The man froze. “What?”

  "The Champion of Night, I’d bet. And you act as if you’re going to prevent the Apocalypse by any means necessary. You’re a harbinger of the Apocalypse, just like the rest of us! And just like the rest of us, you don’t want to die. So you put on this self-righteous act and pretend like you’re trying to save the world, when you’re really just trying to preserve your own life. Don’t want to start the Apocalypse? Bullshit. You just don’t want to fight other Champions at your same strength, and risk death in the battles.”

  “On what grounds do you accuse—”

  Levi put his hands on his hips. “On the grounds of it being really fucking obvious. With spells that strong, you’re at least an otherworlder. When you add in the shadow theme, and the fact that no one knows who the Champion of the Night is, and how stealthy you’re acting, isn’t it obvious? You’re the secret, hidden Champion of the Night. Am I wrong?”

  The man hesitated. At last, he lowered his head. His eyes hardened. “But your knowledge will do you no good. You will die here, all the same.”

  “Oh, good. I was totally bullshitting, I had no proof. Goes to show, kiddos! If you aren’t sure about something, but you’ve got some good vibes, randomly accuse the person giving you vibes, and you’ll find out!” Levi said happily. He gave the man a thumbs up.

  The man stared at him. His face trembled. Disbelief, shock, anger, shame, and annoyance all flitted over his face. At last, they settled into rage. He opened his hand. Shadow darted to his hand and twisted into a dark sword. He closed his hand around the hilt. In his off hand, he drew one of the daggers from his belt.

  Isa sniffed. She fell back. “Beware. His daggers are poisoned silver.”

  “Is silver bad for you?” Levi asked.

  “And most beastfolk. Some undead, as well,” Isa commented.

  “Huh. Not zombies, surely?” He glanced at Colin.

  Colin spread his hands. “I don’t know. When did you or I encounter silver?”

  “Fair point. I suppose we’re about to learn.”

  On the other side of the field, Kai leveled his sword at the man. Levi and Kai’s eyes met. Levi gave him a small nod, and Kai nodded back.

  The pact of the edgelords has been forged. He turned back to the Champion of the Night. “Don’t suppose I could have a name, before I kill you? Not that I care, but you know. It’s nice to know who I’m killing.”

  The man scoffed. He shook his hood off, revealing a sheaf of silky, crow’s-wing-black hair. “You may call me Vox. Vox Centromundi.”

  Levi shook his head. “I’d prefer your real name, but I’ll take your screenname. All right, then, Mr. Center World Voice. Prepare to die.”

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  He charged. Opposite him, Kai charged as well. Isa fell back, keeping a close watch over Colin. The very few cannibals still alive fled, vanishing into the woods.

  Vox snapped his fingers. Shadows burst from his chest and blasted toward Levi and Kai. Sneering, Kai slashed through them. Bright energy burned around his sword, cutting away the dark magic. Levi ducked, smacking the floor with his free hand. The slombie dropped like a puppet with its strings cut, and it hit the floor. Isa grabbed Colin and dropped to a low crouch.

  The black blades struck the houses behind them. A crack cut through the houses’ facades at chest height. About a foot into the houses, it stopped. Yet further out, the dark energy sliced into the forest, felling the first line of trees. They hit the ground with earth-shattering crashes.

  “Hooooly fuck,” Levi murmured, staring at the devastation over his shoulder. He turned back forward and shook his head, then charged at Vox once more.

  Kai got there first. He struck at Vox with his glowing greatsword. Veins stood out on his body, all his muscles bulging, as he swung with his full strength.

  Vox raised one hand and blocked with his black blade. “Your level is too low. Fighting me is only a dream.”

  Kai harrumphed. He drew back his sword and swung again. As he swung, Levi darted in. He stabbed low, aiming his sword under the man’s ribcage.

  Snorting derisively, Vox tossed his knife at Levi.

  “Smart! Best defense is a good offense.” The Armalgam snatched the knife out of the air. Levi didn’t flinch. He drove his sword home.

  The tip of the blade struck Vox’s pitch-black clothes and stopped dead. Ordinary cloth stopped it as surely as steel would have. It bent, but didn’t cut or tear.

  “Did you forget already?” Vox asked, tsking.

  “Nah.” Levi punched him in the face.

  Vox jerked away seconds before the hit. The punch hit him hard. He reeled back, shoving Kai’s sword away as he did. Blood streamed down his face. He touched his cheekbone, startled.

  Levi flashed the knife he’d hidden between his fingers and stuck his tongue out. “Too bad you’re so quick, or I would’ve taken your eye.”

  “You guttersniping piece of shit—”

  “Yeah, yeah, keep it coming. It’s been a while since I’ve heard a new one.” Levi darted back. He kept a grin on his face, but watched the man warily. Vox had clearly been here longer than him or Kai. Maybe even longer than Isa. He had the level and skill advantage. Sure, Levi and Kai were stronger, now, but they weren’t as strong as the long-present Champions. The sword move Blatt had shown off would still take Levi’s head, and that was one skill. So far, Vox had shown off a wide-range binding skill, armor, and his black blade. None of those were on the same scale as Blatt’s invisible long-range ohko, but then, Blatt was the Champion of the Blade and Vox was Champion of Night. It’s like how I can’t ask the System for a fuckoff laser beam and get it, but I can ask it to buff my zombies, and it agrees. If it’s not part of your domain, you aren’t going to be able to get a skill for it. Which meant the real question was, what qualified as Night skills? Shadow magic, clearly. What else? Surely Vox had more than just shadow magic.

  He glanced over his shoulder at Isa and made eye contact. She raised her brows. He shook his head a little, and she nodded back.

  They couldn’t win this fight. He knew it, she knew it. The victory condition here was to escape mostly intact. Not his specialty, but he could kick it every now and again. If Isa and Colin made it out uninjured or at least in fighting shape, that was a bonus. His eyes flicked back to Kai, and he nodded at Kai, tossing him the most confident nod of his life. The key to surviving this was not to let Kai know he’d changed his personal victory conditions. As long as Kai thought he was still in it to win it, Kai would fight alongside him.

  Kai nodded back.

  Okay. Now I just need to nail this dance between not letting either side think I’m deceiving them, while also keeping the boss convinced I’m here to kill until the last possible second. Levi’s grin grew wider and more manic. He giggled to himself.

  How fun.