As Ethan's lightning-coated fist crashed into Kairo's face, the impact sent him flying like a broken kite, twisting helplessly through the air before he smashed into the ground outside the edge of the ring.
The arena quaked from the force of the blow.
But Ethan wasn't done.
Without hesitation, he closed the distance like a storm given form.
One blow—to the gut, launching Kairo slightly into the air.
An elbow to the head, slamming it downward.
Then—a crushing knee to the falling skull, snapping it upward again.
The combo was a blur. A rciless, bone-shattering sequence.
Kairo didn't even have the chance to activate his space ability.
And that's because of the reason Ethan could even touch him at all:
---
[Ability Information]
— Ability Na: Abyss
— Type: Extrinsic | Instant | Control
— Mastery Level: Peak
— Tier: Uncommon
— Description:
Abyss is a psychological control-type ability that forces the target into a trance-like illusion by exposing them to the infinite depths of the Abyss. The effect is especially potent on those with fractured or unstable minds, dragging their consciousness into an endless void of silence and fear. While trapped in this state, the target's instincts shut down and their abilities are forcibly deactivated, rendering them completely vulnerable for the duration of the trance.
---
That was the reason. That was how Ethan had landed the first strike.
And now, the rest was just punishnt.
Each of Ethan's fists crackled with stored Force Might, the impact of every strike more powerful than the last.
Kairo's body began to contort and cave under the brutality—bones shattered, limbs bent at unnatural angles.
His once-regal form was reduced to a broken husk.
But Ethan felt nothing.
No pity. No hesitation. Only resolve.
"This… is what you deserve," he muttered, eyes burning with controlled fury.
Since arriving in this world, Ethan hadn't killed a single soul. He had always believed that a hero's duty was to save life's not take it.
But this was different.
Kairo wasn't just a threat. He was a monster.
A sadist who had nearly killed Sophia.
And behind that deranged smile of his lay the backing of an Ascendant family—the Draevens. Even if Ethan spared him now, the Draevens would co after him eventually.
So why wait?
"Let them co," Ethan whispered.
"But this one… ends here."
He reeled back his fist, drawing all the Force he had stored. Energy crackled along his knuckles, distorting the very air around his hand.
And as he prepared to bring it down—
The final blow, the execution—
"STOP!"
A voice cut through the silence.
Ti seed to halt.
Ethan's fist paused, just inches from Kairo's ruined head. The air was still. The blow was so controlled that not even a breeze stirred from it.
He slowly turned his head.
There—limping toward him, bruised and battered, was Sophia.
"Ethan… don't kill," she said weakly.
Her voice was soft. But it cut deeper than any blade.
****
Ethan stared at Sophia, baffled, his voice barely above a whisper.
"What…?"
He couldn't believe it. After everything that monster did, after the tornt, the humiliation—she didn't want him dead?
Ethan's instincts scread. His entire body was still radiating fury, his blood hot with the need to end Kairo once and for all.
"Do you not understand what kind of threat he is?"
"We can't let this bastard live."
He was about to argue, to protest, to explain. But as Sophia limped past him, her hand clutching her side as he stopped.
Because in her eyes, he saw sothing far deeper than rcy.
It wasn't forgiveness.
It wasn't hesitation.
It was resolve.
And beneath that resolve… rage—sharp and cold like a blade forged in silence.
Ethan's lips curved into a faint smile, a small puff of a laugh escaping him.
"You could've just started with that."
He stepped back.
Kairo, lying broken and barely breathing, looked up at Sophia with wide, bloodshot eyes. His mouth twitched as though to speak, to plead, but his battered body couldn't obey.
Sophia didn't care.
She summoned her sword, a soft shimr in the air marking its arrival. The blade glead—not with light, but with finality.
She raised it high, and with no hesitation, drove it down into Kairo's chest.
The steel pierced flesh and bone, striking straight into his heart.
Kairo let out a twisted, wheezing squeal—and then, silence.
Just like that, the torntor was gone.
Sophia pulled the blade free, the blood glinting on its edge as she turned to Ethan.
"Thank you… for letting do this," she said quietly, her voice trembling with the weight of catharsis.
Her knees buckled slightly, her wounds catching up to her.
But before she could fall, Ethan caught her, gently pulling her into a warm embrace.
"Don't worry," he murmured. "I could see you really needed this."
He ant it.
Ethan hadn't cared about revenge. For him, Kairo was simply a threat that needed to be removed.
But for Sophia, it was sothing far more personal.
Kairo hadn't just hurt her body—he had tried to shatter her spirit, to rob her of her worth.
Had she not been the one to end him, that sha would have festered like rot, poisoning her growth, haunting her steps.
By giving her this mont, Ethan ensured she would not carry that shadow forward.
"Let's get you to cover," Ethan said, looking toward the chaos still raging in the arena. The battle between the Sentinels and the Guards was far from over.
But just as Ethan moved, holding Sophia close—
"WAIT RIGHT THERE!"
A voice thundered across the arena like a bolt of wrath.
Ethan spun around, eyes widening in shock.
Charging straight at them was the masked man—his presence like a blade ripping through the air.
And the announcer was nowhere in sight.
'Did he defeat him? Was the announcer dead?'
The questions piled in Ethan's mind, but there was no ti to dwell.
He acted on instinct.
He swiftly moved Sophia behind him, shielding her with his body.
"Tenebris," he whispered.
Darkness surged over his arms, encasing them in shadow-forged gauntlets, intricate veins of midnight swirling across the hardened surface.
And then—
He punched.
Straight toward the incoming masked threat, unleashing the power of the shadows with full force.
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