With gentle steps, Bloodline is the one who approaches us first. Her finger trails Thatch’s face. Cleaver is only a step behind her. “Sorry Hush, my darling,” she says happily, bronze skin shining in the moonlight. “I just couldn’t resist… this way, we can have some time to ourselves.” One moment to another, that glint turns dangerous, and her nail presses into Thatch’s skin, aiming to draw blood.
Except, of course, that’s not what happens. Instead, a layer of thick, crimson scales manifest above his cheek, and I see a dragon’s maw wreathe itself from fury over his face. Instantly, some of the anger spills over into Bloodstain, and her grin turns wider. A breath passes, and the dragon’s maw tears into her shoulder, spilling blood.
Cleaver is upon Thatch in a moment, but before he can do anything, Inu is between them. Her hands reach out casually, catching the weapon, and the momentum just disappears. A moment later, Cleaver flinches in phantom pain, and Inu lashes out. Her fist lands on his elbow, then his chest - and both strikes explode a heartbeat later, spilling blood and making the thug stagger as his skin knits back together.
Instantly, authorities roll out across the field. Oppressive weight and anger spill over into me, then recede and narrow as they clash against their opponents. Cleaver’s domain is held up by Inu, sucked into her void. Opal easily teleports past us, engaging Raven. Arrows hover around Sylves, shooting through the air on gusts of wind.
Richard takes a bite out of someone’s authority, somehow, and I see one of Aviary’s best, Dove, recoil in pain as the little hiy’ht descends on him, spewing fire and biting at his flesh. Shadows spill out from me - and then the guard joins the fight.
He’s a scithian, with wings like liquid moonlight. They hang in the air behind him, chiming as he moves. It’s almost slow, but with purpose, and I feel a skill of his activate. Authority falls on us heavily, empowered by the city we stand in. There’s a certain weightiness to it that the others here just cannot mimic, and it makes me grit my teeth.
With effortless movements, he slips through the shadow, towards Opal, and swings his spear in one smooth motion. The weapon draws a horrid arc through the air, and I watch as Opal teleports - only for the skill to crash into the authority. The clash is brief, but it delays their teleport, and metal bites into flesh.
Opal disappears with a gash across their shoulder, and I watch the blood ooze as the wound ignites with faint, flickering flames. Lightning explodes in the sky, hail slamming down on us, framing the battle in the howl of the storm as the guard laugh. “Hah! Feckin’ gutter rats. Never learn youse falling lessons. Rule one is payin’ off the feckin’ guards!”
Shadows boil around him, and Kuro lashes up at his ankles. The guard frowns at that, and sweeps his spear through the surrounding darkness, cutting off the writhing mass before he’s properly trapped. Then, a single step carries him across the battlefield, towards Thatch.
Again, he lashes out, spear driving forward while the man is stuck holding off Bloodstain’s magic. Almost effortlessly, he finds a gap in his defense. The guard breaks through Thatch’s authority, through the scales he channels, and drives the weapon into his skin. It looks so easy. Too easy. Then, he disappears again, targeting Richard.
This time, though, I’m in the way. A torrent of darkness lashes out around me, as I fuel Kuro with mana. I see his lips twist into a frown underneath his beard as he sidesteps me. At that, I tilt my head even more at him.
But I’m not fast enough. Richard barely manages to duck underneath an attack coming her way - by taking a bite out of the ground, creating a small crater to hide in. Sylves’ arrows seek him out, but he instantly spins, striking three of them out of the air with a swift motion, and launching himself at her in a faint explosion of gold.
Again, the movements are too easy, too swift for someone of that level. Even with his enhanced authority… it shouldn’t be this easy. Sylves looks scared, for just a moment - but when his spear carves through her, she simply turns into a mirage. A trick of the light. I smile at the sight - until the guard hurls the spear.
The world slows down for a moment. Golden flames wreathe around it, and soar towards Sylves. Her real body, wrapped in her chameleon mantle of moss. Her eyes widen. And, for the first time in a while, I fuel my own abilities.
[Selection] reaches out in a moment. It latches onto the spear effortlessly. And then, [Suppression] follows a breath later.
For a heartbeat, the weapon slows. Sylves twists out of its path on a gust of violent wind, sending her off-balance and tumbling through the air. But the guard just clicks his tongue, looking around for the source of the ability while pulling his spear back, as if trying to identify where it came from.
And then, I get it. The way his eyes are wide open, observant and careful… it’s a clue. The way he avoids me and Inu, because he doesn’t know our jobs. I told Raven those of Thatch, Opal, Sylves and Richard. But not Inu’s, and they don’t know who I am. That’s why he looks panicked - the guards are stronger when they know more about a target.
Which means I’m his worst matchup.
As the guard falls, I cut through the crowd. Shadows disperse of flobs with quick strikes, Kuro clearing the path for me as I sprint towards his landing point. I’m not particularly fast, usually, but neither is gravity, and when he lands, I make it nearby. The guard looks at me, and the frown deepens. “Piss off before I carve you up, shadowmage.”
But I don’t listen. Already, power is pouring into Kuro. Mana upon mana feeds the shadow-critter, and it builds around us. The guard’s face tightens, and he goes to move, but before he can take a step, I reach out.
[Selection] finds him, and instantly, I know I was right. His job feeds him power based on knowledge. Some guard-detective hybrid. And then, [Suppression] lashes out a moment later.
[Suppression 29 > 30]
He stumbles, and a moment later, the black box is complete. He stares at the walls, then laughs. “Hah! You think that’ll stop me, fallin’ rat? I’ll shred through here in a jiffy and then I’ll feckin’ carve up yer buddies! What’s even yer name?”
Gently, I tilt my head. “You seem to misunderstand something,” I say quietly. “This isn’t here to lock you in. It’s here to hide what I’ll do to you.”
I drop my attunement loop. I stop powering the cruncher. Mana flows out of me at a violent pace, and it all latches onto the thread connecting me to him.
[Selection 26 > 27]
The skill shivers, but I hold it in place, and with the targeting mechanism, every single drop of mana that so violently spills from my core reaches him. The guard’s laugh dies in his throat. [Suppression] crashes down on him so heavily that he staggers, almost falling to a knee.
His authority rises against it, but it’s met by my Efficiency. My skills refuse to be weakened by something else. I push through. His authority is stronger, yes, but it’s targeted. It works better if he knows me, if I’ve committed crimes. And… he doesn’t know.
“Tell me yer feckin’ name before I gut ya, rat,” he hisses, still trying to draw intel from me.
And with a gentle smile, I shake my head. A spear appears in my hand, wreathed in shadow, made from a quarter of my mana pool, and imbued with the strongest suppression enchantment I’ve ever made. The guard frowns deeply, then ignites with golden flames.
“Fine, I’ll carve it from your falling corpse,” he says, and lunges at me.
And with a deep sigh, I channel even more of my mana. An absolute torrent of it, enough to strain my vessel even while fully under my control, floods into [Deconstruction].
I recognize the patterns. He’s sponsored by Respitia, and that means I know the weaknesses of his skills. One moment to another, the flames wink out. His stab loses half its power. The glow on his armor recedes.
For a brief moment, fear flashes on his face. And I find myself so very curious to see how he ticks. A swift clash later, there’s a small, bleeding gash on his face, and we’re standing apart again. “Come on,” I say calmly. “Show me some more. Show me all of your skills…” A smile spreads on my lips.
“And let me break them.”
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter