”As if I let…”

*tsss*

Ehmi snorted and raised her head pridefully – until suddenly something touched her shoulder and her flame armor went out like a match sprayed with water.

”…you…? Eh…? Eh…?!”

”?!?!!?!??!”

”?!?!?!?!?!?”

*thump*

Ehmi gasped in disbelief – but she wasn’t the only one shocked.

The possessed judge turned into a darkness magician literally stumbled back and fell on his back starring in terror at something behind the girl.

”…”

Ehmi breathed out and looked over her shoulder.

”Rethaq, Kiorterell… You **ers DARE to speak about peaceful death after what you did to MY MOTHER…?!”

The creature that was by the crimson-haired girl’s side growled, breathing pure hatred and fury – what was supposed to be murky-black demonic armor swelled up into a beastly shape with thick paws sporting massive claws composed of darkness, ice, light, and fire attributes.

At the first glance, the head of the beast was almost cute – until it opened its jaws, revealing a mouthful of fangs in multiple rows – far too many for anyone to be able to sleep calm after seeing it – some of which were created using variant attributes that no one in that world even heard about.

”Z-Zoe…?”

Ehmi trembled at the sight and asked cowering fearfully under the touch of one of the paws, although she was not being directly harmed in any way – her body was feeling weak as if someone was draining all energy out of her…

…which wasn’t that much off from what was actually happening – but instead of energy, it was her mana getting siphoned out at a breakneck speed…

”You… know us…? And what was that about your mother…?”

”As if we remember every trash that we play around w…”

*SLASH*

The voices tried to laugh off the beast’s words, but before the male one could finish his sentence, the creature disappeared from Ehmi’s side only to show up right in front of the possessed man and cut him into several slices with a single swipe of its paw.

”…your death will not be peaceful…”

”!!!!!”

Ehmi shivered as the flesh, blood, and guts sprayed everywhere followed by the horrible whisper that was even worse than the bloodcurdling roar.

Where the judge was only a second ago a judge was trying to get up, a thick cluster of black mist was hanging over a barely recognizable pile of gore.

”…so annoying… Where is Evorietto? Did you contact him already?”

”…”

The same female voice asked in annoyance, but this time the male one did not respond to her.

”Kiroterell…? What is it? Did the commander catch us…?”

The female voice asked again and the cluster of black mist fluctuated nervously – without any answer.

”~!”

”Another one of those? How are they showing up like that…?”

Rethaq gasped in confusion when another murky-black orb materialized out of her own mist without any involvement on her part.

”This is a sentinel who was created to force a Ghost of Bellcephora whose darkness blade was a mist to materialize back into a corporeal form.”

The murky shadow beast raised its head and declared as its voice became much more composed…

”Wha…? But I am the only one who…GHYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHH?!”

The thickest part of the mist pulsated as the woman spoke in confusion before the ungodly pain assaulted every particle that composed her and forced it back into a single humanoid shape.

”…wha… how…?! HOW?!”

A tall and terribly skinny woman with long silky-black hair crawled up on all fours and gasped in utter disbelief as her face twisted in a horrifying grimace.

”Turning into the mist is easy – I figured it out on my own – as I said, this little guy was created for the sole purpose of annihilating you.”

The shadow beast shrugged its shoulder and the next moment, just like it said, it exploded into a layer of mist that caked the whole arena including every single sleeping audience member, before getting sucked back to its center and materialized into the black-haired boy with clear eyes lighted up by hatred.

Oh? And here I thought it will be the time for the original personality to shine!

Ludier’s shadow spoke up from Zoemi’s mind sounding just as surprised as he claimed to be.

|Fuck him. As if I let anyone other than me kill the repugnant filths that tormented my mother.|

The boy’s response was simple and to the point – Ludier’s shadow had nothing to comment on, things would be the same for him after all.

|That said – the other pervert who possesses people already tries to get away so go out there and hold him for me.|

Zoemi added, glancing to the side where a green-haired person from the audience that was supposed to be asleep was cautiously crawling away from their seat as their hair was turning silky-black.

Oho! With pleasure, kid!

The command wasn’t even necessary – Ludier cheered out happily and his unique shadow emerged from beneath Zoemi’s feet…

”…the hell…?!”

Rethaq eyes widened as a spear-armed humanoid with horns and spikes covering his body launched itself from the black-haired boy’s shadow and skewered someone in the audience, turning them into ice sculptures too fast to properly comprehend what was happening.

”Trashy mist, are you sure it’s a good idea to look away?”

”Eh…?”

Before Rethaq shook off the shock, she heard Zoemi’s voice from her left although she was definitely facing him the second earlier – and then turned to the side to see him, he was indeed there – with massive black wings sprouting from his lower back.

”Raseriat left me this – but yours will be worthless.”

The boy shrugged his shoulders and the wings flapped accordingly, releasing rens of murky black feathers that all floated towards the flabergasted member of the Ghosts of Bellcephora.

”Ras-Raseriat…?! No! IMPOSSIBLE! IT WASN’T THE ICE MAGICIAN?!”

Rethaq managed to shake off the shock and jumped back while shouting.

Her face got serious and it seemed she was about to use her spell again…

”KGHYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH…!”

…the moment she tried a burning pain assaulted every cell of her body, bringing her down to her knees…

”How is that possible…?! My body isn’t made of flesh and blood anymore…!”

She growled trying to get back up – but the moment she did…

*shing* *shing*

Two floating feathers grazed her arms.

*thump* *thump*

*SPLURT*

”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The inconspicuous harmless-looking feathers ended up cutting off the upper limbs at the points where they touched the Rethaq’s body – the left one at the shoulder, the right one slightly above the elbow.

Both arms fell to the ground just to sink into it as if the ground turned into the quicksand, while the thick darkness imitating blood gushed out of the stumps giving the silky-black-haired woman enough shock to stumble back and fell on her back as she watched the escaping darkness, completely speechless.

”This… this is nothing…! You overconfident brat, do you think that someone like me can’t even…!”

Rethaq shook her head and rolled on her side before kneeling up and gritting her teeth as she hissed at the black-haired boy glaring down at her.

”…”

The member of the Ghosts of Bellcephora frowned in concentration, moving her stumps to the side as if she expected brand new arms to sprout out of them.