lina was just making her way into the mansion after departing the ship. She needed a good bath, so ample rest, and maybe — just maybe — a peaceful evening where she could lounge about with a book, enjoying the luxury of not having to deal with whatever nonsense the Drakonis family had cooked up this ti.
But, funnily enough — just as she stepped into the mansion hall, reality decided to take an unscheduled detour.
The grand station behind her? Vanished.
Her luxurious bath? Poof. Gone.
Instead, she found herself smack dab in the inner dueling arena.
lina blinked twice. Rubbed her eyes. Pinched herself just to be thorough. Nope, not a dream. Soone had just teleported her here, and given how spectacularly obnoxious the thod was, she could already tell who was responsible. Patriarch Gereon.
Because, of course, it was Gereon. Who else in this entire bloodline had the audacity to yank her out of her well-earned relaxation and toss her straight into whatever sibling warzone was currently unfolding? Ah yes, Alex would do it too, though less often and with a warning beforehand — although the warning was more like a reminder that she could not say no to.
And lo and behold, the answer to why she was here stood right in front of her.
Judge and Liam.
The twin disasters of her sanity, teaching Amber was much better than taking care of these hurricanes.
She sighed, plopping down onto a seat in the small audience gallery, rubbing her temples. "And there goes my free ti before the banquet. When are these kids gonna grow up?"
Answer: Never. Not today. Not tomorrow. Maybe not even in a hundred years. Because currently, they were too busy settling their latest dispute — presumably over sothing as vital and world-altering as who gets the last slice of pie — through the ancient and sacred art of throwing hands.
In the middle of the arena, the two squared off like brothers arguing over the TV remote on a weekend afternoon — except with more flying fists, more sweat, and far fewer comrcials. The air was heavy with brotherly seriousness, but the fight itself had that chaotic energy of a drunken fencing duel mixed with a street brawl choreographed by an over-caffeinated squirrel.
Liam started things off with a jab at Judge's chest — a quick, decisive strike. Judge, however, swatted it away so smoothly that it looked like he was brushing off a particularly unenthusiastic mosquito.
"Hey, was that your best shot?" Judge grinned, sidestepping another swing. "You look like a baby trying to punch a ghost."
Liam growled. "And you look like soone who's about to get decked."
He lunged forward with a sudden burst of speed, throwing a hook toward Judge's ribs. Judge twisted at the last second, barely avoiding it, and imdiately countered with a sweeping kick to Liam's shin.
Liam hopped over the kick with infuriating ease and retaliated with a knee aid straight for Judge's stomach.
Judge blocked with his forearm, only to have Liam twist mid-air and turn the attack into a spinning backhand. The blow barely missed its mark, passing just a hair's breadth away from his face, but the wind pressure alone made his hair get a bit tousled, spoiling an entire minute of his life he had spent styling it.
Judge adjusted it a bit mid-fight. "Rude."
Before he could regain his footing, Liam feinted a right hook and instead shot his leg forward in a low kick — except Judge was already moving, flipping backward just in ti to dodge the attack.
"Nice try!" Judge laughed, still mid-air.
Liam, undeterred, stomped his foot. The ground cracked beneath him as a jagged rock spike erupted from the floor, shooting straight toward Judge.
Judge created a solid air beneath his feet and twisted mid-air by stepping on it, barely dodging it, and landed gracefully, sliding back a few feet.
Liam didn't have ti to fu over Judge's acrobatics — he was already on the move, launching himself forward with a burst of speed. He swung a sharp elbow toward Judge's shoulder, but Judge ducked just in ti, feeling the wind rush past his ear.
Not one to waste montum, Liam imdiately followed up with a spinning kick aid for Judge's side. Judge twisted his torso just enough to evade, but Liam was relentless. As soon as his foot touched the ground, he planted it firmly and threw an uppercut straight for Judge's chin.
Judge leaned back, the punch grazing the air just inches away from his face. "Whoa, getting aggressive, aren't we?" he quipped.
"Shut up and take your beating!" Liam snapped, already shifting into another attack.
