The silence after Aaron’s cruel declaration sat like ice in the squad’s lungs. Their questions had been wasted—snatched away with the ease of a cat toying with cornered mice. He leaned back against the shadow of his throne, utterly satisfied, as though no one present could alter the course of the night.
For several tense breaths, the squad said nothing. Even Hiro, usually quick to bark orders, held his tongue. To demand answers again would be pointless. The devil had closed his fist around their bargain, and he would not open it.
It was Mia who broke the silence. Her fists unclenched at her sides, and she took a deliberate step forward. "So that’s it, then? No more answers. No more gas."
Aaron’s grin sharpened. "On the contrary, girl. The gas have only just begun."
His voice slithered through the air, mocking and amused. He tapped his claw idly against the armrest of his shadowed seat. "But I admit—I did enjoy your last performance. Rage wrapped in frost. A spectacle worthy of mory." His eyes glead with heat, though his tone was still playful. "So, in honor of that... I will grant you another round. A single champion more."
The floor trembled.
From the darkness behind him, sothing vast stirred. Heat swelled in the chamber, licking at the humans’ skin, driving sweat to their brows. The shadows cracked with the orange glow of fire, and then—erging like a nightmare given flesh—the beast appeared.
A dragon.
Its scales burned the color of molten iron, glowing faintly as though each plate of armor smoldered with embers. Fire licked between its teeth with every breath, and its wings stretched wide enough to blot out what little light remained. A scar ran across one of its eyes, not of weakness but of age—a reminder that this beast had seen wars long before they were born.
The squad staggered back, their hearts tightening. They had prepared for another champion of flesh and claw—but this? This was devastation incarnate.
Aaron’s voice rang out, smooth and satisfied. "et your next trial: Ignathar, the Fla-Tongue. An old friend, loyal beyond reason. He will fight in my stead... and should you survive, perhaps you will have earned another answer."
It was then that the truth began to dawn on them—not in sudden clarity, but in creeping realization that made their stomachs knot.
"He’s testing us," Lisa whispered, her voice trembling but clear enough for the others to hear. "From the wolf... to the royal guard... and now this. He’s not just trying to kill us. He’s... asuring us."
Zion’s jaw tightened. "asuring our strength. Our coordination. Every choice we make."
Hiro cursed under his breath. His revenge on Xalvar had dulled his vigilance, but now he understood the scope. "From the beginning," he said bitterly. "It was never about survival. We were data points to him."
Aaron chuckled, hearing their muttered words as though they were whispered into his ear. "Ah, how delightful. You catch on so quickly. Indeed—what is war, if not a ga of numbers and probabilities? My brother would call it strategy, prediction, inevitability." His grin widened. "I simply call it entertainnt."
The squad’s eyes darkened with dread.
It was then Mia rembered.
Kaelion’s voice—her old ntor’s calm, unyielding lessons—echoed in her mind. "Data is the lifeblood of any strategist. Without it, predictions collapse into dust. He who controls the flow of information, controls the battle itself."
Her heart pounded. Every duel, every test, every desperate clash had not been random cruelty—it was collection. Strength gauged, weaknesses cataloged, willpower recorded. Aaron was feeding his brother exactly what he needed to bend futures in his favor.
Her fists clenched, frost whispering against her knuckles.
"No more," she said, her voice ringing sharp enough to cut the silence.
The squad turned to her, surprised.
Mia’s eyes burned with fury as she stepped forward, closing the distance between her and the devil’s looming shadow. "If all you wanted was data, then you’ve had enough. We’ve bled, we’ve fought, we’ve wasted ti we didn’t have because you hid behind beasts and puppets." Her voice rose, breaking through the heat and dread in the chamber. "So stop hiding. Fight us yourself, Aaron."
For the first ti, the devil’s grin faltered. Not broken, not gone, but cracked with the faintest flicker of surprise.
"Oh?" he murmured, his tone dripping with mock amusent. "You dare to command ?"
Mia did not waver. She t his glowing eyes head-on, her breath steady, her fists alight with frost. "You’re afraid. That’s why you send champions. That’s why you asure and stall. You call it strength, but all I see is cowardice dressed in arrogance. If you truly believe in your muscle, then prove it. Stop using others to fight for you."
The squad’s hearts thundered. Zion’s breath caught, Hiro’s hand twitched toward his sword, and even Vance—still pale from his wounds—felt the air thicken under her words.
Aaron leaned back, his laughter bubbling up once more. "Hah... ahahaha... humans." His voice filled the chamber, louder, heavier than before. "Such fire. Such insolence. You twist even your impending death into bravado."
But beneath the laughter, there was sothing else. A tension. A flicker of sothing unspoken.
He leaned forward, claws tapping slowly against the stone. "Very well, girl. I see your fury burns brighter than I expected. But I will not indulge you so easily. Ignathar remains. If you wish for to lift a claw in battle, then first... survive him."
The dragon’s roar answered his words, a blast of fire so hot it cracked the stones beneath their feet.
The squad staggered, shielding themselves against the wave of heat.
Mia did not move. Her eyes stayed locked on Aaron, even as the firelight painted her face with shadow. "Then we’ll survive," she said, her voice like steel. "And when we do, there will be no more gas."
Aaron’s grin returned, sharp and cruel. "Excellent. Do not disappoint ."
The chamber shook as Ignathar stepped forward, wings spreading wide, flas spilling from its jaws. The squad’s breaths quickened, their resolve tightening like drawn bows. They had no choice now. This was the next trial—the next asure of their worth.
But beneath it all, Mia’s challenge hung in the air, an unyielding defiance against the devil himself.
For the first ti since their descent began, the predator had been forced to lean forward.
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