The Shadow of Xerxes Pt 1

This place is really weird.

The buildings are much closer to our previous world than the current one. At least, from what I've seen in this world so far.

Tempest has some nice buildings, but these are much more city-like, I think.

Also, everything runs on magic. In Xerxes, I mean. The trains use some weird magicule-based engine, and every other shop I've walked by has someone inside or outside doing things with magic. Like, using fire to cook, or cleaning with water magic. Or covering a hole in the road with earth magic.

Degurechaff said that magic is restricted here. That she'd gotten in a bit of trouble for using it.

Is it because she's not a resident of Xerxes? Maybe there's a registration, or something. I know some cities in our previous world restricted mana and formulae use. Enforced through mana detection arrays, and on the clock aerial mages. Depending on the city.

I wonder if they have something like that here.

There are other weird things about Xerxes, but that's what struck me first.

Oh, there's that blonde woman, I guess. She's super weird. And she has a pet snake in her satchel.

Which she can talk too. Or she just does that. Like someone who talks to their cat.

I don't know. Maybe I'm imagining things.

But then again, maybe not.

-=-=-=-

Just Past Noon

Northwestern Sector

Xerxes, Eastern Empire

Huh, that didn't take nearly as long as yesterday.

Mary strolled down a cobbled side street, meandering slowly back to the train station and checking out the sights. She bit into a bright blue apple, indigo juice trailing down her chin.

I guess, since a lot of them were the same and I'd already done it once, marking them down was just that much easier? It sorta seems that way.

The rest of the apple-like fruit disappeared in several quick bites, the core being tossed down an abandoned alleyway to her left. Mary pulled a handkerchief from a pouch on her belt, wiping her face and hands before replacing it.

Then again, that weird woman – Eve, was it? Yeah, it was Eve – did waste a good chunk of my time yesterday, since I couldn't exactly tell her what I was doing. She was… really persistent though. And super friendly. Too friendly. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was flirting with me. But that's absurd. I'm not a man.

A crashing sound further down the street reached her ears. Mary picked up her pace slightly, mildly curious.

Women don't like other women that way… right? I don't… know, actually. I do remember Tante Frey lived with another woman we weren't related to, but father-

She winced.

-but I remember being told they were just close friends. I mean, Degurechaff and I live together, and we're just close friends. I think. It's not like we're in a relationship or anything.

Of course, now that she'd thought about it, the image couldn't help but flash across her mind. If her and Tanya were in a relationship, well, they'd do the things that people in relationships do, right? Like, hug. Share food. And kiss.

Mary paused, head tilting to the side in thought.

That's assuming women could actually be in relationships with other women… like that.

What would it be like?

She could imagine kissing a man. Her mother kissed her father all the time; they were married, after all. Bibi, her wingman from years ago, had made a game of stealing kisses from every guy in their battalion. She was very affectionate woman, Mary could recall, even with her own extremely scattered memory of her time at war.

So, she could imagine it for sure.

The thought didn't exactly excite anything. It was more of a factual thing. Yeah, it could happen. It probably would have happened eventually, had she not gone and gotten both herself and Degurechaff killed.

But if it hadn't ever happened, Mary didn't think she'd particularly mind. Most of the men she knew were not the dating type, being comrades-in-arms and soldiers that either had sweethearts at home or much preferred the company of other men when not on the battlefield.

…Huh.

Could men like other men in that way as well? That was a thought. If so, that meant Rimuru was 100% checking out Souei's butt that one time. Well, maybe more like 75%. Though, Rimuru wasn't technically a man per se, being agender and all, but-

That wasn't important. She was getting sidetracked.

In any case, kissing a man? Sure, whatever. Possible. Not really interesting though.

Kissing another woman? She'd never thought or realized it as an option, so it'd never even crossed her mind. Half the time a world ago, her mind had been co-occupied by a Deity, so it wasn't like romance or anything remotely in that vein had even sparked across her at-the-time, addled-by-magic synapses.

Mary decided to think about it for a moment.

