Nightblade (Darkest night)

‎Conrad was just about done testing the extent of what the mysterious maestro could do.

‎" Time to end this."

‎Anonymous was breathing heavily behind his dark mask.

‎The dark blade in his hands was chipped and terribly nicked in several places from the several devastating blows he'd parried with it.

‎A smug smile appeared on Conrad's face, curling his lips upward.

‎"Well, you're not so cocky anymore. Is that it?"

‎Dark blood ran down Conrad's knuckles, dripping slowly to the ground.

‎"Cat got your tongue?"

‎Anonymous let out a weary sigh, shifting his stance. He seemed unmoved by Conrad's taunts.

‎"Careful, awakened, you just might lose your life."

‎A dark grin appeared on Conrad's face, his eyes narrowing in almost palpable anticipation.

‎A wave of umbralis surged violently around him, the very air humming with barely restrained power.

‎"We'll just have to find out then, if you can take my life, that is."

‎Behind the mask, the man's eyes glowed, turning a similar golden.

‎Nadia froze in shock.

‎"Two awakened maestros? Are awakened common folk these days?"

‎The appearance of an awakened was quite rare, with awakened assassins emerging every few generations.

‎The possibility of two awakened individuals appearing in the same place was almost unthinkable, bordering on impossible, and yet that was what was happening.

‎Right in front of Nadia, two awakened assassins, maestros no less, were squaring off.

‎In the next moment, Nadia blinked and Anonymous vanished, turning into several whisps of smoke right before her.

‎"What the hell?!"

‎The grin on Conrad's face grew wider.

‎"I see what you're doing, you're able to use the mirage. A nice trick"

‎" Oh, this is no trick."

‎Anonymous's voice echoed, its timbre floating mesmerisingly through the recesses of Conrad and Nadia's minds.

In the next instant, ‎Nadia found herself in a dark, empty room.

‎"What is this place?"

‎In the next moment, the room faded.

‎Suddenly, she was back in Venice, at the Italian branch of the Varas family.

‎"Faster, you're too slow," the stern voice of her instructor rang out.

The man, a middle-aged novice in white garb, wielded a silver blade, getting into an attacking stance.

‎Nasia glanced around, taking in the appearance of the familiar courtyard.

‎"How am I here? I was..."

‎A heartbeat later, her instructor attacked, his silver blade weaving through the air with ghostly precision.

‎"I have to block this," she thought, her eyes widening in surprise.

‎Except that the wooden sword in her hands had disappeared.

Surprise and confusion flashed across her face.

"What?!"

‎And the silver blade of her instructor had morphed into a familiar dark blade.

‎Nadia jumped back, lunging away from the trajectory of the deadly blade.

Instead, she found herself jumping toward the dark blade. ‎Her mouth opened in a scream.

‎She could already envision the dark blade skewering her.

‎She frantically tried to use her family technique, but her body stubbornly refused to obey her.

‎Her instructor morphed, turning into the sinister dark maestro.

‎The man's merciless blade flashed through the air, whistling with the inevitable promise of death.

‎In the next moment, a familiar roguish figure appeared behind Annonymous.

‎Inexplicably, Anonymous froze, then crumpled to the ground like a puppet whose unseen strings had been cut.

‎Nadia gasped, regaining control of her limbs.

‎She regarded Conrad with slight apprehension in her eyes.

‎"What did you do? How did you do that? How are you able to move?"

‎A wicked smile appeared on Conrad's face, a hint of amusement flashing through his eerie golden eyes.

‎" What's this, twenty questions?"

‎Nadia slowly flexed her arms, warily watching Conrad's movements

‎"This guy, just who is he? And how come there's such a large gap between us, even though we're both maestros?"

‎Conrad unceremoniously dumped the unconscious man on his shoulder, then turned to Nadia.

Ignoring jer questions, he started walking, taking measured steps.

‎"Looks like we're done on our end. Better check in with Luke and your uncle. Pick up the pace."

‎The two quickly made their way to the empty plaza.

‎What greeted them, however, was the sight of Luke hitting the asphalt from the top floor of the Black Ink HQ with a sickening impact.

‎The man rose to his feet, staggering briefly before steadying himself.

‎"We should help him."

‎Conrad quietly gestured for her to stay put.

‎"You definitely can't do anything to anything or anyone, for that matter, that can do that much damage to Luke. You're better off staying here. You'll only get in the way."

‎Then came the shocking betrayal.

‎

‎Conrad and Nadia saw everything unfold.

‎Nadia's eyes widened, shock and disbelief flashing across her face.

