LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 9- The Shadow and the Flame, Dancing with Madness
#Chapter: The Shadow and the Flame, Dancing with Madness
Kai took a deep breath, steadying himself as the five gangsters rushed in.
Each step they took reverberated through the alley, echoing the violence that lingered in the air. He could see it now—the way they moved, the gaps in their formation, the overconfidence etched into their expressions. It was almost laughable how predictable they were.
The first attacker lunged, swinging his bat in a wild horizontal arc.
Kai ducked, his body moving fluidly, and drove his left fist—steel knuckles leading—into the gangster's ribs. The sound of cracking bones echoed, and the thug gasped, stumbling back. But Kai didn’t waste time; he pivoted on his heel, keeping himself low to the ground, and swept the man’s legs from under him with a sharp kick to the back of his knee.
*One down.*
Kai didn’t have the luxury to celebrate, as the second and third gangsters came at him simultaneously. They tried to flank him, hoping to trap him between them. But Kai anticipated this. Instead of retreating, he charged straight at the one on his left, closing the distance before the thug could swing his bat. He grabbed the bat’s handle with one hand, twisting it sharply, and simultaneously delivered a crushing elbow strike to the man’s nose with his other arm. Blood sprayed, and the gangster staggered, releasing his grip.
Now armed with the bat, Kai turned and used it like an extension of his body, his movements precise and controlled. He deflected the incoming swing from the third gangster with the bat’s length, redirecting the force. In the same motion, he brought the bat's handle upward, smashing it into the man’s jaw. The thug collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
*Three more.*
The two remaining gangsters exchanged a nervous glance. Kai could see the fear seeping into their eyes, the uncertainty tainting their movements. He seized that moment of hesitation. He shifted his stance, dropping low again and springing forward like a coiled spring, feinting a strike with the bat. The fourth gangster raised his arms defensively, but that was what Kai wanted.
He spun on his heel, redirecting his momentum, and delivered a crushing roundhouse kick to the side of the man’s knee. The joint buckled with a sickening pop, and the gangster screamed as he crumpled to the ground. Kai didn’t give him a second thought, already moving toward the final opponent.
This last one, the biggest of the group, tried to intimidate Kai with sheer size. He swung his bat downward in a powerful overhead strike, but Kai didn’t panic. Instead, he stepped to the side, letting the bat crash into the ground with a resounding *thud*. Before the man could recover, Kai drove his knee into his abdomen, knocking the wind out of him. As the gangster doubled over, Kai raised his bat and brought it down with all his strength onto the back of the man’s head. The thug dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Kai straightened, his breaths coming fast but steady. He turned slowly, scanning the alley for any signs of movement. All five gangsters lay sprawled on the ground, groaning or unconscious. He had taken them down efficiently, but he wasn’t foolish enough to think it was over.
Kai’s eyes locked onto Alexios, who hadn’t moved an inch since the fight began. The man’s grin had stretched even wider, a gleam of twisted delight shining through his nearly shut eyes. It was as if Kai's victory had only deepened his amusement.
“You’ve exceeded my expectations, Kai,” Alexios murmured, clapping slowly. “But I must admit…” He took a step forward, tilting his head, “You’re just a flame flickering in the darkness. And flames, you see, are so easy to snuff out.”
Kai didn’t respond. Instead, he shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet, never taking his eyes off Alexios. He could feel the adrenaline still coursing through his veins, his senses sharp and focused.
This isn’t over yet.
And now, the real fight was about to begin.
The alley seemed to narrow as Alexios’s slow clap echoed off the brick walls, filling the space with a hollow, unsettling rhythm. His face, framed by flickering shadows, wore a mask of twisted glee.
“Magnificent! Truly magnificent!” Alexios’s voice dripped with excitement. “You’re no ordinary insect, are you?” He stepped forward, eyes widening in manic delight. “Ah, how fortunate I am to witness this… how fortunate indeed. My supreme one, Hades, has such impeccable taste.”
A chill ran down Kai's spine as fragments of hushed conversations in smoky back rooms came flooding back. Whispered warnings, nervous glances, and the palpable fear that always accompanied mentions of a particular assassin.
"Purple Reaper," Kai breathed, the name escaping his lips in a horrified whisper. The legendary killer was no longer just a boogeyman story told to scare rookie criminals. He was here, in the flesh, and Kai was witnessing firsthand the madness that had made him infamous throughout the underworld.
Kai's muscles tensed. He had heard whispers before about the Purple Reaper, the rumors about his madness, about this so-called worship of some dark figure. But hearing it now, seeing the genuine reverence in Alexios’s eyes, it all felt far more unsettling. There was no doubt—this man was beyond unhinged.
“Oh, to be chosen by my supreme one…” Alexios murmured, his voice dropping to a whisper as if sharing a sacred secret. “To be the one who stands at his right hand, to witness his divine hand as it reaches into this mortal plane… Hades has blessed me with this encounter, and I must savor every moment of it.” He sighed deeply, as though drunk on his own words, before his expression shifted into something softer—almost melancholic. “It’s a shame, really,” he said, his tone tinged with genuine regret. “You would’ve made an exquisite subordinate… an exceptional toy. But now, you’ll just be another lost opportunity.”
Kai felt a shiver crawl up his spine, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. This wasn’t just arrogance—this was something far darker. There was an eeriness to Alexios’s voice, an almost childlike wonder tainted by an undercurrent of malice, as though he genuinely mourned Kai’s refusal to be molded into whatever twisted role Alexios had envisioned.
Kai adjusted his stance, raising his guard and planting his feet more firmly. He could feel the sweat collecting on his brow, his heartbeat thudding in his ears. “You know,” Kai said, forcing his voice to remain steady, “if you’re this desperate for friends, you should probably start with therapy. Might be cheaper than the cult subscription.”
Alexios paused, his eyes narrowing, and then, for a moment, he stared blankly. There was silence, heavy and suffocating. And then he laughed. It started as a low chuckle, bubbling up from deep within his chest, but it quickly grew, echoing through the alley until it was a full-blown, hysterical cackle. His head tilted back, and his arms spread wide, as if offering himself up to the sky.
“Oh, Lord Hades, did you hear that?!” Alexios howled. “Did you see the wit, the fire in this one?! It’s glorious!” He took a step back, still laughing, his eyes rolling back as if in a trance. “You are a rare gem, Kai! A rare gem indeed! And how I relish breaking such gems.”
Kai tightened his grip on the bat, swallowing hard. This wasn’t a fight anymore; this was a dance with insanity. He could feel it—an almost tangible aura of madness radiating off Alexios, suffocating, tainting the air. For the first time, Kai felt the full weight of this confrontation pressing down on him. He’d faced thugs, he’d faced criminals—but this was different. This was the embodiment of chaos itself.
Yet he couldn’t afford to let fear paralyze him. He’d come too far to back down now. Kai’s eyes locked onto Alexios’s, unblinking, unwavering. If Alexios wanted madness, then Kai would show him that sanity could be just as relentless, just as unyielding.
Because this wasn’t just about survival anymore—it was about proving that, no matter how deep the darkness ran, the light wouldn’t flicker out. Not today.