Kai moved alone.

  He took a roundabout route back to the courtyard. He couldn’t lead the Lizard-thing back to the others too soon - and he was looking for something.

  Kai focused on his spatial sense as he moved through the concrete maze with ease. He avoided running into any lone Marked - not because he was scared or hesitant to kill, but because he didn’t want them to slow him down.

  He had a task to complete - one well-suited to his skills. A sly smirk tugged at his lips.

  A deceptive roar came from the opposite direction Kai was moving in. Good news for once. He was closing in on the Lizard-thing, and it wasn’t in the courtyard anymore.

  Exactly what he wanted.

  He crept through the maze, staying hidden. Soon, he sensed a group of Marked moving towards the courtyard.

  Perfect.

  Avoiding the group, he kept moving. A huge, unmistakable presence entered his spatial sense’s range.

  Found you.

  Kai stopped in his tracks. If he got any closer, the Lizard-thing would smell him. He stepped toward the abomination, his smirk widening.

  The Lizard-thing turned in his direction, then moved. Kai spun and ran. His heart pounding like a drum, his leg muscles burning.

  Still, he ran. The abomination wasn’t far behind.

  The group of Marked came into view - he was within striking distance before they even noticed him.

  Amateurs. Shouldn’t you be paying more attention to your surroundings?

  As the five Marked turned to greet him with ill-prepared violence, Kai disappeared. One teleport. They hesitated in confusion. One of them pivoted on his heels, spotting Kai running towards the courtyard.

  “There he is! The points are mine!”

  Something arced through the air towards Kai. He stepped left. A stream of lightning crackled past on his right before fizzling out.

  No, it couldn’t be lightning. Most Marked couldn’t create anything from nothing, although his run-ins with nobles were ashing all over that theory.

  Still, it was more likely a static shock.

  A shock Gift? Nice. I hope it works on that lizard-bastard.

  Good luck, guys.

  Kai kept moving. He navigated a couple more twists and turns before stopping, still close enough to sense the Marked group…and the Lizard-thing.

  Pained shrieks echoed through the maze.

  The abomination tore through the five Marked like paper. Kai had hoped they’d weaken it, injure it maybe, give it a scratch - annoy it at least.

  The five Marked achieved none of the above. Useless.

  Chaos erupted in their ranks. Kai winced at the panicked screams and shouts.

  When the last body dropped, the Lizard-thing stilled.

  It’s gonna eat them before chasing me? Does it think I’m its servant?

  A series of halting hisses reached Kai’s ears. The Lizard-bastard was laughing at him.

  Kai scowled. He moved towards the hissing, then stopped himself. If the bastard wanted to fill his belly, Kai could wait - it was a perfect opportunity to recover his soul essence.

  Patience was a—

  A corpse splattered onto the ground a few feet from Kai - bloody, scratched, and missing a leg, but otherwise whole.

  Are the legs its favourite part?

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Kai got the message; he didn’t need another. He ran towards the courtyard, making as much noise as possible. Another body flew through the air.

  It hit the ground in front of him, almost slowing his pace. Blood erupted from the corpse, painting the path ahead. The spray caught him in its blast radius. But before the red liquid could stain him, it…twisted in the air.

  The blood flowed onto Kai’s suit, sparing his face and hair. He glanced down as he ran.

  His black suit remained spotless - more elegant, even.

  Something to study later.

  As Kai rounded another corner, the courtyard revealed itself. The Lizard-thing rushed towards him. Multiple Marked filled the space.

  Perfect.

  Around ten people lit up his senses. They were arguing, but he ignored their nonsense. Two opposing groups?

  Kai rushed into the courtyard at full speed, drawing confused stares from both groups. Two women in the far corner seized the distraction and slipped toward one of the exits.

  How many targets have I saved now? Am I…a hero?

  A shower of blood and gore tore through Kai’s thoughts. Another splattered corpse heralded the entrance of his pursuer. Booming footsteps followed. The two groups turned, but too late.

  Kai bolted toward the entrance on his left - the one furthest from the two groups and their impending doom. Before he slipped back into the twisting maze, something caught his eye.

  The two women neared the exit - a familiar face blocked their escape.

  Gideon.

  Gideon’s hand clamped over one woman’s face at lightning speed. She burned. Flame devoured her body in seconds. Her skin blistered and melted, her shrill screams weaving into the cacophony of slaughter at the far end of the courtyard.

  The tantalising aroma of burning meat caressed Kai’s nose. His mouth watered, and his chest tightened.

