Alexander jerked his head back sharply, his gloved hand cutting through the heavy cloud of dust in the air as he gripped his obsidian dagger and war hammer even tighter against his chest.

His midnight-blue leathers hung torn open at one shoulder now, the thin mythril threads snapped and catching the moonlight like tiny lost stars scattered in the darkness.

The enchanted gag dug painfully into his jaw muscles, twisting every burst of rage into nothing more than weak, garbled grunts that barely carried—"Mmphh! Fffuuu-kkk yuuu!"—while his sharp olive eyes burned with a fury he could not release in words.

His long silver hair stuck wet to his skin from sweat and clung full of gritty sand, and the once-perfect star-lily crown sat crooked on his head but still glowed faintly bright, a stubborn symbol of his unbroken will rising above the mess around him.

Deep down, he burned to shout at Jennife, to call out her foolish pride for never seeing his real power, but the cold ball forced his tongue flat against the floor of his mouth, turning his royal voice into pathetic animal whines that only made her sneer wider and the crowd laugh harder from the stands.

Jennife let out a raw, guttural yell straight from her chest and swung her massive body around with a force that made the ground tremble under everyone’s feet.

She brought her Greatsword down in a powerful overhead swing that hit a nearby boulder square on, splitting the ancient rock perfectly in half with a deafening crash.

Chunks of old stone flew outward in a thick cloud of yellow ochre dust mixed with razor-sharp quartz fragments that rained down like deadly hail across the moonlit sands, stinging exposed skin and forcing some nobles to shield their faces.

The sheer power of the blow echoed off the tall marble pillars like thunder rolling through the arena, causing the braziers to flare up wildly with fresh bursts of crimson flames that sent hot embers spiralling high into the night sky.

Up in the stands, the crowd first gasped in unison and then broke into horrified screams that filled the air.

"Oh, gods above, she is going to crush him completely flat into nothing!"

"Is he going to die?!"

"No, Jennife wouldn’t hurt him beyond repair!"

Alexander saw the swirling dust cloud as his perfect chance, grabbing it like a gift handed to him by the shadows themselves.

He launched himself high into the air—his boots kicking up sprays of glittering quartz behind him—and landed as light as a feather right on the flat upper edge of her Greatsword where it stuck embedded in the ground, the thick blade creaking and bending slightly under his sudden weight.

From there, he vaulted forward in a smooth blur of dark leather straight onto her broad, armoured back, moving so fast she barely had time to react.

His war hammer came whistling down in a tight, precise arc aimed exactly where her armour met at the elbow—CRUNCH—the heavy head slamming into the joint with a sickening impact that bent it backward at a wrong angle, accompanied by a wet popping sound as the ligaments inside tore apart loud enough for those close by to hear over the chaos.

Jennife’s scream tore out sharp and ragged from her throat as she gritted her teeth in pain.

"Aaaargh! You dirty little rat, get away from me!"

The pain shooting through her arm like a river of fire that made her whole side go numb for a split second.

But her powerful alpha build recovered fast, twisting her body with violent speed despite the hurt.

Her huge gauntleted hand shot out and clamped down on his thigh like an iron trap closing shut, fingers digging in deep through the leather.

With a grunt of effort, she hurled him off her back like he weighed nothing more than a piece of discarded trash.

He spun wildly through the hanging dust clouds, his body slamming down hard onto the packed sand first on his shoulder with a solid thud that knocked all the air from his lungs in one choked, muffled oof.

Bright lights exploded across his vision, and his already sore ribs screamed in fresh agony as he lay there gasping for a moment.

"Your Highness, listen to me—all of this fighting is completely for nothing, and you are only waiting around to lose in the end," Jennife yelled at the top of her voice, yanking her Greatsword free from the ground with a long, gritty scraping sound that set teeth on edge, warm blood already trickling down from her damaged elbow in steady drops.

Her eyes looked wild and unfocused for just a heartbeat before sharpening again as she started walking toward him with slow, deliberate steps, her injured leg dragging just a little but her overall strength still holding firm.

