When Stephen used the concentrated, hydraulic force of his armored fist to slam it right into the center of Jett’s face, he absolutely didn’t hold a single ounce of his strength back.
He distinctly remembered the agonizing pain he had been forced to endure during his previous, humiliating fight against the towering executive. There were terrifying moments during that past encounter where Stephen truly felt like his life might be permanently over, his body utterly broken by Jett’s overwhelming strength. That dark memory fueled the burning fire in his chest right now.
Having extensively tested out the top-tier exoskeleton and pushed its mechanical capabilities to the absolute limit during this raid so far, he knew with absolute certainty that he could attack significantly stronger now without having to constantly worry about shattering the fragile bones in his own arms. The suit absorbed the devastating recoil that would normally turn a human hand to dust.
The deafening, thunderous slam of his armored fist connecting with flesh and bone echoed through the ruined facility. The sheer kinetic downward force had actually cracked the thick concrete ground right beneath Jett’s skull, creating a spiderweb of deep fissures. Jett’s nose and the rest of his facial structure seemed to crumple under the immense pressure, his jaw slacking as his eyes rolled completely into the back of his head.
"You damn, oversized freak!" Stephen shouted, his voice hoarse as he pulled his heavy fist back, the servos in his white lab coat whining loudly. "You caused us so much unnecessary trouble and made this entire operation infinitely harder... and you’ve made me nearly tire myself out just dealing with you."
Stephen let out a long, ragged exhale and slowly turned around, his boots crunching on the shattered concrete. He did a quick internal assessment of his physical condition. Despite the heavy exertion, he still had some decent strength and stamina left in his tank. Rather than just waiting around or blindly rushing into the next corridor to help out the other Syndicate leaders, he realized what he could optimally do with his remaining strength. He could now flank the enemy and turn the grinding tide of the chaotic situation currently unfolding out in the front courtyard.
Once they completely cleared this specific defensive area and secured the perimeter, they could then effectively flank the Billion Bloodline forces from the rear, catching them in a lethal pincer movement. This tactical maneuver was also a crucial, underlying part of Vivian’s grand overarching plan.
Of course, that entire strategic domino effect relied entirely on Stephen unequivocally winning his designated match here and now. He knew there was a monumental amount of pressure riding squarely on his armored shoulders.
"LOOK OUT!" a terrified voice suddenly shouted from the periphery.
Hearing those desperate words, Stephen’s heightened combat instincts instantly kicked in. He didn’t even look back to check; he blindly jumped hard to the side. A split second later, a colossal, bruising fist plowed brutally into the concrete ground right at the exact spot where he had just been standing, sending a shower of sharp gravel flying through the air.
Spinning around, Stephen lowered his stance and raised his guard. He could see that Jett was somehow, impossibly, standing back up. But the chilling look in the giant’s eyes sent a shiver down Stephen’s spine. Jett’s eyes were completely glazed over, entirely devoid of focus or light. It clearly showed that the towering man was almost certainly still unconscious. His central nervous system was just blindly operating on pure, unadulterated survival instinct.
"I absolutely cannot believe this guy," Stephen gritted his teeth, a bead of cold sweat rolling down his temple. "Even now, completely knocked out on his feet, does he really intend to bring me this much trouble?!"
Operating like a broken machine, Jett immediately threw a wide, sweeping punch. Stephen effortlessly dodged it, ducking beneath the heavy arm. But this time, Stephen deliberately didn’t engage his Vow or use his superior supernatural speed to move out of the way. He didn’t need to. The incoming strike was entirely inaccurate, completely lacking Jett’s usual tactical precision, and it was significantly slower compared to the blistering pace of the fight before.
"You’re just barely standing on your own two feet!" Stephen yelled.
He easily dodged another sluggish, telegraphed hit. Stepping smoothly inside the giant’s wide guard, Stephen got in extremely close. He drove his armored fist in a tight arc and slammed it squarely into Jett’s midsection. He purposefully didn’t use too much of his own internal muscular power, relying solely on the raw, hydraulic output of the Exoskeleton to deliver a crippling body blow.
The deeply unsettling thing was, the heavy strike seemed to hardly even budge Jett. The giant didn’t wheeze, didn’t double over, and didn’t even blink. He simply lifted both of his huge hands high into the air, clasping them tightly together, and clubbed them downward like a falling anvil.
Stephen managed to jump back just in the nick of time, the heavy fists smashing into the floor and leaving another deep crater.
