Chapter 55: Regrets
Arthur was still under Aziel who hadn’t yet moved the spear from his face. The deadly point hovered mere inches from his eye, steady and unwavering in Aziel’s grip. A single bead of sweat rolled down Arthur’s temple, catching on a rose petal beneath his head.
"We’re gonna have a lot of work to do if you ever want to get as strong as you say." Aziel’s words held truth, but that didn’t mean Arthur was happy to hear them. The sunlight cast half of Aziel’s face in shadow, making his expression even more imposing.
Arthur was frustrated, just because he went in expecting to lose doesn’t make it any easier. His breath came in ragged gasps, his chest still aching from the blow he’d received. The taste of defeat was bitter in his mouth, far more unpleasant than the charred meat they’d shared earlier.
Aziel pulled the spear back and planted it on the ground, now standing straight over Arthur. His blue hair seemed to glow with the sunlight behind it, creating an almost halo-like effect that contrasted sharply with the predatory gleam still lingering in his eyes.
Aziel’s shadow covered Arthur completely and washed Arthur with a momentary flash of renewed vigor. The familiar sensation of darkness surrounding sent a pulse of energy through his battered body.
’I wonder how much better I would have done at night,’ Arthur thought, his mind already searching for ways he might have performed better. Of course, he still would have lost, but maybe he would have been able to land a hit or two? ’This whole ’my ability only works in dark areas’ thing is rather annoying.’
Just as Arthur thought that, he allowed his body to consume the power given from the darkness around him and fill him with energy, even diminishing his pain.
It was then that Arthur felt it, only for a second before Aziel moved along with his shadow, but he felt it nonetheless. The sensation was unlike anything he’d experienced before—a strange, tangible presence that seemed to respond to his will.
’What the hell? That felt weird... it felt different. I might be mistaken, but it almost felt like for just a second that the shadow became tangible. I felt like it was touching me like a physical thing... like I could touch it, like I could grab it.’