"You remember the last time we kinda fought?"

Ethan’s voice cut through the chaos, calm and almost conversational, as if they weren’t standing in the middle of a ruined arena surrounded by thousands of screaming spectators.

At the same time, his claws snapped forward.

Skraaaatch!

They raked across Mace’s face in a brutal diagonal slash.

Mace didn’t even flinch.

He simply shut his eyes, letting the hardened, rock-like armour absorb the blow with a grinding scrape of stone against claw. Sparks flickered briefly where the impact landed, but there was no blood or damage.

But that was what Ethan expected.

The split second of blindness was what he was after; he instantly dipped low, shifted his weight and swept.

Mace’s footing vanished from beneath him.

"-!"

Before he could react, Ethan drove into him.

Thud!

The two crashed to the ground, the so-called Beast Man on top, pinning him with surprising control despite the difference in strength and size.

"You felt so powerful back then," Ethan continued, voice steady, almost reflective. "Like you were on a completely different level."

Mace snarled, muscles tensing beneath his stone plating as he tried to force his way up - but without space to swing, without momentum - he was restricted.

"And now..." Ethan leaned in slightly, his grip tightening. "You feel pathetic."

"Get off!"

With a surge of brute force, Mace finally broke free.

His arms shoved upward violently, sending Ethan flying back, which he didn’t resist. He flipped mid-air, landing cleanly, his eyes remaining locked onto his opponent.

Mace rose slowly, chest heaving, eyes blazing with fury.

"You think you’re funny?" he growled.

Ethan tilted his head slightly.

"I think you’re disappointing."

That only angered Mace more, who gritted his teeth and clenched his giant, reinforced fists.

Not that it mattered to his opponent.

Ethan rolled his shoulders loosely, seeing Mace as nothing special or threatening. Compared to everything he had been through in the tower, all the beasts he had hunted, this felt lacklustre.

"You think you’re the first thing I’ve hunted with rocky skin?" he asked casually.

Mace froze for half a second.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

The confusion was genuine because none of it made sense.

An E Rank moving like this, fighting like this, talking like this - it didn’t add up.

But Ethan didn’t stop or bother explaining.

"Remember when we were younger?" he continued, pacing slowly. "You were a year below Mark and me in school. Always hanging around and sucking up to people stronger than you."

Mace’s jaw tightened.

"The day you tried to mug his sister... our sister," Ethan said, voice dropping slightly. "That’s the day your face got smashed in."

The crowd noise dimmed in Mace’s ears as his focus narrowed.

"...Yeah," he muttered darkly. "I remember."

"He would’ve killed you," Ethan added. "If I hadn’t stopped him."

He paused, his gaze sharpening.

"But I know the truth about that day."

Mace’s expression flickered.

"It wasn’t a mugging, was it?"

There was a heavy, dangerous silence.

"Mark would’ve beaten your ass regardless," Ethan continued, voice colder now. "But he wouldn’t have gone that far unless you gave him a reason."

He stepped forward, slow and deliberate.

"You twisted little fuck... you tried to-"

"I’ll kill you!" Mace roared.

The ground beneath him cracked, and his aura surged violently.

The stone plating across his body thickened, darkened, and then shifted.

Jagged protrusions began forming along his arms and shoulders, like crude spikes forced outward under pressure. His fists expanded further, becoming heavier, denser, almost monstrous in proportion.

The air around him distorted faintly.

This wasn’t just durability or just strength, but a fusion of both, a golem-like entity.

"Graaaah!"

He slammed his fists together, and...

BOOM!

A shockwave burst outward, cracking the arena floor in a wide radius.

The crowd erupted.

"What is that?!"

"Mace’s power just spiked!"

"He’s losing it!"

Ethan watched closely, calm and analytical.

’So this is it...’

This wasn’t some passive scaling ability, nor was he getting stronger, but he was unleashing everything he had been holding back out of pure malice.

’His desire to kill me made him more powerful.’

With his heart hammering, his breathing ragged, and adrenaline flooding his system like he were fighting for his life, Mace’s energy output skyrocketed.

’Too bad it won’t be enough.’

Ethan exhaled slowly.

’Predator’s Frenzy.’

Something in him shifted again.

Not just physically, but mentally and instinctively, becoming overwhelmed by the urge to kill.

Suddenly, Ethan burst forward.

He slipped inside Mace’s guard just as the larger man swung, striking with his claws.

But this time he targeted the inside of his elbow.

Shnk!

It was hard to protect the crease of his arm with rock-like armour, allowing him to draw blood and leave Mace with a shallow cut.

He flinched, startled by the pain.

"The fuck?!"

Ethan was already gone, no longer playing games.

Blurring behind him, he struck again behind the knee.

Then the armpit.

Then the side of the neck.

Everywhere the armour didn’t fully cover, everywhere it folded, everywhere it was weakest - those were his targets.

"Aaaargh!"

Mace swung wildly, but nothing connected.

Ethan moved like a ghost, a relentless predator, and his strikes, though small, were deliberate and stacking.

"You’re bleeding," he pointed out casually as the damage began to accumulate.

Mace’s breathing grew heavier and more erratic.

His movements were stronger but sloppier, and it was only a matter of time before he gassed out entirely.

Exactly as Ethan had planned.

’First step done.’ 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Ethan had exposed his weak points and created more openings, draining his already fatigued opponent and, by extension, weakening his defences. It was easier to do so after taunting him and getting him to go all out.

Now, for the second step...

’Time to deal him some internal damage.’

Ethan had long since learned how to deal with creatures with tough exteriors, especially after dealing with so many of those damned rock worms.

He darted in again.

But this time it wasn’t to strike and back away; he closed the distance entirely.

Mace grinned despite the blood.

"You going to try wrestle m-?"

He didn’t get to finish.

Ethan stepped in, turned, and lifted him.

For a split second, Mace’s massive body left the ground, then...

Slam!

He drove him down with a brutal, almost feral hip toss.

It wasn’t clean and refined like a judoka’s, but it was powerful and effective.

Stone slammed against stone, and something cracked.

Mace’s back plating fractured on impact.

A sharp, audible break.

Before he could recover, Ethan dropped with him, his knee driving straight into his face.

Crack!

The arena fell silent for a moment.

"Is this really all you can do?" Ethan asked, voice low.

Mace’s body trembled beneath him.

He was filled with rage, but more so with exhaustion and pain.

Ethan stepped off, giving him space and letting him stand.

Mace staggered to his feet, breathing hard, his armour damaged, cracks visible across his back and limbs as parts of it crumbled off.

Ethan raised his arms slightly, inviting and mocking.

"Is this your favourite fighter?" he called out to the crowd. "This weakling who hasn’t even made me bleed?"

The reaction was instant.

There were cheers, boos, laughter, and shouting, but ultimately, the crowd had turned on Stonehide Mason.

-

In the VIP suite, Mark stared wide-eyed after Ethan overpowered his opponent seemingly easily.

"What the fuck..."

Elara watched silently, her gaze unwavering.

Kaela smirked.

"Told you so."

-

Back in the arena, Mace stood there shaking with both rage and fatigue.

Ethan stood across from him, calm, untouched, and entirely in control.

’I’ll have my fun...’

There was a dangerous look in his eyes.

’...then I’ll end it.’

But for him, ending it wasn’t just about winning; it was about making sure there were no loose ends.

And there was only one way to do that...