In a large dimly lit dining hall, two men sat facing each other across a long dining table. It was a remarkably silent scene, and no noise could be heard save the occasional scraping of the knife and fork and the periodic sound of eating. The room seemed to be quite lavishly furnished; the walls were lined with an assortment of ornaments and banners while a majestic scarlet carpet covered the floor. However, a slight sign of rust and wear seemed to permeate the ambience of the hall, as if the necessary care and cleaning needed for their care had recently abated.

"So, how was class today, son?"

Zinrus Eitrigg ignored his father's attempt at conversation, content to focus his eyes attention instead on the platter of tenderloin before him.

"Come on, you can't keep ignoring me like this. Try to think of the bigger pict-"

"The bigger picture-" Zinrus finally hissed, "-was our family. And you went and threw that away for the sake of some conspiracy theory that no one believes except you."

Lord Zeerus Eitrigg's lips tightened with anger, his eyebrows creasing in frustration. There was a time when such words would have driven him to a thunderous rage, but they'd had this conversation too many times. Instead, he took a deep breath to calm himself before responding:

"It's not a conspiracy, Zinrus. The Sovereign Duke and his family do not have the interests of the New Re-Estize Kingdom at heart. I suspect their schemes run far deeper than even the scope of this entire Kingdom. They may very well bring ruin to humanity itself."

Zinrus wanted to tear his hair out. "Do you not see how absolutely ridiculous that sounds? The Sovereign Duke BUILT this nation. Without his efforts, the New Re-Estize Kingdom wouldn't even exist. Besides, they invited us, remember? Our family hailed from the Baharuth Empire, and we would have been grinded slowly into dust by the policies of the Blood Emperor if the Sovereign Duke hadn't extended the invitation to us. Grandfather accepted to save our family. And now you are throwing all of that away...and for what?"

Lord Eitrigg sternly shook his head. "Do not try and teach me about the history of my own House, Zinrus. I am well aware of what happened. But you have to look beyond the surface. Why do you think the Sovereign Duke created this nation in the first place? Do you not recall that his father was a survivor of the old kingdom? I'm sure you know who he ended up serving."

Zinrus scoffed. "That only supports my argument. The Sovereign Duke did all of this to make amends. It's been debated countless times throughout the past few decades. Heck, I have these debates in my classes! He was so selfless that he refused kingship despite the pleas of his followers! Besides, even if your conspiracies were true, what would you even do about it? Sovereign Duke Riivan Brandt Dale Raevan is 112 years old!"

His father grimaced. "And he looks not a day over 70. Does that not bother you?"

"I don't know, he looks pretty fucking old to me." replied a sudden female voice as the door to the dining hall creaked open. A woman in her mid-30s entered, dressed in a leather hunting attire.

The look on Zinrus's face darkened even further as he saw the newcomer. He glared at his father, his eyes burning with disgust and anger. "And for you to bring this woman into our house after what happened to mother…"

"Zinrus, it's not like that..."

Zinrus clenched his fists, gritting his teeth as he stood up. "I'm going out for a walk."

With that, the young man strode out of the dining hall through the door from which the woman had entered. His father's eyes followed him as he left, clouded with sadness and regret.

When the door shut close and Zinrus finally went out of earshot, Zeerus Eitrigg finally exploded.

"YOU HAVE THE WORST TIMING!"

The woman did not flinch, opting instead to sigh at the furious red face of her friend.

"Should you really be trying to involve your son like this? He's only 15."

Zeerus snorted at the question. "He's old enough to fight in a war. He needs to know at least some of the truth, even if he doesn't join any of our operations."

His expression changed into a brooding stare as a more serious and sombre tone crept into his voice: "It was a mistake not to tell him about the Resistance. He knows we came from the Empire but he doesn't know what we're supposed to stand for. He knows his grandfather accepted the Duke's offer but he doesn't know his great grandfather fought against the very forces that now control New Re-Estize from the shadows."

