?"Let's begin."

  ?The words had barely left Lucas’s lips before the three-meter-tall mutant lunged. The creature didn't roar; it moved with a terrifying, mechanical efficiency. Black veins pulsed rapidly beneath its ashen skin as a fist the size of a boulder swung down to crush Lucas’s skull.

  ?Lucas didn’t raise his arms to block. His eyes narrowed, reading the trajectory of the attack.

  ?Draw energy from the core. Flow it downward.

  ?A fraction of a second before the colossal fist connected, the air around Lucas’s calves distorted violently—warping like heat rising from black asphalt. Lucas concentrated the flow of Lux energy from his internal storage directly into his leg muscles. Force Boost.

  ?The blood-soaked sand beneath his boots erupted into a miniature crater. The mutant’s fist slammed into empty space, shattering the concrete floor, tearing through nothing but a fading afterimage.

  ?Before the dust could even settle, Lucas was already suspended in the air, parallel to the mutant's massive jaw.

  ?Pull energy from the legs. Shift it to the impact point. Output: Thirty percent.

  ?He spun in mid-air. The momentum of his sudden acceleration combined with the explosion of the Force Boost at the tip of his heel. The kick landed flush against the mutant’s temple. The impact sounded like a cannonball striking a steel vault.

  ?The behemoth was launched sideways, its massive frame skipping across the arena floor like a stone over water until it crashed heavily against the reinforced iron wall. The thick metal groaned and dented inward.

  ?High up in the VIP room, Varg went still. The wine in his glass sloshed over. Down in the lower stands, the weeping villagers froze in stunned silence.

  ?But the fight was far from over.

  ?The sickening sound of shifting bone and grinding gears echoed from the cloud of dust. The mutant rose. Its jaw hung at an unnatural angle, but hydraulic pumps within its neck forced the bone back into place.

  ?"Bone structure reinforced with steel plating," Lucas thought, landing smoothly on the sand. His breathing remained steady, though he could feel a small portion of his Lux reserves draining. "Thirty percent Output isn't enough to crush its mechanical core. If I force a higher Output without a proper foothold, my own bones will shatter from the inertia."

  ?The mutant locked its gaze on Lucas. This time, it didn't charge blindly. The creature’s back hissed, venting pressurized steam from valves embedded in its spine. Its speed surged drastically.

  ?The ground trembled. In the blink of an eye, the giant was in front of Lucas, unleashing a barrage of strikes that tore through the air.

  ?Lucas was forced to retreat. "I can't use Force Barrier yet. I need to save the remaining Lux to trigger a massive Output for the next strike."

  ?Fighting without a shield meant dancing on a razor-thin wire between life and death. He shifted his Force Boost dynamically—a split second to his back to weave away, then to his thighs to leap back. The mutant’s punches missed by millimeters, yet the sheer wind pressure was enough to rip Lucas’s shirt and leave long lacerations on his arms. Fresh blood began to drip.

  ?"Fast. Too fast for a body that size," Lucas analyzed, constantly evading the metallic claws that suddenly shot out from the mutant’s knuckles. "It’s adapting. Its organic muscles are being pushed beyond their limits by mechanical stimulants. I can't keep playing defense; my Storage will run dry just from moving energy around my body."

  ?The mutant roared, clasping its hands together and slamming them into the ground. BAM! A shockwave ripped through the floor, launching chunks of concrete at Lucas like shrapnel.

  ?Lucas used a Force Boost in his arm, punching through the largest slab of concrete aimed at his face. A cloud of dust obscured his vision, but that was the opening he was waiting for.

  ?From behind the dust, the behemoth leaped, intending to crush Lucas from above.

  ?"Now," Lucas’s eyes flashed with a cold light.

  ?He didn't dodge. He didn't retreat. Lucas planted his feet firmly into the exposed concrete foundation beneath the sand. He took a deep breath, performing a desperate Input—drawing every ounce of his remaining soul energy, letting his Storage run completely empty, and concentrating everything into his right arm.

  ?The muscles in Lucas's right arm tightened to their absolute limit. His veins bulged, and the air around his fist vibrated with a high-pitched hum, as if space itself rejected the presence of such dense energy.

  ?"Maximum Output! Hold nothing back!"

