Karl’s eyes narrowed as he took in the faint shimmer that still clung to Lucian’s frame.
Not an aura. Not killing intent. Something deeper—like the air itself had agreed to move around him differently.
He tilted his head, a slow grin forming.
The words cut through the stillness like a blade.
Eron, standing further back with his arms crossed, stiffened. His jaw tightened as his gaze locked on Lucian. "Impossible," he muttered under his breath, but there was a sharp edge to it—an unease he didn’t bother to hide. "No human gets there without... no. This shouldn’t be happening."
Athena, who had been calmly overseeing the cleanup, turned fully toward them. Her composure cracked for a fraction of a second, just enough for her eyes to widen. "X Rank?" she said quietly, almost to herself. Her mind was already running, searching through everything she knew, every legend, every classified report.
Karl’s smile didn’t fade. He could feel it now, not just see it—the weight of Lucian’s presence pressing back at his own. "It’s rare," he said conversationally, though his eyes never left Lucian’s. "Even more rare than me. And you—" his grin widened, almost playful, "—you don’t even look tired. Guess you’ve been hiding it."
Karl’s grin twitched. "Not going to confirm it? Fine. I’ll pull the truth out of you."
Lucian’s step forward was silent.
The baby dragon’s tail tightened around his shoulder, silver eyes narrowing as its tiny claws dug in—not in fear, but in readiness.
Karl’s full release wasn’t active, but the tension between them hit like a shift in gravity. The onlookers—Eron, Athena, Garos, even Evelyn and the others—felt the drop in the air pressure, the prickling on their skin. It wasn’t a warm-up. It was two storms sliding into the same path.
Karl moved first—foot scraping the dirt as his fist came in low, arcing up toward Lucian’s ribs with a white-gold trail.
Lucian stepped into it.
Their auras collided with the hit, a pressure wave kicking up a ring of dust and gravel. Lucian’s forearm blocked the strike, and his other hand shot forward, palm open, catching Karl by the jaw. No hesitation—he shoved, sending Karl sliding backward a dozen meters before his boots caught.
Karl chuckled, flexing his jaw once. "Good. Let’s see if you can keep that up."
Not the kind of speed that left a trail—Karl’s was clean, sharp, as if the space between him and his target had been erased. His elbow came down toward Lucian’s temple.
Lucian’s hand came up, catching it mid-arc, and his heel snapped into Karl’s side. The impact made Karl’s body fold for half a second, but he twisted with it, grabbing Lucian’s leg and hurling him overhead.
Lucian flipped midair, landed light, and was already moving again—closing the gap with a burst that cracked the ground under his takeoff. His right hand drew back, green light flaring faintly along the veins.
Karl crossed his arms to block—
The strike didn’t just push; it caved the ground beneath Karl’s feet. Cracks spidered outward in every direction. The green energy surged past the block, making Karl’s aura ripple unevenly for the first time.
Karl’s grin turned sharper. "So you can cut through."
He swept a hand outward, white-gold veins flashing brighter. The air warped, and suddenly Lucian’s footing sank—gravity bending sideways. Karl’s follow-up kick drove toward Lucian’s chest, but Lucian rolled with it, catching Karl’s leg mid-swing and twisting hard.
Karl’s balance broke for half a breath. Lucian used it—shoulder driving into Karl’s midsection, sending him skidding backward, dust rising in thick clouds.
Eron’s glare darkened as he watched. "He’s matching Karl blow for blow."
Athena’s gaze was sharper, analyzing every exchange. "No," she murmured, "Karl’s testing him. And Lucian... he’s not showing everything yet."
Garos folded his arms, eyes narrowing. "Then what happens when they both stop holding back?"
Karl wiped blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "All right. Let’s stop wasting time."
He slammed his heel into the ground. White-gold lines exploded outward from him in a grid, climbing into the air—a shimmering lattice like before, but denser, edges sharper. Anchor Field.
The pressure locked down instantly.
Lucian’s movements dragged in the air, every shift of his body tugged at by invisible chains. His green aura sharpened, pushing against it, but the weight was there.
Karl stepped in fast—jab, cross, hook—each one carrying a spike of compressed force. Lucian blocked high, ducked under the hook, and drove an uppercut toward Karl’s chin.
The Anchor Field caught the motion, slowing it just enough for Karl to twist aside. His knee came up, slamming into Lucian’s ribs with a thud that echoed.
Lucian didn’t grunt. He caught Karl’s leg mid-strike and shoved him back with a pulse of green energy that cracked the lattice in a dozen places.
Karl landed, eyes flashing. "That field isn’t breaking you? Good."
Lucian didn’t speak—he just moved.
One blink he was there, the next he was gone, a shockwave marking where he’d stood. He reappeared right in Karl’s space, hand snapping forward with an open-palm strike that didn’t glow, didn’t spark—just hit.
The air folded inward with the impact. Karl’s body jerked back as if something had shoved the world itself under his feet. The Anchor Field fractured completely, shards of white-gold light falling like glass.
Karl straightened slowly, rolling his shoulders. "That’s more like it."
No more careful footwork, no more measuring strikes—it was raw, close, brutal. Forearms smashing, elbows clipping jaws, knees hammering ribs. Karl’s strength crashed like waves; Lucian’s precision cut like wire. The ground beneath them warped from the repeated impacts, each blow tearing another crater into the field.
A straight from Lucian rocked Karl’s head back; Karl answered with a backfist that caught Lucian across the temple. They locked grips for a second, muscles bunching, and then broke apart—Karl throwing a low sweep, Lucian jumping clear, flipping into a downward kick that Karl barely sidestepped.
The baby dragon clung tight, tail lashing in excitement.
Eron’s scowl deepened as the dust swirled around them. "He’s not supposed to exist," he muttered. "A human X Rank... it upends everything."
Athena didn’t look away from the fight. "It changes the balance."
Garos just watched, silent now, because neither of them could deny it—Lucian wasn’t being pushed back.
Karl feinted high and slammed a punch into Lucian’s side; Lucian twisted, catching Karl’s wrist, and spun him off-balance into a short hook to the jaw. Karl staggered half a step, then drove forward again, grinning through the blood.
"You really are fun," Karl said between blows. "Let’s see how long you last."
Lucian’s eyes narrowed a fraction. "Try me."
They clashed again—no sound but the crash of strikes and the sharp hiss of the air tearing around them.
And this time, neither one gave ground.