Power

Slam! Slam! Ethan continued to slam his palms against Zack as he pummeled him mercilessly. Crack! He raised his hand once more. Suddenly, he felt somebody grab his arm. He turned around. A tall, hulking figure stood behind him, staring down expressionlessly.

CRASH! A fist smashed into Ethan's chest. "Oof!" Ethan felt the wind knocked out of him at he fell to his knees. "Huff...huff...huff." He glanced at the tall brute as he clutched his stomach painfully. He tried to get back onto his feet. "Huff...huff...huff." The battle with Zack had left him weakened. He couldn't fight against another brute on Zack's level, especially one that looked so powerful.

"Hehe! You're dead, you bastard." Zack cackled as he lay on the floor. His condition was much worse than Ethan's, yet he was brimming with confidence. "Now you're in for it. You really thought you could take me down? Hehehehe." Zack laughed as blood trickled down his twisted nose. He looked ridiculous, making threats while he was completely beaten up, but Ethan didn't laugh. All he felt for him was contempt.

"Fucking coward," he muttered. Zack had started acting cocky as soon as Butch had emerged. The fact that he'd been beaten by a lower ranked nobody didn't bother him anymore. Only his lackeys were watching. So if he defeated Ethan here, nobody would believe that he'd almost been beaten in battle. "Fuck him up! Show him who's boss!" Zack had already dropped his superior way of speaking as if he were above the world. Now, all he cared about was Ethan being beaten up. No matter the cost.

WHOOSH! Butch's arm descended from above like a meteor. "Damn it!" Ethan ducked, dodging the blow as he tried to get away. Thud! His other arm shot out as it grabbed Ethan grasping him firmly. Ethan desperately struggled, trying to get free. "You can't get away." Butch's emotionless voice cut through the air. SLAM! He smashed his fist onto Ethan's head as he held on to him. Ethan was just like a fly caught in a web. And Butch was the spider. SLAM! "Urk!" It felt like a hammer had been dropped on his head.

"Fuck...You damn brute!" Butch grasped Ethan's throat as he lifted him into the air. "Cough....cough!" "Knock him out! Make sure he can't wake up," barked Zack furiously. "Yes sir." He replied in an emotionless voice. SLAM! His fist slammed into Ethan's face. "You...you.." SLAM! Butch didn't let Ethan complete his sentence. "Hehehe! Are you trying to beg for mercy? Don't bother. You can't handle Butch." Zack gleefully laughed at Ethan's pitiful struggle.

"You..." SLAM! Butch raised his fist as he prepared to strike Ethan once more. SLAM! "You..." SLAM! Butch showed no signs of relenting as he struck Ethan once more. "Good job, Butch! Two more hits and he should go down." SLAM! "You really thought you could take me down that easily?" Zack's face crumpled. "What are you...."

CRACK! Ethan brought his leg upwards and smashed it into Butch's face. Crash! "Oof!" Ethan fell to the ground as Butch released him. Thump...thump...CRASH! Butch fell down on the floor, eyes wide open, his face pointed towards the sky. He nose was bent at an odd angle. Multiple fractures ran across his face as he lay motionlessly. "You...you bastard! How much fucking mana do you have?"

"Huff...huff...huff!" Ethan clutched his chest as he sat on the floor, trying to catch his breath. He'd just hit Butch with forty percent of his mana, all at once. He felt a slight pain in his chest as he tried to stand up.

Theoretically, a Physical type awakener could use up all of their mana in a single attack, effectively becoming a real-life version of a certain overpowered superhero. An extremely overpowered one at that. But they never did that. Why? Because almost every Physical type awakener's worst stat was their Magical Circuit.

"You...you monster." Zack stared at Ethan in horror. He'd severely underestimated this person. What was this abomination in front of him? e shuddered in fear. Everybody with F rank potential was trash. They were destined to live a pathetic life, spurned by others as they died miserably. But this guy.....not only had he reached G-6 rank in 3 years, his Mage type stats- his Mana and Magical Circuit- were extremely high for a Physical type awakener. They were at least G-4 rank.

