Novel Full Chapter 1709: Bloodsport
Chapter 1709: Bloodsport
Villain Ch 1709. Bloodsport
The hallway to the Goldborne estate’s gaming room was long, polished, and eerily quiet—like a temple made for private bloodsport. White marble floors. Abstract black-gold walls with motion-activated lighting that shimmered softly with every step they took.
Neither of them said much.
Allen walked on the left. Azura slightly behind on the right, her steps quiet, but deliberate. She didn’t glance at him, but he could feel the tension on her like static in the air—coiled, searching, ready to unravel something. He wasn’t sure if she even knew what exactly she wanted. But the feeling was familiar.
She’d shown up at his door, smiled over tea, and challenged him to a duel.
That wasn’t normal cousin behavior.
Allen slipped a hand into his pocket and quietly fished out his phone.
He tapped out the message with quick fingers.
Allen: I need to use the duel simulation. Azura demands a duel with me. Seems like she knew the Emperor is me. Is it okay if she knew?
The screen glowed faintly in the dim hallway light.
Azura glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Texting your dad?”
Allen didn’t look up. “Yeah. He needs to know I’ll be using the duel dome.”
“Makes sense,” she said simply. “Rules are rules.”
’She didn’t see the content,’ Allen noted.
A soft chime buzzed in his hand a moment later.
Jordan: I see. We can’t cover it much longer from her. If she already knows, you can confess. But make sure she won’t say a word to the public.
Allen let the message sink in. Then typed quickly.
Allen: Understood.
Azura glanced at him again. “Got the permission?”
He slid the phone back into his pocket and gave her a small, unreadable smile. “Yeah.”
She nodded. Didn’t press. But Allen noticed the faint tilt of her head. She was watching for tells. Still fishing. Still testing.
The silence returned until they reached the door.
The Goldborne gaming room opened. Inside, the lighting shifted into a soft blue-gray hue. The centerpiece of the room sat like a sleeping beast—massive, dome-shaped, and lined with neon veins of the latest tech. The private duel arena simulation system.
Two pods.
Facing each other like thrones across a battlefield.
Allen walked forward first, placing a hand on the activation panel. A low hum vibrated beneath his palm as the device booted up.
Azura trailed behind, slow and composed, like a warrior entering a shrine. Her boots tapped softly across the floor.
As the system glowed to life—sliding panels retracting, the pods beginning to hum—Azura finally spoke.
“Can I pick the weapons for both of us?”
Allen blinked. “Just like that? You don’t even want to negotiate?”
She turned to him with a faint smirk. “No negotiations. I pick. And the environment.”
“Environment too?” he asked, arching a brow.
“Yes,” she said simply. “I need to confirm something.”
Allen narrowed his eyes slightly. Not aggressive. Not defensive. Just reading her.
The way her posture changed—how she wasn’t smiling anymore. Not the shy cousin version. This was different. Sharper. This was… Azura. No… VirtualValkyrie.
“What do you want to confirm, Azura?”
Her eyes met his and held.
“I can’t say it.”
Allen didn’t move.
“But don’t worry,” she added, voice quieter now. “This will stay between us. You can trust me.”
Something in her tone made his jaw tighten. It wasn’t threatening. If anything, it was intimate.
Azura took a step forward. “Also… I demand one more thing.”
Allen raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess. I’m not allowed to go easy on you?”
“Yes,” she said. “I want you to fight me seriously.”
He stared at her.
Longer this time.
That was a loaded ask. Because serious Allen wasn’t just sharp and tactical. He was himself.
He stayed quiet for a long second. Then said slowly, “That depends on you.”
Azura didn’t blink. “Fine. I’ll make you fight me seriously.”
She turned before he could respond and headed toward one of the pods, pulling open the interface panel like she owned the room.
“I want you to use a swordsman,” she said as she slid her hand across the class selector. “No broadswords. No spellblades. No duel daggers.”
“Is this a duel or a setup?”
Azura opened the pod door, stepping inside with a light toss of her hair. “Pick something elegant. A rapier or one handed sword. Something fast. Something that moves. No shield.”
He shook his head, a crooked smile on his lips as he made his way to the second pod.
“Fine,” he muttered. “Let’s see where this goes.”
The pod closed behind him with a click and the inner chamber lit up with soft light. Bio-scanners pulsed across his skin. Neural sync initiated. He leaned back, arms relaxed at his sides, and let the system draw him in.
The last thing he heard before the world shifted was Azura’s voice through the comm-link—
“Don’t hold back.”
Then everything blinked white.
The digital world came alive with heat and wind.
Allen opened his eyes to see they were standing in a dueling ground designed like a cursed arena—wide, open, and shadow-stained. The air buzzed with corrupted magic, the stone floor cracked with age and veins of glowing red sigils running like molten scars across the ground. Above them, there was no sun.
Only a swirling, broken sky—dark violet clouds like torn silk spinning endlessly over the dome. A few jagged pillars loomed near the edge of the battlefield, skeletal and ancient, casting long warped shadows that seemed to twitch with every flicker of cursed light.
The sim always went all-in on realism. The temperature here wasn’t hot, but cold in a way that clung to the skin. The smell was metallic—old blood and dust. Every footstep echoed sharp and clear.
Allen took a slow step forward, his boots crunching over stone debris as he entered the dueling circle.
Across from him, Azura was already there.
She was in a stealth-class loadout—black assassin leathers tightened across her limbs, twin daggers holstered low at her hips. Her cloak fluttered with every faint breeze, but it was clearly a part of the outfit’s stats—something light and flexible, made for movement, not defense. Her hair was tied back tightly, her face expressionless. Calculated.