‎For generations, the assassins and Talented had been at odds with each other.

‎But as fate would have it, the day had come when the two warring factions had to work together, united by a common enemy whose identity they were unsure of.

‎And Conrad did not like it one bit.

‎" Get up, you rotten bastard. I know that hardly hurt you."

‎A moment later, a man-shaped silhouette soon appeared, standing nonchalantly in the carnage.

‎The masked figure strolled through the rubble with almost exaggerated swagger, coming to stop just short of Conrad.

‎Anonymous let out a low chuckle, observing the man before him.

‎" To be honest with you, that last punch hurt quite a bit. So I'm afraid I'll have to return the favour."

‎Conrad shrugged, placing his hands in his pockets.

‎ A confident smirk appeared on his face, his lips curling to form a confident smirk.

‎" Feel free to try. That is, if you can even land a single punch on me."

‎****

‎From the shadows, Drake and Nadia quietly watched the battle unfold.

‎True to his nickname, the Spectre moved around the battlefield like a ghost, stalking the different combatants while waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

‎Using his intricate level of control over umbralis, the Spectre masked his and Nadia's movements, rendering both of them invisible even to the superhuman mystic senses of their adversaries.

‎Most of the Varas had this unique ability, but the Spectre had taken it to a whole other level, so much so that he rivalled the family head in this regard.

‎" Make sure to stay close," he whispered.

‎The two quietly observed the plaza in front of the giant building before them, watching intently for signs of the battle that was unfolding within.

‎As it turned out, they didn't need to wait for long.

‎A short while later, a dark figure flew out through one of the reinforced walls of the Black Ink HQ, hurtling through the air with deadly force.

‎The man flipped, then skidded to a stop, his feet dragging through the cracked asphalt of the street.

‎ Luke unsteadily rose to his feet with a dark grin, his eyes warily observing the damaged building.

‎" Time to take things up a notch," he murmured.

‎In the next instant, he disappeared back inside the ruined building.

‎Drake quietly watched his retreating figure, then let out a quiet sigh.

‎"Sanguine seems to need a bit of help," he muttered under his breath.

‎Drake shot his niece a rare, worried look, then steeled himself.

‎His brown eyes became eerily cold, his face becoming a blank canvas, devoid of emotion.

‎" We're going to split up. I'm going to help out Sanguine. You cover Darklight."

‎Nadia silently nodded, then turned away to move.

‎" Nadia," he quietly whispered, his tone carrying a hint of urgency.

‎" Be careful, for both of our sakes. Don't do anything reckless."

‎Vincent had approved Nadia for the covert mission mostly because he trusted that with his brother's presence, she would be safe.

‎Nadia smirked slightly, then nodded seriously.

‎" I'm a maestro uncle. There's little that can pause the threat to me."

‎Drake shook his head.

‎" You may be a maestro, but even we aren't immortal. We can still die. So watch your back out there. I don't know how I'd face your father if anything happened to you."

‎The Varas family was renowned for its medical techniques, which were among the most advanced even in the era of new technologies.

‎From days past, the Varas assassins wielded their intricate knowledge of medicine to set themselves apart from the other great Houses in that regard.

‎But the Varas family was also known for another obscure family technique, which had been aptly named the Ghost technique.

‎The mysterious technique was only passed down to members of the main family and a select few members of the branch families.

‎The Varas could completely erase their presence even without the use of umbralis; this was the essence of the Ghost technique.

‎This legendary feat had made their fame grow throughout the ages.

‎Adding umbralis to the mix boosted their abilities further, pushing them to the limit of what normal humans could achieve.

‎The title of Spectre was given to the Varas able to most effectively utilise the legendary technique.

‎Only those who had truly mastered the technique could wield it to shield others, allies, from detection.

‎And in this generation, the only person to truly master the technique and reach the pinnacle of its perfection was Drake Varas

‎Despite not being the family Head, Drake's mastery over the obscure technique was uniquely profound, even in comparison to precious generations of Spectres.

‎It was for this reason Nadia looked up to him and aspired to one day become the next Spectre and Head of the Varas.

‎She quickly headed in the opposite direction from Drake while using her own version of the Ghost technique.

‎On reaching the twin battlefield, what greeted her were loud booms and catastrophic shockwaves rippling through the air.

‎A moment later, two figures burst through an apartment building next to her, locked in mortal combat.

