Without any visible or audible cue, Redael and I both stalked forward, stopping only a couple of meters apart from the other. I noticed again how much larger I was than him, probably outweighing him by 30% or more. When I had first seen him, I had thought about how his physical appearance was what mine was going to be in the future, but now, I knew how adaptable the keelish are as a species. Therefore, while I did suspect that Redael was my father, I acknowledged that our evolutionary paths had differed greatly. My arms were thicker, my fingers more dexterous; my claws were curled and only about 5cm long as opposed to his long straight ones, my torso was more upright and my musculature more built towards an upright bipedal, with larger, solid scales reminiscent of armor decorating my chest, stomach and back as opposed to his (and everyone else's) hunched bipedal stance with more contiguous and consistently shaped scales. As I mused on these differences, Rulac also stepped forward and interposed himself between us as he spoke ceremoniously.

"Today, our swarm's alpha, Redael, stands challenged by this young one, Ashlani. Yesterday, Redael offered a position as a trusted subordinate to Ashlani. In response, Ashlani challenged Redael to a duel to the death, a razaab, for absolute leadership. As the First of the Alqat, I agree that this fight will be a true razaab, but I withhold judgment on if I consider Ashlani to be worthy of leading this swarm. He will need to prove himself in his power, respect, and capabilities today. That said, before any blood is spilt, do either of you concede?"

Redael simply shook his head in a negative response, but my blood boiled at the thought that I was not already considered capable by Rulac, and I had the sneaking suspicion that any appearance of hesitation or weakness would impede my chances of gaining that same consideration. By sheer force of will and rage, I pressed and compelled my aura of dominance to directly combat that emanating from Redael before I roared my defiance forward.

Rulac shook his head, stepped back, and said, "Then that concludes my part in this. Fight however you deem to be honorable." This concept of honor hadn't come up frequently among the keelish, but I could tell that there was a deeper meaning to it than just the surface level. I stood up straight, looked Redael dead in the eye, and, in a moment of foreign, haughty superiority, said, "I consider it honorable to leave nothing held back in a fight for a life. Your life is of value, and to prove its value, I will use my complete strength to end it. Nothing less would suffice." Redael inclined his head, and, with a snap of his neck, looked me straight on, "I believe the same" as lightning suddenly sparked from his shoulders all the way down to the tips of his claws.

I consciously activated [Combatant's Bloodlust] as I settled back into a defensive stance. I was surprised to note that there were no solid colors indicating where a potential weak point was, just slight flashes that were so quick to disappear they nearly seemed to be an illusion. Then, before I could truly prepare myself, Redael was in a blistering sprint towards me. I brandished my spear at him, to test his reaction at such a high speed, and he easily ducked beneath my swing as he lashed his deadly claws at the fingers of my left hand that held the spear. Most of me wanted to pull my hand back to protect my exposed fingers, but a small instinct of mine instead drove me to somehow flare the scales out into a bristling safeguard. I had noticed before that my scales covering my hands and lower arms had grown longer and thicker, but I hadn't realized that they could stand upright like a shield wall. With a metallic clatter, Redael's claws made contact with my scales, and skittered off. The lightning, however, was able to course downward into my arms and sent the tingling discomfort all the way to my shoulder. With a rictus of a smile, I bared my teeth and strengthened my grip on my spear while I lashed out with a kick to his chest, deliberately not using my right arm.

Redael easily stepped back and evaded my attack attempt, almost lazily striking down with the elbow of his extended right arm. I was unprepared and it made heavy contact with my shin, the pain from the lightning and the concussive blow again coursing through the area that made contact. While I had an opportunity to try striking out with my right arm, instead I stepped back, cursing my own stupidity as I subconsciously noted the cries of disappointment from the crowd. Whether they were disappointed that I was losing or that he was winning, or what, I didn't know. Of course I couldn't just rely on my instincts to beat him. I consciously tried to slow the pace of the razaab and get to know his methodology, but he didn't let me.

Swiftly, he began a blazingly quick assault on me, never aiming to maim or seriously committing, but instead kiting around me. Redael obviously knew what the consequences were of being electrocuted, and was not hesitating to leverage that to his advantage. The pride in me wanted to viciously and randomly lash out again and again until I made contact, knowing that any serious blow I could land on him would cripple his current strategy, but my [Combatant's Bloodlust] firmly tamped down that foolishness with cold logic; if I did so, I would be inviting disaster upon myself. Further, I wanted to draw him into thinking that my right arm was restricted from its full, intended mobility from my previous injury. Therefore, I slowly retreated as I got a handle on his current attack patterns and focused on the benefits that [Combatant's Bloodlust] offered me, all the while relying on the muscle memory drilled into me by Wisterl. Here and there I could see the flashes of weaknesses appearing, but they were never solid enough for me to capitalize on if I hadn't foreseen their appearances.

As I slowly found my groove, I began incorporating strikes and blocks with my spear to force Redael to slow his assault. However, after a couple of close calls, I realized that a wooden hafted spear, like the one I was using, was not sufficient to block the powerful strikes of a sharp weapon like Redael's claws. Thus, I changed to only thrusting carefully and occasionally with my spear, so as to maintain its integrity as a weapon.

