Chapter 70 70: Clueless

In the next second, the blood stopped pouring out. It froze, then shifted. A dense crimson mass gathered and solidified into a barrier like form around where his limbs had been torn from, preventing him from bleeding out.

Nyx stared at Delmas calmly.

He was now limbless , legs and arms gone, suspended in the air, tears streaking down his bloodstained face.

Then, without a word, she turned and walked back to Malakai. Delmas floated behind her, his mangled body held in the air by blood.

She knelt once more in silence.

Malakai understood what she meant instantly, she had completed his order.

Then, suddenly, a voice sounded in his thoughts.

‘Damn… is every innocent looking person a psychopath in this generation?’

Malakai ignored Valentine’s remark completely. The chubby man had just indirectly called him a psychopath.

Although Malakai was tall, his face looked somewhat innocent and gentle. If not for his crimson, intense gaze, one that made it seem like he was about to go on a massacre, he might’ve been considered harmless.

He nodded at Nyx, and as he tried to rise up, an unimaginable amount of pain surged through his body. He staggered back, gasping slightly.

Nyx instinctively reached out, but Malakai flinched. His grip on his scythe tightened as he looked at her coldly.

Seeing this, Nyx paused. For the first time, her expression cracked. A flash of sadness crossed her face, but she quickly hid it, bowing her head.

“I apologize, Ninth Vein,” she said softly.

Malakai stared down at her for a second before sighing inwardly. She was helping him, yes, but he didn’t like being touched. And more importantly, he still wasn’t sure if he could trust her.

Then Valentine’s voice came again.

‘She stopped a man who almost killed you without even touching him, and she’s kneeling in front of you. I think you can trust her.’

‘She’s following the orders of someone else I’m still not sure of. She’s not doing it for me.’ Malakai replied in his mind.

‘Hmm,’ Valentine thought. ‘That sounds like excuses to me. We both know you have trust issues.’

Valentine couldn’t help but bring up the time back in the trial world. Malakai hadn’t even wanted to close his eyes after finding out Valentine was just a ghost, one who couldn’t hurt him in any real way.

‘People have proven they can’t be trusted,’ Malakai thought.

‘I don’t know about you, but I learn from my mistakes.’

‘So you’re using the actions of others to judge her?’ Valentine surprisingly shot back. ‘That’s like saying you’ll never drink water again because it choked you once. No matter how you spin it, that’s not fair.’

Malakai’s eyes narrowed. He couldn’t think of a response. Valentine had a point…

He shook his head, deciding to think about it later and muttered to Nyx, “It’s fine.”

Afterwards, using the support of the tree behind him, Malakai steadied himself and briefly inspected the state of his body.

‘It still hurts everywhere. But… my leg…’

Every inch of him throbbed in pain, but his right leg was by far the worst. The spot where Delmas had hit him with the blood bullet radiated only an intense agony.

Malakai slowly turned his cold gaze to Delmas. The man was still suspended mid-air, writhing in pain.

Using the staff of his scythe as support, Malakai walked over to him, step by step. He stared him dead in the eyes.

And though Malakai didn’t utter a single word, his gaze said everything, he would make sure the rest of Delmas’s short life would be nothing but suffering.

Then, Malakai turned towards Nyx.

“There’s another one in the Synergy stage. He’s currently battling Varek. Capture him too.”

“By your order.”

Just as Nyx rose and was about to move, she paused. Her expression shifted into a frown as she turned back toward Malakai.

“I apologize, Ninth Vein… but he’s no longer in the vicinity.”

Malakai’s gaze narrowed. “Varek?”

“He’s seconds away, Ninth Vein.”

‘Shit…’

Malakai frowned. He didn’t like loose ends. Donju escaping now meant the man was out there with information, information that could become a problem.

Delmas had been the one who observed him the most, but Malakai had no idea what Donju had seen or learned.

He sighed. What was done, was done.

The sharp sound of air splitting suddenly reached their ears.

Malakai turned his head just in time to see a figure shoot out from the thick foliage of trees, landing a few meters away from them.

Varek.

Varek’s eyes instantly locked onto Malakai, and a light burst within them.

“N-Ninth Vein!”

He was so happy and relieved that his words came out in a stutter. Malakai was alive.

Just seconds ago, he had been fighting Donju, until the bastard suddenly disengaged mid-fight. It had been obvious then. His job had only been to stall.

After Donju escaped, Varek didn’t even bother chasing. Instead, he bolted towards where he’d seen Malakai run earlier.

Delmas had gone after him, and the entire way, Varek’s thoughts had been a mess. He’d believed Malakai was already dead.

There was no way a Genesis could escape from a Synergy stage evolver. A blood champion, no less. Of Malakai had died, the Blood Sovereign would kill him immediately.

But somehow… somehow, he had survived.

The question of how began creeping into his mind, until he finally registered the presence in the area.

And then, it hit him.

To Varek, he suddenly felt like the most clueless person on the planet. How had he not noticed it? How had he missed everything else?

More importantly… the figure kneeling in front of Malakai.

Her presence alone made his instincts scream. His legs wanted to run. His blood felt heavy, like it wasn’t his own anymore. Like someone else was just a hand’s reach away from seizing it.

Varek’s eyes widened in horror.

There was no way he could forget this aura.

‘A Bloom…’

His mind trembled. Then, he saw her face. His heart skipped a beat.

“T-The Red Eclipse!”

He blurted it out instinctively, and instantly regretted it as Nyx’s aura slammed into him like a mountain.

Varek froze.

‘I… can’t move.’

A wave of fear crashed over him. His body trembled violently under her pressure.

But just as he stood there trapped in his own panic, Malakai’s cold voice cut through his thoughts.

“What happened to the other one?”