“YE WERE FIGHTING JOHN PHILO? ARE YE A NUMPTY BAWBAG NOW? OR AN ABSOLUTE ROCKET? BOTH?” yelled Leith to his sister.

The quarrel between the Crimsonmane siblings had adorned the atmosphere of the house since this morning. Leith was surprised to see Alicia coming out of her room with more wounds—especially on the neck—even though the wounds from the previous night had not even healed.

Alicia dismissed him. “But Mister Philo would have been roasted alive! Are you really just going to let him die, Leith?”

“Does it matter? He’s been terrorising the townspeople for nights! Maybe that’s the punishment he deserves!”

Alicia’s tone rose an octave. “DESERVES, YE SAY?” What about those rapists? Ye werenae even nattering about them being put under house arrest!"

“That’s not what I meant, sis! I was just saying to keep your oar out! Let the wizards do their job! Why are you suddenly loving to meddle in other’s affairs recently? Is it because you already have Orb, ye start acting as a hero now?”

“Oh, shut it, Leith! You never care about other people. What, are ye jealous? Me and Orb helped those wizards! Because of us, we could save the prisoners without risking Mister Philo’s life.”

Alicia slapped her forehead, then sat down on the sofa. “You don’t know exactly how he felt. He had gone astray. The Protos’ influence only made him lose his way even more. You should have witnessed what I saw when I freed him from Khaos. Since then, I’ve been grateful for choosing that path. He can get a second chance to improve his life."

“I’m not jealous,” Leith replied. “I’m even glad you became a mage…. It’s just, you don’t know what you’re betting on here. You should read the situation, Alicia. You can’t become a mage and expect to save everyone else you meet. Most of the time you just pass that person’s problems onto another, even to yourself."

Then Leith sighed and sat on the sofa in front of Alicia. “You saved those people by sacrificing yourself being exposed using pure Arcane. You think they’ll keep their mouths shut? Naw, sis. They’ve probably grassed you up by now. People will start chasing you. They’ll justify any means, including destroying everything you love for the sake of getting that divine blessing. You’ll put other people in danger. Are you ready to endure all that, sis?”

Alicia was silent for a moment, looking at Orb in front of her desk. She remained firm in her thoughts.

“I’ve given it a thought, Leith. I will keep doing it. Again, and again. Even if it’ll ruin my cover or get me killed.”

That was one bold statement from a mage who was just born yesterday.

She added again, “Orb chooses me for a reason. If I don’t use this power when others need it, then I don’t deserve this boon.”

Alicia had gone too stubborn; Leith could only sigh once more because of his naïve sister, and replied, “Too soon. Your thinking is immature. Don’t tell me I didnae warn you.”

Alicia then took Orb and stuffed it into her backpack as usual, preparing to leave. “I’m going to the town hall. There’s a town hall meeting held by the parish council regarding recent events. You're coming?”

Leith, who seemed to be sulking at not being heard, turned his body towards the kitchen. “Not interested. Go by yourself.”

The meeting held at the town hall was basically discussing the case of Esmer Philo’s mistreatment, as well as the abuse of black magic that had taken its toll. The people convened to find solutions about tightening security in their small town from violence against children and women, and suppressing the spread of Protos particles that were becoming more apparent. They also asked officials so the central authority could send more elite wizards here, as well as provide education for local mages on how to deal with black magic users.

Usually, Alicia’s father attended each of these meetings when he was in town. But for now, he was represented by one of the council members.

Alicia reached the hall of the building and met with Gilmore and Nadine, who brought their parents. The hall used for meetings sloped downwards like a cinema studio. Alicia sat with them in the middle row, the end seat right next to the stairs.

The deliberation so far had been tense, but under control. Enthusiastic residents often raised objections and requests to officials and the council. The council listened to them carefully as well and often discussed with each other the solutions they wanted to implement.

