Chapter 11

I learned two things when I was teaching Gamma and Delta how to fight. One: Intuition is wasted on an idiot. Two: Intelligence means nothing without intuition. At that point, I decided to try giving them the same instructions: “Infuse your slash attack with a bunch of magic.” And that’s all. I was suggesting they physically pummel the shit out of their enemy—which is the brutish method I find absolutely abhorrent. That’s right; my core beliefs crumbled before this duo without pomp or circumstance. If I even think about that day, I get a headache. Yeah, let’s not go there. Forget about it. “Nice to see you again, my lord.” Gamma gracefully walks toward me like a model on a runway. Her hips sway salaciously as I listen to the heart-stopping tap, tap, tap of her heels against the floor. “ZOINKS!” She trips and falls over nothing. “Th-these heels are too darn tall.” And she blames it on her shoes. Gamma clutches her nose as she rises to her feet. Meanwhile, the women around her break into a lightning-fast whirlwind to produce shorter pumps. “W-well, then. Come this way, Master,” Gamma continues as if nothing happened, sauntering forward in totally different shoes. But I don’t really mind. There are only two ways to react when a girl embarrasses herself: either pretend not to notice or go all out and tease her. Even though I’m in the former camp myself, there’s something I have to say. “Your nose is bleeding.” The girls around her hastily wipe the blood away. “R-right this way, my lord.” I glance at Gamma’s burning-red cheeks. She hasn’t changed a bit. She escorts me to the giant chair, where I take a seat. The view is…fantastic. Mighty fine, indeed. There’s a big and open space where a scarlet glow tumbles in through the skylight, and two rows of hotties are kneeling beside the red carpet. It’s as if I’ve become king—the king of the Shadow Realm. Gamma must have spent a fortune preparing this set for me. My heart is pumping. I’m moved to the core. I cross my legs, rest my cheek in my left hand, and raise the other, focusing my blue-violet magic into my palm and shooting it into the heavens. It almost blasts into the ceiling before it dissolves into a myriad of lights that flood the entire room. “Receive your reward…” There is a downpour of light, falling upon the kneeling girls and temporarily dyeing their skin a bluish violet. It only replenishes energy, promotes magic circulation, and heals minor wounds… In other words, nothing much. “I’ll treasure this day forever.” Gamma’s voice wavers as she kneels at my side. Her performance is very convincing. But she isn’t the only one trembling. All the lovely ladies on both sides of the long red carpet are quivering, and some are even weeping. The employee who brought me here sniffles through her tears. Gamma is the perfect director for her troupe of actresses. “You’ve done well, Gamma. By the way, I have a question about this company.” Yes, back to business. From the chocolate to the products on the sales floor to the architectural design of the building—I can’t imagine them coming from this world. “Ask me anything.” “Is this Mitsugoshi merchandise based off my stories?” Gamma has always been interested in picking my brain for some reason. Every time Delta beat the living shit out of her, she would pester me in tears, begging me to tell her a story. That was when I told Gamma about my Shadow Wisdom, which included randomly embellished stories about chocolate and the other goodies in Japan from my past life. “Yes, my lord. I’ve only re-created a fraction of the divine knowledge that you’ve imparted unto me.” “I s-see.” I only told her she could make chocolate by throwing together bitter beans and sugar and waiting till it hardens. Calling that knowledge is overkill. And how did she re-create all this? This must be what it means to have a brain. I mean, she’s eons smarter than me. But that doesn’t bother me. The world has its fair share of geniuses and idiots. That’s all there is to it. But I do have one question. “Do Alpha and the others know about this company?” “Of course.” Oh, I get it. They’ve fallen into their usual shindig of leaving me out. I understand if it’s hard for them to include the only guy here in their clique of girls, but come on. “A-and have you been making money?” “Right now, we have shops in every major city both domestically and abroad. Our business is expanding at a rapid pace. But how long will we be able to hide in the shadows under the guise of a company? This is the most important consideration.” What’s with the cheesy, slipshod setup? It’s unnecessary. Just get to the