He still acted tough. He knew she would be hesitant to attack him now, so he said, "Well, you are strong, I'll give you that. Using all your strength to attack me is what I would expect from someone like you. You can't even fight me at the same level as me."
He gritted his teeth while saying all this because, even though he was standing, it felt like any slight push would make him fall, and the worst part was that it felt like he couldn't feel his shoulder any longer. It felt like it got dislocated, but he didn't let that bother him. He had already achieved his goal because she had lowered her power to that of a mortal.
Her aura changed—frustration and resentment now smoldering beneath her skin.
"You said I can't win against you?" she hissed. "Fine. I'll break that stupid pride of yours—the one that makes you think you're special."
She lowered her stage to that of a mortal.
Even so, she was fast. Strong. Her punches didn't kill—but they shattered. She lashed out, kick after punch, but Lucian danced between them. He let the sound and pressure guide him, dodging with uncanny precision.
This taunting display only made her angrier.
Perfect.
Then, he stopped dodging.
He made it look like exhaustion—sloppy movements, wavering stance. Her eyes flashed with triumph. She tackled him to the ground and straddled him, fists raining down.
"You said you could hurt me, right?" Punch.
"Now look at you—pathetic." Punch.
"You think you're better than me?" Punch.
"You think coming back changes anything?" Punch.
"You got Dad killed!" Punch.
"I'll never forgive you!" Punch.
Lucian POV -
Since I had already attained the result I wanted, I didn't do anything to block her punches or try to dodge I just stayed still while she hit me i felt every pain but it's was for the greater good of what I want I already promised myself I don't care what I'd sacrifice for survival I'll do it in a heart beat even if it's cost me my life . She continue punching me repeatedly and forcefully. She kept punching me while being on top of me. I felt my consciousness slipping, so I gave in.
Aurora, who was watching all this from the sidelines, saw how Celeste was carried away with anger and kept punching me. She thought to herself, "Controlling people's emotions is quite dangerous. What if he's even controlling me?"
She looked at me with a cold glint in her eyes before shaking her head while saying, "I can always kill him whenever I like. I just have to find out his race and know if there are other races stronger that could affect me the way he does."
After that, seeing my bloody face (by now my blindfold had already come off while my sister kept punching me on my head to vent out her anger, her hands covered in blood), Aurora snapped her fingers.
Within a minute, the door opened and in entered the healer and a servant. Aurora had manipulated them, but it would appear as if they had been called to the arena. As soon as the servant saw Celeste's actions,
The moment the servant saw the bloodied scene, she gasped.
"L-Lady Celeste!"
Celeste froze and turned sharply toward the voice. Her face, flushed and streaked with sweat, twisted in fury.
"How dare you—!"
Then she paused. The servant's terrified eyes broke through her rage. She turned to the healer next, but the man looked away quickly.
She frowned, then looked in Aurora's direction. The girl had tears falling from her eyes while wearing a horrified expression on her face.
Celeste's fists hovered above Lucian's bruised face, trembling.
Blood dripped from her knuckles.
Celeste then looked at her hands, seeing blood on them. Her eyes widened in fear, then she turned to me as I lay on the ground. Seeing the bloody scene, she shouted, "No, no, no!"
She was afraid. Even if she resented me for all that had happened, that didn't mean she hated me as a brother. She was just jealous and envious of all the attention I received. So seeing what she had done to me, she felt fear and was broken inside. Then she shouted to the healer, "Come and check him, quick! Hurry!"
The healer rushed to my body, checking my pulse and seeing the blood loss. He said, "He doesn't have much time left. He might die if we don't save him."
He started giving me healing potions, at least to stop the bleeding, which seemed to work. Then he turned to Celeste, seeing her shaking in fear for what she had done. He shook his head before turning to the servant, saying, "Help me carry him. Let's take him to a proper room where I can perform his treatment. Hurry, we don't have much time."
The servant, who had just come out of her daze, hurried to help carry me out of the training arena. On the way, other servants saw this and hurried to help, seeing their young master in such a state. Some thought I had been attacked but hadn't heard any commotion. They just followed behind.
Seraphina POV -
Seraphina stirred awake, feeling a heaviness in her head. It felt like she had been stomped on by a magical beast. She had quite a headache, but also felt like she had experienced the most amazing night of her life.
"Well, this sleep felt like the best I've had in a long time, except for this headache," she said, yawning.
After rubbing her eyes, she felt the cold on her body. Looking down, she could see that she was naked. "Am I naked? I don't sleep naked," she wondered aloud.
Then she looked around the room, seeing the disarray, even feeling how sore she was in her lower regions. Her eyes widened as memories of what she had done with her son the night before flooded into her head. She looked around, shaking, seeing the evidence of what had transpired. She shouted, "No, no, no! What have I done? How could I do something like that? What came over me?"
She was shaken with fear and guilt. "How could I force myself on my son? How? What came over me? No, no, no!" By now, she was already crying. "How could I do it? He only lent me his shoulder, and I took advantage of him, forcing him to have sex with me. I am such a bad mother. How? Why? How could I do something like that? No!"
She was crying, with a hand covering her face. She remembered the passion of the previous night, how everything had felt, how she had committed an unforgivable sin. The worst part was that she had enjoyed it. She kept asking herself why as her guilt consumed her. She didn't even stand up from where she was.
Then a knock interrupted her thoughts. "Lady Seraphina, I've already prepared your morning bath, and I want to clean the room. The children are already at the dining hall waiting for you."
Hearing this, she felt fear. "How do I face him now? Will he hate me? What will happen? What do I—"
The servant outside, seeing she didn't get any response, called again, "Lady Seraphina?"
Seraphina snapped out of her thoughts before saying, "Don't worry, I'm not joining them for breakfast. Just have a tray delivered to me."
The servant replied, "Yes, my lady," then left.
Seraphina, seeing how the room was scattered due to the intensity of the previous night, shook her head to clear her thoughts. She couldn't help but stare in a daze, remembering all the sensations she had experienced. She quickly cleaned up the room before the servant returned; she didn't want anyone to suspect anything.
After that, she dressed. She didn't plan on going out of her room today and decided to lock herself in. She didn't know how to face her son or present herself. She had forced herself on him, so he might not believe any explanation she could offer. So she just kept quiet.
While she was lost in her thoughts, she heard another knock on the door, so she said, "Enter." It was probably the servant who had come earlier, but she didn't hear the door open. She turned to the door, hearing, "Lady Seraphina, I think it's locked from the inside."
She was surprised, wondering how it got locked from inside. She probably had helped Lucian get out while locking the door. Most of what happened after the previous night's passion was still foggy; all she could remember was what had happened between them, not what happened afterward.
So she went to open the door. As soon as she opened it, she could hear noise outside. She turned to the servant who was standing at the door, looking shaken. She frowned, then asked, "What is all the commotion going on outside?"