Little by little, he was falling deeper into the abyss.


    Somehow, he could feel that the depth of this body''s origin was something beyond his own imagination.


    And somehow, he was being dragged into it, slowly but surely.


    He had no choice but to open his eyes and watch as he was pulled down further and further into it.


    His choice in the matter was beginning to wane, bringing forth a sense of helplessness.


    So much helplessness that instead of resting, Nn rose from his bed, grabbed his hoodie, and put it on before exiting his room.


    He just needed a walk to clear things off.


    As he stepped out, his eyes shed as he saw a hooded figure appear around the corner.


    It was cruelly midnight now, and with the test that just took ce, most of the students would be in their dorm rooms, resting their exhausted heads.


    Yet, what was this person doing, and to Nn his movements seemed rush.


    Without wasting another second, Nn sprinted after him.


    As he reached the edge of the hallway, he could see the hooded figure climb the steps to the second hallway below


    He was quick to realiz that unless someone was sprinting for a short while, they wouldn''t reach that ce so fast.


    Quickly, he guessed who the person was and pushed himself to catch up.


    Just as he had guessed, the figure immediately began running, and Nn felt reinforced to chase after him.


    The figure was incredibly fast, weaving through hallways with such speed that his footsteps made no sound at all.


    Nn didn''t know how he was able to do that, but it was safe to say the figure was skilled in the art of spying.


    Determined, he pushed his own speed, matching and then doubling the pace of the figure he was chasing.


    Under the curved moonlight of the sky, two figures could be seen jumping through the high ceilings of the academy structures, cearly in a hot chase.


    One was like a ghost in the stillness of the night, fading away with such speed and silence that it seemed he had be one with the wind.


    The other, the white-haired figure before him, moved like a rocket, each step propelling him high into the air as he quickly closed the distance.


    Suddenly, the shadowed figure jumped down from the rooftop, disappearing into the dark alleyway below, and immediately, Nn leaped after him.


    The darkness eroded his senses, but instantly, his eyes shed as he automatically shifted his neck behind him.


    SHRRRIIIIIING


    The sound of a de ripping through the air rang out as a dark, shadowy edge of a katana shed by the tip of Nn''s jaw, drawing a small line underneath.


    Nn''s two legs mmed into the ground immediately, and he backflipped twice in the air, his legs sliding backward beforeing to a stop.


    Slowly, Nn rose up, his right hand moving under his jaw as he wiped away the blood.


    A thin red line of blood marred his palm, but instantly the small de wound closed up.


    "Your sword is sharp," Nnmented as he finally turned to the figure.


    The figure waspletely dressed in a long, dark robe that covered the entirety of his body, and even his hands were cloaked in dark gloves.


    Where his face should have been was a mask in the shape of a demon, designed with red horns at the sides.


    But looking closely at the side of the mask, Nn noticed two stered runic carvings.


    They looked almost identical to the ones that had been in his house, the same ones that had exploded within just a few days.


    The person before him was most definitely the one who had been trying to get rid of him silently with those exploding cards.


    Even if he wasn''t the mastermind, Nn could guess this person might have information about those chasing after his life.


    "I have no words to discuss with you," Nn began as he shifted his hands to the side.


    Instantly, his dagger appeared within his palm, revolving in a circr motion beforeing to a stop.


    Nn lowered his body to the ground, veins appearing all over his legs, pumping up to twice their previous size.


    "And I swear by what I care most about in this ursed world. You''ll die here today if you refuse to give me a good reason..."


    ''A good reason for wanting to snatch off my life''


    He called out, and in the next instant, he shot forward with speed, covering the entire 10-meter distance in a single leap.


    Immediately, a powerful storm of air mmed onto the face of the shadowed figure.


    The katana was immediately grabbed and shed forth towards Nn, whose dagger inched toward the figure''s neck.


    BAAAAANG


    A loud explosion reverberated as mes and shadows shed, sending both figures backward.


