The impact of Damian’s fists against his chest echoed through the room, a dull, booming sound like hammering on steel. His body was a fortress forged through years of battle and brutality. He stood there, defiant, as if daring Kayden to make a move.
But Kayden didn’t so much as flinch. His expression remained cold, unreadable.
At that moment, the pieces began to fall into place. He understood now how Britton Foster had met his end.
Damian-Iron Body. A man whose body was a weapon, whose very skin could turn blades. It wasn’t hard to see why Britton had fallen.
Still, Kayden wasn’t impressed.
He tightened his fists, his voice low but steady, carrying a weight that filled the room. “Is this what you’re so proud of? That iron skin of yours? If that’s all you’ve got, it ends here. If not, well, there’ll be no next time.”
With that, Kayden began to advance, his steps slow but deliberate, like a predator closing in on its prey. The air between them seemed to thicken with tension.
Damian matched his approach with a snarl, his rage building as he charged forward. The two men collided in the centre of the room, a violent clash that felt like worlds were crashing together. It wasn’t just a fight-it was a battle between forces of nature.
Cheetah and Kent stood frozen on the sidelines, their eyes wide with anticipation.
To witness a confrontation like this was something they’d never imagined.
They believed in Damian’s strength-they had seen him crush men without breaking a sweat. To them, there was no way he could lose.
But Kayden wasn’t like anyone they’d ever seen.
With a sudden, explosive movement, Kayden’s fists surged with crackling energy.
“Power Strike-Shatter!” he shouted, his voice ringing out like a battle cry. His fist shot forward, glowing with an almost blinding light, and then it slammed into Damian’s chest.
The sound was deafening, like the crash of lightning.
For a second, Damian’s face was a mask of disbelief. His eyes went wide, and before he could even register what had happened, his body was sent flying back, crashing into a concrete support beam with a sickening thud. The force of the blow should have broken bones.
Damian hit the ground in a heap, gasping for breath, blood spilling from his mouth. His Iron Body-his so-called “invincibility”-was shattered.
He coughed, spitting out a thick glob of blood. “Ugh!” The sound was almost pathetic.
Five seconds. That’s all it had taken. Five seconds for Kayden to dismantle him. And Kayden had only thrown one punch.
One.
Cheetah and Kent watched in stunned silence. They had believed Damian to be unbeatable, indestructible. But Kayden had torn him apart like he was nothing. One punch had reduced their unstoppable fighter to a broken, bleeding heap.
To Kayden, Damian had been nothing more than another obstacle, and a weak one at that. He barely registered him as a threat.
Even in his current state, only using a fraction of his power, Kayden could crush men like Damian with ease.
Damian’s eyes were wide in shock, staring up at Kayden as if seeing him for the first time.
He had known Kayden was strong, but this? This was beyond anything he’d expected. He had spent his life fighting, clawing his way out of the darkest pits, surviving places no man was supposed to survive. And yet, here he was, defeated in a single blow.
One punch. That was all it took.
Who was this man? How could he wield such power so effortlessly?
For the first time in years, Damian felt something he hadn’t felt in a long, long time-fear. Real, uncontrollable fear. His confidence, his arrogance, everything he had believed about his own strength was crumbling before his eyes.
Cheetah and Kent’s plan had failed spectacularly. Damian was not the victor they had hoped for. He hadn’t even put up a fight.
In Kayden’s eyes, he had been nothing more than a child playing pretend, too weak to even register as a true opponent.
Kent, always the quick thinker, didn’t hesitate. While Cheetah stood there, still processing what had just happened, Kent made a break for the door, desperate to escape.
But Kayden was faster.
In one smooth motion, Kayden flicked his wrist. There was a sharp whistling sound, and something shot through the air with deadly precision.
Thwip.
The object-a knife-sliced clean through Kent’s chest, embedding itself deep in his heart. He dropped to the floor, dead before he even knew what hit him.
Kayden didn’t even blink. His voice was calm, cold as ice. “I told you. No one leaves here alive.”
He stood there, towering over the fallen, as if death itself had taken human form.
Cheetah’s legs turned to jelly, and he collapsed to the floor, completely overwhelmed. His body shook uncontrollably, and in the grip of pure terror, he wet himself, the dark stain spreading across his pants as he sat there, broken.
Kayden didn’t even glance his way. There was no need. His focus was elsewhere. With slow, deliberate steps, he made his way toward Damian, stopping just short of the man who now lay defeated on the cold ground. Kayden stood still for a moment, looking down at him, his expression devoid of any emotion.
Damian’s so-called Iron Body-the invincible technique he had boasted about-was shattered, and his internal strength drained. He was powerless now, reduced to a mere shell of the warrior he once was. There was no strength left to fight, no hope of escape.
“Who… who the hell are you?” Damian croaked, his voice barely above a whisper. “How could your Power Strike… be this strong?”
He had to know. Even in his final moments, Damian needed to understand who this man was.
Who had the power to rip apart everything he thought made him invincible? If he was going to die, he wanted to know whose hands his life was slipping through.
Kayden didn’t bother to answer. His eyes were cold, his voice even colder. “Dead men don’t need answers.”
Without hesitation, Kayden raised his hand. A deadly calm settled over him as his fingers straightened, forming a blade-like shape. Damian’s eyes widened in horror.
He knew what was coming-he had seen this technique before.
It was a lethal move, one that had ended countless lives. Hand into Blade. With it, Kayden could cut through flesh as though it were paper.
Damian braced himself, expecting the end to come swiftly. But just as the blade-like hand hovered near his throat, Kayden stopped, his eyes narrowing slightly. A small, cruel smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
“Killing you like this… would be too easy,” Kayden said, his voice soft but filled with menace. “I think you deserve something a little more… fitting.”
Before Damian could react, Kayden’s hand shot forward, wrapping around his throat with brutal strength. In one motion, Kayden lifted him off the ground, holding him effortlessly in the air. Damian’s feet dangled, kicking uselessly beneath him.
It shouldn’t have been possible. Damian was a giant of a man-six-foot-four, over two hundred pounds of solid muscle. And yet, in Kayden’s grip, he was weightless, like a rag doll being held up by a giant.
Kayden’s strength was beyond anything Damian could have imagined. The once-feared street fighter was now nothing more than a helpless, gasping figure, desperately clutching at Kayden’s wrist, trying in vain to pry his hand away. But it was no use. It was like trying to bend iron.
To Kayden, Damian was already dead. He was just playing with him now, letting him feel the full weight of his power before finishing the job.
Damian’s face turned red as he struggled for air, his veins bulging, his vision starting to blur.
Panic set in as he felt the world closing in around him, the air growing thin. It was as if invisible hands were pulling him down into the abyss, dragging him toward death.
Then, just as Damian thought it was over, Kayden released him, tossing him to the ground like a piece of trash. Damian hit the floor hard, gasping for breath, coughing violently as his lungs struggled to take in air.
For a long moment, he just lay there, breathing heavily, his chest heaving.
Then, slowly, painfully, he lifted his head, his bloodshot eyes locking onto Kayden’s face.
The moment his gaze landed on his face, he noticed Kayden was also staring at him.