122 Chapter 29.5 - Banquet
<nulli>-TOK! TOK! TOK!
Inside the corridor illuminated by the dark light, a bunch of figures could be seen running around.
"What is the situation?"
A cold voice echoed inside the dark corridor. The voice didn't have the tone of an old man but rather was on the younger side.
"Our communication is getting jammed, Young Master."
Kaiser Blackthorn, the heir of the Blackthorn family, was escorted by a group of elite guards as he made his way through the winding corridors of the Blackthorn estate.
The guards, dressed in sleek black uniforms, moved with precision and purpose, creating a formidable wall of protection around Kaiser.
All of them had swords on their waists, and they looked trained enough not to lose anyone.
"Our communication is getting jammed, Young Master."
At the front of the group was Captain, a seasoned warrior with a strong presence as he spoke with a serious tone.
He had served the Blackthorn family for many years and was known for his unwavering dedication to their safety.
"However, according to information we have received and we had known beforehand, we are getting targeted by a new organization."
As they walked, Captain Alden began to brief Kaiser on the current situation.
"Any ways to identify?"
Kaiser asked, gritting his teeth. "Those bastards…. Don't they know about our family's power?"
Today was supposed to be the day he was the main character. As the leading heir of the family of Blackthorns, he was the face of almost every event.
He personally organized such things just to make sure the way the public viewed him was on the positive side.
His father, the Current Patriarch, was someone with an obsessiveness of perfection, so he was doing his best to meet his standards.
"I am sure they are aware of your power, young Master." Captain Alder replied. He purposefully emphasized the word 'your' to imply that he was already considering Kaiser as the next heir of the Blackthorns.
"Ho? Then, what do you think they are aiming for?"
Kaiser asked with a leisured smile on his face. The fact that Alder praised him put that smile on his face, and the annoyed look on his face had disappeared.
Captain Alden maintained his stern expression as he replied to Kaiser's inquiry. For him, who always served the Blackthorn Family, he knew none of the terrorist organizations could target them.
"My observation suggests that this new organization is not targeting the Blackthorn family directly. Instead, they appear to have been hired by a rival or an adversary. Their aim, it seems, is to tarnish your image, Young Master."
Hearing this, Kaiser also started pondering.
'This makes sense considering how organized they were.'
He imagined in his head what happened the moment the attack started.
First, it was bombs, and then it was smoke.
Following that was a bunch of portals, and that was when Alder immediately took action to save himself from the attack.
It was a common protocol that was repeated countless times in this mansion belonging to the Blackthorn family.
But, the thing was not about the protocol but how efficient their attack was. First, they caused mayhem, making the mages belonging to the guard group come forward since the time wasn't enough for close combatants to reach the victims.
And then, they blocked their vision to make sure the mages would need to use their [Mana Expanding] to sense what was happening inside.
And thanks to follow-up attacks, the artifacts inside the tables would be activated since the mages wouldn't have enough time to defend the people inside the banquet.
It was as if-
<nulli>-SCHLIK!
"Hmm?"
As Captain Alder scanned the card he was holding into the door they were in front of, he frowned at the fact that no response came from the door.
"What is happening, Captain Alder?"
Kaiser couldn't help but become increasingly aware that something was amiss.
Captain Alder's frustrated expression as he scanned the card to unlock the door confirmed Kaiser's suspicions. The door remained stubbornly closed, refusing to grant them access.
But it wasn't just the uncooperative door that troubled Kaiser. It was the mounting feeling of suffocation in the corridor, a distinct sign that the mana around them was indeed disturbed.
"Young Master!"
<nulli>SWOOSH!
Just at that exact second, Kaiser suddenly felt the huge body of Captain Alder tackling him.
<nulli>SWISH!
And following that, a projectile went past the place where he was just standing.
The corridor plunged into chaos as Captain Alden's swift action saved Kaiser from the incoming projectile.
The projectile, a gleaming bolt of magical energy, struck the wall with a deafening explosion.
<nulli>-BOOM!
"Take Formation 3!"
Following that, Alder immediately commanded the guards around them to move and protect the heir of Blackthorns.
"You are good, just as expected."
From the darkness, a smoky silhouette was revealed, gradually dispersing and revealing two figures stepping out from the shadows.
A man and a woman. Both were clad in sleek, black attire and bore an air of malevolence.
The woman's eyes, an icy blue, met Kaiser's with a chilling intensity. Her voice was as cold as her gaze, "We have met the target."
She spoke slightly, tapping on the small earbuds on her right ear.
"Understood."
As she conversed, the man beside her just stood there and watched how the guards were operating. His gaze was just as icy as the woman's, but his build made him look more intimidating than his partner alone.
"Who are you?"
Kaiser asked, sensing that the confrontation was inevitable and he was trying to buy time.
"…."
However, he met with silence as the response as the two dark-clad individuals exchanged glances.
"You don't need to know." The woman replied as she grabbed a bunch of daggers underneath her robe.
<nulli>SWOOSH!
As she fired the daggers, she immediately rushed to the group.
Seeing this, Alden also readied himself as he raised his sword. He was about to confront the woman, but suddenly, his senses started screaming at him.
"Let's test you, shall we."
<nulli>SWOOSH!
