Shadow Guard (1)

Edited by: Kuro and Lille

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The Host returned to the System Space and contemplated a lot about what had happened in the previous world. He felt the sadness of being separated from God System, but this time, the feeling wasn't that strong as he knew he would meet the man again.

"System 225, did you research the Villain System while I was in the previous world?" The Host, who now wants to go by Grey when he was here, walked over to System 225 who was having tea.

There were four chairs, two of which were empty, so Grey picked the seat across from System 225.

[Host… I mean Grey, there was a virus that was trying to attach itself to us at first, but since it was unsuccessful, it has begun to follow us from world to world. I will do my best to get rid of it. It's also the thing that is causing your nightmares…]

System 225 didn't know why, but he felt that calling the Host "Grey" was fitting. Even though he was used to calling his Host, Grey felt more… intimate, like a friend. They were comrades, it would be alienating if he kept calling Grey by "Host."

"I see, thank you for letting me know."

The Villain System was conscious of them and trying to get rid of them. Luckily, System 225 had analyzed the Villain System during its time in captivity. He had no problems blocking the Villain System from the System Space, but it was hard to block it when it was infecting the worlds they were in…

"Oh yeah, how is Arisa and System 505 doing?"

[Arisa is currently doing an E-ranked world. She wanted to give it a shot. I have allowed them to do worlds D-ranked and below, but they may just stick to F and E-ranked worlds.]

"Oh, what kind of world is she in?"

[It's one filled with magic. She's currently changing the fate of a Villainess in a world based on an Otome game…]

"That sounds like fun."

[Yes, she also has to prevent the female protagonist from getting a harem.]

"Seems she has a lot of work cut out for her. Tell System 505 that I'm cheering them on. Also, let Arisa know that I will go by Grey from now on."

[Understood, Grey.]

Grey and System 225 talked for a while. Usually, Grey would lie on the ground in depression, but this time, his heart felt a bit lighter. He just wanted to talk with System 225 to help him sort out his thoughts before starting the next world.

The next world was a C-ranked world. He knew that the difficulty would exponentially increase from here on out. The worlds before this were like walks in the park. They didn't have a lot of dangers and if they did, were easily solvable.

He had never been in a C-ranked world so he didn't know how difficult they were. He would have to go in and find out for himself…

"Alright System, I am ready to go into the next world."

System 225 put his teacup down. He took out the small UniOrb used for transfers and put it on the table. [Understood, Grey.]

Grey put his hand on the small UniOrb and closed his eyes.

[Transferring in 3… 2… 1… Transfer complete. Good luck with your endeavors, Grey.]

*****

Grey regained his consciousness and found himself sitting across from a man. The man was sitting at a desk, hands folded, looking at him and chatting one-sidedly. It was a bit peculiar to see someone wearing a black skin-tight bodysuit, metal armor covering his vitals, and a mask that covered his face.

Then he noticed that he was also wearing the same outfit. Was he a Shadow Guard this time around?

He couldn't recall his memories at the moment, so he keenly listened to get some clues.

"It seems the Emperor was impressed by your skills. As your teacher, it brings me great joy to see how well you have done. You were just a small orphan boy when I found you, and now you have grown up to be a powerful young man." The man had a whole speech going; it was as if he was selling away his child and going a long way around the topic instead of getting to the point.

"Ah, I know you are a man of a few words, so I shall keep this a bit brief."

It seems like the man wasn't expecting him, Grey, to talk. That's good.

"Tomorrow, the Emperor has given you the honor to pick your new Master. Only the strongest of the Shadow Guards would be able to have such an honor. His Majesty has three sons, and he wants you to pick one of them. That's why you should think wisely before picking."

The man stared at Grey for a while before nodding his head. "Get some rest and come to my office at dawn."

"Understood." Grey finally said something during the 20 minutes the other man was talking to him.

After saying his thanks, Grey had System 225 show him to his room. He didn't mind not knowing anything after regaining consciousness in another world, but given the options, he would prefer to know what he was dealing with rather than not.

