Chapter 15: Even Shadows can Kill

Ishiki clenched the obsidian spear tighter, its cold surface biting into his palms. The shinobi unsheathed both blades with a whisper of steel, stepping forward into stance.

“Even shadows can kill.”

That was all he said, before he vanished into a blur, leaving Ishiki standing alone.

’Uh… what?’

He looked down at his own shadow sprawled across the grass. Something felt different about it… it felt dangerous now for some reason?

’Wait… did it move? Am i seeing things?’ He rubbed his eyes hard, then looked again.

There was a hand coming out from his shadow… pale fingers reaching upward through the dark surface like someone drowning in reverse.

Ishiki rolled back but the hand stayed just there, behind him, rooted in the plane of darkness at his feet.

Soon a face started to push through the dark surface of his shadow, Ishiki took a few steps back startled by it.

’What the –’

It had the same kind of tattoos— It was one of those five bastards.

Instinctively, sensing the approaching danger, his body moved on its own. The spear drove forward, piercing the shadow-hand straight through the palm with a wet crunch.

But the ascent of the hand didn’t stop, it laced forward even after it was pierced, it looked as if that thing didn’t feel pain.

He gritted his teeth and thrust again, driving the spear deeper… through wrist, past forearm, into elbow.

’Die bastard! Just die for god’s sake

’

But why would the demon care about god’s sake. The creature continued forcing itself out from the shadow’s surface, slow but unstoppable.

’Fine, then die for your that… shogun’s sake!’

Ishiki bit into his lower lip, not even caring about the pain it brought he sprinted under a tree’s shadow. But that didn’t solve the matters, that thing was still coming out.

’Damn this creepy stalker!’

Well… it was useless really. The shadow always stayed near the body, technically, unless you are in complete nothingness.

Ishiki pulled the spear out and this time, jabbed it towards the demon’s beautiful eye… he would have felt disappointed destroying the eye with a literal star shape inside, that was if this vile thing wasn’t a demon.

TUCK!

Something dropped from the tree above, bounced off his head and then miraculously ended up in the hand of the demon.

Ishiki rubbed his head and looked at the thing, however as he did his stomach dropped and a horrified expression froze on his face.

It was a head…. a demon’s head had fallen from the tree.

But what followed made him shudder and gasp, the head rested in the hand of the demon coming out of his shadow.

The hand squeezed, and the head burst like a water balloon—spraying black blood and gray matter in a grotesque fountain.

’Th…this thing just destroyed that head like it was nothing… screw him! really… Screw everything!’

Now it was clear that if the demon even touched him, he was done for… so now Ishiki wanted to get that damned thing out of his shadow more desperately.

’Think, think, think… Idiot!’

Suddenly something clicked, and Ishiki threw himself into the brightest moonlight he could find. His shadow stretched behind him, long and thin.

He spun and crouched low, compressing the shadow to its smallest possible size.

The demon furrowed and then his body was sucked back into the shadows like dirt inside a vacuum cleaner.

’Eat that bastard!’ Ishiki’s lips curled in a triumphed smile.

But soon turned dark… the threat wasn’t gone. He just stalled some time that’s all. Up until now he was thankful that the shinobi had killed almost all the demons that closed in on them.

“GET HIM!”

A roar, revibrated from the forest behind them… it was the damned thing inside Ishiki’s shadow. And following its command a new horde of demon’s appeared from all directions.

’Curses!’ Ishiki grounded his teeth and clutched his spear tighter.

It was going to be a hard one now!

…

…

…

’Die, jackass… go to hell!’

Ishiki plunged his spear deeper into the skull of the demon, killing it.

[You have slain a Xenon]

[You have received 30 Data Fragments]

Ishiki looked at the message and frowned. ’Xenon… so that’s what they are called.

’

He lingered for a moment looked around and then slumped down in the grass. the last one hour has been hard… not too much for him though. This was the only Xenon he had to kill himself, while all others were taken care of by the shinobi.

’I mean i couldn’t have done anything. I am not particularly a warrior, I am just trying not to die.’

A shriek echoed through the trees, just some distance away from him. The shinobi must have taken care of the third one of the tattooed guys… or ’Tainted Demons’ as he had called them.

[Admin 82 – This boy is tough, I did a mistake with my bets]

[Admin 292 – Good… Now if he could just finish his objective]

[Admin 63 – This is too unpredictable]

Ishiki frowned looking at the messages, its been a while since he saw them. ’It was so peaceful for some time now… Sigh’

Soon the shinobi appeared from the wilderness around them and looked at the exhausted young man laying on the ground. His eyes were as cold as ever, not even showing sympathy as he looked at the boy’s battered body.

’Guess that’s how your eyes get… when you kill too much.’

The man too sat besides him and looked at the sky. “We will soon meet up with the Emperor’s army.”

His voice felt… distant.

Ishiki pushed himself upright and brushed dirt off his torn clothes. “Let’s go… i don’t wanna stay here for too long.”

The Shinobi agreed, then standing up, he lead the way deeper into the forest. Ishiki walked behind him hiding in his shadow, his eyes fixed on the shinobi’s back.

His jaw clenched, finally making a dark expression, he asked in a low voice. “What… happened to the real Monk?”

The question had been burning in his mind for the last hour.

“He was killed… when he went out to bring those herbs.” the shinobi’s voice was nonchalant.

Ishiki’s hands tightened around the spear shaft until his knuckles went white. “I saw… what the monk and the maiden did!”

“It was all to heal you… don’t think much abo-”

PEIRCE!

The word didn’t come from either of them.

It was the sound the spear made as it tore through flesh and bone from behind.

The shinobi’s eyes widened, he looked down slowly at the black obsidian blade jutting from his chest, blood already spreading across his robes.

Behind him, Ishiki stood with both hands gripping the spear, his face twisted with anger and something darker.

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