Darkness loomed over the office.
Countless shadow spikes emerged from its depths, all pointing towards the same target.
Zhao Xue.
She knew she had to flee quickly. She darted forward and easily broke through the locked door with her shoulder.
Is.h.i.+da narrowed his eyes. "Looks like I was right."
He had witnessed the girl"s little disappearing act. His first thought was that she turned invisible so that she would worm her way out undetected. However, there was a little voice in his head that whispered that she was up to something else.
The unsightly hole in the door proved that she had indeed been following them.
"How...gallant," he mocked, "But let"s see how far your courage can get you."
The shadows on the floor snaked forward, heading in Zhao Xue"s direction.
She could sense them before she saw them.
When she turned her head, she was met with the sight of shadow spears slicing through the air, hoping to hit and locate her.
Is.h.i.+da leaped from shadow to shadow, closing the distance between himself and his target. He might not be able to see her, but his spears would be able to pierce her. They combed the long corridor, weaving through the air gracefully.
From a distance, it would look like the entire building was being swallowed by darkness.
Zhao Xue willed her legs to carry her forward faster.
She knew that her opponent was at an advantage here. Shadows were created when an object blocks light. In here, there was an endless number of surfaces, corners, and things that could generate shadow after shadow.
"I have to take the fight outside," she thought, brows st.i.tched together in determination.
Just as she was about to formulate a plan, a gentle swoosh sounded above her.
The fire sprinklers had been activated.
Zhao Xue paled as jets of water rained on her.
She brought a foot down on the floor with alarming strength, propelling her body dozens of meters forward with a loud boom.
She had been moving noiselessly because she hoped to remain undetected.
Unfortunately, she knew she was very much visible. The water showers had outlined her figure for the world to see.
Her invisibility had been rendered useless.
"Gotcha!" Is.h.i.+da chuckled darkly.
There was a flower pot by Zhao Xue. It cast a small shadow that was right next to her. He jumped right in, launching a handful of spikes towards her shoulder.
Matsuo lifted his hand from the mouse.
He glanced at the computer screen and said, "I"ve activated the entire sprinkler system. Is that all you need?"
Onitsuka and Sato nodded gleefully from next to him.
"You can control the entire building"s sprinklers from here? How convenient. And yes, this is enough. The only reason Lord Is.h.i.+da could not catch that girl was because she was invisible. Now, he would have no problem finis.h.i.+ng her."
With their eyes on the screen, no one noticed the venomous look that flashed past Meng Hao"s eyes.
He knew that this was his chance.
The muscles on the back of his hands began bulging and heaving, as if something was trying to nudge its way out. Coa.r.s.e, dark hair started to rise from the surface of his skin.
The shadow man could take him down, but he was no longer here now.
There was another boom.
This time, Zhao Xue had knocked down an office compartment. She fell into the room and swiftly rolled under a large table.
She raised her head to see Black Panther gaping dumbly at her.
"You!" he exclaimed, "Aren"t you the…"
He could see her because she was no longer invisible. Being invisible took energy. Now that the sprinklers could give her location away, continuing to conceal herself would just be a waste of that energy. The effort would be better spent on getting away.
Zhao Xue had no intention of fighting back either. There was no way she could attack some shadow monster that she could not even touch.
Before Black Panther could complete this sentence, the dark shadows had materialized in a corner of the room.
"I told you... You can"t get away."
There was a heavy swoop as dozens of shadow spikes rained on Zhao Xue, Black Panther, and the other people in the room.
"Move!" Zhao Xue shouted, grabbing Black Panther by the collar as she jumped out of the way.
The spikes impaled the table they had hidden under, hacking it into pieces.
They had narrowly missed their target, but they wasted no time in seeking them out again.
"S**t!" Black Panther cried in alarm.
Zhao Xue was about to launch into another jump when the scene before her changed.
All of a sudden, she was in another room. Her finger was still hooked tightly around Black Panther"s collar.
A man was standing before them. His back was against them, but she could see that he was dressed in a fine suit.
"What happened?" Zhao Xue asked, taking in the new surroundings with wide eyes.
She watched in horror as Black Panther struck the man with a karate chop.
The man hissed and fell forward from the impact. He twisted his head around to look at Black Panther.
"What is wrong with you?" he asked, his face contorted in pain.
Black Panther immediately helped Xiao Ming up, rubbing his lower back apologetically.
"I"m sorry, brother. Someone"s after us. We"ve got no choice."
As if on cue, a barrage of shadow spikes burst through the walls. It seemed that the duo did not manage to get too far from their previous location.
Black Panther gulped.
"We"ve got to go!" he exclaimed.
He grabbed Zhao Xue"s shoulder and they vanished.
Xiao Ming"s mouth fell open. He watched in stunned silence as the lethal shadows disappeared as well.
"What the heck?" he muttered.
He could recognize that what he saw was a battle between apostles. He had no intention to stay and get caught up with the rest of it. He knew very well how dangerous that could get.
He rubbed his back as he made his way out of the room.
"Boy, was he strong. I feel like my kidneys might be hurt."
That thought had barely crossed Xiao Ming"s mind when he heard a gentle thump. He could feel that someone had appeared behind him.
He was proven right when an overwhelming force a.s.saulted his lower back once more.
His mouth fell open in a silent cry. He snapped around to point an accusatory finger at his attackers, who turned out to be Black Panther and Zhao Xue. Again.
They both looked sincerely sorry.
"Have I offended you somehow?" Xiao Ming asked in despair.
Black Panther rubbed the top of his head. "I"m sorry, bro. It"s a bad habit. I suggest you put on a jacket. I"ll try not to strike you in the lower back next time."
"What…"
Xiao Ming"s words were cut off by a familiar boom. The shadows were back again. This time, they had blown up a hole in the ceiling.
When he turned back to Black Panther and Zhao Xue, they were gone.
Black Panther kept a firm grip on Zhao Xue"s shoulder. This allowed him to teleport both himself and her to his nearest bro. If there was no bro to be found in the immediate area, they would have to run until they found one. Then, he could teleport to the next.
Thankfully, there was no shortage of them tonight. He had led many of his sworn brothers here to make loans.
With the fire sprinklers turned on, they had dispersed around the building, hoping to find a good spot to avoid the waterworks.
Black Panther turned to Zhao Xue. "Lady, thank you for warning us about this place. A while after you left, some guys came in, shouting about how the high-interest rates destroyed lives. If it weren"t for you, I could"ve ruined my brothers" lives too."
Zhao Xue was only half-listening to this. She was still trying to make sense of the man"s interesting power.
"Are you an apostle too?" she asked.
"Yeah," he responded casually.
He spotted the shadow spikes creeping into the far end of the room. A heavy expression settled on his face.
"Don"t worry, lady. I, Black Panther, have made it this far because I"m a loyal bro. You"ve helped us today. In return, I"ll make sure you"ll leave this place unharmed."