The Eminence in Shadow, Vol. 1 (Light Novel)

by Daisuke Aizawa

  “Here and now, I’ll be reborn.”

  It sinks into his chest and clothes and skin, as if submerged into water.

  “AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaah!!” Lutheran roars as he claws at his chest.

  The glowing ancient letters gather around him, engraving themselves into his body. A blinding luminescence dyes the room white.

  Then the light dims, and Lutheran is found kneeling in white smoke.

  He rises to his feet at a leisurely pace. When he looks forward, a series of small, glowing letters has been etched into his face like a tattoo.

  “Fantastic… Incredible… My powers are returning, and my disease will be cured!”

  Lutheran stands in the middle of a torpedo of flames that undulate under the force of his powerful magic. The glowing letters aren’t just engraved in his face but also his hands and neck.

  “You can never fathom my frenzied strength! This magic has far surpassed all human limitations!” Lutheran sneers.

  “Let’s try it out on you.”

  And then he vanishes.

  The next moment, Lutheran takes a big swing at Shadow from behind. There’s a high-pitched echo, and the air between them ripples from impact.

  “Oh, impressive parry.”

  Upon inspection, Shadow has blocked the attack with his ebony blade as he continues facing forward. Lutheran uses all his might to grind against it, but his opponent’s weapon won’t budge.

  “I underestimated you. But how’s this?”

  Lutheran disappears again.

  This time, there are shrill noises in succession.

  One, two, three.

  Every time, Shadow’s blade adjusts slightly, his movement as minimal as possible.

  On the fourth, Lutheran appears before him.

  “I didn’t think you would block that one. I acknowledge your strength.” He stares at Shadow and grins calmly.

  “To properly respect it, I’ll now unveil my true power.” Lutheran shifts his stance.

  He focuses a devastating amount of magic on the sword raised above his head.

  “In the afterlife, you can pride yourself on making me unleash my might.”

  That single blow comes at Shadow with the power and speed to crush him into smithereens.

  But the ebony blade parries it with ease.

  “What?!”

  A burst of sparks flies between the black blade and the sword of light.

  “You dare block that, too?!”

  “At your level…I’d hope so.”

  The two glare at each other from a dangerously close distance.

  “Ksh… I’ve only just begun!”

  Lutheran’s sword slashes rapidly, leaving behind a beautiful trajectory of white afterimages in the air.

  “RAAAAaaaah!!”

  As Lutheran roars, the ebony blade repels all his attacks.

  “AAAAAaauugh!!”

  The white strikes slam into the ebony blade, the two crashing loudly together as if composing a song. It adds another layer to the burning night.

  But that’s about to end.

  With one swipe of the ebony blade, Lutheran is flung backward, crashing into the desks and tumbling to the floor.

  “Gak… Impossible…!”

  Lutheran clutches his stinging body as he gets to his feet. His wounds will heal quickly, but it looks as if the ancient text is growing dim.

  “I didn’t think this would be a struggle. Heh, I’m impressed. But no matter how strong you are, I’ll end all of you.”

  “What do you mean…?”

  “Well, I’ve arranged for the incidents to look like they’re the work of the Shadow Garden. From the evidence to the testimonies—everything has been prepared. Regardless of your strength in battle, you’ll only suffer in the end.”

  Lutheran chortles, screwing up his face before observing Shadow’s response.

  But Shadow is laughing. A dreadfully deep guffaw spills out of him.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “It’s amusing how you think something this insignificant could end us.”

  Lutheran stops smiling. “You’re just afraid to admit defeat.”

  Shadow shakes his head as if to say, You don’t know a thing.

  “From the beginning, we’ve walked the path of neither justice nor evil. We walk our own path.”

  Shadow holds out his burning ebony coat.

  “You talk big. Accuse us for the sins of the world. We’ll accept them as our own, but nothing will change. We’ll still do what we’re meant to do.”

  “You say you don’t fear opposing the world? Mighty arrogant of you, Shadow!”

