that, Iris'' strange movements is also suspicious. Suddenly stopping as if on guard against something, meaninglessly circling around Jimina. Perhaps Iris was in bad shape, or Jimina had taken advantage of some weakness of hers. There are a million reasons for Doem''s head to deny Jimina''s strength. But, despite that. Doem''s instincts have already bowed to Jimina''s sword. He''s understood that there is a vast difference between the world that he sees, and the world that Jimina sees. Their theories and ways of thinking in regards to fighting are fundamentally different. Even if he trains for several hundred more years, he still would not be able to catch up to this young man. That is how polished Jimina''s sword is. His sword, which seems like a convergence of the best points of every kind of sword, is refined to the point of being a priceless form of art. All while denying Jimina''s strength, he also admires Jimina''s sword, like a little boy. Just as he had admired his master in his youth. Jimina''s sword possessessomething that draws all swordsmen. Doem gnashes his teeth. No way he will acknowledge this young man. It''s not yet confirmed that this young man is the strongest. Doem knows many powerhouses. However, he''s yet to meet the Order''s highest echelons. That''s why the title of ''the strongest'' is not Jimina''s to take. "Beatrix-sama, what did you think of this match?" So asks Doem, desperately wanting words that would deny Jimina. Beatrix''s green eyes are gazing at Jimina from the depths of her robe. In her eyes are unmistakable... appreciation. "... I want to fight him." "Hah?" But just as Doem is about to ask her to explain her words, the venue buzzes loudly. Doem looks towards the arena, and sees... "Rose Oriana..." Doem''s face warps into a sneer. So she has come. As thought, she is a foolish woman. It is already too late for both Oriana Kingdom and the Orianan king. The puppet king is already no more than a mere husk. Thanks to that, Doem has the entire country in his grasp. To be incapable of understanding that and just nonchalantly strolling in, Rose is too soft-hearted to be a princess. Doem covers his mouth to hide his twisted smile, then steps forward together with the Orianan king. "My beloved Princess Rose. Finally you have returned to me." There is a staircase that leads directly from the special seats rom to the arena. Doem and the Orianan king make their way down. "Oh my Rose, you have returned. Come, come to me." The Orianan king speaks according to Doem''s instructions. His words have no heart, they are but the words of a mere puppet. While walking down the stairs, Doem sends instructions to his subordinates with his eyes, so that they can apprehend Rose at a moment''s notice. Rose comes up the steps. "Father, I have come to apologize. For what has happened, and what will happen... I have made a mistake, and will surely mistake again. However, I, as a princess of Oriana Kingdom, and also as your daughter... will walk the path that I believe in." Rose''s voice is quivering. Tears are welling up in her eyes. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. However, the resolve in her eyes is set. Doem notices that in a split second, and falls back. First let the king go in front. With the king as a shield, this woman cannot do anything. As long as he has his puppet king, Doem''s plan will go well. "I forgive you your sins." So says the Orianan king. Doem did not give him any such instructions. "Thank you very much, Father." Everything after that explodes in an instant. Rose''s sword flashes from its sheath on her waist, and Doem hides behind the king in reflex. Doem''s subordinates all spring into motion. But Rose is just too fast. Doem''s eyes widen in shock. ''Wha-?!" Leaving everything behind in her wake, Rose''s sword reaches, and pierces, the heart of the Orianan king. "As princess, and as daughter... this is my final duty." The king''s arms, which seemed to be trying to hug her, fall powerlessly halfway. Rose''s sword has indeed pierced through the king''s heart, even reaching behind and stabbing into Doem''s stomach. "Thank you for everything so far, Father." Then she withdraws her sword. Blood fountains from the king''s heart, and he collapses. The tears finally fall from her eyes. "Y-, YOU BIIIIIITTTTCCCCHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Doem howls. Blood is also falling from Doem''s stomach, but it''s not a fatal wound. His anger is from the loss of his puppet. Doem''s plan... has been shattered. "CATCH HER RIGHT THIS FUCKING INSTANTTTTTT!!!" His subordinates rush towards her. Rose makes no move to escape. She turns the tip of her sword towards her own neck, then looks at Doem and smiles. Don''t tell me... All the blood drains from Doem''s face. "N-, NO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" But right at the moment that Rose puts strength into her arms. ".. So this is your choice?" A single flash, beautiful as art, blows away Rose''s sword, together with all the other surrounding swords. The one standing there is the common-looking young man, Jimina. "Y-, you are.." But in his hands is a jet black blade, darker than the shadows in the night. 85 Mysterious Masked Swordsman Slayer, At Your Service!! Until that breathtakingly beautiful flash, Rose had been resolved to die. If she herself is captured and used, then there''d be no meaning in her father''s death. That alone, she can never allow to happen. Death is frightening. However, that is her only venue of escape. She got to live as a princess, and had so many wishes fulfilled. And in turn, she believes she''s carried out her duties as befits her station in life. So that''s why this is her final duty. So she had resolved. "Y-, you are..." But the instant she saw the sword that deflected all swords, and the young man who wielded that sword, a memory from her youth rises unbidden in Rose''s mind. "The time for lies is over..." Then Jimina places his hand on his face, and tears it off. Shock runs through the audience. Beneath the peeled off skin is a mask familiar to Rose. Then a black mass bursts out in a spiraling cloud that envelopes him. When the black spiral settles, it reveals a man wearing a jet black longcoat. "Shadow..." So whispers someone. However, for Rose, he goes by a different name. He is the reason why Rose had started on the path of the sword, he is the one who wields the beautiful sword that has captured her heart. "Shadow, don''t tell me you... you are Slayer-san?" A flashback plays in Rose''s mind. Long ago, just once, Rose had been kidnapped. When she had accompanied her father to Midgar Kingdom on official business, she had secretly slipped out to play. While playing with the commoner kids, her world had suddenly gone black. The next instant, she had lost consciousness. When she came to, she found herself in a dim room, bound. Her hands and feet were both tied up with straw rope, and her mouth was gagged. Despite the lack of any external wounds, the fear and unease made her shake uncontrollably. "Here I was, thinking that she was a brat with a well-groomed appearance, and she turns out to be the princess of Oriana Kingdom!" The bandits were talking in the next room over. They probably searched her personal belongings. Rose''s identity had been exposed. "As expected of Big Bro! You sure are lucky!" "Stoopid, this is my own ability!!" Coarse laughter rang out. Rose considered her situation, and despaired. There were two options available to the bandits. They could demand a ransom from Oriana Kingdom directly, or sell her to someone else who understands her value. She knew they would choose the latter. Rose''s usefulness is high, but it''s too much for lowly bandits to handle. They would sell her, and safely get the money. Then Rose herself would be used by enemies of Oriana Kingdom... That train of thought plunged Rose into further despair. She wriggled around, desperately trying to slip out of the ropes. She shouted through the mouth gag. However, her struggle was in vain. "Oh, our dear princess has woken up." "You, go take a look." Footsteps drew near. Rose''s shouting turned to screams, and tears fell from her eyes. But the instant right before the door to the room was opened. "Hyahaa!! Cough up all your money right now!!" The out-of-place voice of a child rang out. "Wh-, what''s with this brat!" "Where did you come from?! Never mind, kill him!!" "Ora ora ora ora!!" There was the sound of something slicing through the air. Then screams rang out. "Wh-, what''s with this brat!! He''s strong!!!!" "This can''t be happening! Three people in one instant?!" "You people will become the practice targets for my stylish sword." Once again, the sound of cutting wind. A thick stench of blood reached Rose''s nose. She fearfully peeked through a gap in the door. The scene that greeted her eyes is that of a child wearing a sack and bandits running about trying to escape. "Those who run are bandits! Those who can''t run are bandits that I''ve practiced on!!" "Hi, hiiiiii!" "St-, stop ittt!!" The boy wearing a sack brandished his sword. "?!" The beauty of that trajectory stole Rose''s eyes and caused her to forget her situation. Rose didn''t know much about the sword. But this sword... it was more beautiful than any art that Rose had ever come into contact with in her life. The sword brilliantly decapitated the bandits, interrupting their screams. Rose simply gazed at the child wearing a sack in blank amazement. "I even went to the trouble of going on an expedition, but you guys have no money? Nn, wait, there''s one more." Upon noticing Rose''s gaze, the child wearing a sack opened the door of her room. Light shone into the room, and Rose''s eyes met the child''s. "A kidnapped child, huh. Seems you''ve had a tough day." The child wearing a sack brandished his sword. That sword was just so beautiful that Rose''s eyes were fascinated by it. "Take care on your way home. Bye bye." The child in a sack quickly made his departure. Rose suddenly realized that her ropes had been severed. "Wa-, wait!" Rose desperately called him to a halt. "Yea?" The child in a sack stopped and turned around. "Wh-, who are you?" "Me? I''m, well, lemme see. I''m still in training but... you can call me the passing Stylish Bandit Slayer." "Stylish Bandit Slayer-san... Umm, Rose wants to do something to thank you." "Nnn, then don''t tell anybody about me. Can you do that for me?" "O-, ok, yes I can." "''K, seeya then." So saying, Stylish Bandit Slayer-san disappeared. "Stylish Bandit Slayer-san..." He had saved Rose in her despair, and changed her fate. His beautiful sword had stolen her heart, and became the reason for why she stepped onto the path of the sword. That memory from her childhood is a precious, precious thing for her. It''s a secret only for her, something that she had not told anyone, ever. But today, for the first time, Rose speaks of the secret. "Shadow... so you were Stylish Bandit Slayer-san all along." Shadow remains silent. But for Rose, his silence is his answer. So he has been fighting against evil even from his childhood. Just like that day when he had saved Rose, he had been saving many others. Rose recalls Shadow''s words: ''true strength comes not from power, but from the way you live.'' Indeed, it is Shadow''s way of living that is his true strength. Rose feels ashamed at how she had easily chosen death. She can still fight. However, living on is too hard, failure is too scary, so she had wanted to end it all. Death is merely a cop out. Rose can still fight. Because she has fallen for his beautiful swordand his way of living. "Your fight is not yet over..." Shadow thrusts his jet black sword. As a result, a large hole appears in the arena wall. "Go..." "Thank you!" Rose picks up her rapier, then jumps through the hole without hesitation. She still has much left to do. "St-, stop right there!!" "None shall pass..." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. So saying, Shadow stands before the hole. 86 Summit of the Path of the Sword Before anyone had noticed, thick clouds had gathered, covering the sun and throwing the world into shadow. Within the clouds can be heard sounds of thunder. Rain begins falling, one drop at a time. "What are you all doing?! CHASE HER!!" Doem''s rage-filled roar rips into the air, and his subordinates that had been merely observing the situation all leap into motion. After positioning themselves to surround Shadow, who has taken up position in front of the hole, they all rush towards him at the same time. However, the next instant. A single flash of jet black mows them all down. A single stroke. All these magic swordsmen that Doem had carefully hand-selected were all knocked back, and are now rolling on the ground. "How can this..." So this is Shadow. Just as the rumors had indicated, any run-of-the-mill person would not even be his opponent. Doem clutches his bleeding stomach while backpedaling. "S-, someone! Is there anyone?! Someone who can defeat him?!" Then he shouts. But the only response he gets is the sound of the rain. Midgar Kingdom''s knights have Shadow surrounded, but only from a distance away. Not a single one of them are underestimating Shadow''s strength, not after seeing how he had defeated Iris. The rain begins to pour. Thick raindrops strike down on everyone alike. Shadow''s jet black longcoat has gotten wet and shiny from the rain, thus reflecting the sudden flash of lightning. Then more lightning strikes. And every time it does, the figure of Shadow is lit up and branded into the eyes of everyone present. "I''ll go." Together with that voice, a gray-robed female jumps into the air. In midair, she throws away her robe and draws her longsword. Then she alights onto the battlefield. "Goddess of War, Beatrix..." So whispers someone. The one entering a stance with her sword held up amidst the falling rain is a beautiful blond-haired elf. With only a chest guard and loincloth on, her white skin is wet by the rain and illuminated by the lightning. Shadow vs. Beatrix. The two quietly confront each other, as if to sound out each other''s maai. The start of the fight is triggered by a violent peal of thunder. Shadow''s sword lengthens as if to match Beatrix''s. Then, a flash. Shadow''s jet black sword mows. The rain is slashed. For a brief moment, an area devoid of rain is created by the trajectory of his sword. Indeed, Shadow''s sword had missed. "Hou..." Beatrix had retreated half a step instantaneously, thus evading Shadow''s mowing attack. Then she immediately shifts into counterattack. A razor-sharp thrust rushes towards Shadow, just like a spear. Behind the mask, Shadow seems to be smiling. Shadow dodges that by turning his body half around, and uses the momentum from that motion to release another slash with his sword. But Beatrix withdraws her sword in time. Even while drawing back her sword, she crouches, thus evading Shadow''s attack. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Then she shifts into counterattack again. The two are only tearing apart raindrops. More than ten moves are exchanged in the blink of an eye, slicing the rain again and again. The severed raindrops turn into small sprays drawing beautiful arcs illuminated by lightning. Everyone is watching with bated breath. This is exactly a dance. The sword movements that no normal person can follow with their eyes leave their traces in the air, painted with rain and lightning. A breathtaking sword dance. Not a single person is in doubt that these two are standing at the summit of the path of the sword. But it is Shadow who announces the end of this dance that they''d love to watch forever. "This sword is insufficient, huh..." Shadow leaves Beatrix''s maai, and gazes at her. Beatrix does not press in, choosing instead to utilize this opportunity to calm her breathing. Her bountiful breasts heave up and down violently. "So strong..." She lets slip a sigh of admiration. Her blue eyes simply gaze at Shadow. For a while, the two do not move. "I shall show you my true sword." So saying, Shadow returns his jet black blade to its original length. That is his original maai. "I''m coming." At the same time he speaks, he''s already stepped in. Then, as if it''s the easiest thing in the world, he closes their maai. "?!" Then an impact. The instant Beatrix realizes that her maai had been breached, she abandoned offense and focused solely on defense. However, she could not see Shadow''s sword at all. Not only her, no one else in the venue could see it. That single stroke... did not cut rain. "Kuh!!" Knocked back by the impact, Beatrix rolls inside the rain. Though she could not see the sword, she was able to defend through her intuition alone. However, it was barely by the skin of her teeth. She was unsightly knocked back far away, unable to even initiate a counterattack. She immediately leaps back to her feet in preparation for a follow up attack. Thunder roars, and Shadow disappears along with the fading lightning. That instant, Shadow is already standing before her. Brandishing his invisible sword. She concentrates on Shadow''s sword with all of her nerves, then again is assaulted by an impact. "!!" She truly could not see it. Ignoring the dirt smeared onto her face, Beatrix stands up and immediately jumps back to take a distance. Once again she had blocked in time, but it was only due to intuition and luck. There is no guarantee that she''ll be able to block the next one too. But no follow up attack is forthcoming. Beatrix stares at Shadow underneath the lightning and racks her mind. Why can''t she see it? It was not merely fast. Shadow''s sword is somehow... different. Through her experience of fighting accrued over her long life, she finally reaches the answer. Shadow''s sword isnature itself. During a fight, while dealing with many swords at the same time, a fast sword is indeed a threat. However, even a fast sword requires a preliminary movement. Even if she doesn''t see that preliminary movement, her fighting experience can tell her when the attack would reach. As long as she pays attention, dealing with it is not impossible. But the sword that is the greatest threat during a fight is the one beyond her awareness. Speed is not needed there. The key lies solely in being beyond her awareness. Shadow''s sword is natural. Without killing intent, without hesitation, without strength, possessing only naturalness. People do not pay attention to what is natural. Just as she does not pay attention to the falling rain, Shadow''s sword slips out of her awareness. "That''s amazing..." Beatrix can only stand in wonder before the depth of Shadow''s sword. His technique is a bottomless abyss that no one can ever reach. And thus, she resolves herself for her defeat. "Oh Goddess of War, let me see how you struggle..." Shadow holds up his jet black sword. Beatrix does not have the confidence to block the next strike. However. "Wait a moment." A dignified voice interrupts the fight. "Let me join the fun." There stands Iris, with unsheathed sword. 87 Your Real Enemy "Princess Iris..." Beatrix gazes at Iris with a face that indicates that she has words she wants to say. "I know. I know better than anyone that I am no match for him..." Iris tries to hide her frustration with a smile. "However, I cannot pull back here. After doing whatever he wants at the Festival of the God of War and turning it into a total mess, how can I let him get away without doing anything about it? Even I have my pride. Both me, and also Midgar Kingdom..." Then she shoots Shadow a glare. "Even if it costs me my life, I will stop Shadow''s movements. Beatrix-sama, please take advantage of that moment to finish him off." "... Very well. I will match you." Seeing Iris'' resolve, Beatrix decides to cooperate with her. Drive fills the two''s eyes as they confront Shadow together. "Come, then... show me your struggling." Shadow turns the point of his sword downwards, taking a defensive stance. Iris begins slowly inching towards him, probing for an opportunity. For a while, the sound of rain and thunder continue echoing around. "You shall taste at least a single blow from me!" A exceptionally loud peal of thunder prompts Iris to leap forward. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Immediately closing the distance, her longsword aims for Shadow''s neck. However, Shadow evades it by stepping back a mere half-step. Anticipating her sword to miss, he moves into the next motion. However, Iris'' sword stretches. She has apparently let go of her sword to forcefully increase her reach. Shadow instantaneously alters his movement. The sword that he was about to counterattack with returns in time to deflect Iris'' sword. So ends Iris'' attackor at least, that''s what she wants him to think. In actual fact, she is still rushing towards him, riding the momentum and reaching out to tackle his torso. She has indeed demonstrated her resolve to stop his movement even at the cost of her own life. There''s no time for evasion. "Well done." The next instant, Shadow''s knee hammers into Iris'' face. There was no way she could have known. Barehanded combat is actually Shadow''s most proficient style. Iris'' body crumples. However, she has indeed fulfilled her duty. The instant Shadow was sending out his knee, he had indeed stopped moving. And that was more than enough for her. "HaaAAAHH!!" Beatrix''s single flash closes in on Shadow. Beatrix''s longsword smashes against Shadow''s jet black sword with every ounce of strength that she can muster. Along with an incredible crash, Shadow''s sword, hand, and arm are blown back with force. Shadow has lost his posture. This is the most ideal opportunity. Beatrix seizes this moment perfectly to make a follow up attack. However, Shadow is even faster at letting go of his sword. In a split second, he had decided to discard his sword. Then he disappears. To a place beyond Beatrix''s view. "Below?!" He is stooped over so low that it seems like he is crawling on the ground. Before she can react, he has already grabbed her waist. In sharp contrast to Iris, his movements are levels apart in polish and elegance. He is too close for Beatrix to use her longsword. Shadow handily shoulders Beatrix, then slams her body onto the floor. "Gahah!!" The stone floor cracks from the impact. All the air inside her lungs is expelled. But at that moment, the distance between them is just enough for her to swing her longsword. Beatrix brandishes her sword even as her consciousness is fading away. Shadow pays it no mind, proceeding to pick Beatrix up again and slamming her against the grouor not, instead letting go halfway through. Beatrix''s longsword cuts nothing, as she herself crashes into the wall of the arena. With a violent sound, her body sinks into the wall. Then a sound of something cutting the air can be heard as something falls from the sky. Shadow reaches out a hand to catch it, revealing it to bea jet black sword. As if everything had been according to his plan from the very start... The lightning illuminates the two motionless bodies collapsed on the ground. Beatrix and Iris had challenged him together but could not get even a single hit in. This shocking truth has filled all the spectators'' hearts with disbelief and terror. "... So it''s over." After one last glance at the two of them, Shadow turns his heels. "St-, stop right there..." That voice stops his feet. "I, I can still fight..." With shaky footing, Iris stands up. In continuation, Beatrix also pushes aside the debris from the wall, getting up. "Me too." So the two swordswomen get back up. But Shadow only gives them one more glance, before resuming walking. "Stop right there! Or are you running away?!" Iris'' voice causes Shadow to stop again. "... Running away?" The next instant, the entire fighting arena is stained with violet light. "Wh-...?!" "!!" A devastating torrent of magic. It flows out from Shadow''s body, drawing out a spiraling whirlpool. The rain is being swallowed and erased by the magic. "Don''t tell me... you really...?!" "This... cannot be won." The overwhelming strength beyond anything that Iris and Beatrix has dreamt of causes the two of them to become petrified. If he brandishes this strength, this entire arena would be erased. Iris, Beatrix, and the audiencein the face of this strength, all of them are equal. Equally powerless, that is. "Where is the need for me to run away?" No one can stop him. Every single person is forced to swallow this fact, regardless of whether they are willing or not. "Why...?" Iris asks in a quivering voice. "If you have all this power... you could have killed us at any moment." "... My aim has been achieved. I have no interest in your lives. For we have our own enemies to massacre..." Shadow looks meaningfully at Iris, then draws all the roaring magic into his sword. "Who your real enemy is... don''t lose sight of that." Then, the violet magic is released into the sky. The blinding light stains the arena, the royal capital, and the sky, completely blowing away the rain clouds. When the light subsides, the only thing left is a clear, blue sky that stretches from horizon to horizon. Shadow''s figure is nowhere to be seen. The clouds, the rain, the lightning, and Shadow himself... it is as if everything just now had been a mere dream. "''Who your real enemy is, don''t lose sight of that''... Shadow, exactly who are you..." Iris looks up at the cloudless sky, murmuring the words that Shadow had left behind. His aim... and the real enemy... "... How pretty." There is a huge rainbow hanging in the sky. 88 Ashes of a Dream Rose is running in the rain. Not knowing where she''s headed, simply plunging heedlessly onwards. Before she knew it, the rain had stopped, and she is in the middle of a forest. Shafts of sunlight shine through the gaps of the rain-slicked leaves above. Rose leans against a tree, trying to calm her breathing. Various thoughts are racing throughout her mind. About her father, about her country, and about her own prospects... Everything is getting jumbled together, throwing her heart into disarray. Regardless of the reason, she is the criminal who murdered the king of Oriana Kingdom. She has no intention of denying it, and also no longer feels like running from the responsibility into death. She had wanted to shoulder both the responsibility of killing her father and the responsibility of a princess. But the burden is just too heavy. The more she thinks, the more Rose shivers with anxiety. Resolve, conviction, responsibility, pressure. All of these weigh so heavily on her. She can still fight. She must continue to fight. However, what can a 17-year-old teenage girl do... Rose buries her head between her knees. She makes herself small, but cannot stop the trembling. It is only when the sunlight has turn madder red that she can gather herself to some degree. "I have to move..." So says Rose, as if to make herself listen, while standing up. She has no specific destination. However, she has no other choice but to advance. She begins walking while looking straight ahead. But at that moment. "There are two options available to you." A beautiful voice suddenly calls out to her from behind. "?!" Rose whirls around and sees an elf wearing a jet black dress. Blond hair, blue eyes, an exquisite face that seems sculpted. "Alpha..." Alpha crosses her arms and smiles bewitchingly. "You can either fight by yourself, or fight alongside us. Now choose." "Alongside...?" Rose''s enemy and Shadow Garden''s enemy is the same. But just because their enemy is the same, it doesn''t necessarily mean they can fight together. But it is true that her options are limited. Her pursuers would probably be here soon. If she intends to fight alone, she would have to find a place to lay low for a while, maybe in the depths of some mountain... no, maybe Outlaw City is also worthy of consideration. But right now, Rose is charged with the crime of regicide. Even if she enters Outlaw City, she could be chased by bounty hunters. "Can you save Oriana Kingdom?" "That depends on you. We currently have no reason to move for your sake. If you want us to save your country, prove your worth." "Worth...?" "How much you are worth... and how much Oriana Kingdom is worth..." "If I prove it, you can save it...?" "We have enough power to do so." Alpha''s replies are concise. She is merely laying out the choices available. She does not sway Rose towards either, and neither does she offer a helping hand. The choice is entirely up to Rose. "... Slayer-san... I mean, Shadow, is he the head of your organization?" "... Yes." The figure of when he saved the young Rose and fought against evil replays in Rose''s mind. Then Rose chooses the path of believing in him. "... I swear to fight together." "Glad to hear it. We welcome you. Follow me." So says Alpha in an emotionless voice, turning to proceed deeper into the forest. "Can I ask one thing?" So asks Rose while following along behind. "Go ahead." "Who exactly is Shadow..." He who possesses a strong heart of justice, having been fighting against evil even when young. He who possesses the overwhelming strength to defeat evil. The secret to his strength, his convictions, his upbringing; everything is a mystery. He is an existence entirely cloaked in mystery. "If you wish to know, earn our trust." "Trust..." "If you prove yourself worthy of our trust, then someday it shall be revealed to you..." Then the two wordlessly head deeper into the forest. They are walking within a fog so thick that even sunlight cannot shine through. "This place, could it be...?" "Forest of the Abyss." It is a legendary forest, one which no one knows the location of. But all the stories say that the moment you walk in, you would never be able to come back out. The fog is so thick that Rose is constantly in danger of losing sight of Alpha, even though she should be right ahead. The thick, violet-colored fog charged with magic is throwing Rose''s senses off. "This fog is dragon breath..." "Dragon..." Though there is the rare eyewitness report of these legendary creatures, there has been no recorded subjugation within the last hundred years or so. "In the past, when He came upon this land, He had fought with the Dragon of Fog." "''He''...?" "In His youth, though He was able to defeat the dragon, He was unable to kill it. So the dragon came to acknowledge Him, and exhaled a long breath for Him." So this fantastical violet-colored fog is a dragon''s breath... "This fog is deadly poison." Rose''s body shivers. "So don''t stray far from me. The moment you do, you will die." "I understand..." The two continue to proceed through the mist, until the world suddenly explodes with colors. "This place is..." Sunlight shines down upon a white, ancient-looking city. "This is Alexandria, an ancient city once destroyed by the Dragon of Fog. This is our base." The ancient city Alexandria. Rose has seen the name come up on several ancient documents before. But this city''s beauty is one that cannot be fully painted by words alone. Expansive fields sprawl all around the city, growing a crop that Rose has never seen before. And there are numerous young girls vigorously harvesting those crops. "They''re harvesting cacao. It''s what chocolate is made of. Eventually we''ll have you do that too." "That is chocolate''s... wait, so Mitsugoshi Co. belongs to Shadow Garden?!" Alpha merely smiles. The market of chocolate is still monopolized by Mitsugoshi Co. No one knows what it''s made of, much less its production process. The two pass through the city gates and into the castle. "Lambda?" "Present." In response to Alpha''s call, a single woman appears and kneels on one knee. "Newcomer. Train her." "Yes, ma''am. As you command." "Firstly show us your strength. If it''s you, the path should open soon..." After giving Rose these final words, Alpha walks off somewhere. Only Rose and the woman named Lambda are left. She is a dark-skinned elf with gray hair and golden eyes. Her tall stature and supple muscles can be seen even above her black bodysuit. Her eyes are sharp, and her lips are plump. "I am Instructor Lambda. Follow me." "Yes, ma''am." Rose follows Lambda, until they reach the back of the castle. At this place, a great number of young girls are zealously training. "Astounding..." Rose can tell with a single glance. Everyone here is incredibly strong. "Numbers 664, 665!" "Yes, ma''am!" "Here, ma''am!" Lambda''s shout causes two girls to dash over from the group. One is an elf, the other is a therianthrope. "Did you call for us, Instructor!" The elven girl asks in a shout. The therianthrope girl is standing at attention beside her. "This is a newcomer. She''ll be joining your squad." "Understood, ma''am!" "Number 666, undress." "Eh?" Rose cannot understand what was just asked of her. "Number 666 is you. Here, your name is a number." "I, am Number 666..." "Now undress." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Eh?" "Don''t make me repeat myself!" The next instant, Rose''s clothes are sliced to tatters. It took only a split second. Rose''s naked body is exposed. "Wh-, what did?! Eh?!" Rose crouches down while covering herself with body hands. "From today onwards, you are a maggot. You are no longer anyone. Discard your name! Discard your clothes! Discard everything, and become a single soldier!" Then a black mass is thrown at Rose''s feet. It is a black slime that bounces with apoyoyon. "Number 664! Teach this maggot how to use it." "Yes, ma''am!" "Nn? What''s this?" From the remains of Rose''s clothes falls out a small piece of paper. Instructor Lambda picks it up, and thrusts it before Rose''s eyes. "That''s...!" That is the present that Rose had received from Sid. The wrapping paper from MagRonald. That instant, the feelings for him that she had been suppressing in her heart overflows. He was her very first love. They fought in a match, he saved her live during the terrorist incident, and they went on a trip together. Her irreplaceable, precious memories. Just a mere week ago, Rose had been dreaming of being married to him for the rest of her life. But Rose can no longer return. Their paths have diverged, and will never cross again. "What''s with that face? I told you to discard everything!" The wrapping paper is further sliced into shreds before her eyes. The scraps are carried by the wind, flying high into the sky. Just like ashes of a dream forevermore lost to her... A large tear falls from Rose''s eye. 89 Being Gatekeeper A is Great! The Festival of the God of War ended up going to Nee-san. Student Council President Rose''s sudden intrusion left me a bit nervous about how things would turn out, but I''m glad I managed to make something out of the situation with just a bit of ad-lib. The atmosphere of the entire venue had been taken out of my hands, but then in a flash of brilliance I realized that that works in its own way. True enough, I managed to make good use of it and turned it into the pattern where I get to take everything home. I totally clinched it. The world is constantly in motion, and people''s thoughts are also constantly in motion. My stage does not necessarily go according to my script. From now on, I shall continue to improve my ad-libbing skills and flexible thinking such that I would be able to react to any situation. And so with that, the royal capital returned to its normal self after the Festival of the God of War ended. It seems that some people are running helter-skelter because of everything that happened with Oriana Kingdom, but it''s completely unrelated to a run-of-the-mill noble like myself. The academy also started the second semester without any further issues. Apparently something-or-other faction is going at it with something-or-other faction inside Oriana Kingdom. It''s the rumor everywhere that a civil war would probably break out before the end of the year. If a civil war really does happen, then I would very much like to intrude on it. I''m really looking forward to it, actually. The academy without Student Council President Rose is continuing as normal. I do feel bad for her, but that''s about it. People are trashing Student Council President Rose and saying that the incident was related to a love affair or a struggle for the inheritance of the throne or whatnot, but nobody seems to know for sure. But regardless of the reason, I personally support her way of life, so I hope that she''s living well somewhere. Nee-san seems to have been busy with various things after winning the tournament, but everything was finally settled before autumn break and she managed to come back to the academy. She sure got famous in the blink of an eye. But then after she became free, she would come bug me every single day, so I had no choice but to arrange a celebratory dinner for her. And that''s why right now, I am having a meal with Nee-san at a restaurant under Mitsugoshi Group. I can swear that what I had reserved was the time-limited super cheap poor people course, so even I''m confused about this astonishingly luxurious fare and treatment. "I didn''t actually expect you to be so resourceful. Even the food at the palace wasn''t this good..." So says Nee-san while looking at the dazzling dishes. Moreover, this is a private room that is clearly for VIPs. I was worried whether they mistook me for someone else so I asked a staff member while on my way to the toilet, but apparently that was not the case. Seeing as this restaurant is under Mitsugoshi Group, did I perhaps get a free upgrade for being friends with Gamma? I''m a bit scared about being billed an ungodly amount after the meal. "Actually, I''m friends with the president of Mitsugoshi Co." "Liar." "No, I''m serious. That''s why they''re giving us such good service, I think." "You see, jokes need to be funny and easy to understand, or else people won''t get it. Don''t worry, I''m not doubting you. I properly understand that you''ve put in a lot of effort for my sake." Nee-san flashes me a sweet smile. It''s been so long since I''ve seen Nee-san in such high spirits. So I decided to just let the matter rest. "I actually really love the food at Mitsugoshi restaurants. Their menu is always filled with new and delicious dishes. Ah, it''s my first time having roast beef." "Heeh~" In this way, the two of us enjoy the meal together. "Annerose got eliminated, Iris-sama withdrew halfway, and that Jimina guy got disqualified. So I won pretty much by luck." "Guess so." "You were supposed to deny that." "That''s not the case at all. Nee-san won by your strength!" "Indeed, of course it was by my strength. But there are some people out there who don''t think so." "That makes sense, considering the circumstances." "Do it again." "How foolish they are to not acknowledge Nee-san''s strength! Have they no eyes to see?!" "There''s no helping it. That''s how the masses are. But I am not a woman who would take this lying down." "Isn''t it about time for Nee-san to learn how to be more ladylike?" "I am just about to get angry." "Those ignorant fools! They must be made to understand Nee-san''s strength and beauty!" "Naturally I intend to do so. So cooperate with me." "No, thanks." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Denied. This is also for your sake, after all." "My sake?" "Yep. You, what do you plan to do after you graduate? You won''t be able to get into anywhere proper with half-hearted grades." "Even if you ask me that all of a sudden..." She has a point, I haven''t really thought much about what I''ll do after I graduate. Our house will most likely be succeeded by Nee-san, so I''d probably have to find a job some other place. A dazzling place like a knight order does not fit me. A more mob-like job... oh, right. "Being Gatekeeper A sounds good." That role that gets to stop the protagonist and say ''you can''t pass if you don''t pay the entrance tax.'' "''Gatekeeper A''? What''s the ''A'' for?" "It means ''normal,'' I guess?" "You... gatekeeper is not an occupation for a noble. In the first place, it''s an exhausting job with low pay where they have to take two shifts back to back without much rest." "Oh, really?" No rest sounds quite tough. It might negatively affect my activities as a power in the shadows. "How about being a jailkeeper?" "It''s even worse. That job is only for human trash to do." "''Trash''... Well anyways, decisions for the future can be made in the future. As long as I can do the thing that I want to do, I don''t mind what job I get." "What is the thing that you want to do?" "It''s a secret. It''s the thing that''s most important to me, so of course I''m not going to tell it to anyone." "Sure, sure, so you don''t actually have anything. Stop spouting random things to postpone problems to the future." "Why did you come to that conclusion?" "How about you think back on your own actions so far?" "Well, whatever." "No, it''s not ''whatever.'' This is your future that we''re talking about. Leave your autumn break free. If you do as I say, then I''ll be able to somehow get you into a knight order." "What is it that you plan on doing?" "Fufu. The subjugation for the progenitor vampire ''Queen of Blood'' is about to begin. All you''ll have to do is stay behind me." Nee-san flashes me a fearless grin. 90 Its Already Completely Healed After dinner, the two of us are walking together through the streets of the royal capital. When it came time to ring up the bill and I was about to pay, they told me that it was all covered. It''s probably Gamma''s arrangement, but it might also have been because Nee-san is the latest champion of the Festival of the God of War. I can''t quite determine which it is. "It''s already past the dorms'' curfew, isn''t it?" "I told them that I''ll be attending a party and already got permission." "As expected." The streets at night are unexpectedly quiet. I suddenly look up at the sky and see a shining crescent moon. For some reason, I feel like the moon is a bit more red than usual. "What''s the matter?" So asks Nee-san upon seeing me look up at the moon. "I feel like the moon is a bit more red than usual." "Is it? It seems the same to me though." "Perhaps. But thinking about it again, I suppose it doesn''t really matter whether the moon is red or blue or any other color." Though I do think that it''s cooler when it''s red. "So, we were in the middle of our talk about the Queen of Blood." "Yep." "I''m sure you already know about the Queen of Blood''s underlings recently causing incidents outside of Outlaw City." Naturally, I did not know that. "The surrounding countries who are taking that seriously have sent a joint request to the Magic Swordsmen Guild to subjugate the Queen of Blood." "Ok, with you so far." "So a team of top magic swordsmen is being gathered for this subjugation. I say team, but it''s full of people with oversized egos, so it''s not like we''re going to get along like best friends and hold each other''s hands." "So then?" "And so that''s how I can bring you along as my plus one. Don''t worry, you can just stand back and watch from a safe spot. I''ll do everything. Afterwards, the fact that you went along means you''ll get some of the credit too." "I see." "If you get some credit here, then it''ll be easy to wrangle you into a knight order. I managed to get pretty close with the daughter of the Grand Commander of the Imperial Knight Order at the previous party, so I can help put in a word for you if you want." "Hmm." "The subjugation will happen during autumn break. I''m sure there are some hasty ones who''ve gone ahead already, but I don''t think there''s any cause for worry..." That moment, the wind carries the smell of blood to us. Nee-san also notices it a brief instant later. "The smell of blood. It''s close..." Nee-san stops walking and glares into a dark alleyway. "Follow along behind me." "Alright." With a hand on the hilt of her sword, Nee-san enters the alleyway. Leaving a bit of a distance between us, I follow along. As we proceed down the dark alleyway, we finally spy a dark figure that''s crouched over. Gucha, gucha. It sounds like the figure is chewing something. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "...!" Biting back a shriek of surprise, Nee-san draws her sword. Probably noticing us by our presence, the black figure turns around. It turns out to be a blood-covered human. No, that''s incorrect. That Thing''s eyes are red like blood, and razor-sharp teeth can be seen within its slackly opened mouth. Red saliva drips onto the stone pavement. At the feet of the Thing lies the remains of a human corpse that''s been chewed all the way through. "Drop your weapon and surre...!" "AAaaaaA!" The Thing bares its teeth and leaps towards Nee-san. Those are not movements of a human, but of a beast. Nee-san''s sword glitters like moonlightthen the Thing is bisected from the torso. "I did warn you..." So says Nee-san towards the lumps of meat that she had severed. However. "It''s still alive..?!" The Thing is crawling with its upper body alone. It reaches out with one hand to grab Nee-san''s foot. "aaaaAA..." "So insistent!" Nee-san''s sword chops off the Thing''s head. The head rolls on the stone pavement while still chomping on empty air, making that distinctive gachi gachisound of teeth gnashing together. The red eyes glaring at Nee-san gradually lose their strength, until finally it goes silent. An almost overwhelming stench of blood pervades the alleyway. "This was a ghoul... could it be one of the Queen of Blood''s...?" She looks down on the corpse that''s been cleanly severed into three parts. Its form is human-like but its skin is pale white like there was no blood flowing underneath, its eyes are red, and its teeth are sharp. It also moved like a beast and had astonishing vitality. However, what was clearly missing was intelligence. "Ghouls are underlings of vampires, right?" Nee-san is still looking down, and does not answer me. "Nee-san...?" "Ghouls were all previously human..." "Likely so." "Recently, I''ve been afraid. Afraid of whether I would also become like this one day. Like a mindless monster..." Her voice is unusually weak. "I heard that Princess Rose had demon possession... though it might be just a rumor. But... I haven''t told this to anyone, but I... I might also have demon possession..." Nee-san''s face as she turns around is slightly colored with sorrow. "A few years ago, a black bruise suddenly appeared on my back. I was scared and didn''t tell anyone, but it just kept getting larger and larger. But one day, it suddenly started healing rapidly, and it was already gone like a lie before I realized it. I was relieved, like ''oh whew, it got healed.'' But I looked into it recently, and apparently there''s no way to heal demon possession. If that black bruise really was demon possession, then someday I..." "I think you probably don''t really need to worry about that..." Cus it''s already completely healed. "You silly. I''m just joking. There''s no way I have demon possession." Nee-san laughs and looks up at the night sky. "But... you can''t follow along behind me forever. And that''s why you need to keep your autumn break free." "Got it." "We''re done with this talk. Let''s go call the knights." Nee-san walks off as if in escape. I look up at the sky again. That moon really does look slightly red. 91 What Belongs to Bandits Also Belongs to Me I am listening to Beta in my own dorm room. It is night time after classes at the academy are over. Beta is making her periodic report. "After the incident at the Festival of the God of War, Doem''s standing is..." "Fumu." I''ve given the matter a lot of thought in retrospect of what Nee-san said, and my conclusion is that Outlaw City really does seem a great place to go. In the first place, I haven''t done any bandit-hunting recently. And Outlaw City is pretty much just a gathering of people marginally better than bandits, right? And what belongs to bandits belongs to me. "It has become much easier for Epsilon to move. Within Oriana Kingdom..." "Fumu." That talk from Nee-san about my job in the future. Another way of interpreting that is that all would be fine as long as I have money, right? If I have money, then I can do whatever I want. Outlaw City is packed with people not much better than bandits. And I''m sure the big bosses there have been raking it in by doing tons of bad things. So everyone''s problems would be resolved if I beat them up and help myself to their treasure. "The fighting strength of Shadow Garden is growing at a steady rate. At Alexandria, we are recently devoting our resources towards the development of the steam engine..." "Fumu." If I have enough money to live the rest of my life in luxury, then it won''t matter what job I take. Or rather, in that situation, depending on my mood, I could be a gatekeeper, an escort, a jobless guy, a baker, or anything else. I would be able to experience whatever mob job I feel like. By earning money, humans can grasp a life not bound down by money. I think I just said something cool. And so, of the three factions in Outlaw City, unfortunately it has just been set in stone that one of them will be wiped out very soon. Which one should I pick? Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Picking all of them would be fine too, but if I do it all at once then there''d be nothing left to enjoy later. ''Queen of Blood'' gets me the most excited, and I can think up any number of destruction plots involving progenitor vampires and whatnot. But dessert should go last in a meal, you know what I mean? I''m torn. But I suppose the faction with the highest priority to be destroyed really is the Queen of Blood. "And that''s all for my report." "Fumu." "If there was anything that you wish for me to improve on" "It smells..." When I respond to Beta, who''s on bended knee with head hanging, she quivers with a start. "Is it Outlaw City... this smell of blood..." "Oh whew, it wasn''t me..." So Beta mutters softly. "It seems the Queen of Blood is starting to move..." "That is so. The possibility of the Queen of Blood being connected to the Order is low, so we have not pursued" "A storm is coming... a storm of blood..." "Storm of blood...?" "Look at the moon, Beta." "The moon, my lord...?" I gesture towards the moon floating outside my window that I think seems red. "Ah, it''s more red than usual...?" "So you notice it too, the red moon..." "?! Are you saying that it''s the legendary Red Moon...?!" "... If it is?" While keeping Beta in the corner of my eye, I raise my glass filled with blood-red wine and take a sip. ''Legendary Red Moon,'' huh. I guess anything would sound cool just by pinning the word ''legendary'' in front. "B-, but that''s... If that''s the case, then Outlaw City would... no, all the surrounding countries would also...!" "Fear not." "B-, but! We must immediately dispatch Shadow Garden!" "Fear not, I said." "!! I beg your pardon..." I look down upon the shivering Beta and elegantly fold my legs. "Leave this matter to me." "Could it be... Does Shadow-sama intend to handle this matter alone?!" "You disapprove...?" "N-, no, I dare not... I understand that that is the most reliable method to deal with it. Ho-, however, if anything ever befalls Shadow-sama, then we... then I...!" "Fear not." "Shadow-sama...?" I raise a corner of my lips in a grin. "All it is... is just a red moon. Right?" "?!" Beta looks at me with wide open eyes. At first, it is shock on her face, but then it gradually turns into a gentle smile. "I have once again failed to recognize my lord''s greatness." Then she bows her head deeply. "''Just a red moon''... Even a legend is but a figure of speech before Shadow-sama." I mean, I only pointed out that the moon looks a bit red, and she turned it into ''Legendary Red Moon'' with all the capital letters. I really have to hand it to her. "Don''t you think the red moon is beautiful in its own way...?" "Fufu... so it is. I pray for your good fortune in battle." "Do you desire to partake...?" "Yes, gladly! Thank you, my lord." Beta and I enjoy the wine together while gazing at the moon. Well then, let''s go with a bang at Outlaw City during autumn break. 92 Two Loser Dogs and a Watchdog Outlaw City is, in short, a gigantic slum. Vagrants gather here and there, shanties line the streets, rubbish heaps fill the air with the smell of rot. However, that is not all there is to Outlaw City. The reason is because there are three skyscrapers soaring over the rest of the city. "So that is the castle of the Queen of Blood, the Red Tower..." So murmurs a man with a face like an evil pro wrestler while looking up at the blood-red tower within the light of a setting sun. "What''s the matter, Quinton? You getting jelly legs?" The person who is calling out to Quinton is a handsome young man with blond hair. "Like hell I am, Goldoh. It''s just that I''ve never seen a building this tall before." "Hmph... I''ve also fought in many places all over the world, but this is indeed a splendid tower. It would probably take a whole day to climb to the top." The two look up at the Red Tower and sigh. The red-colored tower that looks like a spiral of blood piercing the sky. The two cannot even imagine how such a tower was built. "Just because the tower is imposing, it doesn''t mean the person inside is strong. Let''s go." "This place is merely a gathering place for would-be''s. The head of the Queen of Blood shall be ours." Quinton and Goldoh might seem like opposites from their appearance, but they found a surprisingly rapport with each other the first time they talked. It might perhaps be because they share the common point of having lost to the same opponent, but even after the Festival of the God of War, the two have gotten closer and come to act together. The two walk through the streets of Outlaw City as the sun sets. As they proceed deeper towards the center, the desolated slum gradually turns into a jumbled city where cultures clash and fuse in colorful and eye-grabbing ways. "Well this is surprising..." "I agree... keep your eyes peeled." The center of Outlaw City that no one can imagine by looking in from the outside. What''s changed is not only the buildings. The people walking on the streets are also no longer vagrants, but beasts with glittering eyes that seem to be searching for prey. There is not a single small fry here. Both Quinton and Goldoh understand that fully. As they proceed while staying ready to draw their swords at any moment, the jumbled town seems suddenly unified under a gloomy air. That is the proof of having entered the territory of the Queen of Blood. Both of them sensed the change in vibe. "We''re close." Mysteriously, there isn''t a single resident to be seen. However, they feel presences squirming inside the houses. The Red Tower also looks a lot closer now. The two redouble their vigilance. Then they finally arrive before the Red Tower. "This is the entrance to the tower...!" Quinton approaches the gigantic door. The door is decorated with intricate carvings of sinister figures that seem to be human yet not human. "Let''s go." Quinton lays a hand on the door. But at that moment. "Hihi, hold on a second..." They are suddenly addressed by someone. The voice is terribly cracked to the point where it''s quite hard to hear. Upon putting his hand back down and taking a look around, he notices a dirty rag that has fallen beside the door. Taking a second look, he sees it moving a slight bit... it turns out to be a human and not a rag. "Neither of you have the qualifications to open this door..." So saying, the person wrapped in rags stands up. And in doing so, reveals the figure of a terribly emaciated man. His height is above that of Quinton''s, but his cheeks are hollowed and his eyes are caved in. He looks exactly like mere skin and bones. Dull, dirty white hair reaches to his shoulders. A living corpse. There is no other description more apt for him. "No qualification, you said?" "The only people allowed to open this door are the Queen''s underlings, her guests, or the truly strong..." "Hmph. It''s true that we are neither underlings nor guests. However, we are strong enough to carve off the Queen of Blood''s head." Quinton looks up at the white-haired man and grins dauntlessly. "Hihi, hihihi, hi, hi, hihihi..." "What''s so funny?!" "Hihi, hi, I know that I myself am a fool, but... it always is amusing to see those who are even more foolish than me..." "What did you say?!" "Hihi, know your place... once you become like me, it''s too late..." The white-haired man draws back a part of his rags. What is realized is his entire left side. However, there is nothing beyond his left shoulder. "This is what became of a fool who challenged the Queen of Blood four years ago... The fool lost his dominant arm, and even know is kept like a lowly, wretched watchdog..." There is a sturdy-looking ring around his neck that is connected by chains. "Hah. I am Quinton, a man famed for my relentlessness in the Festival of the God of War. And this here is Sure-Win Golden Dragon Goldoh. We''re on a completely different dimension from a small fry like you!" "Hihi, never heard of either of you... it''s my personal policy to not remember the names of those weaker than me..." "Ahh? Then who the hell are you?" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Hihi, I am but a mere watchdog... but long ago... there were those who called me ''The White Demon''..." "''The White Demon''? Never heard of it. How about you, Goldoh?" Quinton asks Goldoh. "I kind of feel like I might have heard it somewhere, but... sorry, nothing comes to mind." Goldoh shakes his head. However, his eyes are still fixed on the Watchdog in vigilance. "So there you have it, Nameless Small Fry-san." "Hihi, that''s fine. The name of a fool is best left buried and forgotten..." "I''m sorry, but you''re gonna have to let us pass." "I am a Watchdog... I can''t let any small fries pass..." "... Don''t blame us no matter what happens." Quinton glares at the Watchdog who refuses to get out of his way and draws his greatsword. The Watchdog also draws a thin, single-bladed sword. It is a beautiful piece of work longer than the height of an average man. "Stay sharp... Quinton." Goldoh also draws his sword. "What do you mean by that?" "This man... I cannot see the depth of his strength." "Haah? This one-handed sack of bones? You''re pulling my leg, right?" Quinton ignores the word of caution and dashes in with a swing. The trajectory of his greatsword glitters within the twilightthen blood spurts out in the next instant. "...a?" The severed part of his greatsword falls to the ground with a dry sound. "Qu-, Quinton!!" Goldoh''s shout and Quinton falling over with his stomach sliced open happen at the same time. "So next... would be you...?" Before Goldoh stands the Watchdog, stained in Quinton''s blood. "Y-, YOU BASTARD!" Goldoh almost could not catch the sword that cut Quintin. The only things that he can see for sure is the fountaining blood and the broken greatsword. What absurd skill with the sword. Despite having his dominant arm stolen away and having been starved until he is but mere skin and bones, this Watchdog is still in a place much higher than where he and Quinton are. This, Goldoh now understands. However, Goldoh still stands ready, with his sword up. His time with Quinton was short. However, they are comrades who share the same will after helping each other recover from defeat. "Don''t worry... he''s not dead. He can''t be used anymore if he''s dead..." The Watchdog laughs derisively. "How dare you do such a thing to Quinton!!" Goldoh imbues his sword with magic and releases his most powerful technique. "EVIL GOD?INSTANT KILL?GOLDEN DRAGON SWORD!!" The moment he unleashes his technique, Goldoh''s eyes meet those of the Watchdog''s. The Watchdog''s terrifyingly blood-shot dark pupils. When he see those unfathomable eyes, his memory regarding the White Demon comes back to him. "D-, don''t tell you, you are..." The Watchdog''s lips curl upwards. If this one-handed Watchdog is the White Demon, then Understanding the despairingly vast difference in strength between the two of them, Goldoh promptly chooses to just let his sword strike hit the ground. "Nnn...?" Sand and dust rise up in a huge cloud. "Quinton!! I promiseI promise I''ll definitely come back for you!!" So Goldoh shouts even while dashing away. "He ran away... I can''t give chase... I''m a Watchdog after all..." Clearing the dust cloud with a single swing of his sword, the Watchdog watches Goldoh''s back receding into the distance. "Hihi, but... can he actually manage to get away...?" What is being reflected in the Watchdog''s eyes is the doors of the numerous houses opening up and ''them'' rushing to capture Goldoh. "Hi, hihi, hihi, hihihi...!" The Watchdog looks up at the tower soaring into the sky. The place where three towers stand and three rulers reign is the rubbish dump of the worldOutlaw City. A world of strong eats weak that swallows in evil and wealth and power from all over the world. Kings, knights, and even demonic monsters have no power here. This is Outlaw City. Here, strength is law. 93 Shockingly Huge Bargain Sale, Only in Outlaw City!! Autumn break. Nee-san and I have come to Outlaw City. "This is Outlaw City? It sure smells." "There''s no helping it. It''s a slum, after all." So answers Nee-san while intimidating vagrants with her glare. In the distance stands three towers. The fact that they look like bowling pins just makes me want to knock them all down. "So we just have to go to that tower?" "You silly. What do you intend to do by immediately crashing into the enemy''s main base? The Magic Swordsmen Guild has set up a base of operations, so we''re going there first to gather information." "Heeh~" I stay close behind Nee-san as we make our way through the slum. After a while, we come out to an area with lines of stalls. It is extremely lively here, what with the buying and selling of strange foods and suspicious medicines and stolen goods and pets. "That beautiful young lady over there! Come take a look! I just restocked with some lively pets!" "Me?" "Yes, yes, the world''s prettiest young lady over there!" "Hmph, he sure has a good eye. Won''t hurt to take a short look, I suppose." "Nee-san, that was just lip service." "Shut up." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. I am dragged towards the stall. "Come, come, here is the lively pet that just arrived!" What the shop owner drags before us is a blond-haired young man with a slave collar on his neck. "Magic swordsman slave, Goldoh-kun! What do you think? It''s quite handsome, won''t it make a rather fine pairing with the beautiful young lady?" Goldoh-kun''s face is black and blue and all swollen, as if he was subjected to a mass lynching. He seems to be trying to say something with his "U,U" cries. "It seems quite beat up, though?" "Ha ha ha! I guess there was a little bit of mishandling during the transporting. Alright, I''ll knock down the original 30 million Zeny to 27 million Zeny, just for you!" "That''s expensive." "No, no, young lady. This level of a magic swordsman, it would go for more than double if you buy it outside! This is a huge sale bargain, one that you can only find in Outlaw City!!" "Nah, I don''t want it." "You sure are a good haggler, young lady! Alright, you win. Today, I''ll specially add another one for you!" "Why are both of you using the ''it'' pronoun?" "Come, come! This is also a lively magic swordsman, its name is Quinton-kun!!" What the store owner brings out this time is a man with a face that looks like an evil pro wrestler who has a big wound on his stomach. It seems that at least the minimum amount of treatment has been applied to the wound. Quinton-kun is going "Mu, Mu!" as if trying to say something. I kind of feel like I might have met this one somewhere before also... "Goldoh-kun and Quinton-kun, two of them together for the price of only 40 million Zeny!! You won''t find a deal this great outside of Outlaw City!!" "Its stomach looks wounded, though?" "Oh man, this one also got mishandled during the transportation?! Alright, 37 million Zeny for the both of them in a set! I really can''t do down any further than this!" "On second thought, I don''t want either of them." "Ehh?! Come on, you can''t say that, young lady!" "I already have all I need." So saying, Nee-san roughly brushes my hair. "I see, so the young man is this young lady''s sla" "No I''m not." "Let''s go." Nee-san drags me away by the scruff of my neck. At that time, we hear someone else addressing the store owner. "Store owner. If you''re really selling the two as a set for 37 million, then I''ll buy." "Of course I am! Thank you for your patronage! Nn? C-, could you be?!" "U, U" "Mu, Mu!" It seems that the two of them got sold. Both of them had faces that seemed slightly familiar to me so I was a bit worried, but now I''m relieved with knowing that they properly found someone who would buy them. Wait. If they were bought, then wouldn''t it mean that right now, inside that store, there is now at least 37 million Zeny in cash? In other words, if I attack that store... No, I cannot lower myself to become satisfied with such a small sum. I need to dream bigger. "Start walking by yourself already." "I would be able to if you would stop dragging me like that." "If I don''t do this, then you''ll get lost." "Wh-, I won''t!" I look up at the three soaring towers in the distance while walking. One red, one white, and one black. Well then, which should I pick? 94 Stop Throbbing... As soon as we reached the Magic Swordsmen Guild''s base of operations, Nee-san got called away to some meeting. Apparently it''s a gathering where top magic swordsmen discuss and plan out the subjugation. I was not invited. Nee-san tried to protest, but even she couldn''t do anything about it. Nee-san told me "quietly wait for me" and left for the meeting. So I decided to go take a walk. Quietly. When I make my way out, the sun has already set. The sky is still slightly lit up by the afterglow, but in the east, the reddened moon has already come up. It is just my imagination, or is the moon getting more and more red by the day? None of the residents of Outlaw City pay the moon any mind as they walk on. All of them are frantic about today''s survival, dealing with the customers before them, the prey before them. In such a way, I met my commemorative 10th pickpocket of the day. I purposely keep my wallet in my trousers pocket so it''s easy to pickpocket, but whenever it gets pickpocketed I make sure to pickpocket the pickpocket who pickpocketed me. In other words, my wallet gets recovered, while I recover the other side''s wallet. This world is, after all, survival of the fittest. Within this short period of time, the contents of my wallet has already grown from 40k Zeny to 110k Zeny. The world sure works in mysterious ways. Perhaps my vocation is to be Resident A in Outlaw City. This Outlaw City is the best, I get to earn money just by going out for a walk. As I walk on while feeling like humming, a scream suddenly rings out. "It''s a ghoul!! A ghoul has appeared!!" Apparently it''s close. The reactions of the residents of Outlaw City are fast. Those who can''t fight immediately run away. However, there are many stores who continue business as usual, not paying the scream any mind. Furthermore, there are those who head towards the scream with smirks on their faces. "Did you hear? A ghoul just showed up. Haven''t there been a lot of them lately?" "Let''s go let off some steam then." Some are cracking their knuckles, while others are drawing knives. I stealthily follow the crowd towards where the ghoul supposedly is. By the time I arrive, the ghoul has already been captured. Its legs must have been broken already, as it''s only crawling on the ground. "You fucker! How dare you bite my arm!!" Kick. "You son of a bitch! I lost fucking huge at gambling!! It''s all your fucking fault!!" Stomp. "Mary-chan turned down my proposal even though I financed her more than a million Zeny!! It''s all your fucking fault!!" Crush. A sea of blood spreads over the ground. I see, a ghoul''s high vitality makes it the perfect punching bag. The ghoul just goes "aaaaAA..." while letting people do whatever they want to it. Looking at this scene, I catch myself thinking that Outlaw City really is great. Surely an incident of this level is just an everyday occurrence that no one would blink an eye at. A city smeared with blood and slaughterhow cool is that. "Fufufu..." I chuckle while leaning against a wall with my arms crossed. I''m in the mood to play at being a mysterious young man. Eventually, the ghoul that is being absolutely wailed on loses strength and falls over, which causes the gathered crowd to lose their interest. It seems to be over. The sky has already gotten quite dark. I am about to head back when suddenly, I feel a breath of life reviving the ghoul. "Hii!! St-, stop!" The man''s scream and blood spurting happens almost at the same time. The suddenly revived ghoul has bitten onto a man''s neck and is tearing his throat apart. "Wh-, what''s with this one?! It''s different from usual?!" There goes one more person. However, despite being unsettled, the other men all draw their weapons. The revived ghoul... is red. Its skin and its eyes are both red like blood. Brandishing its razor-sharp teeth and claws, it... roars. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "GUAAAAAHHHHHH!!" The ghoul abruptly jumps like a beast. One mow of its sharp claws sends one man''s head flying. "R-, run away!!" It seems that even the residents of Outlaw City would run away from this. The ghoul starts feeding on a corpse. I chuckle like "fufufu..." while still leaning against the wall. Well then, what should I do now? Should I run away like a mob... or should I continue with pretending to be a mysterious young man? These residents of Outlaw City, I''m pretty sure I won''t ever meet them again. So let''s go with the non-mob option then. "Fufufu..." Un. But then, at that instant. I look up from feeling a presence, and witness a magic swordsman with a small build jumping down onto the ghoul from above. The swordsman''s sword flashes at the moment of landing, which causes the red ghoul''s to be bisected from the head down. What a well-performed strike. The swordsman who took down the red ghoul in a single strike wipes the blood off their sword and turns around. Then our eyes meet. The swordsman with a small built who has on a jet-black garment and a witch-like pointy hatturns out to be a beautiful woman with red hair. The two of us wordlessly look at each other for a while. "You would do well to escape..." So she says in a surprisingly cute voice. "The Rampage is about to begin..." Then she looks up at the red moon with a brooding expression. "The moon is red... there is no more time..." "Your name...?" Seeing the lady about to leave after saying what she wanted to say, I call her back. "I am the Eldest Vampire Hunter, Milia... The one who shall put an end to Elizabeth, the Queen of Blood..." With that, she melts into the darkness of night. What is this that I''m feeling? This is This feeling isthrobbing. "Fufufu..." I look up at the red moon and grin. It seems that I might be a bit late returning to the base. I hope Nee-san doesn''t get mad at me. Even in Outlaw City, the most bustling place is of course the red-light district. Girls dressed up in clothing with lots of exposure can be seen tempting the men passing by. In such a red-light district, a scream suddenly rings out. "It''s a ghoul! A ghoul has appeared!!" However, everyone is used to a problem of this level. The bodyguards of the nearby brothels quickly show up to make short work of the ghoul. What happens everyday, is supposed to happen today also. "K-, KYAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!" A prostitute''s scream and a bodyguard being torn to pieces happens almost at the same time. What has showed up in this red-light district is, different from the usual, a red-colored ghoul. The red ghoul easily reduces the bodyguards to pieces of meat, then leaps at a prostitute whose legs have given out. "MARY!!" A friend of hers calls out her name, but it''s already too late. But the next instant, the red ghoul is bisected. "Eh..." From behind the two congruent halves of the red ghoul appears a swordsman wearing a jet-black longcoat. He flicks his jet-black blade to rid it of blood, then looks down at Mary. Deep within his dark hood shines two red eyes. "Hii..." Those sinister eyes causes Mary to shiver and back away. "If you don''t want to die, then run away..." So says the man in a voice like a reverberation from the depths of the earth. ''I would run immediately if I could'' is what Mary is thinking. "The Rampage is about to begin..." So the man murmurs while looking up at the red moon. His entire being seems to be exuding a sense of sorrow. "The moon is red... there is but a tiny sliver of time left..." Recently, the moon has for some reason been turning red. Mary did think it strange, but not a single one of her prostitute colleagues paid it any mind. Even if the moon becomes red, nothing would change in the world. That''s what everyone thought. "W-, wait... you are...?" Mary calls back the man in jet-black. He seems like a scary person, but it is true that he just saved her. At the very least, she wants to thank him... "My name is Shadow... He who lurks in shadows, he who hunts shadows..." With that, Shadow melts into the darkness of night. "a... thanks..." "Mary!! Are you alright?!" Her senior snatches her up in a hug. "Y-, yes, I''m fine..." "I''m so relieved... this kind of thing''s been happening all the time lately. I don''t know care who the Queen of Blood is..." "D-, don''t, you can say that out loud..." "Hmph, like I care. Rather than that, didn''t that person just now call himself Shadow?" "You know of him?!" "W-, well, yes. Just the rumors, though. He''s the head of some organization that''s attacked some academy and obliterated some holy site and basically done whatever they wanted." "So he''s a bad guy..." Though he really was scary, but he didn''t feel like a bad guy. What she did feel from him was that he possessed a powerful will. "Of course he is, perhaps even on the level of one of the Monarchs in our city. But why is such a large villain in Outlaw City..." "He mentioned that some rampage is about to begin. And also that the moon is red, and that there is no time..." "What is up with that? Recently the Queen of Blood has been raising a fuss about something too. Could it be that she joined hands with Shadow and is about to start another fight? I wish they''d give it a break, it''s always the small people like us that become victims." "I can''t tell for sure, but... I don''t think that''s it." What is about to happen? Mary looks up at the red moon with unease. But mysteriously, she has a feeling that Shadow is about to do something about it. Surely, that is why he has come. "Thank you..." Turning towards the direction that Shadow has disappeared in, Mary softly murmurs a word of gratitude. 95 From Mob Escape to Mob Revenge Sid has disappeared. Claire dashes through Outlaw City in the night in search of her younger brother. "Sid you baka!! I said to quietly wait for me, didn''t I?!" The moment Claire heard that Sid had left the base on his own, the inside of her head went completely white. After punching the magic swordsman who laughed while saying that Sid''s probably been caught and sold by a slave merchant by now, Claire flies out of the base. Outlaw City in the nighttime is dangerous. Outlaw City is not just any normal slum. A student of Magic Swordsman Academy is just prey in the eyes of the residents here. "Have you seen a black-haired boy around 15 years old pass by?!" Claire desperately continues searching while asking the people passing by. All the residents who assail her are mercilessly driven back. Relying on eyewitness reports, Claire finally finds black hair. However. He is currently being fed on by a ghoul within an alleyway. "St-, STOP!!" Claire draws her sword in a flash and dices the ghoul up. Then she falls to her knees before the mangled black-haired male corpse. "No... this can''t be happening..." The blood-soaked black hair. Sid''s hair is also around this length. The body is mangled, so it''s unidentifiable. However, this was the only reliable piece of eyewitness information. "I''m so sorry, Sid... I shouldn''t have brought you to Outlaw City..." It''s still not certain that this corpse is Sid. However, Claire still hugs the blood-soaked black hair while crying. Her heart is almost about to break from the overwhelming regret and guilt weighing on her. Behind her, a certain presence draws near. "... What do you want?" So asks Claire while still hugging the black hair. "Are you the one searching for a black-haired boy?" "... Eh?" Turning around with the intention of clutching at straws, she sees a beautiful swordswoman with red hair. "You are..." "I am Milia. A Vampire Hunter. I''ve seen two other black-haired boys." "?! Tell me, please!" "One, I saw a short while ago. He was chuckling like ''fufufu'' before a rampaging ghoul." Claire tries to picture that, then immediately dismisses it. "That''s not him. My younger brother doesn''t laugh creepily like that." "I see. The other one was a magic swordsman. He was attacked and brought away by underlings of the Queen of Blood..." "!! What was his face like?!" "Kind of plain and not very conspicuous..." There''s no doubt, that must have been Sid. "Ahh, how can this be... Oh, Sid..." "I''m sorry, I tried to save him, but couldn''t make it in time..." "... W-, wait, if he was brought away, it means that he isn''t dead yet, right?!" "Most likely... he..." Milia looks conflicted about whether to speak further. "You know something, don''t you?!" "He... will be sacrificed. The Red Moon will begin very soon. If he is not saved before then..." "Tell me! Where is Sid?! How can I save him?!" Milia''s eyes swim for a while as she thinks quickly, until she sees the diced up ghoul. "Were you the one who did this?" "Eh? Yes, I did that." "If you agree to cooperate with me... then perhaps... My aim is Elizabeth, the Queen of Blood. Your aim is to rescue your younger brother. What do you say we join hands?" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. So saying, Milia holds a hand out to Claire. "If you cooperate with me, then I''ll tell you everything." Claire grabs that hand without hesitation. "I''ll cooperate. If Sid can be saved, then I''m willing to do whatever it takes." "Follow me." Milia proceeds deeper into the alleyway. Claire stands up, and indifferently chucks the blood-soaked black hair away. Now that she''s taken a second look, it doesn''t look anything at all like Sid''s hair. "Wait for me, Sid. Onee-chan will definitely come to save you..." Then Claire also disappears into the darkness of the depths of the alleyway. When I return to the base, Nee-san is not there. It seems that she had gone out for a walk and we had just missed each other. I sit down at the windowsill of the room that I had been allotted, and look down upon a street of Outlaw City. The unique smell of a slum stimulates my nose. The instant I smelled this smell when I entered the city, I knew for sure that ''this is the kind that''s going to make my nose hair long.'' This is something that only people who''ve experienced it first hand know, but people who live in environments with dirty air have longer nose hair. And longer nose hair naturally means... Dig, dig. "Ah, got a big one." Nose boogers also get big. I look down on the street and confirm my target. It needs not be said, I was not digging my nose for no reason. It is with a certain noble intention in mind that I did so. The target is a hoodlum walking by on the street. He was the one who almost managed to shake me down just now. I got away with Mob Escape, but a mob''s tenacity is not to be underestimated. Let''s do this, Mob Revenge. I ready my hand in a finger flick style, and carefully aim at the target. "Fufufu... eat my Booger Bomber!" Then I launch the ball of booger. My aim proves true, and the booger becomes plastered onto the hoodlum''s face. Mob Revenge, accomplished. A bright red moon hangs in the night sky. I really want to go out to play soon, but I can''t do so until Nee-san comes back and goes to sleep. "Nee-san sure is late..." 96 For the Sake of This Day, I Have Prepared This… Hole!! The place where Milia led Claire turns out to be a crumbling house. The interior is, for some reason, buried under a thick layer of dust. In that place where the air is filled with the smell of dust and mold, Milia lights a lamp. "If you want to sit, there''s a chair over there..." So offers Milia while standing. "I''m good." That chair looks like it''d collapse at any moment. "Suit yourself. So, you said your name is Claire, right? Your younger brother is most likely within the Red Tower of Elizabeth the Queen of Blood." "What did you mean when you said ''sacrifice''?" "In order to explain that, I have to first tell you the story of Elizabeth the Queen of Blood. Elizabeth was a progenitor vampire queen. More than a thousand years ago, there were other progenitors aside from her and vampires reigned over the night of the entire world." Milia speaks indifferently with eyes that seem to be looking somewhere far off. "The vampires reigned, but eventually knowledge regarding the weakness of vampires spread among humans, and the hunters became the prey." Vampires have three weaknesses. First: They die when their heart is pierced. Their astonishing regenerative abilities made them feared as immortals, but they can no longer regenerate when their heart is destroyed. This fact lent great strength to the humans who used to fear vampires. Second: They cannot maintain their powers if they do not regularly suck blood. Vampires who go without blood for a long time end up with strength not much different from that of normal humans. Their very race requires them to coexist with, and never annihilate, humans. Third: They turn to ash upon being exposed to sunlight. No matter how strong the vampire may be and how weak the human may be, anyone can kill a vampire by making use of sunlight. There are any number of methods, such as setting traps or destroying their homes. Thus daytime became the execution ground of many, many vampires. "You sure know a lot about this." Claire is impressed while listening to Milia share her knowledge. There are very few humans who know anything much about vampires. The reason is because vampires are thought of as something from the distant past, and casualties due to them in recent day is almost zero. That is, with the sole exception of Outlaw City. The Magic Swordsmen Guild staff who headed the meeting earlier also admitted to never having seen a vampire firsthand, and did not know anything beyond what the ancient texts they found said. "The humans succeeded in whittling down their numbers. Eventually, vampires disappeared from the night of the world, and everyone began to forget that they ever existed. But then, a thousand years ago, a certain horrifying incident occurred. On a night when a Red Moon hung in the sky, a single country was wiped out of existence in one night. It was a country so small that now even its name has been entirely forgotten. But it was undoubtedly the work of Elizabeth the Queen of Blood and her kin." "By ''Red Moon,'' are you referring to how the moon has been strangely red lately...?" Milia nods in response to Claire''s question. "The Red Moon significantly boosts the strength and abilities of vampires and their kin. On the night of the rise of the Red Moon, the vampires who had been driven into a corner rose up in revolt. The Red Moon lasted a total of three days. Within the first night, one country was obliterated. Within the remaining two nights, three more countries were damaged beyond the point of recovery. When the Red Moon finally went down, the Queen of Blood and her kin abruptly withdrew and hid themselves, waiting until the day when humans forget about them entirely..." "Are you implying that very soon the vampires will once again rise in revolt?" Milia nods. "They see humans as nothing more than livestock. The humiliation of having been cornered by livestock is something that they can never forget. Right now, the Queen of Blood has yet to awake from her thousand year long sleep. The one who is leading the vampires of Outlaw City is an aide of hers named Crimson. When the Red Moon begins, Crimson will surely resuscitate the Queen of Blood. If he succeeds, then the tragedy that took place a thousand years ago will be repeated again..." "Don''t tell me, ''sacrifice'' means...?" "To revive the Queen of Blood, the lifeblood of a young man who possesses abundant magic is necessary. Claire''s younger brother will surely be presented to the Queen of Blood as the sacrifice..." "As if I would let that happen! When does the Red Moon begin?!" