I slapped away Lucas’ quick straight. My timing was right, but my power wasn’t. The shock of his punch traveled down my arm. My wrist stung, and I realized my guard hadn’t been solid enough. His fist dug into my shoulder, heavy and clean, like getting hit by a loaded sledge. The impact made me stumble back, the bruise already blooming beneath the skin. He didn’t even use Reinforced Fist on that one.

  The air between us pulsed. That sharp, invisible current between fighters who’ve shared blood before.

  But still. He had one arm. I cut through the air, swiping across his chest. My fingers carved into him, skin deep. Blood spilled faster than it should’ve, too thin, too easy. It splattered the ground in uneven droplets.

  Huh? That shouldn’t have made him bleed so easily. Oh... I know what he did to achieve such great strength.

  I stepped in, shifting my stance low, and drove a palm strike into his sternum. The blow landed with a wet thud that forced a grunt out of him. He stumbled a few feet back, dust kicking up from his boots.

  I punched him back a few feet, “You can’t reinforce your body anymore.”

  Lucas’s teeth clenched, his eyes red from fury and exhaustion. He whiffed a left hook so hard it carved the air. “Guess who’s the cause of that!”

  I ducked under it, slamming my right palm into his gut. “You. You neglected your body.”

  The sound of flesh meeting flesh echoed across the clearing. Lucas didn’t flinch. His rage swallowed pain whole. His hand shot out like a viper, catching a handful of my hair. My scalp burned as he yanked it down. My hair had grown long, and it was a mistake letting him grab it.

  He kneed me straight in the nose. A stream of blood poured down my upper lip.

  I whipped my head back, tearing myself out of his grip, strands of hair flying loose. “Not hurt.”

  He didn’t care for my mocking. His right fist's veins bulged as he reinforced it, channeling everything he had into a single, brutal punch. It connected cleanly with my jaw. My body went airborne, crashing hard into a tree. The bark scraped deep into my back, leaving long, stinging cuts.

  I spat blood onto the dirt and rolled my jaw, “Alright. That hurt.”

  Lucas’s boots thundered against the ground as he charged again. He was relentless. A demon guided by anger alone. His breathing was rough, erratic, and yet his eyes never left me. There was no strategy, no caution, just vengeance wearing human skin.

  That was his mistake.

  A faint twang split the tension.

  Odina’s bowstring had sung. The arrow she loosed was fast, impossibly fast. It sliced through the humid air, a streak of silver light aimed clean for Lucas’s neck. It was lightsteel. A special arrow, the kind that could punch through transcended.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Lucas stopped mid-charge, instincts sharp even through his madness. The arrow met flesh but not bone, lodging halfway through his throat. His body jerked back from the force, blood spraying across his shoulder. It wasn’t a killing blow, but it rattled him. His durability was still impressive. Muscle density.

  He turned, growling low, ripping the arrow out of himself.

  I didn’t give him time to recover. The opening was there, perfect and fleeting.

  I blitzed forward, the ground shattering under my step. My spear hand tore through the air, cutting wind before finding flesh. I pierced his chest clean, stopping just above his heart. The heat from his body pulsed against my palm. His breath hitched, eyes going wide.

  He gulped, the defiance still flickering behind his gaze.

  I twitched my hand, just enough to nudge his breastbone. A warning. I could end it right there. One more inch and his heart would rupture. He could still swing, still fight, but the cost would be his life.

  Time to interrogate him.

  The world went still. Then, without warning, the trees above howled.

  A sudden burst of wind exploded from the upper branches. It wasn’t natural. The gust struck like a battering ram, separating us in an instant.

  I staggered back, shielding my eyes from the dust as I skidded across the dirt.

  When I looked up, I saw him.

  A towering man stood balanced on a thick branch, his presence alone heavier than the wind he commanded. He was enormous, at least seven feet tall, his skin dark and sweat-slicked under the filtered light. His black hair was wild and scruffy, and his stance was unmistakable. Capoeira.

  He’d used pure momentum to send that wind strike. Even Ryan couldn't do that.

  Lucas straightened his posture, clutching his bleeding chest. He jumped up toward the man’s branch, landing beside him with a grunt. “Thanks, Kanglim.”

  Kanglim didn’t even look at him. He adjusted his footing and spoke. “Don’t thank me. Thank Hal.”

  Lucas and Kanglim vanished into the brush above, their figures melting into the dark canopy like phantoms. Leaves fluttered in their wake, the forest swallowing the noise as though nothing had happened.

  I stood still for a moment, my chest rising and falling hard. I shouldn't have let him hit me. Two transcended, both running. I could chase them. Maybe I should have. But even I knew that facing both now would be suicide. Kanglim was different. His power wasn’t reckless like Lucas’. It was refined and even deadlier.

  The sound of hurried footsteps broke the silence.

  Odina rushed from behind a shattered tent, bow still in hand, her breathing sharp. Kaiguya followed slowly, his expression unreadable, eyes moving from the carnage to me.

  He said, “I see we aren’t chasing them.”

  Odina cursed under her breath and smacked her own forehead. “If only I killed him...”

  Kaiguya stepped forward, scanning the broken clearing. “You knew that guy. Was he the one who did this to my people?”

  I nodded, wiping the blood from my face with the back of my hand. “Yes. Outside the forest, there is a man in the midst of causing the end of the world with what everyone calls, ‘Surge’.”

  Odina looked confused, her brow furrowed, “The end of the world?”

  I sighed. “Correct. Unless I’m horribly mistaken, Lucas tested Surge on the Hatchahuk. Surge can only work on transcended... oh. I mean the beyond.”

  I turned to both of them, speaking steadily despite the sting in my shoulder. “He must’ve used a less potent version of Surge, to see what works on normal mercenaries, martial artists, warriors, whatever.”

  Odina’s expression hardened, while Kaiguya’s jaw clenched. The Hatchahuk was experimented on.

  Wait. Then who was the success case? Then I remembered.

  I looked at Kaiguya, voice firm. “You. Lucas said you escaped with a dumb look on his face. You didn’t escape through blind luck.”

  I took a step forward, pointing directly at him, my tone sharp.

  “You! You were the successful test subject!”