The Eminence in the Shadow 18 Keep Watching from Below the Stage

Iris is dashing through the royal capital at full speed in the dead of night, her red hair fluttering after her.

A building was cut. She doubted her ears when such a report came to her. But while heading towards the scene torn between belief and disbelief, successive reports reached her continuously.

Large scale attacks are occurring simultaneously all over the royal capital.

It did not take long to draw such a conclusion. But problem is, the targets of attack share no point of commonality that they can determine.  A trading firm, a warehouse, an eatery, a noble's private residence... the fact that these attacks were premediated is clear to see, but their aim is unclear.

But it is actual fact that the entire royal capital is currently shaking.

All members of the Knight Order have been dispatched as emergency response, and the evacuation of important people are underway. Many citizens are watching from their windows despite the late hour, and not few of them are even approaching the attack sites in curiosity.

Iris continues rushing towards the biggest scene, all while shouting at any citizens she passes by to return to their homes.

This is definitely no simple incident.

Iris' intuition is telling her so.

Then abruptly.

A scream reaches Iris' ears.

"M-, monster! It's a monster, we need reinfor-...!!"

It is a knight's voice. He is not far.

Iris changes her direction and heads straight for the origin of that scream.

She turns the corner, takes an alleyway, then comes out onto a main avenue... a monster is there.

A gigantic, ugly monster.

It is swinging around its bloated, bloodstained left claw, reducing the nearby knights into meat patties.

"What is this...?!"

Though surprised, Iris does not stop moving.

"Fall back!"

Unsheathing in a flowing motion, followed by a flash of white in the darkness that runs through the monster's torso.

All the way through.

The huge monster was cut down, just like that.

"Are you all alright?"

Not even bothering to look at the falling monster behind her, Iris immediately addresses the knights.

"Thank you for saving us, Iris-sama!"

"As expected of Iris-sama! To bring down such a monster with only one swing!"

All of the knights turn out to be largely unscathed. The ones that are still alive, that is.

"We lost 8 men."

Only one blow per person, that's all it took.

Iris' wine-red eyes are shaking at the sight of their gruesome corpses.

"You all go on ahead and retrieve the remains. I will report to your squad le..."

"IRIS-SAMA!"

Abruptly, one of the knights raises a shout.

The others also point behind her with voiceless shouts.

"Wh...!"

Iris brandishes her sword even while turning.

At which time, her sword clashes with the monster's left arm.

"Kuh...!"

Finding herself being pushed back, she immediately releases an enormous amount of magic to reinforce herself, which gives her enough strength to fully receive the blow.

Riding the momentum, she dashes into the monster's chest and severs its legs. Keeping her eye fully affixed on the monster this time, she retreats from its maai.

The very next moment, the monster's left arm mows through her previous position, flying past so closely that the wind pressure severs several strands of her red hair.

"It is regenerating...?"

The bisecting wound that she had inflicted earlier is already nowhere to be seen, and its legs are also already regenerating at a visible rate.

"Impossible... to be cut in half by Iris-sama but still regenerating..."

"You're joking, right...?"

"All of you, fall back."

Iris calls out to the shaken knights while stepping forward to receive the monster's follow up attack.

That attack has speed, has strength, and has weight.

But it is too simplistic.

"A mere monster in the end."

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There is no mercy in Iris' counterattack.

Cutting up its arms, severing its legs, and detaching its head

Her attacks rain upon the monster in unceasing fashion, as if to say "if you can regenerate this, then let's see you do it!" in brazen challenge.

No resistance is allowed. The monster can only stand in place and be one-sidedly cut up.

But, even with that.

"You're still regenerating?"

The monster still lives.

Taking advantage of a brief moment between Iris' attacks, it brandishes its left arm, forcing Iris to jump back.

Then.

It lifts its face towards the night sky and lets out a high-pitched roar.

Almost as if in the response, the empty, black sky begins to rain.

It starts off as a drizzle. Then gradually it grows heavier, causing white steam to raise up wherever the rainwater comes into contact with the monster's blood.

"Seems this is going to take a while..."

Iris gives up on a quick conclusion, and readjusts her stance while deciding on how to fight.

She does not think she will lose. In fact, up till this point, Iris has yet to feel even once the possibility of her losing.

However, this seems like it'll take quite some time.

Bringing her sword up, Iris once again dashes towards the monster.

But at that moment.

With a shrill sound, Iris finds her sword flying out of her hands.

It was because of a blow so heavy that even her hands have gone numb.

After a sideways glance at her beloved sword flying far away behind her, Iris glares at the sudden interloper.

The interloper also gives Iris a look.

Their eyes clash. It is the interloper who first breaks the silence.

"Why can't you see that she is just in pain? And that all you are doing is torturing her?"

It is a female wearing a jet black bodysuit. Her face is hidden, but her voice sounds young.

"Who are you?"

With her guard up all the way, Iris shifts herself so that she can see both the monster and the interloper at the same time.

"Alpha."

After that single word, the female turns her back on Iris, as if having lost all interest in her.

"Wait a moment. What do you plan to do? If you are an enemy of the Knight Order, then we will show you no mer-..."

" 'Enemy'...?"

Alpha cuts off Iris' words and laughs without turning around.

It is a laugh full of ridicule.

" 'Enemy'... To think that the princess would be capable of such a joke. To mention the word despite not knowing anything... know your presumptiousness."

"What did you say...!"

Iris' magic swells up. The almost explosive increases causes a wave that blows away even the rain and raises a wind.

But Alpha does not spare even a glance. She still has her back to Iris.

"The audience should just keeping watching from below the stage like the audience they are and not get in our way."

Leaving behind only these words, she begins walking towards the monster.

There is no hostility in her back profile. It is clear that Iris is not even in her mind anymore.

" 'Audience'..."

Clenching her still numb fists, Iris can do nothing aside from silently glaring at that dismissive back.

"You poor thing. It must have hurt a lot, didn't it?"

Alpha continues walking towards the monster while talking to it.

"You no longer have to suffer. Neither do you have to be sad."

Her jet black blade extends. To a length greater than's Alpha's own height.

"That's why, don't cry anymore, 'k?"

Then with the most natural of movements, she takes one more step forward, and the monster's body is bisected again.

No one could react.

Not Iris, not even the monster, could do anything before it was cut.

It was all too natural. There was no killing intent. The cut seemed to have simply manifested as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

The large body collapses. The rain comes into contact with its blood, raising a huge plume of white smoke. The body itself shrinks, until it reaches the size of a young girl. Then from its right hand, a short sword falls out.

It is a short sword inset with a red jewel.

'To My Beloved Daughter, Emilia'

That was carved into the handle.

"I pray... that you find peace in your next life."

So saying, Alpha disappears into the white smoke.

Thunder roars in the distance.

Iris simply stands dumbstruck. The falling rain flows along over her hair and her face.

But her body is shivering.

Iris does not know the meaning of this shivering.

"Alexia..."

So whispers Iris. Her little sister is in the middle of this entire incident. Iris' intuition is telling her so.

"Alexia, please be safe..."

Coming back to her senses, Iris picks up her sword, then runs off.

The rain continues to fall heavily.

Chapter end