The woman gasped: "You never told him? But why-" Yet even as she was asking the question, the answer came to her.

"Elizabeth."

Zeerus nodded. "His mother didn't want him to know. She made me promise not to tell him until he turned 16."

The woman gave him a strange look. "Honestly, perhaps that is for the best…." She trailed off as she looked around the room, taking in the hints of deterioration all over the place. "It's only been a week since we've openly challenged the Sovereign Duke, and you've already let go of all your servants. Give it a month and this place will look like a shithole."

Zeerus sighed. "It can't be helped. Everyone loves the Sovereign Duke. The stunt we pulled made me a public enemy. Nobody will do business with me, and I can't afford to be dragged down by unnecessary expenses. Zinrus doesn't understand, he is still bitter about the drop in our living conditions."

"But at least Alphonse is still here..." he added meekly.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Your butler? He's ancient. Won't be long until he's gone too."

Zeerus shrugged, gesturing towards his plate. "Still makes a damn good tenderloin I'll tell you that." His expression softened a bit as he continued: "We'll manage. Your grandfather Nimble was left with literally nothing and he and his brother still managed to build the Resistance from scratch. Secretly fought back against the remnants of the Sorcerer King's influence when the Bloody Emperor was still running around like a headless chicken after His death."

The woman smiled bitterly when she heard this: 'You seem to forget that the House of Aenoch was burned to the ground as a result when my grand uncle sold his own brother out to the Cult of the Deathless. The Resistance disbanded and one of our founding Houses-House Eitrigg-abandoned the Empire and ran off to this "New Estize Kingdom," or whatever the hell they call it.'

Zeerus bowed his head apologetically. "Look, Arin, my father made a mistake, but I'm trying to make things right here. If we can't save the Empire, then we can at least try to save the new Kingdom. So did you manage to get the information I talked to you about? The mysterious person the Sovereign Duke has been meeting with?"

Arin Arc Dale Aenoch sighed. "No, but I managed to get in contact with someone who might be able to help. We're supposed to meet up with her tonight. She's a very old player in this game, her name is E-"

Suddenly, she froze. The blood drained from Arin's face as a realisation dawned on her, her eyes widening with horror as she whispered in a tone of absolute dread:

"They've come for us."

Zinrus made his way to the outskirts of the Eitrigg Manor. He slid through a small crevice in the stone wall and came out on the other side where his best friend Eloise Varnam stood waiting.

She rolled his eyes at him as he stumbled clumsily out of the crack in the wall.

"Took you long enough."

Zinrus huffed indignantly. "My father wanted to have another conversation with me again."

"Are you sure? Whenever the two of you get into another one of those stupid arguments, it always takes at least an hour before you both get tired and stop. You're only like 15 minutes late this time."

Zinrus ignored the biting sarcasm in her last sentence. "That woman came over again, so I got an excuse to bail. Anyway, enough about me. Where are we doing toni….why are you looking at me like that?"

Eloise stared at him with a mischievous grin on her face, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she replied: "Come on, do you even have to ask? Let's go spy on them!"

Zinrus's eyes widened. "W-what? Are you serious? No way. I'm not interested in more of my old man's conspiracies. Besides, what if they're actually…"

Eloise tilted her head as she looked at him, not quite registering what he meant. But soon enough, it clicked. The expression on her face went from slightly confused to absolute disbelief, and then finally to an extreme outburst of laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Zinrus, you don't think your old man is having sex in there are you? HAHAHAHAHA!"

Zinrus flushed a deep red as he gulped down a yelp of protest. "Well I mean, it makes sense, doesn't it? And besides, isn't this kind of thing pretty normal for nobles?"

Eloise finally calmed down, biting her tongue to keep herself from laughing as she replied: "Well, yes. But your father isn't that kind of person. Just trust me, ok? I bet the most we'll end up seeing and hearing is more stuff about the Sovereign Duke of whatever."

