NOVPUBWhile the others wrestled with the implications, only one thing thundered in Varnel's head:
'How?'
He couldn't wrap his mind around it. He had planned this out carefully. Every step. Every detail.
How the hell had Julius failed?
'Did he not crush the worm?'
His mind scrambled to figure out what had gone wrong. Still, his eyes remained fixed on the screen.
His plan had failed. Which meant Julius had no other choice now but to win with sheer force.
'That punch… it must've landed because Julius was caught off guard. He can still win.'
This was just a setback. As long as Julius won the fight, everything would still fall into place.
'Don't fail me.' Varnel's eyes burned cold.
Just like in the Sanguine Hall, across the region, there was nothing but silence. The people were still reeling from what they had just witnessed.
It lasted for some seconds, until it shattered.
The people burst into thunderous cheers, their voices roaring across the land.
"NINTH VEIN! NINTH VEIN!"
The chant returned, louder and fiercer than before.
…
Back in the forest, Julius crashed onto the ground, the taste of metal flooding his mouth.
His hand trembled as he reached for his face. He could feel wetness soaking his lower jaw.
He pulled his hand away.
Crimson.
His eyes trembled. Then the pain hit.
"W-what i-is this!?" Julius stammered, his words slurred as if there was too much space in his mouth. He rolled his tongue, and froze.
'M-my teeth…?'
His front teeth. Both upper and lower were gone. Shattered.
Malakai had broken his teeth.
"Y-you basth-ard!" Julius roared, his voice mangled. He looked like he was spiraling, as though he could believe the current situation.
"H-how!? W-why didn't it affect you!?" He thundered, but Malakai didn't bother replying.
Instead, his gaze calmly scanned his surroundings, thoughts churning.
'Looks like they're back.'
In that moment, everything clicked. Malakai had just pieced together the full extent of Varnel's plan.
Valentine had been completely right, Varnel wanted it to look like an accident.
And to pull that off, he had come up with a plan consisting of multiple layers.
The first, and most vital step, had been Karla, his so called servant turned double spy. It went without saying: the entire plan depended on her.
Over the past months, Malakai had been carefully feeding Karla manipulated information, everything she reported back was what she was asked to say.
One of those "reports" had been that she was getting close to Malakai, that he was starting to trust her.
That lie was all Varnel needed.
'The Twin Death Worms.'
It was another vile result of corrupted wildlife under the influence of Vita. They were a parasitic duo that always appeared in linked pairs.
If one was crushed, the other would burst, releasing a substance. That substance was a clear, odorless vapor known for inducing short term paralysis.
Varnel's plan was simple. He'd given one of the worms to Karla to plant in Malakai's food the night before the hunt. The other, he handed to Julius.
From there, using his influence, he had quietly manipulated the youths participanting in the hunt. He had used them to allow Julius locate Malakai during the hunt.
The moment Julius found him, he was to crush the worm in secret, paralyzing Malakai instantly, and then deliver a lethal strike.
One he would claim was a tragic "mistake." He'd blame the Blood Guardian for not intervening in time.
And that was the brilliance of it. Because Varnel had planned for the Guardians too.
He'd incited multiple groups to cluster together and fight with each other en masse. With the region's limited manpower, the Blood Guardians couldn't oversee every battle. They'd be overwhelmed.
The Guardian in charge of their zone would be far too occupied to react fast enough. That was the moment Julius had been waiting for.
He had crushed the parasite. And he had lunged, expecting Malakai to freeze… only for nothing to happened.
Because from the very beginning, this entire plan had been destined to fail. Karla had told him everything and so Malakai never ingested anything.
Now, he stood there with a calm and steady gaze as Julius struggled to process the events.
The boy had pulled himself off the ground. If he still had teeth, they would've been clenched.
He shook off the pain and steadied his breath.
'The parasite isn't inside him…'
He finally understood and concluded.
'I have to fight him.'
Julius calmed his spiraling thoughts. Slowly, he drew his blade.
'I can't lose… I won't lose. Not in front of him.'
The region was watching. The clan was watching. But none of that mattered as much as the one man who would be watching.
His father.
He can't lose.
"Bloodflow," he declared.
The blood dripping from his mouth halted instantly. His eyes flared red, and crimson streaks surged through his body, crawling up his arms and across his face like veins of fire.
He stepped forward, rapier in hand, one leg forward, posture locked in.
His cold eyes fixed themselves on Malakai, who still hadn't moved, as if he were waiting.
The seconds stretched. Then… Julius lunged.
His blade screamed through the air in a sharp thrust, cutting clean toward Malakai's chest. But just as it was about to land, Malakai's body vanished.
Julius's pupils shrank. 'Left!'
His eyes darted left and his body followed, blade slashing toward that direction, only for Malakai to dip low, effortlessly evading the strike again.
Julius's expression darkened. 'I've got you.'
He lunged forward, his leg whipping out in a ruthless kick, but Malakai moved again, darting sharply to the right. The kick hit nothing but air.
"Fucking stay still!" Julius roared, swinging his blade at where Malakai stood, but Malakai wasn't there.
Before Julius could shout again, a voice reached him, his heart racing.
"You talk too much."
Those were the only words he got.
A heavy fist slammed into the underside of his chin, the force tearing through his skull, vision blacking out for a split second.
And before he could recover, another fist crashed into his nose, lifting him clean off the ground.
His body flew back, rolling across the forest floor, dirt and sand kicking up in his wake.
'W-what…'
Julius couldn't even form a full thought.
His body skidded to a stop, and as he groaned, lifting his head slowly, he saw him.
Malakai.
Towering above him, his face half shrouded in shadow. He looked less like a boy and more like a devil wearing human skin.
Before Julius could fully grasp the sight, Malakai's fist came crashing down like a torrent of explosive missiles.
