The instant Kael regained his footing, he exploded forward once again.
There wasn’t the slightest hesitation in his movements. His feet drove into the alloy floor, launching him across the distance between them in a blur as his lead hand flicked toward Scarlet Fist’s jaw with ruthless precision. It wasn’t a heavy punch. It was fast, compact, and perfectly timed, the kind of strike meant to create an opening rather than end a fight.
Scarlet Fist’s eyes flashed.
She shifted her weight onto her rear heel with astonishing balance before her own fist shot forward.
A jab.
Simple.
Direct.
Deadly.
The punch hissed through the air like a rifle round leaving the barrel of a gun, arriving almost the same instant Kael’s strike did.
Kael’s reaction was instantaneous.
His forearm snapped upward as every muscle along his arm tightened. Deep within his body, earth energy surged through his body before flooding into his forearm, condensing into an invisible layer of overwhelming density.
BOOM!
The collision rang throughout the chamber like a sledgehammer crashing against a railway spike.
The impact rippled through Kael’s arm, yet he refused to give ground. Instead, he stepped into the force itself, stealing her rhythm before retaliating with an unrelenting barrage.
One punch.
Two punches.
Three.
His attacks flowed together with frightening efficiency.
Kael’s martial style possessed no unnecessary movement. Every strike existed for a single purpose.
To kill.
A sharp jab snapped toward her face.
A crushing cross followed immediately after, grazing the side of Scarlet Fist’s temple before a back-fist swept across with terrifying momentum. Earth energy condensed around the edge of his hand, multiplying the weight behind the strike several times over.
BANG!
The attack slammed into her ribs.
The instant contact was made, Echo Strike detonated.
The air itself seemed to shudder as a silent shockwave erupted directly from the point of impact. Space before them distorted slightly before the accumulated force exploded outward.
Scarlet Fist’s massive body was launched backward nearly ten feet.
Her boots carved violently across the hardened alloy floor as steel cracked beneath every step. Jagged fragments burst upward, ricocheting across the chamber like bullets while long trenches appeared wherever her feet dragged against the metal.
Yet, She laughed.
A loud, wild and unrestrained laugh.
"Hahaha!"
The excitement in her crimson eyes only deepened.
"You’ve got a damn good punch!"
Her battle intent erupted like an awakening volcano.
An invisible pressure flooded the room as adrenaline coursed through every fibre of her body. Her already powerful frame began changing before Kael’s eyes.
Muscles swelled.
Shoulders broadened.
Veins bulged beneath crimson skin.
Every muscle fibre seemed to intertwine like countless braided steel cables as overwhelming strength accumulated throughout her body. A deep reddish hue spread across her skin while shimmering waves of scorching heat distorted the air surrounding both of her fists.
She looked less like a human.
More like a humanoid beast born solely for battle.
Without waiting another second, she kicked off the ground.
BOOM!
The alloy floor caved beneath her feet as she transformed into a crimson blur.
Her speed had nearly doubled.
Kael’s pupils contracted.
He immediately retreated, his boots grinding across the fractured floor as Scarlet Fist closed the distance almost instantly. Her enormous arm swung overhead before crashing downward in a devastating hammer-fist capable of flattening armored vehicles.
The air screamed beneath its weight.
Kael lowered his centre of gravity.
Rather than evade...
He stepped in.
His hand shot upward and caught her wrist.
The enormous impact shook his entire body, yet before Scarlet Fist could react, Kael twisted at the waist. Borrowing the momentum behind her attack, he pivoted around her arm before driving his palm straight into her sternum.
Earth energy roared inside him.
It surged from his core like a tidal wave before condensing entirely into his striking arm.
His palm became impossibly heavy.
Like an iron anvil forged from a mountain itself.
BOOM!
The strike landed squarely against her chest.
The force exploded outward with enough power to visibly compress the surrounding air.
Scarlet Fist’s body rocked backward.
Only one step.
