The Guild Of Shadows

Where's My Army?

On the fields right outside Hondah, an army of hundreds was marching in unison. The person heading this party was Yusaku Ona.

"Hand me another cannon.". 

He took the cannon and, with movements like a pitcher, threw the cannon over the walls of Honda, and a huge explosion could be heard.

This went on a couple of times. 

As for the conditions, on the other hand, 

"There are over 200 of them; I don't sense any artifacts from them."

He had deployed his shadow to spy on the marching army.

"What now!" The one who spoke next was Grover; he was panicking, evident from how he was aggressively pulling his hair. 

"What else? We fight.''" 

"H-hold on!" Grover interjected.

"I didn't sign up for war; this is his problem."

He was pointing at Vladmir. 

"Grover..." 

WHACK! 

Krystal slapped him, shocking everyone around them. 

"He is our guildmate now, and we don't abandon our friends!" 

He exclaimed furiously. 

Grover had a puzzled look on his face as he held the spot where he was slapped. 

"You can either help us out or run away like a coward, but I am not going anywhere!" 

Vladmir could only stare at Krystal with admiration and respect. 

He wasn't the only one either; the 50 guards that were assembled around them and the trio were present too. 

'Now I see what the commander saw in you'. Cain thought to himself with a smile. 

Krystal turned to face Vladmir with the usually warm smile on his face. 

"What's the plan, Vo?" 

"I've sent word to Regrah and requested backup from that witch; we're all facing a common enemy here." 

"Right, who is this Radykon anyway?". 

"It's Yusaku Ona," Ruth corrected. 

Vladmir began explaining... 

"You know the story of how artifacts emerged 800 years ago?".

Krystal nodded. 

He continued. 

"Yusaku Ona is one of the Four Generals of the Harijoh Region, a nation hell-bent on returning the world to how it was before artifacts came.".

"They believe that artifacts are evil, and all those who use them are no different.". 

"So the region is waging a war on all artifact users?" 

"That's right." 

Harijoh is a region south of Ernia. It's called the Land of Swords. 

""That means none of them use artifacts! No wonder I didn't sense any of them earlier."" 

All soldiers of Harijoh are trained diligently in the basic and advanced arts of using anime to face off against artifact users. 

Anima is the sole weakness of artifacts, as a strong enough aura burst of Anima could negate the abilities of artifacts. 

""The strongest members are the Four Generals. 

"Commander!". Cain exclaimed, looking worried as he continued. 

We have a problem; our signal is jammed; we can't reach out to Regrah; we're on our own."". 

Everyone's faces turned grim at this development. 

"What do we do now?". Vidal Asked. 

"What else? We fight!" 

"We're heavily outnumbered!" 

The current statistics for the pending war were 250 to 50. 

There might be artifact users on their side, but the difference in numbers plays a lot in war, not to mention that the opposing general is someone said to be on a level that even the district commanders haven't reached yet. 

"I have a plan to take down Yusaku Ona." Grover, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly spoke. 

"It's not going to be easy, though.". 

Krystal smiled, seeing that his friend was willing to help them. 

"Grover..." 

"You're right, Demon spawn; guild mates should look after one another; I'm sorry for what I said earlier too, Vladmir.". 

He gave the big man a hand, signaling that he was finally accepting him as an ally. 

Vladmir grinned and, in return, lifted Grover with a massive hug. The sound of his bones cracking could be heard. 

"Ouch! Hey! Put me down, you big palooza!"

Krystal could only laugh at this exchange. 

A few minutes later... 

"Right, so everyone knows their role?" 

Grover had shared his plan with the crew, and they were all geared up for battle. 

"Yeah!". 

"Let's get these Harijoh bastards." 

"Hahaha, this plan is crazy enough to work; no wonder you're the strategist." 

Krystal faced the army of 50 in front of him. 

Besides him were Grover, Vladmir, Cain, Ruth, and Vidal.

"Today! The world shall witness the rise of the Shadows Guild!" 

Back on the field, the two armies were facing one another. 

Yusaku Ona came forward, and Krystal did the same. 

""Are you the commander of this army, a mere teenager? Hah!" 

He mocked, liking the odds he was facing: a small army led by a kid against an army of hundreds under his command. 

What he didn't know was that Krystal was the one who defeated Vladmir in the video Kira showed him the other time. 

He urges the soldiers to be on his side. 

"My companions! The time is nigh; we will purge this world of the impurities of these accursed artifacts and the people that worship them."

He pointed his sword forward. 

"Attack!"

... 

Nothing happened. 

He looked around to witness that his entire army was gone. He grinds his teeth and turns toward Krystal. 

"You! What accurate artifact did you use?" 

"Who me?" Krystal pointed at himself, acting like he didn't have anything to do with what just happened. 

"I didn't do a thing, you bastard!" 

Yusaku Ona was confused and frustrated; his army vanished, and he was now all alone, facing the opposition army. 

'I'm sure this is the doings of an artifact, but what type?' 

He thought to himself, trying to figure out just what in the world was going on here. 

He figured it wasn't an illusion-type artifact because he would have felt their presence using seismic sense. 

He couldn't feel a thing. 

What he didn't know was that he was playing right into Grover's trap.

A few moments ago, Grover was explaining his plan to the crew.

"Eh! You're going to transform into me?"

"Yes, demon spawn."

Grover is the owner of Lupin's Hat; one of the abilities he received was the power to transform into anyone. 

Lupin was a master thief and a master of disguise.

Yusaku Ona had never met Krystal, so he wouldn't know who the original was.

"Krystal and Vladmir will take this path and circle around the army while I stand as the commander of our.".

The plan was simple.

Grover knew Krystal and Vladmir are two individuals with vast amounts of anima; if they could somehow combine their powers in unison, Krystal could use his artifact to control not just his shadow but the shadow of the hundreds of soldiers.

He recalled how Krystal had used his shadow to follow him into the prison when he was arrested; he blended with the shadow completely and could move through narrow places.

Krystal confirmed this hypothesis.

"It's possible to have their shadows absorb them, but even with all that, Anima, it can only last for a little while."

"A little is all we need here; I will use my artifact's other abilities." 'Snatch Steal', which allows me to copy any artifact ability and use it on the spot."" 

He snickered as he explained that part.

"Hehe, a perfect ability for a master thief, don't you think?".