Shadow Dragon: The Fallen Angel Is My Teacher

The world around me shifted like someone had ripped me out of one place and dropped me straight into another.

Dante and I stood in the middle of a market decorated for a festival.

Lanterns hung from thin strings. Wooden stalls lined both sides of the street.

The entire place had a Japanese theme, like an old rural town celebrating some seasonal event.

Paper banners swayed in the cold night breeze, and mountains rose quietly in the distance.

It was night, and the sky above must be dark, but I didn't look at it.

I already knew what waited up there.

Shadowy figures filled the market.

They didn't have clear shapes, just silhouettes moving like people pretending to be people.

They walked. They chatted. They played festival games.

But none of them had faces or details, and the longer I watched them, the more wrong they felt.

'Yuna, use your luck-increasing ability,' I said through my thoughts.

The tiny fallen angel floating beside my shoulder nodded and raised her small hand.

Her ability activated.

I felt nothing, but I trusted her.

I walked between the stalls and listened.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard a familiar voice.

"What is this place?"

My head snapped in that direction.

I moved toward it and felt a little relief loosen my chest.

Valen was there.

The Vampire Prince, and Rank 5 Exorcist.

A person who was the cause of this situation, and yet escaping without him was impossible.

'I'm lucky we were so near,' I thought.

He was staring at the sky.

I didn't follow his gaze.

Instead, I stopped beside him and kept my voice low. "We're in the domain of a Rank 4 Cursed Spirit."

He turned away from the sky.

His expression shifted into a serious one immediately.

"Which one?"

"Rank 4 Cursed Spirit. The Blackout Priest. It was causing havoc in Japan. Recently, a team led by Tomoe Gozen tried to exorcise it.

"And they succeeded in the exorcism. Or so they think. However, she was being possessed by the Cursed Spirit she had gone to exorcise."

The shadowy crowd around us kept walking like nothing important was happening.

Lanterns swayed. Wooden signs creaked.

A festival that wasn't real continued.

Valen frowned.

"Tomoe Gozen… It must be the woman who pulled us into this domain. You believe she was possessed by this Rank 4 Cursed Spirit? How do you know she wasn't hosting something weaker?"

His tone carried respect, but also the usual proud calmness he always had.

Being Rank 5 he had trust in his experience, and his experience told him that randomly meeting a Rank 4 Cursed Spirit like this was impossible.

"I didn't know you had such optimistic ideas about cursed spirits.

"You honestly think a Rank 3 Exorcist and a small team took down a Rank 4 Cursed Spirit?

"Even if the Blackout Priest is one of the weaker Rank 4s, it's still Rank 4. That's a country-level threat. Obviously her team failed. And she got possessed," I said, snorting, staying in my persona.

Although this was a dangerous situation, I had to keep my calm.

Only then could we escape this domain.

Valen looked like he wanted to argue, so I cut him off before he could speak.

"Look above. You saw that, didn't you?

"That thing in the sky is enough to prove that this thing is at least Rank 3.

"Now combine that with everything else we know. The Cursed Spirit had enough freedom that it disguised itself as Tomoe Gozen.

"It infiltrated the Japanese Exorcist Union branch. It walked straight into a Rank 5 Cursed Spirit's domain to find me.

"And the last Cursed Spirit Tomoe Gozen interacted with was a Rank 4.

"Put all that together and we get the obvious conclusion: this is a Rank 4 Cursed Spirit's domain.

"After all, this level of freedom and strength is only available to Rank 4 Cursed Spirits," I said.

I was being patient with him and explaining everything for one reason.

I needed him to Valen to work with me, as survival was impossible without him.

Rank 4 Cursed Spirits were on top of the food chain.

History had barely a handful of successful exorcisms against their kind.

They weren't meant to be fought head-on. They were meant to be avoided.

That's why the only way to escape this domain was with Valen's help.

Exorcism? That was impossible even if he helped.

Valen licked his lips slowly, then looked at the sky again as if confirming something for himself.

"I suppose your analysis is reasonable. Still, I must ask, how do you know so much?" he questioned.

"Unlike a certain country that refuses to join the Exorcist Union and isolates itself from the rest of the world. I prefer to keep my ears open for useful information," I retorted, keeping in with my persona.

A small smile pulled at his lips.

Around us, the shadowy festival visitors continued to check the stalls.

They weren't approaching us, but their vague faces turned toward us every now and then.

Their movements were slow and smooth, like puppets pretending to breathe.

Valen chuckled under his breath.

"If your ears are everywhere, then I suppose it's possible you found the information her team collected.

"They must have been gathering intelligence on the Blackout Priest.

"You must have accessed that.

"But can we trust information gathered by a woman who is now possessed? Would she not intentionally mislead?" he asked.

"We can worry about that after we stay alive," I said.

"That is a wise decision." He nodded, and looked at me up and down. "Your composure is impressive. To remain calm inside the domain of a Rank 4 Cursed Spirit… I expected panic from someone of your experience."

"I'm not calm. I'm simply not interested in dying," I said.

He chuckled.

"An honest one, I see. Listening a talented seed like you is making me want to take you with me more and more.

He continued, "Very well. We should start by locating the crewmates who were in the inn. Their strength was respectable. I sensed several of them having Rank 4 Exorcist strength. If they too were pulled inside this domain, their abilities may increase our chances."

"We will need to convince them to work with us first," I said. "Anyway, we should move away from populated areas. Being watched by these shadowy figures is dangerous—"

A flute cut me off.

It was a Shinto festival flute.

It was sharp, clear, and too clean for this fake place.

It echoed from every direction as if hundreds of musicians were playing the same tune at once.

A chill ran straight down my spine.

Every shadow in the festival instantly turned toward the sound.

Then they dropped to their knees and bowed their heads to the ground.

"Kneel and bow your head!" I shouted.

I didn't think twice.

I dropped to my knees and pressed my forehead to the ground.

Dante followed.

The festival shadows stayed still, bent in perfect unison.

But Valen was still standing.

I saw his boots planted on the ground beside me. He looked confused.

"What are you doing!? Get down—"

My words ended there.

Everything turned black.

It was the dark like someone erased reality and left nothing behind.

Sound vanished.

Light vanished.

My body vanished too. I couldn't feel my hands. My feet. My weight. My breath.

I tried to speak, but nothing came out.

I tried to move, but I no longer had a body to command.

There was no air. No warmth. No cold. No pain. No heartbeat. No sense of my own body. Nothing at all.