Her mind flashed back to Eve kissing her hand the other day. Then, without her volition, the scene changed. Instead, it was Tanya, her current closest female companion, kissing her hand. Then, in the scene, Tanya reached up, cupping Mary's cheek and leaning in-

Her ears burned, crimson coloring her cheeks.

No no no! Stop that!

Oh God, did she like women? Like, like like them? Could she do that? Was she allowed to?

Was that why her chest felt hot when she saw Shion's huge… personality traits in the onsen, or whenever Degurechaff wore clothes that showed off her scarred, toned, and powerful arms?

I need to-

An explosion interrupted her.

Mary looked up, almost grateful to have something to stave off her impending crisis.

She could deal with that later. Nothing like bottling things up until they burst! She'd gotten really good at that. Been doing it for months now, even. Almost as soon as she'd arrived in this world, in fact.

It was great for pretending to have a sense of normalcy! She could joke around, have fun with her new life, and not feel sad anymore!

…Yeah, it probably wasn't healthy. Definitely wasn't. At all.

Mary bottled that thought up as well.

Instead of dwelling, she rushed forward, rounding a corner and skidding to a halt at the scene before her.

The street, an offshoot of the local marketplace for this specific block of this specific section of Xerxes, was in utter chaos. People streamed past her, as countless stands were ravaged by a massive… thing made of some weird black misty substance.

So, is that a Shade? It's sort of how Degurechaff described it. Black mist or fog or whatever.

Mary watched as the thing lifted a crate above its head, and then tilted it, pouring the assortment of blue and purple fruits within right down its gullet. She watched the muscles along its neck flex, contracting and swallowing its stolen meal in one go.

And it has a red energy running along its muscles. Definitely a Shade. And it's harassing these people. It's only eating now, but who knows how long it will be before it gets bored and attacks someone?

"Hey, you!" Mary stepped forward without hesitation.

The Shade paused what it was doing, looking over at her with an expression that could almost be considered confused. With it facing her now, Mary could make out more of its form.

It sort of resembled a wolverine, she realized, though it's outline wasn't the most distinct as it's shadowy form seemed to flow and shifted with every movement. It was a wolverine-like resemblance, that was for sure, though she could also argue for it being a fox if she tilted her head and squinted.

Maybe a raccoon? It didn't really matter.

"Yeah you! Ugly!"

Now, the Shade looked vaguely offended, as if it understood her. That was mildly concerning.

Then, the beast roared at her, fruit juice and liquid shadow dripping from its jaw. Its teeth were razor sharp, three rows on top and bottom making its gaping maw look more like a porcupine's back than anything else. That was a bit more than mildly concerning.

Mary's gaze darted across the scene.

Smashed stands and cart littered the street. Splotches and piles of smashed fruits and various food products stained the cobblestone, along with puddles of a reddish liquid Mary really hoped was a juice of some kind and not blood.

She also spotted a few people cowering on the side of the road. One person was dangerously close to the Shade, curled up in the fetal position behind the cart that had most recently been ransacked.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Can you tell me about these Shades?"

"Hm." Tanya glanced at her, before turning back to the journal she was writing in. "Well, they aren't that strong. Not compared to us, at least."

Mary sat up in her bed, looking over.

"Not really what I meant."

"It's what matters. But fine. Just because they aren't the strongest, doesn't mean you can let your guard down. Whatever they were before, they're different now. Not monsters, and not reasonable either. These things only care about destruction and their own urges, sprinkled in with a tad bit more intelligence than you might expect. So, if you find one, kill it. You'll be doing everyone a favor."

One hand gripped her sheathe, and the other the hilt of her katana. Her eyes glowed, vibrant green energy zigzagging under her eyes.

I'll end this quickly.

"Modified Style…"

The air heated up around her, heat waves running along her arms and legs.

The Shade shifted, tensing up and snarling.

Mary breathed.

In, out.

It bolted towards her.

