As Ezekiel broke free from another attempt to bind him in darkness, Morlot sank into the shadows beneath him, and the [Void Slash] he struck out with hit nothing. Letting out an angry curse, he took to the sky in order to get a better position for himself.
Only to see the shadow on the ground to move toward the Adepts fighting in the distance.
“Oh, hell no!” [Forcing] himself forward, he slammed into the ground in front of the shadow.
The earth and stone shattered and exploded into the air. It forced Morlot to take shape from his shadow once more, and Ezekiel found himself wrapped up once more.
“How pathetic! Fighting to protect those that are beneath you is nothing but a weakness!” Morlot screamed as he attempted to slash into Ezekiel’s armor.
His daggers turned pitch black, not unlike what had happened to Wendy when she used that strange spell from before. The impact from the daggers was significantly stronger, and Ezekiel felt something familiar when the darkness that had wrapped around the weapons impacted on his Spirit Armor. A feeling much like what occurred when he connected two spaces before [Jumping]
‘Ezekiel... I think we should draw this fight out for as long as possible.’ Shine declared upon sensing the same thing that he had. ‘It might be the thing that shows us the piece that we’re missing.’
As much as he wanted to deny it, especially with his sister fighting for her life not far away, Ezekiel knew that Shine had a point. Though, not one that he was willing to go with. Not yet at least.
‘... Or, we could have Wendy spar with us later.’ A pulse of mana from Ezekiel through Morlot away from him, but the shadows binding him didn’t disappear. He also felt Shine’s frustration, but reluctant acceptance, regarding his choice. ‘Look, this spell is, apparently, something unique to the Shroud family. We’ll be meeting with them soon, and they’re going to owe us. We’ll ask that they spar with us for as long as possible with this spell. Maybe it’ll be enough to help us solidify our [Understanding] for when I discover my [Truth].’
‘If you say so.’ Shine started channeling mana as they finally agreed to take this seriously. ‘Let’s end this as fast as we can then. You focus on taking him out. I’ll do everything to figure out this spell while we’re fighting.’
‘Shine!’ Ezekiel wasn’t happy with Shine’s narrow focus on this spell. But before he could reprimand his Spirit, Morlot was upon him once again. ‘Dammit!’
“Just fall like the insignificant worm you are!” Morlot screamed as a hazy mist of darkness formed around him. Taking the form of a snake, not unlike his Spirit.
A sense of danger filled Ezekiel as he realized that this battle just got harder. All thoughts of taking Morlot out quickly had faded away. This was a spell that was significantly stronger than the ones he was used to. There was a weight to it. Like the difference between staring at a mountain compared to a hill. Yet the mana that went into it was the same as before.
It was still a Tier four spell, but it was so much more powerful than he was used to.
Shine glowed brightly as they also realized that, maybe, their focus on figuring out what was up with that strange shadow covering spell. Instead of focusing on their senses and disrupting the magic being used against them, they worked in tandem with Ezekiel to defend.
The twin daggers slammed down on Shine’s blade like dual meteors. The impact was enough to force Ezekiel’s feet into the ground. He found himself up to his knees in the dirt.
‘What the hell!?’
“How did he get so much stronger!?’
Shine and Ezekiel’s shock was reasonable. Morlot hadn’t shown anywhere near this much power when they had been confronted by Ezekiel the first time. He was displaying peak Legendary might, even though he was only in the upper end of the middle Steps.
They broke apart after their clash, and Morlot seemed to weave back and forth. Getting in close, before darting away. This occurred for a little while, but neither one of them seemed to gain the upper hand.
Ezekiel had wanted to jump up and get a better vantage point, but he knew that Morlot would just use the opening to go after his sister again. So, for now, he decided it would be best to remain as a target. Though, his surprise continued to grow as he realized just how close they were to being evenly matched. At this point, he wondered if he’d actually be able to win against Samuel if they fought for real.
“Are you surprised; you bastard born of betrayal?” Morlot seemed to realize that Ezekiel was shocked and was now taking him far more seriously than he was before. “This is the power of the Shroud family. The power of generations of Mages and Hunters passing down their spells and improving them each and every time.”