point! Basically, she’s telling me that everyone is raking in dough from my knowledge. Everyone but me. If they just gave me a teeny-tiny portion of it, I wouldn’t have scrounged for cash or chased down coins like a dang dog. Whatever, it’s fine. The girls have prepared this huge prop for me, so I can’t complain. But if I could just have a little slice of the pie. “Um, I hope you don’t mind me asking this, but could I borrow a few zeni?” I’ll pay her back someday…maybe. “Yes, I’ll prepare it right away,” Gamma responds quickly. She gives orders to the woman who brought me here. A few moments later, a wheelbarrow full of coins rolls into the room, as tall as a mountain. I’ve never seen this many sparkling coins in one place. This is easily over a billion zeni. “Th-this is a bit…” I can’t borrow all this. I could never pay them back. “—gh! Is this not enough? I’ll send for more right aw—…” “No, it’s fine.” I stop Gamma midsentence and reach toward the coins, making a big show of thrusting my hand into the mountain. The coins loudly clink together. Now I’ve got their attention locked on my right hand. I concentrate with all my might. “Hmph!” I take about fifteen coins in my right hand and show it to everyone in the room, before slowly putting it into my right pocket. I’ve just gotten one and a half million zeni richer. And I have another one and a half million zeni in my left pocket, too. While focusing their attention on my right hand, I snatched some coins in my left at top speed, stuffing them into my pocket before anyone could notice. Alpha or Delta might have picked up on it, but Gamma never stood a chance. “I-is that it? You can have all—…” Watching her is hilarious to me. She thinks I’m only borrowing one and a half million zeni, but I actually pocketed three million! “That’s enough for now,” I say, holding back laughter. “All right. Take this back.” Gamma claps, and the gaggle of women roll the wheelbarrow away. Gamma kneels before me. “My lord, I think I know why you’ve come today. It must be about the incident.” “Yes.” I nod. What incident? “My sincerest apologies. We’re currently investigating the matter but haven’t caught the culprit. Please be patient. I’ll hunt down the slasher in the capital—the fools in ebony, pretending to be in the Shadow Garden.” “Hmm…” This is the first I’m hearing about this. “Hmm…” Gamma gazes at Shadow as he trails off and begins contemplating. Somewhere in her blue eyes, there’s a hint of unease. A tear streams down from the corner of her eye without warning. Seeing those blue-violent rays reminds her of her past. Gamma’s life began with a light of the same hue. If he’d never come, she would have died a rotting mound of flesh. She was abandoned by her family, chased out of her home country, stripped of everything in her possession. She fell into an abyss of pain and fear and disappointment—and the one who rescued her was the boy who produced the blue-violet light. She would likely never forget that glow for her entire life. To Gamma, it represents the light of survival. Alpha once told Gamma there was life in it, and Gamma agreed, not for logical but for instinctual reasons. It didn’t just heal external wounds—but a much deeper part of the soul. When she touched the bluish light, it was as if she was released from her shackles, liberated from something holding her back. She finally felt like she had reclaimed her identity. On that day, she was reborn. The moment she received the name Gamma, she vowed to devote her new life only to him. While her intentions were sincere, she was the least powerful member of the Seven Shadows. She was defeated and surpassed by newer members, left crawling on the ground and deeply humiliated. Somewhere along the way, Gamma realized she couldn’t beat her peers. It didn’t matter how hard she trained. She was in anguish. What was she worth? She would rather die than display her stupidity and bring everyone down. But he randomly called out to her the day she planned to end it all. And he imparted his Shadow Wisdom to her. That insight showed her how to fight with her intelligence over strength, and she dived headlong into his ways. And since she thought this was her only chance at survival, she literally put her life on the line to re-create his Shadow Wisdom. When Gamma looks back on it, she’s certain he recognized her pain—that he shared his knowledge because he knew she was hurting and had foretold the path she would walk in life. It made her feel forlorn. It saddened her to know he was out of her reach. Does Shadow need me? Tears well up in her eyes whenever she thinks about it. But that’s