Nightblade (Darkest night)

Chapter 225 225: Difference in ranks

For the first time since his return from Tenebris, Lucian felt pushed past his limits.

His breathing was slightly irregular. His lungs burned and his muscles ached from the strain of keeping up with Xander's inhumanly first attacks.

At some point, he was convinced the elusive novice was able to predict his moves before he even made them.

So seamlessly that every move felt like a trap. His hands and body moved to block any effort that they made to coordinate their attacks, fluidly throwing them into disarray. His body effortlessly phased through their attacks and despite their best efforts they'd failed to land even a single blow, something that irked him to no end.

"Calm yourself, Lucian. There's still time."

If he rushed, then it was only going to work against him. He'd have fallen right into a trap and from then on, he'd be dancing in Xander's palm.

Xander was a certified monster among monsters.

Every move of his seamlessly flowed into the other.

Looking at him standing in the middle of the great hall, he wasn't even the slightest bit out of breath. He stood still with his arms loosely held at his sides.

Patiently waiting…

For them. For their next attack.

Lucian threw a single glance at Talia.

A silent communication passed between the two of them.

Winning against Xander Gray was starting to look impossible, feel impossible.

But they'd fought against impossible odds before and they'd survived.

Monsters that should have been the end of any other aspirant fell beneath their blades.

And in the end, even as monstrous as Xander Gray was, he was only human, if a bit superhuman.

If they waited patiently enough, an opening was bound to present itself soon and if it didn't they would create their own opening.

"We need to attack him together. At the same time. And keep his attention divided between us," Talia thought.

Almost as though he could read her mind, Lucian gave her a subtle nod.

Taking a few steps back, Lucian dropped the blades he was holding opting for a pair of sleek black batons then charged forward.

.

Xander opened one eye, giving him a curious look then smiled.

"Interesting choice…I don't think it'll change much though…"

He promptly closed his eyes once more adjusting his stance.

****

Xander instantly felt the change in the demeanour of the two scions.

He fought back a grin.

"These two, they're plotting something…"

"Interesting choice…I don't think it'll change much though…"

He closed his eyes once more.

One glance at the two had told him of their intentions somewhat. They were waiting for him to slip up, to make a mistake…

" How amateurish…"

Their little sparring session was benefiting him as well.

The two youths may have been at the apprentice level but he was more than sure that they'd give any ordinary novice a run for their money if they had to take them on two to one.

The fact that they were still standing after the short exchange was impressive on its own.

After all Xander's own control and mastery over umbralis was much more intricate than that of the ordinary novice.

And in terms of durability and the amount of umbralis he was able to freely wield, he ranked among the very best.

Of course, he had to pull his punches at several points but still….

Closing his eyes, raised the stakes too. It made things infinitely more interesting and prolonged the fight.

He needed to focus constantly on the flow of umbralis in the room and intricately perceive any distortion within its flow. That in turn honed his already keen senses and control over umbralis so the two scions weren't the only ones that were benefiting from the session.

Attempting to adapt in this way mid-fight against an exponentially stronger opponent would likely be fatal if not downright impossible therefore this was still a great learning opportunity.

He could already feel that he was making incredible progress.

A split second later, he perceived Lucian's movements. He shifted his weight slightly on his feet, moving just enough to avoid a potentially concussive blow.

While he was much stronger than both of them, taking their hits directly would result in a build-up of damage over time which would tip the scales in their favour.

Almost as though the youth had already anticipated this, the sleek baton he wielded instantly changed trajectory, homing in on him with deadly grace.

In the same breath, Talia dropped incredibly slow aiming to sweep his feet out from under him and throw him off balance.

Xander suppressed a grin.

" How excellently devious, how wonderful…"

Augmenting himself with just enough umbralis, his body became slightly faster, his reflexes much sharper.

"More…I need more of this…"

He abruptly leaned back going incredibly low, bending his body at an angle that should have been impossible and potentially placing him in a tight spot.

He met the incoming baton with a kick of his own nearly snapping the weapon in half, then abruptly spun, pivoting on one hand and throwing himself just far enough from Talia's reach.

Without missing a beat, they were already upon him, each of them creating an opening for the other in an attempt to force him back.

Xander felt his lips twitch in amusement, slowly curling into a wicked smile.

" Fascinating…truly fascinating…show me more."

He forced his way forward. His umbralis augmented muscles pushed away the incoming baton.

A split second later, he'd stepped through Lucian's defences faster than he could react.

He could even picture Lucian's eyes widening in surprise at the lightning-fast move.

The scion tried to create some distance but Xander wasn't having any of it.

A split second later, his hand whipped out firmly grabbing Lucian by the throat and lifting him off the mat in the same motion.

Lucian gasped, struggling against the monstrous iron grip.

In that brief instant, the world spun around him and his body hit the mat with a resounding thud.

Almost instinctively, he curled, moving his body and rolling with the momentum of the throw.

The last-minute gamble dispersed the force throughout his body allowing him to spring back to his feet nearly instantly.

Lucian gingerly licked his lower lip tasting the blood. He was slightly disoriented but unharmed.

"What a monster…"

He'd failed to react to the abrupt shift in tempo and the strength that Xander had displayed had been nothing short of inhuman.

By then Xander had already, moved throwing a series of controlled jabs at Talia.

Caught off guard, she dodged back, doing her best to block most of the incoming blows but her opponent was simply too fast, so much so that even when she predicted the trajectory of the blows she still failed to react to all of them.

Frustration and fascination slowly welled up within her pushing her to move faster.

Frustration because of her own inability and fascination with the way someone a rank above her moved.

It was a rare learning opportunity.

" Faster, I need to move faster.'

Soon another blow landed, then another. Even with Lucian's intervention Zander managed to slip past him, haneering at her with a flurry of slippery blows.

She was slowly becoming numb to the pain focusing on the tempo and rhythm of the blows.

Curiously enough, Xander avoided the face, aiming for other exposed parts of her body, each feint creating an opportunity.

"Too slow."

Another resounding blow landed. Lucian snarled, lunging forward.

He unleashed a lightning-fast kick that Xander deftly caught with seeming ease.

In the same fluid motion, he spun around, hurling Lucian like a rag doll, halfway across the mat.

A split second later, he was upon her, raining down a barrage of punches that blurred seamlessly through the air leaving several afterimages in their wake.

Talia raised her hands deflecting the blows and taking the others head-on.

Then slowly, something began to change.

The pattern wasn't so elusive anymore.

Despite his overbearing strength and speed, she could tell that Xander was trying to tell her something. She rapidly blocked an incoming blow spinning away in time to avoid a follow-up jab.

Her mind slowly fell into a sense of flow.

Her hands instinctively moved in their own, intercepting every blow, predicting where the next one was.

And for a time she managed to hang on until eventually her body began to spasm.

Breathing became infinitely more painful, her lungs begged for air and her arms felt like blocks of lead.

Her feet gave way and she collapsed to the mat.

Xander instantly stopped, grabbing Lucian's fist even before he began moving. Luchn paused staring at the hand holding him in place.

"How…"

"That's enough for now. You lot clearly need a break."

Talia rolled over wheezing and panting like a bellows.

Her body trembled slightly, a small tremor running through her arms and legs.

" What's happening to me…"

Xander's lips curled into a devilish smile.

" For a moment there, you subconsciously discovered an application of umbralis but the strain of using it was probably too much for your body to handle at your current level. This is the difference between ranks."