Then her enlarged frame rooted itself once more.
Rather than being blown away, she leaned into the impact itself.
Her lips curled upward.
"Nice."
Her free fist ignited.
Heat shimmered violently around her knuckles before a point-blank uppercut erupted toward Kael’s jaw.
Kael dropped his head.
The blazing fist screamed past his face.
The intense heat scorched the tips of his hair and singed his eyebrows before disappearing overhead.
The instant it missed...
Kael retaliated.
His right hand straightened completely.
Fingers together.
Palm rigid.
Earth energy gathered along the edge of his hand until it resembled the blade of an executioner’s axe.
His arm descended.
WHAM!
The knife-hand slammed into Scarlet Fist’s shoulder with overwhelming force.
The impact echoed throughout the chamber as a dark scorch mark spread across the shoulder of her combat attire. The fabric blackened from both friction and condensed earth energy, leaving behind a smoking line across the material.
Yet astonishingly...
The specially crafted suit neither tore apart nor burned away despite the tremendous force and the monstrous transformation of its wearer.
Scarlet Fist didn’t even blink.
She simply smiled.
Then attacked again.
The distance between them disappeared.
Once.
Twice.
Again and again.
The chamber became consumed by a relentless exchange of blows.
Fists collided.
Palms intercepted.
Elbows crashed.
Forearms deflected.
Knees struck.
Shoulders rammed.
Each collision erupted with enough force to shake the reinforced underground chamber as fragments of alloy burst loose from the floor beneath them.
Their bodies gradually became impossible to follow.
One transformed into a blur of grey.
The other became a streak of furious crimson.
Kael suddenly shifted his rhythm.
His left fist darted upward, slamming into her collarbone.
Before the impact had even finished, his right hook curved viciously into her kidney.
Then came the third strike.
He stepped deeply into Scarlet Fist’s guard, twisting every muscle within his body into a single explosive thrust aimed directly at her abdomen.
Every ounce of condensed earth energy erupted through his fist.
BANG!
Echo Strike activated.
The sound resembled a gigantic structural beam snapping under impossible pressure.
A violent ripple burst outward from Scarlet Fist’s body.
Chunks of reinforced flooring exploded upward as though buried explosives had detonated beneath them. Cracks raced across the alloy plating while shattered fragments blasted across the chamber.
Scarlet Fist was hurled backward once more.
Her boots gouged two enormous trenches into the floor as sparks erupted beneath every step.
She slid...
Ten metres.
Twenty.
Only after travelling several dozen feet did her momentum finally disappear.
Silence lasted only a heartbeat.
Then...
ROOOOAAARRR!!
A savage roar exploded from Scarlet Fist’s throat.
It wasn’t human.
It sounded like an ancient beast awakening after centuries of slumber.
Her already enormous physique expanded even further.
Muscles thickened once again.
Her height increased.
The crimson tint covering her body deepened until it resembled molten steel fresh from a furnace.
The suffocating pressure flooding the room intensified severalfold.
Even the surrounding air trembled beneath her overwhelming presence.
She grinned.
An excited...
Bloodthirsty grin.
"Now we’re talking!"
The floor beneath her feet exploded.
BOOOOOOM!!
A crater formed where she had been standing as countless chunks of reinforced alloy were ripped from the ground and hurled backward. The overwhelming force behind her leap even shaved away layers of hardened metal as she shot toward Kael like a crimson meteor.
Her hand stretched forward.
Five fingers clenched tightly into a fist.
Every ounce of terrifying power concentrated into that single punch aimed directly at Kael’s head.
This time...
Kael didn’t retreat.
He planted both feet firmly upon the fractured alloy floor.
His breathing steadied.
His entire body tightened.
Both arms rose into a high guard as dense earth energy surged continuously through every inch of his forearms, weaving together layer after layer of overwhelming defence.
His gaze never left the incoming fist.
He simply stood there.
Waiting.
Ready to receive the monstrous strike head-on.