The plump old man sitting in the middle smiled that typical elder's smile and pressed two fingers of one hand against two fingers of the other, forming a cross-like sign. Permission had been granted.
The announcer shouted,
"Go!"
The word had barely left his mouth when he shot up, flying to the platform built atop a pole rising from the black stone path stretching around battlefeild..
Drum-like waves pounded in Millie's ears. Keave and Rukmini started moving toward each other. Watching their steps, Millie felt the same waves rushing through her from the inside. She saw Keave surge forward, light and careless as air, aiming a punch straight at Rukmini's face. The punch was about to land on Rukmini's nose—but Rukmini was gone.
He had already pulled his upper body out of the way, as if he'd anticipated it. Before Keave could react, Rukmini spun behind him and drove a hard punch into his waist. Keave froze for a split second. Millie thought he would collapse to the ground. But in the very next moment, Keave twisted around, the smile on his face already warped into madness.
Laughing, he lunged and swung a punch at Rukmini's cheek. Rukmini threw his hands up to block it. But At last instant, Keave stopped his fist midair and instead whipped a powerful kick into Rukmini's stomach. The kick landed; Rukmini jerked backward with the impact. His face, however, remained completely calm, his cold eyes locked on Keave. Both of them now stood in the center of the arena, only a small distance between them.
Breathing hard, Keave laughed and said,
"I really don't like people like you… pretty guy."
The moment the words left his lips, his steps tore forward toward Rukmini like a storm.
Before Rukmini could react, Keave's hands shot out for his injured wrist. In one sharp motion he twisted it, yanked, and slammed him down. Rukmini's face crashed into the red stone with a brutal thud. Red splatters smeared across his mouth.
No matter how hard she tried, Millie couldn't read Rukmini's expression—but Keave's laughter she understood perfectly; madness was braided into that laugh.
Keave's breathing was ragged. Looking at Rukmini, bent at the waist and sprawled on the ground, he laughe
"Acting all high and mighty doesn't make you strong, gorgeous."
Suddenly his hands came together. The space between his eyebrows flared with red light.
One look at that red glow and Millie knew the first match was about to end. Keave was going to unleash his energy directly on the unconscious Rukmini.
The same Keave who had walked in with that lazy stride, now clenched both hands tightly together. Fierce red energy rushed out of them, surging toward Rukmini. Light flooded the entire arena.
Silence fell over the place. Everyone knew Keave had defeated Rukmini.
Millie too was waiting to hear Keave's sharp, triumphant laughter. Suddenly the light dimmed. Millie blinked—and the scene in front of her was something else entirely.
Keave's attack had slammed into stone. Rukmini was lying near the edge of the black platform now. He was on his back, eyes open, hands twitching as if trying to rise. He had spread his energy through his whole body and flung himself into the air, throwing himself far away—just enough to escape Keave's strike.
Keave stood with his head bowed, thick black hair falling over his face. Then his pale fingers slid through his hair. With one swift motion he pushed the long strands back and lifted his head. Millie's heart seemed to stop for a moment when she saw him. The smile was still there, but now it held an even deeper intoxication.
Before Millie could even form a thought, Keave's feet left the ground. Eyes fixed on Rukmini, he shot forward again, twisting through the air like a bolt of lightning.
His steps were light—half on air, half on stone—as he moved in that dazed, careless gait. In the very next heartbeat, he broke into a sprint, fast as lightning.
Keave was just about to reach Rukmini when Rukmini's entire body shot into the air. Matching Keave's lightning speed, his body arced right over him. Before his head could smash into the ground, he twisted his upper torso, took the momentum, and blasted forward in the opposite direction like a shell fired from a cannon. His legs whipped from front to back, and both his heels slammed hard into Keave's waist. The sudden kick sent Keave hurtling forward with a violent jerk.
Now Rukmini stood upright. His gaze was fixed on Keave's waist. His jaw was streaked with blood, cold eyes unblinking, broad chest heaving up and down.
Millie was stunned by Rukmini's incredible movement. He had spread his energy through his entire body; that was the only reason he could launch himself into the air all at once. It wasn't an easy thing to do. But Millie also knew that the calmly standing Keave was already planning his next move.
Just as she expected, Keave suddenly spun around.