Chapter 44: Yongrun’s Entrance
A flash of colorful light cut through the darkness of Malaxis's void. Yongrun stepped forward, and the ground beneath him began to disintegrate as he stepped. Behind him, Dongmei already had her hands raised, frost forming in the air around her fingers.
Cassius gasped, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as he staggered backward toward Grim.
Malaxis looked down at his right hand, or where it had been. The Sundering Strike had severed it cleanly at the wrist, the cauterized stump smoking with aurora energy that fought against the darkness trying to reclaim it.
"Impossible," Malaxis hissed, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Yongrun. "How does a non-Ambrose know an Ambrose technique? The Sundering Strike can not be wielded without Ambrose blood."
Yongrun didn't answer. Instead, he advanced steadily, his blade held down by his side held with one hand. The air around him began to smoke as his red aura got more intense.
"Unless..." Malaxis's eyes widened in realization, then narrowed in rage. "Caius, you crafty old bastard."
The stump of Malaxis's wrist began to pulse. Black blood oozed from the wound, dripping to the floor, where it sizzled like acid.
"Dongmei, get Grim out of here," Yongrun commanded without taking his eyes off Malaxis. "Cassius, can you still fight?"
Before anyone could move, Malaxis vanished in a burst of shadow. One moment, he stood before them. The next he was behind the group, his severed hand reattached as if it had never been cut. Only a thin line of darkness around his wrist showed where the wound had been.