Chereads / The Eminence In Shadow / Chapter 37 - Prologue: The Case of the Missing Students and the Not-So-Peaceful Academy!

Chapter 37 - Prologue: The Case of the Missing Students and the Not-So-Peaceful Academy!

"Man, I really cut it close there..."

I sigh with relief as I step out of the Midgar Academy for Dark Knights auditorium. My breath fades to white in the morning air. The third-term opening ceremony just finished.

"What the hell, Cid? Where were you all winter break?"

"Yeah, remember how we promised to go hit on the cute Mitsugoshi girls together?"

Ah, how I've missed Skel's and Po's oh-so-forgettable faces.

"Sorry, guys. There was some stuff I had to take care of."

Between the battle for the Oriana throne and my impromptu return to Japan, my winter break was jam-packed with excitement.

"You really left us in the lurch there, man," Skel says reproachfully.

"Yeah, your sister put the screws to us," Po agrees.

"She did?"

"She was looking for you. I told her I had no idea where you were, and she turned my head into a pincushion..."

"I told her she was hot and asked if she wanted to go out with me, and she nearly used her sword to turn me into a human shish kebab..."

"Damn, that's rough. Sorry about that, guys."

What I'm hearing is, I need to give Claire a wide berth for a while.

"Oh, and speaking of crazy shit that went down: You know how President Rose went missing?" Skel asks. "Well, now she's the queen of the entire Oriana Kingdom. The whole country's freaking out."

"Yeah, I actually did hear about that," I reply.

Heh-heh-heh, little do they realize that I am the one who paved the way for her. No one has any idea that there was a shadowbroker behind the monarch's rise, much less that the shadowbroker was a run-of-the-mill academy student. That right there — that's what being an eminence in shadow is all about.

"And that's not all. People are talking about the Oriana Kingdom getting swarmed with magical beasts and the whole country getting hijacked and stuff."

Oh, I know. Who do you think it was that set the whole thing up, and who do you think it was that saved the day? These guys don't realize they're talking to one of the star players behind the whole thing.

Skel goes on. "Looks like Midgar's gonna be breaking off its alliance with the Oriana Kingdom now."

Huh?

We're gonna what?

"Yeah," Po agrees. "I never thought President Rose would turn evil like that... She's never going to be able to get public opinion back on her side."

"You never thought she'd turn what? Huh? What do you mean?"

"I just told you, she summoned a bunch of magical beasts, killed everyone ahead of her in the line of succession, and hijacked the country by force," Skel says. "Her name's gonna live on in infamy forever."

"She seemed like such a nice person back when she was here at the academy, too," Po adds. "I can't believe things turned out like this. But then she went and murdered her own dad at the Bushin Festival. Goes to show that you can't judge a book by its cover. I'd still marry her, though."

"Y-yeah," I reply. "When you put it like that, I guess she does sound pretty evil..."

I assumed that she was in one of those stories where a mighty monarch is born and leaves their mark on history, but now she's taking a sharp left turn into a villain arc. But y'know what? That's kinda badass in and of itself. The evil monarch shocking the world to its core, the shadowy puppet master manipulating her from behind the scenes... Yeah, I can work with that. Never let it be said that I can't pivot when the situation calls for it.

"There's also a bunch of shady rumors about her," Skel continues.

"Yeah, yeah, like how she's got secret ties to that Shadow Garden organization—"

Skel hurriedly cuts Po off. "Whoa, ix-nay on the Adow Garden-shay."

"Oh, shoot, you're right. If I talk about that, I'll get disappeared."

"Huh? What're you guys on about?" I ask.

Skel's expression turns serious. "We had four students go missing over winter break. People are saying that the group that tried to take over the school is behind it."

"Word around campus is, anyone who tries to investigate the organization gets silenced for good."

I hem and haw. "Hmm, I dunno about all that..."

"Oh, there's no way it's actually true." Po turns around, his expression the picture of confidence. "But a couple of students did actually disappear, so everyone's having fun coming up with conspiracy theories. The Knight Order looked into things just to be on the safe side, but they didn't find any evidence that anyone had broken onto campus."

"It's that time of year when people who failed too many classes start looking for a way out," Skel says. "They didn't get disappeared. They probably just ran off. How're you doing credits-wise, Po?"

"Urgh... I'm just barely in the clear. What about you, Skel?"

"I-I'm doing all right, I think. And you, Cid?"

"I'm...probably fine?"

"W-well, hey, go us. Sounds like we're all gonna make it to the next grade."

"Y-y-yeah, for sure, definitely," Po stammers.

"Ayup."

