Yalco forced the shock away, glancing downward.

'My leg.'

In the next moment, blood surged to harden the flesh around his thigh where Malakai's kick was about to land.

But then Malakai's thigh convulsed, the muscle fibers contracting unnaturally, abruptly stopping the motion mid-swing. His leg twisted in a blur, shifting direction—

Boom.

The kick blasted into Yalco's torso. Eyes wide, he had barely hardened his blood before it caved into him.

'Such power!'

The force knocked all the air from Yalco's lungs, and his body was hurled away, smashing into the floor like a skipping stone.

He soon regained his balance, skidding to a stop just before hitting a wall.

"Malakai!" Renlo's shout rang out.

Dust and debris filled the room, followed by the metallic tang of blood.

The exchange had been brief, very brief. Yet so much had occurred that Renlo hadn't been able to follow. He clenched his fist, eyes blazing.

'I can't keep being useless!' he told himself. Though he could barely follow them, he knew how the battle started. The first punch had been thrown toward him. If not for Malakai, he would be dead.

"This fight is beyond you, Renlo." As though reading his mind, Malakai glanced at him. "You're not cowering, you're simply accepting your limits."

Renlo hesitated, but eventually nodded. Malakai had spoken nothing but the truth.

"Be careful!" he said, before moving back to give them both space.

The dust began to clear, and with an icy stare, Malakai watched as Yalco rose from the ground, his stony expression having changed. Now, he had a smile plastered on his face.

"I must admit," he said, "you shocked me, Ninth Vein. I wasn't expecting any of what you just showed."

"Did the Sixth Pulse send you?" Malakai's voice was ice.

"You're going to have to hit me more than once to get that information out of me." Yalco cracked his neck, shaking his head. "Now, shall we continue?"

The tension spiked once more. But just as they were about to move, the door to the office swung open, followed by a voice.

"That's enough, Yalco."

Bam!

Malakai's eyes sharpened as he saw Yalco sink to his knees, head bowed in reverence.

"I believe we've given my beloved nephew the welcome he deserves."

"As you wish, Master."

By sheer instinct, Renlo had found himself standing behind Malakai. Compared to Yalco, the boy could not stop his limbs from shaking.

This was due to the figure that had just entered the room. One of the most important figures in the whole of the west. The Sixth Pulse of the grand Sanguine Clan, and the leader of the Umbrella Group:

Vaelira Von Sanguine.

"You've gotten taller, beloved nephew. Hmm. More handsome too."

Malakai turned towards the Sixth Pulse. She was just as he remembered.

Vaelira was of average height, beautiful beyond imagination. Her clothes were as dramatic as her personality, a striking gown of flowing crimson silk, cut to shimmer like fire with every step.

Her expression was one of constant joy and amusement. Though she'd just ordered a thirty something year old veteran to attack a fourteen-year-old, she had never seemed happier.

Malakai found his arm inching closer to his weapon. Each Pulse of the Sanguine was dangerous, and Malakai considered Vaelira to be one of the most dangerous, and this was because of one thing:

'She's unpredictable.'

Vaelira could, for no reason whatsoever, attack and beat him up. When asked, her likely response would be: I just wanted to see him bleed.

She was that crazy.

"So, what do you think of Yalco, beloved nephew?" Vaelira asked, moving towards him. She brushed his crimson hair like she was petting a dog.

"He's very strong, right?" she said, turning towards him. "Yet, you still managed to hit him."

'She was testing me.' Though he already suspected, Malakai had just confirmed the full gravity of what had occurred.

"You know…" Vaelira smiled, "rumors usually tend to be exaggerated, my beloved nephew. But I can see that they didn't do you justice. A fourteen-year-old at synergy stage…"

Vaelira walked over to the window, before making a chair with her blood and settling down on it. She crossed her legs and looked at Malakai. Her smile turned maddening.

"You have secrets. Secrets I am very curious about. For the sake of time, why don't you tell me now?"

Malakai met her stare with his own. Though his expression remained calm.

"I'm here to investigate the missing persons case in the Umbrella Group. I demand your cooperation."

Vaelira froze for a moment, then burst into a sudden, maddening fit of laughter. She clutched her stomach, waving away the tears spilling from her eyes.

"I had no idea my nephew was also a comedian! Ha!"

Her laughter died as abruptly as it began. Then, a cold wave rippled outward from her, washing through the room.

Malakai's hair and cloak snapped backward under the gust, while Renlo instinctively edged closer to his side, tense.

Vaelira leaned forward in her blood-made chair, her smile now gone, voice like ice.

"What makes you think you can waltz in here and make demands?"

"I was sent by the Sovereign himself."

Her eyes narrowed, unimpressed.

"I received no letter. No order. For all I know, you could be lying. Maybe you're a spy sent to harm the Umbrella Group. Who's to say you're even the real Ninth Vein?"

Malakai felt a chill pierce his body.

'She's threatening me.' He realized.

There was no way she hadn't heard of the Sovereign's decree and Malakai's new role.

But without any physical proof of the Sovereign's authority, without a sealed order or token, her words carried weight.

Every claim she uttered was a justification, a weapon, grounds to detain him, to interrogate him, perhaps even to torture him.

Vaelira wasn't the head of the Umbrella Group for nothing.

Malakai let out a heavy breath. It would seem as though this woman was even more dangerous than he thought.

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