?Chapter 957:


    Still, she tossed her head lightly, her expression softening just a touch as she nced behind her at Ethan. Her tone was calm — cool as riverstone — but carried a protective edge. “Ethan, take a step back. I’d rather you didn’t get hurt by ident.”


    Ethan stood frozen, her words echoing in his mind, stealing the air from his lungs.


    His gaze lingered on Marisa as she walked away, her parting vow reying like a drumbeat in his chest: “Don’t worry. You’re under my protection. No one’s going toy a finger on you.”


    Then came the challenge that still rang in his ears: “I’ll take you on.” His hands clenched at his sides.


    Ethan’s heart pounded faster, a rush of unfamiliar emotions surging through him — anxious, uncertain, andced with silent prayer and tightly coiled tension.


    A desperate prayer echoed in his mind: “Please, Marisa — be safe.”


    Meanwhile, across from Marisa, Viper let out a coldugh, his hands forming ws as he assumed an aggressive stance, his voice low and chilling. “Let’s see what you’ve got, youngdy.”


    The crowd responded with raucousughter and venomous cheers.


    “That’s Viper’s signature taunt — he’s going in for real now!”


    “What are you waiting for? Finish her already! I’ve got money riding on this.”


    “This girl clearly has no clue who she’s dealing with. She’ll be begging for mercy any minute now — probably sobbing, ‘Please, I can’t take it!''”


    The air inside the underground ring thickened with cruelty, every shout cutting like ss.


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    But Marisa didn’t flinch. She’d faced worse. And those who had underestimated her rarely stood long afterward.


    Drawing a slow breath, she grounded herself. Her stance was firm, with her right fist tucked close and her left hand raised defensively. Her steps began to fall into rhythm, her eyes never leaving her opponent.


    And yet, a strange calm settled over her.


    In the face of danger, her instincts didn’t falter — they sharpened like a de. “Bring it,” she whispered, poised and resolute, her eyes glinting with the lethal stillness of a drawn sword.


    In that instant, Ethan’s face shed in her mind.<fnc786> Chapters first released on FιndＮovel</fnc786>


    Since this fight was inevitable, she’d give it everything she had. She would be the one to break through, to fight her way to freedom.


    The host raised his hand. “Round one — fight!”


    In an instant, the fight for survival began — and the crowd exploded into a frenzy of wild cheers.


    Marisaunched forward like a thunderbolt, her fist cutting through the air with surgical precision, aimed straight at Viper’s chest.


    His pupils contracted.


    He hadn’t expected that kind of speed — especially not from someone who looked barely eighteen.


    But Viper’s instincts were honed by countless fights.


    In a sh, he leaned back, narrowly avoiding the strike.


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