Apollo held his bokken tighter when he heard La''s words.
He scanned the area around him, checking with his blind spot.
Sure enough, there were countless shadow monkeys perched on the tree branches.
They were looking at Apollo and La with hostility.
A small smile appeared on Apollo''s face.
"La, this is your chance to y with them."
La cheered with her arms in the air.
"Yay!"
She dived into the fray, chasing after an arbitrary shadow monkey. The shadow monkey immediately ran away, but La was faster.
She easily caught up...
Then waited for the shadow monkey to continue running.
Apollo''s eyelid twitched.
"...I should''ve expected this."
The rest of the shadow monkeys appeared to ignore La altogether. Instead, they leaped to Apollo.
Apollo felt a premonition of danger but did not react in time.
His chest was shed. A shadow monkey ripped two lines deep into his flesh.
Apollo''s bokken whipped out, smashing the shadow monkey into a pulp.
His pupils shook.
If the shadow monkeys surrounded Apollo, he would take countless hits for each one he killed.
For an easy victory, he would have to back up while he fought so they couldn''t encircle him.
But...
Where was the fun in that?
Apollo dashed right into the middle of the group, wildly swinging his bokken.
He felt he hit something, but in the next second, he was shed by three monkeys.
At this rate, he would actually die.
Apollo''s eyes widened.
shes came from every direction. He could hardly dodge any of them.
Apollo''s body was being torn to shreds.
...It made himugh.
It felt like the time he was fighting with Willow.
Each time, he would never know where the next attack woulde from. Yet, he had found a way to dodge the attacks before he even knew they wereing.
Apollo''s eyes zed over.
A shadow monkey shed at his back, yet missed.
A few others shed at him, but he slid right past.
Apollo had closed his eyes, giving up his sight altogether.
His body elusively slipped past the attacks. He leisurely moved out of the way before the shadow monkeys themselves knew they were attacking.
His steps were not hurried. Instead, they appeared to be a dance. Almost like choreography.
Apollo did not forget to sh with his bokken.
It too danced in the air like a ghost.
The red tasselzily swung from side to side, apanying his movements.
The number of shadow monkeys began to thin.
One after another, a carcass would fall to the ground. The stench of blood filled the air, yet Apollo didn''t seem to notice it.
He let out little giggles as he danced with the wind.
At some point, the shadow monkeys got scared and scurried away.
Apollo stood still with his eyes closed for a few moments.
The corner of his lip twitched.
He had lost a lot of blood, but he had been in far worse conditions before.
He slowly opened his eyes and contemted his situation.
How was he supposed to kill all of the shadow monkeys like this? Since they only appear in his blind spot, it would take way too long to find each of them.
Apollo rubbed his chin with his forefinger and thumb.
It''s not like he had some tracking device that could lead him to-
There was a loud crash next to Apollo.
La was giggling and holding onto the tail of a shadow monkey.
The shadow monkey was desperately wing against the ground in an attempt to escape, but it was futile.
Apollo looked at La.
Ah, never mind. He did have a tracking device.
Apollo''s bokken shed, bisecting the shadow monkey by its stomach.
La was giggling but pouted once she realized the shadow monkey stopped moving.
"Aw... why isn''t friend ying anymore?"
Apollo smiled.
"That''s because your friend is tired! Let''s go find some more, ok?"
La perked up. She nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah!"
La happily skipped forward while Apollo trailed behind her.
After a few minutes, La suddenly gasped in excitement.
"Wow! So many friends."
While La bolted forward, Apollo followed closely from behind.
She stopped in front of a tree and then began giggling.
"Thank you, friends!"
Apollo furrowed his brows.
What was she doing?
Apollo scanned the area with his blind spot and noticed that many shadow monkeys were running away.
"La, your friends are getting away!"
La tilted his head to the side.
"But they gave us gifts! We need to show our appreciation!"
Apollo''s eyelid twitched.
"But... they''re going to get away!"
La waved her hand dismissively.
"We can find themter! Come on, try some!"
La picked at the air and held an empty hand in front of Apollo.
As for Apollo, he tilted his head to the side as a smile emerged on his face.
Was this girl really joking with him at this point?
Suddenly, Apollo sobered up. He remembered the time he believed La was joking with the shadow monkey.
He looked at La''s empty hand with his blindspot.
...He saw a strange fruit.
It was glowing faintly with a soft white light, mixed with a tinge of yellow. It was in a simr shape to a banana, but much smaller. While La''s hands were not big, they could easily hold a few.
Apollo picked up the fruit.
Then, he used his blind spot to look at where La picked the fruit.
There were a few small patches of these fruits growing from various sections of the tree. Many of these patches had missing fruits. It seems the shadow monkeys had picked off a few.
That was when Apollo recalled a detail from his request.
The shadow monkeys would be found near the penumbra trees.
If only they told him about the strange requirements for seeing these things.
As Apollo was lost in his thoughts, La picked a few more fruits from the penumbra tree.
She stuffed her face without hesitation.
She smiled dreamily.
"Mmm..."
Apollo raised an eyebrow.
...These were probably safe to eat, right?
Seeing La devour them like candies, Apollo worked up the courage to take a bite.