"That mechanical punch didn’t even phase him. He didn’t feel a thing. Now he’s acting almost exactly like a giant, unconscious zombie," Stephen analyzed, his mind racing as he observed the staggering juggernaut. "If standard blunt-force hits with this exoskeleton aren’t going to work against his dense muscle density while he’s numb to pain, then there is only one definitive way to actually damage him and shut his body down."
Stephen fluidly avoided another lumbering strike. This time, he firmly planted his back foot, rotated his hips for maximum torque, and drove his fist with a devastating hook directly into Jett’s stomach. But this time, he wasn’t just relying on the pushing power of the Exoskeleton. He ignited his core and used his Vow, forcing the cellular structure in his arm to move infinitely faster.
The terrifying combination of supernatural acceleration and mechanical weight created a devastating impact. The armored fist dug ruthlessly through the thick wall of Jett’s abdominal muscle, sinking so deeply into his body that Jett was literally lifted up off his feet by his midsection. But due to Stephen firmly planting his feet and not charging blindly forward like he had done in their previous exchanges, Jett wasn’t knocked off into the distance; he simply absorbed the entire, concentrated kinetic shockwave in one spot.
When Jett’s boots hit the floor again, what was even stranger—and far more terrifying—was that the giant was still stubbornly standing upright.
"Alright, fine! If you want to be stubborn about dying!" Stephen shouted, his frustration finally boiling over into raw anger. "I really didn’t want it to end the long, agonizing way it did last time anyway!"
Stephen committed fully to the brutal attrition. He continued to weave and dodge the heavy, slow hits, slipping under swinging arms and stepping around clumsy kicks. Every single time he found an opening, he viciously drove his accelerated, armored fists deep into Jett’s stomach, striking the exact same bruised area again and again with piston-like precision.
At some points, Stephen would unleash a blistering combination, throwing two incredibly powerful, Vow-enhanced punches before he was forced to pivot and avoid another desperate, sweeping swing from Jett’s long arms.
But the continuous use of his Vow was taking a severe toll. Stephen’s breathing was becoming incredibly ragged, his lungs burning for oxygen, and his usually blinding movements were beginning to start moving slower and slower. The supernatural strain was tearing at his muscles.
"Feel the exact same agonizing pain that we felt!" Stephen roared, unleashing another devastating hook that cracked against Jett’s ribs. "Remember! You and your arrogant boss were the ones that started this entire crap by coming after us first!"
Finally, after absorbing so many impossibly powerful, concentrated hits to his ruined stomach, the giant’s knees buckled. Jett swayed like a felled oak tree and dropped heavily to his knees, his arms hanging limply at his sides.
Having learned a very harsh, painful lesson from the last time he assumed a fight was over, Stephen deliberately decided to finish it off completely so there was zero chance of another miraculous resurrection.
He stepped in close, planting his boots firmly into the cracked ground. He twisted his hips, loading every remaining ounce of hydraulic pressure and physical strength he had left into his right arm, and drove a heavy, devastating uppercut right into the bottom of Jett’s thick jaw.
Stephen could physically feel the heavy bone of Jett’s jaw smashing against the reinforced metal knuckles of his glove. Jett’s head snapped fiercely backward from the immense impact, and his entire, towering body was finally lifted backward, falling heavily to the ground and landing flat on his back. He didn’t twitch.
"You were already passed out before, so are you finally going to stay down now...?" Stephen wheezed, standing over the fallen giant. He was huffing and panting aggressively, his shoulders heaving with every desperate breath. He had originally intended to save a good portion of his stamina so he could easily help those fighting in the courtyard and then immediately head over to back up the other Syndicate leaders. But looking at his trembling hands, it looked like he would desperately need some time and energy to rest and recuperate first.
Right then, his legs simply gave out. He fell down heavily to one knee, the servo motors in his suit whining as they supported his exhausted weight.
"Everyone, form up! Protect the Ranger!" Rick shouted, his voice cutting through the ringing in Stephen’s ears.
Rick rapidly moved forward, placing his own body directly in front of Stephen as a living shield. The other surviving, armed members of the Syndicate vanguard quickly rushed in, moving in a tight, defensive circle around their exhausted leader, their weapons raised and ready to fend off any remaining stragglers.
"Ah, crap..." Stephen mumbled under his breath, looking up at the loyal men forming a wall around him. A tired, self-deprecating smirk crossed his bruised face. "And here I honestly thought I was the one that was specifically meant to be protecting you guys today. I just really hope the others upstairs are doing okay on their own."