The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 630. A Win?

Chapter 630: 630. A Win?

Louis crackled, "Don’t worry, Mauve, I’ll show you my ax after I win." He lifted the ax and placed it on his right shoulder before slowly walking away.

Jael held Mauve’s gaze for a second. "You know who’s going to win, right?"

Mauve nodded but she was worried. She didn’t think either of them would go so far as to injure the other, but Jael could be stubborn sometimes, and she couldn’t help but fear for Louis. She didn’t want either of them to get hurt.

She didn’t know who was stronger. Jael was obviously taller and bigger than Louis, but she knew size didn’t always depict strength. She had never seen Louis fight before, so it was hard to guess if he could match up to Jael. However, he did say he won a fight at some point.

Mauve ground her teeth as she watched them go, their footsteps soundless as they hit the grass. She shuffled on her feet and hugged herself.

"Don’t worry," Danag whispered. "They won’t let it get out of hand."

Mauve thought Danag sounded a little too happy. "Are you sure? They both seemed a little too serious."

"Well, you should have seen them when they were younger. They were much more serious than this, and Louis was persistent. Regardless of how many times he lost, he would come at Jael time and time again. It broke the family when he traveled."

"Oh," Mauve said, glancing at Danag before returning her gaze to the field. "How long have you been in the castle, Danag?"

"A while," he said, and didn’t elaborate further. Mauve simply nodded. She knew when she wasn’t supposed to pry.

Jael swung his ax as they stood inside the circle. He couldn’t remember the last time he had touched it, let alone used it. Still, it felt familiar as he swung it. The ax felt like an extension of his body. Did it always feel this good to hold?

Louis held the edge of his ax and stretched it toward Jael. The tip was just a few inches from his face. "Ready when you are," Louis said.

Jael scoffed. "You’re the challenger, I’ll let you go first."

"You sure about that?"

"Of course," Jael said and brought the ax closer to himself.

"Your loss," Louis said and rushed forward, raising his ax high as he prepared to strike.

Jael smirked and adjusted his ax to block the attack. "Predictable," he mouthed.

Louis grinned and kicked his shin, his boot striking bone. Jael jumped back as he grimaced in pain. He shook his leg, trying to ease it, but Louis jumped at him, and he barely had any time to raise his ax. He managed to use his ax to push the attack from his face but not before getting a cut on his cheek.

"Predictable, you say."

"You said ax only," Jael glared at him.

"I lied," Louis admitted and swung his ax again, this time aiming for Jael’s neck.

Jael managed to protect himself, but his defense made it hard for him to throw an attack, and Louis capitalized on this, sending strike after strike with so much force it made Jael’s teeth rattle.

Mauve brought her hands to her ears at the loud sounds. She couldn’t really see the fight; she could barely see movements, and it didn’t help that both of them decided to wear dark clothes. The only thing that helped was the blond of Louis’s hair, and by the looks of things, he seemed to be gaining on Jael.

"He hasn’t used his ax in a full decade," Danag started to speak. "He’s having a hard time getting back the feel of it."

Mauve gasped. "Isn’t that bad?" she asked. She didn’t know what to say or do.

"No," Danag replied, glancing at her. "You have nothing to fear. Before Jael dropped his ax, his strength and fighting power rivaled his father’s. I doubt there was anyone who could go against him then. He isn’t just the Primus because he’s royalty or the son of the last Primus. He is the Primus because he is the strongest. Anyone could have taken the throne during the ten years he was away, but everyone knew they wouldn’t be up to par."

"He is that strong?" she whispered, glancing back at the battle. It didn’t look that way to her.

"Yeah, he is. After his father’s death, he swore off the ax. Sorry," he glanced down at her. "I am rambling; I just didn’t expect this tonight."

"No," Mauve shook her head. "Please continue speaking. I would prefer it if you did."

Jael swore as the ax dug into his side, toward his front and out. If he hadn’t dodged, he would have been sliced in half. Louis wasn’t holding back. Jael had thought it would be easy to get the hang of it, but it was proving tougher than he anticipated, and Louis was adamant about keeping him on the defensive.

He needed to turn the tide of the battle. As much as he hated underhanded tactics, he knew better than to lose. Not in front of his guards, and definitely not in front of Mauve.

The next time Louis swung his ax, Jael didn’t try to block it or stop it. Jael waited for Louis’s hesitation as Louis realized he wasn’t going to protect himself, and Jael swung his ax at Louis. Louis reacted quickly, blocking it, and Jael kicked his foot right from under him. He went down with Louis and held his ax to Louis’s neck.

"You cheater," Louis spat at him.

Jael punched his nose. "You cheated first."

Louis didn’t even flinch. "You’ve lost your touch," he spat out, blood dripping from his nose. "You lost this fight."

"I am not the one with my back to the floor and an ax to my neck."

"Perhaps," Louis grinned, the blood from his nose staining his teeth. "However, you were at your strongest while using your ax, yet you couldn’t withstand my strikes. You are rusty, and that might be the death of you—not just you."

Memories of Mauve bleeding in his arms flashed through his mind. "Shut up!" Jael said and punched Louis again.

"Ahh! You asshole!"