"If you’re done, then fucking help!" Cassian yelled as he saw Peter casually taking a seat near the stairs leading down from the main deck.

The drenched body of the pirate captain lay nearby, meaning the fight had already ended. Many of the remaining pirates were jumping into the sea, terrified Peter would come after them.

Unfortunately for them, Peter didn’t move.

Instead, he watched Cassian fight against two Circle Warriors, both strength-focused fighters. One of them had an ability that turned every punch into a shockwave, like a bomb exploding on impact.

One of those punches had nearly blown a massive hole through Cassian’s stomach.

He only survived because of his healing ability—but even then, part of his side had been blasted away.

The other warrior had an ability that hardened his muscles. When Cassian landed a strike, the man instantly tightened his body, trapping the sword inside his flesh.

Cassian had no choice but to let go of it as another shockwave punch came flying toward his head, forcing him to flip backward to avoid it.

"Ahh, damn it..." he cursed in frustration.

His weapon was gone. He could summon another one—the red sword that came with the war armor—but he knew better than to reveal something like that in front of strangers.

Besides, he didn’t want to get used to relying on it every time a situation became only slightly worse... if this could even be called "slightly." The side of his stomach that had been blown apart was still trying to heal.

Thankfully, there weren’t many enemies left on the ship anymore. The few survivors had either jumped away or fled, while the rest had already been killed by Cassian and Peter.

Now, even Peter looked a little shocked seeing Cassian still fighting in that condition.

"You’re really not gonna help? I’m dying here, and you’re just sitting there like it’s entertainment?" Cassian yelled.

Peter still didn’t move, not even showing a hint that he planned to interfere no matter how bad things got.

Seeing that, Cassian cursed loudly. "When I steal this ship, name it after your mother, and start fucking bitches on it, you better keep sitting there then too!"

At the same time, he watched the warrior with his sword still lodged deep in his shoulder muscle yank it free with a shake before both enemies started walking toward him again.

Cassian rushed forward first, trying to close the distance before the shockwave warrior could properly set up another punch. But the moment he got close, the muscle-hardened warrior stepped in and grabbed him.

A thick arm wrapped around his body like iron.

Cassian immediately tried to break free, but the man’s muscles tightened around him, hardening further, locking him in place so tightly he could barely move.

At the same time, the other warrior backed away a few steps, lowering his stance as Cassian noticed the glow of his domain gathering around his fist, shining far brighter there than across the rest of his body.

Then he came rushing forward.

Fast.

Cassian twisted violently in the grip, trying to free even one arm, but the hold only tightened more around his chest and stomach. If not for his pain immunity, the pressure alone would’ve left him screaming. Even without pain, though, the suffocating force made breathing harder.

And right in front of him, he saw death coming.

The warrior’s fist clenched tightly, shockwaves cracking around it as it shot toward Cassian’s face.

One punch was survivable.

Unless it hit his head. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

But a barrage like this? He’d die before he could regenerate.

At the very last second, Cassian forced every bit of strength he had left into his body and flipped his legs upward.

His kick slammed into the incoming punch, throwing it off course before his second kick connected directly with the man’s chin.

Crack.

The warrior’s lower teeth smashed upward, his jaw breaking violently as he screamed and stumbled backward.

Now that Cassian had broken free from the chokehold, the warrior grabbed him again from behind.

"You can’t choke me!" the man yelled, hardening the muscles around his neck and upper body.

"Then I’ll just finger your eyes instead!" Cassian shouted back.

Instead of struggling against the hold, he jammed his fingers straight into the man’s eyes.

The warrior screamed in agony as Cassian ripped them outward with brutal force—not fully tearing them free, leaving them hanging grotesquely from the sockets while blood streamed down his face.

"My eyes...! My eyes...!" the man screamed in horror.

Cassian stumbled backward and dropped to one knee, sucking in air in hurried breaths. His lungs burned as panic flashed through him for a second, expecting the shockwave fighter to come crashing down on him before he could recover.

But no attack came.

Still breathing hard, Cassian’s eyes darted across the deck until he spotted his sword lying near the railing where it had fallen earlier.

He immediately lunged for it, grabbing the handle tightly before forcing himself back up.

Only then did he finally take a long breath.

Both warriors were still alive—but barely holding together. One clutched his broken jaw, blood pouring from his mouth while shock and pain twisted his face. The other staggered blindly, screaming with his ruined eyes hanging grotesquely against his cheeks.

Cassian didn’t hesitate.

He walked straight toward the blinded warrior while the man continued clawing at his own face in panic.

Then, with one clean motion, Cassian drove the sword straight down through his skull.

The screaming stopped instantly.

The shockwave warrior watched the scene in horror before slowly letting go of his broken jaw.

Cassian saw the man’s mouth force itself open again as he screamed and charged forward once more, both fists glowing brighter this time as he concentrated more of his domain into them.

It was a sign the warrior was already close to becoming a Second Circle fighter.

Unfortunately for him, he had met Cassian instead.

Cassian stood there breathing heavily, his expression twisted—not from pain, since he couldn’t feel it, but because blood had gathered in his throat. Swallowing it left an uncomfortable look on his face as he tightened his grip on the sword.