Battle Beast skidded to a stop several blocks away, his clawed feet carving deep gouges into the asphalt as he struggled to halt his momentum. Dust and debris swirled around him, carried by the concussive force of his own impact. Smoke billowed from distant wreckage, its acrid scent mingling with the sharp tang of his own blood. He raised a pawed hand to his jaw, rubbing at the deep bruise forming beneath his thick fur. Pain. It had been a long time since he'd truly felt it.
"Interesting…" he muttered, his voice a guttural growl laced with something just shy of exhilaration. His sharpened fangs glinted beneath the dim city lights as his lips curled into a wolfish grin. "He hits like a Viltrumite… and not just a fledgling, either."
Rolling his shoulders, he straightened his massive frame, his every movement radiating lethal power. The dull ache in his jaw was a rare, thrilling sensation. He flexed his claws, shaking off the last remnants of dust and rubble clinging to his fur before taking a step forward. Then another. Then, with a bone-rattling crack, the pavement beneath him exploded as he launched himself forward, each powerful stride leaving a crater in his wake. His blood roared in his ears. He would not be denied this fight.
Back at the tower, William remained still, an unmoving sentinel hovering above the chaos. Arms folded across his broad chest, his golden-red aura pulsed faintly, illuminating the destruction below. His two-toned hair barely moved despite the whirlwind of violence unraveling beneath him. His gaze remained impassive, unreadable, as he observed the battlefield. He had no intention of interfering, yet. But his presence alone was like an unseen storm cloud, pressing down upon the scene with an almost suffocating weight.
Machine Head's metallic fingers drummed anxiously against the armrest of his high-tech chair, his synthetic eyes flicking toward William every few seconds. The crime lord had dealt with powerhouses before. He knew strength. But this? This was something else entirely. The sheer presence radiating from the man in the sky made his internal processors momentarily stutter.
"If I could get someone like him on my payroll…" Machine Head mused aloud, his modulated voice carrying an edge of greed. "I'd rule the whole damn world. Hell, the order itself."
Then, almost immediately, his internal predictive algorithms ran the calculations. Every scenario ended in his gruesome demise. He shuddered.
Yeah, not happening.
Meanwhile, Mark was fighting for his life.
Titan lay unconscious, sprawled amidst shattered concrete and twisted metal, leaving Mark alone against the remaining four criminals. Sweat clung to his brow, his breath coming in sharp exhales. But his Viltrumite blood ran hot, adrenaline surging through his veins. He narrowed his eyes, scanning the battlefield as his enemies encircled him.
Tether Tyrant struck first, thick crimson tendrils lashing out in an attempt to ensnare Mark from behind. But Mark had been training under William for weeks now. He could feel the attack before it reached him, his instincts screaming in warning. Without thinking, he twisted low, his body moving with practiced fluidity as the tendrils slashed through empty air where he had stood a second earlier.
Then came the heat. A surge of molten lava roared toward him from the opposite side, the air distorting from sheer intensity.
Another trap.
Mark reacted on pure instinct, launching himself sideways just in time to avoid being seared alive. But before he could recover—
CRACK! A blinding streak of electricity lanced through the battlefield.
Kursk.
The lightning-wielding criminal transformed into a bolt of pure energy and slammed into Mark's chest at full force.
BZZZT!
A concussive blast erupted as Mark was launched backward, his body an unrelenting projectile that collided against the reinforced wall behind him. The impact was thunderous, spiderweb cracks forming instantly around the crater his body had carved into the concrete. Sparks of electricity danced across his suit, thin wisps of smoke curling from the scorched fabric.
For a moment, the room went eerily silent.
Then, with a casual motion, Mark peeled himself from the wall, his fingers brushing idly at the blackened chest of his suit. His expression was unreadable at first. Then—
He smirked.
"Was that all?" His voice, laced with cocky defiance, carried across the battlefield as he spread his arms wide in an open challenge.
William, still watching from above, exhaled slowly, rubbing his temples with an almost tired gesture.
"This fucking kid…" he muttered, exasperation dripping from every word.
Because Mark wasn't ready for what was coming next.
Not even close.
Tether Tyrant, his patience frayed, finally got his opening. His tendrils snapped forward, catching Mark mid-taunt and yanking him down like a ragdoll. His grip tightened, the pressure like steel cables constricting Mark's limbs. A wicked grin split his face as he turned to his partner.
"Now, babe!"
