Rider's massive fist whipped through the air, delivering a thunderous straight punch directly at Ethan's jaw.
Ethan didn't flinch. He brought his right hand up, catching the immense fist dead-center in his palm.
The sheer kinetic friction of the impact caused the air between them to hiss, and a thin wisp of gray smoke went upward from Ethan's hand. Rider leaped back dynamically, creating distance.
Ethan glanced down at his lightly singed palm, his brow furrowing.
"What are you looking at?" Rider barked, shifting his stance.
Ethan offered no verbal reply. He exploded forward, charging like a missile. He threw a lightning-fast straight punch; Rider snapped his head to the side a fraction of a second before it could connect. But Ethan seamlessly aborted the momentum mid-strike, pivoting violently on his right foot to swing his left leg upward, slamming a devastating roundhouse kick into Rider's jaw.
Rider managed to raise a forearm at the absolute last microsecond, but the monstrous velocity of the kick sent him. He flew backward, his spine slamming violently into the reinforced concrete wall.
Before the dust could even settle, Rider looked up to find Ethan's right fist already driving toward his skull.
Rider rolled frantically to the side. Ethan's punch punched entirely through the structural wall, shattering concrete into a cloud of white powder.
Now's my chance! Rider thought,
instantly weaponizing Ethan's own misdirection strategy against him. He threw a heavy feint toward Ethan's face, but at the terminal second, he dropped low, sweeping a brutal kick into Ethan's calf to compromise his balance before driving a heavy, concussive fist squarely into his cheek.
Ethan absorbed the full weight of the strike, his boots drifting backward across the floor as he stabilized himself.
Brushing the debris from his cheek, Ethan sprinted back, just as Rider charged to meet him. Their respective right fists mirrored each other, coming within inches of a double knockout—but both operators pulled off a synchronized reflex dodge.
"Nice ki—" Rider started, but Ethan's left fist was already moving, snapping a brutal jab straight into the bridge of Rider's nose.
The precision strike flooded Rider's vision with involuntary tears, blinding him.
Capitalizing instantly, Ethan unleashed a devastating, atypical combination of rapid-fire body blows and high-low kicks, knocking lights out of Rider.
With a final heavy strike, Rider collapsed face-first onto the shattered floor.
Ethan lowered his guard, breathing evenly as he began to walk past the fallen.
Too easy, he thought.
Suddenly, a massive, bleeding hand shot up from the floor. Rider grabbed Ethan from behind in a vice-like bear hug, violently hoisting him up and smashing his face into the concrete wall.
The structure shattered instantly. Refusing to let up, Rider kept his grip secure, dragging Ethan's face across the entire length of the masonry like a human plow, tearing down the drywall structure.
"Did you honestly think I would go down that easily, you arrogant little brat?" Rider roared, blood dripping down his teeth.
Ethan completely stopped resisting, his body going limp. Believing the rogue asset was entirely neutralized, Rider finally loosened his grip to drop him.
The moment the pressure released, Ethan's eyes snapped open. He vaulted off the remaining studs of the wall, driving a catastrophic extension kick squarely into Rider's chest.
The force sent Rider crashing violently through eighteen consecutive drywall partitions, leaving a clean, hollow tunnel of destruction through the facility.
Rider collapsed in the rubble, violently coughing up blood.
Ethan materialized through the dust cloud, bringing his boot down to crush Rider's face into the floor. Rider rolled desperately away, but Ethan's hand was faster—he clamped his fingers onto Rider's jaw, slammed him bodily back into the concrete floor, and delivered a succession of concrete-pulverizing ground-and-pound strikes.
His strikes... they feel like solid iron... Rider thought in agonizing panic.
Forcing his body to move, Rider drove his knee upward into Ethan's shoulder, forcibly altering the trajectory of the next downward punch. Utilizing the brief opening, Rider buried a desperate, heavy fist deep into Ethan's gut, following up with a double-legged push-kick to clear his spacing.
Both fighters snapped back to their feet. Ethan remained as chillingly calm as ever, his eyes tracking every movement.
Rider, conversely, was gasping for air, his chest heaving.
This freak is a monster... Rider calculated, his mind racing. He's the strongest, I've faced since Boss Beast.
Ethan closed the distance with a flying kick. Rider anticipated the angle, ducking low to catch the extended leg before violently slamming Ethan into the reinforced side wall. Tossing Ethan into the air like a ragdoll, Rider coiled his core and unleashed a devastating, full-extension spin kick directly to Ethan's jaw.
