Vincent came forward with his shoulders lowered and one arm dragging heat behind it.
The change had given him weight before it gave him speed. Every step pressed cracks into the arena floor. His fused armor shifted over his ribs in ugly plates, not clean enough to be a suit and not wild enough to be pure monster. It looked like something forced onto a human frame and told to hold.
Randalp moved before the distance closed.
Tock spread three plates in front of him, angled one high and two low. The first caught Vincent's fist and folded in half. The second dragged the force away from Randalp's ribs. The third snapped under his boot and threw him sideways before the follow-up landed.
Vincent's second punch tore through empty space and hit the floor.
Stone jumped. The shock rattled through Elias's feet even from the viewing edge.
