A Game of Shadows

Evileye beheld the assassin below her without a word for several seconds. Neither of them moved a muscle as they locked gazes, but the two teens watching could feel a silent pressure rippling through the still night air.

The masked vampire finally responded. "So you truly have embraced these so-called "gifts" of the Deathless. You look just like they did 100 years ago….but at what cost? I have buried countless allies after watching them age and die while I continue to walk this world of the living, and now you have chosen that same path, and for what? What do you even have to live for?"

Tira's sinister smile transformed back into a stone cold expression of indifference, but this time, the barest hint of irritation glinted deep within her striking dark grey eyes. "Don't lump me in with the likes of you, Vampire. I have no "loved ones" to bury. And to imply that the Church was the source of my immortality?"

Her smile returned, deepening into a vicious sneer as Tira's voice grew louder: "I served His Majesty before the Church of the Deathless was even a concept. I trained under the Eight Legged Ones in the shadows. What do I have to live for, you ask? I serve the higher purpose that is Ainz Ooal Gown, an entity that transcends life itself, an everlasting ideal that is bound not by the confines of time. I would not tire even if I were to serve five thousand years, unlike a pitiful soul like yours-shackled by meaningless attachments that churn and crumble within the hourglass of mortality."

It was Evileye's turn to smile underneath her mask as she replied: "So it is true, then? You are one of the legendary holders of the Black Boxes? The Witch. The Myrmidon. The Alchemist. The General. The Shadow. The Warlock. The Orphan. The Leviathan. The Fireborn. The Archbishop. The Ten Pillars of the Deathless, receivers of the mythical Black Boxes. I assume you are the one they call the Shadow? You are even less like your sisters than I thought; they would never have so easily taken the verbal bait."

A surprised expression flickered across Tira's face, but she quickly smothered it under a facade of nonchalance. Her next words were spoken in a deathly whisper: "Where did you obtain this information?"

Evileye replied with that very same tone, a whisper that was equal parts a question and a threat: "Why did you kill Tia and Tina?"

The silence that ensued felt like an eternity. Zinrus and Eloise both laid flat on the ground, not daring to make so much as the slightest sound or motion.

Finally, Tira attacked.

The assassin disappeared into the shadows before rematerializing a second later in the air above Evileye. Her dark silhouette split the moonlit sky as she plunged her silver blade down onto the masked Vampire.

Taken aback by the sheer speed and ferocity of her opponent, Evileye quickly activated [Reverse Gravity] on the descending Tira right before the assassin's blade rammed straight into the vampire's skull.

Tira relaxed her muscles, allowing the reversion of her gravitational pull to take her back into the sky. As she flew upwards, she grabbed and detonated one of her smoke bombs to conceal herself from Evileye's line of sight.

The Masked Vampire jumped down from the Crystal Dagger she was standing on, carefully observing the black cloud of smoke as she prepared to cast her next spell at a moment's notice. The combination of the magically enhanced smoke and the cover of night made it impossible to pick out Tira's presence even with her enhanced senses.

I thought [Dark Crossing] only teleported them to the nearest shadow? How did she teleport above me like that? And that speed….

Evileye grimaced. This was going to be a harder fight than she expected. The Tira before her had grown far stronger since they last saw each other decades ago. Back then, Evileye outmatched her by a significant margin, but now….

[Hidden Technique: Twilight Slash]

A faint dot of mysterious purple light flashed into existence amidst the darkness, trailing slowly towards Evileye before accelerating and blossoming into an ultraviolet streak of death.

Evileye's centuries worth of battle instincts saved her as she erected a [Crystal Wall] right before a vicious slashing force slammed straight into the wall in a horizontal arc, slicing the shimmering barricade cleanly into two halves. The crystal wall absorbed the brunt of the attack, but the residual ripple of [Twilight Slash] continued onwards, slicing faintly into Evileye's body.

