Chapter 166 Chapter 166
“Seems like I wasn’t quick enough,” Ethan muttered under his breath before he raised his voice. “Doesn’t matter, I am going to kill you both. You arriving here doesn’t change that fact.”
Maxwell didn’t grace him with an answer and passed her, lingering in front of her. A thin layer of ice covered the back of his right hand, and his grey shirt was a bit torn, but she didn’t sense any pain from him—at least he wasn’t injured. Their connection seemed to be back to normal now. Being separated and unable to sense his feelings had been scary for her.
“You’re late,” Valerie said, exhaling.
“Not too late for revenge,” he countered without ever taking his ruby stare off of Ethan.
“Are you angry, demon?” Ethan taunted. “I figured you would like to reunite with your old girlfriend. Looks like I was wrong. Did you kill her?”
Again, Maxwell didn’t answer him and continued to stare him down. His eyes screamed murder. The light in the room flickered madly. It pulsed in sync with his seething fury, creating an eerie atmosphere. A peculiar red hue mixed into its usual white glow. It looked bizarre.
“That’s pretty fucked up, even for a demon,” Ethan continued to mock with a derogatory sneer on his face. “Now you’ve killed her twice. Are you proud of yourself?”
Valerie couldn’t hear him talk any longer. He was disgusting on so many levels, knowing exactly how to rub more salt into an already infected wound. “Shut up.” she yelled. “He never killed her. Not today, and neither in the past.”
Ethan snorted, rolling his eyes. “A lowly human should know when it’s better to keep quiet,” he countered.
“You’re a human yourself,” she retorted, infuriated. That actually got him to shut his mouth for a moment. He curled his lips in anger, scowling at her. Black wisps of magic began to dance around his palm.
“Hold your tongue,” he growled. “Don’t compare me to the likes of you.”
“Enough talking,” Maxwell spat. “You’re testing my patience.” Just like he had done before, he summoned his weapon of choice. He grabbed its hilt and angled the tip of the silver rapier towards Ethan.
Before he attacked the blood mage, he threw her a glance over his shoulder, the seriousness in his steely gaze nailing her to the ground. “Leave the rest to me. Don’t interfere.”
She couldn’t even open her mouth, so quickly did he run towards Ethan, leaving her behind. As agile as ever, he neared the blood mage, using his demonic strength to his advantage. With his white braids flying over his shoulder, he jabbed the rapier at Ethan.
However, the blood mage was all too aware of Maxwell’s superior speed and relied on his magic to dodge. Tendrils of pure shadows rose from the tips of his fingers to create a nearly impenetrable wall between them. Maxwell’s blade was deflected. He momentarily lost his footing and stumbled sideways, but quickly caught himself.
Valerie watched with bated breath, following their movements with her eyes as they danced around each other. Ethan soon realized that he needed to come up with a better plan to fight the demon offensively, and so he created a sword of his own. It was of a bloody red color, similar to his sinister magic. The clanking of their blades filled the room, along with a curse from Maxwell when his opponent managed to slash his upper arm. Burning stinging flashed through Valerie’s body. She hissed while Maxwell didn’t show a reaction other than anger.
He was hellbent on overpowering his opponent, fueled by the dark desire to kill. The sooner he ended the blood mage’s life, the faster she would be out of harm’s way. He was done taking chances, and he wouldn’t let her slip through his fingers a second time tonight. His grudge against the blood mage had turned into something personal when he had dared to hurt her. And Maxwell would make him pay.
Valerie became increasingly nervous the longer their confrontation held on. She wanted to help Maxwell since it looked like he and Ethan were evenly matched. Neither of them was able to gain the upper hand in the fight. It was a constant back and forth. Maxwell’s rapier slashed into Ethan’s shoulder, but he wasn’t phased by the injury and continued to attack as if nothing had happened.
Her indecisiveness made the soft light in her palms flicker on and off. Maxwell had told her to stay out of it, and her painful injuries were more than enough reason to take it easy. However, she refused to stand idly by.
The moment Ethan’s blade dug into Maxwell’s arm, she reached the end of her patience. Maxwell spat a low curse, his red eyes widening as he realized that he wouldn’t be able to avoid the next attack. He raised his rapier to dodge the worst of it.
Valerie was quick to intervene. Her light manifested between Maxwell and Ethan, blocking off the latter’s magic. Doing so cost a lot of energy, but she was able to deflect his blood magic long enough for Maxwell to recover.
Using Ethan’s distraction to his advantage, he saw his chance. His lips curled into a demonic smirk as he plunged his rapier straight into the other’s abdomen. Following up with a strong kick to his stomach, he broke his balance and sent him to the ground.
Maxwell’s eyes glowed scarlet. He wasn’t in a hurry when he approached Ethan, arrogantly twirling his rapier. “Groveling in the dirt suits you well, scum,” he muttered with a tone that could have been called amused if it hadn’t been smudged with scorn. “You’re not leaving this place alive.”
Ethan coughed and wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth. He glowered at Maxwell, not showing any fear at all. If anything, he looked strangely intrigued by the situation, unused to being on the losing side. He pushed himself up with difficulty, kneeling on the ground.
“Very funny,” he mumbled to himself, his lips twitching amusedly.
“Freak,” Maxwell cursed, moving the tip of his blade to his throat. “Shouldn’t have challenged me.”
“I won’t be the last to challenge you,” he smirked. “As soon as he hears that I’m dead, he will investigate. He isn’t going to let you off easily.”
“Who the fuck are you talking about?” Maxwell hissed.
“Oh, you know, just the person who killed your friend Seth,” Ethan replied nonchalantly.
Maxwell and Valerie froze, their eyes widening. Maxwell hid his surprise behind a scowl. “Is there anything you don’t know about the people close to me?” he asked tensely. “Gives me all the more reason to silence you. Who killed Seth?”
“I may or may not have told the human,” he laughed. “If she remembers, she could potentially reveal it to you.”