Chapter 7: Night of Echoes and Blood
That night I surrendered myself to endless training.
The training ground lay deep within the mansion's undercroft, a vast, circular arena of polished black stone veined with crimson runes that drank the thin moonlight slipping through high slits in the vaulted ceiling.
No torches burned; only the faint, ghostly glow of residual aura clung to the walls like dying embers. At the exact center I stood, black cloth bound tight across scarred sockets, long white hair unbound and stirring in the cold, whispering draft.
My cane, simple blackwood, weighted at both ends—rested lightly in my grip, an extension of my will.
"The limitations on my rank have been obvious since my days gathering power in the pit," I murmured to the empty dark. "Yet my strength never stopped growing."
Two blades shrieked from opposite flanks, aimed straight for my temples.
I raised the cane as though it were a living sword. A single, fluid rotation, smooth, unhurried, met both strikes. Sparks erupted in bright, fleeting arcs; the impact rang like struck iron through the stone. Before the echoes faded, several more blades lanced inward from every direction.
I moved.
Feet gliding across cold stone, body flowing like water between falling raindrops. Each blade whispered its killing intent through vibration and aura flow; I danced around them, never once colliding, never once hesitating.
"There will be formidable opponents on the battleground," I said coldly.
Sixteen blades converged at once, encircling me in a perfect sphere of steel and death.
"But I must consume them all."
Aura gathered in my palms, soft violet-black, the hue of the deepest abyss. I swayed them in gentle, spiraling arcs.
"Gloo Palm Technique."
Each rotation released a pulling force, subtle at first, then violent and inexorable. The blades caught in the turbulent orbit, spiraling around my body like satellites trapped in a dark star's gravity. They clashed against one another, deflecting, redirecting, until, with a final outward push, I sent them flying in every direction. Sixteen steel blades embedded themselves deep into the training walls with dull, resonant thuds, quivering like struck tuning forks.
I landed lightly on the balls of my feet. A faint smile of satisfaction curved my lips.
Then I felt a fluctuation in the air.
I bent, pressing one palm flat to the cold stone.
My aura pulsed outward, once, twice, rippling through the ground like a living heartbeat. Life signatures bloomed in my perception: two figures approaching from the northern archway.
Silver rank. Both.
I rose smoothly, another pulse confirming their auras, aggressive, laced with raw malice.
"Ah… two Silver ranks have come to my domain at this hour." My smile widened, curious and cold.
Voices drifted closer, careless and loud.
"Argh, I heard that useless blind freak would be training here tonight. I fucking want to break his bones."
The speaker's tone was wild and eager, black hair and red eyes, I sensed, from the chaotic, flaring signature of his aura.
"Don't worry. You'll get your fun."
The second voice was calm, almost gentle, dark purple hair, eyes mirroring his companion's crimson. Yet beneath the composure lay a deeper, colder current.
I waited, unmoving.
"Ahh, that guy was right, the blind fool really is here."
"Albert, look, he's exactly as described. Information wasn't wrong."
One voice dripped boastful pride; the other regarded me with open disdain.
"So," I said quietly, turning my face toward them, expression empty of warmth, "what brings you two to my grounds tonight?"
Laughter, harsh, mocking.
"Hahaha, this fool wants to die!"
"Caleb, calm yourself."
The one called Albert took measured steps forward.
I tilted my head toward the sound.
"i change my my, I do not care for your purpose in coming here this night," I said, voice level as still water. "But I will assure you of one thing: none of you will leave these grounds alive."
Albert paid the words no mind.
The instant his next step landed I struck.
"Echo Motion."
My senses sharpened to an unbearable edge, every rustle of cloth, every heartbeat, every shift of weight sang in perfect clarity. The cane blurred. It lashed toward Albert's neck in a silent crescent.
He reacted just in time, sword whipping up to deflect. Steel met wood in a shower of sparks. I did not pause. The cane rotated in my grip; the weighted end drove forward, piercing clean through his thigh.
"Arghhh!"
Albert screamed, leaping backward several paces, clutching the wound.
"Hahaha, Albert, why the fuck are you playing around?"
Caleb's voice dropped to something colder. Albert shivered visibly at the tone.
