Swordmaster of the Great Wall

Standing at the crossroads of life and death, Erich accepted the sword that Milon held out.

Milon cried out in an excited voice.

"My lord! Does this mean you have finally decided to fulfill your duty as heir?"

"That's not it. I'm just keeping it for now. But..."

—shiiik

Erich drew Dragon Fang. The ashen blade, forged of Auramite, flashed with gracefully flowing patterns.

"I do find myself wanting it."

"Didn't you say something before about 'so-called famed swords'...?"

—cheolkuk.

Erich returned the sword to its ornate gold-engraved scabbard. However, he had not accepted the grand duke's offer.

"But what if it really is a famed sword? Anyway, there's no need to send word to the manor that I've accepted the sword. Instead, I have something to tell the Snape banner family's messenger, so you go and deliver it."

"Why do you care so much about them? Now that you mention it, I'm starting to feel curious as well."

"If you want to die, you can go ahead. You'll end up a corpse without anyone ever knowing..."

"...? Aren't you misunderstanding something? That a lowly banner family like Snape would? Target me?"

Milon's eyes shook in confusion. The name Snape barely registered in his memory, belonging to a humble family.

And yet, Erich suggested that showing interest in them could get him killed as an unclaimed corpse?

But Erich's words hinted at something more. Milon glanced around, then whispered in a voice as faint as a mouse's squeak.

"Incenssus, my word... Could they possibly be...?"

The grand duke's direct assassins. Shadows.

The Snape family, whose name was barely known, were in truth an assassin clan descended from the founder, Reinhardt Krupp.

They lived in the darkness, never revealing their names, having no regard for honor or anything else.

But in the South, the name 'Shadow' alone was enough to hush even crying infants.

No one knew the true nature of Shadows.

Those who discovered their identity and lived, did so only because the Shadows left them alive for a specific reason.

It was for this reason that even Milon, to whom death was an honor, trembled.

"... But, if I deliver your message to them, wouldn't that mean I know their secret?"

"Oh... you have a point. So, are you afraid? Afraid enough to disobey your lord's order, as an honorable knight?"

"What honor matters when I'm dead in my sleep? Dead is just dead."

"Well said. But they won't kill you."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll have served as the grand duke's messenger. They'll keep you alive for a while."

Milon's eyes narrowed. So, did that mean that once his task as messenger was done, they'd kill him?

Memories of the childhood tales he'd heard about Shadows sent a shiver through him.

"... I'll go deliver your message, then."

"You seem a bit rattled."

"N-not at all. Dedicating my life to my lord's command is an honor in itself."

"In any case, just tell Snape this: Tonight, the master of Dragon Fang will summon them."

"Understood, I shall carry out your order."

Milon strode through the snowy fields. Erich gripped Dragon Fang tightly in his hand.

'Before I capture Ungrim, I need to resolve this matter first.'

With that, Erich's steps turned toward a quiet stronghold.

***

Tonight, the 6th fortress was bustling for the first time in a while. After all, an army tens of thousands strong had set up camp. But Erich found himself instead in a place of quiet.

A secluded forest on the fortress's outskirts. Though he hadn't been told, Erich already knew. Shadows were already watching him.

The Dragon Fang, adorned with all manner of gold and gems, shone even in the pitch-dark night, lit only by the faint glow of the moon.

Cold night winds swept through, and frost settled on Erich's black cloak. Then, as the moon slipped behind a cloud—

"... Come out, will you? There's no point pretending—we both know each other is here."

At Erich's quiet words, black silhouettes revealed themselves. They emerged from the undergrowth and climbed down from trees. Content orıginally comes from novel•fire.net

Amazingly, there wasn't a sound. Their movements light as air, they seemed dreamlike and unreal.

Moving as if of a single mind, they approached Erich and bowed their heads.

"We greet the heir of Dragon Fang."

"So, you are all the grand duke's 'Shadows'?"

"Yes. I speak for them."

They wore little to no armor. Simple outerwear, close-fitting leather pieces—so thin, it was questionable to even call them armor.

Instead, strapped to their thighs, they carried blades that were too long to be daggers, yet too short to be swords.

"Alright... I'll ask: was it you who reported my growth to the grand duke?"

"Yes."

Now Erich understood the grand duke's apparent obsession. He should only have received the barest news—at most, that Erich was still alive.

Yet at some point, the grand duke's attitude had changed completely.

Because of that, Erich had long believed someone was watching him from the shadows.

'So his prediction that I survived wasn't just a clever guess.'

Shadows—or rather, these Shadows—had likely been near Erich for far longer than he could guess. That, after all, was their power.

"When I declared I wouldn't accept this sword, did you try to kill me?"

"Yes. That was our order."

"You're surprisingly forthcoming about it."

"Because when I was told this might come up, I was ordered to give a proper answer."

It seemed the grand duke had foreseen this much. Of course, Erich had the power here and now to wipe out these Shadows on the spot.

But still—

'Shadows do not end with these.'

The terrifying thing about the Shadows was the vastness of their organization spanning the continent.

The grand duke hears through them and speaks through them. True, these here were the main clan's Shadows—the best of the best. But if they died, new Shadows would take their place. Such was their 'structure'.

In the end, Erich would be forced to deal with Shadows for the rest of his life. He wouldn't be able to sleep soundly or let his guard down. That was the true horror of the Shadows.

"How much does the grand duke know?"

"I will answer, assuming you're asking about what has been reported. You have awakened an unidentified golden aura. You display swordsmanship powerful enough to slay opponents at medium range. That is the extent of it."

