Vex wiped the blood off his mouth as he stepped into the kitchen.

  his jaw clenched as his father's voice echoed.

  The glee that was once shined in his eyes from wounding Tristan vanished, his gaze turned cold tooking another step.

  '' as memories threatened to surface, he grip tightened on the knife ''

  His muscles tightened hearing the echoes as he looked at Tristan '

  'Not now' his blood raced at every echo of his father and in that moment he glared at Tristans with the intent to kill as he tried to bury those memories.

  Tristan took another step back as he held tight to his gushing waist trying to slow down the bleeding.

  Vex took another step his eyes still showing intent to kill and in an instant Tristan's gaze turned to the cabinets.

  'He still overwhelming physically stronger than me even without aura' Vex lips parted, his gaze calmed and with a deepened tone he spoke "the sight of you faithless bastards always annoys me"

  Tristan didn't bother to respond as he pulled out the drawers and throwing some at Vex with one arm.

  "thud" a drawer that just flew past Vex slammed into the fridge

  "Bang~shatter" plates shatter as Tristan rushed through the cabinets

  "damn it" he cursed while taking quick glances at Vex as rampaging through the cabinets.

  "If all of you would just accept the greatness of lord Diablo the world would already be a better place" Vex smile widened as he looked Tristan 'fighting him head on isn't an option'

  'And since he panicking from being unable to use his aura, his judgement should be impaired' Vex steps reached the cabinet at the center of the room as another draw flew past his face.

  "that's funny to hear from a cultist" Tristan scoffed crouching down as he reached for a piece of a shattered plate that lay behind him.

  'He's going to try to attack before he loses too much blood' Vex smile never wavered as he spoke "this is why the lord has chosen me to teach you about his ways...''

  Tristan stepped back slowly rising with one arm behind him while another held onto his bleeding waist as Vex did his senseless rants.

  "... once I send you to the lord, your master Leto will follow" As Tristan took another step back as Vex raised his knife.

  Vex deepened his tone as Tristan back touched the cabinet "your master Leto will pay for the sins of his father"

  "Don't call that damn mudblood my master" Tristans jaw clenched as held the shattered plate on his side's.

  "Oh" Vex mouth made an O shape "then tell me, what is he to you? since your going to die for him"

  Tristan foot inched go the right "he nothing but a filthy commoner that just lucky to have a whore mother that seduced the duke"

  "Really?" Vex lowed his knife "with your aura gone you don't think you can actually touch me"

  Tristan said nothing as his eyes narrowed and his breath quickened.

  Vex looked at the bloody wall on the right as he left himself wide open for attacks "its amazing the lords power works is it not?"

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "So that why I can't use my aura" Tristan spoke as he took another step to the side.

  "Your truly simply minded" Vex smiled not bothering to turn to Tristan, but Tristan said nothing as he took another step to the right.

  "Do you really think it only suppresses your aura" he leaned on the cabinet on the left wall as Tristan foot inched closer to the right wall glancing to the hallway.

  "I promise you the moment you rush to the hallway" Vex smiled with the knife pointing to cabinet at the center "you'll die before ever running past this table"

  Tristan stopped moving, his eyes faintly moving between Vex and the cabinet at the center.

  'I have to get this done before he tests my bullshit' Vex glanced at the trail of blood that lay on the dark marble floor.

  "After killing you and Leto my mission will be done" he looked up and sighed "but the problem then is the duke and your father"

  Tristan eyes shimmer as he heard Vex words until he said "I think thats enough playing around"

  He moved away from the cabinet and to the front side of the kitchen as Tristan spoke "I can talk to my father and he can help you get out of this alive"

  With a wavering slime he continued "the duke is a reasonable man".

  Vex shock his head as he turned to Tristan who stood on the other side of the cabinet and spoke with a sharp tone "no he's not"

  Tristan jaw clenched slightly and his eyes seemed to stare past Vex to the hallway, he glanced at the blood still flowing out of his waist slowly turning black.

