We were in front of the town’s gates and the docks were in the opposite direction. The game was supposed to be simple. If we managed to steal Marine’s hat before the sun set, she would cooperate with us and sail. But if we failed, Ayame would be part of her crew.

“Are you out of your mind? What makes you think we can beat the Houshou Pirates?” Rushia asked.

“It’s faster and better than trying to secretly gather that amount of money”, Ayame answered.

“We don’t have to beat them. We just need to steal Marine’s hat”, Kanata told her.

“But does that mean we aren’t allowed to exterminate them? I believe that Captain Marine will not sail with the murderers who killed her crew”, Roboco said.

“We can’t destroy the buildings too. Bringing suffering wouldn’t be fun at all!” Ollie added.

This was troubling. We couldn’t kill them so our options were limited. We couldn’t destroy the houses in our way so our routes were predictable. These rules made this fight even harder.

This isn’t a fight. This is a game. You gotta have fun, Noir told me.

“There’s only one thing we can do”, Ayame said.

A green smoke rose up from the distance and that was the signal to start. The sun was most likely going to set two hours from now since I could feel the night approaching. That’s why we decided to charge through the main street and get it over as soon as possible.

However, several members of the Houshou Pirates were there. They all had swords and guns while completely outnumbering us. However, it was all useless when I faced my palm at them and their own shadows rose up and bound them in place. 

“Mikage! What are you doing?!” Ayame shouted.

Their bodies became limp and the shadows wrapping around their necks disappeared. Ayame rushed over and checked on them but I knew I did nothing wrong.

“They are still alive”, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Of course. I pressed their carotid arteries. The lack of blood flow towards their brains will make them faint. They’ll wake up soon enough”, I answered.

“I see! We can just knock them out!” Ollie shouted.

“That’s right! If we are unconscious, you guys can fight freely!” a woman’s voice said behind.

I instinctively commanded my shadow to turn into a spiky shield. How could someone sneak up like that without me detecting them?! But I didn’t feel my shadows piercing through something so whoever that person was, I didn’t kill them.

“That’s great! That was dangerous!” the same voice exclaimed.

A woman with long white hair and wearing a blue-white dress was smiling at us. She had blue fins at the sides of her head so she was most likely a mermaid. If she was attacking us like this, then she must be one of the Houshou Pirates.

“You guys go on ahead! I can handle this!” Ollie grinned.

“Be careful. That woman is Doris, the navigator of the Houshou Pirates”, Ayame told her.

Doris didn’t attempt to attack us as we moved ahead. Instead, she charged straight at Ollie while water formed around her arms. They exchanged strikes for a while and I could no longer see them.

But before we could go any further, two more people appeared in front of us. One was a black-haired woman wearing a white jacket. Her chest was wrapped with bandages and her right arm was holding a pink sword.

Beside her was a young man with black-white hair. He was wearing a black fur coat while wielding a pistol on each hand.

“Kson, the vice-captain of the Houshou Pirates”, the woman smirked.

“I’m-”

Before the man could introduce himself, Kanata lunged close and tried to grab his arm. However, Kson blocked her path and the young man put up some distance between the two of them.

“Blah, blah, blah, blah. We’re on a deadline here so we have no time for introductions. Let’s head straight to the fight”, Kanata cracked her knuckles.

“Understandable”, the young man shrugged.

Roboco grabbed me and Ayame. Using her robotic strength, she threw us over our two enemies. The young man was about to shoot us but Roboco fired her energy cannon at him.

Thanks to that, Ayame and I safely landed on the ground and we continued running towards the dock. There were more Houshou Pirates in our path but I made their shadows knock them out forcefully. A solid hit to their heads was enough to make them unconscious and it didn’t take long until we finally arrived at our destination.

A red-haired woman was sitting down on a barrel with her backs turned behind us. Her darkness was the same as the one I felt earlier so I knew for sure that she was our target.

“That zombie is an energetic one, huh? Doris looks like she’s getting tired but Ollie can probably do it all day. The strength of the Celestial Academy’s student council president is no joke since even Kson is having a hard time. That robot is also supporting well and disrupts that dumb kid's shots”, she said.

And then, the woman stood up and stretched her arms. After cracking her neck, she pointed at us without even turning her head.

“And now it’s my time to have fun!”

