“The Shadow Lord…?”
Setsuna's question stumped me. I was unfamiliar with the name, but the way she said it made it seem like common knowledge.
“Yes, that's what I said. I wouldn't expect you to know who he was though, Mira,” she said before looking around at the others. “So, what do you all know about him?”
“I can't say I know anything,” Wendell shook his head. “The closest thing I know to that name is the Dark Lord from The Legend of Arnagir, but that's probably not who you're referring to.”
“Ah, right. I forgot about that,” Setsuna face-palmed. “First I should probably tell you what I told Mira and Luci yesterday. My grandfather, who I inherited my position from, was named Zuka. He was the first Kistune to be created by the Goddess, and he was one of Arnagir's party members.”
“I remember there was a Kitsune in his party according to the story, but like everyone else in the party, a name was never given for him,” Lana said. “Also, if what you're saying is true, how is it that your grandfather, who only recently passed, lived nearly five-hundred years ago when the story would've taken place?”
“Beats me,” Setsuna shrugged. “Anyway, the Shadow Lord. My grandpa always said that was the name of Arnagir's nemesis, who was the master of the Shadow Dragon. He said that during his time, there were seven elements of magic, and the Shadow Lord had reached the peak of the seventh- Shadow- and was so gifted that he never needed to use any incantations for his spells. I'm not saying that the ‘Lord’ that Trisha was referring to is the Shadow Lord, since he's dead, but someone may have figured out how to use Shadow magic and took the name of Shadow Lord. Although, I may be wrong. I really have no clue how Trisha was using that magic, let alone in the same way my grandpa described the Shadow Lord using it.”
Nobody spoke for a minute, letting the reality of the situation sink in. Not only is there a seventh type of magic, but there's someone using it in a way so dangerous that the last person to defeat someone like that went down in history as a hero. To top it all off, she's not even the main threat, as she serves someone who's probably even stronger than she is.
“This is concerning,” Wendell said, voicing all of our thoughts. “I'll have a council convene tomorrow with everyone important here to discuss what comes next. As SS rank adventurers, I request that you and Mira attend as well, Lucindell.”
“Yes, Father,” Luci said, bowing.
“I'll make sure everyone else who'll be there knows what to expect, then,” he said.
He and Lana left to do that, so I was left with Luci and Setsuna.
“So… what now?”
“We should probably check on the state of things outside,” Luci replied. “There probably isn't any more fighting anymore, but we should probably make sure.”
“That's probably a good idea,” I nodded. “You coming along too, Setsuna?”
“Sure,” she shrugged.
After that, the three of us left to see the status of the village. We saw that a massive hole was blown into the wall where the gate used to be, so we started making our way there first. As we walked through the village, we noticed that none of the buildings we passed were actually damaged. Thankfully, it seemed like the fighting was contained to where the hole was in the wall, and if I had to guess, there weren't many casualties either.
When we arrived at what used to be the gate, we were greeted by the sight of Issac sitting on the ground facing towards the hole in the wall. Hearing us approach, he stood and turned around.
“What brings the three of you out here?” he asked.
“If possible, I would like to know the details of whatever happened out here,” Luci said.
“I can do that. In exchange, I expect you can tell me news of what will happen to my sister's wedding?”
“That's fine,” Luci nodded.
“In that case, I'll start by saying what you likely know already, which is to say that your village was attacked by Shadows. The fight started when one of those Shadow Goliaths appeared and kicked through the gate, allowing a horde of all sorts of different kinds of Shadows to come through, but none of them are anything that hasn't been seen before,” he suddenly turned around, facing the rubble once again. “After I arrived, I kept them busy long enough for Petra and her group to arrive and deal with the Goliath. Once they did, they left again to deal with something else while I finished up over here. Now, the wedding?” He turned back around to face us as he waited for an answer.
“I'm sorry, I have to tell you this,” Luci began as Issac's face took on a grim expression. “There isn't a wedding anymore. The woman we thought to be your sister turned out to be Trisha Augmonica, who orchestrated everything that happened today. She's currently keeping your sister captive somewhere in Osakara. Mira and I are planning to leave with Vic the day after tomorrow to rescue her. I'm sure you're coming too, right?”
“Of course I'll go. Is there anything else?”
“Not at the moment. My father is calling a meeting of all of the nobility and other important people currently here, which will take place sometime tomorrow.”
“Very well,” he sat back down in the position we first saw him in, tuning out the rest of the world.
With the sun approaching the horizon, the three of us decided to return, seeing as we didn't have anything else we needed to do out here. After a quick dinner, Luci and I said goodnight to Setsuna and headed to bed.
“Hey, Mira?” Luci addressed me, coming out of her closet after changing into a nightgown.
“Yeah?”
“Um, can I ask you a question?” She sat down next to me.
“Well, you just did, but sure.”
She scooted closer, grabbing my hand between both of hers.
“Listen, I… You can say no if you don't want to, but…I want to be with you tonight. I've been wanting to bring it up for a little while now, but it never felt right to do so, and tonight's not any different, but I feel like if I don't do something to get my mind off of everything that happened then-”
Not wanting her to continue with those thoughts, I sealed her lips with my own. I already knew my answer. If I was still a guy, I probably wouldn't, but seeing as how there's no risk of getting her pregnant, well… I'll be honest, I wanted this too.
Our first kiss just now wasn't anything too crazy, just a quick peck on the lips, barely longer than a second or two, but somehow that kiss felt like it lasted an hour, and it felt better than anything else I've ever experienced.
Looking into Luci's eyes, I didn't give her another chance to speak. I pushed her down onto the bed, moving to take her lips once again.
