Terror slammed into Jayson’s soul; spun, thinking only of flight. But, it was too late. Jared blurred, one ghostly step, then was already before the fleeing man. The Dragonslayer Sword ignited, a column of golden light that seemed cut from the heart of a star, and came whipping down in righteous fury.

“N-No… No!” His cry echoed off the stone as destiny crashed down. A sickening, wet rip followed. The sound of bone parting from bone shrieked through the arena, the kind of noise that makes teeth ache and stomachs revolt.

Before the stunned crowd, Jared’s single stroke cleaved Jayson from crown to pelvis. The halves slid apart like pages of a ruined book, spilling their crimson script across the platform.

Organs thudded to the floorboards. blood pooling around them in dark, steaming lakes. The scene was so brutal it seemed torn from a nightmare that decent people pretend cannot exist.

Silence fell, total, absolute. Even the flags overhead forgot to flap, as though the world itself dared not speak after witnessing such savage finality.

Nobody had imagined Jared would end Jayson so cleanly, so mercilessly. The swiftness of it rattled their bones more deeply than any prolonged torture could have.

On the VIP terrace, Lester shot to his feet, face dark as storm iron. “Jared! How dare you murder a swordsman from Sacred Sword Manor!”