-=Defending the Darkness=-

Shadow Viper’s mind was racing as he fought against some of the onslaught of monsters assaulting his home village. The monsters had indeed returned, but how? The village was in a world that was in no way connected with the Maple World. How were they able to come here? Could it perhaps have something to do with the evil Ryu Hayabusa II had been fighting against? Or was it some random attack with a mysterious twist?

As much as he wanted answers, Shadow had to block out those thoughts and concentrate on fighting off the attack, lest he lose more than just his friend.

The horde of pigs were ferociously charging at Shadow, but his graceful athletics and fast reflexes allowed him to beat the pigs back almost effortlessly. His twin daggers danced around him, tearing apart every savage swine that came at him.

Shadow had the pig horde nearly destroyed when he heard loud clunking behind him. Whirling around, he saw a pig clad almost entirely in some sort of plate mail. The pig moved faster than the others, and was able to connect a ramming tackle on Shadow, who was thrown far from where he was standing. Pain seared through his body, but Shadow’s unrelenting determination fought it off long enough for him to land on his feet.

Shadow quickly examined the situation. The armored pig was armored in every place except for the eyes and snout. Two ribboned pigs from the earlier horde rushed to the armored hog, each one on either side.

This formation gave Shadow an idea. Sheathing his daggers, he held his hands out to the ribboned pigs, beckoning them over with “come hither” motions. A sly grin crept on his face, as if taunting the pigs in a rather cocky manner.

Infuriated, the ribboned piggyguards rushed at Shadow, with the armored pig bringing up the rear. As the trio of pigs came at him, Shadow jumped into action, unsheathing his daggers in the blink of an eye. Spinning them around his hands once, Shadow threw the daggers with every ounce of might in his body, just as the ribboned pigs were leaping on him.

*THUNK*x2

The ribboned pigs fell to either of Shadow’s sides, a dagger in their heads. However, the armored pig was still on his way. wasting no time, Shadow pulled his daggers from his latest kills. Waiting one moment to judge distance, Shadow then leapt into the air, throwing his daggers downward. The daggers found their mark, piercing each of the armored pig’s eyes. The pig stumbled in mid-charge upon their impact before collapsing in a silde on the ground.

Shadow grabbed his daggers from the pig, looking over its corpse before muttering, “Death from above.”

As Shadow ran for more monsters, he looked at the chaos around him. Ninjas and rouges fighting monsters met his gaze constantly. From what he could tell, the ninjas and rouges were easily winning; their speed and quick hit tactics were more than a match for the army of creatures. However, when it seemed like the creatures were gone, more of them sprang in, some from the entrance, others from thin air. It was as if the monsters were endless, using a numbers tactic to eventually overwhelm the village defenders.

Shadow felt unnerved from that possibility, but quickly pushed it aside. He and the defenders would prevail, no matter how many monsters jumped into the fray. He just had to figure out how to keep them from coming.

Shadow then came up to a pack of ligators that were looking for humans to feast on. He could tell from their size that they would be tough, but Shadow wasn’t about to let a horde of monsters crush his courage, no matter how strong they were.

As Shadow got ready to fight, he suddenly noticed a small scorpion appear in front of the ligators. Shadow had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. *Geez, Scorpion, you and your classics,* Shadow thought. No sooner was his thought finished when a dozen stars flew in from his right, piercing one of the ligators relentlessly. The ligator let out a cry of pain before rolling on its back, dying.

More stars flew in as Lord Scorpion came closer. “Laugh all you want, Shadow,” he called out. “But if that trick worked as well as it did on you, monsters will fall for it every time!”

Shadow and Scorpion came together, using combined attacks to defeat the ligators. Stars hit some, and daggers cut others apart. Eventually, all ligators had fallen. Shadow and Scorpion shook hands.

“Thanks for the help,” Shadow said. “But what about Yuka?”

“I took her to the rear of the village, to the undergound caves where the other villagers are at,” Scorpion replied. “She’ll be safe there, so long as we keep the monsters from getting that far.”

“In that case, it’s back to work for us!” Shadow mused. Then he and Scorpion split up, assisting other groups of ninjas and rogues in fighting off the monsters.

Thirty minutes passed before the monster horde dwindled. Seeing the attack thin, the ninjas and rogues fought on harder, convinced they were close to victory. They gave out rallying cheers, feeling that soon the invaders would be crushed. In this moment, Shadow remembered what he’d said to the pigs before fighting them, knowing that they would ring true.

However, as that moment passed, a huge explosion came from the entrance. Dozens of one-eyed, two legged creatures varying in colors of white, yellow, and green scrambled in. Among them, a human figure dressed in black with glowing red eyes walked in.

All the fighting stopped. The other monsters ran to the sides of the cycloptic creatures, all poised to defend their leader. In response, all ninjas and rogues grouped together in a similar fasion, with Shadow at the lead and Scorpion by his side.

As Shadow looked toward the enemies, he eyed the tall, dark man among them. As he examined him, a horrible realization came upon Shadow. The red-eyed man showed a familiarity of someone known well among the village of darkness. A great and powerful figure considered the master of all ninjas.

Shadow stepped forward, fighting back tears as he shouted out, “You….YOU WERE THE ONE WHO KILLED RYU!”

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Hello! My fourth installment is complete, and a key villain is introduced! How will he affect the battle in the next part of the story? Well, that will be revealed soon(I hope)! Until next time! *Leaves behind 50 24-packs of Mountain Dew*