"Let me introduce him. A Shadow Ninja—you can think of him as one of my foot soldiers."
Rogue blinked blankly. Looking at the Shadow Ninja's glowing red eyes and dark crimson pupils, she could not help shuddering. "This is a foot soldier?"
"If that doesn't sound nice, you can call him a lackey instead."
"Are you kidding me?"
"Who's kidding you? Don't forget, I'm the master of the Shadow Dimension." Aaron spoke with a proud expression. "I have plenty of soldiers like this under my command. They're just not very convenient to bring into the real world."
"Learning the next Kamar-Taj spell is simple. Just defeat him.
Don't worry, he's not as strong as I am. He's only about as capable as an ordinary special forces soldier... probably."
"I'll give it a try!"
Rogue took a deep breath and silently made up her mind.
Aaron smiled teasingly and cleared a space for Rogue and the Shadow Ninja to fight.
Rogue spread her palm, and an orange-red Energy Whip condensed into shape.
The Shadow Ninja was far more direct, drawing a katana from behind his back.
"Begin!"
At Aaron's command, Rogue attacked first. Her orange-red Energy Whip lashed out with a howl.
The Shadow Ninja neither dodged nor retreated, swinging his katana to meet it.
Orange-red sparks flashed as the Energy Whip wrapped around the katana.
Rogue decisively flicked out another Energy Whip, attacking the Shadow Ninja from the side.
I've won. This is in the bag!
Rogue thought to herself, a smile unconsciously appearing at the corners of her mouth.
Yet just as she thought victory was assured, the Shadow Ninja abandoned his blade and performed a backflip, avoiding the incoming whip.
After steadying himself, the Shadow Ninja charged swiftly toward Rogue.
"Don't even think about it." Rogue snorted. The