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Milia looks through one of the holes puncturing the wall at the moon in the sky. The moon is already dyed deep crimson. From far away can be heard voices that seem to be shouting. "Just now, it has begun..." Then screams reverberate throughout the night of Outlaw City. "IT, IT''S A GHOOOUUULLLLL!! R-, RUN AWAAAYYYYYY!!" People run helter-skelter in panic and desperation as the smell of blood suddenly pervades the air. "The Rampage has begun... the Red Moon grants them tremendous power. But the cost for that is an insatiable thirst for blood. This is where everything starts..." "!! What about Sid?! He''s in the Red Tower, right?!" "Wait." Right as Claire is about to rush out, she is called back by Milia. "Crimson will surely perform the revival ritual when the Red Moon is the deepest shade of red, because that is the moment when the ritual will have the highest chance of success. So, there is still about half a day''s time." "Half a day? Wouldn''t that be in the afternoon then?" "The Red Moon continues for three days. During those three days, day never breaks. Don''t worry, I have a plan." So saying, Milia begins pulling up some of the worn-out floorboards. "For the sake of this day, I...have dug this hole." "... Hole?" Claire tilts her head. That... is definitely a hole. Beneath where the floorboards used to be, there is a hole big enough for one person to crawl through at a time. "The Red Tower is normally so overrun with vampires and ghouls that it''s impossible to enter. However, now that the Red Moon has begun, almost all of them have gone out. Which means this is a golden opportunity to sneak in..." "In other words, this hole..." "Sneaking in from aboveground would be difficult. That''s why I dug this hole to connect to the Red Tower from below." "... I see." "I wish to confirm one last time. My aim is to kill Elizabeth the Queen of Blood. Your aim is to rescue your younger brother. We are agreed to help each other, yes?" "Yes we are. I''ll be in your care, Milia." "And I in yours as well, Claire." Both of them spontaneously reach out to exchange a handshake. "Now that that''s settled, let''s get going. Wait for me, Sid." Without hesitation, Claire heads into the hole. While waiting for Claire to go first, Milia turns around and takes one last look at the red moon. There seems to be traces of sorrow quivering within her eyes. "Elizabeth-sama, it won''t be long now..." After murmuring to herself, she proceeds to follow Claire. 97 Rampage... The Streets are... Blood... Run... After seeing off her last customer of the day, Mary closes the door to her room. Within the room illuminated only by moonlight, she spares but a glance for the disturbed bedsheets as she picks up the underwear strewn on the floor. In the same motion, she puts them up, then dives into her bed. Her beautiful face is buried into her pillow. A lot happened today, so she is really tired now. Today''s customers weren''t particularly good either... let''s just go to sleep. "Nn`..." However, the moist sheets and the smell permeating the room is just too uncomfortable. So she gets up with a sigh to open the windows. The gag-inducing smell dissipates, in exchange for which the din from outside comes in. "I wonder what happened..." Usually, this is the time around when the sun rises, when even the red-light district is wrapping up work and heading to bed. In spite of that, today the sky is showing no traces of lightening up, and the entire city seems restless somehow. In the sky is still a blood-red moon, hanging there prominently. When she looks further off, she sees flames enveloping several buildings. It''s a fire. A faint whiff of smoke reaches her, carried by the wind. But even before that, a raw, rust-like smell is stimulating her nose. The fire is far away, and seems very unlikely to reach where she is. However, something still seems different from normal. Passers-by are dashing through the streets. Why are they in such hurry? It''s just a fire. As Mary is leaning against her windowsill, the red moonlight illuminates her in a bewitching manner. Her black lingerie stands out in sharp contrast to her white skin. Her purplish red hair stands out vividly even under the unusual shade of moonlight. When such a beautiful girl stands at her windowsill with only her underwear on, normally men would stop to gawk. But today, there isn''t a single such person. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. With somewhat cold eyes, Mary looks down upon the red-light district and the faraway fire. After being sold at 13, she''s spent 5 years in this city. Everyone who comes to Outlaw City dreams at the beginning about getting back out. But with the passage of time, such emotions thinned out within her as she became colored by Outlaw City. But hope has not entirely died out yet within her. It might be easier if she gives up. She has been entertaining this thought recently. Mary is one of the leading prostitutes in the red-light district, but she is notthe top. Her proprietress had said that she believes Mary could reach the top if she gets serious about it. Surely that kind of a life is also not a mistake. Forgetting everything and just indulging herself in nights of ecstasy... "Haah..." It''s been a while since she last thought about the outside. Surely this is the way how everyone becomes assimilated into this city. Mary moves to close the window. But that instant. "Kyah!" A beast has leapt into her room through the window. No, it is not a beast. It is a human-like figure that acts like a beast a ghoul. "Ah, aa..." Mary crawls backward on the floor. The ghoul sneers with its sharp fangs bared... then pounces towards Mary in her underwear. As tears stream down her face, Mary resolves herself. "I remember advising you to run away last time..." Together with those words, the ghoul is diced up in midair. Lumps of meat fall all over the room, and blood splatters. "Y-, you are..." She recognizes that figure and that jet-black blade. Mary feels her heart beating loudly in her ears. The person standing there in a jet-black longcoat... is Shadow. "The Rampage has begun... Behold, the streets are stained with blood..." "The streets...?" Mary covers herself with her bedsheets and peers outside. "How, how can this be... this is terrible..." Sure enough, the road below is stained with glistening blood. Lumps of meat strewn all over. Ghouls rampaging about. Prostitutes who ran too late being attacked. "Watch ou-...!" Seeing her senior among those being attacked, Mary cannot help but to cry out. However, the next instant, the pouncing ghoul is reduced to lumps of meat. "The Rampage is upon us... A tempest of blood demands its due..." Beside her is a man in a jet-black longcoat. "ae?!" Mary whirls around, only to discover that there is no longer anyone standing beside herself. "Run, lest you be swallowed up by this madness..." "You, are you..." That moment, a scream echoes out from somewhere not too far off. The instant Mary''s attention is diverted by it, Shadow disappears once again. "... the Rampage is... blood... run..." With a voice that seems to emanate from nowhere specific, parts of a ghoul are sent flying into the sky. When she takes a second look, Mary realizes that the lumps of meat lining the street all came from ghouls. She can no longer see the man himself, but the chain of explosions of ghoul parts is steadily growing further away. Mary quickly throws on some clothes over her underwear, then packs a carry bag and hurries downstairs. Mary''s intuition proved true after all. Shadow really did come to save her. "Thank you, Shadow-san..." Thus Mary manages to slip away amidst all the chaos. With strong resolve in her heart to one day repay this debt to Shadow... 98 Tough Lady When I woke up, I found Outlaw City in an uproar. Even though it is time for day to break, it is still dark outside, the red moon is still hanging in the sky, and ghouls are going berserk on the streets. This is... Could this possibly be... "It must be the ''Rampage''..." The all-important keyword that that person who called herself Milia mentioned. Her prediction had come true. It seems that an emergency meeting has been called to session at the base to determine the magic swordsmen''s response. I, however, sneak out of the base and stand atop a high building, having put on my jet-black longcloak. "Finally, this moment has come...!" Without doubt, this... is the real deal. This is a real life, nay, a larger than life vampire event! I chuckle profoundly from behind my mask while making my jet-black longcloak flutter. So the keywords this time are ''Red Moon,'' ''Rampage,'' and ''Queen of Blood''... Oh, and there''s also that Ancient Vampire Hunter character. I would very much love to make contact with her again during this event. It would probably be very difficult, but I''ve got to set things up towards the most fun route. This flow of events seems to indicate that the Queen of Blood is going to be the final aim. Which means I can mess up the Red Tower and loot it during the commotion. Two birds with one stone. As for everything else, I can just maintain a high level of flexibility and play by the ear. Nee-san still hasn''t made it back yet. But she''s a tough lady, so I''m sure she''ll be fine. So then, let''s go hunt some ghouls while spreading word of the event. The Magic Swordsmen Guild has lost the initiative. Even though the gathered first-rate magic swordsmen are managing to hold the rampaging ghouls back, the sheer number of ghouls, on top of their strengthened state due to the Red Moon, gives the magic swordsmen no choice but to retreat. "Iron Arm Glein has also been wounded! We''re drawing back!" "You fucktards! You guys are supposed to hold that position!Who the fuck is going to take your place?!" "Like we give a fuck! We''ve got someone injured here! Or what, are you telling us to die?!" The magic swordsmen on the large street that find themselves encircled by ghouls are desperately putting up resistance, but the seemingly endless flood of ghouls is steadily whittling them down. "Everyone! Please do not make arbitrary decisions by yourselves!" Claudia, the elite staff member in charge of leading this mission to subjugate the Queen of Blood, is shouting at the top of her lungs. But morale is scraping rock bottom, and the front line collapsing is now merely a matter of time. The street is already buried under piles of ghoul corpses. As expected of magic swordsmen skilled enough to be accepted for this mission, the individual strength of each and every one of them is overwhelming in comparison to ghouls. However, none of them imagined such an enormous number of ghouls to descend onto them. This is surely a crime that''s been planned and prepared for over a very long period of time. To think that they brought along so many magic swordsmen and yet still cannot even reach the foot of the Red Tower. So this is the power of someone who reigns over a third of Outlaw City, the Queen of Blood... Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Even within the Magic Swordsmen Guild, it''s long been a taboo to touch Outlaw City. Claudia now understands the reason why, and curses the decision made by the upper echelons of the Guild who ignored it. "Those accursed old fogies..." Claudia mutters language that she would normally never say out loud. That sexual harassment fogy who rubs her ass every chance he gets, that pervy fogy who always stares at her chest, that deluded fogy who persistently invites her to his room at nighttime, and then... ahhh god, there''s no end to them. She decides to ignore the orders from above and command a retreat. If those fogies demote her for it, then she''ll sock them one in their faces then resign. However, they are currently stranded within the sea of ghouls. Retreat would not be easy either. "It''s already too late, huh..." She laughs in self-mockery. This is a call that she could have made much earlier on. Having delayed making this decision to save herself for the sake of protecting herself makes her the biggest fool out of them all. Claudia draws the sword on her waist and steels her resolve. She has no intention of putting her own life on the line for those accursed fogies from the Guild, and she honestly doesn''t care a whit what happens to these self-serving musclebrained magic swordsmen. However, the responsibility of her having delayed this decision is something that she will bear herself. "Retreat! I''ll take the rear!" In the first place, though she is now on the staff side of the Guild, her roots is as a magic swordswoman. Despite how she may look, she has confidence in her sword arm. "Hell yea! She said retreat!" "You said it, the rear is yours! Seeya then!" The magic swordsmen quickly withdraw from the front line. Even while slashing at the ghouls, Claudia is thinking ''at least oneperson could have stayed behind to help!'' The ghouls are pressing in. The magic swordsmen are backing off. Then there is Claudia, struggling strenuously while trying to match the others'' pace of retreat. However, the burden of shouldering the rear guard all by herself is enormous, and she quickly reaches her limit. One foot slips on the ground slick with blood. A ghoul pounces. Then a magic swordsmen clad in jet-black descends before her. "Be annihilated... Jet-Black Whirlwind." The sword in the jet-black magic swordsman''s hand grows to a length several times his height. Or so she thinks, the instant before a jet-black whirlwind roars all around. All the surrounding ghouls are sliced into pieces. Within a literal blink of an eye, what previously seemed to be an endless sea of ghouls has been entirely annihilated. "Ho-, how could this be..." Claudia, having fallen onto her butt, looks up at the jet-black magic swordsman in dumb amazement. That ludicrous strength that could wipe out in an instant a group of ghouls that even first-rate magic swordsmen had no choice but to retreat in the face of. Claudia is also a magic swordswoman, so she understands. She understands how unbelievable this man''s strength is. Even the magic swordsmen who had been racing to be the first to get away have stopped in their tracks to stare in disbelief at the jet-black magic swordsman. "The Rampage is already upon us... it is already beyond the means of you lot..." So he says with a voice that sounds like a rumble from the depths of the earth while turning to face his back to them. "Wh-, who exactly are you..." So Claudia asks that back. "Mine name is Shadow... he who lurks within shadows, he who hunts shadows..." Leaving those words behind, he flutters his jet-black longcoat while walking upon the carpet of blood. Claudia can only dazedly watch that back grow further away. "So that was Shadow..." Every single person finds themselves shuddering. All of them have heard of that name. He is the man who attacked a magic swordsman academy, obliterated a holy ground, and handily overwhelmed Princess Iris and the Goddess of War even when they came at him together during the Festival of the God of War. However, not a single person present here actually believed those rumors, thinking themselves smarter than that. Though it is undoubtable that therewas an incident, the specific details about what went down are dubious, to put it mildly. Above all, who would believe that there is someone capable of overwhelming both Iris and the Goddess of War at the same time? Even Claudia did not really believe that rumor. It is exactly because she is a professional of the Magic Swordsmen Guild, and not a mere layman who knows nothing about the sword, that she determined that story to be nonsensical. However, after seeing his strength up close just now, Claudia can no longer deny those rumors. If it is Shadow, then such evident superiority might not be so unbelievable after all... But then that begs the question, why is he here in Outlaw City? Also, why did he help out members of the Magic Swordsmen Guild...? The Guild has declared a bounty on both him and his organization, Shadow Garden. There should be no reason for him to save them. Could it be that he has some reason that drove him to do everything that he did? Could it possibly be that there is something much deeper going on behind the incidents that he was involved in? She should look into it. "Shadow... I will repay you this debt one day..." So Claudia declares in a soft voice towards that back that by now grown much smaller. Kotsu, kotsu, rings his receding footsteps. In the direction where he is heading soars the Red Tower. And above his head shines a crimson moon. 99 The Three Currents "Crimson-sama, the sacrifice has been prepared." "Is that so..." Crimson turns his eyes, which had been looking down upon Outlaw City, up towards the moon hanging in the dark sky. His handsome face is framed by flowing wine-red hair. "The Red Moon... is not yet..." The moon is stained deep red. However, it is not yet enough. The most opportune time is still a little ways off. "How is the suppression of the city coming along?" "The suppression began according to plan. However..." "However?" Crimson turns around to look straight at the subordinate who seems to be struggling for words. The man continues even while visibly unnerved by his gaze. "However... there are certain areas where we are meeting much more resistance than we had expected." "The Magic Swordsmen Guild?" "No, the Guild is not a problem at all. There are three people putting up significant resistance. One of them is Yukime the Enchantress, another is Juggernaut the Tyrant." "Those two..." Crimson scowls while looking back down upon Outlaw City. The ghouls are steadily expanding their influence, but there are three currents trying to stand in their way. Yukime the Enchantress, the monarch who reigns from the White Tower. Juggernaut the Tyrant, who reigns from the Black Tower. These two have always been a pain in his side. He doesn''t want to admit it, but in terms of personal fighting strength, Crimson himself is a notch below the two of them. However, that is only until today. The Red Moon has begun. The moment his queen is revived, even those two will sink within the sea of blood. "Kukuku... let them be. They won''t reach here anyways. The moment our Queen of Blood is revived shall be the moment of our victory..." While smirking, Crimson walks towards the coffin sitting in the center of the room. "Our beloved queen... very soon, the world shall be ours once again..." He gently strokes the coffin, before suddenly coming to a start. "Wait, you said there are three. Who''s the third?" Crimson only knows of two powers that possess the strength to resist their kin when bolstered by the Red Moon. "A-, about that, we actually are not clear yet. However, he has already wiped out a very significant number of ghouls, as well as all the vampires that we sent as reinforcements." "What did you say...?" "Apparently his name is Shadow. It is our assessment that he is the largest threat among all three..." "Shadow..." Crimson knits his brows together while muttering that name. There are three currents flowing towards the Red Tower. First is the frenzied ''Tyrant.'' This man is a hulk of a man with swarthy skin. Swinging around a lump of metal in the shape of a gigantic nata hatchet, he is bisecting ghouls with brute strength. Not a single person can approach him, as they would be reduced to minced meat the moment they do so. Another is the dancing ''Enchantress.'' Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. She is a foxkin with silver hair and bewitching beauty. Her unusual nine tails glimmers under the moonlight. She appears to be dancing with a pair of metal-ribbed fans while slicing ghouls to pieces. The moment their eyes are stolen by the flash of luscious skin under her kimono is their last, right before they are sent off to a trip that they will never again wake from. After massacring large numbers of ghouls, these two currents happen to intersect. "Drop dead, you whore!" "What a truly troublesome man you are as always." Tyrant''s giant nata is skillfully parried by Enchantress. The giant nata slams into the ground, raising a cloud of dust. "It''s been a while, Enchantress." Juggernaut the Tyrant sneers with a fiendish face. "I didn''t want to have to see your face again." Yukime the Enchantress sighs disgustedly. "As an aside to finishing off those blood-sucking bats, how about you die too?" Juggernaut lightly brandishes his giant nata. "I dislike insistent men..." Yukime brings her metal-ribbed fans up. But the moment right before the two are about to spring into action, the last current joins them. A man wearing a jet-black longcoat silently descends from the night sky. Then the three ghouls that were following him are diced up in an instant. Tyrant is astonished at the man''s bearing. The smoothness of his movements, that instantaneous power, and that overwhelming strength hidden underneath the surface. It is at a level where even Tyrant has no choice but to give his acknowledgement. Enchantress is in admiration at the man''s swordsmanship. The beauty in his sword, the perfection of his techniques that has been rid of all excess. Despite how long she has lived, it is her first time seeing anything like it. That which can even be called a sword dance at the highest level of art leaves Enchantress sighing deeply in wonder. "You bastard, who are you..." "This gentleman, who might you be..." The two voiced their queries at the same time. The man in jet-black turns around, then flicks his sword to rid it of the blood on its surface. "Mine name is Shadow. I am he who lurks within shadows and hunts shadows..." Thus met the three currents. 100 War of Monsters The three people keep each other in check with their eyes alone. Yukime''s are clear like water, Juggernaut''s are black and shining like those of a bird of prey, and Shadow''s are red and glowing inhumanly. "Shadow...? Where the fuck have I heard that name before." "Rumors of the militant group Shadow Garden from outside. That''s the name of the head of that group." "Ahh, that''s right. So this guy is that rumored Shadow." "I had thought those rumors mere lies, but this gentleman''s strength does seem to lend credit to those rumors." Shadow is being scrutinized by the two, yet shows no sign of being bothered by it. The moment a gust of wind blows, Shadow''s sword rings out, Yukime''s metal-ribbed fan snaps open, and Juggernaut''s giant sword is poised on his shoulder. The wordless face off continues for a while longer. "Are we three having a marriage interview? Or shall we begin a deathmatch?" It is Juggernaut who first breaks the silence. "Then I wish to express my desire to join hands with Shadow-han. What say you, Shadow-han?" (T/N: Yukime speaks in an Osakan accent (as do most female foxy characters in anime, as it''s considered more bewitching), so she uses Chan instead of Csan.) Yukime directs amorous eyes towards Shadow. "I''d stay wary of that shitty vixen if I were you. The moment you let down your guard is the moment she stabs you in the back." Juggernaut laughs through his nose. "How pointless." In spite of this atmosphere, Shadow turns his back towards them without hesitation. "The Red Moon has risen and the Rampage has begun... I do not have the time to mess around with you people." "Hah, someone feels sure of themself." "You sound like you know something. ''Red Moon''... why do I feel like I''ve heard that somewhere before..." "The old hag must be forgetting things due to age. Sucks to be you." "You be quiet. Just as Shadow-han says, fighting among ourselves now is meaningless. Even I am feeling infuriated about my children being attacked by ghouls. Isn''t it the same for you?" "Don''t lump me in with you. Outlaw City doesn''t need three towers. I was merely thinking that it''s high time to get rid of at least one of them." "So we are agreed to focus on the Queen of Blood for now?" "Hah, seeya later then, old hag. Next time I see you, you''re dead." Juggernaut glares at Yukime and Shadow, then leaves. Seeing Juggernaut go off, Yukime calls Shadow back. "Would you wait a moment, kind sir? Shadow-han, I actually know about you. I manage the red-light district in this city, you see." Shadow looks at Yukime with a backward glance. "It seems that several of my girls had been saved by Shadow-han, so we are in your debt. If it pleases you, I would very much like to express my gratitude some day." "I don''t need thanks... I had no intention of saving anyone." "But everyone is truly thankful. You are a humble man, it seems. I''ll always be waiting, so feel free to drop by the White Tower whenever you feel like it..." With that, Yukime gives him a bow. "Well then, until next we meet." Leaving behind a coquettish smile, Yukime heads towards the Red Tower, and Shadow''s figure also melts into the darkness. The Watchdog is waiting for prey at the Red Tower. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Sitting in front of the Red Tower while hugging his emaciated body, he laughs hideously with his face twitching. He who was a mass murderer called by the name of the White Demon... was previously a knight. Serving as the Grand Commander of a certain knight order in a certain country, he once cut the figure of the model knight protecting his country and his people with his white uniform and shining white hair. However, his true identity is a mass murderer roaming the streets of the city at night. He has loved cutting people up ever since he was born. Red blood, screams, and faces distorted with despair. Only by stealing other people''s lives did he feel alive himself. However, a certain day, a colleague discovered his crimes. That instant, he turned into the White Demon. Within one night, the White Demon massacred his entire knight order, then escaped. Along his escape route, he continued killing people, until he finally arrived at Outlaw City. There was nothing and no one that he feared. He believed himself to be at the very top of the food chain. However, that delusion led him to challenge the Red Tower and become shattered. The man feared as the White Devil could not lift even a finger against Crimson. He was single-sidedly toyed with, until he pathetically begged for his life. Thus he became the Watchdog. He was robbed of the freedom to kill people. For the man who lived merely to kill people, that was akin to robbing him of the very reason for his existence. However, the perfect opportunity for him to kill people has finally come. "Hihi..." The Red Moon rose, and a flood of ghouls and vampires vacated the Red Tower. There is no longer anyone left who could find fault with what he does. As long as the Red Moon continues, he is free to kill. And that is why the White Demon is waiting for prey. Not as the Watchdog, but as the White Demon, he is patiently waiting to taste the sheer bliss of killing once again. It is rumored that the Magic Swordsmen Guild are here to subjugate the Queen of Blood. The White Demon is almost praying for someone to reach the Red Tower. Then finally. With violent footsteps, his long-awaited prey has arrived. "Hi... hihi?" The White Demon raises his head in great joy, only to see a hulk of a man with swarthy skin. His entire body is rippling with bulging muscles, and he is carrying a giant nata even longer than his height. The sharp eyes glaring at the White Demon are filled with overwhelming violence. There is no room for doubt, this man is none other than one of the monarchs of Outlaw City, Juggernaut the Tyrant. "You''re in my fucking way. Don''t be." "Hi..." In a split second, the White Demon averts his gaze and steps aside. The White Demon now understands that there are existences much more powerful than himself. The monarchs of Outlaw City and their close aides are people that he must never raise his hand against. That is what he has learned after challenging Crimson. "In my fucking way." Tyrant stands before the door, then destroys it with a single swing of his giant nata. "Hi?!" The White Demon cowers to the side and waits for Tyrant to pass, before looking at the tragically destroyed door. It used to be a sturdy door braced with iron. Even magic swordsmen would not be able to break it easily. The man who was able to break such a door with but a single swing has just entered the Red Tower. The White Demon shudders with fear at imagining what is going to happen from now on. That moment, he hears a sound from behind. Those reserved and gentle footsteps are undoubtedly that of a woman''s. Female flesh is soft and feels great to cut. A fiendish smile comes over the White Demon''s face as he turns around. Before his eyes is a woman so bewitchingly beautiful that she seems to not be someone of this world. She has luscious silver hair and black fox ears. And there are two metal-ribbed fans carried in the obi of her kimono. That''s still fine. But behind her back, there are nine tails waving to and fro indolently. "Hi?!" There is no room for doubt. This woman is none other than one of the monarchs of Outlaw City, Yukime the Enchantress. "Would you kindly make way?" "Hihi!" The White Demon has already stepped aside before being asked to. This is another person that he must never raise his hand against. He shivers in the corner and waits for Enchantress to pass, before looking up at the Red Tower. Is this tower going to be fine, now that both Tyrant and Enchantress have entered? Is a war of monsters about to go down? That moment, he hears a sound from behind. Hearing those kotsu, kotsu footsteps, the White Demon sneers. Both Tyrant and Enchantress have come. There is no existence in this city that stands above them. As expected, before his eyes is an unfamiliar man in a black coat. He has on a jet-black longcoat, his hood is pulled forward deeply, and his face is hidden behind a mask. However, this man''s strength cannot be read from his bearing. When someone reaches the level of the White Demon, they would be able to generally read their opponent''s strength even before the fighting starts. However, not a hint of strength can be read from this longcoat man. But how much can he amount to in comparison to Tyrant and Enchantress? "... Hihi!!" The instant the man in black enters within striking distance, the White Demon slices with his sword. He''s dead. The next moment after thinking that, the White Demon finds himself looking up at the night sky. "Hi...?" As he looks around in sheer confusion, he sees the lower half of his body still standing. His lower body has been separated from his upper body. It crumples to the ground while spurting copious amounts of blood. With that, the White Demon finally realizes that he has been bisected. "Hi... Hi..." Just as he expected the man in black who had bisected him to enter the Red Tower, he instead plants a foot on the wall of the tower, then runs up it perpendicularly. "Hi?!" The White Demon doubts his dimming eyes even while losing blood. However, that was not the end of it. The man in black suddenly stops halfway up the tower, punches a gigantic hole in the wall, then goes inside from there. What sheer absurdity. The White Demon understands that he had raised his hand against a living creature that he should never have raised his hand against. "Hi... hi..." The very last instant before his life leaves him, he thinks, "Wait, isn''t that area where the treasure room is?" 101 The Rumored Shadow Garden Hearing gan, gan, gan, the sound of something being struck, Beta looks up from the book that she is reading. Quickly panning around the spacious archive room, she notices a certain part of the wall vibrating in concert with the sounds. Is someone pounding on the wall from the other side? The instant she thinks that, the wall suddenly collapses, and two female figures appear from within the cloud of dust. "OUCH!" "aU..." The black-haired teenage girl has planted her face into the ground, while the red-haired woman is leaning out above her. "Owww. This wall is apparently much more brittle than it looks." Beta recognizes the face of the black-haired girl who is looking up while rubbing her nose. She is Claire Kagenou, the elder sister of Beta''s own master. "That''s why I told you to do it more carefully..." So says the red-haired woman with an expressionless face. "If we take our sweet time then we won''t make it! Milia, would you mind getting off already?" "Ah, sorry about that, Claire." The red-haired woman gets off of Claire''s back, then the two stand up and pat the dust from each other''s clothing. "So, where are we now anyways?" "The underground area of the Red Tower, I believe..." "This is the underground archive of the Red Tower." It is Beta who offers an answer to clear the two''s confusion. That causes the two to finally notice Beta sitting in her chair. "... It seems we''ve already been spotted." "That''s why I told you to do it more carefully..." "Alright, I''m sorry. But from the look of things, we would have been spotted regardless." The two draw their swords at the same time, facing off against Beta who is still seated in her chair. Beta heaves a sigh then closes her book. "Even I did not imagine that someone would come in through the wall. I''m supposed to finish off any and all witnesses, but..." Beta shoots Claire a quick glance. "That seems impossible in this case. You lot, stay." So Beta covertly sends out a command. However, there seems to be only the three of them in this room. "I have no intention of fighting. So would you kindly put your sword away, Claire-san?" "...! You know me?" "You are the latest champion of the Festival of the God of War, Claire Kagenou-san. Am I correct?" "So I have become quite famous, it seems. Very well, state your affiliation and aim. Once I know you''re not an enemy, then I''ll draw back." "Claire!" "We have no time to engage in meaningless fights, right? She doesn''t look like someone related to the Queen of Blood. And also... she would make for a pretty difficult opponent." So says Claire with sharp eyes. Beta is just nonchalantly sitting in a chair, but the atmosphere around her is one that does not seem easy to cut in. "So it would seem." With her black bodysuit and mask, she truly does not look like someone related to the Queen of Blood. If anything, she seems much like an intruder like Claire themselves. "My affiliation and aim, huh... Let me just say that I''m also an intruder of the Red Tower, same as you two." "More details." "It might get a bit long." "Be detailed and brief." "What a tall order." Beta shrugs her shoulders. "I am Beta of Shadow Garden. I have some business here in the Red Tower, so here I am." "Heeh. Why is the rumored Shadow Garden in this place?" "Hmm... I wonder how much can I tell you. Even I have things that I can reveal and things that I can''t. Let me see... for a certain reason, we are conducting research into demon possession, for which we want a sample of a progenitor''s blood." "Demon possession...?!" "Why would you need a progenitor''s blood for that..." Claire reacted to ''demon possession,'' while Milia reacted to ''progenitor''s blood.'' "The blood of demon possession and the blood of a progenitor both have the same origin, and the inheritance of blood led to expression of differing symptoms. Or at least, that is the hypothesis that we have come upon in our research." "That is sacrilege towards progenitors..." Milia''s eyes turn sharp, and her grip on her sword strengthens. "As I said, it is but a hypothesis. We have no intention of profaning progenitors. However, for the sake of verification, we need a sample of a progenitor''s blood. May I ask why you seem insulted anyways? Ancient Vampire Hunter-san?" "?! So you know about me as well..." "I''ve heard the rumors, at least." "I see... well, if you don''t intend to get in our way, then do as you like." "I sure will." Milia sheathes her sword while still glaring at Beta, in response to which Beta merely shrugs her shoulders and re-opens the book that she was in the middle of reading. "As expected of the archives of a vampire that has lived for over a thousand years. It is packed with precious documents and reference materials. So, Claire-san, are you satisfied as well?" So asks Beta while reading her book. Claire looks between Milia and Beta while seemingly thinking about something. "Tell me just one thing." Claire turns towards Beta with a serious face. "If I can answer you." Feeling that gaze, Beta also looks up. "Is there a way to heal demon possession?" Beta does not answer immediately. She stares fixedly at Claire''s face, seemingly thinking about something. "That... I cannot answer. However, I''ll just say that it is not something that Claire-san needs to worry about." "What is that supposed to mean?" "It means exactly as it sounds." Beta returns to her book and turns a page, as if she no longer has anything else to say. Claire clicks her tongue softly and turns her heels. "Let''s go." However, the moment the two are about to leave the archive, Beta calls out to them. "Wait a moment. Claire-san, can you tell me the reason why you have joined hands with Ancient Vampire Hunter and stormed this Red Tower?" "Why do you want to know?" "Just curious, that''s all." Claire scowls. "My younger brother Sid was kidnapped by the Queen of Blood. If I don''t save him soon, he''ll be offered as sacrifice to the Queen of Blood." "Your younger brother..." Beta tilts her head. "IS THAT TRUE?!" Abruptly a fourth voice rings out in this room where it seemed only the three of them were present. When the three direct their eyes towards where the new voice had come from, they see a woman standing there who had been unnoticed so far. She is also wearing a black bodysuit and a mask that covers her face. "666, control yourself." "But... I apologize..." 666 visibly suppresses a desire to bolt off immediately and steps back with head hanged. "You satisfied? We''re leaving then." Claire places a hand on the door to the archive. "One last thing. Is it really no longer an option for her to once again tread on a path towards a land of peace...?" "What does that mean?" Claire turns around. However, Beta is not looking at Claire. Beta is staring fixedly at Milia. "Ah, wait." Milia turns her face away, then wordlessly pushes the door open and exits the archive. Claire follows after her in a hurry. Within the archive that has gone silent, only the sound of flipping pages continues for a while. "666, that was disgraceful..." So says Beta suddenly while reading her book. "I am deeply sorry..." 666 lowers her head. "Lambda has acknowledged your strength. Even Alpha-sama has expectations of you. This is a demerit. You two should have also properly kept her in check." "My apologies." "I''m very sorry." Two more girls have materialized beside 666. "This is 666''s first mission out in the field. 664, as the squad leader, this is your responsibility." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Yes, ma''am..." "Be more careful from here on. I will re-confirm. Our mission is a request from the Research Room to retrieve a sample of progenitor blood. However, Shadow-sama said that he would deal with the Queen of Blood personally, so we cannot arbitrarily move about on our own. So, until Shadow-sama arrives, we will be examining the materials in this archive and collecting important documents. You all may now return to your duties." "Yes, ma''am." Having received their instructions, the three quickly return to what they were doing before. 666 turns around to look at Beta just once. Within her memories, there is a certain author who bears great resemblance to Beta. 102 Two Lasses Just as Milia had predicted, the Red Tower has indeed been almost emptied of vampires and ghouls. However, they are not entirely absent, so Milia and Claire are encountering the occasional attacks. Claire''s sword flashes, and a vampire''s head flies off. However, the vampire is still moving. "Pierce the heart!" Obediently listening to Milia''s instructions, Claire stabs her sword through the headless vampire''s heart. Immediately, cracks begin running throughout the vampire''s body, starting from the heart area. Red light shines out from between the cracks, then the entire body crumbles into ash. Behind Claire''s back, Milia is finishing off the very last one. Being able to come this far without suffering even a single wound from the fights against vampires is, in large, due to Milia''s help. Despite not having as much magic as Claire, Milia more than makes up for it with her skill with the sword. And above all else, she is extremely familiar with fighting against vampires. Many vampires fight by relying solely on their superior physical abilities, but there is the occasional one that is able to use their mind to some degree. Coupled with their inhuman movements and astonishing regenerative powers, they can make for very difficult opponents indeed. However, Milia is able to read their next moves as if she has thoroughly mastered fighting against vampires, moving quickly and accurately exactly as needed. Claire now fully understands that Milia''s aid is a definite must in order to save her younger brother. But still, even soClaire cannot help but to inquire. "Are you hiding something from me?" So Claire asks as Milia looks down at the last pile of ash with somewhat sorrowful eyes. "What do you mean..." Milia turns around with an expressionless face. "You were acting a bit strange back there at the archive. It almost felt as if you were sympathetic towards the vampires. Isn''t it your goal to kill the Queen of Blood?" "Yes, I will kill her." "Is that so. Then let me ask this: why are you so knowledgeable about vampires? Anyone can tell just by watching you fight. Undoubtedly, you know about vampires, much more so than any other person." "That''s because I live solely for the purpose of killing the Queen of Blood..." "And I''m saying that it''s unnatural if that''s all there is to it. Alright, then what''s the meaning behind those final words at the archive? Land of peace? Path for ''her'' to tread?" Claire''s tone is growing stronger with each successive question. However, Milia offers no answers. "I won''t get it if you just stay silent." "You are the same though." "What?" "You also have something that you''re hiding. Why are you so obsessed with demon possession?" "That''s..." "It''s common sense that there''s no way to heal demon possession. Everyone who contracts it dies." "... So it seems." Claire bites her lip. "Everyone has things they want to keep secret. Am I right?" "... Alright, then. We won''t pry into each other then. I''ll just help you with killing the Queen of Blood, and you''ll just help me with saving my younger brother. That will be the terms of our relationship." "That''s fine..." The two turn to continue climbing up the tower without looking at each other again. "Hold on." After a while, Milia, who is in front, suddenly stops. "What''s the matter?" "Someone''s fighting up ahead." The two make their way over while treading silently. It seems that the fighting is happening on the other side of a door directly in their way. There is no other passage to take. "We''ve no choice but to go in..." "Let''s open it a sliver and peek inside." Milia nods at Claire''s words, then peeks through from a thin crack. The other side turns out to be a spacious hall. A huge opening reveals the red moon still hanging prominently in the sky. Within is a swarthy man clutching the neck of a vampire and laughing in ridicule. "You''re so weak..." The giant nata that the man is carrying is stained with blood, and all around him are chunks of flesh and piles of ash. "You''re an officer, aren''t you? I seem to remember your face. Where is Crimson?" So asks the swarthy man while tightening his grip on the vampire''s neck. "B-, beats me..." "So you don''t intend to tell me." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "There''s no need to tell you..." The instant the vampire says that, he changes into a red mist. It is the Mistify skill that only high class vampires can use. "Oh?" The swarthy man''s hand is now holding nothing, while the red mist gathers behind him. The vampire''s arm materializes from there, his sharp claws quickly closing in on the swarthy man. However, the swarthy man does not even look backwards. "I have really good intuition..." The man simply swings his giant nata casually. The incredible wind pressure reaches even the door, causing Milia and Claire to hurriedly close the door back. When they look inside once again, they see parts of the vampire tragically lying around like pieces of minced meat. The pieces quickly turn into ash. "What is with that guy?" Going by appearance, he is not a vampire. However, neither does he look like an ally. "He is one of the monarchs of Outlaw City, Juggernaut the Tyrant. We would do best not to engage him in battle. The vampire that he just killed is the third most skilled officer from the Queen of Blood''s faction." "That was their third..." The contrast to Tyrant was so overwhelming that the vampire did not look like it at all. "Let''s hide and just wait for him to leave..." Claire nods at Milia''s suggestion. However, Tyrant''s voice rings out from the other side of the door. "I said I have good intuition... I know you''re there." "!?" Immediately afterwards, the door is pulverized. A gigantic nata suddenly appears through the door in a horizontal mowing attack. The two of them drop to the ground in evasion. Above their heads, the sound of violence roars past. "Two lasses, huh." Beyond the broken door, Tyrant looks down on the two of them. "This is the worst." "Guess we have no choice but to do it." The two of them draw their swords, as which Tyrant just sneers. "You two don''t look like vampires, but... you''re going to die here regardless." Then his giant nata is swung down. 103 What are you doi-?! The two leap to either side of the giant nata in evasion. The giant nata slams into the ground, sending pieces of rubble flying all around. From within the cloud of rubble, Tyrant glares at his two targets with sharp eyes, then settles on the one closer to him Claire. He brazenly steps in, swinging his giant nata with both thick arms. However, Claire is also closely watching Tyrant''s movements. Tyrant has both power and speed. However, his characteristics of his weapon forces him to make big motions. No matter how fast he may be, as long as Claire stays focused, she is able to follow with her eyes. Sure enough, Claire manages to parry one such attack from Tyrant. However, the weight of the attack turns out to be far beyond what she had expected. Her face turns into a grimace, and her follow up attack is delayed by a fraction of a second. That tiny delay was more than enough for Tyrant. "All you fucking swordsmen move the exact same fucking way!" Before Claire had noticed, Tyrant has switched to a one-handed grip. His free arm explodes into Claire''s face. "CLAIRE!!" Milia is about to dash forward in support, but Tyrant nails her down with his eyes. Claire is sent flying and rolls on the ground. But immediately afterwards, she gets right back up like it was nothing. Then she spits out some blood. "Oww~ You gave me a cut inside my mouth..." Claire scowls at Tyrant. Tyrant skillfully raises one eyebrow and laughs. For some reason, there is a shallow cut on his abdomen. "Most fucktards go down with just that one shot, though. You fucker, you''re used to this." "Thanks to a certain failure of a younger brother of mine." Claire bares her blood-stained teeth in a grin. When receiving that punch just now, she had offset the impact and also slashed back at Tyrant at the same time. Claire does a few practice swings as if to confirm the state of her body, then spits out some saliva stained with blood. "A man who only knows violence. You have no finesse nor technique." Claire is putting up a strong front, but the situation is not as favorable as she is making it out to be. The wound inside her mouth is bleeding profusely, and her head is still slightly reeling from the shock of the punch just now. It was a mistake to go for the simultaneous exchange. The amount of damage from one attack is just too different between the two of them. "You''re right, I''ve never learned a single technique. Cus I''ve never fucking needed to!" With that, he lunges at Claire in attack. Tyrant''s strength comes from his naturally high physical prowess, his large magic reserve, and his overwhelming battle sense. His fighting needs no techniques. For him, technique would be but mere shackles. In the face of his brute force swing, Claire once again attempts a parry. However, the shock of the attack ends up flowing into her body. Her footing is unsteady. The damage to her brain has yet to dissipate. "!!" Tyrant is not one who would overlook such an opening. He raises his giant nata high... "I said, I have good instincts..." And swings it powerfully. That attack misses Claire by a large margin, roaring past her with incredible speed. Then a huge amount of blood splashes onto Claire''s face from the side. "... Eh?" Claire is unharmed. However, when she looks over, she sees, she sees Milia with her stomach sliced open. Gobo. She vomits blood, then falls to her knees. "M-, MILIA!!" "All you fucking swordsmen seriously move the exact same fucking way. That one was waiting the entire time for the instant I let down my guard. So I was waiting the entire time for that one to come for me. And that''s pretty much how it went." Tyrant laughs in ridicule with his fiendish face. Claire rushes over in tears towards Milia, whose strength is leaving her. "Milia... Ahh, how can this be..." Milia''s wound is deep enough to reach her organs. It is fatal. Claire places her hands over the wound and pours her magic in, despite knowing the futility of doing so. However, Milia brushes away that hand. "Goho! Blood... goho." Milia is staring fixedly at Claire, seemingly pleading for something desperately even while vomiting blood. "Milia, you shouldn''t move...!" Milia puts more strength into her grip, now almost beggingly. "Claire... I''m sorry... Let me... suck your blood." With that, Milia''s lips rushes for Claire''s. "Mu, mugugu?!" Claire''s eyes fly wide open in shock. Milia sucks frantically at every drop of blood on Claire''s lips. Then her eyes become stained with red. "What are you doi-?!" Claire tears Milia off. However, Milia is no longer there. "Eh?!" "Guh?!" Claire''s cry of surprise and Tyrant''s grunt of pain overlap. When Claire whirls around, she sees Tyrant, with one arm all cut up, looking upwards. "Up...? Eh, Milia?!" Milia is floating in mid-air. Her eyes are shining red, and sharp fangs are protruding from her lips. The wound on her stomach has completely closed up. "So that''s what you are... now this is fun!" Tyrant grins like a carnivore, while Milia smiles sorrowfully. Then Tyrant''s giant nata and Milia''s sword collide. The two''s strength prove equal. No, Tyrant is still slightly on top. "Not bad...!" "?!" Both of them glare at each other amidst a shower of sparks. However, the next instant a silly voice breaks the equilibrium. "Ei!" With that cry, Claire chucks her own sword. "Wai-, hol-?!" The sword flies straight towards Tyrant, causing him to dodge. The sudden movement breaks his balance. No longer able to properly receive Milia''s strength, he is sent crashing into the far wall. Unfortunately for him, the other side of that wall... is the outside. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. There is nothing below his feet. So he begins to freefall. "NOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo..." His voice dwindles as he grows further. The only ones left are Claire and Milia. Claire goes to pick up her sword, while Milia looks on slightly guiltily. Claire sheathes her sword, then the two look at each other awkwardly. "Milia... are you alright?" So asks Claire in a hesitant voice. "I''m fine, but... I''m sorry, Claire." "I mean, well, um, it''s fine, but... so, the thing that Milia was hiding..." "Yes, I am a vampire..." "I see..." "I''ll tell you everything. Who I am, what my real goal is. And also the truth behind the Queen of Blood..." With that, Milia begins talking with sorrow in her eyes. 104 Donst You Dare Steal My Role, Girl Milia used to be a subordinate of Elizabeth the Queen of Blood. It was back when vampires still reigned over the night of the world. Even back then, Elizabeth was one of the strongest among progenitors. Vampires hunted and fed on humans like it was a game. To many of them, humans were no more than mere livestock, to the degree where there were even countries ruled by vampires. It was the golden age for vampires. However, within such an era, Elizabeth was the only one who disapproved of feeding on humans more than necessary. She hunted only enough to sustain herself, and did not indiscriminately take lives. There were many vampires very vocally opposed to her way of life. Thus, despite her great strength, she only had very few subordinates. But then the times turned, and it became the age of darkness for vampires. It was a nightmarish age where humans hunted vampires. The fall of the first vampire monarchy triggered an explosion of revolts, causing the population of vampires to plunge in the blink of an eye. At that time, Elizabeth was serving as feudal lord over a border domain within a small kingdom, helping to protect that border and country. She and her subordinates joined hands with the humans living there in farming, in hunting demon monsters, and in managing the land. Within her territory, vampires did not look down on humans, and humans did not fear vampires. The reason why they were able to build and maintain that relationship was because the vampires there had sworn off human blood. Vampires cannot live without feeding on human blood. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. That claim which was thought to be common sense was proven wrong by Elizabeth personally. The feeding compulsion that progenitors feel is severals tens of times stronger than what normal vampires feel. The pain she bore was surely unimaginable. However, she managed to keep at it, constantly suffering pain akin to her arm being gnawed through. And her subordinates also followed suit. These vampires who stopped feeding on blood gradually lost their powers, until their strength was reduced to that of normal humans. However, in exchange, they gained something. That something was the ability to live under sunlight. The vampires who stopped feeding on blood became capable of living in the same world of sunlight and beauty as humans. Furthermore, they also gained a heart of peace. By abstaining from blood and living under the sun, their feeding compulsion gradually thinned out. They became able to adopt the same mentality as humans. But among them, Elizabeth, as a progenitor, was the only one who remained powerful. Her skin would still be burned when exposed to sunlight, forcing her to always carry a black parasol when going out. It wasn''t so bad that she would turn into ash, but it was not uncommon for progenitors to have a certain degree of resistance against sunlight. But most importantly, no matter how long she abstained from blood, her almost maddening feeding compulsion never abated. But even within that agony, she went about everyday like everyone else, parasol in hand. One day, she gathered her subordinates and said to them, "Let us build a land of peace here. A land where humans and vampires can live together in happiness, without fear of discrimination or condemnation..." With that, she began accepting vampire refugees from outside and bringing them under her protection. Of course, that was with the condition of abstaining from blood. Among them were those who scorned and opposed her. In all such cases, she would sadly but firmly expel them from her territory. If they refused to comply, she would end them with her own hand. Before long, almost all surviving vampires came to seek refuge under her from the humans who were chasing them. Their population started to bounce back, humans and vampires co-existed, and their land prospered. Due to the combined influence of her own strength and the parent country''s support, even vampire hunters stopped appearing in her territory. Right there, right then, the ''Land of Peace'' that she had been seeking truly existed. She prayed fervently for everyone there to live in happiness. However, the Land of Peace crumbled in a single night. It was the night of a Red Moon. She had locked herself in her castle to concentrate on resisting the feeding compulsion that was growing day by day. At the time, Milia was her top aide, and Crimson was the second. The two of them took turns bringing food to Elizabeth''s room. And the incident occured when it was Crimson''s turn. He had mixed human blood into her food. The usual Elizabeth might very well have noticed it before eating. Even if she did eat some of it, she might very well have been able to suppress the compulsion. However, it was during a Red Moon. Unable to suppress the rebound from ingesting blood after such a long period of abstinence, she went on a rampage. Then the vampires under Crimson also raised the flag of revolt. Vampires who could not see humans as anything besides livestock could not bear living together with said humans. Elizabeth''s dream... the Land of Peace was revealed to be but an illusion. It took only several hours for the rampaging Elizabeth and those under Crimson to devour every single human in the territory. Her own followers, who had abstained from blood, were powerless and thus massacred along with the humans. With the sole exception of Milia. In order to stop Elizabeth, she chose to suck the blood from a dead corpse, crying the entire time. Then she chased after Elizabeth, who had already left the territory by the time. Elizabeth and the others'' momentum was unstoppable. Within the very same day, they obliterated the small country that she had been protecting, tearing the kind-hearted king into shreds. Milia did not make it time. All she could do was wail beside the corpses of the king and queen consort and beg for their forgiveness. Thus Elizabeth''s rampage continued for three whole days, during which three more countries suffered damage beyond the point of recovery. It was only on the night after everything was over that Milia was able to catch up with Elizabeth. Elizabeth was crying while gazing at the countries that she had destroyed. "So that this mistake would never be repeated, so that I would never be revived, please scatter my ashes in the sea..." After leaving behind those words, she impaled her own heart with a sword. With that, she was supposed to have turned to ash. However, she did not. The sword had missed her vitals by the tiniest bit. She stopped breathing, and her heart stopped beating. It was exactly as if she was dead. Yet, she still lived. The moment human blood touches her lips, life would surely be breathed into her once more. On the other hand, by just pushing the sword a tiny bit in the right direction, she would surely turn to ash. Milia could not bring herself to do either. Unable to disobey her master''s will, yet also unable to kill her master with her own hands. So she hid her master in a coffin so that she may sleep for eternity, and swore to stand guard for that same eternity. "It was a foolish decision. Having abstained from blood, I did not have the strength to uphold my oath. Crimson managed to wrest Elizabeth-sama away, and is now trying to use her again. I must make up for the mistake I made a thousand years ago. If Elizabeth-sama is made to rampage again, I wouldn''t know how I can ever apologize to her..." Milia smiles sorrowfully. "This is everything about me. I''m sorry for keeping it a secret from you..." "It''s fine, I am the same. My secret is that I might have demon possession. Long ago, a black bruise suddenly appeared on my back, and it grew larger and larger. But one day, it rapidly began to shrink, until it disappeared completely like it was a bad dream. If that was truly demon possession, then I will eventually... That''s why, before I leave for good, I forced my younger brother to accompany me here, so that he can earn the qualification to join a knight order. But he got kidnapped the moment I took my eyes off him... If anything actually happens to Sid, I wouldn''t know how I can ever apologize to him either..." "So that''s what it was..." The two share the silence for a while. "Um... I don''t think the Land of Peace was an illusion. There is also no guarantee that a mistake would be repeated just because it happened once. How about trying to talk with Elizabeth one more time?" But Milia shakes her head. "I no longer wish to disobey my master''s command." "Then I''ll do it. I just have to abduct her and wait for the end of the Red Moon. Then she won''t rampage, right?" "Likely so, yes..." "Then after the Red Moon is over, I''ll wake her up with my blood. Then I''ll have a talk with her. Surely something would change from that. And it''ll all be done by me arbitrarily, so you won''t be implicated." "But... I don''t want Elizabeth-sama to suffer anymore sadness..." Milia.ia is looking down while considering. Surely various conflicts are clashing inside her mind. "Just once more. Just one last talk. It''s too tragic for things to end this way. For Milia, for Elizabeth, and also for everyone who died..." Claire peers into Milia''s eyes and smiles. There is hesitation in Milia''s eyes. Even she herself does not want things to end this way. But it''s terrifying. The possibility for the same mistake from before to be repeated is terrifying. The possibility of making Elizabeth go through even more sadness is terrifying. "The Land of Peace that you two strove for was no illusion. That is what I believe. So let''s give this an ending where everyone is laughing together." "I''m sorry... I will impose on you then." Milia raises her face and nods. "Don''t worry about it. As I said, it''ll just be something I''m doing on my own accord." "Also... I apologize for saying mean things to you earlier, about how demon possession can never be healed. There''s a secret village of vampires founded by some old friends of mine. I''ll help you ask them if they know anything." "It didn''t bother me at all. And thanks. So then, let''s sock Crimon a punch and kidnap the sleeping queen." "Un. We will also definitely save Claire''s younger brother." "I''ll be the one to save Sid. Don''t you dare steal my role." "Ah, un..." "But do support me in my beautiful and gallant rescue drama." "... You got it." Then the two resume climbing up the tower. 105 The Man Who Was Too Early There''s the treasure room of a progenitor vampire for you. It''s so literally buried in treasure that I am quivering with sheer emotion. But when I sift through the piles, going ''ooh this is good,'' ''ooh this is also good,'' I realize that I am extremely limited in what I can bring back. I basically have zero ability to fence off works of art, so those I will have to pass. Unfortunately, the majority of what''s here falls under that category. Next is jewels and precious metals. Small pieces are fine, but bigger ones are bulky. And I can''t fence those either. Thus, my target has been narrowed to a single option. The one that is surest and most efficient at adding to my own funds, the one that I most need to grab DD is gold coins. One piece the size of a 500 coin is worth 100k Zeny. What''s more, I can use it as is. It is the option that boasts overwhelming efficiency and reliability in comparison to all others. What a downer of a fact to be enlightened to while looking at all this treasure up close. "Well, that''s reality for you, I suppose..." I mutter under my breath as if to say farewell to the massive variety of treasure before me. Then I apply myself to the task of gathering gold coins. Naturally, I''ve already given thought to how I will carry it all. Drawing reference from the forefront authority on slime bodysuits, Epsilon, I have decided to stuff the gold coins into my bodysuit. Just as Epsilon stuffs hers with slimes, I shall stuff mine with gold coins. Within my bodysuit, my longcoat, and even my hood, I line all available space with gold coins, leaving no patch uncovered. Nah, that''s a lie. I do still have the presence of mind to keep the joint areas unlined. Even so, the final amount that I am able to stuff is slightly above 1,000 pieces. A thousand pieces of gold coins, which calculates to 100 million Zeny. I don''t think my math is mistaken. I intend to live for 300 years, so it''s far from enough. However, stuffing anymore would introduce unavoidable risk. My magic is sufficient to offset the weight of a thousand gold coins, but it''s just hard to move comfortably. Any more than this, my movements would become all stiff Also, a thousand gold coins is still not that conspicuous appearance-wise. But if I go for, say, 2,000, then that would be quite obvious indeed. "It''d be fine if I''m simply carrying them, but..." The boss battle with the Queen of Blood still lies ahead of me. Apparently the Queen of Blood is a progenitor vampire. She''ll definitely be strong, no doubt about it. A vampire who is a progenitor, now that''s got to be strong for sure. Thus, this time''s battle plan has already been decided. Up to now, I''ve always gone with appearing last. But this time, the opponent is one with a title like ''progenitor vampire,'' so I''ve decided to be the one who appears first. Then in the middle of my fight with the progenitor vampire, the protagonist can appear and go "What is with this terrifyingly high level battle?! I can''t follow along at all!!" in shock. That is the best way for this time to play out. And so, by necessity, I need to be the first to find the Queen of Blood. The more I dally, the higher the possibility someone else beats me to it. For now, I place the gold coins by the door of the treasure room. "Let''s come get it afterwards." So that it would be quick and easy to retreive when the event ends, or in case anything unexpected occurs. After uttering a short prayer that I would be able to safely retrieve it, I rush to the top of the tower with the full speed dash that I haven''t done for quite a while. Being early is always better than being late. "Finally this moment has arrived..." So murmurs Crimson with a crazed smile on his face. The sacrifice has been prepared, and the moon is stained deep crimson. The moment to revive Elizabeth the Queen of Blood has arrived. Crimson places a hand on the large coffin enshrined in the middle of the room, then slowly pushes its lid off. With that, the inside of the coffin is revealed. However, the only thing there is a black, dried-up mass. The figure of Elizabeth the Queen of Blood is nowhere to be seen. Crimson carefully cups the black mass in his hands and lifts it up reverently. "It has been too long, oh my Queen of Blood... The preparations to steep the world in blood are all in order..." A closer look would reveal the black mass to be an organ. It is a dried-up heart. After the passage of a thousand years, all that is left is the heart of a progenitor. However, as long as the heart is intact, revival is possible. That is just how progenitors are. Crimson closes the lid of the coffin, then brings the heart towards the black-haired man lying on the floor who is to be the sacrifice. The sacrifice''s heart has already been gouged out in advance by Crimson. It is into that gaping hole that Crimson inserts the heart of the Queen of Blood. The flesh and blood are both fresh. With this, the most powerful progenitor vampire in all history, the Queen of Blood, will revive in all her glory to plunge the world into terror once more. "Kukukukuku..." The revival process will need a bit more time. In that time, Crimson must get away from this place. Immediately after reviving, the Queen of Blood will be starved for blood and thus will indiscriminately attack even vampires. Until she calms down, even Crimson would not be safe around her. Walking quickly, Crimson opens the door and steps out. But after a few steps, he stops abruptly. "Wh-, who are you..." There was no presence in the hallway outside the room. At the very least, there was no one there when he opened the door. However, all of a sudden, he notices a man in a jet-black longcoat. On full guard against this unfamiliar man, Crimson extends his claws and readies himself for battle. "Begone from this place! Lest you diDD buhyu?!" Crimson''s body splits in two. From the crown of his head to his crotch, in one stroke. It was so fast that Crimson could not see it at all. However, Crimson is a high class vampire. Mere bisection is something that he can easily recover from. "Identify yourself, you fiend! How dare you use such a lowly blade toDD bihyah?!" Even as he is speaking, his head is lopped off. "H-, how dare you!! Do you actually think you stand a chDD pugero?!" Both his arms are sent flying. "You fool! Under the Red Moon, we vampires are thDD pigyah?!" Both his legs are lopped off, then diced up for good measure. Then his torso is carved up into slices. "Wh-, what?! My regeneration can''t keeDD bufuoh?!" The part that regenerated just now is summarily cut off and diced. "W-, wait! Wait a second!! W-, we can talk about thDD guhyah?!" Then he is decapitated once more, this time with the head properly diced up. And lastly, one final stab into the only part left DD his heart. Crimson turns to ash. The man in a jet-black longcoat indifferently proceeds into the room, stopping before the large coffin. "Mine name is Shadow. He who lurks in shadows, he who hunts shadows..." Then he waits a while. He waits. He waits... "Oh Queen of Blood, I know you are there..." Then he waits. He waits...!! "... You are there, right? I don''t feel a presence, but that''s just because you''re concealing it, right?" Then Shadow finally opens the coffin and peeks inside. It is empty. "Eh? Seriously? This plot development?" He looks around the room, and notices the corpse of a black-haired young man lying at the side with a hole in his chest. "Don''t tell me you''re the Queen? Wait, no, that can''t be. You''re a guy, and you''re dead too..." Then he tilts his head and looks toward the pile of ash at the door. "Was that one the Queen? I do remember red hair... but come on, he was a guy, that can''t be right. But he did have the air of a boss... eh, but he was a bit too weak to be one..." He mulls for a while. "To think that I would get the rare case of the Queen being absent... so she either never existed in the first place, she has already been killed, or she has stepped out for a bit... Guess I''ll just go retrieve the gold coins first and search around afterwards..." Then he turns his heels and leaves the room. "Haa... could it be that I was too late... I did rush like heck though... seriously, man..." So murmuring, his figure disappears. The Red Moon illuminates the empty room with a fantastical light. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Abruptly, the sacrifice''s body jerks. Then dokun, dokun. The heart planted inside the sacrifice begins beating. 106 What Do YOU Understand About This Pain?! Blood Pressure Milia and Claire reach the top of the Red Tower and push the door open. "SID!" Spotting the corpse of a black-haired young man lying on the ground with blood flowing from his chest, Claire dashes over. Then she embraces him without a second look. Tears burst from her reddened eyes. "This can''t be! I''m begging you, open your eyes!! Sid!? Sid? ... Nn?" Claire suddenly calms down and takes one good look at the corpse. Her tears stop. "This isn''t Sid." "Eh? He''s not?" "Where''s Sid? Is he safe?" Claire looks around restlessly. That moment, Milia screams out. "DDCLAIRE!!" "... Eh?" It happened much too fast. When Claire looks down, she suddenly realizes that the young man''s arm is protruding from her abdomen. Blood bubbles out from Claire''s mouth. "Goho...what... is this... Sid..." "CLAIRE!!" Claire crumples to the ground. Then the young man who has blood flowing out from his chest moves. There was no mistake; he had indeed been dead. However, right now he is getting up on his own two feet, and red tentacle-like protuberances are coming out from his chest. The tentacles squirm revoltingly while extending to envelope his entire body. "Ahh... this can''t be... don''t tell me..." Milia recognizes that presence. The red tentacles eventually envelope his body in its entirety, then bursts away. And then. From within the dancing sprays of blood, a beautiful, naked woman appears. Crimson hair and similarly colored eyes. Pure white skin and perfect proportions for a female body. That figure matches exactly with the memory of Elizabeth the Queen of Blood within Milia''s mind. Elizabeth clutches Claire, who still has a hole in her abdomen, and bites into her neck. "u, aa..." Sound falls from Claire''s mouth. She appears to be unconscious, but she is still alive. However, Milia can do nothing but watch Claire being drained of blood. Because Milia understands. It is carved into her very instinct. She understands that before the revived Elizabeth, anything she does would be a mere exercise in futility. "Claire... aa..." Then the Claire who has turned deathly pale from loss of blood is casually tossed aside. Elizabeth''s beautiful eyes settle on Milia. Those eyes are not registering Milia as anything other than food. "a... Elizabeth-sama..." Milia backs away while quivering. Her master has been revived. There exists no method to stop Elizabeth, the greatest progenitor who ever lived. This time, too, she did not make it in time. The tragedy from a thousand years ago is going to be repeated. Tears well up in Milia''s eyes. But the sorrow in her eyes is overwritten by astonishment the next instant. The black figure who suddenly appeared crashes into Elizabeth. Elizabeth''s red claws are met by a jet-black blade. It is the woman in a jet-black bodysuit that Milia had met down in the archive Beta. "Secure her!!" In response to her shout, three more black figures appear and extract Claire. Beta receives one more swing from Elizabeth''s claws with her jet-black blade, then jumps back to take her distance. "665, status?" "Still breathing. But in need of immediate medical attention." "Noted. But... I don''t think she''ll let us go just like this." In the direction of Beta''s gaze, a naked woman is walking forward. "You all, support me." ""Yes, ma''am."" "The Vampire Hunter-san over there, we''ll be leaving Clare in your care for a while." "a... Claire..." Milia accepts Claire''s body from 665 and embraces it. "You can''t, wait..." Right before Beta is about to engage with Elizabeth, Milia calls her back. She must be warned. "It''s impossible... Elizabeth-sama is, no one can win against her..." Beta''s cat-like eyes gaze back at Milia from behind her mask. "I wonder about that..." Then she brings her jet-black blade up in readiness, and faces off against Elizabeth. How did things turn out like this. Beta fiercely laments her failure while facing off against Elizabeth the Queen of Blood. The very fact of having allowed her master''s sister to be on the verge of death cannot be called anything else other than a failure. Her master still has yet to make his appearance. That surely means that there is currently something else that he must prioritize, and that he has entrusted this place to her. However, Beta had realized it too late. And that has led to the worst outcome possible. If her master''s sister loses her life, then Beta would never be able to face her master again. "Against the Queen of Blood, how far can I go..." But despite her mutter, there is nothing but killing intent in her eyes. There is only one way to redeem herself. The opponent is powerful, but she must do it. Beta imbues her jet-black sword with magic with incredible force. Then she taps the floor with her toes twice in signal. Her three subordinates disperse. Ready to move at any instant. Beta sizes up the Queen of Blood, waiting for the right timing. The Queen of Blood approaches at a slow walk. Her completely bared body that has on not even a thread is stained by the light of the Red Moon. With unreadable eyes that seem somewhat sleepy, she sizes up Beta and the rest. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Then she enters striking distance. "Shi!!" The flash from Beta turns into the start signal. That breathtakingly beautiful and fast jet-black blade is stopped by the Queen of Blood''s outstretched right claw. At the same time, her left claw sweeps forward in counterattack. However, she is attacked from behind by 666. She has no choice but to redirect her left claw towards her back in defense. But that very instant, 664 and 665''s attacks are already homing in, and Beta has already shifted into a follow up attack. The Queen of Blood gazes at the three blades bearing down upon her with somewhat sleepy-looking eyes then opts to only protect her heart. The beautiful body of the Queen of Blood is gouged by three blades. "I-, it doesn''t come out!?" The cry is 664''s. The three blades are stuck, buried in the Queen of Blood''s naked body. The Queen of Blood had received the attacks with her muscles then sealed their movements. "Ku!!" Beta strengthens her entire body, then yanks hers back out forcibly. Unfortunately, 664 and 665 do not have such strength. "Change the shape of your sword!" So Beta barks, but it''s too late. The claws of the Queen of Blood close in on the two of them. Beta leaps into motion. But it is 666 who is faster. Using her beautiful swordsmanship, 666 severs the Queen of Blood''s tendons. The Queen of Blood loses power in her two arms. She regenerates in an instant, but that''s enough time for 664 and 665 to alter the shape of their slime swords and pull them free. Then Beta''s slash tears into the Queen of Blood''s face, 664''s tears into her flank, 665''s tears into the tendons of her leg, then finally 666''s tears into her back and sends her flying. The Queen of Blood''s naked body crashes into the far wall. "Well done, 666." 666 briefly lowers her head. The Queen of Blood shows no sign of moving from underneath the debris. Beta and the rest keep their guard up vigilantly while slowly backing off. At the very first glance, Beta had determined the Queen of Blood to be a formidable enemy. She felt with her skin the difference in their very level of existence. Most likely, she would not stand a chance one-on-one. Even when fighting together with her 3 subordinates, it would still be tough. That''s what she had thought. In fact, the Queen of Blood is a formidable enemy, and Beta knows that it''s not over yet. However, the fight is significantly easier than she had expected. The teamwork between the new recruits is much smoother than she had expected. Furthermore, 666''s battle prowess is a head above all the other recruits. 664 calls the shots, 665 offers her knowledge and intelligence, and 666 brings her battle strength to bear. Just as Lambda said, this is indeed a good team. "We might actually win..." So murmurs Beta unconsciously. However. "It''s impossible... you all are indeed strong. However, the power that submerged the world in fear during the Red Moon was not merely on this level... It''s only because Elizabeth-sama has just woken up..." Milia responds to Beta''s murmur from behind. Even while embracing Claire, tears of despair are welling up in Milia''s eyes. "Elizabeth-sama has always... had extremely low blood pressure...!" "Eh?" That instant, the Queen of Blood''s magic surges explosively, sending out an incredible shockwave. 107 Her Duty When she emerges from the rubble, the Queen of Blood is clad in a red dress. No, that''s wrong. What she is clad in is blood in the form of a dress. She is manipulating the blood to act as a dress to cover her nakedness. Above her skin, the dress of blood ripples bewitchingly as if it has a life of its own. The overwhelming pressure emanating from the Queen of Blood causes Beta to grimace underneath her mask. "So this is the Queen of Blood..." A true to life monster. "Beta-sama..." 664 looks at Beta as if awaiting her decision. Beta shakes her head. The possibility of escape is extremely low. And in the first place, abandoning their master''s sister is not an option. There is no choice but to fight. But, that instant. "My, oh my, what a monster... May I join in?" A fox beastkin with nine tails appears. Her silvery white hair flutters as she opens up two metal-ribbed fans. "You are... Yukime the Enchantress..." It is her first time seeing her in person, but Beta knows of the monarchs of Outlaw City. Beta''s and Yukime''s eyes meet, as if they are silently confirming something with each other. "I would be grateful for your aid." (Beta) That was Beta''s decision. "Then join hands we shall." (Yukime) They both turn towards the Queen of Blood. But then an intruder barges in. "Don''t fucking start without me." The window glass is shattered, then a hulking man with tanned skin jumps in. He rests his giant nata on his shoulders and snorts as he directs his gaze towards the Queen of Blood. "So you''re the bigshot here? You sure went and did a number on my city." (Juggernaut) "Where do you think you just came from?" (Yukime) "Where I come from is my freedom, old hag. I will be the one to end this bitch." "Do as you please, then." (Yukime) Beta also knows of him. He is another monarch of Outlaw City, Juggernaut the Tyrant. This moment, all three monarchs of Outlaw City have been gathered. Every single one of them is powerful enough to carve out a portion of the city for themselves. And two of them have joined hands against the Queen of Blood. Beta feels relieved at this fortuitous turn. With this, they might still have a chance at winning. "Eat this!!" It is Juggernaut who rushes forward to claim first blood. He closes the distance with his beast-like movements, then swings down his prided giant nata. The Queen of Blood does not even flinch. "What?!" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. The giant nata tears into the Queen of Blood, but it is Juggernaut who raises his voice in astonishment. Without any resistance, his giant nata passes straight through the Queen of Blood. "Mistify?!" The ability to turn their own body into mist that only high class vampires can use. However, the Queen of Blood had used it without any telltale signs whatsoever. Furthermore, she had applied it only to the areas in the trajectory of the giant nata. "SO ANNOYING!!" Juggernaut unleashes another mowing attack with his giant nata. However, the Queen of Blood once again receives it without moving a muscle. For an instant, her neck blurs, during which the giant nata passes through harmlessly. Then the Queen of Blood gathers blood in her left hand. A frightening amount of magic is also being infused into the growing mass. "That''s a bad one!" "Evade!!" Yukime and Beta both shout out, prompting everyone to take evasive maneuvers. The Queen of Blood tosses the mass into the air, immediately after which it explodes. The clump of blood explodes, sending blood splashing everywhere. But in a split second, the flying drops change shape and turn into a hail of arrowheads. The blood arrowheads staining the space red are packed so densely as to be absolutely unavoidable. "Kuh!!" Beta promptly decides to give up on evasion, instead rushing over to stand in front of Claire. By strengthening the defense to her vital areas with her bodysuit and using her jet-black blade to parry away as many arrowheads as she can, she offers her own body as a shield. Her cheeks are lacerated, and there are arrowheads buried into her arms and thighs. Eventually, the rain of arrowheads stop. Aside from minor scratches, Milia and Claire did not suffer any serious wounds due to the arrowheads. However, the damage that Beta took was quite significant. "Y-, you..." Seeing Beta''s figure, Milia becomes at a loss for words. Her jet-black bodysuit is miserably torn up in countless places, revealing her white skin and red flesh. There are even several arrowheads lodged into her arms and legs. "Not a problem. I protected my vitals." But Beta just calmly brings her sword back up while assessing her surroundings. Unfortunately, not everyone is still as battle-ready as Beta is. 664 is wounded all over, and is bleeding profusely from a deep gash on her abdomen. 665 is similarly wounded all over, and her feet seem to have been done in. 666 also has conspicuous wounds, but appears not to have suffered anything major. Yukime also suffered a few wounds, but nothing serious. As for Juggernaut, the one who had been the closest to the center of the explosion... "That fucking hurts..." He is covered head to foot with blood. There are arrowheads pierced into every part of his body, and the bleeding has stained his tanned skin red. Even so, he is standing on his feet, with his giant nata resting on his shoulder. The chips on his giant nata are also very conspicuous. It seems that he had used his giant nata to protect his vitals. "Shit... what a fucking monster..." (Juggernaut) However, he quickly falls to one knee. "''Red Moon''... I remember now. But to think that the Queen of Blood is the infamous progenitor vampire from the legends...!" (Yukime) Yukime is gazing at the Queen of Blood with shock. "What''s that?" (Juggernaut) "From long in the past... there is a legend of a vampire who destroyed several countries within a mere three days." (Yukime) "Entire countries... in three days... ?" (Juggernaut) Juggernaut grimaces while turning to look up at the Queen of Blood. There is not a single person present who doubts that the Queen of Blood is the one from the legend. "664, 665, fall back." (Beta) Beta withdraws the two who are no longer capable of doing battle. "666, you too." (Beta) "I can still fight!" (666) "You have something else that you need to do, right?" (Beta) "... Eh?" (666) Beta smiles underneath her mask, then steps forward. She has already given up trying to win. The Queen of Blood is a monster that Beta herself is no match for. No matter how much she struggles, even if all of them throw themselves at her, the chance for victory is nil. However, they don''t need to win. Even if Beta cannot win, her master surely can. She holds absolute faith in her master. That''s why all Beta has to do is buy time until her master arrives. That is the final duty left to her. 108 Overwhelmingly Terrible at Explanations Beta pours magic into her jet-black blade as she faces off against the Queen of Blood. