Pan Long had heard the Zion operatives talking, of course, but he understood almost none of it.
"Spirits from Beyond," "messengers of the gods," "psychic powers came from them"—it all left him baffled.
Are those things in the game Next Year's Ark?
Now was no time to rack his memory. He gave it a passing thought, cast the distraction aside, and focused on circulating his power.
He had struck early to save the others, before his strength was fully gathered, so that punch had fallen short of its full force. Now the Zion operatives were safe, and the giant octopus was in no hurry to come after them. He could take his time with his Power Charge.
Ever since the Earthly Baleful Force had tempered his body, even he had not known the limits of his strength. There was nothing in everyday life he could test it against.
He had tried trees and boulders, but a full-strength blow shattered either one into pieces. Neither could stop his fist in the slightest.
Even a mountain peak could not stop it.
If he gathered his strength and struck with everything he had, he would drive himself straight into the mountain, like a scene from a slapstick cartoon.
As he was now, given enough time, he really could demolish an entire mountain.
And now, facing an opponent that looked capable of tearing down a mountain just as he could, Pan Long was so excited his blood boiled.
Their past grudges?
Helping the Zion operatives?
Those things mattered, of course. But what mattered most was that he had finally found an enemy who could take his full-strength blow!
That last punch had been nowhere near it!
Right now, even he did not know where his limit lay.
As he circulated his power and gathered