The Crimsonmane might just sit in her chair listening, but she was quite pleased with the people still caring about their beloved township. And so far, no reports of anyone ever using suspicious power other than black magic. Maybe they thought Arcane was just typical energy, like magic in general. This should be a pretty good omen, wasn’t it?

Some people often walked in and out of the hall during meetings was not something that attracted attention. That was, until an unusually dressed man entered the hall in the middle of the conference. The man himself was wearing an oriental style tech wear which was uncommon to the eyes of the villagers—An open tawny Noragi jacket with a monochrome sigil resembling a fang, featured a black long-sleeved t-shirt, grey samurai pants, and sneakers. In addition, he put on a black Oni mask with bronze fangs. His hair was pecan in colour with grey bangs dominating his countenance. At first, he just stood right behind the door, observing. Since the stranger was present, his figure caught the attention of several councillors and citizens. But in the end, they ignored him anyway, thinking he was just a flaunt lad in extravagant dress and a trendy haircut. Several people who did not get a seat also stood leaning against the wall. So to them, the stranger was just paying attention to the meeting.

After scanning the parameters, the man slowly descended the stairs and began to put his hands altogether. His fingers slanted to form a mountain, followed by a number of peculiar hand movements step by step.

His hand gestures were not indicating a desire to communicate through the language of signs. It was more like the motions of prayer.

Or, a form of spell casting.

One of the councillors noticed the man’s strange behaviour. His eyes bulged. Realising what the man was about to do, he shouted, “YOU THERE, STOP—”

How the Divine had cursed them! Before the councillor even finished his words, the stranger had already chanted a sentence in a foreign tongue.

“Kage no Jutsu: Kūkan no Wana!”

All of the sudden, the shadow beneath his feet rebelled against the law of nature. It moved, ignoring the kind light. The black manifest expanded across the hall, overtaking the chair crevices and knitting the other shadows it touched. The entire floor was subdued by absolute darkness.

It was a long time since Trinketshore received its last tourists from overseas. But this wasn’t what they expected—a shinobi. Again, a potential new threat to the town was currently conferring about a new threat.

The whole audience was sculpted in resignation in their seats. All they could do was sit back and breathe. Maintaining his last hand gestures, the shinobi went back down the stairs, looking for something, or someone.

His footsteps stopped right next to the ossified Alicia Crimsonmane. Her face dripped with cold sweat from misgiving. She tried so hard to reach the Orb that was locked in the backpack under her feet. However, she had not experienced synchronisation with her sphere by now. Just as her brain lost control of her limbs, she could not send a telepathic signal to Orb to come out and hit the oddball with no bodily movement involved.

The man turned to the girl. Alicia couldn’t see the man clearly; her forward-facing pupils were shaking, struggling to see whoever had trapped her and the rest of the room. The man let go of his hands and grabbed Alicia’s backpack. He opened it and found the dim Orb inside.

“So, you are the owner of the force from heaven? A brat like you doesn’t even look like a magic practitioner,” the man said in a bitter tone, using Alicia’s mother tongue. He then threw the knapsack back onto her thigh.

“Bring your bag and get up. You’re coming with me.”

As ordered, Alicia wrapped her arms around her backpack and got up from her seat. It was when she faced that man, she could only see the mysterious countenance covered by the demon mask. His eyes were round but slanted, definitely an oriental descent. His eyeballs seemed odd because they resembled the eyes of a predator, a tiger to be precise—golden irises with slight oval pupils that stared with forceful intent. If the predatory gaze alone was enough to make the girl's guts shrink, don't forget that his facial structure was even more bizarre and disturbing. Half of his face had experienced drastic aging than the other side—which was smoother, like a normal middle-aged man's face.

Alicia and the stranger ascended to the exit. Just before reaching the door, the stranger stopped for a moment, while Alicia continued to climb a few steps ahead of him before stopping too, then turned around. Of course, the man did not want hundreds of people to lay an assault upon him right away for disrupting the conference, and worse, kidnapping an innocent girl.