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Eh?!" That instant, Beta''s flow of magic suddenly becomes turbulent. Beta lowers the output in an attempt to bring it back under control, but the rampaging magic shows no sign of calming down. "Kuh!" "Beta-sama?!" A much loathed yet familiar pain runs throughout her body. Starting from the wounds made by the blood arrowheads, her skin is turning black. This... is the symptom of demon possession. Upon understanding what''s going on, Beta immediately changes the way she controls her magic. The turbulence alleviates a little, but her magic still remains very difficult to control. Then the Queen of Blood moves. She begins gathering an even larger mass of blood above her head, imbuing it with enough magic to make the very air quake. "That''s just..." Beta''s voice trembles before the mass of blood that is clearly much larger than the previous one. Right now, she is in no state to move. Furthermore, a cry rises up from behind her. "Claire?! Hold yourself together!" Turning around, Beta sees a wound on Claire''s body also turning black. The situation is beyond salvation. The mass of blood in midair is being compressed, threatening to explode at any moment now. "My lord, forgive me..." Beta murmurs while on the verge of tears then Claire''s eyes snap open. Claire is dreaming. She is floating within an endless white space. There is only Claire in that space, with nothing else to be seen. But she can clearly hear the sound of her own heartbeat. "... Can you hear me?" Hearing a voice from somewhere, Claire lifts her face. "Can you hear my voice...?" This time, she hears it clearly. Looking in the direction of the voice, she sees a black-haired woman. Her violet-colored eyes are looking straight at Claire. "You are... ?" "I''ve come to help you." "Help... me?" "Yes." Then those violet eyes shift to look at Claire''s body. "Eh? What is this?!" Claire''s white skin is gradually being stained black. This is a symptom that Claire had experienced long ago. "Don''t tell me... demon possession?!" "Technical, not exactly. The condition that you call ''demon possession'' has already been long healed by him." "Healed? ''Him''...?" "You should know him very well." "I haven''t a clue. Who is ''he''?" However, the woman with violet eyes only smiles mysteriously. "Your body will soon rot away. That''s why I''ll lend you my strength for a while." "Wait a second!? I have no idea what''s going on!" "I''m really bad at explaining things." "Please, tell me. What is happening to my body?!" "Let me think, how can I explain it best... unfortunately, you are compatible and thus have lost control." "Sorry, I didn''t get any of that." "It might get a bit long, but we don''t have much time. So I''ll keep it concise." "Yes please." "Do you know what ''evolution'' is? Long ago, someone from the same research lab as me looked into it, and apparently all humans are descended from apes. According to her hypothesis, apes became adapted to their environment for a long period of time, gradually turning into humans over the passage of time. I thought it a very interesting idea. I don''t know if it''s true or not, though." "Umm... Is that related?" "Sure it is. But you see, another researcher disagreed with the claim that humans adapt to their surroundings. But she was not refuting that humans are descended from apes. There are smart apes and stupid apes. Within harsh conditions, only the smart apes survive to reproduce and increase the population. Eventually, there are only smart apes left, and they turn into humans over the passage of time." "Er, what''s the difference? More like, what are you even talking about?" "It''s totally different. In other words, the apes survived only because they happened to be compatible with their environment, they did not adapt by their own will." "I... guess...?" "And so... umm, what was I talking about in the first place?" "About me... I think?" "Right, right, about adaptation and compatibility." "... Eh?" "In short, it''s the ones who adapted to their environment and changed shape that survived. It is because of adaptation that right now, even in this very moment, blood is evolving into two different kinds. The original kind causes such a heavy burden on the body that it becomes incapable of reproduction. The second kind, its divergence is clear to see from its characteristics. But right now, both are present inside of you, trying to adapt to each other. Adapting to each other is really hard to do, but you unfortunately happen to be compatible, and you also unfortunately do not know the way to control them. That is why your blood is rampaging within you and tearing your body apart ah, we''re out of time." "Wha-, wait, we''re at the most important part now! Eh, OW!?" A sharp pain suddenly stabs into Claire''s hand. She turns it over to see a complicated magic circle engraved on the back. "That mark will surely teach you how to control them." "Ah, it''s gone." The black bruise on her body has disappeared. "There''s no more time. Things are taking a serious turn for the worse outside." "There really was no need for the first half of the explanation, right?" "I''m going to borrow your body for a bit. I won''t be able to use my full strength, but..." With that, the woman with violet eyes begins to fade away. "Wait! What is your name?!" "I am Aurora..." "Aurora... why are you helping me?" "Because you, are his ..." However, Aurora has completely disappeared, taking with her the final half of her sentence. "What was that, seriously. ''His''... what? Is it the same guy who healed my demon possession? She didn''t tell me any of the most important parts... " Claire is left muttering to herself in the white space. Within Milia''s arms, Claire''s eyes suddenly snap open. Within those eyes, her pupils have been dyed a beautiful violet. 109 The Queen of Blood Claire suddenly stands up from within Milia''s arms. Noticing her violet eyes, Milia lets out a soft gasp. "Claire, the color of your eyes..." The change is not limited to the color of her eyes. Her aura seems more mature, and even the quality of her magic seems different somehow. But above all else, the most conspicuous thing... is that all her wounds have closed up. Her abdomen is stained with the blood from the large wound just now, but that blood begins to wriggle before clumping together and floating in midair. It is exactly what the Queen of Blood is doing. "Well then, I wonder how long can last..." So murmurs Claire. That voice is quiet and composed. Even the way she speaks seems to have become that of an entirely different person. "Are you really Claire...?" But right after Milia voices her question, the Queen of Blood''s clump of blood explodes. The sprays of blood once again turn into arrowheads, then fall upon everyone with unavoidable speed and density. All of them merely stand in place, capable only of watching in despair. That is... with her being the sole exception. "Unfortunately for you, I am the original..." So muttering, Claire sets off her own clump of blood. That clump of blood splits into tiny, tiny drops that disperse. It almost becomes a mist of blood. The drops adhere to the arrowheads upon making contact. "Eh?" Milia is the only person who voices her astonishment. But everyone else present is equally shocked. The blood arrowheads suddenly lose momentum, falling to the ground as if drained of energy. "It is not difficult to steal away control over blood that has left the body. It seems that I wasn''t able to completely wrest control, but..." Claire smiles bewitchingly while looking at the Queen of Blood, who is currently pierced by several blood arrowheads. Claire had used the mist to hijack control over the arrowheads, then even sent them back. However, it was only with a limited number that she was able to go so far. The others she could only drop. However, the ability to do such a thing is clearly beyond the realm of a human. Everyone is left dumbfounded at the sight of what seems to have developed into a fight between two Queens of Blood. "You cannot hope to defeat me with projectiles. In other words, there is only one thing that you can do." Claire runs her tongue over her lips, causing them to be dyed blood red. The Queen of Blood moves. She regenerates the areas wounded by arrowheads, and changes the shape of her dress. From her dress of blood emerges...tentacles of blood. Within the blink of an eye, she adds to their numbers. "Yes, that is the right answer..." So Claire murmurs, before extending tentacles of blood from her own body. It is exactly what the Queen of Blood is doing. Red tentacles spread out from both of them, seemingly trying to intimidate the tentacles of the other. Then both sides initiate battle simultaneously. Sharp tips like the point of a spear stabs straight towards the other. Some tentacles dive underground, some thrust through the ceiling to go overhead, and the rest almost paint the entire space blood red in their attempts to attack the other from all directions. While tentacles crush tentacles, it takes but a brief while to reach their respective targets. Looking at the incoming tentacles, Claire lifts a giant red scythe in readiness, while the Queen of Blood extends her red claws. Then they both begin slashing at each other. Tentacles dance, are crushed, are ripped apart, and dye the air with fresh red. The light from the Red Moon shines in through the holes punched into the ceiling, illuminating the two ladies in breathtaking beauty. The fight being played out is too fast for eyes, too incredible for belief, and so utterly beyond human boundaries. No one can take their eyes off this ferocious yet entrancing fight. "How incredible..." "What a fight this is..." Are the two perhaps of equal strength? Observers would not be able to determine who is holding the advantage. All that can be determined is that not a single decisive hit has landed yet. After the maddened dance of the tentacles continues for a while, Claire heaves a sigh. "This isn''t getting us anywhere... But is it already enough?" Then a roguish smile comes over her face. "Have you already... breathed in enough of the blood mist?" The next instant, the Queen of Blood falls to her knees. She vomits blood, then blood pours out from her eyes. Then blood spurts out from every single orifice on her body. "Goho..." For the first time, the Queen of Blood groans in pain. "If you''re going to breathe it, you have to properly steal back control over it." Claire''s tentacles rush towards the kneeling Queen of Blood. The Queen of Blood''s tentacles make an attempt at warding them off, but merely get crushed by the overwhelming difference in quantity. Enough tentacles to fill one''s vision envelopes the Queen of Blood then a huge amount of blood scatters everywhere. All that is left is red blood. "It''s still far from my best, but I suppose this would have to do." That mature air, mysterious smile, inhuman battle strength, and violet eyes. The Claire standing there with arms crossed is completely different from the teenage girl that Milia knows. "Claire, what has happened to you...?" Claire briefly glances at Milia, then smiles a slightly troubled smile. That smile seems to have Claire''s shadow in there somewhere. However, the next instant, vigilance returns to those violet eyes. The entire place is enshrouded in thick blood. Eventually, it gathers, and forms a humanoid shape. "She''s here..." "You''ve got to be kidding me..." "She''s still alive...?" Amidst the cries of shock, Milia is the only one who looks somewhat understanding. The Elizabeth that she knew would not be finished this easily. Despite that, the color of despair has already receded from Milia''s eyes. Because she is here. She, who is like Claire, yet is not Claire, is here, standing in opposition against Elizabeth. As long as she is here, the mistake from a thousand years ago would not repeat. She is the hope that she now clings to. However, the moment the Queen of Blood emerges unscathed from the mist of blood, Claire''s body wobbles. Then she falls to her knees. "As I''d thought, this body has already reached its limit..." She appears to be in pain, and blood is dribbling down from the corner of her mouth. It appears that Claire''s body could not withstand that power beyond human limits. Claire is kneeling, with the Queen of Blood looking down on her. The scene has become the exact opposite of that from mere moments ago. "Oi oi, are you fucking kidding me..." "We might be in trouble now..." "How can this..." Milia''s eyes shake. If Claire goes down here, there would no longer be anyone to stop Elizabeth. The tragedy from a thousand years ago would play out once more. Then, after everything is over, her master would once again fall into despair and weep... She cannot allow that to happen again. And furthermore, she does not want to once again lose a friend that she holds dear. "Claire!" Milia rushes towards Claire. "I''ll fight too!" She draws her sword and faces towards the Queen of Blood. "You..." "Even though the color of your eyes has changed, you are still you, right...?" "I''m just borrowing her body for a bit. Claire is still Claire." "Then you are also an important friend of mine." A thousand years ago, Milia had already half given up. It was because she knew Elizabeth''s strength that she understood how incapable she is of stopping her. But... if she hadn''t given up, perhaps something might have been different. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Just as Claire became able to stand up against Elizabeth, perhaps something might have happened to Milia herself. If she did not give up, a miracle might have happened. That is why Milia now raises her sword. Believing with her heart that something will happen. That is also what everyone else is praying for. For someone to come stop the Queen of Blood... "There is no need for you to fight..." Claire reaches out to press down on Milia''s sword hand. "I have fulfilled my role. All I was trying to do is buy time until he arrives..." Claire flashes a beautiful smile. "''He''...?" "Yes. And he has arrived..." Then a jet-black shadow descends. "Mine name is Shadow. I am he who lurks in shadows, he who hunts shadows..." Upon beholding him, Claire lets go of her consciousness in reassurance and relief. 110 Her Master The shadow that has descended before Beta and the rest flutters his longcoat and unsheathes his jet-black sword. "You are!" (Juggernaut) "You are!" (Yukime) "Shadow-sama!" Beta quivers with delight. Up to date, her master has utterly wiped the ground with every single opponent he faced, no matter how powerful they might have been. Ever since she and the rest were weak and young, their master had been fighting in front of them. Beta had grown up staring at that back. That is why Beta''s faith in her master is absolute. No matter what happens, everything would be fine if her master is present. Due to that faith and reassurance, or possibly due to not having seen her master for a significant while, her master''s figure seems a notch bigger in Beta''s eyes. However, not everyone looks at Shadow in the way Beta does. "Give it up, it''s impossible even for you." (Juggernaut) "Shadow-han, be careful." (Yukime) Juggernaut''s gaze is disparaging, and Yukime''s is anxious. The sheer disrespect! Beta glares sharply at the two of them. Her master can handle absolutely anything and everything. Even while this is going on, the air between Shadow and the Queen of Blood has been growing increasingly tense. Shadow raises his jet-black sword, and the Queen of Blood deploys her red claws. That moment, Beta notices it. The pressure from the Queen of Blood is still climbing. "Does that monster have bottomless power?" (Juggernaut) "She still wasn''t fighting at full strength just now...?" (Yukime) It seems that Juggernaut and Yukime have noticed it as well. The Queen of Blood has grown even more powerful than when she was fighting against Claire. Her eyes blaze like red jewels, and the dress on her appears even fresher and wriggles even more energetically. Shadow''s and the Queen of Blood''s tension rises further then tentacles of blood and jet-black blade make contact. A countless number of tentacles assault Shadow, but Shadow cuts them all down. Red and black traces clash repeatedly, the two''s movements being so fast that even sound cannot catch up. However, this is but a diversion for the both of them. Abruptly, the Queen of Blood''s figure seems to flicker, immediately after which she suddenly appears behind Shadow. Red claws scream towards his back. However, this time it is Shadow''s figure that flickers. The claws swing wide, while the jet-black blade attempts to pierce the Queen of Blood''s chest from behind. Bashah! Together with the sound of spilling water, the Queen of Blood repels that, sending blood arrowheads flying in the process. Shadow deflects them all with his sword, then the Queen of Blood returns to her original position. Seeing the two stand in their starting positions, it is almost as if the previous exchange was just an illusion. "What the hell..." (Juggernaut) "To think that he is this skilled..." (Yukime) The high speed fight that no one could follow with their eyes leaves everyone in dumbfounded amazement and Beta in ecstacy. This is her master. However, at the same time, Beta feels a sense of wrongness that she cannot put into words. Before she can figure out what it is, the Queen of Blood moves again. She cuts off two of her own tentacles, then uses the blood to create two clones of herself. "This is the reason why Elizabeth-sama was called the strongest progenitor. Elizabeth-sama can create clones of herself with blood and manipulate them at will." (Milia) With three Queens of Blood as the opponent, the fight resumes. The tentacles'' restraining attacks are all deflected by the jet-black blade. The same scene from before is being replayed. However, what''s different is that there are now three Queens of Blood launching surprise attacks. She would at times appear in between tentacles, from the back, from above, from the side, assaulting Shadow again and again and again. But Shadow still manages to skillfully evade all of the attacks. The scene almost looks like a struggle between natural forces that would continue for all eternity. But Beta feels the sense of wrongness growing increasingly prominent. Whatever can it be Has she ever seen her master cross swords with an opponent for such a long time? No, she has not. Something is wrong. There is something off with her master. Unease suddenly creeps into Beta''s heart. Beta stares carefully at the fight, seeking the cause of her seed of doubt. A whole bundle of red tentacles assault Shadow, while three Queens of Blood attempt further surprise attacks. As this is looped repeatedly, Beta finally realizes it. Shadow is skillfully handling the attacks from the Queens of Blood with parries, but none of it flows into counterattacks afterwards. Why does Shadow not retaliate? Or could it be that he can''t? Shadow''s movements are sealed by the tentacles coming at him endlessly from all directions, such that he has entirely lose the initiative against the Queens of Blood. How can this be happening. The reason is because Shadow''s legs have stopped. The master that Beta knows would evade using the barest minimal movement and then immediately shift into counterattack. But right now, her master is only parrying the claws and tentacles with his sword. If he parries, then his counterattack would be delayed by a fraction of a beat. Within that time, the second and third Queens of Blood would attack, causing the window for counterattack to be lost. Why Why do you not dodge, my lord? Her master''s feet are heavy. His movements are stiff. This manner of fighting, of parrying tentacles and standing his ground, is almost like it is as if he is protecting something very important to him. "?!" That instant, Beta finally realizes it. Behind Shadow is Beta. Furthermore, behind Beta is the grievously wounded 664 and 665, the 666 who is protecting the two of them, and also her master''s unconscious sister... "Ah, aaa..." Beta''s voice is stuck in her throat. Her master has been trying to protect them throughout the entire fight. That which is important to him... Then abruptly, the equilibrium of the fight is broken. Finally, Shadow falters. Red tentacles push him off his balance, then all three Queens of Blood throw in their follow up attacks, sending Shadow crashing through a wall. "Sha-, SHADOW-SAMAAAAAA!!" Beta ignores her body''s cries of pain, desperately trying to crawl towards the collapsed wall. "I told you so at the start, it''s impossible even for you..." (Juggernaut) "Even Shadow-han cannot do it...?" (Yukime) That''s wrong! If Beta and the others had not been behind him, if they had not dragged him down, then her master''s strength is not just this level. "Shadow-sama, Shadow-sama!!" Her desperate crawling brings Beta to the collapsed wall. That moment. Violet magic spills out from the other side. "Wha?!" (Juggernaut) "What is?!" (Yukime) That overwhelming power causes the air to shake and debris to float up. The light from the Red Moon is stained violet by the overflowing magic. Then Shadow appears from beyond the wall. "Shadow-sama!" Beta''s face is dyed with rapture. For the master before her is finally the master that she knows. Clad in violet magic, the figure of her master that somehow looks a notch smaller than before emanates only one word POWER. He imbues his beautiful violet magic into his sword, then faces off against the Queen of Blood once more. "It seems I have to get a little serious..." That voice that sounds like a reverberation from the heart of the earth sends shivers of elation down Beta''s spine. Not a shred of unease remains. This. Is. Her. Master. "Nn?" Suddenly something glints at the edge of her vision, so Beta peeks behind the wall. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. For some reason, there is a large number of gold coins on the ground there. Beta tilts her head in puzzlement. Why in a place like this... oh well. "Shadow-sama, go for it~~~~~!!" Beta''s cheer becomes the signal for the fight to resume. 111 Mission Complete The air surrounding Shadow has changed. Violet magic rages around him. "Unreal..." "What an unbelievable amount of magic..." Kotsu, kotsu. With his jet-black boots ringing out crisply with every step, Shadow nonchalantly approaches the Queen of Blood. But there is no way the Queen of Blood would allow such impudence. A dreadful number of tentacles encircle Shadow in a split second, then assault him simultaneously. With only his sword, Shadow deflects those tentacles. Then, kotsu. He nonchalantly takes another step. "Wha?!" "How can he just?!" How incredible that one step is, everyone present understands full well. Then, one more step. Kotsu. Shadow nonchalantly steps further in. This time, he does not even use his sword. The tentacles, in their unbelievable numbers, seem to be evading him of their own accord. As if they are merely here to show a magic trick, the tentacles swing wide. Shadow fully perceives the movement of every last strand of tentacle. Then he evades using the minimal amount of movement, closing the distance one step at a time. It is almost as if nay, he isdeclaring that the tentacles are not even worth his attention. Even when a Queen of Blood appears behind him, he casually dodges as if he had already seen it coming, his gait not showing even a hint of delay. He does not counterattack. Because he understands the futility of doing so. That is why he only walks on, ignoring everything. The only thing in his eyes is the main body of the Queen of Blood. Kotsu, kotsu, kotsu. The sound of his boots sound frighteningly loud. Then Shadow stops. At the same time, the tentacles also stop. The distance between the two is now within arm''s length. The beautiful Queen of Blood and the jet-black Shadow stare at each other for a while. Behind the Queen of Blood is the deep crimson Red Moon. All around Shadow is his violet magic. The entire place is seized by silence, as if the intense fight just now was but a lie. Within the silence, the two seem to be conversing. "You wish for release in death..." Like a reverberation from the depths of the earth, his voice rumbles out. "Very well..." Then an incredible amount of magic begins gathering towards his jet-black sword. The violet magic draws a spiral as it converges. The Queen of Blood extend her claws. Why is it so? Why do those claws that used to instill such fear now look so frail and unreliable... "WAIT!!" That is why Milia jumps out. "Elizabeth-sama is a gentle person!! I''m sure she can start all over again!!" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. She dashes. Because she has promised to grasp a future where everyone can laugh together after everything is over. That''s why! "PLEASE!!" She reaches out with desperation, with everything she has, with everything she is. Shadow looks at Milia for a fraction of a moment. However Tentacle of blood throw Milia back. "I AM..." His voice rings out mercilessly. From where she has fallen on the ground, Milia''s head jerks up. The tentacles could have stabbed Milia, could have torn her apart. Despite that, Milia is unhurt. "ELIZABETH-SAMA!!" Milia thinks she caught Elizabeth looking her way for a split second. Those red eyes that she glimpsed were filled with kindness, just as they had been so long ago. "... RECOVERY ATOMIC!!!" Red claw and jet-black blade clash, then the world is dyed pure violet. "Uu..." It seems that she had lost consciousness. When Beta wakes up, she finds a still night illuminated by the light of the Red Moon. Everyone around her are still unconscious. Beta was apparently the first to come to. The figure of her master is nowhere to be seen. He has surely already departed for the next battle. How busy he is... and how kind-hearted he is. "Thank you so much, Shadow-sama..." Realizing that all her wounds have been healed, Beta naturally breaks into a smile. Looking over, she observes that the wounds of 664, 665, and even 666 are all fully healed. It hardly needs to be said that her master''s sister and Milia are also without a scratch. As an aside, it seems that Juggernaut and Yukime have been healed too. "It appears that Eta''s hypothesis was indeed spot on..." Beta retrieves a sample of blood from the Queen of Blood into a small flask. Then she focuses on her own blood that''s staining her own bodysuit... and manages to make it float. "Could I make use of this if I train it...? Haah, I have a sense of foreboding that I''m going to be made into a sample myself... ei." Beta shoots off the blood under her control to wake up her subordinates. "Ow." "What?!" "Where is this...?" "How long do you three plan on sleeping. We''re going back." "Y-, yes, ma''am!" Upon being roused, the three get up in a fluster. "Kuh... what happened..." (Juggernaut) "What is it that happened...?" (Yukime) The two from Outlaw City seem to be getting up also. Then a quick pan around induces blank amazement. "Wha-, don''t tell me, this was done by that guy...?!" (Juggernaut) "Shadow-han, who are you..." (Yukime) The Red Tower has been pulverized. The two of them look up at the sky from the ground where the Red Tower once stood. As if to burn into their eyes and hearts that man''s power and strength... "Alright, we''re going." So saying, Beta turns her heels. "Uun..." "Elizabeth-sama?!" That moment, Claire and Milia also wake up. Beta shoots a quick glance behind her, and sees Milia rushing towards and embracing someone within the rubble. "Elizabeth-sama! Oh thank heavens... I thought that I would never again..." Then, with her sobbing in the background, Beta murmurs. "This time for sure, it would be great of if you can truly find it... a Land of Peace..." Then she begins melting into the night. "With this, it''s ''Mission Complete.''" Leaving behind a soft giggle, Beta''s figure disappears entirely. 112 Theres No Helping It When the Left Hand Begins to Ache Gazing at the extravagant carriage painted in black, I open my mouth in a yawn. I can''t see inside because the windows are blocked by thick curtains, but apparently Nee-san is having a farewell party with her vampire friend inside. The clear, crisp autumn air feels good. A lot of things happened, but the real life progenitor vampire event has ended. Along the way, I met a bit of trouble due to unforeseen developments. I still managed to try out Recovery at the very last moment, so all''s well that ends well. But unfortunately, I couldn''t manage to ''Recovery'' all of the gold coins. At my best moment, I was on cloud 9 with 3,000 pieces. But after various things happened, I was only able to secure 500 pieces. Five hundred gold coins means fifty million Zeny. It''s far from enough to last for the rest of my life. But after giving it more thought, I realize that this is more than enough. After all, Outlaw City will always be here, and there are still two towers left. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. If I''m ever troubled for money, I can just come here again. Indeed, Outlaw City is my piggy bank. After another while, the door of the carriage opens, and Nee-san comes out. Oh, and about Nee-san? It''s becomes a rather serious matter. The incident was last night. It happened at the inn where we were staying at. Apparently Nee-san got wrapped up in this time''s vampire event because she was looking for me. That is why I thought to at least give her a word of apology, and thus opened the door to her room. That instant, I witnessed it. I witnessed Nee-san wrapping her left hand in bandages to cover up a super stylish magic circle on the back of said hand. Furthermore, Nee-san was muttering "My left hand aches... I have a special power..." I wordlessly closed the door. It''s a triple combo of ''magic circle,'' ''hiding with bandages,'' and ''special power.'' So Nee-san has reached that phase of her life... Nee-san''s smile seems somewhat shadowed after coming out from that black-painted carriage. I call out to her with as normal a voice as I can muster. "Done?" "Yes. Let''s go." The two of us walk off. But, that moment. "Sid..." I am suddenly hugged from the back. "... What''s the matter?" "It''s nothing... no, actually it''s something... I actually..." Here it comes...! "Have a special power sleeping inside of me..." Oh boy, it''s her coming out. I must not deny her here. Thoughtless denial leads children towards the path of delinquency. "I knew it. I''ve always thought that Nee-san is special." "As I''d thought, Sid really believes me..." Nee-san hugs me even tighter. "I must unravel the mystery related to this power. Then eventually, who ''he'' is, and what it is that I am supposed to do with this power..." "Un, I''m sure Nee-san would be fine. No matter what path Nee-san goes down, I will always support you." "Sid..." From here on, Nee-san will surely encounter a large variety of hardships. She will ponder, she will suffer, and she will face reality head on. But there''s no helping it, now that her left hand has begun to ache. This is the path that all humans must tread to become adults. Regardless of what path she ultimately decides to walk on, I intend to respect her choice. After all, the path that she is on right now is the path that I myself have walked in the far past... Suddenly feeling a gaze on my back, I turn around a little. In front of the black-painted carriage is a woman standing underneath a huge black parasol. I can''t see her face because it is hidden by the parasol, but I do see her beautiful crimson hair swaying in the autumn wind. She performs an elegant bow from where she is. Yukime the Enchantress is waiting at the top floor of the White Tower. Together with the pale moonlight shining in from the white moon outside, candles on the table illuminate the extravagant fare on the table. Suddenly, a black figure emerges from the dark shadows. "So you''ve come..." Before she knows it, Shadow, clad in his usual jet-black longcoat, is standing on the other side of the sliding screen. "Shadow-han, I have been expecting you." Then two ladies wearing kimonos with high exposure guide him in. Shadow sits down across from Yukime. "Your business...?" Then he speaks up with that deep voice that sounds like a reverberation emanating from an abyss. "The other day, I was entirely in your care. It is all thanks to Shadow-han that I still have this life of mine." Yukime lowers her head briefly. Within the collar area of her audacious kimono, two bulges can be seen jiggling. "Would you accept my thanks? Natsu, Kana." Then she smiles bewitchingly. The two beautiful women who go by the names of Natsu and Kana open up their kimonos and draw towards Shadow. "I''ve said it already. It was not my intention to save you. And..." "Do you dislike things like this...? It''s a pity, but we can leave it for after we become close, then." Yukime signals for Natsu and Kana to leave the room. Then she snuggles up to him and pours him a cup of alcohol. "This is sake of the highest quality." However, Shadow shows no intention of reaching out for it. "I said for you to state your business..." "I just want to get closer with Shadow-han..." So Yukime whispers in his ear, before giggling softly. "But it takes a while to build up a relationship. It''s not quite in exchange, but I do have a proposition to bring to you." Yukime presses her two bulges against him while speaking. "Do you know of the plan to entrap Mitsugoshi Co? Trading firms feeling threatened by the abrupt rise of Mitsugoshi Co have joined hands and are planning to crush it. I myself also have healthy companies on the outside. They are actually quite sizeable too..." Yukime says the last few words in a meaningful way while smiling bewitchingly. "Be it Mitsugoshi Co or the Alliance... whichever one wins out in the end, there would still be a fierce battle for supremacy in the business world around here. At the moment, I am also part of the Alliance, but the victor will be neither Mitsugoshi Co nor the Alliance." Yukime''s lips draw so close to Shadow''s ears that they are on the verge of touching. "The victor will be me, together with Shadow-han... Join hands with me, and we shall wrest it all away." She blows softly, then rests her head on his shoulder. "With just me and you, what say you to creating a giant organization to control the entire world''s business from the shadows...?" Shadow''s ears, which had remained unresponsive to all of Yukime''s temptation so far, twitches at this very moment. 113 Kyaaa! Not so rough! In the middle of the night, a carriage was traveling two days away from the Midgar kingdom capital. While being illuminated by the light of a torch, a group was setting up camps outside of the carriage. There was a logo which resembled a mask engraved on the side of the carriage. No one understood the meaning of the logo, but that was proof that the carriage belonged to the Mitsugoshi co. There were mountains of loads stacked in the rows of the carriages that have stopped quietly. It is said that the load of just one carriage of Mitsugoshi co carries more than 100 million Zeni. However, the best part was the figure of dozens of carriages lined up. The lines of carriages were being delivered to the royal capitals storefront. Every person was scrambling to the entrance to get their hands on the goods, thus the firm naturally blossomed with profits. Doing this Mitsugoshi co had achieved marvelous advancements. Advancements to this extent were what painted the powerful figure of a trading company in a matter of years. Many merchants had tried to hinder Mitsugoshi co, however, the commodities of Mitsugoshi co had greater demand, and to support the financial strength of their company, those individual merchants started working together to compete against Mitsugoshi co. The merchants yielded one by one to Mitsugoshi co As Mitsugoshi co were selling commodities comparatively cheap, the peddlers stocked commodities from various places there. Mitsugoshi co have earned the support from most local citizens with ma.s.s-production that is oriented for the local citizens. Until now, large firms only sold high-value items, those merchants mostly only cared about profits and not anything else. Then Mitsugoshi co emerged by dramatically improving the quality of their livelihoods. A lively commercial network with tremendous amount of strength was formed naturally with the local peddlers. Now the individual merchants, other companies and Mitsugoshi co are competing against each other. The Mitsugoshi cos position was thought to be rock solid. However, even if those individuals cannot win by themselves, they can still be a challenge if they work together. Finally, with the support of big companies lifting the weights, they can unite together. And. In the darkness, there were several shadows overlooking the Mitsugoshi Cos camp. They were all in disguise, with swords visible on their waists. Their roles were bandits, but one thing was amiss. All of them were magic swordsmen. It was common for a magic swordsman who committed a crime to become a bandit, but it was impossible for all the bandits to be magic swordsmen. They used hand signals to move, creeping into the camp of Mitsugoshi co. Then they attacked simultaneously. Kyaaaaaaaaaaa !! A feminine scream sounded. Seeing a silver-haired elf about to be truncated, they began binding the hands of Mitsugoshi personnel. The sound of ma.s.sacre echoed throughout the night. Even the Mitsugoshi co was not able to defend when multiple magic swordsmen attack. Only the silver-haired beautiful elf was left. She was dragged out of the carriage, with her cyan colored pupils flowing with tears. Please Please spare my life They removed the mask of the extremely beautiful elf with a shady smile on their face. Hey, show it to me. Kuku, this is nice. And then the bound elf got a.s.saulted. Show it to me? What do you mean? What is this? This feels so good, I can die in peace now. Stop, stop it, dont be so rough The man pulls out his sword, cutting the girls dress with ease. Exposing her beautiful white skin. You were unlucky to make Garter company angry. Many companies chairpersons and the big businesses that had been hostile till now are all working together. This will be the end of Mitsugoshi Co. Aah such never you Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. As youve expected. The Garter companys private corps military strength is rumored to rival that of a small country. Hopelessness was seen in the girls eyes. The man let out a barbarous laugh, cutting the dress that was covering the girls b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Two white bulges appeared from thereor they should appear. However, there were black clothes closely attached to her skin. And in the blink of an eye, it covers the whole body of the girl, hiding her naked body. Nanani!? Thank you for your information. There was no longer the color of hopelessness in her eyes. There was only the cold gaze of an absolutely strong person. You! The man swings his sword. The girl did not try to evade it. The mans sword hit the girls neck, but it stopped there. The black clothes protected the girl. A cheap sword. And then, a thrust. From the mans heart, jet black blade protruded out. The man glanced backwards and tumbled down with a bubble of blood bursting out. The girl pulls out her jet-black blade. Blade of sanctions. She voices out, the first silver-haired elf girl got up and slayed a nearby a.s.sa.s.sin, cutting him down. Starting from that, the companys a.s.sociates who were killed started standing up one after another, eradicating the a.s.sa.s.sins. Those girls without exception, wore black clothes beneath their normal clothes. The situation was completely reversed. The girls slashed at the escaping a.s.sa.s.sins, killing them. Screams of begging and noise of death, agony and ferry echoed. And a moment later silence again reined the night. Beta, report. A blond haired elf spoke to the silver-haired elf. Alpha, the a.s.sa.s.sins have been completely annihilated. There were no casualties or any wounded. Three people have been captured alive for information. Alpha, the beautiful elf, nodded to the report. Lets leave this behind. Ha Alpha and beta later disappeared into the darkness after dealing with the aftermath. And when the night broke as the morning sun rose, they both stopped. A peddlers corpse had been crucified in a carriage stopped at the roadside. Broken Mitsugoshi Cos commodities scattered all over his feet. It was a warning. This is terrible Beta covers her mouth with her hands. Alpha, like those More than thousands of peddlers within this country alone are dealing with items from Mitsugoshi Co, we cannot protect everyone. Alpha walked towards the crucifixion, embracing the dead bodies which have nothing left with her arms. Compensate his family Yes The war, it has begun Alpha stared at the sunrise with her blue eyes. 114 Super Elite Agent, Whose Name Is Autumn is coming to an end, and the temperature of the night is getting colder. While listening to the insect''s chorus, I changed my clothes to a suit in my dormitory room. There were no suits in this world, but with the help of the Mitsugoshi Co., it has become extremely popular among n.o.bles. However, the suit I changed into is not a product of the Mitsugoshi Co., it was a present from Yukime, made by the White Fox Co, a rip-off suitno, it''s a homage. A Black suit with a white shirt and thin black tie all together, also a pair of black straight tip dress shoes. A one-piece all black style, even including my hair. Finished by putting on a mask that covers the upper half of the face. It gives off the feeling of being an F.B.I agent. The suit Yukime made is nice but in comparison to the slime bodysuit, which has the highest comfortability and functionality, it is quite lacking. I wonder what the girls thoughts on Yukimes suit would be wait, it might be better if the girls didnt find out about the suit. I am a super elite agent who operates behind the scenes hidden from the world. While doing such things at home, I notice It''s about time to head out for Yukime''s date. After extinguishing the lamp in the room, I jumped out of the window and advanced into the darkness. Without leaving any trace. Taking care to make sure there are no pursuers. Dashing through the academy grounds to the middle of a forest in a matter of tens of minutes, the noise of a waterfall could be heard and an opened window was within sight. There stood a mansion, built alongside the mountain stream near a waterfall. The mansion is called Fallingwater, and it fits in perfect harmony with the forest, both Fallingwater and the mountain stream. It seems to have been designed by a famous architect and serves as Yukime''s hideout. Concealing my presence, I quietly entered a room through the window that leaks a warm light. In the room was Yukime, sitting on a sofa in front of the fireplace. Her silver hair shines under the light of the flames. As she heard footsteps coming from behind, Yukime turned around and smiled. "Your presence is thin as usual, Shadow-han." "Discard that name." I quietly said, then sat down on the sofa facing Yukime with my legs crossed. "Thats right, it is John Smith now." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Aa, that''s my name." Ive changed my name and have been reborn as the super elite agent: John Smith. I am the first person to choose to be a fearless agent. "It is truly heartening to have John-han to accompany me for a drink." Yukime emphasizes her half-exposed chest, as she pours a gla.s.s of wine. Yeah, yeah, how nice dark organization''s s.e.xy lady. I pretended to enjoy the aroma, then take a sip of the wine. By the way, I have no idea how good wine should smell or taste. "All that matters is that Ive made a profit." "Ara~, don''t you think a relationship based on interest and profit alone is a bit lonely?" "I believe we are of equal standing in that regard." "Well how about finding out?" Yukime licks her lips seductively with a devilishly charming smile. "It''s a waste of time." "What a shame perhaps another time" Yukime fixes her clothes to hide her half-exposed chest and raises the gla.s.s to her mouth. Clear scarlet remains in her gla.s.s. The other day, there was a meeting held among the members of the Commerce Union. Well, this times meeting was to decide on a specific policy in regards to dealing with the newly formed Mitsugoshi Co. and its rising fame. The details of this new policy would be confirmed later. Its already too late for the Mitsugoshi Co. as the tension between them and the Commerce Union has risen to the point of no return. It is likely that the Mitsugoshi Co. will be crushed, but to think it would happen this fast "There is no need to worry about the Mitsugoshi Co, they are quite resourceful and stubborn." "Ara John-han''s prediction is different. Well, considering the Mitsugoshi Co''s tenacity, it may indeed turn out the way Shadow-han predicts it will. No matter, my plans will not change, Mitsugoshi Co and the alliance will both be crushed. Meanwhile, I''ll prepare for the opportunity to stir up. "-have to prepare everything myself?" In the end, it seems the girls went all out in trying to conduct business as the Mitsugoshi Co., but the girls who have been in business for just a few years cannot win against longtime experienced pros -the big commerce alliance. Relying on cheat knowledge alone from another world has its own limits. That''s why it''s my turn now. But still, since I have been to Mitsugoshi Co''s hub, and it''s managed by my friends, and they also took care of me occasionally Even though it''s all because of my knowledge That''s why I will use everything in my hands to succeed, it''s the only means of protecting the Mitsugoshi Co. When it all ends those girls will join me under the umbrella of our new company J&Y Company I guess Fufufufu~, so this is not a betrayal. I am absolutely not doing this because I want to be like [The boss of a large organization in the shadows that controls the world of commerce]. Really, I am doing it for the sake of those girls, as I am their friend. "John-han has to work on the business and other things as well. Just, take care to watch your back." "take care to watch my back?" Yukime stood up and walked over to a dimly lit corner of the room. And then she turns her back to me and unties her kimono belt. With a thump, and. Her kimono falls onto the floor, showing a superb naked body illuminated under the light of the fireplaceor so it should be. But, there was an ugly burn mark on her back. "A man in commerce alliance inflicted this wound upon me. His name is Gettan -desu." As Yukime''s back is still facing me, I observed with a side glance, that her eyes bore deep resentment. "I''ve sworn to take revenge on Gettan and make sure that he dies" Pachi, Pachi the sound of the burning wood crackling coming from the fireplace and Yukime''s dark voice resounded. Yet suddenly, she laughed. Fufufutsu ~, that is why John-han, will you move in the shadows for my sake? Please~. Yukime then put back on the kimono that had fallen to the floor, and at her side, Natsu and Kana appeared to tie her kimono sash (belt). After I drank the wine, I calmly stood up from my seat. 115 The World Is Whispering To Me It is now the holidays. I and my mob friends, Hyoro and Jaga, decided to go out shopping for the first time in a while. Although I had nothing special to buy, I gather the daily necessities needed into my basket and carry it over to the cashier. "I''ve received 5000 Zeni. May I provide your change in notes?" "Ah, yes." Before responding, adding "Ah" to a sentence is a must ''characteristic'' for a mob. Although only recent, bank notes are now more commonly used in the kingdom. It is a basic monetary system, but it had spread quite considerably within the kingdom. Its not bulky and is easy to carry, it''s really convenient. However, it''s not available in every store as some people arent used to it, so it''s good manners to ask for one''s consent. After receiving and counting the change, I left the shop while inadvertently staring at the bank notes. "Are?" [TN: means what?] Looking at the 1000 Zeni banknote, I suddenly noticed something peculiar about the design. "What''s the matter, Sid-kun?" I suddenly stop as Jaga asked me what was wrong. "Is this the design of a 1000 Zeni banknote?" "What are you talking about? These are the new banknotes issued by the Commerce Alliance. What, how did you come out to shop not knowing that?" "With friends?" "Isn''t today the Commerce Alliances newly issued banknotes bargain sale?" "Ah~, right, that is so." [TN:] Is that so? "Pull yourself together, Sid-kun." So, the new banknotes are circulating in favour of a bargain sale. Hmm? Aside from the new banknotes issued by the Commerce Alliance, what the heck are the banknotes that we used before? With a casual motion, I skillfully take the banknotes from before out of my wallet to observe them, there I discovered a shocking detail. "What''s this!!" I reflexively shouted. "Hey, what''s the matter, Sid-kun?" "Oioi, what''s the matter, Sid?" "Why is Mitsugoshi Bank written on it?" Mitsugoshi Bank is firmly written on the edge of the 1000 Zeni banknote. What''s a Mitsugoshi Bank? are the girls also managing a bank? "Thosere the notes from Mitsugoshi Bank I think." "Banknotes were an idea first started by the Mitsugoshi Co., werent they. Theres even a discount when using them at a store affiliated with the Mitsugoshi Co. too" "Ah, that''s right." It seems banknotes were originally a product made by the Mitsugoshi Co. Nevertheless, its strange that theres a discount when using it at one of their stores, I guess it''s that sort of thing. From the sounds of it, they were managing banks nationwide. Nationwide? Are? Speaking of which, I remember back then I seemed to have told the girls stories about banks, paper currency, etc That was a few years ago, I had appropriately talked to them about my knowledge from my previous life, everyone was like "as expected of Shadow-sama." With their praise, I got carried away and talked about many things and I feel that I had spoken about the use of a credit system. I had explained to the full extent of my knowledge about the creation of the credit system from my previous life with my faint memories of a 2-hour doc.u.mentary. Everyone had a scary look in their eyes halfway through and I was feeling doubtful of my faint recollections as well, so I said "Think about it yourselves later" to close things off. But I got the feeling that they definitely talked about starting a bank afterwards. Was that serious? Iyaiya [no, no,] even so, its still too much. Do the girls not understand the meaning of the word prudence in their heads? Taking this into consideration, Its reasonable for a large group like the Commerce Alliance to get mad. It is unmistakable to say that its because of this that theyve begun targeting the Mitsugoshi Co. "Is that why the Commerce Alliance is also issuing banknotes?" Only the Mitsugoshi Bank would win if things continued like this. Fufufu, is it really like this? The problem is, how well does the Commerce Alliance understand the risks of using a credit system? My brilliant mind has discovered the precise details of the rising tension between the Commerce Alliance and the Mitsugoshi Co. through the banknotes. I compare the simple yet complex design of the Mitsugoshi Banks excellent banknotes, with the flashy and fancy, despite its crude design, banknotes of the Commerce Alliance with my eye. That, this is The Mitsugoshi Bank''s banknotes have a serial number and a watermark on them. Whereas the Commerce Alliances banknotes have a serial number, but no watermark on the bill and the design itself is not very refined. Looking at this, couldnt you easily make counterfeits of the Alliances banknotes? Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. I couldnt do it alone. However, I have a partner from the underworld who is fully capable of such a task. "Fufufu" I abruptly burst into laughter. "Hes finally lost it" Ah, I see it, I can see it. The path to becoming The boss of a large organization in the shadows that control the world of commerceis within my reach. Let see, first, my vast memories must come back. Why don''t we change my plan of showing the counterfeit money scheme to one where I can smugly show off my knowledge on something like how minting works to Yukime. "Hyoro, Jaga, soon I will have the world in the palm of my hand" "Sid-Kun, poor thing" "Ah, I can''t take it anymore" Come on brain, remember! The memories of that 2-hour MHK doc.u.mentary!! The world is whispering to me, to become The boss of a large organization in the shadows that control the world of commerce. 116 Do You Really Think So? Yukime, who is having a drink while watching the fireplace, feels a breeze flow in. Looking behind her, the window behind Yukime is open, and the sound that seems to be a finger flicking something can be heard. "Is that you, John-han?" Following her question, a man in a suit appeared from the darkness. Wearing a white mask on his face, and possessing a strong-looking body that could not be concealed under his suit, he walked in with a smug expression his face. Sitting opposite of Yukime, he plays with a gold coin by flicking it into the air with his finger. "The value of this gold coin has inflated many times; this thing is just an illusion of empty trust." With a low yet clear voice, he spoke. Yukime thought that John was talking about the new bills that have been circulating on the market recently. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Actually, this piece of paper that everyone believes is paper money is not exactly banknotes, it is, in other words, just a deposit receipt, a cash voucher. The Mitsugoshi Bank grants the remuneration feature to deposit receipts so that it can be circulated. At first, it could only be used in the Mitsugoshi Co''s shops, but now that the credit system has spread throughout the Kingdom, those papers can be used in major stores within the country. Yet people believe that these pieces of papers have the same value as real money." He then put two banknotes on the desk. One is the banknote of the Mitsugoshi Co, while the other one is of the Great Commerce Alliance. I believe that the Mitsugoshi Bank''s goal is to make people think that those receipts have the same value as gold coins. And thanks to that, it is now possible to inflate or expand the value of a single gold coin many times. "The Mitsugoshi Bank distributes bills as deposit receipts and keeps loaning them with it as collateral. Then they keep doing it as many times as possible, in which then the current bills are growing many times their actual monetary value. We can say that one gold coin was loaned to dozens of people and Mitsugoshi Bank got a huge interest in return, thus covering the empty holes." The top bra.s.s of the Mitsugoshi Bank is not on the same level as a common swindler. I would like to talk to that person once about this bold and cunning technique and how in the world it was possible. (EN: I dont know if someone is actually saying this or if its just an internal monologue, or even who is saying it.) Yukime takes a sip of sake from her cup as she listens to Johns question. "Is this piece of paper truly worthy of the peoples trust?" This would be astonishing to the people, but it is already a well-known fact to the executives of the Great Commerce Alliance. At any rate, the Commerce Alliance had to keep an eye out for the movements of the Mitsugoshi Co. If it''s something like this, John-han should have known it, but for what reason has he brought this up? Im unable to understand it. There are two banknotes here, did you notice anything when comparing these two banknotes? "Notice something?" Yukime compares the two with her pristine water-like eyes. There is indeed a difference in their design, but that does not seem to be what John-han was referring to Perhaps!? Is it about the watermark? That''s right; additionally, the design of the notes from Great Commerce Alliance is rather crude, do you know what that means? Developing counterfeit notes would be possible. However "It would be easy to make counterfeits. Yukime, let''s make a profit on counterfeit notes!" "Huh.?" Yukime tilted her head in confusion The Great Commerce Alliance Should already understand that it''s easy to make counterfeit bills of their banknotes. With that in mind, the Alliance issued the notes while knowing the risks involved, John-han should have realized that, right? "John-han, are you serious about this? The banknotes of the Great Commerce Alliance only circulate within the kingdom. As soon as counterfeit bills come out, it would be easy to pinpoint the source. John suddenly stopped moving. "If you do it on a small scale, you can do it without getting caught, but you can only earn up to the extent of pocket money. However, doing it on a large scale will make it easy to be tracked down, and it will be the end for us." Knowing that some counterfeit bills will circulate, the Great Commerce Alliance will keep their distribution range under strict watch so that it will be easier for them to investigate the sources of the distribution of any counterfeit bills. The Commerce Alliance would only begin distribution outside the kingdom after an effective countermeasure against counterfeiting had been established. In other words, the Alliance wanted the Mitsugoshi Co. to collapse and gain the watermark technology as soon as possible so that they can get a hold of an effective countermeasure against counterfeit notes. If a considerable number of counterfeit bills comes out, the counterfeiting operation would soon be crushed, and if it is in small amounts, it won''t produce any profits. And I think no person is foolish enough to pick a fight with the Great Commerce Alliance in the first place. Anyone involved in business knows the horrors of opposing large firms. "John-han.?" With a dejected expression, John''s shoulders slowly dropped. His appearance looked just like an excited child who invited his friend to go treasure hunting, only to be shot down with logical arguments of there being no treasure and is now depressed. No way was John-han really planning to make counterfeit notes?! Fufufu~ Yukime smiled, surprised that John had such a cute side to him. But in the next moment, Yukime felt an overwhelming pressure. This tremendous pressure, which came from the depressed John bore down on her. "Wha?!" "Do You Really Think So?" John spoke with a deep voice that felt like it came straight from the depths of the abyss. What is this pressure?! This is not a force caused by magic, it was more akin to the pure force of his will. It seemed like Yukimes a.n.a.lysis was wrong. He was testing her. To see whether or not Yukime was worthy of being his partner or not! But Did I miss something?! Yukime carefully examined the flow of the conversation. And then she noticed something. It''s the fundamental difference between The Mitsugosi Bank and the Great Commerce Alliance! The Mitsugoshi Bank keeps the money of their customers and issues bank notes in exchange-based that amount. But the Alliance is different. They issued banknotes from the start by using their brands and the people''s trust of the notes that are being spread by Mitsugoshi Co. Formerly, large firms also engaged in loaning out money, but there were not many cases where they used their costumer''s money. It was not until the establishment of the Great Commerce Alliance that people''s deposits started to be used by these firms as sources for loaning out money. However, the number of deposits is still small. So, most of the banknotes issued by the Great Commerce Alliance come from their own funds. In other words, there is a big gap between the Mitsugoshi Banks and Great Commerce Alliance''s income, with the Mitsugoshi Co. in the lead. The Alliance has already issued a large number of banknotes and loaned them out of the bank at low interest to their customers to compete with the Mitsugoshi Bank. Incidentally, as The Mitsugoshi Co. continued to introduce new products, new demands would rise, the people would spend their money at the Mitsugoshi Bank, and would then distribute their banknotes in exchange for their customers money, allowing the flow of goods would circulate. The kingdom would flourish with the unprecedented prosperity in the economy and the growth of investment. Which would then lead to people taking out more loans for their businesses, and that would then lead to the Commerce Alliance needing to do the same to compete, but they would not have the funds to give out such loans. The banknotes of the Alliance are indeed spreading beyond imagination. Although there are some people borrowing money from the alliance, few people keep their money with them. As they have already deposited their money at the Mitsugoshi Bank, and only a few people were willing to move their money to the Alliance. Which means "Banknotes are issued ten times the actual funds and are circulated in an amount that exceeds expectations. The notes are an actual voucher for real cash. In other words, even if one-tenth of notes are exchanged for money, the Alliance will This is truly serious; although the establishment of credit involves these kinds of risks, it would be dangerous to keep increasing the number of notes like that any further. But the Alliance has to issue more notes to compete with the Mitsugoshi Bank, and in the future, the difference between the number of funds and issued banknotes will continue to increase. The danger will elevate further beyond repair. When it does, the Alliance will go bankrupt No Way?! "Are you planning on intentionally destroying their earned trust by issuing a large number of counterfeit bills, essentially making them go bankrupt?!" In this situation, I don''t know when the Alliance will go bankrupt. However, it is possible to manipulate the timing of when the Alliance goes bankrupt by planning when to circulate the counterfeit bills into the market. In doing so, the Alliance will no longer have the funds necessary to exchange for banknotes or to support their firms. The people will lose their trust in the Alliance, and when that happens, the people will want to withdraw their funds from the Alliance. At the same time we can exchange our counterfeits for real cash, further depleting the Alliances finances. Large scale workshops for producing counterfeit notes would stand out, but Yukime had a base in Outlaw City that could serve as a cover. The less time needed for the Alliance to go bankrupt, the lower the risk of their counterfeit operation being exposed. And by the time the Alliance knows of it, they will have already collapsed, and a large sum of money will have already made its way into Yukimes hands. Yukime finally understood why John dejectedly dropped his shoulders. He was disappointed in Yukime, disappointed in her inability to understand the meaning of producing counterfeit bills and having to test her. Noticing that fact, Yukime shuddered. "However, even if the Alliance is crushed with that, the Mitsugoshi Bank will still remain." On the contrary, there''s even a possibility that the Mitsugoshi Bank will win and become even stronger. The pressure coming from John suddenly stopped. And after a few seconds "Do you really think so?" "What!!" A pressure several times greater than the previous one was suddenly released by John. What the Did I overlook something again?! Yukime desperately looked for the answer and came to realize I see!! The Alliance will fail to sell the bank notes without being able to exchange it to Zeni Then people naturally will have no doubt in the Mitsugoshi banknotes. And yet the Mitsugoshi Bank is also handling credit distribution. If they can''t exchange the alliances notes for theirs as well, they will go bankrupt too, after that we will have a lot of cash leftover. And then we can buy Mitsugoshi Co''s technologies and facilities with the money acc.u.mulated from the counterfeit bills. John did not propose the creation of fake bills with half-baked thoughts. This is a precisely calculated plan. Earlier, John-han said, "Is this piece of paper truly worthy of the peoples trust?" And that sentence already implied the collapse of the credit system. He even bothered to explain the modus operandi of Mitsugoshi Bank He intended to clarify the difference between the Mitsugoshi Bank and the Alliance, and to suggest the danger behind it! His words were hints all along?! In the face of his vast intellect, cold sweat poured down Yukimes back. But that was not the end of it. "Do you really think so?" "What!? The pressure released from John further increased. Did I still overlook something?! Yukime desperately seeks the answer, but no answer comes out John is observing Yukime as his eyes directly gazed into hers from behind the mask. This is BAD! Very Bad! If I don''t say anything! He will become even more disappointed ".I''m thinking, but I cannot see what else I have missed." Yukime glanced and muttered, but there were no holes in his plan she couldnt figure out what else she had missed Yukime lamented her incompetence and readied herself for reprimand But The pressure was gone. "That''s right" "Oh!" It was a trap! If Yukime gave in to the pressure and acted irresponsibly, he would have for sure, reprimanded her without hesitation. To be honest, I can relate in seeking this kind of response is the correct answer. The last thing John tested was Yukime''s honesty. I barely got the right answer and was acknowledged as his partner. Understanding that Yukime leaned on the sofa and felt her waist lose strength as she began to relax. But I have to make up for all the disappointment I have caused. "Let''s make the counterfeit bills, leave the manufacturing and distribution to me. This plan will be a race against time. The counterfeit money will be then exchanged for a large sum of real money, and soon the Alliance will go bankrupt before they even realize it. Even if news of the counterfeit money spreads, the investigation will take some time. I''ll take care of it as well, but surely you''ll cooperate too, right? John-han." "Fumu." (EN: I remember thats how Tenshi always put it when the MC was affirming simple questions. It was initially Alright.) "I''ll tell you the details later" "Fumu." John said that while playing with the gold coin in his hand. While flipping the coin, it falls, making a sharp ''clink'' sound. As Yukime was distracted looking at the falling coin, she realized that John had already vanished before she could notice any sign of him disappearing. The rolling gold coin stopped at Yukime''s foot. Yukime then picked up the coin and played with it in the same manner as John had with his fingers. "So that is John The man they call Shadow" What a man How should I put it? How Bold. What power "That is a truly rare and splendid man huh." Yukime took a deep breath. Yukime had at first hired him, expecting only his strength, but he was not just a man with power. He also holds immense intelligence and the courage to deal with and handle his foes at will. When he learns of my true goal will he become angry? Or perhaps he already knows Yukime smiled a little sadly. 117 The smell of wood. With the sun shining in through the window, Alpha who was organizing the doc.u.ments suddenly looked up. Standing up and walk towards the window, she sees a big tree growing on the street from outside of the window, surrounded by the cityscape of the kingdom''s capital. Autumn is coming to an end. The trees on the street were already bright red and the fragrance of the wood carried by the wind. During this time, the air always smells like warm tress. Alpha closes her eyes and reminisces. The days that they all lived together. The nostalgic smell of wood. Shadow Garden, back when it was only two of them, Shadow and Alpha were living in the forest. During the day, the boy would work on building a wooden cabin by himself. Inside the cabin, filled with the smell of the wood, the boy would cut down trees and build the shed from scratch. Alpha learned how to make "Two-by-four" boards at that time. (Two by four is a length of wood with a rectangular cross-section, nominally two inches by four inches.) At first, she could only stand there and watch him, but she did help little by little, in the end, the girl was able to finish building the cabin alone. The boy and the girl, the cabin built by the two of them. It was simple and a bit shabby, but Alpha loved the hut filled with the scent of wood. The boy can only come here at night. That''s why Alpha always looked forward to the time when night falls. During the day, she would focus on sword and magic training, harvesting vegetables, and hunt small animals. At night, the boy brought bread and meat and Alpha cooked them a meal. While the two of them having dinner, he always talked about various stories. "Steam has the power to move a huge ma.s.s of iron." One day, he said such a thing while eating the stew which Alpha had made. Steam was coming off of the stew, Alpha watched it for a while. I can hardly believe that such weak steam has such extraordinary power. But the knowledge he has spoken of thus far is real no matter how absurd it may sound. Also, he claimed that this world is a sphere rather than a flat plane. He denied Alphas perception of the world, and that it was the Earth orbiting around the sun, rather than sun revolving around the Earth. That''s why steam must surely have such power. "How can I draw such power from steam?" The boy sat there quietly as he continued eating Alpha''s delicious stew. He is, as always, thinking about what knowledge he can share and the knowledge he should not speak of. "Heat the water, and it will become steam. And, it will produce a large force. The hint Was it a piston or a turbine?" He said that and smiled looking interested. He will not merely explain everything. Giving only small hints, he makes sure to have Alpha think over the answer carefully. "I don''t know with just that." This is more difficult than usual. Alpha was planning to immediately get down to researching it tomorrow, as it will take too much time to reach the answer with a hint like this. "With the power of steam, you will be able to run a large car, you can sail the sea on a metal boat." However, what he explained was not a hint but an example of the use of a steam engine. If it really can move an Iron car or boat, it would be ridiculous. And if he says it is possible to accomplish, surely it can be done. "That means that the steam engine is worth spending time on.." He only smiled with interest. The boy, as always, pushes Alpha to think. In this way, she was given knowledge and the chance to train her ability to think and solve problems. And such training led to her dramatically improving her skills, allowing her to have many times the experience that she would have received at a top grade education facility in any country. Armed not only with great strength but also with great knowledge allowed her to become a significantly powerful individual. Alpha, considered herself as a smart child. There was no one smarter than her in her hometown. But, even so although he was in the same age as alpha, her knowledge could not compare. There was a limit. Alpha was dazed, looking at the boy''s greatness. (TN: ability, or something. the raw is ) "Nn? What''s wrong? " "No, nothing is wrong." The two of them eat the stew then she has him guide her in swordplay and magic, after that she sees him off before sunrise. Every day, the girl would wave her hands until he disappeared from her sight. The girl had a happy life. As the seasons change, the time the two of them spent alone come to an end. The crying silvered-haired Beta joined the group. At the start Beta was shy and afraid of him, she was always hiding behind Alpha. Back in their home country Alpha and Beta had known of each other. They werent exactly friends, the two of them of them had only gone as far as exchanging greetings in social circles, but the two of them had the same circ.u.mstances, so they quickly become close. [TN: Last line: (Alpha was Beta no koto s.h.i.tteita shi, Beta mo Alpha no koto o shtteita.) it''s a repeat.] Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Then Gamma and Delta joined soon after, the lonely cabin quickly became very lively. With the skills she had learned from the boy, Alpha expanded the cabins size, resulting in an elegant house. It was a warm, cozy home, filled with the fragrant scent of wood. One day, the boy put an end to Deltas and Gammas training earlier than usual and gathered everyone. Delta was looking down on Gamma proudly, and Gamma halfway glares at Delta. It''s the usual sight. "Delta is stronger." "I I am older I am the senpai sobs~tsu " "Gamma''s not impudent." "Wait, st, stop! " Delta pushes Gamma down to the ground and sits on her back. This is also a common sight. Anyways, a dog''s understanding of seniority is that the one who sits on top of another is to be the senior. "Yeah, yeah, now stop it already." Alpha pulls the two apart. Delta obediently listens to what Alpha says. For better or worse, Delta is faithful to the hierarchical relationship. That is why she does not want a person weaker than herself to stand above her. Gamma is also a muscle brain like Delta. (EN: I thought Gamma was supposed to be the brains of Shadow Garden?) Those two had a relationship akin to a monkey and a dog. (TN: similar to English "Cats and Dogs" but in this case, Delta is a dog, while Gamma is the smart one, a monkey.) "Being powerful is not only about having strength. It''s also about having the necessary knowledge to control the world." The boy gathered everyone and said. "Boss..? " "Shadow -sama" Delta and Gamma looked up at the Boy. Deltas expression looked confused, while Gamma looked on expectantly to hear more of what the boy had to say. The wind blows by, carrying the fragrance of the wood. "I''ll teach you. The power of knowledge that can make the value of gold coins fluctuate many times with the use of just a single gold coin. A technique to manipulate money and control the worlds economy." Then, The boy told them of a grand scheme to create a banking inst.i.tution and establish a system of credit. "Wow" Alpha''s mouth hung open, agape like a shocked child. Alpha was trembling at the complexity and scale of his terrifying knowledge. Beta, who was hiding behind Alpha, was trembling in fear of Shadow. Delta was asleep while trembling in the cold night breeze. And Gamma was trembling in excitement. A glimmer of strength returned the girl''s eye that had seemed dark and exhausted. "Shadow-sama, I have found my path." He simply nods. From that day on, Gamma had changed. She greedily asks for his knowledge, spending the majority of her time on research. Alpha got more opportunities to talk with Gamma, Beta also joined and helped draw out the shape of the organization. Eventually, Epsilon, Zeta, and lastly, Eta joined. In the house surrounded by the smell of wood, the girls lived happily. From that day, Alpha had continued running, towards her goal. She had not noticed the smell of wood, as she was late to see it while living there. The madder red leaves of the tree beautifully dance in the Autumn breeze. "Alpha sama, it''s time." A knock was heard, and Gamma entered the room. "Do you remember? The smell of the wood, where we first spoke "The smell of the wood?" Gamma stood next to Alpha and looked towards the big tree. She Inhaled the breeze that carried the fragrance of wood and narrowed her eyes. "How nostalgic " "My dream from that day is coming to shape But, it''s still only in my dreams." "Yes, it is gradually coming to shape." "We We will continue on the path that we believe in. We will show no mercy to those who stand against us. Now then, shall we go?" "Yes! The two of them left the room. The scent of the wood of that day will forever remain in her heart. 118 Golden retriever Well, I dont really understand but counterfeit money seems to be a very good strategy. When I got denied, I thought my plans were awful, but I push it. Yukime also give her seals of approval, we just have to wait for the counterfeit money to be made. I have a bit of free time, but it will be busy once the counterfeit bills have being made. my work is mainly to end those who try to deception the source of counterfeit notes. Remove the enemy agents stylishly and I can have fun and have a work that is suitable for an super elite agent. Fufufu (j.a.panese way of laughing), how should I dispose you. You can not use a sword to guard against the shadow bullets. In another words, it means that I do not have to stick to swords, this time I can have a new style of battle. Late at night, while walking in the kingdom, I found a familiar dog ear in a distant away. Delta? The moment when I murmured a little, that dog ear suddenly moved. She turned around and look, its delta without fail. boss She moved her lips. And in the next moment, she appeared before me with a quadrupedal dash. Aa, that good for nothing speed. Ordinary people would not be able to catch her in their eyes. bo Now it is now the boss. AhuSid!I missed you! BunBun, the tail is swaying around. The face full of smiles, it solidified the next moment. SidStinks like a fox I had forgotten, Delta have a nose that is good for nothing. I..I am hunting fox, Fox hunting, Delta also! Deltas face gets brighter. Unfortunately, I had already hunted the fox. Ahu then fox hunting now also. Yeah, we will try that next time. Ah, Stop, marking me as your territory. Marking, I dont know If English had such use of marking. refer to the image below. Dogs marking its territory. the raws was I push the Delta who is trying to rub her body with my arm. But Sid, fox stinks. its alright. Disgusting Gui Gui, I pushed the Delta coming up with muscle, I change the topic. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Gui Gui sound of using strength. Why is Delta in the royal capital AhuSid, too strong Why is Delta in the royal capital Nn?Why? Why is Delta in the royal capital Delta got up, sort of, early today and ate a lot of meat, I came to the capital after a long time. Why is Delta in the royal capital Well, Delta had being hunting for In capital? outside, it was fun!Lots and lots to hunt for!Sid hunt together? Why were you hunting? Sid lets hunt together! Why were you hunting? Alpha sama do so!Sid lets hunt together? Well, Alpha said so. Yeah, Sid lets hunt together! What are you hunting? Banditsu!Sid lets hunt together? bandit hunting! Sid likes hunting bandits! Un, I like hunting bandits. Lets hunt together! I got a bit of free time and Ill hunt together. yea (Yattaa) Delta pulls my hand and tries to drag me along. wait wait, Its impossible right now!I gotta go back to the dormitory once. "No! Delta have errands coming to the royal capital right? Do I? Are you being called by Alpha? Alpha sama tsu! You forgot? Telling Her, she will get angry? What about it. sooner the better to go by. But bandits hunting Delta looked downhearted, and I sees that. Ill be free for a while so lets do it tomorrow. After you had finished your errands. I know!Sid, wait! Ill be waiting in the dormitory. Come secretly. Go secretly! Delta Quadrupedal dash in to the cityscape of capital with tremendous speed. It is absolutely remarkable once seen, but ordinary people can not see it in the first place so it is okay. Remembers the golden retriever that I had been keeping in my previous life, I give out a sign. 119 Ol, Its Ol!! Late at night, in the forest. I am running behind Delta. Just as I was worrying about Deltas secret infiltration being exposed, she had quietly appeared in my room at the dormitory, just as I had told her to. Her innate abilities werent anything for me to worry about. Delta is really good at hunting. Thats why theres no need to worry about concealing ourselves. I guess its a token of being one of the Seven Shadows. Furthermore, her innate ability to detect prey is not to be underestimated. To be honest, I dont think I can win against her in smelling or hearing. Even if humans can enchant parts of their bodies with magic power to strengthen them, we dont stand a chance against a beastkins natural talents. Deltas existence, other than her miso brain, is high spec. So as such, Delta plays the role of running at the front and acts like a bandit radar. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. To be honest about bandit hunting, finding the thieves is the hardest part and takes the longest time. In this regard, If you let Delta run in front, she will guide you to the bandits with no trouble whatsoever, so long as you follow her the process becomes pretty straightforward. As she runs in front of me, Deltas ears twitch, and her tail shakes. Those signs are the proof that there are bandits nearby. Delta increases her speed, she went from running on two legs to sprinting on all fours. I rush through the forest at a tremendous pace and thrust into the light in the distance. And then, screams can be heard. Arriving after Delta, I could see there were already several thieves torn apart and dead, their limbs are scattered before the bonfire. Aa, Its still as usual, There are not only merits to hunting bandits with Delta. Of course, there are demerits as well. Delta cannot wait in front of prey. Her bandit hunting is a one-sided slaughter, there is no element of fun in it. It would be perfect if she didnt have such a flaw. By the way, strictly speaking, its not like she cant wait. If I call Delta, she will wait as I say. However, having Delta wait in front of her prey can be a tremendous stress for her. (TLN: just like a dog staring at a hot dog.) Thats why when shes in front of me she would be obedient, but when Im not around, she will have to vent that stress. A problem always arises somewhere. Back then she would sit on top of Gamma, cut the trees behind the cabin, eat all the vegetable in the field, etc It was only to this level when she was little, but as she grew, her means of stress relief also grew. I have no idea what to do with her. In the meantime, it seems that bandit hunting is about to end. There was no need for me to appear. W-wait! The surviving thieves started to beg for their lives. It was a familiar sight, but their tearful pleas were not heard y Delta. She smiles like a savage beast and then mows them down with a jet black blade. I cannot feel any technique behind it other than a forced blow. However, her sword is not only fast but also lengthens and remains flexible. I wonder if this is her innate talent. Her sword, aimed at the head of bandits, only stopped just before cutting the skin. Nn? Delta stoppedThis cant be, is this a dream?. Delta sniffs at the bandits with her nose. I-is that you Sarah? Its me, Ol. The man called Ol, repeatedly called out nervously to Delta, while removing his mask. Under the mask of that guy was a face that no longer showed any fear. One noteworthy thing to inspect is that this man has dog ears that are the same colour and shape as Deltas. Sarah, are you Sarah? Its me, Ol, your Aniki-da. (EN: a j.a.panese honourable term for an older brother or a superior. For those who dont know) Delta made a KunKun sound from her nose and tilted her head while looking towards me. The usual pattern for when shes asking for permission. I nodded, allowing her to do whatever she wants. My fathers scentbut, I cannot remember. Delta took the mask and exposed his face and tail. No doubt about it, Its you, Sarah. I heard that our father was hunting for you as you came down with demon possessionbut well, it seems you survived fathers hunt. Delta is the best at hide and seek. Delta? Is that what you call yourself? Hey, please help me, I am your older brother. The man tries to flatter Delta. Deltas tail begins to sway slowly, giving off a threatening impression. Ah, yup, thats a bad sign. A week fellow like you cannot be my brother. W-wait, wait a minute, I know youve been strong since long ago, and I admit that I was never able to beat you back then. Even father would have made you the next chieftain if you werent born as a girl. Your demon possession has been treated, right? If thats the case, I can plead for our father to welcome you back. You want that right? Dont know, will return if Delta wants to return. Ye-yeah, yeah. Youre the boss! Then, Ill introduce you to a real big shot!Youd be surprised to hear that, I am working for the legendary Big Wolf, Gettan sama now. The rhythm of Deltas tail has changed. Its the worst pattern. Gettan sama havent you heard of him? Ive heard his name before. Dont know. Delta shook her head with a stern expression. Thats right. Youre kidding me!? Even father didnt dare to make the legendary Big Wolf his enemy! The strongest wolf tribe warrior! Oh, maybe you could be chosen as a concubine for Gettan "Dont know, shut up, weak dogs only bark. Delta said that and cut off the neck of the man who was still speaking. Eethat was your brother, wasnt it? Delta looks at the mans head with a super grumpy face, then turns towards me smiling while shaking her tail. A weak dog is a shame to our clan. Happy to clean up. Ahhis that so. Theres nothing left for me to say. Here, the thinking of beastkin is fundamentally different. The beastkin have a wide variety of different tribes. However, about 80% of them are people whose inherent abilities are their strengths. The strong are highly respected, and those who are exceptionally proficient at hunting are also treated with great respect, its that kind of system. Delta is, the super typical stereotype of the beastkin, now are all beastkin are like her? Probably not. However, though most beastkin hold respect for the strong, not many take it as far as Delta does. Such thinking is common among the beastkin. Plainly speaking, the beastkin are super cheats in regards to their basic specs. Beastkin have greater physical ability, sharper senses, better reflexes, higher amounts of magic power, longer life spans, also higher fertility rates. If not for the defects in their brains they would have dominated this world. However, going by this line of thought, as the population increases, so does the fighting between different tribes, which in turn reduces their population. Sometimes a hero appears to unify the beastkin. They would then wage war alongside the humans and elves, only to betray them and run back home. No, every time, in the beginning, the victor was the beastkin. However, the supply line extends vertically and would withdraw when starved. The same pattern every time. However, there was a beastkin tribe with intelligence. For better or worse, the beastkin are a diverse race. Yukime is also like that, the fox tribe are famous for their cunning intellect. Tribes with such mindsets, I hope to listen to their opinions. Actually, it seems that they are always looking to others first. But when the supply line extends, Those with right mind took care of them self. But powerful beastkin abuse them as cowards and attack them. (EN: sorry, I gave up on this paragraph) Its ingrained in their instincts that power is to be worshiped. As for a law enforced state, recently, the industry was trying their best but still makes little progress. In the end, nevertheless their brain (Raw:.) Ma~a still, you should remember your older brother. Brother? Why? You dont have that many brothers and sisters, right? Its better to take care of them, its the general rule. Well, Deltas father has about twenty concubines. Over hundreds of brothers! Ah, its still not good even if only one person disappeared. As expected of a beastkin, the scale is different. But, a country of strength and ability, I have some interest in it. I wonder if I should go to the country of the beastkin someday. Deltas ears moved swiftly. I got a good idea! Boss should be the chieftain!! Nn? If Boss defeats the chieftain, Boss will become the new chieftain of the tribe. Eeh Produce a lot of strong descendants, become the strongest clan!! No, that wouldnt be good. Become! Prepare hundreds of concubine!! Lots of birth, strongest in the world!! Lets do it!! Boss becomes a big hero who dominates the world!! Impossible, impossible, lets just get back to the capital now. No!! Dont want to. Uu~!! I dragged Delta back to the kingdom. Im tired. TLN: Note: Ol is the same p.r.o.nunciation as Ore, which is me, so just think of his name as Mi or Me. 120 Blind Big Wolf Two men were sitting in a luxurious room. Both of them merchants. One, whose appearance was akin to an ugly toad''s, sat in the room across from the other, a blind beastman. "Four leaves was DD killed?" The blind beastman, hearing this news, groans in a low voice. The blind beastman is of the wolf race, possessing glossy black fur and stoic features. A sword had crushed his eyes, leaving a horizontal scar across his face. (a "һ" character scar) " A member ofFour leaveswas one of them, the beastman under Gettan''s supervision to be specific. It seems that he and his group were a.s.saulted when he was on duty pretending to be bandits to raid the Mitsugoshi Co''s carriage." The fat, toad-like merchant spoke as he observed the expression of the beastman, Gettan. The man who spoke of the Four leaves'' defeat is known as Garter. "To think they were all killed... Garter, who is responsible for this?" "Not sure, the corpses were beheaded by a single sword stroke. The deed must have been carried out by someone with considerable skill. Considering the circ.u.mstances, this may be the work of a magic swordsman hired by the Mitsugoshi Co..." