It's been a while since that artist escaped the jail and rampaged across the village. I watched it from the comfort of this jail cell. Due to how high up it is, I could see the ensuing battle. She did quick work of all the guards, quickly cutting off their heads with her red blade. When the first head came off, she moved out all of the blood and made an axe. The second, a hammer. The third, a scythe. So on and so forth. Soon enough, every elf was dead, lying on the ground, with no blood pouring out. All that was left were the artist with hundreds of blood-red weapons floating all around her, going against the two survivors, the tribe's chief and the sorceress. 

Their battle is quite the watch if I do say so myself. The sorceress has a barrier up, protecting herself and the chief from the endless onslaught of weapons the artist is throwing at them. Meanwhile, the chief is gathering a bunch of stones she can find within the barrier and throwing them onto a huge pile. It's such a big pile. I'd love to make a big pile of rocks someday. Maybe with Mel. On top of our table. That sounds both very cool and very fun.

Looks like the chief has finished piling all the rocks on top and is now walking to the edge of the barrier. I can see she's yelling at the artist, who is yelling back. Aww… how intimate. I wonder if they're related. They do look the same.

"Twin sisters. They used to be close. Closer than even the lovers on the moon." I turned to my right, where the voice came from. It came from a shadowy black body of energy in the shape of a man. It was almost as if a shadow decided it wanted to be its own thing and so stood up. I wonder how it feels. I poked it, only to see my finger go straight through. "I am nothing but a shadow. There is nothing to touch, only things to see."

"You know, that's really cool. So, those two are twins, huh. How about the sorceress? Is she anything important?"

"Maxine. An outsider who came to our village. She wears the cloak to hide the fact she is no elf. I do not know why she is here. All I know is that she intended to stay with us for a year before continuing her search. A search she was very vague about."

Huh… that sounds like the kind of thing Mel would comment on. Oh well. "Say, shadow, you wouldn't happen to know where I can go to learn some ancient magic that'll protect me from some weird strangers, or whatever the magic is supposed to be?"

"I was listening from afar when you first came. I know your objectives. You can fulfil them in my hut, which is in the opposite direction of the battle. Come, follow me." The shadow jumped down through the hole, which I then followed. I took one last look at the battle, just seeing the moment where the sorceress's shield was broken, causing her to teleport away. The chief had made a giant cannon out of the pile of rocks, but looking at how it was cut by the countless red weapons, I'm guessing it failed. Oh well… time to follow the literal shadow.

The shadow walked past the rubble of the village, leading me to the outer fence of the village. He opened a door built on the fence and then walked into the forest. Eventually, we reached a clearing, where stood a singular hut. "My home. The village used to extend all the way here, but the dwindling numbers due to a civil war led to the village shrinking. My hut is all that remains of the old territory. I doubt those girls even know about its existence."

"I've been thinking, the whole village seemed to hate Merida, so what about you?"

"Haha… I've lived long enough to know that she was merely following her whims. That Seer did cause quite the rift within the village. I do not hold such spite for her. The Seer is someone who I know a grudge against would do nothing for you." He opened the door to his hut. "Now come on in."

"Oh… phew. I thought you were taking me to this hut to backstab because I was related to her." That's a lie. It's just a thought that came to mind… okay, maybe it's no longer a lie. Eh, whatever, time to walk into his shady hut.

"Do not have such worries. I have no reason to kill others… nor can I afford to." I walked in to find the skeleton of a corpse, illuminated by a Lightfly perched on its shoulders. Weirdly it had no shadow. No… wait, it can't be… "It seems you have figured it out. I have been long dead."

I looked at the shadow to see it rummaging through a nearby shelf. "There was a book here. It has the ancient spell you're looking for. While I'm looking for it, I suggest looking at my remains. I know your power requires eye contact, but maybe for things without eyes, there is another method."

"How did you figure out my power needs eye contact? Actually, how did you know I'm a Sacred Power holder?"

"I have lived long enough. Now, maybe touch my skeleton." Guess I'll do that. I have wanted to touch a skeleton. Here goes nothing… ooh, it feels so cold.

Huh… that somehow worked. Does that mean I can touch people instead of looking in their eyes? "Aha! I found the book." The shadow walked toward me, handing a book over to me. "The protection spell should be in there."

"Huh. Thanks."

"No, thank you. Not many people can see me in this shadow form. I've tried for a long time… I wanted at least one person to know I was gone. I think… I'll rest in your shadow. It's… what the man before me did. I'll never forget that, no matter how long I live." He stood in my shadow, then slowly melted into it. "One last thing. The next time you see the Seer… tell her… tell Merida… her tribe has reached a world no one can see. I'm sure she'll understand." Damn… that seems very important. I hope I don't forge- ooh, what's this shiny blue screen?

And poof. Gone. Well, that was weird. Where's Mel when you need to ask questions?

Meanwhile, at the dinner table.

Speedy, Merida, Mimi and Mel are at the dinner table. Merry is nowhere to be found. Replacing her is the demon Mammon. They are eating in complete silence, only the sounds of soup being slurped being heard. Suddenly, Merida speaks up.

"Melanie, I would like to inquire about something. How would you feel about a harem centered around Madeleine?"

"Why are you asking me? Let's assume I'm alright with being in a harem. What makes you think I'd be in a harem for Madeleine?"

"Are you not the closest to her? Do you not feel anything towards her?"

"Look, just because I've admitted to her face that she's cute, that her goofy and borderline insane mannerisms have kind of grown on me, that I think my interactions with her being actually pretty fun, and that when she restrained me with her Earth magic that one time it made me skip a heartbeat, it doesn't mean I have feelings towards her." All the members, excluding Mammon, pause their soup drinking to look at Mel and take in what she exclaimed before continuing their dinner. Mel looks confused at their actions before being ultimately ignored, that entire conversation being treated as if nothing happened.

Character profile: Mad Rox

Sacred power: Shadow Cloning

Years since death: 94 years

Description: The elder of the Patras tribe who has long been dead. His Sacred Power was an ability passed onto him during his childhood when he came across a solo adventurer who attempted to hunt in the Elf Forest but was quickly shot down by the tribes that lived within. The adventurer sunk one of his clones into Mad's shadow, unknowingly giving him the Sacred Power. He was an outcast from the Rox tribe who had braved the forest in hopes of greener pastures, fighting off monsters endlessly, before coming across the Patras tribe. They prided themselves on strength, and so welcomed him with open arms. He would actively fight alongside his clones, being able to single-handedly deal with threats that would take an entire party of adventurers. 

Chapter namesake: Out of the Black by Royal Blood

pojlk

Hidden daggers, somewhat agile, and now shadow cloning. I'm going to be honest, I did not plan to create a ninja maid, but I guess that's what's going to happen right now.