He then reached into his jacket, pulled out a sake bottle made of ceramic, and uncork the bottle. Prior to taking a sip, he saw Alicia, who was looking at him with her deadpan stare. The shinobi raised his bottle while saying, “Kampai, Ojou-sama,” then poured the sake into his mouth through the gap in his mask.

In Alicia’s mind, this was the first time she had seen a criminal taking the time to enjoy alcohol in the middle of an abduction.

“Cover your mouth and nose. Hold your breath!” ordered the man, which Alicia immediately carried out without question. He again made a series of hand gestures; this time so quick that Alicia’s eyes couldn’t see each one clearly.

After the last move was completed, the shinobi’s hair was blowing in the wind, implying another ability was ready to be executed. The shinobi puffed out his chest, then turned around with his right thumb and forefinger together in a circle, right in front of his mouth.

“Yotta Kaze no Jutsu!”

From his mouth came a misty gas that enveloped the entire room. The strong smell of alcohol permeated the hall, causing the audience to sway. The faces of all ages except the two of them were flushed red. The shadow of the shinobi began to shrink. All humans were freed from the shackles of the shadow prison, only to fall into the world of dreams right after.

Looking at the magic characteristics, the magic-literate Alicia recognised the person’s traits.

‘The way he uses his hands… The mystic art he practices… The Art of Ninshu? A shinobi came all the way from Kagatse to kidnap me and Orb!’

Her feelings were mixed. This shinobi would probably transport her to a faraway land in the far east, and her fate as well as Orb’s would be unknown. Regardless, she was witnessing a practitioner of the mystical arts of Ninshu for the first time with her own very eyes—something she could only see in her mother’s illustrated magic encyclopaedia!

The shadow now only encompassed both of them. The shinobi stared at Alicia’s eyes—which somehow sparkled at the attraction he performed just now. Feeling strange, he chose to ignore the girl and led her out of the town hall.

Of course, that feeling of guilty pleasure didn’t last long. Even though her mouth was not gagged, Alicia couldn’t vibrate her vocal cord to produce a slight sound, or even cry. She felt like she was snared inside her own body. She hoped that along the way, someone or something could break the enchantment.

The Crimsonmane girl and the Shinobi arrived at a sprawling complex of buildings with glass roofs and buzzing train whistles. They were at Drummore railway station, the only train station on Trinketshore. they both then stared at each other. “After a few stops, I might release your shadow. But don’t even try to escape from me!”

As they were about to head for the platform, a group of gallant men crossed paths with them. They dressed as if being in a fashion contest with the Kagatse traveller—Fur-collared leather jackets with long black overalls and red and gold trimmings, uniforms, and berets of the same colour composition. However, Alicia was more familiar with those gallants; they were the magic agents from Empire Roma.

Marvelous. Roman envoy. Today just couldn’t be more stressful.

The agents smelled something fishy about that pair of ‘soul mates’ who were about to take a train for their ‘honeymoon’. They casually thwarted the couple’s path and scrutinised the Kagatse traveler with the innocent girl behind him. One of them, turned out to be the leader of the group, said, “Ha! Finally, mans. We’re not the only freaks land in a small town in the middle of nowhere.” They all laughed.

“Too bad there’s no costume festival ‘round here, man,” the leader continued. “Are you two on a costume date, man? Your lady’s costumes suck, just so you know, man.”

The shinobi ignored them and walked to the other side. The head agent obstructed them again.

“Why such the hurry, man? Take it easy, man. The train’s not leaving yet, is it, man?”

The agents began to corner the shinobi. Both hands of the Kagatse traveller started to clench, as Alicia behind him wondered a thousand scenarios of what would happen next. The head agent inspected him one more time. He looked down, and found something odd there.

“You do have a huge mud pool, don’t you, man?”

As swift as Thunderkeeper’s lightning, the shinobi prepared his combat stance in an instant. The four agents responded in wary; a pair of magic circles were summoned on their wide palms! []