Chapter 109

[Third Person's PoV]

Cid sat on his throne with his chin resting on the back of his hand, looking at Beatrix in amusement as she tried to wrap her head around the situation.

"How's that possible?" Beatrix couldn't help but mutter as she stared at Cid who was wearing Shadow's clothing.

Meanwhile, Alpha simply ignored her and started walking up the stairs to the throne. She sat around the armrest before wrapping her arms around Cid and kissing his cheek.

Cid snaked his arm around Alpha's waist while continuing to smirk in amusement. "What is there to not believe?"

"I clearly saw and felt the fight between the Shadow and Cid. Your magic power and his felt different. It didn't just feel different; it felt completely opposite. So how… how is it possible that the two of you are the same person!?" She asked while raising her voice.

Alpha glared at Beatrix to remind her of her place, but Beatrix wasn't paying attention to her. Her sole focus was on Cid.

Cid parted his hand from Alpha's waist and held them out in front of him. "It's honestly pretty simple to do. What you detect is my magic power frequency. So you know, no two frequencies are the same; each one is unique for each person. But for a being such as I, being able to change my magic's frequency comes pretty easily."

On one hand, Cid expelled the magic power Beatrix detected from Shadow, and on the other hand, she detected the one she felt from Cid.

Beatrix stared in awe at his skill and magic proficiency. Her expression went from one of disbelief to one of pure curiosity.

Since her long life, she has seen and experienced many wonders of the world, which included many people and different skills, but this is the first one where she was genuinely amazed at a person's skill.

"But then how were you able to be at two places at once? Can you please explain that to me?" She asked with humility, which caused Cid to raise a brow at that but decided to ignore it and answer her question.

"Tell me, do you remember during my spiel what I called myself?" he said, answering her question with a question of his own.

Beatrix was at first confused, unsure of what that had to do with anything, but went into thought to try and remember. After a few seconds, she nodded. "You called yourself 'The Shadow Monarch'."

Cid nodded. "Do you believe that title is merely for show? Everything that is related to the shadows is under my command. I have another inquiry for you: what are shadows?"

Cid didn't even let her get a chance to answer as he answered for her. "I'll tell you. Shadows are, after all, merely reflections of oneself, and as the Shadow Monarch, calling forth such reflections is as easy as a wave of my hand."

And Cid did just as he said; he waved his hand, which caused his shadow to expand, and from his shadow, black mass started to build up before taking form—his form to be exact. They were all seen wearing the same thing as his school uniform.

They all did the two-finger salute as they greeted Beatrix.

"Yo!" They said as their voices overlapped one after the other.

Beatrix had a look of amazement while Alpha smirked at the shadows.

"Don't even think about it," Cid said in a cold voice, which caused Alpha's cheeks to turn pink.

"Sorry," she muttered, while Cid just poked her waist with his finger.

"Yeah, you better. You're becoming a little too naughty; we might have to fix that," he said in a teasing way. Alpha just started to giggle, which only made Cid smile in return.

Beatrix watched their interaction with a smile, happy that her niece found happiness. Her expression then turned serious as she asked, "I have one last question, if you don't mind."

Alpha's expression then turned a little cold. "You're asking an awful lot of questions."

Cid stopped her. "It's okay, I'll allow it. Ask away."

"Why are you telling me all of this? Why entertain my questions?"

Cid's smile widened hearing that question and only said one word, "Guess."

Beatrix didn't say anything and continued looking at Cid before releasing a sigh of resignation. "You're not planning on letting me go, are you? You're making sure that I know too much, where I have no choice but to stay…"

Her next actions then surprised both Cid and Alpha, more Alpha than anyone else. She approached the throne and knelt down on one knee, stabbing her sword into the floor in front of her before lowering her head.

"I, Beatrix, known by many as the War Goddess, offer my blade to The Shadow Monarch."

"Why do you prostrate yourself before me?" Cid asked in a cold voice. "What is your reason?"

"There are four reasons," Beatrix began. "First, you have exposed yourself to me in order to keep me here, so I might as well offer my services, as I have no choice in the matter, really.

Second, if what… Alpha has said about you is to be correct, then you are a noble man. You are fighting against an organization that is targeting innocent women and children and using them for their selfish gains. I don't mind bowing my head towards a man with a noble cause.

Third, you have bested me in combat and showed that no matter how hard I try, I wouldn't be able to defeat you, even if I had received help. There is a reason why I haven't served anyone before, and that reason is because no one has ever won against me. But you did, and it wasn't even close. Once again, I don't mind bowing my head in front of greater strength.

And the fourth and last reason, you make my niece happy." Beatrix then looked up and smiled happily towards Alpha. "You saved her life, protected her from further harm, and gave her a home and strength, and for that, I would be forever thankful.

And for those reasons, I'm prostrating myself before you and offering my sword. If anyone has any rights towards my strength, it would be none other than you."

Alpha nodded, proud that her aunt could see the things that made Cid awesome in her eyes. 'Not bad…'

Cid stood up from his throne and started to slowly walk towards Beatrix. He casually held his hand out to the side, causing Beatrix's sword to fly from the ground into his grasp before landing on Cid's hand.

He walked down the steps with her sword in hand and stopped in front of her, looking down at her. He lifted the sword up with a smirk before patting her shoulders with the sword.

"I, Cid Kaguno, The Monarch of Shadows, accept your sword. From here on out, The War Goddess Beatrix shall become a Knight of Shadow Garden."

As Cid knighted her, he transferred some of his magic power to her, empowering her, causing her to almost moan out loud.

'Such power… I can feel myself getting stronger… When was the last time I ever felt myself growing strong? I see… this power, this is the power of the man known as the Shadow Monarch. Fascinating,' Beatrix thought before offering her hands to Cid.

Cid put her sword back in her hands before walking back towards the throne. "You shall be placed under Alpha's command in the meantime. Do you have any complaints?"

Beatrix shook her head. "None, my lord," she said, a little surprised with herself at how smoothly those words came out of her mouth before smiling.

Cid nodded his head before looking at Alpha. "You know what to do. I don't need to give you any instructions."

Alpha nodded. She kissed him on the cheek once more, unable to contain her love as she found his actions cool before standing up from where she was sitting.

"You are both dismissed," he said, causing Beatrix to stand back up.

"Follow me, I'll give you a proper guide of the base now that you have properly joined," Alpha said, walking ahead of her.

Alpha then stopped and turned around. "Oh, and one more thing," she said before smiling at Beatrix. "I officially welcome you to Shadow Garden."

Beatrix smiled and nodded her head, happy that she was going to be spending time with her niece.