Zaren delegated preparations to others and rushed towards the cage area. The full moon, in its full glory, hung directly overhead.
"What was that..." Xenthiour tried to stand. A punch connected with his stomach, sending him flying several meters and crashing into a wall. "What just happened?" Xenthiour tried to get up, but he spat out reddish-black blood. As he attempted to rise, another punch landed on his face, sending him flying again.
A dust cloud enveloped the area as a familiar, grating voice echoed, "Xenthiour."
Julicious stood as he had been earlier, blood flowing from his ears, nose, and eyes, now frozen. Xenthiour looked at his own bleeding hands, his vision clearer than before, and then at Julicious's face, which held a calm smile.
Xenthiour roared, "JULICIOUS!" He rushed towards Julicious and punched him. As expected, the blow landed, and blood gushed from Julicious's body, but Xenthiour was shocked and froze. Julicious's blood was not dark; it was a light shade of red, a beautiful and serene color.
As he looked into Julicious's eyes, his hatred intensified. "ALLERIANIYA!" Xenthiour extended his arms and punched Julicious again. Julicious bled more and more, but he didn't flinch or move from his spot. "My turn," Julicious said with a smile. His arm began to darken, but his body remained intact. The energy was more concentrated than before.
Julicious punched Xenthiour, sending him flying forty meters or more and crashing into the camp area. Julicious roared in anger and moved towards Xenthiour. His eyes were red, but something had changed; despite the redness, they didn't seem to hurt him as much.
Soldiers began attacking Julicious, but he ignored them, moving through their ranks. Their hearing loss made communication impossible. "Julicious is here! Get ready to..." one soldier said and attacked. Julicious grabbed him by the mouth and slammed him into the ground, his face covered in blood, his body lifeless.
Julicious casually moved on as if nothing had happened. "Attack at once!" one soldier shouted, but no one heard him. Seeing him charge, they followed. Julicious grabbed a soldier by the neck and dragged him along, killing him within seconds. He threw the soldier's body ahead and quickly finished his job. Julicious moved towards the camp, his eyes clouded with bloodlust, shouting his enemy's name once more: "XENTHIOUR!Meanwhile, Julicious was heading towards Xenthiour, who remained confused and frozen for a moment. "What was that feeling?" Xenthiour jumped out of the crater formed by his impact and began laughing. After a long breath, he looked towards the sky from his torn tent and said, "Julicious, tell me how I will be able to save myself from..." His voice was filled with echo and sarcasm, pretending to be afraid, but he quickly turned serious and finished his sentence, "...save myself from rain." He burst into laughter again and moved out of his camp.
"Zaren, where are you?" he said. After a few minutes, Zaren ran towards Xenthiour's camp. He froze when he saw the destroyed tent and rushed inside, but found no one. He turned in fear and bumped into something. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Xenthiour standing there.
"Sir, what just happened here?" Zaren asked quickly. Xenthiour said in an emotionless tone, "I want you to handle Julicious from now on. I have work to do." Before Zaren could ask anything else, Xenthiour headed towards the darkest part of his camp, which was still intact despite the damage. As Zaren was about to move, he looked back at the camp and said, "Sir, I will send someone to fix the camp," and began to leave. "No need," a voice came from inside. Zaren stopped and, after a moment's thought, said, "Okay."
Zaren expected an answer but received none, and he decided to leave. "Before you go..." the voice reached his ears again, stopping him. "Before you go..." the voice repeated, then continued after a brief pause, "Make sure I want Julicious alive and breathing." Zaren was annoyed but couldn't do anything and replied, "Yes." "One last thing," the voice stopped Zaren once more and said, "Do anything you deem fit. Sever his limbs if he doesn't comply. I only want him alive, no matter how pathetic his situation."
Zaren smiled and shouted, "Yes, sir!"
Zaren rushed towards the cage area but was confused and muttered, "Where are the soldiers, guards, and everyone? Did they evacuate the area? But I haven't seen anyone."
He was confused and, in that state, something hit his head. Zaren put his palm to his head in pain and, within a fraction of a second, prepared for danger. "What was that?" he said, looking around. A drop fell from his head, and he saw the moon turned red. In that red moonlight, a man sat on a throne of bodies. Hundreds of soldiers were piled on one another, and the man sat there motionless, like an empty vessel, but his body moved with each breath.
"JULICIOUS!" Zaren shouted, wiping the blood of his fallen soldiers from his forehead. He grabbed his blade and rushed towards Julicious.
Julicious slightly opened his eyes and then closed them in disappointment."