Lady Elyria was confused out of her skin at this point.
When she rushed to the pavilion where Kael claimed to have killed Zaja, she saw him standing healthy and hearty with no scar marks on his body.
So now, Elyria knew that Kael wasn't joking when he said he had killed the slave boy. The Slave seal she used to bind Zaja to her every will had been undone, so she assumed that Zaja's ability to recover was as a result of his Shadow Sovereign Flame mutation taking effect without her command.
"Well, if you must know Kael... My mutation allows me to heal upon the point of death under very specific conditions..." Zaja replied while maintaining intense eye contact with the Valthorne heir.
Zaja's words were immediately able to back up Lady Elyria's suspiciousions, she knew nothing about the Shadow Sovereign Flame mutation and how it operated so she couldn't tell if Zaja was lying or not.
Unknowing to every one in the room, Zaja still lived because he found favour in the eyes of the god of lust Lord Dazzai!
'I call bullshit!! How could your mutation work even after death! That is not possible and has never happened ever in history!' Kael's eyes flashed with skepticism but right afterwards the scion burst out into laughter.
"Whatever way you used to regain your consciousness doesn't matter to me! At least now that you're alive, you get to live the rest of your days knowing fully well that your dear sister is about to be the vessel for Lord Tenzen the god of demons..."
"My partner... Lady Xena Apotheosis is built for war and even while your mutation is incredibly rare and amazing, you're no match for an entire countries rage.
"That you were able to regain your life doesn't take away the fact that you are my slave, a stupid one at that who thinks he can take down one of the most ruthless humans on the continent"
"If you have forgotten... A slaves main purpose is solely to serve their master and do as they please, so even after death, if I ask for your bastard sister you better hand her over to..."
Boom!
"Shut the hell up, you jack ass" Zaja muttered barely before Kael could finish his words, he vanished from his position with so much speed and power that the ground he stood on was left with a small crater.
Zaja was fast, but Kael was also of high level mutation, and coupled with the fact that the scion viewed the vessel as a human beneath him, he wouldn't ever allow such movements to end not in his favour.
"Zaja stop!" Lady Elyria yelled at the vessel, fearing an all out war between the two youths.
But Zaja ignored the matriarch her, punching Kael in the jaw. Not bothering to even dodge, Kael took the blow head on.
But as Zaja's fist landed on the heirs smug face, no damage was dealt and the nobles jaw remained intact leaving Zaja feeling like he had ran his fist into a massive steel wall.
Zaja grimaced, taking note of the spirit that belonged to the noble. The Wilted Cherub Death Painting was still active, standing behind Kael and rejuvenating any damage dealt to him.
Zaja immediately opened his Arcane energy channels allowing the energy to flow throughout his entire body. His eyes lit up with the signature deep red light, signalling that his Shadow Sovereign Flame mutation was now active.
With this mutation, he had unmatched physical strength and endurance with highly improved speed. Not to mention it gave him the ability to control the 12 Red Veil Arcane Beasts and was able to use their individual powers or skills.
Zaja's fist tightened even further as his threw another punch at Kael, this time it wasn't an ordinary punch, it was backed up by the Shadow Flame.
His fist crashes into Kael's jaw, sending him flying back and knocking out several teeth upon impact.
"How... Why do your punches carry so much fortitude Zaja?" Shocked to the very bone marrow, Kael's eyes opened wide as blood trickled down his lips.
And just then, The Wilted Cherub spirit did it's thing again, returning Zaja to tip top health. His teeths were replaced and the blood stopped running down his lips instantly.
"It is truly a trouble some Death Painting if you ask me..." Zaja said with a disgusted look on his face.
At the moment, he had a major problem. Although his mutation gives him insane power, speed and versatility, Kael's Death Painting spirit completely counters him.
Every bit of damage Zaja deals gets instantly restored, meaning Zaja is basically punching a self-healing wall.
So long as The Wilted Cherub stays active Kael would have infinite regeneration and zero fear of trading blows, since any injury gets undone instantly. If he wanted to win, he would consider using anything but brute force.