Magnamaniac nodded, raising his arms. A violent surge of white-hot lava erupted from his fingertips, washing over Mark's trapped form like a tidal wave of molten death. The heat was unbearable, the air itself blistering as Mark struggled against his restraints. The liquid fire solidified almost instantly, encasing him in a hardened shell of earth and stone.
"Do it!" Tether Tyrant roared.
Kursk wasted no time, dashing forward in a crackling blur of blue lightning. His fists became a flurry of blinding jabs, each strike delivering volts of raw electricity directly into Mark's immobilized body. The force of the hits sent shockwaves through the battlefield.
"BOOM, POW, POW, POW, BOOM, BOOM!"
Mark's body jerked violently with every impact, his teeth grinding together as pain lanced through his nerves. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, his vision flickering from the repeated concussive blasts. Above him, the towering mechanical enforcer Furnace descended, his massive fists primed to deliver the final blow.
A massive metal fist loomed in his vision—
Adrenaline. Panic. Instinct.
A surge of raw Viltrumite power exploded from within.
With a primal roar, Mark ripped free from his stone prison, shattering the hardened lava casing with sheer brute force. But his momentum, his sheer speed, sent his body rocketing forward like a cannonball.
Straight through Magnamaniac.
The superpowered man barely had a second to scream before Mark's body tore through his torso, his flesh and bones offering no resistance against the force of a Viltrumite in full motion.
A sickening SCHLUK! echoed across the battlefield.
Tether Tyrant froze, his tendrils slackening as crimson splattered across his face.
"NOOOO!" The cry tore from his throat, raw and agonized, grief twisting his features into something primal, something broken.
Mark barely had time to process what had happened before the battlefield erupted once more, and this time, Tether Tyrant wasn't holding back.
Tether Tyrant's world shrank to a pinpoint of grief and fury. His partner, his lover, was gone, torn apart in a fraction of a second by the very enemy they had struggled to subdue. His breath hitched, his fingers trembling as he stared at the crimson stain on his hands. A guttural, animalistic growl built in his throat, raw and strangled. Then, his fury erupted.
"You bastard!" he roared, his tendrils thrashing wildly as they expanded, morphing into jagged, spiked appendages infused with an unnatural rage. They lashed out toward Mark with terrifying speed, each strike fueled by an uncontrollable thirst for vengeance.
Mark, still reeling from the sheer brutality of his own actions, barely reacted in time. His instincts screamed at him to move, but hesitation cost him. A tendril wrapped around his throat, another coiled around his torso. He struggled against the crushing grip, his muscles bulging as he tried to break free, but this time, Tether Tyrant wasn't holding back. The tendrils constricted with bone-cracking force, lifting Mark high into the air before slamming him into the ground with enough power to crater the pavement beneath them.
The impact sent tremors rippling outward, concrete splintering like glass as dust and debris shot into the air. Mark gasped, stars dancing in his vision. The tendrils weren't just restraining him; they were draining him, siphoning energy from his body, his strength fading by the second.
Tether Tyrant loomed over him, his body trembling with barely contained wrath. "You took him from me!" he bellowed, his voice cracking with agony. "I'll make you suffer for it!"
As Mark struggled against the relentless three-on-one assault, his every movement became heavier under the crushing weight of his enemies. His breaths came in ragged bursts, his muscles straining against the tendrils wrapped around him like steel cables. Tether Tyrant cackled as he tightened his grip, Furnace loomed, his mechanical limbs hissing with heat, and Komodo Dragon slashed at Mark's exposed side, forcing him on the defensive.
Then, amid the chaos, William's vision was overlaid with a sudden system prompt.
[Ding… System Quest: Predator or Prey - You have been designated a prime hunting target. Defeat the beast that approaches!]
A slow, knowing grin stretched across William's face. So, it's finally my turn, huh? He lifted his gaze beyond the battlefield and into the distance, where a towering silhouette tore through the streets with terrifying speed. Each step sent tremors through the ground, his immense weight cratering the asphalt beneath him. The gleaming, white-furred juggernaut sank all four limbs into the pavement, using the sheer force of his body to propel himself forward like a living missile.
The moment Battle Beast entered striking distance, his claws lashed out with blinding speed.
"SHING!"
William reacted on pure instinct, his body tilting backward just in time to evade the razor-sharp swipe. He could feel the displaced air slice across his face like a blade, a reminder that if he had been even a fraction of a second slower, his skull would've been torn open.
Battle Beast crashed through the wall behind him like a meteor, shattering concrete and steel as though they were made of paper.
"BANG!"