  ?As the mutant’s shadow engulfed him, and the giant fist was mere inches from his face, Lucas unleashed his strike straight upward. His right fist shot out like a comet.

  ?Lucas’s fist slammed directly into the center of the mutant's chest—the meeting point between flesh and its mechanical reactor core.

  ?Time seemed to stop for a heartbeat.

  ?Then, a brutal explosion of kinetic energy swept through the arena. BOOM! The shockwave from the impact created a massive crater beneath Lucas’s feet, hurling dust, blood, and debris all the way to the spectator stands. The armor plating on the mutant’s chest shattered into splinters. The condensed Lux energy tore inward, shredding circuits, crushing engines, and snuffing out the creature’s vital functions instantly.

  ?The hundreds-of-kilograms body was launched into the air with a hole in its chest before finally crashing onto the arena floor with a sickening thud. It didn't move again.

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  ?Smoke rose from Lucas’s right fist, which was trembling violently. He lowered his arm slowly, breathing heavily. That single attack had completely emptied his energy reserves; his muscles screamed in protest.

  ?However, the young man remained standing tall amidst the sea of blood and rubble. His sharp eyes stared straight toward the VIP glass room, piercing through the soul of Varg, who now sat frozen, his face deathly pale.

  ?The arena was deathly silent. No cheers. No laughter. Only absolute terror from the high-class spectators, who had just realized that tonight, the true monster wasn't the one that came out from behind the iron gates.

  ?The monster was the young man standing alone in the center of the arena.

  ?Thick, acrid smoke smelling of sulfur and rusted iron choked the air. This was the source of the waste disaster—the massive Thor Faction factory that stood arrogantly not far from the arena where Lucas was currently fighting for his life.

  ?Inside, the factory’s atmosphere was strangely paradoxical: silent yet humming with the roar of machinery. Most of the security guards were gathered in the breakroom, their eyes glued to the projection screens broadcasting the lethal match in the arena. Coarse cheers and laughter erupted from the guards every time blood was spilled on the screen.

  ?Taking advantage of their distraction, Niko moved through the shadows. The young man slid behind a row of giant cooling pipes, followed by Rot, his small spherical robot floating silently.

  ?With nimble movements, Niko’s fingers hacked the armored security door panel. Click. The door slid open.

  ?Along the path to the factory's heart, Niko continued to pull small, red-glowing metal discs from his pocket. With extreme care, he attached the explosive discs to the structural points of the factory's core walls.

  ?"Please, Lucas... hold on just a little longer," Niko thought. Cold sweat rolled down his temple. He knew his friend was buying time against a horrific monster out there to draw attention. That had been their plan from the start.

  ?They finally reached the core lab facility. The room was pitch black and silent. As Niko suspected, the mad scientists and Varg had moved their focus to the arena to record combat data in person.

  ?Niko switched on a small flashlight from his shoulder. The beam swept across rows of giant incubator tubes and mechanical surgical tables. Then, the light stopped on a refrigerated cabinet encased in thick glass.

  ?Niko’s breath caught. Inside, lined up neatly, were dozens of bottles of Healing Serum glowing with a bluish hue. This was more than enough for Arin—even for all the dying villagers!

  ?"Good work, Rot. Unlock it," Niko whispered.

  ?Rot emitted a hacking beam from its optical eye toward the cabinet panel. Within seconds, the glass slid open. Niko hurried to pull out his backpack, stuffing the serum bottles in one by one with trembling but steady hands.

  ?However, in the midst of the urgency, Rot’s claw accidentally nudged one of the bottles on the bottom shelf.

  ?SHATTER!

  ?Glass exploded across the marble floor. Blue liquid spilled. Niko froze. His heart felt as though it had stopped beating.

  ?From the darkest corner of the lab, a hydraulic hiss sounded. One of the half-destroyed incubator tubes suddenly slid open. Cryogenic fog billowed out, followed by a raspy growl that vibrated through the bone.

  ?Something crawled out of the darkness. It wasn't as large as the mutant in the arena; it was roughly the size of a grown man. However, its body was pale and gaunt, with metallic claws fused into its hand bones, and its eyes radiated a hungry red glow.

  ?To Lucas or Blade, this creature might have been a mere warm-up. But for Niko, who lacked high-level combat techniques, it was a nightmare.

