"That was an insane final move, Alice!", Jade exclaimed and smacked her friend in the back almost making Alice spill her drink.
"Whoa! Careful Jade.", she put her glass on one of the tables and grinned.
"I know right? I managed to crack Seventeen's armor."
"That was painful, Alice.", Seventeen chuckled as he drank his apple wine. It didn't actually cause him pain but he had to say something. Also, he had gotten a flood of warning messages from his monitoring system after that attack.
"I am glad that you did that. He needs a good smack once in a while.", Ruth remarked as she created ice for her fruit cocktail.
Seventeen sighed, "And here I thought you would be worried about me.", a small chunk of ice smacked his forehead, "Ow."
"Oh shut it.", Ruth said, a bit flustered.
"Now now Ruth. Don't go chucking ice at your friends. Aeva ice is expensive.", Zephyrus said as he wiped a glass.
"And unmeltable. Thanks for melting them off us.", Alice told Seventeen.
He grinned, "Happy to help."
After the battle, the Cardinal agreed to the barbeque party. While the students were out setting up the grill and bringing stuff from the dorm through the warp gate, the instructors and captains relaxed at the small bar in Zephyrus's beach house.
The friendship between Seventeen and the captains has grown after the battle. Zephyrus is glad to see the android making new friends.
They have one more person with them.
"I am surprised to see a new student in Special Class A and that too, a member of the mysterious Dracule family.", Jade said and looked at Vanessa.
She bowed, "It is an honor to meet vampire royalty."
Vanessa nodded back, "You flatter me, Lady Aria. But I am no longer a royal. You don't have to be so formal with me."
Alice looked confused, "But aren't the Aria and Stelian Families also royalty? You guys are Arken Families."
Jade nodded, "Yes. We are like the royal families of Arken. But the Dracules are the royal family of all vampires."
"If they are that important among vampires, how come we've never heard of them?", this question was asked by Ruth as she took a glance at Vanessa who was suddenly interested in her glass.
"Even I am mystified by that.", Jade replied, "They disappeared 3000 years ago and there are no records about them. The only thing I ever found was a small passage speaking about the great Dracules."
"They have been forgotten from the minds of almost every vampire over time. The only ones who remember they existed are my family and the Stelians."
"And yet, we have a member of that family sitting with us.", Alice looked at Vanessa, "Are you the last living member of the Dracules?", she asked.
The vampire smiled sadly, "Indeed I am. My family is long gone."
"I am sorry to hear that. Losing a loved one is hard."
Vanessa smiled, "As long as they remain in our memories, they are never truly gone."
Alice smiled back, "True. I would like to know more about the Dracules."
"Same here.", Jade raised a hand.
"We can have the Headmaster arrange that. Right?", Vanessa smiled sweetly at the Cardinal. He chuckled nervously, carefully choosing his words, "Sure. Why not?"
"Thank you!"
She then looked at Seventeen, 'It seems we have an uninvited guest on the island.', she spoke in his mind.
Seventeen just smiled, 'Telekinesis huh? I'm not surprised.'
'Yeah. We do have someone prowling around.'
He found it difficult to pinpoint the presence. It seems like this person is decked out in some heavy enchantments. Plus the remnant magia from their battle is still lingering.
'Probably a Shadow?', he wondered.
Seventeen is having a bad feeling about this.
*******
Vesta looked troubled.
She was helping the others set up the grill when she suddenly perked up as if shocked.
"Are you alright, Vesta?", Minerva asked. The Shadow turned to her and smiled, "I'm fine, Minerva. I thought I felt my Vesta sense tingling."
"Vesta sense?", Claire looked confused and turned to Minerva.
"It's kind of like a danger sense for her. She's very sensitive regarding that. But there were times when her tingling saved our skins in the past.", she replied.
"Ah.", the young Dragnia understood, "It was probably the remnant magia of the battle.", she suggested.
"You may be right.", Vesta agreed and continued her work while humming.
"Your tinglings are never wrong.", Arthur said quietly as he came beside her, holding a basket full of sauces in one hand and another full of fruits.