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. The fat, toad-like merchant, Garter, is the chairman of Garter company. Gettan who was hired by chairman Garter is a beastman. However, the att.i.tudes of the two were fairly opposite. "Mitsugoshi Co... a stubborn bunch." Gettan muttered while making a low growl just like a wolf''s. The strategy to crush Mitsugoshi Co was supposed to have proceeded well. Having their army disguise themselves as bandits they sought to prevent peddlers from buying the products of the Mitsugoshi Co. Having the distribution of their goods blocked; the peddlers would no longer be able to use the banknotes of the Mitsugoshi Co. With no other choice, people would have to use the notes and products of the Great Trade Alliance instead. Once that happened, then the banknotes of the Great Trade Alliance become the mainstream currency. Everything was supposed to be going well. However, the Mitsugoshi Co did not waver. Garter company not only attacked the peddler''s carriages, but they also struck the Mitsugoshi Co''s transportation carriage. However, their wagons carried armed escorts with strong skills. Not a single one of the attacking troops survived. As a result, the Mitsugoshi Co. continues to operate in urban areas; only the peddlers who sell their wares to the commoners in the rural areas are affected. There is a big gap in urban and rural economic scales. In urban cities, the number of n.o.bles and wealthy people is more abundant, buying not only the daily necessities but also items for entertainment. However, most of the people from rural areas are farmers. They are self-sufficient, they make things by themselves, and only pay for the things what they need. The peddler comes once every month; there isn''t any way for them to spend money; they also do not have the habit of overspending money. The Mitsugoshi Co. provides cheaper goods to those areas to try to change their spending habits. However, they are still in the middle of carrying that out. Currently, the regional sales are stagnant; the Mitsugoshi Co. receives no significant impact on its business overall. Just like that, they''ve made their base of operations in the city. As soon as the Great Trade Alliance issues banknotes and sells products similar to the Mitsugoshi Co''s, the flow of customers will gather to the Great Trade Alliance. That was the initial plan. However, the customers of the Mitsugoshi Co. did not leave. The products of Mitsugoshi Co possess a quality that cannot be imitated by a seemingly similar product. Also, there are still many favourite items which the Great Trade Alliance is unable to imitate as their production method is unknown. The manufacturing methods of the Mitsugoshi Co. should''ve been easily obtained by attacking their transportation carriage. "s.h.i.t..." Gettan clicked his tongue, causing Garter''s shoulders to tremble. After all, their company seems innocent on the surface. Even if their sales are stable, they expected to be able to crush the Mitsugoshi Co. easily if they attacked by a means other than their sales. However, the escort of Mitsugoshi Co was strong. They would not crumble like this. The longer they took, the higher the risk to the Great Trade Alliance. Gettan had no choice but to make a move. "Send all the remaining members of Four leavesto attack the Mitsugoshi Co." "Ha." "Take away their funds and manufacturing methods of the goods. Failure is not allowed." Garter silently lowered his head and moved in front to leave the room. Gettan with his crushed eyes followed the figure of Garter as if he could see him. "Those good for nothing..." With only Gettan left in the room, he bares his sharp teeth and a low growl. He''s robbed everything with his overwhelming power. It is his way of life to steal; he has gained everything this way. ...that is to say so! The wound on Gettan''s eyes still hurts. This old scar makes him remember his past mistake. "...tsu!" (TLN: the sound of ... he is muttering the name.) He mutters the name of that person softly. It is the name of the person who brought him the biggest disgrace of his life. Moreover, now, Mitsugoshi Co has stopped his progress. This is the second disgrace in his entire life. Gettan ground his fangs in irritation. The feeling of rage from his past has revived. (Raw: ä,) Unforgivable. This is Unforgivable. If it looked like they were going to fail again DD "I''ll take from them and trample them." He does not feel like choosing the means anymore. (TLN: unscrupulous?) The legend of the one feared as the Big Wolfwill once again unleash his power. 121 Great Trading Alliance Swish, Swish, Swish, Swish, Swish!! A Rainy evening. The moon was hidden behind clouds and the sound of rain was audible from the outside. Two elves are sitting on a sofa in a room at the Mitsugoshi Company. "Alphsama, the circulation of the banknotes of the Great Trading Alliance is this way. It has been increasing since the beginning of its publication, affecting the Kingdom''s economy as well." The elf with indigo hair and deep blue eyes C Gamma C shows a graph drawn on paper while talking. "That''s dangerous..." The elf with platinum blonde hair, Alpha, muttered with a grim face. Her beautiful hair shines by the light of the fireplace. "I expect that in less than half a year, sustaining it will become impossible." "So it seems...a troublesome opponent. They''re the enemies of the Mitsugoshi Company, not of Shadow Garden." "Yes. Because the connection between the Mitsugoshi Company and Shadow Garden cannot become public knowledge." "I cannot permit anything flashy. I don''t want just simply to crush it; however, Delta will not understand, right?..." "That dog should only be let loose against bandits." "Think a bit more on how to move about this." "Seems impossible. Only he can attach a collar and hold it tight." Alpha sighed and rearranged her legs. "It will take six months at the latest until the Great Trading Alliance collapses. Naturally, they should''ve also understood the danger. The trap simply being set..." "Yes. Including the subsequent responseDD" At that time, the door of the room was knocked. "Enter." "Excuse me." A girl with dark brown hair, Nyu, came in. "I''m sorry for interrupting your conversation. There is an intruder." "Ara...The trap is sprung." "I believe a proper greeting is in order. Please leave it to me." Gamma stood up from the sofa with a confident face. "Well, that''s fine, but... you?" "Yes. I''ll show you what I can do. Nyu, let''s go." "Ha." Alpha felt uneasy as she saw off the two, who bowed and left. "Since Nyu is also with her, it should be okay, right?..." She said, trying to convince herself. A man in black runs through a dark corridor. The small footsteps are drowned out by the sound of the rain outside. The keen and agile man is the chief of the Four Leaves(Yotsuba), a master magic swordsman called First Leaf(Ichiyou). He invaded the Mitsugoshi Company with Second Leaf(Futaba)and Third Leaf(Mitsuba). His job as the First Leaf is the recovery of confidential doc.u.ments alone. The Second Leaf, along with several subordinates, is to take on the role of saboteurs, while the Third Leaf is to loot and kidnap key personnel. First Leaf, who advanced to the depths of the Company, noticed the shadow of a person walking ahead and stopped his feet. Walking through the dark corridor is a beautiful elf with indigo hair. The President of the Mitsugoshi Company. ''The person in charge of kidnapping is theThird Leaf, butC oh well.'' First Leaf chose to stun and collect her. His movement was fast. In the darkness, approaching behind the target without making a sound, he struck her neck with a chop with his hand. "Ouch!" "Eh?" *Glares* She looks back. First Leaf hurriedly took his distance. She should''ve lost consciousness after being taken by complete surprise. "How embarra.s.sing. It''s pretty easy to take me by surprise." She puts on a fearless smile while rubbing her neck. Although while saying that it hurts, she seems perfectly fine. "Since you have come all this way, we''ll receive you with the greatest welcome. I am Gamma; the one who will reap your life!!" Gamma announced while making a jet-black sword appear. And then strengthened her body, and closed the distance between her and First Leaf within a single breath. ''Fast!!'' Her movements were simple and straightforward, but fast. However, First Leaf has seen through it with just that much movement. ''This womanCis just a fast amateur!!'' Gamma''s movements are noisily wasteful. "Swish!!" With every breath, Gamma would swing her sword. Her movements are wasteful and put in an excessive amount of force. ''But she''s needlessly fast, and above all C this ridiculous amount of magical power!?'' No matter how fast, you can match the counter if the motion is big enough. However, Gamma''s sword holds enough magical power to blow away several magic swordsmen altogether. ''If you touch it, you die.'' ''Besides, it is actually hard to read her movements. Even if the motions of her swings are large, her pattern is random, just like an amateur''s.'' First Leaf has already avoided Gamma''s sword to an impressive extent. "Trying to avoid my sword? It is an elegant movement, the Lichten Lower-style western swordsmanship, is it?" "What!?" ''She saw through it!?'' An astounding observing eye, to have seen through him with only a glance. ''But this calm amateur, it was probably an accident, right?'' "It is easy to respond if the school is known. Let''s go." "!!" First Leaf raised his caution. "Swish!!" While making that sound, Gamma cuts in deep. Stepping forward with tremendous speed. But it''s easy to see because it''s sloppy. And from there, a blow that hid tremendous power was sent out. "!?" If one were to describe the blow in a few words, it would be that there was no change!? Although she saw through his style, her style has not changed at all! First Leaf had aimed to cut off Gamma''s neck with a reflexive movement that is ingrained in his body. However. "Ouch!" "Eh?" There was not a single wound. Without a doubt, he had cut her neck. But, why? ''What is going on with this woman''s body!?'' "You, just what.." First Leaf''s voice shook. "To give a blow to this me, you are an expert user of your school. Oh well, I''ll oppose you with all my strength." She put in an absurd amount of magical power into her blade. And then. "Swish,swish,swish,swish,swish!" Attacks shot out continuously. ''Fierce speed, but super large swings!!'' First Leaf took his distance and dodged the multiple connecting attacks. "Swish,swish,swish,swish,swish!!" However, Gamma gave chase with terrible technique and tremendous speed. "What''s with this pointlessly huge magical power?! That strange sound!?"[TLN: Referring to the all the swishing that Gamma''s been letting out] "The great teaching of my Master!! Hack ''N Slash with a lot of magical power loaded! And when I finally cut sometimes, saying ''Swish'' makes it look strong! Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!!" "Th-this is bad!!" First Leaf''s pace was entangled because of Gamma''s pressure. At the moment, a fatal chance was born. "I''ve got you!" ''She''s got me!'' The thoughts of the two matched. However, reality did not match. "Eek!?" Gamma cut at empty air, and unable to kill her momentum, she rushed forward and crashed into the wall. Doko!! And a terrible sound echoed. "Uu...I will do it, okay?" First Leaf shuddered when he saw Gamma emerge from the rubble unscathed while scattering debris. ''W-Wh-What is this person!?'' "I struck in the gap of an instant with a big swing, but got hit with a leg sweep and flung into the wall. Am I wrong?" "Wr-wrong, you just fell down on your own..." "I will not fall for cheap provocations." ''I-It''s useless. Dealing with this woman is impossible.'' ''Why is such a bulls.h.i.t woman the President of the Mitsugoshi Company!?'' ''However, the work of Second Leaf and Third Leaf should be over soon. We''ll use numbers to subdue this bulls.h.i.t woman'' C when he had this thought, the sound of footsteps echoed behind him. ''They''ve come!'' "Well, you guys have perfect timing, Second Leaf,Third Leaf...Wh!?" However, it was neither Second Leaf nor Third Leaf that were there. It was a girl who smiled thinly. The girl with dark brown hair approached, walking crisply. With two lumps under her arms...no. "Are the ones you refer to as Second Leafand Third Leaf by any chance C C these?" She threw away the two lumps which she had held under her arms. That, which rolled on the floor and stopped at the feet of First Leaf, was a still warm, freshly-severed pair of heads. "Wha...Second Leaf, Third Leaf...." They were undoubtedly the heads of Second Leaf and Third Leaf. However, the girl who disposed of them appears to be only a regular employee of the Mitsugoshi Company, at first glance. First Leaf experienced a feeling of having seen something that should not have existed in the likes of the Mitsugoshi Company. "Ara Nyu, you came too early." "I-is that so..." "But, please be careful. This guy, he is one of the world''s best experts..." "Eh....Really....?" The girl called Nyu stares at First Leaf with eyes filled up to 90% with suspicion. Those eyes seem to be asking ''Are you really strong? Huh?'' in an intimidating manner. First Leaf was terrified of this unknown girl. He instinctually knew that going up against this girl with dark brown hair would be very bad. First Leaf reflexively shook his head. "...The person himself denies it." "Do not be deceived. This man is an expert of the Lichten Lower-style, and that too, a man who has mastered it entirely." "That''s amazing, isn''t it? Let''s have you show it, by all means..." Nyu drew her sword. ''Th-this is bad!'' First Leaf attacks Gamma reflexively. Between an unknown ent.i.ty at the front gate, and a dragon at the back entrance, the front gate is better. "Let''s bring it to an end! Swish!!" Gamma''s sword is swung. However, First Leaf has already wholly given it up. He stops just before Gamma''s maai and aims at a counter. [TLN: Maai is the distance between opponents in kendo] Or so it was supposed to be. "Eek!?" She let loose a cry. "Eh?" Unfortunately for him, the sword Gamma released while falling (yet again) cut through First Leaf while rotating at high speed. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. The sword flew out with a buzzing sound, while First Leaf crumbled to the floor. "Uu.....So close." Gamma raised her face to grasp the situation, and her eyes caught sight of the delicate look of Nyu. "Se-secret Art Desperate Giant Swing...!!" It was the only excuse that Gamma could think of to explain this result. "as expected of Gammsama!!" And she had a good subordinate. While listening to the crackling and dry applause, the consciousness of First Leaf was utterly cut off. 122 The Malaise Of Mitsugoshi "Four Leaveswill not return . is that the case?" Gettan heard the report, with crossed arms and pondered deeply . TheFour Leaveswho led the attack on the Mitsugoshi Company have not returned . This meant that the attack failed catastrophically . First Leaf,Second Leaf&Third Leafwere all highly skilled magic swordsmen . Although their ability was unsatisfactory from Gettan''s viewpoint, it would still fall in the category of above ordinary to brilliant . Those three will not return . Moreover, according to Garter, not even one of the mercenaries sent with them at the same time has returned . No one is coming back . Just in case the mission fails, the communication personnel are always stationed in the rear . Even those communication personnel will not come back, how is that possible? He expected that they''d hired good guards . If there were no more than one skilled guard, this would not be the result . However, the names of those skilled guards have not come out at all . DDA sense of incongruity . Gettan experienced a feeling of having seen something that should not be seen from the likes of the Mitsugoshi Company . These doubts that were rekindled again called forth new suspicions . The technical power of their products and their artistic inspiration are all innovative . Their field is diverse and frankly speaking, a single company cannot produce such a large number of items . Where and what is the source of these ideas, the technology, and the ability to flexibly incorporate it? It shouldn''t be possible for a new company to do something like this within just a few years . There is something . Something huge is lurking behind the Mitsugoshi Company . Gettan felt anger, while also experiencing a cold feeling . "Gettan-sama, that There are complaints that the Mitsugoshi Company is not going to collapse even from among the Great Trading Alliance . " "Silence them . " "Uh, yes..." "No, wait Find out where the sources of dissatisfaction are . " "Sources of the complaints, is it?" "There might be something more to all this . Then investigate the Mitsugoshi Company thoroughly . " "The Mitsugoshi Company? But I''ve already looked into it . ..." "Look again . There must be something behind it . " "Uh, yes...I will investigate . " Gettan watched Garter bow and leave with visionless eyes . And mutters while touching the wound over his eye with a finger . "Always...destroy . " Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. What was hidden behind that company is unknown . However, what moves next is Gettan, the one feared as the Big Wolf . Whatever it is, he''ll crush them and pillage everything . Just as he has always done . 123 Sample Autumn fell, and winter began in earnest. I waited for the counterfeit bills to be made while watching over the daily lives of the mobs at the school. While they live their boring lives content to be ignorant, I am well on the way to becoming the boss of a large organization that would control this world''s economy from the shadows. Aa, even boring everyday life seems to sparkle. No one can imagine me to be an influential person when they see me, who forms a mob trio with Hyoro and Jaga. While enjoying mob life, sometimes I mutter meaningful words and try to give them hints. "The winds are troubled... Great changes are approaching..." No one seems to recognize the significance of those words. But that''s fine. In time, of all those who knew everything, only a handful will recall. My words... "Come over here for a moment." "Ouch!" With tremendous force, the scruff of my neck was seized, and I was forcefully dragged by the silver-haired and red-eyed Alexia. "While I am busy, can I help you with something?" I say while being dragged along since it''s too troublesome even to resist. "I wanted to see you in my spare time." "Why?" "The sword." Like that, we arrived at a deserted dojo. It was a small private practice dojo located at the edge of the school. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. While I sat on the floor, Alexia stood ready with a practice sword. Well, while seeming to watch carelessly, I observed Alexia swing the sword. And, I noticed it. ''Huh, was she this strong?'' The last time I saw Alexia''s sword was a long time ago. I liked her sword from the start. Only the sword. ''Was it a change of mind, or did you grasp something?'' This is the pattern of rapid growth. "I think it''s okay." I said to her, who wielded a sword. "Is that so." She stopped her sword. "I think it will probably continue to grow. Though it is an amateur''s opinion." "Is that so. Thank you." "You''re welcome." Alexia looked away and wiped her sweat. "Before, you told me that you liked my sword." "That''s right." "Right. So I thought I''d show you how I''d improved." "I see." "But it''s still not enough. I''m capable of more." "Oh, cool." "Why? Just listen." Alexia glared at me. "I don''t particularly want to knowC" "I couldn''t protect Rose-senpai. The Kingdom of Oriana is now in serious trouble, and Senpai will inevitably suffer. That''s why I need power..." "...I see." Come to think of it, I wonder if Rose-senpai was able to escape after all. It would be good if she''s alright. "My older sister is also feeling depressed recently Too many things are not going well. On the other side of this daily life, the world is always moving. If you stop, you will soon be left behind..." Yes, on the other side of this everyday life, I am moving. "Jeez, I don''t want to be left behind anymore. It''s strange, isn''t it?... It''s reached the point where it feels like it''s time to advance by my own will." "C''est la vie." "You seem to be very carefree and cheerful. Well, thank you for today. I hope that your perpetually carefree att.i.tude is something that will continue to exist." She said so with a sigh, as I left the dojo. When I left the dojo, the sun had already gone down. The winter nights are cold. I went home to the dorm early, disguised myself as John Smith and headed to a deserted location. There, a tawny cat-eared beast person was waiting. Her name is Natsu, one of Yukime''s close aides. "So, what''s the matter?" I suddenly appeared behind her and said. Natsu jumped, turned around in a panic, and stared at me like a cat. "Jo-John-sama, please don''t startle me like that." "...I did not intend to startle you." I just wanted to produce a sudden appearance from behind. "So, what''s the matter?" When I asked that, Natsu''s smile deepened as if she had been waiting for it. Yukime''s close aides are just Natsu and Kana. Natsu and Kana are sisters, but in fact, they are not very similar. Natsu is a mature woman with tawny cat ears, while Kana is a girl with black cat ears. While moving her tawny cat ears with a twitch, Natsu says C "The sample was completed." "Is that so..." ''It finally came!'' I was excited about the story of John Smith which will start from now on. 124 The Power of a Super Elite Agen The counterfeit bill factory was built in an underground facility between the Royal capital and the lawless city. In fact, I recommended this facility to Yukime; It was the very same place where everyone hunted for bandits when my older sister was kidnapped by them in the past. I thought it was perfect as a secret facility. It seems that the strategy to obscure the origin of the counterfeit money is to send it to the outlaw''s city first, then have it distributed in the Royal capital from there. The interiors of the facilities which had once been invaded by a small Alpha & Co. have been transformed into a counterfeit bill factory by Yukime''s subordinates. While being guided to the depths of the factory by Natsu, I kept glancing back at the restlessly busy employees. When I opened the beautifully refurbished doors, inside was a s.p.a.ce like the office of a big president. "You''ve come, John-han." [TLN: Yukime speaks in the Kansai dialect] I sit across from Yukime on the sofa set in the room. "It seems complete." "Please do confirm it yourself." Yukime gave a coquettish smile and opened a package on the table. Two rolls of bills were visible inside. Both rolls contain notes of 10,000 Zeni, likely a 100 of them in each. "Can you guess which one is real?" Confidence can be heard in Yukime''s tone. I pick up the two rolls and compare them. ''c.r.a.p, I''ve got nada.'' However, a super elite agent would confidently detect and point out a slight difference here. Finally, my super-reinforced eyesight discovered slight differences. Changes in paper quality, ink and printing, each very minute, but are different nonetheless. But, however...I haven''t memorized the original bill in the first place! In other words, even if I see slight differences, I do not know which is real. What to do...what to do, super elite agent?...! The one with inferior precision feels like a fake, but... I pointlessly flip through the rolls of paper bills with a profound smile while nodding to put out an air of understanding. And then... "There is no point in answering..." "What do you mean by that?" Yukime''s expression was dubious. "When comparing the two, the paper quality here is slightly coa.r.s.er." I held up the roll with coa.r.s.er paper bills. Yukime''s visage was coloured by astonishment. "There is also a difference in the imbibition of the ink. This one is more blurred." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "-Tsu!" Yukime''s eyes widened in shock. "Finally, the printing also has slight distortion. Over here." "Wh!?" Yukime finally picked up the roll of bills to compare with her own eyes. "Th-there is indeed a distortion... Even though we''d checked it multiple times..." "Is it necessary to say the answer?" "I don''t need to hear it, the one with the poor precision here is the real one..." ''I-it was like that?'' "You overdid it trying to make a good paper bill." "...Do we have to start over?" "That is not necessary. There is no one else who can see through it, besides me." A rough but, ready-made method is better than an elaborate and slow process that has yet to be devised. I don''t care about the trivial details, let''s scatter the thorned roses. "Time will not be an issue, in that case. There will be no enemy as intensive as you, John-han." Yukime laughs as she conceded. "Well, I''m going to start distribution from tomorrow, I guess. I plan to increase the quant.i.ty little by little, gradually, from the beginning." "Ah. "As the volume in circulation increases, the source of the counterfeit notes will be sought out. John-han, please take care of it. However..." Yukime stopped words that seemed too hard to say there. "...What is the matter?" "Allow me just one request, please." "Well?" "If you discover someone called Gettan....Please make sure not to kill him." "...Why?" "The reason is..." Yukime cast her eyes down and carefully chose her words. And then slowly started speaking. "That is a story from when my tail was still one. I was living alone with my mother, just the two of us. It was a small village of the Fox tribe..." Yukime, who kept her eyes down, looked a little nostalgic in some way. "In the peaceful village, far from any sort of disputes, my three-tailed mother used her strength to hunt for a living. I helped my mother in handling the prey she killed, and while we were never rich, those days were happy. But those days did not last forever. One day, when my mother went hunting, our village..." Stopping her words yet again, Yukime raised her eyes. "Today let''s stop here. Let us continue this after we''ve become more intimate..." And then laughed mischievously. "You don''t intend to speak C?" "You want to have an intimate relationship with me?" Yukime smiled and giggled. "That was a joke. I was robbed of everything by that man. This time, it is my turn to take everything from him. To kill Gettan with my own hands, after seizing everything from him..." Yukime spoke with an unchanging voice while putting on a mischievous smile on her face. "Vengence, huh, very well..." That''s right. Display overwhelming might and overtake him, making him burn for revenge over being belittled, and then kill the would-be-avenger when he attacks again; That''s how we should play it. "Gettan is a blind beastman with a scar across both eyes." "Understood." I stand up and turn my back. "As for the revenge, do as you like. But don''t get caught up in your hatred and lose your way..." 125 The First To Notice The Change The counterfeit bills circulated quietly, little by little, as planned. I stood on top of the clock tower in John Smith mode, and while looking at the cityscape buzzing in the night due to the unprecedented economic boom, I antic.i.p.ated the plans of the organizations hidden behind it. "After all, everything is changing..." And, I smile profoundly. Who will be the first to figure out our ''plan''? For the all-knowing John Smith, this transient time is tedious. While I was enjoying the night view while thinking about such things, I saw a carriage that quietly left the Royal capital. And three black shadows, who concealed themselves while pursuing the carriage... "Ah...The first to notice, as expected..." I jump off the clock tower and chase after the shadows. The silhouettes of the three are unfamiliar, but they''re wearing slime bodysuits, I guess. Naturally, they work for the Mitsugoshi Company. So, I move for my own purpose. Oh, I recognized one. You were safe after all, eh? While No.664, chased the carriage which departed from hiding in the Royal capital at midnight, she looked back and glared at No.666. "No.666, arbitrary decisions are absolutely, unconditionally, forbidden okay? I''m the squad leader, so follow my instructions." (EN: For those who forgot, No.666 was the number given to Rose Oriana when she joined Shadow Garden) "I understand." "I''m telling you because you don''t understand, jeez. The last time, you wilfully charged in alone...the result turned out well, even so, why are you so impatient?" "I am...It''s nothing." No.666 looks down and denies it briefly. "If you''re like that, my hands are tied, jeez. If you don''t speak, I can''t understand what you are thinking." "No.664, let''s concentrate on the mission now." "Yeah, alright, alright, good grief. I''m advising the people who are willful for the sake of focusing on the mission." No.664 glanced at No.666, then looked away and sighed. At the same time, I heard a yawn from behind. "Hey, No.665, did you just yawn?" No.664 turned her head back again and glared at No.665 this time. "I didn''t~." "You did, you absolutely did, I heard it! You should also be focusing on the mission, jeez. I told you this mission is critical, didn''t I?" "Yeesss~." Taking her eyes off No.665 who gave an absentminded reply, No.664 scowled at the carriage running ahead of them. The mission this time is to find the source of the Great Trading Alliance''s counterfeit bills, which started circulating recently. This route the carriage is running on was one of several influx routes narrowed down as suspicious by Gamma of the Seven Shadows. They were entrusted with the pursuit of this carriage. This is a mission given directly by the Seven Shadows, so failure is not an option. She understood that she was fired up. That''s why No.664 was concerned. No.666 gets impatient. Her combat prowess is recognized by everyone, and she knows that this squad was rated highly due to her. However, No.666''s impulsive decisions were becoming intolerable recently. The reasons for her impatience are unclear, but at this rate, she will definitely make a mistake someday. And there are mistakes in the world that you can never take back. In their missions, making even one mistake could lead to them losing their lives and so No.664 hoped that this mission too would end safely, and focused her attention. However that wish did not come true. "Below us!" No.666 screamed abruptly. Everyone reacted to the sound and jumped. However, only No.666 made it in time. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Kya!?" "Uu!" No.664 and No.665 tripped over something and fell over. When they had gotten up and taken defensive postures, their feet were already entangled by something that appeared to be thin strings. "Are these..strings?" "Looks like steel threads diffused with magical power..." No.665 answered No.664. The two cut the threads with their slime swords and prepared for the enemy attack. Turning her gaze to where the trap was laid, No.666 had already taken a sword and stared into the depth of the darkness. There was no indication of a presence. However, a man comes walking alone from the darkness of the night. While his feet were making dull thuds while walking on the firm ground, he appeared. It was a man in a suit with black, swept-back hair. His face was hidden behind an inorganic mask, and could not be seen. The man was unarmed. He carried not a single weapon. However, if you look closely around him, you can see the threads that reflect the moonlight. The threads were drifting freely in the air as if it were alive. "Be careful, this guy is manipulating those steel threads." No.664 called out, as they confronted the steel thread user. A man with an inorganic mask and many threads shining in the moonlight. This image was somehow fascinating. "The first ones to notice the changeC." The man said in an unreadable inorganic voice. "I am John Smith. Beyond this it''s still too early for you guys." And then, steel threads spread out under the night sky. 126 Donst Get In The Way The steel threads were glowing in the moonlight. Relying on that glow, No.664 avoided the entangling strings. What was troublesome wasn''t its speed but the low visibility, unpredictability and the number of strings itself. Despite using just ten fingers, John Smith was manipulating threads many times the number of his fingers. And those threads were attacking them from all sides. Their angle and attack timings are nasty. He predicts No.664''s movements and blocks her escape paths. Moreover, when the directions that can be used to evade are limited, No.664''s movements are being guided. The resultCShe can''t get close. The strings have longer reach than a sword. They can''t attack unless they can close the distance. Nevertheless, since the beginning of the fight, they couldn''t even move one step closer to him. Instead they were being pushed back. Within the s.p.a.ce of a few seconds, that man has already completely dominated this area. He still hasn''t moved a single step. Just by manipulating the strings using his fingers, he has the girls running about trying to escape its range. They looked like puppets being manipulated by his threads. "Everyone, retreat." In response to the instruction of No.664, the other two reacted immediately and went outside the Maai of the threads. [TLC: As mentioned earlier, Maai is the distance between opponents in Kendo.] If they stay inside John Smith''s Maai, they would only exhaust themselves. If they don''t have a method to attack him, the situation won''t change. The three looked at each other and nod their heads. This manCis strong. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Although it''s confusing to be attacked by an unfamiliar weapon, the steel strings, but even if you take that into consideration, he also has the power to dominate the battlefield. To manipulate dozens of threads and precisely predict and guide their movements. That is something that can''t be done unless you possessed a certain amount of skill. No.664 knows many that are stronger than her. No.666 is the same. Within the upper echelons of the organization called Numbers, and also the Seven Shadows, are individuals who possess overwhelming power. Both have people who are much stronger than her. But this John Smith is different from the strong individuals she''d known. His strength does not come from his magical power or muscle strength or his speed or the technique he used. No, his technique to manipulate those strings is certainly skillful but the core of his strength does not lie there. The ident.i.ty of John Smith''s strength- it was his ability to dominate. No.664, who is the squad leader and has the duty to give out orders, knew. The ability to oversee, understand and predict the flow of the battle is a must. In other words, John Smith possessed those skills. "What''s wrong.....are you not coming?" John Smith does not move a step. With his eyes hidden behind the mask, he just looks down on them from his spot. He has plenty of leeway. He has the confidence that he can deal with anything that can happen. The threads that covered the night sky are denying all their attempts at an attack. If you move poorly, you will get caught. Withdrawing is also an option. ''No.666 might be against it but I have to force her.'' She thought so, but in the next moment "If you don''t come to me, then I can just come to you." "Eh....!?" John Smith slightly moved his finger. At the same time, a thread wrapped around No.664''s neck. No waysince when!? Moreover, we should already be outside his Maai. "Who said that the length of each and every thread is the same? Naturally its thickness is also different." "No way!" Looking closely at the thread wrapped around her, she noticed that it was extremely thin and very hard to see. The strings they have seen up until now were the only ones that they were allowed to see. "Don''t tell me, from the beginning..." "Yes...from the beginning." No.664''s actions were manipulated from the start. While her expression distorted due to the humiliation, the thread around her neck started to tighten. Highly concentrated magical power is pa.s.sing through the string. If he adds only a little more strength, her neck would be cut through. "If you are going to kill me, then do it already. I don''t have any intention of talking." She glared at John Smith. No.665 and No.666 were also bound. They''d already made up their minds. Strength was being added to the threads. At that moment, No.666 moved. She rushed out from the front. She simply came at him before he could pull the threads tight. "Haaaaaaaa!!" ''Faster, just a little bit fasterC.'' She rushed at John Smith. "Correct." But his stance didn''t waver. He just pulled a finger on his right hand lightly. "But who said that there was a thread only around your neck?" No.666 suddenly fell. She collapsed, and was made to float in the air with an unnatural pose. A number of strings had already been wrapped around her limbs. Naturally the other two were in the same state. "Kuh! Kill me!" No.664 said as their movements were completely sealed. However, he just tightened the strings and did not kill them. "There is no meaning in killing you guys. Even if I were to kill you, others will come again, and so, this is just a warning. That''s all there is to it." And expressionlessly said. "Don''t get in the way." With those words, he released them. "*Cough*,* Cough*" Despite her continuing to cough, No.666 glared at John Smith. No.664 instantly leapt. And held down No.666. "Stop it already! We''re withdrawing." "!" No.666 bitterly lowered her face. John Smith.. we have to inform Gammsama. As long as he''s out there, the source of the counterfeit bills can''t be found. And the fact that there exists a person with that level of skill means that another powerful organization also exists out there. No.664 watched John Smith''s figure as he left. 127 Black Jaguar After fighting off the a.s.sa.s.sins of the Mitsugoshi Company, I lead the life of an ordinary student by day and I play the role of an agent by night. I contact Yukime in secret, help her in circulating the fake bills, and take care of those who tried to find its source. The volume of fake bills circulating in the market has also increased. There will be someone among the Great Trading Alliance who will start noticing things, or so Yukime has predicted. However, at present the only one who has noticed was the Mitsugoshi Company, so there''s not much to do. The Mitsugoshi Company is wary but they still haven''t made their move yet. I''m free. I want to do cool agent-like work already. When I was thinking such thoughts while secretly guarding the counterfeit bill carriage, that day finally arrived. A silent presence approaching the carriage that''s running through the night. An a.s.sa.s.sin. Her movement is surprisingly good. Her presence is thin. I know of only one person that can erase her presence so well. A familiar black shadow appears from the darkness. A woman wearing a black bodysuit having flexible muscles and a soft body. No doubt about it, that''sDelta. I see, as the previous three were repelled, they send their most powerful combatant. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. However, the opponent this time is too incompatible for her. John Smith''s thread user battle style is one that has the advantage against the musclebrained type. If it''s Delta, I can just tie her down with hidden strings. No, her instinct is uselessly sharp, so there''s also a possibility that she will be able to avoid all of it. Rather, that will certainly be the case. Huh , don''t tell me that the one who has to fight his most incompatible opponent is me? Well, whatever. If it comes to that, I will just go into serious mode. Thinking so, I appeared before Delta. "My name is John Smith. What lied ahead" "CBoss, what are you doing?" Delta said that, while sniffing her nose and wagging her tail happily. "M.My name is John Smith. I am not your Bo" "Boss! You want to hunt with Delta?" "....No hunting." It''s no use, she completely saw through me. Although I took a bath and used perfume, I made light of Delta''s nose. I took off my mask and revealed my appearance. "Boss is John Smith?" "Well, pretty much." "Uu, Delta can''t win against John Smith. I have to tell Alphsama." "Wait!" I caught her tail while she was trying to run away. Whoops, it seems like I made a bit of her fur fall off. "Kyaa! Tail is no good!" "Sorry, sorry, Delta, listen well. Right now, I am doing a cla.s.sified secret mission." "Cla.s.sified secret mission?" "Yes, a cla.s.sified secret mission, and so it must not be known by others." "So cool! Delta wants to do it too!" "No, only I can do it. But when Delta reports to Alpha about John Smith, the cla.s.sified secret mission will fail. Do you understand why?" "Nope." "It''s because it will not be a secret anymore. That''s why you cannot talk about this to anyone, okay?" "But Alphsama gave Delta a mission.." Delta dropped her ears and looked at me. "It''s okay, I will give Delta a new mission. You remember the rule of Shadow Garden, right?" "Already forgot." "The missions I personally give have the highest priority. Higher than Alpha''s, of course." "Alphsama won''t get angry?" "She won''t." She''d absolutely get angry, I thought. In the first place, Delta is currently undergoing a mission for the Mitsugoshi Company; it is incomprehensible to bring up the old rule of Shadow Garden now. Sorry Delta, when everything is over, I will go apologize together with you. "This is also for the sake of the world...." "For the world.?" "Yes, for the world." "For the world!" "Un, sorry Delta. When the mission is complete, I will properly give you a reward." "Anything goes!?" Delta''s eyes are shining with her tail wagging about. "Not anything. Within my ability, as long as it does not take much effort and money, I will do anything." "Boss will do anything I say!?" "As long as it''s within the conditions I said." "Yeah! I will do the mission!" "What should I make you do? Okay, going straight along this route, you''ll come across the lawless city. There is a black tower there. In that tower, there''s a guy called Juggernaut. He''s a bad bandit, so please go and hunt him down." "Lawless city, Black tower, Juggernaut? Just that?" "Yes yes." "Understood! When I''m done, Boss will have to do as I say!" "Within the conditions, okay? You don''t have to hurry, so take your time and go slowly, okay?" "Lawless City! Black Jaguar! Hunting!" As she said that, Delta dashed away. I think the details were slightly different, but oh well. Let''s just celebrate the fact that Delta is away from the capital. Because Delta totally can''t act; even if she tried to hide something it will soon get found out. With that much information, it will surely take some time, so this should be just about right. The counterfeit bills have not been circulated enough yet,so it''s too soon to let my ident.i.ty be exposed now. Well, let''s continue with the security detail. "We lost track of Delta after she went to pursue John Smith." "-!?" Alpha who heard Gamma''s report dropped her pen and looked at Gamma. "We found this on the scene.." What Gamma showed her was fur from Delta''s tail. Seeing the fur that had been forcibly torn, Alpha''s anger welled up. Gamma''s eyes were calm. But deep down inside was a burning anger that could not be suppressed. "So.Delta was." Noticing her voice that was weaker than usual, Alpha calmed down a little bit. She was prepared for it. That someday, someone would die among them. That was what occurred today. "I don''t think that Delta would abandon Alphsama''s mission. That girl is an idiot.even though she''s an idiot, her strength is the only good thing about her and she will do whatever Alphsama told her to....." "It''s fine, I understand." Alpha comforts Gamma, who is squeezing out her trembling voice. Delta is always responsible for dangerous work because of her high combat ability. She''s the one that always took on the most dangerous mission in Shadow Garden. If there is a situation where she doesn''t return, it''s almost certain that she is dead. However, her death was yet to be a certainty even if the odds of her survival is low. "Continue searching for Delta. Do everything you can, at least we have to collect her remains.." "Yes." Then Alpha received Delta''s fur from Gamma. She wrapped it within a cloth and hugged it tightly. She''d heard how dangerous John Smith was from No.664. She shouldn''t have sent her out after him alone. If Delta lost against him, then she must''ve been caught in a trap. "John Smith....!" A low, deep voice came out from Alpha''s throat. *Grit*The sound of Alpha grinding her teeth rang about. 128 The Supreme Code In the cold air, the full moon is shining. On such a winter night, Beta came to make a regular report to the Lord. As usual, she reports on the activities of Shadow Garden, after which she reported on the activities of the Mitsugoshi Company. Normally she only reported on the basic details of Shadow Garden activities. The Mitsugoshi Company is only an accessory of Shadow Garden, so she can''t afford to bother him with it. However, right now, the Mitsugoshi Company is facing a crisis. From his atmosphere, he seems to have already guessed the situation. The air of the Lord who just nods along with "Fumu" or "Fumu?" seems to have changed. While listening to Beta''s report, he took out a memo pad from his breast pocket and start taking a memo. Then. "I see, and then?" "C!?" The Lord said a phrase other than "Fumu" while listening to the regular report! Beta''s words were stuck for a moment due to the astonishment. "Ex..Excuse my rudeness. Regarding the increasing amount of counterfeit money being circulated" While giving her report, she felt happiness after sensing that she had the Lord''s undivided attention. The Lord has become serious. The Lord is always busy, and so, he rarely gets involved with their activities. His time and power are always put to use for a greater purpose. The meaning behind the Lord getting serious is that this incident is that important. In fact, if the counterfeit bills continue to circulate in this way it is no exaggeration to say that the Mitsugoshi Company will face an existential crisis. There was also the fact that due to the matter of Delta, the entire Shadow Garden was covered in a heavy atmosphere. But if the Lord is getting serious this crisis will surely be overcome. Warmness spreads through Beta''s chest. "Prices have begun to rise due to the amount of circulating bills and the increasing rate is...." "There''s a little bit I don''t understand" "-!?" The Lord, just now said he didn''t understand. Naturally, she can''t take it as it is. Because the Lord understands everything. Then the meaning of what he said is C there''s an error in the report. He must be saying that he can''t understand why I would make such a foolish mistake. Whether the rate of increase was mistaken or the original idea was wrong.. anyway, he has noticed a mistake in her report in a single moment. "I, I will immediately redo the a.n.a.lysis." To make a mistake in front of her serious Lord.Beta''s face was burning bright red with shame. "I don''t really understand it, but, well I will just write it down as is." "Yes. I am very sorry." With that, the regular report is over. However, there''s still a matter that she must report on. Looking at the Lord who putting away his memo, Beta opened her heavy mouth. "There is another matter to report on, today." "...Let''s hear it." Within that silence, Beta understood from his sleepy looking eyes. He already knew the content of her report. It doesn''t matter how, she thinks it''s obvious that he''d already know. Rather, it would be weird that the Lord wasn''t aware yet. Even so, she still has to report it. Her important comrade''s death. Because it is their duty, the duty of those who let their comrades die. "We lost contact with Delta after she went in pursuit of John Smith. Judging by the situation, her life is already..." Beta''s voice is trembling. Delta was her precious comrade. She can be a handful sometimes, but she was also like a little sister that always made her feel better. "Delta is....." After hearing Beta''s report, he turned his head and was thinking about something for a while. "No, wait. Delta only just went somewhere far away." And the Lord said that. Feeling the kindness behind his words, Beta was unable to hold her tears. "Yes.That''s right. I understand. It seems like Delta has only gone somewhere far away...." Endless streams of tears flows down Beta''s cheek. She felt happiness from the clumsy kindness of her Lord. "Is that so, there''s no problem if you understand." He nodded and said so. "We speculate that John Smith is considerably skilled. If possible, we would like to ask for Shadow-sama''s help...." "Sorry, but there''s something that I must do." "No, I''m sorry for asking the impossible." It cannot be helped. Since the Lord has already made his move in a different direction. And that move is certain to be necessary for the Mitsugoshi Company and Shadow Garden. "Then, I will excuse myself for today..... but before that." Finishing her report, Beta must move to her next a.s.signment immediately, but, there''s something that she has to confirm first. "Umm, Shadow-sama, I am really sorry but that memo...." "Memo?" "Yes, regarding that memo, because there is a rule that confidential doc.u.ments must be disposed of or encrypted immediately.." Naturally, he probably already knew that. But it has to be confirmed, just to be sure. The Lord ceased his movement for a moment, then handed his memo to Beta. "Try reading it." "Th,This is....!" Beta was astonished at the memo''s contents. "Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji, Arabic numbers, Romaji, a code written using five independently developed languages." "Th, This is for Shadow-sama''s own use!?" "Aa" The characters there are not just written randomly. Although it is simple, it held regularity, and while it is complex, it is also disordered. It would certainly be difficult to decipher five complex languages. Beta looked at her Lord with respect, to him who made this alone by himself. "U,Umm, If you do not mind, could you teach us this code..." "Fumu...It''s still too soon" "I, Is that so...." Beta dropped her shoulders. "But that''s right....." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Her Lord wrote something in his memo, and tore off a page, then handed it to Beta. "This is....?" "I will teach you if you can understand its meaning." What was written there was a mixture of five languages. "Th, Thank you very much!" She carefully put it into her cleavage. She must immediately send it to the laboratory for a.n.a.lysis. 129 Its All That Fools Faul Ever since the [Four Leaves] were erased by the Mitsugoshi Company, Gettan has been continuously investigating them . Once he''s able to identify the organization lurking behind the Mitsugoshi Company, Gettan can then prepare himself accordingly . "Nothing came up, you say?" Gettan raised his voice after he heard Garter''s report . "Y,Yes" Garter''s voice is trembling . "Don''t tell me that you are really going to dismiss them as some ordinary company? Then again, if you''ve investigated this much and nothing has come up, then, it''s natural to think so..." There were some unnatural points, but no matter how much they investigated, there''s still no smoking gun . Then there''s no other option but to think of them as normal . "Well, that''s fine . Since that''s the case, then there''s no need to hold back . Let''s crush them . " Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Gettan lifted his mouth . Finally, this business war would be settled and he can achieve his goal . Or so it was supposed to be . CHowever . "U,Umm..." Garter while fearing for his life opened his mouth . "R, Recently, the products prices have risen and... . " "The inflation was predicted from the start, right?" "No, it occured earlier than expected, so we looked into it..." "What happened?" "We''ve discovered counterfeit notes . " "What?" Gettan''s small voice echoed through the room . "Counterfeit notes . We''ve discovered a large amount of them . " Gettan ground his back teeth . "A large amount you say? How much?" "W,We are currently looking into it but, umm , it''s tremendous . " "Don''t f.u.c.k around with me!! If it is circulating that much, why did you take this long to notice it!!" "Hiii . . P,Please forgive me!" Garter is trembling while giving excuses to Gettan, who has a menacing look on his face . "Th, the appearance of the counterfeit notes is almost the same as the genuine one, and as it was distributed little by little, it was hard to... . " "Shut up!! A ma.s.sive amount of fake money is circulating!? Do you understand what this will cause?!" The credit system will collapse and will result in a panic . The worst-case scenario is being drawn in Gettan''s mind . "Track down their source immediately!! If you can''t do it, I will cut off your head myself!!" "Ye,Yes!" "The matter with the Mitsugoshi Company is on hold . . !" Under the current circ.u.mstances, they can''t afford to take care of the Mitsugoshi Company right now . When he had this thought, Gettan suddenly noticed it . ''Don''t tell me it was their doing . . ?'' However, he quickly negates that thought . If the credibility of the Great Trading Alliance collapsed, naturally their credibility would also be damaged . While the Alliance will collapse first, there''s a strong possibility that the Mitsugoshi Company will also follow . There is no difference in outcome regardless of who collapses first . Eventually, both of them will fall . "A counterfeit...It must be some fool within the Alliance who did this . . I will tear that fool apart, limb from limb . " "Hii... . !" "Determine the culprit immediately . You got it? Immediately!CIf you''ve understood, then get started already!!!!!!!" "Ye,Yes..." Garter hurriedly ran away from the ogre-like Gettan . 130 Goodbye, John Smith The Alliance mobilized a large number of people to find the source of the counterfeit bills . Even so, it will take them quite a while to find the source of the counterfeit bills that are circulating in the market . It''s still not publicly known yet that there are counterfeit bills circulating . However, some smart people have started to notice it . People having doubts in the notes are beginning to appear . There''s not much time left . The collapse is already approaching . "Stop! Search that carriage . " Late at night, several men stopped a carriage that''s about to leave the capital . They were Garter''s private army and they''d been instructed to stop suspicious carriages and inspect them Of course, they''ve not received legal permission to do so and they have no law enforcement authority . However, for those who conduct business, the orders of the Alliance cannot be ignored and as such, all merchant carriages are forced to comply . This carriage also stops as ordered . Mercenaries of the Garter Company roughly handled the carriage . "Stop... . " Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "What?" Hearing a low voice from somewhere, a mercenary stopped his hands and started looking around . "You will surely regret it... . " "Haaaa" The mercenary snorted and laughed at the advice he received, and then opened the package on top of the carriage . While his eyes widened at seeing the large amount of gold coins inside, his neck was cut through . "Wha!?" "I''d warned you, that you''d regret it . " The mercenary who had his head cut off let out a fountain of blood and crumbled to the ground . "B,b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Who are you!!" The remaining mercenaries drew their swords . "The name is John Smith . You can regret hearing it in the next world . " "What did you sa!?" Several thin strings gushed out in the moonlight . However, no one noticed its glimmer . Without knowing, without noticing, every single one of their heads went flying . As the blood started raining down, the carriage laden with cold coins started moving again . The carriage slowly increased its speed and left the scene, leaving behind the countless bodies whose necks have been cut and John Smith himself . He moves his fingers as if playing a piano, while manipulating countless strings extending from his fingers . And, spoke to an empty s.p.a.ce . "I know you are there" At the same time, the steel strings tore into the darkness . Something moved in the darkness . A woman wearing a black body suit appeared from the place where there should be no presence . Her body suit is like a beautiful dress, her face is hidden behind a mask, but her blue eyes are staring at him through the gap . "Nice to meet you, John Smith . " With a beautiful voice like a bell, she bowed and greeted him . Her platinum hair shone in the moonlight . "And, Goodbye . " And then, a jet-black sword cut down John Smith . 131 His Back Alpha felt no resistance from the sword that she used to cut John Smith. "CAn afterimage." Hearing a voice from behind, Alpha lightly turned back. There John Smith stood, unscathed. Alpha stared at him with cold eyes, holding her sword up in a stance. There is no sign of her being upset. He''s a man who is skilled enough to take down Delta. It was expected that he would possess this level of power. Immediately after that, John Smith''s finger moved. Innumerable white lines danced in the darkness. CSteel threads. The ones mentioned in No.664''s report. She calmly observes its movements, while finding the real attack that is hidden in the dancing strings. And then. Kin!CA small sound was heard, and a thin thread was cut off in the air. "Mixing the real thin string used to attack among decoy strings.....That trick of yours, I''ve already seen through it." "Hou...." "Are you done with your magic trick?" Alpha moved. She invaded his Maai within a moment and slashed at John Smith with a jet-black sword. The slash that was aimed for his neck was done with such timing, that it is normally impossible to dodge. However. John Smith tilted his head, and dodged it with the minimum required movement. "!" Alpha stopped moving. She expected her attack to be avoided, and was about to chase after him with a follow up attack. Instead, she stopped her movement after noticing John Smith''s strings dancing around her. While observing the movement of the wires, she is simultaneously using her sword to parry and counterattack in between the consecutive strikes. Speed and sharpness, a battle for supremacy. This time for sure, she unleashed an unavoidable attack. "Eh....?" Sounds of confusion escaped from Alpha''s mouth. John Smith just showed her how he''d dodge a perfect attack. He let the sword approach, and just before it hit, he let it slide along his skin. With that move he used to dodge her attack with minimal movement, he was able to move himself out of Alpha''s large Maai, and exit the battle itself. "Don''t tell me- You are.." Alpha whispered so, and took off her mask. The face of a beautiful elf appeared from underneath. "-Shadow?" Using her eyes to confirm, Alpha was already convinced. John Smith looked her in the eye for a second, and then removed his mask. "I have already thrown that name away..." Sid''s face appeared from behind the mask. She''d already understood the fact, but Alpha''s face still colored in surprise. "No, Why... What do you mean you have thrown that name away?" "I meant exactly what I said. Right now, I am John Smith. Nothing more, nothing less." "Why have you become John Smith...Th, There''s some sort of reason, right?" Alpha''s voice was like she was trying to cling onto something. "Because it is the best course of action." "I can''t understand with just that, explain properly!" "I am sorry but, I have no intention to speak further than this." "And, what about Delta? What happened to her!? Why did you..!!" "Delta just went far away. I can''t speak about it anymore than this." "That''s why I said, I don''t understand!!" Her sorrowful voice resounds in the night sky, as Alpha''s sword cut through the darkness. Her immense magic power causes the atmosphere to shake and generate wind. "You''re always like this!! Why can''t you properly explain it so we can understand!! Are we that unreliable? I know that you have something in mind, but we are also desperately trying, you know.." Alpha''s voice gets smaller towards the end. "Hey, are we, are we not necessary to you, anymore..?" Her face was on the verge of tears. "Sorry, I have something I needed to do alone." Alpha is looking down, while strongly clasping the sword in her hand. "...I see. You still don''t know how strong I''ve become, right?" Raging magic power swirled and converged onto Alpha. "I will not be a burden to you forever. If you say you will not talk, no matter what, then I will just have to use my power and force it out of you." SuddenlyAlpha''s figure disappeared. John Smith''s face is colored in surprise for the first time. Her raging magic power, her jet-black sword, her body-Every sign that indicated she was there before, beautifully disappeared. What was left is only a red mist. In the next moment, Alpha emerged from the red mist and cut at John Smith from behind. With that reddish black sword. John Smith looked back and tried to dodge with minimal movement like before. Yes, like before. "-!?" There was a thin red line on John Smith''s cheek. The reddish black sword suddenly grew longer. "This sword is a mixture of my blood and slime that increase my strength and control over it. Its form can be freely changed while maintaining its strength. It is one of the results born from Eta''s demon possession research. How is it, surprised?" John Smith honestly nodded at Alpha''s proud statement. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Indeed I am, the research and its results application is truly great." "Do you want to have an honest talk now?" "No, absolutely not." Alpha''s eyes sharpened. "Then I will come at you with my full power." Alpha disappeared and a red mist took her place. And almost at the same time, she reappeared and unleashed an attack on John Smith. John Smith''s suit tore apart. Blood was smeared onto his white shirt. When John Smith manipulated the strings to counter attack, Alpha had already disappeared into the red mist. The next moment, another attack came at him from behind. The speed at which she emerges from and re-enters the mist is extremely fast. Ignore the Maai and one-sidedly attack, then unreasonably ignore the law of physics to avoid a counterattack. Disappear, then reappear. Appear, then disappear. Red slashes attack John Smith incessantly from all sides. John Smith''s suit was already torn to shreds. He intentionally manipulated the strings to ward off fatal blows. What he could do, is only to predict Alpha''s movement, and lay a trap of strings ahead of time. "!" There is another tearing on his suit. It seems like the red mist also acts as a sensory organ, because Alpha seemed to have completely grasped the location of his strings. The trap was of no use. It seemed like there was nothing John Smith could do. "How about it? You ready to talk yet?" A voice can be heard from somewhere within the red mist. "No, absolutely not. It was an interesting trick though." His voice, somehow, felt like he was having fun. "Trickyou say?" "Normally, it would be bothersome to fight against, but if you carefully think about it, its ma.s.s is too small for a mist, right? So" John Smith took out an excessively long, jet black sword. Then. "CIf I just blow it all away, then you can''t do anything, right?" He swings his extrlong sword and caused an intense gust. "-!" Immediately after, the mist dissipated and Alpha''s figure reappeared. "Correct. If you''d remained in the mist, you might''ve been blown away to the stratosphere." The clouds above them in the sky were beautifully blown away. While Alpha tried to form a stance, a merciless blow struck her. Her reddish black sword was blown away, and a jet-black sword came down at her. "You''ve become strong." A strong pressure a.s.saulted her, and her consciousness was shaken. "Be relieved, it was just the back of the sword." Then, she hears his footsteps as he walks away. She desperately extends her hand, despite her fading consciousness. "W, Wait.." But he doesn''t stop. Step by step, he walked away from her. She''s always been chasing after his back. Finally, she''d thought that she''d finally reached him. Even so, why..... "Please don''t leave me behind" Her voice did not reach him. 132 Finally, This Day Has Come Finally, this day has come. The counterfeit factory that we built underground has ceased its operations right now, and the remaining workers are preparing for a full withdrawal. The factory has served its purpose. "John-han, please take a look at this." In the form of John Smith, I opened a huge iron door when urged to, by Yukime. Hidden behind that door was a large quant.i.ty of gold coins, piled up so high that it reached the ceiling. "Splendid." "Most of the counterfeit bills have already been redeemed. Is this enough?" This was the lowest area of the underground facility, the very place where my sister was imprisoned at; that prison was renovated and now acts as a huge safe. Countless gold coins shone, glimmering golden and winking at me. This factory still hasn''t been found yet. The Great Trading Alliance and the Mitsugoshi Company have traced the counterfeit route all the way until the Lawless City, so I took a break from school, and kept watch all day. After that, I succeeded in completely cutting off the trail that lead from the Lawless City to our factory. Everyone from the Mitsugoshi Company also tried their hardest, but they overdid it, and antagonized the Alliance. It can''t even be considered a fight for them, to go against those sly old foxes from the Alliance with only the cheat knowledge. That''s why I will become [The boss of the large organization that controls the world from the shadows]. The Mitsugoshi Company will be absorbed into the newly created J&Y Company, only then, will I have truly become a [ POWER IN THE SHADOWS]. The girls might hold a grudge against me, but I will gladly accept it. For that is also the way of a [ POWER IN THE SHADOWS]. "Now, if we exchange the rest of the real banknotes we''d prepared beforehand, it will all be over. The Alliance no longer have enough funds to convert this number of banknotes. The credit system will collapse." As Yukime converted the counterfeit bills into real money, she also collected the real bills. All that is left to collapse the system, is to exchange that money from the Alliance. The Alliance already doesn''t have the monetary power to convert it. When that fact come to light, it will cause a bank-run panic, then after that, the Great Trading Alliance itself will collapse. The oncoming panic will also spread to the Mitsugoshi Company as well. When the Alliance collapses, people will surely think ''Will the Mitsugoshi Company be okay?''. Finally, we only have to swoop in and take over both companies with the large amount of money we''ve gained, and establish the J&Y Company. That seems to be what Yukime has planned. The specific details might be wrong, but I guess it probably was something along those lines. "Right. The merchandise prices have already increased due to the amount of circulating money, and that increase rate is ..." I casually bring up the data in Beta''s report, and promote my information gathering ability. "John-han, to think you have gathered that much information...." "It''s only natural." "Becoming John-han''s comrade was really the right choice. This plan wouldn''t have been successful without John-han after all." "The success isn''t mine alone. Yukime, you also have a big part in it." "That''s nice to hear." Yukime smiled. We held out our hands and shook them. "Now then, we shall be off to the final task. John-han, please continue to obstruct any pursuers from the Lawless City." "Understood." "Meanwhile, we will convert these bills at the Alliance." "-hmm?" I felt uneasy, hearing Yukime''s words. The Yukiitsune Company she owns is a part of the Great Trading Alliance. Her aides, Natsu and Kana always act as her representatives in the meetings. So far, Yukime hasn''t come on stage yet. The reason is that she is my partner in being [The boss of the large organization that controls the world from the shadows]. She shouldn''t take any actions that would make her stand out. "Yukime, do you really have to go out there yourself?" Of course, we can''t let Natsu and Kana go, as they''re the representatives of the Yukiitsune Company. However, it doesn''t mean Yukime has to go out herself, as there are others who can get the job done. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. As Yukime is also [A POWER IN THE SHADOWS], she should be manipulating the result from behind the scene. "This wouldn''t have any meaning if I don''t go there myself." Yukime looked away and smiled a little sadly. ''I see.'' Well, each person has their preference in aesthetics. "If not for my unrequited love, I think we would have gotten along much better. Will you hear a bit of my old story..." Having said that, Yukime started telling her story. "Before, I told you about the time I spent with my mother when I was young, it is the continuation of that. After my mother went out to hunt, our village came under attack from an enemy tribe. Other than my mother who had three tails, the other villagers were powerless and started fleeing; I too, hid under the bed and shivered. But soon after, the door of the house was kicked open, and a lot of men entered. I was dragged out from under the bed, and looked at with their disgusting eyes. When I thought it was all over, another man came in from the window, and started attacking those guys. That man was sent as a part of reinforcements from our allied tribe, the Great Wolf tribe. He was a young man with glossy black ears and tail. His name was Gettan, and his smile as he hugged me, made me feel relieved. This was back when I was 14 and he was 17." Yukime''s clearwater-like eyes seem to be nostalgic reminiscing a time long pa.s.sed. Her encounter with Gettan, her first love. After the attack from the enemy tribe, her village was revived with help from the Great Wolf Tribe. At the time, the great hero Shiva had just fallen, and the beast-kin country was in chaos from the war. Under such circ.u.mstances, it was natural for them to make an alliance to become stronger. And Yukime, who is the daughter of the only tailed fox in the village, was chosen to be engaged with the son of the Great Wolf tribal chief, Gettan. Yukime, who admired Gettan, gladly accepted. Yukime''s mother also liked him because he''d saved Yukime before. Gettan too, welcomed the beautiful Yukime. Both of them were blessed by everyone and engaged and the marriage ceremony was set for when Yukime turned 15. However, until their wedding, they could not live together. The two lived in their own villages, and Gettan would visit Yukime several times a month. The two treasured that irreplaceable time dearly. That was the happiest time of Yukime''s life, and she prayed that their life would be happy even after their marriage. However, those peaceful days did not continue. Nearby, a big war between tribes occurred, and their tribes were caught in the middle of it. TLC Notes- I was very tempted to replace [The boss of the large organization that controls the world from the shadows] and [A POWER IN THE SHADOWS] as the Supreme Hydra and be done with it. Oh well, we can probably expect Yukime''s backstory over the next few chapters. Boring for both me and you guys, I guess. On the other hand, there are only ten more chapters in this arc. 133 Yukime and Gettan Yukime''s tribe were forced to side with the bigger clan. They would be forced to recruit their people to fight and after that only the retaliation from the opposing tribe awaits. It was a choice with no correct answer. The Fox tribe and the great wolf tribe had a talk and they give their answers. Don''t bother, neither hostile. TLC: proverb ɤˤζ,ɤˤ┳ʤ. The answer they came up with at the last minute was an opportunistic and foolish answer. They did not understand the ruthlessness of war. The Great Wolf tribe is powerful. The Spirit Fox (Yoko) tribe has its wisdom. They thought that if they joined hands, they could overcome this conflict. But the reality was not so naive. Their villages were destroyed with only one night. The village was bathed in blood and burned down. The strongest warrior of the Great Wolf tribe, Gettan could only struggle and escape with only just his fiance. The sun rose and the two looked back at their village that was already burnt black. [If only I have more power..] [You already fought well.] Yukime snuggles close to the injured Gettan. [If only I had more power, they wouldn''t get taken away] [No, it''s not your fault.] [Shut up, SHUT UP !] Gettan''s angry voice make Yukime''s fox ears shiver and hang down. [....Sorry.] [It''s fine....] Gettan hung his head and said. [It was my suggestion. That if we have this power, we can overcome the war without choosing sides.] [Power....?] [This.] What Gettan took out was a blood red tablet. [It''s the source of power. If you consume it, you will gain tremendous power. But everyone was against it, they said that instead of relying on such a pill let''s work together and overcome this war....Those d.a.m.n fools, I should have killed them sooner.] Yukime takes a step back from the grumbling Gettan. [Gettan....?] [Say Yukime, the one who killed your mother was me.] [WWhat are you saying?] Yukime''s mother was attacked by the enemy tribe and disappeared. Yukime hoped that she would still be alive somewhere. [Because that woman refused, my plan broke down. If only we have accepted that tablet we would be under the cult protection and survived.] [Cult?. Nee Gettan, I''m an idiot so I don''t understand what you''re saying You are joking right?] [Is it a thing to joke about!? I cut her head off from behind! If only that woman doesn''t exist..] [Gettan, you''re lying .right?] Yukime took another step back further. [There was nothing we could do to protect you and the village from war, it was the only option.] [N..No don''t come near me.!] [Why are you rejecting me? Now, let''s start our revenge.] Saying so Gettan handed Yukime the red pill. [You should drink this too, to not be deprived we must deprive them first. Obtain this power, we will slaughter those who have taken away from us! If you don''t keep depriving, they will keep depriving from you.] [No, don''t any closer !!] Yukime finally turns back and runs away. [Even you are rejecting me!!!] An impact ran through Yukime''s back. She fell face down, her back was cut by a naginata, her blood keeps spilling out. [Don''t reject the power.] [W, Why, Gettan..] [Don''t be afraid to take revenge. You must s.n.a.t.c.h it for yourself or it will get taken away from you.] [N,No, Stop.] [You still refuse!?] Gettan swung his naginata down on Yukime''s back who is crawling away time and time again. The wounds are not deep but Yukime''s back was mercilessly cut repeatedly. Gettan steps on Yukime''s back who is struggling with pain and whisper into Yukime''s ear. [Now, Yukime. take this, and let''s take our revenge together.] [...Iya.] That word of denial was the last of Yukime''s pained resistance. Then she lost her consciousness. When she opens her eyes again it was already dark. Her back is still painful but the blood has stopped. She can''t find the figure of Gettan, however, her clothes were somehow having a lot of Gettan''s blood on it. Which is not there before she loses consciousness. She can tell it wasn''t her blood from the smell. Yukime stood up with a pained face, then she went back to her village to find her mother body. The corpse of her mother whose head was cut off was found immediately. The look on her mother was full of surprise. The three fluffy tails she loved so much already burnt. [Hahaue!] (TLC: this is a way to call mother with respect, weebanese: Oka sama, well I don''t think there is but weebanese) Her mother was killed. Her friends and neighbors were killed. Her village burnt down. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Their things were robbed. And her beloved fiance turned into an enemy. [uu..Uu] With tears in her eyes, she burned the scenery of her beloved mother and her home town into her eyes. She bit her lips. To the girl who has everything taken away from her, the only thing she has left is her enemy. However, it was difficult for a 14 years old girl with no money, power nor relative. She survived as a prost.i.tute on the battlefield and went from one place to another. Then, at the age of 17, she sold herself to a high-cla.s.s brothel and raised to the top. What she wants next after she obtained wealth was power. The girl who once got her everything s.n.a.t.c.hed away from her now vowed to take everything away from her enemy Yukime who finished her story has gentle eyes. [I have only lived for revenge. John-han should already aware, right? I have no interest in the company nor the money. My objective is to s.n.a.t.c.h away everything from Gettan. His wealth, his power even his life..... to take away everything that he has built up. To that end, I needed the power of the company and the power of John-han.. Please forgive me for deceiving you.] [Fumu..] [Like this, there''s finally a chance to take my revenge. Now I have come to think about what to do after I completed my revenge. I might take my time and try to get along better with John-han later.] Then, Yukime mischievously laughed. [Well then, the time to settle thing with Gettan is soon. Please believe in me and wait.] Yukime smiled and stands up. [Good luck, I too will Take my leave soon.] [Then, let''s walk together until the exit....] John Smith and Yukime left the room together. 134 Rumor of the counterfeit bills The warm sunshine of winter was shining in the room. This afternoon was clear and sunny and someone was snarling in the Garter''s company. "Why we can''t find out the source of counterfeit bills!" Gettan beat his fist on the table and snarled to the president of Garter''s company, Garter, who bowed his head. Original translation from w.a.n.gmamaread. "Wewe found that it comes from the Lawless City and the Lawless City is very dangerous so we lost connection with our spies in succession." The president of the company, Garter tried to explain for himself and his knees were knocking together. Garter''s company belonged to Garter but its real boss was Gettan. Gettan needed a lot of money to raise his status in the cult. However, he was famous for his ident.i.ty of beastman so it was dangerous to Gettan if he owned company by himself. Then Gettan set up a company called Garter. Everyone believed that the joint head of the Great Commerce a.s.sociation was Garter but in fact, it was Gettan. "Do you know we don''t have any time!? There are already all sorts of rumors about the counterfeit bills going around the capital." "Emmm... there are already many people who have exchanged their bills to money." "s.h.i.t! It''s too early." "This morning so many bills were exchanged at once and the exchange rate is accelerating! Other managers of the Great Commerce a.s.sociation make claims and they suggest that we close the bank in order to stop people from changing bills to money." "Idiot! Shut up! once we close the bank then rumors will be spread around the capital. We will be surrounded by ma.s.ses!!" "Bbut we don''t have enough money...!" "I see!!" Gettan beat his fist on the table once again. