Julian charged me again, both fists burning with purple fire now. His technique had abandoned anything resembling discipline. Just raw power and desperate fury.
I met him head-on.
Our collision sent shockwaves across the entire platform, making the crowd lean back in their seats. His Quantum Disruption tried to tear me apart at the subatomic level, but Kinetic Absorption grabbed every ounce of force he threw and stuffed it into my temporary stat pool.
Plus twenty to Strength. Plus twenty to Agility.
My next swing came faster.
Harder.
The bat connected with his armored shoulder, and his expensive golden pauldron crumpled like aluminum foil. He screamed, more from rage than pain, and tried to grab me in a grapple.
Bad idea.
I dropped low, hooked his ankle with my boot, and yanked.
Julian went down face-first, his hands slapping the platform with a sound that echoed across the arena.
The crowd lost their collective minds.
