Eli spun, momentum coiling like a spring, and flung his left-hand lightblade; the Bloodkin slipped aside like a shadow and floated in, and Eli raised his right-hand lightblade, catching the kick with a burst of sparks like fireflies.
The Bloodkin glanced at his scuffed shoe, a sneer curling like a cold wind. Human, give me your name. I’ll carve it on your stone.
Eli’s left hand gathered light again, a blade blooming like dawn. How about you tell me yours first?
Kondley Aeschus, he said, watching the wound on his chest knit like ice sealing over water, his grin twisted like a hook.
Eli lifted his blade, a smile bright as a knife’s edge. Ah—so you’re my long-lost son, huh.
You! Kondley’s left hand turned to claws like hooked thorns, and he raked in with a hiss like tearing silk.
Annoyance hit first, sharp as grit in the eye; then the thought: me, dual-wielding against a Bloodkin—my balls hurt just thinking about it; maybe every mage keeps a brawler’s itch like an ember under ash.
He slipped past Kondley’s swipe like reeds parting in wind, sprang skyward like a hawk, and fused both blades; a single great lightblade fell like a sunbeam cleaving down toward Kondley’s skull.
The Bloodkin smiled, light as dew. Well now, looks like things went our way over there; I won’t play with you anymore.
Damn it! The word dropped heavy as a stone; Eli shot back like an arrow and streaked toward Edlyn.
On the spot, the Bloodkin blurred and unraveled like smoke, then knit into a huge bat that beat up into the sky like a black sail.
Eli flicked him a glance, then hurled a lightblade like a comet; it speared the bat midair, and the creature burst into black vapor like snuffed incense.
Edlyn looked at Kondley suddenly re-forming, hugged Angela tight like guarding a candle from wind, and frowned. That guy—did you finish him?
Kondley laughed, bright and brittle as glass. Naturally. You think someone of his level could stop me?
Tsk. Useless. Edlyn bit her lip till it paled like frost, tugging Angela back step by step; she wasn’t sure if “useless” meant the Hero or herself, the thought sour as unripe fruit.
Heh, no need to be so scared—why not invite me in for a sit? Kondley watched the two retreat into the house like deer into thicket, heat rising in him like fever.
Edlyn arched a brow, a small blade of contempt. Heh. Do us a favor and scram, you eyesore.
Don’t worry, little one, uncle won’t hurt you. Kondley’s bat-wings snapped wide like storm sails as he pounced for Edlyn.
Angela shoved Edlyn back, her own body a thin wall like a reed in rain. Sister, run!
Fear thudded first, heavy as a drum in the chest; did Angela even know what she was doing? Probably not—something in her heart, like a quiet bell, said she wouldn’t let her sister bleed for him at a time like this.
Angela! Edlyn staggered back, eyes wide like night rivers, and watched her little sister stand to face the oncoming nightmare like a lone lamp before a gale.
Feeling her own body light and weak as paper, Edlyn grit her teeth like grinding ice. If only—I were still the Demon King.
At least I wouldn’t be like this, a blade without edge, a bow without string.
Tch—you animal. Eli blinked in front of Angela like a flicker of lightning, scooped her into his arms like catching falling snow, and Kondley’s bite sank into Eli’s forearm with a crunch like breaking twig; Kondley reeled back a step and spat out a mouthful of milky spit, chalky as lime.
He looked at Eli with a storm-cloud scowl. You can blink too?
Eli pressed his wound, blood hot as iron, and smiled thin as a crescent blade. Just a little space trick, you country-bumpkin Bloodkin.
Kondley’s mouth burned like coals in a brazier; he shot Eli a venomous look. Didn’t expect it—your blood isn’t normal either. I’m starting to wonder what you even are.
Seeing the man’s lips puffed and angry like a stung hive, Eli chuckled, low as gravel. Take a good look—I’m obviously not normal right now. And you still took a bite. Nice. Real werewolf spirit.
Huh? Kondley blinked, baffled as a bat in daylight; besides, wasn’t it this bastard who blinked in and fed me his arm?
Anyway, talking to you is pointless; words are smoke. You tell me—just two people. I take them, it won’t affect you much, right?
Kondley’s lips swelled and shrank in waves like a bellows, and his face shifted light to dark like passing clouds. Won’t affect me? Heh.
What, you pre-booked them as your wives? Eli’s stare went cold as winter water; Edlyn, sure, fifteen at least—but Angela over there? Not even ten.
Heh. Beast. The word fell from his mouth like a stone.
Veins stood at Kondley’s temple like twisted cords. You idiot, what exactly are you misunderstanding?
Eli shrugged, a loose ripple like grass in wind; the Adjudicator’s time ended right on cue, the chill state fading like dusk light.
First time using it; lasting this long was already a small victory, a spark that didn’t die in rain.
Yo, dropped that creepy state? Kondley exhaled, relief feathering his chest like a soft wind; the threat had gone out of Eli like a quenched blade, and the man before him felt manageable as a door to kick in.
No one expected Edlyn to dart in like a swallow, clamp her small mouth on Eli’s index finger, and bite down hard; he jolted like touching a live wire and yanked back his hand. What are you doing?!
Edlyn swallowed the beads of Eli’s blood like red dew, eyes cutting to Kondley like a drawn line; she ignored Eli, and the Demonic Lord within trembled through her limbs like thunder rolling in bone.
A powerful soul force spread from her body like a tide under moon, borrowing her briefly heightened strength as a vessel.
By Eli’s blood, she bought a sliver of time, a shield of flesh to bear that storm like a mast bracing the squall.
Her gaze went cold and still, a lake under frost, and her soul’s pressure crashed onto Kondley like a falling mountain. Inferior Bloodkin! You dare provoke this King!
Kondley’s body sank all at once, weight slamming one knee to the floor like a hammer blow; terror rippled through him, strange yet familiar like a scent from old nightmares, and he stared at Edlyn in disbelief. De… Demon King!
