Evon was still in disbelief; he simply didn’t understand what was happening. In his mind, he didn’t think the two of them were that far apart in terms of raw skill. He had spent years honing his craft within the syndicate, and now he had the ultimate advantage. The Exoskeleton should have given him added speed and strength that no normal human could match, so how was he not able to land a single hit on Aron? Unlike before, when they first traded blows, Aron seemed to be moving in a different dimension entirely.
Once Aron knew the danger at hand, of course, he was being careful. He wasn’t a fool; he knew that one clean hit from those metallic fists could end the fight. In a typical fight, there were certain ways Aron would use his batons, using them to block heavy blows or to tangle up an opponent’s limbs to deliver a more powerful strike back.
But when he had blocked Evon’s strikes earlier, he could tell he was unable to do next to any damage when it came to striking the man’s hands or forearms. The metal was just too thick. He realized quickly that he needed to avoid every single strike rather than trying to parry them.
His concentration was at its absolute peak, and to top it off, Aron had been fighting more lately than he usually would have. His job as one of the guards for Max in the past had been rather lackluster and quiet. The skills he had learned and the lethal techniques he had used when he was younger had been shelved. Of course, he had kept up with his basic training over the years, there was so much he had done that the muscle memory would never truly leave his body.
However, there would always be a period where it would take some amount of time for all of his senses to go back to the way they were in his prime. He had been "rusty," but lately, due to the dangerous direction Max had decided to take, Aron had been in fight after fight. They weren’t easy matches, and the constant life-or-death pressure was forcing him back into the old version of himself. The war orphan was waking up.
Aron went in again with the baton. He launched a dual assault; one strike hissed toward the stomach while the other aimed for the side of the neck.
Evon thought he had predicted the move perfectly. He saw both trajectories and opened his hands, ready to grab the batons and snap them, or at least block the momentum. But just as the wood was about to connect, Aron stopped just short of both attacks. It was a feint. Instead of following through with his hands, he pivoted on his lead foot and kicked the thigh of Evon incredibly hard.
The sound of the impact was like a whip cracking.
"You’re getting flustered as the fight goes on," Aron claimed as he continued to circle. "You can’t even focus anymore. You’ve stopped setting up traps altogether... my guess is your teacher saw potential in you and then stopped teaching you altogether because you lacked the discipline to finish the lessons!"
Although the guests were unable to leave the venue, they were absolutely amazed at what they were seeing. They had come for a brutal underground brawl, but they were witnessing a true masterclass of skill.
Na, who had practically been defeated and was watching from the edge of the ring, was in total awe.
This is the true difference when the skills between two people are worlds apart, Na thought, his eyes wide. It’s hard to tell just by looking at them; Evon is just as fast, and his strikes are a lot stronger, I can tell that from taking them head-on. But with all of the skill, the experience, and the ability to read tell-tale signs, Aron can do everything better. It’s no wonder... it really makes me think, is he not superhuman? Or is joining the Black Hands what the peak of humanity is capable of when everything is pushed to its utmost limit?
Evon was confused and struggling. He hadn’t felt this vulnerable in a long time. After entering a syndicate, becoming a large part of its muscle, and rising to the top, he had started to believe there were very few people who could touch him. He thought the only ones they would have to worry about were those who were part of the Invitation, the Superhumans and the syndicates big enough to be a part of that elite group. Yet now, he had someone else he needed to worry about, and he was losing ground fast.
"Everyone!" Evon shouted, jumping back to create space. "Get that girl that they came in with!"
It was a card that Evon didn’t really want to use. It was a cowardly move, but getting to where he was in the criminal world meant he wasn’t exactly against these types of tactics. After all, he was part of a criminal organization, and winning was the only thing that mattered.
"Seeing how you came with her, my guess is you know her to some degree?" Evon taunted, his breathing heavy. "Let’s see if you’re still the same calm master. Let’s see if your mind stays unwavered as we take out your allies right in front of you!"
The Black Hound members listened and immediately started to move in on Sheri. It felt like everything was happening to her all over again, the same cold fear she felt when she had been kidnapped by Jett and the group before.
As they moved in closer, she was startled, her eyes darting around the room, wondering if she should try to run toward the cage for protection. That’s when one of the men rushed toward her, his hand reaching out to grab her hair.
But before his hand could reach her, a baton came whistling through the air. It smashed right into the side of his head with pinpoint accuracy. A discharge of energy followed, electrifying his whole body and dropping him to the floor in a heap of convulsing limbs.
Evon looked at Aron, who was standing in a perfect throwing position. He had thrown the weapon through the small gaps in the cage wiring, timing the rotation so it wouldn’t hit the mesh. He had to have thrown it with an incredible level of force and predicted exactly how much the baton would drop over the distance.
Aron’s gaze was no longer just focused; it was murderous. He reached for his second baton, his silhouette dark against the arena lights.
"You made a big mistake," Aron claimed, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "My job is to protect her... and now that you’ve targeted her, I have no choice but to kill you."