Round Fifteen: Phantom Shadows

Chloe tried to pull Moriel aside to avoid the falling debris, but the female mage dodged to the side, refusing her help.
A cold wind blew—the magical flames on Moriel’s staff flickered a few times before going out.
How could there be wind? And how could magical flames be extinguished by a gust of wind?
Before the sudden screams of the sailors could subside, sharp clashes of blades erupted in the darkness, as if two armies were engaged in a silent battle.
The flashes produced by the clash of magic and divine power exploded like fireworks in the cave, mixed with the sailors’ cries of terror—both shadows and sounds were bizarre.
Thuds from impacts filled the air. In fleeting flashes, a monstrous figure darted around, sending those hit flying silently, as if struck by a dinosaur—while that terrifying figure grew increasingly unhuman.
By the time Moriel reignited the magical flames, the Shrike believers lay dead everywhere, most of them with broken bones.
“I must admit, you’re much better at handling such sieges than I am,” Chloe said, drawing her sword in a flourish, as Forty-Seven pressed the last enemy’s head into the ground.
“My iron armor has no vents,” Forty-Seven said, pulling his bloody fingers out of the corpse’s head and removing the dagger stuck in his abdomen—actually just lodged in the flexible gaps of his steel armor—before uttering something incomprehensible to Chloe.
Where did these suddenly appearing Shrike believers come from?
The cold wind kept blowing in from where Forty-Seven had shattered the wall, along with wisps of mist—though it didn’t affect the eternal flames anymore.
“Let’s go that way,” Moriel said, leading the way toward the source of the wind.
Where?
Just one wall apart, it felt like heaven and earth.
There was no other light source except Moriel’s staff, but it was vastly better than the utter darkness before—like suddenly moving from a dark room to the outdoors. Though the sky above was gray, it was bright enough for Moriel and the others who had just emerged.
Mist swirled around their feet, reaching up to their waists, hiding even the floor.
Moriel narrowed her eyes.
Orlando was confronting a petite figure—dressed in a white dress with a red ribbon, standing about ten steps away from the Shrike assassin, seemingly unafraid that Orlando could snap her slender neck with a single leap.
“Little Red Riding Hood?” The little girl before her looked exactly like Kairo in Forty-Seven’s memory.
Seemingly hearing Forty-Seven’s voice, Kairo turned her face this way, as sweet and innocent as ever.
Orlando seized the opportunity to charge. Empowered by Shrike’s divine force, his movements were like a black lightning bolt—so fast that it seemed the attack itself vanished, as he immediately placed his sword and dagger across Kairo’s neck…

Morrill raised his hand, and five white light projectiles shot out in arcs. At such a moment, those powerful spells were no more effective than magic missiles in alleviating the crisis—anything that could delay him would do. Yet, 47 didn’t rush forward immediately; it was Chloe who acted first—the fog, like a carpet, seemed to tear apart as an invisible blade appeared before the flying female swordsman, aimed straight at Orlando.

The magic missiles and Chloe struck Orlando at the same time. Intense darkness surged from the assassin, forcing the female swordsman to leap back. Her slender sword was already stained with blood, while the magic missiles vanished silently, as if swallowed by the darkness.

Something rolled out of the darkness—it was Kairo’s small head. His pale face still bore a sweet smile. Wherever it rolled, the fog dissipated, until it stopped in front of Morrill. His eyes, devoid of pupils, stared blankly at the female mage.

The second spell trembled in Morrill’s hand before disappearing into nothingness. He stared in disbelief at Kairo’s head. The spells that had been firmly etched in his mind were on the tip of his lips, but he was too shocked by this sudden turn of events to speak. Was this the end?

“Damn it!” Chloe swung her sword, wiping away the bloodstains. “How dare you… It’s unforgivable!”

The darkness dispersed, but a faint layer of black mist still surrounded Orlando, making him appear like a dense, indistinct human shadow. Only a red spot on his chest was visible, growing larger. He laughed maniacally, his voice filled with evil. “Glory to Sherek! Hahaha… I’ve won! I’ve killed the Mist! Hahaha…”

Chloe rushed forward, unleashing a barrage of attacks to silence Orlando’s madness. As their figures blurred together and apart at ever-increasing speeds, the shockwaves from their weapons created a distorted, unreal atmosphere around them. With a sharp clang, Chloe was forced back again, her sword now reduced to a small fragment. Though unharmed, she was surprised that Orlando could shatter her weapon—even though it was just a random sword belonging to a Sherek cultist.

