The Sword and The Shadow

“Big Brother!” Eirinn cried as she stared at Leguna angrily.

“What? Didn’t I save you?” Leguna complained.

“Idiot!”

“What? What do you want me to do, then?” Leguna asked.

“Stop playing games and just tell me what you want!” Eirinn balked helplessly.

Leguna would always demand a concession from her whenever she asked him for something. It was usually something like cleaning up his wounds, or cleaning his room. She new his scheming expression well, she had seen it too many times already.

“Nothing,” Leguna snickered, “You haven’t told me what you want me to do yet.”

Eirinn glanced as Alpacino before sighing and lowering her head.

“Save Big Brother Alpacino... But...”

“Alright, alright,” Leguna waved her off, “You only had to ask.”

“Eh?”

When did Leguna become a reasonable person?

“What? I’ll help as long as you ask,” Leguna said, smiling back at her over his shoulder.

Takros watched as Leguna approached, somewhat confused.

“Sorry, but I have to take him with me now. I can’t say no to my girlfriend.”

Leguna sounded both casual and commanding at the same time. Beneath his spoken words, he was saying: ‘Buzz off!’.

“Ptooey! Who’s your girlfriend?!” Eirinn snapped and spat at Leguna.

The timid girl became very self-confident with Leguna nearby..

“You’re asking for it, stinking brat!” Takros shouted and punched at the arrogant brat, imagining how Leguna would look when blood poured out of his nose.

A flash of savagery could be seen in Leguna’s eyes. He went all out, any kid would splat into a pancake.

Leguna would go all out as well if that was the game Takros wanted to play. He grabbed Tarkros’s wrist. Before Takros realized what was going on, his arm was dislocated.

Takros’s companions were stunned. But, when they realized Takros was at a disadvantage, they snapped out of their stupor and joined.

Leguna smiled sinisterly. He moved like a specter. Eirinn only saw a dark silhouette flash about before the three slumped to the ground.

“You want to bully others with your puny strength? Huh? Even the gangsters collecting protection money in Melindor are stronger than you.” Leguna pulled Tarkos’s hair and held him in a kneeling position. It wasn’t even a battle, but Leguna felt his bloodlust rise. The muscles on his body shuddered as he yearned for more killing.

“Who the hell are you?!” Takros shrieked.

Leguna jerked his head back, making it hard to speak.

“You don’t deserve to know.”

Leguna toyed with a shadow dagger before pressing it against Takros’s cheek, cutting it slightly.

“Now, promise me you won’t make trouble with these people in the future. Speak!”

The sensation of a weapon against his face unnerved him. A chill ran down his spine. Above him, two black abyssal spheres stared down at him. His instincts told him to run, they screamed at him so loudly he was shivering.

“Alright! I promise! I won’t cause trouble for anyone again! I won’t make a mess! I swear!”

Leguna stared at him coldly.

“I don’t trust you. I’ve seen too many crooks like you. It was people like, and my being merciful to people like you, that she lost her brother and sister. Chalk it up to your bad luck.”

Leguna plunged the dagger towards Takros’s throat.

“You can’t kill him!” Alpacino shouted.

But Leguna ignored them completely. His blade continued scything onwards.

“Big Brother!”

[Ley!]

Two voices struck him at the same time, bringing him back to his senses. He turned his gaze to his blade, to find Eirinn holding it in her hands, blood dripping from them incessantly.

Eirinn immediately felt something was off when Leguna grabbed hold of Takros’s hair. She started moving to him just in case. She made it just in time to stop Leguna from killing someone.

[It seems Host of Darkness’s side effects are growing stronger,] Gahrona sighed, [I could suppress it in the past, but now it’s overwhelming me. I can’t keep it in check any longer.]

“Don’t do this... Don’t kill people...” Eirinn begged as tears ran down her race.

They ran not because of the pain but because of Leguna’s reversion to a cold, soulless killer like that time in Emily’s tavern.

Leguna hurriedly dispersed his dagger and tossed the terrified man aside.

“Sorry, Eirinn... I...” Leguna stumbled, holding her hand.

“I’ll be fine.” Eirinn sighed when she saw Leguna had returned to normal.

“But you...”

“I became cold again, huh?–” Leguna took a few deep breaths and chased the desire to kill out of his mind. “–I don’t know what happened, but don’t worry. I’m fine.”

“Oh... okay...”

Leguna glanced at the three on the ground.

“Nothing happened today, nor will anything happen tomorrow! I promise you the day you make trouble again will be your last! Now scram!”

The three dashed away from the ground, half stumbling on all fours for a few meters before getting their footing and continuing on two.

“Let me heal you,” Eirinn said, stretching out her bleeding hands to Alpacino.

“His wounds can be treated later. Heal yourself first. Besides, I need to have a chat with him first.”

“You...”

Eirinn didn’t know what to do, she suspected there might not be an Alpacino left to heal when Leguna was done.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine now. Trust me.” Leguna said, smiling.

“Okay.”

Alpacino struggled tohis feet. His head remained low and he didn’t speak. He didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention from the demon in front of him.

“You still okay?” the demon asked.

“I’m fine.”

“Good.” the devil nodded, it’s expression darkening, “I fight for your empire, and this is how you repay me? You go and do this behind my back?”

“I–”

“–What? Don’t tell me you brought Eirinn here just to enjoy the view. I heard you. Admit it if you’re a man!”

“I love her! I asked her here to confess my feelings to her!” Alpacino barked, unable to contain his fury at the demon. “Eirinn can’t be happy with the likes of you!”

“Oh? And what makes you fit to judge?” the demon mocked, “You are so weak three thugs can beat you up in the middle of a garden, so bad you needed me to clean up your mess!”

“Damn you!” Alpacino could not stand having this little demon trample on his dignity. He had to fight just to keep his fists by his side.

“Shut up, moron!” the demon yelled, “What gives you the right to judge other people’s happiness? How do you know Eirinn’s thoughts? Do you know what she and I have been through together? You don’t know anything! You just think about yourself and what you want! Hmph, you say she won’t be happy with me? So, what, she’ll be happy with a weakling like you?”

“Power is not everything!” Alpacino blasted back.

“Yes, it’s not,” the demon agreed, “But without power nothing else matters. You can be the best husband in the world, but that doesn’t matter if you can’t keep your wife from being killed right in front of you. You have no strength to protect Eirinn, yet you want to make her your wife? Do you want to make the world laugh itself to death? You’re asking for things without being able to pay for them!”

“I tried to protect her! Are you blind?!” Alpacino’s shouted, his face red.

“Shut up!” the demon cursed. “I’ve seen many shameless people, but you’re worse than all of them! You tried to protect her, huh? Tell, just how did you try? How hard did you try when you saw her heading for the edge of the flower garden with her head, huh? I’ll tell you what ‘trying’ is. If I were you, if I were as weak as you, I would fight until I bled, even if I had to bite their legs to get a few inches closer, I would. But you? They only kicked you a few times and you gave up! You call that keeping her safe? Safe my ass! For as long as she stands by my side, for as long as I breathe, I will march into danger without hesitating to keep her out of it!”

Leguna’s voice grew louder as he babbled on, even Eirinn could hear what they were saying.

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