Zack wasn't afraid of Ethan's power. He wasn't scared of the fact that Ethan could possibly defeat him right now. Not anymore. No, what he was terrified of was his single-minded determination and hard work that brought him to this point. His unrelenting struggle that let him be this strong. His overwhelming power that could easily crush those on his level and even those above him.

For such a monster- one who'd tempered themselves so much, so much so that they'd transcended their limits- what would they do once you messed with them? How would they react? For one who possesses such an iron will, tough enough that they can walk towards their goal with obsession - how would they react once they were wronged? How far could they go? How far would they go? What would they do to destroy their enemies?

Of course, what he didn't know was that Ethan's actual potential was S rank, and that he'd reached his current rank in four months thanks to that. Of course, Ethan wasn't somebody to be messed with. He'd definitely get back at Zack for everything he'd done to him. But he wasn't as much of a monster that Zack made him out to be.

"You...Fuck! I've got to get rid of him right now." Snap! Suddenly, a whip made of wind shot out as it wrapped around his arm. Ethan twisted his arm, trying to get free. Buzz! Another whip, now made of electricity, shot out as it latched onto Ethan's other arm. "Argh!!" He squirmed in pain as a bolt of electricity ran through his body. "Get him! Get him! Don't let him get away!" Zack's other subordinates, Frank and Larry had suddenly attacked.

"Fucking...Mage types...let go of me!" Ethan pulled his arms, trying to shake the whips off. Buzz! Snap! The tendrils tightened as the two poured more mana into their spells. Buzz! "Argh! Fuck!" Electricity flowed through his body as the lightning guy intensified his spell. Ethan thrashed around, trying to break free.

"That's it! Fuck him up!" "Let go of me, you cowards! You..." SLAM! A fist pounded on his head. "Urk!" Damn it! He hadn't noticed Butch getting back up. What kind of a monster was he? He'd recovered so quickly. Ethan's blow was strong enough to incapacitate any G-7 ranked awakener easily. SLAM! Ethan fell down to his knees. His head started spinning. SLAM! Butch's blows were too much to handle. Thud! He fell onto the floor, deprived of all energy.

"Hehe! That's what I like to see. Bring him over here." Thud...thud...thud. Butch stomped towards him. "Cough...cough!" Ethan spluttered as he lay sprawled on the floor. Butch lifted him by the scruff of his neck.

"Ah...fuck...this bastard!" Zack groaned in pain as he tried to get up. "Hey! You two! Come here and help me up!" Snap! The two whips were released as Frank and Larry headed towards Zack. "One...two...hup!" "Ahhh!" Zack stood up, one arm around each boy as he groaned in pain.

"Hold him tight!" Butch didn't reply. His face was too damaged to be able to speak. Scratch...Tap...Scratch! Zack dragged his feet across the floor as he neared Ethan. "Grab his hand! Spread his fingers wide." Frank stepped forward, grabbing Ethan's arm as he held his wrist tightly. "Cough...cough!" "Sir, maybe you should rest. You've just...." Smack! Zack slapped Larry as he cut him off immediately.

"Shut the fuck up! I...cough...I need to do this." He staggered forward, limping towards Ethan. "Hehehe...You bastard! I told you to not mess with me. To respect your superiors. But you didn't listen. Cough...cough...wheeze!" Ethan breathed heavily as Butch held his face upwards. He didn't have the strength to move. Scratch...Scratch. "Hehehe!" Zack laughed as he grasped Ethan's hand. Now...cough...Now I'm going to break your fingers...cough...so that you learn to respect me. So that...wheeze..."

Zack grabbed a finger, prepared to break it. "Look...cough...look!" He twisted Ethan's finger. "Huh? What's wrong? Why didn't it break? Why didn't it...cough...cough..." Zack staggered backwards his wounds finally getting to me. "I...cough..I see. You bastard. You...still...wheeze...you still had mana. You..." He fell backwards onto the floor. "Sir!" The three rushed towards him.

"Wheeze...monster!" Zack finally lost consciousness as he uttered a final word. But Ethan couldn't hear it. He'd already passed out, even before he could hear Zack. He'd slipped into the sweet embrace of sleep, not knowing what he'd face when he woke up.