Cerberus HQ, Special Medical Room: 936, August 12th, Sunday, 3:00 PM.

“You’ve been hiding for quite a while,” Loki commented with a brash smile—his gaze fixed on the silver hair man in front of him, a hospital bed in between him and his target. “To think it would actually be you.”

“If you are here to kill me, just get it done with.” Sovereign replied—butting up his red shirt. “I don’t like wasting time, Loki.”

Huffing a chuckle at the man’s words, the knight stretched his shoulders in anticipation while issuing his reply. “But that would be too easy now, wouldn’t it?” he said. “And you will simply come back anyway. Maybe in a few days, weeks, years… that is of course, if I kill you as you are right now.”

“W-what?” Ivanna—the woman in charge of Sovereign’s health reacted in confusion, leaning her back on the drawer behind her as she listened in on the men’s conversation.

With only one exit to the room—which remained blocked to Sovereign by Loki, the young CEO glanced at Ivanna before issuing his request to the startled woman. “Get out, Ivanna.”

“Uh? W-w-wait, I don’t und—”

“He won’t try anything,” Sovereign turned his gaze back towards the knight. “Will you?”

“I have no interested in whoever this is…” the smirk in Loki’s face widened with excitement. “It will be just you and me.”

Her legs and hands shaking, Ivanna glanced back and forth between Sovereign and Loki as she scurried towards the door—leaving the room without further issue. With Ivanna out of the way, the knight confidently strolled in closer towards his target—stretching his fingers before pressing them back together.

“Let me show you what happens when you fight the true champion of this world,” claimed Loki. “Go on, show me your true self.”

“You are looking at him.”

“Fine… I prefer it this way anyway.”

Jumping from the other side of the bed without warning, Loki leaped the gap between him and his foe with one arm stretch out against Sovereign. He enveloped the man’s face with his palm before landing on the other side, pressing further into a sprint towards the wall in front of him­—slamming the back of Sovereign’s head against the concrete.

“Argh!” grunted the young CEO as he grasped the arm of his foe with both hands—completely outmatched by the gladean knight’s strength.

“No!” a squeaky voice cried out from behind Loki—grabbing his curiosity as he turned to look back from over his shoulder.

“Uh?” his inquiring eyes settle themselves in a small girl observing from under the bed—her brown eyes twitching with fear. “Is that—”

Interrupted by a sudden punch to the face, Loki was snapped back into his duel with Sovereign as the man’s knuckles smacked his chin without warning. He bared one fang with an excited grin while applying further pressure to his grip, forcing Sovereign’s head grasp his arms in a desperate attempt to pull away. As he Thoroughly dominated his opponent, the knight’s attention was quickly redirected back Lucy, feeling the young girl’s tiny fists battering at his legs and knees.

“You again? Hah, you must be that girl Theo was interested in.” claimed the knight—swinging his arm to the side, and hurling Sovereign away into a group of drawers. “Come here for a second.”

“Ah!” Lucy screamed as the knight’s hand approached, making a sharp turn to escape his clutches.

Unable to run fast enough however, she was easily caught by Loki—who gripped the collar on the back of her shirt. Lucy squirmed and kicked as to break free, but her floundering only served to amuse the smirking knight—flipping her around before grabbing her by the head instead.

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“What’s so special about you?” the knight whispered to himself, looking at the girl close in the eye.

“Leave her alone, Loki!” Sovereign roared at the gladean knight, struggling to pick himself back on his feet. He planted both palms on the floor to push himself up, only to drop back down with a painful grunt. “She is just a girl… your fight is with me.”

“Fight?” Loki raised his eyebrow as he moved his head to look at the injured man on the floor, scoffing a quick chuckle before speaking. “You can barely even stand, and I barely even touched you. If only there was something you could do to save her…” his smirk widened—baring his teeth at Sovereign as he slowly led the other hand towards Lucy’s face.

