The Eminence in Shadow

Their steely gazes bear down on Shadow, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

The wind blows, causing Shadow’s sword to whistle. Yukime unfurls her fans, and Juggernaut hoists his billhook up onto his shoulder.

The wordless standoff draws on.

Juggernaut is the first to break the silence. “Are we just gonna keep staring at each other? Or are we gonna get this death match started?”

“If there is going to be killing, I would like to have Mr. Shadow on my side. Pray pardon, Mr. Shadow, what say you?” Yukime casts an amorous glance Shadow’s way.

Juggernaut scoffs. “Hey, word to the wise, don’t trust that fox. She’d kill you in your sleep.”

“—This is insipid.” Despite the gravity of the situation, Shadow turns his back on the other two without a shred of trepidation. “The Red Moon has risen, and the rampage has begun… I don’t have time to waste playing around with you people.”

“Turnin’ your back on me? That takes balls.” Juggernaut glares at the back in question.

“It would seem you have a peculiar insight into this situation. The Red Moon… I feel as though I’ve heard that name before…”

“You goin’ senile in your old age, Grandma?”

“Quiet. As Mr. Shadow said, I, too, verily believe fighting here would be a waste of time. I only came hither because I did not want to lose any more of my people to the ghouls. You’re the same, no?”

“You and I ain’t got nothin’ in common. The Lawless City doesn’t need three towers, so I just figured I’d come and knock one of the spares over, that’s all.”

“Your efforts would be better spent on the Blood Queen, no?”

“Screw this, I’m out. I’ll kill you next time, hag.” Juggernaut glares at Yukime and Shadow, then leaves.

Yukime watches him go, but stops Shadow before he can follow suit.

“Wait. Truth is, Mr. Shadow, I know who you are. I run the pleasure houses here, you see.”

Shadow looks at Yukime out of the corner of his eye.

“Word has it that a number of my girls owe you their lives. I owe you

a debt, certainly, and I would love a chance to show you my appreciation sometime, if you’d let me.”

“I don’t need your thanks… It wasn’t like I was trying to save them.”

Shadow’s shoes click as he walks away.

“And they were all so thankful, too… What humble man crosses our path… I will wait as long as it takes, just know that the White Tower’s doors are always open to you.”

Yukime bows toward Shadow’s back.

“I do think we shall meet anon.”

With a coquettish smile, Yukime turns toward the Crimson Tower, and Shadow vanishes from sight.

The Watchdog is waiting for prey outside the Crimson Tower.

He sits on the ground, cradling his gaunt body with a warped smile stiff upon his face.

Once, he was the killer—no, the knight—known as the White Demon.

Back in his country, he’d served as a knight captain. With his white hair fluttering over his white uniform, he’d cast the image of an ideal defender of the peace.

However, his true nature was that of a bloodthirsty serial killer who stalked the streets at night. Ever since he was born, he’d taken joy in killing people. The red blood, the screams, the looks of desperation on their faces… Killing others made him feel alive.

One day, though, one of his colleagues caught him in the act. In that moment, he became the White Demon.

In the space of a single night, the White Demon slew his entire knight order before fleeing. Then, once he escaped, he kept on killing, eventually making his way to the Lawless City.

He knew no fear. He thought he stood at the very top of the food chain.

However, when he challenged the Crimson Tower, his misconceptions were shattered. The White Demon had struck fear into countless hearts, but he was unable to lay so much as a finger on Crimson. He was unilaterally defeated and ended up having to plea for his life.

Now, he works as a Watchdog.

The freedom to kill was stolen from him.

Killing had given his life purpose, and he’d lost even that…

Now, an opportunity was finally approaching him.

“Hee-hee…”

When the Red Moon started, most of the vampires had left the tower.

That meant there was no one left to judge him. As long as the Red Moon continued, he could kill as he pleased.

And so, the White Demon waits for prey. He’s the Watchdog no more—he’s the White Demon, and he’s waiting for people to slaughter.

