Jupiter rushed forward, each swing cutting through the air — yet every time, Lyren slipped away in a flash. But the moment she reappeared behind him, he smirked. He'd been waiting for that. His heel snapped backward, catching her across the neck and sending her tumbling.
"Finally. My turn," he said, voice dripping with a sick thrill.
He appeared above her in an instant and drove her into the arena floor, the impact echoing through the stadium. A wave of boos erupted, but Jupiter didn't care — he straddled her, encased his fists in jagged earth, and unleashed a savage flurry.
"Useless. Useless. Useless. Useless," he muttered with each blow, pounding her into the tiles.
Suddenly, Lyren burst with blinding light, forcing him to recoil. She scrambled to capitalize — but even through the flash, Jupiter's voice cut through.
"Useless."
His hand shot through the glare, clamping around her throat. He squeezed hard — until tiny beams began peppering his body from every angle. They didn't pierce him, but they were enough to make him drop her.
Lyren stumbled back, gasping, clutching her neck. She thrust her arm upward, and luminous gems formed high above.
"Bastard Beams!"
A storm of short, rapid-fire bullets of light rained down. Jupiter braced himself behind crossed arms as the barrage hammered him. His composure faltered, anger bleeding through— but he didn't break.
When the dust finally cleared, Jupiter stood battered and bleeding, chest heaving, blood trailing from his lip.
"Roll over and die already, scum!" Lyren shouted.
That did it. His restraint snapped.
"Bang."
He raised a finger and fired another unseen round — this one punching straight through her thigh. Lyren's expression twisted in shock.
"Now you're gonna sit there and watch why you fucked up talking heavy to me."
He rocketed toward her and cracked her jaw with a vicious uppercut, launching her skyward. With a sweep of his hand, the arena tiles tore from the ground and hurled upward. Lyren fired beams through the debris, but Jupiter used the flying rubble as stepping stones, bouncing between them like shrapnel come alive.
She spun frantically, trying to track him — until he crashed into her and spiked her back into the arena. She rebounded and counterattacked, finally landing a furious chain of strikes. A blade of light formed in her grip, and she drove it toward him — only for Jupiter to slip aside and seize her arm, letting the blade stab straight through his hand.
His grip tightened. He rammed his knee into her gut, then smashed her with a right hook that nearly dropped her. Dragging her back up, he followed with a brutal high kick to her chin before finally releasing her, sending her skidding across the arena.
The crowd exploded — cheering, screaming, wild with unhinged excitement — as the violent chaos unfolded before them.
Jupiter wiped the blood from his face and slowly circled Lyren, who lay crumpled on the floor.
"Get up. We're not done yet," he growled, his expression carved into a vicious scowl.
Realizing no one was stepping in to save her, Lyren forced herself shakily to her feet.
"There we go. That's what I'm talking about," he mocked, settling into a loose but ready stance.
Lyren lifted her leg — light flaring around it — and before Jupiter could brace, something invisible slammed into his jaw.
"What—? How am I supposed to dodge this bullshit?" he spat, right before another blow struck him in the chest. Lyren unleashed kick after kick, each burst of light landing from afar, driving him back step by step until his heels scraped dangerously close to the edge of the stage.
"Yeah... I don't like this anymore."
He pointed a finger at her.
"Bang."
But for the first time, she slipped past it.
Jupiter's eyes widened with a flash of amusement.
"Oh? Adapting already?" He laughed, a wild sharpness creeping into his voice. "Come on! Hit me! Do some real damage!"
Up in the stands, the Visionaries watched with mixed expressions. Loretta leaned toward Heartz.
"Why is he begging to be hit? Is he some kind of masochist?" Loretta asked, face twisted in confusion and slight disgust.
Heartz chuckled. "Nah. He's trying to make use of his Aegis — Pain Eater."
Loretta blinked. "Hold on, you're telling me his Aegis isn't those weird bullet things?"
Heartz shook his head. "I wish. But no. He manipulates the bones in his body. Those bullets? They're his fingertips. He fires them like projectiles, and thanks to his busted biology, the bone grows back in under a second."
A chill crawled down Loretta's spine.
"Yeah... that's freaky," he muttered, eyes drifting uneasily back to the arena.
Jupiter stretched his arms lazily, the boredom plain on his face.
"This is seriously getting boring. Let's have a sword fight," he said.
With his left hand, he reached across to his right shoulder and pulled. A long, curved bone slid out with a sickening scrape, the skin knitting itself back together the moment it left his body. He brandished the bone blade with a grin.
Lyren gagged, clamping a hand over her mouth as her stomach lurched. She forced her eyes shut for a heartbeat, steadying herself before forming a sword of shimmering light in her own hand.
I can't believe I'm stuck here playing this bastard's games...
She barely finished the thought before Jupiter was on her, bone blade cutting through the air. Their first clash rattled her entire arm — his strength was overwhelming. To him, this wasn't even a fight. It was entertainment. A pastime. A way to see how long he could beat her down before someone finally stepped in... if they ever did.
Jupiter lunged. Lyren tried to slip past the strike, but the bone edge tore across her waist, ripping through skin and cloth alike. Pain flared hot and sharp.
"I guess I'll put an end to this," Jupiter said, his voice almost disappointed. "I seriously thought you'd have more spunk. Got me all riled up for nothing."