The Major's announcement caused a storm of complex emotions to rise within Leo.
He did not wish to kill Felix—not after everything they had endured together over the past few hours. But the rules of the second round were brutally clear: out of each pair, only one could move forward, while the other had to die.
There was no room for compromise, no option for mercy.
As Leo stood in the pristine, glass-walled enclosure, his hand gripping the dagger at his side, the echoes of violence all around him only heightened his unease.
Many of the other pairs had already begun fighting without hesitation.
The sounds of metal clashing, anguished screams, and frenzied shouting reverberated through the sterile room, a grim reminder of what was expected of him.
But Leo didn't move.
Something about attacking Felix felt innately wrong to him.
Although he hadn't known Felix for long, and while he wouldn't go so far as to call him a friend, Felix was not his enemy. He was a man who had stood beside him in chaos, and killing him felt like betrayal.
"We don't have to do this, you know," Felix said suddenly, his voice trembling as he backed toward the far wall of the enclosure. His eyes darted nervously around, but his focus always returned to Leo.
"We can just... wait. Let the timer run out. Both of us get disqualified, but at least we'll still be alive. Doesn't that sound better than killing each other?"
Leo didn't answer. He lowered his gaze to the dagger in his hand, its edge gleaming under the artificial lights. His expression was hollow, his thoughts swirling.
The academy's rules were absolute, but Felix's suggestion brought an unwelcome question to the forefront of Leo's mind.
'Would they really let us walk away if we don't fight? Or would they just kill us both?'
The thought gnawed at him, burrowing deeper with each passing second. He couldn't shake the sense that the academy's ruthlessness extended far beyond what they'd already experienced. And that they could easily break their word and kill them both instead of letting them walk off.
But even more troubling than that was another, far more personal question.
'If I don't fight... if I don't win... will I ever get my memories back?'
The letter he had received before all of this had been clear: his only path to reclaiming his past lay within the academy. Walking away would mean abandoning the only chance he had to uncover who he truly was.
The weight of that realization pressed down on him like a physical force, and his grip on the dagger tightened even more.
Conflicting emotions warred within him—doubt, guilt, fear, and his hollow expression turned further dazed.
However, just when he found himself buried within a deep pool of indecision, a cold, primal voice whispered in the depths of his consciousness.
Kill.
It wasn't a suggestion. It wasn't even an urge. It was a truth, raw and undeniable.
To survive, to move forward, he would have to kill.
The timer on the wall ticked steadily downward, each passing second feeling like a countdown to the inevitable.
Felix, growing more desperate with Leo's silence, took a tentative step forward, his hands raised as if to placate him.
"Say something, damn it! You're scaring me!" Felix blurted out, his voice cracking under the weight of his panic, as Leo finally lifted his gaze to meet him.
"In twenty seconds, I'm going to attack you, Felix." Leo said in a cold, emotionless voice. His tone sounding steady and even.
Felix's mouth fell open in shock, but Leo continued without pause.
"I don't particularly want you dead. But I'm not going to hold back, so I suggest you try your best to kill me too."
The words landed like a hammer blow. They were devoid of malice, but that only made them hit harder. Felix stumbled back, his breathing ragged.
"What?" he croaked, his voice barely above a whisper. "You can't... You know I can't fight without my alcohol, man! This isn't a fair fight! Please, don't do this!"
Felix's voice grew louder, more frantic, as tears began streaming down his face. "I'll do anything, Leo! Anything! Just don't kill me!"
But Leo's expression didn't change. His resolve was unshaken, his focus elsewhere. He adjusted his grip on the dagger, shifting his stance slightly as his body tensed.
Felix's voice cracked, the raw desperation in his words spilling out like a dam breaking. "We survived together, man! We were a team! How can you just throw that away?!"
Leo didn't respond. He didn't flinch. His mind was consumed by the single, undeniable truth: this was the only way forward.
"Time's up," he said quietly, his voice cutting through Felix's sobs like a blade.
And then he moved.
Leo lunged forward, his dagger aimed directly at Felix's chest.
Felix screamed, his eyes wide with terror as he scrambled to defend himself. His arms flailed uselessly, the tears in his eyes blurring his vision and his movements clumsy, uncoordinated.
For a brief moment, their eyes met—Leo's cold and unyielding, Felix's filled with panic and betrayal.
And in that instant, the fragile bond they had shared as partners shattered completely.
As Felix looked into Leo's eyes now, he no longer saw the kind team-mate who had picked him out of a crowd of ruthless assassins, but instead saw a murderer, hell-bent on ending his life.
*Stab*
*Slash*
The fight was over before it ever began, as Leo slit his throat and stabbed his heart in the most painless way he knew.
"Forgive me for this... big guy, I did not wish for it to end this way–" Leo said, as those were the last words that Felix heard before his eyes went dark forever.