Nightblade (Darkest night)

" He's fast, quite fast compared to the rest of the aspirants, maybe." Morgan thought.

He smoothly ducked under a punch, then danced around Draco, leaning back to avoid a kick aimed at his head. He jumped over the follow-up kick that was supposed to sweep him off his feet.

Morgan elusively danced around the platform in an unpredictable rhythm to throw Draco off.

His movements fluidly melded into one another.

" But compared to Scott, he's slow, very slow."

Morgan inwardly grinned.

" All that training with Luke and Frederick is paying off. I don't think I'd have lasted more than a few seconds with these monsters."

Morgan leapt back, and Draco darted forward, throwing jabs at his vital spots to incapacitate him and end the fight quickly.

" If I can beat him quickly, then that will make me look even better." Draco smugly gloated.

Morgan stepped forward, closing the distance between them. He calmly analyzed Draco's movements.

" Come to think of it, I can use this opportunity to get better and try to tap into my awakened ability."

He continued to weave in and out of Draco's attacks without throwing any punches of his own.

Draco kept attacking, but something felt off.

" I'm not telegraphing any of my movements, so what is it with him?"

Draco lunged forward so swiftly, it looked like he was gliding across the floor.

His eyes widened when Morgan calmly sidestepped, dodging the blow aimed at his solar plexus, then leaned back at the right time to avoid a kick to the head.

Draco snarled, his eyes glinting with murderous fury. He spun through the air, landing in a crouch.

"Why the heck can't I hit this guy?" He thought in frustration.

"Somehow, he just keeps on avoiding my attacks. And that cocky look in his eyes. It's like he already feels sure of the outcome of the fight."

The two dashed around the platform swiftly. Draco's fists blurred, his movements becoming faster than the untrained eye could track.

Morgan, miraculously still, dodged all of them, weaving and bobbing out of them.

Lucas smirked from the side of the stage, the red hues in his brown eyes swirling eerily.

" Kid's as slippery as an eel. I don't think I'd have lasted against that brat for so long when I was his age."

He cast a furtive glance at Darius.

" I wonder what the Talented thinks."

Darius, too, was a little surprised.

" For a kid his age, he is quite fast. Except for that monstrous kid Warren, there are very few kids his age who can match him."

Morgan, oblivious to the thoughts of the people observing him, continued to elude Draco.

Draco stopped attacking and stood still, breathing heavily.

" Are you just going to keep dodging, running away like a coward?" He snarled.

Morgan kept bouncing on the balls of his feet with a faint smile on his face.

" What's the matter, Draco? Are you tired? For all your talk, is this all you can do?"

Boos resounded throughout the hall.

" Hey, Draco, what's gotten into you? Did you lose your touch or something?" A voice yelled.

Draco's features darkened.

"Show him that he's not your match. You're better than this. Put the new kid in his place."

A slow, dark grin spread over Draco's face.

In the student council chamber, a pensive silence filled the room.

The three student council members stared intently at the screen.

Xander looked at the holographic screen with a neutral expression.

" Draco Dark may be a pest, but his skills are the real deal. This kid is just that good. For some reason, he's intentionally dodging each one of Draco's attacks. Is he trying to show him the difference in their skill?" He thought.

He furtively glanced at Scott.

A faint smile was etched on his face, his green eyes gleaming in glee.

" Attaboy, cousin, show them what you've got. I wonder how they'd feel if they knew how much you've improved in such a short time. If I hadn't witnessed it myself, I wouldn't believe it."

Apart from Lucas, no one knew there was an aspirant capable of going toe to toe with an initiate.

Gloria glanced at Scott, noticing the smug grin on his face.

" It seems the Thane boy may win after all, Xander. You owe me."

Scott stared at them in shock. His eyes widened in amusement.

" You guys are twisted. You bet on who would win?"

An innocent smile appeared on Gloria's face.

" What's wrong? What's a little fun between council members?"

Scott slowly shook his head, then focused on the match.

" You could be right, Gloria, but I think you're wrong. You see, Draco hasn't used everything yet in this fight. If he does, then I'll still be winning our bet. Besides, Thane hasn't fought back yet. For all we know, his combat skills may be inferior to Draco's."

