"Stay focused and take them down!" Grace shouted. Her dagger gleamed with a cold light, and a stream of sword aura slashed at a charging gray shadow.

The attack made the wraith waver and thin out, its form growing fainter. It let out a piercing shriek but didn't vanish. Instead, it surged forward with renewed fury.

The other guards weren't faring any better. Their sword aura proved pathetically ineffective against these mist-wraiths. It took multiple strikes to break apart a single one.

Howe