Carter stood in the middle of the living room, where every Invokers and guests had gathered. Nina and Quill were also there.
"So… I see a few familiar faces here. And a few that I see for the first time." Carter said.
Piper stood up, "They're my friends. All of them are Invokers."
An Invoker stood up. A man with white hair and a red tattoo on his face. He never said a word since he was here. He was one of the quiet ones.
"I am Neros. Piper told me about you. At first, I didn't believe it. But I know she was telling the truth now." Neros said.
Carter smiled, "You're a sensitive one. I can feel from your Aura too that you're quite strong. Just not the strongest one I see."
Neros frowned, "I might not be the strongest in the entire world. But there are few who are stronger than me.
Are you talking about the Black Invoker or the Invoker of the Woods?"
"Neither."
Carter walked to the middle of the room and placed the Prisoner down. The sword stood on itself without any support.
"But that isn't why you're here, right? The reason why you are all here is because you want to join me." Carter said.
"That's right. But before that. A few here still doubt your strength. Would it be possible…" Piper said.
"Of course." Carter nodded, "A simple test to confirm my power is reasonable. If not, I can just be a liar."
"How do you want to prove your strength then?" Neros said.
"Rather than proving it. I'm thinking of something more of a reminder. I am here to remind you what an Eldritch Knight is."
Carter walked away from the Prisoner. "Come. Throw at me everything you have."
Piper frowned, "Aren't you going to use your sword?"
"My blade is only drawn to strike down evil. Not heroes.
Don't worry. Come. If I can't even take you on, what kind of an Eldritch Knight am I?"
Neros laughed out loud. "Good point! I like you, Zeneros. Even if you can't defeat me, you are already more honorable than those fools out there."
Neros grabbed his brush. His brush was as white as snow with a red line running on the handle.
"I am Neros Nefarius. People called me the White Angle."
Carter nodded, "The name is Zeneros Blackburn. I am the Raven Knight."
"Very well, Raven Knight. Observe."
Neros wrote a letter in the air. But before he could finish, Carter turned into a blur and appeared right in front of him.
The white swordsman caught his wrist, interrupting his casting, and kicked him in the abdomen. He didn't kick him too hard. Only enough to make him stumble a few steps backwards.
"That's cheating!" An Invoker said.
"You can't do that! You must let him finish!" Another said.
Piper stayed silent.
Carter straightened himself, "In a real fight, Terror would not wait for you to finish. Speed decides the outcome. You're too slow.
But they have a point. Come. Cast again. I will let you finish."
Neros held his stomach. He smiled. "No. You aren't wrong, Zeneros. I was distracted. Besides, you did go easy on me. I can see from the way you move that you didn't put any strength in your kick."
Carter smiled back, "Correct. If I was serious, that kick alone would've ended you."
Neros straightened himself up, "Let's do it again. I won't be distracted this time. Don't hold back."
Carter nodded. He lowered his body center and went into a fighting stance.
Neros quickly drew a short stroke, creating a barrier around him.
Carter rushed at Neros and punched at the barrier. His fist pierced through the barrier.
Neros's defense wasn't enough to stop the punch but it gave him enough time to finish a more complicated letter.
A faint white aura wrapped around Neros and quickened his reflexes. He moved back to avoid Carter's punch and wrote another letter.
Carter's attack was simple. Straight punches af Neros. He stopped midway when the letter glowed red and transformed into a bird.
The bird rushed at Carter.
The white swordsman already changed his position. He went behind Neros and kicked at his side.
Neros summoned three barriers instead of one. It successfully stopped Carter. But Neros's body was flung onto the wall and slammed heavily on it.
"What a scary speed!" Neros wrote again.
This time the floor turned to ice. The Invoker wanted to make it slippery to negate Carter's speed.
Carter slammed into the floor, breaking all the ice. Some of the floorboards were broken.
Kaito grabbed his face in shock, "No! Not the floor!"
Carter was about to slam the floor again but stopped when he heard that.
"Please give my apology to Caine." Carter said.
A fiery wolf rushed at him. This time he didn't dodge. He front kicked the dog, disintegrating it. Then Carter jumped up.
He executed a spinning back kick in the air and landed it on Neros's three folded barriers.
The barriers broke like crystals.
Carter caught Neros's wrist again. His other hand formed a fist and stopped just centimeters before Neros's face.
Neros breathed out. Both in relief and in shock.
"Are you even a human anymore, Zeneros?" Neros dropped the brush. He surrendered.
Neros caught a glimpse of sadness in Zeneros's eyes. An emotion that Carter showed deliberately to add on another layer to the character.
"No. Actually. I wouldn't consider myself human." There was loneliness burdened in those words.
He let go of Neros. The Invoker's wide eyes showed that he didn't expect such answers from the Eldritch Knight.
Carter turned to the rest of the Invokers, "Anyone else?"
They all shook their heads.
Neros picked up his brush. His hand trembled slightly. He had never felt this helpless since he was a child.
Carter returned to the center of the room. He placed his hands on the Prisoner.
"This is the Prisoner. Within it is a power that you won't be able to imagine. But it is also the most evil weapon you can ever see.
You've tested me. And now I am testing you. Come and pick up the Prisoner. If you can withstand its temptation, you can stand with me."
Everyone looked at the Prisoner. That plain looking blade with a black scabbard didn't look that ordinary anymore.