The clatter of the blade against a fingernail and the wet, spurting sound of blood from sliced fingers continued for a minute.
With every second Seth spent using his life force, another minute of deterioration claimed his body.
Every slash he made, every movement he deviated, required a mind-shattering focus that took a toll not only on his cognition but on his mortal flesh.
His muscles slowly lost strength, his hands trembled from the energy spent, and his tendons squirmed.
Even his mouth and nose bled.
Yet, the Monarch didn't even try to attack him. She even dared to sip from her skull-cup while laughing, blocking every failed slash with a fingernail while regenerating the fingers that were sent flying from his rare good attempts.
Lily chuckled. Every wave of her spurting hands painted Seth with her blood.
It bathed his white hair and flowed down his ominous Oni mask… his black leather armor was now drenched in sweat and gore.
But there was no stopping him.
Every failed attempt blocked by the Monarch led to another bounce of the blade, another motion to rotate, and another slash to be made. With every successful strike came another curve to take and another angle to deviate.
He slashed, jumped, kicked, and swiped his arms to fake his intent, moving at impossible angles just to try to hit what lay beyond those fingers mocking down at his face.
He was dancing—one with his blade.
Every clink, every spurt, and every laugh became a beat in his Blade Dance.
But his enemy wasn't something to be defeated just by dancing or predicting. All predictions ended in one conclusion: his death.
With tired eyes, he gazed at his friends mid-rotation.
Bren smote tens of tree sprouts with his hammer while simultaneously snapping the thorn-jagged veins that scratched and latched onto his limbs.
Bell, on the other hand, giggled as if she were in ecstasy with every wound she inflicted on Bren. Yet, her eyes were empty, tearing with every drop of blood splashing from their leader's body.
'Not enough… not enough!'
His focus drained to the brink of collapse and his glowing hair slowly dimmed, yet he continued to dance.
One moment of hesitation, one moment of affection, was enough for him to fall to the grace of the bewitching Lily.
"You remind me of him… my younger brother."
Lily's voice cut through the violence. She stared into Seth's eyes, the only things she could see behind the mask.
Seth then replied… with another slash toward her neck.
Lily smiled, her eyes blinking slowly as she caught the blade with her fingers, forcing the Blade Dance to stop its rhythm.
"Your eyes… desperate… unbowed… eyes that could analyze and plan for the future… like an omniscient being that could play you on top of his hands."
Seth panted behind the mask. His hair dimmed to a lifeless white and his eyes lost their focus from the abrupt stop of his life force expenditure.
Now, the toll on his body screamed. Even his mind screamed at him not to listen to Lily's sweet talk.
"Don't worry, I won't enthrall you—for now. What's the point of talking if you won't listen to me, right?"
Lily flicked the obsidian blade away from her neck. It was sent flying toward a tree sprout, killing it with one strike.
Seth's hands trembled… it was unusual for him to lose his grip, but the strength of her flick was enough to kill him without a sound.
How could a Master that held an equal rank with Blessed and Demon contend with someone at the peak of Ascendants and Corrupted?
It was almost funny to think he had tried to behead her with his pathetic strength.
Lily circled Seth. Her steps were soft, and her black gown was drenched in her own blood, which rubbed against the floor… her hand slowly slid over his shoulder as she stared at him intently with curious eyes.
"Have you ever tried eating someone's heart?"
Seth's eyes trembled. The feeling of soft tissue snapping between his teeth and the vision of blood flowing from his mouth to drench his clothes felt familiar.
Yet, it was something he hadn't tried in all his existence.
The gruesome act of eating a heart wasn't something he could do, even if it meant dying of hunger.
"No…"
His voice shook, not from exhaustion, but from doubting himself.
'Did I really… No… I didn't… and I never will.'
Lily giggled as they both watched the battle below the throne.
Bren's essence was completely gone, and he fought the sprouts and veins with nothing but brute strength. Bell knelt on the ground, yet her laughter didn't end as she continuously summoned more growth.
Seth's grip on his hands tightened, his nails digging into his whitened skin.
'How? How would the legend come true? Did I really die on the battlefield? Or… will we all die here?'
Lily stood in his line of sight. Her giggles stopped when she looked once more into his eyes.
Seth looked at her with tired eyes, his black pupils slowly blurring from the exhaustion consuming his mind and body.
Yet, the Immortal's face—a familiar countenance that echoed within him somewhere—hurt him.
The loneliness behind her giggles, the agony behind her laughter, and her desperation to see her brother etched themselves into his heart, clawing at his very soul.
"Are you… pitying me?"
Maniacal laughter erupted once more. Lily couldn't help the tear that escaped her eye at the joke of a weak mortal daring to look at her with pity.
"You dare? Let's see who is even more pitiable once I make you kill all your comrades… or even make you eat their hearts with your consciousness intact."
The chilling weight of her words settled in his chest, clearer than any blade.
They were not just enemies… they were polar opposites of existence, and she intended to turn his own morality into a weapon against him.
His realization was absolute… there could be no salvation for them as long as she breathed.
Seth's tired eyes shook, his blurred vision snapping back into a focus that replaced his sympathy with cold apathy.
Once more, he burned his life force despite his overused body.
His mind, which could predict hundreds of possibilities, narrowed to one: to behead the Immortal before him.
A knife slid down Seth's sleeve and slashed through Lily's neck so fast that its reflection became a blur.
Yet, she just stood there and laughed at his futile attempt.
It was no use.
She was immortal.
Lily exhaled a rose-gold aura, making Seth pause his next strike as he fought the enthralling essence of the Immortal.
She raised her hand gently and reached for the mask that blocked his face.
Then, space rippled inches away from her flawless hand as another dagger stabbed toward it, stopping her from pulling Seth's mask away.
On the other side of the throne hall, Xel and Camille panted from exhaustion, their clothes covered in blood and grime.
"Boss! We should leave now!"