Without a second word, she slipped into the crevice and back towards the Eitrigg Manor. Zinrus frantically tried to pull her back, but he was too late; she had already emerged on the other side, beckoning for him to come.

He grunted-a sound mixed with both exasperation and angry reluctance-before heading in after her. The two of them made a light jog back towards the Eitrigg Manor.

As they neared the large building, Zinrus made a silent signal to stop, then motioned for Eloise to follow as he snuck towards the side of the Manor and peered in through the window into the dining hall. Eloise followed suit.

"Psst...you didn't tell me there was a second woman!"

Zinrus quickly waved his hand to hush her, but he too was taken aback by the unexpected presence of a third individual in the dining hall. He squinted through the window to take a thorough look at the newcomer.

Standing across from his father and Arin was a young woman dressed in a black ninja's attire. While her nose and mouth were concealed beneath a black mask, the upper part of her head was uncovered, revealing a long straw-colored ponytail and a pair of cat-like eyes brimming with a predatory gleam.

Eloise and Zinrus heard the muffled voice of Lord Eitrigg through the glass.

"Who the hell are you? How did you get in here?"

Zinrus and Eloise looked at each other with confused expressions on their faces.

Shouldn't we be the ones asking that question?

They turned their befuddled gazes back towards the glass as they next heard Arin's voice begin to speak.

"I'm sorry, Zeerus, I screwed up. We're done for. She's from Ijan-."

But Arin never got to finish her sentence. It took Zinrus every fiber of his being not to scream as blood spewed from the woman's neck an instant later. Arin Arc Dale Aenoch dropped to the ground in a pool of blood, never to speak again. The mysterious woman in black hadn't even seemed to move, but the silver dagger she now held in her hand gave away the act of murder. The dagger was coated in blood, but it seemed to quickly suck dry the crimson substance, returning to a pristine silver within a matter of seconds.

The two teens stood transfixed, unable to move or take their eyes away from the glass as the killer then proceeded to move towards her next quarry. Lord Eitrigg trembled in fear as she approached, but his eyes hardened with a sudden resolve as he took a step forward instead, lashing out with a wild haymaker as he lunged towards the woman in black.

The indifferent expression in the killer's eyes remained as still as the pitch dark night outside. She moved in a blur faster than the naked eye could follow, driving her vampiric blade into the man's chest before he could even wind up his punch.

Eloise immediately tackled Zinrus to the ground, quickly clamping her hand over his mouth as her friend struggled to withhold the impending scream threatening to explode from his lungs. Zinrus closed his eyes in an effort to keep himself calm, issuing a silent prayer that the woman would not hear the sound of their bodies hitting the dirt.

But it was all for naught. Upon opening their eyes, they gazed upon the figure of that mysterious assassin as it materialised straight out of the shadows. The incandescent moonlight outlined the woman in black's dark silhouette with an eerie lunar glow as she raised her silver blade for the final blow.

However, just before the assassin could strike, her eyes widened as every nerve in her body screamed at her to move out of the way. She quickly pounced to the side as a massive crystalline projectile streaked through the air like a cerulean comet before slamming into the ground where she'd stood only seconds ago.

"That's enough, Tira."

Zinrus, Eloise and the assassin looked up simultaneously at the new voice that came from above. Standing atop the huge crystal dagger that almost skewered the assassin was a small female figure draped in a red cloak. Covering her face was a white mask engraved with black lines that formed an uncanny outline of human features, complete with a small red diamond symbol in the top center.

Tira pulled down her black fukumen to reveal a cruel smile as she addressed an old enemy. She spoke for the first time that night, her voice like a frigid hiss of wind on a quiet winter's night.

"Evileye."

Evileye beheld the assassin below her without a word for several seconds. Neither of them moved a muscle as they locked gazes, but the two teens watching could feel a silent pressure rippling through the still night air.