  “Then crush it out of me.”

  Lutheran lunges, his bare sword swinging down on Shadow from overhead.

  But Shadow evades the attack, right before his head is split in two.

  “What?!”

  There’s a spray of fresh blood.

  The ebony blade has been thrust into Lutheran’s right wrist, and he immediately switches his sword in his left hand and starts retreating.

  “Impossible!”

  This time, the black sword slices through his left wrist. While Lutheran falls back, Shadow’s katana plunges toward him.

  “Guh…gah…!”

  Lutheran is soiled with his own blood as he fails to counter the swift slashes that his eyes can’t even perceive. His wrists, feet, upper arms, and thighs are stabbed hundreds of times.

  The next series of attacks concentrate on his core.

  “Cut from your extremities inward…”

  Shadow’s deep voice echoes between each stab.

  “…And twist my blade in your heart, I believe?” he confirms, plunging his blade into Lutheran’s chest at the same time.

  “Wha—…?!!”

  Even as blood gushes into his mouth, Lutheran grabs the weapon wedged in his heart and resists. His eyes meet the boy’s gaze from behind his mask.

  “It can’t be. You’re Ci—…!”

  The moment he’s about to finish his sentence, the blade twists.

  “Ga…agh…aghh…!”

  When it’s yanked out, a river of blood pumps from his chest. The light in Lutheran’s eyes and the ancient text begin to fade. All that remains is the corpse of a gaunt, middle-aged man.

  And then there’s the quiet pattering of footsteps.

  “Foster Father…?”

  Head to toe in splattered blood, Shadow whips around to see…a girl with peach hair.

  “Foster Fatherrrr!!” She sprints past Shadow and cradles the corpse.

  “No… How…? Why…?!!”

  She clings to the gaunt body and weeps. Her foster father moves no more. Shadow watches her tears fall and wet the corpse’s face before turning away.

  “It’s better you don’t know…”

  And then he disappears into the madder-red flames, leaving her cries behind him.

  She hears that the boy with a major back injury is being protected at school.

  When the news reaches Rose, she can’t help but hurry to the first aid tent at the school that burns in the darkness of the night.

  Students and instructors with hands to spare assist with a bucket brigade.

  The Knight Order makes moves to treat the injured and track down the Shadow Garden.

  And Rose finally arrives at the tent after maneuvering through the flustered crowd.

  The boy in treatment is a first-year dark knight with black hair, and he has the same features as the one for whom she’s searching.

  But he should’ve died back there—though it wasn’t like she checked his vital signs. She hadn’t had the time or composure for that.

  Which means maybe—just maybe—he could be alive. He could be the one inside that tent.

  Rose can’t abandon that faint glimmer of hope.

  Her mind negates the prospect while her heart hopes it’s true. Rose notices how weak this is making her.

  Inside the tent reeks of blood and alcohol. The first aid team are in a rush, b
usily attending to patients. Rose makes her way through the tent, checking each face—until she finds the boy with black hair.

  He’s lying facedown on a bed, being treated for his back wound.

  The doctor is talking to him.

  He’s conscious…maybe.

  “U-ummm… Are you Cid Kagenou?” Rose sounds as if she wants to ask a favor.

  “Yes…?” He twists around to look at her. It’s the face of that same heroic boy.

  “I’m glad…so glad…”

  “Wait…huh?!”

  At some point, she’s embraced Cid, clinging to him tightly as his head squirms against her breast. Rose vows to never lose him again.

  Something hot rises to her chest.

  “Um… We’re in the middle of treatment…”

  “Oh! Right.”

  The timid voice of the doctor snaps Rose out of her daze, and she releases Cid.

  “And how are his wounds?”

  “The gash on his back is deep. It’s a miracle it didn’t damage his nerves or internal organs. It’s not fatal.”

  “Oh my gosh! Really?!”

  “Yes, really.”

  “Wow! That’s great!” Her entire body quivers with joy.

