*BOOOOOM!*
Marcus's entire body erupted with a terrifying aura that made the air itself fucking vibrate.
Nero's survival instincts were basically begging him at maximum volume as he immediately backpedaled like his ass was on fire.
And that's a smart move.
Because what happened next was some straight-up nightmare fuel.
*Crack! Crack! Crack!*
Marcus's skin started splitting apart like old leather, revealing something underneath that definitely wasn't human anymore.
Metallic grey scales began spreading across his body like liquid metal flowing upward.
His muscles bulged even more… if that was physically possible without exploding.
His hands stretched and twisted into razor-sharp claws that could probably slice through steel like butter.
*GROOOOOWWWWL!*
The transformation finished with a sound that belonged in a fucking dinosaur horror movie.
Marcus now looked like what would happen if a dragon decided to cosplay as a human and gave up halfway through.
Every inch of his body was covered in those metallic scales that gleamed under the weird sunset light.
His claws were easily twice the length of normal fingers.
And his eyes?
They turned into these predatory slits akin to a lizard.
"You're not the only one who has something special, scrawny boy."
Marcus's voice had gotten deeper and guttural, like he was speaking through a meat grinder… or a shitty 2-dollar microphone.
He flexed his new claws with profound sharpness.
*SCREECH!*
They left gouges in the stone wall just from casual movement.
'Well, fuck me sideways, indeed.'
Nero confirmed and stared at the walking nightmare in front of him.
His brain was trying to process what kind of dinosaur hell he'd gotten himself into.
This wasn't just an enhancement anymore.
This was a complete species change, and it looked like the kind that came with a serious freakish appearance problem.
'It's like looking at a kid's dinosaur show and it suddenly turned into some sort of horror PG17 reject nightmare…'
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"
Marcus took a step forward, unaware of Nero's random thoughts.
*THUD!*
The ground cracked under his weight.
And that's when Nero realized just how screwed he really was, jokes aside.
"Let me show you what real power looks like!"
*WHOOOOSH!*
Marcus then launched himself forward faster than what should be legal.
*BOOM!*
His claw-punch missed Nero's head by maybe an inch, but it completely demolished the stone wall behind him.
A crater the size of a dinner table appeared where solid rock used to be.
If the wall weren't meters thick it would've completely collapsed like a bunch of graham crackers by now.
'Holy shit, if that had connected...'
Nero didn't want to finish that thought.
His body would've been turned into modern art, and not the pretty kind.
*WHOOSH! BOOM! WHOOSH! BOOM!*
Marcus went absolutely ballistic, already throwing punches that could most likely level buildings.
Each missed attack left behind destruction that made Nero's stomach drop.
There was no way in hell he could block or parry all those attacks.
His sword would probably shatter on impact, and his arms would follow right after.
… And even if the sword didn't shatter, it would've probably been damaged.
He couldn't damage what his angel waifu gave him as a present now, could he?
And so, dodging was the only option.
And even that, he's barely passing at.
*SWISH!*
The sharp claws passed so close to his face that he could feel the wind displacement.
*BOOM!*
Another crater appeared where he'd been standing a split second ago.
"Come on, you little shit! Stop running around like a scared rabbit!"
Marcus was getting more frenzied with every missed attack.
His movements were becoming more wild, more desperate.
But they were also getting more powerful.
Each punch now carried enough force to turn a normal person into red pulp.
Nero was running on pure adrenaline and his Greater Instinct worked without any rest.
His body was moving before his brain could even process the incoming attacks.
Duck left, roll right, jump back, slide under.
Thank god for his angel for drilling the basics of dodging and saving your skin first as the very fundamentals of basic fighting.
To be honest, it was like playing the world's most violent game of dodgeball, except the balls could kill you in one hit.
*CRASH!*
Another chunk of a wall turned into rubble.
"You know what the best part about this transformation is?!"
Marcus was still talking his villain shit while trying to murder him… because he's a very dedicated character.
"It's called Metalloid Transformation! A-tier unique ability!"
He swung his claws in a wide arc that would've cut Nero in half if he hadn't dropped to the ground.
"I can turn my whole body into scales from some alien lizard species! Isn't that fucking beautiful?"
*SLAM!*
His fist created another crater where Nero had been rolling.
"The defense is incredible, the strength is tripled, and these claws can cut through almost anything!"
Nero was starting to feel the burn in his legs.
All this dodging was eating through his stamina faster than he could regenerate it.
His breathing was getting heavier, his reactions were getting slightly slower.
And Marcus noticed that.
"Getting tired already? But we're just getting started!"
*WHOOSH! BOOM! WHOOSH! BOOM!*
The assault intensified.
Marcus was going completely psycho, laughing like a maniac while trying to turn Nero into paste.
"I've been waiting a whole month for this moment! A whole fucking month of dreaming about crushing your skull!"
His eyes were practically glowing with bloodlust.
"Vincent told me to take my time, make it fun, make it last!"
*CRASH!*
"But honestly? I just want to see you explode into red mist!"
Nero's back finally hit a wall.
Literally.
He'd been so focused on dodging that he'd backed himself into a corner without realizing it.
Stone walls on three sides, and a dragon-man psychopath on the fourth.
'... Well, this is just fucking perfect.'
Marcus's grin got even more terrifying when he realized the situation of the poor man in front of him.
"Nowhere to run now, little mouse."
He raised both claws, clearly planning to turn Nero into a human spaghetti.
"Any last words before I paint these walls with your guts?"
