"Ha ha ha…" Dain laughed, the sound raw and jagged, as blood trickled steadily from his nose, sliding down to his chin in thin crimson streams. His face was already swelling where the blow had landed, but he didn't care. If anything, the pain seemed to fuel him.
"This is your power, huh?" he sneered, voice rising with defiant amusement. "This is how you show dominance?"
His laughter grew louder—deliberate, mocking, and laced with venom. Sophie's eyes widened as she realized what he was doing. He was baiting them. Pushing back. Asserting control. It was a tactic they had been taught at the center—a brutal psychological maneuver. It's a power play, their instructors had drilled into them. Never fold. Make them think they're the ones losing control.
But this… whoever this man was, he wasn't an ordinary opponent. Playing that kind of game with him was dangerous. Reckless. Maybe even suicidal.
