TRAILING SHADOWS

"Boy, lend a hand!" The Assassins called out as they formed an arrow head formation, the shield guy in front with his elbows closed in together.

It took her only few seconds to get there. And the moment she got there, she raised her left arm backwards for a punch. 

Just as her punch sailed in, the air ricocheting with the massive blast after blast of Aura radiating from Niniola so much that even the Assassins found it difficult to stand their grounds as they waited for the punch, Tayo leapt up, over their heads, his sword arcing down for slash.

"Law of War: Furious Fire!" Tayo chanted, his own aura of cutting bursting out as the air began to tingle with intense prickly sharpness.

Niniola frowned. 

If she had been trying to hold back before, seeing Tayo now having the guts to attack her had let all of that go. 

She was livid and this time, she was not going to hold.

"Oko Kiliasi" She chanted her signature move. "Smoldering Fisssssttt..." She screamed out again.

Usually, when in battle, Irunmoles did not have the luxury of time to enact another technique that will be used in battle. This was as a result of the fact that it took quite a while to build the constructs for a technique to take place in. And the time one was going to use to chanting another technique was just enough of the time it took for that person to be annihilated.

Which was why, unless extremely powerful, an Irunmole would choose a particular technique to use in battle, most times constructing the same runic structures over and over.

It was easy to construct something one had in action the previous second. 

However, in Niniola's place, that didn't matter. 

BOOOOOOOMMMM! 

Niniola's body blurred, her cracked fist with numerous crisscrossing lines of red that fissled and expelled vapor out, bashing into the shield. The shield Irunmole g.r.o.a.n.e.d, buckled to his knees. His partners lowered over, trying to still maintain their sword cross. 

Just then, Tayo slashed home, his body arched into a ball just as his sword went down.

But, few inches from touching Niniola's exposed back, the banished girl twisted, presenting her right with her signature move in it.

The Oko Kiliasi. 

Swiftly, she plunged it into him, the resulting effect exploding into a widespread burst of chaotic force.

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!

Tayo was flung backwards by the force, just as Niniola refocused on the Assassins, swiping her left knee in a straight curve, flesh ramming into metal shield.

GBOW!

"Aaaaaaaaghhh!" They yelled as they jerked their swords into the air, straight for Niniola who was in the center of it.

"Phantom Strike!" They changed as the real images of their blades appeared and slashed Niniola, the last cut from the real blades, an uppercut of the two Assassins, forcefully flinging her away.

"Hnh!" Sunday g.r.o.a.n.e.d, watching just as Ibiyemi dashed forward. He lit up even brighter, speeding after her.

In few steps, they appeared before Elisa who snarled, an ethereal form of her appearing larger than the real Elisa.

She clapped her hands, or was about to, Ibiyemi right at the center of it. But just as her hands closed, Sunday dashed, grabbing her in an armlock from the back.

He threw a stunt, his speed greatly improved as he dodged whatever technique Elisa was going to use. 

Whilst in mid air, two chains swept for him, their ends jagged with rusty blades.

"ugh!" Sunday and Ibiyemi g.r.o.a.n.e.d.

 Unaware, the chains curled around him and jerked, pulling him to the burly bearded Irunmole.

In the place of the lightning, was a lightning guard, grunting, his right boot slamming into the stomach of the Irunmole in the same time Sunday and Ibiyemi thudded to the ground.

"What? Why,Sunday?" Ibiyemi scowled. She was on top of him while he was on the ground, still holding her in arms lock.

"Niniola said we do not need to engage. We should only attack from the sides and when the coast is clear, let us ditch the party." Sunday replied, sniffing.

"Ugh! Can you just let me go, now, Sunday?" She flared, her words making Sunday hurry to release her. 

Released, the two of them struggled to untie themselves but to no avail.

Sunday laughed. Ibiyemi frowned, looking over her shoulder to him. 

"What's funny?" 

"We have to work together. Do you know any blade technique? If we combine hands we might cut our way out."

"Oh!" Ibiyemi smiled briefly.

"Abefele Iruju" She chanted her illusion blade of energy.

"Imole Mo" Sunday chanted, projecting a light dagger in his hands. 

However because of the position he had Ibiyemi, his hands were just by her h.i.p.s which made it even difficult to move because he felt uneasiness at the fact his hands were touching her h.i.p.s.

Just then, they went weightless as they lifted up, Elias pulling them by the chains by the waist.

"So, it is finished, eh! This is all you are capable of?" Elias taunted.

Lightning streak flashed behind him and a lightning guard popped up. Immediately, the guard shit out his hands, doling out a bolt if lightning that boomed him up in the air.

The guard looked at them as they fell to the ground again, thoughtfully while heat and light flashed about them. Some dust sacathered into Ibiyemi's face making her spit out while Sunday just kept his cool, groaning in all the aches he had received from falling even to the extent his Partial Sage Mode was off.

"law of lightning: Lightning strands." The guard chanted after making some symbols in the air..

He flung his hands towards them, shooting out two streaks of lightning to the chains and in an instant, ripped it all out.

"Stay down, both of you. You will be taken into custody." He warned.

Seeing it pulled out, they scramble to their feet, making to run towards the scuffle where Niniola had just been blasted her away by thee combined strike of the two swordsmen. 

"Ah-ah! I said, stand down." The guard yelled out as he charged his fist with static, lightning crawling over his fists.

Sunday dashed, his body charged up as he tried to tank the hit. But just as the lightning streaks reached for him, Ibiyemi's eyes flashed, substituting her in place of Sunday.

She huffed, her hands swept into active as she channelled the lightning through the Abefele Iruju that suddenly appeared in her hands, redirecting it to the nearby Irunmole, of which was Elias, knocking him down to the ground.

Meanwhile, that very moment, Sunday twisted to the sides, almost as if he was exercising his left hand down to the ground, avoiding several ethereal chains that swept at him. Just as he was returning to stand upright, a heavy fist slammed into his face, sending him flying.

On the ground, he tried to rise, his body refusing to budge. So far, he had been in Partial Sage Mode bit the truth was the Sage Mode was what had kept him alive all along. 

None of these people here were his calibre. Which was why the successive attacks either sent him flying or knocked him down.

He grunted, just as the energy he was taking from Bane refused to connect, taking off his Sage Mode.

"Not now. Bane... A little help!" He called out.

"No, you... You are done for, boy! Like you must have guessed, you cannot use the partial sage mode to attack because you are barely surviving.' Bane scoffed in his Soul Space.

'Then, help me. Let me summon you in your form.' Sunday was desperate.

'Is it someone that cannot hold the Partial Sage that would be strong enough to summon me?' Bane replied, stating the hopelessness of Sunday's case.

'Well, then, let me go full Sage Mode.'

'Are you insane? If you want to die, at least unbind me, okay?' Bane retorted.

'Then... Help me...' Sunday growled into his soul as he rose painstakingly to his fours. 

'Help me save my friends and help me complete this mission. Please.'

Bane snarled at this, seeing the effort he was putting on getting up. 

Like he had once said, he saw potential in Sunday. Perhaps, this was the time to not let the potential go to waste.

'Fine. I might have one trump card I can use. But it is not a out Half or full Sage mode. Neither is it about summoning me. To do this, you need to surrender your will...

Surrender all of your will to me!' Bane stated as Sunday gasped at what he heard.

Surrender his will? That sounded like give me your soul forever.

This was a hard bargain the Wolf was driving at and he was not sure how to react to it.