Chapter 27
Gerric's breath hitched. "S-sir Nox?" He croaked, relief flooding into him.
"What happened?" Nox replied. The words were quiet, but Gerric heard them clearly. For a moment, he forgot to talk. He opened his mouth, struggling to find the right place to start.
Nox waited, his eyes moving towards the fight.
The Blackholt woman was holding her own. She moved with polish. For someone standing at the initial level of the core 1, she was skilled. But the thing she fought wasn't any worse. It didn't tire. It pressed her without fury or haste. No wasted steps. No obvious tells. It was an experienced fighter.
"We were on patrol." Gerric swallowed, finally managing to pull himself together. "Nothing unusual. Then-then the air suddenly shifted! And then it was there."
He hesitated, but pushed on with a shaky voice. "It killed everyone. I didn't even see it move. I…if she hadn't dropped in-"
"You would be dead." Nox finished for him.
Gerric wanted to say something in response, but he was interrupted by a loud cracking sound. The duel intensified. The creature's form twisted, one arm stretching beyond human limits to catch the woman's blade mid-swing. It locked her in place, pressing forward with brute force.
She grunted, boots skidding on the cobbles.
Nox's eyes narrowed.
Gerric pushed himself shakily to his feet, wary of being a distraction. "Should-should we help?"
"No."
Nox response came as a surprise to Gerric. But he did not argue. As a mere guard, there were things that he couldn't see. Unlike cultivators.
"What we have here is quite rare. This is what happens when a wraith finds a suitable host to possess."
Gerric looked up at Nox, confused.
"I want to see exactly what this one can do."
Zarah stood firm. The creature started adapting to her rhythm, but she too was learning. Her blade carved clean arcs through the air, intercepting each of the creature's attacks. She used her opponent's own attacks to create openings. And when she struck, she didn't miss.
If it was a contest of skills alone, then she would have long finished off the wraith. But things were rarely that easy. Her opponent made up for its lesser skills with its terrifying recovery abilities.
If the fight dragged on for too long, then the tides would eventually turn against her. Faced with the wraith's massive stamina, she held little hope of winning.
Thankfully, she was fighting inside the city.
Someone else would notice soon. The Stonewatch was bound to come. She had kept the fight visible and noisy for a reason.
Perhaps, coming to the same conclusion, Nox finally sighed. He turned slightly to Gerric, laying a hand gently on the man's shoulder.
"Thank you." He said, meeting the guard's eyes. "I will make sure that your service to Lint will be properly rewarded."
Gerric blinked, half surprised and half hopeful. "Sir?"
But the cold had already taken him.
His mouth froze mid-word, breath locking in his chest as his veins turned to glass. His body spasmed once, drying up at an alarming rate. A faint shimmer of light bled out of him, drawn through Nox's palm. A few seconds later, what remained of Gerric was a frozen, dried out corpse.
Nox released him and let out a quiet sigh. His attention returned to the fight. He did not hesitate. One moment he was standing by the dead Gerric, the next, he was behind Zarah.
Completely focused on the wraith, the woman did not even sense him. Not until it was already too late. In a blur of motion, Isaac drove his hand through her back, fingers piercing between spine and ribs.
She gasped, but there was no time for more. Isaac decisively crushed her heart, then threw her into the waiting wraith.
Everything was done in an instant. No flourish. No warning.
As the woman bled out at the feet of the wraith, Nox indifferent voice rang out.
"Go on, absorb her." His eyes met the wraith's. A quiet staredown unfolded, and soon, the wraith's right arm elongated, snaking around the woman's neck before hoisting it up.
A pale light flowed from the corpse, and into the horror's body. Isaac watched as the process quickly concluded.
The creature's arm retracted, releasing the drained corpse with a dull thud. The essence it had absorbed lingered visibly along its limbs. Muscles bulged subtly under the skin, and the eerie shine in its eyes pulsed once, brighter than before.
"Why are you helping me?"
Hearing the wraith talk, the corner of Nox's lips twitched.
"I'm just curious."
The words had barely left his mouth when the creature lunged in a surprise attack.
Its clawed hand sliced through the air, aimed straight at Nox's head with incredible speed. The creature intended to end the fight instantly.
But it had severely underestimated its opponent.
Seeing the approaching hand, Nox didn't move. A faint grunt escaped him, and the air buckled.
A sudden gust, heavy as stone, slammed into the creature mid-stride. It was flung backward like a broken puppet, crashing into the alley wall hard enough to crack stone. Dust exploded outward. Cracks spiderwebbed behind its pinned frame.
The wraith snarled, struggling, but the air held it in place. A crushing force pressed down on its limbs, forcing its back against the bricks. It strained, but its claws could barely twitch.
Nox stepped forward slowly.
"I may have overestimated your intelligence."
The creature hissed, yellow eyes glaring at the man with anger. But there was no escape.
Nox studied it for a moment longer. Watched the rise and fall of its chest. The twitch of fury in its shoulders. The small war that played out behind those unnatural eyes.
Then he shook his head.
Without another word, he vanished.
The pressure lifted.
The wraith slumped, shoulders rising and falling in quick succession. But it didn't dare chase. It just lied there in the broken alley, watching the place Nox had been, until the shadows closed in once more.
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A moment later, Nox stood elsewhere.
High above the restless streets, on a slanted rooftop tiled in dark stone, he gazed out across the town. The district below was hushed. Lanternlight glimmered along narrow alleys. The moon cast a pale wash over it all, turning Lint into a place of quiet and shadows.
He waited.
It didn't take long.
Behind him, with no sound to mark her approach, Kaela emerged from the dark. Her robes were elegant but unadorned, only a few silver bands wrapped around her wrists catching the light as she moved to his side. Her expression was calm, lips curled into a faint smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"You found a quiet perch." She started.
