Albert swiftly sidestepped Owen’s punch, narrowly avoiding the strike. But the moment Owen's feet touched the ground, he twisted sharply, pivoting on his heel. With lightning speed, he drove his elbow towards Albert’s head.

  Albert reacted quickly, raising his hand just in time to block the strike. But Owen didn’t stop. He launched a rapid flurry of punches, each one met with Albert’s precise blocks. The two moved at a blur, trading blows at a speed that would have been difficult for most to follow.

  Then, in a sudden shift, Owen planted his foot firmly and thrust his palm forward. A powerful wave of kinetic energy erupted from his hand, blasting Albert backwards. The warden skidded across the ground but managed to land on his feet, his expression darkening.

  Owen shifted his gaze to the side, locking eyes with Barbara. She gritted her teeth, fists clenched. But instead of engaging, she quickly leaped back, landing beside Albert. The two of them now stared at Owen.

  "You’ve gotten stronger." Albert admitted.

  Owen smirked, rolling his shoulders. "Or maybe you just weren’t that strong to begin with."

  From either side of Owen, Jason, Katherine, Grace, and Hannah stepped forward, rallying beside him. They were battered and exhausted, but their eyes burned with determination.

  Katherine, still catching her breath, spoke reluctantly. "I think his essence ability has something to do with phantom pain."

  Owen gave a small nod, absorbing the information. "I see."

  Albert narrowed his gaze at them. "I’ll give you one last chance to surrender," he declared, his essence flaring around him. "Refuse, and I’ll kill you all."

  Owen’s smirk widened, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "I’d like to see you try."

  Without hesitation, he charged forward.

  As he closed the distance, the others were right behind him. He struck first, throwing a powerful punch at Albert. The blow forced him to take some steps back, separating him from Barbara.

  At the same time, Katherine veered off, locking her sights on Barbara. With a burst of speed, she lunged straight for her. Grace and Hannah moved in tandem, rushing towards Barbara to back up Katherine.

  Meanwhile, Jason trailed just behind Owen, his focus locked on Albert. As Owen engaged, Jason pulled back his fist and used half of his remaining essence to strengthen his arm. He then yelled as he swung his arm forward. Owen moved his head to the side to dodge the blow, letting Jason’s attack connect right with Albert’s face, launching him and flipping him backwards.

  As Albert came back down, he landed and dropped to a knee, blood dripping from his nose. Owen instantly lunged at him, but Albert held out a hand, activating his ability.

  Owen gritted his teeth as a sharp, searing pain tore through his skull. His hands clutched at his face as it felt like daggers were stabbing directly into his eyes.

  Albert then punched Owen in the gut, making him bend over slightly. But even with his eyes still shut, Owen instinctively countered, landing a heavy blow to Albert’s jaw.

  Albert lurched backward, but Owen pressed forward, unleashing a rapid flurry of punches that made Albert’s head snap back and forth. Each strike was brutal, unrelenting.

  As Owen pulled back for another punch, Albert roared in frustration and lunged, tackling Owen with his full force. He lifted him off the ground, aiming to slam him down—but before they could hit the ground, Owen unleashed a surge of kinetic energy, stopping them mid-motion.

  Albert gritted his teeth, struggling against the invisible force holding him in place. But Owen seized the moment. He grabbed Albert’s face between both hands and let out a roaring wildfire.

  Flames consumed Albert’s face instantly, and he thrashed violently, his muffled screams mixing with the crackling fire. Desperate, he broke free from Owen’s hold, shoving him backwards before leaping away.

  Albert landed a few feet back, hands clawing at his burning face as he frantically patted it down. Smoke replaced the flames, revealing scorched flesh beneath. He lifted his gaze to Owen, his eyes filled with seething rage. With a furious yell, Albert clenched his fist and charged at him.

  At the other fight, Barbara swung a powerful punch at Katherine’s face, but Katherine barely managed to dodge, leaning just out of reach. Before Barbara could follow up, Grace extended a chain from the ground, wrapping it tightly around Barbara’s extended wrist.

  Barbara growled in frustration, snapping her head towards Grace with a glare. But before she could react, Katherine surged forward, throwing a fist straight at her.

  Barbara stepped back just in time, narrowly avoiding the strike. But as she moved, Hannah suddenly leapt into the air from her other side. Twisting her body mid-air, she brought her leg around in a fierce arc, landing a spinning kick to the back of Barbara’s head.

  Barbara gritted her teeth, annoyance flashing across her face. Without even turning around, she reached behind her and grabbed Hannah’s ankle mid-air. She then yanked Hannah through the air and hurled her straight at Grace.

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  Grace’s eyes widened, but she quickly stepped aside, narrowly avoiding the collision. In the same motion, she extended her chains, wrapping them around Hannah to slow her momentum.

  Katherine wasted no time. She surged back in, aiming a rapid punch at Barbara’s midsection. The strike landed, but Barbara barely reacted. Katherine followed up with an uppercut, swinging with all her strength—but Barbara sidestepped, avoiding it completely.

  Before Katherine could recover, Barbara launched a devastating hook. The impact slammed into Katherine, sending her flying off her feet.

  She next landed on the floor. She lay sprawled on the floor, her hair fanned out around her as a dull ringing filled her ears. Her head spun, but she grit her teeth and forced herself up onto one elbow. She could hear the heavy footsteps of Barbara approaching.

  Barbara scoffed, shaking her head. "I can’t believe how persistent you are." she muttered, her tone edged with irritation.

  She took another step forward—but then stopped. Her eyes narrowed as something unusual caught her attention.

