Seeing Ramon stride out onto the main stage with such unearned confidence, Max felt two conflicting thoughts collide in his mind. The first was a cold, sinking dread: either Aron had been defeated by this mechanical monstrosity, or he had been pinned down in a situation so dire that he couldn’t break away to assist.
What surprised Max most, however, was his own visceral reaction. The moment his eyes locked onto Ramon, a surge of raw, protective anger boiled over. It was a heat he hadn’t expected, a protective instinct for his team that threatened to cloud his judgment.
Taking a sharp, steadying breath, Max forced himself to calm down and analyze the man in front of him. He looked at Ramon’s white lab coat, it was far too clean. There were no tears in the fabric, no scuff marks from the gym floor, and no bloodstains.
He knew Aron’s capabilities intimately; in fact, he suspected Aron was still hiding depths of skill he hadn’t yet revealed. With the level of training Aron possessed, there was simply no way Ramon could have emerged from a true fight to the death looking so pristine.
’He’s fine,’ Max thought, his heart rate leveling out. ’Aron is still in the game. But it just means these guys are even more dangerous than I thought. They aren’t just strong; they’re tactical.’
The worry on Max’s face slowly pulled into a sharp, predatory smile, which eventually gave way to a low chuckle that echoed through the arena.
"I guess this is how things really should be, right?" Max claimed, adjusting his stance. "The leaders of each faction, The Gilt Rats, The Black Hounds, and the Billion Bloodline group, all standing on the same stage, ready to settle the bill."
"I think you’re wrong about one thing, kid," Ramon said, the hydraulics in his leg actuators hissing as he shifted his weight. "This isn’t some honorable free-for-all. This is us two against you. Actually, forget the numbers, I think I’m the only one that’s needed to put you in the ground!"
Ramon kicked off from his position with a violent burst of speed. The floorboards beneath his reinforced boots groaned as he sprinted ahead, a white blur of motion closing the distance to Max in a fraction of a second. But as he charged, a look of sudden dread crossed one person’s face.
"Wait, Ramon! Don’t!" Darius called out, reaching a hand as if to pull the scientist back.
Max was ready. He had poured staggering amounts of wealth into his own development, and the result was a body that sat at the very cusp of what was considered superhuman. He wasn’t at the legendary peak, he wasn’t Hercules yet, but he was close enough to bridge the gap. Even against a man encased in a full-body exoskeleton, he had the eyes to track the movement and the nerves to react.
Ramon threw a massive, assisted fist, but it met nothing but empty air. Max had vanished from his line of sight. When Ramon looked down, he saw Max’s entire body coiled and bent low. Like a released spring, Max’s leg shot up, his knee crashing with pinpoint accuracy into Ramon’s face.
The momentum of Ramon’s own forward charge proved to be his undoing. The impact was sickening. Max’s knee crushed into Ramon’s nose, the force causing his teeth to dig painfully into his upper lip. Ramon’s head snapped back, his equilibrium shattered, and his body slumped heavily to the stage floor.
’I knew this was going to happen,’ Darius thought, watching his ally fall. ’Ramon sees a young kid and thinks he’s just a figurehead. He has all the confidence in the world because of that suit, but he couldn’t imagine just how much of a monster this kid has become.’
Darius didn’t hesitate. He stepped quickly in front of the downed Ramon, placing himself between Max and the scientist to prevent a finishing blow. Max slowed his advance, eyeing Darius cautiously. Eventually, Ramon groaned and pushed himself up, wiping a smear of dark blood from his mangled nose.
"I see... it’s no wonder you were having trouble, Darius," Ramon said, his voice nasal and wet. "That was a foolish mistake on my part. I’ve wanted to give you a thorough beating for getting in our way time and time again, Billionaire. I guess I just need to do it properly."
Ramon walked past Darius, roughly shoving the Black Hound leader to the side to clear his path. He approached Max and settled into a professional fighting stance, his suit humming with a high-pitched whine. Then, he launched a kick.
The strike came out with terrifying velocity, the exoskeleton’s pistons firing in perfect unison. Max threw up his arm to block, expecting to absorb the impact as he had with Darius, but he couldn’t just stand his ground.
The sheer weight of the attack hammered into him, sliding Max several feet across the stage. His boots left scorched rubber marks on the wood. It was far stronger than he had imagined a machine could produce.
’I guess I can’t just block these hits,’ Max thought, his arm throbbing. ’This power... it might be as strong as Na’s!’
As another punch whistled through the air, Max slipped the blow and moved to the flank. But the suit responded instantly. He saw a sudden, blurred movement as Ramon’s fist redirected mid-arc, reaching for his ribs.
Max managed to bring both hands down to intercept the hit, but his body was sent sliding across the floor again, his forearms going completely numb from the vibration.
’A sudden burst of movement and speed,’ Max analyzed, his mind racing. ’It’s like going up against Stephen when he’s using those Vow powers. This really isn’t going to be easy.’
It was then that Max sensed a shadow from the corner of his eye. His instincts screamed at him to move. He ducked low to avoid a phantom strike, but as he moved, he realized the trap. He had ducked nothing. Darius was standing a few feet away with a cold, triumphant smile on his face, he had used his "intent" trick to force Max into a predictable position.
Max’s head was still low when Ramon’s fist, powered by the full force of the chest piece, plunged into his face. The blow launched Max into the air, spinning him backward until he landed flat on his back with a deafening thud.
’Fuck... that really hurt!’ Max thought, tasting copper in his mouth. He struggled to find his breath as he looked up at the two leaders looming over him. ’I have to deal with both of them at once... this is going to be a long night.’