A Test

Furano's morning arrived later than usual.

The heavy snowfall blocked out the sun, shrouding the entire town in bleak gray-white. Police sirens tore through the silence, while red and blue lights looked especially glaring against the snow-covered streets.

Outside Skyward Flower Shop.

Mai wore a thick down jacket and gripped a broom, frowning at the yellow police tape stretched up ahead.

"Someone died?"

Shiyue Shuo leaned against the doorframe, holding a steaming cup of coffee as his gaze drifted. Last night's confrontation had drained much of his energy. Though no fight had broken out, being mocked like that still left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Yeah. The police said it was sudden brain death."

Shiyue Shuo took a sip of coffee, its bitterness spreading across his tongue. He had kept wondering whether he should go back and help everyone, but with his current strength, he truly would not be much help.

"Want to take a look?" Shiyue Shuo asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Obviously." Mai tossed him the broom. "I may not be a sorcerer anymore, but something this strange happened right outside my home. I can't just pretend I didn't see it."

She pulled out the revolver that had accompanied her for years from her down jacket pocket and skillfully checked the cylinder.

"Let's go, Mr. Ghost."

The crime scene was a narrow back alley.

Several uniformed police officers were examining the scene. The snow on the ground had been trampled into a filthy mess. The victim had already been loaded into an ambulance, leaving behind only a human-shaped depression.

Shiyue Shuo and Mai stood at the alley entrance.

"Can you tell anything?" Shiyue Shuo asked.

Mai adjusted her glasses. Though she was now an ordinary person, her unusual soul still allowed her to sense a certain amount of cursed energy.

"This is strange." Her expression turned puzzled. "It's... too clean here. Cursed spirits usually leave behind tainted residue after killing someone, but there's nothing here. Only..."

She crouched down and brushed a finger across the snow.

The snow there was not pure white. It was mixed with extremely fine black particles.

"What is this?"

The instant Mai's fingertip touched those black particles.

A sudden change erupted.

The shadows in the alley, once still, suddenly roiled like boiling water. The shadows cast by the high walls on either side seemed to come alive, stretching and twisting in an instant before forming two pitch-black humanoid outlines that "stood" up from the ground.

No one had time to react.

Two blades formed from shadows sliced in a cross at the crouching Mai with piercing shrieks through the air.

"Watch out!"

Mai reacted incredibly fast, practically rolling backward on instinct.

Bang! Bang!

Two gunshots rang out.

The bullets struck the shadow soldiers squarely in the head.

Yet the bullets passed through them as though through smoke, slamming directly into the wall behind them and scattering a few sparks.

Two holes appeared in the shadow soldiers' heads, but in the blink of an eye, black mist surged around them and instantly filled the gaps in their foreheads.

Their movements did not pause in the slightest. If anything, they became even faster.

"Physical attacks don't work?" Mai's pupils constricted sharply.

That defied common sense. Even cursed spirits could be injured when attacked. What exactly were these things?

Just as the shadow blades were about to touch Mai's neck.

A hand cut in between them.

Thud!

Shiyue Shuo stood before Mai and caught both shadow blades with one hand. A faint golden light covered his palm—the physical strength granted by the [Ox] Talisman.

"They're pretty strong."

Shiyue Shuo sneered and abruptly clenched his fingers.

Crack!

He crushed both shadow blades by force. Then he twisted at the waist and lashed out with a roundhouse kick.

There was no fancy technique behind that kick, only an unrestrained release of power.

The compressed air formed visible ripples.

Boom!

The upper body of the shadow soldier in front of him exploded at once, turning into black mist that filled the air.

"Did we get it?" Mai climbed to her feet, raising her gun warily.

"No." Shiyue Shuo stared at the black mist. "The trouble is only beginning."

The exploded black mist did not disperse. Instead, as if drawn by some magnetic force, it rapidly reassembled in midair. In less than three seconds, that Shadow Warrior stood in the same spot again, completely unharmed.

But deeper in the alley, more and more red eyes lit up.

Three, five, ten...

At that moment, they no longer bothered to hide.

"Ordinary physical attacks are useless against them," Shiyue Shuo said grimly. "They're not ordinary shikigami, nor are they cursed spirits. They're 'shadows.'"

"Then what do we do? Run?" Mai gritted her teeth. "My bullets don't work on them."

Shiyue Shuo looked around. Several corpses lay scattered through the alley, and the exit had already been sealed off. Dense clusters of Shadow Warriors crawled over the walls and utility poles, surrounding them like spiders.

"The talismans' power can hurt them."

"But."

Shiyue Shuo looked at the shadow soldiers before him. With the abilities he could currently use, he could not kill them all while protecting Mai.

Wait.

Shiyue Shuo's gaze fell on Mai behind him.

Mai might be an ordinary person, but she had been modified by the talismans, and she had even ignored Shiyue Shuo's restraints. That proved the world had not forcibly interfered with her.

If...

If Mai were used as a medium to release the talismans' power...

"Mai."

Shiyue Shuo suddenly turned and grabbed Mai by the wrist.

"What are you doing?!" Mai jumped in fright. The situation was critical—what was this guy trying to do?

"Lend me your body for a moment."

"Huh? Have you lost your mind at a time like thi—"

Before Mai could finish cursing him out, she felt an immense, terrifying torrent of heat rush brutally into her body through Shiyue Shuo's palm.

The explosive power of [Dragon].

"Guide it!" Shiyue Shuo roared by her ear. "Don't resist! Fire it out!"

Mai's face flushed red from the sudden power scorching through her. She felt as if her veins were about to burst. The force rampaged through her body, searching for an outlet.

Instinctively, she raised her revolver and aimed at the swarm of Shadow Warriors lunging toward her.

Though she had no idea what to do, her former experience as a sorcerer remained. Her instinct for constructing techniques was still there.

Mai pulled the trigger.

There was no bullet in this shot.

Boom!!!

A crimson beam erupted from the muzzle.

It was as though a red sun had risen inside the narrow alley.

The dozen or so Shadow Warriors at the front did not even have a chance to turn into black mist before they were instantly vaporized by the terrifying energy.

It worked. The talisman's power had been released through Mai. This time, Shiyue Shuo had used twenty percent of his strength, yet nothing changed in the sky. The world had judged this attack as Mai's.

The price was—

An enormous recoil. After all, Mai was not the true owner of the talismans. Like Shiyue Shuo had once been, she was merely a borrower.

Mai was flung backward, and Shiyue Shuo hurriedly caught her.

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