The moment Ares looked up from his laptop, Daniel moved.
A blur of speed ripped across the conference room, faster than memory, faster than the Daniel who once stood before him. His body cut the air like a thunderbolt, katana flashing in a streak of steel.
Clang!
Ares's forearm met the blade with terrifying precision, sparks bursting from the impact. The desk between them shattered into flying debris, splitting in two with a deafening crack. Leather chairs toppled violently, glass trembled in its frames.
"Faster…" Ares muttered, grinning as if he had just uncovered a secret. "So Ragna has been playing with you."
Daniel didn't answer. His blade weaved in a vicious blur, every strike heavier, sharper. His body screamed of months of pain—every scar, every bruise forged into power. The walls shuddered, the windows cracked, then burst outward in a rain of glass shards that scattered like falling stars.
The room collapsed around them in chaos—paper swirling in the storm of their movements, fragments of wood crunching underfoot. Their movements blurred to the eye, two figures in constant collision.
Finally, they broke apart, breath hissing in their throats.
Ares's smile widened. "This room won't survive us."
Daniel lifted his katana, blood-red reflection staining his blade from the carnage of shattered walls. "Then let's take it outside."
They didn't walk—they blasted through the door, the hinges snapping, the heavy frame bending outward as though it were made of straw. They spilled into the second-floor hallway, wide and open, lined with chandeliers and polished marble.
The chandeliers rattled.
Then they clashed.
BOOM!
The impact was like a bomb detonating, plaster falling from the ceiling. Daniel spun low, katana slicing, before snapping into a back spin kick that cut across the air. His heel smashed into Ares's guard, the sound echoing like thunder.
Daniel pivoted without pause, body twisting with brutal grace. A kick to the chin lashed upward, snapping Ares's head back slightly.
But Daniel wasn't finished. He bent, coiled, and lashed out again with a Brazilian kick to the liver, a strike meant to cripple.
THUD!
The impact was enough to break bone, but Ares absorbed it with an elbow block. His eyes gleamed with excitement. His fist drew back like a hammer.
BOOM!
The punch tore forward with the force of an avalanche. Daniel barely slipped aside, the air tearing across his ribs, the shockwave cracking the wall behind him.
Too close
He countered immediately, leaping upward into a flying knee strike, his kneecap driving into Ares's face. The contact cracked against bone, snapping Ares's head back with a sickening sound.
For a breath, Ares looked finished—his body limp, his eyes glassy.
But then his eyes flared open.
"_ !"
His fist rammed into Daniel's stomach, folding him in half.
GHHHH!
Daniel's breath left him in a scream, his insides convulsing. He staggered, blood spraying from his lips.
"The fuck… is that…" Daniel wheezed, one arm clutching his stomach, "you bastard…"
Ares's face sank into shadow.
And then he was gone.
WHOOSH!
Daniel's instincts screamed—too late.
Ares appeared mid-air, fist already cocked.
BOOM!
Daniel dodged by a hair, the fist grazing his cheek. Skin split like paper, blood spilling in a crimson trail down his face.
Daniel staggered, laughing through the pain, lips stained red. "What the hell was that?!"
The air warped.
DING!
Golden letters carved into reality before Daniel's eyes:
[GOLD SYSTEM NOTICE]
Ares Kyro is transcending.
Progression: Legend Breaker.
Daniel froze. "The fuck…"
Before he could react, Ares blurred again.
BAM!
Ares's fist buried into Daniel's gut. His body slammed into the wall, concrete cracking in spiderwebs. The floor trembled under the force, a chandelier above snapping free and crashing to the ground in shards.
Blood streamed from Daniel's mouth, pooling at his feet. His vision swam, but his grin only widened.
"You…" he coughed, spitting red. "…you're so much of a beast." He straightened slowly, forcing himself off the wall, katana trembling in his grip. His eyes sharpened, a wild glint flashing. "…but not compared to HIM."
For the first time, Ares's smile wavered.
Then both men leaned forward, coiling their legs.
And they launched.
BOOM!
The floor exploded beneath them as they collided mid-hallway. Daniel's katana cut arcs of silver, every strike echoing with the sound of his brutal training under Ragna. Taekwondo spins, savage knee strikes, blade work—everything flowed into one seamless assault.
Ares met it head-on, fists crashing like wrecking balls, his aura swelling larger with every exchange. Every blow felt heavier, faster, as though his body was becoming something more than human.
Crash! Bang! Clang!
Walls shattered. Doors splintered. The entire second floor was becoming ruins, the building screaming under their battle. Office doors flew off hinges, furniture reduced to rubble.
Daniel ducked under a wild hook, spinning into a kick that smashed into Ares's ribs. He followed instantly with a katana slash, carving sparks across Ares's forearm as the man blocked.
But then Ares roared, his aura surging like wildfire. His fist drove forward with the weight of a collapsing mountain.
CRACK!
The blow grazed Daniel's shoulder, tearing through flesh, nearly dislocating his arm. Pain flared, white-hot, but Daniel grit his teeth, spinning into a desperate counter.
His blade slashed upward, cutting across Ares's chest. Blood sprayed—but Ares didn't flinch.
Instead, his eyes blazed gold. His presence thickened, suffocating, as though a god stood in his place.
Daniel stumbled back, chest heaving, eyes wide. "So this… is Legend Breaker…"
Ares smirked, blood dripping from his chest, aura burning brighter than ever. "And you're the first to see it."
Daniel grinned back, wiping blood from his lips. His katana gleamed in the broken light.
"Good," he spat. "Because I'll be the first to break it."
They launched again—faster, harder, the air screaming as their clash tore through the ruins of the karaoke hall.
Their battle was no longer just a fight—it was war.