Chapter 32

Cracks of gold and purple lightning flashed the sky and roars of thunders shook the arena. Zain cast another attack, summoning rainclouds high above and striking a massive bolt of lightning to the man standing dead in the center.

The light blinded the world for half a breath before the deafening boom bashed the audience's ears. Rain dripped and drizzled down from the lingering clouds, covering the city in a curtain of sunshower.

Yet, Vesper remained standing, surrounded by the charred, crumbling platform, without a wrinkle on his clothes. His silence was enough of a mocking.

Zain clenched his trembling fists. Although he had been on the offense and Vesper had done nothing but block his attacks, he didn't feel any closer to winning or even finding an opening. He couldn't let Vesper be on the attack but if he didn't find a way soon, he would run out of fuel.

"You know you shouldn't space out in a duel, brother." Vesper flicked a finger.

A crystal pillar shot across the platform. Zain hurled forward and rolled to the ground, barely dodging the attack, when a dozen spears flew towards him from the corner of his eyes.

He managed to form a barrier only to shatter on its tenth hit. A spear pierced through his right shoulder while another sliced across his left thigh. He bit down his pain as he clutched the hole in his shoulder and administered perpetual currents, trying what he could to stop the bleeding while keeping his eyes on Vesper.

Although he knew Vesper was powerful and prepared himself, it was frustrating to say it would never be enough. Not only he was strong in terms of his energy pool, both the nature of his magic and his impeccable control also made for a deadly combination.

Unlike the majority of crystal magic which was a form of advanced ice magic, Vesper's crystals were pure minerals. They were as hard as diamonds and could only be broken by brute force. That was, if the wielder was stronger than Vesper. In theory, his lightning could destroy his crystal, but his strength barely reached half of his.

It must be the demonic nature of his magic that made it incomparable to human magic.

He silently touched the dagger slipped behind his back, hidden under the tail of his coat. There was no other way.

The action didn't slip past Vesper's eyes. He rested his hands behind his back and lowered his eyes. "Are you surrendering, brother?"

Zain stopped the bleeding on his leg and propped himself up, numbing himself to the pain. "I've barely started."

Vesper chuckled and raised a hand. "Is that so? I was almost disappointed."

As the clouds thinned above them, sparkles of light glinted under the sunlight and crystal arrows rained down another round of storm. This time, Zain was ready and outran it.

His hands crackled and strings of electric wires formed around Vesper. The wires shrunk with a grip of his fists and snapped Vesper into its trap. He blasted the highest output and bathed Vesper in gold and purple sparks.

"…" Vesper's muscles twitched from the vicious currents, flogging his nerves like micro whiplashes, yet not a sign of pain showed on his face. Still, he played along and ended his spell.

No longer being chased by the arrows, Zain took a sharp turn in his track. He brandished his dagger and lunged straight towards Vesper.

Vesper watched the incoming blade with no alarm nor fear.

It was time.

When the blade sunk into his heart, swirls of red rolled into the gemstone.

In the carriage, Shen Yuan saw the glow on his end and wiped off his remaining nosebleed. He accompanied the weakening pulse as he gripped the dagger with both hands and took a deep breath.

This was going to hurt.

Discarding all thoughts, he swung his dagger and drove it straight into his heart. Blood rose up his lungs and spurt out of his mouth.

"!" Juliard whipped out the recovery potions he prepared but was stopped by Shen Yuan.

"Not now. We can't waste it."

Juliard nodded and readied himself on standby instead.

Shen Yuan pushed the pain off his mind and focused himself absorbing every last bit of Vesper's life force. Thankfully, he managed to acclimatize nearly all of his earlier batch. He was confident he could accept half of it. If he pushed himself a little, he could probably bear a third-fourth of it.

As soon as he felt like he was reaching his limit, Juliard poured the potion into his mouth on his cue, easing the pain in his chest and replenishing his vitality. He kept going at a steady pace, channeling Vesper's life force evenly across his psyche to minimize the burden.

He thought it would at most only be twice more than Mu Chen's portion, but this was beyond it. On his third potion, his body finally reached its utmost limit, and he had to pull the dagger out before his innards blew up, letting the wound slowly close.

Resting it on his lap, he watched through blurred, weary eyes how the wisps of red rapidly consumed the gemstone, turning it into the most beautiful shade of ruby.

It reminded him of Vesper's eyes.

"…"

No. He still had time.

He straightened on his seat and digested the chaotic energy inside him. It didn't need to be all of them. Just enough for him to accept the rest.

Vesper's pulse was already gone.

The only portion left was the one in his hand. He wasn't shameless enough to betray his trust just because of a full stomach.

Once again, he pierced the dagger into his chest, startling Juliard next to him. He showed the remaining two vials in his hands in warning.

"It's enough." Shen Yuan nodded in reassurance.

Slowly but surely, the deep red crimson waned out of the gemstone. Three particularly spaced knocks came to the door and a hushed voice informed from outside.

"Prince Zain is on his way."

Juliard replied with two knocks and turned to check on Shen Yuan only to find he was gone.

Only the dagger with the clear amber gemstone was left behind.

 ***

Shen Yuan woke up to find his body damp with sweat. He opened the lid and sat up, taking 2 mouthfuls of air.

"Welcome back," Yang Mei greeted. "You were out for almost 2 weeks this time and your vitals spiked within the last few hours. What happened in there?"

"I encountered a larger portion of the vulture. How much did I get this time?"

Yang Mei processed the data in her tablet for a few minutes before answering, "71% is left. Excluding the previous session, you managed to get 22% of it. That is a significant increase. What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. It's pure luck." Shen Yuan understood why Vesper's life force carried such a weight now. Even right now his head was still throbbing.

"We don't know how strong the vulture will be in your next encounter, so it's best you recover until you return to optimum state. How many days will you need? I will convey it to Lieutenant General Gao."

"One full day is enough." Shen Yuan realized Gao Lang wasn't with them. "Speaking of which, where is he?"

"He has other works to attend to. He came yesterday but you hadn't woken up."

"Too bad. I was looking forward to my morning entertainment."

"It's currently 4 PM."

Climbing out of the pod, Shen Yuan changed his clothes and got ready to leave. "I'm resting back in my own quarter and won't be answering my communicator. Contact my handler if there's anything urgent. Gao Lang should've given you his number, right?"

"Yes, he has. Have a good rest, Agent Shen."

Shen Yuan left with a nod and headed out of the research quarter. He took the elevator to the seventh floor and made his way to the specialist quarter. Unlike other areas where soldiers, officers, and regular employees perpetually filled the floor, it was rare to see more than 3 people on the seventh floor.

Hence, it was known as the ghost floor.

Reaching his room, the door scanned his figure before unlocking with a beep, and the familiar mechanical voice greeted him as he entered, "Welcome back, Agent 10. Your laundry have been washed and dried. Would you like me to prepare your bath?"

"Yeah. Make it a bit hotter than usual." Shen Yuan closed the door behind him.

Although the room wasn't big, it was the size of a 6-person shared room in regular quarters—excluding his personal bathroom. He also got a wardrobe, a double bed, and a desk with his own personal monitor. It was a standard hotel room.

"Will a 5-degree increase be enough?"

"Double it."

"Affirmative."

While his housekeeper prepared his bath, Shen Yuan went to his nightstand and pressed a combination of numbers on the landline phone before placing the handset to his ear.

"Please state your model and allocated password."

"Model C24. Password: 990132."

"Match confirmed."

A click ensued from the wardrobe and revealed the pathway behind it.