Numbers x Casket-Chapter 8: Lindsay Nightfall

With rough breathing and sweat dripping from his forehead, the old man destroyed every undead creature that approached him. However, his stamina and age hindered him in this battle.

Soon enough, he fell on his knees, his sword struck on the ground. Subduing a lich alone was never a part of his dream; all that he wanted to do now was return and drink some good liquor. However, upon seeing the struggle of the other equators and the effort that the appraiser showed to protect their mage, the grip on his sword tightened and his eyes gleamed with a strong conviction.

"Bring it on!" he exclaimed as he stood up and charged once again.

. . . . .

The other equators were busy fending off the attacks from the fiends when they heard the appraiser's warning. They all looked in his direction and noticed the incoming shadow.

However, they were a second late to move away from it, and the moment it reached them, a hand made of shadow emerged on it, dragging their bodies underneath the darkness.

Their screams reverberated across the place; they stabbed the shadow with their sword, trying to flee from its grasp, but their efforts were in vain; they continued to sink until they completely vanished without a single trace.

Efraim sprinted, still chasing the shadow moving towards Lindsay. As it reached the four-headed golem's position, the shadow expanded, and Lindsay's summon began to sink inside.

Although it used its large arm to push itself out. The shade of darkness became even wider, preventing the golem from escaping.

The next second, the shadow circled around Lindsay, and several tendrils surfaced on it, wrapping and squeezing the barrier.

With a large swing, Efraim cut the tendrils as he appeared next to Lindsay. The severed parts fell on the ground, but another one resurfaced afterward.

"Damn it!" Efraim couldn't help but curse due to the current situation.

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Without him noticing due to his mind being clouded, a concentrated black energy was fired from the shadow underneath him. He received the attack at point-blank range, leaving a hole in his chest.

His movements came to a halt as he coughed up a mouthful of blood before falling on his knees. His sight started to blur, and he felt his head spinning. Lindsay, who saw the scene in her peripheral vision, stopped decoding the magic circle.

"Efraim!" She yelled, and a flash of bright light erupted around her, causing the shadow to fade.

Then, she crouched down and looked at the blood gushing out from the gap on the appraiser's body.

Henceforth, she covered it with her palm, and a small magic circle appeared in between. It had a blue outline inlaid with water droplets and ocean currents.

Several seconds after, the wound on Efraim's chest began to mend; even the scratches and cuts on the other parts of his body were healed. Then, a melodious voice was heard in the area.

"I'm quite envious; how many attributes do you have?" it asked, and a woman emerged from a shadow several distances away from them.

Her hair had a snow-like color, in contrast with her black-collared dress that hugged her waist tightly, showcasing her curves.

"Are you perhaps a Nightfall?" she asked, her crimson eyes staring at Lindsay with curiosity.

. . . . .

In the Oriental Plain, there were eight factions fighting for absolute power and dominion. Each faction was being led by a preeminent family, like the nation near the borders of the Sunless Cradle, the Celestia.

A piece of land where a magic tower stood high and majestic, its slender steeple piercing the sky like a shard of splintered moonlight. Being controlled and governed by a family of mages, and they were not just your ordinary mages; they had access to different attributes and could command several spells in a mere second due to their inherited Flair, though this was not what made them one of the Oriental Plain's supreme rulers.

Known for their jet-black hair that was darker than the darkness itself and a pair of golden-colored eyes shining like a midnight sun, the versatile mages of Celestia, the Nightfall.

. . . . .

Lindsay laid down Efraim and put a defensive barrier on him before standing up. She looked at the woman in front of her and threw away the staff in her hand.

"And if I am, what would you do?" she asked, her eyes cold and burning with rage at the same time.

"Well, it doesn't really matter," the woman replied.

Then she snapped her hand, and hundreds of shadow orbs appeared next to Lindsay. Without any warning, they exploded, causing a massive outburst in the area.