Rumor has it that the Dark Knight Association is planning on assassinating the Blood Queen. As the White Demon waits for his target, he practically prays that someone will come by.

And then—

Violent footsteps rumble through the streets, and his fervent wish is granted.

“Hee-hee…hee?”

The White Demon looks up in ecstasy to see a tanned behemoth.

The man’s body is covered in thick, veiny muscles, and he’s carrying a billhook longer than he is tall.

The man glares at the White Demon with a stern glint in his eye. He practically exudes violence. The White Demon is certain of it—this is Juggernaut the Tyrant, one of the Lawless City’s rulers.

“You’re in the way. Move.”

“Hee…” The White Demon instantly averts his gaze and steps away from the door.

He knows full well that there are people who are stronger than him, and he knows he absolutely can’t lay a hand on the Lawless City’s rulers or their inner circles. He learned that the hard way—from fighting Crimson.

“Annoying.”

The Tyrant stops in front of the door, then swings his colossal billhook and smashes it to smithereens.

“Hee?!” The White Demon shrinks back to let the Tyrant pass and looks at the pulverized door.

It had been thick, not to mention reinforced with iron. Even a dark knight would have had trouble getting through it. The man who obliterated it in a single blow enters the Crimson Tower.

The White Demon is terrified at the thought of what might be starting.

Then he hears footsteps from behind.

They’re reserved and light, so they clearly belong to a woman. He likes women. Their flesh is so tender.

A wicked grin spreads across his face as he turns around.

There, he finds a woman so bewitching and fair, she seems almost unworldly.

Her hair is lustrous and white, and it’s adorned with a pair of fox ears. Two iron fans hang from her kimono’s sash.

That’s all well and good.

However, the problem is the nine fox tails swaying behind her.

“Hee?!”

There’s no mistaking it. The woman is Yukime the Spirit Fox, one of the Lawless City’s other rulers.

“Move.”

“Hee-hee!”

The White Demon shuffles to the side before she even finishes her sentence. She’s way, way out of his league. He cowers behind a corner as the Spirit Fox passes him by and enters the tower, then he looks up.

Is the tower going to survive, now that the Tyrant and the Spirit Fox are inside? Are those monsters going to have an all-out war?

Then he hears footsteps once more.

Upon hearing them click, the White Demon grins.

The Tyrant and the Spirit Fox are already inside, so there’s no way someone of their caliber can possibly show up.

Sure enough, who he finds is just some guy in black he’s never seen before.

The man’s wearing a jet-black longcoat, and his face is covered beneath a hood and behind a mask.

However, it’s impossible to get a read on the man’s strength. When someone is as strong as the White Demon, he can usually tell how powerful his foe is before the fight even starts. However, he’s drawing a complete blank on the man in the longcoat.

Still, compared with the Tyrant and the Spirit Fox, he’s probably an easy target.

This is the prey I’ve been waiting for.

“…Hee-hee!!”

The moment the man in black enters his range, the White Demon strikes.

Got him.

As soon as that thought passes through his head, the White Demon finds himself looking up at the sky.

“Hee…?”

Unable to tell what’s going on, he glances around, only to find that his bottom half is still standing.

It’s been separated from his top half, and it gushes blood as it topples to the ground.

That’s when the White Demon finally realizes he’s been cut in two.

“Hee… Hee…”

He assumes the man in black will just head into the Crimson Tower after having sliced him in twain, but instead, he plants his foot on the outside of the tower and begins running straight up its side.

“Hee?!”

As the blood pumps out of his body, the White Demon can’t believe his eyes.

But the man in black isn’t done yet. Halfway up, he comes to an abrupt stop, smashes open the wall with his fist, and slips into the hole.

The man is insane.

He’s clearly far more dangerous than the other two…

The White Demon now realizes that he’s laid a hand on someone he absolutely wasn’t supposed to.

“Hee… Hee…”

The moment before the life fades from his body, he recalls something. “Wait, isn’t that where they keep the treasure?”

Thump, thump, thump.

Hearing a low thud, Beta glances up from her book.