Vesta looked at the others and noticed they were busy, nodded, "The presence is similar to mine. We Shadows have a unique presence."
"But there are supposed to be only ten Shadows on this island, including me. We have an eleventh unknown Shadow."
"And I can feel the brand of a traitor on them."
Arthur understood the implications, and a cold lump formed in his stomach, "A Rogue Shadow."
When a shadow becomes rogue and breaks the contract they made with the Shadow Sect, the branding of a traitor will be burned on their skin and will act as a marker for nearby Shadows to identify and eliminate the rogue.
Vesta nodded, "And an experienced one to boot. Must be in the business for a long time."
She stood up, "I must confront him for your safety and to fulfill one of my duties as a Shadow. To eliminate those who betray the Sect."
He nodded, "Very well. Please be careful."
"You too. We don't know what will happen. So please be safe. Promise me."
"I promise."
Vesta smiled and with a nod, sprinted toward the woods. "Where is she off to?", Damien asked.
"Oh. To do Shadow stuff.", Arthur answered nonchalantly and held out a basket to him, "Help me out, Sparky. Fruits are heavy."
Damien took the basket with a grunt and went to help Ray and Flare who are bringing out the grill, "You two better not melt that thing!"
Arthur looked back at the woods. His recent vision of the future flashed across his mind.
"Surely. It can't be."
*******
"Just where is the slippery bastard?", Vesta muttered as she flitted between the shadows of the trees.
She knows that the rogue Shadow is somewhere on the island, she just can't pinpoint their location.
They have used the magia emitted by the battle as a convenient smokescreen to mask their presence.
'Very clever.', Vesta thought. She shouldn't underestimate this opponent.
She suddenly stopped when she felt the familiar presence of three others like her. 'Looks like I am not the only one.', she thought.
Three figures rose from the shadows around her. They are the Shadows of Gray, Robin, and Rhea.
Like Vesta, they also wore black clothes of differing styles.
"I am surprised that you guys left the sides of your charges.", She remarked.
"Do not be mistaken, Fire Dancer. I will be returning to miss Aria.", Gray's Shadow, the red-headed Elise said.
"And I will be coming with you.", Gelair, the elven Shadow of Robin crossed his arms.
"What about Robin?"
Gelair nodded at the second elven Shadow with him, "Aliza will look over him along with Rhea. She is pretty good at protecting multiple people."
"Why are you helping me? I have good reason to believe that this rogue Shadow was sent by the Night branch family.", Vesta raised her eyebrows.
"You will need help. The rogue Shadow you are after was a senior of mine and he's really dangerous. Of course, you will be able to take him on but it will be a very difficult fight. You may recognize the name many people call him."
Gelair paused before speaking, "The Predator."
Vesta's eyes widened, "So it's that guy. I'll definitely need your help."
The Predator is a powerful one. If the branch family hired him, things are not looking good for Arthur.
'Those damn snakes!', she cursed.
Elise and Aliza nodded and melted back into the shadows.
"Let's hunt a predator, shall we?", Vesta looked at her new partner.
Gelair nodded.
They ran toward a huge tree and jumped into its shadow.
*******
Things are not going well for the rogue Shadow called Predator.
He is on an island with a Cardinal, two captains, two powerful instructors, and ten prominent Shadows from the Sect.
And two of them, Fire Dancer Vesta and Swift Sword Gelair are on his tail.
He is confident in his skills. But fighting two powerful Shadows at the same time while trying to hide from a group of the strongest Cardinal Knights in Arken?
Nerve-wracking.
"Oh boy.", he leaned against a tree, the reality of his mission hitting him like a sledgehammer.
"Those elders from the branch family better hold up their end of the deal.", he muttered and looked behind. He has to get rid of the ones chasing him.
*******
About half of the remnant magia from the battle has dissipated.
Leonard Zephyrus spoke up about the thing in everyone's mind at the moment. He too had sensed something odd.
"What is a rogue Shadow doing on my island?"