why she needs to wipe the tears away and keep fighting. She’ll make the Shadow Garden bigger and stronger, a more suitable organization for Shadow…and on that day, she believes her wish is certain to come true. “I see. Very interesting.” His voice pulls Gamma back to reality. “I think I know who did this. I’ll take a look around.” Gamma’s chest tightens when she hears his omniscient tone. She’d failed to help him once again. He could surmise the correct answer with a snippet of information. Even if she mobilizes all her subordinates, he could easily find hints she never could. But Gamma refuses to give up. One day, he’s bound to notice her…so she has to persist. “Nu, come forward.” Gamma calls over the dark brunette who brought him here. “This is Nu. She’s number thirteen.” “Wow.” He peers at Nu through narrowed eyes. His gaze seems sharp enough to see to the depths of her power. “Even though Nu only just joined us, even Lady Alpha has recognized her for her strength. Feel free to use her as a liaison, for chores or whatever you like.” “I’m Nu. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Her voice trembles slightly from nerves. “I’ll call you if something comes up.” “Understood.” She bows and steps back. “I guess I’ll be going now.” He stands. “Oh, almost forgot. I’d like to buy some chocolate—the cheapest kind. If you could give me a friends and family discount, that’d be great.” “We prepare our best chocolate in-house.” “Um…how much will that be?” “With the friends and family coupon, that’ll be one hundred percent off.” “One hundred percent… That makes it free! Yippee, it’s my lucky day! In that case, I’ll take three of ’em.” “Thank you for your business.” Gamma smiles when she sees him return to the role of Cid Kagenou the normie. “We’re not gonna make curfew!” “That’s ’cause Cid took too long!” “I said sorry and gave you chocolate.” The three of us sprint down the pitch-black streets of the capital. I’m definitely one of the two reasons we’re late. But Skel’s and Po’s constant questions about that lady are the other reason. Nu—was that her name? Either way, I just batted away their interrogation with a bunch of maybes. That said, I never would have pinned Alexia as the type to become a real-life serial killer. If Delta’s not the culprit, it’s got to be Alexia. I knew it was her the moment I heard about the recent crimes. She’s a princess who has it all. What could have possibly set her off…? The woman’s heart is an enigma. You know, I don’t look down on mass murderers. That’s a way of life. But sullying the name of the Shadow Garden is a whole different story. Those unfortunate souls won’t be getting away with this. “Hey, did you hear that?” “Nope, nothing.” Skel and Po are running ahead of me as they talk between themselves. It doesn’t seem they heard it well, but to me, it was crystal clear. It was the sound of two blades colliding, which means people are fighting nearby. I stop in my tracks. “Yo, what’s wrong?” “We’re gonna miss curfew!” The duo pause shortly after I do. I point to a back alley. “I’m gonna go take a shit.” They look like they can’t believe I’m for real. “If I don’t go now, it’s gonna stream down my legs when I run.” “That’s an emergency.” “A question of curfew or pride.” Their faces turn serious. “You guys go ahead. I don’t want anyone to see me…” “Ew… Gotcha! I won’t tell anyone you took a dump outdoors!” “No matter what anyone says…I think you made the right decision!” “Oof, I can’t hold it in. Hurry… Just leave me behind!” “Cid… We’ll never forget you!” “Cid… Even if you poop outside, we’ll always be friends!” “Go! Goooooooooooo!!” The pair turn on their heels and book it out of there. After I watch them skitter away, I head down the back alley, following the sounds of a duel. When I trace it to its source, I’m in the heart of the dark alley. Two dark knights are in the midst of a fierce battle. There’s no doubt in my mind that the one in the school uniform and short skirt is Alexia. But the other is a masked man dressed entirely in black. Something obviously isn’t right. I could understand if Alexia wore jet-black, pretending to be in the Shadow Garden, but not the other way around. I climb to a rooftop and covertly watch them from above. “Give it up already. There’s no way you can win,” says Alexia. She seems to have the upper hand. The man in black isn’t necessarily weak; he just can’t touch Alexia, who greatly improved with her recent training. His black coat is torn and tattered, and his blood is dyeing the cobblestones a dark crimson. One final push will determine the winner. “Why do you kill the innocent? Is