As Elijah descended upon the sleeping man, a thousand emotions flashed through his mind. Guilt. Shame. Regret. But overwhelming them all was the rage that had been simmering within him for weeks since discovering his sister’s fate.

He hit the unconscious figure with predictable fury, his jaws clamping down on the man’s head. He squeezed, and it burst like a watermelon. However, Elijah’s first clue that things were not as they seemed came from the taste. For better or worse, he’d become quite acclimated to the way blood played across his tongue. Yet, when Roman’s skull burst, he wasn’t rewarded with the iron-rich taste he expected. Instead, it was a flavorless gel that threw Elijah’s mind into turmoil.

A second later, he felt a projectile moving toward him with the speed of a bullet. He leaped, kicking off the nearby wall and landing on the other side of the bed. The projectile had clipped him, but it had done no real damage.

Not at first, at least.

That didn’t last, though. The moment he landed, he felt a searing pain shooting through his leg, rendering his back claw useless. Elijah responded by crouching behind the bed, shifting into his human form, and casting Soothe before using Touch of Nature. The shooting pain slowed, but it didn’t stop. So, Elijah used Healing Rain as well before chaining Touch of Nature as many times as he could over the course of the next ten seconds.

Meanwhile, via another facet of his mind, Elijah felt his attacker cautiously approaching from the other side of the room. By the time he’d managed to corral the venom coursing through his body, the man had winked out of sight. Yet, Elijah could still feel the tiny organisms clinging to his skin. More, he could detect his footfalls as well. If he hadn’t had so much experience with illusions – his fight against Thor and the battle against the vampire in the Magister’s Estate – he never would have noticed. But now? He’d trained himself to recognize it.

So, when the man finally rounded the corner of the enormous, four-poster bed, Elijah met him with a sweeping staff strike that knocked him from his feet.

Elijah then followed it up with an overhand attack that should have crushed his attacker’s skull. Yet, when the staff descended, it found no target to receive the blow. Instead, it crashed into the floor, the metal cap clapping against the tiles. Then, Elijah felt someone behind him, and he dove forward.

Another attack nicked him, and like the other, it delivered another dose of venom. Fortunately, Soothe and Healing Rain persisted, so it was healed before it had the chance to get going.

Elijah rolled to his feet, facing his opponent.

Predictably, it was Roman. The man looked identical to the one from the bed, save that he was fully dressed and wearing all of his equipment. In addition to the sword in his hand, Roman carried a dagger at his belt. There was a bow nearby as well, explaining the origin of that first projectile.

“Good,” Elijah said, leveling his staff at the man. “When I hit your clone, I thought you might run. I’m glad you stayed to fight.”

“Who are you?” growled the self-styled king.

“My name is Elijah Hart.”

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” Roman asked. Then, recognition dawned in the expression on his face. “You’re number one.”

“I am.”

“I…I’ll give you anything,” he said, taking a step back. “What do you want? Money? I have thousands of ethereum. I have equipment, too. The best in the empire. Girls, too. As many as you want. Boys, if that’s your preference. I can give you anything you want.”

“I want my sister back.”

* * *

For the first time since becoming a system-sanctioned Lord, Roman regretted his chosen path of conquest. Not only had it robbed him of the Seal of Authority, which would have doubtless come in handy against the powerful enemy before him, but his choice had also shifted his power away from the city and into his armies. Now, even in his own city, he was only a little more powerful than a normal person of his level.

Hart.

The name was etched into Roman’s mind. It represented the turning point where he’d gone from a man who was simply reacting to the world’s transformation to one that stood a chance of saving what was left of humanity.

“Alyssa,” he whispered.

But the odd man who’d invaded his bedroom did not respond. Instead, he leveled his staff at Roman, and a second later, a bolt of lightning descended from the ceiling, striking Roman in the chest. It sent him flying across the room, but fortunately, he had Assassin’s Calm to keep him from losing consciousness.

Assassin’s Calm

A passive enhancement that allows the caster to maintain cognitive ability even when enduring attacks that would otherwise render them unconscious. Number of charges based on Ethera attribute. Current: 2 (3)

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When he’d first received the ability, he’d considered it a waste. However, it had since proven to be the difference between life and death, and on more than one occasion. Unfortunately, while Assassin’s Calm kept him conscious, it did nothing to combat the involuntary contractions of his muscles that came with the intense electrical current he’d just endured.

So, Roman hit the wall a second later, cracking the plaster and knocking one of the paintings loose. He only remained there for a split second before he saw a beast out of nightmare rushing in his direction. It was like someone had crossed a sasquatch with dinosaur, then packed on a ton of muscle to boot. The monster covered the ground in an instant, and when it came into range, it swung its long arms like siege weapons tipped with massive claws.

But by that point, Roman had regained control of his body, and he used Predation again.