The impact launched Ethan flying across twelve structural partitions before he finally hit a main load-bearing pillar.
"You're a tough bastard, kid," Rider growled, spitting out more blood.
Out of the rising haze of dust and pulverized concrete, Ethan slowly stood up, entirely unfazed. He blurred forward, his initial punch serving as a brilliant diversion; as Rider shifted to dodge, Ethan's lower leg whipped around, burying his shin deep into Rider's exposed abdomen. Before Rider could even register the internal damage, Ethan launched himself off the floor, driving a devastating, airborne knee straight into Rider's face.
In mid-air, Ethan violently shifted his weight, executing a flawless, vertical hammer-kick directly down onto the crown of Rider's head.
Rider's skull slammed into the reinforced foundation with such catastrophic, pressurized force that the resulting kinetic shockwave shattered every single light fixture and security glass pane in the entire floor.
Rider's vision blurred into absolute static, his nervous system completely failing him.
Ethan stuck a perfect, clean landing, slowly turning his back on the carnage.
Suddenly, a primal, chilling aura radiated from behind him. Ethan turned his head back slightly, his eyes narrowing. Rider was somehow forcing his broken skeletal frame back up onto his feet, his eyes rolled back until they were completely white, moving purely on catastrophic survival adrenaline.
"You're still standing? Impressive," Ethan noted, his voice devoid of fear. "This is the first time, someone has stood up, after taking my vertical hammer-kick."
In the literal next microsecond, a heavy, unseen pressure caved into Ethan's stomach. Rider had closed the distance invisibly, his fist buried deep into Ethan's core.
How? Ethan thought, his breath leaving him.
Rider grunted, driving his fist deeper into Ethan's midsection, forcefully propelling him backward through the corridor. "You cannot defeat me!" Rider roared.
Slamming Ethan hard against the final steel blast door, Rider drew back his opposite fist, aiming to completely cave Ethan's skull in.
"...I have fought far greater monsters than you," Ethan murmured coldly.
With a snake-like reflex, Ethan raised his arm, driving the sharp edge of his elbow violently into Rider's open mouth, shattering his jaw.
Before Rider's concussed brain could even process the counter, Ethan grabbed him by the neck, executed a tight judo hip throw, and drove him headfirst into the reinforced floor followed by a punch, sending Rider to sleep.
Ethan stood up, adjusting his civilian sweater. "You fought well, Mr. Rider."
Ethan turned soon he reached the stairs. As he climbed up to the primary executive floor, his boots splashed through pools of fresh blood. Suspended from the ceiling fan by his leg was Mike's right-hand man, completely beaten into a pulp, slowly spinning in place.
Liam was sitting casually on an overturned corporate desk nearby, lighting a cigarette.
"Hi," Liam waved effortlessly.
"You neutralized your target? Outstanding," Ethan said, stepping over a puddle.
"What about you? Did you clean up the mess downstairs?" Liam asked.
Ethan gave a silent nod.
"Where is Allen?"
"He's currently navigating the exterior ventilation shaft to bypass the biometric locks. He'll be here soon," Liam replied, sliding off the desk.
"Let's press forward," Ethan said.
Liam nodded, extending a hand. Ethan gripped his forearm, hauling the veteran to his feet. But before they could take their third step down the hallway, the crisp, slow, rhythmic click-clack of high-heeled boots echoed through the silence.
A lone woman stepped out from the shadows of the executive lounge, blocking their path.
Ethan's eyes locked onto her stark white hair. "It's you..."
Himari paused, her fingers casually slipping into her pockets to draw two gleaming, custom-milled combat knives. She tilted her head, her crimson eyes scanning Ethan's face. "Do I know you? Well... you certainly look familiar."
Liam's gaze darted between them, a low whistle escaping his lips. "Is this the one you were talking about... your friend's girl?"
Himari's eyes widened in sudden, amused realization. She stopped in her tracks, a sharp, elegant smile gracing her lips.
"Well, well. Who would have thought? Finn's classmate... the little bookworm from the lobby. You're the rogue operative dismantling the world's most fortified syndicates."
"And who would have thought Finn's girlfriend was actually from a Japanese ninja clan?" Ethan countered, his voice dropping into a razor-sharp operational register.
Himari dropped into a low, fluid vanguard stance, the twin blades catching the amber emergency lights of the facility. "Shall we fight?"