Despite the brutality of his upbringing… despite all his the years of training… of surviving, Malakai had never taken a human life before.
He had killed darkness creatures before, many of them. But this?
This was different.
This was a person.
And now, as she lay before him, begging, bleeding, and sobbing, he realized just how vast the gap was between killing monsters and ending a life like this.
His arms tensed… but his eyes stayed cold.
‘She’s not a monster… she’s human.’
But so was he.
The thoughts that surged through his head at that moment was hard to count.
But of all his thoughts, one thing rang louder than all the questions.
‘This is the path I chose.’
He had prepared for this moment for most of his life. Trained his body. Sharpened his mind. Hardened his soul.
Because his goal was never peace.
It was revenge.
And revenge always came with a price.
‘I was always going to take a life. The earlier I do, the better.’
His eyes darkened.
‘There’s no choice.’
Malakai raised his scythe.
The girl’s eyes widened in horror.
“N-No— no, please—!”
But the blade had already descended.
A clean, merciless slash across her throat.
And silence followed.
Malakai waited with his eyes narrowed. But no matter how many seconds passed, nothing happened.
‘She’s not turning into a darkness creature?’
Any death within the dome always birthed a darkness creature. It didn’t matter whether it was murder or natural causes, the darkness always came.
But the Glandular girl’s corpse remained unchanged after many moments had passed.
‘Are we not inside the dome anymore?’
The thought chilled him. If he had somehow been taken outside… would he even be able to return, even if he survived this? Then what would happen to his revenge?
Malakai shook his head.
‘It doesn’t matter. I’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.’
He tore his gaze away from the girl’s corpse and cast a glance down the hall. He assessed the situation quickly.
The Lucerna appeared to have finished his battle.
Jerom overwhelmed his target with precise, clean movements. Kendal had already caught up with them and was locked in combat with the youth from the Cerebral Clan.
The battle was almost over.
Malakai took a deep breath, trying to calm his trembling arms. He could barely hold his scythe properly, his grip loosened, and his legs rattled beneath him.
‘Calm down… calm down…’
He tried not to think about the sobbing girl he’d just killed in cold blood. But despite his efforts, her trembling voice, her tear-filled eyes, they wouldn’t leave him. It was all he could see.
He took another breath.
‘There’s no helping it.’
He realized that running away from it was futile. So Malakai opened his eyes and turned back to the corpse.
He didn’t think. He didn’t allow any thoughts to cloud his mind. He just stared, silently. He burned everything into memory. Her eyes, her expression of dread… everything.
Then, in his mind, he sang the Sanguine Creed to steady his heart.
‘I shouldn’t forget,’ he thought.
A human life was too valuable to be erased for convenience. He wouldn’t bury it in the back of his mind. No, he would embrace it. Every single part.
He had killed her. Not because he was right. Not because she deserved it.
But because she was in his way.
It was selfish. And he accepted that.
Still…
‘I won’t stop.’
He wasn’t going to let this stop him. Nothing would.
Malakai’s eyes firmed. The trembling ceased.
He turned his gaze from the corpse. The image still lingered in his mind, but this time, it no longer shook him.
He had accepted it.
And when he looked up again, the battle had already come to an end.
Jerom stepped forward, frowning as he gestured to the corpse. “No darkness creature?”
Malakai shook his head silently.
Then he turned his gaze to the figure of the Sonata Clan youth sprawled at Jerom’s feet, still alive but battered, with deep cuts and blood seeping from his body.
Malakai noticed Jerom’s fist clench tightly. His expression darkened as he thought for a second. Then, in one swift motion, his blade slashed across the youth’s neck, ending his life in cold blood.
‘It’s the first time he’s taken a life,’ Malakai quietly noted.
Suddenly:
“What the hell, Jerom?!”
Kendal’s voice rang out. He had knocked out his own opponent and now stormed over, grabbing Jerom’s arm. “Why did you kill him!?”
Jerom inhaled deeply, trying to stay calm, but his voice was unsteady. “That’s the instruction for this round.”
“What?” Kendal snapped, confused.
Jerom gestured toward the slate at the center of the hall. “Go take a look. You’ll see. Malakai killed his target too.”
“Tar—?”
Kendal turned, and his eyes fell upon the brutalized body of the Glandular youth. His face went pale.
“What the hell…” he whispered, then suddenly dropped to his knees and threw up.
“You… you killed them,” Kendal muttered, his voice trembling. “You’re both sick.”
Jerom scoffed. “Now who’s the pussy? They were going to kill us if we didn’t.”
He turned toward the youth Kendal had knocked unconscious and raised his blade.
Kendal’s eyes widened. “Wait, what are you doing!?”
Jerom’s voice was cold. “This is our reality now, Kendal. The earlier you accept it, the better.”
And then, without hesitation, he brought the blade down, another clean slash to the neck.
Kendal stared in disbelief, frozen.
Jerom sighed and turned to Malakai. “Are you injured?”
Malakai looked at him for a moment before shaking his head.
Jerom gave a small nod.
Just then, a low rumble echoed across the hall and they turned.
A large door began to creak open at the far end of the room.
Malakai and Jerom exchanged glances, then nodded to each other.
They had passed the round.
Jerom exhaled and glanced back at Kendal, who remained kneeling, shaken and pale.
“Do you mind?” Jerom asked. “Let him get himself together before we move on.”
Malakai nodded. “Alright.”