Chapter 7: Shadow Garden

"He was tall, wearing black hooded and tattered robes and a skull mask. His voice sounds deep and distorted, almost demonic. He could fly and he retreated when he saw sunlight appearing. I suspect he might be a vampire from Lawless City." Said my father, describing the Necromancer's appearance to Iris Midgar, who is currently having her wounds treated by a royal physician.

Yup. I definitely didn't forget to mention that in my Necromancer disguise I used illusion magic to appear taller than I actually am and my mask has voice changer enchantment, one of the few successes I had with my Artifact creation research.

It is late and my sister is already sleeping and thus me, Iris, Alexia and my parents could safely discuss the Necromancer incident in the guest room.

"Can you decipher his motives? Why he murdered people and left those runes and circles, and why he kidnaps people, including your daughter?"

"I'm afraid I can't, your highness. Even the remains of the monster he unleashed upon Everick some time ago disappeared from the Knight Order's custody. We still have no idea how he smuggled it into the city. Not to mention we couldn't decipher the origins of the runes he left on the crime scenes. None of them matches any old runes we know about."

"I see. This is troubling. So many victims have fallen and all we have learned about him is his name. And that's because he decided to reveal himself." Ohhh yes. Tell me more.

"Indeed, your highness. It is frustrating."

"Rest assured that the royal family will aid you in any way we can to make sure this murderer is brought to justice, Duke Normann."

"I'm grateful, your highness."

"By the way, Mr. Claude. What is your opinion on the Necromancer?" Asked Iris.

"He's a murderer who kidnapped my sister. When I find him, I'm gonna kill him." I replied, mustering as much emotion as I can.

"Claude! We talked about this!" Scolded my father.

"Hm. I understand your feelings well, Mr. Claude. If something were to happen to Alexia, I would do anything to save her." Responded Iris with understanding.

"Thank you for your kind words, Princess Iris."

"But I sincerely hope you won't recklessly throw your life away. You are an extremely talented swordsman. This kingdom needs people like you in these trying times."

"I understand, Princess Iris."

"Next time I won't lose. So I hope you will keep honing your swordsmanship."

"Indeed I shall, Princess."

"Good. Now then, Alexia. Why don't you say a few words to Mr. Claude for his performance?"

"I have no words for him. Hmph!" Said Alexia, who scowled at me because I defeated her beloved sister.

"A ha ha ha. I hope you'll get along well with her, Mr. Claude. She's a bit harsh on strangers but I'm sure she will warm up to you eventually."

"I hope so too."

...

The next day the princesses left the city. Rumors about my victory over Iris spread throughout the kingdom like wildfire. Even the Cult, who was planning something for me, was forced to abandon whatever it is they're planning when they heard the news.

Even as a child, going after me would be more costly than they would like to pay. Even as Necromancer I refused to go after Claude Normann, reasoning that the Necromancer would like to get his corpse after he reached his full potential.

This is good. Both Claude and the Necromancer are gaining notoriety. Fame and notoriety are powerful tools for villains. Just look at the Nazis… or the Chinese Communist Party!

Their propaganda machines ensured that they can get away with so many crimes. It feels so good when I heard people talking about me, wondering what I'll do next.

It is not yet decided yet but I believe my victory over Iris solidifies my position as either Iris or Alexia's suitors. As I was contemplating my future plans, my sister approached me with a face full of determination.

"Big brother… I want to become strong. I don't want to be afraid anymore. Can you… Can you train me?"

She already started her training years ago. Of course her training regime is different from mine due to the difference in our age and abilities. She wasn't a prodigy like me, nor did she ever try to be.

But it seems the Necromancer incident caused her to change her mind. I have no time for this but unfortunately, I can't break the good big brother act here.

"Of course, Charl. But remember that just because I'm your big brother doesn't mean I'll go easy on you."

"It's fine. I want… need to become stronger! I need more power!"

Now that's something I can respect.

"Good. Your training starts tomorrow. Prepare yourself."

"Yes, big brother! Thank you!"

