Chapter 194: Standoff (4)
"Stop it!" she roared, her voice cracking with rage. "Stop hiding in the shadows like a coward!"
She pointed her spear at the nearest silhouette. "Is this the only way you dark mages know how to fight? With tricks and deceit? You are a rat scurrying in the dark, afraid of the light!"
Her voice rose to a desperate shriek. "Face me! Face me like a man, or are you just like another dark roach who fears a true battle?"
This time, all the clones just smirked instead of being angry. Slowly, the shadow clones wavered, then dissolved into smoke.
Silence fell over the field.
Then, Riku appeared. He solidified from the shadows directly in front of her. He stood not ten paces away. His form was no longer a void. It was solid, real, and radiating an immense, terrifying pressure.
"What’s wrong, Knight-Captain?" Riku asked, his voice laced with a cold amusement. "I thought darkness was weak. I thought the Light was pure and strong. Why are you having so much trouble with a simple ’parlor trick’?"
The captain’s face flushed a deeper shade of red. "Stop your cowardly games!" she snarled. "If you had any honor, you would face me in a fair fight!"
"You wanted a direct fight?" Riku asked, his voice quiet. "You wish to face me without tricks?"
The Knight-Captain stared at him. Her heart pounded in her chest. But her pride would not let her back down. "Yes," she snarled. "No more illusions. No more cowardice. Just you and me."
Riku smiled. It was a cold, empty expression. "Very well. I will grant your wish."
He stood perfectly still. He made no move to defend himself. He simply watched her.