Back on the roof.

“Arkham! I’m bored,” a little girl’s voice whined.

Marsa lay on the ground, legs swinging, a lollipop stick poking from her mouth.

Arkham leaned back in his chair, cigar ember glowing as his single orange eye stayed fixed on the chaos six miles away. He smirked as he watched the boy knock the brolic man through a wall.

This kid is crazy. If he’d tapped into his first wall, I’d understand… but that was sheer strength. And speed.

“Can I see that file?” Arkham asked, holding out a hand.

Marsa sat up and handed him a folder. He flipped it open, scanning quickly. His smirk faltered. His eyes widened.

“…Tier 5, huh?” he muttered. “At ten years old.”

Leaning back, he closed the file with a snap.
“No wonder they want me to keep watch.”

Back in the hallway.

Diag’s composure cracked. Her lips parted—

Whoosh!

A burst of air roared toward Ja, but he was already gone, dashing past the gale in a blur of yellow light.

He lunged straight for the ice wielder—

ROAR!

The brolic man charged, a beast unleashed, barreling toward Ja with veins bulging.

Ja’s eyes flicked toward him—just a glance—then his body shifted.

CRASH!

The charge slammed straight into the ice wielder. Frost shattered across the walls as the two men collided, shaking the building.

Ja landed light, head low, chest steady. His glowing eyes locked back on Diag.

The man with metal fists moved in next.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Their blows collided, steel against flesh, the hallway echoing with every strike.

“Doesn’t this kid feel pain?” the man thought, teeth gritted as Ja met every punch head-on.

Ja dropped low, leg twisting around his opponent’s.

THUD!

The metal brute hit the ground hard, cracks splitting the floor.

But a shadow loomed—

The brolic man was back, leaping high with a roar. His fists came down like twin hammers.

BOOM!

The ground shook—

But Ja grabbed the downed metal fighter, muscles straining, and flipped him into the strike.

CRACK!

The brolic man’s fists smashed into his own ally, the impact cratering the floor and blasting dust into the air.

The ground groaned—then collapsed.

CRASH!

Ja and the metal brute plummeted through the rubble, slamming into the level below.

The metal user gasped, his hardened skin flickering as he struggled to regain focus. Too slow.

Ja’s shadow fell over him.

With a guttural snarl, Ja’s heel slammed forward—

CRACK!

His kick shattered the man’s jaw. The body went limp, wall fading out, down for good.

Ja stood tall above him, chest rising steady, yellow eyes glowing brighter through the haze.

THUD. THUD.

Two more figures dropped into the wreckage—Diag and the brolic man. Their eyes widened at the sight of their ally broken at Ja’s feet.

Up above, the ice wielder froze. His grip tightened on the blade, but his hand trembled.
What kind of monster did they send us to get?

Ja smirked, teeth bared, voice cutting through the silence.

“Is that all you got?”