"These things," Jingyi says as the creatures begin to coalesce from out of the alleyway. He sounds similarly disgusted, and he is not whispering. His words are too loud even though he is only speaking normally. "They were at the ceremony. I have fought them before."

There is no reason to hesitate. The twitching things begin to approach, and quickly, and there are more of them than he had hoped. Already he has concerns that he will not be able to guard Miu if they are surrounded. They may look small and they may be fragile, but even the small and fragile can triumph if they have the numbers.

As the shadows of the alleyway still appear very dark, he worries that they do indeed have the numbers. This is not a good place to fight.

Before he can charge forward, the flare of light from his side draws his attention to Miu's camera and then he can directly see the effect. They are slower! (Some of them.)

"Good," he says immediately. That will allow them to breathe. Though there is still time to run, he instead points to a parked car. A tall one. "Get higher."

He slashes at the nearest shadows, his sword glare bright in the darkness, and it vanishes into motes.