I was frustrating myself trying to get a handle on his attacks while keeping Redael at a distance with my spear when suddenly I had an idea, one that I immediately tried to implement. Redael rushed forward, his right hand flashing towards my left hand while his left subtly feinted high while going low, stabbing towards my right knee. I braced myself for the inbound pain and raised my leg in such a way that his claws sank deep into my thigh. It was a blinding bonfire of pain when the electrified claws made contact with my leg, and that only escalated into agony as the claws themselves were thrust all the way to my femur, but my spasming muscles served to help my cause as they locked around the claws buried in my flesh. While surprised that his probing thrust had struck home, Redael reacted quickly and wrenched his hand backwards to disengage, again sending a wave of agony through me. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't prepared for my right hand to smash forward and bury the entirety of my claws in his shoulder.

Redael hissed in pain and went to bite my hand instinctively, but I flared my scales out protectively as I ripped my cruelly curved claws down, his flesh parting in ribbons beneath my four furious fingers as his teeth screeched against my scales without finding purchase. I pulled my arm back and I couldn't help but notice the flecks of flesh and blood scatter as I proudly flicked my fingers as the crowd screamed all around us. I noticed that my pack was chanting "VICTORY BY FANG AND BLOOD!" again and again. Redael looked at my fully functional right arm, his face locked in a snarl, and I responded with a mirrored look on my face, "I did say that I wouldn't hold anything back. Didn't say that I would tell you all that I had." Redael's arm sagged, appearing useless, but I wasn't about to believe that. He looked like he was about to respond to me when I closed in, my magic gathering in my throat as I could feel victory closing in. That was when Redael unleashed the lightning that had previously been anchored to his arms in a flashing, crackling storm.

I had focused so much on his right arm not actually being gimped that I had forgotten that Redael was sure to be holding back a trump card as well. One, two, four bolts of lightning smashed into my chest, and I felt my heart jolt with each one as I smelled my scales burn and heard my flesh sizzle while my previously gathered magical shout dissipated uselessly in my throat. I knew I was going to die, but the part of me wholly under the control of [Combatant's Bloodlust] noted that I was still alive, and the only way I was guaranteed to die was to do nothing. Thus, fighting through the disconcerting pain and confusion, I looked steadfastly at Redael. He was lunging forward, his left hand's claws extended straight towards my chest. Suddenly seeing a bright red weak point appearing on his chest right where his neck joined with his body, I instinctively hurled my spear towards the potentially fatal opening while I gathered my magic once more in my throat. Surprised, Redael raised his right arm to try to deflect the projectile, but the shredded and bloody arm was only barely functional, and he was only able to deflect the spear away from the base of his throat and into the joint of his left shoulder.

The spear drove heavily into Redael's shoulder, and he stumbled back a step, then two, only his tail pressed heavily into the ground keeping him from falling back further. I rushed forward, my magic swelling in my throat, and roared right into his face from a meter away. His eyes involuntarily closed as his left arm rose to strike out at my face and throat, but it was too late. I flared the scales on my left arm and reached out, his claws clinking uselessly against my raised defense, sinking my claws deep into the flesh of his forearm and feeling the tendons cut beneath my assault. Then, I lunged forward and with a heavy bite and tear, tore his left arm from his torso at the shoulder, the point where the spear had pierced him through.

As the hot crimson of Redael's blood coated my face, I pulled back and dropped his arm to the floor. The smell of my burnt flesh, ozone, and blood filled the space, and the entire stadium had gone silent. Nonetheless, I didn't look anywhere other than at Redael, saying, "That was a great fight, and a true razaab. I will carry your legacy as an honorable warrior into my reign as new Alpha of the swarm." Then, without inflicting any further suffering, I stepped forward and, with a strong bite and my claws tearing in one smooth motion, I decapitated Redael. Then, "Your strength to mine, your place to mine," I deliberately took a large bite out of the corpse, then swallowed.

Rulac then stepped forward and spoke.

"Ashlani has proven himself powerful by defeating Redael, the greatest warrior in keelish history, in individual combat. Ashlani has proven himself respectful, as he demonstrated his superiority over Redael with his whole power, and did not inflict needless suffering on his foe. Ashlani has proven himself capable, as he deceived his foe that he could strike in the perfect, opportune moment. Therefore, through today's razaab, Ashlani has proven himself worthy for the position of Swarm Alpha in the eyes of the Alqat, and I, as the First of the Alqat, do welcome you to your new position."

Rulac bowed as I stepped forward, my scales charred and my body bleeding and aching. I simply said all that came to mind:

"VICTORY BY FANG AND BLOOD!"

Immediately, I was joined by my swarm, and quickly thereafter, the rest of the swarm followed suit as I noticed the [System] notification flashing in the corner of my eye:

[Growth achieved. Quests completed. Quest Board updated. Status updated. Racial evolutionary requirements met.]