When she looks around the spacious library, she sees that one part of the wall is vibrating in concert with the noise.

Is someone hitting the wall from outside?

Right as the thought crosses her mind, the wall suddenly gives way, and a pair of women come tumbling through, accompanied by a fair bit of dirt.

“Ow?!”

“Oof.”

The dark-haired girl lands on the ground face-first, and the red-haired girl collapses on top of her.

“Owww… I wasn’t expecting the wall to be so brittle.”

When the dark-haired girl looks up with her hands clamped on her nose, Beta realizes that she knows her. It’s Claire Kagenou, her master’s sister.

“I told you to be careful…,” her attractive redheaded companion notes emotionlessly.

“If we’d taken it slower, we might not have made it in time. Also, Mary, would you mind getting off me?”

“Oh, sorry, Claire.”

After the redhead does as requested, the two of them stand up and dust off their clothes.

“By the way, where exactly are we?”

“We should be right under the Crimson Tower, but…”

Beta chooses to answer their questions. “You’re in the Crimson Tower’s underground library.”

That’s when they finally notice her sitting on her chair.

“…Well,

they

found us fast.”

“That’s why I told you to be careful…”

“Look, I’m sorry. But it looks like we’d have been found out one way or the other.”

The two of them draw their swords and square off against Beta.

Beta sighs and closes her book.

“Good grief… I never expected someone to come popping out of the wall. Now, I

should

get rid of the witnesses…” Beta sneaks a glance at Claire as she mutters. “But it looks like that isn’t an option. Nobody lay a hand on them.”

Although she quietly gives some orders, all appearances suggest that the three of them are alone.

“I have no intention of fighting you. Would you be so kind as to put away your sword, Ms. Claire?”

“…! You know me?”

“You’re Claire Kagenou, the winner of the Bushin Festival.”

“I guess my name’s gotten around. Fair enough. Tell me who you are and what you want. Once I’m sure you aren’t my enemy, we’d be happy to back down.”

“Wait, Claire…”

“We don’t have time to be fighting unnecessary battles. She doesn’t look like she’s on the Blood Queen’s side, and…she looks like a tough opponent.” Claire’s gaze sharpens as she speaks.

Beta looks like she’s just casually sitting there, but the air about her suggests she won’t go down easily.

“Agreed.”

Beta’s wearing a black bodysuit and mask, and she certainly doesn’t look like one of the Blood Queen’s supporters. If anything, she’s probably an intruder like Claire.

“Who I am and what I want, huh…? Well, you’re right. Just like you, I’m here to invade the Crimson Tower.”

“I need more details.”

“I’m afraid that would take a while.”

“Give me the specifics, but make it concise.”

“My, how particular.” Beta shrugs. “My name is Beta, and I work for the Shadow Garden. I came to the Crimson Tower because I have some business to attend to.”

“Is that so. And what exactly is the mysterious Shadow Garden doing here?”

“Hmm… How much to tell you? There are things I’m allowed to say and thing I’m not, after all. How about this…? We’re conducting research on possession for certain reasons, and we wanted a blood sample from a Progenitor.”

“On the possession…?!”

“Why do you need a Progenitor’s blood…?”

Claire reacts to the possession bit, whereas Mary responds to the mention of Progenitor’s blood.

“Over the course of our research, we arrived at a certain hypothesis. There’s a possibility that the blood of the possessed and the blood of the Progenitors share the same origin and that the two merely diverged as they were inherited from parent to child.”

“You dare blaspheme against the Progenitors…?” A harsh look crosses Mary’s eyes, and she tightens her grip on her sword.

“It’s only a theory, and we certainly mean no insult to the Progenitors. We just wanted a sample so we could check for ourselves. I do find one thing puzzling, though. Why does the thought make you so mad, Ms. Ancient Vampire Hunter?”

“—?! You know who I am, too, it seems…”

“I’ve heard rumors.”

“I see… Then you know not to get in my way.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Mary glares at Beta as she stows her sword. Beta shrugs, then reopens her book.