Predation

Disappear from sight, teleporting behind your foe. Charge based on Dexterity. Current: 1 (2). Cooldown based on Dexterity. Current: 7 Minutes

He only had two charges, and he’d already wasted one of them after the assassin had destroyed his Decoy. Still, as he teleported behind the monster, he hoped it would be enough. The moment he reappeared, Roman dragged the Dagger of Sundering from its sheath at his belt and used Weaken:

Weaken

Inflict your opponent with crippling weakness, cutting their attributes by 60%. Duration based on Dexterity. Current: 3.3 seconds.

The creature tried to respond to the attack, but Roman had surprised it. So, the blade flashed forward. Yet, to his surprise, it didn’t slice through the monster’s thick scales. Instead, the sound of metal on metal echoed through the room, and he was rewarded with only a single scratch.

But the ability – both his own as well as the one attached to the Dagger of Sundering – worked. Roman saw the monster stumble as its attributes were ripped away. He permitted himself a grin as he followed it up with his finisher:

Murder

Instantly slay anyone weaker than you. Viability based on total power. Cooldown based on cultivation level. Current: 7 Weeks

It was fortunate that he hadn’t had to use it for some time. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been available. If it hadn’t been, he suspected that he’d have no chance of defeating the hulking brute of a monster.

Roman’s sword flashed forward in a one-handed attack, biting deep into the off-balance monster’s shoulder. However, instead of the expected influx of kill energy, he received nothing but a backhanded attack that sent him sprawling across the room.

Because of Assassin’s Calm, he didn’t lose consciousness when his head hit one of the posts, snapping it in two from the sheer force of his flight. He looked up to see the creature turning to face him. The Dagger of Sundering – the very weapon that had allowed him to kill Alyssa – was sticking out of his side.

The monster yanked it free with a spurt of blood. Then, it growled, “Nice try.”

After that, the ethera in the room swirled, and the monster’s wound completely closed.

* * *

Elijah felt Guardian’s Renewal fight a war against the raging energy inside him. It was aided by Healing Rain as well as Soothe, but still, it felt like it was on the verge of failure. He had no idea what kind of ability Roman had used on him, but he suspected that it was contingent on the weakness he’d felt at the end of the dagger attack. The moment it had scratched him, his attributes had dropped precipitously, leveling off at only forty percent of their normal values.

He knew that if he hadn’t immediately activated Guardian’s Renewal, he would have been slain by the follow-up. But because of the powerful healing spell – as well as his other two spells – he’d barely managed to last long enough for his attributes to return to normal. Then, Guardian’s Renewal had finished its job, returning him to perfect health.

He stepped forward, and Roman tried to scramble away. Elijah didn’t rush. He didn’t need to. He felt certain that he’d just taken the man’s best shot and survived. Likely, Roman didn’t have anything left.

Of course, the man wasn’t going to simply surrender. Instead, he finally pushed himself to his feet and aimed his sword at Elijah. As he did, he exasperatedly spat, “What are you?”

“An angry brother,” Elijah growled, stepping toward Roman. He didn’t intend to finish the fight just yet, so he didn’t throw himself at his foe. Instead, he approached slowly. Almost gently.

And Roman responded by trying to skewer him with his sword.

The weapon moved blisteringly fast, suggesting that it was under the influence of some other ability. And its edge glistened with red light, confirming the presence of another. However, Elijah didn’t bother trying to dodge. Instead, he only embraced Iron Scales, which resulted in the satisfying clink of metal against metal. The attack also elicited a response from Shield of Brambles, piercing Roman’s chest with a sharp thorn.

The man danced back, then attempted to flee.

Elijah wasn’t going to allow that, though. So, he rushed sideways, planting himself in front of the door. Roman surprised him by diving onto the bed, where he’d dropped his bow, and in less than a second, he’d conjured an arrow from nothing and fired it at Elijah. It hit him in the shoulder, digging through Elijah’s scales despite his active ability.

But it was no real use.

It didn’t bear any afflictions. Nor did it go deeper than the muscle. It was a flesh wound, nothing more. Elijah continued toward his sister’s murderer, vengeance gripping his heart and mind. He saw the fear dancing on Roman’s face. The terror. The knowledge that he couldn’t escape what was coming.

Elijah drank it in, savoring the man’s psychological turmoil.

Roman tried to dart around Elijah, but his attributes were too low, and he was caught in mid-stride as Elijah clamped his giant claw around the man’s neck. Then, he raised him high into the air. Roman’s legs kicked like he was in the middle of a child’s tantrum, which Elijah thought was appropriate.

From everything he had seen, Roman was a small, selfish man. A child who could only see things from his own distorted perspective. A nuisance that needed to be destroyed.

Roman tried to speak, but it only came out in an unintelligible rasp as Elijah calmly strode toward the balcony. Once they were there, he let his transformation drop away. For what he was going to do, he wanted to be in his human form. He’d taken the man’s measure, and he knew that his natural shape was more than enough to deal with Roman.

In a way, it was slightly disappointing.

He’d come into the palace expecting a grand fight. A true battle to shake the heavens. But, aside from that one sequence, all Elijah had gotten was the weak attacks of an overconfident man who thought his position and authority could save him.

But it couldn’t.

Not from Elijah. Not from a brother’s fury.