Alpha Instinct-Chapter 99: "Moonless Sky"

Mikaela was putting the finishing touches on Leonard's healing, concentrating the energy of Holy Healing to close the most stubborn internal injuries, when she felt a subtle vibration, a tremor in the surrounding mana. Dark mana. Evelyn. She lifted her head abruptly, a bad feeling tightening her chest. "Evelyn... What's happening?" she whispered.

"Kaleb!" Mikaela shouted, her voice sharp and urgent. "Kaleb, where's Evelyn? Is she with you?"

Kaleb, who was organizing the spoils from the Ursulos Rex alongside Xavier, looked at Mikaela, confused. "No, I'm here with Xavier. Evelyn left with Raviel a few minutes ago," he replied.

Mikaela's tone—the urgency, the veiled fear—made Kaleb frown. Instinctively, he extended his magical perception, an ingrained habit of a mage. The mana around him tingled, responding to his call. A disturbance, a dissonance... "A fight..." he whispered, his eyes widening.

"Mikaela! Evelyn's in trouble!" Kaleb shouted, already moving.

Xavier, not fully understanding the situation, but trusting Kaleb's instincts, followed closely behind.

Mikaela, her heart racing, left Leonard in Silverin's care. "I have to go!" she said, and ran in the direction of the disturbance she'd felt.

"Kaleb, can you sense anything?" Mikaela asked, as they ran side by side.

"Evelyn used Subterfuge," Kaleb replied, his face tense. "I've gotten used to the disturbance in mana that this ability causes."

"I hope it's not a Leirion attacking them," Mikaela said, breathless. "She was badly hurt."

Meanwhile, the scene was unfolding some distance away.

Evelyn, immersed in the darkness of Subterfuge, felt a trickle of blood run from the corner of her nose. "Damn it," she thought.

"Phew, I think you're going to kill yourself just by using your ELEV. Be careful, kid," Raviel said, his voice dripping with mockery.

"It's enough to kill you," Evelyn replied, her voice a dark whisper. Evelyn noticed that her shadow was stretching, extended like a black spear towards Raviel's shadow. She disappeared.

Raviel, anticipating the attack, spun quickly, his shield smashing into the exact spot where Evelyn's face materialized.

The impact was brutal. Evelyn was thrown backward, her body spinning uncontrollably in the air before crashing violently against the ground. The dry, rocky earth scraped her skin, and a groan escaped her lips as she landed awkwardly, on her stomach. Dust and dirt mixed with the blood she coughed up.

"You explained your ability to all of us, little girl," Raviel said, approaching with slow, calculated steps. "I just need to pay attention to where my shadow will connect."

"Bastard... you're worthless... you must be one of the King's dogs," Evelyn hissed, coughing, her voice hoarse and weak. With excruciating effort, she tried to get up, leaning on her trembling arms. The pain in her left flank was excruciating, and she bent over, hugging the injured area.

"With the amount of blood you're spewing, I think you have a lot of internal injuries. You need to rest, little girl," Raviel mocked, stopping a few meters from her.

"I'm going to die if I keep underestimating this rat..." Evelyn thought, her mind struggling to find a way out amidst the pain and exhaustion.

"Damn it, I wanted to show this to Leo first..." Evelyn thought, spitting a mouthful of blood on the ground. "...Feel honored to witness this ability..."

Raviel let out a hoarse chuckle. "Come on, little girl, show me what you're capable of." He steadied himself, positioning the shield in a defensive stance. His other hand, protected by a battle gauntlet, revealed that his punches could be as devastating as his shield blows.

Evelyn slowly straightened, ignoring the throbbing pain that ran through her body. She crossed her two daggers in front of her chest, at heart level. She closed her eyes, concentrating, taking a deep breath. Her ELEV responded to the command, but, instead of the usual glow, a palpable darkness emanated from her, black as the deepest night.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

"Final subterfuge..." she whispered, the voice almost inaudible.

Her hair, previously short, suddenly grew, transforming into a cascade of black silk that flowed down to her calves. A dense, dark smoke, like flames without light, snaked around the strands, bathing them in a sinister aura. The divine Kamui, already imposing, changed: a black scarf covered the lower part of her face, and in place of the mouth, a lunar eclipse glowed faintly. A band of the same black fabric covered her eyes.

Evelyn opened her arms. The daggers in her hands dissolved, transforming into two long, curved swords, forged from pure vital energy. They pulsed with a cold, silver glow, like moonlight.

She whispered again, her voice charged with an ancestral power: "Moonless Sky..."