  ?"Hide!" Niko hissed.

  ?He grabbed the bag of serum, pulled Rot, and dived behind a row of steel lab tables. Darkness swallowed them again. The sound of the creature's footsteps was light, wet, and incredibly fast.

  ?tap...

  ?tap...

  ?Tap...

  ?Niko held his breath. He signaled Rot to be silent. The young man peered slowly from the right side of the table. Empty. Only puddles of neon fluid and the shadows of pipes.

  ?He let out a tiny sigh of relief, then turned to look to his left.

  ?A pale face with a jaw torn open to the ears was directly in front of him, eyes staring intensely at Niko.

  ?SHRING!

  ?Rot shrieked in panicked machine language, leaping up and firing a shock bolt from its spherical body into the monster’s face. The creature howled, recoiling for a moment and giving Niko a precious split second.

  ?Niko didn't run; he scrambled backward with incredible speed as the monster's metal claws swung down, cleaving the steel table in front of him in two like a knife through butter.

  ?The creature lunged forward, smashing chairs and lab equipment in its path.

  ?"Rot, secure the bag!" Niko shouted, tossing the backpack of serum toward his robotic companion. Rot deftly caught the strap with its claw, flying toward the lab ceiling while firing small lasers to distract the monster’s focus.

  ?Now, the monster’s focus was entirely on Niko. It leaped with the speed of a bullet, claws ready to tear through the young man’s chest.

  ?Niko closed his eyes for a second. The Battle IQ in his head spun at maximum speed, calculating attack trajectories, room angles, and gravity. He was weak at controlling Lux energy for full-body defense like Lucas, but he had one specialty.

  ?A thin, bright stream of Lux energy suddenly concentrated and exploded in both of Niko’s calves.

  ?Just as the claws were about to touch his chest, Niko’s right foot slammed into the floor with a focused Output. BAM! The floor cracked, and Niko’s body shot sideways with extraordinary speed, leaving the monster's claws to tear through nothing but air.

  ?Using his momentum, Niko didn't land on the floor; instead, he planted both feet against a lab pillar. The Lux energy in his feet gripped the concrete for a moment, then he launched himself back toward the monster like a ricocheting bullet.

  ?Trajectory locked.

  ?With his body spinning in the air, Niko swung his left leg, already coated in dense Lux energy. The axe kick slammed directly into the side of the monster's jaw.

  ?CRACK!

  ?The creature was sent tumbling into a chemical rack, bringing it down. However, its agility was horrific. Before it could even fully fall, the monster used its claws to anchor itself to the floor and bounced back toward Niko, attacking from a blind spot below.

  ?Niko, still suspended in the air, gave a thin smile. "Just as I thought."

  ?His strike hadn't been enough to bring it down, but he had a backup plan.

  ?"Rot, shoot the power panel above the puddle!" Niko screamed.

  ?Still clutching the serum bag in the air, Rot fired a precision red laser at the circuit box on the wall—the same pipes the monster had damaged earlier. Sparks exploded; wires snapped and fell directly into the puddle of coolant fluid where the monster was standing.

  ?BZZZTTT!

  ?Thousands of volts of electricity surged through the creature's pale body. It shrieked in agony, its mechanical frame convulsing and paralyzed for a moment.

  ?This was the window of time Niko had created.

  ?As his body began to succumb to gravity, Niko concentrated all the remaining Lux energy in his Storage into his right heel. A blue light shone blindingly in the darkness of the lab.

  ?He dove down like a small meteor. His right heel drove straight into the back of the paralyzed monster’s neck.

  ?BOOM!

  ?The marble floor of the lab shattered into pieces for two meters around. The monster's mechanical spine snapped instantly under the concentrated Lux Output. The pale creature collapsed, twitching feebly before finally going still.

  ?Niko landed, gasping for air. The Lux flow in his legs faded. His calf muscles felt as if they were on fire, but a triumphant smirk played on his lips. Brain over brawn.

  ?Rot descended from the ceiling, hovering beside Niko while offering the intact and safe backpack.

  ?Niko patted the robot’s round head, then stared sharply toward the lab exit, his hand reaching back into his pocket for the master detonator.

  ?"Now... let's get out of this place."

  ?To be continued...

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