Chapter 949: Just the Jacket

Vivian blew out a slow breath.

She forced her finger to stop tapping against her thigh.

The damage wasn’t too bad. All things considered, it was actually quite acceptable. A single table and some lights were a small price to pay to corral the Apostles and ensure they didn’t try anything during the party. Noah had actually managed to make it look like the whole thing was some sort of performance.

Not exactly the best performance she’d ever seen, but the actual explosion had been off to the side of the massive hall. The vast majority of the partygoers had only seen the lights go out. Some had heard the blast go off, but that was just about the extent of it.

She’d obviously have preferred to have the whole operation be considerably more seamless. No damage would have been much better than some. But she’d take some over a public relations disaster. At least there weren’t too many people that had correctly deduced that this whole thing hadn’t actually been planned.

At least, there aren’t too many people that are outright saying what they think. I can’t read everyone’s minds. I’m certain a lot of them are starting to wonder at this point. But I don’t care if people go around wondering so long as they keep their mouths shut.

Vivian took one last look over the hall. Everything was going roughly as she wanted it to. That would be good enough. She let her attention drift back to Maria.

“This will have to be good enough,” Vivian said. She couldn’t afford to let herself waste more time on this. Just because the Apostles had been taken care of didn’t mean that the Truthseekers were going to sit back and do nothing — and those weren’t the only ones that would be circling in hopes that she slipped up, distracted by her tournament. “Go make sure it stays that way.”

Maria inclined her head.

Then she was gone, and Vivian turned her attention to other matters, relatively comfortable in knowing that everything was going well.

***

Whelp. I’m going to have to kill someone.

Noah’s fingers twitched at his side. He nearly called on Sunder and got things over with before they got started. Kyyle was close enough. He was pretty sure that he had enough time to kill the Apostle before the other man even knew what was happening. Not even a Rank 7 would be able to survive Sunder if they weren’t ready for it.

Probably.

But if he was wrong… Emily was too damn close.

He couldn’t take the risk.

There was also the option of claiming that he didn’t know Emily. But that would have been too obvious of a lie. If Kyyle had been watching for even a few moments from the crowd, then he’d have known that Emily knew him. And if Kyyle caught him in a straight up lie, then the situation would get a thousand times worse.

“She’s an ally,” Noah said in an even tone. “Friends is not exactly the word I would chose. We were just touching bases to ensure everything was aligned. Especially considering the… somewhat abrupt nature of our changed plans.”

“Really, now?” Kyyle asked. He stepped toward Emily, peering down his nose at her. His features were inscrutable. “Well, I’d love to be made more familiar with your team, Spider. Why don’t you introduce us?”

Emily glanced from Kyyle to Noah. She didn’t say a word, but Noah could see in her eyes that she was ready to draw on her magic. Emily was just waiting for the signal. But there wasn’t going to be anything she could do against someone as powerful as Kyyle.

Noah’s fingers twitched again. “That would be a waste of all of our time. We really shouldn’t all be so gathered together. It’ll end up drawing the wrong kind of attention.”

“No more than a quick chat will,” Kyyle said. His eyes narrowed slightly. “I don’t imagine that should cause any problems. And I’m quite interested in learning a bit more about you, Spider. A man is nothing better than the company he keeps. Besides… something about this friend of yours seems a bit familiar to me. I can’t quite place why. Maybe she’s similar to someone else? I don’t quite know. But… is it possible we’ve met before?”

Noah’s hands clenched. He was pretty sure Kyyle had never met Emily. But if he was picking up on the traces of the Arbalest Empire on her…

This book was originally published on NovelPhoenix. Check it out there for the real experience.

Whelp. Sorry, Vivian.

I’m not taking any risks when it comes to my students.

“It must just be that she reminds you of someone. But if you’re that set on an intro, then I’ll oblige you,” Noah said in a flat, casual tone. He raised a hand to clap Kyyle on the shoulder as he drew deeply on Sunder, shaping his soul to conceal the power as much as he possibly could. “This is—”

“Hold on,” Emily said suddenly. She thrust a finger toward the ground. “Not to interrupt, but I’m pretty sure we’ve got an eavesdropper. Watch your words.”

Kyyle glanced down.

Noah was just about to take advantage of the Apostle’s distraction to try and slice him in half when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something. Emily hadn’t been bullshitting. He looked down between Kyyle’s feet. Specifically at, his shadow, cast in the fairly dim lighting of the party hall.

And upon the shadow’s head was a glowing mote of red light. It was dim and exactly upon the position where his right eye would have been — and it definitely wasn’t coming from an external source.

“What?” Kyyle asked. He stepped to the side. The mote moved with him, as if it were pinned straight into his shadow. “What is...”