The vampire gritted her teeth as she tried to ignore the sudden burning sensation on her torso. She directed her enhanced senses towards the source of the attack, finally honing onto Tira's presence. Now it was her turn.

[Teleportation]

Evileye re-emerged next to the assassin's silhouette, casting [Detect Life] to ensure that it was not a Shadow Clone. Tira barely had time to turn around and defend herself before the vampire unleashed a barrage of crystalline shards that streaked mercilessly towards the assassin.

[Maximize Magic: Shard Buck Shots]

[Immovable Adamantite Shield Technique]

Tira quickly activated her circular multicolored barrier, but not before a quarter of the Crystal Shards had already struck her, leaving multiple gashes across her body. The assassin gritted her teeth as she endured the pain, forcing herself to keep up the defensive technique long enough to deflect the rest of the spell.

Evileye approached the wounded assassin carefully as she delivered her next words in a tone lined with triumphant steel.

"You've grown a lot stronger since the last time we met, but it seems you still have yet to fully awaken your new powers. I hear the Leviathan and the Warlock already far surpass the pinnacle of humanity, but you? You I can take. For the sake of the two lives I treasured that you sought fit to end, I will kill you."

Tira staggered back in pain as blood oozed from her black ninja attire, but her eyes showed no fear. Instead, her gaze burned with a new unbridled rage as she heard Evileye's last sentence.

"Tina and Tia abandoned me." she snarled. "Left me alone at Ijaniya while you wretched Blue Roses played adventurer and drank tea. I had no choice but to stay loyal, and through my own power I climbed to the top of the organization. When the Sorcerer King arrived, he gave me a new life, a new purpose. But to fulfill that destiny I first had to eliminate my thirst for vengeance against the sisters who betrayed me. That was why they had to die."

"The Sorcerer King has been gone for a hundred years." replied Evileye in a flat tone.

Tira shook her head. "His legacy is eternal. Even in death, Ainz Ooal Gown's power, influence and ideology permeates the very fabric of civilization. Our people number in the hundreds of thousands, biding our time for when His Majesty finally returns to walk among us. The Imprisoned Ones slumber around the edges of the world, and when they finally wake, they will bring the world to heel. But for now…."

Tira closed her eyes and smiled as tendrils of shadow began to coalesce around her.

A sudden ominous feeling jolted Evileye to action, and the vampire immediately tried to unleash her killing blow-

[Crystal La-

-but it was too late.

[Aspect of the Shadow]

A dark aura erupted from Tira's body, emitting an invisible force that drove Evileye several steps back, interrupting her cast.

"You know too much, Evileye. The others will come for you."

[Aspect of the Shadow: Dark Crossing]

As the Vampire recovered from the brief knockback, she could see the condensed shadows dissipate and disappear. When they finally cleared, Tira had vanished without a trace.

Evileye grimaced beneath her mask. The shadowy power Tira radiated before teleporting away was nothing short of extraordinary. If the assassin learnt how to harness that ability as a means to attack rather than escape...

She sighed. Things were getting bleaker and bleaker every day.

She turned towards the bodies of Zinrus and Eloise, both of whom had crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap during the battle.

-------------

The Sovereign Duke of the New Re-estize Kingdom was a powerful man. A survivor of the old kingdom and founding father of the new, Riivan Bandt Dale Raevan presided over twelve noble houses and served as the de-facto ruler over a vast nation developing at a remarkable pace.

Only seventy years after its founding, the New Re-Estize Kingdom was now on the verge of surpassing the old kingdom's economic and political power. Under almost any circumstances, such progress would have been unthinkable, but to the Sovereign Duke, it was but the natural progression of events.

Even at the venerable age of one hundred and twelve, Sovereign Duke Raevan radiated a powerful vigor as he strode through the hallways of Castle Raevan-the seat of power of the Raevan House and the unofficial palace of the New Re-Estize Kingdom.

