Celestial Bloodline

Kyle froze and stared into Alec's eyes. The grip on his arm tightened, and before he could comprehend the situation, the man holding him raised his other hand and struck his chest with force.

Carcel's eyes widened when he saw Kyle being thrown backward in mid-air by Alec. He looked at Alec in disbelief, preparing to ask why he attacked. His words were stuck in his throat when he watched Alec float towards the shadow generals.

"Huh?"

The blue-haired man positioned himself in front of the two shadow generals he was supposed to take down.

Then he raised his sword toward Carcel, and that's when the golden-haired man finally noticed Alec's vacant gaze.

A shuddering breath escaped Carcel's mouth as dark energy began enveloping one of Alec's hands under his gaze. Then a dark petal, pulsating with eerie energy, emerged on the back of his hand.

In the distance, Kyle stopped his body in mid-air and slowly gazed down at his chest where Alec's punch had landed. His pure white shirt, which had remained unscathed throughout the entire second round of Gladiator Arena, was torn, revealing a glaring mark on his cold skin.

A wisp of icy smoke slipped from his lips as his already cold body grew even colder. Under his intense gaze, the dark mark on his chest quickly healed, leaving behind swathes of rejuvenated skin.

"What just happened?"

The voice that escaped from his lips differed greatly from the ones he had been using around his friends. Additionally, the faint smile that always lingered at the corners of his lips after meeting Yue and the others vanished entirely, giving way to a blank, emotionless expression.

He gently brushed his chest and gazed at Alec, who floated before the shadow generals in a defensive stance.

"What happened to you?"

His eyes caught sight of the lone black petal that had appeared on the hand of the blue-haired man, and he remembered some words Hubert, his master, had told him in the No Mana Land.

"Ah... you have signed a dark contract? But the real question is why and when?"

Kyle knew that dark contracts were employed by the dark side to enslave others they couldn't defeat or simply desired to control, forcing them into servitude. But he never imagined that the first time he would witness someone enslaved by the dark side would be one of his own friends.

Carcel looked at Alec and then at Kyle, his brows furrowed tightly. A grave and solemn expression graced his features when he heard Kyle's words.

"What dark contract? And Alec, seriously, what's up with you!? What the heck are you even doing? Snap out of it!"

He yelled with his fists clenched as Alec and Kyle hovered across from each other, both displaying expressions he had never seen before. At that instant, Ceano clicked his tongue with a smirk at Kyle.

"That's all? I thought after everything you have pulled off, you could impress me more. But I suppose I set my hopes too high for just a divine rank."

Will chukled at his words and flashed a grin toward Kyle, who stared at the two of them with an unreadable expression.

The crowd below erupted into a clamor of murmurs and shouts, drowning out Nine's voice as he yelled at Kyle, throwing every curse he knew at the silver-haired man to elicit just one glance from him. Old Hal closed his eyes with a sigh.

"What a pity..."

Jian, Sinon, Lara, Regius, Yue, Mia were equally shocked when Alec attacked Kyle. But they all could do nothing but struggle to get free from the chains holding them.

Kyle glanced at the shadow generals, then at the man floating before them.

"I made a small mistake..."

He acknowledged his mistake. If he had kept using his scent perception skill, he would have sensed even the tiniest trace of darkness on the people around him. Yet, he stopped using the skill when he entered the Arena, thinking that the strong individuals present would notice his ability.

Ceano raised his brow with a hint of mockery reflecting in his golden eyes.

"Mistake? Of course you did. Now your friend, who is under my control, has his life in my hands. He would fight you to the end at my bidding. So, I reckon you're regretting tangling with me and Will. But as the one in charge here, I might let it slide if you get down on your knees to beg me and..."

A paper filled with intricate symbols materialized in his palm.

He had witnessed Kyle's impressive abilities through all the human had shown. Thus, he intended to transform him into a follower of the dark side, and if the human refused, he could always make him meet his end by his own friend's hands.

"Join the dark side."

A vein bulged on his forehead when Kyle didn't even glance his way and had his eyes fixed on the blue-haired man. Ceano laughed and glanced at Alec. Immediately, dark energy slipped out from his fingers.

"Go and fight them both, but don't kill them because I will end their lives."

Alec blinked, his eyes clouded with haze. The sharp, pounding pain in his head left him disoriented and suffocated. However, as Ceano's words echoed in his ears, he swiftly sprang into action and attacked Carcel, who was closest to him.

A loud tremor reverberated through the air as his sword clashed with Carcel's spear, who skillfully blocked the attack but was still pushed back slightly in mid-air.

The golden-haired man yelled at him to regain his senses, but it seemed as though Alec couldn't hear him. He kept attacking relentlessly without saying a word.

Carcel gritted his teeth. He was unable to harm Alec, knowing the shadow generals had influenced him. Why else would Alec attack his own friends? So, he focused on deflecting the man's strikes while trying to make Alec snap out of whatever spell the shadow generals had cast on him.

Kyle glanced at the two men locked in combat. He caught sight of Ceano and Will closing in on him from the corners of his eyes. A tired sigh escaped his lips.

"Did you truly believe that if you could control one of us, you won? How naive."