When he got to his room, he carefully took everything off and washed up. As he combed his hair in the mirror, he saw that he was a man with tan skin. It looked as though he worked out in the sun every day, but considering that he was always covered, he assumed it was his natural skin color. He had blue hair, something he was not used to seeing. His eyes were blue-green, like an ocean filled with marine life. He was tall, buff, and handsome. Very different from the androgynous look that he had a few times before in his previous lives.

After he finished getting ready for bed, he laid down and closed his eyes. He didn't feel hungry, so the man had probably eaten already. It was an excellent time to get the data from this world finally.

'System 225, send me the data of this body and world.'

[Understood, Grey. Transferring data now.]

A rush of data filled his mind once more.

The world this time was a world that had two big continents. The first continent, Ufera, had half the land ruled by an Empire called Uferna. The previous Emperor had wanted to rule the continent, bringing terror everywhere his sword went. When he got almost halfway through the continent, his son—the current Emperor— Emeron Uferna, killed him. Emperor Emeron detested war and stopped the conquest. He brought peace and prosperity to the Empire just a decade into his rule.

At the same time on the other continent called Liyu, the Liyas Empire had just conquered the continent. Their goal was to conquer the world.

Their push to conquer the world gave the male protagonist his stage.

The plot for this story was a tragedy where the main protagonist and his female lead struggle to save their home from the Liyas Empire. The male protagonist was a young Knight-Captain named Blaine. He was a commoner so he didn't have a last name. As for the female lead, her name was Princess Serah Uferna.

Blaine was considered a Hero for pushing back the Liyas Empire in numerous battles. He worked under the Second Prince, who was the Knight Commander. Later on in the story, he becomes the Crown Prince's right-hand man.

Crown Prince Levi, the original body's Master, was kind of like a supporting male lead for Blaine as he encouraged the Hero to marry his twin little sister, Princess Serah.

Crown Prince Levi ended up marrying a random noblewoman and had an almost fairytale-like love story with her. She was a daughter of a Baron in the countryside going to a ball in the capital. It was so that the Princes could find love at the ball. They held them every month so that the nobles could get to know the Princes as they got to know them, but it was her first time going. Long story short, Crown Prince Levi met the woman, Lilian, fell in love, and they got engaged.

At the time, the original body was already his Shadow Guard. Later on, Lilian got jealous of how close and intimate the original and the Crown Prince seemed. In jealousy, she started crying to Crown Prince Levi, "Who do you love more, him or me?"

To appease his jealous fiancée, Levi killed the Shadow Guard, the original body the Grey went into.

'...System…'

[Yes, Grey?]

'I'm speechless because the way the original died is stupid, but at the same time, it's terrible that I kind of understand why he died.'

The original was strong, much more powerful than the Crown Prince, but he had already sworn his loyalty. Crown Prince Levi enjoyed watching the man bow down to him and not being able to fight back. The original vowed to lay down his life and allow his Master to end him at any given moment, so of course, he couldn't fight back. He would protect his Master, even taking on fatal blows just so that his Master had another day to live. Even after getting killed by his own Master, he didn't feel as though it was a hassle to sacrifice himself.

This was the life of a Shadow Guard who served the Emperor.

The original didn't have a name, so he was called Number 18 or 18 for short. He was 20 years old, not the youngest but not the oldest Shadow Guard. There were 30 Shadow Guards with every new generation; they inherited their numbers from their predecessors. Numbers were assigned by when they had become a Shadow Guard, not necessarily who the strongest was.

The Emperor was designated the first 15 Shadow Guards, and the rest were given to his children if he had any. If the Emperor didn't have any children which was unlikely, he would have all 30 of his Shadow Guards at all times. When the Empire gained its new Emperor, all 30 of the Shadow Guards would move to the new Emperor.

If a Shadow Guard reached the age of 40, if they lived long enough to do so, they could retire or teach the new generation of Shadow Guards. The guards in training numbered 600, but they only chose 30 out of the 600 guards.

The rest became the Royal Guards of the Emperor. These guards were different from the others. They only moved when the Emperor commanded them. They were the second to last defense for the Emperor. No one but the Emperor and the Shadow Guards knew how many there were. Even so, just one Shadow Guard was enough to take on 100 Royal Guards by themselves.

