"Curse this!!! That damned wizard, RAHHH!!!" A gorgeous man with golden reptilian eyes roared in frustration as he repeated the last five seconds infinitely.
Besides him, a black haired man donning a black half-mask which concealed most of his face, was also in the same predicament, caught in a loop which made them repeat the same action over and over again, however unlike his partner the black haired vessel remained silent but his eyes gleamed with an overwhelming malicious intent.
His gaze fell on the wooden floor of the inn where he saw a rune inscribed within the loop the cunning wizard had made.
Noticing his partner's futile curses and feeble attempts to break the loop spell, he sighed, then spoke in a resigned tone.
"It's a runic spell, it'd be hard to dispel even with the use of the deities' authority..."
The golden eyed vessel raised a brow at his partner's words, with impatience getting the best of him, he snapped.
"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT!!! For fuck's sake, we've wasted enough valuable time chasing after a stupid spellcaster, at this rate we'll fall behind to the rest of the vessels at the assencion tournament!"
The masked vessel scowled underneath his mask before retorting.
"Gregor said to go along with it you stupid lizard, you didn't have anything to say back then did you? So quit complaining."
"How dare you compare a dragon to a lesser creature? Are you tired of living? Cause I don't mind sending you to hell before your time's up."
"Arkanol, we don't have time for this, even you should have heard from your goddess, our main priority is the child the wizard's protecting, the deities labelled him as more of a threat than the spellcaster."
He lingered for a bit, an inexplicable emotion crossing his face for a split second before he added.
"I've never heard them sound so desperate, insecure and nervous... I have a bad feeling about this."
****
Plunk!..
Drip...
Drip...
"Curses."
Within a medium sized room with a decent size bed big enough to fit one person, a sofa and several mundane home appliances, the sound of a ceramic substance breaking reverberated throughout the entire chamber, associated by several dripping sounds and uncertain footfalls.
A silver haired boy in a pitch black blindfold spat out with frustration evident in his voice.
His rosy lips parted slightly, revealing his pearly white teeth which had two subtle fangs protruding from it as he let out a notable sigh.
"I hate this, how long do I have to continue moving blind, so far being a spawn of tenebrae has only made my life more difficult, why did Eren..."
He paused.
"No, forget it. I should probably start cleaning up..."
Bang!!..
As the room door swung open, Nox manifested a pair of pitch black curved daggers with intricate blood red designs, which looked more like the horns of a high demon.
Although he was currently unable to see, he wasn't in any way less lethal than before, in fact he was even more dangerous, like a tiger who had been cornered, his instincts flared and he instantly lunged towards the door like a venomous serpent.
He moved across the room in a blur, displaying speed that was near impossible for a mundane being to possess, however as soon as he reached the door his dagger hung mid air.
"Kid, it's me." Eren calmly said, shielding himself with an air barrier, yet his expression was a bit grim.
Nox dismissed the daggers almost as swift as his solemn expression became deathly chill.
"From the way you barged in, I assume we're under attack?"
Eren didn't bother nodding as Nox couldn't see whatever expressions or movements he made, instead he turned his gaze to the side of the room where the window was.
"Yes we are, and our assailants are not ones to be taken lightly, our best chance of survival is escape.
"They're that strong?." Nox questioned with a hint of warrieness in his voice.
Noticing the slight worry in his tone, Eren lingered for a bit before replying.
"Yes they are but it's not something you need to worry about, they can't exert much power here lest they risk the ire of the monarchs."
Nox didn't question further, instead he began using his hands to feel his surroundings as if he was searching for something.
Meanwhile Eren had already gathered all the necessary items they needed.
He stared at Nox who was having a hard time navigating his surroundings as he was currently unable to see.
"Do you remember the method I used while teaching you to feel the atmosphere's mana?." He questioned.
Nox tilted his head sideways, confused at his teacher's question, nevertheless he answered.
"Yes I do, why do you ask?"
Eren hesitated for a bit.
"Try using it to get a feel on your surroundings, although you no longer possess mana but nether you should still be able to use it by exerting a little bit of influence on the mana by using your nether."
He lingered for a short while before adding.
"It's currently nighttime, since the sun isn't out you could take off your blindfold however I'd rather you keep it on, one of our pursuers possess the ability to manipulate space. It's unlikely but should we engage in combat against him, your eyes would be practically useless."
The tenebrous spawn nodded slightly in response before putting on the pitch black cloak which Eren had given him.
"Let's go."
At Nox's words, Eren raised his index finger, manifesting a glyph which pulsed with such intensity that the entire room trembled.
♦: Blink!
Immediately Eren casted the spell, both he and Nox vanished from the room.
Their surroundings instantly changed from a medium sized room to a large area of land devoid of trees, and a little bit distant from the city.
Things went as planned, both Eren and Nox were out of the city as Eren had intended, however...
Eren paused slightly.
This went well... A little too well.
It was strange, Eren couldn't help but wonder.
'Since when did escaping divine vessels feel this easy?'
Certainly that couldn't have been the case, Eren was not convinced that they were out of the lion's den, rather he felt as if they had walked deeper and closer to the danger lurking close by.
After all, he had personally experienced the dreadful strength of those divine vessels and even then he nearly lost his life.
Nox, who had been silent since they teleported out of the inn, gazed at the spacious land and then Eren before questioning.
"What is it?"
The eccentric wizard remained silent, his misty gray eyes narrowed slightly with malicious intent contained within them.
"Well aren't you lots a little too old to be playing a game of hide and seek? Are you that scared of me? Come on, stop hiding like a frightened cur, it's pitiful." He spat with a carefree tone yet his expression said otherwise.
There was an eerie silence following Eren's taunt but it only lasted for a few seconds.
"Still as opaque as ever, i see!" A deep baritone voice sounded.
The atmosphere around them grew chilling and as if the very fabric of reality was being torn apart.. a realm rift shimmered into existence just a few meters above the eccentric wizard and the tenebrous spawn.
Floating out of it were two individuals, one of which was a dark skinned man with a white tuxedo, a matching hat and a pair of sunglasses, while the other was an elven woman with a flowing white dress which hung tightly to her tempting figure, displaying her alluring curves.
The dark skinned man stared at Nox before shifting his gaze to Eren.
From beneath his round dark sunglasses, his blood red pupil locked unto the eccentric spellcaster, a demented look was quite visible on his face as he licked his lips which parted into a vile grin.
"We meet again, monarch of the witches, Eren Von Michælson."