Sonya didn't hesitate. Without saying a word, her body turned into a shadow.
By the time Kaito reached her, his hand only passed through a dark mist that faded on contact.
And yet, he felt it. She was still there, hidden, in the shadows.
He sensed something behind him and moved instantly. From the ground, right where he'd just been a second earlier, black spikes shot up.
They vanished quickly, only to reappear beneath Kaito. But once again, he dodged them with ease.
The darkness expanded again, though this time it didn't take the shape of spikes. Instead, it slid along the walls, covering the room in endless gloom.
"Nice trick," Kaito murmured with a confident smile, even trapped in such a scenario.
The spikes reappeared. This time, they came from all directions, aimed straight at him.
Kaito dodged them again with ease, just before they disappeared.
But then, he noticed something different beneath his feet.
They weren't spikes.
They were chains.
The shadow beneath him stretched and became shackles that wrapped around his body, locking him in place.
Kaito tried to break free, but the chains were far stronger than they looked.
Without giving him time to escape, new spikes shot toward him.
He struggled for several minutes before figuring out how to free himself. Instead of trying to move away, he vibrated in place so fast that the chains began to tremble and loosen slightly.
Kaito took advantage of the exact moment they loosened just enough, slipping free with his speed.
Unfortunately for Sonya, what felt like minutes to Kaito had only been an instant to her. The spikes she had launched didn't make it in time.
Kaito dodged them easily, but this time something was different.
The spikes didn't disappear.
They turned into fine threads that spread across the entire room, forming a black web impossible to avoid.
However, a small misalignment in the pattern was enough.
That one gap allowed Kaito to find a way out.
Still, he didn't come out unscathed.
One of the threads grazed his cheek.
For the second time since arriving in Gaia, someone had wounded him.
And that made him angry.
He felt a new attack from behind. This time, it wasn't spikes, or threads, or chains.
It was a human-like figure.
Or at least, it seemed so.
A silhouette made of pure shadow lunged at him. Threads came from its hands, trying to trap Kaito.
But when the threads reached him, he was already right in front of the figure.
To his surprise, the strike had no effect.
It was just a shadow, intangible.
But at least it allowed him to escape the trap.
Without turning, he knew something was coming again.
More spikes.
Kaito dodged, only to be caught again by chains.
He repeated the same method, vibrating in place, breaking free at the right moment.
This time, however, the chains lashed out like living ropes.
Kaito moved just in time to avoid the strike.
But behind him, the shadowy figure.
When the chains approached her, she grabbed them and redirected them toward Kaito.
Even so, no matter what she did, Kaito always dodged.
So she vanished.
From every angle, spikes emerged once again.
But this time, the very walls began to shift, trying to crush or impale him.
Kaito stopped dodging.
Now he was on the offensive.
He began slamming the floor with brutal speed, targeting the shadow itself.
He could feel it. She wasn't just manipulating shadows.
She had become one.
And even if it sounded illogical, if she was a shadow, then she could be hurt.
His arms became invisible to the human eye, striking more than a thousand times per second.
The room trembled. Everything slowed down.
The spikes threatening him crumbled, not because they were destroyed, but because they could no longer sustain themselves.
Attacking worked.
Maybe the damage was minimal, but Kaito's speed made up for it.
Determined to finish it, he stopped striking and began spinning at full speed.
He ran along the walls, the ceiling, every corner.
Before gravity could even act, he was back on the ground.
Five seconds later, he stopped.
Focusing all his strength into his fist, he slammed it into the floor.
And then, it happened.
The kinetic energy, those lightning-like trails left behind in his wake, concentrated in his hand.
And the moment it touched the ground, it was unleashed.
The room didn't explode, but the full impact was absorbed by the shadow.
At such a speed that even Kaito was surprised, the darkness recoiled into itself.
The room returned to normal, as the shadow gathered in the center and took form.
A female figure collapsed to her knees, coughing up blood.
For the first time since gaining his speed, someone had pushed him to the edge.
Kaito didn't hesitate.
He wanted to take advantage of her weakness and end it, finish the fight and, while he was at it, eliminate the leader of the dark elves' intelligence network.
He lifted her from the ground with one hand, while the other vibrated, ready to pierce her chest.
But then, he heard her say something that froze him.
"I submit."
Kaito frowned. Her subordinates didn't even speak, yet she surrendered?
"Hey, what do you mean by that?"
He asked, confused.
But got no reply.
The girl was already unconscious.
"Tch, damn it" Kaito muttered.
---
Sonya woke up in an unfamiliar cell.
She was lying on a bed, in what seemed to be an underground facility.
She tried to sit up, but the pain in her body forced her to stop.
Even so, she made the effort and managed to sit. That's when she heard the voice.
The same one that had introduced itself as Lucifer.
"You shouldn't move too much, you only received basic treatment," Kaito said, indifferent.
"Should I call you 'Master Lucifer' or something?" she joked, forcing a smile. The pain made her groan.
"I don't care what you call me" he replied casually.
"I want to know something. Why would you surrender? Your men didn't even speak, and you, their supposed leader, just give yourself up like that?"
At the question, Sonya scoffed.
"Don't mistake their behavior for loyalty or bravery. They simply have nothing to tie them to life. That's how they were raised, that's how they were trained. As for me, I have things to live for."
Her subordinates from the Intelligence Department were orphans, children of criminals, or even criminals themselves with brainwashing. They were indoctrinated to have no fear of death.
But to Sonya, that wasn't bravery.
Someone who's never had anything doesn't fear losing it either.
She, on the other hand, had things she didn't want to lose.
She didn't fear death, but what came after, what would happen to those under her care.
The man before her smiled and handed her a small portrait, the kind that should hang from a necklace.
"You mean them?"
Sonya's expression changed for a moment. The image showed three dark elf girls.
Her and her two sisters.
That should've been in her necklace, one she hadn't even realized was missing.
She knew she had no way to oppose the man in front of her, so she chose to be honest.
"Yeah, they're my younger sisters."
Kaito smiled at her sincerity. Intelligent people were much easier to deal with.
"So, are you joining me to protect them? Are you afraid I'll hurt them? There are a lot of dark elves, I don't plan to go around killing them all."
"It's not just that" Sonya said.
"The current elven king is a terrible ruler. He banished me from the capital out of fear that I'd steal his power. He got his position purely by luck, the death of his relatives. Instead of seeking strong allies, he fears them.
I've been thinking of stepping down for a while. So joining you doesn't sound that bad. You seem to have potential."
"I see" Kaito nodded.
"And your sisters?"
"Well, it's impossible for you to ignore them.
After all, they're the ladies of the two closest cities.
Nareth and Veldris."
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+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)