With a sharp pivot, Liam swept low, trying to knock Judge's legs out from under him. Judge hopped over the sweep, but before he could fully regain balance, Liam spun the other way and lashed out with a brutal side kick to his ribs.
Judge barely managed to cross his arms in ti to block, but the sheer force still sent him sliding back several feet, his boots screeching against the stone floor.
"Oof!" Judge grunted. "Okay, I felt that one."
"Good," Liam huffed, rolling his shoulders. "Try feeling the next one, too."
He shot forward again, this ti twisting his body mid-charge to disguise his true attack. Judge prepared to counter, but Liam suddenly dropped to the ground and kicked upward — a rising leg strike aid right at Judge's jaw.
Judge yanked his head back just in ti to avoid a surprise trip to the sky, but Liam wasn't done. Using the force of his kick, Liam spun mid-air, bringing his other leg down in a brutal axe kick.
Judge barely had ti to cross his arms overhead as the kick connected. The impact was enough to buckle his knees and send a shockwave through his arms.
"You trying to split in half?!" Judge shouted as he staggered backward.
"That depends," Liam smirked, landing gracefully. "Are you finally gonna take this seriously?"
Judge shook his arms loose, rolling his shoulders. "Fine, fine, you wanna play rough? Let's play rough."
This ti, Judge was the one who moved first. He dashed forward, twisting his body to the side as if preparing for a punch. Liam readied his guard, but Judge abruptly dropped low and slid past him, sweeping his leg out in an attempt to trip him.
Liam, however, jumped just in ti.
Or at least, that's what he thought.
The mont his feet left the ground, Judge slamd both palms against his chest mid-air, sending him tumbling backward like a kicked ragdoll.
Liam twisted mid-fall, barely managing to land on his feet, but his balance wavered. Judge wasn't about to let that slip by. He dashed in, throwing a rapid series of punches, forcing Liam to step back again and again.
Liam grit his teeth, parrying blow after blow, before suddenly ducking low and driving his shoulder into Judge's stomach.
Judge let out a surprised grunt as he was lifted off the ground and unceremoniously slamd down onto the stone floor.
Liam grinned, standing over him. "Got you."
Judge groaned. "You sure about that?"
Before Liam could react, Judge planted both feet against his chest and kicked him off, sending him flying several feet back. Judge flipped up to his feet, brushing off the dust.
Liam let out an exasperated sigh, cracking his knuckles. "Okay. Now I'm getting serious."
"Whoa, okay! Soone looks like he is about to get serious," Judge quipped.
Liam smirked. "And you look like soone who should be paying more attention to his surroundings," he countered, reaching into the air and pulling back as if grasping sothing invisible.
Judge blinked. "Huh?"
A rock pillar suddenly erupted behind him.
His instincts kicked in, and he imdiately leaned to the right, narrowly dodging what seed to be an impromptu introduction to geology — but the mont he moved, he realized sothing was off.
The rock was an illusion.
Liam's blue hair was glowing, it was his inherent power from his cloudstrider blood — to create illusions.
Liam knew that Judge's Cloudstrider eyes could see through illusions when they are activated — but he hadn't activated his yet. aning, Liam had just bluffed him into dodging an attack that didn't even exist.
lina, watching from the stands, let out a tired sigh. "Dear heavens, they're actually getting smarter about their idiocy."
Liam capitalized on Judge's split-second hesitation, he ca from the right hurling a fist, pivoting smoothly into a hard punch aid straight for Judge's ribs.
Judge felt the punch connect as pain jolted through his ribs, but he still managed to avoid the blow further by rotating counterclockwise and toward his back.
"Alright, that's dirty," Judge jumped up to his feet quickly, "Using your inherent powers like that."
"You can see through illusions right?" Liam scoffed, "I don't think that was dirty."
Judge leaned forward, "Oh you don't know dirty... kid." He was trying too hard to sound like an actual adult.
The air started to heat up as Judge's red hair began to burn bright red — the Drakonis family were known for their mastery over light and fire, and Judge's inherent power from his father's side was handling fire. And no it is not a fancy term for a firefighter.
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