The Duke's Passion

"Put them in their place!"

"How dare they wield a sword in the presence of the empress?! Treason! Death is what they deserved!"

"Your Majesty! We believed in you!" 

"Show no mercy!"

"Show them the power of the Empress of this empire!"

"The power of the empire!"

"Long live, Your Majesty, the Empress!"

After Jaime's cringe cheering, every one of them also cheered at the top of their lungs. I gritted my teeth while exchanging blows with Maxine and George. Both attack simultaneously while I defend and return the favor with equal strength.

"Tch. You have a lot of fans, Your Maje --"

Before Maxine could finish her sentence, I trusted Catharsis towards her, grinding against the blade of her weapon while swinging Lakresha at George at the same time. With my flexibility in fighting, I managed to make them fall several meters back. 

I took a deep breath, grinding my teeth before I turned my head in the people's direction. "Stop cheering on me!" Did they think this was some sort of exhibition?! How could they cheer so enthusiastically when we could die any second?

My roaring echoed slightly as they instantly shut up. But I still ground my teeth as I set my eyes on Maxine and George once again. They were already preparing to attack once again. How could I focus on these two if their cheering kept distracting me?

"Haha! What a bunch of fools." Fabian landed five meters away from my vantage point, laughing gleefully as he glanced at the people. "Your Majesty, how can you break their hearts like that?"

"They distracting me."

"Oh, no, but that is better." He shrugged, tapping the other half of his Maleficent against his shoulder lightly. "It will help them raise their morale."

"Morale, tch." I spat out, clicking my tongue in irritation before noticing a habit Fabian never had before. I narrowed my eyes, seeing him grin when he saw my gaze lingered on his shoulder momentarily.

I didn't stay idle as I felt our opponents made a move once again. "Hey, cheer for me!" I yelled at our audience and then disappeared from my spot to meet Maxine and George halfway. Since I was looking out for Fabian's back, I knew he was also fighting Acheron and Benedict once again. 

If not for the fact that they didn't sell their soul to become undead, this fight would be over. But that wasn't the case. Acheron and Benedict were fighting Fabian at their own discretion to avoid getting grazed by Maleficent. But Maxine and George didn't share the same hostility. 

Even when I wounded them multiple times, they didn't even wince and healed quickly. Their regeneration was insane, but I had been testing something to find a weakness. I needed a bit more time to prove this theory in my head. 

The cheering took some time to reach my ear, but it quickly volumed up again. Although it was distracting, I treated it as some background noises along with the high-pitched sound of metals clashing. 

'Fabian had always had his way of fighting. He surely needed more recognition than just a butler,' I thought, slicing Maxine's belly with Catharsis while grazing George's robust arm. 'But our dear butler is the least ambitious of all.'

"Slice them in half, Your Majesty!" 

My brows twitched as their misplaced enthusiasm still get into me, but I was starting to get used to it. We needed their noise and Fabian was right. It would raise their morale since the rebels were getting closer. I could already hear their faint shouts as well. 

"Last one," I whispered before I launched an attack towards George after throwing Catharsis in Maxine to create a distance between us. "You come first, George."

His eyes widened as soon as I appeared below him, reaching out my empty hand to the side. "Fabian!!" as soon as I shouted, the empty hand that was initially holding Catharsis caught Maleficent. I winced at the pain under my grip as I felt like Maleficent was biting me, but that didn't hinder me from thrusting it up, piercing George's chin through his skull. 

"George!!" Maxine was about to rush towards us before I killed George, but Catharsis was akin to a boomerang flying back at her back at full speed. When she defected it, George was no more. 

Blood poured on me as it trickled down to my face. I tossed Maleficent back in Fabian's direction before catching Catharsis. From my peripheral vision, I saw Fabian catch Maleficent. My palm throbbed as I gazed down at the lifeless George. 

I didn't know how come Fabian could wield such a monstrous weapon. If I held onto it for a long time, my hand would wither. My respect towards Fabian just shot up through the roof.

'Fabian never taps his weapons against his shoulders. He doesn't hold Maleficent like that or would want to stain his clothes by doing so. If I didn't notice his hints, this battle will take longer,' I thought, watching Maxine gaze at the dead person lying in his own pool of blood. The cheering also stopped momentarily before their voices rang once again, chuffed that one was down. 

"You...!" Maxine's tone was dead, not blinking her eyes as she set them on me. "... I will kill you and that butler."

"Sounds good to me." I shrugged, wiping the blood that was dropping from the apex of my nose. I felt like I bathe with blood, making me lick my lips only to scrunch my nose.

"Bitter," I commented in disgust. My taste in blood only wanted Sam, although blood itself sometimes made me crave. "Maxine, your regeneration seems to slow down."

My eyes fell on Maxine's tummy and arm. I had been wounding her in the same area along with every random attack so she wouldn't notice. My theory was correct. Although they heal quickly, if they get wounded in the same area repeatedly, it would take longer.

Her brows slightly raised, realizing that I figured out this fact. The side of my lips curled up into a smirk as my eyelids drooped, eyes glinting wickedly. 

"Does this mean if I minced you repeatedly, there is a chance you will never regenerate? Hah! Shall we test it, Maxine?"

And without further ado, I bolted in her direction, without giving her time to grieve or think. This was where they were wrong.. For waking up the demon sleeping deep within me.