Jade looked at Alice, "A spy? Or maybe-"
"An assassin.", the Night Family Head finished, her face pale.
The others knew what it meant. It is no secret that the Night branch family wants Arthur gone just for the sole reason of existing.
Even Vanessa who is not aware of the internal conflict in the Night Family, understood, "Oh. This is bad."
Alice stood up and proceeded to the door. Jade, Seventeen, and Ruth followed her.
"We'll come with you. He is our student.", Seventeen said and Ruth nodded.
"And I can't leave a friend behind when she is in a pickle.", Jade crossed her arms.
Alice smiled, "Thank you, guys."
Seventeen turned to Zephyrus and Vaness, "Please keep the others safe."
"Don't worry Seventeen. I'll make sure of that.", the Cardinal said and Vanessa nodded.
With that sorted the four of them went out the door. Night had fallen and the full moon bathed everything in its ethereal light. The stars were hidden by the moon's brilliance and the ring around the planet glowed like a massive arch across the sky.
Seventeen turned to Alice and Ruth, "You two go to the beach and see if Arthur is there.", he instructed. They nodded and ran to the beach.
He then turned to Jade, "We'll go after the rogue Shadow. Have you recovered enough for another fight?"
Jade grinned, her hair shining in the moonlight, "Of course. Let's get hunting."
She took out her sword from the storage ring and Seventeen materialized two daggers with his gloves. He didn't take out Nyx as the limiter had been destroyed.
Plus, it would seem that Alice will be questioning the person. A prisoner screaming in excruciating pain would mess up the interrogation.
With sonic booms, they dashed into the woods.
Seventeen sensed two other presences in the woods along with the faint one of the rogue Shadow. They were Vesta and Gelair, Robin's Shadow. It appears that they too are in pursuit.
But Seventeen frowned when he noticed a glaring problem.
"Why are they going in the wrong direction?"
Suddenly he couldn't detect their presence anymore. It was so abrupt that it was as if they disappeared into thin air.
"Wait. What?"
*******
"DAMNIT!", Vesta slammed a flaming fist against the barrier which pulsed violently at the impact zone but there was barely a scratch.
They were chasing the rogue Shadow using his presence when the magia barrier suddenly enveloped them.
Gelair placed a hand on the surface of the barrier and inspected it. As Shadows, they are given extensive knowledge about the different types of magia barriers used and ways to dispel them.
He frowned and took out his sword, the blade is green-tinted and the hilt was ornate. He channeled Air magia on the sword and used a powerful jab on the barrier.
The impact rippled across the barrier surface and the ripples eventually disappeared into the ground.
"Hmmm.", he put his sword back into the storage ring.
"The force is distributed across the barrier and it is finally released into the ground.", Vesta noted. She took out her dagger and ignited them.
Then she dealt a powerful blow. Like Gelair's attack, the barrier rippled and eventually, the force of the attack dissipated into the ground.
"And it looks like the strength of the barrier is slightly stronger than the ones inside it. Plus it is only single use.", the elven Shadow crossed his arms, "It's a clever enchantment. And expensive. No way a rogue Shadow like Predator bought it with his own money."
"His employers must've provided him with it.", Vesta said and thought about it. The branch family wouldn't mind spending money if they are sure of the results.
And Vesta is pretty sure the Predator is even capable of releasing his presence far away from him to confuse his pursuers. They've been following the wrong presence.
'No use thinking about what happened. So how do we escape this barrier?', she thought and looked around.
She noticed that the ground around the barrier looks disturbed.
"That's it!", she clapped her hands, "Let's attack the barrier continuously. The force of the attacks is transferred to the ground."
Gelair understood where she was going, "With enough force, we'll be able to break through the ground and escape. The barrier will also be destabilized."
With that, they started attacking the barrier with physical and magia attacks. First Vesta would attack, then she falls back and rests while Gelair attacked.
And it was working. Small cracks formed on the ground. Soon they will be able to escape.
'Please, Arthur. Please be safe.', Vesta thought desperately as she struck the barrier.
