He began heading towards the cage area as Zaren started preparing the army. Halfway there, he suddenly stopped, his eyes filled with joy as he witnessed Julicious's beastly nature. "What a sight to behold! It's not often one sees an Acroniyan in such a state."
As Julicious heard his voice, he rushed towards Xenthiour. Xenthiour effortlessly dodged every move and found an opening. With a simple punch, Julicious was sent flying several meters. "This is no fun," Xenthiour said as he stepped back. Neothaliyan soldiers quickly surrounded Julicious, whose eyes were on the verge of bursting, having lost his sense of sight.
He followed the soldiers' sounds and attacked them. His entire body was covered in a black liquid, and he began to break apart as he roared. Neothaliyan soldiers were pushed back in fear. "XENTHIOUR... XENTHIOUR... XENTHIOUR!" Julicious repeated his name, his anger and hatred growing with each utterance.
One soldier stepped forward, hoping to deal with him easily.
"MOVE!" Julicious roared, his eyes completely red, his body growing darker and darker. His roar was so powerful that all the soldiers instantly fell to the ground, their eyes, noses, and ears bleeding, their vision fading along with their breath.
Xenthiour fought with Julicious, easily dodging his attacks and smiling. "I've had enough playing for today. Go back to your cage." Xenthiour raised his voice. "...go back to your cage, as you're supposed to, pest! GO BACK!" Xenthiour's roar was far more powerful than Julicious could have imagined. Within seconds, Julicious's eyes, ears, and nose flooded with blood, and his other senses began to fade. He heard Xenthiour's final word: "Pathetic."
Julicious's brain began to play tricks on him. He remembered Acroniya, the land he had sworn to protect, and his vision turned the green grasslands red, the towering mountains falling to the ground, and his people, who had survived the battle, being killed instantly.
"XENTHIOUR!" he shouted his name and passed out. "Don't worry, pest. We have no reason to kill you. And you can call my name as many times as you wish; it won't change the fact that you're weak."
"Xenthiour," he heard his name again. Xenthiour was shocked, surprised, and, most importantly, excited. "What do we have here now?" he asked sarcastically. He saw Julicious still standing, but his body was too damaged to move.
Xenthiour burst into laughter. "A hollow shell like you, what could you possibly think? What could you possibly do?" He tried to look serious and said, "I dare you to move. Punch me. Kill me." He moved towards Julicious's heart and said, "Do you remember how I killed your people?" He turned serious. "Your time is up, Julicious. Wait for your backup to arrive, your commander to arrive."He turned back and shouted, "But nothing will change! Nothing will change!" His eyes fixed on Julicious, who was trying to punch him. But Julicious was so weak that he couldn't even lift his hand; he was simply collapsing to the ground.
Xenthiour, with the same disappointed tone, turned his back to his camp. "Utter disappointment. I thought after..." "Xenthiour... Xenthiour... Xenthiour," the voice repeated his name. "You don't know your place, Julicious."
Julicious was barely standing. Xenthiour rushed towards him, grabbed him by the neck, and gripped his head with his right hand. "Tell me, Julicious, how does it feel to have such power?" He moved his lips near Julicious's ear and muttered, "Feels powerful, right?"
He pulled his head back, and his expression suddenly changed. His grip tightened on Julicious's head, and a small, dark energy rushed towards the damaged areas of Julicious's body. Julicious's head skin and skull began to disintegrate.
The dark energy covering Julicious began to flow back to Xenthiour, who, with an evil smile, shouted, "Return it t..." But before he could finish his word, a strong pressure fell on him, crushing him to the ground.
After a few seconds, he was free and looked around in confusion. He was so perplexed that he didn't even bother about Julicious. "Xenthiour... Xenthiour..." those words echoed through the area.
As the dust cleared, he saw Julicious. His wounds were healing, and his eyes were returning to normal, but the bloodlust remained.
Julicious's right hand began to overflow with dark energy, and his shoulder area was covered in a translucent energy. He rushed towards Xenthiour, who, with a mix of anger and arrogance, began to charge his attack, saying, "Do you really..." But his words caught in his throat. He looked down at his hand in shock. He quickly searched for something and, finding it, turned back to Julicious.
Julicious had already closed the distance and was about to strike. Xenthiour dodged at the last moment. As Xenthiour was coming down, Julicious changed his direction at the last second and punched Xenthiour before he could land. Although the sudden change reduced the attack's energy, it still maintained some momentum.
Just before the punch connected, the dark energy exploded, giving the attack back its lost momentum and sending Xenthiour flying back to his camp. "XENTHIOUR!" Julicious shouted and began killing everyone in his path.
Julicious moved towards Xenthiour, killing soldiers along the way. Xenthiour, meanwhile, called for Zaren. "Zaren, capture Julicious. I want him alive, but..." he paused for a second and continued, "I don't care about his limbs. Kill them."