“Amidela!” James screamed.

  A crescent cut of dark wind bisected toward the Knight.

  The Godknight splayed the wind apart with one mighty swing. Wendy had missed her spell and tried to erect another shield; before her spell formed, a blinding blur suddenly appeared in front of the knight.

  James appeared. Then, a razor-sharp sword rushed forward at Lanfred’s eye slit. The Godknight managed to move in time, although that still caused him to stumble back from James' quick attack. The Tiefling was not done yet. A whip-fast sword movement hammered the knight, who struggled to block it, and the Knight even had to blast Pyreflame, which forced the Thiefmaster to move back.

  “Now!” Suna croaked. His right hand still hurt, but he had begun dealing with it by having Reki remove his Rabbit cloak and bundle it around his arm. A bad decision, perhaps, since his body was still hurting all over, especially the nasty burned skin he had across his chest and face. Still, though, gaining the ability from the Rune—whatever rune it would be from the Shadow Assassin—would be the priority.

  Reki moved forward, and the Orator howled as he summoned a great Warhammer of light.

  Suna saw Lanfred manage to turn and swing that claymore in one hand. Thankfully, Wendy's shield was erected just below his wrist. Her magic cracked, and Lanfred's sword kept going down.

  Noa was there in time, pushing his shield against the claymore and catching the strike head-on. The Bulwark groaned and pushed the knight back. Lanfred struggled back again, and Reki’s Warhammer smote the stump of his wound, sending the knight crying out and even retreating back.

  For the first time, the knight let out a cry of pain. Not that anyone here had sympathy, James blasted through the pyreflame and delivered a relentless strike as he moved in circles around the knight.

  This is his chance.

  Suna drew his thief sword with his left hand and pierced down upon the mummy’s chest.

  But then a force knocked his sword away.

  He watched as a Pyre Bone dagger shattered his sword and would have cut through Suna’s wrist if he were any less lucky.

  A dagger? But the knight had thrown both of them earlier, right?

  Suna looked at Lanfred, and the Godknight was still surrounded by James while suffering a relentless attack. In Lanfred’s hand, light gathered quickly and formed into a sword. This one was shorter than his claymore, about the size of Umbralline, and better for handling a speedy opponent.

  That was his magic.

  Suna felt his right hand returning to him; he clenched and quickly drew the Pyrebone dagger. He wasted no time stabbing downward. That was until a voice cut him off.

  “Suna!” Noa screamed.

  Suna reacted; he saw a bluish flame heading toward him, and with Gale Step, Suna jumped back quickly. The Assassin also acted in time by forming those dark hands around him as a shield again.

  Wearing his Spirit Rabbit Cloak properly, Suna couldn’t help but scowl at the situation.

  All he needed to do was kill the Assassin who agreed to die. But this knight. Just how much further could it fight?

  Suna had had enough of close combat and summoned his Gale Bow. Instantly, the familiarity of a bow surged through his body. Suna quickly drew Shadow Arrow, preparing to blast away the Assassin once and for all.

  “Ah, perfect,” the Assassin remarked. Then the shadow hand lurched around and whipped itself to the Pyreflames around them, extinguishing it.

  That caused their surroundings to darken once again. The next instant, the darkness was banished and gathered by Suna’s shadow arrow.

  Now, he truly saw the mummified Assassin; it looked so pathetic and weak with its bandages beginning to even fail its body, and revealed deceased skin which permeated rot to Suna’s nose. The Assassin lay against the wall and tipped his head up.

  “This is it.” The Shadow Rebel spoke.

  “You must have really hated them,” Suna said.

  “Oh, you don’t know half of it.” The bandages around the Assassin’s mouth tugged down. In his last moment, he grinned.

  Inky shadow leached into a proper arrow structure by Suna’s fingertip.

  “No!” A voice roared behind.

  Suna released, and a hush went through the throne room. His arrow punctured the Rebel Assassin’s chest, causing a huge hole and collapsing the creature.

  [You have slain Undead Shadow Assassin. Level 68]

  [Feat Gained…]

  [Feat Gained…]

  [Level Up]

  [Level Up]

  [Level…]

  Suna ignored his level and stat gain. For now, those were not important. What was important was…

  [Shadowed Rune][Mystic]

  [Skill Rune]

  [Flint Shadow Bow][Mystic]—One of an Archer's biggest weaknesses is a fully armored enemy with no way of piercing them. The Flint Shadow Bow allows [Flintwind Archer] to charge an arrow with wind and shadow properties, making it disappear and will it to reappear the moment the [Flintwind Archer] finds convenience. [Requirement: Flintwind Archer Class or beyond]

  Exactly what he needed. Suna’s mouth crept into a grin. However, before he could even summon his new bow, he was greeted by the undead Godknight Pyreflame shooting toward him like a blue wave of flame.