“Vampires live long lives, and the quality of their libraries certainly reflect that. There are all sorts of valuable documents here. Are you satisfied now, Ms. Claire?” she asks as she goes back to reading.

Claire glances between Mary and Beta, thinking.

“There’s one more thing I want to know.” She stares straight at Beta, her expression grave.

Sensing Claire’s pointed gaze, Beta looks up. “If it’s something I’m allowed to answer.”

“Is there a way to cure the possessed?”

Beta doesn’t answer right away. She stares at Claire for a little while, clearly deep in thought.

“I’m…afraid I can’t tell you. However, I will say you personally don’t have anything to worry about.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said.” Beta turns the page in her book, clearly not intending to say any more.

Claire quietly clicks her tongue, then turns around. “Let’s go.”

Before she and Mary can leave the library, Beta calls out to them.

“Wait. Ms. Claire, would you be willing to tell me why you teamed up with the Ancient Vampire Hunter to come to the Crimson Tower?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Idle curiosity, nothing more.”

Claire frowns as she answers. “The Blood Queen kidnapped Cid, my kid brother. If I don’t hurry, he’s going to be used as a human sacrifice.”

“Your younger brother is…?” Beta tilts her head to the side.

“Is that true?!”

Suddenly, a fourth voice calls out in a library occupied by three people.

When they look toward where the voice came from, another woman stands there seemingly having appeared out of thin air. She’s wearing a black bodysuit, and her face is hidden behind a mask.

“Number 666, restrain yourself.”

“But I… I’m sorry…”

Although she looks like she wants to dash off this very moment, Number 666 pulls herself together and steps back with her head hung.

“Is that all? If so, we’re leaving.” Claire reaches toward the library door.

“One last thing. Is there really no way you can try to re-create the Haven…?”

Claire turns around. “What does that mean?”

But Beta isn’t looking at her. She’s staring straight at Mary.

“Hey, wait—”

Mary looks away and wordlessly leaves the library. Claire hurries after her.

For a little while, the library is quiet again. The only noise is the sound of pages turning.

“Number 666, I’m disappointed in you,” says Beta as she reads.

“My deepest apologies…” Number 666 bows her head in contrition.

“Lambda spoke highly of your skills, and Alpha has great expectations for you. But this is a mark against you. Also, you two should have stopped her.”

“My apologies.”

“Sooorry.”

Two more women appear behind Number 666.

“This is Number 666’s first field exercise. Number 664, as her squad leader, this is your responsibility.”

“Understood…”

“We’ll need to be more careful going forward. To be absolutely clear, our mission is to recover a sample of Progenitor blood for the lab. However, Master Shadow said he’d handle the Blood Queen, so we have to make sure we don’t act carelessly. Until he arrives, our job is to continue surveying the materials in the library and collecting anything important. Now, get back to work.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As ordered, the other three quickly get back to the tasks at hand.

As Mary expected, there are almost no vampires left in the Crimson Tower.

That said, there are still some, and every now and again, the two of them find themselves under attack.

Claire swings her sword and slices through a vampire’s neck. However, its body still moves.

“Stab them through the heart!”

Following Mary’s instructions, Claire impales the headless vampire’s heart. When she does, thin red fissures of light spread from it, and soon nothing but ashes remain.

Behind Claire, Mary takes down their final foe.

It’s thanks to her help that the two of them have made it through all the attacks unscathed.

Although she has less raw magic at her disposal than Claire, her mastery with the sword is downright impressive. And more important, she’s used to fighting vampires.

Most vampires rely on their physical strength in battle, and it’s easy to imagine how difficult it would be to go up against an opponent with such superhuman movements and astounding regenerative skills in a fair fight.

However, Mary seems to practically know what the vampires are going to do before they do it, and her responses are swift and precise.

Having her help is going to be essential in rescuing Cid. Claire knows that full well.

Yet even so—she just can’t help but say something.

“Are you hiding something from me?” she asks as Mary stares somberly at the last remaining pile of ash.

