Killing intent poured in from all directions, raw as winter steel, every aim fixed on one point.
Black waves of bodies pressed in, blades glinting, feet cluttering, patrol eyes combing every shadowed corner.
The narrow alley stuffed full in a breath, faces like carved demons, rage steaming as they hunted any hideaway.
At the tail of the patrol, an expendable grunt drifted like lazy smoke; behind him, a head slid into view.
Thunk!
Steel flashed; before he could speak, a stroke kissed his neck, and blood painted the wall in a red fan.
Up front, a man frowned and turned; a blade met his brow, and he dropped like a felled tree.
Phew—
The girl let the breath go, picked up the knife, eyed the fallen like stones in a stream, then walked on.
Night sank like ink; at this hour, outsiders wouldn’t wander in.
Before dawn, she’d face hundreds alone; blame the Artifact Spirit she carried that drew them like moths.
Out of nowhere, she thought of the girl who stumbled onto a battlefield and saved her life; a bitter smile tugged.
She’d sworn not to disturb that girl’s life, yet forgetting her was like trying to unknot silk.
What kind of person makes Sham ache, makes sorrow settle like rain?
Yun Shi, the girl with those fourfold Blood Pupils, was too intriguing to be a passing face.
“Before dawn, stay alive first.”
Sham smiled small, lifted her staff, and her robe stirred like water as she moved.
Far from the battlefield, in a bright strip of streets unlike this pitch-black zone, lamps bloomed like stars.
People drank the bustle like warm wine, unaware of a sea of night far away.
A girl ran alone down the main road, not caring who stared, only chasing the path fixed in her heart.
“Where is it, where is it…”
She ran and scanned, searching a familiar silhouette; urgency tightened her face, longing burned in her eyes.
“Where are you— come out, please…”
She nearly prayed, fists clenched, standing out like a white crane among chickens in the churning crowd.
She just wanted to find someone, that simple.
Even an apology would do; find her, then pretend calm and say, let’s go home.
She knew she’d been avoiding reality; she didn’t want that anymore— she wanted to do something.
Without noticing, this girl named Sham had claimed ground in her heart, and that stung her pride.
Yun Shi forced the thoughts aside and kept running, chasing what felt familiar.
Thunk!
A flare lit the clearing, and a storm of arrows punched through bodies like iron hail.
“There! Attack!”
The enemies yanked out firearms, gripped broadswords, and Mystic Power rippled off them like heat-haze.
Blood ran like a river; smoke climbed, gray as morning mist.
“Come on! If you want the Artifact Spirit, then kill me!”
Sham’s staff flashed; energy swept out in a green ring, ten meters wide, with her at the center.
Everything inside but her was ground down like stalks under a millstone.
Screams tore the air; pain spilled in waves; blood salted the earth again.
Fear crept in; they saw the girl’s killing art and their courage shrank like old leather.
“You bastards want to desert? No retreat!”
The leader’s bark pinned the extras in place like nails in wood.
Sham gave a thin, tired smile, then steeled her face like iron.
In a fight, she wasn’t soft; a year in the Magic Institution had taught her teeth.
Once a rising star, she hadn’t fallen far.
Yun Shi still ran that main road, combing it for the one she wanted.
Sham lifted her weapon and wove a formation; in a blink, it scythed troops like grass as a gale rose.
She grit her teeth and spent her Mystic Power like lamp oil in winter.
Yun Shi left the lit streets and pounded toward the river, still running, searching everywhere.
“Ha!”
A shot hit Sham; she clenched through the burn and whipped a furious wind across the field with Mystic Power.
Yun Shi, gasping, had found no trace; fatigue tugged at her like wet clothes.
“Where could she be…”
She couldn’t think of anywhere else Sham would go; she hardly knew Sham at all.
“Wait…”
The answer was simple; panic had buried her usual method, and now it rose like a lantern in her mind.
“Stupid mistake.”
Yun Shi dropped cross-legged and felt for nearby waves of Mystic Power.
Soon, she sensed a familiar pulse not far away, clashing head-on with a swarm of weak ripples.
“Found you!”
She stood and sprinted toward the source; she hadn’t guessed wrong— Sham had already engaged the enemy.
Huff, huff…
Sham hid behind a wall, breathing hard; she was soot-stained, nothing like her usual neat self.
Behind her, men still hunted, guns in hand, raking the area like wolves.
