26 Eldritch Cloud

"Lord Larnak!" Daria called as the guards trooped in.

"Stay out of it, Daria. Leave now and do not speak of what you have witnessed to anyone. Ever.

No one must know where this bastard has disappeared to!" Larnak said while grabbing the armrests of his chair.

"Do you really think he wouldn't have informed anyone of his whereabouts?" Daria asked.

Larnak's amber eyes flared.

"I don't care!"

"Actually," Evian voiced and attention returned to him, "I told no one I was coming here,"

Daria groaned and glared at him.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Just being truthful," Evian said with a shrug.

While Daria's glare got increasingly intense, Evian allowed himself to feel the pressure being let out by all the guards that now surrounded him, and of course, the vast majority were at the Second Order with a select few 'Elites' at the Third Order and even then, they were all barely two steps into the Order.

'So, let's recap;

One- I now know for certain that Evian was indeed part of the thieving Crew.

Two- Larnak indeed sent those men as well as Koln after me, which begs the question, why would Evian foolishly reveal his identity in a recording?

With how Larnak is reacting, Evian has to have had a death wish!

Wait, was that it?

Was the pain of his curse too much that Evian wanted to just end it all at the hands of someone else? No, that can't be it, right?

Getting Larnak angry clearly goes beyond a death wish. It's risking a Turf War- Hold on, is that it? Was this all just a ruse to start a Turf war?

Evian must have known he was dying so was it all just to set up a war that he hoped would bring about Larnak's downfall? A final wish to ascertain the Resistance's Success?

Ah, enough thinking. Time to leave!'

Never once had Evian considered clearing his name and trying for a peaceful resolution.

Why would he?

Not only did Larnak not look like the reasonable understanding type, but all around Evian were prime souls just begging to be eaten!

With a flick of his right hand, Evian retrieved his sword.

The Guards closest to him noticed the movement and were ready to strike but a quick Sword-flash later and Evian had cut a long gash along the chest of one and then stabbed into the stomach of another before twisting until the Soul pulled free and he swallowed.

The taste was as good as ever but the 'kick' was minimal.

"The second Order," Evian said with distaste. It was the first time he would taste such and he was surprised at how unsatisfying it felt compared to the much higher-quality souls he had enjoyed recently.

The one whose chest he slashed finally succumbed to his injuries and Evian ate his soul as well only to be met again, with disappointment.

Meanwhile, all eyes in the room- well, all except Daria's- was widened at this show of physicality and especially baffled at how they could not detect any telling Pressure to inform them of just what level of Strenght Evian was at.

*Clang*

Evian parried a sword strike from a Second Order Guard and kicked another so hard it sent him smacking into the wall with a *bang*.

Attacks came at Evian from behind so he cast his Phasing spell on the top half of his body. No one currently attacking him was past the Wraith Level of Decadence i.e. the Third Order so their attacks, by weapon or by fists, simply went through him.

As Evian ran forward and put distance between himself and his attackers, eyes widened simultaneously at his intangibility but those at the Second Order did not get the time to muse about it as Evian's sword came slashing at their necks.

Due to Evian being faster, it was only after Five of their fellows had fallen that the Second Order Guards had the good sense to move back and regroup.

Those at the Third Order were still very much in the mood to prove themselves as 'Elites' so they took over 'en masse'.

Evian could have simply sunk into the ground right that minute but at that moment, Escape was only second priority.

Eating Five Second Order souls, despite their considerably low quality, had Evian's Grey eyes glinting and his body chillingly excited for more.

The Third Order Guards came for him with caution and Evian met them with a wave of Eldritch energy that caused their movements to pause while he darted forward and stabbed his sword through the chest of one of them. The sword went through the guard's beating heart and after two weak beats, it sputtered to a stop.

The element of surprise as well as the utter lack of knowledge anyone in the room had about his abilities, were Evian's biggest cards in the fight.

Blood splattered all over Evian's robes but he paid it no heed when there was a juicy Third Order Soul pulling free of its mortal bounds just ready to be consumed.

*Whum*

Evian opened his mouth to eat the soul but was interrupted when a strong wave of Spiritual Pressure slammed into him and sent him many steps away from his recent victim's soul.

"Ngh" With a groan, Evian brought himself to a stop but the owner of the Pressure was already on him with her sword swinging for his sword-wielding Arm.

Amira's anger was evident but she had the good sense to only aim to incapacitate Evian for the questions her Lord still had. From the pressure that had slammed him away, Evian could tell Amira meant business and he could not compete with her in speed or strength so he was ready to phase right through the ground and out of sight but he paused when a magical wall was erected between him and Amira's sword.

*Bang!*

The force of the contact forced Amira one step back but she tasted a small victory as her strike destroy the magical shield.

Daria skated over with her movement spell and put herself between Evian and Amira the Captain.

Now that Evian had been forced away from them and a Fourth Order spiritual Pressure had forced his Eldritch Energy away from them, the Larnak guards regained their bearings, ignored their dead, and rallied behind their Captain.

"Step aside!" Amira said to Daria through gritted teeth with eyes focused with malice.

"Calm down! Everyone calm down!" Daria said with her arms spread refusing to leave her spot.

She looked from Amira's face to the worried, confused look of the Estate guards who were still trying to comprehend just what Evian had done in their midst, and finally, she looked up at Lord Larnak himself.

The brown-haired Lord was gripping his armrests so tight, they threatened to snap... His body was tense and clearly, the only reason why he did not yet act personally was because he still had confidence in his men. Or more accurately, he had confidence in the only one of his Captains in the room.

"Lord Larnak-" Daria started to say but was immediately interrupted.

"Step aside, Witch, and let my Captain carry out her Orders!" Larnak said.

Daria shook her head.

"No. Things are quickly getting out of hand,"

"Tell that to the men that the bastard just killed!" Captain Amira said.

"You attacked him first!" Daria retorted standing her ground.

While Daria tried to come to some understanding with his attackers, Evian's eyes narrowed at the soul he had liberated from the Third Order Guard earlier. The Soul was now moving upward towards the ceiling of the room to escape to some sort of afterlife.

Evian could not let that happen. Not when there was such value to gain and such taste to savor.

He raised his head towards the ceiling and sucked.

To everyone in the room, he looked dumb- almost crazy but the suction harnessed the bond between Wraith and Prey and pulled the Escaping soul to Evian's open mouth.

Evian closed his eyes at the taste and his body even shook at the satisfactory 'kick' he got while he put his sword back into his storage ring.

When he opened his eyes, he grinned at the room and let out a thick cloud of Eldritch energy. So grey and chilling that it covered him completely. Amid that cover, he used his Phasing spell and sunk into the ground.

"Until we meet again!"

Those were the last words anyone in the room heard from him and by the time the cloud of Eldritch energy cleared up...

*Collective GASP*

... Evian was gone.