Nightblade (Darkest night)

Chapter 224 224: The most dangerous kind of monster.

Talia lightly warmed up on one end of the spacious dojo, focusing fully on the sensation of stretching her muscles.

As she went through the different tasks, she could slowly feel the fatigue from the long day seeping out of her body.

After a while ahe sprung to her feet, lightly bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Lucian observed her aloofly from the opposite end of the dojo with his arms loosely held at his sides.

"I need to see what you're capable of at your level and for that, I'll need to see you in action. And I know just the way we can do it."

In the end, thee whole thing was his brilliant suggestion.

In truth, Lucian was also curious about how he measured up to the scion of another Great House. It promised to be quite the insightful experience.

The two of them squared off against each other.

"Are you ready?"

Just then Xander burst into the hall, staring at both of them in bewilderment.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Lucian stared at him in confusion.

"What does it look like we're doing? Hanging out?"

Xander rolled his eyes. No of course I can what you're trying to do you idiot, I meant why?

You've obviously fought alongside each other before and both of you know what you're capable of so what could be the point?

Talia straightened, folding her arms across her chest.

Well then... what would you suggest?"

Xander's lips curled into a dangerous smile.

"You'd both be going up against me of course."

Talia stared at him for a few moments then eventually her lips curled into a small smirk.

" Aren't you being a little too cocky? Even if you are a novice, aren't you underestimating us a little too much?"

Xander grinned, tilting his head back slightly.

"You do realize there's a reason why I was the student council president. Not to mention that I'm a novice while the two are apprentice-level at best."

Xander smirked confidently.

"On the contrary, I don't think you two will be enough to keep me entertained but I'll let you humour me this time."

****

Xander stared at the two youths on either side of him. It was strangely invigorating. Working on the student council was a privilege but also extremely boring. Because his reputation and power preceded him, Xander rarely got the chance to spar with the rest of the students.

And right now he had the prime opportunity to enjoy a genuine throwdown with two scions, Noble heirs from the Great Houses no less. It was something of a feast. In fact, he could barely contain the anticipation he felt.

It wasn't that he underestimated the two youths.

After all Talia and Lucian had received elite training from the time they'd been old enough to speak. Hailing from the revered Great Houses must have made their training that much more rigorous and grueling.

Then there was the issue of the dark maestro incident. From the stories he'd heard of the survivors' accounts only the very best or the luckiest had managed to make it out alive.

That made every one of the Survivors monsters in their own right.

And these two and a few others stood at the pinnacle of those monstrous talents.

So in truth, he was actually looking forward to the exchange quite a bit.

Exhaling slightly, Xander closed his eyes, standing at the centre of the mat.

He could feel Talia's gaze on the back of his head.

He could picture the frown on her face.

"What are you doing? Are you even taking this seriously?"

Xander casually stretched his neck, keeping his hands at his side.

"Ready when you are. Use whatever weapons you see fit."

He shifted slightly, adjusting for the distance between the three of them. His lips curled into a small smile.

"Shall we begin?"

The words had barely left his lips when Lucian attacked.

The quiet scion was elusive, slippery, and quite deceitful in his combat style.

It was strangely exhilarating to watch.

For weapons, he'd chosen a pair of short curved blades that seemed to occasionally vanish, literally from sight.

If the scion had been deadly before, after the Dark Maestro incident, his skill had reached a chilling level considering his age.

Fortunately, with Xander's near-intricate control over umbralis, he was able to clearly read the youth's movements without much difficulty.

He ducked without looking, and a split second later, a wooden long blade whizzed through the air where his head had been a mere moment back.

Talia spun on the balls of her feet redirecting the momentum of the blow into a downward slash. At the same time, Lucian moved to intercept Xander in case he somehow managed to dodge the blow.

Xander inwardly grinned.

"Near seamless coordination...but you're still too slow."

He appeared to blink in and out of existence in the next moment, leaving an afterimage in his wake.

"You're going to have to do much better Talia Varas," a taunting voice said from behind her.

"Much, much better in fact."

Talia spun then immediately realized her mistake. Suddenly the world spun upside down and the tenebrous mat rushed toward her.

Without warning, her fall suddenly stopped and a dark blur whizzed past her.

"Lucian..."

He attacked Xander head-on, fainting and even managing to evade a few of the blows, grunting quietly each time a solid blow managed to land.

"I'm almost impressed," Xander said nonchalantly, his voice tinged with a hint of excitement.

"But not once have you managed to make me look at you."

Hearing this, Talia realized Xander had been fighting the entire time with his eyes closed.

In that moment, the raw skill gap between them felt like an abyssal chasm.

Placing one arm behind his back and tilting his head, the curly-haired youth grinned.

"Shall we continue?"

****

Lucian's entire body ached.

He could feel the faint taste of blood in his mouth and the sweat running down his forehead.

He inwardly reeled, fighting the urge to grasp at his injured and bruised side.

Xander Gray was just too...fast, too overbearing, and too strong.

So much so that it was deeply frustrating.

Lucian had fought against inhuman creatures in Tenebdis, but Xander had somberly reminded him of the fact that human beings were an entirely different kind of monster.

One that was often underestimated and yet as it turned out, the most dangerous kind of monster.

"Damn."