Chapter 5: The Princess's Challenge
The academy hadn't stopped buzzing since the duel.
A single hit. No chant. No visible spell.
To the students, it was impossible.
To Shadow, it was Tuesday.
He sat near the back of the lecture hall, head resting on one hand while the professor droned on about "elemental convergence theory." Around him, whispers rippled like wind.
"Is that him?"
"Yeah, the commoner who beat Raven Thorne."
"I heard he used a forbidden art."
"No way, he doesn't even have a mana crest."
Shadow didn't react. He just flipped through his textbook lazily, half-listening and half-planning his nightly patrol.
Demonic activity near the academy… Lyra's warning echoed in his mind.
If it's them again, the cult might have infiltrated the capital already.
A Royal Invitation
After class, a servant dressed in violet approached him.
"Sir Cid Vale, Her Highness Princess Elaria requests your presence."
Shadow sighed. "Again?"
"She insists."
Minutes later, he found himself standing in the princess's private garden a maze of crystalline trees and glowing petals that floated in the air like stars.
Elaria sat at a marble table, sipping tea with perfect posture.
"You made quite the spectacle yesterday," she said.
"I was eating," Shadow replied.
She smiled faintly. "And somehow humiliated one of the top five duelists in the school. You're either lucky or terrifying."
He shrugged. "Both sound inconvenient."
Elaria leaned forward. "Tell me, Cid Vale… who exactly are you?"
Shadow's expression didn't change. "A background character."
"…What?"
"Someone who doesn't stand out. Someone normal."
Elaria stared at him for a moment, then laughed softly. "You're either a genius or insane."
"Both sound inconvenient too.
The Challenge
Before she could respond, a knight burst through the hedge. "Your Highness! Urgent news a corrupted beast was spotted near the northern wall!"
Elaria stood immediately. "A beast inside the barrier? That's impossible."
The knight shook his head. "The professors are forming a suppression team. They request your command."
Elaria turned to Shadow. "Come with me."
He blinked. "Why?"
"Because you're suspiciously calm, and I might need that."
He sighed. "Fine. But if anyone sees me, I was never here."
The Corruption
The northern wall loomed high, laced with shimmering runes that should have repelled monsters.
But something had broken through a mass of shadow and bone, crawling across the courtyard on six limbs.
The students gathered behind the professors, trembling as the creature howled.
Elaria drew her blade, its edge glowing with celestial light. "Everyone, hold formation! Mages, prepare sealing magic!"
The creature lunged forward.
Mana blasts exploded against its hide useless. The beast shrugged off the spells and charged again.
Shadow sighed and stepped out of the smoke.
"Step back," he said quietly.
Elaria frowned. "Cid, it's too dangerous"
He raised his hand. "Shadow Bind: Eighth Restraint."
The ground split. Tendrils of black light burst upward, wrapping around the monster, freezing it mid-roar.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, the restraints collapsed inward silently crushing the corruption out of existence.
Nothing remained but mist.
The courtyard went silent.
Elaria stared at him, wide-eyed. "What… was that?"
"Just a trick with shadows," he said.
"That wasn't a trick."
He looked at her, eyes calm but ancient. "Some things don't need explaining, Princess. They just need to be erased."
Before she could speak again, he vanished into the mist leaving only a fading echo of black light.
The Whisper
That night, Shadow stood on the academy's rooftop, the wind brushing against his cloak.
Lyra's voice came through the crystal again. "Master, the creature you destroyed carried a sigil one used by the Order of the Abyssal Star."
Shadow's eyes narrowed.
That name hadn't been spoken since the night his old world burned.
"So they're here too," he muttered. "Good. I was getting bored."
He looked down at the glowing academy, where students slept peacefully, unaware of the coming storm.
From the distance, the full moon rose blood-red.
Shadow smirked. "Let's see how deep their corruption goes."