Powerful blows thundered through the battlefield as two figures clashed with everything they had.
Austin, the horned Altered whose strength shook the ground itself, and Broodie, the disgraced Ironfang, were locked in a violent contest.
Austin launched constant, crushing punches, each one carrying enough force to shatter stone. Broodie, however, was faster, especially at close range. He maneuvered his shield with sharp precision, interposing it again and again just in time to block.
But with each collision, Broodie felt the weight of Austin’s strength reverberate through his body. His arm went numb, trembling from the repeated shocks. The shield was his lifeline, but it wasn’t invincible.
The edge of the weapon began to glow faintly, vibrating with stored energy. Broodie tilted it upward and swung down hard, aiming to slice across Austin’s arm the moment his fist extended. The spinning edge sparked violently, promising to tear through flesh and bone.
Yet, instead of flesh, the shield met resistance. Austin’s horns, elongated and sharpened in his rage, intercepted the strike, locking against the spinning rim. Sparks crackled as the two forces ground against each other.
Austin roared, kicking off the ground to propel himself forward, using the burst of force to close the distance. Broodie reacted in kind, pushing off with his own legs, and the two collided in midair. Austin’s fist swung just short of its target. Broodie twisted his arm, then slammed the flat of his shield directly into Austin’s face.
The blow rang out like a hammer on an anvil. Austin was knocked backward, tumbling through the air before he crashed hard into the dirt, a crater forming beneath him.
Steam poured from his nostrils as he exhaled sharply, rising to his feet with deliberate slowness. His eyes burned with fury.
‘Damn it,’ Austin thought, gritting his teeth. ‘I’m slower than usual. And this guy, he’s faster than the others I’ve faced. No, that’s not it. I’ve already been fighting non-stop. First the opening wave... then the second... and now the third. I’m exhausted. But that doesn’t matter. When I’m dead, they won’t care how many times I fought. Excuses won’t save me.’
With renewed determination, Austin charged again. He swung his fists in tandem with powerful kicks off the ground, each movement timed perfectly so that his punches struck with explosive bursts of speed.
Broodie quickly realized the danger. Though Austin was slower overall, each individual strike carried sudden acceleration, bursts so fast that even Broodie struggled to react in time. He raised his shield to block, but the hits slammed into it relentlessly.
One punch came from below, Broodie braced. Another hammered from the side, his arm shook. Blow after blow rained down, the force pushing Broodie backward, his boots scraping trenches across the battlefield.
‘Is it just me,’ Broodie thought, sweat dripping down his temple, ‘or... is he not aiming at me at all? Every punch... he’s targeting the shield!’
Austin’s eyes burned with focus. His fists struck with methodical rhythm, his horns gleaming faintly as his fury mounted. Each hit was directed toward the shield itself, treating it not as a barrier, but as the true enemy.
‘The others said all we had to do was buy time. Just hold out until Gary and the rest can finish this. But that’s not my style,’ Austin thought fiercely. ‘I don’t fight to stall. I don’t fight to survive. I fight to win. Whoever’s in front of me, I’ll take them down. And then I’ll rise up and take down Lupus himself!’
With another thunderous kick, Austin drove a punch into the shield’s center. A sharp crack echoed out. A fracture spiderwebbed across the surface of Broodie’s treasured weapon.
Broodie’s eyes widened.
And then Austin’s horns grew further, twisting and curling until they wrapped around his fists like savage gauntlets. The sharpened tips extended slightly beyond his knuckles. He raised his arm, clenched his fist, and struck once more.
The horned punch connected with the fractured shield.
The weapon shattered into jagged fragments, the handle vibrating violently as it broke apart. Broodie’s arms were wrenched aside, thrown open as the shock reverberated through his body.
“The power... this sheer power...” Broodie’s thoughts raced. “When they said he managed to injure Lupus, I thought they were exaggerating, or that it was a lucky strike. But now I know. It’s real. His strength is real!”
Still, Broodie smirked grimly. He knew one thing.
‘The shield will regenerate. As long as I keep the handle, it will reform. But it will take time. Time I don’t have.’
In that instant, Broodie made his choice. He turned, landing lightly, and dashed away. He ran toward the chaos of battle, hoping to lose himself among the others, hoping the swarm of Werewolves would slow Austin down.
‘Damn it,’ Broodie thought, his heart pounding in his chest. ‘I already lost my position as an Ironfang. This was supposed to be my redemption, my chance to rise again. Why did I have to run into an Altered like him?!’
But before he could escape, sparks flickered in front of him.
A portal snapped open.
Broodie’s eyes widened, his body frozen in dread. A blur emerged, fast, merciless, and a sharp, searing pain erupted in his chest.
He looked down. A fist had pierced straight through his torso, driven in with unstoppable force. A horn jutted out from the knuckles, stabbing directly through his heart.
Broodie’s lips trembled. His eyes lost focus.
“You’ll... never sucee, ” His words choked off as blood filled his throat.
Austin’s face was grim as he yanked his arm free, letting the Ironfang’s body crumple to the ground. He stood tall, steam still rising from his body, his chest heaving.
He looked out at the battlefield, chaos still raging everywhere.
“Right. Just like how you thought you were going to beat me, huh?”
His words hung in the air, a final mark of defiance against yet another fallen foe.
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