Suppressing a laugh, Scott glanced at Xander in amusement.

He bit his tongue until he drew blood.

Xander calmly continued.

" You see, Draco hasn't used the Dark family's techniques in this fight yet."

Scott's expression turned serious, his eyes widening slightly. His face darkened a bit.

" He's right," he thought.

" That could make things a bit tricky for Morgan. But regardless, if Morgan was able to last this long against me, he should still be able to hold his own against Draco even if he uses the Dark family technique."

Back on the stage, Draco grinned menacingly.

" You know, for a worm. You are really persistent. I didn't think you'd force me to go all out, but it seems I can't afford to hold back. "

Draco furtively glanced at the platform's edge. His eyes briefly searched for someone, then swiftly turned back to Morgan.

Draco grunted, then staggered back slightly. His irises dilated, becoming darker.

His veins pulsated visibly, blood pumping faster through his body. His muscles grew taut and then visibly rippled due to the increase in blood supply, his heartbeat accelerating.

Draco threw back his head with a snarl, then laughed. It was a chilling, hollow spine-tingling laugh that sent shivers down Morgan's spine.

"Any last words?"

In the next moment, the concrete platform cracked and Draco disappeared.

His fist blurred, flashing towards Morgan's face at a blinding speed.

Morgan's eyes widened in surprise and shock as the fist seemingly materialized in front of him.

He tilted his head back slightly at the last second.

The fist grazed his cheek, leaving a shallow cut instead of connecting with his head.

Morgan's expression turned serious.

His expression grew serious.

" He has somehow gotten faster, but how is he doing it. "

Raven frowned slightly.

" Leave it to Draco to use his family technique in a duel with a fellow student," she thought in disgust.

The Talented students were also intently watching the fight, gauging the strengths of their fellow students, the aspirants.

Edmund had met up with Emily and Samantha earlier. They quietly observed the duel.

Samantha gasped softly when Draco's fist grazed Morgan's face.

Emily's green eyes betrayed no emotion, watching the fight with a calm focus.

" These aspirants are no joke. With that level of skill, I can see how they would be a threat to other talented. " Edmund quietly thought.

He clenched his fists tightly, a determined gleam appearing in his eyes.

" I have to get stronger. "

Draco finally landed a solid punch. Throwing a flurry of punches, He had baited Morgan into thinking he was going for an uppercut and then connected solidly with a punch to the midsection.

Morgan's body curved around the blow with a sickening crunch, flying across the platform.

He twisted around mid-air and flipped onto his hands and landed with a crouch, nursing his stomach.

He coughed violently, spat out a mouthful of blood, then winced. He slowly wiped his mouth.

" Damn. That hurt, like hell. I think that blow may have cracked a few ribs." He tried to move, and a wave of pain flared up in his side.

Morgan glanced up at Draco.

Draco stood at the center of the platform with a victorious sneer on his face.

" Well, I certainly didn't see this coming," Lucas grinned," Looks like the tide has turned."

" It seems you were wrong this time, Father," Raven quietly thought.

" The Thane heir is a cocky brat that can't back up his words when push comes to shove."

Xander stood with his arms clasped behind his back, with a faint smile on his face.

" It seems I was right again, Gloria."

Gloria raised her arms, shrugging helplessly.

" Xander is always right about these things; the joke's on me for rooting for Scott's cousin." She stole a furtive glance at Scott.

Scott was silently observing the screen. His knuckles turned white in his clenched fist.

He grit his teeth in frustration, hoping for a miracle even he didn't believe could happen.

" Come on, Morgan, you can do this. You can't let that halfwit toss you around."

Draco darted forward, his figure blurring impossibly. He grinned darkly, appearing in front of Morgan.

" I'll end this in one move."

Lucian scrambled to get onto the stage, but the student council representative materialized in front of him.

" You know the rules. No one can interfere in a duel until it has reached its conclusion."

Lucian's eyes widened in horror, seeing Draco's fist barreling towards Morgan's head.

" No! Morgan!"

A sickening crunch echoed throughout the hall.

Scott shot up to his feet, his mouth opening in surprise.

" What the hell?!"