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They could be thrown or scattered, it didn’t matter.

Of course, this time, I was just using them as a distraction.

 

While Through and Double looked at the floor, I scattered more of them.

People tended to be slower at reacting to things that didn’t hurt them immediately.

‘What is this?’ They couldn’t help but stop and wonder.

 

But now there were hundreds on the floor around their feet.

And so I was able to stop them from moving.

It was something I often did when fighting.

 

“So, have you finished your prayers?”

 

Slowly, I sunk just my right hand into the shadows.

 

“Wha…?!”

 

As Through watched, a sword suddenly sprouted from his chest.

It was the sword I was holding, and it had emerged from a different shadow.

 

He coughed up a torrent of blood and his eyes bulged in surprise as he looked at me.

Of course, I would show no mercy.

 

The blade rotated, opening the wound even further. Then I pulled my right hand out.

 

“Through!”

 

Double shouted. I intended for him to follow his friend very soon.

He had seen my ‘Shadow Sword.’ And so he could not be allowed to live.

It was my means of living, after all.

 

“Gaaagghh!”

And so a blade sprouted from Double as well. He clawed at his chest with an expression of agony.

 

“It’s finished.”

 

I pulled out the sword and Double fell to his knees.

A pool of blood formed on the ground, and he sunk into it.

His body convulsed for a second but quickly stopped.

 

“…Phew. That’s it, huh?”

 

Magicians from Makoku.

I had been curious to see what they were like. It turned out they relied entirely on magic.

 

“Still, who was it again? One of the Right Hands had been defeated.”

 

Originally, three of them had been sent to kill Through.

But they were unable to find him, and when they had scattered, one of them was taken by surprise.

 

“Either they were unlucky or their guard was down.”

 

Still, to let your guard down when chasing an enemy. Such a person wasn’t a second-rate, but a third-rate Shadow.

I had heard that the Royal Capital was filled with the best Shadows, but that was clearly wrong.

 

“…Oh, what-what. It’s finished already?”

 

I was just thinking about calling in some Left Feet to clean up the bodies, when someone else appeared.

 

“Uh, who are you?”

There were two of them. They wore black just like me. They were probably the Queen’s Shadows.

 

But there was something hostile about their gaze.

 

“I am Foul Eater. Surely you’ve heard of me?”

“And they call me Thousand Needles.”

 

Ah, these troublesome people.

So, they came here to criticize me. Had they been watching all along?

I hadn’t sensed anything.

 

Well, how should I go about killing them? But then again, Shadows were supposed to avoid fighting each other.

 

I looked up at the sky.

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