Lying on the ground, Klein stared at the ceiling and felt the space inside his shadow grow quiet.
It was his shadow, after all. He could tell whether anyone was fighting inside it.
He could even control the space within it to some extent and move things around.
So he could tell quite clearly that Ince Zangwill was dead.
You were so weak, Ince Zangwill. I'll probably forget you by tomorrow.
Klein lay there, letting his thoughts wander.
Meanwhile, Leonard slowly settled Dunn against the only wall still standing, helping him sit upright.
Then Leonard sat down beside him and leaned against the wall too.
All three were spent. Two sat and one lay down, and none of them wanted to speak.
Then an idea suddenly struck Klein.
Only the summoner could complete a Subjugation ritual. If anyone else interfered, the Subjugation would fail.
But however he looked at it, Mahoraga was still his own Shikigami.
Even though Klein had not subdued him, that only meant he could not control him. Summoning him had still consumed Klein's Cursed Energy.
Which meant—
As his thoughts raced, an idea took shape.
He struggled to lift his heavy hands and formed a frog-shaped sign.
"Toad."
With a croak, a green-skinned toad appeared by his feet. Before it could steady itself, the ground vanished beneath it, and it fell into the shadow.
A few seconds later, Klein sensed that Toad had been subdued.
"Oh!"
Could it be?
Klein's eyes lit up despite his exhaustion.
His hands shifted twice, forming first a rabbit's head, then a snake.
"Rabbit Escape. Great Serpent."
A white rabbit and a long python followed Toad. Both fell in almost as soon as they were summoned.
Great Serpent tried to struggle. With its long body, it reached to bite a nearby