Reincarnated As A Dragon With A Godly Inheritance
Chapter 67: Night of shadows

Chapter 67: Night of shadows

"You too, Kael," Taria called but Kaedros didn’t respond.

The first shadow was already on him, this one wielding a massive battle axe. He had no choice but to hook his short sword into the weapon’s head and yank it from the shadow’s grip.

He followed the motion with a clean slice at its neck, cutting it down, though he didn’t wait to see it fall. A blur passed by his right, and he dove to the left just as a heavy iron ball whooshed past with skull crushing force.

At least, he thought it would have crushed his skull. He didn’t know the true nature of the weapons the shadows held. They looked solid but Kaedros had seen them vanish the moment they hit the floor.

He darted forward with a thrust to the shadow’s chest, driving steel into where its heart would be before it could pull its chained weapon back. From there, everything became a blur, thrusts, parries, angled cuts, and desperate blocks. Each one jarred his arm and left his hand aching.

Then he saw one rushing toward Rauk, this one attempting to strangle him from behind with a rope. Kaedros was faster. His sword pierced the creature’s spine and it dissolved before the rope could find its mark.

"Thanks," Rauk muttered, surprised to find Kaedros beside him but Kaedros was already gone, engaged again, his sword intercepting a war axe meant for his throat.

Rauk shook his head, sweat dripping from his temples. His hands trembled as he lifted the long sword once again. With each heavy swing, he cut through at least two shadows, anchoring himself in one spot like a rooted tower.

His weapon had reach. Its weight, though, was a problem. Rauk could have sworn this was the longest long sword he had ever seen and had it gained weight overnight? Or was it that he had become weaker?

Didn’t matter. His muscles burned. Each parry was slower than the last.

A dagger nearly found his neck he had to throw himself sideways and yank his sword up just in time to cleave the shadow from hip to shoulder.

It dissolved with a hiss.

Rauk raised his weapon again, searching for the next one but nothing came.

The shadows had retreated.

"What... are... those?" Taria dropped her spear and collapsed, gasping for air.

"No idea," Rauk said, falling beside her. "But I don’t want to see them again."

Kaedros had the presence of mind to sit on the bed before his legs gave out. His hands trembled violently. "Me too," he muttered.

For a long time, the three of them said nothing, lost in the stillness of exhaustion and dim candlelight.

Rauk broke the silence. "I’m sure it’s morning now."

"My stomach’s been screaming that since we woke," Taria muttered. "Still so dark. Exactly like last night."

Kaedros slowly shook his head. "The shadows... they weren’t fast. Slower than regular people."

Rauk and Taria nodded. That much was true. The fact that none of them had been killed by now confirmed it.

"Almost as if they were meant to be slow," Kaedros added. "If we consider the beings in this Castle... that’s not an accident."

"And they didn’t make any sound," Taria said. "Just dissolved when killed. No screams. No voice."

"I wonder what their weapons would do to an actual body," Rauk said, a visible shiver running down his arms.

"Let’s not find out," Kaedros replied.

They fell silent again, until Taria mumbled, "Thalso should be here by now."

More silence.

Then the shadows returned.

And this time, they were fast.

"Why are they back?!" Taria yelled, barely dodging a long sword that sliced past her head. She pivoted on her heel and jabbed her spear through the ribs of the nearest shadow.

Another came from the left. She spun, blocked with her spear’s shaft, twisted her grip, and drove the butt into its chin. Then she twirled her weapon again, leapt forward, and speared the third shadow through the skull.

Around her, the shadows hissed and retreated, melting like wax but more came forward.

Kaedros didn’t have time to breathe. He slashed and ducked, slashed and twisted, but for every one he took down, two more took its place. His vision blurred. His body was sluggish. He was slower now, and they...faster.

And Rauk was in no better shape. His swings had grown labored. His grip trembled. But he didn’t stop. His arms burned, his back screamed, and sweat blinded him, but he kept going.

"What do we do?!" Rauk gasped. "We can’t hold much longer! They’re going to overwhelm us very soon!"

"Keep fighting!" Taria snapped, thrusting downward into a shadow’s chest and whipping her spear back up just in time to block another.

"Don’t let their weapons touch you!" Kaedros shouted. "We don’t know what they’ll do to us!"

His palm was raw and burning. His black hair clung to his face like wet ropes. They fought like cornered animals, blocking, slashing, dodging, barely keeping their bodies safe from the cold gleam of those dark weapons.

Just when it felt like they couldn’t raise their arms again, the shadows vanished.

They faded into the room’s unnatural darkness until only the three of them remained.

And then, they collapsed.

Kaedros leaned on his sword, breathing hard.

Rauk dropped to his knees and held his chest.

Taria sagged against the floor, her chest heaving, her mouth opened to drag as many air in as she could.

Their hunger had weakened them, it made things worse for them. Their sweat soaked their clothes and clung to them tightly. Their bodies screamed in pain and agony.

"We’ll die from the shadows before hunger finishes the job," Kaedros whispered, wiping damp hair from his eyes with trembling fingers.

Even as a run away, it been so long since he fought like that.

Taria groaned. She didn’t have the energy to reply.

Rauk didn’t make a sound either, his only focus now was breathing.