Nightblade (Darkest night)

‎A hair-raising roar ripped through the hall.

‎In the next moment, Cassius's body morphed, transforming into a seven-meter-tall creature with glowing orange eyes.

‎Fur sprouted across his forearms, his muscles visibly rippled, bulging and writhing through his skin.

‎The ethereal orange glow in his eyes increased, his nose lengthening into a snout and his mouth a maw filled with rows of jagged fangs.

‎Morgan continued forward, observing Cassius coolly, clearly undeterred, even with the appearance of the new form.

‎Cassius was quite sure that this was the first time the young scion was meeting this form of his.

‎Cassius blurred forward with a roar as well.

‎The two youths collided in the middle of the hall.

‎The stony floor cracked slightly from the force of the collision, raising a small cloud of dust.

‎When the dust cleared, an amused smile slowly spread across Lucian's face.

‎The two youths, the monster and the human, were evenly matched.

‎"Well, this is certainly interesting."

‎Morgan and Cassius strained against each other, neither budging an inch.

‎ Their muscles rippled smoothly, glistening with sweat in the light of the hall.

‎In the next moment, Lucian's eyes widened slightly in disbelief.

‎" That's not quite right... Crap! They're not evenly matched!"

‎In the next moment, Morgan strained his muscles, groaning slightly, then almost impossibly began to push Cassius back.

‎Cassius' eyes widened slightly, shock and disbelief flickering in their depths.

‎" What the hell?"

‎On the stony floor, Cassius' feet began to slowly slide back, breaking through the tiles.

‎A jagged web of cracks slowly spread through the floor from the relentless pushing match.

‎Talia, Emily, Amanda, and Samantha watched the show of strength in a stunned silence.

‎Even in his beastly biological type form, Cassius was losing out in a battle of strength of all things, against Morgan.

‎Everyone present, except Morgan and Emily, was familiar with the power that came with Cassius' transformation.

‎ He had used the same form in the harrowing battle against the Kravenar.

‎In fact, he'd even killed the creature.

‎Cassius had used the same monstrous form in the battle against the spectral wolves, and even then, he'd managed to hold his ground and even buy time for the rest of the team.

‎And yet now, before their very eyes, that very form was being pushed back by youth barely half Cassius' height when transformed.

‎Despite the advantage afforded him by the extra height and weight, Morgan was undeniably pushing Cassius back.

‎" Monster," Talia whispered.

‎A dark grin appeared on Lucian's face for a brief moment, then disappeared.

‎" Do you still think he can win?" Emily asked Samantha somberly.

‎Samantha sat frozen, her eyes fixed on the match.

‎Emily quietly chuckled, turning back to the match.

‎" Impossible! How is this even possible? " Cassius inwardly snarled.

‎He roared, straining against Morgan with all of his prodigious strength.

‎Morgan simply grunted, stopping for a brief moment, then continued to push.

‎He craned his neck, staring up at Cassius, a wild grin etched into his face.

‎" Surely you've got more in you, right?"

‎In the next instant, Morgan shoved Cassius away, taking a stance.

‎" Battles of raw strength alone aren't that fun. Show me your skill."

‎Cassius paused, staring at him in disbelief.

‎Then morphed back into his human form.

‎"It's your win. I couldn't beat you in a battle of strength, let alone in a battle of skill. It's your win for now."

‎Morgan frowned slightly, then let out a sigh.

‎"Alright then, if that's what you think."

‎He breathed, letting go of his hold over the Drayghar's essence. The energy flowed back, pooling warmly in his chest.

‎Morgan stretched slightly and then walked back to where the others were seated.

‎" Well, we're done now, aren't we?"

‎Talia sprang to her feet with a boisterous smile.

‎" Not quite."

‎She gestured at Emily and Samantha.

‎" Emily here has kindly accepted my humble request to spar with her.

‎Lucian scoffed, audibly shaking his head slightly.

‎" What a joke?"

‎Morgan's gaze shifted to Emily.

‎He lifted his eyebrows slightly in question, and the green-eyed girl subtly nodded.

‎" Very well then."

‎Lucian turned to Morgan questioningly.

‎" Do you think this is a good idea?"

‎Morgan stared at him in surprise.

‎" What do you mean?"

‎Lucian shrugged slightly, folding his arms across his chest.

‎" Well, for starters, Talia's been fighting ever since she was a kid. Are you sure Emily's up for the challenge?" he asked, his eyes glinting in curiosity.

‎"Do you think she's ready to take on someone like that? An assassin trained from birth?"

