Hanato's Perspective
The wind had grown stronger as I continued leaping from rooftop to rooftop.
Every time my feet touched concrete, I immediately pushed off again, carrying myself across the gaps between buildings. Tokyo stretched endlessly beneath me, its streets bathed in the fading light of afternoon. The sun hung low on the horizon, painting the glass windows of the skyscrapers with streaks of orange and gold.
From this height, the city almost looked peaceful.
Almost.
The reality below was anything but peaceful.
Sirens echoed through the streets.
Police cars raced through intersections with their emergency lights flashing. Crowds had gathered around sidewalks, staring anxiously at their phones as emergency broadcasts played across their screens. News helicopters circled above the distant districts.
And everywhere I looked, strange graffiti covered the city.
Walls.
Roads.
Buildings.
Even traffic signs.
The colorful markings seemed to have spread throughout Tokyo like some kind of infection.
I ignored all of it.
I couldn't afford to worry about the city right now.
My attention was focused on one person.
Shina.
"Ryuhou, how much farther?"
His voice answered from somewhere deep within my consciousness.
Not far. I can sense her Essence.
I nodded.
"Good."
I crouched slightly and pushed off the edge of another building.
The wind rushed past me as I sailed through the air.
For a moment, there was nothing beneath my feet except open space.
Then I landed on the next rooftop.
My boots struck the concrete with a sharp impact, and I immediately lowered my body, preparing for another jump.
That was when I saw it.
A brilliant ray of white light suddenly erupted into the sky several streets ahead.
I stopped.
My eyes widened.
That light was unmistakable.
I had seen it before.
It was the same brilliant white energy that surrounded Shina whenever she used her Essence of Light.
"That's her."
Indeed, Ryuhou replied.
I stared toward the street where the light had appeared.
Several flashes of white energy illuminated the buildings in the distance.
"Looks like she's fighting that paint monster."
Then we should hurry.
"Right."
I bent my knees.
I was just about to leap toward the distant battlefield when something moved.
My instincts screamed.
I twisted my body sideways.
A colorful projectile tore through the air where my head had been only a fraction of a second earlier.
"What the—?!"
I immediately reacted.
"Shadow Cloak!"
Darkness erupted across my body.
My physical form dissolved into a mass of living shadows just as another projectile flew straight through me.
The attack passed harmlessly through my shadowy form and slammed into the concrete rooftop behind me.
BOOM!
The impact shook the building.
Chunks of concrete exploded into the air, and dust spread across the rooftop.
I quickly restored my physical body and landed several meters away.
For a moment, I remained completely still.
Dust drifted around me.
I stared at the hole left behind by the attack.
"That was close."
Ryuhou's voice became noticeably more serious.
Master, we're not alone.
"I noticed."
I slowly raised my head.
A faint sound came from above.
Footsteps.
Someone was moving across the roof of the building behind me.
I turned.
A figure suddenly jumped from the neighboring rooftop.
She descended through the air with surprising grace before landing directly in front of me.
My eyes widened.
I knew her.
She was the girl from the school.
The mysterious girl with the mismatched eyes.
The same girl who had been involved in the strange vandalism.
The same girl I had chased through the cafeteria.
The same girl who had somehow vanished from the rooftop before I could catch her.
But something about her was different now.
Her hair.
The last time I had seen her, it had looked ordinary.
Now it shimmered with countless colors.
Red.
Blue.
Green.
Yellow.
Purple.
The colors flowed through her hair whenever the wind moved it, creating the strange impression that a living rainbow had been woven into every strand.
Her mismatched eyes remained unchanged.
One gold.
One violet.
She stared at me for several seconds.
Then she smiled.
"So we meet again."
I narrowed my eyes.
"You're the girl from the school."
Her smile widened.
"You remembered me."
"Hard to forget someone who runs away by jumping off a rooftop."
A soft giggle escaped her.
"You really are interesting."
I lowered my stance.
The joking expression disappeared from my face.
"What do you want?"
The girl took a small step toward me.
Her expression became colder.
"You have something that belongs to my master."
My eyes narrowed.
"Your master?"
Ryuhou immediately became tense inside my mind.
Master...
"What?"
Be careful.
I kept my eyes fixed on the girl.
"I already am."
She slowly raised one hand.
"I need what you carry."
My expression hardened.
"You mean the Essence of Shadow."
Her smile returned.
"Exactly."
The moment she said that, I felt something strange behind me.
A faint movement.
I turned around.
The colorful projectile that had struck the rooftop moments earlier was moving.
At first, I thought it was simply liquid paint spreading across the concrete.
Then it began to bubble.
"What?"
The puddle lifted from the ground.
It twisted upward.
The colorful substance stretched and formed the outline of a human body.
Then—
A figure emerged from the paint.
My eyes widened.
Another girl stood behind me.
She looked almost exactly like the mysterious girl standing in front of me.
Before I could react, another mass of paint rose from the rooftop.
Then another.
And another.
One after another, colorful figures emerged from the puddles scattered across the concrete.
Five.
Ten.
Fifteen.
The numbers continued to increase.
I slowly turned in place.
The entire rooftop was filling with them.
"You've got to be kidding me."
The mysterious girl laughed.
"You didn't think that was merely an attack, did you?"
The clones surrounded me.
Their bodies were composed of strange, multicolored paint, but their movements were disturbingly natural. Their feet touched the ground without hesitation, and their eyes remained fixed on me.
