In the oppressive atmosphere brought about by the arrival of the newcomer, the only sounds that resounded were the clanking of the chains and the low groans of the beasts.
The silhouette did not speak; it just looked down on them, the biting cold of its gaze boring holes into them.
The strongest of the shades, exerting considerable effort, managed to look straight up and finally caught a glimpse of the one who had brought them to this state.
How could it be him?!
Standing in front of the intruders-turned-captives was a tall figure of ethereal grace, exuding a regal and domineering air that made one involuntarily lower their head in deference, despite the obvious youthfulness of his features.
His body seemed to be made of the same matter as the shield they had been battering earlier, with long golden hair reaching down to his waist. The other ends of the chains holding the captives wrapped around his forearms, forming a sort of gauntlet that extended from his wrists to his fingers, while golden clothes draped his body.
The most striking features of the mysterious newcomer were his eyes.
They were like two pools of brilliant, pure liquid gold, and now, those eyes looked down with deadly coldness at the captured intruders.
But what made the shade shudder was that it recognized the newcomer.
Despite the drastic change in his appearance, the shade recognized him.
He and the others had looked on earlier as this young man and several other unfortunate youths battled for their lives.
It remembered having jeered at the new bloods' plight, and its surprise at the sudden, shouted hints this person had given to his peers.
How it had then mocked him for not knowing what he had unleashed upon them, laughing with a half-mocking, half-bitter tone at the youth—and at itself—when the beast transformed and tore through the youngsters' ranks.
Then, it had looked on in absolute stupor when, against all odds, the young man managed to slay the transformed chimera.
"Astounded" barely sufficed to describe what it had felt then, but the feeling had quickly subsided.
As impressive as he is, what does it have to do with me?
it had thought, its interest waning as it was about to fall back into its slumber.
The formidable youth had fallen, his breath weakening by the second as he lay dying.
At first, it was unbothered—just another unlucky soul coming to this side—until it felt something emanating from the young man that attracted it.
It hadn't lasted long—no more than a breath, and not too strong either, like an ephemeral glitter before it vanished.
That was all, but it was more than enough to throw the sea of blood—at least the part near the young man—into absolute chaos.
Several of its fellow sufferers, though not as conscious, followed their instincts and dashed forward, disappearing into the young man.
Being more self-aware and shrewd than its peers, it hadn't gone immediately, despite the undeniable appeal of what it had felt earlier.
What was it? it had thought, hesitating before finally steeling its resolve and moving forward.
It didn't know what it was, only that since waking up in this strange state, it had never felt anything like it. So, it pushed its reservations aside and advanced.
It was almost upon the unconscious young man when it heard a voice resounding in its head.
Don't go,
the voice said, warning in its tone.
A shudder ran through it, making it falter in its advance.
Even that one was altered?
it thought.
But seeing other shades still hurrying in, and the beasts almost upon the youngster, it paid the warning no mind and dashed inside as well.
I am already neither dead nor alive, what is the worst that could happen?
it thought.
After all, even those in cloaks couldn't see or hurt them, much less a kid, no matter how peculiar he was.
Before disappearing inside, the shade seemed to hear a light sigh resound once, and then nothing more.
It had thought nothing of it then.
But now... looking at the golden figure in front of it and feeling the cold wrath in those eyes, it knew.
I should have listened to it.
The shade's bitter thoughts were brutally interrupted as the newcomer, Gil, finally sprang into action.
First, with a light clenching of his right hand, the chains around the hounds contracted sharply, constricting them in an instant.
There was no room for a last-ditch struggle.
No miraculous upset occurred; not even the largest among them managed to free itself for a last stand.
The beasts didn't even have the time to whimper or struggle before they were crushed to pieces, dispersing into vanishing particles of light.
Once he was done with the beasts, Gil settled his gaze upon the shadows.
Under his gaze, every single one of them—even those not completely conscious—felt a deep, visceral, existential dread at being targeted by those eyes.
And what had happened to the hounds did nothing to reassure them, as the shade only now belatedly realized that this golden figure could not only hurt them, but... destroy them entirely.
The shade that recognized him, perhaps because of its higher level of awareness, felt it all the more keenly.
Desperate not to stay there and die, it tried to quietly fade away from the accursed chains.
But nothing it tried worked, as if the chains and those dread red spikes anchored it, refusing to let it slip away.
Its actions were not entirely unnoticed, however; when it raised its head, it found Gil's eyes fixed squarely upon it.
Damn.
If the shade had a heart, it would have dropped straight into its stomach from sheer terror.
Observing this particular shade a bit longer, Gil's lips arched into a faint, cold smile that promised nothing but doom.
With a mere twitch of his fingers, the chains around it tightened further.
The spikes elongated, effectively nailing it in place and sealing off any possibility of escape, completely uncaring of the agony ripping through the shade or the almost translucent state it was reduced to.
Having settled this one, Gil's attention shifted to the other shades, and he began to act.
Selecting one of the shades, he controlled the chains to drag it directly in front of him. The chosen shade shattered and struggled with all its might.
Even without facial features, the sheer terror pouring from it was palpable to Gil.
Gil's expression didn't change.
He watched with cold eyes as he commanded the spikes on his chains to slowly grow in size.
The shade trembled violently as it was slowly transfixed like a porcupine, until it could no longer endure the strain and collapsed, leaving behind a clump of white, cloud-like matter floating in its place.
Hum?
Gil tilted his head to the side at the phenomenon.
For the first time since his appearance, a shred of genuine emotion appeared on his face as he curiously seized the floating object.
But now was not the time.
Conjuring another chain, he tried to wrapped it securely around the cloudy essence.
It worked.
He pushed it to the side and refocused his attention on the other shades.
Now, alongside his cold anger, a gleam of curiosity was present in his golden eyes.
A collective shiver ran through the surviving shades as they threw everything they had into breaking their bounds.
Gil watched their antics with a faint, cold, mocking smile as he continued his systematic execution.
One after another, the shades were dragged before him.
Each time, he broke them apart slowly, taking his time to ensure they suffered through the process—especially those he had seen zealously hammering away at his Aegis.
Strangely, though, not every shade left behind one of those cloudy essences.
Some did, some did not.
Even the clouds themselves varied in their forms, shapes, and colors floating all around him.
It was almost like opening surprise bags; he never knew what was inside until they burst.
Were it not for the silent screams and desperate struggles of the shades, this scene could have easily resembled a young boy eagerly opening gift boxes with gleaming eyes.
He grew so engrossed in his task that he quickly ran through all the shades, leaving only the strongest one still nailed in place.
Realizing this, Gil felt a little embarrassed and disappointed that there was still so much he wanted to understand.
He set aside the essences he had harvested from the shadows and began to walk toward the last prisoner.
His expression returning to its previous chilling coldness, he stopped directly in front of it.
Silence settled over the scene as the shade lay completely still in its bonds, looking as though it had abandoned all hope.
Then, Gil opened his mouth and said coldly,
"Stop playing dead, or I will make you wish you were... I have questions for you."