Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 315: One strike

Chapter 315: One strike

Thump... thump

Ana, deafened by the sound of her beating heart, found herself engulfed in a deluge of emotions, most of which were negative, ranging from worry to outright fear.

This wasn’t fear born out of an impending sense of death.

No, it was the kind of fear prey would have when faced with predators or the type a child would have when faced with an abusive parent.

Hearing Aiden call her name, Ana found herself slowly being dragged back to the life she sorely wished to escape from.

It was a nightmare, to return to the mundane life of being the Guardian Dragon.

She wished for more... to explore the world, to see it for what it truly was.

After having already tasted just a tiny bit, Ana was reluctant to return but she knew that except a miracle were to happen here, there was no way she could escape.

At this moment, she found herself empathizing with Hala.

The ancient priestess, just like many others, including Ana, had a dream and because of them, that dream was left unfulfilled.

Now she was before her stumbling block and she too realized just how much pain Hala must have been in.

... And just like the dead elf, Ana didn’t just want to give up.

So even as her body trembled on instinct, Ana fought back and soon enough, formed a fist, blocking out the negative emotions flooding her senses.

Aiden seemed to catch this as his expression shifted, his gaze trained on Ana.

Ana opened her mouth to speak but before she could, Alejandro began. "Lord Aiden, you wish for Ana to stay?"

"Indeed." Aiden nodded while still scrutinizing Ana.

"Ah, I don’t think that would be possible. You see, we just emerged victorious from a most trying encounter and as is the custom of my people, we must return to celebrate. So, I ask that you allow Ana to take her leave. She can surely return once the celebration is concluded."

"I’m afraid I can’t allow that." Aiden pointedly said, shifting his attention to Alejandro who seemed taken aback by his response.

"Why not?"

"What do you do when a pet you take care of happens to run away in a rebellious manner, even colluding with questionable forces to do whatever she wants?... Do you allow the pet to do as she wishes or you rein her in to avoid wasting the investments made on the pet?"

"... I don’t think I quite follow your question, Lord Aiden," Alejandro remarked.

Meanwhile, Alex quickly understood the crux of what Aiden was trying to say and with that understanding, glanced at Ana to find her struggling to calm herself down.

Contemplating based on what he understood about their situation, Alex quickly came to a decision.

He gestured for Victoria to help Ana with the latter obliging as she moved to stand beside Ana while Alex stepped forward.

"Now then..." Aiden tried to say more only to pause as Alex blocked his view of Ana.

Raising a brow, Aiden inquired. "Who are you?"

"Aldrich, Master of the Shadowless. Nice to make your acquaintance." Alex replied with an exaggerated bow.

Sizing him up for a moment, Aiden remarked. "You must be the one feeding Ana with the nonsense that’s got her misbehaving so much."

"You speak as though she were a child."

"She is to me," Aiden said matter of factly.

"... I’m afraid Ana won’t be able to remain as she is now part of my retinue and I do not like to share."

A vague smirk formed at the corner of Aiden’s lips as he intoned. "I don’t recall asking for your permission, Mr. Aldrich."

"Which is why I thought it best to inform you so you don’t make the mistake of thinking Ana is your pet. She is my subordinate and you will treat her as such."

The two spoke calmly, their words giving off a sense of a conversation between diplomats though the underlying tension that persisted said otherwise.

"You will die." Aiden casually remarked as he played with the wooden sword in his hand before zeroing in on Alex’s figure. "Do you really want to take that chance?"

It was arrogance speaking but if it were a man that could cause Ana fear, he most surely had the right to talk like that.

Letting out a sigh, Alex snapped with Charlotte emerging from his shadow. "You can try."

The silence that followed loomed largely over the area, carrying with it a sharpness that threatened to cut down whoever dared to break it.

Seconds passed, stretching to almost a minute before finally, Aiden spoke up. "You are quite bold, I’ll give you that."

"I’ve been told."

"One strike. If you can defend against it, I’ll let you go, if not, you die."

"..." Alex remained silent, unsure of what to make of the challenge.

He was completely exhausted so the thought of yet another battle left him feeling listless.

Add on the fact that the opponent was a man that caused Ana fear and made Alejandro instantly respectful, he doubted the clash would be a simple affair.

After some contemplation, Alex finally replied. "Fine then, whenever you are ready."

Alejandro immediately tried to speak up but Aiden beat him to it.

"Then let’s begin."

He didn’t bother adjusting his posture or taking a special stance as he raised the wooden sword yet... Alex saw his life flash before his eyes.

Pa

The group instantly disappeared in a flash of black and white.

"..." Aiden stayed silent, his eyes still trained on where Alex and Co should have been, now completely devoid of any presence.

Silence persisted for a bit before Aiden broke into a chuckle. "He runs quite fast."

As he shook his head, amused by Alex’s trickery, Aiden turned to leave only to pause, sensing something that caused him to turn yet again.

From the crack that Alex and his group emerged from, a single tentacle was slowly trying to pry open the crack, intent on increasing its size.

Aiden narrowed his eyes and moments later, the tentacle was reduced to dust, torn apart by an unseen force.

With stability returned to the crack, Aiden turned and left as quickly as he’d arrived, causing the wilderness to once again descend into silence.

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