  “Um, yeah, so I think I unconsciously dodged a fatal attack. No, I was passed out, so I don’t really know, but that’s how I survived.” Cid sounds defensive for some unfathomable reason.

  “You must have acted on reflex, thanks to your persistent training. Amazing.”

  “Um, not exactly.”

  Rose kneels before him and looks into his eyes. “No, that’s it. Your undying efforts and passion gave life to this miracle.”

  She caresses Cid’s cheek as she gazes at him, standing close enough for him to almost feel her breath.

  “Um…”

  “You don’t have to say anything. I absolutely accept your feelings.” Her eyes well up with tears as she peers at him, and her cheeks turn as red as a rose.

  “That’s fine if you’re convinced I miraculously survived. But don’t go saying it was some strange anomaly afterward.”

  “All right. For now, please get some rest.”

  “Negotiation complete. Good night.”

  Rose fondly watches him close his eyes and fall asleep. Her heart has never raced so fast in her life.

  Bu-dump, bu-dump, it throbs.

  Up until this point, she’s only heard tell of this feeling, but now she’s finally experiencing it firsthand.

  “Since you’ve saved my life…I shall give my heart to you…”

  She strokes Cid’s hair and stays by his side until dawn.

  “Don’t you think they did a good job?” asks an alarmingly attractive blond elf, presenting a sheet of paper.

  In an ebony dress that makes her look like darkness itself, she’s in the Mitsugoshi building late at night.

  Gamma takes the paper from the beauty and mumbles, “Lady Alpha… Um, I don’t know what to say.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s a tough question to answer.”

  Alpha snickers to herself. The paper she handed over is a wanted poster containing a sketch of Shadow in his ebony coat.

  “SHADOW: ENEMY OF THE ROYAL KINGDOM. WANTED FOR MASS MURDER, ARSON, THEFT, KIDNAPPING… What a naughty man.”

  “You’re also on the wanted poster for the Shadow Garden, Lady Alpha. Though it only mentions your name.”

  “Where?”

  Gamma takes out another paper for Alpha to read.

  “The Shadow Garden… What a horrible organization.”

  The glow of the fireplace lights up her profile, and her supernatural beauty radiates from the darkness.

  “But it’s a shame. I can’t believe we rushed back here to find it almost over.”

  Alpha tosses the wanted poster into the fire, muttering to herself as she watches the flames lap it up and black char creep onto the edges of the paper.

  “Accuse us for the sins of the world. We’ll accept them as our own, but nothing will change. We’ll still do what we’re meant to do. How beautiful…”

  Alpha watches the poster turn to ash.

  “Deep down, I used to think I stood on the side of justice. But he wasn’t like that.”

  The light and shadows across her alluring face shift with the swaying flames. At times, she has the looks of a goddess, and at others, a devil. The fire capriciously switches between the two.

  “He’s prepared, and we must follow suit.”

  Alpha turns back to Gamma, who nervously gulps upon seeing her face.

  “Gather every available member of the Seven Shadows.”

  “I will. Right away.” Gamma bows her head. Cold sweat trails down her neck and vanishes between her breasts.

  After a chilly evening wind blows by her, Gamma lifts her head. There’s no one there.

  All that’s left is the flames in the fireplace flickering violently.

  “Excuse me…!”

  Hearing someone call out to him in front of the half-charred campus, the ordinary boy with black hair turns.

  “Oh, sorry about that. I was totally spacing out. What’s up?”

  “I heard I might be able to meet you if I waited here. There’s something I want to talk to you about…,” admits a girl with peach hair, gazing at him.

  “Sure. It’ll be a while before the authorities question me anyway. Plus, classes are gonna be canceled for a while.”

  “Um…thank you for the other day.” She lightly bows her head. “You really saved me, Cid.”

  “It was nothing.”

  “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “It’s all good. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Also, there’s something else I have to tell you. Um, I’ve decided to study abroad.”

  “Oh, that explains all that luggage.”

  There are heaps upon heaps of bags around her.

