Chapter 68 - Intruder

The metal door flew through the main room, crashed through some furniture, and smashed against the wall on the other side. In the bedroom, both Damian and Alita reacted immediately. 

The intimate sphere and confused feelings were wiped away as they both jumped out of bed. They couldn't see the intruder yet, as a closed door and walls were still in their way. All they'd heard was the giant boom. 

"What the hell is happening?!" Alita snarled as she beelined for her clothes and gun. 

"Damian," Nova's voice sounded in his head at the same time. "I checked the stairwell video feed. I had to slow down the feed, but I was finally able to notice a blur infiltrating the building. Presumably, this person uses similar clothes to yours, allowing them to obscure the vision of cameras." 

Damian registered her words but didn't react. He knew he had less than a second to prepare before they'd storm into the bedroom, so he focused on other things. In the blink of an eye, he'd pulled out Nox Aeternum and accessed the internal storage, from which he took the same white mask he used when he took Luca. 

Just as the bedroom crashed open and the masked intruder stepped inside, sword in front of him, Damian pressed the mask against his face, covering his features, and used myst to ensure it would remain in place. 

The sword-wielder, who seemed previously poised to strike, immediately froze. He clearly hadn't expected to be confronted by Damian's naked body, but the latter gladly made use of that lapse. After the mask was in place, he waved his hand to activate the storage again, and within moments, stylish clothes wrapped themselves around his body. 

When he was finally masked and dressed, Damian sighed contently. "Aah, much better." Then he casually waved his sword at the intruder. "You really caught me with my pants down, buddy. Not many have had the pleasure before. I hope you realize that." 

Having returned to a combat-ready state after his fun with Alita, Damian immediately felt more secure, quickly regaining his usual lazy confidence. 

It seemed like Damian's voice ripped the man from his surprise, and he quickly crouched into a combat stance while his eyes flew around the room. 

Realizing the man wasn't responding, Damian shrugged and continued. 

"Aaanyway," he drawled as his eyes flew across the intruder's body. 'A man…' Damian quickly analyzed in his mind. 'Black armour and a helmet covering his face… That sword is also of pretty decent quality… Some kind of stealth operative?' 

His eyes noticed the attributeless myst swirling around the man's hands, as well as a clearly practised combat stance. 'Powerful… and a trained killer,' Damian immediately determined. 'Well, I guess I did ask for a challenge earlier,' he chuckled to himself. 

"Your visit is a bit of a surprise. Is there anything I can do for you…?" he continued in a casual, confident drawl. With one hand, he pointed his sword at the intruder while the other swirled with shadowy, crimson myst. 

The man still didn't react. Instead, his masked face scanned the room and easily noticed a half-naked Alita glaring at him from behind Damian as she put on her clothes. Instantly, a growl escaped from his throat, and he panned his mask back towards Damian. 

An amused Damian grinned from behind his mask. He couldn't see the intruder's expression, but he recognized a jealous man when he saw one. 

"Oh, you know Alita?" he chuckled hauntingly. "Man, she's a lot of fun, huh…? A little bratty at first, but you know how it is with bratty girls, right? Just give them a little discipline, and they'll scream your name soon enough… Not that you'd know anything about that." 

The intruder started panting heavily and then roared as they charged him, myst dancing across his sword. But the man's obvious anger allowed Damian to easily parry the attack even as the power of myst thrummed from the clash and the clinking of metal rang across the room. 

"Ah, I see now," Damian exclaimed with dramatic exaggeration as the man staggered a little. "You're remaining silent because you don't want Alita to realize who you are? I guess that means you're not here to 'save' her then…?" 

Behind him, Alita had finally managed to dress herself and now pointed her gun in the intruder's direction. "Of course not!" she scoffed with narrowed eyes. "The only myst wielder who gives two shits about me is my sister, and this is obviously not her!" 

"Now, Now," Damian chuckled without taking his eyes off his opponent. "Do I not belong to that circle as well now…?" 

Alita blinked for a moment and then glanced at the intruder. She knew her gun would be pretty useless against this man, so she didn't bother actually shooting. Instead, she suddenly started grinning. 

"I wouldn't care, Master!" she smirked playfully, looking back at Damian but glancing at the intruder. "After the incredible pleasures you've shown me, I've fallen completely under your thrall~~" she purred alluringly. 

 Her words were clearly exaggerated in order to agitate the man, and they had the desired effect when the intruder roared, "Dammit, slut!" He swung his blade at Damian again, but this time, the attributeless myst covering his sword coalesced into a blade of water that sliced through the air. The attack thrummed with power. 

Damian snorted and pushed his left hand forward, smashing the attack apart with a fist of crimson energies. Their contact caused a small explosion that pushed them both a few feet back while causing most of the room's furniture to throw itself against the walls. 

Their clash of energy was a draw, but Damian was content with that result for now. He could feel the power flowing through this man's body and knew he'd been training with Myst for quite a bit longer than Damian himself had. 

"Isac!" Alita immediately yelled in shock when she recognized his voice, pointing at him in consternation. "What the glitch are you doing here?! Where's my sister?! And since fucking when could you wield myst?! You don't have a catalyst!" 

"Well, he does now," Damian interjected curiously. "It's not the sword, but I think there's a bracelet around his wrist or something." His senses had easily found the catalyst earlier. 

"Hehehe, that's right!" The man, apparently named Isac, chuckled in a strange tone. "The benevolent mistress gave it to me..." 

He touched a side of his helmet to make the visor opaque, apparently no longer concerned with anonymity, and revealed a surprisingly bony and unimpressive face—not the kind of face you'd expect a sword-wielding secret operative to have. 

It was framed by brown hair and made a little creepier by dark, sunken eyes. He looked at Alita with a strange, obsessed smile and intense eyes before extending his free hand. "Come with me, Alita! The beautiful, benevolent mistress has allowed me to let you live if you come!" 

Alita appeared disgusted by the idea, but Damian was focused on something very different: Isac's eyes. The white outer edges possessed a faint pink hue that he immediately recognized…