Never Enough

  For a long moment, no one could process what they had just witnessed.

  Stomachs knotted. The air itself felt tainted, cold despite the arena's heat.

  Lucious methodically licked the blood from his fingers.

  Rei let out a strangled cry, her throat too raw for a full scream, a jagged, brittle sound of pure terror.

  Roi recoiled, hand slamming over her mouth, her body rebelling against what her eyes had seen.

  Kenny stumbled back as if pushed, his heel catching on rubble. His knees buckled, and he landed hard, propped on one trembling arm.

  “Why…” Nobu breathed, the word lost to the ringing in his ears. He couldn't tear his eyes away, his whole body vibrating with tension.

  From the stands, Kota’s voice sliced through the silence, his finger twitched.

  “Gross.”

  The single word hung in the air, its callousness echoing in the stunned arena.

  Around them, The Spine continued to groan and settle. The match was over, but the dust of violence refused to settle.

  Dozai’s chest rose slow, deliberate. His internal clock hadn’t stopped ticking since the trap first sprung.

  Is that how his Maho works? He consumes them to steal their Maho?

  His mind flashed back to Lucious’s words after the first match: “I stole it from someone I killed.”

  Dozai’s blood ran cold.

  Around them, the crowd stirred, silence curdling into scattered claps, nervous cheers, uncertain approval. Hunters shifted, some whispering, some applauding. None of it mattered.

  Lucious was still there.

  Kneeling in the dirt beside what was left of Sero.

  His tongue cleaned the corner of his mouth, savoring the iron taste with a ritualistic slowness.

  This wasn't just hunger.

  It was purpose.

  Lucious lifted his head, his gaze landing squarely on Dozai.

  Dozai flinched.

  Then Lucious rose, brushed a speck of dust from his immaculate sleeve, and walked away.

  Unhurried. Unbothered.

  That’s when Dozai noticed it, a small, almost insignificant detail.

  A fresh, thin scar, raw and new, etching around Lucious’s fingertips.

  He said nothing. But in his mind, the terrifying puzzle pieces clicked into place.

  Roi’s voice finally broke the silence, thin and frayed. “…We’re one of them now, aren’t we?”

  Hellick’s voice fell from above, sharp and final.

  “Correct.” Her eyes glittered. “Two victories. That's all you needed.”

  She laughed. A sound of pure, unadulterated delight.

  “Welcome to the Hunters.”

  On the high seat, Kota’s face was a mask of cold neutrality. But a muscle twitched in his jaw, and his foot tapped a rapid, irritated rhythm against the floor.

  Beside him, Delnora beamed as if at a wonderful play. She leaned forward, chin propped on her hand, studying them with the rapt fascination of a child burning ants with a magnifying glass.

  “Things are getting interesting,” she murmured, her light tone belied by the intensity in her eyes. “I can’t wait.”

  Kota’s jaw clenched. His lips moved, forming silent words Dozai couldn't hear over the roaring in his own ears.

  Down in the dirt, the five remained sprawled onto the ground, chests heaving with spent adrenaline. Their eyes, bloodshot and shadowed, still burned with a hard-won fire.

  Hellick’s voice cut through the tension, smooth and merciless.

  “You’ve earned your freedom from the pits. The title of Hunter is yours.” She paced, light glinting off the scars on her arms.

  “But if you wish to truly… excel…” She leaned forward, her smile that of a cat presenting a mouse to its kittens. “I am a woman who rewards ambition.”

  Dozai’s jaw tightened. He didn't like this. Not one bit.

  “Win one more match,” Hellick purred, “and I will grant you a privilege even my Ranked Hunters crave.”

  The air crackled.

  “Lose…” She savored the word. “…and you will still be Hunters. But you will be assigned to the Deep Dark for one week. A Hunter's punishment zone. You will pray for the simplicity of the worker pits by the end.”

  Delnora and Kota's eyes twitched, as if remembering the name Deep Dark made them remember something in the back of their skull.

  "How cruel." Delnora smiled, a little twitch of nervousness in her smile.

  Kota crossed his arms tightly, his foot tapping a bit louder than before.

  Master Hellick's head tilted. “The choice is yours. Will you cling to the safety of the floor… or dare to grasp the ceiling?”