  His grip tightened on the shattered plate as he turned to Vex "how would know that if you haven't tried, anything is better than nothing"

  "I don't imagine after killing Leto, Duke Ramsey would be willingly let me leave his territory" Vex raised the knife as he took a defensive stance.

  "You don't have to kill us, you c.." before he could finish Vex spoke "I do"

  "The lord has chosen Leto and his fate no longer belongs to this world" Vex took a step closer "even if I should fail another believe will take my place and Leto will face judgement"

  "Damn cultist" Tristan silently scoffed as he stared at Vex, who was clearly waiting for him to move.

  He glanced at the wound on his waist as glared at Vex "how about we make a deal?"

  Vex heart smiled yet his expression remained unchanged as he spoke taking a step forward "Leto will die regardless of what you say it is the lords will"

  "I don't care about that mudblood" he glanced at the bodies that lay in the kitchen and his blood that dripped on the floor "let me live and I'll help you escape"

  Vex raised eyesbrow for moment as he stared at Leto "how can I trust you?"

  Tristan jaw clenched as he stared at Vex.

  "Lets stop wasting time" Vex finally moved then.

  "Wait, how about this" Tristan raised the hand that had the broken plate and slowly walked to the cabinet that lay at the center.

  "Is this enough to prove I'm serious" he spoke as he took a step back from the cabinet with an empty hand.

  Vex smirked as he spoke "No"

  And Tristan's eyes widened slightly then.

  Vex continued as the faint sound steps came from the hallway "if you kill Leto then it's a deal"

  Before Tristan could say anything Vex threw the knife at Tristan.

  "Idiot" Tristan smirked as he caught the knife but when he turned to Vex, there was no one there.

  He looked around and saw nothing but the bodies that lay around as the sounds of steps grew louder and silhouettes could be seen rushing toward him.

  He turned his eyes from the silhouettes and looked at the knife in his hand then.

  "What happened" Tristan clutched the knife as Leto spoke.

  And Vex didn't dare to flinch as he lay hidden amongst the bodies in the hallway 'I hope this works'

  He lay their gambling his life on Tristan.

  Although Vex didn't have the strength to kill Tristan, growing up under the a cult he understood the psychology of fear, how it oftern robbed people of rationality.

  As such the first thing he did was to spread chaos through the palace even if Tristan wasn't affected by the fear that surged through the commoners, Tristan was forced to use his aura to move through the swarm of terror striken boys.

  And with his aura pathway open, he could no longer control his aura as he wishes once he stepped into the kitchen filled ruins, that only needed aura or mana to activate.

  Then step two becomes adding fear to the fearless Tristan as such Vex moved to wound Tristan but unlike mages, knights or aura users are sensitive to blood lust or kill intent and because of this Vex could never aim for Tristan's vital spots.

  And with Tristan wounded and stripped of his aura naturally he would be shocked, because most knights or aura users live most of their lives without ever lossing their aura.

  Then with the loss of his aura the bodies that Vex lay around the kitchen finally served their purpose in making Tristan understand that death was now a possibility and that possibility was enough to strick fear into him.

  And with fear in his heart, Tristan was unable to realise that he had broken Vex ribs when he kicked him into the hallway, he became unable to realise that Vex never once attacked him despite being unarmed.

  Then with a blood gashing out of his waist and an enemy of unknown strength in front of him most people would beg for mercy but since Tristan had been trained to some degree, his only choices would be fight to the death or bargain.

  Vex gave Tristan the option of bargaining when he mentioned his need to escape even though he understood Tristan was in no position to help him with that he still accepted because he knew that a desperate person would say and do anything to live, even if it meant to kill a friend.

  But to Tristan, Leto isn't a friend but a mudblood that stands above him, a commoner that has tainted the Ironheart bloodline and Vex gambled his life on that.