Chapter 12: Drunk Power

    Leo noticed two new opponents walking down the corridor.

    This time, it was a duo: a broad-shouldered man with mismatched armor and a brutal spiked flail slung over his shoulder, and a woman with piercing green eyes and a set of throwing knives strapped tightly across her chest.

    Leo recognized her instantly—she was the dangerous one he''d spotted outside the prison during the pair-up phase. The one he briefly considered as a potential partner.

    Her cold, calculating gaze had stood out to him even then, and now, seeing her up close, he knew she wasn''t just dangerous; she was deadly.

    Their footsteps echoed faintly, their voices low but growing louder as they neared.

    "...I''m telling you, I heard someone mumbling down here," the woman said, her voice sharp and clipped.

    "Probably just a couple of weaklings hiding in the dark," the man replied with a chuckle. "This''ll be over quickly."

    Leo''s jaw tightened. He turned toward Felix, who was still slumped against the wall, half-drunk and muttering under his breath.

    "Felix," Leo hissed, his voice sharp but quiet. "Be quiet. They''re coming."

    But Felix either didn''t hear him or didn''t care. He muttered louder, something incoherent about how he hated this damn test.

    "Shut up!" Leo snapped, his voice barely above a whisper.

    But, it was too late.

    The duo stopped in their tracks, their heads snapping toward the source of the sound.

    "See?" the woman said, her lips curling into a smirk. "Told you."

    The man grinned, hefting his flail in one hand. "Guess we''re having some fun after all."

    Leo''s fingers tightened around his daggers. He''d hoped to avoid another fight so soon, especially with his body still aching from the last one. But now, there was no choice.

    ''Great. Looks like it''s up to me again,'' he thought, preparing to step out of the shadows.

    But before he could move, Felix stood up.

    Leo froze, staring in shock as Felix staggered to his feet, his face flushed and his expression twisted in drunken fury.

    "Hey!" Felix bellowed, pointing an unsteady finger at the duo. "Who the hell do you think you are, huh? Coming down our corridor, acting all smug and shit?!"

    Blood streamed down her face, but she wasn''t done. She lashed out with her remaining blade, slicing a deep gash across Felix''s arm.

    The wound was gnarly, a brutal tear that sprayed blood across the floor. But Felix barely flinched.

    "You bitch," he snarled, grabbing her by the throat and slamming her into the ground.

    She gasped, clawing at his hand as he pinned her down, his sword hovering over her chest.

    "Beg," Felix whispered, his grin widening.

    "Beg me to let you live." He demanded, as if deriving some sadistic pleasure by making her feel powerless, but the woman did not play by his rules.

    "Go to hell." she replied defiantly, her green eyes burning with passion, as her response made Felix''s grin fade away.

    "Wrong answer." Felix said, as with a brutal thrust, he drove the short sword into her chest, twisting it until her body went limp.

    It was a brutal end for the woman, but thankfully for the man struggling on the floor, his partner''s death meant he was teleported out of the test area immediately, where hopefully the medics could try and save his life, despite all the blood he had already lost from his neck.

    *********

    As the rush of the fight left his body, Felix stood over the pool of blood he had extracted from his opponents, grinning maniacally at his handiwork.

    His chest heaved as he turned to Leo, his grin widening.

    "Well?" he said, his voice casual. "What do you think? Pretty badass, huh?"

    Leo stared at him, his mind reeling. The Felix who had cowered behind a pillar during the last fight was gone. This was someone else entirely—someone unhinged, dangerous, and terrifying.

    "You... killed them," Leo said, his voice low.

    Felix shrugged. "Yeah. What, you think I was gonna let them kill us?"

    Leo didn''t respond. He couldn''t.

    Felix laughed, wiping the blood off his sword with his sleeve. "Don''t worry, partner. I''ve got your back."

    But as Felix turned away, Leo couldn''t shake the feeling that he was looking at a stranger.

    Drunk Felix was nothing like the usual cowardly Felix, and although his drunk version was useful in combat, Leo felt it in his bones that he couldn''t trust this deranged killer the same way he trusted the coward Felix.