  Dozai layed perfectly still. His body ached for rest, but his mind was a whirlwind, dissecting her every word for hidden traps.

  “Ah, but before you start calculating, Mr. Dreamer...” Hellick’s finger flicked dismissively. “Lucious. Heal them. I require their decision to be made with clear minds.”

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  Lucious uncoiled from his seat and drifted toward them like a shadow stretched too thin.

  One by one, Lucious went down the line. His touch was cold, but the mana that flowed from him was deceptively warm, almost gentle.

  Bruises vanished. Bones silently fused. Wounds sealed without a scar. Same as before.

  When he reached Dozai, Lucious’s pale face was impassive. The white light spilled over Dozai like a wave. The warmth seeped into his bones, numbing pain, weaving flesh back together.

  It was efficient. Soulless.

  The healing was perfect, yet it felt profoundly disturbing.

  Dozai blinked. Flexed his fingers. Rolled his shoulder.

  It worked, but something about it felt… mechanical.

  As Lucious turned to leave, Dozai called out, feigning nonchalance.

  “Ah—hold on,” he said lightly, scratching the back of his neck, forcing a casual tone. “My eyes are still stinging. You sure that’s everything?”

  Lucious paused. His head tilted a fraction, the movement predatory. The light flared again in his palm as he turned back.

  Dozai gave a weak chuckle. “Probably nothing. Just stings a bit.”

  Wordlessly, Lucious pressed his fingers to Dozai’s temple. The light flared, cold and intrusive.

  But this time...

  Dozai caught it.

  A barely perceptible jerk in Lucious’s arm—like he wasn’t fully accustomed to using the Maho yet.

  As if he waited to feel the Maho finish, instead of knowing exactly when to stop.

  Does that mean even after gaining a new Maho, he still had to train it himself?

  Dozai’s false smile faded, replaced by steady eyes.

  “You’re fully healed,” Lucious stated, his voice dead flat. “What are you playing at?”

  Dozai met his gaze squarely, his own voice now low and serious.

  “Sorry… Just curious about how your Maho works. You don’t diagnose… you just unleash it and hope it knows what to do, don’t you?”

  A beat of silence. The silence was thick enough to choke on.

  Dozai’s eyes flicked to Lucious’s scarred fingers. “Interesting scar, by the way. New?”

  Their eyes locked. The air between them turned sharp.

  Lucious’s expression didn't change. His posture didn’t shift.

  But he lingered, one second longer than he needed to. Long enough for Dozai to know the message had landed.

  But he held the stare for a heartbeat too long. Like the message was received and acknowledged.

  Then he turned and walked away, his footsteps unnaturally loud in the hush.

  Dozai exhaled slowly, the tension draining from his shoulders.

  Behind the mask of calm, his thoughts churned like storm clouds.

  Good. I should be on Lucious’s radar now. If we all ever have to fight him… I’ll be the first bait. I can use that.

  The thought was a cold knot in his stomach, but he buried it deep. He figured Lucious probably has Sero's Redirection Maho now but won't ne able to use it as well as Sero did.

  When he turned to his team, his face was a mask of calm leadership.

  Kenny was still pale, eyes wide with residual shock. He nervously bit his thumb until the skin split, as if the sting would anchor him to the present.

  “Man… that healing is no joke,” he forced out, his laugh strained and brittle. “But this offer… we barely made it through this fight.”

  Roi’s hands wouldn't stop trembling. She subconsciously wiped her mouth, though the blood was gone. Her eyes didn’t match her healed skin, they were sunken, haunted.

  “She wants us to take it,” she whispered, voice raw. “That means it's a trap. The second we fail, we're dead.”

  Rei leaned her fragile weight against Nobu. Her eyes fluttering with mental exhaustion. “That fight…” she rasped, swallowing painfully. “…I don’t know if I can do that again.”

  A heavy, suffocating silence fell over them.

  Their minds were still trapped in the fight, replaying every blow, every scream, every moment of terror.

  Nobu chest rose and fell unevenly. He stared down at the battered floor for a long moment before lifting his head, his eyes burning with grim determination.

  “If we refuse… then all of this was just survival.” His voice was hoarse but firm. “We didn't do this just to survive...”

  His words hung in the air. Slowly, one by one, they all looked to Dozai.

  As if he was the final verdict.