that why you fight?” “We are the Shadow Garden…” Just now, the man in jet-black definitely said, “Shadow Garden.” “Is that the only thing you can say? Is that what the man Shadow seeks?” “We are the Shadow Garden…” The man in jet-black repeats himself. Without a doubt, this man is the Shadow Garden impostor. Sorry for doubting you, Alexia. It looks like you’re innocent. My sincerest apologies. But why is this guy impersonating the Shadow Garden? That is the obvious next question, and I know the answer all too well. I can fully understand him, because I am who I am. The answer is adoration. This man is enamored by the Shadow Garden…and secret masterminds. I can’t say I blame him. I mean, my whole journey began because I loved shadowbrokers. I fell in love with the hidden commanders in movies, anime, and manga and started imitating them. This impostor walked that same path and found the Shadow Garden. Yes, he’s the Shadow Garden’s first follower in the world. A warm feeling rises in my chest. I’m just happy to know a total stranger accepts us and our ways. I’m glad to know I’ve chosen the right path. But this is unforgivable. Why? Because I’m a mastermind. If I forgive those who tarnish my organization’s name, then I no longer am one. Right now, we can both call ourselves shadowbrokers, and I won’t stand or settle for that. “It’s over for you.” When Alexia thwarts his counterattack by knocking the sword out of his hands, I feel another energy drawing near. “It’s over for you.” Alexia sends his sword flying, which clangs onto the cobblestone road. “…Hngh!” Alexia tumbles, evading a sudden attack from behind. She blocks another rapid strike, drives her foot into the assailant’s stomach, and swiftly backs away. Glaring at her new opponents, she steadies her breath. There are two more dark knights dressed in jet-black. Alexia clicks her tongue as she watches the first man lift his sword. This makes three, and she guesses they’re all strong, too. Against one of them? She could win easy. She has a good chance of taking two down. But to fight against three opponents is… “It isn’t very nice to pit three of you against a dainty girl.” I pray they humor her with an answer. “How about three one-on-one battles? Or is that no good?” she suggests. They’re slowly surrounding her from all sides. She’s making sure her back is covered as she inches away. “Hey, look behind you. The moon is beautiful tonight.” One man nears her back, and she keeps him in check with her eyes. Their swords dart around with small movements as they attempt to gauge the other’s intentions. “Oh my. You’re not going to look? I think you should.” Alexia smiles. Her red eyes glisten in the moonlight. “Because there’s a lovely lady behind you.” “—gr…!” She gets him. Alexia moves instantly, swinging her bare blade down to slice her blockheaded opponent who turned back to check it out. Die. She doesn’t say it out loud but sneers at him instead. She rips through the black cloak, spraying fresh blood. But the cut isn’t deep enough. She just needs one more hit to finish him… And in that moment, Alexia suffers a blow to the abdomen. “Augh…!” A black boot sinks into the side of her body, and she can hear her ribs snapping under impact. As she spits blood and slashes her weapon, she jams her sword into the black boot. But the enemy evades her attack at the last second, and her blade bounces off the cobblestones. The men are too far to attack. Alexia hacks up blood and wipes her mouth. Her hand is stained red. At this point, she successfully distracted two of them, but there is one left—the one who kicked her to stop her from killing the other man. Alexia glares at him spitefully. Three against one. The numbers haven’t changed. But the situation has gotten worse. Two of them are unharmed, and the other is severely injured but capable of using his sword. She can’t ignore the last man. On the other hand, Alexia’s lungs are punctured by her broken ribs. They’ll kill me, she thinks. I guess this is it. Alexia extracts a red pill from a pocket on her school uniform. She secretly nabbed the drug before the warehouse burned down. She’s against brutish swordplay, but she prefers it to death. Alexia brings it to her lips. While praying that her impromptu strategy will work, she raises the pill to her lips. At that moment, something inky comes down from the sky, landing as silently as an owl gliding through the night. The black blade bisects one opponent, from which blood erupts. The suffocating stench of gore penetrates the alleyway. With a sharp swing, the man in ebony, Shadow, splatters the blood off his sword in