baddies only

The ref tried to intervene, but Cain impaled Thera on his horn and then ripped her in half with it like it was a knife. He held the two halves of her shredded corpse, letting her blood pour down onto his face and paint him red, all while he continued to scream in a berserker’s euphoria. Once the crimson spray had slowed, he tossed Thera aside and pointed to the crowd.

“It was some intense training, but you don’t need to worry. You said Sophia is here? Just her, no Alexis or Cyrilo?”“No, sir.”“Interesting. Please show her in and make some tea. Tell her I’ll be down by the time it’s ready.”Of course,” she said with a bow.After Shannon departed, Noah gave himself a quick birdbath with a damp cloth to wipe off his sweat. The training had been intense indeed. He also needed to stop his nosebleed before he saw Sophia.

Alexis sighed. “I’ve lost fights before, plenty of times, as you can imagine. But Bella, that was something else. I failed, Noah. I failed to protect the Knight’s Sheath, my comrades, the king. I was knocked aside by a monster that defies the laws of nature. No matter how much I train, how much I struggle, what good is it when someone like Bella, who never fought a day in her life, can suddenly become an unholy demigod and crush us like we’re insects? How is that fair? Part of me did want to take part in the tournament, to show everyone, including myself, how strong I am. But… I was afraid I would instead be reminded of how weak I am.”