One by one, figures cloaked in crimson materialized from the darkness, encircling them like predators cornering wounded prey. Each wielded a different weapon—spears, swords, axes, hammers.
But it was their eyes that made Ishiki's blood run cold.
'Curses... what is wrong withe their eyes?'
Ishiki dismounted the horse, visible resentment twisting his features, the eyes of the crimson warriors were glowing with a eerie light, and it wasn't the moonlight.
He gulped hard, sweat trickling down his temples. and then they lunged.
Three warriors exploded into motion, two with swords leveled at his chest, the third raising a long blade overhead in a killing arc.
Ishiki dodged the tachi thrust and rolled sideways, muscle memory from countless gaming sessions taking over. His back slammed into a tree trunk hard enough to knock the wind from his lungs.
Of course he was not trained for these kind of situations, how the hell was he supposed to?
But in games, players dodged boss monster attacks by rolling, and yeah... he could now confirm it actually worked. If he survived long enough to appreciate the knowledge, that is.
Before he could recover from the collision, an arrow whistled through the darkness. It missed his head by inches and thunked into the tree, sending splinters spraying across his face.
"Shit..."
He immediately got on his legs and ran as fast as he could, One of the crimson warriors suddenly appeared from behind a cluster of bushes, kodachi gleaming like liquid silver in the moonlight. Time stretched, as the blade arced down toward Ishiki's exposed neck.
He gritted his teeth and planted his bare feet into the dirt. Ishiki was a nerdy gamer who'd spent more hours mastering virtual combat than actual physical fitness, and knew several tactics that could be useful in such a situation.
Ducking low and tilting left, he drove his fist with every ounce of strength into the warrior's abdomen. But because of how his body was, it didn't faze him in little.
SHRINK!
Just moments before the sword could cut Ishiki, a kunai shrunk into the enemy's head, killing him on the spot. The dead body fell over Ishiki, motionless and cold.
Ishiki shoved it aside with trembling hands, staring wide-eyed at the dead face. His body was shivering, but still survival instincts took over.
He grabbed the sword from the corpse's hand and once again ran to the horse.
'Damn... that guy is really strong and reliable... maybe i can leave from here.'
The horse was in a frenzy, hooves stamping, eyes rolling white with terror. But the shinobi kept the reins pinned beneath his boot, preventing escape while simultaneously fighting. It decreased his mobility, sure—but around him lay dozens of corpses, stacked like cordwood.
"AGHHH!"
Another one jumped at Ishiki, holding a hammer aimed straight to crush his skull. He twisted right and jabbed the sword straight into the man's chest.
A triumphed smile made its way to his lips, but dissolved just as quickly as it had come. The hammer struck on his side, with the unnatural strength and sent him slamming into a tree.
"Cough...Ugh.."
Blood splattered out like water from his mouth.
"AAGHH!"
Ishiki groaned as he felt numbness follow on his left side of the chest. 'How... how the hell did he move?'
He strained to look up through pain-blurred vision. The hammer-wielding warrior was already advancing, blood flowing freely from the wound. Yet he moved like nothing had happened. Wrong. Everything about this was wrong.
'This can't be real... no way!'
"Pierce their head or heart, kill them instantly." The Shinobi shouted. "They are under control."
Revelation drowned on Ishiki, how hadn't he thought about it earlier? These crimson warriors had been busy invading the castle.
Why would they break formation to attack them specifically? The answer was obvious now.
They were being controlled by something...
'To hell with it!' Ishiki pushed his body and faced the hammer man once again. But this time his target was clear... the head or the heart.
Could he do it? Kill someone with his own hands? Drive metal through flesh and bone and watch the light leave their eyes?
He took a shuddering breath and forced the thought away.
'They're not real. This whole trial—it's not real.'
The lie helped. Barely.
With that he lunged towards the man, the man lunged at him too, the hammer raised already and making its way down.
Ishiki dodged right at the last moment and rolled closer to the man. The hammer thrashed into a nearby tree sending splinters of dry bark. One of them made a shallow cut on Ishiki's cheek.
But he didn't pay it any attention, with his heart beating like a drum Ishiki drove his blade straight into the skull of the man. At first it didn't go through, but upon putting a little force it passed through the skull piercing the brain.
Ishiki fell back... gasping. The dead body of the man he had slain fell like a heap of meat.
[You have slain an Innate Shinobi]
[You have received 50 Data Fragments]
Ishiki stared at the notifications, a slow ache forming in his head... he really did it, he killed a man.
'Calm down... calm down. This isn't real.'
"Come on... fast!" The shinobi's voice sliced through his mental haze. He was already mounted on the horse, surrounded by bodies piled like a small mountain of crimson-soaked corpses.
'Right... i need to run, I need to run.'
He rose on shaking legs and in one clumsy motion mounted the horse behind the shinobi.
It was then... when he saw them. There were six figures standing atop the magnificent castle... between them was the man who sat on the throne.
The shogun as the shinobi had told him. Flanking him were five others, each marked with intricate, glowing patterns that covered their bodies like living tattoos.
They were staring straight at them. Then, as one, the five patterned warriors leaped from the castle walls, leaving the Shogun standing alone—and began their pursuit
The horse galloped deeper into the darkness, trees blurring past. With distance, the castle shrank, the Shogun becoming nothing more than a solitary dot silhouetted against the moon's pale glow.
But behind them, five predators were coming. And Ishiki had a sinking feeling that running wouldn't be enough.