Orlando’s dagger was also gone; only his black long sword remained in his hand. Though he had repelled Chloe, he looked far more battered, with additional wounds on his shoulders and legs. Yet he seemed oblivious to it, and the bloodstains grew fainter—because the darkness around him grew denser, with countless black particles gathering around him. Within the expanding black boundary, one could even see those tiny particles merging and separating. “Die, you wretched creatures who dare defy the Eternal Darkness! Now witness the infinite power of the true god Sherek!”

As Orlando gathered his strength, Moriel also began preparing a powerful spell. Her slender fingers traced intricate patterns, and spells that could summon mysterious forces from nothingness echoed one after another. Driven by intense anger, Moriel delved her mental power deeper into the magic web than she had ever done before, drawing strength from sources of magic she still couldn’t control. A torrential surge washed over her thoughts, roaring as if at a furious bull that dared try to control its flow with such a fragile dam. It was entirely unknown where Orlando would head once she released the reins.

“It seems Little Red Riding Hood has gotten more skilled.” These cold words made Moriel stop in her tracks, stabilizing the increasingly bright beam of death in her hands.

Si Qishi had been watching from the side without even lifting a finger—this wasn’t his style.

Moriel felt a chill. She glanced at Si Qishi beside her, then at Orlando across from her, and at the girl’s head lying on the ground with eyes still open… It must be Kayro. Even she couldn’t spot any flaws, but Si Qishi’s words made her think something might indeed be wrong… Surprised, Moriel wondered if Si Qishi, who usually relied more on fists than thought, could see through the illusion that even she, a prophet mage, had been deceived.

Chloe also heard Si Qishi’s words. She looked at him in surprise, stepped back two steps with her broken sword, and did not attack again. For some reason, now that her hands were empty, she seemed sharper than when she had been attacking with a sword.

Orlando continued to grin maniacally, not in a hurry to attack, seemingly convinced he could control the situation. He had completely forgotten there was a high-level mage opposite him, a female swordsman whose speed and skill far surpassed his own, and a relentless steel monster—Si Qishi thought this fool’s mindset was similar to those in the early nuclear age who thought they were invulnerable just because they had an atomic bomb.

The black mist surrounding the killer had grown as tall as two people. Now, dressed entirely in black, Orlando was completely hidden within it, with only his pale face visible in the center of the pillar of darkness. Perhaps because of this, Orlando didn’t notice the changes in the black mist. As the black particles gathered and dispersed, the faint smile of a young girl gradually emerged from the darkness.

Even the sailors on the side could tell something was extremely wrong, with the situation growing increasingly bizarre—but Orlando seemed unaware: “Despair! Cry! Wail, foolish ones! I’ll make you pay for daring to defy the supreme Xirek!”

Si Qishi thought he was basically insane.

Since no one took the initiative to attack Orlando, he couldn’t keep putting on an act, always ready to shoot an arrow the moment the bow was fully drawn. Remaining in a state of constant readiness was not only exhausting but also likely to snap the bowstring and injure himself. The dark aura around Orlando surged inward and then expanded outward, attempting to swallow everyone whole… But that dense darkness merely stirred slightly without bursting forth. Orlando’s extremely arrogant expression grew increasingly ugly. Others might not be able to see the attacks he had already carried out within that dark mist, but the black energy, instead of spreading as he had expected to effectively kill his enemies, clung tightly to his body like a coffin, remaining motionless—a sight that was clearly visible to all. As Orlando was filled with confusion and anger, a series of silver-bell-like laughter reached his ears.

Hearing this laughter, Orlando’s expression resembled that of a hero returning to the city under enthusiastic cheers only to find himself inexplicably without pants.

“Ah… It was the same last time… Why can’t you learn?” The girl in the dark mist laughed even sweeter, but her voice seemed to come from nowhere, as if crossing infinite distances through time and space to strike directly at Moriel and the others’ eardrums. “Well then, I’ll just take it!”

Along with the silver-bell-like ending note, the dark mist began to spin rapidly—even the vast mist spread across the ground started to swirl around the darkness enveloping Orlando, as if being drawn into this black hole.

Orlando’s furious screams soon turned into hysterical cries of pain. His pale, emaciated face twisted and distorted in the dark mist, stretching and compressing—making it easy to imagine the agony he must be suffering if his body were truly being treated in such a way.

Except for Forty-Seven, everyone retreated. The scene was simply too astonishing and terrifying.

“It’s actually absorbing the Shirek divine power within that assassin…” Chloe stared intently at the writhing, spinning darkness, as if seeing something others couldn’t: “Is it for this? No wonder this journey has been such a mess…”

The power Moriel had gathered earlier hadn’t dissipated. Magic still flowed in her palms, but it was gradually transforming. The uncontrollable, unstable energy was abandoned and scattered back into nothingness, absorbed by the magic net and returning to its origin, while the energy that Moriel could use calmed down and quietly took shape under her control.