"By the way, what do you guys wanna do now?" Skel asks.

"Today was just the opening ceremony, so it's not like we have classes," Po says. "We could go play cards back at the dorm."

"Wait, cards?" I ask.

"Yeah, check out what Mitsugoshi just put out!"

With a shit-eating grin, Skel pulls out a deck of cards. It's the spitting image of the ones I saw back in my past life. Have they seriously started mass-producing them?

"Nina gave these to us," Po explains. "Let's go play Presidents or poker or something!"

"This'll be Cid's first time playing cards, right?" Skel asks Po. "Let's show him just how cruel the world of gambling can be."

"Hee-hee-hee... In that case, it's gotta be poker. We can take him for everything he's got."

Poker, huh? Odds are we'll be playing Texas Hold'em. I taught the Seven Shadows the rules way back when, and I remember leaving them in tears after taking them for everything they had. Ah, the good old days. I was being kind enough to teach them just how cruel society could be, so I figured it was only fair that I get paid for my services... but they started getting scary good at it, so I decided to quit while I was ahead.

This looks like a golden opportunity, so I decide to charge Skel and Po for a crash course of their own.

I crack my knuckles. "All right, bring it on. I can't wait to see how cruel this world of gambling of yours is."

Skel grins. "We'll be playing for ten times the usual stakes. Man, I can feel my pockets getting heavier already."

Po nods. "You know what they say about suckers and their money."

"Heh..."

Oops, almost laughed in their faces. I quickly cover my mouth with my hand.

<<•>>

We end up playing poker over in my room.

The sun's already set by now, and Po's already started staring lifelessly at the ceiling after losing all his money.

I grab a fat handful of chips...

"Raise."

"Rrgh... A-all in."

With that, Skel takes his paltry stack of chips and puts the whole thing on the line.

I call, of course.

"Bwa-ha-ha... You fell right into my trap." Skel shows me his hand, gloating all the while.

"Dang, that is a nice hand."

"Sorry, Cid, but I've figured out all your tells. This is where my grand comeback begins—"

"Nah, we're done here."

"Huh?"

I show him my hand.

"No way... You seriously have three of a kind? Po and I trained so hard, and you tore through us like paper..."

"I can keep going if I take out a loan," Po mumbles deliriously. "That was my food budget for the month. If I don't make it back, I'm done for..."

"All right, time to pay up."

After collecting my winnings from the hopeless duo, I kick them out into the hallway.

"Sorry, but if you're broke, you're useless to me."

With that, I close the door on them.

"Dammit, we'll get you for this!" I hear them cry from outside. "Let's cheat next time to really make sure we bury him!"

If that's the way they want to play it, I'm happy to cheat right back at them. When I cheat for real, not even Alpha can suss me out.

After stashing away my earnings in my Eminence in Shadow War Chest, I turn down the lights and take a moment, listening to the sounds of the night. Then I call out into the darkness beyond my window:

"Apologies for the wait—you can come in now."

"...Mm."

With a muted response, a girl appears as though from nowhere. Those hiding skills of hers are top-notch.

You've really honed your talents, Zeta.

The girl is a slender therianthrope dressed in a jet-black bodysuit. Her eyes are icy-purple and catlike, and she focuses them straight on me. "Long time no see, Master."

"Yeah, it's been a while."

"You're a bit taller."

"Am I?"

"Mm." She nods briskly, then offers me a dried fish. "For you."

"What is it?"

"It's mackerel."

"Huh."

"I got it from the sea."

"Dang, that's a long ways away."

"It's extra fatty. The best mackerel of the season."

"Is it, now?"

Zeta's a feline therianthrope and the sixth member of the Seven Shadows. She's pretty smart for a therianthrope, and she tends to be aloof and sparing with her words. She's basically the polar opposite of a certain dog I know.

After I take the dried mackerel, Zeta stares at me like a cat waiting for its dinner.

"Thanks," I say. "I'll grill it up and eat it later."

"Mm."

Zeta's golden tail twitches with a hint of delight.

"Now, then..." I put on my serious face. "Have there been any developments in... the matter at hand?"

Upon hearing my question, her feline eyes flash with pride. "The Cult's been acting as expected."

"Hmm."

I step over to the window with a wineglass in one hand, and Zeta zips over and fills it with wine. As usual, her movements are clean. Zeta loves playing spies. She's always been great at hiding and infiltration.

"They're restoring the right arm," she tells me.

"I see."

"They're running out of Beads of Diablos. That's how this all started."

"Makes sense."

"The sealed right arm is in the campus ruins."

"Figures."

"They're panicking. They're afraid we'll interfere."