Dust and debris exploded outward as the beast tore through the structure. But instead of plummeting, Battle Beast snarled and drove his colossal sword into the side of the building, grinding to a halt with a shower of sparks. The sound of screeching metal echoed through the battlefield.
Then, with an earth-shaking grunt, he wrenched himself free and launched back up through the gaping hole he had made, landing inside the tower in a single, predatory leap. His eyes gleamed with unfiltered bloodlust, locked onto William with murderous intent.
At the same time, Mark's fury reached its peak. With a savage roar, he ripped himself free of Tether Tyrant's grasp, the tendrils snapping like overstretched rubber bands. Blood dripped from his arms where the constriction had bitten into his flesh, but the pain barely registered.
"WENG!"
His fingers dug into the reinforced plating of Furnace's mechanical shell. With a raw display of power, his veins bulging beneath his skin, Mark pulled. Metal groaned. Bolts snapped. Sparks erupted as Furnace's chassis was slowly pried apart, the villain's panicked screams drowned out by the deafening shriek of rending steel.
And in that moment, two warriors stood apart from the chaos.
Mark, his breath heavy, his hands drenched in oil and blood.
Battle Beast locked eyes with William and snarled with maddened glee.
A heavy silence settled between William and Battle Beast, an unspoken understanding passing between them. This wasn't just a fight, it was a test, a proving ground for warriors.
Then, without warning—
"BOOM!"
Battle Beast launched forward like a cannon shot, his sword cleaving downward in a brutal arc. The sheer force of his attack shattered the floor beneath them before it even connected, sending shockwaves through the tower.
William met him head-on.
"CLANG!"
His forearm intercepted the strike, the impact rattling through his bones as sparks erupted from the collision. The pressure beneath their feet cratered the ground, sending cracks spider-webbing outward through the floor.
Battle Beast's grin widened. Good. You can take a hit.
Not wasting a second, he twisted his sword, forcing William's arm aside, and swung with his free claw.
William ducked, just barely. Battle Beast's claws shredded through his jacket, grazing his chest with enough force to send blood splattering onto the floor.
But instead of retreating, William surged forward, ramming his knee into Battle Beast's ribs. The beast staggered but retaliated instantly, slamming a fist into William's side. The impact sent him hurtling through the tower's walls like a bullet.
"CRASH!"
He burst out of the skyscraper, concrete and glass raining down as he spiraled through the air. Battle Beast was already in pursuit, leaping through the gaping hole and catching up mid-air. With a thunderous roar, he swung his sword again—
William twisted his body, evading the strike at the last possible second.
Not here. Not in the city.
His emerald, green aura flared violently, distorting the air around him as he rocketed skyward, breaking through the cloud layer in an instant. Battle Beast followed, relentless, his form becoming a white streak against the night sky.
As they ascended past the atmosphere, William turned sharply and shot westward, tearing across the sky at hypersonic speeds. The air around him ignited, creating a burning corona in his wake.
Battle Beast, undeterred, kept pace.
The ground below became an endless stretch of barren, rocky wasteland, the Nevada desert. Miles of open terrain, devoid of civilians. Perfect.
William twisted mid-air and came to a sudden halt, his body vibrating from the sheer inertia. Battle Beast didn't slow, he was already mid-swing, his blade seeking flesh.
"BOOM!"
William caught the sword with both hands, the force splitting the ground below them for miles. Cracks radiated across the desert floor, dust and debris kicking up in a massive cloud.
They hovered there for a moment, locked in a contest of strength, neither willing to give an inch.
Then William grinned. Now, we fight for real.
And he exploded forward.
His fist slammed into Battle Beast's stomach with such force that the air itself detonated around them. The shockwave blasted the sand away, carving a massive crater into the earth.
Battle Beast coughed, but his eyes gleamed with exhilaration. He swung, William dodged— he countered with an elbow to the jaw, Battle Beast retaliated with a vicious knee to the ribs.
"BANG! BANG! BANG!"
Each strike shook the desert like a localized earthquake, their movements too fast for the human eye to follow. Fists collided with bone. Blood splattered across the sands. The sheer weight of their battle sent tremors across the land, the impact of their blows forming shockwaves that sent dunes scattering like ocean waves.
And through it all, Battle Beast laughed.
"YES!" he bellowed, swiping at William with a clawed hand. "THIS! THIS IS WHAT I LIVE FOR!"
William smirked, wiping a trickle of blood from his lip. Then let's give you the fight of your life.
He surged forward once more, his aura burning brighter than ever.
The desert shook.
The battle raged on.