Book 1 Chapter 237

237

Drip- tap- swishhhh-!

Drip- drip- the rain began to fall.

Corpses were scattered all over the rural village.

In the midst of it all, a girl was walking.

The cold spring rain washed down on the ground.

Drip- drip-

Red droplets fell from her body.

"Cough- hack!"

A person in dark clothing was spitting blood.

Looking down at him, the sole survivor, Chen Xia said.

"I sentence you to death for colluding with Tartarus."

"Kuhuhu- how cruel."

The man, mortally wounded, sneered.

"I wonder what the difference is between you and your shadows. For such a young girl to be so brutal."

"At least we don't betray the world for our own greed."

"How arrogant! Regardless, you are all just failures not recognized by the gods."

A sneer crossed the man's face.

Shhhk-!

At that moment, a silver flash flew from behind Chen Xia and severed the man's neck.

Fshhh-!

Blood splattered.

Chen Xia's body, which had been washed by the rain, was once again stained with blood.

Chen Xia turned her head.

"Your Highness. Do not defile your ears with the futile words of the wicked."

"Yes."

Chen Xia replied indifferently and turned her body.

The traitors who had hidden in this village were now finished.

'It's been a while since I felt this.'

Other shadows, which had appeared unnoticed, were finishing off the corpses as if confirming kills.

Watching them, Chen Xia let out a deep sigh.

'If my classmates saw this, they might frown.'

There was no telling what unexpected situations could arise from Tartarus's dark magic.

For the shadows, such a confirmation kill was natural.

However, it was by no means a noble act.

But for Chen Xia, this sight was not unfamiliar.

Rather, she accepted it as if it were natural.

It was a sight she had seen since she was young.

For the past year, she had simply been in a different world.

Thump- thump-

Chen Xia took a step.

Chen Xia and the others were the shadows of the Shan Empire.

The Shan Empire.

A great power in the East boasting a long history.

The Shan Empire had a nickname: the Land of Shadows.

Great heroes saved the world.

The Heroic Age began.

2000 years after the Age of Calamity ended, and after the power of the Hero Record became known to the world, heroes began to lead the world's affairs.

Many people admired and yearned for heroes.

They praised the great deeds of the heroes and dreamed of becoming heroes themselves.

Hero Academies were established, numerous Heroic families were born, and nations founded by heroes came into being.

Many nations strived to produce heroes.

'Not the Shan Empire, though.'

The Shan Empire did not nurture heroes.

It was not that heroes were not born, but Shan valued shadows more.

'Even before this country was founded… no, we had been fighting since before the Heroic Age.'

Shan's official founding date was 4000 years ago, but Shan's shadows had existed for over 5000 years.

Since the Age of Calamity.

For all that long time, they had protected the world without even leaving their names in the Hero Record.

'Those who are more noble… and those who are more wicked than anyone else.'

Thump- thump-

Forced to live strictly in the darkness, the shadows upheld their own justice.

Chen Xia stopped walking.

And then, she widened her eyes upon spotting a young brother and sister hiding in an alley.

The siblings were trembling, perhaps from the cold spring rain.

Shush- shush-

"Are you okay?"

To Chen Xia's question, the siblings hugged each other tighter.

"Aren't you cold? Come with me, sis…"

"Eek!"

Chen Xia reached out her hand to help the children.

Then, the boy hugged his younger sister and squeezed his eyes shut.

At the scream, Chen Xia's hand stopped in mid-air.

Hesitantly, Chen Xia soon said with a wry smile.

"I'm sorry. I seem to have scared you."

She stood up from her crouched position.

"Nothing scary will happen from now on. So don't stay here, go home. You'll catch a cold if you stay here."

Saying that, Chen Xia left the alley.

"Oppa, the pretty lady was helping us…"

"Shush! Hurry and follow me. That person is a witch!"

The boy covered his sister's mouth and hastily disappeared into the depths of the alley.

'They saw. They saw me hunting.'

Chen Xia looked down at her hands.

They were clean hands, as usual.

But just moments before, they had been covered in blood.

She was used to it.

Killing others.

She was used to it.

Being a source of fear for someone.

Only her heart was fluttering…

'Over the past year… I must have dreamt too deeply.'

It seemed she had been momentarily blinded by the dazzling year.

'Right.'

Chen Xia clenched her fist tightly.

'This is where I belong.'

She closed her eyes.

The faces of her friends, with whom she had studied for a year, came to mind.

Finally, the image of a certain boy appeared.

A person who seemed born to be a hero.

A pure white person, always surrounded by light and hope.

'I… can't become like Lord Leo in the end.'

They were born different.

Thinking so, Chen Xia disappeared into the darkness.

***

"Hoo."

Liina let out a deep sigh.

"This is troublesome."

She, wearing a uniform, tugged at her tie and loosened it.

"Trouble erupts in my very first month."

With an annoyed expression, Liina took a bottle of liquor from a cabinet next to her desk.

As she poured it into a glass, she fell into thought.

'Are they ultimately going to have their way?'