The masked vampire finally responded. "So you truly have embraced these so-called "gifts" of the Deathless. You look just like they did 100 years ago….but at what cost? I have buried countless allies after watching them age and die while I continue to walk this world of the living, and now you have chosen that same path, and for what? What do you even have to live for?"

Tira's sinister smile transformed back into a stone cold expression of indifference, but this time, the barest hint of irritation glinted deep within her striking dark grey eyes. "Don't lump me in with the likes of you, Vampire. I have no "loved ones" to bury. And to imply that the Church was the source of my immortality?"

Her smile returned, deepening into a vicious sneer as Tira's voice grew louder: "I served His Majesty before the Church of the Deathless was even a concept. I trained under the Hanzos in the shadows. What do I have to live for, you ask? I serve the higher purpose that is Ainz Ooal Gown, an entity that transcends life itself, an everlasting ideal that is bound not by the confines of time. I would not tire even if I were to serve five thousand years, unlike a pitiful soul like yours-shackled by meaningless attachments that churn and crumble within the hourglass of mortality."

It was Evileye's turn to smile underneath her mask as she replied: "So it is true, then? You are one of the legendary holders of the Black Boxes? The Witch. The Myrmidon. The Alchemist. The General. The Shadow. The Warlock. The Orphan. The Leviathan. The Fireborn. The Archbishop. The Ten Pillars of the Deathless, receivers of the mythical Black Boxes. I assume you are the one they call the Shadow? You are even less like your sisters than I thought; they would never have so easily taken the verbal bait."

A surprised expression flickered across Tira's face, but she quickly smothered it under a facade of nonchalance. Her next words were spoken in a deathly whisper: "Where did you obtain this information?"

Evileye replied with that very same tone, a whisper that was equal parts a question and a threat: "Why did you kill Tia and Tina?"

The silence that ensued felt like an eternity. Zinrus and Eloise both laid flat on the ground, not daring to make so much as the slightest sound or motion.

Finally, Tira attacked.

The assassin disappeared into the shadows before rematerializing a second later in the air above Evileye. Her dark silhouette split the moonlit sky as she plunged her silver blade down onto the masked Vampire.

Taken aback by the sheer speed and ferocity of her opponent, Evileye quickly activated [Reverse Gravity] on the descending Tira right before the assassin's blade rammed straight into the vampire's skull.

Tira relaxed her muscles, allowing the reversion of her gravitational pull to take her back into the sky. As she flew upwards, she grabbed and detonated one of her smoke bombs to conceal herself from Evileye's line of sight.

The Masked Vampire jumped down from the Crystal Dagger she was standing on, carefully observing the black cloud of smoke as she prepared to cast her next spell at a moment's notice. The combination of the magically enhanced smoke and the cover of night made it impossible to pick out Tira's presence even with her enhanced senses.

I thought [Dark Crossing] only teleported them to the nearest shadow? How did she teleport above me like that? And that speed….

Evileye grimaced. This was going to be a harder fight than she expected. The Tira before her had grown far stronger since they last saw each other decades ago. Back then, Evileye outmatched her by a significant margin, but now….

[Hidden Technique: Twilight Slash]

A faint dot of mysterious purple light flashed into existence amidst the darkness, trailing slowly towards Evileye before accelerating and blossoming into an ultraviolet streak of death.

Evileye's centuries worth of battle instincts saved her as she erected a [Crystal Wall] right before a vicious slashing force slammed straight into the wall in a horizontal arc, slicing the shimmering barricade cleanly into two halves. The crystal wall absorbed the brunt of the attack, but the residual ripple of [Twilight Slash] continued onwards, slicing faintly into Evileye's body.

The vampire gritted her teeth as she tried to ignore the sudden burning sensation on her torso. She directed her enhanced senses towards the source of the attack, finally honing onto Tira's presence. Now it was her turn.

