The Troubles moved with surprising agility, their spike-covered bodies glowing faintly in the darkness. They were nothing like the slow, clumsy creatures we'd faced before. These were fast, aggressive, and seemed to anticipate our movements.
"Watch out!" Min-ah shouted as one of the Troubles lunged at her, its sharp spikes pointing straight at her face. She reacted instantly, creating a wind shield that deflected the attack just in time. The Trouble bounced off the invisible barrier and fell to the ground with a grunt.
The other Trouble lunged at me. I tried to lift a stack of metal crates to defend myself, but the creature was too fast. It leaped over the crates and lashed out at me with its claws. I managed to dodge the main blow, but one of the spikes grazed my arm, leaving a shallow cut that began to bleed.
"Ryu Hyuk!" Min-ah exclaimed, launching a gust of wind at the Trouble that had attacked me. The creature was thrown against a wall, but quickly recovered and charged again.
We were forced to separate, each dealing with our own Trouble. Mine was relentless, attacking with savage ferocity. I tried to use my control over metal to disarm him, but it seemed his body was naturally covered in spikes, with no metallic object I could directly manipulate.
Min-ah was having more success with her opponent, using her wind control to keep him at a distance and disorient him. But the smaller Trouble's agility made him difficult to hit directly.
At one point, my Trouble leaped toward me, intending to immobilize me. Instinctively, I raised my arms to protect myself, and in that instant, I felt a surge of energy unlike anything I'd ever felt. It wasn't the connection to the metal, but something more... visceral, more primal.
For a second, I saw the world differently, as if I could sense the energies flowing through everything. And then, without thinking, I unleashed a wave of invisible force that struck Trouble full-on, knocking it several feet back. The creature groaned and lay on the ground, motionless.
I gasped, staring at my hands in surprise. What had that been? I'd never felt anything like that before. Did I have some other power besides metal manipulation?
Before she could analyze it, the Trouble rose again, though it seemed weaker and more disoriented. Min-ah seized the opportunity and enveloped it in a powerful whirlwind, lifting it up to the roof of the warehouse and then dropping it with a thud. The creature vanished instantly.
Min-ah approached me, frowning. "What happened there, Ryu Hyuk? I saw... something hit him."
"I don't know," I replied, still dazed. "I felt something different. Like... a burst of energy."
While examining the Trouble that had attacked Min-ah, we noticed something strange on its body. Between the sharp spikes, there were small fragments of a dark, unknown material that glowed faintly with a reddish light.
"What is this?" Min-ah asked, carefully touching one of the fragments.
"I don't know," I replied. "But it doesn't look like metal. It's... different."
We collected some of the fragments, putting them in a pocket. We knew this could be an important clue about the nature of these new Troubles.
We decided it was best to retreat from the warehouse for now and report our findings to the Guardians. The two Troubles had been a surprise, and we didn't know if there might be more.
We cautiously left the warehouse, feeling the invisible gaze of the night upon us. The port area seemed even more gloomy and menacing than before. The threat was manifesting itself, evolving in ways we didn't yet understand.