  From Katherine’s back, ethereal chains sprouted into existence, glowing faintly as they swerved. Barbara’s gaze flicked to the side, where she saw Grace standing with her arm extended at Katherine.

  "What are you—?" Barbara started to ask, but before she could finish, the chains suddenly snapped apart, vanishing into wisps of energy.

  Katherine gasped as her entire body became enveloped in an ethereal glow, the light pulsing around her in a brilliant aura.

  Barbara barely had time to process what was happening. Katherine, her face smeared with her blood, rose to her feet. Her glare burned with fury, her breathing ragged yet steady. Then, she took a single step forward, and let out a scream.

  It wasn’t just a yell—it was raw, filled with every ounce of pain, rage, and defiance she had left. The sound echoed through the hangar, sending a tremor through the air.

  Before Barbara could react, Katherine's fist crashed into her face. A violent shockwave exploded from the impact, shattering Barbara’s eardrums.

  Barbara’s body rocketed backwards, an involuntary gurgle escaping her lips as she flew. But before she could even land, Katherine was already there.

  With another guttural yell, Katherine’s fist slammed into Barbara’s side, launching her skyward. She flew through the air like she was a ragdoll.

  Katherine appeared next to her, this time sending Barbara hurtling across the hangar again. But Katherine wasn’t done.

  With terrifying speed, she struck again. And again. And again.

  Barbara became nothing more than a ping pong ball, her body ricocheting through the hangar, each impact sending out shockwaves.

  Albert watched with wide eyes as he saw what was happening when a voice snapped him back to his current fight.

  "Eyes down here, Alb."

  Before he could react, Owen’s fist smashed into his face.

  Albert lurched backwards.

  Another blow. Then another. Owen’s punches landed like gunfire, whipping Albert’s head left and right. He barely activated his ability.

  Agonizing pain shot through Owen’s entire body. It felt like every bone inside him had shattered at once. His vision blurred, his muscles screamed, but he grinned through clenched teeth.

  With sheer willpower, Owen forced himself forward. He roared as he swung an overhead punch, crashing down onto Albert’s skull.

  Albert staggered, momentarily dazed.

  That moment was all Jason needed.

  Already transformed into his beast form, Jason crouched low, his muscles tensing—then he exploded forward.

  His massive frame crashed into Albert’s side like a living battering ram.

  The impact sent Albert flying. His body hit the ground hard, bouncing off the surface, then rolling violently across the hangar floor before finally coming to a stop.

  Albert coughed up a thick splatter of blood, his limbs barely responding. He tried to push himself up, but his strength had left him.

  Before he could even think, an unseen force yanked him backward. His body was dragged through the air by Owen’s kinetic energy, lifting him higher and higher.

  Below, Owen crouched low, muscles coiling like a spring. Then he launched himself into the air.

  As he soared upward, he funneled the last of his essence into his arm. His veins pulsed with raw power. His fist clenched tight.

  Albert’s dazed eyes barely registered Owen’s silhouette against the ceiling.

  Owen lifted his arm high above his head. His voice was calm, almost amused.

  "Night night."

  Then his fist came crashing down.

  The impact slammed into Albert’s face like a meteor strike, and his body rocketed downwards.

  The hangar floor cracked open as Albert smashed into it, shaking the ground violently.

  A moment later, Owen dropped back onto the ground, his shoes hitting the floor with a dull thud. His hands immediately went to his knees as exhaustion washed over him. Without his essence coursing through his body, the weight of the fight finally settled in. His breaths came heavy and uneven.

  Then, from across the hangar, a thunderous crash echoed through the space. The walls trembled slightly from the force.

  Owen turned his head towards the source of the noise, exhaling sharply. He stood up straight and smirked.

  "Katherine must be finishing up as well."

  Along the metal floor of the hangar, Katherine strode forward. At the centre of a deep crater, Barbara lay broken—a mangled heap of flesh and bone. Blood pooled beneath her, her once-imposing form now barely clinging to life.

  Katherine's cold, unblinking eyes bore down on her. Barbara's one functioning eye fluttered open, weakly locking onto Katherine as she loomed above.

  Without a word, Katherine reached a hand behind her. A metallic sheen rippled into existence, liquid metal gathering at her fingertips. It stretched and hardened, forming a long, solid handle. At its end, metal bubbled and expanded, taking shape. A hammerhead.

  It grew larger—more mass pulling into it, the weight condensing into an enormous, brutal weapon. The head swelled to the size of a car, gleaming ominously under the lights of the hangar.

  Barbara let out a faint gargle, but there was no plea in her eyes—only a dim, fading fire.

  Katherine's grip tightened around the handle. With both hands, she lifted the behemoth of a weapon high above her head.

  Barbara’s blurred vision could only register the immense shadow that loomed over her. The last thing she saw was the descent of the metal as it came crashing down.

  The floor shook from the sheer force of the impact, cracks spiderwebbing outward from the crater's centre. Dust and debris billowed into the air, momentarily obscuring the aftermath.

  As the shaking finally subsided, Katherine released the handle of her massive weapon. The hammer remained embedded deep in the ground, its weight refusing to budge. She took a slow step back, her breath heavy. The ethereal glow surrounding her began to fade, the energy that had surged through her body dissipating.

  Her legs wobbled. Then, with a quiet exhale, she let herself fall back, landing in a sitting position at the edge of the crater.

  One by one, the others began to gather near the crater. Grace, Hannah, Jason—each stopping next to Katherine.

  Finally, Owen arrived, his footsteps the last to break the silence. He peered down into the crater, his expression indifferent.

  Then, with a breath of finality, he said, "It's over."