The time passed by quickly, and the 30 minutes of rest time that the Sovereign gave soon ended.
As soon as it did, Malakai's eyes snapped open before he stood up from his cross-legged position.
'I feel better.' He had instantly assessed his entire body and was relieved to find out that he had recovered his Vita fully.
The density of Vita inside the hall was insanely high because of the powerful people present, especially the Sovereign. Because of that, he had been able to utilize the full extent of his Vita absorption rate.
The small scene of Malakai completely recovering his Vita had sent another wave of shock through the hall.
The Pulses and Highbloods were utterly surprised. At best, they had assumed Malakai would be able to regain half of his reserve, but never full. But once more, he had proved them wrong.
After assessing his body, Malakai walked toward the middle of the hall and stood, gripping his scythe tightly.
Throughout the 30 minutes, Jorge hadn't known what to do with himself. And instead of standing and mistakenly meeting the gaze of one of the Pulses or Highbloods, he had chosen to keep bowing.
As the time elapsed, he rose slowly, keeping his head low, before moving to face Malakai at the center of the hall.
'Let's get this over with.'
He reached for the blade sheathed at his waist, gripping it tightly. Then, he raised his head and stared directly at Malakai, only to freeze the next second.
Jorge was baffled. Malakai was simply staring at him, yet somehow… it felt like he was being watched by a predator.
Jorge brushed the thought aside. It was absurd. Completely absurd.
Jorge was in his twenties and currently in the last stages of the Node Formation evolutionary stage.
The normal age range for Node Formation was between 13 and 19. Any more, and it meant the person's talent was subpar. It was likely the stage at which their evolutionary journey would end.
Jorge, unfortunately, was already in his twenties and still in Node Formation. Which meant his talent was low.
But one fact remained. As a Node Formation evolver, especially one who had lived as long as he had, he was stronger and more experienced than Malakai.
'His absorption rate is alarming, but he just evolved. He won't be that powerful.'
Malakai had been unevolved the last time Jorge saw him. No matter what miracle he had pulled off, his strength and speed should still be in the Genesis stage.
Jorge's assumption was right, which was why…
The people turned toward the Sovereign who had just spoken, and in the next second, the doors to the hall swung open.
The broad figure of Caelum, the Iron Saint, entered, moving swiftly toward the stairs.
With slow, firm steps, Caelum ascended. Reaching the top, he dropped to one knee and bowed deeply.
The Pulses and Highbloods showed far less hostility than they had toward Malakai.
Caelum was a Bloom. He served only the Blood Sovereign. It was expected.
Then the Sovereign spoke, saying,
Caelum nodded. "As you wish."
He immediately descended the stairs, approaching Jorge, who was visibly startled to see the Iron Saint coming toward him.
He instinctively bowed his head, but Caelum's firm, iron-toned voice stopped him.
"Which arm is your dominant arm?"
Jorge stuttered slightly. "M-my right."
"Stretch out your left."
Jorge did as instructed. Without hesitation, Caelum clasped a bracelet-like device onto his wrist.
It clicked in place and tightened, fitting snugly.
Jorge's expression changed slightly.
The outside forces weren't humanity's only problem inside the dome. Humans themselves were a threat.
Because of the rising crime rate within cities, the Blood Guardians had been established, tasked with protecting, apprehending criminals, and suppressing terrorists.
To aid in this task, a regulator had been created by the brightest minds of the dome. Its main function was to control the amount of Vita the body could output.
It prevented the user from absorbing or using more Vita than what had been preset in the regulator's system.
The upper Genesis stage.
Jorge's face hardened before he relaxed once more. His strength and abilities had just been capped to the upper stages of the Genesis stage, but he still thoroughly believed this wouldn't be a problem.
'I still have more experience,' he reassured himself as he faced Malakai once more, settling into a stance.
'I'll end it quickly.'
The entire hall focused on the duo.
Nyx and Varek had already risen from their bows and now stood quietly at the side, their eyes locked on the scene.
While Varek felt nothing in particular about what was unfolding, Nyx's eyes were filled with worry as she gazed at Malakai.
The others in the hall, however, were a bit surprised at the lengths the Sovereign had gone to in order to make the battle fair. Still, they watched silently.
'Um… will you be okay, Malakai?'
Valentine's worried voice echoed in his head.
Malakai responded without hesitation.
'I will be. Just don't distract me.'
'Okay. Good luck!' he responded.
Malakai could feel the weight of all their stares pressing down on him.
But the pressure only rolled off him like mist.
His focus was on one thing, his opponent.
He had replayed and dissected everything he had on Jorge in his mind. His fighting style. His habits. Even his personality and behavioral patterns. And he had come up with a conclusive plan.
Now that he knew Jorge was limited to the Genesis stage, and despite not being fully healed, it was more likely to work.
In fact, it was extremely simple, almost frustratingly so, considering how much thinking he had gone through to reach it.
Malakai had observed Jorge long enough to define him with two behaviors: cautious and careful.
In every action, Jorge was deliberate. Careful not to offend. Careful not to misstep.
Which meant one thing, he thought.
Which meant… he was also analyzing him.
Trying to use what he knew about Malakai to end this quickly.
Anyone who had ever seen Malakai fight knew, he observed more than he moved. He always chose to analyze, to plan, to understand, before attacking.
Which was why Jorge was completely sure that once this battle began, Malakai would not attack first.
He couldn't be more wrong.