The Sword and The Shadow

The four bandits’ cries delighted Leguna. He licked his lips and raised his hands, a savage gaze in his eyes. He tapped the closest two’s heads. They convulsed and collapsed just like their comrade, a small, red hole in their forehead between their brows. It was formed by a thin needle of impetus shoved into their skull. Once the hole appeared, a mass of impetus rushed in and rampaged through their bodies, liquifying everything inside like a spider’s venom.

“Guuuuuuaaaargghhhh!” cried the two remaining victims. Their three companions just died, and they had no idea how. The youth’s technique was completely foreign. Could he be a magus?

Hans’s jaws lay on the floor. He thought Leguna was still a cheerful, innocent kid, he didn’t have the faintest hint that he was capable of something like this. The thought that he had once forced the brat to scrub the toilets made him break out a cold sweat. He looked at Innilis and quickly blocked her behind him, this was not something she should see.

Vera was disturbed when she saw the mess Leguna was making. She moved to intervene, but Kurdak blocked her, shaking his head with a meaningful glance.

{Ley! Calm down! Ley!} Gahrona yelled frantically. Her senses were far stronger than most people’s because of her current state. She could sense the bloodlust oozing out of Leguna. It had almost completely consumed him. She worried he might start killing his friends. Something like this had happened before when Leguna had thought Annelotte was dead.

“Huh?”

Leguna’s mind slowly cleared up.

{Eirinn’s fine! Control yourself! Don’t do something you’ll regret later!}

“Eirinn…” Leguna’s mind cleared as he repeated the name a few more times. His eyes teared up immediately.

{Thank the gods you’re awake.}

{Just now, I…}

His memories didn’t cut off this time, which is what he found weird about the situation. The bloodlust he felt a moment earlier made him tremble.

{No worries. You were just too mad.}

Eiron… It seems what you said might be true, thought Gahrona silently.

Leguna frowned as he stared at the remaining victims.

“Bloodhand Brotherhood, huh?”

“…Y-yes…”

“Okay. I’ll come kill off this brotherhood in a few days. Go back and wait for me.”

The two didn’t understand. The kid swiftly drew Lighteater and slit their throats. The plump owner stared catatonically at the bloody scene. She had to be dreaming, this had to be a nightmare, cause if it wasn’t… She shuddered, then shuddered again when the source of her nightmare turned its demonic case on her.

“Your tavern? You’re the one that bought Eirinn?” it asked.

She didn’t want to have anything to do with the girl, but not answering was killing herself. So, she wriggled herself upright and stumbled to her feet.

“Yes! Wait, I mean… My husband is the one that bought her. He drank himself to death two years ago, I…”

“Sorry for dirtying your place. My friends will help put things back in order.”

“Hey! I didn’t agree to this!” Kurdak cried behind him.

“Boss, give me a hand. I can’t do it by myself…” Leguna wasn’t in a joking mood, “Also,” he continued, turning to the owner. “Get four rooms ready, three single rooms and one double room. Well… If Eirinn’s quarters aren’t good, a room for her as well. We will pay. If there’s nothing else, please get on with the preparations.”

“Hey! Who said I was going to sleep with Kurdak?! Don’t go around making decisions for us!” Vera snapped, her face reddening.

“Oh! As expected of my brother! I’ll clean this mess up quickly!” Kurdak’s said as his face lit up.

“Vera and Innie will share a room. What’s wrong with you two?”

The couple’s faces bled. The owner didn’t want to linger, so she only nodded and left, all but rolling out of the room.

……

During the night, word of the incident in Emily’s Tavern spread all over town. Leguna spent the afternoon taking care of Eirinn while he awaited the constabulary’s arrival. He didn’t mind being investigated since the ones he killed were bandits. The empire’s law said killing crooks was a good deed. But no one came, even my nightfall. He didn’t find it suspect though. Doen was infested with bandits and the constabulary barely even had a token presence. The local constables might even be in cahoots with the brotherhood. What good would it do the constables to piss off their partners if that were the case? That being so, they would certainly not come and interfere in what was now a blood feud.

What happened considered, the tavern got a lot of customers. Though having good business was joyous, the tavern owner was worried sick that the people nosing about would anger the demons in her rooms. Her heart only stopped pounding, and her back only stopped sweating, when the last customer left.

Leguna stayed by Eirinn’s side the whole time. He didn’t leave even to eat or drink; instead, he asked Kurdak to bring some up to the room. Any onlooker would think the little monster would vanish the moment he left the room. Kurdak was helpless in these situations. At first, he wanted to drag Leguna down to eat properly, but when he saw the solemn determination in the kid’s eyes, he left obediently. He knew that, although the kid was reasonable on most things, once he had that look in his eyes, he you could only stop him by turning him into a corpse.

Leguna downed the food, almost without chewing at all, tossed the plate aside and returned to the girl’s bedside. Innilis joined him once her dinner was done. She could sense the darkness clouding Leguna’s mind, so she sat by him silently. The only time she’d left his side was when Kurdak called her to eat.

Leguna stared at the girl’s hand, his eyes tearing. A fine off-white silk handkerchief appeared in front of him and wiped his tears.

“Don’t cry, Big Bro. Sis will be fine,” Innils whispered.

The boy pulled the little girl into his arms.

“Thanks, Innie,” he murmured, stroking her head gently.

Innilis hung limply in his embrace like a cat suddenly picked up. She snapped out of her daze only to be intoxicated by Leguna’s scent. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest.

“Big Bro’s a gentle person after all, huh?” she whispered into his shirt.

“Huh? When did I become gentle?”

“This afternoon,” Innilis replied, “You were really scary. I almost couldn’t recognize you.”

“…Did I really scare you?”

The little girl nodded hesitantly.

“A little… Just a little. I know it’s just a feeling… I trust you to not hurt me.”

The afternoon flashed through his mind as he listened to her. If he were honest with himself, he knew all trace of rationality had been on the brink of being extinguished like a candle in a gust of wind. Could he say with certainty, or at least without reasonable doubt, that he wouldn’t hurt or kill his friends if that happened? The last time something like this happened he shouted at his own teacher.

Fear suddenly burst into his heart. When had he become like this? He didn’t know, but this definitely couldn’t continue.

“It won’t happen again, I promise.”

“Huh?”

“I won’t act like that again,” Leguna repeated, “I promise!”

Innilis broke into a smile and nodded frantically. Eirinn groaned at the same moment, her eyes opening laboriously.