The blood rune ignited with a flash of crimson, casting eerie light across the rubble. The air shimmered with pressure. A warded dueling zone. No interference. No escape.
Harvey lunged first. His movement wasn't flashy, but sharp—like a knife forged for one purpose.
The Executioner blocked, parried, countered with a spiral of flame. Harvey slid under it, dagger carving upward. Sparks flew.
They clashed again. Steel rang like bells of war, echoing through the ruins.
> [System Skill Activated: Adaptive Counter – Observation Phase Complete.]
Harvey's eyes narrowed. Every move his opponent made was being logged, processed, and broken down.
"You copy techniques now?" the Executioner asked, blades locked. "No wonder they cursed you."
"They failed," Harvey replied coldly, kicking off the man's chest to create distance.
The Executioner swiped the air. Chains of light burst from his palm, snaking toward Harvey like hungry serpents.
> [System Warning: Chain-type magic detected. Initiating disruption protocol.]
Harvey threw a talisman mid-air—one of the forbidden ones he'd reverse-engineered months ago. It exploded in a wave of nullifying static, cutting the chains short.
The Executioner hesitated. That was enough.
Harvey surged forward, runes crawling across his blade. One strike. Two. Three.
The third cut deep—right through the Executioner's side.
But instead of blood… mist.
Harvey's eyes widened. "A clone?"
"No." The voice came from behind.
Too late.
The real Executioner rammed a blade into Harvey's side, twisting it.
Harvey staggered—but grinned through bloodied teeth. "Got you."
> [System Skill Activated: Vengeful Binding – Soul Mark applied.]
A chain of spectral light erupted from Harvey's wound, latching onto the masked man's arm. It burned like fire, branding the Executioner's soul.
He screamed.
Harvey ripped the blade out of his own side and plunged it straight into the man's chest.
Silence.
The blood seal beneath them fizzled, corrupted by the clash of mana.
The Executioner collapsed, mask cracking.
Harvey stood, panting, hand pressed to his wound. "Whoever sent you… tell them I'm coming."
But the man only smiled as he bled.
"You should be worried about who's coming for you..."
Then he disintegrated into ash.
Harvey didn't respond. He turned toward the sigil again, burning its pattern into memory.
He would find the one who made it.
Even if he had to tear down the entire Executioner Order to do it.
---