She unsheathed her katana, raising it high above her head in a two-handed grip. Crimson-yellow fire burned, licks of flame dancing along the green magisteel. The air grew even warmer, beads of sweat forming along her forehead and neck.

The Shade grew closer, and closer.

She waited.

And then…

"…Wildfire Arc!"

She slashed straight down. Flames followed in an arc of roaring heat.

FWOOM!

The Shade passed by her on either side, split clean down the middle.

Mary whipped her blade to the side, sizzling blood and black mist flying off and splashing against the cobblestone. Then, she spun around, walking swiftly towards her bisected foe.

Yeah, that felt cool. Who cares if saying your attack names is stupid? That was definitely cool.

She carefully stepped between the Shade's two halves, flashing Magic Sense at regular intervals.

Despite being cut down the middle, hardly any blood left the beast. Much of the cut flesh had been cauterized immediately by her blow. And the rest… well, the rest wasn't really flesh and blood to begin with, so it couldn't exactly bleed, per se. Not in the traditional sense of the word.

Mary reached the head. Magic Sense flashed once more, confirming what she already knew.

"Oh, there's something else. They have an odd sort of regeneration and body composition to match." Tanya looked up from her journal. "It's slow, but even after cutting off its head, the one I fought today didn't die. Not until I severed its magical cores. I want you to use your Unique Skill. If you run into one, of course. I'm curious to see if it'll work."

Mary prodded the right half of the head with the tip of her katana. It showed no signs of regenerating, or of moving at all.

Yeah, it worked. This thing is super dead. The fact that I missed its cores on purpose and it still died is proof enough. She reached up to touch her cheek. I didn't feel any backlash this time, either. These things really are weak if I could cancel it out so easily. I doubt I even needed to use fire magic. Though it would have been a lot messier otherwise.

"Miss! Miss!!"

Mary glanced up. A woman rushed towards her, a young boy in tow behind her.

"Miss, you saved us!" The woman, barely older than Mary, bowed respectfully, her son doing the same. "Thank you so much!"

"Uh."

"Miss!" A man ran up, bits of smashed fruit splashed across his white apron. "Thank you for stopping that thing! Who knows what would've happened if it had been allowed to keep roaming! I might have lost much more than just my stand, I'll tell you that much."

"Um."

"That's right!" Another person jogged over, and then another.

Mary's expression grew slightly panicked, her gaze darting between the members of the close to 10 or so strong group of grateful people, now crowding around and thanking her.

At the same time, her chest grew warm, as their praises and assurances flowed over her.

I… saved people.

That thought ran ceaselessly across her mind. Also…

"Could you all… step back a bit?" Mary gestured at the bisected corpse to either side of her. "I'm still… you know, it's hard to get blood out of things, and my boots are white. Can you all-"

"Of course!" The first man jumped to comply, urging the others to follow suit. "Step back! Give the young lady some space! Let's step back a bit!"

The crowd of well-wishers complied, and Mary let out a quiet sigh of relief.

While she hadn't lied exactly – blood staining her boots would be annoying, but she was pretty handy with water magic, so it really wasn't that serious – the crowd had been a bit suffocating. Most of her social interaction occurred through Tanya, Hakurou, and Rimuru, after all, and large groups of people… did not make her feel good, no matter how kind they were being.

Perhaps that was a remnant of her time at war, or indicative that she needed to get out more. Who knows? She certainly didn't. It was just another bad feeling to ignore, at the end of the day.

"You! You there!!" Another voice spoke up from down the street.

Almost in unison, Mary and the crowd turned.

A relatively tall blonde woman in a black military uniform ran towards them, her hand resting against a holster at her side. Actually, multiple holsters at various points along her body.

Mary had to do a double take.

That's a fucking gun.

The woman skid to a halt, bracing her hands against her knees for a moment to catch her breath.

"I came over… as soon as the report came through… oh shit." She straightened up, wiping sweat from her forehead, and brushing her gloved fingers through the wing patterned bangs over her left eye. "Fuck, I just sprinted over from the Northeastern sector. Is everyone here alright?"

