"Who are you?" I call back into the darkness at the unexpected visitor. Adma turns to me, concerned. She must have thought it was Kieran.
"You can call me your number one fan, August. I'm something of a Nephilim enthusiast, you see."
But those glowing eyes. Is he not also a Nephilim?
"Not necessarily, August. The ability that Nephilim have to see in the darkness is one you attain naturally. Humans can gain this ability as well, with the right tools at their disposal..."
And what tools are those?
Sola hesitates. She doesn't want to tell me, but she has to.
"It would appear this man has killed a Nephilim, and taken their eyes."
A lump forms in my throat. But some level of reassurance washes over me. This man's eyes are a vibrant violet. Not green. So at least I know he hasn't taken Kieran's eyes.
I draw my sword and focus. The light shining in my eyes grows brighter, bright enough that I can now see the entirety of the room with my enhanced vision. It consumes quite a bit more energy to do this, but I don't have the luxury of restraint. Not with a potential Nephilim killer in front of me.
"Adma." I look at her and her ball of light. She can see a lot less than I can in here. "Be ready for anything."
"How do you know my name?" I spit. All I can think of is somehow this guy got to Kieran and got some information out of him. I have to know.
"We all know you, Auggie boy. The Magician of Explosion Magic! Ahh, what a fun ability! But seeing as you are here right now...I'm guessing you're not quite as explosive as we thought."
"Explosive enough to bring this whole place down, you and me in it."
I get a good look at the intruder. His eyes do seem to belong to a Nephilim, but other than that he seems fully human. He's thicker and more muscular than I am. Taller, too. Definitely older than me, but I am not sure how much. Humans reach full size at eighteen. Judging by his complexion and build, he can't be much into adulthood. And he takes pride in his appearance. Long brown hair is carefully styled into cascading waves that partially cover his face.
The man draws his sword as well. He makes a show of it, withdrawing it with an unnecessary flourish. It's either a sign that he isn't taking me seriously, or that he's less experienced with a blade than I am. Either one of those possibilities is to my advantage.
"Let's play a little, August. Oh, but it would be a little inconvenient for me if your lady commander got involved, so how about this?" He withdraws a corestone. Great, he's got magic too?
"Exoran Holla. Blanket this place in darkness."
That must be his corestone's name. As he speaks it, everything is blanketed in a thick dark mist. I can still see through it, using my most advanced vision. But the light that Adma produced is completely enveloped.
She tries to conjure another light but is unable to. I see her standing there, sword drawn and looking around every which way. She cannot see anything at all in this dark mist.
"Now we can have some fun, August!"
The man charges toward me, a hooked scimitar in his hands as he runs low and fast. Fast for a human, anyway. I'm quicker. I wait for him to get close enough to swing. He's not going to expect this.
With barely a shift in my weight and stance, I slide backward four feet. A neat little Nephilim trick. He takes a big swing and it's a big miss. I can sense the surprise from him. Whoever he stole those eyes from must not have been as skilled a fighter as I am.
He's wide open after his full swing. I scamper in and thrust my sword directly toward his chest. If he thought I would try to take prisoners or end this conflict without bloodshed, he's wrong. I have no qualms about killing a human. Not one who's swinging a sword at me.
He dodges, but barely. He falls on his ass trying to evade my blade, and he sloppily climbs back to his feet, changing his stance. Now he's holding his sword in both hands and adopts a defensive pose.
"You're a quick little guy aren't you?" he taunts. "But you won't survive one cut of this sword. Oh no."
He charges at me again. He's slower this time. More deliberate. He's taking me seriously now that I've shown him what I'm capable of. But it won't be enough for him. He's not seen anything yet.
He swings the sword at me and I swing mine back. Our blades clash, steel against steel with such force that our blades create a spark when they connect. He pushes his blade against mine, hoping to break my defense. He's strong. Stronger than I thought. Stronger than me, but not by much. Humans can't use their full strength. Even with his extra weight, his more developed muscles, he struggles to overpower me. But I know if we keep this to a sheer battle of strength, I'm at a disadvantage.
"You are a follower of the Flamekeeper, are you not?" Adma shouts from the darkness. She's facing our general direction. She can hear us, but she can't see us.
The man leaps back and snarls at me, showing his teeth in a malicious grin meant to intimidate me.
"Why yes, yes I am!" he giggles. "Leoni Pursantte, at your service. One of the Flame keeper's Honor Guard, and dedicated Nephilim killer!"
He's envigorated after shouting that nonsense, and he swings at me again. I can't clash blades with him again. He knows he can break through my defense if he puts all his strength into a swing.
I parry the attack and sidestep, hoping to catch him off guard as I swing from high, arcing the sword above my head and bringing it crashing down. He raises his sword and braces himself to guard the attack, which is exactly what I want him to do.
I slide across the ground. To him, it must seem impossibly fast. Like magic. From his left side to his right side in an instant. I can move my blade faster than he can. One second he's guarding an attack from the left and above, and yet I'm not even there as I swing low from the right.
I connect. My blade tears through his leg. It's a shallow cut, but a good one. He screams and collapses to the ground, dropping his blade and grabbing his leg. I can finish this. I ready myself. One decisive swing at his neck. That's all I need.
"Samina Vectos!" I hear. Adma is trying another magical maneuver, but how? She can't see anything, and this mist is still blanketing the area.
As she releases her magic, Leoni is swept up off the ground and begins to be wrapped up in layers and layers of wind currents that are so tightly wound they are visible. In seconds, he's levitating above the ground, completely restrained.
"Thanks for keeping him still," Adma says. "I was able to focus on his sound long enough to catch him."
I look back to the man, who's comfortably restrained. Seems I won't be doing any beheadings today after all. Not that I'm complaining. I'll kill a human if I must. Doesn't mean I would ever want to.
Though, who knows? It's not even nighttime yet, and if the start of the day has been any inclination, I've a long way still to go.
Now that he's locked up, his spell begins to fade away and Adma is able to generate a new light. She approaches us carefully.
"Leoni Pursantte, I hereby place you under arrest by the authority of the kingdom of Asteria."