The dark-clad man immediately advanced toward Captain Alden, an eerie smile on his face. Alden stood his ground, his hand moving to unsheathe his sword, but as he did, he realized the oppressive lack of mana around him. He couldn't rely on his usual magic.
This fight would be decided by pure physical prowess.
Without another word, the man lunged, moving with uncanny speed.
<nulli>CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
His fists landed with incredible force, and Alden struggled to block the blows. With each attack Alden confronted, he could feel the strength behind the blows. His sword was shaking from the momentum alone, and even though he was defending the blows with the sharp side of his sword, he couldn't see any wounds on the hands of the man.
'What is this strength!'
It was clear that the man's physical strength was remarkable, far beyond the captain's abilities.
<nulli>-THUD!
"Kurgh!"
As he felt the punch in his stomach connecting, blood rushed to his mouth. His insides were getting crushed. His composure was broken.
<nulli>SWOOSH!
In an attempt to defend himself, he counterattacked, ignoring the pain on his stomach. He forcibly <nulli>CLANK!
10:34
And his enemy met his sword head-on with his fists. But that was his goal to begin with since the twisted the trajectory of his sword and completed his sword technique.
<nulli>CLANK!
And his enemy met his sword head-on with his fists. But that was his goal to begin with since the man in black was pushed back by the force of his attack.
"Kurgh-"
Of course, since he overexerted his strength, he felt blood pouring from his mouth.
'This is dangerous.'
He immediately judged. The enemy was a skilled fighter, and he was at a disadvantage. Because he was unable to use the mana psions in the environment as he wished, he was unable to exert even half of his power.
He was a magic swordsman who was proficient at mana and swordplay, but that also meant the reason he was at the top was that he was able to use both of them.
Whenever one had left the equation, the peak power he could exert would be nowhere to be seen. Moreover, his enemy seemed specifically specialized in body tempering, making him an extremely lethal opponent to face in such conditions.
<nulli>SWOOSH!
And his enemy was not going to let him recuperate. In almost a millisecond, the man appeared right before his eyes again with his fists ready to strike.
The battle raged on in the dim corridor, where the only source of light came from the flickering sconces on the walls.
Captain Alden's face contorted with pain and determination as he relentlessly clashed with the dark-clad man. The scene was a stark dance of steel against iron.
However, even though he was at a disadvantage, that didn't mean he was an opponent that would easily go down.
As Alden attacked, his sword moved in calculated arcs and thrusts, his years of combating and polishing in the art of swordsmanship evident in his every move.
The enigmatic man, on the other hand, relied on brute force and incredible speed, parrying Alden's strikes with his muscular arms and delivering punishing blows with precision.
<nulli>CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
With each collision of steel against the flesh, sparks flew, casting eerie flashes of light that briefly illuminated the grim faces of the combatants.
The resounding clang of metal echoed through the corridor, drowning out even the chaos that had erupted in the Blackthorn estate.
Alden's strikes were fast and precise, aiming for the man's side or chest, trying to exploit a momentary opening.
However, the enigmatic man's agility was astonishing. He sidestepped, twisted, and deflected Alden's blade with a level of grace that belied his immense strength.
'An opportunity.'
But at that exact second, between the moments of despair, Alden saw an opportunity. His trait, making his senses incredibly sensitive, almost showed him the path he needed to take to strike down. In his mind, he could see what he needed to do as if the heavens were guiding him.
That one particular exchange was a breathtaking display of skill and power.
In a state-like trance, he immediately readied himself.
<nullb>'Severance.'
As Alden executed a horizontal slash, suddenly, he felt an ominous feeling for the second time in his life.
<nullb>'A smirk was plastered on the face of his opponent as if he knew what was about to happen.'
His opponent met the blade with his forearm shining with dark energy.
<nulli>-CLANK!
It was <nullb>Demonic Energy.
That fact made the result of the exchange clear.
"Kurgh-!"
The impact sent shivers down Alden's arm as he grunted in pain.
<nulli>---THUD!
At that very instant, the man's free hand clenched into a fist, and he delivered a powerful uppercut that sent Alden staggering backward.
"Hok!"
Momentarily, his breathing was disturbed, and he could see the world spinning. The<nullb> Demonic Energy invaded his body, making his superhuman regeneration disturbed.
However, that wasn't the end at all.
Alden's gaze frantically searched his surroundings, and what he saw was disheartening. The other guards, who had been valiantly protecting their young master, were incapacitated. They lay scattered and wounded, victims of the assailants' ruthless assault.
Blades filled with dark energy was the daggers around their body, the evidence of woman's work.
At that exact second, despair filled his heart as he desperately searched for the person he was supposed to protect.
"Target acquired."
And he found him at the shoulder of a woman walking.
Just at that second, he felt the familiar sensation he was missing for awhile.
'Mana.'
Mana was returned.
In the next heartbeat, Alden made his move. He immediately coated his blade and his body with the returned mana. The sword seemed to glow with a renewed intensity, and a sudden surge of power coursed through him.
"RAAA!
<nulli>SWOOSH!
However, before his attack could even reach them, the two figures stepped into the portal that had just appeared.
Alden's blade cleaved through the space the figures had occupied only moments ago, but it met nothing but empty air.
<nulli>-TAK! TAK! TAK!
The lights returned one by one, but in the end, only one person was left in front of the door that would open to a particular basement…..
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