Number 18 was the strongest member of the Shadow Guards. Even the Emperor wanted to have him by his side, but rules were rules, and since he was not of the first 15, he couldn't be the Emperor's Shadow Guard. Shadow Guards were strict and hated going against the rules they had set in place. It was only changed when it became harmful to them and their Masters.

Number 1 was already almost as powerful as 18, so they all could settle for that. Plus, Number 1 saw 18 as a little brother and was immensely overprotective of him. He didn't want 18 to be subjected to the daily assassinations that the Emperor went through.

Anyway, when choosing his Master in the original story, 18 chose the Crown Prince. That was because the Crown Prince was most likely going to be Emperor. He was a simple-minded man who wanted to serve the Emperor.

But he did have some regrets that weren't related to his loyalty.

His first regret was killing the Second Prince and the Third Prince. The Second Prince was the Knight Commander. It was a fierce battle, but he won in the end. Meanwhile, the Third Prince had given up on his rights to the throne, but the Crown Prince was paranoid. He ordered Number 18 to assassinate the Third Prince anyway. He couldn't go against his liege and killed an innocent man who was trying to live his life as a painter.

The second, and last, regret was picking the Crown Prince as his Master. The man was cruel. There was no way he was intimate and friendly with 18. When he was angry, he took it out on 18. Seeing a man more powerful than him, bowing down, unable to fight back, gave the Crown Prince immense pleasure. 18 knew that, but he didn't do anything to fight it. The man was his Master, and he was the man's slave (basically). What could he do?

Well, now Grey would change his fate.

'System, what are my missions?'

[Answering... These are your missions:

[Main Mission: Make the Second Prince Emperor

 Side Mission: Pick a new Master

Side Mission: Save the Third Prince

Side Mission: Save the Hero's Family

[Good luck on your endeavors, Grey.]

'System, the first three are understandable, but why am I saving the Hero's family?'

[Answering Grey, even though the War Hero, Blaine, was loyal to the Emperor, the Crown Prince was infuriated that the War Hero didn't accept his proposal to become one of his men, so he slaughtered the Hero's commoner family. The Crown Prince, with his halo-driven ability to spin around evidence, was able to blame it on Duke Dalisurn, who was opposed to the Crown Prince going into power. The War Hero slaughtered that man's family in exchange for "killing" his family. With almost nothing left in the world, Princess Serah, his lover, convinced him to side with the Crown Prince, ultimately becoming that man's right-hand man.]

'There's always something hidden within these summaries of the worlds. I am not even surprised anymore.'

[Unfortunately, that's how it is. The information I am giving you is information that we are usually not supposed to be able to access. Things have changed since we are now disconnected from the Command Center, but it makes it a little easier to get through these worlds with the additional information. Though, it's the only information the world plot is allowing us to have. They can omit information if they want us to fail.]

'Makes sense to me... Why is the main mission to make the Second Prince Emperor?' Grey could guess, but he wanted to make sure.

[Without the Second Prince, even with the War Hero, the Uferna Empire was not able to withstand the frontal assault of the Liyas Empire. The Hero was only one man. Without the Knight Commander's guidance and the strength behind the Shadow Guards, as Number 1 had died seeking revenge for Number 18, the Empire quickly collapsed. This story the author created was supposed to end in tragedy to show that no matter how powerful the Hero was, no man could do anything by himself. With the System's calculations, if the Crown Prince doesn't become Emperor, but the Second Prince does, he would be able to save the Uferna Empire. With his rule, the man who excelled in both military arts and politics would be able to push the Liyas Empire out of the continent. Thus, saving the lives of many innocent people.]

Grey jokingly said, 'Wouldn't the Liyas Empire be the protagonist of this world seeing as how they are so powerful they could conquer the whole world?'

[They are the Villains of this world. They are the ultimate antagonist that goes up against the Hero protagonist. In this world, the Villains overpower the Heroes. This has been a common trend lately.]

'I was honestly just joking, but to think that that was the reason...'

[Some people enjoy watching the Heroes fall.]

To summarize all the information, the Liyas Empire and the Crown Prince were complete jackasses.

Ah, since the Second Prince was so powerful, perhaps that man was his husband... If he wasn't, well, he had time to go and find him.