‎"Well, we're definitely outnumbered."

‎Just then, several dark-winged creatures swooped down from the sky, landing on the ground.

‎The creatures had large membranous wings spanning nearly the entire length of their bodies.

‎Long fangs jutted out of their mouths.

‎Lucian smiled darkly, brandishing his dual blades.

‎" We certainly have our work cut out for us."

‎The frown on Talia's face darkened.

‎Samantha paled considerably, taking a step back.

‎Cassius weakly rolled over, getting to his feet.

‎Taking in the sight in front of him, his eyes narrowed slightly.

‎" We're going to die," Samantha whispered, trembling violently.

‎" Get a grip," Cassius bit out, glaring at her.

‎"By the way, Samantha, any cool powers you'd like to share with us at this point? Something game-changing would be nice..."

‎Samantha rapidly shook her head.

‎" No, not really. Actually, I'm mundane. I don't think I've any."

‎The others all turned to her with wide eyes, staring at her silently.

‎" A Talented without powers, now that's something new," Lucian murmured under his breath

‎In the very next second, one of the dark-furred creatures lunged forward, closing the distance in an instant.

‎Lucian intercepted it, barring its path in an instant.

‎A split second later, his blades flashed through the air, stabbing through the creatures' vital points.

‎" What the hell do we do now he thought, intercepting another of the creatures.

‎"Talia! Fight! Protect these three. For now, handle that side. I'll handle this side."

‎Unsheathing the dark blade on her back, Talia lunged forward.

‎"Here goes nothing."

‎And so a desperate battle began, with Talia and Lucian desperately trying to stem the horde of Bretnar and wolves.

‎The two aspirants fought with chilling ferocity, ripping through the furry creatures with uncanny speed and skill.

‎But it still wasn't enough.

‎The creatures quickly pushed them back.

‎Lucian gritted his teeth, ducking down and splitting a particularly large Bretnar from hip to shoulder.

‎" I can't use the family techniques so soon..."

‎His eyes darted around frantically, analyzing the battlefield.

‎" Shit, at this rate we're not going to make it."

‎His eyes moved to the higher ground, glancing at the tall buildings.

‎"At this rate, even if we moved to a higher ground, these creatures will just fly up and instead will be trapped.

‎ We'll have effectively become sitting ducks."

‎Two Bretnar lunged at him, and a third blocked any path of escape.

‎In that moment, a bolt of red lightning streaked through the air, zapping through the creatures in a chain of smaller bolts og electricity.

‎Their bodies sizzled, filling the air with the sharp, nauseating smell of burnt flesh as the Bretnar lifelessly fell to the ground.

‎Their bodies twitched violently, spasming erratically on the ground.

‎Lucian's head whipped around, a dark smile appearing on his face.

‎" Amanda!"

‎The redhead's arm was slightly outstretched, faint sparks of electricity crackling on her fingertips.

‎He grinned smugly.

‎" She's finally awake," he inwardly thought.

‎" Give them hell!!!"

‎With a roar, Lucian threw himself back into the fight with an animalistic intensity.

‎As though stirred by his words, the trio fought with startling intensity, pushing back the tide of abominations with renewed vigour.

‎Bolts of lightning coursed through the air, disintegrating the spectral wolves and frying the Bretnar alive.

‎"Fight!!!" Lucian screamed.

‎Talia and Amanda screamed as well.

‎The two girls fought with rough coordination.

‎Talia's blade sliced through tendons and flesh alike, poisoning the creatures with every cut.

‎Amanda's lightning flashed brilliantly in sporadic bursts, finishing off the remaining creatures.

‎Lucian was like a grim reaper, his figure blurring through the multiple creatures sowing death and incapacitating the Bretnar.

‎" Amanda! Handle the wolves, leave the mutant bats to us!"

‎In that moment, a dark blue jumped into the fray, ripping through the furred creatures with its claws.

‎Cassius turned back to Lucian, his eyes ablaze with an eerie orange glow.

‎" I can do at least this much."

‎Lucuan nodded, the two of them fighting back to back.

‎Samantha looked at the four youths going all out in front of her.

‎" What am I even doing here? I'm only slowing them down..."

‎She let out a weary sigh, observing the battle in front of her.

‎" I need to get stronger, for my sake and for Emily's sake. I can't always be the one lagging."

‎The five youths fought frantically, mawing down Bretnar after Bretnar, but the swarm of creatures was simply too vast.

