"I can sense you, so there is no need to hide." Sir Jack's voice echoed through the passage.
He stood in the middle of the passage, his stance vigilant, Katana at the ready, as he searched for the other B-rank Hunter, William Farrell.
{1} He knew he had probably activated the stealth mode of the suit, which meant he must be close by.
Sir Jack, who had a strong sense of justice, was very annoyed when he found out the plot of the so-called Hunter from the Monitoring Division of the Organization.
He had taken it upon himself to correct this misconduct, by taking down Farrell and bringing him to justice.
"Oh, are you that eager to meet your death?" The voice of William echoed through the passage in a low dry chuckle.
"We'll see who will be meeting their end today." Replied Sir Jack and took a step forward, but as soon as he carried his leg, an iron claw came sweeping out of nowhere, its tips glinting fiercely as it drew a sharp arc in the air.
Its destination? Sir Jack's neck.
Sir Jack's eyes widened slightly in surprise but quickly returned to normal; he took a step back and tilted his head backward, making the claw miss his throat by a margin.
As soon as he had successfully dodged the attack, he immediately threw a solid punch at the body of the other Hunter who was still in midair, sending him rocketing into the ceiling of the passage.
Gbrahh!
He hit the top of the passage hard before falling to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
Sir Jack wasted no time in moving in to finish him, but when he got to the place where he had crashed, he wasn't there again.
'Hmm.'
Inside the dust cloud, Sir Jack stood motionless, his eyes scanning around for any movement.
He moved in alert as soon as he heard a voice.
"Haha, I must have underestimated you, but what do I expect, you're also at the B-rank."
"Well, time to get serious."
His feet made light noises as he ran at Sir Jack at a blistering speed.
Sir Jack's muscles tensed as William Farrell lunged at him, fists clad in razor-sharp iron claws. The dim passage echoed with the metallic clink of each footstep as the two B-rank Hunters closed the distance.
Sir Jack parried the first strike with the flat of his katana, the impact sending a shudder through his arm. William spun low, aiming a clawed uppercut at his ribs. Sir Jack twisted his body mid-air, barely avoiding the deadly swipe, and countered with a powerful downward slash.
Clang!
William crossed his claws in an X-formation, blocking the blade just in time. Sparks ignited as steel clashed against iron.
"Tch." Sir Jack clicked his tongue. He was expecting resistance, but the weight behind William's block was heavier than anticipated.
William grinned, his predatory gaze locked onto Sir Jack. "You're fast. But not fast enough."
Without warning, he released a shockwave of energy through his claws, sending Sir Jack skidding backward. Before he could stabilize his footing, William dashed forward and delivered a devastating roundhouse kick.
Sir Jack raised his forearm just in time, blocking the kick, but the force sent him crashing against the passage wall.
Boom!
Debris rained down as cracks spread across the concrete. Dust billowed in the air, obscuring the vision between them.
"Is that all?" William's voice was laced with amusement.
Sir Jack wiped a trail of blood from the corner of his lips and slowly exhaled. His eyes sharpened. "You talk too much."
In the next instant, he vanished.
William's smirk faltered. His instincts screamed, but it was too late.....
SHING!
There was a deep ringing as Sir Jack's katana struck hard against his suit, sending him flying.
William staggered back up, gritting his teeth. "Bastard!"
{2}Because of the ability of the suit to absorb certain attacks, like Qi-based attacks, kinetic energy, and so on, it had absorbed most of the attack force, but his body still felt the impact and to make matters worse, the suit was now nearing its limit for energy absorption before entering the cool-down phase.
Before he could retaliate, Sir Jack appeared behind him and drove an elbow into his spine, sending him crashing to the ground. But Sir Jack wasn't finished. He gripped his katana in reverse and plunged it down—
CLANG!
William twisted just in time, crossing his claws to catch the descending blade between them.
"I knew you'd go for the kill," William grinned, his eyes burning with adrenaline. "Let me return the favour."
With explosive strength, he twisted his claws outward, disarming Sir Jack in a swift, brutal motion. The katana clattered against the passage floor, its metallic ring echoing through the air.
William's next move was instant, he lunged forward and raked his claws continuously across Sir Jack's chest.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Sir Jack's suit absorbed the attacks but if it continued like this, it was only a matter of time before it got to its limit.
Sir Jack inhaled sharply as he stepped back, retreating, but suddenly clenched his fist, then slightly grinned.
"You think you've won?"
Before William could react, Sir Jack delivered a vicious knee to his gut, followed by a rising punch that cracked against his jaw. William's body lifted off the ground from the sheer force of the blow.
As he soared midair, Sir Jack exploded forward, catching him mid-fall. His movements were a blur.
Brutal, precise, relentless.
A barrage of punches rained down on William, each one sending shockwaves through the reinforced armor, each one faster than the last.
Sir Jack grabbed William by the collar, spun his body, and hurled him against the passage wall.
BOOOOM!
The impact shattered the walls of the cavern-like passage, leaving a gaping crater in the structure. William coughed violently, blood spilling from his lips.
Sir Jack exhaled, his breath steady despite his internal wounds. His katana lay a few feet away, but he didn't move to retrieve it.
William slowly stood, swaying slightly but still grinning. His face was bruised, his claws stained with blood—Sir Jack's blood.
"Heh… This is getting fun."
Sir Jack narrowed his eyes. "You're still standing? You're tougher than I thought."
A low chuckle escaped William's throat as he straightened his posture.
"Well, it's time to take this to the next level." He said and reached out his hand to take something attached to his waist.
His aura suddenly flared violently, the air crackling with energy. His pupils dilated, and his claws seemed to extend further, gleaming under the dim passage lights.
The passage trembled as his energy surged. The walls groaned under the weight of his aura.
Sir Jack's eyes formed into a slit in annoyance; he took a slow step forward, rolling his shoulders.
His expression remained calm, but inside, he could feel it—this battle was about to reach its peak.
Neither moved.
The air grew heavier.
Then.....
They both vanished.
A shockwave erupted in the passage as the two clashed again, their silhouettes flickering in the chaos.
[Author's note: The parts marked {1} and {2} are referring to the special abilities of the Teknovo T-71 used by the Hunters. The abilities of a suit are determined by the ranks of the Hunters. The suit of a B-rank Hunter would have lesser abilities than that of an A-rank, and likewise for an A-rank to an S-rank.
I will spend more time detailing out their abilities and ranking later.]