‎The masked figure wielded a dark blade that seemed to absorb the light every time he moved it through the air.

‎In the next moment, Nadia's eyes widened in disbelief.

‎The other man, Darklight, fought with his bare hands, moving with chilling grace.

‎The nonchalant maestro parried the blade with his bare hands.

‎The other queer thing she quickly noted was his dark sunglasses.

‎The man's trade mark sunglasses remained in place even as the two men darted around the ravaged street.

‎" Impressive, " Anonymous said, his blade whistling through the air like a guillotine, with the whispered promise of death.

‎Darting away, Conrad threw a lazy look in her direction, then turned his focus back to the fight.

‎Nadia froze, her eyes widening in surprise.

‎For a brief moment, she almost swore the reckless maestro could see her.

‎" But that's impossible, I executed the technique flawlessly."

‎" Don't get distracted on me!!!"

‎Anonymous roared.

‎In the next moment, he darted forward, lunging with his blades in a series of complex attacks.

‎Conrad parried them with his hands, brushing them aside with ambidextrous ease.

‎Nadia pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing in realisation.

‎" I see," she murmured.

‎" His hands are coated in a layer of umbralis."

‎She slowly checked the battlefield, looking for an opening from which to strike.

‎

‎In the next moment, the masked figure drew an unseen blade, his hand whipping through the air with inhuman speed.

‎The small blade streaked through the air within the space of a blink, appearing in front of Nadia's face.

‎She recoiled, ducking away from the projectile, but in the next moment, the masked figure stood there, towering above her.

‎"Got you."

‎Hs long dark blade blurred through the air, coming down at her neck with alarming finality.

‎Her mouth fell open in surprise.

‎" But he was standing over there a minute ago. How could he be here?"

‎Drake's words echoed through her mind.

‎" Even we aren't immortal. Maestros too can die."

‎ Nadia desperately tried to dodge the blade, but deep within her, she knew it was a futile attempt.

‎A split second later, she heard a low groan and the sound of the blade hitting flesh.

‎A dark silhouette stood in front of her.

‎She almost gasped in surprise, her brows knitting together in disbelief.

‎"Darklight!"

‎Conrad roughly shoved the blade out of his arm, then stumbled back, shielding her.

‎" If you're just going to get in the way, you might as well make yourself useful and leave," he growled.

‎He grabbed her, sweeping her off her feet in one fluid motion, then jumped away.

‎A heartbeat later, Annonymous relentlessly slashed through the air.

‎Conrad barely evaded the cut, losing his sunglasses in the process.

‎The darkblade cleanly sliced the glasses in two before they could land on the ground.

‎" Damn it all. Those were expensive, bastard."

‎Anonymous paused, letting out an amused chuckle.

‎"You almost died, and yet all you're caring about are a pair of glasses. I think I like you."

‎Conrad shivered slightly.

‎"No thanks. I don't swing that way."

‎Nadia threw him an amused look

‎The masked figure froze in disbelief.

‎"What the hell?! I didn't..."

‎Conrad roughly tossed Nadia away, eliciting a yelp.

‎He casually licked the blood off his forearm, examining the wound that was beginning to close.

‎" I don't care what you meant."

‎In the next second, Conrad burst forward, throwing a flurry of punches.

‎"You're going to pay for the glasses and for ruining a perfectly nice shirt."

‎Anonymous let out a low chuckle, parrying the attacks with the flat of his blade.

‎" How sentimental,"

‎The two men jumped back at the same time, squaring off.

‎" I'll give you credit. You're one tough bastard," Conrad bit out.

‎A slow grin spread across his face.

‎" But I doubt you're tough enough."

‎In the next moment, he lunged forward.

‎ A moment later, the ground cracked violently beneath his feet.

‎The force of his attacks sped up drastically.

‎His fists flashed through the air, leaving afterimages and generating shockwaves in their wake.

‎Nadia observed the fight in quiet shock. The ongoing fight was a rude awakening for her.

‎"I'm also a maestro, but how come they're so strong, so overwhelmingly fast..."

‎She tried to follow Conrad's movements with her eyes but failed to keep up.

‎His figure blurred from her sight from time to time.

‎"Is he awakened?"

‎After a while, she was quite sure of her suspicions.

‎"He's definitely awakened; there's no possible explanation for his speed and power."

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