If I can't take your life, he thought calmly, then I'll take what gives it value.
He reached past her and yanked the sect insignia from her chest. The fabric tore free in his grasp, tearing away the embroidery symbol from her chest causing her to gasp as she was knocked out backwards, struggling to catch her breath.
The emblem struck the stone and came to rest, its shape instantly recognisable. Then his foot came down. The heel crushed fabric and metal together, grinding the insignia into the arena floor until threads split and the emblem warped out of recognition. When he lifted his foot, nothing remained but a flattened, smeared imprint ground into the stone.
"Stage Nine," he said , His gaze dropped to her for a moment—just long enough to take in her slumped posture, He suddenly lifted his foot again and slammed it onto her face, pressing down with relentless force.
For a heartbeat, the arena froze.
