She’s completely fixated on the artifact. She tends to forget her surroundings during her research, but it’s never been this extreme. There’s something important about that relic that’s captured her attention.
Her quill makes crisp movements across the paper.
Those light-pink eyes come one step closer to uncovering the truth.
At that moment, a man in jet-black comes crashing through the window of the lab. Flying shards of glass leave small cuts on Sherry’s face.
“What the…?!”
“Who goes there?!”
The two knights ready their swords. The stinging sensation in her cheeks finally makes Sherry aware of the situation.
“Huh? What?”
She grabs the artifact and crawls under her desk to hide. After touching her cheek, she finds a little blood on her hand.
“We are the Shadow Garden. Or was it the Shadow Guardian? Oh, who gives a crap. I’m Rex. Rex, the Game of Betrayal.” He scoffs behind his mask. “This thing is such a nuisance.”
He flings his mask aside, revealing a flippant man with dull red hair, laughing with the eyes of a starving, feral dog.
“Eek.” The mask lands near Sherry’s feet, causing her to back away, still concealed.
“You’re the Shadow Garden I’ve heard so damn much about…”
“I don’t know your motives, but did you really think you could get away with attacking the school?”
Rex chuckles. “I guess that’d be too easy. Oh, the Shadow Garden has it tough. By the way…” He stops midsentence. “I forgot why we’re attacking.”
He cackles evilly.
“Stop messing around.”
“Oh, but I’m serious. Though that doesn’t matter. My job is to acquire the artifact. Once I have it, you can struggle and squirm to your heart’s content…”
Rex narrows his eyes sharply.
“Do you know where it is?” He glares at the knights.
“…I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“We know nothing.”
Rex smiles from ear to ear. “Your faces tell me otherwise…!”
The air quivers, and his magic overpowers the room.
“A—…!” Sherry clasps her hands over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming as she crawls. It’s just a bit farther to the door.
“So who wants to go first?” Rex’s ravenous, feral gaze scours the room.
“Let’s start with the girl.”
He disappears into thin air.
That’s when Sherry realizes he’s standing before her.
“Aaaaaaahhhh!”
“Farewell.”
“No!” Sherry closes her eyes as she covers her head, huddling.
“I won’t let you!”
The sword hurls toward her and strikes the floor.
Sherry fearfully peeks through her clenched eyes to find a stocky knight—with a beard as bushy as a lion’s mane—standing in front of her with his sword at the ready.
“Ooh, impressive. Considering you’re working without magic.”
“Magic isn’t everything. If I’m fighting a weakling, I can easily dodge any attack.”
“Weakling…? Damn buffoon. Do you really think you’re stronger than me?” Rex ferociously scowls at the large man.
“I do.”
“Why don’t you tell me your name?”
“I am Glen, the Lion’s Mane, vice commander of the Crimson Order.”
Another knight lines up next to him.
“I’m Marco of the Crimson Order.”
“I didn’t ask you.”
In that last moment, Marco looks down at Sherry.
“Run.”
With that, the battle begins.
Sherry crawls into the hallway and proceeds to sprint at full speed. She covers her ears to muffle the bloodcurdling screams behind her.
I walk onto the rooftop and peer down at the campus.
I can see all the faculty bound up by the auditorium, which is a massive hall that can easily fit all the students. It’s where the school hosts its entrance ceremonies and the occasional lecture by a public figure or a theatrical performance.
The Knight Order has gathered outside the campus in response to the commotion, but there’s a clear threshold beyond which they aren’t advancing. That could be the boundary of whatever’s blocking everyone’s magic. There didn’t seem to be any students left in the school buildings, just men in black scrounging for anyone still hiding.
I scoff as I look down at the school.
I’ve always wanted to do this.
I peer at the ravaged school, the shackled students, and the mysterious terrorist organization. I can cross this off my bucket list.
Gaze down at the campus from the rooftop. Check.
Well, I guess I’ll have some fun before it gets dark. The truth is, I realized something when the men in jet-black barged into class.
They have no sense of style.
Imagine a light breeze, a clear blue sky, a sunny afternoon—and someone coming out onstage in a long black cloak. Who does that?
Unheard of.
They made one dire mistake. Right… They’ve underestimated the importance of TPO: There’s a Time, Place, and Occasion for everything. If you don’t adhere to it, fashion sense will be totally out of whack. Their disregard for TPO is tacky. I mean, black cloaks should only be worn at night.
I’m planning on taking them out nice and slow; time isn’t an issue. I would rather hold out and savor the fun.
Which is why I’m going with the strategy Operation: Slow ’n’ Steady Till Nightfall.
I’m thinking all this as I observe the campus when I spot two men in black walking down the corridors. Yuck, wearing jet-black on a sunny day? Talk about uncool.
Yeah…they make me want to play sniper.
I slice off a thumb-size piece of slime from my suit. I roll it into a ball, infuse it with magic, lay it on the rooftop, and prepare to give it a good flick.
“You’re in my line of fire, you dummies,” I mutter to myself, then send it flying.