"That's well within expectations."

"There's not much time left. They're sure to make a move."

Zeta looks up at me like she's waiting for orders. At some point, she spread some documents written in ancient script out on my desk...but I can't read a word of 'em.

"Any word on the missing students?"

"Not yet."

"There's already been four..."

"Right."

"That won't be enough."

"No."

The two of us stare out the window at the lights in the girls' dorm, squinting to make it seem like we're searching for something.

"There's going to be a fifth victim."

"Right." Zeta peers up at me. "What should we do?"

"...Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Fix your gaze, Zeta."

"Mm... On what?"

"On the future…and on what we'll need after it's come to pass."

"...If that's your will, Master."

The mood in the room is solemn. Tossing in that ad-lib section about the missing students, to make it feel more real, was a fine bit of work, if I do say so myself.

The story is as follows: Things seem peaceful at the academy, but behind the scenes, the Cult of Diablos is carrying out a diabolic plot. Zeta and I stare at each other, satisfied that we're on the exact same page.

I nod, and Zeta nods, too. "Leave it to me, Master. I'll make sure to fix my gaze."

With a gust of wind, she vanishes into the night.

Before she does, though, she makes one superfluous move.

Don't think I didn't notice you rubbing that gold tail of yours all over my bed, girl.

"Dammit, Zeta, I told you to stop marking my stuff."

I sweep off the fur, then look up at the night sky.

"To be in darkness eternal, or to wake from eternity...?" I murmur.

It's getting pretty late, so I decide to hit the sack. I bet I'm gonna wake up tomorrow feeling like a million bucks.

<<•>>

"I swear, I'm going to kill that child!"

Claire Kagenou puffs up her cheeks in her bedroom in the girls' dorm.

"How many promises do you break before you're happy, Cid? We were supposed to go home together over winter break..."

The lamplight illuminates her profile.

She looks deeply peeved, and for some inexplicable reason, she's carrying a metal collar.

"I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him. You're coming back with me over spring break if I have to drag you kicking and screaming."

The collar rattles as she turns it over in her hands. After making sure that its lock is on tight, she smiles.

"You're not getting away next time."

Then she winces.

"—"

The collar falls to the floor with a heavy thump.

"My right hand... It's throbbing..."

She grimaces and squeezes her hand.

"But why? It's been so calm lately..."

Ever since the day the magic circle appeared on it, her hand's been aching every so often. Recently, though, it's largely stopped.

"What's going on? I want answers, Aurora."

She keeps asking questions, but Aurora has never once responded since that first day. Claire sometimes wonders if she just dreamed the whole thing up, but she's seen the magic circle engraved beneath the bandages on her hand.

She opens her desk drawer and splays a series of papers across the table.

"I've been doing my research. This magic circle on my hand shows up in documents about the demon Diablos."

Sure enough, the circle that appears in the papers is a spitting image of the one on her right hand.

"What does it mean? What connection is there between me and Diablos? What's happening to me? Please, you have to tell me..."

Suddenly, she thinks she hears something. She looks around.

"Wait, what was that?"

"...un..."

"Aurora?! Aurora, is that you?"

The voice feels like it's coming from directly inside her head.

"…un... It's dan..."

Little by little, she starts being able to make out the words.

"Run... It's dangerous..."

"Huh? Run?"

Right as a look of bewilderment crosses Claire's face, she hears the sound of something cracking.

"What was that?!"

Her field of view shatters as the world collapses like a broken mirror. She tries to grab at her desk, but it splinters into pieces, too.

A new world emerges from behind the cracks.

"This is...my room, right?"

She's in her room. That much she's sure of. However, there's a strange white mist wafting through the air. All external noises sound distant, and all she can hear is the sound of her own breathing.

No, wait—she hears the faint rustling of clothes coming from behind her.

"Nice try."

She acts fast, whirling around and elbowing her would-be assailant in the jaw in a single motion.

"Hurgh!"

The attacker's knees give out, but he just barely manages to remain upright. However, he soon wishes he hadn't. His face is at the perfect height for Claire to smash her knee into, and she does exactly that.

"I stole that little trick from Cid."

Her uniform's skirt flutters from the movement.

The man faints and collapses to the floor. Claire doesn't recognize him.

"Who is this guy?"

Claire crouches and tries to search the man. The moment she does, though, his body shatters into pieces.

"What the...? This again?!"

The man is gone without a trace.

"What's going on? Hello?! Is anyone there?!"

Claire heads out into the hallway and opens the door to the next room over. However, her classmate is nowhere to be seen. She tries the next door down, then the next one, but comes up empty each time. There's no one there.

