"I asked you a fucking question!" Aurelia's shout tore through his thoughts.
The temperature in the clearing dropped instantly. Malakai's gaze sharpened.
It was odd. This wasn't the Aurelia he had quietly observed back at the camp.
Her appearance was still sharpened for war, that hadn't changed. But her demeanor had.
Her expression was twisted with nothing but anger. Her eyes burned as she stared him down.
A groan escaped from Julius, drawing her attention for a moment. She glanced down at him, and her gaze dimmed.
And just then, Malakai saw something beyond the rage.
He had never seen Aurelia and Julius interact at the camp. They had barely acknowledged each other.
But now… she looked genuinely worried.
She turned her gaze back to Malakai, fiercer than ever.
"You won. He clearly lost. Why the hell were you torturing him?"
She didn't shout this time. Her voice was sharp and clipped.
He could have listed a hundred reasons. Because Julius had done the same to him. Because he insulted his parents. But those would be excuses.
And Malakai didn't deal in excuses.
He wanted anyone watching, anyone listening, to understand.
"I wanted him to feel pain," Malakai said, voice calm like a still lake.
The temperature plummeted further. Aurelia's killing intent surged, flooding the clearing.
"Good," she hissed. "Then I won't feel guilty inflicting the same pain on you."
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the edge of the clearing.
"Ahhhh, I missed the first half!"
The voice came from Octavia, the tenth vein of the Sanguine Clan.
She stood at the treeline, eyes locked on the broken form of Julius, a visible pout on her face.
Seeing the blood dripping from Malakai's fists, she let out a groan.
"Seriously? And I missed that? This was the show of the decade!"
Another figure emerged from a different direction. His presence was more quieter. More composed.
The seventh vein, Maximum.
His expression remained unreadable as he stepped into view. He didn't look like he planned to interfere at all.
Renlo's panicked voice rang out from yet another direction. He was charging toward Malakai when the latter threw him a hard look that made him freeze in place.
The message was clear:
Renlo's grip tightened around his spear. He wanted to help, desperately. He looked like he'd face off against any vein if it meant standing with Malakai.
But he knew the truth… he would only be a liability.
"No one interferes," Aurelia's voice rang out, sounding like a decree.
The sound of her twin daggers sliding from their sheaths echoed through the area.
But not just there, but across the entire region watching the confrontation unfold.
The Sixth Vein versus the Ninth.
Aurelia was considered the strongest in the competition. But Malakai… Malakai had shocked them all today.
And now, the moment had come. They were facing off against each other!
The region fell into silence and all eyes locked onto the screen, waiting for the clash of greatness.
Back in the forest… the tension snapped.
Aurelia erupted with momentum.
She vanished from her spot, ground exploding beneath her.
In an instant, she closed the distance far faster than Julius ever could.
Her daggers gleamed, one of them tearing straight toward Malakai's throat.
Malakai felt the cold sting of death surge toward his neck. His head jerked to the right, his neck twisting with it.
He heard the sharp whistle of the dagger as it passed, but he didn't pay it any mind.
Aurelia had already launched another attack.
The ground beneath her left knee exploded upward, hurtling toward his head like a hammer.
His instincts kicked in as fast as his thoughts. His body twisted back, shifting his head just in time. Her knee whooshed past, wind whipping his hair.
Malakai didn't waste a single second.
He finished the roll, his leg spinning with his body. His right hand lashed out, the scythe blade screaming upward from below… only for his eyes to narrow.
Her dagger was already there.
A wave of pressure surged through his arm as his scythe was flung to the side.
Before he could regain his grip, Aurelia closed the gap with blistering speed, her steps tight, her blades piercing out.
Malakai's eyes narrowed. His footwork exploded into motion.
He ducked the strike aimed at his neck. Slid past the one going for his chest. Pivoted from the blade shooting toward his eyes.
He weaved and shifted, narrowly evading each one.
But his mind kept running.
'She's trying to make my scythe useless.'
The scythe was a weapon whose advantages laid in large range and control. It wasn't meant for extreme close combat.
Aurelia knew this. And she exploited it flawlessly.
No matter how far he pulled back, she was right there, her twin daggers carving space like she owned it.
But that wasn't the only problem.
'This is worse than I thought.'
When Malakai realized he could only form one node before the competition, he had chosen the brain, prioritizing perception so he could keep up with the others.
It was a gamble based on the assumption that few, if any, Sanguine would risk a brain node without boosting their limbs first.
But Aurelia… she had broken that expectation entirely.
Now she was faster. Stronger. And with her heightened perception, she wasn't just keeping up, she was overwhelming him.
Still, Malakai's eyes remained calm.
He wasn't the type to walk into battle without preparing for his weapon's weakness.
Aurelia's dagger tore toward his chest. But this time, Malakai didn't move.
The audience watching from every corner of the region widened their eyes, certain this was the end.
But in that split-second, Malakai's free hand snapped to his utility belt and whipped upward.
Sparks burst as Aurelia's dagger was parried by another dagger, one that had suddenly appeared in Malakai's grip.
But before she could press the attack, Malakai's hand pulled back. Then, he threw the dagger.
Aurelia's gaze constricted.