Whiz. Zooming through the air, my slime ball zips through one of their skulls.
“Augh…”
In the same way, I pierce the second man’s heart. I’ve already defeated them in two hits. Unbelievable. I’m bummed. I was in the mood to launch one more.
“Oh well. My next target is…”
With my slime bomb at the ready, I close one eye to scope out my next victim.
In the school building across from me, I spot a defenseless blockhead.
“Target acquired. It’s a girl with light-pink hair… Wait, what?”
That’s Sherry.
What’s she doing over there? She’s giving herself away by blatantly looking back after each step.
“Sherry, you’re blowing your cover.”
I confirm that a man in black is lunging at Sherry from behind. I lock onto my slime bomb target…and shoot.
Whir.
The man’s head flies off.
“Mission complete.”
Completely oblivious, Sherry keeps moving until she disappears from view.
Hmm. I wonder what’s up.
My normie senses are tingling, telling me there’s a major cutscene about to happen. And then, right around the climax, I shall grace the stage as the mastermind behind it all…
Ooh, I can’t wait.
Okay, here I go. I infuse my legs with magic and bound into the air when no one’s looking.
“Yahoo!”
I safely land on the school building across the way. After that, I jump down, grab hold of a window ledge, and swing into the building. I glance around the hallway…and there she is.
The girl with light-pink hair looks around like a gopher.
“Like I said, you’re blowing your cover.”
There’s a man in jet-black behind Sherry. Right before he grabs her, I rush at him at full speed.
“Huh?” Sherry senses something moving
and looks behind her.
She hears a whoosh…but no one is there. A silent hallway extends into the distance.
“Maybe I’m just paranoid…?”
Sherry cautiously peers around her, her shoes lightly tapping against the floor. She presses the artifact against her chest.
Just a moment ago, the knights said they couldn’t use magic. If that’s true, it would mean it has something to do with her, and she might know what caused it. And in terms of the artifact…
Sherry hugs it tightly one more time.
“I’ve got to do something about this…!”
The image of the two knights bravely fighting to help her escape floats into her mind. She knows she can’t let them die in vain.
Wrestling with these thoughts, she turns the corner.
“Ack!”
There’s a man in black. Sherry panics and attempts to conceal herself.
She thinks she’s done for. She swears they lock eyes.
There’s another whish.
“It’s fine. I’m still good… I haven’t been caught…” Sherry prays as she looks ahead once more… “Phew, I’m still safe…”
Her ebony assailant has vanished.
She bravely yet cautiously surveys the area while her shoes tap rhythmically on the floor.
“Oh!”
Another of the enemies gazes down the hall from the classroom window.
Sherry tries to hide in a frenzy, but it’s too late. The door swings open to reveal the man in jet-black.
“Eep!” Sherry covers her head and closes her eyes.
…
……
Another whiz.
“What?” Upon nervously opening her eyes, she finds he’s gone.
“Phew. They haven’t found me…”
Sherry braces herself even more as her feet softly patter against the floor. She checks every inch of the hallway, the classrooms, and, most obviously, behind her. Her eyes flicker left and right. She’s surveying the area when she trips over herself.
“Oof!” She crashes on the ground, looking up in time to see the artifact whirling into the air.
“Ahhh!”
It’s about to crash onto the floor…when someone catches it. Sherry glances up to find her newest friend.
“Cid!”
But he’s covered in blood.
“Are you okay?! You’re hurt…”
“Don’t worry about it. I miraculously escaped death. No biggie.”
He seems exhausted for some reason and stares at Sherry through half-closed eyes.
“I’ve got to tell you a few things. Like, you’ve gotta stop talking to yourself. And thinking while you’re walking. And you should watch your step.”
He lets out a deep sigh.
“And your tap-tap-tapping down the hall is super-loud. Let’s start with taking off your loafers.”
Sherry nods in response.
I guard Sherry as we head to the back end of the first floor into the assistant principal’s office. Oh, and I secretly kill five more of them along the way.
We open a thick door and walk in.
There’s a tasteful lounge in the center of the room and an entire wall stacked with oversized books. Files are piled high on a desk in the back. Sunlight gently pours in from the northern window. It’s obviously a space for proper adults.
Sherry sits at a desk she seems to know well and rummages through the drawers.
“Try not to make so much noise.”
Her light-pink hair sways as she obediently nods.
“Whew.” I lie across the love seat and take a deep breath.
I’m beat.
I know Sherry is the main character, but there’s no way this is going to work out. She won’t be able to beat the Final Boss. Under these circumstances, it’s normal for the character to have a sidekick, but I don’t sense any allies around here. It’s a flawed scenario.
But after significant consideration, I’ve decided to intervene as the savior type of background character. I’m an extra who will never act where others can see—never ever.
“Found it.” Sherry comes back from the desk with a pile of documents, spreading them across the coffee table.
“What’s this?” I don’t know anything about these strange alphabets, landforms, or formulas.
“This artifact is called the Eye of Avarice. I believe this is what’s currently blocking our magic.”
