Hana Ryu, the weaponizer. An A-Ranked Hunter that was rising in the world before she disappeared for good. A star that didn’t get its chance to shine brightly.

  The shadowy figure that was attacking me so far now seemed far more alert.

  “Hey, Missy,” Hana Ryu called out to me. “You should leave, this is not a good time for someone like you to be hanging around.”

  She didn't wait for an answer. She just flicked her wrist.

  A playing card shot out from her sleeve. It cut through the air, humming a deadly note, and sliced straight through the Shadow’s shoulder.

  The monster didn't bleed. Smoke poured out of the wound instead.

  “SCREEE!”

  It shrieked, a sound like nails on a chalkboard, and lunged.

  And then I saw it.

  The Shadow moved. It shifted its weight, bent its knees, and snapped forward.

  It was exactly how Hana moved.

  The Shadow grabbed a loose roof tile from a nearby stall. It spun it like a discus and hurled it.

  Hana didn't dodge. She plucked a leaf from a potted plant next to her. A single, flimsy green leaf. She stiffened it with mana and threw it.

  The leaf met the tile in mid-air.

  CRACK.

  The tile shattered into dust. The leaf kept going, embedding itself into the wooden pillar behind the Shadow.

  “Whoa…”

  I forgot to breathe.

  This wasn't a fight. It was a dance. A terrifying, lethal dance where everything was a weapon.

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  The Shadow snarled. It grabbed a handful of pebbles from the ground. With a flick of its wrist, it turned them into buckshot.

  Hana sighed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of change. Coins.

  She threw them.

  Ping. Ping. Ping.

  Metal hit stone. Sparks flew. Every single pebble was knocked out of the air by a coin. The precision was inhuman. It was like watching two supercomputers play chess at the speed of light.

  But Hana was faster.

  She didn't stop moving. She grabbed a broom leaning against a wall. In her hands, it became a spear. She spun it, deflecting a barrage of rusty nails the Shadow had summoned from a nearby construction site.

  She vaulted over a bench, using the broom to pole-vault straight toward the monster.

  The Shadow tried to mimic her. It grabbed a mop.

  But it was sloppy. Just a fraction of a second too slow.

  Hana slammed the broom handle into the Shadow’s chest. The impact sent a shockwave through the plaza. The monster flew back, crashing into a stack of empty crates.

  “You’re getting sloppy,” Hana muttered.

  The Shadow hissed. It scrambled up, its form flickering. It was desperate now. It reached out, trying to pull a lamp post from the ground.

  Hana clicked her tongue.

  She pulled a silver Zippo lighter from her pocket.

  Flick.

  A small, orange flame burst to life.

  The Shadow froze. It seemed terrified of the light.

  Hana tossed the lighter into the air.

  She didn't touch it again. She just guided it with her mana. The flame detached from the wick. It grew. It swirled. It became a whip of pure fire.

  Hana slashed her hand through the air.

  The fire whip cracked.

  It lashed out, wrapping around the Shadow’s arm.

  “YEEEEOW!”

  The monster screamed as the fire burned through its smoky form. It thrashed, ripping its arm free, losing half of its substance in the process.

  It didn't want to fight anymore. It turned tail and scrambled up the wall, dissolving into the night like a bad dream.

  Hana caught the lighter as it fell back down. She snapped it shut.

  Click.

  Silence returned to the plaza.

  I stood there, shivering on my own patch of ice. My mouth was dry. My brain was trying to process what I had just seen.

  Hana Ryu turned to me.

  She was smaller than I expected. She wore a long trench coat that looked two sizes too big, and her black hair was tied back in a messy bun. Her eyes were dark, tired, and sharp enough to cut glass.

  The Zippo lighter was still floating next to her head, the flame dancing lazily in the air.

  We didn't speak.

  She just stared at me, assessing me, deciding if I was worth the effort of talking to.

  I gulped.

  I wanted to say something cool. Something like, “Nice moves,” or “I’m hiring.”

  But my eyes drifted down.

  The moon was bright. It cast long, stark shadows across the cobblestones. My shadow stretched out behind me, long and distorted. The fountain cast a shadow. Even the crates cast shadows.

  But beneath Hana’s boots?

  There was nothing.

  Just the gray stone bathed in moonlight.

  Hana Ryu had no shadow.