“Don’t you dare…”

Fighting the knight’s grip on her head, Lucy slapped the knight’s hand away as she continued to struggle—screaming out for help with desperate cries.

“Stop me then,” the knight demanded—his confident smirk shifting into frown of confusion, noticing a familiar crimson light lighting up his face. “Uh?”

Growling fiercely at her captor, as the startled girl’s fear quickly transformed into burning fury. Lucy’s brown eyes began to mutate into a strong crimson glow, a coat of black sturdy scales surfacing on her skin as she pressed one hand against Loki’s face. A line of red vein’s ran across her arm and into her palm, the intimidating glare in her expression taking the knight by surprise as he felt the heat transferring from the girl’s skin into his own.

“What the—”

A sudden ignition of crimson fire detonated from Lucy’s hand, erupting a massive quake that shook the ground underneath—its violent magnitude demolishing the floor and walls around them. The powerful attack created by the girl catapulted Loki away into the ceiling, breaking through layers of concrete as he was shot upwards into the higher floors—emerging outside into the open sky.

Both mentally and physically stunned, the knight allowed gravity to bring him back down to earth without resistance. He felt the cold breeze touch his skin as he plummeted face first against the ground, destroying the concrete with his own body on impact—which left a steaming crater underneath him.

“Ugh… what… what just happened?” grunted Loki as he stumbled back on his feet.

“Brute!?”

---------------------------------------

Back inside the medical room, surrounded by rubble and dust with a gigantic whole in the ceiling. Lucy curled her body on the floor as tears rolled down her cheeks, sobbing and crying unconsolably on her own. Utilizing the walls to help himself standing, Sovereign limped with painful groans towards the terrified girl. He dropped in one knee next to her, struggling to breath properly as he took her in his arms.

“Lucy… it’s alright.” He spoke softly to the girl. “I’m here, see? Look at me… it’s over.” the man spoke in between grunts.

Opening her eyes through quivering sobs, Lucy buried her face in the man’s chest as the crimson glow in her eyes faded on its own—traveling across her body into Sovereign’s, easing his struggling breaths. Concerned about everyone else’s safety, the young CEO wasted no time in gathering his belongings from the desk—noticing the broken screen on his phone.

“Dammit…” he cursed through gritted teeth—looking down at girl he held in his arms.

Wasting no further time, Sovereign sprinted away from the room into the hall—slamming the only other door in the area with his shoulder, breaking into a bedroom of sorts—furnished with a single bed, a wooden desk, one small wardrobe, and many supplies placed orderly in boxes.

“Sorry… but you will have to stay here for a moment.” The young CEO told Lucy—who reacted negatively to the idea, shaking her head rapidly with an angry frown.

“I’m not negotiating with you,” he pushed the girl further inside as he placed her on the floor—quickly walking out of the room as he slammed the door shut.

“Aaah!” Lucy yelled at him from inside the room, banging her small hands in the steel coated door.

“You’ll be fine if you hide in here,” Sovereign calmly stated with a smile she couldn’t see. “Not even a gladean knight can break into that place… I made sure of it.”

Refusing to let the man go, Lucy smacked the door vigorously from the other side—uttering not a single word. Sovereign began to walk towards the end of the hall—where a set of stairs led back to the ground floor, the girl’s desperate struggle to break free from the safe room halted his steps however.

“Stop it, if there’s a time you should listen to me is now.” He told the girl. “I left a white flower in the desk, Lucy. It will protect you.”

The banging on the door only became louder as she refused to listen, making Sovereign clenched his jaw with a deep growl.

“I’ll come back for you soon, I promise.”

Sovereign claimed as he sprinted away towards the end of the hall, slamming his palm into a nearby wall not long after. He panted with winded breaths as sweat rolled down his drenched face, blowing air through his mouth continuously before resuming his way towards the upper floors.

“Yeon, Jacob…” his mind wondered.

END OF CHAPTER