Malakai yanked the blade out in a single motion, black ichor spurting from the wound. As the haze cleared, the beast crumpled to the earth with a heavy thud.
Unmoving.
Across the region, a deafening silence gripped every viewing hall.
No one roared.
Everyone stared, stunned, as the screens displayed a single scene, a crimson-haired boy slaying a massive darkness beast.
The footage was programmed to cut in only when a battle was about to begin. The competition had literally just started.
And already, all screens had flickered to the same image, a crimson-haired youth, facing a bear like darkness creature.
People expected a brutal clash. They expected blood. They expected something.
But only one attack had been made. And the beast was dead.
The crowd didn't cheer. They stared, speechless.
"Hey! Isn't that the Ninth Vein?" someone shouted.
Another blinked. "The Ninth Vein?"
"Yeah! The Ninth Vein of the Sanguine Clan!"
"The child of Valerian? The genius pulse that died?"
