He who Protects the Transforming Heroines from The Shadows - Chapter 17 - Schemes

“Oh come on, what are you suggesting? Are you seriously suspecting me, Shierra?”

The playful voice of Ralva echoed through the café “Shierra,” bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun.

Now that Eito had left, only the café’s owner Shierra and the god of the Guardians Ralva remained inside. Perhaps because of that, Ralva’s voice sounded oddly hollow.

“……”

Shierra said nothing in response, simply staring at Ralva. Her eyes were filled with clear suspicion.

“Sure, I’ve heard those rumors too. But think about it—normally, only the Lightguide Princess can defeat the Dark Thralls. If there’s someone else out there hunting and killing Dark Thralls or Darkian, that would completely overturn everything we thought we knew.”

Ralva took a sip of milk tea and winked with one eye as he answered. The suave gesture somehow suited him perfectly.

“Yeah, my Rank 4th does wear a black hood and wields a scythe, so I jokingly gave him the nickname ‘Grim Reaper.’ That’s all it was. Just a witty label. There’s no deeper meaning. So it’s a bit of a leap to start suspecting me just because someone out there matches his description, don’t you think? I’m a god, and he’s a guardian. We’ve got no reason to pull something like that.”
“…Right. I was just saying it. Don’t mind me.”

Surprisingly, Shierra backed down easily. Ralva hung his head in disbelief at how suddenly her attitude changed.

“…Hey now, I know I shouldn’t be the one saying this, but you’re really okay with that?”
“…I told you—I was just saying it. Besides, it’s not like I trust you in the first place…”
“You sure don’t hold back…”

Ralva could only chuckle bitterly at her blunt words.

He’d known Shierra for quite some time now, but she still didn’t trust him. He could think of a few reasons why, though he wasn’t entirely sure which one was the cause.

“Well, I’ll look into that matter as best I can. Although, for now, it’s just rumors. What’s really got me concerned is something else.”

Ralva’s demeanor changed completely. He suddenly took on the serious expression of a god who had lived for thousands of years, not the cheerful young man from before.

“…Something else?”
“So you don’t know about that one either. Well, I guess that makes sense. It’s only just been confirmed recently.”
“…Wait a second. I’ll close the shop.”

Realizing how serious Ralva was, Shierra walked to the door and flipped the sign to “Closed” with her slender white arm. It was early to shut down, but this was no time to worry about that.

With the café now closed, Shierra sat beside Ralva. From this close, Ralva couldn’t help but admire her glistening hair and porcelain-white skin. He let out a breath of admiration.

“…You really are beautiful, Shierra.”
“…Say one more word and I’m kicking you out.”
“Sorry, sorry… okay, I’ll talk.”

Apparently, Ralva’s words didn’t sit well with her. Before she could throw him out, he began speaking about the other matter—about Spriggan.

He shared everything he knew about the newly appeared mystery man. After listening quietly, Shierra leaned back, thoughtful.

“…I see. He’s definitely a strange one. But at the very least, he’s saved the Lightguide Princess twice now. Sure, the Darkness power is worrying, but… do we really need to be that cautious?”
“I get where you’re coming from, Shierra. But as long as his goals and identity remain a mystery, I believe we need to stay alert. That’s my judgment as a god of the Guardians protecting the Lightguide Princesses.”

While respecting her viewpoint, Ralva made it clear he wasn’t going to budge. Shierra seemed to sense that from his tone and didn’t argue further.

“…I see. Things are getting complicated.”
“Yeah. Tell me about it.”

Ralva responded to her observation with a weary smile.

♦

“You bastard…! What the hell did you do to me!?”

Late at night. The outskirts of Tokyo, Japan.

Clutching his chest with his right hand, a man just shy of middle age glared at the woman in front of him—dressed in Western-style mourning clothes.

The man was, by all accounts, scum. With his impulsive, reckless nature, he’d committed armed robbery and murder, conned elderly people out of their money to feed his gambling addiction, and had yet to be caught by the police. That was the kind of man he was.

“…I owe no explanation to a human,”

the woman in mourning garb—Reizeroll—replied coldly, her voice like ice.

