The destruction of his weapons had made the Talon increasingly wary. The rapier in Bruce's hand was far sharper than he had anticipated, capable of cutting through even his specially forged blades.
Recalling his orders, the Talon drew his final pair of curved daggers. His plan was to delay Bruce and Selina until other Talons arrived as reinforcements.
He knew full well that he alone was no match for these vigilantes. That space-cutting weapon had exceeded everyone's expectations—such power shouldn't exist in mortal hands.
Bruce was exhilarated despite his energy concerns. The rapier felt like a legendary divine weapon, capable of slicing through any defense with ease.
The shattered remains of the Talon's previous weapons littered the ground as proof. Combined with his battle suit's power, Bruce could unleash force beyond normal comprehension.
"So this is a glimpse of the teacher's power," Bruce thought.
Even knowing that Marcus possessed abilities far beyond what he now commanded, Bruce felt he had finally touched a fraction of his mentor's strength. If he persisted in his training, perhaps someday he too could master such formidable abilities.
While these thoughts raced through his mind, Bruce suddenly thrust the rapier forward. The blade cut through the air with a sharp hissing sound as he attacked the Talon.
The enhanced strength allowed Bruce to execute various techniques Marcus had taught him with ease. The rapier drew streaks of light in the air as it moved.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The moment the Talon's curved daggers made contact with Bruce's rapier, hairline cracks appeared in the metal. The Talon used the flying fragments as cover, forcing Bruce to shield himself.
This vigilante is incredibly strong! the Talon thought, staring at Bruce in shock.
The light streaks from Bruce's attack were no mere show. One solid hit from that rapier would mean serious injury or death.
Bruce, however, was treating the Talon as a training partner. He wanted to use every technique in his arsenal, testing the results of his recent training.
As Bruce attacked again, the Talon no longer attempted to parry directly. He had learned that his weapons were useless against Bruce's rapier.
Rather than losing more blades, he decided to attack from a distance and unusual angles. If he could just hold Bruce at bay until other Talons arrived, their combined assault would overwhelm even this enhanced vigilante.
While Bruce's battle intensified, Selina faced a different challenge. The beast-men killers she confronted had been significantly strengthened by the shockwave from their Butterfly Shadow Blade technique. The devices implanted in their bodies continuously released toxins, allowing them to grow stronger throughout the fight.
Their bodies had already swollen considerably, and their strength had increased proportionally.
The beast-men attacked relentlessly, turning the ground beneath them to rubble with each strike. Selina, however, dodged their attacks with practiced ease.
She had identified their fatal flaw: as their strength improved, their intelligence diminished even further.
This strategy of sacrificing brainpower for brute force might work against most opponents, but against someone with tactical thinking, mindless aggression became a weakness easily exploited.
That was exactly what Selina was doing—deliberately provoking these creatures, causing the toxins in their bodies to surge more violently. Though this made them stronger, opponents with no strategy were predictable. And she still had the energy whip Marcus had given her.
"Let's see how far your strength can go!" Selina taunted, extending her energy whip to its full length.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
With a series of crisp sounds, the charging beast-men were knocked backward. Fresh bloodstains appeared across their bodies where the whip had struck.
The energy whip was not an easy weapon to wield. Selina was deliberately limiting its power to conserve her battle suit's energy. Used at full strength, each lash could have cleaved the beast-men in two.
Even restrained, the damage caused by the energy whip was substantial. Though the beast-men's physical resilience far exceeded normal humans, they still suffered significant wounds from the energy-enhanced strikes.
This damage triggered the toxin devices in their bodies to release even more chemicals. Their forms grew rapidly under the toxins' influence, bodies distorting until they resembled grotesque, misshapen monsters.
As the toxins flooded their systems, the beast-men's sanity deteriorated rapidly. They devolved into ferocious creatures operating purely on instinct.
BOOM!
One beast-man slammed his fists into the ground with tremendous force, destroying the pavement and sending vibrations through the surrounding area.
The nearest wall collapsed from the violent shock, revealing terrified civilians hiding in the adjacent room.
"Ah, monsters!" someone screamed, attracting the beast-men's attention.
These mindless creatures now sought only to destroy everything around them. The helpless civilians had become perfect targets.
"Damn it, have these things gone completely insane?" Selina thought.
Originally, she had planned to use the beast-men's power against them, but now that they had spotted the frightened civilians, the situation had become far more dangerous.
As expected, the beast-men scattered in the next second, punching through walls to reach the defenseless people. Their single-minded goal had shifted to indiscriminate slaughter.
Seeing the beast-men attacking civilians, Selina no longer held back. The razor butterflies guarding her provided sufficient protection, allowing her to unleash the battle suit's full power.
The energy whip in her hand intensified, sparks scattering in all directions as waves of power emanated from the weapon.
"Has Selina started too?" Marcus murmured, observing the energy whip now crackling with power.
He had thought Selina would be more conservative with her weapon. Having spent years as a homeless street survivor, she typically exercised caution when using power. Now, like Bruce, she had increased her energy whip's output by more than half.
Marcus shifted his attention to the distance, where many agile figures had appeared at the edge of his perception. These newcomers were familiar to him—they were more Talons, similar to Bruce's opponent, belonging to the Court of Owls.
"It seems Bruce and Selina's performance has made them panic," Marcus observed. "But I'm here. If they want to harm my students, they'll have to pay the price."
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