Chapter 90: The giant falls.

A low growl vibrated in Vince’s chest. The surrounding men took a collective step back. Vince was not the kind of man you challenged and walked away standing straight. Only Achilles and Hunter had accomplished that. Zyra was playing with death.

Alarmed, Achilles looked over at Hunter, shaking his head frantically as if begging him not to allow this madness. Hunter, however, merely looked at Zyra, a dark spark of curiosity in his eyes. She had chosen this man herself...knowing pretty well that he was three times her size and height. He was not about to stop her, unless her life was in danger.

"Sir...I do not want to be responsible for your wife’s death." Big Vince told Hunter.

Achilles shook his head. "Hunter be smart."

Zyra remained stoic, facing Big Vince. "System, increase my strength by thirty points."

In a very cheerful voice, Beauty replied, [Got it]

Zyra felt that warmth and surge of power in her veins, coursing through her body, remolding her bones and hardening them. She flexed her fists, feeling the raw force ripple through her body. Even if she didn’t defeat Big Vince, she was determined not to be thrown around like a rag doll. Strength against strength, it was the only way.

"Hunter, please." Achilles begged. "Look at her, she is trembling and sweating."

Instead of calling it off, Hunter brought his hands together.

Clap! "Begin," He blew the whistle.

Big Vince didn’t waste time with words. He lunged forward like a starved predator, his huge fists swinging with enough force to shatter boulders. Zyra met him head-on, her own fists colliding with his in thunderous impact. The shockwave rattled the air. Neither yielded.

"System activate assimilation." She commanded.

Beauty slammed down two hands in boxing gloves. [Assimilation activated.]

Zyra’s mind kicked into overdrive. Vince’s brutal, beast-style martial arts flashed on the virtual screen before they even materialized in the physical world. His fists swung like wrecking balls, aiming to crush her. His knuckles split her lip; her elbow cracked against his ribs.

Beauty offered free reminders, boxing at the air as if it had an opponent to beat too.

[Left strike coming. Target: cranium. Dodge: step right.

Right knee lifting. Target: ribs. Dodge: pivot back.]

"System, increase my speed by 50 points." She commanded.

Vince unleashed a terrifying combination of strikes, but Zyra became like a ghost. She ducked, weaved, and slithered through the gaps in his offense. Vince was furious. Every time his fist was about to connect, she simply wasn’t there.

Realizing his brute strength was hitting nothing but air, Vince grew reckless. He threw a big, double-handed hammer fist downward, intending to crush her into the dirt.

Zyra saw the opening. Using her small size to her absolute advantage, she didn’t step away but dove under his outstretched arms. She slid between his massive logs of legs, drawing a sharp breath from the crowd.

He snarled, pulling back for his ultimate move. His body twisted, muscles coiling, and he unleashed a devastating combination--a sequence of strikes honed through years of killing. It sent Zyra sprawling.

[Ding! Bone shattering skill detected. Assimilation engaged.]

Before Vince could finish her off, Zyra struck.

She tapped a precise pressure point behind his knee, sending a jolt of energy into the joint. Vince’s leg buckled. As he stumbled forward, Zyra sprang up like a coiled spring, driving her elbow straight into the small of his back, magnifying her physical force with a burst of her newly assimilated energy.

The giant reeled.

Zyra didn’t give him a chance to recover like he had done for her. She grabbed his big arm, used his own staggering weight as a lever, and flipped the beast-pit champion cleanly over her shoulder.

The ground shook as Big Vince crashed onto his back, the wind driven from his lungs so violently he couldn’t even draw breath to scream. He lay there, eyes rolled back, completely incapacitated.

This time, everyone was more shocked than stunned. The silence was heavy, suffocating. Even Hunter’s jaw had dropped a fraction of an inch, his usual mask of calm completely shattered.

Hunter cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. He looked around at the pale, sweating men. "Everyone... take a break. No you are dismissed."

The words had barely left his mouth before the remaining men vanished. They practically tripped over themselves to get out of the training ground. No one...absolutely no one....wanted to challenge Zyra next after seeing what had just happened to Big Vince. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Hunter walked over to Zyra, his boots clicking softly on the ground. He looked down at her small frame, then at the unconscious giant still groaning on the floor.

"Was that Beauty’s doing?" He asked, his voice low, a mixture of awe and suspicion.

Zyra wiped a speck of dust from her vest, looking completely unbothered. "I am a quick learner. All their moves are imprinted in my memory. I simply used their own moves against them instead of fighting randomly."

Hunter stared at her for a moment, the tension leaving his shoulders. A slow, genuine grin spread across his face. He shook his head, thoroughly amused, and extended a closed fist toward her.

"Smart," Hunter said, giving her a firm fist bump. "Very smart."

Zyra smiled back. "I know." She would steal his skills too and become greater than him. In her mind, she chuckled like a thief that had chosen a prized jewel.

*******

Atlas City.

Inside the Spegger’s living room, the air was thick enough to choke a chimney. Logan was pacing around the room like a caged fire-panther, his heavy boots slamming into the polished tiles with every stride. On the large silk sofa opposite him, his sister Ritah, her husband Clinton, and their daughter Ava were huddled together so tightly they looked like a single, multi-headed creature. They held onto each other as if that pathetic human shield could somehow save them from Logan’s escalating fury.

Logan abruptly paused, spun on his heel, and pointed a trembling, accusatory finger directly at Ava. "I warned you!" He roared, his voice rattling the expensive porcelain teacups on the table. He glared at Ritah. "I told you years ago that babying this girl too much would utterly spoil her! But did you listen? ’Oh, Logan, she’s just a child. Oh, Logan, she has a gentle heart.’ Now look! Look at what her ’gentle heart’ has done! She has dragged our entire lineage straight into the abyss!"

Ava buried her face in her mother’s clothes, sobbing quietly. "I should have gone with Tessi and Yanxi, but I just wanted to come home."

Ritah, trembling but desperate to protect her daughter, squeezed Logan’s gaze with pleading eyes. "Brother, please," She begged, her voice cracking with emotion. "You have connections. You are the mayor of the capital. You can solve everything by just asking the Divine Soul Maiden for a favor. A single word from her, and the authorities will look the other way!"

Logan scoffed, a bitter, humorless sound bouncing off the walls. "Ask her for a favor? You think the Divine Soul maiden operates on a buddy system, Ritah? It is not that simple!"

He resumed his furious pacing, waving his arms wildly. "My spies just brought me the latest intelligence. Amos, and his guards are currently sweeping the entire world. They are hunting for escaped Soul maidens like starved hounds, and they have already captured a few! You are a Soul maiden, and you know what the law says. Anyone caught harboring a Soul maiden that flees her sacred duty is either exiled to the wild lands or put to death immediately. Whatever one chooses... it is death regardless! Out there, exile is a death sentence, just with more steps!"

He moved and squatted infrastructure of Ava. "Tell me, do you know where these girls went maybe if we give them up and put the blame on them, you will be forgiven."