The dust settled from the impact, but Alex was already standing, his body radiating an unsettling calm.
He cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders as if shaking off the pain, and then exhaled. His blue eyes gleamed under the crimson glow of the palace's eerie lighting.
"That hurt," he admitted, but there was no frustration in his voice. Instead, there was something else—excitement.
He knew one thing from the last clash: in a matter of strength, he wouldn't lose to Anos.
What was left was magic, and after his training, he now felt more confident about that as well.
Anos, looking at his reaction, smirked. "Good. I'd be disappointed if it didn't."
Alex clenched his fists, the air around him shifting as he steadied himself. "Since you've been using your bloodline this whole time, I think it's only fair I do the same."
Alex knew that Anos had his bloodline activated, although partially. That was why he was even more confident.
