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The heavy, double-bladed axe whistled through the air, carrying enough brute force to snap a large concrete pillar in half.
In the stands, thousands of spectators held their breath, waiting for the sickening crunch of bone and the tearing of flesh and bones.
Alex did not even blink; he was standing as still as he was before.
A split second before the cold iron could smash into his ribs, his body moved, his knees bent slightly, and his spine arched backward with impossible, fluid grace.
Thanks to his Naagin Bloodline and the recent shedding of his old, rigid skin, his joints and muscles possessed the terrifying, bone-defying flexibility of a serpent.
The sharp axe blade sliced through empty air, brushing so close to his breasts that the wind fluttered the buttons of his shirt.
Alex let his weight shift onto his left stiletto, using one of his hands as a pivot point.
He spun gracefully beneath Abu's heavy arm, his hips swaying with a smooth, hypnotic rhythm that drew a collective gasp from the entire front row of the stadium.
As he spun, the warm, invisible pulse of his enhanced Pheromone Secretion washed over the barbarian like a heavy, intoxicating fog.
Abu stumbled forward, carried by the momentum of his missed swing.
He planted his heavy boots in the dirt, shaking his head as if he had just been hit by a small hammer.
"What... What is this? What did you do to me?" Abu mumbled, his deep voice slurring slightly.
The metallic tang of old blood and sweat in the pit vanished, all replaced by Alex's pheromones.
Slowly finding their way into Abu's lungs with every breath he took, seeping straight into his bloodstream and clouding his mind.
Alex stopped a few feet away, running a slim hand through his short black hair.
Beneath his clothes, his body was burning.
The sheer amount of Empathetic Energy pouring into his body from the crowd's lust and shock was pushing his transition into overdrive.
"Is that all you have, big guy?" Alex whispered, his voice sounding demonic with a soft, melodic hum that seemed to slip right inside Abu's ears, vibrating against his eardrums.
"You said you wanted to tear my clothes off. You'll have to move a lot faster than that to catch me."
Abu grunted, his eyes slowly losing their sharp focus.
He looked at Alex, but instead of seeing one delicate noblewoman in a white suit, his vision blurred and split.
He saw three identical figures standing in front of him, their skin glowing with a soft, inviting warmth under the stadium lights.
With a frustrated roar, Abu swung his axe again, a wide diagonal slash aimed at the center figure.
Alex didn't even draw his sword. He simply stepped to the side, letting the heavy blade slam harmlessly into the dirt floor, sending shockwaves and sand flying.
Before Abu could pull the weapon back out of the ground, Alex glided inward.
He moved like a ghost, his white leather shoes making zero sound on the dirt.
He leaned close to Abu's chest, practically pressing his soft shoulder against the giant's bare, scarred skin.
"Missed again," Alex murmured again, his breath cool against the barbarian's neck.
"Hahahaa!!" Abu swung his heavy alloy shield around to bash Alex away, but Alex was already gone, ducking beneath the shield and popping up behind him with a light, mocking laugh.
For the next minute, the arena turned into a bizarre, one-sided dance.
Abu charged, swung, and smashed with everything he had, tearing up the arena floor into a cratered mess of sand and dust.
Yet, he couldn't touch a single thread of Alex's suit.
Every time he swung, his muscles felt heavier, his reaction time slower, and his mind more tangled in Alex's pheromones.
He was swinging at hallucinations, chasing phantoms while his heart beat wildly in his chest.
Up in the stands, the crowd's initial confusion turned into a frenzy of excitement as they watched a gorgeous woman effortlessly play with a raging beast.
[ Source Power Increased: +112 Points! ]
[ Source Power Increased: +145 Points! ]
[ Current Total Source Power: 928 Points! ]
[ Feminization Progress: Phase 2/9 (Ecdysis) – 71.4% ]
High above on the VIP balcony, Lord Malakor slammed his fist against the railing, his face turning bright purple with rage.
He had bet a fortune on this fight, and he was being made to look like a complete fool in front of the city's elite.
"Stop playing with her, you useless animal!" Malakor screamed, spit flying from his mouth.
He reached into his storage ring and pulled out a small, glowing crimson token. "If you won't fight like a monster, I'll make you die like one! Break her!"
Malakor crushed the token in his fist.
Down in the dirt pit, the slave brand burned into the thick skin of Abu's neck suddenly glowed with a blinding, blood-red light.
Abu let out a sound that wasn't human, a raw, agonizing scream of pure torture that echoed off the stadium walls and silenced the cheering crowd.
His body arched violently as the curse engraved into the slave mark invaded his heart, forcefully igniting his life essence.
"No... master, please... my head!" Abu cried out, his voice cracking as thick veins, black as ink and thick as ropes, bulged across his arms, chest, and face.
The heat radiating from his body skyrocketed.
His skin turned a deep, angry crimson as his blood began to literally boil inside his veins.
A thick, dark red mist of pure blood energy erupted from his pores, swirling around him in a violent, howling gale.
Unable to bear the weight of his defensive gear in this crazed state, Abu grabbed his heavy shield and threw it away.
The heavy metal shield flew across the arena and slammed into the reinforced energy shields with a deafening CLANG, it was deflected back into the nearby walls, burying itself half a foot deep into the solid concrete.
Abu gripped his double-bladed axe with both hands, his knuckles turning white.
When he looked up at Alex, his dark eyes were completely gone, replaced by glowing pools of solid, bloodshot crimson.
There was no reason left in his face, no reluctance to fight a woman, and no lingering intoxication from the pheromones.
The sheer intensity of the berserk blood energy swirling around him acted like a raging fire, burning away the mist and shattering Alex's psychological hallucinations instantly.
In berserk mode, Abu's physical strength and movement speed seemed to have instantly more than doubled.
He was like a pure, mindless raging bull, running entirely on burning life force.
Alex felt the sudden shift in the air. The surrounding crowd immediately silenced. However, a small, disappointed sigh escaped Alex's lips.
"What a shame," he muttered, his tone turning icy cold. "I was really enjoying the free meal. Leave it to a greasy old man to ruin a good time."
Abu didn't give him another second to talk. The dirt beneath the giant's boots exploded, and he vanished.
He moved with such terrifying, explosive speed that he broke the sound barrier inside the arena.
A sharp CRACK echoed through the pit as Abu appeared directly in front of Alex, his huge axe already descending from above, wrapped in a thick aura of blood red mana.
To anyone in the stands with a power level below D-Rank, Abu was just a dark red blur.
Normal eyes couldn't even track the swing; they could only see the air twisting around the blade.
Up in the announcer's booth, Leo's frantic voice screamed through the earpiece: "BOSS! GET OUT OF THERE!"