My father said my robes are tattered. For now it's fine but I intended to enchant it so that it boosts my magic power, like enchanted gears in RPGs. In time, I'll have to upgrade my robe's design too, from old tattered look into more regal and cool design.

I'll use my connections with the Cult to get good materials and someone to make them.

I've also obtained some Mythril weapons from the Cult for experimentation. I managed to make the enchantment work with this world's old runes but when I used Nordic runes, it surprisingly works better than I expected. It even works on regular steel.

I was starting to believe that magic in my old world was perhaps real and that it only disappears when magical energy disappeared from the world during modern times. This is just my hypothesis though, which I cannot confirm. I wonder what else from my old world I could use in this world.

The enchantments I gave the weapons for now are enchantments that boost strength, speed, defense or allows better magic conductivity than what the material allows. A steel weapon can only contain 1 enchantment. More than that and the steel weapon will crumble and break.

Mythril can contain at least 2 for now.

The first to be armed with the mythril enchanted weapons are my undead guards. I increased their numbers by hunting down random mercenaries and bandits who have no affiliation to the Cult and raising them as my undead soldiers.

They now guard various underground hideouts I own.

I didn't forget to arm my minions in the Knight Order with the enchanted weapons. They were so happy to receive pseudo-Artifacts that they started revering me. It's good that I can now give them the carrot after they got the stick. This will solidify my minions' loyalty even more than before.

Hearing about the enchanted weapons I supplied, I got orders from other branches of the Cult to enchant their weapons and I happily fulfilled their orders. More chance to practice enchanting, not to mention I can get paid. The extra income is useful because even a Duke's son has limited allowance.

All is going well… Which means I'm bored. Sitting on my enchanting table enchanting weapons every night gets boring after a while. Joining an organization is cool and all but I want some action! I want some hero to hunt me down! Should I search for them… or should I create them myself…?

Maybe someone from the Church? Nah. The Church is villainous in this world. I want a real hero. The conflict, the emotions, the drama… it will all be more enjoyable if it was a villain versus hero situation.

Gilfried is standing behind me, ready to serve me however he can. When he saw me stop working and start contemplating, he started thinking something is wrong.

"Hmmm…."

"Is something wrong, Lord Necromancer?"

"It's nothing, Gilfried. It's just that… I believe there are forces out there… who lurks in the shadows… who intends to oppose us." Due to my boredom, I started spouting nonsense.

"O-Oh? Who could it be, my lord?"

"They are currently growing. Gathering more and more members… And soon they shall make themselves known. Their name is…." Come on. Think brain! Think of a good name for a shady organization! Nazis? KKK? Illuminati? CCP?

"Shadow Garden."

"Sh-Shadow Garden? Such an organization exists?" He actually bought that? Heh heh heh. This is fun.

"They are still in their infancy. But soon… They will start their hunt."

"Sh-Shall we dispatch search parties to eliminate them before they become a threat?"

"No need. You cannot stop them now for they lurk in the shadows. Just spread the word."

"A-At once!" With that, Gilfried hastily left the room to spread the word about this made up nonsense about Shadow Garden. He took that more seriously than I thought.

No matter. I'll just probably create this Shadow Garden myself in the future and pit them against the Cult of Diablos just for fun. Heh heh heh.

...

Several months later, in another corner of Midgar Kingdom, a group of Cult affiliated bandits are found to be annihilated.

They were responsible for transporting and smuggling Possession victims. They were attacked by unknown individuals the night before and the cargo they were transporting is missing. The Cult affiliated knights who found them interrogated one lone survivor, who is currently dying after bleeding so much.

"Shadow… Garden…" Is the only thing he could tell them before he succumbed to his wounds.

"Isn't that… the name that he said…?"

"It's real!?"

"I thought it was nonsensical joke he spread to try and get us all scared!"

"Look at all the damages they caused on the corpses. These people are no joke!"

"We need to inform the higher ups about this!"

Hearing the name of this unknown organization for the second time, the Cult became wary of this new threat and began taking the words of the Necromancer more seriously.

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