[Teleportation]

Evileye re-emerged next to the assassin's silhouette, casting [Detect Life] to ensure that it was not a Shadow Clone. Tira barely had time to turn around and defend herself before the vampire unleashed a barrage of crystalline shards that streaked mercilessly towards the assassin.

[Maximize Magic: Shard Buck Shots]

[Immovable Adamantite Shield Technique]

Tira quickly activated her circular multicolored barrier, but not before a quarter of the Crystal Shards had already struck her, leaving multiple gashes across her body. The assassin gritted her teeth as she endured the pain, forcing herself to keep up the defensive technique long enough to deflect the rest of the spell.

Evileye approached the wounded assassin carefully as she delivered her next words in a tone lined with triumphant steel.

"You've grown a lot stronger since the last time we met, but it seems you still have yet to fully awaken your new powers. I hear the Leviathan and the Warlock already far surpass the pinnacle of humanity, but you? You I can take. For the sake of the two lives I treasured that you sought fit to end, I will kill you."

Tira staggered back in pain as blood oozed from her black ninja attire, but her eyes showed no fear. Instead, her gaze burned with a new unbridled rage as she heard Evileye's last sentence.

"Tina and Tia abandoned me." she snarled. "Left me alone at Ijaniya while you wretched Blue Roses played adventurer and drank tea. I had no choice but to stay loyal, and through my own power I climbed to the top of the organization. When the Sorcerer King arrived, he gave me a new life, a new purpose. But to fulfill that destiny I first had to eliminate my thirst for vengeance against the sisters who betrayed me. That was why they had to die."

"The Sorcerer King has been gone for a hundred years." replied Evileye in a flat tone.

Tira shook her head. "His legacy is eternal. Even in death, Ainz Ooal Gown's power, influence and ideology permeates the very fabric of civilization. Our people number in the hundreds of thousands, biding our time for when His Majesty finally returns to walk among us. The Imprisoned Ones slumber around the edges of the world, and when they finally wake, they will bring the world to heel. But for now…."

Tira closed her eyes and smiled as tendrils of shadow began to coalesce around her.

A sudden ominous feeling jolted Evileye to action, and the vampire immediately tried to unleash her killing blow-

[Crystal La-

-but it was too late.

[Aspect of the Shadow]

A dark aura erupted from Tira's body, emitting an invisible force that drove Evileye several steps back, interrupting her cast.

"You know too much, Evileye. The others will come for you."

[Aspect of the Shadow: Dark Crossing]

As the Vampire recovered from the brief knockback, she could see the condensed shadows dissipate and disappear. When they finally cleared, Tira had vanished without a trace.

Evileye grimaced beneath her mask. The shadowy power Tira radiated before teleporting away was nothing short of extraordinary. If the assassin learnt how to harness that ability as a means to attack rather than escape...

She sighed. Things were getting bleaker and bleaker every day.

If only he was still here…..

She turned towards the bodies of Zinrus and Eloise, both of whom had crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap during the battle.

Now, what to do with these two….

The Sovereign Duke of the New Re-estize Kingdom was a powerful man. A survivor of the old kingdom and founding father of the new, Riivan Bandt Dale Raevan presided over twelve noble houses and served as the de-facto ruler over a vast nation developing at a remarkable pace.

Only seventy years after its founding, the New Re-Estize Kingdom was now on the verge of surpassing the old kingdom's economic and political power. Under almost any circumstances, such progress would have been unthinkable, but to the Sovereign Duke, it was but the natural progression of events.

Even at the venerable age of one hundred and twelve, Sovereign Duke Raevan radiated a powerful vigor as he strode through the hallways of Castle Raevan-the seat of power of the Raevan House and the unofficial palace of the New Re-Estize Kingdom.

As he walked by, all who beheld him-guards, servants, even fellow noblemen-bowed their heads with reverence upon seeing the glowing visage of the Sovereign Duke. His short golden hair gleamed with a timeless lustre, and his eyes glimmered with a fiery intensity as they stared forward with a silent wisdom like the gaze of an old lion.

