The battlefield was steeped in tension, a suffocating weight pressing down on everything as Tatiana and Lucian faced off.
The air itself felt thick, heavy with an unspoken challenge, as if the world had paused to witness this mont between two predators circling each other.
Tatiana stood with an eerie stillness, and with the massive wings of blood unfurled behind her, she was like a reaper made flesh, an angel of death ready to claim her due.
The crimson light from her wings cast long, jagged shadows across the broken ground, making the battlefield look like the entrance to so dark abyss.
Lucian, in contrast, remained utterly relaxed. His posture was loose, his smirk never faltering, but his eyes, those predatory crimson eyes, were sharp, filled with sothing colder.
He studied Tatiana the way a nobleman might study a wild animal in a cage, not out of fear, but curiosity.
"You always did have a way of ruining my fun, dear sister," Lucian said, exhaling softly, his smirk deepening.
"And you always did have a way of overstaying your welco, dear brother," Tatiana replied, her voice colder than the night air.
Their exchange felt almost casual, but the battlefield itself responded differently. The very ground seed to tighten beneath them, as if it, too, recognized the power woven into their words.
Lucian let out a short chuckle, rolling his shoulders as though loosening up before a performance.
"I know you're here to save your little dog, but I find myself curious, Tatiana." His voice was smooth, asured, yet it carried an edge of malice beneath its silkiness.
"How much is he really worth to you? I wonder how you'll react when I kill him."
The words hung in the air like poison, sinking deep, infecting everything.
Tatiana's expression remained unchanged, but sothing beneath the surface of her gaze sharpened, a glint of sothing far colder than hatred.
"You kill him, I repay the blood debt by killing Liliana." Her voice was devoid of hesitation. "An eye for an eye. Isn't that what you taught , brother?"
Lucian's smile flickered, his amusent deepening. "Hmm… I see. You really did learn well. That's how it's going to be, then. I won't kill him."
His gaze flickered briefly to Leo, still crumpled on the ground, still paralyzed.
"It's not as if his death benefits in any way."
Leo, trapped under Lucian's suffocating aura, clenched his teeth as those words reached him. His body, heavy and battered, refused to move.
Every word from Lucian felt like a blade dragging through his pride, cutting deep. He wanted to rise, to stand, to at least hold himself up with dignity—but his limbs trembled at just the thought.
He couldn't help but laugh mockingly at his own situation, at his own weakness. The son of a dragon prince and goddess my ass. Right now, he was nothing more than a animal at the rcy of a butcher.
Lucian's attention returned to Tatiana.
"But I do have another question. Why did you choose him?" His smirk faded, his gaze turning sharper. "Is he the sa Leo from the leaderboard?"
There was a pause.
Tatiana held his gaze, unyielding.
"Why do you care why I chose him? Did I ask why you chose yours? Why ddle in my business?"
She took a step forward, her presence pressing back against his, the battlefield crackling between them like a storm about to break.
"And besides," she continued, her voice as frigid as ice. "I'm no longer part of the von Carstein family. Stop poking your nose into my affairs."
Lucian regarded her for a mont, his head tilting slightly, as if considering sothing.
"You're not going to talk, I see." A soft sigh left his lips, but there was no disappointnt in it—only patience.
"Well, I know I can't force you now, but things can change very quickly and very drastically in the future."
Tatiana said nothing.
Lucian's smile returned, but this ti it was razor-sharp.
"So be careful, dear sister. Always watch your back. Since you're no longer part of the Royal family, don't bla for killing you when the ti cos."
With a simple flick of his wrist, the remaining humans that had fought the wolves rose into the air, their bodies suspended like puppets awaiting their master's command.
The blood that had been drained from the wolves floated beside him, forming a sphere of deep crimson.
Lucian's gaze lingered on Tatiana.
"And rember, no matter how confident you are in your strength, I still rank higher than you on the leaderboard. And there's a reason for that."
Tatiana held his gaze, her expression unreadable. Then, with slow deliberation, she spoke.
"And just like you said, things can change very quickly and drastically in the future."
Lucian's smirk widened. "Good."
And with that, he vanished into the night, his presence disappearing along with his n and the floating sphere of blood.
For a long mont, silence swallowed the battlefield. The heavy weight Lucian had left behind still lingered, pressing into every shattered stone, every breath of wind that whispered through the ruins.
Then, as if the world itself exhaled, the tension shattered.
Leo gasped, his body finally free from the crushing force that had pinned him down. His limbs trembled violently as he tried to push himself up, but his strength was nearly gone. His arms buckled, and he collapsed back onto the cold, bloodstained earth.
Tatiana was there in an instant, kneeling beside him.
Her crimson eyes studied him, her expression calm, yet there was sothing unreadable in the way she looked at him.
Leo took in slow, shallow breaths, still trying to gather himself. Every inch of his body ached.
The humiliation, the powerlessness, the sheer difference in strength between him and Lucian—it all burned deep into his core.
Tatiana finally spoke.
"How does it feel, Leo?" her voice was quiet, but it carried weight.
Leo didn't answer.
She tilted her head slightly, her gaze never leaving him. "Knowing that, right now, you are nothing?"
His hands curled into fists against the dirt. His breathing ca rougher, his heart pounding in his chest.
Tatiana watched, but she did not soften. "That's why you need to get stronger."
And get stronger he must!
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