a red line along the wall. “To the fools who mock the name of the Shadow Garden…” This is Shadow, the strongest being in existence. He’s the one who demonstrates perfect swordplay—and the one she could never forget. Is Shadow…fighting them? That’s what it looks like. “Pay for your sins with your lives,” Shadow continues. In the next moment, the men in jet-black are set in motion, making an instant decision to spring from the cobblestones, bound off the wall, jump onto the rooftop, and flee. “How pathetic…” Shadow moves to pursue them. “Please wait…!” Her voice stops him in his tracks. He turns back slowly, fixing his eyes on her. Her sword trembles violently. She realizes…she is doing something stupid. “I am Alexia Midgar, one of two princesses in this kingdom.” Shadow just stares at her. She knows he can take her life if he feels like it. “State your purpose. What are you fighting for? Who are you fighting against? And…do you pose a threat to my country?” Shadow turns his back to her. “Stay out of it. Ignorance is bliss.” “Wha—…?! Wait, if you’re saying you oppose the kingdom…!” “And what would you do if I did?” She’s taken aback by his bloodlust. Faced with an insurmountable force, she instinctively cowers. But defying our instincts is what makes us human. “I’ll fight you. I know you’re going to try to kill my big sister, and I can’t let that happen.” Shadow lets his coat billow behind him. “I understand your swordplay. I may not be able to now, but someday, I’ll…” “Kill me?” he guesses. With those parting words, Shadow vanishes into the darkness. Alexia murmurs in the dark to herself. “Yeah, that’s right…” Silence returns to the night. Deserted and alone, Alexia clutches her stomach and huddles into herself. Her sword falls from her quivering hands. She knows she’s done something stupid. But she’s recently discovered a reason to fight: to protect the few things she holds dear—her only sister and her one friend. “This isn’t good…” Alexia is about to pass out. She knows something bad will happen to her if she blacks out in the alleyway. She tries using the wall to lift herself up. “Alexia… Alexia!” A voice calls to her in the distance. “Hey, Iris… Iris! Over here!” “Alexia…!!” The footsteps draw closer. Something soft catches Alexia in midair before her body hits the ground. “Alexia! What have you done…?!” “Iris…” Alexia buries her face in her sister’s chest. “Prepare yourself. I’ll have you fill me in on all the details later.” “…Okay.” “Including this.” “Huh…?” Alexia sees the scattered red pills on the cobblestone road, where she dropped them. “Listen, Iris. I don’t know anything about them.” “Quiet.” “I don’t know. Honest.” “This is unforgivable.” “Oh, my head…” Alexia decides to let herself pass out and leave these things up in the air. Two shadows dash through the dark streets of the capital. As they grow concerned about attacks from behind, the men in black veer down an alley and skid to a halt. They appear to be in a hurry. They place their hands against the wall, trying to steady their ragged breath. For a few moments, only their harsh inhales echo through the dark alleyway. Thunk. A sound from the depths of the alley. They quickly turn to peer into the darkness. A black silhouette takes form in the shadows, coming toward them. Thunk, thunk. The sound of his boots draws closer. The men cautiously ready their swords. But then, a black blade is jabbed into one of their heads, instantly passing through the hapless soul’s skull without warning. “Agh… Aghh… Aghhh…!” The ebony katana is withdrawn as the man shrieks in agony, spouting blood and dropping to the ground. The remaining impostor starts backing away in fear when the figure emerges from the shadows and makes his appearance. In a black coat, he possesses a sword and keeps half his face hidden behind a magician’s mask. “Did I keep you waiting?” His voice is deep, as if resounding from the depths of the earth. “Eek…!” yelps the man in black as he steps backward. “Why are you afraid?” he asks. “Did you really think…you could escape?” The man in black turns to flee. “Wha—?!” “Great work, Master Shadow.” He turns to find a woman standing there. She’s alluring and elegant, wearing a short dress. “You secured the culprit in no time at all. I’m in awe,” she comments. “Is that you, Nu?” “Yes,” she replies, continuing the conversation with the assassin sandwiched between them. He backs up against a wall. “Please leave the rest to me. I’ll extract information from him.” The man in ebony lowers his sword. “…Don’t mess this up,” he warns. “Understood.” He turns on his heels and vanishes into the darkness. The