  “Yes. I’ll be taking a carriage to Laugus.”

  “So you’re going to the college town… Wow, that’s great.”

  “There’s something I must do. I have to go because I can’t do it with the knowledge I have now.”

  “All right. I wish you the best.”

  “And because…there’s no longer a reason for me to be here.” She mournfully turns back to the school. “I wish we could’ve talked more, Cid…”

  “Me too. But we’ll meet again someday.”

  “Yeah, I look forward to it.” She grins and walks past him.

  “Oh, wait a sec.”

  “Yes?” She halts at the sound of his voice and turns.

  “Can I ask what it is you have to do?”

  The girl smiles uneasily. “It’s a secret.”

  “I see.”

  “But when it’s all over…will you listen to my story?”

  “…Sure.”

  The pair grin before walking away from each other.

  As they part, the billowing clouds overhead block the summer sun, and the lukewarm breeze carries the scent of rain.

  “I promise to…”

  And the wind carries her whisper to his ears.

  He seems to have heard the entire sentiment—a string of words unintended for his ears. He turns to look back at her as she gets smaller and smaller, farther and farther away from him.

  Small raindrops drip down from the sky, moistening her light-pink hair, and he continues walking as if nothing happened.

  And neither turns back again.

  Appendix

  The Chronicles of Master Shadow

  Complete Version: Volume 1

  By Beta

  To lurk in the darkness and hunt down shadows. That’s the path Master Shadow has chosen. That’s why the fruits of his labor will stay hidden in the shadows and forgotten without recognition.

  It doesn’t matter what evil he slays, how many things he protects, or if he saves the world—no one will praise him. This is the path Master Shadow has chosen.

  Which is why I’ll write about his battles, his beliefs, his j
ourney…in hopes that the world will someday acknowledge and reward him.

  When Master Shadow was a child, he learned the truth about the Cult of Diablos and trained for years to defeat the powerful enemy himself. After training endlessly, he finally acquired great power and shadow intelligence.

  But I wonder how much he had to sacrifice in return. To lose one’s childhood dreams and happy future. To throw away friends and family and lovers and everything else. It must have been a hellish road to travel… He sacrificed his happiness to save others. That’s how Master Shadow saved me. He’s given those of us who were shunned for being possessed, who were left to die on the edge of hopelessness, a new lease on life.

  We decided to fight the Cult of Diablos and want to do anything we can to assist Master Shadow. We believe that the downfall of this cult will grant him true happiness…

  [Contents Omitted]

  And now, I will relate two of Master Shadow’s earliest battles.

  The first incident happened when a member of the royal family was kidnapped by the wicked Cult of Diablos to resurrect the power of Diablos the demon. The victim was a beautiful princess with silver hair and a cry and then Master Shadow came to the rescue of the princess!

  He gallantly appeared on the scene right when the beautiful princess was in danger and slayed the Cult’s assassin, Zenon. Even though the man was the greatest fencing instructor in the country, he couldn’t lay a hand on Master Shadow. That’s the extent of our leader’s frightening power.

  Master Shadow brought out the greatest esoteric technique to exterminate that numbskull Zenon. That one strike colored the sky, blew away the rain clouds, and Master Shadow’s almighty majesty was shown to the entire world!

  The second incident was when Lutheran, a former member of the Rounds in the Cult of Diablos, foolishly attacked Master Shadow’s school. Lutheran used an artifact to seal the magic of all his students, but that would obviously never stop Master Shadow! While the students were taken hostage, Master Shadow plucked off the terrorists from the shadows, one by one.

  Using his shadow wisdom, Master Shadow had no trouble freeing the magic sealed in the artifact. I bet Lutheran tipped his hat to him for that heroic deed. They say it’s not his overwhelming might that makes him scary—but his brain. After freeing the hostages, Master Shadow ambushed the ringleader of the operation who tried to flee and destroyed his sinister ambitions. And he bore the burden of Lutheran’s sins, choosing to save a girl on his own…