The Sword and The Shadow

Alissanda looked at him and asked helplessly, "Is there no room for negotiation?"

Leguna glared at him coldly.

"Are you speaking on his behalf?"

"No," the prince replied with both his hands raised, "You should know the kind of influence he has in the empire. Removing him is something that will shake the empire to the core. I only hope you can properly think this through."

"What happens to the empire is not my business, it's yours. What I can give you is victory in your struggle. What I can't is peace and prosperity for the empire, neither of which I care about."

"So you'll join me if I give you Alfreid?"

"Yes." He turned to look at the crescent moon. "This is the only thing I will accept."

"What next? I want to know what you'll do after we achieve our goals."

"I want to spend time with them… In a small and quiet town… Maybe even go back to Lance to Boss and run his tavern with him. I'll do odd-jobs for the mercenary guild if we run short on money."

Alissanda didn't say a word, but anyone could see the hint of pity and shame in his eyes. He, more than anyone else, knew what abilities Leguna had.

"Don't look at me like that," Leguna said, patting him on the shoulder, "I'm not like you. I've never had any grand ambitions. I don't particularly enjoy the struggle and scheming of nobility. I'm not interested in having power and authority, either. All I want is a big house and enough money to get by. I just want to spend my days with my friends and family. I've only ever pursued power to achieve that and be able to protect that life. I have that power now, so I don't care for any of this life in Melindor anymore, except for seeing Alfried dead. I'm not interested in waiting too long with him, either, even for your sake."

"Looks like I can't persuade you to change your mind."

"No, you can't. It's up to you, take my offer, or leave it."

Alissanda grabbed his hand with a smile.

"Deal."

One's body shuddered the moment the two came to an agreement. She suppressed her panic and looked at Leguna, feigning a carefree expression.

A layer of gold covered her eyes. It was one of the divine miracles Pyro had granted. She could see a person's future with her eyes. While what she saw might not necessarily come to pass, her visions were worth consideration.

The gold light gradually faded and she started sweating.

It's just like Pyro predicted… Does that mean the reason he asked me to come here was to go on a suicide mission?

She finally understood why Pyro had given her the oracle to seek out her destiny. Was it her destiny to be destroyed?

Under normal circumstances, she couldn't be bothered even with a divine decree from Pyro. If her mood was bad, she might even curse the hypocritical god. But if it had something to do with him… She couldn't help but hesitate.

She didn't feel like this often. She was born of him, so she wouldn't hesitate to accept her fate if it was for his sake.

Yet, she was; not because her heart had wavered, but because she still couldn't be sure whether Leguna was him. Even if they shared the same soul, were they truly the same if they didn't look the same, and didn't even have any of the same memories?

She didn't understand whether she had found the one she'd been seeking for so many years, or just a replacement. He had forgotten her, after all.

Should she still give him her life in this situation?

What's there to consider?! she thought as her eyes grew resolute, I was born from him. What does it matter if he's a replacement or not? Even if he's a replacement, just it having something to do with him is enough!

She stopped hesitating. Looking at the two people, she released her impetus and blended into the environment.

"Watch out, Your Highness!" Xeno cried afar as he broke his stealth.

He didn't jump in to interfere, however. He knew he was the weakest among them and the only thing he could do was warn them of the assassin that had suddenly vanished. The situation would only get worse if he got directly involved.

That was one of his strengths. He could find the most reliable solution in the most critical situations. The moment he warned them, the other two noticed One's disappearance.

Right after the warning, One's dagger silently stretched out from the shadows.

Unquestionably, the mysterious assassin had some kind of tie with Leguna. Leguna believed she wouldn't harm him no matter what, even though he had no reason to.

And his instincts proved correct. She wasn't targeting him, but Alissanda.

Alissanda was no weakling, however. He reacted instantly and retreated, drawing a glowing, white greatsword out of his dimensional pocket.

Unlike the sword used by Harrison, this one looked less savage. It was elegant beyond comparison. If Harrison's sword was a woodcutter, Alissanda's was a soft, beautiful girl like LIsana or Eirinn. It was around 1.2 meters in length and some six centimeters wide, being around the same dimensions as Harrison's sword and Kurdak's Lava Blade.

But in terms of pure power, it was far superior. It had been the weapon once wielded by Duke Mellin Hector, Lunaminous.

Alissanda was quite surprised by One's sudden attack. Why would he ambush him, even though he was someone who came over with Leguna? He wasn't sure whether he should press the attack.

One, however, didn't hesitate. As the best assassin of Stok, she knew that the moment one lashed out, one would have to continue the barrage of attacks before the enemy could compose themselves and retaliate. Hesitation was the greatest taboo.

So, she continued her attacks. One used two daggers that glowed dark blue. Given how short their reach, she could only stand a chance of victory if she closed the distance.

Her judgment came to be proven correct. Alissanda wasn't able to utilize Lunaminous to its full potential in that kind of distance. Thankfully, it wasn't that heavy, so he fought using only one hand to repel the ethereal and formless attacks.

"Die!"

One saw Alissanda's footing was a little uneven from suddenly retreating backwards, so she kicked hard on the ground into the air.

As she did so, she utilized her impetus once more and entered a state of temporary stealth like Wayerliss could!

Alissanda looked up the moment she jumped and found her gone. He couldn't even tell where she was.

One attempted to land with her feet on his head like she did to Harrison. She stretched her left hand out in an attempt to block his sight, but this time, she wasn't merely holding lipstick in her right. She held a dagger with which to cut his throat open!