Silhouette Orchestra is probably my favorite spell.

When cast, it merges all the shadows within a certain area into a single solid amorphous mass, which can then be freely controlled by the caster through a combination of mental commands and hand gestures.

This is probably where the "Orchestra" part of the name comes from, as the caster's movements while controlling the shadows can easily evoke images of an conductor directing an orchestra's performance.

It's not the most common spell around though, on account of how hard it is to get a hang of... I myself only happened to latch onto it on account of having discovered it while at a certain age when its fundamental concept was especially alluring.

I mean, seizing control of darkness itself? Forcing it to act in accordance to my every whim? Of course I'd focus all my efforts on perfecting my control of it in order to fully realize my childhood fantasies of becoming the dark master of the infinite void!

Hell, it's not even an attack spell. It was actually originally intended for artsy displays and whatnots, it's just that I happened to master it to the point where I can use it as a weapon.

An extremely effective weapon.

Like I'm doing right now.

But with that said, only having one hand free does mean that I'm working with a handicap here... which is why this opening attack only managed to impale eight... no, nine bandits. Were I completely unencumbered, I could've easily taken out almost twice that number.

Having my staff does mean that I'm able to cast it instantly instead of having to chant the entire spell though, so I guess it's a fair tradeoff.

Somewhat.

"Holy-"

"GWAAAAH!"

"Gfuh-"

"What the fuck was that!?"

The panicked screams of the remaining bandits are like music to my ears. But as satisfying as they might be, I can't let them distract me from the task at hand.

A twist of my pinky finger here, a counter-clockwise rotation of my wrist, and...

whoosh

...the spikes which had been perforating the slain bandits instantly shift into countless black streams which flow out from the perforated corpses, dropping them all to the ground in unison like a bunch of puppets whose strings had just been cut. From there, the shadows converge together into a single massive river of darkness.

And with a sweep of my arm, they coalesce into whirling blades which race towards my remaining quarry.

"Watch out, he's still-"

CLANG

"It's the guy with the stick!"

THKK

"He's a mage-"

SHING

...well what do you know, they actually managed to fully fend that one off. I was hoping to pick off a couple more, but I guess they're not quite as incompetent as I initially thought.

"Watch out for the shadows!" a bandit screams. "That shit moves like water!"

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"I said, it's the stick guy doing it!" another bandit shouts back while pointing at me. "Hurry up and kill him before-"

whoosh

With a flourish of a certain finger located in the center of my hand, I reshape the wave of shadow blades into a volley of needles that flies straight for the bandit who's trying to ruin my fun.

"Shit!"

While continuing to hop backwards, he turns his oversized broadsword sideways and positions it between himself and the incoming attack.

clink clink clink clink clink

A sound akin to hail hitting a carriage roof echoes through the air, but that soon gives way to the angry shouts of the bandits who seem to have finally realized that I probably shouldn't be left alone to do my thing.

"Get him, he's wide open!"

"You're fucking dead, ya-"

THUD

Practically in unison, all the bandits who tried to rush me end up colliding face-first with the invisible walls of the Sanctuary that I put up.

Taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity, I pull my arm back, and...

THKK

My needles reconvene into a set of long spiked tentacles which plunge into the backs of my would-be attackers' skulls, slide right on through the vacuums held therein and emerge through their foreheads.

"Heh, I bet Mom would've loved that..."

While smiling at my handiwork, I motion my shadows to once again coalesce into one larger flowing mass. All it takes is to move my fingers as if playing a repeating arpeggio on a piano to keep them swirling in a more-or-less stationary vortex.

Let's see, kill count... nine from the initial spikes and three just now, so that'd make for twelve dead... and seventeen left alive.

Another prime number.

There's also a couple of bandits who managed to get by with nonlethal damage, but if they're still standing then they're still a threat.

"The fuck is this!?"

A bandit bangs on the barrier of my Sanctuary.

"Fucking coward!"

He swings a club down on it as hard as he can, but, you know... Sanctuary.

"Quit hiding behind that invisible wall like a little bitch and fight us like a MAN!"

Yeah, that taunt doesn't work on me.

It's also kind of hypocritical, considering that only a handful of these morons are even willing to attempt engaging with me at a time while the rest just kind of stand there gawking instead of actually making use of their numbers advantage.

But I guess if they were smart then they wouldn't have taken up banditry in the first place.

And so, I resume my attack.

Arpeggio to a closed fist to a palm thrust forwards to a counter-clockwise wrist flick to drumming my fingers against a table...

...and with every shift in gestures, the shadows shift in form and direction, flying every which way and sending the bandits fleeing in panic whenever they even slightly begin to move towards them. I have to admit that this is pretty damned effective as a distraction, but it's starting to get old-

"ILLUMINATE!"

Just as it looks like my shadows are about to claim another victim, a sphere of light erases them from existence.

"...shit."

So much for my luck, these fuckers actually managed to figure out Silhouette Orchestra's other weakness- it's easily dispelled by a strong burst of light.

And considering that the light sphere that Illuminate creates is still floating there, its caster clearly understands how to keep me from reusing it...

...and of course they'll probably try and remain out of sight so as to not get targeted...

"How do you like that, you ratfuck!"

What.

"I bet you're pissing your pants now that I've figured out your little trick!"

Oh my God.

This dumbfuck is openly taunting me.

Instead of keeping his stupid head down.

And his fellow dumbfucks actually CLEAR A PATH so that his view of me is unobstructed while he does so.

"Uprise."

I tap my staff against the ground, and a pillar of stone erupts beneath the idiot, launching him skywards.

And right as he's about to reach the apex of his ascent...

"Winds of the frozen north

let the swing of my sword

call forth your might."

"Arctic Blade."

I swing my staff in my target's general direction, arcing a trail of ice behind it as it goes. Upon the completion of my swing, said ice arc launches towards the now-freefalling bandit and slams into his midsection, cutting through cloth and flesh and bone.

But just as it looks like the ice blade might've actually successfully bisected the poor idiot, it explodes into a cluster of ice crystals which engulfs his entire body.

Which then hits the ground and shatters because that's what tends to happen when superchilled objects receive a sudden impact.

Everything goes silent for a few seconds afterwards, as all the bandits stare in horror as the Illuminate sphere fades out of existence.

step

step

step

step

step

With every step I take towards them, the remaining sixteen bandits take a step backwards.

Even past the boundary of my Sanctuary, not that they're even able to see it.

step

"Silhouette."

step

"Orchestra."