Youngho's reaction was immediate, throwing his weight forward and trying to get every bit of momentum he could. His knees screamed, but the dagger’s aim was true.

  If he was lucky, he’d be able to catch the dagger but he could tell immediately that it was spinning too quickly for that. Instead, he felt the dull weight slam into his hand as the black dagger hit his palm, blade first and sank into the hilt.

  “Shit!” Jinyoung exclaimed.

  It started as a dull throb, but was soon replaced by an intense pain that felt nearly like a burning sensation. Quickly, he pulled the dagger from his palm and let it drop to the floor where it shattered like glass.

  Meanwhile, Hana was already running towards Henry, moving between the rows of workstations with her shield raised and sword ready. On a level playing field, fighters and rogues are evenly matched. But this wasn’t a level playing field.

  The shadow walker deftly vaulted backwards over a table, easily moving out of the way as Hana’s sword cut through a block of electronics sending up a shower of sparks.

  Two black daggers cut deadly swaths but instead of backing away, Hana had already raised her shield and was sprinting straight at her opponent. The black blades bounced harmlessly off her shield and Hana swung her shield trying to catch Henry on the wide surface. When he dodged that, she followed up quickly with short swings of her sword.

  Each strike looked like it would hit before the shadow walker slid out of the way sending the blades swinging harmlessly through the air.

  Damn, he’s fast!

  Hana tried to push in with her shield once more, but Henry caught it on the edge of his short blade. And then, in a surprising show of forced, he pushed her shield back with the flat of the same blade.

  “Impressive, isn’t it?” Henry remarked, twirling his weapon in one hand. “I found it years ago in the possession of a fighter before I relieved him of it.”

  Jinyoung? Hana called out.

  Shadow Clone Edge Blade

  Req. Stats: STR: 15, AGI: 46

  The blade can be copied at will to create

  short-lived duplicates (Shadow Clones).

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Attributes: Shadow Clone

  As if to make his point, Henry swung the blade in front of him. While he neve loosened his grip on the handle, a black dagger flew out striking Hana’s shield and shattering before it could hit the ground.

  I need to close the distance before he creates more copies!

  Again, Hana tried to press closer to Henry but he was too fast. Whenever Hana was close enough to strike, he would step just outside her range. But the room wasn’t much bigger than a mid-sized office and thanks to some thoughtful footwork, Hana was pressing her opponent into the corner.

  She swung a wild arc with her shield pressing the shadow walker sideways into an aisle of workstations and computers. Before he could react, Hana followed up with a quick but deep thrust. Unable to move backwards quickly enough to get out of range, Henry opted to jump sideways into the next aisle.

  Hana reacted quickly and spun around, swinging her short sword in an arc up. The workstation exploded, sending up chunks of plastic and metal. Henry smirked and was about to say something about the shield knight’s aim, but before he could open his mouth, his opponent pushed her shield forward.

  [Shield bash].

  The force of the blow hit the shards of plastic, glass and metal in midair, sending them flying at a hundred miles per hour straight at Henry.

  He dove sideways, but he could still feel some shrapnel cut through his coat and slice open his skin underneath.

  ***

  Jinyoung tied a strip of cloth he’d ripped from his jacket around Youngho’s hand. It bled profusely, more than any cut rightfully should. He held the makeshift bandage tight and waited for the bleeding to subside. But if anything, the bleeding only slowed and didn’t stop.

  “He’s a rogue, Jinyoung. A lethal one by the looks of it.”

  The monk examined his hand and flexed it, feeling the wetness spread underneath. Youngho winced. The sharp pain of the cut was settling into a dull throb. But, worryingly, the initial burning sensation was spreading through his hand and moving up his wrist.

  “Something wrong, old man?” His voice was tinged with worry and concern.

  Youngho flashed the boy a smile. “I’m fine, we need to get in there and help Hana.”

  Shraakkk!!

  The two of them watched as Hana tore through thirty pounds of plastic and metal before sending the shower of parts streaking towards their enemy.

  “Should she be-”

  Jinyoung didn’t finish his question before the remaining screens on the control room’s workstations flashed red. Lines of code scrolled past the screens as some of them flickered and blink in and out.

  Outside, the familiar hum of the machinery was substituted with whirring and clicking. As if the gears were catching in place.

  “That’s not good.”

  Youngho turned to look out the window at the cradle. More importantly, the gate above the cradle was beginning to pulse and flash. The flashes came quicker and quicker like an old film camera until a burst of light temporarily blinded all of them. The world appeared like it was on fire for a moment until Youngho blinked the white spots away from his vision.

  “Hana?” he yelled out.

  “I’m here, dad.”

  “Where’s that squirrelly bastard?”

  Jinyoung stood up and looked around. “He’s gone, we’d better-”

  His voice trailed off as he stared through the windows. The cradle was still there, but it was obviously damaged. The gate above looked unstable, flashing intermittently with spouts of electricity striking the area around it.

  But that wasn’t what concerned him the most. The most concerning this was the fully-armored and vaguely human warrior kneeling in front of the gate.