Nero looked at the incoming death sentence.
His stamina was nearly gone, his options were zero at this point, and Marcus was about to turn him into abstract art.
But there was one thing.
One last desperate card he had been saving up until this point.
His eyes flashed with something cold and calculating.
'Fuck it. If I'm going down, I'm taking this scaly bastard with me.'
Without any hesitation, Nero activated the unique ability that had been gathering dust in his status screen.
---
[Copycat (A) (Flawed) – A one-time use ability that allows the user to copy a single skill or unique ability below SR-tier. Once used, the ability shatters and is permanently removed. Warning: Copy cannot be undone.]
---
The system interface popped up in front of him, showing available abilities to copy.
Nero didn't even bother looking at anything else.
He immediately selected the option under unique abilities.
---
[Copying: Metalloid Transformation (A)...]
[Copy successful. Copycat ability permanently removed.]
---
Then, like a complete suicidal maniac, Nero launched himself straight at Marcus.
No dodging, no strategy, just pure kamikaze aggression.
"Quite desperate now huh, scrawny boy?!"
Marcus brandished his transformed claws, clearly thinking Nero had lost his damn mind.
Which, to be fair, he probably had.
But that was beside the point.
Marcus was confident that whatever pathetic attack Nero tried would bounce right off his scales.
After all, that little metal stick couldn't even scratch him, let alone leave a mark.
The big guy was confident that there's nothing more the scrawny man in front of him could do at this late game.
And that's where things started getting interesting.
"..."
Nero swung Dawnbreaker toward Marcus's chest in what looked like a completely desperate last-ditch effort.
Marcus didn't even bother dodging.
Why would he?
His scales could probably stop a fucking tank shell at this point.
But just as the blade was about to connect with his armored skin...
Nero smirked.
And let go of his sword.
*Clank…*
Dawnbreaker hit the ground in slow motion.
As a human instinct, Marcus's eyes followed the falling weapon.
He's completely confused about what the hell was happening.
Why would someone drop their only weapon?
Is he nuts? … Maybe the guy before him had already lost his mind and gave up halfway.
But that's when Nero's hand finally came into view.
Except it wasn't a hand anymore.
"!!!"
Marcus.exe stopped working.
What used to be a hand is now a set of steel claws identical to Marcus.
Metallic grey scales covered Nero's arm up to his shoulder.
The same alien lizard transformation that Marcus was so proud of.
"Despite all your planning, you're still wet behind the ears compared to someone who actually plays dirty."
Nero's voice was as calm as ever.
His newly transformed claws were aimed directly at the only part of Marcus that wasn't protected by scales.
His pretty eyeballs.
Marcus's brain finally caught up to what was happening, but it was way too late.
*SQUELCH!*
Two fingers, now razor-sharp claws, jabbed straight into Marcus's eye sockets.
*ROOOOOAAARRRRR!*
The sound that came out of Marcus wasn't human anymore.
It was pure, primal agony mixed with rage and complete disbelief.
Blood poured down his face like red waterfalls as he stumbled backward, clutching at his ruined eyes.
"MY EYES! MY FUCKING EYES!"
He was thrashing around like a wounded animal, completely blind and absolutely livid.
"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
Marcus was swinging his claws wildly, hitting nothing but air and stone walls.
His movements were completely erratic now, driven by pain and panic instead of any veteran form he was proud of.
Nero took a few steps back, catching his breath from the insanely tense situation.
The partial transformation faded from his arm as he watched Marcus have his breakdown.
"Finding your enemy's weak spots is Fighting 101, you know."
Nero's voice was casual, almost bored, as he watched the dragon-man flail around helplessly.
"... I guess even a veteran boxer like you forgot to polish the basics, huh?"
*CRASH! BANG! SLAM!*
Marcus was destroying everything within reach, but since he couldn't see shit, he was basically just having a baby temper tantrum.
"I'LL RIP YOU APART PIECE BY PIECE!"
"YOU'RE DEAD! YOU HEAR ME? FUCKING DEAD!"
"I'LL FIND YOU AND TEAR YOUR THROAT OUT WITH MY TEETH!"
The threats kept coming, but they sounded more like the desperate screaming of someone who knew fucked up big time.
Nero walked over casually and picked up Dawnbreaker.
The blade gleamed in a cold sharp light as he gave it a few test swings.
Marcus was still raging, and threatening.
But at this point he's completely blind and helpless.
"You know what's funny about all this?"
Nero's voice cut through Marcus's screaming.
The dragon-man paused for a second, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from.
"You spent a whole month getting stronger just to get your ass kicked by the same 'scrawny boy' you've been dissing over."
Nero tested the weight of his sword in his hand.
"That's got to sting worse than those ruined eye sockets."
"YOU BASTAAARRD!!!!"
Marcus let out another roar of rage.
The blood loss and pain were starting to take their toll along with the truthful words he was being roasted with from the same "scrawny guy" he's looking down on.
But even that didn't last long, as Marcus panted, losing his stamina after hitting nothing except the wall and the ground over and over again.
His movements were now getting sluggish, and powerless.
Nero watched with cold calculation as his opponent slowly wore himself down.
The tables had completely turned in a single moment.
All those waiting, getting dissed at and being almost destroyed one-sidedly had paid off.
And now,
"Let's have payback for what you've all said, alright?"
Nero made an ominous smirk with his usual laid-back form.
"Time for round two."
The one-sided redemption shitshow for Marcus was about to begin.
***
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