Aurelia's world had slowed to a crawl. The sounds had vanished.
Her eyes were narrowed to their extres as they locked onto the blade, no more than the length of a middle finger, screaming toward her left eye.
In all honesty, though her face didn't show it, she had been shocked nurous tis since the battle with Malakai began.
He was slower than her. Less powerful. And yet, he was keeping up with her attacks. Every strike she launched had been aid to incapacitate. She had promised him pain, and ant every word.
She and Julius were far from close, but he was her brother nonetheless. The sight of soone torturing him… she wouldn't stand for it.
Still, what was supposed to be a quick battle had turned out to be sothing else entirely.
Malakai was strong. Frighteningly so. He had evaded. He had countered. He had been pushed back, and yet still found ways to catch her off guard.
Aurelia dove to the side, evading the blade that tore through the space where her eye had just been. But she wasn't given even the briefest mont to breathe.
Her widened eyes landed on the gleaming blade of a scythe screaming toward her head from below.
'A distraction.' Her heart thundered.
The dagger he threw hadn't been the attack, it had been a feint. A ruse to shift her focus away from the real strike, the one now inches from piercing through her skull.
Aurelia's mouth moved before the shock could settle.
"Bl—"
But she barely mouthed the first syllable before Malakai's eyes shot wide.
The Bloodflow of the Sanguine Clan was the most basic form of blood control. Every other technique had been born from it. Hardening. Enhancent. Healing. Everything.
Malakai had been top of the advanced class in nearly every discipline. But there was one amongst others he had yet to surpass Aurelia in, Blood Arts.
The mory of the monster that was Aurelia surged through his mind, and his mouth moved in tandem with hers.
"Bloodflow."
Their blood exploded through their veins, crimson streaks lighting up their skin like flares.
Their eyes burned red. Their weapons flashed forward…
Boom!
The dark forest lit ablaze with sparks as their clash detonated the ground. A crater ford instantly, dust blasting out like a wave.
Before the watchers could even process what had happened, a figure burst out from the haze, hurtling toward a tree at the far end of the clearing.
Malakai felt his bones rattle, his arms numb. He had clashed directly with Aurelia, and the force had been overwhelming.
He was sent flying, using the montum to mitigate the shock pulsing through his limbs.
He turned. The tree was closing in fast.
His expression hardened. He spun and shifted his weight downward, skidding to a stop just before crashing into it.
His eyes snapped up… only to widen again.
Aurelia was already upon him. Eyes crimson. Daggers flashing.
He dropped into a roll to the side. The sharp whistle of twin blades cutting through air rang past him, followed by the loud thud of a tree collapsing behind, felled by the force of her missed strike.
But Malakai didn't care.
He sprang up to his feet, only to see her erase the distance again like it had never existed.
Her daggers rained down like bullets.
'She got faster.'
Malakai's focus surged. His blood flooded every fiber of his being. His perception peaked.
His speed exploded. He moved… Evading. Evading. Evading.
Each dodge was at hair's breadth. Each one a breath away from death.
Their battle erupted across the dark forest. Trees toppled like twigs beneath the force of missed blows.
To the watching crowd, Malakai and Aurelia had beco phantoms.
In the dark forest of the hunt, many battles had co to a stop. Shocked gazes turned toward the clash between the Sixth and Ninth Veins.
Mouths were opened wide; most could barely hide their disbelief.
The hunt was ant to be a competition between the young bloods of the West, an arena for youth to sharpen themselves against one another.
But as they watched the battle raging between two youths they were supposed to compete with, many couldn't help but shudder.
They were supposed to fight them? Impossible.
It was like placing lions in a pen of chickens, only carnage awaited.
The people of the West watching from screens were no different.
The silence stretched as far south as Blackreach, where the warriors had gathered in the great dining halls, watching with bated breath.
Hamada sat up, fingers clenched around the armrest of his seat, eyes blazing, heart pounding.
He couldn't look away. He watched just how far Malakai had co this far in just three months.
Mouths were opened across the region. Hearts raced in excitent. The people had expected greatness… and they were getting it.
Back in the Sanguine Hall, many shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
Malakai's performance was teetering on the edge of impossible.
Aurelia was fifteen. Malakai was fourteen.
She had been evolved for five years. Malakai… three months.
She had four nodes. Malakai had one.
And yet, their clash looked nearly even.
The thumping of Varnel's foot against the floor grew louder with every second.
Aurelia was his also his daughter. Considering her advantage, she should have overwheld Malakai completely.
So why the hell was the battle still going on?!
While the spectators wrestled with their disbelief, Malakai was dealing with his own thoughts.
'This is not good.'
He wanted to curse his luck. She just had to form it in her brain.
Aurelia forming her fourth node in her brain was the reason he was struggling so much.
In truth, Malakai's perception was stronger, almost twice as fast, in fact.
But she was faster. Stronger. Her reaction speed incomparable. It had been the sa with Julius, and even that Aurelius Clan youth he fought earlier.
He'd been able to crush them because their perceptions lagged too far behind his.
But with Aurelia's enhanced perception… everything had narrowed down. Now, they were equals. No, she was overwhelming him.
She looked like a beast out for blood. Her eyes were feral. Bloodlust seeped from every inch of her pale skin.
She moved with explosive speed, every motion deadly.
At this point, it was obvious. He was being pushed back. He barely evaded her daggers, and blocked blows that felt like being hit by a truck.
At this pace, he was going to lose.
'I need a breath.'
Malakai allowed their weapons to clash once more, using the force to propel himself backward and create space.
He rolled across the forest floor, skidding to a stop, his gaze snapping forward, but this ti, Aurelia hadn't followed.
She stood across from him, her crimson gaze cold as ice.
"What are you?" she asked.
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