Chapter 176 - 176)On The Spot

"How's this for Poetry?" Night's voice rang out, as he appeared right behind the currently startled Myth, Neo. It was more than your everyday shock. Neo lived without experiencing the feeling of fear, even in the face of Divine beings, he could still exercise a good amount of his power. However, all his life, he lived under the reasonable illusion that there exists no being with purple eyes. Even if Night wasn't the one Achilles warned him about, his very existence was proof that there could exist thousands of beings with such features.

"Poetry that Personifies The Night- Disseminate"

It was the skill tree created by ATHENA. Although Night couldn't fully understand what happened, he knew that his martial arts was unique and by no means easy to learn and copy. Poetry that Personfies The Night was the name given when an entire skill tree was created just for him. However, there was an issue with using this skill tree. He couldn't use his weapons, it wasn't exactly too much of an annoyance for him but the risk still existed. However, at that moment, there was nothing else he could rely on, other than Poetry that Personfies The Night.

[0.2% of Target's total mana dispersed]

[0.1% of Target's total mana dispersed]

[0.2% of Target's total mana dispersed]

[0.5% of Target's total mana dispersed]

Even though Night's punches landed cleanly, it was clear that the damage done was nearly negligible, after all, it looked like Neo hadn't even noticed it yet. However, it was only after the punches landed did Neo realize he felt something missing.

'Is it my mana.....? But how...?'

Even in his startled state, Neo proved his worth as a Myth and as the son of The Great Andel. However, knowing wasn't going to do him any good, especially because he couldn't see anything and his blindness wasn't caused by any sort of dark cloud, it was simply pitch black, there was nothing he could push away or fix, which was another reason that made Night's skill broken.

"We're out of here," Night said as he appeared next to Noel and Blade, although both of them had many questions, they knew it wasn't the time for that.

"Thank you....." Blade sniffled as he heard Night's voice. It was calming to hear a familiar voice in such a situation. Even though he was confused at the moment, he couldn't question his fellow disciple's strength, especially in such a situation. 

'Finally.....everything's going to be okay now...'

Was it wrong for Blade to be optimistic in such a situation? Night might be somewhat weaker than Blade but just the fact that any of this was happening right now, proved the fact that he couldn't be judged under normal conditions.

'I haven't seen you all this while....and you've gotten quite strong...'

Blade's thoughts were racing as the world slowed down for him. It wasn't the first time he was getting saved. To a certain extent, he didn't really care about himself, of course, death wasn't something he looked forward to but he valued his Master's life way more than he did his. Although to be fair, not many actively looked forward to death.

Night was more than just a fellow disciple to him, he looked at him through caring eyes, although there were times where he looked at Night like he was some kind of a monster. Blade was an orphan, he didn't really have any family other than Noel and Cassandra. So when he realized that Night was accepted into the family, his heart somewhat softened.

It was a natural reaction, although well hidden, it was natural for him. It was painful for him to be away from the others for such a long time, he was always alone, throughout his childhood, the lonely and narrow back-alley way was all he had. So for him to not see Night for such a long time, only for the latter to show himself, stronger than before, made him feel a little sad that he wasn't there during the growth phase.

'The hero of Vraun....that's what they call you...it makes me happy to be called your Senior...'

It would be funny to see Blade react to Shade's existence, maybe even Noctis's. More than anything Blade looked forward to seeing how strong Night had gotten. Could the junior beat the senior? After all, Night did manage to learn weapon aura, which usually took years, in a few days.

"Kid...." Noel muttered in relief as he allowed himself to rely on his disciple. He looked around in the darkness, he could feel Night rushing but the only thing his mind allowed him to see, was the picture of a baby. A vision. It was a slightly older version of himself, with a small young kid whose face was covered in a black cloud. Noel was teaching the child how to use the sword properly. 

Every time the kid tried to strike something, the sword would either slip out or simply just fall down because of how weak the grip was. However, Noel or at least vision Noel never got mad, he enjoyed watching a mini him train and fail. It was adorable, especially considering the fact that this kid was royalty. He was the future ruler after Noel and Cassandra.

"...Thank you," Noel closed his eyes, tears rolled down as he realized how stupid he had been acting. Because of his impulsiveness, he almost ruined his as well as his child future. At the same time, he put both of his students in danger. 

"..."

Night was far too concentrated to hear anything. At the moment, his thoughts were the loudest they've ever been. His heart was racing but for bad reasons, Noctis was on the edge, however, this time he could feel the little one slightly hesitant, almost as if he knew that going against Neo right now was pointless.

'What the fck what the fck what the fck! That was so goddamn close!! I almost didn't make it!'

It was true if Night had appeared even a single second later, then his Senior disciple, as well as his Master, would be no more. As confused as he was, seeing Noel in such a state, Night couldn't afford to fall prey to his own thoughts. He had to act at that moment and he did, which is why they were even alive at the moment.

However, what they failed to realize was that, when Neo spoke about their freedom literally being in their hands, he wasn't exaggerating or bluffing. He could feel the gap between himself and the other three widening, but he wasn't worried, he simply closed his eyes and held his hand up with his palm facing the sky. He made a crushing gesture and the very next second, thick stone walls began slowly rising until the entire deserted piece of land was enclosed by it. 

The walls weren't weak or short, they were thick enough to withstand multiple attacks from Noel as well, and they were at least 30 meters high and towards the top, it seemed to slightly cave inwards. Night's domain couldn't be kept active forever, meaning he had to act fast. Perhaps if something HAD to be pointed out, then the mana consumption for the skill was the most pressing of issues.

"I told you, your freedom is literally in my hands. You overestimated your strength Legend, and because of that, both your disciples are going to lose their lives as well," Neo's voice still sounded slightly startled, but it was obvious that he was recovering and by the looks of it, the process was taking place at a maddening rate.

While such a situation would usually be where one would panic, Noel could feel Night's rather calm demeanor and knew his disciple had something in mind. He trusted Night, which was rare for someone like Noel. He felt stupid, his shoulder was injured and he was in no state to fight, it was more of a mental thing than physical. 

"Bow to me. Know who your master is. Let my voice act as your guide and my blade be your destination. Arise- Ghosts of Troy"

Night looked back and could see blue translucent spirits emerging from the ground, although he was confused, he wasn't foolish. However, it was slightly shocking to see all the beings enter the Myth's weapon.

"Fck it! Master hold on tight! Senior Blade your hand!" Night screamed as he grabbed his fellow disciple's hand. Although flying while carrying two adults was a stupid idea, The Anomaly couldn't think of a better solution.

*TNNNNNNN*

They were close, even with the weight of the other two, Night had to force himself to carry them. He removed the domain and activated both the skills that Hermes' exploration offered. Double speed and flying. As soon as he got over the wall, he continued flying while going lower and lower. It was at that moment did he feel a bright white light pass by his side, it was a few inches away but it didn't hit Night. 

He looked back to see the Myth looking at them with a smile, Neo simply turned around and began walking away. Even though he managed to use the attack, he couldn't risk fighting someone who could potentially be his bane. However, it was only once he saw Neo walk away, did Night realize that carrying both of them was suddenly harder. 

It was Blade. Night looked to his side to see his Senior smiling as blood dripped down his mouth. Neo's attack didn't miss. It simply passed straight through Blade's heart, instantly killing him on the spot....