‎They were too outnumbered.

‎And slowly they were being pushed back.

‎The Bretnar kept dying, but soon more joined the fight.

‎The spectral wolves kept disintegrating, but they, too, continued reforming endlessly.

‎And the group's stamina continued running out.

‎" What do we do?" Lucian thought frantically.

‎" What the hell are we supposed to do in this kind of situation?"

‎He racked his mind feverishly for a solution, coming up with none.

‎Attempting to break through the encirclement of creatures would mean exposing their backs to the enemy.

‎And that would be suicide.

‎But if things continued like this instead, sooner or later, they were going to die.

‎" What can I do in such a situation? If only there was a way we could deal with the wolves..."

‎Lucian was now bleeding in several places.

‎Cassius wasn't faring much better, his breath coming in short gasps.

‎Samantha sat helplessly in the middle of the four, staring hopelessly at the battle.

‎" Something needs to change," she thought.

‎" But what?"

‎In the next moment, a dark figure landed soundlessly in the middle of the encirclement.

‎A hood made of animal skin shrouded his head, and a dark mask his face, leaving only his eyes in sight.

‎His eyes glowed with a ghostly golden light, standing out in the darkness of his hood.

‎"An awakened?!"

‎Lucian glanced at Talia, who seemed equally confused.

‎"He's an assassin, is he one of the aspirants?"

‎The mysterious newcomer had two glowing, dark, silvery blades attached to his back.

In ‎the next instant, an oppressive pressure washed over the group and creatures, freezing the Bretnar and the youths where they stood.

‎In the next second, the figure burst forward, moving too quickly even for Talia's eyes to follow.

‎Lucian's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed.

‎The newcomer quickly made a beeline for the spectral wolves, tearing through the Bretnar in his path like they were nothing.

‎A split second later, his blades flashed through the air, slicing cleanly through the ghostly creatures.

‎"Don't!!! It's useless, they're immune to physical..."

‎The words died on his lips when the creatures instead howled in pain and dissolved into a dark mist.

‎The mist flowed into the newcomer's body, as though attracted to it.

‎After a few seconds, Lucian came to a startling realization.

‎" The wolves, they aren't reappearing."

‎Even Talia stared in shock, her mouth falling open slightly.

‎The newcomer's figure blurred through the pack of wolves, sounding and slashing through them in a macabre, chilling slaughter.

‎The man tore through phantom creatures with chilling efficiency, all the while becoming faster, never slowing down for a moment.

‎"Just what is this monster?"

‎The newcomer radiated the same oppressive presence as that of a Tenebrian creature.

‎Sme of the Bretnar began to flee, frantically screeching and taking to the sky.

‎In the next second, a pale projectile streaked through the air, striking the fleeing creature.

‎The creature screeched, falling weakly to the ground.

‎A moment later, a second hooded figure joined the fray, streaking through the air on a trail of ice.

‎A wave of ghostly frost followed in the figures' wake, freezing the Bretnar in place.

‎"Just what the hell is going on?"

‎The second figure's eyes glowed with an intense green light behind a similar mask.

‎The newcomer's hand shimmered, and two twin ice daggers appeared in his hands.

‎Skating on the ice, the figure moved quickly, freezing and stabbing through the Bretnar with almost practiced ease.

‎"Who are these people?"

‎Lucian's group froze, watching the two newcomers fight in silent awe.

‎"What the hell?"

‎Cassiua watched the two hungrily, itching for a fight.

‎He shook his head, turning back to the chaotic battle.

‎Lucian grinned.

‎"I don't know if these two are friendly, but I do know they're fighting with us right now, and I'm not going to pass up the opportunity to end this fight."

‎As though thinking the same thing, the youths fought with renewed vigour.

‎A few of the Bretnar manage to escape, streaking off through the air.

‎When the fight finally came to an end, numerous corpses littered the formerly pristine ground.

‎Blood flowed like a river flowing freely across the ground.

‎The two figures stood silently staring at the group of youths.

‎After a long, awkward silence, Lucian stepped forward.

‎"Thanks for helping us out. " One of the figures nodded slightly, silently staring at them.

‎"If you don't mind me asking, who are you people? Are you from the academy like us? Are you also assassins?"

‎The same figure nodded silently, then stepped forward, taking off the hood and then the mask.

‎A familiar face appeared from under the dark mask.

‎He smiled faintly at the look of disbelief on Lucian's face.

‎"It's been a while, Lucian."

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