Nightblade (Darkest night)

Draco looked down in horror, then jumped back with a pained yell.

Taking in the sight of his mangled fist, his eyes widened in disbelief.

" How is this possible?"

Draco's fist that had been aimed at Morgan's face had connected with the ground.

And despite using the Dark family technique, Draco was an aspirant, and therefore, his body was completely mundane.

When his fist connected with the floor, it unsurprisingly broke, shattering some of the bones and cracking the ones in his forearm.

But what was more surprising still was that Morgan had moved out of the way and manipulated him into doing exactly that.

A small distance away, Morgan quietly stood, favoring his injured side.

A few gasps and murmurs echoed through the gymnasium when he opened his eyes.

" Are you guys actually seeing this?"

" Is that even possible, though? For someone to awaken at this age?"

Morgan's eyes burned with ethereal golden light, giving him a beautiful otherworldly appearance.

Noticing the phenomenon, Raven's eyes widened in surprise.

" He's awake, at this age? Did father know about this?"

Scott had stood up in shock.

" So I was right. He's awake. How did he manage to tap into his awakened ability? "

He broke into a grin, sneaking a peek at Xander's back.

" I wonder what he'll do."

Back in the gymnasium, Edmund wondered what the fuss was about.

" What's up with that guy? Is he one of us? His eyes are glowing exactly as ours do when we activate our abilities."

" You're wrong." Emily quietly said.

" Usually when we talented use their abilities, the light emitted from their eyes matches their eye colour.

Earlier, when we sat with him at lunch..."

Edmund's eyes widened in shock.

" Wait, you did what? You sat with an aspirant?!'

" Two of them actually," Emily replied.

Edmund stared at Emily and Samantha in bewilderment.

" I miss lunch for one day, and this happens, what the hell."

Samantha glared at him in irritation.

" What?"

" If you're done interrupting, allow her to finish explaining."

Emily sighed.

" The reason they're all flabbergasted is because of the phenomenon we're observing. It's an extremely rare condition among assassins and usually happens much later in life when they're older. Assassins who have tapped into their awakened ability are the most dangerous; they're extremely lethal. Morgan's eyes are brown, but now they're shining with golden light. It's different from what happens with the talented. The golden light signifies awakening. "

Emily paused to let her words sink in.

Edmund's brows furrowed in thought. He had never thought about the possibility of something like that even happening.

" Come to think of it, how did Emily know about that in the first place. Does that mean that guy is a cut above the rest?"

" What makes them so unique?"Edmund asked.

He glanced at the stage, Morgan and Draco stood facing each other, one cradling his injured limb, the other standing nonchalantly without making a move.

" If they're so dangerous, why hasn't he ended the fight?"

Emily turned, piercing Edmund with a calm gaze.

" Depending on assassins' awakened ability, their physical prowess can be greatly enhanced, their speed, strength, and even their thought process."

She turned back to the stage.

" However, it can take a toll on the body if one isn't accustomed to it. It's probably the reason why Morgan hasn't made a move yet."

Edmund quirked an eyebrow. " How do you know his name? And how do you know all this stuff?"

Emily sighed, then patiently explained.

" To answer your first question, we had lunch together, and he introduced himself. We also happen to share the weapon smithing specialty, and he is part of my group. And as for your second question, I read and study. Knowledge is power after all."

" Guys, look, they're finally moving."

Draco snarled and lunged forward with his free hand.

" I should still be able to sustain my technique for a while. And he's probably still dazed from the blow, so he won't be able to match my speed."

Much to his surprise and chagrin, Morgan calmly dodged his attack and disappeared, appearing further away.

Draco darted forward, his injured arm hanging uselessly at his side. He jabbed at Morgan, hoping to overwhelm him with a flurry of punches, but Morgan eluded him, dodging each of the attacks at the last second with minimal movement.

Morgan calmly stepped with striking range, landing a lightning-fast kick on Draco's injured arm.

Draco shrieked in pain, then leapt forward to catch Morgan off balance, but he once again danced around him, disappearing from view.

Draco turned around, poised to attack, but a force suddenly tugged on his injured hand.

Morgan pulled him forward using his injured arm, landing a blow to his solar plexus.

" That's payback for your punch. You see, I love to give as good as I get."

Still holding onto the injured arm, Morgan twisted it around and then shoved Draco to the ground.

He ruthlessly turned it at an unnatural angle, breaking it in the process.

Draco screamed, a long, painful, agonized scream that silenced the murmurs in the hall.

"And that's for Lucian. If I ever hear that you or your minions have touched him or even looked at him funny, I'll be the one requesting a duel."

Draco's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he passed out cold.

Talia could only think of one thing: none of them had seen this coming.

Morgan stood up, wincing slightly, then limped to the center of the stage, facing the student council representative.

" I believe since Draco can't continue the duel, I win."

The student council nodded calmly.

" Since Draco Dark is unconscious and cannot continue to fight, this duel is over. Morgan Thane wins."

The academy's medics quickly hauled Draco off to care for his injuries.

Morgan's eyes turned back to normal, the ethereal golden light slowly fading.

Morgan grabbed his temples, a searing pain flaring through his head. His muscles spasmed from overexertion, and he sat down heavily.

He groaned slightly, then lay down quietly, inhaling and exhaling slowly.

Lucian scrambled onto the platform.

" Are you ok? Let's get you to the Nexus chamber."

Lucian slowly pulled him to his feet, and they slowly moved towards the gymnasium's Nexus chamber.

"He is ruthless, perhaps more ruthless than any of the scions here." Talia quietly thought.

Raven observed the outcome of the duel with a calm expression. They both stared at Morgan's retreating form in disbelief.

Edmund burned with anticipation.

" So there are other monsters even among the aspirants. This is a very good opportunity to increase my own strength."

Scott sat down and stared into space.

" What a guy! He totally had me there. For a moment, I thought he'd lose, but I was wrong. He just keeps amazing me more and more."

Gloria smiled gleefully.

" Oh, Xander," she sang in a cherry tone. " I believe you owe me."

Xander sighed, then tapped his comlink, clicking a few times on the holographic screen.

" I've transferred the funds to your account."

Gloria laughed in amusement." Pleasure doing business with you, bud."

Xander frowned, contemplating the duel's outcome.

" How could I have been wrong?" He quietly thought. "Morgan Thane, huh. I won't forget that name."