The only person left in the world is Claire.

"I don't get it... Hey, Aurora, I know you're there!"

"No, I'm not," comes the annoyed response.

"Yes, you are. This is no time to be cracking jokes."

"I told you to run, you know."

"Hey, don't put this on me. You didn't give enough of a warning."

"I didn't want to say anything."

"Excuse me?! I'm in peril!"

"Well, I've got circumstances of my own I'm dealing with."

"Circumstances like what?"

"Like how I didn't want to get you involved."

"Well, maybe you should have thought of that before you put this thing on me!" Claire cries, glaring at the magic circle on her hand.

"That was to protect you."

"I know that, but...you could at least explain why you did it."

"I was planning to. But then I couldn't."

"What do you mean?"

"He's protecting you."

"Who...?"

"He wants to protect you, to keep you away from danger. That's why I can't tell you anything."

"I asked you this last time, but who is this mystery guy you keep talking about? The way I see it, there's no one protecting me."

"That's not true at all. He's been protecting you this entire time. He always has been, and he always will. As a matter of fact, it makes me a bit jealous."

"I'm going to say this one more time,"Claire tells Aurora, getting audibly angry. "I don't know who it is you're talking about, but I have no intention of letting anyone protect me."

"And that's fine. You can stay ignorant, just so long as you're safe. I'm sure that's exactly what he would wish for—"

"Enough with that junk! I never asked for that!"

There's a hint of displeasure in Aurora's voice. "I'm afraid I really can't say any more. I owe him a great debt."

"I swear, I'm going to make you talk."

"And how do you intend on doing that?"

"Um..."

Claire lapses into silence. What can she do to threaten someone who exists only as a voice in her head?

"Uhhh... Well, I'll scream at the top of my lungs until you tell me what I want to know."

"Knock yourself out."

"I'll stop talking to you forever."

"Be my guest."

"I'll...spread nasty rumors about you."

"So what?"

Claire bites her lip and sulks.

"Are you quite finished yet?"

"Oh, I haven't even started getting frustrated with you."

"Don't worry. What I will tell you is how to get out of here."

"What even is 'here?"

"That's a secret."

"Oh, bite me."

"For starters, you need to go straight ahead."

"No."

"If you don't, you'll be trapped here for the rest of your life."

"All right, all right, fine. I'm going."

"Good, exactly like that. Now spin three times."

"I'm sorry, what?!"

"I'm joking."

"One of these days, I'm going to murder you."

The dark-haired girl strides forth into the world of mist. Behind her, the image of a violet-eyed woman overlapping her is faintly visible.

<<•>>

Today's the first full day of our third term.

With finals drawing ever closer, the whole class is really buckling down.

"Apparently, that stuff we learned today about the theory of mana control shows up on the test every year," Skel says.

"Dang, Skel," Po replies. "You really know your stuff."

"It's about time I started getting serious. If I have to repeat a year, my parents'll kill me."

"Yeah, I should start getting serious, too. I've been letting myself get a bit sloppy."

"Once I actually start getting serious, this'll be a cinch."

"Yeah, it'll be dead easy once I start getting serious."

Their eyes are bloodshot.

"You've got pretty bad grades, too, right, Cid? You'd better start getting serious."

"Yeah, good call," I say. "I'll start getting serious, for sure."

I've been keeping my grades at just below the middle of the class. To be honest, I spend most of my classes training my magic, so I'm always at a total loss when test time rolls around. That's never a problem for me, though. When I need to get serious, I'm the best cheater around.

I haven't been paying any attention in class today, but during the course of my training, I've proved the theory that compressing your mana can make it a thousand times stronger. Practicing like this is a key component in becoming an eminence in shadow.

Here I am, secretly refining my mana like always, when the door loudly slams open to reveal a silver-haired girl on the other side.

It's Alexia.

"Nice weather we're having today, huh?" I say, nonchalantly looking out the window.

It's overcast.

I can feel every head in the room turn my way. I dunno why, but everyone always looks at me whenever Alexia shows up.

It's weird, considering that I'm just your average forgettable guy.

"Hey, you!"

"Oh huh, a bird just went by."

The sky is uneventful. It's as ordinary as can be.

"Eyes over here, Fido."

"Man, just look at those clouds drifting by."

And today's just an ordinary day. Surely, nothing strange or eventful will happen.

"Don't you ignore me."

I feel someone grab my jaw, and my neck makes an alarming crunching sound as it gets forcibly twisted to the side.

Alexia's red eyes stare back into mine.

