Despite his outward bravado, Makoto of the Resistance’s Second Shinobi Unit was fairly worried.
The operation to capture the island of Hoka had taken two long years. Two years of preparation, two years of the Second Shinobi Unit methodically replacing the village’s inhabitants with deep cover operatives, two years of assassinating key external targets and bribing susceptible personnel to ensure the operation would go off without a hitch. Such extensive preparation might seem like overkill, but the operation was simply too important to permit even the possibility of failure.
It was so important, in fact, that three weeks ago, the Resistance intentionally lost several battles to give up several major islands to the Imperial Army. Consequently, the Imperial Army had to spread their forces thin to properly canvass and retake the newly-gained territory, thus providing the necessary opening for the SSU to make their move.
The operation had two parts to it. The first part was to capture the island. That had been relatively easy. The Second Shinobi Unit was the Resistance’s answer to the Emperor’s Huntsmen. The stationed soldiers on the island stood no chance.
The second part was to oversee a shipment. This was the main reason why the operation had taken so much time and preparation. Hoka was firmly within imperial territory, located in central Yukihasa, and this far in, the waters were closely monitored and guarded. Getting an unauthorized shipment through was virtually impossible. Without the sacrifice of those islands distracting the imperial forces, there was no way they could’ve achieved it.
Thankfully, they did. The island was captured, the shipment made it through, and not a single soul in the imperial government found out.
Which was why Makoto nearly had a heart attack when he heard that a Huntsman and three unknown individuals docked at the island.
A Huntsman, coming here? Hoka was a remote and overall unimportant island, which was why it had been selected for this operation. Over the past two years, not a single Huntsman visited the island. So why now?
Did they suspect something? Was there a leak?
Whatever the case, Makoto couldn’t risk it. He quickly assembled his people and prepared an ambush. Fortunately, he already had a cover identity in place as the local drinking hole’s bartender.
After receiving the signal from one of his scouts that there wasn’t anyone else approaching the island, Makoto made his move. He and eight of his best operatives attacked the intruders, focusing on the Huntsman as the biggest threat. Within seconds, they were able to take him down and turn their attention to the remaining three.
Only for things to get a bit more confusing.
“Who are you?” Makoto asked.
The young man exchanged a glance with the two next to him. “Ah… One moment, let me get back to you on that.”
“Excuse me?”
The young man ignored him, instead turning around to have a short conversation with his companions. Makoto tried to eavesdrop, but he heard nothing. One of them must’ve used some sort of sound-cancelling skill or item… Which, incidentally, was standard Huntsmen equipment. Makoto’s paranoia increased by several degrees as he eyed them carefully.
Finally, the young man turned back to them.
“So. You’re not going to believe this,” he said, his tone sounding rather awkward, “but we’re from Luminarche.”
There was a long moment of silence.
Then, Makoto scoffed.
“If you were going to lie, at least come up with a convincing one.”
The young man blinked, and for some odd reason, the Huntsman kneeling at Makoto’s feet let out a snort.
“I’m not lying,” the young man said. Wow, he was good. If Makoto didn’t know any better, he’d think he sounded genuine. “My name is, ah, Veli Maplewood.”
“Right. Do you think I’m stupid? Or did you just forget about the existence of the Curtain? If you were truly from Luminarche, then the barrier would’ve detected you and there’d be teams of Huntsmen after your head.” Makoto gestured at the Huntsman kneeling before him. “Instead, you have a Huntsman peacefully traveling with you.”
“He’s our prisoner,” ‘Maplewood’ replied.
Makoto raised his eyebrow. “Really now? Why don’t we ask him?”
The room fell silent as they all turned to the Huntsman. The Huntsman blinked as he was suddenly at the center of attention. “Oh.” He paused. “Yeah, they’re lying. They’re my allies working for the imperial government.”
“You backstabbing little shit-rag–!” Maplewood hissed, only to fall silent as Makoto and his operatives leveled their weapons at him. He sighed. “Disregard him, he’s just being a sore loser. Look…” He waved his hand, and he and his companions’ appearances changed. His hair lengthened and became messier, one of the women’s hair turned from black to green, and the other’s facial features transformed into something ethereal. “I’m an adventurer from Luminarche, Ana here is a priestess, and Lene is a, uh, friend–”
Makoto laughed. “And you expect us to believe that she’s a priestess?” He sneered. “As if the Church would ever allow one of theirs to step into this country, now of all times. Enough games. If you won’t tell the truth, then we’ll just have to resort to enhanced interrogation.”
With that, he gave the signal to attack.
He and six others surged forward, two hanging behind to prevent the Huntsman from trying anything. The walls cracked from the shockwaves generated from their sheer speed as they flickered through air faster than the naked eye could perceive. In less than a second, they were upon the three, weapons blurring through the air–
Maplewood sighed.
“You can have this one.”
The woman next to him, Lene, smiled. “My thanks.”
–and then Makoto froze. He and his operatives came to an abrupt stop, ceasing to move. Unable to move. His mind raced frantically. A lightning-based paralysis spell? Poison? Around him, his allies strained, trying to free themselves. Nothing worked. They were all frozen in place, as though there were lances affixing them to the floor.
It wasn't that Makoto's muscles wouldn't respond. They flexed freely, and by all rights he should be cutting Maplewood’s tendons right now.