Ezekiel felt a new sinking sensation around his legs, and he knew that Morlot was trying to drag him into his shadow. If that happened, he’d be at even more of a disadvantage.
Releasing an [Empowered] pulse of [Nothingness], he managed to dispel the shadows once more, but lost sight of Morlot as he faded into the dark mist that was now surrounding them.
“We are not like those worthless Guilds, where all they do is train in combat. The Clans of the Morathi Alliance have spent centuries perfecting our control over our mana. Of exploring the esoteric mysteries of magic. Even more so than the Church, who merely explore the effects of mana.” Morlot’s voice grew mocking as he spoke of the Church of Ten and the Guilds. “They fail to [Understand] the majesty of [Darkness] and in doing so, they shall forever be less than us! So, know your place!”
Ezekiel had no warning, as the mist that had surrounded him solidified into large walls that rose into the air in an instant. He tried to [Jump] out by using one of the cracks that had yet to be sealed. But as his senses expanded and touched upon the black walls of shadows around him, he was overcome by a sudden sense of vertigo. Something that he thought he could no longer experience.
“Hurp!” It took him everything he had to not throw up as the darkness seemed to expand forever, while also being totally confined to a limited area.
A moment later, the last shred of light that he could see disappeared. Even as he barely managed to lock onto a position a little way away.
‘This isn’t the same as usually encapsulating darkness spells... Those just cover you in shadows. This is different.’ The moment he regained his senses, he retracted them so as not to get thrown off again. ‘It’s like the laws of nature don’t work properly here. We need to get out, now!’
‘Wait! I just need ten five seconds!’ Shine's fervent request reminded Ezekiel of what they were like when studying in the Ancient Legacy.
He could tell that Shine was right at the edge of something. Just like he was. The answer to the spells they had tried so hard to figure out before, only to fall short at the finish line. So, he allowed it, while doing what he could to focus entirely on protecting himself.
Then, from nowhere, his [Danger Sense] screamed at him to move. He tried but didn’t go anywhere. Instead, all he felt was a stabbing sensation all over his body.
‘Ezekiel!’ Shine’s cry rang through the depths of his mind.
He failed to reply as he coughed in pain. A warm and copper tasting liquid filled his mouth.
All around him, the amused laughter of his enemy filled his ears. Yet, even thought he was in pain from whatever had pierced his armor and body, it was nothing compared to his past experiences.
‘Is that enough?’ He asked his Spirit. Shine just gave the mental equivalent of a nod, with a sense of regret and apology flowing through their bond. ‘Then get us out of here.’
Forcing a full Step of mana into an [Empowered] [Nothingness], the darkness that surrounded them shattered apart, and Morlot screamed in pain. But Ezekiel also stumbled as his gaping wounds began to bleed profusely. He immediately reinforced his body and Spirit Armor, closing the holes, and making sure he wouldn’t die anytime soon.
In front of him, Morlot was suffering backlash from his channeled spell being broken. The fact that Shine had specifically channeled their [Nothingness] through the Obscure Hunter’s spell meant that the attack had affected the mana that was still flowing through them.
“How?” Morlot struggled to speak as he also did everything that he could to keep the contents of his stomach from spewing out. “That [Space] was mine, and mine alone!”
Ezekiel could hear the emphasis on the word [Space] and he could feel something click into place. Another [Understanding] that would help him in the future.
‘[Confined Space] ... I wonder what we’ll do with this? It would’ve been nice to have figured this out before we made those Mana chambers.’ Ezekiel mentally complained as he walked toward Morlot’s now standing form. “Let’s just say that you’re not special and leave it at that.”
A part of him thought back to all the scenes he had witnessed in the memory tablets of the Ancient Void. To see a spell that he had thought belonged only to the Void be used, if differently, by an Obscure Hunter was quite amazing.
However, it seemed like Morlot couldn’t accept Ezekiel’s words. “That’s impossible! That spell was only created by the Shroud family twenty years ago! There’s no possible way that your whore mother could’ve learned it! Even if she did steal and give away the [Mantle of Darkness] to her bastard daughter!”
