[NOTE: I ssed up a little. I jumbled up the Chapter 125 and 126. I mistakenly published the 126th Chapter first. Please read the Chapter [Broken Clock] then read [Shadow Stalkers]
[I am really sorry. ]
BANG!
A crisp gunshot rang out.
The bullet whizzed past Kael’s ear and struck the shadow stretching out from his feet.
SKREEE!
The shadow scread. A grotesque, black claw that had been reaching for Kael’s neck dissolved into smoke.
"Behind you!" I roared.
Kael spun around, slashing his sword at a second monster erging from Elisha’s shadow.
Clang!
Elisha reacted instantly, drawing her bow and firing a flaming arrow at a creature trying to flank .
It was perfect teamwork. Almost annoyingly so.
"..."
The three of us stood back-to-back—Kael with his sword, Elisha with her bow, and with my rifle. Mariella cowered in the center, casting a protective barrier.
"We’re surrounded," I stated.
"Surrounded? I don’t see anything!" Elisha hissed.
"Use your senses, Ravenscroft. Not your eyes."
I could feel it. Countless killing intents emanating from the darkness. The shadows of the buildings, the trash cans, even the stones... they were all alive.
I fired a shot into a dark corner.
SKREEE!
Another shriek.
The cartridge ejected with a tallic ting, rolling on the cobblestones.
"I’ll admit it," Elisha said, sweat beading on her forehead. "Your instincts surpass those of ordinary people. It’s almost disgusting."
"Save the complints for later. What’s the plan?"
"If we wait, the mont will co," I said cryptically.
"You’re awfully optimistic for soone about to be eaten. We shouldn’t have followed you here."
"Who told you to follow?"
"What did you say?!"
As Elisha and I growled at each other, Kael forced a strained smile.
"Both of you, calm down! Focus!"
Rustle.
The sound of shuffling paper cut through the tension.
"Southwest! Third floor window!" I shouted.
We all looked up.
Standing in the broken window of a dilapidated building was a short, stout figure with a white beard.
rle.
He held a deck of cards in his hand. He shuffled them with the dexterity of a gambler, drew one, and tossed it into the air.
"Begone, foul things!"
FLASH!
The card exploded into blinding white light.
The shadow monsters shrieked, their forms destabilizing in the illumination.
"Everyone! Run this way!" rle shouted, waving us over.
"Move!"
We sprinted toward the building.
As we ran, the shadows surged like a black tidal wave, trying to cut us off.
"Hm!"
rle drew another card—Red. He threw it behind us.
WHOOSH!
A wall of fire erupted from the ground, blocking the pursuit.
"Hurry, while the barrier holds!"
We scrambled through the window of the ruined house, following the old dwarf through a hidden passage that led directly into his workshop.
****
[rle’s Pawn & Trade - Back Room]
We collapsed onto the dusty floor of the workshop, gasping for breath. The screeching of the monsters faded away outside.
"To think such things were lurking in the heart of the capital..." Elisha muttered, biting her lip in frustration. "The City Guard is useless."
Kael stood up and bowed deeply to the old man.
"Thank you for your help, Manager rle."
rle wiped sweat from his brow, his hands trembling slightly as he put his cards away.
"No need to thank , lad. I should apologize. I didn’t know it’d be this dangerous when I asked you to investigate."
"No, it’s fine," Kael said. "But... what were those things? They weren’t normal demons."
Before rle could answer, a small voice piped up from behind the counter.
"Grandpa?"
A little girl with pigtails peeked out, holding a half-eaten stick of rock candy. Her eyes were wide with fear.
"Is it safe now?"
It was Irina.
My grip on the rifle tightened. She was alive. For now.
rle rushed over and hugged her.
"Yes, sweetie. It’s safe. Go back to your room."
He turned back to us, his face grim, illuminated by the flickering light of a mana lamp.
"Those things... they are Shadow Stalkers."
"Shadow Stalkers?" Kael repeated, frowning.
"First I’ve heard of them," Elisha admitted, crossing her arms.
The two protagonists reacted calmly, treating it as just another unknown monster na. But I felt a cold sweat trickling down my back.
’Damn it! Why are those showing up here?!’
Shadow Stalkers were late-ga mobs. They were incorporeal assassins that usually appeared only when a High-Rank Demon Gate was fully stabilized. Their presence in the slums ant the tiline was FUBAR.
"Manager rle!" I stepped forward, my voice sharp. "Are you saying those are truly Shadow Stalkers? Not mimics or illusions?"
rle looked at , his bushy white eyebrows knitting together.
"Mr. Lucien... you know what they are?"
"Aren’t they the necrotic residue ford from summoning High-Ranking Demons?" I asked, cutting to the chase. "They feed on mana and biological material to stabilize a dinsional tear."
"...You never cease to amaze , lad."
rle looked at with a mix of suspicion and respect.
