NOVPUBAct 1: When Names Return?
"I'm Nyth Valeshade," her grin widened, "the previous Apostle of Agroth."
"Apostle?" Ruby murmured.
She had heard the same thing from Zane, and now this girl named Nyth was saying it too.
So, does that mean Zane was telling her the truth?
Her disbelief was slowly fading away.
"Oh, you knew about them?" Nyth said, glancing at her broken blade as she raised her hand.
Then, with a casual flick of her wrist, the sword's metal extended along the broken edge, reforming it to its initial state.
"..."
Ruby acted as if nothing happened.
Because right now, her mind was somewhere else.
'That name…'
Ruby was deep in thought, but still cautious of her surroundings.
'Where did I hear it exactly…?'
She was certain she had heard about Nyth Valeshade before.
But where?
She couldn't seem to recall.
Clenching her right shoulder, still bleeding from the wound, she gritted her teeth.
The rain had stopped. And only the muddy scent of wet soil remained.
"Why are you in her body?" Ruby asked in a low voice. "And are you the one who did all this?"
Nyth tilted her head, thinking, then smiled with that same playful grin.
"It's been a long time since I came back to the human domain…"
'Came back to the human domain?' Ruby noted the remark.
"This girl was a nice vessel. Pure body, noble blood… a perfect specimen for me to take, it's as if she were asking for me to take her." 𝘯𝑜𝑣𝑝𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
Her grin widened.
"And yes, I did all of it."
Her hand gestured grandly as she continued, madness flashing in her eyes.
"I killed that girl in the forest. And I'm the one who destroyed this place."
Ruby clenched her teeth as Nyth admitted.
In a hoarse tone she asked.
"Why…?"
"Hm?" Nyth didn't seem to catch it. "What was that again?"
"Why are you doing all this?" Ruby choked on her words, "They—They are just small kids."
Nyth's eyelid twitched.
Her hands trembled in anger as she clutched her blade tightly.
"Kids?" Nyth let out a sigh, though her grin never faded. "I was once too, you know? Headmistress. But… they didn't spare me."
Her tone sharpened with every word.
'Spare her?'
Ruby's brows furrowed as those words sank into her mind.
That name—Nyth Valeshade kepts ringing in her head.
She's seen it before, but where?
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around her blade.
But before she could think anything further, Nyth pointed her blade at her.
"You know, I can't spare you?" Her gaze drifted towards Zane's body. "If you wish for my little mercy and not to make your death painful, then hand over his body to me."
What's she going to do with his body?
"As if," Ruby positioned her katana and said in a mocking tone, "you first have to go through me."
"Very well, then." Nyth grinned. "I'll let you make the first move."
In the end, no matter how confident Ruby seemed, deep down she knew that it was impossible to beat her.
"As you wish," Ruby said aloud.
Channelling her Essence, she swung her blade in a diagonal pattern towards Nyth.
"Crimson Rift."
A highly dense, concentrated fire ripple spread across the ground.
Ruby's figure vanished from the spot, and in the next second, she was behind Nyth.
But Nyth didn't flinch, nor did she try to block it.
Her gaze was constantly following Ruby's blade, which was about to slice her neck.
"It's futile," Nyth whispered, her gaze locked on Ruby's.
Before the blade even touched her skin, Ruby's blade decayed.
Ruby stumbled back a step, staring at her hand where the blade used to be.
It didn't make sense. One moment, she was sure she had her opening, and the next, her katana crumbled like dust.
"What did you do?"
She couldn't even feel the energy anymore—like her Essence was drained the moment it got close.
Nyth didn't even move, and yet this was the effect.
'What should I do now?'
This was the first time she was facing someone like her, and by this one strike alone, she was certain that this Nyth was dominating her.
"Haaahahahaa," Nyth broke into laughter, seeing Ruby's pathetic sight.
"Oh god, aren't you supposed to be powerful? What happened? Where did all the fire go?"
She was mocking her, but Ruby was already planning her next strike.
With blades being useless against her, there's no point in using them. She had to do something else.
"Hmm… no matter what you use, you can't defy death—you can't defy me."
Her powers were strange, nothing Ruby had fought before.
But either way, Ruby deduced one thing.
"How are you using his ability?" she asked, directly staring at Nyth.
"Oh," this surprised Nyth, "you know about this too? Seriously, who told you?"
What Ruby was referring to was her skills, just like the Death Symbol on the floor, and just like Zane… They all reeked of death.
Thinking for a few seconds, Nyth answered her.
"It's because I was his Apostle."
Even so, how could she still have skills related to Death Authority?