The shockwave annihilated even the fiends present, and an enormous crater appeared as soon as the smoke dissipated. Afterward, the woman's eyes lit up in astonishment, and a wide, menacing grin appeared on her lips.

"Indeed! You truly are a Nightfall!" she exclaimed, excitement present in her eyes.

Unscathed from the explosion, Lindsay stood still in the air, in the middle of the crater. Behind her was the unconscious appraiser.

With a calm whisper, she uttered. "Come, Nyx Compendium."

Dark clouds began to gather, followed by a series of rumbling thunders. Pebbles and dust trembled on the open ground, and then, a flash of black lightning descended as a black, worn-out grimoire appeared next to Lindsay.

It had a black leather cover with a sun-moon symbol on its front.

With a slight movement of Lindsay's hand, the book flipped open, and its pages filled with intricate writings and symbols came into view.

Then, it stopped in a panel with unrecognizable text and scriptures. Afterward, two black dots drew a magic circle in front of her, forming a triangular outline with a half-moon pattern located inside.

Upon seeing this scene, the white-haired woman didn't stand still; she turned into a shadow and moved towards Lindsay.

However, the grimoire's pages flipped once more, and several swords of light fell, striking the ground and forming a cage glowing in a white radiance, entrapping the shadow inside and making escape impossible.

As a response, the shadow expanded, trying to devour the cage of light, but the grimoire flipped its pages once again, and a magic circle materialized underneath the shadow.

"Primordial Art—Cancellation," Lindsay uttered.

The shadow disintegrated into fragments before forming the woman's body.

The white-haired woman felt confused while trying to dive back into the realm of darkness.

'My abilities are sealed,' she thought.

Then she looked above and saw the black-haired woman pointing at her; a concentrated orb of energy was on the tip of her finger.

"Farewell," Lindsay stated.

Then she pushed the orb into the magic circle with the triangular pattern.

"Primordial Art—Annihilation," she uttered, and the magic circle lit up, glowing in a dark white hue before launching a black ray towards her enemy's direction.

In a split second, the cage of light was pulverized, leaving a giant fissure on the ground. The white-haired woman was nowhere to be seen; even her presence disappeared.

Afterward, Lindsay diverted her gaze to the large summoning circle above, and the grimoire started to flip its pages once again.

The next second, five white dots formed a magic circle on top of the summoning circle. It had a black hexagram outline with a sun located on its middle while stars could be seen inlaid on its sectors.

"Primordial Art—Obliteration," Lindsay uttered, beads of sweat present on her forehead.

Thereafter, a black sun emerged in the middle of the battlefield, sucking everything around it; the fiends, the ruined buildings, and even the ground were pulled apart. Then the summoning circle began to tremble, its symbols flickering before it shattered and sunk into nothingness.

The spell lasted for almost a minute, leaving the already ruined city even more devastated. Though the traces of battle disappeared, the giant pit still remained underneath.

Lindsay closed her eyes, and the grimoire vanished in front of her. She held her forehead's temple, her complexion paler than before, and then, as if she lost her balance, the platform of energy where she was standing collapsed, and hers and Efraim's bodies began to plummet inside the crater.

However, before their heads touched the cold, dusted ground, an old man flew under and rescued them from the sudden fall.

"Captain... Thank you," Lindsay whispered before succumbing to unconsciousness.

. . . . .

At the same time, a man sitting in a destroyed throne clenched his fist and shook his head in disappointment.

"The Nighfall and their lost magic, well, that was unexpected," he stated, smirking.

Then, the beast lying in front of him stood up as it released a short growl. Its sharp, elongated fangs were revealed, and a few drops of saliva dripped onto the cement ground, causing it to decompose and turn into a vapor.

Then the man waved his hand while the other one caressed the beast's neck. Afterward, a white magic circle materialized beneath them, and they vanished along with the traces of their energy, only leaving a disfigured, melted floor.

. . . . .