Rex didn't wait for the god to process the threat. He moved before the last syllable had even left his lips. His Lustful Villain register triggered a cold, predatory shift in his consciousness that collapsed the distance between intent and execution to absolute zero.
He wasn't running; he was a blur of violence, a streak of crimson and tan cutting through the divine haze at a speed that Kaeleth's depleted temporal reserves could no longer track.
The god's eyes widened, pupils contracting as he realized his reaction time was now measured in seconds while Rex was operating in milliseconds.
What followed was not a fourth exchange. This was not a tactical back-and-forth exchange.
It was an execution wearing the mask of a fight.
Kaeleth had made the fatal error of every immortal who had never tasted defeat: he had treated Rex like a puzzle to be solved rather than a catastrophe to be survived.