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Pung!!" The thick wooden table was torn into pieces which flew out and hurt Garter''s face with a small wound. Gettan was smiling with teeth and narrowed his eyes, looking at Garter. "You said that this morning there were a lot of people exchanging money." "Y yes." "It is too early and I think someone incites people to do this. Maybe he knows something about counterfeit bills. You must find him out..." "Ok." Garter left and Gettan covered his eyes with his hands. He felt so painful as his lost eye was coming back. Every time he feels painful, something that was connected with his past would happen. "It won''t be.... I think it''s impossible..." Gettan kept covering his eyes and immersed himself in his memories. Alexia gasped for breath when she was running along the street of the capital. She heard someone talking about counterfeit bills. Original translation from w.a.n.gmamaread. "The economic war between Mitsugoshi Company and the Great Commerce a.s.sociation has begun, but the economy was boosted. And some black rumors are hidden deeply behind it." Today Alexia skipped a cla.s.s deliberately and came here to investigate rumors of the counterfeit bills. She knew that this morning many people exchanged bills to money. Everyone said that the Great Commerce a.s.sociation would go bankrupt. This rumor spread quickly. In the street people talked about the rumors and added inflammatory details to them. They rushed into the the Great Commerce a.s.sociation quickly. "There is something wrong happened." Alexia wanted to come back to capital as fast as she could and told her elder sister Iris the rumors. Iris was in the dojo. She became a regular visitor here recently. "Iris, I want to tell you something." She told all what she knew to her sister who held a sword made for practice. But Iris just looked at her sister with her red eyes. "Alexia, I am training and please don''t bother me." "Iris, today something terrible happened in the capital!" "Alexia, I say I am training!" "Iris" Alexia turned her eyes to the sword. "Alexia, Do you understand? I have to improve my strength. I don''t want to lose again." Iris lost at the Bushin Tournament that day, so she had changed a lot in various senses. She didn''t want to feel disappointed again. It would be the first, as well as last time she lost. Iris was eager to become stronger. She wanted to be stronger and Alexia didn''t know when Iris started to focus on one thing only: to be stronger.. The member of [Crimson Knight Order] who liked Iris also asked why Iris changed. Alexia thought the reason why they like Iris was Iris''s strength. But it was not only because of this. There were some reasons more important "I know what you are thinking about. But please listen to me, just a moment." "Is it OK? Just a moment." Iris put down her sword and looked at her sister. "Mitsugoshi Company and the Great Commerce a.s.sociation was contending against each other now. They made counterfeit bills" Alexia told her sister what had happened in the capital carefully. But. "so what?" She was not interested in it. "I don''t care about whatever they did. It''s none of my business." "Iris, why!" Original translation from w.a.n.gmamaread. "Civil officers will pay attention to it. I am a knight for whom breaking into companies to kill people is not right." "Mmaybe it''s not your responsibility. But if you are who you used to be, you will investigate and deal with it." Alexia''s voice became smaller and smaller. "I have my job. If I can''t catch shadow, I won''t retrieve people''s trust" Iris''s gaze shifted from Alexia who bowed her head now and she started to swing her sword. Her sword was sharp; the magic on the sword was strong. But Alexia thought her sword was very ugly. "Iris" Alexia''s face was sad, then she left dojo alone. 135 John Smith was their esteemed master. Only seven shadows knew that John Smith was their esteemed master. If people in Shadow Garden knew the truth, they would be disappointed. Gamma thought she was right as she looked at Alpha who lowered her eyes listlessly. The fire was burning brightly in the fireplace. "Master must have his reason to do that" "I think so." Original translation from w.a.n.gmamaread. "He didn''t mean to abandon us, right?" "He won''t." "Maybe?" Such conversations repeated. Even though Gamma had comforted her many times, Alpha got sadder. Gamma had the same feeling. Alpha couldn''t made decisions as usual. Only Gamma could lead the Shadow Garden now, so she couldn''t be shaken anyway. Gamma carried such a great burden that she kept dealing with business without having a rest. Dark circles under her eyes and her sunken cheeks that couldn''t be covered by makeup showed that she had reached her limits. Gamma listened to Alpha''s words, comforted her, and changed the subject. "The Great Commerce a.s.sociation is losing customers'' trust. Today so many people rushed into the Great Commerce a.s.sociation and changed their bills. I am afraid that tomorrow there will be more." "Really" "Besides, a lot of people who request changing also rushed in Mitsugoshi Company. I''m afraid that tomorrow there will be more people. As soon as the Great Commerce a.s.sociation break down, all the people will rush into Mitsugoshi Company." "Really" Alpha heard Gamma''s report with a blank face. Then she said, "Can we resolve it?" She asked Gamma. Gamma suddenly stopped talking when she saw Alpha''s expression. Then she told Alpha all the truth. "Mitsugoshi Company and Mitsugoshi Bank had collected as many funds as they could. But if all of the bills produced in Mitsugoshi Bank have to be changed, it will be far from enough." This was the truth they faced. Even if they could collect inestimable coins, it''s not enough to pay for what circulated bills needed. Of course not everyone wants to change bills. The chance they success was 50%. "So" She was smiling. Seeing her sad smile, Gamma felt that her eyes were also filled with tears. "We will pull through it successfully. If we show customers our mountains of gold" "Cut it out." Citizens seeing the Great Commerce a.s.sociation was breaking down wouldn''t trust them anyway. Gamma and Alpha had no idea about what to do. "I''ve had enough of it" "Alpha" Alpha stared at Gamma with a sad smile on her face. "This is what he wants. He chose to abandon us" "That''s impossible! Mr. Shadow won''t abandon us!" "We didn''t live up to his expectations. This is the end." "HowHow" They were not useless. They were no match for their master in many terms: main combat power, creativity and wisdom. They were presented with the strongest magic and highest wisdom, but they were just no match for their master. Master abandoned them because they were incompetent. "Why" Gamma felt weak in the knees. She collapsed into sofa. "If this is what he wants, let us make him. As we have promised, we will do anything for him, even if he wants us to die" Alpha looked desperately sad, but she was fairly determined. "Let''s finish our final job." Then she stood up. At the moment. "Alpha!" Beta rushed in the room without knocking the door. She took a piece of paper. "Eta in the inst.i.tution decoded Mr. Shadow''s cipher!" Eta was the seventh shadow whose job was to decode cipher. Eta has said that she got master''s cipher and was entrusted with decoding the cipher. "Here it is." Alpha read the paper which Beta gave them. Original translation from w.a.n.gmamaread. Alpha''s expression turned bright as she was reading the paper. "Alpha?" Gamma asked in amazement, but Alpha burst into laughter, the sadness on her face disappearing. She was crying out of happiness. "We are not abandoned by the master" Alpha said and gave the papers to Gamma. "This, this is-!" Eta wrote down a truth which amazed them all. It read: I''m sorry as I lied to you. Yukime from White Fox Co and I want to make counterfeit bills to collect gold. Do you remember that? There is a factory where we saved my elder sister, which was used to make counterfeit bills. I have collected a lot of gold there. I got so much gold that even a bank can''t hold it. But it''s not a betrayal because I need these money to help you. Can you understand me? Gamma was crying when she came to herself. Alpha and Beta were crying too. They were laughing as well as crying. "Mr. Shadow has planned everything in advance." Beta''s voice was full of respect. "If he has betrayed us, there is no need for him to write this." Alpha said in amazement. "He cannot be a fool like that. Sure enough, he is still the kind Mr. Shadow." Gamma sounded a bit tired. "Beta is right. He works behind the scenes for us, and we cannot disclose the relationship between Shadow Garden and Mitsugoshi Company." "Yes, Mr. Shadow has prepared enough gold for us to exchange for the counterfeit bills." "Then we go there and take the gold back. The road to the factory is marked, and we are familiar with that place." "Even though we endure this hardship, we can easily get over it and brought huge profits to the Shadow Garden. With these gold, we can pay for bills and Mitsugoshi Company won''t lose its credit. On the contrary, it will develop further." Someone sighed. "Well, it is written here that he wants to save us so he lied to us" "If you want to fool the enemy, you must first fool yourself. I got it." "He has considered everything from the beginning But how about Delta?" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Gama was very uneasy, but there was nothing change in Alpha''s eyes. "We don''t need to worry about him." At this moment, someone was coming in from outside. The window was opened slowly and Delta showed up. "C You see." "Delta!? Are you OK" Gamma was overjoyed. "Emmm Alpha I am executing some ''secret-secret'', so" Delta noticed Alpha''s expression and started trembling. "I know. You are working for master right?" Delta became relaxed and kept nodding. "I put the black potato! Aaah, I can''t tell you because it''s a ''secret-secret''" "Delta, mind your wording. The ''secret-secret'' is not correct." "B but boss!" "He doesn''t know how to say correctly. But it''s OK because you come back safely" Alpha hugged Delta who was trying to explain, fondling his head. Gamma and Beta also hugged Delta, then they smiled and wiped away tears. "Wow, Delta took the gold back." "Yes! " "hhh!" "uu" At that night, the Shadow Garden started off. 136 You made me angry… . . The guarding duty of the Lawless City route is complete and I return to the underground facility . Yukime should be back soon . She must be riding back with a carriage full of gold coins . After that we can collect the rest of the gold coins and withdraw . All that left is for us to witness their collapse . Then John Smith would sit cross-legged in the royal capital high-rise hotel and say [As planned . The collapse is upon us... . . ] while sipping the finest wine with a profound smile and pile of gold coins on his table- . So cool . I went through the underground pa.s.sage while drawing such delusions . However, it is awfully quiet . All the workers were already withdrawn but there''re still guards remaining behind . Did they have too much free time and fell asleep . Well, I overdid it and no one could reach this place after all . [Fufufu... . ] I showed my white teeth with a smile and walk with a light footstep to the front of the vault . [Are... . ?] Why is the vault door unlocked... . . ? Moreover, it doesn''t seem like it was opened using a key but forced opened . [N, no way, don''t tell me...] My security should have been perfect . Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. I haven''t let even one rat pa.s.s through Lawless City . My legs are shaking . My hand also shaking . My body overflowing with cold sweat . [i, i, i, ii, it, it will surely be fine . . ] Then I opened the half-open vault door . The inside was...empty . That golden mountains has disappeared without a trace . [It . it''s a lie...] The power escaped my knees and I crumbled on the spot . [How, Why... . . ] My gold coins... . [Ha, hhaha, it''s a dream . . no, a bad dream . I am going to become [A POWER IN THE SHADOW]... . ] I used my shaking hand to fold my all-backed hair and stand up . It will be fine, It has to be . Yukime may have brought it out for some reason . And if someone has robbed us, it would take sometimes to transport all that gold . Unless they are very skilled then they shouldn''t have gone far . I walk out of the vault with my shaking knees . When I felt two presences approaching, I feign to be calm . [John-sama!!] Two s.e.xy beauties are calling my name . They were Yukime''s aides, Natsu and Kana . I asked the two who are behaving unusually . [What happened?] Something did happen right? there must have been something, Why you ask? because the vault have been swept clean . Yukime-samaYukime-sama was captured by Gettan! [What . . did you say . . ? Yukime was... . Gettan...I see! Everything start to be connected in my head and I laugh out loud . [John-sama...?] [I see, so it was like that...] The skeptical Natsu and Kana saw what inside the opened vault behind me . [Th, This isC!] [D, don''t tell me, he!! but it was too fast . . ] The two''s eyes were wide opened due to astonishment . [Do you know where he is?] [Y, Yes . . !] [Then there''s no problem . I will retrieve everything immediately . ] Then I pa.s.s through the two people, the exploding magic power shake the atmosphere . [S, so much magic power !?] [Is, is this John Smith''s true power?] Moreover I manipulate the steel wire and cut the air causing the Shushushushu sound and draw a beautiful line of light . [Gettan . you have made me angry...!] Now, let''s begin the retaliation . 137 The man who is burning with revenge When Yukime opened her eyes, she was on top of a horse . Riding behind her is Gettan, restraining her . The place that she was pierced still hurts but the blood has already stopped . Beast-kin have strong life force, her wound is not so fatal that it will take her life right away . However, the fact that she''s seriously injured doesn''t change . It will be difficult for her to escape . [Where do you plan to take me . . ?] With a weak weak voice, Yukime asked . What lied ahead is a snowy field as far as she can see . [The source of those counterfeit came from the Lawless city . The gold is there as well right?] [...I see, so you planned to have me take you to the gold . ] [That''s right . If you honestly tell me I will at least spare your life . ] Yukime made a small smile . [The gold huh... Even If I take you there, you wouldn''t be able to get your hands on it . ] [What did you say?] [That place has John Smith guarding it . There''s no way you can win against him . ] [That guy is your accomplish huh... . . But to me who have acquired this new power, I will never lose . No one can take anything away from me again . ] [New power . ? Gettan, what are you talking about . ] [Whoever doesn''t possess power will be taken from . You must already know this, there''s a cult that is lurking in the backside of the world . It was an outrageous organization that manipulates, capture and experiment on beast-kin . They target your Yoko tribe and my Great Wolf tribe who hold great power . ] [Our tribes were targeted...?] [Aah . I took the deal, in exchange of my obedience I would acquire great power . If we have power we wouldn''t get taken from . That''s why I got this power , but... . !] Gettan put a strength into his arms . [Gettan If that is true, why is it that the village was destroyed . Why did you enter such a cult . ] [Shut up ! That wasn''t supposed to happen! If we did as Lord Mordred told that wouldn''t...but...I will not stop now . I will never hand over things that are precious to me anymore, I will get the power that will prevent that from happening . If the a.s.sociation succeeds, I can enter the Rounds(the group high ranking antagonist from the first arc . ) . If I do that no one will be able to interfere anymore, for that sake, I have to become the [3rd] awakened one . ] [3rd awakened one . . ?] [That''s what they called those who can utilize the power of the tablet to the maximum, the power needed to get yourself into the Rounds . ] Gettan got up . [Hey Yukime, tell me . Where is the gold . ] [...Do you really think I will tell you?] [If I entered the Rounds, we will never be taken from again . Yoko tribe and Great Wolf tribe too, you and I are the only one left . Let''s take a do-over with me, Yukime . ] Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. [Gettan... . ] The fact that you didn''t kill me back then mean that you still have feeling for me . You were a pa.s.sionate woman since long ago . Back then we were fiancee , this time let''s get married for real . ] Gettan hugged Yukime from behind . He brings his face closer and put his lips on her cheek . Yukime closed her eyes and look down . Then . [...No . ] She rejected him . [What did you say?] [The Gettan I know wasn''t such a weakling . He wasn''t a man who would rely on a tablets, rely on gold and betrayed the one precious to him and entered a cult . ] [... . Shut up . ] [Gettan... . why never you tell us to defeat the cult together . ] [C I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP !!] Gettan roared . He threw Yukime off the horse, get on top of her and squeezed her neck . [What do you know !? You haven''t even met Lord Mordred, how would you be able to understand my despair!! To that man . . everyone yields in front of that man! ! It wasn''t just me, It wasn''t just mE!!] He was like a child desperately begging for forgiveness . [Gettan... . ] The arm that is strangling her has tightened . In her fading consciousness, Tears fell from her eyes . [HelpJohn...han . . ] Then a wind blow and causing the snow to dance about . from the night that was dyed pure white, a single man appeared . Snows are dancing around him and steel wires cutting through the sky . [- So it was you who took my important thing away . ] The man wearing a black suit who hides his face behind a mask . The man who took a step toward them was... . . John Smith . A man who is burning with revenge . 138 Those who lost their eyes Going back in time a little bitC . As the sun go down, it began to snow in the royal capital . As the world is being dyed red by the sunset, it is also being painted black by the shadow . The volume of the fallen snow is increasing . In that capital''s street, if you look at it from a distance there''s a silver Yoko (spirit fox) in the snow . She exhaled a white breath, she is waiting for something with a sadness in her eyes After the sun has completely set for a while, A shadow approached her from behind . [A silver Yoko that has appeared in the capitalC it was you after all, Yukime . !] As if the piled-up snow has absorbed al the sound in the capital, A voice full of resentment resounded in the extremely quiet capital . Looking back, Yukime saw a beastman with jet-black fur who lost both of his eyes . [Gettan . I am always waiting for this day . But when actually did, I wonder why am I feeling this sadness . . ? [Everything, It was all your doing . ! Do you intend to s.n.a.t.c.h everything away from me !!] [... . Yes . ] In contrast to Yukime''s flat indifferent face, Gettan''s face was unsightly distorted . Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. [I almost grasp that power in my hands... . . So that no one will be able to take anything away from me anymore . . ! You want to deny that from me!! . ] [It''s already over, please give up already...] [No-not yet . If I have the gold you have taken, I can still recover from this!!] [Gettan . . ] [NOW SPILL IT OUT, WHERE DID YOU HIDE IT!! Gettan draw his naginata . The naginata was as long as his height . [Well, I wonder where it is . . ] [I will force it out of you now . ] Yukime pulled out her iron fan . [I''m no longer the old me . ] A white snow falls to the ground . The white moons and countless stars shine in the night sky . In that beautiful contrast of black and white, an iron fan and a naginata clashed . The whiteness wraps around them and the blood splashed . The red blood vividly dyed the white snow canvas . [Im . Impossible . !] The one on his knee is Gettan . He stared with hatred at Yukime and noticed something . [That kind of magic power...it''s the same of back then . !?] Before he knows, Yukime''s appearance has changed . She now possessed nine silver tails that are gradually getting thicker and longer, her clear water like eyes was dyed blood red . Even her dense magic power can be felt even without using his sight . [This is the true appearance of a Yoko tribe... . the winner has already been decided . ] [So, that''s the legendary power of Yoko . . the power that took both of my eyes that day!!] [I took both of your eyes . . ?] [Kuku . To think that you didn''t even remember it...even though you are the one who took my eyes! If you have that kind of power . No, If I have that power everything wouldn''t be taken away from meC!!] Seeing Gettan''s face filled with hatred, Yukime sadly smile . [Gettan . . Why did you changed . The old you isn''t this kind of person . . ] [SHUT UP!! DON''T YOU DARE PITY ME . ] [It''s over . ] Yukime pointed her iron fan at Gettan''s neck . That cold sensation make Gettan''s expression froze . [YUKIMEEEEC!] Yukime was looking down at Gettan while holding her iron fan . That face made her remember something from the time long ago . As if the time was stopped, the two didn''t move a single muscle . Only the snow continues to fall around them . Then, she lowers her iron fan and return her tails and eyes to normal . [What are you planning...] [This is the end of my revenge . ] [The end . you say . ] [What has caused you to changed, I still don''t understand . However, the fact that you have sinned and the fact that you saved both the village and my life still stand... Your sin will never overwrite your good deeds nor does it go other way around . I still want to believe in the you who saved me on that day... . . ] Yukime turns her back and walk away on the white snow . [So . . this is goodbye, Gettan . . ] Gettan using both of his crushed eyes and stared at Yukime''s back with hatred . [Don''t... . f.u.c.k with me... . ] His hatred did not reach Yukime . He swallows a red pill . His wound rapidly heals andC . [......a] Flower of blood bloomed on the white snow . [How far do you intend to mock me . ] [Get . tan...] Yukime who was pierce by a naginata fell down on the snow . 139 Even if we talk, it will be a waste of time Gettan let go of Yukime''s neck and stand up . [John-han... . ] Yukime coughed painfully and calls out his name . [So you are John Smith . You said that I took something away from you . But isn''t it you that take things away from me !] Gettan squeezed his crushed eyes and hatefully stared at John Smith . [I don''t care . I''m just here to take back the thing you took from methat''s all . ] [You mean this woman? Hah, do you really think you do it?] [I will try until I can . ] [d.a.m.n small fry . . But I too have something I must take back . The thing you stole from me that is!!] Saying so Gettan takes a stance with his naginata . [You want to take something back from me? What are you talking about?] [Trying to play a fool? You s.h.i.thead... . ] Gettan clicked his tongue . [That''s my line, you d.a.m.n dog . ] John Smith also clicked his tongue back . [You are not making any sense, if so then there''s no longer need for a talk . ] [It''s a waste of time . ] John Smith also prepare his steel wires . The two hatefully stared at each other, then . [GETTANNNNNN!!] [JOHN SMITHHHHC!!] They clashed violently . Gettan''s naginata is approaching John Smith . But John Smith didn''t try to avoid it . The naginata continued its approach on John''s neck, then it suddenly stopped . [CWhat!?] Surprised that his naginata has been stopped mid-air, Gettan pulled his naginata . John Smith send Gettan''s naginata back and composedly said . [Just now, did you tried something... . . ?] Gettan furiously click his tongue . [You b.a.s.t.a.r.d . . what did you do . No, a wire huh? Did you used a wire infused with magic power and stop my naginata . ] [Hou . . to think you would be able to noticed it even with those blinded eyes . ] [Even without an eye you would be able to notice it from other things . After I lost my eyesight, my detection ability using magic power improved dramatically . ] Gettan''s magic power filled the surrounding . [I can see it, I can see it! I already seen through all of your wires . !! Certainly, to be able to control this much wires freely, you are certainly skilled . ? Unfortunately you picked a fight with the wrong opponent this time . ] Gettan distorted his lips and smiled . [I can clearly see everything! Your skills are too incompatible with mine!] Gettan once again start attacking John Smith . John Smith takes a distance and tried to seize Gettan''s naginata , but his wire never touch gettan . [It''s useless!! everything you try to do is visible to me . ] John Smith retreats, Gettan chases after him . Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Yukime watched the two fought with tears in her eyes . What is reflecting in her eye is the figure of John Smith fighting in earnest . Yukime has never seen a moment when John Smith has been so angry . It hasn''t been long since the two met . But she understood that he wasn''t a type who show his emotions . That same person, got angry . It was an anger from the bottom of his heart . He came to take Yukime back and he got angry at Gettan for hurting her . [John-han... . why... . ] She got closer to him . But that was a business relationship, or so she thought . John Smith should also felt the same . However, that strong feeling hidden inside John Smith... He came to take back his important thing . Tokkun ( heartbeat''s sfx) Yukime''s heart is beating faster . Her heart was frozen since the day everything was taken away from her . No matter what happened , No matter who she has to embrace, She just smile and accepted it . Her heart was frozen to protect herself, and it will never melt away . However, John Smith''s burning feeling gradually melt it little by little . Yukime''s eyes already can''t follow anyone except John Smith . [John-han... . !] Although it seem like John Smith is being overwhelmed, Yukime know that his true ability was not just at this level . He will definitely win for her sake . She believed so . Then- . [So that''s what you''re amounted to... . ?] That was John Smith''s word . [Ku... . ] Gettan''s breath has become rough , he stared at John Smith . It was Gettan who pushed John Smith back but his naginata never reach him . On the contrary his body is being covered with innumerable small wound . Certainly, Gettan was able to see all of the wires . However, being able to see doesn''t mean he can dodge it all . The wires formation John Smith used was like a spider web, once you are caught you won''t be able to escape . It was a perfect formation to lead his prey around and seal its movement, is what Gettan guessed . If one try to forcibly break through they will sustain damages from those countless wire . If you can''t get close the naginata won''t reach, and If you got closeC . Before he noticed it , Gettan was forced to eternally swing his naginata that will never reach his target . [Why, are you possessing such power . ] Gettan said with a voice as if he was howling . John Smith composedly walk toward Gettan . His wires already sealed Gettan escape route before he know it . [Say it . . You have something you want to say right?] [C] Gettan looks over John Smith''s shoulder toward Yukime for a moment . But he shakes his head . [What are you talking about . Thing I want to say? I have no such thing!!] [I see . ] At the next moment, Blood burst from Gettan''s chest . The steel wire wrapped around him and bite into his flesh . Gettan''s face distorted in pain but he still stared at John Smith . I wished for power! I sacrificed many thing to get it !! I will not stop now!! He took a lot of red tablets from his pocket and swallowed all of it . That''s clearly over the capacity he could handle . [I will never be deprive again . . If I''m going to be deprive again then...] Gettan turns to look at Yukime again . It was as he was looking with his crushed eyes . Then, Gettan''s body turns black and transforming . His muscles are getting bigger and more strained . A large amount of magic power exploded and blew away the piled snow . [I am no longer care about my life . ] Gettan''s crushed eyes has opened . What''s there are blood-red eyeb.a.l.l.s . And tears of blood flowing down his cheeks . 140 Gettan…… Gettan movement has become far faster incomparable from before . When he thought that the snow is blowing up, before he knows it Gettan is already in front of John Smith . [OOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo!!] Gettan came at him with a cry . John Smith''s finger moved and the steel wires cut through the sky . [CHou] Naginata and wires clashed, the one who was pushed back was John Smith . A few steel wires dropped from John Smith''s finger . Gettan didn''t stop . Like a beast He keep pursuing the retreating John Smith . Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. That naginata once again cut off John Smith''s wire . Gettan''s naginata is sweeping and John Smith''s steel wires dances . The two''s clash continued for a while, and finally John Smith lost all of his wire . [AAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!] To him who has lost his weapon, Gettan approaching him with a smile of madness on his face . However, John Smith just let out a sigh and stopped moving . [After all, it''s just a wire huh... . ] He whispers so boringly and look at the approaching Gettan . The two once again clashed . Responding to Gettan''s heavy slash, John Smith took a side-step and dodged the attack . The naginata slide along his cheek and his black air is flutter in the air . His evasion was done with minimal movement . The step he took was the shortest and fastest move to dodge the attack . It was a move that at the same time he avoided the attack he''s also advancing, an ideal move . In other words, it''s an art of war . [Wha!?] The moment Gettan opened his eyes wide in surprised, John Smith''s elbow already made its way to Gettan''s Jaw . [GaHaa . ] John Smith mercilessly continue his a.s.sault on the staggered Gettan . John Smith''s fist penetrates Gettan''s stomach His body bent in the shape of , what follow was a knee strike to Gettan''s upper body . John Smith''s continuous strikes didn''t stop there . Using his fist, elbow and knee to attacks, each time Gettan''s body received those attack it is being unbelievably flown away . The strongest weapon is your own body, John Smith embodied that statement . Gettan too, also tries to retreat desperately and escape the storm like attacks . Due to the tablet''s effect his body recovers once the damage has been done to his body . He is waiting for the storm to stop and retreat to the safe area . But John Smith did not stop . The step he took sealed Gettan''s escape, the blow he unleashed rendered Gettan''s leg powerless . In that instant of offense and defense, everything was already calculated . Doing so, John Smith continued his one-sided a.s.sault . In such a close range inside his Maai, no matter how the prey moves, it will never escape that Maai . He keep a.s.saulting his prey like he is doing a routine work . [Gah . Aha . Gu, Guo,, Geho . ] Gettan''s bone was smashed, his fangs and internal organs destroyed, but it soon recovers . That scene is already like an endless torture . Red blood splattered on the white snow carpet and made a stain . And little by little the strength and speed of John Smith''s fist are rising . It was as if he was testing how much Gettan could endure . [Say it, you have something you wanted to say right...] [Gah . Guf . ] While continuing to punch Gettan, John Smith spoke . Finally, he has reached his limit . Gettan''s recovery has stopped . Seeing that, John Smith spread his Maai for half a stepC and used his right leg to kick Gettan with all his strength . Gettan received the kick with the side of his body, He rolled down violently on the snow . [I hate kicking, it destroy my balance . ] John Smith said so boringly . He slowly walks over to Gettan and stomped down on him who was trying to get up . Gettan raised his head and looks up at John Smith . [Ga . ] John Smith knock his face down with a fist . [-Say it . ] He punched him again . [CThe thing you want to say . ] [... . You are, truly strong . ] Gettan stare at John Smith with a face filled with various emotions . Anger, Hate, Envy and Regret... . . [If I was as strong as you, maybe something might have change... . I was weak... . ] The complex emotions made his voice heavy . [I have been running away from my weakness, the result is as you can see... . . I wonder what I was doing . The thing I want to protect was not this kind prid, I . . I couldn''t accept my own weakness . ] Then Gettan laughed . [You''re strong... . you didn''t fought for yourself and was able to fight for the thing you loved, ... . If it''s you . I can entrust... . ] Gettan''s voice is already losing its strength . He used his trembling finger and pointed at Yukime . [Yuki(snow)...I entrusted to you... . . ] [... . . Understood . ] John Smith grabbed that trembling finger . [Your feeling, I have certainly received it . ] [Thank . yo... . . ] Then, Gettan''s breath stopped . [Gettan... . ] Yukime buried her face in John Smith''s face . The tears stained his suit . [I ... . I . . ] [It''s over . The hatred is certainly there but you understood each other in the end...] Saying so, He pat Yukime''s back with a hand filled with magic power . [I healed your scar, let''s look forward to the future . ] He said with a small voice . [He said that he buried it under the snow over there right... . . ] 141 Everything is his [I still have one final job to do . ] Saying so, John Smith started digging and have Yukime return to the capital once . The final expression of kindness on Gettan''s face bring back a nostalgic memory . Yukime took a night''s rest in the capital, she used the real banknotes to exchange it back to gold coins and return to the hideout . Her wound was healed by John Smith . That ugly scar on her back had disappeared beautifully . Her physical and mental wound healed, she now truly believe that everything is over . It was supposed to, but the word [Cult] Gettan mentioned still linger in her ears . What has caused him to change . Does my revenge really over with this? What if Gettan was only being used... and the real enemy is still out there . Arriving at the hideout, she carry the gold coins and headed to the vault only to be surprised by its contents . [This is...] The inside was completely empty . A woman in black appears without a sound from behind Yukime who is tilting her head . [You are Yukime of the Yukikitsune Company right... . or should address you as one of the pillar of the Lawless City instead . [!?] When Yukime looked back, she saw a beautiful elf with platinum hair . [You are?] Yukime asked, preparing to pull her iron fan out at any time . [I am Alpha . One of the Shadow Garden . If you reacted like that, he still hasn''t told you right?] [Alpha... . . ] Yukime known that John Smith/Shadow is the head of Shadow Garden . However, he never talked about Shadow Garden with her before . Come to think of it, it was weird . [You are his collaborator . . and the one Gettan from the Great Commerce a.s.sociation loved right... . ] [What do you want to say . ] [First, I was thinking about handing this letter to you . The seal has already been opened, but I thought it was a good idea to hand it to you . ] [This is... . ?] What Alpha took out was an old letter . [The a.s.sociation will collapse today . Before that happen we have to retrieve what we can . This was found in Gettan''s room, his letter to you...No, you could call it his testament . ] [Gettan''s... . ] Yukime received the letter and start reading . The first thing that surprised her was its messy handwritings . Despite his blindness he must written this letter alone without relying on others . From the messy handwritings Yukime could feel his trace and his warmth . That letter began with the remorse he felt for Yukime and his hometown and how he curse his own weakness . Then, she found a surprising fact written inside . [The cult of Diablos . ] That was the ident.i.ty of the one that changed Gettan . After reading the letter, Yukime raised his face and looked at the alpha . [I am also a person of the lawless city . I already have an information that there''s an organization that is lurking in the shadow . ] [That''s the cult of Diablos . And, it is what Shadow Garden has been fighting against . Of course he . Shadow too... . ] [John-han too... . ] [He must have noticed the fact that you have crossed path with the cult in the past . That''s why he show you the way to help you out of your ruin . ] [Ruin? What are you talking about . ] Alpha smiled . [You see, Mitsugoshi Company was actually a front of Shadow Garden . ] Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. [C!? Don''t tell me!] From the beginning, Everything is already placed on his palm . That daythe moment Yukime talked with Shadow in the Lawless City, he already predicted the ruin of the Great Commerce a.s.sociation and Yukime''s . But he showed her the way to avoid it . He rescued her and pointed at the way for her to face her true enemy . [Everything John-han did was...] [Sorry, but we already retrieved all the gold here . ] [ . So that''s why Mitsugoshi Company''s credit still hasn''t collapse . ] [Moreover we have acquired the a.s.sociation''s businesses and established ourselves in the absolute possition . ] [Everything was as John-han . . No, Shadow-han predicted right . ] [It fine even if you regarded his as a traitor . He will accept even that, but before that, I want you to think carefully about the path that he have shown you . ] Yukime shook her head . [I have no intention to do that . Speaking of which, the one who suggest that we lay our hand on Mitsuhoshi Company first is me . Crushing me is but a simple task for Shadow-han right? . ] [That''s true . ] [I was save by Shadow-han . This fact doesn''t change . And I hate the cult of Diablos . My revenge will not be over until the cult of Diablos is completely destroyed . ] Alpha nodded to Yukime''s word that is full of determination . [We to, are ready to accept you . If it is alright with you, we want you to continue leading your Yukikitsune Company and partner with Mitsugoshi Company to do the thing we couldn''t do in the Lawless City . ] [Understood . You want Mitsugoshi Company to be the front and our Yukikitsune Company in the back . right?] [He already prepared for that . The juggernaut of the Lawless City has disappeared, you are now the strongest in the Lawless City . ] [Wha, to think that he read it that far ahead . . So everything is truly on the palm of Shadow-han . . ] [Yes, truly . ] Yukime and Alpha smiled with the same expression on their face . Both of their face are filled with the admiration from the bottom of their heart . [We will be in you care . ] [We too will be in your care . But this is terrible, to think that there would be so many people that are important to him...] [What do you mean exactly?] [It''s a story from our side . Well, I will entrust the remaining gold coins to you then . ] [Thank you . First, after we have overcome the credit collapse we will send help to your Yukikitsune Company later . ] And they left the hideout while talking about the future . ] 142 The b.l.o.o.d.y Demon King who betrayed his dream The collapse of the Great Commerce a.s.sociation was but an instant . They do not have the gold coins to cater to the ma.s.s of people who have come to redeem the bills, there''re also some company that close their store and ran away in the middle of the night . Eventually the Knights intervened and forced the bank to open, what little gold coins they have stored inside their bank is very small compared to the banknotes in circulation . The merchants are captured and severe punishments were given . What the people who witnessed the collapse of the Great Commerce a.s.sociation did next was to make their way to Mitsugoshi Bank . The morning after the a.s.sociation collapsed, people were gathered in front of Mitsugoshi Bank in the Capital . It is said that the number of people gathered was enough to fill the main street of the royal capital . As the bank open, they grabbed their bill and enter the bank only to be astonished . There is a huge pile of dazzling gold coins piling up in the big hall . The clerks responded to the people with a smile, the girls normally do their job against the crowd of people that came in . They''re handing out the gold to each and every person that came to redeem their banknotes . And by the afternoon of that day, the crowd in front of Mitsugoshi Company almost completely disappeared . The people who actually redeem their money were only about 30 percent of all the people lined up that day . The people were relieved to see how Mitsugoshi Company react . A mountain of gold coins, a smiling and polite clerks and the trust that Mitsugoshi Company had built until now . That proof immediately ensure their customers who want to exchange their banknotes . After the collapse of the a.s.sociation the credibility and standing of Mitsugoshi Bank and Mitsugoshi Company are raising up . Their power was already so great that even a country can''t touch them . If Mitsugoshi Company were to collapse now, the kingdom''s economy will also collapse . After the turmoil, the kingdom regarded the credit system as dangerous . However, the truth is that Mitsugoshi Group and their credit system have brought an unprecedented economic propriety to the kingdom . The kingdom has setup a talk with the representative of Mitsugoshi Group and Mitsugoshi Bank to make an arrangements about the credit system . Thus, the series of turmoil has come to an end . ________________________________________________________________ I am digging a hole with a slime scoop . Since then, I kept digging . But, why-has nothing comes out yet . WhyCI can''t get in contact with Yukime . I have Yukime go and convert the gold coins in the capital and I would dig back the stolen gold coins and it would be a happy end . It was supposed to go like that . However, the gold coins never come out and I lost contact with Yukime . Then when I checked, Not only that Mitsugoshi Company''s credit hasn''t collapse yet but Yukikitsune Company also joined Mitsugoshi Group . Why . What happened . What I know for sure was that my plan has already failed . If it come to this, then Yukime have no choice but to giving in to Mitsugoshi Group . Gununu . . [Boss, nothing is coming out . ] Said Delta, who is digging a hole with her hand . [I''m sure . I''m sure, it''s here . ] I kept digging while saying so . If I only have to made a hole then I could blow the entire area away but doing so the gold coins would be lost too . After all, there''s no choice but to steadily dig it . I also have Delta help me dig after she came here following my smel . [Boss, is this also a cla.s.sified secret mission?] [Yes, That''s why don''t tell Alpha and the others okay?] [Understood . ] [Delta, this is what called a dying message . ] [diving message?] [It''s a word left by the dead . I finally come to an understanding with a hated enemy after a battle to the death . What he said was [Yuki(snow)] and he pointed his finger [here] . That mean he buried his precious thing underneath the snow . ] [Amazing!] [This is what called reasoning . ] [Reasoning!!] Delta is wagging her tail around with dazzling eyes . [After the digging is over, Boss will do anything I say?] [Hmm?] [Boss promised!] [Hmmmmm?] [Boss already promised!!] [Hmmmmmmm?] [Uu~~] Delta stared upward at me . [Sorry sorry I did promised right . ] [You did!] [Even if you say I have to do anything you say butC] [You said you would!] [But, there''s a limit to what I can do . ] [But you said you would . ] It''s no good, it is already a pattern that I have to do what she say inside her head . [Delta, lying is no good you know . I didn''t said such a thing . If there''s a voice recorder then you would be caught lying you know . ] [Boysrecorder?] [It''s a weapon of the shadow, if it is activated then the world will come to an end . ] [Eehh!?] [You wouldn''t like it if the world come to an end right, that''s why you shouldn''t lie . ] [Uu~ I don''t want the world to end . bbut Boss did said that] Delta has tearful eyes, rather she is on the verge of crying . [Aaa I understand, I will do my best . Within my ability that is . But Delta, I''m not Santsan so I can''t do the impossible you know . ] [Santsan?] Delta tilted her head . [Santa Claus . the wicked red Demon King who reign the world of shadow . ] [Demon King!?] [His costume is b.l.o.o.d.y crimson . He betrays people''s dreams and gives them despair, A man wearing a costume dyed with blood . ] [That''s horrible!] [Yes, he''s horrible . In the past I was also put through a horrendous experience by him . ] [Boss too!?] [I have a dream I needed to fulfill no matter what, so I prayed for it each day, but I kept being betrayed again and again . ] [Dream?] [I want to become a power in the sha No, let''s stop . I have decided that I will no longer put the thing that''s important to me into word . Anyway, I have been betrayed by him since I was a child and he left a scar in my heart . In other words Delta, what I wanted to tell you is that I can''t make a promise to you because I am not like Santsan . ] Delta somehow looked at my face, blinked her eyes and tilt her head . [But Santsan didn''t do anything? He only betrayed Boss''s dream!] Indeed it was like that . [Are . ] [Are!] [Our talk doesn''t make any sense at all . ] [Doesn''t make sense at all . ] We both tilted our head . Well fine, I can''t promise anything but I will do the best I can . [Uu~~] [Now, I''m going on a journey, so until I come back think carefully about what you want to wish for okay?] [Journey!?] [Yeah, I am going on a journey to find myself for a little bit...] Alpha and the others are definitely mad at me, so I need to give them some time to cool down . People''s emotions fade with time . in other words I will let time solve the problem . The school just entered a winter break, Oriana kingdom also seem like it will be in a turmoil soon, should I try infiltrating Oriana kingdom? . I''m looking forward to it . Once I''m done with that I will meet with Alpha and the others, I will not apologize and act as if nothing happened . Why? Because I''ve acquired the strongest secret technique in human relationship skill . Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. That ismake the other party give up . [Aa, I can''t talking sense to him] like that . No matter what a baby do n.o.body is going to say anything . That mean, if I can lower myself to that level it will all be okay . But I have to be careful, that secret technique is a double edged sword . Why? The reason is that if the plan worked it will count as both my victory and defeat . [That''s enough, Thank you for helping me Delta . ] My plan failed . Thinking about it now even if I can get all the gold back I wouldn''t become a power in the shadow anyway . [With that said, I am going on a journey ! so, see you soon . ] [Ah, Boss! Something came outC!] I heard delta called me from behind, but as to not let her state her [wish] I dashed away at full power . Speaking of which, Today is December 24th . The first time Santa betrayed me was also a snowy night like this . HaahIt seem like I can''t become [A POWER IN THE SHADOW] once again . 143 That Ordinary Boy is Revealed to be—! In a back alley within the Oriana Kingdom, now occupied by the Doem Faction, I was surrounded by soldiers, low level grunts basically . . . "He''s looks shifty . Kill him . " Said one of them while another pulled out his sword . . I immediately lowered my head submissively . . . "P-please, spare me, mercy, please!". "Begone . ". My pleas were all but fruitless and a sword was already making its way to cull my life . . I sighed, and kicked it away . . The sword broke off in the middle flew off with a clang . . . "Wha!?". Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Come on, you could''ve at least gone "He looks shifty, capture him" . " I said to the grunts who only kept staring eyes wide . . . "What in the f.u.c.k are you talking abo!?". "All I wanted to be was a no-name citizen getting rolled up in the domestic turmoil . ". An ordinary boy unjustly accused and captured . . However, soon after they captured him, the soldiers of the occupying forces began to disappear in the dark of the nights . Slowly at first, then more and more, until only that no-name boy and the leadership of the army remained . . Just who is this mysterious boy? Sounds thrilling, right?. . "On your guards, he might be trouble". The soldiers surrounding me all drew their swords now . . . "Seriously, you guys are the 10 group already . This is getting bothersome . " I muttered . . One leader-seeming soldier came up front and said, "Am I supposed to believe you''re responsible for the recent a.s.sa.s.sinations of our men? A kid like you no matter, we shall make sure now . ". "Too late . That won''t make me a ''no-name'' boy . " I told the man as I sliced off his neck with my slime sword . . His gaze, that of a decapitated head, turned to the sky . The moonlit sky from a back alley tainted with blood splatter . . . "F-fiend! Kill him!" . . "Hey, maybe I''ll get lucky with the 11th" I muttered after nonchalantly finishing off the grunts . . This kind of felt like being a secret a.s.sa.s.sin I guess . . The fight was over fast and the smell of blood permeated around me . I checked my clothes . . Good . Not a drop on them . . I had failed in my goal yet again, but I did manage to get some clues out of the exchange . . Currently, this royal capital was being occupied by some faction and men of this faction were being a.s.sa.s.sinated as of late . . That, might be mostly my doing . . . Meaning, maybe I might get captured under suspicions that I''m a spy or a.s.sa.s.sin . Of course, I''ll still be a lowly falsely charged mob . . If that''s the case, maybe I should''ve gotten some blood on me after all . Then again, that itself could make it too obvious . . . I was walking out of the alley while thinking, when I sensed multiple presences approaching . . I determined their number via sound and mana signatures 7 of them, should be soldiers . . They might be looking for the bunch I left back there . . . "Oh, this could work . ". I fell on my a.s.s in front of the alley and waited . . Soon. . "D-dead, in the alley, they''re!" I pointed down the alley and croaked in a terrified voice, making sure the soldiers were within earshot . . I took especial note to be on the verge of sobbing, like a helpless mob . . . "What!? Dammit, don''t tell me". The soldiers rushed into the alley . . . "Dammit! It keeps happening!". "f.u.c.k, once we catch him, I''m swear I''ll!". "Oi, kid! You see who it was!?". One of them screamed at me as I was pretending my knees had given out . . . "I, I, no I didn''t see, nothing" I said, shaking like a frightened pup . . "You, you look like an outlander . " The soldier''s eyes turned sharp . . "I, yes . I''m a student from Midgar". "From Midgar eh . Why would someone like you be here now?". "I, I came to see if a friend was doing alright I swear, please, please believe me!". . The soldier''s eyes remained sharp . . "Very well . One more thing Why would you be walking the streets in the dead of the night?". "I, uh, needed some air". "Some air eh . Do you expect me to believe someone would try to go out on a pleasure walk in the current state of this country? And here in the capital no less?". "I-it''s true! Wait, please don''t tell me you suspect me of causing that!? I, I could never do something, so, so horrible!". . "Hmph" After a final glance at me, the soldier turned his eyes towards the alley . "All 9 of them were killed by a single stroke You''re right . You don''t look the type to have done all that but show me your sword anyway . ". "Yes, of course . " I presented my blade . As a mob, I make sure to equip a normal sword at my hip . . "Cheap iron and it''s clean . ". "D-do you believe me now?". "I will admit that the chances of you killing them all is very low . ". "T-thank you". "But you''re still a suspect, and the fact that you''re here itself doesn''t smell right at all . ". "Wait, no!". "Oi, capture him!". "Come on, please believe me! I''m but a simple and plain, innocent civilian!". . Nice . I went the mob-but-kind-of-suspect route and it worked out like a charm!. I did a mental fist pump as I was tied up and dragged away . . . 144 Concentration Camp I was given a lax pat down . . The kingdom of Oriana was in a state where war could break as early as tomorrow . They obviously don''t have time to spare for a mob like me . . . I had a mana sealing collar put on me and was taken to a large building . . Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. . "You''ll be staying in this camp . ". "Camp?". "Lord Doem is in the process of purging the Royalists . Prisons are all full . ". "I see . ". . "Well, good luck, kid . Whether you can live or die in here all depends on your choices . ". "Huh, what choi". The soldier guiding me put on a knowing grin, opened the large iron door and shoved me inside . . . The door was shut behind me with a thud as I took in my surroundings . . What I''d been imagining was some dreary, medieval-fantasy dungeon of solid stone, but this was certainly not that . . In very few words, it was a big courtyard surrounded by tall walls . . The floor was paved with stone, and the place was packed with prisoners . . . Some of them looked to be sleeping in tattered clothes, some just sat there with dead eyes and looked at me . Still others were standing in groups, discussing something or other . Seems they''ve made factions here . . Our jailors stood atop the tall walls, overseeing everything . . . Actually, those walls looked like they had rooms attached to them . The prisoners seemed to be granted free entry into them . . Not as rigid as I''d imagined . . . First of all, I needed to secure a place to sleep . I began walking with that purpose in mind . . And, "Ho, newcomer . ". Came a voice from the side . . I turned to see a tall, thuggish man with unkempt hair . My internal Bandit Radar began tingling right away . . I was 100% positive . This guy was a bandit . . . "You are?". "The name''s Zack . Long story short, I''m a nice guy who teaches new blood like you how it works around here . " Said Zack, eyeing me like prey . . "M-my name''s Cid . Thank you so much, I really don''t know what to do". . "I feel ya, buddy . Them fuzz catch you and throw you in here and there''s nothin'' you can do about it . I totally get that you''re scared . " Zack said while patting my shoulder . . He then closed in and whispered so only I could hear, "Listen, Cid . Food, bed, fun, none of that''s equal in this here camp . Look over there . ". Zack pointed at a group of people huddled in a corner . All of them looked thin, ragged . . . "The people in this camp are largely divvied up into 3 groups . Those ones you see over there are the worst off and also has the most people . They''re what we call the Trash . Useless trash who aren''t worth a d.a.m.n . They get a few gulps of water and even less food . Just waiting to die . They''re trash who have no power, or smarts, or even info Now, look over there . ". Next, Zack pointed at a group of people who were standing and talking amongst each other . . "Those are the Royalists . They''re all idiots who went against Lord Doem and are now in here . They get the bare minimum food and bed . They''re also our targets . ". . "Our?". "Yeah, our group . The Doem Camp . We got people who betrayed the Royalists to people like me, actual criminals . Us in the Doem Camp gets good food, comfy bedding, and a few other, privileges . ". " Privileges?". "I''ll give you and example . You see, they don''t give one d.a.m.n if he beat and kill any of the Trash like this!" Zack kicked down a nearby man . . . The ragged man cried out and ran away, and the guards on the walls watched the whole thing happen . . They said not a word of warning to Zack . . Making a bemused smile, Zack once again came close and spoke into my ears . "It ain''t like fights and killing each other are allowed in here . But the guys up top will ignore it . Still, doesn''t mean we can go around killing every f.u.c.ker that gives us the stink eye . Even Trash can be useful once in a while . And needlessly antagonising them isn''t a good idea . You still with me, Cid? It''s curious right? How we can get away with all this . ". . "Y-yeah, it is . ". "Here''s how it works it''s all ''cause we keep an eye on those Royalists and leak any info we get to the guards . Do that, and we easily get food, bed, and those nice privies . Sweet deal, yeah?". "By, uh, info?". "Anything they don''t want us to know . Get us some good info, and you''re on the Doem side, p.r.o.nto . And if the info is really good, useful even, you can some fun too . We even got wh.o.r.es . ". "B-but, how am I supposed to". "I get it, really do . How''re you supposed to know anything? Think . Jog that noggin a little . Only Royalist traitors have that kind of inside intel, right? Now, how did someone like me get in?". "I, uh". "Honestly, there''s a lotta ways to go about it . One, you could try capture one of them and drag him in for some good ol torture . Well, they''re also on guard lately, so that might not be so easy . And the guards can''t ignore it if you go overboard . . "Two, you could try getting in their faction and gleam intel that way . They''re on guard for those too, so something like that can take some real skill . . "Three, eavesdrop . They won''t make it easy, but you can definitely try . . "And four, there''s that fact that they likely have people who''re pretty willing to sell . Really, anyone would get tired of it eventually . They''d want food, booze . They''d want to get their d.i.c.ks wet . But alas, they''re still Royalists and the guards aren''t exactly inclined to believe anything they''d say . That''s where we come in . We make it so that they can get that food, booze, and wh.o.r.es they''re starving for . ". . "I, understand". "I''m sure you do, Cid . You now understand very well that if you do nothing, you''ll be part of the Trash . Useless, worthless trash . The only you can survive in here is either get us some info, or try to get the Royalists'' trust . ". "B-but, how". "I''m a nice guy, Cid . So this is all I can do . Tell you what, you get anything good, and you come to me . I know some real nice guys among the guards, so we can definitely work something out . " Zack said, giving me an obviously shady grin . . . "Thank you, thank you so much, Zack!". "Best of luck, kid . ". . "Oh, uh, Zack, please wait!" I called as he was about to walk away . . "What''s up?". "I Actually, I might know something really good . " I said in a whisper . . " Huh . You know, if that info''s something bogus, those jailors won''t let you off with just a little beating . How about I hear you out, before you go to them . ". "Can we, uh go something a bit private?". "Sure thing . Follow me . ". . Following after Zack, I went beyond the walls . . Inside were hallways of stone with cells on either side, containing prisoners here and there . . "The only guys who get private quarters are us Doem Camp and a small part of the Royalists . The Trash get to huddle down in the hallways, or just sleep outside . That said, we have our own territory in these halls and outside . You sleep there just cause it''s empty and you might not wake up . Get it?". " Of course . ". "In here . " We walked some ways into the hallway and Zack opened a door . . "This here''s my crib . Not bad eh?" Zack said with grin after closing the door . . . It was the size of an average bedroom . More than enough for one person to live comfortably . There was a clean bed, a few sets of clothes, books, a board game, and even p.o.r.n mags and a shelf with snacks . . . "Well, this isn''t the even close to what the big shots have . Heck, they say our boss held a stripper show at his place . " Zack sad with a dirty grin . . "There we go, complete privacy . Now, let''s hear it . ". . "Right, the real good info yeah, I got nuthin . ". "Huh wh!?". With a single step, I got into arms length of Zack, grabbed his neck and lifted him up . His feet now dangled in the air . . . "Fuh, ker, yer, gon, pay, for" Zack croaked in pain . . "Can''t work the body without food . I mean, I can easily survive going on nothing for a month, but I''ll get a little weaker if I do . So I really don''t want to skip meals . I guess I can go out into town and eat . And, sleeping outside isn''t really a problem Oh but, I don''t want to sleep outside in the rain, I guess . " I spoke while gradually tightening my grip . . "St-stahhhp". "Mr . Zack, you have two choices . Live, or die . Choose wisely now . ". 145 His name is Kageno Minoru Cids Past Life [New Volume Commemoration Side Story] Nishino Akane, an 11th grader in Sakurazaka Senior High, had a cla.s.smate she didn''t like . . He had black hair and eyes and a plain face, yet he always looked tired, with deep bags under his eyes . . His name was Kageno Minoru . He was the boy that Nishino Akane really didn''t like, and to make things worse, their seats were right next to each other . . . Kageno Minoru, as his name might suggest, was ordinary to the point of blending into the background . . With below average grades in academics and athletics, this boy had zero partic.i.p.ation in extracurricular clubs, had almost zero friends, but wasn''t adverse to talking with others . . He was normal, ordinary, the type of student you''d see anywhere . . . Akane hadn''t disliked him at first . But neither did she hold any special affection towards him . She had a.s.sumed to know him as a cla.s.smate and just that . . Yet, after having interacted with him on multiple occasions, Akane had discovered an aspect to their relationship that she absolutely loathed . . This aspect being, their first greeting of the day . . . Both Kageno Minoru and Nishino Akane would arrive to school each morning, barely as the gates were closed . Barely on time, every time . . And as such, they would meet at the school gates and exchange greetings . . "Good morning, Kageno-kun . " . Today too, Akane greeted this most hated boy at the gates . . "Good morning, Nishimursan . ". Returned Kageno in his usual monotone . . . It''s Nishino, dammit!!. Screamed Akane in her head, maintaining her smile as she situated herself to her shoe locker . . . They''d been in the same cla.s.sroom three months now . This had gone on every morning for three months . . The first month, Akane had figured that he''d correct it eventually, so when this pattern had continued past Golden Week, she had all but run out of patience . . She still remembered that conversation . . . . . "Um, Kageno-kun . My name isn''t Nishimura, you know?". "Huh?". . Kageno blinked, several times, as if Akane had said something out of this world . . "Wait, wasn''t it Nishimura?". "No, it''s actually". . "Wait wait, I remember now . You''re technically not an NPC, after all . ". "NPC?". Akane wasn''t familiar with the jargon . . . "Uh, nevermind . Don''t worry, I make sure to remember the names of any major players, but I tend to mess up at times, sadly . ". "It''s fine, anyone can mess up . ". Akane smiled seeking Kageno was genuinely apologetic . . That smile didn''t last long at all . . "I''m so sorry, Nis.h.i.tani-san . ". . Akane wanted to knock the daylights out of this idiot . Her hand was balled up in a tight fist, barely baring it . . . " Nishino . ". " Huh?". "My name, is Nishino . ". The boy and girl looked at each other in awkward silence . . Akane then turned away to her shoe locker, refusing to speak any further to Kageno for that day . . . The next morning . . As usual, they met at the gates . . . After sleeping on it, Akane thought that she might''ve been too harsh . Kageno didn''t mean anything bad by it, and it was silly to get so worked up over someone just mistaking your name . . Considering all that, Akane made her greeting . . "Good morning, Kageno-kun . ". "Good morning, Nishimursan . ". . It''s, freaking, Nishino!! What is WRONG with you!!. . Akane wanted to scream, but her perfect smile held perfectly . . She found it absolutely infuriating that Kageno was acting as if the talk yesterday hadn''t happened at all . . . He simply kept calling her Nishimura, and he simply kept never looking at her . . . Any time they said good morning, any time they talked, he appeared to be looking at her, but his eyes always seemed to be seeing something different, as if he was looking past her . . She hated that . . That was the crux of it . It was never about getting her name wrong . . . What Akane hated was the fact that he would never look at her . . That realization was what led her to completely detest him . . . Hence, she decided that he was not worth her time . . . They would still greet each other in the mornings but that was all . . Akane had given up on correcting him . . . They sat next to each other, yet not a single conversation pa.s.sed . In cases where they absolutely had to speak to each other for cla.s.swork, Akane would keep it to the barest minimum . . . She wanted to just completely and utterly ignore him . But she couldn''t . Due to her own circ.u.mstances, Akane couldn''t do anything too obvious . . . Nishino Akane was a very popular girl . . Her beautiful black hair and stunning looks made her popular to boys and girls alike . . In addition to being a fulltime high schooler, she was also an actress . . . The people in her cla.s.s of course knew of this extravagant occupation of hers . So if it was known that she, Akane, was in bad terms with Kageno, there was a chance that rumors, base and baseless rumors would spring up . Akane wanted to avoid that . . Akane''s acting career began in her childhood . However, due to a certain scandalous event in junior high, she had to take a break from the limelight . . That incident had led to Akane always wearing a mask over her true emotions . . . She kept up her grades so that teachers would like her, she was sociable as can be, so her cla.s.smates wouldn''t hate her . She made sure no one would dislike her . . As such, she couldn''t let that hateful Kageno hate her back . She couldn''t let anyone else find out either . She killed her own emotions to achieve that goal . . And she''d maintained the facade each and every day . . . . . Today as well, Akane said nothing as Kageno got her name wrong for the umpteeth time . . With that piece of conversation over with, Akane spent the rest of her day in the cla.s.sroom without another word to the boy . . Akane didn''t partic.i.p.ate in clubs . She would usually go home as soon as cla.s.ses ended . Today however, she had remedials . Due to her job, Akane missed many days, and so she needed to make up for her attendance using remedial lessons . . . Due to those and other obligations, by the time she left school, night had fallen . . "Aaand my phone is down" She sighed once outside the gates . . . She would usually call their chauffeur to pick her up, but her batteries had alas, run out . . Walking would take her 30 minutes . Not really an issue there . . . The early summer night breeze felt good on her skin, so Akane decided to walk . . . To be honest, it had been a long time since she''d walked home . Doing the walking bus back in elementary being the last time, she recalled . . Starting from junior high, her family had arranged a car and driver for her, and she had gone and went like that ever since . . So, after so long, walking on her own two feet felt nice, refreshing even . She didn''t even care that it was dark out . . That had made her complacent . . . Suddenly, a black van was behind her, and a burly man came out . She had noticed it all too late . . "Eh?". . Before she was even aware of her situation, the man had her in a stranglehold . . "Ah". Her neck felt tight, and within a few seconds, she was out cold . . . The last thing she saw was an all too familiar cla.s.smate, running her way . . . . "Ugh . ". Akane woke up in a dark warehouse . . Her hands and legs were tied down and her mouth was gagged . . She still felt dazed . Right, black van, the big man, he strangled her and someone was coming, she seemed to recall . . . "Mm! Mmm!!" She cried for help, or at least tried . The gag didn''t help . . "Oh? She''s awake . " said a voice from behind her . . The instant she heard that hoa.r.s.e voice, Akane froze . . . "Keep quiet . Wouldn''t want to get hurt now, would we?". He was a big man, perhaps over 6 feet tall . His clothes stuck to him revealing a trained, muscular body . . Behind him was another man . He was the man who had strangled and kidnapped her . . . "We already send the ransom note to your folks, Missy . We get the money, you get out in one piece . Very simple . " . The big man smiled at her fiendishly . . "Some luck eh? Precious daughter of the Nishino Conglomerate walking all alone at night . It''s like you''re asking the bad men to catch you . ". Heehee, he laughed mockingly while approaching Akane who was utterly unable to move . . . "Mmm!!". Get away!. She failed to scream . . Akane writhed in her bindings, desperate to distance herself from the man . . . "None of that now . ". The man grabbed Akane''s slender leg and pulled her to him . . He then lifted her chin and gazed down on her face close . . . "Well I''ll be . That''s the face of an actress for you . Pretty girl . ". "Mm! Mmmm!!". She tried to shake him off . . "Don''t test me!". The man slapped her, hard . . "!!". "I f.u.c.king said, none of that!". Akane felt the texture of blood inside her mouth . Tears held back until now streamed down her face . . The big man was breathing roughly as he moved his hand from her chin to her neck, from her neck to her shoulder . . . "Pretty girl like you shouldn''t be so careless . Ah right, this isn''t your first time being kidnapped right?". Akane''s movements stopped with a snap . . . "Yeah, back when you were in junior high, right . Wasn''t it some stalker?". . Memories she wanted to forget resurfaced in her mind . . Akane''s whole body shook in trepid anxiety . . . "Heck, I can even relate, with how pretty you are . Come on, Missy, what''s gotten you so scared?". " Mm! MmmMmmMmm!!". "Give it a rest, no one''s coming here . ". . Akane used every bit of her strength to struggle, to resist the large man''s bulging arms . . . Help!. She screamed, and,. The sound of gla.s.s shattering echoed throughout the warehouse . . . "Who''s there!?". Turning, the man saw a broken window . . Moonlight entered through the broken window, shining down on the individual standing atop the broken gla.s.s . . He wore a black hoodie and sweatpants with black work boots, in addition to a black ski mask that hid his face . . This extremely shady individual in all black might as well have been one of the kidnappers . . . Clack, clack, clack . . Clacked his boots as he slowly approached . . . "th''f.u.c.k are you!!" The big man roared . . "Oh me? Well, I''m the Stylish Badguy Slayer . " He stopped walking to adjust his ski mask . . "f.u.c.kin'' wise guy! Get ''im!". Right as the big man ordered, and his partner, who had sneaked up behind the ski mask man, swung down his bat . . . Right from the blindspot yet, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, the ski mask man dodged it easily . . . "What the!?". "I could see your shadow in the moonlight beginner mistake . " Said the ski mask man simply . He then turned and slugged the men behind him . Due to his black clothes and the dark environment (among other things), his punch was practically invisible . . There was a low thud, and the kidnapper accomplice dropped . And stayed there . . . "Straight punch to the jaw . You you''re no amateur . ". The big man released Akane and stood up . He loudly cracked his neck and glared at the ski mask man . . "Too bad for you, I was in the army . ". The big man drew his knife and lowered into a stance . He too was no amateur . . . "A veteran Yes, good . I wanted to fight a military man . ". Said the ski mask man as he also lowered into a stance . A practiced stance . . . The two men sized each other up in the dim light . . They slowly closed their distance, then. . "Die!!" The big man slashed . . As expected of a veteran, his speed belied what his large frame might suggest . His movements were swift and minimal . . . The ski mask man, for his end, raised an arm to block the knife coming for his neck . . The knife connected, with a sharp clang . . . "How!?". . The ski mask man had stopped the knife with his bare hand . . No, looking closer, he was holding something . . He was holding a black crowbar . . The ski mask man held the crowbar almost like a tonfa . . . "Y-you''re using, a crowbar!?". "Crowbars are great . Super tough, hard to break . Easy to have it in hand, and even if you''re taken in for questioning, it''s just inconspicuous enough to make up a good excuse . Best of all I can use it just like a tonfa". "What!?". . The next instant, the ski mask man had already drawn back his arm . . The crowbar swung an arc just like a real tonfa and struck the big man in the arm . . The big man was disarmed as his knife flew off . . . "f.u.c.k!". The big man took a boxing stance . . Crowbar met fist . . Hardened muscles pummeled on metal pole . . The two men exchanged blows under moonlit darkness . . But gradually, the ski mask man was losing ground . Each time he would block the powerful fists of the much larger man, he would draw back . Step after step . . . "Heh . I can work with his . ". The big man said after a handful more punches . . "You''re not bad . I can tell you''ve been in more than a few fights . But you can''t win here . You''re barely 5 foot 5 . 130 pounds tops . Me, I''m 6''4 and over 250 . I''m just bigger, that''s it . You might have a crowbar, but I''m safe so long as I protect my head . On the flipside, you''ll go down if you take just one of my punches . You''re out of luck, chump . ". The big man proclaimed all this with a grin . . . The ski mask man replied calmly . "Correct . As I am now, I can''t handle a veteran . A sad truth So, let''s get serious . ". The ski mask man changed his stance . . . "You what?". "I saw great potential in the crowbar . It''s almost exactly like a tonfa, it''s light, it''s tough, it''s portable . It truly is a weapon with great potential . Night after night, I bashed this against the biker gangs, finally to discover its true worth". " Wait! You, you''re the freak going around bashing biker gangs with a single crowbar, you''re the Ski Mask Berserker!?" . It''s been said that it''s because of him that the local biker gangs have adopted to all wearing helmets . The helmet would protect their heads at least . . . "The truth of the crowbar that I reached after countless biker gang bashings that is, that rather than using it like a tonfa, it''s better to just bash it!!". The ski mask man then proceeded to swing his crowbar down on the big man''s face . . A wide swing, but incredibly fast . . . Almost by instinct, the big man raised his arms to block there was a dull thud . . "f.u.c.k, my, arm" Groaned the big man holding his left arm . . . "Broke, didn''t it? This is the true potential of the crowbar . The trick is to bash with the corner of the L . The force gets concentrated like that . ". . And so he bashed . . . "Gah!! Wai, no". . And he bashed . . . "Sto, shtapid alre". . And he bashed and bashed some more . . . "Urgh oof". . And he just kept on bashing and bashing and bashing!. . Dull thuds echoed continuously within the warehouse . . It was a veritable storm of pure violence . . The ski mask man simple kept bashing on, and at some point, the big man wasn''t moving anymore . . The crowbar dripped with blood . . . "Not enough I can''t even beat a veteran yet I need, power". He turned to face the moon outside the broken window . . "I need more power". He uttered bitterly . . . It was as if he was reaching for the moon itself with his bare hands, an impossibility . . . He shook his head as if struggling against the harshness that is reality . . He then picked up the knife the big man had dropped and came up to Akane . . "Mmmm!!". . Sensing as if her life was in danger, Akane struggled in futility to escape, but the knife was already on its way . . "Mm?". The knife had cut, away Akane''s bindings . . . Now freed, Akane looked up at the ski mask wearing, crowbar wielding, all in back shady individual . . He also looked at her . . "Take more care on your way home . " He said to her, and then left . . . Akane could only watch him in a daze as he walked away . It was only after he was gone that she realized that he''d saved her . . Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Stylish Badguy Slayer just who is he". The only sound in the warehouse was that quiet mutter . . . . . The following day, despite her parents'' worries Akane attended school as usual . . She still felt frightened recalling the events of the previous day, but then, remembering Stylish Badguy Slayer caused her to smile somehow . . "Heheh Stylish Badguy Slayer, so lame . ". . Pa.s.sing the school gates, once again, there he was, that detestable boy . . "Good morning, Kageno-kun . ". "Good morning, Nishino-san . ". "Huh?". . Stunned, Akane stopped in her tracks . . . Kageno pa.s.sed her by and headed for the shoe lockers . . . He, Kageno, he didn''t mistake her name . Also, she also felt like he was actually looking at her that time . . . "Could it be nah . ". Akane smiled and followed after him . . "Wait for me! Kageno-kun!". She figured she might as well try to talk to him, just a little . . 146 Mystery Man Zack was struggling hard with his throat in my grasp, but my fingers didn''t budge . . "Cough ghrr". Finally seeing fear welling up in the man''s eyes, I slightly loosened my grip . . Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. . "What do I gotta do". "Right I''m going to need a room, can you get me that?". "N-not right away . I''ll need a month . ". I looked into his eyes as he spoke . He didn''t seem to be lying . . "I see . Well whatever . Actually, suddenly getting myself a room will make me stand out . I just need a roof over my head is all . I''ll sleep in the hallways I guess . ". . "Sure thing . I''ll get you a spot". "Also, I''ll need meals, well balanced meals . If you can''t get that, I''m afraid I won''t need you . ". "Y-you won''t need me?". "Nope, not at all . ". I tighten my grip momentarily . . . "Oh, Ok, ok ok! I can do meals, three meals a day, no problemo!". "Thanks a bunch . Next info yeah, I''ll need that . This place looks like it''ll be fun . Lots of intrigue . ". . " I''ll answer anything I know . ". "Then, let''s talk about our relationship . You said you''re with the Doem Camp, yes? I don''t want to pick a side just yet . I''ll be Trash . ". . " Then I suggest you don''t talk to me in public . How am I getting you the food?". "I''ll have it in this room . I can come in without anyone noticing, so it''s not an issue . ". " Sure . ". Zack had on an extremely bitter expression . . . "Yeah, that''s enough for now . I''ll find you when I need something again . ". "Yeah, you do that . ". . I let go of his neck . He sat down and looked up at me while ma.s.saging his throat . . "Who the h.e.l.l are you? How come you''re this strong when we''re not supposed to have mana". "Who can say". "You''re no student . A spy no, someone from the underworld". "Perhaps, but would I really reveal that?" I said, putting some strength in my gaze . . "Tsk" Zack tsked and looked away . . . "f.u.c.king politics whatever, I ain''t involved, just do whatever you gotta do . ". "That I will, Mr . Zack . That I will . ". " Yeah, sure . ". . I turn my back to the dejected Zack and grab the door handle . . "Ah, right . I don''t think I need to tell you, but do keep this on the hush hush . ". " I know . ". "Just a friendly warning . You see, I honestly don''t care if I have to kill you and everyone else in your little Doem Camp" I said, momentarily releasing a strong helping of mana and bloodl.u.s.t . . . "Wha!? But your mana''s supposed to be". "As if this trinket can seal me" I said finally, opening the door and exiting the room . . . " f.u.c.k me with a sledgehammer . I just had to pick up a freakin'' monster". . Listening in to Zack''s muttering from the other side, I did another mental fist pump . . 147 Not Enough Calories At All The Trash in the concentration camp get one meal a day . . All these hobo-like gents would line up in the in the courtyard and await their share . On the menu today, we have hard bread and soup . . As I took my meal, I noticed the surrounding gazes locking on to me . . They''re thinking they''ll pick it off of me, the b.u.mbling newcomer . . They think they''re not making it obvious, but it''s really obvious . . . I mean, I have a good meal waiting for me courtesy of Mr . Zack, so I could just make like a mob and get it taken from me, but I''m just a little curious about this too . . Welp, whatever happens . . . I make a show of hiding my food by cradling it and quickly make my way away from the crowd . . Basically, I''m saying they can take it, but I''ll put up a fight . . . I managed to cross the courtyard without incident and made it to the spot of hallway Mr . Zack reserved for me . . "Alright, here goes nothing". . I started with the soup . . It was garnished with vegetable sc.r.a.ps and just a few beans . Tasted slightly salty . . Like, it was bad, but I could eat it . . The bread was also bad, kind of bitter too . The bigger pieces were sort of better . . Tolerable if you dipped it in the soup first . . In summary: Edible, but just bad . . The meal was utterly lacking in protein . The only source of protein would be these tiny beans . . And not enough calories at all . A paltry 500 Cals at most . . I couldn''t imagine this''d be enough to cover a day''s worth of energy . . No wonder they''re all skin and bones I can understand the desire to steal . . . "Ho, newcomer . ". Two men approached as I was eating . . Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. They were both thin and ragged, but their eyes still had a glint to them . . . "Do us a solid will ya?". "W-what do you want?". I made like a small, scared animal trying to defend itself . . "Nothing much, just hand over the food . ". . "Eh, um, but this is the only meal we get today". "Shaddap and hand it over!". So the threats began . . "Hand over the food, and you don''t get hurt . Try anything and you''re still in for pain after we take your food . Get my logic? Now let''s just make it easy for all of us . ". "N-no, I". "Tsk f.u.c.ken r.e.t.a.r.d . ". One of them grabbed my collar and shoved me against the wall . . "He''ll get it after a punch or three . " He said and raised his fist . . . "You will stop . " Interrupted the voice of a girl . . "f.u.c.k off, bitc!?". "Wait, that''s". Standing there in the hallway, was a beautiful girl . She had on prisoner garb like the rest of us, and had pink blond hair . She kind of resembled someone . . . "Let him go, now . ". The two men relented to pink blondie staring them down . . "Tsk, we''re done here". "Uh, yeah". . My collar was released and the men scurried away . . "T-thanks so much . You are". "It''s all right now . " The pink blond beauty smiled rea.s.suringly . . This camp had few female prisoners . Most of them were women prepared for the Doem Camp, but I had a feeling this girl here wasn''t one of those . . . "Food is quite scarce for everyone . You''d best eat your fill quickly . ". "Th-, yes". . "You may speak to me if anything". "Lady Clara, this boy was seen speaking to a man of the Doem Camp . ". A tough looking dude came up from behind pink blondie . He looked like he didn''t like me . . "Was he but he surely didn''t know . ". "Be that as it may, we must tread with caution . ". " Of course . ". . "Um, I, uh, Zack just told me about a bunch of stuff and, so". "That is fine . Um this isn''t exactly the kindest place to be, so stay safe . ". The girl, along with the tough dude, then left . As he pa.s.sed me, the guy gave me another glare . . I made a show of being scared out of my wits and stayed like that until they were gone . . Then I muttered, " Major player, right there . ". . Mr . Zack should be able to tell me who that is while I eat . . Her name was Clara huh, she really did remind me of right, her . . She looked a lot like Miss Rose . Maybe she''s related to Oriana royalty?. 