"You must really feel good pointing my weapon at me." Veralth said calmly.
Fresh blood dripped from his injured hand down to the road but he seemed undisturbed by it, instead of holding it in pain he had a goofy smile on his face that disturbed Layla.
Veralth loved battle far too much, she knew that somehow someway he was probably enjoying himself but unlike him she didn't have the luxury of time.
Currently her threatening stance was only a bluff, she didn't have much energy left so if Veralth decided to push the fight she would inevitably lose.
She could try to escape and meet up with Arlder or some of her classmates but there was no guarantee that she would be able to evade Veralth and apart from that running away from him even considering the circumstances would weigh too heavy on her pride.
Currently Veralth still had many cards he hadn't played, his enigma being the most worrying. Throughout the fight he didn't even use it once while she on the other hand had used almost every single thing she could think of.
Currently there was only one thing she hadn't tried, she could attempt to squeeze out her enigma for one final decisive move.
That was the only option she had left and if she failed, the battle would be over.
"Come on, out of gas already." Veralth mocked, pulling Layla out of her string of thoughts.
Is this the extent of your power Layla!?" Veralth Screamed.
He had been enjoying himself throughout the fight because to him he was the obvious victor.
To him he was the hunter, and she was his prey. He was underestimating her and for that very reason she would defeat him.
"It seems you have forgotten that you are to refer to me by my title," Layla said, a small smile on her face as she stepped forward. "Don't worry I'll give you a little refresher and forgive your carelessness since you've never really been the sharpest."
Just like any other clan the shadow clan had its own hierarchy and currently Layla ranked higher than Veralth courtesy of her enigma and family.
"You are to refer to me not as Layla but as Ghost, for I am the Ghost of the Shadow clan."
'Dance of shadows.'
The shadows all around the area from the shadows cast the array of clouds that filled the beautiful night sky, to the shadows from the walls of the building, the part of the air conditioning that stood on the roof, the cute little shadows in bumps of imperfection on the building and down to even the shadow cast by Veralth himself all seemed to favor Layla as the all convened around her and then sudden…
Within seconds all trace of Layla from her scent down to the sound of her breathing and the beating of her heart all vanished as she merged with the shadows becoming one with the night and leaving Veralth alone on the roof.
•••
Veralth watched as every single shadow in the area seemed to obey the girl's call as they all bent to her will.
Shadow users were a rarity in the clan so he had never truly witnessed the enigma in action for himself. Now that he did, he only had one thought in his mind.
'I-it's beautiful.'
He could feel a tear forming when he remembered how much he strived and hoped that once his enigma manifested it would be the gift of shadows.
Veralth knew that no matter how hard he worked he couldn't really affect the enigma he would manifest but that didn't stop him from trying.
Back then he had only heard tales of how magnificent the enigma was but now he got to witness it with his own bare eyes.
If a girl as useless as Layla could do something s-so magnificent, how would the gift look in the hands of someone who actually had skill?
To him Layla was not the Ghost of the Shadow clan, it was her enigma.
'Her enigma is the true Ghost, and it is marvelous in my sight.'
Veralth was not perturbed by her skill, he knew that unlike himself who had already killed countless people Layla didn't have it in her to kill and he already prepared counter measures ahead of time.
She also greatly misunderstood his purpose of his visit, his plan was never really to test her or simply make her suffer, she probably felt his earlier statement was a bluff but in truth...
His true aim was to give her an injury so grave that she would have difficulties with moving talk less of ever being able to fight.
Layla's enigma granted her a place among the top echelon once she became of age, he could not let a failure such as her become a key member of the clan.
He would snuff out the sparks even before it ever became a flame, send a message to God himself.
'Never again should you place authority over the shadows in the hands of a weakling.'
That was his true goal, the purpose behind his visit.
Moments after she disappeared Layla suddenly appeared besides him, the katana slicing horizontally towards his stomach but he was prepared for this.
Like he expected she would try to avoid seriously wounding him and purposely reduce the force behind her blade.
How foolish of her to not see him as an actual enemy.
CLANGGGGG!
The katana ripped through his shirt but bounced right off the armor he had underneath, destroying the momentum of her attack.
He knew that if it got out that he used armor in an evaluation against a student it would look bad for him but he didn't care. He would do anything to accomplish his goal.
Layla's eyes widened in shock as she realized what had happened, he expected her to vanish once again but instead she took in heavy breaths visibly exhausted.
It was then he saw how exhausted she truly was.
'Is this because of her training?'
In truth he had expected her to run out of energy earlier on but when she continued fighting without showing any signs of getting tired he was beginning to wonder if she truly did any training at all.
By now it was truly clear that she did and he couldn't have been happier. He didn't let the opportunity waste after all he wasn't honorable in any way that was why he picked a day she would be at her weakest.
He swung the kunai in his hand in a vicious arc that just managed to graze her before she distanced herself from him.
But that was all he needed.
"That was no ordinary kunai, It is in fact laced with poison." He caressed the kunai in his hand.
"Within minutes you will be paralyzed," Veralth said gleefully.
Layla looked taken back but he didn't give her anytime to think.
Veralth lifted his hands in the air and all the projectiles he threw during the fight and those he still kept stored began to stir, shaking slowly before they all took flight flying in the air around him like a storm of blades.
This was his enigma, the ability to freely manipulate the movement of weapons he has marked. He had been saving it for this exact moment, the point where she was at her weakest.
He motioned his hand forward and the blades moved following instruction, all heading towards Layla at an incredible speed and with a quantity so great that it was far too difficult for Layla to dodge.
She braced herself for the coming attack, the only thing in her hand she had to defend herself was the katana she had in her hand but even with that she would have to deflect some and dodge as many as she could.
But did she have the stamina to dodge them? And the poison was already taking effect.
Veralth chuckled as he watched his plan fall into place, and just as the blades neared Layla he pulled his final dirty trick.
"Come."
Just at the moment of impact, the katana flew straight out of Layla's hand and into his, he had marked the katana too and now it was over for her.
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I would love to see what you guys have to say in the comments!