Scarlet Fist descended like a crimson meteor.
The instant her feet touched the reinforced alloy floor, the entire underground chamber erupted with a deafening quake. The ceiling groaned under the overwhelming impact while countless hairline fractures raced outward beneath her boots, spreading across the specially reinforced floor like an enormous spider’s web.
Before the vibrations had even settled...
She attacked.
Her fist tore through the air toward Kael’s head with terrifying speed, dragging waves of scorching heat behind it as though the atmosphere itself was being ignited.
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
His forearms shot upward.
BOOM!
The punch crashed into his guard with enough force to shake his entire body, yet before Scarlet Fist could press the advantage, Kael twisted his stance and redirected the incoming momentum. His muscles bulged as he forced her arm aside before driving her backward several steps.
At that instant...
Earth energy surged throughout his body.
It flooded every muscle, every tendon and every bone until Kael felt as though the weight of an entire mountain rested within his flesh. His body became unbelievably heavy, every movement carrying an oppressive momentum that seemed capable of crushing everything before it.
Without wasting a second, he exploded into motion.
His fists descended one after another like enormous war hammers.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Every punch carried enough force to produce an explosive shockwave that rippled across the chamber. Violent gusts swept through the room, smashing into the surrounding walls as cracks spread across the alloy plating while broken fragments of metal flew in every direction.
Yet Scarlet Fist refused to yield.
Instead...
She welcomed him head-on.
Her fists met his without the slightest fear.
Punch met punch.
Palm met fist.
Forearm met elbow.
Every collision sounded like a grenade detonating at point-blank range.
Each time her fists connected with his, pulses of unbearable heat erupted outward, scorching the oxygen from the surrounding air as shimmering waves distorted everything nearby.
The crimson glow beneath her skin intensified.
It spread across her arms and shoulders like molten lava flowing beneath translucent flesh until her entire body radiated an overwhelming volcanic brilliance.
Even the shattered alloy littering the battlefield began to soften.
Small fragments glowed orange.
Then red.
Some slowly melted into glowing pools beneath the unbearable heat radiating from her body.
The battle only grew more savage.
Neither of them bothered dodging anymore.
Retreat no longer existed.
Every strike was answered with another.
Every injury repaid immediately.
Their bodies became nothing more than conduits for overwhelming kinetic force and blistering thermal destruction.
Kael suddenly altered his rhythm.
His fists moved with frightening precision.
Tap.
Tap.
BOOM!
The first strike disrupted her balance.
The second compressed her guard.
The third landed squarely against the centre of Scarlet Fist’s chest.
The instant contact was made...
Echo Strike erupted.
BAAAAAANG!!
A devastating shockwave burst from within Scarlet Fist’s body, sending compressed force exploding in every direction.
Her massive frame shot backward like a cannonball.
CRAAASH!!
She slammed into the opposite wall with terrifying momentum.
The specially reinforced alloy plating bent inward under the overwhelming impact while the thick concrete hidden beneath it exploded into countless fragments. Metal screamed in protest as the entire wall visibly bowed inward before clouds of shattered debris engulfed everything.
And for a brief moment silence filled the chamber.
Then...
BOOOOM!!
The rubble exploded apart.
Scarlet Fist burst straight through the debris without the slightest trace of injury.
The glow surrounding both of her fists had intensified dramatically.
The temperature surrounding them had become so absurdly high that the air itself seemed to liquefy, shimmering violently with every movement she made.
She vanished.
In the blink of an eye she appeared directly before Kael.
Her fist shot forward.
Kael barely reacted in time.
He tilted his head by the smallest margin.
The blazing punch screamed past his ear without making direct contact.
Even so...
The sheer displacement of heat ignited the sleeve of his jacket instantly.
Flames spread across the fabric.
Kael frowned.
Only then did he notice the true condition of his clothing.
The sleeves had already been scorched black.
Several sections had nearly burned through entirely.
Unlike Scarlet Fist, whose combat attire had clearly been specially designed to withstand both her monstrous physique and the tremendous heat generated by her abilities...
His clothes were nothing more than ordinary fabric.
If this continued, he would eventually fight naked.
"...I’d rather avoid that."
Without slowing down, Kael manipulated the earth energy circulating throughout his body.
The dense energy flowed across his skin before spreading over every inch of his clothing, forming an incredibly thin protective layer that coated the fabric like invisible armour.
The flames immediately died.
Satisfied...
He shifted his focus back toward Scarlet Fist.
She was already preparing another assault.
Unfortunately for her, Kael had no intention of waiting.
His body twisted sharply as his leg whipped across with explosive force.
The kick carried the crushing heaviness of condensed earth energy, making it resemble the swing of a gigantic battering ram.
WHAM!!
His heel buried itself into Scarlet Fist’s side.
The impact forced the flesh around the strike to visibly compress beneath the overwhelming weight.
Yet Scarlet Fist reacted immediately.
Her hand shot downward.
She caught his leg.
The instant her fingers wrapped around his ankle, Kael felt searing heat burning directly through the protective earth energy and into his skin.
Before he could withdraw...
She yanked.
His body lurched forward.
Her knee rose simultaneously.
BOOM!
The devastating strike buried itself into Kael’s abdomen.
The impact drove the air from his lungs.
A sharp grunt escaped his mouth as pain exploded throughout his torso.
Scarlet Fist’s grin widened.
But Kael wasn’t finished.
Using the momentum of being pulled forward, he wrapped both arms around her neck with frightening speed.
His grip tightened like an iron vice.
Then...
He drove his forehead forward.
BANG!!
Forehead met forehead with a brutal collision that echoed throughout the chamber.
Neither of them retreated.
Neither of them yielded.
The force simply threw both combatants off balance.
Locked together, they crashed onto the reinforced alloy floor before immediately rolling into a savage grappling struggle.
Arms strained.
Muscles bulged.
Every attempt to overpower the other caused violent tremors to spread through the room.
Their raw physical strength alone distorted the battlefield.
Each shift of their bodies crushed another section of the reinforced flooring.
Each slam sent new fractures racing through the chamber.
Each collision made the surrounding walls tremble violently as dust continuously rained from the ceiling overhead.
At that moment...
Neither Kael nor Scarlet Fist paid the slightest attention to the destruction around them.
Their entire worlds had narrowed to a single objective.
Overpower the opponent before them.
Everything else had become irrelevant.