Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Chapter 392: The Unescapable Wraith

Clashing with the blood-stained scythe, a sea of ember clouded my vision. Covered in a heavy sweat, the strain upon my arms began to take its toll.

"Rending Slash!" Lilith screamed, appearing with the Sword of Morningstar in hand the moment I parried this Wraiths ruthless strike. Showered in both the aura's of Heaven and Hell, Morningstar glowed with power causing Lilith's normal Arte to turn into something that could very well sever the moon in half.

Bathing in a domineering Sword Intent, the glint of a massive sword arch came and went into space itself. Vanishing from sight, the Wraith screeched as it was once again blasted from the edge of the mountains.

Crashing into the foot of the mountain, a defining screech boomed into our ears.

Feeling a little faint, I gripped Lilith's shoulder, hiding both her's and my presence as we bolted away in haste. Rushing with Lilith, who was pale as a ghost, I immediately bit my lips till the blood ran into her white lips.

It had been a week since our battle had started, and things were not looking good. No matter how badly we damaged this damnable monster, its injures would simply heal within a few hours. Lilith had voiced that even hurting this thing was an amazing feat, but I had begged to differ.

This thing was learning, and it was learning fast. This was already our forty-ninth encounter. And its skill with a scythe was transforming. I would have already been dead if I did not learn alongside our battles.

"Save your blood, Sene," Lilith weakly muttered, hanging on by a sliver of qi within her. Unlike me, who had an endless source of Qi, Lilith didn't.

"Shut up and keep absorbing Qi. You have an hour to get back to twenty percent!" I hastily muttered as my body began mending the damage to my flesh on its own.

Licking the blood from her lips, a glow began to shimmer from Lilith's. Watching a faint wisp of abyssal energy coiling around her body, I hastily covered her body with denser darkness. Feeling a chill rising from the ticking bomb within my hands, I cursed beneath my breath. She was losing control, and it was getting worse the longer we battled.

Shadow Stepping through the mountains trail, a familiar mist had once more begun to appear around this damn mountain. I didn't know what the hell type of Mist this was, but it was able to restrict Lilith and me from fusing our minds into our Element to have a better few of our surroundings. In a way, we lost our Divine Sense and were now blind.

"Fuck!"

Glancing around at the dense Mist, I knew the Wraith was merely trying to slow us down. Its injuries would take a while to heal from an attack from Morningstar.

"I... I think this is Astral Mist." Lilith whispered within my arms, as her face began to grow a little warmer, "the Astral Plane vanished after the Great Change, but there are some locations that still hold some Astral Energy."

"I hate this damn planet. Screw Alos," I grunted in reply. When my eyes suddenly caught sight of a rather large cavern through the dense Astral Mist.

Rushing through the entrance, a rich surge of darkness blessed my skin. Widening my eyes at the odd area, Lilith spoke in a shocked tone, " A Dark Haven? I have never heard of this before! Such a rich Ether of Darkness. Can you use this to hide us?"

"I don't even know how this thing keeps finding us. So I cannot make any promises."

Noticing a few cultivators in meditation, I summoned the Spear of Noctem. Feeling its power within the darkness glowing like a flame, the crest of Noctem appeared just above the tip of my blade.

Shimmering with a darkness that was blacker than night, a sea of dark ooze covered both Lilith and me in a wave. Paling at the heavy drain of vital qi, I slowly made my way towards a secluded area, hidden from prying eyes.

"You never used this ability before. What is it?" Lilith weakly asked, staring dead at the crest of Noctem.

"Prerequisites," I muttered, feeling both weary and energized at the same time." I cannot summon this crest by myself, but with the powerful Ether here, I could. Hurry and Get your strength back. I cannot hold this thing forever. The number of souls within me cannot keep up. You have about two days."

Bitterly nodding her head, Lilith made her way out from my arm and into the lotus position with the sword of morningstar resting silently upon her lap. Showering herself with a dense abyssal energy, my face slowly began to turn paler as her energy literally began devouring the darkness.

"Fuck my life!" I muttered, closing my eyes as I once again began chanting The Path of Abyssal Night. Pulling qi from the far reaches of creation, I could only sigh as my body reached a temporary balance.

"It will still be two days," I uttered softly, feeling the dark Ether around me being sucked away at a rapid rate.

Sensing the trickle of time begins to pass, a single hour came and went when the wails of that damnable Wraith echoed within the cavern we resided. Opening my eyes, I wiped the endless sweat flowing from my body and stared from the shadows at the glow of scarlet.

Frowning at the heavy essence of Yin Qi around its towering body, the Wraith paused. Turning left and right, it surveyed the darkness with hunger.

"Protect the Princess." A loud noble knight dressed in all white armor commanded as I shifted my eyes towards a small garrison of men, standing around one woman.

"Do not attack!" The Princess voiced, opening her deep dark eyes that in a way matched mine. They were dark, wishing to pull you in the longer one looked. "It's looking for those two that entered about an hour ago."

Holding in my sights, the darkness trembled as a foreboding glint resounded within me. If she speaks of my location, I will have no choice but use the flames of Hellfire. The flames do not necessarily need to be outside my body. This is going to be risky.

"Li Su, do you sense them?" the young Princess asked, peering around, "I... I cannot see nor sense them. Use an Artifact if you must. I do not wish to ensure the wrath of that thing."

Nodding his head Li Su, the Noble Knight, nodded in an elegant demeanor, pulling out a strange wooded wheel that appeared to be from that of a Ship. He held it high towards the darkness before twirling it. Suddenly a radiant gold that seemed to be from that of a god shone within the night.

Slowly a pulse of magical energy echoed through this cavern. Witnessing the golden glow of power wash over everything, I did nothing. Having faith in the Laws of Noctem, I simply allowed the glow to wash over Lilith and myself.

Scrunching his swordlike brow, Li Su lowered his head, "Princess... we are at the entrance, but no one has come towards us or left. That I am sure, but the Wheel of Faith and Divinity is not responding to their presence. Princess, are you sure you felt their presence? We sensed nothing."

"Hmph,"