A red-skinned oni charged at a black-haired man with eyes that had a black sclera. The man’s shadow rose up and turned into a wall which blocked the oni’s sword. His shadow turned into a fist and hit his enemy which caused her to be blown away.

“Gotcha!” a red-haired man managed to catch her.

“Thanks, Ryuuki”, the oni said.

A little bit on their right was a black-haired beastman who was wearing a black military uniform and fighting several creatures made from darkness. He was able to push them back using his exceptional skills in wielding dual swords.

“Merry is doing well and pushing those creatures back. So let’s work together on beating that pseudo-Mikage. Stay calm, Yoclesh”, Ryuuki told her.

Yoclesh could feel a very bad vibe from their enemy. An eerie feeling was on her mind and while she knew that feeling very well, she couldn’t remember where she felt it. All she knew was that the person in front of her was someone she should get angry at.

“Enhancement: Legs! Enhancement: Arms!” Ryuuki shouted as Enhancement Magic surrounded his limbs.

The two of them charged at the black-haired man but his shadow rose up and turned into spikes. Ryuuki blocked the shadow and Yoclesh even managed to avoid them and got close once more to her opponent.

She swung her sword and was about to cut down her enemy when her shadow rose up and punched her. A strong wave of darkness came out from the black-haired man and pushed the three away.

“Judging from your attack, you were seriously aiming to hurt me. Then you’d better not complain if I return the favor”, he pointed his index finger at her and his shadow transformed into hundreds of spikes.

The spikes lunged at the three and they had no time to get up and defend themselves.

“Barrier of the Immovable Guardian!” a woman’s voice shouted and a round barrier protected the three.

A blue dragonewt stepped forward while a girl with white hair, a man with purple fur, a man with two horns, and a beastman with brown hair followed him.

“Yoclesh. Stand down”, the blue dragonewt commanded her.

“S-Shiki”, Yoclesh muttered.

“You are a fool for taking on an enemy you can’t hope to beat. And you even dragged Merryweather and Ryuuki into your hopeless fight.”

“But that person is an invader! He suddenly appeared here in Mikage’s soul and from his aura, I can feel that he’s dangerous!”

“Enough is enough, Yoclesh. You’re being disrespectful to the one who was here before us.”

“He was here before us?”

The man with the purple fur chuckled.

“What’s so funny, Miyuki?” Yoclesh glared at him.

“Oh. It’s just that you got so angry that you didn’t notice one obvious thing that’s missing in this room”, he replied.

And that’s when Yoclesh realized that the important part of Mikage’s soul was gone. Every time they would materialize in Mikage’s soul, they would see a huge swirling ball of darkness. And yet this time, it was nowhere to be seen.

“No wonder that person is too powerful”, Merryweather sighed.

“I’m guessing even if all of us would work together, we can’t beat him, huh?” Ryuuki asked.

The blue dragonewt walked forward towards the black-haired man and knelt down.

“I apologize for the rude actions of my colleagues, Primordial Dark.”

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A/N: Have fun with that little teaser as I disappear and relax in my short break. I'll be back with Volume 5 on March 29!