The Eminence in the Shadow 17 Fragment of Diabolos! Squish!

Sea of blood.

So shouts a man in a place truly fitting of that phrase.

'That' had come all too suddenly.

Without prior notice, without any explanation, suddenly busting a hole through the wall and beginning to massacre everyone.

Just now, one more fell to that jet black blade.

Not a single person has anymore intention of fighting 'That.' The only thing in their hearts is the thought of escape.

But the sole exit is behind 'That.'

"What the hell did we ever do to you guys?! Nothing, we did nothing!"

'That' turns towards the man... and sneers.

"Hiii...!"

Even though the face of 'That' is hidden behind a jet black mask, the man can almost palpitably feel its complete disregard for his life.

"Please s-, save me...!"

The man's body vertically splits into two.

Bisected from the crown of his head to his crotch, spraying blood everywhere while falling down.

'That' stands unmoving, blissfully bathing in the shower of blood.

Its figure is female, but its appearance is truly that of a demon.

'That' looks around and, upon noticing that there are only very few prey left, extends its sword.

The jet black sword extended.

Not in the metaphorical sense, but literally. It even stabbed into the opposing wall.

'That' gives its sword a big swing.

"No, NO, N-...!"

Everything, even the building itself, was cut through.

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"So it has begun."

Atop a clock tower, a beautiful elf watches on as an entire building is severed like a joke and subsequently collapses.

Her golden blond hair flows in the wind, sparkling in the dark of night.

"Delta... that girl always goes too far."

She sighs, and shakes her head.

But there's no helping what's done.

Alpha looks over the entire royal capital from the clock tower.

At which moment, flurried movement erupts throughtout the entire royal capital.

Exactly according to plan, everything has been set in motion.

But most of the attention has been drawn towards the building that Delta had cut apart.

"It is a fact that thanks to Delta, it will be easier for the others to move, but still..."

As long as all the collateral damage is ignored, then it can be said that she has completed her mission with a perfect score.

"It's about time for me to move out as well."

So murmuring, Alpha covers her face with her jet black mask.

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The outside is very noisy.

Alexia opens her eyes.

The only people who come into this room are the man in a labcoat and the woman who takes care of her needs. In her position of being bound to the pedestal by all four limbs, there's really nothing else for Alexia to do than to sleep.

As for her monster roommate, the two of them have an unspoken mutual non-interference agreement, so they get along alright.

The tumult outside gradually grows in noise, until it reaches the level where Alexia can tell that there is some fighting going on.

Alexia smiles in expectation of rescue.

"Can they perhaps bust through the wall with a big bang?"

So whispers Alexia with no particular reason. She probably just has quite a bit of stress built up.

She shakes her chains hard to make them ring, even while knowing that such an action would be of no meaning.

At which time.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have woken you up."

The monster next to her raises its head.

"But I think you might want to stay awake for this. I'm sure it's going to get fun."

Though Alexia knows that she would get no reply, she still couldn't help but to speak to it.

Boredom makes people go mad.

After a short while, she hears the door being unlocked. And it is in a hurried, unsettled manner too.

"Shit, shit!!"

Labcoat man opens the door with force and rushes in.

"Good day, isn't it? How do you do?"

"Just a little more. I WAS SO SO CLOSE!!"

The man ignores Alexia's clearly sarcastic greeting.

"Th-, they came!! They came for me!! It's over, everything is over...!"

"I advise you to give up, resistance is useless. If you release me from my chains, I'd help to ask them to spare your life at least."

'But only ask,' adds Alexia silently.

"L-, like they'll let me go...! D-, dead, everyone is dead! Th-, they are killing everyone!!"

"The Knight Order won't indiscriminately kill people without reason. If you don't resist, then they won't take your life."

'Since when have the been so nice?' Alexia laughs at her own lie inside her mind.

"Knight Order? What do I care about the Knight Order! N-, no, they're killing everyone! Everyone!!"

"It's not the Knight Order?"

If that's true, then who is it? No, there is the possibility that this man is just confused.

"Either way, you're finished. Just give up."

"No, th-, this cannot be! No, no, no, No, NO, NO, NONONONONO!! I... as long as I finish this!!"

Tearing at his hair, the man then turns his bloodshot eyes towards the monster.

"P-, prototype, right! W-, with this, even a failure l-, like you can be of use!"

With that, he picks up a contraption with a needle, which he inserts into the monster's arm.

"I think you probably shouldn't do that. I'm getting a really bad premonition."

So says Alexia in a serious tone.

Of course the man ignores her and injects some sort of fluid into the monster's arm through the needle.

"Be-, behold! This is a F-, Fragment of Diabolos!!"

"Oh, fun."

Almost immediately, the monster's body rapidly swells up. Its muscles begin to fill out at a visible rate, and even its bones begin to lengthen. Its originally thick left arm turns even more fiendish, even more sinister, and the claws attached to it grow to the size of a human foot. Its right arm, however, remains unchanged in both size and position, still making it look as if it is cradling something to its chest.

The monsters lets loose a high-pitched roar.

"H-, how wonderful! How splendid!!!"

"This... is shocking indeed."

But of course, the monster's restraints were unable to withstand the monster's sudden gain in size. With a clang, the chain ring around the monster's neck snaps open and flies off.

"And that is precisely why I warned you to stop!"

And then, squish.

The man wearing the labcoat was smashed into a pulp by the monster's left arm.

"Well then."

Alexia and the monster stare at each other.

Alexia is paying full attention to the monster's movements. Having all four limbs restrained, the things that Alexia can do are extremely limited. But the list of options is not entirely empty.

She has no intention of dying from being mere collateral due to someone else's idiocy.

The monster brandishes its left arm.

Immediately, Alexia twists her body as far as she can. As long as she avoids a fatal strike...!

"...!"

The monster's left arm misses Alexia, and instead pulverizes the pedestal under her. The shockwave still hits her though, slamming her against the far wall and leaving her groaning with the pain.

"Guh...!"

But none of her bones are broken, and none of her wounds are serious. She can still move.

After confirming her own physical condition, Alexia quickly stands back up.

But.
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The monster is no longer here.

The destroyed pedestal, and busted wall.

"Could it be... that it helped me?"

Even though Alexia could not move, the blow had still missed. But if that's so... no, there is the possibility that it had just mis-aimed.

"Anyways."

Alexia searches for the key for her shackles from the squashed pile that used to be the labcoat man, then frees herself. Finally, she can use magic again.

After stretching her body a few times to warm up, she exits through the hole left behind by the monster.

It is a dim hallway.

The soldiers that the monster seem to have killed by running over are lying in heaps on top of each other.

"Guess you won't be needing this sword anymore."

Alexia seizes a mithril sword from one of the corpses. It's a cheap mass produced item, but it would have to do for now.

(T/N: Wow a world where mithril is cheap.)

She continues proceeding down the corridor, until she turns a corner.

"Oh dear, this cannot do. Things would get quite troublesome if you escape."

"Y-, you, why are you here?!"

Alexia's eyes open wide in shock.

Chapter end