Nox had been given first hand view of what a tier 2 Eclipsed was capable of.. the slums or rather the recent lack of it was proof enough.
So what was the most logical action when faced with not one but three tier 3s?
"..."
"Why are we running?" Ayla asked as Nox continued pulling her by the wrist while they sprinted through the forest.
Behind them, the ground continued rumbling as the three Eclipsed continued chasing them.
"Why?" He repeated, not stopping nor turning back, "can you fight a tier 3 Eclipsed?"
"I should be able to," She answered, seriously thinking about it.
"How about multiple?" He asked again.
"Hmm," she placed her free han on her chin before answering, "we could find out?"
"Not today!" He said before focusing on running again.
'Where the hell are those instructors' he thought to himself.
At this point he had tapped the watch so much that he thought it had malfunctioned, since nothing was happening and no instructor was coming to their rescue.
Was this situation not classified as dangerous enough?
***
Meanwhile back in the sky box, Garron Boar looked at the ongoing test with a frown on his face.
Most of the candidates' safety had been ensured by the Stealth division instructors but those two?
It had been the headmistress's orders not to send help....though that order might not remain followed since Ascended Astra had already successfully created a dent in the door....one which was supposed to withstand an attack from tier 4 Eclipsed.
It just showed how much of a monster she really was.
"Headmistress—" Garron started but was interrupted by a raised hand.
"I understand your worries, Radiant Boar," the headmistress began calmly. "But those two will be fine, besides fate has far more in store for them than to let them fall in a simple entrance test."
She paused for a while before adding, "or maybe I saw wrong and they will die here, though I doubt it."
"Please don't say things like that, headmistress," Garron muttered under his breath as he turned back to the screen.
"I'm kidding," she waved her hand, though it didn't feel like she was, "besides, those Eclipsed should be more afraid of Ayla than she should be of them."
***
Boom!
Nox and Ayla teleported out of the way as a massive tree was hurled at their previous spot.
He landed on one knee, panting lightly. Ayla, meanwhile, simply looked at the fallen tree seemingly only mildly inconvenienced.
"How are they so fast?!" Nox yelled, already grabbing Ayla's wrist again and dragging her forward as the forest floor continued trembling behind them.
"They are slower than the ones in the rift."
"What rift?!"
"..." Well, she just remembered she wasn't supposed to talk about that either, "nevermind."
Not bothering to ask further, he continued running and didn't dare look back.
"Okay, new plan!" he yelled as they ran through a clearing, "let's find somewhere narrow, funnel them and take them one at a time."
"Why not just kill them now?" She asked, still a bit confused about his decision to run.
"Because, unlike you, I don't have whatever… murder-happy shadow solar tech nonsense you use!"
"Oh," she nodded profoundly as if that finally explained something, "you are weak."
Nox nearly tripped.
"Can you stop saying things like that?!" He grumbled.
"Am I wrong?" Ayla questioned.
"Well—" he couldn't say she was wrong either since he wouldn't be running right now if he was strong, "that's besides the point, right now, all we need to do is survive and running is the only way."
"We cannot outrun them," Ayla said and as if to affirm her words, a shadow suddenly passed over them.
Nox grabbed her and dove aside just as one of the Tier 3 Eclipsed landed where they'd stood, the impact sending a shockwave through the clearing.
The creature slowly raised its head, its red orb for eyes locking on them. As with all Eclipsed, this one also seemed to be absorbing every light that tried reaching it.
It was shaped like a gorilla but multiple times bigger.
"Oh fuck," Nox teleported reflexively, dragging Ayla with him, reappearing behind a cluster of trees.
"Feels strange," she suddenly spoke up, successfully giving away their location and forcing him to teleport away again as the second Eclipsed launched its tail at the gathering of trees.
All the trees were quickly turned into splinters of wood as they rained down on them.
He glared at her before saying in a whisper-yell, "do you have to talk every time we hide?!"
"But it feels strange," she repeated.
"What feels strange?!"
"Your energy, it feels warm."
"...."
Maybe he should just leave her behind, after all, he didn't know her, nor was he obligated to keep her safe.
But he couldn't, rather than not wanting to, it was more due to the fact that they were now in the middle of the three Eclipsed.
And that's when she slipped out of his grip, no rather, she actually... yanked herself free.
"You take that one," Ayla said, pointing at the closest Tier 3, it was a hulking wolf like Eclipsed with dagger sized teeth, "I'll handle the other two."
Before he could argue, she teleported away, her shadows enveloping the Eclipsed and dragging them with her.
"Ayla—" it was already too late as she had completely disappeared.
The wolf-like Eclipsed looked in her direction with confusion for a moment before turning back to him.
Growl
It let out a low growl as it crouched low, ready to pounce at any moment.
"Damn it," Nox muttered as he took the daggers out of their cases.
Unlike his gauntlets and boots, the daggers were completely 'silent', so he had no idea what to do with them.
But that was only because he hadn't let his SE flow through them. The moment he did, the SE lines on it started glowing and soon enough, a part of the handles, that was a bit too long for a dagger, detached and wrapped around his wrists forming cuffs.
The cuffs also started glowing, as Nox instinctively knew what to do with the daggers.
"Sweet," he muttered before turning to the Eclipsed, "come at me, then."