Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 415: Noughts and crosses

Chapter 415: Noughts and crosses

"Wait!" Alex exclaimed as he quickly deduced what Enoch was getting at.

Enoch glared at him. "What?"

Alex froze, knowing that overdoing things might lead to being reduced to atoms by the sorcery wielded by the Emperor but he couldn’t just stand still either.

Though the hand of death was no longer directed at him, a circumstance he was most thankful for, he had a duty as a leader to at least help his subordinate.

So, taking a deep breath, he tried to speak only to nearly blank out as he felt his energy drain at a rapid rate.

Enoch snorted. "You are really an idiot. Trying to act like a god when you’re not?... Even gods aren’t stupid enough to do what you are doing."

"What... what are you talking about?" Alex stuttered as he struggled to regain himself though that was proving to be a challenge.

"Hmmph, why should I tell you?"

As Alex tried to figure out what to say, yet another light bulb appeared on Enoch’s head causing the Emperor to grin mischievously while clapping his palms.

"Of course!... I could trouble your subordinates some more to get them to use more of it. Hehe, that way you’d die without even knowing how."

And just like that, the hand of death once again hovered over Alex’s head.

Meanwhile, Elena found herself barely able to lift a finger as she stared at the palace ceiling which seemed to be covered in a thick darkness.

She’d thought death was close but Alex had managed to shift attention from her, alas, that meant the attention was now on him.

Bleak thoughts floated in her mind at that moment as everything that had happened so far flashed through her mind.

All she wanted was to live a life separate from the Princess.

It was a tall desire but regardless, she hoped to achieve it.

But faced with the Emperor, she was reminded again and again that she was nothing but a cheap copy, one that lived only to fill up the void left behind due to the Princess’s unfortunate departure from the material plane.

Despite being given a chance by Alex, she found herself unable to make anything out of it.

Now, here she was, lying on the ground, awaiting death like a loser.

Perhaps it would be better if she gave up her life.

It didn’t seem to matter if she lived anyway.

But her desire to live far outweighed the suicidal thoughts that emerged.

And so she pondered... What should I do?

She could try running away.

That was an option.

No one stated that she had to live and die with Constellations.

But Elena had a thought.

If she did run, where would she go?... What would she do?

In the depths of her heart, she understood that this was the opportunity she needed to break out of the cage that was Princess Berenice.

This was a chance to prove herself as separate from that great lady.

But what was she to do?... How was she to overcome the obstacle that was the Emperor?

She looked toward the only thing she had; Dimensionality.

So far, she’d considered it a means to travel between dimensions.

But was that all there was to it?

With that thought, she mustered the strength to get back to her feet.

Looking completely out of it with her outfit mostly ruined and her hair scattered about, Elena’s eyes remained resolute as she stared at Enoch.

Noticing her gaze, Enoch sent a glance her way while grinning. "Well hello, glad you could join us."

Gulping hard, Elena inquired softly. "Have you played noughts and crosses before?"

"Huh?" Enoch raised a brow. "What kind of a dumb question is that?... Of course, I have."

Elena nodded. "That’s good."

"Hmm, you look weird."

Ignoring his comment, Elena took a step forward as she asked. "Would you like to play?"

"Why should I?"

"Because I wish to challenge you."

"I decline." Enoch sneered while crossing his arms and turning his face away.

Elena remained silent for a moment, shifting her gaze to find Alex struggling on the ground.

Then she muttered. "I’m sorry. Please endure for a bit longer."

As Alex glanced at her, unsure of what to make of her words, Elena turned away, once again regarding Enoch who was now staring at her with interest.

"What are you doing?"

Elena pursed her lips before replying. "Playing a game."

Bang

Her body erupted in golden light as a black and white circle appeared on her forehead.

The next moment, a game board of 9 squares appeared on the ground, encompassing the areas occupied by both Elena and Enoch, catching the latter off guard.

"This..." Enoch trailed off, his expression furrowed as he studied the structure.

"Your move." Elena declared as an X suddenly appeared in one of the boxes.

Meanwhile, Alex stared at her back as his consciousness waned even further.

However, he knew he couldn’t allow himself to go now.

Not when he understood what Elena was trying to do.

Gritting his teeth, he turned and like a dog, crawled away on all fours.

***

The Gryphon emerged unscathed after being struck away by Ana causing the dragon to frown.

Utilizing Future Sight, she’d already discerned that at the rate they were going, it wouldn’t be long before the Gryphon would kill one of them.

He countered most of her skillset and due to Arwen’s and Nadia’s low level, they couldn’t land any reasonable hits on him which meant it fell to her to bring him down.

As the Gryphon appeared before her in a flash, Ana froze time again only for her opponent to ignore the constraints as his body moved at the speed of light and cut a wide gash across her chest.

She cried out in pain as she created distance from him while blood spilled from the wound she’d received.

Instead of chasing after her, the Gryphon remained in place before proceeding to lick the finger he’d used to injure her.

He trembled as he did so.

"Lady Ana!" Both Nadia and Arwen exclaimed a few seconds later as they couldn’t keep up with the light-speed battle.

Gritting her teeth, Ana quickly made a decision as she exerted her Will on the world.

The next moment, the Gryphon stilled... then unceremoniously fell to the ground with a dull thud.