How To Kill A Shadow Creature

Arlo tapped my shoulder and looked at Iris with a difficult expression.

"I thought we were going to stop the great collision and prevent the destruction of both worlds?" Arlo's voice wasn't quivering at all; he faced Iris with bravery. I eyed Iris and decided to speak,

"Arlo, I think we should train first. I've heard that you specialize in healing, right? Can you protect yourself using only that ability?"

Arlo fell silent. He knew that with his current state, he wouldn't be able to survive in an apocalypse.

I looked at the palms of my hands, "I can't do anything, unlike any of you. So, I think I'd like to get stronger... no, I need to get stronger."

My eyes were beaming with determination; I couldn't bear being a weakling anymore. A girl must fight!

"Don't let me down, okay?" Iris caressed my hair.

I nodded firmly. Then, I looked at Arlo. He seemed to be conflicted.

"What's the matter, Arlo?" I asked him.

He averted his gaze from me and stared at the bloodied floor.

"No, it's just..."

The librarian lady smiled politely, "You can think about it along the way. Just don't be a burden and train yourself."

I was inevitably left confused, "Eh?? Why, Arlo?"

"It's just I..." His answer was cut by an unexpected event.

A skeleton stood up, bathed in blood and filth. I could hear the clanking sounds of its bones meeting the floor.

"Huh?!" Arlo flinched.

Ray withdrew her sword and prepared herself to attack the skeleton.

"What is that?" I cried in fear.

At that time my legs were shaking from the rushing dread. My breath got heavier as the horror started to unfold in front of my eyes.

"Isn't it what we saw from the amulet?" Arlo asked.

"Yes, that thing is one of those shadow people," Iris answered.

The short-haired girl pondered, "I thought I'd killed it already."

"Well, you haven't."

Iris ran towards the skeletal figure and lifted her glass staff. She pointed her glass staff at it before proceeding to chant unfamiliar words.

The skeletal figure was trying to grab Iris's glass staff, but its movement got delayed. Iris had slowed down its movement.

"Ray, attack!" She shouted at the sword wielder behind me.

Ray ran towards the slow shadow creature and swung her sword fiercely. Her sword was flaming with blue fire, causing a change of atmosphere within the temple.

Iris retreated casually and sat down near me. The librarian lady withdrew a snack bar from her pocket and proceeded to eat it.

Ray kept slicing the skeletal figure with her sword. She broke the bones of the shadow creature many times. Her movement was quick and almost unbeatable, but the skeleton figure always managed to rebuild itself and fight back even though its movement was extremely slow due to Iris's skill.

As Iris ate the snack bar, she posed a question, "How did you manage to knock it out before?"

Ray, who was busy slashing the shadow creature, maintained an expressionless face.

"I kept on slicing this thing. Then, it finally fell into pieces," the sword wielder said.

She was soaked in sweat, and her shirt was transparent. I felt my cheeks heat up when I saw her black bra. I was ashamed of myself because she was working hard to kill the shadow creature, yet I was staring at her sweat-drenched body.

I lowered my gaze, but then her thighs came into perfect view. Her upper thighs were covered in tight hotpants. Ray was truly a woman; she could behead me, and I'd thank her.

"You're taking so long," Iris commented.

Her voice pulled me back to reality. I looked at Iris, who was hungrily eating the snack bar.

I tapped her arms, "Can't you help her, Iris?"

She smiled, "I want to see what she's capable of."

Then, I could hear the clanking sounds of bones falling on the floor. The skeletal figure collapsed, but its skull remained intact.

"You're weaker than I thought," Iris said to the sword wielder.

Ray remained as expressionless as ever. She didn't even wince at Iris's mean words.

The sword wielder touched the remains of the skeletal figure, "I'm afraid this shadow creature will stand up again."

"You just gotta crack the head open and slash its brain," said Iris casually.

"Is that so?"

Ray swung her blade and split its head in half. Arlo and I shuddered at the gruesome sight.

Ray picked up the two halves of the shadow creature's skull and examined them closely. I approached her to see the skull. I was scared but intrigued.

"Can I have a look?"

Ray nodded, letting me see them. I saw a brain cut in two and blood everywhere. I felt nauseous looking at it.

"We should go now. It's not safe here," said Ray to the librarian lady.

Iris continued to eat a snack bar. She seemed to have a lot of them with her.

"Nowhere is safe, sweetie. You should know that by now."

I gulped after hearing Iris's reply. Arlo's pretty face became pale. He was gritting his teeth.

"I should've brought my sheep along."

Arlo was trying his best to hide his emotions, but he couldn't fool our perception. Because his eyes were teary and his breath was shaky.

Iris caressed Arlo's hair to reassure him; she was as caring as a mother.

"If nowhere is safe, where should we go?" I asked the caring librarian lady.