## Liam''s Perspective


    Pain shot through my body as I pulled myself from the rubble. The Cosmic Form had taken its toll. My muscles screamed in protest with every movement. Across the courtyard, Dashiell ckthorne stood encased in that crimson armor, a dark luminescence surrounding him.


    "Is this all the great Liam Knight has to offer?" Dashiell taunted, his voice echoing metallically through his helm. "After destroying my Demon de, I expected more."


    I spat blood and straightened my back. My golden light flickered but didn''t fade. The Chaotic Body was my greatest asset now.


    "Let''s find out," I said, charging forward.


    We collided with earth-shaking force. My fist met his armored forearm. The impact sent shockwaves across the courtyard, cracking the stone beneath our feet.


    Dashiell''s armor glowed brighter as he swung a heavy punch. I dodged, feeling the air sizzle where his fist passed.


    "The ckthorne Battle Armor," I heard Emerson Holmes exin to someone. "An ancient relic passed down for generations. It amplifies physical strength tenfold."


    I blocked Dashiell''s next strike and countered with a swift jab to his midsection. The armor absorbed most of the impact, but Dashiell still grunted in pain. <b ss="phantom-imprint">T-h.is v%e!rs@ion@ was s-ou$rc@ed@ f%r&om+ *.</b>


    "Not so invincible after all," I said, pressing my advantage with a flurry of blows.


    Each punch Inded carried the weight of my Absolute Beginning Sacred Fist technique. Golden energy spiraled around my arms as I hammered away at Dashiell''s defenses.


    At first, we seemed evenly matched. His armor gave him protection Icked, but my speed was superior. We traded blows across the battlefield, neither gaining clear advantage.


    Then I found my rhythm.


    My fist crashed into Dashiell''s helmet, denting the metal. Before he could recover, I swept his legs and drove an elbow into his chest as he fell.


    "What''s wrong, Dashiell?" I taunted. "Where''s all that aristocratic superiority now?"


    Rage filled his eyes through the helmet''s visor. He roared andunched himself at me, swinging wildly.


    I sidestepped and caught his arm. Using his momentum against him, I threw him headfirst into a marble column. The pir cracked from the impact.


    Dashiell staggered to his feet, one of his armor tes hanging loose.


    "Your precious armor''s falling apart," I observed, circling him. "Just like your confidence."


    "Shut up!" he screamed, charging again.


    This time when he rushed me, I stood my ground. As his fist came toward my face, I caught it in my palm. Our energies shed violently—his dark aura against my golden light.


    I squeezed.


    The metal of his gauntlet crumpled under my grip. Dashiell howled in pain.


    "The difference between us," I said, "isn''t our backgrounds or resources." I twisted his arm hard. "It''s that I earned every ounce of my power."


    With a savage yank, I pulled him off-bnce and drove my knee into his stomach. The armor te there shatteredpletely. Dashiell doubled over, coughing blood inside his helmet.


    I didn''t let up. My fists became blurs as I systematically dismantled his defenses. Each strike precisely targeted the joints and weak points of his armor.


    "Your father is watching," I said between blows. "Watch as his precious heir gets humiliated."


    Dashiell tried to retreat, but I activated my Heavy Falling Space technique. The air around him thickened, making each movement a struggle.


    "No escape," I said, closing the distance.


    My next punch caught him square in the chest. The front te of his armor split down the middle. Dashiell stumbled backward.


    "Do you yield?" I asked, giving him one final chance.


    His answer came in the form of a desperate lunge. I easily sidestepped and caught him by the throat.


    "Wrong answer."


    I mmed him into the ground with enough force to create a small crater. Dashiell''s helmet rolled away, revealing his bloodied face.


    He looked pathetic now. Nothing like the arrogant young master who had been so confident just hours ago. Blood streamed from his nose and mouth. One eye was swollen shut.


    "This is what happens," I announced loudly enough for everyone to hear, "when you underestimate those you consider beneath you."


    Dashiell tried to rise but copsed again. Nearby, I could see his father, Roderick ckthorne, watching with stony silence. Corbin Ashworth''s face was purple with rage.


    "Your family," I continued, driving a foot into Dashiell''s ribs, "thinks its bloodline makes it special." Another kick. "But look at you now, broken by someone you called amoner."


    I bent down, grabbed what remained of his armor''s chestte, and ripped it clean off. Dashielly exposed, battered and defeated.


    "It''s over," I dered, raising my fist for one final blow. Golden energy coalesced around it, pulsing with destructive potential.


    "Liam Knight..."


    The whisper was so faint I almost missed it. Dashiell''s lips barely moved.


    "Anyst words?" I asked, pausing my strike.


    Dashiell''s eyes suddenly snapped open. Both of them, even the swollen one. Something had changed in his gaze.


    "Liam Knight," he said again, his voice stronger. "I will not be defeated like this."


    A strange energy began swirling around him. The air grew thick with power.


    "What is this?" I muttered, taking a cautious step back.


    Emerson Holmes shouted from the sidelines: "He''s breaking through! Everyone back!"


    A column of dark light erupted from Dashiell''s body, throwing me backward. The force was unexpected and overwhelming. I crashed into a wall, momentarily stunned.


    When the light faded, Dashiell stood in the center of the crater. His injuries remained, but his posture had changed. He stood tall, shoulders back, head high.


    The pressure emanating from his body was different now. Heavier. More substantial.


    "Impossible," I heard someone say. "A breakthrough to Martial Marquis duringbat?"


    Dashiell looked at me, blood still streaming down his face, but his eyes burned with newfound power. A savage smile spread across his lips.


    "Liam Knight," he roared, his voice carrying a weight it hadn''t before. "I''M GOING TO KILL YOU!!"


    His aura exploded outward, sting me backward with terrifying force. As I tumbled through the air, one thought shed through my mind:


    The tide had just turned against me.