148 When its All Over I breached Zack''s room with him completely unawares . . "!? Oh, it''s you . How''d you even do that". Once he noticed I was there, Zack''s eyes bulged in shock . . Hehehe, nice reaction . I really liked this guy and his totally cliche reactions . . "Here''s that meal . Have at it . " He said, handing me a plate full of food . . "Thanks . I''ll borrow the table . ". "Be my guest . ". . Time for the moment of truth . . On the menu this time, we have bread and cream stew, along with steak and vegetables . . Simple and plentiful . . . The bread was actually white on the inside and smelled pretty good . . The cream stew had a variety of veggies and lots of chicken in each spoonful . Not bad at all . . The steak was big . An 18 ouncer I reckon . The meat was lean with little fat, cooked soft and juicy . Just how I like it . . It was a far cry from real gourmet food, but it was delicious in a normal way . Best of all was the fact that there was so much of it . . . "I didn''t imagine there''d be food this good served at a concentration camp . ". "The country may be f.u.c.ked, but it''s still the Country of Art . Our average quality of food is on the upside . ". "Makes sense . ". . In the future, when it''s all over, it might not be so back to move here . . . I have a dream . A dream, to be a power in the shadows . . But once I do that, once I''m satisfied with it to the fullest extent, I wonder what I''ll do with the rest of my life? I''d sometimes ponder such things during my days of constant training . . . I could become a power outside of the shadows, I could become a demon lord set on destroying the world, or I could become something like a master who trains future heroes . I thought on a lot of possibilities and ended up on something very simple . . I''d want a life where I could eat good food every day and sleep to my heart''s desire . I''d be happy with just that much . . I''d spend my whole life at full throttle only to end up at a slow cruise . . Yes, that, just makes sense to me . . . "What if I poisoned you?". "Who do think you''re dealing with? I can tell poison by smell . ". I really can''t . . Doesn''t really matter when I can break down any poison with mana . . . "Good nose on ya . Wish I had one . Especially that one time, back when I was still in the business yeah, one of my boys tried to poison me . Not a fun time, let me tell ya . Made it out of that alive, but as you can see, it all went to s.h.i.t and here I am . ". Zack began talking despondently . . "Gimme a sword and I can fight . This d.a.m.ned country, I tell ya, magiswords aren''t worth a d.a.m.n . Stealing pays more than working for some r.e.t.a.r.d n.o.ble . I honestly thought I''d make it like that yeah, all in the past . Royalists didn''t give a d.a.m.n about magiswords and it bit ''em back in the b.a.l.l.sack when Doem used ''em to take over . Some irony . ". Okay . . . "Talk to me about that Clara girl . ". I was done eating now, so I went on to the main topic . . "Why do ya gotta ask me . You should know all there is to her a lot better . ". "Sure I do, but maybe I don''t know everything about the here and now . No loss in making sure my own intel matches up with everything else . Apt diligence, leads to a longer life" I narrow my eyes and smile meaningfully . . Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Tsk, you know your stuff . I really can''t tell you a lot . ". "Not a problem . ". . "Hmph . " Zack let out a snort and started talking . "Should be obvious from the name, but Clara Oriana is that infamous Rose Oriana''s little sister . She tried to go against the Doem Faction early on, got caught, ended up here . Still, she''s royalty, and they can''t execute her right away . Even Lord Doem is having trouble on how to deal with her, but that ain''t the real story at all apparently . ". "Go on". "Clara Oriana is a big face of the anti-Doem flag . She''s got a lot of people listening to her . Even here in the camp". Zack raised a corner of his mouth in a smirk . . "Apparently, Lord Doem''s tryna use Clara Oriana to gather in the people opposed to him so he can get rid of ''em all at once . That''s it . What did I tell ya, it''s not a lot . Don''t you know a lot more?". . "Perhaps" I hid my mouth behind my fingers and, with serious eyes, stared directly at Zack . "Care to know?". Naturally, I didn''t know a thing, so I used some instmana release to add on the ''pressure'' . . "!! C-cut it out, I said I didn''t give a d.a.m.n about the politics!". "Wise decision . ". . My smile was a smile that implied dark, terrible secrets. With an att.i.tude as if I see all and know all, I acted the part of a power in the shadows . It''s not a matter of my speech but also my mannerisms from my eyes to my fingertips . . This is it, this is perfection!. . "Come on, man, this ain''t good for my heart". Zack wiped off the sweat he''d been building up and got up . . "I got business to take care of . Boss called . ". "Your boss?". "Yeah Doem Camp boss . ". Zack said with irritably before finally leaving the room . . . "Good". Nothing to do other than tail him . . . 149 Code 0 Through empty hallways, Zack headed towards the bas.e.m.e.nt . . Going past aged corridors that stank of rusted iron, he stopped before a large door . He retrieved a key from his breast pocket and turned the lock . Checking behind him to make sure he hadn''t been tailed, Zack entered the room . . . I heard the lock click as soon as the door was closed . . I too checked my surroundings and seeing no one there, I revealed myself . . I turned the door handle . Locked, as expected . . . I jutted some slime into the keyhole and picked the lock . Lockpicking is something I learned in my past life so it was a breeze . What''s a power in the shadows if he can''t open a few closed doors?. Incidentally, I have my slimes hidden inside my body so they won''t find anything even with a full pat down . . . I checked the presences on the other side and, determining it to be safe, stealthily entered the room . . It was a large, dimly-lit room . A celler of sorts . . . At the back of the room, there was a lit lamp with a number of men gathered around it . . I sneaked closer and hid behind a crate . I checked and the crate was empty . . . The men were discussing something in the dark room . Zack was among them . . "Boss, we''re all here like you ordered . ". "Seems so". The man who the others seemed to defer to as their boss stepped forward . I''d imagined him to be something like a boss grunt, but he turned out to be a lot younger . . In his early 20s, most likely . . He had gray hair extending down to his shoulders and was well featured . He was no grunt . In fact, he even looked sort of intelligent . . . From his musculature and posture, I could tell that he was trained in martial arts . . He didn''t have the air of an prisoner at all . . I like it . Breaking the mold and all that . . . "Well met, brothers . The Doem Faction is pleased with your various contributions . ". The boss said with a practiced voice, casting his gaze over the surrounding men . . He then proceeded to ask each one of them what he desired . . I see, so the thing about giving it to a guard was a lie . . . "Zack, what about you?". "I want food . Good food and more of it . Enough for two people at least . ". Nicely done Mr . Zack!. . "Gonna put on ''em pounds, Zack!". Zack cringed from the surrounding jeers . . . "Boss, let''s have another stripper show with the boys!". "That s.h.i.t''s great, boss!". "Again? Try to keep it in moderation, men . ". . Like that, Mr . handsome bossman listened to everyone''s requests one by one . . And once he was done, his face turned serious for the first time . . . "Brothers, we are in difficult times . Lately, there have been more attempts to cull our numbers . Why only yesterday, a coach carrying officers was a.s.saulted, resulting in 7 dead . ". For a moment, I thought that was talking about me, but I didn''t leave the camp yesterday, so it must be someone else . . "He''s skilled . Every time he''s killed, he''s done so without a sound . We''ve taken to calling him OWL . ". OWL, eh sounds important . . "And believe it or not, there are signs that this b.a.s.t.a.r.d OWL is in this camp . ". . That got a slight reaction out of Zack . . "Zack, something the matter?". "N-nothin'', boss". Zack lowered his gaze to escape from his boss''s overpowering stare . . . "This OWL likely wants to get in contact with Clara Oriana . We must find him before he does . Is that clear?". All the men nodded . . "Then that is all for now no, there is one last matter . We have a traitor amongst us . ". The bossman drew a knife and poised it towards Zack . . "You . ". And with surprising speed, he threw it . . . Other than me, none of the men gathered could dodge a throw like that . . The knife grazed past Zack''s ears and sunk into the face of the man behind him . . "This is the fool who dared to leak our info to the Royalists . ". The other men simply looked on silently as the traitor bled and died . . "That is all . You all may leave . ". . And leave they did without a moment to spare . . . "Zack . ". Zack, however, was the only one told to stay . . "You''re not hiding something, are you?". The bossman looked at Zack with chilled eyes . . . "N-never, boss . " Zack squeaked while seating bullets . . "All right . I will believe you . " The bossman patted Zack on the shoulder once, and left the celler . . . Now left alone, Zack heaved a shuddering sigh and wiped off his sweat . . Which is when I decided to also pat his shoulder . . "Oo, ooooahh!? Wait what!! You!! What the actual f.u.c.k!!". Mr . Zack got extremely freaked, and then seriously angry . . . "Oops, didn''t mean to do that . Thanks for keeping the secret . ". "Like I have a choice . He''d kill me soon as I told . " . "Likely, yes . ". "But d.a.m.n, so you''re really that OWL". "Truthfully, I''m really not . ". " Wait, you''re not?". Zack didn''t seem very convinced . . . "I never went out yesterday . This OWL is likely someone similar to me . ". "Yeah, sure . You think you can pa.s.s any info about OWL to me? You saw it right? Bossman''s suspicious of me . Mainly ''cause of you . ". "It shouldn''t take me long to find out who OWL is . I can''t guarantee if I can have you know, however . There are few people in my line of business those of reputable skill often turn out to be acquaintances". I said this so he doesn''t ask any more questions . Since I had no clue who OWL is . . "f.u.c.k me . You gotta help me out, man . Boss is f.u.c.king ruthless, you saw him right? You might be fine . You can use your mana . But me, I got nothing'' . ". "Oh, by the way, your boss''s mana seal coller . It''s a fake . ". . "Y-yer kidding me!?". "Nope . ". "Fuuuck so he''s even stronger than you?". "What do you think?". I did the instant mana release trick causing a small gust . . . "Uh, yeah, maybe not". "It doesn''t really oh? What''s this". Due to the sudden wind, a small piece of paper landed at my feed . . I picked it up and got a brilliant idea . . " Interesting . ". I muttered cryptically . . . "What''s going on?". "A note from one of my agents . I know have a very good idea who this OWL really is . ". "What!? That''s way too fast!". "Take a look . ". I handed over the blank piece of paper . . "I, can''t see anything!". . "It only responds to very specific mana signatures . Namely mine . It''s also an encrypted message . ". "Seriously looks completely white to me". Zack scrutinized the page from all sorts angles . . . "Can''t you tell me something, even a hint?". " You''re sure?". I closed in and whispered to him . . "Code 0 . ". . "Coat jeer?". "Zero being the first of numbers, meaning". "Me-meaning what?". Zack gulped . . "All will begin at last . ". I said while simultaneously erasing my presence and moving out of sight super fast . . . " HUH!? He''s gone!? f.u.c.kin h.e.l.l, the door''s still closed, how". Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. . Inside the empty crate, I stayed hidden until Zack left . . . 150 Who Do You Think Yousre Dealing With? I was genuinely curious about OWL so I walked all around the camp the whole night . Results: nothing . I''m really going at it blindly . The only thing I know is that OWL is supposed to be somewhat strong . I couldn''t check each and every person in the camp, but I was about to determine that there were around 10 people who might fit the bill . I did this by looking at how they walk and how they handle themselves, but that didn''t mean much . Not really . There are times when a weak looking guy is unexpectedly powerful, or when a musclehead might actually be a really weak . So basically, I gave up . With so few clues, I couldn''t do it . Maybe I should go out into town tonight and ask around? I''ll think about it later . Okay, that out of the way, I went ahead and had the breakfast that Mr . Zack so graciously prepared, and was currently out on a walk under the refreshing sunlight pouring down on the camp courtyard . I very much liked the cool winter air coupled with a beautiful, sunny sky . The sky was clear, and, I can''t explain this well, but it sort of felt like my soul was being reinvigorated . "Mmm . " Walking past the hobo-like prisoners having their bad soup and worse bread, I noticed that I didn''t look like a mob at all . Don''t get me wrong . I can pull off the mob role no problem in a town . But compared to these people, I wasn''t dirty and ragged enough . Well, I''m still new here, and blending in should come naturally with the time, so I noticed people shouting . "How dare you accuse us!?" A crowd had formed . I squeezed my way through them . I felt like this was going to get fun and I wanted front row seats . "Don''t you dare deny it . " Said Clara Oriana facing a mobbish dude at the center of it all . The guy was some no-name from the meeting in the cellar last night . Behind Clara stood people who were probably from the Royalists camp, and behind the no-name stood people from the Doem side . Among them, I could see Zack and also their boss . "Royalists and Doem Camp are going at it" "Things might get b.l.o.o.d.y" The rabble chattered . "One of ours was murdered last night . When we found him, there were signs of an a.s.sault and torture . " Mother of c.r.a.p . Since I was out looking for OWL, I missed a key event . "We dindu nuffin!!" "He was tortured! You''re about the only people who''d resort to that, confess at once!" Clara cried furiously . "Serves him right! I say good f.u.c.kin'' riddance!!" "Knave!!" In her anger, Clara slapped the no-name . Suddenly, everyone got quiet, as if time had stopped . Then . "Done it now, b.i.t.c.h!" The guy who got slapped grabbed and raised the club at his waist . Yeah, this be no good . Clara can''t handle that . Worst case, the club cracks her head open and she''s dead . Yeah, sorry, but I don''t like it if some no-name mob suddenly kills a major character . "Huh?" Muttered Clara, her eyes wide in shock . Right before her eyes, the man who was about to swing down a weapon at her, had spontaneously collapsed . The club he was holding was flung high into the air . "HUH!? What just happened!?" "How''d he just!?" The rabble were scared and confused . "It can''t be OWL?" "Find him!! He''s here somewhere!" "Owl?" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Both Royalists and Doem Camp went on guard . I was the culprit though . It was simple . I had a piece of slime detach from the bottom of my shoe and burrow underground . Then I had it shoot out from under the guy and hit him under the jaw . No one noticed, but that''s fine . That right there was very much was a power from the shadows would do . Or so I thought, by Mr . Zack was glancing at me with suspicion . I made a cryptic smile, and purposefully looked away Perfection . Now that''s what I call a job well done . Which was when I noticed it . The club that had been sent flying was coming down my way . And suddenly, I had a eureka moment . Show ain''t over yet! My role of that of a power in the shadows is done for now . However, I have yet to fulfil my role as a mob! I took only an instant to determine the club''s trajectory, and as it wouldn''t actually hit me in my current position, I swiftly moved to the spot where it would land . Having expected I''d need it at some point, I placed a small blood back in my mouth and looked upwards . And the club struck down right on my nose . "Bhoorfff!?" I blew the prepared blood in my mouth from out my nose and fell back . The blood sprayed out like a fountain, glistening in the light of the sun . Quite artistic if I do say so myself . Mob Arts: Nosebleed Splasher This is a pretty high level technique . "Ugh! I''m gonna puke!!" "Eghh, it''s on my face!" To you people of the camp who wished to see carnage, I present to you a fountain of nose blood . And there you have it . While the power in the shadows aids the MC, some random mob gets the unfortunate role of being collateral! "Wait, you''re hurt!?" I was collapsed on my back, completely sated, but seeing as Clara was running over, I quickly pretended to be out cold . . 151 The Princesss Mob Friend I was carried into a room and laid down on a bed . . The blood from my nose had dried due to the cold air outside, and someone was in the process of wiping it clean . . I took that as an opportunity to wake up . . . "Ugh where am I?". I made a show of looking around everywhere confused . . It was another private room . While the dimensions were the same as the room Zack was using, this room was a lot more modest, containing only necessities and no leisure items . . . Clara was beside the bed, and one of her faction men was standing at the door giving me the stink eye . . "I''m so glad you''re alright . You were struck hard so try not to move right away . ". "Huh, aren''t you". "Oh pardon me, I''ve yet to introduce myself . Though it''s likely you already know, I''m Clara Oriana . ". "M-my name''s Cid Kageno . I, uh, see you took care of me . My utmost thanks". I spoke in a shaky voice as if trying my best not to offend the royalty before me . . . "It''s all right . In the first place, you were unluckily caught up between our dispute . ". "No, I". That was when the man in front of the door clicked his tongue . . "Lady Clara, I believe you''ve done enough . We have no need to concern ourselves with him any longer . ". "Guin I understand, but he''s still not able to move with his injuries . ". "He might be a ploy to approach you, milady . We do not have time to deal with such minor things . We have a duty to our people, do we not?". The guy called Guin was looking at me in contempt . . . "You''re not wrong, Guin, but that doesn''t make it fine to ignore someone so injured right in front of me . ". "Please under". "Enough . Guin, he doesn''t know anything . And to my eyes, he seems no criminal . Is that not so?". Clara turned her eyes to me . . "I, yes . I accidentally ran into bodies left in alley by OWL . They said I was suspicious and". . "If I can''t even help a single injured boy, how could I possibly try to protect my country?". Clara declared and grasped my hand . . "By your will . I shall be outside . " Guin said and then left the room . . Before the door was fully closed, he gave me one last mean glare . But if I wasn''t seeing it incorrectly, it wasn''t just at me, but also towards Clara . . . Once the door was shut, Clara let out a sigh . . "I apologize . He means well for me, it''s just". "No, I''m alright . ". "Everyone''s under a lot pressure . Even I The one who''s supposed to have this role isn''t even me, but" Clara spoke glumly . . "Um". "Don''t worry about that . It''s really none of your concern after all . You''re, not from Oriana, are you?". "Th-that''s right . I''m a student from the Midgar Magisword Academy". "Eh? The Magisword Academy? Then, do you perhaps know of my sister?". . Clara turned and faced me curiously . . "Er, yes, I do know Miss Rose . I''ve spoken to her before . ". Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "You have? Then do you know about the incident where she killed my father?". " Yes . I was among the spectators when it happened . ". . "Are you sure? Was it really her who did it?". "Yes, it was definitely Miss Rose . ". "So it was". . Clara''s shoulders drooped in defeat . . "Father had been strange for some time before, and I knew that she was looking for the cause . Really, why did it have to end up like this Everyone is calling her a traitor to the nation now . I couldn''t believe it, I didn''t want to". . I was somewhat at a loss as to what I should say . . I let out a sigh and decided to just speak what''s on my mind . . "The way I saw it, she had an important reason for doing what she did . I don''t know what that reason was, and I can''t say if you''ll be able to accept it even if you knew her reasons . What I do know is that Miss Rose had done it with the utmost of resolve . ". . "Resolve is that how it looked? Haha, thank you, that made me feel somewhat better . You know, I really loved my sister who could do anything and everything . I looked up to her . So when I heard of the tragedy, I couldn''t, I still wanted to believe in her". Clara shook her head side to side, as if driving away the negativity . . "You must''ve gotten along with her well . ". . "Well actually, I faced her once in the Senbatsu Tournament during the G.o.d of War Festival . ". "You have! What happened?". "I completely lost . ". "Well, you do look terribly weak . ". Clara said with a mischievous grin . . "Cid, may I call you Cid? You can simply call me Clara as well . ". "That''s kind of". . "Oh, no need to be shy . In here, I''m a prisoner same as you . ". "Uh, well then sure . But only when in private, please?". "Right . If Guin were to find out, I''d never hear the end of it . That aside, tell me more about how my sister was at the Academy . ". . And that''s what I did for the next few hours . . This might not seem like the thing a mob should be doing, but not to worry . I can fix it . I am simply one of Miss Rose''s many mob friends and because of that fact, I am a mob who Clara can talk to . . 152 Evil Encroaching After leaving Clara''s room, as I was randomly strolling the halls, I sensed people approaching . . Expecting a story event happen, I stayed in place . . . "Newcomer! Great work getting in that woman''s good graces!" Said one of them with a toothy grin while grabbing my shoulder . . These men, no-names from the Doem Camp, had surrounded me . . 5 no 6 of them . . I spotted Zack standing at the back with an awkward face . . . "Listen kid, we need you to do us this favor . " Said the man after drawing close to my ear . His breath reeked . . "W-what favor?". Not only was my voice the definition of wimpy, I was already bodily shaking as if I was a lowly Slime being stared down by a Dragon . . . "No need to be scared now . You do us this favor, and we''ll be best buds . ". "O-Okay". "Here''s the deal . We want to talk to the princess is all, but the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds around her keep getting in the way . That''s where you come it . You''re someone she trusts so we need you to get her to meet us . ". "Y-you need me?". "Yeah, you''re the best man for the job . Do whatever you want, but get it done . You know what, here''s a little something that might help . ". He then took out a powder . . "This here''s a little drug that helps you get a good night sleep . Mix it in they drinks and bam, they''re sleeping like babes . ". "Wwait, no, I, I can''t". "Listen you little s.h.i.tstain!! I''m trynna be yer friend and ya won''t even listen to one favor!? Got''a f.u.c.kin'' death wish do ya!". "Hiyipe!!" I curl in on myself looking terrified . . . "Uhh, let''s, not get too violent, yah guys?" Zack spoke up from the back in a stiff expression . . "The f.u.c.k, Zack . You finally goin'' soft on us?". "No, uhh anyway, I don''t think it''s a good idea to, uh, do somethin'' rash . ". "f.u.c.kin'' p.u.s.s.y, we ain''t gonna get nothin'' done like that!! We''r gonn take the b.i.t.c.h hostage and that d.a.m.n OWL''s gonna show up right where we want''im!!". After that outburst, the guy slugged me in the face . . . The moment the punch connected, I loosened my neck, and let my body flow with the impact . . It''s called slipping . . A good punch to the head can cause a concussion, but knowing how to get hit can prevent that with surprising success . . There''s two ways to get hit . One is stiffening up and absorbing the strike, and the other is what I did just now, flowing with the impact . . And since it looked at if my whole head was flung away by that punch, it also doesn''t detract from my mob role . . . "Uoff". I pretended to get knocked off my feet and fell on the floor . . . "Hey, I told them to stop . I did, alright?" Zack was already backing away, as if to say he wasn''t involved . . . "You know your job . Now do it . We''ll wait 3 days . You get us the girl, and I''ll get you good food . Don''t do it, and". The man put his foot on my chest and pressed . . "Yer dead, kiddo . ". Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. He said finally, and they all left . . . "I see, that''s how it is . Take Clara hostage so OWL comes out to play . ". How smart of them . . . I stood up and brushed off the dirt on my clothes . . While I was doing that, Zack came back . . "I know you''re unhurt, but we still cool yeah? I was just there, I didn''t do nothing . ". Mr . Zack looked awfully frightened . . . "It''s fine . This is all within predictions . ". "What f.u.c.king h.e.l.l, you knew this''d happen!? I mean, I was surprised how you got yourself bonked to get along with the princess, but you even predicted that we!". "The gears of destiny are finally in motion all according to plan, of course". I casted a sidelong glance towards Mr . Zack, and grinned cryptically . . . "!! Y-you, who are you! Y-you''re on the Royalists side right? You don''t look like you''re on our side". " I''m neither really . ". "Nei, ther?". . "I support neither the Royalists not Doem . My true enemy". And right there, I speedily got out of sight, only leaving echoes . . "Is the Evil that lurks in the shadow of the divide". . "He disappeared!? But I can still hear him, how!?". Zack started looking around every which way in shock . . . Now, whatever shall I do . . 153 Looks like Wesre Done 5 men were gathered around the low light of a lamp in the underground cellar . . "You think he''ll pull through?". "Kid didn''t look too bright to me . Whatever, he fails, we kill ''im . The end . ". "At any rate, tonight''s the big night . It''s almost time . Where''d Zack go?". "In ''is room . Stomach pains, he says . ". "The h.e.l.l? b.a.s.t.a.r.d''s been acting strange lately . You don''t think, he''s leaking intel to those Royalists". "Oi, it''s time . ". Signalled one of them as the door to the cellar opened . . . In the dark, decrepit room, a single figure approached the five . . The figure''s ident.i.ty was slowly revealed as he approached the light . . . "You''re alone . Where''s the girl?". "Tsk . Didn''t pull through after all . ". The men were badly disappointed . . . The black haired boy standing before these intimidating prisoners looked the definition of ordinary . . His dark eyes were looking down, staring at the shadows extending across the floor . . . "Hey, you better not say you got cold feet . ". One of the men pulled out a knife . . "Hey! Talk! Where''s the princess!?". He threatened, holding the knife at the boy''s throat . . . The boy began trembling like the weakling he was or so the men had imagined . . The boy didn''t do that . He didn''t shake, he didn''t even move . He simply kept staring at the shadows below . . . "The princess, Clara". He muttered softly . . His voice wasn''t loud but everyone could hear it clearly . . "Isn''t coming". His eyes were yet glued to the floor . . However, his lips held a tiny grin now . . . "The f.u.c.k are you talkin'' about, huh!? Ya got cold feet and came here alone, that it!?". The boy was silent . . "What now? We kill ''im?". "Gotta at least show him not to mess with us . ". "Yeah . We beat him up and try again . ". . The men all stood up and surrounded the boy . . "Messin'' with us, eh dips.h.i.t?". The man who had the knife at the boy''s neck grabbed a fistful of his hair with his other hand and pulled his face up . . What the man saw there was the boy''s eyes, pitch dark eyes lacking in emotion . . "I don''t like that look . ". . Looking annoyed, the man grazed his knife along the boy''s neck . . A line of blood escaped the shallow cut . . "I said, I don''t like that look . ". But the boy didn''t comply . He just kept staring blankly . . Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. No, not quite . The small smile on the boy''s lips had grown into a visible grin . . . "What''re you laughin'' at!!". The man smacked the boy''s face with the b.u.t.t of his knife . . But the boy''s smile didn''t falter, not in the least . . "You don''t seem to realize you''re in deep s.h.i.t, brat . ". . Another smack . . Stronger this time . Enough to break the cheekbone, maybe even knock loose a tooth . . Still no reaction from the boy . . The boy simply kept on looking at the man with a grin across his face . . . "!". "Oi, you goin'' easy on ''im or what?". From the side, one of the man''s comrades came up and punched the boy in the face . . "That''s how ya punch a face . Leave ''em half dead and they''ll never Huh!?". That punch was meant to knock the boy out cold . . But the boy just stood there as if he felt nothing . The spot where he''d been battered had remained spotless . . . Those emotionless eyes still peered at the 5 men . . It was freaking them out . . . " Is that it?" Finally said the boy . . "!! You''ll regret that!!". Furious, the man began pummeling the boy with ferocious fists . . He punched like no tomorrow, until his breathing became rough . . . "See, this is what happens when you HUH?". " Are you done?" Said the boy, ever smiling . . His face revealed not one bruise . . . "This kid''s f.u.c.king strange . ". "Tsk . Gimme the knife . ". The man from the side took the knife and stabbed the boy in the ribs . . . But,. "What, how!?". The knife, penetrating only the boy''s clothes, stopped there . Even putting more strength into his arm, the man couldn''t cut the boy''s skin . . . "O-oi, what''re ya playin'' around for?". "Stab him, do it!". "Sh-shaddap! Knife ain''t going in!!". The man tried stabbing again and again . . The knife never penetrated even skin deep . . . His breathing had gone arid as the man stepped away . His eyes couldn''t believe what he''d just witnessed . . "W-what, the h.e.l.l are y". " So you''re done?". That''s when the boy swung his fist . . Yet, no one saw it move . Such was its speed . . . What they saw was the result only . . The boy''s fist had punched through the man''s chest and come out the other side . . . "Ah ahyauu". The man dropped to the ground, creating a large pool of blood . . . "Wha!?". "N-no, f.u.c.kin". "D-did this guy just punch a hole through". "Hyai!". . Splich, splich . . . The boy walked on the the b.l.o.o.d.y floor . . " Done?". He taunted the men, still grinning . . . The remaining mens'' faces stiffened . . "G.o.dd.a.m.n w-we''ll take ''im down with all of us!!". "D-don''t mess with me!!". "D-Die, f.u.c.ker, dieeee!!!". "H-hyi-hyeeeeeeee!!". . Four shadows converged on the boy . The flame in the lamp flickered . . Dancing shadows . . Once the flame regained its calm, on the floor of the cellar lay 5 corpses with holes for a chest . . . " looks like we''re done . ". No one answered now . . Splich, splich . The boy stepped over the blood as he walked away . . 154 Soul Searching I had left the kingdom of Midgar where I was born and raised, and now, have ended up in a concentration camp in Oriana. In this unknown land where not a soul knew me, I sought to find myself. That''s what this was after all. I journey of soul searching. All the actions I''ve taken in my life has been for one purpose: to be a power in the shadows. But am I truly on the correct path to reach my ultimate goal? Is there not something more I can do? I''ve had various thoughts on the matter, and I''ve narrowed it down to one thing that I believe I currently lack. That is Overwhelming might. A power in the shadows must be strong. That is a given fact. The issue is how to display that strength to the fullest. Instakill my foes the simplest idea. But it''s dull and boring. Show them power beyond imagination of course I will. But that''s still not enough. Be unharmed no matter what the enemy dishes at me YES! This! As a power in the shadows, I will let them know despair by showing that their attacks mean nothing to me, then use power beyond imagination to instakill my foes! The point is to make sure the enemy has exhausted all their trump cards, and being fine regardless. That is the moment when they will drown in despair and truly lose to me, and any witness to such a feat would surely gain an instinctive sense of overwhelming might that is a power in the shadows. So the question is, have I done that for my enemies so far? Have I sent them to the pits of despair? I have not. This was what I was lacking all this time! Overwhelming might! With that reasoning in mind, I tested it out with those 5 hoodlums, taunting them to give me everything they had. It wasn''t enough. It was not enough. What am I doing trying to get some level 1 convict to throw out trump cards? I should just instakill low-level plebs like that. Here I was expecting those last 4 could launch a special combo suicide move or something. Imagine my disappointment. Instakill any mobs, that''s how a power in the shadow rolls. And for boss characters, I make sure they exhaust everything they have, that''s also how a taepodong dongs. Though I''d need to kill some of them faster too. Depends on how much I can handle really. Gotta always adapt to the situation and get the best out of it. That''s how a power in the shadows should be. And doing that, I''ll be one step closer to my supreme goal. Happy with the knowledge that I''d learned and grown, I was on a stroll in the camp courtyard. The icicles glistened under the morning sun. My breath was white in the cold air. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Oops. Stepped on a body. Dead from frostbite. Ah, what a refreshing morning. As such, I was blending in with the all my other mob campmates when I noticed a familiar presence. "Hm?" Perhaps noticing me turning around, the other party did the same. "Eh?" For a few moments, we stared at each other. He no, she looked like a man at a glance. Her prison clothes were dirty and her head was wrapped up in a cloth, revealing only her amber eyes. She was disguising herself to hide any feminine curves. Epsilon uses her slime bodysuit to do something similar. Well, the opposite actually. Yes, I know her. "Miss Rose." "C-Cid" Both of us were surprised. After the thing at the G.o.d of War Fest, she was working part-time for Mitsugoshi Co. as I recall. Then how come she''s here.? Oh I see. So she''s been thinking too. You can''t be working part-time forever. She''s clearly thinking constructively about her future. And so, she''s also on a journey of soul searching. She quit her job and is here to take back her country. In the first place, her killing the king was the start of all this. So her being here is not surprise at all "Miss Rose So, you''re" I was so amazed by her resolve that I was at a loss for words. Incidentally, the mana sealing collar on her neck was a fake. Which means that she too infiltrated this camp. And gathering all these clues, there is only one conclusion to arrive at. She, Rose Oriana is OWL. 155 Sorry, Ya Lost Me. "Cid Why are you here, of all places" Said Miss Rose, eyes wide in surprise. "Uh, I was worried for a friend and travelled here. Then they said I was suspicious and" I said in mob-like stutters, trying to get across the feeling that I got mistakenly involved. "S-so, you were that worried for me?" "Huh? Uh, I mean" I just said ''a friend'', not her in particular, but, actually, isn''t her misunderstanding sort of convenient for now? "Yes, that''s right. I was so worried after what happened" "Cid" She looked at me earnestly. "I''m so sorry, because of me you ended up in this sort of place Still, to think you could tell it was me right away" She finished with a slight smile. "Oh, never mind me. I did this on my own accord so." "No, this is wrong! I, I I can''t return anymore" She shook her head furiously, amber eyes stained in tears. "Can''t return?" "Please, just forget about me." "Eh?" " I''m sorry, I can''t say why. If I do, even you''d become involved" "Um, I don''t understand." Sorry, ya totally lost me there. "My feelings are still the same. On the last day we spoke, I said I wanted you to believe in me. And you did. You even came all the way here. And that''s enough for me. I won''t ask for anything more. So please I, I don''t want you to get hurt because of me" Miss Rose tightly held my hands. "Cid, you don''t need to worry about me anymore. I''ll make sure you escape from this camp. So please. Just, just forget about me" " Okay." I nodded seriously. Yeah, she''s technically a criminal after all. A mob isn''t someone involved with criminals. Still, it''s surprising how far she''d go to take the throne. Very well. I should help out in a way that she succeeds. "Thank you for understanding. You and I don''t know each other We''re complete strangers and our paths with never cross again" " Of course." "Farewell." She said, still smiling. The tears in her amber eyes rolled down her cheeks. "Farew" I was about to also bid farewell when, "Oi, you the one called Cid?" Someone roughly grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. "Yes, that is me?" All of a sudden, people from the Doem Camp were surrounding me. "You''re the brat Marco hired, right?" " Marco?" Do I know a Marco? "Don''t play dumb!! Yer the one those guys called out!!" The man grabbed me by the collar and looked mad. "Eh, please, I don" I really don''t know a Marco. People are misunderstanding things a lot today. I made a stealthy glance at Mr. Zack, and and he just gave me a nod. What''s that supposed to mean? Why did you nod, man? "Quiet down." Someone put a hand on the angry man''s shoulder. "Boss" It was the gray haired handsome man I saw in the cellar. Their leader. "I am Maximilian. I run things around here. Five men have recently approached you for a task, no?" "Uh" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Oh. The drug and kidnap the princess mission. Yeah, they all suddenly got holes in their chests so mission failed I guess. "Those five were mysteriously killed last night." "A!" Wait, am I a suspect? "You will tell us everything." Said Maximilian in a tone that won''t take no for an answer. "Y-yes" And so I nodded in a.s.sent. And with my shoulder still held, I was about to be taken away. Which is when, "Move it." One of the Maximilian''s men shoved Miss Rose aside as she was standing blankly in the way. "Ah" I voiced worriedly. "Hm? Do you know him?" "No." I shook my head as she hid away her face. "I don''t know him." "Move along." I was then pushed to go wherever they would take me. Behind me, I could feel her gaze on me the whole way. 156 Action Spy Like that, I was brought into the cellar. I was seated down on a chair with the underling''s iron grip still on my shoulder. Around me were faces of the Doem Camp. In front of me stood Maximilian. "Now" The bossman looked down at me with cold eyes. "Those five I mentioned. We found them this morning with their chests pierced through. You don''t happen to know anything about that, do you?" I could see traces of the blood from yesterday on the floor. "I, I don''t know anything, sir please believe me!" "Then tell me, what were you doing last night? Were you not supposed to drug the princess and bring her here?" Ah, looks like he knows about that. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Yes, I was indeed told to do just that. But I I just couldn''t" "So the nerves got you." Maximilian said, his gaze turning sharper. "And then, a coward like you had the audacity to carefreely stroll around in the camp. One would imagine you would go into hiding no?" "Hm?" H-he''s right! Me acting like I had this morning isn''t something a mob like me should''ve been doing. You''re brilliant, Maximilian. "N-no, that wasn''t! I really was scared and" "You certainly looked fine to me. Until my men and I arrived, you looked not the least bit scared. Now, you will speak what you know." Maximilian drew his knife. The sharp blade glinted in the flame of the sole lamp. Right. So I''ve failed. Too bad. Let''s kill them now. I was about to go Shadow-mode and unleash slime h.e.l.l on them when I sensed her coming. Not a moment later, the lamp went dark. "Someone''s there!!" She had arrived. Wearing a pitch black slime bodysuit, with her slime sword, she launched a fierce attack towards Maximilian. "d.a.m.n you!" Maximilian also reacted fast to the sudden a.s.sault. He quickly turned and avoided the blade coming for his neck, then jumped back to take distance. It wasn''t a perfect dodge however, as blood gushed from his shoulder. "b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You must be OWL. And you''re a woman." She didn''t answer. Some of the other men were already down on the floor near her. She''s gotten more skilled. "Hmph, seems you''ve made it easier for me." Maximilian took out a sword from a crate. He fell into a loose stance and observed his opponent. Yup, he''s somewhat skilled too. " Surround her." The remaining men also found swords and did as their boss had commanded. If they''d been holding guns instead of blades, it would''ve been like some spy movie action scene. So exciting. I gulped in antic.i.p.ation. And Maximilian made the first move. He quickly closed the distance# and thrust his sword. The point didn''t reach her, as she had swiftly evaded with a half step and cut down a man who came from behind her. As she did, Maximilian made his next move. The man''s swordplay was sharp and precise. No risky, flamboyant movements. A logical sword. I didn''t think I''d see this sort of sword in Oriana of all places. The kingdom of Oriana had a culture of looking down on magiswordsmanship. The magiswords in of this country were either people of the lowest caste, or foreign mercenaries. So what martial art does the high cla.s.s practice you ask? It''s called blade dancing. Yes, that''s right, I said dancing. They take a sword, and they dance with it. Imagine figure skating while holding a sword, that''s basically what it amounts to. Being the Country of Art, in Oriana, they hold blade dancing duels and victory goes to the most beautiful dance. It goes without saying that blade dancing is total weaksauce in a real fight. But for the people here, it seems that beauty is strength. I mean, I can see how it could make sense, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say. Whatever. Basically, this is why I was surprised with Maximilian''s swordplay. It made sense. At the very least, it made sense not in the Oriana kingdom way. One could claim it''s the start of a new era for the nation. He was using such a sword to a.s.sail OWL. Swords sparks lit up moments of the dark cellar, and he was landing glancing strikes on the girl''s body suit. Maximilian was using numbers to his advantage to give her no s.p.a.ce to maneuver. "Give up while you can. You will not win." Huh, things aren''t looking too good for her. He''s a handsome guy after all. As I was thinking that, she made her attack. Maximilian easily dodged, as he had much more s.p.a.ce to work with. He was taking full advantage of the stage. He was far enough that the slash wouldn''t reach. Yet, suddenly her sword extended. "!!" If Maximilian hadn''t craned his neck to dodge, his face would''ve had a hole in it. The slime sword only grazed him, and blood flowed from his cheek. Maximilian had barely dodged, but that position broke his balance and he had to step further back. Taking advantage of the inattention, the girl swept away the men around her, cut down the cellar door and ran out. "After her! Now!!" Maximilian roared, and his remaining man chased after her. "Boss, what do we do with the kid?" One of them said, noticing me. "OWL takes priority. We won''t need him anymore if we can capture her. Do not let her get away!" Saying that, Maximilian also ran out. Suddenly, I was the only person in the whole cellar. "What to do" Things were getting rather busy upstairs. 157 Cut Down Anything! It''d been much too soon to make her move. Rose ran across the camp hallways, still sensing pursuers behind her. Her mission was to take Clara, the flag of the Royalists, and deliver her to her faction''s army waiting outside of the city. Originally, that role had belonged to Rose herself. However, currently, Rose couldn''t be considered an ally of Oriana under any pretense. She was, after all, the traitor who murdered their king. The public already knew Rose as such. She held no ability to lead her people anymore. She could only remain in the shadows, never to return. But she still wished to devote herself to her country. For that reason, she had volunteered to take part on this mission. To use her life for her people. But then, he had appeared suddenly. Cid Kageno. The boy she had once wished to spend her life with. That boy had worried for her, going so far as to travel to Oriana. When she learned of that fact, the emotions hidden in her heart became turbulent. The happiness that he had sought her out. The regret that she had caused him harm. And mostly grief towards his feelings that she could no longer answer. No matter how deeply she loved him, she could no longer be with him. She was a criminal. Getting involved with her would surely lead him to misfortune. So, she had resolved herself to give up, and yet They met. And Rose''s feelings were raging to point of pain. She wanted to dive into his chest without a care. But she couldn''t. For after the momentary bliss, only cruel, merciless reality. Thus, no matter how it tore apart her hear, Rose told him clear words of parting. And it was supposed to be over with that, it was Until Maximilian took him. The inside of Rose''s head had went blank. Maximilian was a dangerous man. He was one of the Named Children of the Order of Diabolos and held the t.i.tle ''Coldblood''. He was also allied to Doem who held the reins of the anti-Royalist Faction. On the face of it, he was one of Doem''s underlings, but within the Order, their positions were that of equals. As such, they were fellow compet.i.tors. Word was that, based on the results of their occupation of Oriana, one of them may get promoted to a seat of the Rounds. In other words, even they were underlings to a degree. A Knight of the Rounds apparently also has a hand in Oriana''s current turmoil one Sir Mordred. Shadow Garden has been scouring everywhere for this Sir Mordred, without any results. But this man held a very prominent position within the Order, that is known for certain. The aim of Shadow Garden is to find and eliminate him. To do that, Shadow Garden has been aiding the Royalists take back Oriana so as to drive the Doem Faction to a corner. Which evidently leads Rose''s own goal of protecting her country. Rose was well aware of her duty. She was. But before she had realized, she had already drawn her sword at Maximilian. I can''t. I should still bide my time. I need to find Clara and take her out of here. No matter how much she tried to reason with herself, her feelings had won out overwhelmingly. I''ve got to save him!! Which leads us to the present. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Surely, soon enough, the whole camp would know that OWL had infiltrated the premises. Rose was still worried whether her sister Clara would believe in her. Plus, the matter of the traitor among those around the princess. Rose had wanted to eliminate that danger before contacting Clara that wouldn''t be happening now. "There she is!!" "Over here!!" Behind her were Maximilian''s men, and in front of her stood armed guards. Never stopping, Rose readied her black blade "Haaahhhh!!" Cutting down any obstacle. 158 Beacon of Revol The camp was in a frenzy. Guards were running every which way, and sounds of destruction could be heard from the courtyard and halls. Clara, who was in her private quarters, spoke. "Is it true that the OWL has appeared?" The princess''s pink blond hair shook in the cold wind. "It appears so, milady. For some time now, the guards have been shouting that they''d found this OWL." said Guin standing at her side. "Right..." Meaning that OWL was in a bad situation. While they usually opted on the side of caution, it might also be prudent to see this as an opportunity. Clara had to make a decision now. For Oriana, and for the loyal retainers who had followed her all this time. "What do you all think we should do?" She queried the people of the Royalist Faction surrounding her. "We must save the OWL and escape together! We will surely be able to join back with the army!" "We don''t yet know whether this OWL is enemy or ally! We should wait and see!" "The guards are all busy outside! We have to make our move now or never!" "We mustn''t make rash decisions! Think of the greater cause!" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Her retainers staunchly voiced their respective stances. Guin said calmly, "We must have caution. We do not know if OWL is an ally. And even if we do save him, there is no guarantee we can escape the camp with his aid." Then, they all turned to Clara. "Your highness, what do you wish to do?" And demanded her decision. Clara felt her chest tighten as if her heart was being squeezed. She glanced around the room, looking at each of her people''s faces. More of them favored the wait and see approach. It was a matter of course. They wouldn''t have a second chance. Failure most a.s.suredly meant death. And Clara understood that the chance of success was not favorable. Still If they don''t act now, would they even get another chance so opportune? As things stood, they were on the palm of Doem''s hand. Who knew if they''d all be sent for the guillotine tomorrow? Was it really fine to let go of this chance in uncertain hopes for the next? Had those who wanted to wait not realized that the chances of a similar event happening were exceedingly low? Clara closed her eyes and contemplated. Her hands felt awful with sweat. Perhaps it was that these people had gotten too accustomed to the camp? She was sure they had a stronger sense of danger during the time when they were first put here. They no longer had the leisure of choosing their opportunity was what Clara believed. Then again Clara once again looked at the faces of her people. Yes, most did want to wait. They were older and better experienced, they were the majority. Clara was but a la.s.s of 15. Weren''t their opinions more learned and wiser than her own? Furthermore, were she to ignore the majority outright, wouldn''t they doubt her judgement as a liege? And if that happened, the Royalist Faction would fracture. Yes, Clara should just listen. Yes, if she listens, then they won''t "I, I believe we should..." " Your Highness." A man had spoken up, interrupting her. He was a man in his middle years, a man with skin bronzed by years of work under the sun. "Listening to everyone''s opinion is good. But you shouldn''t stare at their faces so much." His speech was hoa.r.s.e and unrefined, yet had a certain nostalgic feeling for her. "Batt..." Clara spoke his name. He was the gardener that Clara had known since childhood. He knew neither politics, not war. What he could do, and do well, was make the royal gardens a stunning sight to see. Yet it was his words that rang most true for her. Recently, she''d developed a habit of checking everyone''s faces and expressions. She wasn''t confident in herself. She was scared. She wanted to rely on something outside herself "Gardener! Milady didn''t ask your words!" Guin glared at Batt. "Stop that! He too is one of us." "How so? He''s a mere gardener. What can he do?" "He is because he''s here. A mere gardener had no reason to follow me here. And yet Batt did. Because he too believed in me." "So what if he did. It would be foolish to glean a gardener''s wisdom." "I said stop, Guin. Not another word about that." Clara and Guin locked eyes. Guin looked away first. "... My apologies, milady." "It''s fine. I know you always mean the best for us." Saying that, Clara once again gathered her thoughts. She went to the root of it, what was her goal, what did she want to accomplish. For a single instant, she remembered her childhood, where she, batt and her sister played together in the beautiful royal gardens. If it was her, she would "We will help OWL, and escape. This is our chance, we must give it everything." Glancing at Batt, she saw him smiling. "Very well. Men, you''ve followed Princess Clara until now, what say you? Are you ready!?" "Ready as can be!" "We''ve been waiting patiently for this very day. Let us show those usurpers they can''t hold us down!" The men all stood. From a secret compartment in the wall, they picked up hidden weapons. Even Clara received a sword of her own. She couldn''t use it, of course. But just the act of her holding a blade had meaning in itself. "Now, let us raise the beacon of revolt." The daily life in the camp ended at this moment. 159 I Can Hear Him But From Where… By the time I climbed upstairs, what I saw was as expected, chaos. "R-run ''n hide!! They got swords!!" "No, we gotta escape, ya dingus!! It''s now or never!!" The numerous prisoners in the courtyard where shoving over one another. I was caught up by the wave of feet and trampled. And splendidly at that. Very mob. "Boof!? Agaagagaaaaa!!" Oh, this kind of reminds me of newscasts where they report people dying in mosh pits and such. I wouldn''t though. "Urgh!! Elgh!! Buffo!!" I was kicked around like a soccer ball and spat blood everywhere. And once the storm pa.s.sed, I lay there like a piece of driftwood. "Hwah!? C-Cid!? What happened!?" While I was sated of my mobly desires, Clara came and shook me awake. "Ugh, my head..." "Oh, thank goodness you''re alive. I''m so sorry, you got swept up again because of our..." She propped me up against an unpopulated wall. "Don''t fret, I''ll come back for you soon. For now, I have to complete my duty." She then stood up and turned her eyes towards the courtyard. She was watching the Royalists, her people, holding weapons and fighting the camp guards. "Show no mercy!! We''re getting out of here!!" "Move your feet, time is of the essence!!" Swinging their swords, they cut down their captors. And it wasn''t only those of the Royalist Faction that were fighting there. Even the rabble, who didn''t belong to any faction, were taking the opportunity to give the guards a piece of their fists. "f.u.c.k! Where''d they get those weapons!!" "This isn''t looking good, call in reinforcements!!" Clearly outnumbered, the guards were quickly losing ground. To the eye, it seemed that the Royalists had the upper hand in this field. However, I was sensing a large number of people approaching from outside the walls. Most likely, reinforcements for the guards. Some of them were magiswords too. Magiswords are going to snuff out this riot instantly. All the camp prisoners had mana sealing collars, after all. A magisword against an ordinary civilian is like pitting an adult against a child. The child being the certain loser. "Good. We''re pushing them back!!" "Now, let''s get the OWL and we can!" And then, mere moments before they had overpowered the guards the gates to the outside opened. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Revealing armed reinforcements charged with suppressing them. "Halt!! Drop your weapons and surrender!!" "Ha? Reinforcements!? Why now!" "This is bad. We didn''t expect them so soon..." Yeah, I also felt like they got here a bit too fast. But now that it''s happened, the tables were all but turned. "No We should have more time still. So why..." Clara''s face was that of frustration. Looks like she also didn''t expect to be stopped at this point. In trained movements, the newly arrived guards encircled the premises. "W-we''re innocent!" The factionless who had been going with the flow, all gave up instantly. "T-that''s right, we weren''t planning to..." And they were so lively just minutes before. Anyway, only the Royalists still looked like they had some fight in them. Their faces were grim one and all, but nevertheless kept a hold on their weapons. "Final warning, drop your weapons." Said a man who seemed to be the head guard. The Royalists still wanted to fight, but they had no chance. "Sorry Cid. I need to go." Clara whispered to me. Then she stood up, firmed her resolve, and stepped forward as the Royalist leader. And it ended just like that or so it should have. Making sure no one was watching, I made my own preparations. "Everyone, that''s enough..." Standing in front of her loyal retainers, Clara spoke. And that''s when I, erasing my presence, used super speed and took on Shadow''s voice. "Seems the fight is over." Shadows voice resounded from everywhere. "Huh? What was that!?" "Who''s there!? Show yourself!!" "I can hear him but from where!?" With my presence completely concealed, no one here should see me. "Do you not have a duty to fulfil?" This is exactly what I wanted to do. The moment when all hope seems lost, a voice from the shadows makes its entrance! "What is going on? Is that the OWL?" "No, that isn''t OWL." "Just find him! He''s got to be close!" The rabble are going into a slow panic. Nice. "Know that your sister still fights. So long as you don''t falter, surely you will reunite" "Eh, my sister? Wait, who are you!?" I replied with power in my voice. "My name is Shadow I lurk in the shadows, hunting the shadows..." "You''re shadow!? The one who appeared at the G.o.d of War Festival?" "Shadow!? The man said to have defeated Beatrix, that Shadow?" "T-there''s no way! Why the h.e.l.l would Shadow be here!?" "Shadow being here means, isn''t Shadow Garden allied with the royals?" Yes, YES, hype it up! "If you lack power, let me loosen your shackles." I said, launching the many pieces of slime I prepared underground, and breaking every single mana sealer at once. "T-the collar..." "B-but how, it''s completely destroyed..." "So it''s true, he really is Shadow why? No, this is our chance!" As the hundreds of collars broke and fell, I said some final words. "Struggle, fight. Grasp your fate with your own two hands..." I then let off explosive mana, dying the courtyard a brilliant purple. 160 My Time to Shine? So began the counterattack. The men of the Royalist Faction surged up their mana and began attacking the guards. "Triple Tornado Slash!!" They shouted out their special move names like the above. This one apparently required you to spin in the air three times before swiping down your sword. The whole thing looked extremely r.e.t.a.r.ded, but that''s what magiswords be. The guards weren''t falling behind much either. "Swayback Spin!!" Yelled another man, dodging a thrust from a guard. Right, good dodge, I''ll give you that. But do you have to keep spinning like a ballerina? Both offense and defense seemed to involve lost of dance and rhythm. I mean, sure, as an enterprising power in the shadows, I too put value in the performance, but too much is careless and unnecessary. "b.u.t.terfly Step!!" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Death Spiral!!" It seems shouting out the name each and every time is also part of it. Let''s just say it''s like the "Men, dou, kote!!#" in kendo. The type of ''strength'' I''m going for is completely different from what they consider strength, but actually witnessing it is sort of refreshing in a way. Just goes to how that everyone has a different way they see fighting. As a matter of fact, even though it looks to me like they''re messing around, they''re all completely serious. But along with actually winning, they also try to present beauty in their sword. For them, true victory consists of also beating the opponent in style. They have mutual rules that both parties agreed to adhere to. So honestly, I shouldn''t make fun of it too much. Anything goes in a fight, and might is right that is my way. That is how I choose to fight. But that shouldn''t mean I can just deny any other forms of fighting. It''s been a long time since I had a chance to observe a style so different from my own. It''s exciting. Go for it!! Yeah, you too, enemy team!! Nice, now, a swift kick to the b.a.l.l.s!! What are you doing spinning there, go for the nuts!! Argh, fine, then stab the eyes, now''s your chance!! Stop spinning already, what the h.e.l.l man!! Sink your teeth in, right in the jugular!! Daamn, he keeps spinning fine, you do you. Hey, maybe striking the crotch and eyes are forbidden or something. Can''t you like, bend the rules a bit, and do it stylistically? This kind of reminds me of the martial arts tourneys I used to watch on New Years TV. I was young and immature back then. Oh, huh, it''s almost the end of the year here too As I was ruminating in my thoughts, the tide of battle had once again shifted in favor of the Royalists. Most of the guards are down. They aren''t all severely injured but mostly exhausted of their stamina. With all that spinning, why am I not surprised. Also, the Royalist guys aren''t delivering any finishing blows to the downed enemies. What, is that supposed to be some kind of chivalry on their part? Like medieval knights, or sengoku samurai? I don''t really get it, but they seem to have a ''way'' of the blade dancer. Perhaps these blade dancers have developed a style of fighting much more civilized that the rest of the world. If all wars were fought this way, world peace might''ve been a lot less of a problem. I wouldn''t like it though. I love the kind of world where pure and unadulterated violence beats all. What I was witnessing currently was frankly a bit too white dove for me. Okay, looks like it''s over. "Victory for Oriana! Now, you shall stand aside." "D-d.a.m.n you..." "We won, we really won..." Clara sighed in relief. Yup, all''s well that ends well. Wait, now that I think about it, I didn''t get much time to shine. Ah well, it''s just a concentration camp event. I''ll be sure to get more chances once outside. Maybe So while I was considering making a forced appearance anyway, one man made his move. "This farce has gone on long enough..." He, one of the Royalist guys, muttered and then suddenly cut down one of his allies. The middle aged man who was slashed down his back collapsed to the ground. "Batt!! Stay with me, Batt!" Clara screamed and ran over to the downed man. "Guin!! What, why..." She thundered at the man who cut one of their own. "He was an obstacle for my goals. That goes for you too, milady..." "Guin, I don''t understand..." "Then let me show you." He then pointed the tip of his sword at Clara''s neck. "I don''t plan on giving my life for a clueless la.s.s like you." "N-No, Guin, you told me, you said that you believed in me..." "Well, I lied. You don''t have the right to rule over others. Didn''t you know? All your so-called subordinates laugh behind your back every time you look at their faces for confirmation. They call you the idiot yes-girl." After listening to his jeers, Clara held her head down in shame. Right, I should come out sometime soon. And then. "Good work, Guin." Said the gray haired man Maximilian. 161 The Ringleader is Here!? Thick clouds had blocked the sun, and a light flurry had begun. "I did it for my own purposes. Following you is at least better than listening to this foolish girl." "Very well. I do not care either way, so long as you do as you''re told." "I''m expecting to be well compensated once Lord Doem gains the country." "That you will." Clara could only stare in mute shock as Guin and Maximilian casually conversed. She thought, if it was my sister, something like this would''ve never happened. If in her place it was Rose, as originally intended, they wouldn''t have suffered so many cruel betrayals. Because her sister was strong, dependable, and so people believed in her. Clara couldn''t become like that no matter how much she tried. Because she wasn''t strong, Guin had betrayed her. Because she wasn''t strong, Batt was cut down. And now, they were at the end of their rope. "It should''ve been her, not me..." Wasn''t that the root cause? She, a girl who knew nothing, couldn''t have stood leading others. Her sister would''ve at least suspected Guin. Even she had heard talk that a traitor may be in their midst. But she couldn''t even imagine that it''d be Guin, this man who''d served her family for so long. Thinking back, there were many points where he seemed to be scheming something, but she''d waved those thoughts away as imaginings. Her people had fought so hard, and they''d even gotten aid from Shadow. Yet, she still lost. Clara was already shedding tears. She felt horrible for the people who''d put their trust in her, she fest horrible for Batt. "Do you see this, OWL! Reveal yourself now! That is, if you care for the fate of this girl!" Only Maximilian spoke in the courtyard slowly filling with snow. The wind grew stronger and the snowfall increased along with it, creating a curtain of white. "There is no one else to lead the Royalists once this girl dies. After all, all her other blood kin are gone." Blood, that''s right, blood. Maximilian was right. Clara was only chosen for her royal blood, not because she was a good leader. Still, there were those who genuinely believed in her, and stayed with her. Clara wiped away her tears and looked at the cold ground where Batt lay. The blood that had spread out from under him colored the snow red as it fell. His back was slowly moving. He was still alive. She might still be able to save him. So, the fight, Clara''s fight wasn''t over yet. "I will wait 10 more seconds. 10 9 8 7 6..." Clara began thinking. What can she do? Something, anything, she just needed to find "5 4 3" Clara looked around herself, and then she noticed something. Behind Maximilian stood a man of the Doem Camp. The man who had warned her about the traitor among her people. He was looking at Clara, he was awaiting her order to strike. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Clara nodded. Yes, there was still someone who believed in her. "2 1..." Maximilian stopped counting. "...What is the meaning of this, Zack?" Zack was holding a knife at Maximilian''s throat. "See that gardener lyin'' b.l.o.o.d.y over there That''s my pops." Zack spoke with wrath wreathing his voice. "Oh, so you were our traiter after all Perhaps a survivor of the secret royal guard? I recall they were all executed." "I''m still a trainee." "A weakling then I should''ve been more thorough I suppose." "I might be weak compared to you. But even us weaklings have ways to fight. Now, kindly let Her Highness free, boss." Zack had her knife at Maximilian''s neck, which Guin had his sword at Clara''s. "I wonder, should I?" Said Maximilian in a bored sigh. 162 Sigh, really didnst want to make a scene, man~ "I didn''t quite plan on making a scene, quite frankly..." Maximilian took in his surroundings with just moving his eyes. He saw Clara at Guin''s mercy, Batt bloodied and laying still, and of course, the knife at his own throat. "Well, aren''t you calm. I can slit your throat anytime I want, buddy." "Kuku I suppose you think you have the upper hand now. Sad to say, I don''t quite see it like that." "You ain''t makin'' sense." "My only concern is how much of my power I should reveal to you lot. I''d sincerely wanted to end this maintaining the face of a minor villain." "The face of a minor villain? Wait, so you''re involved with them the real Evil lurking in the shadows?" Zack took a quick glance at the black haired boy laying propped up a side wall. "Ho Zack, you seem to know something you shouldn''t how unfortunate." "... Unfortunate?" "Yes, indeed very unfortunate since now I must kill everyone here." "-- WHAT!?" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Suddenly, Maximilian had vanished. Having lost sight of his mortal foe, Zack''s knife was now stuck in thin air. The next instant, snow flurried upwards and blood rained down. "Gahhh!!" Multiple bodies fell to the white ground, dying it red. At the center of them stood Maximilian with a sinister smile. He flicked his sword to shed off the blood. "Y-you cut your own allies?" Clara uttered in shock. The ones that Maximilian had cut down were indeed-- the guards and other member of the Doem Camp. "... Indeed. They were closer as well as complacent. If I must kill everyone other than you, then the order matters not much." Maximilian said easily with a shrug of his shoulders. "What, in the blazes! I''m on your si--!" "--You''re no exception, Guin." Guin''s head flew. Warm blood spray hit Clara''s face, and the sword at her own neck clattered to the ground. Slowly, Guin''s headless body fell backwards. "N-no Guin..." Clara fell on her a.r.s.e trying to move away. Just when they were supposed to be at a standstill, the situation had changed instantly and dramatically. Prisoner and guard alike had been cut down without distinction as if their lives held no value whatsoever. They''d fallen powerlessly all by the hand of one man. "W-what kind of monster are you..." "Me a monster? Surely I''m but a simple criminal, put here as punishment for my crimes. Just your average prisoner." "T-there''s no way you''re no prisoner..." "Kukuku whatever do you mean?" Maximilian looked down gleefully at Clara. "f.u.c.kin'' ''ell. Yer Highness, please run!!" Zack picked up the sword Guin had dropped. And without delay, he charged at Maximilian. "I plan to leave you for last." "--!" Maximilian''s form blurred, and Zack''s blade struck only air. Then, "Gahh!!" Zack was knocked off his feet. Blood sprayed from his back. "Z-Zack--!!" Clara screamed. Zack fell on the snow in agony. "Yes, I will kill you last. Writhe in agony and watch. I will now begin culling all your comrades. I will bring you Royalists true despair..." Clara''s retainers stood before her. "L-Lady Clara, you must escape..." Their trembling swords told all too well their fear. All of them knew-- they wouldn''t survive Maximilian''s slaughter. "Right suppose I shall take my time with this. Come out now, OWL. The more you hide, so much more will they die. Come out if you wish to save them. If you can defeat me, that is..." Maximilian looked over each of Clara''s people one by one. Clara was shaking in the knees, desperate to escape. As for Zack-- He, despite his carved back, was crawling along the snow. He sought only one thing. To go where he lay at one corner of courtyard, the black haired boy. "...P-please..." Even as blood dripped out from his mouth, Zack clawed the snow with trembling fingers so as to approach the boy. "Please you''re our last, hope..." As for the boy, he was already half covered in snow. "Just, do something whatever your goals are just help us, for now..." Finally, Zack reached where the boy lay. "I''m beggin'' ya, just save Her High..." He swiped away the snow covering the boy. -- And saw, "...Huh?" Only a lump of black slime taking his shape. A vast burst of mana shook the earth. 163 The Power of Diabolos Violet mana tinted the blizzard sky. "Kuh what monstrous mana...!!" Maximilian grimaced feeling the raw blast of mana. In the middle of the snow storm, one man landed onto the ground before him. A man in a jet black longcoat. He wore a deep hood, and covered his face in a mask. He was-- "My name is Shadow I lurk in the shadows, hunting the shadows..." A voice as if from the depths of the abyss. "You''re Shadow..." Shadow Garden was a recognized threat to the Order. An hidden organization that boldly opposed them. They had exposed the existence of the Order to the world. They couldn''t be taken lightly. Even the combat potential of Shadow Garden rivalled that of the Order. Their leadership, known as The Seven, are rumored to house individuals of equal measure to a Knight of the Rounds. And within this shadowy organization, most mysterious of all was the man Shadow himself. Every member of the Order said to have fought him had been eliminated, and the only places he''d been witnessed, to date, were at the G.o.ddess'' Challenge and the G.o.d of War Festival. His strength was measured at Undefeatable. Maximilian suddenly recalled what Doem, who had witnessed Shadow first had, had said: "It''s hard to believe that thing is even human. He''s like Diabolos... No wonder he noticed our existence..." Doem had rambled on like that one drunken evening. Maximilian had dismissed it as the alcohol talking. But now, after feeling that vast magic, he was starting to understand his colleague''s fears. "Your mana, it is certainly interesting it far surpa.s.ses anything mere mortals can contain. And it is dense. Far denser than anything I''ve seen." Maximilian calmly scrutinized the mana that kept gushing out of the man like the blizzard was carrying it away. "Indeed, you''re as impressive as the rumors claim Greetings, Shadow..." Maximilian''s lips curved upwards. Shadow still stood there coated in violet mana. "I welcome you to the kingdom of Oriana. I do not know what your goals are in this land, but your luck has just run out. I am Maximilian ''Coldblood''. I specialize in people boastful of their mana such as yourself As such, I shall dissect you thoroughly to find how exactly you hold so much!" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. The next moment, Maximilian disappeared. The ground settled snow surged upwards and a figure blurred into existence behind Shadow. "Behind you, fool." Maximilian slashed Shadow clear down the back. He felt his sword strike. "... How?" Shadow simply stood there, unfazed. Then, as if that attack had been an illusion, the man in black turned and faced Maximilian. "Oh, were you doing something?" "--Tsk, manahouses are always so painfully slow." Maximilian clicked his tongue and took distance. "That coat must be an artifact. A good one too to have blocked my sword. I shall relieve you of it soon enough..." Once again, Maximilian vanished. "Over here." Maximilian was approaching from behind. --But before that. "Wrong way." Before Shadow could turn, Maximilian appeared from under him. "-- Weakling." Maximilian''s strikes came from all directions, and even from above, successively and without pause. Shadow couldn''t even react as he was cut away at from every which way. Then finally-- "It is done." One last powerful blow sent Shadow to the ground. Shadow rolled on the snow before crashing on the camp wall. "All artifacts have a limit to their endurance. Now your precious coat is finished." Maximilian moved his gaze from Shadow to something to the side. "So you finally show yourself-- OWL." At some point, a female form had been already standing where Shadow lay collapsed-- dressed in her pitch black bodysuit, it was OWL. 164 Where is He? "How sad, OWL. You''re all but too late--" "Kindly, shut up." OWL turned to Maximilian. "... You dare." Maximilian''s tone raised in ferocity. "You''re of no concern now." "Foolish. Shadow is finished, and the same fate awaits you next--" "You don''t seem to realize that you''ve been played." "Played...?" "Lord Shadow, please allow me a question." OWL asked Shadow who was buried rubble. "... You may." Shadow answered after a pause. Violet mana then blew away the debris, and Shadow slowly stood up. "You! So you have that much power still--!" Maximilian was half in a panic but in contrast, OWL was calmness itself. "Sir, why do you not show your true power?" "... I wished to fully judge the power of that man. For reference, as it were..." "For reference I understand now. I have one more thing I must ask." OWL asked with a tinge of anger in her tone. Shadow nodded his a.s.sent. "What is the meaning of this?" OWL blew the snow at her feet away with her sword. The powdery white pulled away to reveal a black form. This was-- the lump of slime that had taken the form of Cid Kageno. "Please answer truthfully. Cid where is Cid!?" OWL roared as if to overpower the howl of the blizzard around them. Her voice contained fierce resolve. "That voice..." Clara stared at OWL as it to ascertain something. OWL''s attention was wholly towards Shadow however. Shadow took a moment before answering. "Cid is safe..." "But where is he?" "... Must you know?" "--!" Shadow and OWL stared at one another for some time. A silent tension rising between them. Then "You have saved my life, granted me power, and have shown me the path I must tread. I do not want to doubt you. So I shall trust those words But." OWL paused her words to glare sharply at Shadow. "If the words you said are false If you''ve put Cid in danger I will not forgive you!" Shadow gave OWL as sidelong glance. "I do not need your forgiveness. Regardless of what you may learn or think of me, my path shall not waver..." OWL narrowed her eyes to that. "Now I shall return to the fight." Shadow looked away from her, and silently drew his sword. "I shall return to my mission as well." OWL approached Clara. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Princess Clara. My charge is to deliver you to the Royalist base of operations." "OWL, you I heard say that our people had a secret plan, is that your role in all this?" "I am not alone. We are currently aiding your faction. I had wanted to provide a proper explanation, but time is of the essence. Please follow me, this may be our last chance to leave the capital." Clara stared at the hand OWL had offered. "Are you No, nevermind Let us go, I will trust you." "Your Highness, are you sure it''s safe to trust her?" Her retainers were agitated. "I am. After all, she should be much more..." Clara''s voice petered off on that line of thought. "Then please follow after me. We will be heading underground and meet allies en route." OWL hoisted Batt onto her back and headed for the camp gates. "Halt. You will not pa.s.s me!" Maximilian was about to charge at OWL. Which was when a powerful bloodl.u.s.t a.s.sailed him to the core, halting him in place. "What-- this is unreal--!?" Maximilian jumped from his spot in a panic. "-- But can you pa.s.s me?" This bloodl.u.s.t that seemed to cause tremors in the earth-- was of course that of Shadow. He had managed to arrest Maximilian to the spot with but a glare. "Shadow--!!" Maximilian glared back, rage building on his face. That was all he could do. He could only watch in spite as OWL left the premises together with the Royalists. And once the last of them, Zack, was also leaving, the bloodl.u.s.t became even more fierce. "--!?" Zack shivered and turned around. Shadow was looking at him. Zack was dripping in sweat and repeatedly nodded at the man in black. A silent conversation seemed to take place. Then, Zack left, ran away as fast as his feet could take him... 165 Demon Lord Unleashed "Is that your p-plan, to intimidate me? Foolish, you don''t stand a chance--!" Maximilian braved the out-of-this-world bloodl.u.s.t and rushed at Shadow. His sword followed a straight path to the man at incredible speed. Its tip surely to pierce the throat. -- Yet. "-- WHAT!?" That tip was caught between Shadow''s fingers. "Let me bestow you some advice..." Shadow spoke in a soft voice. "Let, go!" Try as he might, Maximilian couldn''t dislodge his sword from between the man''s fingers. It was as if the blade was stuck into a boulder. It moved not no matter how much he pushed and pulled. "Show me all your power-- if you don''t wish for a swift death..." Shadow released the sword, causing Maximilian to pitch over and fall. He quickly stood up and glowered at Shadow. "You will not underestimate me!" He then pulled out a red lozenge and swallowed it. "Now you''ll pay for that att.i.tude. I will have you know despair." Maximilian''s mana surged and his eyes were dyed blood red. "Behold-- It is your death that will be swift!!" Maximilian blurred. He was suddenly behind Shadow. "-- An afterimage." A slash faster than sound cut Shadow from behind. It wasn''t able to cut through Shadow''s longcoat. Shadow turned around. Faster than that, Maximilian once again blurred. "That too-- an afterimage." Yet again, Maximilian cut Shadow from behind. "As I thought, you have no means of reacting to my speed. Yes, that is inevitable. I am not your average Awakened I''ll have you know..." Seeing how slowly Shadow was turning back, Maximilian spoke. "I am no 3rd-- I am a 2nd." He sneered and blurred once again. "Slow! You''re too slow, Shadow!! Now taste the power of a true 2nd of the Order!!" Maximilian''s voice came from all directions. Relentlessly, he made slash after slash upon Shadow. His afterimages seemed to be everywhere at he did. "This is my sword-- the Coldblood Kaleidoscope!" The myriad Maximilians in the fierce blizzard truly appeared as if he came out of a cold and deadly kaleidoscope. "Soon enough, that artifact of yours will be exhausted! That will be your end!!" The endless slashes had numbered to more than a thousand now. Shadow couldn''t do a thing, he just stood there and took it. Each slash caused the snow to jump, turning everything white. And finally, it ended. "Huff huff fool." Maximilian wrested control of his breathing. The ground around him was gouged. Coldblood Kaleidoscope tended to have that effect on the landscape. It was impossible to stay standing after a relentless onslaught like that. Maximilian was about to sheathe his sword, when, "WHAT--!" Beyond the veil of snow, stood a form. As the uplifted snow slowly drifted back to the ground, the ident.i.ty of the form was made clear. "It''s not, possible..." That form was of course-- Shadow. Shadow was standing there, having withstood Coldblood Kaleidoscope-- without injury. Without a scratch on him, the man in black stood as if the fierce rush from just now was but an illusion. "How are you uninjured after my Coldblood Kaleidoscope!? Th-this is impossible, no artifact like that could exist..." "Artifact? Might you be curious about this?" Shadow said indicating his garment. "There''s no other way! I am stronger than the likes of you! Just because you have that ridiculous artifact, don''t think!" "This, is no artifact. It is made of Slime." "Th-that is absurd! No Slime can withstand what I did!!" "Correct. By itself Slime is very weak as material. However, what would happen if it were to be infused with mana of incredible proportions?" "H-hah, idiocy. Indeed Slimes are said to have high mana conductivity. However, handling it as material is impossible. The mana paths aren''t even similar to that of a human''s." "All too true In that case, what if we mix in human flesh?" "Ah--!" "Combining a great number of Slimes with one''s own flesh. It is similar to attempting to mix oil and water. But it is possible to fuse them using mana." "Impossible you merged human mana paths with that of a monster You would need an unimaginable level of control to achieve such a feat!" "Verily. To my knowledge, those in this world who can perform such a task-- is I and I alone." "-- Y-you lie! You lying scoundrel, do you think I will believe that..." "Oh? Even if I show you this?" Shadow''s longcoat warped. Within the white blizzard, the jet black garment expanded to both sides like wings. No, they were wings. Jet black wings like that of the devil had manifested out of the coat. "T-that isn''t, no, that''s not..." Maximilian could think of only one material able to change shape so freely. --Slime. And nothing else. "M-monster you''re, you''re no human, you monster!!" His expression warping, Maximilian rushed at Shadow. However, the blazing speed of his sword was easily stopped by the now transformed devil wings. "Slow..." "N-no you can''t react to my speed..." Despair dyed Maximilian''s face. The pair of wings had split into four. They flapped once, allowing Shadow to be lifted into the air. Maximilian was speechless. "Know this. The quant.i.ty of my mana is not so different from your own." Jet black wings flapped in the white blizzard sky. "If well compressed, it only appears hundred-fold more powerful when released. I simply do that whenever I use it like so." Shadow gathered mana in his wings. The violet mana collected on the wings and appeared as small feathers. "Hyii Monster no, Demon Lord!" "Quality easily trumps quant.i.ty when it concerns mana. And quality comes from control. To that end, the amount of control you can exert while you release determines everything." Those feathers, were beautiful yet cruel as the devil himself-- "I. AM. ATOMIC RAIN." As they fell on Maximilian. Violet mana rain dwarfed the raging snow storm. Its light enveloped Maximilian, erased the snow and swallowed up everything. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. As it fizzled out, having ended everything, only a large crater remained where the walled camp once stood. All was quiet for a time. Then, the jet black wings flapped, taking their bearer high into the snowy sky. 166 Mordred Rose was quite familiar with the intricate underground escape tunnels under the capital. After all, she''d been taught how to navigate them if it ever came to it. However, these tunnels were not connected to the concentration camp, and so, the other members of her squad had patiently dug a hole nearby to connect to it. Rose, Clara and several others were now walking along those tunnels having jumped down the hole. Shadow would have ample strength to deal with Maximilian. Rose couldn''t imagine Shadow losing to him. If there wasn''t that issue considering Cid, she would''ve trusted him fully even. She might''ve even been in awe and respected Shadow for his strength alone. But Cid-- was he truly in a safe place? It was worrying. But for now, she just had to trust that Shadow wasn''t lying. She couldn''t abandon her duty and go searching for Cid. Still, if Cid really was safe as Shadow claimed, it raised even more question. Why was that Slime there? What reason did Shadow have to make a faux Cid? Rose didn''t understand. Could it be-- Cid and Shadow were connected somehow? Rose thought back on her image of Cid. She couldn''t see anything about him that would be related to Shadow. Before long, they had made it to the location where her squad members would be waiting. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Small holed leading to the surface was the only source of light in these tunnels. There was a figure in black propped up against a wall. "... 664?" Rose let down Batt from her back and slowly approached the figure. "Where is 665? What!?" The woman in black who was sitting with her back to the wall was definitely her squat leader, 664. She was injured. Blood had drenched the wall behind her. "664!? What happened here!?" Rose quickly crouched down to her. "...-un." said 664 in a weak voice. She was breathing, at least. "I''ll help you right now!" "R-...