On the desk, Liina's eyes fell on an envelope containing a letter from the Shan Empire.

The content of the letter was simple.

It stated that Shan's Princess Chen Xia was withdrawing from the academy.

'It must be the Emperor's will that he doesn't want Shan's talent to be leaked outside.'

Shan's royal family lived in extreme secrecy.

Only the Emperor could show himself to the world.

Even the next emperor could not reveal himself to the world until he became emperor.

A tradition of Shan that had continued for thousands of years.

And those among Shan's royalty with talent who did not become emperor lived the life of shadows, not heroes.

That was the tradition of Shan.

'I don't understand that country.'

Liina herself had lived as a shadow of Lumern for half her life.

At first, she too was a student at Lumern.

However, as she neared graduation, the Lumern Shadows approached her with an offer.

She accepted the offer and began to live the life of a shadow.

'If it were me, I'd let my child live in the bright light instead of doing dirty work!'

If the current emperor were in front of her, she would want to scold him.

She didn't regret her life as a shadow.

She too had walked a bloody path, but she never thought it was wrong.

If she could go back to the past, she would still choose the life of a shadow.

But…

'You shouldn't intentionally push children onto such a path.'

Judging solely by her first-year grades, Chen Xia was an excellent hero candidate.

To push someone who could walk the path of a hero onto the path of a shadow…

'That country is definitely not right in the head.'

Liina let out a deep sigh.

'The biggest problem is that Chen Xia herself has no intention of continuing as a hero candidate.'

She couldn't force someone who didn't want to be there.

Moreover, the other party was not just any heroic family, but the royal family of the Shan Empire.

Furthermore, her status was that of a princess.

'I guess I'll have to go see her in person…'

Just as Liina was thinking that.

Knock- knock-

"Come in."

As the door opened following the knock, Liina looked at the visitor with a puzzled expression.

"What business does the student council president have at this hour? You should have class."

"I skipped it."

"They say you're Lumern's top student in history, but you have a surprisingly rebellious streak?"

"You've been drinking since the afternoon, Principal."

At Leo's words, Liina, who had been swirling her drink, put down her glass with a 'tak'.

"There was a reason for that."

Liina stepped down from her desk and gestured to the guest sofa.

"Sit down. The student council president must have a reason for visiting me."

Leo sat on the sofa.

"Yes. What is the reason you sought me out?"

"It's about Chen Xia."

"Chen Xia."

Leaning back on the sofa, Liina said.

"Did you hear from Dorm Supervisor Sena? About her possibly withdrawing due to family circumstances."

"Yes."

"Then, even as the student council president, there's nothing you can do. Lumern is no different. As an educational institution, we teach students who are qualified. We cannot teach those who are not."

"Does that qualification refer to one's will? Or one's disposition?"

"What do you mean?"

"I have a feeling Chen Xia wants to withdraw because she is a shadow."

"…"

At Leo's words, Liina's expression changed subtly.

"Did Chen Xia say that?"

"No. It was just a vague feeling."

"That's impressive. As expected, the youngest student council president is different."

Liina stroked her chin in admiration.

"Then it makes even less sense, doesn't it? You know as well as I do that heroes and shadows have the same goal, but their ideologies can never mix."

Liina chuckled heartily.

"There are many students who dislike shadows among the hero candidates, you know."

That was true.

Among hero candidates, there were students with a phobia of cleanliness who detested shadows.

The things shadows do are far removed from what heroes do.

"Especially the extremists are a big problem. They don't hesitate to resort to torture and slaughter. They often harm innocent people under the guise of eradicating traitors."

Liina sneered and looked at Leo.

"From my perspective, Leo Flove. You are someone born to be a hero."

Liina rested her chin on her hand and crossed her legs.

"Is your interest in Chen Xia because she is your friend? You don't need to get involved with matters related to shadows. Just remain a noble hero."

"A noble hero…"

Leo gave a look of amusement.

"And you are the one who accepted shadow candidates into Lumern?"

Liina's cool gaze fell upon Leo.

"I noticed it from the time of the escort mission. That some juniors were being groomed as shadows."

Liina let out a small laugh.

"There are extremists among heroes too. Many heroes have slaughtered innocent people. The only difference is whether they had a justification or not. From my perspective, they are the same."

"The same?"

Liina looked amused.

"Yes. Heroes or shadows. What's the difference?"

"You have interesting thoughts."

Liina chuckled.

"Yes. In terms of fighting Tartarus, heroes and shadows are the same. However…"

Liina's eyes narrowed.

"There is a decisive difference between the two."

"A decisive difference?"

"Yes."

Liina stood up, picked up the glass from her desk, and downed the contents.

Then, looking at Leo, she said.

"No matter how great the achievement, shadows can never have their names recorded in the Hero Record."

Liina let out a deep sigh.

"Gods praise the deeds of heroes, but they do not praise the deeds of shadows."

Tak-

Liina put down her glass and gave a bitter smile.

"It means shadows are beings abandoned by God."