I try giving her the most unremarkable greeting I can. "Oh, hey, if it isn't Princess Alexia."

"Hello there, Cid Kagenou."

"I'm afraid you've wandered into the wrong class, Princess Alexia."

"I assure you, I'm exactly where I need to be. I have business with you, Cid Kagenou."

"Ah, sorry, class is starting soon. We'll have to continue this chat some other time."

"That's irrelevant." Alexia turns to Skel and Po as she grabs me by the collar. "I'm going to be borrowing him for a bit."

"G-g-go right ahead!"

"H-h-he's all yours!"

I hear their traitorous voices as Alexia hauls me off.

<<•>>

Dunno why, but Alexia drags me into the girls' dorm.

"Are you sure it's okay to bring me in here?" I ask her.

"Don't worry, I got permission."

"You know I'm a dude, right?"

"It's fine. You're an involved party."

"I'm a what now?"

Alexia stops in front of a particular door. If memory serves, it's the one that leads to Claire's room.

"Your sister didn't show up at breakfast today."

"Huh."

"Someone got worried and went to check on her, and they found her room unlocked." With that, Alexia opens the door. Sure enough, there's no one inside. "We checked all the places she seemed likely to be, but there was no sign of her."

"Weird."

"Do you know anything?"

"Nope," I answer without a moment's hesitation, and Alexia looks at me like I just grew horns.

"Aren't you worried about her?" she says.

"Nah, this happens all the time."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"She's been going missing all the time ever since she was a kid."

"That's the kind of information that falls under the category of 'anything.'"

"Oh yeah. So it is."

"Where did she go when she went missing?"

"Beats me. She always just kinda showed back up."

Ever since the Seven Shadows came onto the scene, they've always been bringing her back. Zeta was in the area this time, so between her skills and the fact that she hasn't taken any action, I assume everything's probably hunky-dory.

"So she runs away from home?"

"Basically, yeah."

"I hope that's all there is to it, but there's something that has me worried."

"What's that?"

"Take a look."

We step into the room, and Alexia picks up a collar from the ground.

"Is that a dog collar?" I ask. "It looks really sturdy."

"That's not all—it also places a seal on the wearer's magic. This isn't the kind of thing a normal girl would just have lying around in her room."

"I dunno if I'd describe my sister as 'normal,' per se."

"Someone might have broken in and tried to use the collar to kidnap her."

"But why's it still here?"

"Maybe it fell off during the struggle. There's something else that has me worried, too."

Alexia's gaze falls to the documents on the desk.

I recognize them the moment I lay eyes on them.

"Oh boy."

There's ancient script, badass magic circles, and incantations that look important but don't actually do anything. It's one of those notebooks — the cringey ones that edgelords make.

"Do you know anything about this?" Alexia asks me.

"Nope. Nuh-uh. Not me. No ma'am."

"Are you sure? You're acting shifty all of a sudden."

"Y-you must be imagining things."

"If you say so."

Alexia looks back down at the notebook of cringe.

"I don't think you're going to find anything important in there," I offer.

"We'll see about that."

She begins earnestly thumbing through the notes. Sorry, Princess, but there's nothing written there but the mortifying ramblings of a teenage edgelord.

Now that I think about it, that magic-sealing collar is the exact kind of thing that edgelords dig, and I've seen my sister drawing magic circles on her hands and covering them for her own amusement. From the look of it, it would appear that her condition has kicked into overdrive.

Suddenly going missing is a classic symptom of edgelord behavior.

"I'm sure Claire is fine."

"You really believe in her, don't you?"

"I mean...I dunno if I'd go that far..."

It's more like there was nothing we could've done to stop her, so it is what it is.

"When it comes to my own sister, I..." Alexia frowns like she's gazing into the far-off distance. "I feel these days, I don't understand what's she's thinking half the time."

"Huh."

"Do you ever feel that way, Fido?"

"Oh, I never understand what Claire is thinking any of the time."

"Is that so…? Maybe everyone has things they don't understand about each other."

"We're related, but we're practically strangers."

"That's a cold way of putting it."

"Is it?"

"I want to understand my sister. I really do."

"Fair enough."

Alexia lets out a little sigh. "You can return to class now. I'm going to do a little more digging."

"Kay."

I leave Alexia behind to pore over the notebook of cringe and head on my way.

<<•>>

It's the end of the day, and my sister still isn't back yet. But hey, Zeta's around, so even if there is trouble, I'm sure it'll be fine.

I head to the yard behind the dorms and grill the dried mackerel Zeta gave me. It's past lights-out, and everything is dark.

"All right, it should be about done." The mackerel fat makes a delicious sizzling sound as it drips into the open-air fire.