-un, 666.!" "Eh?" And then, something came. From a direction where no one was supposed to be, one man suddenly came walking. "... What!?" He had practically no presence. Rose couldn''t comprehend how he''d appeared as if from thin air. It was almost as if he was there all along. "Seems Maximilian failed." Said the man, looking at Clara and her troupe. It was a cold voice. He was a tall man, with hair white as snow swept to the back of his head. He had a sort of chilling beauty to him. "... 665!?" Rose''s cry echoed into the tunnels. The man was holding 665 in one hand. "She was a disappointment too." He said as he threw down the beaten woman at Rose''s feet. "--!" Rose quickly caught 665 as she fell and checked her breathing. "...ugh." She was unconscious but breathing, yes. "I''ll make you pay!!" "S-stop, don''t fight him, 666!" 664 cried out to her as she was drawing her sword. "Why!?" "You, can''t beat him he is Mordred." "Eh!?" Rose was aghast and stared at the man, who in turn gave her a curt bow. "I am indeed Mordred. It is a pleasure Princess Rose." Behind Rose, the people following Clara stirred. Rose asked Clara to lead them a safe distance away. "... You have the wrong person." "I see, if that is how you want it, I shall comply." Rose glowered at Mordred, who in turn looked at her with a bemused expression. "Shadow Garden so the organization opposing us has come here too. Rather than the Key of the Oriana, I personally find you bunch much more interesting." "... Key of Oriana?" "Did Shadow Garden not intervene in this war for the sake of obtaining the Key? Oh, perhaps you didn''t know?" Rose didn''t answer. She had become a member of Shadow Garden, but that didn''t mean she knew everything. Shadow Garden was a large organization. The Seven who lead them all held unbelievable strength, and the special forces known as the Numbers all had strength equal or surpa.s.sing that of Rose. Rose was only a single cog in the machine. Still, this Key of Oriana seemed to be something that could concern her personally. Would they fill her in on it if she asked? "I will not reveal anything. We need to be somewhere." They had many injured. Mordred was clearly stronger than she could handle, but she could at least buy time for them. Rose drew her sword. "Don''t fight, leave me and go..." "Leader..." "Y-yeah, I''m your squad leader, and that''s an order..." 664 weakly got to her feet and stood in front of Rose. Mordred observed the two with cold eyes. "I am interested in Shadow Garden, as I''ve said. Much more so than the Key..." "... So you will block our path?" "As one of the Order, I mustn''t let you run free. But I believe letting you go now would be quite beneficial to me." "Meaning?" "My interest in Shadow Garden is quite deep. I''m specifically interesting in your leadership, The Seven." Mordred said with a cold grin. "... Yes, she was quite enjoyable indeed." "... Enjoyable?" "Yes, very. So much that I''m willing to let you go past me." Mordred retrieved something from his pocket. As he opened his palm, something drifted down from it. Bright like spring water-- they were strands of hair. And rose happened to know someone with such beautiful and strange hair. "Wait, that''s--" That clear springwater hair was that of Epsilon. "She was quite enjoyable." kuku, Mordred chortled. "Go on, pa.s.s at your leisure. The Doem Faction and Royalists will clash soon enough. However, this is not your ordinary civil war." Mordred was beginning to shimmer into the background. "This is a proxy war between the Order and Shadow Garden how fun." He disappeared, leaving only dry laughter. "So that''s, Mordred..." It will become an increasingly difficult battle with him around, Rose thought. 167 What Were Ideal Powers in Shadows in My Mind? I pondered the question as I flew in the snowstorm with my Slime Wing. The battle between Maximilian and me was coming to an end. Concentration Camp was destroyed in the shock from the explosion of the atomic bomb C a thought suddenly struck me. Was I right? Was I expecting such powers in the shadows? I recalled what powers in the shadows had done before. I was playing the role of the powers in the shadows I imagined. It should be like that. . . But, why? I felt that I was not satisfied with something. What was that on earth? At the same time, there was something going off the rails. No, was that because feeling dissatisfied had become my inertial thinking? "Hmm" I didn''t know why. But what I only knew was that I had a strong sense of dissatisfaction I wanted to be what kind of powers in the shadows before I reincarnated? My mind traveled back to the past, and then I knew the reason. Whatever. If only I could be like powers in the shadows Therefore, there was no clear image of powers in the shadows in my mind. Because the image of powers in the shadows I was expecting did not exist. I just behaved like powers in the shadows to a limited extent. Maybe that was why I felt dissatisfied. "Is it okay to keep it?" Was this a sudden thought occurring to me, or a long-existing thought? I didn''t even know that. However, if I kept thinking about that, I couldn''t enjoy being the powers in the shadows from the bottom of my heart. "I have to do something" I organized my thoughts about what was the most important character of powers in the shadows. I took the simple, less complicated way to explore the nature of powers in the shadows. Then I could get an answer. So I decided to become a passerby. I thought it''s lucky that the situation in Oriana was still unstable. The thought came from a passerby who wasn''t involved. What does powers in the shadows mean for a stranger? I had to do something to learn about it. Then I thought about it and kept one posture unchanged. Because I was thinking so I didn''t find that something was flying toward me and stuck on my face. "Heh! ?" With a sound of "bita", something touched my face. I shook my head to get if off my face. "A piece of papermaybe it was blown by snowstorm." There was something written on it. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. I used my fingers to describe the words,trying to read the words soaked by snow on the paper. Young man!! Fight for your country! Royalists are recruiting new soldiers. The Job is simple, all you need to do is to kill our enemies. Even though you have no experience, you will be promoted rapidly with the help of your predecessors. You will get a valuable job and there was someone promoted to captain in only 3 days. You can get a pay valuing to thousands of money. The dream of becoming a rich man will come true!? Your future and your status is inestimable there!! Join us, hero!! *Your abilities will be tested, then we will assign you to the troops that will use your abilities to the greatest extent. I gripped the paper tightly and made a Guts pose. "This is what I need!!" 168 In This Troop You Will Earn A Lot of Money I found out that there were about 10 thousand people who lived on this street and many were waiting to be tested. Today was a sunny day and I could see the clear blue sky. The white snow on the field was glowing because of sunshine. There were about 100 men who were dressed pourly. I pretended as if I was a young man fighting for my country and joined them. "Hey guys, have you heard about that? We can be promoted to captain in only 3 days. So I''ve quit my job and came here." "Wow, they say we can earn thousands of coins per month. I''ve sold my farmands too." "And even though we don''t have any experience we can be promoted rapidly. Then I can mortgage my wife out." These middle-aged man who were full of muscle were talking about this job excitedly. They looked like some people doing an excellent job who were filled with dreams and hope. "Welcome, everyone! You are all brave fighters of Oriana." This gigantic man, who looked like a pig, dressed as an upstart did. He smiled suspiciously, and then he said. "I''m Tulpicano and I''m glad to see you all here!! Let me welcome you to our Royalists faction and then we will test your abilities. We do this so that you can show us your talent perfectly for your job." Then there was a team of ugly soldiers behind him. They didn''t look like soldiers in a regular army. "Hey, Tulpicano. I''m Quinton and I worked as a mercenary before. So I wanted to ask you, are you all a regular army?" That was good. That guy Quinton looked like a vicious professional wrestler and he asked a question which a lot of people wanted to know. But I guess I had seen him before. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Hmmm this is a good question! But don''t worry! It''s an honourable noble who asked me to raise the troops!! Here, this is the Conscription order." Tulpicano gave him the Conscription order and Quinton read it carefully. "Oh, he really is an honourable noble and this seal is true. I believe that if we work for Tulpicano, we will earn a lot of money. Quinton said loudly, but he didn''t show them the Conscription order. Then he gave it back to Tulpicano. "Wooo, it''s true!? But Quinton who had experienced war has told us, so there''s no problem. Maybe it''s real." "Fight! I said that selling my farmland was a good decision!" "Yeah!! I can redeem my wife." They started cheering loudly." Huhu, I got it. This is to prove that the monthly income is not a lie." Having a dream is not a bad thing. "Then let us start the test! It''s my pleasure to invite Goldoh. Kinmekki-sama, who is the son of an honourable noble, to be our chief examiner for the test! Welcome to our test!!!" "Ohhh!!" Everyone cheered loudly. Goldoh. Kinmeki-sama wore a suit of golden armour, and looked handsome just by standing there. But I thought that that''s just an illusion. "Wow, his armour is made from gold! Who''s that guy?" "Ho-, how would I know? But you can feel a noble aura coming off from him. I think we can earn a lot of money if we become his follower!" "Im-, impossible, is he connected to the royal family!? Good times for us are coming, I''m going to become rich, even though I''m fourth child of a poor peasant''s family." Goldoh.Kinmekki-sama was a real noble. Umm, he must be. "Now, my name is Goldoh. Kinmekki. And just as you think, I''m going to be your examiner. We are going to test you one by one. You will be fighting with me using your specialities. First, hmm, what was it Ah, yes. Quinton, was it?" "Emmm, we start from me??" "I can tell just by looking at you that you''re quite strong, aren''t you?." "Hmm, thank you, you also look quite strong." Both of them drew their swords, and took a stance that looked theatrical. Looks like both of them are magic swordsmen. And then, both of them attacked each other in a flashy manner. It looked like an action movie, too much useless and flashy movement, but for me it looked just like a play.. If you were to add sound effects it would be something like [kinkinkin!!], [doka!], [baki!], [tyudonn!!], or so. "Woah~~!!" "Amazing~~!!" "Cool~~!!" Everyone started cheering as hard as they could. Emmm, I mean, I know that they should be capable of doing something like this, but it''s just flashy. It doesn''t seem like they are serious about it No, it''s alright, I''m a mob and the mob are not capable of detecting something like that. . Their swords and magic collided creating a flashy explosion that threw the snow around them. After that, both of them put their swords down. "Quinton, you are just as strong as I thought you are" "You too" "Okay, I''m gonna put Quinton in charge of the newcomers. Does anyone have any objections?" Nobody seemed to have any objections. Although there were some other magic swordsmen, but it didn''t look like there was one capable of beating Quinton. That''s OK, I just have to act like a mob character and flatter him later. "Quinton, as of now, you are in charge of new team of newcomers, which means you are a captain, right?" "Are you kidding me! He became a captain in just one day!?" Goldoh. and Quinton were acting like in a play. "Yes! This troop will reward you in proportion to your worth. If you are talented, you will be rewarded.." "Wow! That means not only me, but other people have a chance right!??" "Certainly! If you work hard for your captain, you''ll have an equal chance of promotion!" "Wow! I''m gonna get promoted and earn tons of money!" "Come on! Attempt the test! There are still two captain slots free!!!!" "Ohhhhh!!" After watching their play, everyone became excited.. Then they started to test everyone. 169 The Dream Of Two Men In the tent, that was brightly lit because of lamps, Goldoh Kinmekki was drinking by himself. The test was over, and the sun was already sinking. On the outside, the party for the newcomers was held, even though they didn''t know it could be their last meal "It tastes good." GoldohKinmekki drunk the amber coloured wine and sighed. What he was drinking now was the famous wine which was called [whiskey]. Mitsugoshi Company who produced the wine, had prepared a lot to create whiskey, whilst being under Great Commerce Association''s protection. People started talking about this wine long before Mitsugoshi Company started to sell it. And Goldoh, who had some insight was also interested in it. But Goldoh was a slave, so he couldn''t possibly be able to buy such expensive wine by himself. When Goldoh nearly gave up, his master Tulpicano, spent his own money to acquire it. But when he tried to drink it, he instantly spit it out, because the wine was just too strong for him. Therefore Goldoh managed to get it, by a stroke of luck. Goldoh disliked Tulpicano, but he still thought about praising him because of the wine. This wine was sold by people 10 times the list price. Goldoh firmly believed that bald upstart didn''t even know the truth. Goldoh was drinking, when he picked up a resume. A young man''s experience was written on it. "Sid Kagenou, came from Midgar" Goldoh had fought against him earlier during the test. He guessed that he had already met him before. The test finished quickly. Goldoh defeated Sid easily who was so scared that he just stood there. When Goldoh punched him, he rolled down. Then they stopped. There was no need to pay any attention to him. Sid was just an ordinary kid. But Goldoh thought there was something strange about him. He was good at seeing through the strength of his opponent. Only once before had he met an opponent that he couldn''t see through. "I remembered him" "What are you thinking about?" His friend Quinton entered the tent and asked him. "Party is over?" "No, party is not overbut I don''t want to remember them, because they will all die tomorrow." "Yes" They both looked gloomy. "So, what are you thinking about?" "Ah, I am thinking about him, this young man." Goldoh gave him Sid''s resume. "Sid Kagenouwhy are you thinking about him?" "I fought with him in the test during the day, I think I have seen him." "What kind of guy is he?" "He is a black-eyed ordinary kid with dark hair. The battle ended in an instant." "Ah C is that the guy who fell overwhelmed flashily?" "Yes, did you remember him?" "Oh. He was just flattering me at the party. I seem to remember him, but not really. What do you think about this guy called Sid?" "It''s just a feeling. I feel like I''ve fought someone like him already. I tried to think about it, and suddenly remembered it. When I thought him, it felt like I was fighting with Jimina Sehnen."" "Jimina." Quinton''s look suddenly sharpened. "He was the only person I couldn''t see through before. I still remember that day. The day when the Sure-Win Golden Dragon was defeated for the first time.." Goldoh shook his head. "But it should be just an illusion. It''s impossible for another guy like Jimina to be out there. And I only looked at him for a brief moment." "Well, you are right. How could Jimina appear in this place. He is really unique. I still remember my defeat from that day." "Just because we lost to that guy, our destiny was destroyed." "C! I didn''t agree with him. I don''t want to admit defeat! If I don''t knock down the guy, I can''t take a step forward!!" "I feel the same, but it''s said that Jimina is actually the Shadow." "It seems to be right." "You can''t defeat Shadow." "Yes I can''t." Shadow can defeat both of Beatrix and Iris. Even though they did not witness the battle directly, they knew they couldn''t possibly defeat the Shadow. "Life is really hard." "Yeah" They sighed together. "So, how''s the plan going?" Goldoh asked him. "The total number of newcomers is about 100. The number of guys we can probably use is 5." "When they finished our plan, I will arrange them to become slaves. What about the rest?" "The rest can''t work. They will be abandoned as expected." "The plan has not changed, right?" "Yes. Tulpicano is going to rebel. Risk is high, but if he isn''t lying, the rebellion have some value. If we succeed, we will become freemen again." "We are going to attack the lord who betrayed the Royalists tonight" "Yeah. The lord''s name is the Count of Rajta. It seems that Rajta took tons of treasures when he betrayed the Royalists. Although the Royalists want to get back the treasures, they are quite far from the capital. It will take them a while. Time is short. We attack Count Rajta tonight, take all the treasures, and then flee abroad. Only during wartime can our plan succeed." "This plan is inferior, something Tulpicano would do. But still, the risk is too high. Although it''s just a small city, there are 500 regular soldiers in the city, and we only have 100 people." "So we will just abandon most people tomorrow night, while taking the treasure and fleeing by ourselves. Let the abandoned ones deal with the trouble, there is no need to win. " "But all the abandoned people will die." "I know. But we are slaves, we can only obey master''s orders! We must do this if we ever want to be liberated." Quinton shouted loudly and punched the table. "Sorry, I was wrong. We just need to obey the orders. After this we will be liberated and everything will be over.." Goldoh sighed and he gave up arguing. They kept silent for a while. The party outside was annoying and they could hear it clearly. " "Life is not perfect all the time. I used to believe that I can do better" "Oh yeah." "Hey, Quinton. What are you going to do after rebellion?" "What can I do? After all I''m broke, I can only earn money from the arena." "So I am going to back to the country. Then I''m planning to open a dojo." "Dojo?You are?" Quinnton stared at Goldoh''s face from the side. "I can finally see my limits. I''ve always been aiming for the pinnacle, I believed that if I never lost, I would stand on the top someday. But maybe it''s just impossible" "Goldoh, so you''ve been trying not to lose huh." Goldoh squinted with a lonely smile. "But people like me at least have something. That''s my eyes, my ability to see through people''s strength. This is what I still have left. With this I''m planning to find and cultivate some talents. See through their talent and guide them. Sounds nice right?" "Yeah, it does sound pretty nice" Quinton showed him a soft smile. "One day, I will train a disciple who can surpass Shadow. Then I will entrust my dreams and unfulfilled desires to him. Quinton, do you want to join me?" Goldoh blushed and scratched his face. "hu??" Quinnton laughed. "Give me some wine." Goldoh re-pour the amber whiskey into his glass and handed it to Quinton. Quinton was drank it all at once. "Cough, cough!" He swallowed the wine. "This, this wine is really strong, it''s my first time, drinking such a strong wine." "It is called whisky. It is said to be made by using a new technology called distillation. It''s very fragrant, right?" Quinnton handed out the cup silently. After Goldoh poured the wine again, Quinnton slowly and succinctly tasted it by his tongue, then he said. "Oh, it''s really good." "After all, it is a high price wine." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "So, the wine did its best." "Oh yeah" "Do you think that I can teach others someday?" "It''s so funny." The tent where they were in lit up until very late. 170 Mob Character’s Field Trip I enjoyed the refreshing morning air as I walked out of the tent. There still were some traces left over from the last night''s banquet. I really didn''t expect a banquet for the newcomers. Various meats, wine and desserts were prepared for us, and we ate as much as we liked. Everyone was in high spirits. I also did secretly flatter Quinton as well. "You''ve woken up, young boy?" "Ah, hello." The ojisan (a word used to address a middle-aged man in Japan) who came from countryside approached me. I nodded to greet him. "Today the mission will begin. Check your equipment carefully." "Ah, that''s true." The way of starting sentences with ''ah'' was my way of acting like a mob character. In fact I was lent a second handed leather armor and a spear, because I didn''t have any. Well there was no other choice for me than to accept. The leather armor was light and thin, so it shouldn''t obstruct my movements. It''s fine for me as long as it doesn''t do that, but if someone really asked me if it could protect me, I''m not really sure. The spear I''ve got was a very common one. And the sword can be wielded by anyone, you don''t need any real abilities to stab the enemy in the chest. It matched my mob character''s status so I was quite satisfied. When I equipped the whole set, I looked like a perfect mob character. "This armor suits you well, doesn''t it?" "Ah, no." "Come on, boy." "Ah, thank you very much." The ojisan from countryside and the other guy who mortgaged his wife struck up a conversation with me. Although they were armed with almost the same weapons as I was, they looked more like brigands than soldiers. But it was said that they were decent people, which surprised me. "Well, if we are in danger, we will protect you, just rest assured." "If you are tired, I can carry the luggage for you. I may not look like a strong man, but I''m actually the strongest person in my village!" "If you get in trouble, just tell me. I once punched a boar so hard that I sent it flying." These ojisans showed off their muscles they felt proud of. They were somewhat strict while kind and gentle. It seemed that yesterday, all three of them decided to group up with me. We would act together as a four-member team from now on. "Ah, thank you very much! Let me massage your shoulders to repay you!" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Oh, really? Actually, I really get stiff shoulders." Great! Now I can become the mob character who flatters people and massage their shoulders. In fact, I''d noticed that they had somewhat stiff shoulders at a glance. I was quite good at massage. I thought highly of my knowledge of the human body. Since I knew how to destroy a man, then naturally I should know how to treat him. I touched the shoulder of ojisan sitting there, and checked his bones and muscles. The reason for this seemed to be that the muscles around his shoulder blades were too stiff and his spine was somewhat distorted. I used my wrists strength to massage his shoulders and relax his muscles. My wrists strength was limited, so I secretly injected magic to further relax his tendons and adjust his spine and shoulder blades. Well done. Perfect. "That''s awesome! My shoulders are as light as feathers! Oh, what''s going on?" Ojisan smiled and shook his shoulders. Well, I didn''t waste my efforts to practice massage skills on my sister and Alpha. "Oh, really? Actually, my neck is also hurting." "I feel pain in my waist recently. Could you help me with that?" "Just, just leave it to me." I also massaged the remaining two ojisans. Maybe being a plastic surgeon or a masseur was a better choice for me. Powers in the shadows were also very proficient in medical care. "Wow! It seems like I''m flying in the sky!!" "Now even if a hundred people will fight against me together, they won''t be my match!!" Their happiness was the most important thing. It was said that humans were such creatures C when one made others feel happy, that person would also feel happy. Happiness was contagious. It turned out that indirect happiness seemed to be better for me. "We are setting out! Now gather in four rows!" Quinton issued the order. Then, our march began. We had only one one hour break at noon, and then we kept on walking until the sun set. Although everyone had more physical strength than modern Japanese, it was still too hard. Because of the luxurious banquet, I had thought that the work was easy. But actually the work had been laborious from the first day No, a mob character just needed to follow the orders. Don''t defy orders and comply with them C this was the rule every mob character should follow. But I also saw fatigue from the faces of people around me. Night was falling. We seemed to have entered the forest. I wouldn''t really be surprised if we left someone behind. Did we just walk 50 km today? But it turns out, that no one fell behind today, after that arduous march. I guess it''s because the morale is really high in the troop. We talked a lot about high-stake gambling at the banquet yesterday. Goldoh gathered up the people who hadn''t received any professional training to form this troop. Our only advantage was high morale. However, even if our morale was high, it had a limit. Although it was important to have a drive to do anything, you wouldn''t get anything done if you only had a drive. Just as I was considering, the march stopped. "Smother the flames from now on. Don''t make too much noise." Goldoh stepped forward after giving instructions. The bright moon tonight was a big help. The moonlight streamed in through leaves. With the help of the faint light, we kept marching forward in the forest for a while. "We will take a short break here." Everyone sighed wearily out of relaxation, nearly falling onto the ground. "However, don''t make any noise. Don''t whisper. Don''t light a fire." "But Mr. Goldoh, if we don''t light a fire, we can''t cook" "Don''t eat tonight." "Eh?" "We are now in the neighborhood of the Rajta Count''s territory. We will raid the city at night when the dwellers have fallen asleep." Although everyone kept silent, a tense atmosphere spread. "Don''t worry, I can understand your uneasiness, but we will win this battle anyway." In order to reassure us, Goldoh told us the details of his battle plan with a smile on his face. 171 Three Ojisans Goldoh''s strategy was: From the beginning we split up into two forces, the first was in charge of diversion whilst the second one had a mission of capturing the Count of Rajta and forcing him to surrender. The second team consisted of around 10 elites, including Goldoh and Quinton. The rest of was included in the first team. Our job was to create turmoil and buy time. As long as there was enough time, the second team could win this fight for us Or at least it was supposed to be so. We''ve got a map of the city thanks to enemy''s negligence, so the battle should end fast. There are only about 100 enemy soldiers so the battle shouldn''t get very heated. They told us so repeatedly to assure us so it should be the truth. If we win this battle, it looks like we will become heroes. It was said that Count Rajta had stolen some secret weapon after betraying the royalists. If the weapon fell into the hands of Doem Faction, the entire Royalists faction would be in trouble. The secret team''s task was also to protect that secret weapon. The moment we complete the mission and regained the secret weapon is the moment when we become heroes for the Royalists. That''s why Goldoh gave our troop a new name after some discussion. [Vow of Black Rose] This became the official name of our troop. Black standing for night attack, and the symbol of Oriana, rose. From tomorrow onwards we will become legends known as Vow of Black Rose. It seemed to like that. Although we were not really clear about that part, we thought the name was cool enough for us. Therefore our fatigue was washed away. Everyone felt refreshed and full of energy. Our eyes were full of determination. Both the distraction and the secret team approached the city. The sounds of our footsteps on the snow echoed through the silent night. The three Ojisans looked very serious. Noticing that I was looking at them, they laughed fearlessly. Our troops morale was sky high. Because of it, it felt like our victory was sure. Even though our combat power was zero Whilst we were approaching the Rajta Count''s castle, I used my magic power to secretly scout it out. To my surprise, our situation was terrible. There are over 500 enemies in the castle. It''s bad news C enemy number was more than 500. Goldoh said there was only around 100 enemy soldiers. There might be trouble. We were definitely going to lose. What would a mob character do in this situation? I looked at the three ojisans. Should I stare at the castle resolutely just like they did? No, I shouldn''t. That was what a mob character should do. However, I had to consider what to do as a power in the shadows. Considering the whole situation from the perspective of a power in the shadows, every side of the conflict could be called characters in a story, but mob characters were like audience. In other words, my theory was that my existence as a power in the shadows would be more definite in the eyes of mobs, so I decided to play a mob character to the end. Whether it was true remained uncertain, but the existence of powers in the shadows would be increasingly clear from now on. Considering this, I would play as a mob character to challenge the battle. I would receive the answer while fighting against the enemy. Hidden in the darkness, we walked towards the city for a while. It was a small castle. If there were only 100 enemies we would win and bask in glory thanks to attacking them by surprise. That is to say, we had little to no chance to win. In this situation what would a mob character do? What would a power in the shadows do? Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. As for mob characters like us, the battle had begun since Traitor opened the city gate. It could be claimed that the raid launched by Vow of Black Rose was successful. We rushed into the city, like an avalanche, and suppressed the completely enemy soldiers. We killed the soldiers around the city gate and then headed towards the center of the city. "Enemy, enemy attack!!" Relying on our numerical superiority, the enemy soldiers in twos or threes was easily crushed. "Ha-ha!! Fortunately, I quit my job! I''m so strong!!" "Ora! Ora! Ora! More comfortable than farming!!" "Whoop! I''m so powerful! My wife is waiting for me at the pawnshop!" Because of the 3 ojisans, unconsciously I came closer to the front line During the so-called battle between armies, once one party had an advantage, the other party would be overwhelmed. It was very difficult to resist one army and shake its morale with individual strength, excluding some magic-swordsmen. Thanks to the successful surprise attack, our morale boomed, which made our new rookies fight with full strength, as they lacked professional training and fought based on morale. Seeing our momentum made me believe for just a short moment, that we could succeed. But that thought only flashed for a short while. I felt that the enemy''s front had finally gathered up. "Maybe, maybe we should be more cautious" Feeling the might of the enemy''s in front of us, I tried to advise them, but "Haha!" "Ora! Ora! Ora!" "Whoop!" Nobody listened to me. This way, our troops flooded into the central square of the city, where they were surrounded by an enemy troop with a completely new perspective. "This is your end, vermin!" Now, the tables have turned on us, the enemy was superior in all aspects. Enemy number and their proficiency was far above us. Even if our momentum was strong, momentum is always going to finally die out sometime, and this should be the moment. "Ha-ha! We are the Vow of Black Rose!" "Ora! Ora! Ora! Make way for heros!!" "Whoop! Assault!!!" "Eh? Really!" The three ojisans had rushed out, followed by others That''s how the true fight started. 172 Vow of Black Rose [Vow of Black Rose] had an air as if we were going to destroy the enemy''s vanguard and break through their defences. If this was to happen in my original world instead of this one, it could happen. Our troop from [Vow of Black Rose] lead by three ojisans had such a huge momentum. But it wasn''t my original world. Unfortunately for us, this world has something unreasonable. That''s right, the magic-swordsmen. "Haha!! Oh!? What''s wrong with you guys!?" "Ora! Ora! Ora!! What!? You stopped my spear!?" "Whoop! Oh! I''m getting suppressed!?" The magic-swordsmen that were positioned in front of the 3 ojisans completely killed our momentum. Ordinary people couldn''t possibly win against magic-swordsmen. This was the common sense known to everyone here. Only magic-swordsmen could fight against each other. However, it was unfortunate that there was no magic-swordsmen in the feint team. Magic-swordsmen were all assigned to the secret team. After the leading 3 were stopped, everyone soon followed in their footsteps. The momentum of the [Vow of Black Rose] was completely stopped in it''s tracks. For a troop consisting of laymen like us, there would be only one ending if our momentum disappeared. "Besiege and destroy them!!" The commander of the enemy soldiers gave an order, his voice resounded through the battlefield. Slaughter was about to begin. The enemy soldiers, divided into left and right side, marched to surround the [Vow of Black Rose] that went deep into the square. To come straight to the point, this was the end. It was not something like "a flag has been set" but a situation in which failure was sure. I had studied military strategy and tactics. Although I mainly learned about 1v1 and 1v many battles, I also learned a little about many vs many battles. Even with my superficial knowledge of strategy, I could understand the current situation. A small troop is being surrounded by a much bigger one C there was no chance for us to win or escape. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Now, I could only wait to be slaughtered. The short life of a mob character was about to end. This was the war from the perspective of a mob character. "Damn, damn it what a powerful strength, is this a swordsman?" "Hooh this is a one-sided war" "I can''t do anything. If I had more power, then" This was the reality of being incompetent. Even if a mob character did his best here, the ending would not change. "This is the mob character?" It''s too unreasonable, I thought. A lot of mob characters survived, but I feel cheated. In other words, if I eliminated this unreasonable thing, could I become a power in the shadows in the eyes of mob characters? So, let''s try it right away. This was also a challenge for me. It was an unprecedented attempt. I hid all traces of my existence, and hid in [Vow of Black Rose], releasing the refined magic into the night sky. Due to the team''s name, [Vow of Black Rose], I used the pattern of the black rose. The alarming waves of magic has caught everyone''s attention. Everyone just stopped in their tracks and looked at the dark sky. "! What happened?" "What''s that? There is something in the sky" "Is that thing a little darker than the sky a rose?" A tremendous black rose blossomed in the sky. That black rose glowed slightly due to the magical power, which demonstrated it''s existence whilst bathed in the moonlight. It was so beautiful that everyone could get lost in it''s beauty. But at the same time, everyone felt an enormous pressure coming off of it. "The [Black Rose]in fairy tales, that" "Is it that [Black Rose]?" "In Oriana, it''s well known in Oriana the symbol of the empirethe [Black Rose] in the legend" The petals of the tremendous black rose gradually expanded. Then it suddenly broke into pieces and drifted down towards the ground. Beautiful pieces of the rose, fell down to the ground and finally landed on the right hands of the [Vow of Black Rose] members. That petal left a black mark on everyone''s hands that looked as if it was carved directly into their hands. The shape of that black mark was exactly a piece of beautiful rose petals. "Does it mean I''m selected by the [Black Rose]? I couldn''t even get on with my job. I escaped there and abandoned myself." "Why? Why me? I''m here for money not for the country" "I''m rubbish. I mortgaged my wife Ah! [Black Rose]! Will you give strength to such a person like me?" The black mark on their right hands flashed intensely as if it was responding to their words. The next moment, an incredible power emanated from the marks. "Whatis it the power of the [Black Rose]?! If such a person like me was also qualified to fightthe power, I will fight for my country." "What a great power it is! [Black Rose], could I also do something for my country?" "I know If so, a loser like me has another chance to it again Thank you very much." All of them raised their weapons in their right hands at the same time. The brave and beautiful gesture was their way of making an oath to the [Black Rose]. "How''s that possible? Is it really [Black Rose]?" Frightened expressions emerged on Rajta Count''s soldier''s faces. The [Black Rose] was the symbol of Oriana C justice. "Ha-ha! We are the Vow of Black Rose! In the name of the [Black Rose], we should impose justice on the rebels!" 173 Don’t Upstage Me After releasing my magical power into the sky, I wanted to attempt something new C use a mysterious power to strengthen the soldiers. Winning a battle with the help of a mysterious power was very common plot in many stories. Namely, the plot of investigating the mysterious power while asking the question "what is it" Reinforcing the soldiers from a distance was also a test for my abilities. At first, I would release the magical power into the air in the shape of Black Rose. Then I would scatter it, and infuse the magic into the soldiers with the petals to temporarily reinforce them. Up to this point, there was no problem. The problem was, the soldier''s body could not bear such strong magical power, if I infused it into their bodies sharply. Although they could be reinforced, the effect would be weak. The effects would not be enough to fight with the magic swordsmen. So, here was the test. When the magical power entered their body through the petals, I created magic lines in their bodies that could withstand my power. I reinforced everyone in the [Vow of Black Rose], so I had to focus my full attention on the ultra precise operations. I almost thought that my brain would explode. In short, I could reinforce the soldiers from a distance, and I named the skill [Shadow Marionette]. "Haha!! What a strong power!! I killed three people at once!" "Ora! Ora! Ora!! Can you keep up with my speed!?" "Huhuhuhu!! Who dares to stop me! I will send you flying to the other side!!" Now after my reinforcement the [Vow of Black Rose] got a new momentum to break through. The small amount of soldiers that was surrounded, somehow had suppressed the enemy, which was commonly thought of as impossible. "What''s going on? Quickly, stop them! No matter what, you have to stop them!" If the enemy breaks through their defences right now, they would be defeated. So, obviously, the magic swordsmen were sent over. "Humph! It is you again!" "Poof! You have blocked my spear!" "Humph! You have remarkable skills!" As expected, the three ojisans were stopped again, and thrown into a disadvantageous position by the magic swordsmen. Although both sides were around the same power level thanks to my enhancement, ojisans were amateurs, and the magic swordsmen were professional soldiers. Basically, ojisans were not a match for the magic swordsmen in both skills and experience. They were doomed to fail. However, it didn''t matter. Now, it was time for [Shadow of Marionette] to shine. I started to manipulate the magic lines spread in everyone''s body. Then "What''s this? Why is my body moving!?" Ojisans movements changed drastically. I improved their spear fighting skills through remote manipulation, which made them superior to the magic swordsmen in fighting with a spear. "Why am I blocking attacks from blind angles? I can''t see the enemies too!" It didn''t matter even if they couldn''t see the enemies clearly. They could receive blows from any direction. "It''s no use escaping from me! You can''t dodge my spear!" It had an automatic tracking function that could predict the enemy''s future actions. The magic swordsmen were defeated by the ojisans with improved skills thanks to my remote manipulation. The magic-swordsmen were doomed to fail. This was the overwhelming power of [Vow of Black Rose]. "What''s going on? Is this the power of the [Black Rose]? Contact the headquarters in the capital!" "The [Black Rose] appears! The [Black Rose] appears!" After we broke through its encirclement, the enemy army collapsed soon. Since their commander run off, within a few seconds the [Vow of Black Rose] completely suppressed the enemy soldiers at the square. "Stop chasing them! Occupy the castle first!!" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "With this power, we can do it!" "Everything is possible for use!" Then, the [Vow of Black Rose] burst into the city with this high morale. While thinking about the battle, I follower behind ojisans and acted like a mob. It was hard to describe the new skill. It was ''problematic'' or ''unsatisfactory'', because of two problems. First, it was really a heavy burden for me. So far, I had never even tried to control nearly a hundred soldiers with magical threads. Using my magical detection to understand and master the whole battlefield information was already a heavy burden for me. What''s even worse is that I had to control every soldier''s every action using the magical threads at the same time. There were only a few soldiers that I could focus on controlling at the same time. To tell the truth, my brain feels like it''s going to explode. Secondly, what I wanted was the "What is this power" play, in which people investigated the mysterious powers origin as the story gradually developed. At this stage, this power should still be a mystery. The truth wouldn''t be revealed until the [powers in the shadows] came to stage at the end of the story C that''s how the story should proceed correctly. But why "The [Black Rose] is at our back!" "Yo! The [Black Rose]!" Please lead us to a victory!!" "Go! Soldiers chose by the [Black Rose]!!" Why would the fairy tale of the [Black Rose] take away the chance of my show? 174 Do Not Kick the Platform Goldoh was a member of the secret team, and his task was to find Rajta Count''s treasure. "I haven''t found anything. What about you?" "Me neither. So the treasure is in the warehouse upstairs?" Goldoh and Quinton looked at the end of the corridor, where the stairs which were lit from above by torches. "Quick, find the treasure! If everyone outside dies, we will follow them quickly!!" Tulpicano approached them with a worried look. "Mr. Tulpicano, don''t worry. We still have time." Goldoh climbed the stairs whilst trying to calm Tulpicano down. Quinton and Tulpicano followed him. They quickly found a door that looked like a warehouse''s. "Hey, who are you!??" "Get out of my way." "Sorry, go to hell." The guard noticing the intruders drew out his sword, but he was quickly knocked out by Goldoh and Quinton. "Hey, what are we going to do? There is no keys! ?" "Doesn''t matter, we will tear down the door." With his golden magical power covering his body, Goldoh tore up the iron door. "Hey, what?!" However, there was no treasure behind the door. Behind the door was a thing that looked like a part of a living creature. "Are these fingers?" That shrunken black thing was a shriveled up arm with claws instead of fingertips. But it was too big to be a human being''s hand. It was probably thicker than Goldoh''s arm. The hand that looked like a monster''s claw was fixed to the platform that was in the special warehouse. "Where is my treasure!? I don''t want this disgusting thing." Tulpicano kicked down the platform, and started pacing around the room nervously. "Where''s my treasure? Where is it!?" "Mr. Tulpicano, you are too loud" "Shut up! Your only task is to use my method to find the treasure!." Tulpicano stopped suddenly. His big belly was impaled on the shrunken claw. "Mr. Tulpicano!" "Damn it!" As Tulpicano''s slaves, Goldoh and Quinton immediately took action to try to save their master, no matter whether they were willing to or not. However Tulpicano died almost instantly after spurting out blood from his mouth. Immediately Goldoh and Quinton both stopped their actions. They looked at Tulpicano''s body, that still had the black claw in it. After impaling him, the hand started to suckhis corpse, as if to drain his blood. "What is that thing?" "I don''t know. But we''d better not step in let''s retreat!" Tulpicano was dead. And they did not find the treasure. There was no need to stay here anymore. "Sorry, since you saw this, I won''t let you go!" Just then, they heard a low voice behind them. "Who!?" "You are Rajta Count !?" "Oh? You know me?" Standing behind them was the city owner, Rajta Count. At first he looked like a common middle aged aristocrat. But now, there he was, standing straight with no useless flab on his body. His sharp gaze was fixed on Goldoh and Quinton. "Quinton, be careful." "Goldoh.Kinmekki, I know." They carefully kept a distance from Rajta Count. But the door was just behind him. "You have troubled me. If it were not because of you, I just needed to hand it over to the cult." "Cult??? What the hell is going on? What exactly is this claw?" "Fu there is no doubt that this is the treasure you are looking for." "How could you even say that that''s a treasure?!" "For people who know its value, it is. Well, so much for chit-chat." Rajta Count the sword from his waist. It was a real sword for combat, not a performance one. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. " you will be the sacrifice offerings for the Order of Diabolos!" Then, the wind blew. "Gaha?!" "Guaaaa!" Blood was spurting from Quinton'' and Goldoh.Kinmekki''s body. Their legs felt weak, and they dropped on their knees. "Oh C you are still alive?" The two men who received a lightning fast strike from the Count struggled to even react. Goldoh suddenly sensed the danger and leapt backwards, whilst Quinton moved his body away according to what his intuition told him. That was how they saved their lives. However, only two of them survived. All other members of the secret team who sneaked in the castle together with them were dead. "Q Quinton, are you fine?" "Alright Still alive" But their wounds were very deep. Even though they raised swords, it seemed they couldn''t defend against the next attack. "I belittled you a little No, it''s my mistake, I''m a little rusty at fighting. Whatever it is, the next round is over." As Rajta Count raised his sword again, their faces contorted. "Damn, we got rid of the slave identity the hard way" "I thought it''s a good idea to open a dojo" At that moment, great magical power suddenly burst out outside. "What?!" "What is it?!!" "How powerful it is!" Through a little window, they looked up at the night sky. There was a tremendous black rose in the air. "Is that a rose?" "It''s a magical rose, which is constituted by condensed magic power " "Why is the [Black Rose] here?! It''s impossible, how could it be?!" Rajta Count was almost twice as shocked as Goldoh and Quinton. Rajta Count widened his eyes staring at the [Black Rose], which was unusual in every term. "Impossible! Why? The key doesn''t still-" Then the black rose floating in the night sky broke into pieces. The petals of the broken rose fluttered down and landed beside Goldoh and Quinton. The petals touched their right hands and carved two black petal-shaped marks. "What is this?" "My wound is healed-" When they touched the petals, the magic power began to emanate from petals and their serious wounds were healed in an instant. "Strength is overflowing from me" "What is this power?" The black magic power constantly gushed out from Goldoh''s and Quinton''s bodies, like the heat emitted by the sun. "This This is the power of the [Black Rose] in the legend!! Such a powerful magic power, I can only kill you two here!!" The count, driven by anxiety, launched another attack at them. 175 Evil God?Instant Kill?〇〇〇 Sword Count Rajta slashed at them with his sword. It looked like something was leading the bodies of Goldoh and Quinton in a way that allowed them to avoid the slash, that earlier managed to nearly defeat them in one hit. "How is it possible!?" Count Rajta eyes widened in surprise. However, he was not the only one who was shocked. "Did my body just move automatically no wait, did it predict the attack?!?" "No, magic is rolling in my body. Is this the power of [Black Rose]?" Although they were somewhat confused, they still held their sword. "Is the legend of [Black Rose] true?" "Are we the selected people? I don''t know why, but if we have such power C we can win!" The two men attacked Count Rajta from both sides. "Don''t be smug!! Even if weaklings like you get the power of [Black Rose], you can''t do anything!" Their attack was rebounded by Count Rajta ''s sword. "Ku!" "He is really strong!" The pressure coming from the count''s sharp sword made their face wrinkle. Count Rajta ''s strength was far beyond what a local lord could have. He is easily stronger than many famous magic-swordsman both in Orian and aboard. It was strange that such a strong fighter was not well-known, even if magic-sword fighting is not popular in this country. In their normal state, they would be no match for Count Rajta . "Quinton, stall Count Rajta for a while" "Got it, Goldoh." The two, as slaves of Tulpicano, had experienced countless battles together, so they could understand each other without words. Even with the power of [Black Rose], one couldn''t win against the count on his own. But if there were two of them "Uooooooo!" Squealing, Quinton raised his proud sword and sprinted forward. "Never look down on me! This simple swordsmanship of mine shall cut you!" Count Rajta had been well prepared for the coming battle. He saw through Quinton''s movements. While he was about to chop him down Quinton''s speed increased enormously in an instant. "What?" The black magic spurted from Quinton''s feet. "Uooooooo!!" "Nuuuuuu!" Then the battle where both sides fought with their swords began. They fought against each other with all their strength. In the battle with Count Rajta , Quinton, who was twined by the black magic, gained the upper hand gradually. "How can this be possible? Does the [Black Rose] have such a great power?" The power of the strikes were so tremendous that the floor under Count Rajta ''s feet began to crack, followed by entire room in an instant. Count Rajta had to dodge Quinton''s sword edge, trying to push aside his sword. However, Quinton had stalled for enough time. [EVIL GOD?INSTANT KILL] Goldoh''s golden magic began to sweep the battleground. Goldoh used his fatal skill,[EVIL GOD?INSTANT KILL?GOLDEN DRAGON SWORD], which Quinton had seen several times. It should have looked like a golden dragon. "This is the" The golden magic was gradually eroded by the black magic and formed a beautiful rose shape. It was then activated. "EVIL GOD?INSTANT KILL?BLACK ROSE SWORD!!" The magic of the Black Rose was approaching Count Rajta . "How could it be possible?" Count Rajta was engulfed by the magic and evaporated completely. Beautiful petals danced in the air. The blow was so violent that it attacked through the city wall. Then the silver light from high above the night sky penetrated the hole. The petals like snowflakes fluttered down and dyed the ground black. They looked down and only found all soldiers of the [Vow of Black Rose] looking up at Goldoh. "Goldoh, you did it." Quinton patted Goldoh on his shoulder. "Did these guys win, too?" "Ha-ha. Hurry up and respond to them." "Respond to them?" All soldiers of the [Vow of Black Rose] looked up at the castle, with their right hands raised high. The right hands C the mark, shaped like a black rose petal, was carved on them. "These guys" "For some indiscernible reason, we seemed to be selected by the [Black Rose]. Nah, Goldoh, it''s too early to be disillusioned with the mortal world." Quinton? "I don''t know neither what we can do nor how far we can go. But if our strength is necessary for this country I want to fight for my country." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Quinton, then you lead" "I''m not cut out for a leader." Quinton lightly patted Goldoh on his back. "Go ahead. Everyone is waiting for you." Goldoh glanced around all soldiers of the [Vow of Black Rose] who raised their right hands high. Goldoh had once wanted to abandon them. That guilt now made Goldoh''s expression twisted. But they were looking for a flag, a flag which could lead them to fight together for triumph. Goldoh stared at the black rose petal carved on his right hand. "Then take action" What''s more, Goldoh himself also wanted to challenge again. "If I can do it" Goldoh took a step forward and raised his right hand. "For our victory C !! Take an oath of loyalty to [Black Rose]!!" The black rose danced silently in a formidable hurrah. 176 Died On the Spo Maa! As for the result of my hard work, everything went in the right direction. The soldiers success was credited to Black Rose, of which originated from my magic. From this experiment, I realized my magic can be used for other purposes, like strengthening others, not just myself. It could be said that we had succeeded. The Vow of Black Rose members were cleaning up the battlefield after capturing Rajta Count''s castle. Tulpicano seemed to be killed in the battle. It seemed that Goldoh had become the new leader. Although I didn''t listen to their conversation carefully, according to Mr. Goldoh, he would communicate with Royalists first and then lead Vow of Black Rose to converge with the rebellion army. Therefore, I had to be well prepared. It was still dark outside. The moon was shining in the sky. While I was searching the surroundings with my magic, I found two familiar breath for some reason. The first breath that gave forth quite ominous magic came from the upper floor of the castle. "Isn''t this Violet-san?" I made her acquaintance in the Holy Ground. She was like a phantom in the fantasy story. Although she had disappeared at that time, she seemed to be living in secret somewhere in this world. I thought it was Violet-san''s breath. I was unable to approach her as there were lots of people there, so I decided to greet her after those people left. The second breath came from the underground area of the castle. "What brought us here?" I stopped making preparations and infiltrated in the underground area of the castle. In the underground area, Epsilon perceived a powerful magic wave. "This magic is?" It seemed that something had happened outside. As far as Epsilon knew, only her master and herself could release such powerful magic. Her master could change the wavelength of his magic, so it was impossible for Epsilon to recognize his magic accurately. Besides, she didn''t believe that her busy master had come to this castle on the border. In this case, it might be a match for her master, an ancient relic or a natural phenomenon. However, something had happened on the ground. "This has become a troublesome issue" Epsilon applied pressure to the serious injury to her chest to stop the bleeding. The cause of the incident started with her sneaking into the Kingdom of Oriana as a member of Shadow Garden. As a world famous pianist, she was highly praised in the Cloud Kingdom, which enabled her to enter the interior of the kingdom easily to collect information. Unfortunately, she was seen through by Mordred there. Mordred surprise-attacked her. One of Mordred blows tore Epsilon''s chest. Generally, such a heavy blow could kill anybody. However Thanks to the Slime bodysuit, she survived, albeit with serious injuries.. Epsilon''s body, specifically her heart, had a great defensive capability, because there were multiple protections there. Despite this, the sudden attack threw Epsilon off her guard. She failed to make use of her defensive capability and was seriously injured. In fact, that slash at the very beginning had determined the outcome of the battle between them. Afterwards, Epsilon noticed that the situation was unfavorable for her, so she retreated, with Mordred hard on her heels. But Epsilon, who had been seriously injured, naturally could not easily escape, so she had to make a painful decision. She detonated the explosives that had been set up for the plan and blew up part of the castle. Although she escaped the castle and successfully threw Mordred off, the cult''s pursuers were still chasing after her. It''s winter, the snow lying thick on the ground everywhere in Oriana, so it was difficult for Epsilon to escape. Epsilon would leave footprints and bloodstain if she walked on the snow. Besides, she reeks of blood Even if she suppressed her pain and pulled away, the pursuers would catch up with her soon. She was lacking physical strength due to serious wounds. Soshe decided to take her chances. She sneaked into the city of Rajta Count and waited for the pursuers to pass by. The most dangerous place is the safest C who could have guessed that she hid in the city where echelons of the cult lived? Epsilon has bought some time for her this way. However, the problem was the turmoil that occurred on the ground before. There had been a great magic here, and people would definitely start to pay attention to it as time went by. Then it would become difficult for her to escape. Epsilon must move immediately. However, she didn''t have enough time to recover from injuries. "Ku" The slash caused by Mordred was so deep that she was deprived of physical strength and magic. She stood up with her hand on the wall of the underpass. In order not to aggravate wounds, she moved slowly. Just then, she heard the sound of breathing as some people were approaching from the front. Then, there were footsteps behind her. "Ah, that''s" She was so unlucky. Epsilon drew the Slime Sword and walked forward. She could only forcibly break through before Mordred caught up. Then she met the enemy. "We felt a huge magic wave and came here. Could it be you?" The cult''s pursuers. Moreover, all five people had a second name. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Sending five people to chase me C does the cult have nothing else to do?" "It shows how much we value you.Thanks to you Shadow Gardens, so many of our plans have been upset." "It''s my pleasure!" She quipped though, though it was actually difficult for her, who was seriously injured, to deal with five enemies all having a second name. The footsteps behind her indicated that the people behind were approaching. Epsilon tutted. 177 So-called Master One of the assassins took a step forward, trying to shorten the distance. There were still a certain distance between them and Epsilon. But even if Epsilon launched a surprise attack from where she was, they would be able to take that with ease. However. "What!?" Suddenly, the assassin''s head flew into the air. And Epsilon slashed at the assassin''s body of which blood flying in all directions, and fell down because of lacking strength. "How can this person release such a strong magic!?" The remaining four assassins quickly changed to a defensive posture, but they couldn''t cover their surprised look. Releasing magic from a sword. A magic-swordsman could do that as long as he reached a certain level. However, as it is impractical in real combat, no one uses it. Control on magic would be lost once it leaves one''s body and rapidly disperse. To maintain magic that was dispersing, one had to use even more magic. And it took some time to prepare a large amount of magic, which would also delay the attack. The longer the distance, the time and magic needed would increase in proportion. Only those who had a far tighter control on magic than ordinary people did could solve this problem. Only a small amount of magic could reach a place far away in a short time. Only provided the caster can use his tight control to suppress the consumption of magic and shorten the time accumulating magic. But even if one could do that, if he didn''t have enough amount of magic, he would lose in a long-term war. "The time she used to accumulate magic was almost zero Can someone really do that?" They knew how difficult it was to attack from far away in a real combat, so they were quite surprised. "Don''t stay together. Split up!!" " Useless." Countless slashes cut the space. The slashes, letting out a sharp sound indicating they would cut anything, mercilessly rushed to the assassins who were running helter-skelter. "Dammit, I can''t dodge." "Keep away from it for the time being." "Don''t back down. If we can''t shorten the distance, we can only unilaterally" "It won''t work. You are absolutely unable to escape from my attack range." Another assassin''s head was cut down. The blood was hit by Epsilon''s slash, and dispersed after turning into red mist. "Things are going badly" "How could she control so many slashes to such an extent?" "This is [seven shadows]" An anxious look appeared on the assassins'' face. Then, another assassin turned into a blood mist after being chopped by Epsilon. Just at this time. "Ga." Epsilon stopped attacking after letting out the dull sound. Epsilon placed her hand on her chest and got down on her knees. Then she fell down. "Not right now" Red blood issued from the gap of her bodysuit. The wound had cracked. "I heard that she had been seriously injured by Mordred." "This seems to be her limit." Yes, Epsilon had reached her limit. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. She knew that, so she launched a short-term decisive battle. If it was an ordinary enemy, the result would have been determined at the beginning. But enemies were members of the cult who had a second name. Although she killed one as soon as the battle began, she spent too much time in the later fight. Then, after killing three assassins, Epsilon''s wound finally cracked. "Ku" The sword fell from Epsilon''s hand. " it seems that we will be the first one to kill [seven shadows]. We will definitely be promoted!" "But there are another six people like her. If only they wouldn''t threaten the cult" "Mordred-sama will kill them all, including the so-called Shadow-sama." "If that''s the case, then it would be fine hey, stay there!" They looked down at Epsilon, whose face distorted because of pain. "We won''t kill you yet. After coaxing the information out of you oops." Epsilon reached out and tried to pick up the sword that fell on the ground before. An assassin immediately stepped on her hand. "U" "Give it up." "Sha dow sama" "Hey, what are you doing?" "I''m so sorry" Epsilon made her final effort to make a dagger and tried to stab herself in throat. "What stop her!!" At the crucial moment, an assassin kicked the dagger away. "U" "It was damn dangerous." "Hey, hey, your feet" "Hmm? My feet?" "Your feet were cut down" "Eh?" The man who kicked the dagger away had his feet fell down on the slabstone. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my feet!!" Then, ko, ko, ko. Came the footsteps. 178 The End of Mob Character Epsilon''s heart began to beat violently There are sounds of footsteps behind her. Those footsteps belong to the one who could save her right now. The one who could overcome and shatter any obstacles in front of his face. "You are here." She looked at the person behind her with watering eyes. Standing there was an ordinary black-haired boy. "Damn, damn it. My feet" The assassin whose feet were cut off stopped the bleeding with magic, and turned his glare on the boy. "Who is this small fry? Who on earth cut off my feet? Damn it. Anyway, go die!" After finishing his words, he charged with his sword ready and aimed at the black-haired boy. "Eh?" The black-haired boy disappeared. Missing its target, the sword struck on the slate and let out a crashing noise. "Where, where is C aga." A big hole appeared in the man''s chest. The figure of the boy could be seen through the hole. He was holding the exposed heart in his hand. "My, my heart ha?" The assassin covered the hole in his chest with his hand, and fell down. He writhed for a while and then stopped moving. Blood flowed from the now dead body "Who, just who are you?" The only assassin left asked with trembling voice. "Betya!" The boy threw away the broken heart in his hand. "Who, who are you?" The boy, seemingly bored, stared at the man. "What did you do? How did you get the heart" "Like this." The boy''s figure appeared before the assassin before the latter even sensed it. He placed his hand on the assassin''s heart. "Thump, thump." The man''s heartbeat grew faster. "What C how is it possible? When did you I can''t sense the flow of your magic" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Shadow-sama how beautiful" Epsilon couldn''t help but mutter. She was mesmerized by the beauty of her master''s magic. "You said Shadow-sama!? You, you are " The boy watched the panicked man with a bored look on his face. Then "You, are a mob character." He muttered in a low voice that only the assassin could hear. "Eh?" The man''s heart disappeared. Blood squirted from the hole in his chest. The boy squashed the heart and turned around. "This is Shadow" The man moaned, pressing on the hole in his chest. "Mordred sama please be careful" Then he fell on the slate and died. 179 A Small Part of the Abyss-like Plan "Oh, Epsilon. Haven''t seen you for a long time." Hearing her master who turned his head to her, Epsilon raised her head in a trance. "Your wound has been cured." Master used his warm magic to heal the wound on Epsilon''s chest. "Thank you very much." As her wounds were healed, pain gradually disappeared. It was a healing technique that didn''t waste any magic. Epsilon was always impressed whenever she saw it. Although it took time to recover physical strength and blood, Epsilon finally breathed a sigh of relief as she looked down at her recovered chest. Just then, Epsilon noticed. " Ah." The amount of slime padded on her chest was reduced. When Epsilon was seriously hurt, Slime was somewhat reduced. There''s not enough time for her to replenish it, and in that case, her flat chest was exposed. Master must have noticed it when he treated her wounds. Epsilon broke down in a cold sweat. "Ah, emm Ah, well." What to do now? Epsilon racked her brain to figure it out, but nothing came to mind. "Ah! Did you sneak into here to do some investigations?" Master looked down at her, asking. There''s her chance! "Yes, that''s right! I had to disguise myself in order to spy on the cult!" "I see. You also had your hair cut." "Ah." That''s right, her hair was cut from the fight with Mordred, but that fact is irrelevant. Actually, she had to thank Mordred for giving her a way out of this situation. "Yes, yes! Disguise!" "Oh, Epsilon did a really good job." "No, no. You flattered me!!" She was safe now! And more importantly, she was praised by her master. "There''s always a light at the end of a dark tunnel" C it must refer to the current situation. Epsilon stood up with a confident smile as always. "Thank you very much, Shadow-sama." Then she saluted gracefully. "You must have noticed that I was in danger and came to save me. I''m really grateful for master''s deep insight and amazing magic." "Emm? Well, that''s right. Epsilon, you look very tired." "Yes, it really was a dangerous task. Thanks to Shadow-sama, I survived. I will go back and report to Alpha-sama right now" "Wait." "Eh?" "Are you going to report to Alpha right now?" "Yes, I''m going to do that." "Well, hold off on reporting to her for now. Until the embers died Well, Epsilon, go with me for the time being." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "With, with, with Shadow-sama!?" Epsilon''s face turned beet red. She didn''t expect that master, who noticed the danger and came to help her, considered her as a partner. Master liked to act alone, and even Alpha had rarely fought along with master recently. Epsilon''s heart beat faster with excessive surprises. "Please, please, please let me go with you! I will work hard!!" "Please take care of me too." "Then, what should we do?" "Keep a high degree of flexibility and act according to changing circumstances." "Yes, sir!" In other words, master wouldn''t explain his plan at this stage. Master could always accurately predict the future and make a detailed plan. The plan naturally contains a huge amount of information, impossible for ordinary people to understand. He banned Epsilon from reporting to Alpha, designated Epsilon to be his partner, and came here there were underlying reasons for all of these. Epsilon stared at master with great respect. "Well, Shadow-sama. I just observed a huge amount of magic outside. Do you know why?" Thinking the magic also had something with master''s plan, Epsilon asked. Her master kept silent for a while and stared at Epsilon, as if thinking about whether he should tell her the truth or not. "Yeah, well then let me explain it." Epsilon held her breath and listened. I might be able to grasp on a small part of the plan. Master must be thinking about why I asked that. "The magic was released by me." "As expected but why?" "In order to imitate [Black Rose]." " What!?" [Black Rose] was the core of this civil war. Epsilon understood it instantly. She did touch the tip of the iceberg. She had not yet known the whole plan. However, if Epsilon''s prediction was right C what a distant future her master had foreseen. Epsilon was so excited that her heart felt numb. "Well, that''s it. There''s not much to my story." "I will support you with all my heart." Epsilon clenched her trembling hand, and her eyes, as clear as spring water, were filled with burning emotions. 180 She’s the Type of Person Who Always Exaggerates I rescued Epsilon from the mob characters. She said she''s going to report to Alpha C it must be something related to Mitsugoshi Co. Although it wouldn''t matter, it would be terrible if Alpha knew I was here through Epsilon''s reports. I have to hide from her until the embers died . After discussion, Epsilon agreed to help me with the [Black Rose] Play. With her help, this Play would surely be more interesting. So, in order to join Vow of Black Rose, Epsilon was dressing up as a young soldier. Epsilon would definitely be able to make it. "Does it fit me?" Epsilon tried on the local male clothing she got. "You are a young soldier in every way. That''s Epsilon for you." "Thanks to my magic control and Slime Bodysuit that Shadow-sama gave us. I can tighten the Slime to create a young boy''s figure. Although it is somewhat difficult for me to breathe now, that''s what I should do to help Shadow- Sama" Even though I did not listen to her words carefully, Epsilon still patiently explained. "Epsilon is really amazing. Ah, I can act as Epsilon''s brother." "Yes, Sid-onii-sama." "Well, that''s the spirit. It should be postwar period now, let''s loaf around for the time being." "Do you mean while the troop is busy with mopping up enemy remnants on the battlefield, we will take the opportunity to engage in espionage activities?" "Yeah, exactly." Good proposal actually. Spy plays are always interesting. I raised my hand and condensed a small amount of mana that could not be perceived at my fingertips. "That skill is ??" There''s a faint blue-and purple glow. "Atomic Radar." After finishing my words, I broke down the mana to an even smaller bits and released it into the air. The mana spread like fireworks and soon disappeared. "Is this the skill that compresses the mana at the minimum limit to decompose it into particles so that it can be spread out to detect its surroundings precisely? To be able to see this ultimate magic compression skill and miraculous control ability by my own eyes I''m so touched that I''m near to tears." Epsilon said with watering eyes. She was the type of person who always exaggerate. "The most amazing thing is that in fact anyone, in theory, can use this skill as long as he has a little mana. However, there is only one person who has acquired this amazing skill in this world, and that is Brother. This is a testament to the height of magic control that Brother has reached, an unparalleled technique ." "Uh-huh." "There has never been such a skilled magic-swordsman like Brother . Of course, there will never be another one in the future, because Brother is No.1 in any timeline." "Ah, I just found something, I think." I interrupted Epsilon whose words were pouring out like a flood. Epsilon had been such a person since the very beginning. She was a good girl who always desperately extolled me. I used to listen to her flattering remarks every morning while drinking the black tea she served me. However, holding a high self-respect, Epsilon had a critical evaluation to any people other than me. Such a character made it easy to misunderstand her. "That''s Brother for you. In such a short time, you found an important clue. With such speed and precision" "Here, come with me." " Brother is the only magic-swordsman who has a detection skill in this world. Ok, let''s go right away." "It''s right here." I walked along the underpass and stood before a wall. "This looks like an ordinary wall. That''s it C is this a hidden door?" "It seems so." But I didn''t know how to open it. What should I do? Should I just split it in half? "Sid-onii-sama." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Epsilon looked at me with sparkles in her eyes. "It seems that it has been subtly hidden because of the artifact. Even if the whole Shadow Garden investigated this , it would take quite a while to find it. If it was not Sid-onii-sama, we couldn''t have found this door." Epsilon pulled out a brick from the wall casually and injected magic into it. Then huge magical symbols appeared on the wall. Finally Epsilon chanted in a firm voice. "Sezamu U-buru Towa." Then the door appeared. "Hmm." A door appears. "Just let me take the lead to check any danger. If something happened to Sid-onii-sama" "Be careful." " I will definitely fall into the abyss of despair because it will be meaningless for me to live the rest of my life without you. Ok, I''m going." Then, I followed Epsilon into the hidden door. 181 The Other Side Connecting the Past, Present and Future After we walked through the door, a fantasy space full of dense mana appeared in front of us. The ancient characters engraved on the wall sparkled C It shone with the power of pure mana. An ancient altar was located in the centre. The dark mana gathered in this room is illuminated by an eerie light from the altar. I just wanted to use the Spy Play to kill time at first, but now I seemed to win a prize in the lottery. "Shadow-sama, please be careful." " Now I know this is ''it''." At times like these, I should pretend to understand everything and give Epsilon a meaningful look anyways. "Did you know about this place!?" "Everything is connected, the present and the past, and the future." "What C just a moment, and you say you seen through everything!?" " gather." The density of mana gathered over the altar continued to increase, and the entire room was dyed black. I stood in front of Epsilon to protect her. It would be a little hard for Epsilon to deal with that if she only relied on her own strength. "Shadow-sama!?" The mana gathered reached a critical point and broke out. "ku! What powerful mana!" I expanded my mana in the form of a barrier to protect us from the explosion. "It turns out this is" The barrier slightly shook. "This" I muttered in a low voice. That''s right. Only the Bos could have such a strong mana. Then, after the dispersion of mana, from the alter, a woman locked by chains appeared. "She is !" Long silver hair and bright red eyes. Her beautiful face was covered by shadow, and her limbs were locked by chains. "Freya, the hero of humans!?" So that''s the setting? "Did she wake up after years of slumber?" I followed along with Epsilon''s improvisation. Such an explosive force was always very important. "But, but why is Freya in this place?" "Looking back at the past, something like this is inevitable." "Looking back at the past you mean" Entangled in the dark mana, Freya stared at us with her red eyes. There was no rationality nor righteousness reflected in those eyes. " Have you fallen to darkness? Hero." The dark mana and eyes indicating that she had lost her head. This was undoubtedly a plot of falling into hell. "What do you see in front of you right now?" I asked her,who was tightly locked by chains. My question was very suitable for the current situation. "Ahhhhhhh" She groaned. Her chains clashed because of her movement. "Remorse? Or" I slowly walked to the altar as my footsteps clacked. "Ahhhhhhhhhh." Then I stood by the altar, looking down at her. "Revenge?" "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!" "Shadow-sama!?" Freya reached her hand out for my neck. But C gatya. She stopped before the sound came. The ancient characters inscribed on chains shone. "All right" I drew Slime Sword and lifted it high above the altar. "How strong a fallen hero is please show me." Then I wielded Slime Sword and cut off the chains locking her. "Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. At the instant of being freed, Freya lunged at me with her sword. Her beautiful sword was dazzling. However, there was no rationality in that. A sword without rationality was very boring. I avoided her sword and stood behind her. Then I put Slime Sword against her neck and whispered. "Do you want to meet your end here?" Freya froze. She just kept her posture wielding sword and did not move. "Even though you''ve lost your head, you can still notice the mana on the sword? The sword which can completely erase your soul" Time temporarily stood still. I pressed the sword against her neck as she wielded the sword. In order to create the atmosphere,the timing was very important. "Don''t you have other things to do?? Is it fine to die here?" After confirming that the atmosphere had been set, I removed the sword that was on her neck. And she turned to look at me. "I" She opened her mouth and said something, but she didn''t finish a sentence. There seemed to be the light of rationality in her eyes now. Then as the black mana faded away, her figure disappeared. "Go go to the other side connecting the past, present, and future." Freya''s breath disappeared. 182 Infatuated with That Courage and Insigh Epsilon watched her master''s every move. Her face was flushed red and her eyes sparkled due to the excitement . "That''s Shadow-sama for you!" Epsilon felt nostalgia from her words. Master had an unrivalled historical knowledge, which helped him to draw accurate conclusions. He also had the ability to shake the hero''s soul. Epsilon felt like her limited vocabulary was too stale to describe her master''s excellence, Usually, even if Epsilon used all of her language skills to modify her sentence, she could not find words that would match master''s behavior. In this case, however, she did not need to gild the lily. She could just frankly turn her thoughts into words. For Epsilon, this was the best way to pay her tribute to and praise master. "Go to the other side connecting the past, present, and future." Master said that to the hero Freya who had disappeared. Even though his words were unintentional, it was concise and beautiful. The past, present, and future?? What did that mean? Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Epsilon couldn''t help but be overwhelmed by the deep meaning this phrase had. "Epsilon, are you okay?" "Yes! Thanks to Shadow-sama, I didn''t suffer any damage! Of course I have dedicated this body to Shadow-sama" "Freya Such a good swordsmanship." "Shadow-sama is a million times more powerful than her! You dodged Freya''s sword without any unnecessary action. Your slashes were so fast and beautiful that I felt each second was an eternity! Each slash seemed to cut the world; your supreme swordsmanship has completely overpowered hero Freya; this slash be the biggest shake of this century will definitely" "The post-war treatment should be nearly over. Her surroundings are also quiet." " and be engraved in the world''s history! Does ''her'' mean" Epsilon also noticed her existence when she sneaked into the city. The Witch of Calamity, Aurora. One of her fingers was sealed in this land. Hero Freya once investigated this land, which may have something to do with the Witch of Calamity, Aurora. But this was something that only master, who had figured out the truth from his historical knowledge, could understand. "It''s time to meet a friend." "What!?" Epsilon shivered as she heard master''s words. Master called the Witch of Calamity no, the demon Diabolos as his friend. She was infatuated with his courage and insight. From master''s point of view, even the demon Diabolos was just a friend of him. Epsilon swallowed hard. "Let''s go now." "Please let me go with you!" Epsilon gazed at master''s back with eager. 183 We Are Friends After All! I mounted up into the castle with Epsilon and stand in front of a door to a place that looked like a warehouse. There were two soldiers guarding here, but I''d better let them sleep for a while. "It''s right here." Epsilon said with a serious face. "Yes." As expected of Violet-san. Even though there was a door separating us, I could clearly feel the presence of her cold breath. I opened the door and walked into the warehouse. The moonlight shone in through a large glass panel in the wall of the warehouse. There was a pedestal in the center. A dry black finger was placed on the pedestal under the moonlight. Ah, Violet-san. What a pity she became like that. "Shadow-sama! Please be careful." "It''s okay. It''s okay." I slightly waved my hand and walked toward the pedestal. We were friends after all. Violet-san must be imprisoned the way she was when we met at the Holy Ground. For a human finger, this was quite big. Black and ugly, it was like being mutated by Demon Possession "The feeling of mana also feels very similar?" Erm. Violet-san survived by focusing all her mana on just one finger. She certainly did reject her humanity to a considerable extent. Violet-san used to say that I was an amazing guy, but actually she was even more amazing. The so-called Demon Possession was magic deviation or sudden mutation. Whilst treating Alpha and the others, I found out it is more accurate to call it a genetic trait rather than a disease. The bloodline of those mutated by Demon Possession was a bit different than others. However, even if Alpha and the others continued to rampage like that, they would not end up like Violet-san. The blood of Alpha and the others was not as dense as that of Violet-san. It''s better to say that Violet-san was more like the source of their blood. I touched Violet-san''s finger. "That''s dangerous, Shadow-sama!!" Violet-san''s finger responded to me. "Yo." I injected mana into it in place of a greeting, and then the finger trembled slightly. "Kill me" That were her last words. The finger then bent as if it nodded slightly. If I wanted to do as she said, then I would just need to make the fingers disappeared without leaving behind any traces. Of course I could do that. "Emm, but I won''t do that." We were friends after all. The finger trembled as if it was protesting. "Without outside help, it will be difficult for you to find your other parts." The finger seemed to be annoyed, swaying for a while, and then it nodded slightly. "I want to carry the finger with me, but the size is a bit big now. Can''t you be smaller?" Violet-san seemed to let out a sound of "emm". It bent awkwardly as though being worried. Violet-san''s finger was bigger than my arm. "It doesn''t matter if you can''t. Let me do it." What I have to do is the same as treating Demon Possession. Violet-san''s blood was thicker, so it would be much more troublesome than treating Alpha and the others. But it wouldn''t take long since there was only one finger. After I fully injected my own mana into it, Violet-san''s finger was surrounded by blue-purple mana. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Then, at the moment when the light faded away, a common female-sized finger appeared. It was the pinky on the left hand. It was a fine and slender finger, and the fingernail was well-manicured. I didn''t know why Violet-san''s finger was shaking. But anyway, now I could put it in my pocket. The severed part was a bit disgusting though! I could feel a trace of mana from the severed part. I felt it was somewhat similar to Freya''s. Was the finger cut by Freya? However, the mana dissipated with little left, so there was no way to prove it. "It''s over. Let''s go." I looked back at Epsilon and saw her staring at me, speechless. "Ehhhhhhhhh!?" "Okay, let''s go." "Ehhh? Ah, yes Ehhhhhhh?" I held Epsilon''s hand and left. She seemed to be so shocked that she just kept saying "ehhhhh". 