Nox didn't turn, keeping his eyes on the quiet streets bellow. "I wanted to watch the town breathe."
She followed his gaze for a beat, and chuckled. "Is it breathing well?"
"Still." He murmured. "But not dead."
He folded his hands behind his back, then added, "I met something unusual tonight."
Kaela's brow lifted. "Oh?" she hummed curiously.
"One of your toys. It was struggling against a cultivator from the Blackholt family."
That made her pause.
"Did it win?"
"I gave it a little push." Nox admitted. "But it's pretty arrogant. It tried to attack me right after."
Kaela sighed. "I told them to be careful."
"You should discipline them. It was out there causing a ruckus. What if it was Isaac who came?"
Kaela smiled mysteriously in response. "You don't have to worry about that. I have prepared a little surprise for him."
Just as she said those words, an explosion of flames rocked the distance.
"People are growing restless, Nox." She calmly continued. "Suspicious. We needed something unpredictable. Something loud. Something to get them off our back for a little while."
Her smile grew a tad wider. "So, I thought, why not give them something to focus on."
"A distraction." Nox watched as a number of figures raced through the town to join the commotion. "A good idea. Thought I would have preferred it if you had run this by me first."
In response to his complaint, the woman shook her head gently. "That would have ruined the surprise."
Nox replied with a snort. "I don't like these improvisations of yours."
Kaela studied him for a moment, then nodded, folding her arms across her chest. "Got it. I'll make sure to keep making some surprises for you in the future."
"Haven't you heard a thing I said?"
She only gave him a sweet innocent smile in response. The two of them started bickering, while the town slowly fell into chaos.
********************
The next day, Lint woke to two pieces of grim news. One of the city's major merchant houses had been attacked during the night, leaving deaths and destruction in its wake. Yet it was the confirmation of Zarah Thornevale's death that truly unsettled the city. For the first time in living memory, a cultivator had fallen to a horror. Fear spread through Lint like a slow, creeping plague.
If even the godlike cultivators were prey to horrors, then what was the ordinary townsfolk supposed to do?
Early in the morning, as different Stonewatch squads gathered for they daily missions. And angry voice stormed into the camp.
"Where is he?! Where is the bastard that let this happen?!"
Alden turned just in time to see the speaker. It was a tall, wiry man in layered charcoal robes embroidered with dark silver threading. The Blackholt crest was etched proudly across his chest. His face was creased with age and fury, eyes bloodshot and jaw clenched so tightly it seemed pain alone was holding him upright.
The old man stormed past them and barged into the administrative building. "Don't you dare pretend you didn't know!"
The shouting from inside didn't stop for a long while. Even from where they stood, the muffled voice of the elder carried through the courtyard. It was sharp, filled with barely contained rage.s
A few Stonewatch members pretended not to hear. Others exchanged uneasy glances.
Darius arrived not long after, his expression drawn. "That's Elder Varrin Blackholt." He explained quietly, joining Alden and the others near the training field. "He's here to demand explanations. And compensation."
Siv frowned. "Compensation? For what?"
Darius sighed. "My cousin, Zarah Blackholt. She was a promising member of the clan. The elders didn't take kindly to her passing. The elder wants someone to take responsibility for it."
The group fell silent.
"This isn't going to end well." The Scourge muttered.
Darius nodded slightly. "No. It won't. I've already been told to stand down from active duty until things are sorted. The Blackholts are pulling their people back." He hesitated, then added. "First Greenvalley, now this. Can't blame them for being cautious."
Renna crossed her arms, a small frown on her face. "So our team's on hold?"
"Yeah." Darius confirmed. He looked around at the team once more, then lowered his voice. "I suggest you guys think carefully about what to do from here. I have a real bad feeling about this."
He left soon after, heading toward the main barracks.
Siv watched him go, then sighed. "Never thought things would turn out like this. It seems like the Stonewatch's in trouble."
After a long pause, Lysa sighed and adjusted her satchel. "Well, I've been thinking about leaving for some time now. I guess this is as good a moment as any."
Alden looked at her and nodded. He understood. The affairs of the Stonewatch had grown far too dangerous for ordinary people. Zarah's death had put everything into perspective.
Cultivators were meant to stand between the city and the horrors, yet even they were no longer safe. So what about the wardens and the hunters? They were hardly any different from the people they were supposed to protect.
The weight hanging over Lint had deepened over the past few days, settling into every street and every silence. Alden did not know what was coming, only that it would not be kind. His hand tightened into a fist, dread quietly coiling in his chest.
Renna nodded faintly at Lysa's words. "That's probably for the best." She said. "My father said the same thing this morning. He wants me to step away too."
Siv frowned. "You're leaving as well?"
"I think so." Renna admitted. "I don't like the idea… But he's not wrong. I'd rather leave right now than get caught in whatever mess is coming."
Siv stayed quiet for a moment, then gave a defeated sigh. "I guess I'll be following your example then."
After exchanging a few more words, Siv and Lysa left. Leaving only Renna, Alden, and Scourge standing by the training ground.
"Well." Scourge said after a moment, adjusting the strap of his sword. "Looks like it's just us now."
Renna glanced toward the main hall, where the echoes of the elder's shouting still faintly carried through the stone walls. "Yeah." She said quietly. "What's the plan? I feel like you have something on your mind."
Scourge gave a dry laugh. "Sharp as always." Then he lowered his voice. "I think it's high time we leave too."
Alden quirked up an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Aren't we already planning to leaving the Stonewatch?"
At that, the man gave a gentle shake of his head. "Not just the Stonewatch, but Lint. It's time we move on."