*******
Arthur almost spilled the bag of charcoal on the sand. He looked back at the woods.
'Oh no. Vesta!', he thought.
He had memorized her presence and when it abruptly disappeared, he panicked.
"Are you alright, Arthur?", Gray asked Arthur as she came to him. He calmed himself down and smiled at her.
"I'm fine Gray.", he handed her the bag of charcoal and turned to the woods, "Please take them to Ray. I wanna check out something in the woods."
"Arthur, wait!", Gray called out but her friend had already sprinted into the woods.
Thinking about what just happened and worried about Arthur, she carried the heavy bag with no difficulty to the place where they are setting up the barbeque.
"Hey Gray!", Minerva waved at her and then frowned when she saw the charcoal. "Did Arthur dump that bag of charcoal that he was supposed to bring on you?"
"It's fine, Minerva. He had to do something and ran off into the woods.", Gray shook her head.
"Ran off to the woods? That is odd."
"I am worried about him.", Gray said.
Minerva smiled, "Ah he'll be fine. He's a tough and sharp guy."
They were about to ignite the grill when Alice and Ruth ran to them, "Guys! Where's Arthur?"
"He ran off into the woods.". Minerva replied, confused, "Did something happen?"
"The woods.", Alice said and quickly looked back, "I can barely feel his presence, the remnant magia is making it difficult."
"We should go.", Ruth said. She can also barely feel his presence and was about to go when something stopped her dead in her tracks.
A gasp from Alice made her turn around. The shock was written all over her face.
"No. Arthur!"
She cannot detect his presence anymore. Either he is trapped in a powerful barrier or he is dead.
Alice fears the worst.
Just as the two of them were about to enter the woods a powerful presence descended on them, almost bringing them to their knees.
Alice suddenly grabbed her head and screamed in pain just as an ear-shattering sound shook the air and ground. It was a mix of a primal roar and a human scream.
A pillar of magia and blue flames erupted from the woods and lit up the sky.
*******
Far away, in the city of Crystalis, in a tavern, a white-haired young man paused his drink and put down the glass.
"So.", Eravon Lock smiled, "He decided to wake up."
Further north, deep in a mountain range of the continent of Arumia, a tall figure emerged from a cave. He slammed a staff on the ground, shaking the mountain he is in.
"This is a familiar feeling.", he remarked.
On the vast plains near the border between Elveria and Crystalia, a young woman wearing a huge witch hat looked in the direction of Zephyrus's island, a smile forming on her lips.
"Looks like something fun is happening.", she tilted her head and vanished with a pop.
On an island to the south of Arken, Akira Nova squinted her eyes and saw the faint glow of a pillar of a magia and blue fire rising to the heavens.
"Wow, bloodsucker. You were right.", her tail swished with excitement.
Underground in Ethereos, in his mansion, Stephen Kain narrowed his eyes and gripped the armrest of his chair.
"So he still exists."
A huge distance away from his mansion, in the containment area of the massive skull of Lazarus, a warlock scholar studying the massive skull dropped his book and pen.
"What in the name of the Founder is this?", he asked in a trembling voice and stepped back.
He was not the only one. The other scholars, adventurers, and Cardinal Knights also stepped back, awe and horror manifesting on their faces.
A gust of wind blew from the bony snout of the skull and golden flames flickered in its six eye sockets. A low rumble echoed from the skull and the soil under it shifted as terrifying the skull of the creature rose a few centimeters from the ground.
*******
Back on the island, Zephyrus gripped the counter of his bar so hard his knuckles turned white. It was not only him, but all the other Cardinals in Middle Arken were wondering the same thing.
"WHAT IN ARKENSTEIN'S NAME IS HAPPENING?", he yelled, the massive presence shaking the beach house.
Vanessa just casually sipped her glass of blood wine she took out of her storage ring. "You should go over there, Zephyrus. I'll keep the students safe.", she told the Cardinal.
"You know what is it?", he asked her.
The Vampire Queen emptied her glass and looked him in the eye.
"A dragon has awakened. And so has the Fallen Slayer."