She had burned through too much Mystic Power; at this rate, she’d drop by midnight from sheer exhaustion.
They wouldn’t have to lift a finger; she’d lose anyway.
“Unlucky.”
“Found her— over here!”
“Everyone, move! Grab her!”
They couldn’t be stalled for long; they spotted Sham’s position and surged in like a wave.
Sham bit down and kept unleashing magic, which only drew more reinforcements like sparks draw moths.
Two fists can’t beat four hands— it fit her state perfectly.
She fought at a sharp disadvantage…
Thunk! Thunk!
Suddenly, blood-arrows geysered through the air, and several men dropped like sacks.
Sham looked— the ones tangled around her had gone still.
A girl stood ahead, black hair flowing, eyes blood-red, killing intent banked when she looked at Sham.
Yun Shi let the Blood Pupil fade, and her usual gaze returned as she stepped to Sham.
“Why are you here?”
Sham’s shock carried more confusion than joy; she’d told the girl to leave— why come back?
“Because I wanted to be here.”
“It’s dangerous. Go!”
“I don’t want to.”
“What nonsense— go, now! Do you want to die?”
“Then what about you? Why didn’t you tell me you were in danger out here?”
“If you’d said that, I would never have let you go.”
“That’s because… I didn’t want to trouble you…”
“Shut it— what a garbage excuse.”
“In short, I’m not letting you die.”
“Right now, we’re escaping together.”
“Listen up. You don’t get to refuse. That’s an order.”
Yun Shi cut the talk, grabbed Sham’s hand, and tried to pull her away; Sham didn’t budge.
“It’s not that easy to walk out.”
“They’ve set a thick ring around this place.”
“You broke a gap to get in; they already know.”
“That makes it even harder to escape.”
“It’s fine. I’ll find a way.”
“How?”
“Trust me. I’ll get it done.”
“Otherwise, we die here.”
“Die by fate, or fight by my word and carve a blood path— your choice.”
Yun Shi met Sham’s eyes and dropped her ultimatum like a blade.
“…I get it. There’s no other way.”
Sham couldn’t choose, so she agreed.
No real choices left; the tide was rolling.
Better to obey her command than wait to drown.
Sham couldn’t say why, but Yun Shi felt trustworthy; she wanted to believe Yun Shi could punch them out.
Night deepened, near eleven.
More patrols roamed; at this hour, they grew bold like stray dogs.
Unchecked, this would only get worse.
Yun Shi and Sham slipped past patrol after patrol, finding a tucked-away corner where eyes were thin.
No place was safe, but they needed a pocket to talk.
“Do as I say.”
“I’ll spin some illusions to mislead them.”
“Don’t make any sudden moves.”
Yun Shi kept it brief, laying out the bones of her plan; Sham nodded.
“I’ll draw them away. You carry it out.”
Sham stood, volunteering without hesitation.
“You…”
Surprise flashed through Yun Shi’s face like lightning.
“It’s fine. I’m okay…”
Sham smiled to reassure her, but the answer slammed into a wall.
“I don’t agree! Absolutely not!”
“Hey, hey, Little Yun, keep it down, keep it down…”
She hadn’t expected Yun Shi to flare so hot.
Sham hurried to shush her, and Yun Shi wrestled her mind calm.
“I won’t let you go alone.”
“You don’t leave my sight.”
Her tone was flat, but anyone could hear the tremor under it.
She remembered the past.
Someone once said they’d draw the enemy to buy time.
But that person never came back.
Mia.
The pain sits in her heart like a thorn.
How could Yun Shi let it go?
Now Sham held a place there.
She couldn’t just watch her walk into a knife.
She wouldn’t let Sham become a second Mia.
No matter what.
Seeing sadness rise in Yun Shi’s eyes, Sham realized she’d brushed a raw nerve and changed her mind.
“All right, I won’t go.”
“Little Yun, I’m sorry— I won’t say that again.”
The apology helped; Yun Shi steadied.
To make it clear, Sham even hugged her, a warm promise wrapped in arms.
Which did not help; the calming mind stumbled again under the hug.
Yun Shi’s face flushed, and her heart sped like a drum.
“Is this really okay right now?”
She asked herself, knowing no answer would come.
Sham meant nothing else; she only wanted to say, don’t worry— she wasn’t leaving.
Night sank deeper, layer by layer, like ink on silk.
