He's out there!

"I can tell, you were merely testing me. Whether or not you intended to actually kill Haut..."

Ofcourse, I'm not planning on dying here after all.

In a blink of an eye, the girl twisted her body round. Her arm shot out, her hand clamping around the shadow's wrist.

The shadows around him flickered violently, as though they'd been gripped by a sudden, blinding pain.

The girl's gaze was unblinking, her smile unchanging.

"Do you really think you're the only one with powers? Because..." she chuckled softly. "You're so wrong."

"Let go of me!" the shadow snarled, his voice tight with fury as he struggled to break free.

The shadows around him swirled and thickened, the dark energy thrumming with anger and indignation.

"I said to let go of me," the shadow repeated, his tone full of menace, "and I meant it."

The shadow's eyes glared at her, his dark energy seething with fury. His face hardened as he stared into her eyes, and he made another attempt to break free.

"You don't know who you're messing with, girl. My master is a powerful being, far more powerful than you could ever imagine. I'm merely his humble servant. But do not think for a second that I don't have the power to end your life right here and now."

The shadow's gaze was dark and furious as he glared down at his captive, who was still gripped in the girl's ironclad grasp.

His dark energy intensified around him as his eyes narrowed in anger. "You'll regret this, girl."

Without warning, the shadows around him surged forward, enveloping the girl in darkness.

"What the-!" The girl's face twisted in shock as the shadows suddenly gripped her, enveloping her in darkness.

Instinctively, she lashed out, her body instinctively twisting and turning as she tried to fight her way free.

"Let go of me, you shadow bastard!"

"You have no chance against me," the shadow's voice echoed in the darkness, his tone mocking as he tightened his grip, his aura pressing down on her body with every word.

"That's enough struggle for now," the shadow continued, "I want you to stay right here, so your death will be less painful for you"

"Not a chance." Her voice was unblinking, her eyes burning like a flame, even in the darkness.

"You were already planning on killing me the second you stepped into the alley, weren't you?" Her voice tightened with anger, and her body began to struggle more viciously, thrashing against the shadow's grip.

"Yes and I hired Haut to kill you, but he failed to accomplish his mission and end up getting killed here like a pathetic dog, now stop struggling?" He growled, his voice still mocking as his grip tightened further. "Do you think your pitiful little body can break free from what I hold in check?"

His grip tightened a little more, and a faint grin appeared on his face.

"I could snap your spine in an instant if I wanted to. I'm only keeping you here so I can enjoy the look on your face as your life fades away..."

The girl's body suddenly jolted as her eyes widened in realization, her limbs freezing in place.

"Did you finally realize the situation you're in?"

Girl's expression darkened, her eyes narrowing in anger. "You tricked me."

The shadows around the girl flickered erratically as her anger built up, her body trembling with pent-up emotion.

The girl's body trembled, her eyes ablaze with a fire that was a mixture of anger and determination. "I should have known better than to underestimate you, shadow. But... I'm not just going to die that early, I don't want to die now"

"Don't count me out just yet," she hissed, her voice full of determination. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve that you haven't seen yet."

The shadows around the shadow stirred with annoyance, his voice cold and mocking. "Oh? And what are these tricks you speak of? I'm curious to see what a weak mortal child like you can do."

The girl's gaze hardened yet again, her determination burning brightly. "I warned you, shadow. I have abilities that you can't even imagine..."

"I know you are just bluffing, what could you possibly do to me?"

The girl chuckled "You're the one running out of time, shadow, not me. The longer you stand there talking, the more you're playing into my hand."

The shadow's expression darkened further, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Enough of this game, girl. I have no more patience left to spare with you. If you won't submit, then I'll be forced to take matters into my own hands."

"She struggled, but successfully touched her pocket, where she has stored metal for fights and turned them into spears, then she throw them all to the shadow, he hardly saved himself but lost grip from the girl.

The shadow's eyes widened in disbelief, the sudden onslaught of metal spears catching him completely off guard. He managed to narrowly escape, but the distraction was enough to let the girl slip free from his grip.

She jumped out of his web, and climbed the top of building my manipulating the shape of out, from out of the reach of shadow"

A servant of shadow came running to him he looks scared but more furious.

The girl stayed there noticing everything from far.

"S- shadow, that guy Haut! He stole our all materials from the hideouts!"

Shadow's expression darkened, his eyes filled with fury at the news.

"What?! But how? He's dead, upon looking at the dead body after torning up his mask he find out it wasn't Haut but someone else, he looked up at the girl and screamed, you fool! Whom have you killed he isn't Haut"

"Tch, how do I know, I have never seen him before"

Shadow's face went numb, so that punk sent someone else, he's such a pain, now I will have to deal with him, a new trouble!

And you, you mean to tell me that Haut has stolen all our materials?! That bastard, I'll tear him limb from limb!"

The servant of the shadow cowered under his enraged glare, his voice trembling. "Y-yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you. He somehow managed to sneak into all our hideouts and steal everything right under our noses."

The shadow's anger grew even more intense, his face twisted in fury. "That's impossible! How did he manage to slip past us like that? Did none of our defenses work against him?!"

The servant of the shadow shook his head, his face pale with fear. "I don't know how he did it. He bypass our defenses. We didn't even realize he was inside until he was already gone, with all our materials in hand."

The shadow's expression hardened further, his eyes filling with a mix of anger and determination. "I see. So he's not just a thief, he's a clever one as well. He's more dangerous than I thought."

The servant of the shadow nodded nervously, his voice still trembling. "Y-yes, sir. It seems he had already planned this out. He must have been watching us, studying our movements, waiting for the perfect moment to strike."