“What do you mean, ‘something’…?” Mary replies, her face unreadable.

“You were acting strangely back at the library. It was like you were on the vampires’ side. Weren’t you here to hunt the Blood Queen?”

“I am.”

“Really? Then I have to ask: How do you know so much about vampires? I can tell by watching you fight them. You know how they think. You understand them better than anyone.”

“It’s because I’ve dedicated my entire life to hunting down the Blood Queen…”

“And I’m saying that isn’t enough to explain it. What was up with that last exchange back at the library, then? What’s the Haven? What’s this about you re-creating it?”

With each sentence, Claire’s tone grows harsher.

However, Mary offers her no answers.

“You can’t just play dumb,” Claire comments.

“Well, you’re no different.”

“Huh?”

“You have things you’re keeping from me, too. Why is it you’re so obsessed with the possession?”

“I…”

“Everyone knows there’s no way to heal it.”

“…I suppose not.” Claire bites her lip.

“Everyone has their secrets. Don’t they?”

“…Maybe we should both just stop asking questions. I’ll help you take down the Blood Queen; you help me save my brother.”

“Sounds good to me…”

Neither meets the other’s eyes as they resume their ascent.

“Wait.”

A little while later, Mary, who’s walking ahead, stops in her tracks.

“What’s wrong?”

“I can hear someone fighting up ahead.”

The two tread silently as they draw closer to the noise. It sounds like there’s a battle taking place on the other side of the door. However, there aren’t any other routes they can take.

“Looks like we don’t have a choice…”

“Try opening it a tiny bit and peeking inside.”

Mary gives Claire’s suggestion a nod, then peers through the doorway.

Inside, there appears to be a sizable hall. The scarlet moon floats in the sky outside a large window.

A tanned goliath is holding a vampire by the throat and grinning.

“Y’all are weak…”

The man’s massive billhook is stained with blood, and he’s surrounded by ghoul chunks and piles of ash.

“And you’re part of the top brass round these parts, too. I recognize your face. Now, where’s Crimson?” The man wrings the vampire’s neck as he asks his question.

“Wh-who can say…?”

“What? You ain’t gonna talk?”

“No… I…don’t need to…”

The moment the words leave the vampire’s mouth, his body transforms into a cloud of red mist. It’s Mistform, an ability that only the strongest vampires can use.

“Oh?” The tanned man’s hand snatches at the empty air, and the red fog gathers behind him.

The vampire’s hand emerges from the mist, and his sharp claws bear down on the man.

However, the tanned man doesn’t so much as look back.

“My instinct’s always right…”

He just casually swings his colossal weapon.

A terrifying gust of wind blows all the way to the door, and Mary and Claire have to frantically push on it to keep it closed.

When they peek back inside, they see the vampire’s flesh scattered across the ground like mincemeat. The chunks quickly turn to ash.

“Who’s that guy?” Claire whispers.

He certainly doesn’t look like a vampire, but it’s hard to see him as an ally, either.

“He’s Juggernaut the Tyrant, one of the Lawless City’s three rulers. We should try to avoid fighting him. That vampire he just killed was the third strongest among the Blood Queen’s inner circle…”

“That guy was the third strongest…?”

Given the absurd gulf in power between him and the Tyrant, it certainly didn’t looked that way.

“Let’s just stay hidden…”

Claire nods, agreeing with Mary’s suggestion.

However, the Tyrant calls out from the other side of the door, “My instinct’s always right… Someone’s there, ain’tcha?”

“—Gh!”

Suddenly, the door splinters.

As the billhook comes cleaving horizontally through from the other side, Mary and Claire throw themselves to the ground. The sound of violence booms out from above them.

“What, two little girls?”

The Tyrant gazes down at the two of them from beyond the smashed door.

“Well, this is bad.”

“Looks like we’re out of options.”

They draw their swords, and the Tyrant laughs.

“Y’all don’t look like vampires, but…hey, it’s your funeral.”

He brings the colossal billhook crashing down.

