The moment Corbin's feet touched the ground after hurling Ruben toward the rooftops, he knew he was in trouble.
His right arm hung useless at his side, the bone still fractured from the ambush, but the pain had never stopped him before. What did stop him was the sight of Rosette stepping forward, her crimson spear humming in her grip, and Felix Hartmann cracking his knuckles.
Four against two seemed like bad odds. Two against one was also bad, actually worse now that he thinks about it, even worse that he was handicapped.
But it didn't matter. Corbin Monet doesn't believe in fair fights.
He looked at Rosette first. Even standing still, she radiated power, not at all like Dario, hers dwarfed in comparison. Her hair caught the wind like a vivid flare of red.
"Let's make something clear," Corbin said, his voice flat, edged with mockery. "The only one becoming a future Warlord… is me. No space left for anyone else."
Rosette's eyes narrowed, she didn't seem bothered by Corbin's words. She wasn't.
She came at him in a blur. Corbin barely registered it. Her spear lanced toward his throat, a streak of red so vivid it looked like a slash of paint across the world.
Corbin twisted, feeling the heat of the blade kiss his skin as it grazed past. His left hand shot out, fingers clamping around the shaft.
And then the spear melted.
The crimson liquid splashed over his palm, searing like acid before reforming in Rosette's grip, the blade now a whip of blood lashing toward his face.
Shit.
Corbin ducked, the whip slicing the air where his head had been, and retaliated with a brutal kick aimed at her ribs. Rosette sidestepped, fluid as water, but Corbin was already moving, his body a coiled spring of violence.
Felix lunged from the side, his gloved fist driving toward Corbin's temple. Corbin barely jerked back in time, the wind from the punch ruffling his curls.
His left hand shot out, catching Felix's wrist before it could draw itself back.
Corbin have a counterpunch buried itself in Felix's gut, the impact popping in the air like a firecracker. Felix staggered back, breath sharp between his teeth.
A flash of crimson darted forward immediately after so Corbin couldn't even finish the attack then and there. The spear was aimed at his ribs. Corbin pushed off and back, the rip grazing his shirt. He exhaled slowly, rolling his neck as his gaze settled on Felix again.
"You being here… is annoying," he said. "Even though I've still got to pay you back for the last time, you're more like some bug that's wandered into the kitchen. Irritating and you just don't belong. But the only threat here…" he tilted his chin toward Rosette. "... is her."
Felix straightened, a slow smirk cutting across his face. "Then keep ignoring me. This is more a test for the newcomers anyway. Rosette would most likely get caught in my Game."
"Also, that just means that you won't see me coming when I put you down like the dog you are."
The words barely left his mouth before Rosette began moving differently. Her motions sharpened, her control deepened. The spear's crimson edge bled into the pavement as she dragged it lightly along the ground, marking it, claiming it.
Her boots splashed through a shallow puddle, and the red reflection of her hair in the water shimmered unnaturally before snaking upward in a tendril of liquid light.
It looked pretty. But that wasn't what mattered. Her spear was flying again.
Corbin dodged left but suddenly the spear seemed to widen at its tip as he had dodged it. The spear carved a shallow line across his cheek. Warmth trickled down his face, the scent of copper was sharp in his nose.
He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand and grinned.
"That all you got?"
Rosette didn't answer. Her eyes, cold, calculating, flicked to the blood on his fingers.
And it moved.
Corbin's own blood bubbled, lifting from his skin like droplets of mercury before sharpening into needle-thin spikes. He barely twisted his head this time, the spikes shooting past his face, one grazing his eyelids.
Then….
BOOM.
The blood exploded, a burst of heat and force that sent Corbin stumbling back, his ears ringing.
Rosette's voice cut through the haze, calm and clinical. "The oils or rather lipids in your blood, when heated, become volatile." She twirled her spear, the crimson blade elongating into a scythe. "A little trick I picked up."
Corbin's vision swam. His right arm still throbbed, his cheek burned, and now his own blood was being weaponized against him.
His Ego burned beneath his skin. Boost.
The world sharpened. His muscles burned with new energy, his reflexes honed to a razor's edge. Every injury, every near-miss, every second of a danger fed into it, the worse the odds, the stronger he became.
Rosette lunged again, her spear was a crimson lance. Corbin moved, his body a blur as he wove between her strikes, his left fist a piston driving toward her ribs. She blocked with the flat of her blade, but the force still sent her skidding back.
Felix recovered, wiping blood from his nose. He muttered before vanishing, not literally.
But close.
Felix's speed was unnatural, his movements a flicker of motion as he closed the distance in an instant. His fist connected with Corbin's side, the impact like a sledgehammer, and Corbin felt something crack.
He didn't stop.
He couldn't.
Corbin pivoted, driving his elbow into Felix's jaw, feeling his teeth rattle under the blow. Felix reeled, but Rosette was already there, her spear splitting the air.
Corbin backflipped, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris. He hit the ground running, circling the wreckage, his mind racing.
Rosette was the real threat. Felix was just an annoyance, barely an afterthought. But Rosette? Her power and control of her Ego it was too strong.