184 If He Was Born Before A Thousand Years Ago Epsilon couldn''t believe what had happened, her mouth dropping open in surprise. The Witch of Calamity, Aurora''s finger was sealed in the warehouse. Hero Freya also disappeared from history here. There must be some connection between them. The undead Freya looked strange. Her eyes were full of hatred, which was not like her. What happened here? A story buried by the darkness of history? Hero Freya. The Witch of Calamity, Aurora. [Black Rose] in Oriana Kingdom. She felt that the long-standing legend was going to repeat after a thousand years. And those guys were definitely culprit behind the legend repeating. The Order of Diabolos. There may be a hidden event behind the riot in Oriana Kingdom. Thinking of this, Epsilon swallowed hard. Master was heading towards Aurora''s finger. Master looked completely unwavered. Sure enough, he must have figured everything out C he untied the knot of history and understood everything. Epsilon couldn''t help but sigh. That was not anything surprising considering her master. However. "Ehhh?" Master touched Aurora''s finger. The investigation of Holy Ground was persuasive enough to prove the Witch of Calamity, Aurora was the demon Diabolos. Even if it''s just Aurora''s finger, the seal the hero had put onto it had weakened considerably over time, it would be too dangerous for master to touch it directly. Of course, Epsilon''s master was the most powerful man, but even so it would still be too dangerous. However, master''s amazing deed had not finished yet. "Ehhhhhhhh?" It''s unbelievable that master communicated with Aurora''s finger. She watched as master injected mana into and talked with it, and Aurora''s finger swayed as if it responded to master''s words. And most surprisingly, the finger didn''t appear to have any intention of attacking master. "Kill" Pikupiku. "Emm, but I won''t do that" Buruburu. "I''ll find your other parts" Bikubiku. It''s better to say that the atmosphere was harmonious. No, this must be an illusion. Master had fought against Aurora''s memory at the Holy Ground. Of course, it ended up with the overwhelming victory of master. It was highly possible that Aurora''s memory was interconnected with this finger. Judging from the content of their conversation, they seemed to make some deal. But why? "Ehhhhhhhh?" What happened next no doubt shocked her the most today. Master gathered magic, and injected it into the demon Diabolos''s black and ugly finger. The blue-purple light shone, surrounding the finger. Then a human female''s finger appeared. She knew that the demon Diabolos was the Witch of Calamity, Aurora. Descendants of heroes born of Diabolos cells may have demon possession blood. For some reason, the Witch of Calamity, Aurora, became the demon Diabolos. Then naturally Aurora''s demon possession could be cured. Well, that''s plausible. Although it made senseDD "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?" She couldn''t understand it. If master was born a thousand years ago, would the tragedy not happen and a happy future wait for everyone? Epsilon, looking into the distance, couldn''t help but think of the possibility. If the demon Diabolos could be cured then it may be related to Aurora''s finger making a deal with master. The Witch of Calamity, Aurora. The tragic witch who had suffered a lot. If the demon Diabolos still had Aurora''s consciousness, perhaps a happy future was waiting for her. However, no one could tell the future, or the past that did not happen. When all the seals were unlocked, her consciousness may not be preserved. Moreover, according to the legend of Diabolos, the possibility that consciousness was preserved should be low. But master would not miss even the slightest possibility. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. If master lived a thousand years ago, maybe the tragedy would not exist. However, master was here now. Understanding the underlying meaning of master''s behavior, Epsilon stared at master enthusiastically. She believed that such a tragedy would not happen again. 185 Terrible Interests It was daybreak so we went back to the camp and took a nap. It soon reached breakfast time. The morning wind blew piercingly, sending a chill of the snow directly to the spine. I was adding firewood to the campfire. "Patipati" C The campfire burned quietly. "Kotokoto" C The soup in the pot was boiling. A delicious smell filled the air. Violet-san''s finger doodled on the snow. I was in charge of overlooking the soup in the pot so it doesn''t get overcooked. As I stretched out, Violet-san''s finger tugged at my pants. "What is it?" Tug tug. Violet-san pointed to the graffiti on the snow. "Hmm?" I had thought it was a graffiti, but it turned out to be characters. Violet-san''s finger wriggled beside the characters as if saying "read it, read it." "Emm" I looked at all the characters and nodded knowingly. They seemed to be ancient characters. "I see" I did not understand the characters, but still "I get it." She must be talking about her other body parts. After all, Violet-san had done her best to communicate with me using body language last night, so I could understand what she meant. She pointed to the direction of Oriana Kingdom''s capital indicating that we just needed to go there. Violet-san gave it her best to write so much for me, and I did appreciate her kindness, so I nodded with a smile. Violet-san''s finger bent indicating she was pleased with my understanding. Her finger then rolled over the snow to erase the characters she wrote down one by one. Actually, it won''t matter if she didn''t erase them since no one could read those characters. Just then, the soup in the pot overflowed. "Ah, no." I quickly took the pot off the fire. After confirming that the food inside was not overcooked, I gave the soup a slow stir. There were only shaved vegetables and taros in the soup, and salt was the only seasoning. This was a bare minimum method of cooking that showed the original taste of the ingredients. Well, honestly, it didn''t matter how it tasted though. "The protein is not enough" Violet-san, who stopped rolling over the snow, climbed onto my knee. Her finger was freezing cold. I held the finger and took it near the campfire. Violet-san seemed very comfortable as she got warmed. "Precious protein" Violet-san stopped moving for a split second. "If I eat your meat until only bones are left, can you regenerate?" "Purupuru" C Violet-san trembled. "If you can, don''t we have unlimited meat to eat?" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Batabata" C Violet-san struggled. "I won''t eat you. After all, I feel like I will have diarrhea if I eat you." Actually I just thought about what a cooked finger would look like. "Cold finger get warmed." I let go of Violet-san. Violet-san hit my hand violently and returned to lying on my knees. "I''ve asked Epsilon to find meat. Don''t worry." Epsilon should take a rabbit back. At times like these, Delta would solve our problems easily. She would definitely bring the prey back in the shortest time. I tried to think about what Delta would do if she were here. When I thought that she took a dragon back with a big smile on her face, I stopped my imagination forcefully. "Well, forget it." Just when I was muttering to myself. "Sid-onii-sama, I hunted a rabbit." Epsilon, dressed as a young soldier, came back. She held a white hare in her hand. I heaved a sigh of relief. "Epsilon, it''s great that you come with me, really." "Thank thank you very much?" Although Epsilon nearly cut her hand with the cleaver, she still processed the rabbit quickly and neatly. Then she put the meat into the pot. While we were waiting for the meat to boil, the three Ojisans came over. "Yo, did you have a good sleep last night?" "It looks like it will boil right away." "Hey, what''s that finger?" One of the Ojisans noticed Violet-san leisurely lying on my knees. The Ojisan''s gaze on me became subtle. "Eh, the finger of enemy soldiers?" "It''s disgusting." "Remember to throw it away before it rots." Ojisan patted me on the shoulder. I could feel Violet-san''s mana rising. 186 Two People with Social Phobia The Vow of Black Rose took action three days after taking over the castle. It seems that Mr. Goldoh got in touch with Royalists and decided to join the main force. Thanks to this time''s success we might even be able to become an official troop. So now we were marching forward now. The Royalists Faction was starting to gather at Oriana Plains. The Doem Faction was also planning to fight at Oriana Plains. A real war was about to begin, which was pretty exciting. The capital of Oriana Kingdom was relatively close to Oriana Plains. The Royalists Faction plan was probably to win the battle at Oriana Plains and then head over to the capital, and lay siege to it. I was also planning to look for other parts of Violet-san''s body, and the destination was also the capital so we could kill two birds with one stone. Epsilon joined our unit as my younger brother. After marching for some time, the Ojisans, Epsilon, Violet-san''s finger and I got another two relatives to travel with. Emm, but I''m not familiar with them. They were brought by Epsilon when we were having a break. "My name is Kai." "I''m Omega" Kai was a handsome, reliable looking guy with short blond hair. Omega was a dark-haired Half Elf with heterochromia. His eyes were of two different colours, the first one was golden and the other one was silver. He was the type of person who always stayed quiet. Their feminine figure was concealed by the slime bodysuit.. "Those two are my subordinates." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Epsilon stuck out her chest proudly. They were her subordinates from Mitsugoshi Company. Epsilon seems to have become marvelous.? Epsilon had become marvellous. "They are going to pretend to be my relatives, right?" "Yes, Sid-onii-sama." "Our troop is in need of soldiers right now. I probably can persuade the leader to allow them to join in anyway." In the end they easily joined our Vow of Black Rose without encountering any trouble.. After all, there was no reason for a spy to join our troop. Because of the two newcomers, the Ojisans and the 5 of us acted separately. I, Epsilon, Kai, Omega, and Violet-san. In this way we formed an elite force of the shadows. I think Violet-san can be considered our mascot. So I decided to propose an operation plan while preparing the camp site after our today''s march. The sun has already sunk behind the horizon, and the light of the campfire was illuminating our surroundings. "Everyone, please come here." I called out to Kai who was taking care of getting the pot and bowls ready, and Omega who was making the bed. Epsilon went out hunting in the mountains, but she should be back soon. By the way, I was in charge of the campfire, all I had to do was to just watch it burn there. "Is Sid-sama going to assign tasks to us?" Kai suddenly appeared in front of me as if she was about to kneel down. "Task?" Omega also appeared so quickly that she seemed to have left an afterimage. "Can you please come over normally?" "Yes. I''m very sorry." "I shall try it again." After looking at them closely, both of them acted unnaturally. Kai''s body flinched. Omega''s hands were shaking. They quickly returned to their earlier positions and then walked over slowly, their faces pale white. Their actions were very unnatural, but I was not going to tell them that. What was even the point of starting over? But I was not going to tell them that. "Sid-sama, what is your order?" Kai came over shaking. "Task?" Omega walked over trembling. "Before Epsilon returns, let''s warm up by the campfire." Were they not good at coping with the cold Ah, was it social phobia? "To eliminate fear and uneasiness, you must first have a correct understanding of them." I decided to counsel them on life around the campfire. "Yes." "I see" I took Violet-san''s finger out of my pocket to warm it up, and they suddenly shivered again. "If you don''t realize what you are afraid of, you won''t know what to do. Denying fear and escaping from reality are common mistakes." "Got it." "This is the knack to fight on the battlefield" "Denying your feelings is nothing but escaping from reality. You must first accept fear." They listened very carefully. As I was saying something I felt was appropriate for this situation, I diverted my gaze towards tomorrow''s march direction. "Come on, look at the campfire and face yourself. What are your fears find the truth" "Myself" "Face" In this way, I felt I''ve developed a somewhat better relationship with them before Epsilon returned. 187 Epsilon’s Secret Recipe Epsilon was running through the darkness, while Kai and Omega followed closely behind her. Sid told them "I will go first" before disappearing. Their plan was simple C night raid. They were going to launch a night raid on the Doem Faction, to inflict heavy losses on them. The Royalists and the Doem Faction. If the two of them went against each other head-on, then the final winner would be the Doem Faction, at least Epsilon thought so. But this battle isn''t as simple as it appears to be. The Royalists Faction was supported by the Shadow Garden, and the Doem Faction was supported by the Cult of Diablos. It could almost be considered as a war between the Shadow Garden and the Cult of Diablos. If you consider the fact that the Shadow Garden''s individual strength was high, launching a night raid on the enemy with a few elites was the best choice. Our force included one member of the seven shadows with two subordinates, not to mention that master was also here. Judging by the number of the enemy soldiers, it wouldn''t be surprising if they defeated all enemies in one night. However just like Royalists Faction had the Shadow Garden, the Doem Faction had the Cult of Diablos''s support. Their next task was to launch a night raid at the Doem Faction''s camp where the cult''s force was. They had to be careful. If master was not here, Epsilon would have never dared to execute this plan. "Our job is to be the support for master. After we sneak in, we will be targeting the enemy''s commander to create chaos in their forces.." Kai and Omega both nodded in silence. "There can''t be any failures in front of master. Don''t embarass me.." Epsilon''s tone was very strict, but she had always acted like that, so Kai and Omega just nodded in silence. "By the way, master said that the rabbit I hunted was very delicious." They didn''t know why Epsilon said something so random, but she had always been like this, so Kai and Omega just nodded in silence. "Of course it''s delicious because I added a secret ingredient called love I''m kidding." Epsilon''s face was scarlet red because of her shyness, but again, she always acted this way, so both Kai and Omega just nodded in silence. And then, they saw the enemy''s camp. The camp of the Doem Faction. The Royalists Faction army was still far away from here. "Ha ~ ~ ah" The soldier on watch at night rubbed his eyes, yawning. DD Just then. " Emm?" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. The soldier felt as if something just passed by him, so he quickly turned his head around to look behind him. "Was I mistaken?" He thought because there was nothing behind him. The soldier rubbed his eyes and then continued to stand on watch. " Hmm?" After a while, he looked around. He suddenly felt he heard a scream. But he could only see the torch''s faint glow. This was a very quiet night. The battalion commander slept in a nearby tent. The soldier inadvertently raised the torch, and the tent was suddenly illuminated by the light. " Eh?" On the white wall of the tent there was a big blood stain.. He hurriedly ran into the tent. "Battalion commander! Are you okay!? What" Inside the tent was battalion commander''s body, and a head that was brutally cut off, laid on the ground. The insides of the tent were painted red with blood, but there was no trace of struggle or a fight. Battalion commander was killed in an instant by beheading. "E, e, e ene" The soldier''s voice was shaking. He was on the watch duty but didn''t notice the enemy attack, which was considered a dereliction of duty.. He stumbled and struggled to get out of the tent to quickly take a breath. Then he shouted. "E, e enemy attack! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!!" In a blink of an eye the panic spread around the camp. He crawled, as if to escape from the tent, shouting on the verge of a mental breakdown. Then he noticed the tent next to the first one. "Ah, ah how, how what" The other tent was also stained red from blood. 188 Epsilon in Gorgeous Disguise "Enemy attack" Doem lit the lamp in the spacious tent. "The number of enemies is small! They attacked under the covers of darkness!" Doem''s subordinate reported. This place was the most important location of the Doem Faction, which was protected by the members of the Order of Diablos. Someone attacked their camp without hesitation, which means "Shadow Garden." Doem''s expression suddenly contorted. He didn''t think that the Royalists Faction could attack here. But with Shadow Garden''s information gathering capabilities, there was a chance they knew where Doem was and the scope of the Order of Diabolos activities. "Shit How much information was leaked!!" "There couldn''t be any leaks! Our countermeasures should''ve been perfect. Them targeting this place must''ve been a coincidence " "Shut up! When will your ''coincidences'' end!? Don''t you dare forget that Rajta was killed! Because of those people our plans were ruined countless times!!" "For, forgive me please!" The subordinate said with his voice trembling. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Stop underestimating them. Rajta was killed, so things are going to get quite troublesome now. Including this attack, we should be prepared for the worst. We should assume that Shadow Garden knows everything." "How could that be possible? How did they learn of our plan?" "Having the information that should have been a complete secret C that was what the organization known as Shadow Garden was." Doem said as he reached out to the coffin that was in the center of the spacious tent. It was an unusually robustly built coffin without any decoration. A thick layer of chains was wrapped up around it, and in the center of the coffin there was a small hole. Even though it looked like a keyhole, it certainly was not one. It was just a small hole. "They probably know about this too. The heroes, human experiments and even the secret medicine" "No, it''s impossible! The hero''s body is absolutely" At that moment, a slight breeze passed through the tent. "I see, so that''s the case" As they heard a beautiful voice say that, the subordinate''s body was split into two bloody halves. "You, you are" Doem glared at the voice''s owner fiercely. "I haven''t seen you in a while, Doem. Thanks for taking care of me in the city." Epsilon, the beauty with long, smooth hair stood there. "Epsilon You survived with that kind of injury" "Not thanks to you. It''s been very hard to be chased by so many men, but that''s just a beauty''s fate." "But you seem to be much thinner. Even though you''re one of the seven shadows, it must''ve been hard for you to deal with." "I''m just in disguise." "Disguise?" "Yes, it''s just a disguise." "Humm" That''s probably the truth. If she just got thinner, the slimes volume wouldn''t have reduced so much. Was it really just a disguise or was she bluffing to conceal the limits of the seven shadow''s strength? A subtle sense of tension permeated the air. "Shouldn''t you tend to your wound?" Epsilon said to Doem. Doem''s right shoulder was cut at some point. Epsilon sent a slash at him while killing his subordinate. "No need, it''s just a scratch." "I''m surprised you avoided it so quickly. But unfortunately for you, Mordred is not here, and I''m in my peak condition, so your chance to win is less than one in ten thousand." "I see, so how much do you know?" "Not much." The two of them continued the conversation. Doem was doing it to buy some time, while Epsilon was fishing for information. "I finally understand why the Order of Diabolos is so obsessed with the demon possessions." "Tell me, let me check the answer for you." "Long ago, in the distant past, three heroes including Freya defeated the demon Diabolos. After that, the Order of Diabolos somehow got her body." "As I thought, that''s why you attacked the Castle of Rajta" "The Order of Diabolos was studying Freya''s body in order to learn how to manipulate Diabolos'' cells and create a new hero. In order to do that, Order of Diabolos found three potential candidates who were believed to have strongly inherited Freya''s blood." "Oh, right. You probably have guessed already but the three we chose were Rose Oriana, Alexia Midgar and Claire Kagenou. And all of them are under your protection." Doem''s mouth twisted as he stared at Epsilon. "To what extent are you willing to go to, just to hinder us! We haven''t even confirmed our thoughts and yet you are still stopping us, why! Answer me!" In the face of Doem''s aggresive stance, Epsilon just turned her eyes into the distance. It was as if she was staring at someone in front of her. "All truth lies on the end of Shadow-sama''s path." "Shadow That man? It''s all because of him" Doem recalled Shadow''s swordsmanship that he saw on the day of the Buyin Tournament. That swordsmanship that was like a superb art was deeply imprinted on Doem''s mind. "Well, let''s end our little chat here." "Don''t be so anxious. Let me tell you another good news. There indeed were three candidates at the beginning, but we also managed to get a new test subject that barely passes the requirements, even though she is not comparable to the other three." Doem suddenly injected some red liquid into the hole in the coffin that was next to him. Suddenly mana started to overflow from the coffin. "Now, wake up. You must want to avenge your father''s death C Emilia." " Eh?" Then the coffin shattered. 189 Take A Walk in the Fores Epsilon remembered a girl called Emilia. It was a story from before master attended the academy, and the time when the Shadow Garden was still a small organization made up of only master and the seven shadows. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. At that time, master''s sister Claire was kidnapped by the Order of Diabolos. The result of that situation was that Shadow Garden destroyed one of its branches. The guy in charge of that branch was called Olba. His daughter''s Emilias name was carved into his sword''s handle. After some investigation they found out that Olba''s daughter Emilia was taken as a hostage by the cult. And then, Shadow Garden found her. But at that time, Emilia has already turned into a monster after being experimented on by the Order of Diabolos, so Alpha killed her out of mercy. But it seems that her body was recovered by the cult. "You heartless bastards." Epsilon glared furiously at Doem who was smirking. "It must have been hard for you to come this far just to kill me, but in the end it seems you are not going to be able to do that. The situation has changed. Why don''t you leave your head here?" From the broken coffin came out a beautiful girl. Her innocent look and grey hair instantly reminded Epsilon about about Olba, even though she only saw him once. Doem used Emilia as a shield as he slowly retreated. " tsu." Epsilon also stepped back, while on guard against Emilia. It was because she sensed in Emilia a magic power level equal to that of the hero Freya. The noises coming from outside the tent grew louder, as they gradually approached. Kai and Omega''s distraction seemed to have reached it''s limit. The tent would be surrounded in a short moment. It was time to retreat. Although they failed to kill Doem, they did weaken the Cult of Diabolos'' military power. Compared to killing Doem, learning about the plans of Cult of Diabolos was much more important. It was stupid of her to make decisions because of emotional impulses. Epsilon focused mana at her sword. Emilia responded to the sudden movement. But Epsilon''s target was not her. It was the person behind her C Doem. Epsilon held her sword horizontally. The magic gathered on the sword formed a sharp blade and was going to slash at Doem. "What!? Emilia, protect me!" Emilia, who was going to attack Epsilon, changed her direction according to Doem''s order. She rushed into the attack range of the blade, released a huge mana wave and cut Epsilon''s blade in two. Epsilon widened her eyes behind the mask. She had not expected her blade to be cut in this way. However, Epsilon still succeeded in her goal. She jumped out of the tent and ran to the forest. "Catch her, Emilia! Do not let her escape!!" Epsilon felt huge mana waves from behind her. I threw together a guerilla plan for the Shadow Garden''s elite group to attack the enemy camp. After separating from Epsilon and the others, I dashed into the forest. At the same time, Violet-san started to flail about. She wriggled continuously in my pocket. "Wait a minute, it''s itchy." I had no choice but to stop and took Violet-san out of my pocket. "What''s the matter, what do you want?" "Pikupiku" C Violet-san shook on my palm. "Are you hungry?" "Petipeti" C she patted my palm. "No? Ah, do you want to go to the bathroom?" "Batibati" C she hit my hand harder. "Hmm, it''s really a headache." I scouted around to see if there was anything unusual. It was just an ordinary forest. But the moon in the sky was very beautiful. "The moonlight is beautiful, but I''m in a hurry today. Next time we can watch the moon together." Violet-san was wriggling. Her body language was really hard to understand. She jumped from my hand and rolled on the ground. "Do you want to go for a walk?" I followed behind her. We only walked for a while, mana was gathering in the forest showing faint light. The light and mana became stronger little by little, forming a female figure. "Yo, we meet again." I greeted Freya. 190 Everything Is Connected, All of Which Meets His Expectations Freya didn''t look at me. She should have noticed me. But where her gaze fell was a void. For me, she looked as if staring straight at the air. Freya reached out to the void and her hand disappeared. No, more accurately, her hand was sucked into some place. In other words, her hand was sucked into the void and disappeared. There must be something about that space that the human eyes couldn''t see. Freya looked at me. After that, she muttered to herself. Although I couldn''t hear her from where I stood, I could tell what she said through reading her lips. "Come here." She said something like that. Freya''s body was gradually sucked into the void starting from her wrist. Her eyes glued to me and Violet-san. In this way, Freya disappeared. "She seems to have disappeared." I speculated carefully. Violet-san seemed to be saying that "I knew it already." She tapped on my feet. But I noticed something. How to describe this feeling? It was similar to what I felt at the Holy Ground. The Holy Ground could suck people''s magic. However, that void did not suck magic. Besides, I could hardly feel the presence of magic here. Though, I felt that something had been sucked into the void. I carefully observed the void where Freya disappeared, but found nothing. So I jumped directly into the void. "Hey!" I dived into it like a swimmer in a competition. Just in case, I did not forget to change into Shadow Mode. Violet-san followed me by sticking to my feet. Then I was surrounded by white light. I fell into a space with white walls, white beds, and white ceilings. There were pods all around, arranged at regular intervals. The space was like a research center. Freya stood in front of the pods. I looked down at the pod closest to me. "This is..." There was something in the shape of a human in the pod. It seemed to be a failed test subject, a mixture of human and demon possession. It was a white-haired woman who had stopped breathing. The thing in the next pod didn''t even have a shape of a human, but a pile of organs. Next, and the next, were all failed test subjects. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Each one was a failed test subject having no life at all. They seemed to be preserved here as some samples. After observing countless failed test subjects in pods, I found a common point. They were all women, and it looked like they all had similar facial features. In a pod was a woman named Olivie who I once fought against at the Holy Ground. In some other pods were mixtures of Violet-san and someone. The orc in the next pod was Then I saw the pod in front of Freya and found that a human looked completely the same as Freya. Freya stood stiffly in front of the pod. "They are all connected to each other" I said to myself meaningfully. We seemed to have found some incredible facilities. I''m not sure what these facilities are for, still, I must first pretend that I knew something. This was very important. "So this is the rebeginning of Diabolos the continuation of the story a thousand years ago but this is something that can be easily understood after looking through history." Violet-san shivered as she seemed to agree with what I said. "Everything is connected, the past, present, future. Everything seemed to be within my expectations." Here I should also have an air of knowing everything. As a power in the shadows, everything was within my expectations without exception. When I patted on my coat letting out the sound of "basa", I heard a noise and the space distorted. "I had just wondered how an uninvited visitor could come into this space Now I see. You are the man called Shadow." A voice came from the distorted space. "I didn''t expect you to come here so quickly but to see that you''ve already known all our secrets." At this time, a man appeared. 191 Let Me Show You Perfect Magic Control He was a handsome guy with white hair, he must be a badass. Though I didn''t know how he appeared. I saw that the space was distorted, but I couldn''t feel any magic. "You must have known me. My name is Mordred." So this handsome guy''s name was Mordred. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "I''ve heard a lot about you." But I didn''t say who told me about him, because no one had ever told me about the name Mordred. "May I ask how you knew about this place?" I waited for a moment and then answered with a meaningful smile on my face. "The past guided me." "I see. The past" Mordred looked at Freya. "She is indeed the wreckage of the past. Poor woman" Freya glared at Mordred. It seemed that they knew each other? "The Black Rose, and this wreckage of the past. They aren''t a coincidence at all, you are the one behind all of them, right? Shadow." Since you asked me so nicely, then yeah,I did. But Mordred seemed to play an important role in this research center. Besides, Violet-san and Freya were both here, so I must give a cool response that matched my identity as a power in shadows. "The finale is near C the moment everything is exposed will come." I said this sentence meaningfully in a low voice and released some magic. The blue-purple magic danced like flickering flame surrounding me, while the wind blew on my long black coat. I look so cool. "Your magic is so powerful is this real?" I manipulated magic to drive the wind to blow Mordred''s hair. This was quite complicated. It''s easy to make the wind blow for just a moment, but it took a lot of magic to make it last, and the control of it must be precise. In order to suppress magic output while increasing the pressure, I had to constantly repeat the two steps of suppressing and releasing magic quickly. Moreover, I had to maintain constant magic to maintain a certain wind pressure. My wind pressure had been stable. In other words, I perfectly manipulated magic, which should make Mordred shudder in awe. "What an amazing magic control but a battle can''t be determined by magic alone." No, you missed the point. I could precisely manipulate wind pressure. Look, had you ever seen such a precise magic control? "Although it''s okay to fight with you here it''s too early." Mordred said, distorting the space. A gap appeared along with a loud noise. "Come in from the main entrance next time C unwelcome visitors." Ah, it turned out it was not time to fight against the boss. "You are right well." I felt the power released from the space, which was totally different from magic. As expected, it was the same type as what I felt at the Holy Ground C that was to say. "I am atomic." I released magic regardless of whether it would blow all over. "This is" Mordred was shocked. The blast brought by Shadow the moment he teleported caused enormous damage to the space. All pods were destroyed, and a large hole appeared in the space. If Mordred distorted the space to warp back later, it would have been completely swallowed by the magic released by Shadow. It was like a black hole that could swallow the world. It would take some time to fix the space. "This guy can use magic to affect space No, it should be that he deliberately prepared magic powerful enough to destroy the space." Mordred could only think of so. "That is to say, this guy knew it from the beginning. He knew where this space is, and what this space is for" cold sweat started dripping from Mordred''s face. "The finale is near C the moment of exposing everything is coming." Mordred pondered over Shadow''s words. "The finale is near" C Yes, that''s why the Order began to take action. And "the moment of exposing everything". He wanted to expose all secrets? That''s right, Shadow knew it. He had known everything. "The plan has to be carried out ahead of time. This guy has known of the existence of [World of Demons]." When Mordred turned around. Potari. (the sound of blood pattering on the floor) Something fell on the ground. "What...?" It was blood. Bright red blood spread out on the white floor. Then Mordred found that he''d lost all feeling in his right arm which was nearly cut off from shoulder, unnaturally hanging. "Shadow C has such a level of power?" Mordred stared coldly at the place where Shadow disappeared. 192 It’s Not My Fault The Shot Went Awry Epsilon ran hurriedly in the dark forest. She should had thrown off the soldiers of the Cult of Diabolos. But she could still sense the huge mana waves behind her. "The opponent has much more stamina than me" It would be better not to take a long-term battle. After all, Epsilon would be the first to be worn out. When she was just about to stop, Kai and Omega, who respectively ran from the left and right side of the forest, joined her. "The sneak attack was successful." "We have crippled the Cult of Diabolos Who is the girl chasing you?" They looked at the girl behind them as running. "The Cult of Diabolos is the culprit turning her into that. But Shadow Garden should also be held responsible for her, too" Said Epsilon, and then she stopped running. Kai and Omega also stopped at the same time, looking back at Emilia. Epsilon witnessed the death of Olba on the spot. She heard about Alpha killing Emilia in a report. Of course, Epsilon knew that the real culprit was the Cult of Diabolos. Deep in her heart, Epsilon secretly hoped that Emilia could find peace. But Epsilon clearly knew this was only a pipe dream before the tragic ending. "The cycle of hatred must be broken out of." The three of them raised their swords. Emilia, who had caught up with them with an amazing speed, released a huge wave of magic when she was approaching. " Atomic." Suddenly they heard a low voice from nowhere, which seemed to reverberate with the abyss. Then the surrounding space was dyed in purple-blue light. Then When she came to, Epsilon was lying in the forest. Apparently, she seemed to have fainted even for just a few seconds. The purple-blue light disappeared, but there were traces of huge waves of magic around it. " my shot went awry." Hearing the sound of master, Epsilon turned around. What she saw was her beloved master wrapped in a long black coat. Epsilon didn''t feel any magic right until the moment she was surrounded by the blue-purple light. It was as if master suddenly came out of an empty space and shot straight at her. The shot was so powerful that she couldn''t escape. If Epsilon was the target, she would have disappeared without a trace. Epsilon trembled in fear of such a formidable magic without any sign, and her respect for her master who could easily do this. "Shadow-sama" Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Epsilon''s mind was filled with thousands of words to express her feelings, but master who looked back seemed to be filled with guilt, so she swallowed her words. However, it must be her illusion that master looked guilty. After all, master just looked at Emilia''s burnt body. No, not a body. "She is still alive" What an amazing tenacity. Epsilon understood the true meaning of master''s words " my shot went awry." For master who was beyond perfection, he did miss the target so that Emilia was alive. Master gathered blue-purple magic in his hand and walked to Emilia. Master must want to give her the last shot. Master must have known everything. He knew how Emilia grew up under inhuman experiments, and the deep hatred in her heart So master, having the same thought as Epsilon, was going to break the cycle of hatred here. "Please, wait!" Epsilon rushed to the front of master. "By any chance, please give Milia to me! We can cure her!" Epsilon''s voice was shaking. She didn''t want to make master unhappy, which the most horrible thing in this world for her. However, this was the last chance to cure Emilia, just like how master treated Epsilon. "I understand your feelings, Shadow-sama. However she is just a victim." Epsilon didn''t dare to look at master''s face, lowering her head in fear. "Sure." Master''s voice was unexpectedly gentle. Then the purple-blue magic was injected into Milia''s body and healed her. "I will leave her in your care." "O, okay!" Master gently touched Epsilon''s head, which was so warm that she would never forget the feeling of master''s palm for the rest of her life. Shadow disappeared into the darkness. "Amazing" "Master''s magic is formidable" Kai and Omega''s gaze followed Shadow with their mouth opened. "Hurry, take her back to Alexandria!!" Master helped to cure Emilia, but Epsilon was still worried about the residual effects of the experiment. It would take certain time for Milia to fully recover. Kai and Omega lifted Emilia, while Epsilon opened a way for them. Finally they disappeared deep into the forest. After a while, words came from the empty forest. "It''s not my fault the shot went awry." Petin. "Ouch." Then the forest fell into silence again. 193 Great Sacrifice for World Peace and Science Doem woke up with a dull pain coming from his head. "Uhh Where am I?" His surroundings were covered in darkness, and the only sound he could hear were the leaves and branches rustling in the wind. It seems he was in the forest. Doem sat up against a big stone. He had no idea how he ended up here. "You woke up." Doem heard a boy''s voice from above. This boy was looking down on him. Dark hair, dark eyes C an ordinary person you could find anywhere. Doem couldn''t feel his magic power. He could hear his voice and see his figure, but the boy blended into the darkness so well, that one would still doubt if he really existed. "You who are you" Doem tried to stand up, but his body felt heavy, and for some reason he couldn''t control his own magic power. "I know you, and you know me too. Try to recall." "Have I ever met you??" Doem remembered the faces of almost every person he ever met, even those he met only once. He certainly did see that black-haired boy somewhere. "You are You''re the one who sat next to Princess Iris in the Bushin Tournament." "Correct. Amazing." "You''re from the Midgar Kingdom this can cause an international issue." At that moment, Doem thought that this boy was just an ordinary person. He couldn''t possibly have the courage and strength to kidnap him. But maybe, the boy hid his strength and specifically targeted him. Maybe he created a detailed plan, and found an opportunity to kidnap him. "Who knows." The boy gave a cold smile. "Why are you doing this?" "Today a girl''s life was nearly unreasonably taken away. It''s a pity, don''t you think??" The black-haired boy looked down at Doem coldly. His eyes devoid of emotions. . Doem couldn''t move his body at all for some reason. "Are you doing this for revenge?" "No, no. I''m just asking." "Who knows? Maybe I do, maybe I don''t." "I do think she is pitiful." "Huh so?" "I have set some rules for myself for killing people. I followed them so far. One of them is that I will try my best not to kill anyone that I think is pitiful." "You''re really gentle." "I nearly broke this rule because of you. So, for the sake of world peace, I am going to kill you. If you really think about it, killing you is still a positive thing, considering the killing part, and positive reaction will come out of it. I don''t even really care about the world peace part." " what are you talking about?" Was this boy joking, or was he just stupid. Doem looked at the boy, not comprehending what he was really talking about. The boy''s stance didn''t change, he still stared at Doem with his cold, dark eyes. "You''re a bad guy. I can tell by your smell." Kunn kunn C the boy sniffed loudly as if he was playing in a drama. "Hah so stupid." "But that''s the reason you''re going to die." "Liar. I would be dead by now if you really were going to kill me. So, what are you doing this for? Money? Information?" "You''ve got a point. The reason I haven''t killed you yet is because you''re a prominent figure in Oriana Kingdom, so you should have some useful info." "Information try torture, maybe you will get some." "I''m not interested in torturing you, I might have done that if it were necessary, but you are going to tell me everything even if I don''t do that." The boy said that with complete confidence. He was determined to get the results, and he didn''t have any doubts that he would get them. Doem felt creeped out. Although the boy looked completely ordinary, his behavior and the words he said had indicated something extraordinary. For the first time, doem started to be afraid of that boy. "What are you talking about" "Your head hurts, your body can''t move, and you can''t control your magic power, right? Do you know why?" Just like he said, he couldn''t move at all, even though he wasn''t tied up, nor was he injured. He could neither escape or resist. He was gradually becoming more and more terrified by the minute. "Wha- What did you do to me?!" "I tried injecting my magic power directly into your brain, that''s all. Biribiri." The boy said as he gathered his blue-violet magic in both hands. "That''s why I thought. Wouldn''t you tell me everything if I injected some more magic power?" Patipati C magic in his hands let out small electrical sounds. It was the first time Doem ever saw such a high-quality magic. Such dense magic power was perfectly controlled in his hands. It was just like the magic from other dimensions, which caused Doem to shudder. "Plea- Please wait. This is torture! It''s definitely torture!!" "That''s rude. It''s an experiment. A scientific experiment. Thanks to your sacrifice, there is a chance that many people who are brain dead can be healed. If you try to resist, your brain might explode into pieces, so I would suggest staying quiet." The boy grabbed Doem''s head with his hands. "Now, here we go. For world peace and science." "S, sto-" "Biri biri." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "Help, ahhhhhhhhhh!!" Then Doem''s conciousness was dyed filled with blue-violet magic. After Doem''s disappearance, the Doem Faction''s army evacuated overnight. The Royalists Faction marched through the empty plains unhindered after Doem Faction''s retreat. The Doem Faction didn''t know where Doem was. The Royalists didn''t even know that he was gone, so they carefully thread forward looking out for traps and ambushes. But of course, nothing happened. In this way, the Royalists surrounded the capital of the Oriana Kingdom to lauch the final battle. In the end, no one could solve the mystery of Doem''s disappearance. 194 The Secret One Wants to Hide the Mos I injected my magic power into the subject''s C Doem''s body, and started performing a lobotomy on his brain based on my intuition and previous experience. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. I expect many secrets from you. But the results if my magic were "B- Butt Do- Doem wants his butt to be spanked pleaseC!" A man begging to be spanked by another man was revealed. Did I use too much magic power? Let''s try sending a bit more magic power into his frontal lobe. "Biribiri." "Oh my butt~~ I- I''m going to oh, oh~!!" "Ah It was too much." Like that, the memorable experimental subject fell silent. He died and gone to paradise. I couldn''t accept those results. Has the experiment failed C No. "Although it wasn''t the results I wanted, but I did learn his deepest secret. It could even be considered a success." Yes, that''s right, it was because I wanted to learn more about his most guarded secrets. That''s why he told me his biggest secret. "The experiment was successful, otherwise it would be very rude towards Doem." I learned a very important lesson from this experiment. The secret that people want to hide the most may not be the secret of their organization or work, but their own secret "I swear I will take your secret with me to the grave." I mourned silently for Doem who passed away happy. Then I destroyed his body with a short range atomic. "Fortunately I also learned something useful. At least my efforts paid off." In addition to learning about his fetish, Doem also told me some interesting news. Right, I should also tell Violet-san about it. "Hey, wake up, wake up." When I took Violet-san out of my pocket, she was still curled up and asleep. I''m surprised that a finger needs to sleep too. "I''ve got some interesting news. The man I just caught liked to be spa" Petinn. "Oh, right, my bad. I''ve actually obtained some secret information through some special methods." Pesipesi. "According to the information, in the Oriana Kingdom castle" With a meaningful smile on my face, I explained the information I got to her. 195 A Natural Phenomenon of Unknown Cause or A Paranormal Phenomenon At the Royal Castle of the Oriana Kingdom, Mordred was listening to the report from his subordinate. "Doem seems to have disappeared." "Y- Yes" A subordinate from the Cult of Diabolos stood before Mordred, whose snow-like white hair was swept back into a ponytail. His legs were trembling from nervousness "What happened?" "Ye- Yesterday at night we were attacked by what I think was a small number of enemies who probably belonged to the Shadow Garden." "You think?" "W-we couldn''t confirm their presences." "I understand. Now, what are the losses?" "We lost a lot of personnel. But we''ve already asked the Cult for reinforcements, so there is no problem." "The camp was easily invaded, and personnel were assassinated. If that''s not a problem, then my sense of value is quite different from yours. So, what about the damage on Shadow Garden''s side? You must have managed to kill at least one of them, right?" "W-well they escaped quickly from fear of our strength" "You mean ''they achieved their objective and withdrew quickly''." "Th-they escaped from fear of our strength. Th-that''s the conclusion from our field investigation." The color drained from the subordinate''s face. He was ordered to only ''report like this''. "That''s an interesting field investigation So, Doem was abducted by Shadow Garden?" "W-we don''t know" "You don''t know?" "Y-yes, After Shadow Garden escaped, Doem-sama took command of the scene. But then, he suddenly vanished." "Suddenly disappeared?" Mordred blinked suspiciously. "Y-yes. Right before our eyes, he just vanished. He disappeared." "Do you think people can suddenly disappear like that?" "N-no, I don''t" "Of course. I assume the field investigation has already been completed?" "Y-yes" "So?"" "So would you like to know the results of the investigation?" "Is there anything else to do?!? Am I the fool or are you the fool? Which one is it? Or perhaps, we think of each other as fools?!?" The subordinate, who was caught in Mordred''s angry glare, was dripping sweat like a waterfall. "N-n-no, never, absolutely not. Th-the investigation showed that there is a high possibility of it being the result of an ancient artifact or disturbance caused by demons or a natural phenomenon of unknown cause or a paranormal phenomenon or" Mordred frowned. ". Basically, you didn''t figure out anything?" "Y-yes N-no, no, no, this conclusion was drawn with great care while considering all possibilities. I-it covers all possibilities." "Of course. That was a very interesting investigation. As a reward, let me give you my opinion." "Mo-Mordred-sama''s opinion?" "The first attack on different personnel was a trap set by Shadow Garden." "Trap...?" "Yes. They turned our attention to the attack while one of them sneaked in and abducted Doem. The kidnapper must be an elite even within Shadow Garden. One of the Seven Shadows or maybe Shadow himself" "If so, the culprit is, once again, Shadow Garden" "Isn''t it obvious? There are also members of Shadow Garden who are proficient at disguise. The one who sneaked in must''ve been in disguise Could the perpetrator have disguised as Doem?" Mordred raised his head as if he just realised something. "The perpetrator disguised as Doem, and then vanished in front of everyone, making it look like a supernatural phenomenon. This way, no one would realise that Shadow Garden was the culprit." "N-no way b-but how can a person just vanish?" "There must be some sort of trick behind it I can''t be sure about this because I haven''t been to the scene. But it''s easier to disguise as Doem and vanish, than it would be to make Doem vanish. Don''t you think so too?" "Yes, that''s true" "Well, I don''t know for sure yet. But as a matter of fact, Doem disappeared and the capital city has been surrounded. Shadow Garden may have already sneaked in Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Mordred chuckled. "W-what should we do our plan will not proceed smoothly." "Well well Hasn''t this become more interesting than our plan? If Doem''s death should become known, more people from the Royalists Faction will gather." "Th-then we have to deal with it as quickly as possible" "Not necessary. Let them gather. Now that it''s come to this, we''ll end the Oriana Kingdom. Before that, we''d better dispose of all the rubbish here." "A-are you going to use ''that''?" Mordred just kept on smiling without saying a word. Then he cut off the subordinate''s head. Blood splashed everywhere as a headless body fell to the ground. "Shadow Garden C that power of yours, let me see it." 196 Battle of Darkness A young girl turned her gaze towards the far away gate of the capital. Her pink blond hair danced in the wind against the grey sky. That girl was the princess of Oriana Kingdom, Clara Oriana. "The capital has been surrounded by our army. Other lords who plead their loyalty to you are on their way. Once the army has assembled, we will launch a full-scale attack." Said a man in his forties standing behind Clara. "I express my gratitude for assembling the army, Marquis Grant.." Said Clara as she was gazing at the gate from afar.. "That''s all thanks to you your highness. They wouldn''t unite like this if it was only me." "Because of me" Clara whispered. "What are you worried about?" "I''m a royal in name only. I didn''t do anything and I know nothing" "Are you concerned about the mysterious organization that helped you escape from the Concentration Camp?" "It''s actually about my sister who can actually lead the Oriana Kingdom." "Rose-sama? It''s better not to mention her." "Why? Since the day my sister killed father, things have changed. Although everyone speaks ill of my sister, father was acting really weird. My sister must have known some inside stories." "Rose-sama killed your father the majesty. Whatever reason she had, this fact cannot be changed." "If we don''t know the reason behind all of this, then we can''t understand all the other things. Why did my father become so strange, why did my sister kill him, how did the Doem Faction gain so much power, why was I rescued from Concentration Camp, why did the army assemble so easily, how was the capital surrounded so easily without any large battles happening? There are so many questions, but we don''t have any answers, do we?" "Well" "Marquis Grant, don''t you think that this is some sort of grand scheme that someone has plotted against us ?" Marquis Grant looked up at the gray sky with a serious look. " Back when I was determined to go into politics, my grandfather gave me a word of warning. There is hidden darkness lurking in this world that we must avoid at all costs." He said in a low voice. "Darkness" "This darkness has been in existence for a long, long time. I don''t know what this darkness is or what it represents, and I''ve never gone out of my way to explore it, because I listened to my grandfather''s words. Though in the many years of working in politics, I''ve encountered this darkness several times, and the pressure it released was suffocating. Abnormal judgements, demotions, manipulations, missing family members, and eventually death by accidents, is the same fate for all of those who searched for the truth of the darkness." "What is the darkness then?" "I don''t know, but I''m scared. My colleague died the day after by a carriage accident. And his family members'' house was burned to the ground by some accidents, leaving no trace. I love my wife and children, so I pretended to know nothing." His tone was full of remorse. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "After Rose-sama killed the king, I felt a lot of pressure from the darkness as the event went on, the severity of which I have never felt before, so I went back to my territory to live in seclusion earlier than anyone." "But Marquis Grant assembled the army for me and came here in person." "There is not only one darkness, but two. One of which is the power behind Doem, while the other" Grant turned round, and so did Clara. However, there was only the grey sky stretching beyond the horizon. "I''m also a pawn. In the war between the two darkness, one of them made me move, and that''s about it. But a pawn also has its own ambitions. I still remember the mistakes I made in the past, and the death of friends and family" "Marquis Grant" Clara looked up at Grant who''s clenching his fist. "The only thing that can destroy the darkness is darkness itself, which will not appear in places where there is light." "In the distant past, it is said that only light can illuminate the darkness. I want to know all the truth of this world and the masterminds behind this war." Clara stared intensely at Marquis Grant. "The light I can bring is but too small." Marquis Grant smiled. "Your light has assembled the army. I heard that the division that was chosen by [Black Rose] is also included. Countless lights have gathered for you." "The so-called [Black Rose] is" "That is a group of young knights lead by Goldoh Kinmekki. If we cultivate the light from now on All darkness will be destroyed someday, the day might be far away, but we can still hope." Marquis Grant escorted Clara to their camp. "First we should strive for the best result on this stage that was prepared by others. There should be an answer ahead." "Yes my sister must be waiting for me there." Then they walked over side by side. 197 Forget to Close the Door Violet-san and I returned to the capital of the Oriana Kingdom. The capital was surrounded by the Royalists'' army. I''d heard that they would launch a full-scale attack tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. "So quiet" I talked to myself, walking on the empty street. Maybe because it''s nightbreak, there were no pedestrians on the street. However, there was no light coming from the houses by the roadside, which looked very unnatural. I couldn''t even hear any voices from the houses. " I can feel other people''s presence though" Surprisingly, I found the scent of blood in the air whilst walking down the street. "Well, the smell of blood is nothing unusual during the war." I thought. The snow on the street was dyed red by blood. Torn clothes were scattered around, fingers from dismembered bodies lying on the ground. I took out Violet-san from my pocket in panic. "I thought I dropped you." Shudder shudder C Violet-san trembled. "Well, it''s common to see fingers on the ground during the war." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Splash. I saw several footprints in the blood on the ground. I did a rough count of the footprints and there were more than a dozen. I was a little worried, so I followed the tracks. The footprints led me from the commoner district to a rich neighborhood. At this time. "Kyaaaaahh." I heard a scream coming from far away. I made a dash there and saw a noble manor. It was a three-storey mansion with a spacious garden, but there were bloody footprints scattered around. I kicked down the luxurious double gate and entered the mansion. "Oh, this is like a scene from a horror movie." The hall was filled with a sea of blood. Bodies were piled up on the ground. Blood dyed the luxurious murals and decorations. Unfortunately, everyone was dead. There must have been a very fierce battle here. I crossed the tides of blood and walked up to the second floor where the scream came from. I walked through the corridor spattered with blood and gave the door at the end a roundhouse kick. "Damn fuck off!" Two people were wrestling with each other. A man in a tailcoat sat on a woman, trying to bite her. The woman in a dress desperately resisted. What was going on? Isn''t choking the woman a faster way to kill her? I restrained my curiosity to ask this man why he wanted to bite the woman, and helped her in the way of a mob character. "Ge, ge, get away from her~~" Then I gave the man a mob kick. "Hmm?" What? The man didn''t flinch at all. Although it was just a kick with a power of a regular mob, I should have kicked at the right place. The man looked at me with bloodshot eyes. I kicked his face hard. Gutya. "Ahhhh" His body was weaker than I thought. His face cracked, flesh falling down. The woman covered in blood looked up at me. "Thank you for saving me." Surprisingly, she was very calm. She wiped off the man''s flesh on her face with the sheets, and then picked up the sword that fell to the ground, the hilt of which was engraved with the crest of Midgar Magic Swordsman Academy. "Wait Have I seen you somewhere before?" She lit an oil lamp so the room got light. "Are you Sid Kagenou-kun?" She looked at me and asked. "Emm, you should be Miss Mob?" "No." I gave her the runaround, but it didn''t work. "My name is Christina. We are classmates, don''t you remember?" "Of course I do. I''m just kidding." She looked somewhat familiar. I remembered that she belonged to the upper group of the class hierarchy C so of course I had never talked to her. She is a red-haired beauty with red eyes. "To think that you would tell jokes under such circumstances even though you don''t look like the type of person. Besides, you beat him with a single blow." Christina looked down at the dead man in tailcoat whose head had burst. "Not in a single blow C I kicked him twice or so. I don''t know why he is so fragile. Maybe he got osteoporosis." "What is osteoporosis Well, these guys are really strong, but they are surprisingly fragile.. Though I have to thank you, Sid-kun. I was in quite a dangerous situation there, as my sword had fallen to the ground." Christina smiled. "I heard your scream when I passed by, so I came up to see what happened." "You heard my scream?" Christina''s face fell. "Yes, I did." "Gosh those guys will come rushing because of the scream." "Who are those guys?" "Like this guy at your feet." Christina pointed to the dead man in tailcoat whose head had burst, but I couldn''t understand what she meant, so I just looked at her with my head tilted to one side. "You know nothing?" "I felt a little uncomfortable when traveling, so I have been sleeping in the hotel recently." I gave myself a completely normal setting not out of character. "Traveling during this period Anyway, now there is no time." Christina put on a coat covering her dress. "Well" I pretended to be a panic passerby who didn''t know anything. In fact, I really did know nothing. "If those guys hear screams, they will come altogether. They are monsters." "Mon, monster!?" What an exciting situation. Then I suddenly remembered something really important. "Ah, I broke the door and left it open." " What?" Christina''s face was twitching. Roars that didn''t belong to humans burst out from downstairs. 198 It’s All The Americans’ Faul Christina and I rushed to the corridor in panic, only to find people covered in blood. Their faces were bloodlessly pale, as if they had been dead for a long time. I realized they were zombies. "Close the door!" I grabbed Christina''s hand and quickly ran back to the room, slamming the door shut. Now we''re safe C fortunately, zombies can''t open the door. "Fu fu fu", I had been thinking about countermeasures in the previous world for this kind of epidemic, so I''m familiar with this situation.. "Help me! Move the furniture over to block the doorway." "Ehhh, zombies can''t open the door" Gacha. (sfx: door unlocking) I looked back after hearing the sound of the lock and saw a zombie''s face through the crack between the door and its frame. "Kiya!" I gave the zombie a roundhouse kick to send its face flying. Then I quickly closed the door and grabbed the doorknob hard. "Quick! Get the furniture!" How could zombies open the door? ! Christina moved the furniture in the room to form a barrier before the door. The doorknob was also hard blocked by the furniture. I can rest assured Crack! "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh? I can''t believe it. A zombie stretched its hand through the crack between the door and its frame. "Oh no, it appears that the furniture won''t hold for long." Destroying doors is against the zombies'' rules! "No no no, why, how could it be?" (Sid) "You shouldn''t be surprised. They are stronger and faster than normal humans. They also retain some fragments of their memory from when they were still alive." (Christina) "What" (Sid) I finally noticed that. They were not regular zombies, but super zombies. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Let me explain what super zombies are. Mob zombies were undead, but they were slow and mentally retarded, so they were just small fries. But if they were just that, Americans would have wiped them out with machine guns and rocket launchers. Just like the Samurai Warriors series. So super zombies, the enhanced version of zombies, appeared. They are both agile and powerful, and can even attack the US military as groups with the help of their own bits and pieces of human intelligence. As a result, the US military, even with their machine guns and rocket launchers, encountered much trouble with these super zombies. Eventually, even the American soldiers evolved and got some new abilities. "Wh, why" (Sid) "The Doem Faction is to be blamed for this. They gave candies to the citizens claiming they are "pray for victory" candies. People who ate the candy became like this the next day." "Have you eaten any?" "I only eat candies produced by the Mitsugoshi Company. ''Special Beauty Drop DX which shows inside glamour of women in battles'', 10,000 Zeny per." "I see. Special Beauty." The original price is only 10 Zeny. "Those super zombies are very strong. Once caught by them, even elite magic-swordsmen can''t escape. If they surround us, we will be finished." As we were talking, the pounding against the door got louder, and the crack got larger. There were at least 30 zombies outside. What could a mob characters do under this situation? Shouting "No, help me, ahhhhhhhhhhh" while running away by himself? There must be something else I could do before running away? Anyway, if we stayed here, we would die like mob characters. "We''d better escape quickly." (Sid) "Exactly Then our destination is the Oriana branch of Mitsugoshi Company." (Christina) "Mitsugoshi Company? Why?" "It is said that Mitsugoshi Company are protecting urban residents, but I''m not sure whether it''s true. Maybe the residents have all been killed." "But we have no other choice." "Yes." Mitsugoshi Company should be fine. But depending on the situation, once the anti-Doem Faction broke into the capital, death would be unavoidable. It was obvious that people would get infected once bitten by the zombies. "The number of Zombies outside the window seems to be decreasing. Let''s jump out." Christina looked back at me and asked as she stepped on the windowsill. "Sid-kun is currently in the Royal Capital Bushin Style Group 7th class?" "I''m in the 6th class." "6th class but your kicking techniques are excellent, so you will definitely move up a class soon." Christina''s face darkened at first, but she instantly gave me a smile while trying to gloss over it. Well, the Royal Capital Bushin Style Group 6th class is still at the bottom of the bunch, so it''s unavoidable that she was feeling pessimistic. "I''m in 2nd class, so let me carve a way." It took her only a year to get to the 2nd class C she''s awesome. She didn''t look like a mob character. Following Christina, I jumped out the window. 199 Mysterious Architect Eta Lloyd Wrigh As we landed, we heard the sound of the door breaking down overhead. "Run with all you have! If you strengthen your body while running, they won''t be able to catch up to you." (Christina) Since I would become a literal meteor if I ran too fast, I dashed after Christina at a Mob Swordsman-level speed. She increased her speed with her smooth magic control. "Come on, zombies will overrun us soon. We will be finished if we stop." Christina told me as she swung her sword to kill zombies in front of us. "U-understood" Sound of zombies running could be heard from behind us. They were extremely fast, comparable to hounds running at full speed. Ordinary people would have zero chance of escaping if they meet these zombies. Unfortunately, there were no Americans in this world. Ah, but there were swordsmen. "Straight along this road!" "Ha ha" I didn''t forget to pant heavily like a true mob character. All the zombies ahead were killed by Christina. Thank you, Miss Mob! "There!" For some reason, at the end of the street, a modern Japanese-styled building stood, like it was brought from another world. It was Mitsugoshi Company, no doubt. The architectural style was the exact same as what I''ve seen in my previous world. Why was there a Japanese-styled building in such a country? The building style does not fit this world no matter how much you think about it. "No matter how many times I see it, I can''t help but marvel at its beauty! Its architectural style blends perfectly with the monotonous street! The architecture goes beyond the times! The style is so different from traditional architecture and yet, gives off the feeling of having a never-ending history behind it! Let''s propose a toast to Eta Lloyd Wright, the genius architect, whose work won unanimous first place in last year''s Architecture of the Year!" "Ehhhh?!" After hearing Christina''s praise for a modern Japanese Department Store, I accidentally made a strange noise. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Why? How is this building amazing? Isn''t this cultural blasphemy on the level of adding mayonnaise in chilled Chinese noodles? (Editor''s joke: It''s like adding pineapple on pizza, don''t kill me for this) Although I couldn''t agree at all, we arrived at the Mitsugoshi Company anyways. "No, it''s locked." (Christina) "Then break it." (Sid) As I drew my sword, Christina''s facial expression suddenly changed. "I won''t let you do that!" She held out her arms before me as if to protect the door and glared at me. "It is told that even if the Royal Palace is destroyed, the Mitsugoshi Company Oriana branch should be protected at all costs. I won''t let you lay a finger on it!" "No no no, think about our situation!?" Countless zombies were chasing after us at full speed! "Sid-kun, don''t you know how beautiful and detailed this door is?" "I have zero idea!" No matter how I look, it''s just a door. "Then let me tell you, this door" Christina killed a zombie behind me before she finished her words. "Such delicate and beautiful decoration" And so, she continued while killing many more zombies. "The nuisance is busy now. Let''s destroy it." While Christina was busy dealing with zombies, I injected magic into my sword. "Noooooooooooo!!" I ignored her despairing cry that sounded like her lover was being killed. Eta Lloyd Wright must be Eta. If I grab her by the neck, she will make even 10 or 20 doors like that. And then The door opened with a rattling sound. "Don''t break down the door! Come in! Quick!" A man''s voice came from inside. I grabbed Christina by the neck and ran into the building. 200 The Only Food Left Is DX "Close the door!" As we just got in, the bald ossan (uncle) immediately closed the door and locked it. Bang! Bang! Bang! Although zombies outside kept pounding on the door, the door didn''t shake much. "As expected, Mitsugoshi Company''s door is really sturdy." "That''s because of its special material which even magic swordsmen can''t destroy." The bald ossan explained. "Good grief! The smell is disgusting. Don''t open the door again. I''m swordsman Margari, a mercenary. What about you guys?" "I''m Christina, and this is Sid-kun. We are students of the Midgar Magic Swordsman Academy." "What business do students from the Midgar Kingdom have with the Oriana Kingdom?" "My mother''s hometown is in Oriana Kingdom. And Sid is traveling." "Traveling during this period" "Ha ha" I gave a forced smile trying to gloss over. "I''ve heard that the Mitsugoshi Company is protecting the neighbourhood." Christina looked around. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. There were dozens of residents around, but it seemed that none of them were Mitsugoshi Company''s employee. "They had escaped with most residents last night. The building was empty when we arrived here." "We are late" "Bad luck through and through, now we have to find a way to survive by ourselves." "We may be able to count on the Anti Doem Faction to rescue us." "Of course it will be good if they can come here, however" Margari sighed. "Have you seen it? Have you seen how many people in the city have become zombies? They certainly outnumber the soldiers outside." "Yes." "If the soldiers outside know about the situation in the city, they will never come in. So we are confined to this building, and can only wait for the zombies outside to starve to death. This building is but a trap that will spell the end for us all." Christina''s face fell. I thought that Margari''s consideration was a realistic and calm judgement of the current situation. "In other words, we''ll either have to wait for the zombies to starve to death, or to escape the city yourself without waiting for any outside help. " -Sid "Yes. Some people believe that the rescue team will arrive soon, but I don''t have any hope for it." -Margari As a mercenary, Margari made a realistic judgment. "The problems we currently have are certainly piled up. Anyway, it''s great that you can become combat forces. If anything happens, we can fight together." "Are us three the only swordsmen here?" "Seems so, we are the only ones that have combat experience. The rest has never even touched a sword before." "So we must protect everyone here!" Christina said firmly. "I understand. But even so, we can only do our best." "Yes." "For the time being, we''d prepare ourselves for staying trapped here for a long time. I will take the command." "Understood." "Do you know what are the necessities for surviving?" "Water, food and firewood." "Correct. For water, we''ll just need to wait for the snow to melt. We have enough firewood for the time being. But food" "Tha.. tha.. That''s why I was against letting them in the building before!" Before Margari finished his words, a resident shouted. "There is not enough food! They should have been killed by zombies." "We won''t share food with you!" "Yes! Yes! This is our food!" Several residents shouted, and others gazed at us hostilely. "They are students of the Midgar Magic Swordsman Academy. Only the three of us can protect you!" Margari intimidated in low voice. "Urgh" As expected of a mercenary, he had a big impact on regular people Residents bowed their heads obediently. "Sorry, these guys only think for themselves." "This is normal, don''t sweat it." "I think you guys have a rough idea by now. Food is a problem for us." "Aren''t there food left from the Mitsugoshi Company?" "All valuable products were taken away by the employees of the Mitsugoshi Company." "Well, how many days do we have left until the food runs out?" "I''m not sure. Look, there is a little." Margari opened a large box in the centre guarded by the residents. Surrounding residents shot them unfriendly glances. "These, these are" The box was filled with luxuriously wrapped candies. "Special Beauty Drop DX?!" Seeing the pile of 10,000 Zeny candies, Christina shouted. The fact that these candies were left here proved that they may actually be worth only 10 Zeny each. I looked at excited Christina with sympathy, and turned my gaze on other products left by Mitsugoshi Company. 201 Fraudulent Company Most of the rest were clothes and furniture As expected, the cheap items were left behind. Paintings and precious metals were taken away. Also there seemed to be a pamphlet for financial products. Were these Mitsugoshi Bank''s advertisements? "Hmm..." I had a strange feeling, so I opened the pamphlet. "Super-excellent products that completely guarantee your capital! ! We will pay you profits 3% of the funds every month! ! And the annual interest rate can reach 36%! !" "Isn''t it a scam?!" I couldn''t help but want to tear the pamphlet apart. When I cultivated in the previous world, I also learned about investment in general. After all, [Powers in the Shadows] was inseparable from the materialistic world. Anyone who knows a little about economy will chuckle at the words "guaranteed capitals", monthly profits will make them laugh out loud and they will spew tea out of their noses when hearing the annual interest rate can reach 36%. But for those who don''t have no knowledge of finance, these are some interesting deals. People knowing little about finance tended to feel reassured about so-called completely guaranteed capital, while the monthly profits could make them feel relieved, and then they would be dazzled by the annual interest rate of 36%. These advertisements feed on their unease and insecurity, and fanning the flames of their desire for easy cash. This kind of scam was based on such psychological tactics. "This is a typical Ponzi scheme" Let me explain C the so-called Ponzi scheme is a super famous fraudulent investing scam!! It pays profits to investors every month with funds received from them. For example, an investor invested 1 million Zeny, and got 30,000 Zeny as returns every month. After one year, he can get 1.36 million Zeny totally including the original 1 million Zeny. If you invest 10 million Zeny, you can get 300 thousand Zeny every month, which meets the living standards of common civilians. Of course, you can withdraw your capital anytime. (The scammer won''t tell you the capital can be withdrawn though) By the way, a stable annual interest rate of 36% is impossible even for the top investors. The scammer will not use the capital to generate profits. He will only cut parts of the capital and give it back to investors as profits. Of course, if this goes on, the scheme will end in failure someday. However, the Ponzi scheme is an extremely effective scam that can make a lot of money in a short period of time. There are three reasons. First, the scheme is easy to gain trust. The profits of the Ponzi scheme is paid monthly at the beginning. Once investors get a few months of profits, they will feel reassured. This is a really cheap trust gained by just returning a few percent of investment money. Second, investors will help contribute new funds. In fact, after trusting that they get profits monthly, investors will just invest more to make more money. Initially they invested 1 million Zeny, and then it would increase to 2 million, 4 million, and 8 million. Gradually investors will have the desire to live only by profits. They will borrow money to invest more, or persuade relatives and friends to invest, that is to say, investors themselves have become advertising towers to help raise funds. Third, it is not easy to be exposed. The Ponzi scheme will not be considered as a scam during the period when profits are paid monthly. This scam can last from months to years. The scammer uses investors'' money to enjoy wild merrymaking while waiting for investors to raise more funds. Then, once the scammer finds that he can no longer raise more funds, he will run away with huge sums of money. It would not be until then that investors realized that it was a scam. This is an efficient scam that makes all gears fit perfectly by manipulating the psychology of investors. "No, no, why should the Mitsugoshi Company do this?" Although the Ponzi scheme is a very efficient scam, it has a disadvantage. That is, it will inevitably fail one day. So the scammer must make preparations for escape before the scam fails. If the scam was set up by only one, then he could run away anyway, but the Mitsugoshi Company had no chance to escape, so it just went bankrupt. The risk was too high. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. "No, but is it actually possible to achieve an annual interest rate of 36% in this world?" If it was in the previous world, it was absolutely impossible, but in this world it might be true. If you searched, there must be a number of deceiving investment cases. In any case, they must intend to take full advantage of the knowledge copied from me in the previous world. I felt that it was entirely possible to do this. "Ah, it''s written that the investment period is up to 3 years." In this case, did the company seriously intend to operate at a 36% annual profit? The Mitsugoshi Company expanded its business at an amazing rate. They probably put most of their profits into the expansion of their careers. "Is that to say these goods are used to recover funds?" Because nowadays, money was needed anyway, so we collected money from customers, and then continued to increase our business through credit creation. "Are they trying to conquer the world?" If you didn''t stop it, Mitsugoshi Company might actually become a monopoly here. But in this way, can it still be called a super good product um. "Are there any better advertisements in this pile?" I flipped through those pamphlets. "What the This insurance has no compound interest This annual profit is only available in the first year The pension here is collected from the age of 55 The average life expectancy in this world is only 65 years old. Okay" Goods filled with digital magic were displayed there. But even so, these were much better than those financial products of the previous world. The legal scams recommended by banks and insurance companies No, it should be called a rip-off No, it is necessary to pay more attention to goods bought for a sense of security and safety at a very high price. "Wait this pension is a lifelong system." The so-called life-long pension, as the name suggests, is a pension that can be paid every month until the policy holder dies. Although the average life expectancy of this world is 65 years old, I planned to live for 500 years with the help of mana "Well Is this not an overwhelming victory?" I had come across the best lifetime pension here. "That''s it! Every month, you can get 1 million Zeny until death oh?" On the side of the pamphlet there was a word smaller than the rice grain. "*Except for magic swordsmen" I tore the pamphlet and threw it away. "There is absolutely no serious product" If considered in this way, the 36% annual interest rate might also be used to attract customers. After all, people in this world knew nothing about financial products such as investment, insurance, and pensions. Sweet baits were used to lure people in the first three years. After that, it came to the main event. "It''s really treacherous" I suddenly thought that if the Ponzi scheme was implemented in this world, it would be a great success But wait. Now I should concentrate on the zombie incident at first. And according to Doem''s last words, I also have the capital of Oriana Kingdom issue to care about. "But it''s really unbelievable that there is almost no food left." Only the special beauty drop DX was left. Most foods were at very low cost and could barely avoid being spoilt, so there should have been more food left. "There are reasons for having no food life." Margari-san answered my question. 202 Seems Like Never Coming Back "Why is there no food left?" Mr. Margari answered my question with a bitter face. "Blame it on the group of nobles. Even though we were here first, while we were busy fortifying the building, they just went and monopolized the food." "Alas..." It felt like the end of the world. "So that''s why when we were seeking refugee, they didn''t want to open the door for us." Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Mr. Margari nodded. "Where are those nobles now?" "On the upper floor. But there are guards, we can''t do anything." "They just think about saving themselves. Scums." "Yes, unfortunately`" I also agreed. "But why did they leave the special beauty drop DX?" "Because the candy tastes terrible." Taste terrible huh. I should give it a try. "Rude. It has a healthy taste." "Wow, it''s terrible." I spat out the candy. I had thought that there would be such a thing, so I just fetched a few candies in advance. "This is a personal insult. Spd DX is not terrible. It has a noble taste that can only be understood by the God chosen talents ." A complete set of fairy tale tricks of the Emperor''s New Clothes. "Does it mean it requires an artistic delicacy to savour?" "Sid-kun, I see you finally realize how good the candy tastes ." Christina picked up the candy I spat and said, "It''s still edible if we wash it." "at least it is precious food." "What should we do with the food problem?" "You are also noblemen, aren''t you? Can you talk to the people above to spare some food over?" "I am just a poor baron from Midgar Kingdom." "I should''ve guessed it. I had no expectations on you since the beginning. Don''t worry." I trembled to the excitement. This was music to the ears for a mob character. "But this lady is different. I know it straight away." Christina had a disposition of a noble protagonist from the top down. "I was born in a Grant family of Midgar Kingdom Do you know which noble is above us right now?" "If I remember correctlyit is the Grant Ijiruwa''s family." "Sorry" Christina immediately apologized. "Do I take your apology as that it is difficult to negotiate?" "No, I came to Oriana Kingdom for a different reason." "Exactly, what reasons do you have to come to the Oriana during these times?" I asked while letting go my own worry. "An acquaintance in Oriana Kingdom proposed a marriage request to my family." "During this period?" "It seems that they want to get things done before the war officially starts." In short, they wanted money. "I am the fourth daughter in my house.I''ve got close contact with the Grant Ijiruwa Family in Oriana Kingdom thanks to the marriage request. Well, it would not be a bad thing if it had developed smoothly." "It seems that it didn''t develop smoothly." "Yes. Although the marriage is settled, I am involved in this problem. My family have successfully escaped, fortunately enough." "So, is that to say Christina''s fianc is Grant Ijiruwa?" "That''s it" "The Grant family also have their own problems." "I am the fourth daughter, so I have already resolved myself that I couldn''t choose my own partner.. As long as he is not a bad person is enough." "However, that gentleman is greedily swallowing food by himself above." "He definitely is not a bad person, there must be some reasons why he is acting this way! If only I can say like this" Chris "I don''t think you want to say this, I can basically see everyone''s anger." Sid From the surrounding civilians, I felt their murderous sights. "Hold it. Grant Ijiruwa cares about me. I think I can negotiate." "That''s great. In fact, when I saw you, I knew you are a beautiful woman. Remember to get some more food." "Fufufu, thank you. All thanks to the special beauty drop DX." "That''s right" "Then, I will go negotiate." Christina stepped on the ladder. "So, do you think she will come back?" I tried to ask Mr. Margari. "Who knows. We can only believe in the conscience of that lady." "She is a marquis daughter." It would be better to say that hernot coming back was the set pattern. "If only the lady is fascinated in you, boy, then maybe" "That''s impossible. But just in case, I took an extra measure." "What kind of measure?" "I called her a beautiful woman." "That''s it?" "That''s it." "...Well." We looked up at the ladder without words. After a while "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!" It was Christina''s screaming .