lovely woman bows her head as she watches him depart. The beauty and the man in jet-black are left in the narrow alley. The latter is fully armed, but the former is weaponless in a dress and heels. The man acts quickly. With a series of rapid slashes, he stabs the unarmed girl to death. At least…that’s what he hoped to do. With her dress upturned, she rends the night asunder with her white, sensual legs. Ka-chank. The man’s sword falls to the cobblestone road. There’s a beat before eight of his fingers drop next to it. “A-aghh…!” It’s hard to tell if he’s trying to retrieve his eight fingers or his sword. With only the thumbs remaining, he extends one of his hands. But it’s crushed by a high heel. “Gyah…!” With that, an ebony blade emerges from the toe of her stiletto. The blood from his fingers flows over the cobblestones. “I’m not as kind as Master Shadow.” He can hear the bitterness in her voice. The man looks up to find a gaze cold enough to freeze him to death. “Don’t think I’ll let you die in peace.” With the hem of her dress rippling through the air, she slams his chin with her milky knee. The next morning, a ghastly corpse is found hanging over the main street in the capital. There is a message written in blood on its stomach: THE PATH OF FOOLS The face of the dead man is warped with agony and fear. Lying in an immaculate bed, Alexia looks up to see her sister’s stern face. “I know what happened.” Iris is seated next to the bed. “The murders weren’t committed by the Shadow Garden but by impersonators from another organization.” “Shadow mentioned that,” Alexia adds. “Shadow, huh…? We still don’t know what this organization is.” Iris lowers her eyes in contemplation. “During the attacks on the capital, I identified the existence of a dark knight who may be in the Shadow Garden.” “The one who goes by Alpha.” Iris nods. “Other sources have indicated the Shadow Garden is an extraordinarily powerful organization. And your report confirms their name and the existence of a man called Shadow. But that’s all we know. Everything else is a mystery. We don’t even know their goal.” “Shadow was fighting the Cult of Diablos. Maybe their purpose has to do with them.” “Which makes the Cult our clue…” Iris lets out a sigh. “Iris…?” “I thought they were a normal religion that believes in Diablos the demon, but it looks like they’re pulling the strings in more operations than we’d thought.” “Like that fire?” “There’s that. And the budget for the Crimson Order. I can’t get the go-ahead, so I’ll be funding it out of pocket for now.” Alexia knits her brows together. “Does that mean the Cult not only infiltrated the Knight Order but that they’re also civil officers?” “I don’t know. They’re either members of the Cult or taking bribes…but I can’t say for sure. After all, I was reckless in throwing together the new Order.” “I’ll help you pay for it.” “It’s the thought that counts. You know how many members are in the Crimson Order, right?” Iris smiles bitterly. “Eight.” “Right, just eight. With my contributions, they could easily survive for over ten years.” “Then can’t we make the Order bigger?” “It would be senseless to make it bigger now. We don’t even know who we’re fighting yet.” “Iris, um…” Alexia apprehensively looks up at her sister. “Which is the enemy of the Crimson Order: the Shadow Garden or the Cult of Diablos?” Iris smiles. “Both. I refuse to allow any mischief in this kingdom.” “Iris… We shouldn’t fight Shadow.” Alexia clenches the bedsheets. “Alexia, drop it…” “Iris, you wouldn’t say this if you knew him. I know you saw that attack that colored the night sky throughout the capital!” “We’ve already concluded that was just the artifacts burning.” “But I saw him use his magic!” Iris huddles close to Alexia and peers into her red eyes. “That sort of power is impossible for humans to achieve. Spending too much time in captivity has made your memory foggy. And I bet all those strange drugs made you hallucinate. I don’t think you’re lying, but I do think you need rest.” “Iris!” Iris places both of her hands on top of Alexia’s. “And even if it really did come from that Shadow, we can’t turn a blind eye to him. Who will protect our country if I flee?” “Iris…” Iris strokes Alexia’s hair, then rises to her feet. “Get some rest until you’re healed.” “…I’ll help you when I get better.” “That won’t be necessary.” “Huh?” “Oh, you’re under house arrest. I must’ve forgotten to tell you.” “You can’t be serious!” “For stealing evidence.” Iris shows her the red pills, and Alexia’s jaw drops to the floor. “Think about what you’ve done.” The door slams closed behind her.