"Actually, maybe it needs a little longer?"

I'm enjoying this little one-man barbeque I've got going on. I can feel it cleansing my heart. Hearts pick up a lot of rot just going through life, you know.

As I stare listlessly at the fire, I sense something approaching at an incredible speed.

"Boss man!! I finally found you!!"

Delta comes rushing in with her dog ears twitching.

"Hey there. It's late, so try to keep it down."

"I hunted the Black Juggler!!"

"That's nice. It's late, so try to keep it down."

"And Alpha praised me!!"

"Good for you. It's late, so try to keep it down."

"You should praise me, too, Boss man!!"

"There, there, there, there. Good girl." I give her head a rough scritch, and her tail wags vigorously. "Now, it's late, so try to keep it down."

"I'll be quiet!!" she shouts, then clamps her hands over her mouth. "I'll talk real quiet-like," she whispers.

"Yeah, that's perfect."

Her voice gradually starts creeping back up in volume. "Got it. I dug that hole you asked me to, Boss man."

"You dug a what? Are you sure I told you to do that?"

"You did!"

Her voice is back to its normal level already.

"I did? Well, if you say so."

"And inside, I found this! You were right, Boss man! Look at how great it is!"

Delta grins, revealing the bright red jewel clutched between her teeth.

"Why's it in your mouth?"

"So I don't lose it!"

"Can't argue with that logic."

"Hee-hee."

I take the saliva-flecked jewel from Delta. It sparkles a beautiful shade of red.

"Let's have a look... Ooh, I bet this'd sell for a lot."

It's only about the size of a marble, but there's something fantastical about the way it's gleaming.

"I did good!!"

"There, there, there, there. Good girl."

I give her head another scritch. She practically melts in my hand.

"I want a reward!"

"Yeah, that's fair."

"Ooh, something smells tasty!"

The instant she looks over at the fire, the mackerel vanishes.

"Is this my reward?!"

It's in her hand now.

"No, that was actually a gift from Zeta..."

"Thanks!"

She's not listening.

Delta takes a big bite and smiles in delight. "It's so good!"

Eh, she did do well.

"I guess this is fine."

Right as I come to terms with it, I hear a branch snapping.

"Doggy, what're you eating?"

I turn around to find Zeta. The look in her eyes is ice-cold.

Delta lets out a threatening growl. "Grrr, Felid! I'm eating my reward!"

"I got that mackerel for our lord. It's not yours."

"Back off! It's my reward!"

With that, Delta swallows the rest of the mackerel whole.

Zeta lets out a wordless gasp. "Ah—!"

Delta, meanwhile, doesn't have a care in the world. "Mmm, tasty."

"You little..."

Zeta's throat starts rumbling.

"You're being a pest, Felid. Go away, or I'll send you flying!"

"I saved the tastiest mackerel for our lord, and now... This is unacceptable."

"All right, guys, let's all take a deeeep breath."

Things look like they're about to get a little bit ugly, so I step in and get between them.

Both of them fix their gazes on me.

"Uh... Look, I was just grilling the mackerel; I didn't actually give it to anyone—"

Self-preservation is key when things look like they're gonna get ugly. The most important thing to do here to keep from getting sucked into whatever's about to happen is to impress on them that I had nothing to do with this.

"—so the bottom line is, this isn't my fault."

"Yeah. Not your fault."

"Boss man did nothing wrong!"

"Exactly. I did nothing wrong."

At no point did I ever mishandle the mackerel. It got eaten because of an unfortunate misunderstanding, nothing more.

""And that means—""

Zeta and Delta point at each other...

""—it's her fault!!""

...then finish each other's sentences.

"Huh?" I splutter.

[+]

Their magic flares up and explodes.

The shock wave sends me flying, and I spin gracefully through the air before sticking the landing perfectly a short distance from them.

"You stole my tribute to our lord, you mangy mutt. You're dead meat."

"You made a big fuss over my rightful reward, Felid. You're deader meat!"

"Uhh... Look, I don't think I'm really following here, but what's important is that we're all in agreement that this isn't my fault."

I decide to quietly back away.

Zeta and Delta have never gotten along, and the two of them fight constantly. Their brawls usually last until they tear up a field or knock over a house or something and Alpha gets pissed at them.

"Make sure you guys don't go too overboard, 'kay?"

The one silver lining is that the shock wave didn't reach the dorms.

"I'll crush you," Delta says, readying her sword and entering her combat stance.

"You need to be punished."

Zeta narrows her cold eyes — then vanishes. There's no warning or anything. She's just gone.

