Whatever creature I was dealing with likely knew that I had caught onto it. I needed to extract it, before it could potentially damage its host. Detaining Elisee and gathering further information would give the unknown creature too much time. Ignoring it might allow it to change hosts. So I decided acting now would be better.

I decided to go for chains of torment. It was a 7th circle spell that held a creature. Since I could definitely feel something when touching the shadow I was confident the spell could lock onto it. It did work against ghosts in the game. My plan would be to stop the creature from acting, then I could work on removing it without harming Elisee.

I had to be fast. While I was still smiling at the royal knight, I cast my spell. Black chains appeared from the air and shot towards the shadow. A creature formed, desperately trying to get away. But the chains latched onto four points. Slowly a body formed. Its arms and legs caught by the chains. It looked like an elf…

"I am not your enemy!" The woman shouted.

I stepped between her and Elisee, who had frozen. Then I studied the creature. She had the pointy ears one would expect. Her smooth face looked definitely elven. With her dark skin she appeared to be a night elf. Her long hair was pitch black, as were her eyes. Interesting. But I was proof that not everything that resembled a night elf, was actually a night elf.

"You have snuck into my home. I doubt you had good intentions." I pointed out.

"Countess Amaya, I am Liandra, the first shadow of High Queen Maeve." She replied.

I scratched my head and looked at Elisee. "She speaks the truth." The royal knight replied.

"Huh? Why are you here? Why did you hide in her shadow?" Considering where this creature came from, it was possible she was influencing Elisee. So I could not take her word for it.

"It is customary for my clan to secure any location the High Queen visits." Liandra replied.

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"Really? And you did not just ask for my help, why?" As I was asking the question, the answer dawned on me. And it was sort of obvious. I could have been a danger. Despite my contributions to the Dominion, very few people actually knew me. I had not considered how my actions actually looked from the outside. Since I had defeated Beira, at least for now, I had just treated everything like a vacation. I had become way too comfortable, way too confident. I had dismissed Elisee's concerns. I had mostly delegated all of my responsibilities and just focused on tasty food.

I sighed. Someone actually snuck by the dryads. I had expected the grove to spot any danger. Not that I had actually expected any danger, other than monsters. Not in the mortal realm, at least. And Lilith had her side covered. This could have been bad. What if someone had gone after the staff? After Lucy's family? I was responsible for a lot of people. While Lucy, Shani, Lily and the senior maid knights could protect themselves just fine, my townsfolk could not. And I had regular troops as well. Had I ever even bothered checking their equipment? Looking into the dangers they faced?

"I was in the process of testing your defences…" Liandra began. I held up a hand.

Whatever diplomatic answer she had was not that important right now, what really mattered was establishing her credentials. We could talk after I had confirmed her identity. How could I do that? I was not even sure what exactly she was. Those shadow powers looked inborn and not like a spell. Could be a bloodline, a pact, or she simply was not an elf.

"Let's take this to Thessia." I figured she knew a lot and was a priestess. If I was dealing with an evil spirit she would likely know. Hopefully she could help me.

"You should release the first shadow. The shadows are an elite unit working directly for the High Queen." Elisee said.

"Well, I can't really confirm her identity and since she came from your shadow. She could just be some sort of parasite who is controlling you. Also, since she can live in the shadows I am sort of concerned about freeing her." My chains of torment sounded bad but they were meant to amplify damage done to the target, not torment it themselves.

Of course, my chains were not exactly portable. So I would have to send someone to fetch Thessia. Actually, was I underestimating the situation again? What if this elf was not alone? Lucy should be somewhere close. Hopefully close enough for my magic to establish a mental connection.

"Lucy?"

"Oh? We haven't talked mentally in a while. Are you experimenting on something?" She asked.

"There is an intruder, maybe friendly, maybe not. She hid in Elisee's shadow. I am not sure how to detect her kind but any spell seeing magic or through illusions might work, if sufficiently powerful. I think I need Thessia's expertise. Can you send someone for her? I have the intruder contained but there could be more. Make sure your family is safe, please. And alert the maid knights." I told her.

"On it!" She replied.

Good. Now I just had to wait. After this mess I would have to reevaluate my recent actions. For now I was just hoping Liandra was telling the truth and my people had not been taken over by some shadow creatures. Wait, wasn't one of the ancient demon lords known for shadow magic and assassination? As my paranoia rose, I unleashed my aura. It would be the fastest way to alert everyone. I could feel a storm forming over my town. My town. My domain.

If anyone dared to threaten what I held dear, I would show them the Fury of the Storm.

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