The Sight Beyond The Haze

Chapter 59: Blood of the Deities

"So you know of me then?" they asked me. Their voice was cold, extremely so that even mine would never compare to them. "Well that is quite surprising. Indeed the Sight of the Seer is absolute beyond what anyone could even imagine. Even with caution, she saw through me."

But that was as far as Eris could see.

That there must someone blocking her Sighr or someone has found a way to block her clairvoyance. Someone has actually succeeded on hiding from the Absolute Sight, that in itself was already amazing but tbe person in front of me was quite disappointed that they have been found out.

Eris does not even know how they were able to manage to hide from her Sight. If it the circumstances were different, I doubt Eris could even make it through, she would not be able to see this person snealing right under the nose of the Sight and even the Deity of Immortality. She was only able to guess it right because of certain instances where she could see total darkness like the case of the disappearances of the students.

Does it mean that this person who just attacked was the one who kidn*pped all of those children.

My blood boil, thinking about Bianca and of the other mortal students who only got winded into this mess. Was it because of me that they should suffer? I looked down at the seal and saw the same thing that I did.

The Art of Blood Magic.

It was powerful. In fact, it was so powerful that it could devour a soul and make its user perish. Since using blood magic once, I tried to read some researches and books about blood magic. Those books only repeated the same thing; the death of its wielder and the markings that could or not be erased, permanently or temporarily etched on the Mage's whole body.

With the amount of markings on this person's body, I doubt if they have only used it a couple times.

It makes you crazy, those books said.

So crazily mad that you would like to die. Not every blood magic user has found their happy ending, in fact, almost all of the biographies I have read only contained stained blood all over.

"So how?" I asked them, finally. "How did you manage to hide from the Seer?"

I know that acknowledging the Seer's presence within the Academia Amitiel's halls would also be as good as telling this person that she was indeed here, but Leigh was around. Leigh was with us and I was certain that he would do something. He won't let Eris to be in danger, and he won't let the same danger flutter around me and Cocytus, his own foster son.

I was curious, after all, so I asked what I wanted.

"You know how the Deities have no future for they exist in all eternity? And how the Seer was esentially that way too? The Sight could only detect mortal blood," they explained and I could hear a strictness on their voice, like I was being lectured and given a lesson. "The Sight could never see the Fate of the Deities and while the Sight could not see them, it only means that there must some thing that was preventing the Sight and I found out that it was the blood of the Deities themselves. And so, that was what kind of solution I have gained."

"Blood," I repeated after them unconsciously. "Blood."

I realized how they managed to do it and saw the markings again in a different light now. How bold it was and how brilliant. It could have been a very stupid or a very ingenious idea and they could have failed, but as odd as it was, they did not.

"Do you know who you are up against?" I asked them and I only heard a laugh.

Their laugh was piercing, slicing through the forest of the Middle Ground like a sharp dagger. Enforced with magical energy, it cut through my ears, making them ring. I tightened my grip on the spear that actually came from that person. I would like to throw this spear to them but I know that the seal would only just swallow it up just like it did to that lone butterfly.

"If you think that I do not know of your relationship with the Deity of Light, I do," they said.

I clenched my teeth, my eyes turning colder and colder as seconds passed. Who were they? Why did they came for me? Why just now?

I have so many questions yet again and I felt helpless, just waiting around for someone to help pick me up. I felt that I have stumble on a great hill and I do not know how to move around it.

"I'm not stupid, my lady. I know that with both of the Deities siding with you, I will never have a chance against you, even when the Seer is useless against me. But you, you have always been placed in the pedestal. Not to be touched and stay hidden within the shadows of those who sacrificed their loves for you. Are you ever worth it? How many more lives should you take?"

"I never asked anyone to be sacrificed in my stead," I answered them calmly.

I have come in to the terms with the lives that were lost in those war. I have come in to the terms that I will always be held responsible for the lives of the people that died in honor of my name.

But I also realized that I must be strong lest their sacrifice will never be worth anything.

"I never wanted anyone to die for me," I said, the spear that has cooled down because of the lost of magical energy started to act up with the pouring of a new round of magical energy. "But I have come around with those terms."

I took off running, encircling the line of the seal. I was just outside it, exactly so that if I miss a single step or stumble then I would be swallowed down with the vicious blood magic seal. I rotated the spear on my hand, the weight was pressing me but insead of slowing me down, it only made me faster.

I felt the air stiffened and magical energy shot to me. Without blinking, I used the spear to deflect it to the seal that was still fiery and blazing with the fire. Somehow, the fire refused to get out of the lines of the seal nor does it ever waver with the coldness.

It created the right amount of light for us two.