She shows me a sketch of an ominous-looking sphere that’s the size of a Ping-Pong ball.
“The Eye absorbs and collects the magic around it. When it’s activated, it’s harder to hone magic in the area.”
“But the men in black had no problems using magic.”
“They must have programmed the Eye to recognize their magical wavelength. I’ve already confirmed it doesn’t consume preregistered magic. It also has difficulties absorbing microscopic particles with powerful energy, but neither of us would recognize those in the first place.”
Hey.
“And as if that’s not troubling enough, it can also use the magic stored inside it. I’m guessing they were originally planning to use this artifact as a weapon, but it can’t store magic for long periods. I believe it’s defective.”
“But it’s effective in the short-term, even if it can’t store the power very long.”
“Correct. Right now, there are hundreds of dark knights held hostage in the auditorium. In theory, if they released the magic in the artifact…they might just be able to obliterate the school.”
“Whoa…”
“I was the first one to decode the Eye with my research. When I realized its potential dangers, I kept it away from the world of academia and asked the kingdom to store it for safekeeping… Oh, why did this happen?” Sherry looks at me with gentle eyes.
“It’s either a replica or it was stolen. Is there a way to operate it?”
“Yes.” Sherry nods and produces a large pendant.
“That’s a real dirty pendant you got there.”
“This seems to control it. The Eye cannot move on its own; I believe it can only be used when attached to this device. When they act together, the artifact is no longer defective and is limited to storing magic short-term.”
“It’ll be able to hold magic for longer?”
“I would have to put them together and experiment to know for sure. But yes, I believe it’s possible.”
“Huh.”
“This device has the power to temporarily disable the Eye. We should be able to free the people in the auditorium in that time.”
“Sounds good. And then?”
“Well, I haven’t finished examining the artifact, so I’d like to prioritize that.”
“I see.”
“After I interpret it, we can bring the activated artifact closer to the Eye.”
“How?”
“Um…they’re vigilantly patrolling the ground level, so I think we might have to get closer underground.” Sherry smiles somewhat nervously.
“Underground?”
“Yes.” Sherry takes a few books off the bookshelf, and it swings back to reveal a staircase leading to a lower level.
“Neat.”
I love these kinds of gimmicks.
“There are still a few hidden escape tunnels left in some of the on-campus facilities, but no one’s used this passage in a while.”
There’s a hint of sadness in her eyes.
“The stairs are dusty…and there aren’t any footprints. I wish my foster father had escaped though here…”
“Ah, Assistant Principal Lutheran. He adopted you, right?”
“He used to help my mother with her research, and he’s taken care of me for as long as I can remember. Even after Mother died and I had nowhere to go, he took me under his wing and raised me as his own.”
“Sounds like a great guy.”
“Yes, he really is. He’s always the one saving me…and this time, I want to be the one to save him.” Sherry beams.
�
��I hope he’s all right. After we get closer underground, what should we do?”
“Oh, um…we go through the tunnels and throw the active artifact into the auditorium.”
“Won’t it break?”
“Even if it does, it’ll still disable the Eye temporarily. All we’ll need is the dark knights to give us a hand…”
The climax sounds a bit weak, but I could spice it right up if I turn into Shadow and go on a rampage. To tell you the truth, I’m thankful she prepared a great scene for me to show off what I can do.
“Fantastic. Let’s do it.”
“Great! I’ll just hurry up and finish deciphering this.”
“My back hurts, so I can’t help too much. But good luck.”
I’m glad she has a decent tactic. I guess I won’t have to be the supporting side character after all.
“Cid, don’t overdo it. I’ll do the best I can. I’ve never been able to help anyone, but now it’s my turn to save my foster father and everyone else.”
“Yeah, you got this. Oh, I’ll be right back—gotta go to the bathroom.”
I leave Sherry to her research so I can go out and play.
With the wild eyes of a starving dog, Rex opens the auditorium doors and boldly saunters through the room. A group of men follow.
The students are forced to stay in their chairs, lowering their heads when the group approaches them. There are three floors in the enormous, drafty auditorium, and all of the exits are guarded by men enshrouded in jet-black. The students are being monitored and not allowed to make a single peep. An insincere smile plays on Rex’s face as he slips out of the auditorium and heads toward a waiting room.
“How was it?” asks a man in black as soon as Rex shuts the door.
His voice is deep and dignified. Even though he hides his face with a mask and is dressed like the others, his superiority is instantly recognizable.
“You don’t waste time, do you, Sir Gaunt? We’ve almost completely taken over the school. The Knight Order is making a ruckus outside, but they’re not even worth our breath.”
“Irrelevant. I’m asking whether you’ve obtained the artifact.”
“Oh, the artifact. About that…” Rex shrugs as he looks at Sir Gaunt. “I’m pretty sure it’s in that young girl’s possession. You know, the one with peach hair.”
“Are you saying you couldn’t retrieve it?”
The Eminence in Shadow, Vol. 1 (Light Novel) Page 17