Red. There was red everywhere.

Back at the building, inside one of the many dilapidated apartment rooms, Adam's blood had painted every surface red. It dripped from the walls, pooled in the corners, and splattered across what remained of the furniture.

The blood was so much so that it already covered the sole of Adam's boots. It was, in the most literal sense, a pool of blood.

Adam wasn't dodging anymore. Every punch Bjorn threw, Adam met with his own. Every kick, every elbow, every devastating blow—Adam absorbed them all and returned fire.

A crack, and his left arm snapped at the elbow… a bone even stuck out.

More. You've experienced worse, Adam. This is nothing. This is absolutely nothing at all.

A snap, and his right wrist bent backward, or maybe it even rolled backward.

Remember? Remember how the Hospital stretched your limbs? Stretched your skin to see how far it could go? Of course, it would go as far as a normal human before it tore apart—you weren't made of rubber. You get damaged, torn apart, wounded…

…and yet they continued to do all those things to you.

A crunch, and his ribs caved inward and pierced through his organs, knocking him out for just a single second.

But Adam kept swinging, and with each swing, his limbs were already intact. It was almost as if his body knew. His body knew the damage would keep coming, and it regenerated all of his wounds faster and faster and faster.

The sight was almost… funny if it wasn't covered in blood—Adam barely reached Bjorn's chest, yet he stood toe-to-toe with the Silent Brawler.

It reminded him of the story the doctor used to tell him. Almost like the classic tale of David facing Goliath. Except David was bleeding from every pore and grinning like a maniac.

Why…? Why would people even work for an organization that lets other people suffer? Why would you work for something like that? Money?

You've already experienced the luxury of unlimited money, Adam—it wasn't something you would hurt someone for. It's just people… people are as stupid as you are.

Bjorn's attacks grew faster, more vicious. His fists became blurs of destruction, each impact creating miniature sonic booms that rattled the windows. Adam's body bent and broke under the assault, but he never stopped moving forward.

The blood on the floor grew deeper. The ripples their strikes created caused the blood to crash toward the walls now. Perhaps a pool was no longer appropriate for this—it was a lake.

A lake of Adam's blood.

And blood, well—

Bjorn stepped back for another devastating haymaker—and his foot slipped.

—blood could be slippery.

And for just a moment there, the Silent Brawler lost his balance. And Adam's fist, already completely whole, struck him right on the eye.

Bjorn's gnarly roar of pain shook the entire building. He staggered backward, one hand pressed to his face. Still, it wasn't enough to make him bleed, and only tears trailed down from his damaged eye.

Bjorn gritted his teeth, but Adam didn't give him time to recover. He lunged forward, his movements more aggressive now.

Bjorn tried to regain his footing, but the lake of blood betrayed him again. Adam took this chance to lunge at him, kicking him right in the chest, and then at the back of the head, and then another strike at the stomach.

This was the reality of fighting Adam—you had to stop him completely, permanently, or he would wear you down. He was… inevitability wrapped in human flesh.

But, of course, inevitability worked both ways.

Adam's feet soon also lost grip due to his own blood, and he crashed to the floor. Bjorn followed, and suddenly… they were rolling, grappling, tearing at each other like wild animals.

But, of course, a fight like this… the Silent Brawler had the clear advantage because of his size.

Bjorn managed to wrap his massive arms around Adam's torso, trying to crush him. But Adam responded to this by sinking his teeth into Bjorn's large forearm.

Bjorn threw him away, making Adam land on all fours like the animal he was acting.

And, of course, like an animal—Adam just lunged back at it again. They grappled, hammered, and obliterated each other. The roars that came out of their throats no longer sounded like it came from humans, no.

The two no longer looked human at all.

The fight continued. And continued. And continued.

An hour passed. Maybe more. Adam looked like he'd been dipped in paint, every inch of him red and glistening. In fact, even Bjorn was the same—his sleek platinum blonde hair poked out everywhere, and his pristine clothes were ripped and gone.

Still, Adam looked the worse of the two… but it was Bjorn who was gasping, whose movements had grown sluggish. But none of the blood around was Bjorn's, but he was bruised. Oh, he was bruised.

The Silent Brawler threw another punch, but there was no longer any explosion this time. No shockwave. Just flesh meeting flesh.

"Argugh…" A groan escaped from Bjorn's lips as Adam met his fist with his own again, and Bjorn gritted his teeth.

He threw another punch, but this time… Adam caught the fist in his palm.

Bjorn's eyes widened, and before he could attack again, Adam suddenly pulled him close—no. He pulled him down, their faces now on equal level.

Adam then leaned forward, a growl almost escaping his trembling lips. And when the growling stopped, he whispered.

"Clench your jaw."

[5 Status Points allocated to Strength!]

This time, Adam didn't feel his body restructure itself—after all, he'd been fighting for more than an hour. But he wasn't numbed, no. It was impossible for him to be numb.

Unfortunately for Bjorn, he wasn't numb, either… yet.

Adam gripped Bjorn's fist tighter, but even though he could barely hold it together due to how large it was… Bjorn started to feel his knuckles grinding together.

And then… Adam punched him.

The blow hit Bjorn right in the jaw. His head snapped back, and a small wheeze crawled out of his throat. His eyes widened even further, and he felt his vision shift.

And for the first time in the fight… his blood mixed in with the pool below.

And unfortunately for Bjorn… Adam was just getting started.

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