  Dozai exhaled, a long, weary sound. He hated Hellick's games, her cruel manipulations. But he knew, with a sinking certainty, that this was the path they were on. There was no turning back.

  He lifted his head, jaw set with resolve, and spoke directly to Hellick.

  “What is the reward?”

  Hellick leaned back, folding her fingers together. A smile curled across her face like she savored the tension before answering.

  “Higher authority,” she said, her voice slicing through the air. “Not merely Hunters. You would become my personal guards. Knowledge on the larger world. Personally trained by me. You get to go where I go... Outside this beautiful camp.”

  A wave of shock rolled through the crowd. The five stiffened, eyes wide.

  Even Lucious betrayed a reaction, a flicker of surprise in the glassy stillness of his expression. His head as he looks at the five, as if re-evaluating them from food to potential rivals.

  “Y-Your personal guards? Master Hellick—!” Kota sputtered, lurching to his feet, but a single, icy glance from her silenced him instantly.

  Dozai’s mind raced, replaying the brutal fight.

  It was obvious what this was.

  But the reward is too tempting to pass.

  This was the leap they needed for their freedom.

  Every instinct screamed that this was a line they had to cross, a step too dangerous to skip.

  But he wouldn't decide alone. He wouldn't lead them into hell without their consent.

  His gaze drifted through the press of bodies, searching, waiting.

  His eyes found Rizaru in the crowd. She met his gaze and offered a tiny, almost imperceptible shrug. No advice. Just trust.

  Dozai took a deep, steadying breath.

  He turned back, waiting—maybe even hoping—for someone else to break the silence.

  To say it was too much.

  Rei stepped forward, her voice small but steady. “I trust you. I’m in, if you are.”

  Kenny let out a shaky breath, running a hand over his face. “This is insane… but yeah. We’ll be fighting worse than this anyways. I’m with you.”

  Roi groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “If he's in, I have to be there to keep him alive. No going back now.”

  All eyes turned to Nobu. He simply nodded, a single, sharp dip of his chin that spoke volumes.

  One by one, they agreed. Not with enthusiasm, but with grim, unwavering loyalty to each other.

  Dozai felt their resolve solidify his own. No speech was needed.

  “Alright,” he said, his voice low but carrying. He looked up at Hellick. “We accept.”

  Hellick’s smile widened into something predatory and deeply satisfied, as if she’d known the answer all along.

  “The terms are unchanged,” Hellick said, her voice sharp as a knife. “You are Hunters. But for this… bonus… you fight one more match”

  The words dropped like stones in their stomachs.

  The group braced, every nerve taut.

  “You will face Kota’s chosen representative.”

  Silence.

  Then, from above, Kota’s voice, deceptively calm.

  “I didn’t choose one.”

  The air itself seemed to recoil. The stone beneath his boots groaned, lines spidering outward. That calm voice was the eye of a storm; the roar came from the aura curling around him, invisible but suffocating.

  “Didn’t think they’d get pass Sero,” he said simply. "And I hate all the other Hunters. All worthless. I'll do it myself."

  And then he dropped into The Spine.

  Like judgment falling from the heavens, sudden and absolute. He slammed into the arena floor with a concussive CLANG that vibrated through their bones.

  “If Rank Four failed,” He lifted his head, eyes glinting with cold fury. "then it only makes sense for a higher rank to correct this.”

  His gaze scoured them, then slid past, landing intently on Rizaru. She didn't even blink, but the air around her shimmered, as if she was warning him.

  Kota smirked. Not a cruel grin, but one of private understanding.

  The kind of challenging smile that lingered a beat too long before he looked away.

  Then finally, his eyes locked onto Dozai.

  “I’ll put these rats back in their place.”

  The team tensed as one, but did not break.

  They should’ve broken already. Maybe they had.

  But still, they straightened.

  One by one.

  There was no turning back.

  Dozai met Kota's glare, the weight of his team's fate heavy on his shoulders. His heart pounded against his ribs.

  And despite the fear, despite the odds, his lips pulled into a smile, crooked, strained, and reckless. “Well… shit.” The words were bleak humor laced with defiance. “Of course it would be you.”

  The arena held its breath. Dread filled the air.

  But in the smallest cracks, hope still flickered.

  Because they were still alive.

  And alive meant a chance.