Nightmare’s Call

Xylond, inside the Holy Sanctum.

“Then I’ll start?”

“Do it.”

“I’ll really start then?”

“Go ahead.”

“You sure?”

“Just bloody do it!”

Aelfe was so pissed off that he snapped.

*Hiss!*

Suddenly, the air within a hundred meters around the Holy Sanctum surged towards the heart of the sanctum at the same moment as the Night Lord opened his mouth and took in a deep breath. Countless of jetstreams flowed into his mouth, transforming into an invisible vortex.

The mountain trembled as the skies started to thunder.

An abyssal pressure ran rampant from the Night Lord’s body and engulfed every corner of the Holy Sanctum.

Such was its strength that it shattered Aelfe’s momentum within an instant.

Aelfe’s body went stiff as an expression of disbelief appeared on his face, but his body reacted before he could, as cold sweat started flowing from his back and forehead.

His originally arrogant demeanor barely had any time to disappear as sweat started to drench his brow and nose.

“Didn’t they say there were no Palatinates here??!! What was the intelligence team doing?” He was shaken to his core, but to maintain the image of the second seat, he still kept on the facade.

“What… what a brilliant display of power.” Aelfe tried his best to not let his shock show, as he forced an elegant smile onto his face.

At the same time, he ran through his mind to figure out a way to extricate himself from this situation.

If he did not find a way soon, today’s date would be his death anniversary date next year.

Judging from his aura alone, the strength of the person before him was not your usual Palatinate’s.

Not to mention that there was another person beside him who seemed to be on an equal footing with him.

“Young man, I recognize your strength. You can stand down, I only wanted to test you just now.” Aelfe said with his hands behind his back.

“A test?” A burst of laughter rang out under the Steel Lord’s helmet.

“Surely you weren’t thinking that His Excellency, the Night Lord is actually being serious with you?”

He was old and sophisticated, and although he may have failed in his past life, that did not stop him from having other excellent qualities other than his martial might.

His observation ability was one of that.

From Aelfe’s dismissive arrogance when he entered, to his current feigned calm and panic in his heart, he had seen through everything.

He was a Palatinate after all.

As his bluff was called, Aelfe stopped pretending.

” I never thought that the Holy Sanctum had two Palatinates hidden among their ranks. If this were to go out, it will definitely shake the Darksider world to the core. Since you have been hiding your existence and did not show yourself, that meant that you people did not want your identity known. So how about we act like I never came here, while I keep your secret safe and we go our own ways. How about that?”

His words and analysis were timely and meticulous. For him to be able to capture the psychology of his opponents and analyze everything was proof that he was well learned on the matters of psychology.

“Haaaahhhh….” The Night Lord covered his mouth as he let out a massive yawn.

The abnormal airflow in the area suddenly paused before calming down.

“Just yawned. Ah right, what were you saying again?” The Night Lord wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes.

Aelfe felt like his pride had just been struck by a ten-ton hammer.

“I…” His expression was conflicted, but he still managed a smile. “Actually, I… I’m here representing the Sevenlocks Tower to form an alliance with the Holy Sanctum!” His mind worked hard and made a 180-degree turn in an instant.

“The reason I had snuck up here was to test the Holy Sanctum’s defensive abilities.” Aelfe was determined to try to muddle his way through first.

“But we’ve never heard of anything of this sort?” The Night Lord said as he scratched his face.

“As this is our first proper contact, we had not intended to disturb you. It was only because of your superb counter-reconnaissance skill that I was discovered.” Aelfe replied swiftly. “And your answer will be…?”

Within the prayer hall, both the Night Lord and the Steel Lord quickly exchanged information. Their ability to communicate through their souls made their communication extremely advance.

“While you do look sincere, and there’s nothing wrong with what you said, but…” The Night Lord smiled as he changed the topic.

“You did say you were going to stand still there.”

“Then come, if you can withstand this hit, I could consider overlooking your insolent intrusion.”

Aelfe went silent.

Bullsh*t, for him to evoke such a level of aura would require him to focus all of his attention and might into it.

But this man before him…

His powerful instincts as a Palatinate told him that this person was probably one of the strongest of enemies he had met in his lifetime.

“If you insist, I agree. But I came here bearing the goodwill of the Sevenlocks Tower, and this action will very possibly turn two organizations that could exist harmoniously into hostile foes!”.

Aelfe was eager to extricate himself out of this situation as a bad feeling formed within him.

“No worries. Not that I’ve thought that much anyway.” The Night Lord smiled.”We’ll leave everything else after I let out my breath.”

Aelfe’s heart sank, as he understood that the two were not misled by his words. They had already seen through his ill-intentions from the get-go.

As soon as he understood this, he stopped talking.

“Then, the Second Seat of the Sevenlocks Tower, Aelfe Shafrayne, accepts your trial.”

He bent down slightly in a bow towards the Night Lord before him.

Even if he was to lose, he could never allow the dignity of the Sevenlocks Tower to be lost.

He then looked up and saw the milk-way brilliance in the Night Lord’s beautiful eyes.

Suddenly his vision blurred as he seemed to be pulled out of the Holy Sanctum and into a dark dimension.

But the very next moment, he lost his ability to think of anything else as a powerful, almost palpable pressure rushed towards him from all directions before he could even react.

It was almost by instinct as Aelfe held his body upright and opened the Tidal Gate within his body.

An endless torrent of dark powers surged out if his body from the Eventide as his unique dark power was unleashed.

“Absolute Crystal Prison! Seal!!”

In that instant, a massive white hexahedral crystal surrounded Aelfe within it.

The white crystal slowly spun as if it was pure energy that had completely separated from the bounds of dark powers, becoming a different type of phenomenon altogether.

It was the same shimmering light from the crystal that he finally could see what he was up against.

Within the dark void, a massive black dragonoid creature hundreds of meters long hovered before him.

The moment he had a clear vision of the dragonoid creature, the Night Lord’s unique voice rang in his ears.

“Blood Art: Dark Dragon Breath.”

The massive black dragon opened its mouth wide towards his direction.

*Booom!!*

What followed was an all-consuming shadow blasting out of the dragon’s mouth, and swept everything before it.