Chapter Twenty-Seven: The DuskBorne
A resounding boom erupted in the area, sending tree trunks flying in every direction.
Dusken paused his battle with the creature, glancing toward the source of the huge commotion.
There, Lillian stood, her finger pointing outward. The beast which she battled was terribly mangled and was on the ground, twitching as blood flowed out of its wounds.
The winds in the area were chaotic, and harsh to the ears, as the cooling scent of nature permeated the atmosphere.
Dusken didn't need to be a genius to understand what was going on. However, he was still deeply shocked by the revelation.
'Did she just… blast that huge monstrosity away with just a finger?' His brows shot up, a flicker of disbelief passing through his eyes.
If Lillian had such an overpowered ability to congeal and shoot air outwards, he wasn't sure of his chances against her in a battle.
'No, this isn't normal for a newly ascended level one. Maybe she's already close to a breakthrough to level two.' Surprisingly, this thought relaxed his tense nerves.
However, a grim feeling arose within him as he stared at the broken tree trunks and blasted creature.
The black-haired beast he fought had stopped its low growls, staring at Lillian with visible dread.
Dusken scrutinized the blasted creature as it slowly got up, but fell once more. Its four huge legs shook under the fading reverberation of Lillian's ability.
It had three thick, tall horns on its head, but one was broken, probably from the blast.
Two sharp, glistening, blood-dyed fangs protruded from its upper jaw as it shakily struggled to stand on all fours.
The monster once again charged at Lillian with murderous, bloodshot eyes. Dusken paid no more attention to Lillian's battle to focus on the beast in front of him.
The creature glanced at him, wariness reflecting in its dark, narrow eyes.
'It seems that it thinks I have the same powers as Lillian.' Dusken smirked darkly.
Monsters possessed some basic intelligence; even so, they could not compare to humans because deep within their very beings, they were still creatures who acted on instincts, after all.
His sword whipped outwards in a rounded arc, slicing through the air and closing in on the beast with well-targeted accuracy.
"Woooooo." The creature cried out weirdly, and surprisingly, Dusken's sword's speed slowed, enabling the beast to once again escape fatal danger.
'This can't be possible, right?" Dusken thought, taking a step back as if to step away from the reality in front of him.
He had slowed down, not only due to the creature's weird cry but also because his own shadow had grasped his foot.
***
While Dusken was in a perilous situation, Lillian wasn't having a great time either.
This was not because the creature she fought was too strong; she could kill it relatively easily if she wished.
However, the source of her trouble was her chaotic thoughts.
'Damn it, what's going on?' She thought while sidestepping away from the monster's furious charge.
The claws she held stabbed forward with overwhelming momentum, dealing a deep wound to the creature, making red blood drop on the forest ground.
With a loud, anguished scream, the wounded monster, blinded by the pain, crashed into a tree, snapping it in half and leaving it immobilised.
Instead of using this chance to kill the creature, Lillian stood rooted to the spot, a dazed look blazing in her dark brown eyes.
'This is not supposed to be part of the events. From what I remember, something like this didn't occur.' She thought, her eyes laced with the deep vicissitude of life, and glanced at Dusken, who was having a staring competition with the creature he battled against.
'Is this really him?' As soon as she had this question in her mind, the monster she fought with stood up once more, charging at her.
'Hmph, a wild fool like you can never learn.'
She did nothing as the creature closed in on her, its rage-filled eyes spewing madness.
When the creature was a few steps ahead of her, she suddenly reacted. Previously, she had only used a finger to blast the monster away, but now, both of her hands were raised.
Her magical energy started to drain rapidly as a huge suction force coalesced the air in the surroundings around her hands.
A second later, the force rolled out like a shockwave, vibrating the ground, blowing trees apart in the process, and blasting the monster high up.
The air pressured the air, sending chaotic winds dancing through the battlefield like it was a playground.
Lillian was unperturbed by the commotion made by her ability as the huge creature fell to the ground, heavily wounded.
She glanced at Dusken's back, a distant memory resurfacing in her mind as she suppressed it. Her thoughts raged on internally.