The mote flickered.

Then it winked.

Kyyle’s eyes widened in recognition. “Oh, fuck. You cannot be—”

Strands of darkness burst up from the ground. The Apostle jerked his head back a moment before they could drive into his chin. Both Noah and Emily took a step back as the darkness wove into itself, the shadows twisting into the form of a man with a crooked grin full of razor-sharp sharklike teeth. He had a black leather patch covering one of his eyes and wore black pants with a gray dress shirt full of wrinkles that seriously undermined any attempt at looking classy.

“I really don’t appreciate my arrival getting spoiled,” the man said, sending a glance back at Emily. “It completely undermines the whole point of setting it up. I was waiting for the right moment. But I’ll give you a pass this time, as it did make sure everyone caught the show. There’s nothing lamer than showing off when nobody’s watching.”

“You,” Kyyle growled, taking a step back. “What are you doing here?”

“I didn’t realize I needed your permission to do as I pleased.” The crooked smile grew even wider. Shadows rose up from the ground around the man, twisting into the form of a pitch-black scythe. The man grabbed the weapon, giving it a spin before driving its base down into the ground. “I am Revin the God Eater, 8^th of the Apostles, and I do whatever the I damn well please.”

Noah stared on in a moment of stunned silence.

There was no doubt about it. That edgy entrance, the circlejerk of a monologue — it was Revin, all right. The only thing he was missing were his edgy clothes. It seemed he’d lost his dress jacket at some point on his way over to the party. The outfit Revin currently had on seemed more like something that a disheveled teen would wear to their first dance.

“Fuck off, Revin,” Kyyle growled. He took a step toward the other man. “You’re not wanted here.”

I can’t even bring myself to disagree with that… but that’s some fucking timing. How long was Revin sitting around in wait for the right moment to show up?

“I don’t remember asking,” Revin said. He let out a snicker. “And you’re the one that brought me here, so I don’t imagine you have any right to complain. I’ve been hitching a ride in your shadow for hours. Seriously, the Apostles have gotten lax. There was a time when we stood for something. When being a member actually meant some degree of skill and awareness. When was that? Oh, yes. It was when there were eight of us, and I did the heavy lifting for the rest of you numb-skulled fools.”

“Leave. Now,” Kyyle said, his words curt and measured. “I will not tolerate your interference today. And I know for a fact that Vivian wouldn’t complain if I rid us all of your infuriating presence. The only thing keeping you alive right now is that I don’t think any of us will benefit from drawing pointless attention. Don’t think that I’ll spare you just because of who you once were.”

“You? Spare me?” Revin asked. He let out a bark of laughter. “I think time has dulled your memory, Kyle. You seem to have forgotten that I am superior to you in every single way. Your threats are as weak as your stance. You carry yourself like a whipped dog.”

Kyyle’s jaw clenched. “Last chance. Leave. My patience is at its limit. I will not give you another opportunity.”

Revin backhanded Kyyle across the face.

There was a loud crack. The Apostle’s head rocked to the side. Every eye in the area immediately turned toward them from the loud noise. Noah’s eyes widened. Emily’s did too.

What followed was a stunned silence.

Kyyle stood there in abject disbelief. Revin looked down at his hand, staring at it as if it had acted entirely of its own will.

“Hm,” Revin said. “You know, I was really expecting that to do a bit more. Knock you over or something. That wasn’t nearly as cool as it should have been.”

“I’m going to kill you, Revin,” Kyyle hissed, his eyes igniting like two smoldering coals. “I’m done tolerating your bullshit.”

“Whelp,” Revin said. “That’s the entertainment for the evening. I’ll just be grabbing my coat. Then I’ll be my way. Good talk.”

Revin extended his hand. Shadows bubbled up before him, twisting into a pillar.

Kyyle let out a snarl, blurring forward and driving his hand for Revin’s throat, aiming to pass right through the shadows that Revin was calling up before himself.

A loud crunch echoed out through the hall.

Kyyle’s hand had ground to a halt against the shadows. For that matter, it looked like several of his fingers had broken from the impact. All the force he’d mustered had completely and utterly shattered against whatever resided within Revin’s shadowy magic.

“Shit!” Kyyle cursed, yanking his hand back as pain flashed across his features.

A ratty black suit jacket — somewhat unsurprisingly complete with a popped collar and a blood red rose — slipped free of the shadows, hanging from the hilt of a massive sword strapped to the back of a dark figure rapidly taking form between them.

“Whoopsie,” Revin said, plucking his jacket free and flicking it around his shoulders in a smooth, clearly practiced motion. “Only meant to grab the jacket. Not the whole coat stand.”