“You messing with me!? You b1tch!!”

The man had been walking along the dark street when she suddenly reached into his body with her bare hand. Yet, there was no wound, no hole, no bl00d. The sheer impossibility of it had thrown him into confusion.

And now, faced with Reizeroll’s utterly indifferent demeanor, rage welled up inside him. He swung his right arm back, pulling a punch aimed straight at her face.

“…You’re quite the lively one.”

But—

“Wha…!?”

With just a single glance from Reizeroll, his punch froze mid-air—as if locked in place by the air itself.

“W-What the hell is this!? What’s going on—!?”
“…Silence. If you don’t want to die, shut your mouth. Now.”
“…!!”

The moment he heard those words, all bravado left him. His face went pale, and he clamped his mouth shut.

His instincts understood—this woman would carry out her threat without hesitation. Killing him would mean nothing to her.

For the first time in his life, he felt true, bone-deep terror.

“…Surprisingly obedient,”

Reizeroll muttered, her emotionless eyes fixed on him. As the man stood frozen in fear, she continued speaking alone.

“I’ll be making use of your filthy desires. Your role is simple: a cage, and a gate… That’s all.”

Snap. She flicked her fingers.

And then—

“Ugh…! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

The man suddenly screamed in agony.

His body began to change—warping grotesquely from the inside out. It was a mutation born of runaway energy: the raw, negative desires that fester within humans.

“………”

From her coat, Reizeroll pulled out a stone-like object, about the size of a fist. What made it strange was its coloration—about 80 to 90% of it was jet-black, with the rest translucent, almost clear.

She held it near the man’s transforming body. Immediately, black particles began to pour out of him, drawn into the stone.

Then, a subtle change—barely noticeable. The black portion of the stone had grown slightly.

“…Hmm.”

Satisfied, Reizeroll carefully returned the stone-like object to her coat.

Turning to the man—no, the creature that had once been a man—she observed its final form. No longer human, the thing had become what the Light Guide Princess and her Guardians referred to as a Dark Thrall.

“…Do as you please now.”
“…!”

Whether or not it understood her words, the Dark Thrall, driven by pure instinct and desire, dashed off into the darkness.

“…Tch.”

Left behind, Reizeroll leaned heavily against a nearby utility pole, unsteady on her feet.

“…Used a bit too much power.”

The preparations just now had consumed a significant portion of her energy. That she was left staggering from something like this—she found it both pathetic and infuriating.

“…No surprise. Ever since that time, my power has been—”

With a bitter, self-mocking tone, Reizeroll disappeared into the night.

♦

“! A Dark Thrall…?”

Soleil sensed the presence of a Dark Thrall manifesting in the suburbs of Tokyo from the divine realm.

This time, the Dark Thrall’s aura was slightly larger than usual. Soleil assumed it was probably a beastman-type.

(It’s within Youka and Miya’s assigned sector, but… could this be too much for the two of them?)

Though Soleil believed Youka and Miya had the greatest potential as Lightguide Princess in generations, they were still sorely lacking in both experience and actual strength. It had only been a little over a month since they’d become Lightguide Princesses—so it was only natural.

(Even if their Guardian is with them, it’s still these two girls who must perform the purification…!)

While hesitating, Soleil noticed a barrier spreading around the Dark Thrall. That meant a Lightguide Princess had already engaged it in battle.

“Who could it be…?”

Soleil searched for the presence of a Lightguide Princess. Rather than a “presence” per se, it was more like a type of identification signal composed of different patterns of power unique to each Lightguide Princess. As one of her divine authorities, Soleil could perceive and analyze those signals.

(I see. The one currently facing the Dark Thrall is Akatsuki.)

She quickly summoned a window displaying the Lightguide Princess rankings and scanned down from the top. Akatsuki’s name appeared in the 25th spot.

“So she was a ranked one after all. In that case—”

Soleil decided to send a signal to notify Youka and Miya of the Dark Thrall’s appearance.

And to the one who protects them from the shadows—Spriggan, a.k.a Kijou Eito.