"You are going to lose this whole fight, and you will lose every last bit of your pride right along with it too."

"Everyone knows an omega’s true place is simple—be a good wife and give birth to strong babies for your alpha while the rest of us handle the real fighting and leading. Just go back home to the palace now and let Elaine fill you up properly like you belong."

Alexander pushed himself up to his feet slowly, his chest heaving as he wheezed for breath, flecks of blood-tinged spit bubbling up at the edges of the gag and dripping down his chin.

His body felt like a roadmap of fresh hurts everywhere—his jaw throbbed deep purple and swollen under the straps, his shoulder hung completely numb and useless—but the fire of determination still burned hot and steady deep inside his core, refusing to go out.

Ignoring the pain shooting through every muscle, he lunged forward again in a wild, desperate scramble straight onto her back once more.

He dropped the hammer to the sand without a thought this time, wrapping both arms around her thick, corded neck in a tight chokehold while locking his thighs like a vice around her armoured sides.

His silver hair whipped wildly in the night breeze as he yanked backward with all the leverage his body could muster—"Mmmphh! Diiie allllready!"—the veins in his neck standing out thick and pulsing from the effort.

Jennife bucked and twisted her body hard like a battle-trained warhorse trying to throw a rider, arching her spine sharply to slam him backward down onto the unyielding sand below.

"Get the hell off me right now, you annoying little bug!"

His back hit the ground with a sharp crack that turned his whole world white for a blinding second, tiny quartz grains slicing fresh red welts across his torn leathers like hundreds of tiny knives.

She spun around fast on her heel, her massive fist driving forward to hammer straight into his stomach with a dull thump that doubled him over completely in pain, leaving him curled up fetal on the ground and coughing out a misty spray of blood through the soaked gag.

Jennife showed no sign of slowing down or holding back. "Raaagh! Just give up already, you spoiled princess!"

She unleashed another primal yell like a wild beast let loose sweeping her Greatsword in a low, vicious arc through the sand that kicked up flying grit and was aimed to slice both his legs clean off at the knees.

Alexander rolled desperately to his left at the last possible instant, the whistling whoosh of the blade passing so close to his throat that he felt the rush of air displace his silver hair.

Springing back up through the pain, he drove his boot forward in a quick snap—kicking a full handful of loose dust and jagged quartz shards directly into her unprotected eyes.

"Agh—no, my eyes, I can’t see anything!"

Her eyes watering up instantly and blurring her vision with stinging tears that ran down her bloodied cheeks.

He twisted his body smooth and graceful even as agony ripped through every joint, planting his feet firm and thrusting his legs out like twin battering rams—thud-thud-thud—his heels smashing repeatedly into her blinded face without mercy.

The first crunched her nose cartilage completely flat with a sickening snap, then bruising her cheekbone until her lip split open in a bloody gash, and finally rattling her jaw so hard her teeth clacked together painfully.

"You are nothing but a little bug that will not stop moving—enough of this already, stay down!" Jennife roared back through a mouthful of her own blood, her vision still hazy as she lashed out blindly with one huge hand.

Her fingers snared both of his kicking legs mid-strike, yanking him off balance with brute strength and slamming him down flat on his back—the sand cratering deep under the force of the impact, his breath exploding out in a strangled hnnngh while his vision tunnelled to black spots dancing at the edges.

"You are such a fucking bitch!" Now, Jennife wanted this to end as quick as possible.

Alexander glared at her with hatred. The curse came out mangled and half-lost as "Yuuu arree fffuuu-k kk biiitchh!"—the furious words warped into a pitiful, vibrating hum against the gag as Alexander coughed hard and ragged, rolling onto his knees with pure grit alone.

His body screamed in protest with every single breath feeling like swallowing fire down his raw throat, his arms hanging heavy as blocks of stone from exhaustion.

But he refused to quit, the unyielding fire inside him pushing him back up no matter how many times she knocked him down.