They each evade the blow by dodging to a different side. The weapon smashes into the ground, sending rubble flying into the air.

The Tyrant casts a sharp glare at his targets from within the storm of debris then aims for Claire, the closer of the two.

He takes a massive step forward and, with a swing of his thick arms, brings his billhook to bear.

However, Claire can see through his movements.

Although the Tyrant is blessed with both speed and power, his peculiar weapon necessitates sweeping motions. He may be fast, but Claire can read him like a book.

Sure enough, she blocks his attack with her blade.

That said, the impact from the blow vastly exceeds her expectations. Her expression twists, and her follow-up is a moment too slow.

A moment is all the Tyrant needs.

“All you swordfolk use the same damn playbook…!”

At some point, he started holding his billhook in one hand.

His other hand, now free, sinks into Claire’s face.

“Claire!!”

Mary moves to cover for Claire, but the Tyrant stops her in her tracks with a single look. She knows that any wrong moves on her part will mean death.

Although she was blasted away and sent rolling across the ground, Claire gets up as if nothing happened.

She spits out a mouthful of blood.

“Ow. Now the inside of my mouth is all cut up…” She glares at the Tyrant.

The Tyrant, in turn, raises one eyebrow and grins. For some reason, there’s a shallow cut across his chest.

“Y’know, that one blow’s enough to take most people down for the count. This ain’t your first rodeo, is it?”

“I have a brother, so yeah.”

Blood streams from Claire’s mouth as she beams a bright-red smile.

The moment the Tyrant punched her, she not only leaned into the blow, but got a decent slash at his chest, too. She gives her sword a practice swing as though to test it out, then hawks out another mouthful of blood.

“You’re a man of violence, I see. All strength, no skill.”

She’s putting up a brave front, but she’s not nearly as composed as her words are letting on. The cuts in her mouth are deep and bloody, and her head is still ringing from the hit.

Trading blows with him was a mistake. His are far heavier than hers.

“You got me. I never learned no technique…’cause I never needed to!”

He charges at Claire.

The Tyrant’s power comes from his raw physical strength, his innate magic, and his insane combat intuition. He has no need for skill. If anything, it would only slow him down.

Claire goes for another block on the full-force slash.

This time, though, the blow breaks her posture.

Her footing is shaky. The damage to her head still lingers.

“—!!”

The Tyrant isn’t one to let an opportunity pass.

He holds his gigantic billhook overhead…

“I told you. My instinct’s always right…”

…and swings it hard.

The blow goes wide, swinging past Claire at an alarming speed.

A large spray of blood hits her in the face.

“…Huh?”

She’s unharmed.

When she looks to the side, though, she sees Mary with her stomach rent open.

It’s practically caved in.

Mary coughs up blood as she kneels.

“M-Mary!!”

“All you swordfolk really do use the same damn playbook. She was waitin’ for me to drop my guard the whole time, and I was waitin’ for her to come kill me… Them’s the breaks.”

The Tyrant flashes an evil smile.

As Mary kneels lifelessly, Claire rushes over to her with tears in her eyes.

“Mary… No! This can’t be…”

The wound reaches her organs. It’s fatal.

Claire puts her hands on the wound and runs magic through it.

When she does, though, Mary grabs them.

“

Cough!

Your blood…

cough

…”

Mary looks at Claire, who is trying to tell her something as she coughs up blood.

“Mary! You shouldn’t move…!”

Mary just grabs Claire’s hands tighter as she tries to get her message across. “Claire…please…let me suck…your blood…”

“Wait, suck…?”

Suddenly, Mary plants her lips on Claire’s.

“Hmm-hmph?!” Claire’s eyes go wide with shock.

Mary sucks on Claire’s lips, slurping up the blood dripping off them.

Her eyes flash red.

“What are you—?!”

Claire tries to pull Mary off her. But Mary isn’t there anymore.

“Huh?!”

“Gah!!”

Claire’s surprised yelp and the Tyrant’s scream of pain come at the same time. She whirls around to find the Tyrant looking up with his arm sliced to ribbons.