Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 442: Field of Blades

Chapter 442: Field of Blades

"This is my third strike." Aiden intoned after a long bout of silence, seemingly satisfied with Alex’s response.

Meanwhile, above, Ana was left conflicted, her draconic eyes reflecting the scene below.

Was she really such a dangerous element?

Despite learning about the extinction of her race during the War of Annihilation, she had never once considered turning against humans.

She grew up with them, learning their culture and understanding their ways.

She found herself falling in love with humanity while also growing to accept their imperfections.

Yet to think that she would be regarded as nothing more than a weapon.

It brought forth a feeling akin to sadness and disappointment, her head drooping as she pondered where she had gone wrong.

Just then, she heard a voice, one that she had grown to trust in the last few months.

’Humans are fickle beings, they are scared of the unknown and almost always find themselves at odds with what doesn’t conform to their understanding of humanity. You may be disappointed, Ana, but I hope you do not let it change your perception of things. After all, it is merely human nature.’

Her heart palpitated, having not expected those words.

They weren’t words trying to excuse Aiden’s perception of her nor were they trying to sugarcoat the truth.

It was simply an attempt to ensure her disappointment did not overwhelm her.

Hesitant, she thought to herself. ’So what do I do?’

’Nothing. You do what you have always done because you need no other person to determine your life choices.’

’And if I choose to get back at humans?’

’I’m pregnant.’

Ana froze, perplexed at the rather confusing change in topic.

’I don’t understand.’

’I thought we were exchanging impossibilities?’

Silence followed as realization quickly dawned on her causing Ana to smile sheepishly.

’Give me a moment, I’m about to run away from this guy again.’

’Alright.’

A wave of relief flowed through Ana at that moment, washing away the negativity that had begun to sprout in her heart.

It would seem she had made the right choice when she decided to follow him.

As she shifted her attention to the exchange about to take place below, her expression quickly shifted as she noticed a distinct change in the flow of the aether.

Alarm bells rang in her head.

She forgot to use her inner voice as she yelled out. "Alex, get out of there!"

Meanwhile, on the ground, Alex frowned at the sudden exclamation from above only for the terrain to shift.

The next moment, instead of a desolate field with an unstable space, he found himself in a desert area covered in weapons of war.

"Uhmm..." Alex pursed his lips as a deep sense of foreboding welled up within.

Then, Aiden spoke up. "Field of Blades. It is a domain type ability."

’So like Eternal Night?’ Alex thought to himself as he raised his hand to snap.

"That won’t work here. Domains usually take on the attribute of its caster which means right now..."

"This desert is overflowing with antimagic."

"Precisely."

Clicking his tongue, Alex muttered. "You really want to kill me, don’t you?"

"It is inconsequential to me if you die or not, however, I seek to know the man standing before me."

"Was my answer to your first question not enough?"

"Words are just that, they hold little substance. Actions, on the other hand, speak volumes. So far, your actions are distasteful and rather annoying."

Staring at Aiden, Alex saw a reflection of Alejandro causing his expression to turn bitter.

In his quest to help Ana, he’d found himself in quite a troublesome matter.

"Is it too late to back out?"

"Unfortunately," Aiden remarked as he tossed his sword aside before provocatively raising his fists. "Come."

Alex raised a brow. "You don’t really expect me to rush you, do you?"

"..." Aiden sighed. "You truly are a different breed."

"Wrong, you just haven’t met a lot of men like me. You should go out more, we are a rather popular breed, you know, those that love their lives." Alex calmly remarked.

Aiden nodded, taking Alex’s word as rare knowledge. "Unfortunately, the Southern Ruins lack such men."

"Hardly surprising."

"Regardless, this is my third strike."

The next moment, Aiden crossed the distance between himself and Alex and swung a fist.

The resulting collision sent Alex flying back with a broken arm.

As he crashed into the scorching sand, Alex loudly cursed. "Fuck!"

Before quickly rising to his feet as he knew Aiden was close and indeed, he was.

Boom

Alex watched what would have happened to his head had he waited a moment longer.

His heart palpitated strongly.

***

"Disgusting," Lucia muttered as she tossed aside the body of an undead, having crushed its skull with her bare hands.

Her expression reflecting her revulsion remained steady as she watched the undead rise once again causing her to encase it in a blood coffin before clenching her fist, reducing the creature to a cadaver ball.

Spitting to the side, she turned to find that her men had also dealt with the undead on their side.

Though the undead born from the cold winter brought about by the Month of Astra served as a way to weaken the Empire, they were by no means an ally to the Night Kindred.

Even the Night Kindred had to suffer attacks from them though this only happened when there were no humans in the vicinity.

Compared to warm-blooded humans, the cold-blooded Vampires were considered as a second choice meal which felt rather insulting under certain circumstances.

Regardless, she couldn’t allow these creatures to stand in her way.

Ever since receiving a commission from her mistress, Lucia had gathered a group of her most trusted aides to track the Dark Lord’s Envoy.

To be able to please her lady gave her immense joy so though the occasional run-ins with undead were quite annoying, Lucia could feel it.

The Envoy was close.

The distinct feeling of the Night told her so and for that reason, she looked around for a bit before fixing her gaze in a certain direction.

In an excited tone, she muttered. "Over there."