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  Suna let his body fall backward and blasted off the floor with his Gale Step. He watched as the Assassin’s corpse was incinerated by the bluish flame. Green light swayed up like some kind of smoke. In its one last form, Suna saw a smile down and eyes that stared mockingly at the knight.

  Speaking of the knight. Lanfred was now able to keep up with James' attack and was even capable of shooting out flame, as proven earlier.

  An exchange of steel swiveled the air inside the throne room, splaying wind all over and even pushing Suna’s hair away from his forehead.

  Reki and Noa decided to back away as the blinding exchange of swords was too swift for either of them.

  Fast, James was fast. The Thiefmaster sent a shockwave every time his blade met with the Godknight’s pyre sword. The Godknight, of course, couldn’t keep up with James' movement, but his hand was fast enough, and now his sword was short enough that it could parry James' attempts while keeping eyes out for Suna.

  What to do now? James was not going to last. The Thiefmaster would die—the Assassin had said it—his wound could not be nullified fully. Suna couldn’t see James' wound well as the Thiefmaster kept moving, but maybe if he could drink some potion?

  No, no. For now, he focused on the fight. And whatever happened next, they would deal with.

  “Well?” Noa whispered, and both he and Reki quickly went by Suna’s side, and the former hefted his shield up.

  “I got it.”

  The news jolted both of them, and Suna could tell their sudden gait, the confidence both of them suddenly had.

  “Better not waste any more time then,” Reki said.

  And Suna agreed.

  He held out his hand, and dusk bled atop his palm. A frame of shadow curved into a bow as the wind does. A dusk arc bent around its body, accepted Suna’s hand, and Suna drew his breath. Arcane String appeared in thin blue lines from both ends of the bow, and they connected in the middle.

  Suna held the string, and he saw what the bow would accept and what it would not.

  It will not accept Emberwind. The fire property would ruin the combination of wind and shadow.

  Curious. So the bow accepted one half of his class and rejected the other half.

  What it would accept is a Shadow Arrow and a normal arrow. His Arcane String, however, told him their power, and Suna filtered the information.

  He closed his eyes, with a fingertip still clutching his arcane string, and felt the Flint Shadow.

  “Suna? Eyebag! Fire already!” Reki groaned.

  A footstep ran at them, and Suna saw Wendy and Amidela limping as they supported each other.

  “I can still help,” Wendy said as she held her staff ready.

  Noa nodded at them and said, “We wait for Suna.”

  Suna then stood and began drawing. He did not choose Shadow Arrow—Shadow Arrow was indeed powerful, but the whole point of Flint Shadow Bow was not an overwhelming power like Gale Bow or Emberwind. The whole point was to cheat. To bypass armor. Which was why he drew his enhanced Sootroot Arrow and aimed it at the Godknight.

  He did not Flintdraw because that would add fire, which won’t go well with this bow.

  James faltered, his movement slowed, and the Godknight began to keep up. Not that the Thiefmaster was able to deliver any significant injury to him in the first place. He held on, and slowly, James Drowfication began to disappear. He was about to die.

  “James!” Amidela called behind Suna. Her sword had already melted away and could no longer be called a sword.

  The Thiefmaster's enhanced speed was gone, and he tried to strike. But it was slow, almost insultingly. The Knight sheared James’ sword apart, and the Thiefmaster fell to his knees. The Godknight was about to execute him, raising his sword.

  “Cage it,” Suna said softly.

  Wendy pointed forward, and her staff produced a sound like a jingling bell.

  An invisible wall was erected between the Godknight, stifling his movement. Lanfred could break those flimsy shields anytime, but what Suna aimed for was the one second of his noticing.

  Suna released, the arrow whisked away silently. Suna could sense his Mana inside the flying shaft, and he could tell the shadow factor that wanted to consume it and the wind factor that wanted to blast away air, zooming at a great speed.

  Suna commanded the wind to stay put and allow the shadow to take over.

  Darkness emanated from the flying arrow.

  The Godknight noticed and was about to block it after it shattered Wendy’s shield.

  Lanfred slashed down.

  The arrow disappeared, making the knight only slash through the air.