♦

“What a pain—got dragged into this by pure chance!”

The Lightguide Princess with the distinctive emerald green hood, Akatsuki, muttered in irritation as she swung her magnificent sword.

“—!”

With an incomprehensible cry, the Dark Thrall—likely a beastman-type—caught Akatsuki’s sword with its sharp claws.

“Tch!”

Akatsuki took a step back to create distance and glared at the grotesque Dark Thrall, which had a bizarre, chimeric appearance.

Lightguide Princess Akatsuki—real name Hayakawa Satori—had just been casually strolling down a main street in this town. She had planned to stop by the convenience store for some snacks when the Dark Thrall suddenly appeared on the road.

Naturally, one would expect chaos from the sudden appearance of such a monster—but thanks to Satori’s immediate transformation into a Lightguide Princess, and the deployment of a ward that repelled civilians, people unconsciously evacuated beyond the barrier’s range, unaware of the Dark Thrall’s presence. Satori was once again reminded of just how useful that barrier was.

“Still, this is a real pain…”

She had fought Dark Thrasll with this kind of appearance before. Those that looked particularly strange—like this chimera—were almost always stronger and more troublesome. This was the third time Akatsuki had faced one like it.

“Well… no use whining.”

Flashing a fearless smile, Akatsuki readied her sword and charged in close to the Dark Thrall.

But then, a sudden voice called out from behind.

“Akatsuki-san! Dodge!!”

“!?”

Recognizing the familiar voice, Akatsuki quickly used her power as a Lightguide Princess—wind—to shift her body sideways.

“—!”

An ice projectile came flying in and struck the Dark Thrall squarely. It stumbled back with another strange, unintelligible screech.

“That just now…”

Akatsuki turned toward the direction the ice had come from. Spotting the source, she used wind again to move closer to them.

“Hey there, Blue Shine, Red Shine. Long time no see.”
“Yes, Akatsuki-san!”
“Indeed, it has.”

Responding to Akatsuki’s greeting were the Lightguide Princess known as Red Shine and Blue Shine—Asamiya Youka and Tsukishita Miya

“Huh? But why are you here, Akatsuki-san? If Lady Soleil sent the signal to us, then the Dark Thrall should be our assignment, right?”

Youka asked curiously. Akatsuki was about to give a short answer.

“Ah, well that’s because—”
“—!”

Before she could finish, the Dark Thrall, seemingly enraged, launched a barrage of sharp, feather-like projectiles from a single wing growing out of its back.

“Tch! We’ll talk later!”
““Yes!””

Akatsuki, Youka, and Miya narrowly evaded the attack.

However, the razor-like feathers continued raining down on the three of them.

“Damn it! What a pain in the ass…!”

Using her wind powers, Akatsuki generated a countercurrent that slowed the feathers midair and brought them harmlessly to the ground.

“Thanks, Akatsuki-san.”
“You’re welcome—and more importantly, your Guardian’s not with you today?”

Smiling at Miya’s gratitude, Satori tossed a casual question to the two of them. Even though the Dark Thrall was still attacking, Akatsuki’s wind nullified it all, allowing for a brief moment of conversation.

The reason Akatsuki asked was because she remembered what the Scarecrow had said: due to the threat of the mysterious figure known as “Spriggan,” Guardians had to always be present during combat with Dark Thrall or Darkian. That was the general idea, at least.

“Yeah, usually we meet up at the scene, but today he hasn’t shown up yet—”

Youka answered, sounding like she didn’t really understand why herself.

“Huh. Wonder what’s up with that.”

Akatsuki murmured—when suddenly, a male voice answered her question from behind.

“Ah, that’d be because I’m here instead.”
“…I see. That explains it.”

Hearing that somewhat frivolous voice, Akatsuki immediately understood who it was. Honestly, today felt like one of those days where she could recognize everyone just by their voice.

As Youka and Miya looked puzzled at the newcomer, Akatsuki turned around and called his name.

“So it’s you again, huh—Kakashi.”
“I told you, didn’t I? My Guardian name is Scarecrow.”

Standing there was the ever-flippant Guardian.