"You know pretty much everything. If I accept this sword, are you going to take me to the main house?"

"No."

"No?"

Erich's eyes narrowed. They'd given him Dragon Fang, the heir's symbol, but had no intention of taking him back to the main house? Then what did the grand duke want?

"Speak. When I took up this sword, what were you supposed to do?"

"We were simply commanded to obey. Until the time comes."

"... Until the time comes? So, there are conditions?"

"Yes. The conditions and timing cannot be disclosed."

Erich fiddled with Dragon Fang at his side.

'Shadows are powerful tools. But used poorly, I'm the one who'll get hurt. What to do?'

He continued pondering quietly. There was no need to reach a hasty conclusion.

So long as he held the sword, the Shadows would silently follow his orders, waiting at his side.

Would he accept this conditional might? Or choose to break with them forever? Standing at this crossroads, Erich finally spoke.

"... For now, I'll accept. But tell the grand duke: should my path diverge from his, I will throw this sword away."

"Thank you."

The Shadow, as he spoke, raised his head. Now Erich saw—the man's eyes were covered.

Could he see anything at all?

The reason Erich knew Krupp's secret dagger, the Shadows, was simple.

In his previous life, when he served as the last commander of the Watch's final front line, the grand duke had sent the Shadows as his reinforcements.

Against the dead, they had served as an incredibly valuable asymmetric force, with fighting prowess undaunted even by the dead. But at the time, he hadn't known them in this much detail. The era was too chaotic—and they'd never honored him as heir as they were now.

'Back then, I hadn't even received Dragon Fang. To me, they were just tools of the grand duke.'

He decided to get more information out of them—first, how to summon them.

"So if I want to call you, do I need to send word through Snape?"

"If you wish us summoned, you have only to call out and give your command. We will always be at the heir's side."

"At any time, any place?"

"Yes. Any time, anywhere."

But at this, Erich scowled.

"... Stay as far away from me as possible. I have no desire for you to be hovering that close."

"As you wish. Also, orders you can give are limited to those permitted to the heir."

"There are things I can't order you to do?"

"Yes. There are some."

"Like what?"

"For instance, any threat to our own existence. In such cases, we can refuse the order."

"Such as ordering you to kill yourselves?"

"Yes. For example."

The Shadow replied numbly, his voice devoid of emotion.

Of course, though there were limits to what he could command—

He had no desire to dissolve them for now, so that was of no concern.

'I should be able to use them well for now.'

Especially because Ungrim was a monstrous foe, worth a thousand—against such a target, these Shadows would be especially useful.

But, as Erich was mulling things over, a sudden chill ran through him.

—swiik.

The Shadows, who had been quietly bowing, all turned their heads in unison.

"... We have some rats."

There stood Mikhail, his black cloak fluttering.

'Damn it—'

Erich's eyes darted quickly. The Shadow who had been answering him slowly straightened up.

Normally, the Shadows would have detected a new presence long before and disappeared.

However, Mikhail had concealed even his presence—undetectable even to the Shadows.

Only when he was right there did they sense him. Instantly, the Shadows' hands went to their thighs.

—seuk.

Not even a sound was heard as they drew their blades.

"W-wait! Chief Inspetor Mikhail, stand down!"

"... Given your reaction, it seems you're allies. But they don't look like they're planning to stop."

Mikhail flashed a faint smile. His white hair fluttered as he drew his sword.

—sreung.

Erich shouted quickly.

"Shadows! Sheathe your blades. He is not an enemy to draw swords against."

"... You do not have the right to countermand this, heir."

As he expected.

With Mikhail's appearance, the outcome of this confrontation was inevitable.

For Shadows, whose very existence was a secret, to have that secret witnessed—by Mikhail—

It was a fight that could only be settled with one side dead.

It seemed the Shadows decided even the heir had no authority over someone learning their existence. As Erich tried to intervene—

"I get the gist. Some clan's...hired hands, then? But you don't want them killed. I'll just rough them up a bit."

Casually, Mikhail walked toward the Shadows. The Shadow spoke.

"Do not worry, heir. We will only erase his memories. Unless he willingly drinks the medicine, that is."

"You seem very much mistaken..."

—tak.

Before Erich could even finish his sentence.

Between the Shadows, a finger snapped. Even a blink later, they had already surrounded Mikhail.

Wrinkles deepened in Mikhail's cheek. The man, who seconds before seemed a mere frail old man, now radiated a killing intent so sharp it pricked the skin.

"You think you can make me swallow anything...? At my age, I've heard some real sh*t..."

But before he finished, the silent strike came at Mikhail. Four, five attacked at once—nowhere for the eyes to find an opening.

—KWA-AAANG!

But before reaching Mikhail, the Shadows who converged on him were blown away.

A powerful shockwave had erupted from Mikhail—though he hadn't moved an inch. It felt as if something invisible had tossed them aside.

The Shadow leader let out a startled sound for the first time.

"... What?"

The Shadows were under a grave misconception.

Mikhail—though his appearance was that of a frail, elderly man, small in stature,

—was, without question, the greatest swordsman of the Watch, superior to everyone here, even Erich himself.

—shiiiiiii

A pale mist rose from Mikhail's entire body. He revealed his shining eyes—

Eyes deep as the ocean and dark as the abyss.

"It's about time we correct the arrogance of these complacent southern youngsters."

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Master Mikhail aura farming...

Beat them up sir, so that they would follow Erich better.

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】