What the people couldn't see, however, was the rapid heartbeat of a nervous man underneath Riivan's facade of serenity. As the Sovereign Duke made his way towards his destination, he was unable to suppress the mounting feeling of anxiety within his chest.

He rounded the bend and walked down a flight of stairs to a dimly lit hallway, at the end of which was a pair of ornate golden doors. He stopped before the entrance to the chamber before him and closed his eyes, making an effort to calm himself before finally pushing the door open and entering.

Awaiting him inside was a young blonde-haired girl in a long black dress. She sat on a loveseat with her back facing him, staring intently at the hearth fire at the far end of the room. Standing at her side was a man clad in full gold-tinted plate armor, his face concealed underneath a full helm.

Riivan felt an ominous pressure bearing down on him the moment he walked into the room. He walked slowly towards the blonde woman, making sure to stop a good distance away before bowing.

He addressed her in a politely cautious tone: "I received your message, my lady. How can I be of service?"

For a while, the girl did not make any effort to reply, and the room was filled merely with the crackling sound of the fireplace. Riivan began to sweat as he awaited the girl's response, acutely aware of the armored individual who had taken a small step towards him.

"You might already know this, but I was quite well acquainted with your father." the girl finally replied, her silky voice carrying an enchanting, almost hypnotizing lull. "He was a man of...competent intellect. But the best quality about him was that he knew his place."

Riivan shivered as the girl finally stood up and walked towards him, revealing an enigmatic pair of stygian-colored eyes. However, a faint hint of blue remained deep within her irises, as if the azure color that had once shone through those large, beautiful eyes have since faded to black.

"The Shadow has completed her task. Your source's tipoff was indeed accurate. They were on the brink of discovering our collaboration. I assume it was the butler who came to you?"

"Y-yes, my lady."

"However, it seems that the Shadow ran into a bit of an unexpected encounter. A small potential threat to our stability has emerged."

Riivan looked up in surprise as he sputtered: "What? How? Who could possibly be able to challenge-"

The girl held up a hand to silence him.

"You need not concern yourself with that particular matter. I am simply telling you so that you may be informed. Your role here is solely to ensure the growth and prosperity of this kingdom using the resources we've provided you. It is paramount that the New Re-Estize Kingdom, the Baharuth Empire and the Roble Holy Kingdom all expand and develop sufficiently to rival the power of the Slane Theocracy. Do you understand?"

The Sovereign Duke gulped before nodding his head obediently.

A bright smile lit up the girl's face like a sacred flame igniting in a room of shadows. The pale mask that was a strange amalgamation of maniacal fervor and icy indifference melted away, revealing a gorgeous face that shone with the light of an angel.

"Marquis Raevan would be so proud to see his Rii-tan doing so well! Oh, I feel so old now talking to his son like this. I think our talk here is finished, right? So let's just leave it at that."

Duke Riivan had seen this transformation several times before, but the sight of it never ceased to amaze him. He could never be sure whether to feel fear or relief at the sudden warmth the girl could display. He bowed his head respectfully and backed out of the room, closing the door as he left.

The girl turned to the man in golden armor who had been standing silently at her side the entire time. "Oh, Climb, isn't this great? Ever since the doors of Nazarick sealed shut and the Great Tomb went dormant, we've been locked outside in this chaotic world. But now we are one step closer to creating the ideal world for us to live happily forever!"

A young man's voice rumbled from beneath the golden armor: "Your Highness, it breaks my heart to see you take on that cold mask. I wish you could show the world your true self all the time….the kind and beautiful heart that you have to hide to survive in this world of politics."

The girl sighed. "You are the only one who truly knows the nature of my heart. But enough of that "Your Highness" talk. I'm not a princess anymore. I want you to call me by my name."

"Renner."