'Are you really him? Why are things different from what I can remember? Dusken… the same name. But why are things different? Are you really him… the DuskBorne?" She thought, watching Dusken battle with the creature, a complex light flashing through her eyes.
***
Dusken trembled from shock. No, his shadow hadn't immobilised him, instead, the beast's shadow had.
His gaze stared fixedly at the ground, the creature's shadow had transformed into shadow long chains and held his shadow, rendering him immobile.
The chains were unaffected by the material world, but grasping his shadow meant grasping him, the connection was there.
'Shadow affinity. It isn't even a cursed creature and it has an affinity? A rare talent even for a creature.' Dusken thought rapidly. 'If I kill it, how many Abysmal points would I receive? After all, its Affinity has something to do with shadows.'
The creature lingered no more, and pounced at him, wanting to use this rare chance to deal a fatal blow to Dusken.
However, as the monster arrived near him, what greeted it was a flying card.
Spell card activation: Nightfall Whisper.
Mid-air, the card warped as slight, incoherent whispers sounded in the surroundings.
The shadow of both Dusken and the creature arose, forming an obsidian shield that smashed into the monster, sending it backwards.
Released from his temporary bind, Dusken moved forward, the winds whistling in his wake.
He delivered a sharp, horizontal strike slicing the air toward the beast. Panic flashed across the monster's eyes as it resolutely gave up its remaining right wing.
A sharp cry sounded from the creature as it distanced itself from him.
'It seems that the creature cannot use its weird shadow ability for now, perhaps there's a cooldown.'
Noting this weakness, he dashed forward once more, the leaves around him rustling as if singing a happy song.
Dusken moved right and kicked a nearby tree, propelling himself towards the beast with unseeable momentum.
Just then though, a cacophonic boom sounded from Lillian's location, making the intense winds sing a sharp song.
The force behind such an attack blew Dusken and the creature away. As he stared at her location, he saw that the monster she fought lay on the ground… dead.
However, that was not his battle. Pushing himself up, he dashed once again at the creature.
"Wooooooo." It cried its weird song once again; sadly, its shadow had already become part of the tool used for the shield and unless he dismissed it, nothing would happen.
Dusken's blade whizzed through the air. The creature, now helpless, had used up all its nails in earlier attacks.
"Woooooooooooooo." This time, the voice of the beast began affecting his mind.
Through gritted teeth, a memory flashed within him.
- - -
¬Dusken you must remember, when you're fighting an enemy, your aim shouldn't be to kill that enemy alone. Destroy their spirit, affect their mind, and break their will.
The essence, the aim for combat is outsmarting your enemy, and if you can't outsmart them, then kill them; if you can't kill them even after using all your strength, then become a blade. A blade that will cut all binds, and finish off the job. This is the secret of battle, you either kill or be killed.¬
- - -
When this memory resurfaced in Dusken's mind, he roared out loud, pushing himself to the limit.
'I'll become a blade to cut all down all binds.' His sword fell with lethal accuracy, slashing the creature apart and ending this battle.
[You have slain a Level One Awakened Creature: Hairy Mind]
[Your Abyss within grows darker]
Immediately, energy surged within him. Not the negative emotions, but a cold, chilling sensation, spreading throughout his body as he felt his strength increase to a shocking level.
'It actually has a name? Hairy Mind?' Dusken thought with widened eyes. Coupled with the fact that he didn't feel nagativity, he was certain that this creature was abnormal.
Normally, only cursed creatures had names, and cursed creatures were level two and above.
However, this creature broke common sense, making him almost drop his jaw in shock. Even so, the Codex wasn't done; its next words made Dusken stumble.
[You have received a DeathNote.]
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A/N: Due to many gifts recently, and the complaints of some readers. I plan to move forward the mass release.
Initially, I wanted to release five chapters in the weekend, but now I would post a bonus chapter everyday till on Monday. So expect two chapters till on Monday. After that, I'll go back to the initial one chapter a day.
After I go premium, it'll be two chapters a day. Thanks to all those who have read this book this now.