An immeasurable darkness erupted from her ELEV, engulfing everything around her. A world of shadows and emptiness expanded, covering a vast area. It wasn't just a visual darkness; it was an auditory darkness as well. An absolute and oppressive silence took over the place, muffling all sounds.

"Hey, hey, hey... that's dangerous, little girl. Do you want to commit suicide?" asked Raviel, his voice trembling slightly, despite trying to maintain a mocking tone. Cold sweat dripped from his temple, and his hands, previously firm, now trembled, making it difficult to hold the shield. The fear, previously controlled, now consumed him.

Mikaela, who was running towards them, stopped abruptly, feeling the sudden change in the atmosphere. Her hands and legs trembled uncontrollably. Kaleb, right behind, slid on his knees when stopping, unable to take another step.

"What is this?" Mikaela asked, her eyes scanning the darkness, trying in vain to see anything. "Is it a Legendary Leirion? Or an Alpha?"

Kaleb read her lips and stammered, his voice weak and trembling: "I... I... I... nev... never s-seen any... anything like this in my life..."

"I cant understand him," she thought "Damn it, Kaleb, we need to run..." Mikaela forced herself to advance, despite her wobbly legs and paralyzing fear. "Goddess of Light, give me strength!" she murmured, activating "Immaculatus" and proceeding, determined.

Kaleb, in turn, couldn't move. His steps were weak and hesitant, but he tried, desperately, to accompany Mikaela, even if the distance between them increased with each passing second.

Eyes wide with shock, Xavier groped around blindly, unable to follow them. He stayed put, completely lost.

They tried, but inside Evelyn's dome of darkness, communication was impossible. Any attempt to speak was muffled by an oppressive, unnatural silence.

Mikaela's heart pounded uncontrollably against her ribs, a frantic drum in her chest. A primal fear, a desperate urgency that she had never felt before, not even when her own life was in danger, dominated her. This energy... it's not from this world..., she thought, her voice a silent murmur in her mind.

Finally, Mikaela reached the area where Evelyn and Raviel were. Even without seeing through the supernatural darkness, she felt the distorted energy, the presence of the two figures. Can this energy come from a human?, she thought, looking at Evelyn's silhouette, shrouded in shadows.

Raviel, blind and deaf, lost in the darkness, felt only terror. "What the fuck is this... little girl...?" he managed to say, his voice trembling, devoid of his usual arrogance.

Mikaela, although partially protected by not being the direct target of the ability, still felt the suffocating pressure of the darkness. I need to run..., she thought, and she dashed, guided by intuition and memory of the terrain, towards Evelyn.

Evelyn completed the incantation. "...Blind Justice," she whispered, her voice charged with a dark power. She raised both swords, initiating a downward movement, slow at first, but gradually gaining speed. The energy concentrated in the blades exploded in gusts of cutting wind, far more powerful than those generated by Leonard moments before.

Mikaela arrived at the crucial moment. Activating her ELEV to the maximum, she launched herself, grabbing Evelyn's arms, trying to stop her.

BOOM!

A sonic explosion swept the area, throwing Raviel and Kaleb, who was approaching, away like rag dolls. Mikaela's armor gauntlet, struck squarely by the residual energy of the blow, disintegrated, the metal crumbling like burnt paper.

Mikaela screamed in pain, "Arrrgggh! Evelyn... Stop!" tears streaming down her face. Her bones cracked, shattering under the pressure. A few more seconds and her arms would be pulverized. Her feet sank into the ground as if she were being crushed.

Evelyn, feeling the familiar warmth of Mikaela's blessed aura, even through the darkness, hesitated. The connection, fragile but present, pulled her back. She undid the ability. The dome of darkness dissipated, vanishing like dust carried by the wind.

"Mika...ella...?" Evelyn managed to say, before coughing up blood and collapsing, inert.

Kaleb, who had crawled back, feeling more confident with the return of light and sound, widened his eyes. "What the hell was that? Why were they fighting?" he asked, completely confused.

"I don't know either," said Mikaela, still crying, the pain in her arms worse than if they had been ripped off. "Evelyn, wake up... Please, wake up..." She held her friend's inert body, ignoring her own pain, despair taking over.

Kaleb looked around, searching for Raviel. "Did Raviel die in the explosion? Or did he run away? I don't see him..." he said, scratching his head.

Mikaela, amidst the tears, replied, her voice hoarse: "Something very serious happened here, Kaleb. Evelyn wouldn't sacrifice herself for nothing.