'I need to disable or outmaneuver The Death Painting or I'll be stuck in an unwinnable loop and probably loose when I run out of Arcane energy...' Zaja said to himself.
His eyes narrowed as he pivoted and launched himself at the Wilted Cherub. His fists burned with the Shadow Sovereign Flame Energy, leaving streaks of dark crimson fire in the air as he aimed to obliterate the healing spirit behind Kael.
But Kael moved immediately, slipping in front of the Death Painting as if anticipating Zaja's mindset. He raised his arms defensively and his face released a nervous look that Zaja picked up during his relentless assault.
Zaja stopped and jumped several steps backwards, coming to an abrupt halt, with his eye brows knitted together.
'Wait... What? He's trying to protect the spirit? A healing spirit?'
Zaja's instincts screamed that something was off. This was a Death Painting spirit meant to heal and support, not to fight or engage in combat. And yet, Kael was still putting his body in harms way to protect a creature that could easily heal.
"You... You're trying to defend it?" Zaja muttered with disbelief in his voice.
Kael's nervous grin took another form, a more confident one that aimed to hide the fact that he had been figured. "Of course... Why don't you pick on someone your own size".
Zaja's mind raced and due to the wisdom that came with the Obsidian Wyrm Stallion mutation he was able to figure it out in a few seconds.
'The Wilted Cherub can heal its master, but cannot defend itself because it lacks the ability to perform combat... Hehe, it's not uncommon for mutation techniques to have stupendous draw backs that render the technique useless once you figure it out...'
"So that's it..." Zaja whispered with a hint of intrigue in his eyes as he studied the creature standing behind Kael. "The spirit is forced to heal you whenever you deal damage, but it cannot heal itself whenever it deals damage..."
"Ha! I find that very ironic because isn't the Death Painting supposed to be protecting you, not the other way around?"
Kael's grip tightened in the air, "You're a lot smarter than I give you credit for Zaja, but don't even think about touching it! It's mine and it's keeping me alive!"
Zaja's lips curled into a sly smile. "Clever, but that won't save you forever."
The Death Painting spirit was just beyond Kael, getting to it would be difficult unless Zaja thought outside the box.
He left the ground, this time —faster than last time. So fast that he left an after image in his wake, confusing Kael that Zaja was still standing there for half a second more.
And it was that half a second hesitation that caused Kael his precious Death Painting, as Zaja appeared beside the spirit and unleashed a torrent of physical blows, throwing tens if not hundreds of punches in one second at the spirit.
The first ten punches felt like punching a soft pillow, after that it felt like he was straight up punching heavy mist of air as the spirit dissolved into inky igor and evaporated into thin air.
Zaja had exorcised the spirit and Kael had returned to his mortal state.
The Valthorne heir was the holy grail of the youths in the Ironforge Dominion, in other words Kael was the king of the youths due to his talent and his promised ranking.
Even those with the social ranking as him knew they would eventually fade in his shadow as the spotlight shone brighter on him.
His Death Paintings even though they were killable, they were somewhat immortal as they could be summoned again so long as Kael hasn't run out of Arcane energy, however he couldn't summon the same Death Painting in continuous succession after it had been killed.
Kael knew he was now exposed and pounced on Zaja, the best form of attack is defense.
Dodging with sleek and precise movements, Zaja let Kael's blows rush past him, then send his right elbow flying upward and smashing into Kael's jaw and rupturing it instantly.
Bam!
Zaja didn't stop there, he landed a vicious head butt on the noble, before landing a two piece punch on the Valthorne heir.
Then, to seal the combination of, he dropped a spin kick on Kael, sending him flying and crashing into the wall, next to the hole Zaja had made earlier.
Kael's mouth, ruptured with large volumes of blood. And before Kael could breath, Zaja moved and locked him against the wall, slicing the scions face with a storm of elbows.
"Urgghhh!" Kael screamed, as his face became a mess of blood and broken teeth.
Just then, in a slight moment of hesitation Kael was able to conjure a hand sign and release another Death Painting.
"Melted Sentinel..."