The body hit the ground and stayed there. Blood spread across the broken marble, running into the cracks like dark lines.
For a moment, the throne room was silent.
Kai didn't move. His blade dripped red, his breathing slow and even. He waited to feel something. Fear, guilt, or maybe even pride. But nothing came. Just silence.
He thought taking a life, even in this virtual world, would change him. It didn't. His hand tightened on Bane's hilt, more out of habit than feeling.
"Okay… he was a lot easier to kill than I thought he'd be," Kai said flatly.
He glanced back at Marcus. "Next time you try to stab me in the back, bring better backup, dumbass."
Marcus didn't like that. His eyes narrowed as he cracked his knuckles. The diamond coating on his arms shifted, reshaping itself into jagged edges. His palms hardened into sharp, crystalline blades.
Kai raised Bane and waited. His grip was steady. His stance low.
Marcus lunged first. His blade hand swung down in a clean arc, fast and heavy. Kai stepped aside, the edge slicing a deep line into the marble where he had stood.
Kai countered with a horizontal slash, leaving a faint scratch on Marcus's diamond chest
Marcus pressed forward, swinging in short bursts. Kai managed to dodge every swing. His eyes fixed on the rhythm of Marcus's movement.
Marcus left hand changed shape again
its surface rippled and solidified into a hammer-like form. He slammed it toward Kai's ribs.
Kai turned his body sideways just in time, the blow grazing his shoulder.
Marcus stomped down hard. The marble cracked beneath his feet, splitting into deep lines. He shifted his hands back to their normal form, grabbed two huge chunks of marble, and hurled them straight at Kai.
The blocks cut through the air fast. Kai raised his blade and sliced both in half with two clean swings.
Before the pieces even hit the ground, Marcus had already moved. He lunged at Kai's blind side, his right arm reshaping into a sharp, heavy edge mid-strike.
Kai twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the blow. The sharp edge cut through the air where his head had been a second earlier.
Marcus's jaw tightened. His attacks were fast and brutal but Kai kept slipping away.
"Tch… stop running," Marcus growled.
Kai didn't answer.
The silence between them felt heavy. Tension hung in the air.
"His ability reminds me of Mr. Yu's. It might even be more flexible," Kai thought.
He couldn't be sure because Mr. Yu rarely tries in training. But Still, Marcus's gift was dangerous.
Marcus watched Kai. He thought, "He hasn't used that trick he used on Damian yet. Why? Does he think I'm good enough for it?"
That thought made him hotter with anger.
Marcus attacked again. This time Kai didn't dodge. He charged in too. The fight sped up.
Sparks flew as their blades hit. Marcus swung with everything he had, but Kai stayed a step ahead. He blocked high, slid low, and twisted away at the last moment. Every strike missed by inches.
Bane nicked Marcus again and again. His frustration rose until he could not hold back.
With a roar, Marcus slammed his hands together. The diamond coat on his arms pulsed and changed. It merged into a huge, jagged axe that flashed in the light.
He brought the axe down with all his strength.
Kai lifted Bane just in time. The impact hit like thunder. The floor broke beneath them. Pieces of marble flew outward. For a moment, both fighters stood locked.
Kai's blade pressed hard against the axe's edge.
From a distance, the rest of the group watched. They had been holding back, wary after seeing Kai's brutality. But now…..
"This is our chance," one of them whispered.
Blades were drawn. In an instant, they charged forward.
Marcus smirked when he noticed. "About time, you idiots hel—" His words cut off as he realized something. They weren't running to help him.
They ran past him. Straight for Alexandria.
"Keep the guard dog busy. We'll deal with her." one of them sneered over his shoulder, laughter spilling out as they closed the gap toward the throne.
"Damn it," Alexandria hissed under her breath. Her fingers slid into her armor, closing around a small concealed dagger.
"Cowards!!" Marcus shouted as he and Kai kept struggling. Their cowardly actions made him furious, but he told himself it didn't matter. Either way, Kai would go down.
But then a cold wave of dread ran through Marcus. Kai's bloodlust flared so much it felt almost solid in the air
Marcus's eyes widened as Kai suddenly pushed back with a burst of raw strength and broke free. In the same move, Kai kicked him hard in the chest.
The blow thundered through the room. Marcus's diamond body flew back and smashed into the wall, stone cracking as his frame sank deep into it.
Immediately knocking Marcus out
The others turned at once, eyes wide. Marcus was down, and yet Kai was nowhere in sight
One of them panicked and tried to keep running but froze when a voice growled right beside his ear.
"Where the fuck do you think you're going?"
Kai was already there.
And what followed was not a fight.
--------
While their screams echoed through the marble chamber. Tristan ran away, desperate to get as far away from Kai as possible. The entire plan backfired, none of them expected Kai to be this strong. Hearing the screams continued only pushed Tristan to run away even faster
He didn't see the thin thread stretched across the floor. His foot caught it.
"Dammit," he cursed as he stumbled.
He scrambled up, then froze when he heard a soft movement. Instantly on guard, he scanned the shadows.
"Who's there?" he called.
Silence answered him. Fear crept in as he spun, trying to find the source.
When he turned, the blue-haired girl was standing right in front of him.
"Jesus!" he blurted. "You scared the hell out of me."
He let out a shaky laugh. "I thought it was that lunatic Kai."
"Sorry." She calmly said
He looked her over, noticing she didn't have a single scratch on her. "You made it out too, huh? Lucky you."
"Lucky," she repeated softly, her tone unreadable. "That's one way to put it."
Tristan frowned, something uneasy creeping up his spine. "Hey, are you alright? You look… weird."
"I'm fine," she said, kneeling down beside him. Her voice softened, almost tender. "You're the one bleeding out."
He glanced at his arm. Blood was still flowing from the stump. "Shit, yeah. Hurts like hell."
"Don't worry," she murmured, brushing a strand of his hair from his face. "I can take the pain away."
He blinked, her words oddly comforting. "You… can?"
Her lips curved faintly. "Trust me."
Before he could respond—
Crack.
His neck twisted with a clean, chilling snap. Killing him instantly
She lowered him gently to the floor, eyes dim with quiet apology. "You won't feel a thing now."
"I apologize for what I'm about to do," she said under her breath. "Can't exactly do this in the real world."
Thin red threads crept from her fingers, sinking into the corpse. They slithered deep, draining everything within. The bodies dried up fast, his began skin tightening, his color started to fade until nothing was left but hollow shells.
The blood she absorbed pulsed with energy, filling her veins like fire. A quiet smile spread across her face as she inhaled deeply, eyes half-lidded in contentment.
The spider had eaten her fill.