Kael remained at the edge of the clearing, his sword lowered as the beast watched him from the opposite side. Blood continued dripping from the creature's wounds, darkening the stone beneath its feet, while its Silver aura flickered around its battered body.
The beast had already decided how the fight would end.
It began walking toward him.
Kael didn't move.
The creature's remaining claw tightened as blood slowly gathered around it. Several droplets lifted from the ground, floating beside its body as the beast advanced.
Kael's eyes followed them.
He could feel the blood through the Mark.
The connection was still there.
But the beast was guarding it now.
Kael had already learned that forcing the connection directly wouldn't be enough. The creature's Silver aura made controlling its blood difficult, and every attempt to take too much control gave the beast a chance to counter.
So Kael stopped trying to take control.
Instead, he waited.
The beast suddenly disappeared.
Kael sensed its mana.
He moved just before the claw arrived.
CLANG!
The attack crashed against his sword, forcing him backward. The beast twisted and attacked again, and Kael blocked once more before allowing the impact to push him farther away.
Another strike came.
Kael barely caught it.
His arms shook.
The beast pressed forward.
Kael stumbled.
The creature's eyes sharpened.
It believed it had finally broken through his defense.
Kael lowered his sword slightly.
His breathing became rough.
The beast charged.
Kael waited until the last moment before shifting aside, but this time he didn't create much distance. The claw grazed his side, reopening one of the wounds that had only just begun to heal.
Blood spilled.
Kael stumbled.
The beast immediately followed.
Another attack.
Kael blocked.
CLANG!
The force pushed him toward the center of the clearing.
Exactly where the beast wanted him.
Kael's eyes remained calm.
He let it happen.
The beast raised its remaining claw.
Blood began gathering around it again.
"Blood Fang."
The crimson mass stretched into several sharp blades and rushed toward Kael.
Kael moved.
One passed beside his head.
Another tore across his arm.
A third struck his sword.
CLANG!
Kael stumbled backward.
The beast charged behind the attack.
Its claw came toward his chest.
Kael raised his blade.
CLANG!
The impact sent him sliding backward.
The beast continued pressing.
Kael gave ground.
One step.
Then another.
The creature's blood followed him, surrounding the battlefield and cutting off every obvious escape route.
Kael suddenly looked down.
Blood covered the ground beneath his feet.
His blood.
The beast's blood.
All of it mixed together across the stone.
The Mark pulsed.
Kael's expression remained unchanged.
He had been waiting for this.
The beast lunged.
Kael moved exactly as he had throughout the fight, sensing the mana and positioning his blade to block the incoming claw.
CLANG!
The attack landed.
But instead of being pushed away, Kael stepped forward with the impact.
The beast's eyes narrowed.
Kael was inside its reach.
He turned his wrist.
His sword cut across the creature's side.
SHING!
The beast recoiled.
Blood sprayed.
Kael immediately stepped away.
The creature roared and swung after him.
Kael ducked beneath the attack and moved around its flank, but instead of striking again, he let the beast turn toward him.
The creature charged.
Kael retreated.
It followed.
Kael retreated again.
The beast accelerated.
Kael's wounds burned as he continued giving ground.
The creature believed it was forcing him back.
But Kael was watching something else.
The blood.
Every step the beast took brought more of its blood closer to him.
The Mark pulsed again.
Kael stopped.
The beast was already upon him.
Its claw descended.
Kael raised his sword.
CLANG!
The impact forced his body backward, but this time he didn't resist the momentum.
He allowed himself to slide.
The beast followed.
Kael suddenly reached toward the connection.
The blood around the beast trembled.
The creature felt it immediately.
Its eyes widened.
Kael's black crescent pulsed.
The blood connection tightened.
The beast tried to pull away.
Too late.
Kael raised his sword.
The blood covering the blade began glowing with that faint silver tint.
"Blade Reinforcement."
The beast's body jerked.
The pull caught it.
Its feet scraped across the stone as its body was dragged toward Kael.
The creature dug its claws into the ground.
Kael took one step forward.
The beast resisted.
Its Silver aura erupted.
The ground cracked beneath it.
Kael's eyes remained fixed on the creature.
He didn't attack.
He simply kept walking.
One step.
Then another.
The beast's body continued sliding toward him despite its resistance.
Its expression hardened.
It had seen this before.
Dead End.
The creature knew what was coming.
Kael's grip tightened around the reinforced sword.
The black crescent pulsed.
"Dead End."
The pull intensified.
The beast was dragged forward.
Its claws carved deep lines into the stone as it fought against the force, but this time Kael wasn't trying to cut it immediately.
He was watching.
Waiting.
The creature's Silver aura suddenly surged around its body.
Something changed.
Kael felt the connection shake.
His eyes narrowed.
The beast's aura compressed violently around its remaining arm.
It wasn't simply resisting anymore.
It was preparing something.
Kael tightened his grip.
For the first time, the beast had been caught by Dead End without immediately sacrificing part of its body.
And whatever it was about to do...
Kael had never seen it before.
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