Disbelief
Shock.
Horror.
These words perfectly described what Shadow Lord Alden was feeling. He had grown up as a member of the Shadow Clan and had a deep knowledge of their history.
He had heard of tales and legends of the so-called 'Mark of Shadows'. The words of the scriptures echoed in his mind loud and clear.
'Ye followers of shadows, remember thy commandments. On the day whence cometh the children marked by the shadows— the world shall be overcame with blinding darkness. O ye remember, the longed God shall appear. The one thou hath forsaken shall rise and cover the world in his eternal darkness.'
His eyes shook as he remembered those words that rang in his mind like a quiet whisper yet as loud as the roar of a dragon.
"Restrain them!" He ordered with a hint of urgency in his voice.
The Shadow Clerk— oblivious to their leader's insight, rushed forward unarmed— aiming to deliver a chop to the kids' neck.
However—
Weng!
Six arrows flew through the air as the green haired girl shot them with chilling precision. The arrows were packed with power and speed that surpassed that of a regular human.
Puchi!
They lodged into the throats of three Clerks— killing them while the others narrowly dodged the surprise attack.
010, the silver haired kid from before followed up immediately by throwing several shuriken at them. The Clerks performed a simple yet clean jump backwards, dodging the shurikens with calm effectiveness.
Kaiser unsheathed the curved odachi slowly, allowing it to sing as it left its sheath.
By the time he was done, everyone's attention was focused on him as he took a single step.
A moment he was with the other kids, the next moment he was before a Clerk— his odachi lodged into the latter's torso.
The other Clerks were stunned as they watched the body of their mate fall to the ground with a sickening thud.
Whoosh!
However before they could snap out of their trance, two knives whizzed through the air and struck the temple of two Clerks— killing them in one blow.
The others were now fully alerted as four of them rushed towards Kaiser while the others went after the other two.
'They're getting serious.'
Kaiser thought as he dodged a swing of a metal bat and countered with a swing of his odachi, severing an entire arm. Another one tried to slip up on him by entering his shadow but he never came out.
The other two, realizing that they couldn't take him with levity hands changed their weapons and unleashed their killing intent.
The air around him became oppressive and suffocating but Kaiser's eyes only shined as his body twitched in ecstasy.
"Let us... talk."
Clang!
Slice!
He blocked two swords perfectly however before they could use their strength to overwhelm him, he slipped under their attacks and slashed at their thighs— feeling as the blades of the knives cut through flesh.
The Clerks didn't even scream and only attacked again and again. However, every of their efforts were futile as Kaiser kept countering their attacks and slipping away from dangerous ones while delivering unexpected attacks of his own.
In a few minutes, the Clerks cloaks were torn and tattered however, blood never fell from any of them.
'Why is that? Could it be...?'
Suddenly, he turned to look at the Shadow Lord who was lounging on his throne with a look of entertainment.
'They aren't humans but puppets? Fascinating!'
He thought as he spinned in the air, dodging the swing of a spear and a longsword simultaneously.
Before the enemies could retrieve their weapons, he hurled two knives at them but they easily evaded it— hereby giving him time to intervene and prevent 010 from getting killed.
'Ah, so much work for a man.'
...
At the other side 010, the boy with silver hair and grey eyes dodged an axe by bending his body backwards to the extreme while he slid under the axe and stabbed his attacker with two shurikens in the thighs.
'This was... easier than I thought.'
He thought as he swiped his dagger through the Clerk's crotch. A sharp trembling from the body told him he had destroyed something precious.
'Welps!'
He then turned to look at 084, the girl with green hair and black eyes. A silent understanding passed through them briefly.
Throwing a shuriken, he helped her distract a Clerk while she battled another. But it came with a cost.
A blade striking at his head in a perfect moment that made it impossible to dodge.
His eyes dimmed.
'I can't believe I'm going to let this guy save me.'
Ding!
As he expected, a sharp knife slightly tilted the blade off its tragectory as it missed him narrowly.
Without even looking back at his helper, he elbowed the Clerk in the face— feeling as the mask and nose broke under his attack.
The Clerk was sent tumbling but before he could recover, his head had been cut off.
Finally given a moment of peace, he looked around and realized that every Clerk had been killed without any of them sustaining injuries.
'Now onto the hard part.'
...
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Shadow Lord Alden clapped in amusement as he rose up from his throne with a smile, mirth dancing in his eyes.
"What wonderful creatures I have made! I can't believe you could achieve this while being unawakened. This makes me proud of myself." He said as he looked at the three kids—no killing machines before him.
'Especially you 056. Being able to help your teammates even in predicament while manipulating the flow of the battle is superb.'
He thought.
"However, if you think you can leave here, you're in for an unpleasant surprise." He said as he spread his arms. His shadow trembled and expanded before an army of Clerks emerged from it. Their presence making the air in the hall heavy with tension.
He looked forward to seeing the look of despair on the Kids faces but he was met with a mocking look.
"Do you think they are still your shadows?"
Suddenly, 056 asked a question that puzzled him.
"Of course. They came from my sha—"
He paused. Looking at the army behind him, he realized that they weren't showing hostility towards the kids but were watching his own movements closely.
"I see. You corrupted the ones you killed and contaminated those in my shadow when the corrupted ones returned to my shadow. How clever. I admit defeat." He revealed with a look of admiration.
'I— wasn't smart enough'
"Good" 056 said plainly.
A sad smile appeared on Alden's face then without ceremony— his head fell.