And Corbin had realized her ability seemed like it was blood related, and he was bleeding. She was even controlling his blood. But there had to be a limit. Most likely the distance.
He wiped his cheek again, his fingers coming away slick.
Rosette stepped through the dust, her spear reforming into a longer one. "You're really not as strong as you think," she said, her voice devoid of mockery. Just a fact.
Corbin smirked. "And you're not as smart as you look."
Then he charged.
Rosette braced, her spear poised.
But Corbin punched the ground instead.
The concrete shattered, a shockwave rippling outward as the street buckled under the force. The dust cloud thickened, obscuring everything, and Corbin moved, darting through the chaos like a shadow.
He needed a plan. A way to turn this around.
Then he felt it. A tug at his ankle.
He looked down.
It was hair. Long and red strands had wrapped around his leg, slithering up his calf like living vines.
What the hell?
Before he could react, the hair yanked, lifting him off his feet and slamming him into the side of a building. The impact drove the air from his lungs, but the hair didn't stop, it coiled around his wrists and his throat, pinning him against the brick like a specimen under glass.
Rosette stepped into view, her expression unreadable. "You're reckless," she said. "Arrogant. Your Ego is strong but not untouchable. All that arrogance for what?"
She looked at him like he was dirt. Like he was nothing more than some spoiled brat that had finally been put down a peg.
"To think you were under the eye of the world's strongest and this is all you amounted to."
Corbin struggled, but the strands tightened, cutting into his skin.
Felix appeared beside her, wiping blood from his lip. "I doubt you would have stayed down had we given you the chance."
Rosette ignored him. Her gaze locked on Corbin. "You said there's no space for me as a future Warlord." Her tone was deadly. "But you're wrong. You're the one who doesn't belong here."
She leaned in, her breath warm against his ear. "You were denied the chance to be a Paladin. A criminal. A failure." She scoffed and spat on the ground. "You are not on this side of the system."
Corbin's vision blurred red.
Not from the blood.
It was rage.
He roared, his muscles straining against the bindings. The strands of hair snapped, unravelling as he tore free, his left fist driving into Rosette's stomach before she could even react. She doubled over, but Corbin didn't stop, he grabbed her by the collar and slammed her into the ground, the pavement cracked under the impact.
Felix lunged, but Corbin was faster. He caught Felix's wrist, twisted and broke it with a sickening crunch. Felix's scream was cut short as Corbin kneed him in the jaw, sending him sprawling.
Rosette was already up, her spear reforming, but Corbin didn't give her the chance.
He moved.
A flurry of blows, each one fueled by his childlike fury. Rosette blocked, countered and dodged, but Corbin was truly a storm, his movements were unpredictable and his strength just kept surging.
And suddenly… his vision darkened.
Not from exhaustion.
It blurred in red. It was his blood.
Rosette had done it again, his own blood, the same cut from his cheek, had escaped into his eye, clouding his vision. He blinked, disoriented.
And Rosette struck.
Her leg swept under his feet, dropping him to the ground. Before he could rise, her fist drove into his gut, knocking the wind out of his lungs. And next came pain.
Her spear pierced his left hand, pinning it to the ground. Corbin gritted his teeth, his scream trapped in his throat as the blade burned like fire. It wasn't just the pain, it was also the anger at being belittled.
Rosette loomed over him, her hair already weaving themselves into restraints ready to bind him. "This is over," she said. "You're subdued."
Corbin's breath came in ragged gasps. His right arm was broken. His left hand was impaled. His body ached, his vision swam, and the taste of copper filled his mouth.
But he wasn't done.
He couldn't be.
A shadow fell on top of them.
A burst of air split the sky.
Ruben's dragon slammed into Rosette, its golden fur a blur of teeth and claws, forcing her back. Ruben himself dropped from above, landing in a crouch beside Corbin, his eyes blazing.
"Guess again," Ruben growled.
Rosette staggered, her spear dissolving as she regained her footing. Felix was already rising, his broken wrist hanging limp.
Ruben didn't wait. He yanked the spear from Corbin's hand, ignoring his pained hiss, and hauled him to his feet.
"Stand," Ruben muttered, his voice low. "We're running."
Corbin coughed, blood speckling his lips, but he nodded.
Retreating. That may actually be the better option for now.
"You're not going anywhere!!!" A loud shrill voice came from above them.
In the sky with her qiang pointed straight for them was Elise Vogel. She had caught up quickly with whatever her Ego was.
There window of escape was getting slimmer.
Out of the shadows came Elijah with his sword raised for Ruben.
But then something weird happened.
Out of Elijah's mouth came blood and smoke as he collapsed and coughed it all up.
The air burned. The smell was smokey and of char. It was heating up and oddly Ruben and Corbin felt comfort.
A loud burst of laughter was then heard.
A familiar laugh. Off in the distance, toward the center of the city there was a black sphere that had just cracked open with a fist of explosions and shrill, loud and playful laughter as Dario's voice boomed out of his seven foot frame.
"LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!"
And the biggest explosion any of them had ever seen so close by was then let off.