Noctem

A disheveled Cassie gazed at the glistening lake with a detached look on her face, she had long abandoned her magnificent tunic for the mundane clothes which the townsfolk often wore.

A gray cigarette hung loosely from her mouth while she held within her hands, a half eaten smoked fish on a wooden skewer.

Her lips trembled slightly as she muttered.

"Ah... It tastes like crap."

She shifted slightly, craning her neck to stare at the evening sky which was slowly becoming dark.

"That bastard, it's all that bastard's fault... I haven't had a proper meal in months. Eida, I miss you.. ugh.. damn it!"

"And how exactly did you come to know what crap tastes like?" A teasing voice sounded from behind her.

Looking up, she saw Aiden staring down at her with a mocking grin.

Cassie stared at him silently for a moment.

..then scowled.

"By eating one... Oh by the way I'm currently doing that, thanks to you, shitty bastard!"

"..."

"What? You suddenly don't know what to say after depriving me the luxury of having money?, I fucking told you several times to get some supplies but nooo... You just had to be an unreasonable fucktard, I couldn't even pack enough blood to last us a single month because of you! Now I'm stuck in a gods forsaken, bug infested, dirty cottage with you of all people!" She yelled, before throwing her half eaten fish into the lake, in a playful fit.

With an impish expression Aiden simply smiled at her.

"Whatever, do you mean Cassie? If the town folks had heard you, they would have been hurt by your words, you shouldn't make others sad.. it's such a terrible thing to do."

Cassie squinted her eyes slightly while staring at Aiden with a look that said...

Are you dumb?

She raised a single finger of hers in an unpleasant gesture then sneered.

"Fuck off"

Aiden's grin deepened much to her dismay, he enjoyed provoking her.

Their little bant went on for a few more minutes, their voices drowned by the swaying leaves of a small forest as well as the tranquil sounds of the lake before Cassie suddenly asked.

"Have you gotten any leads on the child?"

Hearing her abrupt question, Aiden's face reverted back to its usual solemnity.

"I hate to break it to you but I haven't been able to get any leads on the child, however, both his parents have unique appearances so it'd be hard not to notice a child that fits the criteria."

"If he isn't dea..."

Abruptly halting in the middle of her sentence, Cassie turned around, staring far into the distance where a desolate land lay.

A demented grin etched her expression as she questioned.

"Oi Aiden, you felt that, right?"

The solemn vampire nodded.

"Killing intent, and an insanely vile one at that."

His eyes gleamed with a bit of malice, and his tone dripped with venom following his next words.

"It appears the deities wretched marionettes have decided to sully this realm with their filthy presence."

"Kekekeke... Perfect, I was getting bored anyway." Cassie spoke with overwhelming excitement and renewed vigor, sucking in a breath of fresh air, she added."Finally, after soooo long, I'll be able to spill someone's blood. Hehe, I can't waittt!"

Aiden swayed his hands in a subtle motion while Cassie had both hands locked together behind her back in a stretching gesture as she rose to her feet.

Following their actions a black slime-like substance engulfed them, each swirling like a black tornado, before vanishing.

Both vampires stood, with Aiden adorned in a black tuxedo caressed by crimson intricate designs as well as subtle gothic ornaments, while Cassie had assumed her half-buttoned white tunic which displayed bits of her cleavage and onyx shorts that hung tightly to her curvy body, highlighting her firm ass.

Both Cassie and Aiden had abandoned the unamusing plain clothing the townsfolk had provided them as they donned their official uniform.

No words needed to be spoken between the duo for they were currently of one mind and they both knew what had to be done at the moment, even better, they were more than willing to execute it.

In the next second, the two vampires moved, their figures a blur as they displayed speed that went beyond mundane logics.

****

Shockwaves erupted, following the brutal attacks of the beast god's vessel, the dark skinned man was ridiculously strong and his attacks, although brutish and barbaric, carried enough force to destroy an entire building in one hit, however, in this case Eren was the target.

The eccentric Spellcaster was holding his own just fine, even with three divine vessels raining a platoon of attacks on him.

In truth, anyone who saw their battle could fully attest to the fact that he was simply toying with his opponents while maintaining a stable balance in their exchange.

They were coordinated, their attacks were in sync and each was purposeful, aiming to decimate him but he skillfully deflected each attack, casting devastating spells in a split second without words.

On the other hand, Nox was currently engaged in a furious battle with the vessel of the space god.

The black masked vessel's attacks were lethal and relentless, each single assault of his was purposeful, with the sole aim of murdering his opponent.

Fortunately, Nox wasn't an easy target to deal with, his hellish training with the fragment of the spawn of shadow made him more than capable enough to engage in combat against opponents on par with a seasoned warrior.

The tenebrous spawn countered each of the vessel's attacks swiftly, maintaining a balance between his offense and defence with impeccable precision.

It was as if he could predict the attacks of the spatial god's marionette before the masked vessel even attacked.

The black masked vessel stared at Nox with surprise...

Which then morphed into fear and anger.

"Y-You!.. learnt the battle art of that accursed fiend? EREN VON MICHÆLSON, YOU DAMNED SPELLCASTER, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!!"

Taking advantage of the vessel's momentary distraction, Nox thrust his dagger towards the neck of the space god marionette.

His attack was flawless, his aim precise yet his attack failed to draw blood from the opponent.

Nox's brow creased beneath his blindfold as he deflected several attacks from the masked vessel.

'I can't hit him, my attacks are stopping exactly four inches away from him. He's compressing the space around him to act like an invisible barrier... but thanks to that, he's not able to make use of his abilities at an offensive pace.'

The vessel lunged forward with his dagger poised, he warped the space around them to increase the pace at which he moved.

It seemed as though he had disappeared, only to appear in front of the tenebrous spawn, with his blade already striking horizontally, aiming to sever the child's neck.

Much to his bewilderment, his blade was met with air.

His surprise only lasted for a split second before he felt something hard against his nose, followed by several stinging cuts across his face.

"D-Damnit, you damned thing... The deities were right, you shouldn't be allowed to live." He hissed, clutching his bleeding eyes which the child had already destroyed.

Nox remained silent for a while, he knew the masked vessel was baiting him to speak as he too.. like the tenebrous spawn was currently unable to see.

But the effeminate spawn of tenebrae couldn't help it.

His voice was cold and emotionless as his venomous words slid off his tongue like frigid ice.