The Sword and The Shadow

Blackjack gathered his impetus and waved his hand in a semicircle. A few Bloodhand members suddenly felt deep gashes appear on their bodies. They screamed and retreated. Taewon raised his two axes chaotically. His strength was too great, so, though his swings didn’t have any technique, several enemies were still injured. All the small fry quickly backed off in horror. Apart from the mid-order warriors, nobody could approach the two.

The men quickly started to fight among themselves again around their dueling leaders. The brotherhood’s overall strength had weakened, but the losses were only in their peripheral branches, their headquarters’ strength was still completely intact. Blackjack could be considered among the most famous people in the city, but he was inferior to Taewon. His gang was at a similar disadvantage compared to the brotherhood. It had already lost about a third of its weaker members and two of its elites.

Blackjack lacked the staying power to duke it out with his opponent. At best his group could last half an hour. His opponent, however, despite his clear advantage, didn’t look relaxed. He knew Blackjack. His methods disgusted others, but he wasn’t a fool. He certainly wouldn’t take on a fight he knew he couldn’t win. He must have something up his sleeve. He had to take the bastard out before he could pull whatever rabbit he had out of his arse.

He roared and upped the pressure. His arms carved through the air with wild abandon. He just had to keep this up for a few more minutes and his opponent would crumble. It didn’t take long for moderately serious wounds to appear on Blackjack’s body. He stumbled a couple of steps back from a bad hit, and Taewon seized the chance. He leapt at his opponent and slashed out with his axes.

Here it comes! Blackjack paled.

This was Taewon’s signature move. He leveraged his size and strength to carve his enemies in half with a double strike. He broke bodies and weapons with the strike like there was no difference between the two. This was the very strike that had nearly ended him the last time they’d fought.

He moved to parry with his scimitars. The strike’s unfathomable force burst into his arms. He prayed they didn’t splinter like so many bamboo shoots. The force shove him back but he managed to stay on his feet. He was dead if he lost his footing now.

“Haaaargh!” Taewon roared again, coming in for a second strike.

Damn it! He’s not acting yet?! Blackjack screamed internally. His eyes twitched at the maniac’s roar. He roared in turn and raised his scimitars to block again.

Clang!

He barely resisted the second strike. Though he tried his best to grip his weapons, they were sent flying again.

“To hell with you!” Taewon screamed. He’d learned his lesson and closed the distance so the bastard couldn’t avoid his strike again.

Time slowed to a crawl. Blackjack’s eyes darted around hoping to glimpse his terrifying savior, but nothing came. He closed his eyes, cursing the fiend, and awaited death’s embrace. His eyes opened two seconds later when death had yet to come, just in time to see Taewon collapse, his eyes nearly falling out of their sockets. A shadow stood behind him, whispering something as he watched the poor sod crumble.

Eirinn? Who’s that? What three fingers? Taewon’s last thoughts echoed.

Blackjack stared at the shadow, his mouth on the floor.

“Loden, you…” Blackjack muttered.

“I’m not Loden,” the shadow answered.

But he was, surely anyone who knew that face would recognise him! Blackjack was suddenly struck, wasn’t Loden a little taller than he used to be?

“Mister Dark Requiem…” Blackjack murmured. Death and fighting hung in the thick clouds of dust all around him, but he bowed respectfully.

“You did well,” the figure nodded, “Bloodhand is cleaned up. Deal with the rest.”

Blackjack looked around. Bloodhand was winning just moments earlier, but now only one of their five mid-order elites was still breathing and the last one was only barely still holding on.

How–? Blackjack’s scalp numbed. He was confident in winning the fight in an ambush, but this was just ridiculous. The man was death itself.

“Mister Dark Requiem–” his words stuck in his throat when he lifted his head. The shadow was gone… as though it had never been there.

“A ghost…”

{Blending in successful!} Leguna hid in a dark corner and looked at the stupefied man, a satisfied smile on his face.

{You even used one stage of Host of Darkness for this? Not to mention Shadow Blink and Shadowedge?! Are you retarded?! They’re your trump cards! You can’t use them so easily!} Gahrona shouted.

{Hehehe, well… I couldn’t resist…}

{Never again, you hear me?! I forbid it!}

{No worries, I won’t!}

{Hmph!}

As furious as she was, she couldn’t deny understanding what was going through the kid’s head. Leguna was, after all, still just 17 years old at most. Of course he would be rash and capricious. Everyone around him were leagues more powerful than he, so he never got to enjoy the feeling of being powerful. He only ever felt weak and inadequate, so of course he would become shallow when he finally realised he was actually pretty decent. He was now very arrogant and prideful.

This was unacceptable. For an assassin to reveal their trump cards meant they were at the end of their life and would soon be dead. He looked apologetic, but she didn’t think he’d actually taken her scolding to heart. She would have to keep hammering it into his dumb skull for a while longer.

Blackjack was shouting non-stop, ordering the brotherhood’s men to surrender and submit to him.

{He’s quite obedient, huh,} Leguna thought.

{He can’t resist you, so he won’t even think about it.”

Leguna had driven the poor man to the brink of insanity over several days. If he still had any thoughts of rebellion after that, he wasn’t human. In return for his obedience, Leguna offered to rid him of the brotherhood and let him take what was left.

The man’s original plan was just to take part of the commercial street, but with Leguna’s backing, it turned into just a ploy to get Taewon somewhere isolated to kill him.

Leguna didn’t care about the underworld politics, though, he just wanted to kill off the band’s leadership. With that accomplished, he had no want to stay.

“I’ve been gone for half a month. Time to go back.”