Nightblade (Darkest night)-Chapter 209: Reassessment [2]

A ripple of murmurs spread among the Talented gathered echoing throughout the large hall.

The arrival of the newcomers had heightened the excitement and anticipation of the Talented gathered.

While the newcomers were relatively unknown, the youths gathered could tell they weren't ordinary individuals just by looking at them and the palpable hum of power in the air.

Emily silently stared at the newcomers with curiosity.

The mysterious woman silently walked past her moving with an ethereal grace.

Her head turned ever so slightly, her eyes seemingly shifting to Emily despite the dark glasses she was wearing.

Her lips curled into a soft smile for a brief moment, the smile disappearing almost immediately after.

Emily blinked, her gaze trailing after the woman.

" Did I imagine that..."

A few moments later a new voice spoke from her side.

" That's Aisha Lorke..."

Emily turned in surprise.

" Edmund?"

Amidst the waves of excitement, the youth had materialized at her side.

Next to him, Warren stood, his dark piercing eyes drifting to her for a brief moment before wandering off into space.

Edmund was now a few centimeters taller than her but still shorter than Warren.

He nodded slightly pursing his lips.

" She's the leader of the Praesagius branch in Zolaris."

Emily's eyes narrowed.

Edmund grinned, clapping his arms behind his back and leaning in.

" After you guys disappeared, we tagged along to a special mission in Zolaris.

Because of the Dark Maestro incident and a second attack that occurred at the Preasgius HQ, our forces were spread thin.

The organization used almost every available personnel and we graciously volunteered.

That's how we met her."

Victoria rose from her seat, greeting Aisha warmly.

If the woman's identity had been in doubt before, being personally received by one of the revered Videbtis cemented it in stone.

" Apologies for the intrusion," Aisha spoke, grasping Victoria's hand in her own.

Victoria's expression became slightly strained, her entire body going rigid.

Pulling her into an embrace, Aisha softly whistled into her ear.

"Come now, there's no reason to be so stiff and formal around your old mentor. "

Sebastian nodded, gesturing towards the seat on his left.

"Lady Aisha, it is an honor."

Though he regarded her warmly, the smile on his face didn't quite reach his eyes.

His gaze turned to the warrior standing behind her.

The tenebrous giant calmly returned his gaze without batting an eye.

Aisha smiled warmly.

"There's no need for such honorifics. Please call me Aisha."

Jeff moved around her silently standing behind the seat where she was.

After a few moments, the reassessment continued on schedule.

Norvax observed the whole thing with quiet amusement.

As Commander of one of Praesagius' revered covert squads, most intel passed through him and yet, even he hadn't been aware of Aisha's arrival.

No doubt it'd been a well-kept secret.

A faint smile played softly on his lips.

" This may be well worth my while. "

The agent at the centre of the hall calmly tapped his comlink.

A vivid holographic screen appeared in the air in front of him, with several names displayed on its interface.

"First up....Cassius Wulfric..."

Emily glanced around, he eyes scanning the crowd freezing the familiar Talented.

A few moments later Cassius emerged from the crowd with an unreadable expression on his face. He silently made his way to the Chronobox, nonchalantly stepping inside the sophisticated device.

" You may proceed at your leisure."

The long dark dishevelled locks that Emily had grown used to had long since disappeared replaced by a stylish military crew cut.

The two of them hadn't spoken since their last meeting at Cromwell Hall but then again, the Talented were glaringly rare these days.

Cassius nodded, quietly activating his ability.

His russet eyes glowed with ethereal orange light that brilliantly suffused his face.

Within moments, the transformation swept across his entire body.

His limbs lengthened drastically, muscles rippling and tensing wildly beneath his skin.

Cassius let out a low roar, his form growing even larger.

His brown fur turned darker, slowly transforming into a darker shade until it turned black at the tips.

Long obsidian claws sprouted from his fingers lengthening and sharpening into gleaming tenebrous knives meant for tearing and rending flesh apart.

His golden eyes sparkled with uncanny intelligence, the form growing for a few more moments.

Cassius now stood eight feet at the withers and ten feet at his full height.

" What a beast..." a youth whispered in awe at the front.

The Chronobox hummed with power, growing and increasing in size to accommodate his new form.

Norvax grinned stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Interesting..."

Next to the Chronobox, the Arc scale reading as displayed is a brilliant neon red light.

[Biological Type Talented detected]

[Name: Cassius Wulfric]

[Rank: CLASS A-4]

A ripple of murmurs echoed through the hall.

Norvax suppressed the urge to let out a low whistle. Next to him, Darius stared at the reading with a strange intensity.

Previously Cassius had been a Class A-2, but now, in the span of two years, the youth had dramatically jumped two levels.

Darius was focused on the small details beneath the rank.

[Primary ability: Alpha Beast Transformation]

Description: Talented possessed the power to shapeshift at will depending on the state of their body.

[Secondary abilities: Magnetic Howl(??), Regeneration, ???]

[Secondary ability description.]

[Magnetic Howl: Allows for mass hypnotist abd commanding of susceptible beasts and other biological types at the same level.]

[Regeneration: Healing from minor and near-life-threatening injuries over a period of time. ]

[???: Unknown]

With the improvement of the Praesagius Chronotech, the Chronobox was now able to vaguely measure and determine how the abilities of the Talented it scanned worked.

But perhaps what was truly fascinating was the description of the last ability.

[???: unknown]

Norvax stared at it with interest.

This was a first.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

The Chronobox had access to a database of millions of abilities from Talented across the world that it used to cross-match new data with the old.

The vast network of information allowed it to accurately classify and even predict what sort of ability a Talented would wield through several comparisons of data accumulated over several years and countless energy signatures that were recorded and archived within the Praesagius.

Moments later, Cassius slowly shrank down in size, letting out a small huff. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Surprisingly, his clothes weren't torn courtesy of the academy's efforts to cater to all of its students.

He let out a relieved sigh, calmly taking in the information displayed.

"ClassA-4, huh" He muttered under his breath.

He nonchalantly shrugged,

shoving his hand into his pockets and stepped out of the now shining,

whirring Chronobox.

Contrary to expectations, he calmly walked back to where the rest of the Talented were standing.

Norvax observed him curiously, a small smile forming on his lips.

"The boy has changed. I daresay, he has matured. "

The Cassius from before would have jumped up and down in excitement. But now, despite having achieved an almost impossible feat in the span of two years, Casdus wasn't moved.

In fact, he even looked a bit...disappointed?

"Just what the hell happened to those kids out there?"