Shock

"Master Rodbar, now that you've heard their situation from Mark, could you please tell us what you saw at the arena." Stefam's voice cut through the intimate moment drawing a slightly annoyed look from Ara.

Breaking off the embrace with Mark, Rodbar looked behind him to notice the prince standing calmly waiting for his response.

"Thank you, your grace, I don't know what would have been of me had Mark died, I'm really grateful," Rodbar said to Stefam with a deep look of appreciation.

"And you too young lady, thank you." Rodbar's gaze shifted from Stefam to Ara causing the young lady to blush for a moment.

"I really didn't do anything much," Ara said in slight embarrassment.

"Nonsense, you also saved Mark, that's more than enough to be grateful for."

"You're welcome master," Ara finally said with a light bow prompting Rodbar to smile.

"Your grace, as for the arena, when Berg and I got there earlier it was absolute madness. A lot of the civilians were either dead or injured, and the shocking thing was that the patrol guards were the ones responsible for it." Rodbar began to explain.

"There was chaos in that place, that's why they all rushed out of the arena with some of them taking the hallways to escape."

"So, that's what caused the civilians to rush into the halls. Ara spoke up in realization. "This is very disturbing, what's going on?"

"Master, we still don't know where Chenai is," Mark said with worry.

"I share your worry, Mark, Berg said he had something to do which I assume would be looking for his son, since Dela is with Chennai, I'd expect Berg to find both of them soon, but that doesn't mean we won't make our searches."

"That's right, I'm really worried for Ivan and Dela too," Ara said with concern.

***

Some parts of the haven were empty, as the majority of its occupants were either at the arena for the exchange or somewhere else close by.

In one of these empty corridors, Ivan's footsteps echoed through its halls as he trekked tirelessly in search of Dela, frustration gnawing at him every passing minute. "Where could that fool be?" he muttered, his irritation climbing.

'I've been searching for him for over some time now, but that fool is nowhere to be found, isn't he conscious of the time?' Ivan's thoughts continued as he searched on.

"Wait," Ivan suddenly paused as a strange thought invaded his mind. "Is Dela-?"

"No no, there's no way Dela would do that." Ivan thought aloud, quickly dismissing the idea with a light smile. "That fool is too much of a chicken to even think of that."

"But that Chenai woman." Ivan's expression hardened as he thought of Chenai. "I don't really fancy her, surely she's not leading Dela on, is she?" Ivan thought to himself.

Turning another corner, another hallway came into his view. "Hey Dela, where are you fool?" Ivan called out to Dela," his voice bouncing off the empty walls of the corridor.

With a sigh, Ivan continued his search. After searching a particular room, he was about to move on to the next, when a crashing sound reverberated from the end of the corridor.

"Hmm, what was that sound," Ivan muttered to himself, carefully moving towards the room the sound came from. Ivan swung the door open and upon opening it, he was met with a harrowing sight.

Ivan's mind raced as he processed the sight before him, his heart racing as his eyes widened in shock.

Before him Dela lay motionless on the ground, a pool of blood slowly forming beneath him with Chenai standing over him, a sinister grin twisting her features as she held a bloodied dagger.

The shock of the sight left Ivan gasping for air as his breathing became labored, his eyes seemed to become bloodshot as he shifted his gaze slowly from Dela's body to Chenai, his shock was quickly replaced with anger.

"You bitch!" Ivan's voice echoed through the room, dripping with anger and hatred.

Chenai's smile widened at Ivan's outburst, "Bitch? That's rude you know, that's no way a gentleman addresses a woman," she replied casually, her demeanor relaxed as if nothing serious was going on.

"But you know, you've hurt my feelings, so why don't I just kill you too? At least that way you can both continue your bromance in the afterlife," she added mockingly.

Ivan's fists clenched tightly at his side, his bloodshot eyes already leaking tears. "I don't know what seems to make you confident in killing me, but you can't kill me and you won't be getting away from here."

"You're going to pay for this," Ivan said in pain as he faced Chenai.

"Oh? Who's going to stop me? You? Chenai asked. "You're also going to die, you know."

Saying that Chenai suddenly charged forth, her speed almost catching Ivan off guard.

In a swift stabbing motion, Chenai sharply aimed her dagger at Ivan's heart, but Ivan was prepared, as he calmly raised both hands in a defensive stance, crouching low.

With precise timing Ivan gently deflected Chenai's fast-approaching dagger-hand with a backhand move, then with a deft twirl he twisted her hand and held onto her wrist before her hand got flung off course, his swift and fluid movements almost disarming Chenai.

Chenai's eyes widened in surprise at the way Ivan effortlessly manipulated her movements. Realizing that she was close to getting disarmed, Chenai quickly regained control of the situation as she stomped her foot on the ground, forcefully separating herself from Ivan.

Ivan watched on coldly as Chenai stepped back, retracting his outstretched hands, he took on a battle-ready stance again.

Chenai stood dazed for a moment, shock painting her features as she thought of Ivan's expert movements just then.

"Seriously, what are they teaching you guys in the haven?" she asked bewildered.

"Not bad, not bad, but that's not enough, at least this won't be boring like that guy." She sneered

"Hmph, enough talk," Ivan snorted, this time he rushed forward. Reciprocating Ivan's action Chenai charged forward also, slashing horizontally.

Ivan ducked, feeling the blade whistle just above his head. He countered with a low kick aimed at her shin. Chenai stumbled but recovered quickly, slashing downwards. Ivan deflected the blow with his forearm, the force sending a jolt through his arm.

Ivan spun around, using the momentum to drive an elbow towards her midsection. She twisted away, but the tip of his elbow grazed her ribs, drawing a hiss of pain.

Enraged, Chenai launched a furious series of attacks, her dagger a blur of deadly arcs. Ivan was hard-pressed to keep up, deflecting and dodging as best as he could. Despite her ferocity, he remained calm, his mind clear, focusing on her patterns. One slip-up could be fatal and Ivan was very well aware of this fact, hence his relaxed yet urgent expression.

Chenai's relentless assault left her overextended. Spotting an opening, Ivan stepped inside her guard, grabbing her wrist and twisting sharply. The dagger clattered to the floor.

He attempted to throw her off balance, but Chenai was quick, driving her knee into his stomach.

Ivan grunted in pain but held onto her wrist, using the proximity to deliver a headbutt that sent her reeling.

Chenai staggered back, a cut on her forehead bleeding. She eyed Ivan with a mixture of anger and wariness.