Nightblade (Darkest night)-Chapter 220: Waterskin armour

It was a strange feeling to describe. Edmund could clearly feel the refreshing liquid flowing around him, rejuvenating his aching limbs and body fluidly, rapidly.

The brilliant blue light in his eyes burned with renewed intensity.

"How strange," he thought quietly, flexing his fingers.

How very strange...

Leaning back, he inhaled deeply, closing his eyes, allowing himself to drown in the ecstasy of this newfound power.

Letting out a harsh breath, his eyes abruptly snapped open

A moment later, the ground cracked in his wake.

Watching the sudden change, Talia leaned forward, completely focusing on the fight.

"Incredible..."

The two boys became blurs, one encased in ethereal, sparkling, crystalline armor and the other wreathed in living lightning.

Warren had quickly noticed the change in Edmund’s ability and quickly mimicked a version of it himself. He has completely given up on using Edmund’s natural element against him. With the crystalline liquid armour, Edmund reached a new level of speed and strength, his raw destructive power reaching new heights.

Strange beads of light pulsated rhythmically beneath the surface of the water. With the phenomenon, light silvery veins slowly appeared throughout Edmund’s body, giving him the appearance of a starlight vessel.

Warren’s eyes narrowed at the phenomenon, his movements reaching even new heights.

"Well, he’s certainly become extraordinary in his own right, but I should end this now."

The sweet metallic smell of ozone quickly spread throughout the gymnasium.

"What a sight..."

Talia gasped, turning to the side. Her eyes widened slightly.

Lucian calmly returned her gaze, crossing his legs and draping his arms across the seat.

"When did you get here?"

"A while back, you were so engrossed with the fight you didn’t notice..."

Talia’s eyes narrowed.

"What the..."

Just then, a massive boom snapped her attention back to the platform.

A cloud of swirling dust slowly lifted,d revealing a jagged crack that was slowly spreading through the platform.

Edmund and Warren stood on opposite sides of the cracks in a small crater, both of them breathing heavily.

Leaning forward, Lucian let out a low whistle,e slowly shaking his head.

His eyes gleamed with wry amusement at the scene of destruction.

"It’s a good thing the academy can afford these repairs...is this still even a sparring match..."

Talia resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the comment.

Lucian shrugged.

"More like a death match if you ask me..."

The two boys on the platform faced off, each of them breathing heavily, but then Warren suddenly straightened,d staring at Edmund.

His entire demeanor abruptly changed, a frigid chill swirling around him.

The beads of perspiration on his forehead instantly disappeared; his uniform reverted to its immaculate state as well.

" You’ve certainly grown strong, ng Edmund. The armour you’re wearing was an interesting development."

Cocking his head slightly, he pierced Edmund with a cold gaze, his dark eyes seemingly staring through him.

"But sadly, you’re still nowhere strong enough to match me...let’s end this spar here for now."

Edmund stared quietly at him for a few moments, ts then eventually straightened,d turning his gaze to the distant ceiling.

He spoke his words inaudibly at first, even in the near-empty gymnasium.

Lucian grinned, leaning back in his seat with a wicked smile.

"Well, things are certainly about to get much more interesting. "

"What did he say?"Talia asked,d her face scrunching into a frown.

Lucian’s grin grew wider.

"I guess we’re about to find out."

Looking down at the platform, even from where she sat, Talia could feel a palpable tension in the air.

The air hummed ominously charged, a metallic smell quickly spreading throughout the entirety of the gymnasium.

Lucian’s eyes narrowed, feeling the hairs on his arms rising and standing on end.

"You feel that?" He asked Talia.

She nodded absentmindedly,y her gaze transfixed on her, er the impending clash.

Just then,n a voice cut through the silence of the hall.

"That’s enough."

Almost as though they hadn’t heard,d the two boys dashed forward, twin blurs streaking across the platform.

Edmund’s armour pulsed, glowing brighter, the ethereal strands of light radiating through it growing even brighter. The light and sound combined to form a horrendous,s earsplitting screech.

A split second late,r both youths flew back in opposite directions, crashing into the spectator chairs.

On the platform, a familiar curly-haired figure stood with a grin on his face.

Clad in a long black coat and the academy’s uniform, Xander Gray still made for an imposing figure.

"It seems you didn’t hear me the first time, but I guess there’s no point now."

His gaze briefly turned to Lucian and Tal, who were seated in the stands, before fully focusing on the two figures that had crashed into the stands.

With a single augmented leap, Warren vaulted from the stands, his eyes glowing with elemental power. With a casual flick, his descent abruptly slowed, his momentum abruptly halted, and then disappeared altogether.

He landed lightly on the now ruined platform, standing a short distance away from Xander.

Interestingly enough, the aloof Talented was still unharmed even after the devastating throw.

On the other side, Edmund stirred, slowly sitting upright.

The waterskin armour he wore had absorbed the brunt of the crash,h leaving him mostly unscathed, as well, ll with only minor cuts and bruises.

"You fool! Were you trying to kill me?" He muttered, slowly getting to one knee.

Xander chuckled,d shaking his head.

" Come now, we both know a small crash like that couldn’t kill you. Besides, I had to step in all the ruckus you were kicking up was starting to draw quite the audience."

He gestured to the stands with his head.

Talia’s eyes widened slightly, her face becoming slightly flushed.

At the entrance, a few students were cautiously entering the hall to investigate the commotion.

Talia’s expression quickly turned to one of confusion when she noticed she was now alone.

"Where... when did he...how..."

Outside the gymnasium, Lucian strolled to the dorms, whistling a merry tune. His eyes were fixed on the ground,d completely ignoring the people around him.

"Well, that was certainly interesting. "

He stopped looking up at the sky.

A soft breeze gently streamed across his face.

"It seems Amanda and Cassius will need to work harder..."

Back in the gymnasium, Edmund slowly rose to his feet, offering Talia a small smile.

In the next moment, he swayed,d falling to one knee.

The waterskin armour slowly disappeared, the light in his eyes dimming, then fading completely.

At the same time, he felt a wave of exhaustion slam into him, his body buckling under the stress. The world seemed to spin around him, his vision swimming with multiple stars.

He gagged, hurriedly bringing a hand to his mouth.

"I don’t feel so good..."

Xander threw him an amused glance.

"Figures. You two blockheads totalled this place."

In the stands, Talia rose from her seat, silently making her way towards the exit.

" That was certainly interesting."

It just went to show that even in their absence,e the world had kept on moving steadily ahead.

There were others like them out there, monsters that just kept growing and surpassing their limits.

A quiet, calm voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Talia Varas."

Talia stopped, slowly turning around. Her face was a calm mask that didn’t nothing to betray the surprise she felt. A tall youth stood in front of her, his lips curled into a faint smile. His dark eyes bore into her own, his hands casually tucked into his pockets.

The long dark coat he was wearing swayed slightly in the wind.

She hadn’t felt his presence until he spoke, which was quite rattling in itself.

"Could I have a moment of your time?"