The Sword and The Shadow

Exciting Experience

The moment the sword lathered in thick, bloody liquid came poking out from the female agent's stomach, Eirinn was completely stupefied.

The half-elf watched the bloody scene and felt as if time slowed down due to magic.

However, time didn't slow like when she was spending time with Leguna. For her, each and every second was nothing short of torture.

Because, she had seen it. She could see everything.

She had seen the look on the soldier's face contort to joy the moment his sword pierced the girl's abdomen. It was truly laughable that someone would derive pleasure from the act of harming others.

She had seen the girl's expression twist in agony. The girl was looking at Eirinn, but she didn't call for help. All her eyes conveyed was to get her to escape while she could.

She was in a rather pathetic state. Even though she was heavily injured and could well lose her life, she didn't request a priestess's help and instead tried to get her to run away.

Looking at the people who started slaughtering each other for no good reason, Eirinn thought it was all really laughable. Why did people hurt each other? Why was there a need to fight? Couldn't people just get along with one another? They were truly laughable!

However, they weren't the most laughable. The funniest part of all this was the one who was strongest among them all, the high-order priestess who should've been more than capable of dealing with the eight assailants, Eirinn, didn't have a single ounce of combat ability.

If only she could fight…

None of that would happen. The guards wouldn't have been so hasty if she could resist, and she wouldn't have to watch as others got hurt for her sake without being able to retaliate in the slightest. Most importantly, the little girl who would fulfill the mission Leguna gave her even at the cost of her life wouldn't have gotten into that kind of predicament.

Wouldn't that all have been easily achievable if she could fight?

If only she could fight…

It was the first time Eirinn realized that the damaging capabilities she had access to had another purpose than to hurt and destroy. At the very least, she could easily defuse the current situation if she could fight without having to truly hurt anyone.

Now, she finally realized that power itself wasn't good or evil. Power was just power. The question was how one used it. It was like a sword. In the hands of a villain, it was a damaging and harmful weapon. But in the hands of a knight of pure and noble character, it would become a blade worthy of respect that symbolized peace and protection.

It was such a simple principle she should've comprehended it long ago. At least, Leguna had proven it to him with his actions. It was true that he had killed countless people and had both stains stained deep in blood. this included even Eirinn's own mother, the dark elf called Sala!

Eirinn was no fool. She had known this a long time ago.

However, she had never come to hate him for that. While he had ushered in countless bloodshed, he also used his power to protect quite a number of people.

If he was still the little Ley who was only chased down the streets of Melindor, how could he have saved Innilis when she was near her final breath? How would he have been able to find Eirinn amidst the waves of people sold into slavery? How else would he have been able to rescue Kurdak from the dark prison cell?

That was why he had to obtain that power. He had to be able to abandon his old self, the thieving brat with quick hands in Melindor, and become the feared Dark Requiem.

Eirinn knew that he wasn't someone as murderous and cold as people described him. He hated hurting others just as much as she did. However, he understood that for the sake of some, he had no choice but to hurt others. He had made up his mind to pay that kind of price.

Big Brother Leguna has always been a brave person! she thought as she watched the female agent soften and fall. I can't lose out either.

"@$#$%"

She opened her mouth and softly spoke the seemingly meaningless phrase.

If Kevin was there, however, his expression would definitely contort like mad.

While it was slightly different, Kevin could tell that it was a word of power in Pyro's divine language. It sounded really similar to the phrase he had uttered not long ago in his fight against Marolyt. He had paid a huge price for it.

The meaning of the phrase was 'in the name of the Sacred Light'.

……

"Are they still over there?" Leguna asked when he burst out of the hall.

To save time, he carried Innilis on his back. Innilis was poking her head out to look around from the back of the 'giant'.

"Over there!" she cried before Xeno said anything.

Leguna turned and saw a bit of commotion on the second floor of the building. What concerned him was the golden light that flashed out of the building. Was it a spell? Did students from the academy also join in? Were they students from First or Second Magic Academy?

"Let's go!"

He didn't dare dally for one more second and charged in at top combat speed.

"Uwawawawa! Big Bro Leguna, you'll fling me off!" Innilis cried with surprise, but she didn't ask him to slow down as Eirinn's safety was at stake.

"Innie," he said, with his eyes trailed straight on his destination.

"Huh?"

"Do you want to experience something more exciting? It's a special offer for today only!"

"Alright! Let's do it!" she agreed, excited. "Big Bro LegunaaaaaAAAHHH!"

She had wanted to ask what it was about before she found herself flying towards the second floor of the building. Leguna had thrown her up like a shot put. The poor girl only just understood what that experience was referring to. The only thing she could do was continue yelling as she soared through the air in an arc.

She had learned the flight spell and mastered the necessary calculations. According to her estimations, it would take two seconds for her to collide into the wall. With her stoneskin spell on, she would definitely leave a rather firm imprint in the wall.

Leguna was able to run much faster now that nothing was weighing down on his back. He trailed a long series of afterimages behind him before he disappeared into the shadows.

He used Shadow Blink to zoom to his destination immediately. He didn't look around, as Innilis was almost there. He had to receive her first.

As she approached, he could see the tears flowing out of her eyes as she flew through the sky. It seemed that experience was far too exciting for her tastes.

While he was worried about Eirinn, he couldn't help himself from smirking at the sight of the angered and helpless expression of Innilis as she flew through the air. He closed his eyes and opened his arms wide in preparation to break her flight.

But the shock he expected never came. He opened his eyes with surprise and saw her floating on her own two meters away in the air, her tears still flowing. Apart from her terror, she seemed rather surprised herself.

"Seriously! You're such a meanie, Big Brother! I'm telling Sis Annie if you pick on our Innie like that again!"