‘[Mantle of Darkness]? Are all the Morathi clans this edgy?’ Ezekiel wondered as he prepared to keep fighting. ‘Whatever... How long do you think we can hold out?’
He felt Shine do a deep scan of his body, even as he swayed out of the way of Morlot’s reckless attack. His daggers were still clad in darkness, but the mist that had surrounded them was fading away. Ezekiel could tell that the spell that Morlot had used was much more taxing than he had thought. Even if the mana expenditure wasn’t.
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‘We should last long enough for Wolken to get here. But we should try to finish this all the same.’ Shine’s attitude had changed upon [Understanding] the spell that had been used against them. ‘I’m sorry for asking you to hold back for me.’
Ezekiel snorted in amusement. Much to Morlot’s ire, as he must’ve assumed that Ezekiel was laughing at him.
‘We’ll talk later. For now, we need to hold out for--’
A pillar of darkness rose to the sky in the distance, and Ezekiel knew that holding out was no longer an option.
‘Dammit Wendy! What happened now?’
He immediately started pressing his attack. His mana flowing through him in a relentless stream as he tried to finish this fight as soon as possible.
The thought of taking Morlot alive was now firmly expelled from his mind.
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Wendy blocked a strike from the Life Hunter, while also dodging an attack from the Shroud family Obscure Hunter and the envoy. The envoy was simple enough to deal with. His battle prowess was less than stellar, and he didn’t even have a weapon.
Given a few more minutes, he would run out of mana with how much he was wasting with his spell casting. He was riddled in wounds from Wendy’s spear and spells, and he was slowing down physically as well. But the Hunters were a different story.
They had exchanged blows with Wendy multiple times now, but none of them had any serious injuries just yet. This had gone on for a whale, with neither side fully willing to commit when they knew that they would still have to run afterwards.
“How are you doing this!? That spell is for main Shroud family members only!” The Obscure Hunter screamed in rage as Wendy deflected his shadow hands with ease.
The man’s Spirit, a rodent of some sort that Wendy had never seen, was darting between shadows and trying to attack from her blind spots. But Kare’s eyes were everywhere in her current form, so she had no blind spots.
Using the butt of her spear, she backhanded the little rat away before it could leap out of the shadow it was hiding in. The small Spirit flew off into the distance with a cut along its stomach from where Kare had lashed out from her place around Wendy’s staff.
“My mother was from the main family. I guess it’s only right that I learn her spells...” Wendy tried to continue speaking but trailed off when she saw the Life Hunter and her Spirit preparing a much bigger spell to try and take her out.
Up until this point, she had been using her spells carefully, with the [Mantle of Darkness] being the only one she truly invested any mana into. Thanks to this, she was barely able to overcome the difference in Steps, but it wouldn’t be feasible in this instance.
Shadows leapt up from the ground. They wrapped around her just as she felt a pulse of Life magic spread across the area.
A wave of bramble rose from the ground and covered the space that she was just in. The dome of darkness was pierced and shattered, but nothing was inside.
About fifty meters away, Wendy stumbled out of the shadow of a large tree. She barely had time to catch her footing before the tree itself took a swing at her.
“I’ve got you now!” the voice of the envoy called out. He had leapt into the air, and an elemental construct spell held between both his hands as he intended to strike down at her from above.
“Fool!” The two enemy Hunters called out at once. Right as Wendy tucked into a roll that took her away from the envoy’s landing zone.
Where a large black spike had risen from the ground. He managed to dodge it for a moment, but Wendy was on him in an instant. Her blackened blade impacted against his construct weapon several times as he tried and failed to successfully counterattack.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Wendy was genuinely surprised at how bad the envoy was at fighting. “No wonder you’re here, playing errand boy, rather than fighting where it matters.”
Her words seemed to have an effect on the man, as he grew even more sloppy as he made a swing that was far too wide. A shadow around his ankle made him trip, and Wendy stuck her spear straight through his chest. A beam of shadows followed after it, exacerbating the wound.
When the shadow faded away, and the envoy fell to the side, the mana in his hands faded away, a large hole, half a foot across was bleeding profusely from his chest. His moaned in pain for a second before his eyes went dull. Wendy wasted no time getting away from the newly made corpse.