    Yet, a figure soon tore through the smoke of mes and shadow, dagger tearing through the air like a knife through butter, shing heavily towards the figure''s head.


    The figure immediately shed down with his katana, managing to block the attack.


    Immediately, Nn''s hand became a blur, shing forth from every single angle.


    The dagger and katana crisscrossed, each reverberation sending sparks flying around the narrow alleyway and de lines staining the walls.


    Yet, Nn''s eyes shed as the battle continued.


    The figure before him had been able to urately block every strike, catching up easily to every single one of his attacks.


    His moves were fluid and gentle, weaving here and there, as effortless as a swan floating on a river, and not once did it fail.


    Every opening that Nn had attacked was expertly blocked, and his face quickly retained a serious expression as his shing speed increased.


    Soon, powerful kicks were reverberating through the entire hallway.


    BOOOOOOOM


    An especially loud sound was made, followed by a circr shockwave as Nn rolled in the air, mming down his leg heavily onto the figure''s head.


    Yhe figure sent out his katana, shing forth towards Nn''s leg.


    RIIIIIPPPP


    The sound of skin being sliced open rang out as red blood sttered into the air, the result of the sword digging into Nn''s flesh and almost severing his legs.


    Yet, the shadowed figure was also immediately sent mming on both knees onto the ground, carving a meter-deep crater within the earth.


    Immediately, Nn kicked his second leg toward the figure''s head, but instantly, a red light appeared on the runic carvings that surrounded the figure''s mask, shooting forward towards Nn''s palm.


    The leg and card mmed into each other.


    BOOOOOM


    A heavy explosion reverberated and he felt as if he just rammed his leg into a wall, sending him flying backward.


    Yet, at thest second, his left hand moved to the side, his chain appearing within his grasp.


    He smashed it into the end of his dagger before immediatelyunching the dagger through the cloud of smoke.


    BAAANG


    SHATTTTERRRR


    The sound of something shattering into pieces rang out as Nn roughly crashed into the ground, bouncing a couple of times beforeing to a stop.


    Blood quickly sttered all over the floor, a result of his ripped open skin.


    Yet, Nn paid it no attention as he jerked back his chains.


    Immediately, he grabbed onto the hilt of his dagger, which now had an embedded object at its edge.


    It was none other than a pierced demon mask.


    Immediately, the smoke finally cleared away, and Nn finally sighted the person behind the figure.


    And he was given quite the shock.


    The person before him was a light brown-skinned, big-eyed figure with quite an attractive facial structure.


    But what gave Nn the biggest shock was that the figure before him was a...female!


    Around the age of 19 or 20.


    "You''re no Neer!" Nn called out as his hand began rolling around his chains.


    Slowly, it picked up speed until a fiery circle formed around Nn due to how fast his chain was spinning. Once more, he bent his head to the ground.


    Yet, there was a difference this time.


    His eyes!


    They were cold! Almost lifeless-looking.


    Exactly like the eyes of a dead figure, and his face held absolutely no emotion at all.


    Like a green snake through the grass, veins started sneaking up on Nn''s arms until they covered the entirety of his body, causing his size to bulk up to twice his normal size.


    Even his neck could be seen,pletely covered in these green veins, as blood pumped through his entire body.


    His heart pounded with such loud reverberation that it could be loudly heard through the entire alleyway.


    Right now he seemed no different from a predator ready to hunt down its prey.


    -------


    Immediately, Lillith''s eyes narrowed as he looked dead straight at Nn particrly his eyes.


    From it she could sense a killing intent whose rage would be nothing but world ending if fully revealed, yet it was concealed within a deep veil of calmness and utmost focus.


    The eyes of the person before him was that of the one who had made up his mind about killing her.


    It was the first time through her many years as an assassin that any of her opponent has ever been able to show this to her.


    Most of them have been swiftly executed before they could do anything.


    But this one, somehow he felt he was different.