‎Morgan shrugged nonchalantly, his brown eyes boring into Lucian's.

‎"To be honest, I'm not sure, but what I do know is,"

‎A slow, confident smile spread across his face.

‎" I'm not that much different from her and yet here I am," he said, raising his arms into the air.

‎" And truth be told, she's been sparring with me ever since we got stuck in this place. And she's also fought her fair share of ferocious and dangerous creatures."

‎Lucian's eyes widened comically in shock.

‎Morgan scratched his head, his brows knitting together in thought.

‎" Come to think of it, that's how she awakened her latent talented ability."

‎" Well, that's interesting but..." Lucian began.

‎" She killed a Kravenar, Lucian... " Morgan whispered.

‎Lucian fell silent at that point, staring at Emily in shock.

‎" If you still don't think she can do this after that, then let's watch and see. I bet she's going to give Talia an ass whooping."

‎The two girls had shifted to a different part of the hall that was yet undamaged.

‎"Well, you've made very good points, Morgan, but you forget, Talia too was being trained by people far deadlier than you from birth. So despite my prejudices against her...and much as I'd love for her to lose, I just don't see it happening today."

‎Morgan grinned, a carefree smile appearing on his face.

‎" Well, we'll just have to see about that then, won't we?"

‎" Are you ready?" Talia called out, stretching slightly on her end of the hall.

‎Emily nodded quietly, observing the blonde-haired girl's movements.

‎" I'll try to hold back a bit, so you do the same," Talia said.

‎Without giving her a chance to reply, Talia dashed forward.

‎A flicker of surprise flashed across Emily's face for a split second.

‎She quickly regained her composure, getting into a loose stance.

‎" Like a dance..." she whispered.

‎" Not too stiff, not too loose, just the right amount of energy."

‎A moment later, Talia was within striking range.

‎The lithe girl leapt into the air, throwing a blistering roundhouse kick at Emily's head.

‎Morgan gasped in surprise.

‎" Kicks right off the bat! Wow..."

‎Lucian scoffed derisively, shaking his head.

‎"So much for holding back, what a joke."

‎Emily barely leaned back, narrowly dodging the powerful blow.

‎On the sidelines, Samantha nervously chewed her nails.

‎" Why are you even nervous?" Amanda asked in amusement.

‎Samantha turned to her, frowning in confusion.

‎" Why do you mean, Emily, she..."

‎Amanda lightly palmed her face, shaking her head slightly.

‎" Am I the only one who remembers her spectacular display when we'd just gotten here?"

‎Samantha's eyes widened in realization.

‎The image of the hooded figure gliding through the air on an icy bridge was still etched firmly into her mind.

‎The sight of icy javelins streaking through the air and impaling countless creatures had been quite unforgettable.

‎Samantha still vividly remembered the drop in temperature and the horrid creatures that had been frozen into grotesque ice sculptures in the wake of her friend's elemental ability.

‎"I do remember...How could I forget..."

‎It was simply hard to associate that same image with the dark-haired, green-eyed girl who was her friend.

‎It seemed almost... improbable

‎"Right..."

‎It was still difficult to think that Emily was no longer the same weak, defenseless girl that she'd been a while back

‎She had grown and now she'd even discovered a terrifying power that wasn't supposed to exist, and yet Sammie had seen it with her own eyes.

‎There was no denying that Emily could undoubtedly take care of herself.

‎Right on cue, the temperature in the hall plummeted slightly.

‎In the fighting space, frost slowly crept over, covering the stony floor.

‎A slight frown appeared on Talia's face.

‎ In the next moment, the frown turned into a smile.

‎"You're getting serious from the very start... "

‎Emily slowly circled her, observing her for any openings.

‎"Not quite, as things are right now, there's no need for me to get serious. "

‎Cassius gasped in shock, his eyes widening slightly at the small quip.

‎"Did you guys hear that?"

‎He laughed heartily, throwing his head back in mirth.

‎Lucian frowned slightly, narrowing his eyes.

‎Morgan instead chuckled in amusement.

‎" Well, well, this is getting fun. "

‎Lucian shook his head.

‎" I don't think so. From what I know, despite her outwardly calm appearance, Talia is very, and I mean very, competitive. I don't think she'll let this go just like that."

‎Morgan raised an eyebrow in surprise

‎"Oh?"

‎Contrary to what Lucian said, Talia appeared to take the provocation within her stride.

‎A small smile played on her lips.

‎She continued to observe Emily from a distance, refusing to rush in without a plan.

‎A split second later, Emily took the decision to attack out of her hands.