Chapter 198 - Only Goodness and Mercy 3

She jolted awake. She looked passed the snow and saw the skyship that she has been tracking down for quite a while. She held her head and tried to stand up. “Looks like I’ve been dreaming about that old world,” she muttered bitterly under her mask.

It has been a long time since she found herself in a forest. It was that time when the Emperor of the Empire of Valor found her. She was lost. She fought enemies by her own power and abilities. This impressed the Emperor and she became a blade under the shadow. She spent the five years killing anyone that the Emperor pointed. She followed because she was lost.

“Is this what you want?”

Suddenly, a composed figure of a woman wearing a maid outfit appeared before her. One of her eyes was covered by a black cloth, she was one-eyed. Her green eye looked at her calmly.

“I don’t know,” she replied. She scrutinized the apparition as if looking at the mirror. There was a huge difference on what the apparition was wearing. Shadow wore a garb wrapped with her tools for killing. She wore a leather outfit and she was covered with a battered mantle.

“You don’t know? Did all the killing get to you again? Ever since the Madonna died, we promised that we’ll change,” the apparition said, her head tilted, looking confused without changing expression.

“No, I am helping because I have nothing to do,” she explained herself. “The Emperor’s facing a green horde. And the only way to stop them is the unification of all.”

That was a lie that she told herself. The Valor Empire had pure thoughts but she couldn’t deny their imperialist dreams. She saw how tired and old the Emperor was. The old man who held on to his life wanted nothing but to wipe out the race that killed his loved ones. His Empire grew large and strong. But it was stretched thin. Livia Continent was a good excuse for the Empire to ‘awaken’ the colonies and states of the Empire.

The Empire was stuck in a recession and war could do wonders for the economy. Not to mention that there was something that the Empire was developing.

She was blade under the shadow of the Empire. She has become stronger and tougher that no enemy could withstand her, especially while she was in the shadows.

“Is that the truth?” the apparition said. “Or is to hide the lie under your heart?”

Shadow could see a village in front of her. The village was composed of brick houses. She saw a familiar figure in a wheelchair smiling at some kids. She was being pushed by a young man with a bright smile on his face. The village was perceived by her eyes. She saw the image change inside a house. There was a man with white hair and pale skin sleeping on the table. She saw the image get closer to this man. A hand extended and touched his whitish hair.

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“Do you remember?” the apparition said. “Do you even know what happened on that day? When the day turned into night and end seemed to happen? There’s no way or could it be that storm rattled your brain?”

Shadow tried to recall. The memory was blurry and even the face of the person she was trying to grab was blurry. She tried to squeeze the memory out of her mind but she couldn’t. “Yes,” she admitted. “It has been five years and I’ve been trying to, I don’t know.”

The apparition twirled like a ballerina. She skipped around Shadow and then tapped her head. “Could it be that you’ve forgotten the first man who willingly caught spikes made of earth, the man who you saw in the kitchen, who you then rudely poked with a fork?”

“I don’t know anymore,” she said. The snow was around her. She was standing on a naked tree. Behind her was an out of place cannon that was handed by a group that welcomed her. They could not penetrate the demesne, but they were able to easily enter the Freelands without any trouble.

They were helped by a group of people that referred only as High Lords. The High Lords had recently contacted her about a group of people that were trying to cover the continent in a misty barrier. The High Lords could not allow such thing to happen and Shadow had the obligation to stop them.

It was a matter of perspective. To Shadow, the ‘group’ was trying to stop the Empire’s will. In her perspective, the group was the bad guys. She was the good one in her own perspective. That was all there is to it. Good and evil depends on who's asking.

“This is a peculiar weapon,” the apparition looked at the weapon.

“The ‘High Lords’ told me that it came from the stars. It came from something that is beyond our understanding. They told me that I can use it to take that bird down.”

“I see,” the apparition smiled. “Always do what you are told, always the iron-blooded and cold-blooded blade. The Madonna will be proud if she’s still here.”

Shadow bit her lip as she recalled the words of her mother who was also her master. She was told to live her life as a good-natured servant. She was sent to a village to take care of someone. But right now she’s not able to do that. She could not do what she was told to do. She was someone who was following what she was told.

The skyship that was flying up above finally went inside the weapon’s range. Shadow leaped down to the weapon and pressed the trigger. The weapon can only be used once. She was told that the ‘weapon’ is able to penetrate through any walls or vessels. She wondered why the ‘High Lords’ would give her such weapon but she couldn’t care less.

“Target Acquired,” she muttered. The weapon’s barrel started to glow. It gathered electricity around its barrel and before she could act. The weapon fired at the skyship. The lightning-like beam penetrated the hull of the ship. The skyship was able to somehow avoid exploding as it crashed down. The railgun did its job.

Shadow then looked at the spot where the skyship crashed. She readied herself and strides towards there.