Chapter 126: Kritos vs Sirius (1)
("The ultimate goal of evolution is the attainment of perfect beauty, without which this world is not worth existing.")
At the announcement of his name, Kritos made his way toward the arena of fire.
As he crossed it, there was no heat, no sensation. An illusion, he might have thought, if it weren’t for Gramm’s will not to reduce him to ashes before those flames.
He didn’t have time to linger and observe the ring.
His opponent was already there, wearing an expression just as neutral and unreadable as his own.
Kritos’ gaze then fell upon Sirius’ appearance: messy cyan hair, one missing arm, an ordinary yet strangely elegant demeanor, and an aura that seemed unremarkable at first glance.
He might have been mistaken, thinking Sirius was nothing more than that... if he hadn’t had the opportunity to heal him and thus study his body down to the smallest detail.
("A true diamond, carefully sculpted, and yet nothing about it shows.")
Casting a glance at Iris, he couldn’t help but wonder:
("Who could have given birth to such twins? A single human lifetime would not be enough for me to fully dissect them.")
Few specimens had ever stirred Kritos’ curiosity to such an extent. Now, he only had one desire: to see what this confrontation had in store for him.
And he didn’t have to wait long.
Sirius made the first move.
He closed the distance between them, advancing with a slow, relaxed step until he stood still before Kritos. Only a few centimeters separated them.
Kritos was intrigued by this strategy... until he felt a faint tickle in his chest, followed by the sound of a thick, reddish liquid dripping onto the ground.
His hand instinctively moved to the wound.
There... where a sword was now embedded.
Sirius was still staring straight into his eyes, wearing the same expression. He could have seemed innocent... if his hand hadn’t been firmly gripping the hilt of the blade lodged in Kritos’ chest.
"Incredible..." Kritos murmured before collapsing backward.
He hadn’t felt any threat, any killing intent, any danger... until he saw the wound with his own eyes.
His blood began to spill rapidly.
His breathing grew heavy, slow.
Sirius then turned his back on him, his face marked by slight disappointment, as if he had expected more from this fight.
But unlike him, Kritos did not share that feeling.
Lying on the ground, he understood what had just happened.
Sirius’ nonchalance had, without him realizing it, lowered his guard just enough. Sirius had taken advantage of it to deliver a fatal strike, with reflexes, speed, and composure worthy of a seasoned assassin.
Kritos would have called him a genius for that alone.
And yet... there was something even more unsettling.
("He had no intention of killing me.")
That realization sent a thrill of excitement through him.
("Our fight cannot end like this.")
<< Cellular Regeneration >>
A pulse ran through his entire body.
He spat out black blood... then stood up.
"You diverted your blade from my heart at the last moment, piercing only my right lung.
If I were an ordinary human, even an average initiate, this wound would have certainly taken me out of the fight... but I could have been saved with rapid medical intervention."
Those words, spoken aloud, made Sirius stop just as he was about to leave the arena.
When he turned around, he was surprised to see Kritos standing again.
"I owed you a favor for healing me. Consider it repaid."
Kritos pulled the sword out of his chest in one firm motion, then tossed it to Sirius, who caught it.
"Very fine material, this sword."
"Thanks," Sirius replied.
A silence settled.
The two opponents remained still, measuring each other once again, while the spectators could feel the pressure rising.
As if the slightest breath could shatter this fragile calm and give way to violence... to the horror of a clash between two beings whose boundary between good and evil was defined only by their own logic.
Kritos slowly closed his eyes.
He let his body be flooded by the surrounding stimuli the diffuse heat, the coldness of his own body, the sound of his blood flowing through his veins...
He completely surrendered to his senses.
So when Sirius attacked again...
His reflexes warned him.
The blade missed him, leaving only a light scratch on his shoulder.
But if he thought for a moment he had escaped... Sirius had not revealed everything yet.
<< Nephele Burst >>
The sword seemed to implode.
An explosion violently hurled him backward, while fragments tore into him from all sides.
Kritos didn’t even have time to catch his breath.
Sirius was already upon him.
His fist slammed into his stomach, unleashing a dull, brutal pain.
Kritos dropped to his knees.
Sirius looked down at him.
"What if you stopped pretending?"
Kritos’ eyes widened.
"How...?" he let out, deeply shocked.
Sirius sighed, visibly annoyed.
"You don’t teach an old monkey to make faces. What you’re doing, I’ve done hundreds of times. You observe how I fight, you analyze my resonance, you study the way I think... You let me grow confident until I lower my guard just a little."
He scratched his head.
"Put like that... I almost feel sorry for everyone I’ve done this to."
"Hm... hm..."
Kritos couldn’t help but let out a faint laugh.
"So this is the first time I try deception... and I get caught immediately. How unfortunate. I would have liked to gather more data... but oh well."
He paused.
Then he smiled.
A smile that, somehow, wasn’t one at all.
"Don’t lose too quickly... and above all, don’t die," he muttered.
His scarlet eyes briefly glowed.
At those words, Sirius’ heart skipped a beat.
His instinct screamed.
Imminent danger.
He leapt backward to create distance.
But it was already too late.
His speed exceeded anything Sirius had anticipated.
A hand brushed against his body.
Thin red sparks burst forth.
<< Destructuration >>
"AAAAH!"
Sirius screamed.
He clutched his stomach.
No visible wound.
But the pain... unbearable.
As if his body were being twisted from within.
Tears streamed down his face.
Blood gushed from his nose.
He collapsed, rolling on the ground like a child.
Iris and Lucy froze, in shock.
They had never seen him react like this.
Not even the worst tortures he had endured had ever torn such a scream from him.
Kritos observed the scene with fascinated attention.
The balance of power had reversed.
Now, Sirius was on the ground.
And he... stood above him.
"Will you evolve... or die as if your life were no longer worth existing?"
A smile slowly stretched across his face.
"I can’t wait to see the answer, Sir-i-us."