Orlando was still struggling desperately, but the mist tightened its grip. As it spun in vortices, the darkness gradually faded, as if settling and disappearing, leaving behind nothing but pure whiteness—intermittently streaked with bright red, Orlando’s blood.

“Thank you all…” The sweet voice rang out again, now clearly coming from that mass of mist, becoming more concentrated and tangible. “How about considering believing in me? There are many perks available now!”

The sailors exchanged glances, and even Simon, who claimed to have seen much of the world, was stunned. What was this? A magic ring for a mere 988 silver coins?

“Leave Kairo alone.” Moriel stepped forward, staring at the faint silhouette of the girl in the mist: “Please spare her, Honorable Lady of Mist… Not everyone can withstand divine power.”
The mist trembled, emitting a series of clear and pleasant laughs.
“Kairo? Oh—well, I really didn’t want this to happen…” the voice said, “But there’s no turning back now… Isn’t it an honor to become a vessel for a god and live forever? Think simply—just believe in me, and many problems will be solved.”
“Thank you, Honorable Lady of Mist…” Moriel’s magic was finally ready: “But I still prefer more complex methods!”
A pure, magically formed glow burst from Moriel’s hands, rushing like a cascading waterfall toward the condensed white mist. The beam instantly pierced through the mist, just as the dawn breaks through the night; the mage’s light exposed everything hidden within it.
Though seemingly immensely powerful, the light had no physical destructive force. Apart from Orlando’s ruined corpse, there was no sign of Kairo in the mist cleared by the light, but it created a small, lightless area where the white mist flowed slowly like a nebula. Without the illumination from the magic, it would have been impossible to detect.
Si Siqi reached out to grab the fist-sized clump of mist. His body twisted strangely as if losing balance, but his movement was even slightly faster than Chloe’s, perhaps simply because he was standing closer.
The mist seemed to dodge like a living thing, slipping through Si Siqi’s grasp but failing to avoid Chloe’s lightning-fast sword strike—Chloe exerted all her strength, causing the tip of her broken sword to slightly warp, creating a transparent blade out of thin air.
The invisible blade pierced the small mist cluster, giving the sensation of piercing a living heart. Countless vibrations, like heartbeats, reached the hilt, prompting Chloe to immediately release her grip to avoid the waves that could shatter her sword completely.
The mist surged upward, quickly escaping the range of the magical light and fading away—on the verge of disappearing entirely—
Si Siqi jumped up and grabbed it.
Blue-white flames erupted in his palm, as if ignited by something. His right arm burned fiercely and began to tremble violently.
“Let go,” Moriel said, seeing Si Siqi’s hands—stronger than the hardest metal—melting away. Those were divine seeds infused with both mist and dark sun energy!
“Let go!” The flames had already spread across half of Si Siqi’s body. Moriel ordered sharply.
A blinding flash erupted from Si Siqi’s hands, as if a thousand suns burst at once. Its intense brightness blinded everyone, giving them the illusion that they and the entire world had been torn apart into countless pieces.
“You idiot!” Moriel snapped angrily after regaining some vision. “Are you crazy? That’s divine fire! Trying to grab it with your hands! It will destroy you completely—nothing will be left!”

Forty-seven raised his hand and looked at Moriel through the hole in his palm that was slowly healing. “A little bit missed.” The cave began to shake, and the sea water that suddenly appeared beneath their feet rose at an extremely fast pace. There was no visible source of the water. The sailors quickly snapped out of their stupor at the incredible sight they had just witnessed and realized that if they didn’t escape this underground cave soon, they would all perish in this place that wasn’t really underground or on the sea floor. “What do we do? It’s too late to go back the way we came!” Rol shouted, wondering whether he could swim to the surface through the water passages. The conclusion was that finding an unblocked passage while avoiding collapsing rocks was simply impossible. Everyone stared at each other, unable to speak. Forty-seven glanced at Moriel, who had a furrowed brow, clearly not planning to escape alone on Forty-seven’s dragon form. “There’s wind…” Simon, who had been standing by, muttered suddenly before putting his index finger to his mouth. After taking it away, he spun it in front of him: “It’s this way!” “Why should we trust you? After all, it’s your fault we ended up in this situation!” The second officer shouted, expressing what most of the sailors were thinking. “As a captain, Simon is outstanding. Right now, everyone needs to save their lives—this isn’t the time to argue!” Rol said, then looked at Simon and the direction he indicated. In the distance, everything was dark, with no sign of an exit. The magical flame from Moriel’s staff was focused into a beam and shot out, but it only illuminated the mottled stone walls. “Hey…” Rol, who had just supported Simon, stretched his face and voice long, while the sea water had already reached his knees.