Then they raised their hands.
Colorful energy gathered around their fingers.
The paint began hardening.
Their hands transformed into enormous claw-like weapons covered in swirling rainbow colors.
I took a cautious step backward.
Ryuhou's voice echoed through my mind.
Master, these aren't ordinary clones.
"I know."
They're made from the same energy as the graffiti creatures.
I clenched my fists.
"So she can create them from paint."
Apparently.
I didn't have time to think about it any further.
The clones suddenly attacked.
One rushed straight toward me.
I jumped backward as its claws sliced through the space where my chest had been.
Before I could regain my footing, another clone attacked from the side.
I ducked beneath its claws.
A third came from behind.
I spun around and blocked the strike with my forearm.
THUD!
The impact forced me backward several steps.
I gritted my teeth.
"She's strong."
Another clone rushed toward me.
I kicked it away before it could strike.
It stumbled across the rooftop.
But before I could capitalize on the opening, another clone charged from the opposite direction.
I jumped over it.
Its claws scraped across the concrete beneath me, sending sparks into the air.
I landed and immediately rolled away from another attack.
They were everywhere.
Too many.
More importantly, they weren't attacking randomly.
They were coordinating.
Every movement forced me into another position.
Every attack closed another escape route.
"They're surrounding me."
Ryuhou answered immediately.
Yes.
I glanced toward the distant battlefield.
White light continued flashing between the buildings.
Shina was still fighting the Paint Golem.
She was alone.
And now I understood what this girl had been trying to accomplish.
"This isn't about defeating me."
The mysterious girl smiled.
"Very clever."
I glared at her.
"You're trying to separate us."
"Exactly."
She raised one hand.
The clones immediately adjusted their positions.
"You and the girl carrying the Essence of Light are much more dangerous together."
Her mismatched eyes gleamed.
"But separately..."
She paused.
"...you're much easier to deal with."
My fists tightened.
"So that's your plan."
"Of course."
She tilted her head.
"My master doesn't need both of you at once."
Her gaze shifted toward the distant flashes of white light.
"All I need to do is keep you here."
She smiled.
"Then someone else can deal with your little partner."
My expression immediately hardened.
"Don't you dare."
She laughed softly.
"You're worried about her."
"She's my partner."
"Then you should be worried."
The clones suddenly charged.
I reacted without hesitation.
"Phantom Sneak!"
Darkness wrapped around my body.
My form blurred into the shadows.
The first clone's claws passed straight through me.
I reappeared beside it and drove my fist into its chest.
BOOM!
The clone exploded into a splash of colorful paint.
"One down."
Another clone attacked from my left.
I ducked beneath its claws.
A third descended from above.
I rolled across the rooftop as its attack slammed into the concrete.
The ground cracked beneath the impact.
I sprang back onto my feet.
Another clone was already waiting for me.
I blocked its strike and pushed it away.
Then another appeared behind it.
And another.
There were still too many.
"Ryuhou!"
Use Phantom Image!
I nodded.
"Phantom Image!"
Darkness erupted beside me.
Three shadowy figures materialized from the darkness.
My phantom images stood at my sides, their forms resembling distorted copies of my own body.
Now there were four of me.
Four against an army of living colors.
The mysterious girl watched with fascination.
"Interesting."
I stared directly at her.
"You wanted to separate me from Shina?"
A dark aura gathered around my fingers.
"Then you'll have to get through me first."
My three phantom images moved into formation.
For the first time, I thought I saw genuine excitement in the girl's eyes.
But her smile didn't disappear.
Instead, it grew wider.
"That's exactly what I wanted."
I froze.
"What?"
She snapped her fingers.
The remaining rainbow clones suddenly stopped attacking.
Then, almost simultaneously, they split into two groups.
Half turned toward me.
The other half—
Turned toward the edge of the rooftop.
My eyes widened.
"They're not attacking me."
Ryuhou immediately understood.
Master!
The clones leapt from the rooftop.
They weren't coming after me.
They were heading toward Shina.
My heart dropped.
"Shina!"
The mysterious girl laughed.
"You finally figured it out."
I immediately turned toward the edge.
But several clones landed directly in front of me.
Their rainbow claws slammed together, forming a barrier between me and the edge.
I clenched my fists.
"You planned this from the beginning."
"Of course."
Her mismatched eyes gleamed beneath her shifting multicolored hair.
"You were so focused on finding me that you never considered what would happen if I found you first."
I stared toward the distant battlefield.
Another flash of white light illuminated the buildings.
Shina was still fighting.
She didn't know what was coming.
I couldn't let those clones reach her.
I turned back toward the girl.
"You made one mistake."
Her expression became curious.
"What mistake?"
I smiled.
"You assumed I needed to stay here."
The shadows beneath my feet began spreading across the rooftop.
Darkness crawled over the concrete like liquid, swallowing the light around my boots.
Ryuhou immediately understood what I was doing.
Master...
"Let's go."
My body began dissolving into darkness.
The mysterious girl took a step backward.
"What are you doing?"
I looked toward the distant battlefield.
"I'm going to my partner."
The shadows surged beneath me.
The rooftop disappeared into darkness.
And somewhere across the city, Shina continued fighting without knowing that an army of living colors was already closing in.
The battle between Light and Shadow had changed.
This was no longer a fight against a single enemy.
It was a battle against an entire army of living colors.