"Most scholars at the Academy don’t even know that na. But you are correct."
At the ntion of ’High-Ranking Demons,’ Elisha and Kael flinched. The mory of the Fern Kingdom was still fresh. They had seen the reality of such a monstrosity in Dr. Eldric’s lab—a Chira that possessed the strength of a Count-Rank Demon.
"Let ... explain this pattern first."
rle walked over to a cluttered desk and pulled out a photograph. It was a close-up of the symbol Kael had sketched earlier—the one drawn with brain matter.
In the photo, it was far more grueso and vivid. The grey matter ford jagged, geotric lines that hurt the eyes just to look at.
"This symbol," rle traced the air with a trembling finger, "is the crest of the Order of the Dawn."
He paused, letting the na sink in.
"An ancient organization that existed long ago, before they were purged by the Holy Nation. The current demon-worshipping cult, Infernus, bases their entire doctrine of ’Demon Supremacy’ on the fragnted teachings of this very Order."
"The Order of the Dawn!"
Elisha muttered aloud, startled. Being from a Ducal family, she had access to restricted history books.
"I thought they were a myth," she whispered. "After their fall, traces of them were completely erased from the continent."
"They were supposed to be," rle sighed. "This... Hmm... I’m at a loss where to begin. The truth is dangerous."
He looked at Elisha intensely.
"Lady Ravenscroft. Before I speak further, please swear you won’t speak of this elsewhere. Not to your father, not to the Academy, not to the Emperor."
"Anywhere?"
"Anywhere. Or anyone."
Elisha’s violet eyes wavered. As a noble, keeping secrets from her family was difficult. But she looked at the terrified Irina hiding behind the counter, and then at the grim expression on Kael’s face.
She straightened her posture.
"Alright. I, Elisha Ravenscroft, swear on my na and my mana to tell no one."
The air humd slightly as the oath took hold. The first condition of the protagonist party—Justice—was invoked.
rle nodded, satisfied. He hopped onto a stool.
"So, do you guys know about the Luveil Empire?"
"Of course we know," Kael answered imdiately. "That empire was the epito of Magic Engineering. Even now, the inventions found in their ruins—like airships and mana engines—are the foundation of our daily life."
"Yeah, you are right," rle muttered, picking up a wrench and turning it idly. "But you know... great inventions and discoveries often co with sacrifices."
He looked at . I touched the Winchester on my back—a relic of that very empire.
"...The Luveil Empire may seem noble in the history books," rle continued, his voice dropping to a whisper. "But in truth, it was a hub for nurous taboo experints conducted in the shadows."
Elisha looked at rle with shocked eyes. Information about the dark side of Luveil was practically non-existent.
"Was demon summoning one of them?" I asked.
"Correct."
rle nodded.
"Well, the Empire itself wasn’t directly part of it. But researchers are curious by nature. They wanted to find the ultimate energy source. They wanted to research demons—how they function, their biology, their power systems which differ from our Mana."
"But," rle gestured helplessly, "researchers were powerless. They were scholars, not warriors. They couldn’t capture a demon alive. So, they partnered up with the Order of the Dawn."
"It was a deal with the devil," Kael murmured.
"Exactly. The researchers needed subjects, and the Order needed funding and technology to open their gates. The Order’s goal was to summon a demon god anyway. It was a symbiotic relationship of madness."
rle pointed to the photograph of the bloody symbol.
"It’s clear now. A survivor—or a descendant—of those experints has infiltrated the Aurelian Empire. Based on the appearance of the Shadow Stalkers, they’ve already managed to summon a demon and are harvesting organs to stabilize its physical form."
The explanation was brief but necessary. Given Elisha’s personality, she wouldn’t act without understanding the full context. Now, she understood the stakes.
What cos must go.
Elisha naturally brought up their past experiences to gauge the threat level.
"There seem to be more demon worshippers than I thought," she said, biting her lip. "Manager rle, during our Academy field training in the Fern Kingdom... we encountered sothing similar."
Elisha recounted the incident with Dr. Eldric and the Chira.
rle listened intently, his eyes widening.
"A Count-Rank strength?" rle asked, looking between the three students. "That is... a disaster-level threat. How in the world did a group of first-years defeat such a thing?"
"Well..."
Kael froze. He couldn’t say, ’I used the power of the Demon King to obliterate it.’
Elisha looked away. She couldn’t say, ’Lucien did sothing mysterious.’
Their gazes instinctively turned to .
I sighed internally. I decided to sprinkle in a little lie to protect our secrets.
"Instructor Samantha killed it," I said smoothly.
"Ah!" rle slapped his knee. "The Platinum Knight Commander, Samantha? The ’Steel Rose’? That makes perfect sense. If she was there, even a Count-Rank would be sliced into sashimi."
Kael and Elisha let out visible sighs of relief.
"Yes," Kael nodded quickly. "She... arrived just in ti."
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