She glanced up, her eyes widening comically at the bisected Shade Mary and the others were standing in front of.

"Whoa. Who did this?"

"She did!" The young boy from earlier pointed at Mary.

Mary jumped, looking between him and the newly arrived military personnel. After a second, she sheathed her sword in an effort to appear less threatening.

And she made sure not to clean it with magic. She would do that later.

"She saved us!"

"Really now?" The woman turned an appraising eye on her. "And who are you? An adventurer of some sort, I'd guess. You don't look like you're from around here."

"I'm Mary." Mary held out a hand. "And you could say that. I'm just in the area for a little while with a fellow adventurer."

"Is that so?" The woman grasped Mary's hand. "Lieutenant Rize Ameri. You did Xerxes a great service here, from what it looks like. These shadow fuckers have been giving us the real run around lately."

Oh! I bet if I ask…

"Has Xerxes always been like this? Most of the cities I've been too don't have dangerous shadow creatures threatening people."

Rize winced. "No, this is a recent thing. Shades like the one you killed only started popping up a few months ago. Though, it's gotten worse over the past couple weeks. A lot worse."

That's good. Well, actually that's bad, but it's good to know. It's gotten worse. So, I guess that means that Nin guy is boosting production. Which, logically, means he's planning to do something big soon.

"Can't you stop them?" Mary pointed a thumb back over her shoulder, "This guy was pretty weak. They shouldn't be that much trouble."

"Weak?" Rize blinked. "I think you're just stronger than you think. These things really hate dying; most of the time, it takes a whole squadron to bring them down. That, or one of our heavy hitters. But they're usually wrapped up somewhere else."

She shook her head.

"So no, we can't really stop them. Not until we know their origin, at least." Rize leaned in, "You seem like a capable adventurer, so I'll tell you this. Word is these Shades are coming from outside the city, and that they've got whole nests of them outside each of the gates. That's why people are so antsy, you may have noticed. Lieutenant General Drake's set down a curfew and warning to stay inside Xerxes, and I don't blame him. If it's this bad inside, imagine how rough it is outside."

Wait, that doesn't add up. The only Shades – well, Shade. Singular – I've seen has come from inside Xerxes.

"Why tell me this?"

"Again, you seem like capable adventurer. If you wanted to say, take care of a nest or several for us, then you'd really be doing Xerxes justice. Of course, you didn't hear that from me."

"…So, you're trying to slack off."

"No!" Rize leaned back, putting a hand on Mary's shoulder with an easygoing smile. "I'm just saying, if someone like yourself, a strong capable adventurer, happened to wander outside the gates, well, you might just end up fixing a few of our problems on accident!"

"Definitely slacking on your work." Mary nodded. "Got it. Is that all?"

"That's about it." Rize said, stepping back, "Well, regulation states I have to ask this as well, so," She gestured at the Shade's corpse. "Did you use magic to do this?"

Mary blinked.

"…No."

Rize squinted at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

The Lieutenant continued to stare suspiciously, before turning to a nearby civilian.

"Did she use magic to kill this Shade?"

The fruit stand man from before didn't even flinch.

"I don't believe she did." He said, looking the Lieutenant directly in the eye. "All I know is that she was here at the right time, and she saved us."

The unlike you at the end of that statement went unsaid. But everyone felt it.

Rize narrowed her eyes.

"…Okay then." She said after a moment, shrugging. "Good work out here, Mary."

"That's it?"

"Well, between you and me," Rize leaned in again, holding a hand up to the side of her mouth to block the others from seeing, "Technically, I should take you to General Garmstrong, since she's super involved in trying to solve this Shade business. But…"

She glanced to the side. Mary followed her gaze.

"I feel like they'd jump me if it even looked like you were being taken in. So, we'll call it good, okay? Unless you have something else to add…?"

Mary shook her head. "No, I'm good. I'll just be on my way, then."

"Excellent!"

"Lieutenant!" Another set of footsteps approached them. Several sets, in fact.