CHAPTER 40: NIGHT SUN

Hadrian’s target, for now, seemed like a simple choice to make.

Truston was fighting to escape as he did not want the fight to drag too long in enemy territory.

Haldon was fighting to kill, Hadrian imagined. He was stalling the fight. Hadrian could not understand why Truston held back, if his goal is to escape, then strong burst moves would be optimal.

maybe he has to conserve essence for not just Haldon right now, but when he is escaping through enemy territory.

In any case, my target is Haldon.

Hadrian sent out his rat vessels that were already channeling the essence of the three different path cores he currently held.

The rats channeling the space and force path kept up better with the two rank two Mages, however, they did not fare as well as the rat vessels channeling the elemental path essence.

Truston’s heat wave.

In fact, in a matter of seconds, some of the rats would fall down out of exhaustion, drowsiness or struggling to breathe.

Hadrian was down to nineteen rats in those few seconds.

The most important thing was to stay in range, he could switch the essence tendril’s call between his vessels. That was only once he grasped them, though.

Luckily, Haldon was keeping the fight contained. Not out of concern of the Public, of course.

Rank two essences, just like Hadrian had tried that night, were not easy to grasp or respond to the call. This was harder now that Haldon was in the middle of a fight.

The essence was not just refusing Hadrian’s call, while in a fight, it was as if it followed orders from its owner. It was practically ignoring the call.

Of course, the call wasn’t a choice, Hadrian just had to apply more stress.

This time, when Haldon swung his sword at Truston, who now looked like a rock monster, Truston grabbed it in his left rock palm.

He brought down his right fisted arm on the sword, intending to break it, but just like when it was summoned, the sword flickered out of existence.

Haldon backflipped some distance away from Truston and resummoned the sword.

The sweat on his forehead and face showed the heat wave was getting to him. His breathing was quick and heavy too. Still, his expression was calm.

Though Truston had recovered the rock exoskeleton wholly, the sword had managed to break through it several times now, even slicing Truston.

Meanwhile, none of Truston’s attacks had landed on Haldon.

This was because of the rings he wore.

One was a rank one space path mystical artifact which synergized with his own abilities, refining and expanding them.

The other was the fate path mystical artifact ring of the mage Hadrian had killed that night. This made his chances better.

Truston had been at a disadvantage since the beginning of the fight and Haldon knew that Truston was a very conservative fighter.

Haldon was stalling for a reason, eventually, Truston will break under the pressure of his own indecisiveness.

After all in Haldon’s mind, Truston, who’d ascended through a pandemonium realm, wasn’t as deserving as him.

Weak.

He thought.

Though pandemonium realms could be hard, they could be easy to an individual lucky enough to be carried on the back of others.

Haldon didn’t just need Truston’s mind to break for the fight, he wanted to see him break.

How is it that my brother fell to such a man?

Thinking this, his eyes rolled to his right and his head followed. He sensed a particular type of intrusion from that direction.

It was close at first, only for a moment, then he felt it switch to a further distance.

The feeling, though he had not experienced it before, he understood what it was from what bearded man and the mage had described in that underground room with the witch.

It’s weaker than I imagined.

Haldon thought as he turned his head and focused back on Truston.

With two quick steps, he was already swinging down on Truston. Truston went to block but Haldon didn’t finish his swing, he twisted his body and found himself behind the Truston rock monster instead.

Truston began to turn but then heard a snap of the fingers and a carriage fell on top of him.

This was an item Haldon could "carry" at rank two.

To Truston and his rock exoskeleton, it didn’t cause much damage. However, it created an opportunity for Haldon who tightened his grip around the mystical artifact sword and in a stabbing motion, shot straight forward at Truston’s abdomen.

It pierced through the rock exoskeleton and Haldon felt it go through flesh.

Truston had already been bringing his hands down and managed to get a hold of Haldon’s hand that held on to the sword.

The rock exoskeleton around truston’s face crumbled apart exposing his wide open mouth.

Truston took a deep breath and shot out blazing fire from his mouth onto Haldon’s face.

The fire was large and continuous, it looked and felt like the sun had risen at this night time.

It wasn’t endless, though, and Truston had taken a huge gamble depleting a lot of his essence potency.

The flames died down and Truston had still not let go of Haldon’s hand. His rock exoskeleton had molded itself around Haldon’s hands and his.

Haldon’s face and head was charred black, his hair completely burnt off.

As a rank two himself, and with the fate path ring, he managed to withstand. Though it might be the fate path ring that had brought him the misfortune.

Truston eyed the now kneeling on one knee Haldon.

With his eyes closed, the charred Haldon smiled back up at him.

It was quiet, but at the last moment, he managed to hear it. Looking up, he saw that sword coming down at him.

Haldon had summoned it above truston’s head. As a rank two of the space path, they’re summoning was extended to not just their hands, but to a radius of five metres around themselves.

At this distance, a regular falling sword or object would not be of much concern to Truston, a rank two mage.

However, the sword falling down on him was a mystical artifact of the force path, and it had two cores.

Mystical artifacts, like the ring, have their own mystical effect. Just to carry the sword and use it, Haldon had needed to consume a lot of essence.

Truston moved his head and body trying to avoid it but it still went in deep right between his clavicle bone and neck.

In fact, most of the sword had gone in, Stopped only by its guard.