The battlefield quaked as the Orc Lord swung its spiked weapon in a deadly arc.
Leo didn't flinch.
His fist lunged forward and collided with the incoming strike. The loudest explosion erupted, sending vibrations shooting everywhere. The earth below them crumbled, leaving another huge crater. Dust and debris spewed into the air like a volcanic eruption.
Two figures shot out from the swirling cloud of destruction. Leo touched down, light as a feather, the wind shrieking around him. The impact still ran through his bones, but when he closed his fists, his knuckles tingled without pain.
Only excitement.
A heavy thud echoed as the Orc Lord landed, its feet smashing into the earth. But something was wrong. It stood there, completely still.
Unmoving.
Crack!
The giant weapon lay destroyed. Shards of iron and splintered spikes fell from its shaking grip, the handle breaking entirely. For a moment, the Orc Lord gazed at its shattered weapon. Then its fingers tightened, crushing the remains to dust.
A deep, harsh growl rose from its throat. Leo narrowed his eyes as dark-red aura leaked from the Orc Lord's skin. The thick, liquid energy crawled over its muscles like blood flowing backward. Steam rose from its body while veins swelled across its giant arms. Its chest heaved violently.
New words appeared beneath its name.
[ Enraged ]
Leo's stomach coiled with anticipation.
"So you have a rage mode, huh?" He popped his neck and rotated his shoulders.
"Good. Show me."
A roar erupted from the Orc Lord, shaking the air around them. The pressure alone felt like standing in a storm's eye. It burst from the earth, charging forward faster than ever before. Leo had no time to respond before a massive fist flew toward his face.
Boom!
His body crashed against the cave wall. Stone shattered on impact, debris raining down as cracks spread like lightning across the surface. A normal human would have been crushed instantly.
But he wasn't normal.
Leo coughed, his breath coming uneven, but his smile never faded. The Orc Lord moved like an assassin despite its massive frame. One moment it stood near the cavern's center, the next it had vanished completely.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Giant fists smashed into the walls where Leo had been moments before. Again and again, the cave roared in agony. Walls trembled under the assault. Dust and broken rock erupted from each devastating impact.
Leo felt the ground shake with each blow, vibrations running through his spine. The monster gave him no moment to breathe, no chance to counter.
And yet, his excitement only grew.
"Do I smell fear?" Leo's eyes shone from within the darkness.
Minutes dragged like hours as the cave room strained under the relentless punishment. The structure groaned, ready to collapse at any moment. Then, a thin band of red light cut through the dust cloud.
The Orc Lord froze.
It sensed something terrible. Killing intent so intense the beast couldn't process what was happening.
Boom!
A fist wreathed in scarlet energy shot out like a meteor. It crashed straight into the Orc Lord's enormous body with devastating force.
Crack!
The sickening crunch of ribs breaking inward echoed through the cavern. The monster's massive body flew back like a cannonball, smashing through stone pillars before crashing into the throne.
For the first time, the monster screamed in pain.
Leo emerged from the smoke completely unscathed. His eyes glowed bright red, faint wisps of energy flickering from his fists like dying flames. His body hummed with raw power, veins coursing with something unnatural.
He felt amazing.
"What's the matter?"
Leo's voice came smooth but dangerous. He cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders in preparation.
"That's all you got?"
The Orc Lord climbed from the rubble, its body showing bruises but remaining far from defeated. The dark-red aura had thickened considerably, growing stronger with each passing second. The cave floor began to melt beneath its furious heat. Muscles bulged further while black veins throbbed beneath leathery skin. Ancient, primal rage glowed in its eyes.
The cavern shook.
Leo and the Orc Lord faced each other across the devastated battlefield. Neither would back down or retreat from this final confrontation.
Then they vanished.
Boom!
They emerged in the center, their fists colliding with a resounding crack. A shock wave roared outward, kicking up dirt and stone in a massive radius.
The real fight began.
Leo slammed his fist into the Orc Lord's gut, embedding it deep into thick muscle. He felt the wet resistance of raw flesh and the solid thud of bone beneath. The beast hardly flinched before delivering a savage right hook in reply.
Crack!
Leo's head whipped sideways, spit flying from his mouth. A deafening ring exploded in his head as his vision flashed white for a moment.
But he grinned.
No time to breathe.
A fist hammered into Leo's body with tremendous force. He left his feet entirely, blood spilling from his lips in a thin trickle. The monster brought down a hammer fist onto his back.
Slam!
Leo hit the earth hard, creating a crater in the stone floor. Dust and debris billowed around him in thick clouds. The pain was real and intense.
Thrilling.
His vision swam for a moment, but his body felt more alive than ever. Liquid fire turned to blood in his veins, strength racing through every fiber of his being. He wiped the blood away and smiled wider.
The Orc Lord hissed, its blood-red aura wrapping tighter around its form. The energy expanded into deeper darkness, more menacing than before. Its body pulsed with power as muscles tightened and veins blackened beneath the skin.
It was preparing something devastating.
Leo's heart pounded. Electric tension filled the air between them. The ground cracked beneath the weight of their impending collision.
Both warriors lunged simultaneously. Fists and flesh blurred together in a series of brutal strikes.
Bam!
A punch to Leo's ribs sent shockwaves through his body.
Crack!
He broke the Orc Lord's jaw with a vicious uppercut.
Thud!
A crushing elbow crashed into Leo's shoulder, forcing him to stagger back several steps.
Boom!
His counter struck the beast's chest with enough force to crack stone.
Neither stopped.
Neither hesitated.
The cavern came apart around them as they fought. Walls split from the impacts, the ceiling shook dangerously, and loose rocks tumbled into the void below. Their battle was destroying everything.
The Orc Lord suddenly stepped back, creating distance between them.
The air shifted.
Leo's instincts screamed a warning. The monster was summoning every ounce of its power into one world-ending blow. The entire cave trembled with its building rage.
This was it.
A thrill of pure excitement.
Energy hummed in Leo's fist as he concentrated his own power. The air hissed and crackled as energy concentrated into a single devastating point. He took a deep inhale, then released it in a sharp exhale.
They swung.
Two fists met in the middle. Two monstrous forces collided with everything they had.
The world exploded.
Leo's fist struck the Orc Lord's body with more than just physical force. It was an explosion of energy that cleaved the air in two. He punched completely through its torso. Its force reverberated throughout the entire area.
The Orc Lord's body disintegrated on contact, bits of its corpse scattering in every direction. The throne area blew apart entirely. Shockwave rippled outward for miles, destroying a full kilometer of forest. Trees uprooted and flew through the air from the absolute power of Leo's final punch.
He landed with perfect poise as the earth quaked from the residual shock. Dust began to lift, revealing the true scale of destruction he had wrought.
Where the Orc Lord once stood, only a massive gap remained. The throne's remains had scattered like dust in the wind.