Jake stopped for half a second.
Victor tore his body out of the broken stone and stepped forward. Black Ice appeared beneath his skin in small plates, adjusted to the points Jake had struck the most. Black Lightning circulated between them, not as an offensive discharge, but as a reactive impulse. A network. A system. Each plate would absorb part of the impact. Each discharge would redirect the rest into movement.
It was not defense.
It was conversion.
Grace noticed.
"He is going to turn the blows into acceleration..."
Victor looked at Jake.
"Thank you."
Jake roared and attacked.
The punch came brutally.
Victor received it on his forearm.
The Black Ice plate cracked, but the energy did not stay there. Black Lightning absorbed the displacement, ran through his shoulder, crossed his back, and exploded from the opposite foot.
Victor vanished to the side.
Jake missed the second blow.
Victor appeared at his flank and struck the weak point in his abdomen.
BOOM!