His eyes flickered over to the girl. He hadn’t examined her too closely before, but now… She was beautiful, almost unnaturally so. Too symmetrical, too proportionate… It was as though she’d been meticulously created in a lab to be as perfect as possible. And her eyes… They regarded him like he wasn’t even a person, like he was some slab of meat. Some deep, primal part of his mind whimpered in unease, and in that moment, Makoto realized with a startling clarity that she wasn’t human. There was no way she could be.
Then, his gaze shifted downward, and he understood. Her shadow, curling and shifting minutely, had expanded outward to overtake their own. That, presumably, was what prevented them from moving. After all, if their shadows didn’t move, then how could they?
However, if shadows were the medium through which the effect was imposed…
Next to Makoto, his second-in-command, Akira, arrived at the same conclusion. Without any warning, her eyes flashed with brilliant blinding light, so bright that it was physically painful. Makoto had already scrunched his eyes closed ahead of time, having expected it. She’d used her [Flash] skill, one she often used to stun and disable the enemy. Here, though, it would serve to drive away the shadows.
Makoto immediately surged forward–
He stayed in place.
He blinked, opening his eyes. What? That failed?
“Good try,” Lene said, sounding amused. “But you must remember that some shadows are strong enough to devour even the light.”
“Ow…” Ana said, the alleged ‘High Priestess.’ She rubbed her eyes in pain as Maplewood patted her on the back comfortingly. “You couldn’t have devoured the light that reached us as well?”
Lene shrugged. “Not my fault you’re too slow.”
“So,” Maplewood said, stepping forward. He seemed unaffected by the light. “Let’s try this again. My name is Veli Maplewood. You said you were part of the Resistance, right? I’m here to help. Though, I’m sure you won’t take me at my word, which, fair enough. So I’ll let my actions speak for themselves. You see, if I so wanted to right now, I could kill all of you where you stand before you even have the time to blink. But I won’t. Instead, as a sign of good faith, I’ll let you all go.”
There was a long moment of silence.
Maplewood coughed. “I said, I’ll let you all go.”
Another moment of silence.
Maplewood turned to Lene. “That, err, was your cue to release your shadow paralysis skill…”
“I don’t know,” Lene said, tilting her head. “I feel like this way of convincing them takes too much time. Why don’t we just kill one or two of them to show we mean business? I doubt they’ll object much after that.”
A shiver went down Makoto’s spine at that. It was less her words and more the way she said it. It wasn’t the cold professionalism of Huntsmen, or even the homicidal glee of some of the more sadistic imperial soldiers. Rather, she’d sounded curious, as though she couldn’t fathom why Maplewood was deciding to spare them.
Maplewood blinked. “What? No. We’re not going to kill them.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. Now let them go.”
“Very well…”
And just like that, Makoto could move again. He stumbled slightly as he regained his balance before he looked at the three of them warily.
“So,” Maplewood said. “We good–?”
The doors to the tavern slammed open.
“Hey, Makoto!” a familiar voice called. “Pour me a cup of – holy what the flying fuck?”
Makoto relaxed slightly as Terminus walked in. The aged man had brown hair, a well-trimmed beard, and smile lines around his eyes. Unlike everyone else, Terminus wasn’t part of the Resistance. Rather, he was an external third-party agent who’d been working with them for years. Makoto didn’t know what his true identity was or where he came from; privately, his money was on Terminus being a covert operative sent by Valaria. However, he did know that whoever Terminus was, he was strong. He had to be. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been tasked with guarding the shipment singlehandedly.
Now, though, Terminus was staring at Ana with wide, disbelieving eyes.
“Makoto,” he said blankly, not turning to look at him. “Why is there a priestess from Luminarche here?”
Makoto blinked. “Wait. What?” He blanched. “You mean they were telling the truth?”
“Yeah, I mean,” Terminus looked her up and down. “The Goddess’s powers radiating from her is proof enough. That holy energy is too pure.”
Maplewood regarded Terminus with a degree of caution. “Who are you?”
Terminus grinned. “Hey, I’m Terminus. I do many things, but for now, I work with the Resistance. What brings you to Yukihasa?”
Levi considered the newcomer for several moments. Terminus was powerful. Incredibly so. The moment he’d appeared, Levi’s instincts had started screaming. Arguably even more so than when he’d faced the three Ascendants, which was saying something.
Thankfully, it seemed Terminus was friendly. Or at the very least, he was willing to talk. Which Levi was pretty glad for; he had not fully recovered from his magical overburn yet. It was partially why he’d asked Selene to take care of the Resistance members. That, and she seemed like she needed something to take her mind off things.
At any rate, Levi briefly debated giving a vague answer. He wasn’t certain whether or not they could fully trust the Resistance or their allies. That was why he’d given false identities earlier. However, while they could afford to hide their identities, they really couldn’t afford to hide their goals.
They were on a clock now. It was only a matter of time before the Chorus discovered that Levi had survived. As such, they had to find the Source as soon as possible.
“I’m Veli Maplewood,” he introduced himself again. “That’s Ana and Lene. We’re here to find the System Source. Do you happen to know where that is?”
The Resistance members all looked lost, but Terminus…
Terminus’s eyes sharpened. “Oh? That’s a strange destination. Why are you trying to go there?”
“My reasons are my own,” Levi said, trying to not show his hopes rising. “However, if you can lead us there, then I can promise to aid the Resistance afterward.” He paused. “Do you know where it is?”
Terminus examined him for a long time.
Then, he smiled. “Technically. Yes.”