Chapter : 621

Luna sat on the dry ground inside the golden bubble. The lightning user rubbed her sleepy eyes. A knitted blanket covered her shoulders. She let out a massive, dramatic yawn.

"This is entirely too loud," Luna mumbled lazily. She pointed two fingers at a charging rival guard. "Zap."

A bright yellow lightning bolt shot from her hand. It zipped right through the golden shield. It struck the rival guard directly in the chest. The electricity shocked his nervous system. He dropped his massive axe. He fell face-first onto the wet stone. He did not get back up. Luna closed her eyes and rested her head on her knees.

Risa hid safely behind Princess Iris. The sweet pink-haired healer hugged her stuffed teddy bear tightly. She looked very scared. "I do not like this place. The rock monsters look very mean."

Ken Eliot sat on a broken piece of a stone pillar. He slouched his shoulders as far as they could possibly go. He wore his navy blue suit pants. His white dress shirt hung completely untucked over his belt. He did not wear a tie. His black hair stuck up in wild, messy spikes. He shoved his left hand deep into his pocket.

He held a large plastic bag of barbecue potato chips in his right hand. He reached into the bag. He pulled out a perfectly curled, crispy chip. He tossed it high into the air. He opened his mouth. He caught the chip perfectly on his tongue.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

He chewed his food happily. He let out a long, lazy sigh. He watched the massive three-way battle. He did not look scared at all. He looked incredibly bored.

"This is exactly like a battle royale video game," Ken mumbled casually to himself. He took another chip. "There are three different teams on the map. Friendly fire is turned off. It is total madness. The developers really need to balance this game mode. It is very chaotic. It requires way too much running around."

Naomi dashed across the safe zone. Her green wind magic swirled around her boots. She spun her twin silver daggers. She stopped right next to Ken. She smiled a very warm, bright smile. Her green eyes sparked with genuine affection.

"Are you enjoying the show, Ken?" Naomi teased gently. "Try to stay low. Some of those rocks are flying very close to your head."

Ken gave her a big, goofy grin. "I am perfectly safe, Naomi. I am a master of sitting still. It is a highly advanced martial art. Do you want a potato chip? They have an excellent crunch."

"No thank you," Naomi laughed softly. She turned her attention back to the fight. She prepared to defend the perimeter. She liked knowing Ken was safe behind her.

Gideon roared loudly on the other side of the room. The massive blonde warrior punched an aquatic golem. His metal gauntlet shattered the golem's face. The rock crumbled into dust. Gideon turned around. He glared at the 13th Unit.

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"Break their golden bubble!" Gideon ordered his men. "Smash the glasses girl! Take the relic!"

Four rival guards charged toward Sayma's shield. They swung their large broadswords. They hacked at the golden light. The barrier vibrated. Sparks flew into the air. Sayma pushed her boots against the floor. She held her ground.

Ken continued eating his chips. He casually looked at the charging guards. He scanned the chaotic battlefield with sleepy dark eyes.

Suddenly, Ken noticed something very strange.

A large rival guard stood near the edge of the room. The guard swung a giant iron mace. He fought a stone golem. A bright blue magical crystal glowed on the ceiling directly above the guard. The blue light shined straight down.

Ken looked at the guard's shadow on the floor.

The shadow did not match the lighting. The light shined from above. The shadow should point straight down. Instead, the shadow stretched far to the left. It looked incredibly long. It looked completely unnatural.

Ken stopped chewing his potato chip. He blinked his eyes. He tilted his head to the side.

"That is a massive graphical glitch," Ken analyzed lazily in his mind. He squinted his left eye. "The physics engine in this room is totally broken. The lighting dynamics are completely wrong. That shadow is lagging. It has a terrible ping rate. It is clipping through the floor textures."

Ken watched the unnatural shadow very closely.

The guard took a step backward. The guard raised his mace. But the shadow did not move with him. The shadow stayed perfectly still on the wet floorboards.

Then, the shadow detached entirely from the guard's boots.

It separated from the human completely. It became a totally independent, dark shape. It slithered across the smooth marble floor. It moved like a giant, flat black snake. It avoided the bright puddles of water. It glided through the darkest corners of the room.

It moved with absolute, terrifying silence.

The shadow did not go toward the fighting golems. It did not go toward Gideon. It headed directly toward the center of the 13th Unit's formation. It aimed straight for Princess Iris.

"Oh, wow," Ken thought casually. He popped another chip into his mouth. "That is not a glitch at all. That is an intentional game mechanic. It is shadow magic. Shadow magic is so incredibly cliché. It is definitely a ninja character. Ninjas always sneak around on the floor. I bet he wears a dark mask. They always wear dark masks."

The flat shadow slithered faster. It reached the very edge of Sayma's golden honeycomb barrier.

Sayma's shield was designed to block physical attacks. It was designed to block elemental magic. It stopped giant swords. It stopped massive fireballs. It stopped flying rocks.

But it did not stop pure, two-dimensional darkness.

The dark shadow simply slid right under the glowing golden wall. It passed through the solid light as if it did not exist. It entered the safe zone completely undetected. Sayma did not feel it. Zinia did not see it. Naomi was busy watching Gideon.

Ken watched the shadow crawl right past his shoes. He did not panic. He did not scream. He did not summon a god-like attack. He just slouched his shoulders even further.

"This is a very sneaky enemy," Ken mumbled lazily to himself. He shoved his free hand into his pocket. "He totally bypassed the tank's shield. He is going straight for the VIP. This is a classic assassination plot. Naomi is going to be very annoyed by this."

The shadow reached the space directly behind Princess Iris. The Princess stood completely still. She focused entirely on the chaotic brawl in front of her. She had absolutely no idea a lethal threat was sitting right at her feet.

The flat darkness began to rise. It pulled itself up from the floor. It defied gravity entirely. It grew tall. It gathered into a solid, three-dimensional shape. A human figure materialized from the pure blackness. The true enemy finally revealed himself in the center of the room.

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