"Ryutaro-Sama is absolutely right. Ayumu fed on Rokuro and Enatsu's dreams while they slept. You can rest assured, all this does not entail any consequences on your minds... it only serves to strengthen the magical power of my Kurotoko," Shioko intervened, explaining how Ayumu's feeding process worked.

"It is a very sensitive demon and vulnerable to offence. This morning, when I stepped away to collect water from the well, I decided to summon it to let it breathe some clean air. Before approaching you and your mole demon, it asked for my permission," she replied, turning to Enatsu.

​​

Though awkwardly, the archer was trying to apologize to her teammate. After her words, Ayumu took a few timid steps towards the carriage. The little black humanoid knew Enatsu was looking at it, and, under specific orders from its tamer, it stretched its little arms along its sides and made a bow as if it wanted to apologize, too.

That gesture softened everyone who was watching. The merchant, who had no intention of accepting the apology and remembered perfectly all the incidents in which Shioko had been rude to him, couldn't help but hint at a smile.

"Well... it's certainly not its fault if it had approached me without saying anything. It was just following its instincts, and… it's a magnificent specimen. Phew..." Enatsu huffed, "I forgive you", he stated with an air of superiority.

Shioko chuckled to herself, not answering to that statement. "What's its power? I mean… its skill" Yoichi interrupted, thrilled to have a rare demon before his eyes.

"Ayumu's power?" the archer replied enthusiastically as if she was happy that finally, someone of them had asked her that question. "Kurotokos can manipulate the shadows, entering them and dizzyingly increasing their powers," she explained.

"Wow! That sounds cool! Can you show it to me?" Yoichi asked joyfully. In the young tamer's eyes was a great desire to learn new things. Just crossing her gaze with her companion's, Shioko couldn't refuse that request.

The red-haired tamer inserted the small knife she had used to skin the game into her boot and stood up. Taking a step forward, she walked out of the shadow of the tall oak tree and let the sunlight illuminate her whole body.

When she was about five meters away from the big tree, she called Ayumu back to her, and it started running again in the same funny way it had done a few minutes before. "I warn you, this is nothing definite, I'm still working on it" the archer remarked, breaking the silence.

Before her companions could respond to that statement, the little Ayumu, during its funny run, began to hop towards the part of the ground behind Shioko. The sunlight hitting her body from above generated a shadowy area behind her, cutting out its contours tracing the outline of her body.

Suddenly, the Kurotoko took a jump longer than others, literally diving into Shioko's shadow: as if it had instantly become some kind of puddle, Ayumu's small black body plunged inside it, disappearing into nothingness.

"Uh?! Amazing! That little monster just dove into Shioko's shadow!" Enatsu exclaimed in amazement, holding on to one of the edges of the carriage with both hands.

When Ayumu jumped, nothing happened for a few seconds. After a short wait, the outlines of the shadow of Shioko's body projected by the sun underwent a phenomenon that went against all the laws of physics: starting from the edges to the innermost areas, the shadow detached itself from the ground, standing up as if it were an animated being.

"Wo! Wo!" Yoichi yelled, unable to believe his eyes.

About six seconds after Ayumu's dive, Shioko's shadow was no longer on the ground but was standing next to her. Being her shadow, it perfectly reflected every shape and size of her body.

Same height, same thickness and probably same weight: Shioko's faceless shadow was her exact copy, but its mind was commanded by Ayumu, immersed somewhere in that dark substance.

"Being a fairly widespread demon, I had no difficulty finding manuals that explain how its main skill works" Shioko explained. "However, it requires a lot of studies, and I don't have enough time to do it" she added, stepping forward.

As soon as the archer moved, her dark copy did the same, pointing its faceless head at her. "Look at this," the red-haired girl spoke again.

With a swift gesture, Shioko grabbed a stone from the ground and prepared to throw it. Simultaneously, Ayumu did the same, and a stone made of shadow appeared in its hand. "Go!" she shouted, throwing the stone at full force towards one of the rice fields.

*swisssh* - A second stone detached from her copy's arm, doubling the blow with modest precision.

"Hahah! See?" Shioko rejoiced, thrilled that she was able to double her attack thanks to Ayumu's skill.

"But... it's… it's astonishing! You're going to use its powers to teach it how to shoot arrows, aren't you?" Yoichi inquired, imagining every possible use for such a skill.

"Like I said, I still need to study a lot. Yes, that's my goal," Shioko smiled. "If I could make two simultaneous attacks from two different directions, my fighting skills would become much more effective, even against multiple enemies" she explained, giving proof of her insight.

During that sunny morning, the archer looked particularly happy. Perhaps the thought of successfully completing the dungeon and earning valuable XP points had put her in a good mood.

"Maybe it's time for me to expand my team as well," Yoichi commented, taking advantage of Shioko's momentary availability to receive some valuable advice. Although he had managed to get rid of a powerful boss, Yoichi was aware that he still had a lot to learn.

The archer's shadow fell to the ground, impacting the soil gently, like light sheets lying on a mattress. After that quick process, Ayumu splashed out of its tamer's shadow, landing with his tiny black feet on the grassy floor.