The den reeked of iron and smoke, bodies strewn like discarded dolls. Every breath Luv and Ayu took rattled like broken glass, their blood pooling on the cracked floor.
Ryuga stood above them, his chest heaving, blood dripping from the wound in his side where Ayu's blades had pierced. Even wounded, he looked untouchable—a dragon in human skin.
He licked the blood from his lip and chuckled darkly. "Pathetic. You clawed and bit, and for what? To lie broken at my feet? This is the fate of wolves who challenge a dragon."
His men cheered, their chanting growing frenzied.
But amid that chaos, Ayu's trembling hand found Luv's. Her fingers were ice cold, yet the grip was strong, unyielding.
She whispered, voice raw with pain:
"Luv… even if we die here… we won't bow to him."
Luv turned his head toward her. Blood poured from his mouth, but his eyes burned like obsidian fire. He squeezed her hand back, his silence speaking louder than words.
They were beaten. Outmatched. Crushed. But something inside them refused to break.
Slowly, painfully, Ayu forced herself upright, using her blade as a crutch. Luv dragged his broken body up beside her. Together, side by side, they faced Ryuga once more.
The crowd fell silent.
Ryuga's smirk faltered for the briefest second. "Still standing? You amuse me more than I thought possible." His voice deepened into a snarl. "But amusement ends now."
Ayu's voice rose above the silence, sharp and steady despite her ragged breaths:
"We don't care if you're a dragon. Together—we'll tear you down."
Her words cracked through the air like lightning.
Luv stepped forward, blood dripping from his knuckles. He finally spoke, voice hoarse yet unshakable:
"You won't break us. Not today. Not ever."
Their words weren't just defiance—they were a vow, sealed in blood, carved in pain.
The aura around them shifted.
Ayu's eyes gleamed with unyielding fire. Luv's silence became suffocating, heavier than chains. Together, they radiated something primal, something terrifying: the will of wolves who had nothing left to lose.
Even Ryuga's men shuffled uneasily, their chants dying down.
The dragon narrowed his eyes. For the first time… he felt a flicker of danger.
Ayu raised her blades, blood dripping from their tips. "Luv… let's end this."
He nodded once. "Together."
They surged forward—not as broken fighters, not as prey—but as wolves united by oath, ready to tear the dragon down or die trying.
The den shook as their final clash began.