In that flash of distraction, Albert lunged, blade flashing toward my cheek. I sensed the cane still lodged in his leg "gloo palm technique"; a violent twist of aura ripped it free in a spray of blood, tearing a wide gash. He staggered.
Caleb did not hesitate.
He dashed in, fist hammering toward my ribs with crushing force. The blow landed, solid, heavy. Air exploded from my lungs.
"I see now, you blind runt," Caleb laughed, realization dawning. "Hahaha, I was a fool to look down on someone who survived this hellhole."
I spun with the impact, landing on steady feet.
"These two are strong… especially this one called Caleb."
I focused my Echo Motion on Albert, he knelt, clutching his thigh, aura frantically mending the wound, pain twisting his aura into frantic spikes.
Without thought I dashed toward him.
Hand wreathed in violet-black aura, fingers splayed like claws aimed for his throat.
Albert looked up, eyes wide with panic.
But Caleb moved faster.
"Devil Dive!"
Both fists ignited with dense crimson aura. He leaped high, then plummeted downward like a falling star, crashing between us with cataclysmic force. The shockwave hurled me and Albert in opposite directions.
Stone cracked beneath the impact point.
I rolled once, twice, came up on one knee, breath steady.
"I was right," I said softly, spreading my arms wide in quiet ecstasy. "This Caleb is different."
A slow, genuine smile spread across my face.
In a flash I moved.
Cane beating against ground and wall in rapid, deliberate strikes, each impact sending echo waves rippling outward, mapping every corner of the arena in perfect clarity. My senses narrowed purely to Caleb.
He stood with a wild, frantic grin splitting his face. In one motion he drew a massive greatsword from his back.
"Hehe… come at me!"
I closed the distance.
Cane embedded with aura slashed toward his shoulder. He intercepted instantly. We circled each other at blinding speed, blade and cane colliding again and again in a storm of sparks and ringing metal.
"This Caleb is not only strong but has excellent defense," I noted inwardly. "I need to end this quickly before the other recovers."
"Aura Pulse!"
I activated the technique. My arms wrapped protectively across my chest as violet-black energy gathered in a coiling vortex.
Caleb's eyes widened in shock.
"This blind fool is scarier than the rumors… this is truly strange. I can feel him reading me as though he could see."
"I need to change tactics," he muttered, then charged.
I felt his energy surging toward me, violent, wicked. My smile deepened.
"Burst."
My body released a heavy, concussive pulse of aura.
The wave staggered Caleb mid-stride, disorienting him.
In that instant I saw it, two crimson points of vulnerability glowing in my inner sight.
Caleb felt the imminent danger.
"Fuck… fuck, I can't die here!"
He forced himself to move, dimming the red lights through sheer will and aura control.
I was shocked, but I did not stop.
My cane came down in a merciless arc.
Albert screamed from the corner, hand outstretched as though he could stop the blow.
Caleb's scream tore through the arena.
"You fucking bastard, you just decapitated my hand!"
Blood gushed. But like a veteran, he immediately sealed the stump with a surge of crimson aura, stopping the flow before bending to retrieve his severed limb.
"Albert, you fool, how long do you intend to stay down? We need to leave right now!"
He glared toward the corner where Albert still knelt.
"And who said you two can leave ?" I asked calmly. "Have I permitted you to leave my grounds?"
Killing intent spread outward like black ink through water.
Caleb stayed eerily composed.
"Blind fool… do you truly possess the strength to hold me here?"
He radiated power, unyielding, dangerous.
I clapped once, slow, mocking.
"Hahaha… yes, I may not be able to keep you here ."
The words were calm, almost amused, as though everything remained under my control.
In that instant Albert moved.
"Fire Lung!"
He exhaled a roaring torrent of purple-flame aura straight from his mouth.
I leaped backward, the heat scorching my robes and singing the edges of my hair.
Albert's head was now fully enveloped in writhing purple flames, eyes glowing like twin coals.
"Took you long enough," Caleb said with savage joy, turning toward the exit.
"I guess you'll handle this, right?"
Albert gave a slight, determined nod.
Caleb moved furiously toward the archway.