𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑺𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑶𝑹𝑹𝑶𝑾⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐈 - 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐋𝐒 𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇 𝐈𝐍

NOW IT WAS TIME FOR ASAHI TO TILT HIS HEAD, slightly taken aback by Léa's bold statement. She was threading dangerous waters now, yet neither the sweat covering her skin nor the sense of dread settling at the pit of her stomach seemed to be enough to stop her from speaking. Taking on the King of Sorcerers was a foolish endeavour, but Dubois was tired of playing chess when she should be the only queen in the board. The sorceress stood there, her auburn eyes meeting Asahi's in what could only be described as a silent battle, neither of them willing to yield to one another.

Sacrifice. Asahi thought over the word, turning it over in his head over and over again as he pondered its meaning. It was a dumb thing to say, especially to someone like him. The Head of the Kinzoku Clan had sacrificed more than anyone on his damned family, including his irreparable daughter. He'd lost his sister, his firstborn, his daughter, his son... Asahi had lost so much, he sometimes wondered if it would ever be enough.

"Careful, Léa." He warned, eyes turning dangerous as the gold in them churned. "I've made enough sacrifices for a lifetime. I won't let you force my hand like I did before." Asahi paused, licking his lips as he let the next words roll out slowly. "I was a young boy then, but now..." He looked up, that contained storm in his eyes rolling like thunderous clouds. "Cross me again and there will be consequences."

He was tired of issuing empty threats, but something about the way he said the words made him realize they weren't so empty after all. How could he be empty, when he still had so much rage inside of him? Kinzoku Asahi could barely contain it even now, the gold in his blood screaming to be set free so it could drown the world out. After all, this was the woman who made him kill his sister, the same woman who doomed him and his wife to half a decade of loss and sorrow and the same woman who took his entire family apart.

Still, Léa did not let herself be ruled by fear. She could taste the dread in her tongue, but she swallowed it down and replaced it with blind confidence. Asahi had been playing this game a long time, but Dubois was a skilled player as well. It was a game of chess, master against master, a careful collection of moments all building up to a silent war with no sides.

"Consequences." Léa clicked her tone, amused. "Do you really think you're in a position to threaten me, King of Sorcerers?" She said, the mocking in her voice so glaring it hurt every bone in his body. "Do you really think you have what it takes to take me, and by extension, the whole of The Magistrate, down?" Her gaze flickered down to his body for a brief second, as if taking him in just to see if she could fight him physically (as if he would let her). "Or will you continue to hide under your idle threats like the coward you are?"

Asahi did not wait. Instead, he let himself be guided by that wave of pure anger. One second, he was standing across the room, pacing like a wild animal. The next, he was pinning Léa against the wall, molten gold pouring out from his arms and turning into sharp knives that floated around him. The Kinzoku held his hand out, grabbing one of the blades before pressing it against her throat. Léa swallowed past the lump in her throat, the coldness of the blade almost as sharp as the material it was made of.

"Do. Not. Play. Me."

The warning spoke itself out, Asahi's voice barely audible with the sound of gold being grinded into dust. It was guttural, it was brutal and utterly frightening. Something inhuman spoke those words, something twisted and tortured for a hundred years. Something wicked and wild, like the souls of those trapped inside the gold had all spoken at once.

Of course, none of it seemed to have any effect on Léa. If Kinzoku Asahi was an unsurmountable wave, then she was a lighthouse, unwilling to cave into the wilderness of the ocean. There was no fear, no hesitation in her eyes. Instead, all he could see was the determination of a shaman trained to perfection.

"Why?" Léa looked up, fire blazing in those beautiful auburn eyes of hers. "Are you afraid I'll win?"

Even now, pitted against life and death, Léa Dubois still found it in herself to be cocky. Why am I not surprised? Asahi wanted to ask himself as he took a step back to take a good look at her. The knife hovered in the air, still digging into her throat as the tendrils of Everlasting lashed out with violent energy. The Kinzoku chuckled, somewhat pleased by her reaction, like he hadn't expected her to fight back but was grateful she did.

"You forget..." Asahi trailed off, his golden eyes landing on the Armada portrait right beside Léa's head. "I still have my trump card, one I won't hesitate to use against you if you dare rise against me."

The words didn't have the desired effect he expected on Léa. Instead of cowering in fear or doubling down, the woman's expression softened, a hidden spark glowing in her auburn gaze. There was something about the way she held herself, about the way she shifted when the words left his mouth, that put Asahi on edge. It was as if he was watching the legacy he built tumbling down like a house of cards.

"Right. Your trump card." Léa laughed, completely unbothered by the gold blade pressed against her throat. "A brutal goddess trapped in the flesh of a sorceress..." She rolled her eyes; the condescending look on her face infuriating the man to no end. "Your tricks no longer scare me."

The Frenchwoman wasn't lying. Whatever fear she'd been feeling before was completely gone from her body now. She was steady, her expression cold and calculating. Fear was a useful tool, but once it ran its course, things could get complicated. Fear is only an obstacle if you let it.

Léa stepped closer, not even wincing as the knife dug into her skin, taking a clean slice off of her neck. A clean line of blood blossomed from the cut, droplets flowing freely and staining the neck of her dress as it soaked through the fabric. Léa's face twisted into an ugly grimace, hand jutting out until she jammed her finger against Asahi's chest.

"Tell me, how many times have you let these rumours haunt your enemies, how many times have you let the legacy woven into your daughter's bloodline do all the work?" She asked, each work accompanied by a hard jab as she pushed him back into her desk. "Hear this, Kinzoku Asahi; I do not fear you, nor do I fear your daughter or the supposed goddess living inside of her."

The Kinzoku pushed back, his gold mirroring his movements and shoving the sorceress back against the wall. Léa's head hit the wood, yet the Frenchwoman was quick to gather herself, smoothing down her skirt and holding Asahi's stare while hers burned with fury.

"Fine. Believe what you will." The King of Sorcerers conceded. "But do not come begging for forgiveness when she awakens and brings the wrath of an eternity of torture with her." Asahi paused right beside her, his lips a mere inch from her face. "Do not be mistaken, Madame Dubois; Kinzoku Mikazuki will end you. And when she does, I'll be happy to take your place and sit in that wretched throne of lies you've made."