Delta cocks her head in puzzlement. "Did she run away?"

The moment the words leave her mouth, a black blade materializes behind her back.

"———"

Delta dodges just before it can mow her down, but doing so forces her into a precarious position, and she tumbles to the ground.

Voom. Voom. Voom. Another set of blades comes raining down on her.

"Hmph."

Delta dodges them all.

After crawling across the ground, she rolls over and leaps back up in a way no human could have pulled off.

"Where are you hiding, Felid?"

Zeta is nowhere to be seen. The only thing visible is the array of black blades hanging in the darkness.

Hey, I know that move. That's the one the Blood Queen used. I had no idea Zeta could use it, too, but knowing her, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Of all the people I know, she's always been the cleverest. Whenever I ask her to do something, she always nails it, even if it's her first time trying it. On top of that, she improves superfast, and her instincts are fantastic. She might very well be one of the biggest geniuses around. When it comes to raw talent, she's as good as it gets.

However, even Zeta the Prodigy has a glaring weakness.

"…Huh?"

I hear Zeta's voice, and her tail materializes out from the darkness.

Ah, there she goes again.

Zeta is fickle and gets bored easily, so she never takes the time to truly master any skill.

"Oops, I didn't practice enough."

"Found you!"

The tail transforms into black mist and vanishes right before Delta's mighty sword can cleave it in twain.

"That was too close." The only thing perceptible about Zeta is her voice. "I need to take this seriously."

With that, the black mist gathers and coalesces into tens of thousands of tiny swords that twirl around Delta.

"A Thousand Blades. Certain Death." There are clearly way more blades than that, but Zeta keeps her declaration conservative. The lethality of her attack, on the other hand, is anything but. The swarm of blades thrust into Delta and hoist her body up into the night sky.

"Agh, agh... Arrrgh!"

Delta is helpless to resist as she gets sliced up in midair. She narrowly manages to use her arms and legs to protect her vitals, but it looks like she might be in real danger here. Zeta's gotten stronger than I expected. She's a relative newcomer to the Seven Shadows, but she's a bona fide monster who's been improving like nobody's business.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Delta's howl thunders through the night, and her magic sweeps out in a terrifying shock wave.

The ten thousand blades get obliterated.

"N…no way," Zeta mumbles in disbelief as she spills out from the cloud of mist. She lands like a cat and stares over at Delta's blood-soaked figure.

Splatch.

Delta spits out a mouthful of blood and glares at Zeta. There isn't a hint of playfulness left in her eyes.

"...…"

Every hair on Zeta's body stands on end.

Delta manipulates her slime into a colossal black sword. No, that thing is too big to be called a sword. Too massive, and too brutish. When Delta uses it, we call it the Large Hunk of Iron. Normally, Delta mimics us and fights with the same weapons we do, but that isn't her final form. The savage Large Hunk of Iron is her true weapon, and when she brings it out, that's proof that Delta the Tyrant is done messing around.

"Grrr..."

A low growl escapes Delta's throat.

Zeta breaks out into a cold sweat.

I glance over my shoulder, more than a little worried about the safety of the dorms and school building. What to do, what to do? At this rate, they're liable to get blown away.

The problem is, it bugs me to no end when someone interrupts me in the middle of a battle where I'm playing for keeps, and I'm a big believer in the whole "do unto others" thing.

So l guess that's it. I say a silent prayer. So long, Midgar Academy. Rest in peace, Skel and Po.

"YOU'RE DEAD."

Delta's bloodthirsty magic permeates the Large of Hunk of Iron.

I retreat with some legitimate gusto to put some distance between us. Meanwhile, Zeta...flies into the air. That's not a metaphor or a turn of phrase or anything. She actually flies upward.

Upon strengthening my vision with magic, I discover that she's clad herself in a thin layer of black mist.

Oh, huh. I never knew you could use it like that.

"Bye-bye, Doggy."

With that, she soars off and vanishes into the clouds.

After the briefest of pauses, Delta's entire body shudders with rage. "G-GET BACK HERE, YOU STUPID CAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!"

She, too, vanishes, leaving a massive gust of wind in her wake.

"Same old same old, huh?"

Their fights never reach a proper conclusion. Either Zeta leaves, or Alpha gives Zeta a piece of her mind. Not me, though. I prefer to just sit back and watch.

Anyhow, guess I'd better head back and get some shut-eye.

"Hmm?"

I sense a number of people drawing closer. It makes sense, considering how much of a ruckus Zeta and Delta just made.

"I know those presences... It's Alexia and the guards, right?"

I decide to conceal myself and see how this plays out.