‎Conrad grabbed her, pulling her back into the shadows.

‎" There you are!"

‎Luke grinned despite the precarious position he was in, blood bubbling from his lips in small rivulets.

‎The Spectre silently materialised behind him.

‎With a brutal tug, Drake wrenched his hand free from Luke's torso.

‎The maestro staggered forward, falling to one knee. He fell forward on the asphalt, landing on his face.

‎" Ah..that hurt a lot."

‎His eyes turned glassy and lifeless a moment later.

‎Luke Sanguine was undoubtedly dead.

‎A mixture of conflicting emotions roiled through Nadia's head.

‎" Was Uncle Drake the traitor all along?

‎But how is that even possible?"

‎The implications of that realisation were frankly quite frightening.

‎No one could be trusted; anyone could be working for the enemy.

‎" This means war. We've started a war against House Thane."

‎Nadia's eyes darted back to Conrad.

‎ The man was calmly observing everything that was going on.

‎A palpable tension rippled between the two.

‎" I need to convince him that this is all a misunderstanding. Surely there's an explanation for all this."

‎She crept over, joining him.

‎" Listen, this is all just a big misunderstanding, my uncle..."

‎Conrad silently raised a finger to his lips without even sparing her a glance.

‎His were hardened with the cold intensity of a seasoned killer, his expression cold and unreadable.

‎He quietly gestured for her to watch.‎Drake dropped Luke's heart beside him, then nonchalantly wiped his bloody hand on the corpse.

‎The mysterious man silently watched Drake's inexplicable actions.

‎"Well, this is quite unexpected," his voice rang out behind the obscure mask he was wearing.

‎" Do you perhaps want to hog all the fun for yourself?"

‎Drake slowly rose to his feet, then approached the man, taking measured steps across the asphalt.

‎His next actions shocked both Conrad and Nadia.

‎The Spectre genuflected in front of the dark figure, lowering his head.

‎" On behalf of the Lord of House Varas, House Varas pledges its allegiance to you."

‎Raymond, Thrain and Liu Zhen were similarly shocked

‎From the start of the fight, Raymond had observed Luke's battle with the mysterious figure foelm the works between, taking great care not to interfere.

‎The two men moved at blistering speeds, sometimes even exceeding what his enhanced eyes could track.

‎But, shockingly, the tide of the battle had unexpectedly shifted, in a mind-jarring way, when the infamous Spectre had ripped out his ally's heart in a very nonchalant manner.

‎In the next instant, Raymond grabbed Thrain and Liu Zhen, pulling them into the world between.

‎" What the actual hell is going on?" Raymond asked the two men, his gaze shifting between them.

‎" Don't we have a truce, an arrangement with the Council of Assassins? So what the hell is happening?"

‎" A betrayal," Thrain said, his voice taking on a darker edge.

‎Raymond roughly palmed his face, biting back a curse.

‎" Shit, shit, shit!"

‎His blue eyes gleamed, unbridled fury flashing through their depths.

‎" Now of all times, if House Varas breaks ties with the Council, will the rest of the Council of assassins remain on our side?"

‎Liu Zhen tilted his head slightly, giving the impression of staring at the two other men.

‎" For now, let's wait and watch."

‎Similarly, Nadia and Conrad quietly observed the unfolding events.

‎Conrad's face was an emotionless mask of cold calmness despite the gravity of the situation they were in.

‎Nadia's heart beat frantically in her chest, already fathoming the ramifications of everything that was happening.

‎" How can I tell this isn't an elaborate trick to try something else? That you won't stab me in the back just like you did your ally over there?"

‎Drake silently shook his head.

‎" By killing him, I've triggered a war with House Thane. Consider it a show of goodwill."

‎The masked figure hesitated for a while, then sighed.

‎"And your other allies? Since you're here, I've reason to believe that you weren't working alone; surely there must be others? No?"

‎Drake nodded in assent.

‎" You're right, I came with the next Lord of House Varas, consider her a hostage, and I'll swiftly dispatch of the remaining idiot."

‎" Wait," the man said quietly.

‎Drake paused, turning around.

‎" Why would you go to such lengths, going so far as to trigger a war with other Great Houses?"

‎Drake coldly shrugged

‎" You single-handedly made fools of the Council of Assassins. So you're definitely no ordinary man. If the master you serve is more powerful than even you, then the Council stands no chance of victory. We of the Varas can already see the benefits of such a union. And therefore let it be known that we pledged our allegiance first."

‎" Alright then, I'll accept your allegiance, Spectre."

‎In the next moment, the man appeared in front of Drake, barring his path.

‎"Wait."