Grasping the Blood Reaper blades, Morgan dashed forward, zipping across the ground at a frenetic speed.

‎Lucian followed closely behind him, trailing behind him like a shadow, the two of them moving in sync.

‎Morgan felt it before he saw it.

‎A drop of rain, then another, and soon the drops became a full-fledged storm.

‎Lucian frowned, watching Morgan through the sheet of pelting rain.

‎"Just what we needed...A deluge to spice things up further..."

‎The Bretnar king's giant form lunged through the rain, ignoring the rain of bullets Talia was unleashing at it.

‎With a roar, its obsidian claws dug into the ground, ripping through the stone with terrifying ease. Its muscles rippled visibly, catapulting it through the air at a blistering speed.

‎A moment later, it was right in front of Morgan.

‎Morgan's eyes widened slightly at the sudden burst of speed.

‎He lunged back, barely dodging the sweeping set of claws coming at him from above.

‎" Oh shit!"

‎He awkwardly rolled on the ground, brandishing one of his blades and slashing at a second set of claws that curved through the ground just beside him with frightening ease.

‎" What the hell?!"

‎Staring at the towering monstrosity in front of him, for the first time in a while, Morgan felt frustrated.

‎Of course, he couldn't complain about the unfairness of it all; he'd learned and experienced first-hand how unfair the world could be several times now.

‎You could even say he was now an expert.

‎But still, facing a feature several times his size was happening too often, for his comfort.

‎It was almost like he was a magnet for these things. It was becoming quite irritating.

‎The Bretnar king glared at him gleefully, its beady dark eyes filled with hate.

‎"I think this is what they mean by a face only a mother could love..."

‎Ignoring his intrusive thoughts, he narrowly dodged another set of lightning-fast swipes, remaining on the defensive.

‎This was a first for him.

‎Even with his Awakened ability active, he could barely dodge.

‎The boy and the beast danced around in a brutal whirlwind of destruction, the Bretnar king's claws sending mud and debris flying through the air.

‎Lucian stopped a short distance away, watching the two forms blur through the rain for a few moments before quickly circling the duo and making a beeline for Talia.

‎Talia stared at the unfolding fight with a dark expression.

‎Lucian came to a stop in front of her, clutching his side in pain.

‎"I'm out of ammo..." she said, staring at his pale face.

‎He calmly took off his glasses, staring at them for a moment before handing them to her.

‎"You haven't yet managed to control it..." he murmured.

‎" Without your guns, you'd only get in the way and even possibly get us killed."

‎Talia gritted her teeth but said nothing.

‎" Help the others, we'll take this one."

‎Using umbralis without guidance was very dangerous, which was why the hierarchy of initiate, apprentice, novice, and maestro was important. Most young assassins wouldn't risk it even when they hailed from the Great Houses.

‎After all, turning into a Shadow wraith was undoubtedly a fate worse than death.

‎The wraiths themselves were supposed to be undead creatures, with no record of an assassin managing to kill one, let alone escape it.

‎The wraiths were born from assassins whose bodies had failed to channel the umbralis they'd absorbed, giving birth to a creature that was a wormhole for umbralis and nearly one with Tenebris.

‎It was quite the risky endeavor that only the most reckless or most gifted would attempt, and currently, Lucian hoped he was one of the latter.

‎With a deep breath, he charged forward, extending his senses outward, feeling the elusive energy that was abundant in Tenebris, drawing it into himself.

‎His perception immediately underwent a subtle change, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.

‎He smirked, faintly shaking his head.

‎" So that's it...huh. I'll have to test this out then."

‎Almost instantly, his body hurtled through the air, propelling him forward.

‎Morgan was momentarily surprised when the Bretnar king roared in fury, spinning around and slamming the ground behind him in irritation. Lucian appeared next to him, zipping in between the giant creature's legs and scrambling to his feet next to him.

‎"The Bretnar King, it's using umbralis!"

‎Morgan threw him a stunned glance before moving out of the trajectory of what would have been a fatal blow. Without giving him time to react, the creature jumped forward, snapping madly at him.

‎In the same moment, Lucian jumped forward, slashing at it with his Silviric blades.