‘I hope that Ezekiel won’t be mad that I killed him.’ She recalled Ezekiel’s intention to take these people in, alive. ‘But the man had it coming. Even if this causes problems going forward.’
“Incompetent moron!” The Obscure Hunter spat out as he rushed forward. His Spirit rejoined him and had grown to the size of a large horse.
‘It seems like they’re going for strength over speed and subtlety.’ Wendy mused as she tried to split her focus equally between the two Hunters. ‘Do you think we can hold out until the Exalt gets here? Or at least until Ezekiel is done with his fight?’
She felt her Spirit mentally shake her head through their bond. A moment later, with her reinforced strength from the [Mantle of Darkness], she deflected an attack from the Obscure Hunter. His blades were pushed to the side and into his own Spirit by Wendy’s spear shaft.
She nearly stumbled, however, when a root rose up from the ground and entangled her leg. A quick bladed shadow tendril cut through it easily enough. But the distraction was enough for the Obscure Spirit to whip her with its tail.
“Ahhrg!” She screamed as she took a knee before dashing away, avoiding more roots and a flurry of razor-sharp leaves from the Life Hunter and her Spirit.
The little flower shaped Spirit was now actively harrowing her alongside its Hunter, rather than simply aiding the Life Hunter with her spells.
‘This isn’t working. We won’t be able to take the last two. Not with how little mana we have left.’ Wendy could tell that she wouldn’t last much longer, but she didn’t want to have to rely on her brother for every little thing.
Kare, however, was much more willing to do what it took to make sure that her bonded Hunter got out of this alive. So, she released a burst of mana into the air that took on the appearance of a towering pillar of darkness.
“Kare!” Wendy exclaimed in shock, and nearly got hit by a stray branch that swung in her direction. A line of blood formed on her face where the razor shard wood cut her cheek.
“Dammit! Finish this quickly! The Anathema will soon be here!” The Life Hunter cried out in rage.
Bolstered by his ally’s warning, the Obscure Hunter launched himself forward. A battle cry left his lips as he and his Spirit pincered Wendy between them. A black mist filled the area as the two Obscure magic users blocked off Wendy’s spells with their greater mana density.
She was forced onto her back foot. Several roots and vines wrapped around her legs. The sheer amount of mana that her opponents were using was enough to suppress her spell enhanced abilities.
Suddenly, the bindings on her legs loosened up. But not in time for her to get out of the way.
A series of shadow tendrils twisted into a spiral that acted as a shield to defend against her opponent’s attack, but she was still blasted backwards from the force. She let loose a pained cry as she impacted against a tree.
It took her a second, but she tried to scrabble away when she realized that the Life Hunter was given an opportunity to attack her.
Much to her surprise, nothing happened, and she managed to successfully dodge the incoming Obscure Hunter’s next attack. She spared a glance in the direction of the Life Hunter, only to see that she was nowhere to be found.
Then, both she and her opponent collapsed as a heavy weight pressed down on them both.
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The feeling of Morlot’s face cracking beneath his fist was something Ezekiel took a disproportionate amount of joy in. The sight of the man flipping through the air was more than enough to make up for the pain he felt as his injuries were pulled back and forth.
He followed up with a kick to the man’s abdomen, further shattering his Spirit Armor. But the blow was glancing as Morlot rolled out of the way.
The disgraced Hunter desperately swung his daggers at Ezekiel, who defended with Shine, but still took a hit when the man extended the shadows that were wrapped around his weapons. They pierced into Ezekiel’s side, and he grunted in pain.
Seeing the opening for what it was, Morlot took the chance to run away as fast as he could.
But as he was halfway into his shadow, Ezekiel lunged and wrapped a hand covered in [Nothingness] around his neck.
“You’re not going anywhere!” Ezekiel ripped Morlot out of his shadow and threw him through a tree. “Dammit!”
He stared at his arm. Morlot had taken the chance when he was grabbed to lacerate it to the point where it wasn’t usable anymore. Not until he got some healing.
‘Let’s finish this. I’m getting tired of the back and forth.’ Shine declared, much to Ezekiel’s frustration.