I faced my palm at her and commanded her shadow to rise up. If I take her hat, this entire charade should be finished.

“Is something wrong, brat?” she asked. 

“I… Impossible”, I muttered.

No matter how much I tried to make her shadow move, it resisted me. It was as if it was pushing me away. The harder I tried, the more it fought back.

“I knew it. From what I saw, you’re not using Dark Magic to command the shadows. I can’t see the pathway of your mana so you’re not even using magic to make my comrades’ shadows work against them… But the principle is still the same as magic, you need a certain amount of mana, image, and resolve. I saw that you use up your mana whenever you use your ability and I can see here the image in your mind where I’m tightly bound by my own shadow. Wow! The possibilities of this ability are endless! You can tie me up for whatever play you want and we won’t have to make complicated knots!”

The thing she sat on wasn’t exactly a barrel. I couldn’t see its handle until she picked it up and swung it. With that large hammer and her excited grin, I felt that she was going to be a troublesome opponent.

“I’m Marine Houshou! I choose the person who I want to dominate me! Your resolve is weaker than mine because nothing’s sexier than consent!” the captain of the Houshou Pirates shouted.

###

Preach, Marine, Noir chuckled.

You’re not going to help me, are you? I asked.

I literally just agreed to her. Consent is nice, whether it be in having your shadow moving, getting summoned in this world, or in bed!

“Sorry, Ayame. I can’t control her shadow”, I said.

“Then we just have to do it in the usual way”, she unsheathed her swords.

Ayame charged at her while I circled around. Marine managed to lift her hammer and swing it. However, Ayame dodged and got close enough. She tried to stab her but Marine made minimal movements and avoided her attacks. Smoke came out from the small spheres she dropped and she was out of her sights.

However, I could feel her darkness lurking and I knew where she exactly was standing. That’s why I didn’t hesitate and headed straight towards her.

Mikage! Be careful! Anya tried to warn me.

 It was already too late when I realized that it was a trap. I felt a strong blow hit my chest and knock me away. If I didn’t create a make-shift armor made from my shadow, I might’ve gotten some fractured bones.

Fell for the oldest trick in the book, huh? Noir snickered.

Marine was spinning her hammer like it wasn’t as heavy as it looked. But the impact and pain I felt from getting hit meant that it was tough… It was too tough to be wood.

“Using Enhancing Magic so you can lift a heavy thing like that with ease. A simple trick but quite effective”, Ayame said.

“Or is it?” Marine asked.

I got up as Ayame lunged once more. Marine no longer looked like she was struggling to swing her hammer around and it was faster than before. However, I felt something strange was going on but I had to support Ayame.

My shadow rose up and turned into spikes but Marine dodged and smashed one of them. Ayame crouched down and tried to attack Marine’s blindspot but her attack missed as Marine moved away without even looking. 

Even just having one All-Seeing Eye already made her have no blindspots, Anya said.

However, her position and posture was what we wanted for our plan. If I couldn’t command her shadow, all I had to use was the other ones I could use. And the nearest one was Ayame’s.

Using my power, I commanded Ayame’s shadow to turn into spikes. The size of Marine’s hammer would make it better for her to block them than risk avoiding it. But once she blocked it, I would make the shadow bind it in place. Even with an All-Seeing Eye, it should be hard for her to fight us unarmed.

The unexpected happened and Ayame’s shadow passed through the large hammer. And with that single second of confusion, Marine’s hammer hit Ayame and blew her across the street.

Now that’s creative, Noir muttered.

“So that’s what was off all this time”, I groaned.

The strange feeling I had whenever Marine swung her hammer was finally explained. Normally, swinging a hammer of that size at that speed would at least cause some wind. However, there wasn’t much wind and with how my shadow phased through it, there was only one reason.

Marine was no longer holding a large wooden hammer. Instead, she was holding a sledgehammer made from orichalcum. Her trick wasn’t as simple as what Ayame thought.

“Now then, do you think you can trust your eyes?” Marine’s yellow iris glowed.

And several illusionary copies of herself surrounded the battlefield. I could feel the night approaching so the sun was going to set soon. We had to finish this as soon as possible.

“Eyes are useless in the dark”, I said.

I dashed towards her and gathered my resolve.

“Synchronicity Release!”