Dead Of Night [Pt 2]

Elish had half a mind to mete out punishment to these fools, but merely doing so would not benefit him. Besides, it was only a matter of time before their employer came into play.

As such, he decided to take another route with the interference.

"Or what?" Replying smugly, he maintained his calm demeanor and observed the crowd some more.

"We'll make you!" The one who appeared to be their leader instantly brandished his blade as he donned a threatening glare.

The rest of the bandits drew their blades as well, prepared for an all-out assault. 

'So, we're going for a fight, huh?' Elish sighed as he stared at the men.

The total number of the thugs was thirty-five. By using [Hex #77: Spatial Interference], Elish could manipulate the space within his range, as well as know everything and objects within said range. 

That meant that currently, he knew the position, numbers, and other in-depth details of everything within his range. 

Not only that, he could change the location and other details of such objects.

'Thirty-five skilled assassins. This is actually a perfect opportunity.'

"New slave, you're up," Elish swiftly turned to the shape-shifter behind him.

A moment of silence ensued as they both made eye contact.

Until… 

"W-W-What?" The disguised young man let out, his face depicting how surprised and caught off guard he was.

Elish smiled in response.

"It's time to prove your worth. I didn't buy you for decoration, you know?" 

"B-But I can't," He muttered, stepping back as he looked around him in obvious anxiety.

The shape-shifter wasn't wrong, but he wasn't right either. 

Elish could understand that he was indeed weak. For him to be captured in the first place showed a lack of strength. He definitely wasn't like Astra, who was betrayed. 

However, there was something about this shape-shifter that drew Elish to him.

"Do it," Elish told him in a disconcerted tone.

"B-But I already told you..." The slave tried to explain, but he just couldn't find the words.

Panic spread all over his face, as both he and his master ignored the mercenaries that seemed to be patiently waiting for them.

"[HEX 94: Protective Haven]," Elish muttered, generating a small orb that expanded into a small field surrounding Astra, the shape-shifter, and himself.

With such a luminescent glow offering safety, all eyes became drawn to it.

"With this, they won't be enough to touch us," Elish smiled, talking to the two who stood beside him.

"Ah, what a relief," Astra heaved a sigh.

However, now wasn't the time for rest… at least, not for the shapeshifter.

Elish immediately snapped his fingers, and suddenly the slave was outside the field. His eyes expressed instant shock as to what was done to him.

"What are you doing? Let me back in! It's not fair," He yelled, banging the transparent barrier blocking them. 

However, he was met with the coldest stare anyone could receive from Elish.

"I'll let you in, but only after you defeat them." 

"But how can I?".

"That's enough!" Elish finally raised his voice, causing the slave to tremble in surprise and fear of the outburst.

Spatial Interference allowed Elish to see the qualities and properties of objects within his range. As his slave, the shapeshifter was an object, and as such, Elish could see his properties as he pleased. 

Using this, he came to discover something about his slave—well, more like two things. Perhaps this was the reason he felt drawn to buy him.

"You're not just a shape-shifter. Are you?" Elish asked with a raised brow.

The instant this was said, the slave's eyes widened in shock. 

His face told it all, and it almost felt like he was thinking, "How did you know?"

"You're another variant of shifters. A Shadow shifter…"

"Y-You knew. H-How. Why would you…?" The distraught slave muttered, almost to himself.

"Oi, that's enough! You're ignoring us, huh?!" An underling yelled from the distance, drawing close to the still puzzled and raising his sword to strike him.

'I wouldn't do that if he were you, small fry.' Elish smiled, watching from behind his barrier.

The mercenary drew nearer, and the leader didn't even stop him. Perhaps this was their way of testing the waters.

However, they had made one big mistake…

"Shut up!" The slave yelled, glaring at the incoming man.

What happened afterward came as a surprise to nearly everyone who watched.

~WHUUUUSH!~

Several spikes swiftly emerged from beneath the stationary slave, all of them previously locked within his shadow.

The black spikes pierced the entire body of the assaulter, who twisted and turned as he was ripped and drilled into by the sharp shadow spikes. 

~SPLOOOSH!~

Blood gushed out of the holes the spikes had pierced and from the mouth of the impatient bandit.

"Gurghhh" The bloodied man finally let out, before being tossed aside by the shadow spikes and left to die a violent death.

The other bandits instantly grew apprehensive the moment they witnessed the ruthless execution of their comrade, all of them taking a guarded stance.

"Fine. I just have to kill them all, right?" The slave finally resolved, turning away from Elish and facing the enemies.

"Yeah, make it quick," Elish added.

"Understood," He said, almost mechanically.

'I made the right choice buying him, after all.'Elish smiled as soon as he heard his slave's words

Why?

Shadow shifters are beings who can basically manipulate their shadows. They are very rare variants of the shifter race. 

But that was not all. 

They were extremely weak during the day. However, the closer it got to midnight, the stronger they became. 

During the night, they were nightmares and were phenomenally more powerful and unstoppable. 

And that worked perfectly well for Elish now.

"I'll end this quickly. Before it gets too late," the bloodied slave whispered, glancing at all thirty-four of his enemies.

"All of you… come!"

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[A/N]

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