A moment later he lunged and stopped Morlot from running by stabbing Shine into his leg. ‘I’m trying. The bastard is far too tricky to deal with fast.’
The next moment he had to leap back in order to avoid the drill shaped shadow that was aimed at his stomach. If that had hit him, then things would’ve been very different from his previous injuries.
It was easy enough to close off stab wounds caused by thin strips of shadow, but a drill of darkness like that would’ve been enough to literally eat away at him. The resulting hole wouldn’t be something he could heal from. He wasn’t even certain that his barriers would’ve protected him.
‘This is getting ridiculous! Are the legacies of the Morathi families really this powerful?’
Morlot tried to run again, and Ezekiel decided it was time to finish things for real.
His body and Shine began to glow brightly, and he immediately charged forward. An [Empowered] [Void Cutter] was charged, and a pulse of [Nothingness] rolled over the area.
Morlot stumbled to the ground as he was forced out of his shadow. He turned; his mana flared as he forced everything that he had into reforming his [Mantle of Darkness]. But it didn’t matter.
Shine was brought down with Ezekiel’s full might, and Morlot’s daggers shattered after barely a second of resistance.
Yet Morlot didn’t die. Instead, Ezekiel was blasted backward from a sudden burst of wind and found himself pinned underneath a massive unseen weight.
“That’s enough.” Wolken’s voice filled the area. There was an angry growl that filled the air as the Exalt’s displeasure was made known to all who heard him.
Ezekiel flared his mana, and forced himself up as his [Will] did not allow him to kneel so easily.
“... My apologies for losing my temper... I became worried for my sister.” Ezekiel didn’t dare to look Wolken in the eyes. He knew he was in trouble, though, the fact that the Mythic Tier Hunter hadn’t forced him to his knees once more meant that he wasn’t in as much trouble as he would’ve been if he had actually killed Morlot.
“You sister is fine. But it seems like she caused a bigger problem than you nearly did.” Ezekiel finally looked up, and Wolken waved a hand, causing the trembling Morlot to fall unconscious once more.
The moment his Spirit Armor reverted into his Spirit, the two were bound in Void manacles once more. Though, this time they were much more reinforced than the ones that they had been locked in before. He also threw a glowing green elixir at Ezekiel. He downed it a moment later, and immediately felt some relief as his more harrowing injuries were healed.
“Come on. Let's go finish dealing with this.” Wolken landed on the ground before walking off. The pressure he was releasing didn’t let up for a moment, and Ezekiel slowly walked behind him.
‘Well, I think that things went rather well, don’t you?’ Shine asked, even as Ezekiel could sense their apprehension at what was going to happen. ‘Still, with what we learned from this. I think the exchange was worth it.’
Ezekiel didn’t say anything, but he internally agreed with his Spirit as he pondered his newest [Understanding] and imagined just what it would mean for him going forward.
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Several kilometers away, a green glow flowed through the ground and up into a large tree. Seconds after, the glow died down and a female figure stepped out of the tree.
All around her was a dull golden glow that filled the area with a wavy appearance. As if it were a mirage in the desert. A man in Radiant Spirit Armor stood not far away.
“It appears that you failed in your task.” He declared with a voice that rippled through the air.
The Life Hunter that fought with Wendy flinched and fell to her hands and knees as a heavy mana pressure pressed down on her. After a few moments of not being able to do anything, her arms also gave out and she was crushed flat to the ground. Her Spirit laid beside her, also unable to move.
“... For...give... me... Please!” She cried out in stuttering breaths.
For a moment, the Radiant Hunter did nothing. It was only after the Life Hunter’s eyes were about to shut that he finally let up the pressure.
The Life Hunter immediately gasped for air but did not rise from the ground.
“A shame. We had really hoped that this method would work. Though, I guess with filthy Cultists like you, it’s no wonder that it failed.” The Radiant Hunter turned and strode away, the symbol of the Kindled family emblazoned on the cloak that hung around him.
The Life Hunter fumed for half a second before scrambling to catch up.
“It looks like we’ll have to activate the other agents...” She heard the Radiant Hunter mutter beneath his breath.
She stayed silent, but still shivered in fear as her temporary partner took them both away.