The idea of territory is not associated with the concept of walls.
It is associated with the concept of hesitation.
As soon as a person steps into forbidden area and keeps his pace, you can say for sure the boundary has been overstepped.
My shadow sensed it even before I did with my eyes.
A disturbance in the atmosphere. Some lost human or monster not making their way along with the others. These were slow, sure, too quiet.
I made a fist.
Rei was halted on the spot at once, no question, no sound.
BLACK LOTUS, our following partner, behind us, reduced its pace and then got motionless—like a sword being drawn from its sheath inch by inch with great caution.
Dragon was silently alongside me in no time. His eyes were on the overpass that was destroyed and he seemed to plan each movement of the pieces on a board only he could see as he was slightly flexing his fingers.
"They are not scouting," he whispered. "They are testing."
Akino moved ahead. The atmosphere became heavy around him.
That was their time to come out.
From the broken concrete overhead, six silhouettes slipped down quietly and effortlessly. No excitement. No unnecessary movements. They were fighting, the distance between them was not great, yet it was intentional—fighters who knew each other well enough to let the spaces between.
The boss of the group was walking past the others, palms facing up, grin easy.
Too easy.
"I am not sure if someone is taking this stretch of land," he said with an easy-going tone. "Looks like we just found out."
Sasha thumped her tongue against her palate. Waves of intense heat emanated from her body. Taro unconsciously moved forward half a step.
Akino remained immobile.
"This area is ours," Dragon said in a steady voice. "Go back."
The man's response was a laugh—sharp and mirthless. "Territory is a term that can be used in many ways. The system did not determine borders; people did."
His gaze was on Akino for a moment. It was prolonged. It was deliberate.
Predator reasoning.
"Identity," Akino asked.
"ENMA-KAI."
Underworld.
My shadow shrank a little, and not because it was scared, but because it recognized the source.
The system was late as always.
[TERRITORIAL DISPUTE DETECTED]
RESOLUTION METHOD: CONFLICT
The word hit like a dropped blade.
---
First, they moved.
Fast.
So fast that there was no time for negotiation.
Steel, a feint on top of a real killing strike, flashed towards Dragon's throat. I sensed the pivot of Dragon before its full swing—too late to completely dodge.
Taro rushed to the assailant like a wall giving way, metal screaming as the strike was deflected off his armored forearm instead of the throat of Dragon.
"CONTACT!" Dragon shouted.
All at once, everything burst out.
Sasha pushed forward, fire bursting out—not a chaotic fire, but a strong compressed roar that hit the left flank of ENMA-KAI. Two of them were sent flying, heat snatching at their balance.
Not enough.
One got past the fire, a blade twinkling, and cut Sasha's shoulder as she turned to run.
She yelled—not because of pain, but out of fury.
I acted without a thought.
My shadow pushed out, getting thicker under the feet of the attacker. He lost his balance—just a little.
Taro's fist hammered down on his chest.
Bones broke.
He did not rise again.
---
ENMA-KAI changed their strategy right away.
Two lost their way and went for Chiemi.
Smart move.
She was not dazzling. She did not seem threatening. Which implied she was.
Rei screamed and lit up the place, thus one was blinded long enough for Chiemi to move aside, but the second assailant got to her, blade making a shallow cut on her arm as she was trying to get away.
Chiemi made a hissing sound and kept her ground.
Her hand banged on the assailant's chest and energy flowed out—not aggressive but disruptive. His body twitched. Balance broken.
Akino suddenly appeared beside him.
One cut.
Down.
The rest of ENMA-KAI fighters were still, unsure about what to do.
That was their error.
---
Akino was not a savage warrior.
He was an executioner with a time limit who had to do it quickly.
He came close, sword vibrating and slashed through their lines with merciless accuracy. Every movement was a force that pushed them back—towards the places that Dragon had already marked up.
"Right side giving way!"
Dragon interjected a loud roar. "Push!"
Sasha gave her reply by means of flames.
Undoubtedly, an excessive quantity of flames.
The fire blaze blowed up higher than it was intended, influencing the rubbish and kindling the gas chambers under the rubble. The blast made one lose one's balance including us.
The soil cracked.
I felt hard impact, breath being teared away from my throat.
Pain erupted—sharp, instant.
Good.
Pain signaled that I was not yet out of the game.
I turned, the shadow intuitively shooting up to save a falling piece of concrete a few inches from Rei's head. It disintegrated silently in the dark, showering the remaining particles to the sides uselessly.
"Rei—get out!"
She was all in a hurry, the light going faintly. Blood was flowing from her head.
The ENMA-KAI didn't miss their chance.
The leader was on the run.
Right in the direction of Akino.
Be we bold or desperate.
He had power—more than the other ones. Heavy and quick were his blows, making Akino give up one step.
One step too many.
I could feel the system's eyes on me.
Computing.
Akino blocked their leader's strike once. Twice. Metal cried.
The third hit got through and ran across his body.
Blood.
Genuine blood.
The fighting arena was suspended in time for a moment.
That moment nearly cost us.
---
"Akino!" yelled Sasha.
The ENMA-KAI chieftain grinned—broad, predatory—and took one more step in.
I did not go.
I went down instead.
My shadow compressed, spread, then erupted up behind him, looping around his ankles like a flick. He lost his balance—just for a moment.
Sufficient.
Akino was ready in no time.
His sword ran through the man's shoulder, nailing him to the broken pillar behind him.
The head of the gang yelled.
Not because he was hurting.
But because he was angry.
"Kill him!" A voice from his group gave an order.
I advanced but did it very slowly.
In a calculated way.
The kingpin's stare was on me.
"You are a shadow rascal," he said through his teeth.
I knelt down next to him.
"You stepped into our territory," I whispered. "Now you will have to mark it."
I stomped on his knee with my heel and broke it.
He screamed.
I came nearer, whispering so that only he could understand me.
"Return," I breathed. "Inform them that this land devours its own."
And then I took a step back.
Akino extracted his sword.
The headman fell down, shrieking, living.
Deliberately.
---
The remaining group of ENMA-KAI disintegrated.
They didn't retreat in an orderly manner but took to their heels—taking the wounded with them, dropping their weapons, and their eyes were full of shock.
The silence returned gradually, like something that was afraid to come back.
Smoke was rising.
The fire made crackling sounds.
The blood seeped into the concrete that had been crushed.
The system announced again.
[TERRITORY ESTABLISHED]
BLACK LOTUS – CONTROL CONFIRMED
Nobody applauded.
Taro fell on one knee, panting. Chiemi was already there, her hands glowing as she was healing his shattered ribs, her arm shaking because of the blood loss.
Sasha was leaning on a wall, her shoulder burned and cut, laughing faintly as if she was not sure whether she was alive or angry.
Rei was standing numbly, looking at me.
"You were not in doubt," she remarked.
"I couldn't risk it," I answered.
That was the truth.
Akino held my eyes.
This time there was no evaluation.
Only comprehension.
---
While we were assembling, I sensed it—the change emanating like ripples spreading in dark water.
Others had noticed.
Others would follow.
The dividing lines had been created today.
Not with flags.
With corpses.
And while BLACK LOTUS was encroaching further into its land, I brought up the rear, the shadow that I cast being long and silent.
Leaders were the ones who glittered most.
Frontliners were the ones who burned most.
But what about the shadows?
Shadows were the ones who controlled where the fire would go next.
And I was already observing the next line that was ready to be crossed.