Finding that the spear was actually made out of a high grade quality material, I used it to strike the defenseless attacker. To think they were defenseless was actually an understatement. They received my blow with their own hands, both hands crossed in front of them. Although I put a lot of force on that strike, they did not seem to have faltered.

Up close, it was terrifying me.

There was this person who actually wanted to kill me. I could feel it in my bones as I flipped the spear on my hand and reached to stab them on their stomach. I could feel that they would overwhelm me sooner or later.

I turned around and thrusted the spear towards them, but they evaded as easily as though they were dancing with the wind. I planted both of my feet on the ground to make a stand, making sure that I would not turn into defense without letting my guard down and extended forward the spear. When they evaded yet again by turning the body and using force to change the direction of the tip of the spear, that was when I jumped onto them.

The spear spun on my hand as though it was as lightweight as a paper while my other hand was holding me upside down, perched on their left shoulder. I could see that their dominant hand was their right, although that does not mean that their left side was any less skilled than the right, I still stayed on their left side. I tried to strike them down while I was in the position, my hand that was holding me up was getting sore and painful, but they used brute force to set me down. My feet went down along with me and I executed a smart kick on the side of their face. The tip of my shoe hit them hard and I heard a faint grunt from them.

Using their left hand, they caught my hand and pressed on it. I knew that it would definitely caused a swelling tomorrow by the pain that it inflicted to me, that was to say if I was still alive by tomorrow. I clamped my teeth on my lips to prevent myself from crying out. I dared not even closed my eyes for a second though they have been dying to so I would not miss a single move from my attacker.

The next moment, I was already on the ground. I landed with a heavy thud sound, the ice beneath me was breaking and crunching. The ice on the ground made my aches numb that instead of being frozen still, it enabled me to move freer. The spear was next to me and I immediately forced myself to regain my senses so I could pick it up. My attacker was faster though, kicking the spear away so that none of the two of us would be able to use it.

I somersaulted away from the attacker, landing just a few distance away from them. I discreetly rotated my wrist that they pressed on earlier, fearing that it had been dislocated. Fortunately, it was not located but I could already feel the swelling coming on.

Even though I was at the disadvantage with my wrist, I know I could still fight. I was too reckless, careless that I let them get hold of me.

The attacker also retreated a few steps back, wiping something on the hooded head. When the hand emerged back from the shadows of the hood if their head, there was a hint of red fluid; blood, I thought. So I had actually hit them. But that does not meant that their moves would be any less aggressive. Even I could fight with a broken nose.

My problem was that they were fast. Even faster than Cocytus. Besides, there was also this air about this person, my attacker, that gave me disorientation. Like I was in a daze or that I had drank too much concentrated wine. It made me muddle headed and made me want to just go to sleep.

"You are nothing!" they roared at me, still using magical energy to reinforce their voice louder drspite our distance being so close now. "Nothing but a titled noble who does not but hide behind the innocents! You are just an titled, an entitled, noble who thought building up meat shield is justifiable so long as your precious life remains! You are nothing!"

They were right.

I was nothing.

What was unfair was that I could not even remember half of the things they said and that I needed constant reminding. I have never done anything noble for anyone who have died for this so-called war, but death was not an option for me.

I will avenge them by living and ending this.

"I am not nothing!" I screamed back at them, deflecting their punches to me and also throwing my fists towards their face to reveal the countenance behind the mask and hood. Behind all the mystery and shadow. "I am the only student of the Deity of Light. I am a Warrior and a Mage. I am myself and even if that isn't enough, then I will make sure that it will be so I demand to know just who in this f*****g world are you?!"

They deflected my kick, though deflected, I was already in my next move. We kept on fighting just like that, but I felt something. This person was not giving their all to me despite me being almost spent up.

"Whose blood run in your veins?" I asked, blasting a fire towards their face though theu managed to cover their head with the little explosion.

I dropped any pretense that I would fight as a Warrior and turned to my magical energy, concentrating it on my hands and even the tips of my feet. I was brimming with magical energy that I thought I would just explode. When they tried to hit me, instead of me getting blown of, that person was thrown away and hit a tree.

Without even taking as much as a pause, they were already on the move towards to me. But they did not attack though and just stood there, in front of me.

"Whose blood run in your veins?" I asked.

"The princess is worrying that her lover and her ally would betray her," they said instead, mocking and extremely alluring. "What if I said yes?"

I pursed my lips and pursued the attacker.

"I'm not worried that they will ever betray me," I stated with confidence, "but whose blood is it on your veins? The Lady of the Death Doors? Or the Spirit of Viridescent."

"And why not both?" they asked yet again.

And I realized that it must be why their plan worked so well and that they might not even be lying to me.