I'm fucking scared

Dahlia's eyes narrow dangerously, but she doesn't say a word.

Picking up the pace, Sylvester begins sprinting forward. His feet stomp the ground as he runs, increasing his speed at a frightening rate. As he approaches Dahlia, the vines around her start to stir, with the ones closest to the ground moving upward.

Wrapping herself up in the vines, Dahlia takes a defensive stance so that her feet are planted firmly on the floor.

The vines twine together, forming a tight cocoon around her legs.

Slowly, the floor begins to tremble as the vines continue to grow, causing the vibrations to make the floor shake violently.

In a matter of seconds, Dahlia has herself encased by the thick vines, her body protected from any outside attacks.

Sylvester stops in his tracks, taking a few steps back as he observes Dahlia.

The numerous spiked vines that surround her begin to move in unison, their movements taking the shape of a giant wave, moving swiftly toward Sylvester.

As the wave closes in on him, Sylvester readies himself for the attack, his fists clenches tightly.

Crashing down onto the ground, the vines release all their poisonous spikes at once, the tip of each spike pointing directly at Sylvester. The sharp points rake across Sylvester's skin, creating a trail of blood that flows down his arms.

'Brother Sylve, that can't stop you!' Lila thinks to herself as she looks on with worry, watching the vines wrap around his body.

Sylvester remains unfazed, closing his eyes and focusing his energy on his whole body.

'What the hell are you doing?' Rai thinks, leaning forward for a better view, only to regret it as he is hit by the shock wave that was released from Sylvester's body.

The impact knocks Rai back into his chair, his body hitting the floor hard as he lies there dazed.

Lila whoops loudly and claps her hands together enthusiastically as she observes a forcefield shielding her from the shockwave.

After a few moments, Rai rubs his eyes, stands up, and shakes his head vigorously to clear his thoughts.

To his shock, he sees that all the vines have been reduced to nothing but mere strands of thin green threads.

The thick foliage that was previously surrounding Dahlia has also vanished, leaving behind a large hole in the wall.

"What the fuck just happened?" Rai asks aloud, rubbing his temples with his thumb and index finger.

Sylvester stretches and looks down at the spikes that were lodged into his body, his clothes stained red with blood from his wounds before the poison is detoxified from his system and he is healed.

Looking over his shoulder, he sees Dahlia standing by the hole in the wall, her hands trembling slightly.

"I would call that a successful first attempt," Sylvester says with a laugh, looking at the pile of vines on the ground.

'Now it's my turn.' Sylvester thinks to himself as he walks over to Dahlia.

Dahlia's expression hardens with each step as he approaches. She focuses solely on him, with her energy depleted, she can do little in her defense, not after that nerve-wracking pain she felt from that shockwave.

Standing in front of her, he stops only a few inches away, with a twisted smile focused on her.

Dahlia looks up into Sylvester's eyes, a slight hint of fear showing through.

With a powerful kick that would send any normal person flying across the room, Sylvester lands a direct hit on her side, sending Dahlia flying backward.

Bang!

She crashes into the wall, her body slamming against its hard concrete.

Her eyes are opened wide as she tries to stand, but her legs give out and she collapses onto the floor.

Sylvester grins and closes the gap between them.

"Not bad for your first time. I'll leave you with one piece of advice: don't underestimate me again, since I don't rely solely on using my abilities," Sylvester says to Dahlia, who is still lying on the ground.

Dahlia's eyes widen in shock as she sees Sylvester's hand reach out to her. She tries to dodge, but her body didn't respond fast enough.

Gripping her neck tightly, Sylvester lifts Dahlia by her throat.

"Aaaaah!" Dahlia screams in pain as Sylvester's fingers dig deeper into her skin.

She tries to kick Sylvester, but her legs refuse to move.

"My apologies. How about we try again…" Sylvester whispers in her ear.

Dahlia's eyes are filled with tears as she desperately fights for air.

With a final squeeze, Sylvester lets go, dropping her to the ground, as she clutches at her neck.

Dahlia gasps and opens her mouth, trying to breathe properly.

"Next time, coordinate your attacks and try to do so faster," Sylvester says as he turns around and starts walking away. "You have five minutes to get up and ready for round two."

Dahlia immediately gets up on shaky legs, wincing at the pain in her neck.

Looking over at Lila, Rai notices that Lila has a smug grin on her face.

'Is this normal for a five-year-old?' Rai thinks to himself, worried yet again about Lila's mental state.

With the same smirk, Lila gets to her feet and walks over to Rai.

"Uncle Rai, can I sit with you?" Lila asks sweetly.

Rai reluctantly nods and gestures to a few seats away.

Understanding the reason for such precautions, Lila nods her head and sits down, crossing her legs as she looks at Rai.

"You're not scared of me, are you? Because if you are, I'm really gonna be sad." Lila says with a pouty look on her face.

Rai smiles awkwardly and shakes his head.

"No, I'm not scared of you. Why would I be?" Rai asks, trying to keep his tone light.

'I'm fucking scared that I can die by your touch,' he thinks to himself.

Lila's smile widens and she claps her hands together, satisfied with his answer.

Bang!

The doors burst open, revealing the rest of the team.

"That was quick," Rai says with a grin.

Mae rushes over to Dahlia who sat on the floor with her head lowered. Her hair cascaded over her face like a curtain.

Maintaining her position as she waits for the injuries to heal, the rest gathers around her.

"Are you alright?" Mae asks in worry, taking a step back when Dahlia flinches.

Dahlia gives a weak nod in response.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little sore," she replies with a weak smile.

"Thirty-seven seconds remaining," Sylvester announces.

Everyone looks at Dahlia, who takes a deep breath and gets to her feet.

"I can take him," Dahlia says confidently.

"No, that won't work..." A male voice sounded from behind Dahlia.

All eyes turned to see Keelan, who was behind her. His green eyes gleamed coldly as his canines and claws extend.

Thinking back on the message they received from Rai, it looks more like a duel to the death than just some form of training.

"What do you say?" Keelan asks, looking at the rest of the team. "If we work together, we should be able to take him."

It is either they accept Dahlia who rescued and recruited them or accept Sylvester who threatens them all.

Dahlia doesn't respond, her eyes still locked on Sylvester, unable to comprehend what his demands might be if he decides to take this seriously.

Keelan steps forward, his hand reaching for Dahlia's shoulder.

"Do you trust us?" He asks, turning to look at everyone else.

–––––––––––

Author's note

¶ What are the chances of success?

¶ Do check out the weekly auxiliary chapter[Bonus chapter task] to know how you can participate.