The Eminence in Shadow (陰の実力者になりたくて！)

There has been no activity by the Cult of Diablos.

The Midgar Kingdom has been quiet

since the incident at the Bushin Festival.

The smaller sects are at a standstill,

and it seems Fenrir sect appears to be immobilized

by the confusion.

It is all going exactly to your plan, my Lord.

Now we can set our sights forward

and we can finally focus on our main efforts

on the situation in the Oriana Kingdom.

We should note there's a troubling bit of news.

There's been a recent acceleration

of funds flowing into the Lawless City.

Really?

That region doesn't belong to any nation, my Lord.

It's a giant slum where the evil, wealth,

and the power of the world converge.

Any tension that occurs in that region

could have an immeasurable effect on the rest of society.

Although we would like to focus our efforts

on accomplishing our plan, unfortunately,

I must suggest that we send out additional personnel.

I smell it.

The Lawless City

wreaks of blood.

A storm is brewing,

a storm of blood.

The moon... It's unusually... Crimson.

In fact, it looks like the legendary...

The Red Moon.

The tragedy of a thousand years ago.

That means the Lawless City will...

If nothing's done, surrounding nations

will experience catastrophic damage.

Silence, everyone.

If that is an omen of the legendary Red Moon,

we cannot merely sit here and gaze idly at the sky.

We seven shadows- No.

Huh?

Let me handle the money,

I mean this matter.

No, you intend to go there alone?

You object.

We understand that would

be the surest method,

my Lord, however...

Should the unthinkable happen to you,

Lord Shadow, we would- Fear not.

The moon has merely turned red.

That's all.

Nothing more.

Hmphf.

No more than a moon turned red.

Faced with you, even the legendary Red Moon

is stripped of its dignity.

Do you not find the moon to be beautiful when red?

It is because we have you, my Lord,

that we too are able to see its beauty.

We wish you the best of luck in battle.

"At first, it was nothing more than..."

Your will be done in all things.

I will analyze some dragon tears while you're away.

"So no one knew that it was important,

a harbinger of the revival of the Blood Queen."

"No one that is, but the great Shadow!"

Get these girls involved

and the legendary Red Moon comes to life

in the blink of an eye.

Seriously, their ad-libbing skills

are totally worthy of an Academy Award.

It's just a kind of reddish moon, no biggie.

So this is it?

Yeah, the Crimson Tower ruled by the Blood Queen.

She's the queen of vampires and one of the three rulers

of the Lawless City.

A castle of vampires, huh?

Look at that.

Not even the corpse-raiding vultures

dare to get near it.

They think if they get too close, it's all over.

They'll end up as hideous ghouls.

What are you scared? Don't be ridiculous.

It's just a hangout for a bunch of shut-ins.

With the power of Goldy-

You pathetic vermin aren't worthy

to pass through this gate.

The only ones authorized are servants,

or guests of the Blood Queen, and powerful warriors.

You two are neither of those things.

Huh?

I get it, and you're right.

As you said, we're not servants or guests.

We are powerful warriors here to hunt the Blood Queen.

I don't see what's so funny.

I thought I was a fool, which is why

it's always so amusing to find someone

more foolish than I am.

You clowns make me laugh.

Huh?

This is what happens to fools

who dare challenge the Blood Queen.

You see this? I lost my right arm

and now I'm kept here

as a pathetic watchdog on a leash.

So what? We're not amateurs like you

and the other beasts that come here.

My power level is 4,317.5.

I was just like you once.

Just as confident, just as foolish,

they called me the White Devil.

Huh? You're the White Devil?

The wanted criminal with a huge bounty on his head?

But here, I'm nothing more than a lowly watchdog!

Ripping apart idiots like you who don't know their place

and refuse to learn, is the only joy I have left in life.

Get ready. Bring it.

Yes, this is perfect.

The Lawless City is even more of a dump than I imagined.

Stop gawking.

You don't wanna catch the attention of any weirdos.

Yes, ma'am.

Hey. What?

Aren't we going to that tower?

You are so...

First I'm going to the Dark Knight Association

for a strategy meeting.

Dark Knight Association?

Never saw any of those back home.

Because we have our own Knight Order.

The Dark Knight Association is an unofficial organization

that doesn't belong to any public institutions.

The summer of my last year of high school,

I was on the road to becoming Eminence in Shadow

when my journey came to an abrupt end, or so it seemed.

But one thing after another, this stuff turned into that,

and that... Now, I don't even know.

This, this, and that were all like this,

and it was kinda like this.

Then all of this happened,

AND here we are.

That's the match.

Imatry Nottaloos is down for the count

and the winner is Claire Kagenou.

My sister won the Bushin Festival Championship.

To celebrate, I used my connections with Gamma

and got dressed up for a free- excuse me,

I mean, high-end fancy dinner

at a Mitsugoshi restaurant, but...

I'm going to the Lawless City to exterminate vampires.

The tournament ended,

and she headed right off to battle.

I know she's my sister, but even I wonder

how she can be so hot blooded.

I brought you here with me

out of consideration for your future, you know?

My future?

If you stay behind me and do everything I say,

I'll pry open a spot for you in Midgard's Knight Order

after you graduate. Oh, okay.

So she's trying to bulk up my resume

to make me a government employee.

Come to think of it, I haven't really considered

what I'll do after I graduate.

Claire will inherit the estate out in the Boondocks,

so I think they'll stick me in some kind of job somewhere.

As long as I can do what I wanna do, I don't really care

what kind of job I end up with.

And what is it that you "wanna do"?

It's secret. I make it a point

not to tell anyone the things that really matter to me.

You're just making that up.

Stop trying to cover up the fact

that you just haven't thought about it.

Why do you assume that?

Whatever, it's fine.

No, it's not.

Hmm?

It's not fine.

Hello, there.

Come take a look, my beautiful young lady.

I just got a new stock of first-rate pets.

You mean me?

Yes, I mean you,

the most beautiful young lady in the world.

Well, you have a good eye.

You know he's buttering you up, sis.

You be quiet.

But please come look, miss.

These lucky finds just came in this morning.

This is today's hot item,

the pet Dark Knight, little Goldy.

What do you say? He's quite the handsome specimen.

Perfect for such a lovely lady.

He's all beat up.

Can't you handle your products more carefully?

I guess he did get a little banged up

in transit.

All right, he's worth 30 million zeni,