Was this all an illusion?
"Tsk," clicking her tongue, Ruby felt defeated. But even so, she asked Nyth,
"You asked for me to hand over Zane's body, right?"
"Oh my, you're finally understanding me," Nyth nodded her head. "Yes, I want him."
Ruby straightened her posture and asked seriously, "Why do you need him? Isn't he dead?"
"Heehee," Nyth giggled, "you're naive."
Ruby narrowed her eyes.
Nyth explained,
"He was an Apostle of his, and as an Apostle, his soul would serve me, even though his physical body isn't present."
"So, you want his powers?"
Nyth winked, "Precisely. What I want is his actual soul, because if his soul dies, then a new Apostle will be chosen."
Ruby recalled Zane telling her the same thing.
Nyth continued, looking at Ruby.
"It's a good opportunity for you, I can revive him."
For a moment, Ruby's mind was pleased after hearing this, but almost immediately, she rejected the idea.
Reviving the dead?
What a joke.
But before Ruby spoke up, Nyth reminded her.
"Don't you dare think that I need your permission to take his body."
"...?!"
"If I wish, I'll kill you this instant, but… I'm stopping myself."
Ruby was taken aback by it. She was onto something.
Why would she stop herself from killing her?
It's clear that Nyth's on a whole other level, so why?
"Why…?" Ruby voiced it out.
Nyth's answer came immediately.
"Because you seem to recall something about me." She reminded her, "You heard about my name, right?"
Indeed, she did, and it's constantly bugging her.
"Remember," Nyth forced.
Ruby, on the other hand, tried her best, but she couldn't seem to recall.
Gulping a lump of saliva, Ruby asked her directly.
"How do I know you?"
Nyth took a step closer to her, and with a soft tone, she spoke.
"Don't think so hard, you weren't even born at that time. So, remember. Where could you have heard about me?"
That's for sure. Nyth told her before that she was more than 50 years old.
So it must be via word of mouth or through a report that she had known her.
Ruby searched her memory, stressing her mind out, she focused.
Nyth… Nyth… 50 years? Report…
"Ah!" Ruby's eyes widened as she recalled.
"No—No way…"
Her hands covered her gasp as she took several steps back.
"You—But how?!" Ruby was stunned. "How are you still alive?! You were… you were sentenced to death!"
A grin spread on Nyth's face.
"I'm pleased you recalled me, 4th Headmistress of Nova."
Nyth Valeshade.
50 years ago, she was an ordinary student at Nova. Decent skills, average Elemental capacity, she was your regular student.
Every professor at Nova at that time thought of her as a decent student, whose dream was to achieve something remarkable in her life.
Until one day… everything changed.
50 years ago, in mid-December winter.
Nova's classes were ongoing as usual, until a catastrophe struck. It was a mess, a complete, gruesome, bloody mess.
For the first and last time in history, Nova experienced a terrorist attack. More than 500 died.
At that time, only nobles were allowed to attend Nova, and due to that, nearly 13 big noble houses fell.
Their future heirs, dead. It was a bloody scene. After everything died down, an investigation report came forward, capturing evidence of a certain student's involvement in the mass massacre.
Nyth Valeshade.
She was labelled as the traitor and found guilty of terrorism.
Later, she was sentenced to death by the government.
The whole incident was covered as a "top secret" report, as several high-status names were attached to it.
It wasn't made public, and soon this massacre was buried with other reports.
"Mhm," Nyth pointed her finger at Ruby, "Now that you recalled, why can't you say, exactly what did I do wrong?"
Ruby's mind was fuzzy with all the information.
She had read her report in her cabin and had seen her name there. That incident was labelled as "The Great Nova Massacre."
"What did you do wrong?" Ruby murmured. "You deserved death after what you did."
"Killing innocents—"
"THEY ARE NOT INNOCENT!!"
"Haaah… haaahh…" Nyth huffed.
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY DID TO ME?!"
Ruby didn't speak.
Nyth's voice dulled to a mere whisper.
"I was the innocent one… was it my fault to be born as some mistress's daughter?"
"I never asked to be born… I never asked to be treated like this…"
"I was a human too…"
The death aura surrounding her intensified, her eyes glowing red as her nerves turned grey.
"They deserved to die, those people deserved to die, and… and you deserve to die."
Nyth's malice turned to Ruby, but before Ruby could do anything, Nyth activated her skill.
"Mist of Death."
In a mere instant, the entire region was covered in black mist, where haunting voices echoed.
Ruby was about to be engulfed in it too, before a familiar voice resonated.
"Death Domain."