  Gideon’s free arm lunged for the second woman while the first roasted alive. Kai shook his head and regained clarity. He couldn’t allow the bastard to stack up points - they might matter. Though using soul essence was a risk - even if it cost less than teleporting.

  He focused on the distance between Gideon and the unburned woman - her face twisted in hate and shock. The space between them stretched - she escaped his range and rose into the air.

  She was flying.

  Kai swallowed envy as the damsel in distress glanced at him with glistening eyes before fleeing.

  He didn’t see what happened next - his pounding feet carried him back into the maze. He couldn’t save everyone.

  I guess I’m kinda a hero?

  He’d have to recalculate his remaining essence.

  The halting hiss of the Lizard-thing scraped at Kai’s ears. Its booming footsteps grew louder. The abomination closed in.

  Time to decide who the real prey was.

  Kai kept running.

  His legs protested, but his mind stayed sharp.

  The booming footsteps behind him were motivation enough. He wove through concrete hallways as if back in the slums.

  The Lizard-thing was stronger than he’d expected - stronger than any abomination should be in a First Trial.

  Isn’t this too unbalanced?

  But what was he gonna do? File a complaint?

  Kai had to kill this arrogant abomination - or become its dinner. His previous assessment, though flawed, was right - fighting that thing head-on was suicide.

  It shrugged off the other Marked’s attacks like they were minor annoyances.

  Good thing Kai never intended to fight fair.

  He moved toward the spot he’d been aiming for. A wall of frozen spikes blocked the path. Alira’s work. Kai sprinted toward the spikes as if he’d lost all will to live.

  Before the spikes could punch several new holes in him, he slipped through a narrow gap in the icy trap and kept running.

  According to plan.

  The crack of ice reached his ears moments later. But the Lizard-thing didn’t slow. If it had taken any damage, it was minor. But that was fine. Kai kept moving, probing with his spatial sense for more spike traps.

  He ran through three more traps, and the Lizard-thing still didn’t slow. Kai took another sharp turn. He neared another cluster of frozen spikes - and stopped.

  The abomination would be on him in seconds.

  Kai unsheathed his steel sword in one smooth motion and faced the way he’d come. The Lizard-thing rounded the corner moments later.

  Twelve feet separated them.

  Kai raised his sword and hurled it at the reptilian bastard. Its menacing yellow eyes tracked the sword as it closed the distance. It raised its monstrous claws to block - it was useless.

  Kai shortened the space between the sword and the abomination. The blade buried itself in the Lizard-thing’s arrogant yellow eye.

  The blade didn’t reach its brain, but it left the creature half-blind and furious.

  A cruel smile spread across Kai’s face. He twisted on his heels, teleported past the ice spikes, widened the gap, then stopped. He glared at the ice spikes - and waited.

  Two teleports.

  The arrogant fool didn’t disappoint.

  The abomination punched through the icy barrier in rage - losing half its right arm in the process.

  The spikes were a decoy, the invisible threads the real threat. As the Lizard-bastard growled in surprise and fury, Kai was already executing the next stage of the plan.

  Rusk emerged from his hiding spot and stood beside Kai. He’d used his threads to blend into the grey walls. A grey, ghillie-suit-like jacket covered his body. Kai had to admit - he was more than a little envious of Rusk’s powerful, versatile Gift.

  Though his stolen Gift wasn’t too shabby either.

  Kai placed a hand on Rusk’s shoulder, and together, they stepped out of space behind the distracted abomination.

  Three teleports.

  Rusk twitched his fingers - and deadly threads rose to obey. A cage of razor-sharp threads snapped shut around the Lizard-thing in an instant.

  The monster stopped its growling.

  It turned at a measured pace to glare at Kai and Rusk. Then its halting hiss assaulted their ears. It laughed like it wasn’t in danger. Kai prayed it was overestimating its chances.

  In his experience, prayer was as useless as hope.

  He had only enough soul essence for two more teleports. If the abomination escaped its cage, survival for Kai and his unscrupulous bodyguards was unlikely.

  Then he noticed something horrifying. The stump where the Lizard-thing’s arm had been writhed. Blood, flesh, and bone erupted from the wound.

  Dark green scales spread over the fresh growth. Moments later, the Lizard-thing sported a brand new arm.

  Ashes.

  Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter.

  Has Kai saved enough people to be called an anti-hero?

  What's the difference between an anti-hero and a rational villain?

  Comment your thoughts below.

  Enjoying the story?

  Support this story for free with a Follow, Favorite, Rating, and Review.

  All of the above helps the story get in front of more people - which helps me write more chapters for you.