The atmosphere was unusually heavy and oppressive. No matter how you looked at it, the situation was steeped in danger and killing intent.
The next second, the werewolf, who had been standing perfectly still, finally moved.
His figure flashed, and a cold gleam burst from his hand, slicing through the lamplight at terrifying speed.
The icy flash carved a long, shocking trail of frost sword energy across the ground, and a biting chill rushed straight at them.
Faced with the werewolf's sudden attack, Nolan remained astonishingly calm.
He merely tilted to the side and avoided the fierce blow, a helpless look even appearing on his face.
"Hey, hey, it's been a long time. Why are you going this far the second we meet?"
The werewolf grew even angrier at that. He bared his sharp fangs and snarled viciously,
"You still know it's been a long time... You traitor. I don't need to explain anything to you."
Three years. Did he know how those three years had been spent?
With the Dark Moon Knight gone, Her Highness the Princess obviously wasn't going to sit at home and wait around doing nothing.
Did he know how hard it was to make someone with no sense of direction search the whole world for one person?
Not to mention Ranni nagging in his ear day after day, driving him half mad, to the point his fur felt like it was about to fall out.
He was a dignified Empyrean Shadow, yet he had been run ragged like a dog all over the place because of this bastard. It was outrageous.
And what about the one responsible? He had been off living an easy, carefree life with two lovely young girls.
Her Highness the Princess might be able to endure that, but the werewolf definitely could not.
With an angry roar, he swung his Longsword again, slashing sideways with fierce force.
But someone else was faster.
A petite figure darted in front of Nolan, and a golden-glowing Dagger steadily caught the icy slash.
The sudden turn startled even the werewolf. He froze for a moment and actually forgot to continue the attack.
"Why aren't you fighting back?" Melina asked softly, Dagger in hand as she turned to look at him.
Nolan was delighted to see the girl step in front of him on her own. He rubbed her little head encouragingly and said with a smile,
"Don't worry. This isn't an enemy."
The werewolf's strikes all looked lethal, but anyone with eyes could tell that the speed and force behind them were nowhere near what they should have been.
Clearly, even if Blaidd's mouth was merciless, he had still held back. There really was a reason an Empyrean and a Shadow could stay together.
Melina glanced at the werewolf, frowned, and said nothing. The werewolf instantly grew even angrier.
These two were openly showing affection right in front of him. They clearly had no respect for the Empyrean's Shadow at all. He had to report this to Her Highness Ranni when he got back.
Seeing the look on Blaidd's face, Nolan rolled his eyes so hard they practically turned over.
Something about this felt off.
Even if his relationship with Melina and Alicia was the kind that couldn't be shown in public, what the hell did that have to do with Blaidd?
Nothing had even happened yet between him and Ranni, so why was Blaidd getting this worked up?
Could it be that he had been single for too long, and seeing other people in pairs had made him jealous?
Nolan thought that was very likely, and decided he would introduce him to a little she-wolf someday if he got the chance.
Blaidd had no idea what kind of malice his former colleague was harboring. All he wanted was to beat the brat into submission and drag him back for the princess to deal with.
So the slashes kept coming one after another.
Unhurried, Nolan reached out with one hand, slipped it gently around Melina's slender waist, and pulled her tightly into his arms.
He retreated several steps with the girl, still smiling as he said,
"Every blade of grass and every tree here is worth plenty of runes. If anything gets broken, Vyke will be heartbroken. Let's take this outside."
With that, Nolan let go of Melina and leaped out through the window.
Blaidd said nothing and immediately followed.
Amid the noise of the city, the two began chasing each other over the tightly packed rooftops.
Their Claymores collided again and again, sending dazzling sparks flying as light flashed and crossed in the dark.
Meanwhile, Melina, who had rushed forward a moment ago, now seemed to have turned into a little wooden post, standing there blankly.
Alicia looked at this "Finger Maiden," who was even more outstanding than she was. Noticing the faint flush at the tips of the other girl's ears, she could not help narrowing her eyes.
Then she turned her gaze back to the battlefield as it grew more distant. It had to be said, Blaidd's strength really was not something to underestimate.
His attacks were swift and ferocious, coming like a storm that gave no one time to breathe.
Unfortunately for him, Nolan was no longer the man he used to be. Against the werewolf's fierce assault, he handled everything with ease.
It did not take long before Blaidd was completely suppressed.
Neither of them truly meant to kill the other. After letting the werewolf vent the anger in his chest, they found a relatively secluded place and sat down.
Nolan paid no attention to appearances and dropped straight onto the ground. He lit a Bonfire, turned to the werewolf, and asked,
"So? Calmed down now?"
The werewolf's swollen right eye twitched.
He thought to himself that whether he wanted to calm down or not, he really had no choice.
Still, he put on a completely unconcerned expression, gave a light cough, and replied,
"Not bad. You've definitely improved."
What a stubborn guy.
Nolan was speechless.
Blaidd wasn't a fool, either. He knew Nolan was giving him an out, so he cleared his throat and steered the conversation back to the matter at hand.
"Now that you've killed Godrick and opened the way between Limgrave and Liurnia of the Lakes, what are you planning to do next?"
Nolan did not answer right away. He hesitated for a moment, then asked instead,
"Are Her Highness and the teacher doing well?"
Blaidd fell silent for a moment, thinking that the brat at least still knew to care about Her Highness.
"They're waiting for you at Caria Manor, and Her Highness... she's been having me search for you this whole time."
So the teacher was still at the manor.
Nolan let out a quiet sigh of relief. Remembering what Ranni had once said, he could not help finding it a little funny.
Sure enough, they were all the same, saying one thing and meaning another.
"Then you came at the perfect time. I'm planning to head back to the manor. Stay here for me and keep an eye on them."
Blaidd turned his head aside and answered in a muffled voice, "I'm not your subordinate."
"Didn't Her Highness send you out to find me? Now that you've found me, what else do you have to do?"
Nolan asked the question calmly.
"Nothing," Blaidd replied sullenly.
For the past few years, Ranni had only asked him to focus on finding Nolan. Even the matter of the Fingerslayer Blade had been put aside.
Nolan pressed his lips together and said in an unusually serious tone,
"Then count it as doing me a favor. I'll go see Her Highness and the teacher first."
"Also, my Saintess is in a bad situation right now. I need to go bring her back."
"When all of that is done, we'll go fulfill Ranni's wish together."
Thinking about the opponents he might run into in the Land of Shadow, Nolan felt that once he came back from a trip through that place, he would be frighteningly strong.
The werewolf sat there quietly, staring blankly for quite a while before finally nodding.
...
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