‎With a snarl, the creature spun around, blocking the slash with its forearms.

‎A loud Metallic sound rang through the air.

‎Lucian's eyes widened in surprise, then in the next moment, his lips curled into a smile.

‎" I was right!"

‎He darted back to avoid a brutal blow. The Bretnar's fist sank into the ground with devastating force, creating a small crater and obliterating the carcases of a few Bretnar.

‎Lucian frowned, staring at the bloody paste that had previously been a Bretnar corpse.

‎" I'm definitely not letting this thing near me..."

‎" Morgan, use your technique. Without umbralis, we can't beat this thing. It can use umbralis."

‎Morgan stared at Lucian in shock, ducking in the nick of time and just barely avoiding a deadly swipe.

‎"This thing can channel the umbralis around it through its body. It's why our attacks so far haven't dealt much damage," Lucian yelled, darting around frantically.

‎The earlier attacks had been a probe, specifically meant to observe the Bretnar's defense, and the giant creature hadn't disappointed.

‎It was the only explanation for why they were having such a hard time dealing with it.

‎The Bretnar king wasn't like the other creatures that they'd encountered before.

‎"A Tenebrian creature either can use umbralis..."

‎Back in the Brotherhood and even at the academy, only speculations remotely hinted at the existence of such creatures.

‎Lucian yelled, ducking around a corner of a building that the Bretnar king pulverized a moment later, giving him just enough time to create some distance.

‎"The pain from my ribs has reduced considerably, but if I get his again, I'll probably have to worry about more than a few broken bones."

‎Staring at the brutish monster before him, Lucian shuddered slightly, then darted forward.

‎"If I'm right about this, then this thing would be at the level of an apprentice in umbralis mastery from everything it's done so far..."

‎His mind feverishly thought about he ramifications of several other possibilities.

‎" Tenebrian creatures at the level of a maestro... "

‎The thought instantly chilled him to the bone.

‎"How come no one has talked about this before ...."

‎Filing the discovery into his mind, he continued evading the creature's attacks while looking for an opening.

‎Just then, pain radiated through his body, setting every nerve ending on fire.

‎He screamed, nearly staggering to a stop.

‎Dark veins pulsed across his skin, his eyes turning bloodshot from capillary damage.

‎The small lull in movement nearly cost him his life.

‎The Bretnar lunged forward, his clawed hand whipping through the air toward him.

‎A split second later, a blurred figure slammed into him, shoving him out of the way.

‎Lucian skid helplessly across the ground, rolling in the mud and curling up around himself.

‎A searing wave of pain flared through his body, his limbs flailing and spasming erratically.

‎His mouth opened in a soundless scream, his eyes rolling up into his head.

‎Morgan frantically wove around the Bretnar king's attacks, straining his body past its limits

‎He placed himself between the creature and Lucian, gritting his teeth from one of the blocking a direct blow.

‎"What's going on with Lucian?! Crap!"

‎He ducked, wincing slightly from the aches in his body.

‎He groaned, feeling muscles stretch painfully, his joints creaking tiredly from the abuse.

‎"I feel so tired."

‎His mind worked feverishly, anticipating the beast's movements and dodging out of the way.

‎"Using my Awakened ability is already slightly straining, but using it in tandem with umbralis could put me out of the fight, and then we're all dead...what do I do..."

‎Just then, he darted backward, leaning back to avoid a vicious swipe. The Bretnar king pressed forward, following up with a backward swing it's arm.

‎Then, almost unbelievably, like a cruel joke, Morgan's foot slipped on the muddy ground.

‎His eyes widened slightly, mouth falling open in surprise.

‎In the next moment, the colossal forearm slammed into him, sending him flying into the distance.

‎With several sickening thuds, his body bounced off the ground, slamming through a damaged building before coming to a stop.

‎The Bretnar roared triumphantly, violently beating its chest. It turned its gaze to the remaining youths, slamming the ground with its massive forearms.

‎With a roar, it leapt, clearing the distance in one jump.

‎In the next instant, it landed, barreling towards Samantha

‎Emily turned just as its fist reared back through the air, her eyes widening in horror.

‎"Sammie!"

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