As he walked by, all who beheld him-guards, servants, even fellow noblemen-bowed their heads with reverence upon seeing the glowing visage of the Sovereign Duke. His short golden hair gleamed with a timeless lustre, and his eyes glimmered with a fiery intensity as they stared forward with a silent wisdom like the gaze of an old lion.

What the people couldn't see, however, was the rapid heartbeat of a nervous man underneath Riivan's facade of serenity. As the Sovereign Duke made his way towards his destination, he was unable to suppress the mounting feeling of anxiety within his chest.

He rounded the bend and walked down a flight of stairs to a dimly lit hallway, at the end of which was a pair of ornate golden doors. He stopped before the entrance to the chamber before him and closed his eyes, making an effort to calm himself before finally pushing the door open and entering.

Awaiting him inside was a young blonde-haired girl in a long black dress. She sat on a loveseat with her back facing him, staring intently at the hearth fire at the far end of the room. Standing at her side was a man clad in full gold-tinted plate armor, his face concealed underneath a full helm.

Riivan felt an ominous pressure bearing down on him the moment he walked into the room. He walked slowly towards the blonde woman, making sure to stop a good distance away before bowing.

He addressed her in a politely cautious tone: "I received your message, my lady. How can I be of service?"

For a while, the girl did not make any effort to reply, and the room was filled merely with the crackling sound of the fireplace. Riivan began to sweat as he awaited the girl's response, acutely aware of the armored individual who had taken a small step towards him.

"You might already know this, but I was quite well acquainted with your father." the girl finally replied, her silky voice carrying an enchanting, almost hypnotizing lull. "He was a man of...competent intellect. But the best quality about him was that he knew his place."

Riivan shivered as the girl finally stood up and walked towards him, revealing an enigmatic pair of stygian-colored eyes. However, a faint hint of blue remained deep within her irises, as if the azure color that had once shone through those large, beautiful eyes have since faded to black.

"The Shadow has completed her task. Your source's tipoff was indeed accurate. They were on the brink of discovering our collaboration. I assume it was the butler who came to you?"

"Y-yes, my lady."

"However, it seems that the Shadow ran into a bit of an unexpected encounter. A small potential threat to our stability has emerged."

Riivan looked up in surprise as he sputtered: "What? How? Who could possibly be able to challenge-"

The girl held up a hand to silence him.

"You need not concern yourself with that particular matter. I am simply telling you so that you may be informed. Your role here is solely to ensure the growth and prosperity of this kingdom using the resources we've provided you. It is paramount that the New Re-Estize Kingdom, the Baharuth Empire and the Roble Holy Kingdom all expand and develop sufficiently to rival the power of the Slane Theocracy. Do you understand?"

The Sovereign Duke gulped before nodding his head obediently.

A bright smile lit up the girl's face like a sacred flame igniting in a room of shadows. The pale mask that was a strange amalgamation of maniacal fervor and icy indifference melted away, revealing a gorgeous face that shone with the light of an angel.

"Marquis Raevan would be so proud to see his Rii-tan doing so well! Oh, I feel so old now talking to his son like this. I think our talk here is finished, right? So let's just leave it at that."

Duke Riivan had seen this transformation several times before, but the sight of it never ceased to amaze him. He could never be sure whether to feel fear or relief at the sudden warmth the girl could display. He bowed his head respectfully and backed out of the room, closing the door as he left.

The girl turned to the man in golden armor who had been standing silently at her side the entire time. "Oh, Climb, isn't this great? Ever since the doors of Nazarick sealed shut and the Great Tomb went dormant, we've been locked outside in this chaotic world. But now we are one step closer to creating the ideal world for us to live happily forever!"

A young man's voice rumbled from beneath the golden armor: "Your Highness, it breaks my heart to see you take on that cold mask. I wish you could show the world your true self all the time….the kind and beautiful heart that you have to hide to survive in this world of politics."

The girl sighed. "You are the only one who truly knows the nature of my heart. But enough of that "Your Highness" talk. I'm not a princess anymore. I want you to call me by my name."

"Renner."