<<•>>

Alexia rushes over to the yard behind the dorms. Honestly, it's not much of a yard The area is poorly maintained, and it's completely overgrown with trees. The night dew soaks her boots.

She looks back over her shoulder as she runs. "Come on, hurry up!"

The guards race after her with looks of terror on their faces. "That magic is dangerous, Princess Alexia! We need to wait for reinforcements!"

"If you keep dawdling, the culprit's going to get away!"

"Princess Alexia, wait!"

Alexia ignores the guards and pushes her way through the thicket. Soon, she finds the aftermath of a battle.

"No way..."

The ground and vegetation are riddled with lacerations, and the area lingers with traces of powerful magic.

"Who even has magic this strong?"

"Princess Alexia, we — Ah! What is this?" When the guards finally catch up to her, their voices get caught in their throats by the choking quantities of mana still present in the air. "I-it's dangerous here, ma'am. The culprit might still be in the area."

"Exactly. And it's your job to catch them."

"B-but, ma'am..."

The guards glance at one another, unable to look Alexia in the eye. Alexia sighs, but she makes sure they don't see her doing it.

"This here — this is blood." She traces the bloodstains splattered across the grass. "Someone lost a lot of it. They could be badly wounded. They might even be the culprit behind the incidents..."

The Case of the Missing Students is the talk of the campus, but the Knight Order is completely butchering their investigation. They've ignored the mountains of evidence and declared that no criminal activity has taken place.

Alexia, on the other hand, suspects there's more to the case than meets the eye.

"There were some elite dark knights fighting here. But why here?" she says.

The spot they're in is no battlefield. It's just the yard behind some student dorms.

"It makes sense to think this could be related to the case. There's clearly some powerful force at work here..."

One of the guards' panicked voices interrupts her train of thought. "P-Princess Alexia!"

"What?"

"O-over there!"

The guard is pointing at a silent figure dressed in a jet-black longcoat.

"When did he—?"

Alexia shudders. She didn't sense his presence at all.

"W-wait, that's..."

The figure is wearing his hood low, and he wipes his fingers across a bloodstain on the grass. His voice rumbles like it's echoing up from the depths of the abyss. "This is the toll that a battle demands, is it?"

"Shadow..."

There's something strikingly melancholic about him, and Alexia finds herself at a loss for words.

"Was the life shed here a necessary sacrifice for the sake of the world?"

"Did you have something to do with this, Shadow?"

Shadow pays no heed to Alexia or the guards. Instead, he sinks deep into thought.

"P-P-P-P-Princess Alexia, get back! You need to retreat and call in the Knight Order—"

The guards tremble as they draw their swords.

"Stand down, all of you," she replies. "Our swords are no threat to him."

Despite knowing that, she levels her sword at Shadow all the same.

"Answer me, Shadow. What happened here?"

When she pours magic into her blade, Shadow finally turns to face her. The red eyes beneath his mask home in on her.

"And what would you do, knowing the truth?"

"Catch whoever was behind it. I won't let them get away with this."

Behind his mask, Shadow lets out a small laugh. "Your efforts are futile."

He vanishes.

No, wait — there he is, right in front of her.

"Wha—?"

She failed to sense his magic, his presence, his anything. Before she knows it, he's standing directly before her with a sword pressed to her throat.

Alexia recognizes that sword.

After all, it belongs to her.

"My…sword..."

She never even noticed him steal it.

"We live in different worlds."

"What does that even mean?"

Alexia clenches her jaw. She's put in so much work. She was so sure she'd closed the gap a little.

"Front and back, shadow and light...There exists a world that people from the frontside would be best served avoiding."

With that, he retracts the sword and turns to leave. His black longcoat flutters behind him, and he strides unhurriedly into the night.

"It's time," he says.

"Time? Time for what?"

"They're making their move..."

A black liquid gushes forth from Shadow's feet, surging upward and engulfing him. Then the wind blows, and Shadow vanishes in a cloud of black mist.

Alexia's sword topples to the ground where he was standing.

"He's gone... Who was it he was talking about?"

Alexia doesn't understand any of it.

However, learning that Shadow is involved is a step in the right direction. A small step, she admits bitterly, but a step all the same. She turns around.

"Why aren't those reinforcements here yet? We need to hurry up and preserve the scene of the—"

She freezes in shock.

"What...the...?"

All the guards are unconscious. In the span of that brief moment, Shadow knocked each and every one of them out. And Alexia didn't notice a thing.

"How is there still such a gap between us? I'm trying so hard... I really am..."

She hangs her head and clenches her fists tight.