Vane heard Ken’s jokes, and his face twisted into an ugly, hateful scowl. He wiped a smear of blood from his chin and glared at the 13th Unit. His eyes locked onto Princess Iris, who had her silver rapier drawn and pointing at the floor. Vane’s eyes burned with pure, unfiltered hatred.
"You pampered Royal brats," Vane hissed. His voice was rough and wet from the blood in his throat. "You are all the same. You sit in your shiny, golden castles in the Inner City, eating your fancy food, while the rest of us rot in the dirt! You Royals are a plague on my life! You come down here to play hero, thinking you can just step on me?"
Princess Iris stepped forward. She did not look angry; she looked completely determined. Her posture was perfect.
"You are kidnapping innocent people from the slums," Princess Iris said, her voice ringing out clearly across the large penthouse. "You are stealing their life force and selling them poison. You are the one stepping on people, Vane. Your operation is finished. Surrender now, and you will face a fair trial."
Vane let out a harsh, bubbling laugh that quickly turned into another violent coughing fit. "A fair trial? There is no such thing as fairness in this Empire! I will never surrender to a Royal! I am going to curse you all! I am going to rot your flesh right off your bones!"
Naomi didn't want to hear another word. Her green eyes flashed with fierce, aggressive energy.
"I am going to shut him up right now!" Naomi shouted.
She exploded forward. Her wind magic flared up brilliantly, turning her entire body into a green blur. She speed-blitzed the gang boss, crossing the massive penthouse room in a fraction of a second. She appeared right in front of Vane, pulling both of her daggers back to deliver a lightning-fast, cross-shaped slash across his chest.
Vane’s eyes widened in panic. He reached for the dark, cursed sword strapped to his waist. He tried to pull it out to parry her attack. He knew exactly what he needed to do to block her, but his physical body simply refused to cooperate.
Because of the terrifying encounter he had with The Sovereign the night before, his body was in total shock. The massive, deep sword wound on the right side of his chest made his arm incredibly heavy and sluggish. Every time he tried to move fast, a blinding shot of pain ripped through his muscles.
He was way too slow.
Clang!
Naomi’s daggers slammed into the flat side of Vane’s cursed sword before he could even raise it properly. The sheer force of her attack knocked the weapon out of position. Naomi instantly followed up with a brutal, spinning roundhouse kick directly to Vane’s stomach.
"Gah!" Vane choked, stumbling backward awkwardly. His boots scraped against the concrete.
"You are way too slow, old man!" Naomi taunted, not giving him a single second to breathe.
She dashed to his left side, swinging her blades in a flurry of silver flashes. Slash! Slash! Vane desperately tried to backpedal, swinging his dark sword wildly just to keep her away. But he was completely outmatched. He was panting heavily, sweat pouring down his scarred face. His knees were shaking, and the fresh blood from his chest wound started leaking through his thick bandages even faster.
Standing near the doorway, Sayma pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her highly analytical mind was working perfectly.
"Princess," Sayma noted quietly, her eyes tracking Vane’s clumsy movements. "Look at his footwork. Look at how he favors his left side. He is heavily injured. That bandage on his right chest isn't an old wound. It is fresh. Somebody delivered a massive, near-fatal strike to him very recently. Probably within the last twelve hours."
Princess Iris frowned, watching the fight. "But who could have done that? The Imperial Police haven't been down here in weeks."
Ken, who was standing right behind them, suddenly felt a tiny drop of nervous sweat roll down the back of his neck.
"Uh oh," Ken thought to himself. "Sayma is too smart. She is already putting the puzzle pieces together. If she figures out that someone else came up here and chopped him in half last night, she is going to start a massive investigation. I need to distract them right now."
Ken threw his hands in the air and started cheering as loudly as he possibly could, acting like he was at a sports game.
"Woohoo! Go boss lady! Beat up the sick old man!" Ken yelled, jumping up and down. "He probably just slipped in the shower this morning! That is why he is bleeding! Showers are very dangerous! That is why I only take baths! Hit him with a chair, Naomi! Use a folding chair!"
Naomi heard Ken yelling in the background and let out a loud groan of pure frustration. "I am trying to concentrate, you idiot! Shut up!"
But the distraction worked. Sayma and Iris stopped analyzing the wound and focused back on the fight.
Naomi pushed Vane to the absolute brink. She deflected another sluggish, desperate swing of his cursed sword, stepped inside his guard, and slammed the heavy hilt of her dagger directly into his jaw.
Crack!
Vane’s head snapped to the side. He lost his balance completely and crashed hard onto the dirty floor, sliding backward until his back hit the far wall of the penthouse. His dark sword clattered out of his hands, sliding away into the dust.
He was completely beaten. He was bleeding, panting, and entirely out of breath. He looked up at the young, red-haired girl standing over him, and he realized with absolute, terrifying clarity that he could not win this fight. In a standard, physical battle, he was totally useless. His broken body simply could not keep up with her speed.
"It's over, Vane," Naomi said, pointing her sharp dagger right at his face. "You lost. Stay on the ground, or I will put you to sleep permanently."
Vane wiped the blood from his mouth. He looked at Naomi, then looked past her to Princess Iris. His eyes did not show defeat. Instead, they filled with a dark, desperate, completely insane light. He started to laugh. It was a wet, bubbly, horrible sound.
"You think this is over?" Vane wheezed, his crazy eyes widening. "You think you can just beat me in a fistfight and take me away? I am not going back to the dirt! I am not going to let you Royals win!"
He slammed his bloody right hand flat onto the concrete floor beside him.
"I will show you real power!" Vane screamed.
Ken stopped his fake cheering. He slouched his shoulders, staring at the old man on the floor. "Oh great," Ken mumbled to himself. "Here comes phase two. Why do the bad guys always have a phase two?"
----
The moment Vane’s bloody hand slapped against the concrete, the entire penthouse began to shake violently.
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