  Suna clenched a fist. The wind factor of the arrow took over, and a great crack rang through the throne room. An arrow suddenly appeared inside Lanfred’s shoulder—blasting away his plate, and bursting the Godknight’s shoulder in an explosion of blood.

  “It's working!” Reki shouted.

  “Wendy! Stop his movement!” Noa screamed.

  Lanfred left James dying and charged at Suna. His group, however, prepared themselves to protect him with their life now.

  Reki with his golden Warhammer ready. Noa, with his shield glowing with mana. And Wendy, who erected a small shield to slow down the Godknight.

  Lanfred saw this coming and swerved to his right, dodging Wendy’s barrier.

  Suna tracked his movement. He had another arrow ready to launch, but Suna waited for something—something that should have appeared.

  Those are not normal arrows he fired.

  Vine shot out from Lanfred’s ruined right shoulder and was about to jab onto the Godknight stump.

  That was until Lanfred let go of his sword, and a dagger manifested in his hand. He quickly slashed away the vines and ripped the root within his body, throwing it out, even though the spell was already dead.

  Goddamn monster. Goosebumps went through Suna’s body, and he released another arrow.

  Lanfred ducked low, lower than Suna’s arrow flight, and completely dodged it.

  With one whip of his hand, Lanfred threw the dagger at him.

  Suna, not wanting to lose his position and his passive that had been building, let another arrow go.

  But this arrow was no Emberwind; it sheared apart on first impact, and the dagger was still going strong. Wendy erected a focused shield that was also destroyed by the dagger, but it slowed the dagger down enough for Reki to slam it down with his Warhammer.

  Lanfred flowed to his next movement. With Wendy unable to summon a shield immediately, Lanfred created and swung his new sword down, and Pyreflame rushed at them like a surge of blue death.

  “Behind me!” Noa was quick. The Bulwark pushed his mana to his shield and enlarged it. The next instant, a scorching heat blasted forward, only split apart by Noa’s quick reaction. But the flames, they bent inward.

  Suna could feel the way his body was burning, and he had slight resistance to flame thanks to his class and the healing from Spirit Rabbit Cloak, too.

  “Near me! Now!” Suna gritted out.

  “I’m fine, Suna!” Reki answered as a golden light permeated from his armor, and he closed in on Noa to protect the Bulwark’s back. “The other two.”

  Suna turned to Wendy and Amidela, whose skin began to pucker with dark flesh. He let go of his bow and grabbed both of them by hand, then pulled both into his chest.

  Wendy cried out, but in her struggle, she tapped her staff and constructed an invisible barrier around them, and they stayed like that, waiting out the flame.

  “Sorry,” Wendy muttered against his ear. “I shouldn’t have used my shield against his dagger earlier.”

  “Forget that,” Suna said, “watch out for the Godknight. He can flank from anywhere now.”

  “James,” Amidela, this time spoke. “Is he dead?”

  No one answered, no one knew, and besides, they were still in combat.

  Suna wished he still had his Brimhat. He would be able to push some of this flame away and buy vision for them so they could watch where the Godknight would come from.

  I wonder if Slea would give me hers.

  When the flame died down, they burst into movement.

  Suna summoned his Flint Shadow Bow and drew it in one motion. But the Godknight was not here.

  “Where is he!” Noa shouted at the Tieflings, who were not caught by the flames.

  The Tieflings gathered around a body. James’ body.

  Suna’s throat constricted at the sight, at how some of them wept upon the Thiefmaster’s body. His vision was solely on James. Dead.

  A hand clapped his shoulder, and suddenly his vision enlarged again.

  “Focus,” Reki said.

  Suna blinked. “Yeah, sorry.”

  “He runs, the coward,” a Runebearer said, then sniffled. He raised one arm and pointed at an opening in the wall where light was streaming in. “He runs.”

  “No, no!” Amidela cried out. “James, John, what of their sacrifice then?”

  “Amidela…” Wendy held the crying Runebearer who had fallen to her knees.

  Suna examined his fist, his mottled black skin. Then, in the quiet room, he said, “Can I get more Mana?” He asked as he walked toward the opening.

  “Suna, you want to chase?” Noa asked.

  “I’m the only one who can keep up,” Suna said. He received a Mana potion from a Tiefling and drank it. “Besides, do you really want to fight that one with full health again?” He wiped his mouth and stared out.

  With Gale Step, he broke free from the stifling castle and chased after the vanishing sight of the Godknight.